《Beautiful Monster 2 (Beautiful Monster #2)》


 Page 1

    Chapter 1: Amy


    I knew my alarm had already gone off twice, but I was ignoring it. Forget getting up and stretching today, I was going to get as much sleep as possible. Besides, this was likely the most comfortable hotel bed I had ever been in.


    It was the last day of summer, and the last day of the Gatsby Tour. I had agreed to perform and tour for the first leg, only after making sure that Shannon would release me from my contract a week before the school term started.


    I hated being away from Liam, and my father. I hadn¡¯t been this far away from Liam since we met, and I had never been away from my father this long in my entire life. When I told Liam, he gave me a sad smile, and kissed me on the forehead.


    ¡°That¡¯s the life of a professional actor, Amy.¡±


    Of course, he was right, and I couldn¡¯t always be coming home to comfort.


    And the part that I didn¡¯t admit to them was how much I craved being on the stage every night. Even with two lines, I knew that I would never be able to just stop acting. This was what I was meant to do my whole life, and I was forever grateful to Liam for giving me the chance to do so. I wouldn¡¯t trade the experience for all the world.


    Of course, dating the headmaster did have its disadvantages. We wouldn¡¯t be able to be as open with our relationship at school as we were when we were away, in a foreign city, sitting in a little caf¨¦ making googly eyes at each other. Not that everyone didn¡¯t know by now, since Liam had made the announcement on the staircase the day Porsche died. He announced he loved me, and ever since, people had stared at us in the hallways. We didn¡¯t walk down the halls holding hands, and I didn¡¯t sit in his lap during class, or even kiss his cheek in public. Privacy was becoming more and more of a big deal for me. We were only free when we were in cities where no one knew my name.


    Dating the headmaster, however, was just as challenging as dating a vampire. Liam¡¯s thirst for blood at night often left me waking up to a cold bed. He would return just before dawn, and his mood during his transformation wasn¡¯t always the best. Without the luxury of having Porsche, a Shield, to keep him human whenever he wanted, Liam had to transform every night. And every morning, we dealt with it.


    On my bedside table, my phone buzzed, and I groaned, finally cracking open my eyes and looking at the time. It was 11 am, which meant I had slept in plenty. I would never get away with this when the school year started. Still, the effort of answering the phone seemed to be almost too much. It stopped ringing before I got to it, and I cursed, sitting up and grabbing it.


    You have 1 missed call.


    I was about to open up the call log, but while my finger was on the button it started to ring again.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I put it to my ear immediately, not bothering to check the caller ID.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    I pulled the phone away from my ear, wincing in pain and looking at the caller ID in confusion.


    ¡°Sarah? What¡¯s the matter? Are you ok?¡±


    Sarah was probably my best friend in the whole world. We had never met face to face, having found each other on a message forum about acting. She lived across the ocean from me, so we were separated by thousands of miles and a 6 hour time difference. She never called me before at least 3 pm my time. Her scream had made my heart rate rise. If I wasn¡¯t awake before, I was certainly awake now.


    ¡°I GOT IN!!!!!¡± Her voice was so high pitched and excited, I could barely understand her.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I got in! To Leopard Academy! Someone from admissions just called me! I start next week! I¡¯m coming, Amy, I¡¯m coming! Oh my GOD!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t contain my grin as I sat up straighter, crossing my legs underneath me. The graduate studies program at Leopard Academy--technically the program I was in since last year should have been my last year of high school--hadn¡¯t really been active for many years. But since I had been homeschooled up until I arrived, Liam had suggested I enter a grade lower. Instead, I opted to try the graduate studies program that hadn¡¯t really been active for five years. Liam had, of course, agreed and let me pick my own independent study focus. I knew the admissions office had opened their doors to more graduates, and I knew Sarah had applied.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± I screamed back. ¡°We¡¯re finally going to meet!¡±


    ¡°The letter was post marked last month. It took this long to come across the ocean! Do you think I¡¯m going to get in trouble for replying so late?¡±


    ¡°Nah.¡± I shrugged, throwing aside the covers and getting up. ¡°If you do, will you allow me to put in a good word for you?¡±


    ¡°YES!¡± She giggled with excitement. ¡°Oh my God, I can¡¯t believe it!¡±


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d get in,¡± I said, as I padded to the bathroom to get my toothbrush. ¡°You¡¯re just about the most talented and beautiful person I know. We don¡¯t have anyone who looks like you.¡±


    Sarah was exotic, the product of exotic mixed parents in their own right marrying each other to produce stunning children. She kept her hair dark and short, with spikes everywhere, and multiple piercings in her face. But underneath all that dark eye makeup and heavy mascara, she was a knock out. So far, it had worked well for her in her hometown. She had booked several acting gigs that required specialty looks. But coming to Leopard Academy would change everything for her career.


    ¡°Are you packing and booking a plane right this second?¡± I asked, turning on the tap. ¡°Because I cannot wait to see you.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°I¡¯m way ahead of you. I found the letter under a pile of junk mail last night and already logged onto Flight Centre to book. I wanted to call you right away, but I remembered today is your closing night. How does it feel to have a full theater show under your belt?¡±


    ¡°Weird,¡± I said, putting the phone on the counter and turning it to speakerphone. ¡°Like it can¡¯t be real.¡±


    ¡°Have you met your replacement yet?¡± Sarah asked, shouting over the noise of the tap.


    ¡°Yep. Not that it¡¯s hard to replace a 2 line role, but you know.¡± I splashed water on my face and ran my toothbrush under the tap for a moment before applying toothpaste. ¡°I¡¯m kind of glad for it to be over, though.¡±


    ¡°Awww, you miss your boyfriend,¡± she teased me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to deny that. But it¡¯s also gotten¡­ boring. The same show, day in and day out, the same lines. I want bigger and better things.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll come. You¡¯re a super star,¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Look, I got to go. I¡¯ve been up all night tearing my closet apart. I¡¯ll call you when everything is in place, ok?¡±


    ¡°Sure! Congrats,¡± I said, and we exchanged our goodbyes.


    I finished brushing my teeth and washing up, and then pulled my hair into a bun. My hair style on stage was an extensive up do and so the hair stylists demanded I wash it only every third day. As soon as my mouth was free of toothpaste, I picked up my phone again and hit the number 1, speed dialing Liam in his office. It was Friday, and Friday mornings he spent doing paperwork, so I knew he was there.


    He picked up on the third ring.


    ¡°You hear some good news just now?¡± he asked, and I could hear his smile through the phone line.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± I protested, deflated that he guessed before I could tell him.


    ¡°I saw her name change to accepted on our list about an hour ago. I was waiting for you to call.¡±


    ¡°Liam,¡± I said, as I went back into the bedroom to change. ¡°You didn¡¯t just take her¡­ because of me, did you? She was so set on getting in on her own.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± he replied. I could hear papers shuffling. ¡°And to answer your question, no. The audition video she sent in was her doing Waiting for Godot in 5 minutes¡ªby herself. All the parts. How was I supposed to say no to that?¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s Sarah for you. So, how¡¯s your day going?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, it¡¯d be better if you were here. Today is orientation day for any new students, so we¡¯re about to get flooded. What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Changing. I¡¯m naked right now,¡± I said it in jest, to tease him, but he groaned all the same.


    ¡°Amy, don¡¯t do that to me now. I have to go out and make a speech in front of 100 students.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not really my fault you can¡¯t control yourself.¡± I grinned, slipping on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. One of the nice things about being on stage was that my appearance was not my responsibility. For once, it was somebody else¡¯s job to care about my hair, my makeup, stuff my bra or powder my chest bones.


    I was skinny, and I didn¡¯t particularly like it. It came with the territory of carrying the HIV virus, which had not developed into AIDS yet. But it meant I hovered somewhere between skeletal and thin, the right light making my ribs show through my chest. Liam, however, had always worshipped my body and never indicated any sort of displeasure. Still, when I could, I made sure my clothing was baggy to hide it.


    ¡°It kind of is, if you continue to tease me like that,¡± he replied. ¡°Are you ready for your last show?¡±


    ¡°I guess. How exactly does one end something they¡¯ve been doing for 3 months? I am ready to come home, though. I miss you a lot.¡±


    ¡°I miss you too,¡± he said softly, his voice full of emotion which told me how much he meant it. ¡°Have you booked your train ticket yet?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet,¡± I admitted. ¡°But the trains run all day long, so I¡¯ll just jump on the first one as soon as I wake up.¡±


    ¡°Ok, give me a call when you know. We¡¯ll have a good meal and¡­ evening¡­¡± he said provocatively, which made me laugh. All I wanted to do was be snuggled in his arms after months apart. True, we had our little visits here and there, but it wasn¡¯t enough.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I told him I loved him and then hung up. It was just in time, because a knock came at my door.


    ¡°AMY!¡±


    ¡°Jesus,¡± I said, throwing the phone on the bed and checking myself to make sure I was decent. Throwing open the door, I found Drago standing there.

 Page 2

    A transplant from Russia, Drago was our fight director. He had an explosive career, having worked with some of the top names. He was incredibly young and moving up the ranks. But a shattered leg from a car accident had left Drago unable to perform on demand anymore. Luckily, by then he already had quite a name for himself, and so people hired him as a stunt coordinator, ignoring his limp.


    We had hit it off immediately when I told him my father was a chef and that was my backup career. A foodie himself, our game was to get each other to try the strangest food in town. Our bond became closer when he revealed he was also leaving the Gatsby Tour, two weeks after me, to work on a production that was staged not two miles from Leopard Academy. I was excited to find someone who shared my feelings of excitement, and sadness at leaving.


    Today, he carried a brown bag, unmarked.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Goat¡¯s tongue wrapped in duck and fried in olive oil.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, holding open the door to let him in. This was a normal conversation between us. ¡°Ok.¡±


    He burst in, heading straight to the table which contained small tea saucers. Deeming then good enough for his purpose, he opened the bag, pulled out a plastic knife and container, and divided up the food.


    ¡°Found it in a little back alley place. They were called ¡®Waste not.¡¯ They claimed to eat every part of the goat and not waste anything.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I was adventurous when it came to food, but I could think of several parts of the goat that I did not want to eat. ¡°Is that what you spent the night doing? Thinking up ways to give me food poisoning?¡±


    ¡°Well, now that your replacement is a day away, I thought we¡¯d be safe.¡± He grinned at me, sitting on the bed, his injured leg extended out in front of him. I gingerly picked up the plate that he had left and bit in.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird?¡± he asked, changing the subject. ¡°Going back to school after doing a professional show? It¡¯s kind of¡­ counterproductive¡­¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what weird is because I don¡¯t have a normal life either. A year ago, I was a homeschooled sheltered kid whose acting experience consisted of performing for her stuffed animals that were probably bored out of their minds too. And then all of a sudden, I¡¯m the scholarship winner, and I get this part, which most people can¡¯t even dream of, and now I¡¯m going into graduate studies at the school I spent my whole life drooling over.¡±


    ¡°And dating a Hollywood heartthrob,¡± Drago pointed out.


    ¡°There is that.¡± I grinned.


    He smirked at me. ¡°It¡¯s so weird. You¡¯re leaving today, but everyone is acting like it¡¯s a normal day.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is a normal day for everyone else. No one is going to notice that the chorus girl is leaving, really.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll notice,¡± he said.


    I shrugged. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    ¡°My only salvation¡­¡± He finished his food and put the plate on the table for the maid to clean up. ¡°¡­in between then and now is that I have to redo the choreography.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the next 3 theaters we are going to are smaller, so we can¡¯t fit five backflips in a row for the Gatsby dancers.¡± He stretched his leg, wincing. ¡°I¡¯m getting too old for this.¡±


    ¡°You are,¡± I agreed, even though he was only in his mid-twenties. He gave me a smack on the shoulder as I went to get my purse. ¡°I assume you want to go somewhere and you aren¡¯t going to leave me in peace?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, we could just watch TV,¡± he said, looking at his watch.


    ¡°No,¡± I groaned, shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of daytime TV to last me a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Life of an actor.¡±


    ¡°Everyone keeps saying that,¡± I muttered, holding the door open for him as we went out. ¡°Every time I complain about anything, it¡¯s always due to being an actor. I miss Liam, I have jetlag. The show is boring after three months¡­¡±


    ¡°And daytime TV sucks. Maybe you should get into film and make better TV?¡±


    I snorted as we walked down the hall.


    ¡°I auditioned for film once. It was terrible and awkward. He looked right through me, and then told me he¡¯d call me and he never did. And I could tell. Why don¡¯t they just tell the truth?¡±


    ¡°Actors can get violent,¡± Drago said, as we paused in front of a door and he knocked.


    The lead ballerina, Natasha, should be inside. At first, I was hesitant to be friends with Natasha, who had stepped into Porsche¡¯s place. But she was a sweet girl with an adorable Southern accent and huge eyes. The three of us made a great team exploring the cities during the day. Both single, I had tried without success to get Drago to ask her out, but he claimed his heart was reserved elsewhere.


    Natasha answered, a grin on her face like she had been waiting for us.


    ¡°Guys, I just Googled the best place for us to go,¡± she said, slipping on her shoes and shutting the door.


    The three of us headed down to the lobby. I had expected to feel sadder on my last day, but perhaps I was comforted by the fact that Liam was only a day away, and Sarah was going to be my best friend in real life. Soon, everything would be back to normal; or as close to normal as it could be.


    Chapter 2: Liam


    I sighed after hanging up the phone with Amy on Monday morning. I hadn¡¯t slept at all last night, having gone out to enjoy my last night alone. Not that I wasn¡¯t excited to have Amy come home, every second was agony without her, but there were things I couldn¡¯t do when she was home. Amy had lived a sheltered life, and she wasn¡¯t used to all-night partying, a lifestyle that I had grown accustomed to. When she returned, there would be dinners in her room, and early nights, turning off the TV while she slept. Tonight, she said she was planning to get on a train at noon, meaning she would be back in town by 5 pm. In an effort to avoid any attention, she was going to take a taxi from the station to the school. Tomorrow, we would be having lunch with her father, something she couldn¡¯t wait to do. I couldn¡¯t wait to have her home, but I knew when she arrived, life would change.


    She was so human, my Amy. So fragile and young, and I was often afraid of overtaxing her ¨C of breaking her. I didn¡¯t want to do anything to affect her already shortened mortality. I knew that we were already living on borrowed time, and I didn¡¯t want to affect that.


    Life was so different, since Porsche died. I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself at night, aside from chain myself up and sulk in my own misery. There was no refuge of being human with her Shield powers, no choosing when I transformed and when I didn¡¯t. Porsche had been my best friend since she was a teenager, a fiery red-headed famous ballerina who worked hard and played harder. When she used a dirty needle at 14, infecting herself with HIV, it made her Shield powers stronger. The sicker she got, the more her powers grew, eventually making any supernatural creature within ten feet of her human and powerless. Although we had fallen into nights of lust a few times, it was a strong friendship that linked us for years. She was my salvation when I first became a vampire, exploring and educating ourselves with supernatural lore.


    The other Shields were receptive to helping me kill Selene: the mother of all vampires, my sire, and Porsche¡¯s murderer. However, they weren¡¯t about to offer up their next Shield for my disposal. Porsche had been a rebel, associating with vampires, witches and werewolves whenever she chose. Most Shields wouldn¡¯t come within ten feet of us, unless their objective was to be destructive. I would never have another shelter like I had with Porsche. And at the moment, it felt like I would never have a foolproof plan to kill Selene. So many people were afraid of her, as they rightfully should be. We had struggled all summer, but we were no closer to successfully luring her in than we had been last year.


    I hadn¡¯t revealed to them my secret ¨C my motive for wanting her dead, beside revenge. If Selene was dead, the vampire curse was broken. Amy and I could live a normal life, grow old together. We could have children and watch them grow up.


    Just thinking about it made my fists clench. Fists I wish were wringing Selene¡¯s neck.


    Sighing, I pushed myself back from my desk, putting my computer into hibernate, and left the office. I craved being anywhere but stuck between these four walls.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out for a walk,¡± I said to my secretary, who gave me a look.


    ¡°Please have your cell phone on, Liam.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I flashed her a dazzling smile.


    It probably wasn¡¯t a good time to be wandering around the school with it being orientation day for any new students. Those ranged from kindergarteners, entering our school at a young age, to transfer students from other art schools and full and partial scholarship winners, like Amy had been. Every single one of the students had to extensively audition to gain admission, and every one of them also had re-entry exams at the end of the year. To remain in Leopard Academy for more than a few years was truly a feat, and those who did almost certainly went on to fame and fortune. Our last full graduate, Deon, who had been here twelve years, was now a series regular on a TV show with a movie role in the works.


    I was proud of him, I was, but I couldn¡¯t help but also be a bit jealous. When I became a vampire, my life changed, and my career changed. I couldn¡¯t continue to be the Hollywood superstar I was before, and so I accepted the headmaster position at the Academy. It was the only viable way I could continue acting. But still, every fiber of my body missed being a superstar. My gut wrenched as I watched the kids on stage.


    I opened the door into the hallway and was met with high-pitched screams. Even though I had been away from Hollywood four years, it hadn¡¯t affected my level of fame. In the hallway stood a gaggle of girls, gossiping. I could tell right away they were new students, or they wouldn¡¯t have reacted the way they did. Most of the students in the school were used to me, and still, whenever I was out in places where there would be a big group of non-students, I usually went with an escort.

 Page 3

    ¡°Hi, ladies,¡± I said, grinning and giving them a nod.


    They shrieked some more, rushing up towards me. ¡°Please sign this!¡± One of them screamed, holding out a marker and her arm. I laughed, taking the pen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something that isn¡¯t going to wash off?¡±


    ¡°This!¡± She held out her laptop and I rolled my eyes, but scrawled my name across it.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Talon!¡± Every word that she said was a scream, and her energy was infectious.


    ¡°Alright, Talon, what year are you going into?¡± I didn¡¯t recognize her, so I assumed she had been found when one of my teams went cross country to hold auditions. She was pretty with long, brown, wavy hair and standing at about 5¡¯8¡±. Her pixie face was sprinkled with freckles. A year ago, I would have checked her out, and when I was a Hollywood actor, I would have done more than that. But the past few years had aged me, and now, I only had eyes for Amy.


    ¡°Year 11. I¡¯m from Swansea. I went to Cata Performing Arts there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good school. I hope that we live up to their standards,¡± I replied, handing her laptop back. The other girls seemed too scared to say a word to me, their eyes huge. ¡°Now, Year 11 is a senior and so you¡¯ll have classes with me. I trust that one autograph will be enough, Talon?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, sir,¡± She blushed. ¡°But I won¡¯t ask again.¡±


    ¡°Ok then,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ve got to get going, but I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± they called out as if they were one person.


    I rolled my eyes, walking down the hallway to the theater.


    The Red Theater was my favorite of all of them. All of our theaters were named after colors, and each of our wings were named after the classes they housed. Peter had once toyed with getting benefactors and donors, and naming entire buildings after them, but I shot him down. If they were successful, the students would spend their whole careers exposed to commercialism and sponsors. It didn¡¯t need to start now. I wanted to keep things simple as long as possible so they could focus on their craft.


    In the theater, there were several of my instructors sitting on the stage in a circle, in various positions. It made me grin, watching them. The dancers were sitting on the floor, contorted in positions that were natural to them, but wretched to anyone else. The technical instructors were sitting in chairs, leaning back, their arms crossed, and the drama instructors were pacing the stage, excited. The singers were calm and composed, sitting in straight back chairs, their chest rising and falling in full breaths. They each embodied their craft with every breath, which is why they hired me.


    ¡°Liam! Just in time!¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± I asked, confused.


    Katya, my lead drama instructor, raised her eyebrow. ¡°Aren¡¯t you here for the vote on the final show?¡±


    ¡°What?... uh, yes, of course.¡± I tried to make it seem like I had remembered that today they would decide what the year-end show would be, and they needed my approval. I knew there was a reason I was getting frigidity in my office. ¡°So, what are the choices?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve narrowed it down to three: Cats, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Unless you wanted to do a straight play, in which case we unanimously agreed on Gatsby.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°There¡¯s a national tour of Gatsby going on right now. We don¡¯t need to do it at the school too. Amy¡¯s in it.¡±


    ¡°Right, Amy,¡± Katya teased me.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Vote. Vote.¡±


    ¡°Alright, open ballot. Everyone gets one vote. I¡¯ll call it out, you raise your hands.¡±


    I saw instantly why they needed me. In a stroke of madness, each production came out as a tie, and I could see why. Cats meant that the dancers would be the stars, while Les Miserables called more for strong singers. Phantom, however, meant that there needed to be acting beyond the other two, with more text than singing. We had just done a straight play last year: Beauty and the Beast starring Amy, and myself, a production that had won us rave reviews. It was a publicity stunt for the scholarship winner and the former superstar. But this year, there was no need for another publicity stunt, and sadly, no real need for me to act either. Everyone would audition fair and square for their parts. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but err on the side of Amy, the best actor I had seen in years.


    ¡°Well then, my tie breaker vote is Phantom,¡± I said, and it was met with simultaneous groans and cheers. ¡°School-wide auditions, Friday of the first week. Everyone knows the music. They don¡¯t need time to practice.¡±


    ¡°School-wide?¡± Katya asked, confused.


    Usually, I limited it to the upper years, and the lower years were assigned parts by their teachers, based on their already known schedule. But I wanted this to be different.


    ¡°Kindergarten to graduate programs. And I want two guest judges so the panel isn¡¯t completely biased to students we already know.¡±


    ¡°You want a lot, Liam,¡± Devon, one of the technical instructors, joked.


    I held up my hands. ¡®What can I say? I¡¯m a diva. Everyone good?¡±


    They looked at each other and then nodded. I was about to leave when suddenly I remembered Talon.


    ¡°Oh, by the way. Along with school rules, I want you to all give your students a good talk about respecting other performers, and not act like groupies. I nearly got mauled out in the hall by a new senior, and I can¡¯t run classes if they are asking me for autographs.¡±


    ¡°Poor groupies,¡± Devon said.


    I turned to leave on that note. It was a casual environment at the school. The instructors had the freedom to make their own curriculums and credited themselves with their students¡¯ success.


    I didn¡¯t get too much work done the rest of the day. I wandered about quite a bit, and pretended to contribute or oversee, but the truth was, I was constantly watching the clock. Amy had texted at 4:55 saying that she had just gotten off the train and would call me when she was in the driveway. As the minutes ticked by, I could feel my heart rate increase and my mouth go dry. After months, I could finally have her in my arms. I could finally wrap my arms around her, bury my nose in her soft hair and feel her body warm against mine.


    I hadn¡¯t wanted to fall in love with a student. I had never been in love in all my life. In lust, yes, but never in love. But Amy was irresistible, adorable and attractive, with her sweet smile and sparkling eyes. The connection that we made the first time our eyes met was unshakable. Of course, it helped that her blood was rotten, tainted with HIV and did not tempt me at any stage in my transformation. Amy was a breath of fresh air, and now that Porsche was gone, she was my only salvation.


    Finally my cell phone rang with Amy¡¯s ringtone, when I was in the dorms, sorting out a housing problem.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m here. I¡¯ll meet you in the lobby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there,¡± I said, snapping the phone shut and turning to the two students and dorm mother who stood before me with a grumpy body language. ¡°Sorry, guys, emergency. Just um¡­ flip a coin.¡±


    Moving as fast as my human legs would carry me and wishing that I had vampire speed during the day, I rounded corners and power-walked down the hallways.


    And then suddenly, there she was, right in front of me. She was wearing shorts and a baggy tee-shirt, with no makeup on, her hair hanging down her shoulders in waves. Her suitcase was beside her and she was looking down at her phone.


    When she looked up, I saw her eyes light up, and she flung herself into my arms, half with a shriek and half with a laugh.


    ¡°LIAM!¡±


    ¡°AMY!¡± I cried, wrapping my strong arms around her.


    Finally, all was well with the world. I buried my face in her neck. I could feel her pulse beating strongly, and smell her shampoo, filling my nose with the scent of lavender and chamomile. She was kissing my neck, clearly overwhelmed and forgetting about public displays. Uncaring myself, I kissed her back, pulling her a fraction of an inch away from me so I could kiss her full on the mouth.


    She responded immediately, closing her eyes and nipping at my lips. Touching Amy was like coming home.


    Finally, we pulled back so she could breathe, although we didn¡¯t let go of each other.


    ¡°How are you? How was your train ride?¡±


    ¡°It was good, but sad,¡± she replied. ¡°It¡¯s weird, thinking that I won¡¯t stand on that stage again and say those lines.¡±


    ¡°But there will be other stages and other lines,¡± I promised her. ¡°And eventually, it doesn¡¯t hurt so much to walk away from a show.¡±


    ¡°So they say.¡± She smiled at me and then stifled a yawn. ¡°How was your day?¡±


    ¡°Agony, waiting for you,¡± I replied, shifting to put my arm around her shoulder. With my other hand, I grabbed her suitcase, dragging it behind us as we walked down the hall to the dorms. ¡°I pretended to work all day.¡±


    ¡°Which you can do, being headmaster,¡± she teased me ¡°Did you get any groupie new kids?¡±


    ¡°Yes, unfortunately. I¡¯m going to start wearing a disguise.¡±


    Amy shrugged, as we reached her new dorm room. I reached into my pocket for the keys that I had picked up earlier that day.


    ¡°I was like that.¡±


    ¡°What? No you weren¡¯t!¡± I unlocked her door and pulled in her suitcase for her.


    Her dorm room looked just like all the others, with the small rehearsal room, the mirrors and lights, as well as the fluffy bed and minuscule bathroom. But somehow, I knew Amy would make it her own. I also knew I¡¯d be spending a lot of time on that bed.


    My heart skipped a beat at the thought of it, as I watched her close the door.


    She looked taller, and older, even though it had only been a few months. She had gone out in the world, experienced things, learned to be independent, and it had aged her. And I liked it.


    ¡°I have to take a shower. I feel disgusting,¡± she said, as she locked the door.


    A devilish smile came over my features. ¡°Can I join you?¡±

 Page 4

    Slowly she moved forward, took my hand and led me towards the bathroom.


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that,¡± she said.


    I needed no more prompting. It was going to be a good evening. At least until I transformed. But whatever hurdles came our way in the future, I knew that Amy and I would weather them. Because no matter what, I couldn¡¯t live without her.


    Chapter 3: Amy


    For some reason, I was nervous about going to see my father, which was strange. I had missed him so much and whenever I was homesick, he was just a phone call away. Sometimes that meant he growled at me from the kitchen phone and told me he was working, but it was basically the same thing. But today, as I put my hair up and put on a nice skirt, I felt nervous.


    Maybe it''s because now I felt truly like a grown-up. I was living away from home, now in my second year, and it was unlikely I would ever move back home. I was taking him to a fancy restaurant with my own money, which made me feel even more like a grown-up.


    Or maybe it''s because Liam was coming with me. They had met before, of course, but this felt like a real adult thing, with the two most important men in my life.


    "Have you told him about Sarah yet?" Liam asked, as we met in the lobby.


    I grinned. "No. He thinks Sarah is the most annoying thing on the planet. I mean, he doesn''t hate her or anything, but when I lived at home, I was always talking about her. Sarah says this, Sarah says that. Because Sarah''s awesome. But he thought she was a bad influence on me."


    "Well, then he must think I''m the worst influence in the world for you.¡± Liam grinned as he held the door open for me.


    "I think he likes you, mostly," I replied as we walked out into the warm September sun.


    "Are you going to audition for the year-end show?" he asked me, changing the subject.


    I shrugged, giving him a mischievous smile. "Depends. Are you on the casting panel? Also, isn''t it a musical?"


    "Right, but it''s not a strong musical. We revised half the songs and made them lines. And no, it''s completely impartial... not that I think that should impair you in any way."


    "We''ll see then."


    The restaurant was a short walk away, a place that I considered fancy, especially on a modest theater salary, even with the school allowance. It had been part of my scholarship, and I was grateful for it. However, you grow up fast when you grow up poor, and money worries were a very real concern for me. When school was over, if I didn''t get a show or a role somewhere, I had no idea what I was going to do.


    My father was already inside, having gotten a table for three. He was reading the menu, no doubt criticizing it to no end, and didn¡¯t notice us until we were practically on top of him.


    ¡°Amy!¡± He threw his arms around me, giving me a giant hug. I hugged him back, beaming. I had missed him more than I realized. ¡°And Liam, good to see you.¡± He reached out to shake Liam¡¯s hand.


    ¡°You too, sir,¡± Liam said, even though I knew they had seen each other all summer. But they had seen each other in the form of Headmaster and Chef, not as potential future in-laws.


    We sat, opening our menus as Dad peppered me with questions.


    ¡°How are you feeling, Amy?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I replied, trying not to roll my eyes. It was his daily question and I was surprised he went this long without asking it.


    ¡°Is everything okay with your medications? Do you need any refills? Don¡¯t forget you have an appointment with Doctor Zed on the 18th at¡­¡±


    ¡°Dad, I know.¡± I smiled at him. ¡°I have it written down. And everything is fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    He relaxed a bit, giving me a sad smile. ¡°Sorry, I guess I¡¯m not used to the fact that you are all grown up. You look just like your mother, you know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to see a photo of Amy¡¯s mother,¡± Liam broke in. ¡°Do you happen to have one?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± My father reached into his pocket to get his wallet.


    Liam winked at me and I grinned back at him, grateful that he was changing the subject. Dad passed over a dog-eared photograph that I knew like that back of my own hand. My mother was standing in a field of flowers, grinning at the camera, in a yellow sundress. She must have been my age, or just a little bit older. My parents had a true love story, meeting in high school and getting married soon after. It should have been an epic tale, one they could tell their grandchildren sitting around the fire. Instead, not too soon after their wedding, they got in a car crash and my mother had needed a blood transfusion. Little did they know that the transfusion contained infected blood.


    ¡°She¡¯s beautiful,¡± Liam said, passing the photo back. ¡°You are a lucky man, sir, to have such a beautiful wife and daughter.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Dad looked down at his menu again, to avoid emotion, and I glanced at mine for the first real time.


    My stomach was growling and I was starving, although what I actually craved was a home-cooked meal. I wished we had just gone over to Dad¡¯s house for lunch. After months on the road, something simple would have been nice. But I wanted to take him out, and it was the first time in my life I had been able to afford to.


    ¡°Hey, Dad, guess what?¡± I asked, procrastinating from choosing a menu item. ¡°Sarah got into grad school at Leopard. She¡¯s moving here next week.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He glanced from me to Liam. ¡°And was that an¡­ assisted application?¡±


    Liam shook his head. ¡°No, sir. The applications are blind. We don¡¯t have any information from admissions until we select them. Amy¡¯s friend Sarah is a very talented young lady and it¡¯ll be wonderful to have her.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know all about Sarah.¡± He gave me a smile. ¡°You must be happy.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait!¡± I exclaimed, unable to stop myself.


    Dad opened his mouth to say something, and then coughed, bringing his napkin to his mouth.


    ¡°Father, are you ok?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. A summer cold. Shall we order before the waitress has us for dinner?¡±


    I chuckled, glancing over my menu at our waitress, who did look quite capable of eating us, especially if we didn¡¯t order something soon. I felt comfortable and relaxed, surrounded by my favorite people in the town I had grown up in. The town and people that had made my dreams come true. It was certainly good to be home.


    The day of Sarah¡¯s arrival, I was practically floating. Because she was coming from across the ocean, she missed the normal new student orientation. Liam had given me the master keys and told me it was my job to make sure she had a proper orientation. More than happy to volunteer, I had broken into her dorm room and adorned it with fifteen movie star posters of actors who we both loved. A few years ago, Liam¡¯s face would have been on that wall too. Despite me thinking that he seemed pretty self-absorbed in his interviews, we were both dazzled by his good looks and his talent. We had once spent hours pouring over his acting style, line by line, dissecting every movement. Now, of course, I thought my obsession had been a little strange, although Liam had laughed when I told him.


    ¡°Do you want me to maybe autograph a poster for you?¡± he asked.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°That¡¯s ok, Mr. Big Shot,¡± I said, kissing him on the cheek. ¡°Sarah knows how to not be a fan girl.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± he replied, shooing me out of his office. ¡°Now, go, I have work to do.¡±


    Anticipation filled me as I waited at the airport, watching people stream off the plane she had been on. For years, I had been the girl whose best friend was an ocean away, never able to come to events or birthday parties. If I wanted advice, I couldn¡¯t just wander over to her house and try on her clothes. But now, Sarah and I would be merely 2 doors apart.


    I recognized her as soon as she stepped off the plane. Sarah was hard to miss. She was a mix of several different races, and all of them blended together to make her absolutely stunning. ¡°Exotique¡± is what they called her, and I didn¡¯t disagree. She had her hair dyed jet black, and it was gelled into spikes that fell across her eyes, perfectly done even after a transatlantic flight. She had at least seven piercings in each ear, as well as a few in her actual face. She was tall, and not quite lithe, but nowhere near fat either. I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.


    ¡°Sarah!¡± I cried, waving my arms.


    She turned her head to see me and burst into a grin. ¡°AMY!¡±


    She hurtled herself through the lineup, dropping her bag and throwing her arms around me. I couldn¡¯t believe that she was actually here, that we were actually separated only by air molecules rather than computer screens and an ocean.


    ¡°You¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°I am!¡± She finally pulled off me. ¡°Oh my God, you¡¯re beautiful in person.¡±


    ¡°So are you!¡± I said, and then nodded to her bag. ¡°You should probably pick that up. Unattended baggage in the airport and all.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± She turned back to grab it, giving me the view of the back of her outfit. It was mesh black over black, revealing a top covered by ripped nylon. Only Sarah would have the courage to wear something like that, and she looked absolutely fantastic in it. ¡°So, where are we going? Do you have a car? Is Liam here?¡±


    ¡°Um, to school, no and no,¡± I answered all of her questions at once. ¡°I was just planning on taking a cab.¡±


    ¡°Liam doesn¡¯t send you in a limo?¡± she teased me as we made our way towards the exit.


    I laughed. ¡°Liam doesn¡¯t even own a limo.¡±


    ¡°What about you? You¡¯re a big superstar now! You should have your own limo.¡±


    ¡°Hardly.¡± I shook my head, grinning at her as I raised my arms to hail a cab. One pulled up on the curb, and Sarah and I tumbled in. I gave directions to the driver and then settled back.


    ¡°How was your flight? Everything ok?¡±


    ¡°Fine. I met a cute boy on it, and I told him everything about my life.¡±


    ¡°And what did he say?¡±

 Page 5

    ¡°He said I was weird and ignored me for the next 5 hours.¡±


    I laughed. Sarah never cared what other people thought of her, and I was sure that was what made her so successful as an actor. She had a confidence I never had. She never second-guessed herself, or made a plan B, C and D. If she wanted something, she went for it, like she deserved it, and it worked well for her.


    I pointed out a few landmarks as we got closer to the school. I promised to take her on a tour of the best places to eat and shop once we were settled in. When the cab pulled up in front of Leopard Academy, we got out, holding an arm over our heads to try and stop the light rain from soaking us through. Inside, Sarah looked around in awe.


    ¡°Wow. It¡¯s also more beautiful in person. Where¡¯s Liam?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll meet him later. And also, you¡¯ve seen this before,¡± I said, steering her down the right hallway to the dorms. ¡°Remember? That night I took you on a webcam tour and we stumbled upon Liam?¡±


    ¡°Right. The beginning of your torrid love affair,¡± she teased me.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Sure, you could say that.¡±


    ¡°It does look different though.¡±


    ¡°Well, that door has been repainted,¡± I pointed out, and then, on a whim, twisted the knob. It opened and we both stuck our heads inside the Red Theater.


    ¡°This is where we did Beauty and the Beast. This is where it all went down.¡±


    Of course, I had told Sarah everything. There were three late night calls in a row, the first two with her sitting there bewildered, asking if I was on drugs. But by the third call, when I was in tears, after Porsche¡¯s death, she finally believed me. Vampires, witches, Shields and werewolves all existed, even if we didn¡¯t want them to. I thought Sarah was brave for still applying, despite it all. But looking at her, with her piercings and jet black hair, maybe she thought she would fit right in to this evil world that was brewing in Leopard Academy.


    We were almost at the dorms when I stopped, patting my pockets in disbelief.


    ¡°Ah, no,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I think you might get your wish to meet Liam sooner rather than later.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Her eyes lit up.


    ¡°Because I seem to have lost your room key. We could go to the Don, but they would just call Liam anyway since he has the spares. Come on.¡±


    ¡°Can I leave this here?¡± she pleaded with me, indicating her heavy bag.


    I shrugged. ¡°Sure. It¡¯s pretty safe around here.¡±


    Sarah left her bag leaning up against the wall and then followed me back down the winding hallway to Liam¡¯s office.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. I¡¯m an idiot,¡± I apologized to her. ¡°You¡¯re exhausted and probably just want to sleep after a transatlantic flight.¡±


    ¡°What do you think I did for the 5 hours the cute boy ignored me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Right¡­ Here we are.¡± I walked into Liam¡¯s outer office, Sarah in tow. I nodded to the secretary, who had long stopped trying to get me to wait, and knocked on Liam¡¯s door twice and then walked in.


    He was on the phone, his elbows on the desk as he listened with a bored expression to whoever was on the other end. Seeing me, he gave me a smile and held up two fingers. I nodded, leaning up against the wall, and turned my head to Sarah.


    ¡°Uh¡­ huh¡­ huh¡­ Yes, alright, I¡¯ll do that. Thank you for the call.¡± Liam finally hung up and turned his attention to us. ¡°Amy?¡±


    ¡°Hey. I lost Sarah¡¯s key because I¡¯m dumb. You have a spare, right? And uh¡­ This is Sarah, by the way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Liam extended his hand across the desk, standing up. Sarah reached to shake it. Their hands met and I saw an odd expression cross Liam¡¯s face, just for a fraction of a second. And then the smile returned.


    ¡°Sarah, how nice to finally meet you. Your application was stunning.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, too,¡± she replied. ¡°You¡¯re stunning!¡±


    I choked.


    ¡°Sarah!¡±


    But Liam only grinned as he came out from behind the desk and opened a cabinet on the wall, which had several keys hanging inside of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Amy, that¡¯s the least harmful thing I¡¯ve heard this term. It¡¯s like the admission office purposely found people who were my fans. It¡¯s worse this year than ever before.¡±


    ¡°Well, we did make a huge splash with Beauty and the Beast,¡± I pointed out. ¡°If anyone had forgotten about you, it kind of brought you back to fame. You think I should watch my back in the hall?¡±


    ¡°No more than usual.¡± He winked at me, handing me a master key for the dorms on our floor. ¡°You can use that for now until we can get a proper one cut for you. Maybe Sarah should hold it.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m responsible.¡±


    ¡°Indeed you are.¡± He grinned at me. ¡°I¡¯ll see you at dinner. Around 5¡¯ish?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek. He turned, a mischievous grin on his face, and kissed me on the lips.


    I blushed, lowering back down from my tip toes. ¡°See you later.¡±


    ¡°Bye girls,¡± he said, returning to his desk.


    Grabbing Sarah¡¯s wrist and applying a little force, I dragged her from the room. She could barely contain herself.


    ¡°That was awesome!¡± she exclaimed, as soon as we were in the hallway.


    ¡°He¡¯s not that cool,¡± I replied. ¡°He leaves towels on the floor after the shower and plates of food lying around. He also forgets to pick up lettuce every time he grocery shops.¡±


    ¡°Can I join you two on your dinner date? I don¡¯t mind being a third wheel!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I giggled, shaking my head. ¡°But if you unpack fast enough, I¡¯ll take you out shopping. There¡¯s a bunch of stuff you need to see that they only sell around here. Or we can go to a movie tonight. After dark. After Liam¡­ ya know.¡±


    She nodded, grabbing her suitcase again as I fit the key in the lock, and swung open her door. Identical to mine, with the makeup mirror and small dance floor, Sarah gasped.


    ¡°This is going to be amazing!¡±


    I watched my best friend explore her room. I felt ecstatic. The final piece of the puzzle was in place. I was finally home.


    Chapter 4: Liam


    I had thought that I felt something odd when I shook Sarah¡¯s hand, but I couldn¡¯t be one hundred percent sure. Whatever it was, it was weak, untrained and unfocused. Judging by the way she dressed and what seemed like a strategic placing of piercings, I wondered if she was a witch, untrained and unknown. Witches were a lot more frequent than people realized, their bloodlines and powers easily transferred to other bodies. There had been fifteen original Witch families when they came into power nearly 2000 years ago, and God knows how many descendants since then.


    I didn¡¯t think this girl was out to do me any harm, however. Amy had known her half her life, and although she knew all about me and my kind, thanks to Amy, she had never been curious. Amy had told me she was mostly disbelieving, and it had taken a lot of convincing, so unless the girl was an actress all the time, even to her best friend, then she wasn¡¯t aware she was a witch. We had a few of them at the school, diluted bloodlines of pupils who weren¡¯t even aware of it. There was one in second grade, training to be a dancer, who didn¡¯t know it was her powers that were making her jump higher than any of the other kids in her class. I didn¡¯t feel the need to tell her. If the little girl could go through life blissfully unaware of a mythical existence, it would probably be for the better.


    And so I forgot all about it, until the first week of classes. One of my dance teachers called me at 6 am, just as I was coming out of transformation, and begged me for a sick day. Without a substitute at the last minute, I moved some meetings around to be available to teach. It was an open dance class, meant for senior non-dancers who were taking it as part of a performance major. Amy and Sarah were both a part of the class, and when I texted my girlfriend in the morning, she texted back a smiley face and exclamation marks. Minutes later, a picture text arrived.


    Opening it, my eyes nearly fell out of my head. It was Amy, clearly taken just a few seconds ago. She was wearing a dance leotard that I knew was not her own, fashionably shredded in the back, her hand on her hip and her body arched. She had clearly run next door to Sarah¡¯s room, not that I was complaining. She looked stunning, every curve emphasized. Managing to pick my jaw off the ground, I sent her a quick message.


