The applause was deafening as Dani and I stood to face the crowd. The duet had gone amazingly, mostly because of an awesome harmony we were able to do with our voices. Dani leaned in close to me as we bowed to the crowd.

“You did awesome, kiddo. Lemme help clean up around here, and then we can meet for our little talk,” she said, winking at me. I nodded, smiled for the crowd again, and started to walk off the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the incredible Ashley Martin!” Dani called to the crowd. I waved to the audience as their cheering increased for a moment. I turned back to Dani one last time to see her keep shooing me off the stage. Of course, she was smiling, so she didn’t mean it in a bad way.

Once I got back to the lower floor, I made my way to Max and gave him a deep kiss, intentionally interrupting his personal praise for my singing. It was fun to do that. I eventually pulled back with a smile, waiting for him to speak. He laughed slightly.

“You know, it would be awkward if you did that just before I criticized a song,” he said.

“But I know I did well up there,” I retorted.

“Feeling a bit cocky, are we?” he asked.

“I think that’s your department,” I said, winking at him.

“What?” he asked, blushing. “Well, a-anyway. You did great up there. You and Dani had this special synergy going. It was awesome.”

“I felt it too,” I agreed.

“So, what do we have planned for the rest of our night?”

“Actually, I was planning on spending some time talking with Dani after she finishes cleaning up. Just us girls. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Nah, I don’t mind. I’ve got you tomorrow, right?”

“Of course you do. Here’s a little parting gift,” I finished, pulling him in for another kiss. I loved just kissing him like this, feeling our bodies react to each other. I let out a soft sigh as we let go of each other.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to these new kisses of yours,” Max told me after catching his breath.

I just smiled at him. “Well, I think Dani should be just about done. Do you want to wait for me to come back or are you okay alone?”

“It’s already getting dark. I think I’ll stick around and take you home,” he said.

“Thanks. I forgot how late it was when we got here,” I admitted sheepishly.

Max laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Have fun with your friend. I’ll find something to busy myself.”

“Alright. Don’t get too bored!” I told him, giving him one last wave before turning around to find Dani.

If anyone tells you that it’s easy to pack all the concert gear away after a live show, even a small one, I implore you to smack the ever-loving crap out of them. They’re lying to you through teeth they don’t even deserve to have. It took me about five minutes just to pack away all the effects petals I use for my guitar and the cables that go with them. Then there was the guitar and the microphone, and their respective cables that had to be rewound neatly and stashed in their proper places. I’m just glad I chose to be a guitarist and not a drummer when I was little.

I was finished about ten minutes after I started (it ended up taking the drummer over twenty to finally get everything stowed away) and I decided to take a seat on the edge of the stage to wait for Ashley. She came walking up to me almost as soon as I sat down.

“Hey. Are you ready for that talk?” She asked as she bounced up.

“You bet. Here, follow me. Let’s talk about this in the back where we can’t be overheard.”

“Sounds good to me, lead the way.” She said. I told Joey that I needed to talk to her about a few things in private in the back room and asked that he tell the others not to bother us for a while. On the way back, I asked Suzanne to get in touch with me later about the special video she had recorded. Aside from that though, I took her right to the back, where I had a pair of folding chairs set up for us. I motioned her to take a seat and followed suit.

“So, um, where should we start?” she asked. It looked like she was at a loss for action now that she finally had me here.

“You wanted to get to know each other, right?” Ashley nodded. I leaned toward her slightly. “So, what’s your story?”

Ashley sat back in her chair. “Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. I was born in California, near San Francisco. Since we lived on the coast, my parents actively encouraged me to be near and love the water. So I did. I swam to my heart’s content while I was down there. It helped me stay close to my family, and it’s something I’ve been able to keep for all these years.

She sighed, “There are still times when I miss it all. I had good friends there, and I liked my school… even if it did have some odd rules. I got suspended for fighting someone in self-defense! And the idiot only got a slap on the wrist because he didn’t make me bleed. But, it wasn’t always like that. My friends and I would always hang out at the beach, or occasionally go into San Francisco. I was even able to tour Alcatraz once. Being in Ravencrest really reminds me of just how much there is to do in a big city like that. I’m not saying that there isn’t stuff to do here, but there’s just less.

