Bound by Light (28 page)

No doubt he could learn volumes about their biological and psychological composition—and still not understand them at all.

Cynda looked apologetic as she spoke to Merilee. "I know you’ve only had a couple of days to get better, but the NYPD liaison called. They got an anonymous tip and checked it out, and now we’ve got serious shit happening at one of the political headquarters." She put her hands under her belly as if the weight of it might actually be hurting her. "They found Derek Holston’s body. He was murdered, but maybe not by the Asmodai who kidnapped him."

Merilee frowned and sat up, letting the sheet fall away. "Was it ritualistic?"

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Jake’s eyes locked on Merilee’s pale pink nipples, and he could almost taste the sensitive, rough flesh in his mouth and hear her moans as he sucked it between his teeth. His talisman dangled between her bare breasts, where it had remained for all the hours they had been together.

She was so delicious.

Murder and chaos or no, Jake wanted her again. He wanted her now.

Blood rushed to his cock, and he had to swing his legs over the edge of the bed and grab his jeans to hide his erection. The feel of the cool cotton gave him back a little of his concentration and allowed him to process Cynda’s next words.

"The murder’s not ritualistic in the supernatural sense. More like a well-crafted imitation of a serial killer." She made a stabbing motion with her right hand that Jake recognized as a parody of Norman Bates from the Hitchcock movie
Psycho
. "A sexual sadist—but when the responding officers checked the scene with polycarbonate lenses, they found a lot of sulfur trace, too powerful for Asmodai."

Jake’s brain kicked in a little more directly as he fastened his jeans. "Was the room sealed? Airtight?"

Cynda glanced at him as Merilee got up and padded toward the stack of boxes where she kept her clothing in her library bedroom. "Not airtight, so that’s another weird thing. The sulfur traces should have broken down by now, but they’re not only still visible, they’re
strong,
according to Bela."

Already, Jake was flipping through the pages of information stored in his mind, trying to identify creatures that might leave such intense sulfur residue. He didn’t come up with anything right away, and knew he’d have to think more deeply on the possibilities later.

Merilee stepped into one of her leather jumpsuits and zipped it. "Some new kind of demon?"

Cynda shrugged. "No idea. The residue leads to a wall, then vanishes, as if whatever killed Holston faded through steel and bricks, then several feet of solid earth to escape."

Jake dressed quickly, as did Merilee.

They were just about to leave when the three Astaroths, Darian, Quince, and Jared, materialized in the library just inside the terrace doors.

Jake swore as he realized it was time for their training session, then quickly gave the demons instructions on which books of human warfare to read until he returned. The three Astaroths nodded and immediately went to the bookshelves he indicated, which drew a look of surprise and approval from Cynda.

"Are they coming along?" she asked, pausing near the library door. "In their training, I mean."

"Absolutely," Merilee said before Jake could answer. "I snuck a look in the gym when I was recovering from my Fresh Kills wounds—when he was putting them through their paces. They learn
so
fast. I pity any ass-hole who takes a shot at them. I know he’s taught them evasive moves, defensive moves—even a little close-quarters combat."

Cynda gave the demons a quick glance. "You don’t need them on this outing. The damage is already done—besides, they’d make one hell of a stir at the scene."

As the three of them left the library, Cynda continued, "See, the kicker is, the body’s underneath Alvin Carter’s political headquarters—in a secret, soundproof basement."

"The ‘Strength Now’ guy?" Merilee sounded stunned as she led the way down the townhouse steps. "Wasn’t he in the lead to take his party’s nomination for the presidency?"

"He
was
." Cynda struggled, waddling to the first landing. Instinctively, Jake took her elbow to assist her, and he was pleased Merilee’s triad sister accepted his help and didn’t try to singe him.

Merilee shook her head, already at the next landing. "When this gets out to the news, Carter will be history."

