Chapter Four

I woke up the next day and checked my phone. I immediately saw a few notifications for comments I had received on my video.

“I know a Betancourt!” It read.

My eyes widened and I urgently asked them to message me privately.

Caleb came in. “Oh, hey!” He smiled. “You’re awake.”

I nodded and held out my arms. “Yes, I’m awake.”

He knelt on the bed, allowing me to hug him. I held him for a few moments. When I let go, he laid beside me, under the covers. As I snuggled up to him, he stroked my back. I closed my eyes, resting my head on his chest.

“Still want to go to Britechester today?” He asked, his fingers trailing up my spine, then back down.

I nodded without a word.

“When?” He gazed at me.

I shivered as his fingertips grazed my sides. “Not yet.”

He smiled. “Too relaxed?”

I giggled. “Something like that.” I pulled myself up and kissed him.

**************** (Morgyn joins)

“That was certainly not productive,” Morgyn laughed breathlessly.

“I don’t hear you complaining,” I smirked.

“I’m not,” he agreed, kissing my forehead.

Caleb laughed as well. “I suppose you need to head to the realm?” He looked at Morgyn.

Morgyn nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m going to be late there,” I said. “But I didn’t have any one-on-ones or lessons today. Caleb and I are heading to Britechester.”

“Oh?” Morgyn asked, stroking my hair.

“We think we might find some answers there,” Caleb explained.

“Oh, good!” Morgyn exclaimed. “I hope you do.”

My eyes widened. “That reminds me!” I reached over and grabbed my phone. I opened up my email in hopes that the fan who commented messaged me.

They hadn’t. I sighed and put my phone down. “Not yet.”

Morgyn got up. “Well, I hope you two find more leads.”

“Me too,” Caleb agreed, smiling. He looked at me again as Morgyn got dressed and left the room. “Not yet?”

“Oh,” I looked at my phone. “Someone commented on the video and said they knew a Betancourt.”

Caleb looked shocked, but happy. “Really? That’s great!”

I also smiled, resting my head on his chest. “I’m starting to feel more positive about this. It’s like puzzle pieces all fitting together finally.”

He stroked my hair. “Yes, it is.”

I looked up at him. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

“What type of person would I be if I wasn’t patient with you as you looked for my daughter?” He chuckled softly.

I smiled happily. “Okay, true. I just know I’ve been difficult, to say the least.”

“I understand,” he said. “Aside from the confrontation with Vlad, I haven’t been upset with you. Just worried. Though, even at that, I was more scared for you than I was angry.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “I’m still so-“

“Shh,” he held his finger to my lips. “Don’t apologize. You’ve apologized enough.”

I nodded obediently. “Alright.”

He kissed my forehead. “Let’s get going.”

I practically jumped out of bed excitedly. “Yes, let’s.”

We got dressed and ready and headed to Britechester. Once there, we went straight to the library. Caleb walked over to the computer.

“Everything is digital now, so we’ll find more answers here,” he said. I grabbed a chair and sat beside him.

“Betancourt,” he said quietly, typing it into the genealogy search. A list spanned the screen. Names and families. He skimmed down the list. “Jack,” he said, clicking the name.

A large family tree appeared on the screen. Jack was married to a woman named Clara, who had three children biologically, according to the tree.

I looked down. “This isn’t it.”

“Huh?” He asked. “Why?”

“These are biological children,” I explained. “She wasn’t biological related.”

“If no one else knew that, don’t you think they would have just put her in there as a biological child?” He smiled.

I shrugged, considering the possibility. “True. Though, meeting her will prove difficult then.”

“How so?” He asked.

“If she believes Jack and Clara are her biological parents, she won’t listen to anyone if they try to tell her otherwise. Especially two weirdos who look to be her age.” I shrugged again. “Right?”

“One of those weirdos is a vampire,” he smiled warmly.

“But she won’t know that by just looking at you!” I gestured toward his body. “You don’t exactly scream vampire.”

