“Blood…rejecting. Pass me the potion out of my bag.”

Daisy pulled out the bottle, and Victorija said, “I don’t know how they keep finding us.”

They had stopped for a rest twice, and twice Drasas came running on their tail. Daisy looked at the remaining bottles of potion, picked one up, and on a hunch, closed her eyes and concentrated on the feel of the bottle. She filtered out Victorija’s cries for the drink and tried to calm her breathing and centre herself.

Then she felt it. The vibration from her spidey sense. It was the potion—Daisy was certain of it. She took out the remaining bottles and stuffed them in a bin.

“What are you doing?” Victorija shouted through her discomfort.

Daisy hurried back to Victorija. “It was the potion. I could feel a vibration from the bottle. That only comes as a warning. Anka is connected to you by that potion—that’s why we can’t lose Drasas and her vampires. Please trust me, Torija?”

Victorija looked in her eyes and nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where can we go?”

Victorija staggered to her feet. Daisy steadied her till she got her balance. “I have a house not too far from here.”

Daisy held out her hand. “Then let’s go, the old-fashioned way. On our own two feet, because you need a rest from fast vampy travel.”

Victorija stared at her hand as if she was thinking hard about it, then grasped Daisy’s hand tightly. “Let’s go. This way,” Victorija said. Victorija took them to an old-looking apartment building.

“This is where Angele lived?” Daisy said as she helped Victorija to the door.

“Yes, it’s the oldest building in Paris. When it came up for sale, I snapped it up and had a witch place a protective spell around it. It should help protect us.” Victorija led them into the building and up to the second-floor apartment. The whole building had an eerie silence, like a place frozen in time.

They arrived at the front door and Daisy said, “How are we going to get in? You don’t have the keys with you, I take it?”

Victorija held her stomach and gasped, “Don’t need one. The door will open for me and only me. It’s part of the protection spell.” Victorija grasped the handle, and with a click it was open. “Follow me.”

Daisy walked in and shut the door behind her. She heard the same click, and just out of curiosity tried the door handle again, but it was locked. They were safe, for a time at least.

She followed on behind Victorija. Each room they passed along the corridor had furniture covered in white dustsheets. It had been a long time since anyone had lived in here. She watched as Victorija slowed and lingered beside one door, before moving on.

“There’s a guest bedroom at the end we can stay in.”