by Zoe Arden
“M-Melbourne?” I choked. My throat had run dry. What if he was sleeping in here and I disturbed him? Did that violate some type of vampire code? Would I be insulting him? Angering him? I had to know whether he was in there.
He texted me, I reminded myself.
I took a breath and opened the lid. My eyes bugged out of my head, and I gasped loudly.
“Oh, my roses!” Inside was nothing but a pile of ashes. A wooden stake lay beside it.
“Damon!” I screamed. “Colt!”
Colt was the first one to find me.
“Ava, what’s the—” He saw the ashes in the coffin. “Vampire hunters.”
“You mean that’s Melbourne?” I yelled, pointing to the ashes.
Colt nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
I reached out to touch them, then pulled my hand back. Did I really want to touch vampire ashes? How was I going to tell Trixie?
“Where’s Margaret?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We split up to search different rooms.”
“Damon and I did the same thing. Let’s find them and get out of here.”
Colt nodded. “I’ll have to call this in. Vampire hunting was outlawed in the Treaty of 1910.”
I didn’t know what treaty Colt was talking about, but I knew that Melbourne had never hurt anyone. At least, not since I’d known him. He didn’t deserve to die like that. Alone and frightened.
“Otis?” I called as we went down the stairs.
“I’m over here,” Otis called to us from the kitchen. He was drinking a glass of milk. Tadpole was sitting on the table eating a cracker. “Tadpole got upset,” he explained. “He says he smells danger very strongly in this house. He needed a snack to calm him down.”
“Where’s Margaret?” Colt asked.
Otis shrugged.
“Damon?” I called. I was starting to get worried. Where could Damon and Margaret have run off to? The house was only so big. “Margaret?”
Colt and I searched the house from top to bottom. They were nowhere to be found.
“They’re gone,” I said. “You don’t think something happened to them, do you?”
It was one of the few times Colt looked genuinely confused. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m calling Sheriff Knoxx.”
“Already called him,” Otis said. “He’s on his way.”
* * *
3 3
* * *
“DAMON!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs until my voice was hoarse. If I screamed any louder, I was pretty sure my throat would start bleeding. I hadn’t gotten a response. I wished Colt would let me have his wand back. I felt better just carrying it around.
“Let me try.” Colt waved his hand in the air and a moment later his voice sounded like a bullhorn. He spoke softly yet I could hear him everywhere. “Damon? Margaret? If you can hear us, call out or make a noise. We’ll find you.”
I’d have to remember that trick. Growing up in the human world, I was used to screaming and it still didn’t occur to me to simply use magic to make myself heard.
Sheriff Knoxx pulled up in his car. Instead of screeching to a halt like it normally did, it slowed gently and came to a full and complete stop before he exited from the passenger side. I took a closer look and realized Aunt Eleanor was driving. Trixie and my father were in the back seat.
“You let Eleanor drive?” I couldn’t help but exclaim as the sheriff came toward us.
He stumbled a teensy bit over his feet but didn’t fall. “She insisted.” His voice was low and irritated but his eyes were shining brightly. I thought I knew how he felt. It might annoy him to have Eleanor making demands on him, but it also warmed his heart because he knew it just meant that she loved him.
“Hello, Sheriff,” Otis said. Tadpole looked out from his satchel, and I could have sworn the skunk winked at him.
“Otis,” Sheriff Knoxx said, shaking his head, “are you going to bring that creature everywhere with you now?”
“Tadpole’s no creature, sir. He’s my familiar. And he’s crazy clever.” He looked down at his satchel. “Show them, Tadpole.”
Tadpole jumped out of his satchel, stood on his hind legs, and began doing a funny little dance. It almost reminded me of the jigs Trixie was prone to doing when she was nervous or excited.
“Oh, yes, very clever,” Sheriff Knoxx said sarcastically.
Tadpole stuck out his tongue at the sheriff and jumped back into his satchel. He squeaked a little and Otis leaned down to listen.
