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Descending, he searched for hints of her. Near the bottom, on steps wet with seawater, he saw four fresh scratch marks in the rock that smelled of her.

When he reached the bottom, he couldn’t see where they might have gone, so he followed the rock ledge. He also picked up the faint trail of Vlad. Once he’d rounded an outcropping, he found the slit in the rock wall. Crouching low, he caught the mingled scents of all four. This was where they’d gone in.

He reached an arm into the crack, resting his hand on the spot Sam had had to slither through. After a few minutes, a numbness stole up his limb. He pulled his arm out and stared at it as he struggled to move his fingers. He remembered this now, this strange pins and needles sensation. He hadn’t felt it since he’d been alive.

“Odd, isn’t it?” Vlad asked from behind him.

Clive closed his eyes a moment and tried to settle in his own skin. He was losing it. He hadn’t even heard Vlad’s approach. If Vlad had wanted to kill him, Clive would be a pile of dust blowing in the wind right now.

Clive stood, his fingers still flexing, and turned to Vlad. “You reached in as well?”

Vlad’s mustache twitched. “The temptation is hard to resist, isn’t it?” He pointed at Clive’s hand. “Drink an extra bag of blood, maybe two. It’ll get your circulation moving again.”

Clive watched the waves crash against the rocks a moment and then looked at Vlad. “I didn’t hear you approach,” he admitted to the man who was strangely becoming a friend.

“I know.” Both men understood just how dangerous that was. The point didn’t need to be belabored. “We have a family of very angry dragons arriving soon, though, so you need to get yourself under control. You’re the proper, sophisticated one. You can’t let them see you falling apart.”

Clive checked his watch. “I didn’t expect them to discover Coco’s disappearance this quickly. Are they in the air?”

Vlad shook his head. “They landed in Athens. They’re on the road now. Owen’s been texting with updates.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out Clive’s phone, handing it to him. “Benvair originally called on your line, of course.”

Clive nodded, looking through his texts and then stopped. “How did you get into my phone?”

Vlad merely smirked and then headed back. “We should be there when they arrive.”

Clive sent a quick text to Owen and then followed.

When the large SUV drove down the tree-lined dirt road an hour later, Clive and Vlad were sitting at the patio table, waiting for them.

“That’s interesting,” Vlad noted. “I didn’t notice that soft pop when we drove through the ward. Did you?”

Clive shook his head. “Benvair is the one we need to be careful of. The others will be concerned. She’ll want to set us on fire for putting her granddaughter in danger.”

“Hmm. Too bad you weren’t awake to deal with her the first time she called, then.”

Clive turned sharply to Vlad. “What did you do?”

The SUV’s engine cut out and doors opened. Vlad placed a finger in front of his lips, shushing Clive’s disapproval.

“Where is my granddaughter?” Benvair demanded when she caught sight of the vampires.

She was leading the others down the stairs to The Ferryman’s Rest, but Owen, George, Alec, and Fyr were too busy looking around to pay much attention to the clash of these titans.

“It looks nothing like it did on the other side of the rock,” Owen whispered.

“This place is amazing,” Alec agreed.

Clive and Vlad stood as Benvair approached. Clive gestured to one of the chairs, offering her a seat, but she ignored it. Her arms were crossed over her chest and smoke trailed from her nostrils.

“Please, allow us to explain what’s going on,” Clive said, gesturing to the seat again.

Alec touched Benvair’s back. “Go on, Grandmother. We need to understand why she’s here.”

On a growl, Benvair uncrossed her arms and sat, with Alec taking the empty seat beside her. Fyr went into the barroom and picked up three wooden chairs, carrying them back so he, Owen, and George could join them.

Once everyone was seated, Clive began to retell what little they knew of Meg’s request for help and what had happened since they’d arrived.

Owen leaned forward, “Sam’s been given gifts from the gods? Are you serious?”