The poems nothings changed Essay Example for Free

The poems nothings changed Essay In stanza three the main focal point is on the inn. Afrika sees the inn as if it is showing off, Brash with glass this could mean that it is being rubbed in; the fact he cant have anything that extravagant. He also gives the impression that it wants to be noticed, name flaring like flag, he uses personification to show how much it stands out, he also uses alliteration to make it catchy and so we will remember it. It could also be using the flag reference to compare it to their nation, and that it is being represented by what the government want other people to see, not what is actually going on. He is giving the inn a personality, it squats this is contradicting the previous statements, with the use of personification it is almost as if the inn is embarrassed about having these features. The inn is upper-class, In the grass and the weeds, incipient Port Jackson trees it is also out of place, as the port Jackson trees are expensive and imported, how ever district six is made up of weeds. The inn also only lets white people in, whites only inn although this was illegal after apartheid had ended, he uses a pun here as in only whites allowed in, and it is a whites only, inn. In the beginning of verse four he says no sign says it is: but we know where we belong this makes the reader empathise with him, at this point there is know apartheid but he still know that the can not mix. When he looks in on the restaurant there is a contrast with the rest of district six, crushed ice white glasses, linen falls, the single rose there are many luxuries here, it is almost snobbism , while every where else has to just get by. This again makes you feel sympathetic towards him. In verse five the working mans cafi has a huge contrast to the restaurant, working mans cafi sells bunny chows bunny chow is a cheap African food, this is totally unlike the haute cuisine in the white restaurant, which is an upmarket food. He also has no plate to eat on, eat it at a plastic table top he does not have linen falls or a rose; there is a definite contrast between them. I think that there is a difference in between because the white have more money and privileges than the blacks; also if the blacks did have an inn like that they would not be able to afford it. The writer is trying to put across the point that it is unfair that they should have more than them, just because they are white. In the final verse he feels small, boy again he feels insignificant, and he knows he can not change anything. He feels the need to use violence to get his point across Hands burn for a stone, a bomb this could insinuate that he want to be able to be heard. He wants to break the glass, shiver down the glass the glass could be thought to be a barrier between blacks and whites, and he wants to break it down as if he were breaking down the wall of apartheid. The use of glass for the wall of apartheid could mean that it is fragile. The last line is nothings changed which is the first line, this could be interpreted as a circle, and that apartheid will never end.

Management A Universal Phenomenon Commerce Essay

Management A Universal Phenomenon Commerce Essay Management is a universal phenomenon it is very famous and mostly used term every where. All organisation either they are political cultural or social involved in management. Because its only a management which directs actions into success. According to Harold Koontz Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized group. It is an art of creating such a environment in which people can perform and co operate towards achieving the goals. according to FW Taylor Management is an art of of knowledge what to do when to do and see that it is done in best and cheap way. Management is such a purposive activity which leads the whole groups effort into success and pre defined goals attainment. Its a process of working with others as a team and effectively achieve the goals of organisation with the help of limited resources. These goals may vary from one organization to another organization. Management also involve creating an internal environment it is a management which put many factors of production. Thats why its the responsibility of management to create such a situation which are conducive to maximum effort so that members of management can perform their task that is fitting the square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round hole. Success factors: for any organisation certain factors will be critical to the success of that organisation in the sense that if objectives associated with the factors are not achieved the organisation will fail perhaps catastrophically so. Following an example of generic critical success factors. New Product Development Good Distribution and Effective advertising Following are the types of critical success factors. Industry critical success factors resulting from specific industry characteristics. Strategy critical success factors resulting from the chosen competitive strategy of the business. Environmental critical success factors resulting from technological or economic Temporal critical success factor resulting from internal organizational needs. Each of these success factors should be measurable and linked to achieving the goal of organization. You have no need to exact measure to manage. Basic measure also should include the critical success level like numbers of transition per month or in case where specific measurements are more difficult main goal should be specified. Critical Success factors: an element of organisational activity which is key element to its future success. Critical success factors can be change from time to time. And may include item such as product quality employee behaviour manufacturing flexibility and brand awareness. Any of the aspects of a business which are identified as a vital of successful targets to be reached and maintained. Critical success factors are normally identified in such areas as production process, employee