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There was a blow to my head and I fell over in my chair.

Mercifully, everything went dark.

I didn’t wake up for quite a while. When I did, there was pain all around me. My thoughts were messy, confused. All I knew, was that I was in danger. I was going to die here. I needed to give them what they wanted. Luc could take care of himself. I didn’t want to betray him but I couldn’t die here.

I couldn’t do that to my mother.

Who would look after her?

She was waiting for me to call, to come to her, I couldn’t let her down.

I thought of my father, how he had begged me not to turn on the shifters and that is what I’d done.

My mouth was so dry. I probed around my mouth and tasted only blood. I longed for water, cool, sweet water.

My father had told me of the many kinds of shape shifters. The dogs and the wolves were the best, he said. Worst were the reptiles, who had no emotions, couldn’t feel anything. Some were seers, taking the shape of birds, able to fly the entire sky of our world in a day and see whatever needed to be seen. There were rodents and insects, it was incredible how many different forms some shifters could take. The changelings were rare but powerful, able to keep their human intelligence while taking on animal form. If all the shape shifters in the world united, they would be more powerful than any vampire army, my father had said. Then he laughed as if to say, as if they could ever agree on anything.

But maybe that had happened.

Perhaps our clan from Buzzard Creek had joined with the lot from Sunside Swamp. I’d heard of the compound there, the weird workings of the leader they called Sunny the Snake. Even Tomás had been careful not to offend him.

I lost consciousness and woke up again later.

I was still alone.

There was a bottle of water but I couldn’t open it. I tried to move my body but it caused me such pain, I could barely move. I tried turning myself around to reach for the water but I couldn’t grasp it. I started crying with frustration and desperation.

I didn’t want to die here.

Eventually the door opened and Rat Man came in. He stood in front of me, looking at me.

“You want the water? All you have to do is ask.”

He picked the bottle up, opened it and held it to my mouth.

The water splashed into my face and I gulped it eagerly.

“There you go,” he said, in a friendly voice I didn’t trust for a minute.

“It doesn’t have to be this hard,” he said.

He put me back on the chair and stood back.

“Are you ready to talk?”

I nodded.

“Wonderful!” He smiled broadly, revealing small teeth, pointy and yellow.

I swallowed hard.

He fetched a chair and sat down opposite me.

“Tell me about the vampire.”

I nodded again, “Luc.”

My voice was thick. I struggled to speak as my mouth hurt, my lips were swollen and painful.