Green Flame Assassin (Demon Lord series, book 2) (46 page)

She closed her eyes and swallowed heavily.  With my enhanced senses, I smelled the acrid scent of her fear.   She opened her eyes.  They were dark and wide with terror.  “Shifters can smell a lie.  Your beast will know if I lie.”

I tested the edge of my knife with a thumb, making sure not to cut myself because that wouldn’t have been manly.  “Why isn’t Brielle here?”

“She’s gone over to
it
, leaving her kind to be killed by you.”

“It?” I said.

“The vamp.”

Vivian’s gaze shot over to the woman.  “My father?”

The woman nodded.  “With the dhampyr gone, the vamps can move in.   The master vampire can take over the city.”

My
Dragon Sight
had already informed me that the “hidden power” I once felt in this room was gone.  Brielle had not only jumped shipped, she’d taken the dream stone with her.  She’d probably given it to Vivian’s dad.  Though he lacked a soul, and couldn’t use the dream stone, he’d want to keep it.  Possessing the fey relic meant that at least it couldn’t be used against him.  It also explained why he’d lower himself to accept a dhampyr bride.  Under his control, she could use the stone as a weapon on his behalf.

There was no way I could let him keep the stone.  Besides needing it to fulfill a contract, a master vamp with fey power, this close to
L.A., was a threat we could never condone.  Gloria would come totally unglued.  Old Man would wring my neck for letting it happen.  He was already pissed I’d let all the wolves in Sacramento get killed. 

I stared hard at the dhampyr.  “If I let you to go, what are you going to do?”

Her eyes shed a little of her fear.  “What do you want me to do?”

I smiled at her.  “Good answer.”  I slid off the table and put my knife away.  “Vivian, Josh, take the kid out front.  The dhampyr princess and I’ll be along in a minute.”

They dragged Romeo away.  I waited until they were down the hallway.  I wanted my prisoner to make a call for me to Brielle, and I didn’t want accidental sounds and comments to be overheard over the phone.  A dhampyr or vampire can easily hear sounds over a call that a human would miss.  I wanted Brielle to think she was being called by a lone survivor. 

I offered a hand and pulled my prisoner up to a sitting position.  “What’s your name?”

Her voice was soft and smooth as silk sheets, “Mariah.”

I nodded.  “It’s going to take time to fix things here, so I want you to blow town for a while, but first, you’re going to make a call for me to Brielle.”

She arched an inquisitive eyebrow.

I outlined the conversation I wanted her to have. 

She stared.  “You think that’s really going to work?”

I shrugged.  “She might be suspicious, but she has a Master vampire in her pants … uh, pocket … and the dream stone too.  Her plan to wipe out her own clan has been a wild success.  Frankly, I can’t see where she wouldn’t be careless and overconfident.  I’m counting on it.”

She produced a phone, opening it.  “All right, but after this, we’re square?”

I smiled.  “Sure.”

As I stepped back, she speed dialed a number.  My enhanced hearing let me hear the rings at the other end clearly.  On the second ring, Brielle answered.  “Mariah, so good of you to call.  How is every little thing?”

She packed her voice with desperation.  “My God, we got him at last, but I’m all that’s left.”   Mariah managed a very realistic sob, taking a pause.

“Are you sure?” Brielle asked.

“Well, there’s Brent, useless little prick.  All he’s good for is warming a bed.  Anyway, I’m blowing town.  Might not ever come back.  And I’m taking him with me.”

“I only loaned him to you,” Brielle said.  “I want him back.”

“After what I’ve been through I deserve—”

“Drop him off before you go,” Brielle said. 

“I don’t have time for this.  I’ve gotta blow town before the
L.A. council sends someone to follow up on Caine.  They’ll be asking questions I’d rather not answer.”

“Mariah…” the word was drawn out, a vibrant threat.  “What’s mine is mine.”

“Damn it all.”  Mariah vented a very realistic sigh.  “Fine.  Where are you?”

As it came over the phone, I made a mental note of the address, a warehouse over on
14th Street, downtown Sacramento. 

Brielle ended with, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

Mariah put her phone away and looked at me.  “I take it you and Brent are going to keep that appointment.”

“You got that right.”

“Do me a favor?” Mariah asked.

“Do you?”

“A favor,” she repeated.

I shrugged.  “Sure.  What?”