He quickly shifted into his dark form. “I don’t?”

“Okay, cool, so we’ll approach her with your glowing red eyes and scars and cracks?” I touched a scar on his face.

He laughed, shifting back to his regular form. “Aren’t we doing anything we can?”

“Scaring her doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.” I folded my arms in front of me.

“Scaring…her. A vampire with a dark form of her own.” He grinned. “Right?”

I sighed. “You’re right. But still, it’s weird.”

“Hush,” he pecked me on the lips quickly, then looked at the computer again. “Let me figure out the weird stuff, okay?”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “Fine.”

My phone vibrated. I got excited that it was a message from the fan.

It was, and I eagerly opened the message.

“I don’t know if it’s who you’re looking for, but there’s this girl who’s moved around a lot. We were really good friends in High School and kept in touch. Her name was Jessica then, but she changed her name again to Amber.”

I looked up happily. “Amber.”

Caleb looked at me. “Amber?”

“Amber,” I nodded, showing him my phone.

He smiled. “Well, then, Amber it is.”

I moved the chair over to the computer next to the one he was using and searched for ‘Amber Betancourt’. To my surprise, there were a lot of results, all pointing to the same person. A model in Del Sol Valley. She was gorgeous! She had short, dark brown hair, gray eyes and fair skin. She was thin, but posed modestly in most of her photos. I smiled. I hoped this was her. It had to be, right?

Caleb clicked on Jessica’s name, which brought up more information about her, including a photo. I peeked at it, then back at my screen.

“Oh my God,” I said quietly. “We found her.”

Caleb looked over at my screen. I watched him as he looked at the photos. I realized that Amber had his eyes. It was definitely Ambrosia!

“Finding her is going to be easy,” I smiled.

“Why do you say that?” Caleb asked quietly. I could tell he was choked up.

I hugged him, holding him close. “Hun, she’s a model. She lives a public life. She’s all over social media.”

I felt him nod, but he didn’t say anything. I was surprised I wasn’t crying as well. I simply felt a sense of relief. But I had questions. Why didn’t my fan say she was a model? Was she nice? Would she be accepting of us? Was all of this for nothing?

Caleb gripped me tighter, not willing to let me go. I closed my eyes and rubbed his back. We didn’t say a word.

After a long pause, Caleb finally spoke up. “Ruby would be so happy.”

“She is,” I smiled.

He pulled away and looked at me, tears staining his face. I held his face in my hands and brushed his tears away with my thumbs, smiling brightly.

He smiled back, resting his hand on one of mine. “Let’s go find her.”

I leaned in and kissed him. “All we have to do is go to a meet and greet. Done deal.”

He closed his eyes, allowing more tears to fall, which I wiped from his face. “Alright.”

I searched for any scheduled meet and greets with her. There were a lot that were scheduled in Del Sol Valley, but I noticed one scheduled at The Stargazer Lounge in San Myshuno. It was the following night. Without a word, I pointed to it. Caleb nodded and closed his eyes again. I knew he was still holding back tears. This was a big moment for him, and I was so glad that he was finally able to experience it.

We went home, and I messaged the fan back. “Thank you. We found her. You’ve been such a big help!” I then sat down at the computer to make another video. I didn’t mention the fan by name, but I did thank them profusely. A teary Caleb joined me for it, explaining how grateful he was as well.

“I don’t know if we could have done it without you,” he said, wiping tears from his eye. “And here I am, I mess on camera.” He laughed softly.

“I’m sure they understand,” I giggled.

After we were done with the video, Caleb wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Are we even sure they buy this story? I mean, it’s far fetched, right? Vampire falls in love with the same person twice, for her it is two different lives, then they search for a long-lost vampire daughter? It’s crazy! I mean, do they even believe in vampires?”

