Griff
The magic-made mausoleum in the bowels of the city seemed to never end. The dim gray glow from the entrance was nearly out of sight as looked back.
“You think we should do some kind of protection spell before we go any further, ?” Darcy called out, his voice echoing.
“I did one before I picked you up.”
“So, on yourself only, then, huh?” Darcy let out a nervous chuckle as he carefully stepped over sharp rocks and navigated the uneven floor. “Okay, well, that’s reassuring, kind of.”
“Do you get any cell service down here?”
“Nope,” replied Darcy as he checked his smartphone. “And this phone light just isn’t cutting it. Where are you, anyway?” Darcy let out a yelp as appeared beside him and took hold of his hand.
“Show me the dangers that lay before me, shine a light so I can see,” chanted .
Blue and purple energy emanated from their interlocked hands as a flash of light illuminated the cavern before them.
“P-p-perfect timing, huh?” Sweat dripped along Darcy’s face as he leaned forward, peering down a sharp ravine just before them.
“Guess so,” replied as he kicked a rock down the ledge and listened for the sound of its landing. It never came. “Like my spell?”
Darcy smiled. “Very cool.”
“I also have one I’ll show you later that actually channels the sun. You know, for when you need even more light,” replied . “But anyway, I’m going to assume the library isn’t down there.”
Darcy nodded in agreement. “Should we use magic to jump over this, or—” Before Darcy could finish his sentence, had jumped clear across the opening and landed on the other side.
“ No magic it is ,” Darcy answered his own question, giving himself a running jump before he cleared the gaping hole.
The light from the spell continued to glow brightly from both and Darcy’s hands.
“I think I see something,” shouted as he took off, running deeper into the cavern.
With Darcy close behind, came to a stop, the magical glow from his hands casting shadows on the walls. “Look at these drawings,” he exclaimed, his hands illuminating markings and symbols drawn on the makeshift crypt’s walls. “What do you think they mean?”
“It’s hard to make out,” Darcy said as he snapped several photos on his phone. “But— smartphone flash willing —we can look into that later. Do you see the books?”
“No,” used his palms as magical flashlights, discovering now that they were at a dead end. “But can you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Darcy asked.
held a finger to his lips, prompting Darcy to stand completely still.
At first, only the dripping of water could be heard in the distance. Soon, however, another sound became apparent: the squeaking and wing-flapping of bats—more bats than had ever heard in his life.
“Okay, well, that’s kind of normal, I suppose,” Darcy hesitated. “I mean, uh, this cave has probably existed for hundreds of years, r-right?”
The light in their hands seemed to dim as a flurry of bats—hundreds and hundreds of them—trickled up from the ominous ravine they had just cleared. The bats moved as though they were a giant black cloud of smoke—all together, clicking and chirping as they swarmed above the two witches.
“Think they’re just normal bats?” asked.
“With our luck? Not a chance.”
The colony of creatures mingled together, creating the shape of a giant hand above them. Their clicking intensified as the hand moved to envelop and Darcy. Moments before its massive fingers crushed them, a gust of wind silenced the entire horde.
“ Windsling, enough!” Quinn commanded as he appeared in front of , arms outstretched. The once never-ending colony swarmed together into one single ball. A small black bat—one that found surprisingly cute for trying to kill him moments before—remained.
Both the creature’s transition and the sudden appearance of his professor-turned-vampire was enough for to speak up. “Pr-Professor Quinn?”
“I’m just as confused as you,” came a familiar British accent from behind them. Appearing next to Quinn, Uriah’s hand gently grazed ’s closest cheek.
“ Oh , Ri,” sighed in relief as he placed his hands on his vampire’s chest.
“ No, that’s no excuse. These are my friends. Yes , your friends, too,” Quinn said to the chirping bat before turning back to the witches. “Oh, hey, Darcy. Hi, . Uriah tells me you’re still auditioning for my play.”
“Uh, if it’s still on, yeah,” replied before nudging his boyfriend. “He is, too.”
Quinn looked to Uriah. “So I’ve been told.” Uriah shrugged sheepishly.
“Why don’t we back up and you start by telling me what’s up with the bats?” asked .
“Oh, you mean Windsling? He’s just a bat, as in singular. Well, I guess it depends on his mood.”
Darcy wiped sweat from his forehead. “M-m-magic bat?”