    What would you wear if I wasn¡¯t teaching?


    A few minutes passed and then my phone beeped again. Amy in an oversized tee-shirt that came down to her knees.


    I laughed, sending her back Love you. Despite barely returning to my human form, she always knew how to make me feel wonderful.


    The dance class was the last class of the day, and with winter coming, darkness fell early. I had already planned to end the class fifteen minutes early, just in case I needed extra time to get out safely. But, as the day went on, the sun became obscured by rain clouds and the day grew grey and depressing. While it wasn¡¯t true darkness my transformation would still be on time, as predicted. I always found dark days harder to deal with. I could often feel the twitch of the fangs in my mouth or the faint lust for blood. Nothing was terribly distracting, but it was there all day and it started to wear on me by day¡¯s end.


    When the time came, I made my way to the dance studio, already cursing the offending teacher for being late. I could dance, but it was more Broadway style than proper ballet. She had sent me a lesson plan that would be a group dance scene for Phantom of the Opera that everyone should know, whether they were cast as a lead or a chorus member. So I decided to show a video on the projector for the class.


    Amy and Sarah were at the front, Amy in Sarah¡¯s leotard. I couldn¡¯t drag my eyes away from her, and I knew I had to. Not that it was a secret anymore that we were together, but I still wanted to remain professional. I could smell her infected blood and it made me feel calm, the small cravings almost disappearing.

 Page 6

    ¡°Right. So Miss Nailer isn¡¯t here today. She¡¯s got a touch of a stomach bug, so I¡¯m taking over. We¡¯ll keep this relatively short and sweet.¡± I looked out over the students as they gathered around the projector. ¡°This is going to be the Act 1 finale for Phantom of the Opera, which, for those of you living under a rock, is the year end show. It¡¯s Masquerade, and you¡¯re at a grand ball. You¡¯re all going to be in it, presumably, even if you are cast as a lead, so there¡¯s no reason not to learn it. I¡¯m going to play it for you twice and then we¡¯ll start going over it.¡±


    I pressed play and let them watch, while I floated to the back of the class, trying to stop my fangs from twitching. One of the advantages of being immortal was that I didn¡¯t have to take time to warm up and stretch. My muscles were always taut and ready to go.


    I quite liked the choreography actually. I was a big fan of theater, but also a fan of modernity, and Miss Nailer had incorporated hip-hop and dance moves into it. It might make a few old people uncomfortable in their seats, but theater wasn¡¯t for rich old fogies anymore.


    Watching myself in the mirror, I moved through the steps that I remembered, my muscles snapping in perfect rhythm. Doing West End shows were some of the greatest memories I had of my career. When Amy had left to tour with Gatsby, I was almost jealous. It was a part of my life I would likely never have again, at least not for one hundred years, when everyone forgot my name and face. But she, she was just beginning, just starting to find out the real thrills of theater.


    Dancing too, reminded me of Porsche, and I stopped before the memories got too intense. My beautiful ballerina, who would have probably stepped in to sub this dance class herself, was gone, and I had to stop thinking about her. A Shield would be so useful on a grey overcast day like this.


    The class finished the video and clustered behind me, expecting me to lead them through the steps now. I could see Amy on my right side, her hair pulled up. She truly was the most stunning person in the room, her cheek bones angular and her eyes wide and full of emotions. I saw beautiful people on a regular basis, but the more I got to know Amy, the more I was attracted to her.


    ¡°Are we ready? One, two, three, four¡­¡± I counted them off and then we began.


    For a group of non-dancers, they picked it up pretty fast. Mind you, it wasn¡¯t complicated. It was meant to be taught to almost everybody. They ran into problems, however, during an eight step process when they had to partner up with each other and spin. After 3 failed attempts, I stopped them. Not wanting to play favorites, I called upon Sarah to join me at the front.


    ¡°Pay attention, because this is all we have time for. It¡¯s like this. One, two, three¡­¡± The second my hand connected with Sarah¡¯s waist, I felt it again, the jolt that I had noticed in my office. A rush of calm washed over me, and I took a step back, shocked. What the hell was going on with this girl?


    ¡°Liam?¡± Amy asked, taking a step forward.


    I shook myself. ¡°Sorry, stumbled. Let¡¯s try it again.¡±


    There was certainly something happening with Sarah, although I couldn¡¯t figure out what it is. Perhaps the thoughts of that distracted me, because by the end of the class, despite the fact that darkness was drawing close, I felt better.


    I ended the class, congratulating them on their effort, and released them. I glanced at my watch. If I was right, I had about 20 minutes to get to the cellar. I could stay out another hour, technically, before anything got bad, but I didn¡¯t want to take any chances.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Amy asked me, as she walked me to the door.


    I nodded. ¡°Sure. Just days like this are always bad. Will you be alright tonight?¡±


    She grabbed my hand as we walked the short distance down the hallway.


    ¡°Yeah. Sarah hasn¡¯t fully unpacked yet, because she¡¯s lazy, so I¡¯m probably just going to hang out with her. I¡¯ll text you later.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to have breakfast in the morning?¡± I asked, not so eager to be parted from her. ¡°We haven¡¯t had much time together and there are things we need to¡­ discuss.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± She nodded, sharing my thoughts of Selene. ¡°8am?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡± I kissed her full on the mouth, unable to hold back.


    She relaxed into my grasp, moaning a bit. ¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± she whispered in my ear, and then turned, heading back to the studio to change.


    I watched her until she disappeared from sight. Forcing myself to turn around and head down to the basement, I glanced at my watch and counted the hours until I would see her again.


    I was pacing the basement, fighting bloodlust and the chains when I heard the door creak open above me. After four years of being a vampire, I had learned how to control my nightly cravings to the point where I could think rationally. I could even do a little bit of work. The pain was still terrible, especially at the start and the end, and some nights I cried so much I felt like I would melt. Some nights, I couldn¡¯t deal with this tragedy that had befallen me. But since being with Amy, the world seemed like a brighter place. I still locked myself up, mostly on my own now, not trusting myself to be out and about with humans at night. But Peter, my grandfather and the former headmaster of the school, often came to visit at night, and he was safe to do so.


    ¡°Peter?¡± I called up the stairs, thinking it was him. My vampire ears picked up not one but two sets of footsteps. I tensed.


    ¡°It¡¯s me. Or... us,¡± Amy said, appearing at the top of the stairs, her hand in Sarah¡¯s. She stopped, waiting for me to tell them to approach. Amy¡¯s blood didn¡¯t tempt me, and she knew she was safe, but I guessed she was worried for Sarah¡¯s sake.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked. Even if Sarah knew of my existence as this monster, it didn¡¯t mean that she needed to see it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was my idea,¡± Sarah spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ we were unpacking my luggage and I found something weird in it. Something I didn¡¯t put in it myself. And I thought, with all the strange stuff that happens in this school, you should know about it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I nodded for them to approach.


    Sarah clearly had no regard for her own safety and moved ahead of Amy, holding out a scrap of paper to my chained hands. I drew back, instantly, and looked to Amy.


    ¡°Sarah, stay back,¡± Amy said, reaching for her friend.


    Sarah apparently had the ears of a brick wall and shoved the paper into my hand. I jolted and my fangs moved back in my mouth half a centimeter, causing me to wince in pain. Sarah jumped back, looking from me to Amy in alarm.


    ¡°Did I hurt him?¡±


    She didn¡¯t look afraid of me, but I suppose when you modified yourself to look like a creature of the night, as Sarah did, a real one didn¡¯t bother her.


    Amy shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­ Liam?¡±


    I turned the paper over in my hand. On it was a round three dimensional circle, drawn in red marker, with two lines vertically down it and a hand etched in between them. My eyebrows shot up as things began to make sense, even with my muddled brain.


    ¡°Sarah, did you leave your luggage alone at any time?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah. When Amy and I left it outside my room to come get the key from you.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I shook my head, regarding the paper in my hand. ¡°This is bizarre. Or impossible.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Now Amy was on edge, looking from me to Sarah. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    I looked up, reaching out to Sarah. ¡°Take my hand.¡±


    ¡°Liam!¡± Amy cried, knowing that I couldn¡¯t often control myself around humans.


    Sarah looked at my contorted face without fear, and put her palm firmly in mine. I hissed in pain, but held her gaze, baring my fangs. I could feel them slowly, receding. Amy gasped.


    ¡°Oh my God. Is she¡­ are you?¡±


    ¡°This is the Shield symbol,¡± I said, looking right into Sarah¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did you know anything about this?¡±


    ¡°A Shield? Like Porsche, the ballerina?¡±


    Her response told me she was as completely baffled by the possibility as I was.


    ¡°Yes, like Porsche. The Shields must know of your existence, although they don¡¯t often make themselves known until it needs to happen. Like now, because you¡¯re hanging out with a vampire.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Amy demanded. ¡°How can she be a Shield? Is she related to Porsche?¡±


    I shrugged. Aside from being tall, the two girls didn¡¯t have anything in common.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. The Camerons and the McIntoshes have identified their active Shield. But that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t be an inactive one, one who¡¯s not really powerful, but just has it in their blood. There¡¯s no¡­ rhyme or reason for the universe choosing a new Shield in the bloodline. They can be sisters, daughter or forth cousins once removed. There¡¯s just only one in a bloodline. And as far as I know, the De Ritters have not yet identified their active shield.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d tell us,¡± Amy said, ¡°seeing as they are supposed to be helping us kill Selene. Cooperating and all.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°If you can call it that. They want Selene dead and then they never want to talk to me again, even if our interests align. Porsche working with me so closely was a blasphemy, remember? She was excommunicated by her community. Even if we are working for a common goal, they wouldn¡¯t want Sarah actually befriending us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit late for that.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyes were sparkling.


    I could tell she thought this was the greatest thing to ever happen to her. It wasn¡¯t in my heart to tell her that it was going to likely be a terrible thing.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re the active De Ritter Shield. I know what that blood felt like and it was¡­ more powerful.¡± Amy gave me a sympathetic smile as I spoke. ¡°But I do think you should be looking into your history, your genealogy.¡±

 Page 7

    Sarah nodded and I reached my hand out.


    ¡°Would you¡­ would you mind?¡± I know my hand was trembling, but it had been so long since I had relief from this pain.


    She took my hand again, holding on tight as my fangs slowly sunk back into my mouth. I heaved a huge sigh.


    ¡°Do you want me to unlock you?¡± Amy asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°No. No offense, my dear.¡± I smiled at Sarah. ¡°But the last Shield we had could affect a whole room. For now, it¡¯s only your touch that slowly takes away my powers. Thank you.¡± I pulled back. ¡°But Sarah¡­ don¡¯t feel like you have to get involved in any of this. It¡¯s not a good life, you can ask Amy. This isn¡¯t all fun and games. There¡¯s a lot of danger and pain involved in this.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding?¡± Sarah exclaimed. ¡°Look, Mister, I don¡¯t know who you think you are, but Amy¡¯s my best friend in the whole world. So if she needs my help, you can bet your life, immortal or not, that I¡¯m going to be there for her.¡±


    Amy beamed at Sarah, and I could see the love and loyalty between the two girls clear as day.


    ¡°Well then, we have a lot to discuss,¡± I said. ¡°Please, have a seat.¡±


    Chapter 5: Amy


    ¡°This one.¡± Sarah pointed to one name in an endless list of names on what seemed like an endless stack of papers. We were lying on her bed, going through print-outs of her entire genealogy. There was a place outside of town that took DNA samples and cross-referenced it with their database. It was incredibly pricey, and to have it cross-referenced with other databases was even more expensive. But Liam had paid for it all, fast tracking it to the front of the line with another fee. When I saw the four figure bill, I had nearly passed out, but he assured me it was fine.


    ¡°We need to know who she is before they do,¡± Liam had told me, as he pocketed the receipt.


    ¡°Is there a whole science to this?¡± I had asked, watching as they put Sarah¡¯s blood sample in a bag and seal it shut. ¡°Like, if she¡¯s not the active Shield¡­ is there a possibility she can become one?¡±


    Liam shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s a possibility she can hone her powers, and if they can be focused well, it could be an indicator that she¡¯s next in line. But there¡¯s nothing definite.¡±


    ¡°And if she¡¯s not an active Shield?¡± I asked, eagerly. ¡°How strong could she be?¡±


    Liam¡¯s face darkened as he held the door open for me and we left the medical building.


    ¡°She will never be Porsche, Amy. Even if she¡¯s active, Porsche was dying, remember? And in a Shield¡¯s weakness, in their utter mortality, comes strength. I doubt, even at her most powerful, Sarah could help us against Selene.¡±


    ¡°But she wants to try.¡± I protested. ¡°She wants to try, for us.¡±


    ¡°And so she shall,¡± Liam said, as we got in the car. ¡°But let¡¯s see what the results say first.¡±


    Now, with the results, Sarah and I were trying to make sense of any of the hundreds of names and lines.


    ¡°Cameron?¡± I said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a whole different bloodline.¡±


    ¡°But look at the date. This guy was born in 1325. Records sucked back then.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°So it needs to be more recent than that, if we want to know for sure.¡±


    ¡°Problem is Cameron and McIntosh are common names. De Ritter, not so much, but there¡¯s nothing even remotely close here.¡±


    ¡°Sarah,¡± I said, suddenly noticing the top of her head. We have known each other for years, but I had never seen her hair undyed. Against her dusty white skin, Sarah¡¯s jet black hair stood out, but as I noticed the top of her head, I realized her natural color wasn¡¯t even close. ¡°If I shaved you bald, what color would your hair grow back in?¡±


    She giggled. ¡°You¡¯d never know, because I¡¯d kill you before then. But your ghost might learn that it¡¯s a fire engine red. Horrible color. You know the kids at school used to tell me that gingers had no soul? Are ghosts real?¡±


    I choked, ignoring her question. ¡°Your hair is red?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Why? You hate gingers too?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I examined her roots. ¡°The Shields had red hair. I remember at Porsche¡¯s funeral, all of them standing together, it was creepy.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± She scrunched up her face, trying to come to the same conclusion I did. ¡°It¡¯s not some long lost ancestor that only appeared once.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I sat up, looking at the time. ¡°Hey, I have to go.¡±


    ¡°Noooo,¡± she howled, grabbing onto my wrist.


    It made me grin. I didn¡¯t really want to go, but I had booked time in the library to work with some of the original plays Liam had stocked in the archives. I wasn¡¯t sure what my graduate thesis was going to be yet, but it had something to do with those old plays, written on parchment that had drawn me in with their smells, the crinkles of the paper, the running ink. But I was also so glad to have her here: to finally have a best friend beside me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back later. Liam and I are going to have an early dinner and then you and I can do whatever.¡±


    ¡°Is that weird?¡± she asked, rolling over and making several papers fall off the bed.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Never being able to spend the evening with him? Or the night for that matter? I mean, don¡¯t you want to?¡±


    I pulled on my shoes as we talked, tying the laces.


    ¡°Of course I want to. But what exactly can I do about it?¡±


    ¡°Well.¡± She thought, as she scraped her hair into a tiny ponytail. ¡°Can¡¯t Shields make a vampire human?¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Sure. Porsche could have if she hung onto Liam. But what were we supposed to do, ask her to hang on and close her eyes while we got hot and heavy?¡±


    ¡°Can he catch¡­¡± she trailed off, and I knew she was referring to my disease; the bane of my existence. Well managed, but looming; one day the HIV would turn to AIDS and I¡¯d have a whole different set of problems on my hands.


    ¡°No, which I guess is the only good thing about this.¡± I laughed, despite myself. ¡°To have a normal relationship, I have to be sleeping with a vampire.¡±


    Her face turned sympathetic. ¡°Amy, I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I know. It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know, something to think about. Any idea what you¡¯re going to do your senior project on?¡±


    ¡°Probably alternative theater. We can use any resources the school has, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure. It¡¯s a new program, so we pretty much have free reign.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she said, and then laughed. ¡°So¡­ it would be in extremely bad taste to do a mimed emo version of Dracula?¡±


    That made me laugh as well as I headed out the door. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Liam could always mime you a zero as your grade then.¡±


    My mood lightened from earlier, I shut the door behind me, shoved my hands in my pockets and headed towards the library.


    The library had its own building, isolated from the rest of the campus. It was the oldest building on campus, and the tunnel connecting it was only recently built. Taking my ID badge out, I swiped it at the doors to get through.


    Since school was just starting, the tunnel was empty, no one wanting to start their studying before they had to.


    I moved quickly, wanting to make my scheduled time, my footsteps echoing through the concrete. One of the lights was flickering and I was making a mental note to tell Liam to get it fixed when I realized that there was another set of footsteps, echoing mine.


    I turned around, a smile on my face to greet whoever was making the trek to the library with me. But there was no one there.


    I stopped moving and the sound of footsteps stopped. Shaking my head, I started to walk again, telling myself I was going crazy.


    But the footsteps were now coming from behind me. They clearly were not mine, out of sync and heavier. I could see no shadows and yet I knew someone was there.


    I quickened my pace, trying to hurry to the library, where the friendly librarians and cozy atmosphere would chase away any cobwebs. But before I could reach the double doors at the end of the wall, I heard a very timid voice call out, ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    I turned around and found an unfamiliar face. Probably 16 or 17, tall and lanky, with shaggy brown hair, the boy staring back at me was not a student that I knew. It¡¯s possible that he was new, but there was something about his stance, his dark state of dress, the paleness of his face that told me he was not. All in black, he had safety pins holding his pants together, and a necklace made of an old bike chain. The rings on his fingers were enormous, and one of his ears was pierced at least 10 times.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked, trying not to panic. Although he was lean, and I might be able to outrun him. I could see power resting in those limbs.


    ¡°Are you Amy?¡±


    This was getting creepier and creepier, but I nodded, standing up straight.


    ¡°Yes. C-can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± He held out his hand.


    Cautiously, I shook it. It was cold as ice, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.


    ¡°You belong to Liam, the headmaster of this school?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it like that, but yes. Liam is my boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°My name is Connor.¡± He dipped his head and held his hand out to the side of the wall. From the shadows emerged a thin, tiny girl dressed in a purple sun dress. She must have been no more than 14 or 15, although the eyes she looked at me with seemed full of wisdom. ¡°This is my wife, Isabelle. We have come to seek your assistance.¡±


    ¡°Your wife?¡± I asked, in disbelief. ¡°Our assistance? What?¡±


    ¡°Amy.¡± He drew closer, lowering his voice. ¡°It is not a secret in the vampire world that you and Liam are formulating a plan.¡±


    I had suspected they were vampires, but this had confirmed it. Despite her appearance, Isabelle must be a lot older than she looked.


    ¡°What plan?¡± I asked cautiously, in case this was a trap.

 Page 8

    ¡°A plan to kill Selene, and free us from this curse,¡± Connor said.


    My shoulders relaxed. ¡°Yes. We are.¡±


    ¡°Then,¡± he said, putting his arm around Isabelle, who had still not said a word. ¡°We would like to offer our assistance.¡±


    I relaxed completely. ¡°Selene is your sire too?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Many years ago, too many to remember. But Isabelle and I are tired of living this vampire life. We have been immortal and lived as immortals should. We have lived under Selene¡¯s thumb, controlling us like puppets. We are now ready to return to a human life, to grow old and have children together.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s controlling you?¡± I asked, surprised.


    Connor looked to his wife, who nodded. ¡°Selene uses all of her vampires to her will.¡±


    ¡°Not Liam!¡± I cried.


    Connor raised an eyebrow. ¡°No? Selene successfully managed to use Liam to lure in the DeRitter Shield, a threat to her immortality.¡±


    My eyes widened as a thousand thoughts swirled in my head. No, it couldn¡¯t be. We were in charge of that plan, we were the ones who made sure¡­


    ¡°No!¡±


    But Connor¡¯s steely gaze told me everything I had believed was wrong. While we thought we had the upper hand, Selene had used it to her advantage. It made me hate her even more.


    ¡°I can take you to Liam,¡± I said, pointing in the direction I had just come. ¡°Come on.¡±


    I took a few steps forward, and they followed, in sync. My mind whirled as I led the way to Liam¡¯s office. I wasn¡¯t sure whether to feel relieved that we were getting help or frightened that these random strangers knew about it.


    The following morning, there was a knock on my door. Looking at the time, I figured it was Sarah wanting to come in and discuss the excitement of the night before. I had brought Connor and Isabelle to Liam, who took one look at them and shut the door behind us. He had asked for privacy, and although the last thing I wanted to do was leave, I let them be. I figured they had a story to tell and feelings to share. Things that I could not yet hope to understand. While he didn¡¯t seem to have known them from before, there was some sort of understanding between them, some sort of vampire link I wasn¡¯t privy to.


    I knew that he would fill me in when he was done, and I went back to my room to wait. I told Sarah the whole story. I never did make it to the library, instead I researched on the Internet until midnight. Exhausted, I fell asleep.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, opening the door and about to turn around and shuffle back to bed. But it wasn¡¯t Liam or Sarah standing there. It was an unfamiliar male, standing at least 6¡¯2¡±, with high cheek bones, and scruffy facial hair. ¡°Can I¡­ help you?¡±


    ¡°Are you Amy?¡±


    ¡°Not again.¡± I buried my head in my hands, holding open the door. ¡°Let me guess. Liam? Selene?¡±


    The vampire¡¯s mouth hung open.


    ¡°How did you know¡­?¡±


    ¡°Experience,¡± I said dryly, reaching for my phone. ¡°Come on in. I¡¯ll call Liam.¡±


    Over the next few days, word spread like wild fire as more and more vampires arrived at the school. For some reason, all of them sought me out first, perhaps afraid to approach the reputation that was Liam. They assured us that our plan to kill Selene was being kept quiet, whispered in underground circles and put in prayers of safety. Some of them were old, some of them brand-new, but all of them had been under Selene¡¯s thumb and were used as puppets by the mother of all vampires. We received vampires with hardened battle weary spirits, and new vampires, afraid and in tears, wanting to get back to their normal lives. Connor and Isabelle were just the beginning of the interesting stories. I talked to vampires that were older than I could ever imagine, vampires who had seen great wars that I read about in history books, and vampires who had met long dead heroes like Shakespeare and Kit Marlow. They had done so many things with their lives, struggling to be normal, to pretend that they hadn¡¯t been cursed.


    But not all of them were old. Some of them were only a few months old, and had met the right person at the right time to turn to for help. One in particular, Nina, was heartbreaking. The gentlest, sweetest girl, Nina worked for a homeless shelter in her human life, showing compassion and kindness to anyone who had come through the doors. She was one of those workers who went the extra mile, always giving money, slipping them an extra bread roll from the soup kitchen, lending them her cell phone to stay in touch with friends and family. After becoming a vampire, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to feed on human blood at any point, or even live animals. She lived on buying raw hamburger meat and squeezing it out, licking the meager remains from a plate. The very thought of it made me gag, but she couldn¡¯t be convinced of anything otherwise. She was tiny and weak. When she came to me, while I was walking to rehearsal, I thought she was going to collapse into my arms. I practically had to carry her to Liam¡¯s office, nearly breaking down the door to beg for assistance. I had no idea what the secretary must have been thinking about what went on behind his doors, but at that point, I was past caring.


    ¡°Can she die?¡± I asked Liam.


    After he had met with her and we were alone. Liam sighed, looking sadly in the direction she had left. ¡°She can¡¯t die, no, but she can fall into an eternal slumber that she can¡¯t be woken from without a proper feeding. She was practically trembling, my heart breaks for her.¡±


    ¡°And this will work?¡± I asked him for the hundredth time. ¡°If we kill Selene, you¡¯ll all be mortal again?¡±


    He put his arm around me. ¡°Yes, Amy, it¡¯ll work.¡±


    ¡°But what about¡­ us?¡± I asked, carefully. ¡°Have you thought about that, about us? About having an¡­ intimate relationship with me, if we¡¯re both human?¡±


    He sighed, running a hand through my hair. ¡°Amy, we have to get over such a hurdle and that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about?¡± He kissed the back of my neck, trailing down my throat. ¡°Perhaps we should take advantage of it now, hmm, while we still can?¡±


    I nearly melted into his arms, as he trailed them down my body. Perhaps we should.


    And so, we became a vampire haven, a safe house, for the broken, tired and damned. None of them stayed at the school at night, except for Nina, so precariously close to death that Liam didn¡¯t want her alone for an instant.


    Since Liam had mostly kept to himself, he knew none of these new vampires, but he welcomed them with open arms.


    ¡°They come to you because you are safe,¡± he told me one night. ¡°Because you don¡¯t tempt them, and they know you are with me. You can¡¯t snap and bite their heads off.¡±


    ¡°Literally,¡± I said, dryly, as we finished lunch in his office. ¡°But what are we going to do with all of them?¡±


    He took a swallow of water, giving me a tight smile.


    ¡°I have a plan, don¡¯t worry. I just need you to be patient with me.¡±


    I nodded, trusting him absolutely. Whatever Liam was planning, I knew that it was going to be good.


    Chapter 6: Liam


    I hadn¡¯t expected such support from others. Mind you, I hadn¡¯t expected that anyone at all would actually know anything about the plan at all, but Connor told me that Amy and I had become a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.


    Of course, there were many vampires who wanted to remain vampires, and would hate us for transforming them back. I could only hope that we could keep ourselves secret and safe long enough to execute the plan, which I had no idea about. Amy, especially lately, was keen to see Selene dead, but I told her time and time again that we wouldn¡¯t execute it until we were ready. While Sarah and Amy tried to find her Shield origins, I paced the corners of my mind, trying desperately to figure out a solution. But it wasn¡¯t until I went to a production meeting for Phantom that things began to be clear to me.


    ¡°We¡¯ve set auditions for next week,¡± Katya announced as she came in and we all settled in. ¡°Full panel of judges, open school auditions.¡±


    ¡°The mass choreography is coming along,¡± Miss Nailer said, back from her sick leave. She was so unlike Porsche, so stiff and rigid, that I felt it hard to draw comparisons to both as dancers. ¡°They¡¯ve all been taught, at least once, so now it¡¯s just a matter of going over them a hundred times. It¡¯s going to be harder especially for non-dancers. But right now, it¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve started production on the sets,¡± Devon volunteered. ¡°The famous chandelier is going to take the most work, and we¡¯ll need two or three, because it goes through a lot.¡±


    I nodded, barely listening. I could disappear for months on end and I knew my team would handle things. They were beyond competent, some of the best in the industry. When I had first come to the school, they had accepted me graciously, despite knowing, loving and working with Peter for many years before. But they had never treated me like a Hollywood actor looking for a job. They had gone about their duties, asking my opinions and sometimes overriding me, but always including me. For the first time in a very long while, life was about being on a team, about working together. It was a change for me, as I was used to being the most important and most catered to person in the room. But as I quickly discovered, it was a change I needed. Without them, this school would have failed long ago and they recognized that. I didn¡¯t know how to teach, I didn¡¯t know how to manage, and I certainly didn¡¯t know how to deal with children. But I did know how to act, and they helped me use that in every aspect of my life. I¡¯d been at the school 4 years now, arriving at 23 and feeling 18 with my lifestyle. Now, I felt I had matured 10 years to my proper age in the short time I was here.


    Except my heart reminded me that I was eternally 23.


    ¡°I¡¯ve finally done the scene breakdown,¡± Katya said, as she passed around thick packages of paper.


    I really didn¡¯t want to be in the meeting. I¡¯d rather be anywhere else but the boardroom, looking at a scene breakdown for a show that was eight months away. My mind began to wander and I wondered if, in eight months, these meetings wouldn¡¯t mean me rushing off into a basement. I wondered if after a late evening meeting, I could take Amy out to dinner, linger in a fancy restaurant, and wander home under the streetlights with her, kiss her under the moonlight and not have to worry about bloodlust, about transformation.

 Page 9

    ¡°I¡¯ve added in something that will make us a bit different than some of the other productions. After Down Once More, the cast of the opera Don Juan will run off stage and into the audience, searching for the Phantom. We will even take some audience members on stage, and enlist them into helping kill the phantom.¡±


    ¡°How about we kill one of them?¡±


    Katya raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Each night, one person we choose will be killed by the Phantom. We can tell them when we take them backstage to costume them. Doesn¡¯t have to be difficult, Phantom can just sweep in and kidnap them away.¡±


    Katya¡¯s eyes lit up, and she made a note in her program. ¡°Yes, I love it! Alright, moving on¡­¡±


    ¡°I have to go.¡± I stood up suddenly, making everyone stare at me. I gathered the scene outline. ¡°Sorry, I have a meeting¡­ another meeting¡­¡± For someone who used to act on a regular basis, I couldn¡¯t come up with a line to save myself this time. ¡°This looks great, Katya. Add in that scene and we¡¯re good to go. Bye!¡±


    I darted out the door, putting my cell phone to my ear.


    ¡°Amy!¡± I said, when she picked up.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I could hear the smile in her voice. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t done for a while. Do you have time to go out?¡±


    ¡°Better. Gather everyone up, I¡¯ve got the plan.¡±


    ¡°Right. Gather everyone where?¡± she asked. ¡°There¡¯s so many of us, Liam. Where¡¯s somewhere where we can all fit in secret?¡±


    I faltered. This is why I needed Amy in my life, to think things through logically when those things were the last things on my mind.


    ¡°In the basement,¡± I said, after a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll be there in 10 minutes. But Amy, keep Sarah separate. She¡¯s my trump card.¡±


    I heard Amy laugh on the other end of the line. ¡°You realize she heard every word of this, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like I have two girlfriends,¡± I replied sarcastically and Sarah jumped in.


    ¡°I¡¯m ok with that!¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°See you soon, girls.¡± I hung up.


    I headed to my office. I unlocked the filing cabinet and pulled out a folder of admission forms and employee forms. Tucking them under my arm, I paused, looking around, and then opened my desk drawer. Inside, under a pencil case and a few CDs, was a Mickey of whisky. I unscrewed it, looking around to make sure the door was close. And then I took a shot and another for courage. Because God knows if I was going to pull this off, I needed courage.


    I screwed the cap back on and made sure that I had all the papers I came for. I shut the door again, locking it behind me, and headed down to the basement.


    Tell Sarah to wait at the emergency exit door until we call for her. And tell her to wear something red. A dress, perhaps.


    Such drama Amy replied, with a smiley face. Perhaps it was a bit of a show, but if I wanted these vampires to get behind the crazy plan in my head, I had to make it spectacular. Maybe I could dazzle them with theatrics and they wouldn¡¯t think too hard about how crazy it was.


    Everyone was gathered in the basement by the time I got down there. I looked in horror at the chains and braces there. The vampires were standing in a circle around it, while Amy stood off to the side, texting on her phone. Giving her a smile, I walked in, clearing my throat.


    ¡°Those are for me,¡± I said, pointing at the chains and braces. ¡°Every night. Like most of you, I have regard for human life and the restraints stop me for wandering the streets in blood lust. My grandfather, Peter, mostly does the honors although occasionally, my love, Amy¡­¡± I gave her a smile, ¡°is here to assist me.¡±


    I was now standing in front of them, and I could feel all eyes on me.


    ¡°As I¡¯m sure all of you have noticed, Amy is human, and her blood is untempting. Amy¡¯s life expectancy¡­¡± I took a breath, looking to her. She gave me the tiniest nod. ¡°Is shortened, and I want nothing more than to live out life with her, to grow old, and eventually, to sleep with her for all eternity. But this curse that Selene has placed on me has taken that from me, and much more. My best friend, Porsche, was murdered at Selene¡¯s hands. I¡¯m sure many of you have other reasons for wanting Selene dead, and I sympathize with you, I do. We all our motivated internally, but we all want to come to the same conclusion. She must die. And that¡¯s why we¡¯ve come here for help. So¡­¡±


    I looked around. Most of them looked young enough. I was concerned about a few of them being able to pull it off. Nina, for instance, could barely walk twenty minutes before needing to rest. And Isabelle didn¡¯t speak a word of English.


    ¡°The school¡¯s year-end show is Phantom of the Opera. Last year, Selene used the chaos of Beauty and the Beast to murder Porsche, who was the De Ritter¡¯s active Shield. And if I¡¯m not following her rules, not following her orders, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll use this year¡¯s chaos to come here and take my life as well. Which is what I want.¡±


    I opened my folder, passing around the forms.


    ¡°But what she won¡¯t know, when she¡¯s sitting in the audience, is that each and every one of you, and hopefully more, will be on stage when she tries that. The stage weapons we use will be real. And the murder of a seemingly random audience member by the Phantom will not be an act at all. Selene will die on stage, murdered by us, in full view of the audience, the last thing she would expect.¡±


    Outrage came from the crowd, as I had expected it would. It was a crazy plan, of course, and about as theatrical as you could expect. For those who were not performers, it must seem beyond insane. They protested, and called out, but I held up my hand for silence.


    ¡°Before you commit, I want to remind you what you¡¯re playing for!¡± I said, and nodded to Amy.


    Amy moved from her spot on the wall to open the door. The light from the emergency exit glowed down into the dark space, and Sarah emerged. Even I was impressed at what she had thrown together. Guessing at what kind of theatrics I wanted, she had donned a long red dress that dipped low and pooled around her feet. I held out my hand and she came to me, a smirk on her face.


    The second she placed her hand in mine, I could feel it. A pain went through my heart as I compared her to Porsche¡¯s strength but I continued my act.


    ¡°Porsche was a rebel Shield, it¡¯s true. Shields are nature¡¯s way of bringing balance to the universe. Porsche¡¯s kind was outraged by her murder, and has agreed, for the first time in history, to collaborate with us to make sure Selene is dead.¡± I took a deep breath, leading Sarah to Nina. ¡°But just in case they change their minds, it¡¯s ok, we have a Shield of our own, a Shield who didn¡¯t even know she existed until she came to me.¡± I placed Sarah¡¯s hands in Nina¡¯s tiny ones.


    The change was almost instant, but for one so tiny and weak as Nina, I had expected that. That¡¯s why I chose her, for the most theatrical value.


    Nina gasped, her eyes opening wide. After a few short gasps, she began to breathe normally again, and I knew even in the back row, they could see the color coming back into her cheeks. She closed her eyes, smiling for the first time since I met her. Sarah seemed receptive to this, giving the tiny vampire a huge smile back. Finally, Nina¡¯s eyes fluttered open and she turned to the small crowd.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    One by one, Sarah walked through the crowd on her own, letting them touch her for themselves. If they had never felt a Shield before, and it was likely they hadn¡¯t, then they would be impressed by her. If they had though, my bluff was called because they would know she was weak.


    Amy came to my side, leaning against my arm as she watched Sarah bring the vampires such joy.


    ¡°Good job,¡± she whispered and kissed me on the cheek. ¡°But next time, choreograph your crowd better. Stage looks messy.¡±


    I laughed, kissing her back. ¡°Aye aye. Maybe that senior thesis should be in directing?¡±


    ¡°Thought about it,¡± she answered. ¡°But I love acting too much.¡±


    ¡°A woman after my own heart,¡± I said, as Sarah connected at last with Connor.


    ¡°It is spectacular,¡± he said, meeting both her eyes as both their hands clasped each other¡¯s. ¡°You truly are quite a remarkable woman.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sarah blushed and I raised an eyebrow. Sarah was not normally a girl to blush. Beside Connor, Isabelle stood up a little straighter.


    ¡°You really think this is going to work?¡± Amy asked.


    I exhaled. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll work,¡± she said, lightly rubbing my back. ¡°It will.¡±


    I nodded and then pulled apart from her as Sarah came back from the throngs of the dead.


    ¡°The forms you have are admission forms. I suggest each of you fill them out, unless you actually have an arts expertise, in which case, you can fill out a staff form. I¡¯ll enroll you or hire you, and you¡¯ll be here the whole time. Selene is smart, and she will be watching, I know she will. However, what I¡¯m counting on is the fact that she¡¯s turned hundreds of vampires, and can¡¯t remember who and what are hers anymore. For some of you, it¡¯s easy, if she¡¯s your grand-sire or farther removed. The others must be more careful. Classes only take place during the day, and if you choose to feed at night, you must leave this town to do so. You will have to be discreet, more discreet than you¡¯ve ever been. And if you find cravings take you, Amy is a wonderful appetite killer. And Sarah can help you.¡±


    With the girls on either side, I looked back at the crowd. They still looked doubtful, but more confident than when I had entered.


    ¡°Ok?¡± I asked, and finally got some positive responses. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do this.¡±


    I handed out pens and let them fill out the forms.


    ¡°What about the actual Shields?¡± Sarah asked, as the three of us formed a huddle.


    I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t trust them. I know they want Selene dead, and I¡¯ll trust that they will do that. So they will be informed of the date and time of the show, and be seated around her to weaken her. Hopefully, it will be enough. And unnoticeable.¡±

 Page 10

    ¡°Won¡¯t that weaken your vampires too?¡± Sarah asked.


    I took a deep breath. ¡°There¡¯s one favor I must ask of them. And you. There¡¯s a spell, called a binding spell. Performed on a vampire, it binds them to a Shield¡¯s chemistry, to their spirit. It can only be done once, and when completed, it makes the vampire resistant to all other types of magic, yet still retains their powers. It¡¯s usually only done by force by vampires who wanted to enslave Shields. Obviously it is very rarely done willingly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s now time to go,¡± I told Amy. ¡°Soon it¡¯ll be sunset and untempting or not, you don¡¯t want to be down here with the rest when that happens. You too, Sarah.¡±


    ¡°But I can get stronger, right?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°I can train.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°You can, of course, you can learn. It¡¯s like a muscle. There are limits for everyone, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve come anywhere near reaching your full potential. Now, girls, I really need you to go.¡±


    ¡°I wish you could come with me,¡± Amy whispered, her breath hot in my ear.


    I almost groaned, wishing we weren¡¯t around so many people so I could respond the way I wanted to. Instead, I kissed her on the mouth, my tongue darting in and out.


    ¡°Me too,¡± I muttered, and then, with all the willpower I had left, pulled away. ¡°Now go.¡±


    Amy took Sarah¡¯s hand, and the two turned to leave. I turned back to the vampires, knowing that the sun would set soon. It was time to get our night started.


    Chapter 7: Amy


    ¡°Is it working?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Liam gritted his teeth, glaring at both of us as if we did something wrong.


    It was sunset, a few days after our group discussion, and we were down in the basement, with Sarah, trying to fight off his transformation. Her hand was wrapped around his left wrist, and my hand was wrapped around his right wrist, staving off temptation with the smell of my untempting blood. He had assured me that between my blood and his control, Sarah wouldn¡¯t be in any danger. Still, watching him fight it, I didn¡¯t believe that.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I looked at my watch, rubbing his back gently as he spasmed in pain. ¡°You usually have fangs by now.¡±


    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s working,¡± he grunted.


    Sarah raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What happened when the other Shield touched you? Porsche?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Liam replied. ¡°Literally, nothing. I stayed human.¡±


    My cell phone rang then, and Liam gave me a look. He was snarly and angry, and I knew that he was trying not to show how much pain he was in. Pulling it out, I saw it was a number I didn¡¯t recognize. Raising my own eyebrows, I pressed talk.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, can I speak to Amy, please?¡±


    ¡°This is she.¡± I wanted to back away to hear better, but I knew I couldn¡¯t leave them alone.


    ¡°Amy, my name is Aphrodite, I¡¯m a producer at Sites TV.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Hi!¡± I said, surprised. I had seen Sites TV a few times, they visited all the hottest spots in various cities around the world. But why in the world would the producer be on the phone with me?


    ¡°We¡¯ve been in talks for a while with Leopard Academy about doing a Site visit, and after we heard your story, we¡¯d love it if you could be the host for this episode.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± I really did back away then, grabbing Sarah and pulling her back as well, to keep her out of danger. This was really my life right now, talking about hosting a TV show while my boyfriend was turning into a vampire. God. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re a great performer, I caught you in Gatsby, and your story as the scholarship winner and as the girlfriend of Liam is quite interesting. I think you¡¯d be perfect.¡±


    ¡°Does Liam know?¡± My eyes went to him as he sank against the wall, his fists balled up.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s surely aware that we will be filming there. I¡¯ll probably have to call to¡­¡±


    ¡°You can talk to him right now!¡± the words flew out of my mouth before I even thought about it. From his place on the wall, Liam gave me a glare. I took the phone off my ear, placing my hand over the mouthpiece. ¡°It¡¯s Sites TV! They want me to host a segment!¡±


    Liam rolled his eyes, and motioned for Sarah to come closer as well. The chains jangling, he took the phone, his eyes relatively clear, and put it to his ear. We placed our hands on him again.


    ¡°Hello?... Yes¡­ Yes, once or twice¡­ urg.¡± He shifted, and reached for Sarah¡¯s hand, placing it on his neck. I gave him a quizzical look, but he shook his head. ¡°Yes, that will be fine¡­ I¡¯m sure she will be¡­ Yes, alright. Have a good day.¡± He snapped the phone off and handed it back to me.


    ¡°Did you know they were considering me to host? Oh my God!¡± I couldn¡¯t contain my excitement and I turned to Sarah, who was grinning at me. ¡°You have to let me interview you! You can be my like student tour guide around the school.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it!¡± She was just as excited. ¡°I love Sites!¡±


    ¡°Ladies.¡± Liam tried to get our attention. ¡°I appreciate your excitement, but I¡¯d like to draw your attention to the situation at hand.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I tried to contain my enthusiasm, taking a big breath. ¡°Focus. Sarah, Focus.¡±


    We lasted about 3 seconds before Sarah burst out talking again. ¡°When is the episode going to air?¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± Liam shook us both off him.


    I noticed that his eyes were perfectly clear and that his fangs had barely come out. Whether he was still feeling pain or not, Sarah was clearly having an effect on him. ¡°Thank you, my dear, but I think both of you need to get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I pulled back. ¡°I¡¯ll see you for breakfast in the morning and we can talk about this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting the hours,¡± Liam replied, with a softness I hadn¡¯t heard in a while. He leaned down to give me a quick kiss and then pulled back before anything could happen. My heart trembled a little, leaving him there all alone, but I knew that it was for the best. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Love you,¡± I said, just as softly, and then took Sarah¡¯s arm, pulling her away. I managed to stay serious until we made it out of the basement and to the top of the stairs. Once the door was closed, I turned to her, excitedly.


