Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam Book 2) Page 15

  But even as I texted Sandy about what had just happened and then fetched the broom and dustpan to sweep up what had been the remains of Thornton, I couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t over just yet, and until it was, I would sleep with one eye open.

  Chapter 13

  NEEDLESS TO SAY, I didn’t sleep very well. By the time I woke up, the house was feeling very empty and a little scary. Two days in a row, I woke up without a love note on my pillow, and I realized just how much I missed that. Aegis as a bat had hung out with me till I calmed down, but I had made him return to the basement before I went to bed.

  Bubba was stretched on the foot of the bed, waiting patiently. I blinked as I sat up, yawning. My body felt slow. Too much adrenaline the night before after running a public ritual like that had left me cramping and slightly sick to my stomach.

  “Hey, Bubs. I don’t like what’s been happening,” I said as he bounced up to crawl into my lap. I leaned over, kissing the top of his ears. “You think I should start working out? If I’m going to be fighting vampires again, it makes sense for me to get back into shape.”

  The thought of reentering that life was daunting. It had left me feeling scorched, like a dry husk in the wind. But maybe it wouldn’t be as bad now. It wasn’t like I was planning to cross the country, hunting down vampires like I had before. It simply meant being alert and prepared. And Thornton had taught me how far I had slipped on those factors.

  Bubba let out a “Purp” as I scratched his ears. “Yeah, I guess I’ll hunt for a gym today.”

  I showered quickly, then dressed in a skirt and tank top. Bubba bounced down the steps in front of me. I fed him, then stared into the fridge. Nothing looked appetizing. The phone rang and I let out a sigh as I answered it. It was the business line.

  “Bewitching Bedlam, Maudlin Gallowglass speaking.”

  “Hi, I’d like to book two rooms for next week. Three days, for four people total. Two couples. My twin sister and I share an anniversary, and the four of us want to explore Bedlam.” Her voice was pleasant enough.

  “Hold one moment, please. I’ll be right with you.” I pressed the hold button and headed for my office, leaving Bubba happily chowing down.

  As I settled into my office chair and opened my planner, I already knew that the days were clear. I’d canceled the guests for this week and there wasn’t anybody booked again until the second week in April. I picked up the phone again.

  “All right, when did you want to book a room for?”

  “Can you accommodate us for the nights of April fifth, sixth, and seventh?”

  “Sure can. I require half the amount up front, and you have forty-eight hours to cancel. I charge a nonrefundable twenty-five-dollar processing fee, though. If I have to cancel for any reason, I refund all your money regardless of the date.”

  I took her name, the names of the other guests, and her credit card information and charged her for three hundred seventy-five dollars. I gave her a confirmation number and sent her an email receipt. As I hung up, I sat back, relieved. At least something felt like it was getting back to normal, and by then, the hex would be broken.

  Returning to the kitchen, I pulled out the bread and cheese and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast. I also made myself a quint-shot espresso and poured chocolate milk into it along with marshmallows and popped it in the microwave. Sixty seconds later and I had a frothy marshmallow mocha.

  Sitting down at the table, I called out, “Franny? Are you around?”

  She appeared in the doorway. “Is something wrong, Maddy? Are you all right after last night?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” I flashed her a sheepish grin. “I’m just lonely, I guess. Life’s been so fucked up lately that I’m feeling a little isolated.”

  She floated over and did her best to sit down at the table, although she was sitting through one of the chairs rather than against the back of it. I jumped up and motioned for her to move, then pulled the chair out for her to a normal distance so at least she gave the illusion of sitting on it.

  As I ate my sandwich and drank my mocha, she watched me. “It’s been so long since I ate that I can’t remember what it’s like.”

  “What did you used to like when you were alive?”

  She tilted her head, a little more to the side than was natural, but then she straightened up, beaming. “Our cook made—I remember now—the cook made the most marvelous rolls. They were some sort of Danish pastry, I don’t know their name. But they were sweet buns with a custard filling. I loved those so much. She also made a flourless cake using hazelnut meal. I remember that she used to have one of the men who helped on the estate grind the nut flour for her. And her fudge…”

  Franny paused, looking wistful. “Life then seemed so much simpler than life does today. But it wasn’t always easy. My best friend married young, four years before I died. She seemed to grow up so fast when the children came. She had three babies by the time I fell down the stairs. Once she confided in me that she wished she hadn’t been in such a hurry to marry. She said she was tired and that the children, even with a nanny, were a handful.”

  I finished my sandwich. “You were engaged, weren’t you?”

  “Oh no, my mother was trying to make me accept an engagement, but that’s what triggered the whole…well…that’s partly why I ended up with a broken neck. I ran back to my room because we were arguing, and got absorbed in a book. You know the rest of the story.” She gave me one of those What-else-is-there-to-say looks.

  “Why didn’t you want to marry him?”

  “He was stupid. He was pig-headed and stubborn and didn’t appreciate a woman with a brain. My mother thought I should just marry him and be done with it. But I refused. I wasn’t about to let some fool run my life.” She narrowed her eyes. “Sometimes, as I watch you and your friends, I think I would have fit in much better during this time period than my own.”

