Vampires and Vanishings

by Lily Webb

  “Not so fast,” he said and flung the stake across the room where it bounced off the wall and thudded to the ground. He reared his head back to extend his fangs to their full length and lunged for my jugular — but howled in pain when they broke off against my skin. Wailing, he clutched his broken, bleeding fangs with one hand, and my body vibrated and tickled with energy as I pried myself from his grip. The necklace Heath had given me had done its job.

  Using the only thing I had, I turned and rammed the jagged point of my broken wand into Christian’s chest and stepped back as he fell shrieking to his knees. A moment later, he was ash.

  With my chest heaving, I ran across the room to pick up the stake and darted around the staircase. I didn’t have a clue where the basement was in the mansion, but I had to get there fast and I didn’t have time to wait for my reinforcements to back me up. The security guards had all probably rushed outside to help fight off the gargoyles and fairies, but at any moment one of them could find me and it would all be over.

  “Think, Zoe, think,” I berated myself as I ran lost down a carpeted hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. I kept the stake clutched tightly in my hand, ready to swing it. Finally, I pushed through a swinging door into what seemed like the kitchen for the mansion, which was as large as an entire house.

  I had to be close. The kitchen would need access to the cellar to store food and supplies, so it couldn’t be far away. I darted around stainless steel tables and machinery, weaving my way to the back of the room and another swinging door. Using the window carved into it, I checked to make sure there weren’t any surprises waiting for me on the other side.

  There weren’t, so I burst through the door into another hallway that sloped downward and seemed to head underground. My heart hammered; this had to be it. I tore down the hallway and came to a set of stone stairs that descended into complete darkness. If this really was where Julien and Christian had been keeping their captives, and if they’d really turned into vampires, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to go down alone, but I didn’t have a choice.

  Dragging one hand along the wall to keep myself steady, I took the stairs one at a time. Sweat on my palm made gripping the stake difficult, and after just a few stairs I couldn’t even see my hand out in front of me. I kept going, slowly and cautiously, until finally my foot reached out and found solid ground.

  I stood blinking in the blinding darkness, trying to force my eyes to adjust, when I heard a rustling from across the room. Instantly, my body seized and I raised the stake.

  “Who’s there?” someone hissed. “Please, lemme go, I swear I ain’t done nothin’ to deserve this,” they whimpered and my heart soared as I realized who it was.

  “Grandma!” I shouted.

  “Zoe? Oh my Lord, is that really you? You’ve gotta get me outta here, Sugar, they’re doin’ awful, terrible things—”

  “Stay where you are. I’ll come to you. Where are Dawn and Blaine?”

  “They’re asleep, but I don’t think they’re well.”

  “I can’t see anything. Keep talking. I’ll follow the sound of your voice.” I reached blindly for the wall and used it to walk the length of the room.

  “I just wanna go home, Zoe. I don’t ever wanna see magic stuff ever again,” Grandma sobbed, and it stabbed my heart.

  “I know, it’s gonna be okay. I’ll get you out of here, I promise.” I took another few steps and something shuffled in the darkness in front of me. The next thing I knew, Grandma had thrown her arms around me and was bawling into my shoulder. I hugged her back, determined to never let go again. It was difficult to tell because of the darkness, but she seemed fine and delightfully warm to the touch — the vampires hadn’t turned her yet.

  “Oh my God, it’s you, it’s really you. We have to go before they wake up,” Grandma said.

  “What happens when they wake up?”

  “They’re gonna be hungry and I don’t wanna be here to see what that looks like when they ain’t got another vampire to feed ‘em,” Grandma said. I shuddered and took her hand in mine. Together, we slowly worked our way back across the room and up the stairs into the hallway.

  “Zoe? Zoe?!” a voice shouted from somewhere far away. It was Heath.

  “I’m back here! I found them, I have my grandma with me,” I shouted back. The pounding of footsteps echoed throughout the hall and seconds later Heath burst through the door from the kitchen, relief flooding his face at the sight of us. “Dawn and Blaine are down in the cellar, but the vampires turned them, Heath. They’re dangerous.”

