"So they pound on each other rather than the people who deserve it." Maggie shook her head in disgust. "That's pitiful."
"They're still finding their way." Kellan slumped back into his chair, exhausted. "We're all still finding our way. We haven't been together like this in years. The only person missing is the oldest, Gregor. Then it's really a party."
Chapter Nineteen
Satine huddled below the rubble that had been Twisted, deeming it the safest place for her to hide with the summer sun overhead. Others were above her; not all had fled the destruction, though she couldn’t find Vladimir. The space she'd poured herself into was compact, just a bit of the staircase near her office that hadn't yet collapsed. She had no other place to go, and didn’t know how to find Vlad’s daylight home.
She cursed her lack of forethought. A nice place in the mountains wasn't out of her reach, but did she think about investing? Of course not. She'd followed where Vlad led. He’d been so determined to take over from his sire. Once he got the club and all the Los Angeles vamps, he’d abandoned their real estate game. Too bad he didn’t realize what an example he’d set for her.
With every drop of blood in her body, she wanted Vlad’s power. She deserved Vlad’s power. If only Gabriel’s soul had surrendered to her! She’d be on top. Vlad would be dead. Caine and his brothers would also be dead, they wouldn’t have thought of destroying the club.
They had gone too far. Overstepped their place. She'd have her revenge, though. She always did revenge well. With everything the Caines had done to her, revenge was completely justified. They scared her demons, freed her weres. They killed Chazz. When they ruined Twisted with a couple of well-placed bombs, she'd just been lucky to be away, trying to turn Gabriel. But even if he came to her on bended knee, begging to be her slave, she'd deny him now. Deny them all.
Her thoughts roved over the building, touching on other vampires where they rested, hiding until she needed them. She'd been lucky. Some had remained incredibly loyal to her. She'd definitely have to reward them for surviving, for staying with her through the apocalypse that had become her life.
The Caines had to be dealt with. Destroyed, except for Gabriel. She'd torture him before she killed him. All she needed was the dark. Once sundown hit, she'd take them all out.
Sara. The voice slid into her mind as if they'd done it thousands of times before. The vampire clenched her fists. Rose. The name is Satine. What the hell do you want?
I heard you want Vladimir destroyed. Do you have any ideas on how to go about that?
Satine bit her lip. You still have all the Caines in your back pocket?
There was silence. Satine tried reaching down the pathway to take her to Rose, but a smooth metal door barred her way. Frustration built inside her.
I am still with the Caines, came the cautious reply. Look, if you don't want Vlad taken out, then fine. I'll leave you alone.
No, wait! Satine had thought this through, several times. Her favorite bedtime fantasy. He's like stone. He has few weaknesses. But even stone will crack open when you hit it at the right angle.
So fire is out, mused Rose.
Fear skittered through Satine at the mention of fire, a vampire's worst nightmare. She pushed the thought away and focused on Vlad’s demise. Beheading works, but you need a blade sharp enough, and a hand strong enough to wield it. You bring the Caines tonight and I'll bring Vlad. Satine put as much persuasion in her mental voice as she could. She felt Rose waver.
If we manage to free you from Vlad, then you'll leave us alone? All of us?
That's truly all I want.
We'll see.
Abruptly the sense of Rose drained out of Satine's mind. Elation filled her. Finally, she could see a way clear. Once she had the Caines in front of her, she'd use one against the other and take them all.
Kill them all.
First, of course, Rose. It was a fitting punishment for Gabriel, to see his love die…slowly. Then she'd rip him apart after making him beg for her. The other Caines, well. She'd have to see which of them were up to her weight, sexually. She might be persuaded to keep one of them.
As she planned the Caines' destruction, a part of her roving mind kept watch over the building she huddled in. Another part touched upon Vladimir. If he ever found out about her plans, he’d destroy her. Slowly.
Vlad hadn’t spared her much time since they destroyed his sire. He rarely showed up at the club. He was always off on some adventure or errand without her, or spending time at his lair, a place she'd never been invited to. Yet he expected her to be there whenever he wanted, for whatever he wanted.
