Steal the Night (14 page)

“And I accept that about you. I’m possessive as well. I’ve often found it curious that my particular brand of magic is so dependent on true love and passion and yet I slept with Zoey for a year without it coming back to me. It was the night the three of us came together that brought me into my magic. I was content. I needed you both and I had you and that’s where my power lies. Now it works when Zoey and I are alone because I trust that you’re there.”

“I’m always there, Dev,” Daniel said with quiet determination.

There was a long pause and I opened my eyes to watch them. They sat a foot or so apart but they seemed content to merely share the space. It was like they left a place for me between them.

“So you think Marini got all addicted to me?” I asked quietly.

Daniel’s mouth tugged up at the corner. “Yeah, baby. You’re like the flu, extremely contagious.”

I frowned as I sat up. “That’s romantic. Will he send someone else to try to take me?”

“I have no doubt if they send someone else you’ll handle him with your Chanel sunglasses, my love,” Dev replied, grinning at me. “You’re much more formidable than Marini believes. He has no idea what you can do with a tube of lip gloss and a well-placed heel.”

Returning his smile, I had another thought. What if Marini decided the way to get me to comply was to target my loved ones. “What if they send someone after Daniel?”

“They can send whoever they want, but unless Marini uses his final option, I doubt they can take Dan. Of course if he wanted to bring Daniel in alive for some reason, then his best course of action would be capturing you and using you to lure Dan out,” Dev said.

Groaning, Daniel fell back against the couch. “I don’t want to think about that.”

I leaned forward to let him know I was serious. “If that happens, you have to know that he won’t kill me. He would never waste all that blood. You have to bide your time, baby.”

Daniel’s eyes started to bleed blue, a sure sign that even talking about the subject was making him angry. “Z, you can’t expect me to leave you with him. He wouldn’t just lock you away somewhere.”

“No,” I agreed. “And I could handle anything he does to me. You can’t risk everything we’ve worked for. If he takes me, you have to be patient.”

“It won’t come to that,” Dev interjected. “Lee is on full Zoey patrol again. You are not to go anywhere without Lee and Neil if Daniel isn’t with you. And no more walking off by yourself. We received a stern lecture from your father tonight on how it is our sacred duty to keep you alive. And I was informed my hair is still too long.”

Now that was a serious discussion. “No way, Dev. That is as short as it gets. I swear you cut another inch and I’m cutting mine into that bob I think will look good on me. You know, the one that makes Neil stick his finger down his throat when I mention it.”

“Not another centimeter, lover,” Dev agreed and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.

“Is she talking about the bob again?” Neil asked, walking into the room. “Do you understand how curly your hair would be without all that weight? You would look like a poodle. I have personally threatened every decent stylist in the DFW area with death and dismemberment if they listen to your hair choices. Now, Nim and Christine are ready and they need their nine volt.”

Dev sighed. “All right. Let’s go, guys. If I have to listen to thirty minutes of chanting followed by the smell of brimstone and regret, you at least have to be in the room.”

We all got up and followed Neil into the den, passing my father and Lee as they headed into the kitchen for another beer. Neither my father nor Lee was big into witchcraft. It had been a necessary evil my father used on the occasional job, but Lee couldn’t stand any of it. Lee would stay close enough to get to me if he had to, but he wasn’t about to sit around listening to a bunch of chanting. Zack, on the other hand, sat in a chair beside the door, watching the scene intently.

I shivered as I walked in, though I knew the room was warm. I could feel the power pulsing through it, a cold, dark wave. Nim and Christine stood just outside the circle on the floor on opposite sides from each other. Nim was completely still, though there was something oddly active about her stance. Her shoulders were squared, her hands at her thighs, palms open. Her lips were moving but I heard no sound. She seemed larger than before. I knew her body was still small, but now she seemed to fill the room with her presence.

It was the first time I could truly believe that the funny girl who had bought me as a pleasure slave was actually a powerful, legendary witch.

The entire room was lit with candles and smelled like herbs and incense. The circle itself caught my attention. It was reddish brown and I was assaulted by the smell. Daniel tensed, reacting to that scent.

“You used blood to draw the circle?” I asked.

