Chapter Twenty-Four

My grandmother was leaving for a conference, and normally, I’d be ecstatic at the thought of having the house to myself for a few days and maybe inviting my boyfriend over. But since we weren’t currently on speaking terms, no invite would be forthcoming.

And he wasn’t the only one. “I haven’t seen Skyler around much lately,” Granny said as she folded her pajamas and stuffed them into her already full case. “Everything okay?”

I winced internally but gave what I hoped was a nonchalant shrug. “Connor’s back,” I said. “Skyler’s busy reuniting.” At least that’s what I assumed, but since she wasn’t talking to me either, I had no way of knowing for sure.

You couldn’t be friends as long as Skyler and I had been without getting into a few fights, but this one was different.

Vaughn did text me that Connor was healing quickly but wasn’t up for visitors. Visitors meaning me. I didn’t bother replying. Message received. It had been a week since Homecoming, and whenever I saw him or Skyler at school, I headed the other way. I had three weeks to find the real killer, and I’d have to do it on my own.

I didn’t want Granny to ask about my maybe ex-boyfriend, so I changed the subject. “We better get to the airport,” I said. “Or you’ll miss your flight.”

“Maybe I should stay home,” she suggested.

“Are you kidding?” I replied. “Go. Have fun. Learn some librarian stuff.”

She still hesitated, so I shut her suitcase. “Besides, didn’t you say the silver fox was going to be there?”

She nodded. “He’s a nonfiction writer, and he’s going to be a guest speaker.”

I managed to convince her, and we made it to John Wayne Airport in plenty of time. “Don’t bother parking,” she said.

I pulled into the drop-off lane and put the Deathtrap into park. “Have fun, Granny,” I said. I gave her a quick hug.

“If you need anything, call Edna and Evelyn,” she said.

“I will,” I said. “Now get out of the car before you miss your flight.”

…

I returned home to an empty house. I had a few hours before I had to go to work, but I couldn’t seem to settle on any activity. I grabbed a book and went to my bedroom to read. My dresser drawer was open. I’d left in a hurry, but I thought I’d closed it. I shrugged off my uneasiness. Usually when Granny traveled, I stayed at Skyler’s house or she came here. But this time, I was on my own.

I spotted a gift bag on my bed with Open now written on the card. It was in my grandmother’s handwriting. The ink on the card looked a little faded, but maybe she’d been holding onto it for a while. Granny must have snuck it in here before she left. It wasn’t my birthday, but I tore through the tissue paper anyway.

It was a glass bottle with pretty filigree-decorated sides and stopper. It was half full with a liquid I recognized as the purple-black color of my tonic. It was a slightly different shade, but I assumed that was because Granny had been experimenting.

She had already thoughtfully filled the vial. I put it around my neck. It gave me a sense of security to know that I’d have a small amount of tonic at my fingertips. I wondered if she’d managed to make it taste any better, but it didn’t matter.

I checked my official vampire queen email that Rose had set up for me. She’d warned me that many of my subjects had been alive hundreds of years ago and didn’t like modern technology, which explained why my email was empty. I did spot a stack of actual letters addressed to Queen Tansy and glanced longingly at my textbooks before diving in. Most of the letters were requests for blood donations, but one letter made me stop.

I would like to buy the Blood of Life ruby. It was unsigned, with just a phone number listed underneath. It hadn’t been at the forefront of my research, but I had found the mention that it had been missing for almost a century, and shortly after it disappeared, its owner died under mysterious circumstances.

There was no way I was going to let it go, not until I found out who sent it to me and its power.

Panicked, I rushed to its hiding spot and was relieved to see it was still nestled in the hollowed-out book.

I had a couple of hours before I had to get ready for work. I was working a cater waiter gig at a fancy home in Corona del Mar. I’d managed to switch shifts with someone so that I didn’t have to face Vaughn.

By the time I’d made my way through a stack of communication from my subjects that was whining or threatening in turn, I’d run out of time. I dashed into the shower and threw on my uniform before grabbing my bag with my necessary supplies and left for work.

Since parking was always at a premium, the staff were being shuttled to the event location.

I parked the Deathtrap and sprinted to the white van idling on the far end of the parking lot. The driver tooted her horn at me, and the van door slid open. I plopped down into the only available seat.

“Whew, that was close,” I panted out.

“Glad you could make it,” Vaughn said. He was sitting in the seat next to me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Working, same as you,” he said. “I thought you were off today.”

I didn’t say anything else. He’d switched his schedule, too, to avoid me.

