It had turned out that they had rushed the letter she had read in the kitchen at Weston Road, and in their haste to get the letter away, they forgot to mention there was one survivor. This survivor was Saren’s younger niece, who in fear fled the village not long after her mother was killed.

After being taken to the city, the girl was tended by none other than Henkot, and he worked all through the night and well into the morning to save her. To his dismay, he could not cure her of the disease. However, he had managed to stop it from spreading though her completely, and now she was half Wicca and half Valcota, which was never even thought possible before this tragedy. She was now only a shadow of what she was, for she was once a beautiful child with the softest skin, the brightest eyes, and beautiful red hair with rosy cheeks and a gorgeous smile. Now her skin was pale, cracked, crusty, and flaky. Her eyes were as black as coal, as was her hair.

A potion was made to quench her lust for blood and help her live her life as best she could. Saren and Henkot took guardianship of her, as they and Dorana were her only living relatives.

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A week after the attacks, life in Dorminya was trying to get back to ordinary, but the fear of further attacks had swelled out of control. Every village and outpost of Wizards and Witches were deserted, and the inhabitants were seeking sanctuary in the cities. For to the refugees, they were now the only safe places there were, mostly because of Jaucal and Oruealth, as they were the most powerful Wizard and Witch of their day. Although they weren’t Wizard-Elves, they were the next best thing.

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At Weston Road, most of the Stark and Henderson (which was the Normal surname that Saren and Henkot had chosen) families sat round the dinner table waiting for the dinner that Helen and Saren had discussed. Both ladies were still in the kitchen getting the last of the food ready. The others had offered to help, but Helen and Saren wanted to use this time to gossip and told the men to get lost.

“You know, you didn’t have to come for dinner. I know that you have more important things to be doing,” said Helen.

“You’re right, there are other things. But I need to get away from it all, as does Henkot. He’s been working nonstop trying to find out how each victim died. The Council wants to know if the Dark Wizards are using any new spells and curses so we might have an idea of what we’ll be up against if we have to face any more of them,” said Saren. “And then there’s Keruen, my niece. You know the one who survived the attack on Kuople.”

“Can she eat food? I mean, isn’t she a vampire?”

“She’s only half Valcota. She takes a tonic to feed that side of her, though she needs to eat food to feed the Witch side, as well. Don’t worry, Helen, she’s harmless. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“It’s okay, I trust you,” said Helen. “Oh, I almost forgot. What should I call Keruen while she’s here?”

“Her Normal name is Karen.”

“Just so I know what to call her around Peter. And you don’t mind that I invited Delsani and Berlanin?” Helen added.

“Okay, I know why Delsani’s here; he’s Peter’s Godfather, but Berlanin?”

“He’s John’s old friend, and I want him to get to know Peter.”

“Oh right,” laughed Saren.

“And what does that mean?”

“Nothing, it’s just that he is single and good looking.”

“The truth is I do like him, though I feel I’m betraying John’s memory,” said Helen.

“Rubbish, he would want you to be happy. And he would want Peter to have someone to look up to, or even for him to have a dad.”

“I know, but it just feels wrong. I think I should wait.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, then that’s what’s best for you. But just keep in mind, you’re not getting any younger, you know,” laughed Saren.

Helen chuckled lightly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And thanks for talking to me. I think that’s something else I needed,” Saren added.

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“No problem. You were there for me first, you know.” They smiled at the same time and lifted the full dishes in front of them then made for the kitchen door to lay the food out.

That night as they sat around the table, the three adults were talking about things that were happening in Dorminya. Helen wanted to know what else was going on, as she was heading back for the first time in six years.

They had to try and find the right way to put it, for Peter’s sake. But just then Peter reached up and tugged on his mother’s jumper.

“Finished,” he said.

Helen noticed he had hardly touched his dinner. But then, he rarely did. He would eat just enough to keep him going, and then would want to go and play with his toys.

“Go on then,” said Helen.

Dorana sat looking from Saren to Henkot.

“Go on,” said Henkot, “you can get something later if you want.”

“Would you like to play, too?” Helen asked Keruen. For the first time that night, Helen got a good long look at the girl. She was wondering whether they had used magic to change her appearance. For the girl looked nothing like Saren had described. She looked more like Saren had described before the attack.

There came no answer from the girl. She just stared at the middle of the table.

“Keruen wouldn’t you like to play with Dorana and Peter?” asked Saren gently.

“Ok,” said the girl shyly. She jumped down from her chair and ran after the other two.

