Primal Cravings (7 page)

“No doubt,” McCoy said, very firmly. “I heard you talking in there,” she went on. “Magic was mentioned.”

Piper jerked a thumb at McCoy. “Magic is her gig. We have our own assignment, so I don’t think we have time for a private chat.”

“I’m trying to rescue a Prime’s granddaughter from a satanic coven.” That got McCoy’s attention. “I think there’s a human sacrifice in the works.”

“Energy building or energy directed?” she asked.

“Uh…What?” Laurent asked.

Piper gave his partner an exasperated look. “Get in the car, McCoy. You too,” he added to Laurent.

After they’d driven a few miles up the coast, Piper pulled to the side of the road. Laurent started to speak from the back seat, but Piper raised a hand to stop him.

“Your thoughts, McCoy?” he asked.

She glanced back at Laurent. “The missing girl is psychic?”

“Somewhat,” Laurent said. “Or so her grandmother, who is our client, says. But no attempt at telepathic contact or tracing has worked.”

“Poor kid,” McCoy said.

“How do you know she’s a kid?” Piper ask.

Oh, don’t bicker now, children,
Laurent thought, but he kept the thought to himself, and said nothing, waiting for the couple to work it out.

“Okay, a vampire’s granddaughter isn’t necessarily a youngster,” McCoy admitted to Piper.

Laurent hid a smile at how reluctant she sounded making any concession to Piper. Not that either of them were aware of anything but each other.

“What’s the difference between energy-building and energy-directed human sacrifice? And what do you think it has to do with our assignment?” Piper asked. “And, yes, I agree that human sacrifice is a Bad Thing before you object to my callous response to the mention of it.”

“You’re taking all the fun out of it for her,” Laurent muttered. And for him too, he supposed, but the entertainment value wasn’t worth the time wasted when a young woman’s life was at stake.

“Well, we have a missing Tower practitioner. Tower types specialize in building a store of energy with a great many types of spells. They wait until they have enough stored magic to use for the big spell that is their real objective.”

“What’s directed magic?” Piper asked.

“The sort I do. It’s a specific drawing of power for one thing, at one time.”

“Immediate use rather than storing energy?”

“Yep.”

“How is this energy stored?”

“In an organic vessel. Eventually the organic vessel is destroyed to release the energy.”

“Organic vessel. You mean a person, don’t you?”

“Of course that’s what I mean.”

“How do you put energy into a person?”

“I’m not sure, exactly. Sex is probably involved.”

“Do you mean ritual rape?”

“Yes. I guess. In theory.”

“And you think vampires are disgusting?”

“I don’t think vampires are disgusting. And human sacrifice and other ritualized barbarity is anathema in the Craft. It isn’t done!”

“Then why did you so casually list the types of human sacrifice?”

“I didn’t! I was talking about invoking magical energy! I know the theories, all right? I don’t know anything about actual practice. It isn’t done!” McCoy shouted angrily at Piper.

“It’s about to be done,” Laurent broke in. The Dark Angel operators turned to look at him as though they’d forgotten he was in the back seat. He also knew they had no conscious awareness of how high the sexual tension was turned up between them.

“Maybe your Wizard of Oxnard is up to something,” Piper said to McCoy.

“Hell, no!” she answered. After a moment, she added, “Unless he’s being coerced. Or someone stole his book of shadows. There’d be ancient spells in the book. But what do they want the magic for?”

“It’s our job to find out,” Piper said. He jerked a thumb back at Laurent. “We’re going to help our friend here rescue his missing person.”

“Much appreciated,” Laurent told Piper.

He’d been working with werefolk for a while, who were touchy-feely types. It took a conscious effort for Laurent not to slap the other Prime gratefully on the shoulder. He recalled in time that Piper would not appreciate being touched by a vampire he didn’t know. Laurent had been raised in a Tribe himself, where any touching between Primes was only for inflicting pain to show dominance.

“I’ve traced the girl to this area, and to a group that calls themselves the Burners. But I haven’t yet found out who the Burners are or where they’re keeping the kid.”

“That’s because you weren’t drinking at the right table,” Piper said. “I know where the Burners are hanging out.”

