The Witch’s Apprentice

By Branwen Gillen

Chapter 1

Reclining in the soft, black, grass under a pale, luminous, tree that dripped stars into the night sky, I luxuriated in the feel of the ethereal winds of the underworld feathering my soul. Blood-red flowers bloomed as they turned their faces towards the hunter’s moon rising over the horizon, flooding the serene, gothic, countryside with raw lifeforce. Pale skeletons tilled fields of graves, searching for newly dead souls to escort to their afterlives. Looking down at myself, I noted the gown of misty shadows clinging to my skin, wisps billowing about my curves. The tattoo on my right wrist had grown, black snakes with red eyes entwined around most of my arm.

“Priestess Ciara,” my attendant greeted me, approaching from the base of the hill and bowing, “I am at your service.”

Looking at her pale skin glowing like the branches overhead, wearing a robe of shadows similar to mine and the stars that twinkled in her hair, I felt recognition creep into my awareness. “Niasha,” I greeted her with a smile.

Her face lit up with joy. “You remember me!”

I nodded. In the year since my transformation, I’d started having strange visions whenever I was driven to sleep by the daylight. Meredith had explained that, as vampires are already dead, we no longer dream. Instead our souls visit the underworld. Mine specifically visits the night-realm of Nyx, my divine bride. Niasha was a type of monster known as a Lampad, exceedingly rare on Earth, of the same group of species as the more common river nymphs. Where most nymphs gain their power and beauty from significant terrain features, Lampads were the nymphs of the moon and stars, embodying the beauty of the night.

“Yes, I remember,” I said, shaking off the remnants of my waking self to slowly stand, “the dream diaries are helping a lot.” Feeling the snakes on my arm squeezing me, I looked down at them and grinned, petting their heads as they stared up at me in adoration. “No, I didn’t forget about all of you,” I laughed, “it’s nice to see you too.” They flicked their tongues at me joyously.

Walking over to Niasha, we embraced, my red hair growing to curl protectively around her waist. “Looking as well as ever,” I complimented her as we descended down the hill towards Nyx’s Palace hand in hand.

The palace itself was a cluster of graceful, soaring, towers made of moonlight. As I watched, the pathways moved in kaleidoscopic patterns, spiralling in and out of existence as new doorways budded from the walls. The countryside rolled by quickly, each of our steps sliding us forward far faster than possible on Earth. I vaguely remembered something about space and speed being highly mutable to a soul’s will in places like these.

“And I feared I’d look a fright,” Niasha laughed, “keeping up with you is a pleasurable duty but you are an actively curious charge.”

“Keeping up with me?” I asked in surprised. “But I only just arrived.”

“Ah, you don’t remember that lesson,” she teased. “Vampires are liminal creatures, as in you are both dead and alive, standing in the doorway to both worlds. When you sleep, you become conscious of your soul roaming here in the underworld. But, while you wake, your soul still roams here in a trance-like state. I was given the honour of watching over your soul and shepherd it back to our goddess when she requires it. You are intensely curious about everything, it’s quite a challenge. But you should see yourself heel when I whisper her name.”

I blushed furiously. “That might explain the sudden pangs of joy I’ve been having out of nowhere.”

“Then rejoice, Nyx wants to see you while you are conscious. Though, I fear she also says we have limited time today.”

Looking to Niasha, I tried to puzzle out what she meant but before I could ask, we were ascending the stairs and crossing the threshold into the grand bedroom. All of my worries fell away as my goddess’ aura washed over me.

Nyx lay in a bed of crystalized nebulae, covered with material woven from darkness and silence. Her canopy was the night sky writ in miniature, her hair adorned with tiny galaxies. Her body was pale and without flaw, a vision of perfection that would have stolen my last breath had I still needed it. Her mere aura enthralled me, gently accepting my free will as her greatest treasure. I barely noticed Niasha kneeling, my eyes only for my divine love as I floated across the void into her embrace. Her touch was pure pleasure filling my soul as I nuzzled my cheek into her neck.

“Ciara,” she purred, her voice making me shiver, “I would stop time to share this sweet moment with your forever but that would only be delaying the inevitable. In a few moments, Lily will wake you and you will be tested. It’s going to be hard and you will need to make difficult choices but I will never abandon you. I know you will do the right thing, no matter the obstacles in your way.”

I started awake when a small hand rapped on my box. “Ciara!” Lily called, her voice muffled by the lid. “Wake up, deadhead, Meredith’s calling for you!”

Sitting up suddenly, I smacked my forehead on the inside of my laminated pinewood coffin. Cheap but effective. Blinking, I could see the afterimages of the underworld drifting in the darkness, memories clinging where they once might have fled. “I’m up!” I called out, gently pushing to open the lid, revealing Lily glaring down at me with her hands on her hips, two cat-like tails swishing nervously.

We were in Meredith’s walk-in wardrobe, about the only place we could put my coffin that wouldn’t immediately be exposed to daylight without the door closed. Several cords on hooks prevented the lid from banging on the wall as I sat up, rubbing my face. Lily was wearing a frilly crimson dress with white lace trim and her purple hair done up in a single side-ponytail. We were surrounded by hanging dresses, Meredith’s penchant for black plainly on show.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, reaching for my sunglasses. I could sense it was still daytime, like pressure beating against the walls.

“Gale’s downstairs with Livia,” Lily said quickly, “the Inquisition is suspending Meredith.”

“What?” I shouted, hastily pulling my hoodie over my head before throwing open the door. In my haste, I wasn’t completely prepared for the sudden onslaught of sunlight from the bedroom window but I was able to shield myself from the worst of it.

One of the first things I’d learned after my transformation, vampires don’t actually burn in sunlight. The relief I’d felt that I could actually see the sun if I wanted to was immediately followed by pure, hot, relentless pain. As a nocturnal predator, vampire senses were specifically adapted to the night. Bright lights were like needles stabbed directly into your eyeballs, sudden loud noises could deafen ears tuned to hear a mouse’s footfall in the attic while you’re lying in the basement. Even a small town like Bridleigh was a riot of noise and fury in the middle of the day for a vampire.

Stumbling out of the closet, seeing blue spots, Lily helped guide me downstairs where it was a little darker and quieter, with windows closed and curtains drawn. Gale was leaning at ease against the kitchen bench when we came in, sipping tea across the room from Meredith who sat staring into her own nearly empty cup. Gale was wearing her beige sheriff’s uniform, wide-brimmed hat lying on the bench near the doorway. Her belt was festooned with tactical gear, including an automatic pistol that looked like it was for shooting bears. She smelled earthy, even over the scent of drying herbs hanging from the ceiling, and unlike the rest of the room’s occupants apart from myself, she didn’t have a heartbeat. As a golem, she was basically an incredibly lifelike statue that mimicked flesh and bone, powered by elemental energies.

Livia looked distinctly uncomfortable at the end of the table away from the side-door, as far away from where I could enter the room without breaking through a wall as she could get. Even so, she startled when she saw me, her heart racing as she gulped down the need to taste my blood. “Ciara,” the scarred necromancer gasped in greeting, quickly looking away.

“Livia, Gale,” I greeted flatly. “Lily tells me Meredith’s been suspended from duty.”

Meredith silently handed me a scroll, which I rolled out to glance over.

To Inquisitor Meredith Blackwood,

In light of recent evidence involving your vampiric houseguest, it has been determined that your impartiality has been temporarily compromised. Until such time as this case is resolved, your Deputy, Gale Patterson, will possess the probationary rank of Inquisitor. Once the case has been closed, your rank will be reinstated and we will consider the Deputy for full promotion and reassignment.

You should also be aware that the Domain is sending a delegation to assess Ciara’s bid for the territory of Bridleigh and help apprehend her should she be proven complicit. They will be in town for Halloween, please treat them with respect befitting the Witch’s Council.

High Inquisitor Viola Valocco.

P.S. I’m sorry, Meredith, please resolve this situation quickly.

“To the point,” I commented.

“Viola doesn’t really mince words,” Meredith said glumly.

“I’m sorry, Ciara,” Gale sighed, “but I need to ask you some questions.”

Meredith stood up, sliding her cup across the table where she could transfer it to the sink later. “I’ll go for a walk with Lily and Artemis.”

Stepping aside so she could walk past, pulling a protesting Lily along behind her, I looked to Gale. “What am I accused of?”

“We’ll get to that, please take a seat,” Gale replied, taking out her notepad. “I hope you don’t mind if Livia sits in on this, she’s the best expert we have on vampires in town.”

“Through bitter experience,” I sighed, taking the seat Meredith had just vacated. It was the furthest from Livia while putting the table between Gale and I. It was a gesture to keep the officer calm, if I were to attack her or try to run, I’d have to spend precious moments clambering over the table. Not that it really mattered, I was much faster than any monster in Bridleigh without the aid of magic.

“How goes the hunt?” Gale asked casually.

I blinked. “Hunting? I’m the only vampire in a university town, there’s plenty of blood around.”

“Phyllis mentioned that you drink from her regularly,” Gale said, leafing through her notes, “and you keep a good supply of bloodbags. Would you describe yourself as voracious?”

“I don’t have anyone to compare myself to,” I answered.

“How often do you drink blood?”

“Once a night, if not from Phyllis or a donor, I go to sorority parties on campus but you already know that.”

“That’s more than usual,” Livia explained, “most vampires only need to feed once a week.”

I’d suspected and wanted to ask Livia to confirm that but I’d been keeping my distance from the ex-blood doll for both our comfort zones. She didn’t want to be tempted to let me feed from her and I respected that. I wasn’t comfortable that I was practically a walking bag of heroin to her either.

Gale pulled a printed photo out of her pocket and dropped it on the table in front of me. The girl was a pretty, young, brunette in a cheerleader uniform. I recognised her. “Rachel Yates,” I identified her, “I haven’t fed from her in a few months, we had a long talk about her family.”

Livia looked startled. “You talk to your donors?”

“Yeah, I don’t really feel comfortable opening their veins without getting to know them first,” I answered, “and when I can, I try to give something in return.”

“Phyllis mentioned you don’t want to feed from her all the time, mind telling us why?” Gale asked.

“I feel like I’m abusing Phyllis’ goodwill,” I admitted. “Sure, I could feed from her exclusively but I impose on her so much already. Plus, I’ve got to learn to hunt sometime, Phyllis might not be on hand forever. And hunting is fun, but you’re monsters, you understand that.”

“Did you give Rachel anything?”

“She had an ex-boyfriend who was hassling her,” I explained, “she’d just come out as a lesbian and the prick was stalking her. I gave him a little scare to warn him off.” Looking down at her picture, I put two and two together. “Is Rachel dead?”

“Were you out hunting last night?” Gale continued her questioning, ignoring me.

“Yes,” I answered, my whole body going deathly still, colour draining from my skin as my blood receded into my internal organs.

Gale’s hand moved to rest on her gun, slowly putting the cup down on the bench. Livia tensed and I could feel the winds of the underworld breezing across my soul for a moment. “Ciara, please calm down,” Gale requested in a level tone.

“It’s ok to be mad,” Livia added hastily, “a member of your flock was slain in your territory. We’re all upset.”

“She’s wasn’t some lamb to be slaughtered,” I growled, “she was a sentient being. I don’t kill my donors, if that’s what you’re here to ask me.”

“Maybe it was an accident,” Gale suggested. “If that’s the case the Council and the Domain can show leniency…”

Usually I avoid looking people in the eye unless I’m trying to mesmerize them. In this case I didn’t have to worry, golems are immune to enchantments, so I levelled my gaze directly into Gale’s. “I swear, I will never kill to feed. And if I ever do, I will go to my goddess as repayment for the crime. I do not kill my donors; such actions are reprehensible.”

“Very impressive,” Gale said, brushing off my words with a look of disbelief, “but I’ve heard it all before. You went out hunting last night, do you have any proof of where you went or what you did?”

I huffed. “You know as well as I do that you don’t leave traces when you’re hunting,” I answered patiently. “But you should be able to find plenty of video of me on campus last night, I attended a sorority party.”

“And you only feed on women, correct?” Her hand wasn’t straying from her weapon.

“Correct.”

Gale took a deep breath, finally loosening her grip on the gun. “Well, that’s all I need to know for the moment. Livia, you leave first.”

Livia stood, walking around the opposite side of the table past Gale before pausing at the door. “Ciara, I hope you’re telling the truth,” she said before stepping into the sunlight.

Gale sighed, picking up her hat. “You know that’s her addiction talking, right?”

“What exactly do I have to do to prove I don’t want to become the tyrant of Bridleigh?” I asked, laying my hands flat on the table as I stood, claw-like nails digging into the wood. “If I was going to force myself on her, I would have done it long before now.”

“I doesn’t matter,” Gale said flatly, “I’ve seen this play out before. Why do you think we kept the Domain out until now? Your kind can’t help yourselves, you’re driven to subjugate and rule.”

“That’s not what I want,” I stated, scowling. “Get the fuck out.”

Nodding, Gale put on her hat and sauntered out with her hands on her belt.

Chapter 2

The Banshee was a tiny eclectic shop down by Cauldron Lake that managed to fuse the roles of bookstore, café and Irish Pub for a very particular clientele. That clientele being exclusively monsters. Even if a human could find the front door, protected as it was by warding magic, it immediately led to a long, dark, apparently empty corridor without a window or anything to identify that it was open for business. I’d been told that the proprietor, known only as Nicole, was some kind of serpent creature, though I’d never seen her true form. She always appeared to be a bookish twenty-something with dark brown hair and thick glasses, more of a librarian than a bartender.

She took one look at me over those thick-rimmed glasses and immediately pulled one of her magically warmed bottles of preserved blood and poured into a crystal wine glass. “On the house,” she said, sliding it over to me, “I heard the news.”

Meredith scowled as she thrust herself onto a barstool. “White wine, please,” she ordered grouchily, dropping some money on the bar.

“Why are you so upset?” Nicole asked, taking the money. “You’re the one getting a paid vacation.”

“Because I would know if Ciara was killing people,” Meredith hissed, “and she hasn’t. Gale’s already lost valuable time barking up the wrong tree, we’re days away from Halloween and the Domain is hosting the grand ball this year rather than me. As a gesture of diplomacy.”

“I thought the Council and the Domain got along?” I asked, lifting the glass of warm blood under my nose to breathe the aroma. It was relaxing.

Lily hopped up onto the bench next to me. “Witches be crazy!” she quipped.

“We do get along,” Meredith sighed, “but the relationship’s not without a lot of give and take between parties. Political bullshit. Bridleigh’s been one of the Council’s bastions since it was founded but the Domain claims all vampires as subjects. Vampires living in Council-ruled territories are a kind of grey area unless you can get the Domain to ratify a duel demesne treaty through which the Council and the Domain approve the vampire’s right to that territory from both sides. We were going to apply for that once you got established but the Domain’s been surprisingly lax in making the effort to assess you.”

“Once I got established? It’s been a year,” I protested.

“I know, but…” Meredith paused, blushing.

Lily rolled her eyes. “But the Council’s worried about your appetite.”

I blinked. “Livia said I drink more than usual for a vampire. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“Honey,” Meredith said in a placating tone, “I didn’t want to break this to you but you’re, uh…”

“A blood-guzzling, neck-raping, engine of the apocalypse?” Lily offered unhelpfully.

