Come Hell or High Water

by Michele Bardsley

“Phoebe!” Connor cried as he appeared next to me.

  I nearly jumped out of my own skin. “Jesus H. Christ!” I pushed Rich Jr. into his arms. Most beings who could transport could take only one other person with them.”Take him to the compound; Patrick’s there… probably in the council chambers. Hurry!”

  “Figured you could use your weapons.” He kissed me, swift and hard. “I’ll be right back.”

  He disappeared.

  Fear hammered at me. At my feet were my weapons boxes, unlocked. I scooped out the Wiccan-blessed knives, which were made of silver and were poisonous to demons. I took the safety off the Glock and tucked it in the back of my jeans; I didn’t have time to mess around.

  Jenny screamed again, and her clammy hand was yanked from mine. I was shoved and I went ass-first down the stairs, flat against the spongy surface.

  Jenny rose into the air. Panic made her eyes roll. Her sobs went silent, tears and snot dripping from her face as she struggled against the two demons holding her hostage.

  The shorter one held Jenny’s feet and pulled; the larger one floated in the air and held her arms, yanking and laughing.

  “Keep your eyes closed, Jenny!” I commanded with my vampire glamour. “You are not afraid.”

  Her eyelids shut and she seemed to relax.

  Using my vampire speed and agility, I shot back up the steps and slit the closest one’s throat. Viscous, inky blood flooded his neck and spattered his chest. He flopped down the slide, disappearing in a hiss of atramentous smoke.

  I glared at the one who still gripped Jenny’s arms.

  “You can’t stop us,” it yelled. “You will die.”

  I flung the tiny dagger. The blade slammed into its eye. It shrieked and dropped Jenny.

  I caught her.

  “Sleep,” I whispered, adding another touch of glamour.

  She went limp. Her mouth opened slightly; she let out a soft snore.

  “I will pluck out your heart!” shouted the demon. One hand covered its profusely bleeding eye.

  The air thickened with the sulfur scent of demon magic. Billowing clouds formed in the sky. Thunder echoed, and lightning shattered the dark. Wind blasted us.

  Then the demon plucked out the knife and looked as though he would send it back to me. I tossed Jenny over my shoulder in a fireman’s hold, took out my Glock, and shot the demon three times in the chest.

  It howled. Blood and smoke leached from the wounds. Silver bullets ruled. Silver had inherent magical properties, and that was why it could harm most paranormal beings. Demons particularly hated the substance, especially when it had been blessed with white magic.

  “Vampire whore!” it gurgled.

  The inky smell of ozone grew sharp in the worsening wind.

  “That’s no way to speak to a lady,” said a voice with an English accent. Berith stood next to me, his eyes glowing red. “Are you and the girl all right?”

  I nodded, stunned to see him, and, hel-lo, did Berith just ask me a polite question?

  He returned his gaze to the badly injured demon. He pointed his left forefinger and that long beam of red light unfurled from his sharp black talon. The whip snapped as he raised his arm, and snick, the beam slashed the demon in half.

  I watched the demon halves smack the ground and disappear in plumes of stinky black smoke.

  Patrick appeared in front of me. “Let me take her,” he said. He slipped Jenny out of my arms and disappeared in a shower of gold sparkles.

  I glared at Red. “What’s going on?”

  “War,” he said with a little more relish than I thought necessary. He bared his teeth in a fearsome grin. “About damned time, too!”

  “Berith!” yelled another man’s voice.

  We turned around. Near the picnic table, a battle raged. Berith and I hurried toward the melee.

  Bryan lay on his side on the ground. Jessica had magicked her swords; she stood in front of her son, defending him from the attacking demons.

  “Save some for me,” bellowed Berith. His crazy whip whirled above his head as he joined in the fray.

  I jumped on the back of the gray demon trying to disembowel Jess, and jabbed a dagger hilt deep into its scaly neck. It howled and tried to shake me off. I wrapped my arm around its throat and punched with my other fist, landing blows where I could. I would’ve used my Glock, but given the proximity of Jess and Bryan, I couldn’t risk a bullet going astray.