  “I think you probably would have, too, Franny. Again, I’m doing what research I can in order to free you from this house. You wouldn’t believe what it’s like out there now.” I wanted to free her, and yet I had become used to her and it was comfortable having her around. But I didn’t want to see her remain trapped.

  “I have an idea of what it’s like. Whenever you turn on the TV, I watch. I have a clue what the outer world must be like now. It’s amazing, really. Things we never would have dreamed of are happening—both brilliant and horrific.” She leaned forward, and her torso cut through the table. At my wince, she pulled back to look like she was resting her elbows on the surface. “Maddy, who do you think hexed you?”

  “I’m pretty sure it was Essie. Now, I have no clue what she’ll do given the fact I dusted Thornton. She wanted him back.” I finished my mocha. “Well, there’s not much I can do about it now. She’ll have to find herself another boy toy. Part of me wants to know what she used him for, and part of me really, really doesn’t want to know.”

  I glanced at the clock. “I think I’ll go down to the bank and make certain my money is still where it’s supposed to be.”

  She vanished as I stood. I arched my back, and then remembered I was supposed to gather Thornton’s things for Essie. After the attack last night, I wasn’t quite so eager to do so, but finally I headed toward the maid’s quarters where he was staying.

  The butler’s pantry was off the dining room, and behind that, the maid’s quarters. I stared at the door, feeling an overwhelming reluctance to go in. I hated intruding on other people’s private lives. But Thornton was gone, dust to dust, and his life was now fair game. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and pushed through.

  The room was neat, that was no surprise, and everything seemed organized in a particular way. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I discovered that Thornton had suffered from some sort of OCD. But it was too late to ask.

  I walked over to the closet and opened the doors. There, hanging in a neat formation, were three suits, six pair of
trousers, and six button-down shirts. Two suitcases were in the corner and I pulled them out, peeking inside. They were both empty. I folded the suits and neatly tucked them in. If Essie wanted them, she’d get them. I was tempted to jam everything into a garbage bag, but that didn’t feel like it would have been respectful to Thornton, and until he had turned into a vampire, he had been a likable man.

  I found three pair of shoes—two pair of sneakers and one pair of dress shoes—and added them to the suitcase. At the dresser, I opened the drawers one by one. Underwear, socks, and six polo shirts, all neatly folded. A box of condoms. I packed those away, then opened the bottom drawer. There in the back was a small black vinyl case. I set it down on the bed, and then added two manila envelopes, which were full of pictures, and all of his grooming supplies that were on the top of the dresser. As I stared at the barely full suitcases, it occurred to me that it wasn’t much to show for a man’s life.

  Curious, I sat down on the bed and opened the black case. Inside, I found an odd array of items, including three bottles of spell oil—though they weren’t labeled, I could feel the energy wafting off of them—and two scroll tubes, each bearing one scroll. I tapped them out and unrolled them, cautious not to set off any exploding runes or hex work. But neither were trapped, and I examined the writing on them.

  It was an old runic script that I had learned when I was young. The first one appeared to be a scroll to create an illusion. The second stopped me cold. It was a protection from vampire glamour. What was the boy toy of a vampire queen doing with a scroll like that? A human boy toy, at that? Wondering if Essie knew about the scroll, I dug deeper in the case, but found nothing.

  The room still felt like it was hiding something, so I looked around. I poked around the nightstand, finding nothing in particular, and on the closet shelf. Then I glanced at the bed. There was something there—I could feel it. I knelt and peeked under the bed.

  Nothing. Not even dust bunnies. Thornton had been a good housekeeper. Then, as I started to get up, I paused, staring at the mattress. Bingo. I began feeling my way between the mattress and the box spring and finally, near the foot of the bed, found what I was looking for. It was a thin journal, about the size of a hardback book. I carried it over to the desk in the corner and began to flip through the pages, slowing down as I realized just how old the paper was.

  The first dozen or so pages were diary entries with no dates, and I could barely read the script, the hand was so spidery. Then I came to what looked like a spell.

  “What’s this?” I murmured.

  As I puzzled my way through it, I realized that the spell was meant to increase the strength of vampires, but it wasn’t any spell I had ever heard of. As I read through it, it dawned on me that the witchery was a form that I didn’t recognize, but I could tell that the spell was so complex, if it wasn’t cast correctly, it would backlash horribly on the witch.

  “This isn’t good. I wonder just how powerful Essie aims to become?” I flipped through the remaining pages, finding two more spells.

  One involved how to use a witch’s blood to make the vampire glamour stronger. That one gave me the creeps because it required seven pints of witch’s blood, enough to kill the average-sized witch. Given the blood needed to be fresh and not stored, it was pretty much Drain her down to cast the spell.

  The third spell was four pages long. I could barely make out the handwriting. Some of the words were familiar, but it felt like it had been written by someone a long, long time ago, long before even my birth.

  After a while, my sight began to blur as I tried to puzzle what it was. Then I came to one line and everything became clear:

  Follow these instructions, and your vampire will be able to walk under the sun.

