[Please read the instructions before jumping in!]

“Thank you for the offer,” Tam told Rainier. “I really do need to get back tonight to get my plan underway, but I’m likely going to be back here as early as tomorrow. And if not, very soon! I owe you some blood and gaming time, okay?” He smiled, finding himself meaning it.

“Yep, I’ll be counting on it,” Rainier said. He yawned, showing teeth stained red with blood, then flopped back against the arm of the couch. “Show yourself out, okay? None of my guys’re gonna go after you, not now that I’ve picked you.”

Tam supposed that probably meant something to the vampires. “Thanks again,” he said. “Really nice meeting you.”

Rainier tilted his head back further so he could watch Tam from around the couch’s bulk. He had that quizzical look again. “Sure, it was great,” he agreed. “Good luck tomorrow!”

Waving, Tam headed out. The other vampires paid him no mind as he made his way through the maze of rooms out into the streets again.

When he was out, he pulled up the urban explorer’s guide and put a private pin on the map, choosing not to share it with the other ‘explorers’. If Rainier’s main base wasn’t marked, he wasn’t going to be the one to mark it—but it made it much easier for him to be able to figure out a route back here next time.

He sent Jared a quick text to reassure him he was fine, and another to the lawyer to ask about the ‘no protection’ loophole, and an email to Lithway to congratulate them on the opening night and say that he’d probably need them in the morning tomorrow to go rescue Ash.

And then, tired, Tam stumbled his way through the streets. This time, he was left relatively alone—he could only guess that it was another of those blood scents that Rainier had kept mentioning—though he tried to keep his attention focused on anyone who might be approaching regardless.

He stopped in on Beanheadings to grab himself an apple drink and a cookie as instructed. Matthias wasn’t working tonight, or at least, Tam didn’t see him; just as well, he decided, because he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to answer any questions.

It didn’t take too long after that for him to reach Sahil’s duplex. It felt particularly strange to be coming here alone, in the middle of the night, but that’s why Sahil had left him a key, after all.

He found the lock and got it open, stepping inside. “Uh… hi, Sahil! I’m here…”

There was a bark, and Sahil tumbled over to greet him, feet scrambling on the floors. Tam hoped Sahil would recognize him and acted accordingly, going down to one knee and holding a hand out to him. “Hi, sweetheart…”

Sahil licked all over his hand, barking frantically in between each swipe of his tongue. Abruptly remembering the neighbors, Tam hushed him gently. It was a strange moment, a feeling he didn’t like at all—he understood abruptly why Sahil had acted strange about the full moon specifically, and how he must have been making himself very vulnerable when he’d invited Tam here.

The dog he was petting was cute, but wasn’t Sahil. There was no hint of human intelligence in his gaze, unlike when he’d deliberately transformed before.

“You’re a good boy,” he told Sahil earnestly. “You’re a very very good boy. Now, let’s get settled down for bed, okay?”

He padded through the apartment with Sahil trotting along at his heels, well-behaved and friendly now that his initial excitement had subsided.

It didn’t take him long to find Sahil’s bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he saw that Rainier had left a bloody kiss mark on his neck. For a moment, he flustered, but then, practical, he just washed it off. After, he squeezed out a little toothpaste onto his finger and brushed his teeth that way, then headed to Sahil’s bedroom.

It was a small but cozy affair, with a full-size bed with a nice grey-and-black patterned duvet on top. A miniature set of stairs were placed at the base; as Tam watched, Sahil trotted up them onto the bed proper, turned around a few times, and curled up at the foot of the bed.

Tam reached out after a moment and patted him again, earning himself another few sleepy tail thumps. “Thanks for letting me stay,” he whispered, a little unsure. He pulled off his shirt and his pants, leaving his boxers on as he climbed in. He was going to need a change of clothes soon, but hopefully not until he could take Ash home with him.

He woke up the next morning to find a sleeping, naked Sahil curled up half on top of him, and he lay there a few tired moments trying to decide what to do about that. Finally, unsure of how Sahil would feel about the situation, Tam cleared his throat. “Sahil…?”

“Mm, Tam…?” Sahil stretched, leaning up against him and sniffing at him, sleepy and pleased sounding. He sniffed at Tam’s throat, squirming closer. “S’nice…”

“You’re still sleeping, I think.” Tam freed a hand and used it to ruffle Sahil’s hair. “Can you wake up a little?”

“Tam?” Sahil asked again, but this time he seemed more alert. He sat up abruptly, gathering the corner of the blankets up to cover himself, but seemed otherwise largely unconcerned with his own nudity as something occurred to him. “Tam, we found him!”

