permission, not that he'd grant it to her if
she asked. But, they needed a car.
“That won't be a problem, will
it?” Thane asked.
Hell yes! “No. No problem. We
just need to make sure we get back
before Mr. McGregor does.” Or you can
bury me next to your prince.
“Hey, trust me. You won't get
into any trouble with me around,”
Garren said.
She was probably going to regret
hearing those words.
Thane sat down in his seat and
pulled out a book from the pile. Garren
was already seated with his friends
without so much as a ‘see you later’.
She dragged herself over to
Garren's table to take their order.
“We'll have four burgers, fries,
and sodas,” Garren said.
“Wait,” Bonnie said. “I'll have a
salad instead, ranch dressing on the side,
no tomatoes, cucumbers— cubed not
sliced— and a lemon water instead of a
soda.” She was surprised she didn't
specify the exact number of croutons she
wanted and where they should be
placed.
“Just catsup on my burger,”
Keith said.
“I want everything but lettuce on
mine.” Morgan smiled before turning
back to Bonnie.
“That will be all, wench. You
may expedite yourself now,” Keith said
with a wave of his hand.
“I
think
you
might
mean
'extricate',” she said. “You know, you
should consider sticking to single
syllable
words
before
you
hurt
yourself.”
As she turned away to scribble
down the orders, she didn't miss the
glare Garren threw at her. It wasn't her
fault his friends were idiots.
“Hey, Garren. Did you hear
there's a vampire in town?” Keith asked.
She paused to eavesdrop while
covertly doodling on the notepad.
“Really? How do you know?”
“My mom checked him into our
hotel. Says he isn't planning on staying
long.”
“Do you think I can meet him?”
Bonnie asked, way too much excitement
in her voice.
Ivy rolled her eyes. Idiot.
“I don't know. Why?” Keith said.
“I heard vampire bites are totally
orgasmic and I've been dying to find out.
Since they rarely come here, this might
be the only chance I get.”
Ivy was surprised that she hadn’t
seen any vampires in Salmagundi when
she first arrived, especially with the
Eradicators cutting their numbers down
more and more every year.
“Are you insane?” Garren asked.
“Have you ever been bitten by anything
before? It doesn't feel good.”
“Besides,”
Morgan
added,
“You’re the wrong type of human.
Vampires can't drink from witches, only
Banes. Something about our magic
making them sick.”
“I know, but couldn’t hurt to
offer, right?” Bonnie said.
Unable to stomach anymore of
their asinine conversation, Ivy continued
on her way to the kitchen. She'd be
doing evolution a favor if she got
herself eaten by a vampire.
She leaned into the kitchen
window and read her order to the chef.
“I need a hockey puck, painted red. Burn
one and pin a rose on it. Walk a cow
through the garden and one cow feed
with the ranch in the alley.” The best
part about working there was the diner
lingo.
Leaning back against the wall,
she closed her eyes. Her feet and back
were aching, and her eyelids felt twenty
pounds heavier. Despite being desperate
for money, she was about to ask Chef
Bob for the rest of the night off when
Keith waved her over.
She walked up as he pounded the
bottom of the catsup bottle. “It's stuck,”
he said.
You don’t say.
Before she could take the bottle
from him, he gave it one last hard whack
and shot the contents all over her
uniform. She looked like she'd been
stabbed in the gut.
She was mortified when not only
their
table,
but
the
surrounding
customers started laughing. Clenching
her jaw to keep herself from either
crying or beating the crap out of him, she
retreated to the kitchen to clean up.
She grabbed a towel and
furiously swiped at the red blob. “Stupid
people, stupid diner, stupid… life.” She
tossed the rag on the counter. Her
anxiety rose higher as she stared at the
stain on her clothes. Closing her eyes,
she started counting to calm herself
down. One, Two, three—
“Hey, what do you do for an
encore?”
She spun around and came face
to face with Garren. “What do you
want?” She didn't even try to hide the
irritation in her voice.
“We need more catsup.”
Four, five, six...
“Lighten up, it was a joke,” he
said with a little laugh.
“You know what? Why don't you
stay here with your friends next
weekend? Thane and I are perfectly
capable of taking care of ourselves and
finding,” she lowered her voice to a
whisper, “you know who.”
