…To Light

Author: UtsSmutQueen

Rating: R/NC-17 Violence, Language, Taker nudity as usual…Ok…I kid about the Taker nudity

Disclaimer: Don’t own a thing…as usual

A/N-Summary: Well…I guess it was bound to happen. I’m writing my own freakin’ sequel to From Darkness… Trinity and Mark’s twin daughters are all grown up… Emmalynn (Emma) and Elizabeth (Beth)

I’m dedicating this to Trinny, for without her I wouldn’t have had a reason to write it. And yes, it has Stone Cold in it...if you don't like him, don't read. This was started before all this crap that's going on now, and I don't wanna change it.

Oh...and one more thing. I don’t like using last names, and I will be using real names if the mood hits me. So...

Steve-of course, Austin

Chris-Jericho

John-Bradshaw

Adam-Edge

Randy-Orton

I’ll add more as I write it, for now I think those are the biggies

Part 1

1

Emma jerked upright, gasping for breath, biting back a scream. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as she fought the urge to call out to her mother and father, tears spilling from her eyes.

A gentle hand touched the top of her head, and Emma threw herself into her uncle’s arms, sobbing. Glen stroked her hair, letting the young girl cry against his chest. He’d heard her thrashing around and had come into the room in time to see her sit up. His heart twisted, wishing there were something he could do to ease her pain. But there was nothing he could do…he was dealing with his own grief.

Emma slowly got a hold of her emotions, hating that damn dream for reducing her to a blubbering baby. In the daytime it was so easy to pretend that she was Ok, but at night, her imagination ran wild, replaying over and over the events of just a few days before.

“Just a dream, darlin’,” Glen said softly, stroking her hair. He heard Emma’s breath catch in her throat. Pulling back from her, he put his fingertips under her chin and tilted her face so he could look down at her. “I know you miss them both. I do too. But one day…” he was stumbling over the words. For a second he almost wished that he’d woken Isabel up, then decided he’d done right by coming to Emma’s room alone. Seeing her mom’s twin sister would probably have been too much of a shock after just having what sounded like one hell of a nightmare.

Emma was nodding, understanding what he was trying to say. It hadn’t been the dream; it was just that her uncle’s voice was so much like her Dad’s. “I’m Ok now,” she managed to say shakily. Glen held onto her shoulders for a few more seconds, then released her. She was going to retreat into herself, a trick he’d seen her do many times in her sixteen years. His own son often did the same thing.

“If you need anything…Izzy and I are in the next room,” he gently reminded her. Emma nodded, faking a yawn. She had needed a good hug, and nobody hugged better than her almost seven foot tall, football player-like uncle. But now she needed to be by herself.

“Um…do you think you could peek in on Beth? Make sure she’s Ok?” Emma said softly. Her twin sister hadn’t had any kind of nightmares that she’d been aware of, but Emma knew she’d feel better if Glen would at least check on her.

“Sure thing, kiddo. You try to get some sleep. We have a lot to take care of tomorrow.” He didn’t want to come right out and mention the funeral, but it hung there between them just the same.

“Thanks Uncle Glen,” Emma settled herself back against the pillows and waited until he was gone. She could hear him opening the door to Beth’s room as he looked in on her, then his footsteps as he went back to bed with her Aunt Isabel. The house grew quiet. Even her cousin, who sometimes talked in his sleep, didn’t break the silence.

Closing her eyes but not sleepy, Emma forced herself to look at her dream in detail from beginning to end. It played out in her mind like a movie…beginning, middle, end. Her parents, Trinity and Mark, laughing as they left the house to do some errands together. She could remember as if it were happening all over again, standing on the porch with Beth and watching the truck disappear down the road. She probed her mind, trying to remember if she’d gotten any inkling…anything at all…that something horrible was going to happen.

There had been nothing. She’d put on her bikini to lay out back by the pool and get some sun, and that was where Beth led the police when they came. Her sister looked scared to death. Beth was a few minutes younger than Emma, but Emma felt as if it were years at that moment.

Feeling more naked that she’d ever felt in her life, she listened in total and utter shock as the young officer informed them that their parents had been killed in an accident on the outskirts of town.

Beth had burst into tears, but Emma could do nothing but stand there and blink, waiting for the punch line in what she thought was an extremely sick joke. The officer had tears in his own eyes as he gave her his condolences and asked if there were any family members who could formally identify their remains.

Shuddering in her bed, Emma recalled telling him that she would do it herself. It wouldn’t be real to her until she saw it…saw her Mom and Dad.

He’d tried to quietly talk her out of it but she’d insisted, promising that she’d call her aunt and uncle as soon as she had done it.

The ride in the back of the patrol car to the hospital seemed to take forever. The twins sat side by side, looking for all the world like a mirror image of each other. Beth tried to talk Emma into letting their Aunt Isabel identify the bodies, but her sister was not listening to her.

The morgue was in the hospital’s basement, with its own door to the outside via a long sloping ramp. The young cop led them through the hallway, glancing nervously back at the two teenaged girls from time to time. Emma knew he was thinking that his boss would probably demote him or something for letting a sixteen-year-old talk him into this, but she didn’t care.

They stopped at a gray swinging door, where Beth had refused to budge any farther. She didn’t want to see what was in that room, and nothing and no one could convince her to go inside. Emma understood completely, for she was feeling the same thing herself. But she was compelled by some other force to go on just the same. With shaking hands, she pushed open the door and stepped into the cold, clinical room.

It was completely done in gray and white, every surface spotless. There was a large table in the center of the room, and a row of small metal doors on the far wall. Taking a deep breath, fearing the smell in the room was going to make her sick, she waited while the officer told the waiting attendant who she was and why she was there.

The older man looked at her sympathetically and motioned her to follow him. He stopped to pick up a clipboard and pen, preparing for her to sign the necessary paperwork when they were finished. Emma watched as he went to one of the gray doors and pulled the handle, opening it. She wanted to tell him to stop, that she couldn’t go through with it, but her voice had failed her. There was a strange sound in her ears, and she realized it was her own mind, screaming at her to look away from the sheet covered table that the attendant trundled out of the compartment.

He looked at her one last time, and almost against her will Emma nodded.

He slowly moved the sheet down, exposing what she had dreaded seeing the most. Her mother lay on the cold metal table, her hair a dark contrast to the whiteness of her skin. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the much-loved face, even as the attendant went to the next compartment and performed the same ritual.

Tears forming in her eyes, Emma forced herself to look at her father’s still form. Like her mother, his hair had been long and dark, but there the similarity between the two had ended. He was a big guy, larger than life and seemingly invincible to her at a time when most teenagers thought they were too good to notice they even had parents. Unbidden, the memory of him grabbing her in a quick hug before he left with her mother flashed into her mind.

“No…” she whispered, tears finally making tracks down her face. She couldn’t breath suddenly, as if all the air in the room had been sucked out. Chest hitching, she ignored the attendant who was holding out his clipboard. With a trembling hand, Emma reached out and touched her father’s check. “Daddy…” she jerked back at the cold, waxy sensation on her fingers. Shaking her head, she turned and ran. Out the door to the hallway, tears still flowing, ignoring her sister who had taken a position sitting against the wall. She stopped outside, in the middle of the parking lot, and screamed at the top of her lungs, startling a young nurse who was getting out of her car.

Emma had dropped down to her knees on the hot asphalt, feeling her stomach lurch. She stayed there, head down, sobbing, even when Beth caught up to her and tried to get her to stand. She could vaguely hear her sister talking to the officer, who had followed them outside.

The next thing she clearly remembered was her Uncle Glen, lifting her up into his arms as if she were a baby again and just holding onto her. Isabel stood nearby, hugging Beth close, crying for all of them.

It had only been three days. Three short days that had felt like an entire lifetime. Emma had gone through the motions. She ate what was put in front of her without tasting it. Went to bed at night because everybody else did. She even helped Aunt Isabel take care of housework. Beth was vocal about her pain, crying several times a day, seeking out others to comfort her, but not Emma. When she thought that her emotions were going to get the best of her, she would scramble to separate herself from everyone. Often she went outside to the very edge of Glen and Isabel’s backyard. There was an old swing hanging from a tree there. She’d sit on the wooden seat and cry until she was exhausted and wrung out.

She didn’t feel like crying now, didn’t feel like sleeping. She felt so drained. Emma could only describe it as like being in a pit. The others in the house were slowly climbing out of it, but she couldn’t seem to find a foothold anywhere. Sighing, she rolled onto her side and stared at the red numbers of the alarm clock next to her bed. Two minutes shy of midnight.

On what was going to be the worst day of her entire life.

Her eyes grew heavy as she watched the clock’s numbers change. At midnight, a tear slipped from the corner of her eye, wetting the pillow.

“Happy seventeenth birthday, Emma…” she whispered to herself, before closing her eyes and drifting into a light but troubled sleep.

2

Though Emma and Beth’s parents were well liked, there were only a few people who were invited to the funeral service. More would show up at the house afterward for an informal memorial, but this was relegated strictly for close friends and family.

Emma tuned out the minister, who was droning on about the rewards of the afterlife. It wasn’t comforting her at all. But being surrounded by all the people she loved most in the world was. On her left sat her Uncle Glen, on her right, Beth. Aunt Isabel was on Beth’s right, using a white tissue to dab at her eyes occasionally. Glen and Isabel’s twelve-year-old son Drew sat next to her, amazingly and uncharacteristically still and quiet.

Her eyes drifted to, but didn’t linger on, the two dark blue caskets in front of her. She’d been playing the game of ‘pretend it’s not happening to you’ for most of the morning, and one of the ways to do that was to not look at the boxes where her parents would forever be enclosed. Instead she looked to her left again. There was another row of chairs, filled with people. Her Aunt Page and Uncle Matt, holding hands, dressed in dark clothing. Paige was crying softly, her head on her husband’s shoulder.

Emma watched as Matt lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Paige and Matt weren’t really her aunt and uncle, but they’d been so close to her parents it had been natural to call them that since she was a baby.

Next to Matt was his brother, the usually fun-loving Jeff. Emma almost didn’t recognize him in a navy blue suit. She’d never seen him wear anything but baggy jeans and outlandish shirts. He caught her eye and winked at her, and she managed a small strained smile. She’d seen pictures of him when he was younger, and tried once again to picture him with Day-Glo hair. Her mom once said he’d used enough hair dye to keep Miss Clairol in business for a century. She couldn’t imagine why he’d want to do anything so weird.

Next to Jeff was his wife, Karen. She seemed to be the only one who was holding herself together better than Jeff. Everything between them was a running contest, which made life with them interesting to say the least.

Letting her gaze drift further, she saw her Aunt Reagan looking at her.

Reagan was her mom’s older half-sister. Emma and Reagan nodded at each other, almost making Emma smile. She knew her aunt was worried sick but was biting her tongue, hoping she or Beth would come to her. Beth would sooner than Emma…most likely that very day after the funeral. Reagan was so easy to talk to, and she seemed to have a bit of advice for any situation.

Her husband was next to her, his arm draped around the back of her chair, legs stretched out in front of him. The pose should have made him look ridiculous in his dark suit, but it didn’t. Emma always thought her Uncle Adam should have been a male model. With that long hair and handsome features, he’d have made a fortune. And probably driven Reagan insane at the same time.

Their two sons were sitting next to Adam. Fourteen-year-old Tyler and six-year-old Daniel, each looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there. Emma could definitely relate.

The only other person there was Harmony Davis. She had been best friends with Emma and Beth since they were three. Beth had been the one to ask that she be allowed to attend the services; she’d spent so much time at their house that Trinity and Mark had become her second set of parents. She was crying quietly, looking down in her lap at what looked to be a scrap of paper. Emma felt vague curiosity but let it go. She was too tired to even want to know.

After the minister was done, the caskets were lowered simultaneously into the ground. Emma couldn’t watch the descent as everyone else did. She would not let herself have a breakdown in front of the people she cared about. She just couldn’t seem to let herself go.

Finally it was over. The adults gathered in a lose group, talking quietly. Harmony came to where Emma and Beth stood, eyes downcast. “You guys…I just…” words failed her. It might have been funny if Emma had been in the mood to laugh. Harmony was the one who always knew the right thing to say.

Beth hugged her, closing her eyes. Harmony dropped the paper she was holding without realizing it and hugged her back, sobbing. Emma felt tears well in her own eyes as she bent to retrieve Harmony’s belonging.

It was a photograph, not regular paper. Emma stood back up and turned it over, and found herself looking at a picture that was taken almost a month ago. Harmony had talked their dad into trying to teach her how to ride a motorcycle. He’d been game, and spent the better part of an afternoon going over the finer points. Unfortunately, Harmony did not possess any kind of mechanical skills on the bike. Laughing, she’d settled for having the picture taken.

In it, she was sitting on the bike with Emma’s dad. And Emma. And Beth. It was hilarious to see them all squeezed on together. Beth was sitting on the front wheel, holding her arms out for balance. Emma was sitting backward behind Harmony doing the same. Their mom was standing next to their dad, laughing into his eyes. Isabel had been there that day; she was the one who'd taken the picture.

Emma bit her lip and touched Harmony’s hand. Her friend pulled back from her sister and gave Emma a sad smile. “I know, it’s stupid. But I had so much fun that day…I thought it would make me feel better if I could think about that and nothing else.”

“It’s not stupid,” Emma said softly, handing the picture back.

Harmony was blushing a little as she tucked the picture into the small purse she carried. “Can you believe my mom asked if I still wanted to go out tonight? The woman is heartless. How can I think about my birthday when…” she waved her hand in the direction of the still open grave.

“Can you believe I totally forgot it was our birthday today?” Beth asked them, squeezing her eyes shut. “Seventeen finally, and I don’t give a damn.”

“Same here,” Harmony said, sniffling a little. The three girls stood quietly for a while, not saying anything else. Emma didn’t know what she could have said. She’d remembered it was her birthday, but just hadn’t cared. Nothing had ever seemed so trivial. This time last year the three of them had been treated to a day at an amusement park, courtesy of her dad. This year he’d promised Emma and Beth a car. Exciting as it had been at the time, Emma knew that if she could have her parents back, she’d never drive again.

“Heya babes,” Adam came over to them, a little smile on his lips. He put his arm around Beth and hugged her. “How are my favorite nieces?” Like Mark and Trinity, the rest of their extended family had accepted Harmony as one of their own.

“We’re your only nieces,” Emma pointed out, getting no enjoyment from the familiar joke. They performed this ritual every time they saw each other.

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t my favorites. We’re going to head back to the house, unless you need time to…” He nodded in the direction of the grave. Beth shuddered visibly.

“I’m ready. I want to get away from here,” she was starting to cry again. Adam kissed the top of her head and looked from Harmony to Emma.

Harmony was nodding in agreement, but Emma shook her head imperceptibly. Adam squeezed Beth again, then let her go. “You two go jump in the car with Reagan. We’ll be there in a minute.”

When the two girls were out of earshot, Adam took his niece’s hand. “Wanna talk about it?”

“What’s there to say?” Angrily she swiped at her eyes.

Adam’s warm face was clouded over with emotion, and he wished he could do something to help her. He reached out to touch her shoulder and she jerked away. He didn’t take it personally. Emma had always been one to keep things to herself; it would only be a matter of time before the dam broke inside her and she let it out.

“Can I have a minute alone please?” She finally whispered. Adam nodded, putting his hands in his pockets to keep from offering her some kind of comfort. With one last glance at her, he turned and let her have her privacy.

Emma forced herself to walk to the edge of her parents’ grave, her eyes focused on the low headstone that marked it. Mark and Trinity. She traced the letters with her eyes. There was a verse or quote under their names, but she didn’t know exactly what it meant. She couldn’t even read it; her conversational Latin was non-existent. Her Uncle Glen had arranged for it to be inscribed in the stone.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and stared down into the hole at the side-by-side coffins. “Miss you guys,” she whispered softly.

A chill went down her spine, making her frown. It was a very warm day, with no breeze. Her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, she looked down into the grave again. Another chill, this one not nearly as strong, worked its way down her back. “Mom…” Emma’s voice was a barely there whisper. The strange chill went down her back one last time. Emma started crying, calling herself an idiot. One of her mom’s favorite tricks was to run her fingers lightly down Emma’s spine, making her shiver. They’d sneak up on each other and try to make the other one jump. This had felt exactly like it.

Emma waited to see if it would happen again, but there was nothing. Sighing, she stopped trying to hold back her tears. “Love you guys…” she choked out. Sobbing she turned and ran across the grass to where Adam and Reagan were waiting by the car.

