Looking up into the darkened windows of the farm house, doubt creeps into Heli's mind. The house is rather large, with a steep pointed roof. The walls of the bottom half are plain white, and the top portion consists of wooden beams set in a crisscross pattern. Each window frame is painted a darker colour, but in the night light Heli isn't sure what exactly it is.

Peter had made clear several times he had no intention of dragging an entire party with him as they walked over, but as Eugene and Jaan had come knocking trying to figure out where Heli and the others had gone, they weren't about to let Peter take him anywhere without their supervision. No one was about to let Peter hunt down a Shadow on his own anyway. Though when Solon also joined them with the sword in hand, Heli had started to worry. Aside from the stares they got leaving the hostel as a crew of eight with more than one conspicuous bag and box on their person, there were far too many of them to actually stage a stealthy ambush.

So much for outsmarting the vampires.

"Are you sure someone lives here?"

"There were." Peter's expression looks like he's not too sure either. "At least the last time I was here."

"When was that?" asks Jaan.

"A few weeks ago."

"A few weeks is plenty of time for that to change."

Peter steps up to the door and gives it a couple hesitant knocks. When no one answers after a few minutes, he tries again but harder. The door creaks slightly open. Peter initially looks up in surprise, then leans into the doorway and calls out. Again, he's answered by silence.

"Now what?" Viken whispers. "Should we go in?"

Peter scans the faces of everyone standing around him.

"If that vampire is in here, there is no 'we'. You and you," he points to Eugene, "shouldn't have even come."

Eugene's eyes narrow. "I want to see how you do it."

"You're not seriously going to tell us we can't handle a vampire," adds Viken. "Do you see how many of them we've got?"

"You've got a bunch of weirdos," Peter scoffs.

"We've dealt with the sort like this guy before," says Eugene. "And if you're as good as you seem to be, then show us."

"Are you saying you want to learn?"

"Maybe I am."

Heli doesn't need Eugene to elaborate. He already knows what he's thinking. Heli may be just as happy to never see Lamia again and go his separate way, Eugene still has a job to do. Why anyone would have asked Eugene to slay Lamia when real vampire hunters clearly exist is something he'd have to ask about later.

If he wants to be at the level to take Lamia on, then dealing with this Shadow should be easy. If they can't even deal with him, against Lamia, they won't have a chance.

And so far their track record against Shadows isn't great.

Whether he's accidentally leaking thoughts or betraying himself with the expression on his face, when Solon presses the sword into his hands, he also taps Heli's shoulder in reassurance. He's come a long way since the last time they crossed paths with Lamia. The face he walked away from the monster in the arctic with this sword is proof of that. At the same time, he can't forget that Lamia is nothing like a mindless, revenge driven zombie. They're going to need to be more organised.

"You have a strategy at least, right?" Heli asks.

Peter nods and pulls a torch from his coat pocket.

"First is determining if the vampire has indeed infiltrated this house. The absence of its usual habitants makes me think that is the case."

"What if they're just not home?" asks Solon. "All their animals dying would have seemed pretty weird, maybe they just left."

"That is a possibility."

"I don't think you're very good at this."

"Listen," Peter sighs. "Vampires have existed in this town a long time. Even if people don't necessarily think about the supernatural, things have always been weird here, but people learned how to live with it. I was called to protect Hermina, not root out every vampire in the vicinity."

"You haven't done a good job at that either," says Viken.

"I'm not asking you to help me. Now you're wasting my time, and that's something Hermina doesn't have."

Viken averts his eyes to the ground, away from Peter's glare.

"Your strategy then?" Heli prompts.

"Right now, I'm just going to take a look," Peter says. "You can't enter anyway and I don't see what use your mortal friends will be, so you are all going to just keep a look out and make sure this Shadow doesn't return."

"And if he's already inside?"

"Then I'll slay him." Peter pauses, a hand on the knob of the door. "Hermina ought to be wherever he's hiding."

Whether he knows this as fact or is trying to reassure himself, Heli isn't sure.

"If you want to come with," Peter addresses Eugene. "I'll allow it as long as you do exactly as I tell you."

Eugene's face perks up. "Of course."

With a tip of his head, Peter beckons him to follow as he fully pushes open the door. They both enter the dark, leaving the door ajar behind them. The sound of their footsteps disappear as the rest wait.

