Poison and Potions: a Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by Erin Hayes

  Until now.

  I watched as she approached the vampire's table with their check. She laughed at something they said, and then did something incredibly stupid. She reached out and rested her hand on the tall one’s shoulder. He slowly looked up at her, a hungry predatory gaze. My blood turned cold. I'd seen that look many times before.

  Moira was in trouble.

  Chapter Two

  Moira kept her hand foolishly on the vampire's shoulder for another few seconds. Didn't she feel the danger? I could, even without my psychic abilities.

  She finally turned and walked away, the vampires eyeing her hungrily. I felt the tip of my stake up my sleeve, raw anger coursing through me. They had to die. No waiting for them to go back to their nest. I'd kill them both.

  Moira dropped my check on the table. "Are you going home after this?"

  The question caught me off balance. "I hadn't thought about it."

  "You need to," she insisted. "Just go straight home. Get some rest."

  "Um," I said stupidly because I really had no idea how to react to her telling me what to do. I had no intention of going home this early. I reached for my wallet in my back pocket, but she stopped me.

  "I paid for it," she said. "My treat seeing how you were having a bad day."

  "You paid for it?" I dropped my gaze to the check. "You didn't need to do that."

  "Sure I did. Get going and have a good night." Her eyes flashed to the vampire's table. They were still sitting there like they had nowhere to be.

  I was so confused. She was trying to get rid of me, but why?

  "Let me return the favor," I blurted, surprising myself, but as soon as I said the words, I knew they were right. I wanted to see more of this woman. "I want to take you to dinner."

  She cringed. "I don't date customers."

  "I won't eat here anymore."

  "I just got out of a relationship and—"

  "I don't want a relationship. Just a friend dinner."

  "I have lots of friends—"

  "You don't have me."

  She sighed and smiled, sunlight returning to her eyes. "Fine, but only if you promise you'll go straight home. I hear this storm is supposed to be bad tonight."

  She scribbled her number on the back of the check.

  "Why are you so concerned?" I asked, genuinely wanting to know.

  She frowned as if wondering the same thing. "You seem like a nice guy. So you'll do as I ask?"

  I searched her eyes, those beautiful blue orbs. "I may have to make a few turns on my way."

  "I'll take that as a yes." She turned to leave.

  "I'll call you," I said.

  She flashed me a smile that almost made me forget about the two human killing machines sitting not far away.

  After she disappeared into the kitchen, I came to my feet and dropped a twenty dollar bill onto the table for a tip. I exited the restaurant and crossed the street. I had already scouted out a place where I would be able to watch the vampires leave. It would be downwind from them so they wouldn't be able to smell me. And as long as I stayed a ways back and kept to the shadows, they wouldn't hear or see me either.

  I ducked inside an alleyway between a drug store and an old theater. There I hid behind a dumpster. The vampires came out a moment later and paused in front of the restaurant. The tall one glanced back through a window into where Emma could be seen cleaning off a table at the front. The other vampire, the one with shockingly white hair, nodded his head to something the tall one had said.

  Instead of walking down the street, they snuck around the corner just outside a coffee shop. They stayed out there all casual-like; one of them even lit a cigarette.

  I didn't like the feel of this. My psychic senses were on overload leaving a dull ache in the pit of my stomach. Something bad was coming. And it involved Moira. I could feel the tall vampire’s pull toward her. He didn't just want to drink her blood—he wanted to consume all of her in every deplorable way.

  Time passed slowly with both me and the vampires waiting for Moira to get off work. The open sign had shut off ten minutes ago. Any second now, she was going to step out into the darkness and not have a clue she was being stalked.

  A door opened. Moira appeared pulling the hood of her long jacket up over her head. Her brown hair had been pulled out of its ponytail and hung in long, auburn curls on each of her shoulders. She looked like Little Red Riding Hood on her way to granny's house.

  She walked down the empty sidewalk, two big bad wolfs falling in step behind her. And me, the woodcutter, tracked them from behind. I would kill them both.

  Moira turned a corner, her heels clicking along the sidewalk. It hadn't started raining yet, but by the way the air felt electrically charged, it was coming.

  I picked up my pace when the vampires disappeared from my view. I focused on my temporary connection with Moira. She was nervous about something, but not in a frightened way. More like the way someone feels just before a big game.

  The vampires appeared in my view again. They were getting closer to her. She seemed to be unaware of their presence, just as they seemed to be unaware of mine.

  She turned into an alley suddenly. Where was she going? There's no way she had an apartment down there. Maybe it was a short cut to an apartment building on the next block over.

  The two vampires followed after her. I focused in on the tall vampire sensing his feelings. He was excited. This waitress was the hottest thing he will have tasted since he was turned. And now she was right in front of him.

  I sprinted wishing I had been closer. Rounding the block and into the alley, I came to a stop at the sight in front of me.

  The vamps had cornered Moira. Her back was up against a wall.

  "Leave her alone," I called.

