Page 38 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

I grabbed a metal rubbish bin lid: I could whack Stan over the head with it if I got close enough, though I really didn’t want to get close enough.

There was a loud cracking noise from inside the office. I stuffed the phone into my pocket and ran around the corner, brandishing my smelly shield. ‘Stay back,’ I murmured to Fluffy. He ignored me. Stupid dog.

I tiptoed in and Fluffy followed on silent paws. Maybe that was the approach we should have taken the first time. Live and learn. As we went inside, the cause of the noise became evident: the counter was broken in half and a groggy polar bear was draped over it. He lifted his head to look and me and let out another unfriendly noise but he didn’t move. He must have worn himself out or the curse was finally taking him down.

‘Stan?’ I said cautiously. He growled again. Okay. Still not my Stan. I crept closer. I couldn’t let him get out of this office – I needed to keep him there for Anissa – so my next action was for his own good.

I raised the bin lid, hit him over the head and he slumped over the counter. Oh fuck, I’d forgotten my vampire strength! I crept forward tentatively and searched his fuzzy neck for a pulse, nearly collapsing with relief when I found one. I’d never have forgiven myself if I’d accidentally killed him.

I sat by him, bin lid at the ready, and waited for reinforcements. If Stan stirred in the meantime, he was getting another bonk on the head. I was a woman with a plan.

Chapter 23

I was near the door so I could watch Stan and also keep an eye out for Anissa’s arrival but Connor arrived first. The diner wasn’t far away; he’d either heard some commotion or Sidnee had called him when she couldn’t get through to me. My money was on Sidnee.

He saw me and relief washed over his face. ‘You’re okay?’ He scanned me over.

‘Peachy,’ I promised with a thumbs-up.

‘Where is he?’ he asked.

I pointed inside and Connor took a step toward the door. I put my hand on his arm. ‘He’s unconscious now. We don’t want to wake him until Anissa gets here.’

‘Has Anissa prepared the cure already?’ He sounded impressed.

At that moment, my mum jogged up the street, tottering on her heels. She believed a fit body equalled a fit mind and she often used the gym equipment at home, but even so I was impressed. ‘Elizabeth! Are you okay?’ she panted. ‘What is going on? Connor said something about an out-of-control bear?’

‘He’s not a bear; he’s a polar bear shifter. It’s Stan, the shifter leader who was cursed at dinner. He’s in there, so stand away from the door.’ I made sure she was behind the wall.

‘Anything else we need to know?’ Connor asked.

‘He’s destroyed the office like a tornado. And,’ I hesitated, ‘his eyes are red.’

Connor grimaced. ‘Never a good sign.’

He wasn’t wrong. Luckily, Anissa arrived only a minute after Mum and Connor. However, I couldn’t let her go in until I was sure Stan was staying down. It wouldn’t be cool if our shaman got eaten. ‘What do you want us to do?’ I asked her when she joined us.

Anissa had a large bag over her shoulder stuffed full of items. She looked tired. ‘I need him calm and still long enough for me to complete the ritual, and I have to get some of this potion into him.’

We looked at each other: no one wanted to volunteer to plug the bear’s nose and chuck a potion down his throat.

‘I could restrain him with magic, but I can’t do that and the ritual at the same time,’ she continued. ‘We need some powerful magic users to hold him still. He won’t last long if he’s burning through his reserves this fast.’

A frisson of fear ran through me. I couldn’t let Stan die: he was a sort of son to Gunnar and a sort of brother to Sidnee. He was the shifter leader and, for all his goofiness, he was my friend.

‘He’s passed out right now. Do you think he’ll stay down?’ Connor asked.

Anissa shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I wouldn’t have thought he’d have the strength to break the stasis, shift and run through town – but he did. We’re lucky he came here without hurting anyone or causing any damage.’ She hadn’t seen the office yet.

‘I can hold him,’ Mum volunteered.

I looked at her in surprise. ‘You can?’

‘Darling, I’m the High Priestix of the United Kingdom! Of course I can hold him long enough for your shaman to break the curse.’

Right. High Priestix equalled powerful fire witch. It was hard to build that into my view of my charity-lunching, social-climbing mother. The truth was that all of this was showing me that I didn’t know her at all, any more than she knew me.

‘How long can you hold him?’ Anissa asked. ‘I need at least half an hour.’ She didn’t seem to doubt my mum’s witchy powers, which settled my nerves a bit.

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