“What if I don’t complete it in time?” I asked, chasing after him as he headed toward the warehouse.
Fluffikins turned to glance over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling with delight.“Then the change will be permanent.”
That’s when it hit me.
If I turned into a vampire for good, then he wouldn’t have to tell me why I was different. Because the answer would be obvious:You’re a vampire, Tawny.
This was his last-ditch effort to keep his secret. He knew Connie wouldn’t make my job easy. Heck, he was counting on it.
But I was counting on getting my answers. I’d survived two PTA assignments to date, and I’d survive this one as well.
My mortality depended on it.
I could’ve killed the sneaky bureau-cat. Instead I followed him back to the training room—ready to put everything on the line just so I could learn something about myself that I should have already known long ago.
If he wanted a vampire, then a vampire I would become.
I’d be the best vampire he ever saw, but only for forty-eight hours, tops. Then I’d be me again, and I’d finally know what all that entailed.
Game on, Mr. Fluffikins.
6
The warehouse was exactly as Fluffikins and I had left it only a short while ago. I pulled the chair I’d dragged in a couple feet away from the opening in the ceiling and took a seat. My body ached from my latest fall, thanks to Connie, but I doubted Fluffikins would have the good grace to heal me twice.
In fact, right now he was eyeing me with what appeared to be disappointment.“You look exhausted.”
“I am exhausted,” I snapped back. “And that’s not a very nice thing to say to a woman… or to anyone for that matter.”
A smile stretched between his whiskers. I wished he’d just get on with it already.
“You should be happy,” he said dryly. “After all, you’re getting exactly what you want. You came to steal the artifact, and now here I am about to offer it to you for your next assignment.”
I slumped back farther in the chair and crossed my arms over my chest.“We both know this isn’t what I wanted.”
The cat’s smile widened. I thought he might be planning to say something particularly mean-spirited, but he simply jumped into his ceiling hold, leaving me beneath him.
I expected him to return quickly as he had both of the other times he’d gone up there for me, but instead I found myself sitting alone for what felt like ages.
At one point, Connie even peeked her head in to check on our progress. She left, muttering something under her breath about“that no-good feline menace.”
When Fluffikins finally returned, he held the magical brooch in his mouth, then turned and guided a second, larger object down from above with a sparkly swirl of pink magic.
“What’s that?” I nodded toward the unexpected additional piece of equipment.
He gently lowered the brooch to the ground, then looked back up at me.“It’s your vampire armor,” he answered matter-of-factly.
I cocked my head to the side.“Vampire armor? Like Greta’s angel armor?”
“Not exactly. This will keep you from getting staked in the heart.” Fluffikins sat and curled his tail in front of his feet.
My chest clenched at the fact that such a thing was even a possibility.“But I’ve never seen Connie wear anything like this,” I pointed out, eyeing the ornate chest plate and the leather straps that presumably held it in place.
The cat scoffed.“Connie doesn’t need to wear hers unless she’s knowingly heading into a dangerous situation. She’s a much more experienced vampire than you.”
A shiver ran through me.“I’m not a vampire.”
“Not yet, but you will be in about two minutes here.”
“Okay, so do I need to wear this thing the entire time I’m on this assignment?” I took a deep breath in an attempt to ready myself. The thought of wielding vampire magic was far more terrifying than anything I’d experienced at the hands of the Paranormal Temp Agency so far. I mean, witches could be both good and bad, but weren’t vampires always bad, horrible monsters? If Connie was any indication for how the rest of her species operated, then yes.
Fluffikins seemed to enjoy my discomfort and even took efforts to make it more pronounced.“I added the straps for you,” he said with a small flick of his tail, “since you have a penchant for exposing the flesh on your chest, and we needed some way to secure it.”
“You make it sound like I’m running around with my boobs hanging out. I only show a little bit of cleavage, and only sometimes. It’s tasteful. Not wanton.” Still, I pulled my top up higher and wondered if I should invest in some new turtlenecks for my wardrobe.
He looked me up and down and sighed.“Yes, well… The straps remain essential, nonetheless. We can’t risk you dying mid-job.”
“Aww, Fluffikins. I had no idea you cared.” My voice came out syrupy and sweet. I hated that.
“Losing a temp mid-assignment creates too much paperwork,” he deadpanned.
I groaned and rolled my eyes at the snarky cat.
He motioned with his paw to catch my attention.“Go ahead and put it on. I can use my magic to adjust the fit if it’s not right.”
I stood and hesitantly grabbed the floating vampire armor. It had a thick leather collar that buckled at the back of my neck along with straps that went under my arms and around my back to keep the chest plate from slipping. The metal piece was covered with intricately carved scroll work—an absolute stunner. Still, that didn’t stop me from feeling as if I were wearing an oversized pet collar and that the boss cat may be trying to get one over on me rather than actually protecting me from getting staked in the heart.
The fit, however, was perfect.
I banged on my chest plate to show that it remained perfectly in place.
Fluffikins nodded.“Excellent. Now this.” He nudged the brooch toward me with his paw. I wasn’t sure where exactly I could put it, since the magical artifact was meant to stay close to my heart, and my heart was already covered with the breast plate. I ended up clipping it on my bra and hoping the metal wouldn’t dig into the sensitive flesh below.
As soon as this artifact was in place, a glow lit me up from inside. At least that’s how it felt. I don’t think I was actually glowing.
What I do know is I felt very different.
We humans have become accustomed to a certain level of pain in our day-to-day lives, especially those of us nearing forty like myself. We have so many little aches and discomforts that become part of our norm—a rickety joint, an itchy patch of skin, that kind of thing.
The vampire magic took all of it away.
I no longer felt the pain from my earlier fall. I no longer felt anything. Not physically spent or in need of a second cup of coffee. Nothing.
I even held my breath for a moment and found that my lungs didn’t yearn for oxygen.
Wow. It was as if I’d lost the sensation of living altogether.
“Well, how do you feel?” the cat asked, circling me now.
I didn’t know how I felt about this change. On the one hand it was freeing, but on the other, it felt so at odds with my normal state that I no longer felt human. In that way, I guess I wasn’t. I was a vampire. Did that mean I was technically the undead now? Yeah, it probably did. At least for a little while.
I ran my hands over my body and shook my head.“I feel… nothing.”
“Oh, just you wait,” Mr. Fluffikins added with a smirk.
“Huh?”
“Come with me. Now it’s time for the real test of your magic.”
I gulped hard, but it did nothing to quell my growing anxiety as I followed the boss-cat to whatever he had planned next.
Let’s just hope it wasn’t to my doom.
7
I easily matched pace with Fluffikins as he ran full tilt through the office building’s long halls. This was so weird. At least when I’d had the town witch magic, I’d still felt like me.