Good Intentions (59 page)

“Good. I need you to let the others know that we may yet have further to go in smoothing things over with our hosts than initially anticipated.” He glanced at Molly and Onyx again. “Ladies, again, I must apologize, but I must speak with Mr. Woods alone a moment. Would you be so kind as to give us some space?” His voice dripped with sincerity and polite tones, and he even bowed slightly to them. “Of course,” Onyx smiled. She drew Molly away, but not before reaching up to subtly scratch her ear. One of her small er metal ic earrings, dul er than the rest, slipped off and fell to the floor. “Subaulscuto,” she murmured as they turned away. Molly glanced at her. “You don’t think they’l spot that?” “They’re worried about the vampires, not other Practitioners,” Onyx whispered. “Cover for me.” She glanced up at Mol y, who promptly started talking about how much she wanted a cat. It was exactly the sort of thing that Onyx had learned to tune out. “We weren’t able to handle things downstairs as subtly as we’d hoped,” Onyx heard Stefan say. The words were carried to her ear as if she were still part of the men’s conversation. “The corpses have been al over us.” “Unfortunate, but that was a gamble in the first place,” Woods shrugged. “They’re not al stupid.” “No, and Lydia still plays us off against one another. Baal will leave soon with the captured succubus. He wants her for himself. In the meantime, we have to make our move. Carlisle’s knowledge is too valuable to share. There is more going on than we imagined.” “How so?” Stefan inhaled sharply, glancing around. Only Woods and Warren were close enough to hear, aside from Onyx’s enchanted earring. “Garrison appears to have succeeded beyond our willdest dreams. We still need to study how and check his methods, but Carlisle stumbled into Garrison as he summoned the succubus and an angel. Garrison died and Carlisle accidentally wound up invested with some degree of mastery over both subjects.”

“None of them yet know of the angel,” Warren added. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Woods murmured. “Why in the hell would he do that? It’s madness.” “No, it’s bril iant. They stood to counterbalance one another, and indeed they seem to have done so for Carlisle. It’s amazing; the relationships seem genuinely affectionate. But the angel disappeared on him right before he was abducted, so there may well be another faction in play here. I fear Garrison may have shared his findings with another group like the Brotherhood before he died. We need to strike while we have this opportunity.” “What would you have me do?” Woods asked. “Spread the word and have everyone ready to move,” Stefan said. “Perhaps immediately after Anastacia holds her formal court. Perhaps even sooner. Warren here is going to go down below to grab Carlisle and sneak him out of here. I expect he’l have no problem there. The real chal enge will be in extracting al of our people here without incident, but if a fight is necessary, we’l make a tactical withdrawal of it.” Woods cast a concerned gaze at Warren. “You sure you don’t need help?” “Mr. Woods, come now,” Warren said softly. “I am a necromancer. Manipulating corpses is my specialty. But we have to move soon. The effects of the waters of Lethe will not last forever, even in the quantities that he was given. Retrieving more will be difficult at best.” “And the demons?” “I hardly think Lydia or that monstrous attack dog of hers give a damn what we mere mortals do in our power struggles,” Stefan scowled. “Baal even less so. He gets what he wants by hauling that other succubus off to hell as his prisoner. Lydia wants to kil Carlisle herself, but I don’t think Baal really cares. The rest of us are beneath him. In the end, Anastacia is the real threat. Tonight will cost us, but the power we could attain here is too great to pass up. I’l be damned if I am going to swear al egiance to that dress-wearing cadaver if we can help it!” Warren and Stefan moved off, walking swiftly to catch up to the other VIPs of the evening. Woods turned to rejoin

Molly and Onyx with his pleasant expression still strong. “Ladies,” he smiled charmingly, “it would appear that I’ve been appointed as something of a herder of cats tonight. I need to spend the next few moments of my time spreading a little bit of news among the Brotherhood. Would you care to join me? I think it would be in your best interests to stay close. This party would be dreadfully dul without someone like me to liven it up for you, wouldn’t it?” His self-deprecating wink was anything but. Molly and Onyx both played along, though, smiling at him shyly. “Sure,” Onyx said. “Sorry about before,” Molly said. “I’ve just got a…thing about unnecessary roughness.” Woods waved it off. “Hardly a problem. Believe me, I sympathize. My first few months with the Brotherhood were similarly jarring, but you get over it. shall we?” he asked, turning to lead them away. As they walked, Molly looked down to see Onyx slip something off her wrist from under her sleeve. It was the small ring of vines and blonde hair used to summon and bind Rachel into the circle within their apartment. Onyx pointedly gripped it in both hands, walking closely behind Mr. Woods with her hands low to keep them unseen, and then pul ed the circlet apart. A glance from Onyx asked Molly to trust her, but there was no need. Onyx never really needed to ask that of her lover. Instead, Molly simply hoped that they’d be able to handle the rest of the night from here on out. * Repetition of prayer was unlikely to make any real difference. Nor was variation from religion to religion. Rachel knew that, but prayed anyway. There was nothing else she could do. The warding circle still held strong. She still couldn’t see Alex through her connection as his guardian. The

