Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang(76)

 

“Hotel first, then reaper headquarters?” Magda asked.

 

Kristoff got in after me, immediately pulling me up next to him. I gave myself a moment to enjoy the subconscious move on his part, my heart simultaneously mourning what it couldn’t have and enjoying what he could give me. “Neither. We will need to be prepared when we visit the reapers. Alec’s house is within an hour from here. We will go there first, and then gather our forces and prepare for the onslaught.”

 

Oh, Boo , I said, filled with gratitude. You’re doing that for me, aren’t you?

 

“Aye-aye, Captain,” Magda said, saluting.

 

I know how worried you are about your spirit.

 

You are the sweetest man I know, I said, leaning over to kiss him. Thank you.

 

“Onslaught,” Ray whispered to her, patting his jacket for the bulge that was his camera. “Exciting stuff! I’ve never been part of an onslaught before. I wonder if I have enough film for it.”

 

I agree that Alec is being made to look like he is the Ilargi. I believe we can kill two birds with one stone by searching his house for information on both fronts.

 

Magda punched the address Kristoff gave her into the car’s GPS, making a little face at the results. “With the traffic, it’s going to take us a while to get there. Maybe we should go to the hotel first, then visit the house, then prepare for the onslaught?”

 

“Alec’s house first,” Kristoff said stubbornly.

 

“House it is.”

 

It took exactly two hours and twenty minutes to get there, but as I gazed in awe at the building, I decided it was worth it.

 

“ Et voilà. Casa Alec. Ooh. And it is a very nice casa.” Magda pulled up outside of an arched gate that spanned a drive that curled around to the back of a pale yellow chiffon-colored house.

 

“That’s one heck of a house,” Raymond said as we all got out of the car. He took a few quick photos. “Not at all what I expected a vampire to live in.”

 

“Gothic castle with bats circling a bell tower?” I asked, smiling.

 

He flashed a grin. “Well, maybe. But this one . . . hoo. Must have set him back at least a mill. Maybe two. Do you think it has a view of the valley below?”

 

“Shall I ring?” Magda asked, poised to ring the visitor’s bell.

 

“Won’t do any good. There’s clearly no one home,” Raymond answered from where he was peering through the brown metal fence to the house. “Looks deserted. Maybe we should come back.”

 

“Not after all we’ve been through,” Magda answered, pressing the bell. “Let’s see if anyone answers.”

 

We waited a few minutes, but when it became clear that no one was either home to answer the ring or willing to do so, we decided we would have to rely on our own resources.

 

“Boost me over the fence, and I’ll see if there’s a way to open it from the other side,” I told Kristoff.

 

“No,” he answered, just as I figured he would.

 

“You know, I’m not sure that that’s not technically breaking and entering,” Raymond answered, his voice filled with reluctance. “It might be better if we waited until we can get hold of someone who can legally give us permission to go in the house.”

 

“Don’t be so straitlaced,” Magda told him with a grin. “A little light breaking and entering is good for you. Besides, I want to see inside. I’m dying to see how a vampire really lives.”

 

“I assure you, we live just as a mortal does,” Kristoff said dryly.

 

“No coffins?” Raymond asked, his curiosity clearly getting the better of him. “No odd servants undertaking mysterious tasks late at night? No mirrors draped in black to hide the fact that you don’t have a reflection?”

 

“He has a reflection,” I said, coming to Kristoff’s defense. “How do you think he shaves without being able to see himself?”

 

Raymond’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, like a confused fish. “Well, I . . . I . . . I guess I never thought about it. I just assumed that vampires didn’t need to shave. No one on Angel ever shaved.”

 

“You mortals watch entirely too much television,” Kristoff said as he approached the gate.

 

Raymond murmured a vague excuse while Magda giggled.

 

“I just hope the fence isn’t electrified or anything like that,” I said, standing next to him, eyeing the large brown metal gate. “I assume you want to go first. Just be careful in case Alec has booby-trapped it somehow.”