Life regains some of its normalcy in the week after—if you’d consider shuttling between school and a vampire’s castle to train with captes normal. But at least there no attempted abductions, no vanguards, no vulks, no slayers, and no other vampires. Just Helene and Ms Pink. And Yoona, who picks me up from school every day.

This is also the week when Sunny returns from Lamod and showers me with gifts to make up for abandoning me for so long. Well, okay. A week isn’t that long but with so many things happening to me, it feels more like a month. So I am more than happy to have Sunny back with me; more than happy to have someone to share stories with.

First and foremost, I told her all about Ms Pink’s return. No mention of vanguards and the other supernatural occurrences of course. I gave her the ‘humanized’ version of it, which includes details of our first night back together, how Ms Pink turned up at our apartment and took me to Summer’s and how I’ve practically lived with Ms Pink during the week she’s been away. The good thing about summarizing the week for Sunny in this way is how I actually feel better about the whole thing afterwards. Yes, my life is still not entirely mine and threats from the supers are real, but I also realized how different Ms Pink and I are after the extended break from each other. We aren’t playing games anymore. And I like how I am beginning to hold my own when I’m up against Ms Pink. And the way Ms Pink looks at me these days. It gives me the tingles and giggles.

“You have the most pathetic look on your face when you talk about your Ms Pink,” Sunny comments, her lips curled up on one side in amusement. “But if things are that great between the two of you, why are you still calling her Ms Pink?”

I shrug. “Habit, I guess?”

“It’s weird. I call Summer, Summer. I don’t call her Ms Choi. That would be weird.”

“Ms Pink sounds endearing to me.”

Sunny shakes her head. “Whatever makes you happy, dear. Even if you sound pathetic for it.”

I simply grin, not caring if I sound or look pathetic. “None of that matters to me. All I need is Ms Pink with me.”

“Argh, you’re so lovesick you make me sick.” Then Sunny frowns. “But if she doesn’t treat you well or hurts you in any way at all, she’s going to have me to deal with.”

Throwing my arms around my petite yet fearless friend, I hug her and say, “Thank you. You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course, you do.”

At the back of my mind, while talking to Sunny, is Max. During this week, I did not get to see Max. It appears that he has disappeared from the face of the Earth. I texted him but he did not reply. Neither did he pick up my calls. Is he hiding from me now that he has exposed his identity as a super? Or is he gone because his ‘job’ is done? I really want to talk to him because I don’t think his intentions were bad when he abducted me. Besides, we’ve been friends for a long time. He deserves a chance to explain himself. But as the days go by, I can’t shake the nagging feeling that something is wrong. So that very night, I decide to ask about him at the university the next day.

X

Asking his friends reaps nothing. They haven’t seen him all week either. And he hasn’t been attending classes for the past few days. Something doesn’t seem right. Maybe I should go to her apartment and look for him. Yoona is waiting at the big gate to pick me up and I tell her about my plan. Agreeing that his disappearance is strange (even though she doesn’t remember anything about our abduction), Yoona agrees to send me to Max’s apartment on her bike.

Nobody answers the door when we get there. And for some reason, the hairs on my neck and arms begin to rise as I hang around the corridor, contemplating my next step.

“Do you feel that?” I ask Yoona who is sniffing around the door.

“Feel? I don’t feel anything.”

“My hairs are standing but I don’t know why.”

Yoona frowns. “Hmm, this whole situation smells really fishy.”

My thoughts are interrupted by a call from Ms Pink. The first thing she says to me when I put my phone to my ear is “Where are you?”

“I’m outside Max’s apartment.”

“What are you doing there?” Ms Pink sounds displeased. “Are you alone?”

“Yoona is with me. Max hasn’t shown up to classes for a week. It’s kind of fishy.”

“Why do you need to care?”

I hesitate. If Ms Pink finds out Max is the one who abducted us . . . he’s going to be a very dead guy . . .

“Don’t even think of lying to me,” Ms Pink warns me.

“He’s a friend,” I reply relatively truthfully.

“And?” Ms Pink huffs. “I don’t like him.”

You’ll totally hate him if you know what he did . . . “I understand that. But he’s helped me many times before. You can consider this a kind of repayment.”

“Fine. Check quickly and get back here immediately.”

“Yes, Ms Pink,” I say, but for some reason I find myself adding, “Actually, are you busy?”

“I’ll make time for you.”

That puts a smile on my face. “Something doesn’t feel right with his apartment and there’s no way for us to get in. Could you help me? Please?”

“Fine. Stay where you are.”

X

Ms Pink arrives in vampire time—and I couldn’t be happier about it.

“Ms Pink,” I call as loudly as I dare to, which isn’t much more than a whisper really, “you’re here! There’s a strange sme—”

I am ignored by my princess vampire as she strides right past me and presses up against the door. One sniff later, she pushes Yoona and I back—and kicks the door open, literally. But I don’t get the time to admire Ms Pink’s action-hero stunt. Instead, an invasive vibe hits me and has all of my hairs standing on end. I can’t tell if it’s the training I’ve received or the sheer amount of fishy in the air that makes it obvious but I sense something foul and disturbing.

Ms Pink leads the way into the apartment. It is mostly blue. Blue walls, blue couch . . . blue body lying on the floor. I don’t think I can ever forget this sight for the rest of my life. The ghastly blue. It is not blue like the sky or blue like the sea. This blue is dirty, murky and very, very wrong.

“His blood was drained.”

None of this makes sense to me. Is this really Max? My friend? My friend who saved me from vulks then abducted me. How am I to reconcile any of this? My mind is numb. Feelings are beyond me. But my eyes follow Ms Pink as she walks around the blue body. She looks at the body from various angles but she doesn’t touch it. Then out comes her ultra slim pink phone. She calls someone and tells them to come to this apartment to pick up a body. That’s when it hits me.

“H-He’s d-dea—” I swallow hard. Never has there been a harder word to say.

“All his blood is gone. Taken. The blue is a clue.”

A great shudder rips through my body and I turn away from the terrible sight. Yoona holds me close and pats my back but that’s when Ms Pink drags me out of the apartment, back out to the corridor. “You are too sensitive.”