“That’s the last of it!” Jack said as he placed his hammer down. The night’s work had been long and hard, but he and Garret had completed the order for the festival. They tidied up the shop, boxed the lantern parts up outside and locked everything up.

“I’m starting to feel my age,” Garret groaned as they walked across the square with the parts. They dropped the boxes off at the temple which signaled their job was done.

“You’re looking your age as well,” Jack quipped.

“Funny bastard,” Garret said without smiling. He nodded his head up at Jack. “What are you up to now?”

“Meeting Ellie at the Oak. Are you joining everyone for the festivities, or are you being a boring old recluse again?”

Garret snapped his fingers and smiled at Jack. “You know me too well lad. Have a good night. I’m heading back to mine for some much-needed sleep. Tell your girl I said hi.”

They parted ways, and Jack made his way across the bustling square, with his four guards following at a close pace. Walking among the villagers was different since the incident with the Order. The vampires in Skarvast looked at him with respect now. Men nodded. Women stared. The attention didn’t bother him, but he wasn’t crazy about it either. As he walked the distant voice of Wraith rang in his mind. The voice of his other had grown quiet lately, but it was still there.

They worship us, it said. Look at that respect. Feel that intimidation. They think us a God! They would follow us anywhere! We could be their king!

“You’re delusional and you need to get a grip,” Jack muttered to himself under his breath. He wasn’t sure if talking to himself was ever going to feel normal, but it didn’t seem like Wraith was going anywhere, so he might as well get used to it.

Hold up. Something’s wrong.

“Can I just have a few minute’s peace?” Jack said. Working in the blacksmiths with Garret had been something of a blessing. It was so loud in there he could barely hear his own thoughts, including that of Wraith’s.

I’m serious. Something isn’t right.

Jack pushed the voice down and chose to ignore it. As he approached the Oak at the edge of the square he felt a sense of foreboding however. He stopped and looked around at the passing faces of the happy vampires. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t say what.

Believe me now? Wraith said, cackling in the distance of his mind.

“Yeah, okay. Maybe I do. Let’s just find Ellie.”

He stepped inside the Royal Oak and spotted Rourke and Malachi almost immediately. As he approached them they turned and looked at him in surprise. Rourke put his drink down. “Blimey Jack, don’t tell me you’re done already? How did you beat us back here?”

Jack turned his head and looked across the group of men. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“From the woods,” Malachi said. “We just saw you back there with Ellie. You said you were going to give her a hand in checking her traps. Are you guys done already? Did you change your minds?”

A sense of dread pooled at the bottom of Jack’s stomach. His hairs stood on end. His brow knotted in confusion. “I’ve been in the shop with Garret all night. I haven’t stepped foot in the forest… just what the hell are you talking about? Where is Ellie?”

Rourke and Malachi looked at each other. “Is this a practical joke or something?” Rourke said to Malachi. The other vampire shrugged back in response. They looked back at Jack and saw the seriousness in his eyes. Their smiles began to fade.

“Just hang on a sec,” Malachi said. “If that wasn’t you in the forest with Ellie, then who was it?”

For a brief moment everyone stared at each other in silence. Adrenaline grabbed hold of Jack’s stomach and twisted it, making him feel nauseous. “Ellie! I need to find her!” He was the first to turn and bolt for the door. Malachi and Rourke shot a look at each other, jumped to their feet a moment later and followed him out.

Jack burst across the square at full pace, leapt up into the night and landed on the outer edge of the wall in the woods a few moments later. Malachi and Rourke hit the ground beside him a moment after. They all took off running at once, with Jack at the front of the pack. As they cut and zipped through the forest, he turned and addressed his companions.

“Where was she when you last saw her?!” He kicked off from the bark of a tree and launched forward.

“Just ahead!” Malachi shouted back as he swung himself off a tree. “There’s a clearing in a few—”

They all skidded into a long stop and froze at the sight of the dead guard hanging from the tree in front of them. Rourke stammered in surprise beside Jack. “That’s one of Ellie’s guards!”

“And I wouldn’t be surprised if the other three are around here somewhere,” Malachi said in horror.

This was bad. This was very bad. Jack let out a deep scream of fury that sounded more like a roar and sprinted forward until they hit the clearing. They got there just in time to see a figure carrying Ellie to the truck just ahead.

“Get your hands off her!” Jack roared, leaping forward with all of his speed. He hit the strange creature with the force of a speeding bullet, but he was knocked back instantly, smashing into a nearby tree, landing on the floor with no breath inside of him.

“You’d learn fast not to bother me,” the man said after shoving Ellie’s unconscious body into the truck. Jack stood up slowly and blinked hard. He was looking at himself, but it was obviously not himself. Just what the hell was this thing?

