Steele City Blues: The Third Book in the Hell’s Belle Series (Hell's Belle 3)

by Karen Greco

  "Literally," Frankie muttered under his breath, then spoke louder. "She's turning these humans into something they are not supposed to be. And they are fighting for the wrong side."

  Max took a breath and I watched him mouth a ten count. "There had to be another way. There is always another way."

  "You weren't there," Frankie said. "One of them bit Nina. Robards plugged her full of bullets."

  I nodded and lifted my shirt, staring straight at Mary Jane, showing off faint pink scars raised against the otherwise smooth skin of my stomach. Then I tilted my head to show off the jagged cut along my cheek. She screwed up her face in disgust, no wounds marring her perfect skin. Not even an acne scar.

  "And what did you gain by going in there?" she asked, her tone patronizing. "You still have no idea how to reach Dr. O."

  "But now we know that we can't use magic to bust him out," I said. “And we know where they house the witches. And we know that they are experimenting on the werewolves."

  "This is a mission to get Dr. O out," Max said, crossing his arms and leaning against the kitchen counter. "The others will have to wait."

  "They are doing experiments on them, both the witches and the wolves," I repeated. "In the case of the werewolves, they’re separating the human from the wolf. They’re physically and psychically ripping them apart. They can’t wait."

  "And you know this how?" Mary Jane asked, shaking out her hair. "They just explained it all to you while shooting you full of holes?"

  "I saw a glyph," I said, sipping my coffee. I ignored her tone.

  "A glyph?" Max tossed up his hands. “She saw a glyph.”

  I turned to Gramps. "They were carving runes into the werewolves. An upside down protection symbol, then a separation symbol and then the symbol for whole, but that one was slashed through."

  "You sure you have the symbols right?" Gramps asked.

  "Positive," I said.

  "Then Nina's right," he said with a clipped nod. "They are separating human and wolf and then splicing it into human DNA."

  "Not the worst thing in the world, if you ask me," Matty said with a sulk. Vampires weren't so fond of werewolves, Beta-Vamps in particular. And the feeling was mutual.

  "What's the point of separating them?" Darcy asked.

  "Other than to kill them in a slow, painful and humiliating way?" I tossed out.

  "The point is experimentation, to try different ways to split supernatural powers," Gramps said, taking a pull from the bottle of bourbon. Apparently, the coffee was watering it down too much. "We know she's splicing the wolf gene into these humans."

  "But why bother?" Darcy asked. "Obviously, the human merged with the wolf gene isn't making something powerful enough to stop Nina and Frankie."

  Gramps wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She wants to fuse the wolf together with another supernatural creature. These humans are just her practice batch. She doesn't give a shit if she has to throw them away."

  Mary Jane stopped pacing and looked at Gramps. "To what end?"

  "Imagine taking the ability to shapeshift like a werewolf and fusing that with the ability to do magic like a witch. Now add the immortality and bloodlust of a vampire," Gramps said. "You've just built yourself a killing machine."

  A familiar ghostly goo oozed into my body and I shivered at the sensation. I squeezed my eyes shut in anticipation of a headache.

  "Hello, ghost," my grandfather said, keeping his eyes trained on me.

  "That man gives me the damn creeps," Casper said, settling into my body.

  "Do I?" Gramps asked. He sipped his coffee and made a face. Then he took another drink straight from the bottle.

  Casper recoiled deeper into my body, which led to a stabbing pain behind my left eye. "How did he hear that?"

  "Ghosts are not immune to spells," my grandfather warned.

  "Who is he talking to?" Matty asked, glancing around the apartment.

  "I think he's talking to Casper," Darcy whispered. "This gets weirder by the day."

  Frankie gave a low whistle. "It sure does. Say there, Gramps..."

  Gramps scowled at him.

  Frankie cleared his throat. "Can you see the ghost?"

  "Of course not, he's a ghost," my grandfather scoffed. "I could always sense him. Now I can hear him, too."

  Casper's trembling shook my body. "Holy. Shit."

