I apologise for the long delay. A variety of things prevented me from updating, not least of all a complete inability to work out what was going to happen next. I'm still not quite sure, but I present you with Ethan. House hunting.

Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse

It was good to be back.

Ethan was stretched out languidly on the ground, staring up at the sky. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and he was happy. He was pleasantly full, and he'd just engineered an entire day's worth of entertainment. Today was going to be a good day, he reckoned.

He watched a cloud scud across the blueness up above. He frowned. Yes, there was a little blot on the day. If only Benny had agreed to come with him. Maybe he'd warm to the idea. Maybe he'd force him to. Well, whatever happened, he was definitely going to have some fun at their expense. And some snacks at other people's…

He sighed contentedly, and then looked at his watch. They'd probably got the letter by now. He wondered how long it would take them to work out where to go. Ages, probably. They were pretty useless without him. So he probably had a bit of time to kill. To kill in. Maybe. He wasn't sure that he could be bothered. He put his hands behind his head. He did need somewhere to live, though. But where? His old house? That might have some attraction to it, but being so close – it would only encourage them to make a nuisance of themselves.

Besides, why settle for there if he could have any house he wanted? He sat up, frowning with thought. There were some really nice houses in Whitechapel. Secluded, too. So people wouldn't be able to see what he was doing. Unless he wanted them to…

Ethan sprang lithely to his feet. Where to go, then? His eyes travelled up the little bluff that stood to the east of Whitechapel, sprinkled with houses so large that they could be seen clearly from here. Anyone who was anyone lived up there. Some of them even had swimming pools. Which was pretty cool.

Well, he deserved something nice after a long time on the road, didn't he?

Now this was the kind of thing he was talking about!

It was the fourth (and last!) house on the winding spur up the wooded outcrop. From here, all he could see was the gates: high, wrought iron, imposing. Beyond them lay a sweeping gravel drive, which turned away past some trees which screened the house. He could, however, see the pinnacles and turrets of the roof, and that boded well.

He flew over the gate and landed with a soft crunch on the gravel. He walked sedately along the driveway, right down the middle. Stealth wasn't something he was that bothered about. As the drive swung around, the house came into view. It wasn't really accurate to call it a house. It was larger than that. Quite a lot larger.

It was very slightly overdone, actually. But he could live with the twiddly bits. It was set out like a large French château, but a château that had been crossed with a Gothic cathedral. Flying buttresses abounded, leading up, rather incongruously, to a slate-grey mansard roof. The doorway looked like it was in training to becoming a portico, and the detailing around it was certainly intricate, if nothing else. It was a minor miracle that it didn't have pillars. Pillars would just have been too much.

He could live here quite happily. Maybe it had a swimming pool. And a library. That would be cool. It might even have secret passages! He doubted that, though. That was only in movies. And usually only the villain had secret passages, of course. And he was the hero of this film.

Who lived here? Certainly no-one observant enough to see a teenager stroll up the front drive –

"Hey, you!"

Ah, there we go… Ethan turned.

A tall, large man in a shiny suit and a red face was hurrying towards him, scowling. "What are doing here? This is private property!"

Ethan looked down at his shoes. "S-sorry, sir…" he stammered. "I – I was just walking and – and I got lost…"

The man continued to glare at him. "Well, get out! And what on earth are you wearing?"

Still looking down, Ethan turned on his heel and started to walk back down the driveway.

The man turned towards his house, muttering to himself. "People just traipse in here like it's a public road…" He snorted. "It's a pain in the neck."

Ethan stopped and smiled to himself. The magic words.

The door swung openly smoothly. A hand took the key out of the lock. Ethan popped his head around the door, wiping his face with a shiny suit sleeve.

He really hated it when people had high blood pressure. It just went everywhere. He stifled a burp. High cholesterol, too. That always had a bit of an effect on him. Oh, well. At least he wouldn't be much trouble now.

He finished rubbing his neck and flung the sleeve into a corner. It had to go quite a way to get there. Ethan looked about him. This was a seriously impressive house.

In front of him was an imperial staircase, branching off in two directions. It took up most of the hall, and, he had to admit, was pretty magnificent. The rest of the wood-panelled hall was lined with ornaments and flowers, and there were six different doors leading off, all in a glossy black. Ethan picked one at random, and went through.

He found himself in a gigantic kitchen, with acres of shiny marble covering the work surfaces. A metal door in the wall beckoned invitingly, and Ethan tugged it open. Immediately, he was hit by a blast of cold air. He poked his head in.

It was a large walk-in freezer, like you might get in a restaurant. He grinned to himself. This could come in handy, if he ever felt that he needed to save a snack for later. He checked the outside. It even had a lock! That would save trouble, too.

He looked about, running his hand over the marble tops. What else was there to find in his new house?

He breezed through the next room (a dining room, massive table – was everything in this place plus-sized?) and then into a big living room, complete with plush sofas and a huge TV. He bounced on one of the cushions, and then sprawled out along it. Nice.

He sprang up, vaulting over the back of the sofa, and out through another door. A conservatory. Very airy and spacious, with a great view over the garden. And what a garden! It was more of a park. It had fully grown trees dotted here and there. And what looked like a lake. And there, in the distance, was a view down the hill and over Whitechapel. He could almost see his old house from here. That was cool.

Next!

He swung into the next room – also glazed, and with a view over the garden, but this was a swimming pool. He wrinkled his nose. Not something that he'd be using much. He brightened when he saw that there was a hot tub at one end. Now, he could tolerate one of those.

Beaming, he went through into another room. This one stumped him. He had no idea what it was for – just a big, empty room with a wooden floor. He shrugged. Maybe it was for parties, or something.

"Kevin, honey?" drawled a voice from the other side of a white-painted door. "Are you in there?"

Ethan scanned the photos that lined the walls. They were all of the red-faced, tasty, sweaty man and a tall woman. He pulled a bright blue handkerchief from his pocket. It was monogrammed with a 'K'.

"In a manner of speaking," he said, grinning a wide, sharky grin and opening the door.

The woman screamed.

Ethan licked his fingers, one after the other. A little sticky. Funny how opposites attracted, wasn't it?

He sighed. He hoped there weren't many more people around though. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep on drinking that much blood. Maybe he'd keep them in the freezer. Disposing of the body was a bit of a pain, too.

But, looking at the magnificent library that he found himself in, it was all worth it. There was years of reading material here! He didn't even know where to start.

But… Speaking of 'starts', he'd probably given Benny and the others about long enough now. He glanced at an antique clock on the wall. Yes, they'd had much more time than he'd promised them.

So now he was coming to get them, ready or not…