Dare Me

by Parker Blue

  Elspeth nodded uncertainly, and Gwen said, “Okay,” in a fearful voice.

  And for that alone, Austin could kill Luis. All he needed was for the so-called aristocrat to slip up just one time, and he’d have his head on a platter.

  Chapter Seven

  Val

  HAD I REALLY complained about being lonely? The next days were jam-packed with part demons and vampires coming and going to see Shade and Princess. I felt more like a traffic cop than a Paladin. Now, Shade and three other demons chatted up the hellhounds in the living room, and, since it was after sunset, three vampires hung out in the kitchen.

  Yep, the kitchen. My former roomie turned vampire, Gwen Sullivan, might not be able to eat human food, but she still enjoyed cooking for the demons in the Underground. I think she missed our townhouse, too. Austin and Elspeth were in the kitchen with her, as Austin gave them both pointers on how to be good little vampires.

  My life was so weird.

  I wanted to get away from them all, but the only places not occupied were the bathrooms and the two bedrooms. Being in Shade’s room seemed like an invasion of privacy, and being in my room, where Austin had slept, felt too intimate somehow. I even tried lounging fully clothed in the tub just to be alone, but that seemed too strange even for me. Too bad I couldn’t leave. I had to stay here to protect Shade, but sheesh, the only thing that seemed to threaten Shade right now was being talked to death. So, I wandered back and forth between the two groups.

  Seeing Shade sitting somewhat apart from the others reminded me of his problem. I wandered into the kitchen where the three vamps chatted around the kitchen table.

  Austin broke off what he’d been saying and grinned at me. “Ah, Slayer. How may I assist you?”

  I squirmed inwardly, not caring for the intimate tone of his voice, especially when it hit Lola’s buttons juuuuuust right. But I couldn’t call him on it without looking like an idiot. What was I supposed to say? Don’t be so nice because my succubus likes it too much? Instead, I asked, “Am I interrupting an important lesson?”

  “Not at all,” he assured me. “I live to serve.”

  Ignoring his attempt to get my goat, I asked Elspeth, “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  “Of course,” the former Memory Eater said.

  Relieved to be out of Austin’s disturbing presence, I led her out onto the small back patio where I could still see what was going on in the living room, but have a bit of privacy. It was cool, but not too cold if I didn’t stay out here too long. Gazing up at the crescent moon, I asked, “Elspeth, has Shade talked to you about anything?”

  “He has talked to me of many things. I am helping him flesh out the entries on the demons and other creatures in the Encyclopedia Magicka.”

  Her perspective, having lived through hundreds of years of the Demon Underground, would be invaluable for that, but my question was more personal. “I mean about the memories that have been coming back to him.”

  “Yes, he has spoken of that. Why do you ask?”

  “Is there something I should know about?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t think I should speak of that with you.”

  Crap. I’d hoped it might give me some insight to the mystery that was Shade.

  Elspeth continued, “His memories are his alone, and he must rediscover them in his own good time. Though I believe it is time for him to remember what he forgot.”

  I glanced at her in surprise. “Do you know what his lost memories are?” Then, suddenly remembering what she’d been, I asked incredulously, “Did you eat his memories?”

  She frowned. “You realize I did not actually eat memories, do you not?”

  Embarrassed at using the politically incorrect term out loud, I said, “Sorry, you know me.” Open mouth, insert tootsies. “I should say, as Lethe, did you remove his memories?”

  She seemed mollified. “Anything I did, I did at his request and Micah’s father’s.”

  That was a yes. “Do you remember what they were? The memories, I mean.”

  “I remember everything. It is part of being Lethe.”

  What an awful curse. “If you took them, how can he rediscover them?”

  She sighed and hesitated, as if reluctant to reveal anything. “In this particular case, I did not remove the memories—I hid them from him until he’s able to deal with them.”

  “Is he ready now?” I asked.

  “I believe he is. He is having dreams, flashes of memories trying to break through. But I cannot force it. It must happen naturally, or it may damage his psyche.”