Reagan said nothing when Emma threw herself into her arms. She started crying herself as the young girl sobbed against her. Reagan held her, stroking her hair back from her face, for a few long minutes, murmuring unintelligibly under her breath, trying to offer Emma some comfort. She looked helplessly at Adam, who stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both of them.

3

The perimeter fence around the cemetery was a joke. Even a catatonic six-year-old could have found a way in. The graveyard was not completely dark; there were widely spaced security lights scattered throughout the area. He didn't need them. His eyesight was so enhanced that he could read the names inscribed on the stones from one hundred yards in absolute dark if he had wanted to.

Steve didn't want to. He didn't even want to be here, not in the cemetery, not in this tiny nondescript town, not even in the state. There were too many memories there, things best left forgotten in a past that stretched back for more than two centuries.

Whether or not he wanted to be there, the strange urge, the pull, to come to this place had been absolutely undeniable. Steve had been around long enough to know what it was. He couldn't understand why it was happening now, why after two hundred-plus years he had finally been chosen. He'd been under the assumption that this assignment, for lack of a better word, was given to fairly young vampires.

He topped a small hill and looked around. The cemetery should have been totally deserted, but he wasn't shocked to see two other men standing next to a large grave marker. The grave itself was fresh; no vampire powers needed to discern that. The brown square of dirt told its own story. Sighing softly, he began to slowly make his way to the others.

He tuned into their thoughts while blocking his own at the same time. Neither of them had noticed his approach. Steve was an old hand at being stealthy. At times it was the only way to survive. Both of them were a little confused as to why they had been drawn to this place, to this grave in particular. The smaller of the two in particular. He was obviously the youngest of them. The second, taller and darker than the first, was older, stronger in some way, but still as easy for Steve to read as the gravestones that surrounded them.

As he drew closer, he could hear them speaking in low voices. He came to a stop directly behind them and cleared his throat, smirking as they whirled to face him.

The younger one was smirking too. “Damn. Sneaky.” Was all he said. Steve nodded, and glanced at the other one. Up close he was even bigger than he’d first appeared. He was eyeing Steve with dark eyes as if measuring him.

“We’re all here,” the man said, making it a flat statement. His voice carried the trace of a Texan accent.

“Yeah, but why?” The smaller raised an eyebrow and ran his hand through his short dark hair. “I mean...I know why...but why here of all places?”

“It’s a starting point,” Steve finally said. The other two looked at him questioningly but he didn’t bother explaining what he knew. From all he had heard, the vampires who did this job were supposed to be in the dark about it. Another reason why he didn’t understand how he could have been chosen. Already he could sense some strange...togetherness with these two vampires. He didn’t like it. He’d been on his own for too long to get comfortable being part of a group.

Vampires in general were loners. Steve could count on one hand the number of times he’d actually come face to face with another like him.

“I don’t know if I like this,” the younger one said. He gave a shrug.

“Doesn’t matter I guess. Not like I had a choice. I’m Randy, by the way.”

“John,” the big guy said gruffly. They both looked at Steve.

He sighed. “Steve,” introductions made, he looked down at the gravestone in front of them. “Either of you know anything about what pulled you here?”

“Not really,” Randy shrugged again and read the names on the stone.

"It’s weird though. I have the weirdest feeling I know who they were...”

John was nodding in agreement. “Especially her,” he was nodding at the name.

Steve looked at it dispassionately. He could have told the two men exactly whose grave it was, but decided now was not the time. They had other things to deal with.

“What are we doing here?” Randy kicked at some dirt at the edge of the grave. Cemeteries made him nervous for some reason; he thought maybe it was because he had cheated death on several occasions himself.

“We have a job to do,” Steve said quietly. The other vampires were looking at him expectantly. He could almost feel the roll of leader being handed to him. He definitely did not like that; but there was nothing he could do. He’d learned a long time ago there was no use fighting fate; in the end it always won.

“Where do we start?” John was rocking back and forth on his feet, obviously wanting to dive right in.

“Right here. We find the three we have to find. The rest...” Steve shrugged. “Well, the rest will take care of itself.”

4

Two weeks.

It didn’t seem like much in the larger scheme of things, but to Emma and Beth those days seemed to stretch out forever. After the funeral, they’d stayed with Adam and Reagan, both of them knowing that although they loved their Aunt Isabel, being around her was much too painful. Her resemblance to their mom was nothing that she could control, but neither she nor Beth could handle it.

Beth spent most of her time with Reagan, who she felt the most comfortable with. They’d spend hours talking, crying, trying to laugh. Although it hadn’t even been a week yet, Emma could see that Beth was starting to heal.

Emma couldn’t seem to do it though. As much as she wanted to break down she knew she couldn’t let it happen. Not when Beth needed her.

She was holed up in the guestroom that was hers whenever they stayed over. Reagan had let them do their own decorating when they were fourteen. The room was kind of childish to Emma now, but comforting. Everything was light blue, a color she’d been obsessed with when she was younger. It was a happy feeling room that reminded her of much happier times.

Emma was stretched out on the bed, still dressed in the shorts and T-shirt she’d thrown on that morning, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get any sleep for a while yet. It was after eleven and most of the house was quiet. She knew that Adam was still down in his home office, working away on his computer. He always said he preferred to do his business at night.

Emma often wondered if she got her insomnia from him, even if he wasn’t a blood relative.

Sighing, she rested her hand on the picture frame that she had put on the bed. She picked it up and stared at the photograph. It had been taken a year ago, at Beth and Emma’s sixteenth birthday party. Emma herself had snapped the picture, trying out a new camera she’d gotten as a gift.

Her mom had been standing on the porch watching the younger kids throw water balloons at each other. Her dad had come up behind her and put his arms around her in a hug. That was when Emma had gotten the picture; her mom and dad were both smiling naturally, not aware she was using the camera.

She stared hard at her dad’s arms. Emma had asked him many times where and why he’d gotten so many tattoos. He told her that most of them he didn’t remember getting, which sparked lots of jokes about drinking and blackouts. Both of his arms were totally covered. He had said that he’d take her to get one when she turned eighteen, a prospect that thrilled her and comically horrified her mom.

She studied her favorite, the one that was most visible in the picture in her hands. The face resembled her dad’s in a way. It looked like some kind of demon, complete with horns. Frowning a little, she put the picture back on the bedside table, and swung up to a sitting position. Without thinking about it, she pulled her shoes on then went out the door and down the stairs.

As she’d suspected, Adam was at his computer, looking totally engrossed. He glanced up at her when she walked into the room and flashed a smile. “Can’t sleep?”

“As usual,” Emma toyed with some papers balanced on the corner of the desk. “Would you mind if I borrow your car?”

“Wanna take a drive?” Adam laughed a little. “Surely you’d rather take Reagan’s car.”

“Um, no...” Emma couldn’t help but smile. Reagan was a full out soccer mom, complete with minivan.

“Ah well...I wouldn’t drive it either. The keys are on the kitchen counter. Don’t hurt my car or I’ll have to hurt you,” he shook a finger at her. Emma went around the desk and kissed his cheek before heading for the kitchen.

She grabbed the keys and went outside. Adam had a solid black Mustang that he’d spent weeks restoring. It was the car Emma had learned to drive a stick in. She slid in, inhaling the familiar scent of the leather, and started up the engine. She loved that her Uncle trusted her enough to let her borrow his most prized possession. Before the accident, this sign of her impending adulthood would have thrilled her to no end.

Now…she wished mightily that she could go back a few years. She wasn’t ready to face life without her parents.

She drove aimlessly, trying to figure out what exactly she was doing. With no surprise at all she found herself parking Adam’s car in front of a small brick building downtown. A sign hung from the window read “Open”.

She took a deep breath before stepping inside. The only sound was the low hum of an air conditioner and muted rock music being listened to at low volume. The walls were covered with pictures, ranging from the cute to the completely obscene. There were two booths against the back wall, each one holding a chair and sink, both empty. A mirror ran the perimeter of the room, high against the ceiling, multiplying the brightness of the lights that were glowing.

“With ya in a minute,” a voice called from somewhere in the back. Emma nervously ran a hand through her hair and cleared her throat. She forced herself to look at the pictures on the wall, trying to imagine who would get the tattoos she was seeing.

“Nice selection,” a softly accented voice said from behind her. Emma jumped and turned around. A man…a very large one…was sitting in one of the chairs in the booth behind her. His demeanor was one of complete laid back laziness. He sprawled in the chair, his legs sticking straight out in front of him.

Emma nodded slowly at him, her eyes meeting his before she could look away. His were a crystal blue color, cold, hard. But oddly attractive in some strange way she couldn’t comprehend. He was old…well, old to her. At least in his mid-thirties. No hair under a ball cap that he wore backward on his head.

“I hope you’ve thought long and hard about what you’re goin’ to get. You’re stuck with it forever.”

Emma again only nodded. She felt strange, dizzy almost. It was as if she knew who this man was but couldn’t quite make the memory reveal itself. She could feel his eyes on her as he seemed to measure her reaction to him. She fought back a shiver.

Turning her back on the pretense of studying the flash sheets again, Emma bit her lip and frowned. She glanced up at the mirror, which gave a clear view of the booths behind her. The one with the man in it…was empty.

She whirled around again, her eyes going to the empty chair in front of her. She hadn’t heard the bell over the door ring, or even the squeak of the leather chair as he’d moved. And he was quick, she had only glanced away for a second.

“Help you, young lady?” another voice startled her from her study of the chair. Emma turned to face the man who’d entered from a doorway to her right. The man’s face lit up in recognition.

“Hi Crowbar,” she said, giving him a smile. It was the first real smile she’d worn for a few days. It felt strange on her lips. Crowbar was a friend of her dad’s; they’d talked motorcycles together for years. His real name was Anthony, but everyone, including the twins, had fallen into the habit of calling him by his biker name.

“Emma…” he came forward and took her hand, giving her a smile in return. It was laced with sadness. “I was so shocked to hear about your mom and dad.”

She nodded, fighting back the tears that automatically sprang to her eyes. “It’s Ok. I’d kinda prefer not talking about it though.”

“Acourse not,” he’d slipped into his heavier accent that appeared whenever he got uncomfortable. “What can I do for ya?”

“Well…” Emma waved a hand at the walls.

“A tat? You aren’t quite old enough are ya?” At the look on her face, he relaxed a little and smiled. “You’re lucky. I’m runnin’ an underage special tonight. I’m calling it the ‘I don’t ask for ID, screw my license’ blowout.” Emma laughed robotically.

“I don’t want to get you into any trouble,” she said as Crowbar led the way to the booth that the other strange man had vacated.

“Screw trouble. It’s my pleasure to buck the law,” he winked at her as she sat down. “Now, seriously. What did you have in mind?” He listened attentively as she described what she wanted.

5

Two hours later, Emma said her thanks to Crowbar and headed outside. Her shoulder was sore; the tattoo had taken more time than she’d thought and she hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. But it was done now. She felt better than she had in weeks.

She reached into her pocket for her car keys and froze. She’d seen movement from the corner of her eye. Turning, she scanned the empty street. A few blocks away a man was walking with his back to her. It was the same guy who’d been in the tat shop earlier, she was sure of it. It was just some strange…intuition. Clutching Adam’s keys in her hand, she turned and followed him, her curiosity getting the better of her.

He never looked back at her. Emma stared openly at him, wondering if he’d been waiting for her to come out. There were no other businesses open this time of night. She shivered involuntarily, and wondered what the hell she was thinking, following some strange man down a dark and deserted street.

But she couldn’t seem to make herself stop. A few blocks after he’d started, he came to the door of the only club in town. As usual, the place was crowded. Emma had only been inside once; they’d let the high school use the huge dance hall for their prom last year.

She watched as the man walked right by the bouncer at the door. It was like he wasn’t even seen. Emma sighed. So much for playing detective. There was no way she was going to get past the big guy on guard.

But she had nothing better to do. She stopped in front of him, dwarfed by him. He could have been a football player, he was so huge. The guy looked down at her for a minute, his dark eyes seeing her but not seeing her. It was a chilling feeling, as if she were as insubstantial as a cloud.

So that’s why the bald guy had gotten past him so easily. The bouncer was obviously stoned. Emma stepped past him, still eyeing him warily in case he suddenly snapped out of it. When he didn’t grab her, she sighed in relief and stepped into the club.

There was a pounding rock beat overhead, and lights flickered and whirled throughout the large open space. She took a minute to get her bearings, then headed for the loft. It was kind of like a balcony, with tables and chairs spaced at intervals around it. It ran the entire circumference of the club, and had steps up to it in every corner.

Leaning against the rail, Emma let her eyes scan the crowd. On a Wednesday night, it wasn’t too stuffed with people. The big guy she’d seen earlier was easy enough to spot. He seemed to be more…real, more there than the other people.

Emma watched him with interest as he wove through the crowd. It was strange how people stepped out of his way without looking at him, again as if they didn’t even see him.

He stopped in front of a young blonde woman who was standing at the bar. She looked up at him, a smile on her bright red lips, her eyes looking him up and down. Emma sneered at the display. A bar tramp…they were as common in here as ants at a picnic, as her Aunt Regan often said. This one was majorly overdone. She probably would have been pretty if she hadn’t slathered on enough makeup to ice a cake.

The guy didn’t seem to care. Emma took a second to wonder about his taste. She mentally berated herself. Why was she so fascinated with this guy who was old enough (she thought) to be her father? And what did she care if he wanted to dip into the walking sexual disease pool that was the tramp in the tight red dress?

Sighing, she turned and made her way back to the stairs. Enough voyeurism for one night. There was no reason for it and it just felt…wrong.

She faltered on the bottom step. The guy was walking past her, toward the door, the blonde right behind him. Damn, but he worked fast. She waited a few minutes then followed them outside, breathing in the clean air after the smoke filled atmosphere of the bar.

The bouncer was still standing there, still looking as if he’d been hit on the head with a mallet. Emma turned left and walked slowly back in the direction of Adam’s car. Her shoulder was itching…she had to fight the urge to give it a good scratch. Crowbar had warned her about that.

Lost in thought, she almost didn’t hear the soft sound. Stopping, she tilted her head and listened, wondering what had broken into her thoughts.

It came again. A low moan. From her left. She didn’t want to look, she really didn’t. But she found her head turning as if she had no control over it. There was a small alley, the rear illuminated by a dim yellow security light. About halfway down she could see something moving. Two somethings actually. She gave her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, and made out two people who were obviously making out.

Embarrassed, she started to leave. Just what she really needed to top out her night; watching drunks grope in an alley.

She was about to turn away when the man looked up. Although it was still too dark to make him out clearly, she knew it was the guy she’d followed. His eyes glowed in the darkness, making her breath catch in her throat. Not just glowed, but glowed a baleful blood red color. He watched her for a minute, his eyes drilling into her. Emma found herself walking forward instead of back, moving closer so she could see him better.

She stopped when she was only twenty feet away. Now she could make out his face under those eerie glowing eyes, the goatee he wore, even the glint of his teeth as he smiled at her. He waited a few more seconds, then opened his mouth.

Emma would have stepped back if she’d been able to. The guy had fangs. Wickedly sharp looking, pointed, long fangs. The blonde woman was leaning against the wall, her hands resting lightly on the guy’s shoulders. He slowly looked away from Emma and ducked his head, moving in to her neck.

As soon as his eyes left her, Emma felt as if a huge weight had rolled off of her. She took a tentative step back, her eyes locked on the scene in front of her. The blonde cried out softly, but it wasn’t a cry of pain exactly. It was a sound Emma would have associated with sex. The man was sucking at the blonde’s neck, his eyes closed. Emma could actually see his throat working as he drank from her. The blonde had a look of total rapture on her face. Shocked, Emma felt her own body trying to respond to the strangely sexual feeding.

Jerking herself out of her trance, she spun on her heel and ran. Not slowing, she used to hand to slingshot around the corner and back into the street. There was still no one around; and what exactly would she have said anyway? She fought the urge to laugh hysterically and ran faster, feeling relief when Adam’s car came into view. Digging in her pocket, she pulled the keys out and fumbled for the one to unlock to door. She skidded the last few feet as she tried not to ram into the car. With shaking hands, she tried to put the key in the lock, missing the first few tries. The keys fell from her hand.

“Shit…” under her breath, not even aware she’d spoken out loud. She leaned down and picked up the keys, willing her hand to steady itself.

She was trying for the lock again when a hand clamped down gently on hers and guided the key into the hole. Emma’s breath caught in her throat as she looked over her shoulder at the bald guy who looked calmly back at her. His eyes weren’t glowing red now. They were that cold icy blue again.

“We have a lot to talk about,” he said in a low voice. Emma felt a ripple of…something not quite fear go down her spine. “Get in the car. I’ll drive.”

