Always the Vampire

“Triton, I’ve already tried. Neil took Maggie to the Greek festival on their first date, and she wants the last date before they marry to be at this one. It’s a sentimental journey. She won’t budge.”


“That’s so sweet,” Lynn said.

“The festival may be our best chance of putting an end to Starrack,” Triton insisted.

I wheeled to plead with Saber. “We can’t put Maggie and Neil at risk.”

“Just hold on, both of you. You’re jumping to conclusions. First, we don’t know that Starrack would bother to attend a local festival. Second, even if he were to attend, he has no way of knowing about the wedding party’s plans.”

I crossed my arms. “None that we know of.”

“Third, Starrack has no reason to target Maggie or Neil. Hell, if he’d wanted to, he could’ve killed them instead of the homeless couple.”

“That’s true, but what if he’s saving Maggie and Neil for a big finale killing spree?”

“Honey, it’s us he really wants. We have the amulets. We’re the finale.” He squeezed my hand and turned to Lia. “Is it remotely possible that Starrack would go to the festival? Say to steal some ouzo?”

“Very. He’d enjoy the challenge of lifting a bottle from under the noses of so many people. He did so many times at village fairs.”

“Then if he shows up, and if we can find him there,” Saber said slowly, “we should be prepared to take him out.”

“No,” Cosmil barked. “I must agree with Francesca on this. Aside from her friends, there will be a large crowd, and Starrack has proven he cares nothing for innocents. In that climate, we cannot risk a confrontation.”

“I understand your concern,” Saber said, “but Cesca made two valid points to me today. One is that we don’t know where Starrack is, or what’s in his mind to do next. We’ve only been able to react.”

“We have done our best with the location spells,” Lia said defensively.

“I don’t doubt that, but it’s not enough. When I hunt Rampants, I don’t wait for them to come to me. I find them, or I set a trap.”

“Are you suggesting,” Triton put in, “that we lure Starrack to us? How?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe we simply lure him from the Greek festival, if he shows up.”

“That’s still a big if,” Triton said.

“It is, but here’s the other point,” Saber continued as he turned to me. “Cesca, when we left to chase down Starrack tonight, you said we weren’t ready. You were right. We need to know what Starrack might do in a head-on fight. What weapons he’d use. What tricks he might throw at us. We need information and a plan so we have less chance at being blindsided.”

Saber’s cold logic didn’t vaporize my fears, but he was right. Making plans meant taking action, taking control. I could do that. I took a calming breath and felt the pool of energy swirl in my spine.

“I do not,” Cosmil said quietly, “recall seeing Starrack fight anyone, but Lia and I will put our heads together and see what we can remember.”

Saber smiled. “Your insights will help, thank you. Cesca, are you on board?”

“All right, fine, I’ll play what if. The festival is held at the events field, and there are only a few exits. Maybe we could set a trap for him away from the field.”

“Was that a knee-jerk comment or do you have a trap in mind?”

“Knee jerk,” I admitted, “but we should be able to figure some way to ambush Starrack or lure him into coming after us.”

Saber nodded. “Where can we lure him that’s far enough away from the festival patrons?”

“Not to mention the regular tourists and locals in town,” Triton added. “What about the northern grounds of the fort? That part of the Castillo de San Marcos is more isolated.”

“I don’t know. Whether this goes down at the festival or not, the last thing we need is for witnesses to call the cops.” Saber drummed his fingers on the island. “Cesca, you know the town better than any of us. What location is close to the events field and open enough for us to maneuver, but away from prying eyes?”

“The top level of the parking garage,” I tossed off.

Immediately, the hair stood stiff on the back of my neck, and goose bumps plowed their way up my arms. The dream I’d had about being on a flat roof slammed through my memory. Saber unconscious, my feet stuck in tar muck. The settings weren’t an exact match, but then when had I last been on the top level of the parking garage? The similarities between the dream roof and the real roof lot were too close to ignore.

“Honey, what did you see?”

I shook off my case of the willies. “I’ve had some weird dreams lately, and in one of them, I was on a flat roof, stuck in black goo. It could have been the roof-level parking lot.”

“Then it’s an option to check out. We’ll take a look at Triton’s suggestion, too. Maybe the north grounds of the fort are more shielded than I remember.”

“Speaking of shielding,” Lia said, “we shall work on that tomorrow. Cesca especially needs instruction and practice.”