“Now, Where is the book? To Xenos. Your little ckeys have found an effective means to deal with my beloved.” Archaios Enas snarled and shoved its finger into An’s mouth and jerked a fang loose. Fluttering her eyes as An screamed in pain, Enas tossed the tooth on the ground and got closer. The more you suffer, the stret. You have one choibsp; Tell me where the book is.”

  Blurting out the names swirling in his head in the hopes that the stake would get removed and he could feed then find Veronica, He blood-splittled, “Sylvie…Sylvie Miakoda. She…has…a girlfriend that you know. C-Casey Rivers. She’s a vampire too. They have the book and some other things that were asked for, Mistress Archaios Enas.”

  Archaios Enas yanked out another fang and ate it in a few ches while h over An’s ear. “That’s right…now you are fused…pain and glorious chaos is locked in your mind. Where are they? I find them easy enough,but listening to you betray your others is such sweet music.”

  Having made her way to Jessica, the two were huddled together in the bed. Amber heard the plea from her creator a no pulsion to do anything for the man. Finally answering his plea for her to save Veronica, Amber simply ughed. “Uh, no. Betweeh of you, One spilled my fu blood all over that ugly carpet and the other stole my life. You never know, I might not have wao be a vampire…An. If that thing doesn’t kill you, the others might.”

  Hopelessly mumbling, An spelled out exactly where Sylvie lived and where her business was. “I plied with you, Mistress. I even uncovered the mercury pool for your others..I..I know I be useful..don’t leave me like-”

  Archaios Enas yanked out his st two fangs and ate them just like the sed one. “Oh, my sve…lovely pain-ridden and suffering sve.” Archaios Enas turned and started walking to the door, “My only gift was all the silver…since you asked for it.” She reached into her stomace again and pulled out a small bck ball. “I keep my promise, my faithful.” She looked at the ball, “He’s yours to drive, if you …awaken his shadewraith.”

  {-“It will be my pleassssurrreee….Archaios Enas, ht.”-}

  The new shadewraith unicated with its leader then darted off and hovered where An was stuck helplessly on the floor. Watg as Archaios Enas disappeared from view, the shadewraith circled An and toyed with the vampire gathering strength from An’s fear, fusion and panibsp;

  “A..Amber…Bloodsto kills…” He barely breathed, “Baskets of them i…please…” An begged as the shadewraith spun over his head and with every pass, sliced into the vampire skin, sending streams of blood across the foyer.

  Jessica shook her mistress and lover, “Amber, Please help this time. He brought you bae, no matter the way it happened.” She quietly kissed Amber on the lips.

  Amber nodded and wi Jessica, “I don’t know why they don’t see or hear me, but I will be right back.” Without even trying Amber’s physical form blended with the room as though she were a chameleon.

  -Okay, I like this.-

  Amber told herself and gathered up the bloodstoheurned without any interruption. Upoering the foyer, Amber watched the shadewraith desd on An.

  -I really should let you die…but Jessie asked…and the eeds to see your betrayal.-

  ving herself of the path she wao take, Amber crushed the stones in her hand and blew them across the inky bck wraith and An at the same time.

  Screaming and howling at its own pain, the Shadewraith desperately looked around for the sourd felt panic … that it fed from… “Where are you blood-she..shelll…” It hissed as its body grew more fragile and cold.

  A brief fsh of teal lit the room and the Shadewraith began ughing, “I feel your uainty…little blood shell.. emp me.”

  Amber crushed a couple more stones and raihe dust over the paralyzed shadewraith. “No, I am nhtened of you..you and that foul leader of yours couldn’t even see me.” She walked to the grim image that had rows of razor-sharp silver fangs poking out from the dark. “You lose.” She kicked the helpless wraith and it exploded then ed itself in a loud pleasing ughter.

  Looking into the bedroom Amber spoke softly, “Jessie?” She watched her girlfriend pop her head out of the b. “We o get An to the cil meeting, baby.”

  Jessica skipped over to Amber and smiled. “How did you do that? It was amazing. How did you know to crush the pretty green aones?”

  Amber shrugged, “No clue, I just kinda did everything. The bloodstone seemed useless as a rock, or I thought that at the time. To be pletely ho, I am still ihat nothing saw me or saw us while I was with you.” Amber snapped her fingers, “They didn’t hear me either, or I am sure the white-thing would have eaten me.” She walked up and tickled Jessica’s tummy. “Wanna help me figure it out?”

  She nodded excitedly, “What do we do with this ?”

  Waving for Jessica to grab his other arm, the duo lifted An to his feet and began dragging him out of the inium. “We let the others decide what happens. We o warn Sylvie.” They passed the kit again and noticed the crates and crates of bloodstones. “Unreal, Aheir weakness long before anyone khat the shadewraiths existed.” She lifted his head and peered into his red and brown eyes. “Bastard.”

  Jessica mirrored her mistress' se, “Bastard.” Pulling out her phone, Jessiitially tried to call Sylvie but didn’t get an answer. “She’s not answering for some reason, I’ll send a text and call After Dark.”

  Amber raised one of her groomed bd ptinum eyebrows, “I have an idea. Let's stack the boxes and toss this idiot on top that way we make orip to the Mill Pyhouse.”

  Laughing and nodding in agreement, Jessica stacked the few boxes and tied them together with shreds of towels. “His chariot awaits, Amber.”

  Using a few of the leftover strips of cloth, Amber tied the stake in pd bound An’s arms and legs, then finally tied one around his mouth so he couldn’t speak. “You sought to trol me? I don’t know how yet, but somehow your quick embrace did something different for me, An. You better pray that the others don’t leave your fate to me.” She got close to his ear. “I uand vampire blood is much more rich..and the idea of dusting you is entig.” Amber pulled away and tossed the helpless vampire on the boxes. “Let’s get our dispy up before the et there, the sun just went down.”

  “Where you go, I go Mistress.” Jessica giggled and jumped on Amber’s back. “I am so gd I took a you Amber.” She kissed the vampire on her cheek, “I love you.” Jessiuzzled against Amber’s neck, “After you set him up, we get you fed, deal?”

  Lifting the boxes without any strain, Amber walked out and headed for the Swift Creek Mill Pyhouse. “Deal. I wonder how hungry I will be … now?” Amber leaned bad kissed Jessica’s neck, then bit into her flesh draining a few mouths full of blood and licked the holes closed again. “Did you eat banana bread earlier?” She saw Jessiod, then Amber rolled her sparkling teal eyes. “I am hoping it was your special kind, because I would love to be stoned right now.”

  “It was Amber…it was.” Jessica giggled and semi-danber’s back. “Give it a few minutes, I lear from Sylvie, you will rex like normal, but you don’t have to your blood, babycakes.”

  “My day just keeps gettier…Hey try Sylvie again, she o know we have ining shadewraiths.”