6

The easiest thing that could have happened was that she would just say yes.

Steve knew nothing was ever that simple.

Emma actually started to move to the other side of the car before she stopped and faced him directly. He stared her in the eyes, waiting to see what her reaction was going to be.

Finding her had been ridiculously easy. Her…thought waves, patterns, whatever they were…shone out to him like a beacon. He could have met with her earlier, but she hadn’t been ready. Then again, who the hell could be ready for what was going on? But the kid had just lost her parents; for some damn reason he had wanted to give them a little time before diving in.

And now, here he was. There were easier ways of getting her attention of course, but why hide what he was? He’d planted the idea to follow him in her mind easily enough, and he’d manipulated her into seeing him feed.

She was a tough one. He’d lost the connection with her once, in the club. Lucky for him his snack had decided to be noisy, or he’d have blown the whole plan. Once he’d gone into full vampire mode, taking control of Emma had been fairly easy. At least, momentarily. As he’d fed, he could feel her rejecting the suggestion he’d given her, throwing it off without realizing she was doing it.

He’d finished with the blonde, sealing the wound and licking the last few drops of blood from his lips. He’d walked at what seemed to be a slow pace to him, and he’d still managed to catch up to Emma as she tried to get into her car. He tried probing her mind again. He was rewarded with a sharp pain behind his eyes and a dark look from the young girl.

“Look…don’t run off. I’m here to help you,” He offered, trying to keep her calm. He could sense her pent up emotions just under her calm exterior. He was actually amazed at how well she stifled her instincts, her feelings. The only thing that gave them away were her eyes, which were a turbulent shade of dark green.

He was already feeling the effects of being so close to her. Steve had been emotionless for so long, it was almost impossible for him to tell what it was exactly he was feeling. It was as if a lead weight was inside his stomach.

This was her, then. Definitely the leader. Although this strange block she seemed to have on her emotions was completely alien to him. He’d never heard of anything like it before.

“Help me?” Emma stood indecisively in front of the car, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Help me to what? Play some sick little neck biting game with you? I don’t think so. Go find yourself another blonde.”

She still had the car keys in her hand, and she made to walk past him and get into the driver’s seat. Steve moved lightening fast, snatching the key from her hand and stepping back before she could even register that he’d moved.

Emma’s eyes narrowed at him. Steve wondered where the fear was in her. Probably locked away like everything else. He felt a grudging admiration for the kid’s gumption.

“Look asshole, give me a break, Ok? I’m not in the mood for your drunken Olympics,” she said it in a weary voice, making her sound much older than her seventeen years.

“The last person who called me an asshole went home in a wooden box,” Steve said conversationally, stepping close to her and towering over her.

“Bully for him,” was her bland reply. There was still no fear in her eyes. Steve frowned slightly, wondering why it was so damn important to him that he get a rise out of her.

He never thought she’d go for the keys that still dangled in his hand, but as he wondered about his own intentions, she reached out and snatched them easily. They were in her pocket before he could do more than take a half-hearted swipe at them.

He sighed and reached up to adjust his hat. His hand slid down his cheek to rub absently at his goatee. He spoke as if it were an afterthought. “Then I guess you don’t want to know about what your parents were. Or what you are. My mistake.” He shook his head and took a step back from her. She looked stricken, and he could sense an inner struggle.

“How the hell do you know anything about my parents?” She whispered softly before he could take more than two steps away. Steve looked around at her, smirking.

“I know plenty. About your mom, your dad…the rest of your family. You, your sister. Even your little friend Melody.”

“Harmony,” Emma corrected him absently. Steve nodded, growing serious.

“I never said I was good with names. So…do you want to hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Your birthright. For lack of a better way of putting it.”

“My birthright?” She laughed harshly. The sound was completely out of place coming from someone so young. “You wanna know what my birthright is? To lose my parents when I still need ‘em around and to have some asshole come up to me and try to use that to…to…” she eyed him. “What exactly do you want from me?”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t want anything from you. I wouldn’t even be here if not for…” he cut himself off. “It’s not important.” He gave her a dark look. “That’s twice I’ve let you call me an asshole.”

“Get used to it,” Emma shrugged. “Stop avoiding my questions. You said you had something to tell me. So spill it so I can go home, back to the sane people of the planet.”

Steve sighed again. “You want the honest truth here? No holding back, cuz I think the game’s run a little late for that shit. I’m a vampire.” He saw no disbelief on her face. That was good. She didn’t freak out, which was better. “And you…like your mom…” a shrug. “You’re a guardian.”

“A…guardian?”

“Of vampires. Of all of use soulless demons who are wandering the world sucking blood and raising hell,” Steve chuckled a little; the sound of it was foreign to his ears.

“Vampire guardian?” Emma snorted. “Sounds like a lame-ass TV concept to me.”

“There’s no other way to describe it,” he met her eyes again. “For the next thirteen years, you, your sister, and your friend are our only links to mortality. You keep us sane. You give us just enough humanity so we still have something like a sense of right and wrong.”

“Great…the undead morality police.” Again, that dry note in her voice. Emma smirked, and Steve realized it was likely the first joke she’d made in weeks.

“That…and more. A helluva lot more,” he relaxed a little. As he’d suspected, she’d been open to listen to what he was saying. And to believe. Although he didn’t know what kind of consequences would come from her knowing too much, there was no way in hell he was going to let her go into this thing blind. “Come on. We have a lot to talk about. There are two other vampires you have to meet, they’re on your side too. Your vampire watchdogs in a sense. And I think the sooner we all get together…the better. Your sister and friend can come into it later. You’re the one, Emmalynn. The leader. We have to start with you first.”

Emma stared at him. “I’m the…how’d you…” she took a deep breath.

“Ok. I drive though. I might be a vampire guardian but my uncle would still kill me if I let some strange man drive his car.”

7

They were both quiet at first, Emma staring at the road in front of the car, Steve watching her drive. She’d turned on the radio, basically so she wouldn’t have to try to talk to him. Some rock song blasted through the speakers, making Steve wince.

Emma reached over and turned the music down. “Where exactly are we going?”

Steve pushed his hat back and rubbed his forehead. “We got a house right outside of town. Uh…about a mile from where you’re stayin’,” Emma glanced at him but didn’t comment on it. He eyed her speculatively. “I kinda expected you to ask a million questions.”

“I don’t expect I’d get any answers from you until we get to where we’re going,” she said matter-of-factly.

“You’re one perceptive kid,” he said with a hint of a smile in his voice. He got a dark look.

“Don’t call me kid. I’m not a goat.”

That surprised a laugh out of Steve, who looked shocked at the same time. Emma smiled at the comical look on his face.

“You sound rusty,” she stated. He acted like he’d never laughed before. Weird.

“I am rusty,” still chuckling, he glanced out the window. “Turn right up here, the driveway’s kinda hidden.”

Emma made the turn and realized where they were. The old house had belonged to a friend of Adam’s until he’d moved last summer. As far as she knew, he hadn’t tried to sell it or rent it out. “What are you guys doing here? Besides breaking and entering?”

“The cops are the least of our worries right now,” he said, watching as she drove carefully down the rutted driveway. He couldn’t sense much of anything from up ahead, which was good. He’d been trying to teach John and Randy how to guard their thoughts better. It would take practice, but they were getting there. He was kind of surprised that both guys were still there; they’d taken to spreading out at night and getting together in the morning to swap information.

Probably sensed something coming and decided to wait for it. Steve would have done the same thing himself. Emma brought the car to a stop and climbed out, completely unafraid. She looked around, then stared up at the house. There were no lights on, the electric had been turned off a long time ago. She guessed it really didn’t matter; not like a vampire would need a lot of light.

She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d accepted it. Vampires. She’d never been afraid of the dark, never had a monster under her bed. She loved horror movies. But she’d never believed in any mythical kinda creatures. She’d always thought it was kid stuff. Yet here she was, standing in the dark front yard of a man she’d seen suck the blood out of someone no more than an hour ago and feeling totally at ease with the concept.

She walked toward the house without waiting for Steve. Her curiosity was peaked; she hated not knowing what was going on. And this was the first thing that had actually interested her since the funeral. She stopped before she went onto the porch and turned to watch Steve approach her.

“You said you knew stuff about me, about my family,” she watched him as he hesitated, then nodded. “My mom specifically?” Again, the hesitating nod. “Don’t think I’m going to forget about it. I expect a big explanation later.”

Steve cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. Emma turned and went up the steps. The front door opened and John stepped out, with Randy right behind him.

Emma stared from one to the other, taking them in, measuring them up it seemed. John looked confused for a moment, then smiled down at her. It was the first time any of them had ever seen the big man smile. Randy uncertainly shifted from foot to foot; he seemed not to be able to meet her eyes for more than a few seconds.

“Come on inside,” John drawled out. He looked at Steve. “We have another one.”

Emma frowned. “Another what?”

“That’s what we brought you here for,” Steve said slowly. “And soon enough we’ll get your sister and your friend. There’s shit happening…” he shrugged. “There’s been a load of vampire deaths lately.”

“A load? Wait…aren’t you guys supposed to be immortal or something?” She looked from Steve to John. They seemed to be sharing some form of telepathy as they stared at each other.

“In a sense we are,” John finally said. Sighing, he went and leaned against the porch rail, making himself comfortable. “There are a few ways to kill a vampire. The younger ones can’t stand sunlight. Eventually, you develop a semi-immunity to it.”

“What about you guys?” Emma asked, curious.

“I could probably go out in if for a little bit, in the early morning or evening. Middle of the day…probably be fried to a crisp,” John laughed a little, and Emma was again struck by how amazed he looked when it happened. Did these people find nothing humorous?

“What about you?” She looked at Randy, who up until then had been leaning in the shadows with his mouth shut.

“Uh…no sunlight. I can’t even handle the early hours…” he finally answered. Emma nodded and looked at Steve.

“It doesn’t bother me to go out in the daytime,” he said simply. “I just like the nights better.”

“What else?” she asked.

Again the guys exchanged a long look. “Pure silver can hurt us but it won’t kill us. Of course, a silver stake through the heart would be very effective,” John shrugged. “Basically anything that destroys the heart is what it takes to kill us off. That and getting our heads chopped off. That’s kind of a permanent injury you don’t recover from.”

“So somebody is going around, staking you and chopping off your heads and I’m supposed to do what? Go tell them to stop? Threaten to tell their moms on them?”

Steve came up onto the porch and looked down at her. “No. But you have to know about this. It’s not a somebody who’s doing it.”

“Then what is it? The boogey man?” Emma didn’t back down from him.

“Almost,” he said seriously. “Vampires are being stalked and killed by werewolves.”

“Werewolves?” She couldn’t keep the note of disbelief from her voice. Vampires were real, she’d accepted that and seen it with her own eyes. But werewolves? People turning into dogs whenever the moon got full? “Now why would a pack of jumped up dogs be going after you big bad vampires?”

Steve was looking at her with narrowed eyes. “Because…” he glanced at John who nodded. Emma would have to believe, and quickly. “The guy who’s leading them is the same guy who tried to kill your mom and dad almost twenty years ago.”

“My…” Emma shook her head. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Steve…” John’s voice was low but it carried a very clear warning.

“Shut up. She has to know. Remember what we said, no more of this in the dark bullshit,” Steve turned to face Emma again. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was coming. “Twenty years ago, your mom and her friends helped your dad and his brother escape from Hell. And now…he wants you. Because he fucked up and he’s paying for it until brings you down.”

“I…I don’t understand…” Emma stuttered, frowning. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Cuz you’re not just a human,” John said from behind her. His voice was resigned. “You have…powers. You police the vampires, just like your mom did when she was younger. She didn’t have the benefit of knowing about it though.”

“Powers?” Emma laughed harshly. “I can’t even microwave popcorn without burning it, and I’m a vampire cop with superpowers. Do you have any clue how fucking ridiculous that sounds?” John and Steve both looked taken aback when she cursed.

“There’s a lot you don’t know kid,” Steve said, voice low.

“And you’re not exactly chomping at the bit to spill it, are ya?” Finally angry, Emma went toward the steps. She’d had enough.

“Your mother wouldn’t have walked away,” Steve said, keeping his voice calm and even. He felt like a shit for using her mom against her, but he had no choice.

Emma’s steps faltered. Squaring her shoulders, she turned to face the three men on the porch. “I am not my mother. My mother is dead.” With that, she spun on her heel and went to the car, getting in and slamming the door.

When the roar of the engine had faded, Steve looked from John to Randy.

“You think she’ll be back?” Randy asked, running his hand through his dark hair.

“Yeah,” John said with no hesitation.

Steve nodded in agreement. Although the werewolves seemed to be active, he knew the worst was yet to come. He’d let her stew for a few days before going to her and making her open her eyes.

“What now?” Randy asked.

“We wait. A few days, then we get all three of them together. They’ll see for themselves what’s going on,” Steve said. He rubbed absently at his goatee as John and Randy went back into the house. He hoped he was right on this, he really did. If Emma couldn’t accept what she was, then there would literally be Hell to pay.

8

Two in one night. Not bad, not bad at all.

The first one had been the hardest to find. Hunting out vampires in the dark was always a dangerous business but Paul thrived on the challenge. What the others did to the vampires that they found he neither knew nor cared. It was just his job to seek them out.

The only reason he even did that much was out of boredom. The past few years had dragged by, making him wonder if it wasn’t finally time to pull the plug on his life. He wasn’t immortal as the hated vampires were, but he was prolonged. Already he’d outlived two wives and his only son and grandchild.

He knew there was a certain risk involved in hunting vampires at night. Even with his heightened sight, sense of smell, and lightening reflexes, the vampires still had the advantage. He felt his upper lip raise in a sneer, the hatred that was ingrained in him rising for a moment to the surface. As a general rule, all werewolves hated vampires. They were romanticized by the humans, while lycanthropes were considered mindless bloodthirsty beasts.

The fact that their current lifestyle punctuated that difference seemed ironically funny to Paul. He and his ‘pack’ hunted the vampires, cornered them, tore them to shreds, ripped out their hearts…

He sighed and closed his eyes, letting the night wind hit him full in the face. There was a certain amount of joy in destroying something that humans seemed so damn fascinated with. But he’d lost the taste for the actual kill. The hunt was the only thing that he liked about this mess.

Opening his eyes, he walked out of the shadows of the house where his ‘pack’ was still doing its work. The sun wouldn’t be up for several hours. Perhaps he’d have time to find one more vampire before dawn broke.

Or maybe not. His boss would be expecting a report, and from the sounds coming from the half-open window above him, his ‘pack’ was still in the midst of their feeding frenzy. “Eat ‘em up boys,” he said in a low voice. A shudder of almost revulsion went through him, making him frown. Tired. He was just too damn tired to find any kind of joy at the kill anymore.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he walked down the middle of the street, ignoring the howl that came from behind him. There was no urge to turn and join in, no feeling of wanting to ‘change’ and run with the pack. He had only his bone-deep weariness and a longing for this to be over.

And his hatred of course. For humans and vampires alike. He had gotten to the point where his own humanity had been effectively buried by decades of being a wolf. He felt nothing but contempt for the mortals who cowered from the unknown, who were too afraid of death to take chances. His hatred of the vampires was harder to explain; it had always been there, burning inside him, from the first day of his change. They did not fear death, they had no reason to. They were death.

He stopped in the street, raised his head, and smelled the air. Something was definitely coming, whether it be for the vampires or against them. He could sense it all around him, a dark pressure that had been building up for several weeks. He rolled his shoulders, releasing pent up tension, then changed direction and moved on down the street. Screw the boss for tonight. Paul was beyond fearing him. There was still work to be done on the streets, and he wanted to run while the mood was on him.

9

After spending the remainder of the night tossing and turning, Emma got out of bed when the sun came up and paced her room. Her mom had known something about this, according to the guys from last night. So why had she never said anything? Or her dad? And as close as her mom and Isabel and Regan were, why did none of them ever mention that their mom had been almost killed twenty years ago?

And now that she thought about it…vampires? Had she actually believed that’s what they were? And how did they know anything about her mom and dad?

Too many questions in her head, Emma finally left her room, trying to be quiet. Normally Adam liked to sleep in; she didn’t want to be the one to wake him up. From the silence, it seemed as if the rest of the house was still asleep too.

She went to the steps and started down, then stopped and looked at the wall. Regan loved taking pictures, had spent quite a bit of time doing it professionally. There were photos scattered throughout the house. Emma had seen this one before of course. Her mom and dad on their wedding day. Nothing spectacular; they’d had a small simple ceremony. But for the first time she found herself seeing something that she’d never noticed before.

