To Hell and Back (Hellcat Series Book 4)

by Sharon Hannaford

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  It had taken Caspian a full week of careful surveillance of all aspects of the Princep Court, so long that he’d had to resort to feeding on vagrants from the edge of town, before he felt confident enough to show his face. During his time in the secret tunnels, he’d discovered they were more extensive than he would’ve believed. He’d been able to spy on everyone from the kitchen staff to the Princeps themselves, when they were holding meetings, at least. He’d been too concerned about alerting them to his presence to try spying on them in their private quarters. And he’d learnt another interesting thing. One of the human staff was aware of the secret tunnels and made use of them on a regular basis. He’d almost been uncovered by the man more than once, but had managed to slip away each time. If he’d had a little more time, and a few less pressing problems, it would’ve been an interesting puzzle to solve.

  It was terribly frustrating simply waiting for someone to talk about a subject he was interested in. More than once he’d been tempted to come out of hiding long enough to enthral a Werewolf to do his bidding. While most who knew him knew of his ability to control a Werewolf, he had never revealed to anyone his ability to ‘hear’ what an enthralled Werewolf heard. Unfortunately he could only enthral a Werewolf if he could make eye contact with it, and sometimes it took a few minutes to wrest control of the wolf’s mind. In that amount of time they could raise some kind of alarm. He’d been hours away from trying it despite the risk when he finally heard what he’d been waiting for.

  A small party of Werewolf Court guards sitting in a break room were knocking back hard liquor and discussing the appointment of the new Princeps. They were debating the good and bad of the newcomers. The new female Princep was from Egypt and had such a superior attitude the staff had dubbed her Queen Cleopatra. The man was less demanding but extremely private, and the rumour was that he’d been a gladiator in ancient Rome. This had the guards debating his age and whether it could possibly be true. Caspian had no care for listening to speculation. He was certain that the gladiator stories were fabrications anyway; Vampires of that age were few and far between.

  He was about to leave his spy hole when one of the guards suddenly mentioned Helene’s name, wondering how quickly she would’ve lured the new Princep into her bed. Caspian paused, gritting his teeth as they made vulgar jokes and discussed her sexual proclivities, including her attraction to teenage boys and her love of orgies. He barely resisted smashing his fist into one of the rock walls, and was about to leave when one of them made an offhand comment about her taking the easy way out. One of the others confirmed the story, adding his own embellishments and some lewd remarks about what he would’ve done to her had he been on guard duty with her. The anger that had been simmering at the fool’s audacity to discuss Helene evaporated instantly. If the official story was that Helene had found a way to take her own life, then it was safe to show himself at Court. Once able to mingle with the others at Court, he’d soon know if Julius had lodged a complaint with the Princeps and called his Oath of Fealty into question. And while he did that, he’d concoct a backstory to explain his abrupt disappearance.

  It took only a few hours for him to find out that Julius hadn’t brought up anything with the Princeps to do with him. His carefully fostered friendships at Court were finally paying dividends. The lack of formal complaint didn’t mean he was in the clear with Julius, but it would be frowned on for Julius to simply kill him on sight without first taking the matter up with the Princeps. Julius was just ethical enough to obey stupid laws like that, Caspian thought with a sneer. The thought of returning to Gabrielle’s company took the edge off the intense itch that had been niggling his very soul for the last several weeks. He felt at peace, and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face. He didn’t hesitate to make travel plans.

  CHAPTER 20

  “So we’re back to waiting for them to attack us?” Gabi groused, tapping a booted foot on the carpet in front of the couch. She swirled the ice and whiskey in her glass and glared at it. Tonight she actually wished it was possible for her to get drunk; she’d love to get drunk enough to forget everything. Even just for a few hours. Maybe it was a good thing she couldn’t. Though everyone seemed to agree that the Dark Ones wouldn’t have the power or resources to attack them for at least the next few days, she couldn’t help but worry that they would manage to surprise them all yet again.

