Aiden didn’t stick around to speak to Ben when he took him back downstairs. Theo’s mood had instilled too much fear in him. He showed Ben into his room and then locked the door behind him. Ben listened to Aiden making his way back upstairs before he flopped down on the bed in despair.

The best he could hope for was to have everything that made him unique ripped away from him and given to a maniacal vampire. It was far more likely that he would be killed in the process.

Waiting for Erin no longer seemed like such a good idea. Now that Theo had a warlock working for him what use would Erin really provide?

He could run. Running was far more appealing than hanging around and hoping that Erin would turn up before he got killed. Of course, Theo would hunt him. Ben would never be able to stop running. He’d have to run until he was finally able to kill Theo.

He sat motionless on the bed and listened to the sounds coming from above. He heard Theo and Aiden speaking in whispers to one another. There were far enough away that even with his super-hearing he couldn’t make out everything that was said, he got the gist of it though. Theo was trying to assuage Aiden’s less than friendly feelings towards him. When it became clear that Aiden was not going to be won over, Theo lost his temper and he was no longer so hard to hear.

“Fine! Sulk if you want to, but make no mistake that this ritual is happening and it is happening tonight! And I’ll hear no more of this nonsense about you leaving me. Remember, dear one, since the night we first met you have belonged to me. When I sank my teeth into your femoral I marked you as mine for eternity.”

When Theo had finished screaming at Aiden, he stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

“I guess we’re leaving then,” Rik said in a far quieter voice before he left the house in a more civilised manner.

Ben wondered if Aiden would come downstairs to talk to him about what had just happened. If he could swing Aiden onto his side then maybe they could lay some kind of trap for when Theo returned. He was disappointed when he heard the slow plodding steps that carried Aiden higher in the house and farther away from Ben.

He waited for longer than he needed before he moved. He told himself he was waiting to make sure that Theo wasn’t going to come back, but in actual fact, he was just scared. Scared that he’d get caught and then he’d blow his chance to escape; because he knew that he would not get a second chance. But if he did nothing then he might as well walk himself to his own execution.

He walked to the door slowly, listening out for any sounds coming from within the house above him. Just as he reached the door he heard a floorboard upstairs creak and he froze. His heart thudded and he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears like drums beating out the tune of his doom. He stood frozen in place for several minutes and only moved again when he was sure that he couldn’t hear any more noises. It must have been a random sound from an old house. The house was just settling as his grandmother used to say.

He raised his fist and brought it smashing down onto the door handle. He’d seen people on television do it all the time when they wanted to break a lock and had intended to do the same thing himself. Except the people on the telly weren’t vampires. The handle broke and with it the entire section of wood broke away from the rest of the door and clattered to the floor, the loud thud betraying his movements to the whole house. The door swung inward of its own volition and Ben waited for Aiden to come and investigate the sound.

And then he jumped when he saw that somebody was already on the stairs. Adrenaline flooded his system as his brain initiated his fight-or-flight response. There was no choice for him to make since his flight path was blocked and he could only fight.

The person on the stairs shot forward, grabbed him, and carried him into the room, a hand clapping over his mouth and stopping him from making the smallest sound. Ben opened his mouth wider to bite his attacker, but only when they’d stopped moving, and he was pinned down on the bed with his attacker looming over him, did he see the glistening red hair of Erin.

Seeing the fight in him evaporate, Erin withdrew her hand and Ben let out a moan of relief.

“Yeah, I have that effect on men,” she said and flashed him a cheeky wink and stepped away so he could sit up.

“I never thought I’d be so glad to see you,” Ben said. His voice was cracked and on the verge of breaking. A part of him had never really believed that she would come. Her goal was to kill Theo, not to save Ben. His heart swelled to see that she had spared him a thought after all.

“Aw, aren’t you sweet.” Her eyes drifted over the football shirt Ben had been given to wear. “What are you wearing?”

Ben shook his head, ashamed of the outfit that he’d been forced into. “It’s all I was given.”

Erin snorted before moving on. “I’ve been watching the house since yesterday. Theo’s had a few houseguests. What’s going on?” she said.

