The train ride was fine until Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For the first seven hours or so we were able to rest. We ate the sandwiches Charon had made us, took naps and people-watched. There weren’t that many other passengers in our car. There was a family of four, who played card games and went over their plans in Cleveland. They were going to visit their grandparents.

A few rows behind me sat a young couple. I assumed they were in the early stages of their relationship because they would not stop touching and kissing each other. Everyone in the car felt awkward about it at first, but we learned to ignore it.

There was also an old man with a dog. The man had a white beard that rivalled Santa’s, and he wore a sherpa denim jacket and a fisherman’s cap. The dog was a colourful mix of white, brown and black with mismatching eyes — one brown, and one light blue. I wasn’t good with dog breeds, but he must have had at least some Australian Shepard in him.

I entertained myself by walking the entire distance of the train. The other cars were much fuller than ours, so I considered myself lucky.

It was almost midnight when we arrived in Pittsburgh. I was the only one awake; Charon and Amelia, who sat across the plastic table opposite to me, were both sound asleep. I wished I had a camera; Charon’s head had fallen on Amelia’s. I’d never seen them look so peaceful in a shared space.

The family and the couple were sleeping as well. I wasn’t sure about the old man; his arms were crossed and his cap was over his eyes, but his hand was repeatedly petting the dog almost like it was an instinct.

Two passengers boarded our car. A man and a woman, both tall and graceful like models. They must’ve been twins because they looked just like each other; sleek black hair, sharp features and sour frowns. They wore matching tight-fitting black pants, dark grey wool coats, sunglasses and shiny leather shoes. They took the seats on the opposite side of the aisle from me.

I couldn’t see their eyes, but I had a nasty feeling they were staring at me. Neither of them talked or moved; they just sat still like statues. The bearded man’s dog started growling quietly.

“What a scent.”

My hairs stood up. The whisper sounded like it was right in my ear, but there was no one that near. I hadn’t even seen anyone’s lips move — the new passengers were as still as ever, and no one else but the dog seemed to be awake.

“Tasty blood, but not for us, not for now.”

I kicked Charon’s leg under the table, but he didn’t wake up, just mumbled something about flutes and surf boards.

“He thinks he can run, the son of two bloods. What’s the use in running, when you can fight back?”

“He doesn’t know, he doesn’t care. Wasted potential.”

“Shall we show him what he can do?”

“What he can make?”

“What he should fear?”

I didn’t hear or see them move, but suddenly the man and the woman stood right next to me, towering over me. They had removed the sunglasses to reveal their eyes. They were a brutal shade of red, like freshly spilled blood.

“What are you?” I asked them. Not very polite of me, I realised; probably should’ve at least asked who they were, first.

“The same as you. Better than the rest,” the woman said in a fake-sweet voice.

“We can teach you, if you’d like,” the man said. His hand reached out to touch my jaw. His skin was freezing cold. His mouth opened, just enough that I could see a pair of razor sharp fangs.

“You’re not like me. You’re vampires,” I said.

“He thinks we’re vampires. That’s delightful,” the woman said. She smiled, but I didn’t think she looked delighted at all. “How about you come with us, and we’ll show you?”

“No, thanks. I’ve already got plans for tonight,” I said. I hoped I was loud enough that at least someone on the train heard. I didn’t really care who, at that point, I just didn’t want to disappear without a trace. I started reaching for the knife Elias had given me, just in case.

“Are you not curious? Do you not feel incapable, unhelpful? Don’t you just wish someone could tell you everything at once, no more lies and mystery?” the man said. I hesitated. It was a tempting offer.

“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked.

“You don’t. But are you really going to pass up the opportunity?” the woman asked slyly. She was getting uncomfortably close to me. “Are you really going to say no to your destiny?”

“You know something about the prophecy?” I said.

“Not just something. You can hear the whole thing, if you follow us,” the man said.

“That’s convenient,” I quipped.

Identical smirks formed on both of their faces. Their voices blended together in harmony as they recited: “A two-blooded son shall rise from his mother’s ashes. Three fates are to be on his shoulders.”