  Heath nodded and ordered a pair of gargoyles I didn’t recognize to deal with them. They dashed down the stairs, their evolved eyes unaffected by the darkness. “Let’s get you both home. We’ll take things from here.”

  “Hold on to me tightly, Gram. This is gonna be weird.”

  Heath pointed his wand at us. “Evanesco!” he shouted, and the world twisted in a pinwheel of color and sound as Grandma and I warped out of the mansion and landed back in my office.

  As Luna stirred to life on my desk, Grandma flung her arms around me and melted. I’d never been happier to hug her in my life.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The following Monday, I once more took my place in one of thirteen high-backed chairs on a raised dais in Moon Grove’s town hall.

  Though they were still adjusting to their new lives as vampires and hadn’t yet officially returned to work, Dawn and Blaine joined us for the meeting. It would take everyone — council members, family members, and citizens alike — a long time to get used to the undead sitting on the Council, but in my eyes they were the same people. Nothing had really changed.

  Heath sat down beside me, beaming out at the crowd of people that had flooded the town hall’s main chamber. I figured that once word spread about Dawn and Blaine, it would draw all kinds of people to gawk at them, but I’d underestimated the curiosity of Moon Grove because it seemed like everyone was there to peep. Or maybe they’d come because they’d heard about the big change we were about to make.

  Heath cleared his throat and held the tip of his wand to it. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” he said and the chamber silenced instantaneously. “Thank you all for coming. This will be a short gathering as there’s nothing to vote on or debate, but we wanted to do it in front of you all.” Whispers rippled through the crowd as heads turned. “Before we move on to that, however, the Head Witch would like to share some news with you.” He nodded to me and I rose from my chair, feeling every pair of eyes in the room searing into me.

  “Hello, everyone. As I’m sure many of you have heard by now, last week there were a series of major incidents. Luckily, we tracked down and brought back my colleagues, Councilwoman Bloodworth and Councilman Rathmore, but as you can see, they’ve changed.” I let my words sink in. “But here in Moon Grove, we pride ourselves on being able to live together despite all our differences, so I’d like to encourage you all to lean into that spirit.”

  No one said anything; they hung on my every word. I locked eyes with Mitch in the front row, sitting in one of two seats designated for reporters from the Moon Grove Messenger. Marcel sat on his right, but I couldn’t see the vampire’s face because he was too busy snapping pictures of me. I hesitated, and Mitch cleared his throat loudly, encouraging me to go on.

  “We’d like to tell you what happened so there’s no room left for rumors or speculation. Christian Beaumont, a reporter hired by the Moon Grove Messenger to replace me after my election, worked with President Julien Delroy to abduct my colleagues and turn them into vampires as part of a plan to expand vampire representation on the Council.”

  Gasps tore through the room, but I marched on. “As shocking as this is, we’ve realized that it would never have happened if representation weren’t already an issue. So, the Head Warlock and I have exercised our executive power to expand Moon Grove’s Council to twenty-six members. This will allow for the existing thirteen-member Council to remain while also provid
ing room for two representatives from each of the major paranormal communities to join us.”

  The excited chatter of the attendees bounced off the walls buzzed throughout the chamber like bees in their hive, and I turned to Heath, who rose to join me. He scanned the remaining council members. “As a gesture of goodwill, and in the interest of equality, I’d like to ask each of you to raise your hands if you support this measure. If you don’t, we won’t enact it.”

  All eleven hands of the council members rose in unison and Heath beamed. “Well, then that’s that.” He reached for his gavel on the table in front of him and knocked it against the surface three times. “I hereby make it law. In the coming weeks, deliberate among your communities about those you’d like to represent you. One month from today we’ll hold a election to select candidates, and one month after that we’ll hold another so you can choose the winners. We recognize that this is long overdue, but we’re proud to make this change.”

