Once Carmine and Blake arrive home, it's nearly 1am.

Mason and Red are sitting on the porch. Mason's large pale hands are wrapped around Red's petite, frail ones. He leans in and gives his wife a peck on the cheek. They are murmuring to one another when their children turn up the driveway.

Red stands up, clutching her hands around her throat. "Oh Carmine! Are you alright? I just heard- and Blake-then-" Red splutters, barely coherent.

Carmine hasn't seen her mother this worried in a long time. Red seems frazzled and her eyes are incredibly red, most likely from crying.

Carmine walks up to her parents and gives them each a small hug.

Carmine gives her mother a second hug, patting Red's back gently. "I'm okay mother. Really. I'm okay."

Red's whole body shakes as she lets out a relieved sigh. "You KNOW how dangerous a fire is!" she yells into Carmine's black hair, "Especially for you... One little burn and SIZZZT! You would have- Oooh! That job. It's bringing you nothing but trouble. You should-"

"How do you know mother?" Carmine interrupts, out of both skepticism and curiosity. She pulls away from her mother. "I'm not doubting your word but...all these things about half-bloods...how did you learn about them?"

"It's complicated Carmine," Red replies, evading the question. "You just need to trust me." Red turns toward the door, inching her way inside.

"No offence mother but you're a human vampire, not a half-blood like Blake and I. How do you know what Blake and I can or cannot do? Did someone teach you? Is there a "Guide to Being a Half-Blood Vampire" or something that you're hiding from us?! Because I am just so sick of not knowing ANYTHING."

Red rubs her wrists nervously, still surprised by Carmine's sudden interrogation. "Come inside, you two. Now."

Mason pushes both of us children inside and slams the door behind him with one flick of his fingers.

The family settles in the living room. Mason sinks into his armchair while Blake and Carmine squish together on the sofa. 

Red dives into the kitchen and turns on the electric kettle to make some water for tea. She starts taking out some dishes and reheating the casserole she made earlier. Anything to distract her from answering her children's burning questions.

Carmine seizes the chance to speak to her father. "Father- May I ask you to resume our lessons together? Also, you promised you would tell us all you knew about the vampire hunter after your hunting trip but you never did."

Mason runs his knobbly fingers through his golden brown hair. "It's a long story," he sighs.

Blake clears his throat. "I think if there's a hunter in town we deserve to know everything you know." He stares at his father unblinkingly, his lips set in a tight line.

Mason lowers his voice down to an inaudible whisper. Well, inaudible to human (a.k.a. Red's) ears. "I didn't want to worry your mother but we've heard about this new huntress a while back. She has been taking down victims in Halsberry, Yenterville and now Larksdale solo. It would appear that Richmont proper is her next target. We don't know too much about her other than the fact that she's a fairly tall, middle aged woman. She is incredibly strong for a human but she defeats her victims through cunning and a dash of black magic. Obviously she has the advantage of being able to walk in daylight. It's rumoured she wears polished silver chainmail when she attacks and has the ability to launch wooden stakes and fireballs through the air at superhuman speeds. Her powers are also getting stronger, as evidenced by the climbing vampire death tallies attributed to her. No doubt she is seeking the help of either a coven of witches or seers. That's all I know for now."

Carmine and Blake's eyes fly wide open in horror and shock.

Carmine protests, "I didn't know hunters could work together with seers and witches! I thought only those with a gift could-"

"She might be a half-blood witch," Mason replies. "It's uncertain at the moment."

"What does this mean for us?" Blake asks, his voice trembling a little.

"Nothing. Right now. Just keep your head down and don't draw attention to yourselves. Same as always. She can't hurt you if she doesn't know about you," Mason advises. "As for me...Don't worry, I am on full alert. Besides, I hunt with the clan now so I have more protection that way. The huntress usually attacks loners."

"I'm worried about you," Carmine says, rubbing her forehead. And as for not drawing attention to ourselves, Carmine thinks, it's a bit too late for that.

"There's no need. I am almost a hundred years older than this woman. I have knowledge and experience on my side," Mason smirks, "Now...as for the lessons, I've been meaning to teach you glamour soon."

"Yes!" Carmine and Blake cry out in unison.

"A bit eager aren't we?" Mason laughs.

"I'm ready to take the next step up in my training," Carmine says in a lower pitch, "I've been waiting too long for the next set."

It's true. Mason stopped training Carmine and Blake when he got sick. If it hadn't been for that roadblock, Carmine would probably have already mastered glamour by now.

Glamour is one of the hardest skills to perfect. Even full-bloods take years to master the art. For half-bloods, they need to be taught how to do it; they don't have the innate gift for glamour. A long time ago, Mason had told them that he would not teach them glamour until they were in their late teenage years for fear that they would abuse their powers and get into trouble.

"I'm glad you two are so eager," Mason says, "But how about we wait until tomorrow? It's been a long day for all of us."

Carmine refuses to drop the subject. "Can you teach me the rudiments right now?"

"Why the rush?" Mason's eyebrows raise quizzically.

"I really want to glamour someone at work," Carmine says.

It's not exactly a lie.

"Oh? Who?"

"My boss."

