Then she realized someone stood over her. She looked up to see Holgarth peering down at her. While she watched, he straightened his hat. Then he smiled at her. Okay, so it was a creaky smile, but it must still be a great effort for the wizard to stretch his lips into that shape. She offered him a weak smile back.

“You did the correct thing. Between all of them, they’ll get him back into the dungeon.”

She slowly climbed to her feet. “What about all the noise? Won’t some human call the police?” The words gave her a strange feeling, almost as if for this moment she wasn’t lining up on the side of humanity. “And how do you explain hauling a vampire complete with fangs and scary black eyes through the middle of the great hall?”

Holgarth’s smile was rusty, but he was trying. “My dear, this is the Castle of Dark Dreams, where fantastical things happen on a nightly basis. What else would you expect in a park called Live the Fantasy? Our customers love the drama. They think it’s part of the fantasy.”

While Cinn watched, horrified, Edge, Bain, and the stranger dragged Dacian from the greenhouse. He was smeared with blood, but from the looks of the men wrestling with him, most of it was theirs. She could see nothing human about the vampire they were trying to control. She didn’t bother to wipe away the tear that slid down her face.

Ganymede and Sparkle led the parade toward the great hall. They stopped when they reached the place where she stood.

“I could get him into the dungeon a little faster, but there’s just so much fantasy the paying public will accept.” Ganymede looked up at Sparkle. “Do we have any ice cream left? I need something to give me strength after that tussle.”

Sparkle just stared at him. “You didn’t lift a finger to help. You can’t be tired.”

“Couldn’t help. No opposable thumbs, sweetie. And we didn’t need my immense supernatural power this time.” He gazed up at her with a fair imitation of a big-eyed kitty. “But too much stress makes me tired. The weight of keeping the park running like a well-oiled machine takes a lot out of me.”

“Hmm. I could swear that Holgarth, Edge, and Bain keep it running. And the only oil in your life is what you get in your daily doughnuts. You use your cat form as an excuse to be lazy, Mede.” Sparkle threw up her hands. “Oh, what’s the use?”