"That's great! Don't worry about me. Have fun."

  "Are you sure? I could come home if you want me to."

  "Don't be ridiculous. Enjoy your night together. I'll just call Lucy." I caught something out of the corner of my eye just then. A shadow. It hovered in the darkness before disappearing to my left. I stopped walking and watched. "I'll see you in the morning," I told my dad and hung up. The shadow did not reappear.

  I took a step toward the building I'd seen it run behind. "Melbourne?" I asked. He'd said he was keeping tabs on me. So why didn't I think this was him? "Melbourne?" I asked again. Panic started to grip me. There was no discernible reason for it. I didn't see anything. Didn't hear anything. Yet there was something ominous lurking in the darkness. I could feel it.

  I held my breath as the glint of white teeth suddenly appeared out of the darkness. There was no face to go with them, just teeth. Fangs. They grew long as I stood watching. "Melbourne?" I squeaked. The shadow moved, and I took off running. I rounded the corner and ran smack into Colt. I bounced off him like a rubber band and landed on my butt.

  "Colt!" I screamed, jumping back up and throwing my arms around him.

  He wrapped his arms around me. "You're shaking. What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," I lied. "I just thought I saw..." But I wasn't really sure what I'd seen. I turned my head, and there was no one behind me. No fangs. Just shadows. But they weren't moving anymore.

  I suddenly realized that Colt was standing here, in front of me, like he hadn't just disappeared out of my life for days without a word. I smacked his chest.

  "Ouch!" he said.

  "Where have you been?" I demanded. "Have you been avoiding me?"

  "Avoiding you?"

  "That's right. I've called. I've texted. You haven't responded once. I thought you were mad at me."

  "I'm sorry. I had no idea you were thinking that."

  "Of course not, because you didn't call."

  I pinched his arm. Colt responded by pinching my cheek.

  "Ow!" I cried.

  "I was visiting my mother," he said. It felt good to have his arms around me again.

  "Your... mother?"

  "That's right. She showed up at my apartment the day after our date. I had no idea she was coming."

  I broke into a grin. "Your mom is in Sweetland? Do I get to meet her?"

  Colt hesitated. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. She can be a little..."

  "Kooky?" I offered.

  "Aggressive," he said.

  "Oh. How do you mean?"

  He waved it off. "Never mind. Maybe some other time. She's not gonna be the best of company right now anyway. The anniversary of my father's death is coming up, and she always gets a little weepy around this time."

  "Oh, I'm sorry."

  Colt's hands wrapped tighter around my waist, pulling me in toward him. He kissed me gently, warming my insides. Kissing Colt was like eating a batch of freshly baked cookies. Everything about it made me feel good inside.

  "Do you mind if I ask you something? We've known each other a while now, but I don't really know how your dad died."

  Colt's eyes glazed over for a second. "He was murdered."

  "Yeah, I know that part, but I mean... how? By who?"

  Colt sighed. "A vampire. We don't know who exactly. His body was found completely drained of blood."

  I gulped. "Completely?"

  "Dean Lampton came personally to our house to tell us. He said it looked as though whoever did it was sending some kind of message."

  "A message to who? For what?"

  "We never found out."

  I was about to question him more when Sheriff Knoxx came rolling up in his car.

  "Ava, Hudson, glad I found you." He jumped out of the car, his chest puffing out naturally with agitation.

  "What is it?" Colt asked.

  "It's Rachel Sessler," Sheriff Knoxx said.

  I rolled my eyes. "What now? Are her muffins too squishy? Does she want a refund?"

  "She's dead," Sheriff Knoxx said. "Murdered."

  I felt my face go beet red.

  "How?" Colt asked.

  "Two puncture wounds in her neck. Her body drained of blood. I'm waiting on Dr. Dunne since he's the expert, but my initial thoughts... a vampire."

  * * *

  0 6

  * * *

  The word was out. Rachel Sessler had been murdered. Her body drained of blood. It was eerily reminiscent to what Colt had just been telling me about his own father's death. I tried to tell myself it was just a coincidence, but my brain wouldn't quite believe it.