  The chamber burst into applause. I’d never seen the citizens of Moon Grove in such agreement before, and it was a sight to behold. Though I had my doubts about this measure tamping down all the chaos in town, I couldn’t deny that it would go a long way to making things better for many people. Hopefully, it would also curb any further political schemes from dissatisfied citizens.

  “That’s all we have for today. We look forward to navigating this challenging time of change with you all,” Heath said, ending the meeting. Streams of people from all walks of paranormal life poured out of the chamber onto the front lawn, and I turned to find Heath beaming at me.

  “I couldn’t have done any of this without you,” he said.

  “Really? Because that’s how I feel about you.”

  “I guess that means we make good partners.”

  I looked over his shoulder to find Dawn and Blaine getting up to leave. Regan met them at the foot of the dais, though it seemed like it took all he had to look them in their changed eyes. In some ways, I felt a lot of sympathy for Regan. I couldn’t imagine having my life upended that way, but somehow, I had confidence that the three of them would work through it together. After all, they were good friends before all this happened, and that’s what friends did.

  Hands gripped my shoulders, and I turned to find Grandma smiling with Flora standing behind her. Grandma pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. “I’m so proud of you, Sugar.”

  I blushed. “Oh, come on, it’s nothing. What are you doing up here, Flora?” I asked and she exchanged a knowing look with Grandma.

  “There’s something that your grandmother and I need to talk to you about, Zoe. Can we go to your office?”

  I didn’t like the sound of it, but I couldn’t say no, so I nodded and led them off the dais and down the hall. Once safely inside, they both seemed to relax a little. I sat at my desk and Luna trotted in from Grandma’s portion of the office to jump up into my lap.

  “Hey, girl,” Flora said and scratched Luna’s head. “I miss having you around.”

  “Wow, what does that make me, a dirty old broom?” I asked, scowling at Flora.

  She giggled and shook her head. “No, don’t be silly. I miss you too, but I get to see you more often than I do Luna.”

  “Oh my goodness, Flora, have you seen the latest episode of Nine Lives to Live? This final season is making me crazy,” Luna said, but I shooed her away.

  “You too can catch up on soap operas later, we’ve got bigger things to talk about. What’s going on?”

  Grandma shuffled from foot to foot, unable to look me in the eye. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, Sugar, and I dunno how else to put it, so I’ll just say it: I’m leavin’ Moon Grove.”

  The air rushed out of my lungs as if something had punctured them. “What? Where you gonna go, back to the farm?”

  Grandma looked to Flora for guidance. She fluttered down on the edge of my desk and took one of my hands in hers.

  “Listen, Zoe. What happened here recently has clarified that as long as Eleanor stays in Moon Grove, she’ll always be a target for your enemies, political or otherwise. It isn’t safe here for her, but it’s also not safe to send her home.”

  “What are you saying? Where else could she go?”

  “I’ve arranged with the FBI to enroll her in the witches’ protection program,” Flora said, and I yanked my hand away from her to laugh.

  “You’re joking, right? This is all a prank you two cooked up, isn’t it?”

  Grandma stepped around the desk and wrapped her arms around me. I breathed in her familiar, earthy scent and reached up to hold her in place. This couldn’t be real; it couldn’t be happening.

  “Now, now, don’t go gettin’ all sentimental on me. I don’t wanna do this any more than you do, but I ain’t cut out for this place and you know it as well as I do,” Grandma said. “Besides, this might be a good thing. You can focus on whippin’ this town into shape, and I can go on a lil’ adventure of my own. I’ve always wanted to travel but I ain’t never had the money.”

  “I’m confused. How does this work? You just bounce around the globe?”

  “More or less,” Flora said. “We’ve already created a new identity for her, and the plan is to send her to another community, at least temporarily, until things are safe here for her to come back.”

  “But you will come back, won’t you?” I asked, staring into Grandma’s watery eyes.

