door quietly behind her.
Sean had stood for a moment with his head leaning against the door feeling as if it had just closed on his heart. He heard a door slam inside the room and knew that Jonah hadn’t rushed home after all.
#
Kurt and Landon and crossed the Cooper River Bridge driving toward downtown. Sean had returned Kurt’s truck bright and early this morning. He and Landon were running late for their meeting because they had stopped to pick up some old maps along the way. They both agreed; Sean’s digital maps were incorrect. Kurt and Landon had logged numerous hours boating, diving, or treasure hunting in Charleston Harbor. Their intimate knowledge of the harbor would enable them to identify even the slightest differences between the maps.
“What is your opinion of this mission?” Kurt asked Landon. “And-why in the world do you think Witches would interfere with the recovery of this particular coin? Doesn’t it stand to reason they would want it to be secured with the Council?”
“Witches are funny creatures. They live by a secret Witchy code, and they look out for themselves first,” Landon explained. “You know I’m not overly fond of them.”
“Why is that?” Kurt asked with a frown.
“It’s been my experience that regardless of how beautiful they may seem on the outside, underneath that beauty is a black heart, bad teeth, and a crooked nose,” Landon said scowling, “with a big fat wart on the end of it!”
Kurt chuckled at Landon who normally had a pretty broad-minded view on everything.
“Never trust a Witch,” Landon warned gravely.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kurt promised.
“You do that,” Landon returned.
“We need to figure out this puzzle,” Kurt said, getting back on task. “The sooner that coin is recovered, the sooner they all leave, and the sooner we can get back to our oh-so-boring-yet- comfortable life style. I’m getting too old for this shit.”
As they passed through the streets of downtown nearing the team’s headquarters, Landon suddenly stiffened.
“Turn left, now!” he said tightly. His eyes began to glow an eerie golden-yellow.
“What’s up?” Kurt asked, reaching for the gun he always kept under his seat.
“We’ve got bigger problems than Witches, my friend,” Landon announced. His voice was filled with dread, which surprised Kurt. Landon Smith was normally unshakeable.
Kurt spotted them standing in front of a large home situated on Rutledge Avenue known as the Steinwick family home. The estate had been “passed down through several generations” of the Steinwick family heirs. Suspiciously enough, the “family resemblance” between generations was uncanny. However, the pair currently loitering in front of the stately mansion was not, in any way, related to the Steinwick family; who were all richly blessed with an abundance of red hair.
The truth of the matter was… the Steinwick brothers had been turned into Vampires centuries ago. Jeremy and Joshua returned to their home in Charleston every sixty years or so as the “new generation” of Steinwick heirs. They would settle into the community and live peacefully for an indefinite period of time. When they got bored or when townspeople began noticing their failure to age, it was time to move on. The Steinwick brothers would simply disappear from Charleston relocating to one of the many homes they had amassed through the centuries. Showing up there, too, as new heirs, they begin living the lie all over again.
The Steinwick brothers could never bring themselves to “feed from the vein” as other Vamps do. It was “terribly uncivilized” as far as Jeremy and Joshua were concerned. They “imported” their blood supply from England where a one-of-a-kind plasma center collected, processed, and bottled donated blood.
The Steinwick brothers were rumored to be heavy drinkers due to the inordinate amount of “wine” delivered to their home each month. However, they were never observed conducting themselves in a drunken or disorderly fashion. Their neighbors loved them through the centuries, and the children of each generation were always greatly saddened when the Steinwick brothers disappeared from their lives.
Since Jeremy and Joshua had relocated less than five years ago, they would not return to Charleston for at least another fifty-five years. Then one day when a new generation of mortals replaced the ones currently living in the great city, Jeremy and Joshua Steinwick would return once again to their beloved Charleston as Steinwick heirs and watch over their old friends great-great-great-great-great grandchildren for a short while.
“What the hell are they doing here?” Landon growled as he grabbed his cell phone and pushed the ICE (in case of emergency) button.