“Well, if they have knowledge of Forgotten Hollow, or if they looked it up, then sure. If not, they may just follow it because it’s a good fantasy story. Or they think we’re a couple of crazy folk and they’re waiting for us to be committed to an asylum.” I grinned playfully.

Caleb crossed his eyes. “An asylum sounds pretty fun though, right?”

I laughed.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

I looked at him. “Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

I smiled warmly. “Of course, my love. Are you excited?”

“Yes,” he whispered. He spoke louder, “though, I am a tad scared that I’ll just start crying if I see her.”

I shrugged in a joking way. “I mean, she’s a celebrity. You won’t be the only one crying.”

He laughed. “You’ve got me there. Well, hopefully she will understand once we tell her.”

I looked away. “My biggest fear is because she’s a celebrity, she may not even give us the time of day.”

“You’re a celebrity too,” he reminded me.

“Well, yeah, but…” I stopped myself. “I just don’t know.”

“Well, you didn’t give up thus far, I don’t think you will now either.” He playfully patted my head.

I closed one eye in a sort of flinch. “Yeah, well you’re right. I won’t.”

He stood up and took my hand. “I suppose you have places to be now, hmm?”

I shook my head. “I’m not required to be in the realm, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“But you’re a sage,” he protested.

“Right, but if I’m not there for a day, it won’t be a big deal.” I put my arms around him. “So I’m all yours.”

He laughed. “Oh really?” He trailed his fingers down my arm.

“Don’t be getting fresh with me,” I giggled.

“Excuse you,” he poked my nose. “I wasn’t.” He took my hand in one of his and gripped my waist with the other. “We never had a chance to finish that dance of ours the other night.” He pulled me closer. “And so much has happened in between, I feel the rain check is overdue.”

I blushed. “I-I’ll follow your lead.”

He smiled. “Don’t get all shy.”

He led me to a more open area and we continued our dance. I heard a quiet laugh in my mind. Ruby. She was happy.

And so was I.

Jewel came home maybe an hour later. I didn’t realize the day had gone by so quickly. She came in, tossed her backpack on the couch and gave me a hug.

“Oh!” I yelped, but laughed quietly. “Well, hello.”

“I saw your video on the way home,” she said happily. “You found her.”

“We did,” I smiled back.

“Will I get to meet her too?”

“Well, I’m sure you will, once we meet her and explain everything.”

“I’ll try not to be starstruck.”

I looked at her, curious. “You know who she is?”

“I didn’t, but my friends do. I hope you don’t mind that they were watching with me.” She turned her head, but kept her eyes trained on me.

I touched her shoulder. “Of course not.”

“Yeah, they’re all freaking out,” she giggled.

I let out a giggle as well. “I’m sure they are.”

“Where’s Caleb?” She asked.

I gestured toward the kitchen. “In there, as always.”

“I heard that!” He called.

I giggled. “Am I wrong though?”

“Nope!”

We laughed.

“Can we train today?” Jewel asked, hopeful.

“Sure,” I folded my hands in front of me. “But homework first.”

“Booooo,” she jeered. “Buzzkill!”

I laughed. “Life is a buzzkill.”

She positioned her hand in a finger gun. “You’re not wrong.”

“Need any help?” I asked, sitting down.

“I think I’ve got it,” she responded, grabbing her book from her bag. “But, will you stay in case I do?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured her.

I helped her with homework, and we waited for Morgyn to get home to train. In the meantime, Caleb brought out a tray of cookies for us.

“Chocolate chip!” Jewel exclaimed. “My favorite!”

Caleb stood proudly. “I don’t usually bake, but maybe I’ll need to more often.”

“Yes!” She barely got the word out before she stuffed half of a cookie in her mouth.

Morgyn came home shortly after.

“Mmm,” he closed his eyes and inhaled slowly through his nose. “I smell cookies.”

I stood up, grabbing one from the tray. I walked over to him and wrapped one arm around him, holding the cookie up to his mouth with the other.

He took a bite. “Mmm.”

“I did well?” Caleb smiled.

