Fang Me (16 page)

Dan rubbed the shoulder Shade had healed for him. Sighing, he said,"Okay, I'll see what I can do and let you know."

WHADDAYA KNOW? Fang snarked. THE GUY ACTUALLY CAME THROUGH FOR US.

I knew he would. After all, he still had that hero complex and couldn't resist a damsel—or anyone else—in distress. He only needed to be talked into it."Thanks, Dan. I really appreciate it. I'll get pictures of the car for you and Andrew's license plate number."

I was asking a great deal of him—it meant hours and hours of tedium. But he shrugged like it was no big deal."I'll get Nic to help. It'll give her something to do besides paperwork."

Wow, not even a twinge of jealousy here. Looked like I was finally over him.

DATING A HOT NEW GUY WILL DO THAT FOR YOU.

I hid a smile. Yeah, it didn't hurt.

"Besides," Dan added,"I have more time on my hands since the bloodsucker population seems to have gone down quite a bit lately. It's not the SCU's doing, though we haven't been slacking on patrolling the streets. It's almost as if they're afraid to come out. Not that I'm complaining, but I wondered if we have some vigilantes out there among the Movement."

"Not that I know of. But we did send a warning to the rogue vamps, telling them to join the Movement or be fair game. Attacks on the blood banks slowed down after that."

Dan nodded."We heard something about a big smackdown last week among the vampires, but we were asked to keep away so Alejandro could police his own. Did you have something to do with that?"

"Sort of. The Movement and the rogue vamps had a showdown. Alejandro won with the help of the Underground."

"Why didn't they want the SCU's help?" He didn't seem pissed about it, just curious.

"I'm not sure. Probably because it was impossible to tell the good vamps from the bad. We had to kind of incapacitate all of them and sort them out later."

Unfortunately, Dan picked up on the one weasel word I hadn't wanted to explain. "Incapacitate?"

I glanced away, knowing how he felt about my succubus."You know . . . Lola. And Micah helped with the women."

Dan made a face but didn't comment on my lust demon."And did you use, uh, drastic staking measures to do that sorting?"

I winced."The Movement did, yes. I was kind of out of it by that time." Not that I was going to tell Dan I'd totally lost control of Lola as he'd always feared. But I did explain about Shawndra's death and warned him the SCU might encounter more crazy vamps, if the ones still alive believed demon blood would make them stronger.

"Why did they start attacking the Movement anyway?" he asked."It doesn't seem rational."

"Because they don't want the Movement to announce to the world that vampires really exist."

"Why not?"

"Because when Alejandro makes his announcement, he'll also announce that any good vamps need to join the Movement, and he has legislation in place to administer the death penalty to any vamps who suck vein without permission. In Texas anyway." Though the rest of the states would probably follow."That makes sense. And I wish Alejandro the best with it."

"Why?" I didn't think he wanted the world to know vampires really existed.

"It'll be a lot easier on the SCU if we're allowed to work out in the open . . . and execute fangbangers on sight."

"I hadn't thought about it that way." But he was right."Then by helping us find the books, you'll be helping Alejandro come out that much sooner."

"Noted," he said with a nod.

Fang scrambled to his feet. CAN WE GO NOW?

I guess so. I
rose, too. "We've taken up enough of your time. But thanks for doing this. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"No problem." Dan hopped out of his chair to open the door for us."I'll do my best to find where Andrew hid the books and let you know as soon as I learn anything."

"Good." I just hoped I'd hear from him really soon. I had to find those books before Trevor did. I didn't know what would happen if he got them in his hot little hands, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I spent the next several days trying to figure other ways to find the books—something better than aimlessly wandering the streets or hoping they'd contact me again. Sending me a mental map with a big red X on it would be nice . . . .

But since there was no luck in that department, our best shot seemed to be the traffic cameras. I'd sent Dan pictures of Andrew's car and his license plate number, but the red tape in the department had slowed that down, and he wasn't even going to be able to start looking until tomorrow. The only bright side was that Shade reported Trevor hadn't found them either.