and organisation skills functions techniques and technologies. Employee Motivation employee motivation is one of the main success factor. Because employee play an important role in the success of whole organisation. With out employee manager or organisation cant achieve their goals. Employees are backbone of any organisation. Some time its very hard to get goals and employees need some motivation for getting that goals thats why employees motivation is very important factor. Its enhance their commitment level with the organisation and make them more strong and boast their moral. Only those organisation can be successful in the businesses who motivates their employees. Its a key of getting good result and to achieve its targets. As its saying that you can horse to water but you cant force it to drink it will drink only it is thirsty. Similarly employees will do what they want to do. Weather it is to excel on the workplace or in the ivory tower they must want motivation or driven to do it. Either by themselves or through others. Managers can motivate its work force by different ways like Job Enrichment It gives opportunity to employees to maximise utilization of their skills by assigning them assignments. By the job enrichment you can expand the tasks set that employee has to perform. You provide more interesting work that enhance the variety and challenge to work force daily routine. By this it leads to the work force more control on their work. By this factors you can design the job that can be helpful in motivation Skill variety Identification of task significance of task Autonomy Feedback There is also availability of option in job enrichment like Rotate Jobs It gives option to the work force to get the different sort of skills and show their performance in different sort of woks. This is the easiest way to get this by the help of rotation of job. Combine Tasks By working in a team its gives more challenging and complex work assignment. This can significantly enhance the identification of task because work force can see job from beginning to end, this can be cause of maximum utilization of skills which can make workers or employees more meaningful, others factors also include Identify project focused work force Develop autonomous work team Participative Management Redistribute Power Increase Feedback Pygmolian Motivation by this management can set a high standard of expectations can relise their workforce that this is what we want from you and you are calibre of this Motivation is a necessary skill which must be learnt. This is very essential for the success of business. Those organisation adopting the policy of continuously motivation of its employees can easily get their goals so its shows that motivation of work force is also a success factor of business. Risk Management: Risk management is an other important factor for the success of business organisation. Those businesses who undertake risk and forecast for unseen future problems. Its an integral part of managing business. Companies face different types of risk. Some may be external in nature which are not under the direct of the management. Like political environment the changes in exchange rates or fluctuation in interest. Some may be internal threat as well like in nature which the management can control to great extent for instance risk is linked with the non compliance in financial reporting or non compliance with the laws of labour. So its better to undertake the risk management because if unfortunately organisation has to face any problem in future there would be some substitute option for any problem. By this business organisation can avoid to suffer from heavy loss in future and this can company or organisation can get advantage on its those competitors those do not adopt this. So this is very important factor in today business environment. Risk management is a proactive process its not a reactive process. We can explain it with the example of Shell Oil which has a lot of offices in the New Orleans region but deal with Katrina and Hurricane weather well do to the risk management that it has in place. Risk can be transferred but it can not be eliminated, business organisation can contract with those companies who are willing to take risk like buying an insurance policy risk can be transferred. Or it can be reduced by taking some extra steps for control. Committed and Focused Leadership: leadership and power is linked with each other very closely. Its nature that people tend to follow those who are in power. And because of others follow the person who posses the power he be become leader. Leaders have power because the are experienced in their field or they are the members of the admin. And leadership is very important for the success of any business organisation. Because leaders leads the work force and work force lead to organisations success. Good leader is who deal from the front .And deal with the problems very smartly. Leaders give directions and road map to its work force who utilize their skills and play an active role in the achievement of the goals. So those organisations who have good leaders they are getting their targets easily. As much leaders are committed as they are going very well in business and management. Work force or individual can not lead organisation to success until unless they have committed leader in them. Its the only leader who take the organisation on peak with the help of its or leader who can cause in the failure of the organisation. So leaders role is very important role in organisation. Leader must engage all team in work and keep motivated to its team because with the help of motivation. He should collaborate and keep work force on process. The attribution theory in leadership show that people characterize that a leader who has such traits as intelligence he possess the outgoing personality he should also have strong communication skills. So a leader who possess these skills he would be an asset of the organisation and can play his role in the achievement of the organisational goals. Now