by Parker Blue
MAYBE. YOU COULD ASK.
Good thing we’d exchanged phone numbers. I called David and explained what was going on.
“You were right,” I told him. “There’s something odd going on here. This Bellama chick seems to have a tight hold on all the men in her group.”
“That’s new,” David said. “She didn’t before.”
“I wonder why she thinks she needs it?”
“Whatever the reason, it can’t be good. What’s Micah doing about it?”
I sighed. “I haven’t been able to get hold of him yet, but I left a message. I’m sure he’ll get back to me soon.”
“Hold on, let me talk to Pia.” After a few moments of silence, David came back on the line. “We’ll ask around, see what we can find out… and keep an eye on Shade for you. He’s one of the good guys. I’ll let you know if I learn anything.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I hung up and Fang flopped back down on the bed. SO, WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
I continued pacing, thinking. “The best way to get Shade out of her clutches is to find what’s really causing those attacks so we can go home.”
I’M IN. WHERE DO WE START?
I halted abruptly and made a decision. “We start with Austin.” The cowboy, not the city. “Hopefully, he’ll be through with his party.” It was still a long time until dawn.
I grabbed the backpack and took the stairs up.
Fang followed, complaining. EVER HEARD OF THIS NEW INVENTION CALLED AN ELEVATOR?
“Too slow,” I told him. “Besides, you need to burn off some of that pizza, chubbo.”
Fang burped but came along anyway, grousing the whole time.
I could use some way to work off this mad, so I pounded on Austin’s door as Fang collapsed on the floor with a groan.
Austin opened it with a jerk, wearing low-riding jeans, no shirt, and toweling his damp hair. Dang. Lean, yet muscled, and wearing nothing but those jeans, he could’ve been a male model in a Calvin Klein ad.
Lola liked.
In fact, she wanted to reach out and touch… real bad. She even sent a few tendrils that way, but no way was I giving that cowboy any more ammunition against me. I reined her in, tight. It was tough to do since I stupidly hadn’t let Lola top off her tank lately. I’d hated to take advantage of Shade by feeding on him too often, but now I was paying the price.
“Geez, Austin, put a shirt on,” I snapped.
He raised one eyebrow and a corner of his mouth quirked up as he leaned against the door frame. “I just got out of the shower. You’re lucky I put on pants. Where’s the fire?”
Annoyed by his amusement, I said, “I thought you were all hot to find these chupacabras and your friend Wes. Let’s go.”
“Did you have some place particular in mind?”
I averted my gaze so Lola wouldn’t be tempted by the eye candy. It was disturbing feeling this way about a vampire. “Uh, the scene of the crime. Maybe we can learn something the police didn’t. Fang has an excellent nose.”
Fang belched again. SO LONG AS FANG DOESN’T HAVE TO WALK.
I ignored him.
Austin nodded. “Good. Lisette gave us information on where the attacks took place. Let’s see what we can find out.” He put on his shirt, boots and hat, and we headed out the door.
Now that we were actually doing something, I felt my anger fade.
I navigated using the map Lisette had provided, and Austin drove northwest of the city, out into hill country. Fang, the big load, commandeered the backseat to take another nap.
“So, how’s the boyfriend?” Austin asked.
I winced. Trust him to find a sore spot. “Fine,” I replied in a tone that didn’t encourage further discussion.
It didn’t stop Austin. “Had a fight, did you?”
“No.”
“Then what’s put you in this foul mood?”
I sighed heavily. “I visited the Demon Underground in Austin. Let’s just say they didn’t exactly welcome me with open arms.”
“Is that all?”
“No. Their leader, Dina, wanted to take the books from me, saying there was a mage demon in the area and she wanted to ‘protect’ them.” I shook my head. “There’s something hinky going on there, but I don’t know what.”
Austin was silent for a moment, then said, “You think she might have something to do with this chupacabra scare?”
I thought for a moment. It would tie things up very neatly if she were the bad guy and I could stop her and take Shade back all in one fell swoop, but… “I doubt it. There are demons missing as well.”
