If I could I would have avoided Sam the next day. But he was one smart little boy and knew all my hiding spots. The events of last night, my hunger and exhaustion, and my overall melancholy attitude also did not help the situation. Even Evra took one look at me and avoided me like the plague. Poor girl...

"So?" he seemed ready to burst. "What did he say?" I was hanging out in a tree by the deserted railway.

"He said no." I didn't want to but I looked right at him, his eyes welled with tears and his hands curled into fists.

"Why?" he shouted and stamped his foot. In that moment I realized why we both got along so well: we were both childish. When I saw Sam, I saw the reflection of my own slipping mortality. He made me feel more human. He represented everything I had wanted in my life and more. All the things I believed I'd never have again.

"You're too young," I rubbed at my eyes. I can't believe how much of a baby I'd been recently. I needed to grow a thicker skin, instead of crying over every little thing that didn't go my way.

"You could take care of me!" he snapped. "You already hound me more than my real mom, so what's the big deal?"

"I don't know how to parent," I lied. "I didn't have a home when I joined the Cirque. You're better off where you are now."

"I don't care about my parents," he said with a sniff. "I want to be with you and Evra."

"That's not true," I said sadly. "You'd miss them. Trust me, I know you would." I do.

"I could go home for holidays."

"It wouldn't work. You're not cut out for life in the Cirque Du Freak. Maybe later, when you're older."

"I don't care about later!" he yelled. "I want to join now. I've worked hard. I've proved myself. I kept quiet when you were lying to R.V. about the wolf-man yesterday. Did you tell that to Mr. Tall?"

"I told him everything," Damn, he was stubborn! I hopped down from my spot and came to sit beside him. "He said not to worry about that smelly Hippie."

"I don't believe you," Sam accused. "I don't think you spoke to him at all. I want to see him myself." I shrugged and pointed toward Mr. Tall's van.

"That's where you'll find him," I said. Sam ran off in a huff but slowed after a few steps, then came to a halt. He kicked the ground miserably, then returned and sat down beside me. "It's not fair," he grumbled. I could see tears trickling down his cheeks. "I made up my mind to join. It was going to be great. I had it all planned."

"I wanted you to come too, but it's just not gonna happen kiddo." I ruffled his hair before pulling him into a hug. "You'll have other chances, I promise."

"When?" he asked. "I've never heard of a freak show playing around here before. When will I run into one again?"

I didn't answer. "You wouldn't have liked it, anyway," I said pulling away. "It's not as much fun as you think. Imagine what it's like in the middle of winter, when you have to get up at five in the morning and shower in ice-cold water and work outside in blizzards."

"That doesn't bother me," Sam insisted. Then his tears stopped and he got a crafty look in his eyes. "Maybe I'll come along, anyway," he said. "Maybe I'll sneak into one of the vans and stow away with you. Mr. Tall would have to take me then."

"You can't do that!" I snapped. "No way!"

"I will if I want." He grinned. "You can't stop me."

"Yes, I can," I growled.

"How?" He sneered. I took a deep breath. The time had come to scare Sam Grest away forever. I couldn't tell him the truth about me, but I could invent a story almost as horrifying, one guaranteed to send him running. "I never told you what happened to my parents, did I, Sam? Or how I came to join the freak show?" I kept my voice low and steady.

"No," Sam said quietly. "I've wondered a lot, but I didn't want to ask."

"I killed them, Sam."

"What?" His face went white.

"I was a bad kid. I always went out with my older friends, drinking and doing drugs and getting up to trouble. " I shook my head. "My parents tried to control me but it only made me hate them.

"One night, I finally snapped. I...I killed them. And then…." I locked eyes with Sam. " .Them."

"That's not true," he whispered. "It can't be."

"I killed and ate them, then ran away," I lied.

"I was discovered by Mr. Tall, who agreed to hide me. I could easily kill anyone that gets on my bad side. That's why most people avoid me. Evra's okay, because she's strong. So are some of the other performers. But ordinary humans ...I could rip them apart in a second if that switch gets triggered again.."

"You're lying," Sam said. I picked up a large stick lying nearby, turned it around in my hands, then put it in my mouth and bit through it like it was a big carrot.

"I'd chew your bones and spit you out as gristle if you triggered me," I told Sam. I'd cut my lips on the stick and the blood made me look ferocious. "You wouldn't be able to stop me. You'd be sleeping in my tent if you joined the show. You can't join the Cirque Du Freak," I said. " I'd end up killing you if you joined." Sam tried responding but couldn't get his mouth to work. He believed my big lie. He'd seen enough of the show to know that things like that could happen here. "Go away, Sam," I said sadly. "Go away and don't ever come back. It's safer that way. It's better. For both of us."

