Chapter 17

Morgaine’s wild ride over the rooftops finally ended in the back alley she recognized from her trip to Malvant’s basement apartment. He had shoved something in her mouth and held her wrists so tight he was cutting off the circulation. She struggled to get away, even though she doubted anything would come of it besides more pain.

When he finally wrestled her inside and down to his lair, he shoved her into a dark room and slammed the door. She couldn’t see a thing. Her arms prickled with pins and needles and she smelled something foul and rotten. Probably coming from whatever cloth was in her mouth. Ewww. She yanked it out and began screaming and pounding on the door. She heard him laugh.

“No one can hear you. This place is sound proof and the owners are away in Europe.”

Morgaine slid down the wall and started to cry.

“Oh relax, will you? I’ll find your boyfriend tomorrow night, and I’m sure he’ll offer himself up in exchange. Then I’ll wipe your memory of his and my existence and you’ll be free to go.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“You’re right, I don’t.” He laughed. “I’ll eat you for dinner, and maybe even share you with Sly. We’ll be sharing so many things throughout the coming millennia.”

That thought didn’t comfort her. She knew he was right. Sly would sacrifice himself for her, and she couldn’t let that happen. She swiped the tears away and took some deep, slow breaths.

If only she could communicate with Sly or Gwyneth! Or if Chad could find her, he might be able guide her out while the others created a diversion. But all of them putting their heads together like that was highly unlikely.

She tried to calm herself but the completely dark room closed in on her. Her heartbeat had been racing ever since she was abducted, but now she could hear it pounding in her brain. Her chest constricted, she broke out in a sweat and her mouth went dry.

Get control over yourself, Morgaine! Remember, Sly has secret weapons. A glass of Vampire Vintage will allow him to break in during the day. Gwyneth knows where Malvant’s lair is. All they have to do is wait until daylight.

Yeah, they wouldn’t wait and she knew it. They’d walk right into Vorigan Malvant’s trap. She had to find her own way out of here before they tried anything.

Despite her heart hammering against her ribs, Morgaine forced herself to stand and feel along the perimeter. She needed to locate doors and windows. How could a room be so dark if it had windows? She prayed to the Goddess that they were just so light-tight she couldn’t see them. She placed her hands against the wall over her head. They were in a basement, so windows would have to be small and high.

Eventually she made her way back to the door without finding another egress. Damn it. Didn’t he know a bedroom without an escape window wasn’t to code? Oh Hell. What did he care about legal apartments? And for all she knew, she might be locked in what was supposed to be a walk-in closet.

A new emotion took over. Anger. And it was helping combat her overwhelming fear of the dark. Yes! Hang onto the anger.

“You fuckin’ asshole! Let me out of here!”

She was met with silence.

“Damn you to Hell! I hate your guts.”

Still no response.

“When I get out of here, I’ll stake you where your heart should be a thousand times! But I doubt you have a heart.”

“Well, now that’s just rude,” he called through the door.

Her shoulders slumped. He wasn’t the least bit worried about the consequences of his actions. He probably expected her to be angry and was completely unfazed by her threats. She wanted to burst into tears. Keep it together, Morgaine. You can do this.

She wasn’t going to let her loved ones walk into a trap. Her panic wouldn’t help anyone. More than ever before she needed to focus. Think. You’re a powerful witch, dammit!

Ah, that was it! She needed a spell. But what would be powerful enough?

Frig.Even if the right words opened the door, Malvant was still on the other side. How could she get out, overpower a vampire, and run away before he went after her? That’s a hell of a lot to ask of a spell.

Wait a minute. She could astral project. Maybe she could create her own diversion and mislead him into thinking she’d escaped. While he was chasing her image, if she could find a way to open the door, she’d really escape.

That was a crapshoot if ever there was one. But something about astral projection stuck in her mind as the answer. There was one thing she could do. She could intercept Sly if he came looking for her before morning. She couldn’t speak to him in that form, but she could find some way of waving him off. Hopefully.

“Please, Gwyneth. You’re the only one who knows where his lair is. You’ve got to help.”

