"Ab ovo, in toto, nil desperandum, cine di-eh" Frederick chanted. A red beam of light came from the comet and lit up the stone in his hand. Everyone was coated in red light before a large black oval blocked the beam and ascended higher and higher into the air.

"Are we too late?" one vampire asked as another yelled, "We're blind!"

"Hey, that's my blimp." Bob said as the end of it rose up and Sera's father appeared grasping one of the ropes. He held up his luminescent cross and swung toward the Sackville-Baggs, kicking the amulet out of Frederick's hand.

He landed firmly on the ground in the middle of the crowd now holding the Stone of Attamon. He laughed in victory before charging at the vampires with the light. Sera saw Gregory among them, his hands shielding his face from the stinging light.

"And you will go straight to hell!" Rookery yelled just as Sera reached for her knife but Bob beat her to the punch – literally.

"All right that's it." He threw his apron into Tony's arms and marched toward her father, who was still celebrating his victory. Bob grabbed his arm and threw a fist to her father's jaw. Sera couldn't hold back the chuckle at the congratulating clan of vampires.

"Yes!"

"Well done!"

"Very good sir!"

Dottie was next as her father tried to ward her off with his cross.

"I don't think so." She pushed the cross away and elbowed him in the gut before kicking him backwards.

"Tony, your parents are awesome." Sera told him, very impressed. Dottie's final hit caused her father to lose his hold on the Stone of Attamon.

"Catch it Tony!" Rudolph shouted as Bob pushed Sera's father over the cliff. She heard a loud splash and silently prayed for him to be alright, but of course a severe case of amnesia wouldn't hurt.

"The ceremony!" Frederick shouted drawing everyone's attention to the comet. It was right on the edge of the moon, a few more moments and it would be too late.

"Tony you know what we want. Wish it." Rudolph told his friend as he looked between Tony and the comet, "You have to wish it! Now!" Rudolph cried. Tony held the stone above his head and closed his eyes. The beam of red light returned and the Sackville-Baggs hurriedly took their place on the cliff again. The light seemed to pulse with power and energy making Tony's little arms shake as a red fog crawled over the cliffs edge and along their feet. It rose higher and higher until it fully consumed every vampire on the cliff. Each member of the Sackville-Bagg family began to fade, Frederick looked blissfully at his wife, it was probably the first time in three hundred years he'd seemed so relaxed. Freda smiled back at him as the fog grew heavier around them. Frederick and Anna were the first to fully disappear, followed by Freda and Gregory. Rudolph turned and waved at Tony before the smoke sucked him away too.

The entire ceremony only lasted a few seconds and then they were all gone leaving Sera and the Thompsons standing on the dark cliff.

"What did you wish for?" Bob asked his son as tears ran silently down Tony and Sera's faces.

~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~ ~ ~ ~

It had been a very eventful month following the arrival of the comet. The police had been searching for Theo and Lord McAshton but so far had come up with nothing. They hadn't found Theo's or her father's bodies at the cliffs, it was like the three of them had disappeared. Sera was afraid he'd washed ashore, injured but still very much alive and was in hiding waiting for his moment to strike. Her father certainly wouldn't show his face until the McAshton investigation quieted down.

Sera had moved in with her aunt. Renee had decided Seraphina had moved around the country enough and her teenaged niece deserved a real home. They went shopping and got her furniture for the loft above Renee's new house that would be Sera's room and got her all new clothes. Sera couldn't be happier to be rid of the dresses, corsets and high heels. Her aunt had even hit it off with the Thompsons and the two families spent a good deal of time together, Renee and Dottie would go to the market together and Sera would babysit Tony from time to time.

But even with everything that had been going on Sera still felt empty. All she'd wanted since her mother's death had been to live with her Aunt Renee and be free of her father. Now she had that and she still wasn't happy. She'd only known Gregory for a few days but he had made such an impact on her life. The only thing she had to remind her that it was real and not a dream was that strip of his vest he'd wrapped her wound in. She'd washed the blood off of it and wore it around her wrist everyday.

Tony was the only person who seemed to understand what she was going through, which was odd for her since he was only nine. She could see the similarities though, Tony felt like an outsider in this country and Rudolph had made him feel accepted. He flew around at night with his vampire best friend having the kind of adventure you only read about. Now all that was suddenly gone and it left the poor kid feeling more alone than ever. Yes, Sera understood but sometimes that was worse; to be able to look at someone and see the pain and loss on their face and know that it's what you must look like to everyone else too. It was true, everyone had noticed how quiet the two had become since that night on the cliff.

Today had started normally, Sera was alone in her loft lying on the couch, music playing in the background, mindlessly playing with the fabric on her wrist. Renee and the Thompson family had gone to the market for the afternoon, they'd invited Sera but she'd declined, she wanted to be alone. Soon though she got tired of being inside so she grabbed her jacket and headed for the cliff.

~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It looked so different in the daylight, Sera thought as she sat on a boulder with one leg bent in front of her. She rested her head against her knee and took in the beautiful view. She could picture perfectly Gregory standing on the cliff during the ritual. Herself standing in his place days before ready to fall and let the waves wash her away. Looking back she couldn't believe how foolish she must have looked. She was never a coward, she faced trouble head on with a smirk on her lips and a sarcastic comment loaded and ready. But there she had been ready to take the cowardly way out.

The silver lining? She wouldn't have met Gregory if she didn't have that moment of weakness. The embarrassment and shame she felt over her almost death was worth it, if it meant she'd see him again.