But, one day, roughly a week or so ago, Roscoe found them. At that time, Agnes and Imogen had also been alive (or as alive as zombies can be) and Roscoe killed them. Then he harmed Betanya ‘dreadfully’ as described by Florence.

  With Betanya’s power weakened, the void was also weakened, and Roscoe managed to break through. As soon as he crossed over into the real world, Florence believed the first person he came into contact with was Mrs. Nicholson. And he murdered her.

  “That would explain the blood in the bedroom,” Wanda said as she then frowned. “But why did we find Mrs. Nicholson’s body inside the maze?”

  “Because Roscoe brought her back here,” Florence answered.

  “Why would he bring Mrs. Nicholson back if he’d already escaped?” I continued, shaking my head. “Especially when he killed Mrs. Nicholson in the upstairs bedroom… inside the house.”

  Florence nodded. “I believe he was confused.”

  “Confused?” I repeated.

  “Roscoe is not… rational,” Florence continued. “He lost any ability to reason long ago.”

  “Because of the blood bond,” Wanda supplied.

  Florence nodded. “I believe he didn’t understand what happened when he broke through the void,” Florence explained. “Regardless, once he got out and killed the housekeeper, he brought her back into the maze to feed on her and bolster his own strength. Then he escaped through the void again and we haven’t seen him since.”

  “Hold it,” I said as I held up my hands and faced Wanda, then Florence. “Would Roscoe happen to be a short, dumpy looking guy with hair combed over his bald head?”

  “Yes,” Florence replied. “That describes him.”

  “He’s the one who’s been peeping through everyone’s windows,” I said as I faced Wanda in disbelief.

  “And the red stains all over him—”

  “Were Mrs. Nicholson’s blood.”

  “Then he’s much more dangerous than we previously thought,” Wanda said as she then looked at Florence again.

  “Roscoe is even more dangerous than you know,” Florence said.

  “Why do you say that?” Wanda asked.

  Florence stopped walking and turned to face us. “Because he’s been inside this veil for so long.”

  “So… what?” Wanda asked.

  “This veil is powered by Betanya’s magic and anyone within it soaks in that magic.”

  “So… Roscoe has basically been absorbing Betanya’s magic all this time?” I asked as my mouth fell open.

  Florence nodded. “Hence why he is so much more powerful than an average vampire.”

  “But, why would Betanya allow that to happen?” Wanda insisted, shaking her head. “If she knew the veil would only empower Roscoe, why would she keep him trapped here?”

  “Betanya didn’t know Roscoe would absorb the magic of the veil,” Florence answered. “And once she learned such was the case, it was already too late for we all were locked in the veil together.”

  Florence then took another corner and led us into a larger hall. The hall widened into a rectangular room, with the same stark white walls, ceiling, and floor. In the center of the room was a woman sprawled on the floor

  “Betanya,” Wanda whispered, her voice revealing her shock and concern.

  Betanya’s dark red hair spilled across the floor in a carpet of scarlet. Her face was pale and I could make out the blue veins beneath her skin. She was mostly covered by a long velvet black cape. The three of us rushed to her, and Florence kneeled down to touch her arm, but Betanya didn’t respond.

  “She’s very weak,” Florence said, as she looked up at us. “Her life power is hanging on by a thread.”

  “We need to get her to a doctor,” I responded as I faced Wanda. “Clearly, she needs a blood transfusion.”

  Florence shook her head. “If she leaves the veil, she’ll die. Her power is enforced by the power within these walls.”

  “Can you do anything for her with your magic?” I asked Wanda.

  “The only power that will work here is Betanya’s,” Florence answered as she shook her head.

  “Then we’ll bring a doctor here,” I said.

  Wanda frowned at me. “Tell me one doctor you could convince to come through a magical veil into another dimension to resurrect a Blood Witch who’s been drained by a feral vampire.”

  I thought fast.

  Then it hit me. “I do know of one person who would do it.”

