by Judith Post
"I don't know. My father left the reservation to marry my mother. I never met them."
Lillith wasn't satisfied. She asked, "May I?"
Leam gave a quick nod, and Lillith took one tiny wisp more. This time, she held the life force in her mouth and let it linger before swallowing it. "There's something else, something subtle. Your mother was Swedish?"
Leam's eyes widened. "Peasants came to her for advice. They paid for her to read the Tarot."
"A seer." Lillith's expression grew gentle. "You haven't thought of your parents for a long time."
Voice husky, Leam said, "Not since I was turned. I didn't want them to see what I'd become. That was centuries ago."
"You loved them." Lillith looked at Babet. "You brought me a good vampire. I'd hate to see him ruined."
Babet took a deep breath. It would bother her, too. She walked to the windows and looked down at the street. She straightened, surprised, and stared. A woman stood on the far corner, looking up at her. She grinned a challenge, then began singing a melody. Even with the windows closed, Babet could hear it. Tantalizing, haunting.
Leam began to pace.
"She's calling him," Babet told the others.
"I can only prevent him leaving one way." Lillith went to the liquor cabinet and unlocked a door. She took out a bottle with no label. "If he drinks this, he'll sleep."
Leam exchanged glances with Vittorio. "For how long?"
"Two days." Lillith reached for a glass. "It's your choice."
"Pour it." Leam waited for her to fill the glass and drained it in one gulp. Almost immediately, he crumpled to the floor.
Vittorio gently carried him to a sofa. "Should I take him home? I'll stay with him."
Lillith shook her head. "I have a guest room. We'll put him there. Vampires, succubi, and more make this house their home. If Malea enters our doors, she'll regret it."
Vittorio lifted his friend again and carried him to a modest room farther down the hall. It had no windows. Black silk covered a double bed with a TV mounted on a wall across from it. Two chairs and a table formed a seating area on one side, and an open door on the opposite end revealed a private bathroom. Lillith called for one of her personal security vampires to stay with Leam. "He's in danger," she said. "Never leave him."
Once they returned to her chambers, Lillith shut the door behind her. "We have two days. Once the drink wears off, he shouldn't have another any time soon."
"What does Malea want?" Babet asked.
"Leam has a rare combination of vampire, seer, and shaman blood. Added to her succubus powers, she'd have many magicks to choose from, some I might not easily defeat."
Babet tried to remember anything she'd heard about shamans. "I don't see how any of those gifts can make her more dangerous. They're all used for healing, aren't they?"
"If she were only a shaman, yes." Lillith went to a far wall and pushed on its
molding. A panel slid sideways, revealing bookshelves crammed with old, leather tomes. Lillith waved at them. "A study of many magicks. I'd guess that Malea has tasted quite a few of them by now—maybe even a mage or a warlock. Probably a necromancer. With Leam's magic, she can call spirit guides to her. There are beneficent ones and malevolent. If she can bind them for a while, she could use them against us."
Babet scanned the volumes of books. Were they indexed? Was there a library card, labeled "How to Fight a Spirit Guide"?
"So what do we do?" Vittorio walked to the window and looked outside. "She's gone."
"We need to find Malea and destroy her, or your friend is lost."
"Lost…how?" Vittorio's fangs lengthened, but he quickly regained control and shrank them.
Lillith shrugged. "He'll become more demon than vampire. He'll have to work hard to control his appetites—both of them. If he can't, he'll drain innocents, and River City detectives will have to hunt and eliminate him."
Vittorio's shoulders sagged. "We have to stop her."
"Not so easy to do." As they watched, Lillith turned to vapor and drifted through the cracks of the closed door.
"Shit." Vittorio ran his hands through his shoulder-length, sandy hair.
The door opened, and Lillith returned to the chamber.
"We need help," Babet said. "We can't do this alone. Let me talk to Prosper and Hatchet."
Lillith nodded. "I'll talk to my girls. I'd face Malea in a battle, but I doubt she'll accept that challenge. She's come here to play dirty. That changes the odds."
