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Author's Note: I'm BACKKKKK....I bet you thought I fell into a hole or something, right? Ok so it wasn't a hole per se but it was definitely something like that. I kind of wrote this chapter to a stand still. I got 90% done and stalled. I just couldn't figure out where to take the damn thing. Then I decided to give myself a deadline. I sat down this morning and decided I was going to pump out the last scene and finish this no matter what. Thankfully I succeeded. I'd like to thank djkauf for the expect editing and all of you for your patience :)

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3.

I flinched as soon as the two of us walked out of the house. The midmorning sun beat down on my face, tingling my skin. For a split second, I thought I was going to burst into flames like in the movies. I knew that to not be the case though. If I was going to burst into flames, I would have done so yesterday when I was out and about. Regardless, it was still a bit disconcerting. Only a few weeks a vampire, only a couple of days myself and I was already burdened with worries. It didn’t help that Lucy noticed me flinch. She didn’t say anything of course but she gave me a strange look.

“This your first time out in the sun?” she asked, standing a few feet away.

I shook my head. “It’s strange. I’ve been in the sun hundreds of times and yet…”

She nodded. “For weeks after my Change I thought I was going to crisp right up. It takes time but you’ll get used to it.”

“How much?”

“Well I’ve been here since 1983 and I still only try to spend a few minutes in the sun when I can.”

1983? I looked closer at her, marveling at her beauty. She looked pretty good for someone who was almost 50.

“How do the people not notice?”

“Not notice what?”

“You guys” I said, hoping that was enough of an explanation.

She smiled. “It’s not really all that difficult. We try not to be noticeable. Sure, there might be a few heads turned, some people who recognize us but it’s not really all that hard. We make it a rule not to get involved with the Norms. If they don’t grow too attached then they don’t remember us. It’s easier to blend in that way.”

“And that works?”

“There have been a few problems,” she said in a soft tone, looking toward the school.

The way she looked and spoke made me think she had some experience with it. I could only imagine what it must have been like for her and the others. She had only been a vampire for what, maybe thirty years. I knew there had to be older girls here. It must be hard not being able to truly interact with people. Sure, we had our sisters---our eternal family---but not being able to get close to others, it must have been hell.
“That’s kind of horrible.”

She shrugged. “You get used to it.” Her voice was still soft though, there was clearly sorrow there. It didn’t last long though.

A moment later, she was back to her perky self.

“Enough of that though” she said cheerfully. “We’re on a mission, remember.”

How could I forget?

Without saying another world, Lucy led the way. I couldn’t help but realize that Degna might have been wrong about them after all. Sure I got a bit of a cold shoulder from a couple of them but overall, my Sisters didn’t seem like the monsters she made them out to be. Sure, they were a bit eccentric but there was nothing overly evil about them. Besides the fact that they were bloodsucking vampires. If that made them evil then what was I? Looking at Lucy as she bounced down the sidewalk, I tried to see the supposed monster she was hiding within. All I saw was a girl who had problems, problems that extended well beyond the fact that she was a vampire. It was clear she a broken person and that this flighty exterior of hers was to mask something else---something damaged inside of her.

After a block or two of walking, we left the college behind us. I found it kind of strange how easily it blended itself in with the rest of the town. Sure, I’d done some exploring when I first got here back in September and it still blew my mind. At first it looked as if the town was built around the college, after all the administration building was old man Ravencrest’s house. However now that I looked at things, I realized it was just the house. That though the college was central in the town, it seemed the entire town was centered around the house. That was strange too, because as houses go, it wasn’t the biggest and it definitely didn’t stand out like the others.

It was just there.

I tried not to think about it too much as we made our way onto Main Street. I found myself walking a familiar path again. It was hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago, I’d been human walking down this street. I’d been a guy too. That life though seemed years ago, another lifetime almost. I’m not saying I’d forgotten it but it didn’t seem like it was nearly as important now. Sure, if I could go back in time---stop myself from going to that house----I’d do it in a heartbeat. But something like that wasn’t possible so I was going to have to live my new life, as it was preordained for me. This was it now and though I dreaded it greatly, there was nothing I could do to change things.

