Always the Vampire

Kate titled her head. “Like an acupuncturist?”


“And an herbalist. He’s a personal friend who only takes referrals to his clinic, but he’s willing to see Lynn right now.”

I took Lynn’s limp hand and fixed my gaze on her with a little push of will. “I promise you both. Lynn will be safe with Dr. Cosby.”

A spark in the back of Lynn’s eyes flickered, and I held my breath, hoping the tiny push had been enough.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Lynn said in a stronger, more determined tone. “I feel too sick to wait, and I can call you from the doctor’s office.”

“I’ll keep you updated, too, Mrs. Tidwell,” Saber added. “I’ll phone as soon as we get Lynn to the clinic.”

Kate chewed on her lip then nodded. “She is of age, so it’s her decision. But, please, don’t forget to call me. Either of you.”





Saber used his emergency lights sans siren, and we made it to Cosmil’s compound in warp-speed time. I’d phoned the wizard twice, once when we left Ormond to let him know he had a patient incoming, and again five minutes out so he’d smooth and straighten the road for us.

Cosmil and Lia hurried to the car, but I noticed Triton on the porch gripping a support pole. Since Cosmil barked questions at Saber about Lynn’s symptoms, I approached Triton.

“She’s going to be okay,” I told him.

“She’s infected with the Void?”

“We think so. She has foul-smelling breath, and that worries me.”

“Triton, Francesca,” Cosmil called.

I turned to see the wizard sweeping toward us. Behind him, Saber carried Lynn, but not to the shack. He headed toward the circle where Lia walked clockwise, lighting candles.

“Triton, I realize you are concerned, but I do not want you exposed again if Lynn is indeed Void infected. I do not have room here for two patients.”

“So you’re kicking me out? Cos, let me stay. Lynn will appreciate a familiar face when she comes around.”

“No, I must be firm on this point and on my conditions. First, I want you to leave your pickup truck here. I may need to use it.”

“You can drive?” I blurted the question without thinking.

Cosmil pulled himself taller. “Of course. You saw me once. Driving a tourist tram.”

“Oh, yeah, I did.”

“Back to my conditions. Triton, here is the second. I do not want you to be alone, so you and Saber will spend the night in his home. Francesca will watch over you. Then tomorrow, you will open your shop and go about your normal life.”

Triton would’ve argued further, but Cosmil laid a hand on his arm.

“Attend me well. It is vital to be visible in your world. Starrack’s alleged hirelings failed to get the amulets, and now he has failed to make you critically ill so you could be bent to his will. When he sees his failures, he may become frustrated.”

“So, if he has to work harder to get at us,” I said, “he might get reckless. Do something to expose his hiding place.”

“Exactly, Francesca.”

“But being visible will make me a target he can’t miss next time,” Triton argued.

Cosmil shook his head. “Though Lia and I have not located Starrack yet, we have cast protection spells, which we reinforce several times a day.”

“Your spells didn’t help Lynn,” Triton shot back.

“Ah, but we did not know about Lynn,” Cosmil countered. “Now we will extend protection to her as well.”

Triton’s shoulders slumped. “All right, Cos. I suppose your plan makes sense.”

“ ’Course it does,” I quipped. “It works on TV all the time.”

Triton rolled his baby browns at me. He didn’t add a crack, but the eye roll was an encouraging sign that he was getting back to his normal self.

“Cos, one question. Saber’s been in physical contact with Lynn. If he’s been reexposed, is it wise to put us together?”

“Precisely why I will scan him. Francesca, I shall check you now. Stand over here. Arms at your sides. Breathe normally.”

I obeyed his instructions, breathing my normal ten times a minute. After one exhalation, Cosmil held his palms six inches from my body and moved them over me from head to fang to toe.

“Remarkable. You emit no signs of the illness whatsoever.”

I silently sighed my relief then asked a question that had been nagging me. “Cosmil, why can’t Saber and Triton ground out all the Void gunk like I did. After all, Saber’s the one who taught me the trick.”

“That puzzles me as well, Francesca. I can only surmise that when you drained the blackness from the vampires at the comedy club, you gained immunity against reinfection. The men did not absorb as much of the Void as you did, and may not have effectively shed it.”

“So sucking the gunk acted like a mega flu shot?”

Cosmil merely nodded as Saber joined us. Cosmil began scanning my honey, palms hovering over Saber’s chest longer than I wanted to see, but the wizard finally nodded his satisfaction.

“No change in your energy, Saber. Be off with you, then.”