I started to turn away. “I think I need another drink.”

  Wanda gasped and her eyes popped as she turned around and grabbed my arm. “Look, Poppy!”

  I spun around as what appeared to be a missile hurtled down the street. This one came from our right. It moved so fast, I couldn’t see what it was—it just appeared as a blob of yellow and black. The blob swooped on an unerring course and collided with Roscoe, taking him unawares from the side. The impact sent a shockwave far and wide, ricocheting through the duplex like an earthquake. When I caught my footing and looked out the window again, I watched Roscoe fly backwards, landing flat on his rear several dozen yards away. He blinked and looked around for his assailant while he shook the stars out of his head.

  The other object alighted near my overturned Jeep, and as Wanda and I watched in complete amazement, the missile blob revealed itself to be none other than the clean-cut figure of Lorcan Rowe.

  Lorcan clenched his hands into fists and his face transformed into a mask of fury, and I felt myself gulp.

  “Wow,” I said.

  “Wow is right,” Wanda answered and there was a funny expression on her face—admiration, maybe? No, it wasn’t just admiration—admiration mixed with something else. Pride.

  “What the bloody hell do you think you’re playing at?” Lorcan bellowed at Roscoe. “I can hear your bloody antics all the way on Main Street!”

  Wanda opened the door then and yelled out, “Lorcan, you won’t be able to kill him, so just get rid of him for a little while!” She left the door ajar, presumably so we could hear whatever Lorcan had to say.

  Lorcan gave her a quick nod before facing the smaller vampire and narrowing his eyes.

  Roscoe pulled himself together and glared up at Lorcan, and then he opened his mouth and snarled. Lorcan appeared taken back only momentarily and then braced himself for Roscoe’s attack.

  “Well, come on then,” he said, and motioned Roscoe forward.

  Roscoe narrowed his eyes and bared his yellow fangs, to which Lorcan pulled back with a frown that revealed his disgust. If Lorcan was anything, it was highly aware of personal cleanliness.

  Lorcan stabbed his index finger at Roscoe as if the latter were a mangy mutt who’d wandered onto his property. “Go on then! What are you bloody well waiting for? I’m losing my temper.”

  Roscoe scowled so terribly that, for a second, I wondered if he was really going to attack Lorcan—if he did, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Lorcan was a much older vampire, which meant he was stronger—but Lorcan didn’t have the added benefit of Blood Witch magic.

  Apparently thinking better of it, Roscoe shot one last grimace toward the duplex. Then he snarled through gritted teeth as he turned away.

  “Ah, that’s what I thought,” Lorcan responded with a chuckle. “Off you go then! Perhaps you’ll do us all a favor and shower!”

  Roscoe didn’t reply other than taking two steps and shooting off the ground. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

  Lorcan glared after Roscoe, but the smaller vampire didn’t return. After another few seconds, Lorcan gave my Jeep an even more disgusted look (no doubt owing to the fact that it was a torn up mess) and then stalked toward Wanda’s duplex.

  Wanda yanked the door open as he climbed the steps and before he could so much as say ‘hello’, she threw her arms around him and kissed him all over his face in quick succession.

  “Thank the Goddess you’re here! And thank bloody spell you got rid of him! He’s been at it all day.”

  Lorcan stepped inside and wrapped his arms around Wanda as he closed the door behind him.

  “Had I known I would receive such a welcome, I would have lambasted the barbarian far earlier.” Wanda and I laughed as Lorcan continued. “What’s going on?” He looked at me. “What are you doing here, Poppy?” Then he seemed to notice everyone else before turning back to Wanda. “Ah it appears, Wandellmelia, that you are hosting a party to which I wasn’t invited.”

  She frowned at him. “You know that’s not the case.”

  “Regardless, I daresay I finally caught up with the bastard.” I assumed he was referring to Roscoe. “It only took me the better part of a day and night.”

  “You’ve been searching for him all this time?” I asked, my mouth dropping open.

  Lorcan faced me with a frown. “Do you not recall sending me on such errand in the first place?”

  I nodded. “I just figured… you’d given up.”

