When Sylvie heard the sound of Casey's nails clawing at the sheets, it gave heavy meaning to the words orgasmic pleasure. Casey's light giggling pants and deep-throated moans were magic to Sylvie's ears. "Mmhm...yes lovesprout..that's right give it all to me. Shower my tongue with your lovely nectar." Sylvie coaxed and twisted her tongue around in circles going so far as to rake her fangs across Casey's pair of blood-engorged puffy pussy.

Casey began to tremble almost uncontrollably. “Yes, Fuck…fuck…come on…c-c-c-come on-on-on…” She managed to stammer through breathing in hitches. Instinctively, Casey’s hands moved from the shredded sheet and into Sylvie’s gray-blue hair, tugging it with every new sensation that pulsed from between her thighs. When the newborn vampire felt one of Sylvie’s fangs penetrate her clit, Casey arched her back and bucked her hips with glee as her blood flowed from the small hole. Little lurches and fluttering contractions provided a measure of relief while her body was preparing for the intense orgasm that was sure to follow. “Fuuuu-ccckkk…Sylvie…oh sweet mercy, you-you-you’ve been holding out on m-m-me.” Casey mewled and felt Sylvie’s lips close and pull on each of her passion petals. “Ri-righ…sweet heaven…right there…yes…yes…” Casey clutched her ample breasts, sliding up and down from her honey-soft rounds, to her reddened and swollen nipples. “…do-don’t…don’t…ohhhh…”

-What the fuck?-

Casey leaned up on her elbows and glanced down at the beautiful woman between her legs, who for some reason had stopped her cunny play. “Um…” Casey rolled her eyes trying to focus on her girlfriend. “…um S-Sylvie…” Casey felt a needed pulse race up her spine and then stop just before it would have released the intense orgasm. “…Taini…umm..you know that stopping like that can set a girl back a month.” Casey blew hot air across her face, moving strands of her strawberry-blonde hair from her eyes. “Sylvie?” Casey asked again, now aware that her lover hadn’t moved at all. Casey scooted back and managed to unwrap herself from Sylvie’s face. “What is going on…” Casey got a better look at Sylvie’s moon eyes, now going through the phases every few seconds. Casey donned a flowing champagne robe and wrapped Sylvie in the navy blue top sheet. “The vision couldn’t have waited?” Casey laughed to herself and quickly gathered a few bottles of blood to drink after the vision was completed. “We did plenty of hunting tonight, and according to the clock it's two in the morning. This will have to do for the evening, my Taini.”

Once Casey was sure that Sylvie was safe on the bed and not naked for the blood bunnies to see, she went across the hall to the room Sylvie had given her. “Interesting. I should move my things into the Mistress bedroom?” She waited and spoke openly to herself, “Is it called a master bedroom or mistress bedroom…” She snickered and dug out a pink tee with the word ‘Rockstar’ written in black cursive lettering with small fireworks around the twin R’s. Sighing briefly as she looked down at her nipples poking through, Casey reluctantly donned one of her bras. “I swear this is sometimes a hindrance. Fucking double D since I was fifteen.” Snapping the elastic in place, Casey adjusted herself and dug out a set of faded jeans. “There we go, I feel less exposed.”

Within seconds, the strawberry-blonde vampire had returned and sat down beside Sylvie. “Let’s get you dressed.” She tapped on her lip for a few seconds and decided to go with something easy for her mistress. “I can’t reason why, but I think a cami would be perfect for you.” Casey dug around in Sylvie’s dresser and found a double-layered cami that matched her hair perfectly. “Why did I know that you were this color coordinated?” She giggled to herself and slipped the garment over her lover. A few minutes passed and Casey had managed to get Sylvie in a pair of bright pink undies and a loose-fitting pair of capri’s that matched the top she’d picked out. Inspecting her partner, Casey again noted that Sylvie’s eyes were shifting through their moon phases. “Let’s get you in the living room for a change of scenery.” Casey hoisted Sylvie into her arms and casually carried the frozen vampire and set her on the sofa. “You know, Sylvie..” She paused and started snickering, “..I have had some bad luck with sex at times, but I have never been clam jammed by a woman.” Casey adjusted Sylvie so that she was lying at an angle, then went to get some bottled blood from the kitchen.

