He started to look back into the guest house but Roxie took his chin in her hand, forcing him to continue looking at her. “She won’t hurt me. I’ve got this. Go back to the office. Please.”
He just stared at her for a few seconds, and then he slowly nodded. Without looking back, without saying a word, he turned and walked off.
I started to go after him. I had to explain that I wasn’t a monster, that I wouldn’t hurt him, either.
Roxie held up her hand, entering the guest house. “I wouldn’t. Not right now.”
Her eyes swung back and forth from me to the body on the floor. Finally, her gaze settled on me. “This is… unexpected.”
“What happens now?” My voice sounded hollow, empty. I couldn’t get the expression on his face, the look in his eyes, out of my head.
Roxie shrugged. “Under normal circumstances, I’d interview witnesses, take photos of the crime scene, and maybe arrest the bad guy.” She looked at the body again, focusing on the bite marks in the neck. “But this isn’t exactly normal so I think I’m going to have to wing it.”
“Are you going to take me in?”
Roxie arched an eyebrow. “Well, as entertaining as that might be, I don’t see a reason to.”
I gestured at the body. “I killed someone.”
“In self-defense.” She gestured at the scorpion ring on Denise’s hand. “They’ll run tests on the ring and find out it was used to deliver the poison, and it turns out that Denise was in her final year of working on a Master’s Degree in advanced biochemistry. She was doing this job to pay for school.” She shrugged. “We have plenty of evidence proving she’s the murderer. And that includes attacking me… although I left out the part about being poisoned.”
I nodded. “Your secret is still safe. Mine however…”
Roxie looked at me curiously. “What’s the big deal? After he calms down a bit, you can just do your ‘look into my eyes’ routine and make him forget.”
I shook my head, trying to hold back tears. Vampires cry bloody tears. It’s a bloody mess. Literally. “It doesn’t work on him.”
The werewolf deputy looked shocked. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Unfortunately, yeah.”
She tilted her head and I would’ve sworn I saw her ear twitch.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s the sheriff’s truck. He’s leaving.”
“Probably to get wooden stakes.”
Roxie rolled her eyes. “Doubt it. He’s got it so bad for you that it’s not even funny.”
“And then he saw me kill someone.”
“You know he was a big-city cop before coming here, right? He knows a thing or two about having to take a life to save your own.”
“Does he know a thing or two about vampires?” I asked, trying not to take my anger and frustration out on her. “Did he learn about that in the big city?”
Roxie looked at me, sympathy in her eyes. “I’m pretty sure that’s a new one for him.”
“What’s a new one for who?” Pita asked, looking at the body on the floor as she walked through the door. Paige, Broomhilda, and Granny Mags were with her. Paige and Granny scowled at Roxie.
The werewolf ignored them, choosing to focus on Pita instead. “The sheriff found out Penny is a vampire.”
“Fan-fanging-tastic,” Paige said. “What did he do?”
“He left,” I replied.
“He left?” Paige asked. “That’s it?”
I nodded.
“Give him time,” Granny said. “He didn’t run away screaming. He didn’t attack you as if you were some vile monster.” She shrugged. “He’s gotta wrap his head around it.”
“How long will that take?” I asked.
Granny scowled. “Paige is the seer. Not me. He might get a grip on it tomorrow. He might never get a grip on it.” She pointed a finger at me. “But you’re a vampire and there’s no changing that. If he can’t be happy with knowing what you are, then he’s not the one for you so there’s no need to go and get sappy over him.”
Pita nodded. “Probably not the best way to break the news to him but he was going to have to find out sooner or later.”
“I would’ve preferred later,” I grumbled. “Much later.”
“I know your mental powers don’t work on him,” Broomhilda said, “but I could concoct a potion to make him forget.”
I shook my head. “I appreciate the thought but Granny and Pita are right. If he can’t accept me for who I am…” I shrugged, unwilling to voice the rest. It was good advice, but that didn’t make it feel good.