“For pity sakes, Sly. Quit jarring your preserves.” Gwyneth jammed her hands on her hips. “Chargin’ over there at night when there’s a way to sneak in during the day is just pure stupid.” He’s wound up tighter than a fat lady’s girdle at an all-you-can-eat breakfast.

“If he hurts her and I do nothing, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“He ain’t gonna hurt her. She’s his way to get to get y’all to come runnin’, and he knows it. So should you.”

Sly shook his head and stared at the floor. “She must be out of her mind with fear. I can’t stand the thought of her going through that.”

Gwyneth grabbed his hand and talked as she led him down the stairs. “Yeah, her cheese is probably slidin’ off her cracker, but y’all know as well as I do, she ain’t gonna die. She may think she is, but she ain’t. Now quit frettin’ and git some of that vampire wine. We’re gonna add some to the moonshine and see if it works like Morgaine reckons it will. You must be hungry now, right?”

“The blood lust is back, yes. But I don’t want to waste time.”

“Well, we need to try makin’ it anyway, so you won’t be wastin’ time. Then we can go after her during the day.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll be going crazy.”

“My granny used to say, ‘To act is easy. To think is hard.’ It’s especially hard when your thinkin’ is as cloudy as the sky in a thunderstorm, and this is your rainy day.”

“Gwyneth, do you honestly think he’ll be understanding when Morgaine falls apart? She needs us—now!”

She stopped and considered the wild look in his eyes. “I ain’t never hit a vampire afore, but if it’ll knock some badly needed sense into you, I might just clock you upside the head.”

He narrowed his eyes and frowned.

She eyed him for a moment and decided he wasn’t going to attack her, so she continued her rant. “I know my cousin wouldn’t want you gettin’ yourself killed. She’s in love with you, Sly, and wouldn’t forgive herself neither.”

“Did she say that?”

“Does she have to? I do declare. Men are so stupid sometimes.”

He sighed. “How sweet.”

“Hey, some folks have tact. Others tell the truth. And it ain’t the beard that makes the philosopher.”

“You’re right,” he mumbled. “Whatever you just said.”

In the basement, Sly and Nathan opened the false wall and revealed the still. Everything seemed to be in order, so it must not have been discovered—yet.

Gwyneth had argued that the wine should go into the finished product and not the still in case the process of distillation destroyed the blood. It made sense to Sly, so they brought an empty mason jar with them to get some of the fresh product.

Sly took the container from Gwyneth. “Why aren’t we just using the moonshine we made before Morgaine and I went to New York?”

“Because this is fresher.”

“I thought whiskey was better aged.”

“Naw, my motto is fresher is almost always better, isn’t that so, Nathan?”

Nathan chuckled. “I guess it has to be since we drank what was left of the last batch.”

She slapped Nathan’s arm with the back of her hand, and he laughed. Sly had never seen Nathan so happy. They really did seem good for each other.

He poured some from the bucket into the jar until it was about three-quarters full, and handed it to Gwyneth,

“Seems like the proper time to collect it anyways. There’s room at the top to add some of your wine cure. What’s it called agin?”

“Vampire Vintage.”

“Okay. So how much of this Vampire Vintage should go into our Vampire Vodka?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Morgaine said to tell you something about the principle of sourdough bread. Does that make sense?”

Gwyneth snapped her fingers. “It sure do. Let me think for a minute. If I can figure out how much starter goes into my sourdough bread recipe, I can probably figure out how much wine to put in the moonshine.”

“Like a ratio?” Nathan asked.

She looked at him blankly, then said, “Uh-huh, I guess. Now here’s the recipe…

3/4 cup cracked wheat

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup margarine, melted

2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 cup nonfat milk

1/2 cup flax seed

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

2 ⒈／⒉ cups sourdough starter

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 egg, beaten

Add up all that except the starter and what’s it come to?”

Sly rattled off, “almost ten cups of ingredients, plus one egg.”

Gwyneth stared at him openmouthed.

“What?” he asked.

“Nuthin’. So y’all are saying it’s about 12 1/2 cups of everything including the starter?”

