by Mac Flynn
We came out on the entrance hall. The zombie man stood behind the front desk, but his pale companion was nowhere to be seen. "Looks like the guy knows we're playing hide-and-seek with him," I quipped.
David lifted his nose and frowned. "It seems we're not the only ones playing."
He strode across the hall to the large sitting room. I heard the faint sound of voices before we entered the space. The long sitting room contained the living room furniture and a pair of pool tables at the back. The dark paneled walls flanked a large stone fireplace centered in the wall opposite the entrance. Tall, wide paned windows looked out on the yard and the open waters of the bay, but they were covered by thick curtains that let no light nor view into the room.
A pair of shadowed figures stood on the side of the hearth farthest from us. One of them had their back to us, and the other was the pale bellhop for whom we searched. The bellhop's face was especially pallid in the dim light. He looked past his companion at us and his eyes widened.
His companion half-turned around and revealed himself to be Blake. Blake frowned at us. "What are you doing here?"
David smiled and strode over to them. "You didn't think my nose could find the culprit as fast as you could, did you?"
Blake arched an eyebrow. "That's a high accusation. Have you any proof?"
David stalked around him and slid up to stand beside the pale young man. His eyes flickered from the bellhop to Blake and a sly smile slipped onto his lips. "You two look alike. You don't happen to be related, do you?"
Blake narrowed his eyes. "I don't think this is any of your concern."
David laughed and finished it with a wince. "I think I've got a horse in this race considering it's my neck on the line. You vampires can understand necks and lines, can't you?"
Blake pointed at the arched entrance. "That's enough. I demand you leave. I will have my boat return you to the mainland."
David shrugged and walked past Blake. He looped his arm through mine and guided me towards the doorway. "All right, but don't think we'll keep quiet about this family affair on your account."
Blake's eyes widened and he spun around. "Wait!"
David stopped and turned us to face the pair of vampires. "Now will you talk?"
Blake pursed his lips, but nodded. "Very well, but your tenacious sniffing hardly gave me time to inquire from my nephew exactly how he may have been involved."
I arched an eyebrow. "How'd you know it was your nephew who let the person in?"
Blake half-turned to the pale young man and his expression darkened. "Basil Charlot is the youngest of my staff by several decades of employment, and thus the most likely to have been tricked by someone into allowing them access to the Curse Chamber."
The pale young man hung his head. "I didn't know that's what she wanted to do down there. She just said she wanted to take a look."
David raised an eyebrow. "Who wanted to take a look?"
Basil shrugged without lifting his head. "A girl I met in the city on one of my night's off. She said she heard about the place and wanted to take a look."
"Where are you hiding her?" Blake questioned him.
Basil nodded at the wall to his right. "In my room. I tried hiding her in the kitchen, but the place was so busy yesterday that I nearly got ran over by the chef."
"Lead us to her," Blake commanded his nephew.
The nephew lifted his head and opened his mouth, but paused. A strange white film slipped over his eyes, covering them with a vacant look akin to college students listening to a lecture. Basil snapped his mouth shut and lifted his hand. He waved to us.
And then he vanished.
9
"Damn it!" Blake cursed before he, too, disappeared in the blink of an eye. All I felt was a wind pass me by and move in the direction of the entrance.
David grasped my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "Stay!"
He turned away from me, but I grabbed his arm and glared at him. "I don't know what's going on, but-" He shook his head.
"No time to explain! The hunt's on!"
"Then at least let me give you this!" I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. I released him and he staggered back. His wide eyes blinked at me. I folded my arms across my chest and grinned. "Not bad, eh?"
He looked down at himself and touched his stomach. "It's gone."
It was my turn to blink at him. "What's gone?"
"The pain." A smile slid onto his lips. He leapt at me, grabbed me around the waist, and spun me in a circle. "You've lifted the curse!"
I clutched onto his arms as he kept me suspended in the air. "If that's true then I want something in return."
He nodded. "Anything."
"Put me down!"
"Oh. Right." David set me down and pecked a light, teasing kiss on my lips. He pulled away and saluted me. "Be seeing you."
Then he, too, flew from the room at a speed I couldn't match. He glared at the spot where he just stood. "Damn werewolves and their damn speed!"
"But our speed is one of our finest qualities," a voice spoke up.
I spun around to face the hearth. A woman five years my senior stood on the far side. She was about my height with a slim, lithe figure. Her long, raven-black hair trailed down her back like the mane of a wild stallion, and she had matching dark eyes. Her complexion was dark-skinned, as though she spent a lot of time in the sun. The woman wore a tight-fitting red silk dress and flat-bottom red shoes. One of her hands rested on the mantel and she studied my face.
I stepped back. I hadn't heard her come in and her words were more than an indication of her paranormal-ness. "Are you a guest?"
She dropped her hand and her sly smile widened. "Not quite, though I have been staying here for the last day."
My pulse quickened. I made to take another step back, but I blinked. The woman vanished. I stiffened when I felt breath on the back of my neck.
"You're scared of me," she whispered. She stood behind me. Her hands ghosted over my arms.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Anybody would be terrified of your breath."
