“We need a favor and it is going to require some manpower,” Dez replied. “We need to know we can trust everyone involved.”
“What's this about?” Kade leaned back on the bridge, relaxing his weight against the stone.
“The demon attack,” Michael explained. “We have reason to believe that someone inside the covens summoned that demon. It’s the only possible way the damned thing could have made it onto this plane. We have a few leads we need to go investigate. That's where you come in. If we give you a few addresses, can you place men there to guard the properties until we arrive?”
“Absolutely,” Kade replied without hesitation. “Where am I sending them?”
“One address is right in New York,” Dez explained as she handed him a piece of paper with the addresses written on it. “It's a fifth floor walk-up in the West Village. The second address is in Savannah, Georgia, in the Victorian district.”
“When do you need them there?” Kade asked.
“As soon as possible,” Michael said. “The faster we can secure those locations, the better. We can’t chance anyone getting in there and getting rid of anything.”
“Okay,” Kade said. “I will make some calls and get my guys to head to both places immediately. Can I ask what these addresses have to do with the demon?”
“It's where two of the five Guardians were killed,” Dez replied.
“We are leaving tonight for Rome,” Michael said, “then St. Tropez. From St. Tropez, we are going to London. After London, we will be on our way to the States, but depending on how long the three European stops take, it is going to be a few days before we arrive.”
“When do you two take off?” Kade asked.
“It's three of us actually,” Michael said. “Lucas is with us.” Michael glanced at his watch. “Our flight leaves in about three hours. He should be leaving for the airport with our bags right about now, so unfortunately, we have to go pretty soon if we want to make our flight.”
“Why wasn't Lucas at the council meeting?”
“The dead records keeper was his girlfriend," Dez explained. "We aren't sure who knows they were together, or that he was actually the first one to find her body. We have kept his presence as quiet as possible to avoid tipping anyone off that we might know more than we are letting on.”
“Understood,” Kade replied. “You go catch your flight and I will place my calls to get my people moving. You'll keep in touch?”
“We will,” Michael replied, reaching out to shake the vampire's hand again. “Kade, thank you. We will keep you in the loop on what we find. And please, don't let anyone here in Venice know what you're up to.”
“Not a problem at all, old friend. Be safe, alright?”
“We will and you do the same.”
Michael took Deziree's hand and the two of them headed in the direction of the private limousine waiting for them. When they were on the way to the airport, they discussed what they should do next. One thing they agreed on was to call Cassandra. They wouldn’t tell her the entire story, but it was best if she at least knew they were looking into a few things. Inaction would be far more suspicious than a little white lie.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Dez
“Hey, Cass,” Dez greeted when her adoptive mother answered the call.
“Why do you insist on calling me by that name, Deziree?” she scolded, her voice remaining perfectly calm. "It sounds like the name of a pet dog or a cow.” Deziree laughed and shook her head. "Anyway, how are you?"
“I’m good,” Dez responded. “Exhausted, and I could really go for a massage right now, but I'm good otherwise. How are things on your end?”
“You know the covens,” Cassandra said flippantly. “They wouldn’t be happy if there wasn’t some sort of dramatic situation afoot. Not that I am downplaying the severity of this situation, but really, it sounds like a hen house in here right now.”
Deziree laughed. For the majority of the time, Cassandra was prim and proper, the very picture of professional. But there were moments when she slipped into something more sarcastic. The combination of her centuries of wisdom and lack of patience for anything she deemed to be a waste of time occasionally manifested in snarky comments about whatever happened to be pissing her off in the moment.
“I wanted to give you a call and let you know we are leaving town for a little while.”
“Oh really?” Dez could picture Cassandra sitting in her office, phone to her ear and eyebrows furrowed.
“Yeah, we will be back though. We are going to take a trip to do some sniffing around. It’s better than just sitting here doing nothing.” Deziree felt bad lying to her; she believed omission was the same as telling someone a complete lie. However, she and Vegas had discussed it and it was important to maintain a level of stealth. They didn’t want to alarm anyone, especially Cassandra.
“Alright, darling,” Cassandra replied. “At this point, I wish I could go with you. An escape from all this would be bliss right about now. Alas, my place is here. I know you can handle yourself and you have a strong ally in Michael, but I hope you will still call and let me know you're all right, for the sake of my peace of mind.”
“Of course I will. Talk to you soon.”
“Goodbye, dear.”
With that, Dez hung up the phone as they pulled into the airport entrance.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Michael
They found Lucas waiting for them, luggage already checked. He had a caddy of paper coffee cups and handed one to Dez.
“It's coffee mixed with tempero,” Lucas said as he handed a cup to Michael. “It's not going to taste pleasant, but with all the traveling we are going to be doing in the next few days, better safe than sorry," said Lucas. “I stashed some in my checked luggage before we left the manor. I added extra cream to the coffee to cool it down so you should be able to drink it right away.”
“How are you doing? Are you holding up okay?” Michael asked.
