31 Tombs for October: A month of horror stories to unseal.

Addison Rothchilds considered the ghoul. He had won the bet. "So, you're supernatural power is remaining svelt after engorgement?" she teased.

"Pay up, vampire," the ghoul retorted.

She held up the Charm of Sonora. It sparkled in the neon glow of the Moondance Café's "open all night" sign. She tossed back her long, wavy blonde hair over a milky white shoulder. She could sense the ghoul's impatience.

"And?" he asked.

"This charm hasn't touched a living hand in over 750 years," Addison lamented.

Thornton Sharpe smiled, revealing pointed teeth. "Well, it still hasn't," he said and seized the talisman.

"Ghoul, take it for a year. Next October, give me a chance to win it back. 31 tombs in a month. I will sense their consciousness and tell you their tales. Double or nothing," said Addison.

Thornton asked, "I suspected vampires could read minds, just didn't know it also worked on the dead. You have another magic charm?"

"Better. I have a keep. Kind of like a castle, but smaller. A great place for you to park that convertible of yours," she said.

The ghoul scoffed. "You're telling me that this Charm of Sonora is worth an entire keep?"

"More. It is more than a family legacy. It has our collective powers contained within," admitted Addison.

"So, what happens if it breaks...accidentally, of course," asked the ghoul.

Addision replied, "To put it delicately, we would be no more."

"And you bet that all against my Ford Galaxie? What were you thinking?" he asked.

"You sound like my father," she said, "Speaking of which, just to have the charm I had to lie to my him. He is the Master, you know."

"You mean you stole the charm," stated the ghoul.

"Not exactly. I told him it was a gift."

"What?"

"My father thinks we are engaged," she said.

"I'm flattered," replied the ghoul.

"Look, in a year, I will go through 31 tombs and tell you their tales. If I can't, I give you the keep and face the music with my father. If I can, I tell everyone the engagement is off and you go on your way untethered."

"You've got a bet," said Thornton.