Chapter 11

Elsa made her way home after a long afternoon at the local Botanica. Her studies in the old family collections of spells and remedies hadn’t been of great use.  Apparently, her family was not, nor had they ever been, adept at dealing with vampires.  She needed to find help from another source.

Her family still spoke their native language when gathered together, but she’d made it a point to be fluent in English, since it was the language that had settled the lands she now lived in. It never ceased to amaze her how others didn’t make the effort to fit in as best they could in the country that they chose to make their home. The old man who operated the Botanica barely spoke a word of English.  Since she spoke minimal Spanish, it was a very long afternoon of energy draining communication until she felt she’d satisfactorily managed to acquire the few things she needed.

By the time she’d reached the steps of her house, her limbs f