Chapter Thirteen

Piper stepped onto the street and closed the car door. The sun wasn’t quite up, but it was light enough to make out details of the landscape. He looked up and down the curve of the suburban street tucked on the hillside, and gave an exaggerated shudder.

“Scariest place I’ve ever seen,” he said.

House after almost identical house stood out in the first faint glow of dawn light. Dee saw what the Prime found disturbing, but she didn’t think the sight was anything to sneer at.

“I grew up in a neighborhood like this,” she said, coming to stand in front of him on the empty street. “Well, it didn’t look a thing like this, with the multiple garages and huge yards.”

“What did it look like, then?”

“Blocky brick houses all alike, set close together on street after street, with tiny yards. Typical Chicago neighborhood. It’s what goes on inside that makes a home or a hell.”

He stared at her. “I have no concept.”

His dark eyes held a confused pain that momentarily made her want to hug him.

“It’s what goes on in the houses that matters,” Dee said. “Our house zinged with spell work, but we didn’t bother the neighbors.”

“I suppose black magic doesn’t have to bother the neighbors, either.”

She chuckled. “If anything is going to bother the neighbors around here, it’ll probably be us.”

He chuckled too. They shared a conspiratorial look. “Keep it quiet and professional, people,” they both said, quoting the Dark Angel leader’s usual pre-raid pep talk.

They moved toward the back of the target house. Laurent Wolf had called in another member of the Bleythin detective agency, a werewolf named Harry. The Prime and the werewolf were going in through the front of the house. Two Primes and a werewolf weren’t worried about going up against some devil-worshiping humans, magic or no magic. While no one had said anything, Dee supposed the three macho immortals considered her the weak link in their little invasion force.

“If I tell you to wait here, you won’t, will you?” Piper asked after they crossed a wide deck to reach a sliding glass door. Her mortal, but highly trained, senses tingled with warning. The place grew creepier with every step.

“The place is warded strongly enough to give even you a nasty headache,” she said. “I’ll be perfectly happy to wait here until the energy dissipates attacking you.”

“Happy to be of service,” he grumbled.

Curtains pulled across the glass door blocked any view into the house. Piper touched the glass, fingers splayed out.

Dee couldn’t help but notice the long-fingered, elegant yet powerful shape of his hands as they splayed across the glass. The more she was around him, the more she noticed about him. The visceral data were almost overwhelming. She’d been so much happier merely being aware of Jake Piper as an object of suspicion.

“TMI,” she grumbled.

“You’re right about the headache,” he said. “They are definitely trying to blank out energy signatures. I can’t pick up a specific number or people inside. Lots of psychic energy blending together. They are up to no good, I can tell that much. But we already know that.” He looked back at Dee. “Black magic at dawn? Don’t you people do your ceremonies at midnight on a full moon?”

“Dark of the moon is better for black magic,” she answered. “Which it is at the moment. If they call themselves Burners, they’re likely invoking solar energy.”

“Hence, sunrise human sacrifice,” Piper said, turning to look at her. “Then what? Off to pancakes at Denny’s?”

His expression went still and concentrated. She recognized that telepathic communication was going on between Piper and the others in the front of the house. After a few seconds Piper gave a decisive nod.

Time to roll.

“Harry’s certain everybody’s in the basement. He and Laurent are going in through basement windows in the front. You and I will go through the kitchen to the basement stairs. Stay well behind me.”

She nodded.

He took off his jacket, wrapped it around his hand and arm. Piper punched a hole in the glass near the door handle, flipped the lock and let them in. Dee watched Piper closely as he took several steps into the house, guarding his back even if she was unarmed and he had fangs, claws, and superhuman strength and speed as well as telepathy in his natural armory.

It wasn’t surprising, if you thought about it, that vampires imagined themselves superior to mortals.

He stopped briefly, took a sharp, deep breath as he absorbed the resistant shock of the magical wards. He gave a glance back, and Dee followed him into the house. A flash of pain ripped through her head, but it wasn’t so strong that she missed the movement to the left. She’d picked up a large shard of glass on the way in. She threw it.

The glass left a line of blood across the attacker’s cheek. A quick kick from Piper put the attacker completely down. Piper licked his lips at the sight of the blood.

“Hey,” she complained.

“I’m hungry, all right?” he countered.

