Fal on nodded, though he couldn’t help wondering whether, if he had hurried in the first place, it would have been necessary. He couldn’t change that now, though, so instead he rushed through to George in the office, stopping only to get some donor blood from out of the freezer.

  George’s eyes fol owed it hungrily as Fal on threw it to him, and the new vampire drained it in seconds.

  “Where did you get that?” George

  demanded.

  “From your freezer,” Fal on said. “Hold on, are you tel ing me that no one told you there was a supply there?”

  George shook his head.

  “And you didn’t notice it?”

  Another head shake.

  “So this is why you’ve been on edge?”

  “Nobody told me,” George said. “I’ve been trying to hunt smal animals, but it’s not enough. And al this time, there’s just been frozen blood sitting around?”

  Fal on cursed himself. He should have been there to explain to George. To make things easier.

  “Having blood around is part of learning how to control ourselves as vampires. Not many of us try to control ourselves, especial y when we’re first turned. I had to figure out ways to survive without kil ing. This one works.”

  “Glad you’re here, then,” George said. With the blood, he was looking better. “Glad none of the Preservation Society folks, especial y Sophie, staked you before.”

  Fal on nodded. “That was mostly due to

  Briony. She trusted me. She’s helped me so much.

  Helped me keep some humanity. She showed me that we can learn to live with humans.”

  George nodded. “Having humans around

  helps. At least when I’m not starving. It reminds me to be… me.”

  Fal on certainly knew that feeling. Except that now, he had cost people their lives.

  “Briony,” George said. “Any luck in finding her and Sophie?”

  Fal on was glad for the sudden change of topic.

  “We’re getting close. At least that’s what I keep hoping. And when we find Briony, we’l find Aunt Sophie, too. George, we need to go now. You heard about the attack on the school? We need to help.”

  The diner owner nodded. “Let’s go deal with it, then. I don’t care if I am a vampire now. No bloodsucker is going to do that kind of thing in my town and get away with it.”

  Fal on walked out of the diner with George.

  Jil and the others were waiting for them, having brought trucks around. More members of the Preservation Society were there with them, and Fal on was glad to see Steve and Maisy among them.

  The drive to the school was a short one, and not a particularly fruitful one either. They got there, only to find rows of police cars already there, their lights flashing. Fal on saw the members of the Preservation Society hide their weapons quickly. As they drove closer, a wiry police officer with a serious expression held up a hand to stop them.

  “You’re going to have to turn around and head back into town, folks,” he said. “There’s nothing to see here.”

  A quick scan of the area suggested that might be true. Certainly, Fal on couldn’t see any signs of vampires left behind.

  “We heard there might be a problem,” Jil said.

  “No. No problem. Everything’s taken care of. You can al go home.”

  “What happened?” Maisy asked. “It must be something, if so many of you are here.”

  The police officer shook his head. “Strictly speaking, I can’t tel you that, Miss. But, in the interests of cutting off any rumors that might start otherwise, we think that a pack of animals from the woods got in here. Probably ran short of food. One of the dangers of living so close to the woods, I guess.”

  “Animals,” Fal on echoed.

  “That’s right, son. Now, are you al going to go home, or do I have to ask what you’ve got in those trucks?”

  “Alright, Officer,” Maisy said. “We’l go back.”

  They turned and drove a short way back

  along the road to the diner before stopping. They had to talk about this.

  “Looks like they’re trying to cover it up again,” Pete said.

  Jil shrugged. “Did you real y expect anything else? I thought there might be one or two vampires about though.”

  “There aren’t,” Fal on said. “I would have spotted them.” He looked at Maisy and Steve. “Is it true that you’ve found a way to find them?”

  Steve nodded. “We’re al set. Wel , nearly.”

  “Good,” Fal on said. “Because I can’t wait much longer.”

