Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam #2)(46)

“I should go, too,” I told Sandy. “I want to make sure that everything’s okay at home. Aegis is still stuck as a bat, and Bubba’s alone with just Franny.” At least I knew there hadn’t been any emergencies, given no texts from Franny.

She stood and reached out, helping me to my feet. I had barely touched my dinner, so Terrance scooped it all into a to-go dish for me, and I gratefully took it, linking arms with Sandy as we headed across the street to the parking lot.

“It’s been one hell of a week,” I said, as we stopped by our cars. “How’s your hand?”

“Doing better. Whatever Jordan did to it, it worked. How’s your thumb?”

“Sprained, but on the mend. Oh, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. I stopped by Garret’s today. I actually really like the guy. He’s cagey, but he’s smart and he’s direct. He’s working up some roots to break the hex for us. Told me he’d come by on Thursday, shortly before sunset.”

“Thank gods you found a way to break this damned curse.” She glanced over at her car. “At least Max was able to save his accounts. So maybe that wasn’t from the curse, after all.” With a sigh, she turned back to me. “I think I’ll go home, too. Jenna’s here at the celebration but she’s with her class and I don’t need to stay since she’ll be headed back to school for the rest of the week.”

“You really enjoy having her around, don’t you?” I grinned. Sandy had far more of a maternal streak than I did, even if she didn’t realize it.

“I guess I do. Okay, talk to you tomorrow.” She gave me a quick hug and headed toward her car as I gratefully slid behind the wheel of my CR-V. I was more than ready to steer my life back toward normal.





I ARRIVED HOME to find the lights out. The fact that I had probably just forgot to leave them on didn’t set well, and as I headed inside I decided I would find some sort of system where I could turn them on with an app from my phone. But as I approached the door, I realized something was wrong. The door was unlocked.

Crap, crap, crap. I was sure I locked it, but then again, I wasn’t so sure of anything anymore. Had Aegis managed to break the spell? But if he had, why weren’t the lights on?

Pausing, I thought about putting in a call to Delia. But then I thought about the crowd control down at the park. Every officer had been on duty tonight and I dreaded pulling them away for what could easily just be my oversight.

Finally, I decided to bite the bullet. I opened the door. I fumbled for the light switch and squinted as light flooded the room. Another moment, and I let out my breath as I looked around. Nothing looked out of place, nothing looked askew.

“Bubba? Bubba, where are you?” I peeked in the living room, flipping on the lights there. Nothing. But as I headed up the stairs, Franny appeared.

“Run, Maddy. Get out now!” She looked frantic. “Bubba’s all right, but you have to get out of here—”

“What the hell is going on?” I turned even as I spoke. I had learned the hard way to run when someone said to run. But as I raced down the steps, aiming for the kitchen door, a shadowy figure lurched out from the pantry. It was Thornton, and he stepped between me and the exit.

“Thornton, but…oh crap, you’re dead.” I began to back up. The staircase leading upstairs was between the kitchen and the dining room, with the door to the basement to their left, at the edge of the kitchen. I began to edge toward the basement. If I could get to the door and slam it, I could lock it from the inside.

Thornton looked a lot worse for the wear. He was back in one piece, but he looked a little akimbo, with some of his parts not quite in all the right places, though it was hard to pinpoint just exactly what was out of joint. At first I thought he might be a zombie—Essie had been a Voudou priestess, after all. But then Thornton smiled at me and I saw the fangs.

“She turned you,” I whispered. “I can’t believe—how did she do it? You died in the accident.”

“I drank her blood before I ever came to work for you. Three times. That’s the magic number, Maddy. Drink three times and then, when you die, you end up a vampire.” He sauntered my way, or rather—lurched. Again, his limbs didn’t seem to be working quite right. But he was moving fast enough to send a chill down my spine.

“Thornton, why are you coming after me? I didn’t have anything to do with your death.”

“Oh, Maddy, you’re delicious and I’ve heard all about witch’s blood.” His eyes gleamed as he moved toward me.

Oh shit, that’s right. Witch’s blood and vampires were a fatal mix—for the witch. But since Essie was his sire, he should be attending her, not chasing me.

“Go home to Essie! She’s your maker.” I couldn’t dodge him and into the basement. He was too fast, even if he was clumsy.

“I’ll never give her that satisfaction. I refuse to heed her call.”

Even in death, he was trying to run from her.

And then I remembered two things: I could rescind my invitation to get him out of the house, but that wouldn’t stop him from waiting for me. Or I could rely on old instincts.

Feeling trapped and not willing to give him a second chance to come for me, I fumbled with the dagger still strapped to my waist. As he lumbered forward, I drew the blade and lunged at him. Just like the dagger I used when I had hunted down vamps, my ritual dagger was silver plated, and like my hunting dagger, the blade was razor sharp.