“Does this mean we can kick everyone out of our house now?” Granny asked.
I nodded. “I think it’s safe to say the relationship between Transylvaniatown and the Prince of Roses is over.”
Chapter 13
I looked up from the book I was reading to watch Anthony and Broomhilda head out for a night on the town, trying to not be jealous of them. It was nice that someone was getting a happily ever after, or at least a happy for now.
I glanced over at Pita, sitting on the other end of the couch, her eyes devouring the new cookbook she had recently bought online. Across from us, on the other couch, Paige was reclining back, her eyes closed. It had been a busy day at the Inn so she had spent most of the day acting nice. That usually took a lot out of her.
Granny Mags sat in her recliner, a twisted, lecherous grin on her face as she read her new paranormal romance, Red Riding Hood Gets Eaten. I was pretty sure it wasn’t the Red Riding Hood story that I remembered from childhood.
I tried to focus back on my book, an exciting space opera. No romance for me, thank you very much. It had been almost a month since our adventure with reality TV, and I hadn’t heard from Alec since then.
I had called Roxie a couple of times to ask how he was doing. According to her, he was acting normal, except for the fact that he never mentioned me anymore. He didn’t even mention that particular case, which was probably for the best. Denise was buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery, with the official report reading that she had resisted arrest and gotten away. She had conveniently left her ring behind, though, allowing those tests Roxie had mentioned to be run, confirming that the production assistant was indeed the killer. An APB had been put out on her and other local authorities were certain the killer would be apprehended soon.
On the bright side, with her murderer dealt with, Regina was able to move on. I hoped she was able to reunite with her mother on the other side.
Peter Vincent flew down and landed on my shoulder, a sizable chunk of mango in one paw. He held it out to me. “Mango makes everything better.”
I took the fruit from him and gave a tiny smile. “Thanks, big guy.”
The little bat kissed my cheek. “He’ll wise up.”
“Think so?”
Peter Vincent nodded. “He will or he’ll answer to me.”
An image of that showdown popped into my head and I couldn’t help but laugh. I rubbed my cheek against Peter Vincent’s furry head. “Well, let’s hope he wises up soon because I’d hate for you to have to rough him up.”
Granny Mags looked up from her naughty bedtime story. “When one door closes, another opens. And if neither door opens for you, well, that’s not the house for you.”
With those words of wisdom shared, Granny returned to her spicy reading material. Peter Vincent offered another piece of mango and I happily took it. I was sure Alec was the house for me. I just needed to be patient and wait for the door to open.
A note from Piper:
Thank you for reading THE VAMPIRE AND THE PRINCE OF ROSES. I know there are a lot of books out there to read and I truly appreciate you taking time to read the Dreadful Vampire series.
The adventures of Penny, Pita, and Paige continue with THE VAMPIRE AND THE SILENT KNIGHT. Keep reading for a sneak peek to see what happens.
Also by Piper Alexander
Keep track of Piper’s new ebook
releases by re
ceiving an email on release day.
It’s super-fast and super-easy to
sign up for new release updates.
http://piperalexander.com/newsletter/
DREADFUL VAMPIRE MYSTERIES
The Vampire and the Ink of Doom
The Vampire and the Prince of Roses
The Vampire and the Silent Knight (coming soon)
The Vampire and the Silent Knight
~ Dreadful Vampire Mysteries #3 ~
Chapter 1
It was a few days before Christmas and all through Transylvaniatown, not a creature was stirring… except for a man who believed he was Santa Claus, a demon unleashed from an icy tomb, and three vampires who might have bitten off more than they could chew.
“When darkness falls, the silent night must rise, else the end of days shall come upon us.”
“Well, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you, too,” Pita said, sarcasm dripping from every word.
Paige blinked, her eyes returning to their normal pale blue color after being as white as snow while having her vision. “You know I can’t control it.”
I patted my sister on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Paige. It’s Pita’s fault for asking you to do it.”