“Tadpole says he doesn’t smell anything weird anymore. The danger is gone for now,” Otis declared, beaming as if Tadpole had just given him the meaning of life.
“That’s just great, Otis.” Sheriff Knoxx looked at me and Colt. “Well?”
“Well, what?” I said.
“You were the only two here besides Margaret and Damon.”
“Excuse me, Sheriff Knoxx, but me and Tadpole were here, too.”
“Of course, sorry, Otis. I forgot for a minute.” Eleanor rubbed his back a little as he drew in a deep breath. “Sorry if I’m a little short tempered. My head still hurts after everything that happened.”
“It’s okay,” I told him. My head was starting to hurt, too, and I hadn’t been stuck overnight in a hospital.
“Is there any chance the two of them took off together?” Sheriff Knoxx asked.
“Damon and Margaret?” I laughed. “Not for any reason I can think of.”
“How are things between the two of you?” the sheriff asked.
“Me and Damon?” I felt all eyes fall on me. Especially Colt’s. “Fine. I guess.” My cheeks colored. “Why?”
“I was only theorizing,” Sheriff Knoxx said.
“Theorizing what? That he ran off without saying a word because he was mad at me?”
Then again, Damon had gotten pretty mad at me upstairs. Maybe it wasn’t as silly as I was making it out to be.
“Margaret’s car isn’t in the driveway. She came here from Mistmoor, didn’t she?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Yes.”
“Then she must’ve driven. Where’s her car?”
“Are you saying Damon took it?” I asked.
“I’m saying two people are missing, and Margaret’s car is gone as well. Most likely, one of them took it. Or they both did.”
“Even if Damon did leave because we had a fight or something... not that we did... I just... I mean...”
Why was it so hard to talk about Damon? I knew the answer though. It was because I felt Colt’s eyes burning into the back of my head.
“Even if he left,” I tried again, “what about Margaret? She wouldn’t just up and leave without saying something.”
I had started the day bright and early. It was still afternoon, but the longer we stood here talking, the more light we were losing. Soon it would be night and the full moon would rise in the sky. The Wolf Moon.
“Oh, my roses,” I said, a new possibility forming in my head. I turned to Colt. “Is it possible it wasn’t vampire hunters who got Melbourne?”
“What about Melbourne?” Trixie asked.
Oh, no. We hadn’t told them about finding the ashes yet.
“Um, we found some ashes... in Melbourne’s coffin,” I said.
Trixie’s eyes grew wide. “You found... ashes?” She looked paler than I’d ever seen her.
“Yes.” I bit my lip and looked at Eleanor, who was patting her shoulder.
“If Melbourne was staked,” Eleanor said, “he wouldn’t have felt a thing. It would have been very fast.”
I had no idea whether that was true or not but thought it sounded good. I wasn’t sure how much it was helping Trixie though. Her eyes were beginning to water.
“Excuse me,” she said and ran outside.
“Otis, will you and Tadpole go with her?” Sheriff Knoxx asked. “I don’t think anyone should be left alone right now, seeing as how people are vanishing before our eyes.”
“Sure thing, Sheriff,” Otis
said. “Come on, Tadpole.” They hurried after Trixie, Tadpole squeaking all the way. I wondered how it was that Otis seemed to understand every nuance of every squeak Tadpole uttered, while to the rest of us it just sounded like, well, squeaks. I supposed that was the magic of familiars. Even if no one else could understand them, the one they were attached to always did.
“Listen,” I said, “I’ve been worried that Damon was the next one Polly was going after, but what if I was wrong?”
“You think Polly killed Melbourne?” Eleanor asked doubtfully. “She doesn’t even have her powers. It would be very difficult to take out a vampire without them.”
“True,” Sheriff Knoxx said, “but she does seem to have some tools on hand. That knife she stabbed me with, for instance. It wasn’t even a stab, just a small cut. But it was potent.”
“Someone gave her that knife, right? I mean, she didn’t have it when she left Wormwood.”