"Toast," Cynda agreed as Jake guided her to Merilee, then on to the first floor. "But, uh, we’ve got a more immediate problem to handle before you hit the streets."

Merilee started to ask about the problem, but they had reached the conference room—and the problem was apparent.

Freeman, Creed, Nick, Riana, and Andy were waiting, along with five OCU officers and Bela Argos—and three elderly women with very large weapons.

Everyone
looked uncomfortable except the stooped, wrinkled visitors.

Mother Anemone from Greece, Mother Yana from Russia, and Mother Keara from Ireland nodded at Jake as he entered.

Fuck. I forgot about the whole Mother thing. And Andy—

Yep.

Andy was definitely a problem.

She looked very pissed off.

Jake could smell water in the air, as if Andy might be drawing every droplet in New York closer and closer to the townhouse. He slowed to a stop a reasonable distance from the furious redhead, but the sprinkler over his head tore off.

Cold water poured across his face and shoulders as Andy marched forward and squared off with Merilee—about two inches from Merilee’s cute little nose.

"Tell them to leave!" Andy shrieked, fists doubled, red hair dripping and plastered to the sides of her head. "I’m a cop, not a Mother. Tell them I don’t have time for this shit."

Water drizzled down the walls at the head of the room, making dark streaks down the chalkboard and ruining one of the OCU’s well-designed raid plans. Probably a ruptured pipe. Freeman cleared his throat and headed out to turn off the main to the townhouse, but with water standing in the feeders, that wouldn’t offer immediate relief.

We need an emergency shutoff for the whole line.

Not that the rest of the block would appreciate that.

"I won’t ask them to leave, Andy," Merilee said in an amazingly calm, powerful voice. "Whether or not you ever become a Mother, you’re the world’s only water Sibyl, and you need more training than I can give you."

Damn, Merilee’s sexy when she’s firm like that.

Jake stood very still, letting the sprinkler’s offering soak him. He could use a cold shower anyway. Merilee was several feet away from him, but her sweet smell of white tea and honey almost erased all other scents from his mind.

"That’s what Riana and Cynda said," Andy grumbled as Sal Freeman came back into the conference room. His sleeves were wet, and as he rolled them up to his elbows, Jake noticed Andy’s underwater dart pistol wedged awkwardly into Sal’s gun belt.

Andy glanced at Sal, and Jake’s cold shower waned, then stopped altogether.

"This is how it must be," Mother Yana said in her thick Russian accent, her hands reflexively gripping the Russian hunting daggers sheathed at her waist. "Ve vill help you and teach you at a higher level. Ve could have even more problem, because vere there is a Mother-house, the talent begins to show itself nearby."

Andy’s face went slack. "What . . . are you saying?"

"It’s as if the universe knows where Sibyls are," Mother Keara explained. Jake eyed the Irish hand-and-a-half blade belted at her waist—and at her shoulder, the hilt of what had to be a five-foot Chinese great sword strapped to her back. A little puff of smoke drifted into the waning sprinkler drizzle, as if to punctuate her statements. "Others with water talent—even children and infants—may come here or be presented for training. They will be drawn to your energy."

The golden, claw-shaped hilts of Mother Anemone’s
falcata
swords glittered as she spoke, her voice lifting over Jake like a wave of warm air. "We should have given this more consideration, dear girl. For that, we’re sorry."

"You’re . . . sorry." Andy’s laugh could have frozen all the water in the room. She wiped water from both eyes, and the glare she directed over her shoulder made Jake glad Freeman had taken her HKP-11 away from her. "You’re telling me other water Sibyls, kids and
babies
could just . . . what, pop through the front door any second now? And that I’d be responsible for them?"

"The townhouse is a Motherhouse now," Riana murmured too quietly for Andy to hear her. "Goddess help us all."

Mother Keara spoke louder with, "We may be fortunate and some older children and young women may turn up. Perhaps even some adults. There are accounts of such in the archives. After this crisis is over, we can build a new Motherhouse for all of you."

