"You killed Rachel Sessler," I said. "And Russell Hudson."

  Vlaski laughed. "Is that what you think? You know nothing, you silly girl."

  "I know enough to know that you're the worst of your kind. That you are the one not to be trusted."

  Vlaski bared his teeth at me.

  "What do you want with Melbourne?" I demanded. "Why are you trying to kill him?"

  Vlaski laughed. "I'm not trying to kill anyone. Yet." His fangs elongated as he stood before me, gleaming bright white in the shadows. I'd seen this shadow before.

  "You've been following me," I gasped.

  "Wrong again," Vlaski said. "I have no need to follow you. You hold no personal interest for me other than your relationship to Colt Hudson and Melbourne Hammond."

  "What is it you want with Colt?"

  I'm looking for something. A book. The Last Vampire." I kept silent, afraid I'd say something wrong and reveal something I shouldn't. "Don't worry. I know Melbourne has it. Eventually I'll get it from him. But I believe Colt also has something I'm after."

  "What's that?"

  "If I told you, then your life would be in danger as well."

  Vlaski took a step closer. I freaked out. My nerves went into overdrive. I realized how stupid I'd been coming here without a weapon. Yes, I always had magic, but it didn't work the same on vampires. There was no telling what a locking charm might do. It could bind his wrists together or give him pig ears. I grabbed a rock from off the ground and squeezed it tightly in my hand. There was a sharp point that I'd missed in the darkness. It pricked my skin and a droplet of blood fell out.

  When I looked up, Vlaski's face had changed. Whatever makeup he'd been wearing to disguise himself with melted off, leaving streaks of light brown against his marshmallow skin. Every millimeter of his eye turned to black. There were no whites left. It was one big pupil.

  "Um... I think I'll be leaving now," I said and slowly began backing away. I searched the area around us for anyone who might have been passing through. An elderly couple out for an evening stroll. Some teenagers who were goofing off. Any living person. But the place was deserted.

  I'd never seen a vampire shift into full-on vamp mode before. Something that looked like steam flared out from Vlaski's nostrils like a dragon. His ears grew a point. He was breathing heavily enough that I could hear him from ten feet away. I kept backing up. I was under a streetlamp now but the yellow glow did nothing to ease my fear.

  Vlaski lunged at me.

  "Aaaahhh!" I screamed. I finally understood what Rachel Sessler must have experienced before she died. What she must have seen. And felt. "Heeelppp!" There was no one around to hear me.

  Vlaski hit me full force with his body. I fell to the ground, smacking the back of my head. It made a loud cracking noise, and I hoped that wasn't my skull breaking.

  "HEEEELLPPPPPPP!" I screamed again.

  Vlaski was on top of me. He teeth shined brightly in the streetlight, accentuating the two sharp points that were about to make me tonight's dinner.

  Suddenly, a new shadow emerged. It blocked out the streetlight, and I was once again immersed in darkness. The weight of Vlaski's body left me as someone pushed him off with a force greater than his own. I sat up, rubbing my head, wanting to run but too terrified to move. All I could do was watch the two shadows and thank the witches that Melbourne had shown up when he did.

  Vlaski leaped forward. I could tell it was him because he was taller than Melbourne. He forced Melbourne's head back, exposing his neck, and I screamed. I was still holding the rock I'd picked up. I threw it at him with all my strength and it bounced off Vlaski's head. It didn't leave a dent, but it did distract him long enough for Melbourne to regain the upper hand.

  Melbourne kicked Vlaski in the stomach, sending him flying through the air. He let out a loud roar that would have made a lion jealous. Vlaski struggled to stand. The kick Melbourne landed had knocked the air out of his lungs—Did vampires breathe air? Note to self: Internet search—and by the time Vlaski got to his feet, Melbourne was on him again. He picked Vlaski up over his head and spun him around like something in a movie, then literally tossed him aside like yesterday's trash. Vlaski landed with a heavy thump against the thick trunk of Wanda's Willow. When he managed to get up, instead of facing off with Melbourne again, he took off running like a coward.

