Gemma rifled through her jewellery drawer, tossing necklaces and bracelets out in a halo around her. Where was that bloody amulet? She knew that some of the others in her team didn’t like her way of doing things, but it’s not like she ever went out unprotected. Finally, sighing with relief, she pulled out a tangled mass of metal and pendants, and started extricating the amulet from the two other chains it had become caught in. Of course, she’d been wearing these last time, and must have taken them off together.

The amulet, on a chain of dull, dirty silver metal, gleamed oddly. She wasn’t sure how what it was made of, or who made it, only that she trusted it. Carved into the black pendant was apparently a bulb of garlic. A joke, obviously. No reputable vampire would be put off by any kind of onion. No, this amulet did have protective properties, and it did work – by magic, probably. Fastening the chain around her neck, Gemma admired herself in the mirror. She wore a fitted grey shirt, unbuttoned to reveal her neck – and cleavage. She laughed at how the amulet sat perfectly at the top of her smooth breasts. That was going to cause some cognitive dissonance.