Quinn rubbed his hands together, a pensive expression on his face. “Similar to how Uriah and Pruitt are tied to , Windsling here—well, he’s my familiar.”
“Huh?” Darcy asked. “And since I’m asking questions, I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about you. Did you really get fired for getting too drunk at homecoming? Or was it the racy online photos?”
“This one doesn’t know what familiars are?” The bat perched on Quinn’s shoulder as the professor’s gaze shifted from Uriah to . “And wait a second, those are the rumors?”
“ Your familiar?” asked Uriah.
“And he’s just been down here this whole time?” continued the interrogation.
Quinn cleared his throat. “Well, there’s a few things I’ve been meaning to tell you all. See, I’ve just been so busy posting racy online photos that I just?—”
“Let’s hear it, prof,” Uriah interrupted, his brow raised.
“All right, all right,” began Quinn. “Odessa kept my familiar and grimoire locked away in secret for hundreds of years. It’s part of why I came to Mystic Hollow. I just assumed she sacrificed poor Slingy here and harvested his magic long ago.”
“So, that makes you…” Uriah’s voice trailed off.
“An Original Witch,” finished the thought, a look of suspicion crossing his face.
“Well, that certainly was not on the Mystic Hollow rumor mill bingo card,” interjected Darcy.
“Look, don’t think badly of me. The other reason I came here was to make sure whoever was in Odessa’s way was safe. Not all the Original Witches were power-hungry murderers.”
“How many of them were, then?” Darcy asked.
“Well…” Quinn seemed momentarily lost in thought. “When you live long enough, let’s just say it’s hard to keep your hands completely clean. I’ve spent the last hundred years trying to redeem myself.”
“Immortal, huh?” Uriah prodded. “And yet still able to become a vampire?”
“Well, one of us was a werewolf, too, and not all of us ended up being immortal. It’s a long story, really.” Quinn turned to his clicking familiar. “Yes, I missed you, too. Things are so different up above now. Man, you are absolutely going to love fruit snacks.”
used his telepathic bond with Uriah to communicate. ?Do you think there’s something suspicious about Quinn’s omission??
Uriah shifted his weight from one foot to the other before replying. ? Honestly, Doc’s the one who rushed here to protect you. Hasn’t given me any kind of bad feeling. If old boy acts up, as the First Vampire, I can compel him.?
“So, what?” asked . “You showed up because your familiar was going to kill us?”
“First off, I’ve been locked up ever since you killed Odessa, so I only just now discovered this crypt—which we Originals call Primos Kryptos, by the way—was even open. And secondly, yes. The familiars of the Originals are known to be territorial, so I figured I’d better show up before you became bat food.”
“That’s quite the info drop,” Uriah mused as he rubbed his hand through his beard.
“Well, thank you, Quinn,” said . His professor shrugged.
“So, Original Witch, what’s this all mean?” Darcy asked, shining the light from his hands on the nearby walls.
“Nothing really.” Quinn examined the drawings. “Probably just a lock of some kind to hide something valuable.”
“Like, oh , stolen magic?” asked.
“Revelare!” Quinn shouted, raising his hands to the wall. Each piece of art shimmered, then the drawings started to move. Finally, the wall faded away, revealing five altars; all but one with an old, grand-looking book placed atop it.
“Knew it was a good idea to keep you alive,” Uriah patted Quinn on the back as he stepped forward, analyzing the closest text. “Feeling oddly drawn to this one.”
“Me, too,” said as he stepped forward and placed his hands atop the same book. “It’s because it belongs to my magic line.”
“The Grand Grimoire ,” acknowledged Quinn as he stepped between the two of them. “It’s said to be the most powerful magic book in the world. The grimoire itself is protected, unable to be destroyed, and will simply exist forever. Well, at least, you know, according to the old ancient water cooler talk.”
The book was thick, its pages made of aged papyrus, its cover pristinely preserved in an impressive deep purple with gold trim lettering highlighting its name.
“This is what I need to complete my cloaking spell before the party,” exclaimed , his fingers tracing the engraved title of the text before pulling back the cover and sifting through its pages.
“College kids and their parties,” Quinn sighed and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes at Uriah. His sire simply shrugged.
“I’m not feeling drawn to that one,” said Darcy, standing at the end of the row and eyeing a different text.