“Correct.”

Gwyneth splayed her ten fingers on the floor, then said, “Sly, will you put two and a half fingers next to mine?”

He shook his head, smiling. “I think it might be easier to find the ratio on paper. Or, better yet, let me just tell you it’s a fifth.”

Gwyneth gasped. “A fifth! Well, now that can’t be right. Ain’t a fifth a big-ass bottle?”

Sly and Nathan both burst out laughing. Nathan extended his hand and helped Gwyneth up.

“What in tarnation is so dang funny? I’m tryin’ to help Sly and y’all are laughin’ at me.”

“Sorry, hon. He was just saying that the ratio is twenty percent or one fifth. If you divide the whole bottle into five parts, you’d need to add one of those parts of wine to the bottle to get the right ratio.”

“Oh. I do declare, Sly, how’d you know how to do that? Are you some math genius like Good Will Huntin’?”

He shrugged. “I was an engineer before the incident.”

“I see. So, drivin’ trains takes math?”

“I wasn’t…”

Nathan put a protective arm around her and gave Sly a quick head-shake.

He took one look at her confused face and said, “Never mind.” Explaining what an electro-mechanical engineer did might make her head explode.

Nathan gave her a side hug and said, “You know what, Gwyneth, I think you may be on to something. A job Sly could do.”

“Really? What’s that?”

“Math tutor.”

Sly straightened. Math tutor? It made sense.“I could tutor college kids after dark. Now that I have an apartment, they could come to me, or I could meet them somewhere.”

“And there’s all kinds of schools around. I’m sure some of them have math dummies like me,” Gwyneth said.

“And me,” Nathan added, quickly. “That’s what made me think of it. I needed a tutor in Trigonometry to get through high school.”

Gwyneth’s eyebrows rose. “Trigger what?”

“Not trigger…” He pronounced it slowly. “Trig-ah-nom-e-tree.”

“Oh. I thought with your Boston accent you were sayin’ trigger-somethin’.”

Nathan chuckled and kissed her on the nose. “You’re too adorable for words.”

Sly huffed. “So now that we have one of my problems solved, let’s see if we can get back to the other one.”

“Oh, yeah.” Gwyneth slapped her forehead. “We need to add one fifth of the Vampire Vintage to the Vampire Vodka. Let me see that.” She extended her hand and Sly passed her the open bottle of wine.

She held the Mason jar at eye level and poured the Vampire Vintage slowly until the amount looked right. Then she swirled it gently until the red and clear liquids mixed and resembled a rosé wine.

She handed the mixture back to him. “Down the hatch.”

He lifted the jar and said, “Cheers.” After taking a careful sip he waited. When nothing happened, he took another.

“Well?” she asked.

“Nothing yet.”

“Take a big swig of the stuff, not a little sip. How much wine did you have to drink in New York to cure you?”

“It seemed to work almost instantly. But because it’s watered down you might be right. I’ll need more.” He took a large gulp. As soon as it hit his stomach, he knew something was wrong. It began to roil. “Whoa, that went down hard.” A wave of nausea swamped him.

Nathan squinted. “Are you all right?”

“I—I’m not sure. I feel kind of…” Oh no. He recognized the unmistakable feeling of his guts about to empty. He glanced around wildly, looking for a receptacle of any kind. All he saw were residents’ boxes holding treasures too important to throw away. He’d never make it to the laundry room sink in time.

Gwyneth must have recognized the symptoms because she grabbed the container and held it over her head. “No barfin’ in the moonshine, whatever you do!”

At last, he simply bent over and yaked on the floor.

Nathan snorted. “Who knew Vampire Vintage plus Vampire Vodka would equal Vampire Vomit?”

“Dang,” Gwyneth said. “You’re so pale, you look like you been drinkin’ Clorox.”

Morgaine had managed to calm herself enough to astral project. She lay next to the door and sent a quick plea to the Goddess.

“Dear Lady, help me succeed in my efforts to warn away my boyfriend and cousin. Let no one I love walk into this evil trap.”

