Chapter Fourteen: Tamsin

When she'd dreamed of being back here in Wishing Moon Bay surrounded by people she trusted and who she could rely on, a wolf shifter and three guys who had perhaps seen too many summers to be much good in a fight was not it.

But here she was.

About to knock on the door of one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in Wishing Moon Bay.

From what she recalled, Silas was a solitary vampire, with a melancholy air, who worked for whoever could afford him. And the people who usually could afford him were less than reputable characters.

So, when a pretty woman in her late forties opened the door, with a wide smile on her face and a cheerful, "Hello," on her lips, Tamsin was, understandably, taken aback.

"Hi there, Merri," Burt said with a slight nod.

"Burt." Merri's smile faltered a little as she looked at the small group gathered on her doorstep...

Wait! Was this her doorstep? Had Silas moved out?

Perhaps he'd been slayed by Burt, the vampire slayer.

No, that was just too preposterous.

"We're looking for someone." Stan leaned forward and inhaled deeply. "Is that coffee and walnut cake I can smell?"

"It is." Merri cast a cursory glance at them all, each in turn, before she stepped back and said, "Would you like to come in? You look as if you all need a cup of tea and a slice of cake."

"Oh, don't mind if we do," Burt the vampire hunter said as he followed Merri inside.

"Wait." Tamsin put her hand on Stan's shoulder and hissed, "I thought this house belonged to Silas."

"It does," Stan said, his gaze not on Tamsin but on the inviting hallway beyond the front door. From the imposing exterior, she had not expected the inside to look so…cozy, and she certainly hadn't expected it to hold the promise of tea and cake.

"So why is Merri here?" Tamsin asked.

"Because she is Silas's wife." Stan's brows knitted together. "How did you not..." His expression cleared. "I forgot you have been living on a desert island for five years." He shook his head. "You missed one of the greatest romances of our generation."

"Romance. Silas?" Tamsin locked eyes with Stan. "Has Merri been glamoured?"

"No," Stan replied, inching away from her and toward the door—and cake.

"Are you sure you haven't all been glamoured?" she asked. "Because I know Silas is considered an expert at getting into people's heads and making them see and believe things that are not real and not true."

"I think living on that island alone has made you paranoid," Stan told her solemnly. "What you need is a nice cup of tea..."

"And some coffee and walnut cake," Tamsin finished for him, noting that even her wolf shifter had disappeared inside the house, leaving her alone.

And she thought she could count on him to be by her side through thick and thin. But that had been while they were in the tavern when they had to work together in forced proximity.

Now they were out, surrounded by other people. The lure of tea and cake seemed to be more of an attraction than she was.

But then she had to admit, the cake did smell good even from outside. And what was the saying, if you can't beat them, join them?

She followed Stan inside the house, which was bright and airy and about as unvampirish as it could be. She recalled visiting here years ago, and if her memory was correct, it had been dark, with heavy drapes at the windows.

Could love have changed Silas this much?

"There you are." Mason appeared up ahead.

"You sound surprised," she replied. "I thought those shifter senses of yours could tell where I was all the time. Or don't they work inside this house?"

"You got me." He cracked a smile that caught her off guard. It made her heart skip a beat in her chest and her stomach erupt in butterflies. Yep, there was definitely something going on in this house. It was as if a love spell had been cast over it.

"I hope in all the excitement about tea and cake that you haven't forgotten why we are here." She stalked down the hallway toward him.

"No, of course not." His expression sobered. "But it might be easier to ask Merri about any visitors over tea and cake."

"Can't you sense him?" she asked as she drew closer.

Mason shook his head. "With vampires, it all becomes a little foggy. Like they are there, but not really there."

"Because vampires are not the same as people or animals." Tamsin glanced around and shivered, half-expecting a bloodthirsty vampire to pop out of one of the closed doors that lined the hallway.

"Something like that," Mason replied. "I usually smell them rather than sense them. They have a unique scent..."

She screwed up her face. "I don't think I want to know."

"Just be grateful this house smells more like freshly baked cake than..."

"Thank you." She held up her hand, and he stopped talking with an amused smile on his lips.

"I can't take credit for the cake," Merri was saying as they entered the kitchen, where the Regulars were already seated around the larger wooden table laden with two hearty cakes, while a dapperly dressed elderly man, Silas's butler, come constant companion, was pouring tea into fine china cups. "Colton is the master at baking. He's been teaching me his recipes, but I still have a lot to learn."

"Is Silas not joining us?" Tamsin asked from where she lingered in the doorway. The scene before her was so domesticated. She might be in a family cottage rather than a vampire's mansion.

She felt like an outsider looking in at what an ideal family home would look like.

As if this was one of the dreams she'd had when she was alone on the island.

A dream of a home that wasn't a wrecked ship, of a kitchen that was not an open fire pit, and of family. Even perhaps children.

Children!

The sound of running footsteps came along the hallway. Unmistakably children.

Children living in Silas's house! This got more surreal by the minute.

"Is the cake ready?" the girl asked. "I love coffee and walnut."

"Coffee is yuck," the boy said with a retching motion. "Did you make lemon drizzle? Oh, we have visitors?"

"I did, Jared," Colton said as he received a hug from the boy. "And yes, we do."

"Sit." Merri pointed at a couple of spare chairs at the table.

"Have you come for cake, too?" Jared asked the group as he slid into a chair.

