Chaos didn’t end with the death of Drake in Part One of
A Bridge to Lily White. Drake has returned.
Even when the dead return, they can change the environment for the betterment of mankind. Never give up.

November was here, and the early autumn breeze was crisp and fresh that Sunday morning when everyone in Mazy’s apartment complex behind the main house awoke to the screaming of Joni and Oliver as they were playing in the courtyard with their toys.

            Mazy and Darcy ran out to see what was going on and everyone else, thinking they were in danger. It was the first time they ever heard them screaming.

            Mazy yelled, “What’s wrong, darlings?”

            “Two birds tried to peck us on the head.  Look up there. It’s staying on the bricks,” said Oliver while Joni was still rubbing her hands briskly through her long white hair.

            “Oh, good Heavens Oliver, it’s only a few little birds, dear,” said Darcy. “Maybe they liked your red hair and Joni’s white hair.” She tipped the end of their nose as she spoke. “Maybe they wanted to get your attention. Did they peck your skin?”

            “No, but I felt my hair move on top of my head,” Oliver said. “I saw the bird move Joni’s hair too.”

            Mazy chimed in. “Well, just so the both of you are okay. We’ll add a bird feeder in the courtyard so they can have food to peck at and a water fountain too. Then, I’ll call someone to come and build u a few birdhouses around the water fountain. That would make the birds happy.”
            “Miss Mazy, Dante, and I can buy you some pretty bird feeders and a water fountain. We looked at some in a nursery when we were shopping for plants for our balcony. It’s a very nice place. There are also pretty birdhouses.”

            “Ah, thank you, Jason. You both have good taste. Buy anything you like, and I’ll pay you back when you have everything fixed in the courtyard. Oh, I can’t wait to see what you arrange for the fountain.” Mazy giggled. “Make sure to get a nice big cement fountain.”

            The older couple who lived in the apartments said, “Miss Mazy, look good at those birds. They’re not birds; they’re two bats.”

            “What?” Mazy froze.

            Darcy heard that and freaked. “Bats!”

            “Yes, ma’am. There are some pretty birds in your courtyard, but those two are bats.”

            “Oh, my Heavens above. We have bats. I’ll call an exterminator or whoever can get rid of bats.”

            Darcy became frantic when she thought of that night in the cemetery in Tennessee when Benton and Bridget, who were vampires, turned into bats.

            “Mazy! The “birds are bats!”

            “Yes, I heard what she said. I’m calling someone. But we’re in October. Bats come around for Halloween.”

            “Mazy… they’re bats. Stop with the Halloween thing. Remember the bats in the cemetery?  On that night?”

            “I can’t forget it. I’ve never told Joni about that.”

            The story was never talked about when they returned to New Orleans with Joni. Mazy thought it was better to wait until she was older. She was only eight, and she didn’t need that confusion in her mind.

            “Darcy, just because they’re bats doesn’t mean that they’re Benton and Bridget.” Mazy was still looking frantically on the internet for someone to get rid of bats.

            “I know that, Mazy. But suppose it’s someone else that turns into a vampire. We’ve been here for three years, and we’ve never had any bats in the courtyard. I need a glass of wine and maybe go upstairs. Want some?”

            Mazy stopped searching on the web and turned to Darcy with her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide open.

“Oh, my Heavens above. I can’t go through that vampire thing again.  I just can’t. Pour me some wine too. Tell the children to come and play inside until we get rid of the bats. Then, if I need a blunt, we’ll go upstairs and smoke.”

            “I haven’t had many joints since Oliver’s come home, but I might go upstairs with you and have a few puffs. I’m not going to be stressed like three years ago.”

            Darcy called the children inside Mazy’s main house. They had to be careful how they spoke about vampires and that dreadful night. They went to the back French door windows to have a look where the bats were.

            “Darcy, they’re still there,” Mazy was shaking. “I can’t see how that can be a bat. I don’t see any wings.”

            “Mazy, search the web for bats. They hang upside down. That’s how they live. They don’t perch in a tree. They like dark places like caves. Under that brick wall is a nice, dark place for them to hang out. Get it?”

            “Yes. How do you know so much about bats?”

            “Movies, Mazy. I used to watch vampire movies. They scared the hell out of me.” Darcy shrugged her shoulders. “It’s been a long time since I’ve watched those movies because they began to creep me out. So, I stopped watching them. But I remember how they gave me the chills.” Darcy was shivering. She needed to go upstairs for a smoke and was sure Mazy felt the same urge to calm down. It was always a glass of wine with a joint or a blunt.

            “I never watched any vampire movie that I can remember, and Drake was a vampire.”

            Mazy shook her head and seemed as though she wanted to cry, but she didn’t. Mazy or Darcy hadn’t cried in the three years they were living in New Orleans. That was a miracle in itself from the life they lived in Tennessee.

            “It’s getting dark. What do we do about the bats?”

            “Mazy, garlic! You love garlic hanging all over in your kitchen. Bats hate the smell of garlic. It repels them. I’ll need some to go across the courtyard with Oliver because they swoop down on their prey at night. Let me get on your search engine.”

            “Okay, here… take my chair.” Mazy didn’t seem to be as worried about the bats as Darcy was. “What you’re searching for? More stuff about bats?”

From Part Two of THE VAMPIRE DRAKE RETURNS