"You lose."

Heli looks down at the coloured plastic pieces scattered across the game board and drops his handful of cards.

"You cheated."

"I didn't." Viken shakes his head.

"You were so far behind, I don't believe you."

"You're just sore because you lost! I win, so I get to decide on a punishment."

Heli sighs. He had been so confident he agreed to Viken's terms without thinking. Growing up, he rarely lost at games. When Viken pulled the stack of board games out of a closet and proposed a punishment for the loser, the thought he might wind up at the receiving end didn't even cross his mind.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Hmm," Viken leans back, a hand on his chin as he thinks. "Something annoying but not much affects you so let's think."

"What would you make Eugene do?"

"I dunno, kiss a toad, eat newt's eyes, something really gross." A grin crosses his face. "I got it. Eat garlic."

Heli's mouth drops open. "You're not serious."

"I want to see what would happen."

"That's- that's too much. I couldn't stand it at Oma's."

"I've been wondering," Viken leans forward over the game board. "What if a vampire drinks blood after someone has eaten garlic? There are a lot of foods around the world that have it, you know. It could just happen by accident."

"Garlic has a strong smell doesn't it?"

"You can smell things in people's blood?"

"Sometimes."

"Come on, I'm not asking you to walk out into the sun."

Heli stands. "You are terrible," he says but marches into the kitchen anyway.

Viken does have a point and truth be told Heli is also curious. There were some regions where the carnival wouldn't go, and though he didn't think much of it at the time, he wonders if it was related to the strongly scented cuisine the people ate there. If enough of something was in someone's blood it was easy enough to smell. But what if it's only a little bit? It would be silly to avoid entire countries just for the presence of one small herb.

"Hold on," Viken follows. "If it's actually going to kill you then don't."

"I don't think that would happen." Heli opens a cupboard door and stares blankly at the contents.

"There's some somewhere for potion ingredients…" Viken runs back out of the kitchen and returns a few minutes later with a white bulb in hand.

Heli's heart is pounding as Viken peels off one clove of garlic.

"Let's just do a little bit," Viken says.

"Okay."

"Um. Let's dilute it in something too."

"Okay."

Viken minces it really fine, takes one of the blood-filled jars from the refrigerator and pours the entire contents into a glass. He dumps the garlic into it and slides it across the counter to Heli.

"It smells really bad," Heli says.

"I don't disagree."

With a deep breath, Heli picks up the glass. Viken watches with wide eyes. In one motion, Heli tips back and chugs the contents. The taste is buried under the normal metallic flavour of iron, but there's a sharp undertone like acid. He swallows and it burns. His mouth and throat sting as he downs the entire contents.

"Well?"

Heli can feel his cheeks growing warm. Such a tiny amount isn't comparable to Oma's bouquet, and he pushes the memory of that night from his mind. He just needs to keep his head grounded. "I think it's okay."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," Heli nods. The burning is fading and he doesn't feel anything else abnormal. "Let's play another game. Don't cheat this time."

Viken laughs. "I didn't cheat!"

They settle back down on the shaggy rug and reset the game board for another round. Viken shuffles and deals the cards.

"Why don't you go first then?" Viken suggests.

Heli nods and takes his move. It's an easy enough game, but the longer they play the harder it's becoming to focus. He looks down at the cards in his hand. The text on them is all bleeding together and he can't read it.

Actually, the entire room looks weird. His head feels like it's swimming somewhere far away.

"It's your turn," Viken says.

"What?"

"It's your turn."

"Oh, right." Heli looks back from the cards, to the board. For some reason it's moving.

"Are you sure you're okay? You keep swaying."

"No, no I can't float."

"I didn't say that?"

Heli laughs. And laughs. And laughs. The cards fall out of his hand as he doubles over in hysterics.

"Can we just lie down a minute?" He gasps.

Viken pushes the game aside and Heli's head drops to the floor.

"Okay," Viken frowns. "I don't like this."

Heli rolls onto his back and stares up at the spinning ceiling. He can't stop laughing even though he's run out of air and it's starting to hurt. "Don't forget it was your idea."

"What's going on?" he hears Eugene's voice. He sounds like he's talking through a tunnel, somehow not quite here.

"Is a game," Heli giggles.

"Why are you on the floor?"

"I dunno."

"Viken, what did you do to him?"

"Uh," Viken mumbles something inaudible.

Eugene kneels down next to Heli, who's finally stopped giggling. He grins up at Eugene.

"Eugene," he sings. "What's disco?"

Eugene stares down at him blankly.

"Didn't you want them to be friends and get along?" That voice belongs to Soule.