Tam’s heart skipped a beat. “You did? You found Istem’s hideout?”

Sahil nodded rapidly. “It’s a little place down right next to the Gate. I looked it up after I got back, and I guess it’s an Airbnb rental; she must have just grabbed it for a couple of days while picking up Ash. I think that can only be good news, right? Because she won’t have the place as deeply entrenched as one she already owns.”

“She was probably planning on being in and out as quickly as possible,” Tam agreed. “Shit, this is amazing! I could kiss you—”

He shut his mouth a little late around the words that had slipped out. Sahil blushed, then shoved at Tam’s shoulder. “Maybe if you still feel that way when you’ve got your brother back,” he said, his tone somewhat odd. “Go to the bathroom and get ready, okay? I can’t get up until you’re out.”

“Right,” Tam stammered, flustered and embarrassed. Easy enough to blame it on the strange few days he’d had, but he still very much felt the effects of nearly confessing his feelings to an old crush.

He grabbed his phone and scurried off to the bathroom.

All three of the people he’d messaged had responded: Jared with relief, the lawyer with an affirmative, and Lithway with a long email about how the performance had been met with marvelous applause and it seemed like a good omen for other successes; they would prepare to meet Tam the next day at a location of his choice.

Tam shivered, feeling the stress of the upcoming few hours starting to catch up with him, but headed back to the bedroom. Sahil had opened the door to indicate he was decent, although he was wearing just a bathrobe. He caught Tam’s strange look at once. “Since I’ll be playing scout for you as a dog, it doesn’t make sense for me to get dressed just to undress again right away,” he said dryly. “Come here, let’s get out a map and I’ll show you what I learned.”

Together, they sat and pored over the map to the apartment Sahil and the other dogs had found. Tam pinned it, and calculated several paths from Istem’s place to Rainier’s, based on what seemed like it would be quick, what might be unexpected, what would be likely to take them through crowds where they could lose her, and so on.

And then there was nothing they could do but act. Sahil transformed again, shaking the robe off and wagging his tail—looking up this time at Tam with intelligence in his eyes. “Right,” Tam said. “I’m just going to write Lithway to meet us, and we’ll head on down.”

Sahil barked acknowledgement.

Together, they headed down through the Uncanny Valley, watching as the more regular shops transformed into stranger and stranger places, both in terms of the buildings themselves getting more twisted and unnatural, and in terms of the sorts of signs in the windows. The strangest ones weren’t the ‘curiosity shops’ full of charms, nor the ‘taxidermy’ shops full of necromantic animals moving through tableaus, but the ones that clearly sold something, but had no signs at all.

Tam fought the urge to look them up on his map. They weren’t going to be relevant to his mission, and he needed to stay focused. That was hard enough to do this close to the Gate—he could feel a pressure in his head, a constant background hum that seemed to be echoing through his blood.

It felt like it was calling to him.

Sahil stopped abruptly, and Tam realized they were there—that the small triplex in front of them, two doors at the front and one at the side, matched the address.

No sooner had he realized this than Lithway flowed out of a nearby alley. They had pulled their smoke in close and were wearing regular clothes, a turtleneck and slacks, so that other than the uniform, smoke-like shades of their skin, eyes, and hair, they looked much more human. It would probably fool a casual, passing glance.

Tam swallowed. His heart was pounding; they were going to do this. “Sahil,” he said, “can you go around the house to watch Istem’s door? Lithway and I need to plan a little in private.”

Sahil raised a paw, and waited. At first, Tam didn’t realize why, but when Sahil didn’t move, he bent down and took it. Sahil’s mouth lolled open in a smile, and he shook a paw very seriously, then turned, trotting around the corner and out of sight.

As Tam rose, Lithway leaned in close, sliding an arm around Tam, as if aware of how tense he was. Tam drew a breath, and then sagged into the warm curve of Lithway’s arm, inhaling their lavender scent and trying to calm down.

“Well?” Lithway murmured. “What do you want? I brought some makeup with me to cover the freckles if you need me to look more like your brother than you, or… who else, what else, do you need me for? I’m yours to command.” They sketched a bow.

[Please suggest an action in the Comments.]

[Completed Parts: Instructions | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 | Day 22 | Day 23 | Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 | Day 29 | Day 30 | Epilogue | Author’s Notes]

[Please read the instructions before jumping in!]

