Dark of Night

by Emily Goodwin

  “Me too.” Abby slowly shakes her head. “She cried for a good twenty minutes when we got here. She’s a fussy little thing when she’s afraid of missing out.”

  “Did she finally cry herself to sleep?” I take off my shoes and hang my purse on the decorative post at the bottom of the stairs.

  “No, actually. Binx brought her this, and it calmed her down.” Abby holds up a stuffed black cat. The sight of it startles me. “I didn’t know you still had it.”

  “And I didn’t know you’d still remember it.”

  “I gave this to you for your tenth birthday when you were…you were…”

  “I know,” I finish and walk through the small foyer and into the living room. My house is a century old Italianate farmhouse. I’ve invested a lot in restoring it over the years, and while it’s on the small side, it suits me well, and I’m quite proud of it.

  “I haven’t laid eyes on it in years. It’s been in my closet, and I’ve never been able to bring myself to get rid of it.” I sit on the couch next to Abby and look at the stuffed cat, not sure if I want to touch it or not. The feel of the soft fake fur, worn off in some parts, might take me back, and after the dream I had last night, there’s only so much I can take before I break.

  “It kind of looks like him.” Abby moves her gaze from the stuffed cat to Binx, who’s lounging in the love seat across from us.

  “I think it’s part of why he picked that form.”

  “Form?” Abby questions.

  “You know Binx isn’t really a cat, right?”

  “Yeah, you said that, but I don’t really understand.” She sets the stuffed cat on the coffee table.

  “He’s a spirit.”

  “Like a ghost?”

  I shake my head. “Not at all. He was never a person.”

  “And your other cats?”

  “Familiars too.” Binx slinks off the love seat and comes over to me, lazily jumping into my lap. “They’ve been with me for a few years now. We’re all one big family.” I run my hand over Binx’s head, and he starts to loudly purr.

  “Are you going back to Chicago tonight?” Abby asks.

  “No, Lucas is coming here. He’ll be here around sunset.”

  “So you go back and forth between here and Chicago?”

  “Yeah,” I say and wrinkle my nose. “It kinda sucks, but it’s what we have to do. I have the store here, and Lucas has vampire business in the city.”

  “You’re really not scared of them at all?”

  “I’m aware vampires are faster and stronger than humans. I can be caught off guard just like anyone, and even another human can pose a threat to me. I mean, I’m not bulletproof. But I’m far from defenseless. Lucas will never hurt me, and if another vampire even tried to touch me, Lucas would rip them to shreds.”

  “You really love him, don’t you?”

  “I do.” I can’t help but smile. “He knows who I am and not only accepts it but likes it. He was human at one point, you know, and all those qualities you like in a man are still there.”

  “It’s weird to think about them as human,” Abby admits. “I feel bad saying that because you’re right. They were human, and maybe not all of them wanted to become a vampire.”

  “I don’t think Lucas did. He hasn’t spoken much about his human life, but I get the feeling he was turned against his will.”

  Abby readjusts Penny in her arms. “You said he was sixteen-hundred?”

  “And then some.”

  She slowly shakes her head. “So, he was born in the 300s. Man, that’s crazy.”

  “It is. I never thought I’d fall for someone like him, but I did. And he makes me really happy.”

  “I’m glad.” She reaches over and pats my hand, smiling. I don’t need the power of telepathy to know what she’s thinking.

  Yeah, I’m happy now, but how is this going to end?

  He’s a vampire.

  I’m human.

  He won’t age.

  I’ll get old.

  He’ll live forever.

  I’ll die.

  We love each other, but is love enough?

  Chapter 6

  I slow, gravel crunching under my feet, and stretch my arms up over my head. Sweat rolls down my back, and I’m dying for a cool shower.

  “Anything?” I ask Binx, looking over at his shadowy figure. He accompanied me on another run, and we went the same way we did the other day when I swear I felt the Ley line buzzing with an influx of energy.