“Our issue, my lollipop, is that you wake up crazy-hungry.” Casey held Sylvie in a tight hug, “So, let’s try something a little different. What if…if you were given more nourishing blood while the vision was going on?” Casey waited for a sign and after a couple minutes shook her head. “This must be a hell of a dream.” She paused and ran her fingers over Sylvie’s cheeks. “I am thinking about using my own blood. You said it yourself that vampire blood is more nourishing, so I am going to give it a try.” Casey kissed her lover on the forehead and gently opened Sylvie’s mouth until there was a fair gap that she could use. “There we go. Now to infuse you.” Casey bit into her own wrist and just as the blood started to leak out, pressed the wounds to Sylvie’s lips. “You don’t even need to draw it out, I can assist.” Much like getting blood drawn, Casey both willed her blood out and clenched her fist to help push the life-giving liquid into Sylvie. Once the flow started in earnest, Casey began counting and stopped at ten. Retracting her wrist and licking the holes closed, Casey smiled and wiped the excess from Sylvie’s lips. “Looks like it went down.” Sighing a bit of relief, Casey smiled. “With luck this will do it. Now what shall we do?” Casey leaned back and adjusted Sylvie in her lap. “I have an idea, you sexy devil.”

First turning on the stereo, Casey half-smiled when the song ‘Black Betty’ started its heavy beat. “The irony.” Casey observed. “I think you need a new look.” Casey carefully picked the gray hair and separated it from the blue locks. “A biker chick with cornrows, what could go wrong?” Casey announced and began twisting Sylvie’s hair into small thin braids.

Looking up when the front door opened, Casey called out questioningly. “Which one of you is coming in?”

“It’s Amber. I just closed shop and came home.” She announced confidently and rounded the corner. “Oh, Sylvie is having another trance?” Amber adjusted her backpack and resumed, “Jessica is with her newfound lady for the evening, I am pretty sure that Veronica is with Alan.” She ran her hand through her platinum hair and pulled it free so it settled around her shoulders. “I am only here for a few minutes, I don’t want to interrupt what you two are doing.”

Clipping one of the braids with rubber bands that she’d gone and found in Sylvie’s small home office, Casey let a few strands of Sylvie’s gray hair dangle. “Nonsense. As you can see, right now you aren’t interrupting any…” Casey happened to smell Amber and then stared at the woman. “I know that look and scent anywhere. You are a ward.” She raised one eyebrow. “Who?”

Unable to avoid the conversation, Amber tossed her backpack to the floor and sat down beside Casey. “Well, he just up and kissed me. Alan I mean.” Amber shrugged and opened her hands, “What could I do? He’s a vampire and I was just a little human girl with a blood fetish. He’s faster than me.”

“I assume there was a reason why?” Casey quickly added and raised her eyebrow. “Sylvie hasn’t given me any real orders concerning another vampire’s ward.” She sighed and decided to start braiding Sylvie’s blue hair. “How do I know you aren’t here to spy on us? Making sure she and I are keeping our word to do the tasks Alan asked for.”

Unready for an interrogation, Amber noticed the red ring forming in Casey’s eyes.

-Shit. She is preparing for a fight. What to do?-

Amber quickly scanned the room and made note of the wooden coffee table.

-Can I make a stake before she reaches me? Doubtful, I just have to show her I am no spy.-

Amber pushed the thought aside and focused on trying to diplomatically get herself out of the situation. “Honestly? I came to pack some things, tell the mistress what happened and leave for Alan’s condo in a few hours.”

“You skipped over why he did it.” Casey shook her head, “I’m used to not getting a direct answer, recall that Vivienne was my mistress and she made it a habit to not explain anything.

“Well, that’s easy babycakes.” Amber laughed and settled back into the plush pillows. “He was talking about all the strange things that have happened, trying to point out diamond eyes and I didn’t see them.” Amber began humming an old sixties song, ‘Then he kissed me’ and sang one line of the song. “...All of the stars were shining bright, and he kissed me..” Amber laughed after the line, “The Crystals. I heard that song heaps growing up with my mom.” Amber saw the look of impatience coming from the twin suns of Casey’s eyes. “Fine…” She cleared her throat, “Diamond eyes, I didn’t see them. He kissed me so fast I barely knew what was happening.” Amber rubbed her temples, “I felt the lock over my psyche then the physical abilities started.”