“He’s been trying to figure out why I didn’t die. He brought some vampire expert woman who he killed. Then he brought a warlock who he’s gone out with. His boyfriend is upstairs somewhere, but he’s the only vampire left in the house now. Oh, and there’s a couple of humans knocking around somewhere.” Ben pulled himself up off the bed. He had no desire to stick around for a catch-up. “Come on, we need to go before he comes back.”

Ben was halfway out of the room before Erin spoke.

“No,” she said plainly.

He turned back, sure that he must have misheard her. “What?”

“I didn’t come here to rescue you, Ben. I came here to kill Theo and I’m not leaving until it’s done.”

“How are you going to do that? He’s too strong, Erin, and now he has a warlock,” Ben said hotly. He had no time for this insanity, he wanted to put as much distance between him and Theo before Theo came after him.

Izzy flashed to his mind. He’d have to take her with him or else Theo would find her and use her to get to Ben. She was going to be thrilled about having to leave her life behind.

“First of all, I’m going to go upstairs and kill his boyfriend. Then I’ll hide and wait until Theo goes to sleep in the morning. Then I’ll come out and kill him.” She was so sure of herself, so certain that her stupid plan would work.

“The plan we had last time was leagues better than that drivel you just spilled and even that failed.” He didn’t care if he offended her, he just wanted to leave. “Do you seriously think he’s going to come home, find his boyfriend is dead, and carry on as usual?”

“I’ll make it look like he left. There’s no point in running from Theo. He works for the Veil. If he chases you, the Veil chases you. There is no corner of the world where the Veil won’t find you.”

“Actually, considering his plans for me, I don’t think he’ll bring the Veil into it,” Ben said with a smug little smile.

Erin’s eyebrows dipped in confusion. “What plans?”

“Apparently, I’m the first of a whole new bloodline. I’m a progenitor. Theo wants to transfer that from me to him. That’s what the warlock is for. So, I need to get out of here now and run as far away as possible before they do a horrible ritual that will end with me being dead.’ Saying the words brought a new wave of fear over Ben. The idea of potentially spending eternity running was not a happy thought.

“Great plan, Benny. How long do you think you can outrun an ancient vampire before he catches up with you? Let’s say you can evade him perpetually, what then? Is that the plan for eternity? How long do you think it will be before you throw yourself into a fire just to be done with it all?”

“What choice do I have?” Ben shouted, momentarily forgetting where he was.

Erin stayed silent and listened intently. Only when it became clear that nobody was coming did she reply. “Stay here and help me finish this. We stand a better chance of winning if we do it together, but if we split up then we both die.”

Ben turned and pressed his head into the wall, wanting nothing more than to turn back the clock and stop any of this from ever happening. Being bullied by Lewis Pratt didn’t seem that bad anymore. He wanted to say yes to Erin, but the chances of instant death were just too high. There was too much that could go wrong.

“When you asked me to turn you I said no,” Erin said gently.

“Yeah, I’m starting to really wish that I’d listened!” he said, sounding every bit like a petulant child.

“Do you remember why said no?”

“Because I’m a pathetic weak little man who isn’t good enough to be a vampire.”

“Pretty much. And then you attacked me and took my blood for your own. You proved me wrong. And when Theo came to town you could’ve run. Or you could’ve served me up to him. But again, you stood up to him and you fought him even though you knew it was very likely that he’d kill you.”

“Yeah, I was there, I don’t need to be reminded,” he snapped. His head was still pressed into the wall and his eyes were squeezed shut. Maybe if he crawled inside himself all of this would fade away.

“I’m trying to say that I was wrong about you, Ben. You’re not weak and you’re not cowardly. So, don’t act like a rat and go scurrying off now. You’ll be living in the shadows for the rest of your life. You’re smart, Ben, and that’s a rare thing in a man.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” he muttered, but there was little conviction. He couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

“My plan sucks, you’re right. So help me come up with a better one. And then we both get to live without having to look over our shoulders forever.”

Ben breathed deeply, ever-aware of the growing nausea in his belly. He didn’t want to fight. He didn’t want to run. He just wanted to go home and be left alone.

“He has a warlock. Do you know how to fight a warlock? I don’t.”

“Not really,” Erin admitted. “If we could evade his spells for long enough then all the magic expenditure would wear him out.”