  The white-haired vampire whirled around and grinned, his eyeteeth elongating. "Two for the price of one."

  Moira shifted her head where she could see me between the vampires. "Charlie? What are you doing here? You said you were going home."

  "I didn't say I was going home, you said that."

  "Well you definitely implied it."

  "Shut up," the tall vampire said. "I don't like my food to speak."

  "Come over here," the white-haired vampire ordered me.

  "You come over hear if you want to snack on me," I said, hoping to draw them away from Moira.

  The tall vampire struck his hand out and clamped onto Moira's neck. "Get over here, or I will kill the girl."

  "All right. I'm coming. Just leave her alone." I carefully walked around the vampires and stood next to her. She was glaring at me and not at all interested in the bloodsuckers.

  "Why are you here?" she snapped.

  "To save you."

  "Ugh. I don't need you to save me. You are only going to get in the way."

  I looked at her incredulously. "Of them eating you?"

  "Don't be dramatic."

  "Both of you just shut up!" Tall Vamp snapped.

  The white-haired vampire nudged him. "Do you think we should take one of them to the Dark Prince?"

  This peaked my interest. "Dark Prince?"

  They ignored me.

  "Let's keep them for ourselves," Tall Vamp answered. "He will never know. Besides, I don't like how much he's controlling us."

  The other vampire nodded in agreement. "Then we'll kill them both."

  They slowly turned to face Moira and me, their eyes burning with hunger.

  I stepped toward them, putting Moira at my back, and withdrew the dagger from my sleeve. "The only deaths tonight will be yours."

  Chapter Three

  All at once several things happened. The tall vampire lunged for me at the same moment I jabbed my hand forward with the stake. But before we clashed together, a long sword slashed through the air severing the Tall Vamp's head. It lifted into the air and before it could hit the ground, the white-haired vampire’s head was also decapitated. They both thudded to the pavement sounding a lot like two dropped cantalou
pes. In the next moment, their bodies and heads crumbled and faded into a thick layer of dust and ash.

  I stared down at the heap completely shocked then slowly turned around to face Moira. She was wiping the edge of her blade against her long jacket.

  "What the hell was that?" I asked.

  "Pretty sure I just saved your ass," she said, and opened the side of her jacket where she sheathed her sword.

  "I didn't need to be saved! I had it under control."

  She walked past me, stepping on the pile of ash, and headed toward the alley opening. "You did need to be saved. From your chauvinistic ways."

  I rushed to catch up to her. "How was I supposed to know you could fight vampires? People don't even know they exist."

  "Well, I told you to leave."

  "And that makes you knowledgeable about vampires how?" I pressed.

  "Next time, just go home when someone tells you to. I don't need a vigilante on the street thinking they can fight monsters."

  I chuckled. "I'm hardly a vigilante."

  I glanced over at her as she strode confidently down the street, her face forward. I wondered if she feared anything. She looked back at me meeting my gaze as if I had said something wrong.

  "Can we start over?" I asked. "I think there's been a big misunderstanding, and I think once we know each other's truth, we may be able to help each other."

  "I don't need a sidekick."

  "And I won't be anyone's sidekick." I groaned and grabbed her arm. "Would you stop for a second? You've got this all wrong."

  She stopped moving and turned to face me. "Look, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing taking on vampires, but leave it to me. I've been doing this for over two years."

  I curled my fingers into fists. Why did she have to be so frustrating?

  She turned and walked away.

  "Why do you keep doing that?" I called after her. "We were having a conversation."

  She turned around but kept walking backwards. "You'll never understand me so don't even try."

  "Can I just show you something? And after you've seen it, I swear I'll leave you alone to fight the dark creatures of the night by yourself, if that is what you prefer."

  She stopped moving and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going back to your place."

  "I don't want you to. I promise, after you know what I know, I think you might change your mind about things, especially me." I chuckled again. I didn't have to be psychic to know this girl had some serious trust issues. I wonder what in her past could've made her so fearful of trusting others.

  Her expression darkened. "Fine, but I don't want you to ask me personal questions. My business is mine."

  I frowned. "Okaaaaay."

  I barely knew her, yet I always felt I was doing or saying the wrong thing even though I didn't think I was. "Can you meet me at 35 Center Street tomorrow morning at nine o'clock?"

  "I can, but I won't have much time."

  "I'll take what I can get," I said. "After tomorrow, you'll realize that I'm truly on your side and not just being some random dick with a hero complex."

  "I don't think you're being a dick. I think you're being careless, and I think you're cocky as hell. You couldn't have taken on those two vampires. They would've killed you before you could cry for help."

  I gave her a sly smile. "Just meet me tomorrow. Do you want me to walk you home?"

  "Do you want me to walk you home?" she countered, but she said it with a smile, the same smile I'd been drawn to back at the restaurant.

  I laughed. "Solo it is. Until tomorrow. Oh, and wear something comfortable."

  She walked away, waving her hand in acknowledgement.

