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Authors: David VanDyke, Drew VanDyke
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couldn’t. You’ve got to have a morbid sense of humor as a werewolf, otherwise you’d be crying all the time. So, to take all the sting out, I kissed him.
We turned back to see how the scene was playing out, and I noticed Con Shelby, in his usual suit, hat and walking stick, stepping up behind the agitated street preacher. Hey, I didn’t really blame him for being agitated, what with a big white daemon dog appearing to bite him.
Anyway, I got that itchy feeling in my sinuses just as Shelby tried some kind of fang magic on the guy. I said “tried” because whatever it was, he botched it miserably, or at least it failed.
Worse than failed, it seemed to backfire. The man spun around and pointed with his Bible like a gun, yelling, “I see you, Spawn of Satan! I feel your presence! Get thee back to thy grave and stay there!”
I’d thought this guy was all talk, but when Shelby reeled back and had to be caught by several members of the watching crowd, I knew something more was going on. Whatever mojo he had, it was enough to take a vampire off guard.
Shelby staggered to his feet and straightened his lapels, giving the man a shrewd, though not particularly angry, glare. “I’m no more familiar with the grave than you, Mister Willoughby, and I’ll trouble you to cease your assaults upon my person.”
I wondered how Shelby knew his name. Maybe magic, maybe he’d just seen the man around before.
Willoughby said, “So it is always with the evil ones, attacking first and then claiming offense when they are defeated by righteousness.”
The guy had a point. Con Shelby had tried his magic first, and I was enjoying him getting the best of the vampire, really. Jackson insisted Shelby was a necessary evil – okay, he said necessary part – of the supernatural order, but I still didn’t like him. Maybe a bit of discomfiture and comeuppance would teach the fang some humility, which was something he could dearly use. Even a lion could get gored by a wildebeest now and then.
Shelby raised his voice. “Let he who has never sinned cast the first stone.”
“I cast only the second stone. Get thee behind me, Satan.”
The crowd was growing. If Shelby wanted to de-escalate, he was going about it the wrong way. He seemed to realize that, so he saved what face he could by tipping his hat, turning on his heel and striding off.
I saw Elle talking on her cell phone, and it wasn’t more than a minute before two bicycle cops showed up and got Willoughby to leave, first on the basis that he was on private property and the First Amendment didn’t apply, and secondly that he was creating a public nuisance. It’s nice to be part of the government at times like these, but the whole thing still made me uncomfortable. People should have a right to protest, even if we didn’t like what they said. But it was out of my hands. Whatever the cops told him, he eventually packed up and left.
With the crowd dispersing, Will started kissing me again, and okay, I kissed back. It looked like it was going to be an athletic night for both of us. That was one thing about Will’s new status that I had to adjust to – boundless energy in bed. And I mean boundless. Good thing I was a were-girl, or I’d never have been able to keep up.
A cough brought us back to ourselves as we realized that the SUV had pulled up beside us, and Elle and JR were grinning out the window. Amber just looked annoyed. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a high-visibility position in the local government. No PDA in front of the unwashed masses.
“So, what did you think of cruising Main Street?” Elle asked JR as we buckled up and headed for home.
“I think it’s cool. It’s just like American Graffiti, only not in ancient times,” JR pronounced with the pompous gravity only a child can muster, to which the whole car erupted in laughter.
From the mouths of babes, I thought, and though I was still a bit miffed at Will’s lack of control, I
We turned back to see how the scene was playing out, and I noticed Con Shelby, in his usual suit, hat and walking stick, stepping up behind the agitated street preacher. Hey, I didn’t really blame him for being agitated, what with a big white daemon dog appearing to bite him.
Anyway, I got that itchy feeling in my sinuses just as Shelby tried some kind of fang magic on the guy. I said “tried” because whatever it was, he botched it miserably, or at least it failed.
Worse than failed, it seemed to backfire. The man spun around and pointed with his Bible like a gun, yelling, “I see you, Spawn of Satan! I feel your presence! Get thee back to thy grave and stay there!”
I’d thought this guy was all talk, but when Shelby reeled back and had to be caught by several members of the watching crowd, I knew something more was going on. Whatever mojo he had, it was enough to take a vampire off guard.
Shelby staggered to his feet and straightened his lapels, giving the man a shrewd, though not particularly angry, glare. “I’m no more familiar with the grave than you, Mister Willoughby, and I’ll trouble you to cease your assaults upon my person.”
I wondered how Shelby knew his name. Maybe magic, maybe he’d just seen the man around before.
Willoughby said, “So it is always with the evil ones, attacking first and then claiming offense when they are defeated by righteousness.”
The guy had a point. Con Shelby had tried his magic first, and I was enjoying him getting the best of the vampire, really. Jackson insisted Shelby was a necessary evil – okay, he said necessary part – of the supernatural order, but I still didn’t like him. Maybe a bit of discomfiture and comeuppance would teach the fang some humility, which was something he could dearly use. Even a lion could get gored by a wildebeest now and then.
Shelby raised his voice. “Let he who has never sinned cast the first stone.”
“I cast only the second stone. Get thee behind me, Satan.”
The crowd was growing. If Shelby wanted to de-escalate, he was going about it the wrong way. He seemed to realize that, so he saved what face he could by tipping his hat, turning on his heel and striding off.
I saw Elle talking on her cell phone, and it wasn’t more than a minute before two bicycle cops showed up and got Willoughby to leave, first on the basis that he was on private property and the First Amendment didn’t apply, and secondly that he was creating a public nuisance. It’s nice to be part of the government at times like these, but the whole thing still made me uncomfortable. People should have a right to protest, even if we didn’t like what they said. But it was out of my hands. Whatever the cops told him, he eventually packed up and left.
With the crowd dispersing, Will started kissing me again, and okay, I kissed back. It looked like it was going to be an athletic night for both of us. That was one thing about Will’s new status that I had to adjust to – boundless energy in bed. And I mean boundless. Good thing I was a were-girl, or I’d never have been able to keep up.
A cough brought us back to ourselves as we realized that the SUV had pulled up beside us, and Elle and JR were grinning out the window. Amber just looked annoyed. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a high-visibility position in the local government. No PDA in front of the unwashed masses.
“So, what did you think of cruising Main Street?” Elle asked JR as we buckled up and headed for home.
“I think it’s cool. It’s just like American Graffiti, only not in ancient times,” JR pronounced with the pompous gravity only a child can muster, to which the whole car erupted in laughter.
From the mouths of babes, I thought, and though I was still a bit miffed at Will’s lack of control, I
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