Chapter Four: Aralyn

Oh, yeah, fake dating a vampire. Was she truly going to go along with that idea?

In the time she had hesitated, Stan had knocked on the front door, and the front door now stood open with a young boy and an older, teenage girl framed in the light spilling out.

"Children," Aralyn muttered.

Happy children.

Her heart lightened at the sound of their voices and the way they beckoned the Regulars into the house. Aralyn hurried forward to join them, not wanting to be left behind. Not wanting to be on the outside looking in.

She swallowed down the lump of emotion forming in her throat. Vampire hunting was in her blood. And she was good at it, really good at it. But recently, she'd begun to wonder about what else life might hold for her. What it would be like to have a family of her own, to nurture and protect children rather than always being on the hunt?

If she could pull this off. If she could get inside the Tolioni house and retrieve the Myasma Stone . Then perhaps she might be done with vampires for good.

But to pull this off, she needed help. Well, information. And Silas Langdon might be her only hope of getting the information she needed.

Yet a nagging voice in the back of her head told her that Silas was not the vampire she needed.

‘Vampire she needed.' Aralyn never thought she would use that word when talking about a vampire.

"Aralyn." Uncle Burt stood in the doorway, waiting for her.

"Coming." Aralyn shook herself from her reverie and hurried to join Uncle Burt. As she stepped over the threshold, she shuddered. Even the smell of freshly baked cakes, and they truly did smell delicious, could not mask the scent of vampire .

It lingered on the air, a faint stale tang that set her nerves on edge. Aralyn's hand instinctively twitched toward the stake hidden beneath her jacket, but she forced herself to relax. This was not the time for violence, even though she was going into the belly of the beast.

However, when she stepped inside the house it was hard to think of any beast living here.

The interior of the house was…surprising. Aralyn's eyes darted around, taking in every detail as she followed her uncle along a hallway, tempted deeper into the vampire's lair by the smell of homemade cake. Cozy furniture in the living room, family photos on the walls, and children's sneakers abandoned at the bottom of the stairs. It looked so...normal. Except for the high arched ceilings and vampiric designs adorning the woodwork.

But Aralyn knew better. Vampires were masters of deception. This cozy domestic scene could easily be an elaborate ruse.

As they entered the kitchen, Aralyn's gaze immediately locked onto the tall, dark-haired man standing by the counter. Silas Langdon himself.

Her vision zoned in on him, her heartbeat jumped up, and the desire to drive a stake through his heart took hold of her. But she rolled her shoulders and shook it off, even though the desire still lingered.

"This is my niece, Aralyn," Uncle Burt was announcing proudly.

"A vampire hunter," Silas drawled. "Welcome."

"Vampire hunter?" A pretty woman with silver strands in her auburn hair stiffened and moved to put herself between Silas and Aralyn.

Was that the secret to their true love? Silas had glamoured a powerful witch to act as his bodyguard. It was no secret that Colton, who had been Silas's constant companion and bodyguard for decades, had grown old and frail.

"Good to meet you." Silas placed a hand on the witch's shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "This is my wife, Merri."

"Merri." Aralyn nodded and the middle-aged woman forced a smile. "You have a beautiful home."

Isn't that what people usually said at times like these? Aralyn had been trained in hand-to-hand combat, honed her skills in tracking, and perfected her ability to sense vampires from a mile away. But small talk? That was a skill she had never quite mastered.

Merri's eyes softened slightly, though she remained wary. "Thank you. Would you like some cake?"

Cake. In the house of one of the most powerful vampires in town.

Was she living in an alternative reality? Was that it?

Perhaps she'd made a mistake, and a vampire had gotten the jump on her. She wasn't really in this kitchen. She was just imagining she was because a vampire was inside her head.

"Aralyn." Uncle Burt got out of his seat and touched her hands. "Come, sit, you look exhausted." The concern in his voice was real. His touch was real.

This was real. How fitting that Silas had managed to create the very thing Aralyn had been longing for—a family, a home, a sense of normalcy. The irony wasn't lost on her.

"Thank you," Aralyn said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "Cake would be lovely."

"I can recommend the coffee and walnut cake," Harry said as he forked up a large piece of cake and shoved it into his mouth. "It's absolutely divine."

"So is the Victorian Sponge." Stan sighed contentedly.

"You can try both," the teenage girl said. "I'm Brigette."