Fear ate at her rage and cunning. He was out there, somewhere, and he would be waiting to punish her for failing to keep the club safe. And this time, it wouldn't be a mere cat 'o nine tails wielded in his tireless hand.
No. It would be a thousand times worse. Not a satin-sheeted bed with velvet handcuffs. More likely, it would be an iron bound coffin tucked away in the bowels of the mountains north of the city or something similar that she couldn't escape from. A place where she would waste away, desiccated, bloodless, alone until he saw fit to release her.
She caught back a sob of pure panic. Nothing was worse for a vampire than the absence of their senses. Touching nothing, being suspended in the dark, was one of her nightmares from childhood. How ironic that, now she had become one of the world's most dangerous predators, that nightmare actually looked to come true.
He'd even told her so. As he'd whipped her that last time, he'd told her he suspected her of treason, of wanting his power. He’d told her she’d never get away from him, that she was his pet. His plaything, to use or ignore at his desire.
Satine's low growl in the dark caused a minor rumbling in the plaster and building materials above her head. Dust sifted around her as she caught her emotions. Footsteps reverberated from far above. She couldn't scent who it was, but she knew it wasn't night yet. That switch that all vampires had in their heads hadn't been triggered. It wouldn't be safe to rise now, not even to stop the intruder.
Satine.
A chill slid down her spine. She went still as stone there in the dark, her face pressed against her knees. If she kept her mind blank, empty, maybe Vlad wouldn't find her. Terror struck her bones, made them feel brittle and almost human in their delicacy.
Satine.
The compelling need to answer him grew stronger. Satine bit her lip hard and kept as blank as she could, blending into the wallboard beside her. Willing her mind to be stone. Cold, dark, numb. She had only a breath to prepare once she felt his mind touch hers.
He broke her image of stone wide apart. The pain came next. Her spine arched with it, her mouth opened wide but no sound came out. Her eyes strained to see in the dark that had become absolute. He'd caught her and she was no longer in her own mind, but in his. Satine was his now, to do with as he pleased.
With no sense of her body, her mind, terrified, fell into the abyss he'd prepared for her.
* * *
Gabriel came through the front door like a hurricane, bringing the heat of a Santa Ana wind with him. "Where is she?" he demanded, striding into the great room where Maggie sat working on her computer.
She looked up, bewildered. "Rose? She's outside. At least, we all saw her go."
"I've walked the entire orchard. Looked in the back storage sheds. I thought maybe she was with the kittens, but no. She's not out there, anywhere. I can't even feel her mind." Gabriel's hand went to the scar on his throat.
Kellan, slumped in a deep armchair, sat up. "What about the cars? Would she have taken one of the cars?"
"If someone was stupid enough to leave the keys in the car, you betcha she'd take it," said Maggie. "That's opportunity knocking, right there."
Kellan paled. "The Jag."
The men scrambled for the front door, Gabriel getting there first. He yanked it open and stared. Maggie's purple van. Kellan's gleaming Mustang sat beside Gabriel’s motorcycle, but no Jag. "Aw, hell. Justin's gonna kil
l you.”
“Wait, here she comes.”
Rose maneuvered the Jag down the long driveway and brought it to a careful stop beside Maggie's van.
A collective sigh of relief went through them, and then they were following Gabriel down the front steps to the Jag.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he exploded, yanking the driver door open. The sheer relief that she was back and safe fueled his fury. "Or were you even thinking? Do you remember the last time you were alone? This could have ended in a huge disaster. How thoughtless can you get?"
"Uh oh.” Maggie retreated back to the house.
Rose got out of the car and faced Gabriel. "I paid a visit to Satine. I thought that maybe I could get her to tell us how to take this Vlad guy out."
Gabriel shared a brief glance with Kellan and Justin.
"I'm here, safe and sound, and so is your precious Jaguar," she added, thrusting the keys into Justin's hand and glaring at him. "If you didn't want it stolen, you shouldn't have left the keys in the ignition."
Rose moved to go around Gabriel, but when he kept blocking her way, she put her hands on her hips in frustration. "Now what? Want to insult me some more? Treat me like I don't matter?"