“I remember it well. Just after Vivienne kissed me, that rush was nothing I had ever dreamed of. Exciting is the best I can call it.” Casey relaxed and focused more on Sylvie’s hair. “So did you see the diamond eyes after that?”

“Yus.” Amber nodded. “I also sensed there was more to the situation as a whole. I have been recalling the video in my head for a bit now and I do believe that the eyes also had an amorphic mist that was surrounding them. Here, look at this.” Amber quickly called up what she’d watched and handed her phone to Casey.

While watching the videos play, Casey meticulously kept braiding Sylvie’s hair. When the first set of diamond eyes appeared, Casey tilted her head and let out a little hum. “That’s interesting. You’re right. There’s something other than the eyes, I can see it outlined in yellow.” After the other news images played, Casey nodded. “Yep, outlined in yellow. Some of them had six arms, some had four with wicked-looking claws and the one with the grandmother was actually gripping her throat and speaking for her.” Casey shivered as the thought passed through her. “Fuck!” Casey exclaimed. “Now we really need to get the other stuff taken care of, then deal with those blob-things.” She lightly chuckled, “Now I wish we’d listened to him at the outset.”

Amber shrugged and put her phone back in her pocket. “He’ll be happy you said that. A few minutes passed and Amber kept watching Casey for any sign of aggression in the vampire’s eyes. Breaking the uncomfortable silence, Amber spoke up. “You made me a tad nervous when I first sat down. I wasn’t sure if you were going to attack me.”

“I debated it.” Casey calmly stated and tied the last of Sylvie’s cornrows. “Sylvie is more important to me than a little fight. Besides, what happens to Sylvie while I am in combat with you?” Casey pointed to the coffee table. “I mean while you could get a stake from that, you’d be hard-pressed to hit me with it.” She wiggled her index finger. “Sylvie is an open target, she can’t defend herself.” She winked at the former blood bunny, “You’ve also never lied to us before, so I took the chance.”

“Certainly glad that you did, Casey.” Amber offered with a light sigh of relief. “I don’t think I had it in me to fight you.” With a sexy grin on her face Amber perked one thin eyebrow, her eyes pools of liquid green-brown denoting heavy interest. “I see you..and think of a song that we’d have so much fun getting into.”

Casey laughed and caught the mischievous look in Ambers's glowing hazel eyes. “Don’t tell me, let me guess..”

“My Head and Heart, Ava Max.” The two said at the exact same time, causing an echo in the room.

Amber laughed and ran her hands through her platinum locks. “That was way fuck’n freaky.” Amber winked and tried in vain to braid her own hair. “Casey..um, perhaps you could…well..” She shyly pointed to Sylvie’s cornrows. “I-I have always thought cornrows would look good on me.”

“Freaky? Indeed it was.” Casey curled her finger at Amber and adjusted herself to hold Sylvie and braid Amber’s hair. “More strange given that when I turned into a vampire, I danced to that song and excised my demons.”

Flush from the moment that Casey placed her thin hands in her hair, Amber reached for the remote control for the music and changed it to play Ava Max. With the luscious sounds of pop playing, Amber swayed to the music and mimicked the lyrics between talking to the newborn vampire. “You know…I never approached you in the manor because you seemed to be completely into guys.” Amber tapped on her small chest. “I have been a girl lover since I was fourteen. Felt right.”

“I experimented. I didn’t know who or what I wanted until Sylvie saved me at the graveyard.” Casey felt Sylvie move in her lap, and looked down at her partner. “Yes, Sylvie-beanie-my-baby, I am talking about you…”

A cool breeze flowed around Sylvie as she took in her surroundings. Devoid of any artificial light from mankind, the small grassy plain allowed Sylvie to see stars that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. She traced Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, then smiled as she traced the heavenly guardian, Orion.

-Why am I here? I have seen the stars for centuries.-

Sylvie’s question floated on the wind much like a person asking for a desperate wish. Slowly, the words turned to a crimson mist and outlined a chain of five stars that turned red and were in the shape of a distorted ‘W’.