“Not helping, Lily!” Meredith snapped. “But, kind-of, yeah. You’re rapaciously thirsty for a vampire, dear. If not for Phyllis, bloodbags and your own remarkable self-control, you’d be the monster world’s number one most wanted already.”

Grumbling, I sipped from the glass, shivering in delight at the rapturous flavour. Realizing that the three girls were staring at me, I looked down in embarrassment. “It’s a good vintage,” I protested, reaching for any excuse. “So what should I do, fast?”

“No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no,” Lily broke in rapidly, grabbing my arm. “Under no circumstances try to fast, if you starve yourself you’ll either go to sleep until someone feeds you or you’ll go into a blood frenzy and drain everyone until you’re full. Considering how much you need to drink, you’re doing fantastic.”

“But the fact is, the whole town knows we’ve got a vampire that drinks like ten of your kind,” Meredith sighed. “Also, I had to report your progress to the Council, so they know how much you need to drink.”

“Relax,” Nicole suggested, “Gale’s a competent investigator, she’s been keeping the peace here since your mother was Inquisitor, Meredith. She’ll find the real culprit, concentrate on smoothing everything over with the Domain.”

“The Council won’t ratify a dual territory for a vampire under suspicion of murder,” Meredith said, “if the case isn’t solved by Halloween, they might turn Ciara over to the Domain. Then it’s out of our hands.”

“Would that mean leaving Bridleigh?” I asked.

“Yes, you’d have to go wherever the Lords want you,” Meredith explained, “or defy them and be hunted down by the Inquisitors. Technically, you’re under the Council’s asylum right now. Without that protection, the Domain can theoretically do whatever they want.”

“I’d like to see them try,” Gardener said gruffly, joining us at the bar. The worms that dripped off his face quickly scurried back into his arm through the holes in his jacket. “Heyya, dollface, how are you hanging together?”

I smiled and raised my glass to him. “Been better, been worse. Trying not to tear the town apart brick by brick trying not to find Rachel Yates’ killer.”

Gardener looked to Meredith. “Why didn’t you tell them she didn’t kill anyone?”

“Suspended,” Meredith said, draining her glass. “I’m too close to Ciara, so any investigation I make into the matter is compromised.

He looked confused. “Livia would know the moment she looked that there’s no death-scent clinging to Ciara.”

“Livia’s an ex-blood doll,” Lily said in her innocent little girl voice, “nobody can trust she’s not lying to try to get a lick of sweet, sweet vampire.”

“Do you have to say that in the creepiest way possible?” I protested.

“Yes,” Lily answered.

“We’re all too close to Ciara,” Meredith stated, laying down the problem. “Except Gale, who seems to have a chip on her shoulder… Ergh, pun not intended. I don’t blame her, she’s wanted an Inquisitorial commission for a long time, I’m glad she’s got a shot and I understand she needs to do this right. She’s not wrong, she’s just being an asshole.”

Nicole raised her eyebrows and took away Meredith’s glass. “I’m cutting you off.”

“She was kinda sore when you got the commission over her, Mere,” Gardener said, “but Nicole’s right, she’s a professional.”

The few monsters in the rest of the bar went quiet when the door to the establishment opened suddenly and an unfamiliar scent invaded the room. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end when I recognized the scent by instinct. Three other vampires stepped into the room casually. The first was a tall, beefy, man with a shaved head and square jaw in a rich charcoal suit who stepped to one side, surreptitiously scanning the room wearing a strained smile. The second was a woman wearing her striped black-and-white hair up in an elaborate braid with long locks trailing from the top down her back. Her red leather trenchcoat and matching trousers creaked as she wandered lazily in on stiletto heels, her frilly shirt rustling with her movements, smirking to herself as if she were in on a joke nobody else was. The final figure was a rake-thin man in black and blue velvet with a neatly trimmed black moustache and beard blended expertly to the same length as his hair. He grinned in a friendly manner, showing off his fangs to the entire room.

“Ah! How delightful!” the man in velvet exclaimed, opening his arms as he approached Nicole. “I’d heard you moved out to the sticks, dear, but it’s been far, far too long!”

Nicole warily and reluctantly accepted the offered hug but didn’t return it. “Alexander,” she greeted curtly, “please don’t start anything in my bar, thank you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he reassured her. “I’m sorry, I would have sent word ahead but we came in rather a bit of a hurry. Quaint place, by the way, very rustic.”

I saw the woman sniffing the air in the mirror behind the bar, her eyes locking onto my back. There was no point in hiding, the three of them could smell the blood in the glass I was holding from outside, but I kept my back turned as she sauntered towards me. “Well, look who we have here! The fledgling, just our luck to run into you,” she purred, pulling back her coat as she leaned against the bar between Lily and I so that her cold, soft, body pressed lightly against mine. Fangs glittered between her black lips as she took a long, deep breath through her nose. “Mmmm, lovely vintage, mind if I try some?”

She was reaching halfway to my glass before Alexander cleared his throat. “Lady Ophelia, decorum please.”

The square-jawed one rolled his eyes.

She paused, looking disappointed as she let her hand drop to the bar, but didn’t move. “Cat got your tongue, little one?” she asked.

“No, I’m over here,” Lily quipped.

Ophelia gave her a flat glare, catching her eyes. “A bar is no place for a little girl.”

I went deathly still, colour fading from my skin until I looked like a corpse posed at the bar as I felt the power Ophelia was trying to exert over Lily’s mind emanating from her eyes. Lily’s mouth went slack, eyes widening as if she was in a trance for a moment. Then her lips pulled back over a maw of razor-sharp pearly teeth, eyes glowing yellow as she giggled. Rolling onto her back, she laughed, kicking her feet as she clutched her belly while the rest of the room was deathly silent.

Annoyed, Ophilia scowled. “What the fuck are you, nekomata?”

Kicking both her legs up, Lily landed with both her feet on the edge of the bar, purring balefully as she deliberately stuck her face in Ophilia’s. “Little morsel, what I am is Ciara’s vassal,” she purred, “you just fucked with the last girl you of all people should try to fuck with in town.”

I wasn’t an expert on Domain law by any stretch but Meredith had given me the broad strokes. Territory was a thing that applied not only to land, it could also apply to people, both in groups and in specific. Soon after my transformation, Lily had asked to bind herself to me for reasons she refused to share. It had taken some time but I’d relented, performing a short ritual overseen by Meredith who certified that Lily hadn’t been mesmerized into the relationship. Essentially, Lily was now my territory and any vampire attempting to molest her was essentially making a direct challenge to my authority over her.

Meaning Ophilia’s ass was mine.

Carefully placing my glass on the bench, my sudden turn caught the bitch completely by surprise. “Wh…!” The last of the breath she was exhaling to speak burbled from her throat as the fingers of my right hand tightened around it, forcing her to her knees with one push. She was taller than me standing up and her eyes widened as she clawed at my supermarket-bought hoodie while I forced her down one-handed, looming over her. My rage burned cold in my chest as I looked her directly in the eyes and pushed my will into her mind. She tried to push back but her face contorted in horror when she realized she had no chance, her will melting like wax before my flame.

“Now, now, I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding,” Alexander said cheerfully, holding out one hand as if to ward off the square-jawed one from interfering. “Ophilia didn’t know she was your vassal and, honestly, her invasion of your personal space was quite gauche. I’m sure she’ll be happy to apologize if you allow her to. I assure you I’ll discipline her personally for the affront.”

I stopped just short of breaking her open like an egg. “Be nice,” I admonished her before letting her fall to the floor grasping her throat.

Ophilia refused to look at either Alexander or I as she recovered herself, glaring at the square-jawed one. “Fat lot of help you are,” she spat at him, blood on her lips.

“Talk shit, get hit,” he snapped back.

“My apologies,” Alexander said, bowing to me, “it seems we’ve made an ass out of ourselves on our first meeting. I am Baron Alexander Dulac, Emissary of Lord Victus. These are my vassals, Sir Thomas Florentine and Lady Ophilia Lime. You’ve met Lady Ophilia, of course.” He had a way with words, his tone of voice making it sound like her name was somehow soiled.

“Lily,” Nicole snapped, “get your damn feet off my bar!”

Lily immediately hopped in place, deftly landing her butt on the bar with her feet dangling over.

Ophilia glared at Thomas once more before slinking outside like a wounded cat while Alexander ushered me towards the bar, careful to give Lily space. “I apologize again for my vassal’s rudeness; may I buy you another glass?”

He was the kind of smarmy git that set my fangs on edge, he was far too smooth not to be selling something. “Sure, I won’t say no to free blood.”

He grimaced, looking to Nicole. “Another for Ciara and a glass of the same for me,” he ordered without laying any money on the table. Despite that, Nicole still poured the drinks. “Your thirst is legendary, even so far away at court,” he commented, “you’re lucky to have metamorphosed all the way out here.”

I looked to Meredith. “Did everyone know but me?”

Meredith shrugged. “The monster community’s small enough, word gets around fast. I hope you’re not seriously considering taking Ciara away from us, Baron.”

“Alas, if it were up to me I’d let the Council handle the matter,” Alexander replied. “Unfortunately, the Lords disagree with my assessment of the situation. If I must, I’d prefer for Ciara to come with us quietly, though, where she can be tutored on comportment becoming of a vampire by vampires. I fear she’s languishing here, letting her parade around in supermarket clothing.”

“Nothing wrong with being down to earth,” Gardener grumbled.

“For an ambulatory pile of worms, no,” Alexander growled, “but for one of the blood, it’s unseemly.”

“Relax, Gardener,” I sighed, “he’s just trying to provoke a reaction. Like the way he used Lady Ophilia before, only slightly more direct.”

Alexander took my observation in stride. “I was curious about how you’d handle the situation but I wasn’t expecting you to actually dominate my vassal. She’s a few hundred years your senior, may I ask how you come by such power?”

I finished my first glass of blood, pausing to savour the taste, shivering in delight, before moving on to the second, licking my lips. “I guess it’s a gift of my goddess,” I ventured, “I didn’t realize that was particularly impressive. Was Ophilia trying to scare me into submission?”

“I think she took a liking to you,” the Baron chuckled. “She prefers to be dominant, though secretly I think she might be a switch. She certainly likes to provoke more powerful vampires into subjugating her. Maybe she just can’t keep her mouth shut. Which is fine, I like that about her. It was one of the reasons I brought her into the Domain.”

“She was a vampire changeling?” I asked.

“A very rare breed,” he answered, nodding. “I’ve been blessed by the Lords with permission to bring several shepherds into the fold. My blood quickened hers. Even with the Blackwood’s mirror, though, someone had to catalyse your blood with their own. The Lords would like to know who.”

“I have never drunk a vampire’s blood,” I answered truthfully for certain values of truth. “In fact, Ophilia is the first vampire I’ve met.”

He clicked his claw-like nails on his glass for a few moments, smirking. “Are you claiming to be a primogenitor?”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

Meredith coughed. “A primogenitor is the start of an entirely new bloodline of monsters,” the witch explained. “In a vampire’s case, the beginning of an entirely new clan with unique abilities passed down through the bloodline.”

“Indeed, it’s said that the primordial vampires originally became what they are by drinking the blood of gods,” Alexander expounded, looking meaningfully at my right wrist where the mark was peeking out of my sleeve. “But if that were the case, it would be very bad for Bridleigh. The last primogenitor of our race was hunted down and murdered centuries ago by the Domain and there hasn’t been one reborn for millennia.”

“That’s an interesting way to treat one of your ancestors,” I murmured, blood chilling in my veins.

“He did have a penchant for causing apocalyptic plagues to try and wipe out the human race,” Alexander said defensively. “The primogenitors were extremely powerful, yet also insane and tyrannical. Not that I believe for a moment that you are one, that would be ridiculous. The appearance of a primogenitor is synonymous with epic miracles, not one of them would be content to languish in a tiny, unremarkable, town in the middle of nowhere.”

He paused, considering his glass as he toyed with it, watching the blood swirl but not drinking. “Which leads me to believe that you have tasted the blood of a vampire and are either lying to conceal their identity or ignorant of the act. I’m more inclined towards ignorance, but please don’t take that as an insult. I’m merely suggesting that your blood parent might have altered your memory of the event for their own reasons.”

“Why even bring it up, then?” I asked.

“To gauge your reaction. Every monster I’ve ever met likes to entertain for a moment that they’re some kind of chosen one. Of course, you were at least chosen by Nyx, weren’t you? If I might ask, have you met any other peers in the priesthood?”

“No,” I answered, “I was told that the organization is quite informal outside of the Covens. I trust that Nyx will guide me, for whatever reason she marked me for.” I considered my next question carefully but decided for the blunt approach anyway. “What do you know about the girl who died here?”

“Not much. I was told her name at some point, that you had fed from her before and her body was found exsanguinated last night without a single mark on her. Classic vampire murder and you are, to anyone’s knowledge, the only vampire in Bridleigh.”

Meredith turned to face him. “You think there’s a second vampire in Bridleigh? An older one who existed under the radar until now?”

“Until they saw the opportunity to create a vassal in Ciara here,” he agreed. “I find it far more likely that they are the culprit behind this murder, though their motivation to reveal themselves in this way eludes me. Of course, I don’t have the evidence at my disposal yet, so I can’t make a definitive deduction.”

It was certainly a better narrative than either being vampire patient zero or a murderer, so I was ready to breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, the last thing I wanted was for people to believe I was some horseman of the apocalypse and Meredith had seen Nyx with her own eyes. If she’d reported that to the Council of Covens, things could get very bad very fast.

Alexander pushed his glass away without drinking a drop. “Lovely aroma,” he complimented, “would that I realized I wasn’t as thirsty as I thought. I think this is enough serious talk for the day and I should connect with Interim Inquisitor Gale tonight, see if I can help with the investigation. It’s been a pleasure, Ciara, and I hope to spend more time with you at the grand ball as our guest of honour. Don’t worry about us poaching on your turf, we brought plenty of blood dolls with us for the trip.”

We all bowed to him politely as he walked away from the bar, gesturing for Thomas to follow him out the door. Once the strangers were gone, chatter in the pub increased in volume markedly.

“I hate that guy,” Meredith growled. “Lord Victus always seems to assign that pompous ass when the Domain needs to liaise with the Inquisition.”

“Halloween’s the day after tomorrow,” I mused aloud, “that means I’ve got two nights and two days to find who killed Rachel and hand their heads to Gale and Alexander on a silver platter, metaphorically speaking. Proof beyond reasonable doubt I didn’t kill her.”

“You really think there’s another vampire in Bridleigh?” Gardener asked. “You don’t remember feeding on a vampire’s blood at all?”

I shook my head, pushing the memories of drinking Nyx’s blood aside. “As far as I know, the mirror did all the work turning me into a vampire. But Meredith lost me while I was chasing that guy through the woods, it could have happened then. Not that I think it did, it’s more likely that some other vampire snuck into town recently and murdered Rachel to frame me for some reason. I’m sure there’s a ton of motives to do that, even if I’m not aware of them.”