  Chapter 17

  “So, how does this device work again?” Kevin asked Steve, who passed him what looked like a perfectly ordinary touch screen phone. Kevin looked over at Fal on who was standing a little ways away with his arms crossed. Fal on had cal ed him immediately to get him into town, saying he had found a way to find the vampires coming into town. And best of al , a way to find locate gates to Palisor.

  “Wel , first, I thought it would just be a case of looking at the environment. You know, things that signal gates, things that vampires like around them, that kind of thing.”

  “But then,” Maisy said, looking at Steve with pride, “Steve realized that if we could tap into a live satel ite feed, we could put an infra-red filter over the images, letting us see people’s heat signatures. And obviously, vampires don’t give off as much heat as other people, so every time this spots something that looks human, but doesn’t give off heat, it highlights them.”

  Kevin nodded, and looked down at the screen. Sure enough, there was a large, purplish blob where Fal on stood. “So can we set it to find concentrations of vampires?”

  Steve nodded and adjusted a couple of

  things on screen. “There. Just fol ow the directions that come up.”

  Kevin thanked him, then he and Fal on set off together through the woods, keeping one eye on the screen while simultaneously looking out for vampires around them. It was slow going, checking and re-checking the screen as they made their way through the undergrowth, yet the device seemed to be clear that there was a large concentration of vampires ahead. When Kevin zoomed out on the map, he could even see it; a scatter of dark spots moving about like bees in a hive.

  Soon, and they found themselves getting close to an area that looked familiar to Kevin. There was an open pasture ahead with flowers and a brook that Kevin was sure was the one where the gate had opened before. Kevin and Fal on looked at each other.

  “Why would the device lead us here?” Fal on asked.

  “I guess Steve must have got his settings wrong,” Kevin guessed. “He said before that it could find places the gate might open. He must have accidental y set it to search for them.”

  Kevin started to check the device, even though he wasn’t entirely certain how it worked. Fal on nudged his arm and pointed.

  “Kevin, look.”

  Kevin fol owed the line of Fal on’s finger and saw it. A dragon, heading straight for the clearing in which they stood. It was huge, with blue and green patches.

  “Is that the one you saw before?” Kevin asked.

  Fal on nodded. “We need to get out of the clearing.”

  Agreeing, Kevin ran back with him into the trees, trying to stay hidden as the great beast landed in a flurry of wings. The last thing they wanted was to be spotted. With an inrush of air its form changed, the dragon shifted into a young man whose spiky blonde hair had blue streaks running through it for an effect that was striking, almost punk.

  Without pausing, the transformed dragon walked to a spot beside the brook. Mist rose from the ground, swirling up more than ten feet from the ground.

  It thickened, and Kevin started to see the outline of stone within it. The dragon was summoning a gate.

  Kevin could hardly believe their luck. They had gone looking for vampires, but they had stumbled upon something far better. Something that might let them get to Briony and bring her home.

  Kevin looked at Fal on, who nodded. They tensed themselves to run for the gate.

  Before they could actual y do it though, figures started to emerge from the gate. They were powerful y built, wearing furs and scraps of chainmail, carrying weapons that looked hundreds of years out of date.

  And they were vampires. Kevin was sure of it.

  One of them stepped forward to grab hold of the dragon’s arm roughly, wrenching it behind him.

  “Now, Dragon, since you have fulfil ed your promise to open the gate and al ow us through, I promise not to kil you for now. Never let it be said that I am not fair.

  Where are the others?”

  “They’re here,” the dragon said. It sounded like it was in pain. “In the trees.”

  Almost as the dragon said it, a shadow

  dropped lightly from the trees, landing on its feet in the clearing. It seemed that Steve’s device had been accurate after al , which raised the worrying possibility that there were far more vampires around. This one had dark midnight hair and appeared to be in his late twenties. He was dressed al in black, in a black sweater and dark jeans that only served to heighten the contrast with his pale skin.

  As he moved forward, more vampires fel

  down behind him, moving to form a half circle around the gate. Inevitably, they were al attractive young women and men, dressed with as little color as their leader.

