The Vampire of Tinkerfall (Elysium #3)

Chapter Twenty-Three

 "Where should we set it up?" Trinket asked as she and Daphne followed Booker out of the laboratory.

"I think maybe the kitchen? By the stove? If the snake comes looking for warmth, that seems like a good place to go," he said, turning down the hallway with the snake-catcher tucked under his arm.

"Will one be enough?"

He glanced down at the device. "For now. I'm finding it a little difficult to concentrate, so I'm not sure I can make another one right away. But if we need more, I'll get on it."

Trinket furrowed her brow at the dark bags under his eyes. Was he still having trouble sleeping? Lack of sleep combined with all of this work he was doing was bound to take its toll. She wanted to tell him to rest, but with a deadly snake on the loose, there wasn't much of a choice.

"There, I think that should work," he said, setting the device by the stove. "Can you fetch me a match?"

Daphne hurried to the dresser and returned with one. Striking it against the wall, Booker knelt down and set the wick inside the snake-catcher aflame, filling the kitchen with the faint scent of burning oil.

"And it's ready," he said, shaking the match out.

Leaning against the kitchen table, Trinket watched the flickering light of the small flame cast against the tiled floor. "So now we have to chill the house?"

"Yes. I'll go out and see if I can't find some ice," Booker said as he pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. "Lord, is that really the time? There'll be no ice sellers out this late. I'll have to resort to other means."

"Other means?"

"I'm afraid so. I'll go take care of it."

He headed back into the hallway. "Wait, is it a good idea for you to leave right now?" she said as she followed him to the front door.

"Well, I don't exactly have another choice at the moment," he said, his hand on the doorknob.

"But what if the snake shows up? What will we do?"

He flashed her a smile. "You and Daphne are more than capable of taking care of things. I won't be gone long, anyhow. In the meantime, could you put out the fireplaces and maybe open the window in the kitchen? I doubt the snake will be able to reach that one."

Though she was still anxious about him leaving, she nodded slowly. "We'll do our best."

He grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you. I'll be home soon."

With one last smile, he let her go and closed the door. She released a long breath and rubbed her aching eyes, trying to ignore the shadows flitting in and out of her line of vision. If they didn't find the snake soon, there was no telling what sort of hallucinations might be brought on by her exhaustion.

While Booker was away, she and Daphne doused all the lit fireplaces, plunging the house into darkness save for the two candles they each carried to keep from tripping down the stairs. Though the stove was still slightly warm from having boiled water earlier in the night, it was certainly cooler than the snake-catcher beside it. And once Daphne opened the window by the dresser, the gusts of wind and rain that blew inside helped to lower the temperature significantly.

"Hard to believe it's spring," Trinket said, rubbing her hands together to stave off the cold.

Daphne smiled and put her arms around her, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry if I frightened you earlier. You know, up in my room. With the snake."

Shaking her head, Daphne pulled her into a tighter embrace.