-Cassiopeia.-

Sylvie closed her eyes and recalled the quick details of the beautiful woman.

-Queen of Aethiopia and wife of King Cepheus. Both arrogant and vain, these characteristics led to her downfall. But why am I seeing this at all?-

Confused, Sylvie looked around for some indication that there was an eclipse to show the truth of the premonition that she was having. Rather than the comfort of Casey’s sunbeam casting a shadow over her, Sylvie felt an old sensation.

Cold. Prickly. Stinging Ice.

-It can’t be. It’s been close to one hundred years. Is that truly you, Kigatilik?-

Sylvie got no answer like normal, but an icy breeze bellowed over her and caused the mossy grass under her feet to freeze.

-So it is you, demon. At least I know I can’t trust this vision. All I have to do is come out of the trance.-

Sylvie took a few steps away from where she sensed her darkness and began looking for an anomaly that would wake her from the ongoing vision. Without warning, Sylvie felt her body get a flood of nourishment in the form of her partner’s blood.

-Casey? You’re feeding me?-

Sylvie smiled and felt her strength bolster then turned to face her demon. Kigatilik, the beast that kills shamans of various Native American tribes.

-Seemed fitting you beast.-

Uttering the word beast, Sylvie felt the starry darkness fade and Casey’s glow made the eclipse that Sylvie wanted just moments ago. Empowered by the bond with Casey, Sylvie finally saw the manifestation of her inky darkness. Perilous and malevolent, the pair of diamond eyes bore hate and chaos directly into the elder vampire.

-You’ll have to do better than that, Kigatilik. Your eyes don’t bother me.-

Recalling that she’d seen the pair of eyes in a prior vision, Sylvie tilted her head and looked beyond the white glowing orbs of destruction. Aided by her bond with Casey, her beast’s form seemed to suddenly outline in a bright yellow, showing off its amorphous form. Cloudlike and shifting like a thunderstorm, the beast changed from having seven arms, to having sinewy tendrils with razor-sharp points and then to a monster shaped like a multi-headed black dragon. Using one of its wicked dragon claws, Kigatilik reached out and grabbed Sylvie, then flapped its misty wings to launch itself into the air.

Willing to see how the premonition played out, Sylvie didn’t fight the direct interaction with her inner demon and watched the ground speed below her. Almost as if Sylvie needed a bit of reassurance, the sunbeam that noted Casey started playing appropriate music.

-Funny, love-beam. Metallica, Enter Sandman?-

Almost as if Casey were answering her directly, a few lines of the song danced in Sylvie’s head.

—

…Keep you free from sin,
'Til the sandman, he comes,
Sleep with one eye open,
Gripping your pillow tight,
Exit light,
Enter night,
Take my hand,
We're off to never-never land…

—

Sylvie chuckled to herself as the music fit the situation perfectly, setting her a little more at ease. It took a few seconds to realize that her speed had increased dramatically. Beating its disgusting smokey wings faster, Sylvie realized that her beast was going at unbelievable speeds and time itself appeared to be reversing, sending them both into the past.

Sylvie knew that the events going on around here weren’t the least bit real. She watched as the land below her reversed from its modern sprawl, removing the asphalt of all the roads, the electrical wiring overhead disappearing and replaced with the natural-looking oak trees and little footpaths that occasionally lead to a long cobblestone road going through the center of town. It was only after she passed over the large creek she knew as Swift Creek, that Sylvie knew where she was.

-Has it really been about one hundred and sixty years?-

Sylvie barely had the time to ponder the question before the dark dragon tucked its wings and dove straight for the ground. Seconds later, a field of windmills appeared along the many farms in the area, with the Swift Creek Watermill as the center of the farmland. Deftly landing, Sylvie felt herself get tossed to the ground and Kigatilik resumed its amorphic look.

Picking herself up from the ground and wiping her clothes free of the dirt due to the impact, Sylvie raised one of her eyebrows. “You had to drop me like that? I guess so, there isn’t anything good about you.” She snorted, “If I could get rid of you I would.” Uttering the last words made her think about the entire situation.