Ben’s eyes flicked open and the gears of his brain started to turn. “Using magic wears them out?”

“Yeah, but he’d have to use a lot to take him off the playing field.”

“What if he did a humongous ritual that nobody had ever attempted before?” Ben asked. He turned to Erin, a sly smile lighting up his face. Without even trying to think of a plan, his mind offered one up seemingly of its own accord.

“You mean like taking one vampire’s abilities and dumping them in another? Yeah, I think that would wear him out a bit.”

“Tomorrow night when Rik does the ritual both me and Theo will be weakened. When we’re both at our weakest, Rik will do the transfer. Once he’s done that he should pretty weak too. That’s when you’ll need to strike. But I’ll be too weak to help you, so this all rests on you.”

Erin smiled with a childlike ecstasy. “See, I knew you’d think of something.”

“If you mess this up—”

“I won’t,” she assured him.

‘If you do…if you miss your opportunity then I’ll probably be dead and Theo will be even harder to kill than he is now. You’ll never get another chance and then you’ll have to run for eternity. If Theo doesn’t kill you there and then that is.’

“Ben, I have wanted to kill Theo for eighty-two years. I will not mess this up. What time is the ritual?”

“Midnight.”

Erin nodded. She took a step forward and clapped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing with reassurance. She was much nicer than she pretended to be on the surface. If Ben didn’t know better he would’ve said that her waspish attitude was just a front.

“Sit tight and don’t try to run again. This ends tomorrow night.”

Erin shot out of the basement leaving Ben to wonder if he’d just made the most stupid decision of his life.

Ben examined the ruined door of his prison bedroom and wondered how he was going to explain it to Theo. The soft click of the neighbouring room’s door closing caught his attention. Had he been a human he probably would not have noticed it, but his vampiric hearing picked the sound up with ease and amplified it against the backdrop of silence.

He poked his head out into the hallway. The door to the next room was closed but warm orange light spilt out through the crack between the door and the floor. Ben could see two sections of shadow blocking the light where a person was standing against the door. He focused his hearing on any sounds coming from beyond the closed door and was immediately answered by the rapid thumping of a heart beating under stress.

Leon had been eavesdropping and had tried to close his door sneakily after Erin had left. That was not something Ben could ignore. He could not risk Leon telling Theo about their plan. If Leon opened his mouth the plan would fail before it even got started.

With a weary resignation, Ben stepped out of his room and knocked three times on Leon’s door. He heard the man within hold his breath as if that would fool Ben.

“I know you’re standing against the door, so why don’t you just open it before I force it open myself. You know that you won’t be able to stop me,” Ben said. He took no pleasure in his threat, he wasn’t taunting Leon or mocking him, he was simply delivering the facts.

Leon took only a moment to make his decision, not that there was much of a choice in it. Three soft steps across the carpeted floor signalled that he had moved away from the door, although he had not opened it for Ben. That, it seemed, was a step too far.

Ben turned the handle and gently pushed the door open. It swung silently inwards to reveal Leon. He was standing a couple of feet away from the door. His eyes were wide and fearful, and yet he held his chin high with defiance.

“I heard everything,” he said boldly, speaking the words like they were a weapon.

“And?” Ben spoke with a confidence that he did not possess. He knew of the damage Leon could do with the information that he now held.

“I don’t think Theodric would be too happy about it. I have to tell him.” Leon raised his chin in defiance. He would have looked quite imposing if his fingers hadn’t been jittering at his side.

“I don’t see what you stand to gain by telling him,” Ben chose his words carefully. He wanted to seem more like a friend than an enemy. A potential ally.

Leon’s steely front cracked and Ben glimpsed at the pain he was trying to conceal. “What is there for me to gain? You monsters stole my children and murdered my wife. I’m not naive enough to believe that I can do anything to hurt you, so avenging my wife is not an option. But I still have my children. If I give Theodric this information then maybe he’ll let me have my children back.”

“You can’t trust him. I’ve seen him break his word already,” said Ben.

“I can’t risk losing them.”

“Please,” Ben said softly. “We have a plan. We will kill Theo and then you and your children will be safe.”

