Gwyneth nodded.
Morgaine? Honey? Are you hiding somewhere?
“Sly. I’m lost!”
Lost? How did you get lost in Malvant’s apartment?
“I’m not in his apartment. I managed to get out and I ran. Now I don’t know where I am.”
Don’t panic. I’ll come for you. First, I need to take care of Malvant—once and for all.
“Be careful! Did you drink enough Vampire Vintage to be safe outside for a while?”
I *hic* certainly did.
He heard her chuckle.
I’ll let you know when it’s done, meanwhile, look around for landmarks so I’ll know where you are.
“Okay. Good luck!”
“She’s safe.” Sly let out a deep breath. “Let’s just get rid of Malvant and get out of here.”
“Wait.” Lillian held up a hand. “If she doesn’t need to be rescued, why are we still after this guy?”
“He won’t give up. He’ll just come after us again and again—only we might not be as lucky next time.”
Gwyneth put a hand on her hip. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m not crazy about the idea of bein’ vampire food.”
“Sly’s the only one with matching vampiric strength,” Nathan explained. “We need him to have any hope of pulling this off.”
“And he doesn’t have an unlimited supply of his temporary curative wine, letting him be out during the day,” Gwyneth added. “I reckon it’s now or never.”
“I don’t know that my strengthisa match. Vorigan’s centuries old and seems to have me at a disadvantage. But right now, with daylight and Gwyneth’s Vampire Slayer herbs,Ihave the advantage, so I’ve got to take it.”
“Oh.” Lily nodded and seemed satisfied with everyone’s explanations.
Gwyneth pointed to the far partition wall. “I think his room must be around that side.”
The group crept quietly behind Sly as he advanced farther into the apartment. Sure enough, a door came into view. It must be where Malvant spent his days. He held the stake he’d brought with him above his shoulder, ready to attack if faced with any threat on the other side of the door.
He tried the doorknob. It didn’t budge. “Damn. It’s locked.”
Gwyneth moved to the front of the line and shook the last of the vial’s powder into her hand. She blew it at the doorknob and said, “Open says me, you S.O.B.”
Miraculously, it clicked and Sly opened it easily. The windowless room was dark and smelled disgusting. He flipped the light switch, but it must have been faulty or disconnected. Only the daylight streaming in from the hallway illuminated the area. Even so, it was impossible to mistake what he was seeing for anything else. A coffin sat in the center of the otherwise empty room. Wait a minute…it wasn’t empty. A half-decomposed body lay heaped in the corner, chains around its ankle bones.That has to be the source of the disgusting smell. I wonder if he kept someone to feed on over and over but went too far one time.
“Ouch!” Vorigan’s eyes flew open of their own accord. If the searing pain in his chest wasn’t enough to piss him off, now he was looking up into the faces of four strangers—here, in his private lair.
He recognized only one, his sexy dark playmate, Sly…or hewould behis plaything, if he’d just cave in and realize the futility of defying him. Vorigan looked down at the spot that throbbed. “What the hell? Did you just stake me?”
Sly’s jaw dropped. “What the hell? Did you just survive?”
Vorigan rolled his eyes. “You missed.” He yanked on the stake a few times, but it was stuck and he remained pinned to the bottom of his old wooden coffin.
One of the women, a redhead, rested her hands on her hips and smirked. “What’s the matter vampire? Are you too weak during the daytime to pull out a little ol’ stake?”
Vorigan growled. “Damn it. Why did you have to go and do something dickish like that? Now, as soon as I get up, I’ll have to kill you.”
