The swinging doors announced my arrival with a sudden flourish of movement that drew the eyes of the full kitchen staff.
Well, I’d just found where Vanessa was hiding all the vegetarians—erm, vampires. The four others Buckley had counted all busied themselves at various stations, stirring, braising, baking, and plating. Vanessa stood before a stainless-steel counter chopping an onion at lightning speed.
“I should have turned you away at the door,” she muttered, then abruptly stopped dicing and hurled the chef’s knife at me. It flew end over end, embedding in the door less than an inch from my ear.
Whoa, I had not been prepared for that. As fast as I could now move, Vanessa was faster—and she seemed to have zero hang-ups about getting violent.
“That was your warning,” the vampire chef hissed. “The next one won’t miss.”
I took a step back but bumped into the door. Okay, now I was afraid. There was still so much I didn’t know about vampires. Would a knife kill me, or did it have to be a wooden stake? And vampire or not, did I even have it in me to chop off someone’s head? I was guessing the old garlic trick didn’t work, given how much of the spice I’d detected in the food and now saw around the kitchen. So where did that leave me in this fight?
Now that I’d revealed myself, I couldn’t back down.
But could I somehow manage to win?
I lowered my gaze and narrowed my eyes at Vanessa, hoping the stance made me appear more menacing than terrified.“What are you putting in the food here? Why are you poisoning the normies?” I demanded, my voice strong and mostly not shaking.
“Who says we’re doing anything out of sorts here?” Vanessa answered with a shrug, approaching me with a gentle swing to her hips. She stopped mere inches before me and raised her hand to grasp the knife beside my head. She didn’t pull it out, though. Instead, she leaned in closer. I could smell her stale breath over the other, more pungent aromas in the kitchen.
“What we do to normies is our business. As is this restaurant. It’s OUR business, and you’re not welcome here. Go. Now.” She bit out each of these last words with her glistening fangs on full display.
I could have pushed back through the door, leaving this whole confrontation behind me. Whatever Vanessa hoped to accomplish with her poisoned food, she probably didn’t want to create a scene in the middle of the restaurant where all her customers could see. I could have run to Parker or Melony and Buckley, but hadn’t I already decided they would only slow me down?
“Connie already asked you nicely,” I growled, leaning in even closer. “You know you can’t stay in Beech Grove. It’s already claimed.”
“And I already asked you nicely. It seems both of us have a hard time listening. Huh. Guess that means talking isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
With that, Vanessa grabbed the chef’s knife from the door. I caught the movement and followed it with my eyes, ready to block the attack, but while I was focused on this threat, my opponent withdrew a wooden stake from her apron and shoved it straight into my chest.
18
I gasped in surprise but felt no pain. A stake to the heart should have killed me, right?
My eyes and Vanessa’s both shot down to where she held the stake against my chest. The wood had splintered straight up to where Vanessa gripped the weapon in her fist.
It hadn’t entered my heart.
The breastplate!
That silly little accessory had held and very likely saved my life in the process.
Our eyes locked and Vanessa swung with her other arm, the one that held the knife. I darted out of the way, unwilling to lose my head or any other appendage. I’d need those when I became human again.
I forgot to adjust for my new strength, however, and hurled myself with too much force, knocking into an industrial stainless-steel dishwasher spewing steam.
No, no, no, no!
I needed to get back to my feet before Vanessa threw herself at me again. I found myself at a distinct disadvantage now. These Bollyweird vampires had the experience, the numbers, and the higher ground.
I was toast.
Or I would have been if the door hadn’t boomed open, sending a powerful magical fog swirling through the kitchen. A tall man wearing a dark blue suit and loafers stormed in behind.
Parker!
I wanted to go to him, to clutch his hand, to apologize for thinking of him as a liability, and thank him for saving my life. No, I still didn’t love him or anything even close to that. I was, however, incredibly grateful to still have my head attached, to live another day in this crazy world.
One problem, though; I couldn’t move. I struggled and strained but couldn’t even bat an eyelash.
“Tawny! Tawny!” Parker called as he maneuvered past the vampire chefs, each stuck in perfect stasis.
Much as I wanted to, I couldn’t call out in response. Luckily, it didn’t take Parker long to find me on the sticky tile floor by the dishwasher.
“Tawny!” he exclaimed, placing a hand to my chest and freeing me from the spell he’d cast.
I let him help me into an upright position even though I didn’t need any assistance now that the magical fog no longer trapped me.
He searched me for wounds, his breath panicked, heart wild.“When you didn’t come back, I realized you’d probably gone off and tried to take on the coven by yourself. And look, I was right.” He smiled at me gently even though his brow remained furrowed with concern.
“How’d you know that?” I asked. I thought I’d had him fooled. That I’d made the perfect plan to give our team the best chance at victory.
“Because I know you. The real you.” He raised my hand in his and kissed it.
“Does that mean I’m no longer Schrodinger’s vampire?” I asked with a slow grin.
“I don’t know what you are exactly. Just that you’re pretty spectacular.”
“And brave?” I offered.
“I think foolish might be the better word,” he retorted. “Seriously, though. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I answered, then pounded on my chest plate. “Good as new, thanks to this baby.”
He frowned and placed his hand to my chest once again.“Is that what you were wearing earlier today? That collar? What’s it for?”
“To keep me from getting staked in the heart, and obviously it worked. Connie should really consider wearing hers more often.” I’d been wrong about something important, but so had Connie. Even though vampires were smart and strong, they weren’t always right, and they weren’t the only oneswho had skills of value.
Parker seemed confused.“May I see it?” he asked, sitting back on his heels to give me some space.
“I mean it’s kind of under my dress right now, so…”
He flashed a cocky grin, then used his magic to unclasp the armor from behind my neck and untie it from around my waist. A moment later, the armor phased through my dress and floated into Parker’s grasp.
“Seems like you have some experience with that,” I quipped with an unbecoming snort.
But Parker didn’t say anything back. Not even to make a joke.
“Fluffikins gave this to you?” he asked, running his hands over the metal.
I nodded, studying him as he studied the armor.“To protect me.”
“No, that’s not why.” Parker shook his head. “I didn’t realize it, earlier in my office. I was too swept away by my feelings to think clearly.”
I ignored the feelings part, preferring to focus on the facts—or at least the facts as Parker now saw them. “Realize what? What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t armor to protect you,” he whispered. “It’s actually meant to dampen your magic.”
I snorted again.“Well, that’s ridiculous. I can use my magic just fine.”
“Your vampire magic,” Parker corrected. “The alloy here isn’t meant to drown that out. It’s for your witch magic.”
Now he had me really confused.“No, I don’t have that anymore. Remember? Fluffikins took it back.”