House of Shadows Read online

  “How much older?”

  “You know that mirror thing with us?”

  “I think so…” She frowned. Is he talking about the seriously traditional no-reflection thing? But, I thought I saw him reflected in the mirror over the bar?

  “Let’s just say, that if I needed to check the closeness of a shave, I can actually do so. He can’t.”

  “You shave?”

  “Uh, no.” She thought she heard a soft growl. “But the point is, if I wanted to, I could actually see what I’m doing.” There was a pause. “He can’t. There’s not a trace of him, not even a shadow. Come to think of it, I don’t think he casts a shadow either.”

  “Oh, weird…” Rowan got up from her chair. “Wait a minute, that doesn’t make sense. Either you are there enough to have a reflection and a shadow, or you aren’t. What the Hell is he? A ghost?”

  “Well, for someone who isn’t there and might be a ghost, he sure is taking up a lot of room on the couch in my TV room.” Rick’s voice was a harried whisper. “Any ideas?”

  Rowan frowned. “So far, the only thing I can think of is a basic barrier spell. But, anything that might work on your um, cousin, might cause a problem for you too.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m going to have to do some serious research on this one. Whatever I come up with will probably have to be made for you specifically.”

  “I figured as much.” She could hear fingers tapping over the phone. Rick was a lot more agitated than he was letting on. “When can you come up here?”

  Rowan’s mouth fell open. “You want me to go there? To where you live?”

  “You’re the um, professional. I have no clue how to do this kind of thing.”

  “Look, I have no interest in learning secrets that might get me killed, such as where you live. I’ll email you the, uh, recipe.”

  “I still have to get him out of the house before the uh, thing can be set, right?”

  Rowan frowned. “Yeah, so?”

  “Now do you see my problem? It’s probably going to take your glow-in-the-dark routine to send this one packing. Then you can cook up your whatever it is to keep him out.”

  She made a sour face, knowing that he couldn’t see it. Rowan absolutely did not want to go out there. He was cute, sexy and very interested; unfortunately she seemed to be just as drawn to him. Using her magic would generate an appetite for sex that would make her very vulnerable to his persuasion. She could already feel her body’s simmering awareness. I don’t need to hop in the sack with a vampire... She paced the kitchen fishing for an excuse. “You are just as much a threat to humanity as the other guy, how do you know I won’t go up there and just fry both your asses?”

  “Easy.” She could almost hear his grin. “I’ll meet you somewhere neutral, like a diner or something and have you do the same thing I did. We can go from there.”

  Rowan frowned. “Do what you did?”

  “Yeah, you can swear not to harm me.” Rick chuckled. “Exactly the same way I did.”

  “Forget it, I am not going.” She angrily stood up, jerking her kitchen chair back. Rowan flinched. The sound of the scraping chair had traveled over the phone-line. I need a cigarette…

  “You’re supposed to be um, one of the good guys, aren’t you?” he said softly. “Isn’t there some kind of rule that says you have to answer a call for help, especially in your particular um, practice?”

  Rowan flinched. “I thought you said you didn’t know anything about this stuff?”

  “I’ve been doing some reading.”

  Some reading, he says…Rowan swept her hand down her face. What the Hell is he reading? I had to learn that lesson the hard way. And she didn’t want to repeat it. Now I really need a cigarette… She picked up her clove cigarettes and lighter from the table

  “Well, isn’t there?” he pressed. “Along with something about telling the truth to a direct question, sort of thing?”

  Damn it all! Rowans marched the cell phone out onto her back porch. I can’t believe a vampire is pressuring me for help! This is so messed up…

  “I can hear you pacing and you haven’t said no, so I’m assuming I’m right.” He sounded insufferably pleased with himself.

  Rowan stood in a warm patch of sunlight and grit her teeth. “Since when does the good guy ride to the rescue of the bad guy?” She frowned fiercely, lit her black cigarette then exhaled the fragrant smoke.

  “How about when the bad guy is smart enough to ask?” He definitely sounded extremely pleased with himself.