Lucy stopped walking as we passed by a bar. She bit her lip, lingering. “Ummm, are you hungry?”

I shook my head. Just thinking about blood now made me queasy. Besides there was that whole blood makes Katie stronger thing to worry about. If I could get away with it, I’d never touch the damn stuff again.

“I just ate,” I added, hoping it would keep her from asking.

Lucy fidgeted. “You don’t mind if I stop in there for a quick bite do you?”

“What about the library?”

She turned and pointed. “Continue down this road and take a right at the corner. Big stone building, you can’t miss it.”

“Sure no prob.”

She smiled then made her way toward the bar, leaving me alone on the street. I watched her disappear inside, before starting toward where she pointed. I didn’t get very far though when I noticed something a little strange. I caught sight of a girl sitting on a bench, looking a bit out of it. Curiosity got the better of me and I wandered over. When I got closer, I could see she was clearly stressed. That wasn’t the strangest thing though. The strangest thing was that she appeared to be dressed like a hippy. She was a tie dye t-shirt and bellbottoms. Her long blonde hair hung limply around her face. She looked overly pale too; her eyes had this hollow, vacant look.

When I approached, I dropped onto the bench next to her.

“You do know that Halloween was a couple of weeks ago right?”

As soon as I spoke, the girl’s head quickly snapped around to me. I saw the look; it was the look of someone who had not spoken to anyone in a long time. It was more than that though; I saw it the split second before she opened her mouth. There was a transparency to her skin, a slight shine that I didn’t notice from the distance but was very apparent now.

“You can see me?”

Shit.

Another one.

“Ummm, hi” I said, cursing myself under my breath.

The girl broke into a huge smile. “Oh thank god. I’ve been trying to get the attention of people for days now but no one seems to notice me. You’re the first one. You have no idea how hard that’s been.”

A couple of days?

The girl started to cry but there were no tears rolling down her cheeks. I wanted to reach out to comfort her but didn’t want to look like an idiot doing so. It was clear she didn’t know she was dead. It was also clear that she didn’t notice the fact that her wrists were clearly slit. I didn’t notice it myself until she moved her hands. The marks were as clear as day though. This girl had killed herself and now her spirit was left lingering. My family had never been overly religious but I still believed in God, Heaven, Hell, all that jazz. Seeing this girl sitting here next to me and talking to Degna yesterday, made me completely rethink the whole idea. If there were ghosts wandering about, did that mean there was no Heaven? I shook my head. That was too insane and definitely something I didn’t want to debate on a park bench next to a crying dead girl.

“So you said you’ve been here a few days?”

She stopped crying. Her lip curled into a cruel sneer. “You think I’m lying,” she snapped, her body taking on a more intense shine. “You think I’d make up something like that!”

I raised my hands up defensively, trying to show her I mean no harm. “Of course not. It’s just that you look like you’re from the seventies that’s all.”

Her anger seemed to subside. “Of course I am. It’s 1973.”

She gave me the strangest look. I sighed. This girl really didn’t know she was dead. Damn it, what the hell was I supposed to do now. It wasn’t like there was some kind of manual for this kind of thing. The best thing I had to go on was The Sixth Sense and I didn’t even like that movie all that much. It bothered me that all those stupid moviegoers didn’t realize Bruce Willis was dead. It was so damn apparent right from the get go. From that moment on, the movie made the perfect sense to me. Now I was living it. I was the creepy vampire girl who could just so happen to see Dead People. Yay me.

“Of course it is,” I said, not wanting to make her mad again. “I’ve been a little out of it lately.” She smiled and I continued talking. “So why do you think people can’t see you?”

She shrugged. “I think they’re ignoring me because of what I did.”

“And what did you do?”

She looked really confused. I looked at her wrists. It was clear that she was talking about her wrists but for some reason she didn’t realize it. I could feel her pain. Ok, so not physically feel it but I knew what she felt. I wanted to reach out and give her a big hug, instead I felt extremely awkward just sitting here talking to her.

