Carpathian 04 - Dark Magic

is Savannah's fault. She insists on it," Gregori replied in disgust. "Let us go and get you something decent to eat."
    "Am I going to crave blood, raw steak, that kind of thing?" Gary asked, straight-faced.
    "Well, actually…" Savannah started.
    "I do not have rabies." Gregori silenced her with a look. "I am not contagious."
    "All the books say if you drink my blood, I get to drink your blood, and then I'm like you." Gary sounded slightly disappointed.
    "Some people grow bat wings," Savannah admitted, her teeth tugging at her lower lip. "That's where Batman came from. And capes, all those swirling capes. A regular epidemic. It's from our blood, a kind of allergic reaction. Don't worry, you would be showing signs already if you were one of those with a problem."
    "Is she always like this?" Gary asked Gregori.
    "She gets worse," Gregori said truthfully.
    The popular restaurant was packed, the line outside long, but Gregori got them a table instantly with a soft whisper in the ear of the hostess. Gary sank gratefully into a waiting chair and immediately drank all three glasses of water provided for them. He had never been so thirsty in his life.
    "Where do we start with this mess?" he asked.
    "The society you belong to—who got you into it?" Gregori asked.

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    All around them was the swirl of conversations, some soft and intimate, some loud and obnoxious, others laughing, having a good time. Gregori and Savannah heard it all. It would be all too soon before someone noticed the famous magician in their midst, but Gregori had managed a semi-secluded table and maneuvered Savannah into the darkest corner.
    "Everyone at work knew about my obsession with vampires. It was a joke around the laboratory. A few years ago, a man by the name of Dennis Crocket approached me. He was a friend of someone who worked at the lab. He invited me to a meeting. I thought it was pretty hokey, but at least there were others interested in the same subject." Gary was looking around for a waiter, needing more liquid.
    Waiters were bustling in every direction but his. He gave a little sigh. "At the least, I thought I might find some interesting data. I have quite a collection. In any case, I went."
    Gregori glanced at a busboy lounging behind a potted plant, and the kid instantly grabbed a pitcher of water and hurried over to refill all three glasses. "Where was the meeting held?"
    "Los Angeles. That's where I work."
    "What did you think of the others at the meeting? Were they fanatics? Perverts like those in the storehouse?" Gregori inquired softly, his voice so low that Gary had to lean toward him to catch the words.
    He shook his head. "No, not at all. Some people were there for the fun of it. Not really believers, you know, but hoping maybe. It gave them something to do with other people interested in vampire lore. At first the talk was always light—wouldn't it be cool? What kind of powers did they have? Would they be friendly? Then, after I'd been a few times, a couple of men from some other chapter showed up."
    Savannah's chin rested in the palm of her hand. She stared with unblinking eyes at Gary, keeping well back in the shadows to protect herself from prying eyes. She was using a simple blurring technique to aid in her camouflage. It didn't really make her invisible to the human eye but caused a strange warp in the air around her so that she was hazy to those glancing her way. "Where was this chapter located?"
    Gary wrinkled his forehead in thought. "You know, they have several chapters. In Europe, mostly around the Transylvania area. Romania. Places like that. These guys were Southerners—Florida maybe.
    I think Florida. In any case, they were much more scientific about everything. They wanted each of us there to provide them with any factual information on anyone who might be a vampire. People we knew who were always pale, who only went out at night. Those who were extremely intelligent, who seemed to be mesmerizing, who were always secretive about their lives and activities."
    "Did any names come up?" Gregori asked.
    "A few, but none of them really seemed like the real thing. None of us knew anyone remotely resembling what they were describing. We were making jokes and naming friends until we realized they were serious."
    The waiter arrived, and Gary hastily scanned the menu while Savannah and Gregori ordered. Gary found himself ravenously hungry. When he