Always the Vampire

“Please do remember that Pandora will be invisible,” Cosmil cautioned with a fond glance at the panther. “We don’t want to lose her.”


Cosmil and Lia passed along a few more pieces of advice, but none of us acknowledged that this might be our last night together. Since I didn’t want to be the one to get maudlin, I said good-bye and headed for Saber’s SUV ahead of the guys.

Pandora padded along with me. Snowball is safe?

“She’s at Saber’s house. You’re awfully fond of her, considering she’s a regular cat and you’re not.”

What, I cannot have a friend?

I did a double take at her half-snarky, half-wistful tone. “Sure you can. In fact, if something happens, can you get Snowball out of Saber’s house?”

Do not worry. Nothing will happen if you stay in your power.

With that, Pandora wheeled away. Triton and Saber’s footsteps crunched on the gravel behind me.

“I need a favor,” Triton said firmly. “I need to see Lynn tonight.”

“That’s cool. I should check in with Ken and David anyway.”

“You’re not going to fight me on this?”

“Not at all. Let’s go.”

Yes, I had an ulterior motive, and I broached it as soon as Triton was closeted with Lynn in the bedroom.

“Guys, if you don’t hear from us by about midnight tomorrow, take Lynn home, and get out of town.”

Ken looked from me to Saber. “Tomorrow is the showdown?”

“We believe so,” Saber said. “We appreciate what you’ve done.”

“We could do more,” David offered. “One of us is plenty to guard Lynn.”

“No,” I said. “It sounds inane to say this to combat Marines, but we’ve trained over a week for this.”

“And it’s a Special Forces op,” Ken said with a smile. “Understood. We’ll stand by and be ready to move out.”

“Thanks. We’ll say good-bye to Lynn, and you can kick Triton out in an hour, okay?”

“Will do. Princess, Saber, it’s been an honor.”

“We’ll look forward to meeting again,” David added. “Semper Fi.”





Always Faithful. I thought about the Marine Corps motto as Saber and I faithfully ran through our Friday errands.

I’d called Maggie before we left the cottage and learned that Jessica delivered twin girls to be named Addison and Emmerson, or Addie and Emmie. Neil’s parents would miss the rehearsal but would be in St. Augustine by noon on Saturday for the wedding. I breathed a sigh of relief because Neil’s parents would be yet two fewer people traipsing to the Greek festival.

Maggie didn’t have any last-minute items to pick up, so Saber and I got the tuxes, dresses, and a restaurant gift card for my drachma “game.” I almost bought another six-pack of Starbloods but decided against it. In spite of waking early for the last week, I’d kept to my nutrition schedule of having just one Starbloods between two and three o’clock each afternoon. When we’d moved the bulk of my supply to Saber’s yesterday, I’d kept three bottles in my fridge. I’d downed one on the sly Friday morning, hiding the bottle so I wouldn’t worry Saber. I’d have a second shot a few hours before the rehearsal to get an extra boost of energy for the long night ahead.

The third bottle I’d drink tomorrow before the wedding. Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, as Jag Queen Millie would say.

By five, Saber and I were dressed for the evening. He wore black slacks and a dark blue shirt that made his cobalt eyes more intense. I chose the same red blouse I’d worn to meet Triton weeks ago, but I paired it with black capri-length cargo pants and rubber-soled loafers. Not typical rehearsal clothing—or battle duds—but the outfit was loose enough to fight in, and I could kick off my shoes if needed. Most important, the protection pouches, the mini-grenades, and the amulet fit in the zippered pants pockets.

At five fifteen, we were in Maggie’s spacious parlor where the wedding ceremony would be held. Maggie would descend her grand, curved staircase, join her dad there, and proceed to the podium that would be at the opposite end of the room, near the dining room double doors. I got a bit misty imagining the picture she would make, but then the doorbell rang, and Saber and I kept busy admitting rehearsal guests into the house and chatting.