* * *
Prosper had waited up for Babet to return home. Her handsome Were sprawled on the sofa, his arms behind his head, watching TV. As usual, her heart did a little flip at the sight of him. He sat up when she entered the room.
"Well? Did you find out anything?"
Morgana waited for Babet to settle next to him before curling at her feet. For good measure, the snake wrapped her tail around an ankle, anchoring Babet in place. A sign that she'd had enough of Babet leaving her.
Babet bent to stroke the snake's head. "I'm sorry, Morg, but there are some places you can't go. You'd frighten people."
Slightly mollified, Morgana lowered her head and rested it against Babet's foot.
Prosper shook his head. "Your familiar gets a little moody when she's worried about you."
"I know." And Babet appreciated her concern. "She's saved our asses twice now. No witch could have a better guardian."
"So? What did Lillith have to say?" Prosper reached for a half-empty bowl of popcorn to snag a few pieces.
Babet explained about Leam's parents and grandparents. She told him about Malea trying to lure him from Lillith's chambers. When she finished, she sighed. "I don't know how we're supposed to find her in two days and I have no idea what to do when we do find her."
Prosper pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "We'll think of something. We always do."
"We usually have a little more idea what we're doing."
He laughed. "Not really, we just know we have to do it, and now we know who we're up against and what she is. That's a start."
Babet snuggled against him. She always felt safe in Prosper's arms. She rested her cheek on his chest, then stifled a yawn.
He chuckled, a low rumble under her ear. "Come on, Babs. Let's get to bed."
"Babs?"
He mussed her hair. "My pet name for you. It's better than Witchy." He pulled her up with him when he stood, placed his hands on her shoulders, and steered her toward the bedroom. For once, they even left the door open so that Morgana could curl under their bed. Nothing was going to happen there tonight except sleep.
Somewhere in the early hours before dawn, the room got warm and sticky. Babet rolled away from Prosper. A shifter's skin worked like a mini-furnace, probably because of their high metabolism. The sheets on her side of the bed felt cool, and she nestled into them and dreamed….
Malea stood, towering over Babet, Lillith, and their friends, as they tried to defend Leam. Vittorio rushed her with vampire speed, but she breathed in his energy, and he sagged to the ground, exhausted, before he could reach her. Lillith took advantage of the situation and inhaled Malea's life force. Malea turned and breathed it back before it could reach Lillith's lips. Babet pursed her lips and sucked too, but Malea raised a tiny, carved totem, and a giant eagle formed to block Malea from Babet's powers. Part of Leam's shaman heritage?
Prosper shifted and rushed the eagle. The bird dissolved, and this time, Malea raised a palm to blast Prosper away. Witch magic. He flew a long ways and didn't stir when he hit the ground. How strong was Malea?
Hatchet unleashed his tattoos, and they writhed toward the succubus. She grabbed them and yanked Hatchet toward her, then large fangs sprang from her lips. She slammed them into the Druid before tossing him aside. Vampire magic.
Fury boiled through Babet's veins. Malea wasn't the only player with more than one magick. Babet pursed her lips, sucked in energy, and shot magic from her palms at the same time. She stomped her foot, and the
ground rippled. Malea struggled for balance. The succubus screamed in rage and inhaled deeply. Babet threw up an impenetrable shield. Nice try. But Malea turned to Leam. The vampire sank to his knees next to Vittorio. He pinned Babet with his pain and begged, "Finish me. Please. Don't let me become what she is."
The dream dimmed, and Babet heard her father's voice in her mind. "This could come to pass. Be ready for it. Choose wisely."
Goosebumps covered her flesh, and she rolled back to press herself against Prosper. Asleep, he reached for her, wrapped her in his arms, and held her through the rest of the night.
* * *
Prosper had left for work when she woke to start her day. The dream haunted her as she carried her coffee out onto the back patio. It stayed with her as she drank her second cup. Would Hatchet and Prosper survive? Would Leam? Could she save them?
