Always the Vampire

“If we don’t want to dodge traffic coming in and out of the garage, yes.”


Florescent fixtures lit the stairwells, making them darker than the garage itself, but the light was perfectly adequate.

“I haven’t been to a festival since I got home,” Triton commented as we trotted past the second-level landing. “Is the garage usually full to the top level during big events?”

“I’ve heard it is for the Fourth of July fireworks on the bay, but I don’t know about other times. I suppose we could park up here and block the level off.”

“We’d get towed,” Saber said flatly.

“Not if we staged your SUV and Triton’s F-250 to look like one of them had a dead battery.”

“Let’s see the layout up there first,” Saber said.

We pulled open the fourth-level door and my spirits sank. The space was enormous, much bigger than it looked in my dream. Pole lights bathed what seemed like acres of parking lot, and except for the small elevator hallways on the west side, there was nowhere to take cover. No shadows to blend into. Bottom line, we’d be exposed as soon as we hit the roof.

Then again, so would Starrack and his oily blob sidekick.

“Lots of room to maneuver up here,” Saber observed as we neared the traffic ramp, “and the perimeter walls are high enough to conceal us, but containment could be a problem.”

“Way to understate,” Triton joked. “It doesn’t look like blocking this ramp will work, either. There are parking spaces on both sides, and spare room for two cars to pass.”

“But if we block the middle of the ramp,” I countered, “only a mini-car or a motorcycle would fit through the space that’s left.”

Triton gave me a doubtful look. “I don’t know, Cesca.”

Hands on his hips, Saber surveyed the vast expanse of concrete and pole lights. “On thing is sure. Whatever battle plan we come up with, it better be killer.”





Monday I was awake by eleven in the morning again. Yes, I had gone to sleep long before dawn had broken, but still. It seemed that the alarm incident of Friday had altered my sleep patterns, and I had no idea how long the trend would last.

Of course, being up, showered, and functional so early in the day did afford me the opportunity to see Saber before he left.

I sat in the kitchen watching him take the last bites of a bologna sandwich. I didn’t get the attraction of bologna, but then I wasn’t a food aficionado. Except when it came to fig bars, or the texture and taste of gelato.

Snowball, however, loved the lunch meat, yet she wasn’t camped at Saber’s feet.

“Where’s the cat?”

“Hoarding her bologna under the couch. I fed her the kibble, emptied and refilled her litter box, and I’ll take out the trash when I leave.”

“I’ll say it again, you are the man.”

He grinned and chewed.

“So what else has my super guy done this morning?”

“Talked with Triton,” he said around a swallow. “He got two more liquor store hits, so I’m on my way to see the managers. I’ll get an update from Triton while I’m out. If more stores report missing bottles of ouzo, I’ll track down the details.”

“And if Starrack has hit other stores, we’ll have a better idea of how long he’s been in the area, too, although I still wonder why he hasn’t come at us with everything he’s got.”

“A full-frontal assault?”

I raised a brow. “Did the war movie we watched last night get into your dreams, too?”

“Yeah. Maybe Starrack is waiting for the Void to do the transition thing Cosmil mentioned.”

“Wait, that would make perfect sense,” I said excitedly. “And if that’s what he’s waiting for, and the transition is supposed to happen after the weekend, it buys us more time.”

“Unless we’re wrong and Starrack is biding his time for another reason.” My honey laid his hand over mine. “I know you’re worried about putting Maggie and Neil in the line of fire, but if we can flush Starrack out of hiding before their big day, at least we won’t worry that he’ll crash the wedding.”

“Oh, geez, I don’t want to think about that scene. You know,” I added as he rose to rinse his plate, “there really needs to be Bad Guy Stress Syndrome.”

“Yeah? How would that work?” Saber asked, putting his plate and a knife in the dishwasher.

“You know. The bad guy would get an adrenaline rush, then ack, argh—” I clutched my chest. “He’d fall over dead. Save the good guys the muss and fuss.”

Saber shook his head. “And here Triton doesn’t appreciate the tyrant side of you.”

He pulled me to my feet for a long kiss. “I may be gone most of the afternoon, but I’ll be back before we’re due at Cosmil’s.”