“Bodies?” He took a closer look without jumping in.
“Yeah.” She highlighted both skulls with her flashlight.
“Any ID on the other one?”
“He’s entangled with Stonewell. I better not check just yet.”
“Vampire bites?”
Annie cringed at the thought. She bent closer to the top man and pulled the collar of his shirt away from the blackening skin. Two holes crusted in blood were still visible.
“Vampire bite!” she called out. She searched his face, his hands. “There’s no pooling of blood from what I can tell in this light,” she announced.
“She drained him.” Spencer watched the trail of light as Annie examined the two bodies.
“So he came to get her from the grave. He planned to have her turned.” Spencer surmised.
“If it’s him, that would be my interpretation,” Annie said thoughtfully.
“Okay. Shrink them. We need to keep moving.” Spencer summoned a body bag and lay it along the side of the hole.
Voices carried through the empty clearing.
“Annie, what’s the holdup? We need to go.” Spencer urged.
She reached inside and, with several waves of her palms, floated the bodies. They were intermingled where their stomachs had been eaten through in the natural course of decomposition. She grimaced as gravity did its best to pull them apart, as her magic waned in her weakened state.
“What’s taking so long?” Spencer asked.
“It’s a little messy,” she said.
“Time to go!”
“Where are Phillipe and Marcus?”
“I don’t know. Just hurry up!” Spencer said.
“Freeze them.” She gritted her teeth as the bodies landed beside the grave. She stretched out for the bloody coffin lining and yanked out a section, shoving it inside her pocket. After lowering the lid on the coffin, she teleported out of the hole.
Voices grew louder.
“Where the hell are they?” Spencer questioned.
With another flick of Annie’s wrist, dirt re-emerged and filled the hole, leaving it as it had been when they arrived.
The voices went silent. Two sets of footsteps approached.
“We don’t have much time,” Phillipe said through heavy breaths. “What did you find?”
“Finish first, answer later!” Spencer kept close watch on the flashlights that hung frozen on the path to the clearing.
Annie shrunk the body bag and grabbed it.
“It’s not her.”
Hurried voices broke the silence of the forest as flashlights resumed roaming along the trees.
“We need to go now.” Spencer reached around Annie’s waist, twisted, and teleported them inside the trees, to their original landing location.
“Crap,” Annie groaned as she slipped in a muddy pile and reached for a tree branch. Behind them, two bodies replaced the air, which sizzled upon their return. They all ducked low as flashlights lit up the forest above their heads.
The security team ran through the clearing, separating to investigate each side.
“They notice something,” Spencer said. He glanced through his binoculars but it was too dark to see anything but the thin beams of light that examined the grave.
Annie lay on the damp ground. Mud, leaves and twigs stuck to her clothing, her jacket, and her hair. She held her breath as Spencer crouched down beside her. Within feet of their hiding spot, Phillipe and Marcus hid behind a dead tree trunk. Though Annie didn’t understand German, she could tell from the security guard’s voice that he was issuing frantic orders.
A light roamed the branches above them. She held her breath.
Apparently seeing nothing, the security team moved on, still searching the trees for the intruders. When they were out of earshot, Annie asked, “What do they think?”
“They think someone messed with the dirt. It was smoother than normal. The person at the other end thinks it was the gardeners,” Marcus said.
Within minutes, the clearing was quiet and calm. Spencer helped Annie from the ground.
“Damn. We need to get these bodies back to Wizard Hall. You’re starting to stink,” Spencer said.
“Or are you taking them from us?” Annie asked Marcus.
“No. No you are right. This is a continuation of your case. You must see it through. Not to mention, Guenther would be happy if he never heard from you again.”
“I think we can arrange that. If there’s nothing else, we should be going,” Annie said.
“So who do you think the bodies are?” Phillipe asked.
“Cyril Stonewell, a wizard who worked at the hall, went missing eight months ago. We think it might be him,” she said, not wanting to give away more information than necessary.
