“What are you going to do?” Margaret was sitting at the table with Sara the next morning, eating a bowl of cereal.

“I think that I should tell Caleb that you've agreed to kill him.”

“Will he help us?”

“Honestly, Margaret. He's conflicted. It's his brother. I suggested it, and he agreed. Then he got upset. If we kill Stuart, I'm afraid he's going to lose it. I don't know what to do, but he's useful. I think that given the right amount of motivation he might be able to make sure that we succeed.”

“Can he fight Stuart?”

Sara took a bite of her cereal. “The first time Stuart attacked me, I don't remember much except that he managed to throw Stuart off of me. Then he gave me a blood transfusion, and I think he gave me some of his blood because I had a gash on my neck where Stuart tore it open.”

“Oh my God.”

“They have these rough tongues like sandpaper.” Sara took a drink of coffee. “When it rubs up against your cut it takes little pieces of it.”

“They're known to cannibalize if you could call it that.” Margaret pushed her bowl away. “What does he say about Stuart?”

“Nothing. They're estranged. Stuart won't talk to him. Caleb has been trying to figure out why he's going around hunting people, but he hasn't gotten an answer until yesterday. He's killing every witch he can find because a witch killed his lover.” Sara laughed bitterly. “Caleb said that Stuart is a black and white thinker just like you. He's generalizing an entire species just like you did.”

“I don't trust them, and I never will, but if Caleb can help us, then I will allow it so long as you think it's safe.”

“I'm going to speak about it with him first. Will you do me a favor and let him into the barrier.”

“No. he can never enter. I don't care if you two are married. It's not happening.”

“You've got to get over this.” She sighed. “Is there a way to fly?”

“We can lift ourselves and move around, but it's too hard to control to be able to use it as a means of transportation. Even if it were I wouldn't suggest it. You're bound to have people seeing you do it.”

“You're right. What about secrecy?”

“Well,” Margaret cocked her head to the side. “That's a complicated matter. You see, we don't want to be exploited, so it's best not to just run out and tell the news. It's not safe. But individuals don't matter. I told my husband and some of his family before he died. We used magic openly in the home. But please don't go around flaunting it.”

“Makes sense.”

“In general, Sara, it's best to take a conservative approach to things. You've used magic most witches don't even come into contact with. You know how dangerous it can be.”

“You're right. But what about experimentation?”

“If you want to experiment with water or ice go right ahead. If you want to experiment with molten metal and lightning, you'd best just leave it alone.”

“It's that simple?”

“To a point. There's a lot of magic. You don't really know anything yet.” Margaret flew her bowl into the sink

“You're right.” Sara did the same. “Will you do me a favor?”

“What's that?”

“Will you walk me to the edge of the protection charm. I don't want to walk out of it only to find that Stuart is waiting for me.”

“Yes,” Margaret got up, “and I need to teach you how to use what we call the spiritual phone.”

“What's that? Instant communication? We've already got that?”

“It's effortless. It can send emotions, images, information about scenarios—anything you want and you will emit it when you are in trouble.”

“How do I do it?”

Margaret tried her best to help Sara understand the energy of communication. It was a difficult abstract concept, something that Sara didn't take to quickly, but like most of the spells she'd done, she could reproduce it easily once she understood it.

Before Sara left, she gave her grandmother a hug. “Thank you.”

“Just use it if you have any trouble and tell me where you are. I will come as fast as I can.”

“OK, Grandma.”

When Sara walked outside, the ocean breeze was shrieking through the hills. It was unsettling the way it roared the past, cutting into Sara's cheek. “Caleb?”

“I'm here.” He was sitting cross-legged outside the perimeter.

“What are you doing waiting so close?”

“I don't want you to leave without me knowing. You could get hurt, so I've been staying outside the house.”

“How long have you been doing that?”

“Since the first time you got attacked. Stuart's here too I'm sure. I've been trying to find him, but he won't let me.”

“Is there someplace safe we can talk?”

“Yeah.” Caleb ducked down and pecked her on the lips then took her to his house. He had a formal parlor with antique purple horsehair couches and a marble coffee table. He seemed to have maintained the room really well.

“Have you got any idea what you'd like to do to take care of him, Caleb?” Sara sat down on the couch, and he sat down next to her.

“I need to talk to him. I haven't seen him in almost a century. Even then it was just a whisper. He's going through some sort of mental turmoil. We vampires hold onto things longer.”

“You feel things more than witches do.”

“Yes. I think that he's been doing this a long time, but it wasn't until I came back here and saw you that I realized what was going on.”

“Do you have any idea why he followed me around the country. Am I special?”

“No. I think that he is going after you because you're a witch. He's angry at the entire species, not just you. If that were the case, he'd have killed you a long time ago before I met you.”

“Caleb,” Sara said, “I can't wait for you to try to hunt him down. It's not going to work. He'll just keep leaving. You're going to have to accept the fact that to ensure my safety I need to have him killed.”

“We need to think of every alternative first. I'm not going to let you do that until I know that there's no other choice.”

“What if I get killed in the meantime?”

He shook his head. Sara was infuriated by his stubbornness. “I will stay close me to make sure that you don't get hurt.”

“It's not enough, Caleb. My grandmother agrees. She's ready to kill him, and she's willing to allow you to help. We need you. I need you. You can't deny the truth. He's got to die.”

“He's my brother. Just give me some time first.” Caleb got up and pulled away.

“Think of how many people he's killed.”

“When a vampire dies, they don't get to live in the spiritual world. They just cease to exist. The death of a vampire is an atrocity. It's something that we try to avoid at all costs. I can't let you do it, Sara. I'll think of a way.”

“And if he gets too close, what do I do? Let him kill me?”

“You just can't allow yourself to get into that situation.”

“I can't live like this. I need my freedom.”

“And you'll have it?”

“That could take decades. You have seen him in more than a hundred years. Vampires don't see time the way humans do. To you, a year is like a day. To me, it's an eternity. I'd have to live this entire time stuck in that house unless I have an escort that may or may not be able to save my life.”

“I can't allow it!”

“My grandmother is going to do it with or without you. You have to find a solution soon because I can't stop her.”

“Let me take you home.” Caleb picked her up without responding to what she was saying. Then dropped her off at the barrier perimeter.

“Caleb.” Margaret strode out of the house with a straight-lipped look on her face.

“Margaret.” He nodded his head in respect and held out his hand for her to shake it.

She ignored the gesture stayed within the barrier's protection.

“You're wrong about what happened Margaret. I know that you blame me for Priscilla's death.”

She scoffed. “You assaulted her. You had no claim on her. Yet you did it anyway. I will not let you walk away without taking some of the blame.”

“I never tried to kill her. I wasn't stalking her decades waiting for my chance. How do you come up with this shit? You've known me for years.”

“That's what you did. Vampires can't be trusted. Killing is a part of your nature.”

“And what about yours?” His voice got louder. “Your sister tried to kill me. Now you're trying to kill my brother.”

Margaret's hair started blowing in a psychic wind and the clouds gathered above them. She was exploding with static energy that flew off her body. “The second one of you touches my own, I will cut you down, and you cannot say one word about it.” She turned to Sara. “Get inside.”

Sara tried kiss Caleb but when she turned around to face him he was gone.