by Amy Boyles
Amelia gasped. “That is so romantic.”
I quirked a brow. “No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend.”
She scoffed. “What’re you talking about?”
“A stranger outside your door at night? Didn’t your mother teach you that sort of thing usually means there’s danger? Not a handsome prince but probably someone with bad intentions?”
“She might’ve,” Amelia whimpered. She smoothed her spiky blonde pixie cut. “Go on, Princess.”
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’d go to the door and open it. Standing on the other side would be literally the hottest guy I’d ever seen. He had these gold eyes, a beard, long golden hair and was wearing a designer shirt and jeans. He also wore all this gold jewelry and had the hairiest chest ever. I loved him at first sight.”
“And he was hairy?” Amelia said, confused.
I poked her in the ribs. “Some women like guys with a little fur.”
My cousin grimaced.
“It’s the wolf in me,” Princess said. “I love hairy men. But anyway, this guy would come in and talk to me. We’d sit on my bed and spend the rest of the dream talking about, well, everything. He’d talk to me for hours, and that’s what happened every night. I’d go to bed, have the mist dream and talk to the guy.”
“But something must’ve changed,” I said.
The bat fluttered her wings. “Oh, it did. One night he told me his name, and he said if I said the name aloud, that we would be able to communicate while I was awake.”
Amelia chewed her fingers. “Well? What happened next?”
“I didn’t do it for a few days because I thought it was baloney, but during that time I didn’t dream of the guy either. So after about three days, I thought ‘to heck with this’ and I said the name—Arnold.”
She paused. “Do y’all have some water I can drink?”
“Yes, dear Lord, let’s get you some water.” I unclenched my hands. I hadn’t realized I was even doing it until Princess stopped talking.
I was dying to know the rest of the story, but I waited patiently while Amelia filled a cap from a water bottle and let Princess lick it.
She smacked her lips. “Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh yes, I said the name, and suddenly I could hear the bat in my head. He started to tell me a story about how he had been a vampire prince and was cursed—trapped inside the bat body.
“Of course I knew he was a vampire, but I didn’t know he was a prince. Anyway, he went on to explain that the body I saw in my dream was how he really looked and that after he’d spent so much time talking to me, that he had a confession. He loved me. Loved me. The hot guy from my dream was real, y’all! He was real and he loved me. You can’t imagine how overjoyed I was to hear it.”
“Except he was a bat,” I said.
“Minor inconvenience,” Princess said. “At least that’s what I thought. But he told me he wanted to be with me. That was the only thing he wanted in the whole wide world. I realized I loved him, too, and that’s what I wanted—to be with him no matter what. Yes, I knew he was a vampire and I was a werewolf and we weren’t supposed to be together, but I didn’t care. Not because he was so hot, but because he understood me, y’all. He got me like he was starving and I was a frozen Snickers on a hot day. I mean, he was the white chocolate to my dark. We got each other. Y’all understand that?”
I smiled. I couldn’t help but understand it because that’s what Axel was to me. He completely understood and got me in that same sort of way. No, I wasn’t going to use food to describe how well we “got” each other, but we did.
And I loved it.
I clicked my tongue. “So Arnold reeled you in.”
“Y’all, it was hook, line and sinker. I didn’t even know it was happening; it just sort of did. One moment I was listening to how he’d been accused of stealing money and had been cursed to live as a bat, and the next thing I knew, I was letting him suck on my neck to get at my blood.”
I froze. This was it—the information we needed. If we were going to turn Princess back into a human, Axel had to know some of the inner workings of the original spell.
“So is that what changed you? The drop of blood?” I said.
“That and I kissed him. Next thing I knew I was shrinking to the size of an orange and the bat was growing into a big hulking shape that vanished as soon as he finished transforming. He left and I tried to follow, but he was too fast.”
She sighed. “So I abandoned the house. I was so embarrassed I didn’t want to face my family. I’d been taken in by a vampire. I’d never live down the humiliation. I flew into the night sky, joined up with a flock of bats and haven’t looked back.”
We were all silent for a moment. Amelia exhaled a deep breath. “And that’s how you ended up here in Magnolia Cove?”
“I guess so.”
I smirked. “My guess is that Arnold has been keeping track of you. Until the transformation is complete, like I said, he’s vulnerable and can still return to a bat. We need you to help us find him here in town. Can you do that?”
Princess nodded. “Of course. I can help however you need. But there’s something you should know about the vampire.”
“What’s that?” Amelia said.
“He told me that he can shift into almost any form. So what he looked like in my dream is probably not what he looks like now.”
I frowned. “So you’re saying it may be impossible to know who he is?”
Princess nodded her little bat head. “Unless Arnold wants to show himself, I’m afraid we’re going to be up a creek without a paddle.”
Amelia clicked her tongue. “Then we just have to get a new paddle.”
I nodded. “I know exactly who to ask.”
“Who?” Princess said.
“Betty Craple,” I said, smiling. “If there’s anyone who can help us reveal the true identity of a person, it’s her.”