“Jealousy, political games between the Domain and the Council,” Meredith listed, “it could even be a crime of opportunity, they might have already fled Bridleigh hoping the blame will fall on you. Too many motives to presume yet. Not that I can help, I’ve been suspended and I’d like to stay an Inquisitor, thank you.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to jeopardize your career,” I placated her. “This will be all on me.”

“You know,” Gardner murmured, “if this girl had been left in the woods somewhere, I could find the crime scene and show you. Wouldn’t take me too long to search.”

“If you can do that, it might help,” I said, smiling, “thanks Gardner.”

“No problem, ma’am,” he chuckled, “you’re a good sort, I don’t believe for a minute you’d kill anyone who didn’t deserve killing. I’ll pick you up tonight once I’ve found the spot.”

“Sounds good, I’ll start asking around campus, maybe find her dorm if I can,” I said.

“You know Gale will chew you out for this,” Meredith warned.

“That’s ok, I’m not as afraid of that as I am going away with Alexander forever,” I muttered fearfully before finishing my second glass. Staring for a long moment at Alexander’s glass, still full of blood and untouched, I finally snatched it up and drained it down my throat in one gulp.

Chapter 3

Bridleigh University was a sprawling campus, labyrinthine buildings clustered around parks across the Eldred Bridge from town. My sunglasses and hoodie helped cut the light bloom down to manageable levels, while noise-cancelling headphones eliminated the roar of rustling leaves overhead. Lily held my hand, keeping me aware and focused when every instinct was calling for me to find a dark hole to crawl into and sleep.

In the last year, I’d discovered that the key to remaining unnoticed is walking with confidence like you know where you’re going. On that theory, Lily and I simply walked up to the front door of Amanda’s former sorority and walked through the open door. The interior was a relief from the constant sensory overload of the outdoors and I was able to take my earbuds out of my ears, letting them hang around my neck. The building was old but well-maintained and relatively clean for a den of college students. The scent of fresh, young, blood in the air was enough to drive a vampire crazy.

“Upstairs,” I told Lily, “room sixteen.”

“Ooooh, you’ve been in her room before,” Lily teased, leading me to the stairs.

“It was a happy memory,” I murmured on our way up.

At the top of the stairs, a dyed blonde girl noticed us and did a double take. “Um, excuse me,” she called, stopping us, “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you…”

She trailed off as I lifted my sunglasses and met her eyes, my will easily insinuating itself into her mind. “Yes, we’re visiting a friend,” I said, smiling. “What’s your name?”

“Madeline Pryor,” she answered cheerfully, immediately relaxed and at ease.

“Madeline, do you know Rachel Yates?” I asked.

Her expression fell. “Yes, poor girl, we’re all devastated. The sorority’s planning a memorial for her this weekend.”

“Do you have any idea what happened to her?”

“Not a clue,” Madeline answered glumly, “as far as I know, the last anyone saw of her was when she went to bed last night. Her roommate was out with her boyfriend until curfew, she noticed Rachel was gone but was too bombed out to think anything of it. This morning, Sheriff Patterson is knocking on our doors, asking everyone horrible questions.”

“What was her roommate’s name and where is she?”

“Zara Nicols, Sheriff Patterson let her call her family before taking her to the station. She’s not back yet.”

“Do you know if Rachel had any problems? Stalkers, anything like that?”

“No but…” Madeline leant in to whisper to me. “I’d heard she had a girlfriend and there was some trouble with her family over her coming out. I told the Sheriff about that.”

I winced, remembering the last time I’d seen Rachel. “Thank you, Madeline, you’ve been very helpful.” For a moment, I was tempted to add something more, maybe prime the girl for a future feeding. She was attractive, warm, soft and smelled oh so sweet. Clamping down on my urges, I broke off the mental contact, leaving her with the impression that we were completely benign and the sense that she’d done a good deed as she walked downstairs with a spring in her step.

“The roommate probably won’t know anything even if we could get to her,” Lily said as we continued down the hallway to room sixteen. It was easy to spot from the yellow police tape. “And if she can, Gale will beat us to it anyway.”

“Part of me doesn’t want to believe that one of us would do this,” I murmured. “I’m hoping that whatever happened, a human was responsible for it. Plenty of ways you can lure a girl out of the house, it doesn’t have to be supernatural.”

Lily paused to stuff her hand inside her sleeve to open the door to the room. I had to lower my sunglasses over my eyes again as the torrent of light from the open window momentarily blinded me. Once the spots cleared from my vision, I let Lily help me step through the police tape and into the room, careful not to disturb anything. Aside from the bedding, the dorm room was neat and tidy. Books were arranged neatly on the shelves, with only a few scattered on the two study desks near university-issued laptops. Sniffing, I made out both girl’s distinct scents, Rachel’s still familiar to me despite the months since we’d been together.

The sight of the bed brought the memory back clearly. Rachel sitting on the edge, nervous because I hadn’t mesmerized her. We’d talked, she’d shown an interest in me that went beyond simple friendship, her attraction was obvious to anyone with a vampire’s sense of smell. I’d told her that the feelings she had for other women weren’t anything to be scared or ashamed of. Yes, I’d mesmerized her to make the feeding pleasurable but she’d left my embrace happier and more comfortable with herself than before. When I saw her again, she told me she’d found someone else to be with and I told her I was happy for her. It was the truth, there’s little future for a human to be with a vampire, so I was happy that she was getting control of her life.

“Hello, scary vampire?” Lily called me back to reality, snapping her fingers in my face.

“Sorry,” I apologized, “I got a bit lost remembering her. She was young, confused, but a good person.” I sniffed several times to catch the scents in the room. “I don’t smell anything but traces of the two human girls in here.”

Lily also sniffed. “Me either. If the Baron’s theory is correct and there’s a second vampire in town, it’d be a trivial matter for them to meet Rachel somewhere on campus and mesmerize her to leave her room at an appointed time. Plenty of other monsters could do similar things with different methods, like Phyllis’ siren song.”

“But Phyllis eats human flesh, so she wouldn’t have been found exsanguinated if she were attacked by a siren,” I deduced. “Is there anything else that feeds on blood and doesn’t leave marks that could do this?”

“Oh, there’s a shit ton of vampiric monsters,” Lily said. “Lilu, striges, sith, penanggalan, werebats, lots of others. That’s not counting magic-using monsters like witches who can do anything or demons that have the inclination.”

“Demons?”

“Well, yeah, there are demons,” Lily explained as she scanned the room. “Humanity puts out a bunch of emotional baggage into the world, that flows and pools in certain places. Sometimes the pools spontaneously generate an entity out of all the garbage feelings swirling around. Depending on the place and what happened there, it can be really good or really bad. I’ve heard stories about the cleansing of mass murder sites, it’s not pretty.”

After a moment, she pointed into the open drawer beside Rachel’s bed without touching it. “Her smartphone’s here along with her watch and purse,” she said, quickly falling to her hands and knees. “And her shoes are under the bed. Meredith would be able to test the ambient magic to know for sure but my money’s on Rachel being mesmerized into leaving.”

“Window’s open,” I noted, “the culprit could have entered there and pulled her out or made her climb down.”

“Let’s go outside,” Lily suggested, “see if we can catch her scent. Maybe we won’t even need Gardner’s help.”

Minutes later, we were back outside under Rachel’s window, sniffing the bushes. My earbuds were back in, I tried not to think what vampires did before noise cancellation. “Rachel’s blood,” I sighed, “she cut herself climbing down.”

“Come on,” Lily said, pulling me away, “the trail shouldn’t be hard for us to follow.”

We didn’t have to walk far, the barely perceptible trail of blood led into the forest at the edge of campus to a small ring of trees surrounded by police tape. Gardener waved to us with one worm-dripping hand from his seat on a nearby boulder as we approached. “Figured it wouldn’t take you girls long to find this place,” he sighed, gesturing towards the patch of ground that would seem unremarkable had it not been for the police tape. “Not much here, barely any blood, no tracks. Nothing.”

I sniffed. “I can smell her blood and little else other than damp earth.”

Lily gave Gardener a mock suspicious glare. “Did you kill her?”

Gardener rolled his eyes. “My MO is to stab people with rusty sickles,” he said, “she wouldn’t be unmarked if I’d killed her. Besides, as far as I know she didn’t do anything that deserves killin’.”

“Lily, please,” I sighed, sitting down in the grass, looking over the crime scene. All that was left was a profusion of muddy tracks and an indentation in the middle of the clearing where the body had been left. Patterson’s men had already trampled the scene, there wasn’t a single useful track left. “Did we learn anything from this? She climbed out through her window barefoot and continued to walk out into the woods despite minor cuts and suddenly lost all her blood to something that took it away from her.”

“The earth would have been freezing cold last night,” Gardener said, stomping on boot on the ground, “like walking on ice. No way anyone’s going out barefoot unless they weren’t in their right heads.”

“Ok, so that’s a vote for mesmerism,” I concluded. “So we’ve narrowed our suspects down to people with the capability of mesmerizing others and draining them of all their blood without leaving a trace. That still makes me the prime suspect.”

“Were you on campus last night?” Gardener asked.

“Yeah,” I groaned, flopping onto my back, “at Delta Delta Phi on the other side of campus. I would have been having fun over there while Rachel was being drained.”

“Close enough that you could have rushed over here, done the deed, and gone back to the party,” Lily sighed. It took her a moment to realize that Gardener and I were glaring at her. “What? I know she didn’t do it! She would have stunk of Rachel’s blood when I woke her up this morning! Besides, she might drink a lot but she’s always pulled away long before the amount she takes could be dangerous for a donor. Plus, unless Gale is incompetent, she’ll realize that you’re still corporeal and would have left tracks.”

“If I’d planned to kill someone like this, I’d have covered my tracks somehow,” I sighed. “Maybe it’s wishful thinking but I think I’d have the presence of mind to pick a different spot to dump someone’s body than this.”

“They’ll try to claim it was a crime of passion,” Gardener grumbled. “They’ll say you were overcome by the thirst and can’t be trusted to control yourself, then covered up after the fact. The real shitter will be if they actually work out you’re a primogenitor.”

Lily and I looked at him, startled.

“Don’t take me for a fool,” he chuckled, slapping his knee. Rather than a satisfying smack, the worms that comprised his body made more of a wet slopping noise. “I was there last Halloween, the power in the air drove me into a frenzy. Alexander doesn’t want to believe he’s dealing with that kind of power, it’s outside of his experience and his ability to control it. His environment has structure, order, a clear hierarchy where personal power is synonymous with political power. He doesn’t understand that we’re all worms scrabbling in the mud.”

For a moment, I considered mesmerizing him but I wasn’t even sure it was possible. Besides, Gardener was a friend, so I just sighed in lament and let my head drop back into the grass. “Just don’t spread that around. As far as I know, only you, Meredith and Lily know about it. And no, I’ve got no idea what kind of powers I have beyond being an exceptional vampire for my age.”

“People will guess, it’s only a matter of time,” Gardener sighed. “Alexander was right, the mirror would only take you part-way through the transformation, drinking the blood of a human would have been your second initiation and drinking the blood of a vampire would have finally made you a full-blooded member of a clan. Yet here you are, one of the most powerful fledglings most of us have ever seen.”

“We’ll deal with that when it comes,” Lily snapped, “for now, can we please concentrate on the current disaster?”

Sitting up suddenly, I sniffed the air, sensing something new. “Lily, can you hear…?”

“I do now,” Lily said, ears twitching. “He’s getting closer. Sorry, Gardener, you need to hide.”

Nodding, Gardener saluted us before his body disintegrated into a squirming pile the quickly burrowed into the earth, taking his clothes with him.

The boy that stumbled into view through the woods jumped when he saw us. He looked to be about thirteen, pale-skinned, dressed in ripped black jeans and t-shirt with oversize leather work boots. Around his neck and wrists were criss-crossed leather bands with dangling bone ornaments. His hair was close-cropped and he stared at us with large grey eyes. He was also carrying a digital camera which looked too large in his hands. “Oh, uh, sorry,” he apologized. Breathing in, I could taste something else about this boy, something different. He was a changeling, there was no doubt about it.

“No need to be sorry, it’s a free country,” Lily said, her cat-like ears and tails gone so that she almost looked like a normal little girl. A very scary little girl that spoke and acted like an adult whose parents also permitted her to dye her hair purple.

Circling us warily, the boy looked over the crime scene without crossing the tape. “Wow, they really made a pig’s breakfast of it, didn’t they?”

“Yeah, it’s a right mess,” I answered. “Come to gawk?”

“Didn’t you?” the boy snapped back, smirking over his shoulder at me. Considering a few angles, he finally raised the camera up to snap some pictures.

Lily stepped in front of him just as he was about to take another picture. “You’re not from Bridleigh,” she stated firmly.

He swore. “How the fuck do you know? Why’d you get in my shot?”

“Because I know all the goth kids in town,” she lied, covering up the fact that someone would have sensed a changeling in town long before us if he hadn’t just arrived.

“Yeah, all right, I’m visiting with my uncle,” he snapped back, stepping around her. “What’s it to you?”

Lily held up one finger as if she were about to deliver a snappy retort but froze in place. “Nothing at all,” she finally admitted.

“Well, uh, good then,” he muttered, glancing at her a few times before going back to taking pictures.

Getting up, I dusted off the back of my jeans. “So, why take pictures of this?”

He shrugged. “I take a lot of pictures of graveyards, abandoned houses, all kinds of creepy things. I saw the commotion from the house and heard about the murdered girl on the radio, so I figured some pics of it would be good for my collection.”

I didn’t need vampire sight to tell me that the kid’s camera was used but in good condition, and an expensive professional model to boot. “Nice gear, must’ve set your parents back a pretty penny,” I observed.

He shrugged. “My uncle reckoned it’d give me something to do other than play video games or get in trouble. So, what are you guys doing here?”

“Amateur sleuthing, believe it or not,” I admitted, walking up behind him. “The girl who died here was a friend of mine. You say you saw the commotion? Your house must be close by.”

“Across the road through the forest,” he said, shrugging. “Saw the police combing the place all morning, had some knocks on the door. My Uncle and I didn’t see anything last night, more’s the pity.”

This close, the rustling of the trees and the profusion of light around me didn’t matter. My senses were attuned to the blood pumping through his heart, the stink of adrenaline. He was afraid of something. “I expect if you had, you’d have called the police and the culprit would have been caught. My name’s Ciara, this is my sister Lily.”

He paused, glancing over his shoulder at me, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. “Uh, nice to meet you. My name’s David.”

I smiled. He was lying. “Nice to meet you, David. Going to be in town for Halloween? Friends of ours are throwing an awesome party that I know you’ll love.”

He winced. “I’d love to but I don’t know if my uncle will let me.”

“Well, if you can manage it, come see us at one-hundred-and-one Hollow Drive before dark. I promise, it’ll be a night that changes your life,” I suggested. He opened his mouth to answer but my phone beeped. Muttering an apology, I fished it out of my pocket and thumbed the power button. It was a message from Livia. “Ugh! Sorry, David, we have to go deal with something. Hope to see you soon.”

I read the message as Lily and I walked away, David staring at us until we were out of sight. Meet at Logan’s Café asap, we have to talk. I showed Lily the message and her expression became thoughtful.

Once we were out of earshot, Lily looked up at me. “Think he’ll come?”

