Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)

“It's a good think Francie knows me. I'd get accused of having an affair with the Mayor,’ Natalia said, causing Moralis to laugh. “This limo looks slightly Viperian modified. And marked.

Moralis smiled.

“The original one was quite lacking. I have a better driver now, too.’

She knew his driver was Viperian.

“And it conveniently has a baby seat as well."

“Francie and Tazia ride with me.’

"You're not hoofing it any more?’

“I wish with this traffic.’

“What ideas do you have for this evening?’

“Before you arrived, Uri and I were discussing Harold and if he had time. Uri was going to give him a call and see if he can come over with Becky. Uri said that with the tunnel connecting the two houses, you two and Harold could go to the other house and leave from there. The end result would look like a play date and stay-over with Harold as your witness.’

“But Harold will be at Festival.’

“No one will know that.’

“Unless someone comes to the house.’

'If that happens, you get yanked out of Festival and taken back home.’

“Such elaborate setups,’ she said.

'You have a better idea?’

"You mean other than finding out who is doing this? No."

“We're looking into that as well. Tracing back through who is doing the complaining and finger pointing.’

The police escort remained in the street while Moralis's limo pulled into the laneway.

“Thanks for the ride home,” Natalia said, unfastening Victoria from the car seat.

“No problem. I'll work this into some positive angle about harassment of good citizens.’

“Have a good one,’ Natalia said, amused by his comment.

Mag opened the front door for her.

“Bonnie is already home,” she said.

“Good. Did she explain what was happening?’

“Someone is targeting you for harassment.’

“Apparently, I am a homewrecker.’

“What does that mean?’ Mag said.

“Means I am trying to break up someone's marriage.’

“An Undent term. Whose?

'I have no idea.’

Natalia watched Victoria race up the stairs.

Tail," Victoria said.

'If she doesn't nap, can you watch her while I nap?’

“Bonnie will be over shortly. It's her day.’

“Okay. I'll wait for her.’

Natalia went up to see what Victoria was up to. The kitten was again asleep on top of a stack of towels.

“I think this is kitty nap time. If you go lie down, I'll bring her.’

Victoria raced out of the bathroom. Natalia followed, carrying the towel with Tail. She was a little surprised that the kitten remained on the towel and didn't feel disturbed.

“Here is Tail. You're a good mommy to her.’

Natalia thought this was too easy to get Victoria to take a nap. She wondered how long this would work. Victoria curled around the towel.

“Ill be in my room napping, too."

She heard Bonnie coming up the basement stairs.

Victoria nodded but her full focus was on Tail.

Victoria watched out of the corner of her eyes when her mother left. She watched until her mother was in her own room and out of sight. However, Victoria could still hear her.

“How are you, Tail? Did you miss me?’ she said in the softest of voice.

Meerup.

“Quiet now."

Tail yawned.

“Don’t do that."

Victoria found that she had to yawn.

“Just a little nap. I heard them talking that Becky might come over.’

Meerup.

"You'll like Becky."

Victoria paused.

I won't let her eat you.’

She heard her mother settle on her bed. Downstairs, she heard Bonnie and Mag talking, but couldn't make out the words. A moment later, Bonnie came up the stairs to peek in at her before going back downstairs. She thought Bonnie wasn't as quiet as Mag was. Mag could sneak up on her, but Bonnie couldn“t. She heard the basement door shut, but only one set of steps doing down. Somebody had left, but she didn’t know who.

Meerup.

“Nap time,’ Victoria said.

She shut her eyes and smiled. It had been really fun riding up front with Bonnie. Especially since Bonnie told her everything she was doing, even though she didn't understand just what it meant. There were somethings she was going to ask Becky.

“Victoria. Becky is here.’

Victoria bolted upright. Tail was licking her paws. There were noises downstairs.

Victoria."

Her mother was no longer in her room but downstairs. She heard the front door close. For a moment, she wondered how long she slept until a cry rose up to her.

Victoria."

The scream came from the front door.

“Becky,’ she screamed, sliding from the bed and displacing Tail.

