Page 8 of Tamed By Her Vampire Protector

I memorized the way to the library as we made our way down the twisting hallways.We arrived to Lizzy leaning over a steaming cauldron as she decanted a syrupy pink liquid into what looked like little perfume sample bottles lined up in a row in a wooden rack.

To say the library was huge was an understatement.It was like something out of a movie scene.Rows and rows of leather covered books liked the walls from floor to ceiling.A grand arched window overlooked what must have been the grounds around the compound, but it was impossible to tell what was outside since there was no light from the sun or moon.On the large wooden table where Lizzy was working, there was a plate of grapes and cheddar cheese cubes.I grabbed a bit of each and shoved them in my mouth.Even after weeks of living here and finally eating fresh food again, I still couldn’t forget what it felt like to live off of scavenged scraps.

Rose grabbed a piece of cheese and walked over to a metal wire cage.She tore the piece of cheese in half and fed it through the bars of the cage.The gray rat inside ran over and twitched its nose, sniffing the morsel before it reached for the cheese.

Lizzy noticed the confused look on my face.“That’s Mica.He used to be a wizard before he was turned into a vampire and then somehow turned himself into a rat with a spell.Nobody here knows how to turn him back, but apparently he’s still immortal in rat form.”

I leaned down and peered into the cage.“Huh.Now I think I’ve heard of everything.”I tapped on the bars of the cage with a finger, and Mica stood up on his hind legs in response.His nose and whiskers twitched as he followed my scent.He was really cute, like any other pet rat.I wondered if he liked to be pet.I wiggled my finger, but before I could get to reach inside, Rose grabbed my wrist.

“He may look furry and cute, but he still has some vampire tendencies.”She snapped her mouth close with a toothy biting motion.“Even as a rat, Mica has trouble resisting the lure of warm human blood, something you don’t want to find out the hard way.”It was then that I noticed some small red puncture wounds on the side of Rose’s hand.

I shook my head.“If that rat mistook me for a walking filet mignon, the last thing I would be doing is feeding it cheesy nibbles.”

Rose shrugged.“It’s his nature, I mean, it’s not like he can understand right and wrong with that little rodent brain of his.”She dropped the last bit of cheese on the floor of the cage and wiped her hands on her jeans.

“He only bites when one of us tries to feed him.He ignores Grant and the other vampires,” Lizzy added.

Lizzy poured out the last of the potion and screwed the cap on.I picked up one of the tiny glass bottles.It fit neatly in the palm of my hand, and it was even small enough to sneak in my bra.

“I thought small separate phials would be easier for you to hide instead of one giant bottle,” said Lizzy.It was like she knew what I was thinking.

I held one of the glass phials up in the light.“I thought I was going to have to drink this.It looks like a bottle of perfume.”

LIzzy smiled.“That’s because it is, or rather, it’s an anti-perfume.Spray the potion onto yourself to mask your human smells from the other vampires.It makes you scentless, like the undead.Of course, they’ll still be able to hear your breath and your heartbeat, so you’ll need to remain calm and keep your distance from them.I’m going to research how to hide your other signs of being alive, but for now this potion should be enough to let you move around the compound undetected.”

I spritzed a bit on my wrist and, seeing that I didn’t turn purple or grow any spots, sprayed it all over myself.

I stood there for a bit, waiting for some tingling or something to happen, but nothing changed.It was all a bit anti-climactic.I held my arms out to the side and let them fall.“I don’t feel any different?How will we know it’s working?”

“We’ll need to test it with a vampire,” Lizzy said.

“The only vampires we can trust are Dante, Grant, and Leo, but we can’t let them know, or they’ll rat us out to Alex,” Rose added.

“Well, that makes the plan a bust.”My shoulders slumped.

I looked over at Mica, who was walking back and forth along the length of his cage.An idea popped into my head.It was stupid, but worth a try.“Wait a minute.Mica still craves blood like a vampire whenever he smells a human, right?”

“Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?”Rose replied.

I leaned over the cage and ran my hand along the bars.“If the potion works to mask my human scent, then I should be able to stick my hand in there without Mica sinking his little fangs into me.”

“That sounds completely insane enough to work,” said Lizzy.

“Here goes nothing.”I took a deep breath and tapped on the bars of the cage to get the rat’s attention.He ran over and sniffed at my finger, his nose and whiskers twitching.“Baited.Now, let’s see if he bites.”I slipped my pinky past the bars of the cage and teased Mica with it.He scurried around and under my finger, sniffing me closely, but in the end, decided that his water bottle was more interesting.

“I can’t believe it worked!”

I shot Lizzy a look in surprise.

She shrugged.“I mean, it’s not a complicated potion, but this is my first time brewing this type of potion.”

Jeez.I made a mental note not to ingest or take part in any more of Lizzy’s spells or potions.The last thing I needed was a clueless witch turning me into a gerbil or worse.

“Well, I’m going to put this potion through one final test.”

Rose startled.“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Despite her bringing me here all cloak and dagger, she was suddenly getting cold feet.

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