Hands shaking, she reached up and took the picture from the hook that held it to the wall. Mark and Trinity were standing on a raised platform. Isabel, Paige, and Regan stood to one side of them, Jeff, Matt, and Adam to the other. The only one missing was Karen…but the wedding had taken place before Jeff had even met her.

Emma focused on her parents. Something was just…not right. There was a feeling of understanding in her mind, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was she was seeing. Taking the framed photo with her, she headed back up the stairs. The picture she’d been looking at the night before was still on the bedside table. She snatched it up then set both pictures side by side on the bed. Her eyes went back and forth between them, widening.

Her parents looked exactly the same. The wedding picture was twenty years old, the other taken just last year. Convinced she was seeing things, she looked closer.

“Christ…” she muttered. The same hair, not one strand of gray. The same smooth young features on her mom. Her dad looked as healthy and huge in one as the other.

Emma did some quick math in her head. Her father had been thirty-seven when he’d married her twenty-seven year old mother. That would put them at…fifty-seven and forty-seven in the more recent picture. It was impossible, but she couldn’t deny what she was seeing with her own eyes.

Her parents had somehow stopped aging, possibly as a result of something that had happened back then.

She grabbed both pictures and went out of her room again, this time straight to Beth’s door. Not caring if she woke anybody up, she flung it open and slammed it shut in her excitement.

Beth moaned and her eyes fluttered open, taking in the sight of her sister. She managed to sit up quickly, surprised at this sudden show of emotion from Emma. She looked like she was getting ready to explode.

“Em…what’s wrong?” immediately thinking the worst, she prepared herself.

“I have no idea!” Emma plopped down on the edge of the bed and shoved the pictures at her sister. “Look at these and tell me what you see.”

Beth blinked to clear her vision and looked at the pictures. “Jeez Em. Trying to give me a heart attack? It’s Mom and Dad and the rest of…the…” she trailed off, her eyes finally seeing what Emma had seen. “What the hell?”

“So it’s not just me?” Emma jumped up from the bed and went to Beth’s desk. She rummaged around and pulled out a photo album. Flipping through the pages, she brought it to the bed. “Look at this…” she turned the book around. It was another picture, this one of Adam and Regan taken a few months ago.

“They’re…” Beth’s eyes went back and forth rapidly. “Exactly the same. What does that mean?”

“I have no idea,” Emma was flipping pages again, stopping to look at nothing in particular. “We never saw it because we were used to seeing them all the time. If somebody they knew back then…” she tapped her parent’s wedding picture. “Were to see them now…” her finger rested on the second picture. “They’d see it too. They’d have to. Mom and Dad stopped…aging.” There was a certain amount of wonder in her voice. And something else that Beth couldn’t quite define.

“That’s crazy…” Beth rubbed her eyes. “But I guess I’m sharing the hysteria. Because I see it too.”

“We have to go home,” Emma said suddenly.

“Home? But…Em…” an involuntary shudder went down Beth’s spine.

“It’s just a house right? It’s not like they di…” she stopped herself. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. “We’ll be Ok. But I think there’s something there we have to find. I don’t just think it…I know it, Beth.” She stood up. “I’m going. You can go with me or stay. But there is something weird going on here.”

“I just don’t think I’m ready to go back there,” Beth said in a quiet voice.

“Ok. I’ll go by myself,” Emma felt sick at the thought, but there was a stronger pull inside of her to go home. “We have to talk though Beth. About something that I saw last night. And something I heard. And it involves you. And me…and Harmony.”

“Harmony?” They hadn’t talked to her since the funeral; she’d had problems with her mother and had wanted to give the twins privacy in their grief.

“Yeah. Trust me Beth. This is no weird joke. At least…I hope not. But we have to all get together. Then there’s some people we have to meet. I think they have the answers to this,” she gestured at the pictures. “At least, I think one of them has the answers.” Steve definitely knew something. If she hadn’t gotten mad at him last night, if she hadn’t left, she might already have some answers.

“All right then.” Beth got up from her bed and rummaged in her dresser, pulling out some clothes. “Give me a few minutes to get dressed.” Before Emma could leave the room, she stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You’re thinking he knows something about Mom and Dad, right?”

“I know he does,” Emma stated, meeting her sister’s eyes. Something seemed to pass between them, twin telepathy they’d taken for granted since they were old enough to know they were two separate people.

Beth nodded as if Emma’s short statement had explained everything then half-smiled. Something very big was happening, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it. But if Emma said they needed to go home, then that’s where they would head.

10

Steve made himself lie down when the sun came up, knowing he wouldn’t be able to rest but wanting to at least try. He’d spent the whole night prowling the property, full of nervous energy and trying to make sense of the sudden onslaught of emotion he was feeling. He had known this was going to happen, but hadn’t expected how powerful it would be. And he knew that she was holding back, controlling it somehow. If she just let go, it would probably drive him insane.

He rolled onto his side, sighing deeply. He’s dragged a mattress downstairs into the basement of the house. Two hundred years and he still felt more comfortable sleeping underground. The irony wasn’t lost on him. He should have been ‘underground’ long before now. He hated what he was. Immortality was overrated. He wanted to be able to just close his eyes and not ever open them again. Better that than to be a walking dead man anyway.

Lost in his morose thoughts, he’d just started to drift into sleep when he felt a cool hand pressing against his shoulder. Fighting it, he shook his arm, momentarily breaking the contact. It came back though, stronger, more insistent. Steve squeezed his eyes shut tight and shook his head.

“Not now. I don’t wanna think about this shit now.” He said in a low voice.

The…hand…hesitated, then pulled away. Steve sighed in relief. It was just too much for him to deal with. Things hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped for with Emma, there was no telling what the hell those wolves were up to, and now this. He hated having this responsibility, but there was nothing he could do about it. He’d been chosen.

Something cool touched his arm again and he groaned in frustration.

John and Randy sat upstairs in the kitchen, neither saying much of anything. Randy knew he should just go to bed; the morning sun was starting to peak through small cracks in the boards that covered the windows. Just the sight of the bright light made him feel nervous.

“He’s doing it again.”

John’s voice made Randy jump.

“Doing what?”

“He’s talking to himself.” John looked at the closed basement door, a thoughtful frown on his face.

“Maybe he’s just…” Randy shrugged helplessly. “You don’t think he’s lost his mind or anything do you?”

“Hell no,” John said quickly. “I think there’s a lot more goin’ on here than he’s letting on.”

“You gonna push him on it?” Randy asked, curious. John looked at him for several long moments.

“No,” he finally replied. “If it’s important, he’ll tell us. Probably waiting for her to come to her senses.”

“Yeah.” Randy was quiet for a moment. “So what do you make of her?”

John shrugged. “Tell the truth…I already feel like she’s my kid sister or something. When she first walked up to the house I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or scream, that’s how fucked up my thoughts were.”

“Yeah. I kinda felt the same way. Overcome…sort of.”

John sighed and glanced at the covered window. “Yeah, well. I think we’ll be getting our answers pretty damn soon. But not today. Get some rest kid. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

11

Harmony was the first to speak.

“God…it feels so weird to be here.”

And that basically summed up the feelings of all three girls as they stood on the lawn in front of Emma and Beth’s house. The grass has grown, giving the place an unkempt look. None of them seemed to be able to move.

At Beth’s suggestion, they’d gone straight to Harmony’s house to pick her up. She’d been thrilled to see the sisters, and had hugged them til their ribs had hurt. Not bothering to wake her mother up before she left, she’d grabbed her key and jumped into the car. And now…here they were.

Emma couldn’t deny that when the three of them had gotten together there had been some sort of a…click. Something almost tangible between them, something unspoken. They’d all felt it but hadn’t commented on it. On the way over, Beth had tried to explain what had made them come back. After looking at the pictures they’d brought along, Harmony had agreed there was definitely something going on. Her basic curiosity was running rampant.

Emma was the first one to move forward. “Well…we’re not going to find anything out standing around in the yard.”

“What exactly are we looking for Em?” Beth asked as her sister jingled her keys in her hand.

“I have no idea. Just…anything.”

“Maybe we should split up. Get this over with as quick as we can,” Harmony suggested.

“Not necessary,” Emma was said softly. “We don’t have to look through the whole house; most likely what we want will be in mom and dad’s bedroom.”

Beth was slowly nodding her head. “Let’s get this over with. I feel weird standing out here.”

“Weird how?” Harmony asked, looking at the two sisters curiously.

“I dunno…just…like…”

“Like we’re being watched,” Harmony finished. Emma and Beth both nodded. “From the house?”

“I don’t think so,” Emma looked around, her eyes sweeping the wide lawn and the tree line beyond it that marked the edge of the property. “Come on.” She led the way up the porch steps and used her key to open the door. The three of them hesitated, then made their way inside.

Emma was surprised at first. She’d expected the house to feel unused, abandoned. Instead there was a strange sense of…peace? She didn’t know how to define it. It was as if their mother was going to walk into the hall any minute, a smile on her face, asking if they were ready for lunch.

“Wow,” Beth said softly behind her. The simple word basically summed up all of their thoughts.

“Do you guys smell that?” Harmony asked, her voice a whisper.

Now that Harmony brought it up, there was a smell in the air. Emma breathed in deeply, aware of her sister doing the same thing.

“That smells like…” Beth stopped, sniffing again.

“Peaches,” Emma finished for her. The two looked at each other. Harmony’s forehead creased in a frown.

“You guys haven’t been here in a couple of weeks. Wouldn’t peaches have gone bad or something?”

This actually got a laugh from Emma and Beth, their first real laugh since their parents had died. “You probably didn’t notice it…” Emma finally said, looping an arm through Harmony’s and slowly walking down the hallway. “Last Christmas we bought Mom this peach body wash and shampoo. She used it just about every day.”

“Yeah, the first few times you smelled it, it was so strong it about knocked you backward,” Beth said with a giggle. “Dad finally told her to water it down or he would bite her.”

Harmony smiled, breathing in the soft sweet scent. “I think it smells good. Comforting.”

“Yeah,” Emma said softly. They were at the foot of the stairs. Again she found herself taking the lead as they made their way upstairs. She couldn’t believe that being in the house again was so…easy. She’d expected hurt, pain, anger. Not this relaxed feeling of belonging. Of coming home.

All of the doors on the second floor were standing wide open, just as they’d left them. Trinity and Mark’s room was at the end of the hall. Emma barely gave her own room a glance as she walked past it. She already knew what was in there.

She halted on the threshold of her parent’s bedroom and took it in. The bed was unmade; her mom hadn’t yet gotten around to doing her household chores when they’d left that day. There was a paperback book on her mom’s nightstand, open and laying flat on the hard surface. The alarm clock on her dad’s side was blinking a steady 12:00. She frowned, wondering if the power had gone out or something. She didn’t recall any bad storms in the past couple of weeks.

“So…um…where do we start?” Harmony asked, making Emma jump a little.

“Good question. Harmony, start under the bed and the nightstand. Beth the bathroom. I’ll get the closet. And if we don’t find anything…” Emma sighed. “We can go up in the attic. That’s mom’s other hiding spot for stuff.” This got another small chuckle from Beth. They’d learned a long time ago where to look for presents and things their mom tried to hide from them.

Without any argument, the three of them split up, going about their own search. They had no idea what to look for, but each of them could feel…something. As if they were being guided to search for some unnamable object.

Harmony got on her knees and looked under the bed, but there was nothing there. She turned and opened the drawers of the nightstand, already sure that whatever they wanted wasn’t going to be there. She could hear Beth in the bathroom, rummaging through the cabinets. And apparently not finding anything worth reporting.

Emma was in the closet, pushing through the clothes, looking down at the floor. There were shoe boxes, and nothing else. Sighing she stepped back and looked up. There was a high shelf, and by stretching she could just place the tips of her fingers on the edge of it. If her dad was around…

She killed the thought before it had half formed. Her mom had a vanity table in the corner of the bedroom. Emma went to it and grabbed the stool that was in front of it, carrying it back to the closet. She climbed up gingerly, wary of breaking the small piece of furniture. At first she didn’t see anything but stacks of photo albums and pieces of clothing their mom hadn’t seen fit to get rid of. As she was about to climb down, a flash of bright white caught her eye.

In the far corner, tucked behind a baby blanket that had belonged to the twins, was another shoe box. At least, that’s what she thought at first. She carefully reached in, snagging it with her fingers and pulling it toward her. The box was not marked. It was solid white, the top taped to the bottom to prevent it from being tampered with.

Emma clutched it and hopped off the stool, then turned to face Beth and Harmony, who had watched her from the bed.

“That’s it?” Harmony asked as Emma went to the bed and sat down.

“I think so,” Emma smiled a little and pointed to the top of the box. The white wasn’t complete after all; in black marker, their mom had written Emma, Beth, and Harmony in her neat printing.

“Well, crack that bad boy open,” Beth said with a grin. Emma smiled back at her, remembering her dad saying that on many occasions. Usually when Emma or Beth wanted to attempt to open a beer bottle for him.

Emma carefully ran her thumbnail under the tape, slitting it. When all four sides were done, she took a breath and raised the lid.

The first item, sitting right on top, was what looked like a diary. Emma lifted it out and laid it on the bed, not opening it yet. She wanted to see everything in the box first, then go back and check each item separately. Her eyes settled on the next object and she felt an involuntary shudder work down her spine.

“What is it Em?” Beth said, leaning over her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of the box and backed off. “What is that thing?”

“Looks like some kind of a mask…” Emma lifted it from the box, not liking the way it felt in her hands. She laid it on the bed, and the three of them looked at it for a moment. It was red and black, the colors slashed across each other. There were eyeholes and a slit for the mouth. There were no straps or any means of holding it in place.

“Ugh. Creepy.” Harmony offered, breaking their silence. Emma nodded, but didn’t speak. Instead she looked in the box again.

“Wow…check this out,” She pulled out a knife. It was heavier than she thought it would be.

“Cool. What is that, silver?” Beth reached out and touched it, feeling its cold reality against her fingertips. “Firs the mask, then the knife. What next, the deed to Crystal Lake?”

“It’s a dagger,” Harmony said, taking it from Emma and running a finger down the flat of the blade. “It’s too long to be just a knife. Look at the handle…it has some weird design on it.” She showed them the bottom, and they all looked at the colored jewels in silence.

Harmony finally set it down on the bed. Emma took that as her cue to move on, at least for now. She reached into the box again and pulled out the final item, a small envelope. Unlike the diary, she opened it, shaking its contents into her palm. Three small, black velvet jewelry pouches fell into her hand. Each one had a name written on it in tiny gold letters. Emma handed one to Harmony, then to Beth. She gazed down at the remaining pouch. Instead of Emma, her full first name was printed there. She tugged open the top and peered inside.

Beth made a low sound in her throat. She’d dumped the pouch and was looking wide eyed at the necklace that was now laying in her palm. She smoothed out the long silver chain, showing the other two what she had. The silver chain ended in what looked like a set of claws. Inside the claws, a perfectly round, smooth emerald caught the light.

“It’s so beautiful,” Beth breathed out softly. She slipped the chain over her head, then adjusted the necklace so it lay against her chest. The pendant rested just above the tops of her breasts.

Harmony and Emma looked at each other, then spilled out the objects in their own bags. Two more necklaces twinkled in the light. Harmony tented her fingers, holding hers up. The stone was a milky green color. “What is this?”

“Looks like jade,” Emma said, staring at her own necklace. “Dad has a dragon down in his office that’s made of the same stuff.” She fingered her own pendant, smiling a little. The stone in hers was white; for a second, she’d thought it was a pearl. But when she look closer she could see there were streaks of dark green in the middle. An opal then.

“What do you think these are for?” Beth asked, her hand wrapped around her pendant, as if trying to convince herself it was real. Emma shrugged, slipping the chain over her head.

“Our birthday?” she bit her lip. “It makes sense.”

“What about this other stuff?” Harmony gestured at the bed. “A dagger, a mask. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know.” Emma picked up the diary, looked at it briefly, then put it back in the box. The mask and dagger followed, and she put the lid on it.

“Aren’t you even going to see what it says?” Beth asked, staring at her sister.

“Yeah. But not here,” She glanced at the window, a frown creasing her forehead. As soon as she put on the necklace, the feeling that they were being watched had increased.

“What’s wrong?” Harmony stood up and looked around.

“You feel it too don’t you?” Beth asked the other girls.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Grabbing the box and tucking it under her arm, Emma led them back down the stairs and to the front door. Harmony and Beth were climbing in the car when a low noise made Emma freeze on the spot.

Turning, she scanned the tree line again, the growling seeming to fill her ears. There was nothing and then…a shadow separated itself from the dense trees. It was some kind of dog; at that distance it was hard to tell. Emma stared at it, feeling a shiver work down her spine as it seemed to stare back. After a few moments, it melted back into the trees, disappearing from sight.