organisations are looking for the transformational leadership qualities in leaders. They want such a leader who has the strong vision. And obviously a true leader is only that one who shows a good behaviour at the right time. And effective management now a days must develop trusting relation ship with those they are looking for that they are going to lead in future. Main Obstacle to effective organisation : There are different obstacles in todays management which effect the performance and create hurdles in the achievement of the organisation. So before this organisation must has to identify what are those obstacle and then they can find out solution to it. So its very important to find out the obstacle in the organisation. Powers and Politics Power refer to a capacity that some one has influence the behaviour of some one so that he can act in accordance with the wishes of the leader. Power may be exist but its possible might not be used. So it is capacity and potential that some one have but dont utilize. There are different basis of power like Formal power coercive power Reward power Legitimate Power Personal Power Expert power Referent Power. These can effect organisation performance if its miss used. Organisational Politics There has been shortage in the definition of organisational politics. Its about some one use of power to effect the decision making in any organisation or it can be used on the behaviour of members those are self serving organisationally non sanctioned. We can define by others word some one try to influence in decision which is not required as a part of any ones formal role in the organisation but its influence. Legitimate Political behaviour. Its normal routine day politics like complaining to the supervisors by passing the chain of command developing the coalition, not following the organisation policies contacts out of the organisation. Illegitimate Political Behaviour. Its about the violation of implied rule of the game. Its about some one pursue such extreme activities as its described some individual play hard ball. The main part of political action based on legitimate variety. The main reason of pragmatic. Reality of Politics. Organisation is made of individual and group with different sort of values targets goals and interest as well. Resources in the organisation are limited which often lead potential conflicts into real conflicts. If resources are were abundant then all the different then all the department with in the organisation can be satisfied but in reality its limited so no one interest provided for. And also true are not gains by any individual or group are often perceived as being as the expense of others with in the organisation . Conflict management: conflict is a natural occurrence all groups and organisation because it is inevitable the human relation school advocated acceptance of conflict. It cant be eliminated from the organisation even some time its good for the organisational group work. Because due to conflict there is a lot of point raised in discussion and people knowledge increase regarding the issues and different angels comes out for the single issue. But some time it can cause to slow down the process of organisation and can also stuck the work. Its occur some time due to misunderstanding and perceptions. Different of opinion in same organization

Financial Analysis: PepsiCo Beats Coca-Cola Essay -- Pepsi, Coke, busi

Pepsi vs. Coke the epic battle that every American and from the looks of their financial statements possibly everyone in the world must deal with does it have a winner. For the fiscal year 2005 it certainly does through analyzing financial statements with vertical, horizontal, and ratio analysis investors are able to clearly decide who the better choice for their investment is. By careful scruitiny and attention to detail any investor can safely put their money in a buiseness as an investment so long as they are adhering to rules and regulations of the GAAP. Using the tools for financial analysis and the information given I will determine the winner of that battle for 2005 at least from the investors point of view. In our literature it states that a â€Å"vertical analysis evaluates financial statement data by expressing each item in a financial statement as a percent of a base amount.† I chose to look vertically at current assets and liabilities, of both companies so I can compare these figures between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to find out who is in better current standing. Current assets Vs. Total Assets for PepsiCo: ( 2005) 10454/ 31727 = approx. 33% of total assets are current (2004) 8639/ 27987 = approx. 31% of total assets are current Now we will look at the current liabilities vs. total liabilities for PepsiCo (2005) 9406/ 17476 = approx. 54% of the total liabilities are current (2004) 6752/ 14464 = approx. 47% of the total liabilities are current Current assets Vs. Total Assets for Coca-Cola: 2005) 10250/ 29427 =Approx. 35% Current 2004) 12281/ 31441 = Approx 39% Current And we will look at the current liabilities vs. total liabilities for Coca-Cola: 2005) 9836/ 29427 = Approx. 33% Current 2004... ...id volume growth for 2005†¦The company said it earned $864 million, or 36 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, a 28 percent drop from the year before. However, excluding one-time charges, the company earned 46 cents per share, a penny ahead of analysts' expectations. One-time items included taxes on repatriated foreign earnings and a charge related to a bottling investment.(Wilbert, 06)† It is a sad day when you have a 28% drop year over year and exceed â€Å"Wall Street expectations.† If I were in their shoes I would do whatever I had to do to entice consumers to put their hard earned cash back in my company even at the cost lower profitability sell for less but sell more†¦hey it works for Wal-Mart why not you to Coca-Cola. Until they change their investment and marketing strategies I would steer clear of investing in any new Coca-Cola stock for more than a few years.