  Jessica, looking as pissed off as I’ve ever seen her, pierced the demon’s chest and stomach with her half swords. Fairy gold didn’t affect demons the way silver did, but it didn’t exactly tickle, either.

  Its howls went wild as it fell to its knees. I didn’t leap off so much as fall onto the damp ground.

  Jess twisted the swords, which made icky squishing sounds, and yelled, “Fulaing!“

  I think it was Gaelic for, “May pain fill your every pore, you wart on the ass of humanity.”

  Squealing, the demon exploded into a column of smoke. The stench of rotten eggs clogged my nose. Phew.

  Somehow, the warriors had pushed the other demons away from us and toward the timberline. Jessica knelt next to her son and pushed his hair off his too pale forehead.

  “Get him to the car,” I said.

  Jessica nodded and scooped up her son. Before she got two steps, Patrick appeared and relieved her of the burden. He kissed her and sparkled away.

  Within moments he’d returned and wrapped his arm around her. “The hunters will take you to the compound, Phoebe,” said Patrick.

  “What about Connor?”

  He had no answer for me, which worried me more than the way I was being left in the hands of the hunters.

  As they sparkled away, Jess looked up, her swords clenched in her fists. Then her eyes widened.

  “Phoebe!” Jessica’s cry of warning nearly came too late.

  I turned and managed to duck under the arms of the demon reaching for me.

  Lilith’s pet.

  Gray scaled, with those horrible black wings, it kept its horrific xanthous gaze on me.

  I slashed at it with my knives, putting my fury in every jab, but it was undeterred. The demon grinned, its eyes promising pain and retribution.

  It reached for me, its thick yellow claws relentless as it slashed and slashed until I fell in my own blood. I was burning, burning, and it put the tips of its talons to my throat.

  Then it was yanked away from me and Berith delivered a blow to the demon’s neck that separated it from its body. Both head and body dissipated. Thank goodness they had finished off their own demon baddies.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “You need a pint,” said Nicor. “Take from one of us.”

  I realized that doing so felt like cheating on Connor. I didn’t want to drink from anyone but him. Not even a donor. Now, what did that mean?

  I was sure Astria would point it that it was a symptom of love.

  “C’mon,” said Nicor. He knelt down and offered his neck. Well, better his than Berith’s. I sank my fangs into his carotid artery and drank my pint quickly. I felt almost dirty, like I’d completed an adulterous act.

  Get a grip, Pheebs.

  I also felt better, and my body was beginning to heal. I needed another shower. Man, I was getting tired of being soaked in blood.

  “For the record,” I said, “I kicked total demon ass.” Take that, Larsa. “And also, I want to go home.”

  “Not yet,” said Nicor. “We must report to the council.”

  Oh, God. What now?

  Chapter 23

  I stood in the official sanctum of the Broken Heart Council, which was a combination of the Oval Office and the Pentagon. The lycanthrope-vampire queen, Patricia Marchand, created the council not long after her triplets were born – about two years ago.

  It was never a good thing to be called before the council in their formal meeting chambers.

  Especially when you were covered in blood. I’d taken a moment to clean up as much as possi
ble in the bathroom, but I didn’t have the magic to replace my clothes.

  The council had seven members: three vampires, three lycanthropes, and the queen. The vampires were Patrick O’Halloran, the son of the first vampire, Ruadan, Ivan Taganov, who was also the chairman of the Consortium, and the Ancient Zela, whose Family power was the manipulation of metallic substances. Needless to say, she had the best jewelry.

  The lycanthropes were Damian, a full-blood who was head of security (and with whom I trained), the loup de sang Gabriel, who was also Queen Patsy’s husband, and Helene, a Roma (lycans who changed only during the full moon). She’d settled in Broken Heart with her husband and her son. They were well-known for their skills in hunting rogue vampires.

  Representatives of other parakind served as liaisons between their people and the council. None of them was here today. So, this was about me.

  My three kitchen-destroying friends were standing about five feet to the left of me. We had an uneasy alliance, to say the least.

