As I walk towards the front of the old, converted church. I stop and admire the outside of it. The old solid stonework makes up the building's exterior walls and the beautiful woodwork that surrounds the large stain glass windows. I bet the builders of this wonderful building would never have realized that this church which was built back in 1873 by the congregation of the Second Presbyterian Church would one day be turned into a high-class restaurant that serves one of the best variety of foods around. The staff who work here are the best around and they make you feel like your family with a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. I walk in through the old solid wooden church-style doors into a small foyer where I’m greeted by a woman smaller than me with short brown hair wearing a lovely brown blouse and light tan pants that hug her legs. The beautiful smile on her face warms me as she greets me.

“Welcome to The Abbey. My name is Clair and I will be your hostess today.”

“Hi, Clair. I’m was wondering if the other half of my party has arrived yet.” I look past Clair towards the other patrons in the restaurant. The downstairs part of the restaurant looks to already be full which means Emygdia must have a balcony table upstairs.

“What name is the reservation under?” Clair looks at the reservation book.

“Ms. Emygdia.” I watch Clair as she scans her list on the clipboard next to her resting on an old fashion preacher's pedestal.

She looks back up at me “She’s already here. If you’ll follow me please. “

We head towards the flight of stairs against the right-hand side of the restaurant and head up towards the huge balcony area. I spot Emygdia right away with her look dark hair that is tied back in a pony tail and her signature suit she had custom made. Her golden tanned skin and shapely body. She’s the kind of woman that when you meet her, looks so innocent and helpless, but has an air of authority with her that you miss at first.

“Vicky!” as Emygdia stands up to greet me.

We hug each other and sit back down at the table.

“I took the liberty of ordering an appetizer for us.”

“That’s fine.”

The waiter comes over. I order a sweet Ice tea and he disappears to go and get the drink.

“So what type of case are you working on?” as she turns those inquisitive eyes of hers towards me.

“I’m working on a missing child case. But I think there might be more to this case than what it appears to be?” as I accept my ice tea from the waiter.

“What makes you say that?” Emygdia takes a sip of her drink. Knowing her it’s something alcoholic.

“Cause there have been several killings over near where the child disappear at, as well I was picking up the scent of the dead around the neighborhood the child lived in. It’s like some vampire or something is stalking that area.” as I take a sip of my tea again.

“Where did the child disappear from and where does he live?”

“Over there in that housing project at the corner of Virginia Beach Blvd. and Monticello avenue.”

“Hhhmmm, as far as I know. The only vampire I know that lives in that area is Smoke. He normally preys on the drug addicts in that area.”

“Why only the drug addicts?”

“Cause he use to be one and he misses the high he use to get. So now he drinks the blood of the drug addicts over there to get his high from the drugs in their bodies since vampires are immune otherwise.” Emygdia looks at me. “Did you see the bodies yet?’

“Nope, I was going to see if my pal Gerd is working tonight. He’s a security officer down at the city morgue and can get me in so I can look at the bodies. Also, I need to make an appointment to see Mistress Selena about these.” I dig out the broken pieces of the cross I found and show them to Emygdia.

I watch as she turns the broken pieces around in her hand. She examines them herself as she takes one and gives it a good sniff.

“Yep, they have been around the dead for a while.” She hands them back to me. “Also from the look of it. I would say that it is one of Mistress
Selena’s designs. It is something she would have brought over from when she came over here, but I don’t recall her ever locking someone away in a coffin or burial vault. Normally she would just kill them.”

“Well I don’t know what or who she had locked in that burial vault, but I need to know if it has anything to do with that missing boy and that scent I picked up. Because if one of her vampires are stalking around over there. Then she needs to know about it so she can put a stop to it before my husband catches a whiff of it. He will go after the rogue vampire and kill it.” I smile at the thought.

“I remember when he thought I was killing people back in the fifties. He came after me with such a vengeance that he almost got me. I was lucky to explain to him that I wasn’t the one killing people, but a demon someone had summoned and let lose on everyone.”

“I remember Tom telling me about that. He said that it was a drugged-out Satanic worshiper that was trying to summon a demon to kill his ex-wife cause she had run off with another man.”

“It took both of us to bring that demon down and send him back to his realm.”

“Wow! How did you two manage to send a demon back? Tom doesn’t deal in magic.”

A mischievous smile appears on Emygdia’s face. Tom may not deal in magic, but I do.”

My jaw nearly hits the floor. “You never told me you knew magic.” as I look at her Spanish features.

“I don’t deal in standard magic Vicky. I deal in demon and death magic.”

I sit there stun looking at this woman I trust. I never thought of her as someone that would hurt you unless it was in self-defense. Now I find out she deals in demon and death magic.

“I take it from your reaction, that your afraid of me now?” as she stares at my face.

“No, it’s just that it, I never knew you were into the dark side of magic.” as I meet her glaze.

“I’m not. I don’t practice the discipline or magic’s.”

“But you just said that.”

“That I deal in demon and death magic., Yes! I do, but I deal in them in a way that sets me apart from those that use them in the wrong way. I undo the mess that they create and try to fix whatever damage they have caused.”

“Boy, do I feel sheepish.” I reach and take a sip of my Ice tea. I can feel my cheeks burning from embarrassment.

Emygdia just laughs at my comfortableness. “You should see your reaction, Vicky.”

“Ha-ha, laugh it up. But seriously. What made you decide to deal in demon and death magic?”

“Well as you know it’s part of me. Gargoyles are guardians against the unwanted or evil spirits. As you know we use to guard and protect the old churches of Europe until people started thinking of us as demons. “

“Well that sucks.” as I watch her take a sip of her wine.