"No. Damn it, don't put words into my mouth."
"Stop trying to protect me," she flared back. Taking a step back, she evaded his reaching hands. "And don't touch me," she added icily. Stepping around him, she headed for the house, her head held high.
The three men stood looking at each other, each of them feeling helpless. "I really don't like this," said Kellan.
Justin snorted. "Women. Nothing but trouble."
Gabriel looked to the house and sighed. "Yeah."
“Glad I'm not the relationship type." Kellan followed his cousins into the house.
Justin snorted. "And Gabriel is? Puh-leeze."
"You'll get yours, boys," Gabriel declared. "You'll get yours."
* * *
Rose picked up the coffee Maggie set in front of her. “I think I got enough information to help at least. Please don’t make me feel guiltier than I already do.” That guilt sat like a ball of lead in her stomach.
Maggie patted her hand. “I understand why you had to go. I just wish you’d asked me to go with you.”
She turned her hand and gripped Maggie’s. “Thank you. For coming when I called, for being here now. I just…thank you.”
Surprise crossed Maggie’s face. “You’re welcome.”
They both looked up as the men came in, jostling each other until they stood silent, waiting. Even Gabriel looked at her expectantly, as though she should lead.
Rose took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I should have trusted you to believe in my idea of talking to Satine, and I didn’t. But I did learn a few things. First off, Vlad won’t die easily. Apparently he's made of stone. Rock. Whatever, fire won't kill him and I'm not about to waste a blade on trying to make that work. So we might have to forget about him for now."
"You went to a vampire to figure out how to kill a vampire? Okay. That makes a twisted kind of sense."
"Thank you so much Justin," she said drily.
Unexpectedly, Maggie came to her rescue. "Satine shouldn't be a big problem. From my research, killing a young vampire isn't that hard. Coming out alive is the tricky part, especially since she's your opposite. The demon, however, will be a bit more difficult."
"I’ll take anything I can get. You've got something I can use?" Rose turned to Maggie.
"I don't know how much this will help, but you need to claim your personal power. Keep that knowledge of your power in the forefront of your will to live. Sometimes, a person's will to live keeps them alive beyond all reason." Maggie shrugged. "It's from an ancient Sumerian text."
“Sumerian text? Who reads Sumerian texts anymore?”
Rose sat as Maggie poked back at Justin. Kellan had bent to speak privately to Gabriel. Their voices filled the kitchen and her heart expanded. Love just filled her up. She loved these people. Though it had happened fast, the bonds from her to them were firm.
Yet each of them might die in the battle to come. If she could keep them out of the fight she would, she vowed. Gabriel’s voice broke into her concentration. “Wait. What did you say?” She reached over and touched Gabriel’s arm.
"We'll have to use me as bait," Gabriel repeated. "I've been thinking about it. Satine wants me, so we'll give her what she wants."
Rose nodded. His idea drew awfully close to hers, with one exception. She would be the bait, not Gabriel. Better that they believe his plan, rather than working to get their acceptance of hers. She cut across the voices arguing against Gabriel’s decision. "Let's do it tonight. She's expecting us." Tonight, she thought, while she still had the courage.
Gabriel flashed her a smile. "I agree, tonight." He looked around the table. “Any takers?”
"I think you're nuts. Both of you. But I'll be there as your backup." Kellan, cradling the delicate, rose-painted cup between his big hands tickled Rose. She stifled a giggle. "Are you expecting Vlad to be there as well?"
"Mister made-of-rock?" Rose frowned. "She said he would be. I don’t know how much we can trust her."
"I'm not comfortable with you waltzing into danger. Any of us, for that matter." Justin frowned from Rose to Gabriel.
Rose smiled. God but he was so sweet. "I know. I'm not comfortable with you being in danger, either. But we'll both just have to suck it up, won't we?"
"I'll work on some protective spells." Maggie slid on a pair of glasses. "I'll have to go shopping. But there are things I can do that will help."
"Thank you." Rose reached across, squeezed Maggie's hand. "I really appreciate it. So we strike tonight.”
"The sooner the better, for my state of mind," declared Kellan. "All this togetherness is making me twitchy."