"I..I..." He shook his head uncertainly.

"Go!" I screamed, and pounded the ground with my hands. I bared my teeth and growled. I was able to make my voice much deeper than a human's, so it sounded like a wild animal. Sam screamed, scrambled to his feet, and sprinted for the woods, never once looking back. I watched him go, heavyhearted, certain my ploy had worked. He'd never be back. I wouldn't see him again. Our paths had separated, and we would never meet again. I loved that little boy like he was my own. I'd do anything to protect him.

Anything.

I shouldn't have gone hunting. I was really weak. I could still run faster than a human, and I was stronger than most people my age, but I wasn't superfit or extra-strong anymore. Mr. Crepsley had said I'd be dead within a week if I didn't drink human blood, and I knew he'd spoken the truth. I could feel myself wasting away. A few more days and I wouldn't be able to pull myself out of bed. I tried catching a rabbit but wasn't fast enough. I worked up a sweat chasing it and had to sit down for a few minutes. Next, I went looking for roadkill but couldn't find any dead animals. Finally, because I was tired and half afraid of what would happen if I returned to camp empty-handed (the Little People might decide to eat me!) I headed for a field full of sheep. They were grazing peacefully when I arrived. They were used to humans and barely lifted their heads when I entered the field and walked among them. I was looking for an old sheep, or one that looked sick. That way I wouldn't have to feel so lousy about killing it. I finally found one with skinny, trembling legs and a dazed expression, and decided she'd do. She looked as though she didn't have long to live, anyway. If I'd had my full powers, I would have snapped her neck and she would have been dead in an instant, without any pain. But I was weak and clumsy and didn't twist hard enough the first time. The sheep began to bleat with agony. She tried running away, but her legs wouldn't carry her. She fell to the ground, where she lay bleating miserably. I tried breaking her neck again but couldn't. In the end I grabbed a stone and finished the job. It was a messy, horrible way to kill an animal, and I felt ashamed of myself as I grabbed its back legs and hauled it away from the flock. I'd almost reached the fence before I realized somebody was sitting on top of it, waiting for me. I dropped the sheep and looked up, expecting an angry farmer. But it wasn't a farmer. It was R.V. And he was mad as hell.

"How could you?" he shouted. "How could you kill a poor, innocent animal so cruelly?"

"I tried killing her quickly," I said. "I tried snapping her neck, but I couldn't. I was going to leave her when I couldn't do it, but she was in pain. I thought it was better to finish her off than leave her to suffer."

"That's real big of you, man," he said sarcastically. "Do you think you'll get the Nobel Peace Prize for that?"

"Come on, R.V.," I said. "She was sick. The farmer would have killed her anyway. Even if she'd lived she would have been sent to a butcher in the end."

"That don't make it right," he said angrily. "Just because other people are nasty, it don't mean you should be nasty, too."

"Killing animals isn't nasty," I seethed. "Not when it's for food."

"What's wrong with vegetables?" he asked. "We don't need to eat meat, man. We don't need to kill."

"Some people need meat," I disagreed. "Not everyone can be a vegetarian or a vegan, they would die!"

"Then they should be left to die!" R.V. roared. "That sheep never did any harm to anyone. As far as I'm concerned, killing her is worse than killing a human. You're a murderer!" I shook my head sadly. There was no point arguing with somebody this stubborn.

"Look, R.V.," I said. "I don't enjoy killing. I'd be psyched if every person in the world was a vegetarian. But they're not. People eat meat, and that's a fact of life. I'm only doing what I have to."

"Well, we'll see what the police have to say about it," R.V. said.

"The police?" I frowned. "What do they have to do with it?"

"You've killed somebody else's sheep." He laughed cruelly. "Do you think they'll let you get away with that? They won't arrest you for murdering rabbits and foxes, but they'll charge you for killing a sheep. I'll have the police and health inspectors come down on you like a ton of bricks." He grinned.

"You won't!" I gasped. "You don't like the police. You're always fighting against them."

"When I have to," he agreed. "But when I can get them on my side . . ." He laughed again.

"They'll arrest you first, then turn your camp upside down. I've been studying the goings-on there. I've seen the way you treat that poor hairy man."

I raised an eyebrow,"The wolf-man?"