She closed her eyes and thought her father's name. "Thank you," she whispered.
A warmth flooded her, and she knew he'd heard. But he had no answers for her. She was grateful he'd been able to send her a warning.
She was watching Morgana slither from one corner of the courtyard to another when the side gate opened a crack. She raised her palms, ready to blast, when Lillith called, "Don't zap me. May I come in?"
Babet lowered her arms. She stared in surprise as Lillith stepped through the gate, letting it swing shut behind her.
Lillith didn't make social calls. She'd never come to this house, only summoned Babet to hers. Now, she sank onto the chaise lounge next to hers. "We can't afford to wait for answers," she said. "We need to find some ourselves."
Babet went into the kitchen and returned with more coffee. As they drank, she told Lillith her dream.
"And it came from your father? You're sure?"
Babet nodded. "We have a special bond now that he poured my powers into me."
Lillith stared. "Explain."
"He put his hands on my shoulders and my body felt like it was going to explode. It hurt like hell until every cell absorbed them. I'm glad it only happens once."
Lillith sat silent a moment. "You might be stronger than I realized. How old is your father?"
"He was a warrior angel before he took the job of guarding the pits."
"An angel? You're sure?"
Babet shrugged. "He said there are many types of angels. His specialty was battle."
"So he's older than I am."
"I guess. I think he was around from the beginning. Or for always. Something like that."
Lillith frowned. "Why does he guard the pits?"
"My mom said it started with Satan. Someone had to make sure he didn't escape. But then there were more and more demons, so Dad took on their powers, too, so that he could battle them. He became a good demon."
"A good demon…." Lillith shook her head. "I didn't know that was possible."
"Look at you," Babet said.
"But I was created to be perfect, to be Adam's mate." Lillith frowned. "That didn't work too well, did it? I'm seriously flawed. Must have been from the start."
"Free will's a bitch," Babet said, finishing her coffee.
Lillith laughed, draining her cup, too. "I thought succubi only entered mortals' dreams to seduce them."
"Gazaar's my father…and an angel. It's different."
"Tell me your dream again."
Babet finished with a sigh. "I want to help you, but I don't want to have to drain Leam to save him."
"You'd be saving the rest of us, too." Lillith grabbed their mugs and went to the kitchen. She returned with them full. Babet couldn't believe it. People usually waited on Lillith, not the other way around. Lillith saw her surprise and waved it away. "I'm not completely spoiled. I don't want you to lose your train of thought. Maybe the dream's to help you prepare for something you'd hesitate to do, a hesitation that would make us lose."
"Like draining Leam?" Babet didn't like that interpretation. "Maybe. Or maybe it was to warn me, so that I can think of something else, something that will shift the odds in our favor." Not that anything came to mind at the moment.
"We have more ideas to work with than we did before Leam's visit." Lillith grimaced when Morgana lunged and raised her head with a frog, half in, half out of her lips. She glanced at the fountain in the corner of the courtyard. "I had to get rid of my fountain. I never thought of buying a snake."
"My snake chose me. My familiar."
Lillith rubbed her forehead. "I'm getting distracted. We need to make some kind of plan, even it's just a start."
Babet's thoughts returned to Leam. "How does it work, taking life energy from someone and replacing it with your own?"
Lillith shrugged. "It's pretty simple, really. You inhale their energy. That makes an empty space. And you breathe your own into it."
"Then are they one? Mixed together? Or do they stay separate somehow? I mean, no matter how many people you've tasted, you're still a succubus."
Lillith shook her head. "I understand your reasoning, but that's a succubus's gift. We're made to steal energy. It's what we do. A vampire's gift is to drink blood. No matter how many people he drains, he'll always be a vampire. And," she added, "he can change a mortal into one of his kind, just as we can change a mortal into one of ours."
Babet grimaced. "My idea won't work then. I thought maybe we could suck some of Malea out of him."
Lillith blinked. "Maybe we can do something almost as helpful. Maybe we can dilute her."
"How do we do that?"
