“Thanks for having my back, Lu,” Alastair said, a little grin playing on his lips as he slammed the trunk.
“Hey,” Joey beamed at him. “You almost smiled! I think getting your fighting groove back was good for you, Allie. You’ve shaken off a little of that doe-eyed lost boy thing. Which, don’t get me wrong, was clearly working for ya.” He tilted his head toward Lu.
Alastair raised an eyebrow at him and said, “Don’t push it, Joseph.”
Joey laughed again. “You sound like my dad. But Joey isn’t short for Joseph, just FYI. It’s long for Joe.”
Lu smirked slightly. “Your parents named you Joe? That’s it? Just Joe?”
“Really? You’re going to criticize? You’re aware that your name’s Lu, right, Cupcake?” Joey’s eyes sparkled mischievously in the moonlight.
“If you must know, it’s short for Luna,” she told him.
“Ha!” Joey let loose a single burst of laughter, and Lu rewarded him with a hard punch on the arm. “Ow!”
She punched him again, and once more he cried out, then asked, “What was that for?”
“Uh, duh! That’s for scaring the crap out of me by making me think you’d gone all Cujo on Alastair,” she said, knitting her brows.
Joey snorted with laughter. “All Cujo. Nice. I’m totally gonna use that.”
Alastair already had the passenger door open and one foot inside the Impala. “Can we please get out of here? It might be nice to make it to San Francisco sometime before sunrise,” he said.
“Yeah, good point.” Joey jogged around the car and got behind the wheel, and Lu climbed into the backseat.
“So did I pass your test?” Alastair asked as Joey swung the car around in a wide arc.
“Yes and no,” Joey said. “You remember how to fight, so that’s good. But at one point I was almost able to get the better of you. That would have never happened in like, a million years normally, so you’re a little off your game. It’s not as bad as I feared, though. You’ll do ok when we get to San Francisco.”
“Why were we headed there when we got snowed in?”
“Because there’s been increased vampire activity in the bay area lately, so we were gonna take care of it,” Joey told him.
Alastair glanced at Joey. “Ok, next question. If I had driven that blade through you, would it have killed you?”
“Nope. One thing the vampire stories get right is that it takes wood through the heart to kill us. That, fire, or beheading are the only ways we can die. All that blade would have done was hurt like hell and ruin a perfectly good t-shirt.” Then Joey added, “Well, unless you’d used it to cut my head off. That would’ve been bad.”
Within minutes they were back on the interstate, and Lu told Alastair, “I’m gonna try to get some rest. Assuming Joey’s done attacking you tonight.”
“All done,” Joey smiled.
Alastair looked longingly at Lu curled up in the back seat and asked, “May I please join you?”
She slid over to make room for him. Alastair climbed over the bench seat and tentatively took Lu in his arms, amazed and relieved when she snuggled against him. He closed his eyes and tried to stop his mind from racing. He’d been bombarded with so much new and totally bizarre information in the last couple hours that he couldn’t even begin to process it all, and he tried to center himself by focusing on nothing but the sound of Lu’s breathing.
“Comfy, huh?” Joey said, glancing at his maker in the rearview mirror. “See? You were against getting the Impale-ah, but look how roomy that backseat is.”
“Against getting the what?” Alastair asked.
“Impale-ah. You know, instead of ‘Impala.’ That’s what I call this fine driving machine,” Joey explained. “Get it? Impale-ah? Vampire humor? I totally wanted to mount a giant wooden stake to the roof, but you nixed that idea.” Alastair raised an eyebrow at him and Joey chuckled, then turned his attention back to the road.
“You’re one bizarre individual,” Lu told the back of Joey’s head as she settled in comfortably with Alastair. And despite all the trauma of the past couple hours, she actually found herself grinning.
Chapter Eleven
“We’re here.”
Lu stirred in Alastair’s arms. “Where’s here?” she mumbled.
“San Francisco!” Joey exclaimed from the front seat. “Home of the Golden Gate Bridge, the 49ers, and most importantly, Bryn Maddock.”