As far as trades with a vampire went, ‘giving him your blood’ was not exactly unexpected. And Tam had Jared as a living example that someone could give Rainier their blood and be relatively all right the next day. Tired, maybe, but that was a fairly reasonable trade-off too.

Tam came around and slid onto the couch, giving Rainier a smile. It seemed to surprise him; for a moment, those cold blue eyes just went round—and then he was beaming back, wide, showing sharp teeth.

“I think it sounds entirely fair,” Tam said honestly. “I wouldn’t ask you to help me if I didn’t help you too.”

“See, that’s good,” Rainier said cheerily. “You understand, right? It’s a lot easier when we’re both on the same page with these things.” He’d put the controller down and scrambled closer, hands planted on the couch, gazing up into Tam’s face. “So? You want to negotiate, then?”

“Just a little,” Tam said. “I’m going to try to rescue my brother tomorrow, so however much I give tonight, can you try to stop at the point when it won’t leave me totally exhausted tomorrow? I don’t mind coming back an extra night in return.”

Rainier considered, then shrugged, shuffling his hands forward until they were on Tam’s thighs instead. “Sounds fair to me,” he said. He smelled nice somehow; his cologne was more reminiscent of apple pie than old spices. “So what do you need?”

Tam blushed a little, glancing aside to watch Link idle on screen. “You should go to menu,” he blurted out. “One of those midboss skeleton giants pops out around that area when it’s night.”

Surprised, Rainier leaned back on his heels. Then he grabbed the controller, hit the menu button, and slammed his hands back down on Tam’s thighs, apparently excited. “You play too! New price, when you visit to give me blood, help me find shrines!”

He didn’t mean to burst into laughter, but he couldn’t contain it either. “That’s not a price, that’s an incentive!”

That reaction seemed to confuse Rainier as well; he tilted his head left and right, more like a confused dog than Sahil had ever been. “Well, good. Convenient! Good. We’ll have fun, then, you and I.”

“I hope so,” Tam said. He didn’t even have to try to let warmth seep into his voice. There was something cute about this strange small vampire lord, and maybe it was just the charisma that Jared had warned him about, but it wasn’t exactly effort to drape his arms around Rainier’s hips as Rainier climbed into his lap.

Rainier smirked at him.

Tam brought things back to business. “So. I’m not going to need you guys to go against her directly—I’m almost certainly going to go after her during the day, ’cause I don’t really want to face a Malificar at night. You said one night of feeding for information, right? Or two, I guess, since you won’t take much tonight. What can you tell me about the witch Bella Istem?”

Rainier rolled his eyes. “Ugh, Bella,” he said. “We’ve met. I fought her once, it wasn’t fun and she got away, but I got my thrall back. She’d gone after him because he had witch blood, and I guess she made some bogus agreement, but I had a more solid legal hold on him since he was my thrall and she gave up contesting it when I went after her.”

“You fought for him back?”

“Witch blood is tastier,” Rainier said with a shrug. “Even just in potentia.”

That was somewhat interesting information; Tam filed it away. “Anything useful about how she fights?”

“Living is understandably important to her. Getting by without making too much trouble for herself,” Rainier said, tone thoughtful. “I mean, I get it, you get to a certain age and power and it’s like, you’ve got your passions and everything else is hard work. I’d like to see her run out of town for good, if that’s in your plans.”

Tam held his breath unintentionally, waiting to see if Rainier would ask him about those plans—if he’d bring that force of charisma to bear, and if the geas would hold.

But Rainier, it seemed, didn’t care. Maybe because he wasn’t being asked to risk any of his people, it didn’t even seem to occur to him to learn more.

“To that end,” Rainier added, “I guess the key thing to keep in mind is that she’s a sadist and she knows what she wants, but if you, in particular, are too much work, she’ll drop you and your brother. Cut her losses and just go after easier prey for a while.”

“I’d like her not to go after any prey at all.”

“Mmm, baby boy, that’s a cute idea, it’s sweet,” Rainier said, and put a palm on Tam’s cheek, patting. “But that’s not how things work down here. You know that, right? Or you wouldn’t be in my house at all, right?”

“Right.” He had to admit it, though it still didn’t feel great. Well, maybe he could find a way to get her blacklisted after. If nobody took her deals, she’d be out of luck anyway.

“What else?” Rainier pushed. “Just the info?”

“I don’t know,” Tam admitted. “Depending on if I steal my brother away and she wants to go after us, I might need to lie low somewhere safe, somewhere that civilians won’t get hurt. Your place sounds good to me, if you can promise us safe hiding here.”