  He shook his head. “I do not give up, my dear.” Then he sighed. “Unfortunately for all involved, the barbarian was quite adept at, what do they term it? Ah—giving me the slip.”

  I noticed, with interest, that Wanda was still clinging to Lorcan. Hmm, his display outside must have turned her on because she was acting like a cat in heat.

  “Beast,” Lorcan said in greeting to Roy.

  “Leech,” Roy responded.

  “And, Olga, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance again,” Lorcan continued with a broad smile, apparently to highlight the difference in greetings.

  “Ya, me too.”

  “Then you haven’t slept all this time?” I asked, still surprised to know Lorcan had been hunting Roscoe for so long.

  “Of course I took cover when the sun made itself known, my dear,” Lorcan answered. “But as soon as the sun rescinded its garish display, I began my hunt again.”

  “Then you haven’t been at it all night and day,” Roy pointed out with a scowl.

  “We need your help, Lorcan,” Wanda interrupted.

  “You know I’ll always help you, darling,” he answered as he released her and then walked over to the window, apparently searching for any sign of Roscoe. Not finding one, he turned back to face Wanda. “What do you require?”

  “We need to kill Roscoe.”

  Lorcan rubbed his chin and appeared thoughtful. “I can put the fear of God into him by threatening to inform Rupert, but I don’t possess the power to kill Roscoe myself, my dear. He knows that as well as I do. Besides, according to the undead charter, I’m not meant to interfere in other vampires’ doings.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Wanda answered. “Technically, Betanya has to kill him, but we need help setting the stage for his… death.”

  Lorcan grinned at her and slipped his arm behind her back, pulling her into him. I noticed she didn’t fight him like she usually would. Lorcan’s eyes glossed over with something that looked a lot like lust.

  I cleared my throat, not wanting to play witness to a potentially embarrassing situation. “Excuse me, love birds, but we still have the Roscoe problem to solve.”

  “Love birds?” Wanda repeated, as she divorced herself from Lorcan and frowned at me. “Really, Poppy.”

  Lorcan faced me with a broad smile. “As I said, Poppy dearest, I’ll help in any way I can, but considering how daft Roscoe has become, I’m afraid my usual prosaic methods of persuasion might not obtain the results you’re hoping for.”

  Just then, a murmur came from down the hall. All three of us paused in our conversation to listen. The sound came from Astrid’s room.

  “I think Betanya might be up again,” I managed and followed Wanda and Lorcan down the hallway. Roy and Olga followed behind me. When we reached Astrid’s bedroom, we peeked inside to find Betanya sitting up on the edge of the mattress.

  “You’re… you’re up!” Wanda exclaimed.

  Betanya smiled, and when her gaze settled on Lorcan, the smile broadened. “I feel… better. Thank you, Lorcan. I won’t forget your kindness.”

  “And neither will I,” Henner added, nodding towards Lorcan. “I owe you.”

  Lorcan bowed to Betanya with a gallant sweep of his hand. “It was my pleasure.”

  Betanya then looked at Wanda. “What did I miss while I was out? Is there any sign of Roscoe?”

  “Oh, there’s definitely a sign of him,” Wanda growled.

  “We’re in the process of coming up with a plan on how to corner him,” I told her. “We just need to—”

  “What Poppy means,” Wanda interjected, “is that she has a plan on how to corner him. But, she still hasn’t told anyone just what that plan is.”

  “I was thinking we attempt to lure Roscoe to my house. Once there, I can try to weaken him with a potion and all of you can help Betanya deliver the death blow.” I inhaled deeply and then faced Wanda. “But, I was considering one pre-cursor to this whole idea.”

  “What precursor?”

  I wasn’t sure how she’d take this next thought. “Do you remember our conversation about forming a coven and how your power would be magnified by the power of the other witches in said coven?”

  Wanda immediately shook her head. “The ritual would take too much time and, besides, we’d need a full moon.”

  “Ya, das ist true,” Olga said.

  “Then we don’t have the option of forming a coven?” I asked, just to be sure.