Leon shook his head, his resolve unwavering. “If he dies then my children are lost. I don’t know where they are.”

“We can find them,” Ben argued. He didn’t believe that Theo would have taken them far.

“They’re guarded. If anything happens to Theodric my children die!”

“Theo murdered your wife. You know that, right?”

The pain in Leon’s eyes confirmed that he did know it. “It doesn’t matter who did what. All that matters is them. My children. I’m their father. I have to do whatever it takes to protect them. Surely you understand that?”

Ben did understand that, but that didn’t change the fact that he could not let anything jeopardise his plan. He wasn’t going to lay down his life for the sake of some people he didn’t even know.

“I do understand. And I’m sure that you understand that I can’t let you tell Theo.”

Ben stepped forward and Leon scurried away from him. “If you kill me he’ll know something’s up. He’ll know and he’ll take steps to counteract any plans you have.”

Ben paused. Leon was right. He couldn’t murder him without Theo finding out, and then no matter what excuse Ben gave, Theo would be suspicious. His paranoia would force him to take extra precautions.

He couldn’t kill him, but he didn’t need to. He had other tricks up his sleeve. Tricks that would keep his conscience clean.

Ben dashed forward and grabbed Leon on either side of his head. He held him steady and stared deeply into his eyes.

“You will forget everything you heard and everything you saw. You will tell Theo nothing,” Ben instructed him.

Leon’s face turned a deep shade of red and his eyes pooled with tears as Ben’s mesmerisation took hold. “I will…” Leon shook as he fought against Ben’s control. “I will… NOT risk losing my children!”

Ben stared incredulously at the unremarkable man who had just done something he didn’t think was possible. Leon stared furiously at Ben, he was practically frothing at the mouth.

Ben tightened his grip on the man’s head and held his gaze for another attempt at mesmerisation. But Leon had already proven he could somehow resist Ben’s power. Even if he did force the message to sink in how long would it last?

“You’re wife’s death is too much for you to bear. There is only one option left. You will take your own life. Find a belt or a rope or some other substitute, and use it to hang yourself. You will do this as soon as I release you.” The words felt like poison on Ben’s tongue and he had to fight against his own self-loathing just to force them out. He poured as much of his will into the words as he could, hoping that this time they would not be resisted.

Leon’s mouth opened but no words came out this time. He stared at Ben with something like betrayal. The sadness and the despair in Leon’s gaze was enough to cause Ben’s heart to tear itself apart, and yet he could not bring himself to look away.

He released Leon from his grip and took a step back to give the man some room. Leon fell to his knees, his entire body shaking.

“My children…” he whispered. Even as he spoke he was removing his belt from his chinos.

“Just…” Ben started, wanting to change his mind and give Leon another chance to keep his mouth shut. But he couldn’t risk it. “I’ll do everything I can for them.”

He backed slowly out of the room, holding his victim’s gaze, and trying to convey a silent apology. Before he’d even made it to the door Leon was climbing onto his bed to carry out his orders.

Several moments later, when Ben was sitting on his bed fighting back tears, he heard the dull thud of Leon falling, and the creak of the leather that held him suspended from the ceiling.

Theo returned some hours later and Ben remained sitting on his bed staring at his broken door as he heard his captor descending the stairs. He walked slowly like he had all the time in the world, and since he was immortal he kind of did.

Theo stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared at the chunk of door that Ben had left on the floor. One lean eyebrow lifted before he turned his attention to Ben. Ben’s heart was thundering in his chest, but he forced his posture to remain composed.

“Would you care to explain how your door came to be so abused?” Theo asked quite calmly.

Ben shrugged. “I was going to run away but then I realised it was pointless,” Ben said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. He had been on his way out when Erin had convinced him to stay to fight.

Aiden must have heard that something was wrong since he came stumbling down the stairs, stopping at the bottom just behind Theo. He looked at the broken door and his eyes widened as he turned fearfully to Theo.

“Where were you when this happened?” Theo asked. He didn’t even bother to look at Aiden.

“In the bedroom listening to music,” Aiden mumbled. The words barely made it out of his mouth, his throat seemed to dry up in an effort to stop them.