  I breathed relief and walked toward Melbourne. "Oh, my roses!" I said. "Thank the witches you showed up when you did! Are you okay?" He was standing bent over, his hands on his knees. "Melbourne? You all right? Should I get Trixie?"

  "I'm fine," he said, slowly raising himself to his full height. His voice was low and sounded like he'd just come from a rock concert. Very un-Melbourne-like. When he turned to face me, I saw why. It wasn't Melbourne.

  I blinked, thinking I was dreaming.

  "R-Russell Hudson?" I had to force the name from my lips.

  Russell smiled. "At your service."

  * * *

  2 0

  * * *

  The first thing that happened was that my mind went blank. Literally blank. I wouldn't call it blacking out. It was more like my brain just stopped working.

  "Ava? Are you all right?" Russell asked.

  He was standing two feet away from me. He had the same features as Colt, except that his skin was ten shades paler. His eyes were darker, too, but they had those flecks of gray that I had come to associate with Colt's eyes. In Russell's eyes, they were so light they were almost silver.

  "Ava?" he asked again, sounding alarmed.

  "I'm fine." I sucked in a gulp of air like it was water. "How are you alive? How do you know my name?"

  Russell sighed. "I guess that's the obvious place to start."

  I nodded, agreeing with him. I was too shocked to do anything else. All I could think was that I must be dreaming.

  " I know who you are because I've been watching you."

  "You mean following me?"

  "If that's what you prefer to call it. Yes. How much do you know?"

  I laughed nervously. Irritably. "Not as much as I thought, obviously." Russell's eyes were warm and despite the white of his skin, he looked flushed. "Does Colt know you're—"

  "No. And I'd like to keep it that way. At least for the time being."

  "How am I supposed to keep this a secret?" I cried.

  "Just for now," he reiterated. "Believe me, I want to see Colt. I do. But," his voice cracked, "I don't want him to see me like this." He bared his teeth for me. Two long fangs jutted out. I jumped back, startled, and he retracted them.

  "You see what I mean," he said sadly. "I'm not the same father he grew up with. Not anymore. You're scared of me, and I just saved your life."

  I felt bad. "I'm not scared of you. I'm ungrateful is what I am. You did save my life. How can I ever thank you?"

  "By waiting until I'm ready."

  My mouth was dry as sand. I nodded because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the words out.

  Russell took a deep breath. "Thank you."

  We moved toward a bench and sat down. I tried not to get too close but I didn't want to offend him by refusing the seat.

  "I know who you are because I've been following you. Colt, too."

  "You're the shadow I've been seeing?" He nodded. I looked at him in the darkness. His pale skin. His wrinkle-free face. It was weird.

  "How did this happen?" I asked.

  "I was undercover. Deep cover, they call it. The only way to get in was to let Vlaski turn me."

  "You let him do this to you?" I couldn't believe it.

  "I had to. Do you know what the Cult of V wants to do? I had no choice. The only way to save my family was to save the world. I had one chance to come back. To reverse things."

  "What happened?"

  "Vlaski found out I was working for COMHA. He didn't even stop to ask questions. Just took me prisoner."

  "Why didn't he just kill you?"

  Russell's mouth formed a sorry smile. "Because Vlaski thinks that torture is more fun."

  My heart thudded in my chest. "Oh."

  "I escaped a few months later, but I had nowhere to go. I couldn't go back to my family. They wouldn't have been safe."

  "So, what did you do? Hide out?"

  "I learned Vlaski's movements. I studied him. Tracked him. Until I was certain I knew where he was going to be before he did."

  It felt like a marching band was stomping through my head.

  "Vlaski was asking about a book of Melbourne's."

  "The Last Vampire?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you have it?"

  "No. Why is it important to him? Melbourne said it has evidence against him and everyone in his group. Does he just want to destroy it?"

  "I'm not sure. I've never seen it. It was stolen from Vlaski before I met him."

  "Stolen? By who?"

  "Melbourne."

  "Oh, for some reason, I thought it had always belonged to Melbourne. He didn't mention that he'd stolen it."

  "There's probably a lot of things Melbourne hasn't mentioned."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Ava, I need you to listen to me. I heard what Vlaski told you about Melbourne before he attacked you."

