Inferno (17 page)

“How in the world did you arrive at the conclusion that my sire—whoever he is—is part fey?” Megan was truly puzzled.

“When I questioned you, your fey blood responded to my magic. I recognized it then but waited to speak of my suspicions until I’d had time to think this through. I believe your father is a half-fey warrior named Nolan. He always favored the realm where his human family lived and visited them often in centuries past. He watched over them like some kind of benevolent uncle, even after many generations had passed and they’d forgotten his origins entirely.”

“If he was so concerned about family ties, then why didn’t I know him? I think you’re wrong, Duncan. Thanks all the same.”

“Ah, but you don’t have the entire story yet. About thirty years ago by your reckoning in this realm, he was imprisoned like I was, banished Underhill until such time as his sentence was served.”

“What did he do? Why banish him?” Dante wanted to know.

“First you need to know that full fey get very upset when one of their number decides to mate with a non-fey. It’s a crime, in fact. Otherwise there would be many more halflings like me running around.” Duncan smiled and waggled his eyebrows. “As it is, once the deed is done, the fey will take no action against an innocent child. Of course, the fey boy who couldn’t keep it in his pants is another matter. Most of the time it’s a male who breaks the rules and gets caught. It’s very difficult for a fey female to conceive, so even if they do sleep around outside their species, they’re relatively safe unless they get caught in the act somehow.”

“So you think this Nolan guy was her mother’s lover and got caught when she turned up pregnant?” Kevin asked.

“I’m nearly certain of it. His punishment fits. He was banished to a timeless realm to think about his so-called crime all the while knowing that time was passing in the mortal world, and he would never see his lover again.”

“That’s so sad.” Kevin surprised her with the soft note in his voice. It seemed the big bad Alpha had a tender side as well.

For her part, Megan was having a hard time accepting Duncan’s explanation. She didn’t want to think her mother had died knowing she’d never see her lover again, knowing they’d been torn apart by his race’s prejudice. Then again, perhaps it was better to know he hadn’t just been some random stranger who’d forgotten her mother the moment the deed was done.

Megan began to feel compassion for the man she’d never met and had often wondered about.

All her life she’d assumed she was the result of a one-night stand or something equally tragic.

The real story—if Duncan was right—was much worse. Much more heartbreaking for all concerned.

“Family was always important to Nolan.” Duncan sat forward and took one of her hands in his.

“If there’d been a way for him to be with you and your mother, he would have done anything in his power to take it. I can only surmise they captured him unawares and banished him before he could even plead his case. Full fey can be somewhat…unfeeling when it comes to human relationships.”

Oddly enough, Megan felt tears gathering behind her eyes. She hadn’t expected anything like this when she’d set out on this path. She frankly never expected to discover who her father was.

She’d given up on him a long time ago. Still, it hurt to find out the truth. She felt pain for him as well as for herself and anger at the powerful beings who had interfered and messed up all their lives.

“For what it’s worth, Megan—” Duncan looked deep into her eyes, “—I’m sorry.” She tried to keep her composure. “Not your fault, Duncan. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and without you, I wouldn’t even know this much. Thank you.”

“I wish I could do more.” He released her hand but not her gaze. “But I’ve only just escaped my own banishment.”

“What did you do?” Megan asked before she could censor herself.

Duncan only smiled. “Pissed off Queen Mab. That’s a frequent pastime for me.”

“That sounds like another story,” Kevin said as he stood. “But I have to be getting back. I’d like to compare notes with you all again if you permit. Perhaps you could join me and my pack for drinks one night this week? I’d like my lieutenants to meet you. If there’s going to be any action on our turf, I’d like them to know the players on our team.” Dante stood and shook the fire chief’s hand. “That sounds like a good idea, and I thank you for the offer.”

“You know Night Shift?” He named one of the hottest trendy downtown clubs.

“Who doesn’t?” Megan muttered, surprised he’d want such a public meeting place.

“That one of yours?” Dante sent Kevin a speculative look.

