Olivia might have her house warded tightly and the curtains drawn, but the windows were original to the house – single pane – and let out quite a bit of muffled sound. I glanced around the neighborhood to make sure none of the neighbors were outside before leaning toward the window. I recognized Olivia’s voice, though I couldn’t understand quite what she was saying. From her tone, she was explaining something with the exaggerated patience of a parent. A male voice answered her, sounding quite irritated. A different male voice chimed in something, but the first bowled it over without stopping.
Any idea what they’re saying? I asked Maggie.
Not a clue. These wards are even better than I thought.
Are you really that impressed?
Clearly.
Do you have a crush on Olivia? I asked.
Maggie cleared her throat. Maybe a little one.
I rolled my eyes and pounded on the door. The voices all stopped. I could hear footsteps come closer to the door, but not quite up to it.
“Who is it?” I heard that first male voice ask. “Why don’t you have a peephole?”
Olivia replied in that muffled voice that I couldn’t quite understand. She was on the other side of the room, maybe sitting on the couch.
The man said, “Damn it, why would you rely on sorcery for something like that? This is the twenty-first century, isn’t it? All right, get over here and get rid of whoever it is.” Another male voice said something, to which this one replied, “No, I’m not going to look out the window. They’ll see me!”
Something super weird is going on in there, Maggie said. I’m taking a closer look, and some of those wards that were here last week are missing.
Which ones?
The wards against weapons and sorcery. Olivia is defenseless right now.
That couldn’t mean anything good. In a few quick motions I drew the Glock out of my endless wallet, checked the safety, and stuffed it into my belt on the small of my back. I heard footsteps cross the living room and then Olivia’s voice came through the door.
“Sorry, we’re closed!”
I almost replied, thought better of it, and just pounded on the door again.
“Closed!” she yelled.
I pounded again.
The door swung open. “Damn it, when I say we’re closed, it means – what the hell are you doing here?” Olivia stared at me, open-mouthed. She was wearing the same short cutoff jeans and ratty Jack Daniel’s T-shirt as yesterday, with new splotches of paint on both of them. She struck a good figure with that grungy look, but I forced myself to look over her shoulder. I spotted a tall, gangly man wearing a black sweater and slacks despite the heat and unsuccessfully looking for a place to hide in the kitchen. He turned, saw that he’d been spotted, and snarled at me. The snarl turned into a hiss as his eyes widened.
“It’s him!” he barked, leaping toward me. “Grab him!”
Before I could so much as reach for my Glock, I felt something cold touch my throat. I stiffened involuntarily, raising my hands, palm outward, out of reflex.
That fucker has a sword, Maggie sighed. Shit, I think all of them do.
Who is them? I demanded. Before she could answer, Olivia was shoved aside and someone snatched me by the shoulder, pulling me inside. The door was slammed behind me, and I found myself standing with my back to Olivia’s front door and surrounded by three humanoid figures. The one to my right had a long, slender sword – a rapier, maybe – to my neck. The one on my left also had a rapier drawn and was waving it around as if he didn’t quite know what to do with it. The third – the tall, gangly one – still had his sword at his belt. He stood in the kitchen, looking at me unhappily. Even once my eyes began to adjust to the lower light of the living room, he was so tall and thin to be almost otherworldly. He had the unmistakable pink-eye look of a vampire and, glancing sidelong at his companions, I could now see that they did too.
“Well,” I said aloud, “this is awkward.”
“Yes,” the tall one said. “Yes, it is.” He growled softly.
Are there only these three? I asked Maggie.
Yes.
Who the hell are they?
Fuck if I know. But they definitely know who you are.
I sighed, glancing at the one holding the rapier to my neck. “You mind?”
Vampire number two hesitated, glancing toward the tall one, who made a calming gesture. The sword was lowered but held at the ready.
I rubbed my throat gently. “You gonna introduce yourselves?” I demanded. I’d been threatened so many times in my life that the whole sword at the neck thing didn’t really phase me all that much – which probably reflects poorly on my life choices.
The tall one’s lip curled. He seemed very put out by the entire situation, and I was still trying to figure out why. He said, “My name is Adrian. You are the reaper Alek Fitz.” I glanced sidelong at Olivia. She’d been shuffled to one corner of the living room. She appeared just as irritated as Adrian, but I could see fear in her eyes. I smoothed my T-shirt, pulling it down so my new vampire friends couldn’t see the gun stuck in my belt.
You’re sure that the ward against weaponry has been dropped?
Definitely sure. I’m guessing Olivia wouldn’t dispel a ward like that by her own free will.
Adrian continued, “Why are you here?”
“I’m here,” I said, turning toward Olivia, “to find out why the witch is trying to scry me.”
One of Adrian’s companions inhaled sharply. Olivia’s eyes widened slightly. Before she could answer, Adrian cut in. “You knew that she scryed you?”
“Reaper trick,” I grinned at him. “Professionals don’t like being spied on. You have something to do with this?”
“It definitely wasn’t my idea,” Olivia said, glaring at Adrian.
Adrian turned toward Olivia, then back toward me, frowning to himself. He stepped away, into the kitchen, pulling out a cell phone. Listen in on that, I said to Maggie. I glanced back toward Olivia. “You want to explain yourself?”
Her jaw tightened and she glanced significantly toward Adrian, then at the two other vampires still holding their swords, looking uncertain as to what they were meant to do. Olivia took a deep breath and said in a quiet voice, “Sorry about the scrying. They didn’t really give me a choice.”
“How did you even do that?”
“You left a hair on the couch yesterday. It’s pretty common. People leave little bits of themselves everywhere they go.” Olivia’s chin was still lifted in that defiant way, but she looked even more uncertain than when she answered the door.
I felt a little guilty for all the nasty things I’d been thinking about her – and witches in general – on my way over here. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m fine.”
I didn’t need Maggie to tell me she was lying. I turned to the vampires. “And how did you two assholes know I’d even been here?” I asked. The pair glanced at each other, toward their boss still on his phone in the kitchen, and then back at me. One shrugged. Neither answered. Something clicked in the back of my head. “Have you been following me?” If so, they must have been pretty good at it to keep Maggie from getting a whiff of them. Mags, do you have any idea who Adrian is talking to?
Yeah, and you’re not going to like it.