As she puts the drink “So for us to defend against the demons and other evil creatures. My ancestors started learning about how their magic works and how to defend against it. Including how to use it against them.”

“But isn’t that dangerous? Doesn’t that type of magic require you to make a sacrifice?”

“Only for those who aren’t demons or necromancers. For those of us that are, it’s part of us. Just as your wolf is part of you.”

“So you're saying you have demon blood running through your veins?” as the wolf in me starts to get nervous.

“No, I don’t have demon blood running through my veins and you can quiet your wolf as well. You know I won’t do anything to hurt you or your family. Not that Tom would let me live if I wanted to hurt you. What I am saying, is that my ancestors paid the price for our clan to be able to weld this type of magic. Still, this isn’t about me, but you and that boy you were hired to find.”

“Fine change the subject on me.” as I quietly stroke back my wolf and put her to rest. “So do you have any idea where he is and why anyone would kidnap him?”

“No, and No.“ A playful smile comes across her face.

“Oh, you’re a lot of help. Can’t you go down to the cemetery near where he disappears and talk to some of the spirits hanging around there? I know a few are still there cause I felt them.”

“And what are you going to do while I go poking around in the cemetery?” Emygdia gives me a questionable look.

“I’m going to call Mistress Selena and set up a meeting with her and find out who it was she had locked up in that mausoleum. As well I’m going to give Gerd a call after we finish eating to find out if he is working tonight and visit him at work to see those bodies.”

“Are you going to tell your husband you won’t be home till late tonight?”

“I suppose, I will have to, but I won’t call him till I’ve had a chance to talk to Gerd first and find out if he is working or not.”

“Well here’s the key to my Condo in downtown Norfolk over off Duke street. If you want to spend the night there instead of driving back to your house.” She hands me a set of keys.

“Thanks.” I accept them and slip them into my pocket. “I’ll get them back to you as soon as possible.”

“Go ahead and keep them for you and Tom., I hardly ever use the place and I have another place over near the Harrison Opera House.”

“I can’t do that Emygdia.” as I try to hand the keys back to her. She raises her hand and pushes on mine.

“No, you keep them and use the place. I mean this Vicky. Your father was a good friend of mine and your husband is as well.”

I take the keys and place them back into my pocket. “I still don’t know why you are doing this Emygdia.” I take a sip of my drink.

“Let’s just say I’m being a good friend and leave it at that okay?” Emygdia finishes her drink and motion her hand for the waiter to bring a refill for her.

He comes over with another tall glass and takes her old one away. He returns with another glass of what I am drinking We as well sit there in silence eating our lunch and making small talk every once in a while. I sit back in my chair after eating a wonderful lobster.

“You know maybe me and Tom should come here next week so he can enjoy this wonderful lobster.” as I look over towards Emygdia.

“I think Tom would also enjoy the buffalo meat as well.”

“I think your right.” I watch as the waiter brings our check over and Emygdia pays for the meal leaving a hearty tip for the waiter.

“Well let me head back to work and I’ll call you later on what I find out Vicky.” as we both stand up and head down the stairs towards the front door and out towards the parking lot. We hug each other and head towards our cars. I get in my car and pull my cell phone out to call Gerd.

As I am waiting for the cell to connect I watch as the mid-day traffic thins out some. Finally, I hear Gerd's voice answer his phone.

“Hello?” A strong older male voice with a German accent comes over my cell phone.

“Hi! Gerd. It’s me Victoria. I’m investigating a case about those people that were found dead over there off of church street and I wanted to know if you wouldn’t mind me coming by to get a look at the bodies. I know it’s unofficial and it could be your job, but I need to see those bodies.”

“How come?” I hear him move around in the background.

“I have a feeling that something supernatural was involved and I need to look over the bodies just to make sure.”

“I don’t mind, but I’m not working today, but tomorrow. I don’t go back to work till Tuesday night around midnight. So if you want to come then I’ll let you in so you can see the bodies.”

“Thanks, Gerd. You’re a sweetheart. So now that we have that out of the way. How’s has things been going for you lately?”

“Okay, they’ve changed the procures down at the city morgue now. Ever since the coming out of the Vampires. A special room was built for the recently turned. They have to stay in this room till either their given blood by a nurse, a blood doll, or until the one that turned them shows up for them.”

“I thought the city of Norfolk was shipping those that were turned over to the Naval hospital in Portsmouth for protection.”

“They were at first, but the city council was convinced by the Elder vampires in this area to have them ship to the city morgue where one of them could come and get them. “

“That makes sense and since a few of the city council members are funded by some of the elder vampires here, they don’t want their money train cut off.”

“Yep, anyway I’m heading back to sleep Victoria. Today is my day off and I am going to soak it up and enjoy it.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow night at your job. Do you want me to bring anything special with me?”

“Yeah, how about a bucket of Kentucky Fry chicken and two large side dishes to go with it and a 2-liter of Mountain dew as well.”

“Sounds, good to me. What style of chicken do you like? Extra crispy or original recipe?” I pull out my little notebook and make a note of it so I don’t forget.

“Extra crispy. You pick the sides. They're all good.”

“Okay, I’ll have your dinner with me when I show up Gerd. You get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, Victoria.”

I listen as he hangs up. I close my cell phone and place it in the cup holder in the center console as I strap in and back the car out of the parking lot and head back towards my office. As I am driving back to my office. I think about the one phone call I am going to have to make and I know I’m not going to enjoy it.