The Accidental Vampire(95)

"Well, you should have been here," he interrupted with a snarl. "After the way she's

looked after you for five years, doing all those things you couldn't anymore, you could

have spent a little time looking after her for a change." He gave a snort of disgust. "But

I suppose you couldn't tear yourself away from that damned Argeneau character long

enough to be bothered."

"I—" Elvi began, only to be interrupted as Teddy's eyes narrowed.

"DJ did this to her?" he asked suddenly, apparently that part of the conversation just

having made it through his anger. Mouth tightening, he snarled, "I'll stake him out

like—"

"You will not!" Elvi interrupted sharply. "Mabel loves him, and he was only doing what

she asked him to do."

"We'll see about that. I'm checking on her. Alone," he announced in a tone of voice

that suggested she not argue.

Elvi watched him head determinedly upstairs, then shook her head and turned to head

right back outside. She wasn't interfering. DJ could handle him. If he still wanted to yell

at her after that, then he could just come find her, she thought furiously as she crossed

the deck to the yard.

Elvi couldn't believe the man had turned on her like that, blaming her for Mabel's

turning as if it were her fault. As if she'd been a bad friend and let it happen. The truth

was if she'd known Mabel wanted it, Elvi would have stood by her decision. And Teddy

had no right to stand in judgment, she thought as she stomped around the garden

glaring at the damage done by time. That was all she'd intended to do today, but Elvi

was so wound up and agitated by her run‐in with Teddy that she decided she needed

some physical exertion to help get rid of it.

Crossing to the shed at the back of the yard, she dragged the door open, and stepped

inside. All her gardening tools were still there; hanging from their hooks and racks, in

perfect shape, but covered with a fine coat of dust.

Muttering under her breath, Elvi walked along the implements, trying to decide what

she'd need. She wanted to do something that took a lot of hitting or something.

Something like cutting wood would be good, she thought. Unfortunately, she didn't

have any wood to cut. They bought it all corded and split.

Muttering about the stupidity of men, Elvi picked up the shovel, thinking that

slamming it in the ground a couple hundred times and jumping up and down on it to

dig it into the earth would be good.

She'd started back toward the door when it suddenly slammed shut. Pausing, she

blinked in the darkness. There was no light in the shed, no window even to allow

natural light in, not even enough light for her eyes to use. Something she'd found

annoying on other occasions, but which was almost scary now. It had been years since

she'd been in the shed and where—at one time—she would have known exactly where

everything was and been able to move through it easily enough, now she couldn't and

there were several dangerous items in the shed. There were sharp items everywhere;

on the floor to trip over and fall on… against the wall for her to walk into. Elvi wasn't at

all sure she could find the door without skewering herself.

She should have leaned something against the door to keep it open before entering,

Elvi realized, and berated herself briefly for not thinking of that before the wind had

blown the door closed. And then she paused to sniff the air as something wafted past

her nose.

Was that smoke? Elvi sniffed more deeply, frowning when she got a good nose full of

the scent. It was smoke.

Aware of creeping light in the back corner, she turned slowly and stared at the flames

licking their way up the back wall.

"Well, hell," Elvi muttered.



Chapter Eighteen





The sound of shouting made Victor scowl as he opened Elvi's bedroom door. DJ and

Teddy Brunswick's arguing had woken him earlier and he'd crawled out of bed to break

it up. It had taken several minutes for him to convince Brunswick that Mabel was fine

and DJ hadn't done anything she hadn't wished. By the time the officer had finally left,

Victor had been wide awake. Knowing it would be useless to go back to bed, he'd

headed off to take a shower. Now he was dressed and ready to face the day, but the

shouting had started up again.

Victor's immediate reaction was irritation, but that turned into surprise and then

concern as he stepped into the hall and realized it wasn't DJ and a returned Teddy

doing the yelling, but Harper. Just then, the German came crashing down the stairs

from the third floor, and charged by shouting about something being on fire in the

backyard.

Victor stared after the man with amazement… until his brain digested what the man

was yelling about.