“Grey’s been so busy being an annoying git, he might not have had time to secret away these objects,” I added. “They might be waiting next door.”
Morrie rubbed his chin. “It’s worth investigating.”
“What is?” Heathcliff glowered.
“Dracula sleeps during the day, does he not?Andwe have a secret passage beneath the shop that will slip us into his lair unnoticed. All we have to do is create a distraction to lure Grey away, then sneak inside, locate the remaining dirt, and neutralize it without them even noticing.”
“No.”
I glared at Heathcliff. “Why not? It’s the simplest plan we have.”
“You want to walk right into the lair of the beast? It’s suicide.”
“Wrong. Suicide is sitting here drinking all the gin.” I grabbed the bottle from his hands before he could tip it down his throat. “We’re doing this, and we need your help.”
Chapter Eight
“Crooooooak?”
Quoth lay on the floor in his raven form, one wing bent at an impossible angle. Blood pooled around his tiny body. His head twisted up toward me, orange-rimmed eyes swimming with pain. He tried to cry out again, but he was too weak; all he managed was a wheezing noise that made him shudder.
“No, no, no.” My body trembled as I scooped Quoth into my arms. He was light as a feather and so, so cold. Quoth’s head flopped back, exposing his throat. My fingers curled around him as I felt his life ebbing through his veins.I don’t have much time.
I brought his limp body to my lips and started to drink. His blood filled my mouth, warm and cloying with a metallic tang. I’d never tasted anything so delicious before.
Drip-drip-drip.His blood dribbled from the corners of my mouth, splashing on the floor.
Mina…you can save him, Mina. Join me and you can be with him for eternity…
Drip-drip-drip.
Fuck. No.
I bolted from the dream, my body coated in sweat. I swallowed hard, but I could still taste the metallic warmth of Quoth’s blood on my tongue.
Drip-drip-drip.
What was that? I touched my clothes, searching for bloodstains. It couldn’t be. It was just a dream.
Drip-drip-drip.
No, not dripping.Tapping.Someone was tap-tap-tapping at the attic window.
Groggily, I reached across and flung open the shutter. With many a flint and flutter, a large black bird hopped down from the sill and transformed into a beautiful boy.
Quoth’s hair fell across my face as he leaned in to sweep me into a hungry kiss. I cupped his neck with my hand, and my thumb brushed over a vein. His blood pulsed beneath his pale skin, warm and steady and very much alive. To taste his lips now after drinking his blood in my dream felt especially perverse, but in a way that made me press myself harder against him, chasing away the ghosts with his full lips and tangled lashes.
But I hadn’t forgotten I was mad at him. Reluctantly, I pulled back. “You didn’t get my text?”
“I came as soon as I saw it.” He stroked my cheek with paint-stained fingers, tilting his face to the side and giving me this wide-eyed, innocent bird look that nearly made me forgive him on the spot.
I pointed to the window, where the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon. “It’s morning. You didn’t think to look at your phone all night? Even knowing that Dracula is killing women, you didn’t think to check in? What happened to ‘I’ll always protect you’?”
“You’re stronger than anyone I know.” Quoth’s fingers cupped my neck, sending fire through my skin. “And you have Heathcliff and Morrie here. I didn’t think I’d be needed. If something serious happened, you would have told me.”
“How? You wouldn’t have seen my text. If I called, you wouldn’t hear it. You’re in another world when you paint, and I love that about you, but we’ve got a serious situation here and you don’t seem to care.”
“I care.” The bed creaked as Quoth slid in behind me, his naked chest fitting perfectly into my back. His hands circled my knees, squeezing me against him like he wished he could crawl inside my skin. I touched his skin, feeling the bumps and changes in texture where he hadn’t scrubbed off the paint.
