Chapter 6

Gertrude

T he day of a mayor is busier than I would have thought. I assumed that it would be mostly desk duty and signing things, but Vlad is always on the go, flitting all over City Hall, meeting people, planning the big day, and I, being tied to him, follow along. I help where I can and stay silent where I can't, but Vlad gives me smiles and companionable chatter all day, never making me feel like a nuisance. In fact, he almost makes me feel like he's glad that I'm here, which is nice of him, all things considered. He makes me feel like we're a team and that I'm contributing, even though I'm sure he could get things done easier without being tied to me.

Speaking of being tied to me, it would appear that no one else can see the string tying us together. I noticed it first at the pumpkin judging, but after that I noted that no one looked at the string, even though it's glowing and red. I tried shaking it in front of a few people, but no one even batted an eye. So it would appear that whatever it is that is tying us together is only visible to me and Vlad.

At the end of the day, the autumn sun is sinking in the horizon, painting the sky with golds, oranges, and purples as Vlad and I exit City Hall. The poor vampire looks wiped out by his busy day, but it's not over yet. We need to get to Eye of Newt and start trying to reverse engineer this potion.

"Ready?" Vlad asks, holding his arms out.

I blush a little as I nod, wrapping my arms around his neck and his arms come up to pick me up into a bridal carry again. As I adjust in his arms, I can't help but imagine what it would be like to be in a relationship with the vampire. In one day he's already made me feel more valued and welcome than Harry did practically our whole relationship. And the fact that I feel so safe in his strong arms isn't helping my wild imaginings. But I need to remember that Vlad's not here because he wants to be. That practically needs to become my mantra, to keep reminding me to not read into what isn't there.

Vlad summons his wings and takes off with a jump and soon we're flying through the air. I really forgot how much I like flying. I haven't really taken time for me lately. It's all been about the shop and keeping Harry happy. My lips twist. One of those things turned out to be a complete waste of time..

The flight is short to get to Eye of Newt and we land on the cobblestones in front of the entrance. The "Closed" sign is flipped forward, with minimal lights on inside through the big front window, so I know that Gretchen must be gone already. I hope that the day wasn't too taxing on her, running the whole shop for me. Potions are definitely not her strength, just like candy isn't mine, and I'm sure that filling my orders means that she's gotten behind on her own, so I appreciate the sacrifice.

Reaching into my purse, I pull out the ornate key that opens the shop, sliding it into the keyhole and turning. The door opens with a jingle and over my head I feel, rather than see, Vlad put a hand up on the top corner of the door, holding it open.

"Ladies first," he says.

I give him a smile over my shoulder and walk into the shop before he follows me, letting the door shut behind us.

It doesn't escape me that Vlad and I are totally alone. Except for the hour spent at my house trying to break the red string, we've had people around all day. It felt friendly and companionable, but there's been a professional bit of distance. But now, under the dim lights of the front of my shop, the air feels different. Charged somehow. Like something thrilling is just about to happen.

So I flip on the lights. I don't want to give myself the wrong idea.

"Welcome to the shop after hours," I say. "Can I get you anything before we start? You didn't get your brew this morning. I could make a Type AB reheated but with a shot of relaxation and a hint of good dreams, instead of vitality and energy. It'll help you unwind."

"That sounds great," Vlad says. "But I wouldn't want to put you out."

I wave away his words. "It's nothing. It's a simple potion."

"What about you?" the vampire surprises me by asking. "You barely ate today. What do you usually do for dinner?"

"Usually I get home and make something light. I'll just summon something from home and eat while I work."

Vlad frowns. " You would make dinner after working all day? What about Harry?"

That confuses me. "What about him?"

"Why didn't h e make dinner? He didn't have a job, it seems like the least that he could do."

"He didn't know how to cook," I say lamely, though his words give me pause. Why didn't Harry make dinner? He could have learned how.

"He could have learned," Vlad says, eerily echoing my thoughts. "I know this isn't my place to say this, Gertrude, but you deserved better out of your relationship and I'm glad you aren't with him anymore."

My heart twinges a bit, but I find the sting is less than it was yesterday. "I agree," I sigh. "I don't know why I stayed with him for so long. It was . . . comfortable, I guess? But I think I've been unhappy for a while and just glossed over everything that was wrong so that I could manage everything. But that just turned into me accepting less than I'm worth. Harry did me a favor leaving me for another woman. It opened my eyes."

