Morgaine found the light switch and flicked it on. She quickly took several shots of the apartment from the back all the way to the front door. A small corridor led back to two closed doors. Probably the bedroom and bath. She hoped a camera flash or turning on a light wouldn’t wake the undead. Probably not, but the anxiety she was trying to ignore invaded the pit of her stomach and she wanted to run.
She looked at Gwyneth and pointed to the back entrance. Gwyneth nodded and turned around. As she was passing the kitchen, something caught her eye. A map of the city on a bulletin board. She crept in to take a better look. Pins were stuck in a few places. Most of them near or on their block. Then she saw something else. A slip of paper with hearts all over it, pointing right at their corner.
Dear Goddess. I knew I might not be the only one who liked Sly, but I never thought my competition would be a vampire!
Suddenly thoughts of losing Sly to her cousin paled in comparison to what a vampire might do to take him away from her. Prickles climbed up the back of Morgaine’s neck. Shezoomed around Gwyneth, forgot about hitting the light switch as she passed it, and tore up the stairs.
In Morgaine’s apartment, the witches uploaded the pictures of V. Malvant’s lair to Gwyneth’s laptop. They’d show them to Sly as soon as the sun went down.
“Don’t y’all need to call your friend in New York about that wine he makes to cure vampires?”
“I’ll call Mikhail now.” Morgaine flipped through her rolodex. “How’s the mash coming?”
“It should be ready for the still tomorrow. I’ll check it afore I pour it.”
“Good. If he can tell us the secret ingredient, we can try it in the very first batch!”
“Provided it don’t have to ferment all over agin.”
Morgaine located the number and picked up her phone. “What if it’s some kind of special grape? We can’t mix whiskey and wine.”
“No, but we could drink the whiskey and make Brandy next time.”
“Figures you’d want to drink the whiskey. I thought you were going to let Sly sell it to make some rent money.”
Gwyneth whapped herself upside the head. “Oh, yeah. I forgot that part. I just got my mouth all set for a taste.”
“Well, you can taste it. In fact, we both should just to be sure it doesn’t burn our throats like rocket fuel.”
“Don’t be silly. It goes down smooth as honey.” She rubbed her hands together. “Just like daddy used to make. It should be, least ways. I’m using his recipe. There’s just one part I didn’t tell Sly about.”
“What’s that?”
“You gotta burn a piece of wood and toss it in at the end to get the right color.”
“Why didn’t you tell Sly about that?”
“Because he’s a vampire and they don’t like wooden stakes or fire. I figured he could do without knowin' that part.”
Morgaine stifled a snicker. “As long as you don’t sharpen it to a point and light it on fire under his nose, I’m sure he’ll be okay with it. I think the sun’s gone down. You want to check on the mash while I call Mikhail?”
“You trust me to be with Sly alone?”
Morgaine’s jaw dropped. “Shouldn’t I? I thought you wanted me to pursue—”
“Ido.I just didn’t know if you’d be jealous anyways. I promise I won’t try nothin’.”
Morgaine remembered what Sly had said about Gwyneth and smiled. “It’s fine. I don’t have a problem with it.”Thank goodness. That’s one worry I don’t need.
When Gwyneth left, Morgaine dialed Mikhail’s number. She hoped it didn’t matter what time of day she called since he probably used his own wine cure. The phone rang three times before he picked it up and said, “Hello.”
“Mikhail?”
“Who’s asking?”
“I hope you remember me. We met in Baltimore. My name is Morgaine.”
“Morgaine! The Goth witch. Of course I remember you.”
