Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
Working the vampire shift was playing havoc with my sleep. It was midday by the time I managed to rouse myself properly, much to the cats’ disgust that their feeding routine had been disturbed as a result.
He Who Must Sleep was particularly offended even though, given his own napping proclivities, I’d have expected him to understand.
Bristling with irritation, he glared at me from a corner of the kitchen and only subsided when She Without An Ear unexpectedly padded up to him and tipped her nose against his.
‘It’s only for another five days,’ I told my posse of cats as I poured out their very late breakfast and garnished it with special chunks of fish in a shameless attempt to appease them. ‘I promise.’
I put down the bowls and replenished their water. ‘Thane’s dropping by regularly to make sure you’re alright but I could ask him to stay for a few days until this is over, if you like,’ I offered. None of them answered immediately because they were far too busy satisfying their hunger.
There was a thud on the window pane. I glanced up and saw She Who Commands Werewolves staring in at me. It appeared that Thane had already arrived. I frowned, drew closer to the window and glanced past the ginger cat. Right there, in the middle of the path, were five empty food bowls.
‘Hey!’ I said aloud. None of the cats paid me any attention. ‘Thane is here!’ They continued eating. ‘And he’s already fed you!’
She Who Loves Sunbeams flicked her ears in an attempt to display guilt but none of the others bothered to react. I rolled my eyes at their gaslighting; I ought to have been used to such feline manipulation yet somehow I fell for it every time.
I let She Who Commands Werewolves inside and, because I was a sucker, gave her a snack. She sniffed derisively when she saw that her bowl was far emptier than the others’ but nevertheless attacked the food with gusto. I grabbed my cup of coffee and headed outside to find her werewolf servant.
He wasn’t in my garden and disappointment flashed through me until I heard voices drifting across from Dave’s patch of land. I peered over the fence. Thane was doubled over – and topless. So was Dave for that matter, but he didn’t float my boat in the way that Thane did.
I watched for several moments, enjoying the way the sweat trickled down my werewolf’s back.
His scars, which would be a part of him until the day he died, were no longer something of which he felt ashamed.
I liked to think that I’d given him the confidence to no longer care about what they looked like to the outside world, even though I knew that it was Thane himself who’d pushed past his traumatic teenage years and learned to be proud of what he was, both inside and out.
‘Are you going to stand there and watch?’ he grunted without raising his head. ‘Or are you going to help?’
No contest. ‘I’m going to stand here and watch.’ I might also drool.
Dave straightened up, wiped his hands on the front of his jeans and scowled. I grinned at him. ‘What are you two doing?’
‘Digging a hole, of course.’ He motioned to the pile of earth beside his feet.
‘Dare I ask why?’
‘No.’
‘Are you burying treasure?’
‘No.’
‘Digging a well?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
I tilted my head.
‘I don’t ask you why you’re messing around like a teenager,’ Dave sniffed. ‘If you want to go out and party all night and stay in bed until the afternoon, then it’s not my place to judge.’
Except judging was exactly what he was doing. ‘I was working,’ I told him. ‘Not partying.’
Dave snorted and waved a hand at the muddy hole. ‘I’m working, too.’
Okay, then.
Thane dropped his shovel and straightened up, a crooked smile on his face. My heart flipflopped and I forgot about Dave’s hole. ‘Hey you.’
‘Hey.’ His smile widened. ‘I didn’t want to bother you too early, so I thought I’d make myself useful until you were up and about.’
There were streaks of mud on his forearms and his chest and, thanks to his sweaty work, his vetiver scent was stronger than ever.
The urge to jump his bones despite Dave’s presence was almost overwhelming.
I had never found dirt and sweat sexy before, but I supposed it came down to who the dirt and sweat were clinging to.
‘She’s got that look in her eye,’ Dave muttered. ‘Watch her.’
Thane licked his lips. ‘I intend to.’
My lust intensified. I had always assumed that my sex drive would be subdued somewhat as I grew older but that hadn’t happened since I’d been confronted with Thane on a regular basis.
Sometimes I had to pinch myself to remind myself that I wasn’t dreaming.
A long-term romantic partnership had never been one of my goals, but a lady could definitely change. Even a cat lady.
