As Casey finished hanging the last batch of strange flowers over the bedroom window – which he'd also done over the balcony doors and even over Carina's bed – he turned to the young maid with a most serious expression.
"Once the sun goes down, Miss Carina must remain within this room. And under no circumstances must you remove these herbs. For right now they are the only thing keeping this girl safe. Am I understood?"
"Yes sir," Lucy obediently answered.
"What is the meaning of this, John?" Devon asked once the maid left. "What are those flowers you've placed around my daughter's room?"
"Wolfsbane," Casey said. "A natural deterrent for creatures of this kind."
"What creatures?" Chuck asked in confusion.
"Vampires," Casey responded simply.
"John! Surely you cannot be serious!" Devon exclaimed.
"I most certainly am," Casey declared. "You saw for yourself her image cast no reflection in a mirror. That is but one indication of the Nosferatu. And in my research, I've come across evidence of victims here in Los Angeles." Gravely, he addressed Chuck. "Victims that include your sister, Eleanor."
"John…" Devon tried to deny, but his future son-in-law interrupted.
"No!" Chuck looked to Casey. "Are you saying Miss Walker is responsible for my sister's death?"
"That's a complicated question."
"Then explain it to me."
-------------
"Lucy, my computer, please."
In moments, Lucy presented Casey with his laptop case. The professor set up at the kitchen table and powered the device. In moments, he began to display a series of reports and photographs.
"It begins here," Casey explained. "The private airport terminal where police found young Mr. Grimes. Three victims were found, each bearing these marks." A photograph appeared, a close up featuring two oddly familiar circular wounds. "Upon examination of Mr. Grimes, I also found identical marks." With a sorrowful glance to Chuck, Casey flipped to the next photo. "And looking over Eleanor's autopsy photos, I found the same marks in nearly the exact location as your fiancée." With great anguish, he added, "There's more."
Dreading the answer, Chuck still asked, "What?"
"There have been reports the last few nights. Of a beautiful brunette woman lurking in the night. Victims have been found, also with similar wounds."
The weight of his words forced Chuck to sit. Likewise, Devon felt a similar compulsion. "You're saying Miss Walker targeted my sister and turned her into a monstrosity. And now she's attempting to do the same to my fiancée?"
Casey nodded. "So it would seem."
"Why?"
"The motivations of a vampire are complex and mysterious. For whatever reason, she's targeted your family. By fixating on these women, it might simply be an act of cruelty. An attempt to destroy your picturesque existence. But I think it's a deeper compulsion, some base instinct. The life of a vampire – if one can even call it such – is a lonely one. Perhaps she's seen something in Eleanor and Carina that can help her ease an eternity of solitude."
"Ellie…" Chuck choked.
"There's nothing that can be done for your sister," Casey apologized. "Her fate is sealed. She is doomed to forever walk the night, a creature of the undead."
"And Carina?" the young man cried.
"For Carina there is still hope. While infected by Miss Walker, she can be cured."
"How?" Devon finally asked.
From the pocket of his trench coat, Casey withdrew a sharpened wooden stake. "By finding the place where that undead bitch dwells and driving this stake through her cold, unbeating heart."
-----------
That night, Drs. Woodcomb and Casey, along with Chuck, scoured the streets in the vicinity of the Woodcomb and Bartowski homes, hoping for any sign Miss Walker might be nearby. But as the sun arose on a new day, the weary men returned to Devon's home to rest and check the condition of Carina.
"She looked so pitiful," Lucy informed them. "Whimpering and carrying on throughout the night. I don't think she got an hour of sleep."
"She's deeper under Miss Walker's thrall than I previous suspected," Casey informed the other men. "We must find the vampire soon, or Carina could be lost to us."
"You don't mean…a vampire?" Chuck asked.
"No. But Carina is obviously attuned to Miss Walker now. I fear if their connection is not severed with haste, Carina's heart could simply give out."
