Vampire Bride

Chapter Twenty Eight: Part Two

Maxwell

Well, she took it better than I thought. She's still not happy with how things turned out, but then again neither am I. It doesn't take much to put a list together of things she needs to 'vampire proof' her house. Since I still have a few hours before Charlie comes home, I call Grace.

"So what's the new word?" Grace bellows into the phone.

"I found out who was after Charlie."

"Do tell."

"Henry."

"Henry as in—" She starts to say, but I interrupt her.

"Oh yes, our dear friend Henry. Turns out he blamed me for Prue killing herself to get away from him and he...he set out to kill Charlie with the help of his bride, who is now a vampire by the way."

"Charlie's fine, though, right?"

I'm at a loss for words.

"Maxwell? Charlie's okay, right?" Her nervous tone echoes in my head.

"Not exactly."

"Please tell me he didn't kill her."

"Oh, he killed her. But I saved her."

A sharp intake of breath sounds over the phone. "She's...one of us now?"

"Yeah. And of course she's upset with me for not letting her die."

"Typical Charlie." I might not be able to see her, but I know she has a smile on her face. "So what happened to Henry and this bride of his?"

"His bride, Daisy...not sure, she slipped through my fingers and disappeared. If she's smart, she'll never show her face to Charlie or myself again. As for Henry, he's dead thanks to you."

"The device." She doesn't wait for me to answer. "Do not tell anyone you used that. It's a secret and when the time comes I'll tell you more, but until then zip it."

I don't understand what the big deal is. Where did she get it from anyways? Who was producing such a thing and how many vampires had it been tested on to see if it worked?

Grace's lecture continues before I have a chance to interject. "Now, to make things a little easier, I'll tell Benjamin you need the names and locations of your new donors. It might take a while, meaning she'll already be turned before I'll have the list, but it's the most I can do for now since I'm not there to help her...to help you. Just keep her calm and occupied and the both of you will get through this just fine. She's scared, is all. Do you not remember being scared too? It was a nice chat, but I got to go for this whole trial thing."

I barely have time to say goodbye before she hangs up. I can't believe she's still a part of that trail with Benjamin. How long does it take to convict Emma and be done with it? I know I should be more thoughtful, but I need help with Charlie and I know Grace is the only one who can talk some sense into her.

The rest of the day goes by extremely slow and boring as I wait for Charlie to return. I nearly fall asleep from boredom. Thankfully, the sounds of her huffs can be heard outside the door. Before she pounds on it impatiently, I open it. She barges in and throws her purse on the table before she falls into one of the chairs.

"I take it work didn't go that well," I say, trying to get her to talk through her frustration.

"Oh, it actually went better than I planned only because I didn't have to think of a lie. She confronted me...she called me out and told me how I can continue to work through my 'condition'." She holds up her hands and puts imaginary quotation marks around 'condition'.