We were silent for the rest of the drive to Bull Creek District Park. The parking lot was deserted at this time of night, and as I got out of the car and peered into the dark woods, I asked, “Got a flashlight?”
Austin closed the driver’s door. “Nope, don’t need one. Don’t you carry one around in your handy-dandy slayer kit?”
All I had in my “kit” were the extra stakes I tucked in the back of my waistband, plus the books and other odds and ends in my backpack. I resisted the urge to punch him and just stared at him, my jaw set.
He shrugged. “Let’s check the trunk.”
Luckily, the trunk held a few tools, including a flashlight, so I grabbed it. “Okay, where to now?”
He consulted his notes and pointed to a trail. “Take that one down to the creek.”
Fang took off in that direction, his nose low to the ground. “Smell anything?” I asked.
LOTS OF THINGS. TOO MANY. HUMANS, DOGS, DEER… THEY’RE EVERYWHERE. THIS MUST BE A POPULAR PLACE.
I relayed his comments to Austin, who nodded. “Very popular. During the day, lots of hikers, dog lovers, kids.”
“And at night?”
“Let’s just say there’s an unsavory element at night.”
“Like vampires?”
He chuckled. “Or demons.”
WHY DO YOU EVEN TRY? Fang asked, his nose still to the ground. YOU CAN’T EVER GET THE BEST OF HIM.
I let that pass and glanced around. “I don’t see anyone.”
Austin shrugged. “Maybe because of the news reports of chupacabras in the area.”
That made sense, but I was going to keep a wary eye out just in case. We followed Fang down to the creek. It was cooler here, and I wished I’d worn a heavier vest. The area around the gravel path was dense with juniper and oak, the darkness making it creepy. I heard the water before I saw it, and though some rocks in the creek dripped with icicles, the water still flowed. I bet this was gorgeous on a balmy spring day. Now, in the darkness with only a flashlight for illumination… not so much.
Austin stopped to consult his notes again. “A coyote was found drained of blood over there.”
I went in the direction he pointed, toward a huge oak tree. I shined my light on the area, but the coyote had been removed. I couldn’t see much except trampled brush. Austin could see better in the dark, so he bent down to examine the area.
“Find anything?” I asked.
“No. Too many people and animals have been in this area to distinguish any prints.”
Just what Fang said.
Speaking of Fang, where was he? He’d evidently followed his nose elsewhere.
I SMELL SOMETHING OVER HERE. TO YOUR LEFT.
“Fang smells something,” I explained to Austin. “What is it?” I asked Fang.
SOMETHING DEAD.
Oh, fabulous. Sure, I made bloodsuckers dead on a regular basis, but I didn’t have to stick around long enough to actually smell them. And, as we shoved our way through the brush, the closer we got to Fang’s find, the more I got a good whiff. Make that a bad whiff. Phew.
“A deer,” Austin said unnecessarily, gazing down at the dead animal.
He bent down to examine it while I played my flashlight over the body in the trampled brush. It looked as though it had been dead a week or so. Too bad this winter hadn’t been cold enough to freeze it. As Fang sniffed the deer, I remembered what I�
�d heard about dogs.
“Don’t go rolling in that smell,” I warned him.
He cocked his furry head to look up at me. PUHLEEZE. I’M A HELLHOUND. I DON’T HAVE THOSE PRIMITIVE CANINE INSTINCTS.
“Well, excuse the heck out of me. How would I know that?”
They both ignored me as Austin continued to examine the deer and Fang wandered away.
Austin rose, dusting off his hands. “Three bite wounds, all different.”
“Vampire?”
He settled his hat more firmly on his head. “Yep.”
There was pain in that simple word. “Different? You mean three separate vampires?”
He nodded.
Carefully, I asked, “Do you think your buddy Wes and—”
“No,” Austin said fiercely, interrupting me. “Wes wouldn’t deliberately hurt anyone, not even an animal.”
Oookay. Not going there again. “Then who?”
He shook his head. “Some of the rogues, I suppose.”
