Leonarya cussed, threw away her working cowries and the other magic inclined stuff lying on the black table in anger, after trying for the umpteenth time to conjure up the spying demons.

She knew that they were gone, that they had been buried somewhere she could never know, but she didn’t know what else to do if not trying the more, or trying to do something, instead of lazing about and thinking about the fallacy of her plans and magic.

She hadn’t bargained for the vampires to be put to play in this story of hers. She hadn’t counted the betrayal of her daughter too. No. Not hers. But Sheila’s....