Page 6 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

I pasted on my best smile again and stepped forward; at least Mum’s social soirées had been good for something. ‘Hello, April, I’m so happy to see you! Welcome!’ I was thrilled to see her, just not at my desk. We badly needed help in the office and April was a force to be reckoned with.

‘Thank you, Bunny.’ She gave me a genuine smile that faltered a little as she looked at me. ‘Is everything okay?’

April was an observant woman so no doubt she’d spotted the red eyes and splotchy skin that signalled a crying jag. I pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘My mum is visiting,’ I admitted.

‘And you don’t get on?’

‘Like dragons and knights,’ I said flatly.

‘Ah. Well, maybe this is an opportunity for you to mend fences.’

‘I think our fences are destroyed,’ I huffed.

April winked. ‘Good thing you’re dating the local lumberjack then!’

Her humour surprised a laugh out of me. ‘Yeah, that’s true.’ I felt a little lighter and realised that had been her intention. I touched her shoulder. ‘Thanks, April. I really am glad to have you here.’ Fuck it, she could have my desk.

I let Shadow out of his carrier to join Fluffy on their matching beds. ‘He in?’ I asked, thumbing towards Gunnar’s office.

She gave an exasperated sigh. ‘Is he ever out?’ I grinned. She already had her finger on the pulse; she’d fit in fine.

I went to Gunnar’s office and tapped at the door. ‘What’s up boss?’

Gunnar looked up. ‘The mayor called to say we have a developing situation down at the North Harbour.’

I’d been there less than an hour ago – what could possibly have cropped up in that amount of time? ‘What kind of problem?’

‘The kind where tempers are fraying. Mafu’s keeping his distance. He said it looks like it’s about to get ugly. Ready to rock and roll?’

‘You bet. But why is it always the North Harbour?’ I complained.

‘It’s cursed,’ Gunnar agreed. He heaved himself out of his chair and we made hasty tracks to the borrowed ancient Suburban on loan from the borough. The Nomo SUV had met it’s end at the hands of a possessed wind witch only a day and a half ago.

As we raced to the North Harbour, the place that seemed to be the bane of my existence, I asked, ‘What did Mafu say was happening?’

‘He said fists were about to fly and we’d better hurry before fur and fangs got involved. I nearly went without you,’ he admitted, ‘but I knew you wouldn’t be long.’

‘I appreciate you waiting.’ I needed this; I needed a sharp reminder that I wasn’t a downtrodden waitress anymore.

We parked and hurried down the walk-down ramp; the tide was coming back in so it was much less steep. People had gathered on the dock next to Edgy’s plane and a fishing boat that was moored nearby. The crowd was rumbling and the tang of blood danced on the air.

As I stepped onto the boards, my stomach gave a low rumble of hunger. Dammit, I hadn’t had any blood before I’d come out. It was a rookie error. I got hangry: someone was bleeding from a stray punch and suddenly I was feeling a whole lot of rage. I cursed myself for not remembering that I’d needed blood, no matter how distasteful I found it.

The mayor was trying to control the small crowd from a distance with a loud hailer, but he was obviously fighting a losing battle. I watched as one man shoved another with significant force. Despite the strength of the shove, the other barely moved – shifter strength. He gave a taunting smile and his aggressor stepped back and crouched low. I’d seen that stance before: he was going to shift. Mafu wasn’t wrong about the fur and fangs. Luckily, I was the one with the fangs.

I pulled a set of magic-cancelling cuffs out of my belt and, using vampiric speed, sprinted towards the crouched man. His shift stopped abruptly as I closed his new jewellery around his wrists and his eyes cleared. ‘What?’ he asked in confusion, still kneeling. He looked around. ‘Gary?’ he said to the taunting man. ‘What’s going on?’

Gary pulled his hand back to shove his fist into the kneeling man’s face, but before he could make contact Gunnar had wrestled him to the ground. The minute the cuffs were on him, Gary looking around in confusion. ‘Carl?’ he said to his friend. ‘What the fuck?’

‘I don’t know, man. You were fixing for a fight.’

‘So were you,’ I interrupted. ‘And you’re not alone.’ Around us another seven people were vying for a heavyweight title. Fists were flying; even worse, I could feel my own anger rising. The heat in me was scorching and I wanted to give into it to burn away the feelings of inadequacy my mother’s confession had raised in me.

Gunnar bellowed. ‘Everyone stop!’ No one paid him any mind.

‘Cuffs!’ I barked. ‘Cuff them all quickly!’ I briefly considered putting a cuff on myself before I lost control but dismissed the idea. The last thing I wanted right now was to be in a hostile situation without my magic. I could keep a lid on my rage. Probably.

We made quick work of the irate crowd because they were focused on each other, barely aware of their surroundings. Soon all nine men were cuffed, confused and subdued.

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