"But for now," Mother Yana said to Andy, "Keara, Anemone, and I, ve vill help until you are completely competent vith your new abilities and potential responsibilities. Ve vill stay here as long as it takes."

"Goddess help us
all,
" Nick and Creed said at the same time.

Freeman’s jaw seemed to come unhinged.

Elemental energy surged outward and scorched, shook, and blew Jake all at once. He saw the other men react to the chastising, too. They all closed their mouths tightly.

Jake wasn’t sure he grasped all the details, but he did understand that Motherhouse New York had apparently opened for business.

Here.

Now.

Others could come. Adults, girls, even infants.

And . . . the Mothers would be staying, and that would probably kill both of his brothers and drive Freeman to lunacy, and who knew what effect it would have on the Sibyls, the OCU—the city?

Jake watched Freeman as Freeman watched Andy, and he wondered if the presence of the Mothers would keep the big dumb-ass from breaking down and telling Andy how much he cared about her. Jake also wondered when Andy would lose it over the Mothers and their demands and start making the same
Psycho
motions Cynda mimicked earlier—only not in jest.

If
she
didn’t, his brothers might.

Jake spent the next few seconds studying his siblings and their miserable expressions and negative reactions to the presence of the older, more powerful Sibyl leaders. Nick and Creed hadn’t exactly hit it off perfectly with the Mothers. Okay, so Creed had almost been eaten by Mother Yana’s wolves and Nick almost had his head cut off by Mother Keara’s freaky Oriental sword—but the Mothers tolerated both men fairly well now. No significant amount of blood had been shed.

Still, his brothers didn’t seem very interested in spending time with their unusual guests. Neither did the five OCU officers, who were on the other end of the conference room, sitting as far from the Mothers as they could get.

Their loss.

Jake couldn’t understand people who feared power greater than their own. Why not seek information? Why not learn from anyone who could teach?

Jake moved to Merilee’s side, all too aware of Mother Anemone gazing at him. Her lips twitched into a smile that threatened to explode across her face.

Andy backed off and stood next to Sal, sulking quietly. Apparently, the possibility that other water Sibyls could arrive at the townhouse, raw and untrained and maybe even still in diapers, had taken the fight out of her.

The Mothers demonstrated impeccable judgment by leaving her alone for the moment and letting her return to her role as an OCU officer. Tentative conversations broke out between Merilee’s triad and Jake’s brothers. Bela Argos gestured to the hesitant OCU officers, who came to join in the planning for how to handle the Derek Holston situation.

Mother Anemone kept smiling at Jake, and Merilee seemed to become aware of Mother Anemone’s attention. Her hand drifted to the bulge of Jake’s talisman, partially concealed beneath her jumpsuit.

As her fingers brushed against the few exposed gold links, Jake experienced a combination of physical shock and incredible arousal.

His body shuddered and he almost groaned. On instinct, he caught hold of her arm and pulled her hand away from the jewelry before she drove him to complete madness here, in front of everyone.

Merilee looked startled, then contrite. She started to take the chain and ring off to return it to him, but Jake’s instincts surged, and he made a split-second decision.

"Keep it," he said so that only she could hear, shocking himself as much as Merilee. "That way you can always reach me if you get in trouble."

Her expression and the way her lips parted, the soft sound of her happy sigh, sent all of Jake’s blood southward again, and Jake let go of her arm and had to look away from her.

Fortunately, Captain Freeman was asking for everyone’s attention and starting to discuss courses of action and assignments.

Freeman eyed Jake and Merilee. "Lowell and Alexander, I need you at Carter’s headquarters gathering information with Bela. You three are my detail people." Freeman shifted his gaze to Bela, then back to Jake and finally to Merilee. His expression turned to one of genuine concern. "If you’re up for it, Alexander. If you’re not, tell me now. I know you’ve had a helluva last couple of weeks."