"Yeah. You keep him locked away like an animal."

"He is an animal!" I shouted, I was quickly losing what little patience I had.

"No," R.V. disagreed. "You are the animal, man."

"R.V., listen," I said. "We don't have to be enemies. Come back to camp with me. Talk to Mr. Tall and the others. See how we live. Get to know and understand us. There's no need to —"

"Save it," he snapped. "I'm getting the police. Nothing you can say will stop me." I took a deep breath. I didn't liked R.V. and knew I couldn't allow him to destroy the Cirque Du Freak.

"All right, then," I said. "If nothing I say can stop you, maybe you'll respond to something I do." Summoning all my remaining strength, I threw the dead body of the sheep at R.V. It struck him in the chest and knocked him from the fence. He yelled with surprise, then with pain as he landed heavily on the ground. I leaped over the fence and was on him before he could move.

"How did you do that, man?" he whispered and backed away in fear.

"Never mind how," I snapped.

"Kids can't throw sheep," he said. "How did-"

"Shut up!" I shouted, and slapped his bearded face. He stared up at me, shocked. "Listen, Reggie Veggie," I growled, using the name he hated, "and listen good. You won't go to the police or the health inspectors. Because if you do, the sheep won't be the only dead body I drag back to the Cirque Du Freak today."

"What are you?" he asked. His voice was trembling, and his eyes were filled with terror.

"I'm the end of you if you fuck with me," I swore. I dug my fingernails into the soil at either side of his face and squeezed his head between my hands, just enough to let him know how strong I was. "Get out of here, Reggie," I said. "Go find your friends in NOP. Stick to protesting against new roads and bridges. You're in over your head here. Me and my friends in the Cirque are freaks, and freaks don't obey the same laws as other people. Understand?"

"You're crazy," he whimpered.

"Yes," I said. "But not as crazy as you'll be if you stay and interfere." I stood and draped the sheep over my shoulders. "Going to the police would be useless, anyway," I said. "By the time they reach the camp, this sheep will be long gone, bones and all. You can do what you like, R.V. Stay or go. Report me to the police or keep your mouth shut. It's up to you. All I have left to say is this: To me and my kind, you're no different from this sheep." I gave it a shake. "We'd think no more of killing you than we would any dumb animal in the fields."

"You're a monster!" R.V. yelled.

"Yeah," I agreed. "But I'm only a young monster. You should see what some of the others are like." I smiled nastily at him, hating myself for acting so mean, but knowing this was the way it had to be. "So long, Reggie Veggie," I said sarcastically, and walked away with the sheep dragging behind me. I didn't look back. I didn't need to. I could hear the chattering of his terrified teeth practically all the way back to camp.

"You should have killed him," Mr. Tall said. "That way he could do us no harm whatsoever."

"I'm not a murderer," I told him, I ended up having to change my clothes. Just because I was part vampire didn't mean I had too look like one. Blood stains are a bitch to get out, anyway.

"I know." He sighed. "Nor am I. It's a pity one of the Little People wasn't with you. They'd have chopped his head off without a second's hesitation."

"What do you think we should do?" I sighed and fiddled with a crystal ball on his desk

"I don't think he can cause many problems," Mr. Tall said. "He'll probably be too scared to go to the police right away. Even if he does, there's no evidence against you. It would be an unwanted complication, but we've had plenty of dealings with officers of the law in the past. We could cope. The health authorities worry me more. We could hit the road and lose them, but people in the health department tend to trail you around like hound dogs once they've got your scent.

"We'll leave tomorrow," he decided."There's a show scheduled for tonight, and I hate canceling on short notice. Dawn is the earliest any health inspector could be here, so we'll make sure we're gone before then."

"You're not... angry with me?" I breathed with relief and set the object back on the desk.

"No," he said. "This isn't the first time we've clashed with the public. You're not to blame." I helped Mr. Tall spread the word of our departure. Everybody took it in stride. Most seemed happy to be getting this much notice; a lot of times they had to move on with only an hour or two of warning. When Mr. Crepsley awoke I told him about our plan to leave. He didn't seem surprised.

"We have been here long enough," he said. I asked to be left out of that night's show, because I wasn't feeling very well.

"I'll get to bed early," I yawned, I felt almost like I was getting a cold."and get a good night's sleep."

"It will not do any good," Mr. Crepsley warned. "There is only one thing that will make you feel better, and you know what it is." Night rolled on, and soon it was time for the show to begin. There was another big crowd. The roads were blocked with cars in both directions.

