Rubbing her hands in little circles, Sylvie closed her eyes and vinced herself of her course of a. “We don’t have any of the tribe left, just me.” Sylvie sighed, “We do have it as a tourist attra with many little shopping areas and woodline ranches for rent.” She saw the fused look on Jennifer’s face as the older Rivers woman studied the map. “Yes, I know it seems in the middle of nowhere. Which is exactly the point. It’s a little dirt path to get into that grove.”

  Cisco shoved his phone in his pocket. “Martin told me about the personal lightout shelter there.” He looked at Jennifer and then back to Sylvie. “Am I to prepare it for your arrival, Mistress.”

  “I might be a little paranoid, but I simply don’t know what the fire means. Short version is..everything I looked at caught fire.” Sylvie rubbed her and after a few more seds of p the vision, marched outside and climbed on her motorcycle. “Ohe Mill is plete, get you and Jennifer out there.”

  “By your and, Mistress.” Cisco happily responded and watched Sylvie and Casey ride off into the night.

  Driving to the pyhouse, Sylvie could tell that the start of the weekend on her little town. Cars clogged the streets from all angles, and fast food pces all had long lines for both the drive-thru and the actual establishment. The strip mall where ‘After Dark’ was located was full and hundreds of people milling through the various stores or even window shopping. One promi store that drew attention was the tiny hometown drugstore named ‘Dortara Drug’ was plete with big gray lettering from the mid-sixties that lit up from the inside, yet was missing bulbs to pletely light the sign.

  Spotting the main attra, Sylvie patted Casey ohigh. “Look, a makeshift car show. I used to like seeing what they could create and refurbish.” She let out a little sigh. “They have no clue how bad things really are. All they know is that they’ve gotten rid of a rash of killings from a sniper.” Sylvie poio the crowd, “Casey, love. This is how we o keep them, you know that right?”

  “Yep.” Casey quipped and leaned on Sylvie’s back. “You are deep in thought, babe. What was it you saw when you were meditating?”

  Feeling for Casey’s hands, Sylvie pulled her lover’s arms tightly around her waist. “I don’t know how you do that, Casey.” She gleefully ented, “You know what I am thinking before I want to say it.” Sylvie hugged the warm feeling that pulsed through her with the e Casey and she seemed to have. “You are right, as usual flower-pop. I did have a strange vision. It was not Kigatilik, I saw the eclipse.” Sylvie let out a heavenly breath when Casey’s hand began rubbiomach softly. “That feels great…” Sylvie cleared her throat and tinued. “...It wasn’t definitive, but suggestive. Everything I looked at began to burn. Everything. The Mill burst into fmes and the walls came down, Swift Creek boiled and was hot enough to ighe grass and nearby trees.” Sylvie felt a bit of sadness when she pictured the old and thick trees burning after their existence of well over a hundred years went up in fmes. “Casey, I don’t know what it means. Is it real, meaning we expee hotter-than-hell fires, or is it metaphorical and that it's a sing fire, where we reform anew from the ashes that were left behind?”

  “Remember I am o all of this snuggle-kitten.” Casey reminded Sylvie with a tiny ugh. “It could mean both, if I am being ho. You and I both know that our information isn’t going to go over well with the others. We know that An is going to make a py to run the cil, the same cil that Denise and her ‘Awakened’ just wiped out ba January. How many want it to fail?”

  “No clue, babe.” Sylvie offered partly dejected, and turned into the parking lot of the Swift Creek Mill Pyhouse. “I guess we are about to find out.” Shutting off the engine, Sylvie flipped the kickstand and noticed the crushed rock all over. “Cisco is thh, look. We have a bloodsto..and…” Sylvie kicked the rubble with her booted foot, sending a small plume of bloodstone dust into the air. “Built-in defense.”

  Casey set her helmet on one of the handles and jumped off the motorcycle. “So this is the Mill.” She asked ftly and with a hint of sarcasm. “It’s just an old brick building. Why is this pportant?”

  Removing her ow and pg it on the opposite handle, Sylvie shook out her rows and snickered when her pstic bows ccked. “You are proud of these ridiculous things, aren’t you?” Waving her hand Sylvie stopped Casey. “Never mind, don’t ahat.”

  “You look adorable and not the least bit like the blood-lover you are.” Casey cheerfully teased. “Well? What is so important about this pce?”

  Looking upon the simple two-story brick building, Sylvie admitted to herself that there wasn’t mu the way of impressiveness from the outside. Although built in the early 1800’s the mill cked any of the normal Victorian aspects in lieu of practicality. It had no need f bay windows or a high and arched roof, sis primary focus was on crushing and st various things that the surrounding unity would need. “I really don’t o ahat, Casey.” Sylvie ughed, “However, I imagine you mean its importao us, rather than normal people.”

  “Yes, that was the idea.” Casey quipped and folded her arms.

  Sylvie looked over the rows of windows that had been refurbished due to weather wearing on the wood, yet had preserved the few dotted css pahat the builders first installed. “The simple answer is that An built his new aing unity just over the hill where Swift Creek es down to the waterwheel.” Sylvie walked to the side of the building, the bloodstone g lightly under her steps. “Odd..” She stopped walking and heard Casey’s footsteps clear as day as well. “You don’t notice?”

  Casey had been following along with her arms loosely at her sides, “Notice what? The big metal and wood wheel turning? Yeah, I saw it.”

  Pursing her lips in a disappointed half-scowl, Sylvie simply poi the ground and then responded, “Footsteps. I hear our g.”

  Fetting all about the little history lesson about the mill, Casey looked down and then started rubbiemples. “Now I get it.” She shrugged, “I am still used to walking and hearing myself, I suppose.” Casey ughed and swallowed once for reassurance. “Yep, still a vampire.”

  “I wonder if this is ented in some way?” Sylvie questioned and looked around for any sign of others. “We are a few minutes out from this meeting and no one else is here, along with the strange bloodstones giving away our location.” Retrieving her phone, Sylvie flipped through the different ss and opened a text to Cisco.

  ‘Hey, tell me about the bloodstone parking lot.’

  ‘Mistress, not all mages hate vampires. I took the liberty to have the rocks ented so anything that passed over them made sound. Even the shadewraiths. Just a precaution.’

  Jamming her phone down in her back pocket, Sylvie looked back to Casey. “Cisco’s doing.”

  “Figures. I wonder what else he had as a standing order to the others, in case he didn’t make it.” Casey posed. “It still doesn’t ahe question…” Without warning, Casey’s hair on her arms stood up and she got a chill that formed iomach. “We are being watched.” Gng across the area, Casey’s sunlit eyes seemed to outline a few bats and han five birds. “Look up irees.”