-------------
After a brief sleep and meal, the men began to strategize on how to find Miss Walker. Devon suggested they examine the property adjacent to the hospital, the land she recently purchased (or claimed to) to see if there were any residences on it. After examination, they discovered only a few old and abandoned warehouses, none of which showed any signs of the vampire.
The doctors then called in favors, asking about any upper class homes recently purchased. But this search also proved fruitless. And as the minutes ticked down to the next sunset, all three feared their attempts to save Carina would be in vain…
-----------------
"Lucy!"
The young girl was rudely awakened by the strong hands of Devon Woodcomb shaking her.
"Lucy, where is she?" he demanded.
In the stiff, uncomfortable armchair perched near Carina's bed, Lucy looked about wildly – partly due to her rude awakening, partly in search of the woman she was tasked to watch.
"Oh God! Sir! I…I fell asleep. Forgive me…"
"Where the hell can she be…?"
"Devon," Casey said. "The balcony doors…" He pointed to the doors, one cracked open and gently swaying in the wind.
The men burst out onto the balcony and looked down into the garden. A collective gasp sounded.
"We must get down there," Casey said, stating the obvious.
The doctors turned back into the bedroom. But Chuck boldly climbed down the latticework adorning the building.
"Get away from her!" he shouted.
In the garden, amidst the night blooming jasmine, the two women stood. Carina clutched Sarah's hand tightly, seemingly kissing the palm voraciously. Sarah simply stroked the other woman's hair with her free hand, a look of serene fondness upon her face.
"Get away from her!" Chuck again demanded.
His arms wrapped around Carina's waist. With a hard pull, he separated the women, breaking the spell between them. Carina instantly began to wail and scream. She struggled against Chuck's grasp. "No! Mistress!" she called, reaching for the blonde.
But Sarah made no move to reclaim the woman. She simply gazed curiously at the man holding her. "You're the fiancé, yes?"
"Yes! And I said get away!"
When Chuck wouldn't let go, Carina began to weep violently. Tears streaming, she continued to make grabby hands for the blonde vampire. Her knees gave out, forcing Chuck to sit them both down, Carina sprawled in his lap. He wrapped both arms around her, refusing to let her up.
"She's mine," Sarah stated, leaving no doubt as to the truth of it.
"The hell she is," Chuck spat back.
"I agree with Chuck." Casey appeared, wielding a sharpened stake.
Very calmly, like explaining to a small child, Sarah said, "I am a part of her. My blood flows inside her veins, as hers does mine. She belongs to me. And I will not allow you to deny me what's mine. This is not a negotiation."
"You're right," Casey agreed. "We will not allow you to corrupt this girl any further."
As Chuck gently rocked the whimpering girl in his arms, he softly asked, "What about me?" Looking to Sarah with pleading eyes, he said, "What about a trade? My life for her life."
"Interesting," Sarah admitted. "You would sacrifice yourself for her? Become my companion?" Sarah unabashedly looked over Chuck's form. "Interesting," she said again.
"No!" Casey cried, advancing on the vampire, stake held high.
Without even glancing his direction, she commanded, "Be still," in an eerily calm voice. Casey stopped dead in his tracks, his anger instantly evaporated. Sarah continued to look to Chuck. "You understand what you offer me? An eternity of service and companionship."
Chuck gently stroked Carina's hair. As she continued to whimper, "Mistress", he said, "So long as she remains safe, you can do anything you wish to me."
Sarah considered for a moment. Then, simply, "Agreed."
From the shadows, Devon rushed forward, crucifix in hand. The idol was pressed against her cheek, scalding her pale skin. Sarah hissed violently and smacked Devon hard, sending him to the ground. When he recovered an instant later, the vampire had disappeared into the night.
----------------
"No! Mistress calls for me! I must go to her!"
Carina thrashed wildly. Devon tightly gripped his daughter's legs, while Chuck kept his firm grasp around her arms as they moved her to bed. Casey reappeared, and after quickly swabbing her arm with alcohol, slipped the syringe needle into her skin and injected the sedative.