  She nodded. “Of course I will. I’m like a bad rash, Sugar, you ain’t gettin’ rid of me.”

  “You’re the one rash I never want to cure.” I turned to Flora. “Where are you sending her?”

  Flora grimaced and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. If you knew, it would compromise the move because someone could use the info to exploit you.”

  “Wow, okay. This is all so sudden, when did you throw this together?”

  “It was my idea,” Grandma said. “After gettin’ nabbed, I went to Heath and asked for help. I wanted to go back to the farm, but he didn’t think it was a good idea. He told me he would talk to the authorities and get back to me, and well, here we are.”

  “When do you leave? Like, how soon is this happening?”

  Grandma strengthened her hug. “Later today,” she said into my shoulder, and I felt like I might float away. Still, as much as I didn’t like the idea, I had to admit it sounded like they’d thought it through — and it didn’t sound like there was any way I could talk her out of it.

  “What about your magic studies? Are you just going to let them fall by the wayside?”

  “I think you might’ve missed what’s going on here. They ain’t sendin’ me home; they’re sending me to another magical community.”

  “And she isn’t going alone. I can’t tell you who, obviously, but some of my colleagues will go with her to make sure she’s safe, and she’ll continue to learn magic while she’s there from some powerful witches and warlocks that we handpicked,” Flora said.

  “Look at the bright side, at least this way you’ll have the house all to yourself. Think about it, you could have Beau over as much as you wanted, maybe even have him stay the night,” Grandma said as she poked me in the ribs. It was small consolation for losing her, but she had a point. “Where is he, anyway? I’d like to say goodbye before I leave.”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him today. Given his dad’s connection to Julien, though, I can’t say I’m surprised he didn’t come. I probably wouldn’t have if I were him either,” I said. Truthfully, I hadn’t seen or heard from Beau since the night I’d had dinner with him and his parents, but it wasn’t like I had time between chasing down missing council members and getting locked up in the town hall overnight.

  Someone knocked on the door and I nodded to Flora to let them in. Now that we’d put an end to Christian and Julien’s reign of terror, I didn’t have to be scared about opening my door anymore.

  “Well, speak of the golden retrievers,” Grandma laughed. As if they’d heard us talking abo
ut them, Beau and Sam stood in the doorway, each of them looking uncomfortable.

  “Hey, Zoe,” Beau said without looking at me. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Yeah, come on in,” I said and the office quickly ran out of space as it gained two more occupants. “You don’t mind if Flora and Grandma stick around for this, do you?” I asked and Beau shook his head.

  “No, that’s fine, the more people who hear this, the better,” he said. He turned to his father, who cleared his throat.

  “Zoe, I owe you and the rest the Council a major apology. Trust me, if I had known what Julien was doing, I would never have given him a second of airtime,” Sam said with his hands in his pockets. While I appreciated the apology, it wasn’t necessary. I didn’t believe for a second that Sam or any of his family would willingly help carry out an awful operation like the one Julien had.

  “It’s okay, I understand. Vampires can be seductive, and it’s easy sometimes when you’re caught up in the heat of bringing about change to overlook things,” I said. “I’m just as guilty as you are with a blindness for Christian, so you and I are on the same broom here.”

  Sam looked up at me with tears in his eyes. “Really? You aren’t angry?”

  “What do I have to be angry about? Everything turned out pretty well, all things considered. We stopped the vampires, and though Dawn and Blaine have to learn a whole new way of life, at least they're still with us, as is my grandma,” I said as I reached up to take her hand in mine.

  “Well, for a little while longer at least,” Grandma said.

  Beau raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Grandma’s decided it would be in all of our best interests if she moved on to another community. So, it’s a good thing you stopped by, otherwise you might not have gotten the chance to see her off.”

  “Y’all make it sound like I’m dyin’ or something. It ain’t that serious, I’m just gonna keep a low profile for a while until all the stuff here settles down. I don’t wanna be a distraction or a target for anybody who ain’t real fond of Zoe,” Grandma said.