by E G Bateman
The sorcerer put one hand on Lexi. A metal marble appeared in his hand but disappeared in seconds.
Broullard entered, holding towels. He passed one to Scott and moved to Dick.
“You can pull that out.” The young man pointed at the letter opener.
The cop hesitated.
Dick gasped. “You’re looking a little pale there, my friend.”
He smirked. “We could be twins.”
The vampire grasped the opener and pulled it out himself. He slumped and Broullard pressed the towel on the wound.
Lexi closed her eyes as the pain faded in her stomach.
Chapter Forty-One
Betsy watched the young woman, who gazed at the ring. It sat under an upturned glass in the middle of the table. “Are you thinking of taking it for a spin?”
Lexi looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “Would you recommend it?”
The old woman sighed and pushed down a wave of nausea. “I don’t remember a thing about it. I think I’m quite happy about that.”
“I wonder if Amy will remember anything.” She looked curiously at the ring once more.
Betsy thought about what Amy had done to her young beau. “I hope not. Will you take the ring to the museum?” She opened the oven, removed the cookies, and put them down beside the other piles of cookies, brownies, and cupcakes that filled almost every surface in the apartment.
“We’ll get Joseph to exorcize the spirit first. That is a disaster waiting to happen—again. In the meantime, we’ll see where this leads us.” Lexi took the key from her vest pocket and put it on the table.
The old woman gave her a plate of cookies and patted her cheek before she walked out of the kitchen. “I hope you get your answers, dear.”
The door opened to admit Scott and Dick. The young man made a beeline for the cookies on the counter with Betsy behind him. When he reached out, she smacked his hand away. “These are for the detective.”
His shoulders slumped. “Again? Won’t you make any for me?”
The woman stepped closer to the counter but turned to face him. “Scott dear, I promise. Whenever I stab you, you’ll get cookies too.”
“Well, when will that be? Because I want a cookie.” He stepped closer to a tray.
“Sooner than you think if you steal one of the detective’s cookies.”
Scott continued to whine. “But he’s not even here.”
“He needed to see his wife. And maybe get away from me. But he’ll be back and when he is, he’ll have these waiting for him.” She looked at everything she’d made. Baking relaxed her and she dearly needed something to keep her busy.
Dick gazed at the stacks of baked goods. “Nothing says ‘Sorry I stabbed you’ like a double chocolate chip cookie.”
The sorcerer pointed at him. “You stabbed Dick. Why don’t you make him cookies and I’ll have them?”
The vampire pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t get her started again. She’s chased me around offering her neck for the last two hours. It’s positively indecent.”
Betsy twisted the corner of her apron. “I hate that you have the memory of me attacking you with a letter opener. I don’t know how you can bear to look at me.”
“And you think chasing me with your neck out will traumatize me less?” He rolled his eyes.
Lexi broke a cookie in half and ate it while she looked directly at Scott and made “mmmm” sounds.
A whine filled the air and the old woman looked at the puppy. “What’s wrong, Marcel?”
“That was Scott.” Lexi chuckled.
Betsy looked at him as he sighed pathetically over a pile of the delicious-smelling baked goods. “Fine. One. You may have one cookie because you didn’t let anyone die.”
He put an arm around her. “I know it’s been said before, but it wasn’t your fault. I healed Broullard, Lexi, and Dick within minutes and no one blames you.”
She plastered a big smile onto her face. “It’s kind of you to say that, Scott. Really, everyone, I’m fine.” She felt every one of her eighty years.
Dick lifted her chin. “It’s good to hear it. And I hope your dance card isn’t full because I plan to take you out tonight.”
“You’re very sweet, dear, but I think I’ve had as much excitement as I’ll ever need. I’m ready to see my son and go home.”
The vampire took her hand. “How about dinner, then?”
“Yes, dinner would be lovely. Somewhere quiet.”
