I couldn’t bring myself to go home after dropping off Fiona. Sitting in my Land Rover, I watched Douglas and Aaron leave the Sisters of Mercy parking lot. After sitting behind the wheel of the SUV for ten or fifteen minutes, I stepped out and ventured out into the open landscape beyond the hospital. I owned the land for several miles in all directions, keeping others from coming in and building up the nearby land.

With no one else around, I walked into the trees, my eyes quickly adjusting to the dark. I had the ability to see in nearly pitch-black conditions. Nocturnal creatures could be heard scuttling around in the darkness, not realizing the predator in their midst. I wasn’t going to hold out for big game. I wasn’t looking for a challenge. All I wanted was quick blood to get my craving down to a manageable level.

I snatched a nearby raccoon and drained him within a minute, then threw down the carcass for the rest of the scavengers to finish off. It wasn’t long before I found another animal lurking in the tree cover, quickly discovering it was a stray dog—some poor mutt. It tried to run, but I sprinted after it and tackled it within thirty yards. I clamped a hand over its muzzle and sunk my fangs into its neck to stop the whimpering as soon as possible.

Once I’d had my fill, I sat with my back against the closest tree, taking long, deep breaths. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, then licked off the errant blood. I felt my higher functions slowly returning, the craving returning to the dull ache that never really went away. The mental fog cleared so all my thoughts weren’t consumed by the hunger—at least for a little while.

Now, my thoughts and concerns returned to Fiona and what she’d soon be going through, knowing all too well what awaited the human patients in Sisters of Mercy.

I pushed up onto my feet and marched back to the parking lot and my SUV. Without even consciously thinking about it, I drove back to Fiona’s apartment and lurked in another lot. I’d been too preoccupied over the past few weeks to look further into her mother, but with Fiona temporarily out of my jurisdiction, I could return my focus to Susan.

After watching the lot for a few minutes, I got out and strolled down one of the sidewalk paths snaking between apartment structures, making my way to the rear of her building. I hopped over a brick wall into her back patio, then quietly forced the bathroom window open—the same way I had gotten in when I’d brought her home the first night. I’d left her unconscious body on the patio, climbed in through the window, then retrieved her by bringing her in through the glass sliding door. I crept into the main living area of the apartment, which was dark and quiet. The only lights came from digital clocks on the entertainment center and several items in the kitchen, like the displays of the microwave and coffee maker.

As I looked around, it quickly caught my attention that both bedroom doors were open. I would have thought Fiona would have closed her door when she left, and I knew Susan usually kept hers shut too. I didn’t hear the fan running in Susan’s room; she usually slept with it for the white noise, but now, the entire apartment was silent. The sound of a toilet flushing from the apartment overhead startled me while I stood stock still in the shadows.

I crept to the doorway to Susan’s room and peered inside; it was clean and organized, right down to her bed being fully made.

Hadn’t she been home when Fiona left, only a few hours ago?

I ventured farther in to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, then checked out her adjoining bathroom. She truly wasn’t here.

I was no longer worried about creeping around, though I didn’t bother turning on any lights. My next stop was Fiona’s room, also clean and uncluttered. She’d insisted on leaving a note for her mother to give some kind of assurance she hadn’t been murdered, but I didn’t see it. But with both bedroom doors open on my arrival, I assumed Susan had been in before leaving, and probably already found it. Maybe she was out looking for Fiona right now, hoping to catch her before she got too far. I could only guess what was going through her head.

“You’re the boy who brought Fiona home that one night,” a soft female voice said.

I spun around, expecting someone behind me, but found no one. “Who’s there?” I asked. “Show yourself.”

“If I could, I would,” the voice said. She sounded like a young girl, not much older than five or six. “Why have you come back? Didn’t Fee go with you?”

“She did, and I took her where she needed to go,” I said, glancing erratically around the room. “Who are you?”

“Becca,” she said.

“Fiona’s sister Becca?”

“Yup.”

“But… you’re dead.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I actively looked around for a speaker or recording device of some kind.

“I know,” she said nonchalantly. “Where did Fee go? She wouldn’t tell me.”

“What has she told you?”

“That she’s becoming part of some group that has our father,” Becca said.

“That’s true. So, she had to go away to do something for the group. We call it the Society.” I gave up searching her out and simply listened.

“When will she be coming home? I don’t like it when she’s gone.”

“Why is it you can’t go with her?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” She sounded upset by this admission. “I just have to stay here.”

“In this room?”

“In the house,” she said.

“You were killed when the two of you were six years old, right?”

“A dog attacked us,” she said, her voice seeming to travel around the room. “Fee was okay, but I wasn’t. I was gone for a while, then came back here. I don’t know why.”

“I’m sorry that happened,” I said. “I wish I’d been around to do something.”

“You would have been a kid like us.”

I laughed. “I guess you’re right. I probably wouldn’t have been able to do much, even if I was here. I’m still sorry though.”

“Fee said you were nice,” Becca said. “I think so too.”

“Thank you, Becca. I think you’re nice. And I’m glad you’re here to keep an eye on Fiona.”

“When will Fee be back?”

“I don’t know exactly,” I said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “But it shouldn’t be too long. And I promise she’ll be okay.” I noticed a flash of headlights illuminate the edges of Fiona’s curtains, so I sprang to my feet and peeked around the edge.

“Is Mom home?” Becca asked.

“No; it’s just some guy.” The guy had stepped out of his beat-up hatchback and was heading in the opposite direction from Fiona’s apartment. “Speaking of your mother, do you know where she went?”

“No; she didn’t tell me. But she came in here and found Fiona’s letter.”

“And did she ask you about it?”

“Yes.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That I didn’t know anything. I promised Fee I wouldn’t tell her anything.”

“Your family seems pretty good at keeping secrets,” I said, chuckling to myself.

Becca didn’t respond to that statement.

“Do you know what your mother does for work?” I asked as I headed for the door. I had a good feeling she wouldn’t know, which was quickly confirmed.

“She says she does lots of things,” Becca said.

“Do you think your sister would know some of the specifics?”

“I think so,” she answered, but I was confident Fiona wouldn’t know much more. Whatever Susan was doing, she was doing in secret and had stories to cover her tracks.

“Mind if I take a look around?” I asked.

“You’re not going to take anything of Fee’s or Mom’s, are you?”

“Of course not. Just look, that’s all. And I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t tell your mother I was here.”

“What about Fee?”

“You can tell your sister,” I said. I’d hoped she’d be less suspicious if I included her sister in our little secret, and it seemed to be working.

Becca continued talking to me as I examined the rest of the apartment. Susan had either taken her computer with her or hidden it well. Becca confirmed she had a laptop, but I couldn’t find it for the life of me. There was no paperwork, no notes to herself, either—nothing that gave any indication what she was up to. There wasn’t even an old grocery list; all her information had to be held on her laptop and smartphone.

Whatever Susan was up to and how she was involved with the vampire that had caused Fiona’s accident remained a mystery, and no clues were present to provide any insight. So, my next course of action needed to be to find out where she went on a daily basis—not to mention in the middle of the night.