Nim looked up from her silent meditation. Her face was stark and the charming nymph I knew was gone, replaced with a woman of infinite competence. This was her place of power. “Yes, Zoey. What else would I use?”

“Well, I bought some very nice spray paint just for the occasion,” I offered. Nim sometimes didn’t understand the world had new technology.

She smiled slightly and I found it reassuring. “I’m sure that works well for you, but I prefer the old ways. I might be out of practice but I assure you, I can handle this. I feel my power tonight and it’s good.” She turned to Daniel and her eyes narrowed. “There will be more blood, vampire. If you can’t handle it, I would advise you to leave. I want nothing to disturb the calling.”

She had moved quickly from sweet, silly Nim to a person I was very certain had been called by many names in her long time walking the planes. This was Nimue we dealt with now, and she brooked no disobedience. She turned her violet eyes to my faery prince. “Come, Devinshea. Take your place on the circle.”

She indicated a place for him to stand at the tip of the pentagram.

“Tell me something, revered one.” Christine regarded Nimue with the greatest respect. “Why do we really need him? I feel the power and magic pouring from you now. You hide it well, but surely we can’t need any more than what you have.”

Nimue chuckled. “You are young and untried, witch. If I used my own power, I would blow the glass out of all the windows of this home. I doubt our host would be thrilled with that. I need a softer power. The sex god will do, though he seems surprisingly closed off now.”

“I don’t understand it.” Christine studied Dev with a frown. “We did this before. He had magic just pouring off of him.”

“I apologize if I am not able to help.” But Dev wasn’t sorry, not really. He looked almost relieved.

“What was different then?” Nim mused.

Christine thought about it for a minute. “I can still feel the power in him. It just seems more controlled than it was before.”

Nimue laughed and for a moment sounded like Nim. “Of course. He found his goddess. Those Fae are serious about their magicks. It flows from his goddess and whatever you would call Daniel. Zoey, I’m going to need your help. I think I can solve both your husbands’ problems if you don’t mind donating a little blood.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t anything I didn’t do every day. “You want Danny to bite me?”

She shook her head. “I want the two of you to sit on the couch where Dev can see you and then let the vampire do what comes naturally to him.”

Daniel was more than happy about that suggestion. The smell of blood was obviously getting to him. He threw his big body onto the sofa and pulled me down with him. In the past he would have fought to hide this part of himself, but now he just sat me on his lap and let himself do what his instinct insisted he needed to do. He ran his arms over my shoulders and let himself breathe in my scent. I hugged him to me and I felt him start to relax. He buried his face in my neck and I felt the tiny prick of his fangs as he dragged them lightly across my skin and then the warmth of his tongue as he licked up the blood he’d drawn. He sighed, deeply satisfied by our close contact. He would play like this for hours if I let him.

“There it goes,” Nim said quietly and I could feel it, too.

The warmth of Dev’s unique magic pulsed through the room. His eyes were filled with affection and desire as he watched us. He gave me a stare that let me know he wanted to be there with us. Nim and Christine took their places and they began the ritual.

I closed my eyes and let Daniel’s affection wash over me. I settled in because I knew this was a long ritual. Nim asked Dev for his arm and I heard him hiss. Daniel’s head came up as he smelled blood and he gave Nimue a pointed look.

“For the ritual I’m performing I need three types of blood,” she explained logically. “I’m not hurting him. I’m using my blood, the high priest’s, and I need the blood of another. It would work best if it is someone the demon knows, perhaps someone he likes. You said you knew him, Zoey.”

Neil growled as he stepped up to the plate. “I’ll do it. He has a thing for me. I know it’s so typical.”

Nim drew a dagger lightly across Neil’s forearm. She added the blood to a little pool in a ceramic bowl. Like Dev, the cut on Neil’s arm healed almost immediately. Neil’s was the result of his werewolf powers but Dev’s was all Daniel. Like me, Dev regularly took Daniel’s blood, gaining all the positive impacts. Dev and I had stopped aging, and we healed very quickly.

Nimue walked to the center of the pentagram and poured the blood in the middle of the symbol. She sighed and stepped back out of the circle. She, Christine, and Devinshea stood just outside the circle. I’ve watched this ritual performed before. Sarah had performed it and I’d watched an entire coven call a demon. It always seemed to take forever, with the witches’ voices calling and calling to the demon until he had no choice but to come forward. They chanted and intoned for hours.