Archetypal Characters and Symbols in The Phantom of the Opera Essay

Archetypal Characters and Symbols in The Phantom of the Opera      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of The Phantom of the Opera appeals to many types of personalities and people of all ages because of its archetypal characters and patterns.   Carl Jung theorized that we are born with innate tendencies to perceive things a certain way:   "a kind of readiness to reproduce over and over again the same or similar mythical ideas . . ."1.   These repeated ideas are archetypes.   The basic legend of The Phantom takes place in 19th century Paris, and is that of a young and talented, but untrained singer named Christine.   Erik, the Phantom, is a disfigured genius of many fields, including music, architecture, magic, and science.   His fatal flaw stems from his strong dislike and mistrust of the rest of the human race, which has been very unkind to him throughout his life.   He encounters Christine in the Paris Opera House, becomes infatuated with her, and initially claims to be her otherworldly musical tutor.   Conflict occurs when Christi ne is torn between Erik's dark and passionate world, and her innocent love for the well-bred Raoul.   These fundamentals of the story of The Phantom are kept in tact among the versions, while changes are made to target the adaptation to a certain audience.   Another common attraction is to the personality of Erik, a character often repeated in literature.   Erik's relationship with Christine also encompasses many archetypal patterns, and the love triangle among Christine, Erik and Raoul is a recurring human behaviour2.   In addition, there are several object-oriented archetypes throughout the story.   Repetition of patterns and characters in The Phantom of the Opera creates a universal appeal for the tale.       The bas... ...anges to target the legend to different types of people, but the archetypes always remain.       1 Carl Jung, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 7 2 Anthony Pena, Unus Mundus:   Archetypes and Dreams 3 Kate McMullan, The Phantom of the Opera, 5 4 Amazon.com sales rank as of May 2000 5 Charlotte Vale Allen, Night Magic, 203 6 Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera, 334 7 Charles Horton Cooley, Human Nature and the Social Order, 155 8 Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals 9 Joseph Henderson, "Ancient Myths and Modern Man," Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung, ed., 152 10 Anthony Pena, Unus Mundus: Archetypes and Dreams 11 Angela Mattos, The Labyrinth 12 InDreaMensions, Archetypes Glossary 13 Ibid 14 Ibid 15 John L. Flynn, Phantoms of the Opera:   The Man Behind the Mask   

What Caused The Financial Crisis? Essay -- Economics

The roots of the financial crisis can be traced back to the property asset bubble in the US between 1997 and 2006. This asset bubble was enabled by a poorly regulated subprime mortgage industry and the assumption that property prices would continue to rise. The collapse of the property bubble and subsequent foreclosures led to many financial institutions suffering huge losses due to their exposure to the subprime market through a series of innovative and complex investment vehicles. While these investments carried extra risk, they also gave the opportunity for massive short term returns, and the move to these riskier and more complicated financial investments may have been facilitated by a ‘too big to fail’ mentality by many US financial institutions. The collapse of the property bubble and uncertainty in the markets led to a run by depositors and a sudden loss of funding for banks day to day activities. Due to the dependence of the interbank lending market for short term funding, these banks were unable to fund their day to day operations and some collapses, (Lehman Brothers) while others were bailed out by the US government (AIG). Such a loss of confidence within the financial industry eventually led to banks operating a more cautious approach to lending and ensured a severe reduction in the availability of credit, both to other banks and consumers. I will look at the how subprime lending, assisted by expansionary macroeconomic policies and lenient regulatory supervision, eventually morphed into a full financial crisis rather than the view that such crises are cyclical in open market economies and are part of the boom and bust characteristics of capitalism. Sub-prime Mortgages and the Building Blocks of the Financial Crisis .. ...pubs/ft/fandd/2008/06/dodd.htm Carmassi, J, Gros, P and Micossi, S. The Global Financial Crisis: Causes and Cures. Journal of Common Market Studies. Vol.47, No.5, pp. 977-996, 2009. Available at: http://www.relooney.info/SI_FAO-Asia/Global-Crisis_23.pdf Blakenburg, S and Palma, J.G. Introduction: the global financial crisis. Cambridge Journal of Economics. Vol.33, pp.531-539, 2009. Available at: http://cje.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/4/531.full.pdf+html Online Publications Inman, P. Easy money hits home with lenders facing  £250bn losses. The Guardian Online, July 10th, 2007. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jul/10/usnews.internationalnews1?INTCMP=SRCH Baldwin, R. Excessive risk-taking by Banks. Wall Street Pit. Global Market Insight, April 9th, 2012. Available at: http://wallstreetpit.com/90959-excessive-risk-taking-by-banks