“I want to point out that this”—Scott held the cookie up—“is the price Betsy put on me saving your lives. One cookie…between you. Remember that.”
The old woman snatched the cookie away. “And that’s why you can’t have nice things.”
Dick picked his jacket up. “Okay, we’ll see where the key leads, then I’d be delighted to escort you to dinner.”
Betsy waved goodbye as they left. The door closed and she allowed the smile to fade from her face. She looked around the apartment and sighed. It had been quite an adventure, except for stabbing everyone. After she checked on the tray of cookies in the oven, she walked to the balcony and looked out. It was dark, and mosquitos were becoming a pest. She drew the screen across the doors and looked at Marcel. He’d fallen asleep on the floor no more than two steps away from his dinner. She turned her head at a knock at the door, slipped the necklace below her neckline, and opened it.
The young man smiled. “Is William here?”
“I’m afraid you’ve just missed him. Are you Peter?”
He nodded shyly. “Yes, ma’am.”
She stepped back and opened the door a little wider. “Come in. How are you feeling now?”
“I’m…much better, thank you.” He took her hand quickly and kissed it. “I didn’t know William was hiding the most stunning woman in all creation here. He’s full of surprises.”
Betsy smiled at the pale young man, but that comment had seemed a little forward. “Well, thank you. Would you like to wait? I’m sure he’ll return soon. Can I get you a drink?”
Peter scratched his little goatee beard and glanced toward the table, then narrowed his eyes at the upturned glass over the ring. His face expressed puzzlement. He dragged his gaze back to her. “That’s very kind of you.” His head tilted toward the glass. “Hmm!”
“Excuse me, I have to check on my cookies.” She returned the oven and stooped to look through the oven door before she felt a chill as though the man stood incredibly close—directly behind her, perhaps—and her heart raced. At Marcel’s growl, she straightened and began to turn. The apartment door opened and her three friends entered.
“Don’t look at me. It’s your key. Why didn’t you pick it up?” Dick shook his head.
Betsy shook her head when she realized she was alone in the kitchen. “Peter?” She looked around in bewilderment. “Dick, your friend Peter is here.”
The vampire smiled. “He is? Peter?” There was no answer.
She stared at the swaying screen across the balcony doors. “I don’t understand. He was here. I spoke to him not three seconds before you opened that door.”
Marcel continued to growl, this time near the balcony.
Lexi and Dick shared a look.
“What did he look like?” the vampire asked
Betsy shrugged. “Handsome, pale. Long dark hair and one of those tiny little beards they wear these days.”
“Lorenzo,” Lexi and Dick said together.
Scott stood at the table and picked the key up for the locator spell. “Betsy, where’s the ring?”
They all spun to look at the glass in the middle of the table that no longer contained a possessed ring.
The young man put his hands on the back of a chair and stared at the glass. “This is bad.”
Lexi looked at Dick. “I’ll kill him.”
Chapter Forty-Two
“How is she?” Lexi glanced at the door as Dick entered.
He closed it behind him. “Lying down.”
Scott sna
tched a cookie. “Even with a thirty-two-year-old body, this will take its toll. I’ve recommended she keep the necklace on until she’s home.”
Dick narrowed his eyes. “I thought it was only a glamor.”
He sat on the arm of the couch. “Do you know the saying, you’re only as old as you feel?”
The vampire nodded. “I see. Well, we need to get her out of here. She’s not safe. I won’t risk her again.”
“I’ve messaged Dolores.” The sorcerer broke the cookie in half.
Lexi twirled the mystery key in her hand. “Right. We can’t simply sit here. Dick, do you have any idea where Lorenzo would go?”
“A few. But is it Lorenzo? Perhaps we should ask where Delphine would go.”
She dug her fingertips into her forehead and screwed her face up. “Shit.”
“We—” A thump at the door silenced Scott. He threw the cookie into his mouth but spat it into his hand immediately. “That’s horrible. It tastes like liver.”
