The carpenter Rik had chosen was on the verge of retirement. His grey hair was strategically combed to cover the bald spot that was circling out from his crown, and his warm smile extenuated the crow’s feet that had long ago taken route at the edges of his eyes. His kindly old-man smile had a strangely reassuring effect on Ben that made him feel oddly secure.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet the boss,” Malcolm said, giving Ben a firm handshake.

“I’m also the boss,” Rik interjected, a touch defensively.

Malcolm’s smile didn’t falter. “When you get to my age in life you learn that there’s only ever one boss really, and it’s usually the one you don’t see very often,” he said. Malcolm continued without allowing Rik the chance to argue. “I am curious about the decor you’ve chosen for this place. It’s a bit grim, a bit gothic, don’t you think? Most businesses in this industry tend to go the other way, to put the customers at ease so to speak.”

Ben nodded along as Malcolm explained his point and waited patiently for him to finish. “Well, it was like this when I took the place on. I just had it spruced up a bit.”

“When we took the place on,” Rik said in the background.

“I kind of liked it and since we’ll only be supplying coffins to the local funeral homes I doubt we’ll get many customers coming here.”

“Yes, I was surprised to learn that you’d convinced all the local places to sign deals with you, especially since your prices are higher than most of their previous suppliers.”

Ben’s brow furrowed in surprise. “How do you know that?”

Malcolm chuckled like he knew a secret. “I’ve worked for and with most of the places over the years. I’ve still got contacts all over and I know all about their suppliers and costs and all that boring stuff.”

“Why do you think I chose him for our place?” Rik asked. Ben couldn’t disagree that Rik had made an excellent choice; Malcolm seemed to know more about the funeral industry than Ben would ever bother to learn.

“So, how did you convince them?” Malcolm was still smiling warmly but there was a suspicious glint in his eyes. He knew something less than legitimate was going on here.

Ben considered how much he wanted Malcolm to know about who and what he was, and what the purpose of the business was. If he kept Malcolm completely in the dark then he’d have to make sure that he always remained in the dark. Maybe one well-worded mesmerisation could solve all future problems like asking a genie for a carefully worded wish.

“Well, it’s funny you should ask. I mesmerised them,” Ben said as he focused on holding Malcolm’s gaze. “I’m a vampire and I can basically do mind control. I need you to accept that now and be okay with it. When I’m around you’ll remember that, but when I’m not here you’ll forget all about it. Anything odd that you see or hear in this building you will forget the moment you leave. You will never tell anybody what goes on here except for the boring coffin making and the business stuff.”

Malcolm’s eyes were wide and behind his glazed expression was a combination of bewilderment and fear. “This is…oh…” Malcolm turned away, rubbing his temple with one hand. “At first I thought you were crazy but now I can feel it—the mind control. That’s what you mean by mesmerisation, I assume. Oh. It’s like a…little termite burrowing its way into my head and laying little eggs everywhere.”

“You certainly know how to paint a vivid picture with words,” said Rik. He was perched up on the desk at the back of the showroom kicking his legs like a child.

“I think I’m going to need a glass of wine,” Malcolm said. He stopped rubbing his head and dropped his arm to his side.

“We don’t have—”

“I’ll go and get some wine,” Rik said, jumping to his feet. “Any particular kind?”

“A nice Bordeaux,” Malcolm said. He made his way over to one of the plush purple chairs and lowered himself into it with a weary groan, as though Ben’s admission had taken a toll on his body as well as his mind.

“Yeah sure, I know what that means,’ Rik muttered to himself as he trotted out of the shop.

“He’ll figure it out,” Ben said, waving his hand. “You don’t seem that surprised.”

“I’m old, Ben, nothing surprises me anymore. I’ve got a ton of questions but I suppose the less I know the better, is that right?”

Ben laughed lightly as he took the seat behind the desk. “To be honest, you’ll forget it all as soon as you leave so it hardly matters.”

“I don’t think I want to know.” The old man shook his head in the kind of way that only older people did. “I just wanted a simple little job to keep me out of the house until I’m forced to retire for good. Time away from the wife. A good marriage requires space.”

