"Tell me what 'the cause' is, and I'll consider it." I reached into my back pocket for the stake I'd brought for protection.

"I'm not going to tell you anything." Even her voice sounded tired. "I want you out."

"Are you going to make me leave? You don't seem to be in any position to fight me off." I climbed on the bed and pressed the point of the stake into her chest, making sure she could feel it through her clothes. "What's 'the cause' ?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Fuck you!"

"You leave me very little choice." I raised the stake as though I was going to plunge it through her heart, hoping she would change her mind and tell me.

I should have known better. She just glared at me while I hesitated with the stake in midair. Then I felt something at my back, and turned to see Clarence there, brandishing a crossbow.

I dropped the stake. "Clarence, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, miss. But I can't let you kill her." He kept the bow leveled at my chest to show he was serious. "I think it's about time you leave now."

"Wait, wait." I shook my head. "She knows you drugged her. She knows you worked with me. She'll kill you once it wears off."

Dahlia laughed behind me. "Damn straight I will."

"She can't kill me," Clarence said, and he sounded as if he truly believed it.

"Think about what you're doing. She's a vampire" I raised my hands, my gaze flitting between the point of the bolt aimed at me and his face. "Besides, you can't kill me, either. I don't have a heart in my chest."

He shook his head. "Oh, I might not kill you outright, but I can put you out long enough to stoke up that fireplace."

"Fair enough." I looked at Dahlia, then back to Clarence.

"Fine. I'll go."

"You know your way out," he said. "I won't be seeing you around here again."

"No, you won't." I paused at the door. "Why are you protecting her?"

"Because I come with the house. And she's better than some of them that's been here." He nodded in the direction of the door. "Like the old master and his father."

The Soul Eater? I wanted to ask more, but he dropped the bow and turned to tend his mistress. I didn't want to make him any more of an enemy that I already had, so I left.

Exactly how old was Clarence, and how long had he worked in the house? I knew he had a peculiar affection for it, so much so that he would not escape his vampire employers even when he had a chance. It was a riddle I would probably never know the answer to.