  It was the crowd of usual suspects in the entertainment room at the Estate. Athena was the one pacing for a change. Dressed in black slacks and a cream blouse, her whole demeanour seemed to have shifted in the last few days. Her haughty, businesslike attitude and obvious disdain of the other races had fallen by the wayside somewhere along the ride. Her confidence had taken a knock after the events at the warehouse. They’d come scarily close to being overwhelmed by demons, and Athena had never been in such close-quarters fighting with something that could literally rip her head off. But the loss of that slightly overbearing confidence had been replaced by a grim determination; instead of rolling over and admitting defeat, the Magus was grabbing the problem with both hands and preparing to wrestle it into submission. The biggest difference was her openness to the suggestions and knowledge of others. She was actually listening to them, and by the forced removal of her blinkers, she was quickly beginning to jump on possibilities the rest of them didn’t see. No one ever accused Athena of being slow or stupid.

  “The Oracles are trying everything they can,” she said as she paced away from the group, towards the French doors, “but they just aren’t powerful enough to break through the shielding spell. The Dark Ones can cast much stronger spells than us when they use Blood Magic.” Suddenly she froze, quite literally, one foot off the ground in mid-step. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Gabi would’ve laughed aloud. Gabi wasn’t the only one to go on immediate alert. Fergus’s hand went to his sword belt, Kyle’s fell to the dagger in his boot, and Julius and Alexander were both on their feet without Gabi seeing them move.

  “Benedict.” Athena rounded on the Vampire, who was sitting at the bar, pouring shots of, as far as Gabi could tell, every hard liquor Julius had in stock. Mac was a couple of barstools down, nursing a Coke.

  “Yes, Lady Defender?” Benedict said, not looking at her, and downing a shot glass of dark purple alcohol. He grimaced in a pleased sort of way and picked up the next one, eyeing the green liquid in it speculatively.

  “Benedict!” Athena growled.

  He downed the next shot, and his face contorted into a comical mask. Gabi guessed he’d found the absinthe.

  “Athena,” he drawled, in a nasal imitation of an annoying teenager.

  Gabi glanced at Julius, one eyebrow raised. Was it possible that Benedict was actually getting drunk? Julius gave a tiny shake of his head and then a shrug, which Gabi interpreted to mean ‘probably not, but who the Hell knows?’

  Athena strode towards the bar, and Gabi half expected her to slap the ancient Vampire. She actually held her breath, not sure how the Princep would take that kind of treatment, even though he seemed to have some kind of feelings for the Magus. Everyone had a snapping point, and Benedict may well be at his. Instead she grabbed the next tot glass out of his fingers and spun the barstool until he faced her.

  “Snap out of it,” she snarled. “We lost a battle; get over it. The war hasn’t even begun.”

  Gabi hadn’t even realised until that moment how different Benedict had been since the trap in the warehouse. Now that she thought about it, he was acting a little like a kicked puppy.

  “Let’s blow this City,” Benedict said to her. “Come back to Court with me. This place is doomed.”

  “No. It’s. Not,” Athena enunciated each word. “And you can make the difference.”

  Benedict heaved a huge sigh and, without breaking eye contact with her, reached back and picked up another shot. He downed the bright red liquid and instantly began coughing and spluttering. Gabi turned a giggle into a cough; evi
dently he’d found the cinnamon liqueur.

  “How can I do that, my Lady Defender?” he wheezed, his eyes watering just a little.

  “Come with me to the Oracles,” Athena said. “Link with them; enhance their power. With your help, they might be able to see through the powerful shielding spell.”

  “I don’t like your pet Clairvoyants,” he said, with a petulant pout. “They’re spoilt, cosseted children with an overinflated opinion of themselves.”

