48

“Miss Fallon?” Caleb said as soon as I shut the huge doors behind me. The echo of the wood slamming shut filled the cavernous space.

“Did you know there’s a ghost outside?”

“You mean Friedrich?”

“Younamedhim? That’s like adopting a trash panda. You’re only encouraging him to stick around.”

“His name is Friedrich, and he’s been in that same spot for the last hundred years, waiting for his wife to join him. Sadly, when they were killed on their wedding night, she was turned into a vampire and has never come to find him.”

Pity replaced my fear, and I found myself depressed on his behalf. “Well, damn, now I feel bad for ditching him.”

Something soft shimmered in his eyes. “Don’t worry, he’s doing what he feels he must. We are all ruled by instinct and desire, even if we don’t want to be.”

“Have a lot of experience with that, do you, Padre?”

“A lifetime’s worth. Now, tell me what brings you here in the middle of the night, Miss Fallon.”