The air isn't as chill as it had been, though there is a bit of a cold wind. The moonlight brightens and wanes as clouds pass in front of it. Viken shivers, rubbing his hands together.

"Well, this sucks."

Heli looks to Jino, who is looking up at the upstairs windows.

"Do you think he's here?"

"Yes," says Jino. "If he's not inside, he's nearby."

"We should be prepared in any case," Jaan agrees. "It might be a good idea to check for a back door, he may try to get around us, either in or out."

"On it." Solon is already turning the corner of the house. Jaan follows, mumbling about no one going off alone.

"Do we really just have to wait here?" Viken whines.

Heli cups his hands and tries to look inside one of the lower windows. He can see the outline of a kitchen table and a kettle on a stove, but there's no sign of movement.

"I have a bad feeling," says Jino, and Heli has to agree. Something just feels off.

He walks back to the door, leaning as close to the threshold as he dares. He doesn't feel any pressure, no resistance pushing him away from the house, no barriers going up guarding the interior from his presence.

He steps inside.

"Hey!" Jakah cries out, but Heli calmly turns.

"No one lives here."

"I'm going in then," Viken doesn't hesitate. "Better than standing out in the cold."

"Even if there's a Shadow here?"

"We're not going searching for him are we? We can just stay in the doorway."

"I'm going to look around," says Jino, and he too steps inside. "I have just as much of a reason to want him out of town as Peter does."

Jino leads the way as Heli and Jakah follow. Viken, not willing to be left alone, also tags along, one hand hanging on Heli's coat sleeve.

Though they try to stay quiet, the creaks of the old wooden floor betray them. Framed black and white photos hang on the walls, which are painted plain white. Dried herbs hang in the kitchen, and empty milk bottles sit by the sink. A sickly, sour smell permeates the lower rooms. On a plain wooden table, what appears to have once been a loaf of bread is reduced to a lump of fuzzy mould. Out of the wind, it's a little more comfortable but the house is still chilled. A wood stove is unlit.

Viken's grip tightens as they climb up the stairs to the second floor. Up here, the smell is even worse. With his free hand, Viken covers his mouth and nose.

"It smells like the barn."

It grows stronger as they approach a door at the end of the hall. Jino and Jakah walk right in, while Heli is more hesitant, slowly inching around the frame as he and Viken peer inside.

A simple wooden bed sits in the centre. A patchwork quilt is on the floor, as if it had been tossed aside. Other objects are also scattered across the floor, and the only thing still standing on a bedside table is an unlit oil lamp. Dark stains spread across the lighter coloured blankets still on the bed, where two contorted figures still lay.

Jino leans close to inspect what had been the former inhabitants of the house. They look dried out and shrunken.

"I can't tell how long it's been," says Jino. "When did Peter say he tried to talk to them?"

"He said it's been a few weeks," says Heli. "When we looked in the barn and the animals were all dead, that was only a couple days ago."

"Shouldn't they smell worse?" adds Jakah and Jino frowns.

"I regret coming inside," says Viken. He lets go of Heli's arm and slides to the floor, his back to the hallway wall. "I hope Peter hurries up, I don't want to meet this Shadow."

"I'm not letting him get away with this," says Jino, his face set in grim determination. "You can go back if you want."

As Jakah protests, promising Jino they'll stick with him to the end, Heli reaches down to reassure Viken, but he's gone. Rather than the floor, Heli stares into a pitch black void. He blinks and rubs his eyes as darkness seems to rise like thick smoke, blotting out his vision. He puts out a hand and touches the wall as everything goes black.

"Whose power is this?" He hears Jakah say.

Someone pushes past him.

"Who was that?"

"It's me, ouch!" Viken's voice is punctuated by a soft thunk.

"Stop walking into me," Jakah grumbles. For some reason their voices also seem to be fading.

Was he going to lose hearing as well? Heli keeps his hand on the wall trying to steady himself, deciding it best not to move until they know what's going on.

"Are you still there?"

A bright light blooms from the blackness. The flicker of a flame cuts through the dark, and seems to float towards him. The light doesn't travel far, but it's enough to illuminate Jino's face and hands as he approaches, the oil lamp in hand.

"I'm here," says Heli. They wait for a response from Jakah and Viken, but there is none.

"Did they wander off?" asks Jino.

"I can try to find them," says Heli. "Their energy will be easy to-"

He's interrupted by a loud noise overhead. Both he and Jino look up, but they're staring into nothing.

