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  "That's a very smart mommy you have.

  Debbie came with the food.

  "I'll let you eat. It was very nice to meet you, Danny. "

  "Bye, Lanie.”

  Melanie got up and went to her meal that had just been brought to her table. Danny's mother came back from the bathroom just then and they all enjoyed their meals. Melanie finished up and asked Debbie if she knew the little boy and his mother very well.

  "I do. Ellen and I went to school together."

  "Do they come here often? I mean, if I were to send them a gift here, would you see that they got it?"

  "Sure. They come in at least once a week, if not more, and sometimes I babysit Danny."

  "Great."

  "Here." Melanie handed Debbie thirty dollars.

  "That's way too much."

  "I would like to pay for their meals, too. Will that be enough?"

  "Yes, and then some."

  "Good. Keep the rest for yourself. My name is Melanie, so if you receive a package addressed to you at this address with my name on the return address, you'll know it's from me to give to Danny and Ellen.”

  "Well, that's very kind of you, Melanie."

  “Not at all. It looks like she had a pretty crappy day pretty recently, maybe a little gift from a stranger is just the boost they need to get through this rough time."

  "Maybe. Take care and drive safe."

  "Thanks, Debbie," Melanie said and turned, grabbing some matches and waving at Danny who was taking a massive bite of a burger that looked as big as his head. Melanie laughed as she headed for the car. On her way she passed a coach bus loading passengers for some Sci-fi convention in Wyoming. Some were dressed in costume but all were distracted by the impending trip. Melanie took Josh’s IPhone out quickly programmed it to turn on in 8 hours and tossed it into the baggage compartment when no was looking, then continued on to the car and got in. .

  As she drove to Montgomery that evening she thought about how surprised how surprised Dimitri would be to find he had been tracking a phone in the baggage compartment of a bus full of Sci-Fi convention goers instead of Josh. She knew a vampire could take on a lot of humans if he needed to, but she doubted Dimitri would bother that many passengers once he figured out he had been duped.

  She had thought earlier that when the time came to buy the airplane tickets, maybe one of those sets would be for Ellen and Danny to go to Disney World for a couple of days. This seemed better than just using the tickets as decoys to keep Dimitri confused.

  She drove to Montgomery, paid cash for a motel room, and had a long, hot bath before going to sleep.

  Chapter 14

  Blake and Dean spent the rest of the day packing and getting ready for their flight to Connecticut. Josh got in one more lesson with Blake before they left for their red-eye flight.

  Dean and Blake took off in the sexy black Audi R8 that had been hiding in the garage. The rest of the evening was uneventful. The only thing out of the ordinary was that Sally decided to stay over just in case Dimitri did show. She went around the house, as she did every night, whispering words to herself and waving smoke into every corner of the house with a huge feather. She said it was called 'smudging' and that it would help protect the house and all who were in it. Apparently there were many kinds of smudging, and Sally was an expert on just about all of them.

  Josh didn't mind. He had gotten used to the evening ritual and it actually smelled pretty good. He remembered to grab a pen and a notepad and set them next to the bed so that he could jot down anything he might remember about his next dream journey, if it happened again.

  Another nightly ritual Josh was getting used to was Harry's pet-o-rama. Whenever Josh got into bed and turned off the lights, within seconds there would be a thump up onto the mattress and then the Harry monster would stand on Josh's chest and abdomen. When a 25+ pound cat stands on you, he takes up much more area than just your chest. What always astonished Josh was when Harry would stand there, the area where his feet met Josh's skin felt like 1 inch wooden dowels pushing down on him. Shouldn't the weight be more evenly distributed? The pressure felt more like a one hundred pound cat standing there. He must be causing bruises, Josh thought, but every morning he would check and no bruises ever appeared.

