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LUKE

The autumn evening wrapped around me like a chilly shroud as I made my way down the lamp-lit sidewalk to Wade's house. Multicolored, dried leaves crunched under my boots. I was hunting Janice down because I wanted to know if she wanted to go to the gallery with me. A new artist was hosting a show tonight. Janice loved art as much as I did. We were friends, good friends, but sometimes I still felt that mortal hesitancy, that fear of overstepping invisible bounds. The vampire in me scoffed at such human worries.

Wade's house was a dark silhouette against the deep blue dusk.

The windows glowed with warm light.

I climbed the porch steps and knocked, the sound startling in the stillness.

The door opened and Janice stood there, a welcoming smile on her face.

I opened my mouth to greet her, but my tongue stilled in confusion.

Janice's smile had not changed but something in her eyes made my skin prickle with goosebumps. They were Janice's warm brown eyes, crinkled at the corners just like always.

But the longer I stared, the more my instincts screamed that something was wrong.

"Luke, what a nice surprise," Janice said, in a perfect imitation of her usual wry tone.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her affectionate sarcasm sounded so normal, so Janice.

Maybe I was just being paranoid.

Letting my worries about the increasing supernatural threats get the better of me.

I tried to relax my stance and return her smile.

"Hey, Janice. I was wondering if you'd like to go to this gallery show with me tonight. That new artist I was telling you about is being featured and I thought we could go check it out."

As I waited for her to reply, the back of my neck burned, and I realized with chilling certainty that I could feel the tingle of a charm power, a seductive pull trying to fog my thoughts. But not Janice's familiar calm that could soothe even my most agitated states. This was something else, something that raised all the hairs on my body to attention.

Janice's eyes sharpened. The air between us thickened with tension as we stared at each other, and my dawning realization met with a predatory stillness from the thing wearing my friend's face.

"That sounds great, Luke." Not-Janice's tone remained pleasantly neutral even as her gaze stripped me bare, trying to determine how much I knew. "Why don't you come in for a minute and we can-"

"Actually, I just remembered I forgot something at home," I interrupted, marveling at the steadiness of my own voice.

"I better run back and get it."

Not-Janice paused a few seconds too long before nodding.

"Sure, see ya."

I turned away before she could see the panic rising in my eyes.

My steps remained even until I heard the click of the door closing.

Then I ran, an all-out sprint fueled by terror and confusion.

The pavement blurred beneath me as I raced to Jax and Hailey's, my mind whirling with horrible possibilities.

What had happened to the real Janice? And who, or what, had taken her place? The charm power I felt was far stronger than anything I'd ever encountered, strong enough to batter past my considerable defenses.

If I hadn't been so attuned to Janice's energy, I might not have noticed the difference at all.

Reaching my sister’s house, I pounded up the steps, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

I didn't bother knocking, just barged through the door with Hailey's name already tearing from my throat.

She emerged from the living room, eyes wide with alarm.

I saw Kendra and Adalinda behind her, heads turning toward my dramatic entrance.

"Luke? What's wro?—"

"It's not her," I gasped out, grabbing Hailey's arms. Saying it out loud made it real, the horrible truth crashing over me. "It's not Janice. There's something...someone...at Wade's house pretending to be her."

I watched my sickening dread reflected at me in Hailey's eyes as the implications sank in. We stared at each other, the silence heavy with all the unspoken fears suddenly howling to life.

Not-Janice's smile flashed through my mind again, a mockery of my friend's warmth. A shudder worked through me. Whatever was happening, we were in far deeper trouble than any of us had realized. The monster, it seemed, was already inside the house.

Hailey's living room suddenly felt claustrophobic, too many bodies radiating confusion and doubt. I paced between the coffee table and the couch, my hands gesturing in sharp, agitated motions as I tried to explain what I'd seen, what I'd felt. Kendra and Adalinda exchanged skeptical glances, their expressions shifting from surprised concern to something bordering on pity. I could practically hear their thoughts - poor Luke, cracking under the strain of recent events.