She almost tripped over her feet running out of her room.

“Becky. Becky.’

She went butt first down the stairs as fast as she could go, saying Becky's name after every step. Becky was there jumping up and down. They ran into each other in an embrace.

“I think they're happy to see each other,” Harold said.

There was laughter.

Victoria registered that her father and Becky's dad were only wearing shorts. Her mom and Becky's mom were wearing dresses. Everyone was barefoot.

“Where's Tail? Show Becky your present,’ Natalia said.

“No hunt. No eat,’ Harold said in a stern voice.

Becky nodded, following Victoria up the stairs, but halfway up they stopped because Tail met them. Tail," Victoria said in a squeal.

Meerup.

“Can I touch her?’ Becky said.

Victoria nodded and demonstrated by giving Tail a pat.

“Gentle,’ Harold said from the foot of the stairs.

Becky reached out to touch Tail

I'm amazed that thing is still alive,’ Harold said.

“We told her no hunt,’ Uri said. “Are we ready to go?"

Victoria watched the adults head to the kitchen. Bonnie still stood there watching them. Becky gently stroked Tail's back.

“She's soft like rabbit.’

“No eat,’ Victoria said, remembering what Becky said about rabbits and how to skin them.

Becky nodded.

Victoria heard the adults go through the basement door and down the steps.

“Upstairs. Tea party,’ Becky said.

Victoria nodded. She turned and ran up the remainder of the stairs on both hands and feet. Tail flashed past her. Once inside her room, Victoria grabbed toys to put on the floor. Becky created a circle with them.

Becky put up a hand to have her stop moving. Victoria listened to the sound of Bonnie walking back into the kitchen.

“We just have to worry about Bonnie,’ Becky said. “l know everyone is heading to the Festival.’ She was speaking as quiet as she could. Victoria had to listen hard to hear her.

“What's that?"

“Big adult party.’

Becky was looking around the room

“They put sensors on your door,’ Becky said.

“What?

“They know when you leave your room."

I'm not supposed to leave my room at night until it's light out,’ Victoria said, not that she always obeyed them.

However, her parents always seemed to know and made sure she went back to bed.

“There is a remote box that controls it. I bet it's in their bedroom. If you get it and turn it off, you can go anywhere at night,’ Becky said.

They both smiled and giggled. Victoria had some ideas on how to get it.

Tonight, everyone will be gone until light,” Becky said. “We can do anything as long as Bonnie isn't watching.’

“We can't get into the basement.”

“Is the door always locked?"

Victoria nodded.

“Probably a handprint door. No way to go through that. You probably have grubbies in the basement.’

“We have grubbies in the refrigerator. Tail eats them.’

Becky giggled.

“Live grubbies. The dead ones are in the refrigerator. Live grubbies can hurt. My daddy showed me.’ Victoria nodded, absorbing the information.

“That's why they don't want you down there. Besides, the only way to get though a handprint door is to jam it open before it totally closes.’

Sounds at the stairs shut them up. They automatically pretended to play with the toys. Victoria recognized Bonnie's steps.

“Here are some things for your tea party,’ Bonnie said.

She set down a plate with four cookies and two cups of tea.

“Thanks,’ Becky said

Victoria kept in a giggle because tea party was code for sneaking away to talk, but Bonnie had taken them seriously.

Becky smiled at her while they listened to Bonnie go back down the stairs. Victoria could smell that the cookies were warm. She was glad to see it was the black tea in the cups.

"You have it nice,’ Becky said, reaching for a cookie. “My dad is pretty strict. We can only eat in the kitchen.”

Victoria grabbed a cookie. Tail sniffed them.

“She likes cookies, too,’ Victoria said, grabbing up a second cookie.

Becky lurched for the last one.

While Victoria ate her second cookie, she thought about the secret area behind her changing table. “I have a secret area with secret papers,’ she said, after she finished the last crumb of her cookie. Becky's eyes lit up.

“Where?’

Victoria looked out the door, but Bonnie was out of sight and hearing.