“Doesn’t make sense. The reason they don’t join the Movement is because they want to snack on humans. Why would they resort to animals?”
Austin didn’t say a word, just stared down at the dead animal.
HEY, Fang shouted mentally. COME HERE. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS.
“Fang’s found something else,” I told Austin.
It was difficult to follow a mental voice, so Fang darted out to lead us to his discovery. I followed more slowly, using the flashlight to find my way, and he led us to a small open space. I glanced around, but didn’t see anything remarkable. “What is it, Fang?”
He pawed at the ground. LOOK DOWN HERE.
I crouched to see what he was talking about, and Austin did the same. I shone the flashlight along the ground and didn’t get it for a moment. Then I realized what I was seeing. Black ash.
YEP, Fang confirmed. FRIED VAMP.
Austin knelt down and sifted his fingers through the residue. What the heck? Then I realized what he was doing as he pulled an old-fashioned gold pocket watch from the ash, blackened and cracked by unholy fire. He was looking for identification.
“Do you know who that belongs to?” I asked softly.
He nodded.
I was almost afraid to ask. “Is it Wes’s?”
“No,” he said, rising and placing the watch in his pocket. “It belonged to Etienne, one of Lisette’s missing. He was very proud of this watch.”
Crap. “Do you think he…” I waved vaguely in the direction of the dead deer.
“I don’t know what to think. I can’t imagine what would make Etienne do such a thing.” Austin glanced down at the ash, all that was left of Lisette’s vampire. “Or why he was out in the open like this. He was too smart to let the sun catch him unaware.”
“Maybe he was wounded and couldn’t get to safety,” I suggested. As I said that, I wondered what prompted me to want to make Austin feel better. After all, he’d been nothing but snarky to me.
“Maybe,” Austin conceded. He looked at me. “You think he caught the perpetrators and was wounded in the fight?”
I could see he liked that scenario. I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
Fang jerked up his head. WATCH OUT. INCOMING.
Chapter Eleven
Micah woke, feeling stiff and sore. He blinked his eyes open, trying to figure out where he was and how he got here. As best he could see in the scant moonlight filtering into the dark room, he lay sprawled on his side on a bare mattress, his wrist manacled to a radiator.
Blearily, he remembered the demon who’d demanded the books, then shot them when they denied they had the encyclopedia. Strange, he didn’t feel as if he’d been shot. What he’d thought was a silencer must have been a dart gun with a sedative. He wondered how Gwen—
A surge of adrenaline shot through him. Gwen. Where was she? His incubus abilities should help him find any woman. He felt around mentally for her. Or at least, he tried. Something was blocking him. Perdo. Damn it, the demon had shot him with Perdo.
He bolted upright to a sitting position and found Gwen beside him on the other side of the mattress, also manacled to the radiator. She was breathing, thank heavens. And, because of the Perdo, his incubus powers wouldn’t affect her when she did wake. One little ray of sunshine.
Now, how could he get them both out of here?
Something blunt poked his leg, and he looked down. Princess. Ah, another advantage to the Perdo—he couldn’t hear her demands.
“Chill, dog. If you’re talking to me, I can’t hear you,” he said. “We were drugged.”
Princess flopped down on the mattress with a huff, and Micah looked around the space, hoping to spot something, anything that would get them out of here. Unfortunately, it was a small, stark room empty of furniture except the mattress. Narrow windows were set high on the concrete wall—this must be a basement.
So what? What could he do with that information?
Nothing, unless he could get loose. Mentally, he ran through the contents of his pockets, wondering if there was anything he could use to pick the lock. A stray paperclip, maybe?
Wait—his phone. Had Carla taken it? He could call 9-1-1 and ask for help. The police could find them with the GPS. Especially when they learned Detective Dan Sullivan’s sister was one of the kidnappees.
With his right hand manacled and useless, he used his left to fumble the phone out of his right pocket. He punched in 9-1, but that was as far as he got before Princess bit his hand.