    ¡°Oh my God! I¡¯m going to be on TV!¡±


    ¡°This is so exciting!¡± she replied, and then gestured down the stairs. ¡°And did you see what I did? Did you see? He looked great!¡±


    ¡°You did great!¡± I agreed. ¡°I think you¡¯re getting stronger every day!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to be on stage and take down this chick,¡± Sarah exclaimed, as we walked back to the dorms. ¡°Are you ready for the auditions tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Oh God, I¡¯ve barely thought about them. I was just going to do a Beauty monologue and then sing the title song from Phantom. Not very creative, but I don¡¯t really have time to prepare anything else. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got something up my sleeve.¡± She gave me a wicked grin. ¡°Hey, you go on ahead. I¡¯ll meet up with you later.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± I asked, confused. It was late, there were no classes or shows and we were halfway to the dorms.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to meet up with somebody.¡±


    ¡°With who?¡± I demanded, confused.


    ¡°Just with¡­ one of the¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my God!¡± Suddenly everything made sense. ¡°It¡¯s Connor, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re hanging out with Connor! Sarah!¡± That¡¯s why she was stronger, she had been practicing with another vampire. ¡°He¡¯s married, you know.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± She winked at me. ¡°He never says a word about his wife when we hang out.¡±


    ¡°What?! Oh my God!¡± My jaw fell open and before I could say another word, she hurried off down the corridor, leaving me standing alone in shock. My life was continuing to get stranger by the moment.


    The next morning, Liam knocked on my door at 7 am. I wasn¡¯t fully prepared, but I pulled it open anyway. To my surprise, he was standing there with a breakfast tray full of bagels, coffee, omelets, toast and a single rose in a small vase.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him. ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡±


    ¡°Not as much as you deserve,¡± he replied, shutting the door. ¡°Go on, get back in bed. The whole point was breakfast in bed.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm.¡± I returned to the warmth of the sheets.


    He snuggled up beside me, placing the tray on the covers.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t as bad last night, obviously.¡± He poured me a cup of coffee and I took it gratefully. ¡°Sarah is stronger than I anticipated.¡±


    ¡°Want to know why?¡± I said, sipping.


    He gave me an inquisitive look and I filled him in on her whereabouts after we left him.


    ¡°What? With Connor? Doesn¡¯t she know how dangerous that is?¡±


    ¡°Never mind the fact that he¡¯s married,¡± I pointed out. ¡°But that¡¯s Sarah, she¡¯s never let things like rules stand in her way.¡±


    ¡°Might have been good to know before we admitted her to the school,¡± he muttered. ¡°Anyway, which part are you auditioning for?¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡± I shrugged. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t cast me twice in a row for a lead, would they?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an impartial outside panel, so it¡¯s possible.¡± Liam grinned at me. ¡°I got an email from that Sites TV producer this morning.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you remember that!¡± I had been dying to ask him since he knocked on my door.


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°You think being a vampire impairs my memory?¡±


    ¡°I thought you were focused on other things. What did it say?¡±


    ¡°They want to shoot on Thursday, and asked me for a list of places they should visit. You¡¯d host the entire segment, start to end.¡±

 Page 11

    ¡°Thursday?¡± I asked, shocked. ¡°This Thursday?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way TV works,¡± Liam reminded me of his days in Hollywood. ¡°They would tell me things the night before and expect me to be on set the next morning with 24 pages of dialogue memorized.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do¡­ like, a lot of TV though?¡± I questioned. ¡°You did mostly film.¡±


    ¡°Film is even worse.¡± He buttered a bagel and handed it to me. ¡°They give you line changes on set and expect you to be ready in 20 minutes. The day you start doing film, my love, is the day I will get you on anti-anxiety meds.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the vote of confidence.¡± I grinned at him, tearing into the bagel. Despite my hair being a mess and my PJs being overly baggy, I felt so comfortable and wonderful beside Liam. Everything felt so right, being snuggled in bed with him in the early morning. I wished more than anything that he could have fallen asleep with me the night before as well, but this was the reality that we had to endure. ¡°What are you doing during the auditions today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there. Just my vote doesn¡¯t count for much.¡± He kissed me on the head. ¡°Is Thursday ok then?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I took a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there too,¡± he reassured me. ¡°They¡¯ll need a staff escort, it¡¯s our policy, and there¡¯s no reason why it can¡¯t be me.¡±


    ¡°That would make me feel about a thousand times better.¡± I leaned up against him, closing my eyes, and stifled a yawn. ¡°We still have two hours before my first class. Time for a nap or something?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± He nuzzled into my neck. ¡°Or something.¡±


    I turned my face up to kiss him full on the mouth, and he responded, his tongue darting in and out of my hot lips. We snuggled lower in the sheets, hands exploring as if it were the first time. The tray clattered to the floor, but neither of us cared. We had other issues to attend to.


    Later, formally dressed and showered, Liam and I entered the Red Theater from two different sides. I smiled at him as he caught my eye and took his place in the front. Shuffling into the rows with Sarah, I had a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. This was so much like my audition on the first day, the day my life changed.


    ¡°You used to dance, right?¡± I asked Sarah, while Miss Katya, the head of the drama department, stood up to go over the procedures of the auditions. ¡°Are you going to tell them that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think it matters. They¡¯ll cast dancers for the dance parts. Are you nervous?¡±


    I thought a moment, and then shrugged. ¡°Not really. I¡¯ve had worse. I think I¡¯m more nervous about the¡­ final show¡­¡± I gave Sarah a meaningful look. ¡°Than the audition.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± She took my hand, squeezing it. ¡°We will kill that bitch dead.¡±


    ¡°Sarah!¡± My mouth fell open, and I laughed a little too loud. Katya gave me a look as she finished her announcement.


    ¡°Thank you for volunteering to go first, Amy!¡± she called. ¡°The rest of you, exit by row and line up and we¡¯ll see you one at a time.¡±


    ¡°Geez.¡± I said, getting up.


    I was perhaps a little nervous as I made my way to the front. It¡¯s not like I had a lot of experience auditioning. I had auditioned three times in my life, and gotten two parts out of it. Someone had once told me that a working actor only got ten percent of the parts they auditioned for, so I thought I was doing pretty well. Plus, no matter what part I got in this show, I would have to pretend everything was perfect and happy, while trying to orchestrate the ultimate vampire takedown plot and finish a grad school thesis.


    My father had warned me that grad school would be hard, but I didn¡¯t imagine it would be like this.


    When I got up there, however, the first thing I saw was Liam¡¯s smiling face, looking back at me with those warm eyes that had looked deep into mine all morning. I was never able to describe the connection that we shared that first day, as if we were meant to act together, both on and off the stage.


    ¡°And what do you have prepared for us, Amy?¡± he asked, as if he didn¡¯t know me.


    My shoulders relaxed as I spoke, ¡°A monologue from Beauty and the Beast.¡±


    He waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then,¡± he said, gently, and I knew all would be well.


    When Thursday came, however, I was a real bundle of nerves. The audition results would be posted at the end of the school day, which was about when I was supposed to be done filming. Even Liam didn¡¯t know the results, having not sat in on the casting meeting. No matter how much I begged him, he declared that it wouldn¡¯t be ethical.


    ¡°You wanted to be chosen based on your talent alone, right?¡± he said, as the makeup artist that Sites TV had sent began to pin back my hair. ¡°Now¡¯s your chance.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m a chorus girl, I¡¯m going to cry.¡±


    ¡°Amy.¡± He reached out to take my hand with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re going to be much more than that.¡±


    ¡°So you say.¡± I tried to grin, but my hand was shaking with nerves.


    Last night, I had gone on Sites TV, only to find out that the show was broadcast every morning and seen by millions of people nationally, never mind the international numbers. If I flubbed up today, it pretty much guaranteed I wouldn¡¯t be cast in anything else ever again. Sites had a huge following. Celebrities often hosted segments on film sets or in their own houses, and the Sites vans were recognized everywhere.


    ¡°Take a deep breath,¡± he said, as foundation was being brushed on face. ¡°The key here is to breathe. You¡¯ve gone over a list of all the things you are going to say?¡±


    ¡°And spoken to everyone I¡¯m going to interview about 6 million times. It¡¯s kind of dumb, because I talk to these people every single day, and yet when it came time to rehearse interviews, I couldn¡¯t come up with a thing to say to them.¡±


    Liam smiled, reaching for a steaming cup of coffee he had brought with him.


    ¡°Sounds about right.¡±


    I shook my head, taking the coffee cup right out of his hand. ¡°You¡¯re not helping.¡±


    It took half an hour to get my makeup done, and when she was finished, I barely recognized myself. I looked like a model, some glamazon version of myself with high cheekbones and long eyelashes.


    ¡°Wow, thank you.¡± I turned to the makeup artist, who was putting her stuff away.


    ¡°It was easy, you¡¯re beautiful all on your own,¡± she said, and I blushed.


    Liam stood up, holding out his arm. ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡±


    Liam planted one last kiss on my lips, and then, with practiced ease, wiped away the lipstick that had gotten on him.


    The Sites crew had arranged to meet us in front of the school, where the first shots would take place. Liam kept me chatting the whole time, keeping my nerves at bay, and it worked so well that I didn¡¯t notice that there was an insane amount of noise outside. In fact, it wasn¡¯t until we rounded the corner that I clued in to what was happening. We rounded the corner and I was blinded by a sea of camera flashes. I let out a scream, startled as a wall of people that I had never seen before, at least one hundred people, met us.


    They weren¡¯t students of the school; the students were trained to behave better than this. I had seen, mostly on YouTube, the paparazzo¡¯s reaction to Liam wherever he went. But this time, it wasn¡¯t just his name they were screaming, it was also mine.


    ¡°Amy! AMY!¡± They shoved cameras in my faces, and autograph pads, and I froze, tightening my grip on Liam¡¯s arm.


    He seemed unfazed by the whole scenario, and dipped his head down to my ear. ¡°Is this ok? Do you want me to get you out of it?¡±


    ¡°Why I am I suddenly a celebrity?¡± I asked.


    He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re my girlfriend. You were in Gatsby. You¡¯re now hosting Sites. You go to this school. You were Beauty. Take your pick.¡±


    ¡°Aye-yi yi.¡± I plastered a fake smile on my face as Liam signed a few autographs and wrapped his arm around my waist and posed for a few photographs. ¡°If this doesn¡¯t piss Selene off, I don¡¯t know what will,¡± I said.


    ¡°So smile,¡± he said, as he gently led me through the mob towards where the camera crew was set up.


    ¡°Amy, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± A woman who I could only assume was Aphrodite stuck out her hand. ¡°Are you ready? We pretty much do things in one take, go with the flow and all. You¡¯ve seen the show?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I shook her hand, sure that she could feel my sweaty palms. ¡°And this, of course, is Liam.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Aphrodite didn¡¯t seem dazzled by him at all. ¡°Shall we get started?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± I took the microphone that was handed to me and looked at the crowd that was being pushed back. ¡°Will this work over the noise?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Aphrodite smiled. ¡°Let me just give the cue to the camera crew and then we¡¯ll be all ready to go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I stood on the mark she pointed out and stood in front of the camera, trying to hide my shaking hands. I was going to interview Liam first, which helped my nerves a little, but I was still terrified that I would make a mess of the whole thing.


    ¡°Alright, Amy, we¡¯re ready.¡± Aphrodite smiled at me. ¡°Camera is on, so whenever you are ready.¡±


    I took a deep breath and then nodded, looking directly into the camera, as Liam had taught me. He was standing beside me, completely at ease, as if millions of people wouldn¡¯t be watching.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Amy and welcome to another great episode of Sites! We¡¯re here at Leopard Academy, the top acting school in the whole world. Leopard admits children from kindergarten all the way through to grad school, and they turn out some of the best actors in the world. With me now is the headmaster and former Hollywood star, Liam¡­¡±

 Page 12

    I turned to Liam and everything fell into place. The interview went smoothly, and when they praised me on my style, I realized that this was no harder than leading Sarah through the school on her first day.


    That was until we actually went into the Red Theater on camera.


    ¡°So, this is the Red Theater, probably one of my favorite theaters, as well as Liam¡¯s, and I¡­ oh!¡±


    As the lights turned on, I was startled to find Sarah, sitting in the center of the stage, and practically sitting on Connor. Both of them scrambled to their feet as soon as the lights came on, but not without guilty looks on both their faces. I didn¡¯t miss the glint of Connor¡¯s wedding ring as he stood in the light.


    ¡°And we have two of our advanced students here...¡±


    Chapter 8: Liam


    I realized as Amy¡¯s interview went on that this was a worse and worse idea. If Selene had any brains in her head, she would realize that I had several vampires enrolled in my school. She could see it on the episode. On top of that, I knew she would choose to play on our weaknesses, which at the moment, all had names. Nina, Connor and Isabelle and Sarah, all stood out as people she could attack and use as bait for the rest of us to fall into her trap. And so, the plan had to be revised.


    ¡°Make it public,¡± I said to Amy, as she paced in my office, waiting for the cast list to be posted for Phantom. ¡°Every time you get an audition, we¡¯ll pull strings to take one of the vampires alongside. I don¡¯t want Selene to think that we are hiding anything.¡±


    ¡°But we are hiding something,¡± she protested.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want her to think that we are. So let¡¯s put it all out in the open. The only thing that she can¡¯t know about is Sarah. That¡¯s our trump card.¡±


    Amy bit her lip. ¡°And what if Sarah¡¯s not strong enough? Or worse, what if Isabelle finds out that she¡¯s having an affair with her husband and slaughters her in the night?¡±


    I winced. ¡°I know Isabelle, and she won¡¯t wait until night time to do that. In any case, Amy, they are both adults and so we have to let them make their own choices.¡±


    Just then, a knock came at the door and my secretary appeared.


    ¡°Cast list is up.¡±


    I had never seen Amy move so fast. For someone who had spent the summer in a major production, she seemed overly excited about finding out what part she got in a school play. Mind you, her Gatsby closing night would be nowhere near as spectacular as the closing night of Phantom if all went well.


    Seconds later, a shriek came from outside and she came hurtling back into my office. I laughed, despite the tension.


    ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Meg Giry!¡± she said, and then stopped as my face contorted. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t give you the lead,¡± I replied, shaking my head. ¡°I would have thought for sure they¡¯d give you the lead.¡±


    ¡°The lead spends half the play singing at the top of her operatic lungs.¡± Amy perched on my desk, looking adorable.


    I raised an eyebrow, reading her mind. ¡°They cast Sarah, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± She had such a grin on her face that I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Liam. It¡¯s perfect. My dream has been to act with Sarah since we met. And she¡¯ll be a much better Christine than me. On top of that, that¡¯s perfect for the plan. Christine is on stage almost the whole time, so anything Selene tries, Sarah will be there to stop her. It¡¯s much better this way.¡±


    ¡°Still.¡± I wrapped my arms around Amy and kissed her head, running my hands through her hair. ¡°I would have cast you in a heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± She leaned against my chest. ¡°But you¡¯re biased.¡±


    ¡°I am¡­ a bit,¡± I admitted, closing my eyes and just enjoying the feeling of her wrapped in my arms.


    I never got tired of Amy, never felt annoyed by her presence, never felt like I needed time apart from her. If I could spend the rest of my life just here, with her in my arms, I wouldn¡¯t think it would be such a terrible thing at all.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the Phantom?¡± I asked, after a moment of silence.


    ¡°Charlie,¡± she said, looking up at me.


    I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Charlie, a grade 10 student, and not the best actor, was the last person I would have cast for the Phantom. But Charlie was also ignorant and gullible and desperate to pass the semester. While he could act well enough, he seemed to be an idiot when it came to the rest of his subjects. So, likely, he would go along with whatever seemingly stupid thing we had him do in order to make our plan a success.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I said, finally letting her go, so she could hop down. I took her hand though, not quite willing to be separated from her. ¡°Should we find the others so we can celebrate?¡±


    She looked at the clock and then out the window. ¡°Do you have time?¡±


    I shrugged, squeezing her hand three times in our secret sign for I-Love-You. ¡°For you, I have at least an hour.¡±


    Amy grinned, pulling me out the door. ¡°Then I know just the place.¡±


    ¡°Alright, guys, that¡¯s it for today, except for the Stage Hand party scene. So if you¡¯re not in that, you can go.¡±


    The rest of the cast gathered their belongings and began to head out. The Stage Hand party scene was a scene I had concocted, a code for the fact that the vampires and the girls and I needed to be alone in the theater. Katya had nearly punched me when I had told her I thought this scene would be a great addition. I listened to her rant and rave for nearly an hour about how it wasn¡¯t in the original book or show, and how I couldn¡¯t just go making up scenes. Eventually, I pulled rank on her, although I hated to do it.


    The premise of the scene was this: the vampires would play attendees in a peasant party and then two girls would stumble into the party. Charlie would swoop down at the end of it to ¡®kill¡¯ someone, selected from the audience to join the party. It was genius if we orchestrated it right. But done badly, Selene would figure it out in a moment and so I needed it to be perfect. Which was hard to do when working with mostly a cast of non-performers.


    Once the theater was clear, the rest of them came in closer to listen to me.


    ¡°Alright, so this scene has to go off perfectly when we bring Selene up on stage,¡± I reminded them. ¡°You all got my email with the choreography for it?¡±


    ¡°But it made little sense,¡± Connor said.


    I nodded. ¡°I know, it always makes little sense until you see it done. So what we¡¯re going to do right now is run through it a few times. I¡¯ll play Selene¡­¡±


    Amy snickered, burying her head on her knees.


    I cracked a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to use your imaginations because I don¡¯t look a thing like her. She¡¯s going to know who you all are, so we¡¯ve abandoned that plan. But she won¡¯t know about Sarah, and that¡¯s the link we are going to need to take her down. She¡¯s going to be overconfident and think that she can beat us. So let¡¯s use that. So everyone, take first positions, and let¡¯s try this.¡±


    They scrambled to seemingly random places on the stage, and Sarah and Amy linked arms on stage right. I stood at the edge of the stage and pressed the play button to start the music for the scene.


    Nobody moved.


    After waiting an awkward moment, I pressed stop. ¡°Um, Connor? That¡¯s your cue? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s coming to invite our audience guest into the party.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± He let go of Isabelle¡¯s hand and whispered a few words to her in her native tongue, I guessed, and then moved forward to retrieve me.


    I started the music again and waited. This time Connor came to bring me to the center of the stage to join the supposed party for a few minutes. Except there was no party and all the others were standing awkwardly on the side of the stage. I sighed and pressed stopped.


    ¡°Ok, change of plans,¡± I called, motioning for Sarah and Amy to come over. ¡°So, clearly, girls, we have a lot of uneducated performers. So what I¡¯m going to do is separate you two. Sarah, you¡¯re going to be on one side and Amy on the other, and you¡¯re going to pretend to be swept in by a crowd of stage hands, until you find yourself in the middle of this party that you aren¡¯t supposed to be at. Once you¡¯re in this party, someone push Connor to go and get an audience member.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± They nodded, separating, and we tried the scene for a third time.


    This time, with the girls leading, it worked a little better. I realized that the things we performers take for granted, such as a lack of stage fright, and the ability to speak in front of large crowds, as well as the knowledge of where to stand, were all things that regular people had no idea what to do with. Even watching the scene from the center of the stage, where they were supposed to surround Selene and leave no gaps or holes, it looked awkward. I shut off the music, waving my hands.


    ¡°Alright, what we¡¯re going to need is a distraction,¡± I said. ¡°In case something goes wrong, or we accidentally leave a gap and the audience is looking right at us.¡±


    ¡°Isabelle can dance,¡± Connor volunteered.


    I saw Sarah twitch at him mentioning his wife¡¯s name, and they exchanged a look, but nothing more happened.


    ¡°Can you?¡± I looked to Isabelle and Connor translated. She nodded, and I turned the music back on.


    To my surprise, this girl was incredibly talented indeed. It was more than just a vampire¡¯s grace and strength that she had; there was pure talent and training in her moves. In the hundreds of years that she had lived, she must have been a dancer at some point, and I questioned Connor. He smiled, sadly.


    ¡°In many lives, she was. As soon as women could be dancers then it became their profession. But since the age of cameras and digital files, it would be too hard to be in the public eye and immortal. And so, she stopped. I have not seen her dance in many years.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s very good,¡± I said, watching her. ¡°Tell her that¡¯d be perfect if she could do a small solo, enough to get the audience¡¯s attention away from the mob.¡±

 Page 13

    ¡°I could do a solo,¡± Sarah volunteered, stepping forward.


    I tried to smile, despite the fact that I realized this was a fit of jealousy. ¡°Sarah, you¡¯re our star, you have enough solos, don¡¯t you think? Also, I need you in that mob, grabbing a hold of Selene¡¯s wrist, remember?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± She stepped back to Amy and the two of them whispered.


    I raised a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s try it once more from the top and see how it goes!¡±


    I thought that this time would go better than the last few times, and it seemed to, until all of a sudden, I heard Amy¡¯s startled gasp from the crowd. Knowing her voice above all others, I rushed forward, pushing the others out of the way, my heart pounding. It wasn¡¯t quite sunset, so her blood wasn¡¯t appetizing at all, even when fully transformed, but she was in a group of vampires. What had I been thinking?


    Getting to the middle of the crowd, I found it wasn¡¯t Amy in distress, but Nina. Her small, birdlike body was crumpled into Amy¡¯s arms. My girlfriend had sunk to the floor, looking panicked and frightened. Amy had been taught that the show must go on, no matter what, but this was something that was hard to ignore.


    ¡°Nina!¡± I folded down to my knees as well, reaching out to take her into my arms. It took me a moment to come to terms with the fact that she wasn¡¯t dead, she was immortal. Still, pale and cold, she seemed as if the life had left her. ¡°Nina!¡±


    Connor was beside me in an instant and I looked to his experience.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening to her?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s desecrating. You knew she wasn¡¯t eating, Liam, and this is what happens to vampires who starve themselves. If she goes long enough like this, she won¡¯t be able to wake up from it. Her body will be stuck in a coma-like state. Alive but dead, here, but not.¡±


    ¡°What do I do?¡± I asked, shifting her small weight.


    Connor met my eyes. ¡°She needs human blood.¡± He shifted to the side, where Amy was standing.


    I felt my face darken. ¡°No!¡± I growled, wrapping my arms around Nina¡¯s face, as if she would sit up and bite Amy. ¡®First of all, Amy, I will not allow you to go through any sort of pain. Second of all, your blood will make her sicker than she is now. And third of all, if Nina¡¯s wishes are to not drink human blood, then we will abide by that! Sven.¡± I turned to the oldest human of the bunch, turned at 25 into a vampire and barely fitting in the classes. ¡°Go to the cafeteria, tell them Liam sent you, and grab a pound of defrosted raw hamburger meat.¡±


    He made a face.


    ¡°Chicks,¡± he said, shaking his head, but headed off nonetheless.


    I looked up at the others, who were barely giving me room to breathe, and shooed them away, until it was just Amy and me left cradling Nina on the stage. I brushed a hair out of the face of the limp body.


    ¡°Poor girl.¡±


    Amy, however, had her mind on the bigger picture. ¡°She can¡¯t do this on stage, Liam. She¡¯s got to shape up or she¡¯ll ruin everything.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I know. But she so wants to help, Amy. I feel like vampirism hit her the worst of all.¡±


    But Amy was shaking her head. ¡°The show must go on.¡±


    I smiled at her, reaching out to take her hand. ¡°So you did learn something.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just get her better.¡±


    ¡°Aye.¡± I didn¡¯t let go of Amy¡¯s hand, dividing my life-force between the two of them.


    As much as Nina probably wanted to help, Amy was right, the show had to go on. And if it had to be without this tiny vampire body, then so be it. As much as it pained me to do so, we would have to tell Nina she wouldn¡¯t have a place in our plan. Because in the vampire world, only the strongest survive.


    Chapter 9: Amy


    ¡°Do you know that in Phantom of the Opera 2: Love Never Dies, Meg Giry becomes a total slut, whored out by the Phantom, who I¡¯m pretty sure is her real father by the way, and then grabs Christine and shoots her?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I turned to Sarah, mouth agape.


    It had been 3 weeks since Nina fainted on stage, and things had gotten more chaotic since then. The show, which was a disaster, was the least of my worries. Although vampires were generally stronger, faster and more flexible than humans, it didn¡¯t replace the years of acting training the others had. And we weren¡¯t just trying to put on a good show, we were trying to commit murder on stage and make it look like it was part of the show. We had probably rehearsed the scene at least one hundred times by now, and it was still as much of a mess as the first day. On top of that, classes were in full swing, which meant our workload as students was getting heavy. It would soon be pilot season in the city, which meant there would be hundreds of castings, both open and phoned into the school.


    Even though Liam and I parted by sunset, I still felt exhausted, as if I pulled all-nighters. Usually, I finished my homework by ten and was asleep by eleven, but it never felt like enough. When the other seniors complained they were tired, I wanted to shake them. If only they knew what Sarah and I were keeping hidden in our world.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. You should watch it. The entire thing is on YouTube. Here¡¯s what I think happened,¡± Sarah said, as we took our trays to a free table. ¡°Andrew Webber got lazy and decided to go off what the fans wrote in all their fan-fiction.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I tore apart a muffin.


    ¡°You know. Fan-fiction. Those stories by fans about the musical. Anyway, so he read all the fan-fiction and asked the fans: what do you want to happen to the characters? You want Christine to die? You want Meg to become a whore? You want Raoul to be an asshole, and Erik the Phantom to be even more angsty? Ok, I can do that, even though it¡¯s totally out of character for everyone and makes no sense. Screw you, Gaston Leroux.¡±


    I chuckled as I finished my muffin and took a bite of my cereal bar. She opened her mouth, about to say something else, when a funny look crossed her face and her eyes unfocused.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, turning around immediately to make sure there was no menacing vampire standing over my shoulder.


    When I turned back, Sarah had gone an awful shade of green. She swallowed hard and grabbed for a cup of water. A sip seemed to do nothing and suddenly she bolted for the nearest garbage can, barely making it before spewing the contents of her stomach into it.


    ¡°Ew,¡± I said, jumping up and going over to help her. There was a commotion in the cafeteria, as everyone turned to look, but I ignored them, pulling Sarah¡¯s hair back as she wretched. ¡°Hey, you ok? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Sarah straightened up eventually and I grabbed a bottle of water from the nearby stand and cracked it open and handed it to her. She took a few gulps, wiping her mouth and trying to get control of her breathing.


    ¡°You ok?¡± I asked again, and eventually she nodded, wiping her forehead.


    ¡°Whoa. That was weird.¡±


    ¡°Did you eat something bad?¡± I asked.


    Sarah shrugged. ¡°Who knows? I eat everything. Although I had the spinach lasagna for dinner last night and it seemed a bit weird.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t go on a drinking binge with Liam or Connor or something and not tell me, did you?¡±


    ¡°When?¡± she asked, amused. ¡°After singing rehearsal that went till midnight, or before dance rehearsal that started at 6?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not the lead,¡± I replied, taking her arm. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a bug. Come on, I¡¯ll take you to the nurse.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± she said, although she let me lead her out of the cafeteria. ¡°I think I¡¯m just going to skip class and lie down for a bit. I feel weird.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡± I asked. I was worried and didn¡¯t want to leave her alone.


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s probably just a passing bug or something. How do I skip class? Do I just not show up?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I said, as we headed back to our dorms. ¡°I think so. I was given a few days off last year, but the teachers knew. I just emailed them. I think you could do the same, and I could tell them when I get there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only two classes this morning,¡± she pointed out, as we reached her dorm room. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to work on our thesis this afternoon, remember?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I nodded, as she unlocked her door. ¡°So I¡¯ll just tell them. No big deal.¡±


    ¡°Cool. Thanks, Amy,¡± she said, and gave me a quick hug. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine after a nap.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Just text me if you need anything,¡± I said, and she nodded, closing her door.


    I went back to the cafeteria to retrieve my bag, ignoring the stares of the other students. Between my scholarship, dating Liam, and filming Sites, I figured they had too many reasons to stare, and I wasn¡¯t going to give them another one. I put our trays in the garbage and then headed to the west wing. Sarah wasn¡¯t missing much in first period. Theater history was one of the few classes that I did not look forward to. It was interesting to learn how we got to the performance point that we did, but the professor who taught it, Professor Dolan, couldn¡¯t have been on a stage in his life. He was a nice man, very kind and knowledgeable, but his voice was monotone and he spoke so slow that often I could come into class, put my bag down, say hi to Sarah, go to the bathroom and come back, and he¡¯d still be on the same topic, probably the same sentence. On the upside, I always had time to write down everything that he said.


    How you feeling? I texted Sarah under the desk, near the end of the class.


    Fine. It¡¯s weird, I feel perfect now. I¡¯ll be coming to rehearsal she texted back. I smiled and texted a happy face.


    When the bell rang, I stood up and gathered my notes.


    ¡°Amy?¡± It was Connor, who approached me right as I got out of class.


    He was alone, which was different than usual. Normally, if I saw Connor anywhere but sneaking around with Sarah, he had Isabelle surgically attached to him. But today, he stood alone in the hallway, the masses of people separating around him like water over rocks.

 Page 14

    ¡°Yep?¡± I asked, getting a bit closer so that we could keep our voices low.


    ¡°I heard Sarah was ill this morning. Is she well now?¡±


    I smiled. He may be having an affair with my best friend, but at least he was kind about it.


    ¡°Yep. She probably just ate something bad. Perks of being human.¡± I grinned at him.


    He nodded, gesturing with his arm to indicate that we should walk. I fell in step beside him and he reached out his hand.


    ¡°Please, allow me,¡± he said, and took my bag off my shoulder before I could stop him. I had to remind myself that Connor was from a different time, when men did this kind of thing and women were not insulted by being referred to as the weaker sex.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Isabelle?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She is attending dance rehearsal. She is quite enjoying being a dancer again, I think, and uses every spare moment to perform.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I said, as we rounded the corner and headed to the Red Theater.


    ¡°Forgive my intrusion, Amy, but you are also ill as well, are you not?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± I asked, surprised, and then realized he wasn¡¯t just referring to a stomach bug. ¡°Oh, yes. But it¡¯s managed, and doesn¡¯t really bother me yet.¡±


    ¡°What is it, exactly?¡±


    ¡°HIV. It, uh¡­ can lead to AIDS¡­ It¡¯s a blood infection that can be passed on through bodily fluids. My mother had it, shortly before she found out she was pregnant with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± he said, and he seemed truly sorry. ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said dryly. ¡°Turn me into a vampire and everything will be cured.¡±


    He froze, holding the door open for me. ¡°Have you discussed that with Liam? Your relationship seems quite serious.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We¡¯re just taking it one day at a time. We don¡¯t know where this is going. But we know that we love each other, and that¡¯s all that really matters.¡±


    He smiled as the door shut behind us. ¡°Young love is such a beautiful thing.¡±


    ¡°Thanks?¡± I replied, as we neared the stage.


    Sarah was already sitting on the edge of it, cross-legged in black spandex shorts and a black sports bra, looking much better than she had this morning. We were expected to come dressed to rehearse, but Sarah always took it to the extra level.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said, as we both approached, giving Connor extra eye contact.


    He dipped his head. ¡°Sarah. I trust you are feeling better.¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± she replied, patting a spot beside her.


    I hopped up on the stage before Connor could get there. If they were going to insist on having an affair, they could at least not be so obvious about it. Isabelle was tiny, but I got the feeling that she was deadly. Every inch of her small body was packed with muscle, and she reminded me of a cat, coiled and ready to pounce. Just as I was about to shoo Connor away, Isabelle entered the theater and he immediately melted away to be at her side.


    I wondered if she knew what was happening right under her nose. I also wondered how a man could love his wife so much and yet give Sarah so much attention.


    Sarah told me it happened all the time; that I had lived a sheltered life, and of course, she was right. Men cheated all the time, and she claimed it wasn¡¯t her problem what Connor¡¯s choices were. She wasn¡¯t married. And although I saw her point, it still sent shivers down my spine. I didn¡¯t think I could be that person, from either side of the relationship.


    ¡°Can we get into the first scene?¡± Liam called as he entered from the front of house.


    To my surprise, he wasn¡¯t coming bounding in and pointing out everything he wanted. He was moving slowly, and I was about to ask him if he was ok, when I saw the reason why. With a death grip on his arm, Nina put one foot in front of the other, until she reached the closest chair in the audience, and sunk into it.


    We hadn¡¯t seen Nina since she collapsed. She had sunk into Torpor, the vampire coma-like state that happened when they starved themselves. Having taken up residence on Liam¡¯s couch, she lay, like a statue, undead and unmoving for weeks. It creeped me out to see her that way, and Liam assured me that she was fine, she would recover. So mostly, we spent time in my dorm room, whispering in the early morning sunrise when he showed up after a long night of vampirism.


    Sarah and I made our way over to say hello to Nina, but Liam blocked us as he came towards the stage.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just let her be. Sarah, I heard you were creating quite a show this morning. Feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sarah blushed, nodding. ¡°I swear I wasn¡¯t out drinking last night or anything.¡±


    Liam winced. ¡°Well, that makes one of us.¡±


    I gave him a kiss hello, wanting nothing more than to snuggle in his arms. I really didn¡¯t care that we were in front of everyone, sometimes I felt like claiming Liam for my own. I knew it was childish, but his attention was often so divided that I felt like I was sharing him with the world.


    Liam put his arm around me and didn¡¯t move it while he called out stage directions to the mass of actors.


    Stumble-throughs weren¡¯t expected to be anything close to the show. It was just an attempt to get through as much of the show as possible, preferably from start to finish, to give us some context.


    ¡°I heard from Sites,¡± Liam said, as everyone scrambled into position. ¡°The episode will air a week on Thursday.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I looked up at him, my eyes as large as saucers. ¡°I can¡¯t decide whether I want to watch it or hide in my bedroom and wait until everyone¡¯s forgotten about it.¡±


    He laughed, giving me one more quick squeeze before letting me go. ¡°It¡¯ll be good, Amy.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s hoping,¡± I said, and then headed up on stage.


    ¡°Amy, are we doing this with music?¡± Sarah asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t think so. The tech crew isn¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°Boo,¡± she said, as she pulled her tank top down over her shorts. She looked down at her body a moment, frustrated. ¡°I feel fat.¡±


    ¡°Sarah!¡± I shook my head. ¡°You¡¯re not fat!¡±


    ¡°I know that. But I¡¯ve put on like 4 lbs. I never put on weight. It just stays at 115lbs no matter what. I could eat half a cow and it would stay the same.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s all this dancing, building muscle.¡±


    ¡°And maybe I have an alien growing inside me.¡± She grinned and finished adjusting her shirt.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that movie, it doesn¡¯t end well.¡± I giggled, as the lights lowered, our cue for the show to begin.


    Acting with Sarah was a dream come true. After all those years separated, I never thought I would be four feet from her, playing lead roles. Despite her dark appearance, with her piercings and eyeliner, her Christine was innocent and wide-eyed, wandering about the stage with a childlike air. I loved to watch her perform it, so much that I almost lost track of my cue to enter.


    ¡°Christine, what¡¯s the dance step after this?¡±


    Meg Giry was such a different character than Beauty, all perky and excited, with constant energy. Now that Sarah had told me what happened to the character in the sequel, I considered adding another layer; a jealous daughter who wants her absentee father¡¯s attention more than anything. On stage, even in the stumble through, I felt like I was floating, and I knew I was born to do this. At least, until halfway through the scene, when my mind blanked.


    ¡°Line!¡± I called into the audience, sheepishly.


    Liam was supposed to be sitting there, with a script, making sure we were word for word, and I knew, after rehearsal, he¡¯d spend about an hour making me go over it.


    But there was no answer.


    Shading my eyes from the lights, I took a step forward to see Liam with his head turned, his hand on Nina¡¯s, as he watched her drink from a thermos. An awkward silence fell over the stage as the rest of the actors took a step forward, watching the scene as well. Head swiveled from me to him and back to me, like there were watching a tennis match. I tried not to notice, but an actor always knew when several pairs of eyes were watching them. I cleared my throat, pasting a smile on my face.


    ¡°Liam?¡± I called, using the projection techniques I had been taught in class. My voice bounced off the walls and his head snapped towards me.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Line?¡± I asked again, pretending that he simply didn¡¯t hear me.


    Nina must need some sort of nourishment, and food wasn¡¯t going to cut it, even during the day, that was all. He had told me that, on rare times, a vampire¡¯s human form will take blood to speed up a healing process. I could understand why he was a little distracted by all of it.


    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± he said, and gave me one of those smiles that sent chills down my spine. ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°End of act 1. Sarah just asked if I knew the ticket sales for the show?¡±


    It was a bit weird and confusing doing a show within a show. But Liam understood instantly and flipped through the pages until he found the line.


    ¡°It¡¯s a full house,¡± he fed to me.


    I nodded, stepping back into the part. The stumble-through resumed, and everyone went back to their characters. But I couldn¡¯t help but feel like eyes were glancing to Liam and Nina to me the whole time.


    Chapter 10: Liam


    ¡°Sarah is stronger today,¡± Nina had been telling me when Amy had called for a line. She was right, and I had been noticing it all morning. Our little unnamed Shield seemed to be living up to her full potential after all. We still didn¡¯t have a heritage for her, a background that linked her to the Shield families, but she seemed to be growing stronger by the day.


    Of course, some of it was due to the fact that she was using her ability nearly nightly with Connor. I disapproved, but there was nothing I could do to stop either of them. God knows I had enough flings with women wearing wedding rings to last me a lifetime; I wasn¡¯t going to lecture her. I just hoped Isabelle didn¡¯t decide to go on a jealous rampage if she found out.

 Page 15

    But it was more than focusing her ability. Sarah¡¯s life force was growing, constantly, day by day, which was good for our cause, but unexplainable.


    It was Saturday, normally a day when we didn¡¯t have classes. However, due to the upcoming show, I thought it would be a good opportunity to hold a mask workshop. Masks were such interesting props to work with, creating a whole character simply by tying a string around your head. I was always intrigued by them, and one of the greatest theater actors in the world had taught me how to work with them.


    The students were already waiting for me when I got there. I had a box full of various masks in my arms. The day before, I had wandered the school with the box, raiding every department of the various masks they had. As a result, I had everything from dust masks to fully decorated Venetian masks. This was going to be interesting.


    Or at least I thought so. The students were half glaring at me, annoyed at the Saturday morning class.


    ¡°See the great thing about masks,¡± I said, as I entered. ¡°Is that you can glare at me all you want, but it¡¯ll be hidden and I won¡¯t have to yell at you for contempt.¡±


    It got a few chuckles, as I put the box down. Sarah and Amy were curled up on the side, and I gave them a smile as I reached in the box. Trying not to show any more favoritism to Amy, I pulled out a mask I had gotten from the dance department, neutral face but painted green, and called up Sarah.


    I held out the mask and she got to her feet reluctantly. I waited until she was beside me before stepping behind her and placing it over her face. ¡°Now this is a neutral face mask, as you can see, there¡¯s no expression on it. But it¡¯s painted green, which mean it could be used to represent any number of things. Anyone?¡±


    A hand went up, and I was surprised to see it was Isabelle¡¯s. They were on the far corner, as far away from Sarah as they could get, no doubt deliberately. Isabelle rarely answered questions in class, she often needed translation. But she seemed determined to answer this one, and so I pointed to her.


    ¡°Jealousy,¡± she said, heavily accented, and I made eye contact with Amy, who winced.


    ¡°Jealousy is one of them.¡± I stepped back, the mask firmly on Sarah¡¯s head. ¡°How about another one?¡±


    ¡°Liam, I don¡¯t feel so hot.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s another one.¡± I pointed to the cheekbone of her mask. ¡°Green could also be used to represent illness, perhaps seasickness or¡­¡±


    ¡°No, Liam, actually¡­¡± Sarah reached out a hand to mine and I barely had time to react before catching her. She heaved twice, flailing at the mask and managing to lift it from her face before vomiting on the floor.


    ¡°Sarah!¡± Amy cried, rushing towards us.


    I had her around the waist, feeling her stomach muscles contract several times before she could straighten up. My mind began to play a hundred possibilities, the main one being about Selene. I was worried she had found out about my Shield, my trump card, and had made her sick, somehow. I wouldn¡¯t let her suffer the same fate as Porsche. It wouldn¡¯t be a spell, though, luckily for Sarah. If she had been poisoned, then she could be fixed.


    ¡°Alright?¡± I asked Sarah, who finally nodded, pulling the mask off. The rest of the class was sitting in shocked silence.


    ¡°Liam, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Sarah started, but I shook my head.


    ¡°Amy, why don¡¯t you take her to the nurse?¡± I said, gently. ¡°See if there¡¯s something in her system that¡¯s making her sick.¡±


    Amy understood immediately, her eyes widening as she took Sarah from me and began to lead her out of the room.


    ¡°Charlie, run and fetch a janitor,¡± I said, trying to restore order to the class, who were now babbling in shock. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. If I got through this, I deserved at least a double shot of age old whiskey with Amy in my arms. At the very least.


    My reward came at noon, when we finished the workshop early, and I let them head out to their normal Saturday afternoon activities. Waiting until everyone was gone, I kicked the mask box in a corner, and locked the room behind me, stopping in my office for a bottle of whiskey and a box of chocolates I had brought yesterday.


    Where are you? I texted Amy, and the response came immediately.


    Room. Come here?


    Yep. I slipped my phone into my pocket and took the back passage way through the dorms. Just because the whole world knew we were dating didn¡¯t mean they actually had to see it happen.


