Greywalker

"Never met any. Why?"

"I have a young man in my office who doesn't have a pulse, sleeps during the day, and needs a place to hide out while the sun is up. He seems all right, but he's got some problems we're dealing with. I only need a place for one night. Would it put you out if I dropped him off with Ben?"

"Oh, no. I'm sure we can work something out. There's a little finished room in the cellar that's quite cozy and the light doesn't come in during the day. That might do."

"All right. Now let me talk to Ben."

"You do catch on quick to this wife/husband business," she said, before turning away from the phone to call for Ben.

"Hi, Harper. Are you coming back for pie?"

"Let me tell you what's come up before I answer that. I need to find a place to hide a vampire for one day, and I'm in a bit of a bind about it."

"I don't understand."

"He's a nice kid, but he's new to this vampire business and his normal sleeping place won't be available until tomorrow. Mara thinks you might have a place he could hang out until sunset tomorrow, but I wanted to OK it with you first. Is this safe?"

"Safe? Sure. You're not worried about all that 'has to be invited' junk, are you? Folklore. That's all. But are you sure this kid's a" — he lowered his voice—"vampire? Really?"

"You could almost pass him off as normal except for the teeth and the eyes and the fact that he doesn't have a heartbeat."

"Wow. This is kind of exciting. We can manage. Yes, sure. Brian's at my mother's until tomorrow, so that's no worry."

"Thanks, Ben. I couldn't think of anyplace else. And he really needs more help than just a place to crash for a day. I thought you might want to talk to him."

"Oh, God, yes! When are you coming?"

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Great! We'll fix some things up and see you then."

I hung up and looked at Cameron. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. Who are these guys? They didn't seem too freaked out by the idea."

"I'll tell you on the way."

Cameron followed me to the office door. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's the safest option I can come up with on such short notice. They won't be any threat to you, except that Ben might keep you up till dawn asking questions. Do you eat pie?"

"No. Solid food makes me spew. I drink a little alcohol or coffee every once in a while."

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. It has just the opposite effect it used to have. Now it smoothes me out."

On the drive back up to Queen Anne, I explained Ben and Mara Danziger, to the best of my ability.

"A real witch? Sweet," said Cam, leaning back in the passenger seat. "This could turn out all right."

"I hope so. The only thing I'm worried about is Albert getting agitated. I don't know if he could cause you any kind of trouble."

"I'll do my best to snake-charm him," Cam said with a smile that was both winsome and horrifying. It had to be the teeth. "Who's Albert?"

"He's a ghost. He… lives there."

Cam was still puzzling on that one when I pulled up in front of the house and parked.

"Come on," I urged, grabbing my bag as I stepped out.

We started across the sidewalk together. Albert materialized in the arch at the foot of the steps and glowered at us.

I sighed. Folklore. Right. "May we come in?"

He didn't move, and I was loath to walk through him. He stopped looking at me and directed his baleful gaze onto Cameron.

Cam stepped forward and held up his empty hands. "I promise I won't do them any harm," he said. "I… I give you my word. I just need some help and I hope your friends can give it to me. OK?"

Albert looked at him a moment longer, then nodded and whispered away.

Cam glanced at me. "Tough customer. Must have been a bouncer."

I grinned and we went up the walk.

Ben Danziger opened to my knock. He looked Cameron over as hard as Albert had before stepping back. "Come on in."

Mara stuck her head out the kitchen door. "Would either of you like some coffee with your pie?"

"I would love some coffee, thank you, Mara," I said.

"Coffee would be very nice, thank you, ma'am," said Cameron.

"Oh, heavens, call me Mara. Even my students don't call me ma'am." She smiled and vanished back into the kitchen, calling out, "Go ahead. Ben will catch me up on anything I miss."

Cameron and I exchanged a look as Ben led us into the living room and waved us into seats. He sank himself into a big wingback chair by the fireplace. Cameron took a corner of the couch and I sat next to him, in spite of the vertigo his proximity caused me.

"OK," Ben started. "You think this young man's a vampire?"

Before I could reply, Cam let out a barking laugh and grinned to bare his teeth. "Harper can think what she likes, but I know. Three months ago I had perfectly ordinary teeth. Now I've got these. I used to get up in the morning with a pulse. Now I don't roll out of bed until sunset and you couldn't time the motion of a glacier against my heart rate."

Ben looked at him with a combination of skepticism and excitement fighting on his face. "Are you sure it isn't just a mental aberration?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Come over here."

Cam ambled over to Ben, who reached out for his wrist.

"Damn, you're cold!"

"Yep. It takes about two hours for my skin to rise to room temperature if it's cold outside."

"Hmmm… I wonder why."

"Thermal inertia, I think. If it gets too warm, I start to smell a bit unpleasant up close. Summer's going to be a real treat."

"Well, you've got no discernible pulse in your wrist." He raised his hand up toward Cam's neck. "Do you mind?"

Cam bent forward. Ben placed his fingers against the side of his neck. "No pulse at the carotid."

"That's the jugular side. Trust me—I've learned my veins and arteries." Ben wrinkled up his nose. "Oops. Harper says I have bad breath. I don't know if that's part of the condition, or if I've just forgotten to brush in a while. I've sorta lost track of time. This thing kind of bums me out."

"I can imagine." Ben leaned back in his chair and Cam came back to the couch. "Well, you certainly seem to be… undead. Do you know what your body temperature is?"

"Not sure. Most regular thermometers won't register at all. I think it hovers around sixty, but that's just a guess."

"I think that alone would qualify you for dead. It's the undead part I'm wondering about. Maybe you're a zombie."

"Don't think so," said Cam, sitting back. "I do seem to have a will of my own and I don't have any interest in human flesh, just blood— though I don't really need much more than a cup or so most of the time. I don't like the sun. I don't cast much of a shadow, or a reflection—at least not that I can see. Sometimes I can make people think I'm invisible. Except Harper."

"What happened to your arm?" Ben asked. "You keep cradling it."

"Some jerk broke it earlier tonight with a crowbar, then Harper shot me."

Ben glared at me. "Shot you?"

I glared back. "He started to attack me."

"Hey, it's all right," Cam cut in. "I deserved it. Besides, it'll be OK soon. I heal fast."

Ben started toward Cameron. "Let me take a look at that."

He was staring at the closed bullet hole when Mara came in. He jumped when she spoke.

"What are you up to, Ben?" she asked.

"Looking at this wound. It's amazing."

"Ben. He's not a specimen. He's a guest. Don't be rude."

Ben looked sheepish and retreated to his chair as Mara set a tray of pie and coffee on the table. She handed out mugs and plates as she spoke.

"Harper says you're in need of a place to stay. How did that come about?"

"I… was sleeping in my car and a couple of featherless bipeds broke in," Cameron explained.

"Featherless… oh," she added and began laughing. "That won't do."