“One way or another, I’m certain of it,” I said, holding my chin. “Lily, can you track his scent back to his house?”

“Should be easy enough, why?”

“Because he might not be innocent,” I answered. “Send me a text once you’ve found the place.”

When I glanced in the little catgirl’s direction again, she was gone.

Chapter 4

Logan’s was a familiar place, it used to be the closest café to my old house. I hadn’t been in the place since I’d turned and wasn’t used to the riot of scents that permeated the place. Bread, chocolate and coffee didn’t do anything for me anymore, though there was plenty of blood to be had. Livia was sitting at a table for two away from the windows, watching me carefully as I navigated through the crowd and sat opposite her. She had a mug of coffee with a shot of hazelnut and some uneaten hot cinnamon doughnuts in front of her.

“Think these will mask your scent?” I asked, genuinely curious.

She blushed, fingers rapping on the wooden tabletop nervously. “Some, yes. I doubt they’re completely effective.”

“They aren’t,” I informed her, “not this close. I wasn’t sure I should come, if you’re involved with the investigation…”

“I’m not,” she interrupted, dumping two sachets of sugar into her coffee and stirring it to stop herself from fidgeting. “Gale doesn’t trust me. She’s so fixated on pinning this murder on you, she’s blind to the other evidence. After the autopsy was done this morning, she asked me to try to contact Rachel’s spirit. I couldn’t do it.”

I took a deep, deliberate, breath. “What do you mean you couldn’t do it?”

“I mean I tried but there was nothing. I didn’t get an answer. Gale took that to mean I was covering for you and told me to go home. She mentioned the need for another necromancer and the Baron offered to summon one from the Domain. They won’t be here until tomorrow.”

“You know you can still get into trouble for telling me this, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” she admitted, “but I know you didn’t kill her.”

“How?”

Livia paused to take a bite out of one of her doughnuts. “If Rachel’s soul can’t be summoned by a necromancer, it means either what killed her has eaten, absorbed or trapped her along with drinking all her blood. Vampires don’t do that naturally and even if you somehow managed it, magic like that leaves a spiritual stain on you. Any decent witch or necromancer will take one look at you and know you didn’t kill anyone much less steal their soul. Whoever did it also scrubbed the scene, no tracks, no scent, no residual magic.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

“I know,” she sighed, “but Gale’s concocting all sorts of conspiracy theories. Last I heard, she thought you’d killed Amanda by accident and Meredith cleaned it up to protect you.”

“I see the logic but it’s still crazy,” I muttered, closing my eyes and rubbing my forehead. “Why would I kill anyone? I’ve got no need to. And even if I did, why would I just leave the body for anyone to find? Who found it anyway?”

“Groundskeeper out on a morning stroll with his dog,” Livia answered, shrugging. “Pretty lucky.”

“Ok,” I sighed. “What kind of monster drains blood and steals their victim’s souls?”

“Criminals,” Livia answered flatly. “We’re talking about actual wicked witches that abuse people for power or hardcore demonic entities that only exist for the sake of misery.”

“What about gods?” I asked, running my fingers over the Mother’s Mark.

“Well, yes, theoretically. I doubt a God would have much motivation in this case, though.”

“So you didn’t think I might have done it and it was Nyx that was covering for me rather than Meredith?”

Livia paused, her eyes straying up but deliberately not looking into mine. “No, I didn’t think of that. I still doubt it.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “A hunch. Are you saying you did it?”

Leaning back in my chair, I snorted. “No, I didn’t. But I’m worried Gale’s right that you’re defending me because you don’t want to believe I’m responsible.”

“Maybe that’s true,” Livia admitted, staring into the swirling brown fluid in her mug, “but it’s also true that if you were to lose control and kill someone, it’s most likely to be me.”

I drew a sharp intake of breath as a new, overpowering, scent hit my nostrils. Livia’s blood was unmistakable, the most intoxicating scent I’d ever experienced outside the presence of Nyx. I noticed her right hand was under the table, and I knew without looking that she’d given herself the tiniest scratch by dragging her fingernail across her thigh just above the knee. I gripped the edge of the table hard, digging my claws into the polish. My fangs were out, I couldn’t help it, every inch of my body was screaming at me to take her.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked in a low, choked, voice as I swallowed the raw need filling my throat.

“Alexander’s here,” Livia answered, “which means Danica’s coming. One way or another, she’s going to try to get me back.”

“Alexander works for Danica?”

She shook her head emphatically. “No, absolutely not! Baron Alexander’s Lord Victus’ man through and through, the situation’s more complex than that. Let’s say the Domain does agree to a dual territory treaty, that means Danica can petition you to hand me back to her. Even if you refuse, she can petition the Domain to overrule you, which they likely will. Then Alexander will come for me. But if I belong to you…”

“Danica can’t lay claim to my vassal,” I finished for her, squirming in my seat. “One of the first things you said to me was that one day you’d beg me to bite you and that no matter what, I shouldn’t. You don’t really want this, Livia.”

She laughed a humourless, resigned, laugh. “Don’t I? It could also be said that I’ve wanted this forever. I’ve wanted this the first moment I saw the real you in the mirror. You’ve stayed away from me but I can’t help but feel your presence everywhere I go. Sometimes I catch glimpses of your soul in the underworld without meaning to. I know every moment when you feed…” She paused suddenly, her hand flying to her mouth.

My eyes narrowed. “You lied. You know I didn’t kill Amanda because you would have felt me kill her.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she nodded. “I’m sorry, please, I really can’t help it. It just happens.”

I squirmed in my chair, the scent of her blood driving me crazy. Visions of throwing her across the table and savaging her spilled across my mind’s eye unbidden. My fangs ached as the emptiness in my stomach sank even lower between my legs. The thought occurred that nobody could blame me for losing control under such circumstances. She was provoking me, begging me, to make her mine.

Standing suddenly, I turned away and walked out the front door. My body was entirely still, I didn’t bother to breathe, looking down at my hands I saw the flesh turn dead white. The sun was getting lower in the sky, approaching the peaks of the surrounding mountains. The town was slowing down as humanity retreated into the safety of their homes. But they weren’t safe from me, not once the sun descended below the horizon.

Livia burst through the door and grabbed my shoulder, turning me around. She gasped, taking a step away from me, shocked by something I couldn’t see.

“What?” I asked, barely able to hear in the cacophony of the streets.

“Your irises are glowing,” she whispered low enough that I had to read her lips.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the pleasant stillness of my body. My heart no longer beat. I no longer needed to breathe. I was a rock in the storm-lashed sea. I was in control. When I opened my eyes again, I could smell Livia’s blood but it no longer filled me with the terrible need as it had before. “Livia,” I said calmly, “please don’t do that again. You can’t force me to take you, it’s not right.”

I watched her tears fall to the ground, afraid to look at her face. “Nobody trusts an addict,” she sobbed.

I couldn’t help it, I pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in my shoulder and cried. For the first time since I’d changed, I wondered if I’d lost something becoming a vampire. Vampires can’t cry.

“I’m not going back to Danica,” she hissed into my ear, her voice hoarse. “If you won’t make me yours, promise you’ll kill me.”

“Danica’s worse than death?” I asked, shocked.

“You’ve seen the underworld,” she answered, “it’s nothing to be feared. Not all vampires are evil but Danica… She is. She wasn’t like that when we first met but she became drunk on power. She’ll use me to do terrible things and I won’t be able to resist her if she offers to share blood with me again.”

“I’m not going to rape you to stop your ex from raping you,” I whispered back to her through my fangs, “there will be another way. I don’t need to share blood with you to keep you safe.”

“It’s not rape if I’m willing. What I said to you earlier, I meant it,” she declared, wiping her eyes as she pulled away from me. “This isn’t the addiction talking, my will is thus: If it comes to a choice between returning to Danica, being bound to you or death, I choose being bound to you first and then death before becoming Danica’s slave again.”

“I don’t want it to come to any of those,” I reassured her, “but I hear your stated preferences loud and clear and I promise I’m taking them seriously. I’m going to be busy tonight, why don’t you stay with Meredith for now? At least until this situation blows over? Then we will see what you think when you’re not under pressure.”

We both froze when we felt a new presence walking towards us, accompanied by the click of heels on the sidewalk. Ophilia sashayed towards us, pointedly ignoring a university boy that was staring after her in awe. “Ciara,” she called, opening her arms in a grand gesture, “Lady Livia, the last thing I was expecting was to find the two of you just chatting.” The way she emphasized the word ‘chatting’ gave it a double meaning.

Livia took a step to put me slightly in front of her as she bowed her head, looking at the sidewalk. “Lady Ophilia. You haven’t changed.”

“Well you certainly have,” Ophilia chuckled, reaching her index finger out to trace the necromancer’s cheekbone. “A few crow’s feet around the eyes, I see. I don’t think I can ever remember you being so demure. It’s becoming on you.”

I slapped her hand away, shifting to put Livia behind me. “I disagree.”

She smirked down at me, meeting my gaze. “You caught me by surprise before, fledgling,” she whispered, leaning uncomfortably close, “and Livia isn’t your vassal, more fool you. If you don’t want to fang-fuck her, I’d be happy to take her off your hands.”

“You couldn’t keep me safe from Baron Alexander, let alone Princess Danica,” Livia retorted in a small voice.

“But your little fledgling can?” she snorted.

“Don’t make me humble you in the middle of the street,” I said in a low, deadly, tone. “Why the fuck are you here?”

“Oh, yes, Alexander sent me to look for you,” she said, giving a long-suffering sigh. “You’re invited to a little dinner he’s throwing tonight at the Ivy Hotel. A little appetizer for the grand ball tomorrow. He wants to introduce you to proper vampire customs, make sure you have some table manners and maybe potty train you a little bit.”

“I’m busy tonight.”

“He thought you might say that,” she purred. “He told me to tell you that if you come tonight, he’ll personally put in a good word for you with the Domain. It’d go a long way toward getting your territory.”

I bit my lip, trying not to snarl at her. “When?”

“Two hours after sundown. Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to keep you up all night,” she laughed, pulling away. “See? Isn’t this much nicer? We should be friends, being the only two female vampires in town.”

I grinned viciously. “Then let me give you I friendly warning. Any vampire that touches Livia will regret it. If you want to be friends, don’t cross that line.”

She smirked. “She hasn’t told you why Danica wants her back so badly, has she?”

I felt Livia tense behind me, her forehead coming to rest on my shoulder as she clung to the back of my hoodie.

“Vampires and necromancers who feed on each other gain power from the association,” Ophilia explained. “The vampire shares their direct connection with the underworld while the necromancer empowers the vampire. Even a fledgling with a necromancer consort gains power enough to rival a Lord.”

“My point stands,” I snapped back at her. “Livia will never be anyone’s plaything ever again, not yours, not mine, not Danica’s.”

She glared at me in distain. “We’ll see how long you can resist, then,” she said before turning on her heel and storming off, shoving one of the gawkers aside to vent her frustration.

“Livia,” I said evenly, taking her hand, “let’s get you to Meredith’s right fucking now.”

Chapter 5

“The kid’s uncle rents a house across from Livia’s apartment,” Lily explained over the phone while I paced in Meredith’s living room, Medusa’s Mirror sitting shrouded in the corner. It was dark outside, finally, streets lit by yellowing electric lights as comforting silence reigned. “It’s two blocks away from the park. I’d have called earlier but I did some digging on my own. First, unless the kid hangs out on the roof, he didn’t see the police doing shit in the forest. Second, nobody seems to know who the owner is. Neighbours don’t know the kid or the uncle, say they keep to themselves. They think ‘David’ is home schooled.”

“Please tell me I’m not the only one smelling vampire shenanigans here?” I asked, scowling.

“We should have predicted this,” Lily answered, “there’s no way the Domain, much less Danica, was going to let Livia go. Please tell me she’s safe?”

“She’s at Meredith’s, as safe as I can make her,” I replied. “Unfortunately, Alexander’s dragooned me into some kind of party tonight. Not that I can help keep Livia safe, I don’t think us hanging around each other is good for either of us.”

There was a long pause, the buzz of the phone dragging on through the silence. “Ciara,” Lily began in a tone of admonishment, “if Livia asks you to make her your consort, you should.”

I gulped, the desire for Livia’s blood rising into my throat.

Lily groaned. “She’s already asked you, hasn’t she?”

“She said if it was between being my consort, going back to Danica or death, she’d prefer to be my consort or death over Danica.”

“Score!” Lily cheered. “No wonder you’re at Meredith’s, she can certify Livia’s not under duress and you can…” She paused for another torturously long moment. “Oh no, that’s not why you took her back to Meredith’s, is it? What sort of noble bullshit…? ARGH!”

“Please calm down, Lily,” I sighed, flopping into an armchair. “She’s a recovering addict, it wouldn’t be right and you fucking know it! It’s a last resort.”

“All this noble bullshit won’t mean a hill of beans if some other vampire takes her from us,” Lily hissed. “You won’t abuse her like Danica did, you won’t abuse her like any other vampire would.”

“Pleasant tyranny is till tyranny,” I insisted forcefully. “Meredith’s guarding her, she’ll be fine.”

“As long as she stays inside. I know you don’t have much experience with your kind, dear, but vampires are manipulative fucks as a general rule. It may seem like you’re doing the right thing but I won’t sleep well until Livia’s sharing your coffin. What’s our next move?”

Thankful for the change of subject, I took it. “I’m going to this party, you keep an eye on the house. Call Gardener to help you. If anything happens, call Gale, then Meredith, then me.”

“I don’t like the idea of you going into the vampire’s den alone,” Lily murmured, “but I can’t think of anyone else I’d trust. Alexander will try to talk rings around you, Ophilia will try to dominate you and who knows what Thomas wants. I’ll try to muster some backup in case you need it.”

“Thanks, Lily. Talk to you soon,” I said, hanging up.

Walking upstairs, I heard talking coming from Lily’s bedroom. Knocking politely on the doorframe, I walked in to find Livia sitting cross-legged on Lily’s bed hugging a stuffed toy with Meredith straddling my computer chair. “Sorry,” I apologized, walking through to the closet, “I need to grab a dress.”

“You’re really going there alone?” Livia called after me, sounding worried.

Shoving my hoodies aside, I looked at the two dresses I owned for my adult form and sighed. Black or red? Choices, choices. I picked the black dress off the shelf and started to strip. I was down to my panties and bra when Livia stormed into the room. “I really don’t think this is a good…” Her sentence trailed off as her face shifted from a dark thundercloud to a deep red blush, pausing as she looked down my body before suddenly turning on her heel. “S-sorry!” she apologized quickly.

The animalistic part of me roared to life. Tease her, take her, it tempted, she’s begging for it! Make her yours! Screwing my eyes shut, I clung to a nearby shelf to stop myself, claws digging into the wood. “Livia,” I gasped, “please don’t turn your back to me. You’ve seen a girl naked before, it’s no big deal.”

When she turned around she looked flustered, intent on looking anywhere but where I was. That was fine, I didn’t want to accidently meet her gaze. With an effort of will, I forced my bestial side back into its cage. Relieved, I managed to unlock my death grip on the shelf. “Sorry,” I apologized, taking several deliberate breaths to remind myself of what it was to be human.

