A bigger question burns inside, one I desperately wish to know the answer to. Did she know about the gargoyles? The house was built roughly a hundred and twenty-two years ago. How the hell did four gargoyles from the Templar time period get here? Maybe they were bought as art pieces, set on the house to make it stand out more than it already does. Digging into the history of the house is yet another thing on my ever-growing list.
“Ma’am?” The basement door opens and the repairman steps out, moving into the kitchen. He eyeballs the giant mess I’ve made. “You’re all set.”
“It works?”
“Yep. It’ll take a while to heat the whole house, and the farther the rooms are from the unit, the colder they will be. I recommend getting a newer unit sooner rather than later. I don’t have much confidence that old one will hold up much longer. You might get one more winter out of it.”
“Great. And thanks. I’ll, uh, look into new units.”
I fork over my credit card, cringing inside as he processes the payment, and finish cleaning the kitchen, feeling the most domestic I’ve ever been. With a few minutes left until sunset, I get out my notes, trying to make sense of what I know so far.
Which isn’t much.
Bryan and Gavin were both turned into vampires. Gavin has been to Delirium at least once, and Bryan might have been there. It’s a shaky foundation to build my theory on, but it’s all I have for now.
The body in the ditch had been slowly drained of blood over the course of a few days, and the body in the park was ripped into like it was done by a starving animal. Desperate. Messy. They got caught.
The first body was far from fresh, making me think it had been a few days since the vampires had eaten, hence the attack in the park. I’m certain if the gargoyles hadn’t killed the vampires, they’d be out again tonight and I’d have another dead, bloodless victim to find in the morning.
If Gavin, Bryan, and the unknown vampire were the only three new vamps in town, did that buy me some time? I might very well have pissed off someone as old and powerful as Hasan himself, and that might work in my favor. People do stupid things out of anger. I’m sure vampires do, too.
* * *
I turnoff the alarm on my phone, grab my jacket, and go outside to wait for the gargoyles to wake up. I saw the transformation yesterday and it amazes me just as much again today. They wake at the same time, and all jump down to the ground around me.
Jacques is a foot in front of me and, like the others, looks more human than ever today. His chocolate eyes are so vivid I could drown in them. I blink, and a vision of him naked and on top of me flashes through my head. He looks away at the same time. Did he see it, too?
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey?” Hasan asks.
“It means ‘hi.’ Not hay like what horses eat.”
Hasan raises one eyebrow. “Then why not say ‘hi?’”
“I don’t really know. We just say ‘hey’ now.”
“What’d you bring to eat?” Thomas asks.
“Nothing,” I say guiltily, feeling the intensity of his gaze. It felt so good to be wrapped up in his arms last night. “I can order takeout to be delivered. Chinese food sounds good.”
“China,” Jacques mumbles with familiarity.
“That place is actually old enough you might remember it. But not from the food. The takeout I get has been Americanized a lot.” I wave my hand. “Let’s go in.” The four men follow me inside.
“What is that God-awful noise?” Gilbert looks around.
“The heater.” I take his hand and hold it over an old radiator. “Feel.”
“It’s warm!”
I laugh. “Yeah, it fills the house with warm air.”
They all take turns feeling the heat. I stand back, watching, and then start laughing.
“Are you all right?” Jacques looks at me like I’ve lost it.
“Yeah.” I wipe away a tear. “It’s just this whole situation is so not funny that it actually is.”
