The Vampire Next Door (10 page)

As the three of them traipsed up the stairs to Sly’s apartment, Gwyneth whispered, “Can y’all see any of the sludge I painted around the front door? The last thing I want is for someone to come along and wash it off before it sets.”

Morgaine said, “I’ll take a closer look, but I thought you did a good job with it this afternoon.”

Sly glanced at the door frame, which appeared to glow faintly around the edges. “Can either of you see that? It’s glowing.”

“I can’t see anything. It seems to have dried clear. We need to test it though,” Morgaine said.

“Oh, that’s right. I plumb forgot. Sly?”

“Uh-oh. What do I need to do?”

Gwyneth smiled. “Nothin’ much. Just mosey on outside and see if y’all can get back in.”

Something sounded suspicious. “What do you expect will happen?”

“Oh, probably nothin’. We just need to be here in case y’all need to be invited back in again.”

“Are you saying you might have sealed me out of my own building?”

Gwyneth shrugged.

Morgaine blew out the candle and said, “We don’t know the vampire’s name, so Gwyneth decided to seal it against all vampires who don’t live here. But sometimes the powers-that-be can be very literal. And since you’re not alive…”

Sly finished her thought in his head. “Got it. So what happens if I can’t get back in?”

“We just invite y’all in again.”

“Are you sure nothing else will happen? I mean, I won’t burst into flames if I try to walk through your barrier or anything?”

“Heavens no!” Gwyneth chuckled. “We’re not firebugs.”

“But you said you bought something called Vampire Slayer powder.”

“I didn’t use that on the door, silly. Y’all have to come and go. I’m saving that for your maker, if and when we can find him.”

“I thought you already found him.”

“We think so, but one of us,” she glared at Morgaine, “has to go and look at the place in person.”

“We agreed I’d astral project and Gwyneth would walk over there during the day. We can corroborate what we find later.”

“So, are y’all gonna get over the willies or what, Sly? Go outside and come back in again. Morgaine, I’ll deal with you tomorrow.”

“Deal with me?” Morgaine’s eyes grew a little larger, and Sly figured it was time to distract them quickly.

“Okay, here I go.” He yanked open the door and stepped outside, letting the door shut. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out his key, and unlocked the door. “So far, so good.”

Sly took a giant step and slammed into an invisible barrier. “Ouch!”

Both women covered their mouths.

“Oops,” Gwyneth said. “Sorry ’bout that.”

“Well at least we know it works,” Sly muttered.

“Please come in, Sly.” Morgaine stretched out her hand.

He grasped it and slowly stepped into the building with no more trouble than a human would have. “Whew.”

“I did it, Morgaine!” Gwyneth was so pleased with herself that she hugged her cousin. And Sly could tell that Morgaine was genuinely thrilled.

“Yes, you did. Did you have any doubts?”

“A little one, maybe. I was sure he wouldn’t catch afire, but I was a bit worried he’d maybe get singed.”

“Now you tell me? Forget it, I’m fine, and you’ve redeemed yourself,” Sly said. Gwyneth’s face fell, and he was immediately sorry he’d put it that way. He’d have to remember how powerful these women were—and that one of them had something called Vampire Slayer powder!

*   *   *   *

The next morning, Morgaine crossed the hall to Gwyneth’s apartment. Before she knocked on the door, she said a small incantation. It was more of a prayer to the Goddess for help and direction. Then she knocked and waited.

Gwyneth opened the door looking well rested and refreshed. Good. She hoped her cousin would be in a receptive mood.

“Mornin’, Morgaine. Would y’all like to come in?”

“Please.”

Gwyneth stepped aside, and Morgaine crossed to the couch in Gwyneth’s living room. “Is Chad here?”

Gwyneth cocked her head. “Chad?”

“Hello, ladies. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Uh, yes.” Morgaine said nervously. “Can you give us a few minutes alone?”

“You want to kick me out of my own apartment?”

“No. We can go to my place if you’d rather not leave.”

“In other words, you just don’t want me eavesdropping.”

“Correct.”

An audible sigh suggested that Chad was fed up.
“What makes you think I won’t just follow you and listen in without telling you?”

“Because I’m respectfully asking that you don’t.”

Another loud sigh.
“Oh, all right. You’re taking all the fun out of it anyway. I’ll go see what Nathan’s up to.”

“Thanks, Chad.”

