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  "How are you?" she asked. It was difficult to remember her Sean might still be somewhere inside this vampire.

  "I miss you." He reached for her hand but she held up her palm. He flinched back.

  "I'm sorry, Sean."

  "Everything's different. Sensations, colors, light."

  A nurse pushing a trolley full of medication hurried past.

  "I sense the blood pulsing in their arteries, Tatya. I crave it. It's awful."

  She stared at his hands. Hands that had previously grown healing herbs.

  "If it wasn't for Vanse, I wouldn't be able to control myself."

  "If it wasn't for Vanse, you wouldn't have to control yourself!" She didn't regret speaking bluntly.

  "Thanks for your support. Why can't you accept this," his hand flicked downward "is still me?"

  "You were supposed to die. When I left, you were dead. Then he..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

  "Okay. It's not my first choice of species, and I don't have a pulse, but this is me, Tatya." His voice cracked. " Please, don't give up on me."

  Tatya didn't answer. She hadn't come to terms with what had happened to Sean, and her concerns now centered on Aunt Lil. With the living, not the undead.

  "I have to go." Sean’s voice was soft.

  "Is he calling you?"

  "Yes. Didn't you know? It's part of the care package. A master vampire has telepathic links with his followers, especially those recently turned. Believe it or not, it's a matter of safety while we're learning."

  Tatya wasn't interested. Big deal. Even violent criminals and animals cared for their own. "Go on then. Obey your master." She knew her words hurt. But no matter what he said or did, this wasn't her Sean. She couldn't tell if he was fooling himself or believed his own words. She stared at her hands, and squeezed them tight, not wanting to watch him leave.

  Aunt Lil's doctor was off duty. The officious nursing manager told her only the doctor had the authorization to discuss the details of her aunt's condition, but she could inform her that more tests would be conducted tomorrow. Frustration at the lack of information and uncertainty about her aunt's illness fueled her anxieties, but there was nothing she could do but wait till tomorrow and ask again.

  At the end of visiting hours, Tatya kissed her aunt on the forehead and whispered good-bye. She waved to Alice Franklin, who waved back.

  She was crossing the foyer when she heard the distinctly recognizable voice of Sheriff Corwin, berating a deputy officer. Nothing new in that. Over the past few years, Corwin had invited her to assist in several missing persons cases. Someone had told him of her talent in locating missing objects—a gift she'd not used much until she met the Sheriff. Now, the police paid her a decent consultant's fee when he made use of her services.

  Corwin noticed her approach. "I'll be over later, got something I want to run by you," he said hardly missing a beat in his tirade, "okay?"

  "Sure. I'll be home."

  He turned back to raking his subordinate over the coals.

  As Tatya neared the exit, she fought the urge to look back, and lost. She turned and saw Vanse leaning against a wall by the elevators. Their gazes met, and the expression in his eyes wasn't one of triumph—he was pleading.

  Chapter Two: A Visitation

  First Sean and now Aunt Lil.

  Tatya trudged along her driveway, the sharp gravel crunching under her boots as her thoughts settled in slow motion, like a soft swirl of snowflakes whitening and silencing the world. Even years later, the image of Aunt Lil's sorrow-filled eyes as she told Tatya of her parents' sudden deaths was as fresh as the day it had engraved itself in her memory. She'd been seven years old; staying with her aunt for the Easter holidays while her father attended a teacher's conference in New York. Her mother had gone with him; she'd wanted to explore the art galleries. They'd been on their way to pick up Tatya and would have stayed a few days with Lil before returning home to Arizona.

  Afterward, Tatya had fallen into a gray, cheerless lethargy for months. A psychiatrist would have diagnosed her with depression, but instead, Aunt Lil embarked on her own program of support and consolation, loving her niece back into this world. In the following years, her aunt had done her utmost to bring up her niece in the manner her brother would have wanted. Yet, those first days and weeks after the awful tragedy had left a residue in her psyche. She could hear those ghosts calling.

  The investigation into the train accident that killed her parents never uncovered enough proof, but the final report had shown there was a reason to believe a pack of feral vampires was responsible. Since then, the very mention of their species had been anathema to her.

