Song of Midnight Embers

by Dana Marie Bell

  He slid to a stop in front of Dr. Andreadis’s home and leaped onto the roof. It was easy for him, the jump barely the height from the forest floor to one of the branches of his birch. He slid silently across the roof, glancing down every now and then for a cracked window or an opening he could use to break in.

  Nothing. Damn it. The man’s house was locked tighter than a nun’s virginity.

  At least he knew for certain the man was home. He could hear him moving around inside, and a light was on in what Greer could only assume was the master bedroom. It looked like Inigo had just woken up, because none of the other lights were on in the house.

  Greer landed softly in front of the porch and walked up the front steps. He rang the bell and waited for the doctor to answer.

  The door cracked open, and Inigo peeped outside. “Hello?” He smiled as soon as he saw Greer, and the crack in the door widened. “Oh, hello, Greer. What brings you by this morning?”

  Greer smiled. “You do.” He stared into those pale blue eyes and the mussed brown hair and stepped forward. “I came to ask you some questions, if that’s all right.”

  “Of course.” Inigo stood aside and allowed Greer into his home. “Mi casa es su casa, and all that.”

  “Thanks, man. I appreciate that.” Greer looked around, seeing nothing that would indicate that Inigo was a traitorous bastard of the first order. His house was very bachelor pad, with leather furniture, video game consoles and beige everything, from the carpets to the walls to the furniture. His house put the B in bland.

  “Have a seat.” Inigo closed the door and headed for the kitchen. “I was just about to have coffee. You want some?”

  “Sure.” Greer picked up a magazine that was lying on the coffee table. It was The New England Journal of Medicine. The one beneath it was The American Journal of Medicine. And beneath that was a book on demonology.

  “Hey, doc? What’s with the demonology book?”

  “Huh?” The coffee pot gurgled loudly.

  “The demonology book, doc.”

  “Oh, that?” The doc walked back into the living room with a tray. On it were two steaming cups of coffee, a creamer boat and a cup of sugar. “I wasn’t sure how you took it.” Inigo placed it on the coffee table and sat. “I’ve been helping research the effects of the demon blood the Van Helsings injected into the kidnapping victims. I thought if I actually researched demonology from a scientific standpoint, I might come up with more answers on what the long-term effects could be on the victim’s immune systems and magic.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and Greer understood why the man stayed so messy looking. “Will they be more vulnerable to future infections? Is it possible for them to become infected with a different type of demonic blood? And what type of demon are we dealing with? We haven’t been able to answer any of that yet, despite all our research.” He blinked wearily. “Sorry. You had some questions for me?”

  Greer fixed his coffee and sat back, the steaming mug warming his hands. “You were seen making out with Bernadette Alden last night at Slim Shady’s.”

  Inigo’s eyes went wide. “You mean Vijaya told you?”

  Greer shrugged, unwilling to confirm or deny where he’d gotten the information. The less Inigo knew, the better. “So. What was going on?”

  Inigo sat back with a weary sigh. “I wasn’t...damn it.” Again he ruffled his hair. “Bernadette told me she had information for me, but she’d only tell me what it was if I met her at Slim Shady’s. Next thing I know, her tongue is down my throat and Vijaya is screaming her head off at me.”

  “So it wasn’t your intention to cheat on your girlfriend?”

  “Fuck no!” Inigo glared at him. “I love Vijaya. Fuck, I’m the one who bailed her out.” He shook his head. “I have no idea what Bernadette is up to, but when I see her again, she’s fucking toast.”

  “She’s dead.”

  The shock that rocketed across Inigo’s face couldn’t be faked. “Excuse me?”

  Greer nodded. “Mollie was forced to kill her.”

  “Shit.” Inigo sat back, looking utterly dismayed. “What happened?”

  “Bree thought it was a good idea to pin Lily Wulfenbach’s murder on Mollie.” And that was all Greer intended to say. He wanted to see Inigo’s reaction without the knowledge that Mollie had been arrested for the murder.