She tamped down her nerves one more time before going into trance. Once she had reached the appropriate level, mentally, she let her spirit rise from her physical body and walk through the wall to the next room. Malvant lay in wait, peering out the peephole in the door, just as she thought he would.

While he’s occupied there, I’ll slip out the back.

She had decided that rather than try to escape without a decent plan, she’d prepare Sly for a daylight assault. She’d need his strength to break down the door. Without it, she pictured herself just bouncing off it a few times until she gave up, bruised and battered—and no better off.

Morgaine gathered her energy and traveled to the back entrance. Once she pushed her way through, she ascended up and out. At last, she hovered over the dark alley. She had to remind herself that she was safe. In a weird way, Malvant’s locked room provided safety from him and an enclosed place for her body, while allowing her spirit to travel free.

Unencumbered by her body, Morgaine allowed her consciousness to float above the buildings. Looking down, she hoped to intercept any well-meaning but foolish attempt at her rescue.

The city slept while streetlamps twinkled below her. Enough of the sidewalks were illuminated to show only a lone dog walker. It must still be cold since she could see his breath. Other than that, occasional cars moved down the streets, but she saw no Sly and no Gwyneth—thank you, Goddess.

While she was in astral form, perhaps she could track them down. She didn’t know if Sly could see her. Probably not. But she might be able to catch Gwyneth in trance…a light sleep state in which spirits can visit and even communicate with the living. Most people would dismiss it as a dream.

Wait. Communication with spirits…Maybe Chad can help?

Morgaine floated two blocks over and three down, then located their building. As she descended, she couldn’t help taking a peek in the windows.

Merry was snuggled in Jason’s arms. Both slept soundly, peacefully. A tiny smile played at their lips. She imagined that’s how she and Sly must have looked the night before last. Wistful memories threatened her concentration and she had to push them away.

The next window she passed was Gwyneth’s bedroom. It was empty. Sly must have gone to her for help. They were probably hatching a plan to rescue her. Hopefully she hadn’t missed them somehow. What a disaster that would be! She had to stop them.

She continued her descent past the window on the second floor. The new neighbor snored softly in her bed. Tiny curls of smoke emanated from her nostrils with each exhale. And who was that in bed with her? Oh well, she couldn’t afford to get sidetracked now.

She passed Nathan’s bedroom window and was surprised to find his bed empty too. Okay, a three-way in Sly’s apartment was just out of all realm of possibility. But maybe they were over there, putting their heads, and not their bodies, together.

Finally, she let her consciousness enter the building. She was approaching Sly’s apartment when a familiar voice said, “Morgaine? Is that you?”

“Chad?”

“Yup.”

“Where are Gwyneth and Sly?”

“They’re in the basement with Nathan. Boy will Gwyneth be glad to see you!”

“Why is that?”

“Why? Well, duh. You were kidnapped by a vampire.”

Morgaine mentally rolled her eyes. “Do they think I’m dead?”

“Not really. Gwyneth’s just been having a hell of a time convincing Sly to wait until dawn before they go after you. She dragged Nathan out of bed, hoping he could hold Sly back physically if necessary. I doubt a raven is any match for vampiric strength though.”

“You’re right. Both of them together couldn’t hold him. Can you help me communicate with Gwyneth? I’ve got to warn them.”

“Sure, my witchy friend. But be glad you weren’t here ten minutes ago.

“Why?”

“Because, as Nathan put it, Vampire Vintage plus Vampire Vodka makes Vampire Vomit.” He laughed.

“Oh no.”

“Don’t worry. It’s all cleaned up now. Let’s go.”

The two descended right through the floorboards.

“Pretty cool traveling this way, huh?”

Morgaine chuckled. “Personally, I can’t wait to get back in my body and take the stairs like a normal person.”

Sly whipped his head in their direction. “Did you just hear that?”

“Hear what?” Nathan said.

Gwyneth looked up. “I think I heard Chad. Is that you, roomie? Did you get worried about ol’ Gwyneth bein’ up so early?”

“It’s me all right. Me and Morgaine.”