"There's no we. I can't do it. I'd just add more succubus energy into him. But you could. You're more witch than succubus. You'd take out some of Malea and replace her with witch magic."
Babet sighed. "Would that change my balance? Would I get more succubus powers?"
"Maybe, but your true self is a witch. A powerful one. Any other gifts will be always secondary to that."
Babet stopped to consider that. "I'd get some of Leam's magicks, too."
"A sprinkling, and with your powers, they might grow stronger, but really, what can it hurt to have a smattering of shaman and seer in you?"
"I'm going to be a damned melting pot."
"Or cauldron." Lillith bit her lip at the bad joke.
Babet still worried. "Why would it be different for me than for Leam?"
"Because you'll decide how much you want and don't want," Lillith said. "You're in control. But you're forgetting something. You don't have to swallow. You can inhale Malea and exhale her."
Babet smacked her forehead. Why did she keep forgetting that?
Poor Leam didn't have a choice. Babet felt sorry for him. Supernaturals were changing him, willy-nilly. "I'll ask him before I sip from him," she said. "He should have some say over what happens to him."
Lillith nodded. "If he's not too much in shock by what's happened to him, he'd be better off with your powers." She rose gracefully from the lounge chair. "We have a plan. Leam will wake tomorrow night. When he does, you should be there."
Babet agreed. Her father sent her the dream so that she could change the events and prevent them from happening. If she could remove enough of Malea from Leam, she couldn't control him. She couldn't call him to her. He still might not survive a battle with her, but at least he'd die, fighting her. Not enslaved by her.
* * *
"I'm going with you this time." Prosper's hands went to his hips, a Were who wasn't going to change his mind.
Morgana slithered to the door, too.
Babet sighed. "Okay, I get it. You're worried. And I might need you. Mom thinks Malea might feel us taking her energy out of Leam. She might come to challenge us."
Prosper reached for his cell phone. "Hatchet wants to be part of this battle, too."
"You remembered to tell him my dream, didn't you?"
Prosper nodded. "I won't charge any eagle, and Hatchet won't attack Malea with his tattoos. He has plenty of other magicks to call on."
Babet remembered the lightning he caught in his hands at their bonding and the
blasts of energy he used to battle Mandubrath. Tattoos were only one of his many weapons. In her dream, Malea struggled with witch magic.
His phone call done, Prosper motioned for Morgana to follow him. He helped her into his car, and they set off for Lillith's. One of Lillith's girls opened the door to them and motioned them up to Lillith's chambers. She stopped to stare when a giant boa slunk past her. Morgana stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led to the second floor, bobbed her head, and curled up to wait for them.
"We're safe in this house," Babet assured her. "We'll catch up with you in a while."
When they got to Lillith's chambers, Vittorio was already sitting beside Leam's bed in the guestroom, waiting for him to come around.
They made stilted small talk, all of them nervous, before Leam groaned and opened his eyes. He frowned at everyone in the room. "Did Malea change me in my sleep? Are you here to lock me up somewhere?"
Vittorio shook his head. "Babet's thought of something that might help you." When he finished explaining, Leam sagged back onto his pillow and rubbed his eyes.
"So the only way to save me is to suck out Malea's magic and replace it with witch energy?"
"It's the only thing I could think of," Babet said. "It would remove enough succubus energy that she can't change you into a demon."
"Will I become a witch?"
Babet smiled. "Not much of one. It takes a lot more than I'm going to give you. But you might be able to make energy dance across your knuckles."
"Really?" Leam looked at Vittorio. "That would be sort of cool, don't you think?"
Vittorio's expression stayed worried. "It's better than being enslaved by Malea. I'm not sure you could ever free yourself from her."
Leam pushed himself onto his elbows. "Are the rest of you here in case I go crazed and you have to destroy me?" His gaze settled on Prosper and Hatchet. "You two look intimidating."
Prosper jammed his fists into his pants pockets. It didn't help. He looked frustrated and menacing. "No, we're here because we think Malea will feel Babet drawing her energy out of you, and we're worried she'll come for you."