“Are we gonna sit her all day, or what?” Beth asked, leaning over in her seat. Neither she nor Harmony had noticed the dog. They were too wrapped in their own thoughts.

“We’re outta here,” Emma said, getting into the car. She looked at the house again, sadness filling her. She had a strong feeling it would be the last time she’d ever see the home she’d spent her life in.

12

“We could have taken them all.”

Paul’s fist thumped the heavy wooden table that was sitting in the middle of the room. There were no windows, no decorations. The large table had one chair sitting at it’s head, and a low lamp in the center of it. He stared at the man that was sitting back in the chair, trying to understand.

“There’s no sport in taking them now.”

Ignoring the man’s mocking tone, Paul stalked from one side of the room to the other.

“I didn’t realize we were doing this for sport. I thought you had a purpose.”

“Do not question my decisions,” The man sat up straight and stared at Paul. Although his tone had remained calm, his eyes had taken on a tell-tale red shimmer.

Paul was not frightened. “We could have ended this bullshit today. Before they even knew what hit them. And you tell us to wait. Wait for what?”

“I don’t think I like the insubordinate tone of your voice,” The man rose from his chair, fixing an icy stare on Paul. “You question my motives now? Have you forgotten our deal?”

“I forget nothing,” Paul said, his voice low but still on edge.

The other man smiled coldly. “See that you don’t.” He turned to leave the room.

“What about the girl?”

The other man’s footsteps halted and he turned to look at Paul again. “What about her? She is not your concern, Paul.”

“You’re starving her.”

The man laughed. “What do you care? She is the enemy after all.”

Paul didn’t answer. He turned his back on his ‘boss’, and stalked angrily across the room toward the door. The other man’s laughter followed him out into the hallway, making his skin crawl.

He went down the stairs and stopped before he could leave the house. Paul hated himself for doing it, but he knew it was coming. Turning, he went to the door that led down to the basement. The lights were dim, but it didn’t matter. He could see what he needed to see.

At the foot of the stairs he turned right and walked down a long hallway. Although the house itself was small, underground was a virtual warren of rooms and hallways. He ignored the other people who were there, looking straight ahead.

The last doorway on the right led to another short hall. At the end of this hall was another staircase, this one rickety wood. He descended, light on his feet, not worried about falling. The sub basement was even darker than the floor above, more oppressive. There were several rooms down here with locked doors that were strictly off limits. The door he needed was again straight ahead.

Paul stepped inside and went into a room on his left. It had a lab-like atmosphere. Everything was pristine white. He didn’t know what kind of experiments his ‘boss’ was doing down here, nor did he want to know. He went to a small cooler standing in the corner and opened the door, taking out what he had come for.

He once again made his way down a dark hallway. He passed no one. This area was closed to his kind, but the rules meant absolutely nothing to Paul. His footsteps halted in front of the last door on the right. Reaching out, he pulled it open to reveal another door, this one made of iron bars more suited to a prison than a house.

The girl was standing there, watching the door, as if she had known he was coming. Paul sighed and held up what he’d taken from the lab. He saw her eyes lock on it and smirked.

Although the lab itself was a mystery, Paul knew exactly what the small bags of human blood were for. Teasing these vampires they kept housed down here like criminals. Maybe giving them a drop or two just to keep them alive.

The girls eyes had locked with his again. Paul was riveted by her for a minute, the crystal blue of her eyes in contrast to the red glow at the center. Shaking it off before he could fall for one of the oldest vampire tricks in the world, he carefully tore the top from the plastic bag and held it out to her. The girl narrowed her eyes but made no move forward.

“Come on, I know you’re hungry,” Paul said softly. The smell of the blood sent a tingle through him, but it was dull. Old hunting habits died hard. The girl was practically salivating.

She took one hesitant step, then another. Paul didn’t move, didn’t speak again, just waited. She of course didn’t trust anyone. She’d been tricked before. But Paul had no intention of playing with her.

She reached a shaking hand through the bars, as if she expected him to pull back at any second. Paul held his ground. When her hand touched the bag, he smiled into her eyes, to assure her.

She moved fast, much faster than he had expected a vampire could move in the state she was in. She snatched the bag and tossed it at his face, splattering cold blood over his features, into his hair, down his chest. Paul blinked, clearing his vision, unable to understand what the hell had just happened.

“Take your blood and go away,” the girl hissed. Paul raised a hand, wiping his eyes.

“I know you’re hungry. You don’t have to be a bitch about it. I was only trying to help.”

“Fuck your help,” the girl said, her voice flat. She was once again staring at him, not seeing the blood. Paul nervously shifted from one foot to the other. He realized her eyes were locked on his neck.

“Do you want to bite me?” he smirked at her. As if he’d ever willingly let a vampire drink from him.

“No. I want to see you die, I want that to be your blood running down your chest,” she said, her voice still flat. Unbidden, a chill worked it’s way down his spine. “I frighten you.” It was a statement not a question.

Paul tried a smirk. “I don’t think so.”

She ignored him. “You should be frightened. I won’t be locked in here for long.” The finality of the statement made him widen his eyes.

“You’re not going anywhere, bloodsucker.”

“We’ll see. We’ll just see.” She smiled coldly, knowingly. Paul tore his eyes from hers, slamming the door shut. Pulling his bloody shirt from his chest, he made his way back up the hall. A hot shower and a change of clothes. That’s all he needed. The girl knew nothing, she’d just been using her mind tricks. Steeling himself, wondering why he’d even bothered, Paul climbed the steps to his room in the basement.

13

They once again stopped at Harmony’s house, this time so she could pack a bag. Unlike the twin’s place, when they walked inside, they immediately got a sense of emptiness.

“Mom?” Harmony called out, going from room to room. She came back to the kitchen where Emma and Beth waited. “She’s not here.” There was a frown on her face.

“Maybe she went to the store or something,” Beth said, sounding uncertain.

“My mom? A store?” Harmony snorted. “Liquor store doesn’t open til noon. And it’s only ten.” She looked worriedly around the kitchen.

“You better go pack your things,” Emma said softly.

“I don’t know. Maybe I should wait and see what’s up…”

“Nothing is up. I don’t think you’ll be seeing your mom anymore though Harm.”

Harmony stared at Emma, her mouth working but no sound coming out. She finally nodded and walked off in the direction of her room

“What is that all about? How can you say that?” Beth looked at her sister.

Emma met her gaze. “You know it too. Somewhere deep down. And I have a feeling that everybody we know is going to be pulling the same thing pretty soon.”

“But…why?”

“I don’t know why. But I have a feeling…that maybe it’s supposed to be that way. First they take our parents, then the people in our lives that matter just…go away. And we have to rely on each other.” Emma’s voice was low, flat. She wondered if maybe her vampire ‘friends’ had something to do with this but decided against it. What would they gain by taking away the families of the girls who were supposed to be helping them?

“Em…I…” Beth looked sick. “Whatever is going on, I’m not ready for it.”

“We have to be. There’s a lot riding on us now Beth. And don’t ask me questions. I don’t have the answers. But tonight, we’re going to visit somebody who does.”

“I’m ready guys,” Harmony came back into the kitchen, a bag slung over her shoulder.

“That’s everything you want to take?” Beth asked, staring at the bag.

“It’s everything that matters,” Harmony said softly. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

She didn’t have to say it twice. They drove back to Adam and Reagan’s in relative silence. Beth looked panicked when they pulled into the driveway and saw the empty parking spaces. Emma and Beth had borrowed Adam’s car again. The van was gone.

“Calm down, Beth,” Emma said, going into the house first. Without even looking, she pointed at the table in the entry hall. Beth picked up the note and sighed in relief. They’d run into town to see a movie and get lunch, then to shop.

“So what now?” Harmony asked, settling her bag in Beth’s room.

“We rest up today. It’s going to be a very long night.” Emma said with a humorless smile.

“What about…” Beth pointed at the box Emma carried under her arm.

“I’ll hide it. I’ll read through the diary or whatever it is, then pass it on.” The other girls nodded their agreement with Emma. “I’ll be in my room if you need me. In the meantime,” she felt silly saying it, but that dog she’d seen earlier… “Stay close to the house. Or better yet, inside. No going off alone. Don’t ask.” She waved at Harmony’s open mouth, then left the room.

The two girls heard Emma’s door shut, then looked at each other. “What do you think about all this?” Harmony asked quietly.

Beth shrugged. “I’m dying of curiosity. But if Em says we wait…we wait I guess.”

“Can we eat while we wait? I’m starving,” Harmony said with a smile. Laughing, Beth led the way back downstairs.

In her room, the first thing Emma did was take the diary from the box. She glanced at the mask one last time, frowning, then closed the lid. Her mom’s idea seemed to be good enough. She went to the closet and put the box in the top shelf, pushing it back as far as it would go.

She flopped onto her bed on her stomach, then opened the diary. A business card fell out, landing face down. Emma flipped it over, reading the name. Just one name. Kassandra, followed by a street address. No phone number, no decoration. “Weird,” she muttered out loud, then focused on the slim book in her hands.

Instead of dated entries, the top of the first page started out in letter form. Emma felt her eyes tear up as she saw her name written in her mom’s familiar handwriting.

Emma,

I wish that I could be sitting with you now, face to face, telling you everything you should know. If you’re reading this, what I have feared has happened.

You can’t dwell on it. As tempting as it would be, as easy to slide into grief and anger, you can’t. You have a larger purpose, an important job ahead of you.

I’ve tried to recall details. I’ve done research. Everything I’ve learned is written in these pages, along with the truth about your father and I. And the rest of our family.

Read it with an open mind. Then share with Beth and Harmony. They are in this too.

Be on the lookout for the three. You will know them when you see them. You will understand what that means when you read this journal. Or maybe you’ve already figured that part out on your own. I have no way of knowing when you’ll see this book. I just know that someday you will find it.

You’ll also find a business card buried somewhere in this book. Go visit her. She can help you.

Be strong, baby. I am with you always. ---Mom

Emma waited a few minutes, blinking, trying to clear her eyes. It was so unlike her mother to be so too the point, but still…her mother had known she was going to die. Had known and had sat down and written everything down. How had she managed to hide that from everyone? Emma thought back but could recall nothing that would even hint at her mother’s thoughts.

She flipped through the rest of the diary, not reading. Her mom’s handwriting filled the front and back, all the way to the end of the book. At the bottom of the last page was a date. Emma stared at it, shocked. Her mother had finished the day before the accident that had taken her life.

Thoughtfully tapping the plain white card against the bed, Emma flipped back to the beginning and began to read. Her mom was quite the writer. The events of her mother’s life were laid out like a novel, starting with the death of her own mother just one week before she turned seventeen. Trinity, Isabel, and Paige had gone on a road trip the weekend of their birthday, and had met Adam, Matt, and Jeff.

That was straight enough. It wasn’t until the fifth or sixth page that things began to get strange. Emma’s mom claimed that the three men were vampires, and that they had been ‘assigned’ to the girls. Nothing much had happened for about the next nine or ten years. Then all hell had broken loose. Literally.

Emma had to stop reading. Her father had died and then sent back to Earth to hunt a vampire? Trinity had been unclear on what Mark was. She only knew that in order to get his life back, and the life of his brother Glen, the two men had to stop this evil vampire and save a would-be victim. That’s also where Reagan popped up, becoming the fourth woman in their group; a sister that neither Isabel nor Trinity had ever known existed.

Trinity laid it all out. How she’d fallen in love with Mark. How Paige had been kidnapped. And how they’d eventually saved her and ended the vampire’s ‘life’. At the expense of her own humanity. She detailed Mark and Glen’s return to Earth the second time, concluding with Mark’s possession and attempted attack on Trinity.

The rest…the wedding, the birth of the twins, the moving to the house they’d had built…was barely touched on, as if just a side note to the bigger tale. Trinity had been doing her homework for the last twelve years or so. And she hoped it would help Emma, Beth, and Harmony do what they had to do.

After about five years, Trinity had realized that she was the only one who had any recollection of what had happened. The red and black mask in the box had at one point been Glen’s. Trinity had taken it from him when he’d found it in his basement one year. The tattoos on her father’s arms…Emma found herself reaching over her shoulder to touch her bandaged skin…had been another little ‘gift’ from the thing that had sent her father back. He couldn’t remember where they came from. So Trinity played along when he said he’d been too drunk to know better.

Trinity was baffled as to why she’d remember everything and no one else did. That, more than anything, is what sent her out, looking for answers. And by way of a psychic/vampire named Kassandra, she’d been given a few. She’d spent as much time as possible with the woman as she could get away with, pressuring her for information. The memory wipe should have been complete, in all except for vampires. Yet Trinity’s memories remained intact, seeming to grow more vibrant with each passing year.

A loud noise downstairs broke Emma’s concentration. She looked up from the diary, realizing how late it had gotten while she’d been reading. She could hear Adam calling up the stairs.

She slipped the business card into the book to mark her page, then shoved it under her mattress. She’d have to finish it later. She realized for the first time in days she was hungry. And she felt the pressing need to see Steve and his vampire friends. This time she’d take Beth and Harmony. And this time, she vowed, she was going to make him explain what the hell was going on. Pushing her hair back from her face, she left her bedroom and headed for the stairs.

14

“You girls sure about this?” Regan asked worriedly, looking to Adam for help. He stood behind her, a slight smile on his lips, not offering any advice.

“We’re just going camping,” Beth said sarcastically. “It’s not like we’re joining a cult or…” Harmony elbowed her, making her shut up.

“We’ll be back in a few days. We just need some time to ourselves,” Emma said.

Regan was nodding reluctantly. It had been two days since the girls had gone to their house, and for some reason, their aunt’s radar had been on overdrive. She had barely let them out of her sight. The three of them had decided that they needed to get out for a while so they could find out what was going on.

“You’ll call if you need anything. And I mean anything.” The tone of their aunt’s voice had all three girls struggling not to role their eyes.

“Jeez, Regan. They’re going camping for a few days. Stomp down that mothering instinct of yours,” Adam finally spoke up. The twins flashed him grateful smiles. He half sensed that there was something more going on here, but he knew deep down it was something the girls had to work out for themselves. This had been the first real sign of life that Emma had shown, and he wasn’t about to squash it.

Regan glared ineffectively at Adam. “Fine. Go, have fun. Just…be careful,” She turned her gaze back to the three girls who were sitting at the kitchen table.

When the adults had gone, they looked at each other, visibly relieved. “Well…that went pretty good, huh?” Harmony finally broke the silence.

“I don’t like lying to them,” Beth stated flatly.

“Who’s lying? It’ll be almost like camping out,” Emma retorted. “Besides…I could use a break. I don’t know about you two.” She picked up the key ring that was sitting on the table in front of her. “Plus…we already suckered Uncle Jeff out of his truck. Be a waste to just take it back to him now wouldn’t it?”

This caused harmony to giggle. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. As always, I’m amazed at your powers of persuasion, Em.”

“It’s a gift,” She shrugged then stood up. “Let’s go grab our stuff before Aunt Regan decides to take another crack at us.”

The girls had packed that afternoon, already knowing that nothing Regan or Adam could say would keep them from heading out. They quickly grabbed their bags, including a tent and sleeping bags, and were ready to leave in less than fifteen minutes.

“Would I sound like a total wimp if I say I’m scared shitless right now?” Beth said, climbing into the cab of the truck, her eyes never leaving the house that felt so safe to her.

“No,” Emma reached out to her and took her hand. “I think we all are.”

“You’re not,” Harmony said softly.

Emma looked over her shoulder, watching Harmony settle into the small seat in the extended cab. “What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling I guess.” Harmony shrugged. “You’re cold as ice, Beth’s on the verge of a freak out. Regan and Adam are in the house arguing over us all.”

Emma exchanged a look with Beth. “Well…whether they’re arguing or not, it’s time for us to go,” Emma finally managed to say. She put the truck in gear and pulled away from the house.

They didn’t have to travel far. Emma made the turn onto the hidden driveway before Beth or Harmony had a chance to question how far they’d have to go. No one spoke as she eased the truck down the overgrown path, wincing a little as a stray branch over the top of the vehicle. Although the house wasn’t visible at all from the road, Emma wasn’t going to take any chances. They had at most a week, and she didn’t want anyone to know where they were. Things were complicated enough as it was.

She drove off the driveway, cutting through the overgrown yard, running parallel to the house. Driving slowly, mindful of her uncle’s truck, she made her way to the rear of the property. This house had no garage, no barn, but at least the truck would be semi-invisible. The yard took a sharp dip, the hill directly behind the house steep. At the bottom, Emma parked, cutting the engine and looking around.

