His words hang in the air, backed by a jazzy instrumental from the mall’s hidden speakers, and I would laugh hysterically if I didn’t think my mouth would shoot barf like a busted fire hydrant if I opened it. An ancient entity wants to use me as a vessel?

Daphne goes stiff. “What are you talking about? What prophecy?”

“I hate to break this to you, but despite the Brotherhood’s best efforts, vampires have still managed to preserve important volumes filled with the auguries and predictions of the oldest ones,” Jude explains with a sarcastic lilt.

“Oh, of course, vampire auguries!” Skepticism drips from her tone. “Does this ‘ancient and powerful entity’ happen to have a name, or have you not made one up yet?”

“It has many names, actually.” Jude juts out his chin. “The Endless One, the Shining Immortal, and the Dark Star, just to name a few.” At this, I jerk upright and stop breathing, the wild-haired man’s voice ringing in my ears. The Dark Star rises. Cutting a glance at me, Jude adds, “Most commonly it’s called the Corrupter.”

“The Corrupter?” Daphne explodes. “That’s what this is about? You made this poor kid come all the way out here so you could terrify him with a fairy tale about Vampire Santa Claus?” Kicking her chair back, she gets to her feet. “Come on, Auggie, we’re leaving.”

Jude stands as well. “You know, I’ve just about had it with your anti-vampire attitude—”

“Do either of you actually fucking mind?” I’m still thrown, my insides on a hellish carousel ride, and my hands shake so badly I’m afraid they’re going to crawl off on their own. “What is the ‘Corrupter’? What do you mean my body is a ‘vessel’?”

Focusing on me again, Jude sits back down. “I’m sorry if I scared you. Unfortunately, not a lot is known about the Corrupter, in part because the Brotherhood of Perseus set fire to most of the historical records that vampires had compiled by the Middle Ages.”

“Oh?” Daphne resumes her seat as well, exuding pleasantness. “You mean those burning libraries weren’t filled with vital scientific texts after all?”

Jude grits his teeth, but continues, “The surviving accounts refer to the Corrupter as a spectral being that returns to the earthly plane once every hundred years or so … taking over an existing human form.”

“‘Taking over’?” I practically screech, my voice ringing out through the mostly abandoned food court, my heart ready to ride that barf fountain right out of my mouth.

“Stop it—stop scaring him!” Daphne exclaims fiercely, her eyes going wide. “The Syndicate doesn’t even believe in the Corrupter, so what are you really doing here? What is this actually about?”

“Is that true?” I demand, my throat thick and wet, my face and neck clammy. “The Syndicate doesn’t think this … thing you’re talking about is real?”