The girl started to fidget before getting to her feet quickly. “I gotta go.”

“Wait? What?”

She got up without saying another word and began to wander off down the street. Shit. I jumped up and began to follow. She was a lot faster than I thought. Then again, it was almost as if she were gliding. I quickly got in front of her though, holding out my hand.
“Wait up a second” I said and she stopped.

Her face lit up.

“You can see me?”

Huh? I’d just been talking to her?

This time though she didn’t wait to say anything else. Instead, she just continued walking, passing through me as she did. As soon as her body connected with mine, I was a seized by an overwhelming sense of cold and dread. I got a series of flashes, all too quick and insane to make much sense of. The clearest one was at the end, showing the girl in a room crying as she took a razor blade to her wrists. I felt an intense pain in my own wrists, grasping them slightly. Then all of it was gone, passed away just as quickly as it came. My wrists were still slightly sore though. I looked at them to make sure there were no slashes there, then sighed when they looked normal. Well, as normal as they could look.

I stood there for a few moments afterwards though. I’m not sure what the hell just happened but it was clear that Degna was not the only lost spirit wandering the streets of the city. I sighed heavily and made a quick mental note not to talk to anyone who looked like a reject from an era long gone. With that silent promise, I quickly moved down the road toward the library.

I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the public library. What I wasn’t expecting was how normal it looked. I’m not sure why that surprised me so much, after all this town was supposed to be normal. The monsters and things that went bump in the night were supposed to be just that, things of the night. Creatures that lived in the shadows were the normal people couldn’t see them. At least that’s what Degna told me. She didn’t talk much about how the town worked but she gave me the basics---Unseen, Norms---that kind of thing. It was a little hard to swallow to say the least. Even now---knowing what I was---I still had a hard time grasping it.

That was the least of my problems now, though.

I took a deep breath and walked into the large room. The library was fairly open. There were stone pillars lining the large foyer, leading from the entrance to a large circular reception area. I headed toward it, finding only one person present. The old woman sitting there gave me a cold look as I approached. There was something about it---the way her eyes barely followed me---that kind of creeped me out. It didn’t help that they had this glassy look to me as if she was dazed.

“Hi” I said, remembering to be polite. “I was wondering if you could help me.”

I looked at the counter, saw her nameplate there: Mrs. Irene Beck.

“I can try dear,” she said, her tone betrayed her manner. She was pleasant and cheery except her dead eyes continued to stare. “What is you’re looking for exactly?”

I didn’t skip a beat. “I’m doing a paper for my abnormal psych class on vampires. The school library has crap on them, I was wondering if you had a bit more.”

Just like I practiced on the way over. Nice and simple.

She smiled thinly. “You’re not looking for those Twilight books are you? We don’t have those at the moment. Some over eager girl your age checked them out a month ago and hasn’t bothered to return them.”

I shook my head. “God no. I’m looking for real books, not crap.”

She smiled again. “I think we might have one or two.”

She turned to the PC on her left. I couldn’t help but watch as she typed. Her age made it almost impossible for her to type like she did. It was kind of surprising. A moment later, I heard the printer whirring to life behind her. She spun in her chair, not missing a beat as she slid over to retrieve the sheet that came out of it. Returning just as quick, she handed it to me.

“That was fast.”

“It’s a strange town. Believe it or not, you’re not the first young lady that’s asked for this list.”

I took the paper from her, thanking her as I did so. I looked at it quickly, finding about six books. Thankfully, they were all in one section. I’m not sure how good any of them might be but I was hoping one of them was going to be legit. After all, if Wisteria and her brood had been here for over a hundred years I was pretty certain one of them must have written about it. Hopefully one of those books was on this list. I quickly scanned the list again, looking for names that might pop out to me. There were only two female authors, neither of them sounded that familiar to me though.

Maybe they’re aliases.