The bat flew to the empty altar where it perched, chirping loudly in Quinn’s direction. “You’re right, Slingy,” Quinn let out a sigh. “For some reason, ours isn’t here.”
“Can we pack these all up and get out of here?” asked as the others remained entranced. “I don’t know how safe it is down here.”
Darcy nodded, grabbing up two of the other books and packing them into his backpack. tucked his into a larger pocket of his backpack, then reached for the last book, the Artemis Grimoire , and slid it into a smaller area of his bag. “Be careful with that one,” said Darcy. “Seems—well, seems important.”
“Any other familiars down here we should know about, Doc?” Uriah asked, pacing around nervously as the witches finished packing.
“A very real possibility,” Quinn said in an almost lackadaisical manner as he patted Windsling’s head and scratched behind his ears. “My little flying night fox will keep us safe. Well, unless it’s something bigger, then we might be screwed.”
Aren’t most animals bigger than a bat? thought to himself. Overhearing him, Uriah shot him a knowing nod.
“We’ve got all we need, so let’s leave before we find out,” said Darcy to the agreement of the group.
Uriah and Quinn led the group back to the endless drop.
“Want a special ride?” Quinn asked, gesturing to Windsling as he did.
“Or I got you.” Uriah stepped behind , placing his hands on his lover’s shoulders.
“ Oh, come on, ” Quinn chuckled. “You guys know vampires can’t fly.”
“Well, actually,” began Darcy, “we just jumped across last time.”
“Yeah, exactly. I’ll do my super vampire jump with you in my arms,” Uriah said to before turning to Darcy. “And with you, uh, I suppose you can hop on my shoulders.”
“Oh, not in your arms, too, huh?” teased Darcy. “Fine. I see how it is.”
“Well, uh, I mean, I can carry you, too.” Uriah looked embarrassed, but thought the entire exchange was very cute.
“Bats it is, I guess,” said . As though on command, the group turned to see a giant circle of bats rise from the underground ravine.
Quinn stepped forward and balanced on their surface, waving his arms up in the air. “Look! See, it’s fun! Jump on. It won’t hurt them or you, I promise.”
Uriah watched with amazement as gently stepped onto the flying colony. The bats swiftly carried the professor and his student over to the other side.
“I-I suppose I can jump again,” Darcy said to Uriah as they both realized they were alone together on the wrong side. “Maybe telekinesis, even.”
?He doesn’t know telekinesis. At least not like me. Plus, I could tell he was totally scared of jumping last time,? communicated via ESP to Uriah.
“Oh, like hell I’m letting you do that,” Uriah groaned. Before Darcy could even react, he scooped him up into his arms and super-sped over the ravine to join and Quinn. “There, in my big arms, just like you wanted,” the bearded vampire said with a wink.
“There was some editorializing there, but I’ll accept it,” replied Darcy as he hopped to his feet.
“You two wanna ride with us? In Pru’s car, I mean,” asked as they followed the dim glow of the cloudy day out of the cavern. “We’re gonna head back to my dorm quickly and do the magic cloaking spell.”
“Well, although our Original Witch friend here certainly has some explaining to do, I’ve actually recruited him to go on a little side quest with me,” Uriah said as he placed his hands gently on ’s waist. “I’m gonna pay my bandmates a visit and see if they’d like to perform at tonight’s party.”
“ Really? ” seemed surprised. “And just how do you expect to do that, you conniving vampire?”
“Hey, I got some connections,” Uriah jokingly brushed the nonexistent dirt off his leather jacket. “Been around long enough to, anyway.”
“Don’t you think a werewolf can smell vampires?”
“Well, that’s where I was hoping maybe you could help out. You know, since you’ll be perusing the magical cloaking chapter of that big old book and all.”
Quinn nodded. “There’s most definitely a spell for that. Maybe use it on all of us vampires, why don’t you?”
“Vampires at a werewolf frat party, huh? So, you’ll just bite everyone until they tell us what we want to know?” asked .
“It sounds like a good plan to me,” Quinn replied.
The group reached the shallowest point of the crater before stopping.
“Now, wait a second,” Darcy rubbed his forehead, looking lost. “Would that make the werewolves turn into vampires?”
Windsling chirped as though responding. “Huh?” Quinn asked. “Oh. You want me to say that?”