Nimue said but two words. “Nemcox, come.”

There was a loud crack and suddenly the whole world smelled like brimstone. Daniel’s arms tightened around me as the smoke cleared. In the center of the circle, a demon stood, looking surprised. He was roughly five foot ten, his skin a deep red. His head appeared almost too large for his body as it was crowned with curved horns. His form was a testament to power. Every muscle was ripped and he stood naked and proud in the circle. His feet were cloven but he was graceful and his pitch-black eyes stared forward ignoring everything but Daniel and myself. He bowed deeply.

“Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” he intoned in his very upper-crust British accent.

“Stewart.” Daniel acknowledged him with a regal nod of his head. Daniel sat back, relaxed but powerful. It was a huge change from the first time we met Stewart. Daniel looked like what he was—a king. “I thank you for joining us this evening. I hope we didn’t pull you away from anything important.”

“Nothing could be more important than reaffirming our alliances, Your Highness.” Stewart smiled, a nice show of curved fangs. “It’s been a while, but I assure you, I’m still interested in serving you. I see you finally settled things with the companion.”

“She’s my queen and will be treated as such.” Daniel’s eyes narrowed, his voice going dark.

“Of course. I honor her as such. I always knew you two crazy kids would make a go of it,” Stewart said, his fangs gleaming in the candlelight. “I knew the Fae creature was just a small bump in the road for the two of you.”

Dev cleared his throat. Stewart turned and caught sight of him. When he stared back at Daniel, his black eyes were wide with curiosity. “What on earth is he doing here? Have you brought me in for his execution? I’ve offered on several occasions to perform the duty.”

“Devinshea, you’ve done your duty.” Nimue said, with a hint of a smile on her face. “You may leave the circle. My blood will hold him.”

Dev gave Stewart a dirty look and walked around the pentagram. He sat down beside Daniel and Daniel’s hand found the back of his head. He stroked Dev’s neck in a soothing fashion, and I knew Daniel sensed Dev’s anxiety. I reached out to him as well, and his hand found mine.

Stewart stared for a moment, his mouth hanging open. “Well, now, that was unexpected. Really? All three of you? The king seemed so…vanilla. Don’t get me wrong, companion. I always sensed the delicious potential for perversity in you but I thought the king was all true love and faithfulness.”

“You aren’t here to judge our sex lives.” Stewart annoyed the holy hell out of me.

He gave me a brilliant, fangy smile. “Oh, but it would be so fun. I think I would give you a ten. Could I have a little paddle with numbers on it?”

Neil, who was sitting beside Zack, made the mistake of laughing. Stewart’s pitch-black eyes sought him, and his face glazed over with longing. “Hello, puppy,” he said, his voice shy.

“Hello, Stewart,” Neil returned grudgingly.

When we first met Stewart a few years back, he’d been very taken with Neil. Oh, as Neil had pointed out to me, Stewart had also tried to kill him with a weretiger, but he never let Neil forget just how attractive he thought he was.

As he watched my best friend, the big demon managed to seem almost coy. “I thought you were never going to call. I should be very cross with you for keeping me hanging on so long.”

Zack stared up at Neil, a horrified expression on his face. “Dude, seriously?”

Neil thunked Zack in the middle of his forehead. “No, dumbass. He’s a demon. He lies.” Neil turned back to Stewart. “Let’s make this very clear. I have a boyfriend, Stewart. I’m not looking to replace him.”

Stewart thought about that for a moment. Stewart’s demonic power was empathy. He might not be able to reach into your head and grab thoughts, but he could gather emotions, and I’d discovered he was excellent at conjecture. He could pull out your deepest fears and use them against you.

“And where is this magical boyfriend?” Stewart proved just how scary he could be. He might not understand exactly why he’d used the word “magical” but Neil did. I watched Neil frown as Stewart pointed directly at Zack. “It certainly isn’t the other wolf. You have brotherly feelings for him. As for the king and the Fae creature, well, beyond their talented queen, they only have eyes for each other. So, my lovely puppy, you will have to forgive me if I push my suit. Whoever he is, he’ll never love you like I will. I mean that literally. I have detachable parts.”