Chapter 11

Morgaine awoke the next morning feeling well rested, refreshed, and…blind! Oh my Goddess! She felt her eyes with her fingers. Yes, they were open. But no matter which direction she faced, she remained in total blackness. Could the myths possibly be true? Could sex make you go blind? “Where the Hell am I?” Her heart squeezed.

“Relax, pumpkin. You’re okay.”

“Chad? Is that you?”

“I’d say, ‘in the flesh,’ but…well, you understand.”

“Oh, thank Goddess, I’m not alone!”

“Really? Wow, I think this is the first time you’ve ever been happy to see me. Usually you tell me to get lost.”

“I—I’m really sorry about that. I don’t mean to sound—”

“Forget it. Listen, you’re not alone anyway. Sly’s right next to you.”

She patted around the mattress until she hit an arm. “Oh!” She tried to shake him awake, but he didn’t move or make a sound. “Sly? Are you okay?”

“Nah, he’s out cold. You won’t be able to wake him until sunset—unless you set him on fire, or something.”

She was too freaked out to laugh. “Chad, can you help me? I need to find the door. I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Sure, but first you might want to slow your breathing. If you keep hyperventilating like that, you’ll pass out before you get there.”

She deliberately took some slow breaths. “Okay. I think I’ll be all right long enough to reach the door if you can help me find it.”

“Stand up and I’ll guide you.”

“Wait. I have to find the floor first.” She covered her chest with the sheet, leaned away from Sly and felt for the edge of the bed. When she had it, she dragged her feet over and set them on the hardwood. She tugged on the sheet, but she couldn’t pull it free. “Okay. I—uh, I’m not dressed. You won’t look, will you?”

“How the hell can I guide you out of the room if I can’t look?”

Morgaine mentally rolled her eyes. “Okay, you have a point, but don’t stare.”

“Fine,” he said, sounding bored. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen a million times.”

She gasped. “You’ve seen me naked a million times?”

He laughed. “No, but I got your mind off what’s happening, didn’t I? Now stand up and I’ll put my hand under your elbow. We’ll walk around the bed to the door.”

“But you don’t have a hand.”

“Just relax and let your other senses take over.”

Morgaine chewed her bottom lip, but forced herself to stand, leaving the safety of the mattress behind. Good to his word, she felt Chad’s gentle pressure on the underside of her arm, near her elbow. She shivered at his cold touch but was grateful for it.

“Ready, set, walk with me.”

She tentatively advanced a few baby steps at a time. “I thought you promised to stay out of our bedrooms. Does my waking up and finding you here mean you’re not doing that?”

“Not at all. I just noticed you didn’t make it back to your place last night, and knowing how freaked out you get in the dark, I figured you’d be in deep shit when you woke up.”

“Uh, yeah. I guess everyone knows my little secret now. Thanks.”

“What? That you’re afraid of the dark? Please. Any thirty-year-old who sleeps with a night light on is either afraid of the dark or thinks she’s five.”

Eventually she ran into something soft with her foot. “Oh! My dress.” She bent over and scooped it up with her free arm. “Thank the Goddess. Now I have something to wear when I get out of here.”

“Damn,” Chad said.

“Don’t tease. I’m about a hair away from losing it.”

“Okay, okay. Relax. We’re almost there.”

She walked a few more steps completely blind when she stubbed her toe. “Ow!”

“Sorry, I should have warned you. You made it. That was the door.”

“Oh!” She fumbled around until she found the handle. As soon as she twisted it, relief washed over—only to be replaced by despair when she discovered that darkness lay on the other side of it too.

“Shit. The living room is blacked out too. Now what?”

“I’ve got you. I’ll just take you to the other door.”

“Wait. I need to put my dress on.”

Fortunately, it was a peasant-type dress with elastic around the neckline and bodice, so all she had to do was slip it over her head. Once she had it on, it felt funny, and she tried to adjust it.

“You have it on backwards.”

“Oh, for Goddess’s sake.” She blew out a frustrated breath.

“What’s the matter?”

She heaved a deep sigh. “Screw it. Just get me to the hallway door.”

“Aren’t you even going to say please?”

“Sheesh! Fine. Please take me the rest of the way.”