“How is he related to this?” Phillipe asked. His eyes returned to scanning the darkness.
“Our guess is that he knew she was turned. Why and how we’ll have to investigate, though,” Annie responded. She didn’t want to give them more information than necessary. At least not yet.
“Well, that was an adrenaline rush, to say the least,” Marcus said. “It was nice meeting you Annie and Spencer. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask.” After shaking Annie’s and Spencer’s hands, Marcus and Phillipe teleported from the forest.
“You okay?” Spencer asked.
“Stop asking.”
“Fine. That wasn’t as bad as I expected,” Spencer quipped. Annie glanced at him. Had he been able to see her face in the darkness, he would have seen her roll her eyes. He wrapped his arms around Annie to begin teleportation. “So you’re sure neither body was Amelie’s?”
“Jack told me she was dressed in green satin, and we know she had long blonde hair. This second body… I didn’t get a good look at the victim. But from what I did see, it didn’t look like Amelie. I didn’t recognize him at all,” Annie surmised.
“Well, we have a picture of the princess and a coffin that doesn’t have her remains. I’ll connect the dots and jump to the conclusion that Amelie is a vampire. How do you want to play it? Go home and wait for the autopsy, or carry them with us to France? They really smell.”
Annie sighed. “Let’s get the bodies home and come back. We can’t wait for the results. We have to find her.”
“Then that’s the plan,” Spencer said and teleported them home.
*
In the early evening, Annie and Spencer deposited the bodies in the morgue at Wizard Hall. The night security officer, Samuel Hawkins, took them to the morgue, where they lay the bodies on the first table for processing.
“I’ll call Perkins and let him know,” Annie offered.
Perkins Abernathy, the jovial lab manager, picked up the call right away and listened as Annie explained the situation. “I’ll meet you in the morgue now,” he advised.
“It can wait until morning. Either way, we have to chase Amelie. Just let us know what you need us to do with the body and we’ll do it,” Annie promised.
“If it’s who you think it is, I need to do this now. I’m on my way.” Perkins hung up and arrived within fifteen minutes.
“So what have we got?” he asked as he grabbed a lab coat from a hook beside the door.
The enlarged body bag lay draped across the first table. Perkins unzipped the heavy plastic and stared inside, then glanced at Annie and Spencer and back to the bodies. “There are two bodies,” he said with an air of confusion in his voice.
“Yeah. We have no idea who the second one is.” Annie tossed the wallet on the second table. “That was in a pocket in the cloak.”
“Stonewell’s?”
“Yes.” Spencer said.
Gently they removed the bodies from the bag, placing the intermingled victims on a second table. Perkins bent low and stared at the decomposition near the stomach.
“What were the conditions you found them in?” Perkins asked.
Annie described the hole, cool and relatively dry. She noted the o
pen casket.
“That explains the bugs eating his hand here.” He lifted the hand belonging to the man they assumed was Stonewell. “The rest of the body seems to be decomposing at a somewhat typical rate and fashion. He’s been missing how long?” Perkins examined Stonewell’s neck. “These track marks are consistent with other vampire bites.”
“Stonewell’s been gone eight months,” Annie said.
He looked at Stonewell’s face and hands. “He was found like this, face down?”
“Yes.”
Perkins adjusted the light above the table and bent close to the bodies. He grimaced slightly; the stench was stronger now than it had been when Annie removed the bodies from the coffin. He summoned the flashlight, examining the skin. “There’s no signs that blood had pooled beneath him,” he noted.
“It looks like she drained him,” Annie agreed. She walked around the table to get a closer look at the other body, which she assumed was a man. She donned gloves and pulled a scarf from around his neck. “Vampire tracks,” she said. “He was found lying on his back.” She pulled his shirt away and examined his back. “Blood didn’t pool here either.”
“So where we should have one princess, we have two men. Both appeared to be drained of their blood. That’s a lot for one vampire, isn’t it?” Perkins pointed out.