I wandered away from the reception area, toward a dark corner that looked fairly promising. The light there was dim, provided by an ancient looking fixture on the wall. Most of it was contained in the corner as well as in part by the tall bookshelves on either side of it. I checked the numbers on the shelves, sadly it wasn’t my destination. Moving on, I went from section to section. I couldn’t help but glance at the statues lining the walls. They were cut off by book shelves, each one as strange as the next. Where did the library get the money to afford such lavish decorations? First, there was the pair of griffins outside and now there was all these ones on the inside. Not to mention the really nice marble floors and all those columns. Whoever built this place it must have cost him a fortune.

“You looking for books?” asked a tiny voice, drawing me from my thoughts.

I looked around, not seeing anyone until it occurred to me to look down. I found myself staring at the cutest blonde girl I’d ever seen. She had bright yellow hair pulled to side in a braid and was wearing a pink dress. She couldn’t have been more than five or six. Her blue doe eyes stared up at me in awe.

“Are you lost?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I live here.”

“You live here?”

She nodded. “Grammy is here.” I looked where the girl quickly pointed, seeing it was toward Mrs. Beck.

So this was her granddaughter. It was kind of sweet of the old lady to bring the girl to work with her.

“So what’s your name?”

“Chloe” she said happily.

“Hi there Chloe” I said, sticking out my hand. “I’m Kylie.”

The little girl reached out to shake my hand but stopped before she reached it. I caught sight of a pretty ring on her finger. It was silver with a pink jewel, matching the pink dress she wore. I’m guessing she thought she was a princess. Before she could shake my hand though, she squealed with glee and ran off toward the reception area. I couldn’t help but look. There were two girls there now. One was short and mousy, kind of cute in her own way. The other was tall and awkward. She was very pretty but for some reason she didn’t have the confidence to show it.

“Maggie” Chloe said happily, barely loud enough for me to hear.

She then latched herself to the girl’s legs.

I heard her say, “Did you come to play with me?” before I decided not to eavesdrop any longer.

I went back to my search, moving this way and that. It wasn’t going so well though. I’m not sure where these books were, but they better be something when I finally got there. As I was passing another section, I saw the two girls approach a table with some guys. They all looked to be high school age except a younger boy in a wheelchair. He had a sour disposition, especially when looking at the awkward girl. I only caught a snippet of their conversation as I passed by.

“Hey guys,” said the mousy girl. “Sorry we’re late.”

“It’s about time” said wheelchair boy.

The dark haired kid made a snide comment before the other boy said something that I wasn’t really expecting.

“Dude Charlie, you said Kelly was a boy.”

A boy seriously? If she was a boy, I was Santa Claus. I moved on quickly after that. I didn’t want them to see the freaky goth chick spying on them. I turned the corner and found myself looking at more bookshelves. I let out a low groan. How many damn books were in this place anyway? Sure, it was a library but it was already twice as big as the one back home. Sighing heavily, I continued my search. I found what I was looking for---finally---about ten minutes later. I was glad that vampires didn’t get exhausted because I definitely would have before. As soon as I found the right section, it didn’t take me long to get the books I was looking for. I pulled them all quickly, one after the other. I stacked them in my arms and made sure no one was watching as I quickly found myself a secluded table. I made sure it was in another dimly lit corner. There were actually quite a few of those. I dropped them on the little table there with a loud thud, a cloud of dust followed.

Not too clean, this place.

I dropped into the seat and grabbed the first book. After only reading a few pages though, I had to stop. It was rather dry, read more like a textbook than anything else. I knew it was the book I was probably looking for but I set it aside anyway. I would be bored to death later. The next book was just as dry but it didn’t have anything I wanted. It was more about the myth of the vampire. The third book was pretty much the same. The fourth book was sadly about vampire movies. The fifth was actually a romance novel. Why in the hell did she give me that one anyway? The sixth book was a lot like the first but unlike the first; it was refreshing to say the least. I flipped to the cover; it was one of the ones written by a woman. I couldn’t help but think that there was definitely something worth reading in here.