Helen opened her mouth to ask the question she had been dying to ask all night.

“We didn’t use magic on her,” said Henkot, as though he had read her mind, “She did it herself. After we stopped her from fully turning into a Valcota, we soon saw that she had not only their look but their abilities as well. Her thirst for blood you know about; she also has their ability to create the illusion of beauty. We don’t know if there’s anything else she can do. In fact, we don’t know if Valcota’s can do anything else. We’ve never been so close to one, and anybody who has, well, they’re not able to tell because they themselves were either turned or they’re dead. Personally, I’d rather be dead.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t fancy it myself,” said Helen.

“How’s Peter now? Does he remember anything?” said Saren, trying change the subject.

“No, nothing,” said Helen. “You know, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something I can’t remember, too. It’s on the tip of my tongue.”

Saren nudged Henkot, who gave a sight chuckle and was fighting the urge to laugh out loud. Delsani told them that Helen had asked him to rid her of the memory of seeing her double. He had to, in case they would mention something about it.

“I’m sure it’ll come to you,” said Saren. “The trick is not to think about it. That’s what I do; it usually comes back within a day or so.”

Delsani was staring at them. Saren looked down at the table, and Henkot’s grin vanished.

Berlanin and Helen were eyeing each other from opposite ends of the table, and Berlanin opened his mouth to say something to her. Suddenly, a scream came from the playroom. The five of them jumped simultaneously. They were almost on the door when it exploded open as Keruen burst through it. She slid a little on the wooden floor and then came to a violent stop as she hit the wall opposite. Saren and Henkot ran to her, and Helen stood waiting for Peter to emerge. And he did, even more quickly than they could have thought. His blue Dragon eyes were blazing his fangs and claws were also showing.

Saren attached her Talisman to her right hand. She had no intention of hurting him, of course. Though before she could do anything Peter thrust out his right hand. A blue surge of light hit the Wicca in the chest she stumbled and fell, unable to move, for Peter had used the Cripplize spell.

Berlanin stepped toward the Draga-Wizard-Elf. “Peter,” he said calmly, even though he had no idea what he could do to stop the boy.

Peter whipped round to meet his gaze.

The Wizard suddenly had an idea. He calmly turned on the T.V. and DVD player, put one of Peter’s DVD’s in and pressed the play button. He sat down in front of the television and laughed at the antics of the cartoon characters.

“What’s wrong, Peter, don’t you want to watch cartoons with me today?”

Peter stared at him momentarily, then his eyes turned to normal and his fangs and claws retracted back into their hiding places again, as did the silver Dragon-scaled tail that had shown itself. The boy was as Normal as any other six year old. He ran over to the Wizard and plunked himself down beside him and, as usual, sat spellbound.

Delsani left, as he had to meet with the Grand Wizard. An hour or two of cartoons passed before Delsani turned up at the house again.

“What took you so long,” Helen asked frantically.

“I’m sorry, but sometimes it takes a little while to get a window from the C.O.W.S. They can be very touchy especially of you go to them to many times in a week.”

“Cows held you back?” said Helen. “I had no idea there were cows in your world,” she added with a smile.

“Consortium of Other Worldly Status, or C.O.W.S. for short,” said the Wizard.

“Oh right, that’s the special department that helps you with Phazing,” said Helen.

“Yes, that’s right. How is Saren?”

“She’s awake, and she can shake her head a little. I think she’s okay. You better have a look at her to be sure.”

“And Peter?”

“He’s still in the living room with Berlanin.”

“He’s always been good with children,” said the Wizard.

“What would cause him to attack that girl like that? Is there something wrong?”

“I don’t think it was Peter’s fault,” said Henkot. But it seems every time he loses his temper, his powers break free.”

“Helen, as I said before, the spells that hold Peter’s powers weaken when his life is in danger, and only when his life is in danger, to prevent him from being hurt. It’s just a precaution, really,” said Delsani.

Henkot looked at the Queen and said, “The truth is, we were enjoying ourselves so much that time flew, and we hadn’t realized that Keruen needed her blood substitute.”

“Oh,” said Helen not knowing what else to say.

“I think that her need for blood became so strong that she couldn’t suppress it, and her instincts took over, like what happened to Peter.”

Helen jumped when something touched her shoulder. “How’s Saren?” asked Berlanin.

“What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?” she said.

“We were just about to go and see to Saren,” said Delsani. “How is the girl?” he said to Henkot.

“She’ll be fine,” said Henkot. “She’s resting at the moment. I still can’t believe we forgot to give her her tonic.”