“This job should be simple enough. All I need is somebody to run the financials and make the coffins.”

“And turn a blind eye to any vampire shenanigans,” Malcolm added.

“No shenanigans. We intend to keep any funny business away from here.” The Coffin Shop was a place to hide his locolum recro and a source of money so he didn’t have to steal it. The fewer people who knew about its existence the better.

“I’m old, not stupid. I can already smell the shenanigans on the horizon. Just promise me two things; my wife will never be dragged into anything that goes on here, and if I ever decide I want to quit you won’t stop me.”

Ben nodded. “That seems more than fair.”

“Speaking of fair you can add five thousand to my salary. I was going to ask for an assistant but I don’t want to drag anybody else into this. I could really do with that wine now.”

“My friend likes wine,” Ben said, thinking of Izzy. She’d have known what wine to get for Malcolm. Rik drank wine on occasion but he had no idea how to pick it. He just drank the stuff that Izzy gave him.

“I don’t want to know. No offence, but I already know more than I want to. I’ll be honest, I can’t wait to leave so I can forget all this.”

“You can turn the job down. It’s not too late,” Ben said. He’d already agreed to let the old man quit.

Malcolm considered the option for a moment and then shook his head. “No. I think I’ll stick around. Like I said, time out of the house is crucial, and not many people will hire a man my age. Not even with all my contacts. I’m too old and I’m too expensive.”

Rik returned with the wine and Malcolm practically snatched it from his hands. In lieu of a wine glass, he poured it into a mug and began tipping the red stuff back like it was water. Once he’d consumed almost half the bottle, Ben told him the real reason he’d asked Malcolm to stay late.

“I need a coffin for…vampire things, and I need you to guide me through building it.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I just made it for you?”

Ben shook his head, wishing that was possible. “You can’t touch it. I have to do it or the magic won’t work.”

Malcolm shook his head profusely. “Magic as well.” He chugged down the rest of the wine in his mug and began filling it back up. “Let’s get down to business. What style of coffin are you thinking?”

Ben shrugged. He had given that particular aspect no thought at all. “That one?” he said, pointing at the fancy silver one near the front of the shop.

“Well, that’s actually a casket.”

“I thought coffin and casket were synonymous.”

“You thought wrong. A casket is rectangular and a coffin is tapered and hexagonal— shaped to the human body.” Talking about coffins seemed to help him forget that Ben was a vampire and magic was real.

“Does it matter if it’s a coffin or a casket?” Ben asked Rik.

Rik shrugged with disinterest. “I find it hard to believe that the shape of the crate will affect the magic I’ll be pouring into it. Theo’s was casket shaped.”

“Let’s go with the casket then. It looks more spacious.” Since Ben was going to be spending an entire night in the box he wanted it to be as comfortable as possible.

“Good choice. Personally, I prefer the traditional hexagon design but that’s neither here nor there. Next, we talk about wood choices.”

Malcolm and Ben headed down into the basement workshop to discuss the design. Since the coffin was going to be filled with dirt it didn’t need any padding or silk. A simple build was all that was needed. Ben’s vanity insisted on making it look fancy on the outside, but the inside was not important at all. Nobody but him would ever be looking inside it.

Rik got bored fairly quickly and headed upstairs to the top-floor office. Ben couldn’t blame him, if he hadn’t been personally invested in the matter he would have got bored a long time ago. Malcolm spoke about coffins with such passion that anybody would have thought he’d invented them; he was like a monk talking about God.

It seemed that Malcolm had been talking for hours when the old man finally got up to leave.

“Whether or not I remember this, I still expect a big overtime payment,” he said as he headed up the stairs, leaving Ben to look through the brochures and choose the various materials for his coffin.

When Ben returned to the shop floor he was mentally exhausted and bored from all the coffin rubbish he’d looked through and learned. he hadn’t absorbed so much useless information since he’d been in school. Shadows pooled around the front corner of the showroom. Usually, Ben would have just ignored them and carried on his way up to the office, but he’d come to realise what a heavy gathering of shadows tended to bring with it.