He dropped the phone and shook his hand. She hadn’t broken the skin, but why the heck did she do that? The hellhound rolled her eyes frantically toward the door, then Micah heard footsteps coming. Damn it, no time to call. Princess sat on the phone just as the door opened.
Carla again. The fire demon switched on the light and it stabbed through the fog in Micah’s brain. He closed his eyes against the pain, but had to see what the demon was doing, so he opened his eyes a slit.
Gwen stirred, groaning, and Carla said, “Good. You’re both awake.”
Gwen scrambled to a sitting position. “What do you want?”
The demon pointed a gun at them again. Micah wasn’t sure, but it looked like the same dart gun she’d used on them earlier. That explained why a fire demon needed a gun.
“It’s simple,” the demon said. “You tell me where the books are, Slayer, and I don’t hurt you or your boyfriend.”
Princess growled a warning. DON’T HURT MY FRIEND.
If Micah could hear the hellhound again, the Perdo must be wearing off. Too bad his headache wasn’t.
Carla laughed. “That’s up to her. If she tells me where the books are, I’ll let you all go.”
Is she telling the truth? Micah asked Princess silently.
YES. BUT SHE THINKS IT WON’T MATTER. WHEN THEY GET THE BOOKS, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP THEM.
Not good. With those books, she’d be able to wreak total havoc.
DO SOMETHING, Princess insisted.
The only thing he could do was convince Carla she had the wrong woman. “We told you before, she’s not Val. She’s Val’s roommate, Gwen.”
Carla snorted. “Nice try. Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“No, I think you’re mistaken.” How could he convince her? “Look, she’s wearing hospital scrubs because she’s a nurse. Do you think the Slayer would wear scrubs?”
“Maybe.” Carla looked doubtful for the first time.
Micah searched for something else that might convince her. “You shot us with Perdo. In demons, you know that the aftereffect is one hell of a migraine when the eyes are exposed to light, right?”
“Yes. So?”
“So that’s why I’m squinting. But what’s she doing?”
Gwen stirred. “My eyes are wide open. No headache.”
“That’s because she’s human,” Micah said. “You kidnapped the wrong girl. Gwen is Val’s roommate.”
“The boss ain’t gonna like this.” Flames flickered on Carla’s hand
for a moment before she closed her fist and punched the wooden door. It left quite a dent.
BAD LADY ANGRY, Princess said.
No kidding. But at least she believed what Micah said.
Too bad Micah’s incubus powers wouldn’t work on her. Unfortunately, Gwen was inside his personal field, and now that the Perdo was wearing off, she was feeling the effect and cuddling up against him. Not that he minded, but it felt as though he was taking advantage of her, even if it was inadvertently. He tried to pull his personal field in close to his body, but because of the drug and the lack of practice, it wasn’t easy.
Though his head felt as though it was about to split, Micah attempted to follow up on the advantage. “So, now that you know Gwen isn’t Val, you can let us go.”
Carla let out a bark of laughter. “Not gonna happen. And now that we know she can’t control the boss, he can talk to you himself. But I’ll make you a deal. You tell me where Val is, and once I squeeze the books out of her, I’ll let you both go.”
AND ME, TOO, Princess declared.
“Will Asmodeus agree to that?” Micah challenged. Where was this shadowy boss, anyway? Did he even exist?
Carla ignored him. “What’s it gonna be?”
“Val went out of town,” Gwen said.
“Where?”
Val could take care of herself, but there was no reason to send this demon after her. “We don’t know,” Micah lied. “Some kind of family problem.”
Carla turned to Gwen, flames flickering along her hands again. “She woulda told her roommate where she was going.”
Micah felt Gwen tremble. “No, she ran out real fast, saying it was an emergency. She took the books with her.”
“You’re both lying,” Carla said flatly. “You gotta be. So, how about I give you a little incentive?” She walked over to the mattress and glared down at them. “What do you think would happen to the bitch’s pups if I kick her real hard in the stomach?”
NO! Princess yelled, and jumped up to scurry away from her. DON’T HURT MY PUPPIES.