  Gabi wasn’t in time to stop the amused snort that erupted from her nose as he described his own behaviour. Benedict turned his head towards her, far enough that Athena couldn’t see his expression, and winked. Gabi couldn’t contain herself any longer. Between the tension of the last few days and the exhaustion from nights of fighting, the wink, combined with Athena’s glare in her direction, sent her over the edge. She laughed until her ribs ached, and after a few seconds of befuddlement, the rest of them joined in. It was the best stress reliever Gabi had ever experienced, and when she regained her breath, she felt like an entire mountain had been excavated from her shoulders.

  “It’s actually a very good idea.” Julius spoke once they’d collected themselves and Gabi and Kyle had finished wiping tears from their eyes. “Will you do it, Benedict?”

  “You’ll owe me one,” he answered, downing yet another shot of alcohol, a pale orange-coloured one, obviously a little less potent than the previous few, because he actually smiled and looked at the glass appreciatively.

  Gabi rolled her eyes; trust him to like peach schnapps.

  Gabi picked at the leftover Thai takeaway food. The Oracles were still playing at being secretive; it had taken some convincing on Athena’s part to get them to meet with Benedict. They’d finally acceded but only on the condition that she and Benedict go alone. To fill the time, Gabi had taken Mac and Kyle with her on a food run after Athena and Benedict left. She’d taken immense pleasure in introducing Mac to the palate-pleasing cuisine produced by her favourite Thai restaurant. His scepticism soon gave way to reluctant nods of approval; he seemed particularly fond of the beef rib red curry. Gabi had ordered an array of meals, and the food-eaters amongst them shared the containers around, sampling each until they were full to bursting. The Vampires had looked on with that intense concentration they only seemed to get when watching others eat; that look that was part remembering, part wondering, and all envious. Gabi was too hungry to feel sorry for them.

  When they’d eaten themselves to a standstill, Julius went off to take care of some business, and the rest left to do whatever it was Vampires did in the early hours of the morning, leaving just her, Mac, Kyle and Alexander in the room. In boredom she flicked on the large flat-screen TV and found a news channel. Trish had sent word earlier that the media in the City were all in a tizzy over the minor earthquake that had apparently rolled across much of the City, not only in the industrial area around the warehouse. Experts were concerned about shifting tectonic plates and the possibility of further quakes more serious than the first one.

  Sure enough a news presenter was interviewing a seismologist on the size and range of the earthquake, and discussing the chance of more. Bored, Gabi switched channels, the next one she stopped on was a small, regional channel dedicated to the more unusual stuff that happened. Gabi knew the channel well; it gave Byron countless headaches as their researchers had a knack for finding genuine examples of supernatural occurrences, sometimes with video or photographic evidence. It was a lucky thing that the vast majority of humans liked wearing their rational blinkers, and as easy as it was to produce some kind of recorded proof of the paranormal with the advent of smartphones, tablets, intelligent eyewear and the like, it was now just as easy to fob off any such proof as CGI or graphic manipulation. As the human race evolved technologically, it also devolved spiritually. The few believers left were simply not enough of a voice to make others believe something they didn’t want to.

  Gabi scowled as a male reporter—dressed vaguely goth, complete with studs in his nose, lip, eyebrow and tongue—stood facing her from the TV screen, describing some of the clean-up operations that had gone on after the battle the previous night. By the man’s description, he’d been somewhere not too far off. He’d seen large wolves, men and women with bandages and blood, the medical vans as well as their battle clothing, and some of the new weapons.

  Gabi knew Trish and some of the Magi from the SMV would make sure there was no seriously damning evidence, and the scene would be fobbed off as a movie set or something similar. The few humans who believed the reports wouldn’t become a real threat to them. Unless the supernatural races chose it, nothing would uncover them, but it was another job to do when they needed to pool all talent and conserve all energy. Mac, seeing her interest in the channel, told her a little more about his home city and how they dealt with the ghost-hunter types and the believers. It wasn’t too dissimilar to their own solutions; there were only so many ways you could dissuade annoyingly persistent humans.

  She was just getting antsy enough to think about going for a shower, or perhaps a swim in the newly built, heated, indoor pool when Athena arrived back. Alone. She looked tired to the point of collapse, and Gabi wondered when last the woman had eaten or slept.

