A pleasingly plump woman in a black skintight dress was curled like smoke into one end of the sofa and four other nondescript entities stood around the room. In the background, TV news played at low volume.

Jesse set a cup of Lung Ching tea and a plate of pesto in front of Sally. “It’s as good as it smells, dear, Walter’s still the best cook in the world. And since he’s only cooking for one, we’ve got plenty extra.” Sally took a bite: he was right, it was delicious. She ate heartily as Walter and Lavinia gazed with wonder at each other.

Sally was amazed to see Jesse gazing at her with the same wonder.

“You found her and brought her so far back in just two days. You’re amazing. It was months before this one was so human again.”

The other vampires gathered around Lavinia, reaching out uncertain hands to touch her face. She looked amused as she snarled playfully, “Back the fuck off.” They rippled back like tall grass in a breeze but still watched Lavinia as she compared notes with Walter.

Sally (just like Charity Claire the night before) soon found herself ignoring the vampires drifting like smoky ghosts.

Jesse started explaining a hundred things at once. “Sally, dear, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about…” He waved a hand to indicate their halfway home for vampires, Walter, the fact that vampires can be brought back.

“I didn’t see Lavinia turned so I thought she’d just been consumed. If I’d known she made it through, I would have told you all about us, given you any guidance I could on how to find her and bring her back.

“In fact,” he waved his hands, talking even faster, “it was weird we were even at that rally. Walter wanted to go in case he could stop people getting killed so I had to go because I would have died if I’d lost him and then with me being there, he was so focused on shielding me, not that any vampires broke through to where we were, but he was no help at all when the attack started…” Jesse finally realized he was babbling and looked abashed.

“Anyway, I slipped the card into your pocket just on the off chance. I guess I imagined that if somehow you found her, you’d understand what the card meant and otherwise it wouldn’t mean anything and wouldn’t make you feel any worse. But I really should have asked you what happened, found out a little more. I’m very sorry.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to talk about it, so it wouldn’t have made any difference,” Sally said with simple truth. There was silence between them for two minutes while Lavinia and Walter talked intently in low voices. They’re not the least bit romantically interested, Sally reminded herself. She smiled, remembering telling Lavinia who must have given her the card: “While I was without you, I slept with these two guys,” she’d started and Lavinia had laughed, “Pardonnez the fuck out of moi?”

“Two days,” Jesse marveled again. “You did this much in two days.”

Sally blushed and said, “Oh, well…”

“She was amazing, don’t let her tell you anything else.” Lavinia tore her marveling gaze from Walter and pulled a delightedly embarrassed Sally onto her lap. “I never been loved by anybody like this, not my whole life. She’s a priceless treasure and don’t let her tell you anything else.”

Sally was mortified to find herself weeping with the pleasure of being publicly declared her beloved’s priceless treasure. Callista, though tender in private, had always subtly put her down in front of their friends.

The two men watched her with gentle smiles; there was no need to say anything. She thought she saw Jesse cast a sad look at Walter, but it smoothed over an instant later and she decided she had imagined it.

A moment later, she forgot everything else. From the TV she heard a word that shocked her. It was the word anyone in the world can pick out of any amount of background noise. Her own name.

“Turn that up!” she shouted.

♦

KerriAnne was elated. For the first time in her lonely life, she was surrounded by followers.

She was better than all the others. She could think, she could plan. When she suggested something to the empty others, they did it. It was incredible; it was so much fun!

She’d still been in a funk (she giggled about it now) when she’d climbed out of the truck to look for the plaza. She knew Sally was there; she’d seen her picture in the news stories on the phone she’d gotten from that lovely delicious boy. She wanted Sally so badly. She wanted to grab the bottle that was Sally Yan and drink, drink, drink.

But when she asked, “Where’s the Embarcadero Plaza?” the empty ones just stopped and waited. She was the one who remembered GPS and pulled out the phone again. “Come on, you gweilo assholes!” she’d cried. “If you don’t know anything, you can follow me!” And they did.

When she realized that, she was nearly paralyzed with delight. “Carry me!” she commanded, like a movie queen. “You and you, pick me up and carry me. This way!”

Boogie woogie damn bang, they did it! Her loneliness and despair were gone; what had she been so fucking upset about, anyway? Life was great!

But now the black woman in the turtleneck and jeans (who the idiots called “sister” like they were refugees from the sixties) said, “Malcolm, there was a young Asian woman whose picture was on the news. She was one of the defenders. I remember feeling sad: she had lost her beloved in the fighting.” “Sister” turned to face her. “She would have left yesterday morning. We are the only people in the plaza now.”

KerriAnne raged inside: of course, Sally wouldn’t still be here. The world was always playing mean tricks on her and the picture was taken two days ago.

Sally had a beloved, what kind of shit was that?

“Sally Yan!” she shouted. “Come out, Sally Yan!” Stern, implacable, a true Yan, that’s what she’d be. The mindless followers (and she loved them for it!), took up the chant. “Sally Yan! Come out, Sally Yan!”

Thousands of cold voices shouting Sally’s name, that would bring her running. Meanwhile, her minions (she liked having minions) kept pushing at the boundary between the emptiness and that fake pocket of light and meaning that was called a “home.”

She stood like a Queen or an Empress, smiling coldly at the helpless food.