Morgyn swallowed and smiled at him. “Yes, you did.”

I handed him the cookie, and he looked me up and down. “You’re happy today.”

“We found her,” Caleb and I said together.

Morgyn’s jaw dropped. “You did? That’s great news!” He hugged me tightly, then turned around to do the same to Caleb. “How did she take it?”

“Well, we found her, but we haven’t met her yet,” I clarified.

“We’re going to try to tomorrow,” Caleb added.

“Well, we will tomorrow, but not in the most ideal setting,” I said, shrugging.

“How come?” Morgyn asked, confused.

“She’s a celebrity!” Jewel smiled happily.

“Oh!” Morgyn laughed. “Yeah, I could see that being a bit of an issue.”

“We’re going to a meet and greet tomorrow,” Caleb said, sitting down. He stared straight ahead. “I’m hoping she’s just not going to turn us away, or command guards on us or something.”

I sat beside him and placed my hand on his back. “You don’t really think your daughter would have it in her to do that, do you?”

He shrugged. “Well, she wasn’t raised by me.”

“Let’s just take it in stride,” I smiled reassuringly. “We can’t give up.”

We chatted for a little bit longer, explaining our trip to Britechester to Morgyn, who took it all in.

“You know,” he said, folding his hands in front of his mouth, in thought. “Celebrities generally have a manager, don’t they?” He looked at me, then at Caleb. “Maybe you could speak to that person first about this.”

I nodded. “I’m not sure how to find that information, but it’s worth a shot.”

“Well the manager would be with her at the meet and greet, no? Help keep things organized and running smoothly while she interacts with fans,” Morgyn explained.

“You seem to know a lot about this,” Caleb grinned.

Morgyn laughed and put his hands down. “Well, I’ve had my fair share of celebrities in the realm.”

Jewel stood up. “Speaking of, can we train now?”

Morgyn nodded, smiling warmly at her. “Of course.”

I kissed Caleb’s cheek and stood up. “Try not to worry, okay?”

He nodded and looked up at me. “Yeah,” he said quietly, “I’ll try.”

I smiled and walked away. We went outside to have more space. The sun had almost set, lighting the sky up purple above us and orange over the hills beyond the river. I gazed at the horizon for a moment. I started to feel strange about our meeting. Technically I wasn’t her mother, except in spirit. Not all people believed that crap. Even if she accepted Caleb, would she accept me?

Morgyn had begun training. I walked over to them, peering up at the horizon from time to time. I was drawn to it. I had always loved sunsets, but tonight I felt like it meant something more to me.

The last time the sun will set on this chapter of my life. I smiled at the thought. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the task at hand.

We trained for about an hour before Jewel said she was tired. She went in to go to bed. Before she did though, she pulled me aside.

“Jade, I know I just got here, but is it okay if I have a couple friends stay the night this weekend?” She looked at me shyly, like she was expecting a big reaction for a simple request.

“Sure!” I smiled.

“Wait, really?” She stepped back, eyes wide.

I nodded. “Really.”

She hugged me tightly. “I think I love you!”

I laughed, but a tear came to my eye. That was unexpected, and…nice.

She danced off to her room, happily. I watched her in admiration. I was still in complete disbelief that her parents would just throw her out like that. I shook my head and walked away, sitting down at the computer. I searched for Amber again to find any additional information I could. She was dating a guy. Wolfgang Munch. I had heard that name. He was a rebellious teen a lot of adults had turned their nose up at. Scrolling through her feed, I saw lots of photos of her with him. They looked like they were happy. In love. I smiled.

But something caught my eye. It was a meme joking about being adopted. It showed two of the same breed of dog and another dog of a different breed between them. The two outer dogs were staring at the middle pup. The text on the image said “You’re adopted.” I read Amber’s caption. “Lol! I’ve always felt like I was adopted. Let’s be real. I look nothing like my parents did. Sorry, Mom and Dad, but I’m kinda happy I didn’t get your genes!” She followed it with a laughing emoji.