Vlad gives me an empathetic look. "Still hurts though, I'm sure."

"I'm getting over it," I tell him. "Faster than I would have thought. Maybe my potion really is working. But, also, when he told me about going to live with Calliope, it's kind of like all my feelings for him died. I don't want him back, I want the years that I spent with him back. I wish that I'd been with someone else, someone that would have been a better partner to me." Someone like you, I silently finish.

"I wish that too," Vlad says. "You deserve the world, Gertrude."

The look that he gives me is as charged as the air was before I turned on the lights. The kind of look a man gives you before he kisses you.

Stop thinking of kissing , I tell myself sternly, he's here because of a spell, not because he wants to be your boyfriend.

"Well," I say, taking a step back and injecting my voice with false cheer to break the moment, "shall we get you your brew and then get started reverse engineering this thing?"

For a second I think I see something like disappointment in Vlad's eyes, but in a moment it's gone, replaced by a lazy smile.

"Sure, let's get started."

Returning his smile with a grin, I start up the bunsen burner to heat his blood and pull out my special relaxation blend and a vial of good dreams. While that gets ready, I summon my cauldron from home and get ready to take some swabs and samples.

With an optimistic smile, I say, "Let's hope this won't take too long.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Vlad says sincerely. "After all, how complicated could it be?"

∞∞∞

HOURS OF PAINSTAKING tests later, well into the night, I make a terrible discovery.

"No, it can't be!" I exclaim, double-checking my results and then running to my pantry.

"What is it? Vlad asks, concerned and following me.

"I can't have been that drunk, can I?" I ask, mainly to myself. I find the lock box with all my rarest and most expensive ingredients in it. Some are so rare that I never even intended to use them, they were so hard to procure. They are more just for my collection than anything. Punching in the code on the runes on top of the box I open it and immediately my stomach drops. My rarest, crown jewel ingredient is gone.

"No! It can't be, it can't!"

"Please explain to me what's going on?" Vlad asks, coming into the pantry behind me. "I'm getting worried when all I hear is ‘no, it can't be' over and over."

"My goddess thread," I explain, still shaking a little. "It's gone!"

"What's goddess thread?" he asks, sounding confused.

"It's the stuff that weaves together the fabric of destiny, the silk that dreams are made of, and that the universe subsists from. It's extremely dangerous to harvest and only one adventurer I've ever met successfully got some. It cost almost as much as my whole shop to buy, but it was worth it just to have it. And now it's gone! I drunkenly used it in this potion!"

"That does sound bad," Vlad agrees.

"It is! It means that I can't make another potion to reverse it. I'd need another strand of goddess thread and there's no way I could get one. At least not before Halloween!" I slump down on the floor, totally dejected.

"Hey," the vampire says comfortingly, crouching down next to me and putting a soothing arm around my shoulders. "It can't be that bad, right? Hexes get broken all the time, even without a counter-curse. We just need to figure out the conditions of the hex, right?"

I think about it, but then still shake my head in utter dejection. "With a potion made from goddess thread, who knows what those conditions will be? There's no easy way to find out before Halloween and I can't just keep shadowing you at work all the time and leave Gretchen to handle the shop. It's just not feasible!"

"Let's not let pessimism sneak into the situation, alright?" says Vlad, tightening the arm around my shoulders. "We'll figure something out."

His words do make me feel better and I can't help but lean into his side, soaking up the comfort of his embrace. "Alright, you're right. We'll figure something out."

Then a thought occurs to me that makes me blush. "Umm . . . Vlad . . . if we can't break this curse tonight, what are we going to do about sleeping arrangements? We can't go far enough apart to sleep separately."

Vlad goes still at my side and I worry for a moment that I've offended him, but when he answers his tone is light and easy. "How about we go to my place? I have a king-size bed. We can sleep on opposite sides. It'll be fine."

That sounds reasonable, but something inside me can't help but feel a little . . . disappointed. Sleeping in close quarters with Vlad, whom I've been crushing on for so long . . . but no, once again I need the reminder that Vlad is here because of some ridiculous potion that I made, not because he wants to be.

"Sounds good," I answer. "The mayor's mansion, right?"

"Yeah. It's not too far from here. If we fly, we should be there in five minutes or so."

Once again I feel my face heat at the thought of flying with Vlad, but I ruthlessly squash down those feelings.

"Ok, let's head to your place."