“I don’t know what’s gotten into the pair of you,” Aunt Agnes was muttering. “Staying away from home for days… not even bothering to call… The young people of today have no respect…”

Josh started to climb the stairs.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“To my room,” Josh said. He knew he needed to walk away from his aunt before he said something he was going to regret.

“Well, you can just stay there, young man. I’ve got a feeling you’re both going to be grounded for quite some time! You need to learn some respect for your elders.”

Josh tried to ignore his aunt as he continued up to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He leaned back against the cool wood, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the queasy feeling in his stomach.

Sophie was gone. She was in danger.

Aoife had his sister and he had no idea why-though he knew it couldn’t be good. Was Aoife working for the Dark Elders? Why had she taken Sophie-and then why had she run from him? Even though he was scared and exhausted, Josh couldn’t prevent a wry smile from forming on his lips. When he’d run out of the house, Aoife hadn’t appeared scared, she had looked arrogant, and when he’d asked her to return his sister, she had been quick to say no. But then something had frightened the vampire. Maybe it was the way his aura had started to form a golden armor around his body. Josh lifted his hands and looked at them. They were flesh and blood now, the skin on his palms scraped and bruised where he’d fallen, his fingernails chipped and dirty. But only a short while ago they had been encased in golden gloves. He remembered how the gold had flowed down his hands to cover the two halves of the broken walking stick, turning them to bars of metal. When he’d struck the car, they had ripped through the glass and steel with ease. But the moment he’d thrown the stick after the car, the instant it had left his hand, it had returned to wood. Josh suddenly remembered the story of the Greek king Midas. Everything he touched turned to gold. Maybe the ancient king had possessed a gold aura.

And then Josh’s smile faded. He had failed his sister. He should have kept running; he might have caught up with the car. Maybe if he’d somehow managed to focus his aura, he would have been able to do something… though he wasn’t really sure what.

He would find her, he vowed.