“I think this will have to do for now,” She said, pocketing the keys.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too cautious?” Beth asked, a smile playing on her lips.

“Give me a break, will ya? It’s not like I do this kind of thing every day,” Emma grouched, opening her door. The yard was even more overgrown here. Weeds and wild grass were almost shoulder high. The truck was all but buried. Emma wasn’t worried about leaving the truck there; it had four wheel drive, surely they could get out just as easily as they’d gotten in.

“…death here,” Beth’s voice interrupted her reverie. Emma glanced at her, but her sister was staring up at the visible peak of the house’s roof.

“What did you say?”

Beth looked at her, a slight frown creasing her forehead. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Oh. I thought you did,” Emma rubbed at her temple with one hand, feeling the beginnings of a headache trying to gather strength. “We’d better go on up. It’ll be sunset soon.”

“Sunset,” Harmony said with a sigh. “Tell me again why that’s so important. I just want to make sure it was something you actually said and not something I hallucinated.”

Emma managed a wan smile. “Because we’re here to see vampires, Harm. And vampires like the night.”

“Not comforting at all,” Harmony said with an answering smile of her own. When they’d left Regan and Adam’s, she’d been so scared she was on the verge of making herself sick. But now…she was eager. Anxious. Excited even. Too many different things were going through her mind at once.

Unlike Emma and Beth, she’d been a superstitious person. It came from a lifetime of dealing with a cruel drunk mother, whose idea of entertainment had been tormenting her only daughter with scary stories. Her mother had seemed to thrive on Harmony’s fears.

If it wasn’t for Beth and Emma…and Trinity and Mark, Harmony would never have known what normal was. Or love. Or family. Her mother’s hold on her had loosened, bit by bit. But Harmony still retained a very vivid imagination. When Emma had said ‘vampire’, she’d believed. There were no questions in her mind that they were real.

Beth had been the voice of doubt and fear. She shared Emma’s basic nature; seeing was believing. And until she saw for herself what was going on, she’d withhold an opinion.

“Well…c’mon guys. Cretus obscurum elucido,” Emma started to walk up the hill.

“What the hell was that?” Harmony asked, staring at her friend.

Emma stopped and looked back. “What was what?”

“What you just said. That obscure lucid…whatsits.”

Emma raised an eyebrow at Beth. “What’s she talking about?”

“You just said something. Sounded kind of like…like…” Beth frowned. The phrase her sister had just said…it was familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“Oh. I don’t know,” Emma shrugged. “Just rambling I guess. Let’s go before it gets so dark we can’t find the damn house.” That said, she turned once again and began the climb to the crest of the hill. Harmony and Beth shared a glance.

“Weirder and weirder,” Harmony finally said, making Beth grin.

“Yeah, but she’s my sister. Go easy on her,” but something had been triggered inside her memories. Beth wished she could draw it out. It was going to eat at her until she could remember where she’d heard that phrase before. “Come on before we lose her in this jungle yard.” Harmony laughed and they began the ascent that would take them to the house.

15

“You know, I’m having some serious second thoughts here,” Harmony said as they reached the top of the hill. The house loomed over them, completely dark, no sighs of life. “So these guys are vampires. All right. What if they wake up hungry and decide that we’re the handiest snack going?”

“Jeez, Harm. Shut up.” Beth shivered, even though the night was warm. The same thought had been going through her mind ever since Emma had suggested this trip.

“I can’t help it. Look at my arms,” She held them out. She was wearing her favorite tank top, and her skin was exposed from all the way up to her shoulder. Goose bumps were visible.

“Looks like you have…the pox…” Emma said gravely. The other girls giggled. It was an old joke between them.

“It must be contagious,” Beth said, rubbing her arms. “Seriously though…I mean…shouldn’t we have called first or something?”

“Yeah. Then they coulda…ya know…had a bite before we got here. Now we’re just waltzing in, surprising them…”

“They know we’re here,” Emma said, looking thoughtfully up at the second story windows.

“What…they have radar?” Beth asked softly.

“No. Well…maybe,” Emma smiled. “But I’m pretty sure they’ve got the gist of everything we’ve been saying while we’re standing here.”

Harmony frowned. “Great. Eavesdropping by the undead masses. Thanks Em, I feel ever-so-much better.”

“Don’t get snippy,” Emma said, grinning and plucking Harmony on the nose. Beth couldn’t help but smile herself. Emma had been so serious lately…had withdrawn so much, it was great to see her opening up a little.

“You ladies gonna stand out there in the yard all damn night?” A deep voice asked from the porch. Beth jumped, aware that Harmony had the same reaction. Emma just turned to face the house, as if she’d known all along that someone were there watching them.

The sun was almost gone, but there was still some light. John stepped out of the shadows of the porch, a grin lighting his features as he looked down at the girls.

Harmony made a soft sound under her breath, and Emma and Beth glanced at each other wryly. Of the three of them, Harmony was prone to crushes at first site. She was an equal opportunity crusher; old, young, black, white, she didn’t care. When she saw something she liked, she fell for it. It seemed to be some kind of direct defiance of her mother’s ‘teachings’. Harmony had heard all her life that men were the enemy, they weren’t to be trusted. She automatically discounted everything her mother said.

She’d seen how good some people had it, and she wanted that kind of openness and love for herself some day.

Emma cleared her throat, trying not to laugh at Harmony. If she thought John was hot, wait til she got a look at the younger guy, Randy. She motioned with her hand and made her way up the porch steps.

She offered John a tentative smile. She remembered their meeting the other night, but didn’t feel bad about how she’d taken off. It was a lot to have dropped in her lap; she hadn’t known what to think.

He winked at her, then hesitated before stepping forward to hug her. Emma usually didn’t like to be touched by people she didn’t know, but this time it felt…right. When they pulled back, she took his hand. He seemed surprised at first, then gave her fingers a soft squeeze.

“John…this is my sister Beth. And our friend, Harmony. Guys, this is John.”

Beth stepped forward, unsure, but smiling as if he were an old friend she hadn’t seen in years. “I don’t know what the hell to say right now,” she said with a quiet laugh.

“I have been feelin’ the same way since I got here,” John said honestly. He leaned down and gave Beth a hug, going purely on instinct. He could already feel some kind of big brother protectiveness awakening inside him. And he liked it. His eyes went to Harmony, who had watched the proceedings with a mix of amusement and confusion. “How ‘bout you little one?”

“I…well…” Harmony stepped forward, then self-consciously touched her throat. “Please tell me that I’m not on the menu.” This caused a moment of silence, then John started laughing. The sound was deep, rumbling.

“Don’t worry. I never bite a friend. Unless they ask,” He said with a wink. Harmony finally allowed herself to be enveloped in his arms. The four of them stood there, looking at each other for several long minutes.

“The others…are inside?” Emma asked.

“Steve is. Randy’s gone…um…to feed,” he glanced at Harmony and Beth, expecting some kind of reaction. They both had identical looks of curiosity on their faces. “He’s young, at least to me. The young ones tend to feed more.” A shrug.

“We have a lot of questions.” Beth finally said.

“Yeah. We figured you would. That’s why we made Randy go. It’s probably going to be a long night,” John said with a smile.

“Speaking of which…” Harmony looked down the overgrown hill toward the truck. “We have a cooler with some food in it. None of us geniuses thought to grab it on the way up the first time.”

“Must you think with your stomach?” Beth asked with a giggle.

“Yes,” Harmony said seriously.

“Well…come on. I’ll walk you down and we’ll get your gear,” John offered. Harmony grinned in return.

“I’m gonna go chaperone her,” Beth said, rolling her eyes. She let them go down the porch steps before looking at Emma. “You gonna go in and talk to him first?”

Emma hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you when you come back.” She smiled.

“If you come back, that is.”

“You dork,” Beth started laughing. “Stop trying to scare me. Besides, I can always just throw Harm at him and run, right?” With that she bounded down the stairs and hurried to catch up to John and Harmony before they disappeared into the grass.

Sighing, Emma turned and went to the door. It creaked when she opened it; she shut it quietly behind her. Although no light had been visible from outside, the kitchen was lit with a lantern. There was another glowing light coming through a doorway across the room. She walked slowly toward it, looking around. The house had been cleaned at least; there was no dust. It was a country mile from being livable, but still better than she’d expected.

The doorway opened into a combination living room/dining room. A huge old oak table took up most of the left hand side of the room. To Emma’s right was a worn couch, an overstuffed chair, and a small table with another lantern on it. Steve was on the couch, slouched back into the cushions, jean covered legs stretched out in front of him. He was staring at the flickering lantern, seemingly lost in thought.

Emma didn’t know what to do next. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, studying him. Steve slowly looked up at her, staring at her for a few long minutes before a smile twitched at his lips. “Took you long enough, didn’t it kid?”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “I thought I told you not to call me that,” she said flatly. Steve stood up and came to stand in front of her.

“I know.” He brought his hand up and pushed her hair back from her face.

“Everything’s gonna be fine now. You can heal.”

Emma blinked a few times. “I don’t…” She stopped herself. Of course she knew what he meant. And she didn’t protest when he pulled her to him for a hug. “I want to do the right thing. For myself…for mom and dad…” she said softly against his shoulder.

“I know. That’s what we all want, Em.” He rubbed her back, then released her. “But it’s not going to happen tonight. Or tomorrow. It’s going to take time. You still have a lot of learning to do. But we’re going to help you.” He smiled down at her.

“Good. Cuz I have a feeling I’m going to need it,” She gave a shuddery laugh.

“About the other night…”

“Forget it. I pushed when I shoulda backed off. And that’s that. You can’t change the past,” as he spoke, something, some emotion, glimmered in his eyes, there and gone so fast Emma wasn’t completely sure she hadn’t imagined it.

She wondered what kind of secrets he was hiding. Nobody could live as long as he had without garnering some skeletons in the closet. Emma had the feeling that she’d find out a lot more about these men than she bargained for. She just hoped they would all be ready for what was coming. She couldn’t ignore it anymore. Something big was going on, something was calling her, and she had to figure it out or go crazy. As soon as the others got back, she intended to get some answers.

16

Something was going on. Paul had no idea what, he’d spent the past week at his house, ignoring the summons of his boss, meditating. Vegetating. Doing absolutely nothing, trying to clear his head.

But he was back now. The house where the others gathered in the basement, waiting to hunt. Except this time, there was something different. There were more of them. Instead of the dozen he’d hand picked when this had started, there were at least forty others he did not know.

Paul started for the second floor, then turned and went downstairs. Intuition was perhaps kicking in; whatever was going on had something to do with the basement. Or the sub-basement, that dark place where their ‘prisoners’ were kept.

The basement rooms were a hive of activity. Men talking in low voices, people moving around. Paul ignored them all, including the few that acknowledged him. The rickety stairs that led down to the sub-basement were crowded with both men and women, all going in the same direction. Down.

He shoved his way to the bottom, then stood and watched as one by one the others went into the ‘lab’. Frowning, he pushed his way through the door. There room had been cut in half by a white screen. A young woman, human, was on this side, reading a computer printout, scribbling something down on a notepad. She barely glanced up, then did a double take and stared at him.

“Um…I don’t think you are supposed to be down here…” she stuttered out. Her eyes kept flicking to the white screen. Paul sneered and stepped around the obstruction, ignoring the woman behind him.

One of his kind sat on a high stool, shirt off, head down. Behind him, an older man, another human, was preparing a syringe. He turned and froze when he noticed Paul.

“I was expecting you back earlier.” A cold voice said from behind him. Paul didn’t turn to see his boss. He was staring at the sharp glittering tip of the hypodermic needle.

“What the hell is going on?” He asked, voice low.

“Just a little experiment the doctor and I have been working on. Don’t worry,” as if Paul had been about to interrupt him, the boss stepped forward, holding out a hand. “None of your…men…are being used.” His lips curled into a cold smile.

“Although you might decide this is actually beneficial to your mission.”

As he spoke, the boss nodded at the man with the needle. The doctor stepped forward, using a swap to cleanse the back of the werewolf’s neck. That done, he brought the needle toward skin, sinking it into the wolf’s flesh. Paul managed not to flinch as the wolf jumped suddenly, breath hissing through gritted teeth. The doctor quickly administered the pale blue liquid in the syringe, then pulled it out, quickly placing a cotton ball over the small mark.

The werewolf had slumped down even more. Paul thought for a moment he might drop to the floor in a faint. Instead, he seemed to shake it off. He stood up slowly, gingerly working his neck from side to side. The boss nodded approvingly.

“What is this?” Paul asked through numb lips.

The boss waited until the wolf had left the room, then looked pointedly at the doctor. The man quickly rid himself of the syringe and exited, pulling the woman from the front with him.

“As I said…an experiment. Something I’ve been working on for a while,” He went to the counter and toyed with a bottle of the blue liquid. “The…medication…we have will not effect your kind. At least…not where it would be noticed.”

“Then what the fuck is it?” Paul was out of patience. He was tired of this cat and mouse, this talking in circles.

“A wonder drug. A weapon. You pick.” The boss laughed hollowly. “You see…we have found a…chink…in the vampire armor. These girls you are so eager to take care of, they act as a buffer. A calmative to them. They are heartless, soulless beings. These girls are their life. Literally.”

“What does that have to do with any of this shit?” Paul asked, ignoring the tingle of unease he felt.

“Oh, that’s the beauty part. My lovely Doctor and his lab assistant have discovered that a certain toxin, delivered to a vampire, would effectively block any signals these three girls could manufacture. Turning them into the mindless killing machines of folklore.”

“So why are you shooting the lycanthropes up with this stuff?”

The boss smiled. “Because a direct injection will not work. Neither will digestion in human blood. A vampire essentially has no circulatory system; inject them with medicine in a vein and it would just float there indefinitely. But…” his smile grew, baring his white teeth. “Injected into the werewolf, it becomes an active bacteria in the saliva. Saliva that is already a drug in itself. It’s almost as if it’s alive. When you bite someone they turn do they not? Unlike vampires, you have no control over who goes wolf and who doesn’t. It’s in the saliva. Acids and bacteria that seek out certain aspects of a host. If it likes what it finds, the person becomes a wolf. If not…well…if you were thorough they die.”

“Ok…tie this together already,” Paul said sharply. He didn’t need a lesson in werewolf biology from this…thing…standing in front of him.

“In essence…a wolf that bites a vampire can’t turn them into a wolf. A vampire is already dead to begin with. The materials to make a wolf find vampires to be a…hostile environment. Now with this…” he held up the blue bottle. “The potency of a wolf’s bite is increased. It actually changes the wolf’s glands. He will feed on vampires, as he will now have a strong hunger for them. And in turn, the vampire will be infected with the saliva. Not just infected…overwhelmed. It will spread throughout the system, even without the flow of blood to move it. It will turn them.”

“A vampire-werewolf. And what would any of this have to do with those girls?”

“Oh…plenty.” The boss dropped the bottle back to the table. “Along with the boost to the saliva, as I mentioned, it will block any signals from the three. While the girls might theoretically be able to influence vampire behavior, they will not be able to touch a vampire who’s flooded with our drug. It disrupts thought process.”

“It will drive them all insane,” Paul said quietly. He wondered why the thought didn’t make him feel any better. He hated the vampires still, and was hunting them, but it had been a fair hunt. This seemed too much like taking a short cut, a cheat.

“That would be the general idea.” The boss ran a hand through his dark hair, then straightened his suit jacket. “Not only that, but since a werewolf is predisposed to hating vampires, so will these who are changed.”

“You’re going to turn them against their own kind.”

“Yes. Our worst enemy will become out best ally. And when the time is right, when all is falling down around them, we will take those three girls…and the vampires who try to protect them.” The boss laughed coldly.

Paul looked at him for a moment, then turned and started to walk away. His head was spinning, pounding. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

“Oh…make sure you stick around. The drug takes about a week to grow potent enough in a wolf’s system to work.” There was a chuckle, sending a chill down Paul’s back. “We already have a test subject for our first field test. I’m sure you can guess who she is.”

Paul’s footsteps had faltered, but now he resumed walking, refusing to look back at the insane man who was running this operation.

17

“This place would make the Addams family jealous,” Harmony said, wandering from room to room. Although the first floors layout was fairly straightforward, the upstairs was a literal warren of small hallways and rooms.

“Guess the guy that built it was a little on the eccentric side,” Beth said with a shrug. They’d brought their bags up to the second floor and had tossed them into the first room they’d come to just to get rid of the weight. Now they had a minute to look around.

“There’s an understatement,” John’s voice reached them from the top of the stairs. He’d hauled up the last of their things and was watching them wander around.