Her hands paused in their phantom perusal. Her words carried on a more strained tone. "You're as sharp-tongued and witless as your mate."
I frowned. "You know David?"
She laughed. Two of her fingers danced across my right shoulder blade. "I more than just know him. You could say we're connected by a special bond. Like yours, but a little more-well, lunar." I spun around and faced her. She folded her arms and smiled at me. "Is something the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."
My eyebrows crashed down and I narrowed my eyes. "You're that gypsy girl, aren't you? The one who changed him.?"
Her lips curled up in a sneer. "I'm no girl, girl, but yes, I was the one who gave him the gift."
I snorted. "Yeah, a gift with strings attached."
She shrugged and walked towards me. I backed up until my spine jabbed into the mantel. "Nothing in life is free, girl. It took quite a bit of time and expense to get this far in our plans. I won't have you interfering again."
I slid down the mantel. "You're talking about the curse?"
She rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? And you're little kiss for your prince has ruined everything. Now I'll have to try the spell again, but this time you won't be here to stop me."
She raised one hand. My eyes widened as the fingers lengthened and the nails sharpened into long claws. She drew back her hand and lunged at me.
I ducked and rolled to one side. Her claws cut into my sleeve and drew blood. I crashed into a small table that divided the sitting area from the pool tables. A vase and bowl crashed to the ground around me and the table toppled over. I flipped over onto my rear and froze.
The gypsy woman knelt in front of me. Her clawed fingers were inches from my nose. A terrible grin slipped onto her cruel lips. "Pray to your god, human."
I inched my legs against me and smiled. "God give me good aim."
> I fell back and kicked up my feet. My soles connected with her gut and she was shoved backwards off her unstable perch. I grabbed a large piece of shattered glass from the vase and clutched it like a dagger. The woman sat up and glared at me.
"You bitch!" she snarled.
I snorted. "Takes one to know one."
A terrible roar interrupted our witty repertoire. We whipped our heads to the doorway. David stood under the arch. He was partially transformed, but all mad. His yellow, narrowed eyes were glued to the woman.
She stood and smirked. "Well well, what a surprise."
His lips curled back in a snarl. "Get away from her," he ordered the woman.
She held up her hands and stepped close to one of the curtained windows. "You win, but I won't go quietly." She spun around and threw herself at the curtain.
The woman disappeared into the thick fabric which crashed into the window. Glass flew everywhere and I heard the curtain tear. Then there came a deafening scream that echoed as though the sound started close and drifted down.
David rushed up to me and knelt by my side. "Are you okay?"
I smiled up at him and nodded. "Yeah, but I never thought I'd be glad to see your furry face."
"Just part of being your mate." His eyes fell on my wounded arm. He grasped my arm and studied the marks. "These aren't deep."
I rolled my eyes and pulled my arm from his hands. "Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better."
He grinned and offered me his hand. "I might have something to soothe your ache."
I shrugged, and he helped me to my feet. I opened my mouth, but was interrupted by an echoing growl. The noise came from beyond the window. I glanced in that direction and raised an eyebrow. "Is she okay?"
David chuckled as he reverted back to human and offered me his arm. "Let's go see."
I accepted the offer, and together we strode over to the curtain. David pulled aside the torn fabric and we glanced out the large, jagged remains of the window. The beautiful view of the bay remained, but the green grass was gone. A fifty-foot deep by fifty-foot wide dirt hole sat in place of the foliage. The sides were straight and the dirt was packed hard.
I leaned over the sill and stared down into the chasm. A small dot stood at the bottom of the deep hole. The woman was transformed into her werewolf self. The claw marks on the walls showed her fruitless efforts to escape.
"Get me out of here!" she demanded.
David smiled and shook his head. "I'd rather not. You're so fond of my life that you want to take it for yourself. We'll just let you stay in there until you're a little older. Say fifty?"
"You monster!" she growled.
He scoffed. "Coming from a mercenary that's a compliment."
I looked to David and pointed at the hole. "Where did that come from?"
He chuckled. "Blake always warns his guests that any door inside the castle opened with bad intent is a trap, but he likes to keep it a secret that an exterior door, or window, opened with bad intent is subject to the same laws."
I raised an eyebrow. "So when she jumped through the window-"
"-the ground opened up and swallowed her," he finished.
I snorted and glanced back at the hole. "Not a bad werewolf trap."
"Speaking of paranormal creatures," David commented as he half-turned.
I followed his gaze to the sitting room entrance. Blake strode in with the collar of his nephew in one hand and a frown on his lips. Basil hung his head and the rest of his unconscious body was limp. Famul, the front desk zombie, and Al followed close behind.
"Did you catch her?" Blake asked us.
David jerked his head towards the window. "No, but you did."
Blake tossed his nephew to the two zombies and joined us at the window sill. He leaned over and smiled. "I see. This is the woman with whom my nephew was so enamored?"
David nodded. "Yes, and she's also the one who cursed me."
Blake whipped his head to David and arched an eyebrow. "I see. That would explain the grudge she bears against you."
David's eyes fell on me. "But not the grudge she bears you. Why was she wanting to hurt you?"