He let the basement door swing shut with a creak as he turned to face the darkest corner of the room. As expected, standing against the wall, in his usual black attire, was Gideon. His eyebrows twitched in surprise when he realised that Ben had noticed him but he recovered quickly.

“I had a few follow-up questions from our chat at that little French place,” he said. He pushed off the wall and stepped into the orange light.

“I suppose it was silly of me to hope that you’d be satisfied enough to leave,” Ben said.

“It was considering you left vital parts of the story out. The news reported a red-haired woman and yet you didn’t mention her once in your story. Why?”

Maybe if he’d just given up Erin’s name Gideon would be gone now. He’d have taken off in search of her. But his conscience would not let Ben throw her under the bus. She’d saved him from Theo and now it was his turn to return the favour. He would not send Gideon after Erin, even if it didn’t mean putting himself in the clear.

“I know that the red-haired woman is the real killer and the Veil vampire came here to put her down. You know that I know that and that I’m not going to fall for any of your lies. So tell me the truth or I’ll be forced to employ more of a scorched earth strategy.” The fiery shine in his eyes told Ben that he was not bluffing. Gideon had been holding himself back so far, but he was more than willing to let the hunter out with all the nasty weapons that he had in his arsenal.

“Yes,” Ben nodded, putting on his most contrite face. “I lied. You’re right. I was protecting her—the red-haired woman. But I’m not going to risk my own life to save hers. She killed the hospital patients and then Theo turned up—”

Gideon’s hand swept up, cutting Ben off mid-sentence. “Hold on. I know you’re little warlock friend is upstairs and you’re probably going to try and stall me until he can come up with some wicked way to save you. Let’s go upstairs and have our chat with him. I do hate annoying interruptions.”

Ben nodded acquiescingly. “As you wish.” Ben gestured to the door at the back of the room and Gideon flashed him a look of disbelief.

“Was I born yesterday? After you.”

Ben shrugged indifferently before pulling open the door and leading the way up the stairs. The wood groaned beneath him letting Rik know that he was on his way.

The entire upstairs had been a flat that the last tenants had lived in. Ben and Rik hadn’t bothered to change much. Only the room that the stairs opened up into had been turned into an office. The door on the other side of the office led to the rest of the flat which was pretty much unaltered. They planned on using it to hide secret things, like Ben’s magic coffin, so there was no need to redecorate. Few guests would ever be invited back there.

The room that was now the office had bare-brick walls and plain wall sconces that cast dim light over the room. Two desks stood facing each other on either side of the room and a shabby old bookcase stood against one wall. That was all they’d brought into the office so far. It was all they needed, more than they needed in fact.

“Where is he?” Gideon growled casting his eyes over the unimpressive office. “I know he’s in here.”

Ben rolled his eyes to convey how tiresome Gideon’s attitude was. “He’s probably in the next room.”

“Lead the way then.”

Ben trudged across the room and yanked open the door. A small hallway offered three doors; the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom. Ben went straight through to the bedroom which did not have a bed inside it. Instead, there were three coffins that had been left at the back of the room. Rik had had Malcolm make them as distractions for when Ben had his actual coffin brought up here.

Rik was standing behind one of the coffins, using it as a desk. He had a thin A4 book open and was leafing through the pages. He glanced up as Ben and Gideon entered, not a flicker of surprise passed over his face.

“Now we’ve got the gang together, let’s get this delightful business wrapped up,” Gideon said. He strode into the middle of the room and looked around at the drab surroundings. “What are you doing in here?” he asked, clearly confused as to why Rik had chosen this room of all places to read his book.

Rik closed his book and smiled. “Waiting for you.” He uttered a single strange word and the floor around Gideon’s feet glowed with pale light uncloaking the chalk symbols that had been drawn on the wood.

“Oh, you son of a bitch,” Gideon spat as he saw the trap he’d been led right into.

“I’d have a difficult time disproving that statement so I suppose I’ll just have to agree that my mother is something of a bitch.”

