Demon Night

by Meljean Brook

  “You ought to get rid of those, too,” Ethan said. “You ain’t a vampire tonight. You’ll play her a little scared—knowing about us, but not being one of us.”

  Jake’s fangs shortened into human teeth. “What if he knows she’s been turned?”

  “Even if he’s heard rumors, Brandt hasn’t seen her close up. Maybe it’ll unsettle him a bit, make him realize he doesn’t know as much as he thinks.” And if Brandt hadn’t heard—if he thought that Charlie was still human—then there wouldn’t be any fangs to frighten him. It wouldn’t do for the boy to bolt before he’d talked.

  Ethan carefully maneuvered through the door to the tech room. Hopefully Savi would have come up with something more on the Brandts or Legion; his instincts were still saying he was missing something big, and he sure didn’t like going in without finding what it was. With luck, they’d get it from young Brandt.

  “Should I let him mention the demons first?”

  “Yes.” Ethan glanced over at Jake, wished he hadn’t yet again. “Charlie ain’t the type to flutter her lashes like that. You plan on being in that form all day?”

  Jake’s eyes widened, all innocent-like. “It’s good practice for later.”

  Ethan couldn’t rightly argue with that, but he wasn’t going to stay around and watch. “Then you’d best practice being her. You go online, check if we’ve got anything from SI. I’ll be scoping out that restaurant, seeing where our best vantage point is. Most likely, you’ll have to listen for Charlie to give you answers to personal questions.”

  “You’re leaving with your wings like that?”

  “I reckon I’ll swim.”

  “I must look hot in this skirt.”

  Ethan shook his head and kept on walking. The worst part of this whole plan, he reckoned, was that Jake wore a shape Ethan just didn’t feel comfortable hitting.

  Mark had remembered that she liked sushi; he’d chosen a small, trendy restaurant in Madison Park.

  Sitting on the roof of the real estate office across the street, Charlie watched Jake contain his grimace as he looked over the menu, and tried to decide if the food or the prices had produced that expression—then decided she didn’t want to think about it too much. The sight of someone else filling out her skin held the same surreal disbelief as watching a home video. That’s how I move, how I sound?

  Jake looked up as Mark spoke to him, and coyly pushed his hair back behind his ear. Good Lord. Did she do that as much as Jake apparently thought she did?

  Judging by Ethan’s deep sigh, probably not. She glanced over at his face; his focus on the scene before them was intent, but she read impatience there, too. From the little Charlie could hear and the questions Ethan had relayed to her, Mark hadn’t moved beyond small talk, asking about her job and classes.

  And from the little of Mark’s psyche that she could sense, he hadn’t been surprised when Jake had smiled the first time.

  Ethan squinted his eyes and turned his head as a diesel truck rolled by, trying to hear over the rumbling engine. His gaze met hers for a moment, softened.

  She couldn’t suppress her smile, or the heavy thump of her heart. Jesus. In the middle of a stakeout—or whatever this was—and one look had her chest swelling, leaving her speechless with love and wonder.

  She’d woken just after sunset, and Ethan’s expression had been soft then, too—and it had been the first time she’d seen him drifting. He’d lain motionless except for the rapid movement of his eyes behind his lids, and when they’d slowed, when each of his breaths hadn’t been so deep and even, she’d slipped down his body to find the only other soft part of him.

  She hadn’t had many opportunities to love him with her mouth, and she’d watched his face, her nails digging into his hips, silently asking his straining form to remain still beneath her tongue—until her burgeoning excitement and an accidental scrape of her fangs had stolen her control. But she’d seen what she’d been looking for: his need, the tension between holding back and reaching out.

  Had it always been there, and she was just now recognizing it? Perhaps feeding had prevented her from witnessing such a vulnerable moment; once the bloodlust gripped her, she rarely saw Ethan’s face. Or maybe he’d been hiding it, and like her, simply couldn’t hold it in anymore.

  Whatever the answer, she thought it must be love, or a step away from it—and desperately hoped she wasn’t just projecting her need onto him, mistaking the desire and affection she knew he felt for something more.