“No, I guess this was stupid of me,” she murmured, still blushing. “You’ve changed since last year. You look regal.”

Looking into the nearby floor-to-ceiling mirror, I shrugged. I looked the same to myself. “Maybe I can’t see it because it’s happened so gradually,” I suggested. “Or it’s just that I’m not the same mixture of scared and elated I was when I first saw myself in Medusa’s Mirror. Being a vampire, much less a girl, isn’t so exciting in itself anymore, it’s as comfortable as your best casual clothes on a lazy day.”

Livia smiled. “I hope you keep that feeling once you’ve experienced what the Domain is like.”

Smiling back, I showed off my fangs. “Don’t worry, I dislike them already.” Holding up the dress, I started to pull it over my head but Livia stopped me with a gentle touch on my hand. I could feel her warmth on my cold skin but I had a firm grasp on my instincts.

The necromancer plucked some black lingerie off the shelves. “Change into these first,” she ordered, “and wear the black thigh-highs with those heeled boots. You’ll still be the most underdressed person at the party but you should make some effort. I’ll see what we can borrow from Meredith’s closet. When you come out, I’ll do your make-up. We’re not having Bridleigh’s vampire looking like a slob.”

“Yes, Livia,” I said, smirking. I liked seeing that fire in her much more than the subservience Ophilia inspired.

When I finally came out, Meredith had a violet satin jacket to go over the plain black dress with a belt that rested loosely across my hips. At first, I protested at the single black velvet glove she gave me for my left hand before she pointed out that it balanced the growing mark on my right arm, which we were leaving exposed for emphasis. It wasn’t anywhere near as large as it was in Nyx’s underworld, but it had managed to cover most of my forearm, with the snakes often creeping down the back of my palm.

Livia insisted on sitting me down to do my make-up, breaking out the liquid eyeliner and lip brushes. She smirked as I closed my eyes and held perfectly still as only a walking corpse could. “I used to do this for Danica,” she confessed as she worked with practiced ease. “I was so good, other vampires would ask me to do theirs for the big parties.”

“Sounds like the Domain throws a lot of parties,” I murmured, trying to move as little as possible.

“Oh, they do,” Livia chuckled, “small ones every week, the local Lord usually puts one on every few months. As territorial as vampires are, a lot of work has to be done to keep you all off each other’s throats. Social ties formed in casual settings where it would be gauche to rip each other apart last much longer. At a slight risk of dominance and submission games.”

“Sounds like a bunch of alpha and beta bullshit,” I grumbled.

“Not really. It’s not like frat boys jockeying for position to boost their own egos and prove themselves, every vampire I’ve ever met has an inalienable sense of self-worth. When a new toy comes along, it’s more of a playful squabbling amongst children. Losing gracelessly is the mark of a fool. Lords are viewed as and expected to act like surrogate parents, even if their children don’t share their bloodline.”

Rolling my eyes upward, I took in the scars on Livia’s face. It was the first time I’d really noticed them in a long time. “They’re not a perfect family,” I observed.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect family,” Livia sighed. “But I had friends, people who stood up for me, vampires who helped me get away and didn’t simply want to take me for their own. Though I never thought I’d ever meet a vampire that wouldn’t leap at the chance to sup on me after I gave them permission.”

“Girls,” Meredith interrupted, tapping her watch, “we can’t let Ciara be too late for a party in her honour.”

“Almost done,” Livia promised. “Besides, it’s only Alexander and his cronies. He’s being polite, the real introduction to vampire society won’t happen until Ciara visits a big city.”

“I wish I could take you with me,” I said. “I don’t have any practice at proper etiquette.”

“All we’d have to do is share blood,” Livia teased.

“Livia,” Meredith rebuked gently.

Sighing, Livia nodded. “I’m sorry. There, you’re all done, ready to face the big, bad, vampires.”

Standing up, I drew my nail down Livia’s scarred cheek, eliciting a gasp of longing. “Don’t forget, sweet,” I purred, walking away, leaving the necromancer blushing behind me, “I’m also a big, bad, vampire.”

Leaving the room, I heard Meredith chuckle. “You deserved that.”

Chapter 6

The Ivy was a grand heritage building, my heels clicked on the marble floor as I walked confidently through the front doors, which were opened for me by a friendly red-uniformed servant. The concierge walked around the counter, smiling brightly in his perfect suit and posture. “Ciara Blackwood? Please come this way, Baron Dulac has requested me to escort you immediately to his quarters.”

I could smell lust in his sweat as I nodded and followed but the undercurrent of testosterone made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. Entering the elevator, he pressed the button for the top floor for me before standing in a corner to fidget. Ignoring his masked nervousness, I looked at myself in the mirror. I’d gotten good at doing my own hair, though there was little I had to do with the curly mass in the first place, leaving it unbound with minimal brushing was simplistic but good. Livia, however, had gone the full mile with my make-up, heavy liquid eyeliner and red shadow highlighting my blue eyes. Black lipstick was my favourite, even if it was unsubtle, and worked well with my painted black nails.

I’d decided that it was fun to dress up sometimes when the elevator door opened to a short hallway where another human was kneeling on the thick red carpet. The décor was traditional wood with gold trim and inoffensive cream wallpaper. It was old, well refurbished and warm with the scent of roses in the air. I picked the girl as in her mid-twenties and beautiful with pale skin, grey eyes and lustrous black hair. Her dress was crimson, accessorised with silver jewellery inset with fiery opals.

“Lady Ciara,” she greeted, head bowed, “I am to be your escort for this evening. Baron Dulac is awaiting your pleasure in the dining room.”

The concierge’s jaw was hanging open as I stepped past. Looking over my shoulder, I caught his eye and slipped my will into his mind. “Thank you, please go back to work and speak nothing of this.”

Nodding, he pressed the elevator button. I waited for the doors to close before gesturing to the girl. “Rise and tell me your name, please?”

She rose gracefully to her feet, keeping her eyes downcast even though we were the same height. Her hair was done in a cascade braided to hang over her right shoulder with an off-the-shoulder dress leaving the left side of her neck enticingly exposed. “Lady Ciara, my name is Anja Klein. I am Baron Alexander’s gift to you for the night.”

I sniffed. She wasn’t as nervous as the concierge but I could hear her heart fluttering in her chest. “You’re very pretty,” I complimented her, “please lead on.”

Nodding, she quietly walked beside me down the hallway, stopping only to open the door at the end for me. The room beyond was large with massive bay windows overlooking Cauldron Lake. The Ivy was the tallest building in Bridleigh at around eight stories, giving a pleasant view of the boat lights drifting like will-o-wisps over the moonlit water. Rich leather couches had been placed with calculated haphazardness amongst large, thick, cushions scattered across the marble floor.

Several humans lay amongst the cushions in a variety of fancy dress and fetishwear, distractedly languid almost as if they were drugged. In one corner, a man and woman teased each other, giggling joyfully. A blonde wearing a dress made of black leather straps bit her lip as she peeked around the arm of a couch, watching me hungrily. The entire scene was lit by oozing candles slowly burning down on tall candelabras. I found, laid out before me, a upscale vampire buffet, no doubt designed to impress me and get my juices flowing. It was not ineffective, though the presence of men made it less than perfect in my eyes.

“Ciara!” Alexander greeted grandly as he walked into the room from a side door, spreading his arms wide in mock surprise. He was still in his blue velvet jacket and black trousers, though somewhere along the line he’d lost his shirt and shoes. “So delightful of you to come, and fashionably late too.”

I arched my eyebrow, unable to tell if he was being ingratiating or having a subtle dig. I decided both but kept my smile in place. “Baron, you’ve certainly laid out the table for me tonight.”

He sighed, taking a humble posture. “Unfortunately, I can’t greet a lady such as yourself with a befitting tribute so far from the wonders of my mansion back home. I’ve had to make do with these limited facilities.”

“Modesty doesn’t become you, Alex,” Ophilia chided playfully as she slunk into the room behind him. She’d exchanged her ass-kicking leather attire for a hip-hugging scarlet dress that trailed behind her feet as she walked precisely in matching heels. The material glittered subtly in the flickering light.

“Please forgive Sir Thomas, he’s currently helping Officer Patterson with her inquiries,” Alexander said. “I see Livia hasn’t lost her touch with make-up, your self-control should be admired. Please, take a seat.”

Wandering through the furniture, I found the blood dolls posing enticingly, begging me with their eyes to sit near them. Rather than base my seating arrangements on them, I picked a comfortable semi-circular couch, lowering myself into the corner made by the tall armrest on my right and snuggling myself into it. I had a moment of alarm as Anja settled into the cushions under my feet, resting her warm cheek on my knee as I crossed my legs but I quickly calmed myself. Ophilia took the seat at the other end of the couch, to which several of the male blood dolls immediately flocked while Alexander plonked himself across from us amongst a bevy of females who worshipped him with their eyes.

He looked at me, grinning. “You appear to disapprove of our lifestyle?”

I wasn’t aware I’d let it show but shook my head. “I can see the advantage of a small group of regular donors.”

“Dolls, dear,” Ophilia interrupted, reaching down to pet one of her men. “We call them dolls. They prefer it, don’t you, Holden?”

The man looked up at her when she spoke her name. “Yes, mistress,” he answered dutifully, nuzzling her palm.

Several of the blood dolls jumped when the snake tattoos on my wrist uncoiled, hissing balefully. I grinned at the reaction, showing fangs. “Sorry, I much prefer my own prey wilful. I’m sure you understand that, Baron?”

He glanced at Ophilia and chuckled. “I have a taste for such, yes, though I also enjoy the ease of a familiar bite.”

Ophilia scowled. “I am not a shrew to be tamed, thank you father.”

“Indeed, you are not, daughter,” he reassured her, though his tone was harsh. “Please show some decorum in front of our guest. I know you both got off to a rocky start but there’s no need for hostilities.”

“I apologise,” I said, “I didn’t intend offence.”

“None taken,” Ophilia sighed, relaxing again. “I’m too used to the stuffy misogyny of elder vampires. Despite our egalitarian society, the habits we grow up with still die hard.”

“I must say, that mark of yours is remarkable,” Alexander quickly changed the subject, relaxing in his chair as the girls at his feet tittered at his weak pun. “I have to ask, why did Nyx choose you?”

“At least in my case, it would be more appropriate to ask why we chose each other?” I posed in return. “The best answer would be that I’m not sure we ever really had a choice. Being with her was simply so perfect and right that there was never even a question that we would.”

“Destiny?” Ophilia scoffed.

“I wouldn’t put it so tritely. We resonate, I think that’s what it means to be a priestess more than anything. I’m sure such resonance can be learned but some people are also simply going to be born that way, like myself. Chance, luck, a perfect storm of coincidences linked us indelibly and I will be eternally grateful.”

I felt Anja flinch, twitching involuntarily against my leg. Both Alex and Ophilia noticed it too and frowned. “Anja,” Alexander said sternly, the one word making the girl tremble against me. “Do I need to ask another to take your place?”

“No, master,” Anja whispered, a note of fear in her voice, “I will be good.”

Leaning forward, I reached down and lifted her chin. As our eyes met, I was tempted to mesmerize her but refrained. “Be calm, Anja, I’m happy with you. Please speak your mind, what’s wrong?”

Alexander rolled his eyes impatiently, apparently annoyed at the interruption. Ophilia had her head cocked to one side, curious.

“You speak casually of eternity,” Anja answered after a moment of indecisive silence, “and I know you really mean it. I know I can never be like you but I… I want it. I envy you, beautiful and powerful forever.”

“Such twaddle,” Alexander snarled, brushing the air with his perfectly manicured nails as if shooing her words away like flies. “All things have their place, as long as you share my blood, Anja, you will remain ageless and more beautiful than you were.”

“Would you like to know a little secret, Anja?” I asked, whispering to her as I ignored Alexander’s tirade. “Sometime, someplace, we were once just like you. Human, weak, alone, wishing for power, immortality and grace. Lonely people resenting our place in the world. And then came our first taste of sweet, sweet blood and we were forever changed, perfected. Then sometimes, we look back on what we were with revulsion and we do everything we can to push the idea of that away.”

“Spare me the classist tripe, Ciara,” Alexander groaned theatrically, “I thought you more interesting than that. The three of us were never human, we were larvae waiting to metamorphose. We always looked at the world through the eyes of predators. Don’t dare suggest I don’t care for my vassals or the humans at large when I have spent hundred of years shepherding them through a myriad of disasters! Anja will never be one of us, she should be content to serve.”

“I am content to serve, master,” Anja insisted strongly. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I envied you.”

Ophilia giggled, shaking her head. “Be content, father, Anja’s just wiggling on the hook for our guest. I think she’s eager to compare Ciara’s fangs to yours.”

Mollified, Alexander leant back in his chair again, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “Please, Ciara. Anja’s one of my best.”

Anja obligingly raised herself up on her knees for me, trailing on hand lightly on my thigh as she pulled her head back to expose her pulsing jugular to me. It was different, having a meal offer itself to me this way. I was used to sneaking nibbles in dark corners and dorm rooms, certainly never in public. There was no way I could resist. Sitting up, I caressed her cheek, which seemed to come as a surprise as I lowered my lips onto her neck. She trembled as I kissed her skin, raking fangs over her pulse before finding exactly the right spot to sink in. She cried out, gasping and moaning as I locked my lips over the wound and sucked the rich, warm, fluid from her veins.

I shuddered and shivered, my own moans echoing hers as I fed. Finally pulling away, I cradled her limp form in my arms as I licked the wound, saliva mystically wiping away the four punctures. I could hear her heartbeat and feel her chest rise and fall. She was blissfully contented, if drained and exhausted. Her blood warmed me from the inside, flushing my skin as I cuddled her close. “Thank you, Anja,” I whispered into her ear, stroking the girl’s hair.

Ophilia was staring, lips slightly parted, accidently showing the tips of her fangs. She was wound tightly in her own corner, the boys at her feet looking panicked at the lack of attention she was giving them. Alexander looked as if someone had pissed in his mouth without permission. Licking my lips, I smirked, careful of Anja’s head as I lowered her into my lap. “Delicious, Baron,” I complimented.

“Well, I’ve certainly never seen Anja react so positively to the bite,” he said, putting on a practiced wry smile.

Feeling giddy from the blood, I laughed, looking over to Ophilia. “Perhaps she was just craving a woman’s touch,” I teased, knowing full well she could smell the tempting blood on my breath.

Ophilia drew breath to say something when someone suddenly kicked open the door. I tensed for a moment but my grin widened when I caught the scent of salt water and sea foam. Ophilia uncoiled in a blur of motion, rounding on the figure striding confidently into the room in ripped jeans, a flannel shirt and combat boots.

“Phyllis,” Alexander growled, baring fangs, “what a surprise. Sit down, Ophilia.”

Grinning, Phyllis sauntered past Ophilia, giving the vampire a wink before leaning over to kiss me on the lips. I let out a stifled moan of surprise when she slipped her tongue into my mouth, tasting the traces of blood that I hadn’t managed to gulp down.

“Well, Alex has been treating you well,” Phyllis said, moving Anja’s legs so she could drop onto the couch, leaning against my shoulder. “Hey, sucker,” she greeted Alexander with a casual wave.

