“She’s not going to die,” Rollie said, snapping his fingers impatiently. “I’d never kill anyone with hair that fabulous. All those Shirley Temple curls. Amazing.” He dropped on the bed with a dramatic sigh.
“She’s in a coma!” I screamed at him.
“Easy, cheetah. She’s only sleepy-time because I stuck her with a little dart.”
“What?”
“A wonderful little sedative dart. It slows the bodily functions until the victim can be found and also keeps them from remembering what happened. I was going to make an anonymous call for help for her, but then that gorgeous man showed up. He’s a little thin; someone should tell him heroin chic is out. He carried her off. She’ll get a couple of pints at the hospital and be good as new. Better. That sedative dart is fabulous. It’ll be the best sleep she’s ever had.”
“There is no hospital in town. There’s no blood bank,” I said.
“What?” He looked at Johnny with wide eyes.
Johnny nodded.
“No hospital? Where are we, the third world? Oh right, Podunk. So ridiculous. Every town should have a blood bank. Vampire tourism is on the rise, especially in places like this, though I can’t imagine why. I’m a city girl myself. Normally, if you don’t have Versace in a twenty-five-mile radius, there’s just no reason for me to visit.”
I lowered the gun and continued to stare at him, dumbfounded. “Do silver bullets kill vampires?”
“No, but they do make us very testy. And if you put a hole in this cape, I will kill you, fabulous hair or not.”
I turned to Johnny. “If Georgia Sue dies or has brain damage, or even nightmares, I’m going to hold you and your friend responsible.”
“I very sorry about Georgia Sue, but if Rollie say she be okay, she will.”
“You should never have invited him here! Vampires don’t belong in Duvall.”
“Oh, don’t we?” Rollie said, stealing glances at himself in the mirror. “Johnny didn’t invite me. My coven sent me to see what’s going on in this town.”
“What’s going on? What do you mean?”
“Oh don’t play innocent, Miss Sabrina Teenage Witch. You’ve been spell-casting. I can smell it from here. And, in fact, the town reeks of it.” He wrinkled his thin nose. “Plus, we heard that a pack of wild dogs was headed this way. And I’m here to see what that’s about and to report back. We couldn’t care less about your little hamlet, but we don’t want the Call of the Wild bunch to go on a rampage that includes Dallas. That town and its Galleria Mall are ours.”
I thought about Bryn saying that he could feel me casting spells and that others outside Duvall would feel it, too. But what did that have to do with the werewolves?
“Why would werewolves come to Duvall? Are they drawn to witch’s magic?”
He shook his head.
“So then why?”
“How should I know? Do I look like some mangy mutt to you?” he asked, running his knuckles over his cheek. “Have you seen them? All that hair.” He shuddered. “One would need a fifty-gallon drum of wax every full moon.” He ran his finger over a perfectly arched eyebrow.
“What makes them mad? What would someone have to do to become their enemy?”
“Breathe?” He shrugged dramatically, causing the beads to sparkle and reflect the light. “They pretend they’re only Rage in a Cage on the full moon, but the truth is they’re all about the anger every day. Too much testosterone. They could so stand to get in touch with their feminine sides. A little spandex and a rosewater bath would go a long way.”
“How does someone turn into a werewolf?” I said.
“A bite and the predisposition.”
“Predisposition? What’s that?”
“Somewhere in the genes you’ve got to have the switch waiting to be flipped.”
“And if you don’t, you’re okay,” I said, hoping Zach didn’t have any doggy DNA buried inside him.
“Oh, no. Humans die if they don’t turn. So does any other part-human creature with a serious bite. Werewolf bites don’t heal. They bleed on and off until the body’s defenses give out and the person collapses.”
“No.”
“Yes, and most humans don’t turn.”
The room spun slowly, and my legs folded under me.
“That is it,” I mumbled, staring up at Johnny’s bedroom ceiling. “I have had enough now. I’m done, Lord.” I closed my eyes. I’m not sure if I fainted or not. When I opened my eyes I was still on the floor of Johnny’s room. Johnny had crawled to the foot of the bed and was peering down at me while Rollie stood over me looking like a goth tower.
“There must be a magical way to stop the werewolf transformation or the bleeding,” I said.
“If there were, witches and warlocks would be making a fortune. Imagine how much people would pay for that cure. No, doesn’t exist.” He flipped his hair. “Why? Who got bit?”
“My ex, Zach.”
“Oh, the uber-butch muscleman cop. Yeah, invest in some heavy-duty barber shears. He’s just the type to go furry.”
I slapped a hand over my eyes. “Okay, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. I really am. But before I do, I’d like to do one thing right.” I moved my hand and looked at Johnny with pleading eyes. “Give me the locket. I’m begging you.”
“I not have it,” Johnny said sadly. “Rollie, go to kitchen please and get my necklace. It in the silverware drawer. I show her.”
