by E G Bateman
“He’ll feed Will. It will help him heal. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t think of it,” Edward explained as they sat on the floor in the hallway.
After a few minutes, Jesús appeared at the door. “We can move him now.”
They walked in to find Dick zipped into a body bag.
Scott looked at it and tilted his head with a small smile. “I’m surprised he doesn’t have a diamond-encrusted body bag.”
“I’m right here,” the vampire said from inside and his voice sounded like it had gained strength.
“Oh. Where’s your earpiece?” Scott asked Lexi as he picked the net up.
She slung his bag over her shoulder. “The vamp stamped on it.”
“He busted your communicator? What a bastard.” He shook his head.
Startled, she stared at him with her mouth agape. “He also killed Leonard and tortured Dick. I know you like your tech but get some fucking perspective.” She slapped him upside the head and walked out.
Chapter Sixteen
Caleb sat in his office the next morning and waited to receive the call informing him of Todd’s death. He wondered if he should have called off his request to burn William’s home after he’d set up the portal trap, but what was the point? The mayor had to be dealt with sooner or later and sooner was better.
For a few moments, he fantasized about the call. Would it come from Stanley? Betsy? He imagined feigning shock and horror, then he imagined telling Betsy the truth and watching her little old face crumble. The mental image made him chuckle. It no longer mattered, though. Tonight was the night. It had to be. He’d clear Kate out of that store, pull its magical wards down, and tear it to pieces.
He was distracted by visions of Todd burning, his hair aflame and face crackling. Irritated, he shook his head. Not now.
Hahahahaha. Azatoth laughed in his mind.
The telephone in the outer office rang, then his personal line.
“Yes,”
His secretary spoke. “It’s Mr. Hughes.”
His lawyer would no doubt have called to confirm that everything was ready to go ahead. “Put him through… Donald. How are things?”
“Hello, Caleb. I haven’t received the paperwork from the mayor’s office.”
“You haven’t? That’s strange. Todd was going to send it last night.” He hung up.
Caleb tried to recall if he had told Todd to send it or bring it. Conflicting orders—such as “Bring this to me after you’ve killed yourself”—didn’t always raise the flags it should. He was sure he’d told him to send it. If the news of his death had reached his staff, they might have failed to forward it. He’d have to find out. The next mayor might not be as malleable as Todd had proven to be. He picked the phone up. “Get me the mayor’s office.”
The call was answered without delay. “Mayor’s office.”
“It’s Caleb Linden. Put me through to the mayor.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Linden. The office is in disarray at the moment. We don’t currently have a mayor.”
“My condolences.” He stifled a giggle that wasn’t his own.
“I’m sorry?” The voice sounded puzzled.
“I…sorry, I automatically assumed…” He left the sentence incomplete and experienced a niggling feeling of doubt.
“The mayor has taken an extended break.”
“He’s…are you sure?”
“Yes. He called this morning and he’s had a sudden family emergency. But he did ask me to send a package to you. It should be in your hands within the hour.”
“I see. Thank you for your assistance.”
Caleb disconnected and leaned back to consider what could have happened. Perhaps his brain had finally scrambled and he had been committed? It didn’t matter. The paperwork was on its way.
He walked to the wall of bookcases, opened a drinks cabinet, and poured himself a whiskey.
Ten minutes later, the delivery arrived. His secretary placed it on his desk and left, and he smiled. Everything was turning out fine. A little last-minute, maybe, but that was okay. He opened the envelope and slid the documents out, and the smile froze on his face and slowly faded. The envelope contained several blank sheets, although the one on the front presented a clear message. It was a photocopy of two hands flipping the bird. He recognized Todd’s class ring and Betsy’s engagement ring.
How uncouth.
William was behind this. He knew it. Reluctantly, he came to the conclusion that things hadn’t gone according to plan at the abandoned fire station either.
Caleb rocked thoughtfully in his chair. I don’t like this. There’s too much interference. I think it’s time to put my contingency plan into place.
Azatoth spoke. Dismember them.
He rolled his eyes. That might be overkill. He looked at the telephone. They won’t like this.
Azatoth hissed. They don’t have to like it. They serve…you.
The man smiled again. William and his friends would have a nasty surprise if they interfered. He wadded the paper, dropped it into the trash, and snatched the phone.
Chapter Seventeen
Lexi was awoken by the sound of Edward’s telephone ringing. Having lost her favorite sweats in the junk-filled suitcase, she slipped quickly into shorts and a t-shirt. She headed past Scott’s empty room and continued to the kitchen. Edward stood beside the kitchen door, speaking on the phone.
“I’m very well, Stanley. How are you? I hear we’ve got a wedding to attend.”
He listened.
“Why would Tommy be worried? Marcia told me they were going to some spa or whatever it is women do these days.”
The shifter glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I heard you’d requested that they hold the wedding immediately and it’s about time, in my opinion. Those two have been pussyfooting around long enough. Marcia said that was why they were going to the spa—to get away from the menfolk and plan a wedd— You wanted it today? Is she pregnant? Well, I’ll be honest, Stan. She’s got a lot of family around here. I’m sure they’d be put out to miss Kate’s wedding. Why not make it a month from now? Give me a chance to fit into my suit.”