Ben grinned, utterly chuffed that the trap had worked. It had been his idea after all. Ever since Gideon had left the restaurant Ben had known it would be only a matter of time before he returned, and since Ben was unwilling to turn Erin over to the hunter, he was left with no choice but to take Gideon out of play. Ben had suggested the chalk trap remembering all too well how David and the Coven had trapped him in a similar one. Rik had modified the spell and created a more powerful trap that didn’t rely on continued chanting. Three crystals, one in each coffin, had been infused with enough magic to keep the spell powered for some time; and Rik could just replenish them when they ran low. They could keep Gideon imprisoned in the back room for as long as they needed to.

Gideon drew in a long breath and he shook his head like a disapproving parent. “So what’s the plan kids? If you kill me then the Order will send a busload of hunters to snuff you out.”

“Nobody said anything about killing you,” said Ben. He’d already considered that option and had ruled it out for the exact reason Gideon had just stated. They were already in that situation after killing Theo, Ben did not want to draw in another powerful enemy.

“So, you’re going to leave me here? How long do you think that will work before they send a hunter to find me? Obviously, you know you can’t move me without taking the spell down.” For somebody who was trapped in a warlock’s spell, Gideon was awfully smug.

“I’m not the monster you’re looking for,” Ben told him, hoping that one last ditch attempt might be able to sway Gideon, but knowing that there was no chance.

“You’ve gone a funny way about showing it. First, you lied to me and now you’ve imprisoned me. Let me out right now and give me the name of the red-haired woman, and I won’t kill you.” His words failed to match the hateful way his face was twisted.

“Who’s lying now?” Ben asked.

“This is a waste of time,” Rik said. He picked up his spell book and walked around the room by the edges, being careful to give Gideon a wide berth. “My spell is as strong as a Russian in the snow. Let’s leave him to his thoughts whilst we figure out what to do next.”

“Oh, so you really don’t have a plan?” Gideon said in astonishment. “I’ve met a fair few fools in my illustrious career as a hunter, but the two of you really do take the cream cracker. You’re in over your heads.”

Without exchanging any more words, Ben and Rik left the room. There was something oddly satisfying about hearing the hunter shouting threats as they walked away.

🦇 🦇 🦇

Fists and feet came at Erin from every direction. She was shoved and passed around like a ball from one vampire to the next. Her wounds healed more slowly due to the lack of human blood and the pain lingered like a three-day headache. At first, she fought back, but she learned quickly enough how futile her efforts were. She was outnumbered, malnourished, and naked. The only way she could have been more disadvantaged was if she lost a limb.

Despite what Darius had said, his goons were not at all creative in their dolling out of pain. Erin could have taught them a thing or two about dishing out a beating, but she was glad for their lack of skill; it made her torment somewhat easier if a ton more tedious. After what seemed like an hour of being kicked around and savagely beaten, the vampires grew bored of her. The attacks became more spaced out and lacked the strength they’d had at the beginning. Some of the vampires had left in search of more interesting forms of entertainment.

Huddled on the floor, blood caked over her, and her mouth clamped shut to hold back as many of her screams as possible, Erin hoped that it was finally over. She’d lost count of how many times. her face had had to rebuild itself and her limbs had been forced to snap back into place. Lack of imagination or not, pain was pain and she’d had plenty.

A hand wove through her hair and tugged, pulling at her scalp and dragging her back to her feet. Staring her in the face was a short man with a hairline that said he’d been turned late in life. His tiny eyes took in the exhaustion that was written on her face and then travelled down over her naked body. She wished she was still wearing Mia’s torn bathrobe, small though it was she would have given her arm to stop the man who held her by the hair from looking at all the places he had no right to see. Erin was not modest but this man could make a prostitute want to get dressed.

She swung an arm to swipe him away but he slid back and expertly dodged her attack. Snatching hold of her throat, he slammed her against the wall hard enough to crack the cartilage of her larynx.

“Feisty,” he whispered and then snickered to himself. The other hung back, watching but not joining in. Erin cast her gaze over them accusingly. Some looked reproachful, others watched keenly; none of them intervened one way or the other.

Erin bared her teeth at the man like a cornered dog, determined to show him that she would not be cowed by the likes of him. It only seemed to add to his enjoyment.