  Wanda frowned at me. “Who?”

  “Lorcan.”

  “Poppy, Lorcan’s a dentist.”

  “Dentist, doctor,” I started and waved away her concern. “The point is… Lorcan possesses incredibly strong and powerful blood… blood that would heal Betanya.”

  “Regardless, we have a bigger problem.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “How are you planning on getting out of here?” Wanda asked, frowning at me.

  I turned to face Florence. “Can you show me the way out?”

  Florence nodded. “I can show you the place where you entered the veil, but as far as summoning the rift—”

  “We have a potion for that,” I answered, turning to face Wanda as I held the bottle of Mystic Veil up to her eye line. “Well?”

  Wanda nodded. “I’m going to wait here and keep an eye on Betanya. Can you get Lorcan and bring him back?”

  “Are you sure you’ll be safe here?” I started as Wanda nodded.

  “As long as Roscoe remains on the outside,” she answered.

  “Okay, I’ll go find Lorcan and bring him to you,” I started. “But before I do that, I need to get Roy to look after Astrid and Finn. I don’t feel good leaving them with Libby and Darla, especially with a maniac vampire on the loose.”

  “Good thinking.” Then she motioned to the vial of Mystic Veil still clutched in my hand. I handed it to her and watched as she opened the bottle and dropped one droplet of the potion onto her palm. She reached for my hand and taking it, rotated it so my palm was facing her. After anointing my palm with a dropperful of the potion, she clasped our hands together so the two droplets touched.

  “With these drops shall we never part, but be joined in mind and in heart. As I will it, so mote it be.”

  A shiver traveled from my hand, up my arm, and vanished the moment Wanda dropped my hand. She looked up at me and explained.

  “Now we’re connected, so once you leave the veil and reenter, you’ll be able to find me.”

  I nodded and then turned to face Florence. “Can you lead me back to the breach, Florence?”

  Florence nodded and started walking away. I hesitated a moment and turned to face Wanda. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Chapter Nine

  I stepped into the laundry room and found myself alone.

  Marty and Henner were gone.

  That didn’t matter—at this point all that did matter was getting Roy over to Wanda’s to babysit Astrid and Finn and getting Lorcan to come back to the Tayir Mansion with me. And while I was at it, I thought it would be a good idea to get Olga Fischer, estranged witch who was now living in Haven Hollow, in on the plan, as well. The more magical fire-power we had, the better in my book.

  I raced through the kitchen and down the long hallway, through the living and dining rooms, and past a library until I reached the foyer. I found the front door open and darted through it, spotting the guys standing by Marty’s hearse, where they appeared to be talking in low tones and worried expressions graced their faces. They both spun around in surprise to see me.

  “Poppy!” Marty rushed me, his eyes wide. “Where in the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

  “We both were,” Henner corrected Marty, then gave him a look.

  “I’m all right,” I said as I tried to catch my breath. Before I could, Marty pulled me into a sudden hug. I wrapped my arms around him in return, but then pulled away because we didn’t have time for happy reunions.

  “Marty, we need to leave right now!” I nearly choked on the words. “We have to get Lorcan.”

  “Lorcan?” he started to question, but I shook my head.

  “I don’t have time to explain.”

  “Where’s Wanda?” Henner asked.

  “I don’t have time to explain that either right now, but when I get the chance, I’ll explain everything.”

  “Is she okay?” Marty asked.

  I nodded. “We need to leave right away to get Lorcan, and I need to get on the phone with Roy and then Olga Fischer.”

  I looked up at the sky and frowned. It was getting dark, which didn’t make any sense because prior to going into the veil, it had been late morning. I looked at Marty and asked, “What time is it? How long was I gone?”

  “It’s nearly six-thirty,” he answered as my mouth dropped open in shock.

  “Six-thirty?!”

  He nodded. “It’s been almost seven hours since the veil sucked you in.”