‘It’ was peek into the future. Me and my vampire sisters each had unique gifts. I could talk to animals, Pita could talk to ghosts, and Paige could peek into the future. Her talent was the most unpredictable, as proven by receiving this message of impending doom when all Pita wanted to know was if she’d find love in the New Year.
The three of us, along with Granny Mags, were enjoying the fireplace in the library because we honestly had nothing better to do.
An unexpected snowstorm had blown in, coating Transylvaniatown in a heavy layer of white, and let me be the first to tell you that it’s hard to pull off a super-creepy atmosphere when there was a winter wonderland everywhere you looked.
In addition to being the home of the oldest, most haunted cemetery in the United States, Transylvaniatown was the place to visit if you were into the creepy and macabre because the whole town was rockin’ a Halloween-type vibe, with places like Devil’s Brew Bar & Grill, The Silver Stake Diner, Java Jackal, and, of course, our place, the Dreadful Inn. The town also happened to have a small, hidden population of witches, werewolves, and other supernatural beings who supposedly don’t really exist. It’s the friendly little town filled with tricks, treats, and all kinds of things that go bump in the night.
Unfortunately, the town’s treats and tricks were going largely unnoticed since Mother Nature had decided to give us the cold shoulder. We had one couple checked in for the week. They had been lucky enough to arrive before the storm hit. Everyone else had cancelled, leaving us with more free time than we knew what to do with, which led to Pita asking Paige about her love life.
“Come on, Paige,” Pita whined. “Try again.”
Paige shook her head, massaging her temples. “No. Trying to peek into our futures always gives me a migraine. You know that.”
Pita flopped back on the couch, sighing heavily. “Bored.”
Granny arched an eyebrow, looking up from She-Wolf Rides Santa’s North Pole, the paranormal romance she was reading. “How bored?”
The three of us froze. Pita stared like a deer caught in headlights. It was one of those questions that was almost guaranteed to not have a right answer. That’s the way most of Granny Mags’ questions were.
“How bored are you?” Granny asked again.
Pita shrugged, the look on her face letting us know she was waiting for the trap to close. “I don’t know. I’ve been less bored, but I’ve also been more bored.”
Granny looked over at me and Paige, sitting on the couch across from the one Pita was hogging. “How about you two? You bored.”
Paige and I exchanged quick glances. There was no way to guess how many ways a wrong answer could blow up in our faces.
“I don’t know,” Paige said, hoping no choice would be a safe choice.
“Like Pita said, we’ve been more bored but we’ve also been less bored,” I said, deciding that, if I was going down, at least I’d go down with company.
Granny nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. She put her book down on her lap. Crap! That meant this conversation wasn’t going to end soon. “I have a way for all three of you to be less bored.”
I knew this was not going to end well. Granny had something planned. Something she had probably been saving for a while, waiting for just the right moment to spring it on us. No, this was not going to end well at all.
“I want a Christmas tree,” Granny said.
I blinked. “A Christmas tree?” It was the sudden change in temperature from the surprise snowstorm. My ears had frozen and weren’t working properly. That was the only possible answer. Because Granny Mags didn’t just really say she wanted a Christmas tree. She was more the bah humbug type than the holly jolly holiday type.
Granny nodded. “Yep. It’s almost Christmas and we need a tree.”
“Why?” Paige asked. “You never wanted a tree when we were in Transylvania.”
Granny looked at Paige, shocked. “Never wanted a tree? What makes you think that? We had a tree every year.”
Paige glanced at me and Pita, possibly wondering if Granny was playing some type of game with us.
“Granny,” I said, “we had a tree every year because Daddy Drac wanted us to have a tree.”
Granny laughed. “Mr. Bare-Stone-Walls-and-Drafty-Windows wanted a tree that needed to be decorated?” She laughed again. “Typical of him.” She leaned forward suddenly, piercing each of us with a hard gaze. “We had a Christmas tree every year because I wanted one. It’s important to have one.” She looked around the library, as if seeing the room for the first time. “But we don’t have one. No tree. Not a single decoration. No Christmas spirit at all. I need to start calling all three of you Scrooge.”