  I made an excuse to Trixie and Eleanor and snuck out of the bakery a little after the morning rush ended. My dad was there today, so he could help if they got slammed again.

  The sheriff's station was just across town, a brisk ten-minute walk. I had gotten used to driving around in Colt's car and was glad of the opportunity to remind myself that cars were simply not needed in Sweetland Cove. Unless, of course, you were a tourist. They drove their cars as often as they could, even if they were only going two blocks. I'd once heard a tourist say to another tourist, "I'm on vacation. That means I don't have to walk if I don't want to."

  I stepped inside the doors and was greeted to the smell of skunk. Sheriff Knoxx was yelling, and I thought I knew who was in trouble.

  Otis Winken stood with his familiar, a skunk named Tadpole, burrowing under his shirt. "Sheriff, sir, I'm sorry. Tadpole was just trying to help."

  "Help?" Sheriff Knoxx asked. "How was he helping, Otis?"

  Tadpole's brown eyes stared up at Otis from under the collar of his shirt. "He saw Elwin take your peanut butter dream bars and thought he was stealing them."

  Sheriff Knoxx scratched his head. "Elwin took my peanut butter dream bars?" Otis nodded. "Those are from Eleanor." He went to his desk and lifted the cover of a small pink box I recognized from Mystic. The box was empty. Sheriff Knoxx's face turned red.

  "Elwin!!!" he shouted.

  Elwin Muster, the sheriff's newest deputy, came running out.

  "Yes, Sheriff?" he looked scared.

  Sheriff Knoxx lifted the pink box off his desk and turned it upside down so that the crumbs fell out. "Notice anything missing?"

  Elwin's face turned as pink as the box. "I... uh..."

  "Did you take my peanut butter dream bars?" Sheriff Knoxx demanded. His voice oozed danger. No one came between the sheriff and his dream bars. Everybody knew that.

  "I thought they were for everyone," Elwin said, his voice sorrowful.

  "There were six of them in here. Where are the ones you didn't eat?"

  Elwin shrugged. Sheriff Knoxx's face stretched tight with tension.

  "You mean to tell me you ate all six of my dream bars?"

  "They were good," Elwin said apologetically. I stifled a laugh. The way Sheriff Knoxx looked, you'd have thought his best friend had just died.

  "Otis," Sheriff Knoxx said, "let me see Tadpole a minute. Let's see just how much that skunk can spray."

  I didn't think he was joking. "Sheriff, I'm sure Eleanor will be happy to make you more. I'll call her now if you want."

  Sheriff Knoxx turned to me, as if noting my presence for the first time. "Oh, Ava. Hello." He moved away from Elwin, who ran for cover.

  "Hi, sorry to disturb you."

  "It's fine." He was still grasping the empty pink box like it was a security blanket. Maybe it was. Everybody needed something to help them get through the day. For the sheriff, it was Eleanor's peanut butter dream bars.

  "I wanted to ask you about something. When Margaret Binford died, did you happen to pick up a book of hers? Forgotten Spells and Lineages?"

  Sheriff Knoxx looked at me with that half-goblin all-knowing look of his. Like he knew this was more than just a typical question. "Yes. Why?"

  "Well, I just, that is... I was hoping I could see it."

  Sheriff Knoxx shook his head. "Sorry, Ava. That book is evidence."

  "Yeah, but Margaret's already dead."

  "Yes, but Polly Peacock isn't. She was using that book, too. You know it's got some very dark spells in there. It shouldn't fall into the wrong hands. What do you want it for?"

  "I wanted to look at the lineages. Those aren't dark. Those are just facts."

  He nodded. "I know that Sara Sweetland's family tree is in there. I understand you might want to see that. Tell you what I'll do, I'll make a copy of that one part for you, if you'd like."

  "Thanks," I said. "Could you copy all of the lineages for me?"

  He cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

  "Because..." I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell him I wanted to look for Melbourne's family in there. He'd want to know why.

  "Ava, I'm swamped right now. Rachel Sessler's family and Mayor Thomas are both on me to get this case solved fast. They want me to round up every vampire in Heavenly Haven and throw them in jail."