  Holy fuck. I sat back, staring at the words. This couldn’t belong to Essie. In fact, I was pretty sure the spell had to be from someone in the Arcānus Nocturni. Both age and power emanated off of it. So did this mean they found a way to transfer their abilities to other vampires who weren’t as old, who hadn’t developed the immunity to sunlight?

  And that thought opened up a horrifying vista of possibilities. What was even scarier was that Thornton had somehow come across the journal and stolen it.

  I froze.

  Essie was so insistent on getting his effects back. Thornton must have stolen this journal from her, and…in turn…where had she come across it? Either she had come across a member of the Arcānus Nocturni who gave it to her, or chances were good she had stolen it from them.

  It wasn’t Thornton she had wanted back, but the journal. And if she didn’t get it, I’d be in big trouble. But if I gave it back to her, I’d be enabling her in ways that could put Bedlam at risk.

  I wished I could talk to Aegis—and that he could talk back. I needed some counsel and having a vampire’s take on it would be helpful. A vampire that I trusted.

  Slowly, I pulled out my phone and called Sandy. She answered on the third ring.

  “I have a problem and I need to talk about it, but I don’t want to talk on the phone. Can you come over?”

  “I have to run errands. How about I pick you up and you can tell me while we’re out and about? I’m close to your house. I can be there in five minutes.”

  I didn’t know what to do with the book. I didn’t want Essie or her cronies getting their hands on it till I figured out what the next step was. Essie couldn’t visit—it was only around ten-thirty, and she couldn’t walk in the sun yet. At least I didn’t think so. Plus, I had never invited her in. But she could have someone break in. That I could take care of, at least for now.

  “Can you give me ten?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you in ten.”

  I hung up, then quickly slapped the suitcases closed and zipped them up. I carried the book downstairs to the basement, where I hid it in an old dresser that was beneath a couple of outside picnic chairs. If somebody decided to go through the whole house, they’d have to search for quite a while to find it.

  Once upstairs, I locked the basement door and pocketed the key. Then I slipped into the parlor, to the cabinet where I kept my magical supplies. One of these days I was planning on turning part of the parlor into a full-fledged ritual room, but for now, I just kept one side of it free for when I needed to work magic.

  I sorted through my prepared spells and found a scroll I had written a month or so ago when I had an afternoon to spare. I unrolled it and began to read the words that would activate the magic locked within the paper.

  Circle round this house and land,

  Warriors stand and take command.

  Let nothing fell cross boundary line,

  Let nothing touch this house of mine.

  Let nothing harm those within,

  Let peace and quiet hereby reign.

  By the powers of three times three,

  As I Will, So Mote It Be.

  There was an immediate hush as the day’s energies fell away. Then, one by one, shadow warriors appeared, blending into the walls. Some of them headed out into the cloudy day. I could barely see them, quicksilver flickers against the light. They encircled the house.

  I let out a slow breath. The house would be protected until I returned, and so would Bubba, Aegis, and Franny. My magic was strong, and it would take a powerful witch in return to try to break through my barriers. Essie, with her Voudou, might be able to, but she was in her lair for the day. And I doubted if anybody in her employ was as powerful as I was. Essie didn’t like competition.

  Feeling calmer, I grabbed my purse and threw on a light jacket. As I made sure I had my keys, I once again thought about the journal hidden in my basement. Thornton had balls, that was for sure. To steal something like that from a vampire queen and then stay in the community where she lived? That took guts, especially for a human. But in the end, he had paid for it. And thanks to him, we were all paying for it.

  I hurried down the steps as Sandy pulled up. This time, I had double-checked
both doors and made certain everything was secure, as well as the windows. Along with the shadow warriors, I had done all I could to protect my home, and sometimes, that had to be enough.

  SANDY STARED AT me as I told her everything I had found.

  “You’re fucking kidding me. Thornton tried to steal something that powerful from Essie? Was he a fool? And by the way, are you all right from last night’s little fiasco?”

  “Yes, he was a fool. And yes, I’m all right. But I’ve decided that I should join a gym. Or at least buy some exercise equipment. If we’re facing a growing menace from the vampires, I want to be in shape for whatever comes our way.”

  “I can work out with you—why don’t you join my hot yoga class?”

  I stared at her, snorting. “Listen, Sandy, you’ve been doing yoga for what…thirty years? Longer? I mean, you live in yoga pants. And you go to aerobics classes. I’d faint dead away if I tried to keep up with you. Consider me a remedial student when it comes to physical education. I don’t think I’m going to be disciplined to follow through on my own so while we’re out, let’s find me a gym and get me signed up.”

  Sandy gave me the side-eye. “You do realize you’re going to have to quit eating so much junk food. I mean, I love my junk food, but I only eat it when we’re hanging out. Well, sometimes for breakfast. Moderation, Maddy. You can’t live on cupcakes and hot dogs.”

  “I made a cheese sandwich for breakfast,” I protested, but gave it up. Who was I kidding? I had the worst eating habits of anybody I knew, and it was only through the grace of the gods that my body hadn’t converted all the carbs to extra weight. I liked my shape—curvy, busty, a nice amount of padding on the hips and thighs, but I knew that my stamina was pretty much on permanent holiday, and my muscle tone had taken a nosedive long, long ago.