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Mother of Betial the Vampire King.

Nick could see more of Brick in her face than in his father, Denis. The thick cheekbones, the full mouth, even the shape of her eyes, although hers were blue and Brick’s were… well, not blue. Nick wondered if his sire’s original irises had been that color once, back while he’d still been human, or if they’d been the color of his father’s eyes.

Her hair was down.

She wore a loose, white, cotton shift that billowed around her, like something you’d wear to bed. Or maybe in a lunatic asylum.

“Her hand,” Kiko whispered. “Look at her eyes.”

Nick’s eyes dropped from that ghostly pale but not-a-vampire face, her eyes swallowed by black pupil. He paused on the wild mass of dark red curls floating around her head and down her back and shoulders. The loose opening at the top of her cotton shift showed off a lot of her full, pale breasts. The string untied in front caused the opening to slide down more, fully exposing one milky and freckled shoulder.

Nick watched her wipe her face with the hand holding the bloody scythe.

She left a smear of red on one of those pale cheeks.

“Jesus,” Dex muttered. “Fucking Manson family. And some genius decided to make the spawn ofthatcrazy bitch immortal.”

“More like Amityville Horror,” Nick said, giving him a sideways look. “She looks like the possessed person in that one movie, with the séance people…”

“I’m getting a Lizzy Borden vibe, personally,” Kiko said, grimacing at both of them. “Didn’t they say something about bodies in the basement? Those vampires? Just how many people did these loonies kill?”

“She’s leaving the room.” Nick pointed at the corridor. “Do we follow her?”

They all looked at one another.

Then, without another word, they began walking after the woman with the streaming red hair and the candle holder gripped in one bloody hand.

* * *

She continued to hold the scythe hanging down at one side.

It brushed back and forth across the cotton shift as she walked, somewhere in the vicinity of her thigh. More and more red streaks were accumulating there, bleeding into larger splotches on the thin fabric.

“She’s still human, right?” Dex whispered, walking just behind Nick.

“She’s still human,” Nick affirmed quietly. “Definitely.”

He followed with the others out into the wide corridor above the staircase.

She led them across the landing, still gripping the scythe.

They followed her into a room Nick didn’t think any of them had been inside yet.

A round circle had been drawn on the floor.

“Another one,” Kiko muttered. “What the hell were they trying to do? Open a portal to hell?”

“The one vampire said something about beingcalledhere. Like they’d been invited, or thought some vamp sent up a distress call or something,” Nick muttered. He glanced at Kiko and Dexter. “Did I hear that wrong? Did they come here because of some signal the witch sent out? Maybe the rituals were to bring vampires to them?”

“Who would be stupid enough to call vampirestothem?” Dex muttered.

He did a double-take at Nick, and flushed.

“…You know what I mean. I meanthesekinds of vampires. I don’t think the good kind would come to this kind of party. I don’t think the good kind would be too keen with this kind of ‘summons.’”

Nick nodded.

He fully agreed.