Rainier considered, then shrugged. “It’s gonna be the same price whether or not you use it,” he said easily. “Either way I’ll be opening up my place to you. So like I said, twice a week for a few months—say, the number of months equal to the number of days or nights you decide to stay. Like, three months if you stay three days. Sound fair?”

“Sounds very fair,” Tam agreed. “Let’s plan on three days, and I might have to extend it if we actually make use of it. And… that’s it, but I need to give you a warning. She was supposed to have put protection on my family and I to avoid attack. I have some evidence that she removed it at some point, but I don’t know for sure. There’s the possibility that, when you bite me, it might bite back.”

“Oh, baby, no no no,” Rainier said, laughing lightly. “It’s definitely gone. You smell like you’ve just been peeled. Someone under protection has their own blood scent we can pick up. Someone who was never under it smells different from someone who previously was. You smell real fresh, like you’ve been sous-vide and the chef just popped you open to cook. It’s the good stuff.”

Tam blinked. “Are you sure?”

“Sure enough to bite you,” Rainier said cheerily. “Guess you’ll find out in a moment.”

“Guess I will.” Tam swallowed, his heart rate picking up a little as he thought about what he was about to do, but he tilted his head back and to the side regardless.

Rainier licked a warm swipe up Tam’s neck, making a little noise of pleasure at the taste of his skin. “You got witch blood too, huh?” he mused aloud, and then bit.

True to his word, it didn’t exactly hurt. There was a sting, a bit like the jab of a needle at the doctor’s, and then a rush of warmth and pleasure as Rainier began to suckle at his throat. It felt like getting a hickey, warm and wet and a little painful and actually pretty good, and there was another thrill underneath it—the thrill of feeling his life being drawn out, the sound of Rainier swallowing it down, the press of his body against Tam’s where he was sitting in his lap.

It wasn’t quite sexual—not yet, anyway, but it was definitely already feeling like foreplay. Tam could very much feel how it could quickly get there, the erotic pull of lips on his body and skin, the pressure and closeness…

He was just about to start squirming under Rainier’s thighs when Rainier lapped at the wound, pressed against it hard with his tongue, and then pulled back, smirking, his lips stained red.

“Oh, you liked that,” he said, smugly. “Good. It tastes so much better when someone does! Discomfort has its own flavor, you know?”

“Does it?” Tam asked breathlessly, a little dizzy.

“It does.” Rainier slid back, putting a little space between them. “As a man of my word, I stopped after a few gulps, so you’ll be fine tomorrow. Just have some juice and a cookie before you sleep tonight, all right?”

“I’ll, uh, keep that in mind,” Tam said.

Rainier grinned again. He seemed pleased as pie, the metaphorical cat with the canary. “Is tonight one of the nights you needed to add to the protection list? I’d let you, though with the cost as planned. We can play games, if you do!”

Tam let out a slow breath, forcing himself to focus more. As tempting as the offer might be under other situations—it wasn’t as though the cost itself was particularly bad—he wasn’t sure if it would be the best place for him to stay tonight.

But where was the best place? He could go back to Lithway again—they were sure to be full of energy after a show, and probably in the mood to celebrate. Sahil had given him a key and offered him the bed; plus, that would mean he could get all the weredog news first thing in the morning. Antoine had kept the offer to crash at his home open, and he could even go home and sleep in his own bed, if he felt ready to confront his parents.

Wherever he went, he’d need to be able to think about solidifying his final plans, though. As soon as he heard his brother’s location tomorrow, he’d need to start pulling pieces into place, because tomorrow was the final day before Istem could pull Ash through the gate. He’d text the lawyer tonight, he reminded himself, confirm that what he’d learned about the protection being withdrawn was a loophole, and then… just have to act as soon as he heard back.

But other than those last couple of confirmations, which were out of his hands anyway? It seemed as though he had all the information he was going to get.

[Please suggest an action in the Comments.]

[Completed Parts: Instructions | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 | Day 22 | Day 23 | Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 | Day 29 | Day 30 | Epilogue | Author’s Notes]

[Please read the instructions before jumping in!]

If Antoine said he could handle the spell’s backlash, all Tam could do was trust that he was right. “All right,” he said quietly. “I do have a few questions, then… let’s do it.”

Antoine spread his hands with a smile. “Fire away,” he said.

“Are there any other spells you suggest I get put on me?” Tam asked slowly. “Like… night-vision muffins?”

“Not that I can hook you up with before you head out tomorrow, and I’d suggest not asking other witches in case they owe her anything. I wish I could, but geases are… not easy,” Antoine said apologetically. “I’ve depleted a lot of my personal reservoir and I’m not the sort of person who keeps batteries tied up in my house.”

