In which Grampire and I fight a Wizard

  I frown at the massive hole in the front door. It’s the size of my head as a wolf, and the poor door probably wasn’t in good shape to begin with. How do you even fix a door? I’ve gotta replace it, right? I look around at Grampire’s rotting home. I’m gonna have to replace a lot of things.

  It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I got struck by lightning and my life was flipped on its head. I was part of a family, a large werewolf pack, and now I’m trapped in a stupidly strong vampire’s dilapidated hotel and wearing a disgusting bathrobe. I’m at an all-time low.

  But I can’t get down. I bet Grampire has something I can at least patch the hole with. I ramble around in her living room and find a busted TV that looks like it’s from the 90s, several hammers but no nails, picked apart umbrellas, and a pile of bones. I pick up a leg bone and take a cautious whiff. Definitely human. I shudder and toss it back with the others. This is why vampires are so scary. Werewolves will occasionally attack a human in extreme circumstances, but vampires actively prey on them all the time. And anything that has a warm body in a pinch. Their bloodlust is truly something to be feared. As nice as Grampire has been to me so far, I need to remember why my family calls her “the Bonecrusher.”

  Anyway, there’s no wood in her hoard. No duct tape or tarps either. I move to the kitchen and test the sink. No water comes out, and when I turn the handle to hot, it comes off in my hand. Amazing, wonderful. How can she live like this?

  My ears catch the sound of footsteps. I freeze, heart speeding. Will Grampire be upset with me for looking through her things? And the sink, shit! I hide the broken nozzle behind me as Grampire’s red eyes peek into the kitchen.

  “What are you doing in here?” Her voice is flat and tired. Aww man, I must have woken her up.

  “I’m sorry, I was just look for something to patch the door.”

  “Do it tonight.” Grampire yawns. I’m momentarily stunned by seeing not only her sharp fangs, one gold, but also several sharp teeth toward the back of her mouth. And two molars missing. “You ain’t gonna be able to patch it anyway. It’s toast.”

  “Do you have an extra door somewhere?”

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  Grampire shrugs and yawns again. “Maybe.”

  I frown and glance at the sink. “Grampire, do you have running water?”

  “Why would I? That’s a vampire weakness, you know.”

  “Oh, sorry—”

  “Just kidding, that’s a myth.” Grampire chuckles to herself. “Kids’ll believe anything.”

  I cross my arms, a little annoyed. “Well, you should at least have indoor plumbing. How do you shower?”

  “In the river,” she answers, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

  “In public?!”

  “No one dares come close to my territory.”

  Well, she’s got a point. I was terrified to even look in her direction before last night. But that’s irrelevant—I can’t take a bath in a river! “We should probably get a plumber.”

  “You know, kids these days have it so easy,” Grampire starts. “Back in my day, we washed our clothes with a washboard and lard and we liked it.”

  Oh goddess, here we go. “We have washing machines now.”

  “Oh yeah, let the machine do everything for you,” Grampire spits. “Let it raise your children, cook for ya, think for ya. That’s how we got into this mess in the first place, people just letting things go for convenience. In my day, we took pride in our work. Hard labor used to mean something.”

  I am not trying to hear this right now. “Grampire, please. Bottom line is I can’t wash my clothes—or myself!—in the river.”

  “You don’t have any clothes anyhow.”

  It’s the truth, but the statement stings so much tears jump into my eyes. For a second, arguing with Grampire about the old days, whenever that was for her, made me forget I’m now homeless. Worse, a lone wolf. It’s a fate most werewolves wouldn’t dream of; our power is proportional to the size and strength of our pack, so now that I’m alone, I’m no stronger than a regular wolf. I don’t care about that as much, but being cut off from my family is like twisting a knife in my guts. To no longer feel the connection of other wolves bonded by blood is a never-healing, gaping wound.

  Grampire seems surprised. “What’s wrong now?”

  “Nothing.” I turn away and wipe my eyes. I’m embarrassed to let Grampire see me like this. She wouldn’t understand how it feels. “I…I’ll go to the river. Just to check it out.”

  “Alright.” Grampire sounds uneasy. She hesitates, but ends up saying, “be quiet when you come back in. We gotta go out at sunset.”

  I take a deep breath and turn back around. “We?”

  “Yeah.” Grampire offers me a smile, but it’s kinda horrifying with her sharp, mismatched teeth. “We need to see a wizard about a death mark.”

  I grin back, my earlier gloom blasted away. Yes! The door aside, I have to figure out a way to get rid of this curse. I’m wallowing in despair, but at least Grampire is looking out for me. We’ll figure out how to remove the curse and I’ll be back in my pack in no time.

  “Okay! I’ll be ready!”

  Grampire grunts and leaves the kitchen. I listen for her to climb the steps, moving very sluggishly despite her speed last night. Maybe she’s weaker during the day? I need to be extra quiet then. I wait until she’s safely back in her room and the footsteps stop before skipping to the back door to explore more of Grampire’s expansive and fascinating territory.