“Oh, Ambrosia, if you only knew,” I said quietly, with a smile.

I continued scrolling until I started to feel sleepy. Yawning, I stood up.

“Going to bed?” Caleb asked, coming up behind me.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

He kissed my neck softly. Not to tease me, but as a loving gesture. I reached my arm up to rest it behind his neck. “You okay?”

He nodded, resting his forehead on my shoulder. “Yeah, just nervous, I suppose.”

I turned around to face him and placed my hand on his cheek. “Don’t overthink it, my love.” I twisted the long strand of his hair on my finger. “You’re meeting a celebrity. Just pretend that’s the case.”

He nodded, looking at the floor. “That’s a lot easier said than done.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“Are you nervous?” He asked, lifting his gaze slightly.

“Yeah,” I kept my voice at a whisper. “Not everyone believes in past lives and reincarnation. There’s nothing I can do to prove that I am Ruby. She was a newborn, so there isn’t even a story I can tell, or a place I can name. No special dates or meals.”

“Me either,” Caleb shrugged.

“You have one thing I don’t,” I smiled. “She looks just like you.”

He smiled, closing his eyes. “Maybe a little.”

I hugged him. He gripped me tightly, sighing into my neck. I held him, just comforting him.

“Do you ever wish you could just speed time up?” He asked with a small laugh.

“All the time,” I laughed as well. “Would have come in handy with Marco.”

He laughed harder. “Yes!” He pulled away and looked at me. “I should let you sleep, hmm?”

“You can come with me if you want,” I offered. “I’ll cuddle with you until I fall asleep.”

He smiled. “Sounds nice.”

I took his hand and we went into the room. Getting into bed, I snuggled close with him.

“Try to swat away those bad thoughts,” I said sleepily. “They aren’t wanted.”

Caleb playfully swatted his own head. “Ow,” he laughed. “It didn’t work.”

I laughed with him. “Silly vampire.”

I fell asleep quicker than I wanted to.

“You found her,” I heard. It was Ruby.

I nodded as she hugged me. “Yeah, we found her.” I looked at her. “Do you have any advice?”

She shook her head. “Not really. If she turns you away, go. Come back at a later time. Don’t try to convince her.”

“But what if she’s never convinced?” I asked, a worried expression on my face.

She smiled. “If she’s anything like Caleb and I, she will seek you out if you leave her alone.”

I sighed. “I hope for Caleb’s sake that she doesn’t turn us away. He’s waited far too long.” I looked at her. “And so have you.”

She nodded. “Yes, but I do understand that this will be hard for her as well. She can’t ask her parents for the truth either. They have both passed away.”

I shifted my gaze to the floor.

“I’d like to think she’s really nice,” Ruby said quietly.

“I think she would be, honestly. You and Caleb are both very kind. But I mean, is that genetic or learned? If her family wasn’t kind, then maybe she wouldn’t be either.” I sighed again.

“From what her social media sites looked like, I think her family was good to her.” Ruby shook her head. “But I just don’t know why. I’m glad they were, but why spare the vampire child when you are vampire hunters?”

I thought for a moment. “Well, perhaps they had enough to spare an innocent baby regardless of occult.”

“Why not try to cure her vampirism?” Ruby asked.

“They may not have known of the cure.”

Ruby took a deep breath, then let it go in an even deeper sigh.

We sat in silence.

She stayed with me all night as I slept. I woke up feeling well rested and positive. Though, the day went incredibly slowly. There wasn’t much to be done in the realm to distract me from the event of the evening. Morgyn, L and Simeon were busy, Caleb was getting ready for the start of the next semester at Britechester, and I was just there. Existing.

I sighed, standing up from the desk I was perched at. I started pacing. Minutes passed like days. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I went home.

Caleb and I arrived at the same time, with Jewel and Morgyn following close behind. We went through the normal grind; homework, training, dinner. Finally, it was time.