As he took her elbow and guided her on, she pondered out loud, “I wish there was something I could do to repay you.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

She clamped her lips together, realizing she should have kept her mouth shut.

Merman Jules enjoyed splashing around for several minutes in his saltwater fish tank before he relaxed and gazed outside his front windows. What was going on? He’d seen people filing in and out of the building all day. Now there were several people traipsing up the walk together. Mostly related by the looks of them. Was somebody having a family reunion?

Fortunately, the landlord and his pregnant wife were out of town, but if they were home, all these guests would put them at risk for discovery. Since part of his job included protecting the landlord’s privacy as well as property, he’d warned everyone to keep visitors to a minimum. So, who was ignoring the rules?

Jules’ super sonar hearing picked up the vibration of the buzzer as someone let in the whole troop. Damn.

He hopped up onto the wall of his tank and waited for the water to sluice off. When his body sensed he was no longer submerged, his tail divided and he jumped onto the hardwood floor, landing on his bare feet.

He grabbed a towel off a shelf, wrapped it around his waist and trickled water all the way to his bedroom. When he had changed into blue jeans and a save the mermaids t-shirt, he ventured into the hallway.

To anyone else it would seem quiet. He fine-tuned his sonar until he could have heard blips passing through the air instead of water. The group had, apparently, wound up on the third floor. He jogged up the flight of stairs and listened. It was coming from the right. Ah, Morgaine’s apartment.

He stood outside with his ear to the door for a few moments. Suddenly all the chatter and movement inside stopped. He heard someone taking deep breaths and then more quiet. At last, a single voice said, “He’s here.”

He? Me? Crap. He knew the girls were rumored to be psychic, so he backed away from the door. Suddenly he heard a scream across the hall.

Rushing to the opposite apartment he tripped and fell before he reached the door. He glanced around his feet and didn’t see a thing he could have tripped over. What the hell is going on up here?

Suddenly the door he had been running toward opened. Gwyneth Wyatt, the pretty red-head who lived there gazed down at him. She held a phone in her hand and looked like she was just finishing up a call.

“All right, sugar. I’ll be here if you need me.” Reaching down, she took his arm and helped him up. “Why Jules! What on earth happened to you?”

“I—uh, heard a scream coming from your apartment. I was on my way to make sure you were all right, but I tripped.”

Gwyneth looked at the ceiling. “Hush, Chad. That wasn’t funny. You could’ve killed the man.”

Jules looked up and saw nothing even though he glanced all around. Eventually she filled him in.

“That was our ghost you tripped over. Chad thinks it’s funny to see people fall down—now that nobody can stop him.” Then she set her hands on her hips and aimed a stern expression at the ceiling. “But t’aint funny a’tall, Chad. Not cool as y’all would say.”

Jules’ spirits plummeted. He’d thought the redhead might be relationship material, or at the very least, a good romp in the sack. Why are the prettiest ones always the total nut jobs? “So, what was the scream about?”

“Y’all want to come in? I can explain everythin’.”

“Uh, no. I have a…thing…to do…downstairs…”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was gonna tell you about our phone sex business.”

He raised his eyebrows but managed to hold his reaction to no more than that. She continued on, as if she’d just said she worked as an accountant.

“Yeah, well, me an’ my cousin, Morgaine, we started the phone sex thing to pay the rent here. You know we’re witches, right?”

Yup. Nut job. “No, I didn’t realize that.”

“Yes, well, it’s agin’ the Witch’s Rede to charge money for magic, and my cousin goes by the letter of the law when it comes to the Rede, so she started the phone sex as a home business. She don’t like to leave the apartment.”

“She’s not doing phone sex over there now, right? There’s a whole crowd visiting from what I saw and heard—unless…” Oh no, she couldn’t be… “She isn’t having an orgy in there or anything, is she?”

Gwyneth burst out laughing. “My uptight cousin? Naw, you just saw the folks who came for the séance. She’s a first-class medium too.”

Séance? Medium? Nut jobs must run in the family.“Well, it’s been nice talking to you, Gwyneth. I wish I could stay and visit.”

“Come back when you can. I’ll put on the kettle, and we’ll have a fine ol’ time.”

