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“Yeah. We were looking for Fiona. I’m sure we were all trying to find her. Then we heard sword fighting.”

“And then?” Caitlin asked.

“Sorry. It’s my fault. I accidentally woke him, and he didn’t see any more. I mean, it could be just a dream, not a premonition of things to come.” Fiona took a seat at the table next to Arman.

Ruric entered the dining room. “In the dream, when did it occur and where?”

“Here at the estate, outside, during the night of the blood moon. It’s foggy out and partly cloudy,” Arman said.

Jasmine and Stasio joined them, and Jasmine said, “Now what?”

Arman explained what he had dreamed or seen, and Jasmine shook her head. “Okay, after lunch, we work on sword fighting. I thought it could wait until tomorrow, but time is of the essence. If Fiona has to fight a vampire, she needs as much training as she can get.”

“Oh, I agree,” Fiona said. “I want to get started right away.”

“Me too,” Caitlin said. “I need lots more practice.”

Michail and Shelly joined them too, and soon Justin did also.

Justin smiled. “The food is so great here. It’s like fine dining all the time. I keep thinking I’ll wake up from the dream.”

“I’m just so glad to see you,” Fiona said. “How much do you know about what happened to our mom and dad?”

Arman wondered too about what he had been told.

“Michail told me that they had died in a car accident. I figured it would be coming because of the way dad drank. I wasn’t surprised to learn it at all. I was sorry to hear it though. Mom deserved a better life. The first thing I wanted to know though was where you were and why no one had told me that they had died.”

“I sent letters to you. But…I guess you didn’t get any of them,” Fiona said. “I just figured you were too busy to write back or call me. I could never get ahold of you, and I couldn’t leave any messages on your voicemail.”

“I was busy, but I would have called you back. I never received any letters. Michail said you were staying at a great aunt’s house, but I had no idea who she was. But he said you were coming here, so I figured I would see you then and get all the details.”

“She wasn’t our relation. She lied about it.” But Fiona didn’t tell her brother that they weren’t truly related.

“What the hell. Why?”

Now that would be hard to explain. Arman wondered what Fiona was going to say about that.

“I thought it might have to do with an inheritance or something, but I have no idea.” Fiona began eating some of her chicken.

“We’re going to go out and do some sword fighting after lunch,” Jasmine said to Justin. “You should come too and practice.”

“Like fencing?” Justin said.

“Like medieval longsword fighting,” Arman said.

Justin smiled. “Oh, that sounds like fun.”

“You’ll get a workout for sure.” Arman wanted him to know it wasn’t a game. He wished they could warn Justin about the danger Fiona was faced with. They’d had to tell Fiona because her life was up for grabs.

After they had chicken, green beans, and fried potatoes, they all went to the armory to grab their swords. Arman gave Fiona a training sword. Caitlin had one also. They gave one to Justin, but he was looking over the real swords and Arman could just guess he wanted one of those. But he had to learn the right way to hold one and he might not have the time to get good enough to fight with a real sword.

Michail and Shelly said they would watch. Arman was kind of surprised to hear it. Most vampires, or hunters for that matter, would take every opportunity to hone their skills in the event they had to use them.

Fiona looked eager to fight. So did Caitlin and Justin. Arman smiled. That’s what they needed. Fire in their hearts. The determination to put in a good fight. Even Justin might need to use a sword if it came to that. But Arman really hoped he wouldn’t.

“You didn’t tell Michail and Shelly about your dream,” Fiona said telepathically to Arman while they were watching Levka and Ruric showing the key movements, how to parry, thrust, stand, and hold the sword.

“No. I think it’s best if we keep it among ourselves. They came down late for lunch and so did Justin. He shouldn’t know for certain, but I think it’s just safer if we don’t tell Michail and Shelly about our visions or dreams or whatever they are.”