  “Where’s Benedict?” she asked, going over to paw through the takeaway containers until she found one that had barely been touched. She shoved it at Kyle and nodded towards the bar, where a small microwave resided under the counter. Kyle took the hint and went to warm the food.

  “He’s, uh…” She looked slightly uncomfortable. “He’s gone to find…nourishment.”

  Gabi understood her discomfort intimately, but it was a fact of life: Vampires needed to feed just like the rest of them.

  “You didn’t offer yourself?” Alexander drawled from the couch to Gabi’s right. There was a strange note in his voice, making Gabi glance over at him. His eyes were narrowed, and his face had a pinched look to it.

  “I…No…He…” Athena’s cheeks went pink as she became uncharacteristically flustered and broke off.

  The microwave pinged, and Kyle walked over to push the food into her hand along with a plastic fork. Gabi could practically drink the tension in the room.

  “What the…” she began, and then saw Mac tilt his head and widen his eyes so only she could see; he was trying to tell her something with his expression. He flicked his gaze from Athena to Alexander and back. Then she got it. “Oh,” she said in an undertone. Damn, she was blind sometimes. Alexander and Athena had quietly been developing something between them, until Benedict showed up and began displaying his own version of interest in Athena. Alexander was jealous, and this could be turning into an unpleasant love triangle just when they least needed any distractions. Gabi hurled a decorative pillow at Alexander; he was distracted enough that it almost hit him.

  “Give it a break,” she grumbled at him. “Can’t you see she’s almost dead on her feet? Get her something to drink.” Then, “Sit down, Athena, before you fall down. Eat. Then tell us what happened.” The biggest surprise of the night was that both Alexander and Athena followed her orders without comment. She sent a mental spear of thought to Julius; he’d know what it meant.

  Less than five minutes after Gabi’s summons, Julius walked back into the room. Athena was almost finished a box of Thai beef salad, according to the handwritten note on the side of the box. She looked drawn and worried but a little less pale. Gabi was sitting on one side of a sofa, her legs curled up next to her, nursing a glass of wine with apparent calmness, but impatience oozed from every cell of her body. Joshua Maclary had taken a walk onto the patio outside, Kyle was on his phone, checking on Trish, and Alexander was brooding over a glass of bourbon, avoiding everyone’s eyes. He wondered what Gabi had said to his second in command to both annoy and subdue him. He knew that Alexander’s feelings for the Magus were deeper than mere lust, stronger than casual dalliance, and he knew that Benedict was feeling the same attraction to the woman. It was going t
o come down to her choice. As much as Julius felt for his long-time friend, he was intensely glad that Benedict hadn’t set his sights on Gabi. Things would not be nearly so cordial if another man tried to get between him and his Lea. Speaking of which.

  “Caspian is back,” he told the group, walking to fold himself onto the sofa next to Gabi.

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?” she asked in disbelief. “He’s here?”

  “Not at the Estate,” Julius told her. “He’s back in the City, though. I can sense his presence. He’s not terribly close yet. I’m not sure he’s even heading our way.”

  “How convenient,” Benedict drawled as he sauntered into the room. His complexion looked better; he’d obviously availed himself of one of the Feeders. As usual, a storm of power surrounded him, Julius was intrinsically aware of it, though it didn’t seem to bother the others, so he assumed they didn’t feel it like he did. It must have something to do with his magical heritage. Then Gabi shifted, shivering a little and rubbing one of her upper arms. So he wasn’t the only one who felt it.

  “What do you mean?” Gabi asked him, her voice carefully controlled.

  Benedict smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. “You know you can’t trust that sociopathic piece of scum, don’t you?” he asked her. “He’s only come back now because he’s found out that there isn’t a price on his head.” He turned his sardonic gaze on Julius; then his eyes narrowed suddenly. “You’re just luring him in, aren’t you?” he asked speculatively. “Once he’s back under your control, you can find an excuse to kill him. I like your thinking.”