Windsling chirped in agreement.
“Verbatim?” Quinn clarified, looking from his familiar back to the group. “Per Windsling : Foolish amateur witch. The bite of a vampire will certainly kill any werewolf.”
“ Oh ,” Darcy’s eyes widened.
“For once, what I was going to say would’ve been nicer,” Uriah chuckled, looking from a confused Darcy to a perturbed . “I like this bat.”
“Probably because you’re a vampire,” said Darcy. “Isn’t that another old myth; that vampires turn into bats?”
“Sounds about as wacky as vampires flying,” joked Quinn, the smile vanishing from his face as he started to connect the dots. “Then again, I am now a vampire that controls a sizable colony of bats, so…”
“I don’t mean to get into specifics here, but…” Darcy’s voice trailed off.
“Spit it out, amateur ,” Uriah said with a wink.
winced, hoping that his witch companion had caught onto Uriah’s sly sense of humor. He was relieved to see Darcy crack a smile in his lover’s direction before speaking up again. “Um, well, how’s that work with you and Pruitt, Uriah? If you give him a hickey, does he—I don’t know— die ?”
?Good question,? prodded as he squeezed Uriah’s hands in his own.
Quinn laughed as Uriah appeared flustered. “Um, well, I suppose that could happen, technically,” he replied.
“While likely never explored academically, one would assume it’s something transferred from saliva to bloodstream contact,” added Quinn, reaching his finger out for Windsling to land on. “I’d be genuinely curious to know if there was ever a werewolf who went about the necessary steps to attempt a complete transformation into a vampire. Maybe the university press would publish a paper on it if I wrote one.”
“Well, let’s not make my boyfriends the test subjects for that one,” said . “Polyamorous relationships are challenging enough without the whole vampire-werewolf curse playing into it.”
Quinn gave his student an understanding look. “Should we be off then?” he asked of Uriah, who nodded in response.
wrapped his arms around his vampire familiar’s shoulders, savoring his scent and presence one last time. “Let’s put a pause on biting anyone who doesn’t want to be bit for now, okay, handsome?” he asked in a playful, yet serious tone.
“Oh, bollocks,” Uriah sighed as he picked up and squeezed him tight. “Whatever you say. But if someone gets hungry?—”
interrupted Uriah’s banter with a kiss. “We’ll pack some extra blood bags for post-party munchies.”
Uriah couldn’t say no to his witch, ruffling his hands through ’s hair to make it messy as a form of agreeable protest. He placed down before turning to the other young witch.
“If any more questions pop up about our, um, bedroom activities, Darce, ask away.” Uriah placed his hand on Darcy’s shoulder, shooting him a wink. “We’re all about sharing and being open.”
?All about sharing, huh?? gave his vampire boyfriend a gentle nudge.
?All about what makes my witch happy,? Uriah replied confidently, pressing a final kiss on his lover’s forehead. ?Plus, looks like Darce’s done a bit of a glow-up after being possessed by my egomaniac of an ex-girlfriend. You think he’s been working out?? “ Be safe, you two.”
“You, too,” replied as he took Darcy’s hand. “I’ll let you know when the spell is complete.”
“You wanna fly outta here?” Quinn asked of Uriah as Windsling multiplied into a magical colony.
“Really not a fan of flying, Doc,” his sire replied. “I’ll just do this.” The group watched as Uriah sped up the side of the emptied lake and disappeared out of sight.
“Must be all those bad vampire movies,” Quinn said with a shrug, waving as his bats carried him away.
“ Must be ,” said, his eyes locking with Darcy’s as a smile crept across his face. Hands joined together, the two lifted into the air, their bodies gliding toward Pruitt’s car.
“And here I thought they’d put you in a fancy new single suite or something,” Darcy exclaimed as opened the door to his old dorm room. Darcy’s side was now stripped of all his belongings. “Are they going to find you another roommate?”
“Hope not,” said as he placed his bag on Darcy’s old desk. “I’ve been using the extra space for all my magic stuff.”
“I see that,” replied Darcy as he ran his hands across a smooth, purple velvet blanket that was placed over his old bed. The blanket was decorated with gold stars and constellations, and seemed familiar. “Is this, um, what do they call it? A chanting mat or blanket?”
“Yes,” nodded. “I sit here and call the corners now that I don’t have a cute roommate to check out before bed.”