“Tansy, we need to talk,” he said.

Was he going to break up with me? We need to talk was code for we need to break up, wasn’t it?

“I know we do,” I said. “Not at work, though, okay?” I wouldn’t be able to make it through my shift.

“I have something to say to you,” he said.

“You and your friends didn’t say enough last weekend?” I was angry, I realized. It wasn’t my fault that Connor had been injured. Their hatred of Travis clouded their ability to see that he wasn’t the killer.

“We’re here,” the driver announced cheerfully. I didn’t want to hear what else Vaughn had to say. Instead, I slid out of the van and headed inside.

As soon as I stepped out into the sunset, I started to feel dizzy. I’d thought I’d be okay, since there was only an hour or so left of daylight, but I would have to take my tonic soon.

The wedding was in the backyard, but oh, what a backyard. It had an infinity pool and ocean view. The mystery client made a Kardashian look low maintenance.

The sun beat down, even with the shade provided by the white canopies. I grasped the tiny vial of tonic Granny had put on a necklace for me. It wasn’t a lot but would hopefully stop me from vamping out in an emergency.

I also had a Thermos of the stuff stashed in my backpack, along with comfortable flats and an extra white work shirt. I managed to chug some tonic before I saw the head server giving me the evil eye. I stashed the Thermos quickly and then started folding napkins into swans.

I had a headache. My hair was scraped back into a tight bun, which was required of all servers with long hair, by our nameless celebrity client. It made sense because nobody wanted hair in their five-hundred-dollar-a-plate meal.

Vaughn was right behind me. He surveyed the table decor. “This must be where glitter goes to die,” he said.

“Shush,” I said, playfully swatting him before I remembered we were mad at each other. But he was right—there was gold glitter on every available surface. The glare from the sun shining on the sparkly stuff hurt my eyes. The menu even included a cocktail called—you guessed it—a Glitter Bomb, which was made with a Russian vodka that had bits of gold and silver in it. It was highly illegal in the U.S., but the client had insisted.

The wedding party and their guests still hadn’t arrived, so there were about fifty of us standing around. Vaughn was talking to his dad, but from where I stood, it didn’t look like the conversation was going well.

I spotted the high ponytail before I recognized the YouTube celebrity. The bride wore a fitted white dress with so many gold bows on it that you could barely see the white material underneath.

“I’m beginning to understand all the glitter, but is she even old enough to get married?” I was kind of talking to myself, but one of the other servers heard me.

“She’s twenty-three,” Mariah replied. “But I don’t think she’s the one getting married.”

Two little Chihuahuas pranced in front of her, wearing bride and groom outfits. One dog had on a gold veil and white lace gown, and the other wore a doggie tux with a gold glitter bow-tie.

I kept a smile pasted on my face as I whispered to Mariah, “She dropped all this money on a dog wedding. A dog wedding. Famous people have way too much cash to burn.”

She shrugged. “It’s not hurting anybody.”

“Except the poor animals,” I replied. The “bride” was trying to eat her dress, and the groom growled when the photographer moved to get him to pose. These nuptials cost enough to put someone through college, and some people didn’t even have enough money for rent.

The reception went on forever. Mariah and I were stuck at the least popular serving station, while Vaughn was across from us where his job was to stock the doggie treats.

I watched him as he bent down to restock the water dishes.

Mariah nudged me. “Quit staring at your boyfriend’s ass.”

“I wasn’t,” I lied. “Much.”

We both snickered.

Her attention shifted to the guests. “I can’t believe all the celebrities who came to watch dogs get married,” she whisper-screamed.

“I saw someone brought a baby hedgehog,” I told her. “It’s so cute, but I think they’re illegal in California.”

I spotted a couple of famous ex boy-banders, a YouTube gamer girl, and a Kardashian cousin. I people-watched for a while, then I realized I needed to find out where my boss wanted the peanut butter animal-friendly cake, but he was talking to the client, so I hovered instead of interrupting.

“My girlfriend is a breeder,” Mr. Sheridan said proudly.

“What kind of animals?” The client perked up. Her name was Loretta or Lorraine or something old-fashioned like that, but she went by Lo-Lo.

A gleam of interest lit in her big blue eyes. The rest of the guests were probably equally as famous, but I could tell she wanted to be a trendsetter.

“Cats. Specialty breed. Very exclusive,” Mr. Sheridan said. “Very hush-hush.” He sounded like a walking infomercial. He held out a white business card, and Lo-Lo snatched it out of his hand. “Give her a call.”

