"I've got other ways," I said.
"Oh, right. Miss Fire Happy. Let's burn the door down. It's not like anyone will see and call the fire department."
I sighed. "They might. But it'll give us time to get in there and hopefully dust the nest before anyone arrives to check out the fire." If my Fire was even working again.
"Because that's worked so well for us in the past."
We stood there glaring at each other, arms crossed like a couple of kids. This was getting us nowhere.
"Fine," I said. "We need a diversion. Something that will get the neighbors out of their houses and paying attention to something else."
"That makes sense," Kabita agreed. "Got any ideas?"
"Not exactly," I admitted.
"I've got an idea," Haakon said.
We both stared at him. "What?"
"Better I show you." He stood up and whipped off his shirt, revealing acres and acres of taut, rippling muscles covered in golden brown skin. Kabita and I sucked in our breath. Good gods, he was a fine specimen of manhood. His hands went to his jeans zipper. Down it came and off went the jeans, leaving Haakon standing there in nothing but a pair of indecently snug heather-gray boxer briefs and scuffed black combat boots. I closed my eyes, reminding myself I had a boyfriend I loved like crazy.
"This plan involves you getting naked?" Kabita finally choked out. I opened my eyes. She was staring at him like she wanted to eat him alive. Couldn't say I blamed her.
"Indeed." He shot us a wide, white smile. "Be ready." And with that he strolled out from behind the bush and down the hill like he owned the place.
"Sweet baby Jesus," Kabita breathed.
"You're not kidding."
Haakon sauntered casually between the pink house and its blue neighbor. As he moved out onto the street, he began to stagger and weave like a drunk. Then in a thick Norwegian accent he began belting out, "My baby takes the morning train."
"Oh good lord," I gasped. "The man can't hold a tune in a bucket."
"You got that right." Kabita was barely holding back a laugh as doors and windows opened and people began appearing on the street, pointing and laughing at the nearly naked "drunk" tourist. "Guess that's our cue. My bet is we're going to have to stage a jail break after this. You ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
It was my turn to stride down the hill toward the pink house, Kabita close on my heels. I laid my palm flat on the sun-warmed wood and reached down inside me for the Fire. I guess it had recovered, because it came in a rush, spreading down my arm and onto my hand. I concentrated on pouring the fire into the wood. Within seconds the door began smoking and charring, and then the Fire caught. Kabita and I stepped back and watched as the door began to burn in earnest. We still heard Haakon belting out songs down the street, a show tune this time.
"That boy had better not quit his day job," Kabita muttered. "Unless he plans to take up stripping."
I snorted. "Okay, ready?" The fire was beginning to sputter, and the door was thoroughly charred, even burned through in some places.
"As I'll ever be," Kabita echoed my words.
One swift kick, and the door crumbled into so much ash and rubble. Kabita and I stepped inside.
Light spilled through the open doorway, lighting up a narrow vestibule with a white tiled floor and a narrow staircase leading to the floor above. On the left side of the hall directly across from us were closed doors. Somebody had taken the time to weather-strip the crap out of them. Definitely a good place for a bunch of vamps to hang out.
"This is definitely it."
Kabita nodded and stepped to the left. Twisting the doorknob, she shoved the door open and shone her flashlight into the kitchen beyond.
"Where's yours?" she asked.
"Didn't bring one."
She shot me a look. "You didn't?"
I shrugged. I didn't bother pointing out I could see better in the dark without one. I didn't like reminding her I was a freak and getting freakier by the second. Not in a good way, either, if that whole flooding thing was anything to go by. Yeah, I was pretty sure that had been me, but I really didn't want to think about it right now.
Since Kabita was going left, I went straight to the second closed door. Pushing it open, I found more hallway and closed doors. Fantastic.
Straight ahead was the front door. All the glass inserts had been covered over with tin foil and duct tape, and weather-stripping had been tacked around the cracks to prevent even the tiniest amount of light from seeping through. There was a door on either side of the hall. Same deal with the weather-stripping, I guessed just in case somebody accidentally opened the front door in broad daylight. Which was doubtful, seeing as how it was barricaded with a steel bar. Nobody was opening that door from the outside.