  “Not right now,” Wanda answered.

  “Which potion?” Betanya interrupted, apparently wanting to get back to the main plan.

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” Wanda rounded on me. “Which potion?”

  I shuffled my feet because this was the part I was less sure about. “It’s… well, it’s not one I keep stocked at the store. It’s one of my great grandmother’s more… questionable potions.”

  They both raised their eyebrows. “Questionable?” they chorused.

  I nodded. “It’s… it’s experimental but I think it will do the job.”

  “Vich potion?” Olga asked.

  I swallowed hard as I turned to face her. “Flying Devil Oil.”

  Olga’s eyes went wide as Betanya cleared her throat.

  “Wow, you weren’t kidding about ‘questionable’,” Wanda said.

  I nodded.

  Flying Devil Oil was an old, Voudoun uncrossing oil used to overcome the power of a strong being, and it was the only potion I could think of that would be strong enough to weaken Roscoe. But, it was unstable, which meant if the creator of the potion didn’t fully have her head in the game, it could backfire.

  “And you have a bottle ready to go?” Betanya double-checked.

  I nodded. “I keep a whole slew of questionable potions stocked at home… just in case I ever need them.”

  “Maybe you should stay in the realm of potions tried and true?” Lorcan suggested.

  I shook my head. “Any of my more standard potions won’t be strong enough to tame a wayward vampire with Roscoe’s abilities.”

  Wanda nodded. “Poppy’s right—we need to call in the big guns.”

  “Regardless, we’re still faced with the conundrum known as reaching your place which, if you don’t mind the input of a humble vampire, could prove to be the hardest and most dangerous part of the whole mission.”

  I winced. “Yeah. I know.”

  “Especially since you no longer possess a… working automobile.”

  “Luckily, we still have the Escalade,” Wanda answered with a smile. “And wouldn’t you know it, it’s already survived one vampire attack… so what’s another?”

  “One vampire attack?” Betanya repeated, her mouth dropping open.

  Wanda nodded. “A while back, the head of Lorcan’s line sent this odious vampire named Joseph to scare Lorcan into turning me, but all Joseph managed to do was irritate Lorcan.”

  “Which ended in Joseph coming up close and personal with the Escalade,” Lorcan finished.

  Wanda nodded again. “And there’s still a dent!”

  “Yes,” Lorcan said as he scratched his chin. “We shall have to get that dent seen to, my dear.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You take charge, Poppy,” Betanya said, “This is your show.”

  “All right,” I breathed. “We need to get over to my house, ideally without Roscoe seeing us.”

  “We won’t know where he is until he strikes,” Wanda pointed out. “He’s immune to tracking.”

  “He might be immune to your tracking spell,” I responded as I shook my head, “but I can use Mystic Veil to locate him in the astral plane the way I did before.”

  “Are you off your rocker?” Wanda blurted, frowning at me all the while. “You saw what happened when you tried that last time. You very narrowly avoided death.”

  I crossed my arms against my chest and held my ground. “This plan won’t work unless we can make it to my house without Roscoe realizing what we’re up to. And the only way we can make sure he doesn’t see us is if we know where he is.”

  “Ya, Poppy ist right,” Olga said with a quick nod.

  “That means going into the astral plane before we leave,” Wanda continued, apparently having accepted the logic in my argument.

  “Right.” I took the potion bottle out of my handbag. “I’m ready when you are.”

  “The sooner we end the bastard, the better,” Betanya said.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Wanda murmured in my ear and when I looked up to face her, she was wearing her concern. “There are other ways, Poppy.”

  I shook my head. “This is the only way. I’m the only one who can track him. And… as soon as he sees me in the astral plane, he’ll start following me.” I took a deep breath. “Not to mention that I’m sure he’ll feel Betanya as soon as she leaves the safety of the duplex.”

  “And that’s what we want?” Wanda double-checked.

  I nodded. “That’s what we want.”

  I sat down on the couch and opened the bottle of Mystic Veil, anointing myself with it. I didn’t have to bother with the Sleep Oil because the essence was still on my skin so I could tap into it yet again. Then I took a deep breath and leaned back against the couch.