Why’d I just say that? asked himself. I’m not the one who took the damned truth serum.
Darcy appeared amused, kicking off his shoes and setting down his own bag before jumping onto his former bed like an excited kid. “So, does that mean you and I are about to do our first big spell together?”
“It does,” blushed, placing several ingredients into a purple mortar and pestle kit on the desk before them. Shuffling through a nearby mini fridge, he pulled out a bottle of water and dumped some into the bowl, mixing it together to create smoke. “Old Mother Madge told me to brew up this little concoction first.”
“Oh, yeah? You gotta drink it?”
nodded as he pulled a small remote from the top desk drawer and clicked several buttons. A series of flameless LED candles placed around the room glowed. He turned off the overhead lights, drank the contents of the bowl, and took a seat on the bed with his grimoire in hand.
“Mood lighting, huh?” Darcy said with a friendly chuckle.
could tell that Darcy was finally relaxed around him now. He also had a feeling the truth serum was still working on him, which could be useful for more than one line of questioning. His mind raced back to his dreams, to Pruitt’s concerns that Darcy might be a werewolf, to his boyfriends teasing him and suggesting he add Darcy to the polycule, and finally to Darcy’s flirty comments.
“Do you want to come with me to the party tonight at Dark Moon Manor?” asked, perusing his phone as though to deflect suspicion.
“No,” Darcy said enthusiastically as he nodded his head yes. “I mean, that’s not what I meant to say. I meant to say—um, no .”
raised a brow. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m not really into the whole macho frat vibe, either, trust me.”
Darcy’s mouth hung open as though he wanted to say something, but couldn’t. Instead, he shrugged and smiled. “I’d like to hang out with you, I guess. So, I’m doing what you’re doing,” he finally spoke.
felt his phone vibrate and checked it. A message scrolled across the screen.
Uriah Black
Darcy himself isn’t a werewolf. At least he doesn’t smell like one. But I did pick up on the scent of another werewolf all over him. Not sure if good or bad. Be careful.
“Is that Uriah? Is he okay?” Darcy asked, seemingly concerned.
“It is, and he is.” quickly put his phone into his pocket. He wondered how to approach the text message revelation. “So, do you think there’s a connection between the Dark Moon fraternity and Dr. Dark Moon?”
“Well, they clearly share the same name, but—uh, ye-… Um, no ,” Darcy fumbled as he cleared his throat. “Sorry, wow. Again, it’s like I can’t answer.”
“How did you meet her?” asked .
“She actually approached me on campus one day.” Darcy appeared deep in thought. “There’s more, but it’s?—”
“Let me guess, you can’t say it?”
Darcy shook his head.
Was this some kind of paranormal interference with my truth serum? Sure, it was my first one, but it was working earlier.
“Are you sure you’re not a werewolf?”
“I’m not sure,” said Darcy. “I mean, you said so yourself that we wouldn’t know until the next full moon, which would be?—”
“Tomorrow. Right. ” sighed. What else do I ask to know if it’s still working?
“Any other questions now that I’ve finally got you in my bed?” Darcy chuckled, his hand brushing against ’s own.
“Um, well, yes.” tapped his finger on his chin. He remembered Darcy admitted to him that he was pansexual on move-in day. “Have you ever dated someone who was poly before? Or, um, someone who already has a partner?”
“Um, well, no,” Darcy replied thoughtfully. “But, uh, one of my friends from high school is poly. Seems to be working for them. I-I guess it’s something I’m keeping an open mind about.”
“Um, well, no,” Darcy replied thoughtfully. “But, uh, one of my friends from high school is. Seems to be working for them. I-I guess it’s something I’m keeping an open mind about.”
“Does that mean you consider yourself monogamous?”
Darcy shrugged. “I have an interest in someone who is polyamorous, I guess. That’s what you would categorize yourself as, right?”
hesitated before nodding. “These days, I’ve been doing just as much research on my magic lineage as I have about ethical non-monogamous relationships and lifestyles.”
“And you are official boyfriends with Pruitt and Uriah now, yeah?”
nodded. “Do they intimidate you?”
“I mean, they’re definitely powerful guys. Uriah’s bark seems worse than his bite, though,” continued Darcy. “I mean, unless you’re a werewolf, which…”
They both laughed.