  “You suck,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “Why yes, I do.” He actually chuckled. “There’s a diner right around the corner from my house. I’ll email you directions. Give me a day to expect you.”

  “You are gonna owe me big for this,” she spat.

  “I’ll write you a check. When can I expect you?”

  Rowan blinked at the tree. “You have a checking account?”

  He sighed. “And a credit card, a cell phone and a computer, just like the rest of the world.”

  “Good, cause I expect a fat one for this little favor.” She paced and her heels thumped on the wood floor of the porch. “Do you actually have a job?”

  “I work in an office, just like every body else. As a matter of fact, I’m calling from my desk.”

  “Your desk?” Rowan had a sudden vision of her devastatingly handsome vampire in a business suit, toting a briefcase. She shook her head. Too weird…

  He chuckled. “I told you, I just have to stay out of direct sunlight and most offices are fairly windowless. My personal office is windowless. I own a small company.”

  Rowan’s mouth fell open. “You own a company?”

  “I, um,” he coughed. “I inherited it. My um, grandfather invested very wisely. It’s a long story and I’m racking up a hefty bill on my cell phone here. Give me a day to expect you.”

  “How about next year?” she said sweetly.

  “Very funny.” Impatience marked his voice. “How about today? I live in Watertown.”

  “Not today, Watertown is about four hours down the highway, that means an eight-hour turn around drive and it’s already after two. I do not want to make a four-hour drive after I’ve done spell-work, I’ll pass out and wreck on the way home. I’m going to need to arrange for a place to sleep.” Rowan rubbed the back of her neck in frustration. I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this…

  “Don’t worry, I make sure you have a place to spend the night.” Rick’s fingers tapped impatiently again. “Day, please? Preferably this week?”

  “I have to make arrangements with a friend to come in and check my cat. How about Friday afternoon?”

  “It’s Monday. I don’t know if I can deal with um, my cousin for that long.” He sighed. “He’s been here since yesterday and I need to get some sleep. Wait a minute you have a cat? Isn’t that a little cliché?”

  “She’s a gray tabby, not a black Persian, get over it. You haven’t slept with him there? At all?”

  “Let’s put it this way,” Rick whispered harshly. “I have yet to see him um, dine and don’t like the way he watches me. I got a bad feeling that his appetite is even more refined than mine.”

  “More refined?” Rowan frowned. Does this mean he drinks something other than blood?

  “I told you why I uh, drink as much as I do. It’s real possible that he’s in my living room because he can’t get his um, full nutritional value from ordinary, um, sources.”

  “He feeds off of other, um, members of his own family? Isn’t that against the rules somewhere?”

  “I don’t know for sure what he finds, um, appetizing, but from the way he’s always watching me, I get the impression that Klaus doesn’t exactly take the uh, ‘no relatives’ rule into account.” He sighed and added softly. “Or any other rules for that matter.”

  Rowan grinned. “So, he thinks you’re chock full of vitamins?”

  “Keep laughing. Remember, I found you very appetizing
and you’re not that far away. If he gets me, as powerful as you are, you could be next on the menu.”

  Rowan felt a slight shiver. And he wants me to go out of my way to meet him?

  Rick was tapping again. “How about tomorrow?”

  “Uh, I can’t leave tomorrow.” Gods, no! I do not want to deal with vampires tomorrow… Rowan turned to look at the collection of magic tomes on her shelf. “I have to go to work, laundry to finish...”

  “Work? What else do you do, beside the, uh, hocus-pocus stuff?”

  “The hocus-pocus stuff doesn’t give me an income to live off of.” She closed her eyes and sighed. Not that my other job does either... “I work in the branch library right by the courthouse.”

  “You’re kidding?” She clearly heard him choke back a laugh. “You’re a librarian?”

  “I’m a research assistant, actually. I help locate resources for students and professors.”

  “A Witch that’s a librarian...” He was sniggering, the wretch. “What time to you get out of work?”

  “Four, and I’ll have to pack, too.”

  “Pack? For an overnight trip?”