I found myself lost in the words. I read for a good while. About a hundred pages in, I stopped to stretch. I didn’t really need to but it was a force of habit that I was pretty certain I was never going to break. Besides, I could turn it into something useful. I grabbed the four reject books and decided to return them back to the shelf. I was lost in a daze as I slowly walked back to where I got them. I was putting the third book back when she snuck up behind him.

“Hey” said a familiar voice, almost causing me to drop what I had in my hands.

I snapped around, ready to pounce and found Scarlet standing there. She was beaming at the sight of me. I felt myself beam a bit too. Hey, she was cute.

“Hey yourself” I said, putting the last two books back.

“You playing hooky again?”

Hooky again. It was Saturday. I looked at her and realized she had to be kidding. The way she was smiling told me she was definitely flirting. I decided to play along.

I laughed. “Guilty as charged.”

“My mother would so totally kill me if she found out I even attempted to do something like that?”

“You don’t skip class then?”

She shook her head. “Of course I do. I said if she found out.”

We both laughed. I know I’d only met her yesterday but was it possible to meet your soul mate after only two meetings. There was just something about her that made me want to tear her clothes off. I’m sure only half of that was hormones talking too.

“So you like to spend your days off snooping about the library?” she asked, pulling a book from the shelf, one of them I put back. “And its vampires huh?”

“A bit of a hobby” I said then quickly added. “You’re one to talk.

You’re in the library too.”

She held up her hands. “On business only”.

She reached into the pack slung on her shoulder and pulled out a sheet of neon paper. It was bright green and seemed to scream, “Look at me”. She handed me the sheet. It was a flyer for her band the Poison Tongues, the same one she handed me yesterday.

“You’re hanging these in the library?”

“Advertisement, baby” she said.

Hearing her call me baby sounded kind of nice.

“You’re coming tomorrow right?”

Tomorrow? Oh right, she was playing.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

She smiled big. “Excellent. I’ll make sure I have a table for you up front.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Of course I do, that’s where the VIPs sit.”

VIP huh? Scarlet moved fast, faster than fast. I guess I couldn’t blame her. It was kind of refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted. It was just a shame I couldn’t have met her a few months ago as Kyle. Sure, I saw a chance now but I’m not if I could control myself around her. She was a Norm after all and yesterday being close to her drove me nuts with hunger. Hell, it was the same reason I was avoiding Steve. I just couldn’t trust myself around humans.

Scarlet took a quick look around, making sure we were truly alone. “You wanna go someplace a little more secluded?”

Oh, God did I ever but I sighed.

“I can’t, I’m supposed to meet a friend at noon.”

She huffed. “I’m jealous of the bitch already.”

“How do you know it’s a girl?”

“Is it?”

“Yes” I said, laughing.

“See, totally jealous” she said, running her fingers gently through my hair.

Boy this girl didn’t waste any time did she. Then again, it didn’t help that I was definitely giving her all the right signals. I’m not sure what it was that came over me. I’d never been this forward before with anyone. With her though, I wanted to jump her so bad. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the vampire in me.

“Sure it is princess,” said a snide voice.

Shit.

“You’re doing this?”

“She’s so yummy looking; I could just eat her up.”

“Stay the fuck out of this.”

Katie scoffed but she stopped talking.

“You ok?”

I sighed but nodded. “Just zoning”

“Definitely bizarre” she said with laugh. She looked at her watch and cursed. “Shit, I’m supposed to meet my mother for lunch. Too bad you’re busy; she’d absolutely flip if I brought you with me, especially wearing those pants.”

She gave my butt a little pat before saying good-bye and disappearing. I watched her go. She put a little sway in her hips, making sure I got a nice long look at her legs as she did so. Damn that girl was going to be a problem for me. I watched her until she disappeared then returned back to my table. I scooped up the remaining books and took them with me to the counter. I didn’t have a bag with me but Mrs. Beck was nice enough to lend me one that the library had on hand for such an occasion. Chloe was there so she took it and handed it to me. I thanked them both as I took the bag from her, making sure I didn’t touch her.