"Listen to me." I put a hard edge in my voice. "That was not Janice at Wade's house. It looked like her, sounded like her, but it wasn't her. I could feel it using a charm power, trying to influence me."

"A charm power? Like yours?" Hailey's brow furrowed. "I thought you were one of the only vamps who could do that."

"I thought so too," I said grimly. "But this was like nothing I've ever experienced. We have to do something, now, before-"

"Okay, okay, just slow down." Kendra stood, laying a placating hand on my shoulder. "You've been under a lot of stress, Luke. Is it possible that maybe you misinterpreted..."

I shrugged off her touch, stung by the gentle condescension in her tone. They didn't believe me. That meant they were under the charm Not-Janice was using. My jaw clenched as I looked from one doubtful face to the next. Fine. I'd find someone who would.

I turned on my heel and stalked out, ignoring Hailey calling after me. Blood pounded in my ears as I climbed the stairs to Jax's office. He was the one person who might listen without instantly questioning my sanity.

I burst through the door without knocking. Jax glanced up from his desk, one eyebrow raised. His hazel eyes were a stormy grey in the lamplight.

"Luke? What-"

The words poured out of me again, tripping over each other in my haste. I leaned over Jax's desk as I told him about Not-Janice, my knuckles white against the dark wood. Surely he would understand the gravity of the situation.

But as I spoke, I watched the frown lines deepen between Jax's eyes, his mouth turning down at the corners. He sighed and stood, coming around the desk to stand in front of me. He gripped my shoulders, his expression serious but tinged with something infuriatingly like sympathy.

"Luke, I just talked to Janice, and she seemed fine to me. Are you feeling well? Maybe your powers are acting out again."

This was not about my wonky charm magic. The unspoken implication hung heavy in the air between us. I stared at Jax, feeling like I'd been gutted. He didn't believe me either.

Brushing past him, I fled the suffocating confines of the office. My feet carried me out the back door and into the sprawling shelter of the backyard. The scents of damp earth and decaying leaves enveloped me as I gulped the crisp night air.

A high-pitched yip drew my gaze to the far end of the yard. Izora crouched on the grass, playfully growling as Courage danced just out of reach, his little tail wagging furiously. They looked like an idyllic picture of a girl and her dog, never mind that the girl was an ancient vampire, and the dog had a taste for the supernatural.

"Izora!" The name tore from my throat, raw and desperate.

She glanced up, her expression vaguely curious. I stumbled toward her, the words tumbling out yet again, ragged with urgency. She stood and squared her shoulders as I approached, absently brushing grass from her jeans. Courage circled her feet, growling uncertainly at my agitation.

"... and no one believes me, but I know what I saw, what I felt. We have to do something, we can't just..."

"Luke." Izora's voice was flat, almost bored.

"You're hysterical. Calm down before you strain something."

I gaped at her, my mouth working soundlessly. Izora, blunt and boldly honest Izora, thought I was being hysterical. A near-hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat. Maybe I was losing it after all.

Without another word, I spun away from her and Courage's wary gaze. My legs ate up the ground as I crossed the yard and street to my house, to my last hope for someone to believe the threat we were facing.

"Young man! Young man, I'm speaking to you!"

Mildred’s reedy voice pierced my consciousness. I turned to see her glaring at me from the sidewalk, clutching her little poodle to her polyester-clad bosom. The dog, which had been recently dyed a truly unfortunate shade of lavender, squirmed in her grip.

"You nearly ran us down, charging across the street like that! You and your hooligan friends are getting out of hand. Why, I have half a mind to call the police about the drug deals I'm sure go on in that house."

I stared at her, uncomprehending. The absurdity of being lectured about road safety and accused of drug trafficking when an evil doppelganger of my friend was doing God knew what in this very neighborhood almost made me laugh out loud.

Shaking my head, I left Mildred sputtering on the sidewalk and continued my single-minded march to my front door. The porch light flared to life, triggered by my presence. I froze with my hand on the knob, disappointment washing through me. Ransom wasn't home yet. He’d gone to Catch and Release with Paige and Claudia. Claudia was interviewing for the bar manager position.