The seedy little man raised his free hand and inserted his index finger slowly into his mouth. Clearly, he thought the gesture was sexy but Erin could not imagine what had given him that idea. It was about as enticing as watching a dog lick its own balls.

He withdrew the finger with a nauseating pop and then ran it down Erin’s throat leaving a disgusting trail of saliva down her flesh. Tears filled her eyes despite her efforts to hold them back. Not for the first time she longed to retreat to whatever recesses of the mind Aiden had gone to.

The man’s intrusive finger continued to explore her, skating all the way over her breast and stopping only when it reached the nipple. It was like having a slug slither down her body. She would have preferred the slug.

“Oops,” he said, again showing her that heinous grin.

The surrounding vampires gasped, but not because of him. Moving silently through the crowd was Darius. The master vampire’s eyes were fixed firmly on the man, dark and glowering, filled with disgusted disapproval. Those in the crowd who had been enjoying the show quickly adjusted their expressions to match that of their master’s. For the first time ever, Erin was happy to see him.

Before the man had even felt his master’s presence, Darius was behind him with a hand on either side of the smaller man’s head. The offending vampire froze, his jaw going slack and his arms dropping to his sides.

“Darius…” his voice quivered.

“If that tremor in your voice is anything to go by, I’d say you know exactly how I feel about your current behaviour,” said Darius in a quiet growl. His fingers tensed and with only a loud crack to serve as a warning the man’s head burst sending a shower of blood and brain in every direction.

Erin’s face was splattered not just with her own blood, but now with her attacker’s as well. Darius was likewise covered in crimson. His tongue flicked out to taste it and his lips curled in revulsion. He spat the blood onto the man’s corpse in disgust. “His blood tastes like shit.”

Darius flicked a bit of brain off his shoulder and then turned to face his followers who had all backed up to give their master a generously wide berth, fearful that they might be next.

“My disappointment does not end with him. That kind of behaviour is abhorrent. Abhorrent. There are few things that we as vampires should not do, but that is one of those things. And why did not a single one of you step forward to intervene? Why did you all stand by and watch? Why did none of you even turn away in disgust?” Silence was the only reply because there was no satisfactory answer. “That wasn’t a rhetorical question!” Darius pointed a finger at one man, singling him out to answer the unanswerable question.

His eyes widened in shock, knowing that he’d lost before he’d even spoken. “I didn’t…I thought…”

Darius shot forward and punched his fist right through the man’s chest. “You didn’t think at all,” he growled before tearing the vampire’s heart free and dropping the organ on the filthy carpet to beat its last few breaths.

“You!” Darius shouted, turning to a petrified woman behind him. “What happened to female solidarity?”

“Mia said…” the woman trailed off quickly, sensing the danger in Darius’ glare.

“Go on,” Darius said too softly as he edged toward the woman. “What did Mia say? Did she say that you should watch as that lecherous swine had his way with my prisoner?”

“No, but she said the only thing off the table was death.” The woman raised her chin in defiance.

Darius swung his arm and the impact of his hand on her cheek sent her head flying down the hallway leaving her body behind. Death was not off the table for her.

“There are some things you shouldn’t do without needing to be told not to. Does anybody else have anything to say?” Darius asked. Nobody answered. He turned his gaze to a man who was lingering by the elevators. “Take her back to the suite and see her back into her chains. I’ll be up once I’ve finished with this group training exercise.”

Erin was dismayed that she wouldn’t get to see a few more of her attackers punished, but she was grateful to finally be given at least a little privacy. She was escorted back to the penthouse and given clothes to wear before she was chained back to the wall. The wounds from her beating had already healed, but the memory would stay with her for some time. The memory of that one man and what he had been about to do. It was odd to think of her captor as her saviour and yet that was exactly what he was.

The penthouse door opened and the head of the Volakas bloodline strode inside. When he looked at Erin his face was an unreadable mask. Mia was not present, Erin had no idea where she was and she didn’t care as long as she wasn’t here. Erin suspected that Mia knew exactly what was going to happen to her and she’d let it go ahead.

“I apologise for the actions of Kristof. Although he did work for me that was not something I have ever nor will ever command. His behaviour was…unacceptable,” Darius said. He crossed the room and sat down in his usual chair.

