Death Becomes Him - 33

As soon as he was inside, Rory walked quickly to the back of the shop, going into the office. Standing in the center of the empty room, he opened his senses to what he thought he had felt. He wasn’t all that surprised when a figure materialized in front of him. Bowing his head slightly, he said, “Greetings.”

The man, or vampire actually as Rory was well aware, nodded. “Thank you.” He studied Rory for a brief moment. “You are a young one.”

“Still a fledgling according to my maker,” Rory agreed. When asked, he told the vampire who she was.

He looked suitably impressed then introduced himself. “I am Philippe Robicheaux.”

Rory grinned. “That’s quite a mouthful.”   

“Which is why, when I’m out and about, I go by the name Phillip Roberts, just as Émilienne Charpentier calls herself Emily Carpenter.”

Now it was Rory’s turn to study Phillip. He was of average height, perhaps five-ten, with medium length blond hair held off his face with a metal clasp. He appeared to be in his late twenties. His eyes were blue, his lips sensual, his build fairly muscular Rory thought, although it was hard to tell as he was wearing sweats at the moment. That surprised him so he asked why.

“I like to run,” was Phillip’s reply. “By the way, shouldn’t you go get your—friend? He must be wondering if a ghost has kidnapped you.”

Rory snorted. “You’ve been eavesdropping.”

“Of course. This is my home. Well, upstairs is.”

“You live…” Rory started to say, then held up one hand. “We’ll continue this momentarily, once Trent is here too.”

He hurried outside to find Trent pacing impatiently.

“So, are there ghosts?” Trent said. “There must be something. You’ve been in there long enough.”

“Oh there’s definitely something, or to be precise someone. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Trent’s eyes widened. “So you’ve finally met a ghost face-to-face?”

“Nope. I’ve met the upstairs neighbor. He’s far from a ghost, although”—he put his arm around Rory’s waist, urging him inside—“he’s not quite human either.”

Trent sighed. “Why am I not all that surprised?” He grinned. “I hope he’s not a werewolf. After all, they don’t exist.”

“In point of fact, they do,” Phillip said, stepping out of the office. “However I’m not one.”

“Trent, meet Philippe Robicheaux, aka Phillip Roberts, vampire.”

When Trent held out his hand as if meeting vampires was an everyday occurrence, Phillip shook it.  

“You don’t seem terribly surprised,” Phillip commented.

“I live with Rory. I spent time at a chateau with the woman who turned him and with some of her friends. No, I’m not the least bit surprised.”

“Humm. Most humans would run for the nearest stake rather than commit themselves to being friends with one of us,” Phillip said with a tight smile.

Trent grinned. “I suspect most humans aren’t in love with a vampire. I happen to love Rory, and once I got used to the idea of what he was…”

“Which took him a while,” Rory put in.

Trent shrugged. “An hour maybe, although it didn’t do much good since you decided to vanish into the moonlight.”

“That sounds like an interesting story,” Phillip said. “But for a later time. Now, I want to know what your plans are for this shop. I’m not exactly wild about people coming in and out at all hours of the day and night. It tends to disturb my… life.”

Between them, Rory and Trent explained what they had in mind. Phillip listened, nodding thoughtfully at times. Then he snapped his fingers. “You were the one who owned the tour company four years ago. I should have recognized you before now.”

“That would be me,” Rory agreed. “Did you live upstairs then? I was under the impression it was vacant. The Realtor said the building’s owner wasn’t interested in doing anything with the space and kept it locked so trespassers wouldn’t get hurt and sue him.”

Phillip grinned. “It was the best reason I could think of at the time, and I used it when I changed Realtors soon after your company—folded for lack of a better word.”