  Everything he did seemed to say it was much more, but she wished she could trust herself, and be certain of it.

  With a sigh, Charlie focused on the scene in front of her again, and wanted to whack her head against the rooftop when Ethan told her Mark and Jake had begun discussing the menu. She’d already briefed Jake on her preferences; there was nothing to do but sit and watch them chat.

  This was the most boring dinner date she’d ever had. Ethan must have been thinking the same; he slid a deck of cards her way, and caught each of her attempts to cheat without ever appearing to glance away from the restaurant.

  After he’d won her small pile of chips, Ethan finally said, “All right, Jake—give him a little nudge. Let’s mention Jane and Legion. Play it modest; just say what you’ve been doing doesn’t compare to the goings-on in Washington, or Jane’s research.”

  Jake did, and Charlie practiced feeling out Mark’s psychic response. A stuttering note of uncertainty combined with the sweet tones of affection, and Mark hesitated before he replied.

  Poor guy. He really had it bad for her sister.

  But Ethan was shaking his head, his lips tight. “He’s too damn good at blocking,” he muttered.

  A vibration in her sweatshirt pocket kept her from answering him. She glanced at the incoming number, whispered, “Old Matthew,” and scrambled across the roof so her voice wouldn’t interfere with Ethan’s hearing.

  It was her first night off since she’d reorganized the office; Old Matthew was likely just wondering where she’d put one of the files.

  But a few moments later, fear was crawling in her belly. Ethan was on his feet before she’d returned to his side.

  “He says Cora and Angie are in his office, asking for you,” Charlie said, her eyes wide. “The nephil murdered Manny.”

  Ethan’s lips tightened, and he half-turned. “We’ve got trouble, Jake. You all right to keep this up?”

  Jake gave no indication that he’d heard except for the movement of his hand against the table, signing his assent.

  Ethan looked back at Charlie. “Tell Cole we’ll be there directly.”

  She’d barely relayed the message when Ethan lifted her, ran to the rear of the building, and jumped into the air.

  As leaky as Angie and Cora were, Ethan would have thought they’d just seen Manny killed—but it had happened almost a week previously.

  Hearing that they’d holed up all that time had him staring down at his boots, containing his frustration. Theirs was the only sighting of the nephil since Ethan’s return to Seattle, and the trail would be damn cold by now.

  And he sure as hell couldn’t summon much grief for Manny, no matter how many tears Angie and Cora were shedding.

  He looked up as Charlie offered the ladies a box of tissues she’d retrieved from the office’s supply cabinet. Her eyes met his before she asked softly, “Angie, you’re sure he had black feathered wings? Not just black, like a bat’s?”

  Angie wiped her eyes, nodding. “We were over at the Seattle Center, out in front of that ugly-ass museum, waiting for Manny to come pick us up. And it was crouching up on the monorail, and the feathers were resting against the track. I saw them, told Cora we had to run.”

  “Because Drifter warned us about it,” Cora said, blowing her nose—though Ethan hadn’t ever known of a vampire getting leaky there.

  Charlie slanted a glance at him, but if she was amused by their antics or disgusted, he couldn’t read it in her face.

  Angie lowered her ti
ssue, and her eyes hardened. “Then Manny drove up, but we didn’t think we’d make it to the car.”

  “It was right behind us,” Cora put in. She’d dropped the pretense, too. “And Manny could have driven away, but he got out.”

  Angie cupped her hands together, like she was holding a weapon. “And he had that sword he’d used when he was enforcing—”

  Cora muttered, “Goddamn Katya and Vladimir.”

  “—and he ran past us, and that demon just caught him up. Started cutting,” Angie said. This time Ethan thought the moisture shining in her eyes was real. “We heard him scream once, but then we got in the trunk.”

  “Manny always said it was big enough for both of us to hide in. So we put up the spell for as long as we could stand being cooped up in there, because we didn’t know if it would be waiting for us.”

  “He wasn’t,” Angie said with a shrug and a bit of embarrassment. “We’d been towed sometime during the week. Scared the shit out of the lot attendant, too, when we kicked open the trunk.”

