Page 44 of Vampire's Vixen

I wasn’t sure, but it felt like she was hiding something. As I thought about it, I wondered if maybe she was gay and afraid to tell me.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, I know. You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course. We’re besties. No secrets.”

“No secrets? Right.” She sighed. “So, I showed up in your visions, huh?”

“Yeah, but don’t take it seriously.” I shook my head. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack when you appeared in my trance this morning. Trust me, I’m not trying to set you up. And I’d never try to set you up with a vampire. I don’t really trust them, not deep down, at the core of things.”

“Then why take them on as clients?” Crystal asked.

“Because, I may not trust them, but they share this world with us. And maybe…maybe a vampire in love will be kinder to others than a vampire who’s a loner. I suppose it’s a weird way of trying to make the world a better place. Maybe?”

Her question was a good one. Why was I trying to help someone I didn’t trust? But what I had said was true—at least to a point. Given how dangerous vampires could be, maybe this was my way of trying to smooth out the kinks in a very difficult relationship—the one vamps had with the living. I wasn’t sure, but it was something for me to think about.

“I think there’s more than that, but that’s for you to figure it out,” Crystal said. She hesitated. “Could your visions be off? What might affect them?”

I thought about it. “Poor sleep, fear…geomagnetic storms, being too close to a powerful energy source for long enough. Illness, I suppose. And sometimes, when I’m not supposed to know something, my visions stop pulling their weight.”

“Maybe you should just wait for a while and try again. Maybe your visions just need a breather.” She shrugged, an odd look on her face.

I thought about it for a moment. “I wonder…” I shuffled my cards and laid out a five-card spread called the Star.

The first card—the outward energy of the matter—was the Lovers. That made sense, given we were talking about finding Zandre a wife. But I was surprised it wasn’t the underlying energy—which meant that him coming to me was on the surface, covering up another issue in his life.

I drew the second card and laid it out. The Death card. Representing the underlying energy of the situation, death usually meant some sort of transformation. But given Zandre was a vampire—one of the undead—and that he had already died once, I had the feeling it was connected to him in a more literal way. Vampires could be killed, they could die the “final death”…but it wasn’t common. But was he in danger? Was he being targeted? Had he come to me searching to fix something he felt was wrong, but couldn’t put his finger on?

I sighed, drawing the third card, which represented factors to be considered. It was the queen of swords—a court card. Court cards almost always represented people, and my first thought was Crystal. She was an Aquarius—born on February thirteenth. A thought raced through my mind that—like it or not—she was connected to Zandre, in one way or another.

The fourth card, advice, was the queen of cups and I figured that was me. I was a Scorpio, a water sign, and the moment I saw it, I knew it meant to just be who I was, do what I did, and somehow, I’d facilitate whatever was going to happen.

The last card—the outcome—was the two of cups, indicating love and partnership, harmony and connection. Given the other cards, that didn’t make much sense to me, but it made me a little more hopeful. Maybe Crystal knew someone who Zandre would click with.

“Well, we’ll see how this turns out,” I said, glancing over at Crystal. I told her what the cards had said.

“If I’m the intermediary, fine,” she said. “I don’t mind that.”

“I still have to convince him that he doesn’t want to date me.” I paused, then said, “If I can’t get out of dinner easily, will you go with me? I’ll tell him I’m not comfortable going out alone.”

“Really? You’re asking me to tag along like a third wheel? That sounds like a blast,” Crystal said. “Not. But you have the one thing that can make me say yes.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You can play the friend card and I have to agree.” With that she laughed and headed back to her shop.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

By five-fifteen, I was nervous again, but at least I had some plan of action. I was still at work, and a few minutes later, as the sun went down, I called Zandre.

“Zandre, it’s Maisy Tripwater.”

The hope in his voice wasn’t lost on me. “Maisy! You returned my call.” He sounded surprised. “How was your weekend?”

As he spoke, I could hear the loneliness in his voice and it struck me how hard it must be to watch the centuries go by, to watch people you loved die and vanish into the dust of time. Now that I had time to calm the panic, I could hear the hunger in his voice for someone to talk to. He meant it, I thought. He wanted a companion he could talk to, someone he could be real with. He didn’t just want a woman in his bed to fuck.

“Zandre, I…” I’m not sure what it was, but I suddenly changed my mind. “It was a rough weekend. Listen, I’m willing to go out to dinner with you, but as a friend. In fact, I’d like to bring my best friend, if you don’t mind.” It occurred to me that maybe Crystal would lead him to his match—sometimes it took a series of events to set things in motion. Like when Brenda met her match because of the accident we’d had.

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