Tam felt a shiver of alarm. “Is that something I’m likely to come across in her house? Or… what else, actually? Does she have guardians or familiars, or other home defenses?”

“She’ll have guardians in her more permanent hideouts on the other side of the Gate, but probably not there,” Antoine said. “As for the others… I don’t know. She does have a turtle familiar she lives with, but she takes him with her, and didn’t have anything else when I was there. Didn’t need to; she stayed in, running all sorts of tests on me, and I wasn’t able to run.”

So it was still a possibility that she might leave something behind if he managed to lure her out. “Would she have put any spells on Ash? A geas?”

“Again, not likely, especially not if she’s saving up for the things she’s going to do to try to open his magical channels, not to mention trying to keep him ‘clean’ for that, but… not impossible either.”

Tam nodded. Antoine might know a lot about what happened with his own situation, but Istem stole plenty of people. It didn’t mean it’d be the same way every time. “Just… one more question. Will it hurt?”

“The geas?” Antoine smiled softly. “I tried to make sure it won’t, anyway. Have you ever had, you know. Executive dysfunction problems?”

He felt himself make a face. “…High school was rough.”

“I hear you,” Antoine said. “It’ll feel like that. You might have the full intention to say something but, bam, your voice isn’t going to obey. Like when you want to get up and do something but just keep refreshing Twitter instead.”

“At least it’s a familiar sensation,” Tam said dryly. “All right. I think I’m ready.”

Antoine lit the candle on the cake; doing so seemed to take something out of him, leaving him looking abruptly tired. Tam thought for a moment that he felt the spell, an expectation in the air, a tension wrapping around him. “I’m going into the back until you’re done,” Antoine said, perhaps to both keep the secret entirely secret and to hide the backlash.

Tam waited until he was gone, then leaned forward. “I will never talk about Lithway’s secrets with anybody but Lithway,” he murmured, and blew the candle out.

That sense of expectation grew tighter. He picked up the fork and began to eat.

It sank into him; he felt it spreading through him, a piece of pressure in the back of his mind. He imagined he would get used to it in time, but he did wonder how long it would take.

At least the cake was fucking delicious.

When he finished the piece, he cleared his throat and raised his voice. “Antoine? You okay?”

A heartbeat.

And then Antoine came out. He still looked tired, but he seemed otherwise just fine. “She’s gone and done it,” he said, tone amazed. “She must have withdrawn the protection on you to cut corners. I guess she thought you wouldn’t notice.”

Tam smiled tightly. “Good,” he said. “…Well, I’ve got a little time to kill before I have to run off and meet some vampires. I don’t suppose you can show me a little of how she casts spells so I know what to prepare for? I sure wouldn’t have guessed you cast with baked goods.”

“Sure.” Antoine still seemed flummoxed. “She mostly uses mineral items, so watch out for decorative stones she has lying around or for her to throw a handful of dust at you. I’ll show you some of her attack patterns—without any juice behind it, of course. C’mon to the back.”

“Thanks,” Tam said. More determined than ever, he followed Antoine.

The next few hours passed in a haze of stances, gestures, and methods of throwing that started to blur together very quickly, though they were repeated enough that he thought he’d more or less nailed down what was likely to be a defensive wall, what was fire, what was lightning, and what was going to be something Antoine described as ‘basically fucking neurotoxin’. By the time they were done, he actually had to hurry to get to the restaurant that he’d agreed to meet Jared at—an old English pub called The Boggart’s Bottom.

Despite being a little late, he arrived there before Jared did, and waited. He began to get nervous after another ten minutes, but it wasn’t long after that until he got a text: Held up. Eat on your own, I’ll grab something on the way.

It still wasn’t reassuring, but what could he do? He ordered himself a fish and chips, and was just finishing up when Jared entered, looking around a bit before spotting him and coming over.

Jared had changed more than Tam had in the last year. Gone was the artfully tousled bleach-blond hair; he’d gone back to his natural brunet, cut short and professional. Gone, too, were the band t-shirts that they’d both favored and Tam still did, in favor of a nice button-down over slacks.

Other than the style update, he wasn’t looking great—he was always pale, but he seemed paler now, with dark circles under his eyes. Tam thought he might be sick, but hesitated on asking. If he was, then he was pushing through it to help Tam now.

“Hey,” Tam said. “Long time no see. Everything okay?”