  “Then we went back to the museum, where we saw Manny last.” Cora’s full lips flattened and paled. “And we finally found his clothes, stuck way back on top of the monorail station. I guess the ash must have washed away in the rain. There were streaks, but nothing else.”

  “He deserved it,” Angie said as she wiped her eyes again.

  Charlie frowned, and her brows drew together. “If he deserved it, why were you faking it before, and why is it real now?”

  Angie and Cora exchanged a glance before Cora said, “He was a prick, but he saved our asses. It doesn’t hurt anything if the others remember that we were crying when we came in; it gives something back to Manny.” She gestured toward the one-way and the vampires in the lounge. The shield was up, so they wouldn’t be hearing anything now.

  Angie added, “And we talked a lot in that trunk—about making some changes, getting a new line of work. We’d heard Drifter was opening up a theater, and would be hiring vampires.”

  The waterworks had been an audition? Charlie appeared too confounded by their response to tell them the Heritage would be owned by Colin and Savi, and Ethan just studied his boots again.

  “And we wanted to get Drifter here as fast as possible, so we laid it on thick—but your boss was so sweet, trying to help us out, we didn’t stop,” Cora said.

  “Now that’s a man,” Angie said, and looked through the one-way again as if she’d like to eat Old Matthew up.

  Though Charlie’s eyes widened, Ethan relaxed a little. Taken all together, the foolishness they were spouting was finally starting to make sense. “You’re aiming to take Manny’s place.”

  “Yes,” they said in unison. Angie added, “And we want your approval.”

  Ethan shook his head. “That ain’t my decision—it’s for your community to determine.”

  Cora smiled as she said, “Do you know what we’ve heard from every vampire since coming out of that trunk? ‘Drifter and Charlie, Drifter and Charlie.’ Your support will go a long way for us.”

  The truth was, Ethan could easily see Cora and Angie heading the community, but he sure in blazes wasn’t going to get pulled into a discussion of vampire politicking now. “You ladies stay in Vladimir and Katya’s house, keep your fingers in everyone’s business like they’ve always been, get some legitimate income, and you’ll be in a fine position to take over. You won’t be needing me.” He held out his hand for Charlie’s; a moment after her cool fingers clasped on his, another thought occurred to him, and he pinned a stare on Cora. “I sure hope you ain’t figuring to use me as an enforcer.”

  “No,” Angie said, and coolly examined one of her long red fingernails. “I can handle that part of it.”

  “Unlike Katya and Vladimir, we’ll own our responsibilities.” Cora’s smile became thin and sharp. “And we definitely won’t be killing any humans. Now, didn’t that come back to bite them on the ass?” Cora let out a hard laugh.

  Ethan paused at the door; Charlie’s grip tightened. He met her gaze, saw the same unease that flashed through him, then turned back to Cora. “How’s that?”

  Eyes narrowing, Angie glanced between them. “Manny told you about how Vladimir and Katya died.”

  “That he did—and that it was the same method the nephil used. How’s that relate to them killing humans?”

  Cora leaned forward. “Manny put up the spell just after you mentioned how the nephil killed the rogue in that alley. And Manny told us that he told you about the guy who did it—are you saying he didn’t tell you?”

  “He didn’t,” Ethan said. Reining in his impatience wasn’t easy. “How about you tell us now?”

  With a laugh, Angie said, “The weasel chickened out. Probably thought you’d slay him for his part in it.”

  That was just about enough of that. “How about you tell us what goddamn part you’re speaking of?”

  Cora lifted her brows. “Do you have time for a long story?”

  At his side, Charlie shook her head. “No. Give us the condensed version.”

  “Okay.” Cora hooked a strand of black hair back from her forehead. “You know what’s-his-face, the senator, was trying to get Vladimir and Katya to go public about six months ago?”

  “That we do,” Ethan said. Just the mention of Brandt was giving him a bad feeling.

  “Well, he paid Vladimir as compensation for coming out and for submitting to whatever testing needed to be done to prove vampires existed.”

  Charlie said slowly, “We’ve seen something like a payment from the Brandts.”