“When you’re kicking her up-tight, candy ass, give her a punch in the throat for me.”

“Love to.  Now do me a favor?”

“What’s that?”

I couldn’t take the chance that she might get greedy, have a change of heart, and sell me out to Brielle.  I warmed up my
Dragon Voice
tat, smiling through the sensation of all my skin being instantly sand-blasted away. 

“For the next four hours, I want you to sleep.”  My voice thundered, bouncing off the walls of the room, wrapping around Mariah like an unseen fist.  Her eyelids fluttered and closed.  She collapsed on the floor.  Her firm, bubble butt was propped higher than the rest of her, a delightful invitation.  But there was no time.  Business called.  With a sigh of regret, I left the room.

THIRTY-THREE

“Never give dreams free rein while cliffs are around.”

                                    
        —
Caine Deathwalker

The sun was down, but a bright band of burgundy colored the western horizon, serving as a headstone.  Higher up, the sky dimmed to a dusky pastel blue, a backdrop to darker blue clumps of cloud.  Twilight was still congealing.  No stars were out yet, but it was late enough for vampires to stir awake.

Our vehicles were side-by-side in the parking lot of an auto parts store.  I’d stocked up on various fluids for the Mustang.  Sitting on the hood, Vivian spoke into her phone, “I really need to see you.”

“What do you mean, why?  I’m your daughter, aren’t I?”  She looked me in the eye as she lied to her father, “I’m not up to anything, you asshole.  I just thought, well, I was thinking of Mom, and what she’d say about all this anger between us.”

She paused, listening. 

“Fine, it’s all
my
anger.  Y
ou’re
the frickin’ soul of longsuffering benevolence.”  She gave her phone the finger and continued, “It’s just that Caine and I’ll be leaving town soon and—” 

She paused again, listening. 

I could have boosted my hearing and gotten both sides of the conversation, but this was unexpectedly more entertaining.

Her eyes widened.  “What?  Too sudden a turn around?  Suspicious?”

Roma wasn’t buying the act.  We needed to sell it harder.  We needed to find him because Brielle was with him, and she had the dream stone I needed to fulfill my mission.  I pantomimed, pretending to deal out invisible cards.  I pulled a card from my invisible hand and played it, slapping it down on an imaginary table.  I then pointed at Kat in the VW.

Her eyebrows went up, and she stared bloody murder when I used both hands to show an extended—pregnant—belly on myself, then pointed at Vivian’s stomach.

Josh and Osamu just looked confused.  Leaning on the outside of the bug, arms crossed under her breast, Kimberley scrunched her forehead, hopelessly lost—but looking smokin’ hot in a cropped tee and black denim jean shorts.  Her eyes her mysterious secrets, purple crystal pools where light and shadow mixed.  She wore silver sandals that looked like some fey cobbler had made them. 

Vivian got it, her face lighting up with inspiration.  She sighed heavily into the phone.  “Damn it, I didn’t want to tell you about the baby this way.  You’re going to be a grandfather.”  A slow smile appeared on her face as she listened to Roma’s response.  She shook her head no.  “Married?”

I shuddered at the suggestion.

Vivian looked at me, a world of hurt welling in her eyes.  She pouted dramatically.  “No, he says people don’t do that kind of thing anymore.  He says—” 

She pulled the phone away from her pointy little ear as Roma vented disapproval quite loudly.  Master vampires were hidebound and traditional.  Shaped by earlier centuries, they abhorred most of the changes in the world since they were first turned into creatures of the night.  Right about now, I knew he was planning a shotgun wedding for me.  His pride would not tolerate his grandchild being born a bastard.

Vivian put the phone back to her ear.  “What?  You want to talk to him.”

I said, “Hell no,” loud enough for him to hear over the phone.  “Let’s just hit the airport and get out of this stupid town.  It’s not worth saving anyway.”

Vivian listened some more.  “Yeah, I know where that it.  Okay, I’ll try, but Caine can be so difficult.”  She cranked her voice louder, letting exasperation creep in, “I said I’d try.  Huh?  No, I’m not going to say that.  I still have issues with you, remember?”  She gasped.  “Don’t you dare bring mother into this!  I don’t care if she is looking down from heaven, I’m not going to—”  Vivian rolled her eyes to heaven as if praying for strength.  She dropped her voice to a near whisper, “Fine, goodbye,
Daddy
.”