Ophilia snarled. “That’s Baron Alexander, you…”

Alex waved her off. “Phyllis is a few thousand years older than any of us, Ophilia,” he said with a long-suffering sigh, “old ladies find change hard to manage.”

I shook my head, looking to Phyllis. “Hey, it’s nice to see you. Do all vampire parties devolve into massive pissing contests?”

“Just the fun ones,” Phyllis answered wryly. “Considering current affairs, though, it’s more likely that a young hothead like Alex is stress testing your patience.”

“Seriously, Phyllis, I hardly think I count as young anymore,” Alex protested.

“Call me when you hit your first millennium and ask me if I give a shit,” Phyllis laughed. “Joking aside, are we really doing this dance tonight? Hounding Ciara’s counterproductive.”

“Yes, yes, she’s got every monster in town wrapped around her little finger,” Ophilia huffed.

Phyllis gave her an icy glare. “Quiet, child, your elders are speaking.”

“Phyllis,” Alex sighed, “I respect you but Ophilia is still a vampire. You might be able to recover from anything but my blood daughter can still disconnect your limbs barehanded in alphabetical order.”

“She can try,” I said sweetly, grinning.

The blood dolls shifted away from us as I gently set Anja aside on some cushions. Phyllis kept her eyes locked on Alexander, sitting contentedly between Ophilia and I as she glared daggers at me. She turned to look at her blood father, sneering. “Aren’t you going to tell Ciara to shut up while our elders talk?” she demanded.

“Ciara’s a special exception,” Phyllis answered before Alexnder could draw breath.

“Why?” Ophilia snapped.

“Because she’s a primogenitor.”

I froze, cold and still as the colour drained from my skin. “Phyllis,” I gasped in horror.

Alexander snorted. “I thought we were being serious.”

“I am being serious,” Phyllis pressed, leaning forward. “The first of her kind for more than a thousand years. The blood that quickened hers was the Night Mother’s, no-one else. Her blood is so powerful she needs to fuel it constantly, hence her nigh unquenchable thirst. No vampire elder lives secretly in Bridleigh. Whatever killed poor Rachel was imported…”

The world stopped as if a god had pressed pause on reality as I heard glass shatter. I saw Alexander and Ophilia turning slowly towards the sound, their own vampiric reflexes kicking in while Phyllis’ lips were finishing her sentence. I was faster, halfway on my feet as I turned to see steel-jacketed rifle bullets approaching amidst a shower of glass. My claws caught the first bullet, cleaving the projectile in half, though I felt both halves penetrate my chest a moment later. The second bullet caught the back of my hand, shattering my wrist as it ricocheted off the bone. The third caught me on the shoulder, glanced off my collarbone and exited out my back in a burst of shrapnel that peppered Phyllis’ face and arm.

Meanwhile, several bullets hit Alexander in the stomach as he smashed a smoking cannister back towards the window. I watched it fly away in a short arc moments before it exploded in a flash as brilliant as the sun. The light pierced my eyes, the sound blowing my eardrums, scrambling my brain until I could taste blue. I was deaf and blind, all I could hear was a high-pitched scream that came from inside my own head, my vision was an endless field of blue-white. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t think, I begged for darkness to take me but respite never came.

Chapter 7

I thought I was going to go insane from the endless screaming that filled my head or the relentless white light that stabbed through my eyes. Eventually, both began to fade but I wasn’t met with darkness or silence as I’d hoped. It was the sharp, delicious, scent of blood that brought me around. A shaft of light lanced from a crack between the boards covering a high window, caught by heavy dust in the air, making the entire room unpleasantly bright. Despite the daylight, I could only hear a low rustle of shrubs and a distant rumble of traffic. Wherever I was, it was a long way from Bridleigh.

Sitting up, I surveyed the basement around me. The walls were brick and there were scant furnishings, just old dusty crates left to rot. A circle had been painted around me in what appeared to be blood, only a few hours old. The flood had been cleared of dust by a profusion of footsteps, I could see several different shoe sizes amongst the tracks. Sitting before me, hugging his legs atop a crate by a set of stairs, was ‘David’ watching me nervously. The blood I’d smelled, the blood the circle was made of, was his. He was hiding the wound on his wrist under the sleeve of a black hoodie but I didn’t have to see the bandage to smell it.

“What the fuck are you?” he demanded, trembling.

I smiled, reaching out to test the limits of the circle. As my hand tried to cross, it felt as if the air was compressing against my fingertips, like a soft shell that gets harder to push through the more you try. “I’m a vampire,” I told him, “didn’t anyone tell you?”

“Bullshit,” he snapped. “We staked you, cut your head off, burned you…”

He paused, gulping as my gaze snapped up to meet his. I felt my hypnotic gaze recoil from the barrier between us but remained smiling as I stood. “Well, I’m very glad I was insensate for most of that. I can still feel pain, you know. My question is, if you know such things then you must know what you are. So why do you do this, ‘David’?”

“I’m not answering your questions,” he answered stubbornly.

Floating to my feet, I stretched and took in the torn and charred state of what was left of my dress. “Ugh, I’m going to owe Meredith for her coat,” I complained.

He glared at me. “Aren’t you scared? You’re trapped down here! We’re ages away from Bridleigh!”

“And, try as you might, you haven’t managed to kill me,” I purred, smirking. “And whoever’s in charge here left you to watch over me, which means they’re only moderately confident that I can’t break their barrier.”

“How do you figure that?”

“There’s an off-chance that I’ll balk at eating a child, giving them a few moments of warning to react to my escape. Luckily for you and them, this barrier seems quite solid.”

He relaxed, looking smug. “It’s my uncle’s work.”

I raised one eyebrow. “Really, now? Does that make you a future warlock?”

A shadow of doubt crossed his features for a moment. “Yes,” he answered firmly and positively.

“Your uncle’s not a member of the Witch’s Council, though,” I pressed, “not if he’s trapping souls.”

He shot out of his seat, stepping towards me, glaring angrily. “That wasn’t us!”

I crossed my arms, unimpressed. “No?”

He tried to hold my gaze but eventually looked away, remaining silent.

“That’s what I thought,” I growled. “Kid, I get it, you’re not the one making the decisions. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of this when the sun goes down.”

He snorted. “When the sun goes down, it’ll be too late.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He means,” Ophilia interrupted as she descended the stairs in her stiletto heels, “you’ve already sealed Livia’s fate, along with your own.”

She was back in her red leather get-up, though this time she’d included a sword belted to her hip. She was carrying a canvas bag in her right fist. Behind her, a large black man in a suit and tie busied himself twiddling his finger rings. A stern glance at ‘David’ made the boy grimace, which I guessed made him ‘Uncle’.

Feigning ignorance, I stared at her blankly. “Er, I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

She scowled for a moment before smiling again. “Oh, if that’s the best you can do, I fear I’ve come to a battle of wits against an unarmed opponent.”

“I don’t see a need to try against an opponent who just walks in and starts monologuing like a penny dreadful villain,” I sighed. “If you hadn’t shown up here, I might not have suspected you were involved. Though it’d be rough to explain why you weren’t dead.” Sniffing, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent coming from the bag. Alexander.

She noticed me glancing at the bag and grinned, lifting it up with a theatrical sigh. “Ah, yes, my poor father. He shall be sorely missed,” she said before planting a kiss on the canvas. “Just not by me.”

David looked like he was going to vomit but I couldn’t tell if it was from the head in the bag or Ophilia’s bullshit.

I rolled my eyes. “Ok, drama queen. I get it, you’re feeling high on life after breaking that glass ceiling. Woo, you go girl, and all that shit. The moment word gets back to the Council, the Domain will have Danica’s head on a pike. I don’t know what she promised you but it won’t matter when you’re ash, you dumb bitch.”

“The only person going down for this debacle is you,” Ophilia shrugged. “It would have been simpler if we could have killed you and Alexander at once, or if Phyllis hadn’t butted in the middle of everything, more fool her. As it is, we’re back to plan one, frame your ass. What the squirt was about to blab to you about tonight was that with Alexander dead and the hotel a total mess, tonight’s Halloween party is back on at Meredith’s. After all, with a soul-stealer on the loose and a direct attack on the domain’s representative, what better place for the monsters to hide out but the Inquisitor’s warded suburban home?”

“You’re going to attack Meredith’s during Halloween?” I scoffed. “How dumb are you?”

‘Uncle’ snorted. “We’ve got enough Semtex and white phosphorous to leave her whole house a smoking crater,” he informed in a deep, throaty, voice.

“All Danica wanted was Livia,” Ophilia sighed, “if you’d had the good grace to die, we wouldn’t need to kill all of them. Without your claim on her blood, she could have gone back to Danica, made nice and all would have been well for everyone. As it is, she has to die. Whatever game your patron is trying to play here won’t matter after that.”

I blinked several times, trying to puzzle out what the fuck she was talking about. “Wait a minute, claim? Patron?”

Ophilia looked to Uncle, who shrugged. “Your patron? You vampire father or mother? The one whose blood you drank to become a vampire, you dolt! Obviously one of the exiled elders in hiding, of course, coupled with your bond with Livia enhancing your powers of regeneration. Nothing else can possibly explain our inability to kill you.”

I facepalmed, pursing my lips tightly together.

“Don’t bother with tears, dear,” Ophilia gloated. “Don’t worry, we might not be able to finish you off but Granny Gratz wakes up the moment the sun goes down and she’ll be hungry. I’m told immortal souls are the best, you and Phyllis will make a grand payment for her help.”

Unable to hold it in any longer, I let out a choked snort of laughter that quickly turned into a fit of giggles. Letting it all out, I threw my head back and laughed.

Leaning toward Ophilia, Uncle murmured, “She’s cracked?”

“Sorry, no,” I answered, stifling my fit of laughter, “it’s just too funny. I get it, we’re somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. You’re confident that I can’t escape with this spiffy magic circle. It’s still a bit of a wait until sunset, so you need to stall me just in case I can eventually rip out of here with sheer force of will. I’m sorry, it’s just so, so pointless.”

Gesturing, my clothes burst into a robe of shadows and mist as the mark on my wrist writhed, black snakes crawling up my right arm. Nyx’s cloak of raven feathers faded into existence and settled over my shoulders as the light in the room faded. “Lily, attend me,” I hissed.

‘David’ stumbled back from a sudden flash of fire next to the circle, while Uncle inched his way towards the stairs and Ophilia’s hand flew to the hilt of her sword with vampiric speed, dropping the bag. The fire died to reveal Lily kneeling next to me, wearing a black kimono depicting blue fox-fires drifting through a swamp littered with corpses. “What would you will, my mistress?” the little girl asked formally.

Looking at our three opponents, I smiled. “Release me from the circle. You can have the corpse but don’t harm the child.”

Uncle was smart, he bolted up the stairs. “Get back here!” Ophilia ordered but remained still, eyes on Lily. “I don’t know where you came from, you little…”

“Outside,” Lily informed, pointing to the window before slowly standing. “I’ve been waiting out there for hours. None of you noticed. Don’t feel bad, I’ve had an eternity of practice.”

“One move towards that circle and I’ll…”

There was another flash as Lily’s form was wreathed in fire. “Your threats don’t concern me,” Lily told her, “you of all people can’t touch me. You asked what sort of monster I was back at the bar. Nekomata? No, I am not Nekomata. What I am is very relevant to you, so I’ll tell you as a curtesy.”

She broke the circle by casually drawing her toe across the line of blood before stepping towards Ophilia. With each step she grew, her skin turning blue as she aged, small horns protruding from her head along with the cat-ears and two tails, her footsteps leaving pools of fire on the floor. “My father was an Oni but I take more after my mother. I am a Kasha, a messenger of Hell, responsible for retrieving the corpses of the wicked.”

Ophilia drew her sword and stuck in a wide sweep aimed for Lily’s neck. She didn’t move or dodge, the blade was simply cut through by the scorching heat of her fire. I saw the fear in Ophilia’s eyes as she gave me a pleading look, as if I had even a shred of reason to spare her. In the next moment, Lily pounced, laughing maniacally as she turned into a ball of blue flame that left a trail of black smoke in her wake. Ophilia screamed as she was lifted from the floor, far too slow to run from a being of infernal flame. They bounced off the ceiling once, setting the rafters alight before she was thrust through the window out into the sunlight, her screams fading into the distance as she was carried, literally, to Hell.

I looked down on ‘David’ as I stepped across the threshold. He cowered, shivering in fear, curled up into a ball with his arms shielding his face. Pausing, I took a closer look at his skin as his sleeves slipped down his wrists. Along with revealing the fresh bandage on his arm, I could see old scars. Defensive wounds. Kneeling, I gently pulled his arms down and rolled up his sleeve to check. The scars went right up his arm. I recognized the patterns, so similar to Livia’s. “Your Uncle did this to you?” I asked. He nodded mutely. I didn’t need to compel the truth from him, I could smell it.

Hot rage burned through my veins as my power stretched out into the world. The wind howled outside as dark clouds gathered overhead. Standing slowly, I strode upstairs, leaving the boy behind. Breaking the locked wooden door at the top like so much kindling, I walked into a large room with more crates scattered about the walls. Light streamed in through high windows, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere. Uncle stood over an ornate coffin, old and worn from travel like no coffin for a regular dead person should ever look. He held his left hand over his head, holding a short handle with his thumb depressed on a red button.

“Is this the best a warlock can do?” I asked. “Toys?”

“Magic is just another science,” he said, shrugging. A peal of thunder caught his attention. The light coming through the windows dimmed as the storm outside gathered strength, blotting out the sun.

“If you were going to blow the whole place up, you should have ran,” I told him, stalking forward.

“Uh, uh, uh,” he tutted, “it’s not the place that’s rigged. It’s the boy.” I froze, my rage quenched into icy fear. He grinned. “Yeah, I’ve got you pegged,” he gloated, “the compassionate newborn vampire, unwilling to make sacrifices. Immortality makes you bitches try to hold on to everything.”

“I prefer ethical. You’d kill your own apprentice?”

“Desperate kids like him are a dime a dozen on the streets,” he laughed, “promise to help them become what they want in their hearts and they’ll do anything for you.”

My hatred for him boiled over, thunder pealing as heavy drops of rain began to pound the roof. “I promise you nothing but regret and ashes,” I hissed at him.

“Blotting out the sun was a mistake,” he explained, backing up towards a side door. “I’ll hold onto this for as long as I can but my thumb’s getting tired. Hope you can find the bomb I planted on the kid before then. Well, if Granny Gratz will let you.”

As if on cue, a ghostly feminine hand shot out of the coffin, passing easily through the solid lid. Pale green ectoplasm drifted from the hand, pooling like mist as the apparition rose like a marionette pulled jerkily upright on strings. Granny Gratz’s ghost looked emaciated, in real life she would have been nothing but dry skin stretched over bone. Her torn, transparent, nightgown fluttered despite the still air, catching the ethereal breeze of the Underworld just like my robe of shadows. The look on the spectre’s face wasn’t one of rage, it was pulled into a mask of desperation and agony. “Please,” she begged, twitching spasmodically, “so… hungry…”

“Granny Gratz!” Uncle called her attention, pointing his finger at me. “Her soul will fill you up!” With that, he bolted out the door.

