Serafina and the Silent Vampire - By Marie Treanor Page 0,72
pity, Sera was relieved when Melanie merely raised one intrigued eyebrow and murmured, “I have heard the odd whisper, though I’ve never encountered one myself.”
“What have you heard?” Sera asked curiously, helping herself to another of Melanie’s delicious cheese-and-spinach pies.
Melanie shrugged and reached for the bottle to top up her wine. “Nothing much. Rather mysterious, elusive beings, few in number, appallingly strong and absolutely deadly when riled. For the most part, they seem to prey secretly on the humans they live among, and rarely kill.”
Sera swallowed the last of her pie and, under Mel’s amused gaze, reached for yet another. “Did you ever hear whether or not they could talk? How they communicate among themselves or with humans?”
“I believe they’re telepathic. They don’t talk at all, at least not as we do.”
Sera nodded slowly, absently heaping two kinds of salad onto her plate. “That’s what I heard,” she agreed. “But recently, a new breed of vampire has appeared in Edinburgh—in alarming numbers, actually—and they can talk, just like we do. How do you suppose that could happen?”
Mel set down her glass, frowning. “I haven’t the foggiest idea, but I don’t like the sound of alarming numbers. Are they dangerous? And are you sure they’re vampires?”
“Yes to both. A couple of murders have been in the news. I think they’ve covered up a couple more. But they seem to be creating new creatures like themselves all the time—all from the financial industry. And they’re going back to work. They want to take over the running of all the country’s finances, siphon off wealth for themselves, and eventually reduce the role of humans to little more than slavery.”
Mel closed her mouth. “Yes, that is a real problem.”
“The other curious thing is—apparently, vamps don’t normally take to discipline. They’re free spirits, if you like. But these guys aren’t. They answer to a human.”
“What human?”
“Bloke called Nicholas Smith. Ever heard of him?”
Melanie closed her eyes tight, perhaps dredging her memory. “Not sure,” she said uncertainly.
“He does stage magic—mixture of conjuring and mind reading—under the name of Nick Black.”
Mel opened her eyes. “Ah. Now I know who you mean. I’ve even met him. He’s a member of WASA.”
“WASA,” Sera repeated, unable to stop herself from grinning.
“WASA,” Mel repeated sternly. “Witches’ and Sorcerers’ Association.”
It wasn’t really funny. Sera sobered and cleared out the salad bowl. “What can he actually do? I know he’s telepathic to some degree, but does he have other gifts? Like you? Can he—er—‘do’ magic?”
“I believe he’s quite strong.”
Sera glanced at her. “Stronger than you?”
“He’s older than me, been practicing for longer.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Sera laid her knife and fork together and sat back.
“Coffee and walnut cake?” Mel offered.
“Ooh yes, please.”
While Mel took the used plates away, Sera tidied the leftovers and watched her surreptitiously. She sensed an unusual tension in her friend, a discomfort that wasn’t usually present between them. And if she had to put her finger on when this discomfort arose, she rather thought it was when she spoke the name Nicholas Smith. He worried Mel.
Over coffee and Mel’s mouth-wateringly gorgeous cake, Sera said, “Is there some kind of spell Smith could have put on these new vampires? To enable them to speak, to dominate them?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. There are spells for most things. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are and gathering the power to use them properly.” Mel cut another two slices of cake and placed one on each of their plates. “Nicholas Smith always had an eye for the main chance. Always looking for ways to make the power work for him. So, I can imagine he might well have expended a lot of energy to track down such a spell. Or simply to see its uses if he came across it by accident.”
Sera, still savoring cake and coffee on some level, set down her cup and asked, “Do you have any idea what such a spell might be?”
“No, and I wouldn’t want to either.”
“Then I don’t suppose there’s a simple counter-spell to break it either? Not even an all-purpose, any-spell breaker?”
“You’re talking complicated magic here, Sera. Nothing will be simple. And even if the spell could be broken, you’d still be left with all those indiscreet vampires without even a leader to control them. I really don’t like the sound of any of this. Why don’t you come and live here while we figure out what to do?”
“I’ve got clients in Edinburgh. And besides, I couldn’t leave the others