same time.
Then he grabbed a nearby duffle and produced seven sets of fancy metal collars with lights on them. He gave us each one and then pulled out a square plastic box with two lights on it, one green, one red.
“These are linked to each other and the box. Put them on. You too, Declan,” he said.
We each snapped the simple clasp shut on our necks. It didn’t bother me, but only an idiot would miss the hesitation that they all showed at the collars. When all seven were on, the green LED on the box lit up.
“If we touch these or mess with them, the red light comes on and the collars all buzz,” Chris said, reaching up and tugging his own. Instantly, my collar buzzed and I felt a shock.
“Ow,” Lydia said.
“Oh yeah, we also get shocked,” Chris said with a grin. The light was red, but after a few seconds, it went to green.
“Alright. On the count of three, think of the Latin word for slice. One, two, three,” he counted.
All seven collars fell apart and the green light never changed. Awasos picked up a broken collar in his jaws and started to chew it.
“Too easy,” Arkady rumbled.
“I agree. It should have taken more practice to synchronize,” Tanya said, turning to me.
“Ah, I made the spell so that it sorta self-synchronizes if everyone is pretty close to the same mark. You told me about the bomb collars and I thought we shouldn’t leave it to chance,” I said.
Chris turned to the others. “See?”
“Yeah, kid you’re gonna fit right in,” Lydia said.
“Provided you’ve decided to play for team Demidova this summer?” Chris asked.
“Yeah about that,” I began. The vampires went very still, only Chris and Stacia still showing human movement. I quickly held up both hands. “I still want to, but I’m not sure you’re gonna still want me.”
“Why, Declan?” Tanya asked, cocking her head and frowning.
I reached into my book bag of magic supplies and pulled out Sorrow’s previous home, tossing it to Chris.
“I found the Book of Darkest Sorrow. Well, actually, it found me. Only it’s not in there anymore,” I explained as he pawed through the blank pages.
“Where is it? And how did you get it?” Tanya asked.
I explained that the witch fight, which they knew about, was actually driven by Sorrow and was fully directed at me. Then I told them about the elves, Ariel, Neeve’s Black Frost blade as Ian had called it, and the wound in my side.
“But it was indestructible?” Chris asked.
“My aunt feels that it allowed itself to be punctured in such a manner that my skin got opened, too. Then it could transfer itself inside me,” I said, pulling up my t-shirt so they could see spells in black ink appear on my stomach as I thought about them.
“What does this mean?” Stacia asked.
“That I have a semi-sentient five-hundred-year-old grimoire from an evil German witch inside me. We think it has an agenda and it wanted me for that agenda.”
“That explains your aunt’s rather cryptic comment. I asked her if you had mentioned the summer job and she said we probably didn’t want two for one,” Chris said. “When I pressed further, she said that you would tell as what she meant.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine you’d still want me for an employee,” I said.
“Why?” Tanya asked.
“Hello, evil book trying to take over my powers and then the world?” I said.
“Hello, vampire who craves your blood where you stand,” she said back without any sarcasm. “Any others here want to bite Declan?”
Arkady, Lydia, and Nika all raised theirs hands. Not gonna lie, it was a more than a bit creepy that they all wanted to drink my blood.
“I have to work real hard to keep from ripping the hearts out of men who make obscene comments to me,” Stacia said. “Somehow, they think it will make me want them and it does—torn open and bleeding out.”
“I have days when it’s best I don’t drive in traffic because my road rage is not like everyone else’s road rage. Grim would really like to clear traffic and his proposed methods are… outside the box,” Chris said.
“Okay, I get what you’re saying. But this is different. What you’re talking about is part of you. Sorrow isn’t part of me. It’s alien and aware and constantly trying to influence me or trick me. I can’t trust its spells and if it wins, things will be really bad.”
“I presume your aunt is working on getting