Page 27 of The Neighborhood Vampire

“They’re ghouls,” Ez said. “Not living, not dead. Husks of their former selves. Puppets for the vampires. They’re commanded and compelled to repeat those actions. They can’t see us.”

Hugo sighed. “Well, that’s good.”

Ez turned to Alice. “Can you be a dear and put on a pot of tea?”

“Already made,” Alice said. She went into the kitchen.

Ez examined the wooden box and then the stake clutched in his hand. “Don’t lose that,” Ez said as she sat down.

Max rested her head on Ez’s lap, who then scratched the manipulative golden retriever behind the ears.

“Yeah, Alice already told me it’s the only thing that will work,” Hugo said as he sat down. He placed the wooden stake next to him. “That and sunlight.”

“A good beheading will work too,” Ez added.

Alice returned with a teapot and two additional cups floating behind her, as if held up by magical hands. The cups floated to their proper places on the table. Alice poured the tea into each cup.

“Thank you, kiddo,” Ez said as she took a sip.

“Thanks, babe,” Hugo said as she poured some into his cup. He took a sip. Heated to perfection, the liquid was a warm welcome on the cold autumn day.

Alice topped off her cup, set the teapot down, and took a seat. She joined in and took a sip.

Ez lowered her cup, cradling it with both hands below her nose. The steam rose into her face. “So, tell me what happened.”

“They invited us to dinner and offered us some old wine. They were entertaining us, keeping the conversation going and the wine flowing. There was a distinct taste to it. It was definitely blood wine. They even claimed Red-Hearted Queenwas based on the wine they offered us. As the conversation went on, they leaned in, trying to enthrall us. They would have succeeded if not for the distinct taste,” Alice said.

Ez glared into her tea for a moment and then took a sip.

“I’d like to circle back to blood wine,” Hugo said. “Were we drinking blood?”

“No,” Alice said.

Hugo sighed. “That’s a relief.”

“It’s a magical wine that can attune to blood types and make it easier for them to enthrall, to hypnotize their victims,” Alice explained. “They’re doing it with Red-Hearted Queen. Except on a larger scale.”

“So, we take out the wine, and it stops them, right?” Hugo asked.

“They can still enthrall people. It’s what they do to feed, but the process can take a lot out of them. If they can make it easier to hypnotize someone”—Alice took a sip of tea—“then they can do more than feed.”

“And if they have access to someone’s blood, they can compel them to do practically whatever they want,” Ez added.

“Are they magick users too?” Hugo asked.

“No,” Ez said. “The vampiric transformation will strip anyone of the ability to call forth the arcane. Spells, however, can be attuned so anyone can cast them if they follow the exact process and know the arcane words.”

“Fantastic,” Hugo said in a sarcastic tone. He took a sip. “So, what do we do?”

“Have they done anything?” Ez asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Alice replied.

“What about all of those sick employees at the market?” Hugo asked. “It’s kind of strange so many have come down sick recently.”

“Hearsay . . . unless you can prove it. Until they do something, you can’t do anything,” Ez said. “Or else you’ll risk all-out war.”

Hugo sat back in his chair, narrowing his eyes. “War?”

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