  Holy crap. “What happened in Shade’s past that made him want to forget everything?”

  “I will not tell you that.”

  I figured she’d refuse, but it was worth a shot.

  She placed her bony hand on mine. “Do not worry about that, Paladin. Let me worry about his past. Your job is to protect his future.”

  But the past always had a huge impact on the future. I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t get anything more from her on this subject. “Being Paladin seems like an empty title. There’s not a whole lot of smiting or shielding needed. Is that how it’s always been?”

  She smiled. “No, but times were different then.”

  “When?”

  Her eyes took on a faraway look. “The Knights of the Round Table are believed to have been Paladins, as was the legendary Roland of Charlemagne’s court. And, of course, Paladins were sorely needed during the Inquisition.”

  “And in your time?” I knew it was considered bad manners to ask the vamp how old she was, but she was a demon before she became a vamp.

  “Of course they were needed, or I would not have been made Lethe.”

  Sheesh. Talking with Elspeth was a pain sometimes. With her ancient perspective, she didn’t get that I was trying to weasel out how old she was. Either that, or she was deliberately misunderstanding.

  Shade came outside, his face hooded from view in case of nosy neighbors, and said, “Don’t you think it’s time for everyone to leave? Princess doesn’t feel very good.”

  I went inside and saw that Princess was panting and pacing, seeming restless. “What’s wrong with her? Is she all right?”

  SHE’S FINE, Fang reassured me, his head on his paws. SHE’S JUST READY TO GIVE BIRTH. Then his head jerked up. OH, CRAP. SHE’S READY TO GIVE BIRTH! He leapt to his feet, wide-eyed. Now? Oh, wow. And was that panic I heard in the hellhound’s mind voice?

  “Really?” Shade said. “How can we help?”

  When a clamor of voices asked the same thing, they just increased Fang’s anxiety and Princess’s irritation. Making a shooing motion toward the door, I said, “Sorry, everyone, you’ll have to leave. This show is very private.” When they seemed reluctant to leave, I added, “At the parents’ request.”

  That did it. Austin held a low-voiced, intense conversation with Gwen and Elspeth, then everyone left except Shade, Austin and Fang. The four of us followed Princess as she wandered into Gwen’s room and pawed at the blanket she’d insisted we prepare for her at the bottom of the dark closet.

  Fang jittered in place, looking strangely indecisive. SHE’S NESTING, Fang said unnecessarily. THE PUPPIES ARE COMING. THE PUPPIES ARE COMING. QUICK, DO SOMETHING, he shot at Shade and me.

  “Like what?” Shade asked, squatting down to soothe Princess.

  I DON’T KNOW. BOIL WATER OR SOMETHING.

  I couldn’t help but grin at Fang’s panic. “You really think that’s gonna help?”

  I DON’T KNOW. I’VE NEVER BEEN THROUGH THIS. WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?

  We gazed down at her, uncertain. “Doesn’t she kind of do this on her own?” Shade asked with a quizzical grin. “It’s instinct, right?”

  I’LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN DO. YOU CAN SHUT UP AND GO AWAY, Princess t
old all of us, including Austin who had come in to watch.

  Fang suddenly realized the vamp was there and growled at him.

  Looking surprised, Austin said, “What’s up?”

  “Princess is about to give birth,” I explained. “And I don’t think Fang wants you around when that happens.”

  DAMN STRAIGHT, Fang confirmed. WHAT IF THE BLOOD SETS HIM OFF OR SOMETHING?

  Eww. Luckily, Shade repeated that so I wouldn’t have to.

  “No problem,” Austin said, backing away with his hands up. “It won’t ‘set me off,’ but I’ll wait in the other room.”

  “Good.” Fang was so anxious now, I was afraid he’d get into it with Austin just to have something to do.

  “There’s nothing you can do right now,” Shade told the fretful father-to-be. “Let Princess do her thing, and you can . . . pass out cigars or something later.”