  She sighed. “Yes, pack. Quit your bitching. I expect you to at least take me out to dinner and I’m a girl. How about Wednesday after work? I have Thursday and Friday off for the holiday.”

  “What are you doing home at two in the afternoon today?”

  “If you must know, I called in, they owe me vacation time.”

  “Are you all right?” His voice had dropped to a whisper and he actually sounded concerned.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, just tired.” She winced. I am not about to explain that I needed to catch up on sleep because I haven’t had any all weekend from masturbating—with him as my sexual fantasy. She took a deep breath. “How about Wednesday?”

  “Wednesday’s good and I know a nice restaurant.”

  “A restaurant that’s not a diner?”

  “Yes, a restaurant that’s not a diner. If you can take care of my cousin, that’s the least I can do.” She thought she could hear a soft chuckle. “I’ll send you directions by email.”

  “I am so, looking forward to this,” she said very dryly.

  “I can tell.” She could also tell that he was grinning. “What’s your cell phone number, in case you get lost?”

  “I don’t have one,” she said with a small amount of satisfaction.

  “You don’t have a cell phone?”

  Rowan made a face. “Hell no! I already get all kinds of phone calls from people that need one magical thing or another; I’m not about to carry a phone that lets them find me faster! If I get lost I’ll find a payphone.”

  “Alright...see you Wednesday.” The phone cut off.

  Rowan lit another cigarette. “Terrific, I’ve been hired to ward a vampire’s house from another vampire.” She bit her lip. “I just hope I can keep my sexual appetite under control.” She collapsed into one of the lawn chairs on her porch. “Maybe I should find a safer career? Like law enforcement.”

  - Five -

  Assignation

  Around five Wednesday evening, Rowan drove her Saturn down Watertown’s main street. “Sam’s Diner is supposed to be around here somewhere,” Rowan muttered and stopped her black Saturn at the traffic light guarding the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Main. The drive had been long and dull. She yawned. Thank all that’s holy that I was able to get out at lunch rather than four, or I’d be asleep at the wheel.

  The darkening sky cast the small town into deep shadow and set off a cascade of oncoming streetlights. The slipping grasp of sunlight stained the sky with smears of indigo, violet and flame behind the winter-barren trees of the surrounding hills.

  She glanced right then left. Her brow furrowed. The gleam of silver and the glow of green peeked out behind a little strip mall on her far left. “Rick’s email said to look for the green neon, so that has to be it.” She drove through the light then darted over to the far left across traffic, pulling sharply into the small parking lot that surrounded the strip mall. She drove through the lot, headed for the far end and her Saturn thumped over a few low speed bumps.

  A bullet-shaped diner of gleaming chrome glimmered under tall streetlights. It looked like it belonged on a nineteen-fifties movie set. The building was completely outlined in glowing green neon and surrounded by well-groomed holly bushes. Silvered and reflective windows betrayed nothing of the interior. A huge round sign, also generously outlined in vivid green neon, sported a familiar Dr. Seuss character running with a plate in his hand. The marquee spelled out: Eat at Sam’s.

  Rowan smiled. “This has to be it.” She stepped out of the Saturn and pulled on the black denim jacket that matched her jeans. The evening was growing chilly and her plain red T-shirt just wasn’t warm enough. She fished her long red ponytail out from within her coat, then grabbed for her red velvet shoulder bag.

  As she walked toward the chrome and glass doors, she spotted a midnight blue Dodge Viper parked by the door. “Looks like the vampire made it ahead of me.” She shook her head with a small smile. He had mentioned it in his last email. “A vampire that drives a Dodge Viper...” She could feel nervousness mixing with a strange, physical excitement. As much as she was not looking forward to dealing with vampires, she was also honest enough to realize that she was pleased that Rick had wanted to see her.

  The diner’s interior was decorated with bright chrome and strong primary colors with mint green dominating everything. Framed and poster-sized Dr. Seuss illustrations hung on the walls. Next to the register stood a beautifully restored Wurlitzer jukebox aglow with bubbling tubes and full of forty-five records from the nineteen-fifties. Elvis Presley was wailing away over the stereo system. The smell of burgers and fries made her stomach growl with hunger.

