Blood and Blade

by Lauren Dane

  Rowan held her growl back. It was useless. Nadir was right. It made sense. It also made about a billion times more work for Rowan to have to imagine how such a thing could work.

  She’d have to think about it. Talk to Susan some more, probably Celesse. Both women were mentors who had a lot of great advice despite both being highly placed within Hunter Corp.

  They’d tell her the truth. Which is what she always needed. Even if it hurt a little.

  “Okay. Yeah, I can see that. I’ll think on all this. Thank you for the information about the Fae. This helps a lot.”

  “Rowan? Don’t go after any Faerie alone. You’re fierce, but no match for the Fae. Especially one who has been using siphon spells and is most likely bloated with power.”

  “That’s my plan. I want to kill this Faerie but I’m not stupid.”

  “No, little one, you’re just you. Be well.” Nadir hung up and Rowan turned back to David and Genevieve.

  “Well. I’ve got some basics. Let’s add it to what we know so far,” Rowan said to David. “Then we have an appointment at the new building. I have to sign some papers and I want you to look over the construction they’re doing. Make sure we’re on track.”

  They were having a secure weapons room installed, which was about as complicated as Rowan figured it would be.

  It was all just killing time until they had a target. And once they did, he’d better run because she had a whole metric fuckton of pain to dump on his head.

  Genevieve went back to her hotel to handle some Conclave business, which left Rowan free to deal with the paperwork and then head down to the less savory end of town to talk with some of her sources.

  * * *

  Marv used to work at a show that boasted fake Vampires onstage with “fake” feedings to titillate the tourists. Only it wasn’t so fake. As annoying as Marv and his Vampires were, they were generally harmless and he’d even helped her out more than once with tips she’d been able to use to solve a few different cases.

  If anyone knew about something sketchy happening on the down low in Las Vegas, it was Marv.

  These days, because the Scion’s wife liked him well enough, he was the stage producer in a new show. This one with plenty of naked tits—and who didn’t like those—at a far nicer hotel still situated a few miles from the luxury haven of Die Mitte.

  She parked around back, where the employee lot was located, and then headed in. A few Vampires tried to stop her but once they noted who she was, they backed off and let her through. Not as fun as the old days when she got to scare them all. But it was certainly far easier to get around behind the scenes now that she was married to the Scion.

  It wasn’t Marv she saw when she rounded the corner toward the dressing rooms, though. It was Carl. So unexpected she skidded to a stop. “Uh. Hi.”

  He beamed at her, the gold cap on one of his front teeth gleaming in the low light. Was that new? She rarely looked him in the face because so often he was driving and she was behind him, so it might not be so recent.

  “Betty Sue!” He took off his orange camo cowboy hat and whacked it against his thigh to underline his exclamation.

  “Hey, Carl. I was here looking for Marv.”

  “Tonight, the role of Marv will be played by Carl.” He wheezed out a laugh.

  “Okay then. I was going to ask Marv if he’s seen any Fae around.” She smiled brightly at him.

  “Well now, you’re finally asking the right questions, aren’t you, Ruth?”

  “I guess so! Since you tell me stuff that’s all woo-woo and I have to decipher your stories first. It took me a minute and a few prophecy dreams to get this far. So I get that we’re for sure talking about a Faerie. But not who or where to find him or her or they or whatever.”

  “Susie, I told you about the rivers and veins running through from here to there, didn’t I?”

  “Let’s just pretend I’m stupid, okay? And that I still don’t know what you mean about the rivers and veins. I thought you meant ley lines but when I looked at the map, there aren’t any where you indicated. I looked up actual rivers and there are some but mainly not. So they’re veins of power? Like leading from the individual spells to the bad Faerie?”

  “Give the lady a stuffed bear,” he said.

  Okay so he was still going to be mysterious. But at least he was helping. She needed to remember that.

  “And how do I see these rivers? So that I can follow them?”

  He thought about it for a moment. “Seems to me that if a spell is drawing that power, there should be a way to create a spell to find it.”

  That was the most direct thing he’d ever said to her. She stood there, agape for a moment until he cackled, laughing until tears ran down his face.

  “I told you, Bitsy, there are rules. But even rule makers can get worried about the future. And when that happens, sometimes rules get bent.”

  “This is threatening you too? Like sages, or beings of power like you?”

  “Something like that. And, Sally? I’m telling you straight, be careful. This is not like any foe you’ve ever faced. I like to show up and drive you places so don’t mess that up. Where’s my dog?” he demanded suddenly.

  “She’s with David. I asked her if she wanted to come with me but she decided against it. That may have something to do with the fact that David stops at In-N-Out and buys her cheeseburgers and thinks I don’t know.”

  “She’s happy then. That’s good. It’s good you ask her. She’s got opinions.”

  Rowan laughed. “That she does. And she’s my dog. My familiar. My partner and keeper.”

  “I see. Well. Okay then.” He didn’t look mad. Or sad. He looked amused and pleased with himself.