  “Nothing unusual,” he says.

  Exhaling and swatting away mosquitoes, we start back down the road. The sun is getting lower in the sky, which means Lucas will be arriving soon. I’m tired and want to eat dinner, watch mindless reality TV, and crash in bed together.

  But Lucas is just starting his day.

  Being on opposite schedules is hard enough, but adding the hour of travel it usually takes to get to each other’s houses makes it even harder. It would be different if I lived in Chicago with him and we got to spend time together during the day. Granted, we’d be confined to the house, but just being together would be so fucking nice.

  “What’s going on here?” I ask Binx after we make it another mile down the road. A silver Lexus pulls into the newly cleared driveway to the big white abandoned house, followed by a large black van. A woman is driving the Lexus, and I think it’s Natalie Daniels, a realtor here in Thorne Hill.

  My heart sinks even though I had a pretty good idea someone was interested in the property when I saw the driveway being cleared. The house sits on twelve acres, which is a lot for one residence to have, but not really enough to develop into a subdivision. I think. I hope. I can’t handle that many people living around me.

  One, because I just don’t want them around me. And two, it’s in everyone’s best interest not to live close to me. If I hear about plans to cram a bunch of houses on the property, well, I’ll just say I’m not against using my powers to make anyone who shows up to work think the property is extremely haunted.

  I slow to a walk when I get to my driveway, wiping sweat off my forehead. Binx shadows past me into the house, going right for something to eat. I stretch for a few minutes and then head inside, getting into the shower. My mind goes back to the white house, and part of me regrets not using magic to acquire it when I was in the market for a house to buy.

  Money spells never work out in the long run, and doing a spell to get the bank to sell this place to me for a thousand bucks would only get me so far. I’m not the kind of witch who will cheat or scam the workers needed to put that place back in order.

  Oh well. I can’t dwell over it. Not when there are much bigger things to worry about.

  “Starting without me?”

  I jump, almost slipping and falling in the shower. “Seven Devils, Lucas!” I pull back the shower curtain and glare at him. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

  He chuckles. “I thought you were witch enough to sense me.”

  “I’m plenty witch enough,” I snap and close the shower curtain, moving back into the water to rinse the conditioner out of my hair. “I have half a dozen protection spells on the house to keep the unwanted away. And three familiars who would eat you for breakfast. Wait no, dinner. Or is the phrase breakfast? You get the point.”

  He just laughs again. “Are you almost done, or should I help you get the hard to reach places?”

  “Almost done. Sorry to disappoint.”

  “I’m not disappointed. We’ll be showering again later after I’ve thoroughly fucked you.”

  “I don’t know how you can be so revolting and yet romantic at the same time.”

  “It’s a gift.”

  I run my hands through my hair, feeling for any remaining conditioner. I give myself one good rinse and then shut off the water.

  “You are beautiful,” Lucas says, admiring my naked body as soon as I step out of the shower and reach for my towel. “I might have to fuck you now.” He draws his fangs and rushes over, taki
ng me in his arms. My wet hair drips all over his shirt. Pressing his forehead to mine, he closes his eyes and gently cups my face in his large hands.

  “You’re so warm,” he says quietly, almost as if he’s talking out loud to himself.

  “I like hot showers.”

  “I know.”

  “I like them better when they’re with you.”

  He smiles. “Now we’ll have to find a reason to get dirty tonight. Have any more bodies to bury?”

  “God, no,” I laugh. “Why, do you?”

  “Not today.”

  “Good.”

  We go into my bedroom, and Lucas lounges on the bed with one of my romance novels while I get dressed. The heat of the day is hanging onto the night, so I put on a short black skirt and a red crop top.

  “Did you want to go out tonight?” I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed while I towel dry my hair.

  “If that is what you would like, then yes. Are you wanting to get something to eat?”

  I nod and trade my towel for my brush. “I’m in the mood for some comfort food. I don’t know if you saw, but I think someone bought my haunted mansion down the road.”