  “Lily’s dead?” Inigo sighed. “Man, that reeks. She was awesome.” He blinked, and his expression turned horrified. “Which means Allan Wulfenbach is dead.” He sat forward, the urgency in his eyes startling Greer. “Is Mollie all right?”

  “Why do you ask that?”

  “Because you said Bree intended to frame Mollie for Lily’s murder. If the wolves got hold of Mollie, then she’s...” Inigo grunted. “Just tell me she’s okay.”

  “She’s okay.” Greer watched as Inigo slumped in his seat. “Why do you care so much?”

  “Mollie has done a lot to help us. She’s run herself ragged trying to figure out...things.” Inigo eyed him for a moment, then sighed deeply. “Look, not a lot of people know this, but some of the blood samples have gone missing or wound up tainted. We still don’t know who did it, or why, but Mollie’s one of the people looking into it.”

  Well, that was interesting, and it corroborated what Mollie had told them. “You asked her to?”

  Inigo nodded reluctantly. “Yeah. Me and Web, we needed someone no one would suspect. Mollie volunteered, and we took her up on it.” He sipped his coffee. “She wasn’t supposed to put herself in danger, just find some information and get it back to us.”

  “But that’s not how it worked out, was it?” Greer also sipped his coffee, his gaze glued to Inigo. “Turns out she was in a hell of a lot more danger than you thought.”

  “I’m sorry about that.” Inigo’s brows drew together. “Is she yours?”

  Greer nodded.

  “Fuck my life.” Inigo sighed wearily. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known that, I would have told you everything.”

  “She didn’t tell you?” Greer wanted to break something, preferably Carter’s pretty-boy face.

  “Nope. If she had, you’d have known all of this.” Inigo stood. “Want me to call Web? We can fill you in on everything that’s happened together, so you’re finally in the loop.”

  “I’d appreciate that.” He needed to know if Mollie had left anything out of her account of what she’d been doing. “Which one of you recruited Carter?”

  “Carter?” Inigo cursed softly. “The fireman? One of the wolves?” Greer nodded, and Inigo cursed again. “Neither of us. We suspected a wolf was involved from the beginning.”

  “One was. Bernadette. She claimed she wanted to be beta, rather than Allan.” Greer watched the way Inigo responded to that.

  “Huh.” Inigo shrugged. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

  “Why do you think Bree tried to break you and Vijaya up?”

  “I suspect she figured out we were looking into the wolves as the source of the leak. If so, her name was bound to come up.”

  “Carter suspects Web.”

  Inigo smiled, and it wasn’t pretty. “That’s fine, because Web suspects Carter.”

  Chapter Five

  “He did what?” Mollie stared at Carter in shock. Secretly, she was absolutely thrilled.

  “Totaled my car, damn it. One punch, and I’m looking at dealerships.” Carter snarled, the sound inhuman. His wolf was close to the surface, he was that pissed off.

  “Whoa.” Mollie smiled. “You think he was jealous?”

  “Have I told you lately that I hate you?” Carter growled.

  “Kiss kiss.” Mollie laughed, delighted. For just a moment, the chill of Greer’s cold departure from the jail dissipated. The idea that Greer was so jealous he’d killed Carter’s car warmed her fr
om the inside out. She’d thought for so long that he didn’t want her that part of her had begun to believe she’d never have him.

  “I’m betting he went to talk to Inigo, but until he checks in we won’t know for sure.” Carter leaned back when one of the guards grunted at him. “Your psycho boyfriend is on his own now. I’m going to keep looking into Web. If he clears Inigo, who should I check next?”

  Mollie steepled her fingers together. “I hate to say it, but you’re going to have to look at my people. From what you described as Lily’s death scene, either a witch with an affinity for fire did it, or one of the fire elementals did. So start there.” Few had the power she did, but of those, she’d thought them loyal to Maggie’s Grove. She’d fought beside them more than once in defense of the town. They’d celebrated victories together, mourned comrades lost to the Van Helsings and done their part to protect and defend as needed. So knowing it might be someone she’d trusted implicitly to have her back made her want to punch something.

