"So, I've been reading up on banshees, and it looks like we're going to need some gold." Carmine said.

She and Mia had gone over to Anna's apartment so the three of them could discuss their plan. Mia was glad that for once that Luke hadn't been invited. Anna thought he should be able to come since he was helping them, but Carmine had actually been the one to stop it.

"If we're going to discuss our plans in any detail, there's a good chance that something'll come up that we wouldn't want Luke to hear – either about why Summer's blackmailing us, or about vampires running faster or being stronger, or whatever." she'd pointed out. Fortunately, that was all it had taken to convince Anna that this particular meeting should be more private; they would tell Luke the plan after they'd come up with it.

"Why do we need gold?" Mia asked.

"There's not a lot of things out there that have any effect on banshees." Carmine told them. "I've been reading for weeks, and the only thing I've found is that they're scared of gold. It's the only thing that even looks like it has a chance of working."

"But why are they afraid of gold?" Mia asked, skeptical.

"I don't know why. I just know that they are. You know how silver is supposed to have magic properties against werewolves? It looks like gold has some against banshees."

Mia tried to stifle a sudden nervous giggle. Surely Carmine didn't suspect anything, did she? Mia looked as casually at Carmine as she could, but couldn't find any hint of suspicion on her face. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

"I wonder what's so special about gold." Anna said, half to herself. Carmine shrugged; she didn't need an explanation for why something would work. Mia was just glad for the change in topic.

"Where are we going to get that much gold?" Mia asked. She figured they'd probably need piles of the stuff if it was going to do any good. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head.

"We'll get Summer to help us." she said. It should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

"But why would they give us anything?" Carmine asked. Now it was her turn to be skeptical.

"Because they've done nothing this whole time except tell us what to do. But this is their problem, not ours. So if they want us to solve their problem for them, they're going to have to help out."

Anna looked at Mia for a minute before her eyes got a kind of faraway look.

"I'm not sure she's going to help us. She's always seemed like the kind of person who thinks people shouldn't rely on others."

"Well, if they won't help us at all, I'm not sure I can help them." Mia said.

She was starting to get really tired of having to do all the work for someone who wasn't even nice to her. She looked from Anna to Carmine. Out of the corner of her eye, Mia saw that Anna was starting to look uncomfortable, but Mia didn't back down. She looked at Carmine, hoping she could convince her.

"Unless the whole fae community here is made up of no one but Summer, Heather, and that girl they'd brought to the park, they have to have more people than us. And that means they have more help. So if they can't even pull their own community together to help save themselves, I don't see how we're going to be able to help." Mia told her.

"I do see your point." Carmine said slowly. "But what if Summer tells the other fae that we're the ones responsible for the whole thing?"

"But we're not." Mia said.

"I know that. But how many of them do you think know it? And if it comes down to them believing us or believing Summer – who they've probably known since she was born – who do you think they're going to believe?"

"So what are we supposed to do?" Mia asked, feeling deflated. The whole thing was beginning to look hopeless. It seemed like every time she thought about this whole mess, it just got more and more complicated.

"Look, we don't actually need all that much. From everything I understand, banshees are scared away after seeing only a little piece of gold. Like a ring or a coin or something."

"Oh." Anna said suddenly, her face brightening.

"What?"

"I forgot. I have some gold coins in my closet. If we're careful, we can use those."

"That'd be perfect!" Carmine said, grinning.

"But how are they going to help anyway?" Mia asked. "If gold just scares them away, isn't that the opposite of what we want?"

"Not if we get on all sides of the banshee." Carmine said.

Mia and Anna just stared at her in confused silence.

"They run away from gold. But if we get on all sides, there's nowhere to run, right?"

"No." Mia said. "They can still disappear."

"I thought so too. But apparently they'll be scared enough that they'll stay put."

"You read that?" Mia asked. Carmine managed to find out a lot of weird information, but she had a hard time believing that was in any book Carmine could have checked out.