No more freaky flash things for me today thank you very much.

“Can you come back and play again?” asked Chloe.

“Sure sweetie” I said, giving her a big smile before I turned and walked slowly toward the door.

Degna was standing where we agreed to meet yesterday. It was strange really because looking at her, standing there it was hard to imagine that she wasn’t a real girl. Well she was real but she wasn’t alive. Ok, so technically she wasn’t really alive before being a vampire but now she not only wasn’t alive but she was invisible to everyone else too. Talk about getting screwed out of two lives. I tried not to think about it as I smiled and started to wave. I stopped myself halfway though, just in case someone saw me waving to nothing and thought I was crazy.

I put a little bounce in my step as I approached. My wonderful encounter with Scarlet still dancing about in my head.

“You’re glowing,” said Degna with a sly smile.

Shit. I thought that was only in those stupid movies.

“I thought you said we didn’t sparkle?”

She laughed. “It’s a figure of speech.”

Oh, that kind of glowing.

I smiled. “Just had a happy encounter with a friend that’s all.”

“Oh? Anyone I know.”

I shook my head. There was no way I was going to sit here and discuss Scarlet with her. I’m not even sure what she was to me. Sure, there was potential for something more and it was clear Scarlet was interested but I was a bit confused by the whole thing. Besides, I didn’t want to bring it up with Degna. She was cool and she’d definitely understand but it felt kind of awkward too. Only a little while ago, I’d been crushing on her and talking about another girl just felt too weird for me.

So instead, I made a gesture toward a bench where the two of us sat. I made sure to put my bag at my feet, trying to keep it from tipping over. The last thing I needed was the library books to get covered in crap and then be held responsible for it. Degna’s eyes drifted to the bag for a split second before they went right back to me.

“School books?”

“No just some light reading.”

She smiled. “So how did things go?”

Things? What things? Then it occurred to me that she was referring to our talk. Specifically she wanted to know if I was going to help them. In truth, I hadn’t really thought about it. Sure I’d met Wisteria’s girls, well most of them anyway. It was strange though. I just couldn’t see the evil witches that Degna seemed to make them out to be. Sure they were a little cold and a tad bit strange but there was nothing vile about them. Charlotte and Lucy were the nicest people ever. I was certain the other girls could be too---given the chance of course.

“They’re all right,” I said, trying not to sound too excited about any of it.

“All right?”

I shrugged. “I’ve only briefly met them. They seem decent enough. At least none of them tried to stake me or something.”

Shit, that totally came out the wrong way. I quickly looked at Degna’s face, wondering if there was going to be a reaction. What better way to let someone know they’re dead then by stupidly mentioning their second death. Maybe if I was lucky someone would stake me and put me out of my misery. Instead of anger, Degna’s face remained impassive. It was almost as if my comment had no effect on her whatsoever.

“Sorry” I said softly.

“It’s ok. You’re right too; none of them would go out of their way to attack you. You’re one of them and you’re supposed to be Sisters. They’re dangerous though. Anything that comes from that witch is dangerous.”

Now I was offended. “I came from that witch, am I dangerous?”

This time it looked as if she had put her foot in it. “I didn’t mean that.”

“You meant something or else you wouldn’t have said it.”

Degna sighed. “They have a way of getting to you that’s all. You can’t trust them.”

I think that was the rivalry talking more than anything. I’m not sure what Carmilla’s beef with Wisteria was but whatever it was it was affecting both our sides. Degna clearly had a problem with Wisteria and for good reason but so far I have yet to see the evil that she spoke of. I’m not a big fan of Wisteria of course but I wasn’t ready to burn her at the stake. I wasn’t quite ready to condemn her either. Did I want to help Carmilla, sure? Did I trust Carmilla, hell no. I didn’t trust any of them actually. Well maybe Degna but she was the only one who truly stuck her neck out for me and look where that got her. If this situation had taught me anything, it was to trust myself and make my own decisions. So far those decisions were keeping me neutral in this stupid turf war.

