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“It’s pretty gross,” Samantha agreed.

“Well...” Jeff rubbed his face. “It’s more than that. Don’t tell anyone this, but Cass nearly killed me when she hit puberty. One of the side effects of being a dhamphir is bloodlust. We didn’t know that though. We were young, foolish, and thirteen. I had the biggest crush on Cass. She was so beautiful and I was a hormonal teen. One day, I grabbed her and kissed her.”

Samantha immediately knew what had happened next. “She bit you.”

“Actually, she shoved me off her, tackled me, beat me up a little bit, then bit me.”

“I can see why you didn’t want this story getting out,” Samantha said, patting his arm.

“My dad found us and saved my life. It was not a good moment for any of us. Cass and I have never even talked about it. We just pretend it never happened.”

“It must have been really hard for you to let Amaliya feed off you when we were trapped in that farmhouse.”

“Well, it was hard for me to ask her to save you because of what had happened with Cass. Yet, it saved your life.”

“And changed me into a phasmagus.”

“I didn’t see that coming!”

“None of us did.” Samantha laid her head on his chest, listening to his heart beating.

“If I decide to become an infused human, I’ll have to let Cian drink from me and then drink his blood to allow his blood to imbue me for much longer than a few hours.”

“You don’t have to, Jeff.”

“No, but I may need to.”

Jeff’s warm embrace, the rise and fall of his chest, and his heartbeat were quite soothing. “Let’s not think about it for now.”

“Right. We’re engaged. We should celebrate it.” Jeff grinned at her. “Have any ideas?”

With a wicked smile, Samantha lifted her head and kissed him.

Part Four

Interlude

Chapter 18

September gave way to October. October faded into November.

The heat of the summer gradually faded away as cold fronts slithered across Texas, dropping the temperature in Austin to a much more palatable degree. Austinites started to don their sweaters, hoodies, and boots, leaving their shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops in their closets. The leaves of several species of trees turned dull orange and yellow, while others shed their coats completely. The chaotic energy of summer gave way to a more relaxed atmosphere as the holiday season loomed on the horizon.

The transformation of the city around the small cabal was barely noted as they fought their battles against the growing tidal wave of darkness threatening to devour the world.

It became increasingly evident that while Cian did not want to make vampires as cannon fodder, The Summoner was perfectly willing to do so. As the reports of missing people in San Antonio and the surroundings towns escalated, fledgling vampires crazed in the madness of bloodlust began to invade Austin on an almost nightly basis. Aimee’s perimeter spells instantly alerted the witch to any incursions. Tracking spells immediately went into effect, allowing Cian’s cabal to chase down the intruders and eliminate them. Most of the trespassing into Cian’s territory took place in less populated areas, which the vampire master regarded as The Summoner’s attempt to observe either Samantha or Amaliya’s powers from afar.

With that in mind, Cian deliberately kept Amaliya and Samantha back from the front lines. Cassandra, Aimee, Baptiste, Eduardo, Cian, Jeff, and Benchley managed quite well against the intruders with the invisible assistance of

Roberto and his growing army of sentient ghosts under Samantha’s remote control. Amaliya, though frustrated, raised her zombies and sent them out to patrol nightly while remaining behind. She no longer had to have her blood spilled in the cemeteries around Austin to raise the dead, though she still had to shed her own blood to activate her magic. It was obvious by the startling human appearance of her zombies and their super-human strength that she was growing in her power. She could now observe through the eyes of her raised zombies, something she could never do before.

Even as the cabal grew in strength, they were aware of the dwindling number of days until the inevitable battle against The Summoner.

* * *

Cassandra vaulted through the air and landed behind the rabid vampire. The creature twisted about, baring long fangs. The dhamphir barely registered the woman’s youthful appearance before slamming the stake through her heart and barreling toward the next vampire.

White flashes of light zipped through the night as Aimee tossed orbs of magic at the rush of vampires descending on the old neighborhood on the east side of Austin. Bronze hair flying about her face, she levitated off the ground, her magic swirling around her like a rainbow.