Edward held the phone away from his ear and Stan’s tinny voice could be heard screeching through it. He rolled his eyes.
“You seem a little on edge there, Stanley. Is everything okay? Stanley? Stanley?” He hung up and smiled. “I think we were disconnected.”
Lexi sat, picked up her low-tops, and slipped them on. “He sounded hysterical. Is he normally like that?”
“No.” He tilted his head and drew his brows together in thought. “He sounds like the mayor did last night when he couldn’t burn Dick like he was supposed to.”
Lexi instinctively tried to twist her ring. When she realized her finger was empty, she placed her hands on the table in front of her. “So, the need to get them married is definitely part of the compulsion.”
“I don’t get it. Why now and why so fast? Caleb’s been here for years. If he always planned to force this wedding through, he could have told Stan to demand it before now.” Edward shook his head.
She stood and looked along the hall to the basement door. “How’s Dick?”
“He’s sleeping and healing. He’ll be okay.” Edward sat at the table and shuffled paper as she wandered away to locate the others.
Dolores sat at a table in the garden, watching as Scott threw a ball for Marcel. The puppy chased it and when it stopped rolling, he stood and barked at it.
“You’re supposed to bring it back.” The sorcerer explained Fetch to Marcel as though he were speaking to a human, then gave it another try with—unsurprisingly—the same result.
Lexi took a seat next to the woman. “How are you feeling?”
“I believe the kids would say I’m ‘coming down.’”
She face-palmed. “I am so sorry.”
“Well, I’m happy you don’t actually have monsters living in your dimensional pocket. It needs a damn good cleaning in there, though, and
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at chocolate again.”
“It won’t happen again—” she began.
Dolores leaned forward. “You need to train so you don’t have to resort to such things.”
Lexi spread her arms. “Well…you know, as soon as I can get to the gym.”
“You don’t need to wait for that.” The woman turned toward the house. “Edward, dear?”
He came out through the patio doors. “Yes, Dolores?”
“Are you busy right now?”
“I’ve got my beta coming over in an hour. What do you need?”
“Lexi needs a little workout. If you manage to bite her, I’ll give you this shiny dollar.” She held a dollar coin out and put it on the table in front of her.
“What?” Lexi’s jaw dropped.
The shifter grinned and flexed his leg.
“She’s kidding.” She turned to Dolores. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’ll give you a three-minute head-start.” Edward started to shift.
Lexi bolted into the woods. Knowing she couldn’t outrun him, she tried to think strategically. Her performance was still enhanced a little from the diminishing vampire blood in her system, which was as well because she was now too far away from Scott to draw magic. She found a small grove of trees and ran around it. When she reached her starting place, she bounded as far as she could in another direction. She gauged that the jump took her almost thirty feet before she vaulted into the branches of a tree, hid behind the trunk, and peeked out.
As expected, she didn’t have long to wait. A few seconds later, Edward appeared, padding along at a leisurely pace. He followed her scent around the grove and returned to the starting place. After a moment, he made another circuit, this time at a trot.
She watched from the tree with a smile.
When he reached the beginning again, he sat on his haunches and tilted his head but soon set off again at a run. She shuffled to turn and sit with her back against the tree while she held her hand over her mouth to silence her laugh. When she looked again, there was no sign of her pursuer.
Damn. I should have paid attention.
The grove was empty and she waited a few seconds to see if he would repeat his search, but he made no appearance. She climbed silently from the tree and she decided it was time to move on. Uncertain which direction to choose, she stood motionless behind the trunk and tried to make a decision when a long, wet, warm tongue licked the back of her leg from her ankle to the edge of her shorts.
Lexi shrieked. “Dude, that’s gross.”
Edward shifted. “That was for tricking me. First one back gets that shiny dollar.” He began to shift again and she ran.
When she came out of the tree line, Edward was seated with Dolores, spinning the dollar, and looked like he hadn’t even broken a sweat. He smirked and she stuck her tongue out at him as she strode past.
She showered, donned her familiar leathers, and joined the others again.
“Betsy called.” Scott passed her a glass of juice. “Todd remembers everything.”
“Everything? He knows what he tried to do?” She raised her eyebrows.
The shifter followed her into the house and stood for a moment while he tested the temperature of a bowlful of scrambled eggs. “He wants to know what Scott did to his mother.” He put the bowl on the floor and scratched Marcel’s neck as he descended on it. “Todd’s upset because Betsy seems perfectly at ease with William being a vampire.” The others joined them in the kitchen.
“What’ll he do? Will he tell anyone?” For some reason, everyone absently watched Marcel snarf the food as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.
Edward straightened. “You can ask him yourself. They’re coming over.”
Lexi looked at the others, who didn’t seem concerned. “Is that safe? They might be followed.”
“A few of the pack are waiting on the highway to deter anyone following.”
An hour later, Betsy, Todd, and Jess joined them in Edward’s kitchen.
“Is William here?” Betsy was fidgeting.
“William’s catching up on his sleep. He’s more of a night owl.” Edward smiled.