SEVENTEEN
“I don’t know if there’s a spell that can reveal a person’s true identity,” Betty said the next morning as she stirred something that looked an awful lot like porridge in the big cauldron.
Not that I knew what porridge looked like, but the substance didn’t exactly look like oatmeal and it sure as heck wasn’t grits.
“But there’s got to be something,” I said. “Princess never really knew what the vampire looked like. How are we supposed to find someone if we don’t know who we’re searching for?”
My grandmother pulled the spoon from the cauldron, blew on the substance and tasted it. “Needs more salt.” She took a handful from a glass mason jar and tossed it in.
“What’re you making?” Cordelia said.
“A new mud mask.”
“And you’re tasting it?” I said.
She placed both hands on her hips. “You can eat it, too.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Okay, well, what about some magical eyeglasses that let you see who someone really is under a spell?”
Amelia perked up from her chair at the table. “Do those exist? I would love a pair of glasses like that.”
Betty shook her head. “They don’t exist. At least not that I know of.”
“But there’s got to be a way,” I said.
Betty glanced at Princess, who hung from one of the fireplace bricks. “You remember what the bat smelled like?”
Princess stretched her leathery wings. “Like bat.”
“That may be the best place to start,” Betty said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s what we’ve got.” She stirred the mixture again. “Ah, perfect.” She slopped a spoonful into a bowl, turned to us and said, gleaming, “Now. Who’d like to try some on their face?”
My cousins and I exchanged worried looks. Cordelia glanced at her watch. “Oh, where did the time go? I’ve got to be at the inn.”
Amelia smacked her head. “The Vault just called. I’ve got to go in early today. That way I’ll be free tonight for the opening of Wicked Witch.”
Betty cocked a brow. “Th
e nightclub?”
Amelia clapped with excitement. “Yes. I can’t wait. Bye, y’all!”
She exited like greased lightning streaking down the sidewalk, leaving me alone.
Betty smiled widely. “The mask has blackberries in it. They’re good antioxidants for your skin. It’ll keep you looking younger for years to come.”
Just then Uncle Donovan walked in from the back porch. Yes! Saved by a new arrival.
“Uncle,” I said, “you’re back!”
He waved the air. “Oh yeah. They only brought me in for questioning. It didn’t take too long. I was out in a few hours.” His eyes widened when he saw the bat. “Princess, is that you?”
She flapped her wings. “In the flesh.”
He crossed to her and touched her head. “I’m so glad to see you. You look well.”
“I feel pretty good, though I hear that vampire followed me into town.”
Donovan glanced at me.
I nodded. “Johnny Utah’s girlfriend was attacked last night. Said the culprit went for her throat.”
Donovan rubbed a cheek in thought. “Makes sense. If the transformation is not complete, then the vampire needs to either capture Princess to finish what was started or wait until a certain amount of time has lapsed.”
I thought about that a second. “So which do you think it is?”
Donovan adjusted his glasses. “Hard to say. There are some transformation spells that can take months to complete. When a spell takes that long, it’s usually because the change is complicated, complex.”
“Like how?” I said.
“Think about when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. I’m talking complicated on that level. Before the caterpillar ever makes a chrysalis, it molts several times as it grows. When it finally does become large enough to form a cocoon, the change into its final form takes a week or so. But there was a lot of growing that had to occur first. Do you follow?”
I grabbed a cookie from a tin because I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I chewed for a moment as I thought. “And a bat from a human isn’t as complex, I’m guessing?”
Donovan wiggled a hand. “No, a bat’s just as complex when you consider that a person has to shrink and sprout hair but still keep her consciousness. That leads me to one conclusion.”
I nodded. ”That there’s more to finish,” I said. “But why didn’t Arnold just do it right the first time?”
“Idiot probably didn’t know,” Betty said. “That would be like most men.”
“Man in the room,” Donovan said.
“You’re not a man. You’re my brother,” Betty said.
I rubbed my face. “So basically you think that Arnold the vampire has to do something that ensures Princess remains a bat and he remains himself.”
Donovan nodded. “Exactly right. So this also means we’ve got to keep Princess safe. There’s no telling when the vampire will strike. We have to watch and be vigilant.”
I grabbed a jacket from the peg. “I’ll see what Axel’s discovered. Find out what he thinks about all this. But first I’ve got to go to the store.”
I nodded to Princess. “You coming with me?”
The bat fluttered onto my shoulder. I cringed. Even though I knew it was Princess underneath the fur and fangs, the feel of those little claws in my shoulder made me cringe.
Hugo came with us. The bat fluttered down to perch on the dragon’s shoulder. He nipped at her playfully, and Princess nestled onto him like they were old buddies.
I reached the store. It was Tuesday, and Familiar Place was officially closed on Tuesdays as were most of the other shops in Magnolia Cove, but I still liked to go in and feed the animals, play with them, that sort of thing.
I’d only been in the shop a few minutes when the bell above the door tinkled. I dropped a scoopful of food in the dog bowls and turned around, fully expecting to see Axel in the doorway.
My heart stilled when I realized it was Rock Ford.
