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As terrified as she should have been by the idea that there were countless people watching her, it only bolstered her bravado.
    “I’ll tell you something else, Maven Jenson. You are a stuck-up bitch.” Sarah pointed at the curtain she knew the producer was sitting behind. “You and that jackass producer over there have been royal jerks to me ever since I walked in here, simply because both of you are dick hungry.”
    Sarah slammed the lapel mic down onto Maven’s desk. She could see Maven’s pulse racing in her throat, and the sight of her pale-with-shock face made Sarah smile from ear to ear. She turned on her heel and walked off the set, grabbing her purse and car keys from the stagehand who stood just outside the camera’s view.
    “You are my hero,” the skinny stage girl whispered as she happily handed them over. Sarah smiled back at her and flung open the emergency exit door.
    When she was safely in her car, she let out a loud laugh. Her hands were shaking and her stomach was in knots, and in an odd twist of irony, she felt like a brand new woman. Work the next day was going to be hell. Her iPhone was already buzzing out of control. She would worry about it tomorrow. For now, she felt on top of the world, and nothing was going to bring her back down.

Chapter 4
    Even Mother Nature was in mourning.
    The early evening sky was black and heavy with clouds that had yet to let go of the autumn rain. The wind was bitter cold, and as it swept through the mountains it carried with it a hint of ice and snow. Even the trees were rustling in a low, sorrowful growl. October weather in the mountains of North Carolina was normally cool and gray, but this was different.
    It was as if the cosmos knew exactly how they felt.
    The few exhaustive hours of sleep Taris had gotten were wearing thin, and both the emotional and physical fatigue of the day were beginning to get to him as he watched the flames lick the edges of the marble tomb. On the other side, he could see the fire flickering in Kalin’s eyes. She stared at it intently without blinking. The dry heat from the fire caused her already bloodshot eyes to go even redder in the corners. Kalin had not rested since Hayley’s death.
    The moment Hayley’s body hit the stone slab in the basement crypt, Kalin made her way down and had not been back up until it was time to bring the body for the burial ceremony. She refused to leave her side. In the hours preceding her funeral, Kalin had washed Hayley, singing to her and telling her stories. Then she cried all over again.
    Kalin was always very careful to keep her emotions in check when she was with Taris. She watched fire consume the body of the young woman she loved so much with the same stoic visage she had confronted Taris with when he told her of Hayley’s death.
    Before the burial, Taris lined the tomb with all of the necessary items. When a member of the vampire race passed on, certain burial traditions were called for. If the deceased was a male, the tomb was lined with black satin. The body would be placed on a thin bed of flat stones on the bottom of the tomb, and a platinum medallion with his family crest would be placed on his chest. For females, a hue was chosen to match the color of the deceased’s eyes. In place of the stones, a thin bed of rose petals was laid on the bottom. The only similarity between male and female burials was the family crest. If the female was married, she would have both her paternal and marital crests placed in the tomb with her. After rites were read and prayers were said, the body would be set on fire.
    Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The way God intended.
    It was the way vampires had celebrated death since the beginning of their existence.
    Taris watched with a heavy heart as Kalin carried Hayley’s body to the burial plot. Surrounding the open tomb were several marble boxes with their lids nailed shut. Even in the gloom of the evening, the moonlight hit them just right, and their smooth