"Why are you here?" Colton, a hint of the hardened man he used to be, flickering across his face before he watched the children's eyes light up at his cake creations.

"Burt wanted to hunt a vampire," Stan blurted out, his eyes fixed on the cake before him as he picked up a silver fork.

Merri chuckled. "I don't think knocking on the door counts as hunting, since you know this is where Silas lives."

"Why is there a piece missing?" Jared asked and glanced around the room at the gathered suspects.

"We aren't here for Silas," Burt said, staring daggers at Stan, the teaspoon in his hand held like a weapon.

"Morwenna had a piece with her coffee," the girl replied.

The cluttering of tableware and the sound of voices stopped altogether, and the group shared looks with one another.

"Morwenna is here?" Mason asked sharply.

"Yes," Jared replied with a grin. "She makes me laugh."

"She does?" Harry asked. "Only I've never actually thought of Morwenna as having a sense of humor."

"Oh, I meant her dress. She jingles like a thousand tiny bells," Jared replied as he took a bite of the walnut cake. "And she says funny things."

"But Morwenna is here? Right now?" Mason asked.

"Yes, she arrived maybe ten minutes before you did. She's downstairs talking with Silas and Maughna." Merri handed him a piece of cake. "Is that a problem? I thought you were here for Burt to hunt a vampire." She covered her mouth and laughed lightly, her eyes crinkling as she smiled at The Regular.

"We are," Stan said through a mouthful of lemon drizzle cake. "Wait, you said Morwenna had a coffee and cake?"

"Yes, she's rather fond of Colton's special blend," Merri said, casting an equally fond glance at Colton.

"I didn't think she liked coffee," Stan said. "Since she is so against serving it at the tavern." He took another bite of cake and chewed as he mused. "That witch is full of surprises."

"Okay," Merri held up her hands. "I think I need some clarity as to why you are here, why Burt is vampire hunting, and why the surprise over Morwenna."

"The biggest surprise is that she's capable and willing to leave the tavern." Harry rubbed his chin. "I can't imagine her outside of that place, no matter how hard I try." His brows knotted together in concentration for a moment before he shook his head. "Nope, can't picture it."

"The other strange thing is that we left well before she did." Stan pointed his fork. "And we didn't see her on our way over."

"Does Morwenna visit often?" Tamsin asked.

"Every few months," Brigette replied. "She likes to come and talk to Maughna."

"You're not hunting Maughna, are you?" Jared asked and shifted in his seat to a defensive position.

"No, of course not," Burt said. "We are on the trail of Valaky."

"Right." Merri narrowed her eyes. "Funnily enough, he arrived just after sunset and wanted to speak to Maughna, too."

"Isn't Maughna popular this evening?" Tamsin asked pointedly.

"She is." Merri glanced at her children, her expression one of concern.

"There's nothing to worry about." Tamsin had the sudden overwhelming need to ease Merri's concern, and it only just dawned on her that her very presence, even under the cover of darkness, might have put them in danger.

"But you came here hunting Valaky?" Merri asked.

"Oh, no," Burt said quickly. "We only wanted to talk to Valaky."

"We only say hunting because Burt's family is..." Stan coughed from a heavy nudge from Harry.

"And it takes five of you to talk to one vampire?" Brigette asked.

"No," Tamsin said with a roll of her eyes. "Mason and I need to talk to him about one of his, ugh, acquaintances. But Burt would not tell us where Valaky was..."

"And we're here for moral support," Stan said with a smile.

"And cake," Harry added with a chuckle. "How very fortunate for us!"

"And where does Morwenna fit in?" Merri asked.

"I don't know if she fits in at all. It's just that we left the tavern and came straight here," Mason said. "And when we left, Morwenna was behind the bar looking at scrolls."

"How did she get here so fast?" Harry asked.

"Maybe she drives a car," Stan said. "I could see her rocking some vintage wheels."

"She doesn't look like the car-driving type," Harry said. "More of a broomstick. Perhaps Brushworth can fly?"

"Well, she pulled the wool over our eyes about her coffee drinking, so who knows what else she doesn't tell us," Stan grumbled.

"Morwenna is entitled to her privacy," Colton said with a hint of warning. "As are we all." His old eyes stared at Tamsin before shifting to Mason. "What information do you seek from Valaky? Maybe I can help you."

"Yes," Harry asked, turning his attention from the cake on his plate to Mason and Tamsin. "Why are you looking for him? It's something to do with what you saw in the upstairs rooms of the tavern, isn't it?"

"You went upstairs in The Lonely Tavern?" Colton asked, sitting upright and alert.

Tamsin eyed the old man. She had heard rumors that Colton knew more about the lore of Wishing Moon Bay, and for that matter, the World Beyond the protection spell, than anyone. So it was interesting to see him so surprised by that. She could see his burning curiosity in his eyes, but he didn't ask anything. Perhaps if Morwenna was still in the building, he was afraid she would hear him poking at the tavern's secrets.

Mason shifted in his chair and looked at Tamsin, but she shook her head, a small enough motion for him to see, but not for everyone else. "We're looking for Valaky because we think he might have some information we need. To do with a prophecy," he finally answered. "We're trying to prevent it from coming true, but his actions haven't helped us."

In fact, she was beginning to wonder if Valaky was more of a hindrance. And if he was, Burt might earn his vampire slayer badge after all.