"You can find them with your telepathy, right?" Jino asks. "Can you find everyone in the house right now?"

Heli nods and closes his eyes to concentrate. Jino's energy beside him is soft but steady. There's another presence not too far away from them, as well as someone above and below, but as if the smoky blackness is clouding his mental acuity as well as his physical vision, the energies are blurred and he can't tell who's who.

"Unless Eugene and Peter have split up, there's someone else in the house with us," he says. "Jakah and Viken are in the next room, but maybe this darkness is dulling our voices."

"I don't like this," says Jino. "Let's see if we can walk out of it."

Heli follows Jino's light as they take slow and cautious steps in the direction he thinks Viken might have gone. He holds out his arms, searching for the opposite wall. Above them, more thudding and creaking sounds ring out. They pause.

"Jakah, can you hear me?" Jino calls out.

"Yes!" Jakah's voice is tiny, as if he's standing far away.

"We were looking for a light, but it's dark in here too," Viken adds.

"There's only us on this floor, right?" Jino asks Heli.

"Right," Heli affirms, and Jino calls out to Jakah again.

"Stay with Viken and don't move," he says. "We're not alone."

"Oh, no," Viken groans.

Jino continues walking with the lamp, and Heli sticks close behind him.

"We can't fight a Shadow we can't see," Heli says. "I wouldn't want to risk hurting Eugene or Peter."

"I agree," says Jino. "What is this? Oh, there's a staircase."

As they head up the stairs air around them clears, gradually brightening back into the natural moonlit night. Jino pushes open a door and they climb out into an attic. The ceiling slopes steeply over boxes piled along the walls. On the opposite end a window is open, and a thin curtain flutters in the wind. A couple bats circle around the beams of the ceiling and in the very centre of the room, a robed figure hunches over. He stands, but before fully turning, Jino is already in action. He throws the lamp to the floor, scattering shards of glass around the Shadow's feet as oil splashes onto his robe. Within seconds he's alight, flames engulfing his entire figure.

The flames go out just as quickly. The Shadow merely waves his hand, and all is extinguished, leaving only lingering wisps of smoke. He deftly dodges Jino's arm, and as his hood falls back, his copied face comes into view.

The fake Jino smiles as he dodges another hit from the real one. He lifts from the floor and shoots straight for Heli.

Heli draws the sword, ready to take a defensive strike when their eyes meet. Like a shock of electricity, a crackling sensation courses through his body. The Shadow's pupils widen to an impossible degree, empty black eyes as if he's able to see straight into Heli's mind, taking in every detail like he's reading a book.

The Shadow's face ripples. For just a moment he's a blank slate. Then, to Heli's absolute horror, he's staring at himself. The few seconds Heli hesitates in surprise is all the Shadow needs. He hits Heli with a hard wide swing, catching the side of his head.

Heli stumbles, barely regaining his balance to avoid hitting the floor. Jino rushes forward, a hand raised. The Shadow waves his arm again, but instead of igniting flames, Jino is propelling backwards across the room, hitting a large wood trunk hard. At the same time, the sword starts to pull in his hand, as if also trying to fling itself across the room. He grips it tight, not daring to let go.

The Shadow looks at him tilting his head as he takes a step closer.

"Incredible." The voice in Heli's head almost sounds like his own, but there's an echo of someone else. This voice is deeper and gravelly, dripping with malice. ""So this is what it feels like."

Heli squeezes his eyes shut, so the Shadow can't look into them again. He can practically feel the Shadow's presence in his mind. It's not like Lamia. The Shadow is abrasive as he tries to reach further into his head. Heli pushes back, desperate to force him out.

Flashes of light and colour erupt in front of his closed eyes. An unintelligible voice mutters in his ear. His heart skips a beat as Lamia speaks, audible through the noise.

You must not let him live…

She's disjointed and crackled, murky like the photocopied images Eugene had shown him.

He pushes back harder and the flashing colours slow and come into focus. He's standing in a darkened library. A fire crackles in a fireplace and in front of it a man with curly blond hair sits, his legs crossed. In hand he gently swirls a blood filled glass with a long stem.

The edges of the scene are fuzzy, and Heli can't move. He can't even look around. The body inhabiting this scene is not his.

"A couple of your children came to me." M. L- eyes Lamia as she paces. "Curious and charming, they were. I see why you chose them."