“Behind there,’ she said pointing.

They both chugged their tea before rising.

Victoria moved over to the table.

“We need to push it away from the wall.’

With both of them, it moved over with ease, but there was still a scraping sound. They both froze and listened.

“Bonnie didn't hear,’ Becky said after a minute.

Victoria stared at the wall, feeling confused.

“The opening is gone. There used to be one there.’

“Secret panel,’ Becky said. “It's invisible.’

She edged between the wall and the table, using her butt to push it out a little more. They both paused and held their breath while they listened. Tail squeezed up beside Becky.

Meerup.

They exhaled with giggles.

Becky tapped the wall. Victoria thought the sound was a little tinny until Becky tapped far to her right. The sound became more of a thud. Becky moved back to where it was a tinny sound, tapping all around.

“The door is about this big,” Becky said, indicating an area with her outstretched arms.

“How do we open it? We can't see it."

“It's made not to be seen. I can feel it. I probably have to get to the edge or maybe..."

Becky bumped hard against the wall. The panel fell off the wall.

They froze again.

“What are you doing up there?’ Bonnie said from the foot of the stairs.

“Tail is bumping against the wall,’ Becky said. “We're playing.’

“Don't spill any tea, Bonnie said.

“All gone,’ Becky said.

Victoria giggled.

They waited until they heard Bonnie go back to the kitchen.

Becky carefully lifted the panel away.

“Money,’ she said, taking out a bundle.

“What?’ Victoria said. “Those are secret papers.’

“This is money. You can buy things with this. This is a lot of money.’

“I have more in here,’ Victoria said, sweeping a hand across the top of her toy box to clear off the toys.

She opened it.

“We can fit more in,’ Becky said.

They removed all the toys and filled it full to the brim with the money packets. There were still lots of packets left in the wall. Becky put the panel up and bumped it back in place. Together they moved the table back against the wall.

“We have to hide some of the toys. They might get suspicious.’

The room was cluttered with toys.

“Under the bed.’

They'll see that in an instant,’ Becky said.

“Other bedroom bed.’

Victoria gathered an armful of toys. Becky followed suit. Victoria led her into the guest bedroom “Tail has to stay in the bathroom when we're not around. No one comes in here.’

They put all the toys that had been in the toy box under the bed.

“Push them all the way to the middle,’ Becky said.

They ran back to the bedroom, panting with excitement.

“Let's see if we can go hunting,’ Becky said. “It's dark out.”

“Not Tail."

Tail can help.’

They crept down the stairs.

“No giggling,’ Becky said in a whisper.

Victoria covered her mouth to keep herself from giggling.

There were voices in the kitchen. Victoria recognized one was Bonnie. The other she knew as Trevor, Bonnie's friend. She couldn't hear what they were saying since they were speaking so softly. There was laughter when they neared the door.

Victoria motioned for Becky to avoid the kitchen. She pointed toward the garage door. The door opened without a sound. They slipped through. The garage was full of cars.

This way," Victoria said.

They both dashed around the cars toward the door that led outside. It opened up to the back yard. Once outside, they both paused. The door clicked shut softly behind them.

Victoria's eyes adapted to the deeper darkness quickly. In the backyard no lights from the street reached it.

“There,’ Becky said, motioning toward a bush on the other side of the yard.

Victoria could barely make out movement.

“Send Tail over there. We'll come around the other side,’ Becky said.

Tail."

Victoria motioned the way she wanted her to go. Tail looked up at her.

“Go,’ Victoria said.

Tail ran across the yard. Victoria ran after Becky, but Becky was too fast. She stopped in the middle of the yard aware that Tail was to her right and Becky to her left. The rabbit was no longer making any movement as if it had become a statue. However, it was staring right at her. She stared back while Tail and Becky narrowed the distance.

The rabbit bolted just as Becky and Tail lunged at it. Victoria lost sight of the rabbit. There was a high pitched squealing sound that came from between Becky and Tail. Victoria watched Becky lift up her arm. She could see that Becky had the rabbit. It was kicking violently. Becky brought her arm down hard to the ground. The rabbit became silent and stopped moving.