“That pile of cookies was for Marcel.” She smirked.
“Marcel gets his own cookies?” He rolled his eyes.
Lexi drew her katana and went to look through the peephole. “It’s Broullard.” She opened the door.
The detective entered the apartment, his face rigid.
Scott’s shoulders slumped. “Another one?”
Broullard shook his head. “One? No. Six. I came straight here. They were found about fifteen minutes ago.”
The sorcerer made his way to the kitchen sink and washed his hands. “Who were the victims?”
“A group of tourists. They were in a courtyard behind a bar. The bodies are a mess.” The man stopped speaking and he stared as Scott scrubbed his tongue with his fingernails, then seemed to recover. “Yes, well. Their throats were ripped out and every one of them was found with the head facing the wrong way.”
Lexi decided it was time to break the news to him. “What color were they?”
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What? But you have the ring. It can’t be her. Anyway, it looked like a vamp attack to me.”
She pushed her chair in. “It’s Lorenzo. The vampire clan leader. He was here almost an hour ago and took the ring.”
Broullard’s jaw dropped. “Is everyone okay? Betsy?”
Dick, who stood at the window, turned to him. “She was here alone and she’s shaken up but unharmed.”
The detective exhaled sharply. “This is bad. But we know it’s Delphine we’re following, not Lorenzo. Her previous hosts seemed to mentally go to sleep. She didn’t appear to have access to their minds.”
“That’s usually how it works, but I’ve never heard of a vampire being possessed before.”
They turned to the door where Joseph stood. Lexi didn’t jump this time as she’d half-expected him.
The vampire nodded to him. “When I told Betsy I was going to visit Lorenzo, she told me to have a nice time. I thought she was trying to be funny. As Delphine, she wouldn’t have known Lorenzo had tried to have me killed.”
“How would Lorenzo have learned about the possessed ring?” Broullard asked,
He put his suit jacket on. “She said he looked at it almost straight away and thought at the time that he was simply puzzled. An upturned glass covering a ring in the middle of the table must have looked like an odd sight.”
Broullard nodded. “So, he was looking for it.”
Dick stood in front of the mirror and straightened his tie. “No. She was clear that his face showed surprise.”
Joseph leaned on his staff and nodded. “It called to him. That’s probably how Cora found it inside the couch.”
Lexi looked at everyone a little warily. “Has anyone else felt it call?”
“Evil calls to evil,” he explained,
Lexi looked from him to Dick. “Really? You didn’t feel a hankering to try it on?”
“Are you serious right now?” A slight hissing sound escaped from Dick’s fingers. “Ow!” When he removed his hand from his tie, he was wearing the silver lion’s head tie pin. He glanced at Joseph. “Old habits…”
Broullard looked puzzled. “If he wasn’t after the ring, why was he here?”
The vampire took a handkerchief out and wiped flakes of burned skin from the pin. “I think he was probably here to kill Betsy.”
Her jaw dropped. “After the warning I gave him?”
He nodded. “You told him I was off-limits. I’m sure he thinks my friends are still on the menu.”
She moved to the window. “We need to get out there and start looking.”
As the others readied themselves to leave, Broullard gazed around the room at all the cupcakes and cookies. “I hope they aren’t for me. She’s already given me three boxes full of them.”
“Pfft!” Scott muttered.
“Someone tell her I forgive her. She’ll give me diabetes.” The detective shook his head as they moved to the door.
Scott looked at Lexi. “I’ve shielded the apartments. We need to let Betsy know we’re going out but that she’ll be safe. Dolores should be along shortly.”
“I’ll tell her.” She went to the other apartment and immediately heard whispers. Someone was in the bedroom with their friend. Without hesitation, she ran through the apartment and burst through the bedroom door. Betsy and Dolores stared at her in surprise.
She put her hand on her chest. “God! I thought—” She blew a short burst of air out in relief. “I don’t know what I thought. We’re heading out after Lorenzo.”