  “That’s impossible,” I answered, shaking my head.

  “Oh, it’s possible alright, because it’s true,” Henner said.

  “I thought I was in there for forty-five minutes tops!”

  Henner shook his head. “Other dimensions are notorious for creating time distortions. It could have been a lot worse. You could have been gone for a hundred years.”

  Thank the heavens I wasn’t gone for a hundred years. But, then I remembered how long I had been gone and that was enough for my stomach to drop down to my toes.

  “Finn is going to be so worried!”

  “Don’t worry about Finn,” Marty said, smiling. “I called him to let him know you’d be gone all day, even though I wasn’t sure when you’d be back. He’s happily playing video games with Astrid.”

  Satisfied with Marty’s response, I turned towards the hearse and all three of us piled in while Marty fired up the engine as I reached for the phone in my pocket and dialed Roy. He answered on the second ring and once I explained the situation, said he’d leave the Half-Moon immediately to go keep watch over Astrid and Finn, well, and Darla and Libby, too.

  After I hung up with Roy, I could breathe a sigh of relief. Well, momentary relief, anyway. Next, I dialed Olga, and she was more than willing to help us.

  “We need to swing by and pick up Olga after we pick up Lorcan,” I informed Marty.

  “Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?” Marty asked once we were on the highway, heading back towards Haven Hollow and Lorcan’s office. The sky was completely overcast and dark, so I was hopeful Lorcan would be in residence.

  “We’ve got a massive situation on our hands.”

  “What sort of massive situation?” Henner asked from the rear of the hearse.

  I took a deep breath as I thought about the best way to inform Henner that his grandmother was still alive—or still mostly alive. “Wanda and I… found Betanya Tayir,” I managed.

  Henner gaped at me, and Marty almost drove off the highway.

  “What?” they asked in unison.

  “How?” Henner asked, shaking his head as if to say he was in shock.

  So I explained everything I knew so far—from the moment Wanda and I entered the veil to the moment we’d met Florence and then, finally, when we’d come across Betanya. Even though I didn’t want to explain how badly off Betanya appeared, I also didn’t want to give Henner false hope, so I told him she was hurt.

  “How bad is it?” he asked in a weak voice.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “But, Roscoe got to her before he escaped the veil.”

  Henner nodded and grew silent. It was at least five seconds before he spoke again.

  “All this time, I’d silently hoped she was alive, but this is… it’s almost too much to believe!”

  “Well, it’s not all good news,” I continued. “Like I said, Roscoe escaped, and he’s wandering Haven Hollow. He’s the weird guy everyone’s been seeing around town.” I cleared my throat because I knew this next part would be tough for Henner to hear. “And… he murdered Mrs. Nicholson.”

  “I’m… I don’t even know what to say,” Henner answered, and seemed deeply saddened. “Mrs. Nicholson was like family to me… I’ve known her my whole life.”

  He didn’t say anything after that, but I could tell by the expression on his face that he was deeply upset by the news. And of course it made sense—her death had been an awful one. I kept that little tidbit to myself, but I was sure Henner was busily painting his own picture.

  “So how do we get Roscoe back into the maze?” Marty asked.

  “We don’t get Roscoe back into the maze. We need to destroy him.”

  “And how do we do that?” Marty asked.

  “According to Florence, Betanya’s zombie, Betanya’s the only person who can destroy him.”

  “So what was the reason Roscoe was looking into everyone’s windows?” Henner asked.

  “Well, I don’t know for sure, but when I asked Florence, she could only guess that Roscoe must have thought Betanya had fled the maze too, and that she was somewhere in Haven Hollow. He was searching for her.” I paused for a second or so. “Apparently, Roscoe is sort of… a raving lunatic at this point. Living so long with the blood bond unbroken has completely deprived him of any sort of rational logic. He’s basically a feral animal.”

  “Great,” Marty grumbled.