“Maybe I will.”

After her dogs got married, they and their doggie friends were given freshly made rice, lamb, and vegetables, no seasoning, and went to sleep in their carriage, which was shaped just like the one in the Cinderella movie.

I’d been standing in the sun too long, so I went inside to cool off, just for a few minutes. After the sun finally set, it was time to serve the human guests their dinners.

A woman sat alone at one of the tables, giving out serious leave-me-alone vibes. She wore a form-fitting red dress and one of those little hats people sometimes wear at events. The server assigned to this area was nowhere in sight, and it was time to clear the dinner plates.

She’d finished the truffle mac and cheese and bourbon-glazed short ribs. There was a tumbler of a dark brown liquid in front of her.

“Can I take your plate?” I asked, and when she looked up, I realized…I was staring at my mother.

I closed my eyes against the sight of her, but when I opened them, she was still there. My mother, the vampire they called the Executioner—the nickname said it all—was at my catering event.

She’d been by Jure Grando’s side this summer, but it was still a shock to see her.

I hadn’t sensed a vampire anywhere near me.

How long had she been here? The sun had barely set, and she was sitting at a table without an umbrella. I didn’t know why she was at this event, but it wasn’t to celebrate doggie nuptials.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to thank you,” she said softly.

“For what?” I braced myself, expecting some comeback about how she thanked me for being a terrible queen or a weak opponent, but that’s not what she said.

“For freeing me,” she said. “When you killed Jure, you reversed the terrible thing he did to me.”

I gaped at her. “Are you trying to tell me that when I killed Jure, it somehow reversed years of vampirism?”

Her smile was warm and soft, the kind of smile I’d always wanted from my mother. Her eyes were bright and her skin was pink, like she’d been out in the sun. It wasn’t possible. Was it?

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” she said. “But it’s true. I know it’s too soon for you to forgive me, but I hope you might try.”

“What do you really want, Vanessa?”

“To spend time with you,” she said. “To get to know my only child.”

“Get to know this,” I said, starting to back away. “I have a job to do.”

As I served desserts and refilled water glasses, I felt Vanessa’s eyes on me.

I gathered up some dirty plates and took them to the kitchen, my stomach suddenly grumbling and my head a bit woozy. Maybe I could scrounge up a snack while I was there. Everything was fine until the dishwasher of the night, Rudy, dropped a glass and it shattered all over the hand-painted tile floor. Andrea tried to help clean up the mess and cut her finger.

I couldn’t stop staring at the blood dripping onto the floor. My stomach growled again, and I felt my teeth coming down.

Someone snapped their fingers. “You, there,” a female voice said. I looked up. It was our client, the famous child actor turned singer.

“What’s wrong with you?” She snapped her fingers again, right in my face this time.

“Get your fingers out of my face before you lose them,” I growled. I was going to rip that bow off her head and make her eat it. Or maybe I’d just eat her.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

A meal, the vampire part of my brain thought, she’s a tasty meal. I stepped toward her, but a hand yanked me back.

I turned, snarling, fangs down. Someone was trying to keep me from my food.

“Tansy,” a voice said. Who was it? The voice was male, low and soothing. Vaughn. It was Vaughn. The knowledge calmed the vampire in me. The bloodlust drained away as quickly as it had come, leaving only shame.

I’d almost eaten a celebrity.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, are you working tonight?” Without thinking, I lunged, fangs descending and claws ready to rip flesh. But Vaughn stopped me again, holding me tight against his body while I thrashed.

“Is she, like, emo or something?” the voice continued.

It was our client again. A little of the tenseness left me. She was alive and unharmed. Vaughn held me and stroked his hands down my back until my breathing slowed and my fangs disappeared. I focused on the sound of his voice, breathing in every time he said my name, until I was calm enough to think again.

He released me. “What can I help you with, Miss Segal?” He led her away while I regained my composure.

I rushed for the closet where they told us to keep our things. I scrambled for my Thermos, but it wasn’t in my backpack. I knew I’d had it, though, because I’d drank some of my tonic at the beginning of my shift. I dumped everything out and searched frantically through the pile.

“It’s not here,” I said. “What am I going to do?”

“Let me drive you home,” my mother said, coming up behind me. “You’re unwell.” I hadn’t even noticed her approach. I looked for Vaughn, but he was probably still dealing with our unhappy client.

I remembered the vial and unscrewed the tiny cap and gulped down the liquid.

“It’s not working,” I said after a few minutes. “What should I do?”