“Oh, of course.” The woman giggled. “Does he sleep in a coffin?”
The shifter laughed. “This is Will we’re talking about. He sleeps in Ralph Lauren sheets and won’t let anything with a thread count lower than six hundred touch his skin.”
Betsy smiled. “Our William always did like to have the best.”
Todd shook his head. “Well, we can’t stay. We’re on our way to the airport. I’m getting Mother the hell out of here. We’re going to Europe.”
“Oh, the vampire capital of the world.” Dolores smiled.
The man froze.
She laughed. “Kidding.”
Betsy joined her laughter and patted Todd’s arm while he shook his head.
He held an envelope up. “I wanted to drop this off. Caleb asked me to post it last night. It was still in the outbound mail tray this morning.” He put the envelope on the table. “It’s my approval for further construction work to go ahead at various properties Caleb’s been buying up on Palm Canyon Drive. I’ve voided it and requested a full investigation into his proposal.”
Lexi turned to face his mother. “Can you tell me what you know about Caleb?”
The woman frowned. “He appeared nearly six years ago and came to the house a few times to meet with Harv. He seemed very pleasant. Then, out of nowhere, Harv announced he was taking Caleb on as a partner so he could expand the business. I was shocked. We’d been talking about selling the business. Within a year, Harvey died of what we thought was a heart attack and Caleb bought out Harv’s half of the company.”
“This sounds familiar. It’s almost exactly what happened with Kate’s father.”
“The bastard.” Todd clenched his jaw and fists simultaneously as though they were one muscle. “I still can’t believe he killed Dad. What the hell is he? Mom says he’s a sorcerer. Things like that don’t even exist. And what did he want with our family business?”
“You were never interested in the company, Todd. I’d have sold it anyway.”
“How are you taking this shit so well?” He looked exasperated but realized he’d cursed in his mother’s presence. “Sorry, Mom.”
“When you’ve lived as long as I have, you’re never really surprised by anything. The good or the bad.” Betsy stood, collected her bag, and took both of Lexi’s hands. “Give William my love and tell him to be careful. You too, dear. I’ll call William tomorrow. Oh! Tomorrow night.”
The visitors left, followed by their wolfen motorcade.
“I’ve been looking into Caleb Linden too,” Dolores announced. “I’ve only been able to trace that name back about ten years. He didn’t exist before then.”
Lexi “So who the hell is he?”
“He bought a mining operation in South Africa. There was some kind of investigation because employees stopped going home after a while. Then, he simply abandoned it, sold up, and moved here. There was another purchase of land in England, but there doesn’t seem to have been any activity at the site. So, what do we think?” Dolores asked.
The younger woman leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “I think I want to know what’s so special about Kate’s land.”
“And why now?” Edward added. “We can assume the demand for Kate and Tommy to marry immediately has come from Caleb. What’s so special about now?”
“Some supernatural group you are,” Jess said from the doorway.
They looked up to where she stood at the patio doors.
Edward shrugged. “What are we missing?”
“It’s the solstice.” She entered and took an apple from a bowl on the countertop. Her movements casual, she pulled a chair out and turned it before she sat on it backward and took a bite from the fruit.
Dolores rolled her eyes. “I feel stupid for missing that.”
The shi
fter’s phone rang again, and he moved away to answer it.
“So, we’ve got a working theory for why now, but we still don’t know what’s at the heart of this.” Lexi frowned in thought.
Scott turned to her. “Do you remember that weird vibe I got at the bar?”
“The one that nearly got you flattened by a truck? Yes, I remember it. And those Norse protection runes hanging from the ceiling.”
Jess straightened. “Kira makes those. She and Daisy belong to the local coven.”
The young man picked Marcel up and allowed the puppy to lick his nose. He turned to Jess. “Does Daisy sell them in her flower shop?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t remember them having price tags.” The woman bit a piece of apple off and offered it to Marcel, who snapped it out of her fingers and dropped it immediately on the table and shook his head.
Dolores picked up the discarded fruit and placed it on the edge of her plate. “Jess, can you find out why Kate wanted the runes? She might simply have liked the look of them.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She stood and headed outside with her cell in her hand.
The woman sighed and her brow wrinkled as she thought. “Tell me about the demons.”
Scott leaned forward. “Size of a man, black, jello-like skin, except for the pincers and claws on their arms and legs which were gray, huge mouths, and too many teeth.”
“Poisonous skin,” interrupted Edward with his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.
“Way too many eyes. Like, all over its freaking head,” Lexi added.
“They burst into goop when they die. It’s gross.” The young man shuddered.
Dolores nodded. “I know what you’re describing. Did you notice its weaknesses?”
Lexi folded her arms. “My katana.”
The other woman rolled her eyes. “Anything else?”
“Like what?” Now, she leaned forward too.
“These creatures don’t have noses. They smell through their mouths and they don’t have ears. They hear through soundwaves bouncing off their eyes. Loud noises can effectively blind them. They are vile lower-level creatures, have a hive mentality, and communicate by clicking their pincers. If they can’t communicate, they can freak out but twice, you’ve met them acting alone, which is unusual.”