building.
Once inside, she stood in a hallway with a view of the front door and a banister to the right. A door on her immediate right probably led to the cellar. The building was set up much like her own, except narrower. Probably only a single-family home with a basement apartment.
She moved through the door to the right. Suddenly Morgaine froze. She was in total darkness. Her throat constricted.
I… I can’t do this! Morgaine ripped her spirit out of the building and back into her body so fast her head spun. She tried to run, but her feet wouldn’t move. Somehow, she lost her balance, let go of Gwyneth’s hand, and fell on her ass. “Dear Lord and Lady!”
* * * *
“I do declare!” Gwyneth stood over Morgaine as her cousin breathed into a paper bag. Gwyneth had helped Morgaine over to the next apartment’s concrete steps, and they were partially hidden from the maker’s apartment by a parked car.
Morgaine’s breathing finally slowed and she said, “I felt a panic attack coming on. What did you want me to do? Lose my shit in there?”
“You wasn’t even in there. Not for real. It woulda made a mess in your panties though.”
Morgaine rolled her eyes. “It’s just an expression.”
“Just tell yourself it’s not real.”
“It was real enough. Look, sometimes I have panic attacks for no goddamn reason at all. Suddenly I’m in a vampire lair in total blackness—and, surprise, surprise, I freak out. You would’ve too.”
“Nope. I didn’t inherit the freak-out gene. Didn’t y’all say your mamma thought she was goin’ crazy a few times?”
“Yeah.” Morgaine hung her head. “That’s why she moved to a big city. Too many small-town people knew her business.”
Gwyneth sat beside Morgaine on the steps. She patted Morgaine’s arm as if comforting a child. “Don’t pay it no never mind. Y’all are perfectly safe. Ya hear?”
“I-I guess so.”
Gwyneth let out a big sigh. “So, this is kind of a pickle. If all went well with the astral projection and there was no magickal alarms or booby traps, we was plannin’ on going in for real.”
“I don’t think that’ll happen.”
“Why not? I can understand y’all not wantin’ to, but I can still go.”
Morgaine grabbed her wrist. “You can’t go in there by yourself! That’s really crazy.”
“I’ll be fine. As long as it’s daylight, he’s dead to the world… so to speak. Plus, we lugged all these supplies down here. Flashlights, candles, matches, a wooden stake, a camera…”
“So? We’ll just take them back home.”
“Do y’all really want to give up on Sly? ’Cause if you do, I doubt his maker—or V. Malvant, as we now know he’s called—will give up.”
Morgaine braced her elbows on her knees and covered her head with her hands as if she was expecting bombs overhead.
Gwyneth sat quietly and let that sink in for a bit.
At last, Morgaine sighed. “I’d still like to help Sly, but…”
“But what? Y’all are a powerful witch, Morgaine. If anythin’, V. Malvant should be afraid of you !”
Morgaine chuckled. “Yeah, and a few minutes ago the big, powerful witch was breathing into a paper bag.”
“Look, y’all can stand outside with the door open, and I can go inside. If anything happens you can hear me. But nothin’s gonna happen!”
“I can’t let you go alone.”
“Then are we both goin’ in, or are we givin’ up?”
Morgaine glanced over at the next apartment where the vampire lay dormant. “I’ll try it. If I start to flip out—”
“Y’all won’t flip out because there are only two options. Help Sly, or don’t help Sly. And if he means so much to y’all, we’ll help him.”
“He means the world to me, but I don’t get why you’re doing this.”
“Because you mean the world to me . Even though we’ve had our differences, we’re kin. And I want y’all to be happy.”
Morgaine smiled at her. “I love you, Gwyneth. You know that, right?”
“A’ course
Once inside, she stood in a hallway with a view of the front door and a banister to the right. A door on her immediate right probably led to the cellar. The building was set up much like her own, except narrower. Probably only a single-family home with a basement apartment.
She moved through the door to the right. Suddenly Morgaine froze. She was in total darkness. Her throat constricted.
I… I can’t do this! Morgaine ripped her spirit out of the building and back into her body so fast her head spun. She tried to run, but her feet wouldn’t move. Somehow, she lost her balance, let go of Gwyneth’s hand, and fell on her ass. “Dear Lord and Lady!”
* * * *
“I do declare!” Gwyneth stood over Morgaine as her cousin breathed into a paper bag. Gwyneth had helped Morgaine over to the next apartment’s concrete steps, and they were partially hidden from the maker’s apartment by a parked car.
Morgaine’s breathing finally slowed and she said, “I felt a panic attack coming on. What did you want me to do? Lose my shit in there?”
“You wasn’t even in there. Not for real. It woulda made a mess in your panties though.”
Morgaine rolled her eyes. “It’s just an expression.”
“Just tell yourself it’s not real.”
“It was real enough. Look, sometimes I have panic attacks for no goddamn reason at all. Suddenly I’m in a vampire lair in total blackness—and, surprise, surprise, I freak out. You would’ve too.”
“Nope. I didn’t inherit the freak-out gene. Didn’t y’all say your mamma thought she was goin’ crazy a few times?”
“Yeah.” Morgaine hung her head. “That’s why she moved to a big city. Too many small-town people knew her business.”
Gwyneth sat beside Morgaine on the steps. She patted Morgaine’s arm as if comforting a child. “Don’t pay it no never mind. Y’all are perfectly safe. Ya hear?”
“I-I guess so.”
Gwyneth let out a big sigh. “So, this is kind of a pickle. If all went well with the astral projection and there was no magickal alarms or booby traps, we was plannin’ on going in for real.”
“I don’t think that’ll happen.”
“Why not? I can understand y’all not wantin’ to, but I can still go.”
Morgaine grabbed her wrist. “You can’t go in there by yourself! That’s really crazy.”
“I’ll be fine. As long as it’s daylight, he’s dead to the world… so to speak. Plus, we lugged all these supplies down here. Flashlights, candles, matches, a wooden stake, a camera…”
“So? We’ll just take them back home.”
“Do y’all really want to give up on Sly? ’Cause if you do, I doubt his maker—or V. Malvant, as we now know he’s called—will give up.”
Morgaine braced her elbows on her knees and covered her head with her hands as if she was expecting bombs overhead.
Gwyneth sat quietly and let that sink in for a bit.
At last, Morgaine sighed. “I’d still like to help Sly, but…”
“But what? Y’all are a powerful witch, Morgaine. If anythin’, V. Malvant should be afraid of you !”
Morgaine chuckled. “Yeah, and a few minutes ago the big, powerful witch was breathing into a paper bag.”
“Look, y’all can stand outside with the door open, and I can go inside. If anything happens you can hear me. But nothin’s gonna happen!”
“I can’t let you go alone.”
“Then are we both goin’ in, or are we givin’ up?”
Morgaine glanced over at the next apartment where the vampire lay dormant. “I’ll try it. If I start to flip out—”
“Y’all won’t flip out because there are only two options. Help Sly, or don’t help Sly. And if he means so much to y’all, we’ll help him.”
“He means the world to me, but I don’t get why you’re doing this.”
“Because you mean the world to me . Even though we’ve had our differences, we’re kin. And I want y’all to be happy.”
Morgaine smiled at her. “I love you, Gwyneth. You know that, right?”
“A’ course
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