  Tatya plodded around to the back garden as the setting sun limned the house in blood-red rays of fire. She entered the first of the three greenhouses. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the healing smells of lavender, sage, and chamomile hanging in bunches from the drying racks Sean had constructed.

  After she'd finished college and told Aunt Lil what she wanted to do, her aunt had taken her savings, and together with Tatya's inheritance, they'd transformed the surrounding acre of land. When she and Sean had bumped into each other in a local bar that summer, reigniting their friendship, their common interests, and goals for the future cemented the relationship. They'd never been an item, but each had found in the other, a soul mate of a different kind.

  The old ranch house, a rambling two-story wood and stone building, was more than sufficient for their needs, and Sean had moved in. They'd worked hard: setting up greenhouses and polytunnels for the seedlings and drying of their herbs; selling Tatya's herbal teas at local markets; building relationships with customers; and getting the business off the ground. They were finally breaking even when Sean received his fatal diagnosis.

  They'd gotten this year's crop cut and tied before Sean had gone downhill and ended up in intensive care. Tatya breathed in the lingering aromatic fragrances, shoulders relaxing as they worked their magic.

  The one time she spoke with Sean after his turning, he'd suggested he continue to work for her, by night if she preferred. Vanse, lingering close by, agreed. If that was what she wanted, it would be arranged. It appeared that Sean, as a newly-turned vampire, a baby vamp learning to exist in his new life was unable to do anything without his master's permission.

  Tatya had been horrified. The thought of a vampire laboring out in her fields and greenhouse while she slept was a nightmare. Even if that vampire was Sean. She'd managed to avoid throwing up on the hospital floor, but had run out of the building, power surging and flaring from her fingers. She got along fine with most supernaturals she came in contact with, which wasn't often, but she hated vampires with a vengeance.

  Tatya looked at her hands. Wild flickers of power sparked from her fingertips. Since Lil had been hospitalized, her control over her powers had been steadily slipping. Slumping back, she initiated her protection, using Alexander's Shield for its strength and simplicity. Emptying her mind, she concentrated on her breathing. She knew where she needed to go, and without a second thought, journeyed to her sanctuary on the astral plane.

  Tatya sighed with delight at the sight of the lush green valley. This was her refuge; a place where she might regain a little peace of mind from whatever traumas assaulted her in the outside world. Aunt Lil had taught her how to create such a shelter to help with her grief. She'd continued the exercise over the years, adding and increasing the details till it gained a reality of its own.

  Crossing a wildflower meadow, Tatya stopped for a second to listen to the tinkling of a stream, taking pleasure in the warm breeze tickling her skin. She ran toward the water, leaping and landing with a thump on the other side. Today, she chose to head for the forested mountains and bypass the ivy-covered cottage with its sweet-scented garden. The path through the dense forest took her above the tree line, with the final stretch involving some deft footwork and scrambling across patches of shale, but she relished the challenge. Tatya had invested layers of warded power
in creating this private refuge over the years, and if she fell, it felt real; but this was one of her customary routes and she didn't stumble.

  When she reached the top, she was sweating and the thin air left her a little dizzy. A large boulder with a flat top lay smack in the center of the small plateau. Her seat. She clambered up onto the granite, gazing around with delight. Behind her, a range of mountains, their razor sharp, snow-capped peaks rose, row on row in the distance. Spread out before her, forests interspersed with green valleys and diamond streams twinkling in the sun, stretched to the horizon.

  Aunt Lil always warned her of the dangers of staying out of her body too long, but here, time was relative. Except Aunt Lil wasn't in the kitchen preparing the evening meal, and no laughing friend waited to share the day's news any more. Tatya relaxed; it was so peaceful.

  A cold warning prickle ran up her spine. She shivered, tensed, and sent out a few questing tendrils. Someone or something powerful was testing, pushing against her safeguards. Her gut clenched as a premonitory image materialized before her inner eye. A face. Shoulder length, thick red-gold curls surrounded classically molded cheekbones and nose with a full sensual mouth below, but it was his startlingly blue eyes that held her as they observed her with calculated interest. Her stomach lurched with a sickening intuition, and goose bumps rose on every surface of her body; his beauty masked unbearable cruelty.