"He's a born loner," confirmed Justin.
"What about the weres? Think we should bring in Danny Roush's pack?" Kellan looked to Gabriel.
"Yeah. I'll give him a courtesy call. He should at least know what's going down. If I've read him right, he'll want to be there. Do I think we'll need him? Nah. My guess is her vamps will have scattered. She'll be there, though, pissed off and plotting. The only variable is Vlad. If he's there, then it'll be all hands on deck." Gabriel looked to Justin. "Sound good?"
"It's the way I would go," and Justin turned to Maggie. "Are you planning to join us? Or will you cast your spells from afar?" His voice turned taunting.
Maggie flushed. "Of course I'll be there. Some spells aren't effective unless they're cast at the last second." She scowled at Justin. "Don't worry, though. I won't let your irritating presence mar my concentration."
His eyes flashed. "Good."
"Rose, may I suggest, at the risk of acting bossy, that you get some rest? Drink lots of fluids. If you're planning to go all fire-demony tonight, you'll need the hydration. Another meal or two would probably be a good idea, as well."
Enthralled at the palpable tension in the room, Rose missed what had been said. Maggie and Justin? "What?” She flashed a look at Gabriel. “Oh, food. Got it. Sounds reasonable." Maggie and Justin. Interesting.
"Kellan, do some recon this afternoon. Suss out what the local law enforcement has to say about what happened at Twisted. We may need a badge tonight, so set it up."
"You got it. I'm gone, people. Gabriel, Justin, I'll call. Otherwise, don't look for me until tonight at the scene." Kellan moved in and gave Rose a hearty kiss on the lips. "For luck," he said, and gave her a grin.
She grinned back. And there was another sweetie. Kellan was big, bad, mean…and soft as a marshmallow inside. "I'll take all I can get. Thanks."
Maggie cleared her throat after Kellan left. "What about me?"
Gabriel looked at her. "I'm pairing you with Justin. Get whatever you need for tonight but keep him with you. He'll have phone calls to make and such. I'm staying with Rose, but if Justin needs to get to Doc Cavanaugh's, he'll be closer if he's
with you, and I won't have to leave Rose alone."
Justin popped Gabriel on the shoulder. “I’m fine, Gabriel. All clear from last night’s vampy fun and games.”
“Your kidneys are doing well?” Maggie gave Justin a stern look.
“Breakfast made a new man of me. Ladies, if you’ll excuse us?” Justin motioned to Gabriel and the two of them went outside.
* * *
“What’s going on?” Gabriel watched as Justin paced the wide front porch, the door closed behind them.
“I still don’t trust Magdalena. Are you sure we should have her come? I can ditch her.”
“Rose is attached to her. I believe Maggie is who she seems to be. You’re not the only one who can use the Internet, you know.” He watched Justin, surprised at his brother’s unusual jumpiness. “If you’re that concerned, stick close to her.”
"Trust me, I will,” he said grimly. “So what's on your schedule?"
"Demon drills. I want to be able to go demon on purpose and not just in reaction to emotions." He wanted to be ready to fight with all of himself.
"That'll come in handy. Don't wear yourself out on drills, though. You'll have fighting to do tonight, so take your own advice about extra meals. Although I understand your reasoning, we need to be prepared to handle other vampires."
"Yeah, I know. It's why I want to make the switch easier."
"Don't forget, you're part Fae, too. You should practice calling on your Fae heritage. You never know when you'll need it. I can stay with you and help if you like."
Understanding dawned, and Gabriel smiled. "You are so transparent. You’re attracted, aren’t you? She’s got you scared, Magdalena does. Otherwise you wouldn’t be shoving this down my throat."
"Not true. It’s not my fault you weren't here, little brother. You're gonna be front line on protecting Rose, as well as the rest of us. You need to give your Fae blood a chance to help."
Maggie came through the front door, her head held high, eyes hidden by big sunglasses. She carried her purse and her computer bag. Both men turned to look at her. Justin leaned toward Gabriel. "Remember. You are more than demon. It’s time you started acting like it. We’re taking the Jag, Magdalena. Your van will be safe here.”
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