“Miss Hallow, follow me,” Conner says.
I give Warin one last glance, but he doesn’t look up from his paperwork. I’m not sure what his motives are or what he wantsfrom me. All I know is none of this makes sense, and I plan on getting to the bottom of it and avoiding the vampire council at all costs.
Conner ushers me through the hallways of what I’m assuming is Warin’s home. I was too flustered when we came in here originally. Too worried about what my fate was going to be, but now that I look around, it’s clear that Warin is fuck-you rich.
His home isn’t an ancient swamp mansion, by any means. The place is new, modern, and sleek. The design and decor would probably make a true southern belle scoff and roll her eyes at the egregious display of contemporary decor. The walls are rich woods and deep blacks, a massive window down the stairs Conner is walking me down overlooks a lake with magnificent gardens.
“Isn’t it a little risky to have a window this big in your house when you’re a vampire?” I blurt out.
Conner doesn’t even look at me, just keeps walking a few steps behind me.
“It’s the best laminated glass that money can buy. No UV rays can pass through,” he says in a rather monotone voice.
“Huh,” I speculate, looking out at the window one more time and click my tongue as I notice a particular part of his garden where ivy is choking out a few of the trees on the property. My fingertips itch against my wand, wanting to fix it, but I leave it be.
Part of me wants to ask Conner a million questions, but something tells me prying into his employer’s business wouldn’t be met with easy answers and anything I say would be regurgitated right back to Warin.
Vampires are the most complicated of all the main supernatural beings. They are more than likely the largest group of supernatural beings, which makes their lore harder to understand. Mortals have been spreading rumors and talesabout vampires for centuries and while some of it may be true, others are clearly a work of fiction.
I wonder if Warin Auclair is even his real name? How old is he really? Does this home have a deed?
I keep these thoughts to myself and make a plan to figure out exactly what kind of man I’m dealing with the moment I get home.
The rest of his home that I’m able to see is clean with sharp lines and a mix of moody and bright textures as Conner opens up one of the massive wooden doors, leading me outside to the same black SUV that picked me up.
The cicadas are screaming their heads off, along with frogs croaking as we follow the solar paneled lights down the driveway and he opens the back door for me. When I slide in, I glance down at the grimoire and the ring on my finger.
What the fuck kind of arrangement did I just agree to with this vampire?
As soon as I open the door to my cottage, Gus is screaming into my mind.
“Where the fuck have you been? Who were those dickweeds and what did they want?”
He’s scurrying around, more frantic than I've ever seen him, as I enter the living room and plop down on my second hand couch.
“Answer me, witch,”Gus says, waving his small raccoon hand in my face.
I lick my lips and clutch the book of spells against my chest and blink a few times before looking into Gus’ dark, beady eyes.
“Vampires,” I whisper softly.
“Oh fuck. We’re dead. We’re fucking dead. They’re going to come back here and drink us all dry.”
I’m still staring at the wall where I have a painting of wisteria flowers hanging as Gus grabs my chin. He’s nearly baring his teeth at me.
“You stupid fucking witch! What did you do?”
I have absolutely no idea, but it can’t be good.
Chapter 5
The curtain in my bedroom rattles as the gossamer material shifts to the side, and sunshine floods my room as Gus rustles around.
I can tell he hasn’t slept with the way he’s shifting back and forth, his small paws clicking the aged floor.
“Gus, what?” I groan as I pull the patchwork quilt up to my face.
“You need to get to work on the spell he sent you home with immediately,”he says in a sharp tone.
