When the other attendant leaves, Asshole prowls around the room. He stops at the cabinet and opens the doors. Picking up a long metal rod with spikes at the end, he smacks it into the palm of his other hand and approaches the cage.
Aliz is watching him with wary eyes. She’s curled up, making herself as small as possible.
He says something and jabs with the stick, but she rolls away from him, out of reach. He moves to the other side, jabbing and missing her. She’s fast, popping up. Even standing awkwardly, trying to cover her nakedness with her hands, she’s faster than he is.
He feints left and then runs right, stabbing through the bars, but Aliz anticipates his move and this time, instead of moving away from the sharp spikes, she moves in and rips the rod from Asshole’s hand.
Growling, she spins, sending the spikes back through the bars like a javelin. Her aim is true. The spikes go through his left eye into his brain, dropping him on the spot.
Head pounding, I opened my eyes, still sitting on the floor of the kitchen. “Good job, Aliz,” I whispered as I stood shakily and collected my things.
Returning to my room was thankfully uneventful. Two vamps and a Renfield saw me walk by, but they all pretended not to notice me, which was fine and dandy by me.
After eating the sandwich and one of the candy bars, I did the math to figure out what time it was in San Francisco. Knowing Owen should be at work, I called.
The line rang twice and then I heard Owen’s voice. “Sam! We were wondering when you were going to check in.”
My nerves settled just hearing him. “I should have made this a video call so I could see all of you.” Dang it.
“We still can,” he said, and the line went dead.
A moment later, my phone rang. When I swiped, Owen was there, standing behind the bar. “That’s better,” he said. “Where are you? The place looks fancy.”
I glanced around our room. “It is, actually. You know how vampires love their antiques, marble, and crystal chandeliers.” I rolled my eyes. “How is it there?”
“Good.” He turned the phone around and did a sweep of The Slaughtered Lamb, my bookstore and bar. “Everybody wave at Sam,” Owen said.
People turned to the phone, smiling and waving. I missed them all so much. This trip was rough. So much of what I was dealing with in the now—and especially in the past—was disturbing, if not downright horrific. It was good to remember there was still light and life in the world, still wonderful friends I loved very much.
I waved back, beaming like a loon. “I miss you guys!”
When Owen’s sweep made it to the end of the bar, I saw Fergus standing up, his paws on the edge, with Dave leaning against the wall behind him. Fergus’ mouth hung open in a doggy grin before he barked happily.
“How much longer are you going to be?” Dave asked.
Fergus came around the bar and leapt up on Owen, almost knocking him down, in an attempt to get closer to the phone.
“Hi, buddy! I miss you too. I hope you’re having fun with Alice and Fyr.” I so wished he was here on the couch with me. The asylum ghosts wouldn’t be nearly so upsetting if he were sprawled across my lap.
“Alec’s the official dogsitter now. They switched off, so he was at our house last night. Since Fergus likes being in the bar—and Alec was visiting his grandmother today—I have him with me.”
“I hope he’s being a good boy,” I said.
Owen laughed. “That tail of his is no joke. He took out a very old vase, but Alec was there to catch it before it smashed on the floor. We’ve already learned not to leave drinks on coffee tables or he’ll sweep them off when he walks by.”
My heart swelled. I wanted to be there. “Sounds about right. Sorry, Dave, I didn’t answer your question. We should be home in a few days. There’s just some final stuff Clive is dealing with.”
“Good,” I heard him grumble. “There are cookies for you in the freezer.”
“Score!” As if I needed another reason to long for home. “Any problems I should know about?”
“Not a problem,” Owen said, the camera back on him. “Since it’s summer, Meri wanted more hours, and I gave them to her. You need to see the new display she’s made.” He started toward the bookstore and then stopped. “Never mind. I’ll let her show you when you get back.”
The camera bounced as he walked into the kitchen. “We got another order of books.” He went into the storage room and flipped the camera around. “Eight boxes. I haven’t touched them, as I know you love processing them. I just wanted you to know that they arrived.”
I sighed. “I wish I was there with you guys.”
Owen’s brow furrowed and he moved across the kitchen to stand beside Dave. “Is something going on?” He lowered his voice, so none of the sensitive ears in the bar could hear. “You’ve got shadows under your eyes. Do you need help?”