Has Globalisation Destroyed the Power of the Modern State? Essay

There is not doubt that globalisation is one of the buzzwords of the twenty first century, radically transforming international relations around the world, and directly or indirectly altering the way we view global politics, but how much has it affected nation states and their power? Globalisation is a complex and abstract term which has been given many definitions and meanings. For the purpose of this essay, I shall use a single definition which is closest to what I think globalisation is, and when referred to in the essay, this is what is meant. Heywood (2011) states that â€Å"Globalization is the emergence of a complex web of interconnectedness that means that our lives are increasingly shaped by events that occur, and decisions that are made, at a great distance from us.† The causes of this interconnectedness can be broken down into three engines of globalisation; Cultural, Political and Economic. Cultural globalisation is facilitated by technological advances in communic ations and especially the internet. This enables a large amount of the developed worlds population instant access to vast amounts of information unaffected by physical borders (except when censorship is in place), which in turn is making the world more culturally homogeneous. The rise of multinational actors like transnational corporations (TNC’s (for example Sony, Nestlà © and Nike)), non governmental organisations (NGO’s (for example Greenpeace, Oxfam and Amnesty International)) and other international organisations (eg; UN, EU and NATO) means that there are more authoritative actors on the world stage, as opposed to historically, states being the only predominant actor. Globalisation means that the economic market is now truly global, as money can be shifted worldwide in an instant. This has facilitated businesses to operate in different countries to their home country to take advantage of cheaper labour costs, local resources and other factors, which mean goods are now manufactured on a global scale. All these factors mean that geographical distance and territorial borders are becoming â€Å"less significant† (Heywood 2011). Since the creation of the modern idea of statehood after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the nation state has been vastly the most predominant actor on the world stage. Sovereignty allowed states to have sole power over what happened within their own borders, and disputes between states usually brought about war. The classic definition of a state as outlined in the Montevideo Convention has four features: 1) A defined territory. 2) A permanent population. 3) An effective government. 4) The capacity to enter into relations with other states.

Night World : The Chosen Chapter 14

The first person Rashel met in the mansion was Ivan. It was sheer dumb luck, the same luck that had helped keep her alive so far tonight. She slipped in the back door, the way she and the girls had gone out. Standing in the huge silent kitchen, she listened for an instant to the music that was still blasting from the inner house. Then she swiveled to check the cellar-and met Ivan the Terrible running up the stairs. He had clearly just discovered that his twenty-four valuable slave girls were missing. His blond hair was flying, his eyes were wide with alarm, his mouth was twisted. He had the taser in one hand and a bunch of plastic handcuffs-the kind police use on rioters-in the other. When Rashel suddenly appeared on the stairway, his eyes flew open even wider. His mouth opened in astonishment-and then Rashel's foot impacted with his forehead. The snap kick knocked him backward, and he tumbled down the stairs to hit the wooden door below. Rashel leaped after him, making it to the bottom only a second after he did. But he was already out. â€Å"What are these? Were you supposed to take some girls up?† She kicked at the plastic handcuffs. Ivan the Unconscious didn't answer. She glanced at her watch. Only a quarter to nine. Maybe he'd been taking the girls to get washed or something. It seemed too early to start the feast. Running noiselessly back up the stairs, she quietly closed the door. Now she had to follow the music. She needed to see where the vampires were, how they were situated, how she could best get at them. She wondered where Lily was. The kitchen opened into a grand dining room with an enormous built-in sideboard. It had undoubtedly been made to accommodate whole suckling pigs or something, but Rashel had a dreadful vision of a girl lying on that coffinlike mahogany shelf, hands tied behind her, while vampire after vampire stopped by to have a snack. She pushed the idea out of her mind and moved silently across the floorboards. The dining room led to a hall, and it was from the end of the hallway that music was coming. Rashel slipped into the dimly lit hall like a shadow, moving closer and closer to the doors there. The last door was the only one that showed light. That one, she thought. Before she could get near it, a figure blocked the light. Instantly Rashel darted through the nearest doorway. She held her breath, standing in the darkened room, watching the hall. If only one or two