Flopping on one of the small sofas that Vera had provided, Daniel rubbed her face with her hands and took a useless breath before addressing her partner. “Jason, I love you…but you are oblivious.” Daniel looked up and swirled her hand, “No one is here.”

  Jason turned and looked up at the top of the stairwell when Vera began ughing. “Yeah, so?” No sooner had the words escaped his lips, than he spotted Daniel’s raised eyebrows and it was like he had suddenly been spped in the face. “Oh, no one is here. Where’d they go?”

  “That’s a good fug question, Jason. I have a single guess, and it’s not out for dinner because it’s Halloween.” Daniel ughed and touched her earbud. “Something tells me they went for the song, love.”

  A solemn look crossed through Jester’s eyes and he shook his head. “The boy is missing too…which is disturbing.” He held out his hand for Dao take. “We ’t do anything down here and those cupcakes are making my throat burn. A f feeling swept through Jester the moment his partner’s small hand firmly grasped his and they headed to the top of the stairs. Taking the time to look out of the window, Jester looked down at his girlfriend, then with o swing, lifted a Daniel on the ter so she could easily look out of the window. “Looks like the fires are spreading too.” He kissed her hand and looked over at Vera. “ I?” Jester poio the cupcakes.

  “It’s why I made them, Master Jason.” Vera firmed and slid the little tray over to the vampire. “If you two could hold out, the others?” Vera questioned quietly and rubbed her . “How is it that you got the message but the others didn’t?”

  Handing one of the cakes to Daniel, Jason then picked up a sed one and began mung as he walked into the living room to view the television once more. “I was right, the fires are spreading. Not to mention that in the background you see a ton of bats flying around.” He looked over his shoulder, “That isn’t a y of bats, love.” He shook his head and finished off the first cake, lig the blood-den ig from his grey lips. “Da-Daniel…you have to see this.” Jason paced the floor a staring at the s, “Why on Halloween…why?”

  “It’s the perfect time, Jas-” Daniel walked into the room and witnessed what was making Jason so worried. “Oh, her.” Daniel pihe bridge of her nose and with her dead lungs offered a troubled sigh. “I see the diamond eyes too, how the hell did Miss Bckwell get taken? Isn’t she supposedly some great mage?”

  Carrying the tray into the living room with her, Vera looked at the unfoldis. “How is the rag this? I mean this looks like it is on the ground out there and you see the fire has spread everywhere you look…” She set her tray on the coffee table and sat in her reer.

  With the influx of blood into his body, Jester began to think a little more clearly and stopped pag long enough to stand behind Daniel with his hands on her shoulder. “A Shadewraith is trolling that camera person, Vera.” He fided, “Apparently the camera withstand some amount of heat.” He shrugged, “That still doesn’t ahe reason why they are gone, I mean Brienne is allugged into her phone.”

  A momehe feed to the image died and a hasty anan was babbling on the s. “Whatever the case..” Daniel looked up into Jason’s hazel eyes, “...we have to take out that mage now. Problem is, how much of the bloodstone is left in the parking lot of the Mill, and we evehere? Do we ge into our animal form and take a ce that the musi’t work, or do we try and bulldoze our way through fire…” Daniel paused, “...without any blood back up? The whole world is a believer tonight, Jason. We ot feed.”

  Pig up her remote, Vera pressed the power button ainy television s snapped off. “I am not familiar with all of the inner ws of what is going on, but it seems to me that if there was a way to stop the incessant church bells, then other vampires would stop flying there.” Vera looked at her two friends, “What do you know about the bells?”

  Needira fort iime of need, Daniel jumped and held onto Jason’s ned smiled as her boyfriend cupped her softly under her bottom. “There we go, now I think.” She gave the thin man a kiss on the cheek and opened her phone. “Let’s see what Sylvie and Casey know about the portal, maybe we stop the bells.”

  Daniel had no sooner hit send on her phone before there was a knock at the front door. It was after a worried look crossed Vera’s eyes that Daniel nodded and hopped out of Jason’s arms and walked to the door. Greeted by the familiar feeling of vampire blood, Daniel’s immediate was diminished and she handed her phoo Jason, “You talk to Sylvie and I’ll talk to whoever this is.”

  “Sure, hun.” Jason firmed and walked into the kit, “Sylvie..It’s Jester…”

  Twisting the doorknob, Daniel opehe door to a very frizzy-haired Amber. Instantly relieved that it was the young huntress, Daniel jerked the newborn vampire inside and smmed the door shut. “You look like you’ve been in a war.” Daniel escorted Amber to the sofa a her sit down while and then walked into the kit for a few cupcakes. “What in the world are you doing here? More so, how? The others didn’t get my message about the song.”

  Dev a cake in seds, Amber flopped backwards and spyed her u ptinum-blonde hair all over the pce. “No oold me about Halloween, damnit.” She showed Vera and Daniel her bloody fingers. “Thank you .. that hit the spot.” Amber waved at Vera and slowly chewed her sed cake.

  “ht.” Daniel smiled and handed Jester a sed cake, then turned back to the others. “Vera Carver, this is Amber Lane. One of our vampires.”

  Exactly like she’d practiced many times before, Vera stood up and bowed to Amber, “Mistress Amber.” Vera paused, kissed Amber’s hand and then resumed her seat. “I would have gotten on my knees, but I am scared I wouldn’t get back up.” She ughed and rubbed her knees. “You have teal eyes, darling. They are beautiful and majestibsp; I would say regal.”

  “o bow to me, I would know the greeting anywhere.” Amber ughed, “I was a blood bunny too, Miss Carver.” Amber smiled and bowed her head, “You are too kind, but I came for these two.” Amber paused for another bite of her sed cake and sighed after it refreshed her throat. “Dao answer your earlier question, I found out from Vivienne how to block the tone.”