Lu rolled out of the car after Alastair and rubbed her eyes with the cuffs of the sweater Joey had given her. It was late and the city was still, the street deserted. She blinked around at the tidy rows of houses and asked, “Which one is Bryn’s?”
“His house is about eight blocks from here. Parking sucks in this city, and it’s literally impossible to park on Bryn’s street,” Joey told her, opening the trunk. He slid a wooden stake into the waistband of his jeans and pulled his t-shirt over it, then slung a backpack over his shoulder.
They followed Joey through the tranquil residential neighborhood, a fine mist hanging in the cool night air. Everything was perfectly peaceful but Joey was tense, his eyes scanning every shadow, every alleyway. It felt like ages before he finally announced, “This is it.”
He relaxed slightly and winked at his fellow travelers, then linked arms with Lu on his left side and Alastair on his right. He began walking toward a row of nondescript white Victorians. The homes were all dark and quiet, lit only by the yellow glow of a lone street lamp.
Joey told them, “Bryn’s got a lot of spells in place to keep from attracting attention. It’s kinda best if you both just relax and let me guide you in.”
He walked right up to one of the houses and it appeared that he was going to smack directly into the front of the building. “What are you doing?” Lu exclaimed.
Joey chuckled. “I’m not actually stupid enough to walk you into a wall, Cupcake. Like I said, just relax. If it helps, close your eyes.”
Lu kept her eyes wide open and tried to stop as Joey stepped up to the wall. And then through it. She tried to pull away but he tugged her forward and a moment later the wall was behind her. “No freaking way,” she gasped.
A grand Victorian mansion towered before them, painted a vivid shade of purple with white trim. It was decked out in thousands of white Christmas lights which lit up the night, and 1980’s dance music pulsed from the open front door. Joey smiled. “Typical Bryn, he loves parties. I think he does this about three hundred times a year.”
“This is the person that’s supposed to help me?” Alastair muttered, looking skeptically at the bright, gaudy exterior.
“Let’s go in,” Joey said, and bounded up the wide steps to the front door.
Lu and Alastair held hands and tried to stay close to Joey as they stepped into the regal foyer. Or at least it would have been regal if the massive crystal chandelier overhead wasn’t lit with blacklights and draped in strands of hot pink twinkle bulbs, making everything and everyone glow like a carnival ride.
The house was brimming with people -- laughing, drinking, talking, their eyes and teeth brightly radiant from the blacklight. Some of the partygoers glanced their way as they pushed past, several eyeing them with interest.
The trio made their way up the huge staircase winding around either side of the foyer. The second floor was crowded as well, and Joey led them down a long corridor, then through several large rooms stuffed with chairs and couches and people.
“I don’t get it,” Lu said to Joey, who was close beside her. “Why bother to hide your house if you’re just going to invite hundreds of people over?”
He glanced at her with a grin. “Look closely. Does anything seem odd to you about this party?”
She took a good look at the party guests. This was obviously a 1980’s theme party, given the way they were dressed. Other than that, nothing seemed unusual to her. “Not really. Everyone’s really embraced the 80’s costume theme, but besides that it just looks like any other party. What’s odd about it?”
“I’ll explain it to you later,” Joey said as he led them up a narrower staircase at the back of the building. The staircase ended in a small landing and a large wooden door, and Joey knocked and waited. The music still pulsed around them, though it was slightly muffled from here.
They waited a full minute and Joey raised his hand to knock again, when suddenly the door wasn’t there anymore. Lu drew in her breath sharply, and Joey took her elbow and guided her forward. They stepped into a massive bedroom, its walls a deep warm red, the furniture dark and tasteful.
A tall, thin boy of about nineteen was coming toward them, grinning broadly. He was dressed in light blue flannel pajamas with a repeating pattern of bacon and eggs on them, his feet bare and his dark hair sticking up at various angles. He had a slightly olive complexion and warm brown eyes, which were sparkling with excitement.
“Alastair Davies!” This person drew Alastair into a big hug, slapping his back. “What a wonderful surprise! Come in mate, come in!” His words were colored with a British accent quite similar to Alastair’s.