vampires came out, she could pick them off. But nobody came out and she realized it must have just been someone passing in front of the light. At the same moment she realized that the music was very loud. This wasn't another room-it was the same room. She was in one gigantic double parlor, with a huge wooden screen breaking it up into two separate spaces. The screen was solid, but carved into a lacy pattern that let flickering light through. Rashel thrust her knife in her waistband, then crept to the screen and applied her eye. A spacious room, very masculine, paneled like the dining room in mahogany and floored in cherry parquet. Glass brick windows-opaque. All Rashel's worry about somebody looking out had been for nothing. A fire burned in a massive fireplace, the light bringing out the ruddy tones in the wood. The whole room looked red and secret. And there they were. The vampires for the bloodfeast. Seven of the most powerful made vampires in the world, Fayth had said. Rashel counted heads swiftly. Yes, seven. No Lily. â€Å"You boys don't look that scary,† she murmured. That was one thing about made vampires. Unlike the lamia, who could stop aging-or start againwhenever they wanted, made vampires were stuck. And since the process of turning a human body into a vampire body was incredibly difficult, only a young human could survive it. Try to turn somebody over twenty into a vampire and they would burn out. Fry. Die. The result was that all made vampires were stuck as teenagers. What Rashel was looking at could have been the cast for some new TV soap about friends. Seven teenage guys, different sizes, different colors, but all Hollywood handsome, and all dressed to kill. They could have been talking and laughing about a fishing trip or a school dance†¦ except for their eyes. That was what gave them away, Rashel thought. The eyes showed a depth no high school guy could ever have. An experience, an intelligence†¦ and a coldness. Some of these teenagers were undoubtedly hundreds of years old, maybe thousands. All of them were absolutely deadly. Or else they wouldn't be here. They each expected to kill three innocent girls starting at midnight. These thoughts flashed through Rashel's mind in a matter of seconds. She had already decided on the best way to plunge into the room and start the attack. But one thing kept her from doing it. There were only seven vampires. And the eighth was the one she wanted. The client. The one who'd hired Quinn and set up the feast. Maybe it was one of these. Maybe that tall one with the dark skin and the look of authority. Or the silvery blond with the odd smile†¦. No. Nobody really looks like a host. I think it's the one who's still missing. But maybe she couldn't afford to wait. They might hear the powerboats leaving over the steady pounding of the music. Maybe she should just†¦ Something grabbed her from behind. This time she had no warning. And she wasn't surprised anymore. Her opinion of herself as a warrior had plummeted. She intended to fight, though. She went limp to loosen the grip, then reached between her own legs to grab her attacker's ankle. A jerk up would throw him off balance†¦. Don't do it. I don't want to have to stun you, but I will. Quinn. She recognized the mental voice, and the hand clamped across her mouth. And both the telepathy and the skin contact were having an effect on her. It wasn't like before; no lightning bolts, no explosions. But she was overwhelmed with a sense of Quinn. She seemed to feel his mind-and the feeling was one of drowning in dark chaos. A storm that seemed just as likely to kill Quinn as anyone else. He lifted her cleanly and backed out of the room with her, into the hall, then up a flight of stairs. Rashel didn't fight. She tried to clear her head and wait for an opportunity. By the time he'd pulled her into an upstairs room and shut the door, she realized that there wasn't going to be an opportunity. He was just too strong, and he could stun her telepathically the instant she moved to get away. The tables had turned. There was nothing to do now but hope that she could face death as calmly as he had. At least, she thought, it would put a stop to her confusion. He let go of her and she slowly turned to look at him. What she saw sent chills between her shoulder blades. His eyes were as dark and chaotic as the clouds she'd sensed in his mind. It was scarier than the cold hunger she'd seen in the eyes of the seven guys downstairs. Then he smiled. A smile that shed rainbows. Rashel pressed her back against the wall and tried to brace herself. â€Å"Give me the knife.† She simply looked at him. He pulled it out of her waistband and tossed it on the bed. â€Å"I don't like being knocked out,† he said. â€Å"I don't know why, but something about it really bothers me.† â€Å"Quinn, just get it over with.† â€Å"And it took me a while to get myself untied. Every time I meet you, I seem to end up hog-tied and unconscious. It's getting monotonous.† â€Å"Quinn†¦ you're a vampire. I'm a vampire hunter. Do what you have to.† â€Å"We're also always threatening each other. Have you noticed that? Of course, everything we keep saying is true. It is kill or be killed. And you've killed a lot of my people, Rashel the Cat.† â€Å"And you've killed a lot of mine, John Quinn.