-I can’t trust anything Kigatilik does. That is why I didn’t see an eclipse until she was ready to see the creature for what it was, along with the constellation, Cassiopeia. It was a warning to take what Kigatilik does as a possible lie.-

She quickly made the connection with her prior dream vision with the newer-looking windmills.

-Alan refurbished everything. Even the windmills.-

Sylvie nibbled on her lower lip with her fangs for a few seconds then snapped her fingers, putting together more of the puzzle.

-The new windmills are for energy not milling, but the watermill is still operational.-

Turning her head to visualize the landscape, it took a few minutes for Sylvie to realize that the windmills were in the shape of the constellation.

-Just like the Pyramids reflect Orion, These are a dedication to Cassiopeia. Why?-

Sylvie was convinced she was missing something important, and paced around a large pond that served to water the farms. It took a few minutes before Sylvie noticed that the pond water shimmied with a silvery essence along with looking overly blue. What she believed were simply irrigation markers, turned out to be metal rods in the same shape as the stars for Cassiopeia.

-Dumb luck. What does it all mean?-

Once more the vision answered its mistress. Suddenly Sylvie heard the shuffling of feet and a second later, a group of vampires dressed in green and brown with large silver hoods covering everything but their eyes. The small troupe stepped up to the pond, ignoring Sylvie.

-

One of the vampires folded back her hood, exposing jet-black hair with matching black eyes rimmed with red. This woman then turned and faced the group she had been leading. “Today we fulfill our destiny. Years of work and study of blood magic mixed with nature to develop the means to our freedom.”

The others of the troupe raised their hands and affirmed, “Here, Here! Hail Kinthia!”

Kinthia Hatterson stood roughly six feet in height and had a very muscular frame, making the woman look like a bodybuilder. “With our newest brother, he has filled in the gaps with our study of crystals and shown us how to generate enough power to make this cosmic door open.” Kinthia pointed to five of her followers, “We Dryod’s will change the very nature of what it means to be a vampire. No longer a slave to the demons that are within us.” She paused. “Lock the crystals to the poles.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” A slight Israeli voice warned. “We have only an idea of what lies beyond this liquid. It took us years to gather enough mercury to make the pond. Surely we have other things that we can use it for, Kintha.”

Kintha frowned and pulled the hood away from the man who’d just questioned her authority. “Franco, I-We welcome you to the dryod ranks, to learn a new way of vampirism. You were even eager enough to show how applying blood to the crystals before we applied pressure to them, generated immense energy.” Kintha grabbed the elder vampire by his arm and had him stand over the pool of water. “Think of the souls we are saving within our society. Vampires without a demon, for all time? We can finally live in harmony with the rest of humanity and forget the veil. If we don’t have to combat our nature because of these beasts, aren’t we all better off?”

Franco Tarsey rubbed his temples then ran his hands through his cropped salt and pepper hair. “Everything has an equal reaction to what we bring forth, it is a principle of the passages within To Xenagos itself.” Franco clasped his hands as he referenced the troupe's book of knowledge. “We cannot purge them without having fallout, Kintha.” Franco watched as the vampire-manufactured quartz was affixed to the iron poles.

Kinthia patted the elder vampire on the back. “We know you have been around for well over seven hundred years, and as far as I know are the oldest vampire other than ‘The Raven’ herself. Without the chaos and hate of the dark, we can all exist as long as she has. The temptation to fall into madness will be gone. How can you not want that, Franco?”

Once again the rest of the group cheered, “Kinthia!”

“I hear you dryods!” She turned to Franco once more. “Are you prepared to step through the door and begin the ritual to purge us?”

Still unsure about the entire process, Franco opened their guide and re-read the incantation to himself. “I will do my duty to the group, but I have apprehension.” He looked around and saw a few bats flying around. “I think we should do this in stages. We are twenty-five strong. Five at a time go through and remove the beasts.” Franco closed the book having committed to memory what he needed to do. “Five stay back and keep pressure on the crystals, keeping the door active and open. We don’t want to be stuck on the other side.”

“The book calls it ‘The Harsh Expanse.’ so expect a place of destruction.” Kinthia warned. She motioned to who she considered the five of her strongest dryods. “Enough pressure to generate the energy, do not snap the crystals. Remember you are dryod’s. Everything in balance. Watch each other and adjust as you need to.” Kintha smiled and walked to each one of the five, giving them a kiss on the forehead. “Your duty is monumental, if any of you stop the pressure on the quartz then we will be trapped in hell.”