  "Relax, ghost," my grandfather said. "I'm not going to exorcise you."

  "Just be careful what you say around the old man," I said. "And what are you doing out of the bar?"

  "I needed to talk to you."

  "About what?" I asked.

  I felt him fidget. "I don't want to say now."

  I pressed my fingers into my temples and stood, pausing to catch my balance while my equilibrium adjusted to the ghost. "I'll go in the hallway." Coffee in hand, I left the apartment to mentally huddle with Casper.

  "I've been looking all over for you. Where the hell you been?" Casper lit into me the second I shut the door.

  "Take it easy, Casper," I said, stumbling in surprise at his outburst. Coffee sloshed out the side of the mug, and I slurped it up off my hand. "Frankie and I were doing recon at the prison. It took a little longer than I thought."

  "Well, I got the drop on something and I want you and Frankie to check it out."

  "So why are we out here being all secretive? Let's clue everyone in."

  "Because I don't trust your old abuelo there," he said.

  "Casper, he's the only witch that can teach me to how to defeat Leila."

  "You don't think it's weird that he shows up here. Now. After how many years just pretending you don't exist?"

  "But he's—" I started.

  "And...and...and..." Casper stammered. He was racing around my head and it gave me vertigo. "Didn't he try to kill you when you were a baby?"

  I cleared my throat. "Well, technically the entire village was trying to kill me."

  He harrumphed. "Doesn't matter. I don't trust the old man."

  "Neither do I," I insisted. "Casper, I got this under control."

  "Do you?" he asked. "How're your headaches?"

  "Fine," I lied.

  "What, do you think I'm stupid? Your headaches are getting worse because he's making you do too much magic. You aren't ready for this."

  I kicked at the wall with the toe of my boot. "I have no choice. I can't save these people from Leila without magic. I'm not full vampire. So I need to be a full witch."

  "Even if it kills you?"

  "It's not going to kill me," I said.

  "I feel the war between the vampire and the witch inside you, Nina," Casper said. "Vampire is winning."

  "That's just until I get my magic under control," I insisted. "So tell me, what do you have the drop on and what do you need me to do?"

  "My mom—"

  "Jesus, Casper, you went to your mom's again?" I snapped. "Do you want to get an amateur exorcism?"

  "Shut up," he said. "I found out where they’re snatching the witches."

  My anger drained right out of me and my body went cold. I closed my eyes and took a breath. "Show me."

  "You're not going to like it," he warned.

  12

  Two hours later, Frankie and I were traipsing through a wooded area not far from where the werewolves sold opiate-laced blood to the Beta-Vamps a few months ago in an effort to exterminate them. But there was no deserted country road, no dirt driveway to take us where we needed to go. The trees were so densely packed that even traveling in an ATV was out of the question. With the sun dropping low in the sky, we lost whatever light filtered through the forest. I tripped over a tree root, swearing under my breath as I felt myself falling. Frankie grabbed me by the back of my jacket to keep me upright.

  "This is just great," I muttered to Casper, who was flitting around in my head, a ghostly bundle of nervous energy.

  "Told you you wouldn't like it," he said.

  I growled.

  "She's got to have someo
ne on the inside," Frankie said, striding through the brush with infuriating ease. "How else would she know when the circles are happening."

  "Because they’re drawing their magic," I grumbled.

  "Didn't we tell all the coven high priestesses to stop drawing magic?" Frankie asked.

  "They’re on sacred ground in this wood," Casper said. "The magic should be contained within their circle."

  "Maybe they're forgetting to cast a circle," I offered. I took Casper's sudden stillness as exasperation. "Hey, it happens."

  "It happens to you," Casper said. "These witches know what they're doing."

  "Maybe the circle doesn't contain the magic," I suggested.

  "If they’re doing a cloaking spell—" Casper started.

  "Maybe they forgot to do that."

  "No!" Casper's voice ricocheted through me. I stopped walking, surprised by the sharpness of Casper's tone.

  "Tell me," I demanded.

  "Tell you what?" Frankie asked. "And why have we stopped?"