“But enough about California. I guess it’s in the past now. We moved here on the eve of my sixteenth birthday. I was furious at the time; the decision to move came very suddenly, and it was impossible to say goodbye to all of my friends since it happened during summer vacation. I was a bit of a whiny idiot when we started the drive there, but I knew my parents. They wouldn’t do something like that without a reason. So, I waited to find out what. It didn’t take long, either.

“You see, odd things were starting to happen to me. I was feeling really thirsty, I felt more drawn to the water than usual, and it felt invigorating to actually be in it. I spent so much time in the bathtub once we got to the new house, and Mom just let me. My parents kept track of what was happening to me, but they never seemed terribly concerned about it. They just wanted me to tell them if I ever felt worse. And I did. The closer my birthday I came, the thirstier I felt and the more attached to the bathtub I became. I was even feeling physically sick when I wasn’t in water.

“I found out why on the fateful day. Mom woke me up early in the morning and took me to Lake Crowley. There, I discovered why all these things were happening to me. You see, I’m an Unseen, just like you. I’m a Nereid. I look kind of like a mermaid, but I’m more than that. Sure, I can merge my legs into a scaly tail and swim like a champion, but I can also sing a Siren song. And no, I don’t eat people. If I want, my singing can draw specific people to me, or even a group if I want. The quality of my singing is just a side effect of that. The transformation also made me a lot more beautiful, but you seem to beat me in that department without even trying. Also, I naturally smell like the sea. It’s not perfume.

“So, I learned this amazing thing about my family, and it turned out that the reason we moved was so that I could acclimate to things in a new environment. I’ve been living here ever since. I did a bit of searching in my first couple of months, to find out where I belonged in Ravencrest, especially since I was an Unseen. I was introduced to the Harpers, who eventually found out that I wasn’t human and confronted me about it. I ended up being friends with Carly and Cindy because of that. I also know a couple of witches, and I guess I can add that I know a vampire, too. Isn’t that right?”

Dani nodded, with a small smile. “Yes, you can. But if you don’t mind, however, I’d like to ask a question or three. First, when did you move in?”

“August of this year. We got here a week before my birthday, which was on the 29th.”

“Cool. Welcome to the neighborhood then. Secondly: Are Darcy and I the only ones you know?”

“Yes, why?”

“Good. Keep it like that. For the most part, dealing with us is something to avoid because we don’t normally play very well with others, but I’m being nice to you because I like you, kiddo.” I didn’t say anything to that one, mostly because it almost seemed like a threat.

“Okay then. You told me your story, so how about I tell you mine? To start with, I moved here in the later part of Ninety-Five and was converted into a vampire in June of Ninety-Six. Prior to moving here, my parents had been killed in an accident involving a drugged up commercial truck driver. After moving here, I began attending classes at RCU and double majored in acting and psychology. Everything was going smoothly, all things considered with what happened to my parents and all, when I got a letter at the end of April in Ninety-Six from my best friend’s parents. The letter said that he had enlisted in the army before I left and hadn’t told me before my parents died because he simply hadn’t gotten around to it and chose not to afterwards because he didn't want me to worry about it so soon after they had died.”

Dani stopped at that point to take a small vial of a deep red liquid out of her cleavage and pop it into her mouth. I almost gasped. Was that blood? She seemed to notice whatever face I made when she moved to put the vial back where it came from. I briefly wondered if I had enough cleavage to pull something like that off.

She just shrugged. “What? I’m a vampire, hello? We drink blood to survive. Just pretend its tomato juice and it won’t bother you as much, I promise,” She told me. “And give it a few years kiddo, they’ll get big enough, soon enough.”