Dolores smiled. “We’re good here.”
“Aren’t you going to Fae?” She was surprised.
“Betsy wants to be sure Dick’s safe before she leaves.”
Lexi nodded and headed out.
On the street, she asked, “Should we go to the mansion again?”
Joseph considered this. “There are other places she might also be drawn to. Do you know her previous home, detective? The antique store?”
Broullard nodded. “I know it. I’ve done the tour several times.”
Dick stepped beside him. “I’ll join you as you might need someone who can match Lorenzo’s speed.”
The cop glanced at his vehicle. “I’ll leave my car here, then. It’s only a couple of blocks and it’ll be easier for you to pick up a trail.”
The vampire stared at him. “I’m not a bloodhound.”
Broullard stuttered an apology.
“I’m kidding. Jeez, tough crowd.” Dick shook his head.
Lexi’s gaze slid to Joseph. “What will you do?”
“I’ll warn my people to stay off the streets.” He turned and walked away into the night.
Lexi, Scott, Dick, and Broullard walked together as far as Royal Street, then separated and proceeded in opposite directions.
The vampire and detective walked down the quiet dark street.
They fell silent when they approached the antique store and found the glass door shattered.
After a hasty glance at each other, Broullard drew his gun and nodded his readiness. They stepped in carefully.
Strange shadows were cast through the store from the streetlights outside.
Furniture was positioned in three sections to create two paths through to the back. They each took a side and crept through. The cop seemed to be trying to hide his jitters, although he responded with tiny jerks of his head to every creak.
“Detective Broullard,” Dick began in a conversational tone and made the man jump again. “I’m sorry, do you have a first name?”
“Charles.”
“Lovely to meet you, Charles. Do you think there’s any way you might regulate your heart rate? It’s deafening me.”
With a wry smile, Broullard stood and breathed with slow, measured breaths. “Can you smell anything?”
The vampire sniffed. “Beeswax, mothballs, and blood.”
“I think my grandmother wore a perfume like that.”
Broullard took another step and stumbled into a marble standing as
htray. He caught it quickly before it could fall, but the metal tray inside it rang loudly.
Dick looked at him and so didn’t notice when a fist swung out of the shadows and caught his head. He fell, stunned.
A second later, Lorenzo’s hand held the detective by the throat against an ornate cabinet. “I thought I already dealt with you.” The voice was unusually effeminate.
The assailant sniffed at Broullard and his teeth descended. He bit into his neck but pulled away immediately. His breath came heavily and he drew his head back as he breathed in and lowered it forward as he breathed out.
Lorenzo vomited pints of blood over his captive in several heaves. He dropped the man, who skidded away while he spat in disgust and wiped the blood from his face. The possessed vampire retched blood over the furniture and floor.
“Problem, madame?”
The crazed gaze darted to Dick. “William. Your life is still forfeit,” he said in a more masculine voice before he vanished.
Dick looked across the store. “Oh, dear God. Please, no.” He stumbled across the space, still dizzy from the blow.
Broullard stood from where he had half-cowered. “I’m okay, the blood’s not mine—”
“Not you, you idiot. This is a Louis XV gilt wood and Aubusson tapestry chair. That blood will never come out.”
The man stared at him with his mouth open.
He huffed and shook his head. “Come on, then.” When he reached the door, he turned. “On the bright side, Charles, if you die tonight, you’ll wake up again tomorrow night with Lorenzo and Delphine as your parents.”
Lexi and Scott entered the mansion, this time through the front door as it opened to allow a workman out. It was the middle of the night and the house was a hive of activity, mostly centered around the sewing room. They walked to the door of the room but didn’t enter. The blood-soaked bolts of cloth were gone, as was the carpet. A team of white-clad people removed the wallpaper and painted the ceiling.
A man who had been scrubbing the floor looked at them with curiosity on his face before he stood.