    I knocked on her door four times, our code, and she opened up, looking absolutely adorable in a baggy tee-shirt over spandex shorts. Given that the lights were on in her living room, I assumed she had been rehearsing.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I wrapped her in my arms, my muscles immediately relaxing as soon as I did. Amy was like a muscle relaxant, a good massage, fine wine and a hot tub all at once. I was quite sure, if anything ever did ail me, she would be my cure. ¡°How¡¯s Sarah?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Amy said, sitting down on her couch and patting the seat beside her.


    I held up the whiskey bottle and she shook her head. Not afraid of drinking alone, I poured some into a coffee mug she had left lying around, and took a sip, sitting down beside her.


    ¡°I took her to the nurse¡¯s office, but they wanted to keep her, run some tests, and told me they would call me.¡±


    ¡°Do they think it¡¯s poison?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You think it¡¯s Selene?¡± Amy reached for the chocolate box, undoing the ribbon and opening the top. ¡°I asked that.¡±


    I nearly spit out my drink. ¡°You asked the nurse if it was Selene?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She hit me, giggling. ¡°I asked the nurse if she thought it was something Sarah ate.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I grinned back at her, as she bit into a chocolate. The drink was seeping through my insides, warming me up and lightening the weight I felt on my chest.


    ¡°What is this?¡± She grabbed the box lid and read about the different types of chocolate. We sat in silence a few moments, until she finished nibbling and moved it aside. She slipped under my arm and sighed.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she replied, twisting so she was looking up at me. ¡°I just was thinking about how much is going on.¡±


    I brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, trailing my finger gently over her face.


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s a lot. And it¡¯s not something you have to be involved with, Amy¡­¡±


    Her face darkened. ¡°What are you talking about? Of course I do.¡±


    ¡°Not technically.¡± I finished the whiskey and poured a second cup, larger than the first. It had been a dry few weeks, and I had forgotten how easy it was to slip into the oblivion of alcohol. A wave of happiness rushed over me as I shifted, making Amy more comfortable. ¡°If you wanted to wait, to bow out, and work on your thesis elsewhere, maybe abroad, I could arrange that. And then after Selene is dead¡­¡±


    ¡°Liam, don¡¯t be stupid,¡± she replied, grabbing my hand and squeezing. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere. Except to an audition tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± That caught my interest. ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°For Ranger?¡± she named a popular period TV show that was now in its 4th season. ¡°One of my friends told me about it, from Gatsby. Although I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to fit it into my schedule.¡±


    "Should have known you¡¯d be in demand." I leaned down to kiss her and she arched her back in response, making her shirt ride up. My body responded to the sight of her toned stomach, now solid from months of performing. Being on stage was the best workout that I knew.


    I closed my eyes, losing myself in the world of Amy, when her cell phone beeped, jerking us out of the mood.


    "Could be Sarah," she said, scrambling up to go for it.


    Groaning, I poured myself another drink. "Do you have any plans for today?" I asked.


    She glanced up at me with a smile, scrolling through her messages. "Nope, go ahead and get smashed on my couch."


    "If you stayed for the rest of the mask workshop, you would too," I responded but Amy wasn''t listening.


    She leapt to her TV, turning it on and flicking the channels lightning quick.


    "What?"


    "This." She sat back on her haunches as the Sites final credits began to roll. The TV began flashing familiar images of the school as the credits minimized.


    "Next time on Sites, join Amy, a graduate student and girlfriend of Hollywood superstar, Liam, as they take us on a tour of Leopard Academy: the most prestigious theater school in the world. Go inside their doors to see why students pay 30 grand a year tuition to train here, often propelling them to greatness. And, as darkness falls, watch as our cameras capture a ghostly image, on the exact site of the death of ballerina Porsche DeRitter."


    "Whaaaa." I stared at the TV in shock, and turned to Amy. "Did you host that?"


    "Um, no. They left at 4pm. Or so I thought. Can Porsche be a ghost?"


    I shook my head, downing my drink. My head was swimming and I wanted nothing more than to curl up with Amy and ignore the world. I didn''t need another reminder that Porsche wasn''t coming back.


    "No, Shields can''t be anything. Not a vampire, a werewolf, a ghost or a witch. They can''t be anything but human."


    "Liam." Amy''s face was compassionate as she came towards me, and I reached out for her. Just as we were about to embrace, however, a knock came at the door.


    "Amy?" came a voice.


    "Sarah!" Amy bounded away, leaving me in the lurch for the second time.


    I growled, letting my head slam back against the wall. I was never going to get alone time with her.


    Sarah stood at the doorway, looking pale and one hand on her stomach, as Amy invited her in.


    "How are you feeling? Did they find out what it was?"


    Sarah nodded, sitting on Amy''s window ledge, but not saying a word.


    "Well?" Amy prompted. "Did they say it was something you ate?"


    Sarah swallowed. "They said it was something inside me, for sure."

 Page 16

    "Like Connor?" I said, before I could stop myself.


    Amy rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, he''s drunk. Sarah?"


    Sarah took a deep breath, meeting my eyes. "No, he''s right. Connor is the problem. I''m pregnant."


    The coffee mug I was sipping out of fell out of my hand, falling to the hardwood floor and shattering everywhere. Amy''s jaw nearly scraped the same floor.


    "What? How is that possible?" Her head swiveled from Sarah to me, and I could see that she had paled as well. "I thought vampires couldn''t... even when they were in their human form, I thought they were infertile. That''s what you told me."


    "And that''s true," I replied, trying to gather my thoughts. "So it''s not Connor."


    "Of course it is," Sarah said, bitterly. "There isn''t anyone else."


    I laughed, harshly. "Well, it can''t be, Sarah, unless there''s immaculate conception happening."


    "I''m a Shield," she replied, and silence hit the room. "And I make him human when I touch him. Fully human. I figured it out sitting in the nurse''s office. There''s no other explanation."


    "But..." Words failed me, and my mouth opened and closed like a fish. "No, Sarah, there has to be someone else. Porsche and I..."


    "You slept with Porsche?" Amy''s head swiveled towards me, and I tried to backtrack.


    "Once or twice. It was before, Amy, before you, and we had both had a metric ton to drink..."


    "And I assume you didn''t even know which end to stick it in." Sarah''s words were crude, but they shut me up.


    I didn''t remember either of those nights, years ago, with any sort of certainty. ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s been no one else? Because¡­¡±


    ¡°Liam, I took sex ed class. I know how this works. There¡¯s been no one else.¡±


    ¡°Jesus.¡± I buried my head in my hands, trying to think.


    ¡°I assume the child will be human?¡± Amy asked, her voice surprisingly cold.


    I nodded. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I know about vampire human half breeds. Although, I¡¯ve never heard about this ever happening before, so who knows?¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Amy asked Sarah, taking her hand.


    Sarah shrugged, both hands on her stomach. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It doesn¡¯t even seem real right now.¡±


    ¡°How far along are you?¡±


    ¡°6 weeks. Barely detectable, but there. Explains why I¡¯ve been a giant puke machine. And why I¡¯ve put on weight.¡±


    ¡°We can¡­ deal with this,¡± I said, carefully. I realized the words were taking longer to come out than I meant them to, and upon standing, my head spun. Some headmaster I was, setting a great example for my students. ¡°If you want.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I want,¡± Sarah replied, drawing her knees up to her chest. ¡°My parents would kill me.¡±


    ¡°But they don¡¯t have to know,¡± Amy pointed out. ¡°Christmas is only two months away. You won¡¯t really be showing by then. When you go home, you can hide it well enough, if you really don¡¯t want to tell them. And then what about adoption? There are so many good people who want children, and can¡¯t have them.¡±


    There was a note of sadness in her voice, and I knew she was speaking from her own heart. The one time Amy and I had discussed children, she was firmly set on adoption. With her blood being infected, she would be guaranteed to affect her child too, and that was not something she wanted to do. I understood, and yet, at the same time, I was sad, to not be able to look ten years into the future and see a little version of Amy running about, even if it wasn¡¯t with my genes.


    I had never given any thought to children while I was human. I was too busy living the lifestyle of the rich and the famous. But now that the possibility was taken away from me, I considered it all the time. Not now, of course, now I¡¯d be a horrible role model, but maybe if this curse was broken, there would be something I could do about it.


    ¡°It is a good option, Sarah,¡± I found myself saying, surprised at the emotion that came out in my voice. ¡°Amy¡¯s right, there are so many people who don¡¯t have a choice in having a child. This is a huge undertaking¡­ but if that¡¯s the choice you make, I¡¯ll help you keep it a secret.¡±


    ¡°And what about Phantom?¡± she asked.


    I grinned. ¡°Ah, well that will just add another layer to the plot. A pregnant Christine, by whom, we wonder?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, providing I don¡¯t give birth on stage,¡± she said, dryly and Amy managed a little giggle.


    ¡°The show must go on. It¡¯s actually kind of fitting. Death and life on the same stage. We¡¯ll win a Tony award for sure.¡±


    ¡°Oh, God.¡± Sarah buried her head in her hands. ¡°Are you guys seriously considering this?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll consider whatever you choose to do,¡± Amy said gently, but I knew in her heart she didn¡¯t want to be responsible for any more death. ¡°Your child didn¡¯t choose anything, Sarah. Why should we condemn it?¡±


    Sarah met her eyes and something silent seemed to pass between them. But then she looked away, glancing out the window and sighed.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± she said, but something in her voice told me that she wasn¡¯t being quite truthful.


    My heart leapt in fear, and I bit my lip, the words locked in my throat. I had a horrible feeling Sarah was going to do something stupid, and that there was nothing I could do to stop her.


    Chapter 11: Amy


    My alarm went off at 6 am and I sat upright. It was the only way I knew I was going to get up. Last night, Liam, laced with booze and calmed by Sarah, had actually managed to be safe to be around until midnight, which was far later than my usual bedtime. Years of living with my father and never going out had taught me to live the life of a 60 year old, in bed by 10 pm and up with the sun.


    Today was going to be a busy day. In between classes, I had a lunchtime audition for Ranger, and I prayed that I''d make it back in time for afternoon rehearsal. Sarah had been especially down in the dumps this last week and I wanted to be there for her in whatever way I could.


    We still hadn''t made any choice about her baby. We had spent hours looking at adoption websites and discussing possibilities. When she told Connor, he had looked fearful of her, as if she could hurt him, this age old vampire of unlimited strength. Until they made a choice, they weren''t going to tell Isabelle anything.


    I glanced at my audition notes as I walked into the bathroom, setting them on the ledge as I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Liam had drilled into my head that auditions wanted to see me, not my makeup and hair skills. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but put a little extra effort into my appearance this morning. They may want to see what I look like without hiding, but that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t look pretty.


    Ranger was holding several auditions today, which made it a bit difficult to decide what to do. Once we submitted our headshot and resumes, we had been given several sides for various characters that we fit, and none of us knew anything about them. Even if we kept up with the show, we didn¡¯t know where these new characters would be placed, nor did we know whether it was a small or large part. They also asked us for a monologue, which made me want to tear my hair out, because without choosing a specific character, I had no idea what type of monologue I wanted to do. So, I went with my default of Beauty¡¯s monologue, assuming that it had to fit something.


    I folded the sides into my back pocket and went out the door, pausing on my way to class to knock on Sarah¡¯s door.


    ¡°Sarah?¡± I called through the door.


    There was a pause, and then she answered it, opening it up to let me in as she went to get her school bag. Her eyes looked red rimmed, and she looked exhausted.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± she replied, shrugging. ¡°Morning sickness.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Sarah,¡± I said sympathetically, reaching out to rub her back as we went out the door. ¡°You going to be ok?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Amy,¡± she snapped.


    I was taken aback. I had never heard her snap at me before.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the first woman in the world to be pregnant.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that,¡± I said, hurrying to catch up with her. ¡°Have you thought any more about what you¡¯re going to do?¡±


    ¡°What is there to do?¡± she replied. ¡°Connor comes from a time when men take care of things and women stay home and pop out babies and all that. Problem is, first of all, this is 2013, and second of all, he¡¯s already got a wife who I suspect is catching on rather fast.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll figure it out. You always do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied quietly. We walked in silence for a few moments before she changed the subject. ¡°So, are you all prepared for your audition?¡±


    ¡°Think so.¡± I nodded, patting the sides I had slipped into my back pocket reassuringly. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a huge TV show and there are a hundred parts or something, which means like ten thousand people are auditioning. Seriously, Sarah, even getting one part means I should consider joining the actor¡¯s union. Really, I¡¯m just looking at it as practical experience.¡±


    ¡°Ranger¡¯s such a¡­ gritty show,¡± Sarah said, as we made our way to the main lecture hall. ¡°Do you think you could do it? I mean, there¡¯s some pretty heavy content in it.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± I replied, thinking of some of the episodes I had seen. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure something out.¡±


    The truth was some of the content on Ranger was so heavy that I wasn¡¯t sure I could even act it. The actresses there were intense, pouring tears out of their eyes on the drop of a hat. Also, the show wasn¡¯t exactly rated for children. It had never occurred to me to consider my boundaries of sexual exploits on camera, but if I got any part on Ranger, I would have to think about it.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to see Liam for a moment. I¡¯ll catch up with you.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± She turned to the side to say goodbye to me.

 Page 17

    I winced as I could see the bulge in her belly. If you were looking for it, you could tell she was pregnant for sure. She headed off down the hallway, and I could tell that she was already beginning to walk differently, her hips widening already.


    Liam¡¯s office was open, still too early for the secretary to be in, but he was there, changing from his nightly struggle and grabbing something to eat. To my surprise though, Nina was sitting in his desk chair.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, hovering by the doorway.


    Liam turned, giving me a tight smile. ¡°Amy. I didn¡¯t expect you so early. You should be on your way to class.¡±


    ¡°I uh¡­¡± I glanced from him to Nina, who gave me a frosty look. She was leaning back on his chair, idly flipping through some papers like she was comfortable and belonged there. ¡°I just thought I¡¯d stop by and chat with you. My Ranger audition is today.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He turned from the mirror where he was making sure all traces of fangs and dark eyes were gone. ¡°Sure. Are you nervous?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­?¡± I glanced to Nina again, and met Liam¡¯s eyes. ¡°Do you think we could talk alone?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, Nina.¡±


    Once we were in the hallway, I reached up on my tiptoes to kiss him. He drew back, looking around.


    ¡°Not in the hallways, Amy, ok?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, a little miffed. ¡°Everyone knows.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but we can still maintain an aura of professionalism,¡± he replied. While, on occasion, he tried to keep a bit of professionalism, it was usually me trying to fight to keep Liam¡¯s hands off me.


    ¡°Right. This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with Nina? What is she doing there anyway?¡±


    Liam raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°I think the answer¡¯s obvious, Amy. I¡¯m just trying to help her out, you know she¡¯s been having a hard time.¡±


    ¡°Right, but she¡¯s always around you,¡± I retorted. ¡°Every time I look, there¡¯s Nina by your side, Nina clinging to your arm.¡±


    ¡°Amy¡­¡± He reached out for me now, but I drew away slightly.


    ¡°Whatever. You could have told me you were going to help her last night. I thought you were going down to the basement to transform by yourself. But she was there?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I needed your permission?¡± Liam snapped back at me.


    It seemed to be a day for me to get in fights with people, and it was the last thing that I wanted. Sarah and Liam were the people I loved most in the world, and I didn¡¯t want to fight with them. But today, nobody seemed to be getting along with me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t. But it¡¯s nice to tell your girlfriend when you¡¯re spending all night with another woman.¡±


    ¡°Amy.¡± Liam looked shocked. ¡°It¡¯s not like that and you know it.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± I shook my head. The conversation with Sarah had put me on edge and I didn¡¯t want to discuss anything with him anymore. ¡°I have to go to class.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to talk about your audition?¡±


    I shook my head, readjusting my backpack shoulder straps. ¡°See you later,¡± I said, turning and leaving. I was already late, and it only added to my bad mood.


    Trying my luck, I took a short cut through the empty Red Theater to get to the main lecture hall. The theater was dark and I stepped quickly through the aisles that I knew well, going up the steps and heading backstage to take the stage door exit to the other hallway. My emotions were boiling over, and I had so much on my mind that I almost missed it.


    There was a flash of light, out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head out of instinct, and just for one moment, I thought I saw a swirling white mist.


    I froze and blinked, not trusting my eyes. The white mist was getting taller and branching out. I shook my head and closed my eyes, counting to five.


    When I opened my eyes, it was gone and the only thing still there was the memory I had in my mind¡¯s eyes.


    Over six months ago, standing on that very spot, I had prayed for Porsche¡¯s life in the wake of Selene¡¯s murder. Liam had hovered over her broken body, sobbing, frantically trying to change her into an immortal. The floor had been cleaned, the blood had been wiped away, but the white mist had been over that exact spot.


    I took the other stage door exit, my heart thundering loudly. I felt a weight on my chest that wouldn¡¯t lift until I was back into the hallway that was busy with students. Once among the masses, the fear disappeared and I felt like I was safe. I didn¡¯t know what I saw, and I couldn¡¯t make sense of it. I just know it had made me afraid. And that I would never forget it.


    I sat on the opposite side of the lecture hall from Sarah, wanting to keep my head clear. She gave me a few glances, but I didn¡¯t meet them.


    When class was over, I bolted towards my audition, not wanting anyone who was coming from school to catch up to me. This should be one of the more exciting days of my life, but instead, it was turning into a disaster.


    The only bright spot in the day was that Drago would be there as the new stunt coordinator for Ranger. Technically, there was no reason for him to be at the auditions, but when he found out I would be auditioning, he found an excuse.


    I wasn¡¯t expecting a paparazzi mob when I approached the building, but I guess, with Ranger being a popular show, there was a reason for them wanting to capture the next future star. Trying to maintain a cool head, I ignored them, keeping my head low and slipping around them into the doors. Cameras flashed at my back, but I didn¡¯t turn around as I headed down the long hallway, following the signs.


    The last TV audition I had was an absolute disaster. Film acting is so much different than stage acting, and it had taken me quite a while to grasp that concept. But I feel like I have learned a lot in the past year, and I was ready to give it another go. Heck, the camera time alone on Sites, which would air tomorrow, had taught me more than I needed to know. Film was long and tiresome work, but what I liked about it was you could play up little things that a theater audience couldn¡¯t otherwise see, like a flicker of a smile or a flash of the eyes. Those things were all captured in minute detail on a camera.


    I signed in and joined the other potentials in the waiting room. Liam had taught me to ignore what everyone else was doing and just focus, but today, I couldn¡¯t. I was thinking about what I had seen in the theater, and the fight I had with Liam and with Sarah.


    I pulled out my phone and I selected both their names and sent a peace offering text. Sites premiere party, my room, tmrw? I¡¯ll bring the food.


    I watched the message send, and then slipped the phone back into my pocket and pulled out my sides. I knew enough to know that as soon as I walked into the room, they would choose what part I would read for, based on how I looked, my demeanor and my personality. These were things that you couldn¡¯t control. Casting directors had already made fifty percent of the choice before you even opened your mouth.


    When my name was called, I took a deep breath and smiled at the casting assistant. I heard a few whispers from behind me, and I knew that they knew who I was. But all that mattered right now was my performance in the room.


    ¡°Amy, hello,¡± said Ranger¡¯s producer, Samuel, as soon as I walked in the room.


    I recognized him, but not many others on the panel as he went down the line quickly, introducing them. At the end, though, Drago gave me a smile and I nodded to him.


    ¡°Are you ready to begin?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± This time I went straight to the spot marked on the floor, and planted my toes on it. Last time, I had no idea where to stand or look. Already, I felt ahead of the game.


    ¡°So Amy¡­¡± Samuel glanced at me and then shuffled through the papers. ¡°I¡¯d like you to read for Cassandra Winters, if that¡¯s ok.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I found the sides in the pile and put the rest back in my pocket. From what I could glean, Cassandra was some sort of a ranger herself, but it was hard to guess when you only had two pages of what could be one hundred pages of scripts. So I just straightened the papers and looked at the reader.


    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready,¡± Samuel said.


    I closed my eyes, blanking out my mind, or at least trying to. But to my alarm, I couldn¡¯t. The fear at the white mist was still there, and my anger at Liam was still fresh in my head. I knew that I was being illogical about both things, but I couldn¡¯t help the emotions that flooded through me. When I launched into my first line, it came out harsher and rougher than I meant it to. It was filled with all the things I was feeling.


    I panicked, trying to make a quick choice.


    Make strong choices, even if they are wrong. Make them strong. Liam¡¯s voice echoed through my head, and so I continued the script the way I started it. If I did it the way I rehearsed, all wide-eyed and innocent, it would contradict with what I had started. So my reading for Cassandra came out rough, angry and intense.


    There was a silence when we came to the end of the sides, and the main panel leaned into whisper to each other. Drago, on the end, leaned into the huddle as well, but made eye contact with me. Just before they broke apart, he gave me a smile.


    ¡°Amy, we have some additional sides for Cassandra. Can you read those as well?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, sure.¡±


    I stepped forward to take them, trying to glance at them even as I took a few steps backwards. Just as I predicted, they weren¡¯t big on letting me take a moment to read them. Luckily, being on stage all summer had taught me how to think on the spot. There was certainly no time to figure stuff out when one of the main girls slipped and twisted her ankle on stage, or a flat came down about three inches from my head like it had one night. The show must always go on.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    Cassandra must be some sort of visiting undercover officer, and from what I could tell, she was sweet on the main character. However, it didn¡¯t tell me anything about her background, or her story arc. It was interesting to learn more about it, and I wondered if her story continued beyond these few pages.


    Before I knew it, it was over and they were thanking me, promising they would be in touch when they likely wouldn¡¯t. That was just the way it went, false promises and niceties.

 Page 18

    ¡°And I think you¡¯re our last audition before lunch,¡± Drago said, standing up with the familiar unsteadiness of the limp I had gotten used to all summer. ¡°I¡¯ll walk you out, Amy.¡±


    ¡°Great, thanks.¡± I kept my face neutral until we were into the hallway. The rest of the panel were gathering their things. But as soon as I was alone with him, I couldn¡¯t contain my curiosity. ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°It was super good,¡± he promised me as we ambled down the hallway.


    I shook my head. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that.¡±


    ¡°Then so was the panel,¡± he replied. ¡°They really liked you. We¡¯ve been seeing terrible people all morning, and not one of them has been asked to read a second side. You did really good, Amy. But then, of course, you did.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I gave him a hug as we neared the front doors. ¡°And thanks for making time to be here.¡±


    ¡°Anytime.¡± He squeezed me tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll text you when I¡¯m done tonight and we can go out for food?¡±


    ¡°For sure.¡± I wiggled my eyebrows at him, as I pushed the door open. ¡°I¡¯ve got something special in mind.¡±


    I had forgotten about the paparazzi outside, and Drago and I were nearly blinded by the camera flashes as we fully pushed the door open. I held up my hand to shield my eyes, not that it did any good.


    ¡°I should go,¡± I said, giving him a rueful smile.


    He nodded. ¡°See ya around. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be hearing from them soon.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I headed out the door, lowering my head to keep my face covered.


    I now understood why stars wore sunglasses all the time. I didn¡¯t particularly want to go back to school and go to rehearsal. I wanted to stay glued to my phone, especially now that Drago had given me hope. But I highly doubted they would even be making a choice that day, when I knew they had auditions all afternoon. So instead, I grabbed a sandwich from the nearby deli for lunch and texted Liam that I was on my way back. Neither of them had responded to my invite for Sites, which annoyed me, but I assumed they would tell me when I got there.


    When I got to school, however, it appeared the chaos had followed me. Under no circumstances had I wanted to go into the Red Theater alone again, the white mist still on my mind. As I approached the theater, I saw that there was no way I would be alone in there. The theater was bedlam, with actors, costume designers, tech people and department heads running to and fro. I managed to find Connor in the crowd and I poked his arm.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? I thought we were just doing a dress rehearsal for the leads?¡±


    ¡°Liam has decided he wants a full run-through.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± was the only word that would come out of my mouth. Liam never wanted a full run-through this early. Last year, he focused on individual scenes again and again. But this year, every opportunity we got seemed to be a full run-through. ¡°Is he crazy?¡±


    Connor managed a smirk at that. ¡°He is the love of your life, Amy. You tell me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know the answer to that one,¡± I responded, leaving my book bag on a chair and going towards the stage.


    The theater felt much different than when I was alone in it this morning. The energy was positive and busy, not dark and eerie. I decided not to mention what I saw until Sites aired tomorrow. I wanted to see what they had captured with their cameras.


    ¡°Why the run-through?¡± I asked Liam as he stood on the stage, waving his arms at the set people and directing them to various places.


    ¡°Amy.¡± His smile was tight and I assumed he wasn¡¯t over our fight this morning. ¡°Can you just get into costume?¡±


    ¡°I barely know which costume I need for what act yet, Liam,¡± I replied. ¡°And my audition went great, thanks. Why are we running through so early?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± He barely looked at me. ¡°Please get into costume. We¡¯ll be rehearsing until at least dusk.¡±


    ¡°Ok, ok.¡± I gave him a look that expressed how unimpressed I was, but he didn¡¯t seem to react.


    Just as I was about to ask another question, Nina appeared from nowhere, gently tugging on his arm. ¡°Liam, can you help?¡±


    I didn¡¯t bother to stay to hear the rest of the conversation. I turned on my heel, going backstage to the costume room. I couldn¡¯t even say hello to my boyfriend without her hanging around, and it was getting on my last nerve.


    If there was one thing I would admit that Liam was right about, it was the length of rehearsal. We stumbled through two run-throughs and were nearing dinner time when Liam called for everyone in the party scene to meet him in the west wing.


    ¡°Finally,¡± I said to Sarah, as we went towards the wing. ¡°An explanation.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything and her face was pale, contorted with pain. I took her arm as she stumbled slightly.


    ¡°Hey, you ok?¡±


    She nodded, her jaw tightening and I wondered if she was about to be sick again. Dusk was nearing and I assumed we would be continuing on with just the supernatural creatures. In my opinion, Liam was obsessing over the scene. It was perfect now and the show was still months away. I expressed those thoughts in Sarah¡¯s ear, but she merely shrugged. Dropping her elbow, I moved farther into the crowd. Fine, if Sarah didn¡¯t want to talk to me, I might as well bury myself away.


    ¡°Alright, everyone, listen up,¡± Liam said, dropping his voice as we all gathered around. ¡°We¡¯re moving the show up.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I knew I wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked at this.


    All around me, others were shifting and whispering, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because last night, Nina and I met with the De Ritter Shields,¡± he said. ¡°I was concerned for Nina¡¯s heath and I wanted some human relief. They informed me she is ill because we are so close to her date of siring.¡± He met my eyes, but I looked away. He could have told me that, rather than let me yell at him all day. ¡°Selene was created as a vampire in December. December 31st to be exact. So she will be at her weakest then. On the anniversary of their siring, apparently vampires experience weakness, human emotions, all sorts of strange things.¡±


    ¡°How have we never known this before?¡± Connor asked, his arms around Isabelle.


    I glanced to Sarah, who was making a point of keeping her eyes straight ahead.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a secret the Shields like to keep, an advantage they have while hunting us. The only reason they told me is to avenge Porsche, and if any of us disclose it outside this room, there¡¯ll be hell to pay. So forget it,¡± Liam replied. ¡°But I have decided that it¡¯s our best chance to take Selene down. So December 31st will be our closing night.¡±


    ¡°Closing night?¡± I said, shocked.


    ¡°Closing night. The show will open on the 27th, and close on the 31st.¡±


    ¡°But you can¡¯t do that,¡± I blurted out.


    Liam gave me a glare. ¡°I¡¯m the headmaster, Amy. I can direct the school as I please. I will come up with some excuse for moving the show and inform the rest of the cast tomorrow. But for now, be aware that¡¯s the reason. Everything that we are working towards will hopefully come to a close before the new year.¡±


    Sarah made a noise and Liam turned to her.


    ¡°Sarah, you have a question?¡±


    And then she screamed.


    Chapter 12: Liam


    I hadn¡¯t realized how late it had gotten. The sun was already almost set and the scent of blood was so strong, I felt my jaw unhinge. Sarah was doubled over screaming, her arms wrapped around her midsection. With blood in the air, I could feel my transformation heighten, even in the presence of a Shield. Something was horribly, terribly wrong.


    The other vampires lurched and groaned, fighting their instincts as blood began to spill from between Sarah¡¯s legs. Even Nina moved forward and it was only due to my lightning quick reflexes that I was able to grab her.


    ¡°AMY!¡± I yelled, trying to get her attention in the crowd. ¡°Do something!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what I wanted Amy to do, I couldn¡¯t even think clearly.


    ¡°Get out, get out!¡± I howled at the others. Their fangs were growing, and their eyes darkening and while I was strong, I certainly wasn¡¯t strong enough to fight them all off and resist the smell of blood myself. But suddenly, relief filled the air. I whipped my head around to Sarah, who was now on the ground, Amy covering her. Amy¡¯s arm was slashed from her elbow to her armpit, a pair of sewing scissors in her hand. It horrified me that she had to do it, but it was a good move. Her infected blood neutralized the cravings, and together with Sarah being a Shield, the fog in my mind began to clear. However, Amy had her arm held out, the blood dripping on the floor. I needed to keep it far away from Sarah or anyone else who could possibly be affected. My heart went out to her, as she crouched half on Sarah and half to the side. The war that she had to go through on a daily basis was enough, and I wished that I didn¡¯t have to put her through any more. I hated myself for involving her in all of this.


    ¡°Call an ambulance,¡± Amy yelled at me.


    I reached to pull out my cell phone. ¡°Get out, the rest of you! Out, NOW! Connor, dismiss the cast!¡± I barked at them as I dialed 9-1-1 and let it ring through.


    I could feel my heart beating hard, the transformation now half set. Connor met my eyes, and tried to head towards Sarah, but I pushed him back, glaring at him.


    ¡°If you do not do as I say right now, I will make sure that you and your wife are never free from Selene¡¯s terror.¡±


    He glared at me with intensity, but finally broke away, never saying a word as he pulled the others out. The ringing in the phone stopped.


    ¡°9-1-1, what is your emergency?¡±


    I gave the information to the operator as everyone scattered and I hung up.


    ¡°Go,¡± Amy said to me. ¡°Go. You look like a corpse.¡±


    ¡°Amy¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to leave her here to deal with this.


    Sarah was conscious, but clearly in pain, and Amy was speaking soothing words to her, her injured arm held out to her side. These girls were so young, no one should have to deal with death. But Amy¡¯s gaze was strong.

 Page 19

    ¡°No, go,¡± she repeated. ¡°I¡¯ll call you as soon as it¡¯s safe.¡±


    I hesitated for a minute and then headed down the steps, Amy¡¯s blood still flooding my nostrils. We had to get this curse lifted, we had to succeed at the end of the year. Because I never ever wanted to put her through that again.


    I knew I had been short with Amy all day, and I regretted it. I hadn¡¯t meant to be, and she certainly didn¡¯t deserve it. And without a chance to properly apologize, it weighed heavily on my chest.


    I knew Sarah was having a miscarriage, it didn¡¯t take a doctor to diagnose it. I was still fairly in the dark when it came to the mystery of a woman¡¯s body, but the blood pouring out of her convinced me that the child could not survive. A child had never been conceived from vampire coupling and so perhaps it wasn¡¯t meant to be. Perhaps this is what happened all the time and no one talked about it. There was so much that I didn¡¯t know about the world I lived in, and so much I wished I had never learned.


    I rushed down to the basement, fighting transformation all the way. The monster in me craved the blood on the floor, wanting to lap it up, and I hated myself more than ever


    I made it to the hospital in 10 minutes after Amy texted me that it was safe. I probably broke every speed law on the planet. I had dismissed the school to regular classes, which I¡¯m sure made the department heads hate me, but I wasn¡¯t in any mindset to address them. It was 6 am, and it had been a long sleepless night. I walked into the hospital waiting room and Amy was waiting for me, a bandage up her arm.


    ¡°Amy,¡± I said, reaching out to wrap her in a hug. To my surprise though, she didn¡¯t return it.


    ¡°Come with me,¡± she said, striding ahead of me towards the double doors.


    ¡°Amy, if you¡¯re mad at me, do you think we can discuss it some other time?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, and pushed a door open.


    Sarah lay in a bed, tubing hooked up to her arms. She looked exhausted, but a quick glance at the monitors told me that her vitals were strong.


    ¡°Sarah, how are you?¡± I changed my tone, approaching the bed carefully.


    Her eyes flicked opened, and she gave me a small nod. ¡°I¡¯m alright, now.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    There was a silence, and the two girls looked at each other before Amy spoke.


    ¡°Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands and induced a miscarriage. Using pennyroyal.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± My jaw fell open. I was torn between offering sympathy and losing my cool.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyes were full of tears. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have that baby, I couldn¡¯t. You know Connor wouldn¡¯t support me, you know my parents would freak. And I didn¡¯t want it.¡±


    ¡°Sarah, if you didn¡¯t want it, there were other ways of¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head, meeting my eyes. ¡°Connor comes from a time when that doesn¡¯t happen. He told me that if he caught me doing that, he would hold me captive.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?¡± Now my jaw fell open. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him myself, don¡¯t you worry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Sarah begged, tears flooding her face. ¡°I love him, Liam.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not love.¡± Amy took her hand, squeezing it. ¡°And you know it.¡±


    ¡°Sarah,¡± I said carefully. ¡°Pennyroyal can kill you, did you know that?¡±


    Instead of looking shocked, she nodded.


    ¡°You what?¡± Now it was Amy¡¯s turn to be shocked. ¡°You knew it could be fatal and you did it anyway?¡±


    ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t let me die.¡± Sarah met my eyes. ¡°Damn what the Shields think, Liam, I knew that if my life slipped away, you¡¯d change me.¡±


    I heard Amy gasp, and it must have been because of the look on my face. Every muscle in my body tremored as I tried not to punch a hole through the wall. Amy made a move towards me, but I moved away. I didn¡¯t want to be touched, I didn¡¯t want to think, I didn¡¯t even want to breathe. I was trembling and I paced the room, trying to get under control.


    Finally, when I felt I could speak without exploding, I turned to Sarah, trying to keep my voice as calm and even as possible.


    ¡°Sarah,¡± I spoke slowly. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that if I could save a Shield from dying, Porsche would be standing beside me right now?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Her eyes widened.


    ¡°Shields cannot be changed,¡± I spoke as if every word had a period after it. ¡°Shields cannot be changed into werewolves or witches, or vampires. Shields cannot even return as ghosts. If you had died, there would be nothing that could bring you back. Did you not think of that before you executed a drug overdose?¡±


    Sarah paled even more, looking to Amy, who nodded.


    ¡°I thought that¡­¡± Her voice was trembling. ¡°I just assumed you got to Porsche too late. I didn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°He tried,¡± Amy said, tears in her own eyes. ¡°He tried. But she didn¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem with you Sarah: you don¡¯t think!¡± I hadn¡¯t meant it to come out so harsh, but it did. I was beyond caring. ¡°You don¡¯t think at all. You think that whatever you do doesn¡¯t have consequences, that there¡¯s someone who can always fix it and save you. Connor and Isabelle wanted nothing more than to be free of Selene¡¯s grasp, and now you¡¯ve given me no choice but to exile them.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°You have!¡± I snapped. ¡°How can I keep them around knowing Connor threatened you? But he wouldn¡¯t have had to threaten you if you didn¡¯t put him in such a position!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Sarah said.


    I cut her off. ¡°Right. You didn¡¯t have anything to do with it whatsoever. Unless you¡¯re about to tell me you were raped, you¡¯ve got no leg left to stand on.¡±


    ¡°LIAM!¡± Amy snapped at me, but I was so angry I could barely see straight.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a game,¡± I continued. ¡°You think this is a game, you just waltz in and take whatever you want and assume there won¡¯t be consequences? I told you from the beginning, if you didn¡¯t want to be involved in this, you just had to tell me and I would have made sure the vampires had nothing to do with you. You watched from the sidelines for a year while Amy went through hell, and what, you thought it would be fun to come and try?¡±


    ¡°LIAM!¡± Amy¡¯s eyes were blazing fire, and she was angrier than I had ever seen her. ¡°Stop talking right now or I swear to God¡­¡±


    ¡°Or what, Amy? Or what?¡± I couldn¡¯t stop my mouth. ¡°You¡¯re the one who fell in love with the damned creature that stands before you, and you¡¯re the one who¡¯s stupid enough to stay. For God¡¯s sake, you¡¯re not even twenty. You should be out and about living your life, not trapped in here with me.¡±


    ¡°Why? So I can set you free to be Nina¡¯s knight in shining armor?¡± Amy screeched back at me. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be nice for her? Wonderful strong Liam to pick her up when she falls, to cuddle her when she cries and nurse her back to health. I¡¯m not stupid, Liam.¡±


    I almost laughed. ¡°You seriously think that¡¯s what¡¯s going on? After all I¡¯ve done for you, Amy¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡± Sarah interrupted both of us, glaring at me. ¡°Liam, get out before I call security.¡±


    I snarled at that. ¡°I would tear security limb from limb if I had to, and you know it. You two think being a monster is so romantic, so fun? I¡¯ll leave you to your romantic notions.¡±


    I made sure to slam the door on my way out.


    Chapter 13: Liam


    I waited until morning to find Connor. I shouldn¡¯t have, I had visions in my head of us both being vampires and tearing him to pieces. But I knew that those visions were illogical. First of all, it was vampire rage causing me to think that way, and second of all, Connor was much older than me. It would likely be him tearing me to pieces. So, when morning came and my head was clearer, I dressed as I should, as a headmaster of a respectable school, and calmly asked my secretary to call Connor out of whatever class he was pretending to be in. I sat behind my desk and folded my hands, waiting.


    By the expression on Connor¡¯s face when he entered, I knew that he was anticipating a war.


    I knew that in a school full of teenagers, I would have to deal with pregnancies and teenage drama. It had happened twice in my time as headmaster, and both times, we had to call in all the bells and whistles: social services, parents, clinics, everything. Never did I expect to be dealing with it among my vampire population.


    ¡°Have a seat, Connor,¡± I said, indicating the chair.


    He sat, wordlessly. I took a deep breath, wondering how to approach this. My hands twitched and I decided, to hell with it, and reached into my desk drawer, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and 2 shot glasses.


    ¡°Drink?¡±


    ¡°At 9 am?¡± he asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s it going to do? Destroy our livers?¡±


    Connor agreed with me on that point, and I poured us both a shot. I was stalling for time and I knew it, but the truth was that I was torn. From what I had learned about Sarah and her behavior, she wasn`t lying to me. Many of these age old vampires still lived in the old ways, their morals and views still kept. Connor came from a time when wives were to stay at home and have children and the men went out and did their own thing. Often, that meant not being faithful. And if a baby were to come along, they would likely react in the same way Connor did, and not think anything of it.


    But on the other hand, Connor and Isabelle were united with me in killing Selene, and they were probably two of the most powerful fighters we had. There were so few people in the world who shared my view, that I didn`t want to get rid of any of them. I knew how badly the ache to kill Selene hurt, and the fact that I was taking it away from them made my heart burn.


    ¡°Connor, I think you know why you¡¯re here,¡± I said at last.

 Page 20

    He shrugged. ¡°The girl, the Shield, is with child.¡±


    My eyebrows raised. ¡°You haven`t heard?¡±


    ¡°Heard what?¡± Connor shifted uncomfortably and his face contorted in concern. ¡°Is she alright?¡±


    ¡°Sarah¡­ lost the child,¡± I said, tactfully. If he hadn¡¯t heard the rumors, he didn¡¯t need to know that it was self-induced.


    ¡°She lost it?¡± The emotion that took over his face surprised me. He actually seemed concerned about it.


    ¡°She did. And her main concern, all the way through, was that you would hurt her if it got out that it was yours.¡±


    Connor paused and sat back, overwhelmed. ¡°I¡­we¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen to me.¡± I took a deep breath and leaned over my desk to be closer to him. ¡°Nobody wants Selene dead more than me. And nobody knows how much I need your help more than me. I¡¯m using my school and my otherwise unsuspecting actors for another more sinister reason. I cannot have them in any more danger than they already are. On top of that, Sarah is my secret weapon. If I thought she was in any danger, I would make sure she wasn¡¯t. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Sarah is also Amy¡¯s best friend, and I would lay down my life for Amy in an instant. And she trumps everything; this battle against Selene, this school, everything. It¡¯s always Amy. Amy always wins. And so I can¡¯t have even a whisper of a threat against Sarah. You¡¯ll have to go. You and Isabelle. You are no longer welcome in this alliance.¡±


    Connor¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°No, Liam,¡± he started.


    I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t, Connor, I just can¡¯t. Selene will be dead one way or another, but we can¡¯t operate this way.¡±


    ¡°Liam!¡± Now his voice rose. ¡°I never made a threat against Sarah. Never. I would have never done so. I-I love her.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°You never told her anything of the sort?¡±


    ¡°Never,¡± he replied, his eyes wide and honest. ¡°I would never do such a thing. I am a man of honor, and if there was a child, I would make sure that it would be taken care of.¡±


    He didn¡¯t behave much like a man of honor. But years of dramatic acting had taught me that there were some things people couldn¡¯t fake.


    ¡°One minute,¡± I said, and picked up my phone, dialing Sarah¡¯s hospital room number.


    She picked up immediately. ¡°Liam?¡± she asked, her voice full of concern. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    She sounded so different than the self-assured girl I admitted to my school, and my heart broke for what she had to go through. After I had stormed out, neither of the girls were really speaking to me, so she must have assumed that something was really wrong if I called her.


    ¡°Sarah, you told me Connor threatened you. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Her voice quivered. ¡°He left me a note under the door.¡±


    ¡°A note?¡± I raised my eyebrow. ¡°Sarah, do you still have it?¡±


    ¡°I threw it in my trashcan before I¡­ got sick,¡± she replied. ¡°And I haven¡¯t taken it out yet.¡±


    ¡°Do I have your permission to get it?¡± I asked, trying to be polite as possible.


    ¡°Whatever.¡± She hung up on me.


    I rolled my eyes, turning to Connor. I took a pen out of my desk and pushed a piece of paper towards him.