Victoria ran up to join her.

“That was easy,’ Becky with a big grin.

Victoria reached out to touch it.

“No, Tail is softer,’ she said.

Becky giggled.

"You grab behind the neck and jam the head into the ground, so the neck is forced up and broken.’ Using both hands and her teeth, Becky ripped open the hide. Victoria watched with excitement, intent on every move Becky made.

"You can break off the head if you want and toss it, but the brains are good.’

Becky's hands were now covered in blood.

"You gut it out. Don't eat any of that.’

Tail was licking up the blood droplets.

“Here are the organs. Liver, heart, lungs. All good.’

Becky ripped the liver into two pieces and handed her one.

“Warm,’ Victoria said, chewing and swallowing the piece down.

“The heart is kind of small and chewy. You can have it."

Victoria swallowed it down.

Becky ripped off some meat to chew. Then she ripped off some for Victoria and threw a small piece to Tail.

“I like Tail," Becky said with a big grin.

They both watched Tail wolf down the meat.

Becky used a foot to hold the carcass and ripped it apart. She handed a chunk to Victoria.

“The bones are good to chew if you've got the teeth.’

“Hurt my mouth.

“Maybe next year. You want strong teeth.’

They giggled as they chewed. Becky ripped off meat until there wasn't much left. Victoria watched Becky crunch through a few bones.

“Full,’ Victoria said.

"Yeah, tea, cookies, and rabbit. Good, though.’

Victoria nodded.

Becky grabbed the remains and headed toward the patio.

“I saw garbage bins when I was here for the party. We can hide what we don't eat. They probably feed this stuff to the grubbies.’

Becky popped the remnants into the garbage bin.

“My hands are sticky, Victoria said.

'We better get back in and wash them.’

They went over to the garage door they came out of, but it was locked.

“Uh oh,’ Victoria said.

“We should have propped it open. Let's check the other doors.!

They walked around the house, but the next door they came to was the front door. It too was locked. They kept going.

“I bet the patio is next,’ Becky said.

A movement in the bushes stopped them.

“Down,’ Becky said in a low voice.

Victoria heard whispering, but the words were the language she didn’t know.

“Undents,’ Becky said. “They think everyone is at the Festival and that they can rob the house.’ Becky crept forward. Victoria followed on her hands and knees. Soon, they were under a bushy potted plant. A moment later, two men tiptoed noisily past them.

“Heading to break a window,’ Becky said.

“Bonnie will hear that.’

Victoria perked her ears. She heard the sliding glass door of the patio open. Then she heard the front door. A shadow came from the direction of the front door. A split second later, she spied another one coming from the patio door.

The two men appeared to be oblivious to the sounds.

Becky waved a hand for her to stay and be quiet. Tail settled by their feet. Victoria recognized Bonnie and Trevor.

One second the two men were looking at a window, the next they were on the ground.

“I'd feed them to the grubbies, but we're not supposed to do that anymore,’ Bonnie said.

“Call the authorities.’

“Let's drag them to the garage.’

Bonnie grabbed a leg. Trevor grabbed a leg of the other man. They both dragged them around toward the patio door.

Becky waved for her to follow. Victoria walked extra quiet.

The adults dragged the men past the patio door toward the garage.

Becky ran up to the patio door.

It's unlocked.’

Victoria could see that the door was half open. They slipped through it and ran up the stairs. They panted and giggled that they had made it.

“Wash hands quick,’ Becky said.

They ran to the guest bedroom bathroom.

“We can be in here anyway,’ Victoria said. This is Tail's room.’

Becky used the toilet to climb up onto the sink. Victoria followed.

“Rinse well. Use the towel to wipe up any water.’

Becky folded the towel back up, so it didn't look as if one was used.

They heard noises downstairs.

“Shhh,’ Becky said.

They tiptoed back to Victoria's room and sat with the toys around them, pretending they had never left the room.