Chapter 4
I just couldn't believe the day I was having.
"Don't tell me, one of you has been invited to a suspicious looking and sounding party, and you're here to ask me what I think of it. Oh and how was Canada? I hear it's lovely this time of year." Michael smirked at my sarcasm, but his face still showed he was worried about the invitation. He wouldn't have knocked on my door for help if he knew what to do.
"How do you know that's why we're here?" Sanya asked.
"Because I got one too. Most people I know have, as well as a lot of people I don't know for that matter." My head was really starting to hurt now, too much information for my only brain cell to process. I have a brain, but today I didn't feel intelligent at all, if anything I felt that my IQ had dropped through the floor. "Is Sanya going with you to this party then as your invited guest?"
"Yeah since you're already invited," Michael looked tired, "any advice?"
"Yeah, take your swords with you as well as any other weapon you can. It's not fancy dress, that point was emphasized to me by six vampires delivering the invitation, but can you think of anyways you can have the swords on you without them being noticed? I'm taking everything I've got with me, not leaving anything to chance this time around." Michael and Sanya nodded in silent agreement. "Oh, two hours before the party come here, we're going to lay down some ground rules and make sure everyone is full before going to that party so no-one eats from the buffet." Sanya looked slightly puzzled by the buffet line, but Michael knew what I was on about and spared me the humiliation of telling Sanya that I nearly poisoned myself a few years back.
"Right, thanks Harry. We'll see you then. Got to go let Charity know we're back. Is it wise to tell her about this party thing?" I shook my head. "Frightened she'll come around and murder you in your sleep?"
"Call me selfish but yes. I wouldn't want to subtract some of that attention of Charity's from Thomas."
"Your vampire friend? Yeah, she has it in for him. Tell him from me to watch out, I don't want his murder pinned on me because my wife cornered him." I just laughed. "Later Harry." Sanya nodded his head at me and joined Michael walking back to his car. I turned and went back inside, closing the door behind me. It was beginning to get dark outside so I decided on going to sleep in my own bed and not on the couch. I might just be spiteful and put ear plugs in.
…
The best part of living in a basement apartment is the lack of windows compared to more modern day apartments. Because I live in the basement of a century-old boarding house, the lack of windows means that morning light that would usually wake people up and make them all grouchy and sluggish doesn't happen to me on the same scale. My basement apartment has windows, but the windows that I do have are decorated with thick heavy curtains blocking out the outside light.
I slept until about 11am (I know this because of an old 1950 art deco clock – it's new because I fancied like a change). Knowing that the party was the next day, I decided to get up and see if Mister was back with Bob yet. He'd been out all night and he should have found out something about the party, unless he went against what I said and went to a strip club. If he did though he knew what would happen so I don't think he did somehow.
Walking to the front door, I opened it and Thomas slumped in with Mister on his knee. Bob removed himself from Mister and went back to his skull in the lab while Mister got up and walked into the kitchen in search of food. Thomas remained asleep on the floor, unaware that he was now blocking my threshold. I rolled my eyes and dragged him inside.
I crashed onto my couch with a beer when Mouse started to give Thomas a wash. I shook my head while this happened, and just when I thought it couldn't get better, Thomas flung his arms around Mouse and tried to kiss him. I spat out my beer to stop myself choking on it and tipped the remaining bottle on Thomas' face to wake him up before he did something he would regret. I knew that I wouldn't let him live it down, so I took pity while I could still give it.
As he woke up he sounded like he was speaking in tongues. When he finally started to come to his senses he screamed "Oh my God." I roared with laughter dropping the beer bottle to the ground while Mouse gave a satisfied howl. Thomas, much to my amusement, had no idea what to do. After a few manic seconds of mouthing silent panicked insults he stood up, brushed himself down with he head held up high, and stormed off into the bathroom. A few seconds later I could hear water moving through the piping. Well, it was one way of maintaining what was left of his dignity.
Shaking my head I started to consider what I was going to do today. I didn't have all that many ideas about what to do. What could I investigate? Morgan was looking into who else was going so I didn't have to do that. I suppose that I should talk to Bob and see what he had learned; after all it would be a start.
I got up and went back to the kitchen to find another beer since I tipped my last one on Thomas, and then moved into my lab to talk to Bob. What I found out wasn't much help at all.
"I didn't find out anything that can be considered helpful." Bob told me. "There's no one out there with information. I didn't even learn of anyone else going to this party either. It's all very hushed up, and those who are invited are as much in the dark as you are and they aren't publicly announcing that they have been invited."
"You being serious? I rather you told me you were in the strip clubs again." I was trying to convince myself that Bob was having a joke with me, but I wasn't doing a good job at the whole convincing myself part.
"Nope Harry, I did my job and there's no information out there to be had that you don't already know about." Bob didn't sound apologetic about it, but he wasn't acting like a pompous ass either, so he must have felt some pity for me in some way or another. I was getting ready to bang my head off a concrete wall.
I shook my head in denial. This whole event was being hushed up and had no leakages of information that I counted on happening. The image of the word 'trap' came to mind in red flashing lights and large neon green arrows pointing to it in all direction.
This was a disaster in the making.
I said thanks to Bob and left my lab. I didn't want to wait around Bob at the moment because he would start making cracks at how the whole situation was disintegrated around me.
My brother was still in the shower when I came back out of the lab and I decided on dozing on the couch. I didn't feel up to much today and there was only so much I could come up with that I could do concerning the party.
Thinking about escape routes (see, I'm very forward thinking. I'm looking at potential escape routes and ignoring the fact that we have to get clear of the main estate first) I had to make some phone calls about potential rides and drivers. Let me think, there's about ten of us presently, so three cars should suffice as long as they seat four passengers each and a driver.
Thinking of how many wizards were going to be in these cars I decided a fourth might not be such a bad idea, but I would have to think about it; depends if I have the resources to make the resources stretch that far. Less wizards per car, the less damage the car will have to suffer and the more chance the car would keep working during our getaway.
Its great being a wizard!
I was on the phone when my brother walked back in. I raised my hand to him to keep him quiet while I was talking and arranging transport (my beetle unfortunately wasn't going to cut it this time). The phone was giving me a hard time, crackling and buzzing and making it hard for me to make out what was being said at the other end. I'm not inexperienced with this kind of technology threatening to malfunction on me, if anything I was one of the more experienced.
I yelled thanks into the phone and put it back down. "Think they heard you little brother?"
"Don't get sarcastic, it suits you too much."
"So what's the plan about tomorrow then? You must have one by now."
"I'm making it up as I go along." I grinned but it didn't have the effect I wanted.
"Harry?"
"Fine!" I stood thinking for a few seconds when another idea hit me. "Thomas, tell me, how many weapons can you get and hide on you?"