The Vampire Next Door (6 page)

The woman seemed appeased, paid her bill, and opened the door just as Sly looked like he was about to leave.

Morgaine hurried over. “Sly, come on in.”

“If you’re busy, it can wait.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The woman turned to Sly and whispered in his ear, “She’s good, but her appointments are booked too close together. If she rushes you at the end, ask for a break in the price.”

“Uh, thanks,” Sly said. He watched her go.

“What was that about?” Morgaine asked.

Sly strolled into her apartment and waited for her to close the door. “Apparently you give discounts if you kick someone out before they’re finished.”

She felt her cheeks heat. “Uh, well. There was really nothing…”

He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you had your reasons. I just hope it wasn’t because I was outside your door.”

She waved away his comment as if it was ridiculous. “Nah. I told her everything I had to say. Have a seat. Can I make you some tea?”

“No, I can’t. The incense smell in here is kind of overwhelming.”

“Oh! Sorry. It’s all part of the atmosphere. I can run a fan and open—”

“No need. I just wanted to ask you one question and tell you something else.”

Disappointed that he wasn’t planning to stay long, she sank down on her sofa. “Okay. What did you want to ask and tell me?”

“First I’ll tell you what I overheard. The super, Jules, is concerned with the increase in foot traffic. He knows you do readings from the apartment and seems concerned about the number of strangers coming and going.”

“How did you hear that?”

“I think he was talking to Merry on the phone. I couldn’t see him since I was downstairs in my apartment and he was upstairs in his.”

“Yikes. You’re vampiric hearing can pick up conversations right through the ceiling?”

“When it’s relatively quiet elsewhere.”

“I’m glad we have two floors between us. Especially when we’re on the phone sex line.”

Sly laughed. “That’s when I’d give my right arm to live next door.”

She had to giggle. Morgaine wished her psychic powers could tell her what Sly thought of her. He seemed to like her. Maybe he was interested, but he was too much of a gentleman to come right out and say so.

“There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

“Sure,” she said hopefully. “What is it?”

He seemed uncomfortable and hesitated a moment. “I’m not positive, and I’m going to be very embarrassed if I’m wrong, but it seems as if Gwyneth is trying seduce me. She came down to my apartment, smelling like expensive perfume and invited me to a Halloween party.”

Morgaine’s eyebrows shot up. “Halloween? Are you sure she said that?”

“Yes. I asked if she meant the solemn holiday I know Wiccans celebrate this time of year, but…”

Sly was still talking, but Morgaine was too angry to make out his words. Gwyneth, her scheming, coquettish cousin, who could have any man she wanted, wanted the only person Morgaine thought she might already be in love with.

Steam must have been pouring out her ears, because Sly had stopped talking and was watching her intently with his mouth slightly open.

“Are you all right, Morgaine?”

“I’ll talk to her,” she said.

“Maybe I should have done it myself, but I didn’t want to insult her. And I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea by coming up to her apartment. The truth is, I just don’t think of her that way.”

Did that mean he didn’t think of either of them “that way”? Morgaine’s heart crumpled, but she forced herself to calm down. “It’s okay. I understand. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to lose your friendship or make a fool of herself. I’ll let her know you won’t be coming to her
Halloween
party.”

*   *   *   *

“Oh boy, this is gonna be bad,”
Chad muttered.

Morgaine leaned against her door, opening and closing her fists. Before she left her apartment, she turned the radio up loud. “Chad, don’t you dare say one word to Gwyneth. This is our business, and I’m asking you nicely to stay out of it.”

“Thanks for asking nicely, but I don’t plan to warn her. What would I say? ‘Look out. Witch on the warpath’? Heck, no. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

Morgaine inhaled deeply and said, “Okay, Sly’s inside his apartment with the door closed now.” She threw open her door and marched across the hall.

Chad watched as Morgaine pounded on Gwyneth’s door. The decorated broom hanging on it jumped with each blow.
“Hey, see if you can knock that thing off. I hate it, and it’s still my apartment. I just let Gwyneth crash here so you two wouldn’t kill each other last summer. Obviously, that didn’t help.”