“Are you ready?” I asked Caleb, taking his hand.

He nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yes.”

I smiled. “Let’s go.”

We arrived at The Stargazer Lounge a little early. Amber and her management team were setting up. I stood back to observe while Caleb went to the bar to order drinks for us. She laughed and joked with her team. She wasn’t bossy or snooty or anything of the sort.

Wolfgang walked out of the bathroom, and Amber approached him, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and ruffled her hair playfully.

“Hey!” She shrieked. “Asshole! I have fans coming.”

He laughed. “First world problems.”

He jokingly shoved him, and as he moved out of the space between her and Caleb, she stopped dead in her tracks, as she and Caleb looked at each other. She stared for a moment, studying him, before she finally looked away. I saw her glance up at him from time to time.

I finally decided to join Caleb at a table. Taking a sip of my drink, I looked at him curiously.

“She recognized you from somewhere,” I said.

He nodded, looking at her again. “I noticed that too.”

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

He took a sip of his drink. “I’m not sure.”

I smiled. “Guests aren’t here yet.”

He swallowed hard. “Y-yeah.”

I giggled. “Let’s talk to her.”

We stood up, bringing our drinks with us. As we approached her, she excused herself from her team and gestured toward the space behind the elevator. There was a small sitting area that no one ever went to.

“God, you look so familiar to me,” she said to Caleb, smiling happily. “Forgive me, as I do meet a lot of new people, but do we know each other?”

“Technically, no,” he also smiled, but nervously.

“Oh?” She asked. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve been looking for our daughter,” he said.

“Oh my!” She leaned forward. “Is she lost? How can I help?”

“No, not like that,” Caleb put his hand out in front of him. “She was adopted, so to speak, as a newborn. We’ve done a lot of searching and our searches led us to you.”

“M-me?” She was taken aback, but quickly started laughing. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t adopted, and you two are far too young to be my parents.”

“I’m not as young as I look,” Caleb responded with a nervous laugh.

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, suspicious. “What do you mean?”

He opened his mouth, revealing his fangs.

She stared at him, her expression serious. “You’re a vampire.”

He nodded. “So was your mother.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Amber shook her head. “My mother was very much human.”

I felt like Caleb was starting to lose her. I jumped in. “Do the names Caleb Vatore or Ruby Hayes ring a bell by chance?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry.”

“How about Ambrosia?” Caleb asked. He wasn’t looking at her, too scared of her response.

“W-what?” She asked.

“Ambrosia.”

“Y-yes. That was my name for much of my childhood,” she said. “My name later changed to Jessica, and then to Amber. You know, being a vampire and not aging after awhile. People get suspicious. My parents didn’t want others knowing that I was a vampire.”

“Because they were vampire hunters,” Caleb said quietly.

“How do you know that?” Amber asked.

“You’re her,” he responded, looking into her eyes.

She kept his gaze, studying him again. “But, that doesn’t make sense.” She looked away. “My parents would have told me about this!”

Caleb went silent.

“Are you a vampire too,” she asked me.

I shook my head. “No. I’m a spellcaster.”

“And, if he is my dad, then you’re supposedly my mom?”

“No.”

“But he said you were both looking for your daughter.”

“I…” How did I plan to explain this? “Do you believe in past lives, reincarnation and the like?”

“Not…really?” Amber looked puzzled.

“Well, your mother was killed right after giving birth to you,” I explained. “Her spirit found me.”

“So you’re my hypothetical mom’s second life?” She asked, skeptical.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

She shook her head. “I…” She took a deep breath. “Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but this sounds crazy. I wasn’t adopted. My parents died in the 80s.” She looked at me again. “You said she died? How did she die?”

“Vampire hunters,” Caleb responded.

“W-what?” She stood up. “So are you implying that my biological mother was killed by my adopted family?”

I sighed. This was going horribly wrong, and there was nothing I could do to stop it at this point.

