Page 9 of A Vampire in a Pear Tree
“The answer is Troy, obviously,” Finch said, glancing around.There were a few people out on the street, but no one paid us any mind until a voice spoke behind us.
“Welcome home,” a woman said, moving out of the shadows to pass by us.She was dressed in a sequined, body-hugging outfit that always reminded me of the singer P!nk.The fact that she also resembled the singer heightened the effect, but I knew there was much more to her than a love of music.
“Your Grace,” Finch said, making one of the bows that he pulled off with such style.“It is a pleasure to see you again.”
It was Anya, one of the three beings who made up the Municipal Entity, the people in charge of Ravenfall.Finch had speculated that at least one of them had a lot of power, and I firmly believed it was Anya.
“Always so polite,” she said with a smile at Finch before her gaze moved to me.“You will no doubt be taking over the shop you left with your cousin.We will see to the change in ownership.We have not been happy to have the shop closed so much, and welcome your return.”
“The shop’s closed?Clemmie didn’t say anything about leaving it.”I consulted my phone, but found the last text from my twenty-year-old cousin was a few weeks old.
“I believe she mentioned something about attending a college in California to learn how to make”—she paused for a moment, clearly pulling something out of her memory—“artistic horror rom-coms.I did not know such a thing was a genre, but evidently your cousin feels it’s her calling.Good evening.”
She glided off in the direction of the town hall.We both stared after her for a few seconds before turning to each other.
“We’re back,” I told Finch, feeling stupidly stuck on that point.
“We are.Alive.That should make things easier for us to find our missing thane.”
“You think we still have to find him?”I asked, some of my pleasure fading at the memory of the man we’d inadvertently released.“Maybe he died or something.If your uncle hasn’t heard hide nor hair of the big, bad Owain, then perhaps he’s not a real threat, and we can enjoy being alive again, and back in Ravenfall.”
“I believe the phrase isseenhide nor hair....”
The look I gave Finch was so pointed, the corners of his lips curled.
“Regardless of your choice in creative phrasing, the thane is an immense threat to not just Dark Ones but the mortal world, as well.We have no choice but to work with my uncle to find Owain before he commits atrocities upon everyone.And that drives home the point that I must call my uncle immediately to find out where he is in the search, and what we can do to help.”Finch took my hand as we started down the sidewalk toward the shop that he used to rent and later bought for Clemmie’s livelihood.
A little frisson of worry formed in my belly.Finch might be a proficient fighter, but I had qualms about him tackling the thane on his own.I hoped the other vampires had a plan in place to catch the madman.
I wasn’t about to risk the man who held my heart.Not again.
FOUR
BERRY
“Where did you loseyour vampire?”