"Bastard!" she cried, her eyes momentarily locking with Chuck's. "Do you not wish me to be happy? I'm only alive when Mistress is inside me! You could never hope to make me feel as she does!"
The sedative began to take effect. Her thrashing slowly waned, until she collapsed into Chuck's arms, a sweaty, frazzled mess. "Bastard…" she murmured again before drifting into a drug-induced sleep.
"What did you give her?" Devon asked as he and Chuck settled her into bed.
"Enough sedative to incapacitate a baby rhinoceros," Casey said. "A shame, really. I feel by knocking Carina out, we've just lost our best hope of finding Sarah Walker."
"How do you mean?" Devon asked.
"Carina said 'I must go to her'. She's obviously under Sarah's thrall, connected to her somehow. I think that connection would have led us directly to the vampire. But with Carina out…"
Casey let the thought hang. The men considered the problem as they took in Carina's frail, sickly form. Even in sleep she whimpered pitifully, the words mostly incomprehensible, save for one: "Mistress."
"What about her assistant?" Chuck suddenly asked. "The one in the hospital."
"Mr. Grimes." Casey nodded, liking the idea. "He exhibits many of the same symptoms as Carina."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Devon demanded.
Casey smiled. "For you to authorize his release."
---------------------
Twenty minutes later, watching from inside Devon's car, they watched as Morgan Grimes – haphazardly clad in his disheveled suit – stumbled out the main entrance of Vesta Hospital. He turned north on the sidewalk, lured by the subliminal call of his Mistress…
--------------------
Carina awoke with a gasp and bolted upright. Lucy, quietly reading in the bedside armchair, shrieked in surprise and dropped her book. "Miss Carina?"
Frantic eyes sought out the maid. "Where are my Daddy and Chuck?"
"They went out…with Dr. Casey," Lucy explained. "They think they know how to help you."
Carina nodded. "Can you help me remove these blankets? I'm burning up."
Lucy immediately got up to turn down the blankets. "Of course, Miss Carina. Would you like…?"
Lucy couldn't finish the sentence. Carina quickly reached to her bedside nightstand, took a lamp in hand, and smashed it against the girl's head, knocking her out. She slipped from bed, not even bothering to put on clothes – still clad in t-shirt and underwear – and left the house, lured by the subliminal call of her Mistress…
---------------------
She pounded on the bright green door, imploring those inside to open up. "Mistress…" she cried. "I've come, Mistress. Just like you wished me to."
The door finally opened. There stood a lovely young Asian girl clad in an inappropriately short plaid skirt. "Who are you and what do you want?" Anna demanded.
Carina blinked, taken aback. "Who are you?"
"I asked you first, cutie. Now spill, before I leave you to Hekyll and Jekyll over there," she said, indicating Jeff and Lester, who took in the sight of Carina's scantily clad form with hungry eyes.
"I'm Carina," she explained. "I've come because Mistress commands it."
"Oh brother," Anna sighed. "Another groupie." Loudly, she called out, "Mistress! You have a young devotee here to see you! And she's got great legs!" As they waited for Sarah to appear, Anna tried to make conversation. "So…you look like a girl who works her abs. Any advice for a novice?"
"Carina…"
Both turned as Sarah entered the room.
"Should we leave you two crazy kids alone?" Anna asked. But Carina was already bolting across the room, enthusiastically chanting "Mistress", and threw herself into Sarah's waiting arms. The blonde smiled and gently stroked Carina's hair. "Yeah…" Anna drawled. "We'll be leaving you two alone. C'mon, puddingheads. Let's leave these two to their…bonding."
She looked over to her colleagues. Jeff was angling his iPhone at the embracing couple while Lester urged him on. She heard the distinct sound of a camera click. "Hey! Perv and Ert! Don't make me smack you!" She ushered them out the hotel suite. "I swear to God, Mistress should do the world a service and drain you both." She turned back to Sarah before leaving and said, "Be mindful of sunrise, Mistress. It's in less than an hour!"
-------------
"Mistress…" the little bearded man murmured, scratching at the green door. That was all the proof they need.