  “But, she’s super cute, so I get if you miss her and want to see her. She’s usually with me these days, but whenever you’d like, I’m happy to arrange a visitation. Bring her bacon.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve got a fare to deliver so I’ll be seeing you around. Stay safe, Nancy.”

  With a wave, he sauntered off and she hurried out to the lot to get her car and head over to Genevieve’s.

  * * *

  Clive did a double take when he caught sight of his wife driving past the restaurant he was sitting in while listening to a very boring update from another Vampire.

  He stood. “Please excuse me a moment,” he murmured before quickly heading outside and down to the sidewalk. She sat at a red light and wasn’t paying any attention until he tugged on their bond and waved at her at the same time.

  He watched as she started and then turned to lock her gaze on his. Her wariness passed and she smiled instead, rolling down the passenger window.

  “Do you need a ride somewhere?”

  He got in, even though he didn’t need a ride and he had a meeting in progress inside the restaurant at his back.

  But nothing mattered but her and the way her smile brightened when he joined her.

  “You’ve given me the opportunity to escape a very boring meeting,” he told her. “Why are you here in town?”

  “I went to see Marv. Check if he’d heard anything about a sketchy Faerie or whatever. But instead, tonight it was Carl. He gave me a very good idea about how to track the Faerie and so I was going over to Genevieve’s hotel to see if what I think might work is actually in reality something that can be done.”

  “May I come along?” he asked.

  “Why are you asking?” she answered, wariness in her tone.

  “Because I’m here with my wife instead of in a boring meeting full of Vampires complimenting themselves and bragging. Your to do list sounds much more interesting. I’m the boss, I get to leave when I want to.”

  She shrugged. “Okay then.”

  * * *

  “And so, do you think it is possible to lock on to one of those siphon spells and follow
it back to our Fae foe? Fae foe, Fae foe, Fae foe. Say that five times fast.”

  His beautiful weird woman. Clive struggled not to laugh, as he noted Genevieve did.

  “Unless I can find one that is currently operating, no. The siphon will only work for that time when it’s in action. So unless we knew where a person who’d been hit with the spell—and hasn’t died yet—was at, I have no starting point.” Genevieve twirled a tendril of her hair around her pointer finger as she thought.

  “I could try to work a locator spell. I’ve been researching, trying to figure out the right combination to set the tracker in motion. I have the ingredients of the spells Patrizia wrote, so if the others are similar, I might be able to find one. But again, since Lyr died, I’m not sure how many of these spells are active anymore. They’d need to be set off consistently because they’re short lived. I mean, because the witch or Vampire would be drained and then would die, but you know what I mean.”

  “But we have those spells she wrote, right?” Rowan asked.

  “No,” Clive said immediately. “You won’t be suggesting she use it on you so you can track the spell.”

  Rowan rolled her eyes but said nothing else, which meant that was exactly what she was about to suggest. He’d knock her out and drag her home and lock her in a room to keep that from happening. She’d hate him for a while but she’d be alive.

  “That would only strengthen our Fae nemesis anyway. I need Rowan at full strength and I certainly don’t need any of her power fueling someone we had to fight right after.” Genevieve paused and stood. “I need a moment to make a call. Please stay here no matter what you see out there.”

  Genevieve left the suite and headed out to a terrace just beyond.

  * * *

  “Darius,” Genevieve called into the night.

  Ozone again; it smelled like lightning was about to strike and before she could think on it more, Darius stood facing her wearing leather and looking very dangerous.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you but I have a question,” she said.

  His look shifted into something else. Something a bit more welcoming.

  “I told you to call me when you needed me so there’s no need to apologize. Let’s hear it.”

  * * *

  She came back inside a few minutes later and Rowan just stared at her for a bit until she finally said, “You really just said his name into the wind and he showed up?”

  “Easier than hoping I’ve got enough bars to make a call I guess. Anyway, he answered a question I had. I can set up a spoof. Like when spammers send email and it looks like it’s from a legitimate address but it’s not.”

  “How do you know about that stuff?” Rowan demanded.

  “I get junk email too. Sometime back someone spoofed my email address to send spam in my name and I had to deal with a bunch of silliness.” The witch shook her head.

  Clive’s world had gotten ever so much larger and much, much stranger since Rowan had come into it.

  “So what does this spoof entail?” Rowan asked.

  “I need to take Patrizia’s spell and bend it a little. Twist it and add some things of my own. So I’ll set it to send a wisp of energy. Just a very small sip. But it’ll be enough to get us a roadmap to our Faerie. Then we’ll find him and kill him. Or her. Or they. Whatever. Dead is dead. Darius tells me that back in Faerie is just as good as dead, but I’m of the opinion that dead is only as good as dead. If this Fae can get out and cause all this trouble here, why would we let him go back and potentially cause trouble again in the future?”

  “I’m with you there,” Rowan said.

  Clive agreed.

  “I will accompany you both, along with my security team,” Clive told them both. “Don’t argue, Rowan. This is an all hands on deck situation. You said so yourself. So let’s meet this foe with all the force we’ve got. A bunch of warrior Vampires will help.”