    ¡°Write something and sign your name.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°Just write Sarah¡¯s name and sign your name.¡±


    I felt like I was threatening schoolchildren who wrote on desks. Obediently, he wrote what I asked. I rose and retrieved a file from the filing cabinet, and then took his paper.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to lock you in here. It won¡¯t be for long, alright? I¡¯m just not going to take any chances.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Connor crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.


    I dug the keys out of my pocket and turned the lock on the door before striding down the hallway to the dorms.


    If someone had told me four years ago that my life would be like this, I would have laughed. I had thought at my age, I would be hitting the night clubs hard, or maybe married to a model. Or ten of them. But dealing with delinquent vampires, miscarriages, and teenage angst was nowhere on my list.


    Sarah¡¯s dorm room was a mess, which didn¡¯t surprise me. The walls were covered with posters, and the floors with clothes. I had a feeling she was going to be one of the students who we had to hire a cleaning crew for at the end of the year.


    Her garbage can was near her desk. Wincing, I dug in, moving around hair from her hairbrush, an empty package of Gravol, and then, there, a folded piece of paper.


    As soon as I unfolded it, I could see that Connor was telling the truth. I wasn¡¯t a handwriting expert, but there was nothing even remotely similar about the two papers.


    Placing my file on her desk, I opened it, slowly flipping through it. All the vampires had filled out admission or staff forms, and so I had all their writings. I squinted, trying to compare letters, sizes, scrawls.


    When I found it, it was obvious. The cursive script was old style, with perfectly made letters. The ¡®o¡¯s were crossed through and the ¡®i¡¯s were dotted. She had struck me as smart, but I had also thought her English wasn¡¯t that good. Whether she had an accomplice or not, it didn¡¯t matter.


    It had been Isabelle who wrote the letter to Sarah, threatening her life and the life of the child. Isabelle, dangerous little Isabelle. The more I found out about her, the more I disliked. I had Connor trapped in my office, but it was Isabelle I had to find.


    My phone rang then, and it was the hospital. My heart leaping into my mouth, I answered.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Liam, it¡¯s Sarah. Reception just called me. It¡¯s Isabelle. She¡¯s on her way up. Why would she come here? Do you think she knows?¡±


    ¡°Sarah,¡± the words tumbled out. ¡°Don¡¯t let her in.¡±


    ¡°I think it might be too late for that. She can¡¯t hurt me, right? It¡¯s daylight, she¡¯s human.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still stronger than humans, Sarah.¡± I thought wildly. ¡°Listen to me. Do you have an IV line in?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Pull the needle out, slash your arm. If you have a heart monitor, cut it so you get people rushing in there. Do anything you need to increase your Shield powers, and get yourself surrounded by people. Do not let Isabelle in there alone with you, ok?¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± She sounded frightened, but hung up the phone.


    I moved as fast as I could, dialing Amy¡¯s number, but it went straight to voicemail. I growled, and tried again. Again, to voicemail. She was either ignoring me or had it off. And while she had every right to ignore me, I wished that she would do anything but that.


    Suddenly, I turned on my heel, went two doors down and pounded on her dorm room door. It was a long shot, she was probably in class, but it was worth a try.


    The door opened, and she stood, looking unimpressed.


    ¡°Liam?¡±


    ¡°Sarah¡¯s in trouble. Let¡¯s go.¡± I grabbed her wrist, pulling her out the door and leaving her stammering as we flew towards the parking lot.


    I explained as fast as I could as I drove like a mad man, being caught by about 10 speed cameras on the way. In between explaining to Amy, I dialed numbers recklessly, looking for another weapon. Anyone who picked up was instructed to meet us at the hospital.


    I nearly cut off an ambulance pulling into the hospital parking lot. Amy was hot on my heels as we ran through the lobby.


    Sarah¡¯s room was on the 3rd floor. When we reached it, I could already tell something was horribly wrong. The floor was abandoned and eerily quiet. I put my arm around Amy, who seemed so small in comparison.


    ¡°Stay close to me,¡± I mouthed and she nodded, looking around in fear.


    Blood wafted to my nostrils and I had to fight every instinct I had to not enjoy it. When we reached the nurses¡¯ station, Amy jumped, but to her credit, did not scream. A nurse lay in a pool of her own blood behind the desk, her throat gouged out in true vampire fashion.


    Isabelle.


    I knew that older vampires had more control over their transformation, but I didn¡¯t think that they could do such a thing at 10 in the morning. So either Isabelle could and I had a lot to learn about vampires, or she was a cold-blooded killer when she was human as well.


    Movement at the end of the hall alerted me, and I looked up to see Thomas De Ritter standing there, his eyes meeting mine, those same eyes that his daughter had often gazed at me with.


    ¡°Amy,¡± I mouthed, and she looked up to see him approach.


    Out of respect for the head of the Shields, and because I didn¡¯t want to start a war, I bowed my head. Thomas¡¯s eyes darted around until they rested on Sarah¡¯s hospital room. I nodded, and slowly, we approached.


    Thomas was not as powerful as his daughter, but he was more powerful than Sarah, whose power I couldn¡¯t even feel.


    We crept up to the window, afraid of what we might find.


    Isabelle was standing beside Sarah¡¯s bed. Sarah, clearly alive, looked terrified by Isabelle¡¯s words. I nodded to Thomas and held up three fingers.


    He nodded back, and waited for my signal.


    When the time was right, we both leapt in. Thomas grabbed Isabelle before she could get any closer to Sarah. I heard her shriek an ungodly shriek. Amy immediately ran to Sarah, making sure she was alright, while I faced Isabelle, who was struggling. Luckily, whatever superhuman strength she possessed was neutralized by Thomas.


    ¡°Isabelle,¡± I spoke carefully. ¡°I can¡¯t have you threatening my plan against Selene, which Sarah is instrumental in.¡±


    ¡°Whore!¡± Isabelle spat, suddenly speaking English and making Amy gasp.


    I shook my head. ¡°Not appropriate language for my students. Your participation in this plan is no more, Isabelle.¡±


    ¡°Connor will save me!¡± she cried, her voice heavily accented. ¡°You will regret this!¡±


    ¡°Your husband handed you over,¡± I replied. ¡°And now I see why. You¡¯re a right bitch to deal with.¡±

 Page 21

    ¡°Liam,¡± Thomas said, his face neutral. ¡°I will make sure to hand this one over to the proper authorities. After we are done with her.¡±


    I bit my lip. Thomas was essentially asking for payment for his participation. To leave a vampire in the hands of the Shields was torture, excruciating pain, guaranteed.


    But I knew that it was the right thing to do after looking at Amy and Sarah, both with tears running down her face.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    Thomas glanced to Sarah and then back at me. ¡°A word, Liam, if you please,¡± he asked.


    I nodded, my chest tightening at what he might say.


    We went out into the hall, Isabelle struggling the whole way. The smell of blood was everywhere since Isabelle had slaughtered the whole staff. I knew I would have to sneak Amy out of here. I didn¡¯t want her to see any more than she had to see.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why did you call me to protect an O¡¯Malley Shield?¡±


    My jaw fell open. ¡°The O¡¯Malley bloodline is dead, at least 600 years. Porsche told me that after the whole clan betrayed the coven, they were¡­ taken care of.¡±


    The O¡¯Malleys were one of the old Shield bloodlines that were since long gone. In their case, they had chosen, as Porsche did, to work in conjunction with vampires. The rest of the Shield families had made sure they did not live to see the dawn. It was a bloody massacre, and they were rarely talked about it.


    I found it almost ironic how the Shields could call vampires monsters, and hold them so high and mighty, and yet have such a bloody history.


    ¡°And there were supposed to be no survivors. But there is always one or two that escape. What you have in there is a diluted O¡¯Malley Shield. Did you know that?¡±


    I almost blushed. ¡°We knew¡­ something, that she was something. But we traced family history and couldn¡¯t find anything. We figured she was some diluted passive Shield.¡±


    ¡°She is diluted and passive. The O¡¯Malley¡¯s wouldn¡¯t have active Shields anymore. But she is still a Shield, and she belongs with us. We will not lose another one to your cause.¡±


    ¡°I-I uh...¡± I was at a loss for words. ¡°Sarah knows what she is, and she chooses to stay with us.¡±


    ¡°A Shield¡¯s fate is not up to them.¡± He shifted the struggling Isabelle as if she were a rag doll. ¡°She¡¯s likely never been educated in our ways.¡±


    ¡°Even if she¡¯s a disgraced Shield?¡±


    ¡°Even those disgraced can still find their way back to light,¡± Thomas replied. ¡°The terms of our agreement have changed, Liam. You have not been entirely truthful with me. For us to continue our partnership, I need the truth from here on out.¡±


    I bowed my head. ¡°Of course. My apologies.¡±


    ¡°And when our treaty has ended, upon on Selene¡¯s death, the O¡¯Malley Shield will be coming with us.¡±


    This made my jaw fall open, and it even seemed to shock Isabelle, who stopped struggling long enough to look up at Thomas.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I searched his eyes but saw that he was completely serious. Like his daughter, he was stubborn. I knew that if I did not agree to this, Thomas De Ritter and his Shields would walk away from our deal. And so I nodded and prayed I would have time to figure out a way around this.


    ¡°Sarah will be yours,¡± I agreed. ¡°She deserves to hear both sides of the story, I think, at the very least, and choose where she wants to be.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you agree.¡± Thomas nodded and then without warning hit Isabelle on the back of the head, knocking her out. He swooped her up in his arms, as if she weighed nothing and turned on his heel, wordlessly, leaving me standing alone in the hallway.


    Taking a deep breath and hoping that I hadn¡¯t just signed Sarah¡¯s death warrant, I headed into the room.


    Chapter 14: Amy


    As an actor, I almost always knew what to feel. Emotions were obvious and came easily, often with scripted words and actions. I knew what to draw on, how to feel, and what to do. But as we left the hospital, I was at a loss.


    We had given our statements to the police a hundred times. That Sarah called us, upset, and we had come right over, only to find this scene and a frightened Sarah. As long as the hospital didn¡¯t have security cameras in that room to check, it seemed that we would get away with our story.


    ¡°Do you really think that Thomas De Ritter will hand Isabelle over to the authorities?¡± I asked.


    Liam shook his head. ¡°He will hand her body over to the police. The Shields will not let her live.¡±


    I drew in a deep breath as we walked away to the car. I hated to leave Sarah, but it had to be done. If we stayed and whispered to her any longer, it would have looked suspicious.


    ¡°What are you going to tell Connor?¡±


    ¡°The truth,¡± he replied, getting in the car, and looking at the clock as it turned on. ¡°Sites is on in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, I almost forgot.¡± I buried my head in my face. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can watch it.¡±


    ¡°Amy.¡± He took my hand as we drove. ¡°You need something to take your mind off today.¡±


    I glanced at him. He was so handsome, muscular forearms bared as he drove.


    ¡°Liam¡­ I¡¯m sorry that we fought.¡±


    He let out a huge breath, nodding. ¡°I¡¯m sorry too, Amy. I never should have said those things.¡±


    ¡°All couples fight. Probably about different things, but they do fight.¡± I offered him a small smile. ¡°We¡¯ll be ok.¡±


    ¡°I hope so.¡± He grinned at me. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll have no Meg Giry for the show.¡±


    I smacked him. ¡°That¡¯s all you think about?¡¯


    ¡°And other things,¡± he replied.


    Just then, my cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, I furrowed my brow. ¡°I don¡¯t know who this is. Wait,¡± I said, pressing talk. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Yes, can I speak to Amy?¡±


    ¡°This is Amy,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Amy, this is Steven Caf, I¡¯m the head of casting for Ranger.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± My voice must have gone up about three octaves.


    ¡°Amy, we¡¯d love to have you out to play Cassandra Winters. She¡¯s a reoccurring character and right now has a seven episode arc with a strong possibility of extension. The show films here in the city, and we¡¯d probably need you about three days a week.¡±


    I made a noise that I didn¡¯t even recognize, somewhere between a squawk and a screech. Liam gave me a funny look as a thousand questions went through my head, as I tried to figure out what to ask him. The first thing that came to mind was my school schedule.


    ¡°Um¡­ would¡­ mornings, five days a week work for you?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m in school, but I¡¯m potentially free every morning,¡± I said, even though it meant that I would be killing myself with my independent study. And how was I going to go to class for the lectures I needed?


    ¡°Potentially. I¡¯m sure we can work something out, Amy. I¡¯m going to email you all the details, since it says you¡¯re unrepresented?¡±


    ¡°Liam,¡± I blurted out. ¡°I¡¯m at Leopard Academy, so Liam is the one who represents us, the headmaster.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll speak to him. But do you accept the role?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Now the excitement was flowing through my body. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Great, Amy. We¡¯ll see you on set later this month. Congratulations.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I squeaked again, and then hung up, turning to Liam. ¡°I got the part! Oh my God, I¡¯m going to be on Ranger!¡±


    He grinned at me. ¡°For how long?¡±


    ¡°For at least 7 episodes. But oh my God, what am I going to do about school?¡±


    ¡°Do your independent study on that,¡± he said.


    I was confused. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t chosen a topic yet, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no,¡± I replied. ¡°I thought maybe doing it on the history of triple threat performers or¡­¡±


    ¡°Do it on your experience in general,¡± he suggested. ¡°Homeschooling to theater schooling, to returning to school after a summer in professional theater, and now, trying to maintain an education while being on a hit TV show. Write it like an essay, with anecdotes and all the things you¡¯ve learned, tips and tricks, things that were hard, things that weren¡¯t.¡±


    I took a deep breath, leaning back in my seat. ¡°How would I propose that?¡±


    Liam laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sitting right beside you, and I am the proposal committee. I approve 60,000 words and you have until June.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± I grinned, playing with my phone. I wanted to text everyone I knew, but Liam had taught me to wait until things were real, until I had the paperwork and everything. ¡°Oh my God!¡±


    ¡°Tell me about the part,¡± he prompted as we cruised down the road.


    I thought back to the audition. ¡°She¡¯s uh¡­¡± I laughed then. ¡°She¡¯s an angry cop, I think. A tough girl. And I was pretty damn angry with you at the audition, so it all poured out. I guess, convincingly.¡±


    ¡°I really hope we don¡¯t have to fight every morning before you film,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Do you think you can work something out with them?¡± I asked. ¡°So that both rehearsal schedule and school and filming work out?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded. ¡°Although it won¡¯t be easy, I¡¯ll make it work.¡± He gave me a look then that confused me.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m proud of you. And a little jealous. I miss all that life.¡±


    ¡°I should call Deon,¡± I said, referring to my ex-costar who now had a long running part on another show.


    Liam laughed at that. ¡°Deon kind of did the opposite of what you want to do. He quit school, remember, to be on the show?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I remembered vividly the moment he got his call, how it seemed his life had changed forever. And now those emotions were mine.


    We pulled into the parking lot of the school, and Liam locked the car, taking my arm as we walked into the dorm entrance. We only had a few hours until the sun fully set, and I felt light and free. Liam was by my side, we had hours to spend together. I had missed class today and didn¡¯t die, so clearly I could work something out with Ranger. Everything was going to be alright.

 Page 22

    I unlocked my dorm room and kicked off my shoes. I flopped down on the couch and switched the TV on.


    Liam disappeared for a while to allow Connor out of the office, and then rejoined me, allowing me to snuggle into his arms, as we waited for the show to come on. I shifted and shifted again, trying to get comfortable, until he commented on it.


    ¡°Ants in your pants?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t focus,¡± I replied. ¡°I mean, I¡¯d be restless without the day we had. I¡¯ve never watched myself on TV before.¡±


    ¡°I can cover your eyes if you want.¡±


    I laughed. I was glad that it was just us watching alone in our own private world.


    ¡°Up next, catch Sites as they visit Leopard Academy, headed up by a former Hollywood superstar, and hosted by his lady love.¡±


    I almost screamed, but Liam held me down. I was practically vibrating with energy as it started.


    I guess I would have to get used to seeing myself on TV with TV makeup, but for now, it was strange. I barely recognized myself. I sent a text to my father to make sure he was watching.


    Watching AND taping it he replied, and I giggled. My father was about the only person left who had a VCR and taped things.


    I looked taller, older and more sophisticated than I normally did. The makeup made my eyes look huge. My hair was fluffy and the clothes they gave me fit perfectly. I actually looked like I might fit in with other people on TV.


    Liam and I watched, giggling and punching each other as we were shown room after room in the school on the TV show. His interview with me sent us into screams of laughter as we giggled at a thousand inside jokes.


    ¡°I need to get that ceiling painted,¡± he commented, as I took the camera crew through one of the classrooms.


    I pointed to the garbage can, which was overflowing. ¡°And take out the garbage.¡±


    ¡°Any other critiques, Amy?¡± He tickled me and I squirmed.


    The commercial breaks were the worst part.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we have gotten a preview tape of this?¡±


    ¡°There would be network commercials on that too,¡± he replied, as watched a stupid commercial about steam mops.


    Finally, the show came back on. I was giving a tour of the Red Theater. As we caught Sarah and Connor scampering off camera we both sat in silence, lost in our own thoughts. At first, I had been kind of appalled by Sarah¡¯s affair, and now seeing what it had amounted to, it was scary. But at the same time, you couldn¡¯t choose who you loved, or who you fell in love with. While I didn¡¯t care what Liam was, I wouldn¡¯t have chosen this life for him or me. The longer he stayed a vampire, the more we grew apart, and I knew it. Sometimes I squinted into the mirror checking for fine lines or wrinkles, even if there were none. One day, they would be there, and I would age. But Liam would remain the same, forever 23, ageless, and wouldn¡¯t we look funny walking down the street holding hands. Plus, his celebrity status was a big problem. People had to stop recognizing him if this was going to work, and without aging, that was rather hard.


    I had renewed energy in me for our battle against Selene. We had to kill her. All these people that had died along the way, the victims in the hospital, Porsche, all the vampire¡¯s victims, it wouldn¡¯t be in vein if Selene was killed in December. What a way to start the new year.


    Finally, the show came back on.


    ¡°And now, join us for ghostly footage captured backstage, on the very spot where Russian Ballerina Porsche De Ritter perished last summer.¡±


    Liam and I both sat up straighter at that, looking at each other.


    ¡°What do you think it is?¡± I asked


    He shrugged. ¡°Aside from special effects that they¡¯ve added to make it seem like a ghost story? Dust. They¡¯ve been working a lot in there on the set.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯d do that?¡± I asked, appalled. ¡°They¡¯d just disrespect her memory and make a fake ghost story?¡± That made me angry. I had always thought that TV was so glamorous, but the more I was involved with it, the more I saw its ugly underbelly that the public never saw.


    ¡°Sure. You remember when Kamy Tan died?¡± he asked.


    That reminded me of the young movie star who had died of a drug overdose a few years ago. I realized he must have been in Hollywood during that time.


    ¡°Sure. How could I forget? Her family had a huge estate battle at her funeral, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    He snorted, shaking his head and rubbing my back gently. ¡°No. But that¡¯s what the media told you. I was at her funeral. Her family cried their eyes out, and made tearful speeches and that was it. There was no epic money battle, no hair pulling and no hat throwing. But the media needed some sort of story because she died so controversially.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Was it drugs?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Brain aneurysm. Unexpected, but genetically predictable. ¡°


    ¡°But then why didn¡¯t the family sue or something?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°They were too upset with the grief of her passing. They, like most of us, recognized it didn¡¯t matter what the media said, and that they would make up something no matter what happened.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± I leaned forward as the TV show came back on. My part was pretty much over, so I could relax a bit and watch the footage.


    I was not prepared for what I saw.


    A voiceover narration that was not my own walked the camera in the dark through the theater, and set up on the spot, where months ago, we had sat, crying. If I squinted hard enough, I could almost see the remnants of the ghosts of us sitting there.


    ¡°Ballerina Porsche De Ritter of the Russian National was backstage helping Liam with the production of Beauty and the Beast, starring Amy, Liam¡¯s now girlfriend. It was a well-known fact that Porsche suffered from AIDS, and no one expected her to live long. But who knew it would be tonight? During Beauty and the Beast, in the final act, Porsche, alone backstage, collapsed, her heart giving out. After a standing ovation, the cast rushed backstage to find their former teacher expired. Porsche was also the first scholarship winner of Leopard Academy, although she was only a student for a few months. Watch what we believe is her ghost perform for the camera.¡±


    Another commercial break came in and I thought Liam was going to strangle the TV. He got up and went to my open laptop on the desk.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to watch this anymore, Amy,¡± he said, turning his back to me.


    My heart broke and I was about to go over to join him, but he must of read my mind.


    ¡°You stay there, and let me know,¡± he said, clicking on the Internet and logging into the school website, presumably to do some work.


    With a glance outside, I saw that the sun was already starting to set. We had so few moments left, and I felt annoyed. But I understood, I guess, and so I stayed, waiting for the commercials to end.


    The announcer repeated basically the same thing she had just said, which had always bothered me. They made TV shows these days where you could pick them up at any time, and still understand what was going on.


    And then I saw the white mist that they had referred to. The white mist I had seen when I was in the Red Theater.


    It swirled and smoked, and I searched the TV and my mind from every angle, trying to figure out where it was coming from. But then, the camera angle changed and it began to take a shape. It began to stand up like a human being, the misty outline blurred.


    ¡°Amy¡­¡± Liam said, but I held up my hand, staring at the TV.


    The shape became clearer, and if you looked at just the right angle, a face appeared.


    ¡°Liam, ghosts are real, right?¡± I asked, my voice trembling.


    ¡°Yes, but, Amy, what the hell is this?¡±


    ¡°Sssh.¡± I was rooted to the TV, staring at it. Hair formed around the face, and if I hadn¡¯t seen her face a thousand times, I wouldn¡¯t have known her. But I knew that face, engraved in my memory forever.


    ¡°AMY!¡± Liam yelled and I turned my head to the laptop, where he had an article pulled up.


    On the top, in scrawling black script, was Amy cheats on Liam? Below it, a picture of me at the doorway of the audition room, my hand in Drago¡¯s. I swiveled my head back to the TV from the laptop and then back to Liam. I couldn¡¯t decide if I was seeing things or what needed priority. The media fabricated things all the time, I knew that. In a perfect world, both of these stories would be fake, and Liam would believe me. Yet he looked pretty angry about it.


    I wanted to believe Sites had faked it. But they couldn¡¯t have known, couldn¡¯t have done it just to mess with me.


    ¡°Liam.¡± I pointed to the figure, now freeze-framed on the TV. ¡°Liam, that¡¯s my mother.¡±


    Chapter 15: Amy


    ¡°And the worst part is that he doesn¡¯t believe me.¡± I leaned against my chair on set, keeping my voice low as I talked to Drago.


    It had been over a week since Sites aired, and Liam had found that article. That night had been the worst night we had ever had. He didn¡¯t quite believe me when I explained that nothing happened. It¡¯s true, I was mad at him when I went to the audition for Ranger, but the anger had come out in my audition, not in cheating on him.


    And on top of that, I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that I had seen my mother¡¯s ghost. I didn¡¯t quite believe it myself. Even though I was in the Red Theater every day, I had never seen it again. I watched the footage from Sites over and over again, going through it frame by frame, and each time I saw it. I even had a picture of her and got everyone I knew to compare it to the image. Most of them said I was right, even if they were just indulging me.


    The only person I felt like I hadn¡¯t shown it to was my father. I couldn¡¯t imagine how he would react, and so I kept it from him. If he had seen that part of the show, then he didn¡¯t say anything to me. Or maybe he just didn¡¯t recognize her. I mean, after all, he had seen ever every day, looked into her face. All I had was images to go off of. I didn¡¯t want it to dominate my life, but I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head.


    ¡°If you want,¡± Drago said, bringing me back to reality. ¡°I could talk to him. Tell him you¡¯re great, but I¡¯m not interested.¡±

 Page 23

    ¡°Uh, thanks but no thanks.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Liam would probably freak out even more. And I really can¡¯t take any more freaking out from anyone.¡±


    At the moment, the only person that I wasn¡¯t worried about was Sarah, who was with Connor. Now that Isabelle was gone, they spent every waking moment with each other. Hopefully, they were using birth control. Connor didn¡¯t seem to be grieving his wife too much, although whenever I asked Sarah about it, it was apparently a private point. Whatever it is, I made her pinky swear me she was safe, and that she wouldn¡¯t ever hurt herself again, and she assured me she was alright.


    The police investigation had drawn even more attention to the school, with paparazzi everywhere trying to figure Sarah¡¯s connection to it. So far, though, no one could draw a connection besides the fact that she was an unfortunate victim. Which she was, they just didn¡¯t know the part about her also being the mistress of a centuries old vampire with a very jealous wife, who moonlighted as a fourteen year old child. I highly doubted the media could come up with a more bizarre story than the truth.


    ¡°Did you practice that knock out?¡± Drago asked, changing the subject.


    ¡°I did. But are you sticking around to watch it on camera?¡±


    ¡°Yep, so make one mistake and I¡¯ll knock you out,¡± he teased me.


    I grinned, getting up as they called me. On set, things were as normal as they could get. The regular cast was great, and the crew was even nicer. It wasn¡¯t like Gatsby where they yelled at me for every little thing, and then ignored me the rest of the time. I felt like I actually mattered here, people asked me what I wanted and how I wanted it. Drago and I had a million jokes from the summer show. Everything was relaxed, we could joke around and not wonder if one of our friends was having their life threatened. It had only been a week, but I was starting to enjoy set a lot more than rehearsal at school, which was a swap from last year.


    The only thing I gave Liam credit for at the moment was his great idea for my independent study. Every night, for about an hour, I wrote a journal entry segregated into two parts Today and The Past where I recounted stories from the previous year. It was the easiest project I had ever done.


    Of course, I couldn¡¯t write how mad I was at Liam for not believing me, or the fact that I hated Phantom of the Opera and much preferred Ranger. My independent study would go in a display case at the front of the school, so a lot of my feelings had to be highly edited. I consoled myself by writing them and then deleting them after.


    At least I had a lot of fuel to play Cassandra. She had a dark past and was so angry all the time. She was also judged for being a girl ranger in a male dominated field. It was every actor¡¯s dream, and she always had great lines. She was also very different from the innocent, straightforward characters I had played before. I had gotten used to these innocent young characters, but I had to think about every single one of Cassandra¡¯s steps, her words, and her expressions, and it felt great. I was obsessed with her already, and I hoped my episode arc would be extended.


    I headed onto set to film a scene where she was about to knock someone out, surprising the regular ranger boys. My skirt and corset were incredibly restricting, but luckily, Drago was the master of adaptation when it came to stunts. He had taught me how to accommodate for both costume pieces, and how to move in a way that looked good on camera, but fake and easy off camera.


    It had taken hours to choreograph a stunt that took less than 15 seconds to execute, and only half an hour to film. Anyone who said TV was glamorous was crazy, because they didn¡¯t see how much work went into it behind the scenes.


    ¡°Alright, Amy, that¡¯s it,¡± the director called. ¡°Thank you and see you tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Cool.¡± I gathered up my skirts and bid goodbye to the cast. Drago held his arm out, helping me back to the dressing room.


    ¡°So, you have rehearsal this evening? Or maybe we can wear masks and sneak around town and get some actual decent food?¡±


    ¡°I can probably sneak out and use the back alley to your place.¡± I grinned at him. ¡°I¡¯ll call you later? Anything is better than watching Sarah and Connor cuddle, or fighting with Liam.¡±


    ¡°Cool. I¡¯ll await the phone ringing.¡± He kissed my hand, just like the boys on Ranger, and I giggled, and went to change.


    I changed and took off most, but not all of my makeup. It was perfect; I could show up at rehearsal looking like something the cat dragged in every day.


    Gathering up my backpack, I said goodbye to those in the area, and then headed out. My stomach rumbled but I didn¡¯t have time to grab anything here. I preferred getting to rehearsal on time and getting food there. Liam and I didn¡¯t need another reason to snap at each other.


    I came through the front doors and then paused outside the basement door. This door, when you think about, changed my life. Had I chosen to never walk down it, perhaps I never would have known Liam¡¯s secret, never would have been involved in this mess.


    There was a loud bang from below, which confused me. It was the middle of the day, no one had a reason to be down there.


    Then I did something that I usually yell at characters in horror movies for: I descended down the stairs alone, my backpack over my shoulder.


    There was silence down there, as if I had been imagining things. I wanted to call out, in case it was Liam¡¯s grandfather, Peter, down there, since I didn¡¯t want to scare him. But something at the last minute told me to stay quiet.


    I peered around the corner as I came down the winding steps, but could see nothing until I went a few feet further.


    It was Nina, slumped down against the post that Liam was normally tied to. I didn¡¯t particularly want to talk to Nina, not when she was constantly hanging off his every word, and his arm, but something about her body posture made me go a little further.


    ¡°Nina?¡± I called, taking small steps.


    The chains were on her tiny wrists, and I could see they were all cut up. I found that strange, that the wounds were open, and not healing. Vampires, even in the middle of the day in human form, were quick healers. There shouldn¡¯t be wide open wounds on her arms.


    ¡°Nina?¡± I called again, but she didn¡¯t move. ¡°Hey, Nina!¡± I reached out to poke her arm and her body shifted, slumping over in reaction to me touching her. ¡°Oh, no, not again.¡±


    Her arm fell forward and a glass bottle rolled out. I picked it up, examining it, but there was nothing to indicate what it was. Nina¡¯s eyes were open, staring forward but she was seeing nothing. None of this made sense.


    ¡°Nina?¡± I touched her again, but got no response.


    Alarmed, I put my backpack down, turned and hurried up the stairs. I had a bad feeling in my stomach, but in my heart I knew it was alright. If Nina wanted to starve herself, I would tell someone, but I wasn¡¯t going to run all over the school. She had caused us nothing but issues since she had gotten here and I was getting a little annoyed at it.


    ¡°Sarah, where¡¯s Liam?¡± I asked, as I went into the Red Theater.


    She pointed towards the stage, and I hopped up, finding him, as usual, in a gaggle of female students, talking and laughing. I didn¡¯t think he was playing kissing booth with any of them, but I really didn¡¯t see how he could be so jealous of one photograph when he was doing so much worse in front of me.


    ¡°Liam.¡± I held out the bottle, and the girls scattered. ¡°Something is wrong with Nina again. You better come, she¡¯s probably starved herself.¡±


    My stomach growled. I was starving myself, not on purpose, but I was hungry nonetheless. I hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to eat, but you didn¡¯t see me being ridiculously irresponsible about it.


    Instead of reacting with the same amount of concern I had, his eyes widened, and he snatched the bottle from me.


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°Nina,¡± I replied. ¡°It was in her hand.¡±


    ¡°Was she conscious?¡± His voice rose about an octave and his eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head.


    ¡°No,¡± I started and was about to tell him the rest when he panicked.


    ¡°Steve!¡± he called to one of the bigger vampires, and then twisted to find Sarah.


    He didn¡¯t even ask her to come with him. He simply grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, running out the theater like it was burning down. The little parade of us attracted quite a lot of attention as we followed him, and I wondered what all the fuss about it. When Nina had fainted in rehearsal, they didn¡¯t go running like her life was in danger.


    I followed at a slower pace, but tried to keep them in sight. Liam led the way, practically shoving Sarah down the steps, Connor and Steve in tow. I nearly slipped down the stairs myself, my footing lost as Steve startled me by jumping the rest of the way over them to the ground. The rest skidded to the ground, and went around the post.


    ¡°Here!¡± Liam said, nearly pulling Sarah¡¯s arms out of her sockets and placing them on Nina.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Sarah asked.


    I finally joined them, crouching down beside them.


    ¡°Steve, Connor, get those chains off of her,¡± Liam said, as he reached out.


    Nina¡¯s eyes still stared dead ahead, and he tipped her head back so her mouth fell open.


    ¡°No, no, no, damn it!¡± he cried.


    Nina was released from the chains and fell limp into Sarah¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Here, do this.¡± He guided Sarah¡¯s arms over her small body.


    ¡°Liam, what the hell is going on?¡± I interrupted at last.


    Connor answered me, ¡°The bottle you found in Nina¡¯s hand is holy water. It burns if thrown into our faces, human or not. But ingested, it¡¯s a slow agonizing death as it burns every single internal organ out. And because it¡¯s not something that affects a normal human, we don¡¯t heal from it. Perhaps Sarah can draw out the effects of it.¡±


    My head swiveled to Sarah, who met my eyes. Nina remained motionless and slack jawed in her arms. Liam covered his face with his hands and Connor placed a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Liam.¡±

 Page 24

    ¡°¡¯Course it is,¡± he replied thickly. ¡°I should have seen it coming.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, trying to piece it together carefully. ¡°Holy water¡­ can kill you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Steve said at last. ¡°Poor little girl.¡±


    Suicide. The word nearly made my heart stop. I instantly felt guilty that I had not moved faster, not been as concerned. Maybe if I had run up the stairs, I could have helped her. But there she lay, clearly not returning.


    ¡°Jesus, what are we going to do?¡± Liam asked.


    Steven shook his head. ¡°She wanted to die, Liam, and I think there¡¯s nothing you could do about it.¡±


    ¡°Are we such undesirable creatures that she would end an immortal life?¡± Liam roared at him, and all eyes turned to me, to fix the situation.


    I rose carefully. ¡°Liam, you couldn¡¯t have known she was going to do that.¡±


    ¡°But I should have damn well figured out!¡± He was pacing, angry. ¡°And maybe if you, Amy, had been nicer to her, none of this would have happened!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Now I was angry. Liam and I couldn¡¯t seem to get along lately, not for love or money. ¡°How is this my fault?¡±


    ¡°Nina came to us for help, and she trusted me. She was afraid of the whole world, and she wanted a place to hide. I was the only person she trusted and every time she showed that trust, you had to show up and act like a teenage girl. How are you not self-assured yet, Amy, after all you¡¯ve been through?¡±


    ¡°Liam!¡± Sarah said, still cradling Nina.


    I watched Connor place a gentle hand on Sarah¡¯s back and take Nina from her. He closed her eyes and pulled off his dress shirt to put over her face. I wanted more than anything to stop screaming at Liam for having treated me so poorly, but we were in too deep now.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to help anything. Don¡¯t yell at her.¡±


    ¡°We need to move on,¡± Steven said gently. ¡°She¡¯s gone, Liam, and there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. We¡¯ll give her a proper burial, tell the others what happened, report her death to the elders, and that will be all. It¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    ¡°And what if she was murdered?¡± Liam brought up. ¡°Selene is crazy, and it¡¯d be just like her to go after us one by one. She would know to prey on Nina, she¡¯s weak. What if she dragged her down here, chained her up, and made it look like it was suicide?¡±


    ¡°Liam,¡± Steven said. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to Nina about three times and I knew she wanted to die.¡±


    ¡°She wanted Selene DEAD!¡± Liam roared.


    ¡°So let¡¯s make it happen,¡± Steven replied.


    We all fell silent. I was still seething underneath. How dare he blame me for this, and then sit there and not apologize for it?


    ¡°Let¡¯s make it happen,¡± I spoke up. ¡°Because I promised you, Liam, and I promised all of you. Because Porsche was my friend too, and Selene deserves to die. But after that, I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Liam whipped his head to stare at me. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°All we do is fight all the time. I¡¯m sick of it. We clearly can¡¯t get it together. We clearly can¡¯t trust each other. Hell, I¡¯m probably cramping your style!¡± I really didn¡¯t want to do this in front of everyone, but everything I had been feeling for weeks was finally bubbling to the surface and I was sick of keeping it quiet. ¡°I don¡¯t need to do a graduate year and you know it. My credits are in place and my storyline on Ranger will get extended. I don¡¯t need stupid school plays and immortals who can¡¯t figure out their lives hanging around me.¡±


    I think no one was more shocked than me at the words that came out of my mouth. I almost sounded like those students I had come to hate, who found fame elsewhere and booked it out of here without so much as a thanks. Liam had given me my start, but I felt like I had come as far as I could with him. This was too much to handle, and my life was going to be too short. It could be me on the floor instead of Nina. All it took was one infection, one slip, and my disease would be active and I¡¯d be done for as well.


    To my surprise, Liam didn¡¯t beg to keep me, and perhaps that was what I secretly wanted.


    He simply nodded. ¡°Fine, Amy, if that¡¯s what you want, I really can¡¯t deal with this right now. Or you.¡±


    I wanted to hit him at that point. Instead, I picked up my backpack and grabbed Sarah¡¯s hand. She looked torn for a moment, between Connor and me, but she rose, following me. Without a word, I headed up the steps with Sarah, making sure to slam the door behind me. If he wanted to be done with me, that was just fine. I¡¯d be better off alone.


    Chapter 16: Liam


    I didn¡¯t remember most of the week following Nina¡¯s death. With Amy avoiding me like the Black Plague and my anger at her as strong as ever, there wasn¡¯t much I wanted to do but hole up in my apartment and drink, which is exactly what I did. I told the school I was taking a business trip, which I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t believe in the slightest, but no one questioned me.


    And so I drank my weight¡¯s worth most days, and come nightfall, I headed out into the neighboring towns, drinking from humans for the first time in I couldn¡¯t even remember how long. And it felt good.


    I hadn¡¯t gone out womanizing yet, but I¡¯m sure that it wasn¡¯t far behind. All the things about myself: the bloodlust and the regular lust, I found returning tenfold, and I enjoyed them. Perhaps we were better off apart. She was young and sheltered, and she had no idea what it was like on the other side of life. She just enjoyed taking care of me and making cooing noises whenever I got upset.


    But none of these angry thoughts took away the horrible feeling I had. Dawn came and I lay with a pounding head. I bent over the toilet, throwing up the red tinged liquid that I needed to survive. I was halfway between dead and alive.


    I was into week two of this behavior when I got a call from an extension in the school around dusk. My transformation was not too far away.


    ¡°Liam, it¡¯s Connor. You need to be here, in the Red Theater now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I wasn¡¯t in the mood to play games, but Connor wasn¡¯t really the type to play games either.


    ¡°Now,¡± he said, and hung up the phone.


    I called a cab, not wanting to be responsible for another death if I drove in this state. Just before leaving the house, I grabbed a Mickey, putting it in my coat pocket. If I was going to go out, then I was going to have fun.


    The cab pulled up at the school as the sun was half set, and I half considered having a snack of the driver. But the urgency in Connor¡¯s voice made me simply pay him and head into the theater. I began to worry, seeing the empty hallways, if something terrible had happened again. And despite my anger, I hoped to God that it wasn¡¯t Amy.


    I had about a thousand horrible ideas in my head when I pushed open the door, but none of them matched with the sight I saw when I entered. On the dimly lit stage, standing there as if they owned it, were three cloaked figures. One was in the forefront of the other two, and Connor was on the ground below them, speaking up to them from bended knee.


    As I approached, I was awed by them. These were our elders, at least some of them, the oldest vampires in existence. They were almost 2000 years old, and they resided in Romania. They were a different bloodline than Selene, and they governed all vampires. Despite myself, I bowed my head.


    It was said that when all vampires were created, there was some instinct in them to respect these ones, to fear them and stand in awe at the same time. It was something about the blood coursing through our veins, the magic that reacted with them. It was almost like I was a puppet on a string. I bowed to them and enjoyed it.


    ¡°My lords,¡± I said, before I could stop myself.


    I had only ever seen drawings of them, but they hadn¡¯t changed much. Even when Porsche had told me the legends of them, I felt a sense of respect brew up inside me. To live 2000 years and be so calm, so decent and so regal was something that deserved respect.


    ¡°Liam,¡± one of them, Elias, spoke to me.


    If I was identifying them correctly, the other two behind him were Fennel and Silas. My heart was pounding, even as my head swam, and I knew I reeked of booze. These were the kings of vampires, and I was a mess.


    It had never occurred to me that they were here because of a controversy. I assumed they wanted Selene dead as much as we did. The elders were very honorable, respectful people, who didn¡¯t kill senselessly, nor did they interfere in vampire killing, usually. The wars we started among ourselves were our own responsibility. And even when they killed, it was polite and clean, a quick grab of the heart from the chest and that was it.


    ¡°You are new to the vampire covens, Liam,¡± he continued.


    I shrugged. ¡°A few years, yes.¡±


    ¡°Our condolences on the death of one in your coven,¡± Silas said


    I raised my eyes to meet his. He seemed genuinely compassionate, and I was surprised. There were so many vampires who died every day, and some of them were suicide. There was no way they sent out a branch out every time.


    But what surprised me more than that was the fact that he referred to it as a coven. In a way, I guess I was part of a coven, and their leader. I had never thought about it like that, it was such an ancient way of referring to things. But he was right. We had all found each other, united in a common purpose, and we stayed together. And I was their coven leader, no matter how bad a job I felt like I was doing.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied. ¡°Nina¡¯s passing does grieve us all. If you¡¯ll forgive me for asking¡­ why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well.¡± Elias looked to the other two.


    Fennel stepped forward. ¡°Liam, you are new to this life and so we occasionally forgive offenses. But you have had a few years, and we know you have been educated on the vampire ways¡­ despite the fact that it was by a Shield. Who you choose to ally yourself with and who you choose to try and kill are not our concern.¡± In meeting my eyes, he told us that he knew of our fight against Selene, and he was given us permission to move forward. Whatever they were here for, it wasn¡¯t for that.

 Page 25

    I racked my brain for that long ago conversation with Porsche, but I came up blank.


    ¡°Have I offended you?¡± I asked.


    Fennel winced. ¡°Not so much offended as broken the rules, Liam. Our existence must be kept secret from the human population at all costs. If humans were to know that vampires exist, they would not be able to handle the truth beyond their media created world. There would be chaos in the world we work so hard to keep peaceful.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t told anyone!¡± I cried, confused. ¡°The students think I¡¯m a disgraced Hollywood superstar who they are way too thrilled to be close to. I--¡°


    ¡°Your grandfather, Peter, is aware of your transformation nightly. And also, Amy, the young girl, is more than aware of you and the whole clan. She is even assisting you. Neither of them are supernatural creatures. That is twice that you have broken the rules.¡±


    ¡°I--¡± I stopped. What could I say? I couldn¡¯t lie to him, he knew the truth. And he was absolutely right. This is what the Elders did, they enforced the rules, they kept the vampire life secret and in order.