I slumped on my living room couch in the early afternoon, hoping a clue or the voice would magickally come to me.

HOW'S THAT WORKING FOR YOU? Fang asked beside me.

I pulled his fuzzy ear."Not so good. Got any better ideas?"

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THE WITCHY CHICK YET?

"Marina Lester? No. I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to her again. Good idea. I'll try her." Maybe there was some kind of Wiccan magick she could use to find them.

I hadn't thought to keep her number, and it was probably better to do this face to face anyway. Sure beat hanging around home.

Jumping at the chance to do something, I took Fang and headed over to her house on the Valkyrie. We arrived just as she was opening the door and a client was leaving. Our pixie-like redheaded host smiled."Come on in. I don't have another appointment for a couple of hours."

Just inside the door, another woman stood. Tall and thin with long wavy dark hair, she wore a purple caftan with shiny silver moons and stars all over it—a stark contrast to Marina's petite jean clad form."This is my friend, Erica Small," Marina said."And this is Val Shapiro and Fang. I told you about them."

Really? How much had she revealed? We shook hands and I took a step back toward the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's all right," Marina assured us."I was just getting some tea and we were going to chat.." Marina waved us toward the living room, then asked over her shoulder,"Would you like some tea?" as she and Erica headed for the kitchen.

I was more of a Coke drinker, but when in Wicca land . . ."Sure," I called out, then took a seat in the living room. It had seemed pretty normal before, but now I realized it was decorated in soothing pastel shades of blue and green, with nothing harsh on the eyes, designed to put people at ease. The only things indicating her Wiccan background were a few subtle accessories—a yin-yang symbol on the pillows, pentacles on the coasters, that sort of thing.

Marina brought in the tea on a lacquered tray etched with a goddess symbol, and set it down on the coffee table. Erica added a plate of cookies that looked more healthy and good for you than good tasting. I decided not to risk it."I hope you like chai," Marina said.

"I don't know. I've never had it." I took a sip. It tasted hot and sweet, with cinnamon and other spices."Hey, this is good."

Erica smiled."I'm glad you like it—it's my special blend. I made the cookies, too."

I glanced at Marina."I wondered if you'd had any success in learning about that, uh, book I asked you about before."

Marina took a sip of her tea as well, then said,"I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to find anything on an
Encyclopedia Magicka a
nywhere."

I gave Erica a dubious glance, but Marina waved that away."Erica won't say anything. She's my best friend—we share everything . . . including a new membership in the Demon Underground."

Is that true? I
asked Fang.

YEP. THEY'RE BOTH MEMBERS NOW . . . BOTH PARTDEMON.

"Really?" I asked with a smile, not sure how to respond to that . . . or how to ask exactly what kind of demon she was.

"Yes," Marina confirmed."No wonder we always got along so well. Me with my prophecies and Erica with her ability to find things. We work together sometimes."

I perked up at that. What a useful talent."That's great. Do you think you could help me find some lost books?"

Erica shrugged, looking embarrassed."Maybe. The demon blood is pretty diluted in me, so it's not really easy. If my father were still alive . . . it was a lot easier for him."

"But she'd be happy to try," Marina said eagerly."Wouldn't you, Erica?"

"Sure."

THANK YOU, Fang broadcast to all of us.

The two Witches jumped, and Erica's mouth spread in a delighted smile."Wow, he really does talk. Where can I get a hellhound of my own?"

WELL, IF PRINCESS WOULD JUST COOPERATE BY GOING INTO HEAT . . . , Fang said suggestively.

We all laughed."Princess is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel," I explained."And part hellhound. She and Fang have a thing." I glanced at Fang."But she was a rescue dog. Wasn't Shade required to get her spayed in order to adopt her?"

HE WAS SUPPOSED TO, BUT WOULD
YOU
TRY TO DO ANYTHING TO PRINCESS AGAINST HER WILL?