Everybody in the Cirque was busy, either preparing to go onstage or getting people seated or selling stuff. The only two who seemed to have nothing to do were me and Evra, who wasn't performing because of her sick snake. She left her for a few minutes to watch the start of the show. We stood on one side of the stage as Mr. Tall got the ball rolling and introduced the wolf-man. We stuck around until the first break, then walked outside and studied the stars.

"I'll miss this place when we go," Evra said. "I like the country. You can't see stars as well in the city."

"I didn't know you were interested in astronomy," I laughed as I sat next to her.

"I'm not," she replied. "But I like looking up at the stars." I got dizzy after a while and had to look down to steady my head.

"You're not feeling too good, are you?" Evra's brow furrowed with worry as she rubbed my back.

I smiled weakly, and grimaced as my stomach cramped up painfully. "I've been better."

"Still not drinking human blood?" I shook my head."You've never told me exactly why you won't drink it," she said. "It can't be so different from animal blood, can it?"

"I don't know," I said. "And I don't want to find out." I paused. "I'm afraid that if I drink human blood, I won't be the same anymore. That I'll be evil. Mr. Crepsley says vampires aren't evil, but I think they are. I think anyone who looks at humans as if they're animals must be evil."

"But if it keeps you alive . . . " Evra said. "Maybe he's right. Besides, your not killing people."

"That's how it would start," I said. "I'd tell myself I was doing it to keep going. I'd swear never to drink more than I needed. But what if I couldn't stop myself? I'll need more as I grow older. What if I couldn't control my thirst? What if I killed someone?"

"I don't think you could," Evra shook her head. "You're not evil, Sam. I don't think a good person can do evil things. As long as you treat human blood like medicine, you'll be all right."

"Maybe," I said. "Anyway, I'm okay for now. I don't have to make a final decision for a couple more days."

"Would you really let yourself die rather than drink?" Evra said softly.

I turned my head to fully look at her,"I don't know," I answered honestly.

"I think that's incredibly selfish of you" Evra said sadly.

Ouch. I couldn't even form a response.

"I don't think someone who is so loved and cherished should throw their life away like this. I know it's your choice, but don't make me bury my bestfriend, please."

"Well," I said uncomfortably, "maybe it won't come to that. Maybe there's some other way I can survive, a way that Mr. Crepsley doesn't want to tell me about until he has no other choice."

Evra grunted. She knew as well as I did that there was no other way."Please, don't let yourself die like this." She discreetly wiped away the tears on her face."I'm going to check on Pepper," she said. "Do you want to come and sit with us for a while?"

"No," I said. "I'd better get some sleep. We have to get up early, and I'm really tired." We said good night, and hugged a little longer than usual. I didn't head straight for Mr. Crepsley's van but wandered through the campsite, thinking about my conversation with Evra, wondering what it would feel like to die. I was being selfish. I hadn't to really thought about Evra, or her feelings. I glanced up at the stars. Was that where I'd be heading? To the other side of the universe? Vampire Paradise? It was a weird to think that way. When I was living at home I'd hardly ever thought about death; it was something that only happened to old people. Now here I was, almost face to face with it. If only somebody else could decide for me. I should be worrying about school and making the college lacrosse team, not about whether I should drink human blood or let myself die.

It wasn't fair. I was too young. I shouldn't have to — I saw a shadow passing the front of a nearby tent but didn't pay much attention. It wasn't until I heard a sharp snapping sound that I wondered who it might be. Nobody should have been out there. Everyone involved with the show was in the big tent. Was it somebody from the audience? I decided to investigate.

I headed in the direction that the shadow had taken. It was a dark night, and after a few turns I couldn't figure out which way the person had gone. I was on the verge of abandoning the search when I heard another sharp snapping sound, closer this time. I looked around and knew immediately where the sounds must have come from: the wolf-man's cage!

The grass was damp, so it bent and slide beneath my feet and made no sound. When I reached the last van before the wolf-man's cage, I crouched and listened. There was a soft jangling sound, as though heavy chains were being lightly shaken. I stepped out from under cover. There were dim lights on either side of the wolf-man's cage, so I was able to see everything in perfect detail.

He'd been wheeled back here after his act, like he was every night. There was a slab of meat in his cage, which normally he'd be feasting on. But not tonight. Tonight he was focused on something different. There was a big man in front of the wolf-man's cage. He had a huge pair of pliers with him and had cut some of the chains that were holding the door shut. The man was trying to unwrap the chains but wasn't doing very well. He swore softly to himself and lifted the pliers to cut through another link.