"Actually, I asked Dawn." Carmine confessed.

"Who?" Mia asked.

"She was one of the girls with Summer in the park – she's in chemistry with me." Carmine said told her. "She's not a lot of help, but she did manage to at least confirm the gold thing."

"At least now we have a plan." Anna said. "We should start with the one at the hospital. She seems to go there often enough that even if we make a mistake, I don't think we'll scare her away for long."

Mia nodded, glad that was settled. She was about to say something when Carmine spoke up. Apparently, banshees weren't the only thing on her mind.

"So...I was wondering if maybe the next time you guys go out I could go with you?" Carmine asked.

"You go out with us all the time." Anna said, her confusion obvious.

"No, I don't mean to hang out." Carmine said, shifting slightly. "I mean, you know, out. Like looking for people at night?"

Mia's eyes widened. It was true Carmine knew about her and Anna being vampires, and she was even ok with it. But she had never gone out with them when they went hunting.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Mia said quickly, before Anna had a chance to respond.

"Why not?" Carmine asked.

"Because." Mia said.

She couldn't even begin to explain all of the reasons she didn't want Carmine to be there when she went hunting; Carmine might be ok with her friends being vampires right now, but if she saw them actually attacking someone, that might change. Mia remembered how last year, it was seeing a vampire's particularly brutal attack that had finally convinced Carmine to help get rid of him. And sure, he'd been terrorizing the city, putting people in a panic – but that didn't change the fact that Carmine had agreed he needed to go. Mia knew she and Anna were never so brutal, but what if Carmine didn't feel the same way? No matter how gentle she was, there was no getting away from the fact that it was still an attack on someone. What if Carmine changed her mind about her friends once she saw what they did? Mia knew she couldn't take that chance.

Carmine clearly wasn't convinced. Mia could tell she'd put a lot of thought into this, and she wasn't going to give up easily. She looked like she was going to say something else, but Anna spoke up before Carmine got the chance.

"I think it would be better if you didn't." Anna said slowly.

Carmine looked disappointed that even Anna was saying no, but she tried to hide it. Mia was relieved when Carmine didn't push the issue. She thought the whole thing was settled until Anna talked to her in chemistry that Monday.

"After you left yesterday, Carmine stayed for a little longer." Anna started. Mia could tell from the look on her friend's face that she wasn't going to like what was said next. "She talked to me some more about coming with us on a hunt."

"And you told her no, right?" Mia hoped that Anna would be able to put an end to Carmine's asking, but she knew the odds weren't great. Anna had a difficult time saying no, and Carmine was the type who kept going until she got what she wanted.

"At first I did." Anna said. "But the more we talked, the more I started to see her side."

"And what is her side?" Mia couldn't even begin to guess what Carmine said to get Anna to come around.

"I think she's just nervous. I mean, you remember what happened last year, right?"

Of course Mia did – it was the whole reason they were in this mess. But she didn't say that. Instead, she just nodded, and Anna continued.

"With those two last year, and Summer and the banshees this year, there's been a lot of monsters around."

"And she wants to make sure we're not like them?" It was only half a question.

"I don't think she thinks we're like that. If she did, I don't think she'd be friends with us."

"So what does she want?"

"Just to be reassured, maybe. But I think it might not be a bad idea to let her see that we're not as violent as they were."

Mia nodded slowly, thinking. It was true she really didn't want Carmine there when she went hunting – there was just too much that could go wrong. But it would be nice for Carmine to see what it was she did. After all, Mia didn't want Carmine getting nervous around her, and how could it be a bad thing to put her friend's mind at ease?

Mia couldn't actually believe she was even considering it. Just moments ago, she'd been sure that there was nothing anyone could say that would make her think it was a good idea. But Anna did have a good point – there were plenty of things to be scared of around here. And the last thing Mia wanted was to be added to that list. Before she knew it, she found herself agreeing with Anna.

"Ok." she said. "But just once. Then no more."