“It’s fine,” Jared said. He sat down across from Tam. “Really sorry about being late. I didn’t get any sleep last night and—look, I donated some blood in exchange for getting you in. I thought I was doing fine, but passed out for a nap and slept through my alarm.”

Tam flustered, finishing his coke. “Really sorry to ask you to do that—”

“Nah, man. Like I said, I have a sister. If anything happened to her I’d want everyone I knew to pull out the stops.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I grabbed McD’s on the way, so if you’re about done…? We can get going. He’s a capricious dude, and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Yeah,” Tam said. He rose, heading to the stand at the front to pay. “I, uh, I’d love to catch up with you, but…”

“But maybe after your brother’s back? Sure. Let’s do… something.” Jared waved a hand, a little uncomfortable. “Sorry about the radio silence. I know things got a bit weird there for us.”

Tam winced a bit, waiting for his card to be handed back. “A bit. Yeah. I mean I didn’t contact you either.”

“Well, we’re both avoidant as shit until pushed,” Jared said. He reached over, squeezed Tam’s arm briefly, then let go.

Tam put his wallet back, then shrugged again, helplessly. “So what can you tell me about Dupré?”

Jared headed out, walking briskly. “First of all, he’ll definitely look differently than you’re expecting. Second, his mood swings on a dime. He likes to be entertained and he likes to not work for it. If he gives you his word on something, he’ll keep it—he wouldn’t stay in power this long otherwise—but he’s dangerous. He’s also really…”

It seemed like Jared was having trouble finding a word to use. “Really?”

“Charis…matic? He’s… I don’t want to say a flirt, because that implies he’s nice about it. Don’t forget you’re literally food to him, I guess is what I want to say.”

“Sorry I don’t have your natural defenses against a guy’s charisma,” Tam said, and heard it come out more sharply than he intended. Maybe  he wasn’t as much over things as he’d thought he was, he realized, chagrined.

“Turns out I don’t have those after all,” Jared said. He rounded a corner. “Here, they’re meeting up with us—”

A man stepped out of an alley, and Tam realized, to his surprise, it was his would-be mugger.

They both stared at each other. Then the mugger vamp snorted, rolling his eyes. “Fucking figures,” he said. “Guess you’re reserved for the boss now.”

“You know each other, Jake?” Jared asked.

“He tried to attack me yesterday,” Tam said, still a bit stunned.

“It’s not personal, warmblood,” ‘Jake’ shot back. “You’re walking around smelling like someone’s peeled the outside off you, what do you expect to happen?”

“What does that mean?” Tam demanded.

Jake didn’t answer, trotting off down the alley. Jared took Tam’s arm, guiding him along after.

They traversed a winding maze of alleys until they came out in the old district. It had been the red light district back in the early days the town was settled, long before the Valley had opened up and dragged it downhill. Now it was just a series of old, red-brick buildings with their many windows boarded over.

“That’s as far as you go,” Jake told Jared. “Boss wants to see him alone.”

Jared didn’t look happy about this, but stopped walking. “Sorry,” he told Tam. “If I go with you, they’ll turn us both away.”

“It’s fine,” Tam said, with more bravery than he felt. “He promised to see me, and you said he keeps his promises.”

Jake turned and started walking again, leaving them no more time to say anything, and no chance to address the strangeness between them. Tam hurried after, a little worried despite his confident words that Jake had lied, and he was going to be attacked—but Jake didn’t turn back to him, and didn’t say a word to him, just led him past a group of people sitting around playing MarioKart in a big open room, and up the stairs to a closed door. He knocked twice. “Fresh meat’s here,” he called, unreassuringly, and pushed the door open.

Tam didn’t mean to hesitate, but did anyway. It didn’t matter; Jake gave him a hard shove in the back and he took three stumbling steps into the room, hearing the door shut behind him at once.

A young man—appearing to be a little younger than Tam, maybe still a teenager—tilted his head against the back of the couch to look at him upside down, tearing his gaze away from where he was playing the new Legend of Zelda game on the enormous TV in front of him.

The boy—who must be Rainier Dupré—was pretty, almost delicate. He couldn’t have been much more than five feet tall, with overgrown wavy pale blond hair framing a shockingly pale white face. His ice blue eyes were lit up with an intense curiosity.

“Oh, hello!” he said brightly. “You’re Jared’s high school friend, right?” He scooted aside to make room on the couch, patting the spot beside himself. “Come here and let me have a drink from you! You want help, right? So you’ll need to be my snack for a while.”

“That’s, uh,” Tam stammered. “This is really sudden? I mean, can you give me a rough guideline of what ‘a while’ means??”