"We need a key," Chuck stated.
"I have one," Casey told him. "It's about a size twelve."
Just ten minutes after sunrise, Casey delivered a sharp kick to the hotel suite door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. Armed with stakes and crosses, they swept inside. Morgan immediately made a beeline towards the bedroom.
"I guess we follow him," Chuck suggested.
The bedroom was darkened, heavy blinds over the windows to shut out the sun. On the bed, curled together, each respectively in black and cobalt nightgowns, were Carina and Sarah. The former awoke with a start when the men swept in.
"What are you doing here?!" she demanded. "Leave us alone!"
Without any preamble, Chuck jerked her from the bed and held on tight. As expected, Carina fought wildly.
"Let me go! Don't touch me! I belong to Mistress!"
Her back pressed against Chuck's chest, Carina headbutted her fiancé's chin and drove her heels into his toes. But for all the damage she inflicted, Chuck refused to let go.
"Mistress!" she screamed. "Wake up! Please, Mistress, wake up!"
But Sarah didn't move. The sun rising in the sky, her natural instinct to slumber had taken over. So as Casey loomed above her motionless form, all saw this terrible ordeal as being soon over.
Then Sarah awoke. Fangs instantly bore, she hissed viciously at Casey. With a sweep of her arm, she sent Casey flying across the room. He slammed against the wall and collapsed.
"Devon! Take her!" Chuck cried, handing Carina off to her father.
As Sarah advanced on the fallen Casey, Chuck raced across the room and jerked open one of the heavy blinds. The morning sun poured in, forcing Sarah to abort her advance on the wounded Casey. She leapt aside into a corner, pinned there by a corridor of sunlight.
Chuck moved quickly. Stake raised high, he attacked the cornered vampire. With a single, hard thrust, he drove the stake through her heart.
"No!" Carina screamed. "Mistress!"
Sarah gasped, her fangs retracting. In the throes of death, her eyes sought out Carina. "I thought she was the one," she choked. "She truly is remarkable, isn't she? Certainly worth fighting for."
"Yes, she is," Chuck agreed. He twisted the stake deeper, eliciting a sharp cry. He watched as the once pale, beautiful face of Sarah Walker dissolved into ash.
As he stared down at the remains of the vampire, a soft voice whimpered, "Daddy? Chuck?"
Wrapped in her father's arms, Carina was once more herself. Chuck rushed to their side, and together, the two men held the woman so dear to them.
"What happened?" she cried, burying her face into Chuck's shoulder. Devon removed his coat and wrapped it around her. "I got so lost."
"We found you," Chuck assured. They passionately kissed, and Chuck carefully pulled Carina into his lap and held her close.
Satisfied his daughter was in good hands, Devon joined Casey in standing above the ashen remains of the vampire. "She's gone for good, yes?" Devon asked.
"No one gets forever," Casey assured. "Not even the immortal."
"What about Ellie?"
Casey shrugged. "She's out there. And eventually she must be dealt with. But today we rejoice. Celebrate your daughter's safety."
Devon could not argue. But one last thought occurred to him. "Where's Mr. Grimes?"
--------------------
That evening, the hotel…
Five figures entered the bedroom. Led by Mr. Grimes, followed closely by the trio of Sarah's assistants.
"They killed Mistress," Morgan mourned.
"I knew that brunette bimbo was trouble," Anna stated. "Mistress should have settled down with that nice Russian supermodel. Or that Italian businessman. They were both dreamy."
"I can't believe Mistress is gone," Lester said. "Does this mean we need to get real jobs? I really don't want to go back into computer repair."
The fifth figure, a striking brunette clad in a flowing black gown, knelt by the ashes and scooped them into a simple urn. "She gave us so much," she sing-songed in a childlike voice. "Now we must give to her in return." She looked up at the others with intense, nearly insane eyes. "Mistress Sarah will return to us."
The others bowed their heads and obediently answered, "Yes, Mistress Ellie."
The End…?