“We figure she awoke in the coffin as a vampire. She might not have been fed right away. She could have been hungry,” Spencer offered.
“I will do my best to determine time of death. But that would make sense. If she was in there for any length of time, she didn’t get her first feed. Two dead might quench that first thirst.” Perkins fiddled with the lights, opened the cabinet door to his right, and pulled out a kit of supplies.
“This is what I’ll do. I will run DNA tests. We should be able to ID Stonewell if this is him. The other man…” he stopped for a moment. “This other victim almost looks like a squatter, like he had been living on the street. His clothes are worn and dirty. Lying in the coffin wouldn’t have caused that wear. He might be harder to ID,” Perkins guessed. “Do you need an ID before you chase the princess?”
“No. We’re fairly certain neither body is hers. We’ll head back out in the morning,” Annie advised.
“So why would Stonewell end up in the grave of princess, unless he knew she was a vampire? What do you think he wanted with her?” Perkins asked as he began to remove the cloak from Stonewell’s shoulders.
“Presumably it has to do with the overthrow of the government,” Annie thought aloud.
“If Plan A didn’t work, he’d use her for Plan B,” Spencer added.
“He should have come up with a Plan C,” Perkins surmised as he lay the cloak on the next table.
“It’s for the best he didn’t,” Spencer quipped. He glanced at his phone and looked at Annie.
“It’s midnight now. Let me get you home.” I’ll see you again, say 6:00 a.m.?” Spencer asked.
“Yeah. Thanks Perkins,” Annie said as she and Spencer left lab for a brief respite.
Chapter 6
Spencer landed Annie on her back porch. She held on to him and let the wave of nausea pass.
“I can stay and help you,” he offered.
The soft glow of the back porch light was just blinding enough. She glanced inside the house. “No. It’s fine. It looks like Janie’s still here. Go home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
A chilly breeze blew across the deck, Spencer remained until Annie was safely inside. She waved once and closed the door, slipping off her jacket and shoes before making her way to the den.
Janie lay asleep on the sofa, the television on low as to not disturb Cham or his mother, both of whom lay comfortably in rooms upstairs.
Annie sat on the couch and touched Janie’s hand. The movement startled her, and she jumped as her eyes flew open.
“Sorry. How is he?” Annie asked. By the time she and Spencer had returned from Amborix and met Perkins at the morgue, it was well past midnight. She glanced at her phone. She’d be leaving again in six hours.
Janie rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. “Okay. Marina’s in the guest room. I stayed in case they needed anything. Dave will come back tomorrow if you’ll be gone. What happened?”
“It’s most likely not Amelie in the coffin,” Annie said as she fell into the couch. She grimaced. In that moment, she realized just how stiff her arm had become.
“You have to go back then?” Janie asked as she pulled herself from the sofa and headed to the kitchen. Annie heard cabinet doors and drawers squeak open and closed. Janie ran the faucet.
Annie’s eyes closed and fluttered open as Janie’s footsteps rubbed against the den carpet.
“We’re leaving at six in the morning. I have to catch the vampire.” Annie reached for the water and gulped it. It didn’t flow easily, felt as though it was stuck in her raw throat. Gingerly, she reached for what looked like a peanut butter sandwich and took a bite.
“Is there anything I can do?” Janie sighed and pulled stray hairs from Annie’s face.
“Nothing yet. We have to ask France for permission to investigate.” No longer hungry, she placed the remaining half a sandwich on the plate and leaned against the high back of the chaise lounge in the corner of the couch.
“I thought I heard voices,” Marina Chamsky said as she entered the den. All of five feet tall, she was nonetheless as menacing as a mother hen could be where her children were concerned. She sat beside Annie. “How are you feeling?” She gently touched Annie’s cheek.
“Tired. A little sore. But I’m fine,” Annie said. She glanced at Janie over Marina’s shoulder.
“Bobby’s asleep. He tires easily. Janie’s been a big help, though I keep saying she should go home and rest.”