“Oh, sure. Sometime when I’m not so busy…” Suuuure…

He turned to leave, then thought while he was talking to her, he should ask. “Do you remember when I found you and your cousin in the basement, drunk out of your minds?”

Gwyneth’s spine straightened. “We were not drunk. Just a little tipsy is all. My gran-pappy used to say, ‘as long as y’all can hold onto one blade of grass and not fall off the face of the earth, you ain’t drunk.’”

“Oh, I see. Well, then, do you know why the cellar still smells like alcohol?”

“Huh? It do?”

“Yes, it do…I mean does. Any idea why?”

She scratched her chin and squinted like she was pondering hard. Then she snapped her fingers. “I got it. I bet y’all just got the smell up your nose and now you cain’t get it out. That’s happened to me when something stinks real strong. Like skunks and gasoline.”

Jules shook his head. “No, I—uh. Never mind.” Total. Nut. Job. “I’ll see you around.” Then he dashed back downstairs.

As he was passing Lillian’s door, he almost bumped into a guy who was leaving in a hurry. He was still tying his tie.

“Oh! Sorry.”

The guy just gave him a frantic look and said, “Be careful. She’s hot!” Then he rushed down the stairs and out the front door.

What did he mean by that?Maybe all the women in the building were beautiful crazies. Or was it more? He remembered her sizzling handshake. Jules stood there for a few moments, trying to decide whether or not he should check on his tenant in 2A. “Nah, screw it,” he said out loud. Returning to his apartment, he decided dating neighbors wasn’t the best idea anyway.

“You’re probably worried for nothing.” Chad floated over her bed as Morgaine packed her suitcase.

“What do you mean, probably?”

“You know. There are no guarantees in life. Now, death on the other hand…”

“Chad, shut-it. I’m nervous enough as it is.” She folded her favorite cashmere sweater, running her hands over the soft, comforting fabric before moving on to the next item.

“Why are you nervous? You’ll be with a vampire. A big, bad, bloodsucking killing machine, who can use mesmerism to make people do whatever he wants.”

“For fuck’s sake, Chad!” Morgaine threw her black satin nightgown at his frothy image. It passed right through him and fluttered to the floor.

“Why are you throwing your lingerie on the floor?”

“Why are you still here?”

He vanished, then reappeared on the other side of the room. “Man, if you let every little thing freak you out like that, you’ll be a wreck before you even leave the building.”

She blew out a deep breath. “Tell me about it.”

Chad scratched his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

“The agoraphobia. Why that?”

“It’s not exactly like I had a menu to pick from.” She held up the piece of paper on which she’d printed the hotel’s address and phone number, flipped it over to the blank side and pretended to study it. With her finger on her chin, she said, “Hmm…let’s see…should I take the paranoid schizophrenia or the multiple personality disorder? Oh, I know! I’ll get the agoraphobia and nyctophobia. They’re having a two for one special on those today.”

“Yeah, yeah. Very funny.”

“It totally isn’t. How would you like to be plagued with panic attacks and feel like you’re about to keel over and die?” She thought about what she’d said and snickered. “Sorry.”

Chad shrugged. “Forget it, man. See how easy that is? I don’t get all strung out over little things.”

“Goody for you…and stop calling me, ‘man’”.

“Sorry. I have a hard time giving up the vernacular from my time. I miss it. You never hear anyone say ‘groovy’ anymore.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Look, I was trying to help you see there’s nothing to be afraid of, but if all you’re going to do is insult me, I might as well leave.”

Morgaine sighed. “I appreciate the thought, but it isn’t working. There’s a powerful vampire out there who’s gunning for Sly.” She grabbed three pairs of lacy underwear out of her drawer and threw them into the suitcase, forcefully. “I finally find someone I lo… I mean, like—a lot, and who likes me—”

“Ah! I caught that. You were going to say love, weren’t you?”

Morgaine slapped her hands over her face. Heat invaded her cheeks, but it was too late. Chad wouldn’t miss her blush, and she knew it.

He chuckled. “Look, ordinarily, I’d start razzing you right about now, but I’m really not that much of an ass. You’re a good kid, and I just hope you don’t get your heart broken.”