    I tried to rack my booze-clouded brain for an answer, and cursed the fact, for once in my life, that I wasn¡¯t sober. If I was, maybe I could be more than a babbling idiot in the presence of kings. I was an actor for God¡¯s sake, I was supposed to know how to improv and make things up on the spot, because the show must go on, no matter what.


    ¡°I-I needed Peter to help me when I first changed,¡± I said. ¡°Without him, I would have ended up like Nina. Peter is my grandfather, and at the time, he was the only one who would have helped me. No other vampires came to my aid. Peter won¡¯t tell anyone. And Amy¡­ Amy had to know. We are, we were¡­¡± I corrected myself, although I felt my heart crack, ¡°in a relationship. And she¡¯s young. I¡­ uh¡­¡± I looked up to see if any of my excuses were working, but they didn¡¯t seem impressed.


    I hung my head. So this was it, this was how it was going to end, after everything I had been through. I knew there was no hope in trying to fight them off, trying to run. I knew the truth: my blood was possessed, captured, just by their eyes simply gazing upon me. They would lay down the final verdict and then rip my head off.


    I frantically wished that I could see Amy one last time, so that I could tell her, despite it all, that I love her.


    That thought surprised me because that certainly wasn¡¯t what I had been thinking all week. But I wanted Amy beside me, her hand on my shoulder, her lips on mine.


    I wouldn¡¯t trade my relationship with her for the world. If they were going to rip my head off because of her, then I think it was well worth it.


    ¡°Law of deliverance!¡± Connor suddenly blurted out beside me and all the elders turned to look at him.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°Liam evokes the law of deliverance,¡± Connor said, calmly.


    The elders regarded him with curiosity.


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please explain.¡± I glanced at Connor like he was crazy. If I were in his shoes, I would have made sure to get out of there as soon as possible, because I wouldn¡¯t want to be around for an elder killing. But Connor held his gaze steady.


    ¡°The law of deliverance states that if the vampire believes the mortal to be close to death, then they can share their secret, under pain of death themselves. Liam¡¯s grandfather, Peter, is an old man, living on borrowed time. If you were to see him, you would see that he is practically on his deathbed, hobbling around, with rows and rows of medications that he needs to take to keep his heart beating. And Amy.¡± He glanced at me. ¡°Amy suffers a blood disease that claimed her mother¡¯s life, and she too will succumb to it, and likely soon her demise will begin, judging by the smell of her blood. Both of them are beginning to smell of death, my lords. I¡¯m sure that if you would like to investigate, you will find this true.¡±


    They glanced at one another, and then back at me.


    ¡°Liam, is this true?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I looked at Connor, who nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    The elders whispered to each other and then bowed low to me.


    ¡°We will investigate the case. If your plea is accepted, then please accept our apologies for the wrongful intervention. Our condolences again, and¡­ good luck on your mission.¡±


    And then they were gone, moving so fast I could hardly see them go.


    I turned to Connor. ¡°We have to get Amy to safety. How can we avoid this? If we put dead pig¡¯s blood on her, will they think that¡¯s enough, from the smell? Come on, Connor, let¡¯s move! That was fast thinking.¡±


    ¡°Liam.¡± Connor didn¡¯t move, routed to his spot. ¡°There is no need.¡±


    I stared back at him. ¡°What are you talking about?


    ¡°Liam,¡± He placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I am much older than you and I have seen much death. I can detect even the smallest hint of it.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Amy¡¯s not dying, Connor, she¡¯s fine. The way her disease works, it¡¯s slow and even when it becomes active, she¡¯s got years. Peter, I understand, and it¡¯s going to suck, but I get it. But Amy¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Liam¡­¡±


    I shook my head, babbling again, ¡°No, trust me. I saw Porsche die from the same thing, I know what it looks like. It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like that and maybe it¡¯s not,¡± he said dismissingly. ¡°But the truth is, when she is around me, the scent of death fills my nostrils. The law was not false invoked, Liam. They will find it true and you will be safe.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I didn¡¯t want to believe it, but like in my office when we caught Isabelle, I knew Connor was telling the truth. ¡°No, no, no!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± His eyes were full of pain. ¡°I know what it¡¯s like to lose one you love. Even if you are at odds with them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about this anymore.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Thank you for coming up with some weirdo law to save my skin, but I¡¯m going to go get Amy to safety.¡±


    I turned on my heel and stormed out of the theater, leaving Connor there. I knew my path was crooked, I couldn¡¯t seem to keep walking in a straight line.


    Going to the dorms was harder than I imagined, and I trailed a hand along the wall, trying to hurry and be careful at the same time.


    ¡°Hi Liam,¡± a few girls called, as they walked down the hall, and I nodded, not trusting my own voice.


    I knew what death smelled like, Connor wasn¡¯t high and mighty. I had killed my fair share of people, and there was a similar tinge of the lord of necromancers on Peter, as much as it hurt me. Porsche had the same smell to her, near the end, and even Nina, as soon as I got down there, smelled the same way with a twist of vampire. Death was something vampires got used to, the scent becoming as familiar as the smell of strawberries or freshly baked bread.


    I rapped on Amy¡¯s dorm room twice. We hadn¡¯t seen each other in weeks, aside from rehearsal, and we hadn¡¯t spoken a word to each other. Her first episode of Ranger had aired and it almost killed me to watch it without her, to not call her and tell her how proud of her I was.


    This was going to be an awkward encounter, but I needed to know.


    There was no answer at the door and I leaned in, peeping through the peephole, but the distorted view showed an empty room.


    ¡°Amy? Amy?¡± I called through the door, rapping again and hoping she was just hiding inside.


    It was probably about the third call, my voice a little louder than I meant it to be, when a door opened down the hallway and Sarah and Amy came out of Sarah¡¯s dorm room.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Amy asked, her arms crossed.


    ¡°Amy!¡± I headed towards her, lurching a little and she ducked away to avoid contact.


    ¡°Are you drunk?¡± she asked, with distaste. ¡°That¡¯s real responsible, Liam.¡±


    ¡°Liam, you shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Sarah said, clearly a bit annoyed as well.


    But I focused on Amy, moving forward and trying to get my nose close enough to her neck. I was half in transformation, and I knew I shouldn¡¯t be out, but it allowed me to get a whiff of her life force.


    The familiar smell drifted into my nostrils. Connor was right. She smelled like death. My Amy was dying, far too soon.


    Chapter 17: Amy


    At first, I just thought they were scrapes, cuts, bruises. Every theater actor has them, because it isn¡¯t exactly a glamorous life. I had gotten a few in the summertime, during Gatsby, and now that I had been working on Ranger for a few weeks, with Drago¡¯s ridiculously hard but supposedly safe stunts, there were more of them. I had ignored them for a while, assuming it was nothing.


    I had also gotten sick a few times during the summer, horrible coughs and colds that I just couldn¡¯t shake. I had even cancelled a visit home with Liam because I felt like crap for a week. But everyone gets sick, especially when they are working a hard schedule and traveling. So I ignored it.


    But one morning, I woke up at dawn, coughing. I looked at the clock, hating my life at that moment. It was 5 am and I was still exhausted, despite having gone to bed at nearly 9 pm. In the dawn light, my arm was practically shining like a halo and the wound was shiny and purple, and a bit wet.


    Lesions.


    Realistically, I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised. I was approaching twenty and had HIV since birth. I was what was known as a long term non-regressor, the disease was lying dormant for years. I took my medication daily, and I never skipped a dose. I guess, somewhere in my head, I thought that it would never show up. But here it was. And lesions were not the first sign, which meant I had been stupidly ignoring other signs for a while.


    I closed my eyes, trying not to let a million doomsday thoughts enter my head. This wasn¡¯t the end. Times were different and modern science was progressing rapidly, and AIDS was no longer a death sentence.


    But I couldn¡¯t help but think of Porsche¡¯s lifeless body; of my mother¡¯s grave. AIDS was a death sentence for them, and one day, it would be for me, unless a vampire got me first.

 Page 26

    Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up. With trembling hands, I reached for my cell phone. My father would just be up, getting ready for work.


    ¡°Daddy?¡± I said, when he picked up the phone.


    ¡°Amy, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Daddy, can you make an appointment for me with Doctor Martin?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I could hear the alarm in his voice, but I wasn¡¯t going to hide anything from him. He would find out soon enough.


    ¡°I have lesions on my arms.¡±


    Silence came through the other end of the phone, so long that I was worried that he had hung up.


    ¡°Dad?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Amy. I¡¯ll do it right away.¡±


    ¡°The sooner the better. You don¡¯t have to come if you have to work¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you an appointment and call you back. I¡¯ll be there with you, honey.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I hung up the phone and drew my knees up to my chest, trying not to cry. Had this been a few weeks ago, I would have called Liam and he would have rushed right over, vampire or not. But now, calling Liam would just seem weird.


    And so the only person I called was the production office of Ranger to call in sick. I then left a message with the dorm mother, calling in sick. That was official policy, but when I had been sick before, I had always just told Liam, and that was it.


    My father called back just after six, which was when Dr. Martin¡¯s office had opened.


    ¡°You have an appointment at 8 am. I¡¯ll pick you up at 7:30. And Amy?¡±


    ¡°Mmmm?¡± Really, I didn¡¯t want to get out of bed.


    ¡°Pack a hospital bag, just in case. Maybe he¡¯ll want to admit you and run some tests.¡±


    My heart skipped a beat. ¡°Dad, I can¡¯t miss that many days on Ranger,¡± I said.


    He sighed. ¡°Amy¡­.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯ll meet you out front.¡±


    My heart was beating so fast I could hardly think straight, let alone pack properly. My hands were trembling and I was hyperventilating. I really wished that Liam was here with me.


    But at the same time, it was better this way. Liam was immortal, and I was clearly not. To put him through such a short relationship that ended in death, even I could see that was cruel. Liam had seen too much death already.


    The cafeteria was open this early, but I didn¡¯t feel like eating anything. I was pacing my room, doing nothing productive.


    Eventually, I let myself out of my room and knocked on Sarah¡¯s door. Both she and Connor answered the door, and I envied her. Connor had likely spent the night with her, her Shield powers keeping his transformation at bay. If only that was something I could have given to Liam, maybe we wouldn¡¯t be where we were now. But all I ever was to him was unappetizing.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡±


    I realized she wasn¡¯t wearing very much, and that her door was half open, which made this encounter so much more awkward.


    ¡°I, uh¡­ I¡¯m not going to be in class today. I have a doctor¡¯s appointment.¡±


    Her brow furrowed. ¡°You didn¡¯t have one yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, these weren¡¯t here yesterday either,¡± I replied, and rolled up my sleeve.


    Sarah¡¯s eyes widened. When we had first met online, I had told her everything about myself, including the diagnosis. She probably knew more about AIDS than I did and spent the first few months Googling and being overly worried. All I had to do was half mention a symptom and Sarah was on top of it, with about five different remedies. She should have been a doctor if acting wasn¡¯t working out for her.


    Which I sadly realize was probably why she knew to take pennyroyal to induce a miscarriage. If there was a good way to use medicine, then there was also a bad way to use medicine as well.


    ¡°Call me as soon as you know.¡± She placed a gentle hand on my arm. ¡°Or do you want me to come with you?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. My dad is coming with me.¡± I shrugged and tried to put on a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She nodded. ¡°But call me anyway.¡±


    By the time my dad arrived, I was a mess. The ride to the hospital was silent, both of us lost in our thoughts.


    Dr. Martin didn¡¯t keep us waiting long. After all, he had treated my mother right until the end and he had been my doctor since I was born. I had thought a few times about what I would do if he retired, but now I realized I¡¯d probably be dead before he retired. And that wasn¡¯t a very comforting thought.


    ¡°Alright, Amy, let me see.¡± He rolled up my sleeve.


    He tried to keep his face neutral, but I could tell right away that he was concerned. I could see the slightest changes in people¡¯s emotions, learning to mimic them when I was acting. But right now, I wasn¡¯t too grateful for that skill.


    ¡°Ok, then. So we¡¯ll run a few tests. You¡¯ve got time today?¡±


    I nodded, although I wished that I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been watching your shows on TV. Congrats on that. I love Sites, and I couldn¡¯t believe it when I saw you. Good for you!¡±


    I blushed. ¡°Thanks. Have you seen Ranger?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have, Miss Cassandra Winters,¡± he said, and held out his clipboard. ¡°Can I have your autograph?¡±


    I grinned for the first time all day, and looked to my father, who smiled.


    ¡°Uh, Dr. Martin, aren¡¯t you supposed to sign this?¡± I asked, looking at the requisition form.


    He flipped it to a blank page and held out a pen. Technically, this was supposed to be a show stopping moment in my life. The guys on set had talked about it: the first time someone really asks for your autograph, and I supposed it counted even if it was your doctor. But I wished that it wasn¡¯t in a doctor¡¯s office when I was facing my death square in the face. Because I would remember this moment for the rest of my life, no matter how short it was.


    I signed my name with a flourish and handed it back to him.


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll sell this on eBay,¡± he teased me and then handed me a requisition. ¡°Go on down the hall and get this sorted out. You¡¯ll be alright, Amy, you¡¯re a strong one.¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± I said, although there wasn¡¯t much hope in my voice.


    We sat in silence in the waiting room for at least half an hour to be called.


    My father turned to me. ¡°You¡¯re so much like your mother, you know that?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I was about to call him out on how this really wasn¡¯t the best time to be telling me that, but he continued.


    ¡°You look just like her, you know that? In the wrong light, I think I¡¯m seeing ghosts.¡±


    ¡°Do you think ghosts are real?¡± I asked him, my breath catching in my throat.


    He looked at me a long while, and then looked around, at the ceiling, at the floor, at anything to distract him. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Amy. I¡¯ve seen some strange things in my time.¡±


    ¡°Did you¡­¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Did you see the end of the Sites episode?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said quietly, and it surprised me. My father was always a rational man, a logical man. Everything was calm and collected and everything had an explanation. ¡°You saw her too?¡±


    I felt like a whole weight had been lifted from my body.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to think, Dad. I mean, I never¡­¡± My voice caught and tears began to stream down my face.


    He wrapped his arms around me, drawing me close. The emotions that had been pent up all came flowing out, anger and sadness, grief and fear. It had been such a hard few weeks, and I regretted not going to him sooner with the way I felt. I cried until I felt that I was dry, and my head ached and my ears pounded and I could barely see. All the time, he held me, stroking my hair and making soothing noises. Eventually, he spoke.


    ¡°It just means that she¡¯s watching over you, Amy. It means that she¡¯s proud of you. And she would be so proud of you. Your mother once fancied being an actress, did you know that?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I pulled away from him to meet his eyes. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Sure. But I mean, no more than every young girl did. But when we were first dating, we would go to see theater shows all the time, sometimes two in one day. We didn¡¯t have very much money, but she always knew how to get the cheap seats. She had all these tips and tricks, and we¡¯d line up for hours for rush seats with a hundred coupons.¡±


    ¡°So she must have been so happy when you got a job at the Academy,¡± I replied.


    He snorted. ¡°She was just like you. She wanted to come to work with me every day. I think that she might have tried to be a student there if she was just a little bit younger.¡±


    ¡°I never knew,¡± I said.


    He shrugged. ¡°Adults don¡¯t often talk about dreams that never were, Amy. You¡¯re so lucky, you know that? You¡¯re living you¡¯re dream. And you¡¯ve turned out exactly the way your mother and I wanted you to.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said acting was just silly and not stable.¡±


    ¡°I did say that,¡± he replied. ¡°But really, I just wanted you to have a future, to protect you and keep you safe. But you seem to be doing that just fine these days. You don¡¯t need me anymore, Amy.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Daddy, I always need you.¡±


    I wouldn¡¯t say that it was a nice day I spent with my father, because how nice can it be when you are at a hospital? But with him by my side, the day didn¡¯t seem so long, the tests didn¡¯t hurt as much, and the cafeteria food seemed a bit more passable.


    ¡°Where is Liam? He¡¯s normally glued to your side.¡±


    I took a deep breath. I had been waiting for this question all day.


    ¡°Dad, Liam and I aren¡¯t together anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, surprised. ¡°That was fast.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was about a year,¡± I said, blushing when he looked surprised. It¡¯s not like we came out and told him right away.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked immediately.


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. It helps that Sarah is here.¡±

 Page 27

    ¡°And how is Sarah?¡± His opinion of Sarah hadn¡¯t risen too much since her hospitalization and the police report. He didn¡¯t know the whole story, but the times he met me for lunch and saw Sarah and Connor sucking face, he could probably figure some of it out.


    ¡°She¡¯s better.¡± I looked at my watch. ¡°We should go back up. They will probably be calling us soon.¡±


    We were taken into Dr. Martin¡¯s office just as it closed, being ushered in as the secretary locked the door.


    I could see him through the door, paging through my test results and entering notes into the computer. I swung my feet against the bed and my father smiled.


    ¡°You used to do that when you were a little kid, remember? Only a lot louder. The whole office could hear you and I used to have to buy you a lollipop to get you to stop.¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡± I asked, curious.


    My father grinned. ¡°Nope.¡±


    After not too long, Dr. Martin came in with my file and a stack of papers. He did not look happy and I knew that all my suspicions were true.


    ¡°Well?¡± I asked, eager to get this over with.


    He sighed. ¡°Well, Amy, your T cell count is low and your blood tests show the disease has progressed. It looks like we are in the early stages now, so no need to worry too much. There¡¯s a lot we can do to¡­¡±


    I let him drone on and on, but I wasn¡¯t listening. It didn¡¯t matter what medications he had to offer, or what the statistics said nowadays, or what I could or couldn¡¯t do.


    The truth of the matter was right in front of me: I had AIDS.


    The car ride home was silent, except in the middle, when Father asked where I wanted to sleep. I asked to be taken to his house and he agreed.


    From there, I went straight up to my childhood bedroom, where I lay with my phone in my hand for quite a few minutes before rolling over and texting Sarah.


    It¡¯s bad.


    She responded immediately. I love you. Remember that.


    I smiled, and we went back and forth for about 45 minutes, never once hearing each other¡¯s voices. This was the way it used to be, Sarah and me, before all this complexity came in. Before Liam, and school and relationships, it was just Sarah and me, our personalities coming through the texts, as we shared every detail of our day through our phones. All the awkwardness and anger of the previous weeks melted away.


    I knew I should text Liam, but I didn¡¯t want to. How was it his business anymore? Of course, I still loved and cared about him, but he had made it clear that he was in a different place in his life right now, and there was no room for me in it. So instead, I scrolled down my contacts and texted Drago.


    Hey. Got time to talk?


    After a few minutes and in between texts to Sarah, he responded.


    For you? Anything. Want me to bring food? Where are you?


    I smiled, sitting up. Perhaps a good meal, or a weird meal, with two close friends was exactly what I needed. I confirmed with Sarah that she was free, and then texted Drago back, giving him my father¡¯s address.


    Be there in 20 minutes was the response.


    I smiled, feeling better already and went to my closet, where there were still some clothes. No matter what the situation was, I still had friends that I could be close to, that could make me laugh no matter what. A night out with Sarah and Drago was just what I needed.


    My phone beeped again and I went over to check it, assuming it was one of them. But instead, it was Liam.


    Emergency Party Scene rehearsal in Red Theater, 6 am


    That was all it said. I didn¡¯t think that my heart could pound any louder after today, but it leaped into my throat.


    And yet, at the same time, I didn¡¯t want to go. The days of rushing to Liam¡¯s side to fix yet another issue of a world I wasn¡¯t apart of was over. After the show, I was pretty sure I would be leaving school and not coming back.


    Why?


    I¡¯ll tell you when you get here.


    I sighed, rolling my eyes. Typical Liam. And yet, Liam never made a mountain out of a molehill. If it was serious, it was serious. It seemed like he sent a mass text to everyone, so I simply replied ok and went back to getting dressed. I wasn¡¯t going to let him ruin my evening, not with so few evenings left.


    Chapter 18: Liam


    I paced the stage at 1 pm as the others arrived. When Connor had told me that the other vampires wanted to speak with me, I assumed it had to do with the plan, and so I decided to arrange for a whole cast meeting. I knew that Amy had to film Ranger, so I arranged a breakfast meeting when most of them would be coming out of their transformations with the rising sun.


    Amy came in first with Sarah, and neither girl looked like they had slept much. The scent of death wafting from Amy grew stronger every day, and from the look on her face today, I knew she had learned something about it. It just about killed me to not ask her how she was feeling, or what was wrong. Once upon a time, I could practically read Amy¡¯s mind, but now times were different. I felt like I couldn¡¯t trust her anymore. I knew all about Drago from the summer Gatsby tour, and even though I knew she was probably telling the truth, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if that compromising picture was more than she claimed it was.


    After all, I remembered clearly being her age, being young and free and off on my first tour. And I remembered all the girls I bedded during that tour. I knew how the media could be, of course, but I also knew that each article had at least some semblance of truth in it. They had the picture as proof. I wasn¡¯t accusing Amy of sleeping around. I knew that she wouldn¡¯t, not with a human in any case. But she had been so far away from me, and we were such different people that I wondered if she was looking for a way out that summer. And in a way, I thought she deserved it. This boy was human, in nearly the same place in his life, working side by side with her every day. I pictured them staying together at night, no last minute kiss goodbye as the sun set, no transformation. It made me angry, and yet, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I deserved to be betrayed. Amy deserved a better future than being with a vampire, a creature of darkness, when she represented light and life. Perhaps she and I being apart was for the best. So why did I feel so angry at this other man in the picture with her?


    Everyone filed in by 1:15, which made me smirk. They had coffee cups and paper plates in hand as they juggled their backpacks. I thought about how well they were adapting to student life. They certainly looked like students, slurping coffee at 1 pm in the afternoon as if they had just woken up.


    ¡°So, here I am,¡± I said, holding out my arms as everyone sat down. ¡°A few of you asked to meet, so I figured you had questions that we could all sort out.¡±


    ¡°Actually.¡± Steven stood up, clearing his throat and looking around sheepishly. The others gave him an encouraging nod. ¡°Liam, is it true you were visited by the elders?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s sorted out now, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°You were visited by the elders?¡± Amy called out, raising an eyebrow.


    Once upon a time, she was privy to all information at the school. But not being on speaking terms with the headmaster kind of killed that idea. She knew all about the elders, since I had told her once.


    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s taken care of.¡± I met her eyes.


    I didn¡¯t need to tell her that they had nearly ripped my head off for her knowing about vampires, and I didn¡¯t need to tell her how we got around it. What I really wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and keep her safe and take care of her. Even now, she looked exhausted.


    ¡°Liam, there is one thing we fear more than Selene and respect more than our sire and that is the Elders,¡± Steve said in a trembling voice. ¡°Many of us feel that the elders¡¯ visit has rained disapproval on this plan. And we cannot kill Selene but live our lives in fear of the elders.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I glanced to Connor, who was taking it all in.


    Connor raised his voice. ¡°As Liam has said, the elders visit had nothing to do with our plan. They were here for Liam and Liam alone.¡±


    ¡°Then why is Liam not dead?¡±


    ¡°Because it was taken care of, as I said.¡± I really didn¡¯t want to tell them, but it looked like they were giving me no choice. ¡°Who feels this way?¡±


    A group of them shuffled together towards Steve, and I realized that by ¡®many of us¡¯ he meant every single vampire except for Connor.


    ¡°Liam is the leader of this coven,¡± Connor snapped. ¡°You will obey him!¡±


    But the others clearly did not feel that way. Sighing, I rose to my feet.


    ¡°The elders visited me for violating the vampire law of secrecy. Two mortals knew of our existence, and they were clearly not happy about it. But we came to an agreement.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Steve demanded. ¡°The penalty for violating the law of secrecy is death.¡±


    ¡°By invoking the law of deliverance,¡± Connor supplied. ¡°The humans Liam had informed smelt of death. They will not carry our secret for long.¡±


    I locked eyes with Amy, and I don¡¯t think I had ever seen such fury than what she carried then. She would have slapped me if I was closer. I could see her hands trembling. Without speaking a word, she rose and took Sarah with her, stomping out of the theater and slamming the door so hard behind her I was worried it might break.


    I sighed, burying my face in my hands. When I looked up, the others were whispering to each other.


    And then Steve stepped forward. ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Liam. But we can¡¯t risk it. The elders will be around forever, they are truly immortal.¡±


    ¡°But it had nothing to do with the plan!¡± I protested. ¡°They even wished us luck!¡±


    ¡°And we wish you luck as well, Liam.¡± Steve bowed his head just the right amount to show respect to a clan leader, which contradicted with his actions because he and the rest turned to go. ¡°We will remove our belongings and be gone in an hour.¡±


    And then it was just Connor and I alone in the theater.


    I glanced at him and he sunk into a chair.


    ¡°Well that went well,¡± I said.


    He sighed. ¡°We can still execute it without them,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯ll just be a lot harder. Thomas De Ritter is still on board?¡±

 Page 28

    ¡°At a price,¡± I replied.


    ¡°What price?¡± Connor¡¯s face darkened. ¡°What have you promised on Sarah¡¯s behalf?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. She doesn¡¯t need to do anything. The Shields will offer her the opportunity to be educated by them.¡±


    ¡°Offer?¡± Connor raised an eyebrow. ¡°Or forced?¡±


    ¡°Aah¡­¡± I threw up my hands. ¡°What do you want from me, Connor? You want Selene dead? Well, it doesn¡¯t come easy and it certainly doesn¡¯t come cheap. We¡¯ve lost Nina already. She couldn¡¯t handle this life because we are such disgusting creatures. How long before someone else succumbs and decides they can¡¯t handle that life? If we kill Selene, there won¡¯t be another vampire suicide, at least not on our hands.¡±


    ¡°You promised Sarah to the Shields? Holy hell.¡± Connor got up as well and headed towards the door, leaving me alone in the theater.


    It had been quite a while since I got smashed in the middle of the day. But today, I didn¡¯t really care.


    What I didn¡¯t expect was Amy to be waiting in my office.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked, slamming through the door and jiggling open my desk drawer.


    I knew she didn¡¯t like it when I drank, especially in the middle of the day, so I made sure to take a long swallow before meeting her eyes again. She didn¡¯t even blink and I sat, letting the warmth of the booze flow through me.


    ¡°I came to tell you that I¡¯m withdrawing from school after the show,¡± she replied. ¡°My contract with Ranger has been extended.¡±


    ¡°Fine. You don¡¯t know where the forms are or something?¡± I took another swallow.


    ¡°I just thought you¡¯d like to know,¡± she replied.


    ¡°And I suppose you¡¯d like to know if you can extend your benefits,¡± I snapped at her.


    Her jaw dropped. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Amy, after a year, do you think I¡¯m stupid or something?¡±


    She looked taken aback and I knew I had hit a nerve. Amy never used to keep secrets from me.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on,¡± I urged, and she bit her lip, clearly struggling with it. Finally, I saw her face soften.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need AZT anymore.¡±


    My heart plummeted to the ground. Of course, I knew what it meant. And it confirmed my suspicions.


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°You mean, how long if I managed to survive without a vampire trying to kill me at every turn? I don¡¯t know, a few years. It doesn¡¯t matter, Liam.¡±


    My jaw dropped. ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t matter? Of course it matters!¡±


    ¡°Liam.¡± She glared at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know where the forms are. Show me so I can get out.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t thinking about giving up, are you?¡± I asked sharply. The look on her face caught me off guard and I almost leapt over the desk to grab her. ¡°Amy! Answer me!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked plainly.


    ¡°Because¡­ are you serious? You can¡¯t be considering this!¡±


    ¡°Liam!¡± Now it was her turn to snap at me. ¡°I found out less than 24 hours ago what was happening. And until then, I lived in some deluded fantasy that it would never happen and everything was going to be alright. Now my whole life has changed. Can you give me some time to think without smothering me for once?¡±


    ¡°You think I smothered you?¡± This was news to me.


    Amy and I always talked about how we didn¡¯t get to spend enough time together. But now, here she was talking about wanting more time apart.


    She sighed, shaking her head.


    ¡°Forget about it.¡± She moved fast and was out of my office before I could catch up to her.


    I sank into my chair, burying my head in my hands. If I had thought things were desperate before, I clearly had no idea what I was talking about.


    My phone rang and I glanced at it, not intending to answer it. But when I saw it was Thomas¡¯s ID, I picked up with a sigh.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°The vampire Isabelle is dead,¡± he stated, as if we had been talking all this time.


    I sat up straighter, closing my eyes. I had known that this was likely, but hearing the words was a huge blow.


    ¡°You killed her,¡± I said dully, a statement.


    ¡°You knew we would, Liam. Our truce only has to do with Selene.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I leaned back in my chair. ¡°It¡¯s just that Isabelle was 5 centuries old and now I have to explain this to her ex-husband.¡±


    ¡°Who nearly compromised another Shield in this situation,¡± Thomas reminded me. ¡°This is already drawing dangerously close to the line. The others are restless. If Selene is not killed, I¡¯m not sure I can stop an out-and-out war.¡¯¡¯


    ¡°I know.¡±


    I seemed to be able to come up with nothing but those two words. I knew that disaster was weighing heavily on us, and yet there was nothing I could do it about. I had an ex-girlfriend who was about to drop dead, a ghost in my theater, and I was apparently the ringleader of a supernatural war and the headmaster to hundreds of kids. Five years ago, I couldn¡¯t even keep track of my own car keys, and now all of this was on my shoulders.


    ¡°You should know that you are not the only one disapproving,¡± I said. ¡°The elders visited me and told me off for telling humans about my existence.¡±


    ¡°At least someone keeps order within the vampires,¡± Thomas replied. ¡°I understand you lost one of your own.¡±


    ¡°We did.¡± I was surprised by his sympathy.


    ¡°My condolences, we¡¯ve been through it,¡± he said softly. ¡°And we wish to never go through it again.¡±


    ¡°Thomas¡­¡± My voice caught in my throat. ¡°Porsche was¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he cut me off. ¡°Just don¡¯t, Liam. We have tried every way we can to not soil her memory. But there¡¯s nothing I can do to fix who her friends were.¡±


    I swallowed hard and tried to change the subject.


    ¡°Can you Shields do anything about ghosts?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Ghosts. I think I have a ghost in my theater. Any chance you can help me out?¡±


    Thomas was silent a moment, thinking.


    ¡°It depends. If the ghost is a residual energy from the other side, then we cannot do anything. But if it¡¯s a soul, trapped there, then we have the same effect on it as we do on other supernatural creatures. Ghosts are powerful creatures with a lot of knowledge, because they see and hear things others do not. If you have a ghost, it might be able to assist you.¡±


    I nearly dropped the phone in surprise. ¡°You can make it human?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a soul trapped in this world, then we can make it more solid, yes. We can¡¯t make it human, Liam, because we can¡¯t raise the dead. If we could¡­¡±


    ¡°Can Sarah do it?¡± I asked quickly, my heart pounding. ¡°Would she be strong enough to do it?¡±


    ¡°Doubtful. Those Shields were always weak, while De Ritter Shields leave residual energy after they die, they are so powerful,¡± Thomas almost boaster. ¡°Who¡¯s the ghost?¡±


    ¡°Amy¡¯s mother,¡± I blurted out. ¡°At least¡­ we think it is.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± There was silence and then I heard Thomas sigh. ¡°Your O¡¯Malley Shield wouldn¡¯t be strong enough, no. But if I have your word of honor, I¡¯ll send you the Cameron¡¯s active Shield, Larissa. But if anything happens to her, Liam, so much as a scratch¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing will happen to her,¡± I replied. ¡°Nothing, I promise.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be to your disadvantage as much as ours, for your allies will be weakened. She¡¯ll be by your office in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said hurriedly, and we said our goodbyes.


    I hung up the phone and left my office door open as I bolted down the hallway, phone to my ear, with Amy¡¯s number ringing.


    Hi, you¡¯ve reached Amy. I¡¯m unable to come to the phone right now¡­


    Of course you are, I thought bitterly. She probably saw my caller ID and threw her phone against the wall. Annoyed, I rounded the corner to the cafeteria and found Sarah, who had recently rejoined the world of the living, first by piling her plate high with cafeteria food.


    ¡°Need you,¡± I said.


    She raised an eyebrow, giving me a look of annoyance. ¡°After I eat.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait.¡± I was practically hopping from one foot to the other.


    Annoyed, Sarah left her full plate and followed me to the theater.


    ¡°Everyone out!¡± I called to the dance rehearsal that was happening in there.


    They gave me a startled look, but I was in no mood for games as I waved them out and promised them extra rehearsal time later. Once they were gone, I dimmed the lights.


    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± Sarah asked, her arms crossed. ¡°Because Amy¡¯s not talking to you right now, so I¡¯m not supposed to either.¡±


    ¡°If Amy jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?¡± I asked, pulling her to the spot where Porsche had died.


    I remembered Thomas¡¯s boast echoing in my head. De Ritter Shields are so powerful they leave residual energy, even after they die. If residual energy worked the way I hoped it did, then Sarah could combine whatever power she had with whatever Porsche had left me. And knowing my ballerina, if she had any control over it, she would make it work.


    I turned off the last bank of lights, making sure Sarah was standing in the right spot.


    ¡°Alright. Now concentrate.¡±


    ¡°On what?¡± she asked, her voice sharp.


    ¡°On¡­ whatever it is Shields do to make themselves more powerful. I don¡¯t know, Porsche never did anything.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t know how to do anything!¡± she protested.


    I hushed her and looked around, checking out every corner of the rafters, every fold in the curtain.


    For a while, nothing happened. And then, slowly, I felt the theater go colder.


    It started around my feet, a white mist swirling, almost as if someone had turned on our fog machine. It crawled up my ankles, and then disappeared. I glanced at Sarah.

 Page 29

    ¡°Concentrate harder!¡±


    She rolled her eyes, but did whatever it is she needed to do. The mist started again, crawling up my ankles and then rising, surrounding me before floating a few feet away. Slowly, it began to take the shape of a person, a woman, with shoulder-length hair, of average height, who bore the same features that I knew so well. They could be sisters, in the wrong light. And those eyes, those eyes that had often saved me, bore into me as it solidified.


    ¡°Hello, Liam,¡± said Amy¡¯s mother. ¡°I have been looking forward to meeting you.¡±


    Chapter 19: Amy


    ¡°Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy!¡±


    I had never been so annoyed in my life then when Sarah began pounding on my door at 8 am. For the last week, I hadn¡¯t done much except stay in my room. I didn¡¯t know whether it was a placebo effect or an actual effect of the disease, but I had been feeling lousy all week. And no one, not even my best friend, questioned the girl who now had AIDS. If I wanted to stay in bed most of the time then I could.


    But apparently, Sarah had enough.


    I dragged myself out of bed and opened the door. My head hurt, likely from lying down for twelve hours, and I winced as the light hit me.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± If she was here to tell me yet another thing about how sweet Connor was, I was going to kill her.


    Grudgingly, I realized I was starting to sound like Liam. We had certainly spent too much time together.


    ¡°Get dressed.¡± She was super excited. ¡°I have to show you something I found last week.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°You found something last week and you are just telling me now?¡±


    ¡°Well, we had to make it¡­ better first.¡±


    ¡°We?¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Who¡¯s we?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­. myself and I,¡± she replied in a way that told me Liam was involved.


    I shook my head and almost closed the door on her face, but she reached through the gap and grabbed my arm.


    ¡°No, Amy, please. You¡¯ll like it.¡±


    ¡°Sarah¡­¡± I turned to meet her eyes, but she didn¡¯t have a hint of humor in them. She was serious.


    Sighing, I pulled her inside.


    ¡°Ok, ok, let me get dressed first. And then, if this is super lame, I¡¯m never listening to you again.¡±


    ¡°Is there some symptom of AIDS that makes you bitchy to everyone who loves you? Can we get medication to control that?¡±


    I sighed as I pulled a sweater over my head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve just been¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. This¡¯ll make you feel better.¡±


    I finished dressing and followed her out the door. Another time, I would have put on makeup and made sure I looked stage ready. But today, I didn¡¯t care.


    I followed Sarah to the stage of the Red Theater. To my annoyance, Liam was waiting there. Immediately, I turned to go.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, but Sarah kept a firm grip on my arm.


    ¡°Amy, just trust us, ok?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Reluctantly, I followed her up on the stage.


    Liam pointed to the spot where our lives changed, off in the wings where Porsche was killed.


    Sarah stood off to the side, leaning against the wall. Liam made sure the lights were off. He still hadn¡¯t said a word to me, and I thought that was probably the safest route. On top of that, my head was starting to swim and I wondered when the last time I had eaten was. I wanted to be back in bed, but Sarah had a firm grip on my wrist.


    Just as I was about to complain, I saw it and my heart dropped to my stomach. The white mist that haunted my dreams began appearing again.


    Quickly, I looked to them, one to the other, but neither of them seemed alarmed by this. I mean, this past year had not exactly been normal, but the fact that no one seemed phased by this worried me.


    ¡°Guys¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just watch, Amy.¡± Liam had a soft smile on his face. ¡°I think that you¡¯ll be pleasantly surprised.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow but said nothing, watching the mist. Sarah had her feet firmly planted on the floor, her eyes closed, and she seemed highly focused.


    I was about to open my mouth, dry as it was, when it began to take shape. And I saw exactly what I had seen on TV, but more solid.


    Within a minute, standing in front of me, just as solid as Sarah or Liam, was my mother.


    The mother I had never met; the mother I had only seen in pictures; the mother who I imagined would tell me bedtime stories or kiss my wounds or tell me the secret to boys.


    She had a soft smile on her face and she was holding out her hand, as if I could take it.


    ¡°Hello, Amy.¡±


    Tears filled my eyes, and I put my hand over my mouth. We had learned, probably about the first month of last year, to tilt our head upwards when we stage cried, to not ruin the makeup. This time, however, they came spilling down my face, smearing whatever left over makeup I had on from yesterday. I couldn¡¯t see, except through blurred vision, and it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest.


    My hand trembled as I reached out to take her hand. Despite myself, I shrieked when I made contact with warm flesh and jumped back.


    Liam caught me before I slammed into a set piece.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± he said.


    I whipped around. ¡°How is this ok? How are you doing this?¡±


    Nothing made sense anymore and I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around what was real and what was not. I looked from Liam to Sarah, and then finally to the person who I thought I would never see again.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you your whole life, Amy. You¡¯ve grown into quite an impressive young woman. Just because you can¡¯t see me doesn¡¯t mean that I am not here.¡±


    ¡°But why can I see you?¡± I managed to make my voice steady in between sobs.


    In my mother¡¯s presence, all the hurt and confusion I had felt over the last few weeks came to a head, and I felt like it was finally alright to expose it, despite having never known her.


    ¡°Shields,¡± she replied. ¡°A powerful shield leaves residual energy, and your friend Porsche was very powerful indeed. In addition, Sarah draws on power that has been untapped for years, thanks to her broken bloodline. A Shield can remove the supernatural element from anything, and so if a ghost is true a ghost and not a residual, it makes me¡­¡±


    ¡°Human,¡± I whispered, and then threw myself into her arms.


    This was a moment I had imagined my entire life, and now that it was here, I couldn¡¯t get any of the practiced scenarios out of my mouth. I must have wasted whole days of my life thinking of what I would say if this moment ever came. Some days, I was happy, overjoyed and would ask her everything, knowing that she would be a world of knowledge. Some days, I was angry, blaming her for the disease that would one day take me to her. Some days, I just sat in silence with the vision of her, enjoying every mundane daily activity. But at the moment, I couldn¡¯t do anything but hug her and cry.


    Eventually, I pulled back, grateful that she did not break our embrace, even when it became too long. I was aware of Sarah and Liam behind me and I turned my head slightly.


    ¡°Is it possible that I could get some time alone with my mother?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Liam replied, and exited as if this was a show and he was a practiced player. Sarah, however, remained routed.


    ¡°Sarah?¡± I asked, looking her in the eye.


    ¡°If I leave, Amy,¡± she said slowly. ¡°She¡¯ll still be here, but not as strong. Not as real. You won¡¯t be able to touch her.¡±


    I looked back to my mother, who had her arms lightly on my shoulders.


    ¡°Stay, then,¡± I replied, and looked around for somewhere we could both sit. Finding an apple box, I nudged it over with my foot, not letting go of her. It¡¯s like we were playing some sort of bizarre theater game; never breaking contact. I took a deep breath. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start. I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡± She brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. ¡°I know everything. And it¡¯s tough, Amy, but you will get through this.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± I asked, biting my lip. ¡°Can you see the future?¡±


    ¡°The other world¡­ isn¡¯t like here, Amy. There is no time, no past, present and future. I can see the choices you can make and the consequences they lead to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just so tired,¡± I replied, sniffling. ¡°When I was away, I hated being gone, and now that I¡¯m here, I hate it too. And I can¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with Liam and me, and it¡¯s been 18 years of doctor¡¯s appointments and needles and medication and I don¡¯t know if I can take it anymore!¡± My voice had reached a hysterical pitch and it broke.


    She laid a soft kiss on my forehead. ¡°Ssssh, my love, I know. I know. And that is a choice you can make, my love, and it will lead to the consequence that you feel is the easiest.¡± She met my eyes and I nodded, feeling relief go through my chest. ¡°But life is not easy, my darling, and easy won¡¯t always make you happy. Especially someone with a spirit as strong as you.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t know what to do anymore.¡±


    ¡°I will support you with whatever choice you make,¡± she replied, brushing a tear away from my cheek. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend to be anyone. At least, anyone you don¡¯t want to.¡± She gave me a small smile. ¡°But I want you to fight, my love. You have such a strong future and there is so much more you can achieve. You can fight this, Amy, and you will enjoy your life.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t beat this.¡± Another tear slipped down my cheek. ¡°You know that. Nothing has changed from when you were around. They still can¡¯t cure it.¡±


    She squeezed my hand. ¡°I¡¯m not promising you anything, Amy. So many things depend on your choices and the choices of the people around you. But no matter what, I will support you, and the outcome will be something you¡¯ve worked for, one way or another.¡±


    I turned this over in my head. She seemed to know my thoughts before I was thinking them. She knew me as if she spent my whole life beside me, like she had spent her life raising me and letting me know her values and traditions. And looking deep into her eyes, I felt like I knew her too, like I could see into her soul. I knew her well. I could see how it would have been; whether she was waiting in the kitchen with cookies or whether she was telling me about how to deal with boys. I was as comfortable beside her as with my father, which was strange, because I hadn¡¯t actually known her my whole life. But she was my mother, and she always would be.

