3
TEA AND SUSPICION
The Parkside apartmentbuilding looked exactly the same as it had two weeks ago, which was a little disappointing. I’d half expected it to have transformed into something overtly supernatural now that I knew its secret. But no. It was still the same slightly shabby brick building with the temperamental elevator and the perpetually dying plant in the lobby.
Ellie and Virgil were waiting just inside the entrance.
My best friend looked distinctly nervous, which was saying something for a woman who’d helped stake an ancient vampire in a mine while high on newborn bloodlust. Then again, I’d known Ellie since we were in kindergarten and I was still having a difficult time reconciling my sweet and ditsy best friend with the freakishly strong vampire who’d helped me capture Ludvik Bludworth.
Virgil stood beside her, tall and pale and notlooking the least bit like the scion of one of Amberford’s most influential supernatural families. He’d lost a few piercings and was wearing a T-shirt that said “Support Your Local Blood Bank.”
“You came.” Ellie rushed forward to hug me. “I was worried you’d forget.”
“You sent me seventeen reminder texts.” I hugged her back, her newly turned vampire scent filling my nostrils. I was starting to get used to it.
“Eighteen,” Virgil murmured. “The last one was just exclamation points.”
“I noticed,” I said drily.
Bo trotted over to sniff Virgil’s trainers curiously. “You smell like coffee and anxiety. And humping.” He curled a lip and retreated a couple of steps. “Lots of humping.”
Virgil vibrated with indignation. “Could you please not?!”
I smirked at Ellie while the vampire and my dog engaged in a heated verbal match about respecting boundaries.
“Didn’t take you long to rid him of his virginity, I see?”
Ellie had the decency to blush.
“He smells so good I have to stop myself from licking him like a lollipop most days,” she confessed sheepishly.
“Ellie!” Virgil squeaked, going tomato red.
I grimaced. Bo made barfing noises.
Yeah, that was too muchinformation.
The building doors opened behind us. Mrs. Chen stepped inside the lobby, her cat Mimi riding her shoulder like a furry parrot.
The elderly witch was carrying a shopping bag.
“Ah, good. You came.” Her gaze swept over our group with a careful expression. “The meeting starts in ten minutes. Don’t be late.” Her eyes lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary. “We have a lot to discuss tonight.”
She swept past us toward the stairs, Mimi’s tail flicking dismissively in our direction. We watched her go.
“Is it just me,” Ellie said slowly, “or did that sound ominous?”
“It’s not just you,” Virgil confirmed.
I was starting to get a bad feeling about this meeting.
I squared my shoulders and headed for the stairs. “Only one way to find out.”
Mrs. Chen’s apartment was on the first floor, tucked into a corner that permanently smelled of something vaguely medicinal. I’d walked past it hundreds of times over the years without ever suspecting its occupant could turn me into a toad if I annoyed her.
The door was already open when we arrived.
I stepped inside and was immediately struck by the scent of jasmine tea and dried herbs. Bookcases lined the narrow hallway we found ourselves in. The shelves were stuffed with leather-bound volumes and jars ofthings best not examined too closely. A narrow kitchen was visible through a beaded curtain ahead. Mrs. Chen was busy inside it.
