I touched down on black carpet to the startled greeting of the Wilhelm blood clan monarchs. Sunny ran toward me, huge skirts rustling, Uncle Frank close behind her. I let the pair of them sandwich me in a hug and sank into the cool perfection of the vampires.

After a moment, they released me, greeting Piers with a kind kiss to the cheek from Sunny and a handshake from my uncle. Before I even opened my mouth, I saw the stress on their faces and ...