Kevin shrugged nonchalantly. “Keeps the younger ones employed and mostly out of trouble. It also provides good revenue for the pack. We own the whole block. There’s a little bar around the corner from the club. It’s called Howlies. The entrance is below ground level, down a flight of stairs. We like to keep a low profile. I’ll let the bouncers know you’re welcome. Someone will show you to the private room. We can talk there. Day after tomorrow, around eleven p.m. all right?”

“Sounds good,” Dante agreed, shaking the fireman’s hand before he left.

Megan was stunned by recent events. Before she knew it, the fireman was gone and she was alone with Dante and Duncan. Thankfully, they gave her the space she needed.

“I cleaned up the glass in the front sitting room and called a glazier to come tomorrow,” Duncan said as they came back into the room after seeing the fireman out. “For now, I taped some cardboard in the window. Luckily, the break is in a small pane that doesn’t pose much temptation to would-be burglars. Just in case, I put a little spell of protection on it as well.”

“Thanks, Duncan. It’s good to have a mage around sometimes.” Dante laughed as he poured three glasses of wine, giving one to Duncan, keeping one for himself and placing one in her cold hands.

“So, Megan, where are you from?” Duncan asked unexpectedly as they were all seated.

“I was raised mostly on Long Island, out in Suffolk County. I have a small house in Ronkonkoma that my mother left me.”

Duncan sent Dante a triumphant look that she didn’t understand until he explained.

“It seems you can’t tell us about your keeper, but you can tell us about yourself. I have to surmise that if you’re from Long Island, he’s somewhere close by—probably in the metro area.”

“I knew I kept you around for a reason.” Dante toasted his friend.

“The way I see it, we have two problems.” Dante kept himself awake by sheer force of will.

He’d have to seek his bed again soon or he’d be a mess tonight. There were things that had to be discussed before he could leave Megan to her own devices. Things he had to discuss with Duncan as well. Dante had joined them in the living room after he’d made a few quick calls and put out some feelers.

“Just two?” Duncan’s amusement hid the very real impatience they all felt.

“The more immediate threat is the blonde. We need to figure out who she is and why she’s targeting me.”

“Then what?” Duncan challenged him. He didn’t want to have to speak his deadly intentions in front of Megan, but it couldn’t be helped. They were all adults. She had to know he’d killed before and would do so again if it meant keeping himself and those he cared for safe.

“Then we eliminate the threat,” he answered succinctly. “I’d also be curious to see if she’s somehow connected with Megan’s
Altor Custodis
contact. Somehow I get the feeling there could be linkage there. For one thing, the hellfire and the overall level of her magic. She’s using stuff not from this realm. Right, Duncan?”

“Yes, you’re right,” he agreed. “And the
Venifucus
always had linkage to the darker realms through their patroness, Elspeth. Both the hellfire and the poison in Megan’s blood were created using that kind of magic. I strongly suspect they both the blonde and Megan’s keeper are in league with the
Venifucus
. I’m not convinced they’re acting in concert, yet they both seem to be working toward the same ultimate goals.”

“Which brings me to our second problem—Megan’s keeper.” Dante sighed, hating to bring Megan any more pain. Still, she had a right to know what they were up against. “The blonde is out there in the open, lobbing fireballs and Molotov cocktails. The keeper is working quietly behind the scenes, doing sneaky things like poisoning Megan’s blood without her knowledge and putting compulsions on her to hide his identity. Two very different ways of working. To my mind, they are separate entities. I doubt the keeper would let the blonde run amok the way she has been. He’s too controlled, too subtle for that. Which leads me to believe they are working independently of each other, though both are, as Duncan said, most likely
Venifucus
followers.”

“Good points,” Duncan agreed. “So we need to work on each problem separately, yet be aware that they may have common threads.”

“Precisely.” Dante was about to say more when his cell phone rang. He checked the display and recognized the fire chief’s number. They’d exchanged cards when he’d seen the man out. They’d also agreed to keep each other updated should there be any developments, but he hadn’t expected contact with the wolf Alpha so soon.

Dante took the call.

“Does the name Siobhan Vabian mean anything to you?” Kevin asked with no preliminaries.

