Page 47 of The Forty-Year-Old Virgin Witch

Eighteen

Karl

The manor was old, decrepit, and as stereotypical for a vampyre as you could get. It likely had been some sort of Tudor hunting lodge at one point, but looked like it hadn’t been touched since them. Comparing this cold, drafty mansion to the warmth of Aggie’s cottage made me realize just how much had changed in the past week. I blanched as I ran straight into a spider’s web in the doorway. For fuck’s sake, it wouldn’t be hard to hire a cleaning staff!

“You’ve returned.”

I didn’t jump. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. It was already odd he’d been waiting for me. My Elder eyed the glass jugs of ale in my hands with distaste, his eyebrows rising to his hairline. He was wearing one of his favorite black robes, in the style of the Romans. He’d always been overly dramatic.

“A week, Karl?”

His tone was light, but I knew better. That’s usually when he was the most pissed. There’d been no way to truly prepare for this confrontation. Being gone a week for a task that should have taken two days at most had no real excuse. I silently offered the ales, and he snatched them, baring his fangs.

Elder Varos had given me a lot in this undead life, but he’d also taken everything from my previous life. It was my turn to take.

“I’m leaving. You’ll need to find a new assistant.”

Varos snorted, his eyes narrowing as he took in my pale skin and red eyes.

“You condemn another innocent in your place then?”

Ah, there was the gaslighting. I snorted, and his eyes narrowed.

“You’re not to touch any of the blood bags if that’s how it’s going to be.”

Anger burned a hot trail from my chest to my stomach, but I kept my face passive. I knew this was a possibility. I would just have to go hunting, that was all.

“I suppose I’ll need to find a replacement then.”He shot back.

The neutral expression on my face froze. “A replacement.”

In the end, he didn’t really care about us, did he? It was a struggle to keep my voice level. Varos flicked the cap off one of the glass jugs and took a deep swig.

“Why do you think I turned you? Jontavious left me, so—”

I didn’t hear the rest of what he said. It faded into the background, insignificant in the wake of this revelation that hadn’t been a total surprise.

“You told me I had great potential,” I said. “You said you saved to turn me.”

Varos flopped into a chair, paying more attention to his drink than me. One pale hand waved at me. Dismissively.

“Who do you think led those men to your house and engineered a situation where you would require saving? And I thought you were intelligent.”

My hands fisted at my sides. I was intelligent. It was the one trait I was most proud of.

“Get someone else to be your errand boy. God knows your family is large enough.”

I knew a few of Varos’s other ‘children,’ enough to know they were wealthy and numerous. And wanted nothing to do with him.

“I’ll report you to the council as a rogue vampyre.”

I laughed, even though the threat was very real.

“And I’ll be sure to detail how you only created us to be your gophers. I’m sure the council would be thrilled to hear that: an entire coven that wants nothing to do with its Elder. You’ll be labeled as negligent and executed.”

He snarled and hurled one of the glass jugs at my head. I could have caught it, but I let it smash on the stone behind me to spite him.

“I’m leaving now. I suggest you learn how to work a bank account or use the local currency. The internet would also be a bonus.”

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