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baking his shoulders through his T-shirt, the sound of chirping birds filling his ears. It was a pleasant day, despite the gloom of his mother that still seemed so present in the back of Joss’s mind.
    It didn’t take him long to reach Paty’s cabin, their temporary headquarters. And Joss could see why the Society had chosen it as a base of operations. No one would ever suspect that a skilled vampire Slayer, capable of taking life quickly and completely, would reside in a house like this. It was a small house, painted a bright white, with cheery, colorful flowers planted all around its base. The garden spread from the house to the wooden railway fence that surrounded its small, charming yard. The shutters were a deep blue, and beneath each of the small windows were flower boxes containing multicolored daisies. A brief thought swept through Joss’s mind at the sight of them.
    Cecile would have loved those flowers.
    But as soon as the thought had appeared, it was gone again, swept away by the pleasant, unexpected breeze, and Joss’s unwillingness to think about his sister in the light of day. He’d decided over the last few days of his school year that Cecile would own his nights. But his days . . . his days had to belong to him, or else he might lose his mind entirely.
    The nightmares had gotten worse. Then stopped. Then returned with a vengeance. Joss didn’t sleep much anymore. When he did, he was chased by a monstrous version of his younger sister—one with deep, tunnel eyes and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. He wasn’t certain anymore whether the Cecile from his dreams was a manifestation of his guilt for having failed to save her young life, or if she was an embodiment of evil, hell-bent on taking Joss’s life. He just knew that sleep wasn’t something he enjoyed, and the only thing he couldn’t avoid forever.
    When he opened the small gate, it squeaked and then banged closed behind him as he approached the cottage. He only just raised his fist to knock on the door when it whipped open and hands dragged him inside, slamming him against the wall. The lights dimmed briefly, but then his vision returned to find Paty’s eyes widening in shock. Apologies flew from her mouth as she released him and closed the door. “Joss! Oh no! I am so sorry. You just never know who’s coming, and I really had no idea it was you. I’m all on edge from being assigned to stay here alone and . . .”
    She sighed and looked at him then, a frown pulling the corners of her pretty mouth down. “Are you okay? I really am sorry.”
    Apart from his heart being shifted into overdrive, Joss was fine. He smiled at her. “Y’know, come this fall, that’s no way to greet trick-or-treaters.”
    Paty smirked. “But it’s summer, so I’m good, right?”
    Joss looked around the room. It was a small, relatively open floor plan. Cozy. Nice. “So does that mean you don’t have any candy?”
    She groaned then and gave him a playful punch in the arm before returning to the kitchen, where she’d been stirring something steamy and delicious smelling on the stove. “You’re starting to sound like Morgan.”
    Joss sat on a bar stool by the kitchen island that held the stove, taking in the yummy smells. Chili, maybe. Or some kind of spicy soup. Paty picked up the wooden spoon and stirred the concoction, causing Joss’s stomach to rumble. “How is Morgan, anyway? I was hoping—”
    â€œYou were hoping to see the team again, right?” She glanced up at him in that mothering way that she had about her. “It sucks that you can’t, Joss. But the Society . . . things are weird. Something’s . . . something’s going on.”
    He plucked a clean spoon from the counter and dipped it into the pot. As he blew the steam from his stolen bite, he said, “Mind being more