Nox left hours ago in my car. He was lucky I trusted him with driving her. I, on the other hand, was waiting here, in the shadows, looking like a stalker.

Finally, Kathryn and Travis walked out the door and locked it up for the night. As soon as they drove away in the giant truck, I left the cover of the dark trees and made my way to the back door.

Three times I knocked on it.

"I knew you would be here," Sybil said.

"You going to let me in?"

Sybil just held the door open and gestured for me to come in.

We walked through the backroom that held all the supplies and she moved the huge metal shelving out of the way. The same one I almost knocked over that night I attacked Ember. I regretted all of that. Thank goodness she left quickly.

We entered past the silver beaded curtain and into a room dimly lit by a few candles. I took my seat at the round table that was sitting in the middle of the small room, daring not to venture further into her home. Only a few knew where she actually lived.

"What do you need?" she asked as she released her hair down from the tight bun that she always wore it in. As the red hair flowed down, it turned to a deep black, illuminating its natural color.

"I need to find Ember," I said.

"What makes you think I can find her?"

She never laid her eyes on me as she walked around the small room gathering herbs and placing them into jars that sat on various shelves.

"Can't you cast a spell or something?"

"That would require a piece of her," she said. "Do you have something like that?"

"She burned everything," I said.

"I guess I have to do everything around here," Sybil sighed as she stepped out of the room.

She returned sometime later, holding on to a hairbrush.

"You're lucky she never cleaned out her locker."

Sybil gathered a few herbs off of the shelf and threw them into a bowl along with Ember's hair from the brush. She mumbled chants under her breath as she mashed it all together until it was a fine powder. She lit the powder on fire and place a large translucent bowl over top of it. The fire went out, leaving the smoke to fill the bowl, allowing the pictures to come through.

First was Kathryn sitting in her room eating and watching a movie.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Kathryn must have used her brush," Sybil said.

Sybil started chanting another chant, and soon Kathryn disappeared, replacing an image with Ember. It was the first time I had seen her since the wildflowers. The only thing that had changed were her eyes. They held no spark, no life.

"Dead trees," Sybil said.

"What?"

"She is walking down a beach with dead trees."

"So she went south," I said.

"The sun is setting on a vast ocean."

"I need more sybil," I said.

I looked into the smoke, searching for an answer, for something that could give me a clue to where she was. And there it was, a small sign that read Jekyll Island.

"Jekyll Island!" I shouted, knocking over the glass bowl as I stood up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sybil asked.

"I'm going to pack."

"How do you expect to find her in a place filled with sunshine?"

That had never crossed my mind.

"I don't know," I said, sitting back down.

"Your useless kid," Sybil said.

She got up, went to her cabinet and retrieved a few small vials, handing them to me.

"This is phoenix blood," she said. "One drop and you can walk in the sun for the day, two or more drops and you will die."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"I'm a witch, boy," she said. "I made it."

I went to reach for the vials, and she closed her hand, pulling them away from me.

"Do you think you get these for free?" she said. "Everything comes with a price."

"What do you want?"

"Your blood."

"Huh?"

"It's simple, really," she said. "Blood for blood, but the sun is rising. Take a drop."

I didn't question her. I couldn't, really. Slowly, I opened the vial and dropped only a tiny drop of the phoenix blood onto my tongue. It tasted like candy, no... like the sweetest nectar from the prohibited fruit that someone only gave me a slight taste of, and I wanted more.

I went after the bottles, grabbing for them, but Sybil was quicker.

"Calm down, Zane."

I heard her, but I didn't care.

"If you don't control yourself, you will never find Ember," she said.

Her name. Ember. I took a deep breath and sat down.

"Why?" I asked her. "Why is it so sweet?"

"You'll get used to it the more you take it," she said. "Call it building up a tolerance or whatever."

"So next time?" I asked.

"Won't be as bad," she said as she gathered up the supplies she needed.

Gentle was not a word that existed in Sybil's vocabulary. At least not toward me. She didn't even look at what she was doing as she retrieved my payment. I never ask what she needed it for, as it was not my place to know.

"Sybil," I asked.

I know I probably shouldn't, but I've always wondered.

"Yeah,"

"Why did you help me?"

"You want to find your love, right?"

"No, not this," I said. "Back then, why did you help me?"

"Because you were alone and in pain," she said. "I had to save you like I would any hurt puppy."

I guess there was some humanity in this witch, after all.

She then cocked her head to the side as she looked at me.

"Do you not remember anything?"

I shook my head no.

"Bits and pieces," I said. "I remember being in a dark room for days as horrible blades ripped through every vein that not even death could take away that kind of pain. I remember seeing an arm come through a slot, tossing bags at me. Those bags would slightly ease it, but not by much. Then one day, I was outside with nowhere to go and still in pain with a backpack full of those bags that would slightly ease the pain, and that's all I knew."

"And then I found you," she said.

"And then you found me and took me to him," I said.

"I don't know very many vampires. He was really my only choice."

She finished and took the bags, placing them into her room.

"It's okay," I said as I placed my hand over the tiny spot on my arm and freezing it to stop the blood. It was better than a band-aid and she knew my secret.

"If you need me, you know where to find me," Sybil said, giving me a slight smile.

"Thanks, Sybil," I said as I walked out of her house.

It was a bright day as I mindlessly opened the backdoor to the coffee shop, only to be greeted by the radiant sun. In a split second, the door closed behind me, locking automatically. Panic struck me momentarily, but as I turned around, I pulled on the heavy metal sheet with all my strength, only to realize that I was still alive.

I wasn't dead.

Slowly, I turned around and stared at the ball of fire in the blue sky. It's been years, centuries, since I had laid my eyes on it. I felt the heat beam down on me and I didn't burn. It felt like her. The slight warmth I would feel when I pressed my lips against her lips.

I couldn't go to the house. They would know. So, I went to a place where I knew would be empty.

I only took her to the cave. I never took her past the cave. Some spots should always remain a secret. Golden rays penetrated their way past the treetops and onto the dirt path, lighting my way.

Soon enough, the trees disappeared, giving way to a small creek bed. There was one thing I had always wanted to do.

I took off my shoes and rolled up the bottom of my jeans. I had done this plenty at night, but never during the day.

I placed my foot into the clear water and watched as the fish swam over them. This time I could see the rocks, the plants and the animals. I felt normal, and I hadn't felt normal since people built the roadways with dirt and stone.

A small could covered up the brightness, casting a temporary shadow over my normalcy, reminding of what I truly am. This was only an illusion. A temporary fix to a deeper problem that I needed to go fix.

By the time I walked into the house, the sun had set, and no one would notice that I had been gone all day. I walked up to my room and packed what I needed.

"Do you think you can do this all alone?" Nox asked.

"You need to stay here," I said. "They are going to be pissed that I left. You don't need them after you, too."

"But I want to help you."

"You got a cellphone, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me if they head my way," I said.

I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed to the coffee shop. As much as I would have liked to have Nox's company, he did not deserve the pain that would come with leaving the clan. The destruction.

The all too familiar bell chimed as I opened the door to the coffee shop. Maybe for the last time.

"We're coming with you!" Kathryn said.

I had barely made it into the cafe when Katheryn's voice shouted across the room.

"What if she comes back? Someone needs to stay here," I said.

"I will," Ella said.

That was the last person I truly trusted, but what other choices did I have? I would not stick around and wait for her to come back. Truthfully, I knew she would not be coming back, so Ella waiting for her would be the best thing.

"Look," I said. "You all do what you want, but I'm traveling alone."

I stood up, preparing to depart. It was impossible for them to trail me because they had no inkling that I had become a day walker.