I gulped and then swallowed down my fear. Guy was probably just here looking for his wallet, not to accuse me of stealing it.
Surely he wasn’t here for that.
“Hi, sorry, I’m not open today.”
Rock glanced around, and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. What if he was the vampire and he saw Princess? Oh no…wait. Vampires can’t walk around during the day. Everybody knew that.
I knew that.
Breathe, Pepper. Just breathe.
Still, I did a quick glance around the room to see where Hugo and Princess had gone. Something shuffled in the back, sounding like it came from the storage room.
“Hi there,” I said so loudly you’d think I was speaking to someone who was nearly deaf. “How are you today?”
He glanced around the store. “You letting someone know I’m here?”
I froze. “No. I… No. There’s no one here.”
He took an intimidating step forward. Now Rock Ford was a tattooed sort of man with piercing dark eyes and slicked hair. His body was cut, and he looked like he could punch a hole through brick if he had to.
Or bone. A lot of bone.
“Sounds like there’s someone in the back.”
Hugo bounded in at that moment. Princess was nowhere to be seen. I exhaled. Even if he wasn’t the vampire, he might be working with the vampire. I didn’t know who I could trust in this lot of men who’d shown up the day Carl died, but I had a feeling Johnny Utah was more trustworthy than Rock Ford.
Rock smiled, though the warmth didn’t reach his eyes. “You finished with my wallet?”
“Your wallet?”
He nodded. “The one you lifted from me when I was playing with the dragon.”
I laughed nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about there, but I did notice that it fell from your back pocket. I tried to flag you down, but you’d already driven away.”
“Well, that’s a pity.” He sat on a stool and swiveled it back and forth. “I suppose you discovered my name’s Rock Ford.”
“Oh, I didn’t notice.”
“Did you do any more digging?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I did.”
Axel’s voice brought me to a standstill. I glanced at the door. I hadn’t even heard it open.
Rock swiveled toward him. “What else did you find?”
“That Rock Ford is from an area near a cobalt mine.”
I moved around where I could see Rock’s face as the two men spoke. “That’s coincidence. I hadn’t meant for that to happen.”
“That’s what happens when you buy an identity,” Axel said.
Rock’s eyes danced with amusement. “So you know.”
“That your real last name is Carlsburg? Yes, I know.” Axel’s gaze darted to me. I shot him a questioning look. “I just got wind of your real name. It didn’t pop up until this morning.”
Rock laughed. His head fell back, and he glanced at the ceiling. “So now you know. I wanted to outrun my family, outrun what we are. But what can I say? When you’re from a family with a reputation like mine, it’s hard to outrun.”
“Meaning?” I said.
“Lots of vamps in the family,” he said.
“Is that why you killed Carl?” I blurted out.
Axel rolled his eyes. I shrugged. Seriously. Just once I’d like to ask that question and have someone say, Yes, that’s why I killed him.
But no, that’s not what happened.
“I didn’t kill Carl.”
“And you expect us to believe that?” Axel said.
Rock opened his arms wide. “Believe what you want, but I had nothing to do with it.”
“Then why were you there that night?” I said.
“To talk to him.”
“About what?” I said.
Rock sighed. He crossed his arms and glanced around the room. “About some things that involve the family.”
“Did you have a chance to?” Axel said.
Rock wag
ged a finger at us. “You two are very Cagney and Lacey. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“No,” I said.
“I’m not sure I like the comparison,” Axel said.
I fisted my hands to my hips. “Because they’re two women? I’ve watched Nick at Night. I know about Cagney and Lacey.”
“You give her an inch and she takes a mile,” Rock said. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re more Starsky and Hutch.”
I rolled my eyes. “What did you need to speak to Carl about?”
Rock scratched his chin. “I see I’m not going to get off the hook. Fact is, I spoke to Carl before he died about a little money issue. The family knew he was parading all over the place selling himself off as this man or that—creature dealer one day, witch hunter the next. We knew about it and wanted him to stop.”
Axel leaned against the wall. “How?”
“Money,” Rock said. “All of Carl’s problems came from a lack of funds, so the family was prepared to give him a generous sum in exchange for him stopping his shenanigans.”
“So you talked to him before he was killed and offered this?” I said.
“I did, but he declined.”
Axel strode over to me. His footfalls fell heavy. “Seems strange that a person would be offered money and not take it.”
“I can’t speak for why he didn’t,” Rock said.
“Was it not enough?”
“It was plenty, but I think Carl had issues that go deep in the family, as others may have issues that run deep with him. He said he didn’t want the money. If he couldn’t earn it, then he didn’t want it.”
“Is that why he pushed so hard to kill Donovan?” I said.
“That I can’t speak to,” Rock replied, rising. He extended a hand. “My wallet?”
I nearly jumped from my skin. I’d completely forgotten about that. I slipped a hand beneath the front counter and handed him the beat-up piece of leather.
“Here you go.”
He peeled it back and checked the contents before sliding it in his pocket. “It was nice chatting with you,” he said, crossing to the door. He placed a hand on the push bar and stopped. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked me the most obvious question of all.”
