The Stone Warriors: Nicodemus

by D. B. Reynolds

  Raphael studied her for a long moment. “You used your own blood to prime the device?” he asked, knowing he was right. “Did you worry that it might not work? He’s your father, but his blood would have been diluted in you.”

  “I was worried, so I modified the spell to widen the blood parameters just enough to make my blood work.”

  “Can this hexagon be used more than once?”

  Antonia paused, and appeared to consider her answer, which surprised Raphael. She’d crafted the spell herself. Surely, she’d have included the device’s life expectancy in her parameters.

  “The original spell,” she said finally, “was designed for a single use every time it was primed, and after each use, it could be primed against someone else. I estimated the rock could absorb no more than five uses, before the spell’s magic destroyed the structure of the rock itself. At that point, it would have self-destructed, and become a pile of gravel and dust. But when I altered the spell to use my own blood, it also became less precise. I didn’t have time for anything else.”

  “Which means what?” Cyn asked, trying to conceal her impatience at the lengthy explanation.

  Antonia switched her gaze to Cyn, and Raphael saw a flash of something like resentment. Apparently, she knew about Nick and Cyn’s past, and didn’t like it any more than he did. But Raphael had no doubts about Cyn’s love for him, and while he’d reconciled the fact of Nick’s sexual relationship with her, he knew that she and the sorcerer had never been more than friends. He still didn’t like Nick Katsaros, but he knew the affair hadn’t been important to Cyn. Antonia, on the other hand, didn’t have his vampire-enhanced ability to know the absolute truth, and it would seem that she wasn’t yet reconciled to the relationship between Cyn and her lover.

  “It means,” Antonia said finally, “that I suspect the hexagon will self-destruct after a single use. And even if it doesn’t, its internal structure will be sufficiently degraded that it will become useless.”

  Cyn turned her attention to Raphael. “Then we need to be absolutely sure before we use it.”

  He nodded and turned to Antonia again. “You mentioned some subterfuge that you undertook to spy on Sotiris. Do you mind telling us what you learned?”

  “No, that’s why I’m here. I can probably tell you where he’s living— or more accurately, hiding—right now. And also the identities of the people who have been coming to see him, while they plan their next attack.”

  “Attack on whom?”

  “On you.”

  Raphael concealed his surprise, only smiling slightly. “Do you mean me, specifically? Or this alliance in general?”

  “No, he has a broader plan, but the first step is to eliminate you, and replace you with the vampire he thinks will kill you. That’s how it works, right? That whoever kills you takes over your territory? At least, that’s what I’ve deduced from their conversations about it.”

  Nick was staring at her in stunned silence, so Raphael said, “I would be most interested in learning which vampire Sotiris believes is capable of such a thing. But apart from that, I would also be interested to know how you heard it. And how you know where Sotiris is. It was my understanding that you never left Chicago until very recently.”

  “That’s true, but as I said, Sotiris continued to visit until about a year ago, when we argued over my refusal to help him. By that time, my surveillance spells were so well set that I could lose a few and still keep track. As for where he himself is at any time . . . Sotiris is immensely powerful. That much power leaves a mark in a world like this one, with so little free magic available to draw upon, or to inadvertently camouflage his location. It’s the same with Nico,” she added, giving her lover a puzzled glance. “Sotiris can locate him just as easily, unless Nico’s actively concealing himself.”

  “Yeah, but Sotiris has been concealing himself all along. He knows we’re looking for him,” Kato asked.

  Raphael was reminded that Kato had magic of his own. It was different from that possessed by the two sorcerers and, apparently, Antonia, too, since she’d mentioned the lack of available magic in this world. Kato’s magic, like Raphael’s, came from an entirely different source, though they were both rooted in blood. Kato’s was inherited from his mother, though she’d never intended him to be an independent power. Raphael’s was derived from no one’s blood but his own, courtesy of the vampire symbiote.

