The Witch with No Name

The master vampire thought about that for a moment, his lips twitching when Nina regained her balance and glared at him, her fear for Ivy overpowering her fear of him. “Clear the building,” he said gruffly, gesturing. “Make sure the apartment in question is secure.”

The vampires began to break up, some jogging to the apartments, but most simply vanishing into the night. Cormel waited, as still as, well, the undead, the wind moving the hem of his coat the only motion about him. Frowning and tucking the bottle back in my shoulder bag, I turned to Trent. Nina jerked away, snarling when I tried to take her other arm, and I backed off.

“You sure you don’t have any other ideas?” I asked Trent as we started across the grass, Nina’s aggressive stalking held in check by the vampires around and behind us.

“Not any you’re going to like,” he said. “You never know. It might work just fine.”

Or it might kill Felix outright, I thought, but I didn’t say it as we made our way to the road. But I’d do anything for Ivy. What happened after that was not going to be my problem.

Chapter 9

Felix sat on the couch not four feet from me, not breathing, not moving, creeping me out as he stared with red-rimmed, hungry eyes while I wiped the glass coffee table with a salt-soaked rag. The three heavies by the door weren’t helping, even if the undead vampire was bound and gagged. I wished Cormel would get up here so we could get on with it.

I jumped at the thump from the bedroom, but Jenks gave me a thumbs-up before darting to the open kitchen. Trent, too, had started, and he turned from the vampire graffiti sprayed on the inside of the closed blinds. His eyes roved over the space, evaluating the lifestyle of the average living vampire, calculating the difficulty of getting out of here in a pinch, generally doing his warlord/businessman elf thing.

Apart from the ominous jagged and swirled vampire graffiti, the apartment looked the same as when I’d last seen it. I wondered if Marsha and Luke were still alive and running. It was possible, seeing that the real intent behind it all had been to get Ivy involved.

“Hey, Trent. Be a pal, would you?” Jenks called, and Trent went into the kitchen to take the top off a jar of peanut butter. It had been an exhausting night for everyone, but I thought it interesting that he’d asked Trent. He’d never asked me to help with anything remotely connected to his admittedly high caloric needs.

Must be a bro thing, I thought as I tossed the rag into the sink in the kitchen. Jenks rose up and down on a column of silver, peeved that I’d startled him. We were all on edge as we waited for Cormel’s thugs to give him the all clear so he could come up, making me wonder if there was a charm or a spell I hadn’t found the first time I was here.

My fingers were cold, and I knelt with the low table between me and Felix. I could feel him watching as I brought the bottle out of my shoulder bag and set it on the table. Felix’s eyes turned a savage black, but he didn’t move. My heart thudded, making things worse. This was so dumb. Where in the hell was Cormel?

My head snapped up when the man searching the bedroom ghosted out with a vampiric quickness, his nose wrinkling at the smell of burnt amber. Vampires didn’t generally like burnt amber—thank God. My thoughts swung to Ivy, who’d never said much either way, something I appreciated. Nina was downstairs waiting for her—which didn’t sit well with me.

I knew Ivy could take care of herself, but not when she was suffering from internal injuries and was weak. But Nina loved Ivy. That made her dangerous as she’d do anything to be with Ivy, up to and including killing her. Vampire logic didn’t make sense to me.

The hiss of a match drew my attention as Trent lit a huge pale green candle. “Better?” he said as he waved the match out. He looked odd in someone else’s kitchen. I should stop being selfish and tell him to go save the world with Ellasbeth. He has a daughter with her, for God’s sake. Why am I letting him endanger himself like this?

But I needed his help, and I forced myself to smile even as Felix began a weird growling hiss. “Better, thanks,” I said as the clean scent of sea foam overpowered both the scent of sulfur from the match and the reek of burnt amber rising from all three of us. Leave it to a female vampire to have a candle that could outstink the ever-after.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Trent said as he sat in the closest chair. His eyes were on Felix, but all I could think was, This is a mistake.

“I don’t like being forced,” I said softly, and he gave my shoulder a squeeze before picking up the bottle and giving it careful scrutiny. In front of us, Felix groaned.