  "Do you really think it was a vampire who killed her?" I asked.

  "She had two small puncture marks on her neck, so I'd say yes. I'm on my way to Sweetland Hospital to talk to Dr. Dunne. He should have more for me to go on."

  "Can I just take a quick peek at the book before you go?"

  "No," he said, gently but firmly, like a parent would. He ushered me out of the station along with him, then got into his car and headed for the hospital. The police were the only ones who used cars other than the tourists.

  I started walking away when I saw Tadpole run out. Otis was chasing after him. "Tadpole, you get back here now," he said. They ran the opposite direction I was going. I watched for a minute as they disappeared a block down the street, then I turned and ran back inside. Elwin was nowhere to be found.

  The station wasn't huge. I'd been here before, and I knew where the evidence room was. I made my way over to it. The door was locked but I remembered a spell that Colt had taught me a while back that was supposed to open anything. I muttered the words quietly so Elwin wouldn't hear and the door popped open.

  The room was the size of a small walk-in closet. I scanned the shelves that lined the walls until I found what I wanted.

  "Voila," I said and grabbed the book, flipping quickly to the back where the lineages were.

  I heard footsteps coming and flipped off the light. Elwin was heading this way. I stuffed the book into my bag and ran out of the room, turning left when I should have gone right and bumping right into Elwin.

  "Oh!" I gasped. "Sorry, Elwin."

  "That's okay. Anything I can do for you?"

  "Nope, I'm good. Thanks."

  "Okay, see you later then." He continued on his way. I watched him a minute, thinking it was the sheriff's bad luck that he didn't have more focused deputies, but my good fortune.

  * * *

  0 7

  * * *

  It wasn't hard to figure out which lineage Melbourne belonged to. I had never thought Melbourne's last name, Hammond, sounded particularly old or regal. Seeing it listed in the pages of this book, though, I realized that Hammond was his middle name. His last name was Winslet.

  "He must have dropped it when his family disowned him," I told Snowball, who opened one eye and yawned at me. Winslet was a name I'd heard before. I remembered William Carney mentioning the family once or twice to me. He'd said they were "deep with magic."

  I was a little nervous when I knocked on Esther Winslet 's door. It opened to a pretty woman with dark hair in her mid-thirties. She smiled politely at me, the face of a woman too well-bred to be rude but too disinterested in whatever you were selling to invite you inside.

  "Ms. Winslet?" I began.

  "Yes. How may I help you?"

  Her voice sounded wealthy, if such a thing was possible. She lived in a part of Sweetland I had driven past but never explored. For once, it wasn't quite within walking distance. It was out toward Whisper Crossing. The house was huge and expensive looking. I'd borrowed Eleanor's car to get here, bribing Rocky, Tootsie, and Snowball not to say anything. Rocky probably still would. He was Eleanor's familiar, after all, and couldn't be bought off easily, even with a dinosaur-sized dog bone.

  "Um, I'm Ava Fortune. I'm, er, I'm a friend of Melbourne's." She blinked expressionlessly at me, but I could see the corners of her mouth dip down just a bit. "Melbourne Hammond," I restated.

  "I'm sorry. I don't know anyone by that name. If you'll excuse me." She shut the door in my face without a goodbye.

  I stood staring at the door, surprised by her reaction even though I shouldn't have been. I guess I'd thought that a century might have cooled things off between him and his family. Clearly, I was wrong. I knocked on the door again. I had to do it three times before Esther returned. This time, she wasn't smiling politely.

  "What?" she demanded.

  "I had a few questions about Melbourne. I don't know if you heard, but he..." I was about to say he was killed, but I knew that wasn't true and couldn't quite bring myself to tell a lie that big. "His ashes were found, and I'm just sort of trying to piece things together."

  "Look, I already told you, I don't know any Melbourne Hammond."

  "Well, maybe you never met him in person but—"

  "I've never even heard of him."

  "Then why are you getting so upset?"

  She crossed her arms over her chest. "I've got nothing to say on the subject of Melbourne."

  I stood my ground, not flinching away from her steely-eyed gaze. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me. It won't take long."