"Which ones?" Lamia snaps. "The circus freaks or those orphans?"

"I did not realise that was a distinction you made. Have you lost track of your coven?"

Lamia stops. "Of course not. I know how to find each one of them."

"Then you should already know." M. L- smiles and takes a sip of blood. "These orphans were at your party, were they not? Whatever happened to the young man who accompanied you then? I do apologise, as I cannot recall his face."

She turns away, her fingers curling into fists. "What about him? That was years ago."

"He seemed to be full of promise."

"I locked him away," Lamia says. "He ought to be dead by now."

"Why ever would you do that?"

"I had to!" Lamia turns, her voice rising. "You certainly saw it as well. I could not control him, he had to be destroyed."

M. L- remains calm as he turns his eyes from his glass to Lamia's angry face.

"Then why not just kill him?"

"I had him in an oath." She turns away and sighs. "I couldn't leave him. So long as he remained in that tower there would be no repercussions. He would die naturally, even if it took a few years. But when we had to evacuate, he was left behind. I had no choice."

"It weakened you." M. L- nods in understanding. "But you did not send any of your minions to retrieve him either." He gestures towards the Shadows lurking in the corners of the room.

"If he was still alive I was not about to give him any hope."

"So you chose to remain in hiding instead. What a fascinating outcome." M. L- smiles. "You must be feeling better, as you agreed to come see me."

She returns a smug grin.

"Even at my weakest, you wouldn't hold a candle to me."

"Very true." M. L- smiles back. "Fear not. I will tell no one you were here."

She watches him silently as he takes another sip of blood. Apparently content, she turns and leaves.

Come.

The Shadows follow without a word. Heli is impressed, really, at how seamless her commands are. She's not just talking to them, it's as if they're so in tune, her thoughts are like their own.

Don't let him find them!

If you have to, kill them all…

His own feelings quickly move from awe to abhorrence. Just having this Shadow in his head feels disgusting. With a renewed sense of determination, he spreads his own energy outward, rooting the Shadow's hold on him out.

"I already know what Lamia thinks of me," he says. "And you feel nothing. Try again."

An annoyed expression crosses the Shadow's - Heli's - face and Heli's feet lift from the floor. The entire room feels like it's vibrating as boxes and other loose objects rise into the air. He's totally helpless as he shoots to the high ceiling, completely unable to control the movement of his own body. The Shadow looks up at him, circling slowly as he taunts.

"Such a waste," he says. "You have no idea how to use your own power, do you?"

In the periphery of Heli's vision, he sees the bats settling onto the beams of the attic ceiling. A shiver runs down his body. He could try using the sword telekinetically, but if the Shadow is also able to copy their powers, he could send it back or stop it just as easily. Best to keep it in their own hands. Anger rises in his chest. He looks down at his own face, the Shadow laughing at him as he's beaten by an imitation of his own powers.

That's right. The Shadow is just a bad copy. As Heli looks more closely, there's something off about his face. The features just aren't quite right, his mouth out of proportion, the nose not the same shape. Heli knows what he looks like thanks to Viken's gifted mirror and the face below him is an obscene mockery. Taking it down should be easy.

One of the bats spreads its wings the same time he calls out.

"Solon!"

With a push he breaks his arm free from the Shadow's force, sending the sword swiftly out of his own hand and into that of Solon, who transforms as he drops from the ceiling. He swings down in a single swift motion. The Shadow leaps to the side, repelling Solon but losing his grip on Heli and Jino. Heli lands on his feet as the Shadow darts for the open attic door, dropping down to the stairs below. Jino doesn't hesitate to follow.

Solon tosses the sword back to Heli.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Bats hibernate in winter. I'm not a complete idiot."

Shouting rings out from the floor below. They jump through the attic trapdoor, nearly sliding down the steps. The darkness on the second floor has dissipated. Jakah and Viken emerge, running towards them wide-eyed as Heli runs past.

"He went for the stairs!" Jakah shouts.

The Shadow tears through the house through the second floor and back down to the first. As they pass various rooms, pieces of furniture crash through the walls, sending splinters of wood flying. The whole house seems to groan by the time they're back in the kitchen.

He comes to an abrupt stop, as there is someone else standing in the doorway. Jaan's silhouette guards the way out.

"I was hoping you'd come this way," he says. "Not the face I was expecting. This look doesn't suit you."