Rainier rolled his eyes. “Ummm. If you just want to talk, I’ll just drink tonight,” he said, in a tone as if he was granting Tam a real favor. “If you want to make use of my place or my people, twice a week for a few months, depending on how much you need from me. If you want me, personally, to go out and do something for you? Twice a week for a year. Or whatever! We can work out the details when I hear what you want, I guess.”

Still, Tam hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak again.

But Rainier interrupted. “I promise it doesn’t hurt, and you have to know that I’m not letting you walk away without giving me blood at least tonight, so stop being such a big baby and come here.” He patted the couch again, a bit more pointedly.

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[Completed Parts: Instructions | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 | Day 22 | Day 23 | Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 | Day 29 | Day 30 | Epilogue | Author’s Notes]

[Please read the instructions before jumping in!]

It didn’t take long for Lena to finish ushering the kids off the ice, and chatting briefly with the occasional parent. When they’d left, she skated over, then hopped out of the door in the boards, clattering across to sit with them and put the guards on her skates.

“You must be Tam,” she said warmly. “Sahil’s told me so much about you.”

Tam was taken slightly aback by how friendly a greeting it was—let alone by the idea that Sahil had been talking about him beyond the situation with his brother. “Yeah,” he said. “He, uh, said he explained the situation?”

She nodded, leaning her arms on her thighs. “I’m so sorry to hear about your brother. I’ve heard so much about him from Sahil too, although I wish the breakup had been a little more—”

“Lena, please,” Sahil said in a tone of horror. “We’re both adults, it was a mutual decision.”

“I know, I know.” Lena sighed with a hint of irritation, then straightened again, spreading her empty palms to Tam. “So, how can I help you out?”

He nodded awkwardly. No need to throw in anything complex, he decided, just stick to the plan he’d already run past Sahil. “Mostly, I need to make sure I know where my brother is,” he said. “I’ve got a map that shows where his phone went, and I’ve got pictures he took along the way. If any of your group could use that to sniff around,  narrow it down to an exact building, and maybe figure out if he were still in there, that’d be amazing. Other than that, the only thing I’d ask for is… if I end up rescuing him during the day, would it be possible to have a sentry around to bark and alert me if the witch who took him is coming back?” He was fidgeting, and tried to hold himself still. “I don’t want to put any of your friends in danger, but… any help you can offer would be immeasurable. And, of course, if there’s anything I can do for you in return, I’d be happy to.”

“I don’t mind being the sentry,” Sahil put in.

“I’ve only got his phone and computer cord with me,” Tam continued apologetically. “But I can go home and get something to get his scent—”

“I, uh, have one of Ash’s shirts,” Sahil said awkwardly. “So it’s fine, you don’t need to.”

Tam looked at Sahil askance; Sahil hadn’t told him that. He wasn’t able to make eye contact, though, not with Sahil staring at Lena instead of him.

She tapped the back end of her skate guard against the floor thoughtfully. “I can at least ask who’d be willing to go track this guy down,” she said. “That seems harmless enough. You ever dog-sat before?”

“Yeah, I’ve dog-sat for friends,” Tam said, confused. “I mean, I love dogs, so…”

Lena seemed to roll her eyes briefly. “Well, some of our newer members have problems sometimes where they get confused and scared to find themselves alone at home on their first few full moons. They wake up the next day to find they’ve torn the place up in a case of separation anxiety from themselves, pretty much. If you’re willing to meet up with them and won’t get weird at them about joining them for an overnight, they’ll have an easier time adjusting. It’s hard to find people to do that who know what they’re getting into but aren’t worried about getting bitten.”

“Oh, no, I don’t… particularly mind,” Tam said, flustered and pleased. “I’d be happy to help out.”

“It’s a trade, then. I’ll get back to you on that and I’ll talk to my folks. Sahil, do you mind being the point of contact if you’re going to go along on the search?”

“No, it makes sense,” Sahil said. “Be happy to.”

She grinned, then held out a hand to Tam. Tam shook it, startled and pleased.

“Then, if that’s all, my next class will be coming in fifteen and I’ve got to get a snack first or I’ll die. Text Sahil if you need anything from me.”

“I’ll do so,” Tam said, rising. “Thank you again.”

“Sure, don’t mention it. Hope we find him.”

They headed out together for the bus stop. Tam wrestled with the idea about asking about the shirt, but wasn’t sure how to bring it up, so he eventually decided against it.

Sahil dug around in his bag for a moment, then held his house keys out. “Here,” he said.

