He tucked his right hand in his pocket and wrapped it around the spell ball he’d forgotten to pack.Quentin cautiously approached the man who was apparently waiting for him.“Can I help you?”
When he turned, Quentin had to hold back a scream of frustration.This was the same man who’d come by a few months ago and tried to enchant him into selling him the house.He didn’t need this.
He needed to check on his spell balls and maybe take a nap.
“What do you want?”He should’ve been more cautious around someone who tried to enthrall him the last time he visited, but Quentin had had a long day and was fed up.A troll could’ve shown up at his house, and he’d only yell at it to get off his lawn.He was past fear and deeply into denial over his current life choices.
“I still want to buy your house.”His friendly smile had sharper teeth than a human’s.“I figure you might be in a better mind to sell now that your mother has abandoned it.Not everyone wants the responsibility of home ownership.”
He didn’t bother asking how the stranger knew his mother no longer lived there.
He was tired and didn’t care for this man, possibly a vampire, who never shared his name but was happy to tell Quentin what he should do.Even if he hated the house, at that moment, he would’ve fought for it anyway.
“You thought wrong.It’s still not for sale.”He folded his arms across his chest and stopped a few feet from the bottom of the steps, well out of arm’s reach.He didn’t like being in the lower position, but he didn’t dare get closer to the stranger that, now that he was paying attention, oozed dark magic.The day was bad enough without getting into a fight.
Jaks would be so proud of him for picking his battles.
The man stepped out of the shadows.“I heard your mother is a vampire now.Surely she’ll want to live with others of her kind.”
“What my mother does isn’t any of your business.This is my house now.”
The man didn’t get the hint to leave, or ignored it, or trampled across it with the subtlety of an elephant.Instead of fucking off, he offered a broad, persuasive smile that probably would’ve worked on anyone not dating a stunningly handsome vampire.“No need to get violent.I’m certain we can come to a mutually satisfactory agreement,” he purred.
Quentin shuddered in revulsion.He preferred the guy’s more abrasive approach to this creepy seduction tactic.Even without Jaks, this sleazeball would never be on his list of potential dating choices.“It’s my childhood home, and it’s not for sale.”He tried to infuse the conversation with enough finality to bring it to a close.
“I want this property.”The thin veneer of friendliness vanished beneath Quentin’s refusal to play along.“And I will get it one way or another,” he ended on a hiss.
“I think you should leave,” Quentin declared, keeping his voice firm and his eyes on the interloper.This guy gave him the creeps, but no one could hurt him on his family’s land.This strange vampire was an idiot for trying.
The stranger made a point of looking around.“What makes you think you can stand against me?I don’t see your bone wolves or your fancy vampire around to protect you.”
“They’ll come if I call,” he lied.
“You know you’re just a plaything for him.He only wants to control all that delicious magic you have thrumming through your veins.”He licked his lips.“I bet you taste delicious.”
“Get off my property.”Magic buzzed across Quentin’s fingers, sparking off his fingertips.
In response, the stranger flashed another creepy smile.“I’ll see you later, Quentin.I’m certain you’ll be interested in what I have to bargain with next time we meet.”With those unnerving words, the vampire exploded in a plume of black smoke and swirled away.
“Damn, that’s impressive, scary but impressive.”He had no doubt that was the effect the vampire was going for.He still didn’t have a name, but he had a feeling that this was Glenn’s sire.There weren’t a lot of vampires not in Jaks’s clan wandering around town.
Ballsy of him to show up at Quentin’s door.
He could’ve captured him, but without a bounty on his head, he would’ve had to let the vampire go.Oddly enough, it was illegal to abduct random vampires even if they were standing on your front porch and being creepy.
It was still considered kidnapping.
Quentin entered the house and closed the door firmly behind him.He flipped the lock with a decisive click, no sense inviting trouble.
He was tired.
Bone tired.
The kind of exhaustion that chipped away at your will and turned your muscles into rubbery noodles.Groaning he flopped, face-first, onto the couch.
A nap sounded great.
Poundingon his front door woke him from his light dozing.He screamed his frustration into the cushions.