Eugene presses his head into his hands. "I wanted them to not kill each other. Not turn into twin idiots. The last thing we need is loud Viken and quiet Viken."

Another fit of giggles.

"Is he drunk? What's going on?"

"I, uh. Dared him to eat garlic."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"I was wondering, you know, if someone eats it and then-"

"That's hardly the same thing. Wasn't Oma's warning enough? She clearly said he shouldn't do that."

"She said imagine eating it," Heli corrects him.

Eugene lets out a groan.

"Can he actually eat normal food?" Soule asks.

"I dunno if those organs still work. Should we try it?" says Heli.

"No, we're not trying that. This is enough reckless experimentation with your own body for the night." Eugene looks up at Viken, who leans down to lift Heli up by the shoulders.

"Why are you so heavy?" he grunts.

"It's the dead weight," says Eugene.

"Whassit matter what I eat?" The smile fades from Heli's face and drops into a deep frown. The tightness in his chest is turning into a sinking pain in his stomach. "I'm dead."

"No you're un- no, please don't cry," Eugene starts. "Really, please don't."

"That's so gross," Viken whispers.

Heli's vision is turning pink.

"Let's move him to the sofa, come on."

Eugene pulls a tissue from a box next to the couch and wipes the blood-streaked tears from Heli's face.

"It's going to be alright, next time just don't-"

"Just useless and stupid," Heli mutters between hiccups.

"No one said that."

"She did."

Eugene mouths "Who is she?" to Viken, but Viken just shrugs.

"Eugene," Soule says softly. "Why don't you ask Oma what's happening to him? She should know what to do."

"Good thinking." Eugene stands. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Please don't let him be sick or anything, it'll look like a crime scene in here." He crosses the room and Heli hears the jingle of keys and the close of the door.

Heli curls up on the sofa and closes his eyes. At least he can't see the room spinning anymore but he still feels like he's on a boat, rocking in the waves. Nausea isn't something he's experienced in a long, long time.

"Maybe he'll sleep it off," Viken says.

"Hopefully."

He's not sure if he is asleep or not. Dreaming isn't something a corpse typically does, even if it does eventually reawaken, but his mind is giving him a vivid playback of several overlapping memories.

Useless, stupid boy

There's a voice he would much rather forget. Now it's attached to a face distorted in shock as she's dragged down the orphanage's halls.

I want you near me. I need you to swear it.

Lamia's face is gentle when she looks at him now, and a small smile curls on her lips as their eyes meet.

"You've improved so much, Heli," she says from the balcony overhead. "And you Solon, it seems like you're a natural talent."

Heli glances down at Solon who stands a few paces away, sabre in hand. Fencing must have been something he had learned growing up, before leaving his home. Solon looks away as he hides his own smile. Lamia doesn't praise them often. Heli's not sure why she gave him a compliment at all. He's lost to Solon in every round and is sporting a shallow cut on his upper arm. There are no safety precautions. Any wounds heal right up, and Lamia insists they learn to prepare for real combat. And in war, all is fair.

When they've finished for the night, Heli asks her about the kind words.

"I just want to encourage you, that's all," she says. "You are very special to me. You must be able to defend us." She picks up one of the duelling sabres and examines the blade. "When you've mastered this, there are other schools of fighting I want you to learn."

"Who would we be fighting?" Heli asks.

"Vampire hunters."

"People don't really believe in vampires anymore."

"Other covens then."

She puts down the sword and glides to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "You've been so sheltered all your life, you would be surprised at what people still believe. And I have big plans for you. You are capable of so, so much."

Heli tries not to let the swell of pride show on his face.

"What kind of plans?"

"Well, I have some good news."

Lamia speaks, but it's not her voice coming out of her mouth. Rather, this voice belongs to a man.

"About what?" Heli steps back in confusion.

"You're going to be fine after all."

The voice belongs to Eugene, who's sitting Heli back up. A wave of dizziness hits and he tries to lay back down.

"Hold up, I need you to listen for a second."

"I'm up," Heli opens one eye. "What's the good news?"

"First after Oma got done laughing for five solid minutes, she said you aren't in any real danger. Garlic is used to deter vampires, not kill them. And that drinking blood after someone has consumed garlic would have an effect somewhat like alcohol."

"We barely gave him any," says Viken. "Is that really all it takes?"

Eugene shakes his head. "No, she also said drinking it after it's been digested into someone's bloodstream is not like just eating it, and you basically went straight to poisoning yourself."

Heli sighs. "No real danger though?"

"No, you just made yourself sick."

"What did she say to do?" asks Soule.

Eugene holds up a clear glass. "Try to dilute it and flush it out."

"With water?"

"That's right."