“Are you curious to know more about them? Me?” asked.
“I am,” Darcy said as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands. “I feel like I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m also curious about how sex works when both of your partners have super speed and super strength.”
blushed. Before he could even open his mouth, though, Darcy was on to the next question.
“I think I would consider myself a—what is it? Oh, yeah, a top. But maybe a versatile top. That’s what they call it, right?”
“Um, they do,” nodded.
“What are they? And what about you?”
I can’t believe I’m entertaining this conversation just to find out if someone’s blocking my magic serum. Okay, maybe that’s not the only reason, but still… “Uh, versatile top is a good description for both of them, I’d say,” said quietly. “As for me?”
“Let me guess.” Darcy reached forward, playfully squeezing ’s arm. “Total bottom.”
felt his cheeks burning. “Um, well, I mean…”
“Look at me,” laughed Darcy. “Haven’t even done more than kiss a guy, but I can guess everyone’s preference just by looking at them.”
“Don’t think too much into that,” replied before switching subjects. “Have you been doing anything that might affect my dreams?”
“Dreams?” Darcy appeared perplexed. “ Wait a second. Have you been having wet dreams about me?”
“No way!”
“Well, ,” began Darcy, “I’m not Freddy Krueger, so no. I’m not infiltrating your dreams.”
“Good,” said with a nod. “Feeling any werewolf symptoms coming on?”
Darcy shook his head no. “But would you like me better that way? Because, well, I know a guy who can bite me.”
got defensive. “Of course not, Darcy.”
“Just let me know,” the dirty blonde witch winked at him.
“Very funny,” sighed, pulling the book into his lap and sifting through its pages.
“You been stressed out?” Darcy asked. ’s cheeks blushed as he felt Darcy run his hands through his hair, singling out the white streak in his otherwise brunette coloring.
“You could say that,” replied , quick to change topics. “Want to start the spell?”
“Well, I feel like I can’t lie—and that’s not exactly what’s on my mind,” Darcy spoke softly, their eyes meeting as he slowly slid his hand down the side of ’s face. “But I want to help you and keep you safe, so let’s do it.”
couldn’t help but smile. It was only then that he realized how romantic of a setting they were in. Well, maybe not romantic. But it felt like the first night of college all over again. Seems like he’s mostly telling the truth, but also like there’s things he doesn’t remember. Is he possessed? Again? Clueless? Crushing on me?
“Okay. I don’t know a lot about the mechanics of things, but I’ve noticed holding hands kind of helps,” bashfully held his palms up.
“I’m a little nervous,” Darcy said as he wrapped ’s hands up in his.
“About the magic part?”
“No,” Darcy replied. “About doing something that might hurt you. Like before.”
felt Darcy’s hesitance in his hands and gave them a squeeze. He looked into his eyes, searching for something. Darcy pressed his thumbs over top of ’s fingers protectively. “I can handle myself,” finally said.
“If there’s one thing I know, it’s that yes, you sure can,” Darcy smiled. “Now, what do we do next?”
’s gaze moved between the book and Darcy’s eyes as he read the incantation aloud. “Now, say it with me,” he asked of his fellow witch after the first chant.
“My powers are a part of me, my legacy, and my destiny,” the two said in unison. “Keep them safe, keep them cloaked, so my magic now only I can see.”
Purples and blues emanated from their hands, and then everything stopped. The battery-powered candles flickered and went out.
“Never seen magic gusts blow out LED candles before,” observed Darcy.
“Oh, oops!” leaned to the side, grabbing for something underneath his leg. “I was sitting on the remote.” The candles returned to their normal glow with the click of a button.
The two shared a smile.
“Looks like we’re ready for the party. Well, I mean, you, anyway,” Darcy said as he let go of ’s hands.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I was messaging with Haven and he kindly offered me a plus one.” reached for his phone and scrolled through his texts.
“Well, what do you know?” Darcy said with a smile.
“Before we pack up, I think I have one little favor to do for our vampire friends, then we can be on our way.”
“What, so the frat boys who howl at the moon can’t smell the whole undead thing?”
“Exactly.”
“Let’s do it. Then you’ll have the entire car ride to tell me about this Haven fellow,” replied Darcy.
“Yeah,” said as he wondered how he would explain everything—and how tonight might go. “Guess so.”