  "Why should I?"

  It was a fair question and one I hadn't considered. "Because, if you don't, I'll... make copies of your family tree and distribute them to everyone on Heavenly Haven."

  Her face paled but she didn't uncross her arms. "You don't have our family tree."

  I unfolded a copy of the lineage I'd used to find her. I was grateful to whoever kept it updated in that book and was glad I'd been smart enough not to bring the actual book with me. Snowball was guarding it for me in my bedroom. I handed it to her and this time her face turned white.

  "Come in," she said through gritted teeth. The door closed behind me, and she rounded on me before I was even out of her entryway. "How much do you want?" She was seething.

  "I'm sorry?"

  "How much? Tell me."

  "I don't want anything except answers. I... you're Melbourne's niece, right? I tried to figure it out but lost count. Like, his great-great-great-great-great niece, or something like that?"

  She nodded. "Something like that."

  "I just..." And suddenly I thought I'd made a mistake. This woman didn't know Melbourne. She'd clearly worked hard to avoid having him be a part of her life. What was she going to tell me that could help?

  "I'm sorry," I said. "This was a mistake." I turned back toward the door.

  "Wait a second," she said, stopping me. "Are you here because of V?"

  "V?" I wondered if she meant Vlaski. "Yes," I said, playing along.

  She sighed. "How'd you find out?"

  I reached into my mind for an answer that would make sense. "I read about it in a book. The Last Vampire."

  "I told him to get rid of that thing."

  My eyes bulged. "You mean you knew Melbourne?"

  "I met him. Once. Right before he got staked. He came here asking me to hold onto something for him. That book. He said it was evidence."

  "Evidence for what?"

  She shrugged. "No idea. I didn't ask because I didn't want to know. I still don't. All I can tell you is that it's got something to do with the Cult of V. That is, if you believe in them."

  "I... uh... I'm not sure that I do. What are your thoughts on the Cult of V?"

  "How should I know? My family has passed the story on as if it were legend, but that doesn't mean it was. Vlaski Ambrose was certainly real enough. Is real enough, if you believe he's still alive."

  "You don't?"

  She shrugged again. "I don't want to get involved. Look, all I know is that Vlaski's little cult had a strong agenda that they never fulfilled. If Melbourne had anything to do with stopping them, then I'm glad of it, but I still don't feel like I need to make him a part of my family."

  "Can you remind me? What exactly was the Cult of V's agenda?"

  She looked at me like I'd just asked her to spell "I," then sighed.

  "To kill or enslave every man, woman, child, and witch. If they had their way, you'd be food right now."

  * * *

  0 8

  * * *

  Melbourne's home hadn't been entered since we'd found his ashes in it. The front door wouldn't budge, so I went around to the back. This time, it opened easily. I stepped into his house just as my phone rang, scaring me.

  "Hello?" I asked, my irritation coming through.

  "Ava? Are you okay? You sound funny."

  "Colt?" Oh, warthogs! I'd totally forgotten that I was supposed to be meeting him at Coffee Cove. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I'm, uh, running a little late. In fact, maybe we can take a raincheck on coffee?"

  "Okay." He stayed on the line, waiting for me to say something else, but I didn't know what. "What's going on?" he finally asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't know. You tell me. There's definitely something up with you lately."

  Dang it! He was too good at reading me. That's probably why he was such a good detective. I hoped Dean Lampton knew what a great officer he had.

  "I don't know what you mean," I tried one last time. Futilely.

  "Ava, tell me what it is or I'll find out on my own."

  I sighed. "Can you meet me at Melbourne's house?"

  "Melbourne?" I could hear the confusion in his voice. "Sure. What for?"

  "I'll tell you when you get here."

  "You're already there?"

  "Yeah. I'm inside."

  "Ava, breaking and entering is a criminal offense. I could lock you up for that, you know."

  I almost told him the truth right then, but I kept seeing Melbourne's face. It had been bloody last time I'd seen him. He said he'd been attacked. I pictured Colt's face with the same amount of blood on it. Only with Colt, it would be worse. Because Colt was a wizard, not a vampire, and wizards died when they lost blood.