† He glanced away, looking into a middle distance. His pupils were enormous. â€Å"Less than you might think, actually. I don't usually kill to feed. But, yes, I've done enough. I said before, I know what you think of me.† Rashel said nothing. She was frightened and confused and had been under strain for quite a long time. She felt that at any moment she could snap. â€Å"We belong to two different races, races that hate each other. There's no way to get around that.† He turned his dark eyes back on her and gave her a brilliant smile. â€Å"Unless, of course, we change it.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"I'm going to make you a vampire.† Something inside Rashel seemed to give way and fall. She felt as if her legs might collapse. He couldn't mean it, he couldn't be serious. But he was. She could tell. There was a kind of surface serenity pasted over the dark roiling clouds in his eyes. So this was how he'd solved an unsolvable problem. He had snapped. Rashel whispered, â€Å"You know you can't do that.† â€Å"I know I can do that. It's very simple, actually- all we have to do is exchange blood. And it's the only way.† He took hold of her arms just above the elbow. â€Å"Don't you understand? As long as you're human, Night World law says you have to die if I love you.† Rashel stood stricken. Quinn had stopped short, as if he were startled himself by what he'd said. Then he gave an odd laugh and shook his head. â€Å"If I love you,† he repeated. â€Å"And that's the problem, of course. I do love you.† Rashel leaned against the wall for support. She couldn't think anymore. She couldn't even breathe properly. And somewhere deep inside her there was a trembling that wouldn't stop. â€Å"I've loved you from that first night, Rashel the Cat. I didn't want to admit it, but it was true.† He was still gripping her tightly by the arms, leaning close to her, but his eyes were distant, lost in the past. â€Å"I'd never met a human like you,† he said softly, as if remembering. â€Å"You were strong, you weren't weak and pathetic. You weren't looking for your own destruction. But you were going to let me go. Strength and compassion. And†¦ honor. Of course I loved you.† His dark eyes focused again. He looked at her sharply. â€Å"I'd have been crazy not to.† Falling into darkness†¦ Rashel had a terrifying desire to simply collapse in his arms. Give in. He was so strangely beautiful, and the power of his personality was overwhelming. And of course she loved him, too. That was suddenly excruciatingly clear. Undeniable. From the beginning he had struck a chord in her that no one else had ever touched. He was so much like her-a hunter, a fighter. But he had honor, too. However he might try to deny it or get around it, deep inside him there was still honor. And like her, he knew the dark side of life, the pain, the violence. They had both seen-and done-things that normal people wouldn't understand. She was supposed to hate him†¦ but from the beginning she'd seen herself in him. She had felt the bond, the connection between them†¦. Rashel shook her head. â€Å"No!† She had to stop thinking these things. She would not surrender to the darkness. â€Å"You can't stop me, you know,† Quinn said softly. â€Å"That ought to make things easier for you. You don't even have to make a decision. It's all my fault. I'm very, very bad, and I'm going to make you a vampire.† Somehow that gave Rashel her voice back. â€Å"How can you do that-to someone you love?† she spat. â€Å"Because I don't want you dead! Because as long as you're human, you're going to get yourself killed!† He put his face close to hers, their foreheads almost touching. â€Å"I will not let you kill yourself,† he said through his teeth. â€Å"If you make me a vampire, I will kill myself,† Rashel said. Her mind had cleared. However much she wanted to give in, however enticing the darkness might be, it all disappeared when she thought of how it would end. She would be a vampire. She'd be driven by bloodlust to do things that would horrify her right now. And she'd undoubtedly find excuses for doing them. She would become a monster. Quinn was looking shaken. She'd scared him, she could see it in his eyes. â€Å"You'll feel differently once it's done,† he said. â€Å"No. Listen to me, Quinn.† She kept her eyes on his, looking deep, trying to let him see the truth of what she was saying. â€Å"If you make me a vampire, the moment I wake up I'll stab myself with my own knife. Do you think I'm not brave enough?† â€Å"You're too brave; that's your problem.† He was faltering. The surface serenity was breaking up. But that wasn't really helpful, Rashel realized, because underneath it was an agony of desperate confusion. Quinn really couldn't see any other solution. Rashel couldn't see any herself-except that she didn't really expect to survive tonight. Quinn's face hardened, and she could see him pushing away doubts. â€Å"You'll get used to it,† he said harshly, his voice grating. â€Å"You'll see. Let's start now,† he added. And then he bit her. He was so fast. Unbelievably fast. He caught her jaw and tilted her head back and to the side-not roughly but with an irresistible control and precision. Then before Rashel had time to scream, she felt a hot sting. She felt teeth, vampire teeth, extended to an impossible delicacy and sharpness, pierce her flesh. This is it. This