The Vampire’s Servant novel Chapter 140

We drove in near silence. Echo seemed more distant than she had in weeks. I knew that the situation with Victor had to be part of it.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m eager to find out what it is that the goddess was telling you about. We had a setback last night. I was hoping this would make up for that.” She replied.

“What happened?”

“We found the wards for the spell that’s keeping all the supernaturals in this area. When Preston and Finn went to examine one of them, they were attacked by a witch. She didn’t seem to understand what was going on. All she knew was that her body was fighting on its own. If Preston moved away from the ward, she would stop attacking him. He’s a fire witch and she was a water witch with an ice ability.” Echo explained.

“Damn. I guess the curse is trying to stop you from removing anymore spells. You’ve already gotten rid of one and pushed back another. When I was talking to the goddess last night, she said that the curse changes as you remove bits of it. I was thinking it was a lot like a computer program. If you make changes to the code, it doesn’t do what it was supposed to because each piece depends on the codes working in a certain way. When Grigori killed himself before it solidified, it made gaps, or bugs, in the code. It was what gave some people bits back. If that makes sense to you.” I said.

“Not really and yes all at the same time. I get what you’re saying. Every time we remove part of it, something else collapses. I think that’s why the curse changed Victor entirely. It could go slowly when we were just testing it, but destroying the spell used on the fae made it increase its attack on Victor and on the curse team. He knew that it was trying to make him doubt and try to kill Finn. Finn’s the leader of the curse team and that would hurt us. It’s part of the reason why I took over and I took over the territory.” She responded.

“The curse is against the Master vampire. Not the Master dhampyr. You’re hoping it gets the curse to leave Victor alone.” I realized.

“Exactly. If a dhampyr holds the territory, there’s no reason for it to keep attacking Victor. I will work to make sure that nothing falls between the cracks while Victor isn’t able to take care of his people. With luck, I can get Victor back soon. Talia named me Master of the territory last night.” Echo told me.

“That was a great idea. Here, I’m supposed to be the brain, but I’ve been busy with other things. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We all had to grow and change a little when we started living in Victor’s house. This was just your time to do that. Now, you’re back and ready to solve this.” She smiled.

“I’ll cancel my game tonight and let my parents know that I won’t make it.” I said.

“Don’t do that. I have a feeling that you’ll need your family tonight. None of this is sitting quite right with me.” Echo sighed. “Sean, you need to be prepared. He… he may be….”

“Dead. I know. She was talking about how old he is. I’ve been ready to get the call that he’s gone for most of my life. Don’t worry. I’ll go home tonight if he is. My father was really close to Uncle Fenton.” I said softly.

I worked to keep my eyes from filling with tears. Uncle Fenton was like a grandfather to me. I didn’t know how strong I could actually be. If he was gone…. I didn’t even want to think about our last interaction being me shouting at him like I had.

Echo put her hand over mine on the steering wheel. She was a comfort to me, even now, when she smelled like old books. Especially now that she smelled like old books. That was one of my favorite scents.

We pulled in to the parking lot and I locked up Rosario’s car before we went in. Cindy was working. She was one of the weekend receptionists. I waved at her as Remi came up to the counter.

“Hi, Sean! Hi, Echo. Glad to have you come visit again. Our residents love getting visitors. Are you heading up to see Mr. Aimes?” Remi asked.

“Yeah. How was he doing this morning?” I smiled.

“He came down for breakfast like he had not a care in the world. He even flirted a little with Mrs. Leslie.” Remi giggled.

“That’s great. Our last visit didn’t go well. I was hoping he would be in a better mood today and we could try again.” I told her.

“I understand. When they’re moody they can be like children. I’ve got you all checked in. Have a great visit.” She waved us off.

I took Echo’s hand and led her to the elevator. She was a little nervous getting on. I thought it was actually a little cute the way she jumped last time. Echo was always so different from other people I knew.

Neither one of us talked while the elevator was going up. She clung to my hand and stroked my arm. I was grateful it would be us and not some orderly or housekeeper. If he was actually dead, I wanted it to be family who found him. I still held out hope that he would be alive.

We got off on his floor and walked to the door I’d knocked on every weekend since I was a little kid. We waited in silence for the answer, but none came. I knocked again. Still no answer.

I swallowed and reached out, turning the knob. It was unlocked, that meant he was in. He always locked the door when he was going downstairs. I opened the door.

The sound of the TV softly filled the room. Uncle Fenton was in his favorite chair. His eyes were closed, like he was napping. I prayed to the goddess that it was really just him napping. I would rather deal with a grumpy old man than a dead one.

Unfortunately, I could smell the death on him. There was nothing warm coming from him. The smell of atmosphere and electricity that I smelled in Victor’s office was there. It was strong.

That must be the smell of witches. We drew close and I took his hand, placing my fingers on his wrist, looking for a pulse. There was none.

“He’s dead.” I whispered.

“I’m so sorry, Sean.” Echo said, putting her hand on my back and rubbing it.

My wings fluttered a little under her hand, making her yip and pull back. I chuckled a little and placed Uncle Fenton’s arm back on the arm of his chair.

“Sorry, it was my wings.” I murmured.

“No, I’m sorry. I was just a little shocked. I didn’t mean to do that. You know I love you, Sean. I just wasn’t expecting it.” She giggled a little. “What do we do now?”

“We need to call the front desk and report it. I need to find The Old Man. He hates anyone who isn’t family. I can’t have him attacking people who are trying to take care of Uncle Fenton’s body. Can you get his carrier? It’s in the bedroom.” I asked.

“Okay. I’ll go look.” Echo said and wandered away.

I turned off the TV and sat on the coffee table across from Uncle Fenton’s body. I couldn’t believe he was really gone. I thought I was prepared for it, but I wasn’t.

“Stop your crying. He wouldn’t like it. Fen hated whiners.” A voice said from behind me.

“I think he would be fine with me shedding a tear or two. He was like a grandpa to me. I loved him and our last visit ended in a fight.” I said softly.

“You smell different, boy. What did you do to yourself?” He asked.

That was when I realized the only other person who was supposed to be in the apartment was Echo. I jumped up and turned around, but all I saw was my uncle’s large black cat.

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