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“We can break it, but I need to know more about him, if you have any clue. First, though, eat and recharge yourself. I feel like I should apologize for making you relive that terrible night. I can’t believe the cops didn’t advise you to seek help for it.”
“Maybe they didn’t know about the connections,” I muttered. Port Townsend’s police force wasn’t a joke, but vampires weren’t all that common, although the latest news said that they were on the increase.
“Bullshit. All law enforcement agencies know about vampires, though they don’t always admit it. The menace is growing, and it’s not going to go away. Not unless the government gets off its ass and organizes a task force focused on keeping tabs on the vamps.” She frowned. “Daisy was new at her job when I had my encounter.”
“What happened to you?” I asked. “If I can ask?”
“My nephew was turned by a vampire. He came here, looking to turn Bran and me. We managed to fight him off. I know a good deal of lore about keeping vampires at bay and I happen to have an herb cabinet to rival the best herb store in town. You can always ask me if I have something before going shopping for it, by the way,” she added.
I regarded her silently. If May had managed to fight off a vampire, then she was stronger than I thought she was. “How did you scare him off?”
“Good old folk magic. The minute I knew he had been turned, I strung garlic around every door and window. I also cast a mirror spell, deflecting him away from the house. He showed up but couldn’t get through and I took that time to revoke his invitation to enter my house. The next day, Bran and I walked the entire length of the property, warding it against vampires.”
“Is he still out there?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. If we could have, we would have staked him. But neither Bran nor I were ever afforded the opportunity. I have no idea where he is, but I’m hoping that he went far away.”
“Can you help me ward my property the same way?” I took a sip of the peppermint tea, letting the cool mint rush through my thoughts.
“I can. Do you know his name?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know his actual name, but he’s on the list of the top ten nation’s Most Wanted Vampires—the list bounty hunters go by. He’s called the ‘Choose Your Poison Butcher.’ We were the eighteenth couple he targeted in eight years. He’s been all across the nation.”
“What about those who survived?” May asked.
“The first two survivors were killed in the same way, a number of years after their ordeals. Authorities think he returns to finish them off. From what I understand, most of the current survivors have gone underground, but if what you’re saying is true—if we’re linked—maybe that’s how he finds them.” The thought of forever being on my guard, forever looking over my shoulder, rested heavy on my shoulders.
“Then it’s imperative that we disconnect you from him,” May said. “And that we set up a trap so that if he ever comes near you, he’ll burn till he crisps.”
And with that, she began to outline what we would need as I tried to drag myself out of my nightmarish past, into the present.
CHAPTERFOUR
May saidthat Saturday would be the best time to cast the spell, given it would be the new moon and it would hide what we were doing from the Butcher.
“I don’t know if he can sense when something like that happens,” she said. “But the new moon is the best time to take care of matters best hidden from others. Come over Saturday at four and we’ll get started. For now, here—wear this around your neck.” She handed me a hand-carved Algiz rune that smelled like an Italian restaurant. “I rubbed this with garlic oil and it will keep him away from you. The problem is, he could glamour you and force you to take off the charm, so you need to wear a smoky quartz pendant because that’s the one crystal that has the chance to break a vampire’s charm. Do you have one?”
I nodded. “Yes, I do. My mother gave it to me.”
“Then wear it night and day until we can pull the plug on him.” She glanced at the clock. “All right, I have to get to work. I have herbs to tend to, and Bran’s coming home for lunch.” She paused, then added, “Unless you’d like to stay and meet him?”
I hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to meet him, but I promised Bree I’d meet her this afternoon. She’s closed on Tuesdays and Sundays, so we’re going to meet for lunch and then she’s going to introduce me to a couple of her clients who have been looking for a good tarot reader or something like that.”
“Well then, that sounds good,” May said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
I headed back to my place through the shortcut. The rune reeked of garlic and I tried to decide if I thought I was in enough danger to wear it out in public. I was terrified of the Butcher, but was he going to come after me so soon? That wasn’t part of his MO. He usually let time enough go by so that his victims had let down their guard.
Then again, what better trick to play than let me believe it would be years before he showed up? What if he’d felt May’s energy puttering around in the cords he left linked to me? I had no idea what might arouse suspicion in him. On the other hand, I might scare off potential clients. I finally decided to wear the smoky quartz pendant on a thick silver chain. The crystal, along with the silver, might be enough to deflect him.
There was a mirror on the back of my bedroom door and I checked out my reflection. I had slipped on a sundress—black with white trim. It had a ruched back panel that had stretch in it, gathered at the waist, then flared out into a full skirt that fell two inches above my knee. I added a silver belt, for good measure, then slid on a pair of ankle boots with stacked heels. As I laced them up, I thought again about my mother and pulled out my phone.
love you. i’ll call soon and we can have a long chat. –e
Within seconds, she texted back,love you too. talk soon.
* * *
Bree was waitingfor me at the restaurant. We were eating at Jam Jam’s—a combo diner/takeout joint. You could order for pickup, through the takeout window, or sit inside.