  "According to Casper..." I hesitated, taking in what the ghost was saying. "Are you freaking serious?"

  "According to Casper, what? What is he serious about?"

  "Apparently this place...it's at a crossroads," I started.

  "Like a summoning-the-demon crossroads?" Frankie asked. "Is this how Bertrand ended up here?"

  "Good question, but let's save that for later," I said. "According to Casper, this particular one is where two ley lines cross."

  Frankie came to an abrupt stop. "Ley lines? Like as in magical fault lines?"

  I stumbled around a thicket, taking the opportunity to catch up to him. "Yes, and whenever a witch comes to a ley line crossroads, they pull tremendous power."

  "And safety, the crossroads are supposed to offer safety," Casper added. "It was how many of the Salem witches escaped persecution. By practicing on the ley line crossroads."

  "Casper said that the crossroad of two ley lines somehow shields magic," I explained to Frankie.

  “Is that true?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I snapped. “You know I never learned the witchy stuff.”

  “Of course. Never thought you were going to need it,” he said. “Look how well that turned out.”

  I ignored him. "So the witches think they are safe within the ley lines.”

  Frankie whistled. “Assuming it’s true, that’s some right proper power. And you really should’ve paid attention in Witchcraft 101.” I shot him a dirty look but he started walking again, his pace quicker. "So if these ley lines are supposed to shield magic, how the hell is Leila tracking them?"

  "Maybe because she knows about the ley lines too," I said. "She is a witch, after all. And my parent's old farmhouse isn't too far away. Bet that's why she made my dad buy it."

  The thought unsettled me, and I wondered how long my dad had been her stooge.

  "So how do we know when we get to said ley lines?" Frankie, ever the pragmatist, asked, snapping me out of my head.

  "I guess I'll feel it?" I suggested.

  "There should be witches there," Casper said. "My mom's coven was going to try their circle tonight."

  "Your mom's not with them, is she?" I asked, panic rising in my chest. Casper got quiet. "Is she?"

  Frankie slowed his pace. "His mum's there?"

  I stopped dead. "And that's why you asked us to come?" Casper nodded, causing my own head to bob. "Why didn't you just say so? We'd have done this to keep an eye on your mom."

  "I’m positive this is how they are snatching so many witches," Casper said. "It can't just be because the strong witches leak power."

  "Like Mia," I said.

  "Exactly," he agreed. "I mean, how many crones like Mia are out there? A handful, if that. And how many witches did you see at the prison?" My brain turned this over. The kid was smart.

  "Mia? What's Mia have to do with this?" Frankie asked, only catching my end of the conversation.

  "Casper's asking how many witches were at the prison and did we think they were all crones, who oozed witchy power by simply existing."

  "There's a point," Frankie said. "So they’re ambushing witches at the ley line crossroads."

  My feet tripped along the uneven forest floor once again. "Then rounding them up, bringing them to the prison and siphoning their power."

  "Lovely," Frankie said. "But to what end?"

  "Obviously not a good one," I said. "We better keep moving."

  We trudged along for another thirty minutes or so, every twig snap and branch groan pulling our attention as we powered through the thick brush. My nose and ears picked up the scent and sound of a crackling bonfire before my eyes made out red-orange flames sparking up around a clearing in the woods.

  "Hang back," Casper said. I grabbed Frankie by the arm and yanked him back. He collided into me and I fell against a thick tree trunk, his body pressed against mine. Judging from my own body's response, I rather liked it.

  "Sorry," he said, righting himself. I remained against the tree, a little lightheaded from my reaction.

  "Damn girl, I wish you two would just do it and get it over with," Casper muttered.

  "Shut up," I whispered.

  "I hope you're talking to the ghost," Frankie said.

  Scowling, I nodded. We crept forward again, keeping well within the shadows cast by the roaring fire. The witches were circled around the blaze, eyes closed, hands clasped. Casper's mom, the high priestess, closed the circle. I felt Casper puff up with pride.

