I run my finger down the column, the ancient paper rough and fibrous. I stop on the wordsvis ferrea, followed byforce ofironin parenthesis.
Vis ferrea. Latin. So, if the V stands forvisor force in the Marteau emblem as well, what does the S mean? I use the browser on my phone to search for Latin words starting with S.
There are more than two thousand.
Maybe I’m reaching. I can’t be sure the Marteau symbol represents Latin. As far as I know, the letters could signify French.
Frustrated by the lack of clarity, I flip to the part I’ve been waiting for. The real reason I bought the book.
Vampires and related creatures.
The first reference dates back to the year 1047, to the Russian termupir,translating literally to “the thing at the feast or sacrifice.”
Turning the yellowed pages, I read about a “madness” associated with vampire bites. How affected victims reportedly showed altered sleep patterns, increased aggression, and a sensitivity to light.
When it comes to the serious business—the killing of a vampire—desecration of the corpse is a repeated theme. Though the manner varies from country to country. A stake through the heart, burning the body, removing the head, a brick in the mouth.
I flip to the next illustration, the sketch I saw in the store. Then I recall the shop owner’s words.A brick to stop the bite.
“So that’s what he was talking about.” Preventing the creature from rising and resuming its hunt for blood.
I’m so engrossed in the book, I barely register movement outside. A man in black is opening the metal gates. The servant from yesterday, the one who warned Alice to leave.
A white van drives into the courtyard, a French name on the side with a logo suggesting food and drink. Catering. Preparations are underway forLa Danse des Monstres.
Reluctantly, I close the cover and check the time. I slept in this morning and now half the day is gone.
I need to wash and dry my hair before I get dressed, and the style I have in mind is complicated. A special twist I saw online, and one I can’t put off until the last minute.
If I want to fit in with the affluent guests, I need to look and act the part. And tonight, that part requires me to chat, smile, mingle, and dance.
All while surrounded by monsters.
29
Noah arrives at my door at seven o’clock, bowing as I open the door. Punctual, polite, and deliciously handsome in his Van Helsing costume.
The trench coat, hat, and shirt buckles are unmistakable. “You’re going as a vampire hunter?”
“Why not?” He tugs on the front of his coat. “I’m a monster to the monsters.”
“But…” I start to ask him how Dora will feel about that, then I remember I haven’t told him all I’ve learned. I haven’t mentioned the talk of vampires, the mansion being a murder house, or that Alice has asked me to search for the journal.
Or that I snooped around his family’s mausoleum.
The list of things I’ve kept from Noah is long, but correcting all that can wait. Tonight is not the time. “Where’s your crossbow?”
“Too awkward to carry all night.” As he speaks, his gaze tracks up and down, taking in my dress. “Nice,” he says, reaching out to touch me, just a brush of one finger across the design on my stomach.
A red hourglass.
“Black widow?” He arches a brow. “Do I need to watch my back?”
Grabbing my beaded clutch, I ease past him and pull the door behind me. “Maybe,” I tease, locking up as I leave the apartment.
The night is cloudless, no rain in sight, so we cut across the cobblestones. “The courtyard is beautiful at night,” I say, feeling like a princess attending a ball in the castle. Even if I am a wicked princess.
Noah glances up at the moon. “It is, although this is technically thecour d’honneur, an entrance court.”