Theo’s hand whipped out and lashed Aiden across the cheek. Aiden’s face flared hotly and he fell back, the only reason he didn’t fall down was that the wall caught him.

“Oh, dramatics,” Rik said as he came sauntering down the stairs. He stopped halfway and lowered himself onto the stair, peering through the railing of the bannister at the theatrics below.

“Benedict was wise enough not to leave the house so I suppose there is no harm done,” Theo said and his lips curled into the smallest of smiles.

“Except to my face,” Aiden said, stifling a sob.

“Don’t be such a pansy. You’re a vampire, there’s no lasting damage.”

Rik’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that word anymore. You of all people should know that,” he said. His words seemed to bristle Theo whose shoulders tensed.

“And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?” He turned to the warlock. Rik remained nonchalantly lounging on the stairs, either unaware or unconcerned by Theo’s mood.

“Oh, honey, if you don’t know that by now I fear you’re beyond educating,” Rik said.

Ben clapped his hand to his mouth to trap the laugh that tried to erupt from him.

“I’m surrounded by fools,” Theo said, exhaling loudly as he looked around at the three of his companions.

“Fools who you need. So do try to remember your manners,” Rik reminded him. Ben envied his confidence.

Theo suddenly took in a huge inhale through his nose. He looked around in bewilderment as he took three quick sniffs of the air. He was like a dog smelling something delicious—or, judging by the look on his face, something disgusting.

“What? What is it?” Aiden asked, sniffing at the air as well.

“I smell decay,” Theo said.

Ben braced himself for what was going to happen next. Theo strode forward and shoved open Leon’s bedroom door. He did not enter the room. He gripped the doorframe, his knuckles whitening as he took in the view before him. Rik could see into the room from his position on the stairs and his eyebrows rose as the door swung open. He seemed not to have anything to say. Aiden shuffled over so he could see what they were both looking at.

“Oh,” he said, his hand rising to his mouth.

“What is it?” Ben said, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to be surprised by it as well.

“Aiden has been seriously negligent in his duties as jailor. And it would appear that Leon is no longer with us,” Theo put far more importance on Aiden’s negligence than he did on Leon’s death. Ben resisted the urge to spit in Theo’s face.

Ben didn’t want to see what was inside that room. He didn’t want to be faced with the consequences of what he’d done. He did not want to feel the razor teeth of guilt as it bit down on his internal organs. But for the sake of feigning innocence, he knew that he had to.

Time slowed down as he made his way into the hallway and turned to look through Leon’s door. The anguished groan that escaped his lips was completely real and not at all for show.

Leon was hanging from one of the sturdy ceiling beams by his own leather belt. His head was flopped down concealing his face and his limbs hung limply from his body. One of his shoes had slipped off during the act and his white sock was bared. It was a small detail but one that wormed its way into Ben’s head. He couldn’t tear his eyes from that worn white sock and he knew that the sock would occupy a space in his mind.

“Cindy’s death must have been hard on him,” Aiden said softly.

Theo sighed airily. “I was going to kill him anyway so I suppose he’s saved me a task.”

“What?” Aiden said. Apparently, he had not been privy to that part of the plan.

Theo turned from the room, leaving the door open, and affording Leon not even the smallest amount of respect. Ben reached out and silently pulled the door closed, not out of respect for the dead, but because he no longer wanted to see Leon’s corpse.

“Nobody can know what takes place here tonight.” Theo reached out and cupped Aiden’s cheek in his hand “Apart from you, of course, my love.” The words contained not an ounce of love, but they seemed to calm some of Aiden’s reticence.

“And what about me, the trusty warlock?” Rik asked, raising his hand as though he were in school.

“I can hardly protect you if you’re dead,” Theo said. “Aiden, we will need Andrea for the ritual so do keep a closer eye on her. I don’t want to go through the trouble of finding another human to take her place because you can’t be bothered to keep her alive.”

“This was hardly my fault and humans aren’t exactly hard to come by,” Aiden argued.

Theo’s voice took on a growling quality and his nostrils flared angrily. “Don’t talk back to me.”

Aiden’s head dipped and his hands curled into fists at his sides before he took off up the stairs in defeat, climbing over Rik’s legs since the warlock didn’t seem to feel like moving.