unwelcome physical arousal he had experienced earlier had finally ceased a short time ago, but nothing else had changed. The ritual that bound Rachel to Alex would only share his pleasures; the bond conveyed nothing else. That he was in danger was without question, but as his guardian angel, she should have known much more on that score than anything their ritual bond would convey. Unfortunately, al that was blocked. She was trapped. Al she could do was pray unless her captors died or relented. Despite her frustration with them, it was clear that they had Alex’s best interests at heart. She wished them no il will . She just wanted this motherfucking warding circle to vanish, for the love of God and— —and just like that, it did. Rachel looked up, stunned. The wax, salt and ashen circles remained, but she could feel her freedom. She didn’t feel any need to question the opportunity. Rachel’s wings spread wide, and in a heartbeat she shot like a ghost through the ceiling, through the apartment above it, and into the night above. For late September in Seattle, the sky was surprisingly clear. Rachel could see stars. She could see the moon. She didn’t really spare them any appreciation, though, because she still could not see Alex. That meant her relief was only partial. Rachel flew to his home, covering miles in mere seconds, but as she expected there was nothing to see there. If anything, there was less than nothing. Everything looked perfectly in place. Rachel scowled, swore bitterly at nothing in particular, and soared into the sky again. Rachel flew up until she could see the whole of the Seattle metro area beneath her. If Alex’s captors had immediately put him on a plane or sent him through some magical portal, then he was long gone. That meant she still had to hope that whatever obstruction there was over her sight of him would be lifted before it was too late. Barring those possibilities, however, there was only so far he would have been taken. Rachel hovered in the sky and watched the land below for any sign of her love. With any luck, it would be something bright, shiny and easy to spot.

* “This oughta make ‘em shit their pants,” Wade declared grimly. He looked over their collective handiwork on the vampires’ SUV. The interior behind the driver’s seat was absolutely soaked, dripping with oil and gasoline. Gas-soaked newspapers and other combustibles were stuffed into the back and everything useful to the crew had been stripped from its insides. “If we can get it close enough,” Jason scowled. “We’l get in. Only two guards at the front gate from the looks of things. I gotta tel you, it’s damn easy t’ get complacent when you’re guardin’ someone else’s party in whut should be a quiet area.” “Anyone still not down with this?” Drew asked. “I’m down,” Taylor put in, “but I’ve got a question. You aren’t driving this thing in, ‘cause you’ve gotta be ready to fol ow in and cover with the gun, right?” “Yup,” Wade nodded. “It’s gotta be Jason or Drew.” “Rock paper scissors for it?” Drew asked. Jason. The other shrugged in consent. “Uh, guys,” Taylor broke in, “Drew hardly ever drives.” “She’s got a point,” Jason frowned. “Guess it’s gotta be me.” “Yeah, but Jason—do you know how to drive stick?” Jason blinked. “Oh no,” he groaned. His eyes darted between Drew’s and Wade’s, and then he covered his face in his hands. “No. Seriously, Taylor, you can’t.”

“No way,” Wade shook his head. “Uh-uh. No. Not doin’ it, girl,” Drew said firmly. “It’s gotta be me, guys,” Taylor pressed. “It can’t be Wade and it can’t be Drew, and Jason would break his neck anyway.” “I would not!” “You would, too. You’ve never done anything like this. And you’re the only one besides Wade who’s ever even handled a gun. The only two of us who can even maybe handle something like this are Drew and I, and we don’t have time to get Drew used to driving this thing.” “Oh, like you have done something like this before?” Jason countered. “I’ve got the closest skill set anyone else here, yes,” Taylor said. “I’m not calling you a wimp, Jason. I wouldn’t do that. I know better. But we’ve got to rol with what we’ve got, and that means I’m the best candidate.” “Wade,” Drew frowned, “this plan sucks ass al of a sudden. We need a new plan.” “You got one? Ah’m listenin’.” Drew scowled, looking warily at Taylor. “It’s a lot to do al in a heartbeat, and you’re gonna be really exposed.” “I know,” Taylor swal owed. “He’d do it for any of us. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.” “Alex doesn’t know how to drive stick, either,” Jason muttered bitterly. “Okay,” Drew said after a deep breath. He looked at Wade. “I got one change to the plan.”