Heli takes the cup and stares into it. After a few moments he takes a tentative sip. Though it's clean and crystal clear, he's surprised by how much flavour it has. All the minerals have a distinct taste and since he's expecting it to have no flavour at all, his brain is mildly confused.

Eugene gives him a grin. "This was a stupid move, but I'm blaming Viken. And none of us think you're useless."

"Oh, that was someone from a long time ago," Heli mumbles. "Who said that."

"I see," Eugene takes back the glass. "Alright then, no more foolish dares with Viken. Just play the game like normal?" He gives Viken a light punch in the shoulder and he passes on his way across the living room.

"Got it, jeez." Viken sits down next to Heli. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," Heli says. "I agreed to do it, after all." He leans back and lets his head drop onto the back of the seat.

"Yeah, but it was still my idea." Viken pauses. "So if garlic is like alcohol, what would drinking alcohol do to you?"

"Should we try it?"

Eugene's voice booms from the kitchen. "Viken, I said no more reckless experiments!"

Heli opens the door of the refrigerator and kneels down to peer at the bottom shelf. There's only one red-filled jar left. He glances over at the clock and reads 4:48. Since the garlic incident he has slept over twenty-four hours and he's parched, so he just unscrews the lid and sits down on the floor. He hears voices and the steps of someone coming down the stairs. Whoever it is, they're up awfully early.

"Wait!"

The jar is halfway to his lips when it's snatched from his hand.

"Sorry, Eugene needs this." Taho is standing over him. Behind them the door slams and Heli just catches Eugene muttering some curse.

"That's the last one," Heli says but Taho is making his way quickly out the door.

"Sorry!" he calls back. "We'll get more later."

"I need it now."

He follows Taho out into the chilly early morning. Eugene is ahead, hopping across the stream on the unsubmerged rocks with something large in his arms.

Taho jumps across the first couple stones leaving Heli on the bank. The water is flowing gently which means Heli cannot cross.

"Hurry up! We're going to miss it." Eugene yells from in the trees. Taho turns and follows him into the darkness.

"Taho! Come back here!"

"What are you yelling about?" Viken approaches from behind, rubbing his eyes.

"What are they doing out there?"

"Eugene's got this spell he wanted to try, but he wanted to start like an hour ago."

"Spell for what? They took what was left of the blood."

"Why don't you go watch? That's what I'm gonna do."

Heli gestures at the stream.

"Yeah?" Viken asks.

"Look," Heli marches down to the water's edge and goes to take the leap to the first crossing stone, but instead he's turned back, as if an invisible hand spins him around mid-step.

"Woah."

"I can't control it, I just can't go across."

"Any way around that?"

"I don't know, is there a bridge?"

Viken shakes his head.

Soule and Avys are outside now. Soule has one arm in his jacket.

"What if someone carried you?" Viken suggests, eyeing the newcomers.

"That might work."

"I'll leave it to you, Soule," Viken gives Soule a clap on the shoulder and skips across the stream.

"What am I doing?"

Carrying Heli does work and he walks with Avys, Viken and Soule into a clearing not far on the other side. Eugene and Taho already have several torches lit, casting enough light to see the outline of a circle etched into the dirt. As he walks around the periphery of the circle, Taho pours the blood from the jar.

"Circle is done, Eugene," he says.

"Groovy." Eugene is prying something apart, and as Heli approaches, in the torch light he can see that he's taking apart the back of a frame.

"You didn't dump out all of it…did you?" asks Heli.

"Yeah, sorry." Taho says.

Eugene takes a quick upward glance. "What are you even doing here? Taho, I told you to leave him inside."

"You took my supper."

"Go back."

"I can't unless someone carries me over the stream."

Eugene drops his pliers as he lifts the back off the frame. He flips it over, and the mirror mounted inside slides out. Viken takes it from his hands and Eugene unwraps a second package of newspaper. It's a second mirror and Heli recognises this golden frame.

"Nevermind then, we have to hurry up. If we miss tonight, we'll have to wait another month and that's hoping it's not cloudy. Stay here out of the way."

"That's the Mirror of Lies," Heli remarks. "So then is that one-"

Viken turns to face him. He's holding the mirror flat to his stomach, the reflective side towards Heli. Looking back at him is a skeleton. What's left of the skin is shrunken and yellow, the eye sockets black and empty. His breath catches in his throat.

"The Mirror of Truth," Eugene finishes. "It needs to go in the centre, Viken."

"You got it." Viken walks into the earthen circle, carefully stepping over the markings of the perimeter and places the mirror on a small wooden platform. When Eugene finishes removing the second mirror from its frame, he steps inside and places it on top of the first. Next to them on the platform, he lights a stick of incense. As the smoke wafts up into the night air, the mirrors seem to sink together, combining into one.