  Rowan sighed. “All right. But if they die I don’t want to hear any complaining.”

  “They’d be dead so how could they complain?” Genevieve asked.

  “They’re Vampires. I bet they can complain from basically any state of existence or nonexistence. What if he has an army? This Fae of ours?” Rowan said.

  “He could, I guess. If it’s an army of Fae we’re fucked. But I don’t think so. A single Faerie is hard enough to hide from what I understand. A group of them in the same place? I’m guessing I could see it if I was using my othersight. That’s just a huge blob of power. Maybe I’m talking myself into that, but I’m fairly sure that’s how I feel. And given what I’ve been told, a single Faerie will be hard enough to defeat.”

  “I’ll have David with me, and a few Hunters that are in the outlying area. I can call them in on this.”

  “My concern is that all these power signatures will be hard to disguise. I can blind the Faerie to several of us, but we’re talking teams now. That’s more difficult and I need my power to face the Faerie. No more than five of us. And Star.”

  Rowan frowned. “I want her clear of this. She could get killed. She’s a dog, not a warrior.”

  Clive took her hand and squeezed a moment. “She’s a warrior most definitely. And even if you locked her up, she’d just show up on scene if that’s what she wanted to do. She’s like her mother. Willful and resourceful. Which is why you need to let her come.”

  “I can’t lose anyone else,” she said quietly, breaking his heart.

  “She’s too stubborn to die,” he said back. “We all are. And if you die, your father will tear the foundations of the world down and we’re all dead anyway.”

  “No fucking pressure,” Rowan said.

  She would hold up the earth on her shoulders if that’s what was necessary. He knew it. She knew it. And he wasn’t lying. The First would go on a rampage the kind of which hadn’t been seen in eons if she died. And Clive wouldn’t be there to stop him because he’d be rampaging as well.

  “Do you think there are still siphon spells set to go off, fueling him?” Rowan asked Genevieve.

  “His sources keep drying up. First we killed Lyr, who was the Vampire sending him the most power. Then we eradicated Roderick and the Blood Front black market source for siphon spells. So there might be a few, waiting to be activated. But I’m thinking he’s been feeling the pinch of losing his partners in this whole thing. He may not be getting extra power from the spells, but he’s still going to be hard to defeat.”

  Rowan blew out a breath. “Fine. When do we do this?”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Rowan had dropped off Clive back at Die Mitte and decided what she needed was a trip to the ranch where the shrine to Brigid was.

  She needed, very much, the kind of support and compassion the acolytes there gave her. No one expected anything of her there. She was the Vessel. They’d feed her and brush her hair and tell her stories and read poetry or whatever she wanted. And they expected nothing in return but her pleasure at their attentions.

  That night she came in quietly, knowing that most people in the world weren’t on Vampire time so they were in bed by one in the morning. The lights leading down to the basement were low, but lit so she could find her way.

  She disrobed, hanging her clothes up and using the ritual bath to cleanse her outside before she got into one of the white caftans on pegs nearby.

  In front of the flame, always lit in service to their Goddess, Rowan went to her knees and simply let it all go. Let herself ascend into that plane of reality where Brigid existed.

  That night it was her mother, her true, human mother, who waited. Rowan simply moved to her and let those arms wrap around her tight.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do this.”

  “Sweetheart, you can do anything. Don’t you know this by now?” her mother said.

  “I keep failing. People I love keep dying. I don’t want to go out
into the desert to fight this Fae and get my husband killed true. Or my dog. Or my friend Genevieve. I don’t know how to defeat a Faerie!”

  Her mother made one of those comforting sounds of disagreement and Rowan wished so hard that she’d had this every day growing up instead of a spirit she only got to interact with once in a while.

  “It’s not weak to wish for such things, Rowan,” her mother said as if Rowan had spoken aloud. “If you can’t expose your fears to your mother, who can you tell them to?”

  “My husband I guess?”

  “He’s good to you and that’s important. But I’m your mother,” she said simply.

  “Okay. Okay. Yes.”

  Rowan let her mother take her hand and they walked a little, through the nothing.

  “I can see you sometimes. When you’re out in your world. Fierce and smart. I have faith in you and your abilities, even if you forget to do so yourself. And you have friends and allies now that will help you face this enemy. He is canny, Rowan. You cannot believe anything he tells you. There is no bargaining with this Fae.”

  “Do you know about him? It’s a him?”

  “I can’t tell you much. There are rules.”

  Fucking rules. How Rowan hated the rules.

  “Yes, this Faerie is male. And he’s very old. He knows a great many tricks. But his magic won’t stay. No matter how many siphon spells. No one keeps stolen magic for long. He has to obey the rules too.”

  “I’m having prophecy dreams. I don’t know how to interpret them. I’m at loose ends.”

  Her mother smiled. Proud. “But you do. You’ve interpreted them both, have you not? There will be more dreams. This is one of your gifts from Brigid, manifesting itself. And the more you have them, the easier you’ll find it to interpret them. Until you have a dream that isn’t easy to interpret. But I expect you know that too.”