He had a point."I guess not. We'd hear about it for years." And it's not like we had an overpopulation of hellhounds.

Marina grinned."I bet their puppies would be really cute."

I LIKE HER, Fang declared.

"Cute, yes," I agreed."But I'm not vouching for the attitude in that mash-up."

HEY, Fang protested. YOU THINK I CAN'T TRAIN 'EM UP TO BE JUST LIKE ME?

"That's what I'm afraid of," I said drily.

We all chuckled at that. But I had to admit that having a bunch of diva dogs like Princess running around—-who figured the world owed them adoration—that would be even harder to take.

TELL ME ABOUT IT, Fang said. BUT YOU DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO GET WHAT YOU WANNA GET.

Okay, TMI. Way too much information . . . . I shoved a cookie in his mouth to distract him and changed the subject."Erica, you said you might be able to help us find the books. How would that work?"

"There are a number of ways I've learned over the years to find something. The best is through an affinity spell."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that like calls to like. Do you have any small portion of the books still? Like a page, or a bookmark, part of the binding? If so, we can use a spell to call the two together again."

"No, I'm afraid not."

"How about something the books were kept in, like a cloth bag?"

I shook my head."No. I kept them mostly in a backpack but it was taken along with the books." I felt my shoulders slump in disappointment.

"It's okay," Erica said with a pat on my hand."There are other ways. Have you tried looking for them with a map and a pendulum?"

"No. Do you think that will work?"

"One way to find out," Marina said. She cleared the tea and cookies off the coffee table and even discreetly picked up the cookie Fang had spit out and tried to hide under my chair.

THEY TASTE LIKE DIRT WITH MOLDY RAISINS, Fang complained to me alone. YOU TRY ONE.

I suppressed a grin. I
'll pass. But thanks for not spitting it out in Erica's face.

HEY, I GOT SOME COUTH.

You do indeed.

I helped Marina spread out a map of San Antonio on the coffee table, and Erica drew a clear crystal out of a silk bag. The crystal looked like a fat stubby pencil, with five sides and a point at the end. The other end had a silver cap with a chain attached.

Setting the crystal down on the map, Erica explained,"This is a pendulum. If I hold it above a map and concentrate hard on something, the pointed end will land on the portion of the map where the object or person can be found."

"It's that easy?" I asked incredulously.

"It can be, if I know the object or person in question. To find something for someone else that I've never seen, I need to hold their hand and try to get a picture of it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It depends on how well you're able to concentrate."

"That's why we work together sometimes," Marina added."Usually one or the other of us can answer a client's question."

That made sense.

"Let me show you how it works," Erica said."Think of something you'd like to find. Something you know very well . . . and make sure you know where it is right now, so you can see that it works."

HOW ABOUT PRINCESS? Fang asked.

Well, we both knew her really well, and she was probably either at Shade's house or in the car with him and Trevor, so I said,"Okay, let's try that."

Erica gave us a slow grin."I've never tried this with er, someone of the canine persuasion before. Let's try it with Fang by himself first and see what happens."

She held out her left hand, and Fang solemnly put his fuzzy paw in it. Erica then used her right hand to pick up the pendulum. Holding the chain so it swung loose over the map, she closed her eyes and said,"Okay, Fang. Think of Princess, wonder where she might be."

She moved the pendulum in a wide circle, skimming it barely above the map, then let it swing free on its own. Soon, the pendulum moved in tighter and tighter circles over one particular spot until it suddenly jerked to a halt and fell onto the map.

Erica opened her eyes and touched the crystal lightly."Princess is located where the point of the crystal ends."

Fang and I leaned in to look at that point on the map."That's where she lives," I confirmed.

SHE'S GOOD.

"Fang must have a very strong image of the subject," Erica said with a smile. She looked at me. "Would you like to try it?"

"Sure." If this would help us find the books, I'd be willing to do a lot more than play spin the crystal.

"Okay, let's start with something easy. What would you like to find?"

"Do I have to tell you what it is?"

She looked surprised."Not really. It just helps me focus a little more."