  I focused on my psychic connection with her. She was frustrated, an emotion that seemed to frustrate her even more. She didn't seem concerned with the two vampires she'd just killed, which made me think she had done this many times before.

  When she disappeared around the corner, I turned the opposite direction and headed toward my car several blocks away. The whole way I thought about Moira and what I knew about her, which wasn't much. I wondered what in her life could've driven her to become a vampire hunter on her own. Very few people in the world believed in them, and those who did stayed clear. In fact, as far as I knew, only the Deific had an organized group of people who kept Supernaturals in check. Humans, too. Really anyone who threatened the balance between good and evil. Sometimes those lines were blurred, making it difficult to weed them out.

  This made me think of Eve, a witch I had rescued from being buried alive. She had been good at one point, but had become corrupted by those close to her. Those at the Deific thought she wasn't worth saving, but I had sensed good, as small as it was, when I had scouted her out almost a year ago. Six months ago, I had dropped her off in a small cabin far from civilization. It was up to her now to decide what kind of life she would live, just like it was for all of us. Something told me that it would take her several years to make that decision. Her life had not been an easy one.

  Just before I went to sleep that night, I reached out one more time to sense Moira. I didn't expect to find anything, as it had been several hours since I last touched her, so I was surprised when I still sensed her as strong as ever. I wasn't able to determine how she was feeling other than she was at peace. She was probably sleeping, and restfully too. Nothing she had heard or seen that night gave her any reason to be restless.

  The last thing I remembered before I drifted off to sleep, too, was the twinkle in her eyes and her beautiful smile. That night I had the best dreams.

  I arrived ten minutes early to the Deific to wait for Moira outside. I leaned against the outer wall, red bricks squished between two taller buildings. There was nothing special about the place and anyone who came here assumed it was an accounting agency, which it actually was. Much of our staff upstairs did accounting for all types of businesses. But the other floors were dedicated to the Deific.

  While I waited, I thought back to last night and the two vampires Moira had killed. Something had bothered me about it all night: the mention of someone the vamps had called the Dark Prince. At first that name started out like an annoying tune I couldn't get out of my head, but by morning, it was like I was having an allergic reaction to it and couldn't stop itching. That kind of side effect to my gift only happened with powerful premonitions. Whoever this guy was, he was bad news.

  The skin-tingling sensation had finally left me when I arrived at the Deific, only because I couldn't stop thinking about seeing Moira again. She was bringing something new to my life. I could feel it.

  It was five minutes after nine o'clock, and I was beginning to think Moira wasn't going to show up. That's when she stepped out of the shadows from across the street, and I was struck immediately with the impression that she had been there the whole time watching me. How early had she come?

  "You made it," I called to her as she crossed the street.

  "You peaked my curiosity," she said. She wore a light jacket over a tank top and running shorts. "Not much shocks me anymore so I had to see what this was all about."

  I opened the door for her and said as she passed by, "I think you will be surprised."

  We walked into the lobby and were greeted by two guards behind a long counter. They didn't say anything to us as we passed, but I noticed Moira eyeing them suspiciously.

  When we were in the elevator, she said, "What is this place?"

  "Part of it is an accounting agency. Pretty boring. But the other part of it is… have you ever heard of the Deific?"

  She groaned. "I knew it. This is some weird religious cult thing."

  I laughed. "Not even close. The Deific is an entity that helps keep the balance between the human world and the supernatural world. We have offices all over the world."

  She wrinkled her nose. "Supernaturals?"

  "You know, vampires, werewolves, witches, really anything other than a human. Although we have been known to reign humans back in when necessary,
too."

  The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor. This is where we trained and did attack simulations. Part of the gym was covered in special shock-absorbent floor mats, while the other half was dedicated to weapons training. The whole right wall was covered in guns, knives, bows, swords; pretty much any weapon you could imagine.

  I snuck a look at Moira as she walked around in open admiration.

  "This is impressive," she said. "So you guys train people to fight Supernaturals?"

  "We do."

  She glanced back at me. "Then you were telling the truth last night. You could've killed those two vampires?"

  "I'm fairly confident I could have."

  The corners of her mouth turned up. "Prove it."

  I smiled back at her. "Are you challenging me to a duel?"

  "If you can beat me, then I will give you my real phone number."

  My eyebrows lifted. "You gave me a fake?"

  She shrugged.

  "Oh that's cold. I've never been given a fake number before."

  "And I bet you've never lost to a girl before either?"

  "I haven't. And I'm not about to start now."

  She laughed as she walked to the center of a mat taking off her jacket. "What weapon do you want to use?"

  "You seem to be pretty good with that sword. Let's go with that. I could use some competition."

  She snorted. "You're going to get a lot more than that."

  I chose a blade similar in length to hers from off the wall. The grip felt good in my hand, solid and strong. It had been a couple of months since I had used one, as I preferred to kill vampires the old-fashioned way using a wooden stake. That also worked well with most other Supernaturals.