“Jeez, first you call me a man, now a kid. I’m neither one. Do you think you could just call me Morgaine?”

“You’re all kids to me. Hell, I’m even older than Sly. At fifty-six, he’s just a baby vampire. Who knows how old ghosts get? So, what does this other vampire want from him?”

She plopped down onto her bed. “I’m not sure, but it isn’t good. He’s obsessed. I’ve sensed his presence around our building almost every night.”

“Bummer. So how are you two going to get past him?”

“We haven’t figured that out yet.”

“Shit. Sounds like you need my help.”

“Your help?”

“Well, of course. Who else can distract him without getting themselves killed?”

Morgaine sat up straight and hope flooded into her again. “Do you think you could?”

“I can try. Maybe if I use my telekinesis to throw rocks at him, he’ll be too busy trying to figure out what’s happening to focus on you two slipping out the back.”

“That might actually work. We’ll have to disguise our scents though.”

“Easy. Just soak yourselves in cheap wine. You’ll smell like a drunk couple who scored a bottle of Mad Dog 20-20.”

She had no idea what Mad Dog 20-20 was, but if it helped cover their scents long enough to escape Vorigan Malvant, she’d bathe in it.

Stretched out on their sectional sofa with her head in Jason’s lap, Merry was reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting and Jason was reading a biography of Sandy Koufax. Merry had some questions her book wouldn’t be able to answer.

“Honey?”

“Mmm?” Jason answered absently.

“When will we know if our baby inherited your shapeshifter genes?”

Jason placed his bookmark between the open pages and set his book down. “Well, I imagine we’ll have to wait until sometime after he or she is born.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know that, silly. I mean, are there any signs we should be watching for?”

He half smiled. “Other than an empty crib and a baby Falcon flapping around the apartment?”

Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding me?”

“Yes.” His eyes twinkled, letting her know he was teasing.

She growled and gestured as if pulling out her hair.

His expression turned more serious. “Sorry. All kidding aside, I was told my brother and I didn’t show any signs of it for a few years. My mother said we were five or six. I think I’d just lost my first tooth.”

“Oh, good. I was wondering how that would impact early childhood development. According to—”

Jason’s cell phone rang.

“Hold that thought.” He answered it with his usual business-like greeting. “Falco.”

She watched as his face slowly fell.

“Crap. Are you okay, Mom?”

Merry pushed her heavily pregnant body to a sitting position and waited for what seemed like bad news.

Eventually he said, “Yeah, we’ll be— Oh, wait a minute. Merry was told not to fly this late in her pregnancy.”

“What is it, Jason?”

“My dad had another heart attack. This one seems more serious.”

Jason didn’t say, ‘he might not make it this time,’ but he didn’t have to. His furrowed brow said it all.

“Oh, no. You go ahead. I’ll be fine. Roz is all prepared to be my back-up birth coach. If anything happens, I’ll call both of you right away.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“But what if she can’t get here quickly enough?”

“Then we have a whole building full of tenants I consider friends.”

He nodded, then turned back to the phone. “I’ll be on the first flight I can get, Mom. Where will you be?” After a short pause, he said. “Good. I’ll meet you at Mayo Clinic as soon as possible.”

When he hung up, Merry threw her arms around him and squeezed. “I’m sorry about your dad, but if he’s at Mayo, he’s in the best possible hands.”

“I know. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

“Positive.”

“Good. Can you pack my bag while I call the team’s travel agent?”

“Of course.” She smirked. “I’m just glad you’re using the airlines.

Sly appeared at Morgaine’s door that evening. “Are you all packed and ready to go?”

She sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Something about her expression concerned him. “Look, you don’t have to do this for me. I’ve lived this way for two and a half decades.” He shrugged. “What’s a few more?”

She straightened her spine and put a determined smile on her face. “No, it’ll be good for me too. I need to know I can face challenges and succeed.”

That sounded a little too rehearsed. He just hoped she meant it deep down. He would make sure she did succeed. If anyone could keep her safe, he could.

“That’s my girl.” He leaned in and kissed her.

She hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Where are my manners? Would you like to come in.”

