Amongst the holiday decorations, hung…”No,” I whispered mortified and stumbled closer. But wishing didn’t make it any less vile. Intestines were strung up from one end of the porch to the other right along side of the multicolored Christmas lights.

Several squad cars pulled up and Charlie was the first one to the porch.

He took some calming breaths, but no amount of deep breathing was going to make that scene any more bearable. I had to hand it to them, they pulled themselves together and began processing the crime scene.

My chaperone, or captor as she called it, seemed to have disappeared, so I used the time to search for clues, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what had done this. I hadn’t realized what the vampire in my last vision had been doing while whistling so happily, but he’d been decorating another house with entrails.

Seemed likely that one who’d go to such lengths would stay to watch the show. I searched the nearby woods, but there wasn’t even a hint of him.

Charlie was getting back in his cruiser when I saw the vampire standing but feet from where he was parked inhaling his scent the same way I’d done with Bella. But I’d been trying to get used to her. This thing was memorizing Charlie’s smell and the only reason he’d bother was if he planned on hunting him.

I started to chase after them, but the ghost’s blackened fingernails were suddenly embedded all the way to my bone as she yanked me from that place only to drop me off at the local cemetery.

“Please, death would be a sweet respite for me,” I sneered thinking she meant to show me my grave to threaten me into submission the way Ebenezer had been, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

She smiled, and it was a smile that left you with the feeling of worms and other creatures crawling over you. “You are quite right, Vampire. You do not fear your own death, but there are others that you care for…humans that you would mourn.” She pointed and the headstone lit up showing Charlie Swan’s name etched into the cold granite with a date of death of Christmas 2009.