  As if the cat knew this was terribly uncomfortable, he would stand there frozen for what seemed like an eternity before he would finally lie down on Josh, distributing all that fuzzy girth less painfully. That pain would finally end and then the kneading would begin. After the first night Josh knew to have at least the sheet, but preferably a blanket and the quilt between himself and the huge cat's front paws; if not, he was sure to endure more pain until Harry was done kneading. At first it wouldn't hurt, but as Harry would get more enthusiastic, the nails would dig in deeper and hold longer. Will the pain never end? Josh wondered. The purring was nice, though. It was loud and vibrated nicely on his chest relaxing him. After the kneading was done the residual purring would last for at least another ten minutes, at which point Josh was required to intermittently scratch Harry's ears. Once the purring stopped it would not be long before Harry tired of the rising and falling of Josh's chest and would take over the empty side of the bed, laying his furry head on the pillow and beginning the twenty-minute cleaning ritual.

  There is something to be said about having a set schedule or rituals. Though they may seem monotonous to some, there is great comfort found by many in the predictability of these rituals. Josh found it soothing to know what to expect every night with Harry. With his whole world being tossed up in the air like dough as a pizza maker formed his perfect crust, the evening's predictable events were his only comfort. So much was undetermined: Lanie's whereabouts and safety. How to get Dimitri off their backs? What to do about the Bloodstone? Not to mention, Blake and Rowan's issues with Darby and Devon.

  It didn't take long before Josh was asleep and floating again in the darkness completely relaxed, and could see the bright light far, far away. He thought about how he hated the distance between them and slowly he seemed to start moving toward the light as he had before. He tried hard to be more observant with this journey.

  It did indeed look like the night sky, but like a night sky in a city. There was no moon, but if he looked very hard in one place, he thought he could see the hint of stars. He also noted that the sky was black except for the area around the bright light where it varied from dark to blue, and then to gold, then yellow, and at its center, white-hot like the sun. Like Lanie was beautiful, so too was this light.

  The harder Josh thought about Lanie, the faster the rush of air was on his face. He figured it must be how a dog feels with his head outside the window, lapping up the fresh air that flaps his floppy ears and jowls in the wind. He felt he could extend his arms out like he would if he was riding a bicycle down a hill, picking up speed, pretending to be an airplane ready to take off. He could feel the lift aviators talk about on his arms and hands as they sliced through the air, but if he put his palms flat against the oncoming wind his arms got yanked back. He figured this must be similar to how flaps worked on an airplane. No matter how it worked, it was quite exhilarating.

  Like his last journey, he started to slow as he got closer to the light and then he could see what looked like a motel room. This room was different, though. Well, of course it’s different; he thought to himself, if I really am visiting her, she would be in a different motel tonight. Josh could see Lanie's delicate features in the dark of the room, sleeping soundly. The map he had seen the night before was laid out on the other side of the bed. He saw the stars and the squares marking different cities. On the map were several matchbooks. He couldn't see the names on them, just that they were different in color and design. One was opened and on the inside was some writing. He couldn't read it well, but it looked like Lanie's writing. He couldn't be sure, but he thought it said Danny and Elaine? Hmmm.

  He focused back on Lanie's face and her long slender neck. He wished his body was there and he c
ould reach out and kiss her, but there was no substance to him in this state. He had a body, and could feel some things like the wind in the sky, but once he was on the ground, in this room, there was nothing to him. He held out his hands and though he could see them, they passed through objects like the bed and the table. He tried to speak but his words could not be heard in this room. He decided he would send a thought to Lanie, that he missed her and he would see her very soon. He couldn't be sure, but he thought she smiled in her sleep.

  He felt tired and wished he could lie down next to Lanie and fall asleep holding her, but he knew he had to journey back. As he started to float up and out of the room and into the darkness, he thought that once he was away from Lanie, he should try and sense Dimitri. He didn't want to go where Dimitri was; he just hoped that there was a bit of distance between the vampire and Lanie. He didn't want to accidentally give Dimitri any indication where she was, though. Maybe I should wait to talk to Blake before I do anything stupid. With that thought, he headed back to his body.