“Now then,” Theo said once Aiden had gone, his voice contained the excitement of a child on their birthday. “Let us prepare for the ritual.”

Ben was taken to one of the upstairs bedrooms so Theo could keep a personal eye on him. He presumed that the bedroom he was assigned belonged to Leon’s daughter based on the love heart fairy lights and pink bedsheets.

Aiden brought Ben his meals in silence. Ben wanted to try again to convince Aiden to join his team, but he dared not when Theo was within earshot. Other than when Aiden brought him his warmed up blood, Ben was left completely alone.

The following night he was allowed another shower and Aiden brought him a fresh set of clothes. This time he was given a pair of dark jeans and a blue and white striped shirt. It was definitely an improvement, although he felt like a middle-aged office worker in the shirt.

He buttoned the garment up, disgusted at the thought that he might die it in. Still, better to die in the ugly shirt than in the football t-shirt.

Just as he was finishing, Theo entered the room and cleared his throat to declare his presence. Ben turned to face the older vampire, one eyebrow raised inquiringly.

“Is it time to go already?” Ben asked. He didn’t have his phone and his watch had died long ago, so he had no idea what time it was.

“No, we’ve got a while yet before we need to begin. I wanted to speak to you before the evening gets underway.”

“Okay,” Ben said. He was taken aback by Theo’s placid demeanour. For once his politeness didn’t seem like a front.

Theo took hold of the SpongeBob backpack that was occupying the chair in the corner of the room and tossed it aside, granting it a curious look before he did so. “There are some things in this modern world that I simply cannot get my head around.” The chair creaked as he lowered himself into it. “Tonight will not be easy for you and I want you to know that your death brings me no pleasure.”

“Really? You don’t seem to have a problem with killing anyone you take a disliking to,” Ben retorted. With his death, mere hours away holding his tongue didn’t seem that crucial anymore.

Theo’s mouth tightened and his fingers dug into his thighs where his hands were resting. “I kill out of necessity. I take no pleasure in it. You see, The Black Veil is governed by a tyrant. A paranoid psychopath who holds us all to ransom. He could snuff us out on a whim.” Theo snapped his fingers to demonstrate his point. “He has proven that he is willing to do so.”

“Teramun?” Ben asked.

Theo didn’t reprimand him for saying the name. He nodded. “Yes. It is in the best interests of all vampires if he were to be replaced.”

“Why aren’t all the vampires with you then?”

“Fear. Nobody instils more fear in a vampire than Teramun does. He is…deranged. A group of vampires of the Korvus bloodline rebelled against him just a few weeks ago. He gave them one chance to cease and desist.”

Ben sat up a little straighter, curious to know what all the Korvus whisperings he’d heard were all about. “I take it they didn’t?”

“Correct. Teramun wiped out the entire bloodline to punish them and send a message to any other vampire who might think of rebelling.”

“And yet here you are rebelling.”

Theo shook his head, a sad smile on his face. “I am merely preparing to rebel. I am taking steps to ensure that he will not be able to kill me. Not so easily at least. And when the others see that for themselves, they will flock to me like disciples. And then I will replace Teramun and everything will be as it should be.”

“It’s kind of hard to accept your plan when it involves my death,” Ben quipped.

Theo stood up, apparently finished with the conversation. “I understand that it is not an easy thing to come to terms with, however, your sacrifice will not be for nothing.”

Ben folded his arms and stared at Theo completely dumbfounded. He was genuinely amazed at how Theo was trying to frame Ben’s impending murder. “Is this your idea of an apology or something? Do you seriously expect me to just lap up all that bullshit and go along with it?”

Theo stared at Ben as though he were the one in the wrong. Then he let out a huge exasperated sigh before stomping out of the room.

“Seriously?” Ben said to himself. If he hadn’t been about to die he would have probably found the whole thing quite funny.

Sometime later, Ben was led out into the back garden where the ritual was to take place. It was unlike any garden he had ever seen before. Rich luscious grass stretched for miles until it reached a dense woodland that may or may not have been part of the property. It was the night of the new moon so no moonlight illuminated the garden. Ben’s vampiric sight made walking in the dark as easy as walking in the light. Rik did not possess such gifts and had to resort to using the torch on his iPhone.

