Kaylee's head was throbbing, and she could have sworn that she had blacked out for a while. Now, however, the seeker fought fiercely against nausea and the threat of unconsciousness. One moment, the smell of wet earth tickled her nostrils; the next, her senses were overwhelmed by the iron taste of her own blood.

'Pull yourself together!'

'You have to get up!'

'You must not faint!'

Scraps of thoughts fluttered through her mind like dry leaves in the fall wind as Kaylee forced herself to regain control of her consciousness. What clearly helped her was the pain that throbbed in her limbs. It repeatedly cut through the lowering curtains of darkness, pushing Kaylee out of the impending blackout.

Her senses threatened to fade again when she suddenly felt someone grabbing her arm harshly. Kaylee felt warm hands on her shoulders, lifting her immobile body.

"Crowford! Can you hear me?"

The sound of the doctor's familiar voice helped her consciousness stay awake better than the worst pain could. Her eyelids fluttered slightly as she tried to open them. Rain was pouring down on her; everything was wet, cold, and aching. Her chest still seemed constricted, as if a pile of stones were crushing her body and pressing her ribs together.

To his relief, Dr. Benjamin Archer discovered that his companion had miraculously survived the terrible crash. As Kaylee groaned and stood up with help, she was hit with a barrage of worried reproaches.

"Are you getting ready?" Kaylee moaned between her teeth, clenched in pain as she tried to wipe the dirt off her frock coat. "I'm all right. Let's say I'm fine under the circumstances!" she groaned. Every bone in her body ached, and every movement was painful and exhausting. She was still trying to get air into her lungs, which had been forced out of her so violently, thanks to the impact.

Kaylee wanted to curl up in a warm, dry place, cry, and give in to her misery until the pain faded. Her ears still rang, and her head throbbed and pounded, seemingly to complete the physical suffering of her body.

By God, she was so exhausted, not just because of the long journey, the confrontation with two supernatural beasts or the damn fall. No, she was drained from years of iron control, of resisting the voice inside her that she was not allowed to give in to.

She knew only too well that she shouldn't listen to it, not for a second, a weak moment, or even to catch her breath. Her mental defences must never falter. And when body and mind were so affected, day after day, it was no wonder that Kaylee wanted to cry in this moment of utter dejection.

But since no one was allowed to know about the circumstances in which she found herself, Kaylee tried again to put on a smug smile and play the cheeky Kyle Crowford. Her trained mind suppressed the whispering voice and pain with astonishing consistency as she straightened up again, picked up her walking stick, and looked into Doctor Archer's worried, drenched face.

The way he looked at her sent a shiver down Kaylee's spine. His piercing, emerald-green eyes bore right into her soul, trying to fathom why she never showed her vulnerability and rarely allowed herself to feel.

Kaylee swallowed hard. She loathed herself a little for lying to her partner and best friend with such ease, which surprised even her.

Kaylee raised her hand. The Seeker placed her slender fingers on the doctor's quivering chest for a split second and paused briefly. She had never felt his heart beating so wildly and so fast.

"Believe me. It's all right," the young woman assured her emphatically, but she felt terrible about it – for more than one reason. However, when she noticed Millicent's irritated look, the Seeker withdrew her hand with growing embarrassment. "We should waste no more time. The creatures will not give up easily, and I don't think the sanatorium windows will stop them for long." Kaylee's head turned from side to side, trying to find a way out.

"The hospital coach is just around the corner," Millicent murmured hesitantly, visibly edging closer to Dr. Archer. The young woman seemed to mistrust Kaylee or Kyle Crowford – perhaps she was beginning to smell a trick and see through Kaylee's disguise.

Or was it because of the incredible things she had experienced today? It wasn't every day that someone saw a person draw strange occult symbols on a wall and then drag you through a sturdy stone wall. The young magician snorted contemptuously and turned her gaze in the direction Millicent had indicated.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Benjamin insisted, trying to scan her body for injuries or visible wounds.

"Completely safe," Kaylee insisted with her well-known self-confidence, but this time, a little more unnerved than just a few moments ago. "You know I'm like a weed; nothing can kill me so quickly..."

Kaylee faltered mid-sentence. Her face fell entirely, and her eyes widened in disbelief and shock when she looked at the window where the vampire brides had been.

The glass was shattered, and the inner steel bars that blocked the window were broken. Long claws wrapped around the iron window bars, tugging and tearing at them. The faces of the two vampires had become cruel, frightening grimaces, their fangs bared and the leathery, pale skin, on which traces of the previous fight could be seen, stretched over high cheekbones. The long, pointed tongues writhed like angry snakes.

To Kaylee's relief, the bars mounted in front of the windows seemed to be much more robust than she had expected, and they appeared to be demanding a good deal of strength from the two creatures.

Then, however, the expression on the faces of the two undead suddenly changed to a cruel, cold smile. The dark-haired creature then threw her head back. She let out a resounding laugh that sounded like a nightmare song between the rumbling of the heavens.

"Holy shit," the young magician stammered as the vampire raised a trembling finger and pointed to the scene above them.

Millicent and Doctor Archer looked up, as if on command, at the room they had just escaped from, and what they saw froze the blood in their veins.

The vampire's dark hair fell around her face like seaweed as she stepped closer to the bars – and then suddenly, her form dissolved. At first, it was so inconspicuous that it looked like fog was escaping from the room. But with each faster heartbeat, Kaylee and the others realised that the vampire's body was beginning to dissolve. Hair and eyes, nose and cheeks, chin and fingers – everything dissolved into a billowing haze of white-gray fog. And in her new, formless guise, she easily pushed her way through the bars.

"This can't be happening," Benjamin groaned. The soldier's instinct kicked in, and Ben was the first to take to his heels, but not without reaching for Millicent and Kaylee and dragging them with him. Both stumbled the first few steps, but then they, too, broke out of their state of shock.

Cold wind and rain whipped against them. Each step left a loud, disgusting smacking sound in the mud. Finally, pebbles crunched under their soles, and their path became firmer again.

"How can that be?" Millicent gasped breathlessly beside him. "You said they were vampires! But... it's daytime!"

"You've clearly read too many pulp novels!" Even sprinting, Kaylee couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

They practically skidded around the corner of the large building wing. Kaylee glanced back over her shoulder, but the unnatural fog had vanished. An icy shiver ran down the magician's spine from the nape of her neck, spreading like ice crystals through her veins. She knew this instinct... and it had never led to anything good.

"Faster! Go, go, go!" Kaylee urged the other two. Her fall had given her a slight limp, and she wasn't quite as fast. She would have cursed her breathlessness again if she weren't used to it. Instead, she hissed and held her aching side while the three ran together toward the outbuilding. Under a canopy, they could see the ambulance of St. Hilda's Hospital: a simple closed carriage, more of a wooden cabinet on wheels, with harnessed horses, which bore a large red cross on each side panel.

Kaylee was about to run to the front of the coach when Ben held her back.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" he asked, already pushing the magician in the other direction towards the two double doors of the coach house. "You can't even ride, Crowford, let alone drive a carriage. Get in the back! And take care of Miss Clarence!"

Kaylee let out a bitter laugh that contained little amusement. "You should use that commanding tone more often, Archer! It suits you!" she said bluntly and then shook her head. "When you ride, someone has to defend you. You can't shoot or keep those beasts away from us while also whipping the horses into action."

Kaylee's gaze remained fixed on Millicent, "Miss Millicent, you get in the back and lock the door. Ben will drive, and I'll defend the coach!" Kaylee pulled her leather gloves taut. Let those undead hell-dancers come. She'd had a terrible day and was in the mood to let off some steam...