I shrugged. "I think she thought I broke the curse and before she went for a rematch she decided to get me out of the way."
Madam Bentley shuffled into the room. Her small eyes swept over our party. "What's going on here? Who set off a trap?"
Blake turned to her. "Is the curse over Mr. Dives still active?
She pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. I was coming up here to find out why when the alarm sounded."
I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear anything."
"It's only meant to be heard by Famul, Madam Bentley, and myself" Blake explained.
Bentley's narrowed eyes studied David with a mix of disgust and interest. "But what happened to the curse. Who lifted it?"
David smiled and nodded at me. "Miss Combes did."
Bentley settled her eyes on me and raised an eyebrow. "Her? I sensed no abilities inside her. How did she do it?"
"With a kiss," David explained.
Bentley's eyes widened. "A kiss! Of course! A curse created by hate is destroyed by its opposite!"
David leaned out the window sill and glanced down at the werewolf woman. The woman snarled at him. "And she certainly does hate me."
Blake frowned. "Did she know magic when you knew her before?"
David straightened and shook his head. "No, but I didn't try to get to know her better than I already did, and she is a gypsy."
Blake rubbed his chin with his palm. "That is true. They are known for their cunning ways." His eyes flickered to his unconscious nephew. "She was cunning enough to trick my nephew and cast a spell of control on him without his knowing or my detecting it."
"When you speak with her you might want to ask her how she managed to hide her scent from me, as well," David suggested.
Blake smiled. "There's no need wait. We shall speak to her right now."
10
Blake snapped his fingers. The hole in the ground outside lurched upward. The woman drew closer to us and I saw her legs tense for a jump.
I pointed at her. "She's going to-" She leapt when the hole was ten feet from becoming even with the ground.
Blake grinned and leapt into the air. He caught her by the throat in mid-leap and when he landed he had her firmly in his grasp. She grasped his hand and tried to pull loose, but he tightened his grip. She gasped and her eyes bulged out of her head. Her face took on an unhealthy shade of blue.
Blake looked her in the eyes and frowned. "If you wish to breathe again then cease your struggling."
The woman stopped, and Blake walked over to us. David and I parted, and the vampire hopped into the room. Famul had fetched a chair, and Blake set her down hard on the cushioned seat. He kept his hand on her shoulder to trap her in the chair. She glared up at him.
"I won't talk," she warned him.
Blake smiled. "That would be a pity for I have a great many questions. First, what is your name?" She pressed her lips together. Blake tightened his grip on her shoulder, and she winced. "My grip is quite strong, and I have no fear in testing my strength on you," he warned her.
"Fuck off," she growled.
Blake slipped in front of her. He grasped her chin between his fingers and forced her to stare into his eyes. I noticed the red in his eyes grew brighter while her eyes grew wider. He released her chin and stepped back.
"What is your name?" he repeated.
She continued to stare at his face when she spoke, and her voice was devoid of emotion. "My name if Asena."
Blake nodded at David. "Why did you attempt to kill him?"
"Because I wished to."
Blake frowned at the woman. "But why did you make an attempt on his life?"
"To kill him."
David smiled. "You seem to be getting a lot of honest and empty answers, Blake."
Blake's frown deepened. "Through whom did you learn magic?"
"Through one who knows magic."
"What is the name of the one who knows magic?"
"Teacher."
David coughed into his hand. "While this is all very fascinating, I think we'll leave you to question her."
Blake stepped back and studied his mesmerized prisoner. "She must have expected for such an interrogation and prepared her mind for the most obvious questions."
"Which means this might take a while, but if you find anything else feel free to tell us," David requested.
Blake didn't look at David when he nodded. "I'll report to you all that concerns you."
David smiled. "Fair enough." He glanced down at me and offered me his arm. "Shall we try to enjoy the rest of the day?"
I took his arm and ruefully smiled. "I'd rather sleep the rest of it away."
He grinned and a familiar twinkle slipped into his eyes. "I might have other plans for a bed."
"I have other rooms that you might discuss such matters in, and I would appreciate if you would do so in them," Blake spoke up.
David's eyes flickered from Blake to me. "You heard our host. Let us to our room."
We left the party and reached our room. For once I was glad to enter the pink monstrosity. David tossed the suite keys onto the pink couch and plopped himself onto another cushion.
He smiled up at me. "Quite a day, eh?"
I sat on the arm of the couch close beside him and raised an eyebrow. "Is this how you spend all your weekends?"
He shrugged. "Only the quiet ones, but it can get pretty exciting."
I snorted. "That's putting it mildly. Am I going to have to worry about any other ex-girlfriends trying to kill me, or is this one extra special?"
"Extra special with a dash of jealousy," he replied. He stared ahead of him and pursed his lips. "Though she's not the one I'm worried about."
I frowned. "A werewolf woman who changes you and then tries to kill you with a curse isn't what you're worried about?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm more worried about who put her up to this."
I arched an eyebrow. "I don't follow."
He leaned back and sighed. "Asena doesn't do anything without the bidding of her father. Especially when it involves a mission as fraught with danger as sneaking into the castle to cast a death spell on me."