“Nice try, but you’re not getting
rid of me that easily.” He leaned against
the counter right next to her. “You know,
Ivy, we need to work together or we
could get into some big trouble. Truce?”
He held out his hand.
She grabbed his hand and flipped
it over, exposing his palm. Nope, no spit
or anything else equally disgusting.
Could this be real?
“I’m serious. No more pranks.”
He was right. They couldn’t be
distracted with their ongoing rivalry or
Eradicators would take them out easily.
Reluctantly, she shook his hand.
He smiled and patted her on the
shoulder. “Great. Of course, as soon as
this is all over,” he said as he backed
out of the kitchen, “you’re going down.”
*****
Finally, her shift was over and
she was free. At this time of night, the
trip back to the boarding house was
always quiet. Breathing in the cool night
air and coasting on her skateboard under
the stars was the perfect way to let all
her tension go. And tonight, she had a lot
of it.
About half-way home, the fine
hairs on the back of her neck stood on
end. A feeling of being watched prickled
her skin. She slowed down as she
searched all around her, but found no
one.
Maybe it's that vampire. She
shook
her
head. Now I'm being
paranoid. Her right wrist burned under
the leather strap more intensely than it
had in over a year. Out of instinct, she
reached back to grab the dagger she
usually kept on her at all times. It wasn’t
there, of course; no place to keep it on
her uniform. Not that it would do much
damage to a vampire— that required a
wooden stake to the heart. At least she
knew she wasn’t in any danger of being
turned into a bloodsucker. Not just
because the magic that made vampires
who they were couldn’t live with her
own magic, but because, like bees, only
queens could create more vampires. And
there were no more queens. And after
her total beat down by Mr. McGregor
the other night, her confidence was still
waning.
Gliding on her skateboard, she
strained to detect any signs of danger,
but the only sound was the click-
clacking of her wheels over the
sidewalk lines. In fact, the lack of noise
was unsettling. Being surrounded by
forests usually meant being serenaded by
various nocturnal creatures. She pushed
faster.
As the lights of the boarding
house came into view, she relaxed her
shoulders a bit knowing she was almost
home.
The burning increased. There
was
definitely
something
there;
something unnatural and getting closer.
Her heart was beating a tattoo in her
ears. She skated home as fast as she
could, her foot slapping the pavement
with every push. Finally reaching the
house, she hopped off her board and
plowed through the small, wire gate
leading to the walk-way. A tingle grazed
the back of her neck as if she narrowly
escaped being grabbed. Running up the
front steps, she didn't even glance
backwards as she yanked the door open
and slammed it shut behind her.
She peeked out of the side
window. No one was there. Maybe I
imagined it. Slumping against the door,
she concentrated on slowing her
breathing. Mr. McGregor stood before
her, staring with one eyebrow raised.
Not wanting him to think she was
going insane, she glanced down at her
watch and smiled. “Beat my best time by
thirty seconds.”
He shook his head and walked
into the parlor to finish his drink.
After she calmed down, she
pushed away from the door and trod
upstairs. The pain in her wrist faded. If
only there was a way to remove the
damn mark before it went off again. She
barely had time to change into her
pajamas before she fell face first into
her soft bed and groaned.
This freakin' town is going to
kill me one day.
Chapter 5
“You're not ready yet?” Garren
eyed Ivy in her pajama bottoms and t-
shirt before he pushed past her, letting
himself in. He was dressed for a hike in
jeans and boots, but his ever-present
cologne filled the entryway. Strands of
his black hair hung over his eyes in a
purposely styled way.
She stifled a yawn as she glared
at his back. Good morning to you, too.
She had just crawled out of bed when
they knocked at the door way too early
in the morning. Thane skirted around her
with an apologetic smile.
She followed them into the
parlor. Most of the mess from her
skirmish with Mr. McGregor had been
cleaned up, but the crack in the wall
remained. Even the nefarious grape juice
stain mocked her from underneath
Garren's chair.
Thane was glossing over all the
titles on the bookshelf opposite the fire
place. Those had been a pain to put back
in order, according to Danny. It was the
least he could do to help her out.