  His heart felt lighter having seen Lanie. Soon he was reconnected with his body, and could feel Harry stir on the other side of the bed. Josh fell into a deeply contented sleep with the scent of Lanie still lingering in his head.

  Chapter 15

  When Josh woke that morning, he grabbed the pen and notepad he had set on the nightstand. He got up and got himself a cup of coffee, and sat down and wrote what he could remember about his journey the night before.

  He felt useless sitting there while so much was going on that he couldn't help with. Dean and Blake had flown to Connecticut on the red-eye per Dominic and Anton's request to help Darby, and Melanie was out there all alone with a vampire chasing her. He wished he could be the one doing the noble gesture for her not the other way around. He also wished he had talked to her about how he felt. What if he never saw her again? He reprimanded himself for thinking that, but it was a possibility no matter how he looked at it.

  Melanie had been gone for several days and still no plan had been made to get her back to safety. The worst part was that not only did they not have a plan, but at this point not even a clue as to how they were going to deal with Dimitri, the bloodstone heart and the Order of the Black Orchid. Why was the stone so important? What did they plan to do with it? He didn't know. Up until a few weeks ago, he didn't even know there were vampires out there lurking in the shadows, let alone, good ones and bad ones. Then there were the werewolves, witches, and a stone that saved his life. It was a lot to comprehend. Sitting waiting and wondering was the absolute worst. He sympathized with Rowan and Sally - he figured they were feeling useless in helping their loved ones too. All they could do was hope and pray for all to come home safe and sound.

  About 1:45 P.M. the phone rang and Rowan picked it up. Josh and Sally, rapt with attention, sat next to her as she spoke into the phone.

  "Hello? ."

  ...

  "Hey. How was your flight? You didn't kill Dean, did you?..."

  ...

  "So, when are you coming home? Did you talk to Darby yet?..."

  ...

  "What? "

  ...

  "She what? You mean she found Devon and Libby? Yuck. I'm sure she's not handling that well, after going off the deep end already.…"

  ...

  "What? What do you mean, Blake?...

  ...

  "No...That's not possible...You said vampires can't do that…"

  ...

  "Oh my God, Blake. What have we done?..."

  ...

  "Geez. What do we do now?..."

  ...

  "Love you too. Be careful."

  Rowan hung up the phone. A dazed look on her face told them both that something unexpected had happened.

  Sally couldn't stand it any longer, "Well? What happened?"

  "Ummm, well...Darby was right all along. Libby kidnapped Devon. All this time, I just thought she was mourning losing him to a past love, but she had been right.

  "Apparently Libby used mind control over Devon luring him away with her and then drained him of his blood to keep him weak. Blake said Libby has men all over town. She controls their minds, feeds off their sexual energy, and drains them of their vampire blood."

  "I didn't know that was possible! Vampires don't usually feed off their own kind, or do they?" Sally asked.

  "No. Blake is just as shocked. It didn't sound like he had ever heard of anything like it happening before, but he said that Darby found some proof that Libby has been doing this to Anton for years, along with others."

  "How bizarre! So is Devon okay?"

  "They don't know yet. It sounded like they were putting together a rescue plan to get Devon back and deal with Libby. He said he'd call back when he had more news."

  "I guess they could have used a few more people to deal with a vampire that powerful."

  "Yeah. I guess you're right. I really didn't think it would be much of a trip. I figured Blake would go and hear Darby out and that would be that. I had no idea we had been so wrong about everything. How will Darby ever forgive me? I abandoned her - gave up on her. All these months she's been alone and working so hard to find him and I've been here in my own little world thinking she just needed time alone to get over being dumped. God, how stupid I've been."

  "I'm sure Blake is feeling the same way about giving up on his brother. Don't be so hard on yourself, Rowan. It could have just as easily been what you thought. There's no way you could have known. Dominic and Anton were sure Devon had gone off with Libby too."