As they stepped inside the door reappeared behind them, cutting off all noise from downstairs. “Hi Bryn,” Joey smiled. “You’re missing a great party.”
“Ach yeah, but it’s been going on for six days,” Bryn said as he gave Joey a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then led the way to a seating arrangement clustered around a big marble fireplace. As if on cue, flames sprang to life in the hearth. “And I’ve got to sleep sometime,” Bryn continued. “I’m not as young as I used to be, you know.” He settled onto a velvet upholstered chair and crossed his legs.
Joey grinned. “I don’t believe it. The great and powerful Bryn Maddock, admitting he’s getting old.”
Bryn smiled at that. “Cheeky as ever I see, pet. Just see how you feel when you hit three hundred and thirty.”
His dark eyes slid over to Lu then, the smile still playing around his lips. She’d taken a seat across from the warlock, and Alastair was perched on the arm of her chair, a protective hand on her shoulder. Bryn addressed Alastair while never taking his eyes from Lu. “A human girl? That’s new.”
“We got chased out of her house by half a dozen werewolves,” Joey explained. “So she kinda had to come along. It was that or wind up as wolf chow.”
Lu started to introduce herself. “I’m L--”
“Luna Rae Harper. I know,” Bryn told her.
“How did you know that?” she gasped.
He shrugged. “That’s nothing. Strictly Warlock 101.” He did look slightly pleased with himself, however, as he returned his gaze to Alastair. “So what can I do for you, mate? I don’t dare flatter myself by thinking this is a social call.”
Joey was standing with his back to the fireplace, fingers interlaced before him. He said, “Alastair’s in a bit of trouble, Bryn.”
“And why is your pet speaking for you, Allie?” Bryn teased lightly, winking at Joey before sliding his gaze back to Alastair. “Cat got your tongue?” He shuddered dramatically then and said, “Ugh, bloody disgusting expression, that. I can’t believe I said it. I literally saw that once, and it’s not something I’ll soon forget.” He refocused then, turning his attention back to Alastair and asking cheerfully, “Anyway, you were saying? Or not saying, as the case may be?”
Alastair hesitated, glancing at Joey for reassurance. Joey nodded almost imperceptibly, and Bryn immediately picked up on the wordless exchange between the two. Despite his playful outward appearance, a sharp intelligence radiated in the warlock’s dark eyes, and he took in every detail of the people around him.
Finally Alastair said, “Something’s happened to me. My memory has been wiped away. I’m sorry to say I have no recollection of you, or of anything else beyond a couple days ago. But Joey tells me you’re to be trusted, so we’ve come to you for help.”
Bryn sat bolt upright, uncrossing his legs, staring intently at Alastair. His expression was dead serious, deeply concerned as he murmured, “How unusual.”
“Can you please take a look, Bryn, and see if you can tell what happened to him? For some reason I keep thinking his memory loss has to be the result of magic,” Joey said. “But then I’d always heard it’s impossible to bespell a vampire.”
“It’s not impossible. It’s just very, very difficult. In my lifetime I’ve never met anyone with enough power to do it,” Bryn said, his eyes never leaving Alastair. “And of course I’ll take a look. But I can’t have any distractions while I’m mucking around in his mind. Joey, take Luna and make yourselves comfortable in one of the guest suites. You know where they are.”
Alastair glanced at Joey again and the younger boy squeezed his shoulder, saying quietly, “You can trust him, Allie. It’ll be ok, bro.”
Alastair tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice as he said, “Alright.”
“Come on, Lu,” Joey said as he scooped up his backpack. Lu gave Alastair a quick, tight smile, then followed Joey through a door at the back of the bedroom.
As they stepped out into a long hallway, the door clicked shut and then disappeared entirely. Lu gasped and immediately lunged at the wall that had materialized behind her. Joey caught her easily around the waist and lifted her away from the wall. “No distractions, remember?” he told her before setting her down gingerly.
She stared at the spot where the door had been. “We shouldn’t have left him alone in there! He’s sealed in now, what if he needs our help?”