“No, I still have to, um, find myself some dinner. I figure it’ll be a long trip and I ought to fill up before we leave.”

She nodded. “Sure. That makes sense. Well, give me a yell when it’s time to go.”

He hoped they’d be able to slip away quietly. Yelling wasn’t his style.

Chatting casually with his next victim, Sly enjoyed a rare cigarette. It wasn’t like he had to worry about lung cancer. The guy had tried to sell him a bag of heroine or cocaine. It was some kind of white powder that he assumed wasn’t baking soda. He wouldn’t feel too badly about biting this one.

Sly just hoped the dealer was only selling and not using the stuff. Getting a contact high through the dealer’s blood would sure mess up his and Morgaine’s plans for the night—and they were important plans. As soon as he fed, they’d be on a train bound for New York.

“So, you deal drugs in this neighborhood often?”

“Not usually. I was thinking about it, though. Lots of college students live around here, right?”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t want to get them hooked on this stuff, would you? I mean, their lives are just beginning. Addiction could ruin everything before they even get started.”

The guy shrugged. “That’s not my problem. If they’re stupid enough to use the shit, they probably don’t belong in college anyway.”

Good. This one seems like a non-user and a despicable human being who knows full well what he’s doing to others and doesn’t care.

Sly clamped one hand around the guy’s wrist and the other on his shoulder so he couldn’t escape, then looked into his eyes and put him under his thrall.

“You’ll stand very still, and you won’t make a sound.”

The guy nodded.

Sly’s fangs descended but before he could sink them into the tempting, pulsing carotid artery in front of him, a blur flashed before his eyes. Gelling into focus on the other side of the victim’s neck was Vorigan Malvant.

“Mind if we share?”

Sly let go of the drug dealer and stepped back. “What do you want from me? And I know it’s more than just my dinner.”

His maker’s mouth turned up in an evil looking grin. “What’s wrong with a dinner date?”

When Sly didn’t respond, Vorigan continued. “I’d like to do what I didn’t get a chance to do all those years ago when we first met.”

“Oh? And what was that?”

“Make you mine.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I think you know, but just in case you’re not as intelligent as I thought…First I made you vampire. The next step was to make you my lover.”

Sly cringed. “I’m taken,” he said, through clenched teeth.

Vorigan cocked his head and smiled in a way that could only be called evil. “I can fix that.”

Sly’s eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned. “You’ll stay away from her…and everyone I know.”

“Then you’ll come with me, quietly?”

All I need is to get inside the building. He probably thinks he can follow me right in. “Just let me get a few things first.”

“Excellent! Lead the way.” Vorigan swept a hand in the direction of Sly’s neighborhood. They were less than a mile away. Should he try to outrun him, or continue with the ruse and simply outsmart him?”

Sly stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked at a brisk pace toward Beacon Street. Vorigan kept up and chatted, blithely.

“You were slippery all those years ago. Why didn’t you trust that I’d look out for you?”

“Maybe because you didn’t do such a superb job of looking after my wife and unborn daughter.”

“The daughter you gave up?”

Don’t lose it. That’s what he wants. Don’t let him get to you. Stay focused.

Vorigan strode beside him and continued talking. “You wouldn’t want to be saddled with a wife and child after becoming a vampire. That would spoil all the fun.”

Sly couldn’t handle it any longer. Almost of its own volition, his fist reared back and flew smack into older vampire’s face. Vorigan hit the ground. Sly suspected the older, stronger vampire was only temporarily disabled. He’d need to run as fast as he knew how in order to reach the safety of his building before Vorigan retaliated.

For the first time since he’d become a vampire, Sly flew. He’d heard of vampires who could fly but had never done it before. He’d never had to. Aware of his surroundings despite the blur they had become, he managed to stop when he reached the front steps of their building on Beacon St. Home.

He’d no sooner unlocked the door and rushed inside when Vorigan came up behind him and slammed into the invisible barrier. Apparently, Gwyneth’s resealing worked. The building was impenetrable to all uninvited vampires, in other words, all vampires except Sly.

Seeing the stunned vampire on his ass on the front stoop, Sly burst out laughing. He couldn’t help picturing Vorigan in a cartoon, with stars and birdies circling his head.