  Instinct screamed get out, but Tatya's anger flared. How dare anyone invade her haven? A sudden upwelling of energy and she flung a reckless bolt of power at the figure, throwing up another layer of protection as she aimed for her gateway with the speed of thought, and fled back into her body.

  "Tatya!"

  Someone was shouting her name, and banging on the front door. She stumbled to her feet, leaning on the wooden table to stop herself from falling. The sudden return to normalcy disoriented her, and she paused to catch her breath.

  "Tatya!" That raspy cantankerous voice was unmistakable. Sheriff Corwin.

  "Yes, yes, Sheriff," she called hurrying around the corner, "I'm here."

  Sheriff Corwin greeted her with a big grin. "Ah, just the lovely lady I want to see."

  Ten minutes later, warm mugs of cinnamon and sage tea in their hands, the Sheriff gave her a searching look.

  She and Sheriff Bill Corwin enjoyed a good relationship. He was one of those humans who occasionally dealt with supernaturals, and a couple of years back, he'd approached her with a request. Someone had told him of her aptitude in finding lost objects, and after he'd run out of leads, he'd come asking if she would help trace a missing girl. Four cases later, the local police department hired her on a case-by-case basis, as a psychic consultant. She'd developed a genuine fondness for the gruff, sharp-tongued detective. They regularly met up, and he'd become something of a father figure.

  "You holding up okay?"

  "I guess so."

  "Do they know what's wrong with her yet?"

  "Nope. More tests. She seemed better today, but her recovery is slow."

  "Your stuff doesn't work?"

  "Nope. The first case I've not been able to help someone. I'm puzzled."

  "What's up with your friend?"

  "Sean? Sorry, Bill, I can't talk about him."

  "No, not him. Your buddy out on the rez."

  "Oh! Changing Sky's been away, but he's back tomorrow." Tatya poured more tea, added extra honey to Corwin's mug. "So, what's wrong? Much as I know you care for me, Bill, something’s up if you’ve dragged yourself out here this late in the day."

  Bill became Corwin the efficient sheriff. "Have you heard anything of a rogue vamp on the loose?"

  She flashed on the interloper’s cold, sky-blue eyes, examining her like an insect on a petri dish. Her skin prickled again, goose bumps skimming her arms.

  "Hey, Tatya! Tatya! Snap out of it!" Corwin was shaking her shoulder. "You getting one of those future seeing things?"

  The aroma of cinnamon brought her back to the conversation. She lifted her cup, blowing on the tea to cool it, sipping the soothing brew.

  "Kind of, but… it's hard to figure out what it means when they happen. Sorry, Bill, you were saying? A rogue vampire?"

  "We've got three cases in the hospital right now. That's why I was there earlier. Three football players from the high school team, fit and healthier than most, are in comas."

  "What makes you think it's anything supernatural?"

  "Like your aunt, the docs can't figure out what's the problem. No accidents occurred, no trauma. No apparent reason. All just found unconscious."

  "I'll ask around, but I've not had my ear to the grapevine since Aunt Lil fell ill."

  "Thanks, I'd appreciate that. No point in calling in the super squad till I'm sure of what we're dealing with."

  "I'll let you know if I hear anything."

  Bill gulped down the rest of his tea. "I'm a hundred percent coffee man, Tatya, but this tea of yours could convert me."

  She smiled at him; without fail, he made the same joke whenever he visited.

  Tatya saw the Sheriff out and had finished tidying up when the doorbell rang. She hurried to answer, hoping it wasn't an emergency. She'd canceled every consultation this week so as to be free for Aunt Lil. Yanking open the door, she froze.

  Sean stood there, his head bowed to one side in a submissive pose. Vanse hovered at his shoulder.

  "No, Sean, you can't come in."

  The sudden wounded look on his face told her how much her words pained him. She didn't like making him suffer, but hadn't she made her feelings about this whole affair clear? Her gentle friend might still be inside the creature standing in front of her, but he had changed. That, she couldn't forget.

