The Trouble with Evie

Chapter 6

The hole was small, but it was enough. Something poked through the gap, and I stared. It was the tip of material, possibly a handkerchief.

As I reached out for it, my hand was shaking. Slowly it pulled through the gap. I unraveled the piece of material to see that it was, in fact, a handkerchief, and it had NC embroidered into one corner.

"This can't be real," I whispered. "How are you alive?"

"Vampires can go for a long time without feeding if they enter into a deep sleep. I can go on for many more years provided that you and your uncle leave, and I am not disturbed anymore."

"Don't you want to get out of there?"

"Of course, but unless you're going to break the wall, it won't happen."

Pressing my hand to the warm bricks, I now understood why they were like this.

"Are you trying to crack the wall open?"

"Naturally. I am hungry."

"Do you plan on killing us?"

Niko chuckled.

"Would you like me to make an exception for you and your uncle?"

"Absolutely."

"Then it is done, that is of course once I am out of here. Before that, any agreement is pointless as I am quite harmless in my current state."

"What did you do to get put in there?"

"Annoyed the wrong people. Now, how are we going to get me out of here? I heard the mumbled words from the builder fellow. He seemed to think that repair was unnecessary, but I'm sure that attitude will change once your uncle has seen the broken wall."

"We don't have any tools that I could use. Even if I get something, he's going to hear me, and Brad is always home."

"Then we shall endeavor to do it as quietly as we can with the tools that you have. This is not part of the original structure. They created the false wall to trap me."

It was odd to think about it, but this madness made me wonder why they didn't kill him. Wouldn't it be easier than all this?

"Yeah," I drawled out slowly. "I guess I could get something to scrape the mortar out. It will take a while, though. Can you cope with that?"

"No," Niko admitted. "And I would not ask you to bring anything to me. Asking you to provide victims would be wrong of me."

"And I would not get it for you either. This might be a small town, but that doesn't make things any easier. You said that you annoyed the wrong people. Are they going to be upset that you're getting out? Cuz, I assume that they're still alive too."