Rollie left and came back. The chain was an exact replica of the chain I wore the locket on, but the locket was a little different.
“Where did you get this?”
“I always like yours, and I love Edie. So I make a sketch and have a jeweler in Dallas make for me. And I get a spellbook from the store Edie talk about in Austin, but I not able to put the magic to the locket. Edie not come when I ask her to.” He sighed. “And when she does visit next time, she tease me. Say it not very original. She say she disappointed to see Johnny go for knock-off. So I not want you to see it. I embarrassed about copying. And then you accuse me of stealing. You make me angry, so I wanted you to go.”
I closed my eyes. I wished I could be in a coma with Georgia Sue. I was not one step closer to finding the locket. Plus, there was a pack of werewolves in town to kill me for some unknown reason, and they’d already taken a poisonous bite out of Zach. I wanted to run away from my life, but the best I could do was escape for a few minutes by fainting, and I was fixing to do that when I heard Rollie’s voice echoing down.
“She looks pale, and I haven’t even bitten her yet.”
The hell you say! My eyes popped open, and I glared at him.
“Rollie, that not a funny joke. Things very serious.”
Rollie clucked his tongue in annoyance. “Well, for someone with red hair, she’s not much fun. She should watch Will and Grace reruns.” He cocked his head thoughtfully. “You know, if I were on that show, I’d want to be Karen.”
I rolled onto my side and pushed myself up. I walked stiffly to the bathroom, still feeling woozy and sick about Zach and Edie and everything. I ran cold water on a washcloth and put it on the back of my neck while I leaned over the sink.
“You better get a grip, Tammy Jo. There’s no time to fall apart. Maybe in a couple of days, but not right now. And what would Mercutio say if he could see you now? He fights off burglars five times his size when he’s only seven months old.” I took a deep breath and straightened up. I grimaced at the state of my eyes. Time to invest in some waterproof mascara. I pulled the cloth clear of my neck and ran it under some warm water.
“Rollie?” I called.
“Present,” he said dryly, and I could hear beads hitting the floor. Was he still trying on Johnny Nguyen ensembles?
“Johnny said he got a spellbook from a place in Austin that Edie recommended. I need to see that book.”
Rollie’s long maudlin face appeared in the doorway, startling me, and I glimpsed lavender fabric around his neck but couldn’t get a good look at
what he was wearing.
“Why? Are we doing some magic? Can we conjure up a blond-haired boy with Raphaelite curls?”
“Oh, you don’t want me trying to conjure up your dreamboy. We’d probably end up with a roomful of cherubs with wooden stakes for arrows. I’m really barely a witch at all.”
“So then why would I get the book for you?”
“It’s an emergency. The family ghost will have her soul shredded to confetti if I don’t find my locket, and I’m just not fixin’ to have that happen. Now, I’d really be grateful if you could help me by getting me that book. And I promise to do something nice for you when things settle down.”
“She a very excellent chef. Makes cakes and pies.”
“So a nice bread pudding with blood sauce at my next soiree then?”
“Oh,” I said, going pale again. “I’ll see what I can do. Does it have to be human blood?”
He laughed. “I guess she’s kind of cute,” he said over his shoulder to Johnny. “Some of my coven mates have human teenage girls for pets. They send them shopping during the daylight hours. I never really wanted one myself, but maybe I could find something for her to do for me.” He looked me over. “I guess you’re as pretty as a love-bird or a Siamese cat. And you don’t shed or have paper to change.”
“What happened to my gun?” I asked, trying to peek around him.
He laughed at my tone. “Spellbook coming up.”
“I’m not a teenager,” I grumbled. I walked out and sat on the edge of the bed. “How in the world did you meet him?” I asked Johnny.
“Oh, I not remember,” Johnny said, blushing.
“Just as well.”
“Well,” Rollie said, sweeping back into the room. He was wearing a lavender chiffon gown that was several inches too short for him, but the train made a lovely swish behind him nonetheless. “This book could stand to be redone. With all the computerized scrapbook-making software, there’s just no excuse for this type of shoddy presentation.”
He held up a worn book with a tattered leather cover. My pulse kicked into high gear. I knew an authentic spellbook when I saw one.
“Gimme,” I said, snatching it and flipping it open. The pages were yellow and stiff with ink that seemed to have come from a fountain pen. There were symbols, etchings, and even dried herbs and flowers tethered with thread to some pages. “Jackpot, Batman.”
“It a good book?”
“I don’t have enough money for this. It was more than five hundred dollars, I’m sure.”
Johnny nodded. “Very expensive.”
“I don’t have that much, but I can give you four hundred, and I’ll bring you goodies three times a week for the rest of the year, if you give me this book.”
Johnny smiled. “No need, Tammy Jo. It a present. Find locket. Save Edie.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. I’m an all-occasion crier, and I was more relieved than I could say. If I didn’t have to buy a spellbook, I wouldn’t have to drive to Austin. Plus, I could get back my family’s jewels from Earl right away. It was like the answer to a prayer.