  “Will do. Anything else?”

  “Find out who killed Lily. If you do that, we should have this thing solved.” Mollie sat back herself as one of the guards approached her. “I think our time is up.”

  “Me too.” Carter stood. “I’ll speak to the alpha. Maybe he won’t kill me for hiding all this from him.”

  “Good luck.” Mollie was forced to follow the guard out of the room. “When do I get my one phone call?”

  The guard ignored her and put her in her cell, closing the door. She stuck her manacled hands through the slot when told, sighing when the handcuffs came off. She pulled her hands back as the slot slammed shut, turning around to find she wasn’t alone in her cell.

  “Hi.” Mollie moved forward cautiously, not liking the way the woman stared at her. Her blue eyes were icy cold and her brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She stared at Mollie with hatred in her gaze. “Who are you?”

  Nothing. Not a sound except the woman’s breathing. Her eyes were glued to Mollie, her lips pressed together tightly. Mollie had no idea who she was, but she wasn’t getting a happy feeling from her.

  It was time Mollie used some of the authority she had as one of the leaders of the elementals. She straightened her spine and gave the silent woman one hell of a glare. “I asked you who you are.”

  The sudden pain in her head had Mollie scrambling not to fall to her knees. Well. That answered one question. The woman was one of Lore’s, a psychic, one who probably had the gift of telepathy. “Get out of my mind.” Mollie spoke through gritted teeth. The pain was intense, but Mollie wasn’t about to give in to it.

  The woman didn’t say a word, but the pain intensified, almost blinding Mollie. If Mollie didn’t stop her soon, she would die. With her powers, the psychic could make it look like a burst aneurysm.

  Mollie flicked her fingers, calling her fire. The woman’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected that to happen. “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. I’m not dying today, bitch.”

  The woman stepped back, but the pain—dear gods, the pain—finally dropped Mollie to the floor. She cried out, clutching her head, her fires banked.

  She wasn’t going to ever find out what it was like to be with Greer, because she was going to die on the cold, hard concrete floor of her jail cell. It was too cold, and she was far too tired to fight back. She hadn’t truly slept yet, and her fires were dim.

  I’m so sorry, Greer. So, so sorry. Please forgive me. I should have tried harder, made you understand how much I love you.

  The door slammed open, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see who was standing there. If it was an enemy, it didn’t matter. She was already dead. And if it was a friend...

  Mollie gasped as the pain suddenly snapped away, the cessation so abrupt she reeled from it, collapsing under the relief. She opened her eyes to find her enemy in the air, clutching at her throat.

  “Tell me who sent you.” Lore’s voice was firm, his hand outstretched.

  Well. That wasn’t what she’d expected. Lore was a telekinetic, someone who could lift objects or people with his mind. He could also apply pressure, which Lore was doing, strangling the stranger into submission.

  The woman gasped, showing that Lore hadn’t completely blocked her airway.

  “Tell me who sent you,” Lore snapped, flexing his fingers.

  The woman gagged, her eyes beginning to bulge out.

  Mollie stood, her legs wobbly and her teeth chattering. Damn it, it was so cold. “Lore, don’t kill her.”

  Lore didn’t acknowledge Mollie’s words. He kept the pressure up, the woman struggling in his grasp, her toes barely brushing the floor. “Arlene, answer me!”

  “Stop strangling her and maybe she can.”

  Lore grunted but didn’t relent. “She’s mine to deal with, Mollie. Don’t interfere.”

  Mollie subsided, inching her way along the wall until her knees hit the edge of her bunk. She sat down, watching as Lore questioned Arlene.

  “Mollie killed Lily,” Arlene gasped. “My mate is angry.”

  “Mate?” Lore lowered Arlene until her feet were on the ground, but from the way Arlene still grasped at her neck, he’d kept his hold on her. “I’d forgotten your mate was a wolf.”

  Arlene glared at Mollie. “We want her dead.”

