Ravenous (32 page)

Holly's mouth was parched. She hurt for him. She hurt for herself. "I did love you."

"But not anymore." The words were barely there. "It doesn't matter; the Chosen is only a legend."

"I can't tell what's real anymore." Her eyes stung, but she was past tears. A heavy weight hung in her chest, dragging on her every breath. Through the circuit of their energy she knew Alessandro felt it, too.

They wanted to be together, but not like this.

Like an alien invader, the phone rang. It took a moment for Holly to register what the sound meant. At the same time Alessandro's cell phone pinged Beethoven's Fifth. They released each other, at once reluctant and relieved. They stood, holding hands, not quite ready to break the contact of skin to skin.

"I'll get the one in the office," Holly said.

"No, don't go," he said, the casual phrase of someone reluctant to release his lover.

And then it happened. The sound of the phones drifted away, meaningless. Holly snuggled back onto his chest, only dimly remembering there was something she had meant to do.

Alessandro's eyes grew wide. Holly saw the horror, but didn't understand it at first.

"What?" she asked.

His face twisted with self-loathing. "You were going to answer the phone. Go do it." His voice charred her with its bitter regret.

Sweet Hecate
. She felt herself turn, helpless as a doll. Helpless as Mac being tossed into the garden. Holly stumbled to the den, disbelief numbing her limbs.

Kibs was sitting on the desk, staring at the phone. With a wave of guilt she wondered when she'd last filled his food bowl. He butted her hand as she picked up the receiver.

"Hey, kid," said Grandma. "I've got some info for you."

"Good. I could use answers about now." Holly sank down on the desk chair, sick with shock.
What the hell just happened there? Was that a demonstration of his vampire power
? It was far, far stronger than she would have guessed.
I am in such trouble
.

It made it hard to focus on her grandmother's voice. She wanted to say something, to beg for help, but the words just wouldn't come. Was it some magical compulsion, or just plain shame?

"I was consulting with colleagues about your demon problem. Some scuttlebutt came up that I thought you'd want to hear," Grandma began. Holly heard the flip of a page, as if her grandmother were consulting notes. "The best book on demon wrangling is something called
The Book of Lies
. Word has it that it was sold privately about a month ago. Dirty sale. Stolen from the vamp queen. Very hush-hush, go-betweens, the lot."

That was just interesting enough to snap Holly's mind back on track.

"Stolen from Omara?" She kept her voice low.
So that's the book they were looking for
! "Do they know who bought it?"

"Someone local with a lot of money. Seller was a vampire."

Inside job
? She scratched Kibs's spine and was rewarded with a tail up her nose. "So you think this local buyer opened the portal with the book?"

"Yup. If you can get your hands on it, you're well on your way to getting rid of your demon friend. It also has a ton of spells for weakening hellspawn and making them easier to manage."

"Apparently the hellspawn's name is Geneva."

"That's the same one Elaine fought." Grandma's voice was hoarse with worry. "Look, we need more information before we tackle her. She's a nasty piece of work."

"What if things come to a head sooner?"

"Pray that doesn't happen. With or without the book, the only real tool you have is pure energy. If you can back the demon into a portal, use raw energy like a water cannon. They can't digest your power in that form. The two sources I found recommend Aurelia's matrix or the Caer Gwydion reduction spells to augment your control. That'll hold your demon, but it's going to take a lot of strength. For you, it's going to hurt like blazes."

"Okay."
Maybe. Maybe not
. With her power unblocked, she just might skip the agony part.

"The trick is closing the portal. When a working portal shuts, normally it just closes to a trickle on its own. If you slam it shut, it releases a blast of magic that'll kill you. That was the mistake Elaine made.
Don't do that
."

"So get the demon on the other side and hold it there till the hole closes on its own."

"Bingo. But. Be. Careful." It was the closest to fussing that Grandma would ever get, but Holly heard the unspoken fear in her voice.