‘Go on,’ Dave sighed. ‘I’ll finish up here on my own. The two of you ought to take this inside before you shock the neighbours.’
‘You are the neighbours,’ I said.
Dave clutched his chest with a tattooed hand. ‘And I am very, very shocked.’ He winked then his characteristic scowl returned with greater force.
I smiled at him; that scowl was how I knew that Dave heartily approved. Then Thane jumped over the fence and I forgot about Dave, my cup of coffee and everything else.
The shower in my small bathroom wasn’t designed for two people, but where there was a will there was a way.
I carefully lathered soap over Thane’s back, before nudging him to turn around so I could pay the same attention to his front.
Hot water cascaded over both of us. I scrubbed his chest and his taut torso while he took a dollop of shampoo and returned the favour by massaging it into my hair.
‘You don’t think that Trilby is involved?’ he asked.
‘It’s difficult to know anything for certain where Trilby is concerned,’ I replied. ‘But no.’ I half-closed my eyes while his fingers pressed gently into my scalp.
‘What about the cat? Any sign of that Maine Coon again?’
‘No – and I don’t think he’s been back here either, although I can’t be certain.’
‘Turn around,’ Thane said.
I did as he requested. As the water rinsed away the shampoo, he ran his fingers through my wet hair then dropped his hands to my shoulders to massage away the last of the tension in my muscles.
‘What about you?’ I asked. ‘Any luck locating a monster conjuration spell?’
‘I tried every witchery store I could think of, but most of them were affronted that I’d dared to ask. Those spells are illegal and even the ingredients are difficult to get hold of. One of the stores tried to sprinkle a salt ward around me to hold me in place while they called the MET.’
Oh dear. ‘What happened?’
‘I skedaddled before the circle could be completed. Now I can’t show my face in that shop ever again.’
I snickered. ‘Thanks for trying.’
Thane turned off the water and we jenga-ed out of the narrow cubicle and reached for towels. ‘I’ve not finished,’ he said. ‘I figured that if those spells are illegal then somebody somewhere in Coldstream must sell them.’
I froze momentarily. Trilby was a black-market seller. Did Thane mean…?
‘No,’ he said quickly, reading my expression. ‘Not them. I found a dodgy witch in Migden who said he could get me a conjuration spell.’
I wrapped the towel around my body and reached for another one to rub my hair. ‘That must have taken a while.’
‘I was very determined. I have to please my lady love – she’s very demanding.’
‘You bet your sweet arse I am.’ We grinned at each other. ‘So did you buy a spell?’
Thane shook his head. ‘I didn’t need to.
The seller told me that he was the only person in Coldstream with a decent enough supply of fangwort, which is necessary for those spells.
I checked he was telling the truth, and I think he was.
He said that he didn’t make many of them because they’re expensive and he rarely sells any.
They’re difficult to hide and almost always traceable. ’
‘Hmm.’ Traceable unless you chose to release them in the Understream. I pursed my lips and abandoned my attempts to dry my hair in favour of pulling a brush through it.
‘But five days ago he sold one to a vampire,’ Thane added.
I dropped the brush to the floor. ‘Thane, you should have led with that,’ I said faintly. ‘Does he have a name for this vampire?’
Thane grinned. ‘I crossed his palm with enough silver to persuade him to tell me. In his words, the customer was an unfriendly vamp who said he was called Chester Longchamps.’
I stiffened. I’d heard that name: Thomas had mentioned him to Penelope when I was eavesdropping on them, but Penelope had seemed to suggest he was dead. Properly dead.
It was rare for a vampire to actually die and I couldn’t recall hearing about any recent deaths, apart from Brassick whom I had killed.
I tried to remember Penelope’s words –something about Longchamps getting his comeuppance?
Maybe another vampire had used his name to get what they needed and remain anonymous in the process.
Or maybe he hadn’t died at all. Maybe something else had happened to him.
Either way, it hadn’t sounded as if this mysterious vampire had been in any position to conjure up a monster.
Thane arched an eyebrow. ‘I have an address for Chester Longchamps.’
I yanked off my towel. ‘Then what the hell are we doing here? Let’s go! Now!’
He called after me. ‘Can I suggest clothes first?’
Good idea, but I wouldn’t put on my usual cat-lady outfit. I was in assassin mode. One hundred percent.