  He skidded to the curb in front of Lorcan’s office and didn’t slow quickly enough, so the hearse hopped the curb a bit before chunking into the parking spot. I wasted no time and sprang from the passenger door, running full bore for the double doors leading into Lorcan’s dental office. Throwing them open, I didn’t bother with Lorcan’s assistant at the front desk. Instead, I ran past her and yelled out Lorcan’s name. The man in question appeared momentarily, emerging from one of his offices.

  “Well, if it isn’t Potion Poppy!”

  “Lorcan!” I blurted, shaking my head to let him know this wasn’t the time for inconsequential pleasantries. “I need your help. Wanda needs your help.”

  His smile fell instantly. “Is she hurt?”

  “She’s okay,” I answered, and then started leading him back down the hallway. “But I need you to come with me right away.”

  Without another question, Lorcan followed me out of his office, down the pathway and climbed into the back of the hearse, but didn’t get into his empty coffin—even though I half-expected him to. Of course, with the dark sky, he didn’t need to take cover in the thing. He gave Henner and Marty each a brief nod and then faced me once I was seated and belted in.

  I explained everything, and to Lorcan’s credit, he responded with a few head nods and seemed to take everything in stride. Of course, that was Lorcan’s way. He was one of those people who didn’t appear to allow the little things to get under his skin—just the opposite of Wanda, which was yet another reason why they were so good together.

  We immediately headed for one of Lorcan’s rental properties, where Olga Fischer was currently residing, until Wanda figured out what to do with her. According to the Sanctum Spell rules, there could only be one witch living in Haven Hollow and that position was already filled by Wanda, herself. I had a feeling Wanda would solve the issue by forming her own coven, but that subject was still up in the air for now.

  Olga was waiting for us outside her house with Franz, her familiar, by her side. Spotting us, she hurried into the hearse and I explained the whole situation to both of them, though I doubted Franz understood one word because he only understood German.

  When we arrived in front of Betanya’s house, Henner led us through the massive mansion and back into the washroom, which was a good thing because I was fairly sure if it were left up to me, I would’ve gotten us all lost.

  “Have you traveled into a veil before?” I asked Olga.

  “Ya,” she answered with a succinct nod. That was enough for me.

  “Wait for us here,” I told Marty and Henner when we stood in front of the door behind the ironing table. “It might take us a while to return like last time.”

  “We’ll be here,” Henner said as Marty reached out and pulled me into his arms again, whispering into my ear, “Be careful, Pops.”

  I nodded and gave him a quick smile before I turned to face the doorway into the veil once more. Taking a deep breath, I anointed the doorway with the Mystic Veil one more time, just to be certain the potion was active enough to allow us through. Then I anointed Lorcan, Olga, and myself before corking the potion and plopping it back inside my pocket to ensure we’d be able to get back out again. After saying a silent prayer and hoping everything would go as planned, I took each of their hands.

  “Ready?”

  Lorcan and Olga nodded, so we stepped through the breach.

  The instant my foot touched down inside Betanya’s maze, my palm started towing me forward, as if an invisible string were tied around it and someone was pulling on the opposite end. It was the connection between Wanda and me, forged by the Mystic Veil and her blood magic.

  “This way,” I said as I started hurrying through the labyrinth, Lorcan and Olga right behind me.

  Lorcan reared back when we came upon Mrs. Nicholson’s body.

  “What the devil happened to this poor soul?” he asked as he slowed and I cursed myself for not having remembered to warn them about the body.

  “We can’t do anything for her now, Lorcan.”

  But he didn’t budge. “My God, her throat’s been torn out!”

  “Yes,” I agreed, but kept going.

  “Zee awful vampire did zis?” Olga asked me.

  I nodded and tugged them both forward. “Come on. We can’t help her, but we can help Betanya.”

  ***

  We burst into the chamber where Wanda and Florence waited for us. As soon as Wanda looked up to see us, she sprang to her feet and rushed Lorcan. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but her throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him wasn’t it.