  "Tatya," Vanse spoke but she refused to look at him, keeping her attention fixed on Sean. "He used to live here. You made this place his home, so he doesn't need your permission. He can just enter and invite me in himself. But out of consideration for your feelings, he has refused to do that."

  Tatya shifted her gaze to Vanse. "Wait there." She grabbed a shawl off the coat rack behind the door, flung it around her shoulders, and went back out, closing the door hard. The lock made a loud click.

  Sean looked away. A hint of a smile lurked at the corners of Vanse's mouth.

  "What do you want?" She wanted to shake Vanse till his head fell off. She wanted to scream at him and ask why he’d brought Sean, because she couldn't see him without remembering who he used to be. Her best friend. "And don't try to glamour me like you did my aunt."

  "Tatiana, I would never do that."

  Liar, she thought. Whatever rules vampires obeyed, honesty wasn't in their make-up. An honest vamp was rarer than a black rose. Survival and self-interest were their only motivations.

  She looked past the two vamps. The sun had set, and although she caught a glimpse of the nearly full moon, rain clouds still darkened the sky. The early pioneers had ignored the drier plains to the east, and chosen the nearby plateau, with its more temperate climate, for their new town of Orleton. The air carried a damp, chilly, autumn evening smell. Autumn was Aunt Lil's favorite season: the changing colors as full fat-leafed trees became skeletal echoes of their summer selves; birds fleeing south, their V formations filling the sky; wood fires and roasting chestnuts.

  She swallowed the tears; folding her arms across her chest she raised her chin, staring him in the eye. "Well? I'm waiting."

  "Be extra careful, Tatiana. The wheel turns. What was past is now present, and it shows great interest in you."

  Blue eyes and red-gold hair.

  She shivered. "Er, well, thanks for that explicitly explained danger alert. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for the past. You don't happen to know the direction it's coming from?"

  In the twilight, his eyes were dark pools, but she spotted a momentary flash of anger. His turning Sean served to confirm what she already considered an unwelcome interest in her, obvious from the first occasion he saw her visiting a sick friend. It cheered her immensely
to realize she could needle him. She didn't see him move, but without warning, he was leaning in close, the scent of sandalwood in her nostrils. She stared up at him, frozen, hypnotized; the frightened mouse in that moment before the snake strikes.

  "Note anything unusual. Dismiss nothing."

  His attention on her was almost unbearable, transfixing her to the spot. He raised a hand and caressed her cheek sending ripples of pleasure across her skin. Only after he shifted his gaze was she able to jerk her head away from his touch.

  "Be careful!" He spoke each word with precise deliberation. Then he was gone, and she faced Sean.

  "Tatya?"

  Even Sean's voice had transformed. He'd sung tenor in a local band, harmonies his specialty; now he was a bass. If he could even sing anymore.

  "Sean, I can't. I can't." She clenched her fists, her fingernails digging in, and felt the power build.

  Sean held his hands out toward her, pleading.

  Tatya felt the rush of power, and clamped her teeth together so hard her jaw hurt as she ground out the words. "Go! Go before I do something I regret."

  Chapter Three: Crisis

  The clink of car keys as the mechanic placed them in her hand felt good.

  "Thanks, Mr. Warren."

  "Anytime, little lady, anytime."

  Tatya smiled. Mr. Warren's bald head gleamed in the morning sun. The mechanic didn’t reach Tatya's shoulder; she stood five feet and a bit over five inches in her bare feet, but he called every woman whose car he serviced, 'little lady', irrespective of age or height.

  Tatya picked up groceries, she was running short of coffee–never a good sign–and headed home. Next on the schedule of chores came cleaning. Then after lunch, she would set off for the hospital. With luck, neither Sean nor Vanse would show their faces after last night.

  The sun was shining, and the sky was clear blue as she headed out of town. Autumn's rust and gold colors transformed the upland plateau. The world had that cleansed, after-the-rain shiny look. Opening the car window, she breathed deep, savoring the crisp bite of the wind.