CHAPTER 3

Dan is sound asleep when I leave our bed. Closing the door behind me, I head toward our small kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Dan is basically a zombie without the stuff. Give me a can of Coke, and I’m good, but since I’ve been married, I’ve gotten used to drinking a cup with Dan in the mornings. I use the caramel-flavored creamer in mine, though. Dan scrunches his nose up whenever I ask him if he wants some in his coffee. It’s cute, and I ask just to see his face screw up like that.

Yawning, I open the freezer and take out a pack of bacon. Yes, I took a cooking class. I don’t burn water anymore. Doesn’t mean I’m a good cook, and I still burn more than I get right, but I don’t hide from kitchen duty anymore either. If the bacon burns, there’s a nice little place a few blocks from us that does a really good breakfast. I can order food, and they’ll deliver it. Our apartment might smell like burnt bacon for a couple of hours, but it is what it is.

Dan, bless him, passed out about an hour ago. Neither of us wanted to fall asleep before we heard back from the ghoul. It’s almost dawn now, so we may not hear anything until tonight. Which normally isn’t a problem, but I’ve learned through personal experiences that vampires are not to be trifled with. One this old could do some serious harm to me or Dan. Thank God we’ve both been drinking dead man’s blood since Kristoff.

I had to come to terms with it since it says in the Bible to not drink the blood, for the blood is the life, but it’s necessary in our world. I’ve had a few conversations with my pastor back in New Orleans and with Papa’s priest as well. Both agree that if it saves my life and helps me to save the lives of others, that will be taken into account, and they’re both sure it’s not unforgivable. I’m still on the fence about it, but if it keeps Dan safe, I’ll do it even if that means harm to my own soul. He’s worth that to me.

Looking at the clock, I decide it’s not too late to call Evan. He keeps late hours, and five in the morning is right on the cusp of when he goes to bed but still worth trying to reach him. His is a number I know by heart, so I don’t have to go back into the bedroom and unplug my cell. I use the landline Dan insisted on having.

I dial his number five times before he finally picks up. “Whoever the fu…”

“Do you really want to donate to the swear jar this early in the morning?”

He sighs. “Do you know what time it is? I literally just went to sleep.”

“Of course I know what time it is. That’s why I called.”

“Why are you such a brat?”

“I’m special like that.”

“You’re something, all right,” he says darkly. “Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour?”

“What do you know about Gloria Monroe?”

The line is silent for so long, I look at the digital display on the handset to make sure we’re still connected. He’s still there.

“Uh, Evan?”

“Where did you hear that name?”

“There was a man who approached me at Riverside Diner and asked for a meeting with his employer. He had a car, and I told him I don’t get in cars with strangers, and if his employer wanted to talk to me, they could come by the shop. Then when Dan and I were starting to eat dinner, there was a knock at our door. A ghoul was on the other side. He informed us his master, Gloria Monroe, wished to speak with us both. He wanted us to come with him, and again, I repeated that I don’t get into cars with strangers.”

“Thank God,” he whispers.

“I told him if she wanted to meet, it would have to be in a public place that I controlled.”

“She’s a master vampire, Rachel. You can’t control that situation. She can have every human and susceptible Supe under her control in seconds. She’s over a thousand years old. There’s no controlling something that old and powerful.”

“You don’t really understand who or what I am. There’s a reason I’m called an abomination.”

“Have you ever been mind-controlled by a vampire? Because I have, and I know what that means.”

“I actually have been mind-controlled by a vampire. I was held hostage by a psychotic one and tortured for a week. That’s the reason I came to Chicago to begin with. I had to heal from that and what I had to become to survive it. I know better than most what it means.”

“How old was that one?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Was he over a thousand years old?” Evan demands.

“I don’t think so.”

“Then no, you don’t know!” he shouts into the phone. “You really don’t.” I hear him take several deep breaths to calm himself. “Trust me when I say you can’t underestimate her control and her influence. You may think you can handle her, but until you’ve come face to face with something this old, you cannot tell me you can handle it.”

Granted, he honestly doesn’t understand who or what I am. Still, I’m not going to dismiss his concerns either. He seems to know who this person is and what they’re capable of.

“So, what do you suggest?”

“Go to Europe for the foreseeable future.”

“Not funny.”

“Wasn’t meant to be, sweetheart. My only goal is to keep you from dying, and that means getting you off her radar. Europe will do that.”

I ignore the “sweetheart.” Evan loves me. The same way Dan does, if a little differently. I know this, Dan knows this, and Evan understands there is no future there. I will never leave Dan. Do I love Evan? Yes. But. He’s not Dan, and there will never be a world where I will be without Dan. Evan is my friend before anything else, and Dan understands that too. He trusts me to never let it be more than that.

“I need realistic suggestions, Evan. The ghoul said people are dying, and that’s a problem. He knew Dan was with the new supernatural division of police here in Chicago. He said she wanted to meet with us both.”

“She’s involving the police?” His voice pitches an octave higher. “That’s…that’s disturbing. And serious.”

“You see why I need suggestions.”

“In all honesty, it doesn’t matter where you meet. You won’t be safe.”

“I’m drinking dead man’s blood.”

“And it still won’t be enough. She can simply get others to take you and Dan and wait until it’s out of your system. You can’t take only her into account. Every single person around you will be a threat.”

Well, that’s more dire than I assumed.

“I’m being dead serious when I say to leave. Go to Europe and don’t look back.”

“If people are dying, I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

“I liked the old you better, the one who put herself first.”

And I’m still that person, but I’m also the person who will do something if I can.

“Evan…”

“Fine. Let me sleep for a few hours, and then we’ll talk. I’ve been up for more than thirty-six hours. Do not, for the love of all that’s holy and unholy, meet with anyone until you talk to me. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

He mutters something I don’t quite hear and hangs up on me.

Well.

Shaking my head, I pour myself a cup of coffee and sip it, thinking about how panicked he sounded. I’ll call Zeke if I really need help, but I’d rather keep my family in New Orleans out of this. I’m trying to just be me. Learning who I am and how to navigate all the ins and outs of being a living reaper, a demon, and a goddess. I don’t even say human anymore. I might have a human body, but most days, I don’t feel human. I’m okay with that, and it gives me an interesting take on situations. I lean into being different now. Being different is my true gift.

There’s a knock at the door, and a single piece of paper slides under it.

I stare at it for five minutes before going over and reaching out, testing with my senses for any type of spell attached to it. My home is warded against most things, but there are still unknowns out there, things that are so old, most living creatures don’t remember them. Like a master vampire who’s over a thousand years old.

My Spidey senses tell me it’s just a piece of paper, so I pick it up and unfold it. There’s a phone number with instructions to call and leave details on where I want to meet once night falls.

I know for a fact if she’s been alive this long, she has something that will allow her to walk in the daylight. It just requires a witch.

I dial the number and leave a simple message. “I’ll meet you at two p.m. at Constantine’s Deli. If you tell me you can’t walk in the daylight, then I know you aren’t who everyone tells me you are.”

I guess we’ll see if she shows up or not.

Until then, I’m going to attempt breakfast and hope I don’t set off the smoke alarms this early in the morning.