Erin let out a small, humourless laugh. “Unacceptable.” The word didn’t even begin to describe it. “After everything your girlfriend has put me through, that’s what you consider unacceptable,” she said.

Darius made a small noise that may have been in agreement. He swept his hand through his hair and held it on top of his scalp as if he was trying to summon a suitable response from his mind. “I turned Mia. I taught her everything she knows about being a vampire. I made her in my image and she picked up all the worst parts of me. Sometimes those worst parts are amplified more in her than they’ve ever been in me, and that is a failure on my part. Mia’s been more vicious as of late. Her father’s death has twisted her maliciously. If she just knew how it happened and who was responsible she’d probably be a lot less spiteful,” he said, as if he hadn’t been sitting in that chair and enjoying the show during every second of Erin’s torture.

Erin sighed heavily and wished for the torture to resume. Mia’s physical attacks were so much more straightforward than his pathetic “good cop” psychological tactics. “Mia already tried the nice guy routine on me. In case you hadn’t realised from the way I was savagely beaten downstairs, it didn’t work.”

If Darius was annoyed by Erin’s attitude he didn’t show it. He climbed down from his chair and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her. “I remember the first time I met you. Despite being Theo’s captive you had such fire inside you. Such drive. I knew from the moment I first saw you that you would not be broken by incarceration. The proof is in the pudding they say, and here before me is the pudding. You’ve lost none of your flavour.”

Erin stared at Darius. His face was a tableau of youth, but his eyes held the truth of his age, they conveyed the ages he’d endured and the weight of everything he’d experienced. “I remember too. You seemed like a nice guy. I should have known the truth when you left me in Theo’s prison.”

“If I thought that Mia’s tactics would achieve anything I would let her continue, but it is as clear to me as a thunderbolt from Zeus that you will not be broken.”

Erin did not share his confidence in her fortitude. When she’d been Theo’s prisoner she had been spurred on by the need to avenge her brother. This time there was nothing to hold on to. But she did not tell Darius that. Instead, she sat silently and let him continue.

“Theo was a cretin. The man I turned into a vampire 500 years ago was consumed by the ambitious monster he became. Perhaps I failed him in the same ways that I am failing Mia. Perhaps all his undesirable traits were born in me. For better or worse, he was still one of my vampires and I cannot let his death go uninvestigated. The peculiar events that took place in Maidstone must be explained. Answer my questions and for your part, I will say that your torture at Mia’s hands was your punishment.”

Erin straightened up and narrowed her eyes. She refused to let her hope swell, this could all be a trick. “And then what?”

“And then I’ll let you go free. No more punishments. Time served, as they say.” Sensing her suspicion Darius added, “I’m not Theo, I keep my promises. All you have to do is give me one-hundred percent honesty and you have my word that I will let you go free.”

Erin wished that she had some way of seeing into the future. She’d learned from the past not to put her faith in any man’s word, and yet now she had no choice. She could either take a chance and trust him or prepare for endless torture. “Ask your questions,” she said taking the chance.

“Who killed Trevor Castling?”

“Theo did. Castling had been hunting him ever since Mia vanished. He finally found him and Theo killed him for it. After promising to reunite him with his daughter that was.” Erin couldn't resist taking that little dig at Theo’s honour.

Darius nodded, accepting her answer. “And who killed Theo because I sure as shit don’t believe that Aiden did it?” Erin glanced over Darius’ shoulder at Aiden who had been given fresh blood and no longer resembled a dried-out old prune.

The hard floor was causing Erin’s rear to ache and she adjusted her position, being careful not to move the silver chains. Darius noticed her discomfort and leaned forwards. When she flinched he froze and offered his palms up to show he meant no harm. Erin didn’t think he was going to hurt her but after what she’d been put through the flinching was impulsive.

“I’m going to remove the chains. I very much doubt you’re going to try running again.”

Erin sat still as he unlocked the chains and tossed them aside. She rubbed the hot red rings around her wrists that were already starting to heal now that the silver was gone.

“Who killed Theo?” Darius asked again.