  As soon as I closed my eyes, I was launched out of my body as I entered the astral plane almost immediately. That had to be owing to the fact that I’d just traveled into the astral plane recently and I still had the residue of Mystic Veil from my first trip.

  I felt someone pressing my hand.

  Can you see anything?

  Betanya’s voice entered my thoughts, and surprise echoed through me.

  How is it I can hear your voice? I asked in thought. My voice echoed through my head and my mouth never moved. The words sounded staticky and unreal.

  For the same reason that Roscoe can scent me on you.

  Because our magic blended when we crossed through the veil?

  Right.

  Turning back to the landscape before me, I found myself hovering over Haven Hollow. I scanned the darkening landscape and found it appeared the same as it had the night before, except I was now floating over the other side of the graveyard.

  I see my house.

  Can you see Roscoe? Betanya asked.

  I surveyed Haven Hollow and the area surrounding my house. Being bitten by Roscoe had magnified my awareness of him, but as I searched every corner, every tree, every shadow, I didn’t see him anywhere.

  He isn’t here.

  Then let’s go.

  I opened my eyes and, spotting Wanda hovering above me, nodded at her. “It’s time.”

  Lorcan helped me to my feet as Wanda rushed forward and opened the front door, and the next minute, they hustled me outside.

  We hurried to the Escalade, and Roy got behind the wheel while I took the passenger seat. Once I was seated, Lorcan disappeared into the dark night and Betanya got in beside Wanda and Olga. Florence, Libby and Darla had remained at Wanda’s, owing to the fact that there wasn’t enough room in the Escalade.

  Betanya mentioned something to Wanda and Olga, but because I was still somewhat out of it, I couldn’t make out her words. It would take a few minutes for the astral traveling to pass out of my system. Sometimes magic could be hard on your body.

  Roy started the engine, and I suddenly felt myself hurtled back into the astral plane. From above, I watched the Escalade take off down the road. It rumbled down Magnolia Street and hung a right onto Orchard Street, curving around the graveyard.

  Anything? Betanya asked.

  No. He isn’t here.

  I heard Wanda asking. “Is there a way he could have blocked us from seeing him?”

  “We’ll just have to chance it,” Roy replied.

  The vehicle teetered around the graveyard and started up my driveway. It came to a halt in front of my house. From my vantage point above, I saw myself slumped in the back seat. If Roscoe was going to come out of his hiding place, he would do so now.

  He didn’t show himself, though.

  Betanya touched my hand again.

  Time to come back now, Poppy.

  I blinked. I was sitting in the back seat of the Escalade and everyone was looking at me with a mix of hesitation and concern.

  “He wasn’t there.”

  “It’s okay,” Betanya breathed. “You know what you have to do?”

  I nodded.

  Everyone exited and hurried up to the front door while Wanda turned the house key I’d given her in the lock and opened the door. She hurried inside the house, but I stayed where I was, watching as Roy returned to retrieve me since I was trying to retain as much of my energy as I could. I still felt shaky from my first confrontation with Roscoe, and now I was about to do it all over again. If anything went wrong…

  I didn’t want to think about the what ifs.

  So, now we just had to wait. And that was the part I didn’t like.

  ***

  The morning sun squeaked over the horizon and fought with the dark gray cloud cover. What few bolts of golden light managed to get through struck the dewy grass and cast a film of golden sparks over the graveyard. If we were lucky, and it appeared we would be, the sun would lose its battle with the rain clouds, which would allow Lorcan to exist in the daylight.

  In the last ten minutes, I’d traveled back into the astral plane again and I’d spotted Roscoe—he was headed this way and that meant it was time to put step two of my plan into the works. It was time to use myself as bait.

  After taking a few minutes to shake off my trip from the astral plane, I walked outside and faced the Escalade, which Wanda had reparked so it was at the very base of my front steps. I just stood there, allowing my scent to fill the air—allowing Roscoe to track me. Seconds later, I felt him. While my heart did loops in my chest, I straightened and turned to see a shape on the horizon.