“Ah, yes.” Minegold’s eyes and voice were steady, the faintest hint of a smile on his face. “We’ve ‘met’ before—and yougave your tacit permission to bless this place and protect its inhabitants.”
Nyx gave a curt nod.
“Then I doubt you would mind if I spoke to the young lady to make sure she’s settling in?” The vampire’s voice was light and cordial, some slight European accent hiding under the well-mannered speech. Despite the pleasant tone, the eyes were hard, hints of red dancing in the center of each iris.
Nyx met the hard stare with one of his own, but his mind was softening towards the man on the porch. He now recognized him as the man who had accompanied the warlock one night several weeks ago and perhaps several times over the years—his unreliable memory made Nyx uncertain on that point. “Are you checking to make sure Miss Sanderson has settled into the town—or into this house, with me?”
“Ah. The second one is my first priority, and the first is my second.”
“What? Do all vampires speak in riddles?”
“No, I meant that I— Oh! Hello, Miss Sanderson.” Mr. Minegold stopped speaking as Grace appeared in pink capris and a baggy tank top, her hair yanked into a bun. In one hand, she was holding a small gold cross on a chain. “That’s a lovely necklace.”
“Begone!”
“Oh, really!” He huffed and held out the basket. “Just tell me you and your supernatural inhabitants are getting on, and I’ll be off. Although,” Mr. Minegold fanned open the folder and revealed a bundle of brochures, flyers, and leaflets, “you might want these, regardless of who delivers them. Look, here we have the numbers for the fire, police, hospital, and ambulance service. And here we have coupons to the River House, The Pine Loft, Jade Forest, and Tiramisu, the Italian restaurant opening in August. Ooh, and this one is ever so useful for a homeowner,even if you’re handy—Promises Kept: Home Repairs and Handy Help. Ah, and this is Mr. Reginald Gray’s card, a very fine plumber. This,” he squinted at the card in his palm for a second before adding it to the stack that he was slowly foisting into Grace’s arms, “is a 10% off landscaping and lawn mowing card from Kane Garden Center. Now, it’s not my place to say, but if you do intend to run this lovely spot as a bed-and-breakfast, the outside should be as charming as the inside, and the outside needs a fair bit of work.”
Grace was silent for a second, then spluttered. “Cross!” She waved the little necklace wildly in Mr. Minegold’s face.
“It’s very pretty.” He gently patted her wrist away and gave her the remainder of the items in the folder. “There’s other information in there about community events, the local park, the schools—I’m afraid we’re a little limited in choice there, but what we have is excellent.”
“Why isn’t the cross working?” Grace hissed in Nyx’s ear.
“I’m not evil, and I have friends of many faiths. Also, as I said, I do not bite. As in, I do not harm innocent people.” Mr. Minegold smiled. “You’ve noticed the paranormal residents, have you not?”
“You’re darn right I have!” Grace stuck out her chin defiantly.
Nyx had to smile. In her bare feet and wild hair, she was defending her home—and maybe even him—from a powerful predator, even if he claimed to be harmless.
“Officer Walsh mentioned your housemate.” Mr. Minegold gave a bow towards Nyx. “I hadn’t realized we had another member of the paranormal community out here, and from what you mentioned to the officer, it sounded like he might not be too friendly.”
“I am friendly when I want to be,” Nyx snarled.
Minegold didn’t flinch. “As long as you are friendly to the innocents and do no harm, then we can be as friendly as you like.Good morning, Miss Sanderson. Welcome to Pine Ridge, and I hope you’ll have many happy years here. It’ll be wonderful to have another hotel in town, or at least nearby.”
“Wait!” Grace blurted as he began to retreat. “It’s daytime!”
Mr. Minegold looked up at the sky and doffed his fedora. “It’s quite overcast. Jasper Wainwright—news and weather on channel 41—WPNR, you know, our local station, said we’re in for three days of storms.”
“I thought vampires only went out at night.”
“We do need to avoid direct sunlight.” Mr. Minegold smiled and patted the long sleeves of his jacket. “No summer wear for me, I’m afraid, but as I’m always quite cool, it’s not a bother.”
“What about the garlic?”
“Grace, why don’t you invite him in for tea at this rate?” Nyx demanded, slightly huffy. This was his human. He hadn’t realized until just now that he felt horrible jealousy seeing Grace talking to another man, especially another non-human. To be specific, a non-human who could offer her so much more. The vampire could travel about, go places day or night, apparently, and he was solid. He could touch anything and everything.
Nyx was suddenly overwhelmed with lewd imaginings of touching Grace, and of using more than just his own form to bring her all the pleasure she could want. He wanted to be able to bring her gifts. To take her places. To let her be free and see her enjoying it.
The vampire didn’t know or was ignoring his inner struggle, saying blithely, “Garlic is considered a ‘holy bulb’ and thus it will most certainly impact many vampires. Most, I would say. Not me. I enjoy it, particularly in thin slices studded into a brisket prepared with a red wine and tomato sauce.”
“That sounds so good,” Grace whispered, then looked guiltily at Nyx.
“If you’re worried about evil forces, there’s another business you should visit—Madge’s Magic on Bristlecone Ave. She’ll help you ward the place from evil presences. A good security system wouldn’t come amiss, either. You’ll find the most dangerous people around here—not that there are many—seem to be human.”
Nyx licked his lips and saw the vampire’s eyes flicker towards him. Should he tell Minegold about The Stranger?
What aboutme? What about my past sins? I killed Cynthia.