* “Now is not the time for changes, Mr. Warren,” Lord Blackthorne said through gritted teeth as he smiled and applauded. Lady Anastacia stood ahead of Blackthorne at the landing of the grand staircase, graciously accepting the applause of her undead subjects and their sorcerous guests. Beside the Lady stood Lord Stefan, who was turned ever so slightly toward her as he, too, applauded her. The wide, ornate stairs rose up as a single incline from the broad and open foyer of the mansion, then split both left and right at a landing roughly twelve feet above the bottom floor. There were dozens of vampires below Anastacia’s spot at the central landing. A handful stood with her while a handful more were on the steps going off to either side from it. Al seventeen members of the Brotherhood were present in the foyer below, mostly in a clutch not far from the oaken double doors leading outside. “These matters do not run on a precise schedule, Lord Blackthorne,” Warren explained. “You didn’t realize that you had to watch Carlisle more closely when you were downstairs with him?” “I did not expect to be roped into these formalities, good sir. I need only your approval and someone who can open the door downstairs.” Blackthorne turned, not quite al owing himself to scowl. “Jack, take Warren here downstairs to look over Carlisle.” He glanced at the robed mage, and then back to the vampire in the pin-striped suit. “You and the gentlemen downstairs with you may use your best judgment if anything unexpected should happen.” “Gotcha,” Jack nodded. “Come on, Merlin,” the vampire sneered. With that, they headed for the top of the staircase. They would have to take the servant’s stairway down again to avoid disrupting the proceedings as they passed.

“My people, and my honored guests,” Lady Anastacia began as the applause finally died off. “I believe we would al agree that tonight has been a long time in coming. The unfortunate tension between us has always been a tragedy, one that I longed to resolve with friendly overtures and understanding. Lord Stefan and I have both worked to bring our respective peoples under a single unified society. Others of my kind have tried this in the past in other cities, in other lands, and failed. There were those here who naturally had their doubts. I do not hold their trepidation against them. “Yet it was not until we found for ourselves a common task and a common ally that our two peoples could truly establish a first, vital common ground. For that, we must give our thanks to our honored guests, Mistress Lydia and Lord Baal.” She gestured to one side, where Baal stood with Lydia clinging to him like an accessory. The pair accepted the applause with only the slightest nod. Beside them, forced to her knees and held tightly by her chains, was Lorelei. Her hand was under one of Baal’s feet. “It is my hope that our simple favor for our two guests will be but the first of many shared undertakings,” Lady Anastacia went on, “through which we will build our trust and our community.” Anastacia continued on in her speech, but neither demon was really interested. “What will you do when I return to the Pit?” Baal murmured to Lydia. “It’s a good question,” Lydia said, shamelessly tracing kisses up the side of his neck. “I have to finish off dear Alex, of course. Beyond that, I thought I might destroy Anastacia here and claim her power base for us. I’m sure you would enjoy having an army that can act openly in the mortal realm,” she grinned, then laid her head against his shoulder. “I simply cannot decide which to do first. They both seem like so much fun.” “Deal with Alex first,” Baal grunted. “I am eager to re-educate Lorelei here as to where her loyalties lie.” Lydia hummed in agreement. “It’s a pity you couldn’t stay longer to reinforce my loyalties once more, master.” “It’s a pity I have to wear this fleshy form here instead of giving you the sort of fucking you deserve. Sometimes I envy Harrow.”

“Where is he, anyway?” “On the roof, keeping watch. You know how he is.” Baal yawned. “At any rate. Take care of Alex first. Then play around up here al you want. This diversion costs me souls in the short run, and I would like to have you get back to your work, but I can see the value in what you might acquire for me through al of this.” “As you wish, master.” At the bottom of the stairs, standing at the outside of the clutch of Brotherhood attendees, Molly watched the whole thing warily. She listened intently to what Anastacia had to say while she studied the faces of the others on the landing. “They’re gonna make the move soon,” Molly said into Onyx’s ear. As she turned, she noticed that Onyx was murmuring something. In the palm of Onyx’s hand was a die, only instead of numbers or pips it was marked with arrows. “Things are about to happen. We need to move over there,” Onyx said under her breath. “This is a bad spot for us.” Molly didn’t need to be warned twice. She was the more experienced witch, with more spel s and more time under her belt, but Onyx had an natural talent for perception and divination. Molly took Onyx by the hand and led her through the crowd, excusing herself al the while, until they were closer to the periphery of the foyer where they could duck into a hall way if necessary. “Christ, this is awful,” Molly said aloud. “We’l get him,” Onyx replied. “When they try to get him out of here, there’l be fewer people to deal with. Just have to wait for the right moment.” “Not him,” Molly corrected quietly, “her.” She lifted her head up a touch to indicate the demons on the stairway above them. “Look at her.”