Page 145 of The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends

It barely scratched the surface of his gratitude, but maybe it was enough.

The hotel in Boston was old and classic, with white marble floors, elaborate wooden paneling, grand chandeliers, and wide-open ballrooms—the grandest of which would hold the vampire ball. Everything was lush and Gothic, black-clad employees rushing around and setting things up: an elaborate fountain of red punch that ostensibly looked like blood, vampire-themed snacks decorated with bats and fangs, a photo area with plastic fangs and other props.

They’d arrived early so Brennan could sniff out the snack table as best he could, scenting for blood or anything unusual. But everything smelled normal. So they waited.

As minutes ticked by, the ballroom began to fill with more people in dresses and costumes—Gothic steampunk, elaborate gowns, capes and coattails, an impressive group ofWhat We Do in the Shadowscosplayers. Even the musicians in the corner—a string quartet that began at 7 p.m. on the dot—were sharply dressed, with fake blood placed at the corners of their mouths and down their chins. There was a small cluster of people huddled around their phones that Brennan only recognized as Redditors because Micah, the girl at the center of the huddle, wore the same velvet burgundy gown pictured in her last post. At her hip was a stake sharp enough to do real damage, vampire or not.

Brennan silently added that to his growing list of potential time bombs. He and Cole lingered at the edges of the room, watching carefully. Every few minutes, Brennan did another pass to check on the food and drink. Every few seconds, Brennan checked his phone for texts from the group chat to see if anyone had seen anything yet.

Every minute Travis didn’t show up, he worried he had miscalculated. What if Travis had some other plan and Brennan had taken his bait? What if Travis ran into Dom and the others they’d recruited off Facebook when they were waiting for their opportunity to free Sunny and Nellie?

Brennan’s phone pinged. His stomach dropped. He grabbed Cole’s hand and squeezed, felt Cole squeeze back, and took in the message. It was from Mari.

“Travis is here,” Brennan said.

He didn’t need to say it. Travis’s entrance had its own effect, heads turning like a tide toward the door. Like he had a magnetic pull.

He must, Brennan realized. A vampire that powerful could influence and charm humans without even meaning to.

The powerful vampire in question wore a monstrosity of a tweed suit with roughly sewn-on patches at the elbows. His dreads were pulled back in a thick bun. He was as relaxed as ever, an easy smile on his face as he took in the room.

He spotted Brennan and Cole and lit up. As if they were old friends.

“Oh lord, is he coming over here?” Cole hissed.

“It unfortunately seems that way,” Brennan whispered, and then Travis was in front of them, arms spread wide, open and grinning.

“You guys made it! Looking good, eh? I know, I clean up nicely—”

“Can we skip the small talk?” Brennan asked. “If you’re here to gloat or make threats or maniacally laugh, let’s start with that.”

“Ah, Brennan, charming as ever.” Travis’s eyes flitted to Cole. “And your snack. Coooo-dy… or… Clint?”

Brennan curled his hands into fists.

“It’s Cole—”

“Travis, you’re a dick,” Brennan said. “Your accent’s fake and we’re not friends. Do your fucking worst.”

Travis’s jaw dropped. He almost—almost—looked hurt.

“Well then, mate,” Travis said, the Aussie flair amped up, “I’ll leave you two to enjoy the party.”

Travis retreated.

“Um,” Cole said, reaching for Brennan’s arm, “I thought we were trying to buy time, not piss him off.”

“Well, his accent sucks, someone had to tell him.”

“Brennan!”

“I’m sorry! He started talking about you and I saw red.” Travis was already talking animatedly with two people across the way. “Look, he rebounded quickly.”

And so it went, with Travis chatting the ears off any guests who would listen, then moving on to the next group. Brennan kept a close eye on him for any suspicious moves, eavesdropped around the hall tomake sure he wasn’t conspiring, kept on his schedule of sniffing out the snack table for vampire blood every few minutes.

But nothing. It was driving Brennan insane. “He’s toying with us,” Brennan said.

It was 8:30 exactly when Travis made his way over to the punch fountain. Brennan and Cole exchanged looks.