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what we craved.
    Luc hefted the spare from our boot. Pretending it was heavy, he carried it across the road to our meal’s car. The wife did a double take when she saw his face and unconsciously patted her hair into place. I knew it was necessary but I didn’t like the idea of Luc snacking on her. I was afraid her bitterness might spread through him like poison.
    I waited until the second tyre was in place before opening my door and leaving the car. Barry turned when I touched his arm. All the weariness and unhappiness left him when I caught his gaze. Luc bent to look into the open window and the wife was captured just as easily. She stepped out of the car with unseemly eagerness when he crooked his finger.
    After filling up on blood, I led my victim to the driver’s door and he clumsily climbed inside with a carefree grin still on his face. It gave me a glimpse of the younger, happier man he’d once been. That’s what he looked life before he married his shrew of a wife, I surmised.
    Luc finished up with the wife then sat her down. “Be nicer to your husband,” he admonished her gently. “Your life could be a lot worse than it is.” Even through the hypnotism, the wife frowned heavily. Maybe the idea of being nice to Barry was too foreign a concept for to her to grasp.
    A minute later, we were on our way again. Feeding had put me in the mood for sex so I suggested we pull over for the quickie I’d put off earlier. The back seat of the car turned out to be pretty comfortable, if a bit squishy.
    Crouched in a different shrub the next night, Luc frowned at the few guards prowling the perimeter and interior of the mansion. The usual sounds of merriment from inside the building were muted. “I think you might be right, Natalie,” he said after midnight had come and gone without the van showing up at the usual time. “There are fewer guards on patrol.”
    Again, the van was a no show and we headed back to the safe house before the sun could appear and barbeque us to death. I opted to keep watch during the day this time. I was too worried to try to sleep. Is the First somehow aware of our plan and has sped up his plan to clear out the mansion? I didn’t see how he could know what we were up to. Not unless he had a prophet of his own hidden somewhere in his cavern of doom.
    For the third time in as many nights, Luc and I approached the mansion after parking our car at a safe distance from the property. Reaching the outer boundary of the estate, we didn’t bother to hide this time. Not after taking a quick look at the grounds and buildings.
    Luc pulled out his mobile phone and called the rest of our team. “Gregor, you might as well join us.”
    “Why?” I heard the older vampire ask. His tone was laced with dread. “What has happened?”
    “They’re gone.” Luc tried and failed to hide his fear that we had run out of time. On some level, I’d known something was wrong but I hadn’t trusted my instincts. It looks like my hunch was right. In future, I’d pay greater attention when I felt something was off.
    “Who has gone?”
    “Everyone,” Luc replied bleakly. “The entire Court appears to have been evacuated. The mansion is empty.”

Chapter Five
     
    We didn’t bother to wait for the others to join us before heading inside to search for clues. As far as I could tell, the place was completely deserted. The possibility that this might be a trap crossed my mind but it was doubtful. Luc agreed with my hunch that the building was ok and approached the stairs.
    Since the fro nt doors were standing open, we accepted the implied invitation and entered. I’d been inside the mansion a couple of times but was momentarily stunned again by the sheer opulence. Soft lighting from crystal chandeliers in the high ceilings illuminated priceless paintings. Highly polished antique furniture made of some kind of dark wood had been placed in aesthetically pleasing positions. Dusky pink wallpaper with rose patterned