A Grimm Haunting: Book 4 of the Mari Fable Mysteries by Emily Fluke

Author:Emily Fluke [Fluke, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

All Sizzle and No Stake

Gusts of salty air blew up from the coast. Out in the neighborhoods with the high-income families, the houses were built further apart, which allowed for the wind to pass through easily. Though cold, the damp chill didn’t compare to the atmosphere the ghosts carried with them.

I didn’t so much as shiver each time the breeze blasted hair back from my face and cut through the layers of a rain jacket, hood, and shirt.

I opted to walk the few blocks to Carrion Court, knowing I’d be more discreet as a pedestrian on San Francisco’s streets, than when I’d inevitably struggle to parallel park in the neighborhood. In the light of day, I might have contacted Detective Wilhelm and bribed him to use police resources to dig up dirt on the person renting Nolan’s Vacay castle. But I wanted to catch him just after he fell asleep when I’d have the upper hand. Literally, holding a stake.

Right over his heart that didn’t beat.

Despite the sleepless night and long walk, my strength stayed steady. I’d killed a werewolf to save my life six years ago. Tonight, I’d add a vampire to that count to save others.

I turned the corner, spying the dark house at the bottom of the hill. The court ended with Dracula’s castle in the middle, just off the coast of the San Francisco bay. As I stalked closer, the crash of waves hurt my ears. Each time water lapped against the sand, I flinched as if it were fingernails scraping along a chalkboard. The smell of exhaust and salt stung my nose, turning my stomach sour. Even the tickle of my short hair brushing against the middle of my neck intensified.

How could I feel so strong and in so much pain at the same time? I shook it off and pressed on, focusing instead on the house at the bottom of the hill. There, I’d confront Dracula, avenge Lindsay and her mother, and end this classic horror once and for all.

Goosebumps pricked my neck, then crawled down my arms, disappearing beneath my clothes. I’d suffered headaches as an immortal, but didn’t expect a fever too. I dug into the diaper bag I’d refashioned into a backpack for recycling.

I pulled my phone from the side pocket and opened my call list. Scarlet’s name appeared over a hundred times when I’d tried to contact her and she didn’t answer. Our boss’s test had her fully invested to make it onto the team as an investigative journalist at Bay Side Media, but that didn’t stop me from begging for her help.

How could I be so sick and yet immune to death? I needed whatever insight she could give me. If I confronted Dracula and ended up vomiting on his bat wings, or whatever, it wouldn’t put me in the advantage for a fight.

The screen’s bright light seared my eyes, so I narrowed them to slits and held the phone out. The ringing echoed in my ears, even at arm’s length and without the hands-free mode on.

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