Page 26 of Haunted Eclipse

“If it is a psychic vampire, like I think it is, what can we do about it?”

“I’ll have to ask Nightshade. We cannot allow someone like that to stay in Midnight Point. Unlike traditional vampires, psychic vampires very seldom conform the rules. They’re chaotic, and they usually like to create even more chaos around them. In fact, I believe a number of them belong to the Covenant of Chaos, and that makes them even more deadly.” Astra held her hand out for a cookie.

I handed her one. “It’s good to have you back. Even though you were only gone for a couple of days, I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, hon. I’m glad January’s back, though. I don’t think Teran should be on her own for the time being.”

“How did she wrench her back?” I asked.

“That’s a good question. I gather she was trying to pull fifty-gallon bags of soil off the back of her truck, and she’s not as young as she used to be. She thought she had one in hand, but when she pulled, it threw her off balance and she twisted as she fell. The bag landed on top of her.”

“That sounds horrible,” I said.

“It wasn’t pleasant. She has a couple bruised ribs, and a broken finger. She’ll be all right. She may need some PT, but none of her ribs are actually fractured. Though, a sprain can be worse than a broken bone.” Astra poured another cup of hot cocoa for both of us.

“Well, that’s good.” I paused, then asked, “Astra, do you think I came back to Midnight Point for a reason? I mean,beyond losing my house? That maybe fate was playing her hand?”

Astra stared at her cup for a moment. “When you called me to say you were moving back, and asked if could you stay with me for a while, I was overjoyed. But when I think about it, I did believe there was something going on behind the scenes. As to what? I don’t know.”

I didn’t like thinking that I had been funneled here. I hated not having control. But when I searched my heart, I had to admit, it really did feel like fate had brought me home.

The doorbell rang and I answered it. Crystal was standing there, shivering. The snow event we were expecting this weekend had announced itself early. A light snowfall was drifting down to cover the ground, and while we’d been having some snow, this felt different.

“Come on in, we’ve got cocoa in the kitchen.” I hustled Crystal in, and took her coat, hanging it up on the coat rack.

She rubbed her hands together. “Cocoa sounds wonderful. I got Devon stowed away and the shelter will keep an eye on her. I also checked and they are heavily warded against outside interference and eyeballs. I doubt if Marcus will be able to find her there, though there’s no real guarantee. We need to clear those cords out of her. Even I could see them.”

“My aunt’s home.” I let her into the kitchen, stopping to pour her a cup of hot cocoa. As she sat at the table, I said, “Auntie, Devon safe in the shelter. But we still have to clear her cords.”

“I’ll call Nightshade in a few minutes,” Astra said.

“Astra thinks the Covenant of Chaos spawns a lot of the psychic vampires,” I said.

“Well, they don’t spawn them, but they provide a haven for them.”

“That would make sense,” Crystal said. “Psychic vampires break every rule they can. It’s not like they’re part of the Fae, either.”

“True that.” There were several species among the Fae races who fed off life force. While they weren’t welcome, they weren’t out in society, siphoning chi off everybody they met.

Astra set down her mug. “All right, I’m going to go call Nightshade and ask her what we should do.”

Nightshade was in her sixties, though she—like my aunts—didn’t look as old as she was, and she had taken the mantle of high priestess when Ella Sanders died. Ella had been close to one-hundred and sixty—not an old age for witchblood—when she passed, and she had maintained control over the Dark Moon Society until that time. Members of the witchblood lived longer than humans, though not usually longer than shifters.

I turned to Crystal as Astra stepped out of the kitchen. “So, I’m going over to Brenda’s house tomorrow. She had another dream about me, so I figured I’d better look into this. I also want to run one potential candidate past her. I found a star witch who lives in Port Ludlow, and while I don’t have that feeling I usually get when I’m about to make a match, he seems like he might have potential. Something tells me to go ahead and try.”

“Do you really enjoy your job?” Crystal asked. “I mean, I know you always have had a knack for bringing people together, but…”

“It is an odd job, being a matchmaker, but knowing I’ve helped bring love into someone’s life? It makes me happy. It makes the world feel like a better place. I am concerned that I won’t be able to drum up enough business here, I admit that. In the Seattle area, there are thousands of people looking for love. Here, I’m not so sure.” I stared down at Dahlia, who was bouncing around, begging for a cookie. “No, you cannot have a cookie. But you can have a dog biscuit.”

As I opened the drawer with the dog and cat treats, the Pom bounced around my feet, then stood on her hind legs, dancing like a maniac.

I snorted. “Good girl. Here.” I tossed her the biscuit and she caught it midair, then daintily carried it over to the dog bed in the corner, where Miss P. was snoozing. Miss P. took up most of the bed. She was over three times the size—in weight—as Dahlia. Dahlia glared at her for a moment, but when the Maine Coon showed no sign of moving, Dahlia let out a sigh and curled up on the edge of the bed to chew on her biscuit.

“What are you going to do if you find out you don’t have enough clients?” Crystal asked.

“Well, first I hope that’s not the case. But, even though I’ll likely have to dilute my time with doing psychic readings and house cleansings, as long as I have a few clients looking for love, I should be happy.” I shrugged. “It’s not the amount of people, it’s that I still get to help others make their dreams come true.”

Astra returned at that moment, her expression serious. “Well, I talked to Nightshade.”

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