Chapter 6

Claire's POV

I looked at Eve like she was crazy before what she said really sunk in.

What if we offer our own blood?

I met Shane's eyes; his expression was, as usual, unreadable. I'm pretty sure I looked scared half to death. He tried for a smile and it was comforting, but it quickly faded when his thoughts returned to the matter at hand. Michael, like Shane, had a blank expression, but his eyes told a completely different story. He was terrified but was trying his best not to show it.

There are dead ghost-vampires trying to get Carrie and Sam in a revenge operation against us: their parents. Saying I'm freaking out would be an understatement.

"We could try," I said and Eve looked hopeful, "I mean, what do we have to lose?"

"You mean besides everything?" Michael asked.

"We haven't got everything to lose, Michael. Eve's right, they want blood, so why not let it be ours? Would you rather it be Sam's?" I challenged stubbornly, knowing I'd get the last word.

"Claire they don't just want blood. They want a life. They want a life in exchange for the one we took away, and I'm pretty sure they don't want one of ours," he said sternly. I backed off and went to sit with Shane who was looking out the window, watching Carrie, a muscle twitching in his jaw.

He put his arm around me as I stood by his side. I leant into his embrace and tried to tell myself that this was just a dream, and I'd wake up safe in Shane's arms with Carrie jumping up and down on the bed and there would be no revenge-seeking vampire ghosts out to get us. The sensible, trying-to-stay-calm side of me knew that was wishful thinking, almost crazy thinking.

"I can't do this," Shane whispered so only I could hear. I looked at him and tried to work out what he was feeling. Those four words could have so many different meanings. He must have seen the confusion in my face because he nodded his head in the direction of Carrie, "I can't lose anyone else, Claire. Not you, not Carrie, not even Michael or Eve. I just can't do it."

"It's going to be okay," I said his line for him. He looked at me in disbelief, also confused in the switch of roles between us.

"You really believe that?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, and for the first time, I really kind of did believe it. "Shane, think of how many things we've been through, how many times we've been here, thinking it was the end and it turned out that it wasn't. We're going to be fine. We might not be fine tomorrow, or next week, or six months from now, but eventually we'll pull through. We always do. No one, and I mean, like, not even Bishop or werewolf-dogs or draug or ghosts or my parents can win when we're fighting and we want to win. I believe that. I believe in the four of us. I really do."

Shane just smiled at me and nodded in agreement. He looked back out the window, a light in his eyes that was only there when he was around Carrie.

"I hope you're right," he murmured.

"Of course I'm right," I tried at a joke, and I think it might have actually worked. He kissed me and it was a sweet moment. Just the two of us in our own little bubble of hope and happiness and belief. The world seemed right for a few moments, and we seemed invincible. We may have been as easy to break as glass, but we always pulled through. Who said this time had to be any different?

"You know what?" Eve spoke up angrily, making us jump, "Screw this. Screw these freaking vampire ghost things. I want to go shopping, and I know Carrie will want to go shopping, so Carrie and me are going to go shopping. Feel free to join us."

She stormed outside and made her way over to Carrie, who's face lit up at the idea of someone buying her even more stuff that she didn't need. We looked after Eve incredulously. We all watched as she held out her hand for Carrie and Sam came bounding up behind them.

"Looks like we're going shopping then," Michael muttered. I could hear the grin in what he said.

"Dammit, I don't even like shopping. Dude, tell your wife to get her own daughter instead of corrupting mine," Shane complained. He wasn't frowning, not really, but he'd scrunched his face up as if there was a bad smell. It was cute, and I had to hold in a giggle when he scrunched his face up even more, making him look like a five year old.

He gave Carrie a smile as she came running in. She launched herself at Shane, who caught her with ease.

"We're going shopping," she sang, bragging about it.

"Are you? That's nice," Shane replied.

"Come on, Carrie. Shopping doesn't wait forever, you know," Eve called from the hallway.

"Coming," she shouted back. Shane put her down and she ran into the hallway to meet Eve, brown pigtails whipping around her face.

"Hey, Eve, maybe you could get her a haircut while you're out," I called out the door.

"No!" Carrie screeched – literally screeched. She grabbed onto her hair in a protective way. "No, you can't cut it. It's mine!"

Eve took her hand and Carrie let herself be pulled away and to the car. Shane and me looked over at Michael. We weren't going with them. We were going to sit and figure out a way to fix this. Although, Michael looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion.

Fifteen minutes later we were sat in the living room with my laptop open to make notes or do any research. Michael was leafing through book after book trying to find something that could help us find what we were looking for. So far, he hadn't had much luck. Shane was writing down a list of vampires we'd killed or hurt badly enough for them to want revenge. It wasn't long, but the vampires on there were ones we definitely didn't want to see again.

"Okay, Shane, what you got?" Michael asked after throwing another book on a growing pile.

"Um, well, I don't know if I have them all, and some of them I couldn't remember names for, but there's Bishop, Brandon, Ysandre and Gloriana at the top of the list. That vamp Claire killed at that party and a few others, and that's all I could remember that we've actually killed. We've hurt a lot more, like François and Morley and his gang but I can't imagine they'd be ghosts,"

"Brandon? We didn't kill him," Michael said.

"Yeah, but my dad and his buddies did, so I figure if anyone's out for unreasonable revenge it's Brandon," Shane replied bitterly.

"Okay, Claire?"

"Um, well you can't find much online because it's all old folk law and fairytales and stuff, and what isn't is blocked, but I did find something about them…I think. They're called Shadow People, right. Um, it says: 'Shadow People are known to be the dead undead out for revenge. They rarely go after the blood of the people who killed them, as they like to watch their victims suffer. Others can't see them and victims – the people who can see them – are often thought to be crazy and have been known to talk to thin air or stare into space for long periods of time. Shadow People do not work alone; they often gather numbers over time and seek revenge on small children because they are less likely to be able to fight back. Many have tried to overcome the Shadow People, but few have had success. It does not work to offer your own blood as the person who slaughtered the undead in the first place, although it is common that people try this in a hope to save his or her own. As they are often vampires, it is likely that methods used to kill vampires will also work on the Shadow People, although no hard evidence for this has ever been found.'"

"Often vampires?" Shane quoted. I nodded in response. "So, they're not all vampires?"

"Well, no, but what else will they be?"

"Draug. Claire, Magnus was after you until you killed him. What if he's back?"

I stared at Shane knowing he was right. Just then, a cold breeze swept over me and I shivered. I wanted to cry. I wanted to curl up in a ball and have someone else deal with everything for once. If Magus was back and going after my daughter I don't know what I'd do.

"He can't be back. Draug surely don't count as the undead," I said, shakily, although I knew that they were actually just a different kind of vampire. So technically they were undead. Shane nodded and seemed to think about it, more out of comforting me than believing it.

"Yeah, you're right. They're water, not people."

But that didn't mean that what was after us was any nicer.