  VERY FUNNY, Fang said, obviously not amused. But that didn’t stop him from pacing outside the closet.

  OH, LOOK, he said excitedly, suddenly freezing in a quivering position that made him look like a hound on point. HERE COMES THE FIRST ONE.

  Sure enough, Princess was heaving, and a puppy was slowly making its way into this world.

  “Wow,” Shade said, looking awed by the process of birth. “That’s incredible.”

  Maybe. Looked kinda gross to me.

  GO AWAY, Princess repeated. I’LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT’S DONE.

  A remarkably self-possessed thing for the self-obsessed hellhound to say.

  “Forget it,” Shade said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  YEAH, Fang agreed. I GOT YOU INTO THIS. THE LEAST I CAN DO IS WATCH.

  The guys seemed totally fascinated by the whole gross process, but me . . . not so much.

  The doorbell rang, and I went to answer it. Talk about saved by the bell. Or not. If this was another demon who’d found some lame excuse to be first in line to imprint on a hellhound pup, I was going to go all Paladin on his or her butt.

  Austin came in from my bedroom, looking alert for trouble. I didn’t expect any, but taking precautions wasn’t a bad idea. He positioned himself next to the door so he’d be behind it when it opened, then nodded.

  I opened the door, but I didn’t recognize the two men—both Hispanic in their mid-twenties or so. From another Underground, maybe? The grapevine must be working overtime. “Sorry, guys,” I told them. “Visiting hours are over.”

  They exchanged stone-faced glances, then one of them said with a slight accent, “We are here for the shadow demon.”

  Whoa. That changed things. Were these the thugs who’d trashed Shade’s apartment? I called to Fang mentally. Hey, Fang, can you check these guys out? See if they’re demons?

  He snarled mentally from the other room. CAN’T YOU TELL I’M BUSY?

  I stared at them, trying to read their expressions. They looked kind of determined and ready for action. These guys are looking for Shade. You think they might be the ones who want to kill him?

  WHAT? Fang asked, startled. Then said, NOT DEMONS. I CAN’T READ THEM.

  Weird. Make sure Shade stays out of sight, okay? I told Fang as I readied Lola for action. I’m gonna try to get rid of these guys.

  YOU GOT IT.

  Our mental exchange took only a fraction of a second. “Sorry, guys,” I told them. “No shadow demon here. I don’t even know what that is,” I lied. “You’d better leave, or I’ll call the police.”

  My threat didn’t faze them one bit. I wished I could ask Princess if these were the guys who trashed Shade’s place, but she was too busy birthing puppies to pick someone out of line-up right now.

  “We want the shadow demon,” the speaker said again.

  Broken record, anyone?

  “Too bad.” Not wanting to deal with them while there was drama going on in the bedroom, I tried to shut the door in their faces.

  It didn’t work. One of them straight-armed the door. They bulled their way just inside and shut the door behind them. “Where is the shadow demon?”

  Austin entered the conversation from behind them. “You heard the lady. Leave.”

  They whirled, looking surprised.

  “Friends of yours?” I asked Austin.

  “Nope,” he said, coming to stand next to me.

  Okay, if they weren’t demon and they weren’t vamp, they must be human. “Sorry, guys, wrong house,” I said. Seriously, what could they do to me?

  The silent one pulled a gun. Oh, they could do that. Crap. And it had a silencer, too. That didn’t bode well . . .

  Without even trying to negotiate, the gunman pointed the pistol at me and pulled the trigger.

  Chapter Eight

  Val

  IN THE NANOSECOND between the time the round left the gun and would have hit me, Austin flashed in front of me, taking the bullet. It hit him somewhere in his shoulder, spinning him so he fell backward against me. We went down in a tangle of arms and legs against the couch and end table. I heard something shatter.

  Austin was a vamp. He’d live. Angry now, I reached out from my sprawled position on the floor with Lola to grab hold of the two thugs and teach them a lesson before they could shoot again.