“I think I see where you’re going with this,” Colt said. “You think that she snuck in here while Melbourne was sleeping and used a stake that her accomplice gave her. That Melbourne was the intended target all along, not Damon.”
“Yes. Maybe the next archetype Polly meant to kill wasn’t the Lover.” I blushed at the word “lover,” especially when both Colt and my father were looking at me. “Maybe she meant to kill the Rebel. Melbourne could be considered kind of a rebel, right? A vampire who doesn’t drink human blood?”
“But why?” my dad asked, interrupting me. “The bloodstones require blood, Ava. Vampires don’t have blood running through them. Not anymore.”
“Oh. They don’t? I thought that maybe...”
“Why don’t we just look around, outside and in?” Sheriff Knoxx asked. “Only this time everyone stays together.”
An hour later, we had combed the house from top to bottom. There was no sign of Margaret or Damon anywhere.
“Maybe they did run off together,” I mumbled to myself as I sat down on the front stoop. The sheriff and Colt were deep in conversation on the front lawn. Eleanor was trying to console Trixie about Melbourne. My phone rang. Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. The number was blocked.
“Hello?” I said into the receiver.
“Hello.” Polly Peacock’s voice came loud and clear through the phone line. I would have recognized it anywhere. “Smile and nod,” she said. “If you ever want to see Damon or Margaret alive again, then smile and nod.”
* * *
3 4
* * *
My heart hammered in my chest as my brain attempted to compute what was happening. Polly had Margaret and Damon. On that, I was clear. But how had she gotten them? I hadn’t seen her anywhere near the house. Had she been hiding inside the whole time, right under our noses?
When I looked up, everyone was watching me.
Warthogs!
They were probably waiting to see if it was Damon or Margaret who had called me.
“Are you smiling and nodding?” Polly asked.
“Yes,” I said as I plastered a gigantic smile on my face.
She couldn’t really see me, could she? I had no idea, but I didn’t want to take chances. I focused on one person because it was easier to lie that way. Colt’s face was the first I saw, so it was his I focused on. I smiled and nodded only for him.
“Now tell your friends that it’s just a telemarketer or something,” she said. “Just make it sound believable.”
“It’s just Witchmobile,” I said to Colt and the others.
“They’re always calling at the worst times,” Trixie lamented.
Eleanor agreed and they returned to their conversations, disinterested in listening in on a sales pitch. Only Colt kept his eyes trained on me. Maybe focusing on him wasn’t such a good idea. I got up and started moving. It was too hard to sit still when my heart was pounding like this. I thought I was doing a good job of acting normal until I caught sight of Colt staring at me and realized I was walking in circles.
Why did he have to be so observant?
“Why, yes, thank you,” I said loudly. “I am happy with my service.
“Don’t try to get cute,” Polly warned.
“No, I wouldn’t be interested in that.”
“I want you to gather your things and say goodbye. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t or I’ll kill them both. And I’ll make sure it hurts.”
“Yes, I understand,” I said, keeping the smile plastered on my face.
Sheriff Knoxx was still talking to Colt, but Colt wasn’t listening. Not anymore. He wouldn’t take his eyes off me. I finally turned away from him and faced the house. Keeping my back to them was the only way I could focus, even if it did look a little weird.
“I want you to meet me at The Mystic Cupcake,” Polly said.
“Sure, no problem. When would you like me to do that?”
I was still smiling even though I knew Colt couldn’t see my face. I knew he was still watching me, though, because I could feel his eyes on my back. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw him start walking toward me.
Crud.
I held out a hand, indicating that he should stop, but that only made him walk faster. I was messing this up. I took a deep breath and widened my smile, hoping that would help. My face felt frozen and unnatural. I started to wave then put my hand down, afraid that was overkill.
“I need you here before the moon rises,” Polly said. “You’ve got one hour.”
I was pretty sure the moon wouldn’t be out for at least three more hours, but I didn’t argue the point with her.
“How am I supposed to do that?” I asked. “I mean, I’m with people right now. So now isn’t a good time for me to talk.”