  “What does Noah say about that?” Lore glared at Arlene.

  Mollie shivered. Had Noah called out a hit on her? It didn’t seem his style. He’d always confronted his enemies head-on, but with Mollie in jail, he might have given an order to take her out by any means necessary.

  Arlene looked away. “No. He wants proof she did it, says we should give her the benefit of the doubt. But I know what I heard. Her scent was at the crime scene. She did it, and she should pay.”

  Lore pushed with his hand, and Arlene went flying, landing against the cinderblock wall with a grunt. “This is why I put Mollie in here, so none of you idiots could get to her.” He sighed and let go. Arlene slumped to the floor, gasping for air and massaging her throat. “You’re still one of mine, and if it didn’t mean the death of your mate, I’d take you out right now. As it is, you’re under arrest for attempted murder.”

  “It’s justice.” Arlene glared at Mollie, but all Mollie could do was stare at her in horror. The woman had just tried to kill her without proof and without the permission of her leader or her alpha. She’d be lucky to make it to the next day. The lingering pain in her head was eclipsed by the cold still seeping into her.

  “I didn’t do it.” Maybe if she kept saying it, someone would believe her. Her vision started going dark, her body swaying as her inner fire slowly began to dim. Much more of this and she’d fall into a coma and die.

  “Mollie?” Lore’s voice seemed to come from so far away.

  “Hmm?” She didn’t know anymore if she was sitting up or lying down. All she knew was the cold, the goddamn cold.

  “Mollie, open your eyes.”

  Was that Lore shaking her, or the cold?

  “Shit. Someone call Greer Berkley. Tell him to get his ass here pronto.”

  “Greer,” she whispered, her inner fire responding to that name. The embers flared to life, warming her enough for her to open her eyes. She was lying on her side, covered in every blanket in the room. Still she shook, chilled to the bone. “Need Greer.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I should have assigned you to a warmer cell.” Lore looked so apologetic she couldn’t blame him for her condition. “I’m sorry I’m such a dumbass.”

  She laughed weakly. “Seems to be going around.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced over at Arlene. “Big time.” He stood and walked over to Arlene. “I can tell you that she didn’t kill Lily.”

  Arlene glared up at him. “Prove it.”

  Lore shrugged. “You’re the tele
path. Read her mind.”

  Arlene took a deep breath, glanced at Mollie, and...

  She was in her car, following Bree into the woods.

  She was stalking Bree, hoping to hell the wolf wouldn’t catch her.

  Bree was confronting her, attacking her, and Mollie was forced to kill her.

  She was being healed by Greer, desperate to let him know that Bree was dead, and why.

  She blinked, the visions dissipating as Arlene let her go. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, I... My mate has been grieving, and I could feel it, and...” Arlene’s eyes teared up. “I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them all what I saw.” She covered her eyes with her hands. “You didn’t do it.”

  Lore picked Mollie up. “I’m letting you go, Arlene, only because you can help Mollie. Do something like this again, and your mate will be applying for conjugal visits, you hear me?”

  She nodded, but Mollie didn’t care. Lore was warm, oh so warm. She cuddled into him, taking in some of that warmth, feeding her fire from him.

  Lore shivered hard. “Stop, Mollie. If you do this, Greer will kill me.”

  She tried to stop, but her fire was no longer under her control. She needed the heat he was giving off to survive, and her body was forcing her to take it.

  “Damn it.” He hurried down the hall, stumbling past other cops who stared at them in either confusion or anger. “Russ, open cell ten, now.”

  “Yes, sir.” A young cop opened the door, nodding in respect to Mollie. “Ma’am.”

  “Russ.” Russell Owens, one of hers, would be able to help her where Lore couldn’t. Taking Russ’s fire shouldn’t hurt him, but it would buy her some much needed time. “Help.”

  “Of course.” Russ followed them in, lighting his hands on fire. “Here. Take what you need.”

  Mollie did just that, feeding off the elemental until he was swaying on his feet. “Go warm yourself, Russ, and thanks.”