around when he wants a quick
snack. Plus, a volunteer lasts a lot longer than someone who’s been
enthralled. Or so I’ve been told.”
We both looked at
Carl, who was shuffling his feet and lagging behind us, then
exchanged worried glances.
“All of this
vampire stuff is too complicated for words.” I was way out of my
league and tired of having to have everything explained to
me.
Peter raised his
eyebrows. “Shouldn’t you know more about it than me?”
He still thought
of me as a real vampire. Maybe a stupid one. I wasn’t interested in
filling him in, so I avoided the question.
“Anyway, do you
think she was telling the truth? About this Arthur vampire, I mean.
Is it him and will she tell him?”
“I reckon she
thinks it’s him, but whether she tells him or not... well, your
guess is as good as mine. Becca does what works for her, and she’s
careful. That’s why she’s still alive. She didn’t like you, by the
way.”
“Yeah, there’s a
lot of that going around. I had a feeling she knew about me, like
she was expecting me.”
Peter rubbed the
cross on his wrist as he considered this. “Maybe. There’s no
telling with her. She’s different when the poison is fresh in her
system.”
“And did you see
the way she looked at Carl?”
Peter nodded.
“Like he was dinner. She completely ignored him apart from that. I
suppose she’s used to entranced humans in her bar.”
I didn’t want to
see that woman down any dark alleyways, but I decided it was
something best left to myself. I was unwilling to let Peter know I
was a coward.
“By the way,
kinda pretty?” he said as we queued up at a taxi rank, raising his
eyebrows quizzically. It took me a minute to realise he was
referring to my description of Arthur.
“Oh, shut up. I
just meant he isn’t as wretched looking as most vamps I’ve
seen.”
I couldn’t get a
read from his expression, but I knew he had to be wondering about
me. It was pretty obvious I was something very different to the
creatures he was used to.
“So what next, we
come back after dark?” I said, changing the subject.
“Probably. You
can see if you recognise your witness. Who knows? Maybe he’ll
approach us first.”
We got a taxi
back to my place because it was well protected, although Peter
informed me that most of the charms and spells I had purchased were
junk made to rip people off.
“I’m not exactly
up on the latest witchcraft,” I told him, feeling defensive as he
tutted at yet another useless talisman.
“Where on earth
did you get all of this junk?”
“Online.” He gave
me a ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look. “Really,” I insisted. “I
buy and sell things online, that’s how I make money. Sometimes I
come across this kind of thing, and I keep it instead of selling it
on.”
“So what, you’re
a vamp who makes her living on eBay? Now I’ve seen
everything.”
I couldn’t help
blushing; I knew I made a pretty naff vampire. He wandered around
the flat, immediately picking out all of the hidden
talismans.
“How do you know
where they’re hidden?” I said, cross he was so comfortable in my
home when I was on the edge of my seat in his presence.
“That’s part of my job. Finding things.
God, this really is crap,” he
scorned, picking up an alleged ancient artefact. “I’ll have to
recommend a few merchants to you. Although I admit the stuff that
actually works is pretty good. Maybe Eddie would sell you a couple
of things.”
I fingered the
cross around my neck, possessive despite knowing it wasn’t mine to
keep. “I don’t know whether to trust him or not.”
“Me either. But
I’ve never known him to harm an innocent.”
“Guess I should
stay innocent then,” I said, before realising what it sounded like.
My face grew hot. Peter moved away from me, looking as awkward as I
felt, and continued his assessment of my protection spells. I was
technically borderline innocent, but he really didn’t need to know
that. The
snack. Plus, a volunteer lasts a lot longer than someone who’s been
enthralled. Or so I’ve been told.”
We both looked at
Carl, who was shuffling his feet and lagging behind us, then
exchanged worried glances.
“All of this
vampire stuff is too complicated for words.” I was way out of my
league and tired of having to have everything explained to
me.
Peter raised his
eyebrows. “Shouldn’t you know more about it than me?”
He still thought
of me as a real vampire. Maybe a stupid one. I wasn’t interested in
filling him in, so I avoided the question.
“Anyway, do you
think she was telling the truth? About this Arthur vampire, I mean.
Is it him and will she tell him?”
“I reckon she
thinks it’s him, but whether she tells him or not... well, your
guess is as good as mine. Becca does what works for her, and she’s
careful. That’s why she’s still alive. She didn’t like you, by the
way.”
“Yeah, there’s a
lot of that going around. I had a feeling she knew about me, like
she was expecting me.”
Peter rubbed the
cross on his wrist as he considered this. “Maybe. There’s no
telling with her. She’s different when the poison is fresh in her
system.”
“And did you see
the way she looked at Carl?”
Peter nodded.
“Like he was dinner. She completely ignored him apart from that. I
suppose she’s used to entranced humans in her bar.”
I didn’t want to
see that woman down any dark alleyways, but I decided it was
something best left to myself. I was unwilling to let Peter know I
was a coward.
“By the way,
kinda pretty?” he said as we queued up at a taxi rank, raising his
eyebrows quizzically. It took me a minute to realise he was
referring to my description of Arthur.
“Oh, shut up. I
just meant he isn’t as wretched looking as most vamps I’ve
seen.”
I couldn’t get a
read from his expression, but I knew he had to be wondering about
me. It was pretty obvious I was something very different to the
creatures he was used to.
“So what next, we
come back after dark?” I said, changing the subject.
“Probably. You
can see if you recognise your witness. Who knows? Maybe he’ll
approach us first.”
We got a taxi
back to my place because it was well protected, although Peter
informed me that most of the charms and spells I had purchased were
junk made to rip people off.
“I’m not exactly
up on the latest witchcraft,” I told him, feeling defensive as he
tutted at yet another useless talisman.
“Where on earth
did you get all of this junk?”
“Online.” He gave
me a ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look. “Really,” I insisted. “I
buy and sell things online, that’s how I make money. Sometimes I
come across this kind of thing, and I keep it instead of selling it
on.”
“So what, you’re
a vamp who makes her living on eBay? Now I’ve seen
everything.”
I couldn’t help
blushing; I knew I made a pretty naff vampire. He wandered around
the flat, immediately picking out all of the hidden
talismans.
“How do you know
where they’re hidden?” I said, cross he was so comfortable in my
home when I was on the edge of my seat in his presence.
“That’s part of my job. Finding things.
God, this really is crap,” he
scorned, picking up an alleged ancient artefact. “I’ll have to
recommend a few merchants to you. Although I admit the stuff that
actually works is pretty good. Maybe Eddie would sell you a couple
of things.”
I fingered the
cross around my neck, possessive despite knowing it wasn’t mine to
keep. “I don’t know whether to trust him or not.”
“Me either. But
I’ve never known him to harm an innocent.”
“Guess I should
stay innocent then,” I said, before realising what it sounded like.
My face grew hot. Peter moved away from me, looking as awkward as I
felt, and continued his assessment of my protection spells. I was
technically borderline innocent, but he really didn’t need to know
that. The
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