“Gwyneth! Open the door.”

Chad stuck his head through the oak door and saw a blasé Gwyneth putting a chilled bottle of white wine back into the refrigerator.

A few moments later, she sauntered to the front door of her apartment and opened it a few inches. “Why, Morgaine, what’s got y’all madder than a bottle full of bees?”

“You know damn well.”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t. Y’all are the powerful psychic. I’m just a student, green as a gourd, standing in the shadow of your greatness.”

Uh-oh. “Gwyneth, I wouldn’t shake that jar of bees if I were you.”

“Stay out of it, Chad,” they both said at once.

“Fine. Go ahead. Turn each other into toads. See if I care.”

Gwyneth said, “Using magic to harm another is considered black magic and boomerangs on the sender. I can’t turn her into a toad unless I want warts on my face.”

Morgaine pushed on the door. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”

Gwyneth wasn’t prepared for the hard shove and the door flew open, revealing two wine glasses and several lit candles around the apartment. Soft music was playing in the background.

“This might not be as bad as it looks, Morgaine. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Morgaine crossed her arms. “Are you expecting someone?”

Gwyneth turned her nose up in the air. “That’s none of your beeswax.”

“If you’re trying to seduce Sly, I have a news flash for you.”

Gwyneth shrugged one shoulder casually. “Oh?”

“Yeah, he’s on to you… and he doesn’t appreciate it.”

“I don’t see him up here tellin’ me to stop. I just see a jealous older woman about to have a stinkin’ fit.”

Morgaine said, “I know I can’t use magic to make my point, but…” She flew at her cousin and knocked her over. Gwyneth yelped and then grabbed Morgaine’s hair and gave it a hard tug.

Oh, man. I saw this coming, and I’m not even psychic.

Morgaine threw a couple of punches. Chad hadn’t known she had it in her.

“Come on, girls. Stop this. As Gwyneth would say, y’all are like two cats in a sack right now. Wait until you cool off.”

Gwyneth tried to connect with Morgaine’s face and missed. She tried again and missed again. It was as if her fist slid off an invisible barrier. Morgaine laughed and got up.

“I see you didn’t bother putting the protection spell I showed you in place.”

Gwyneth scrambled to her feet. “I’ll show you how worthwhile your protection spell is…” She grabbed a lamp and heaved it toward her cousin. Morgaine leaned back and the lamp missed her—barely. “You only protected yourself from people, not inanimate objects.”

Morgaine’s eyes and lips thinned, and she trembled as if she were about to erupt. She grabbed the base of the lamp that hadn’t shattered, and just as she was winding up for the pitch, Gwyneth’s image slowly faded into invisibility.

Morgaine’s mouth dropped open.

A door downstairs opened. Jules, the super, called up through the stairwell, “What’s going on up there?”

“Oh! Uh, it’s nothing, Mr. Vernon,” Morgaine called back.

“Just a little spat is all,” Gwyneth added—
from somewhere.

“Well, take it outside. I don’t want to have to replace the wallpaper or light fixtures.”

“Sorry, Mr. Vernon. I think it’s over now.” Morgaine glanced around the empty hallway.

“We’ll be quiet,” Gwyneth answered.

“Good,” Jules said, and slammed his door shut.

Morgaine crossed her arms and stared at Gwyneth’s open door. It didn’t move. Eventually, she whispered, “Where are you, Gwyneth?”

Gwyneth faded in. When she was fully formed, she stood there blowing on her fingernails with a smug look on her face.

“Where did…? How the…?” Morgaine, never at a loss for words before, just stared at her student cousin.

“Didn’t think I was as powerful as y’all, didja?” Gwyneth touched the red spot on her cheek where she’d been hit and winced.

“I, uh… I always knew you had it in you. We’re both hereditary witches from the same stock. I just didn’t think you were spending as much time studying as I was.”

