The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

"That's lovely. Is there anywhere else we can go to find out what name she is using now?" I asked, miffed that our lead had fizzled out.

"Not that I know of."

I sighed. "Well, at least we have one of her names and a town to go on."

"Indeed you do. That was very clever of you to think of consulting the Akashic Record."

I spun around at the sound of a man's voice coming from the doorway.

Terrin leaned against the door, a slight smile on his face. "I particularly liked the fog. Very effective. Hello again. Is that your friend guarding the other side of the door?"

"Yes, she is. She wasn't supposed to let anyone in," I said, trying to come up with an excuse for being in the Court when I'd been forbidden entrance.

"Good morning," Theo said, giving Terrin a little bow. "You have us at a disadvantage. It is somewhat disconcerting to be caught breaking and entering into the Court."

Terrin's smile widened. "And yet you managed it with such ease. A very admirable feat."

"Is my friend all right?" I asked, a bit nervous about Sarah.

"She is right where you left her. I'm afraid I had to obscure her vision for a moment or two while I slipped past her, but she is unharmed."

I relaxed a little bit. I was willing to take responsibility for my own actions, but I hated for anyone else to suffer on my behalf. "I suppose you'd like to know why we're here when we were told to leave."

"I assume your purpose is two-fold: to consult the Akashic Record, and to conduct your final trial." Terrin strolled over to the window, looking out at the still-dense fog. "Yes, a very clever use of your Gift. Quite effective."

Theo and I exchanged glances. "You're partially correct: We did come here to see the Akashic Record. But as for my trials…well, even if I hadn't been disqualified, I would only have been on trial number four, not seven."

"No, that cannot be correct." Terrin frowned, walking over to a desk on the other side of the room and sitting down to access the computer there. "You have completed all the trials but the last one, I'm quite sure."

"I'm afraid not. Trial number four got put off. I skipped ahead to five, which I did when I was in the Akasha. The two women who did my first trial came back earlier this morning for the fourth trial, but I…er…I failed it."

"How very odd." Terrin's fingers tapped out a few words on the computer's keyboard. He perused the resulting screen, a puzzled look in his eyes. "That's not what it says here. According to the official records, you have completed all trials but the last one: four of them successfully, two failures."

"How could I pass the fourth and sixth trials? I didn't do them!"

"What elements did the fourth and sixth trials test?" Theo asked, looking even more thoughtful.

Terrin consulted the monitor. "The fourth was logic, the sixth grace."

"Now I know your records are at fault. I was the least graceful person alive this morning," I said, shuddering at the memory of my muck-covered self.

"Grace," Theo repeated, his eyes on me.

Why are you looking at me like that?

I was thinking that grace doesn't necessarily indicate physical adeptness. Perhaps it is another type of grace for which you were being tested.

What other sort of grace is there? I asked. A blessing?

No, I was thinking more the quality of forgiveness, or mercy, if you will.

Mercy? To whom have I been merciful?…

A vision rose in my mind of Dame Margaret taunting me, baiting me to throw her into the mud. I hadn't given in to that almost overwhelming desire, though. I'd walked away from her with as much dignity as I could muster.

"I didn't throw her in the mud," I said slowly.

"You did not. You demonstrated grace sufficient to pass the sixth trial," Terrin said.

"So Leticia deliberately caused that accident, arranged it so I would be put into a position where I was covered head to toe in the worst sort of muck, then baited me to see if I would retaliate?" I nodded. In an odd sort of way, it made sense. "That explains the sixth trial, but not the fourth one. I haven't done it at all."

"According to this, the trial was conducted last night at"—Terrin peered at the screen—"ten minutes to midnight. You successfully completed the trial seven minutes later. That was rather pushing it as far as time goes, but all ended well."

"That can't be right," I said, shaking my head. "Last night at midnight I was in a haunted mill, watching my friend and a ghost hunting group as they examined the building. There was no logic trial…"

Goose bumps crawled up my arms.

"Didn't you say you played a logic game with someone last night, while you were waiting for Sarah?" Theo asked.