“I don’t know, just figure it out. Those friends of yours aren’t exactly geniuses. I’m sure you can come up with some way to get away from them. Tell them you’re sick or something.”
“Okay, thank you so much,” I said as Colt approached me. If he couldn’t hear me before, he was definitely close enough to hear me now.
“Do anything stupid, and I’ll kill them both.”
“Okay, got it. Really, I do. I’ve got it. It’s crystal clear. Thank you.”
“One hour,” Polly said and hung up. I just stood there, trying to keep my face calm even though inside I was flipping out.
“Okay, thanks for your time as well,” I said into the receiver and put the phone in my pocket.
“Everything okay?” Colt asked.
“Yeah. Sure. Fine. Great. Why?”
Sheriff Knoxx was within earshot now, too. Why were they swarming on me like this?
“Actually, no. Not so great. I have a headache. Talking to Witchmobile does that to me. I think I’ll go home and lie down.”
This time, Sheriff Knoxx and Colt both looked at me oddly.
“You don’t want to keep searching?” Sheriff Knoxx asked.
“Of course, I do, but I’m sure you’re both more than capable of finding Damon and Margaret on your own.
“Sure, we are,” Sheriff Knoxx said. He shot a look to Colt. “But we thought you’d want to help.”
Oh, my roses. They know something’s wrong.
“What did Witchmobile want?” Sheriff Knoxx asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just... you know... wanted me to upgrade or whatever.”
“Upgrade what?” Colt asked.
“Huh?”
“You said ‘upgrade or whatever.’ What did they want you to upgrade? Internet speed? Unlimited texting? What?”
“I don’t know,” I snapped. “How should I know something like that? Like I can listen to them prattle on about Internet connections while I’m worrying myself sick about Margaret and Damon.”
“If you’re so worried about them, then why are you going home?” Sheriff Knoxx asked.
“I told you! I have a headache.” I put my hand to my temple and started to rub it just to emphasize the point.
“Let me drive you home, then,” Colt said.
“That’s
okay. The walk will do me good.”
“Well, then I’ll walk with you.”
“NO!” I yelled loud enough to garner looks from Trixie and Eleanor now, too.
I paused and caught my breath. I was messing this up big time. Keep calm. I plastered the smile back on my face.
“What I meant to say was okay, sure. You can drive me, thanks. Just let me use the bathroom first.” I turned to go inside and Colt followed me.
“I’m perfectly capable of using the bathroom alone,” I told him.
“I wasn’t going to follow you inside. I’ll just wait here.”
He took up a spot outside the bathroom door and stood like a sentry with his hands folded. I sighed and went into the bathroom.
It was small. A shower, toilet, sink, and window. The window was already open.
Good. At least he won’t hear me opening it.
The window was just above the toilet, which was actually pretty convenient. I made sure the door was locked and turned on the faucet to cover any sounds I might make. I pushed the window screen out as quietly as possible. It popped out easily and fell to the grass below.
“Everything okay in there?” Colt asked through the door.
“Yeah, I’m just washing my face.”
I hoisted myself up and slipped outside. The bakery was less than a mile away, and I was a fast runner.
* * *
3 5
* * *
I approached The Mystic Cupcake, noting that the blinds were drawn. Had I even realized the front windows had blinds? Normally, our windows were proudly on display for passing patrons to see. We wanted them to look at the stacks of peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies and five-tiered cakes. The cupcakes we displayed were soft as velveteen and covered in layers of sweet frosting that left people speechless.
Now there was nothing to see but the closed sign. It wasn’t even full dark yet. If anyone had been paying attention, they should have known something was wrong. I tried the front door. It was locked. I went around to the back. There was a note taped to it.
Knock loudly.
I did as instructed and, a minute later, the door opened. Polly Peacock’s bright yellow hair and perfect pink lips greeted me. She looked as pretty as she normally did, though I could see the fatigue she was fighting in her eyes.