 Page 30

    ¡°What about Dad?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure you want to see Dad.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Of course. When the time is right, I would love to. I¡¯m sure he has much to share with me.¡±


    ¡°But, don¡¯t you know it all already?¡±


    She winked at me. ¡°Listening to it in his own words would be a treat. But tell him when the time is right, Amy. All of this, I¡¯m not sure he¡¯s ready for. You¡¯ve had a year to process it all, and it¡¯s still strange for you, isn¡¯t it? Imagine how your father would feel as you explain to him all of this at once.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll be a good introduction to this wacky world,¡± I replied.


    She shrugged. ¡°When he¡¯s ready, Amy. Now, is there anything you want to ask me?¡±


    Questions and comments slammed into each other. I completely forgot that Sarah was there at all. She had remained completely quiet the whole time, playing on her phone and giving me the space I needed to be with my mother.


    I must have asked her everything I had ever wanted, and still had burning thoughts in my mind. I felt like I had regressed to a four year old, curious about everything. And she told me everything I wanted to know: about love, about life, about how to deal with the disease when it got bad. She understood exactly how I was feeling, and told me what helped to motivate her onwards. But when it came to the topic of Liam specifically, I clammed up.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t know where we are. I¡¯m pretty sure we are over, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°Nothing in life is certain, Amy,¡± she replied. ¡°I learned that early one. And I went through the same thing with your father?¡±


    ¡°You did?¡± That dropped my jaw.


    I always had it in my head that Mom and Dad were this perfect love story in a perfect world. She had even told me about their first date, about their wedding, everything. It had never occurred to me that they went through relationship problems.


    ¡°Of course. We were so young, Amy, not that much older than you are. He was just starting chef school, and I was working in the local store, nothing glamorous. But it was my first job, and everything was new and exciting to me, I had just moved into my first apartment, and I was newly independent. The only thing old and not necessarily exciting in my life was your father. I loved him, Amy, I did, but I was young and blinded by the difference of the situation. And there was a cute manager at work too.¡± She winked at me and my mind flashed to Drago. I wasn¡¯t in love with him, or anything close to it, but my friendship with him lately had grown, especially in the hours he spent listening to me rant about Liam and whatever situation had angered me that day. Spending time with him was exactly as she put it, new and exciting. Liam wasn¡¯t old and boring, but I was used to him; I had taken him for granted.


    ¡°So what did you do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We went out on a date.¡±


    This confused me and I furrowed my brow. ¡°But hadn¡¯t you already been out on several dates?¡±


    ¡°Sure. But not in a while. Things had become routine, easy. And remember?¡±


    ¡°Nothing in life is easy,¡± I repeated her advice.


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. So things had become routine, he¡¯d come over, we¡¯d have dinner, sometimes he would stay, sometimes he would leave. And we got into a rut and got into a fight and we broke up. And then, one day, we agreed to ¡®talk.¡¯ We went out on a proper date, got dressed up for each other, he brought me flowers. At first, it had seemed silly. We had been going out for 3 years. But as we sat across the table from each other, over a candlelit dinner, and talked, really talked, and held hands as we walked down the street, I began to fall back in love with him.¡±


    I turned this idea over in my mind. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that I¡¯m still in love with Liam, Mom. I just don¡¯t know what to do anymore, and I¡¯m not sure what will fix it.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s worth trying,¡± she said. ¡°Trust me, you might be surprised.¡±


    I heard noises at the far end of the theater, and I was shocked to realize it was 9:30. Classes were already starting, and Sarah was looking antsy.


    ¡°Can I come back to talk later?¡± I asked.


    She nodded. ¡°Of course, my love.¡±


    I turned to Sarah. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    As we stood up, she grinned at me.


    ¡°Well, that should make you less bitchy for the next few days,¡± she replied. ¡°Say goodbye to your mom and we¡¯ll come back later.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± I gave her a giant hug and it wasn¡¯t enough to last me even two seconds apart from her, but it would have to do. ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, alright?¡±


    She kissed me on the forehead.


    Then I turned and before I could stop myself, I headed down the steps and out of the wings. Sarah followed close on my heels and I grabbed her hand.


    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± I said again. I wiped my eyes, fresh tears coming to them. ¡°I¡¯ve been so horrible to you and Liam and you did that for me.¡±


    ¡°It was actually his idea.¡± She grinned at me. ¡°You totally should thank him. 150 times over, ok?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± I gave her a hip bump as we headed to class.


    I haven¡¯t been to class in a while, but I didn¡¯t feel that panic that I had before. Somehow I knew that everything was going to be alright now, no matter what path I chose. And the path I was looking at was a lot brighter than the darkness behind me. Mothers really do fix everything.


    Chapter 20: Liam


    I slapped aftershave on my face and ran a hand through my hair one more time. It was the middle of the day, so it felt silly to be this dressed up, but it¡¯s not like we could go out at night. When Sarah had told me about Amy¡¯s mother¡¯s suggestion, I imagined my expression was the same as Amy¡¯s had been. I didn¡¯t think anything would save us, especially after our last big blow up. But I was lonely, I was miserable and I knew that sitting around upending a bottle of bourbon wasn¡¯t going to do any good either. Besides, the worst that could happen would be that we¡¯d end up with more awkward glares and angry glances than ever before. Or she would stake me in the back in the middle of the night.


    Years ago, this would have given me no trouble. Dressing up and going out with women was second nature to me. Although I usually didn¡¯t go out on formal dates with them. A pickup across the bar was enough for me for the night. But then, that was how I got myself into this whole night crawler mess to begin with.


    I had paged through my wardrobe like a teenage girl going to her first boy band concert; and eventually chose dark pants and a dark shirt, open at the collar. With a bit of product in my hair, and freshly saved, I was surprised how much a difference it made in my appearance. Once upon a time, there had been a whole team of people whose job it was to make me look irresistible. Now, it was just up to me. Although I had to admit, I looked a damn sight better than when I was normally walking around the school, unshaven and in yesterday¡¯s clothes.


    I picked up a package I had sent my secretary out to get last night, and made my way out of my condo, which I had taken pains to clean. Depending on how the day went, who knew where we would end up?


    I drove on purpose, pulling down my sunglasses against the morning glare. I didn¡¯t want this to end up as another bar date, stumbling out with blood turned to alcohol if it went badly. If I chose to drive, I knew I¡¯d keep myself in check.


    Amy was waiting outside the front doors, and my jaw almost dropped when I saw her. She was wearing a black jersey dress that fell loose and tight at just the right places. Amy had always been small, but she wasn¡¯t without curves and long legs that seemed to go on for miles. She was wearing flats and she had her makeup lightly applied, so that her eyes shined in a way that they hadn¡¯t in weeks. She had a small clutch purse in bright yellow that attracted my attention. She looked absolutely stunning with her hair loose and flowing around her face. I nearly drove into a post in my haste to park.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I called, trying to keep it casual.


    She smirked. ¡°You alright, Liam?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The gentleman in me forced me out of the car and had me holding the door for her, until she was safely inside and buckled up. ¡°Oh. This is for you.¡±


    She opened the corsage cautiously, and I saw a smile light up her face. It had been so long since I made her smile.


    ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s really pretty,¡± she said, putting it on her wrist.


    I slid into the driver¡¯s side, and started the car.


    ¡°So, where are going?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I had in mind, but first, do you need anything? Breakfast? Coffee?¡±


    ¡°Coffee would be great,¡± she replied.


    I mentally tried to calculate where the nearest coffee place was. There was still an awkwardness between us that had never existed before, a silence that had once been comfortable and was now filled with words we didn¡¯t know how to say. ¡°Was your night alright?¡±


    ¡°It was fine,¡± I said, not wanting to tell her that everything was easier because I was thinking about today.


    The transformation had not seemed as painful, the bloodlust not as bad, because I was distracted by plans of today. I remembered that clearly, from the year we were together. If I wanted to ease the pain, I simply had to think of being with Amy, and I would be able to get through it. Even better were the nights she came and sat with me, a cup of strong coffee in her hand and her homework in her lap. Those silences that passed in the dark of the night, broken by her typing and my happy sighs, were easy; peaceful. I barely felt pain or cravings those nights.


    But since we had been apart, it was worse than ever.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± she replied and resumed looking out the window.


    We didn¡¯t say another word to each other until we had both gotten breakfast and were back on the highway. With each moment that passed, I was worried that we were drifting further apart from each other, and it wouldn¡¯t be salvageable. Finally, she spoke and I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°So, where are we going?¡±

 Page 31

    I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise,¡± I said, and then my head whipped to her, suddenly realizing that this could not be a good idea. ¡°Is that ok? That it¡¯s a surprise? I mean¡­ it¡¯s alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She shrugged and sipped her coffee.


    ¡°So um¡­ how was your night? Are you feeling ok? How are things, uh, going? You did great in rehearsal yesterday.¡±


    In rehearsal, it was like we were two separate people, who didn¡¯t know every intimate aspect of each other¡¯s bodies. We spoke to each other when we needed to, and not a word more. There wasn¡¯t even a flicker of recognition for the hours we spent lying in each other¡¯s arms. We had taken a break before, when we first started dating, but this felt a hundred times worse than that. Before, there were just a few months of history to forget. Now, there was over a year and everyone knew about it. Sometimes, I felt like the actors were more entertained by watching us ignore each other than actually rehearsing. Not to mention that actors were very sensitive to body language. They had to be in order to imitate things on stage. They must have known that something had changed, and it was bigger than just Amy and me. At the moment, the show was fast approaching. Selene¡¯s ticket was bought and I knew she had a plan; she had to. And up until a little bit ago, we were prepared to handle it. But now I was considering offering myself as a sacrifice; it felt like everything was gone.


    ¡°It was fine,¡± she replied, breaking me out of my thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m feeling fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I muttered, cursing myself for sounding so mundane and repetitive.


    We drove in silence for a while, until I found the dirt road I remembered and turned down it. I slowed down, the car bumping over the gravel and Amy sipped her coffee quickly so it didn¡¯t spill. She looked out the window with interest, as the city lines gave away to trees and a lake, but she didn¡¯t say anything until we stopped.


    I grabbed the bag in the back, and came around, trying to get to the door before she got out. She beat me to it, swinging her feet to the ground and shutting the door behind her, leaving me standing there awkwardly.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s here? This is pretty.¡± She had clearly set her mind to having a good time, even if she wasn¡¯t feeling it.


    I indicated a path about 100 meters away from the car. ¡°This way, m¡¯lady,¡± I said and she smiled, following me down the trail. I slowed a bit to fall into step beside her.


    ¡°Do you think the choreography in scene 4 could stand another addition?¡± she asked, in the silence.


    I tried to switch my brain to work mode. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a move that Porsche taught me that I¡¯d love to put in there. Just a little four count.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯d be great,¡± I answered. ¡°The part is your own to twist and turn, make it what you can.¡±


    ¡°I just think it¡¯ll add a little something. Did Sarah tell you about the sequel that Webber wrote, and what happens to Meg Giry?¡±


    ¡°She did.¡± I nodded. ¡°So you¡¯re planning on doing some foreshadowing of that dark future?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be interesting, especially since the sequel is on the West End right now. Maybe people will take something away from it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be great, if you¡¯re comfortable with it.¡±


    She snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not planning to add a stripper pole, Liam.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure even if you did, it would be spectacular.¡± I gave her a smile as we stepped through the clearing. And there, right where I remembered it, was a sparkling waterfall.


    Amy gasped, and I grinned, glad that it had the desired effect. Peter had taken me to this waterfall a hundred times when I visited him as a child, and I had many fond memories of playing here. The first year I was out here, as a vampire, I came out and ducked behind the waterfall, nearly falling half a hundred times in my desperation to get away from human life. I had transformed in a cave that lay behind there, my cries of pain hidden by the rushing water, and my nightmare eased by the dawn sun sparkling off the lake. When things got too much, it was my favorite place in the world to come and sit. Watching the water rush over the cliff and into the river, it reminded me that the world was bigger than just me, and that I could handle everything that came my way; that chaos led into beauty and calm. I had been itching to come out here for a while now, and I was so glad Amy was here to share it with me.


    The waterfall had the same effect on me that it normally did, and I was quite content to sit on my usual rock and watch it. Amy perched beside me, closer than she had been in weeks, and I felt a shiver run up my spine.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she breathed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it? I wanted to bring you here at dawn, but I was afraid that would be pushing it.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve seen it, I¡¯d love to see it at dawn.¡±


    ¡°Well, we could always stay.¡± I looked at my watch. ¡°It¡¯s only¡­ hours away.¡±


    She laughed, and I couldn¡¯t help but be distracted from the beauty of Mother Nature. She was so beautiful when she laughed. All the worry and tension eased out of her face and body, and she was relaxed, and pure.


    We fell into silence for a moment and then we both spoke at once.


    ¡°Amy¡­¡±


    ¡°Liam¡­¡±


    An awkward pause occurred.


    ¡°You go ahead,¡± I said.


    She accepted the offer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry things have been so tense lately,¡± she finally got out, after a few false starts. ¡°I¡¯ve just been going through a lot, and there¡¯s a lot going on in my head and I¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey.¡± I placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t own me an apology for anything. Even if nothing had changed in your life, you never had to explain yourself to me. You know that.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She nodded. ¡°But I want to.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to say, but as it turned out, I didn¡¯t need to say anything. All I needed to do was listen. And so listen I did.


    Her words came tumbling out about everything; about her mother; about her health; about Ranger and Drago and about death and life. And I found my voice as well, speaking more freely than I ever had. I was always so careful; so cautious; guarding what I could say to whom, and how I could say it. Before, I had felt I needed to protect Amy, to guard her from sadness and pain. But this was not the same girl I met before. She was stronger, wiser, and more of a fighter than that girl who had stood in front of me and read Beauty¡¯s line in the audition. Her eyes held a wisdom that I hadn¡¯t seen before, and although they looked tired, they also weren¡¯t ready to give up yet. I told her about how I had been feeling, about the frustration and the fear of being alone, and how the others had left when I needed them most. And when her admission of Drago came tumbling out, so did mine about Nina.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that I was in love.¡±


    ¡°But it was different, and she needed me¡­¡± We were speaking on top of each other, speaking different words and yet the same heart. Neither of us had cheated, but we had strayed, emotionally, and it didn¡¯t make it right. But here, on the rock, in front of the waterfall, it felt like we were the only two people in the world.


    When we fell into a silence again, it was different. Comfortable and calm, not filled with tension and anger. It seemed we had said everything, and yet, I knew there was one more thing left to say.


    ¡°How long?¡± I asked her.


    She turned those beautiful eyes towards me. ¡°A few years, maybe, if I take care of it right.¡±


    ¡°And are you? Going to take care of it right?¡±


    This answer she was certain of. ¡°Yes. I am. I¡¯m not going to give up, Liam. Not this easily. Not when I¡¯ve come this far.¡±


    I felt the tears prick in my own eyes, and I looked away, towards the rushing rapids.


    ¡°Who knows? Medical science changes every day. Maybe they¡¯ll have a cure for AIDS before your time comes. Are you hungry?¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to think of a time when I couldn¡¯t have Amy beside me, when I couldn¡¯t just call her or knock on her door. Even if we weren¡¯t together, even if we spent the next 100 years screaming at each other, I wanted her there.


    She nodded, and I reached for the bag behind me, pulling out a picnic lunch I had packed. We ate sitting closer than ever, practically on each other¡¯s laps, sharing a bag of chips and a cookie for desert.


    I had nothing planned for the entire day, intending on devoting it to her. But her watch beeped around noon, and she glanced at it, annoyed.


    ¡°Sorry. We have an evening shoot for Ranger, so I should get back.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I was slightly disappointed, but I reached to pick up our discarded garbage, shoving it back in the bag. As I came back up, I found myself just inches from her face. I went to pull back, but she grabbed my wrist, stopping me.


    ¡°Liam¡­¡±


    ¡°Amy, we don¡¯t have to¡­¡± I breathed, although I was practically trembling with the restraint.


    She brought her hand up to my face, her eyes searching mine. ¡°What if I want to?¡±


    I groaned, unable to stop myself. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to¡­ be confused. I don¡¯t want¡­ But I do want¡­ I¡­¡± The words were tumbling out without making any sense.


    ¡°Liam.¡± She leaned in closer, until we were practically rubbing noses. ¡°I know that it¡¯s complicated, and I know that there¡¯s a lot going on. And there are words that need to be said and apologies that need to be made and all these things that have to go in between¡­ But can we just skip all that and can you just be kissing me right now?¡±


    She didn¡¯t need to tell me twice. My lips were upon hers instantly, devouring hers, my hands running up and down her back, and pulling her close until our bodies were pressed together. I let her take the lead, and I was surprised by the aggression in her movements.


    Before I knew it, we were lying on the ground, panting, and clothes were scattered every which way. Our lips were constantly touching somewhere: an arm, the chest, the face, an eyelid; kissing and touching and never breaking apart.

 Page 32

    When we finally did, it was only because we could barely catch our breaths, the passion having broken like a swell of waves on a beach. I felt completely satisfied, lying there in the sunlight, and never getting up. Amy was lying with her head on my shoulder, her eyes half-closed, and her body relaxed.


    ¡°Feel better?¡± I asked


    She laughed. ¡°Yes. But even though I want to stay here¡­¡±


    ¡°You need to go. The world of film beckons.¡± I gently hoisted her up and went to retrieve our clothing. Once dressed, we made our way back to the car. ¡°Man, I hope there was no paparazzi.¡±


    She snorted. ¡°At least this time it would be an accurate shot, not a fabricated story.¡±


    ¡°And what would that story be?¡± I asked cautiously.


    She smiled up at me. ¡°The headline would be something like, Amy and Liam, back together again, question mark.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, question mark,¡± I replied as I held the door open for her, and then slid into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Well, that is the question.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be.¡± She took my hand as I started the car. ¡°I mean¡­ if we take it slow. I think I would be willing to give it another go. If you¡¯re okay with that.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°If I¡¯m okay with that? Really? It¡¯s pretty much been the only thing on my mind.¡±


    ¡°I hope not, we¡¯ve got a show soon.¡± She giggled, and then turned solemn. ¡°Do you really think we can pull this off? Without the others?¡±


    I turned down the road that led us back to civilization; back to the real world; or at least, as close as we could get with me being a vampire. It was the last place I really wanted to go right now. But looking at Amy, with her shining eyes, and quiet beauty, I knew that we¡¯d be alright in the end.


    ¡°I think, together, my love, we can make anything work.¡±


    She nodded, staring off into the distance. ¡°Then let¡¯s do it.¡±


    I squeezed her hand, getting up to speed as we drove back towards the school, where it all started. Whatever Selene had in store, she was not stronger than what was between us. Selene operated on hate and lust, and that was a world I would never live in again.


    Chapter 21: Liam


    I hated dress rehearsal day, always have and probably always will, no matter what side of the stage I was on. Today, I was just as nervous as when I was ten years old and doing my first show as a talking tree.


    Christmas had been like the calm before the storm. Peter and I had joined Amy and her father for Christmas lunch and then exchanged presents after the meal in Amy¡¯s father¡¯s home. It was fascinating, to listen to her Christmas memories, growing up, and then share my own. A candle was lit by her mother¡¯s picture, as Amy told me this was the tradition every Christmas. But this year, she told me she wasn¡¯t as sad as she normally was. There wasn¡¯t that moment of silence. I didn¡¯t want to ask how much she had shared with her father, and she didn¡¯t tell me. She knew that sharing our secrets were forbidden, that the elders would crack down just as hard. But when they talked about her mother over the meal, there was more happiness than previous times. Perhaps he was comforted simply by knowing his dead wife¡¯s spirit was watching over them. Adding that his daughter was dating a nightwalker; a creature of the undead, was probably not the best thing to do. I felt like it was her news to share and didn¡¯t prod her for information. I figured when she was ready, she would tell me what he knew. But judging by the fact that he didn¡¯t greet me at the door with a crossbow and wooden stake, I figured he didn¡¯t know the whole story¡­ yet.


    It was one of the things we had discussed, late into the night as the chains bit into my wrist. How long before our secret would come out to her father and to the school, and what we would do when it did. It was never an if. Amy and I accepted that one day we would have to run away and hide for good, to die in the eyes of society. But that day was not this day; and in the face of the 48 point to do list, that day seemed a lot less scary.


    Replacing some of the cast at the last minute had been tough, especially with some of the routine being highly choreographed. But the vampires had left gaps in the scenes, and I had to do some fast shuffling around to fill them, including the entire party scene. We still had Connor, which I thanked God for, and he was still enough to lure Selene on stage, and drag her off into the wings, weakened by Sarah¡¯s powers, and untempted by Amy¡¯s blood. At least, I hoped he was. In the wings, I would be waiting, fangs gleaming. For tonight, Sarah would bind herself to me.


    Binding a Shield was like using a coupon code: it only worked once. The witch who we had enlisted explained to me that it was more about changing my body chemistry than Sarah¡¯s. I would be both immune to her power and immune to any others, including a werewolf bite or a witch¡¯s spell while she was around. So while Selene was withering in the weakness of being human, I would be in full transformation.


    When I found out it only worked once, I thought for sure that Connor was going to beat me into a pulp. The relationship between Sarah and Connor had developed into something quite deep and quite serious. The conversation that I heard them having surprised me; they were already planning well into their future. Part of it worried me; after all, Sarah was a rebound girl after a 500 year relationship. But Connor was showing no signs of distress, and it made me wonder if there really was The One for everyone.


    And if there was, Amy was certainly it for me.


    Things had been amazing since our waterfall picnic. I wouldn¡¯t say things were the same, because they weren¡¯t. There were little differences here and there; she was different than before, and yet, it was a difference I liked.


    The theater was already in full chaos mode when I got there. Everyone seemed to be going in different directions and shouting different things at each other. I heard at least four conflicting instructions before I made it to the stage.


    ¡°Alright, everyone, listen up!¡± I called, my voice ricocheting off the walls. Everyone turned. ¡°I¡¯m going to go through this from the top in thirty minutes. That means you have fifteen minutes to finish what you are doing and then I expect everyone to be in costumes. So let¡¯s get moving!¡±


    I was fixing Amy¡¯s front lace corset, admiring the view from above, when I heard the door open.


    ¡°Unless you¡¯re part of the show, we¡¯re locked down!¡± I called.


    A quiet, deep voice answered me back, ¡°I think we¡¯re part of the show.¡±


    I looked up, stunned, to find Steve and the others standing at the door, en masse. Grabbing Amy¡¯s arm, and ignoring her cry of surprise as her corset was half open, we flew down the stairs towards them. Steve stepped forward from the group, bowing his head.


    ¡°Liam, please accept our apology. We have acted foolishly.¡±


    I stood, stunned, my arm around Amy. ¡°Steve, no one is forcing you to return. If you don¡¯t choose to fight this battle¡­¡±


    ¡°This is our battle to fight, and we were foolish to forget it,¡± he said, and the others nodded. I found the older a vampire was, the less they tended to say. ¡°That is, if there is still a place for us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we could manage something.¡± I smiled, reaching out to shake his hand. ¡°Thank you, guys.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Amy piped up from beside me, smiling up at them. I was glad that she seemed relieved; I had wondered if she would be angry at them for abandoning us. ¡°I can take care of it, Liam. Connor and Sarah can integrate them back into the show, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± I glanced back to the stage, where Connor and Sarah were descending down the steps to greet them.


    Soon there was more chaos, as others noticed their former classmates had returned. Just when I thought it couldn¡¯t get any worse, I stuck my head into the hallway to look for a costumer and came face to face with Thomas DeRitter and about thirty Shields behind him. Even though it was daytime, the force of their power stopped me in my tracks.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Thomas smiled so slightly that if I blinked, I would have missed it.


    ¡°Since we are part of the show, we thought we should be around to see how it would go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to be ushers,¡± I blurted out, and then immediately regretted my words, from the look on his face. ¡°But of course, you can come in¡­ Thank you for coming.¡±


    ¡°Selene¡¯s ticket is not confirmed until closing night, is that correct?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I held open the door and they glided in, as if they were royalty.


    The remaining vampires on the stage turned, feeling their power, and I signaled briefly to leave it be. Still, they couldn¡¯t help but stare at the Shields, coming in single file and standing as if they were waiting for someone to pull out the chairs for them. Even I felt diminished in their presence, there was something regal about them. There was also something stuck up about them, and I exchanged a glance with Amy, who was warming up. She smiled at me, reassuringly.


    ¡°If you want to sit here,¡± I said, ¡°and watch the first run-through of the show, you¡¯ll have a better idea of what is happening when. But it¡¯s the party scene, like we discussed, and you¡¯ll see Connor come into the audience to get someone¡­¡±


    Thomas nodded, and they filed in, sitting and crossing their arms, as if theater was the lowest form of entertainment possible. I decided to leave them be, and headed backstage.


    ¡°Alright, everyone who is not actually in this production, it¡¯s time to clear out, now!¡± I bellowed, moving through the wings. My heart was pounding in anticipation as the lights dimmed and I heard the opening strains of music start.


    To my relief, none of the vampires seemed to have forgotten their roles and blended in perfectly with the actors. And my actors were trained enough to step back and make roles of their own. There were few times when I felt I was doing a good job, and this was one of them.


    Somewhere in the second scene, I came down from the wings to sit beside Thomas, who was watching the stage with fascination.


    ¡°My daughter¡­¡± he said in a half-strangled voice, ¡°was she as brilliant as they say?¡±

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    I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.


    ¡°She was beauty itself. You never saw her perform?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said, watching every aspect of the show. ¡°But seeing this stage, I can only imagine.¡±


    We watched in silence for a few moments before he leaned over again. ¡°Is Sarah aware of what we wish her to aspire to?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡± I met his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s nothing worse than a distracted actor, especially when we have to pull off something as complicated as this. After this is over¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said, and leaned forward again.


    To my surprise, we got to the middle of act two, past the party scene, without anyone doing anything too horrible. There were a few things I made note of, in my head, but it wasn¡¯t anything major. However, in scene three of the second act, Charlie opened his mouth to sing the Phantom¡¯s big number and promptly choked. He tried twice before I stood up.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± I said, making my way up the steps. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Even speaking, his voice was cracking. ¡°It just happened.¡±


    ¡°Ok, take a break. We don¡¯t want to overwork your voice before the show.¡±


    ¡°So, should he just mime, or what?¡± Sarah asked, standing beside me in a gown that went halfway across the stage.


    I almost laughed; she looked so annoyed to be done up in purity and innocence, her piercings and eye makeup removed and a brown wig on her head.


    ¡°Just uh¡­¡± That one stumped me. We didn¡¯t have an understudy for him. We had originally cast one and then lost him to a Broadway show, and in the chaos, I guess I had never bothered to re-cast. Luckily, Amy was always thinking on her toes.


    ¡°You do it, Liam,¡± she called, standing in the wings.


    I smirked. ¡°Oh God, not again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be better tomorrow, Liam, I promise,¡± Charlie said, but I could hear the pain in his throat.


    I could only pray that he actually took care of himself. I nodded, and sent him off to his dorm, and looked up to the lighting crew.


    ¡°Restart from the top of the scene!¡±


    I had seen the show run so many times that I knew every line and movement. But no matter how many times I rehearsed it, I knew I probably wouldn¡¯t be the right choice for the Phantom. I always pictured myself as more of the suave romantic Raoul.


    Somehow, we managed to get through the show without too much chaos, despite the fact that I felt like I was half wandering through the stage, taking cues from people¡¯s body language.


    By the time we came to the end, I was physically exhausted. Thomas stood up, and the rest of them stood with him, in unison. It was creepy to watch as they moved as one. It was like they could read each other¡¯s thoughts. I knew Shields were in tune with each other, but I didn¡¯t think they were telepathic.


    What bothered me the most about it was watching Sarah, standing at the edge of the stage, watching them. She was practically balancing on her tiptoes, and I knew she was longing to find out about this part of her that was brand new. Like me, on my first supernatural transformation, I had longed for the presence of other vampires, wanted to find out everything about them. But I just needed her attention for the rest of the show


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow night, Liam,¡± Thomas said, his voice oddly quiet and yet echoing through the theater.


    ¡°Call time is 6 pm,¡± I answered, and Thomas nodded, and then they were gone.


    ¡°Alright, everyone, that¡¯s a wrap!¡± I called to the rest of the cast, who giggled a bit at my film terminology.


    Amy stood up on her tiptoes to kiss me and I gave in gratefully, placing my hands on her shoulders.


    ¡°See, I told you everything would work out,¡± she said quietly.


    I smiled. ¡°Sure, except I¡¯m standing here singing a part I¡¯ve rehearsed maybe once in my life, and if Charlie isn¡¯t better tomorrow, I¡¯m going to kill him myself.¡±


    ¡°But you and I, together on stage again,¡± she said, squeezing my hand.


    A thought crossed my mind and I winced. ¡°This means I might have to kiss Sarah. Dear God, someone find Connor and explain to him about a stage kiss before my life is in danger too.¡±


    Amy let out a soft giggle and reached up to kiss me again, gazing into my eyes. In that moment, I felt like we were the only two people in the world.


    ¡°What if I just swept you up right now and ran away?¡± I whispered in her ear, and I felt her shiver in anticipation of my touch.


    ¡°Then we¡¯d have a lot of angry actors,¡± she finally said, her breath hot on my ear and her lips brushing against my neck.


    I was more tempted by that thought than ever before. ¡°Didn¡¯t I teach them that the show must go on, no matter what?¡±


    She wrapped her arms around me, squeezing tight as the chaos continued around me. ¡°Soon, Liam. One day.¡±


    ¡°One day,¡± I whispered back, a promise to myself and to her.


    The theater began to clear out soon, cast and crew glad to be released.


    ¡°Don¡¯t party too hard!¡± I called after a group of seniors, who laughed and waved as they left.


    I had told Connor to let the vampires back into the guest accommodations, and to rejoin us at dusk in the field behind the school, where I had the witch meeting us.


    Arianna was a friend of Porsche¡¯s, a rebel, like her, who chose her own path in life. In her 30s, with a small child at home, Arianna sold her powers to support herself and her child. She didn¡¯t differentiate between vampires, werewolves, Shields or ghosts, all creatures paid the same price for the spells they needed. Mostly, it was love potions or voodoo dolls, but sometimes, she was called upon to do real magic, like I was asking her to do. I supposed it was one way to show equality. The only doubt I had in my mind was whether it would be enough.


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work,¡± Amy said, as we walked down the hall to get some lunch, ¡°then I don¡¯t know what will. This is everything we¡¯ve got.¡±


    ¡°Is there any way your mother can help?¡± I asked, playing with our fingers, intertwining.


    Amy looked up at me. ¡°I mean, she¡¯ll be there. I don¡¯t know how she can help, aside from watching over us. She can¡¯t really exist outside the theater, even with thirty Shields in there. She seems to be able to get places quickly though. She was following me around the wings, pretending to be my costume mistress.¡± Amy smiled, a smile that was halfway between sad and happy.


    I supposed that would be exactly how I would feel if my ghost mother could rejoin me.


    ¡°Perhaps we can ask her if she¡¯s willing to help us communicate? Do you think she¡¯ll agree to that?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Amy nodded. ¡°She said she¡¯d help us anyway she could.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I squeezed her hand. ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing left to do. Let¡¯s bind Sarah and then¡­ it¡¯ll be curtain time in less than a day.¡±


    ¡°Even with you as the Phantom?¡± she teased me.


    ¡°The show must go on, Amy. Even if the lead is reading from a script,¡± I replied. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s talk about something other than the show. Or vampires. Or anything other than you and me.¡±


    She smiled, following me into the office, lunch quickly forgotten.


    Chapter 22: Amy


    I pulled on a coat, preparing for the night cold. Liam had warned me that the binding spell could take a while, and the last thing I wanted to be was the weak human, freezing cold outside. In order for the spell to work, and Liam to take Sarah¡¯s protection without being affected by her powers, he needed to be in his supernatural form.


    I shut my door and met Sarah in the hallway.


    ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± I said, commenting on a black lace coat that dropped to the floor.


    She shuddered. ¡°Connor got it for me. And after being in that frilly dress, I needed some Goth time.¡±


    I laughed, taking her arm as we made our way through the back of the school and out to the field. There was a fire burning, which I hoped no one would notice. It was a bit suspicious to have a blazing orange fire surrounded by a few people in the back of the school, where we did outdoor theater.


    Standing by it and warming her hands, was a tall woman, dressed nonchalantly, save for a huge pentagram pendant around her neck.


    ¡°Are you Arianna?¡± I asked.


    She looked up. ¡°Amy,¡± she said, reaching for my hand. She was in her mid-thirties, with a bit of extra weight around her middle, and chipped nail polish on her chewed fingernails. I didn¡¯t know what I was expecting, I had never met a witch before. But now I realized how easy it must have been to pass them on the street, to never be aware of this whole world that I was now deep inside. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to meet you. And you must be Sarah, oh my.¡± She pulled her hand back from Sarah¡¯s handshake, smiling. ¡°Definitely a Shield.¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± Sarah replied, looking about. ¡°The boys are coming.¡±


    I looked up, seeing their two figures approach in the darkness, and took a step back.


    I had seen Liam before in his vampire form, but never Connor. With their fangs coming over their lips, and their eyes dark as coal against their pale faces, it was a bit frightening. I noticed they kept their distance from us as well, keeping to the other side of the fire.


    ¡°Are we ready?¡± Liam addressed Arianna, and his voice seemed growly, deeper than it normally was.


    Arianna nodded. ¡°Whenever you are. I need you here, and you here, and Connor, is it? You need to be the anchor between them, here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just¡­ be here.¡± I took a step away from the triangle she had made.


    Liam glanced up at me. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be here, Amy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I want to be. It¡¯ll be ok.¡± I rubbed my arms for warmth and then stepped back, as Arianna took her place over the fire.


    I could feel the magic in the air as soon as she started chanting. Everything felt alive, stronger, and louder. I felt like I could see colors that I couldn¡¯t before, like the world was a different place, with a whole new power I could never feel. The trees seemed to be talking to the grass, and the wind communicating with the sky.

 Page 34

    I turned to Connor, who was standing on my left and saw him wincing as his fangs receded straight away. I could almost see Sarah glowing, as if her power was manifesting off her and washing over Liam.


    Arianna¡¯s eyes had gone completely black, and I wasn¡¯t sure if she could see or hear any of us as she chanted words in a rhythm that I didn¡¯t understand, probably pulling out spells from thousands of years ago.


    Liam grunted and doubled over, and I moved towards him. Connor¡¯s hand came out, pulling me back.


    ¡°No, you must let the magic happen.¡±


    This time, Liam full-out groaned, and I felt my heart wrench as I saw his hands tremble.


    ¡°But he¡¯s getting hurt!¡± I cried, turning to Arianna. ¡°Stop, something¡¯s going wrong!¡±


    She didn¡¯t even acknowledge that she heard me, chanting over the flames that rose so high I thought they would engulf her. Liam bellowed in pain and I struggled against Connor as I saw blood trickle down his face.


    ¡°Liam!¡± But I was no use against a vampire, even one who was being kept half human.


    Suddenly, there was a giant flash of light and what I felt like was a sonic boom. The force of it threw both Connor and me to the ground.


    My head connected with the hard dirt and I saw stars in front of my eyes.


    I took a deep breath, gritting my teeth and willing myself to gain control.


    After a moment, the pain subsided and I was able to push myself up on shaky hands. It took another moment before my vision cleared.


    Liam was lying, sprawled on the ground, a few feet from me. Immediately, I pulled myself towards him, reaching to grab his shoulder and roll him over.


    ¡°Liam,¡± I said, and then gasped, moving backwards with haste. I hadn¡¯t expected him to still be in vampire form, and it startled me. Normally, I was a few feet away during his transformation.


    His eyes met mine, disorientated, and then he snarled at me.


    I leapt back with a little screech and felt Arianna¡¯s arms around me.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Amy. It just means the spell worked. Liam is no longer bound by the laws of Shields. Bound to Sarah, he is protected from them.¡±


    Sarah was sitting up half a meter away, rolling her neck from side to side. Her brand new coat was dirty, spotted with mud, and she looked paler than normal, but otherwise, happy. She wore a wide grin on her face as her head swiveled from Liam to Connor.


    ¡°Are you still human?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Indeed, and it¡¯s a bit unnerving,¡± Connor replied. ¡°You can¡¯t turn it off?¡±


    ¡°This is permanent, right?¡± Liam spoke at last, standing up. He seemed taller than he normally did, and no longer in pain. ¡°As long as Sarah¡¯s close, I¡¯m forever immune to anything?¡±


    ¡°Anything supernatural,¡± Arianna said, looking at her watch like she was ending a casual coffee date. ¡°I really should go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Liam nodded to her, looking down at his hands, and then up at the stars, as if taking the world in for the first time. ¡°The money will be in your bank account within twenty four hours.¡±


    ¡°Good. Nice to meet you all,¡± Arianna said, and then headed off towards the school parking lot.


    I guess for her, this was an everyday occurrence, changing people into toads and re-arranging the laws of nature. I knew that the binding spell was forbidden by witches who worked in a coven, but it was clear from her attitude that Arianna worked alone.


    I looked to Liam, who was rooted to the spot.


    He gave me a slight smile. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Amy. Your blood is just as tempting as ever.¡±


    ¡°Gee thanks,¡± I managed, but still didn¡¯t move any closer.


    This wasn¡¯t the Liam I knew, full of compassion and kindness. This Liam was someone else, even if the one I knew was trapped inside.


    But then he cocked his head in that familiar way that I found adorable, and gave me a wider grin, winking at me, and I found the man I had fallen in love with again.


    I moved forward into his arms, feeling his body as a vampire for the first time. He felt more solid, built and I could feel the power in his muscles. He wrapped his arms around me and I knew that it was the safest place in the world to be: that nothing at all could harm me.


    ¡°So, we¡¯ll see you tomorrow night, then,¡± Sarah said, also safe inside Connor¡¯s arms. They were giving each other a look that told me they had other plans for the evening.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Liam replied, and I smiled, breathing in his familiar scent. Everything would be alright, I knew it.


    Once the other two left, Liam reached down to take my hand.


    ¡°Do you want to take a walk?¡± he asked.


    I looked up, surprised. ¡°Is that¡­ ok? Are you going to be ok?¡±


    ¡°As long as we stay around here and don¡¯t head to the center of a crowded town.¡± He smirked. ¡°Unless you want that kind of fun.¡±


    ¡°No thank you,¡± I replied, gulping slowly. There were still parts of this, even after a year, that frightened me.


    ¡°That¡¯s ok, I¡¯m not really hungry.¡± He gave me a devilish smile and we began to stroll toward the gardens at the very back of the school property.


    I had never really spent much time there, preferring indoors and climate-controlled theaters. It was cold, and I couldn¡¯t feel my fingertips, but I didn¡¯t want my time with Liam to end. More than ever, I wanted to understand what was going on when he was like this; how he felt and what he thought.


    ¡°How¡¯s Ranger going?¡± he asked, approaching a delicate subject matter.


    I hadn¡¯t yet retracted my plan to pull out of school after the show was over, and to be honest, I wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted to do.


    I loved Ranger, and I loved performing every single day, a different script within the same character. I knew Cassandra Winters almost better than I knew myself by now. If they told me to improv all the scenes from here on out, I was pretty sure I could.


    But at the same time, I felt frustrated with the set. I hated the long breaks we took, sitting around waiting for the lighting to be moved or the director to argue with the writers. I hated being in character with a strong emotional backing and then having to be told to go back and do it again, or wait an hour for lunch to be over so we could film it from a different angle. As I expressed these thoughts to Liam, a wide grin stretched over his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s like we¡¯re the same person,¡± he said, stopping to pick up a flower and hand it to me.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Every time I was on a film set, I felt like bashing my head against a wall. You don¡¯t know how many times I wanted to scream at them to just get going.¡±


    ¡°But you spent most of your career in film,¡± I protested.


    He laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice, I know. Every day I was itching to get back to the stage.¡±


    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is even full-time actors have it hard?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, limos and parties are terrible,¡± he snorted.


    I giggled. ¡°Did you talk to Charlie by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Hard to talk to someone who has no voice,¡± he replied.


    I looked up in horror. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re playing the Phantom?¡±


    ¡°At least for opening night. I feel a terrible sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.¡± He swung my arm a bit, making me laugh. ¡°You and I, together on stage again. It¡¯ll be a show that the media will never forget.¡±


    ¡°At least you¡¯ll be wearing a mask,¡± I realized. ¡°So you can transform away and no one will know. What do you think Selene is planning?¡±


    ¡°She probably thinks we are stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice. She¡¯ll be waiting in the wings at intermission, per usual.¡±


    ¡°Except she¡¯ll be dead long before intermission,¡± I said with certainty.


    I had never hated anyone in my life. I remembered reading about death penalty laws, and never believing that death was the answer. People can be redeemed, and death was more of a punishment for the families than the criminal. There was never a time I thought death was the answer, and there was never anything that made me wish death on a person. For me, with my mother¡¯s image haunting us everywhere we turned, death was the worst thing possible.


    Until now, with Selene. I wished her a thousand painful deaths; that her gift of immortality was ripped away from her hands and the pain of her every victim would come down upon her. And that was just for what she had done to us.