  "You mean that stuff about not being able to trust him? Don't worry, I know that's not true."

  "That's the thing, Ava. It is true."

  I stared at him, not comprehending.

  "I don't think I understand. What are you saying?"

  "Don't trust him. Not one word. Everything out of his mouth is a lie."

  I laughed. " I've known Melbourne for a while now. He's practically dating my aunt. I don't think he's a liar. You must be mistaken."

  Russell reached into his pocket and pulled out a half-torn photograph.

  "What's that?" I asked. My throat felt like parchment paper. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.

  Russell handed the photograph to me. It showed something that I suspected was a rare occurrence. A smiling, happy Vlaski Ambrose. A man's arm was draped around Vlaski's shoulder while they posed for their photo. The man himself was missing. His head had been torn off. All the photograph showed was his arm.

  "I don't have the other half," Russell said, "but the man beside him is—"

  "Don't bother," I told him. "I already know."

  I dug into my purse and pulled out the photo I'd been carrying around with me since I'd gone searching Melbourne's house for The Last Vampire. It was the one that had been ripped in half. It showed a smiling, happy Melbourne posing with a friend. The friend's head had been torn off.

  I held my photograph next to the one Russell had just given me. The two pieces fit together like a puzzle. It was one complete photo now, instead of two halves. It showed Melbourne with his arm around Vlaski's shoulder. They were standing together and smiling. Friends.

  * * *

  2 1

  * * *

  "Are you sure this is safe?" Russell asked. "If your family sees me..."

  "They won't," I assured him. "Just stay here and don't go out front."

  "I don't see what this is going to accomplish."

  "We need to come up with a plan."

  Eleanor came strolling into the back, looking at something in her hand. I quickly shut the cabinet doors before she could see him. One of them slammed against Russell's nose. I heard a soft "yow!" from inside the cabinet.

  "Sorry," I whispered.

  Eleanor looked up in surprise.

  "Ava, you're already here. We thought you were still in bed."

  I smiled artificially at her. "Nope. I thought I'd take a page from Aunt Trixie's book and get here early this morning. I wanted to surprise you by cleaning the place up."

  Eleanor looked around, her expression confused. "You, er, cleaned?" she asked. The tables were loaded with dirty mixing bowls and baking pans. Flour was everywhere, sprinkled on the floors and tables like snow. A row of mood extracts littered every shelf along the wall in the back.

  "Well, I just got started," I told her. "Why don't you go back out front and leave it to me? I'll call you back when I'm ready for the unveil."

  "That's very sweet, Ava, but I have to bake 200 vanilla cheery cupcakes for the Witch's Auxiliary meeting tomorrow."

  "I'll make them."

  "You... will?"

  "Sure."

  She stared at me, not moving.

  "I mean, I know you're the cake expert, but I, um, was thinking I'd like to improve my skills in that area. This is the perfect opportunity."

  "Well... if you're sure." I could see she was far from sure but didn't want to hurt my feelings. It wasn't that I couldn't bake. It was just we each had our own thing we excelled at. Eleanor's was cake. Trixie's was frosting. Mine was mood extracts.

  There was a sneeze from inside the cabinet. "Aaah-choo!" I immediately shouted. I didn't even know vampires could sneeze. Eleanor looked at me strangely. I immediately launched into a round of fake sneezes all my own. "Aaahh-choo! Aaahh-choo! Aaahh-choo!"

  Her eyes lingered on the cabinet, moving slowly to me and back again. Trixie popped her head into the back just then. "Eleanor, Eli wants to know whether the orange scones get placed in the happiness display case or the sleep-through-the-night one. I couldn't remember."

  "Oh, for witch's sake," Eleanor said, turning and heading back out front. The bakery would be opening in one hour and there was always so much prep work. "Don't let him put them in the sleep trays, that'll just contaminate everything. Some poor tourist will fall asleep while he's driving his car and crash into a hydrant."

  I was grateful when Eleanor was gone. I opened the cabinet doors again and saw Russell's eyes running like faucets. "I think I'm allergic to the peanuts you're storing in here," he said, sneezing again.