“I’m sorry,” she said, taking a few steps. “But I have to go. Good luck in your search.”

And with that, she was gone.

“God dammit,” Caleb said under his breath, standing up.

I remembered what Ruby had said. I stood up. “Let her go.”

“What?” He asked, angrily. “Let her go? After this search? Just drop her and move on?”

“No,” I put my hands on his arms. “This is a lot for her to take in. Let her sit on the information. She may seek you out.” I pulled him into a hug, but he didn’t hug me back. “Just let her go. We told her, that’s the important part.”

He pulled away from me, walking out of the building. I sighed and followed him.

“Caleb!” I caught up with him. “It’s what Ruby said to me. She has faith that Ambrosia will come to us.”

He kept walking without a word.

“Caleb, please!” I jumped in front of him.

He glared at me. “I’m letting her go. I’m walking away.”

“I’m sorry, please don’t be upset with me.”

He looked away and kept walking. I didn’t stop him. Frustrated, I started walking as well.

A cloud of mist appeared before me, and Vlad was there as it disappeared.

“Well, that went well, eh?” He grinned.

“Not now, Vlad,” I stormed past him.

He grabbed my shoulder.

“Let go!” I demanded.

“I don’t need Morgyn now that I know you can bring my son back.”

“I’m not doing that for you.”

“You’re not? Just know you aren’t the only one who knows where Ambrosia is now, hmm?”

I glared angrily at him. “You leave her alone!”

“You give me back my son, and I’ll let you keep your daughter.”

I reached for my phone, but just as I did, Vlad grabbed me and teleported us away in a cloud of mist.

He set a chair down in front of the urn. “Just so you’re comfortable.”

I shook my head. “I’m not doing it.”

“So you really don’t care so much for your daughter.” He shrugged. “Good to know.”

I pulled out my phone, dialing Caleb quickly before Vlad slapped it out of my hand. As it hit the floor, I saw it was calling. I crossed my fingers that he would pick up and hear what was happening.

“I’m not doing it! He’s not the same man you knew! Let him rest, Vlad. Taking me to your house isn’t going to change anything.” I stepped closer to him. “You need to move on.”

“No!” He shouted. “You’re a hypocrite! Telling me to let my son go when you were just reunited with your daughter?”

“She’s still alive! We didn’t resurrect her to be reunited.”

“She won’t be if you keep fighting me!”

“You wouldn’t,” I said, stalling for time.

“Oh, I wouldn’t? Would you like to witness it first hand?” He raised his hand as if he was going to use some type of power, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I was running out of ideas.

He moved his hand down quickly, making me flinch. He rested his palm on the decorative top of the urn. “Will you now?”

“No.”

“You don’t value her life?”

“I do, but I have no proof you aren’t bluffing.” I shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to go get her if you’re really serious about killing her in front of me, huh?”

He didn’t have a way to bring her here, right?

He grinned and leaned in close. “You’re really going to regret your decisions. Think this through. Think about what you’re asking of me.”

I hung my head. But what was I supposed to do?

Right on cue, Caleb used his bat form to fly in through an open window, appearing beside me.

Vlad rolled his eyes. “Here we go.” He held his hand up, and Caleb was pinned against the wall. He teleported away in a mist.

I tried to stand and realized I was pinned to the chair. I couldn’t get up. I looked at Caleb.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know you didn’t do this,” he said through gritted teeth, struggling to get free. “I’m sorry I walked away.”

“I understand,” I said quietly.

Vlad returned with Ambrosia. He pinned her against the wall beside Caleb.

“Now that you see I’ll deliver on my promise, dear Jade, then let’s settle this. I’m going to count backwards from five. If you haven’t cast the spell, then Ambrosia dies.” He smiled. “Five.”

I looked over at Caleb, then at Ambrosia. Looking back at Vlad I shook my head. “Vlad, I can’t. It’ll cause chaos. He’s been dead for too long.”

