The club was loud and booming. William scanned the club, taking it all in, nodding along to the loud dance music. The dancing was in full swing, bodies grinding together to the loud music overhead. Marie leaned in
“Think you can dance like that?” she asked him loudly.
William gave her a look of confidence and smiled. He took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor. They both started to dance. William was quick to learn and was great with his body. He held her close as he danced to sounds of the live D.J. spinning on stage in front of the club.
Seeing Marie dance was inspiring William in more ways than one. The silk blouse she wore was teasing him as it caressed her body when she moved. The more she moved, the more she was starting to perspire. Watching her, he was starting to want to do more than just dance. He had been thinking about it since he had met her but had talked himself out of it. Tonight, though, tonight was different. He was hungry for her. He wasn’t sure at first if he could resist the temptation to feed off of her. But he had to be strong if he wanted to go through with it. He needed to fight off his dark urges.
After two hours of dancing and a couple of drinks in between, the two of them were ready to leave the club.
“I had a feeling you could move,” Marie said, an arm tucked into his as they exited the club. It was almost three a.m.
He waited as she put on her sweater. Though they were warm from all their dancing, the early November air in Las Vegas was quite cold.
He looked at the club across the street. Big parties were leaving, and they were exiting onto the street. He saw them as soon as he felt their presence. He grabbed Marie’s arm aggressively, but not before they were noticed. Hopefully, William could lose them.
“There are others here. Vampires. Drake. Fucking asshole. I met him once when he was passing through Chicago about a year ago. He’s one of these new age vampires on the rise. He’s looking to start a coven. Let’s get out of here,” William said as he scanned the streets looking for a cab. “Whatever you do, don’t turn around, Marie. We do not want to be associated with this monster.”
“I noticed a group of people briefly as we exited. Can you describe him to me?”
“Impossible to miss. Looks like a 90’s heavy metal star. Long dark blond hair, tall. He stands out in a crowd,” he said as they tried to walk as casually as possible. “Shit,” William exclaimed, more to himself than anyone else.
“It’s okay. Once we get to my mom’s, I could make us a potion that will help us go undetected.”
“We’ll need that for sure,” he saw a cab and hailed it. They got in quickly. “I think he saw us. Shit!” he said again, cursing his luck.
Marie gave the cab driver their address. They couldn’t continue their conversation without being overheard, so they dropped it. Instead, William took a hold of her hand and kissed it. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said in a whisper only she could hear.
When the cab driver pulled up to their stop, he turned around. “I think this place is closed,” he said to the two of them in the back seat.
“It’s okay. They know we’re coming,” Marie answered.
William noticed the shop’s light were off. He paid the cab, and they bypassed the shop’s entrance and went around the back way.
“Your mom lives here, too?”
Marie nodded. “We keep the library in an air-controlled room in the back,” she said as she knocked on the door with her secret knock.
Her Mom greeted them, pulling in Marie for a hug and a kiss. “High priestess, how long has it been?”
“Only a year this time,” Marie answered, smiling from ear-to-ear.
The mother-witch felt the presence of William and knew exactly what he was, but she didn’t pass judgement. Not yet, anyway. Instead, she eyed him coolly.
“Hi Mama, it’s good to see you,” Marie said.
“Come in, come in,” her mom said as she ushered them in. The mother-witch was tall, taller than Marie. Her long white hair was wrapped up with an orange scarf, and she wore a long swaying dress which made it look like she was floating on air.
“Mom, this is William. William, this is my mom, Esmeralda. I hope you have some time, Mom, because the both of us are going to need your help.”
Her mom nodded towards William, taking him in. He was good-looking, that was for sure. Definitely good-looking enough to snag the heart of her daughter if he had tried. They didn’t make men like him anymore. She would have to play close attention to the two of them and wasn’t sure now whether she should be worried or pleased with the newcomer in her daughter’s life. “Please, call me Esme. And tell me you’re not with that dreadful coven of vampires residing just outside Vegas.”
William shook his head. “No, I am here on a separate issue.”
“We just ran into them. So, they’ve settled here?” Marie asked as her mom led them into the kitchen, where she’d started up a kettle for some tea.
“As soon as they found out I was here, they took up residency. For some reason, they think that being close to me is going to offer them some kind of protection. Their leader, a blond one, came to me and wanted to know what services I could provide for them.” She snorted to herself. “Pretentious prick.”
“What did you tell him?” Marie asked, though she had a feeling. Her mom still had some spunk left.
“I told him if he needed something specific from me, he could come back. But I wasn’t about to list off what I could do. We’re not here for them. Anyway, he wasn’t happy with my answer, but he left and said they’d be settling down right here in Henderson of all places.”
Her mom looked at William. “So, tell me, what brings you here?”
“A vampire came to you many years ago. She needed your help to end her life. That vampire was actually my maker. I was hoping Marie here would be able to perform the same spell, or whatever it is.”
“So, you want to be rid of this world, do you?”
William swallowed before answering. “Yes, I do.”
The mother-witch looked at her daughter. She could tell her daughter was struggling, that she was facing some kind of conflict. She would have to deal with that later. She turned her attention back to William.
“How long have you felt this way?” she asked him.
“A long time actually. Maybe about fifty years. I’ve spent the last forty trying to figure out how to do it alone.”
The mother-witch tsked. “That’s no good. I’m sure it was a taxing ordeal for you.”
“Yes, ma’am, it was.”
“William, will you excuse my daughter and me? We need to discuss a few things. There’s a TV and a comfortable couch just down the hall. Watch whatever you’d like. I’m sorry we have to exclude you for this part.”
“It’s no problem. I was expecting as much,” he said and smiled politely at both of him. Pictures of Marie littered the hallway, and it looked like they were all from the 90’s. He was sure the mother-witch had more pictures of Marie, but she was smart and kept them all within the same decade at a time so she wouldn’t raise suspicion.
William made his way into the living room, where the Esme had already started a fire. A bookshelf stood off to one side. Classics, modern fiction and non-fiction were kept there. He took out a worn copy of Dracula and smiled, thinking of Marie and how they first met.