“May I just say, sir, that I never intended to end up on the internet. I was completely out of control, and as soon as I realized what had happened, I took steps to rectify my mistake,” Scott said. His head was lowered like a dog submitting to its master. “I’ve come here tonight to make amends, as have these humans.”

  “The humans you so kindly shepherded for me,” said Conrad.

  Ruby felt a flicker of annoyance at the implication that she and her friends were sheep, cattle to be ushered around by vampires. She was unable to stop her lip curling. Conrad’s eyes ate up her expression with what looked like amusement. “You ought to practice your poker face, Miss Myers. Plastering your emotions on your sleeve betrays your thoughts and intentions.”

  Ruby stared at him silently, forcing a neutral mask over her face to cover her anger and fear. The stake tucked into her waistband pushed against her lower back, reminding her that it was there.

  “Tell me, Mr Jackson,” Conrad turned back to the other vampire. “Were they planning on coming here before you found them, or were they going to try to run?”

  “We weren’t planning to run,” Ruby said hotly. She hated the way he was talking about them like they weren’t even in the room. Her father’s family had been like that when she was little; all the children had been spoken about by the adults as if they weren’t worth speaking to directly.

  Scott flashed Ruby a quick look of warning to stop her from retorting. She clamped her jaw shut, grinding her teeth together. She felt Jay’s hand on her knee, squeezing tightly, another warning to stay quiet. Feeling Jay’s warning squeeze made her aware of the irony of her causing a problem rather than him.

  “They were already planning to come here tonight,” Scott confirmed, omitting the fact that they were planning to fight. Still were if it came to it.

  “That is good to hear,” Conrad said softly.

  Shuffling footsteps approached outside the room, and a moment later, Simon reappeared in the doorway. He stepped inside, leading Tyler behind him. Ruby’s stomach turned at the pitiful sight of him. Tyler was pale and shaken, and he had a wild look in his eyes like he had just woken from a nightmare. He looked around the room, locking eyes with Ruby for a moment before his gaze turned down to the floor. He didn’t dare look at Conrad as he was led around the table and seated next to the vampire. Tyler had always been fairly timid but there was a newfound level of fragility to him. He looked like he might shatter to pieces at any moment, like Humpty Dumpty falling from the wall.

  Conrad observed Tyler with a detached curiosity, his eyes scanning every inch of the boy’s frightened form. “Worry not. Despite his terrified visage, Tyler has not been harmed since he became my guest. Isn’t that right, Tyler?” said Conrad.

  Tyler gulped, a huge lump forcing its way down his throat, before he nodded eagerly, too scared to contradict his captor. “Yes,” he croaked.

  “Are you alright, Ty? Is your mom okay?” Jay asked. Tyler had been too scared to leave his room, which meant Conrad must have taken Tyler from his house where his mom would have been. Images of her lying in a bloody puddle on the floor flashed to Ruby’s mind. She’d only met Tyler’s mom a handful of times, and she didn’t like the woman at all, but she didn’t wish her dead.

  “As far as she is aware, Tyler is staying with friends for a few nights. She is alive and well. For now.” Conrad’s words brought a veil of hard ice down over the table. He let the threat settle before he spoke on. “You have all taken part in creating a nasty little mess for me to clean up. As irksome as you all have been, I see no reason you should not survive this debacle and return to your lives unscathed. All you need to do is cooperate. On the other hand, you could refuse. That being the case, I will kill you and your families. Everybody you care about will die in spectacular fashion. So, will you cooperate, or shall the killing begin?”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “What do you need us to do?” asked Scott. It was fairly obvious that Scott would do whatever Conrad told him to do. They all would, in fact, considering the alternative was death.

  Conrad turned to Scott. “You will disappear. I have no use for you. You will leave this town and go somewhere far away to continue your existence. As for the rest of you.” Conrad glanced at Tyler and he recoiled in his chair. “Relax, Tyler,” Conrad said softly, like a snake soothing a mouse. “Your role was behind the camera, I need nothing from you either.”