  “Yes, Sotiris is concealing his power, but I share his blood. I inherited my magic from him. He cannot hide from me.”

  “But then logically, you can’t hide from him either.”

  “That’s true. Unless a sorcerer who’s powerful enough, more powerful than Sotiris”—she patted Nick’s forearm where it lay on the table, —“shields me from detection.”

  “Which I assume you’re doing?” Raphael asked Nick.

  “Not yet,” Nick replied. “He knows she’s left Chicago. That was inevitable. And he knows she’s with me in Florida. Also inevitable, since only my finding her could have broken her curse. Where we go from here is the question.”

  “Antonia, can he spy on you, the same way you can on him?” Raphael asked.

  “In my house in Chicago, I’m sure he could. But here in Nico’s home, with all the protection he has on this property and its residents?” She shook her head. “No, I’m sure he cannot.”

  “I reinforced everything as soon as we arrived,” Nick added. “And my security chief, Abe Putin”—he nodded at a man sitting down the table, —“did the same to our physical protections and presence.”

  “If Antonia transmits everything she knows about this vampire ally of Sotiris’s, as well as his current location . . .” He frowned and added, “which is where, Antonia?”

  She grinned. “In your backyard, Lord Raphael. He’s plopped himself down in a place called Bel Air. Very pricey real estate. I guess he figured if he hid out among the richest of the rich, no one would dare disturb the peace by coming to look for him.”

  Next to Raphael, Cyn laughed. “Hey, we took on another private haven of the very rich and famous in Santa Barbara, and walked away free and clear. What’s a few more wealthy assholes?”

  Raphael raised an eyebrow at her description of Bel Air’s wealthy residents, considering her own grandparents had lived there until her grandmother’s recent death. Her grandfather still did, but he was an asshole, so . . .

  “My Cyn is correct. I’m very confident that between us, we can keep any noise to a minimum, whether we end up fighting in Bel Air or anyplace else. But my question had to do with whether between us we have a secure means of transmitting information.”

  “Absolutely,” said the tiny blond who was Nick’s assistant—Lili, he recalled. “I’m assuming your server is secure, as well?”

  “I’m told it is, but I’ll have my people contact you. Or should they reach out to Abe?”

  “I’ll text our secure line to Gabriel, since I have his cell number. And I can bring Abe into my office, whenever they call, no problem there.”

  “Excellent. Thank you. Then I have no other questions at this time. I’d like to review everything you’ve learned, including this plan to assassinate me and take over my territory. I shall be most curious to learn more about that. But once we’ve reviewed everything here, then we can meet again to discuss our response in detail.” He paused and met Nick’s gaze, and though it was over a video link, there was no question that they were looking at each other. “I assume that you will accept my participation in these hostilities, especially now that it appears your fellow sorcerer has chosen to involve me directly.”

  Pompano Beach, Florida

  NICK HESITATED. He wanted to tell the fucking vampire that his participation wasn’t required. But he did have a point about Sotiris involving him, and the fucker was damn good in a fight. Plus, there was Gabriel. And Nick didn’t want to com
e across as petty enough to hurt himself, just to spite the damn vampire. Argh.

  “It seems we’re both involved this time, and the more the merrier when it comes to Sotiris, so . . . yeah, sure.”

  It wasn’t the most gracious acceptance, but it did the trick, because on the screen, Raphael was checking to see if his people had any questions, before he said, “We’ll talk later, then. For now, it’s your meeting.”

  NICK WANTED TO growl and say it always had been his meeting, but since he figured the fucking vampire would only get a jolt of smug satisfaction from the comment, he merely smiled, looked around at his own people and said, “Anyone?”

  When no one responded, he looked at the vampire. “Shall we convene again tomorrow night, once we’ve all had a chance to review everything?”

  Raphael nodded once. “Same time?”

  “That’ll work. Until we meet again, then,” Nick finished, and had the satisfaction of disconnecting first.