Pale light shone over the garden casting sinister shadows that stretched out from the leafless trees that were scattered about the place.

Ben followed Theo and Rik until the house was a distant shadow behind them. They stopped in an area where the bare trees stood in a loose circle. Two wooden benches had been placed within the circle. They were simple benches, planks of wood on legs with no backs to lean on. Ben couldn’t see them as anything other than mortuary slabs. In between the benches an altar had been positioned. A few scruffy sheets of paper, a pile of gemstones, a ceramic bowl, and a small bag were positioned on the surface. It was like the world’s most ramshackle church.

Rik muttered some strange words under his breath and flames sprung to life from the huge white church candles that had been placed in the trees around them. “Let there be light,” he said.

Ben hadn’t even noticed the candles, but now he could not deny the romantic aura they cast over the ritual ground.

“I feel like you’ve got the vibe slightly wrong,” Ben said. He’d thought that making a joke would help ease his nerves, but it didn’t help in the least. His life was very much on the line and it all relied on Erin not messing up. He trusted that she would come because he knew how strongly her desire for revenge drove her, but he did not trust that they would be successful in defeating Theo. Especially not now that he had a warlock in his corner.

“We’ve got half an hour until midnight. Would you like to run through the ritual?” Rik asked.

“What is there to go through? We lay on the benches, you do the voodoo, I take Benedict’s abilities—job done,” said Theo. He made a motion of dusting his palms off.

“I won’t be doing any voodoo,” Rik said, shaking his head. “This is sacrificial magic which is considerably more dastardly.”

Aiden arrived in the circle, one of his hands clutching Andrea’s upper arm. Ben was relieved to see that his mesmerisation was still in full effect. Andrea looked pretty confused, but there were no signs of fear.

“Here she is,’” Aiden said sullenly. “You gonna tell me what we need her for?”

“Oh,” Ben said as he figured it out. “Sacrificial magic.” Andrea had been used as a blood bag for however long Theo had had her and now she was going to be murdered. She’d clearly been dealt a worse hand than anyone else present.

Theo smiled malevolently across the circle at him. “Sacrificial magic requires a sacrifice. I was going to use Leon, but…” he shrugged whimsically.

Ben knew at that moment that he would not survive the ritual. Even if Erin pulled off her grand rescue perfectly, he just knew that he was going to die. He was a baby vampire who was mixed up in things that he didn’t even fully understand. He had no chance of defeating Theo. He should have fled when he’d first seen that swarm of bats arriving in Maidstone. He should have run away and never looked back. Stupidly, he’d stuck around and tried to play a game that he didn’t even know the rules for. And why?

Pride. He’d been too proud to flee. He’d lived an entire life being the downtrodden one and he’d been naive enough to think that becoming a vampire would change that. All it had done was given him deadlier bullies. But it wasn’t too late to swallow his pride. He had one chance left and it did not rest in waiting for Erin.

Without wasting another second thinking about it, Ben turned in the direction of the woods and ran.

Rik uttered another sequence of unfamiliar words and something on the ground ahead glowed with dull white light. Ben didn’t break his gait. That was until an invisible force slammed into him and blocked his path. He thudded to a halt, his body crashing into what felt like solid stone. He jolted back, staring at the nothing in front of him. The pain from the collision receded immediately and he was left with only his bewilderment. He looked down at the floor and saw thick white powdery stuff that encircled the entire area.

“I had Riku spell a circle of salt,” Theo informed him smugly.

“It’s actually common practice in these kinds of rituals. The people on the chopping block tend to get a bit jittery—case in point,” said Rik.

“Even when they don’t their friends have an annoying habit of trying to rescue them. I’d be a fool to not take precautions in case Miss Bellicose should present herself,” Theo added.

“Now that the salt is spelled, nobody will be entering or exiting the circle until the ritual is completed,” Rik said.

Ben’s legs gave out on him and he fell heavily to the ground. He remained sitting on the grass staring at the circle of salt that had robbed him of the last ounce of hope that he had. It didn’t matter what Erin did now. She was not going to be able to enter the circle. Theo was going to kill Ben and then he’d kill her too.