Holly thought about her dream. Grandma needed to know all about it, but Holly didn't have the strength to discuss it.
Not now
. She took a deep breath. "Will raw energy kill the demon?"

"Enough will. Witches can't pull that much, though. We just don't have the juice."

Damn
. "I left you a message about the Dark Larceny. That cop friend of mine…"

"If he's already started to Turn, it's doubtful you can pull him back. Too bad, I know."

Holly looked outside again. The lonely streets were desolately beautiful until the image drowned in tears. "He kissed me." The words were wistful, more a tribute than anything else.
Poor Mac
.

"Ah, he's a baby demon. No worries."

"I think his mistress gave him extra power. He's not so much a baby as her proxy."

Grandma paused a heartbeat, tension surging down the phone line like something solid. "That might screw up your magic for a bit, but you should get over it. Get the demon on the other side of the portal however you can, and it won't matter. She can't reach you from there."

Holly froze, the world shifting as Grandma's words hit home. "Someone said a vampire bite was the best antidote. Doesn't that work?"

Grandma laughed, but not with mirth. "Oh, yeah, it'll work, but there're better ways. That's like treating Ebola with bubonic plague. Why the hell would you do that?"

While Holly and Alessandro slept, Geneva had dared the nonhumans to do battle with her on campus that night. She had done it the traditional way, with a written challenge and the gift of a silver knife. The bloodied silver blade meant it was a fight to the death.

It was cold, the skies clear and starry. The south campus—farthest from the coffee shops and movies—was all but deserted, as if the humans sensed coming danger and huddled indoors. It was only eleven o'clock, but the windows of the nearby residences were mostly dark. Vampires, werebeasts, and other creatures hid in the shadows, waiting.

Omara and the other leaders of pack and clan conceded that the demon's choice of location was logical. Fairview U was dead center of the successful portals. For whatever reason this was where Geneva's magic worked best. Nor was the challenge itself a surprise, though it had come sooner than expected. Fresh from the Castle, Geneva should still have been weak.

That raised questions.

They were nervous. Not sure what to expect. Worried about keeping the humans safe. Worried about humans seeing what they shouldn't.

How Geneva would wage her war was unknown, but nobody thought she'd do it alone.

Accordingly, Queen Omara summoned her champion to join her on the campus at once.

Alessandro found Omara striding across the dew-laden lawns. With cold, fixed purpose, he descended like an evil storm.

Grabbing her arm, he dragged her away from her two guardsmen. With a regal flick she waved them away as they hastened to intervene. Her expression was unconcerned. As Alessandro released her, she smoothed her hair into place and slipped her hands into the pockets of her long, fur-trimmed coat. Queens did not show fear.

Alessandro ached to change that. "Malevolent bitch!" he snarled. "You knew. You
knew
there were other ways to save Holly."

Omara's response showed only in the sharp line of her mouth, the widening of her eyes. The queen was still, but her stance was a haiku of future violence.

Alessandro wasn't sure he cared anymore.

"I had to be sure that we were in control of your witch's magic," she said with utter calm. "The risk that she would Turn before we could help her was too great."

"Not if you had
wanted
to save her. Then your reasoning would be quite different."

"You malign me."

"I know you."

"You took what you craved."

"I could have controlled myself."

"I wonder. I wager you ache to savor her blood even now."

There was no good reply to that. Alessandro glanced away from Omara.
If I love Holly, I must face the hell of leaving her. Anything less will be her destruction
. Sick anger seared him like poison. Omara would have been kinder to kill him.

He still reeled from the look on Holly's face when she relayed what her grandmother had said. She had gone specter-white with shock. Oh, Holly was strong. There were no tears, no wild exclamations, but her eyes had been full of hollow disbelief that their lives had been shattered for nothing, because vampires played cruel games.

That moment changed everything. Something inside his soul had slammed shut with a sepulchral clang. Now he turned back to Omara, decisions made, past loyalties sealed behind that door.

