Woman King

Chapter 14

My sleep had been restless, but this time I had the vampire to thank for my insomnia. His kiss had seared my soul, and I'd spent the evening tossing and turning, yearning for him in a way I had never wanted a man before.

    The timing of our meeting, I realized, firing up my espresso machine, was horrendous. I was running a multimillion dollar campaign and assuming a new role as a consultant. My window for romance was slim at best, assuming I could even find William Ferrell again.

I must have been daydreaming, because I didn't hear Elsa come into the kitchen. "How was the concert?" she asked.

    "Good. Fun," I said. "I met a vampire. His name is William."

     "You met a vampire, as in he came up and
introduced himself?"

"Yes. Sort of . . . What I mean is . . . I had been staring at him . . . er . . . watching him perform. He's in a band," I managed to stutter out, sounding like a teenager.

    "And, what happened?" she asked, sounding like my mother, which got my defenses up.

    "I am over thirty years old," I said, sounding even more like a teenager. "I can take care of myself."

    Elsa was shaking her head in a way that oddly reminded me of William. Once again, I was going to be lectured on all the things I didn't know. I held my hands out in front of me to indicate I wasn't in the mood.

    "Listen, he already told me I didn't know what I was getting into," I said. "And he told me you wouldn't approve at all."

     "He was right," she said. "Vampires are serious creatures, Olivia. They do not make friends with humans."

    "So I've been told," I said. "Listen. I'll probably never see him again, so let's drop it."

     Elsa nodded, and I went back to making myself a cappuccino. Once that was out of the way, we discussed how to contact Nadia, the witch versed in old magic who would transfer the map of the portals onto my skin. It would not be hard to locate her, Elsa said; she could be found most days feeding the ducks and geese at Stow Lake. All we had to do is walk over and look for her.

    The sun was already high as we climbed to the top of the stairway at the foot of Stow Lake. The trees were lush and green, and our surroundings seemed brighter against the brilliant October sky. There were turtles sunning themselves on logs, and ducks resting on the grass as Elsa scanned the perimeter of the lake.

    "There she is."

    "She" turned out to be an elderly woman, who despite the heat, was dressed in tights, a floral dress, and a large cardigan sweater. For good measure she had a floral scarf tied around her head and knotted at her chin. Next to her was a worn red wagon stuffed full of bags of bread pieces and birdseed. Nadia, it seemed, was well stocked for her work.

    "That is Nadia?"

    Elsa nodded. "You were expecting a pointy hat and a magic wand?"

    "When you said old magic, I guess I got an image in my head of someone more scary-looking," I said, cringing at how stupid I sounded.

     "I said o-l-d magic, not black magic," Elsa said with a laugh. "But don't be fooled. Nadia can be very scary when she needs to be."

Nadia looked up and acknowledged us as we approached. She and Elsa began conversing in a language that sounded like Russian. The two chatted for a few minutes, each one periodically looking over at me. Finally, Nadia turned to face me completely. "This is going to hurt," she said, sizing me up. "But it will be over quickly."