"Are you really a vampire hunter?" the boy asked.

"And this is Jared," Brigette nodded toward her brother.

"Yes, I am," Aralyn said. "And I'd love to try both."

"A good choice," Colton said, eying her with the practiced gaze of a man who had spent decades assessing threats. Aralyn met his gaze steadily, refusing to be intimidated.

As Merri busied herself cutting slices of cake, Aralyn's gaze darted between Silas and the children. The young boy was eyeing her curiously, while the teenage girl had a more skeptical look, as if trying to discern the truth behind Aralyn's calm exterior.

She had her mother's magic. Aralyn could sense it, see it almost like a shimmering halo…

"What brings you to Wishing Moon Bay?" Silas asked.

Aralyn paused, her fork halfway to her mouth. She could almost taste the sweet strawberry jam, and the golden sponge, perfectly cooked. Her eyes flickered to Colton briefly before they settled on Silas.

As she met his gaze, she was aware of each and every other person in the kitchen. She knew with pinpoint accuracy where they were in relation to her. She could sense their emotions, their heartbeats, the subtle shifts in their posture. It was a survival skill honed through countless dangerous encounters, but here in this warm kitchen, it felt almost intrusive.

"I came for information," Aralyn said carefully, "but it appears I am out of luck since the one I seek is no longer in town from what I've learned."

"And the name of this person you seek?" Silas's voice was smooth but carried an undercurrent of suspicion.

"Valaky," Aralyn answered, watching their reactions closely.

Silas's expression remained impassive, but Brigette's eyes widened slightly, betraying recognition.

"You know where he is?" Aralyn asked, keeping her attention fixed on Silas.

Silas glanced at the Regulars. "You didn't tell her?"

"Not exactly," Uncle Harry mumbled, avoiding Aralyn's gaze.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

Had another vampire hunter come to town and turned him to ash? Or… No, surely Uncle Burt hadn't finally fulfilled his destiny?

"Well…he went upstairs in The Lonely Tavern and has never been seen again," Silas said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Upstairs in The Lonely Tavern? You were being literal when you told me that?" Aralyn asked as she lowered her fork toward her plate. "I am assuming you all believe that the tavern did something to him."

Here we go again , she thought. The witch Morwenna probably drove a stake through Valaky's heart and then told a tall story about how he just disappeared. Perhaps he hadn't paid his bar tab.

"And you don't?" A smile curled at the corners of Silas's mouth and for the first time, she had the unnerving feeling that the tavern was, in fact, a sentient being.

A vampire as old as Silas would know. Unless he'd decided to play along with the stories for some nefarious reason because it suited him.

"I have seen much of this world," Aralyn began. "And in all that time, I have never come across a building that has a mind of its own."

"That's because The Lonely Tavern is unique," Stan said, finishing up his first slice of cake and eying another.

Aralyn raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. The warmth of the kitchen contrasted sharply with the chill that ran down her spine. "Unique how?" she questioned, her tone more demanding than curious.

"Aralyn." Uncle Burt's tone was gentle, reminding her of when she was a small child haunted by dreams of blood-sucking creatures of the night.

Yes, she'd been taught from a very young age where her path lay. What she was, who she was.

"Sorry," she replied. "It's been a long day." She paused. "But it's no excuse for being rude."

"What do you want with Valaky?" Colton asked, talking to her directly for the first time since she entered the kitchen.

She turned her attention to Colton, a man she respected even though he worked for Silas. Colton had a reputation for being the most knowledgeable person where vampire lore was concerned, and many a vampire hunter had tried to recruit him to no avail. But she'd never expected to get a chance to meet him, let alone question him about the Tolioni family.

But maybe…

"I need to talk to him," Aralyn said.

"Talk, or stake?" Silas asked dryly.

"Talk," Aralyn replied evenly as she finally ate a forkful of cake.

My goodness, it was divine! Buttery and rich, with just the right amount of sweetness. For a moment, she closed her eyes and let her guard down, lost in the simple pleasure of the dessert.

"Good, isn't it?" Uncle Burt asked as she opened her eyes.

"Tea?" Merri poured her a cup of fragrant tea. "Milk and sugar, if you want it."

"Thank you." Aralyn added a dash of milk and stirred the tea in a pretty floral cup and matching saucer.

"Tea and cake never fail to make humans more civilized," Silas said with some amusement.

