AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wave a hand. “Don’t thank me. Really, I have no idea what I did or how I did it. It feels wrong to accept thanks for something I didn’t do on purpose.”
Herbish grunts. “Well, I’m still grateful. Not enough to toddle into snotty, stuffy vampire territory for the holiday, but grateful all the same.”
“I would promise you that it’ll be a great time, and no one will be mean to you guys…” Blaire blows out a breath. “But I can’t. Sadly, some of those jerks up there don’t care for goblins.”
Dr. Balmoral arches a brow. “Some of them don’t care for shifters or witches, either. At least not until they need us to help defend their holdings from other vampires.”
“So, I’ve heard,” Blaire says. “But they’d better play nice if they want my help. Cliques are only okay in middle school.”
“Are they?” I ask, moving aside as the nurse returns with an IV bag on a rolling stand. “If I remember correctly, they made life pretty miserable back then, too.”
“Yeah.” Blaire props her hands on her hips. “So it’s settled. No cliques allowed in this town, not even in middle school. I’ll lobby the council to pass a decree at the next town meeting.”
“All the more reason to stay away from that boat,” Herbish grumbles as the nurse deftly slips the butterfly needle into her arm and secures it with a tiny scrap of bandage tape. “Hard to lobby for change with your lips ripped off.”
“Priscilla won’t rip our lips off,” Blaire says. “I have this all figured out. We’ll invite her to the party tonight, pretend it’s in her honor, and get off on the right foot from the very beginning.”
Dr. Balmoral curses softly beneath his breath. “Priscilla? She’s back?”
“We’re pretty sure,” I say, my stomach flipping as his tanned skin goes pale. “Her boat is docked in the harbor, at least.”
“She’s on it,” Herbish says with a shiver. “I could smell her. She reeks of lily of the valley and chrysanthemum. Death flowers.”
The doctor curses more audibly this time as he turns to the nurse. “Stay with Herbish. I’ll set Tracy’s arm, get the other goblins checked out, and then put the emergency on call sign up on the door until after lunch. I need to go home and warn my parents. Priscilla tried to throw my mother off a cliff a couple of times. She’ll want to know the old bat is back.”
“What?” My jaw drops and my stomach flip turns into a cramp.
“Yeah, she thought Mom was flirting with Colin.” His gaze shifts my way as he adds in a knowing voice, “But she wasn’t, and Colin isn’t even Priscilla’s favorite.”
“Shit,” I say, making the doctor smile.
“Just stay close to Edmond and don’t go anywhere alone with her,” he says. “Especially not anywhere with a steep drop off nearby.”
Blaire and I thank the doctor, promise Herbish we’ll check in on her soon, and head for the door, emerging into the sunny autumn morning in time to see a 1920’s deep-sea diver clunking down the street in full ocean armor.
“What on earth is that?” I ask as Blaire stops in the middle of the street with her hands propped on her hips.
“It’s Darcy. It’s an old suit he uses to move around during the day even though it weighs a gajillion pounds and smells like an old sweat sock.” She cups a hand around her mouth, adding in a louder voice, “I thought we agreed you were going to get rid of that death trap.”
“It’s not Darcy,” I say, my skin tingling the way it does every time a certain someone is close. “It’s Edmond.”
“Damned right it is,” he says as he draws closer, his voice tinny through the speaker at the front of the suit. “And you have some explaining to do, Cassandra. I thought we agreed to be honest with each other. Even when it isn’t easy.”
“We did,” I say, shocked by the chilliness of his tone. “And I was. I am.”
“How little you must think of me.” He creaks to a stop in front of us, his angry features just barely visible through the darkened glass covering his face. “You truly thought I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between you and the maid because of a bargain basement lookalike spell? Your opinion of me is that low?”
“It wasn’t a bargain basement spell,” Blaire pipes up, indignant. “It was a fast lookalike spell. I threw it over my shoulder on the way out so Casey wouldn’t know about it, so don’t blame her. If you didn’t have cameras hidden in her room like some sick, spying pervert, I wouldn’t have had to bother.”
“You have cameras hidden in our room?” I ask, jerking my attention back to Edmond. “I mean, I knew there were cameras in the halls, but—”
“They’re there for your protection,” he cuts in. “But clearly you need a keeper as well, so you shall have one. As soon as we get back to the estate, you’ll be assigned a twenty-four hour guard to shadow your every move.”
“I don’t need a guard to shadow my every move.”
“I’ll decide what you need,” Edmond says, making the hairs at the back of my neck vibrate.
“Oh, no, you won’t.” My voice is so low it rumbles in my chest like thunder. “I’m not a child.”