The five individually stood at their post and looked up at Cassiopeia to make sure they were aligned correctly. “On your command, Kintha.”

Pointing her finger at the strongest, Kintha nodded and the vampires all began to squeeze the blood-fused quartz. A loud hum began to radiate from the crystals and began shaking the ground so hard it felt like a small earthquake. Shortly after the earth beneath them cracked, the iron bars turned red and bent over so that the tips were dipping into the silvery pool.

Like a rising temperature, the mercury crawled up the hot iron poles and spread across until it touched the quartz. Popping as and bubbling, the water of the pond churned and mixed until its surface no longer appeared to be the combination of mercury’s silver and the blue of water, resulting in a dark gray reflective surface like that of a mirror.

Franco stood at the edge and gave a small prayer, “Kathréfti, kathreftáki. Tóso galínia kai stochastiká, deíxe stous tapeinoús ypirétes sou ti gi pou mas yposchéthikes.”

Kinthia laughed and knelt down while her eyes locked on the shimmering pool. “Franco, not all of us speak Greek, kindly tell us what you just said.” Entranced by the calming effect of the mirrored water Kintha started to reach out and touch the liquid, but was promptly stopped by Franco.

Franco held Kinthia’s hand tightly and replied. “ What I said was; Mirror, Mirror. So serene and reflective, show your humble servants the land you promised us.” He paused and looked back at the first five that intended to cross the portal. “It wasn’t a spell, Kinthia. Just a little prayer of sorts. I will use my blood on the back side and start the process.”

“I am the leader, I should go first.” Kinthia winked and looked at her fellow vampires, “First in, last out!” She declared and pulled away from Franco. “It’s time.”

Reluctantly, Franco let his leader free and watched as she touched the reflective surface. “It’s solid. Just as though I am touching a smokey glass.” Kinthia channeled blood into her hand and willed the supernatural force to combine with the surface of the pool. Blood streaks flowed around for a few seconds before settling in the center. Moments after the lines of crimson settled in the center, a machine appearing like a disc the size of a wagon wheel appeared with a round housing on its perceived top that held tiny black lenses. Violet and white light pulsed from the bottom of the unit and it turned in place, stopping long enough to focus its tiny mechanical eyes on all of the vampires.

When the violet light turned to amber, the little floating device made a hissing sound and an arm with what appeared to be a metallic mesh net appeared and rotated, giving off bird-like chirps as it did so. Kinthia stood up and held her hand for the disc to see. “What are you little metal friend?” She looked back at Franco. “This wasn’t part of the text. What do we do now?”

Franco’s eyes were wide with excitement and confusion. “I don’t have a clue, I don’t even know what that is.” He cleared his throat, “Other than some machine, like a locomotive or something. Just smaller.”

Once more the hiss came from the round machine and the metal net disappeared. Amber lighting turned blue and began pulsing in a pattern that Franco caught on to. “That sounds almost like Morse code, like we’d send a telegraph.”

Moments after the elder vampire spoke, five more metal circles came out of the glassy pool and took position over the quartz, changing their lighting to a soft yellow and held in place waiting for a command.

Floating over to Kinthia with a relaxing hum, the first disc slid back a small door and spoke. “Language collected and stored for future use.” It paused, “Quartz power core to be stabilized, please stand back.”

Kinthia nodded to the five vampires applying pressure, “Go ahead, let’s see what happens.” One by one the five let go and watched as the five new objects' yellow light blinked until the sound coming from the crystals matched the pulsing light. A door hissed and opened on all five machines and they deployed a round metallic object that fastened itself to the top of the quartz and screwed into place. Gray-white lightning arced through the iron bars for a second before the machines chirp-buzzed, then disappeared back through the mirror. “Passageway secure. Power levels stable, no recharge necessary for five hundred Earth years.”

Kinthia laughed and faced Franco, “If I heard that right, the door will be open for about a half-century?”