  “It was supposed to be the first payment of many,” Angie said. “Except once Manny told us what Vladimir and Katya were planning, Cora and I went and talked some sense into them. Coming out wouldn’t do anyone any good—human or not.”

  “That’s a fact,” Ethan agreed. “So I take it Vladimir and Katya tried to pull out—and weren’t going to return the money. From what little I’ve seen of the senator, I reckon he didn’t take kindly to that, threatening to expose them anyway.”

  And if Vladimir and Katya had killed someone, obviously whomever Brandt had sent to collect them hadn’t been properly warned of what he was facing.

  “Yes. Broke his neck, and then they asked Manny to dump him—”

  “Him?” Charlie was blinking, and Ethan thought he probably looked as confused as she was. “They killed Senator Brandt when he threatened them? But—”

  “Yes. And no.” Cora grimaced, lifted her shoulders. “Manny said that he’d just driven the body to the highway when he heard thumping in the trunk. The old guy was still alive, even though Manny said he could have sworn he was dead. So he dropped him on the side of the road, still wrapped up in sheets, and took off.”

  Christ Jesus. A dead man walking. And the senator wasn’t a vampire—though apparently he’d developed one hell of a grudge against their kind.

  “Maybe we should go talk to Mark,” Charlie said quietly. Her face was telling him she’d just come to the same conclusion he had.

  He nodded. No more pussyfooting around.

  CHAPTER 30

  Ethan began cursing as they flew over Madison Park. Charlie turned in his arms. Far below them, she made out the passing cars, the pedestrians…and Mark and Jake, leaving the restaurant.

  The trip to Cole’s had only taken twenty-five minutes; they couldn’t have finished dinner in that time.

  “You’d best have a good reason for this, novice,” Ethan said.

  A few seconds later, Jake pretended to play with his hair, and replied with a gesture over his head. Ethan drew in a sharp breath.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said quietly, and met Charlie’s eyes. “He’s got Jane.”

  “Mark does?” Startled, Charlie glanced down at the two as Mark opened the passenger door of his car, and Jake slid in.

  “Yes.” Ethan raised his voice. “All right, Jake—we’ll follow you. Be certain you don’t do anything to obstruct his free will; if he tries to keep us
from taking Jane, Charlie can handle him.” He hesitated before adding, “And if you see his father, you run. We’ve got reason to think the nephil has possessed him.”

  Charlie watched the car pull away from the curb, then looked back up at Ethan. “This will change things.”

  Ethan hadn’t wanted her anywhere near the nephil; they’d intended to speak with Mark here, then Jake would return with Charlie to the lake house and Ethan would locate the senator. But if Jane was locked behind the spell, Charlie needed to be there.

  “Not all that much,” Ethan said. “If the senator’s at home, you ain’t going in. We’ll get Jane after I slay him.”

  Charlie hesitated for just an instant, but it needed to be asked. “Are you going to do it when he’s in his human form?”

  “I’d prefer it.”

  “Can you be sure, though? What if Manny was mistaken? What if the senator’s neck wasn’t really broken, and he was never dead? And there are all those stories about people doing impossible things, coming back to life…” She trailed off as she realized, “Oh. Those are you. Us.”

  Guardians, vampires, and demons, performing miraculous feats.

  “Yes.” His chuckle was warm, and his arms tightened briefly. “All right, Charlie. It looks as if Brandt is heading on home, and we’re flying slow enough you should be able to use the phone. I need you to tell Selah to be ready, and then let Lilith know she’s going to have a senator’s death to cover up.”

  His cell appeared in her hand, and she began scrolling through the address book. “How do you think she’ll do it?”

  “Most likely, a Guardian will take his form for a week or two, then he’ll have a heart attack in public or some such thing.”

  “That’s scary,” she said softly. “That the truth can be twisted so easily.”

  “It’s necessary.”

  “I’m not arguing that.” She smiled a little, shook her head. “But it’s still scary. I’m glad you’re the good guys.”

  “I don’t rightly know about that. Mostly, we’ve just got better intentions than the demons.”