With a quick kick, the Shadow flies back, slamming into the opposite wall. He tries to stand, but Jino pushes him back down as Heli closes in, sword in hand.

The Shadow is trapped, back to the wall. All Heli needs to do is plunge the blade into his heart. The Shadow struggles to pull free as Jino grips his arm.

Heli lifts the sword over his head, ready to bring it straight down when he's frozen again. The same force that had pushed him into the ceiling presses into his arms, stopping his motion. His arm trembles as he fights against it. He takes a quick glance towards Jino and Solon. Both are frozen, Jino still pressing his full weight into the Shadow's shoulder, holding down, Solon's arm raised as though he's trying to run while standing still.

He doesn't know how long he can hold this. The tension in his arms hurts. He's not making any headway. In fact, the Shadow is successfully pushing him away. The sword is lifting higher instead of lowering towards him. If the Shadow manages to make him break his hold on the sword…he doesn't want to imagine what he would do.

An earsplitting crack reverberates through the room. Heli had been pushing so hard, when the force suddenly stops he tumbles forward. The Shadow sinks to the floor, his arm falling from Jino's grip as dark blood pours from his chest. Heli turns to see Peter and Eugene. Peter lowers his pistol.

"And that's how I do it."

The Shadow's face ripples once more as it reverts back into his original face. Peter rushes forward, grabbing the Shadow by the cloak.

"Where is Hermina?" he demands. "Tell me what you've done to her!"

"Wouldn't you like to know," the Shadow wheezes. "She'll go back to you if she wants, but don't count on that."

"Where is she? Is she alive? Tell me she's alright, at least!"

"Oh, yes she's quite well."

His head rolls back, the skin shrinking as it browns, betraying the vampire's true age as he rapidly mummifies. He looks up at Heli as his eyes cloud. Peter straightens up, his face an expression of rage.

"Lamia may let you go," the Shadow says. "But I seem to recall…the last time…she boarded her ship with some companions that may interest you. A tall boy…and a boy with red hair. I wonder what she'll do to them."

Heli's breath catches in his throat as the scene before him seems to slow.

"Where did they go?" Jaan grabs the Shadow's shoulders as he shouts. "Where did she take Noa and Shion?"

The Shadow laughs, even as he disintegrates, the robe deflating as he turns to dust. Heli watches in stunned silence as Jaan continues yelling at the empty robe, the wispy fabric gripped tightly in his hands.

Heli feels it before he sees it. Another presence in the house passes behind him, almost too quick to notice. A dark shape races through the dark, slipping out the door. Heli drops the sword and takes off after it. The front door slams behind him as someone calls out.

"Heli!"

The figure ahead of him is practically gliding as it races away from the house and down the road. Her long hair and silk robe flutter behind her. She heads away from the town, further into the countryside at an incredible speed. Heli considers teleporting to cut them off, but by the time he gets to one point, she'll probably already be well past him.

Though this figure's identity is obvious, part of him hopes he's wrong anyway.

Being right would mean they were too late.

She stops at a crossroads, quickly looking in either direction, then turns to face him. In the dim moonlight, he can't clearly see her face.

"Hermina, wait," Heli calls out. "What are you doing? We can help you, come with-"

Before he can finish, a carriage appears, hurtling from the left as it comes down the road. A black horse pulls a boxy, red car that's decorated with gilded gold. On each corner of the front and back is a lantern, full of flickering light. The driver's face is obscured by a wide-brimmed hat and the collar of his coat. It stops in front of Hermina, who doesn't hesitate to step forward and pull open the door. Emblazoned in gold is the C monogram of the Carnival Claritas.

"I was trying to figure it out for quite a while," she says. "Why was everyone so obsessed with a dead man? Now that I've met you, I get it. I really do."

Hermina jumps onto the step, one hand on the door and the other on the roof of the carriage. She looks back to Heli and grins. With the lantern light, there's no mistaking fanged teeth and the red hue of her eyes.

"Get what?" Heli questions. "What are you talking about? Please, don't go with them!"

Hermina looks down on him with a bemused expression, unmoved by his pleas as she answers.

"The desire to watch you die slowly."

She laughs and the carriage lurches forward. Heli runs forward and reaches out, but he's already too late. Hermina snaps the door closed as she slips inside. Its horse breaks into a gallop and the carriage vanishes into the night.