  They all stood at the same time, everyone eager to stretch their legs and get out of the conference room. Or maybe they just wanted to escape the meeting room that seemed far too corporate for anyone there to enjoy.

  “We’ll be staying here until whatever happens next,” Damian announced, slinging a loose arm around Casey’s neck. “If Sotiris knows Antonia is free, there’s no telling what he’ll do. And we know he’ll work with hired guns when he can’t be there personally.”

  “Agreed,” Nick said forcefully. “We should all remain together until Sotiris is dead. The threat he represents won’t end until that happens.”

  “I’ll brief my people on the situation,” Abe added. “We’re already on high alert, but they need to know the latest info we have.”

  “I trust everyone here,” Nick said loudly enough that everyone stopped talking and looked at him. He glanced around the room, his gaze touching on each of them. “But that’s as far as it goes. Nothing discussed in this room tonight, or before or after tonight, leaves this room, or the people in it.”

  “What about Raphael and the others?” Lili asked. “We agreed to exchange information.”

  Nick grimaced. “Them, too, of course. As much as it pains me to say it, we and they are all on the same team . . . for now.”

  “Forever, Nico,” Antonia said quietly. “Family isn’t blood. It’s the people you love,” she reminded him. “Gabriel and Kato are your brothers. You’ve said the same to me more than once, in our world and in this one. They and their women, and everyone in this room is family.”

  “Well, yeah, but—”

  “And if Raphael and Cyn are willing to put their lives and people on the line to defeat Sotiris, then you should be willing to set aside whatever grievance you have against him, or vampires in general, and get over it.”

  Damian was the first to react, with a swallowed snort of amusement, but everyone else was grinning. Except for Nick, who watched them all with eyes narrowed in irritation. “This meeting was over ten minutes ago,” he snarled. “So get the fuck out of here, all of you.”

  “DID YOU MEAN what you said up there?” Nick asked Antonia sometime later, when she was already in bed, half asleep. Her life in Chicago had been less hectic, and far less demanding. Plotting the death of one’s father, regardless of how much he was hated, was a stressful thing, he supposed.

  “I did,” she said, rolling to face him, where he stood next to the bed. “We talked about it before.”

  “You didn’t include Raphael and Cyn before.”

  “They’re allies.”

  “Uh huh. But most allies don’t become lifelong family. Especially not when a significant number of the family members might live a long fucking time.”

  “I suppose that’s true.” She yawned. “But they live in California, so it’s not like they’ll be dropping in for dinner every weekend.”

  “That’s good, since his dinner might be one of us. Well, unless Cyn’s with him. She’s probably his sole source by now.”

  Antonia sighed and sat up. “I knew that’s where you were going with this. What do you want to know?”

  He sat on the side of the bed. “What did you think of Cyn?”

  She shrugged. “She’s confident, and appears extremely fit. She was also armed, even though there were at least three very dangerous people in that room, any one of whom would probably have jumped to her defense if an assassin came through the door.”

  “Raphael’s estate is filled with dangerous people who would die for him in an instant. Besides, Cyn’s pretty damn dangerous herself.”

  “I’m sure she is. I did my research on her. Not public sources, those are useless. Gossip is far more revealing. I also spent some time with Maeve and Lili, both of whom filled me in on the legend of Cyn.”

  “I got the impression you weren’t sure about her.”

  “Sure about what? I’m totally convinced that she’s good in a fight, and glad to have her on our side.”

  “Uh huh. And the rest?”

  “Damn it, Nico,” she snapped, punching the pillow next to her. “Do you want to know if I’m happy that you and that beautiful woman were . . . fuck buddies? Yes, I know the term,” she insisted, at his look of surprise. “No, I’m not. Okay? But she’s been with Raphael for several years, and anyone could see, after watching them together for even a few minutes, that those two are solid as a rock. He adores her, and she can’t take her hands off of him. They’re always touching, did you notice that? And she was armed to protect him, not herself. Because she knows he’ll be there for her, too.”

