“Come in,” I called, trying not to sound to eager.
The door opened, and a vampire walked in.
Chapter Seven:
“You just don’t know women.”
-H. HEFNER
“WINE? NO THANKS. Never touch the stuff.”
“Oh. That’s right. Sorry, Vic,” I said, refilling my own goblet.
“You know,” my guest said, settling himself more comfortably in his seat, “it’s women like Luanna that give vampires a bad name. They’re the ones who will mercilessly suck someone dry, and the concept sort of slopped over onto us!”
In case you’re wondering (or have neglected to read the earlier books in this series), Vic is the one who walked into my room at the end of the last chapter, and yes he is a vampire. Actually, he’s a pretty nice guy . . . about my age and a fairly successful magician in his own right. He just happens to come from Limbo, a dimension that’s primarily “peopled” by vampires, werewolves, and the like.
Apparently he had stopped by our office on Deva looking to invite me out for lunch. When Tananda, who was currently minding the fort for us, told him where I was, he decided to pop over for a visit. (As an aside, one of his Limbo-born talents is the ability to travel the dimension without mechanical aid . . . something I’ve always envied and wanted to learn.)
Truth to tell, I was more than a little glad to see Vic, He was one of the few in my acquaintance who was familiar with the trials and tribulations of being a professional magician, yet wasn’t an actual member of our crew. Not meaning any disrespect or criticism of my colleagues, mind you, but . . . well . . . they were more like family and my actions and future definitely affected them, whereas Vic was a bit more able to stand apart and view things objectively. This made it a lot easier to express my feelings and problems to him, which I had proceeded to do, starting with Queen Hemlock’s proposal and running it right up through my recent rather disheartening meeting with Luanna.