“Anyway, he had apparently shipped out for basic shortly after I had left for Ravencrest and never told me. After he made it out of basic, he was immediately deployed to Liberia. Then on April Ninth, when Former President Clinton ordered the withdraw of all US persons and stuff, there was a group of militant villagers that tried to storm the base he was stationed at. He took a bullet to the back of his head trying to protect the daughter of the US ambassador to Liberia as they were getting onto the transport plane to leave the country. He died instantly,” she continued. She stopped here for a moment, a look of hurt crossing her face. She must have held her best friend in high regard. I’d be torn up too if anything happened to Leslie or Jan.

“Carmilla, my maker and the one I call my Mama, found me singing on the roof of the apartment building I was living in at the time. By the end of that week, I was turned into a vampire. It was rough at first, and I almost lost it after about a month like this. But she helped me adjust to what I am and helped me to heal the wounds, even if they only healed a little bit. That’s a debt that I’m still paying her for, but enough about sob stories.” I found myself almost ready to cry as she continued her story.

“Don’t feel too bad for me, Ash. Although it still hurts like hell, I have come to terms with what happened and why. Anywho, after a few years and some training with her on a few things, I got sent out on a mission by Mama and Wisteria, the Queen of the Delta Beta Zeta sorority, which took me through Europe and into Africa. I ended up meeting some people that taught me quite a few things on how to be useful and all that. They were former special operations forces from various nations across the world and were employed as mercenaries. Turns out they were all exiled from their home nations for some reason or another, but I’m bound by oath and by magic not to say anything more than that about them or what they taught me. I left Ravencrest on to take care of that business in Oh-Eight and got back in early 2010. Things went back to something resembling normal for almost a year, considering I’m a vampire, but they started getting interesting again by October of that same year. After that, it’s been one thing on the heels of another, either within the chapter house or things going on elsewhere here in Ravencrest. After just over a year of that, here I am talking to you and telling you about it.”

“That’s… well, I think you have me beat for the title of ‘Most Dramatic Life’,” I said with a smile.

“I don’t know, Kiddo. Looks to me like there’s something big bothering you too,” Dani said.

I grimaced. “That’s none of your business.”

“Same as last week, huh? I can respect that,” she paused and laughed a bit as I let out a big yawn, “come to think of it… isn’t this a little late for you?”

“It’s okay. I’m on break,” I told her.

“Either way, it looks like you need some sleep. Why don’t we put this on hold and let you go home?”

“I don’t… need to sleep,” I told her. Sleeping meant a chance of meeting Aka Manah again.

“Everybody needs to sleep, girl. Even me.”

I hated to agree with her, but she was right. I couldn’t avoid sleeping forever… and my earlier performance didn’t help me conserve any energy. “Okay,” I said quietly, “I’ll try to get some sleep.”

“That’s the spirit,” Dani said, patting my shoulder gently. “Anywho, you did great out there. Even did a little more with your showmanship at that. You have learned well, young grass hoppah.”

“Thanks. It was nice to get to know you a little bit.”

“Likewise. Now, why don’t you go find that boy scout you walked in with? You look like you’re about to fall asleep standing up.”

“Boy scout?” I asked, stifling another yawn.

“Your boyfriend, silly!” she said, then looked me over more carefully, “And seriously, how long has it been since you last slept?”

“Thursday,” I answered.

Dani let out a small laugh. “Okay, that really was a hell of a performance from you, considering that. Now, it’s time for you to get some sleep.”

Surprised that she didn’t try to pry into my issues again, I simply nodded at her. With one last goodbye and a promise to see each other again sometime, I left the isolated room and went to look for Max. He found me before I found him, greeting me with a small peck on the lips. I wanted more than that at the moment, but I was tired and currently crashing hard.

“You feeling okay?” he asked.

“I’m just tired,” I said, hanging on to his arm.

“Let’s get you home, then,” he said, gently pulling me along to his car. We didn’t talk much on the way home, since I seemed to be spending more time trying not to fall asleep instead of listening to what Max was saying. With a gentle kiss good night, I was led to my front door and left to go to sleep before spending the day with Max tomorrow.

“Welcome back,” the familiar voice greeted me as I entered the dark landscape of my dreams.

“You are very welcome, my dear. Sweet dreams,” he finished. I looked back up to see his image fading away, and I knew that I would wake up soon.