As I stood there, at a loss for what to do next, headlights swept across the yard. Ransom's car pulled into the driveway, the beams illuminating my face and making me squint. The engine cut off and doors opened, and Ransom, Paige, and Claudia stepped out.

Relief crashed over me so intensely my knees almost buckled. I stumbled down the steps toward them, my face surely a mask of manic desperation in the harsh shadows of the headlights.

"Ransom! Thank God. Something's happened, something bad."

The next few minutes passed in a blur of me rushing through the story yet again, my words increasingly strained as I watched my mate's expression morph from curiosity to concern to grim doubt. Paige and Claudia exchanged loaded glances over Ransom's shoulder, a silent conversation passing between them.

"You believe me, don't you?" I was aiming for firm, but it came out pleading. "You of all people should be able to tell I'm telling the truth."

Ransom gripped my elbow as the girls discreetly slipped into their house next door.

"I can feel your belief," he said carefully. "I don't doubt that you're convinced of what you saw. But Luke, a glamour powerful enough to fool you? To override your charm? I just don't see how it's possible."

I opened my mouth, not even sure what I intended to say, just knowing I had to make him understand. But my protest was cut short by the crunch of footsteps on gravel.

"Well, isn't this cozy?"

Janice's voice, so familiar but horribly alien, cut through the charged air between Ransom and me. We turned as one to see her sauntering up the driveway, a smirk playing across her lips. Ransom's hand tightened on my arm as he greeted her with forced casualness.

"Janice! Luke told me you two were going to the art gallery tonight."

Not-Janice stepped into the light, and I had to lock my knees to keep from recoiling. Seeing her again, I knew with absolute bone-deep certainty that this was not my friend. Her eyes glittered with a coldness that had never touched Janice's laughing gaze. The smirk twisting her mouth held a cruelty Janice could never even imagine.

"Yeah, I’m looking forward to it," she said breezily, moving well within the bounds of my personal space. Every muscle in my body seized.

Her face filled my vision, her eyes boring into mine. The world tunneled, my senses overwhelmed by the cloying scent of her perfume and the roaring rush of blood in my ears.

"I am Janice."

The words, spoken with quiet intensity, reverberated through my skull. A heavy fog bank rolled across my mind, thick and oppressive. I blinked hard and struggled to remember why those words sent such terror spiking through my veins.

"I am Janice."

Not-Janice's grip gripped my hand and squeezed. Her gaze compelled mine, trapping me in place more surely than the hand on my throat. Something dark and insidious curled through my thoughts, smothering the bright flame of my resistance.

"I am Janice!"

This time the declaration came out commanding, triumphant. And just like that, the fog crystallized into shining truth. Of course she was Janice. How could I have ever thought otherwise? The panic, the crawling wrongness of our earlier interaction, it all seemed so distant now. Unimportant. Irrational.

Ransom's concerned face swam at the edges of my vision, but I barely registered him. My attention was solely on Janice. Beautiful, clever Janice who I suddenly wanted very badly to please.

She smiled, slow and satisfied, as my expression went slack. Her eyes promised dark delights if only I would obey. Yes, of course I would obey. Anything she wanted.

"Say it, Luke." Her voice was a purr, stroking along my nerve endings like velvet. "Tell Ransom who I am."

"Janice." Her name felt like honey on my tongue, sweet and right. I smiled at Ransom, my earlier distress forgotten. "Ransom, this is Janice. Isn't it great that she's coming to the gallery with me tonight?"

Something flickered in Ransom's eyes, an emotion there and gone too fast for me to catch. His hand fell away from my arm, leaving me more firmly in Janice's thrall.

"That's great," he echoed.

The words were leaden, but I hardly noticed.

Janice was already drawing me down the driveway, her arm linked proprietarily through mine.

"Don't wait up," she called over her shoulder. "We'll probably be out late."

I went with her willingly, eagerly.

The night was full of promise and Janice would guide me through it.

No more confusion, no more fear.

Only her.

Only Janice.