Screams and shouts erupted from the basement. Piper was through the door and down the stairs in a blink of an eye. Dee hurtled down the stairs a second after, but far behind.

The basement walls were painted black. The place was lit by more candles than a cathedral, and about as much chokingly sweet incense smoke hazed the air.

All the mortals in the room were naked. Most of them were covered in blood. Their own, Dee hoped as she took in the sight. She stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched as a huge black wolf tore out a man’s throat. If you were mortal, you didn’t want to go up against a werewolf; they always went for the kill.

She gasped when she saw Piper holding one of the mortals, his fangs fully extended as he stared at the woman’s throat.

“Hey!” Laurent yelled at Piper. “You took the pledge!”

“Fuck you!” Piper yelled back, but he didn’t bite the woman. He dropped her unconscious body on the floor.

His gaze scraped across Dee’s as he turned to a man attacking him with an elaborate silver dagger.

For some reason Dee gave Piper a thumbs up, encouragement for his keeping ‘the pledge’.

The werewolf morphed to his mortal form. He shook his head hard. “This place reeks of vampire. Other than you two,” he added.

Laurent held up one of the Burners by the hair. “This one told me a vampire brought the sacrifice to them.”

“Brought, or sold?” Piper asked.

“Let you know in a moment,” Laurent said, and went back to his telepathic interrogation of the Burner.

“I don’t suppose you can find this vampire?” Piper asked the werewolf.

“Not a chance,” he was answered. Vampire psychic energy messed up werewolf psychic energy.

Laurent dropped the man whose mind he’d been searching. The prisoner dropped bonelessly at the Prime’s feet, unconscious. “I think all of the mortals’ minds have been messed with. I don’t think they really know what their ritual was meant for—not that they aren’t all happy participants in the chance to rape and murder.”

“Charming,” Piper said.

Dee moved to the woman they’d come to rescue while the boys continued mopping up the opposition. The victim was naked and bound on an altar in the center of the room. Let the boys take care of the bad guys, she’d look after the girl. The young woman’s pale skin almost glowed against the black satin altar covering. Her body was splayed out, wrists and ankles tied at the corners of the altar. The prisoner’s eyes were open, but the pupils were huge and completely unfocused. Drugged—and more than drugged—Dee suspected. Energy hummed around the altar.

In the girl?

Oh, goddess, she hoped not!

“How far into the ritual were they when you showed up?” she asked. Her only answer was a shrug from Piper.

Dee bent over the girl, and brushed hair from her sweat-damp forehead. “What do men know, sweetie?” she asked, voice as gentle as possible. “You’re safe now, I promise. I know you’re afraid, but we’ll take you home.”

The girl’s skin was burning hot. She moaned and squirmed in her bonds, her hips arching. Her nipples were hard, a sharp tang of arousal rising off her body, along with an electric pulse of energy. Too much energy for a frail mortal vessel to hold.

Some of this had to be bled off or the girl’s brain and body was going to burn out. The rescue would mean nothing if she died from the magic surging through her.

Dee gave a quick glance at the vampires and werewolf. She shook her head. The obvious solution to help the girl was out of the question.

Dee swore under her breath.

This would not be pleasant, but you did what you had to do. She closed her eyes, forced her muscles to relax. Took a deep breath. Then Dee placed a hand on the victim’s forehead, dropped her shielding, and whispered the incantation to establish a connection with the girl.

“What the hell are you doing?” She heard Piper shout. Then the blast of energy bored into her, and everything exploded around her.

* * *

Leviathan sat in the shadow of the chimney on the roof across from the Burners’ house, his head covered by the hood of a black sweatshirt. Black leather gloves protected his hands. Sunglasses gave his eyes protection, though they wouldn’t be much help once the sun rose higher. He’d be gone by then, anyway.

One by one he felt his mortal slaves dying, or dropping unconscious, becoming prisoners of the good guys. He had no interest in rescuing them from their fate. They knew nothing, even about their own slavery. What they thought they were doing was pure nonsense.

What mattered was that the spell he’d tortured out of the Tower wizard and planted in the minds of the Burners Coven had actually worked. The Cave wizard had railed at him for this deviation from the plan, but Leviathan wasn’t working to the mortal’s timetable. The plan was not coming to fruition until they were together again.