~ MARIE ~

Instead of attacking her, the woman straightened up and turned towards the man.

“You said there was someone nearby. I’m starting to get thirsty.” The woman placed her hand on the man’s arm and they walked out.

“Let’s see….” Marie closed her eyes and concentrated on her illusion even more. She didn’t open them again until she heard Adrian’s voice calling her name.

[Marie?] He was walking around the fountain, looking back and forth. She dropped the illusion as she struggled to get up. Her legs felt weak and her body was tired from all the shivering she had been doing. Adrian was surprised to see her in the fountain but didn’t say anything as he offered his hand to her and helped her get out. Once she was out, she used a quick spell to dry herself. She must have looked more tired than she thought because he picked her up and took her back. For once, she decided not to fight him about it but it didn’t stop her from grabbing his neck and tensing up.

Adrian took her back to the ballroom where he claimed their prize. The host was busy talking to another group so the man next to him chose their reward. A phone rang somewhere close by. Adrian put her down briefly so he could answer his phone. The man handed over a blue envelope but Adrian was so distracted that he grabbed it without looking at it. The man stuck around for a moment more and stared at her.

There was nothing distinct about him but the way he looked at her made her look him over more closely. The man had dark brown hair and eyes. His height was just a little taller than her but his clothes looked like everyone else’s. Marie frowned. She had never met this man before. That was one thing she was sure of. So why was he staring at her? Was he another person wanted by the Order like Grace?

[Jackson says that Amelia was injured. They’re heading to our room.] Adrian rushed them back to their room. Outside their door, Jackson and Amelia were already standing there. The vampire had a towel pressed against the back of her shoulder. Adrian quickly opened up the room and ushered them in.

Amelia sat on the edge of the sofa as Jackson continued to hold the towel against it.

“She hid in the garden shed during the game. She thinks one of the tools got her. I was worried she would end up with tetanus or I wouldn’t bother you.”

“It’s fine.” Adrian put her down next to Amelia. [Please heal her.]

[You don’t need to ask.] “Move the towel.” Jackson did and the blood he had been keeping at bay flowed down her back and stained the woman’s dress. She put her hand on Amelia’s back and went to work healing the wound. The cut was actually deeper than it had looked. The left part of the wound had gone in about half an inch before tapering off on the right side. “Something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?” There was a bit of magic hanging around the wound but it wasn’t doing anything. It didn’t interfere with her healing or keep the wound open. It didn’t seem to be doing anything at all. Marie prodded the spell with her magic. The woman moved away from her hands and Marie opened her eyes. Amelia had collapsed into Adrian’s arms. He placed her back on the sofa.

There was a thud to her right.

Jackson had collapsed and was now moaning on the ground. Adrian looked between her and his friends. “What’s going on?” Marie ignored his question as she put her hands on Amelia and tried to figure out what was going on.

Dammit!

The spell was coming from somewhere above them but she didn’t have time to follow the magic. Every second counted as she worked to unravel the spell. The fact that it was coming from a distance made it difficult for her to unravel quickly. Marie used more magic to dispel it. She sat back once she stopped the drain. Jackson groaned as he used the sofa to pull himself. He staggered his way over to Amelia and held her in his arms.

“What’s wrong with her?” Jackson looked between them as he went to Amelia’s side. Marie ignored him as she checked on the other woman’s condition. This wasn’t good. Amelia’s life was still in danger. Marie opened her eyes. “Amelia!”

“I need blood magic!” Adrian’s jaw clenched as he nodded.

“Do what you need to.” She nodded as she bit her finger.

“I’m going to heal her but I need the two of you to hold her down. If she moves and smears the spell, it won’t work.” The man looked up at her for a moment before he nodded. Both vampires moved to hold Amelia. Jackson at her head and Adrian at her feet. Marie went to work, drawing script over the woman’s arms and chest before she drew script over her own heart. This wasn’t how she planned to test the spell but she had no other choice.

Marie took a deep breath before she filled the spell with magic. Adrian turned his head away. There was a great deal of magic being used right now, among other things. Even though the spell wasn’t designed for this, it should still work. She forced more magic into the spell.

It would work.

The blood and magic faded away. Marie took her hands away as she exhaled softly. Amelia was fine now.

“You can let go.”

Jackson knelt by the woman’s side as he called her name.

“Amelia, answer me please!” Her head turned towards him before she opened her eyes and smiled. Jackson pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly against him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Amelia laughed as she weakly wrapped her arms around him.

“Jack, you’re going to suffocate me if you don’t let go.” Jackson laughed as he slowly pulled away. His expression turned fierce. “What happened?” His question was aimed at Marie.

“Whatever cut Amelia, had a spell on it that allowed them to attack her at a distance.”

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“Why was I affected?” She put her hand against her chin as she thought.

“I think it’s because of the bond between you.” The man didn’t ask anymore as he looked back at Amelia. The woman smiled back at him. A smile touched the man’s face for a moment before his expression turned serious. He picked Amelia up and turned to face the two of them.

“We’re leaving tonight. I’m not going to stay and end up losing her. I suggest you leave too. I don’t think Cecilia is worth this.” The last part was directed right at Adrian. Jackson turned towards her. “Thank you, Marie. I will never forget this.” Adrian let them out, closing the door gently behind them.

“Thank you for saving her.” He gave her a tired smile before he sighed. "What happened?" He frowned as he searched her face. Marie opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing but quickly shut it when he picked her up and placed her on the sofa. “You’ve used too much magic.” She leaned back as he walked towards the phone. He placed his hand on the phone as he glanced at her. “I’m going to order something light for you to eat. Or do you want to sleep?” Marie pressed her lips together. There were things she wanted to ask Adrian so she’d have to eat.

