Page 43 of Shadow Seeking

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Dante asked.

I knew it would mean exposing Penn to a vampire, but she was a powerful witch and she could handle herself.

“Let me talk to her.” I slid out of the car and walked a little ways away.

Penn answered on the second ring. “Hey, what’s up?”

“What do you think about meeting up with us in the Fairlane Cemetery?”

After a brief pause, she said, “When?”

“Um…now. As soon as you can get here.”

Another pause. Then, “It’s almost midnight. You want me to meet you in a deserted graveyard in the middle of the night? What are you doing? Exhuming a body? Fighting off zombies? Or do you need to talk to a ghost?”

I sighed. “Actually, I kind of need help determining whether there’s a curse on a vampire.”

Penn once again went silent, then exploded. “What the hell have you been drinking…or smoking?” I could almost hear her shake her head. “All right, start from the beginning.”

I told her what had happened. “I think somebody placed a curse of some sort on her that triggered and hit Lazenti when he pressed her for information.”

“Are you sure you want to hang out in a graveyard long enough for me to get there?”

“Well, I’m not taking him home with me. I suppose we could go to the office. That’s a bit safer. If you’re too tired, say the word. We can schedule it later.” I glanced at my watch. “In fact, let’s do that. Can you drop by the office after seven tomorrow night? The sun will be down by then.”

“Okay, let me know if plans change. And be careful. He’s a vampire, Kyann.”

“I know. Trust me, I know.”

I returned to the car, secured Lazenti’s promise to come by the office the next night, and we said goodbye. On the way back to the office to drop off Orik and Dante, we were all too tired to talk. But inside, I was running over a hundred questions, and I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d manage to find the answers to any of them.

Next morning,I groaned as I slid out of bed. Sometimes being around a vampire could drain energy, and I felt like I hadn’t slept a wink. Murdoch and Jangles bounced on the bed, both scrambling to nestle up to me, and I fell back asleep. Thank gods I had the snooze button on and the alarm woke me up a second time, ten minutes later.

I pushed out of bed, shivering as my feet hit the floor. My house had hardwood floors and they were chilly in the autumn and winter mornings. I grumbled my way into my bathrobe and decided a hot shower might help. As I slid into the shower, something felt odd. My head was foggy, but it wasn’t a hangover. I’d assumed it was energy drain, but as I turned on the water and waited for it to heat up, I realized that something else was going on. My body felt weird—but I couldn’t pinpoint how or why.

Dizzy, I decided to forego the shower. What if I slipped? I managed to turn off the water and, using the walls and furniture to steady myself, made it back to bed. As I climbed in, I grabbed my phone and texted Penn.

hey, i feel crappy and i’m not sure what’s wrong. can you drop by?

Penn answered,sure, i’ll be there before i open the shop.

Then, I texted Dante.i’m going to be late today. i feel like crap and i need to see if it’s going to wear off. make sure orik notes down what he found out at the supe community action council yesterday, please. i’ll try to be there as soon as i can.

Then, the vertigo setting in, I closed my eyes.

The next thing I knew, Penn was shaking me awake.

“Kyann, wake up. Are you all right? Kyann? Answer me!”

I squinted, peering up at Penn’s face. She looked a little blurry. “Hey,” I managed to say.

“I’m calling the doctor,” she said.

“No—” I started to protest, then stopped. Truth was, I felt like crap and something was wrong. “Number’s on the fridge.”

As she headed out of my bedroom, I closed my eyes, and promptly passed out again.

The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes to the worst headache I’d had in ages. Everything was slightly blurry, but I felt more conscious than I had earlier. Maybe I’d even stay that way.

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