Grampire nudges the unconscious wizard with her toe. “Jerry, wake up. I didn’t even hit you that hard.”

  “You broke his nose,” I mumble.

  “I don’t need criticism from the puking peanut gallery.”

  I try to glare at her, but I just feel nauseous. I don’t usually have a weak stomach, but I’ve never been so close to death before. Except for yesterday, I guess. But that was different—this old man just almost killed me over a garden! I put a hand on the wall to steady myself. Adrenaline still rages in my bloodstream, and though it’s no longer a full moon, it’s still bright in the sky so my body is aching to shift and run away from this situation screaming. I need to lie down.

  The Wizard groans and blinks. I straighten up, despite my stomach’s protests. My muscles lock up in anticipation. But Grampire doesn’t seem to be anxious at all. She crouches in front of him, her elbows resting on her knees.

  “Listen, Jerry, I don’t wanna kill you. Despite you being a real dickhead, we’ve been cordial in the past. But I’ll snap your neck if you don’t listen to what I’m about to say.”

  The Wizard whimpers pitifully. My stomach twists with my nausea, but also pity. I hate seeing old people hurt. He looks so sad and tiny curled up in a ball, blood staining his long white beard.

  “We’re leaving now. I was gonna fix your house, but you can do it yourself. You pull silver on me again, and I’ll kill you. You threaten the pup and I’ll skin you and make you eat it first. Understand?”

  The Wizard nods sullenly. Grampire flicks him in the head with her long, sharp nails.

  “Answer me when I’m talking to you.”

  “Yes, I heard you.” The Wizard blinks tears out of his eyes. “Please just leave me alone.”

  Grampire stands and looks down at him. I shudder, even though she’s not glaring at me. “It’s pathetic of you to lose your cool like this over some vegetables. Go to the grocery store like a normal person.”

  “The hydrangeas were my mother’s,” Jerry whispers. He’s staring at the floor, not up at Grampire. “It’s all I had left of her.”

  Oh goddess, I’m gonna cry! This is so sad. I ruined this poor old man’s heirloom just by being there. I shouldn’t have even been in his garden; because I didn’t listen to my family, I brought all this pain and sadness on everyone. My shoulders sag and my stomach bubbles even more. This is all my fault.

  Grampire snorts. “Don’t blame the kid. If they were that important, you should have been awake to take care of them. Running from reality has consequences.”

  Grampire strides away from him and jerks her head at me. “Come on, I can’t stand a grown man sniveling. We’re outta here.”

  I take one more look at the old wizard. He sits up, taking in his ruined house, blood still leaking from his nose. Grampire is right, I guess, but I still feel awful. We strolled in uninvited, made him give us information, then destroyed his house and beat him up. We’re like the monster mafia.

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  “Wait,” I tell Grampire. Against my better judgement, I go to the Wizard’s side. I pull out my phone and find a few pictures I saved. “I really am sorry about your garden, and I hate that the lightning ruined everything, but it was beautiful.” I show him the rows of vegetables, the sunflowers, the lone watermelon. His eyes widen as he swipes through the pictures.

  “You did all this?”

  I nod, a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask permission first.”

  The Wizard lingers on a big bush of blue hydrangeas. He smiles at my phone, and then me. I wince; he’s missing a front tooth now. “It’s okay. I wasn’t awake to give it.”

  “Kid, now.” Grampire growls. I take my phone back and hurry to her side before she punches my teeth out. I want to look back, but Grampire puts a hand behind my head and steers me out of the house and into the night.

  We walk back to Grampire’s territory in silence. She doesn’t speak until the dilapidated hotel looms into view. “You alright?”

  “I think so.” The nausea has faded and so has the adrenaline, but my stomach is viciously sore. I bet I’ll have a wicked bruise tomorrow.

  “Good, ‘cause tomorrow I gotta show you how to fight.”

  I gape at Grampire. My own family wouldn’t even show me that. And now I have to take fighting lessons from the strongest vampire I’ve ever seen?? No. I want to find a sorcerer and that’s it. “It’s okay, you don’t have to.”

  “I sure as fuck do.” Grampire narrows her red eyes at me. “That fight was pathetic. You’re lucky Jerry is a low-level fraud and not an actual strong opponent. He’d have fried you.”

  “We shouldn’t have to fight anyone else. He was upset because of the garden. It should be easy from now on.”

  “Nothing worth doing is easy,” Grampire says, her tone grave. “And removing that curse is worth it. We’re gonna find folks who aren’t willing to give us info, and talking won’t cut it. There’re gonna be some folks who don’t want you to find out how to get rid of it. If you’re gonna figure out the truth, you gotta learn how to defend yourself. Or at least not get in my way.”

  I don’t say anything because, goddess, she’s right. I didn’t help at all. I think about Grampire rubbing her back and wincing in pain, and I want to disappear. But I don’t want to fight. I don’t even like hunting rabbits. Which I need to do now, because I’m starving. Today is the worst.

  We reach the house and Grampire strolls inside. She kicks off her shoes and makes a beeline for the stairs. But she hesitates on the bottom one. “Kid?”

  “Yes ma’am?”

  “Get a good night’s sleep. Training starts tomorrow.”

  I nod unhappily. “I will. I have to go hunting tonight, but then I’ll sleep.”

  “For what?”

  “Food? Werewolves have to eat.”

  “Like what, once a week? Do it tomorrow.”

  “I have to eat every day, Grampire.”

  Grampire seems genuinely astonished at this. How often does she eat?! She scratches her head, then abandons the step and goes into the kitchen. She returns with a bag of…chips? Oh, it’s beef jerky! I’m grinning when she drops it into my hands.

  “Eat that and hush.”

  I’m so happy I could cry. Actually, I think I am crying. Grampire’s form is blurry around the edges. “Thank you so much. I’m so tired.”

  “I know. Eat, go to bed, training.”

  And with that, Grampire stomps upstairs and disappears from view.

  I eat the entire bag of beef jerky. I’m not full, but it’s enough to fight off hunger pangs. I take off my clothes and carefully store them in the bin before shaking my head and turning into my wolf form. When my senses sharpen, Grampire’s sticky sweet scent wafts from upstairs. It should be gross or dangerous, but tonight, it’s comforting.

  I curl up in a ball on Grampire’s dusty rug and close my eyes. We found out crucial information—I have to find and kill (ugh) the caster, or find a powerful sorcerer to remove the mark of death. Or risk the apocalypse, which I really don’t want. And I found out I’m so useless in battle that confrontation makes me puke.

  I sigh and shift into a more comfortable position. All this is for tomorrow’s Malia to deal with. For now, I’m holding onto the fact that I have hope. If I find a sorcerer, this nightmare will be over and I can go home. And that even though Grampire is annoyed by my presence, she cares enough to show me how to fight. That’s something no werewolf has done. I hate fighting, but I appreciate the effort.

  I close my weary eyes and in no time, I’m asleep.