  The group of women began chanting, their eyes still closed, hands still clasped together. Their voices carried above the roar of the flame, the Latin humming from them drawing a sort of calm through me that was rooted in the pit of my stomach. The smell of sage wafted towards us as the winds shifted and the witches began a slow dance together, keeping their circle intact.

  "Widdershins?" I whispered, surprised to see them moving counter clockwise.

  "They're doing a banishment," Casper explained.

  "Banishing who?" I asked, sucking in my breath as their heads tipped back at once and Latin spilled out of them in a collective cry. Their hair was wild, and I could see sparks of blue electricity jumping from one hand to the next, connecting the witches with a primal energy as the spell coursed through their bodies.

  "Who do you think? Your mom."

  "Stop calling her that," I snapped. "Besides, I thought you needed an item from the person being banished. What do they have from Leila?"

  "Technically, they don't need an item," Casper explained. "But the spell isn't as potent, so it probably won't work. But trying something is better than not doing anything."

  "They aren't going quietly into that good night, are they?" I mused, watching their dance with a renewed respect.

  A twig snapped in the distance, and I pulled my attention away from the fire. Before my eyes could adjust to the darkness, a female figure stepped out from behind a tree across the clearing. She hissed out a spell, and the earth rumbled beneath our feet, slapping me against the trunk of the large tree I was hiding behind. The witches stumbled, leaning against each other to keep upright while they maintained their circle. The figure tipped her head back and released her own stream of Latin, the words echoing through the forest. Before the coven could react, an explosive force pushed the ground up, breaking the circle and sending the group of witches sprawling. The woman cackled and stepped into the middle of their broken circle, where her face was illuminated by the fire.

  "Kittie," I said, raising my lip in a snarl.

  "Your sister?" Casper quipped.

  "She's not my sister," I snapped.

  "She's adopted?" Frankie suggested.

  "Bertrand said my mother made her. I've no idea what he meant by that."

  "So she's the one doing Leila's dirty work," Frankie said.

  I nodded towards the flashlights blazing up the forest behind Kittie. "Looks like she has help."

  Five armed men stepped out from behind the trees, roundin
g up the felled witches and encasing their hands in iron. "Are those cops?" I whispered to Frankie. "They don't look like cops."

  "Bloody hell, Nina," Frankie said. "I think they're mercenaries."

  "Great," I grumbled. Mercenaries meant ex-military and highly trained. Like pit bulls, mercs don’t give up. Our last dalliance with them involved a shit-ton of blood and a trip to the infirmary.

  "Think she hopped them up with the werewolf gene?" Frankie asked.

  Mercenaries with werewolf DNA spliced in? Even better. "Only one way to find out."

  Frankie was all fangs when he smiled at me. "Try to keep up, Nina."

  Then he was a blur as he raced into the center of the circle, taking advantage of the element of surprise to down the first mercenary. The guy got off two close-range shots, hitting Frankie in the shoulder.

  "The bullets are soaked in holy water!" Frankie yelled out before punching the guy who was shooting at him. It was a perfect right hook, and hard enough to drop the trained assassin immediately.

  "But are they werewolves?" I yelled back at him.

  Before he could answer, Kittie stepped into the crossroads and tossed out a spell that knocked Frankie back. As she chanted, Frankie dropped to his knees. He ripped off his long leather jacket and tore at his shirt. The bullets lodged in his shoulder were eating away his skin, like acid.

  I sprinted towards Frankie, but Casper took over my form and jerked me back behind a tree. "What the hell are you doing?" I said, struggling to regain control of my body.

  "She shouldn't be able to do that," Casper said. "The ley lines are giving her more power. You can't just run out there without a plan."

  "Plan? You want a plan?" I said through gritted teeth. "Here it is. We get Frankie away from her and then rip her freaking head off. Ready?"

  "You can't run out there like a—" He stopped himself.

  "Like a vampire?"

  "You know what I mean," he said.

  "If she's getting power from the ley lines, we can too right?" I asked. Casper went quiet, so I continued. "I'm not running out there like a vampire. I’m running out there like a witch."