"What are you doing!" I shouted. The man jumped with shock, dropped the pliers, and spun around. It was, as I had guessed, R.V. He looked guilty and scared at first, but when he saw I was alone he grew in confidence.

"Stay back!" he warned.

"What are you doing, idiot!" I demanded.

"Freeing this poor, abused creature," he said. "I wouldn't keep the wildest of animals in a cage like this. It's inhumane. I'm letting him go. I called the police- they'll be out here in the morning but I decided to do a little work of my own beforehand."

"You can't do that!" I shrieked. "Are you crazy? That guy's savage. He'd kill everything within a five-mile radius if you let him out!"

"So you say," R.V. sneered. "I don't believe that. It's been my experience that animals react according to how they're treated. If you treat them like crazy monsters, they'll act that way. If, on the other hand, you treat them with respect, love, and humanity . . ."

"Stop!" I screamed, my voice cracked as I rushed forward.

He spun back to the chains and began struggling with them again. He reached into the cage and tugged the thickest chains through the bars. The wolf-man watched him silently.

"R.V., stop!" I shouted, and raced over to stop him from opening the door. I grabbed his shoulders and tried pulling him away, but I wasn't strong enough. I punched him in the ribs a few times, but he only grunted and doubled his efforts. I grabbed for his hands, to pry them off the chains, but the bars were in the way.

"Leave me alone!" R.V. yelled. He turned his head to speak to me directly. His eyes were wild.

"You won't stop me!" he screamed. "You won't prevent me from doing my duty. I'll free this victim. I'll see justice done. I'll-" He stopped ranting all of a sudden. His face turned deathly white and his body shuddered, then went stiff. There was a crunching, munching, ripping sound, and when I looked inside the cage, I realized the wolf-man had made his move.

His hands... His hands were gone!

"My hands!" R.V. started shrieking bloody murder he started speaking gibberish about how it was my fault his hands were missing.

The cage door swung open and R.V. ran off into the night. I was left facing the Wolfman. The hairy beast was breathing heavily, causing little clouds to puff out from his nostrils. Without second thought he bounded forward and I prepared myself for the impact.

The beast had jumped right over my head. Chasing something behind me. My feet tripped over a bag, causing a jar of pickled onions to roll out.

Sam!

I didn't think to stop for help, all I could think was that a defenseless little boy was out there being chased by a bloodthirsty beast! I took off like a bat out of hell, the wolf man let out a howl meaning he hadn't caught the boy. Yet. How could I defeat the wolf man? Weak as I am. There was no way. I was prepared to lay my life down for the boy. I wouldn't give up without a fight.

Sam had led us to the abandoned railroad road station. I made my way into one of the cars, intent on finding him. I almost was knocked back by a metal pipe swinging toward my face, I quickly jumped back out of the way.

"Sammi?" He sighed with immense relief.

"Oh thank goodness!" I cried.

"I'm so sorry-"

"No time, apologize later." I grabbed the boy and crushed him to my chest.

"Oxygen." he whined, but I shushed him. A primal instinct to protective flooded my body. I knew what I had to do.

"I have an idea…."

"What is it?" we crouched down in the corner, Sam clinging to me for dear life.

"Do you trust me?" I asked him. He nodded his head. "Stay still."

As I made a small incision into his neck I hated myself. I cursed my fate, and cursed myself for putting him in this situation. All of this, over a sheep.

I put my mouth to the cut and began to feed. I tried my best to keep a cool head, but I was dying of hunger. I tried to go slowly.

It took everything I had, every ounce of strength I had but I didn't drain the boy, but I had taken a lot of blood from him and it showed. He was drowsy and leaned on me for support. He was still breathing.

The coppery taste flooded my mouth, but I choked it down. I didn't waste a single drop of the precious mercy.

I gave a shuddering sigh of relief and held him close. "Thank you."

I felt strong. I wouldn't squander his precious blood. We would survive this.

I tossed the boy over my shoulder and prepared to run. My sense were heightened to a fine point. I felt a low rumble beneath the car, there was a grumbling from underneath us where the Wolfman lay waiting.

"Sneaky bastard." I cursed. I grabbed the pipe Sam had been welding and used it to jam the door handles. I searched for another way to leave the car.

"Fuck." I said as I gazed out the window. It would have to do. I grabbed Sam who had finally began to come to.

"Sammi?" He groaned.

"Stay here," I commanded. He grabbed my dress bottom.