“I never thought I'd say this,” Lucas replied, “but I'm ready to get the hell out of Venice. I used to love this city but now it's just one gross bitter memory.”
“You have some good memories here,” Dez added.
“You're right. But every good one ends with me finding the dead body of the only woman I ever loved.”
"Just try to hold on to the good times," she said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He nodded then took a deep breath as he checked his watch. "We'd better get going." They all took big gulps until their cups were empty then tossed them in the garbage on the way to the gate.
As they walked the length of the concourse, Michael could see the exhaustion starting to take its toll on Deziree. As soon as he saw it on her face, he felt it himself. The short flight would give them all a chance to kick back and recharge.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dez
They touched down in Rome and a quick cab ride took them from the airport to the Colosseum. They paid the cab driver handsomely to wait for them. He pulled into a nearby parking space and shut off the engine. Lucas remained in the car to be sure the cab driver didn’t just drive away with the large sum of money and their luggage. A short walk brought them to the Guardian's address. The large, stone edifice contained many small apartments, and when they arrived at their destination, they were not surprised to find it locked. With no effort at all, Vegas twisted the doorknob until the locking mechanism inside the door shattered under the pressure of his grip.
“Show off,” Dez teased.
The apartment was simple, decorated in a minimalist style. Each room had the barest of furnishings and no artwork adorned the walls. The domicile had two bedrooms, one of which had been set up as an office. A small wooden desk sat by the window and there were bookcases against each wall. It appeared the only luxury the Guardian had indulged in were the myriad of books lining each shelf. Deziree read off some of the titles, all of which were classic works ranging from To Kill a Mockingbird to The Divine Comedy.
“I don’t see an ash mark anywhere,” Vegas said, panning around the room. “It’s not like there is much to hide it under. I wonder if they’ve already had someone in here to clean up. I’m going to go look around the bedroom.” He stepped out of the room and Deziree continued looking at the books.
“Dez!” Vegas called out. She followed his voice into the bedroom. “Found it.” He pulled the blankets back to reveal a black shadow of ash lying on top of the sheets.
“I will never understand the science behind hellfire and how a person can burn to death and not scorch anything else.”
“Hellfire isn’t scientific. It’s mystical,” he explained. “Hellfire isn’t about burning material. It’s a violent magic that incinerates the person’s soul. The body burning is just a side effect.”
Dez was lost in thought staring at the blackened sheets. Not too long ago that had been a person. Not human, but a person nonetheless. And now they’re just gone. She looked down at her own hands, and for a split second, she allowed herself to wonder if she would one day turn into one of these things. A creature that could be capable of incinerating another being without remorse. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed the thought away.
“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?”
Though she knew what was coming, she nodded anyway. She shook her hands in the air in an effort to prepare her nerves for the assault they were about to receive. She shut her eyes and rolled her neck around, releasing as much of the tension as possible before she touched anything.
“I’ll be right here,” Vegas assured her. Their eyes met and she forced a smile.
She kneeled and slowly reached out to touch the ash. The familiar shock ran through her body and again, pain shot through her head as the images came to her in a savage barrage.
The demon walked to the door quietly. This time he didn't knock. Instead he wiggled the door handle to find it was locked. A wave of his long fingers, a clicking sound from the lock, and he let himself into the apartment. He silently stepped over the threshold and closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. He was hoping to feel something but it wasn’t there. The concern for stealth left him. The moment the demon stepped into the bedroom, the sleeping Guardian burst into flames.
Deziree’s vision returned to her quickly. The results were the same as before. Vegas was waiting with a large mixing bowl and a glass of water.
Deziree drank the water down and took a few deep breaths. She anticipated the sulfurous smell and when it didn't come immediately, she thought she might actually catch a break. But as soon as she got to her feet, it slammed into her abruptly and she pitched over, spewing into the bowl.
She collected herself and went to the bathroom to rinse her mouth. She was glad to find a large bottle of mouthwash in one of the cabinets. After swishing out her mouth repeatedly, she rinsed out the sink and joined Vegas in the kitchen. He had washed the bowl and was drying it with a hand towel when she rounded the corner of the hallway. He returned the bowl and towel back to where he'd found them.
“You cleaned up in there, right? We've got to leave the least amount of evidence possible.”
“I did but I used about half of the bottle of mouthwash first. That’s going to get old really fast.”
“What did you see?”
“It was nothing like Natalia. He broke in, in the middle of the night. The Guardian was sleeping. He stepped into the apartment, tried to feel for something, and when he got no results, he walked in and burned him. There was no ceremony to it this time. I don't think the Guardian ever even knew he was here. He was trying to sense the Sentinel Stone. When he didn’t find anything, there was no hesitation. He torched the Guardian and turned his back on the place. He didn’t bother even searching the apartment for it. In a matter of seconds, he knew the stone wasn’t here.”
“That’s good! This may all go a lot faster than we had anticipated. If the demon knows whether or not the stone is present, that means he only killed this Guardian to prevent him or her from notifying the others. We will know in a matter of minutes at each residence whether or not there’s any info we can use.”