Gwyneth’s expression turned to one of concern. “What’s wrong, Morgaine? Y’all look like a pup that was left behind when the family went for a Sunday drive.”

“I’m okay. I’ve just been thinking…”

“Oh. Well, that can’t be good. Y’all want a glass of sweet tea?”

“No, thanks. I’d just like to talk to you for a little while.”

“Of course.” Gwyneth sat on the sofa next to her cousin. “What’s got y’all thinkin’?”

“A couple of things. First, you know how much I rely on you for everything. It sounds as if you’re starting to resent it.”

“I’m sorry, darlin’. I don’t mean to sound that way. I just worry about y’all. What if something happened to me? Back when Konrad and Roz lived here, I know y’all felt safe with them, but now they’re gone.”

Morgaine looked at her lap. “I know. I—oh, Goddess… This isn’t easy. I don’t want you to get mad.”

“Spit it out, Cousin. I’m more apt to get mad if y’all keep dancing around the back door.”

“I need to help Sly… and not just as a friend. But I need your help. Do you know what I mean?”

Gwyneth sat up straighter. “Oh! Y’all are sweet on Sly… More than a little, by the sounds of it. But what about his feelings for his wife? Oh, no wonder you look sadder than a broken swing.”

Morgaine leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
Oh well, here goes nothing.
“He kissed me.”

Gwyneth cocked her head. “Huh?”

“I know. I was confused too.”

Gwyneth stood abruptly and balled her fists. “Well, now I know why y’all thought I’d get mad. But I’m not mad at y’all, Cousin. I’m mad at him. How dare he say all that stuff and then lead y’all on?”

“I-I don’t think he’s leading me on. Look, if you’ll sit down and try to stay calm for a few minutes, maybe I can explain it.”

Gwyneth dropped back down onto the sofa. “Fine. Try to explain, ’cause it sure don’t make no sense to me.”

“After you went back upstairs the other night, I stayed a little longer.”

“I noticed that. I was thinkin’ that was a good sign. It meant you were feelin’ okay outside your comfort zone—especially seein’ as how his place is always so damn dark.”

Morgaine smiled. “Yeah, we talked about how we enjoyed spending time together, even though there’s only a window of a few hours in the evening when we’re both awake.”

“And that’s when he kissed ya?”

“No. Yes. I mean, after that.”

“So what kind of kiss was it? Was it a peck, like kissin’ Uncle Clarence?”

Morgaine shook her head.

Gwyneth’s eyes widened. “A passionate tongue kiss?”

“Uh…” Morgaine shrugged. “It was nice. Soft. Sweet. Kind. Loving…”

Gwyneth stood again. “Then he
did
lead y’all on. I have a mind to go down there and—”

“No!” Morgaine put her hand on Gwyneth’s arm. “Please, sit down. There’s more I want to say.”

Gwyneth lowered herself slowly and perched on the edge of the couch, apparently ready to jump up again at any second if she didn’t like the way the conversation was going.

“We promised to help Sly, and I want to. Very much. I think if he and I keep getting to know each other better, maybe it will grow into something, and then you won’t always be stuck with me. You have all kinds of opportunities to find nice guys. You can go out and socialize. You’re
so
beautiful—”

Gwyneth raised her hand. “Y’all can stop now. I know what you’re sayin’.”

Morgaine studied her hopefully. It was hard to read what Gwyneth meant by that from her expression. “And?”

“And, I’ll help. If y’all want Sly, I can teach y’all about flirtin’ so he gets the message without feelin’ like he’s been hit over the head with a brick.”

Morgaine laughed. “I wasn’t asking you to help me flirt. I have the feeling he likes that I don’t do that. I want your help finding a way to bring Sly back to the land of the living. If that means finding that cure for vampirism, I’ll need your help. If that means defeating his maker, I’ll need your help. Basically, whatever we do to help him will be dangerous, but if we do it together, we have a chance.”

“And if there’s a chance for more, y’all would like to be with him?”

“Yes.”

“And y’all aren’t scared?”

“I’m terrified.”

Gwyneth smiled. “Good.”

“Good that I’m terrified?”

“Good that y’all are terrified and willin’ to try anyway.” She nodded once, firmly. “I’m in. Now what do we do first?”

“Let’s see if we can find his maker now that it’s daylight. Bring your camera.”

“Y’all are goin’ with me? I thought I was goin’ alone and y’all would astral project.”