“I’m sorry I just don’t see it.”

Degna looked a little sad. “Don’t worry, give it some time. You will.”

I needed to change the subject. If we continued down this road, one of us might say something we both regretted.

“So can you see other ghosts?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t know what to look for if I could.” She paused for a moment. “Wait, have you seen other ghosts?”

I bit my lip and nodded. “Earlier. I ran into one when I was leaving the house. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at first until I started to talk to her. I think I freaked her out because after a few seconds of talking she kind of went nuts. Then strangely it was like the two of us never spoke.”

I saw a look on her face that I’d never seen before: fear. She was quiet for a few moments and when she spoke again it was in a soft voice, barely above a whisper.

“You think that will happen to me?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure but I’ll do everything I can to make sure you never forget.”

She smiled weakly at that.

I made to reach for her hand in a comforting gesture but stopped when I realized I couldn’t do so. Damn this whole thing sucked.

“So what do we do now?”

She shook her head. “I have no clue. I was hoping you changed your mind but seeing as that’s not the case, I’m not sure what to tell you. You know how I feel. I guess the only thing we can do is wait. Heck, I’ve got nowhere else to go at the moment.”

I could hear the pain in her voice, see it on her face. I let her down.

“I’ll try,” I said quietly. “I know it’s not much but I promise I’ll try to figure this out. If Carmilla wants me to poke around I guess there’s no harm in that.” Degna’s face lit up a bit. “I’m not promising anything more than that though. There’s still a whole bunch of stuff I’m trying to figure out, including my own powers.”

“Powers? As in plural?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I mean it’s not rare for us to have two is it?”

“Ummm yeah” she said, giving me a quick once over. “I mean it’s kind of unheard of. You sure there’s two?”

“I think so.”

I quickly told her about the strange images I saw when I touched people. Then there was the whole seeing ghosts thing. That was two powers right? At least I was pretty sure it was. It was kind of freaking me out now though, knowing that vampires could only have one power.

“Wow that’s a total mind blower” Degna looked shocked but recovered quickly. “You want me to take a look inside your head, maybe figure it out?”

I shook my head quickly. As fun as something like that sounded---not---I didn’t want anyone else in my head. It was bad enough that I had Katie in there.
“I think I’ll pass for now, thanks though.”

“Ok but you can’t tell anyone about this,” she said quickly. “Not Charlotte, not Carmilla and definitely not Wisteria.”

“Why not?”

“It makes no sense that’s all. There’s something going, something about you that doesn’t feel right.” She got off the bench. “Let me see if I can’t find something out.”

“How?”

“Hello Ghost girl” she said, waving her hand in front of her body. “I can go places you can’t. Maybe there’s something in the Archives.”

“Archives?”

“You let me worry about that. You worry about trying to blend in. You need to see these girls for who they really are and to do that you still need to pretend to be Katie.”

That’s what I was afraid of. I nodded my head slowly.

Degna and I decided to split up, cover more ground or whatever. She had a mission now apparently and so did I. I made a move to hug her but realized how futile that was. Instead I gave her a quick smile and agreed to meet her here again in a day or so. We didn’t really set a specific time because she had things to do as well. She did promise to contact me if she found something important though. I made sure to walk away as if it was natural to do. I kept my eyes forward and my mind focused on other things. The last thing I needed was to run into another ghost.

Thankfully, I managed to get back to the house without a problem. It was pretty quiet as I made my way up the stairs and back to my room. Charlotte was out which was a good thing because I really didn’t want any company right now. Sighing heavily I threw the bag onto the bed. It only half made it, tipping over as it landed. The books spilled out onto the floor. Cursing, I rushed over to pick them up. Instinctively I counted as I did. It was then that I noticed that I counted too high. The last book was in my hand, the foreigner that didn’t belong. It was a red leather bound tome, looked pretty old too. It definitely was not one of the books I picked up.

Where the hell did it come from then?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF