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him.”
    “Yes, my queen.”
    “Good.  Now go make preparations for my visitor.”
    They nodded and walked off, leaving her to imagine the great ‘what ifs’ that might come from the second coming of the great wizard.  Maybe, just maybe, it was time he joined her as the king.  Then this weak witch they were following could be destroyed.  The thought made her smile broadly.
    “Very good.”
 
    Far below, in the sewers, another interested party listened contently.  Unaware of the vampire on the rooftop, Demian heard the planned patrols and smiled.  Surely Dhane would want to know about this.  It would leave him the perfect opportunity to stage an assault or robbery at the Grand.  It was time to truly begin his revenge.

 
     
     
    11
     
    The morning came with new questions for Dhane.  Samantha was lying in bed next to him, his arm around her, their bodies firmly against each other.  They were still dressed from the night before, and after some heavy petting, exhaustion got to both of them and they slept together in the literal sense.  He hadn’t slept much, though.  There was uncertainty about what exactly the night before was about, and in the back of his mind Amelia still lurked.
    Samantha began to stir and he wondered if he should slip away while he had the chance.  It was possible she was simply distraught and needed closeness, which she may regret now, or act weird about.  He slowly pulled his arm off her, and she took his wrist and pulled the arm back over her.  So much for regret.
    A while longer they laid there, and then she sat up and rubbed her eyes.  She walked over to the dresser and dug through her clothes for something to wear.  Without a word, she vanished into the bathroom and the shower kicked on.
    What the hell do I do now?
    He didn’t have to think about it long, as a knock on the door drew him from bed and he cautiously looking out the window.  With a sigh he opened the door to Cassandra and Amber.
    “You want to go get some breakfast?”
    Dhane nodded and they waited for Samantha to get dressed, while he simply changed his shirt and threw on fresh socks with his shoes.  For two hours they sat at a nearby restaurant, going over all that happened when Dhane left for six months, and what he’d been doing in secret with the vampires.  Cassandra and Samantha barely ate, but Amber wasn’t fazed and finished off all three plates.
    After all the questions were answered, they sat silently in the booth.  The truth about Algernon was a shock to Cassandra.  If the council had known, maybe they would’ve treated Dhane differently.  Probably not, but maybe.  She found one more question.
    “So, you have memorized the spell book then?”
    “Yes, but that’s not all.  In fighting the vampires I started using a series of spells from the two spell books my father had.  There’s a pattern inside the spells, which links them together.  It was in that pattern that I found the serpent tongue spell.”
    Cassandra’s eyes got wide.  Nobody was entirely sure if that rumor was true, that Algernon had such an ability.  It seems he did, and now Dhane did too.  But that likely meant...
    “Oh God.”
    “What?”
    “Elisabeth will likely have the ability, too.  That’s part of what made Algernon so hard to stop.  It’s hard to counter a person’s spell if you can’t hear what it is.”
    Nodding, Dhane stood up from the table and walked outside.  He hadn’t thought of that, and if she did figure it out, the battle between them would likely destroy anyone and everyone around them.  Time was of the essence, and he could only hope she was behind in her studies.
    “Dhane?”
    The soft voice made him close his eyes and take a deep breath.  Opening them, he turned around to face Samantha.  She looked so sad, so lost, that all he could do was force a smile to try and relieve her worry.
    “Hey, are you done eating?”
    “I am.  Not really that hungry to begin with.  Listen, about