Gwyneth gasped. “Morgaine’s here? How did she…”

“Tell her I’m not really here, Chad, I’m astral projecting. I think she thinks I escaped.”

“She’s not here in body, just in spirit. Much like myself.”

Gwyneth turned white and fainted. Before she hit the ground, Nathan caught her.

“What did you say that for? Now she thinks I’m dead.”

“Hey, I didn’t realize she’d take it so literally.”

Sly was wandering toward them, squinting as if he could almost see something. “Morgaine, honey?”

“I’m here, Sly. Well, not really. I’m astral projecting. My body is still alive and well in Malvant’s place. Can you see me?”

He shook his head. “I can’t see you, but I can hear you.”

“Can you hear Chad, or just me?”

“Just you.”

“Are you sure? Chad, say something.”

“Something.”

“Did you hear him? What did he say?”

Sly shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t hear him. But I can hear you! Are you all right, darling?”

“Yes, but I came to warn you. Do not go after Malvant. It’s a trap.”

“That’s what Gwyneth said. Are you all right, though? Will you be okay until we get there?”

“Yes. He has me locked in another room.”She glanced past him to Gwyneth, slowly coming to, in Nathan’s arms. “Please tell Gwyneth I’m alive. I think she got the wrong impression from Chad’s poorly worded greeting.”

“Sure, blame me. That’s what I get for trying to be nice.”

Sly held up one hand. “I’ll tell her.” He wandered back to Gwyneth and Nathan. “Are you okay, Gwyneth?”

“A course I’m not okay. My cousin’s a ghost! That means she’s—”

“Alive,” Sly interrupted. “She’s astral projecting.”

“Is that what Chad told y’all?”

“No, I can’t hear Chad at all. I can only hear Morgaine.”

“Really?” Gwyneth scrambled to her feet. “You can hear her in Astral form?”

When he nodded, she hugged him. “Oh, my! I’m so grateful to hear that. Not just that she’s alive, but that you are her beloved.”

He cocked his head. “What are you talking about?”

Gwyneth chuckled. “A beloved is a vampire’s one true love. Listen to me, tellin’ you about vampire lore.”

“Hey, you probably know more than I do. Everything I’ve learned has been by trial and error. So how do you know she’s my beloved? Because I can hear her?”

“Yup. It’s called telepathy. Ya’ll are lucky. Some vamps never find their beloved—ever, and that’s a long, long time to go without true love. I think that’s what makes most of them so cranky.”

Sly scratched his head. “Okay… Morgaine, are you hearing this?”

She couldn’t respond. A lump had lodged in her throat. This was heady stuff. Sure, she knew she loved him, but she wasn’t sure he loved her. Oh, she’d hoped, but he’d never told her so. Now, she knew.

“Morgaine?” Panic filled his eyes.

“I’m here.” She sniffed.

“Are you crying? What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer. At last Chad said, “For cryin’ out loud. She’s a woman. Does she need a reason?”

“Shut-up, Chad. I—I guess I just hoped to hear it from you, Sly, not my cousin.”

“Oh, honey. If I could find you and destroy Malvant, I’d hold you in my arms and tell you I love you right now. In fact, I wish I could.”

She giggled. “I can wait until dawn. I hope you can.”

Nathan had been staring at Sly. At last, he shook his head in wonder. “Weird stuff goes on in this building. My girlfriend lives with and talks to a ghost. Her cousin has a vampire called a “beloved,” and they know this because he can hear her over some kind of invisible long-distance telephone line.”

Gwyneth leaned into him. “It’s telepathy, but that’s about the size of it.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “And people think I’m the weird one. So, since I can’t hear anyone but the two people standing next to me, is anyone talking about a plan to get her out of there or what?”

“Well, so far, cousin,” Gwyneth faced the direction Sly had been facing when talking to her, “All I’ve done is refuse to tell Sly where Malvant’s lair is until daylight.”

“Good. Smart girl, Gwyneth.”

“She can’t hear you,” Chad said.

“I know, but Sly can. Sly, sweetheart, tell Gwyneth I said that was smart.”

He sighed. “Not until I have you in my arms again.”