"I need each of you to stand at the cardinal points," Eugene instructs. The other four take their positions outside the circle. Eugene also steps outside. He's mumbling something in a language Heli can't understand.

Not that he can understand any of this. It looks like the sort of thing someone would sell their soul for. The kind of witchcraft people burned for. A chill runs through his body unrelated to the current temperature.

Eugene walks around the circle once as the rest stand in silence. The minutes pass and they wait. Eugene stills and a cloud passes over the moon, shading them for just a moment. Eugene starts to tap his foot.

"Nothing is happening," Viken says. "I think you're missing something."

Eugene nods and looks around.

"Heli, come here."

Heli takes a hesitant step forward as Eugene motions for him to approach.

"What do you-"

Eugene pushes him and he stumbles into the circle. The air inside is warm, and heavy. He can feel the invisible current of energy flowing around him. Almost as soon as he enters the circle, the mirror begins to glow. Softly at first but it grows brighter while the glass lifts up, balancing by itself on its edge. Heli shields his eyes from the glaring light. He hears Soule gasp and as he peers through his fingers, he watches as the shapes inside the bright reflection twist and swirl until they're no longer looking at the forest behind them, but something else entirely.

It's a small, well-lit room. The walls are panelled wood and a wooden desk sits against under a window with closed blinds. At the desk is a woman, her long black hair cascading over her bare shoulders. She tucks her hair behind her ear, revealling her face.

"That's-" Heli blurts out, and quickly covers his mouth with his hand. It's not a face he was expecting to see, not here.

Lamia pauses and looks up from the slip of paper in front of her. Her eyes seem to search the room before settling on something exactly in front of her. Right where they are looking at her through the mirror. Right at Heli.

His body tenses as a wave of conflicting emotion washes over him. At once he's relieved that she's there, still walking this earth. He wants to step through the glass and go to her. His limbs tingle as a deep ache settles in his chest.

But at the same time, there's a sting.

If she's still around, why did she leave him?

Her mouth opens slightly, as if in surprise but she quickly closes it. The expression on her face disappears as she lifts a hand and flicks at the air in front of her.

The mirror shatters.

Slivers of glass spray around them. Viken shrieks and Heli jumps. The broken pieces of glass are dull as they hit the ground. Heli picks up one larger shard in front of him. The glass is hot and the reflection in it is foggy. He turns to Eugene.

"What are you playing at?"

Eugene kicks the edge of the circle to break the perimeter. "Seems like you recognised her. Who is she?"

"What's it to you?"

They stand facing each other, neither looking away, their eyes locked unblinking.

"I already know she's a vampire. So I'm asking you, do you know where she is?"

"And I'm asking you, why do you want to know?"

"Can we have this discussion inside, I'm cold," Viken mumbles. Soule puts a hand on Eugene's shoulder to push him along, but Heli and Eugene's standoff continues.

Finally Eugene bites his lip and admits, "We have to kill her."

Heli had expected this answer, but hearing it out loud still hurts. More than anything else, he wants to just leave this place, and be with her. He wants it so much his heart aches.

"You can't."

"Any why not?"

Heli considers his next words carefully. He doesn't want to give Eugene any hints, not a single clue that might help him figure out what his relationship with her actually is. He swallows and then answers.

"I do know of her. And I know she's ancient. She's way more powerful than you can imagine."

Eugene tilts his head. "Ancient, huh?"

"You just saw what happened." Heli lets the shard of mirror fall from his hand. "I wouldn't be surprised if she knew it was you watching."

Soule's hand tightens around Eugene's shoulder. "Is that possible?"

Eugene shakes his head. "The spell only works one way. She probably sensed it, but didn't seem to know where it was at first. Anyone with any skill would be able to pick up on the energy. The only thing that surprises me is how fast she was able to pinpoint it."

"You're underestimating her."

"I just need to readjust my plan." He tips his head for Soule to follow as he walks back towards the house.

"Ah, seriously? Just let us clean up, okay." Taho and Avys collect the torches and the scraps of newspaper that the mirrors had been wrapped in.

"Leave the glass shards for the morning," Taho says. "When we can actually see them."

Heli grabs Viken's arm. "What is Eugene planning? Tell me."

Viken looks away. "I don't know."

"I can tell you're lying. Your pulse quickened."

Viken pulls his arm away and runs a hand through his hair. "I'm actually freezing, so let's go inside, okay?"

The house is dark as Eugene and Soule apparently already returned to bed. Heli stands with folded arms as Viken paces around the living room, muttering.

"You tell him," he turns to Taho.