  “They haven’t signed all the paperwork yet. There’s still time to back out,” Lucas says, not looking up from the dark romance in his hands.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I told the bank I wouldn’t finalize the purchase unless you approved of the house. It’s in poor condition.”

  I freeze, brush getting stuck in a tangle in my hair. “What?”

  “The house isn’t beyond repair, but it’s deteriorated rapidly over the last few years.”

  I heard everything he just said, but I still can’t process it. “What?” I repeat.

  “I’m buying you the house, Callie.”

  “What?” Apparently, I only know one word tonight. I blink, shake my head, and don’t know if I should laugh, run to Lucas and thank him, or tell him I can’t accept something as big as a house.

  “A house…but that’s…that’s…in poor condition,” I stammer. “I…I can’t afford to fix it up.”

  “I can,” he says casually, as if offering to buy me my dream house and then pay to restore it is no big deal. Setting the book down, he reaches for me and tugs me onto the bed with him. I yank the brush free from my tangled locks and fall against him. “I’ve had a long time to acquire my wealth. And I’ve had a long time to realize that money alone doesn’t make you happy.”

  “Money can’t buy happiness, right?”

  “I suppose. But if buying you that house makes you happy, then it is buying me happiness.”

  “I’ve dreamed about living in it for years. But I just…I never…” I’m stammering again, still not sure how to process everything. “It’s a lot of money.”

  “Which I have. I’m not trying to brag or impress you, because I know material wealth isn’t something you find impressive to begin with. But I can buy that house and pay for restorations. What’s the point of having all this money if I can’t spend it on the one I love?”

  “But it’s not like you’re buying me a fancy purse. You’re buying a house. A house. And then funding the restoration. That’s not going to be cheap.”

  “I know. I already had a contractor take a look at it to make sure it was structurally sound enough for you to walk in.”

  “It’s just…just so much.”

  “It’s not without a selfish reason,” he goes on, running his hand over my arm. “I don’t like the distance between us. Renovating that house allows me to make adjustments, ones necessary for me to live there.”

  My heart flutters again. He wants to move in together? Already? Suddenly, I’m dizzy, head spinning and heart racing. The logical part of my brain screams at me to tell him no way José, we can’t buy a house together. Only, it’s not together since he’s the one buying it.

  Then again, I don’t see a reason not to do it. I love him. He loves me. And I was just mentally complaining to myself about how much I hate being away from him when our time is limited to the night.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll come look at it with me.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes.”

  I turn my head up, looking into his deep blue eyes. “Yes.”

  He smiles before kissing me. “Good. We can go as soon as you’re ready.”

  “Just let me brush my hair.” I move out of his arms and grab the brush, quickly raking it through my hair. “Give me five minutes.” Lucas watches me as I scramble to brush out my hair and then use magic to braid it. Then I put on a pair of socks and my favorite boots.

  “Did you want to get something to eat first?” Lucas asks.

  “I’m too excited to eat,” I tell him with a smile. “I haven’t been in the house in years.”

  “You’ll be back in a few minutes now.”

  I tell my familiars where we’re going and take Lucas’s hand. He drove the black Mercedes tonight. We get in and drive down the road, getting to the house in two minutes.

  “Oh wow, they put lights up everywhere.” I unbuckle my seat belt, staring wide-eyed at the mansion. It’s bigger than I remember and looks sad, like it’s begging for someone to move in and bring it back to life.

  “They think we need them to see,” he chuckles. Lucas can see in the dark and one energy ball puts off a ton of light.

  “We should humor them, then.” He puts the car in park and shuts off the engine. “So they don’t know you’re a vampire?”

  “They didn’t ask, and I didn’t say.”

  “But it’s night.”

  “I’m coming from work in Chicago and this is the soonest I could get here.”

  “Ah, makes sense. I’m sure they’re pretty desperate to sell this place too.”