Tam looked at him in confusion, though he took them anyway. “Uh, sure. What’s this about?”

“I was thinking, um.” Sahil waved a hand. “You’re going to be out late with the vampires, and maybe you’ve got plans already, but if you need a place to crash tonight after, my bed’s going to be free anyway. You can give them back to me tomorrow if you end up not coming by.”

“Thanks,” Tam said, pleased and feeling a bit shy at the offer. Sahil really was too nice. He put the keys into his bag. “How’ll you get in, though?”

Sahil wrinkled his nose. “I got out the window one night,” he said dryly. “Woke up naked in the back yard. Ever since then I’ve kept spares buried in my yard.”

“Oh wow,” Tam said. The less said about that the better. “Okay, cool. If I don’t come by I’ll text you so you don’t worry in the morning.”

“Great,” Sahil said, fidgeting. “Do you mind handing Ash’s phone off, also? I’ll want to get together with folks to match the map up to the pictures before we take off to try to track him down.”

Tam dug it out. “No problem. I don’t think it’s going to be much more use to me right now, and if anyone texts him you can just let me know.” He showed Sahil how to unlock it.

Thus prepared, they headed their separate ways when they arrived back downtown in the Valley; Tam stayed on the bus another few stops to get that much closer to Loaf Portions. By the time he got off, he could see the writing on the sign, the painted steam over the rolls curling into hearts.

The door jingled as he went in, and Antoine came out of the back at once. “Hey, wel—Tam! Good to see you. How’s it going?”

“Pretty good, I hope,” Tam said. There weren’t any other customers in the shop, which made this easier. Trying not to eye the cakes in the display—he could feel the lurking depression over how the lack of cake the day before had been tied to his brother’s loss—he leaned on the counter. “A plan’s coming together, anyway.”

“Any way I can help, I will,” Antoine said. “All previous offers open. Hang on one moment.”

He vanished into the back room again, then emerged with two things—a bag with three cinnamon rolls inside, and a slice of cake on a plate, an unlit candle sticking out of it.

Tam blinked. He was pretty sure Antoine wasn’t reading his mind, but it was still a bit uncanny. “Uh…”

“The cinnamon rolls contain the anti-ward spells,” Antoine said, handing him the bag. “Don’t worry about them getting smushed in your bag, it’s all in the flavor, not the look. You and whoever you’re going with will want to eat some before heading in—it should make you invisible to her wards. You don’t have to eat a whole one if you need to split it between more than three people, but the more a single person eats, the longer it’ll last. I’d advise not eating them until you’re gonna head in, just in case.”

Hopefully Lithway could eat them, but then, Lithway might not even trigger wards. They were a shadow, the monster’s monster. “Thanks,” he said. “Does that mean the cake’s the, uh, geas?”

“Right,” Antoine said. “I’ll light the candle, you’ll say aloud what you want geased—in this case, that you can’t say that person’s secret. Then, you’ll blow the candle out and eat the cake. It’ll take effect once you’ve started eating.”

“Thanks. But Antoine,” Tam said, frowning down at the slice. “If she’s got that protection on me, will it backlash on you if you place the geas?”

Antoine sighed. The question didn’t seem to surprise him—rather, he seemed like he’d been hoping Tam wouldn’t ask. “It might,” he said. “I’m willing to take that risk. I’ve got enough counterspells on me that it won’t outright kill me and, seriously, I want to help you with this.”

Tam bit his lower lip. “So if it doesn’t hit you with backlash, will that mean I’m not protected by her magic?”

Antoine’s eyes widened. “Shit, do you think she cut corners? I mean, that’d be just like her, she’ll always save her own energy when she can, and I guess most people who fail to get protected in an attack out here aren’t usually alive to come back and complain that she didn’t hold up her end…”

“I think it’s possible,” Tam admitted. “If she’s got protections up, they’re ones nobody has been able to sense so far. Is that even possible?”

“Sure. Usually people make it a big Keep Your Hands Off mark because it’s easier to warn people off than spare the energy every time someone’s attacked. But that doesn’t mean they have to warn that someone’s protected. A real sadist might want to keep it subtle so they’d have to excuse to harm others.” Antoine gently pushed the plate of cake closer, then pulled out a box of matches. “Anyway, it’s a risk I’m willing to take. But if you have any other questions for me, you might want to ask them first because, if you are protected, I’m not gonna be in great shape after.”

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[Completed Parts: Instructions | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 | Day 22 | Day 23 | Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 | Day 29 | Day 30 | Epilogue | Author’s Notes]