  "Those aren't peanuts," I told him, "they're wigworm shells."

  His nose started to run now and his eyes went red. He sneezed a third time. I had no idea that vampires could be allergic to anything. "I need to get out of here," he said, stepping out of the cabinet.

  "Okay, but if Eleanor comes back..." I looked around the back room and grabbed a checkered tablecloth. I laid it over the biggest table we had. The cloth fell to the floor and I shoved Russell underneath.

  "Is this really necessary?" he asked. "Why don't I just come back later? When you're through?"

  "Because we don't have time to waste. You want to help Colt, right?"

  He nodded.

  "Well, he's already been fired from COMHA and I think Dean Lampton has it in for him. We need to come up with a way to tell Colt you're still alive and—"

  The door to the back swung open again. I had just enough time to push Russell's head under the table. I smoothed out the tablecloth. Trixie stopped and stared at me.

  "Why is that tablecloth there?" she asked. "Isn't that for the town picnic?"

  "Is it?" I asked. "Oh, yeah, I just... I told Eleanor I'd clean and covering the dirt was the fastest way to get rid of it."

  Trixie looked at me for a second then smiled. "Why didn't I think of that? Great idea."

  "Thanks."

  She grabbed a cupcake display holder and went back out front.

  "That's your Aunt Trixie?" Russell asked when she was gone. He was looking up at me from under the table. The cloth draped around his head like a scarf on a cold winter day.

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "Melbourne's mentioned her."

  "He has? You mean Melbourne's spoken to you? Recently?"

  "More like threatened me recently."

  "Threatened?" I said, shocked. I was still having trouble believing that everything I thought I knew about Melbourne was a lie, but there was no way around it. That picture of him and Vlaski proved too much.

  Russell sat cross-legged on the floor. "I tried to tell you all this last night, but you were too upset."

  He was right about that. After discovering the picture of Melbourne and Vlaski together, I'd freaked out a little. Melbourne was someone I'd trusted. I'd hoped my aunt would make a life with him. I'd liked him. I'd even considered him a friend. Instead of listening to Russell's explanation of the photograph or anything else, I'd suddenly become overwhelmed with the need to check on my family. I knew Melbourne had an easy time getting in and out of our house. Now that Trixie knew he was alive, how much easier would it be for him?

  I'd dragged Russell along the road until we'd gotten back to my place. Everything was quiet. Everyone was safe. For now. I'd insisted that Russell hide in my room that night. He could sleep on the floor. I didn't want to let him out of my sight, scared that I might wake up and find out I'd dreamed him.

  In the morning, I'd pushed him out the door before anyone else was awake and dragged him down to Mystic Cupcake.

  "I'm sorry," I told him now. "Tell me again, what is it that Melbourne is after?"

  "He's been working with Vlaski for years. Decades, at least. He was working with Vlaski when I first met him."

  I gulped, trying to let this information settle in my mind and on my body. My shoulders were tense. Colt still wasn't talking to me, yet here I was chatting it up with his father. Sharing secrets with a man he thought was dead. How would I explain this to him?

  "So Vlaski and Melbourne really are friends?"

  "More than that. Melbourne is Vlaski's right-hand man. He's helped him plan everything from the beginning. All that Cult of V stuff? Half of it was Melbourne's idea."

  "But I don't understand. If that's true, then why has Melbourne been living in Sweetland Cove? Why not just stay with Vlaski?"

  Russell shook his head. "It's part of their plan. Look, when I was turned, I learned almost everything there was to know about the Cult of V before my real identity was discovered. At the time, part of their plan was to place certain vampires strategically throughout the world. In places near oceans or major rivers, where venom could easily be introduced."

  "But it seems like you'd need a whole army of vampires to infect that much water."

  "Precisely. That's phase two."

  "Ph-phase two?" It was so hot in here, I could hardly breathe.

  "Once the trust of a community has been gained, the vampire in place—in this case, Melbourne—is supposed to begin turning people. Once they're one of us, it will be easy to convince them to help and there will be that much more venom available for infection."