A very good point, she thought. “Okay, let’s go then.” She started toward the door. “We still have a lot of work to do and this thing is moving a lot faster than we had anticipated.”
“Are you good to keep going? When you went through this at Natalia’s, it kicked your ass.”
“I'll be fine,” she replied. “It wasn’t as bad this time. There was very little emotion and it didn’t feel nearly as intense. More than anything, he was just in a hurry, so we should be too.”
With the exception of the broken lock, they left the apartment just as they'd found it, and as soon as they were in the hall, Vegas pulled out his cell phone to make a call.
“Lucas, get the three of us on to the next flight to St. Tropez.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dez
“Vegas!” Deziree called out. “I think I found where I want to go on our next vacation!”
She was standing in the middle of the enormous living room of the equally enormous house. Everything about the estate was the polar opposite of the last Guardian’s home. This house looked lived in. There were magazines stacked neatly on the coffee table. A fifty-two inch flat-screen television took up a good portion of one wall, with bookcases below it filled with dvds. When they came in the door, they passed a coat room filled with evidence of the living: sun chairs, tote bags, scuba gear, and several sun umbrellas.
“I’d be afraid to get the place dirty,” Vegas commented. Everything about the house was white — the exterior walls, the interior walls, the furniture, the floors. “This Guardian must have made a killing living in the human world.”
“This one was definitely female,” Dez stated matter of factly. “Check out all the pictures."
All over the living room and hallway walls were framed pictures. They all had one woman in common, blonde and smiling in each. She was a pretty woman with a petite frame. Judging by the pictures, the little Guardian liked to party.
"Boy, she sure likes to drink, doesn't she? Out by the pool, on the beach, on a boat. She's like the Sam I Am of liquor. Almost all of the pictures feature her with a fruity-looking beverage and I bet those drinks aren’t virgin. I had no idea angels drank alcohol.” Deziree approached the sliding glass doors which spanned the width of the entire room. “Wow,” she said in awe. From the living room, the view was breathtaking. Palm trees waved in the breeze, over a long sloping hill and then the ocean stretched out as far as the eyes could see. “I could totally get used to this place.” An awful part of her quietly wondered how much a place like this ran for, and how quickly it would be on the market.
“With all the blinding white,” Vegas began, “it should be fairly easy to find where she was burned.”
“Yes, it should,” Dez agreed.
The two went in search of the ash spot checking each room. Vegas stopped in the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water. Dez cocked an eyebrow at him. "Is this really the time to stop for snacks?"
"A certain half-demon I know is going to get very thirsty when we find what we're looking for." She rolled her eyes at him.
They walked through the entire house with no luck.
“It has to be here somewhere.” Vegas checked each of the five bedrooms one more time while Dez peered out the window at the double pool and hot tub on the back side of the house.
“Vegas,” Dez said, “we have more house to check out.” She gestured for him to look out the window and pointed at the pool house and gazebo on the far side of the pool.
They took the sliding glass door to the patio. The sun reflecting off the white concrete nearly blinded both of them. They walked around the perimeter of the pool, briefly stopping at the gazebo only to discover there were no ash marks present. They continued on to the pool house. Finding the door unlocked, they let themselves in and saw it was decorated the same as the main house. The lavish guest house
had two bedrooms, a theater room, a shower, and a large wine cellar.
“See?” Dez started. “She was a total booze hound.”
“An alcoholic with very good and very expensive taste in vineyards,” Vegas added as he inspected the labels of a few of the vintages. “Let’s check the bedrooms first and then work our way back to the front door.”
They split up, each taking a bedroom, and each coming up empty handed. When they came back out into the hallway, they each shook their heads and returned to the theater room. Vegas looked for a light switch as the theater was the only room on the property not painted bright white. He found them behind a long black curtain and flipped them all of them on.
She stood in front of the twenty chaise lounges which served for seating. “Bingo! We have ash.” She pointed to the seat in front of her at exactly center row.
“Perfect,” Vegas stated. “You ready?”
“Yup.” Deziree knelt down by the chair and touched the ash, this time fully prepared for the impact the process would have on her body.
Much like the last Guardian's home, the demon had let himself in and taken almost the same journey they had to get here. First through the main house, then he made his way to the smaller house. He performed the same search in both houses, trying to feel for the stone’s magic and when he couldn't sense it, he went on a mission looking for the Guardian. He found her in the theater room alone watching an action movie. The volume was loud enough she never even heard him coming. Deziree watched as the Guardian began to burn and the demon turned his back on the scene. The violence of gunfire and explosions playing out on the screen behind him provided a soundtrack for the angel’s horrific death as the demon left the room.
When her vision returned, Vegas had her bottle of water waiting. She drank down the entire bottle and then stood up and headed for the shower room. When the sulfur smell hit her, it wasn't as strong as she had smelled at the previous times and she was able to make it through without getting sick to her stomach.
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