  Rick was sitting in a booth by a broad, tinted window that overlooked his Dodge Viper. He looked up and spotting her, smiled and waved. Rowan smiled in return, then strode down the narrow aisle to his booth. The strong light of the diner showed the clean, sharp lines of his face to perfection. Damn, I forgot just how cute he really was.

  Rick waved a hand toward the bench across from him. “Thank you for coming all the way out here. How was the drive?”

  Rowan raised a brow. “Long, boring.” She tossed her velvet bag on the seat opposite him and slid in. Her eyes were drawn to his hand. He was absently rubbing his elegant fingers in the condensation on the half-full glass of cola on the table in front of him. She took a breath to control the pounding in her heart and the slow coil arousal building in her core. This was such a bad idea…

  A waitress in a frilly apron came up and offered Rowan a menu. She glanced at the vampire. I’m hungry but I don’t know how he feels about food being eaten in front of him. Rowan bit her lip. “Is it all right if I order something?”

  Rick grinned. “Sure, order what you like.” He turned to the waitress. “Just put it on my bill.” The waitress nodded and took Rowan’s order. In minutes, the waitress returned with Rowan’s soda.

  “Good service,” Rowan said with a small smile, then sipped on her soda. “Thank you for dinner, I’m starved.”

  Rick nodded. “You’re welcome, and the service is one of the reasons that I like this place.”

  Rowan almost choked on her soda. “You eat food?” It came out in a tight whisper.

  Rick raised a sarcastic brow. “Yes, just not a whole lot of it.”

  Rowan bit her lip. “Sorry, I guess I have a lot to learn about, um, you.”

  He shrugged. “That’s okay, I have a lot to learn about you, too.” He leaned forward over the table and whispered. “For example, I still don’t understand how you just started glowing like that.”

  Rowan shrugged and whispered back. “I told you before, it has to do with faith. It came on as a result of calling on my Goddess for protection, so it’s obviously some kind of holy or blessed radiance.”

  “Faith?” He gave her a disgusted look. “I’ve seen a few cros
ses and other holy objects do that, but your whole body lit up.”

  Rowan rolled her eyes. “I’m a witch. Unlike the major monotheistic religions, my body represents my deity rather than a symbol, like a cross or a star.”

  He sneered. “So I‘m supposed to be evil, while you’re… What? Good?”

  She grinned. “Well, obviously there’s something about you that She just doesn’t like.”

  “Look,” he jabbed an angry finger at her. “I don’t buy into all that damned and evil souls crap,” he whispered harshly. “I have gone out of my way not to kill to feed and I’ve seen ordinary humans do things I couldn’t dream up on a bad heroin dose. I’ve never seen anything glow in front of ordinary psychos.”

  She rolled her eyes. “So, you’re personally not as evil as your kind is rumored to be. I’m happy for you.” She leaned back in her seat. “My radiance is probably just a simple matter of my magic being stronger than yours.”

  He raised a sarcastic brow. “What’s magic got to do with it? I’m just a predator.”

  “Just a predator?” She laughed out loud. Curious diners looked over at them and Rowan choked her laughter down. She leaned across the table. “Hello,” she whispered. “It takes magic to animate the dead and you are an animated dead man. That makes you magical.”

  The waitress came back with Rowan’s burger and fries. They both leaned back into their seats and dropped into silence. The waitress left and Rick leaned across the table.

  “I am not dead,” he whispered.

  “Really?” Rowan raised a sarcastic brow and picked up her hamburger. “When was the last time you had a doctor’s appointment?” She took a bite. It was cooked to perfection.

  His brows rose then he smiled. “Last year.”

  Rowan nearly choked on her burger and swallowed hastily. “When were you...um, when did you become this way?”

  His smile was smug. “Nineteen forty-three.”

  She sat back in the booth. “Damn.” She whistled softly. “So, the eternal youth thing is actually true.” She looked to one side then stared hard. “And the doctors see nothing odd about you?”