Page 72 of Good Vampires Go to Heaven

She agreed and as she walked away, she mused to herself, Maybe it isn’t so bad being married.

A voice in her head said, See! I told you so!

Chapter 15

Cuddling is just another form of foreplay . . .

All was quiet as Zeb worked with a couple of vangels to clean up the kitchen and living area. He had no idea what would happen to this space after tomorrow, or whenever they departed. If it would be used by the demon vampires or the vangels, or not at all. Just in case the vangels decided to keep it, he didn’t want to leave it a dump.

He supposed he’d become a neat freak. Like a soldier who still kept his room excessively shipshape, who folded his socks and hung his shirts a certain way years after leaving the service. In his case, it came from living alone for so long, often in tight spaces. By necessity, he told himself. If he’d become, or was about to become, a vangel, would he be able to abide living with others who might not be so fastidious?

Silly, it was, to dwell on such a minor point.

Jogeir came in, having just returned from his scouting foray, and drank a cup of coffee, standing. This was Jogeir’s first time heading a large mission, and he took it seriously. As he should.

“I sent patrols out five miles in six different directions and nothing, so far,” Jogeir reported. “No alert in that village, either.”

“I scouted myself, too, after you left, and nothing,” Zeb told him. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t be back. I’ve talked with Vikar, and there are Lucipires in large numbers causing trouble all over the world, at the same time. Jasper has to be tearing his hair out, trying to set priorities.”

“And where would this place . . . um, Gloom . . . be in terms of priorities?” Jogeir had trouble referring to this cave-like home, no matter how comfortable, by the distasteful name of Gloom.

“High. It’s a strategic location for them. They might not be here tomorrow morning, or even the next day, but they’ll be back.” Zeb had told Jogeir all this before, of course. It needed repeating.

“Hmmm.”

“On the odd chance they don’t show up, how long do you think we should stay?” Zeb asked.

“Depends on how much Vikar needs us on other operations. Certainly, he’ll want every vangel with him when he hits Horror.”

Zeb wanted desperately to be there when that mecca of evil was taken down. Please, God, that would be done! Even now, Zeb was anxious to get moving. He knew it was important to safeguard Gloom, but he would still like to be somewhere in the midst of the action, more action than they’d seen here. Perhaps it was vain of him, but he felt he had much to offer the vangels, and he was being underutilized. Ah, well, it was not his decision to make.

And by the by, they would have to change its name of Gloom if the vangels took it over. Maybe Glory.

“You find humor in this?” Jogeir asked.

Zeb must have been smiling at the idea of giving this cave a pretty name. “Hey, we get our yucks wherever we can.”

“Well, I’m off then,” Jogeir said. “I just talked to Vikar, too, by the way, and things are wild in the Arab lands. The news media is going crazy, not sure what’s going on. They blame it all on terrorists, of course. Only we know how much Lucies are involved, too.”

Zeb nodded. “Be safe,” he told Jogeir.

“And you, as well.” And just like that, Jogeir was gone.

Zeb yawned. He hadn’t realized how much of a toll the day had taken on him. Health-wise, he felt almost back to normal, and, like the vangels, his skin had turned a healthy tan after killing Lucipires. Another clue that he might not be one of them anymore.

He went down the hall to the “dorm” area where two dozen vangels were sleeping or resting with books or television or music headphones. All was well. After that, he checked the second bedroom where the two female vangels, Inga and Dagmar, were soundly asleep. Inga opened her eyes and raised herself up on an elbow, whispering, “Is anything amiss?”

“No,” he whispered back, putting a fingertip to his mouth so they wouldn’t awaken Dagmar.

Next, he checked his own bedroom where Regina slept, although she had sworn she would be unable to do so. Through the dim light of a low-watt lamp, he saw that she’d put her hair in a ponytail, and it hung in a swath over one shoulder. Probably she’d been too tired to braid it.

It was a big bed, and Zeb didn’t hesitate. He removed his boots and slid under the sheets, fully dressed. Regina was dressed, as well. He would just close his eyes for a second, he promised himself.

But her cinnamon scent enveloped him, even from across the space that separated them. He inhaled deeply, and felt so sleepy. It was as if a weight had been lifted off his soul by revealing his history to Regina. His sleep promised to be deep and peaceful, which would be rare for him. In fact, he rarely slept more than a few hours each day. Maybe Regina really did have witchy powers and had put a spell on him.

Usually he awakened at the slightest sound, but it was Regina who shook him now.

He jackknifed to a sitting position. “What? Did something go wrong? Is it time for my shift?”