The fork slipped from my fingers, chiming as it vibrated off the wooden flooring, drawing Johnathan's attention. Scratching his head, he looked right through me and observed the fork on the floor.

"Is everything alright?" Amelia asked, glaring at Radella before her eyes landed on Johnathan. When she noticed the fork and speckled blood on the floor, her eyes softened with concern. "Did you hurt yourself?"

They couldn't see me, but somehow, Radella could. I moved closer, dodging Johnathan and Amelia. I didn't know what would happen if I touched them, and I didn't want to find out. "I'm stuck on the other side. How come you can see me, and they can't?"

"Other side? As in, you're a ghost?" Radella leaned in, resting her forearm on the casing of the front door. "That explains it then."

Amelia whispered, forehead creasing with curiosity. "Who is Radella talking to?"

"Radella, repeat what I say, word for word. I need them to know what happened," I said.

Okay, minus a few details.

"Edwina's alive. She's trapped in the kitchen." Staring at the leaden blood on my fingers, I pondered when I would see life in colour again. "Every time Alani kills a vampire, she feeds their soul to Akrsna, and he gets stronger. We need to stop her."

Amelia gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Great. We have a scary dark entity and an ex-ghost in our kitchen, not to mention a vampire relative in our living room who is on the verge of a breakdown."

"The kitchen is out of bounds. As long as you leave the door shut, Edwina can't get out. She has a weakness to metal." Remembering how she recoiled from my touch and how her flesh blistered from the wedding band, having left in a hurry, I had forgotten about my dad's ring. My finger was bare without it. "We're wasting time."

I trailed into the living room, leaving the others posing questions. Samuel was still out for the count, tied to the chair.

Fiona entered the hallway, inquiring what the raised voices were about, leaving me alone. It took two attempts to pull out the arrow from his chest as a gasp escaped Samuel's lips, bringing him back to life.

For now, anyway.

Rolling his head back, he screwed up his face. "Fuck." His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as his eyes darted around the room. "You had me good. What changed your mind?"

"Where's Ethan? He isn't here."

Samuel's mouth curved into a smile. "That's because he's somewhere safe. Being away from you is safer for him."

"Why are you acting like you have one grandchild?" I dragged over the footstool and positioned it in front of him. "You don't act this way with Amelia, so why are you overprotective of Ethan?"

Guessing from the number of years Amelia had been in nursing, she was at least five years older than him. They had different fathers, and Ethan hadn't mentioned his father once, nor had I seen any photographs.

"It's none of your damn business." His eyes sparkled with disdain. As he fidgeted in his chair, the ropes rubbed against his skin, burning over the top layer of blisters from earlier. "Vervain, classy." Samuel sneered, spitting at my feet.

"Glad you think so." Johnathan stood in the doorway with rope wrapped around his shoulder. "Are you going to tell us where he is, or do we have to do this the hard way?"

"I vote the hard way." I raised my hand, knowing Johnathan couldn't see and jabbed my finger into one of his wounds.

Jolting upright, he clenched his muscles and drew back his lips into a snarl. "What makes you think you aren't the same as vampires? You're sharing the same sadistic qualities, and how ironic that one is a doctor."

"Ethan is a danger to himself and to others. If he turns," Johnathan cleared his throat, correcting himself, "when he turns, he needs to drink human blood to complete the transition. There's no guarantee that he won't kill an innocent human. That murder will be on you."

I couldn't imagine Ethan killing anybody without a purpose. He was selfless, and seeing how he responded after his self-defence trial, I didn't think he would be able to live with the guilt. It would destroy him.

A slimy substance covered my fingers, most probably blood and melted flesh from the gash around his wrists. "Samuel, I found a way to reverse the transition, but I need the location."

Johnathan started talking over me, catching a perplexed Samuel off guard. "Let me handle him, Erika."

No chance, he is my problem and solution wrapped all in one.

From the way Samuel lifted his brow and tilted his chin, I had to fill him in. "I guess you can say I'm dead."

His mouth twitched, giving him a lopsided grin. "Amelia can't keep anything alive, even killed my orchid."

It took me a minute to realise what he was insinuating. "I didn't die from cancer, you buffoon." For the first time, I was able to insult a vampire to his face, knowing Samuel couldn't fight back. He was powerless, and well, I was dead, so I guessed it didn't matter.

I was conflicted about telling him the truth, at least the parts involving Edwina.

Is he still in love with her after two hundred and seventy-two years apart?

"Edwina swapped places with me, so now I'm stuck on the other side as a ghost." And not to mention Akrsna, the one thing each vampire feared, locked in the kitchen.

"So, Edwina really is alive." Samuel gnashed his teeth together while he continued to squirm in his seat. "Both communities chose her fate because she was deceitful. How has she been on the other side all this time? Only a witch can do a spell like that, and why would they resurrect a peasant?"

Samuel murdered all the witches back in 1743, leaving only one powerful witch left to seek revenge.

"Deceitful, how?" Johnathan dropped the rope, rolling his shoulders back and forth.

Samuel leaned in, taunting him. "Ask her yourself. Oh, wait, you can't."

But I can. I bet it has something to do with having a fling with a vampire. She played the field, a snitch among the human community and possibly relayed information to the opposing side.

Johnathan said, "What I want to know is how vampires can see Erika, and we can't?"

"Only the deceased can see the dead." Samuel withdrew his nails from the padded armrest, stretching his fingers with minimal effort. "I hid him in my office at the town hall."

"Great." I made my way to the door, leaving Samuel to moulder from the influence of vervain.

Samuel called out, "You're missing one little detail, Erika. I'm not sure you know how the other side works."

"Oh, and you do?" I halted, spinning around to face him.

"Once you've swapped places, you become situated in that location. Since you essentially died in this house, you can't step foot outside without perishing, for real this time." A look of triumph etched on his face as he slumped his shoulders, sagging into the chair.

A/N

Word Count: 1,203

Is Samuel telling them the truth, or could it be a trap?

Will Erika be able to find a way to leave the house in time to save Ethan and her father?

Have a fangtastic day!

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