"You grow reckless with my goodwill, my champion." Omara's upper lip curled, showing fang. "Your affairs of the heart are not my concern."

Alessandro nearly laughed. The irony of it all sickened him. "Goodwill? You destroyed the one bit of peace that I had found. Whether it was for jealousy or convenience doesn't matter."

A moment passed as the truth hung in the air, noxious and thick enough to choke. He was calmer now that he had said it. The real question was what he did next.

"I have always served the good of our people."

"Public concern does not excuse private cruelty."

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, a mix of affront and surprise on her face. Alessandro did not flinch.

"There are more important things." Omara brushed away a strand of hair. She had been so still, the gesture seemed monumental. "Geneva didn't neglect the niceties. She couriered each of the nonhuman leaders a knife."

"Impressive. At least she has style."

Omara waited while the wind stirred their hair, his bright, hers dark. "Is that all you have to say?"

The moment had come, the fork in the road. He took it. "What is there to say? I will fight this night, but only because the demon threatens us all. I will not fight for
you
. I've been your knight, but you betrayed all the loyalty I've given you. All my trust. You do not deserve my fealty."

Omara's eyes flared a pale gold. "You are my retainer."

"And you repaid my services so well."

"I'm sorry. That was my blunder." Omara met his eyes, but her boldness had faded.

Alessandro read the expression. "What happened?"

"Clan Albion did not answer my summons. The entire clan has disappeared from Fairview, down to the last fledgling."

Pierce's clan
. "Treason."

Omara gave a helpless gesture. "You win. I should have listened to you. You guessed they had a hand in it."

The queen had effectively steered him away from venting his anger. He knew it, but Alessandro still considered what she had just told him. Albion had the best fighters.

She put her hand on his, wordless. All she had to say was in her touch.
Come back to me
.

Alessandro's breath caught. "No," he said, ending her unspoken plea.

"You will fight for me this night?" she asked. The question was bald, querulous, perhaps the only words he had ever heard that came straight from her heart.

"Yes."

After, if there was an after, he would walk away from Omara's service and any place in the society of his kind. There were things worse than loneliness. Chief among them was dishonorable servitude.

One bitch queen at a time.

Focus on Geneva and whoever brought the soul-sucking road show to Fairview. Once this is over, you can find some way of grinding Omara's bones to dust.

Besides, the vampire diva of evil was already occupied.

Holly could see Alessandro and Omara as distant shadows, their gestures backlit by the haze of the lampposts that dotted the paths across the campus lawn. She didn't need to hear their words to understand that their long relationship was tearing apart. Their hands sketched the pain in understated slashes as they spoke.

Holly turned away, feeling like a voyeur.

A whiff of leather and pine hung on the breeze, an odor of wild and ancient places. Werebeasts. The packs and prides had begun to arrive, roaming the pathways in groups of two and three. The appointed time for battle was drawing near.

Down to work
. Holly narrowed her focus, shutting out the scene around her. The murder victims had mostly been students. All the recent portals had happened at or near the university: the Flanders house, the faculty club, Sinsation, the cemetery, and even her own house weren't that far distant. That meant something local facilitated the magic, something that touched all those places.
A natural power source
? That could be bodies of water. Fissures in the earth.
Ley lines
.

She knelt in the grass, pushing her hands into the dense, damp lawn. She scanned the earth lightly, the same way she had in the graveyard. With her power unblocked it was too easy, almost laughable. Holly sank into the scan, deepening it, digging in.

Holly saw them. Thick, gold streams of magnetic power streaked under the earth, brush strokes of brilliant energy throbbing with the force of the earth's core. Holly inhaled in wonder. She had never been able to see ley lines before. They ran too deep for most witches to get a visual. She didn't just have power; she had a
lot
of power.
And there's no pain
!

Holly followed the streams with her mind. They branched and trailed in every direction, but flowed more or less toward the east, under the university and then south to the cemetery. She let the largest line take her, pushing her mind along like a tiny craft in a race to the sea.