  Tyler’s body visibly sagged, releasing some of the tension that he’d been holding.

  “In fact, the only people who need to do anything are our stars—Ruby and Jay.”

  Ruby and Jay exchanged a wary look. She slid her hand into Jay’s and gripped tightly. Conrad’s piercing gaze lingered on them, his eyes glinting with something alien. Ruby could feel a chill slither down her spine, and her grip on Jay’s hand tightened even further.

  “The two of you will record a new video in which you admit that the Halloween livestream was a hoax. You paid a local vagabond to play the role of the vampire and used various tricks to make it look as real as possible. You will confess that the actor you hired got carried away and accidentally injured your friend. One of you will then accompany me to the police station to give the same statement to whoever has been given the unfortunate task of investigating the incident. Ethan you will deliver the same story to your father,” Conrad spoke matter-of-factly, delivering his instructions without even the consideration that they might refuse.

  Jay’s head was down, face to the table, his eyes darting side to side. He was trying to find a way out of it. He knew that if he explicitly stated it was a hoax, all the mystery around the livestream would vanish and take the new followers with it. Even now, he was putting the YouTube channel first. He was putting it before their safety. Their lives. Ruby yanked her hand out of his grip.

  “And then you’ll leave us alone?” Ruby asked.

  Conrad nodded his head once. “With the video removed and any belief in the story crushed, I can return to where I came from, you can go back to your human lives, and we can all forget that you ever inadvertently glimpsed the world that exists on the dark side of the sun.”

  Ruby snorted. There was no way that she was ever going to forget this. As if she could forget that vampires were real and they secretly ruled the world. She suspected that she’d be peering into every shadow for the rest of her life. The door had been opened now, and it was never going to close, no matter how hard she tried.

  “Fine,” she said. The choice was between life and death. There was nothing to think about.

  “All four of you must agree. Everybody must sing from the same song sheet regardless of whether or not they are on camera,” said Conrad.

  Ethan and Tyler were all too eager to agree to Conrad’s demands. Jay was the only one who stayed silent. Ruby glared at him, willing her boyfriend to agree, but his eyes were fixed on the table’s surface, his mind lost in consternation. “What’s in it for us?” he said finally. Internally, Ruby groaned.

  “Jay, don’t,” she warned, earning a glare from him.

  “This isn’t the time for bargaining,” Ethan said, leaning over the table so he was in Jay’s eyeline.

  “Listen to your friends, Jay,” said Conrad.

  “What’s in it for us?” he said again, this time with more defiance. Jay had always been the sort of person who’d do the opposite of what he was told. He was a walking example of reverse psychology in action. Ruby never thought that trait would get him killed. “You’re asking us to give up everything we’ve worked for. My career. So, what’s in it for me?”

  Conrad issued a small chuckle as he rested his elbow on the arm of his chair, placing his chin in his pale hand. “What’s in it for you?” he repeated softly. “Your life. If you refuse, I will pluck your heart from your chest and place it on the table before you so you can watch its dying beats.”

  Jay’s tongue flicked out over his dried lips, and Ruby could see in his eyes that he wasn’t going to back down. Love him though she did, he could be an absolute moron sometimes. “You just said you needed Ruby and me alive. You can’t kill me.”

  “Do not overestimate your value. I would prefer to have both of you on video. However, I only need one of you.” Conrad’s tone had dropped, he was no longer amused. “Allow me to be clear; this is not a negotiation. If you refuse to comply, first, I’ll kill Tyler. Then I’ll kill Ethan. Then, if you still refuse, I shall kill you. Then I shall kill your parents out of nothing more than spite.”

  Jay’s hands curled into fists, and he slowly moved them toward his waist.

  “Don’t,” Ruby hissed, but it was pointless, Jay was determined to stand his ground.

  Jay jumped to his feet, pulling out his wooden stake as he moved, and shouted, “Kangaroo!”