“I’ll eat.” An amused smile briefly touched his face before he turned and picked up the phone.

It didn’t take long for the food to arrive. He placed a small bowl of soup in front of her to eat. Adrian sat across from her with his arms crossed. He had been happy before so she didn’t understand why he was upset with her now. She put her spoon down.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He sighed before answering.

“I’ll explain”—he stared at her food pointedly— “but I want you to keep eating.” She frowned but picked up her spoon to continue. “It was part of the rules. Every time the ball has been held the rules for hide and seek change. But the one rule that doesn’t change is that the vampire isn’t allowed to tell new companions about what to expect. The organizer likes to give everyone an experience.” He looked at her hand. She had stopped in the middle of his explanation. Marie went back to eating. “I thought that even if I didn’t tell you anything, you’d be able to keep yourself safe.” He paused as he looked her over from head to toe. “I didn’t ask. Did you run into any problems?”

Marie shook her head. Being left alone wasn’t something she’d consider a problem.

“Your color is looking better.” Marie leaned back. She was full and starting to get sleepy. A knock at the door redirected Adrian’s attention. He got up and answered the door. Adrian came back with a brooding look on his face. “Here.” He handed her an envelope and the card that was inside. The paper for the card was thick with a lace pattern that she could actually feel. She read the paper quickly before handing the invitation back.

“Who is this?”

“Lisa Hayworth is a very old vampire who likes to take an interest in unusual people.” He frowned as he leaned against the arm of the sofa. “And when one of them interests her enough she makes them her companion.”

“You make it sound like she has more than one.”

“She does.”

“I thought a vampire can only have one companion.”

“Only a very select few have managed to keep more than one companion at a time. Lisa has four.” Marie tilted her head to the side as she thought. She felt like she had heard something recently about that but the thought was gone. “The problem is the rumors surrounding her.”

“What rumors?”

“That she doesn’t limit her search to those who are not in a bond.”

“Can she take someone else’s companion?”

“I don’t know if she has managed to take a companion but if she finds out you don’t have a bond, she might pursue you. That's the other rumor. That she's relentless in chasing those who catch her eye.” Marie frowned as she leaned back. She did not need a very old and powerful vampire chasing after her. Adrian sighed before he moved to the sofa and sat down.

“I would turn down the invitation if I could but she has connections to some of the people I’m trying to do business with.” Marie frowned. Why was this person interested in her? She hadn’t done anything that should catch anyone’s attention. Marie thought back to everyone she’d come across. Nothing she’d done should’ve stood out.

Wait. That woman at the fountain. Was it possible?

“It should be a quick meeting. I can at least cut it short.” He studied her for a moment. “We should stop the conversation here. You should get some rest.” She shook her head.

“I want to know why you’re investigating.” Adrian ran a hand through his hair. He nodded before he leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs.

“Ten years ago, I brought a woman named Cecilia to this party.” He frowned as he stared at the floor. “She left.” Left? Not disappeared. “I’ve been looking for her ever since but I haven’t been able to find her. I went back to researching the last place I had seen her and found out about the disappearances.”

“What happened?”

“Companions disappear and are never seen again. No trace is left behind. No bodies. Even the vampires bonded to them are unable to locate them.” What? Preventing the vampire from locating them? That sounded like— “It’s similar to what happened with Mark but some of the disappearances have gone on for years. The oldest disappearance happened fifteen years ago.” This was what Amelia had been talking about earlier. Marie put her hand to her chin as she searched her memory for any spell that might do something like this. “I tried to research it myself but I couldn’t find anything that sounded similar to either situation.”

“They must have a specialized spell. All the ones I know of would take a considerable amount of magic. One person wouldn’t be able to keep up that kind of spell for hours, let alone years.” He nodded.

“I thought the same thing might happen this year so to be prepared for that, I invited you. But it didn’t happen that way.” No, it didn’t. Now they had a killer who was draining their victims. Speaking of...

“I don’t think the companions were the true target of the drain.”

“What do you mean?” His eyes narrowed as she straightened up.

“You saw how Jackson was affected. I think he was the true target. Amelia was just collateral damage.”

“This spell was the same as the others then?”

“Yes. Same spell, same magic signature.” That’s why the spell felt so odd. “This person was using the bond to reach out to the vampire and drain them along with the companion. But since the companion was the actual target of the spell, when they died, the spell stopped.” Adrian looked away. There was silence for several moments before he spoke again, his voice soft.

“It sounds like they’re trying to become a master vampire.” He still wasn’t looking at her. “There are two ways to become a master vampire. One way is to naturally gain the power over time. Depending on the vampire, it can take decades or centuries for that to happen. The other way is to take it. You kill the master vampire that created you by draining him dry.”

“Instead of draining their master vampire, they’re draining several random vampires. But is it possible?” Could they become a master vampire that way?

“I don’t know but out of the vampires they've drained only two were master vampires.” Marie leaned back to think. Could draining several vampires really equal a master vampire? Based on how long the drain was going, it didn’t seem like they were getting enough energy from the vampires.

At this rate, they might have to drain ten or twenty vampires to reach their goal. Marie had the urge to yawn but she tried to ignore it. She didn’t want to be forced to go to bed when she finally got the information she’d be wanting to know. The urge got stronger and she couldn't stop herself from yawning. Adrian stood up.

“We should stop now. If you have anything more to say, you can say it tomorrow.” With those words, he picked her up and carried her into her room. He placed her on the bed before gently closing her door behind him.

Despite how tired she was, she felt good. Her spell worked and the case was going somewhere. They just needed to get through the meeting with Lisa tomorrow and then they could go back to catching the killer.