"AHH! BIRD ATTACK!" Tandy shrieked, instinctively ducking and losing her balance completely. She screamed as she began to fall backward---only to be yanked forward by Vlad's grip.
She collapsed onto the path, the vial still clutched in her trembling hand. Her designer suit was now covered in dust, and one of her acrylic nails (the one painted with a tiny house) had broken off.
"My familiar, Poe," Vlad explained, nodding to the raven, now perched on a nearby rock. "Been with me since Budapest. Excellent timing, as always."
The raven nodded and cawed in smug agreement.
“He’s not much of a talker.” Vlad smiled.
"You... you nearly killed me!" Tandy gasped, sprawled on the dirt path. "Do you have any idea how much this suit cost? It's my 'betray the town to vampires' outfit! Dry clean only!"
"No, you nearly killed yourself," Vlad corrected, carefully taking the vial from her unresisting fingers. "Always the way with Ronald's helpers---so eager to please him they don't see they've been set up to take the fall. Literally, in your case."
He examined the orange liquid critically. "This is just his tanning solution, with some fancy sparkles added. No magical properties whatsoever---except making vampires look ridiculous."
Tandy's face flushed with humiliation. "That's not possible! He told me it was a special formula---that it would taint the water and make it usable only for vampires!"
"And you believed him," Vlad said, almost sympathetically. "Like the Denver developer believed him. And the Phoenix nightclub owner. And so many others before them."
"He promised me power," Tandy said, her voice suddenly small. "Do you know what it's like to be a witch who can barely light a candle in a town of magical elites? Plus, he promised me exclusive selling rights to all vampire properties! Do you know what kind of commission that is over an eternity? I could finally afford to travel. To live anywhere. Anywhere but here!"
"So, you decided to help vampires take over?" Vlad asked, maintaining his hold on her.
"A vampire resort would have meant prosperity," Tandy insisted, a manic gleam entering her eyes. "And I had the perfect slogan: 'Tandy Keyes, Vampire Real Estate Queen!' I'd already designed new business cards with little coffins on them and everything!"
"At what cost?" Vlad asked quietly. "Ronald doesn't share power, Tandy. Once he has what he wants, his helpers become the first course at the victory feast."
This revelation hit Tandy like a physical blow. She had suspected Ronald might not keep all his promises, but she'd convinced herself that her usefulness would protect her.
"BUT HE MADE ME A GOLD BRACELET!" she wailed, holding up her wrist to display the gaudy accessory with its distinctive fang pattern. "He called me his 'favorite real estate witch'! He said I'd be 'Minister of Real Estate' in the new vampire order! I was going to have underlings!"
"Minister of Real Estate?" Vlad repeated, unable to hide his amusement. "That's not even a real position."
"It would have been!" Tandy insisted. "I was going to have a special name plaque for my desk and everything!"
"Now," Vlad said, pulling her to her feet, "you're going to tell me exactly what Ronald is planning for tonight. Details. Start with how many vampires and where they'll enter town."
Tandy hesitated, then slumped in defeat. "He's bringing fifteen vampires. They'll enter from the north, following the creek that flows from the falls. He needs to perform a ritual in the town square precisely when the blood moon reaches its apex."
"And what does this ritual involve?"
"Creating a magical claim to the territory," Tandy explained. "He needs to mark Cauldron Falls as vampire territory during the blood moon. That's why the timing is so important.”
"Anything else I should know?" Vlad pressed.
Tandy hesitated again, then blurted. "There's something I didn't tell him. Something I found in the Falls family journal that I stole. The water won't work properly unless the ritual is performed with respect for the falls' magic. It has to be done with reverence, not domination."
"Which means forcing a takeover would backfire," Vlad concluded.
"Yes," Tandy admitted. "The journal was very specific. The falls respond to intention. If the ritual is performed with destructive intent, the water could actually harm vampires rather than help them."
"And Ronald doesn't know this?"
"No," Tandy said. "I thought... I thought I could use it as leverage later. To make myself indispensable. And maybe negotiate a better commission percentage."
Vlad considered this information, his mind working quickly. "One last thing---does he have some way to neutralize the town's magical defenses?"
Tandy nodded, defeated. "Anti-magic powder. The same substance I used on the cross. He has enough to create a pathway through any defensive barrier. And..." she hesitated.