  Queen Patsy looked regal sitting at the middle seat of the table that faced me. Her blond hair was swept into an updo, and her tailored blue suit perfectly matched her eyes. Hard to believe she used to be the town’s only beautician, who lived in a double-wide behind her shop. Now she was the powerful leader of lycanthropes and vampires and the mother of another kind of werewolf (the loup de sang, in case you haven’t been paying attention). She also had all seven powers of the Ancients. She was not someone you messed with if you valued living.

  “What’s going on?” I asked her.

  “We will begin proceedings in a moment,” she said formally. Her eyes looked like cut glass. I wasn’t getting any emotion off her, which made me worry more. For all her polish these days, the queen wasn’t one to hide her emotions or eschew plain speaking.

  I didn’t have to wonder long about when the moment would arrive.

  Connor was brought in from a side door. His hands were cuffed in front of him. The manacles were made from fairy gold, and bespelled with sidhe magic. No one, mortal or immortal, could escape them.

  He held his head up, eyes forward, back ramrod straight. His gaze bored into me. Desperation edged the fury burning in his eyes.

  Connor?

  He didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at me. The vampire Faustus stood behind Connor, looking as imposing and warrioresque as he probably had as a Roman centurion. He wore fatigues with military boots; his scarred face was a handsome kind of scary.

  “What the hell is going on?” I cried. I pointed to Connor. “Why is he in handcuffs?”

  Patsy ignored me.

  “Connor Ballard. It has come to my attention that you moved to Broken Heart under false pretenses,” said Patsy coolly.

  “Just because I didn’t make my intentions known doesn’t make ‘em false,” he said.

  Wow. That actually made sense. I slid a glance at Connor.

  Patsy’s eyes narrowed. “You failed to mention you were a demon.”

  “Is there a rule against demons settlin’ in Broken Heart?”

  The question obviously flummoxed her. The council members’ faces all held various expressions of surprise, because it wasn’t a question we’d ever thought would come up. Demons weren’t the type of beings to settle down.

  “Phoebe,” snapped Patsy, “cool your jets.”

  “What?” My hands felt hot; I looked down and saw the black flames of demonfire licking my fists. I shook out my hands and made a conscious effort to control the magic. “Take him out of the handcuffs.” I appealed to Patrick: “He saved your kid. And you put him in prison?”

  “I argued against his being taken into custody,” said Patrick. “I was overruled.”

  “Patrick,” admonished Patsy.

  He didn’t look even a little bit sorry he’d spoken, and I was glad Connor had at least one voice on the council.

  “Do you know where the talisman is?” asked Patsy.

  “Yes.”

  “Both parts of it?”

  He nodded.

  “We’ll need them,” said Patsy. “After all, you’ve brought Lilith right to our door.”

  “You know about the talisman?” I asked her.

  “The hunters explained its purpose, but that they have only half.”

  “And did they explain about the missing eighth vampire line?”

  “We’ve met Larsa,” said Patsy. Her tone held apprehension. “And I’ve reamed Ruadan a new asshole, but it does us little good. The talisman, Connor?”

  Connor remained silent. Frustration etched Patsy’s pale face. She turned toward Gabriel, and I knew they were having a telepathic conversation.

  “Phoebe.” The queen’s icy gaze pinned mine. “You are bound to him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why don’t we stop dancing around?” demanded Berith. “You know our purpose. Just give us Connor and be done with it.”

  “What about Phoebe?” asked Patsy. “Should she spend an eternity in hell because she made a mistake?”

  “They tell you they’re takin’ me to hell?” Connor laughed, and the rich sound rolled right through me. Hearing him laugh or talk was like breathing in chocolate air. Delicious.

  Patsy’s gaze examined the hunters. “It was my understanding that demons go to hell. You didn’t exactly disabuse us of that notion when you asked to go get him.”

  “You sent him to my house?” I looked at Nicor. “They brought Lilith into Broken Heart the minute they used their magic to track Connor.” I waved my hand at Connor. “He doesn’t live in hell. He’s only half demon. And half Ghillie Dhu. And how dare you judge him on his parentage!”