“Don’t you fucking dare touch her,” Jack roared, wiping away blood from his lips.

“Or what?” his clone walked forward, a dry smile twisting at his lips. “You’ll hurt me?” In that instant two flashes of black burst across the air. Jack’s clone twisted and dodged the attacks in an instant. The black shapes crashed into the ground as useless piles. It was Rourke and Malachi.

The clone stepped over the bodies and approached Jack, stopping a few paces in front of him. “There seems to be a little confusion. You seem to think my mate belongs to you. I’m afraid that’s just plain wrong.”

Jack looked past the clone and focused on Ellie’s unconscious body in the truck. Anger boiled his blood. Red consumed his every thought. He launched forward again to strike his imposter, but the vampire caught the blow with ease, turning and launching him back across the clearing to crash into another tree. As Jack stood up again he coughed blood. There was no way he could face this vampire on a physical level. He was way too strong for Jack.

“The next attack won’t be a counter. I’ll simply kill you. Consider this a warning.”

“Cute.” Jack laughed and spat blood into the dirt next to him. “Here’s yours. Touch her again and I’ll destroy you.”

His imposter stood a dozen paces away, arms hanging patiently at his sides. “I’d like to see you try.”

So, let’s. Came the voice of Wraith. Bring down the storm and kill this bastard. Let’s hold nothing back. Use everything we got.

Jack nodded to himself slowly as he began to channel the power of the demon inside of him. Static cracked in the air. Wind brushed through the trees overhead. Dark clouds filled the sky. The imposter looked up at the falling rain and glanced back to Jack with a curious smile on his face.

“Familiar magic. I’ve felt it before. Could it be… another vampire with the same ailment as I?”

The comment threw Jack, but he took little notice of it. He focused all his rage on channeling his power and summoning the storm. Within a few seconds he felt the darkness swirling inside of him. He was ready.

Kill him! Wraith screamed. Kill him!

Hate rained down from the sky as a brilliant torrent of violent lightning. The dark energy swelled inside Jack, filling every inch of his mind and body, lifting him from the ground and holding him there as the storm ravaged his target.

Keep going! Wraith’s voice screamed. Keep going until he’s dead!

He let the darkness take over him completely, surrendering his consciousness to the awesome force of the dark magic. The last time had been nothing compared to this. He wasn’t holding back now. He would use everything he could to kill the creature trying to harm his mate.

The last of his power vanished and Jack dropped to the ground on all fours, chest heaving, body smoking. He looked up at his target to confirm the kill and saw him standing there, completely unaffected.

“A neat trick,” the man said with a dark smile. “But as I said… I’m shadow cursed too. Your magic has little effect on me, vampire. I’d kill you if you didn’t look so pathetic… oh well.” With that the imposter turned from Jack and walked back to the truck on the other side of the clearing. Jack watched in desperation, his head lolling as he heard the truck’s engine fire up. He tried to crawl forward, but his attack had drained every ounce of his strength.

He reached his hand out in vain and collapsed into the mud. Rain came down as a cold and violent torrent. The last thing he remembered was the bright headlights of the truck before it swung around and disappeared in the trees beyond. Hand still held out, he groaned his mate’s name into the storm. “Ellie… Ellie…”

* * *

“They’re here!” a distant voice shouted. “Let’s get them before the sun turns them to ash!”

Hands slipped around Jack’s body and lifted him from the cold wet ground. He groaned in pain as they carried him somewhere. They lay him down on hard metal. A door slammed. Fingers forced his eyes open, shining torches into his empty black eyes. An old woman crouched over him. “He’s still alive, but barely. He must have used the full force of his power. Stupid idiot.”

“Rourke and Malachi are alive too,” the voice of a younger girl said somewhere behind him. “They’re weak though. Very weak.”

Wincing, Jack pushed himself up onto his elbows. His head felt as though it had been crushed in a vice. He looked around and saw he was in the back of some truck. “Where the fuck am I?”

“Scouting truck,” the old woman said. “We’re taking you back to Skarvast. You three were a few minutes away from waking up dead. What happened back there, Jack? Where is she? Who took her?”

Jack tried to shake the pain from his head, squinting heavily as he stared back at the old woman in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about lady?” He sat up straight and tried to ignore the pressing feeling to vomit. His head hurt like a mother fucker for sure. Had someone attacked him? Was he being abducted?

“Your woman, you damned invalid!” the old woman cried. “Someone took her! They left you three for dead. Who was it? The Order? The Circle?! Who took Ellie?!”

He stared into the old woman’s crazy red eyes and rolled his head on his tired neck, wishing he could be asleep again. “Ellie? …who the fuck is that?”