“Aiden staked him and I cut his head off. Then we burned his body and scattered his ashes on the wind,” she said plainly.

A moment of surprise seized the ancient vampire as he absorbed the new information. “I only met Aiden a couple of times and both times were brief, but I got the distinct impression that Theo had him firmly under the thumb. What compelled Aiden to turn on his partner?”

Erin scoffed at the word partner. Theo didn’t have partners. He had servants and subordinates, but never partners. “I don’t know. The first time I met Aiden was the night we killed Theo.”

Darius’ eyes narrowed and his tone dropped. “You mean to tell that you both spontaneously killed Theo with no prior planning?”

“No.” Erin shook her head. “I planned everything except for Aiden’s involvement. He stepped in and helped me just as Theo was about to kill me. I guess Aiden just got tired of Theo’s shit.”

Darius smiled but the expression never made it up to his eyes. “Tell me about your plan. I assume the hospital deaths that I sent Theo to investigate were your doing?”

Erin nodded. “I knew that if I drew enough attention it would get the Veil to send somebody.”

“And you just took a gamble on me sending Theo? Do you know how many vampires work for the Black Veil? Your odds were almost on par with those of Sisyphus.”

“I don’t know who that is but I took a gamble and it paid off,” she replied. She was unable to keep the smugness from her voice.

“It’s an old story from my childhood. But yes, your risk did pay off. Paint me impressed. So, what was the plan?”

“I was going to lure him to the hospital and then keep him prisoner whilst I pumped silver into his bloodstream.”

“And how long would that have lasted?”

“Until I felt that he’d suffered enough.”

Darius swept a lock of hair off his face. When his hand moved Erin could see that he was amused. “You must have known I would have come looking for him?”

Any smugness Erin had been feeling shrivelled up and died with her next admission. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Foresight had never been a strong suit of Erin’s. When she had a goal it was the single thing that occupied her mind. For eighty years all she had wanted was revenge on Theo and not once did she ever think to look beyond that point in time. Now she was living beyond that point and she wished dearly she’d spared it more consideration.

Darius chuckled. “How very silly of you. So, Theo arrived at the hospital. Then what?”

“He kicked my arse. Then Castling turned up and distracted him long enough for me to get away. Then I found out where Theo was staying and I attacked him again. Castling and Aiden helped.”

“How did Castling help?”

“He shot Theo with silver bullets. Aiden went in with the stake. I finished him off. Theo killed Castling before Aiden or I could stop him.”

Darius nodded before standing up and stretching his arms. “What an intriguing tale.”

“It’s the truth,” Erin said. She’d bent the facts somewhat and, she’d left out any mention of Ben. Why she was still protecting him at this point, she did not know. Somehow she’d actually grown a soft spot for the boy.

Darius nodded as he strolled across the room to where Aiden was sitting staring blankly into space. “I believe you,” he said. “Who would have thought that Aiden had it in him?”

“So I can go now?” Erin asked, expecting Darius to rescind his offer now he’d finally got her to talk.

“Yes,” he said simply. “As can I. I’ve never much liked Las Vegas.”

Erin breathed a sigh of relief. He was sticking to his word and she was about to be freed. The price of her freedom had been high but she could lament on that later. Her wounds would never leave a scar. Not a physical one at least.

“If only Aiden had told me all this in the first place he might not be in this state right now. The way you two kept quiet I was seriously starting to think that you were up to something far more nefarious than killing Theo. I thought you might be hiding something diabolical from me.” He laughed lightly and clapped a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “But then what on Earth could you possibly be hiding in a town like Maidstone?”

Aiden jolt forwards and for half a second his eyes seemed to clear. And then Erin’s world crumbled as Aiden uttered a single word. “Progenitor.” Had Darius not been a vampire he might not have heard it. But Darius was a vampire and his hearing was the best in the city.

“What was that?” Darius demanded. There was no mirth in his voice now. There was nothing but flat danger. But Aiden had already lapsed back into his trance state and he would say nothing else. It didn’t matter; he’d already said enough.

With agonising slowness, Darius turned back to Erin and when she looked into his darkening eyes she knew that she was going nowhere.