"Where are you going? He's dangerous." His eyes were have open as he slumped against the metal. I shoved him into the corner and forced him to sit.

"I'm going to finish this. You're too weak right now to do anything. Don't open that door for anything. Not until I come back for you." I placed a kiss on his forehead and gently slide open the window and landed gently on the grass below.

The air was silent, but I could smell him. Putrid and disgusting. A snarl came from my right. I just barely blocked a blow. I held my hand into a sharp point slicing and reaching for his jugular. With a swipe of his massive paw he sent me flying into the ground. He tried to pry open the car door.

With a snarl I pushed myself back up and lunged for him. Speed was on my side. He couldn't get his face close enough to take a bite.

I kicked him in the ribs but he grabbed my ankle and swung me into the metal of the old car. I struggled to get up and suddenly I found myself pinned into the ground, saliva was hanging from the Wolfman gaping maw as he let out a howl I screamed and drove my fist into his stomach. I tried crawling forward only to be dragging painfully back under him. I screamed As he brought his fangs closer, his hot breath blowing clouds across my face.

A pair of hands reached out and made quick work snapping the beast's neck. As he fell with a final wail I realized I was still screaming.

Those hands that had killed before my eyes were now cradling me against my rescuers chest.

"I came as quick as I could." I began to sob into Mr. Crepsley's shoulder, clinging to him like a child.

"Evra heard screams from camp. Thank god she wasn't performing tonight. She saw the wolf man had gotten free and put it all together. Mr. Tall is on his way now. I searched your room but could not find you anywhere-"

I had been shaking without knowing it, "I thought I was going to die. I...I fed from Sam...Sam!"

I ripped open the car door, tearing the metal bar nearly in two. The little boy lay peacefully sleeping in the corner where I had left him passed out.

"Thank god!" I grabbed him and held him to my chest.

"We should bring him home before he awakens." Mr. Tall appeared beside us. "Is the wolf man dead?"

"I knocked him out," Crepsley put his arm around me to keep me steady. "I do not know the full story. For the time being it can wait."

"I will deal with the wolf man, Miss Shan please return your friend home and make sure he stays there."

Finding his house wasn't the problem, since my powers had become stronger all I had to do was follow his scent. It was saying goodbye that got me. I laid Sam in front of his family's doorstep. Like the coward I was I rang the doorbell and then ran away from the imminent questions that would follow.

"I am proud of you." Mr. Crepsley told me when we arrived back in camp.

"I feel disgusting...but I don't regret what I did. I had to protect him."

"The boy will live another day," The vampire smiled and patted my head. "He has you to thank for that."

"Will he remember?" I asked fearfully.

"Perhaps, but I doubt it will overshadow how grateful he is to be alive and well."

"I guess I really am a vampire's assistant now, aren't I?"

The vampire next to me sighed unhappily, "Yes, I suppose you are. But I do wish it had happened under better circumstances."

As soon as we returned to camp a figure ran up to me and nearly ran me over with the force of her hug.

"You IDIOT!" Evra cried out and sobbed into my shoulder.

I gave her a tight squeeze back, her scales clinging to my skin.

"I'm sorry, I know you were worried."

"Worried? Worried! I was scared to death."

After the general upset had calmed down and my cuts were attended to I began to finish packing for the big move.

Mr. Crepsley loaned me a few extra boxes to place all my new things in. I hadn't realized it but I'd accumulated quite a few new treasures since we started living here.

The vampire was folding his capes next to me. I set the last item down and turned to him. No longer able to hold back.

"You saved me."

"Of course I did." He admitted.

"I don't understand you. I thought my death...Well, maybe it would bring you some peace." I admitted.

Mr. Crepsley stopped what he was doing and fixed me with a strange look. There was a fire burning behind his eyes.

"My life has not been peaceful since you entered it. But….I do not mind it."

My cheeks were burning. My eyes widened as I took in the man before me.

"Crepsley…." He waited for my response. I couldn't find the words to say. So I did the next best thing.

I kissed him.

"Thank you."

End book 2

MY GOODNESS! SO. . I know what you're thinking, a triple update, a true blessing. Were moving onto book 3 now. My LEAST favorite of the novels to rewrite. But since I already have it done I'm going to drink a celebratory glass of wine and do a little jig. Let Me know what you think in the comments. LET ME KNOW YOUR HEADCANONS PLEASE. If I like them I WILL write them for you (honestly). Review!

Thanks for hanging on through this crazy journey!

PMD