“We need to get out of here,” my mother said. “I’ll tell someone you’re sick and I’m taking you home.” Did I trust her? Not entirely, but I didn’t have a lot of options right now.

“Take me home, please.”

“Will you be able to walk?” she asked.

I inhaled shakily. “Yes.”

“Sit here. Give me five minutes and I’ll meet you out front,” she said. “I’m driving a black Audi.”

Some of the nausea passed while I sat there. Before I could head for my mom’s car, I had a brief realization that hitching a ride with someone who’d tried to kill everyone I loved wasn’t a smart idea. So I stayed put.

What was wrong? Why wasn’t my tonic working? I had to get out of there. I’d almost decided my mother was my only hope of leaving without biting someone when Vaughn returned.

“I’m taking you home,” Vaughn said. He hustled me out the back way and into the catering van.

“How will everyone else get back?”

“I’ll bring the van back and finish cleanup,” he replied.

I nodded. The nausea rolling through me made it impossible to talk.

We drove in silence for a while. Only a week ago, I would have told him right away that I’d spotted my mother. But tonight, something held me back.

Vaughn kept his eyes on the road, but I saw his jaw clench. “Tansy, about Homecoming.”

I sighed. “Not right now,” I said. “We can break up once I’m feeling better, okay?”

“Break up? You want to break up?”

“You don’t trust me,” I said softly.

He didn’t say anything else, but he reached over and changed the radio station, like he was magically changing the subject.

I’d been kidding myself that the tonic would work as a long-term solution. It was like there was another person inside me, one made up of hunger and greed. Transforming sucked. I’d do anything to ditch my vampire side. I didn’t want to crave human blood.

Seeing Vanessa looking so human, though, I realized that I could kill my maker and (hopefully) return to human form, but then some other vampire would only take my place as ruler. And where would that leave the people I loved? Vulnerable. Was there any magic that could solve all my problems? I doubted it. Everything felt hopeless.

When he pulled into my driveway, I was relieved to see the twins sitting on the front porch. I wouldn’t have to figure this out completely alone.

Vaughn carried me into the house. I wanted to protest, but cold chills had overtaken me.

I was shaking. I’d nearly bitten someone.

“Her tonic didn’t work,” Vaughn said. He showed no signs of leaving, but he couldn’t leave our coworkers stranded.

“You’d better get back to the catering gig,” I told him. “I’ll be fine now that I’m home.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he said, “I’ll come back here as soon as I’m done.”

He kissed my forehead and then left.

“The tonic in your Thermos didn’t work?” Rose asked.

“It didn’t work,” I said. “And then I drank the tonic from the vial Granny left on my bed for me, and that didn’t do the job, either.”

“Tansy, did you put the tonic in the vial?”

“I thought Granny did.” The shaking was getting worse. “Before she left for her conference.”

The twins exchanged a glance, and Thorn swore under her breath. “Let me see it.”

I handed it to Rose, and she unscrewed the topper and sniffed it. “It’s grape juice.”

“What?”

“Or possibly Kool-Aid,” she said. “Something sweet, anyhow.” She held the glass vial up to the light. “You have to admit, it’s almost the same color.”

“How did someone get in here and switch it?” Thorn asked.

I gave her a guilty look. “Remember how you told me to get rid of the key under the fake rock?”

“Please tell me you did it,” she said.

“Not exactly,” I said. “Vampires can’t enter without an invitation.”

“But their familiars can,” she said.

“Can you get me some tonic from the fridge?” I asked. The nausea was getting worse.

She nodded. “I’ll bring it to you.” But she came back empty-handed.

“It’s gone,” she said. “Tansy, your tonic is all gone.”

Someone had deliberately sabotaged me.

The thought pulled me out of my body’s desperate cravings for a minute. If I survived this, I was going to find out who hated me so much. First the hellcat, now this.

“Do we have any of Skyler’s bloodsicles left?” My stomach was starting to cramp. The thought of blood, any blood, made my mouth water. I tried not to look at the pulse pounding at Rose’s throat. I could hear the thrum of Thorn’s heartbeat.

While Thorn called Edna, Rose searched our freezer, but she came up empty.

“Edna and Evelyn have some tonic,” Thorn said after hanging up. “They’ll be over in twenty minutes.” I started to sweat, and my eyelids were twitching.

I wasn’t sure if I could wait that long. What would happen if I lost control and hurt someone? I was having a hard time focusing on anything but the vein in Thorn’s neck.

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Twenty minutes.” It sounded like an eternity.