“Vabian?” The surname sent a jolt through Dante’s system. “The mage who attacked your Lords and their mate was named Patrick Vabian.”

“Looks like he had a sister or maybe a cousin. I spoke to my packmate, and she was able to give me a good description of the black Porsche the blonde was driving as well as a partial license plate. I asked one of my men to track it down, and he came up with the name Siobhan Vabian.

Looks like she’s the one trying to kill you.”

Dante felt his chest tighten. They were one step closer to solving this mystery. He got the woman’s address from Kevin before thanking him and ending the call. He had to decide on his next actions though everything in him wanted to go tearing over there to confront the woman.

He had others to consider now and a deeper game to win. He needed to know more about this Siobhan Vabian before he could devise his next move.

Dante had gone back to his chamber below ground for what was left of the afternoon, leaving Duncan to investigate the Vabians further while Megan supervised repairs on the kitchen. Dante had a reliable work crew that he used for household repairs and all he’d had to do was place a call and a team of carpenters showed up fifteen minutes later. Duncan left Megan in charge of them while he headed for Dante’s home office.

Dante had state of the art computer equipment that Duncan was learning how to operate. Of course, getting information the old fashioned way—by actually speaking to people—was something he had mastered a long time ago.

Back then, there had been no telephones. The modern conveniences made his task much easier.

“It’s really amazing how easily you mortals can speak with each other over vast distances. The last time I was in this realm, things were quite different, I assure you.” Megan laughed at his fascination with the cell phone Dante had given him. He was never without it and usually jumped when it decided to ring unexpectedly.

“Without magic, the human race has had to rely on science. Personally, I don’t think they’ve done too bad for themselves.”

The carpenters had done a great job of beginning repairs on the kitchen. It wasn’t back to the showplace it had been yet, but it was usable and even comfortable. Megan had begun cooking the moment the last carpenter had left and the meal was almost ready when Duncan joined her, pitching in to help her finish. She stirred a heavenly smelling sauce on the stove while he drained perfectly cooked pasta over the sink.

After the excitement of the earlier part of the day, she was glad to have the mundane task of making dinner. She assumed Duncan had been on the phone most of the time she was supervising work on the kitchen. She didn’t want to pry into his activities, so she didn’t ask.

Guilt crept up on her every time she thought about the upsets of the past few days. She had an almost unreasonable feeling that she was at fault for having brought such danger to Dante’s doorstep.

It was one thing to be a spy. It was quite another to be an assassin—albeit an unwitting one. She didn’t know how she could have lived with herself if the poison in her blood had killed Dante or Heath. It didn’t bear thinking about.

They shared a delicious dinner and were cleaning up when Dante appeared in the kitchen doorway. He looked much better than the last time she’d seen him just a few hours ago. In fact, he looked downright delicious.

He came to her and the look in his eyes could have melted stone. His head dipped as he drew her into his arms for a long, hungry kiss.

Dante was the only man in the universe who could make her feel this way. He turned her on with just a look from his dark eyes, a touch of his knowing hands. She was powerless against him even without the added vampire mojo that she knew he could bring to bear. It was a sign of respect that he’d never used his powers on her.

She was dizzy when he let her up from the kiss. He held her while she swayed, an amused smile playing around his sexy mouth.

“Good evening, sweetheart. I like waking to find you in my home. Only one thing would be better.”

“What’s that?” She was in a daze, under his spell.

“Waking to find you in my bed. That’s the only way to improve on this feeling of perfection.” His low voiced words zinged right to her hopeful, foolhardy heart. For a timeless moment, they just stared into each other’s eyes, lost.

“
Ahem
.” Duncan banged the last pot he’d been washing in the stainless steel sink, making a noticeable racket.

Megan blushed as Dante released her by slow degrees.

“I hate to break this up, but we’ve got a battle plan to discuss.” Duncan sat at the newly cleaned kitchen table and reached for a notebook he’d been scribbling in earlier.

Dante released her and graciously pulled out her chair for her as she sat. He took the chair next to her and twirled it around, sitting on it backwards, across from Duncan.