“Well, guess what? I was.” Gwyneth swept a hand over her cheek, and the red spot disappeared. She smiled, looking quite satisfied with herself.

“You didn’t seem that interested.”

“And you didn’t seem to give me credit for all the hard work I did to catch up.”

“Okay, witchy chicks. This seems to have ended in a stalemate, so why don’t you shake hands and try to cool it for a while.”

“For once, Chad’s right,” Morgaine said.

“I agree.”

They shook hands and went back to their respective apartments.

“For once? What does that mean?”

Pungent evergreen shrubs outside the apartment windows scratched Vorigan’s face. Why couldn’t they have planted a nice, soft yew? But he needed the cover since the subject of his fascination could see and smell as acutely as he did. So he’d have to endure spruce needles up his nose.

Sly Flores sat in a rocking chair inside the apartment, reading in the dark. He had opened the window blinds fully, perhaps to take advantage of the streetlamps. Vampires needed very little light to see well, but complete darkness would make reading impossible for anyone.

Vorigan wondered how the vampire he’d turned twenty-six years ago had managed to elude him for so long. He’d caught whiffs of the guy’s scent from time to time and had tracked him like a wolf would track a rabbit. But his efforts had always led to dead ends.

Long ago, he’d spotted the handsome Latino walking with a pregnant woman along a quiet street in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He’d shadowed them until he was able to stop them in a secluded spot and ask for directions. As soon as he had their attention, he’d used his powers of mesmerism and led them to an even more secluded place inside a warehouse.

His mesmerism had held until he’d fed on the woman and she’d lost consciousness. For some reason, the handsome, virile male had snapped out of it at that point and begun begging for his wife and baby’s lives. The sheer strength of will that took made Vorigan realize this man was someone special. Perhaps someone who could become his equal lover sometime.

So, he had promised to help the guy by turning him. Vorigan had explained that becoming a vampire would give the man powers of speed and strength beyond his comprehension—enough to get his wife and unborn baby to the hospital in time to save them. No matter how the man had begged Vorigan to take her there himself, he had refused. Why should he care about them? The only human he was interested in at that moment was this fascinating, drop-dead gorgeous man.

At last, the male had allowed Vorigan to turn him in exchange for safe passage to the nearest hospital. And Vorigan had kept his word. He’d stayed out of the man’s way as he went through the change from life to death to undead. Vorigan had explained that the change would be swift if the guy didn’t fight it.

Despite the pain, the brave husband had gone through the transformation faster than Vorigan had thought he would or could. The man had lifted his pregnant wife and run so fast that Vorigan wasn’t sure he could keep up with him. But he did. Right up until the woman was taken from the emergency room up to the delivery-operating room.

Vorigan had planned to wait in the hospital lobby until morning if he had to. He had told the man that, as a vampire, he would fall asleep wherever he was when the sunrise began and had warned him to get to the lobby before that. Vorigan had said he would protect the fledgling vampire and teach him what he needed to know about his new life.
And Vorigan’s loneliness would be at an end.

Only something had gone wrong. Vorigan had waited until the very last minute, but no vampire had appeared. He barely got himself to ground in time. Then as soon as the sun went down, he took up his post again. No matter how vigilantly he watched the hospital over the next week, the new vampire never appeared. Vorigan hadn’t even learned his name! Somehow his protégé had given him the slip.

Now here he was—finally. He’d have to pay for leaving him like that. Oh, yes. He’d punish the guy, but only until he understood how much better his life would be if he kept Vorigan happy.

Things would be better than ever before. He’d introduce his protégé to the delights of the dark world. First, he’d help him discover his latent bisexual tendencies and hone them. It would be no use pretending he didn’t have them. All vampires did. At least, all the vampires Vorigan had ever known.

He stepped out of the bushes carefully and returned to the sidewalk. Now he had to find a way in. He surveyed the building and found the right side of the building on the second floor was lit. So, someone was home there. Both sides of the building’s third floor were lit. Best bet would be an apartment on that floor, so he strolled up the steps to study the buzzers.