“No. If I want to be Sly’s girlfriend, I have to stick my neck out for him. And if you’re kind enough to help me, I need to be there to protect you.”

Gwyneth put her arms around Morgaine and hugged her. “I always knew this day would come. I’m prouder of y’all than I’d be of a prize pig at the fair—oh, sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound like I was comparing you to a pig. Y’all know what I mean.”

Morgaine grinned. “Yes, I know.”

*   *   *   *

The witches located the basement apartment in the block where their compass had pointed. Morgaine set down her heavy canvas bag on the sidewalk.

Gwyneth studied the mailbox. “V. Malvant. That’s a strange name.”

Morgaine shivered and hugged herself. “There’s something evil in there. I can feel a dark, twisted energy. Can you?”

Gwyneth closed her eyes. “Eek… now that y’all mention it, yeah. It’s like barbed wire. All sharp and twisted.”

Morgaine nodded and lowered her voice. “We need to be careful. Even though he should be completely unconscious and vulnerable, nothing says he might not have some kind of magickal alarm system.”

“So that’s why we’re gonna astral project to get in there, right?”

“We can do that first, but eventually we’ll have to find a physical way in. The more we know about him and his lair, the better.”

“Know thine enemy an’ all that, right?”

“Right. Now, according to the compass, there’s an alley entrance too. When we actually break in, we should probably do it from the alley. I’m thinking we should astral project from there too. That way we’ll see exactly what we’re getting into.”

“So, let’s git back there so we can take him from behind. Ugh, that don’t sound right.”

“We’re attacking his flank. Does that sound better?”

Gwyneth breathed a sigh of relief. “Much better.”

“Can you take the bag? My hands are sweating.”

Gwyneth hefted the heavy bag with an “Oomph,” and the two women strolled to the side street and around the corner. As they entered the alley, Morgaine smelled garbage and urine.
Disgusting.
She stopped and her chest fluttered.
Maybe this was a bad idea.

Their alley didn’t smell like that. Of course, they’d had a werewolf and a vampire guarding the place for several years.

She reflected on how weird that was. She was more afraid of open spaces and panic attacks than she was of a werewolf and a vampire. Truth be told, she’d feel a whole lot better with her vampire and werewolf friends guarding her right now. At least it wasn’t dark out, and she trusted her cousin to get her back to her own apartment safely in case she had to flee. She took a few deep breaths.

Since all the buildings on the block were connected, they counted the same number of buildings along the back and matched up the architecture. By that process, they had no difficulty finding the maker’s apartment again. He had only one small barred window. A few steps led up to the back door. Morgaine felt the same malevolent energy, but she didn’t detect any kind of magickal protection. Thank the Goddess.

“Back in the day, this musta been the servant’s entrance,” Gwyneth said.

“You’re probably right. The back of the building was where the kitchen was usually located, with the parlor in front.”

“That must be why the alley smells like garbage. But nothin’ excuses the outhouse smell. I’m guessin’ that might be from a homeless person.”

“In this neighborhood?”

“They’re all over the city, Morgaine. If I was homeless and had my druthers, I’d keep my cardboard box in a nice area like this.”

Morgaine shuddered. “I can’t imagine it.”

“That’s your agga… agriv…”

“Agoraphobia.”

“Yeah, that.”

Morgaine nodded but tried not to dwell on the thought. They had a job to do, and she wouldn’t be able to do it if she stood there frozen.

She reached out and grabbed Gwyneth’s hand. “I need your strength, right now.”

Gwyneth squeezed Morgaine’s fingers. “You got it, Cousin. It’s time we get this cow to town.”

“Huh?”

“Y’all would say, ‘Get this show on the road,’ I think.”

“Oh. Yeah, let’s do that.”

Gwyneth shrugged the bag off her shoulder, and it lay in the alley. “Don’t y’all want me to go alone first?”

Morgaine gulped and shook her head. “No. I can do this.” She squared her shoulders, closed her eyes, breathed deeply a few times, and went into her trance. She let her spirit soar above her body. Still holding Gwyneth’s hand, she inserted her energy into the building.

Once inside, she stood in a hallway with a view of the front door and a banister to the right. A door on her immediate right probably led to the cellar. The building was set up much like her own, except narrower. Probably only a single-family home with a basement apartment.

She moved through the door to the right. Suddenly Morgaine froze. She was in total darkness. Her throat constricted.