  “We’ve been waiting for you,” the newcomer said.

  “I see that.” The vampire from the other side of the gate nodded. “Marcus wil be pleased that you are the first group to answer his cal . What do they cal you, and where have you come from?”

  The vampire al in black looked back at his group. “I’m Sloane,” he said, “and we’re al from the Western part of the U.S.”

  “And you know where we are from,

  Sloane?”

  Sloane nodded. “Palisor.”

  The vampire who had come through the

  gate nodded. “Exactly. You’re lucky. You and your group are about to have a free for al in a paradise for supernatural creatures. No more hiding behind human rules. No more being careful. You’l enjoy that, I think.”

  Sloane smiled. So did most of the vampires he had with him. “Yes, we wil . We’re hungry. A smal taste at a human school simply isn’t enough. We can’t wait to sink our teeth into some of the more delectable creatures we’ve heard about…mermaids, unicorns, hugtandalfs.”

  “And who can blame you?” This voice came from back in the trees, but Kevin recognized it even before Pietre stepped out into the clearing. The vampires already there turned towards him with suspicious looks that quickly became even more hostile when more vampires joined Wicked’s master.

  “Now, now,” Pietre said equably. “There’s no need to get upset. I’m not here to spoil your fun.

  After al , Palisor sounds like a feast far too good to miss.”

  “Who are you?” the leader of the Palisor vampires asked, drawing his sword with the hand he wasn’t using to control the dragon-shifter.

  Pietre didn’t seem to be bothered by that in the least. “I am Pietre, the master vampire here in Wicked. I was just fol owing this one,” he nodded at Slone, “to teach it some manners for hunting so openly in my territory, but it seems that he has done me a favor, leading me to you. You are welcome here, of course. Very welcome.”

  “Good,” the leader of the Palisor vampires said, not sheathing the sword. “I wouldn’t want to have to rip your head off for not being hospitable, would I?”

  “Oh, no,” Pietre said. “I’m sure none of us would want that. You are in a position to offer free access through the gate?”

  “Hey!” Sloane interrupted. “I was here first.”

  Pietre ignored him. “If you can get me through the gate, I’l al ow you free access to al of Wicked.”

  The leader of the Palisor vampires nodded.

  “Done. You’re the kind of vampire we are looking for.

  Both of you,” he added, cutting off Sloane’s protest.

  “Come, there is little time.”

  The vampire turned, preparing to head back through the gate. As it did so, however, the dragon shifter he held twisted in his grip, wrenching clear of it. It stepped back from the vampire, kicking out at another that tried to get close.

  “No,” it said, “I can’t do it. I won’t. I won’t let so many vile things into Palisor.”

  Vampires lunged for it, and the transformed dragon moved out of the way. Kevin turned to his brother. “That dragon’s our way in to help Briony. We have to help it.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Kevin charged forward, transforming into a wolf and attacking the nearest of the vampires. The move was enough to al ow the dragon-shifter to get close to one of Slone’s vampires, kil ing it with a move Kevin barely saw.

  “Don’t just stand there,” the Palisor vampire cal ed out to the others, “kil the dragon!”

  “You can’t kil me,” the dragon shot back.

  “You need me to get through the gate. Whereas I…”

  he ducked and snapped the neck of another vampire,

  “I can kil as many of you as I want.”

  The leader of the Palisor vampires aimed a sword blow at the dragon that it barely dodged. “We needed you. We needed someone to open the gate.

  Now that you’ve done that, we just need a shifter to go through with. The wolf wil do as wel as you.”

  The vampires surged forward, and Kevin

  cursed himself then, even as he snapped at another vampire, bringing it down to ground level so he could finish it off. If he hadn’t come out of hiding…

  But it was too late to think about that. Al he could do was keep fighting. Fal on was beside him, trying to help, while the dragon transformed in a blaze of green and blue, knocking vampires flying before turning its flames on them. A whole line of vampires next to Pietre ignited, screaming as they burst into flames.