"You are just jealous," Merri replied lightly.

"You might be right. I can still recall a summer evening so long ago when I ate cake so fresh from the oven, it nearly burned my mouth." Silas sighed, the look he gave Merri one of genuine love. Something Aralyn had never witnessed before. Perhaps because the vampires she usually encountered were not the kind to love anything other than their own pale skins.

"And what did you want to talk to Valaky about?" Colton asked.

"Aralyn needs information on the Tolioni family," Uncle Burt blurted out.

Aralyn shot him a look that would pierce the heart of most vampires. " Uncle ."

"What?" he answered defensively. "That is why we are here."

"I thought you came for the cake," Aralyn said sharply.

"I did, but you did not," Uncle Burt replied. "So, ask what you want to know."

Aralyn sighed and stuck her fork into her cake, twisting it around. "Okay. I need to get into the Tolioni mansion. And as a vampire hunter, I will not be welcome if I just stroll up to the front door."

"Really?" Silas asked. "It seemed to work for you here."

Harry coughed as he nearly choked on a morsel of cake. "We told Aralyn we were friends."

"Did you now?" Silas replied with an arched eyebrow.

"They are our friends," Jared replied as he grinned at Stan. "We go fishing. And they helped Brigette with her magic homework."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Hair sprouting out all over your body is not the most enjoyable experience."

Brigette smiled at Harry. "Sorry about that."

"It's no bother," Harry said. "For a moment, I thought I was going to need to get a job working in the tavern behind the bar with the yeti."

"Yeti?" Aralyn asked. "In The Lonely Tavern."

"Well, he's a big fella with a lot of hair. So I guess he's a yeti," Harry replied. "And we're not talking about Flint, heh!"

"And they meet here on a Thursday evening for their book club," Jared added.

"Book club?" Silas asked.

"It's more of a prophecy reading club," Stan said.

"And you didn't invite me to join?" Silas asked, resting a hand on Colton's shoulder.

"Since when have you believed in prophecies?" Merri snorted. "The last time Colton asked you to read one, you used it to light the fire in your study."

"Oh, that old thing!" Silas said.

"Ancient," Colton grumbled. "From before the protection spell."

"I have apologized for that countless times," Silas said.

"Doesn't bring it back though, does it?" Stan asked.

Aralyn smothered a smile. The Regulars spoke to Silas as if he were… Well, a regular guy.

"You want the Myasma Stone." Colton's words hit her smack in the face, and she leaned back in her chair as if he'd sent her reeling.

"Oh!" Silas's pale eyes lit up, and he pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning his elbows on the table as he leaned toward her. "Interesting."

"What's the Myasma Stone?" Brigette asked.

"It's a family heirloom," Uncle Burt said before she could stop him. "It holds all the curses made by the Myasma line of vampire hunters."

"It disappeared many years ago," Aralyn explained. "No one knows exactly what happened to it, but recently there's been some reliable information that it's in the possession of the Tolioni family."

"So you want to risk the ire of the Tolioni family, and not just that, but soiree with them, all to get back some sentimental item?" Silas arched an eyebrow at her.

Aralyn kept a straight face. "Something like that." It wasn't far from the truth.

"Well, that's certainly one of the stranger reasons for someone to put themselves in mortal danger, but it must be important to you if this is what you truly intend." Silas kept his stony gaze on her. "After all, you of all people would be acutely aware of the risks."

"Can you help me, then?" Aralyn asked.

"No," Silas said simply. "I'm not willing to risk myself and my family becoming enemies of that particular group of vampires. And I fear you will struggle to find someone to aid you. Not many of my kind would be willing to help one of your kind, even if it is for something as innocuous as retrieving a lost heirloom."

Aralyn pursed her lips. "I suppose there is a lot of bad blood between our kinds."

"Indeed." A ghost of a smile appeared on his pale lips. "Though I might know someone who could help. This vampire doesn't share the same feelings of animosity. In fact, he is unable to share any feelings."

Aralyn grimaced. "Don't tell me. It's Caldric, right? We've already spoken to him, and I know about his curse. He's already said no."

"He might change his mind when he finds out it was one of your ancestors that cursed him."

Aralyn's eyes widened. "What?"

"You're of Myasma bloodline, no?" Silas's smile widened just a little. "And considering what artifact it is that you intend to retrieve, you might just be able to cure his frozen heart in return for his help."