Dance with Darkness - Ghost Dance

Chapter 7

I was bruised, sore, and sleep-deprived by the time Monday morning rolled around.  The past two nights of training, while possessed by Nakoma, had been brutal.  Displeased with my lack of flexibility, the ghost had tested my limits mercilessly, challenging some of the fourth-level hunters to sparring matches on Saturday in which we continued to lose.

Sunday had not been much better.  Nakoma had decided to move on to knife throwing and agility exercises.  By the end of that night, Nakoma had felt satisfied that she could control my body as well as I could, but unsurprisingly, this statement had not given me any great joy.

I had been promised more training with the Garnet Team tonight too, and at that thought, I slumped in my desk chair, staring at my computer screen miserably.

“Are you okay, Lynnette?” Maggie asked.  She adjusted her scarf, the bright orange complimenting her dark skin.  “You look a little tired.”

At that moment, Ron Webber strode out of his office, and I snapped upright in my chair, looking as alert as possible.

“Of course I’m fine, Maggie,” I said, faking a skeptical look.  “What made you think that?”  I glanced anxiously in my boss’s direction, hoping he hadn’t seen me slacking.  Thankfully, he only seemed interested in getting another cup of coffee.

Poor Maggie looked confused but gave an apologetic smile.  “Sorry, must have been my imagination,” she said, turning back to her work.

I gave a small sigh and turned back to finish the email I had been working on.  I didn’t need to get in trouble for not pulling my weight at work, on top of everything else.

The only positive thing I could find about the day was that Nakoma was not stalking me like she had on Friday.  When I had finally put the ghost ring back on Saturday night after a whole day of not wearing it, Nakoma had chastised me, warning that I shouldn’t risk it getting lost or falling into the wrong hands.  Now I constantly kept it on, as much as I didn’t like seeing the bus-ghost every day.

Yet, on the other hand, I had definite proof that Nakoma was nowhere near…

“Lynnette.”

“Gah!”  I gave a start as Nakoma appeared beside me at that moment.  Speak of the devil.  Casting a surreptitious glance at Maggie, I lowered my voice and hissed “What are you doing here?”

“I came to inform you that another vampire has been murdered.  This time it was very close, here in Baltimore.”

I gulped, not liking the idea that a murderer was lurking nearby.  The last murder had been in Bridgeport nearly a week ago, but now it seemed the killer had moved down the coast and returned to Baltimore.

“Are you sure it’s the same killer?” I asked.

“Yes,” Nakoma replied.  “The characteristics are all there.  This time, the victim was a vampire very close to the Dracule.”

“The Dracule?”

“Dracule Andrei Moldovan,” Nakoma answered, with a look suggesting she thought his full name would be enough of an explanation for me.  When my blank expression remained unchanged, however, she sighed heavily and continued to explain, though not first without admonishing me for my ignorance.

“Was there lard in your ears when the team captain was presenting the case?  He is the person ordered by the Vampire Council to give hunters access to all vampire functions for the duration of this investigation.”

“But, why does he have to be the one to give the permission?” I asked.  Now that I thought about it, the name did sound a bit familiar, but I was still confused.