“Is… Is that it?” I said.

“It’s the first two sentences,” the woman said.

That’s when the dog barked loudly. The not-vampires were oddly startled by it, and retreated a few steps along the hallway. The bearded man was awake now, and visibly furious. He stood up

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he roared.

“Can’t we make conversation?” the woman asked politely.

“Get the hell out of here! I’ll call the police, I mean it,” the bearded man said.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The not-vampires looked at me one last time. “We’ll meet again,” the woman said. She dropped a napkin with something scribbled on it on the table. They then made their way out of the car and onto the next one.

“Thanks,” I said to the bearded man.

“It’s no problem,” the man grumbled. “Sons of bitches had it comin’… Goddamn pedophiles, the lot of them. Are you okay, son? What did they tell you?”

“Asked me to come with them,” I said. The man clearly didn’t understand the full situation, but he had the right spirit. I appreciated his effort.

“Wake me up if they show up again,” he grunted. He hesitated before he went back to his seat. He whistled a short note, and his dog jumped off his seat and trotted over. “Captain’ll sit with you the rest of the way,” the man said.

“Oh. Thanks,” I said. I patted the seat next to me experimentally, and Captain jumped on with ease. I smiled as I scratched him behind the ears and let him sniff me.

While I felt safer with Captain by my side, I was still shaken. Not because I had been scared, exactly, because they hadn’t had any intention of hurting me. I was unnerved because I had been that close to taking up their offer and following them.

In fact, I still wanted to run after them and demand to know everything. I wanted to know what they meant by son of two bloods. Did they know what my dad had been? Did they know what I was? Sibyl had told me to find the prophecy, so what if this was my chance?

Captain’s head was on my lap, though, so I didn’t want to move, and my friends were finally stirring. Talk about bad timing.

“Do you not smell anything weird?” I asked when Charon was properly awake.

“Like what, the dog? He just smells like a dog,” Charon said. Captain licked my hand, and I continued petting him.

“You’d know,” Amelia mumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Charon asked.

“You’re basically like a dog, right? You’ve got that sniffer of yours and a hunting instinct,” Amelia said. “And you drool.”

“I don’t drool!” Charon said.

“Then what’s this on my jacket?”

I left them to bicker. With the free hand that wasn’t scratching Captain’s head, I unfolded the napkin that the not-vampires had dropped. There was an address on it, E 68th Street, 1530, Chicago, and under the address a message: Come alone. I wondered if I’d have time to visit. Logically, I knew it wasn’t a smart idea, but what if they did know something?

I tucked the napkin into my pocket, where it kept company to the business card Elias had given to me and the bone from Arizona.

—

I fell asleep stroking Captain’s fur, the dog’s weight on my lap a comfort I didn’t know I needed. I half-hoped I would dream about the crow, but nothing like that happened. I had a completely ordinary dream, one where someone dressed in a Dracula costume tried to sell me raw hot dogs.

I woke up at sunrise, a little over an hour before our stop, as the train zoomed through Indiana. Charon had gone to buy us breakfast from the restaurant car; coffee for himself and Amelia, tea for me, sandwiches and chocolate bars to share. He had also asked for a map of Chicago, not unlike the one we had for Washington.

“So, where are we going first?” I asked. I still hadn’t told them about the people I’d encountered at night.

“Do you remember what the buildings looked like at all in your dreams?” Charon asked as he studied the map.

“The one Ewart was in was a skyscraper. Not one of those modern ones with lots of glass, though. It was older,” I said.

“That’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Amelia sighed.

“Sorry, that’s all I got,” I said.

“We’ll figure it out,” Charon said. It was becoming like a catchphrase, at this point.

“I mean, technically it should be easy to find the Kane Coven, if that’s where you think Killian will be. That much magic is hard to miss,” Amelia said encouragingly.

“Dennis has been there, right? Has he not told you anything about it?” I asked.

“No, not really. All I know is the coven’s insignia,” Amelia said.

“Well, that’s a start,” Charon said. “We’re looking for a skyscraper that stinks of magic and probably has the insignia on it somewhere. It can’t be that hard.”