    ¡°Hopefully,¡± Liam replied and then laughed. ¡°I hope Connor remembers that he isn¡¯t supposed to kill an audience member every night.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I looked up at him


    He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s smart, and Sarah¡¯s got him wrapped around her little finger.¡±


    ¡°I think they are actually in love,¡± I replied. ¡°Which is surprising.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡¯ Liam asked, as we rounded one corner of the field and headed towards the other. I was shivering now, but I didn¡¯t want him to know. This was a perfect moment with Liam, vampire or not, under the moonlight and alone. ¡°She was the big squealing fan girl of our relationship. Sarah never¡­ believed in love, for herself. There was sex and lust, and there were relationships, but she never believed in full-out love or happily ever after. She didn¡¯t think herself capable of it. She thought it was all fairy tale stories of times gone by.¡±


    ¡°And now?¡¯


    ¡°And now¡­ I don¡¯t know. She sings his praises every second, she tells me everything he says and does and swears she never wants to be without him.¡±


    ¡°Kind of the way I feel about you,¡± Liam said, nuzzling my neck.


    I blushed, pulling away but he persisted. ¡°Stop,¡± I cried, pulling away but he pulled me in closer. ¡°Leggo!¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± He laughed, hugging me. ¡°I will never let you go!¡±


    There was a serious note in his voice, and I could tell he meant it.


    When Sarah expressed her feelings of happily ever after not existing, I had stayed silent. I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about it, but when I was alone in the house all day long, it was hard to imagine that there was an actual Prince Charming a few miles away to sweep me off my feet. But I held out hope anyway, indulging in the romance movies which made me believe that I would have a fairy tale wedding with a dress that went on for miles.

 Page 35

    I shook myself out of my daydream with a shiver.


    ¡°Cold?¡± Liam asked.


    I nodded, trying to keep my teeth from chattering. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t want to say anything. I was having too much fun out here.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get you inside,¡± he said, putting his arm around me. ¡°I think it¡¯s for the best. I need to¡­ get something to eat.¡±


    ¡°Not your typical date,¡± I tried to joke, as we headed back towards the school. But I didn¡¯t want it to end, vampire or not.


    ¡°Nothing about us is typical,¡± Liam replied. ¡°But would you really want it to be?¡±


    I considered that, but shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t really have anything to compare it to.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do,¡± he replied, planting a kiss on my head. ¡°And I don¡¯t want anybody but you, atypical or not.¡±


    I smiled, feeling his love around me like a blanket.


    ¡°So, Mr. Phantom, shall we meet for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°We shall,¡± he promised, as he held open the door for me. ¡°Sleep in as late as you want, and text me when you wake up. I¡¯ll have a breakfast fit for a prima donna waiting.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± My stomach rumbled already at the thought of that.


    Liam leaned down and our lips met, and we shared a passionate but quick kiss. I had never kissed him as a vampire, and had to work around the fangs. He pulled back quickly, letting go of my hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, my love,¡± he said, and then turned, and in a flash, was gone, vampire speed taking him off into the night.


    I watched him disappear and then headed down the hallway, my head floating. I yawned, exhausted. It had been a long night and we had a long day tomorrow. As I walked down the hallway, still decorated with Christmas lights, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like this was when my fate would be decided; this was when it would all come to a head; everything we had been working for. In a way it would, and yet, in another way, I wondered what adventure would come next.


    Chapter 23: Liam


    ¡°And if I catch anybody trying to eat the buffet on stage tonight, it¡¯ll be the last thing you ever eat.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous because you can¡¯t eat with the mask on,¡± Steve called.


    I smiled. ¡°Alright, everyone, that¡¯s it. Head into costume and makeup and have a great closing night!¡±


    The show had opened to glowing reviews and a standing ovation, and I couldn¡¯t ask for more. There were always disasters that happened with every performance, of course, and that was to be expected. If a show went off without a hitch, then I would be worried about the things I didn¡¯t know about. People slipped, props got broken, Sarah didn¡¯t go off stage when she was supposed to, but all in all, it was pretty darn good.


    I was so proud of the students and my cast and crew. I knew that they had accomplished something great, but it still all came down to tonight. If they couldn¡¯t pull off the show in perfect rhythm, than nothing else mattered.


    I was glad, now that I was on stage, playing the Phantom. Poor Charlie ended up needing throat surgery, and my heart broke for him. But being on stage gave me more power to control things, to save dropped lines and find lost props. As well as make sure Selene was within our grasp.


    What bothered me the most was not knowing what her plan was. She wasn¡¯t coming to just view our show and laugh like an evil villain. She knew how many vampires I had on stage, and so she was probably trying to attack someone, perhaps all of us. I knew that at the height of her power, Selene could bring us down, one by one. I was praying she didn¡¯t notice the multitude of Shields I had working as ushers and stagehands, and if she did, then at the very least, she didn¡¯t know I was bound to Sarah.


    I wished that I had cast understudies, not just for the Phantom, but for Meg Giry. The closer we got to show time, the more my heart pounded at the thought of Amy in danger. I didn¡¯t want her anywhere near this, and yet I knew there was no way to stop her.


    The sunset was coming and I could feel the first effects of transformation. Bound to Sarah, who was growing stronger by the hour, I would transform on my own. Nothing supernatural, including other Shields, could affect me while she was close by. The others, however, were still getting used to the effects of thirty Shields in the room: all pretending to set up chairs and sort out programs, keeping the vampires reasonably human. When Selene¡¯s ticket was scanned, they would scurry backstage, keeping their presence a secret until she was brought on stage.


    ¡°Liam.¡± Amy came up behind me, startling me.


    I jumped a bit, covering it with a grin as I turned, ready to kiss her. Luckily, my peripheral vision caught her father standing right beside me. Of course, he knew we were together, but I didn¡¯t think he would appreciate me sucking face with his daughter in front of him. So instead, I dropped my arm around her and reached to shake his hand.


    ¡°Good to see you, sir. What did you think of the show last night?¡±


    ¡°I thought it was great! I¡¯m glad to see all our hard work pulled it off. The buffet looks particularly amazing.¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± I agreed, knowing that he helped coordinate it. ¡°A little too good, because I catch actors eating it on stage.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what it¡¯s there for. I look forward to tonight¡¯s show.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± This startled both Amy and I. He had tickets to opening night and last night, purposely, so that he steered clear of tonight.


    ¡°The sous chef called out sick, so I¡¯ll be supervising the food props tonight.¡± He looked from Amy to me and then raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± How many years had I trained in drama? And I still couldn¡¯t come up with a legitimate answer. ¡°Isn¡¯t there someone else who could do this?¡±


    He laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t think I could do a good job? It¡¯ll be fine, Liam, I assure you.¡±


    Except we are going to commit murder on stage and the ghost of your dead wife is lurking in the wings, and by the way, I¡¯m a vampire.


    I covered my thoughts with a smile and nodded. ¡°Of course. Amy, can I speak to you for a second? And, sir, if you want to make sure that all food props stay on the right side of the stage, that¡¯d be great.¡± I knew I was putting things in jeopardy by keeping him to one side, but if I kept his dead wife on the other side, maybe everything would be fine. Pulling Amy behind the curtain, I made sure we were alone before we spoke. And then I let out a string of swear words.


    ¡°What did you want me to do?¡± she asked, alarmed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell him everything.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I feel like that would be easier.¡± I reached to hug her, pulling her close. ¡°I wish that I knew you were safe at home tonight, Amy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m safe by your side,¡± she replied. ¡°Whatever Selene¡¯s plan is, I know we will ruin it. This is it, Liam, this is everything we¡¯ve been waiting for. Tomorrow is a new year, a new chance, a new life.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I kissed the top of her head. ¡°Just promise me that you¡¯ll be careful tonight.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? Meg Giry is an adventurous creature.¡± She clung to me, and I felt strength from her warm human body. ¡°Please, next year can we do Phantom 2?¡±


    I laughed, rolling my eyes. ¡°Next year you¡¯ll be a full-time actress, Amy. School life doesn¡¯t last forever.¡±


    ¡°Hard to imagine not being here,¡± she replied, pulling back. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s like for the kids who have been here since kindergarten.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, after tonight, they¡¯ll still have a school to come back to,¡± I said, looking down at my watch. ¡°Go on, get dressed.¡±


    As show time rapidly approached, and my transformation, alone in my dressing room was complete, a different mood struck me. I could smell the blood of the audience, of my actors, of the stage crew, all swirling around me, and despite three shots of whisky and a fresh blood bag, my cravings weren¡¯t being silenced.


    My phantom makeup was intact, so no one would be able to tell, but I forgot just how hard it was to keep everything in check. Never in my life had I longed so much for my basement dungeon, where I could scream and snarl to my heart¡¯s content and do no one harm.


    I grabbed the walkie-talkie that I had kept on the ledge and hit the talk button.


    ¡°Anyone got eyes on Sarah and Amy? Send them to my dressing room, stat!¡± It came out more of a bark than I intended it to, and I felt my ribcage literally shift, accommodating a stronger vampire form. I hadn¡¯t taken into account how hard this would be. Last year, I had Porsche, who kept me human without even blinking, and I thought it would be fine. Somehow, like an idiot, I had forgotten the reason why I was locked in the basement every night.


    The door opened, and they both stepped in, quizzical looks on their faces. As soon as Amy entered, the smell of her infected blood calmed my cravings, but I knew it wasn¡¯t enough. I couldn¡¯t spend the whole show as well as the wait up until show time like this.


    ¡°Amy, I need you to stay,¡± I said through clenched teeth. ¡°And Sarah, I need you to go as far away as you can, without jeopardizing the show.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Get out!¡± I practically barked at her. ¡°You and your binding spell are killing me in a theater full of people. Take the walkie and stay away until the lights dim, you understand?¡±


    ¡°Jesus, Liam, there¡¯s no need to be rude about it.¡± She snatched the walkie from my hand, coming dangerously close and then slammed the door behind her.


    If it was anyone else, I would be alarmed, but Sarah and her attitude were something I¡¯d gotten used to. Once we were alone in the room, I closed my eyes, breathing in Amy¡¯s scent. Suddenly, it got stronger.


    I opened my eyes to find her peeling off a band aid and picking at an IV wound until it bled. My face softened immediately.


    ¡°Amy, baby¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± she replied, perching on the makeup ledge and putting her bleeding hand between us. ¡°If it will help, it¡¯s fine.¡±

 Page 36

    ¡°I don¡¯t want this,¡± I whispered, reaching to cover her hand with mine.


    She just shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t be much use to you tonight, Liam, I know that. I¡¯m not a Shield, or a vampire, I¡¯m not strong or fast. But I can do this for you, so let me.¡±


    Sarah must have cleared the building, because my fangs were receding as well. I sucked in a lung full of fresh air, and tried to smile at her.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    We sat in silence for a few moments, simply enjoying each other¡¯s company.


    And then Amy spoke, ¡°What¡¯s the first thing you are going to do when the curse is broken?¡±


    ¡°Geez.¡± I had been so focused on getting the show off the ground and seeing Selene¡¯s dead body in front of me that it hadn¡¯t actually occurred to me to consider the after effects. But it was true. Tonight, if all went as planned, then I would draw breath until the end of my natural life and no longer fear the sunset or be a slave to the dawn. One thought darted into my brain like an arrow. ¡°Spend the night with you. Hold you in my arms all night and never let you go. Is that what you had in mind?¡±


    She gave me a sly smile. ¡°I was thinking a prelude. Candlelit dinner, sunset walk along the beach. And then we could get to that stuff.¡±


    I brought her hand to my mouth, kissing the now clotted wound. A prop ring that I had on my hand caught the light and I knew that this was as good as time as any. I wanted her to know that no matter what happened, human or vampire, I would always love her.


    I slipped it off my hand and held it up to her.


    ¡°Amy.¡± A thousand thoughts slipped through my head. That she would say no, that she wasn¡¯t that serious, that we were both too young. That I might ruin the show if she said no. That she didn¡¯t want to do that to me because of her shortened life expectancy. But I didn¡¯t really care. And I didn¡¯t want to be fancy and elegant about it. I wanted to get straight to the point. ¡°Amy, will you marry me?¡±


    I thought something was wrong in the way her eyes bugged out and she started choking. I actually dropped the ring in my alarm, reaching to take her in my arms.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    She choked a few times and then nodded, but she was trembling as she met my eyes.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Amy.¡± I tried to steady her. ¡°Don¡¯t feel pressured. If you think this isn¡¯t right, or you¡¯re not ready or¡­ whatever reason, you don¡¯t have to explain yourself to me. If you say no now, it¡¯s not going to change anything between us. I¡¯m not going to stop loving you, and I¡¯m certainly not going to stop asking. I love you, more than anything, more than I ever thought possible. I didn¡¯t believe in love until I met you, Amy, and you changed everything. I thought my world had been turned upside down when I was made into this monster, but the day you walked into the audition room was the real day my life changed. And I wanted to do this now, before everything went down, because I wanted you to know that no matter what I am, I will always love you. Even if you walk away now. And I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not prepared, and that this isn¡¯t a diamond, but I¡¯ll get you a diamond and¡­¡±


    ¡°Liam.¡± She brought a finger to my lips, hushing me. ¡°I will.¡±


    Now it was my turn to choke in shock. ¡°You will?¡±


    ¡°I will. Yes. Yes!¡±


    She threw her arms around me, and I could now feel her trembling from happiness. Keeping one arm around her, I reached to the ground to pick up the ring I had dropped. It wouldn¡¯t make any sense for her character, but I really didn¡¯t care. With my own hands shaking, I slipped it on her ring finger and squeezed so it tightened around her small finger.


    She met my eyes and our lips locked, a slow passionate kiss that I never wanted to break away from.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to rush into it,¡± I told her. ¡°We can do it when life is settled down, when you¡¯re ready. When you know the outcome of tonight.¡±


    ¡°If you got a priest in here now, I¡¯d do it,¡± she whispered. ¡°You know none of that matters to me.¡±


    I kissed her again, biting her lips and pressing her close. I wanted her as close to me as possible, to make us one and never be separate.


    ¡°Amy, if tonight doesn¡¯t work¡­ if I remain a vampire¡­ you know, eventually, I¡¯m going to have to disappear.¡±


    ¡°Liam, you always worry about what could happen, what might happen. Whether or not you¡¯re a vampire or human won¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯ll be dead before our tenth wedding anniversary. If you¡¯re prepared to deal with that, I¡¯m sure I can deal with an eternally hot husband.¡± She squeezed my hand, trying to make light of the situation.


    ¡°I wish I could kill AIDS as easily as I could take down Selene,¡± I muttered into her hair.


    She nodded. ¡°One day, maybe. But let¡¯s not worry about one day. Let¡¯s just worry about today.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I took my strength from her once more, and then straightened up, glancing at the clock on the wall. ¡°Show time.¡±


    ¡°See you later.¡± She hopped off the table, straightening her costume, ever the professional. I had no doubt that if I got a priest to marry us right there and then, Amy would still make sure that the show went off without a hitch.


    A knock came at the door, just as she was leaving, and Connor stood there.


    ¡°Selene has taken her seat.¡±


    ¡°We should have put dynamite in it,¡± I replied, trying to keep the mood light. ¡°Connor, get on a radio and bring Sarah back. It¡¯s time to close the curtain.¡±


    His face contorted in confusion. ¡°Where¡¯s Sarah?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said, not wanting to explain why I had sent his girlfriend off in a huff.


    Connor let it go, heading off to follow my instructions. I signaled the rest of the cast to get in place, and then climbed up to the very top balcony, which was roped off. It was where the Phantom started the show, and also where a script was kept hidden, in case I needed a last minute line check. I fitted the earpiece inside my mask, so that I could keep in communication with the rest of the cast and crew. I hated that I still didn¡¯t know this part well, and I now had to accept that I never would.


    There she was, sitting in the front row, just as we had predicted she would be. She was wearing a black trench coat over a red dress, her hair a sleek mane down her back, and her makeup flawless. Even after all these years and all she¡¯d done, she was still one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.


    She craned her neck and looked right up at the balcony, meeting my eyes and winking at me as the lights went down completely.


    This was it, now or never. One of us would be lying dead within an hour.


    Chapter 24: Amy


    I committed the biggest theater faux pas I could that night. As soon as the lights came up on the ballerinas, I drew Sarah in close. Our characters were supposed to be whispering and giggling to each other, and every other night, we had done it in character. But tonight, I was bursting at the seams.


    ¡°He proposed to me!¡± I hissed, discreetly showing her my hand.


    Her eyes widened. ¡°The Phantom did?¡±


    ¡°Liam. Liam did. Sarah this is real!¡±


    ¡°Oh my God!¡± She turned her back to the audience slightly, and leaned her mouth near my ear. ¡°Are you serious? When¡¯s the wedding?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. As soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Tell me everything!¡± she cried, and I was honestly about to, when Davina, who played Madame Giry, the ballet Mistress and my on-stage mother appeared, and I immediately snapped back into character.


    I knew the show was a mess tonight from the get-go. The vampires, stuck in human form, and us three leads, only had our mind on one thing. Even Liam missed a few lines, hurrying to get to the party scene. It was like we were on super speed, and the other actors were giving us dirty looks the whole time. I felt bad, especially when I looked down and saw poor Charlie in the audience, watching with a look of jealousy. We were destroying the play he worked so hard on for our own purposes.


    Finally, it was upon us. Sarah and I stood on opposite sides of the stage, hidden in the wings and locked eyes.


    ¡°Are you alright, Amy?¡±


    I jumped, turning to my father behind me.


    ¡°Dad! I¡¯m fine!¡± I had never snapped at him like that before, but suddenly I realized he was on the wrong side. Looking just beyond him, I thought my heart would stop as I saw my mother, hovering nearby. ¡°You¡¯re on the wrong side!¡±


    Confusion crossed his face. ¡°Stage notes say the wine enters from here.¡±


    ¡°It changed! Get to the other side! Now!¡± I practically shoved him into a curtain, giving my mother time to get out of the way, and then heard my musical cue. I entered the stage, and locked eyes with Selene.


    ¡°Christine, where are we?¡±


    It happened so fast I felt like I was on drugs. How could everything be crawling up until now and then suddenly, it was upon us. Connor was in the audience, acting like a drunken lout, and not doing too bad of job, and bringing up people for the party. The minute his hands closed around Selene¡¯s, all hell broke loose.


    She was too close to the stage not to be dragged up on it, too weak as a human to resist. If our audience saw that something was wrong, they didn¡¯t let on, which is what I was counting on. You can convince an audience that almost anything is part of the show.


    The second Selene crossed the threshold of the stage, we surrounded her, the music reaching a fevered pitch. It was so loud I couldn¡¯t even hear myself think. The others were human, the Shields keeping them in check. Selene, the mother of the vampires, was of course, not as affected, but I could still see a half inch of fangs, despite her weakened body.


    And then Sarah¡¯s hand closed around hers and she howled, jerking around. It was almost like Sarah was hurting her.


    ¡°O¡¯Malley!¡± she hissed, and Sarah simply grinned, the innocent character of Christine crossed with the devilish grin Sarah put on.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You and I have a personal thing, don¡¯t we?¡± Sarah whispered. ¡°Because I did my research and I¡¯m pretty damn sure you¡¯re the reason that I¡¯m the last of their bloodline. You set us up all those years ago, didn¡¯t you?¡±

 Page 37

    ¡°O¡¯Malley Shields are corrupted trash,¡± Selene spit out, and Sarah hit her so hard that she drew blood. She was still surrounded by the crowd of supposedly partying vampires, who were now moving closer to the wing where Liam was waiting.


    ¡°And vampires like you are the reason Shields exist,¡± Sarah replied, not at all alarmed by the fact that she had probably broken Selene¡¯s nose. In Sarah, I saw power and fury like I never had seen before. Everything seemed to come to a point then, the months of fear and change, the pain of losing her child, of what she had gone through, of the street life she had tried to live and the mask she had worn every day to keep people away from her. She was angry, and I wasn¡¯t going to stop her from taking it out on Selene.


    ¡°An unexpected guest has invited to your party!¡± Liam¡¯s voice boomed from up above, and I knew he was about to descend into the crowd.


    My mistake was looking up, in taking my eyes off Selene and Sarah, off the struggle. Suddenly, I was thrown backwards, slamming into the wall of the wings. I felt pain like I never have before, pain so badly that I couldn¡¯t scream, couldn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t do anything but watch what happened next.


    Selene now had her arms around Sarah, whose veins were bulging with the focus on keeping her human. Liam dropped down and skidded to me, completely changing the scene, not that I cared. I felt like I was moving underwater, my brain wasn¡¯t processing what was happening in front of me. Liam reached up to rip off his mask and I heard a crash.


    Turning my head as if it weighed a hundred pounds, I saw my father standing there, a tray he had been carrying dropped from his hands at the sight of Liam¡¯s vampiric face, at the sight of me, at the scene. He stood open mouth, staring.


    ¡°Dad! NO!¡± I had no idea if I actually got those words out, or if I just thought them. Darkness was flooding my vision.


    Selene broke free of Sarah, and I could see the fangs begin to grow again.


    And then it was my worst nightmare. In the exact same place where we had watched Porsche¡¯s life fade away, by the exact same monster, I saw it happen again. Selene moved too fast for any of us, and without so much as a second thought, grabbed my father and sunk her teeth into his neck.


    ¡°NO!¡± I knew that word came out, because I saw Sarah¡¯s head twist towards me, and her eyes widen in shock before she threw herself forward, managing to grab Selene again. Liam hit her in the back of the head, and she dropped like a stone into his arms. My father¡¯s body headed straight for the ground. But my mother caught him.


    I had dreamed about this moment all my life, seeing my parents together. She looked absolutely beautiful, almost glowing, and I wondered if she was a ghost or an angel. Whatever she was, she was being kept solid by Sarah¡¯s presence. She held my father¡¯s head in her lap, stroking his cheek until his eyes fluttered open. It was the most beautiful, peaceful thing I had ever seen, their eyes meeting and a thousand unsaid words passing between them. It would have been perfect, had my eyes not dropped and seen the blood pouring from his neck, his jugular torn open.


    My father was going to die, and I knew it. I tried to move, and found that I couldn¡¯t. Something felt very odd.


    Slowly, I looked down, not wanting to see. And found out why I couldn¡¯t move.


    Protruding through my white ballerina costume was a spike that was normally used to tie a rope and rig open the curtains. It was sticking straight through my stomach. Blood spilled all over and onto the floor. It was almost like I was watching myself, in a dream. Nothing felt real. This couldn¡¯t be real. That couldn¡¯t be my blood on the floor.


    And that couldn¡¯t be my mother, holding my father and looking at me with tears spilling down her face.


    ¡°Mommy,¡± I whispered, my voice choked up. It didn¡¯t hurt, exactly. It just felt like I was leaving this world. ¡°Soon. Soon, we will all be together.¡±


    She shook her head fiercely. ¡°Your father and I need you to live, Amy. We need you to live, for us.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± I mouthed, my throat so dry I could hardly speak. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You will,¡± she said, meeting my eyes. ¡°And we will be watching over you. You will live on, Amy.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Through love,¡± she whispered, giving me a soft smile and glancing at the ring on my finger. ¡°Through his love for you.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t keep my neck upwards anymore and my head lolled to the side, bringing Liam and Selene into my field of vision.


    His body was rippled with the strength of a vampire, and he had her in a headlock. This was it. Liam was going to snap her neck and everyone would be free, including him. Everyone would be free from this dreaded curse.


    ¡°Liam!¡± Sarah stopped him, Connor suddenly at her side. ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°No?¡± He looked absolutely baffled and clearly hadn¡¯t noticed the chaos that was around him.


    ¡°Look!¡± She pointed to me, trembling. ¡°Save her, Liam, Save her!¡±


    The rest of the cast was now backstage, although I couldn¡¯t figure out why. I seemed to be seeing double, and Liam was blurred along the edges as he cracked Selene¡¯s head on the wall and then dropped her in Connor¡¯s direction. She wasn¡¯t dead, I knew that, you couldn¡¯t kill a vampire that easily. And then he was at my side, taking my hand, his face blurred up close.


    ¡°Amy, Amy, no, no!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± I managed to whisper, trying to meet his eyes.


    Everything was becoming increasingly hazy and now it looked like my father was sitting up. But that wasn¡¯t right, because I could still see him lying down. But he was sitting up too, as if there was two of him, and glowing the same unearthly glow as my mother.


    I wondered if being close to death made you hallucinate.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± I said, trying to get a grip on reality. ¡°It¡¯s ok. This is everything you wanted, everything you hoped for.¡±


    ¡°Not at this price,¡± he managed, and I had never seen him so choked up. ¡°Not at this price! Not like this!¡±


    ¡°You have to kill her, Liam. You have to finish this. For me. For them!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± he howled.


    I could feel his arms around me, trying to pull me forward. It was the worst pain I had ever felt and I knew the audience heard. The show must go on.


    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go, Amy. No. This life isn¡¯t worth living without you!¡±


    ¡°Liam,¡± a voice spoke that I had never heard before, and I glanced up to see a man from another time. Clad in what seemed like priest robes, with long hair and chiseled features. I tried to place him in the show, but couldn¡¯t. Still, he stood there, towering over the rest. To my confusion, the vampires backed up, sinking to their knees. Liam turned, not letting go of me.


    ¡°Elias,¡± he said, his voice muddled. ¡°Please. Please save her. Please.¡±


    The one he called Elias shook his head. ¡°This is not my choice to make, Liam. It belongs to you!¡±


    ¡°How!¡± Liam said. ¡°How can I do this? Selene¡¯s death will make me human! I cannot save her!¡±


    ¡°Selene doesn¡¯t have to die!¡± Connor spoke up, and the others turned to him, slowly.


    I felt sleep take me and a warmth spread over me. This was it, this was what death felt like. I had spent my whole life wondering what it would be like when the time came. But I hadn¡¯t imagined it like this. I had imagined my withered body, hospital tubing and my sobbing father. I hadn¡¯t seen it backstage with my father¡¯s spirit waiting for me and my fianc¨¦ crying.


    Elias smiled at Connor. ¡°We mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.¡± He looked upon the coven of vampires, as if he were a proud father. ¡°If you here tonight understand that lesson, then you give me hope that vampires can continue to coincide with humans for all eternity. This has been a bloody fight, and I applaud your effort in it. And with Selene¡¯s death comes your freedom, but at the price of more than one innocent. We made you vampires long ago, but we did not make you monsters. That is for you to decide.¡±


    I fought with all my strength to raise my head, and look at him.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, my breath coming fast. I could feel my heart struggling to beat and I knew my time was drawing to a close. He bent down, a soft smile on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m the very first vampire, child. And I do not wish for us to end here. What you share with Liam, and the love I see here in this coven is exactly what I and others like me have been working to create for centuries. That vampires can co-exist with humans.¡±


    ¡°My father,¡± I sobbed. ¡°My father is dead.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He didn¡¯t hide that fact from me. ¡°But this supernatural world exists so that nobody is ever truly gone. For when one is lost, amends cannot be made, love cannot be created, grudges cannot be forgiven. Nothing can ever truly be mended if the chance to do it is not there.¡± He reached out to take Liam¡¯s hand and brought it to my neck, where my pulse barely beat. The world seemed to slow down again, and I felt my heart stop, just for a fraction of a second. Liam trembled, but held strong.


    ¡°Selene will live,¡± Connor said, and it felt like he was a hundred miles away. ¡°For I have known love, and lost it, and have been lucky enough to find it again, in a creature nature swore me against from the beginning. I will not let Liam and Amy lose a second chance. Even if it means being a creature of the night forever.¡± His voice got stronger as he spoke. ¡°Those who wish for Selene¡¯s death must go through me.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what they did, or what happened, but I did know that Selene remained a vampire. Liam¡¯s face came into my field of vision.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Amy,¡± he whispered.


    I used the last of my strength to bring my hand to his face and draw it close to his mouth, where his fangs protruded. My hand slipped, brushing his lip and revealing them more.

 Page 38

    ¡°The show must go on, Liam, no matter what.¡±


    "No matter what,¡± he whispered, and then leaned into my neck, sinking his teeth into me.


    I felt the venom seep into my veins, but after the pain I experienced just minutes ago, it felt like morphine. I can¡¯t describe what transforming felt like. It was like a blessing and a curse. I screamed as I felt Liam pull me from the spike and onto the ground.


    The whole world spun out of my vision, and I saw light and darkness collide and a burst of stars. My eyes rolled back and I felt my heart stop, and yet, I didn¡¯t lose consciousness. I felt the venom flow into my body, cooling it and nothing felt natural. Everything felt disconnected and yet connected. I felt strength flow through me and the wound close on my stomach as if by magic. And then, I felt a familiar hand on my arm and I began to breathe again, sucking in deep lungfuls of air as my vision cleared. I looked up to see Sarah¡¯s face hovering over me with a tearful smile. I had healed, I had transformed, and here she was, as if this was her purpose in life, to be here at this moment, to keep me human.


    ¡°The show must go on,¡± she whispered, tears falling down her face.


    I glanced down at my stomach and saw the flesh healed. Slowly, I sat up, careful not to move too fast. Selene was now in Elias¡¯s grasp, and for the first time, looking absolutely terrified. I didn¡¯t know what her fate would be, but I had a feeling she would be kept barely alive, and suffer for the pain she had caused. All this time, I had thought it was us breaking the rules, when it fact, it had been her.


    Carefully, I rose to my feet, surprised at how good I felt. My mind wasn¡¯t clear, I knew that. To my left, my father still lay, and on trembling legs, I walked over to him, and crouched down.


    He was dead, there was no doubt about that. Tears fell as I reached to close his eyes, and I felt Liam¡¯s hand on my back.


    ¡°He¡¯s at peace, Amy. He¡¯s with the one he loves.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± I whispered, brushing my hand over his rapidly cooling cheek. ¡°I want to leave this place, Liam. There¡¯s been so much death and sadness here, I don¡¯t think I could take it if we stayed.¡±


    He wrapped his strong arms around me, kissing my hair and whispering soothing noises.


    ¡°We can do whatever you want, my love. But our experiences make us who we are. Without this place, even in sorrow, we would never be where we are.¡±


    I almost broke down. I had to bite my lip to the point of breaking the skin to keep myself in check. Shakily, I rose again, facing the crowd of vampires who now stood, surrounding Sarah. Tonight, they thought they would become mortal, and because of me, they could not.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered, trying to look each one of them in the eye. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    To my surprise, starting with Connor and then Steve and the rest, they dipped low to me.


    ¡°You are the Queen of our Coven leader, and so you are our Queen too. You have taught us tonight a new meaning of life.¡±


    I brought my hands to my face, trying not to cry. Liam kissed my cheek, taking my hand, and drawing me forward. I reached out for Sarah and she wrapped her arms around me.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re ok.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± I replied, hugging her tight. ¡°Thank you, Sarah, for everything. Not just tonight, but for everything. For talking to me when I was a nerdy housebound kid. For encouraging me to never give up on my dream. For always being there. I couldn¡¯t do any of this without you.¡±


    ¡°As long as I¡¯m your maid of honor,¡± she whispered, trying to keep the mood light.


    I grinned for the first time. And then I turned to the others, who had circled around me.


    ¡°We have a show to finish,¡± I said, and they nodded.


    Amy, as young Meg Giry, grows so much as a character in the final act of the show. This young actress is a Hollywood superstar in the making, and we will be keeping our eye on her in the coming days, said the final review of the show, published in the biggest entertainment magazine on the West Coast the next day. I glanced at the photo of us taking our final bow, my costume ripped and bloodstained. If they only knew what had brought me to that point; what had happened on my journey. If they only knew my pain, my love. But that was a secret that I would never be able to share. That was my mine alone to keep, safe in my love for him.


    Chapter 25: Amy


    There had been too many deaths in the two short years since I had entered the real world. Nina, Porsche, the unborn child Sarah never got to carry, and now, there was fresh dirt on my father¡¯s grave.


    That was something I would never quite be able to come to terms with, that my father wasn¡¯t waiting in the house down the street, that he wasn¡¯t bustling around in the kitchen, or telling me to do my homework. But yet, I considered myself blessed, which seemed like a funny thing to do in my situation. To the world, I was a child without parents, the tragic TV star who received hundreds of messages of condolences every week, whose life was up in the air and supposed to be dying of AIDS. I had thought that I would never return to the Red Theater once the curtain fell on Phantom, that I would have to get away from the place that changed my life.


    But I found that I couldn¡¯t. It had changed my life for the worst, but also for the better. I had met Liam, the love of my life, in that theater, and my dreams of being an actor had come true. I had played two of the most important roles there. I had met my mother there, a chance I otherwise never would have gotten. And today, I had both my parents by my side, solid as if they were alive, playing with my veil and twirling me around to have a look at my wedding dress, fit for a princess. Sarah was standing by in a purple bridesmaid dress as I put the finishing touches on my makeup.


    ¡°Do you think you could have gotten anything puffier, Amy?¡± my father teased me.


    I looked down at the layers and layers of tulle flowing onto the floor below me, the floor that had once been covered with my blood. That was before, when AIDS ruled my life. When my mortality loomed in my face. But no longer was that an issue. For every night, Liam taught me how to control my cravings, how to withstand the pain of transformation. And most nights, we hung out in Sarah¡¯s trailer on the set of her new TV show, Witch, which I thought was ironic. But being closed to Sarah, now that the binding spell was reversed, meant that we didn¡¯t have to transform at all. But honestly, although I hadn¡¯t told Liam, the pain of transformation was nowhere near some of the pain I had gone through as a human. Being a vampire meant strength, power, confidence, all the things I didn¡¯t feel like I had in life.


    The worst part was feeding. I had seen what had happened to Nina and I didn¡¯t want to end up that way. And yet, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to feed on humans, not yet. So blood bags were the way to go. I could see Liam was worried about me, but it was a choice I made, which was good enough for me.


    I had chosen to marry Liam in the Red Theater not only because that¡¯s where it all began, but because my parents could attend.


    I had fits of sadness and panic when I was alone in my father¡¯s house, having moved out of the dorms, and knowing that he wasn¡¯t ever coming back. But I had to look on the bright side, to know that I was so much luckier than other people in my situation. As long as I had Sarah and access to the theater, I could always visit my parents, always come back to them. And they would be waiting for me, watching the shows in the theater, and holding hands. One day, this might be harder than it was. Liam and I agreed to five years in the human world; five more years pretending everything was alright. And then, we weren¡¯t sure what we would do. We knew we would have to disappear. Five more years with him looking completely un-aged was pushing it, especially for someone who was constantly photographed. But however we decided to disappear, it would be together. A tragic car accident, a kidnapping, something that would ensure that we were dead and the world would forget about us.


    And I knew that when the time came to just have each other, we would be alright.


    ¡°Could have, but I went with subtle.¡± I winked at him as my mother fixed my veil one last time.


    In order to have my parents there, I had to sacrifice the big wedding that I had always dreamed of. Most of my friends couldn¡¯t come, and any distant family wasn¡¯t invited. But as my fame from Ranger rose, I felt like a small private wedding, with people from the supernatural world, was better. Especially since their world was mine now.


    ¡°You look beautiful,¡± my mother said, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. ¡°Sarah, darling, come here, let me fix your flowers.¡±


    ¡°I like them this way,¡± Sarah replied, but stepped forward, letting my mother tug on her bouquet.


    Sarah was my only bridesmaid, but honestly, I couldn¡¯t think of anyone better to be a bridesmaid than my best friend, the sister I never had.


    She checked her cell phone and then looked up at me with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s time, Amy.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God.¡± Now I felt the nerves flow in, my heart accelerating to about a thousand beats a minute. Just because I was a vampire didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t capable of getting nervous.


    ¡°Amy.¡± Sarah gave me a smile. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d say getting married at 19 was retarded and what the hell are you thinking and all that crap¡­ but I couldn¡¯t think of two better people for each other than you and Liam. You don¡¯t have anything to be nervous about. And finally, when they say forever in the vows, you guys can actually mean them, opposed to all the other three second Hollywood marriages.¡±


    ¡°Such a romantic speech,¡± I teased her as I saw the lights dim.


    I took a deep breath, as I heard the opening strands of music and linked arms with each of my parents for the walk down the aisle and up onto the stage, another reality that I never thought I¡¯d have.


    I had chosen an instrumental piece, the Celtic Wedding March, for Sarah to walk down the aisle too. As rehearsed, she went down slowly, the small audience watching as she dropped flower petals on the floor. She had wanted to drop black roses, the Phantom¡¯s special, but I had drawn the line and reminded her that as surreal as this was, this was my wedding, not a theater show.

 Page 39

    Finally, the Wedding March faded out and Here Comes the Bride started. I looked to my dad as he pulled my veil over my head and we stepped through the doors.


    The entire audience was on their feet, watching me with smiles of encouragement, as I approached. The audience was full of vampires, witches, and even a few werewolves that Liam knew, all eyeing each other awkwardly, but happy for me. I cast my gaze to the front, and there stood Liam, taking my breath away.


    He was dressed in a black suit, slick and sleek. His hair was styled back and he was clean-shaven. His eyes sparkled as he smiled at me, and then he said something to Peter, who was his best man.


    I had spent hours staring at those eyes on TV, on the computer, and on posters, but never in my life did I think I would be marrying them, and everything attached to them.


    I slowly walked up the aisle to him, and then up the stairs, where I had walked a thousand times before to play Belle and Meg and everything in between. Liam couldn¡¯t seem to tear his eyes from me, watching my every movement. To be fair, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off him either.


    My parents brought me to his side, and I turned to my father, who lifted my veil up and over my face, before turning to the priest.


    ¡°Who gives this woman to this man?¡±


    ¡°We do,¡± my parents chimed in together, and I almost burst with happiness.


    They were holding hands, no doubt memories of their own wedding flooding in. They stepped back, and I turned and joined hands with Liam. It was finally happening.


    ¡°Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today¡­¡± The priest began to speak, but I tuned him out, holding hands with Liam and practically reading his mind. He was just as happy as I was. ¡°If there is any here who knows of a reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.¡±


    I held my breath, looking around. I half expected Selene to burst in with a reason, and try to take either of our lives. I expected an elder to burst in and claim that this was against the rules of vampire law, to marry one you sired. Hell, I even expected Thomas De Ritter to come in, and wrestle us to the ground, sending us back to our human form and staking both of us.


    He especially hadn¡¯t been happy with the outcome of the situation, and it was something both Liam and I felt extremely bad about. We had made him a promise, and they had only agreed to work with us on the grounds of that promise. Yet, there was one more vampire in the world instead of several less, and my father¡¯s blood was on our hands. On top of that, after a week learning what she could about Shields, Sarah, as Porsche had before her, decided that life wasn¡¯t for her, and left as quickly as she had come. The vampire war with the Shields had gained speed, and I knew it was something we would have to face in our future. But not now. Now, I was marrying the love of my life.


    Liam and I had gone back and forth between writing our own vows and speaking traditional ones. In the end, we decided on traditional ones, deciding that, like the creatures we had become, marriage was an age old coven and those were the words that should be spoken to gain entrance. It was just like learning lines.


    So, when the priest turned to Liam, he smiled broadly, his hands shaking a bit, and began to speak.


    ¡°I, Liam, take thee, Amy, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse¡­¡± He paused and I raised an eyebrow. Liam? Nervous? That didn¡¯t happen. ¡°¡­ For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health¡­ till death us do part.¡±


    ¡°To love and to cherish,¡± The priest interjected and Liam laughed a bit nervously.


    ¡°To love and to cherish,¡± he repeated, blushing and even I had to smile.


    When it came time for me to speak, I took a deep breath, determined to show him that a little newbie actor could remember her lines better than him.


    ¡°I, Amy, take thee, Liam, to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health... till death us do part.¡±


    ¡°To love and to cherish,¡± the priest reminded me and the audience burst into laughter. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that part in.¡±


    Liam gave me a devilish grin and a smile stretched across my face.


    ¡°And now, the bride and groom will exchange the rings,¡± the priest said.


    Liam put his hand out to Peter, who handed him a small gold circlet that had belonged to his own wife, Liam¡¯s grandmother.


    ¡°With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow,¡± he almost whispered slipping it onto my finger.


    The prop ring from Phantom was still on my hand, I had refused to take it off, even when Liam took me to a proper jewelry store and offered to get me a diamond the size of my face. That was the ring he proposed with and so that was the ring I would wear.


    Sarah handed me his ring, and I reached for his hand.


    ¡°With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow,¡± I said, slipping it over his knuckle, having to push a bit to make it fit. And there it was, the two of us, holding hands, wedding bands sparkling in the theatrical lights. I knew then that I would never want to leave that school, leave that stage. It had become such a part of me that there was no way anything could take me away from it. There was now as much sorrow in this place as happiness; tears of equally bad and good times. Who would have thought the theater I snuck into as a child would change my life forever?


    The priest smiled upon us and turned us slightly towards the crowd.


    ¡°I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.¡±


    It didn¡¯t seem real and final until his hand squeezed mine.


    Liam was the only man I had ever kissed for real, and now, he would be the last one I ever kissed. Our lips locked and it felt sweeter than the first time he ever kissed me, passion electrifying through my veins as our lips devoured each other. My first kiss as a married woman.


    He dipped me down, continuing the kiss and the audience cheered. It felt like an eternity before he lifted me up, and I wished it was longer. We turned toward the audience, hands locked and smiling, as they gave us a standing ovation, shouting, cheering and whistling. The priest introduced us as mister and missus. As we walked down the steps and down the aisle, ducking rose petals and rice, I couldn¡¯t believe that this was real. Liam beamed down at me as we ducked through the crowd.


    ¡°Well, how does it feel?¡± he asked, going slow in case I would trip and fall over my own dress.


    I grinned at him. ¡°It feels absolutely perfect. And I hate that we have to go to a reception and spend hours eating and talking.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you have other plans?¡± he teased.


    I reached up to kiss him again. ¡°I do. They involve me, you, our honeymoon suite, and a lack of a big poufy dress.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Amy,¡± he said, through kisses, his breath hot in my ear. ¡°Have I taught you nothing? The show must go on, no matter what¡­¡±


    THE END.