“Four.”

“Oh, come on! You have to understand. Or at least try to understand! He won’t be the same man!”

“What is going on?” Ambrosia shouted, struggling as well.

“Three.”

“Vlad, he could kill you! Is that what you want?”

“Two”

“Okay, okay! Fine! Unpin me so I can cast the spell.”

Vlad smiled happily. “That’s what I’m talking about! I’ll unpin your arms so you don’t try another attack.”

With my arms freed, I pulled out my wand. Reluctantly, I pointed the wand at the urn.

“Necrocall,” I said quietly.

Nothing happened.

“Nothing’s happening!” Vlad got in my face. “You liar!”

“It takes a sec! Calm down.” I peered over his shoulder. “Look.”

He turned around to see Kristofer’s ghost standing next to the urn, motionless and expressionless.

“I want him back in his regular form!”

Again, I pointed the wand, this time a Kristofer. “Please don’t let me regret this,” I whispered, closing my eyes. “Dedeathify!”

Kristofer shifted into his regular vampire form.

I dropped my wand and hung my head.

With Vlad distracted, his spells on Caleb, Amber and I dissipated. Caleb acted like he was about to sprint. I jumped in front of him.

“Don’t,” I said. “Kristofer may defend him or think you’re attacking him. We don’t know what he’s capable of.”

We turned to look at Kristofer.

“But what is even going on?” Amber asked. I was surprised at how calm she was given the circumstances.

“Pretty much everything you saw here,” I explained. “Vlad wanted his son back. He was going to do anything to do it. Including hurting you.”

She smiled. “And you went out of your way to make sure he didn’t. Not only was that impressive, but incredibly kind.”

We couldn’t finish our conversation, as the conversation between Vlad and Kristofer got heated.

“You brought me back?” Kristofer barked at Vlad.

“I’ve missed you, son.”

“I’m not your son!”

“Maybe not, but I saw you as one.”

“Well, stop.” Kristofer headed for the door. “I didn’t want to be a vampire then, and I don’t now! You brought me back for your own gain, but you never stopped to consider me?” He got to the door and started to open it.

Vlad darted in front of it. “I’m not letting you go again.”

Kristofer scoffed. “Once again, pure selfishness.”

I grinned a little. I knew it was mean. But Morgyn and I warned him. He didn’t listen. Though, I wondered what that meant for Kristofer.

I sighed. “Vlad, let him go. You got what you wanted. He’s alive.”

“But then why did I go through this to bring him back, only to never see him again?” Vlad glared angrily at me.

“Because you’re a selfish asshole!” Kristofer barked at him. He shoved him out of the way and left.

I folded my arms in front of me. “Well, that went well, eh?”

“Don’t you dare make a mockery of me!” Vlad was in front of me in a flash. Caleb and surprisingly Amber jumped in front of me to face him.

“Don’t try it,” Caleb warned, calmly.

“You three can leave, and I suggest you do before I change my mind.” Vlad pointed toward the door.

As requested, we left, happily. Once back in the center of the town, Amber stopped me. “Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t thank me,” I shook my head. “You wouldn’t have even been in this mess if it weren’t for us meeting you.”

She smiled. “But you made sure he didn’t hurt me. That certainly deserves thanks.” She turned to Caleb. “And um, I’m sorry for the way I acted. I’m going to consider what you told me.” She looked at me. “And what you told me.”

Caleb and I both smiled happily.

“But for now, I need to get back to my team, or they’re going to send a damn search party for me.” She laughed nervously. “May I have your phone numbers?”

We exchanged numbers and parted ways. Before we started walking, Caleb looked at Wolfsbane Manor.

“Want to stop in and say hi?” I asked, referring to Lilith.

He shook his head. “No. Best not. I was going to tell her about Kris, but I don’t think that’s wise.”

I took his hand. “I think you’re right.”

We headed back home, contemplative.

Chapter Five (click here)