  "But Blake and I are siblings to Devon and Darby - we lived with them all our lives. We should have known, or at the very least, believed it was possible. We gave up on them so easily."

  "Everybody makes mistakes, Rowan. I didn't believe my sister was going to kill those girls last fall. All the signs were there - I could have connected the dots, but it just never occurred to me she had gone so bad. I understand that you feel like you've betrayed them in some way, but all you can do is apologize and learn from your mistakes. That's all anyone can do."

  "You're right, I suppose, but it doesn't make me feel any better."

  "Maybe that's part of the healing process for all of you. She'll see how sorry you are by your apology and seeing how badly you feel. Darby is the most forgiving person I know. I have no doubt she will forgive you, it just might take a little time."

  Josh didn’t know what to say. He didn't know Darby or Devon and had no siblings. Should he try to make Rowan feel better or just keep quiet?

  "I don't have any siblings, so I am no expert and I don't even know Devon or Darby, but what I have learned from all of you is that family and friends are forever. Lanie speaks the world of Darby, so I have no doubt Sally's right. It may take time, but as they say, 'Blood is thicker than water.' No pun intended."

  "Thanks Josh. That's sweet of you to say."

  Josh immediately blushed and looked down at his shoes. The rest of the day was spent waiting for the next call. After lots of pacing, silence, and impatient sighing, the call finally came.

  Blake relayed to Rowan that their plan had gone pretty well with some very minor casualties. Anton had been grazed with a yew-laced arrow, Dean had been scratched pretty badly, but both were already healing well, and Libby had been dealt with, whatever that meant. Rowan could only deduct from Blake's tone that no one would ever be seeing Libby again.

  As for Devon, things weren't good. He had been chained to a bed and drained of most of his blood. If Darby hadn't forced her blood down his throat, he wouldn't have made it past this evening. For that matter, Darby was very weak since Devon had fed on her twice, but both were resting now and only time would heal them both.

  Blake had described how he had never seen his brother in such a state. He told Rowan ‘he was as thin as a bone and white as a ghost’ and that was after one feeding. He must have looked dead when they found him. Rowan had never heard such hate and disgust in Blake's voice as he described the gruesomeness of
what Libby had done to his family.

  So again, the pacing, sighing, and worrying resumed all through the night and into the next morning. Josh tried to dote on the girls during this stressful time, making tea, calling for food delivery, and just being there to listen as the two women commiserated.

  The good news finally came in the morning as Devon and Darby emerged from the slumber of his room to join everyone for breakfast. Blake had described the meal as if it had been an event. Devon and Anton had made their peace after years of warring. Introductions to new friends were made and brothers were reintroduced. Rowan said that there had even been something about a pancake eating contest. Darby and Devon were heading for Martha's Vineyard to a little cottage Dominic had bought many years ago for his wife, Sofia. Dominic figured Darby and Devon were due for a vacation - just the two of them. Blake also had hinted of a surprise in the very near future, but would not divulge any details to Rowan.

  Once Devon and Darby had departed for Martha's Vineyard, Dean and Blake made arrangements to fly home to California the following day to get back to Josh and the problem of Dimitri and the bloodstone. They brought back with them some books and info that Dominic had been gathering for their perusal.

  It had been a magical day for Darby and Devon from the ferry ride from Bedford, discovering the cottage on Martha's Vineyard, to holding each other on the beach. Now cozy in the cottage, soft guitar music in the background, and a roaring fire, it was shaping up to be a pretty wonderful evening too. Devon stood up and held out his hand inviting her to dance with him. They danced in front of the fireplace and watched every bit of pink and purple color from the sunset turn to darkest blue. Standing there swaying in his arms, warm and safe, she felt the sense, again, that she must be dreaming. He whispered in her ear, "I have a little something for you. Well I guess, maybe it's more of a question." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a little box, offering it to her.