Her wide, blank, eyes filled with light as she fixed her gaze on me. Opening her mouth wide, she breathed in, and in, and in, gathering that bright white light within herself. As I watched, the concrete under her feet began to crumble, her own coffin rotting as rust corrupted the corrugated metal walls around us. I could feel the white light trying to tear at my skin, attempting to pull me in piece by piece.

“Rachel Yates,” I said, unpurturbed.

Gratz paused, slowly drifting towards me, baleful light glowing inside her rib cage. “She is in here with us,” Gratz laughed, “do you long to see her again, child? She can be with us forever…”

Lightning pealed once more as I gathered my power, the shadows of my robe crawling across the ground in a circle around me. “Loveless one,” I intoned, “inverted creature condemned to fill yourself with what you do not possess. I take back what you have stolen in the name of Death.” I moved between blinks, flying forward streaming shadows behind me. She was surprised when I grabbed her neck with my left hand, eyes widening as she realized my flesh was solid to her as anything else. My right hand, wreathed in the darkness of the Mother’s Mark, I thrust towards her chest, tearing through ectoplasmic bone to reach into the light therein. The ghost light tried to draw me in but found that my own darkness, my own hunger, was stronger.

“No! Mine!” she cried, trying futilely to dig her bony fingers into my shoulders, but the scratches simply healed immediately after.

“I bring you peace,” I whispered, shoving my arm into the white void inside her up to the shoulder, “let there be darkness.” Wrapping my fingers around the core of that baleful light, I quenched it in my fist.

Granny Gratz whined like chastised puppy as my darkness filled her. Thousands of trapped souls, tiny blue fox-fires, flew up my arm and into my stomach, passing through me into the Underworld, using me as a bridge. As I watched, the spirit’s flesh gained body and health until the ghost of a beautiful young woman gazed into my eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered in relief before collapsing into one last fox-fire to cross into peaceful rest.

Drained, I fell to the floor on my hands and knees, shadowy robes coalescing back into my shredded garments. I felt the thirst creeping in, my fangs out. I smelled the boy peeking around the doorframe at the top of the stairs. Holding my hand over my mouth, I crawled away from him. “Don’t! Don’t come near me! I thirst!”

Despite my warning, he took a few steps towards me. “I-I can help! Just a little bit!”

It was hard to think but I knew there was something very important that I was forgetting. After a moment, it struck me like a lightning bolt. “No! Boy! You’re carrying a…”

A loud ‘thump’ reverberated through my bones, a pressure wave throwing the boy into my arms. I caught him and felt my hands sinking into a warm, wet, hole in his back that shouldn’t be there. Blood sprayed across the floor and walls behind where he’d stood. There was a look of shock on his pale face, eyes rolling around in panic. His mouth worked like he was trying to speak but all that dribbled from the corner of his lips was red foam.

Ciara! I heard Phyllis’ voice snap inside my head. Feed them your blood!

I blinked. “Phyllis?” I asked aloud.

Yes, I’m alive! Do it now!

I hesitated for a moment before sinking my fangs into my own wrist, tearing my veins open. Holding the wound over his lips, I let my thick, dark, blood dribble into his mouth. I felt a moment of panic as he stilled in my arms, his breath failing. A sudden bright white flash rocketed through the room as the storm above discharged a bolt of lighting into the metal structure. I felt it hit the back of my head like a hammer blow, setting what remained of my clothes alight.

His back arched convulsively as the lighting poured from my hand into his chest, suddenly drawing a long, laboured, breath. Energy continued to arc from his form as he was lifted out of my arms as if by invisible hands. I shuddered, feeling pure power flowing through me from the underworld, wind swirling around us as shadows lengthened. I watched, wide-eyed, as he began to shrink inside his clothes. His hands, fingers splayed, collapsed rapidly. His shoes hung loose on his feet. Twitching, eyes glowing bright blue even as they shifted along with the rest of his features, softening along with the rest of his body as the scars disappeared. I watch he become a she completely as her chest and hips filled out a little.

Rising from the shadows, gowned in darkness, Niasha stepped into our world, setting a perfect, luminous, bare foot on the concrete floor. Her sisters surrounded us, watching as she knelt beside me and smiled with black lips. “Beloved of the night,” she greeted me, “you appear worse for wear.”

“Niasha? You can cross into our world?” I asked, feeling weak. Looking down at my wrist, I saw drops of blood spilling onto the floor from the still-open wound.

“When a place is brought so close to the realm of death,” Niasha answered, “or brought close when you exercise your power. Unfortunately, you’ve brought yourself closer to the underworld as well.”

I tried to move but my arms and legs were numb. Sleep clawed at the edges of my consciousness. As the last of my reserves faded, Niasha caught me and lowered my head gently to the floor. “Be still,” she ordered, “conserve your energy.”

Looking up at where the former boy was still hovering in mid-air, I saw Nyx fade into existence, holding the tiny girl in her arms. She looked down at me and smiled, the glories of the void sparkling in her eyes. “She will survive,” my goddess reassured me, “you’ve done everything I hoped for and more, my love. But don’t sleep just yet, there may be yet more surprises in a moment.”

Meredith didn’t bother with the door, bursting through the steel walls on her broom like an invulnerable rocket with Livia riding behind her. “Nyx! What the hell?”

“Ciara!” Livia cried, jumping off the broom to rush to my side. I wanted to smile, say something reassuring, but I could barely move my eyes.

“She used the last of her blood to quicken this new witch,” Nyx informed them. “Her former master abandoned her to die.”

Meredith looked between the child and Ciara. “Her blood quickened a witch? How?”

“She is of my blood, dear,” Nyx explained, smirking. “Perhaps you forget the first time we met during your own quickening?”

Meredith blushed deep red before glaring back at Nyx. “You may have quickened my soul but you don’t own me, or the girl. I’ll take charge of her, if you would.”

Laughing, Nyx passed the girl into Meredith’s arms as she slowly roused. “Ugh, what happened? Eep! My voice!”

“It’s ok,” Meredith reassured her, gently kneeling to lay her on the ground, “breathe deep and slow. I’m Meredith, I’m a witch like you.”

“I-I’m not a witch,” she stammered, “I can’t be a witch, Uncle said I wasn’t…”

“He lied,” Livia interrupted, looking up at Nyx. “Ciara’s life-force is ebbing. She’ll go into hibernation and her soul will go to the underworld if she doesn’t get blood soon.”

Nyx grinned and nodded. “Astute observation, necromancer.”

Livia’s eyes narrowed. “You could give her your blood right now.”

“I am of the Underworld, dear,” Nyx said pointedly, “my blood or the blood of a Lampad could draw her being permanently to the realm of death. Not that I’d object having my beloved by my side but she still has much to do. If she simply falls into hibernation, you’d get her back eventually.”

“She can have my blood,” the girl said, struggling to stand.

Meredith shook her head and denied her simply by pressing her hand on the girl’s chest. “Shush, if you donate blood to her in your current state, you could die. I doubt she spent so much effort on you to let that happen now. I’ll do it.”

Livia frowned. “No, I’ll do it.”

I managed a gasp of alarm but my body remained unresponsive.

“I told you to shush,” Livia snapped, rolling up her left sleeve.

“Are you sure about this?” Nyx asked. “You know what will happen if you share blood?”

“I’m more than aware!” Livia shouted. “I know what you want me to do! I know what I have to do! I know what I want!”

“You don’t have to,” Niasha pointed out, “Meredith is right here, she can…”

“Ciara isn’t Danica!” Livia snapped, interrupting her. “She’s not going to hurt me. She’s not going to hurt anyone that doesn’t deserve it. I’m sick of longing for what I could have easily if not for the past. I’m sick of living in Danica’s shadow. I won’t lose Ciara, not now, not ever! I choose her! Does anyone object?”

Nyx cleared her throat. “Ciara is still mine…”

Tension hung in the air as the goddess let that statement hang like the sword of Damocles over Livia’s head.

“…But I’m willing to share her with you during your waking hours. As long as you promise to look after her for me,” she finally finished. Everyone, even the Lampads breathed a sigh of relief.

I was furiously moving my eyeballs back and forth, the closest I could come to shaking my head. Livia noticed, and smiled down at me. “You’re a good person, Ciara,” she told me. “If I wasn’t an ex-blood doll, would you still object to bonding yourself with me?”

Pausing, I thought about it, then moved my eyes from side to side once.

“Do you like me?”

I moved my eyes up and down to indicate yes immediately.

“Then everyone here is a witness, I’m doing what I’m about to do of my own free will,” she said, reaching over to where drops of my blood had fallen to the floor, still dark, thick and wet. Scraping the drops onto her fingertips, she paused to breathe the scent of it in, longing in her eyes. I whimpered as her tongue curled around those digits, feeling a part of myself joining with her. Livia moaned, eyes flashing the same icy blue as my own as she slowly turned her gaze toward me as she pulled a pocket knife from her belt.

My back arched convulsively as she drew the blade across her scarred wrist, the scent of her blood making my body react instinctively. My lips parted as she placed the wound to my lips, warmth spreading from my mouth down into my chest before spreading to the tips of my fingers and toes. Raw thirst took over as I sucked on her wrist, red hair curling around her arms and waist as I sank my fangs into her flesh. Livia gasped, shuddering pleasurably in my grip as I licked the first wound closed only to puncture her neck.

“Ciara! Enough!” Meredith snapped.

My eyes snapped up as I growled at the witch, making her flinch.

“Shhhh,” Livia whispered into my ear, placating me with a simple touch of her hand. Her eyes were still glowing as she kissed my cheek, looking over her shoulder at Meredith. “It’s ok, Meredith, I know my limits.”

I shook my head and blinked several times as the thirst lost its hold. “Ok, that was different. Sorry, Meredith, I-I don’t know what came over me.”

“Blood craving, dear,” Livia interrupted, chuckling as she nuzzled my neck, “the thirst brings out a vampire’s predator nature.”

“Livia,” I sighed, feeling our new bond keenly, “you shouldn’t have…”

She interrupted me by placing a finger on my lips. “My choice,” she whispered into my ear.

Nodding, I kissed her on her scarred cheek before slowly rising onto my knees, my strength already brimming over with Livia’s blood burning inside me. “I’m sorry, Night Mother,” I apologized to Nyx, “I’ve already allowed the warlock to run too far.”

My goddess smiled down on me as she stroked my cheek. “Go hunt, beloved.”

Meredith stood with the girl in her arms, summoning her broom to her with a thought. “Go, we’ll be right behind you.”

I grinned, showing off my fangs before discorporating into shadow and mist, flowing through the door outside and into the storm-lashed forest.

Weaving through the trees at rocket-like speed, it was hard not to laugh in exaltation at my newfound power. Bats and birds joined my flight, carried along by the rushing wind that preceded my passing. Finding Uncle’s trail was easy, the tire tracks and scent of exhaust fresh. Soon, I found his turn-off onto the road towards Bridleigh but kept my distance beyond the treeline as I followed.

It wasn’t long before I caught up with him, passing another speeding car with his foot floored on the accelerator. He’d been flogging the engine the whole way, smart of him but futile. I had to slow down to match his speed, keeping pace slightly ahead of him. He saw me and started screaming panicked obscenities at the top of his lungs. A simple ninety-degree turn in my flight was all it took, I hit his car door with the force of a battering ram, tearing through steel like paper, lifting him up and tearing out the other door in a flash.

His truck rocked onto two wheels then bounced behind us, rolling off the road before wrapping itself around several old growth trees. I carried him, still screaming, to a small clearing and dropped him roughly but carefully into a muddy puddle. Alighting gently on the surface of the water, my body re-formed wearing a robe of mist, shadows and my own impossibly long red hair. Serpents of shadow coiled around my right arm, the mark grown up to my shoulder as it writhed, red eyes peering from the darkness. “I’m sorry, ‘Uncle’, for that short delay, I believe we were in the middle of a conversation that you rudely interrupted.”

His eyes bulged, crawling away from be desperately on his back through the water. “What the fuck are you?” he demanded, terrified.

Walking on the surface of the water, the ripples from tiny raindrops tickling the soles of my feet, I grinned. “You know, I hate the term ‘primogenitor’.  It’s the sort of overly formal term that only appeals to stuffy old farts like Alexander. But then, what do you even call someone like me? Antediluvian doesn’t apply, I wouldn’t even consider myself an ‘elder’. Demigoddess is too presumptuous. I’m starting to see why my goddess chose the title ‘mother’.”

He pulled a hand cannon from under his jacket and unloaded it at high velocity in my direction. The bullets ripped through my body, but rather than ejecting blood and viscera it simply burst into mist and reformed just as quickly. I let him spend the clip, sneering down at him. “Wow, you’re the worst warlock I’ve ever met. Was this why you needed to leech off the child’s latent power?”

I simply batted the gun away when he threw it at me. I watched him scramble to his feet. “What do you know about it!” he shouted at me like he was making an accusation. “You quickened in this cushy little village, away from your own kind! You never had to fight for blood, fight for life! I survived!”

In a flash, I crossed the distance and grasped him by the throat. “Justify yourself in the underworld,” I hissed, ready to tear his throat out.

Before my claws could break skin, his backhand fist slammed into me, throwing me through the air into a tree. Falling on my feet, I glared up at him as fur broke out of his pores, rippling across his skin. His face contorted into a muzzle as his muscles bulged, tearing his shirt and pants. Rows of fangs replaced his teeth as claws burst from his fingertips. “Lycanthrope,” I muttered under my breath, “no wonder you needed a witch’s blood.”

The werewolf smirked and shrugged in an off-puttingly human gesture before pouncing forward, claws slashing the tree behind me as I rolled out of the way. Hitting the ground with both feet, I propelled myself forward with superhuman strength and vampiric flight, slamming into his chest claws first.

We tumbled across the dirt before landing with him on his back, my feet planted on his stomach and my arm halfway inside his chest. Blood spurted across my face as I dug deeper, finding his heart. He clawed and struggled, tearing my flesh through my robes of shadow, but within moments my wounds healed. His didn’t. He looked down at the gaping hole in his chest with pleading eyes, silently begging for forgiveness.

“You are a disgrace,” I snarled, tearing his heart from his chest.

Chapter 8

 Kicking open the front door of the police station, carrying a werewolf heart and wearing nothing but blood, mud, and my own hair, I walked past a small crowd of milling people who stared at me. There was no-one behind the bullet-proof glass at the front desk. Looking around, I smiled. “Happy Halloween,” I said, waving cheerfully before kicking in the door marked ‘employees only’. I took a moment to jam the door closed so that no-one would follow me before walking the empty hallways.

Bridleigh Police Station was deserted. Cold, undrunk coffee and half-eaten doughnuts lay on desks by reams of discarded paperwork. The corridors were maze-like, deliberately confusing to throw off any prisoners that might escape from the cells, but my sense of smell led me to the motor pool. There was human blood down there.

Opening the steel-reinforced door, I stepped onto the short landing that overlooked the large garage. The cars were parked to one side with the force’s black armoured van blocking the door. Space had been cleared for the officers lying in neat lines on the ground, sleeping in full tactical gear. Gale and Phyllis were chained to a concrete pillar, snarling at Thomas who was sitting on a table full of ammo, guns and explosives. Thomas himself was dressed in the department’s body armour, only with a sword belted to his hip. The way he sat with it comfortably told me he was used to wearing it.