I set the book aside and gave Johnny a fierce you’re-my-hero hug. “Thank you so much. You’re such a great friend.”
Rollie sniffled above my head. “That settles it. I’m adopting her. My very own redhead!”
I laughed in spite of myself. “I don’t think the lavender suits you. The cloak was real nice though.”
“I knew it!” Rollie said, stalking over to the mirror. “Yes, it’s much too pale with my skin. Makes me look chalky and severe.”
Nobody ever told me how vain vampires are. If I’d had time to sit around and smile, I would have, but I had to get back to my coming-apart-at-the-seams life.
“I’ll see you boys later,” I said, hefting the book into my arms.
Chapter 20
When I got home, there were three messages. One from Kenny saying that Georgia Sue had woken up halfway to Dallas and was doing okay. They were going to Parkland Hospital anyway to have her checked out.
There were also messages from Zach, saying he’d be stopping by, and from Bryn, telling me that the werewolf count in Duvall was up to thirty and asking me to come back to his house for my own protection.
I chewed on my lip as I set the book down on the kitchen table and went through it. There were no spells in it for curing lycanthropy, which made me stand up and pace for a few minutes. I couldn’t help but feel sick about Zach. It was my fault that he’d gotten attacked. But maybe Rollie was wrong about what would happen with that wound.
I poured a glass of milk, ate a handful of Hershey’s miniatures, and sat back down, flipping through the book. I found a complex protection spell, but I didn’t have the right ingredients for it. Where was I supposed to get the blood of a medieval knight and a square inch of scrap metal from a suit of armor? It occurred to me that my new spellbook might be a tad out of date.
I pressed on, still determined to use it. Unfortunately, all the scrying spells had a component of concentration that I wasn’t sure I was up to, but I needed a way to find that locket. I came to an astral-projection spell and paused over it. It didn’t seem to require concentration. There was a recitation portion and then a part where the mind had to wander. I was kind of afraid where my mind might wander to, but if I did some recitation at first about going to Edie, it might just work out. I looked at the list of ingredients, and I had most of them. I’d just have to find some substitutes in the dried herbs in the cupboards.
I lit a vanilla candle and set it next to the counter, then started to scavenge through the cupboards. I was on my knees behind the counter when I heard a loud scratching sound.
I froze for a second, startled, then stood up. There were two men with long narrow faces at the back sliding-glass door. Hell-fires! How had they gotten in the yard?
I ran around the counter and got to my purse just as one of them yanked, and the door lock popped with a horrible cracking sound. They slid the door open. Both of them had shoulder-length hair and beards and creepy yellow eyes. I pointed Earl’s gun at them and shook my head.
“Y’all can just go back out the way you came in.”
The darker-haired one sniffed the air. “It can be painless or it can be agony. Put down the gun.” They took a step forward, and I knew if they got too close I wouldn’t have time, so I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.
The sound was so loud it made me jump as the dark-haired one howled and went down.
“Silver,” he growled, grabbing his wounded thigh.
The other held out his arms for a moment and then bent and grabbed his friend. He turned and sprung out into the yard so fast that they disappeared into the darkness almost instantly.
My heart pounded, and I stood like I was glued to the linoleum.
Can’t stay here.
Finally, I rushed to the counter, blew out the candle, and grabbed a plastic grocery bag, throwing in a bunch of herbs and extracts. I put the book in a tote bag and rushed to the front door. Just as I got there, I heard squealing tires. Now what?
I looked out the front door and saw Astrid’s sports car sideways in my driveway and another car barreling down the street toward the house.
Astrid flung her door open and ran to my front door as I yanked it open for her.
“Oh my God!” I screamed, seeing a whole carload of wolf-men.
“I can’t stop them!” she screamed, shoving the door closed.
“The back is open. We’re not safe here!” I yelled. I only had a few silver bullets left. Not enough when the whole crew came through the door.
“Steel knives and mirrors!” she yelled, running to the counter. She pulled a butcher’s knife free and spun around. “A big mirror and a strong lamp!”
“Upstairs,” I said, rushing toward the steps. She ran after me.
We heard the door splinter.
“Oh, God! They’re going to kill us!” I said, hyperventilating. We rushed to Aunt Mel’s room, and I pointed at the mirr
or. Astrid dragged it to the doorway, facing it outward. She grabbed a lamp and laid it on its side to light up the mirror.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing their reflection repels weak-willed werewolves. I’ll add an enchantment. If we’re lucky, this will turn them back.” She panted with the exertion, then cast a quick spell and stood with her knife at the ready.
They growled as they came up the stairs. It was still the worst sound I’d ever heard in my life. My legs were locked stiff as two-by-fours. I widened my stance and pointed the gun at the doorway.
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