Beth caught the grin Harmony shot him, and bit back a laugh. John winked at both of them then headed back down the stairs.

“You are a complete moron, do you realize that?” Beth whispered, giggling.

“What? I kinda admire the tall, dark haired biker type,” Harmony kept a straight face and tried to sound nonchalant.

“Which would explain why you had a crush on Dad since we were…” The smile died on Beth’s lips. Harmony threw an arm over her shoulders.

“Come on, let’s go see what we’re doing in this hole. And eat. I’m starving.”

Downstairs, they found Emma sitting on the couch next to Steve. John stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Another man had come into the house while they were upstairs. Beth and Harmony just stared at him. He looked a lot younger than the other two vampires, still in his early twenties. His short dark hair was brushed forward onto his forehead, in what Harmony referred to as a ‘Clooney’.

“Guys, this is Randy. Randy…this is Beth and Harmony.” Emma made the introductions. Although he still seemed to be slightly nervous, he was a little more relaxed than he’d been when Emma had been to the house before.

“We have a lot to talk about.” Steve finally spoke up when it seemed everyone was just content to look at each other. He’d been trying to deal with an onslaught of emotion. With Emma it had been strong. With them all together it defied words.

Everyone took a seat; Emma and Steve were joined on the couch by Randy, Harmony, John, and Beth on the floor.

“Is it really necessary that we get down to business so soon?” Harmony asked, a slight smile on her face.

“You can eat while we listen, Harm,” Emma said with a laugh. Harmony shot her a sour look, but got up and went to the kitchen to retrieve snacks from the cooler.

“Ok…” Steve sighed. “I have no idea where to start.”

“The beginning is good,” Emma said softly. “I know a little bit. Mom kept a…a diary kind of.”

“We’re all not supposed to even know anything about what’s going on,” Randy piped up. It was the first time they’d heard him speak other than to say a short ‘hi’.

“What do you mean?” Harmony was munching on chips but was loosing interest in them. This was a more fascinating than food. At least, for the moment.

Randy shrugged, then looked from John to Steve. He slumped down. “Hell. I don’t know. It’s just…I think we were supposed to meet naturally, and just click together and be friends for the next few years. You guys aren’t supposed to know what we are. Or what you are, for that matter.”

Emma had opened her mouth to speak, but Steve cut her off with a wave of his hand. “He’s right. That’s always been the way.” A crooked smile appeared on his face. “Your mother had a hand in changing that.”

“Because she knew that Adam, Matt, and Jeff were vampires.” Emma finished the thought for him. Harmony and Beth looked at each other. Emma had told them a

little, but had wanted them to get the full story from the guys.

“Yeah. Because they told them. The first weekend they met.” Steve shrugged.

“Sometimes the vamps and the girls get along great, sometimes it’s like having a cousin that you’re not close to but you feel obligated to visit. Your mom and aunts, and the vamps…it wasn’t just a ‘click’ with them. More like a sonic boom, I’d imagine. Especially considering that they’re all still together in a way.”

“What about Dad?” Beth asked. “Was he one of…one of you?”

“No. He was something else. We’ll get to that.” Steve smiled at her, winning a confused return smile. “One thing that your mom didn’t know at the time…these powers they had. I told you the other night, about being kind of a guardian.” He looked at Emma, who nodded. “They didn’t know about their powers. Neither did the vamps they were with. They knew there was something there, but the ideas were so jumbled. Maybe if they’d gotten together and talked it out, they would have seen what was going on.”

“So what do we do? And why us?” Beth asked, crossing her legs and leaning back comfortably against the wall.

“Do? Under normal circumstances, nothing.” Again, Steve shrugged. “As for why you’re here….you were chosen. Somebody thought that you three were strong enough together to take on problems that were going to arise. Somebody believed you three would ultimately put a stop to this…make it so that the vampires wouldn’t need to have the guardians.”

“Who chose us?” Emma asked, a frown forming on her face.

Steve looked at her for a moment. “You haven’t figured that out yet? You were chosen for this life, for this purpose…by your mother.”

18

The three girls stared at Steve in thunderstruck silence. They all started talking at once.

“What…” “I don’t understand,” “Bullshit.” The last was from Harmony, who had set her chips aside and stood with her hands on her hips.

“Why would anybody want to wish this in another person?” She said, blushing a little at her outburst.

“Why would Mom want to wish it on us?” Beth said softly. “Especially after she went through it herself.”

“Because,” Steve said, looking from person to person. “She knew that you could handle it. She knew what you were when you were born. At least, that’s the vibe I get. A weird mix of human, vampire, demon…” He shrugged and smiled at the look of shock on all their faces. “They might have cured her, saved your dad, but that didn’t change the basic nature of what they were.”

Emma was shaking her head. “I still don’t understand. And I don’t understand how Mom got to choose us. I mean, it’s not like she had any great ties to your vampire community after it was over right? She didn’t make a deal with the devil, did she?”

Steve was staring at her, blue eyes intense. Emma stared back for a moment, then hitched in a breath. “You don’t mean to tell me…”

“What?” Harmony was pacing, but she stopped to look at her friends.

“It was what was required.” Steve said softly.

“Both of them?” Emma almost yelled it out.

“That wasn’t her choice,” Steve said.

“I don’t get it…” Beth said, but there were tears shimmering in her eyes.

“You mother knew what you were destined for. She knew the only way for you to come into it was if she…” Steve didn’t finish.

“She had to die.” Emma completed in a voice so quiet they barely heard her. She had tears in her own eyes. “She knew she was going to die. It said so in her diary journal thing.”

“But…” Beth sniffled. “Dad?”

“Had nothing to do with it. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when the powers that be decided to cash in on Trinity’s plan.” Steve’s voice was cold.

“For nothing then. He died for nothing.” Emma felt anger coursing through her. She couldn’t help it. If her mother was standing in front of her she was sure she’d slap her. At the very least.

“I know that’s not what she wanted,” John finally piped up from his seat. “I mean, why the hell would she agree to both of them? Just her would have…” He trailed off when Steve shot him a glare.

“Her. What was so damn important about Mom?” Emma asked hatefully. She didn’t understand what was wrong with her, why she was so mad at her mother, she had loved her, but this…

“There were a lot of things important about her. She helped figure out how to turn vampires human again, for one.” This met silence as everyone gaped at Steve. “She brought the dead back to life…not just with the vampires, but with your father. She got rid of one of the nastiest vampires to ever walk.” He took a breath. “I could go on. But I’ll just say that she’s become something of a folk hero with the vampires.”

John and Randy were nodding, small smiles on their lips. “We were drawn to their grave, to her grave. I didn’t know why at first,” Randy finally spoke up. The nerves from earlier were gone. “But I remember my sire telling me about her. About the guardians sure, but her in particular. It’s like she shed a light on some dark secret.” He noticed everyone looking at him and blushed. “That’s what it felt like anyway.” He finished in a rush.

“But why? Why did she have to die to get us here? She could have just told us. We would have done anything…” Beth said with a frown.

“Because that’s not how it works.” Steve stood up and paced the floor. “In the normal course of things, three girls are chosen randomly. They have similar characteristics. They’re best friends, they share a birthday, and on more occasions than not…there are twins involved. At seventeen, they suffer a great loss. It awakens the powers within them. But something was different this time.”

“What’s that?” Harmony said, fingering the necklace around her neck.

“Your powers were there before that. From birth it seems like.”

“What powers?” Emma asked.

Steve sighed. “One of you will be the healer. You can touch someone and all their wounds will heal. One will be the mind. That one’s harder to explain. You’ll be able to see into people’s minds and guide their thoughts. The other…” With this he looked at Emma. “Will be the emotion. You’ll make the undead feel emotions. You’ll make them feel pain, to know what it’s like to be at least a little human.”

“I remember…” Beth was looking at Emma, a frown on her face. “Remember when we went to camp three years ago? And that kid fell off the horse?”

Emma eyes widened. “You went over to him…”

“And held his hand. And he stopped crying.” Harmony finished. They looked at each other, something unspoken going between them. Emma finally looked at Steve.

“The kid broke his arm. I thought maybe my mind had just tricked me, but it was at this weird angle…” She attempted to twist her arm around. Steve got the idea and waved her off. “He got right up like it was nothing after Beth…”

“I just thought he scared himself…” Beth said thoughtfully.

“Great. You know, if I do have this supposed mind power, why the hell couldn’t I fix my own mother?” Harmony said sarcastically. “Alcoholic extreme. She always said she needed it. She never just wanted to get drunk.”

“Your powers work best on vampires,” John said with a smile. “Humans aren’t as…suggestive?” He struggled for the word. It was good enough. Harmony nodded. “Don’t feel guilty about it. If you could have fixed her, you would have.”

“I need some air. Alone.” Emma held up a hand as Beth opened her mouth. Without another word she left the room. The vampires and the two girls just looked at each other for a moment.

“That went well.” Randy finally broke the silence, getting a smile from everyone but Steve.

“I think we all could use a little break,” He said softly. He watched everyone stretch and leave the room. He was going to give Emma a few minutes, then talk to her alone. He had to make her see.

19

Beth was digging through the cooler, taking a cue from Harmony. She was a little hungry, but mostly wanted something to do with her hands.

“Are you all right?” The voice behind her made her jump. Beth turned and saw Randy standing in the doorway, shy smile on his lips.

“I’m fine. All things considered.” She shut the lid on the cooler, having decided to wait until she was really hungry. “It’s a lot to process.”

“I don’t think your sister is taking it too well. I can feel a little bit of her anger. She’s very mad at your mom. I don’t understand.” Randy sat at the table and picked at the edge of the wood.

“What don’t you understand?” Beth sat beside him, staring at him with interest.

“The anger. I mean, grief, sure, I’d expect that. But the anger is…I don’t know.”

Beth smiled. “Easily explained. We didn’t play favorites or anything, but Emma really was a world-class daddy’s girl. She worshipped him. In a sense. I know, it sounds weird.” She sighed. “They were just alike in a lot of ways. Em’s very controlled in her emotions. She has a wicked sense of humor, but you kinda have to dig for it. She doesn’t make friends easy like I do, but the friends she makes last forever. Just like Dad.”

Randy touched her hand. “And you?”

“I’m more of a mama’s girl myself,” she said, the smile still on her lips. Her eyes were sparkling with tears. “I love…loved Dad, but I leaned more toward Mom’s way of thinking in a lot of things.”

“It’s gotta be rough, losing your parents so young.” Randy said softly. Beth nodded and wiped her eyes.

“What about yours?”

“Mine?”

“Yes. Yours. What happened to your family? Do they know what you are? Are they still around?”

Randy frowned a bit and looked around, as if trying to gather his thoughts. “My…” it was his turn to sigh. “My parents passed away when I was a kid. Dad had a heart attack, he was pretty young when it happened. The doctors said it was just a bad ticker, ya know?” At Beth’s understanding nod he went on. “Mom…well…she pretty much drank herself to death after that. She was at a bar, got between a couple of guys, and got stabbed.” He hitched in a breath.

Randy hadn’t thought about this stuff in years. Beth was looking at him sadly, nothing but sympathy on her face. He laughed without humor and wiped his own eyes. “It’s your sister.”

“Huh?”

“I haven’t normally been emotional over this stuff, but being so close to her is like being set on emotional fire on the inside.” He held up a hand when she started speaking. “It’s all right. Just takes some getting used to. I almost forgot what feeling like this was. Anyway…” He hesitated, and Beth took his hand in hers, urging him on. “I have a sister.”

“Really? Younger or older?” Beth grinned at him.

“Older. By two minutes.”

“Twins?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she a…”

“Yeah. The guy who turned me turned her. Actually, I turned because of her. See, she was the only family I had left. I didn’t want to lose her too.”

“Where is she now?” Beth asked softly. Randy said nothing for a minute, then pulled his hand away from her.

“I don’t know.” He voice was flat, no inflection at all. Beth knew he was lying. She decided not to push him on it.

“Well…are you hungry?” She asked, then started laughing, trying to break the tension. “Not that I’m offering to let you chew on my neck. Do vampires even eat?”

Randy grinned, grateful she was going to let the conversation go. He settled in to tell her all about his life as a vampire.

Emma paced the back porch, trying not to think too much about any one thing. Her mind was still reeling after everything Steve had told her. And she knew that there was more. There always was. She didn’t know if she could take it right now.

The door creaked open. Emma stopped moving and leaned against the rail, staring out across the overgrown yard. Steve stood beside her, then mimicked her pose. She had known he’d come after her. That one didn’t take any strange powers. It just seemed like he was the type who wouldn’t give up until he got his way.

“Lot to handle,” He murmured. Emma looked at him icily for a moment.

“You seem to be taking it just fine.”

“Just trying to make conversation.” He stood up straight and stretched. “You don’t have to take it out on her you know.”

“I’m not taking anything out on anybody.” Emma said through clenched teeth. She felt like crying and wished he’d just go away and let her do it in peace.

“Sure you are. You’re blaming your mom for everything. I don’t have to read your mind to know it.”

“You can read minds?” Emma asked, voice full of anger.

“No. Why would I do it when you’re actions are speaking for you?” He nodded at her hands. They were clamped onto the rail of the porch, the knuckles white as her finger dug into the wood.

She forced herself to let go, the crossed her arms over her chest. “I just don’t understand…why? Why did either of them have to…to…” Her breath caught in her throat.

“I don’t know. I don’t make the rules.” Steve stepped toward her, hesitated, then pulled her into his arms. “You don’t have to be mad at her.”

“I can’t help it,” Her voice was muffled, but he could feel her breath hitching, the wetness on the front of his shirt. She was crying.

“She didn’t know.”

“Why am I so mad at her?” The muffled voice was angry now. Steve stoked her hair soothingly. He hoped he was doing the right thing. He hadn’t offered comfort to anyone in a long time.

“Because when something happens, something tragic, you want to find somewhere to lay the blame. Even at your own feet.” He felt her stiffen up in his arms. He pulled back and touched her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”

“I can’t help it.” She whispered, tears still falling. “I could have offered to go with them. I could have made one of them stay. I could have done something. I should have…felt…something.”

“You did what you did because you didn’t know. Hell, you couldn’t know what was going to happen, anymore than she did.” He shushed her when she started to protest. “She knew it was going to happen, all right? She just didn’t know when.”

Emma didn’t know what to say to that. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, feeling more tired than she could ever remember.

Steve let go of her and watched as she got herself under control. There was so much more he could tell her, so much he could say that would ease her mind, but he held it back. He’d promised. Wait for the right time. When the hell would the time be right for what he had to say?

20

The group sat around talking until dawn. Not about anything deep. Steve understood that he’d put enough on them for one night. Instead the guys told stories of being vampires, stories of their lives before they were vampires. Well…John and Randy did. Steve sat in a corner and watched them bond.

It was nice to see the girls laughing. John was in the middle of a tale about a woman he dated right after his change to vampire. Harmony looked engrossed. Beth was giggled, a hand over her mouth. Even Emma was smiling.

But she was the first one to call it quits. “I’m tired. I think I’m going to go crash for a while.” She smiled sadly at all of them before heading for the stairs.

“I think I’ll do the same.” Randy stood and stretched. He smiled at Beth, then helped her to her feet from her sitting position on the floor.

“Me too. Emma’s the night owl. I can’t believe she went up first. Goodnight…err…morning. Whatever.”

Steve huffed a sigh and stood up. “I’ll be back in a hour or so. Hold down the fort?” He made the last a question. John nodded and yawned. Steve left, heading through the kitchen.

“Where’s he going?” Harmony asked, moving onto the couch to sit next to the big man.

“Probably to feed. I don’t know for sure. He takes off on his own every now and then,” John shrugged. “Maybe he just needs to be alone. I understand the feeling sometimes.”

“Oh. Am I bothering you?” Harmony made to get up. John touched her arm.

“Not at all. I wasn’t talking about now. Just…I don’t know. A vampire’s life is a lonely life, I guess. You get used to being alone. Being around people tires you out.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the creaks and pops of old wood overhead as the twins and Randy got ready for bed. “I guess I should go up too.” Harmony said with regret.

“G’night little one,” John said with a smile. Harmony grinned at him and went upstairs.

She found Emma already curled into her sleeping bag, holding her necklace up and spinning it around. Beth was sitting cross-legged on hers, brushing her hair. Harmony grabbed her nightshirt and changed, then plopped down next to Beth.

“You guys look way to serious. I’m starting to worry,” She said with a grin. Beth wiggled her eyebrows.

“We were just talking about how you were drooling all over John down there,” she said with a laugh at the look on her friend’s face.

“I was not drooling, you nerd.” Harmony playfully punched her arm.

