The red-haired woman and the humanoid jackal both stare into the scrying glass. “Do you see any sign of him?” asks the woman.

“There’s nothing. I’m certain this is the place. I can see him going there and then nothing. I need to go there myself and see what happened. In the glass he’s just there one minute and gone the next.”

“But he’s not dead.”

“No. I’d see the body if he’d been killed. He’s just… gone elsewhere.”

“I hope so.”

“Have faith. He’s a survivor. I’m certain he’s still alive. It’s just a matter of finding him.”

The woman stares at the glass and sighs. “I hope you’re right. I truly hope you’re right.”

It was a week later before Aidan saw Lucy again, and as always she was full of questions. “Hi Aidan! How are you doing?”

“Pretty good” he said as she plopped down on the couch. It was a Thursday night and the club as half empty, so the couch was otherwise unoccupied.

“Well, I hope I don’t bother you too much, but I’m still curious. Can I ask at least one or two questions?”

“Ask all you want. I still reserve the right to be evasive and confusing, but I won’t lie to you. I haven’t so far.”

“So when you said you were a real vampire…”

“I’m a real vampire. The fangs weren’t done by my dentist.”

“Wow. What’s it like?”

“What’s being human like? It’s not really that different.”

“But you drink blood.”

“Sure.”

“That has to be different. I mean… well, how do you… uh…”

“How do I get it? If you’re asking do I creep in through bedroom windows to drain young girls dry, no. Even if I were so inclined my wife would never let me hear the end of it. I sneak in through stable doors and take a small donation from horses, generally. It doesn’t have to be human blood.”

“Oh. You’re married? Aren’t you a little young for that? Or no, you’re probably centuries old or something.”

Aidan laughed. “I am a bit older than I look, but not centuries. I’m thirty-four. And yes, I’m married. I got married young. I was barely nineteen at the time. But what about you? What brings you out looking for vampires?”

“I’ve just always been fascinated by them. Ever since I read my first vampire story when I was just a kid. And then I read this book about real vampires, about people who aren’t undead but who do sometimes drink blood, and they get permanent fangs, and run around at night and all this bizarre stuff. I wanted to learn more, so I decided to start locally, find out what I could here in Salt Lake. Once I’ve finished my research here I may go somewhere where I can find a larger vampire community. But you’d be surprised how many of them there are around here. Some of them come to places like this, but most of the ones who are really serious about it meet in private little groups. I’ve actually got an appointment to talk to the leader of a sort of vampire coven later tonight.”

“Is that safe? I mean you’re going to go alone to talk to a guy who most likely really drinks human blood?”

“I think I’ll be okay. You of all people should know that not all vampires are bad people.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t chose to be a vampire. If I had my way I’d still be an ordinary mortal. I’m a bit suspicious of anybody who doesn’t have to live this lifestyle but does anyhow. Drinking blood isn’t always healthy, physically or psychologically speaking.”

“Aidan, this book is my goal, my life’s work. I can’t find out what I need to know just hanging around goth clubs. I need to go speak with this man.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“What?”

“I don’t want you to go alone.”

“Who appointed you my bodyguard? Besides, I could probably break you in two myself.”

“Ah, but you forget, I’m a true undead. I’m much, much stronger than I look. And I’m very hard to injure. I’ve been shot, stabbed, burned, and even staked, and I’m still here.”

“If you say so. But why do you want to protect me anyhow? I really can take care of myself. And you hardly know me.”

Aidan shrugged. “I’d like to think of you as a friend. I don’t have very many and it would be a shame for me to lose you before I even get to know you. Now, can I come along?”

“All right, since you insist.”

“So who is this character anyhow?”

“He goes by 'Janus' though is real name is Andrew. I've done a little poking around, and he's some kind of middle management for the local office of an electronics company. That's part of why I really want to talk to him, he has such an ordinary day life, and yet he's the leader of a group of vampires by night. That's exactly the kind of thing I want to explore in my book. I've heard all kinds of crazy rumors about what his group gets up to, including some really wild stuff about black magic. I'm sure most of it isn't true, but being able to see a group vampire ritual isn't a chance to pass up lightly!”

“They invited you to an actual ritual then? When they don't even know you?” Aidan was suspicious. He didn't know if it would work here like it did at home, but blood magic wasn't something he thought well of.

“They said I could come and meet them before the ritual, and if they approve of me, they'll let me see it.”

“I see.” Aidan was suddenly very, very glad that Lucy had agreed to let him come along.