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “Yes, you did. There’s just enough frat boy in you that you’d like me to be jealous. Well, I’m not, and you want to know why? I’ll tell you,” she continued, without waiting for his reply. “Because as strong as the love is between those two . . . what we have is stronger. You and I have been through hell and back, and against all odds, and some powerful forces working against us, we found each other. And that struggle only made our bond stronger. I love you, Nicodemus. I will love you until I take my last breath. And—”

  Nick covered her mouth with his, swallowing her words and kissing her with all the love he possessed. “We will take our last breaths together, my love. I swear it.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  THE NEXT MORNING, Antonia was up early, eager to compile the latest data from the tracking devices and spells she had on Sotiris. Most were magical in one form or another, but oddly enough, some of her most useful information had come from a few very sophisticated but low-tech bugs she’d managed to smuggle in to Sotiris’s home and office, though she’d never been to either place. He would have been astounded if he knew just how compromised his security was. The majority of the bugs were digital and had been inserted into his various computers via emails sent to him or his assistants. Not even Sotiris could run a criminal enterprise on his own. He required personal assistants and lawyers and lesser magic-users to do the grunt work. Just as she’d once done. And while people were constantly warned about email from unknown senders, she wasn’t unknown. She was in Sotiris’s address book, at least. And by now, in the address books of others who worked for him, as well.

  Antonia was no hacker wizard like Lili or Maeve, but she was intelligent enough to follow directions. And instructions for how to snoop on someone else’s computer, or more, were easily found on the internet. Especially if you were willing to venture into its less savory parts.

  As for the mechanical bugs, Sotiris himself had carried both spells and a few of the very lowest-tech bugs. She’d attached them to his person during visits when he’d been too busy shouting at her to notice. She only hoped he lived long enough to realize that he’d contributed to his defeat.

  She was coming out of her dressing room—which, she now admitted, she loved—freshly showered and dressed, when Nico
stretched a strong, tanned arm out from under the sheet and muttered, “Come back to bed.”

  She smiled. “I’ve work to do, but you were up late. Go back to sleep.”

  “I’d sleep better if you were with me.”

  She snorted. “No, you wouldn’t.” She blew him a kiss, rather than risk being pulled back into bed. Nico’s idea of waking early was noon, but her brain was at its best in the morning, and the work waiting for her today demanded her best.

  She didn’t bother telling Nico again to go back to sleep. He was gone before she closed the door.

  Chapter Eight

  LILI WAS ALREADY hard at work when Antonia walked into her office, carrying a canvas satchel over her shoulder. Her laptop computer was in there, along with a few of the journals she’d kept during her years in Chicago. She’d begun keeping a record of her days when she’d first become aware of herself after Sotiris’s curse. It was an odd way to describe it, she supposed, but it was also the most accurate.

  She had no memories of her very earliest days. She’d woken up in a place she didn’t recognize, but knew she belonged, with no memory of the previous day or week, much less a detailed history of her life. Food had been delivered weekly—simple basics that she could prepare easily and had somehow recalled from, she supposed, her earlier life. She’d never even thought about bills, like the mortgage or utilities, or who paid them. She’d existed in that nothingness for the first few months, she thought, though couldn’t be sure of how much time had passed. But then the fog cleared enough for her to recall not what she’d done the day before, but knowing that she had done something, that she had existed. And so, she’d begun writing detailed records of her days. She’d done it faithfully every night before going to sleep, and checked it every morning as soon as she woke, to remind herself of what she’d done all the days before.

  Slowly over time, her memory improved, although without the diary, she wouldn’t have recalled more than the prior week at best. Her entries became more detailed then, and began to include speculation as to who she was, and how she’d come to be in what was a nice home in a Chicago neighborhood. When Sotiris visited her for the first time, and presented himself as her father, she’d been delighted, convinced that this man would have all the answers.