Vampire Sunrise

Nightfall

We arrived outside the Royal just before Nightfall. Plywood stretched across the bent garage doors and broken windows. Glass was sprinkled along the seams where the concrete sidewalk and the outside gastropub walls met. No lights were on, and no signs of life were apparent inside the beaten-up building.

I wasn't exactly sure how long days and nights were in the underworld compared to the time in the human world, but it couldn't be very long; we had probably been away maybe twenty-four hours.

We walked past the Royal and continued until taking a left on Touro Street. After a block, the familiar Mathis grounds fence and hedge walls came into view. The wards were up; I saw magic cascading down and across the barrier.

Everyone was safe if the wards were up, and I didn't mind sitting outside until someone found us. We reached the gate, and everything was in place just as it should have been, except for one thing. Attached to the wrought iron gate was a button.

"This wasn't here before, was it?" I asked. Angel shook her head.

I reached up and pressed the button. About five seconds later, someone answered.

"Aunt Angel, I missed you!" Samantha's voice rang out from a concealed speaker attached to the top of the gate that I didn't notice.

"I missed you too; how did you know we were out here," Angel replied.

Another voice echoed through the speaker. "Give me that! Alice, she's got my phone. The buzzer, speaker, and camera are all on a phone App, and she won't put it down; she sleeps with the thing. I can't even make a phone call," Julie said, talking over Samantha's chattering in the background.

I let out a giggle and shook my head.

"Beth is on her way to take down the wards, but be patient; she's slow."

Five minutes later, a pattering of fast-moving feet came running up the path and collided with the gate.

"Aunt Angel, why did you stay gone so long?" Sam said, almost out of breath.

"Sweetie, how long has it been? It couldn't have been longer than a day."

"No, Ma'am, you have been gone for two weeks. I counted every day, and I was worried. I even marked the days on my calendar." She replied.

"Angel, how is this possible? I understand time is different in the underworld, but never have we lost weeks," I said to her telepathically.

"I don't know; all that happened was you slept. I held you in my arms, and when you woke up, we spoke about the dream," Angel said.

"Has anyone ever slept in the underworld before?" I asked.

"No, demons, do not sleep."

"Two freaking weeks Angel. There won't be a trace of Dominus anywhere!" If I could have screamed inside Angels' mind, I would have.

Sam and Angel continued their conversation while we waited another few minutes for Beth to arrive. She wore sleeping pants and a cotton t-shirt without a bra and rubbed her eyes with the tips of her fingers. She could be sleepwalking for all I knew.

"Hello, sleepyhead. We didn't wake you, did we?" I asked.

Beth cocked her head at me, made eye contact for a second, then looked toward the gate and said a few words to take the wards down. Beth cast the wards again once we were inside. She turned around and started back to the house without a word. Angel picked up Samantha and carried her; I walked last in the line.

The front gardens were as spectacular as ever. Curly plants that were far too bright in the dark continually hit a tiny ball back and forth as if playing a game. Most flowers in the garden seemed to bloom at night, making our trip from the gate to the house a sightseeing tour.