She pointed a stubby finger at each of us. “You’re Red Scrooge,” she said pointing at me. “Black Scrooge,” aimed at Pita. “And Blonde Scrooge,” she finished with Paige.
“I prefer auburn over red,” I said.
Granny glared. “Auburn isn’t a real color. It’s made up. Your hair is red. Dark red.”
I ran my fingers through my auburn hair. Granny and I would just have to agree to disagree on that one.
Pita looked depressed. “We took a vote. The other two,” she jabbed a finger at me and Paige, “the real Scrooges, said Daddy Drac always had to argue with you to get a tree and they didn’t want to upset you over something like that.”
Granny huffed indignantly, slowly climbing to her feet, shaking her head. “That man. I swear I just didn’t take him over my knee enough when he was little.”
I exchanged looks with my sisters. Yeah, Granny was talking about giving Count Dracula, the mythic vampire of legend, a spanking.
With her cane gripped firmly in her hand, Granny started thumping her way towards the stairs. She glanced at us as she walked by. “Dress warm, girls. We’re going to go get a Christmas tree and we wouldn’t want Jack Frost nipping too hard at your noses, would we?” She grinned at us… or maybe she was baring her fangs. It was always hard to tell with her.
Chapter 2
A short time later, three of us were standing near the foyer, waiting on the last member of our little tree hunting party. Paige looked super cute in the tan coat with the white furry collar over her light gray turtleneck, black jeans, and knee-high black boots. Pita was going for the rugged look – cowboy boots, blue jeans, and a plaid jacket over a plain white button-up top. My tree-hunting style hovered somewhere between the two of them. I was wearing a knee-length red plaid coat with a soft and comfy fuzzy lining, a white turtleneck, tan jeans, and black boots that almost but not quite made it to my knees.
“Where’s Granny?” Pita whined. “I’m going to melt soon if we stay cooped up inside much longer.”
“Go outside and wait,” Paige said.
Pita rolled h
er eyes. “Uh… no. It’s cold out there.”
I fought to hold back a grin. Pita was dressed like an outdoorsy girl but her idea of spending time outside was using the drive-thru at Java Jackal in town.
Paige looked at me. “Go see what’s keeping her?”
“Me?” I shook my head. “I’m about to confront nature for a tree. That’s enough bravery for one day.”
A muffled noise drew our attention to the second floor. What appeared to be a large pile of laundry started slowly making its way down the stairs, waddling from left to right as it moved. More muffled noises came from it.
“Is that Granny” Pita asked.
I shrugged. The ambulatory pile of clothing was about Granny’s height and it had her cane but those were the only clue offered.
The three of us watched with amazement as the living laundry pile worked its way to the first floor, coming to rest in front of us. A gloved hand reached for a scarf and yanked it down, revealing Granny’s face, or a portion of her face, to be more precise, since everything above her nose was hidden by a horrendously huge pair of sunglasses and a Laplander cap pulled down tight on her head.
“I said someone needed to go warm up the SUV,” Granny said. “Why are the three of you just standing here?”
“Is that what you were saying?” I asked. “All we heard was mumbling.”
Pita let out a snicker. To be honest, I was surprised she had kept a straight face this long.
“You look like possessed laundry,” Pita said, a chuckle in her voice. “I didn’t even realize a person could wear so many different pieces of clothing at once.”
I studied Granny from head to toe. It looked like she had raided her closet and decided to wear almost everything in it. Although I’d never be brave enough – or mean enough – to say it directly to her face, Granny wasn’t exactly skinny, but she was so wide now that she could probably be turned on her side and rolled like a tire.
The Vampire and the Prince of Roses (Dreadful Vampire Mysteries Book 2) Page 8