Janie sniggered quietly behind Marina. “I’ll stay until morning. Just in case. Annie’s got to get up early and go back.”
“You really shouldn’t, Annie dear. You look so tired,” Marina said gently.
“I’m fine. I’m good. You go and relax. I’m going sit for just a little longer, and then I’m going to sleep,” Annie told her.
“You work too hard.” Marina kissed Annie’s cheek and headed upstairs.
When they heard the footsteps on the stairs, Janie said, “She’s awfully protective, and yet she’s in her element.”
Annie shrugged and closed her eyes. “Cham’s okay?” she murmured.
“Yeah. He’s ready to work, I think. But Marina won’t let him.” Janie chuckled. “And you need to sleep in bed. Come on.” Janie gently led Annie from the den to the back hallway and up the stairs. Annie felt at peace in the darkness as she entered her room. The sleeping body lay covered in her white duvet. She longed to join him in blissful sleep.
Janie helped remove her shirt and pants, replacing them with comfortable pajamas. Annie didn’t mind being led, being guided. At this moment all she wanted was her bed and a few hours of deep sleep.
With Janie back downstairs, Annie lay on her back and felt the warm hand of Cham reach for her.
“It’s not her, is it?” Cham asked. He rolled on his side and kissed her cheek.
“No. I’m leaving at six in the morning to find Sturtagaard,” Annie told him and yawned deeply. It put pressure on her shoulder.
“I’ll petition to return to work. I wish I could help you.” He touched her cheek.
Annie’s eyes fluttered closed and open again.
“Not too soon,” she whispered, feeling fuzzy with sleep.
“Says you,” he teased and lay back down, his fingers intertwined with hers.
The blanket pulled up around her chin, Annie felt the heaviness of exhaustion overtake her. She fell into a dead sleep.
*
Though it was still dark as night, Annie felt a gentle touch against her good shoulder, rousing her from sleep.
“Wha?” she said groggily, emerging from her dreamlike state.
“You’re leaving in thirty minutes.”
�
�That was a short night,” Annie groaned. Cold air nipped at her nose, and the floor beneath her feet felt chilled. “The heat feels off.”
“We’ll look at it. We need to get you going,” Janie said.
She trudged to the bathroom, blinded by the light and reached inside the shower to turn on the faucet. With no time to wait, she stepped in when the water was merely warm and shivered as the strong flow pounded her skin.
By the time the water warmed, she was fully awake. She soaped herself, letting the bubble slide down her legs and whirl into the drain.
Finally, clean and wide awake, she dressed quickly, shoving her field pack into the clean pants. She glanced into the mirror, grimaced at the dark circles, pulled her hair in a bun and followed the smell of breakfast wafting up to her.
A breakfast sandwich waited for her, hot and ready.
“You’re amazing,” Annie told Janie and took a bite. “Thanks.”
“Just get back soon. He misses you. I miss you,” Janie said, offering a weary smile.
As the clock turned six, Spencer appeared, ready and waiting for Annie.
She hugged Janie quickly and stepped into the cold, dark morning, greatly aware she might not be returning home any time soon.
*
Thanks to Lial Peng, Annie and Spencer had a teleportation location near the center of town in an alley seldom seen by tourists—and Annie doubted by the locals either.
The alley was cluttered with boxes, dirty rags, and an old tire. Annie groaned, sidestepped a pile of boxes, and followed Spencer to the curve of the road.
“You good?” Spencer asked as Annie pulled away.
“Yeah. Just a lot of energy to teleport,” she said, though he knew that already.
Spencer glanced up, looked for cameras, and saw none.
The storefronts and office spaces down the street were empty, abandoned. Some had garage-door-like contraptions covering the doors and windows, keeping unwanted vagrants or vandals from destroying the aged properties.
Great locations for vampires to hide.
“I don’t see any cameras. It looks like we’re alone,” Spencer announced. He summoned his map of Paris, atomie bean, and crystal to scry for the vampire
Wizard War Page 6