is death. Panic flooded her. But it wasn't death, of course-not yet. She wouldn't even be changed into a vampire by a single exchange of blood. No, instead it would be slow torture†¦ days of agony†¦ pain†¦. She kept waiting for the pain. Instead she felt a strange warmth and languor. Was he actually drinking her blood? All she could sense was Quinn's mouth nuzzling at her neck, his arms around her tightly. And†¦ His mind. It happened all at once. In a sudden silent explosion, white light engulfed her. It burst around her. She was floating in it. Quinn was floating in it. It was shining around them and through them, and she could feel a connection with Quinn that made their last connection seem like a faulty telephone line. She knew him. She could see him, his soul, whatever you wanted to call it, whatever it was that made him John Quinn. They seemed to be floating together in some other space, in a naked white light that revealed everything and mercilessly lit up all the most secret places. And if anyone had asked her, Rashel would have said that would be horrible, and she would have run for her life to get away from it. But it wasn't horrible. She could see dreadful dark bits in Quinn's mind, and dreadful dark bits in hers. Tangled, thorny, scary parts, full of anger and hate. But there were so many other parts-some of them almost unused-that were beautiful and strong and whole. There was so much potential. Rainbow places that were aching to grow. Other parts that seemed to quiver with light, desperate to be awakened. We ask so little of ourselves, Rashel thought in wonder. If everybody's like this-we stunt ourselves so badly. We could be so much more†¦. I don't want you to be more. You ‘re amazing enough the way you are. It was Quinn. Not even his voice, just-Quinn. His thoughts. And Rashel knew her thoughts flowed to him without her even making an effort. You know what I mean. Isn't this strange? Does this always happen with vampires? Nothing like this has ever happened to me in my life, Quinn said. What he felt was even more, and Rashel could sense it directly, in a dizzying sweet wave. There was an understanding between them that ran deeper than any words could convey. Whatever was happening to them, however they had gotten to this place, one thing was obvious. Under the white light that revealed their inner selves, it was clear that small differences like being vampire or human didn't matter. They were both just people. John Quinn and Rashel Jordan. People who were stumbling through life trying to deal with the hurt. Because there was hurt. There was pain in the landscape of Quinn's mind. Rashel sensed it without words or even images; she could feel the feelings that had scarred Quinn. Your father did something-he killed Dove? Oh, John. Oh, John, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Rainbow lights shimmered when she called him John. It was the part of him that he had repressed the most ruthlessly. The part that she could almost feel growing in her presence. No wonder you hated humans. After everything you'd ken through, to have your own father want you dead†¦ And no wonder you hated vampires. They killed someone dose to you-your mother? And you were so young. I'm†¦ sorry. He wasn't as easy with words as she was, but here they didn't need words. She could sense his sorrow, his shame, and his fierce protectiveness. And she could sense the emotion behind his next question. Who did it? I don't know. I'll probably never know. Rashel didn't want to pursue it. She didn't want to feed the dark side of Quinn; she wanted to see more of the shimmering light. She wanted to make the light grow until the dark disappeared. Rashel, that may not be possible. Quinn's thought wasn't bitter; it was serious and gentle. Tinged with infinite regret. I may not be able to become anything better- Of course you can. We all can. Rashel cut him off with absolute determination. She could feel the bone-deep cold that had set into him years ago, that he'd allowed to set in. I won't let you be cold, she told him, and she went for a romp in his mind, kissing things and blowing warmth into them, thinking sunlight and comfort everywhere. Please stop; I think you're killing me. Quinn's thought was shaky-half serious and half hysterical, like the helpless gasp of somebody being tickled to death. Rashel's whole being was singing with elation. She was young-how strange that she had never really felt young until now-and she was in love and stronger than she had ever been before. She had John Quinn the vampire squirming and semi-hysterical. She was unstoppable. Anything was possible. I'll make everything be right, she told Quinn, and she was happy to see that she'd driven his doubt and his sadness away, at least for the moment. Do you really want me to stop? No. Quinn sounded dazed now-and bemused. I've decided I'll enjoy dying this way. But†¦ Rashel couldn't follow the rest of his thought, but she felt a new coldness, something like a wind from outside. Outside. She'd forgotten there was an outside. In here, in the private cocoon of their minds, there was nothing but her and Quinn. It was almost as if nothing else existed. But†¦ There was a whole world out there. Other people. Things happening. Things Rashel had to stop†¦. â€Å"Oh, God, Quinn-the vampires.†