  Nothing—it was like nailing water to a tree. Cursing, I grabbed the amulet and tried again. I certainly couldn’t help Shade or anyone else if I was dead.

  But the amulet didn’t work either. Crap. They must already be controlled by someone else.

  Austin and I both scrambled to our feet, and Fang was suddenly there, his eyes flashing purple. Austin used his superior strength and speed to wrench the gun away from one guy while Fang went for the other guy’s ’nads.

  “They’re human,” I yelled to Austin. Killing evil bloodsuckers was all in a day’s work, along with nasty demons who couldn’t get their powers under control. But full humans? Let the police handle them.

  Austin must have had the same idea, so he pulled his punches. As the one guy crumpled in agony under Fang’s attack, Austin tried to incapacitate the other guy. I stayed out of it, knowing I’d just be in the way, especially since the creep seemed to be a whole heck of a lot stronger and faster than he should be.

  Finally, Austin managed to pin him, but the guy convulsed and lay still. “He’s dead,” Austin said in surprise.

  “You killed a human?” I asked. Oh, crap. That could be trouble.

  “No, I’m pretty sure he committed suicide. Look at his mouth.”

  Yeah, there was some kind of foamy spittle oozing out of his lips. “Poison?”

  “Looks like.”

  VAL, A LITTLE HELP HERE, Fang called out.

  The guy he’d disabled was rising unsteadily to his feet, clutching his crotch but reaching for the gun Austin had taken away from the other guy. I whirled, prepping my kick. Maybe Lola wouldn’t work on him, but savate sure would. My foot connected with his head. He went down and out. That felt good.

  “Check his mouth,” I told Austin. “We don’t want him killing himself, too.” Not until we got answers, anyway.

  Austin bent down to look in the guy’s mouth, and Fang took off for the maternity ward again, snarling, I SHOULDA OFFED HIM FOR MAKING ME MISS THE BIRTH OF MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS.

  Austin fished a capsule out of the guy’s mouth. “Yep. He had one, too.” He glanced around at the carnage. One man dead, one unconscious, and the living room looked like it had been whipped in a blender. “What do you want to do about them?”

  “Call Lieutenant Ramirez. He’ll figure it out.”

  “I already did,” Shade said from the doorway, holding up his phone. “He’s sending someone.”

  “Do you know these guys?” I asked.

  Shade crossed the room to stand above the two and gaze down at them. “No. Never seen them
before.”

  Austin methodically went through their pockets.

  “You killed them?” Shade asked in disgust.

  Austin glared back. “I don’t kill humans. Only one of them is dead, and he killed himself. I’m just trying to find identification or something that will give us a clue as to who they are and what they want with you.”

  He fished a piece of paper out of the dead guy’s pocket. “It has Val’s address on it, but that’s all they have. No ID.”

  The door suddenly flew open, and Dan Sullivan was there, peering around the door frame, his gun pointing inside. He didn’t have far to look since the door had smacked the dead guy in the head and barely missed the other. The Special Crimes Unit cop—and my ex—lived in the same complex, so he must have run over immediately after he got the call. He stuck the gun in his back waistband and came in, closing the door behind him. He was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and socks, but nothing else.

  “We’ve got it under control,” I said.

  He glanced down at the two men on the floor. “Dead?” he asked dispassionately.

  “One dead, one unconscious,” Austin responded.

  “Vamps?”

  Austin shook his head. “Human.”

  Amazing how men could communicate so much with so few words. “Stronger and faster than regular humans, though,” I told Dan. “And I wasn’t able to control either one of them, so they must be controlled by someone else.”

  “Vamp?” Dan asked again, looking at Austin.

  Austin shrugged. “Maybe.”

  What was this? A contest about who could use the least amount of words to communicate? “Some mage demons can control people as well,” I reminded them. “So we don’t know who’s doing it. And Austin didn’t find any ID in their pockets.”

  Dan nodded. “I’ll call Ramirez.”

  As Dan called the lieutenant to let him know the situation was under control but that we still needed help with a prisoner, Fang came trotting out.