CHAPTER 21

Joachim vanished again while Hammer was still wrapping his mind around Arikado's dating life. "So this Maria . . . was she a blonde?"

Arikado gave him a confused expression. "Uh . . . yes. Why?"

Hammer shrugged. "Just seeing."

Arikado gave him a weirded-out glance. "O-kay . . . I'll check to see if there are any reports of a Succubus skulking around somewhere. Which one of you wants to check for a crystal?"

Julius shook his head. "I have to tell Nick he's a dhampir." Julius called his son. "Hey Nick. How are you? Good? That's good. Listen I got to talk to you. No, your mom is doing horribly. No, don't be concerned. She's dead. Why didn't I call you? BECAUSE I WAS FIGHTING FOR MY OWN LIFE AGAISNT THE UNDEAD!"

Mina suggested, "Do you want me to break the news to him? You don't seem like you're in the right frame of mind."

Julius nodded and went into the kitchen. Mina took the phone. "Hi Nick. This is Mina Hakuba. I'm one of your dad's friends. I'm sorry about your mother. I'm not certain about the details of her death, but there was a disturbing revelation that was revealed shortly before it happened. It turned out that she was really a vampire. I'm sorry."

Mina consoled him for a few minutes and dealt with his disbelief until Arikado glanced at the clock. "It's time for us to head out. Hammer, can you look for a crystal suitable for hosting a soul? Ask the priests of Hakuba shrine. They might have an extra you can borrow."

Hammer saluted him. "You got it!"

One by one everyone meandered out until there was just Soma and Josh left. Soma checked, "How're you? You got anxious back there."

Josh shrugged. "I'm always nervous about something. Is Arikado mad at Hammer for asking about Maria?"

"I don't know. I doubt it. He doesn't really get mad. I take it that Hammer is still trying to see if he should consider Arikado a threat for Yoko's affections. 'Was she a blonde'? Smooth, Hammer. Smooth."

Half an hour later, Nick arrived in a huff. "Dad, what's going on?"

Julius took a deep breath. "Your mother came with me on this mission to retrieve the Crimson Stone. Later, she transformed into Carmilla. She was always Carmilla . . . she wanted to get close to me to lure me away from Charlotte Aulin so Jiang-Shi could kill her and take the stone."

Nick held his head in his hands. "I can't believe it. Besides my mother being evil, I'm a dhampir? I'm immortal?"

Soma shook his hand. "Just like Arikado! You'd get along just fine. Would you like to help us with our objective of saving Sara Trantoul?"

Nick rubbed his hands together. "I suppose so."

As Soma filled Nick in on everything that happened, Hammer knocked on the door. Mina let him inside while he broke the bad news. "The priests didn't have any empty gems. They did refer us to some guy in France."

Josh sighed. "Will they actually have it?"

Julius' brow crinkled. "Did they give you any contact information?"

Hammer handed Julius a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Julius perked up. "Oh! Jacques Dubois! I'll give him a call."

A few minutes later, Julius greeted, "Hey Jacques! How's it going? Listen, we've got an important matter. We need an empty crystal vessel to store a Succubus soul with. What's the price? A hundred eighty? Done. I'll go on a plane to meet you as soon as possible. Don't let anyone else buy it, okay?"

Julius hung up. "Well, who wants to come with me to Lisieux?"