“Make yourselves comfortable
and I'll be right back. Just don't touch
anything too much.” She spun around to
climb the stairs and ran into a freshly
made-up Athena.
“Who's here?” The blonde
peered around Ivy's shoulder to look in
the next room.
“It's my cousin and...” She wasn't
sure how to describe Garren. “Anyway,
can you keep them occupied while I get
cleaned up?”
A smile crept over Athena's face
as she caught sight of Garren drumming
his thumbs on the arms of the chair. “No
problem. Take your time.” She tossed
her hair back and sashayed into the
room. Ivy wasn't sure whom she felt
sorrier for, the prey or the predator.
When she bounded back down
the stairs, all clean and wide awake, she
found Athena and Garren getting cozy on
the love seat. The blonde ran her fingers
along his arm, gushing about how she
just loved hockey. The woman couldn't
tell the difference between the goalie
and the puck, but she was a big fan.
Over at the writing desk, Thane
was explaining something to Danny from
of one of Mr. McGregor's books. The
young werewolf's smile brightened as he
absorbed every word.
She cleared her throat when she
entered. Unable to watch Danny while
needed back up.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
she asked Athena. Leading her into the
kitchen, with Danny trailing behind, she
got right to the point. “We're going on a
little trip and I need you to stay home
today to keep an eye on Danny while Mr.
McGregor's out of town.”
“I don't need no babysitter!”
“Of course you don't,” she said
to Danny. “So, can you do that for me?”
she asked Athena.
“What's in it for me?” Athena
crossed her arms over her chest, a put-
upon expression on her face.
She should've known it wouldn't
be easy. “What do you want?”
“A hundred bucks.”
“Fifty.”
“Seventy-five.”
“Deal.” Turning to walk away,
she added quickly, “Oh, and I'm taking
Mr. McGregor's car.”
“You are, are you?” Athena said.
“I didn't think grand theft auto was your
style. I must be rubbing off on you.”
“It's not. You're not. And Mr.
McGregor won't find out, will he?”
“For another twenty-five bucks,
his car was parke
d out back the whole
time, if he asks,” Athena said with a
smug smile.
Ivy sighed. “Fine.” The list of
people demanding money from her was
growing fast.
“Yeah, me, too. Give me money
and I won't say nothin' either,” Danny
said.
“What?
You
owe
me,
remember?” She glared at him until he
backed down.
“Oh, yeah.” At least he had the
decency to look ashamed for trying to
extort money from her.
“Just make sure you have the car
back before he gets home. I won't tell
him you took it, but twenty-five dollars
doesn't buy my confession, either,”
Athena said as she led Danny out of the
kitchen.
Ivy's hand hovered over the car
keys hanging on the hook by the back
door. Stomach clenched, she gripped
them in her fist and lifted them free. The
keys felt like a two ton weight in her
hand.
Please, let us get back before
Mr. McGregor .
“If we're going, let's go,” she
yelled before heading out the door. The
sooner they left, the sooner she could get
back and hide any evidence that she
borrowed the car.
“Shotgun,” Garren yelled as he
stomped down the back steps.
Thane opened the front car door
and leaned the seat forward. “I believe
that since I have the map, I should sit in
the navigator's position, or front
passenger seat, if you will.”
She watched with glee as Garren
frowned and crammed himself into the
backseat of Mr. McGregor's classic red
1965 Mustang Fastback.
“All right, let's go over the rules.
No eating, drinking, or getting the car
messy in any way. It needs to look
exactly as it is now when we get back,
or I'm dead.”
Garren sputtered. “Exaggerate
much?”
“Just keep it clean, okay?” She
took a deep breath and turned on the
ignition. Lord have mercy on my soul.
As they drove out of town, they
past a sign that read, “You are now
leaving Salmagundi. Have a nice day.”
She snorted. They were leaving the
protection of the wards behind them,
exposing themselves to any nearby
Eradicator that might sense them, but
they should remember to have nice day.
She locked her door.
“Why are we risking getting
killed to see this Irene chick?” she
asked.
Thane took his nose out of the
map and set it on his lap. “Irene is the
only Charms Mistress within a thousand
miles. Everything we need for our trip,
she sells.”
“But why isn't her store back in