They looked at each other. "Chloe?"

Vlad stared at the door. She hadn't been to the castle since… well.

"I don't know how the two of you get anything done. You're absolutely hopeless." When neither of them responded, she hollered, "Well?"

Robin hurried to the door, unlocking it. Chloe burst in, red-faced and hair disheveled. "This castle gives me the creeps," she announced, and, not waiting to be invited, crossed the room and stole Robin's spot on the bed. He closed the door with a look of mild irritation—but said nothing, instead crossing his arms and leaning against the door.

"Did you find something?" he asked.

Chloe glanced over at him; she was about to respond, but stopped herself, staring at her brother with renewed interest. "What on earth have you two been up to?"

Robin looked down at himself, then back at her. "What?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, turning to Vlad. "I'm proud of you, Vlad. That must have been very difficult for you."

"What?" Vlad asked, alarmed. Robin's wounds were completely sealed. He'd checked.

Robin seemed to be wondering the same thing; he crossed to Vlad's mirror and shrieked. "My hair," he gasped.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's absolutely fine," Chloe said diplomatically, though her grin was a bit too smug to pull it off. She glanced between the two of them, eyes sparkling. "Anyway, I'm very happy for you both."

"You are?" Since when did Chloe approve of vampires taking the blood of innocents? He and Robin traded puzzled looks.

Chloe seemed disappointed by their reaction. "I would have hoped you'd give me a bit more credit than that." She took patted Vlad's hand. "You're still you, in the end, aren't you? If you ever do want to talk about it, I can give you my friend's number—he's really sweet, goes to another school."

For once, Robin was the first to get it. "Not this again, Chloe. I've told you before, we're not like that."

Vlad stared from Chloe to Robin and back again. The other shoe dropped—he waved his hands. "What? No! We're not—" he looked at Robin with alarm.

Robin shook his head vigorously. "Absolutely not."

Chloe let go of Vlad's hand, putting some space between the two of them on the bed. "Then what were you doing?" She glanced between the two of them, her face growing pale as she put two and two together. "You… you bit him, didn't you?"

Vlad didn't know what to say. He had, and that was the simple truth. He braced himself for the worst.

But Robin came to his rescue. "I made him do it," he said, hastily. "He was starving! And I was wearing the necklace, so it all worked out in the end."

Chloe stood, crossing to her brother. She pulled his face down to eye level, twisting his head sharply this way and that. She eyed his neck, spotting the dried blood on his shirt collar. "You're still human?" she confirmed, cautiously. Robin nodded. "Good." She slapped him smartly across the face, and Robin yelped.

"You weren't supposed to let him bite you," she whispered, voice low. "You were just supposed to make sure he didn't bump himself off while I looked up a way to save his stupid life."

She looked over her shoulder. "Sorry, Vlad. Your life isn't stupid." She glared at her brother. "You, I'm not so sure about. What if something had gone wrong? You can't just go barging off and making life-altering decisions without all the facts! I would have given this hare-brained scheme at most a 30% chance of success."

Vlad stiffened. "What." He stared at Robin. "You… did what?"

Chloe looked at him apologetically. "You're both incredibly lucky the necklace worked." She lifted the amulet, peering at the tiny gem more closely. "I guess it really is the Amulet of Ecranare, after all. Slayers have been searching for this thing for centuries."

She poked her brother in the chest. "You'd better keep that thing hidden. If either of the Van Helsings realize you have it, Vlad is going to be in huge danger." She lowered her voice, looking back at the door. "Vlad, is anyone out there?"

Vlad stood, putting his renewed anger at Robin aside for the moment, and listened closely. "The coast is clear. Why?"

"After Robin left to come find you, I did some more digging. If the legends are true, then this amulet is the ultimate vampire-slaying weapon. Anyone who wields it becomes as strong and as fast as a vampire; they can't be turned, and they can't be stopped. If a certain slayer family got their hands on it…." She left the rest up to their imagination.


Vlad stared at the necklace in disgust. "Robin—we've got to get rid of that thing."

Robin paled, pulling it out of his sister's hand and tucking it under his shirt. "We can't; it's the best plan we've got for feeding you. I won't let you starve." He crossed his arms over his shirt protectively. "We'll just have to keep it hidden."

Vlad held out his hand. "Robin. Give it here," he growled.

Chloe shook her head. "No, I think Robin's right. For once…." She turned to Vlad. "Blood given willingly is the most addictive substance there is to a vampire. Robin is not safe from you if he takes off that necklace."

Vlad, if possible, grew paler. "I won't hurt him," he insisted, eyes wide.

Chloe gave him a pitying look. "You're very strong, Vlad. But even if you were the strongest vampire in existence, you'd have no hope of resisting him."

Vlad nodded. His mind was made up. "Right. Robin, you're getting rid of that thing." He crossed to his coffin, grabbing his handcuffs. "And I'm leaving." Chloe glanced up at him, taken aback.

"No!" Robin flitted to his side in an instant. "I won't let you!"

Chloe and Vlad stared at him, aghast. "Robin," Vlad managed. "Look."

"No. I don't care what you say, suicide is out of the question."

Chloe put a hand on his shoulder. "Robin—look down."

"What?" Robin glanced between the two of them, then looked down at the floor. His shoes were smoking. "Ahh!" he yelped, stamping his feet.

"You're as fast as a vampire, now," Vlad said, awestruck. Chloe nodded.

"Faster, probably," she agreed. "Don't scuff your feet when you walk. It's not good for your shoes." She hid a small grin.

Robin pinched himself. "Am I dreaming?" he asked suspiciously. Vlad and Chloe shook their heads slowly. "This is incredible!" He looked down at his hands. "I wonder what else I can do?"

Robin's elation was contagious; even Vlad was smiling. At least, until he remembered he was leaving. "It doesn't matter, though, does it?" Vlad asked. "I can't just drink your blood forever," he said, sparing an uncomfortable glance in Chloe's direction.

"Why not?" Robin complained. "I wouldn't mind!"

"Mortals like us don't do 'forever', remember?" Chloe reminded him.

Vlad shook his head. "It's not just that. That necklace is a ticking time bomb. It's not just you and me at stake, here." He winced at his choice of words. "It's my entire culture. And…" he was loath to admit it, but, "as much as I hate being a vampire, I can't just turn my back on my people. They may be horrible, but… they're still family." He glared at the lump under Robin's shirt. "That thing puts all vampires at risk."

Robin looked close to tears. "I don't want you to die," he said.

"I don't want you to die! Or my kind." Vlad insisted. "As long as I'm around, nobody is safe."

"Oh, stop it, both of you!" Chloe barked. "No one is going to die." She put her hair into a bun, a determined glint in her eyes. "There's no need to be so dramatic. Now, we have two problems we need to solve. Right?"

Vlad and Robin just looked at her. She sighed.

"Vlad is addicted to your blood. That's obviously bad for many reasons. We'll have to find a way around it. I'll do my best to search for a cure. Second, that amulet is hideous and huge and totally obvious, and you'll never be able to wear it in public without risking a slayer noticing. But you also can't risk taking it off." She stared at it, thoughtfully. "Okay, three problems—whoever sold us that thing has our mum's credit card information."

Vlad's eyes widened. "That's not good."

Chloe raised a hand. "It's all right, I can fix it. It's the other bits I'm worried about."

Robin chewed his lip. "Is there a way to prevent the necklace from coming off? That way it wouldn't matter if anyone saw it."

Chloe barked out a surprised laugh. "Don't be ridiculous." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Except actually, you might be onto something."

Vlad and Robin glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Vlad?" Chloe cracked her knuckles. "Take me to your library."