  “Get him!” The Palisor Vampire charged forward as he said it. Other vampires rushed at the dragon too, but a quick lash of his tail sent them sprawling.

  Kevin knew it couldn’t last though. There were simply too many vampires. The dragon looked over at Kevin then, and somehow, Kevin knew what he had to do if he wanted to stop the vampires from using the gate as they wished. In a blur of movement, he transformed, knocked a vampire from its feet, and sprinted for the dragon.

  It blew forth another gout of flame as Kevin leapt onto its back, forcing the vampires away from it.

  Then, with a mighty burst of effort, it leapt for the gate, its wings spreading even as it ploughed through the mist at the gate’s heart. Kevin clung on as best he could while the dragon flew through, not wanting to find out what kind of damage fal ing off at this speed would do.

  The dragon whirled and Kevin looked down at the gate. Vampires were coming through, hurrying to fol ow in whatever wake he and the dragon had left.

  Some looked like Pietre’s vampires, while others looked like the ones from the West coast. More started to appear, but even as they did so, the gate faded and vanished, leaving those on this side stranded.

  Kevin wondered if that was the dragon’s doing.

  Certainly, it seemed too sudden to be down to anything else. Vampires mil ed about in the meadow on this side of the gate, looking lost and out of place.

  Right then, though, Kevin didn’t care. Accident or not, he was in whatever world Briony had gone to.

  He could final y find her.

  Chapter 18

  Kevin held onto the dragon for dear life as they flew, clouds passing by beneath them, and occasional y around them. As the dragon glided on, Kevin dared to look down, seeing acres of trees give way to val eys and high pools. He gasped aloud as he saw the mermaids in them, and spotted other, stranger creatures in open spaces between the trees.

  For someone who had spent so much time

  around nature, someone who had spent so much time learning about the creatures of his own world, this place was incredible. Would Briony have seen al this when she came through with Archer? Would she have seen the same dramatic mountains, lush emerald grass, and silvery trees?

  The beauty of the landscape didn’t last, though. Almost without Kevin noticing it, a subtle shift came over the landscape that they flew above.

  Jagged mountains and outcrops stood up from the surrounding fields in dark spurs, the trees grew more stunted and twisted, interspersed with rocks. Even the air seemed cold and damp, while the clouds around them grew dark with veins of lightning flashing through.

  Kevin hoped the dragon shifter wouldn’t fly through one of those.

  It didn’t, but it did head down into a secluded spot largely hidden from view by overhanging cliffs, landing with a jolt that nearly bounced Kevin off its back. Kevin slid down, glad to get his feet on solid ground again, and the dragon transformed back into the shape of the young man with the blue streaked hair. His clothes, Kevin noted, didn’t get as rumpled as Kevin’s did from the transformation.

  The dragon-shifter looked at him, turned around, and started to walk.

  “Hey!” Kevin cal ed after it. “You can’t just walk off. What’s going on? Where are we?”

  The dragon shifter looked round, seeming faintly annoyed. “Palisor. Now don’t talk.”

  “Why not?” Kevin asked, but the dragon shifter gestured to be quiet. Taking the hint, Kevin stopped.

  The dragon shifter pointed, and Kevin looked, just as a lightning flash lit the sky. It revealed a shape against the skyline that it took Kevin a moment to process. A castle, looming dark and foreboding against the angry sky.

  “Don’t tel me, Dracula lives there.” Kevin made a joke of it, but again the dragon shifter silenced him with a look.

  “Are you determined to make as much noise as possible?” the shifter demanded. “Do you want them to find us here?”

  “Who’s them?” Kevin asked. He looked at the castle again. There real y was only one type of supernatural creature that could live in a place like that. “Vampires?”

  The dragon nodded. “Yes. They are holding the Prince and princess inside, along with my brother Archer. I hope we are not too late, but we must try.”