  One blond eyebrow rose as Patsy stared at me.

  “We must secure the talisman and… dispose of the demon who stole it from us,” said Nicor. He sent me an apologetic glance.

  “Honey, you’re on crack if you think you’re taking either him or the talisman outta town,” said Patsy.

  “Why don’t you tell her about Family Durga?” invited Connor. “It’s time she knew.”

  The room went quiet. The tension was so thick, I felt like a wool blanket had been tossed over us. Foreboding trembled in my stomach. I crossed the space and stood next to Connor. Whether or not I decided to use the ring to break our binding, right now we were still mates.

  I studied the council, and though they remained stoic, it was apparent that Connor had hit upon a nerve.

  “Patsy?” My voice squeaked with tension; I cleared my throat.

  The queen sighed. “There’s been a resurgence in the Taint. We’ve actually formulated a viable cure, thanks to Brady giving us some of his übertechnology. Doesn’t much matter for the new cases, though, because they’re some kind of mutated strain.”

  “I know,” I said. “I also know the cause of the Taint is demon poison.”

  Patsy looked surprised. Then she shared a glance with Patrick. “And you know this how?”

  “Connor told me. And I believe him.” Horror wormed through me. “Are you saying there’s been an outbreak in Broken Heart?”

  “The Taint hasn’t breached our borders,” Patsy assured me. “But the new virus affects only vampires from the Family Durga.”

  Whoa.

  “The Family Durga is not particularly numerous,” explained Patrick in his soft Irish voice.

  “The only sect with smaller numbers is the Family Amahté. Most of the time, only one in ten humans survive a Turning. In the case of Family Durga, the odds are even less. Men have a better chance of making the transition, which is why there are also so few females.”

  “I didn’t know.” It was bad enough that I’d been killed and made into a vampire. Now I was being told that the chances of my transition had been almost nil. “How bad is the situation?”

  No one spoke, not even Connor. He looked at me with concern. The silence stretched on until Connor ended it.

  He turned toward me. His chains rattled. “The first cases started ‘bout three months ago. The disease’s b
een aggressive – working faster than any previous cases. Family Durga’s bein’ decimated. An’ what happens to the vampire happens to his mate.”

  Dread bloomed in my stomach. Even if the mates of the Family Durga vampires didn’t get the disease, they’d still experience the slow slide into insanity or inevitable death.

  “What does that have to do with you?” I asked Connor.

  “It has to do with you,” said Patsy. “There are maybe a couple hundred Family Durga vampires left. And of those… well…”

  The look in her eyes terrified me. It was the look a doctor gave his patient before announcing a terminal illness, or a vet gave a pet owner when the only option was to put her beloved dog to sleep. For a moment, I didn’t want to know. I was bound to a demon through my own stupidity. I had jeopardized my son because I’d acted like a hormonal teen. I soooo didn’t want to hear more bad news.

  When Patsy kept staring at me, and the council looked away, and not even the hunters could meet my gaze, I found myself looking to Connor.

  “The Family Durga is dyin’ out,” he said softly. “And, lass… you’re the only female left.”

  Chapter 24

  “Which makes what you did all the more reprehensible,” said Patsy. She slapped her palm against the black marble table; given her strength, the fact that it only quivered was testament to its solidness.

  “And what pretty adjective do you use to describe your own deceptions?” asked Connor. He laughed bitterly. “I’m a demon, Your Highness. What’s your excuse?”

  Patsy looked like she wanted to fry him with her laser eyes. She didn’t really have laser eyes, but she had seven other powers that couldn’t necessarily kill him… Maiming was a different issue.

  “Wait.” I wanted to sit down, take a breath (figuratively), and process what I’d just been told. The last female vampire in the Family Durga? Holy shit. Instead, I commanded my legs to stop trembling and gave myself the suck-it-up-princess speech. I wouldn’t show weakness now, no matter how much I wanted to crumble.

  “Is that why you mated with me?” I asked Connor. “Because I was the last female of the Family Durga?”

  “One of the reasons,” he admitted. “I need you, lass.” He gaze flicked around the room. “We all do.”