“That does seem to be the case.” Franco affirmed. “I guess the real question is, how do we use the thing.” He held up one of his fingers, “Recall we are keeping myself and four others here just in case, so I am not going to touch the glass.”

Kinthia looked up at the little unknown object. “Um, metal thing…” She scratched her head, “...the twenty of us wish to pass through the door?”

-

Sylvie couldn’t believe her eyes. She watched as the UFO emitted yet another light, this time matching the gray of the glass. One by one the vampires all stepped under the light and disappeared from view. When Kigatilik poked Sylvie with one of his dragon heads, she turned to face the creature she loathed. “What? They went through the door, why does that matter to you?”

Immediately after the question was asked, Sylvie’s vision froze in place. Lumbering over to Franco, the wispy dragon flipped forms once more and covered the man’s head.

“The skull…the fucking skull.” Sylvie muttered as the vision shifted once again.

-Alan knows there is something about the skull…but what?-

Settling back into the near present, Sylvie was again standing on the farmland that held the door. She looked around and noticed Kigatilik was nowhere in sight.

-Good riddance, beast.- She internally thought, -Covered in snow, the houses still up. Alan hasn’t started construction yet.- Without warning, the vision went dark and the stars appeared once more in the sky. -Okay…what now?-

Flashes of familiar green lighting streaked through the sky, with such magical force that Sylvie felt the power within the vision.

-Denise Crow…what in the world does she have to do with this?-

Mystery had been the usual means for Sylvie’s third eye to deliver a message, yet this time, the answer had been given without hesitation. Within each of the standing windmills a silver plate had been affixed to a point on the ground. Imprinted on the metal were obvious vampire bite holes with little swirls leading down into the holes.

-Blood drains into the hole..I get it. Five plates.-

Sylvie counted the plates to be sure, all five were present and all five hidden within the windmills. Lightning flashed down at the ground in multiple streaks as if pulled by a rod, melting four of the plates into silver sludge, and made the blood within the devices drain out and settle harmlessly on the ground. A few seconds after the metal was turned to a puddle, Sylvie heard the familiar hum of the quartz she’d seen earlier.

-Powering up? How were they down in the first place?-

Brief flashes of Franco and four others under a blood barrier desperately shaping the silver while the diamond-eyed mist monsters attacked, echoed in Sylvie’s mind. Slowly and methodically Franco managed to get the five silver plates in place, creating a seal that drew the diamond creatures back into the portal.

-By the time you finished, it was just you. Sorry, Franco.-

When the flashes of Franco ceased, Sylvie was standing face to face with the last silver barrier. Hearing a light whistle, Sylvie watched as Alan walked into the windmill and began tossing the millstones out one by one. Sylvie witnessed Alan find the plate and pull it from the ground. Sylvie ran out of the structure in time to witness the blue lightning arc once more over a spot on the ground that should have had the portal.

-My god! I didn’t realize… the pond is missing in the present. So..what did the lightning just connect to?-

Slowly Sylvie watched as the ground where the door should have been, became saturated with some type of liquid and then formed a bog the size of the doorway.

-Unreal. Alan, I can’t believe…-

Moments later ten misty white claws ripped their way out of the bog, and pulled the remaining cloud free of the murky liquid. As the gray matter drained away from the bone-white mist, the creature's diamond eyes took in its surroundings.

Sylvie felt the exact same horror coming from the vision of the beast as she felt when Kigatilik was close by, when it all hit her.

-They are the same.-

Sylvie screamed and cursed her beast.

- Kigatilik, you tortuous fuck, I will get even somehow. You and the wisps are the fucking same thing? Unbelievable.-

Sylvie watched as the white mist took the form of a ghostlike woman with long hair and flew off into the distance.

-Alan..you..Ugh..Kigatilik..you..both..bastards.-

It all made sense to Sylvie at that moment. All of the strange happenings during the month, the sudden appearance of The Cross-Killer and how Alan manipulated her.

-You want me to fix MY shit? It’s really your fucking mess.-

A calm yellow light bathed Sylvie for a few seconds, and the vision changed a final time. Sylvie saw a laminated calendar with a blood-streaked circle around October, 31st - Halloween. Turning to face a window when a myriad of screams started, Sylvie walked over and pulled the curtain away. Outside were hundreds of beasts, led by the white ghost,that grabbed and consumed people as their fear overwhelmed them.