"You were the one who went on the vampire slaying mission."

"Yeah, but that was then. And this is-" He looks over at Heli and grimaces.

Taho clicks his tongue. "Fine. A few years ago Eugene got a commission to hunt down some vampires. No, not some. A specific vampire. It's not the type of job we usually take, but he was offered a lot."

"A lot is an understatement. It was more like, enough money to never work again," Avys says.

Taho nods and continues. "We thought at first that it was a difficult job, but it wasn't just difficult. It was seemingly impossible. We didn't know who the client was, and the only information he could give us was that this vampire was incredibly old and seemed to prefer feeding on children. We followed leads about missing or mysteriously killed children all over the continent. But there were no other connecting threads. We couldn't pinpoint where this vampire operated out of, or where we might be able to find them."

Heli lets out a laugh. "It sounds like a ruse to keep you busy, don't you think?"

"That's what I tried to tell Eugene. But he was determined. He's been on and off about this ever since. And eventually, he got hold of an old folktale about an ancient vampire queen that terrorised a remote village deep in the eastern mountains. According to the tale, one summer so many children vanished the whole town was almost abandoned. And that in the forests there she could be found in an old castle from which no humans returned."

Ah, it was all coming together now.

"So you two went to the village, I'm guessing," Heli looks at Viken. "And you decided to try to find this castle even though you had no clue how to actually hunt vampires."

Viken's cheeks flush red. "Yeah, well I didn't actually think we were going to find any. Turns out I was wrong."

"As far as Eugene was concerned, you being there, especially in the state you were in, was the best outcome. You were obviously not powerful enough to be the one we're looking for, and your curse means you can't hurt anyone. So he brought you along hoping you would give us some hints, knowingly or not." Taho looks down at his feet as he says this.

Eugene was right. You are useful.

Useful in helping them learn about vampires so they can kill them. Useful in the way that he might just let on more tidbits of information about others like him, maybe even point them in the direction of the one they were hunting.

And it seems he had done just that. Something he said, or did, led to Eugene trying to use the mirrors to look at Lamia, to implicate her in his search. Anger courses through him as he thinks back through their discussions. He never mentioned her, he never revealed to whom his oath was sworn.

Maybe it's not her they're looking for. Maybe it's someone else…

"The vampire in the mirror then," Heli says slowly. "Why her?"

Taho's eyes dart back up. "The carnival. You said you travelled with it, so we searched. It wasn't just things about you we ended up finding. When we were digging up the stories about missing children, it all started to make sense. We couldn't find a home because the vampire travelled. And everywhere the carnival went, children died. So the vampire we were looking for had to be one of the ones in the carnival."

"But why her?"

"There was one feature of the show that kept coming up over and over. Fortune telling. You told Viken you had seen a fortune teller. And there was a name that came up too, the fortune teller, Calypso, on adverts that were decades apart. So that's who we were trying to find. It was a guess. The mirror may not have shown us anything, we didn't know. If it wasn't Calypso we would have to go back and find another name. But I think your reaction confirmed what Eugene wanted to know."

Heli's eyebrows furrow. Calypso? That's not what she told him her name was. It was definitely Lamia's face he had seen. He had unwittingly led them straight to her. But…their spell shouldn't have worked if they had an alias. Heli's massively confused but he thinks he might be able to turn this around.

Taho concludes. "If this vampire does have a proclivity for children and you were one of her victims, I'd think you'd want to help us."

"I told you," Heli says. "I knew of her. But beyond what I already said, I don't know Calypso. There was no one called that when we were with the carnival."

That is not a complete lie.

"How'd you know of her then?" Viken interjects.

"Vampires have rumours and gossip, too," Heli retorts. "Powerful ones get talked about."

That seems to satisfy Viken and Avys, but Taho is still giving him an enquiring look.

"You reacted to seeing her face."

"We also have portraits! You know, like paintings? I was surprised given what I've heard about her," Heli insists. "Calypso wasn't mentioned in the 1908 advert, right?"

"No, she wasn't," Taho pauses to think for a moment. "So who turned you then? Who was in the orphanage?"

"Not her. Not Calypso. She may have been part of the carnival another time, but not then, and she was never in the castle either. And I don't know how to find her."

"If you can't help find her, then I guess that's it," Taho says. "We still have no idea where she is, even if we saw what she looks like."

Avys yawns and Viken and Taho are both rubbing their eyes.

Good for Heli if they give up. If it wasn't just before dawn Taho would probably still be poking him for holes in the story but he's obviously tired and doesn't ask anything else. Heli would rather not have to brainwash them every time this comes up. He'll have to be even more careful about what he says from now on.