“Wow,” Thomas whistled when he saw me, “Harry and Ophilia are dead, then? Figured they’d be able to handle one fledgling.”

Walking down the stairs, I shook my head. “Everyone keeps underestimating me. I have to admit, I expected to arrive to find you long gone and most of the force scattered across the lawn in pieces.”

“You’re underestimating your people,” Thomas sighed. “As far as I can tell your Golem’s impervious to physical and mental damage and attempting to kill Phyllis just makes her suggest more creative ways to try.”

“I really do think if you can get the fire hotter it might work,” Phyllis called over her shoulder.

“I am not ‘her Golem’,” Gale protested.

“Yeah, Gale’s not my type, I’m just here for Phyllis,” I quipped.

“Hey!”

Pushing off the table to stand up, Thomas towered over me. “This is a joke to you?”

“No,” I stated flatly, my eyes burning blue as I looked up at him. “Let’s review. You and your girlfriend conspired with ‘Uncle’ Harry to unleash a rampant ghost on my town, kidnapped my friends, killed your master and tried to kill me. I hope whatever Princess Danica promised you was worth sacrificing everything.”

“It was,” he admitted, “and if it had worked it would have been sweet. But not that Ophilia’s dead, there’s no point.”

“Oh, Ophilia isn’t dead,” I laughed.

He blinked. “What? But you said…”

“No more than she was when we met,” I interrupted. “My vassal, Lily, collected her.”

“Collected?” he asked, looking confused.

“Lily?” I asked the thin air. A moment later, the little girl appeared from a ball of green flame, kneeling next to me. “Yes, Mistress? I’m sorry, I got distracted playing with my new pet,” she explained herself succinctly.

Thomas took a step back, drawing his sword. “What is this? What the hell is she?”

Smiling, I pet Lily’s head. She purred happily back at me. “Lily here is a Kasha, she collects the corpses of the wicked for Hell. I’m not exactly sure what sort of Hell, but I gather it’s rather unpleasant. The way I see it, you have two choices, Thomas, and I’m very curious as to which one you’ll take. How knightly are you? How gallant? Exactly how much did Ophilia mean to you?”

His eyes narrowed but he remained silent.

“Stay here,” I continued, “and testify that Princess Danica put you up to this. Save yourself, help bring her to justice and find some measure of redemption. Second choice, Lily takes you to be with your girlfriend, forever.”

Lily smiled and licked her lips eagerly.

He snorted, smirking. “And here I was hoping to end it all with honour in a duel with another vampire. Or take revenge and make my escape, either way.”

“I’m not interested in comparing dick size,” I scoffed.

“Hers is bigger,” Lily quipped.

He dropped his sword and shook his head, plucking a lighter from his pocket. “My testimony against Princess Danica is worthless,” he explained, turning his back on me to pick up a can of petrol. “There were intermediaries, shells, lots of back-door plotting. If it hadn’t been for Livia’s involvement, we might never have known it was personal. You’re about number ninety-eight on her to-do list.”

Gale glared at me. “You’re just going to let him do this?”

“I promised him a choice,” I answered, shrugging, “how anyone wishes to spend their lives is up to them.”

He walked onto a clear patch on concrete and knelt, splashing acrid liquid from the cannister over his head and down his back and chest. Without another word, he flicked the lighter. The spark lit his hand on fire and he screamed for a few short moments as he was consumed, falling into a heap as he burned like a giant candle. Gale looked away, screwing her eyes shut.

“Well that was boring,” I sighed, rolling my eyes. Walking over to the pillar, I cut the chains with one swipe of my claws.

“That’s it? That’s all you can say?” Gale snapped angrily as she shook the chains off and helped extract Phyllis.

“Would you rather I killed him or should I have had Lily drag him to Hell anyway?” I asked, pointing at her with the hand that was still gripping Uncle’s heart. “News flash, there’s no pretty way to die.”

“Girls,” Phyllis interrupted before Gale could snap angrily back at me, “enough. Gale, your men are going to wake up missing memories. You’ve got more important things to worry about than that asshole’s death.”

Scowling, Gale shook her head. “I’d prefer they didn’t remember what Thomas made them do.”

“Meredith can cover it,” I suggested, “since you don’t trust me. I’m meeting her at the party, I’ll let her know to swing by.”

Gale glanced at the burning body and looked like she was going to be sick. “Seriously? A party? How can you, after all this?”

Walking to the garage door, with Lily and Phyllis close behind me, I picked up the back of the van and moved it out of the way. Looking over my shoulder, I waved. “Sorry, Gale, I’ve got an important announcement to make.”

Chapter 9

This year’s Halloween party had been set out outdoors in Meredith’s grove. The circle of ebony trees were ancient, predating Bridleigh and the Blackwood family that took their names from them. Tables of candy and food had been laid out for the gathered monsters, who were subdued as they stared at me, still wearing nothing but blood and hair. The violence was over but there were still fresh wounds.

Hans walked over to break the ice, so to speak, in his off-putting toneless manner. “The new witch wishes to see you. She’s with Greta and Artemis.”

“Good, I want to see her,” I said, following. “Hasn’t she been named yet?”

“She’s refusing to be named until she talks to you.”

Picking our way through the trees, we found the newly quickened witch wearing one of Lily’s long black dresses curled up in the grass next to a firepit with Artemis in her lap, purring as she scratched her under the chin. Han’s twin sister, Grace sat close to her, her face an impassive mask just like her brothers. “Ciara!” the witch greeted me with some surprise, though she managed not to pause scratching Meredith’s familiar. My appearance made her cringe slightly.

“Mmmm, she’s better than you,” Artemis purred, her tongue caught by her lips as it poked out cutely.

“I’m sure she is,” I said, looking down at the heart still in my hand. Tentatively, I held it out towards the little witch. “I, uh… Got you this. It’s just about what’s left of your ‘Uncle’ that’s in any way recognizable as little more than meat. Left the rest for the scavengers.”

Blinking, she stared at it for a moment before a vicious smile played across her lips. Reaching out, she took the bloody lump and held it in her hands, concentrating hard. “Goodbye, Harry,” she whispered to it, “you’re irrelevant to me.” With those words, the heart burst into flames in her hands. She watched the fire for a few moments before throwing it casually into the firepit. “Thank you, Ciara. I’ve caused you a lot of trouble.”

I shook my head. “No, you were just another victim.”

She smiled, lowering her face. “It’s nice to think of it like that.”

Kneeling, I lifted her chin back up. “I wasted my life before I quickened,” I told her, “I thought I was going to die in obscurity, never knowing who I really was. That person died when I became my true self and if all I ever do with this life is save you then it was worth it.”

She smirked. “Then in a way, you killed, er, quickened me. I want you to name me.”

I flinched. “Uh, are you sure? You’re going to be Meredith’s apprentice…”

“Maybe but, as she would say, we might not choose the people who quicken us but we can choose who we call family. I don’t know what she has against Nyx, I didn’t choose to take your blood but I can choose you as my namer.”

“It’s not a casual thing for monsters,” Hans observes, “but more so for witches, and even more to be named by the one who quickened her. She’s asking to make you her family.”

Holding my face in my hands for a moment, I tried to take everything in and calculate the possible repercussions. “Screw it,” I said, standing, “even knowing that being my family will put you in danger, you’re willing?”

“Yes,” she agreed, nodding vigorously.

“Then I’ll name you. Hans, is there some kind of procedure?”

“It’s different for every naming,” Hans answered, “do something symbolic and tell her her name.”

Thinking for a moment, I raised my fingertips to my lips and cut them across one of my fangs, then touched the intermingling of my blood with her ‘Uncle’s’ to her forehead. My skin buzzed with magic and I became aware of the moon and stars looking down on us as if the universe itself breathed in anticipation. “I name you… Skuld.”

Those of us who still breathed let out a sigh of relief as the world began turning again. “Wait, Skuld?” Skuld protested, picking up Artemis as she scrambled to her feet. “Was that an anime reference?”

Turning away so that she wouldn’t see me smirk, I started walking. “What was that? Sorry, I’ve got an important address to make, kinda distracted…”

Meredith looked amused as I joined her, Livia and Lily at the edge of the grove. “I told her she wouldn’t like anything that you’d choose for her.”

“What’re you talking about?” Lily guffawed, holding back giggles. “Our names are written into destiny before we’re born. Ciara’s just the messenger of fate.”

“Fate has a wry sense of humour,” I observed, “like a Greek goddess giving me an Irish name. Is everything prepared?”

“Yes,” Meredith answered, “and I’ll admit you cut an impressive figure at the moment but I don’t think you understand the kind of havoc you’re about to raise.”

“Well, we’re about to find out,” I said, turning to walk into the grove with Lily on my right and Livia on my left. Meredith walked around the circle of trees before approaching us from the other side. The other monsters of Bridleigh gathered at the edge, enclosing us. With a thought, my robe of shadows gathered around me, Nyx’s cloak of feathers settling about my shoulders as the Mother’s Mark spread up my arm.

Raising her hands, Meredith chanted under her breath. The trees around us began glowing with blue light and before me, in the centre of the grove, a mirage-like pool of distorted light formed. Phantom images of other monsters gathered around the circle, some vampires, others witches.

“Meredith,” a beautiful Italian witch greeted, “I hope this is worth our time, we have parties to prepare.”

“Ciara wishes to speak with you all and I thought that what she has to say is worthy of your attention, Councillor Valocco,” Meredith said.

“Nonsense,” a greying vampire spat, “a fledgling vampire’s problems are no concern of ours, no matter how impressive a display she can put on.”

“Lord Victus,” I greeted, bowing, “I’ve come to inform you that your man, Baron Alexander, has met the true death at the hands of his own fledglings.”

Victus stood up straight. “Indeed? I assume Meredith’s report will confirm that?”

“It will, along with Deputy Gale’s,” Meredith answered.

“Then I still don’t see why…”

“I also have to report, personally,” Meredith interrupted, taking a deep breath, “that Ciara is not a regular fledgling. She’s a primogenitor.”

“How have you confirmed this?” Councillor Valocco asked.

“I saw her drink Nyx’s blood the night she quickened,” Meredith answered, “the only other blood she drank that night was neutralised preserved blood from my own stores. The Mother quickened her.”

“And you didn’t report this!” Valocco snapped, the stamp of her foot echoing through the grove like thunder.

“The Inquisitor’s discretion aside,” I interrupted, “there is more I have to explain to you all. The attack on my lands was a conspiracy to undermine me in the face of scrutiny I was under from both the Council and the Domain. In relation to that, Livia choose to give herself to me as my Consort of her own volition.”

“Mere…”

“I witnessed it,” Meredith answered, anticipating the question, “as did the Night Mother and about a dozen Lampads. Get your seers to confirm it.”

“I have strong suspicions on who is responsible,” I declared, “but it’s pointless to voice those suspicions without clear evidence. That’s not why I asked Meredith to place me in contact with you. In the course of my private investigation to clear my name, it has been brought to my attention that changelings are being abused under your systems of governance.”

“Abuse of changelings is strictly against the law of the Domain,” Lord Victus retorted.

“But still it happens,” I said, my eyes narrowing to slits, “and I won’t condone turning a blind eye to such abuse. To that end, I’m claiming the territory of Bridleigh from this moment, with or without your permission or treaty. Inquisitor Meredith is welcome to stay but I refuse to be any part of the Domain.”

Victus’ image snarled at me. “You have no choice on that matter! All vampires are subject…”

Something about the way I looked at him stopped him mid-tirade. Maybe it was the hissing black snakes wreathing my arm. “Then don’t consider me a vampire, consider me the personal representative of the Night Mother or however you need to justify it. I don’t care, Bridleigh and its people, human, monster or changeling alike are under my personal protection. I just want to be left in peace, I promise not to interfere with your territories as long as you don’t interfere with mine. But I will say this: If any changelings labour unhappily under your governance, they are free to come to Bridleigh. I will welcome and quicken them freely and without question, none shall have to earn their true selves here.”

“Do you really expect the Domian to simply roll over for you?” one of the other Lords, a younger man with slick-backed black hair asked.

“No, I expect the Domain to calculate their potential gains and losses,” I answered. “I’m asking for one small town that you don’t even own versus whatever meagre pleasure you might gain getting a leg over the Council with a tiresome treaty. I have no doubt that a fight between myself and the entire Domain would be a loss for me but I promise you this: the Night Mother will not be on your side. You lose if you lose, you lose if you win, even a predator as young as I understands the ramifications of a pyrrhic victory.”

“How many of Bridleigh’s monsters support this madness?” a blonde witch asked.

Gardener stepped forward. “I’ve been asked to present the voice of the community on this matter,” he said, doffing his hat. “Our vote was nearly unanimous, only one vote of protest from Deputy Gale Patterson. I believe she’ll be asking for a transfer.”

“Gale doesn’t like vampires,” I sighed, “she’ll make a good Inquisitor somewhere she doesn’t have to be around our kind.”

“Duely noted,” Valocco muttered. “Meredith, I want your report along with your letter of resignation as soon as possible. Ciara, the Council will discuss your proposal presently, when we have time.”

“We reject this nonsense out of hand,” Victus growled dismissively.

“Not so fast, my friend,” the vampire with the slick hair interrupted, “I believe there is more to this proposal to discuss. The Lords will decide collectively, you don’t speak for all of us. There hasn’t been a primogenitor for millennia, I’m curious as to why the Night Mother has chosen another at this point in history.”

Victus sneered. “I have no more time to waste on this foolery,” he said before his image flickered out.

“I agree, we must adjourn to confer,” the other Lord said to Valocco before his image flickered out as well. One by one the rest of the figures disappeared and the glow surrounding us dissipated.

“Well,” Livia said nervously, dusting off her dress, “that’s done now.”

“Regrets?” I asked.

“None,” Livia answered, smirking, “it was nice to see Victus on the back foot. Everyone knows his daughter sacrificed one of his own Barons trying to take revenge on me. He’ll be stewing in that embarrassment for a long time, even if he’ll do anything to shield his Princess from the repercussions of her actions.”

Nodding, I walked over to Meredith and put my hand on her shoulder. “Meredith, I’m so sorry.”

She smiled and drew herself upright. “For what? I don’t need a title to protect my town, thank you very much. The Council can shove my resignation up their asses sideways if they think I’d abandon Bridleigh. Just promise me one thing, that you’ll never bind anyone to you that doesn’t wish to be bound. I’ll serve freely as long as I’m free.”

I flinched. “I promise. I never wanted to be a tyrant and if I break that promise, I expect all of you to send me to face the Night Mother.”

“It won’t come to that,” Lily said, taking my hand and leading me from the grove, “I know it won’t.”

“Lily?” I asked as she pulled me towards the house. “Where are you taking me?”

She raised her head until she was looking at me upside-down while continuing to walk, her body contorting unnaturally. “You need a bath, silly! The night’s still young, the humans are still trick-or-treating and we’ve got a new little sister to go score candy with! Serious business is over, mistress, it’s time to have some fun!”

Looking over my shoulder helplessly at the grinning throng, I waved at them all. “You heard her, party on! Happy Halloween, everyone!”

“Happy Halloween!” they all cheered back as one.