She looked at it, then at him. The vampire was as confusing as hell.
Lexi leaned back and folded her arms. “So, what’s your angle?”
“Call it an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.” His topaz eyes glittered.
Despite her reservations, she began to talk. She told him about the vamp blood, about Bryan, and finally, about Bobby.
He nodded when she finished speaking. “Welcome to the world beyond Kindred, where we’ve all learned the hard way that your former employers are the bullyboys of the supernatural world.”
She looked away.
“I like you, Lexi Braxton,” he continued. “Of course, I’d like you more if you stopped calling me a dick.”
“I’m not calling you a dick.” She smirked. “I’ve merely decided your name’s Dick.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.” He shook his head. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll drop you at that dreadful car and I’ll tell your former employers that I couldn’t find you.”
“Why?”
“I already told you, I like you. If you want more, I like your ethics, I don’t like Kindred, and finally, they don’t pay very well.”
Lexi leaned forward. “That’s very decent of you. Can I ask—how did you find me?”
Dick tapped the side of his nose. “Tip-off.”
She realized that not returning to Mike’s bar was the best decision she’d made all day. Still, she was disappointed. He’d seemed okay.
True to his word, the vampire dropped her at Louis’ car.
As she stowed her bag, his window slid down. “Good luck, Lexi Braxton.” He sniffed. “I can still smell that hex pouch.”
Lexi smirked. “It’s all over the back of your trousers too.”
“What? Motherfucker. It’s a shame we can’t stick her head on and kill her all over again.”
She laughed. “If I ever learn that particular skill, you’ll be the first to know.”
Dick drove away. She waited for a few minutes and started the drive to Louis.
Reluctantly, she retrieved her sheathed katana and walked to the house. Louis opened the door and let her in and she found Heidi at the kitchen table with a deck of tarot cards. Lexi was sure she looked even older.
The girl looked up to see the weapon in her hand and sighed.
She shrugged. “I tried.”
Heidi nodded.
The old man signaled for the katana and she held it out to him. He took it to the kitchen counter and wiped it with what looked like an eraser. The blood and oil dripped into a bowl.
The other girl turned a card. “You are at a crossroad.” She turned another. “You can return to Peoria. You will be safe and your life will be uneventful.”
After a moment, she turned the third card. “If you choose anything else, you will find answers to the questions you have never spoken.”
Was I stolen, like Bobby? Where is my real family?
Lexi had already decided she wouldn’t return to Mike. “I guess it’s door number two.”
Heidi nodded as though she had known what the answer would be.
Louis returned the katana and saya to her. “We kept dinner for you and made up the spare room if you’d honor us by staying.”
It was after one am and she was tired. She thanked them and went to wash up before eating.
Lexi woke in the dark and the clock beside the bed told her it was 3:30 am. An orange light flickered outside the window. She climbed out of bed and hurried to the window. A group of people with torches stood in a circle around a stone altar and when she squinted, she saw Heidi lying on it. She hoped they’d be able to reverse the hex and continued to watch as the people stepped forward as one and lowered their torches to the altar.
In an instant, the girl was aflame.
Appalled, she raced through the house and out onto the porch, running at full tilt toward the fire. She drew to halt, pushed back by the heat.
Louis put an arm around her.
She rounded on him. “What did you do?”
He looked into the flames. “It was necessary. We had hoped the witch responsible could reverse it, but this was our last resort. It doesn’t always work and requires great preparation and considerable magic.” He smiled, his gaze still focused on his burning granddaughter.
His attitude seemed unnatural and she spun and gaped when she noticed movement in the flames. Heidi swung her legs over the side of the altar and stood. The blaze died down to reveal a black crust. The girl took a few steps and it crumbled away from what seemed to be young skin.
Her jaw slack, she stared as the coven stepped closer to break the black shell around the girl. She suddenly felt that she was intruding on something private, turned without another word, and walked into the house. Although she returned to bed, it took a while to fall asleep.
Having showered and made the bed, Lexi walked through to the kitchen. A pretty young woman flipped eggs in a frying pan.
“Heidi?” She wasn’t sure.
The girl turned and nodded. She pushed the pan off the heat, crossed to her, and hugged her. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” She hadn’t had such a good feeling since she rescued Bobby. Remembering the boy made her sad for a moment.
Louis entered the room and held the little chain out. “I used the same chain. It felt connected to you.”
Lexi took the chain and examined it. The clasp had been repaired and a tiny pentacle now dangled from it, the source of the new magical shield. “Thank you.”
He looked at a clock on the kitchen wall. “Mike will be here around ten am.”
She nodded as she put the chain on and instantly felt safer. She had liked Mike and thought he liked her. That made it hard to understand why he would have told the vampire where she was. Still, he’d helped her and it was best to simply get out of town. “I’ll be gone before then. Could I trouble you for a ride to the bus station?”
“I can do one better.”