“It’ll be ok,” Joey said gently, taking hold of her upper arms and turning her toward him. “Bryn won’t hurt him.”
“How do you know that?” Lu demanded, knocking his hands off her arms.
“Because I trust him,” Joey said simply.
“Whatever that’s worth! I don’t even know if we can trust you.”
“I think you know you can.”
She shrugged at that, turning back to the solid wall, running her palm down its smooth, cool surface. It looked like standard drywall but felt like glass.
“Look,” he said softly, “I get it. You’re scared for Allie. But Bryn’s a good guy, let him try to help.”
She turned to look Joey in the eye. “Do you swear it’s going to be ok?”
Joey held her gaze. “I swear.”
Lu sighed and let herself relax a little. As she followed him down the quiet hallway she asked, “So are you going to tell me what the deal was with that party?”
Joey glanced at her with a little smile and said, “Actually, I think this day has been strange enough for you. I’ll tell you some other time, ok?”
“It’s that weird?”
“It’s that weird,” Joey confirmed.
Most of the doors along the winding hallway were shut. They took the first one that was open, stepping into a spacious room lavishly decorated in deep shades of purple.
Lu let the topic of the party drop as she kicked off her borrowed Converse and climbed up onto the huge four poster bed, leaning back against the headboard. Meanwhile, Joey sank onto a chair beside a big mahogany fireplace. The fire instantly sprang to life.
“Is that…” Lu stared at something framed and mounted above the mantel. “Is that a lead pipe above the fireplace?”
Joey grinned. “Yeah. That’s Bryn’s bizarre sense of humor. All his guest rooms are done in the colors of characters from Clue, the board game. We’re in the Professor Plum suite. The Mrs. Peacock room’s a trip.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. He only went as far as the color scheme and a few murder weapons scattered about. You’re not going to stumble across a dead body.”
“Thank God for that,” Lu muttered.
Joey allowed his eyelids to slide shut, resting his head against the upholstery. His face registered complete exhaustion as Lu watched him. But after just a minute he pushed it away, sitting up and opening his eyes.
Flashing his usual bright smile, he said, “You should get some rest.” He jumped to his feet. “I should go out and pa
trol, see if there are any baddies creeping around outside Bryn’s perimeter.”
“Please don’t,” Lu said quickly. Then she felt embarrassed, so she added, “What good are you to Alastair if you go out and get yourself killed?”
“Plus you don’t want to be left alone here,” he said gently.
“Yeah, maybe that too.” She hated to admit it, but it was the truth.
“Ok, I’ll stay,” Joey said. He kicked off his sneakers and playfully took a flying dive onto the mattress, making her bounce. “Ohhhh that was a mistake,” he groaned, doubling over.
“What’s wrong?” Lu asked.
He gritted his teeth for a moment, then exhaled slowly through pursed lips before turning to her with a smile and saying, “Nothing. I’m fine.”
“Liar. What’s wrong?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal then tell me,” Lu persisted.
Joey sighed and said, “Allie broke about five of my ribs when we were fighting, and it hurts like hell. Don’t tell him though, ok? He’d feel bad about it if he knew.”
“Oh my God! Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
He chuckled at that. “Not the best place for someone without a heartbeat. Besides, I heal fast, all vampires do. A couple days and I’ll be good as new. Even sooner if I get a chance to eat, since that speeds up the healing process. It really isn’t a big deal.” He stretched out on his good side across the foot of the bed, a short distance from her, and propped his head up with his hand. Then he grinned at her and said, “Thanks for the concern though, Moonbeam.”
She frowned at him. “Moonbeam?”
“Mmhmm.”
“And you got that where, exactly?”
He flashed a brilliant smile. “That’s what your name means, Luna Rae. Your parents totally named you Moonbeam.”
She rolled her eyes and smacked his arm.
“Ow!” Joey exclaimed as he rubbed his bicep.
“You’re such a wimp!” she said with a grin.
“I know, but don’t tell anybody. It totally shatters my image as a big tough vampire hunter,” he said, winking playfully.
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