“Please. You almost drowned him.” Emma piped up from her bag. The other girls looked at her and started laughing.

“Welcome back.” Beth said, tossing her hairbrush aside.

“Back from what?” Emma propped herself up on her elbows and looked at her sister in confusion.

“From whatever funk crawled up your butt all night. I don’t think I’ve heard you make a real joke since….” Beth sighed but did not finish. “At any rate, it was worthy.”

“Bite me.” Emma grouched, but she was smiling when she said it. “Between you fawning over Randy and Harm going into fits over John, I felt like I was the only sane person in this house.”

“I was not fawning.” Beth said, elbowing Harmony, who was laughing. “We had a nice little talk.”

“Oh yeah?” Harmony poked her in the side. “Talk about what?”

”Just stuff. He was telling me about being turned.” Beth frowned. “I asked about his family, and he got evasive talking about his sister. He said he didn’t know where she was, but…I think he was lying. I don’t know why he would, I mean, what would he have to hide?”

“Maybe he doesn’t want her to know he’s a vam…” Harmony didn’t finish the thought before Beth was shaking her head.

“He said she’s a vampire too. They got turned at about the same time.” She shrugged and looked at her sister. “Any thoughts?”

“Is that a trick question?” Emma said seriously, making Harmony laugh again. “I don’t know Beth. I’ve been getting the feeling that he’s hiding something since we got here. Actually since I was here the other night. I guess he’ll tell when he’s ready. Or where we beat it out of him. Either way, it’ll keep. I’m tired.”

With that she lay back down and snuggled under the sleeping bag. Beth and Harmony shared a look of amusement, then bid each other good night.

21

Paul didn’t know what drew him back to the house. Not the boss, he didn’t have that much of a hold on him. The girl.

He hated to admit it. He hated to think that he actually cared that a couple of experimental wolves were going to tear her apart. He hated to think that he was thinking of her being hurt. He hated himself for thinking about her at all.

Yet…here he was. In the basement again. Standing at the door to her cell. Watching as the boss opened the door letting two wolves in with her. The boss had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Paul hoped this thing would come back to haunt him.

The wolves eyed the vampire with loathing. To her credit she stared back, no fear evident, no…nothing evident. She was cold as ice. The wolves started circling her. She couldn’t track them both, so she stood still as they made a ring around her.

“Just watch. This could be the start of a turn in our war, Paul.” The boss was looking at him with a cold grin.

“Your war.” He muttered not taking his eyes off the cell. He wondered what the wolves were waiting for. “Tell me again what this stuff does?”

“Enhancing the wolves hatred, strengthens their virus, turns vampires they bite against each other. In essence…” He did not get to finish. There was a snarl from inside the cell.

They both watched as the younger wolf, a blonde guy who looked like he just walked in off the beach. He was snarling and changing, mouth elongating into a snout. There was the sound of ripping clothes as his body change.

The second wolf, the one Paul saw getting the injection, was following the other one’s lead. The girl still hadn’t moved. She wasn’t even looking at the wolves transforming next to her. She was staring straight at Paul.

He felt a chill go down his back. Paul could not look away. He’d been careful around her, yes, but maybe not careful enough. He felt as if she were commanding him to watch. He did not want to see her get torn apart. And again he hated himself for that.

The wolves finished changing. The boss was laughing, that harsh laugh that held no humor. He started to speak when his eyes widened in surprised horror.

Instead of jumping at the girl, standing so still in the middle of them, the two wolves lunged for each other. There was snarling, barking, whining. Teeth flashed as one bit the neck of the other. The scuffled to the corner, snapping, foam flying from their mouths.

“What…” The boss’s outrage would not let him finish. He tore his eyes from the wolves to the girl, who stood with a serene smile on her lips. “You. You did this.”

“Not likely. Even I can’t control a wild animal,” She said, tone uninflected.

The two wolves were still fighting it out. Paul felt himself grinning, then pretended to scratch his face to cover it. “Looks like you miscalculated a little with your serum, boss.”

“Shut. Up.” The boss was furious. His eyes were glowing red. Paul did not let it bother him. The boss still needed him in this thing. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. The girl on the other hand…

It was as if thinking of her drew the boss’s attention. He stared at her, then stepped forward. Paul grabbed his arm, grimacing in distaste. It was like holding a bag full of snakes.

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.” He said, voice low but commanding. The boss looked at him with hatred. “You might still need the girl for experiments. And vamps are hard to catch. It could be weeks before we could bring you another one.”

Paul watched as the spark in the man’s eyes flared, then faded. Common sense was reasserting itself.

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt out mission.” The boss smoothed the front of his suit. “You are right.”

“Even a stopped clock is right twice a day,” The girl’s voice came from behind them. The boss ignored her, heading off down the hall. Paul couldn’t help it; he chuckled.

“Are you going to come clean up your dogs’ mess?” She asked, staring at him again, no trace of humor in her voice.

“Eventually.” Paul looked around the cell. The wolves were dead. They had killed each other mindlessly, biting and tearing until they bled to death. The floor was a mess of blood and wolf hair. The girl still stood calmly. Paul couldn’t help but admire her poise.

“Mm. I hope you bring help. You might need it if you come in here.”

“Lady, I thought I told you before that threatening me doesn’t work.”

“Then what does work, dog? Want to play fetch?” There was humor now. But Paul didn’t appreciate it at his expense.

“No. Maybe later we can play a game of gang rape the leech. How’s that sit with you?” Paul had never had to rape a woman, but she didn’t have to know that.

“Sits fine with me. How are you going to be sitting when I rip your balls off and make you eat them?”

There was only so much he could take. Without another word he shut the door and walked away. Fucking vampires. Always had to have the last word.

The boss was in the lab, systematically destroying everything that was in it. Paul followed the sound of breaking glass and stood in the doorway, surveying the room. Every piece of glass in sight was crushed. There were books and papers strewn about the floor. There was water…or at least liquid, puddle here and there.

The boss caught sight of him and stood up straight. “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.”

“If you say so, boss,” Paul said, not able to hide the scorn in his voice.

“I do say so. Perhaps it’s time we used what’s behind door number two.”

“What are you talking about?” Paul felt his stomach tighten up. He hated being left in the dark, but hated even more having this stuff sprung on him.

“You’ll see. Later. When it’s dark out. They’ll all see.” With that, he gave another harsh bark of humorless laughter. Paul had definitely had enough. He turned and left the house.

22

At two o’clock, Emma was done sleeping. She never had been one to sleep in the daytime. Even though the windows in the bedroom were heavily draped, sunlight still managed to brighten them.

With a yawn, she got up and stretched. Beth and Harmony were still sleeping. Moving quietly, she grabbed some clothes and went out to the bathroom to change.

After brushing her teeth and hair, Emma went downstairs. In the daytime the house looked even worse then at night. There were signs of neglect everywhere. She shook her head and went to the kitchen to grab a drink.

“Trouble sleeping?” The deep voice made her jump, although she had thought that maybe he’d still be up. Steve was sitting at the table, chair in the corner in the shadows.

“No. Just done for now.” She moved to the table. “Why are you up?”

“I don’t need much sleep anymore.” He shrugged. She saw he had a book in his hands.

“Isn’t it kind of dark in here to be reading?” She asked, then laughed at herself. “I forgot. Enhanced vision.”

Steve smiled at her. She thought it was the first genuine smile she’d seen out of him. “Going out?”

Emma nodded. “I have a couple of things I need to do. Figured I could sneak out and get back before anybody noticed I was gone.”

“Well…” He drawled the word out. Emma heard the unmistakable Texan accent. Her father spoke in the same slow, accented way. “I suppose it’s safe enough. In the daytime. Wolves don’t like it same as vamps. They can go out in it of course, but by nature they prefer the dark.”

“So ends today’s lesson in the wild kingdom.” Emma said with a sarcastic smile. “I just hope I can get Jeff’s truck out of the yard without hurting it. Or myself.”

“Take my car.” He shifted and tossed her the keys. Emma was so surprised she almost missed them.

“You have a car?” She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed before.

“You think I turn into a bat and fly everywhere?” Now it was his turn to be sarcastic. He softened it with another smile. “It’s parked on the side. Be careful.”

“I will. Thanks.” She hesitated before going out the door into the bright afternoon sunshine.

The car was sitting on the side of the house that was sheltered by some trees. Emma jiggled the keys and looked at it, a grin on her face. Just a plain old Toyota. Nothing fancy. Of course, Steve wouldn’t want to draw attention to himself.

She drove to the road, hesitated, then turned toward town. She had the business card from her mom’s diary in her pocket. She thought she should start with this Kassandra person first.

Twenty minutes later she was parking in front of what looked like a normal, average residential house just off the middle of town. Two stories, wraparound porch, flowers lining the walk. She hesitated then exited the car, walking up to the door.

There she stopped. “I’m an idiot.” She muttered under her breath. She had forgotten her mom’s words, that Kassandra was a psychic vampire. Most likely she wouldn’t be up in the middle of the day, waiting on her.

She was turning to leave when the door opened behind her. Emma turned, eyes widening in surprise when she saw a woman standing there.

She looked to be about Emma’s age. Long blonde hair fell straight to her waist. Blue eyes sparkled behind frameless glasses. She was smiling, showing off white, even teeth. Petite was not the word. This woman was tiny, bordering on childish. The only thing that saved her was having a knockout figure. She almost put the dolls Emma had played with as a child to shame.

“Welcome, child.” The woman said, opening the door wider. “I’ve been expecting you.”

“You have?” Emma still hesitated.

“Yes. Ever since your mother came here seeking answers.” She smiled again. “Lovely woman, Trinity. We talked many times of your destiny, you know.” Her voice was laced with a slight accent that Emma could not place.

“You’re Kassandra?” She managed to ask. The woman nodded, still smiling.

“I am. And you are Emmalynn. Older daughter of a twin set.”

“Yeah. Uhm…” Emma shook her head. “How old are you?” She blurted it out. She couldn’t stop herself.

Kassandra laughed. “Eighteen when I turned vampire. Ageless as a vampire. But in your years, I have lived for four centuries, give or take a decade.”

“Four hundred…” The thought boggled Emma’s mind. “And you’re a…”

“Psychic, yes. I see things. A gift that I had even before I became a night crawler.” She stood back. “Won’t you come in? I have much I would like to talk to you about. Some good. Some bad. The dreams I have, they are bad right now. They come on strong, as soon as I sleep. So I don’t sleep so well anymore.”

“Dreams?” Emma stepped into the house. The woman closed the door behind her.

“Dreams. Nightmares. Visions. Of blood and war. Of love and lust. Of you, your parents, your friends, your sister.”

“You’ve had dreams of us all?” Emma asked, following Kassandra to the living room.

“Oh yes. Not your mother so much. Dreams of the dead are beyond my powers. They can’t contact me. But I have dreamed of you, child. Of your sister, your friend Harmony?” She said it as a question. Emma nodded. “A dream just last night of your father. A vision of a man saving you…”

“Wait…I thought you said…” Emma frowned. “You said you don’t dream of the dead.”

”Of course I don’t. I haven’t learned that ability yet. To talk to people on the other side. I have tried but haven’t been able to…”

“But my father is dead. He died in the wreck that killed my mother.” Emma said, incredulous.

“That’s where you’re wrong child. Your father, he does not die. He lives. He lives in torment, but alive he is.” She smiled sweetly then held up a plate. “Would you like a cookie, child? I just baked them.”

23

Steve lqy on his mattress in the basement, hands laced behind his head, staring morosely at the ceiling. Why as it that when he wanted to talk, he could never make this power work?

He gave up. Apparently no one was listening. He rolled onto his side and forced his eyes shut. He might as well get some rest before everyone got up.

Beth and Harmony sat at the kitchen table, munching on donuts.

“Where do you think she went?” Harmony broke the silence between them.

Beth shrugged. “I dunno. She’ll tell us when she gets back I guess.”

The two girls had gotten up after four and had decided to grab a bite to eat while they waited for the rest of the house to wake up.

Now they really didn’t know what to do with themselves. Time seemed to drag.

“How long do you think…” Harmony cocked her head to the side as she trailed off.

“How long do I think what?”

“Shh,” Harmony shushed her. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Beth whispered. She strained her ears but heard nothing.

“Sounds like somebody talking.” Harmony shook her head. “Weird.”

“The guys are all sleeping. Maybe we should go look around?” Beth said it with no enthusiasm. She turned the last part into a question.

“No way. I’m not gonna investigate a strange noise. You go.” Harmony said with mock horror. She grinned. “Maybe somebody is talking in their sleep. It was coming from downstairs.”

“Steve?” Beth said with a smile. “He’s the only one down there. I think. He’s got a lot to think about. I guess talking it out with himself is helping him deal.”

The girls chatted for a while, keeping their voices low, mostly sticking to what they had learned the night before.

“I’m going to go upstairs,” Beth finally said, rising to her feet. “Emma left that diary thing of Mom’s on her sleeping bag. I wanna read it for myself.”

“I’m with ya,” Harmony winked at her and followed her upstairs.

24

“What do you mean, he lives?” Emma managed to get it out. She was almost too shocked to speak. How could this woman make a joke like that? Especially since Emma was barely recovering from the grief she’d felt since the accident.

“I mean he is alive. Not dead. Moving, breathing,” She demonstrated, looking at Emma as if she were slow.

“That’s not possible. I saw…I saw him…” Her voice was catching. Damned if she wasn’t going to cry again. “I touched him.”

“What you touched was what others wanted you to see,” Kassandra said it with a wave of her hand, as if that were all there was to it.

“What others?” Emma stood up and paced, fingers nervously clutching the pendant she was wearing. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Dad can’t be alive, damn it. I wouldn’t be fooled by a guy who just looked like him. It was him.”

“No, child…” Kassandra leaned back in her chair, cookie in hand. “Do you know what a glamour is?”

“A glamour?” Emma shook her head. “The only thing I know about glamour is that’s what they call models. Glamorous. And I don’t pay attention…”

Kassandra was laughing. “No, no, no. A glamour is a magic spell, cast over a person to make them see what the spell caster wants them to see. Ppowerful enough spell,

better glamour. And this…thing…that do this is powerful. Powerful indeed.” She’d slipped back into a thicker accent as she talked.

“You’re saying, right here, to my face, that my father is alive?” Emma stopped pacing in front of the smaller woman’s chair and stared down at her.

“This is what I’m saying,” Kassandra nodded.

“Then where the hell is he? Why didn’t he come home? Why did we have to go through all of this…” She couldn’t finish. She sobbed instead of speaking.

“Your father, he can’t come home. He got taken. He in a dark place now. Very dark. Remind him of other time in dark place.” Her voice dropped low, her accent thickened. Emma watched Kassandra’s eyes close. She seemed to be going into some sort of trance.

“What dark place?” Emma dropped to her knees by the chair and touched the other woman’s arm. Kassandra jerked as if she’d been scalded, but did not pull away.

“So strong, this bond between father and daughter. I see him clearer, but still in darkness. Held in darkness until he’s ready.”

“Until who is ready?” Emma was crying quietly now, not wanting to think about her father trapped, not daring to hope that this woman in front of her was right, that her father was still alive but being held somewhere.

“He. The man who cast the spell on you. He powerful darkness…” A shuddered worked through Kassandra. “I touch him no more than I touch a slab of raw meat. It is dark there…nothing there…blank….” Her voice trailed off.

“Where is he?” Emma asked softly. “Where is my father so I can save him.”

“Child, maybe he not the only one need savin’.” The accent thickened even more. Kassandra opened her eyes and stared into Emma’s. “May be no way to save him…may be he too far gone in the darkness. May be he turn against daughters in war of good and evil…”

“He would never do that.” Emma said, but her voice was unsure. Hadn’t she just learned that her father was some kind of demon? Then again, who was to say that vampires were any good either. She felt the beginnings of an information overload headache.

“He could child. He could. You’re going to need help.” Her voice went back to its normal, barely accented tone. “Help that you can’t get from me. You know someone who speaks to the dead. You know someone who can help you save your father and yourself.”

“Who? All I have left is my sister, my best friend, and some guys who drink blood. Don’t talk in riddles. I can’t handle it right now.”

“A man, he knows how to speak to the dead. How to touch them as I touch the living. You know this man. You met him recently.”

“I’ve met a few guys recently,” Emma pushed her hair back from her face in frustration. “Who is the one to help us? Is it Uncle Glen? Aunt Isabell? They’ve gone through this before.” Kassandra was emphatically shaking her head.

“No, child, the only person who can help you when the time comes, the only person who could fight for and win your father’s soul, the only person who brought him back from the darkness once…” She smiled at Emily’s thunderstruck expression.