-Fifteen days, we have fifteen days before the things…-

Sylvie paused as a name popped into her mind.

-...the Shadewraith’s…Shadewriath’s…take down the city. Franco’s skull, start there.-

Akin to a door slamming shut, Sylvie’s third eye closed quickly and roused the soothsaying vampire from her slumber. Incoherent to everything except the fact that Casey was holding her, Sylvie began trying to speak. “Shadewraith…Alan…Franco..” She rasped softly. “C-Casey?”

“Yes buttercup?” Casey responded gleefully. “You are just waking up sweetness. Give yourself a moment to gather your senses. It’s only myself, Amber and you.” Casey ran her hand over Sylvie’s flushed cheeks, caressing her softly. “Are you hungry? I have bottles here.”

Upon hearing Casey’s gentle voice, Sylvie stopped trying to talk or even get up. She vaguely heard the offer for blood, but unlike prior incidents where a vision came on without warning, she wasn't the least bit hungry.

Having heard her master's name, Amber righted herself on the sofa and inquired. “You said Alan just now, Sylvie. You saw him in the mix?” She looked confused at Casey and shrugged, “I suddenly got really defensive. I didn’t want to.” Amber chuckled and patted Sylvie on her leg, “Shadewraith..is that what the diamond-eyed things are?”

Nodding weakly, Sylvie slowly peeked open her moonlit eyes. “My word, That was an exceptionally long blackout.” Sylvie took a deep breath and while she loved the scent that Casey had, she got an unfamiliar one from Amber. “I smell the change, Amber.” Sylvie’s eyes stayed as full moons, “Alan? You are his ward?”

“I was holding off saying anything until you were more yourself, Sylvie.” Casey quickly responded before Amber had the chance. “I have been told the story, it’s an accident at best.”

“Is this what you want, Amber?” Sylvie’s tired voice floated between the three women.

Twisting one of her platinum locks, Amber initially hesitated and didn’t answer her former mistress. Once her hair was tightly wrapped around one finger Amber found the courage to speak. “It is. I am hoping this doesn’t wreck our friendship.” Amber began crying softly, “We’ve been and seen so much, I couldn’t handle things if you weren’t still in my life, Sylvie.”

Very tired of talking internally, Sylvie nodded before speaking once more. “We have been through quite a bit.” She affirmed, “Let me answer your question about the diamond eye things. The name came to me as a whisper in the dreamstate. That is the term I plan to use, but I have no real clue what the fuck they are.”

“Hey!” Casey lightly shoved Sylvie, “That’s my fuck’n line. No stealy.”

Laughing for the first time in what seemed like days, Sylvie felt her strength return and she sat up. When the long cornrows fell across her eyes, she perked one of her thin eyebrows. “Really, Casey? I am not sure I like these.”

“You owe me, young lady.” Casey pointed between her legs. “You locked up in the middle of a really good moment.”

Amber belted out a laugh and stood up. “Getting a bit personal for my liking you two.” She looked at her watch, showing fifteen minutes to four in the morning. “Alan said I should come to his condo about this time. I am going to gather a few things and probably stay there for the time being.” Amber leaned over and gave Sylvie a tight hug, “Rest assured, Sylvie. He promised to release me if I ask. As it is, I am not sure about Veronica.”

Returning the hug in kind, Sylvie waited until the former blood bunny let her go before settling back in Casey’s lap. “Alan is knee-deep in this, Amber.” She focused her new moon eyes, “Be careful, he might not be totally truthful to you.”

Little more was discussed before Amber collected her things and left the house. Sylvie closed the door and watched until Amber was out of sight. “I am wary of telling you the vision until she is out of earshot. Alan is a big part of this mess, pawning it off on me.”

“Some friend.” Casey offered and grabbed Sylvie. “We are going to discuss this in our room, my little heart-plush.”

Sylvie reached over and grabbed the two bottles of blood, then let herself get led back into the bedroom. “I love that you fed me and I could feel your sunlight most of the time, thank you dolly-darling.”

Casey looked over her shoulder with a seductive grin on her face, “I can’t wait to hear what happened, love-puppy.”