"Why in the world-"

"He's really tough on us; I'd like him to be nicer. And maybe give me a small raise and-"

"Now Carmine, you know you're not supposed to abuse your abilities," Mason warns. His heavy brow ridge wrinkles with worry. "It will only upset your mother and draw unnecessary attention to your true identity."

"But Fath-"

Mason shushes Carmine and angles his head towards Red, who is coming towards them holding a tray loaded up with bowls of casserole. He whispers, "Just between you and me, I think you'll pick up the skill really fast. You've waited long enough. I think you're ready. So I'll show you just the bare essentials right now." 

Carmine knits her eyebrows together. It's never really occurred to her before but...does her Father often use glamour on her mother to get away with things? Then again, if he does, he probably exercises his powers judiciously. Right?

Mason looks up straight into Red's eyes. "Honey, please put everything down and start squawking and dancing like a chicken. After one minute, go upstairs, fall asleep and forget about dancing like a chicken. Thank you."

Carmine notices Mason's eyes glow purple for the briefest of moments before returning to its natural dull, red colour.

Red obeys the command, setting down the tray of food. Then she brings her hands up to her armpits and starts strutting around screaming, "bwak, bwak, BWAK!"

Carmine, Blake and Mason roll over laughing. Red's comical performance is so unlike her usual solemnness that the rest of the family can't help but cheer and egg her on.

After 60 seconds of frantic flapping, Red stops and goes upstairs to the master bedroom.

After Carmine regains her compsure, she asks more seriously, "Do you often glamour mother?"

"Never," Mason admits, "I just thought we could all use a little bit of comic relief after everything that's happened."

"If she knew what we just did," Blake chortles, "She'd kill us!""Well, let's just keep it between the three of us, shall we?" Mason stands up, motioning for his children to do the same. "Come, please join me in the Sacrifice Room."

Once downstairs in the almost pitch dark basement, Carmine gently tugs on the dangling lightbulb cord, turning it on.

Mason purses his lips together and with a gentle blow, manages to completely clear all the dust and spiderwebs off the workbench in front of them. He takes a dusty tome off a shelf and slams it onto the worktable.

"Ouvre," Mason whispers to the lock. The dull metal padlock clicks open and rolls off the book.

"So that's all it takes to open this book?" Blake asks, "Saying "open" in French?" He lets out a small chuckle.

"Of course not," Mason clucks, "It will only open for me. This is a notebook I've carried with me for decades. I have all my observations and skill lists scribbled in here...for reference purposes."

Carmine takes a step closer towards her father, peering over his shoulders. She looks at the curly script materializing before her eyes. "Is this a different language? Why can't we understand it?"

Mason shakes his head. "It's just upside-down mirror writing. A skill I picked up when I was still human. You just need to flip the book upside down and read it while facing a mirror to understand it."

"But you don't need a mirror," Blake notes.

"Because I wrote it," Mason explains. "I know the words in here like the back of my century-old hands. Now..." Mason starts flipping through yellowed pages until he stops at a section marked with a pen drawing of an eye. "Glamour." He quickly scans the two pages crammed full of writing.

After muttering to himself for a minute or so, Mason slams the book shut and turns back to his children. "The key to glamour is one, never breaking eye contact and two, being direct and specific with your commands."

Carmine and Blake nod.

"You can't glamour other vampires. Or even other half-bloods. Sometimes you can glamour half-blood witches, wizards and seers but you two are much too inexperienced and young to tackle on full-blood ones." Mason clears his throat. "Glamour is not to be abused and should really only be used in emergencies or to trap a victim. But Carmine, seeing as how you've succeeded in bringing home victims without it for so many years, I don't think you really need to start using it now."

"I think as a half-blood vampire, glamour is too crucial of a skill not to have," Carmine insists, "And of course I will use my powers wisely."

"Okay, Blake. You can go to your room now," Mason instructs, not even looking at his son.

"What?!" Blake cries, "I thought you were going to teach me too!"

"No, you are too young and impetuous. I will teach you when you are eighteen."

Blake hisses audibly, folding his hands across his chest. "I'm not a boy anymore!"

"Then stop acting like one," Mason says, pushing Blake's body towards the stairs with his mind. "Good night son."

"Why did you even show me the book? If you-"

"I will teach you the art of patience tomorrow," Mason explains. "You need to be able to calm yourself down and focus without getting restless and careless. You could learn a lot from Carmine."

"Carm-"

Before Blake can say a word more, Mason uses his telekinetic powers to shove Blake up the stairs and slam the door.

Carmine huddles behind her father, feeling awed and frightened at the same time. Father usually never demonstrates his supernatural abilities in front of them and especially not too often in front of mother on account of her nerves. She's been suffering from anxiety issues in the past year and too much raw vampire energy in the house upsets her.

A sting of guilt pierces Carmine's heart. Father trusts her. Respects her for her maturity and level-headedness. If he finds out what she and Blake did to that man, he will never trust her again. Let alone teach her all the vampiric skill sets in the book.

"Now, let's begin," Mason says, staring straight at Carmine.

Cutthroat Carmine reached #230 in Paranormal today! Woohoo! At this point, I'll probably never reach Top 10 but I'll still aim to have this book become a featured novel after it's finished.

If you're curious, I've uploaded 46k words as of this post. There are 80k words total in this book. Don't forget to vote! ;)

Cheers, Chesmok