In the window, Lake Michigan came into view. It was just like in my dreams; dark and vast like an ocean.

“We’re almost there,” I said. I felt anxiety-butterflies form in my gut. This was it. Whatever doubts I’d had before were gone — Killian was definitely somewhere in the city.

A worryingly big part of me wanted to suggest finding the address the not-vampires had given me. It felt like a bigger clue than some insignia. I just didn’t know how to bring it up. Guess what? While you were sleeping some bloodthirsty creatures with red eyes told me to come to this address. You missed them because an old man yelled at them and called them pedos, though. Anyway, they asked me to come visit but I can’t bring you so toodles!

Yeah, it wasn’t going to happen. If I wanted answers from 68th Street, I couldn’t tell my friends about it.

The train slowed to a stop. I said goodbye to Captain, who finally hopped off and returned to his master. The bearded man nodded at me as he grabbed his bags and left.

“Okay, where to now?” Charon asked as we slung our backpacks on and exited the train. We followed the sea of people further into the station.

“What was that other building you saw at the fountain? You said there was another one after the skyscraper,” Amelia remembered.

“It was a brownstone, and there was a brass knocker on the door. I think it was a vulture head or something,” I said. “It wasn’t, like, as in the city as the skyscraper. It was way smaller.”

“Great, so they’re probably on the opposite sides of the city or something,” Amelia said.

“Yeah, and the new moon is tomorrow,” I said. An idea was starting to form in my head, and it was one of my dumbest ones. But if we were lucky, it could work. “We could split up.”

“No. That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Charon confirmed.

“Yeah, we should stick together,” Amelia said. We had reached the hall I had seen in the vision.

“I know Killian is gonna be in one of those places, but I don’t know which one. We’ll save so much time if one of us goes looking for the other building,” I insisted as we stopped to sit on a long wooden bench. Charon took out three granola bars and handed one to each of us.

“Okay, and how do you suggest we split up? There’s three of us, and I don’t think it’s a great idea for any of us to go alone,” he said.

“Well, you two would recognise the skyscraper the best, right? You know what signs to look for,” I said. I unwrapped the bar and took a bite. It was dry as hell. “And I know what the other house looks like.”

“Yeah, no. You’re the last one of us who should go alone,” Amelia said.

“It makes sense, though! Wouldn’t it be safer for me to be away from the big evil magical lair, if that’s what it is?” I pointed out.

“And how are you gonna find that one specific house in Chicago? This is one of the biggest cities in the entire country,” Amelia said.

“I’m good at navigating, alright? Just… just let me give it a try. We’ll meet back here in two hours and if I haven’t found it by then, we’ll just continue together. How does that sound?” I suggested.

Amelia and Charon looked at each other like they were having a silent debate. “I still don’t think it’s a good plan,” Charon said.

I took out the business card Elias had given me, and handed it to him. I said: “If I’m not here in two hours, you call that number. Trust me.”

Those must have been the magic words because eventually Charon sighed and said: “If you’re absolutely sure about it, then… Okay, fine.”

“Be careful,” Amelia said and squeezed my arm. “And don’t—“

I was already on my feet and heading to the main doors. I didn’t want them to change their minds before I was gone.

My first order of business was buying a proper map. I had a feeling tourist maps wouldn’t tell me where 68th Street was. It turned out, the address the not-vampires had given me was in southern Chicago, between Jackson Park and a big cemetery.

After asking around, I discovered that I’d have to take the ‘Red L’, whatever that meant, to 69th street and then a bus to 67th and Stony Island. When asked if the trip there and back could be made in less than two hours with some extra time in-between, the locals laughed in my face. Still, I was determined.

The nearest L station was only a short walk away, which I took as a good sign and got on the next train. I sat opposite a tired-looking woman who stank of old booze and cigarettes and slowly swayed back and forth.

I patted my thighs nervously. The knife and the bone were both still safely in my pockets. I wondered if I could defend myself if it came down to it. Surely, I’d be able to at least stall until help came.