Page 80 of The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends

Brennan

Hey, Iknow Mari said she’dkill me if I talkedto you again but

Hey, how are you doing?

I’m sorry I’m likethis and everythingis hard but I misshanging out with you

Hope you’re doing well.

Am I even allowedin the library anymore or will I be nerfed on sight?

A Pamphlet

Protecting Your Territory: Wards and Protection Charms for the Low-Level Vampire

BY NELLIE ADAMS

While your clan and clan leaders do much of the work of protecting you and your loved ones from potential rogue vampires, we understand the desire to take extra precautions, especially in times of conflict. Not everyone can do complex protection work (see “Protecting Your Territory: Practices for the High-Level Vampire” for information about binding, banishment, and other more extreme measures of protection), but anyone, regardless of vampiric abilities, can use these small measures to enhance their safety and feel more secure.

Environmental Wards

Environmental wards can protect certain areas, such as a room or household. Commonly, these are sigils carved in entryways, but can take many forms. Below, you can see a few common sigils, their uses and functions, and how to install them into a space.

Protective Charms

Protective charms are items that can be kept, held, or worn by a human to prevent vampires from being able to bite them. These items are rare, difficult to find, and more difficult to make. Please inquire with your clan leaders for more information.

It’s important to remember that these protective measures are not invincible and can sometimes be ignored by extremely powerful vampires. You should count on your clan leaders for defense, and if you need help addressing a conflict, please reach out to them for additional aid.

He rapped his knuckles on the now-familiar door and waited in the cold, the skies cloudy. He had a backpack full of materials and a stack of relevant pamphlets, and he was the kind of determined that one only got when faced with murderous vampires.

The door opened a few inches and Mari peeked through, looking equal parts frazzled and pissed. Her body blocked any view into the apartment. She was wearing an AC/DC muscle tank about four sizes too big for her, and her short hair was in a wild, stubby ponytail at the back of her neck.

“Oh, hell no” were the first words out of her mouth. “Was some part of myflee the countrymessage unclear? And now there are theseanimalattacks?”

The worst thing about Mari being so protective was that she wasrightto be protective. She was doing what any person in her right mind would do, which was to keep the vampire bullshit far away, thank you very much. Now, more than ever, she was trying to take care of her friends.

“I know,” Brennan said. “I know it’s a lot. I can’t blame you for being protective or wanting to keep all this vampire stufffaraway from you, but now—there’s a real threat out there. And I’m trying to fix it. And Cole, he’s mixed up in all of this and that’s on me. He is good and, and he’s worth a thousand of me. Iknowthat.”

But that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t about his self-hate, it was about a person he fucking liked and who made him feel like a human. And Brennan didn’t want to let Cole down. Ever.

He finished, “I don’t want him to get hurt. I… I wanted to put up some protective wards around your apartment. No clue if they work, but I wanted to try.”

Mari did a little head tilt and the seconds passed in the quiet throb of her pulse, the sound of the TV inside, the wails of some neighbor singing in the shower. It felt like a lifetime before Mari’s expression softened.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then a shout emerged from inside the apartment.

“Everything alright, babe?” The New York accent made it clear who it was. Brennan looked at Mari, then over her shoulder into the apartment, then back.

“All good,” Mari called back, cheeks bright red, glaring at Brennan with a fire that saidI dare you to say shit to me right now.

Brennan tossed up his hands in innocence. “Good for you,” he said. Then corrected, “Hell, good for him.” He couldn’t even begin to understand the dynamic between Tony and Mari, but it seemed to work for them.

“Yeah, well” was all she said, but she smiled. Actually smiled. It was small, but it was possibly the first real one she’d given Brennan. She eyed his backpack, then his face. She stepped back from the door with something akin to defeat, and finally let the door swing open farther than a few inches.

“I’ll only take a few minutes. Or, I can come back later? I mean—”

Mari rolled her eyes. “Fuck it. Do your thing.” Then, “What, do you need to be invited inside? Is that real?”