  We get out of car, and Lucas takes my hand. The real estate agent, who is Natalie Daniels, by the way, is standing on the porch, looking down at her phone.

  “She’s scared,” Lucas whispers. “I can sense her fear.”

  “The house has a certain energy to it,” I whisper back. “It’s a little chaotic and probably has something to do with the family plot I accidentally brought back to life.”

  “Humans can’t sense that, though.”

  “No, but the energy makes them uneasy. It’s like a natural defense mechanism that drives them away from anything supernatural.”

  Lucas nods, and Natalie looks up, relief on her face when she sees me. “Callie Martin, right?” She extends her hand to shake. “You own that cute little bookstore called Novel Grounds downtown, right?”

  “Right.”

  “That’s what I thought. I’ve been meaning to stop in and grab Erin Rylie’s latest book.”

  “We have it, and it’s good. I read it in one sitting.”

  “Oh, now I really need to stop in and get it. I have it on my e-reader, but I just prefer the feel of a book in my hand, which I’m sure you do too, owning a bookstore and all,” she laughs.

  “For sure.”

  She smiles and then looks at Lucas, extending her hand for him to shake. His hands are cold, but she doesn’t seem to notice, or at least suspect him to be a vampire.

  “I have to say, I was surprised when the bank called and asked me to show this house,” Natalie starts, turning and moving toward the front door. The covered front porch is amazing, though the floorboards under my feet feel like they might give out at any moment.

  “I’ve had my eye on it since I’ve moved to Thorne Hill,” I admit, running my eyes along the porch to the front door. Only it’s not one door, but two, and my pulse bounds, imaging stepping into the grand foyer beyond those double doors.

  “Oh, you’re buying it?” Natalie asks, and I know she’s wondering how the hell I could afford this place.

  “We are,” Lucas says, giving my hand a little squeeze. “I’m always on the lookout for a new investment, and Callie has good taste.”

  Natalie nods, turns on her phone
flashlight and pushes open one of the doors. I’m practically salivating by the time I step into the foyer.

  “Wow,” I whisper to myself. It’s even grander than I imagined. The foyer is two stories tall, with a sweeping, grand staircase several yards ahead. I can already see myself dramatically running down the steps, silky robe fluttering behind me.

  “It was quite impressive at one point in time.” Natalie steps around one of the spotlights, shining her flashlight down on the floor, which is littered with crushed beer cans and other garbage. “It’s a shame it got this bad.”

  “It is bad,” Lucas agrees, looking around the large foyer. There are rooms on either side, and I know from the last time I was here that one is a sitting room and the other was most recently used as a fancy dining room, with the original chandelier still in place. It’s broken and rusty, but at least it’s there.

  “This will look so pretty at Christmas.” I point to the banister. “I can see the garland and lights. And there’s enough room in the foyer alone for a twelve-foot tree.”

  Lucas cocks an eyebrow. “You’re thinking about Christmas?”

  “Of course! How are you not?” I joke, though I’m not sure if Christmas was a thing back in Lucas’s human days. Vampires aren’t big on human holidays.

  “I see it.” Natalie turns, shining her flashlight on the stairs. “It would be very impressive.” We slowly move into the house, going into a hall off the foyer. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of the history of the house,” Natalie starts. “It was built in 1888 by Doctor Frederick Jones. He was one of the first surgeons in the area and sometimes saw patients in this house.”

  “There you go.” Lucas elbows me. “If you’re lucky, we’ll run into the spirits of tortured patients in the basement.”

  I stifle a laugh, and Natalie shifts her gaze from Lucas to me, hoping he’s only joking. She takes a few steps forward, holding up her phone for light. The house is way too big to have lights put in every room. Extension cords run along the floor, and another bright spotlight shines up ahead of us.

  “The house stayed in the Jones family for a hundred years, but by then the family had fallen behind on taxes and were in a lot of money trouble. The house went to auction and has had a slew of owners since then.”