"Okay, let's try it without telling you." I wanted this to be a real test. Now, what should it be . . . ?"I've got it," I said, and grasped her hand, closing my eyes and concentrated on finding Trevor. I put some oomph into it, not wanting Fang to be the only one who could do this. And before he could say anything, I added,
yes, I wanted you to hear that.

After a few moments, I heard the pendulum thunk down on the map and opened my eyes to see it pointing to an address that looked vaguely familiar. Oh yeah, it was one of the blood banks.

"Is that right?"

"I don't know. It could be. He was driving around today with a friend."

"Oh," Erica said, sounding disappointed."Maybe you can try to find something when you know where it is?"

Duh. Made me feel kind of foolish."Okay, I've got something else."

We went through our ritual again and this time the pendulum landed on the hospital.

"Oh, no," Marina said."I hope no one's hurt."

"No, it's okay," I assured her."I was thinking of my roommate—she's a trauma nurse in the ER there. And that's exactly where I expected to find her."

Erica gave me a relieved smile."Good. It worked for you, then. Would you like to look for the books next?"

Convinced this was for real, I said,"Absolutely." I rubbed my hands together, partially in anticipation, partially to ensure we would get a good connection."Let's do this."

I placed my hand in hers, but this time I kept my eyes open and watched. The crystal spun in circles for several seconds, but didn't zero in on any one location. This was taking a lot longer than the others."Is something wrong?" I whispered.

Erica opened her eyes and stopped the pendulum."Are you sure the books are in San Antonio?" she asked.

"Not really. We just assumed there wasn't time to take them anywhere else."

"Okay, let's turn the map over."

On the other side, the whole state of Texas was laid out in the bottom right corner of the map. Holding the pendulum above it, Erica said,"Okay, concentrate once more."

It didn't take long this time for the crystal to land, its pointed end squarely on the dot representing San Antonio. Unfortunately, with the small scale of the map, it didn't give us much idea of exactly where the books would be.

"Hmm," Erica said with a frown."They're here in town. How many books are there? Do you think they might have been separated?"

"There are three, but I doubt they'd be split up," I said. The voice didn't seem to indicate they were in pieces.

"Okay," Erica said with a sigh."Let's try again." She turned the map back over and we tried again, but though the pendulum tried to waver over several different parts of the city, it gave up and just made big looping circles.

Erica stopped it, looking frustrated."This may sound a bit strange, but I don't think these books want to be found."

I nodded."You're right. They don't. But I was hoping we could force them to reveal their hiding place. Is there anything else we can try?"

Erica thought for a moment."You know, I've never done this with more than one person, but given the power we hold collectively, maybe we could make it work if we all touched. Val, you and Fang hold my left hand and concentrate as hard as you can on the books . . . and Marina, if you would hold onto my left wrist and concentrate on amplifying their concentration, maybe we can make this work."

We did as she said, and the pendulum seemed to go crazy. It would swing above one space on the map only to suddenly jerk away and swing somewhere else."Concentrate harder," Erica said with a grimace."We've almost got it."

I leaned into it with everything I had, then felt Marina stiffen beside me. In her flat, prophetic voice, she intoned,"That which you seek reveals itself to a select few. If you are of good heart, you will find what you desire in—"

A bolt of electricity slammed through us, entering through the crystal and moving lightning-fast through Erica, then zapping the rest of us, blasting us violently apart. Marina and Erica cried out and even Fang yelped in surprise as we flew backward.

I'd tumbled over in the chair, then scrambled to right it and myself. I glanced around, feeling panicky."Is everyone all right?"

I'M GOOD, Fang said. JUST A LITTLE SINGED. BUT ERICA, NOT SO MUCH . . . .

Erica was holding her hands before her, her eyes wide with horror. Everywhere she had been touching us or the crystal, her hands and wrists were blackened with the power that had just surged through us. The crystal lay shattered in jagged shards on the map, the chain black and partially melted. Holy cow, that was some power.