The Devil You Know (26 page)

“What?” I sat up, waving at Mynx who was lugging in a few boxes. Like a revolving door, I had moved from amused to panic in a second flat. Surely the vampires didn’t intend to leave Kathryn and Van with me indefinitely.
I’d go insane and someone would die.
I’d expected to have the two demons on their way within a few hours. My mind scrambled to regroup as Carmel continued.

“We believe one of the Queen’s vampire guards was connected to last night’s attack.” His tone was most apologetic. “For the Demon Queen’s safety, the Kin will officially have no further dealings with her.” His volume dropped. “Unofficially, however, I have been authorized to hire your people to make the necessary arrangements. We wish you to provide transportation and protection for Denoir’s Queen and her guard to a gate of your choosing. From there, she can travel directly home and to safety.”

I had the delirious urge to laugh but stifled it. I could take the offer and be in charge of getting my new grandmother and cousin safely home…or I could be stuck with them until the Blood-Kin found their traitor, which could be a very long time, if ever.

Somewhere, at this very moment, a Fate was convulsing with maniacal laughter, her face twisted in sadistic glee as she rolled across a heavenly floor.

Mynx stood nearby, listening with her sharp cat ears. Desperately, I looked to her and she nodded, her green eyes already gleaming with a plan. I sighed, the sound one of relief…and surrender. “We’ll take the job.” Not that we had much of a choice. “Denoir’s Queen will be home by,” I looked to Mynx, who held up two fingers, “Saturday night. My associate Mynx Delacy will be in contact regarding the fee. The very
large
fee.”

“No doubt, Miss Delacy.” Carmel chuckled. “No doubt.” We exchanged a few more details. Then he added, “Oh, and the Master had Bon Ame do a check. He said, ‘The autopsy begins Saturday morn’ and that you would know what that means.”

Biting back a curse, I demurely thanked the man.

He finished the call by saying, “Have a good day. As always, Miss Delacy, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

I muttered my own pleasantries and hung up before I could lose my temper. In his parting words, Carmel had asked only that we keep things inconspicuous. Apparently they’d had difficulty explaining why Bob Rainey, the last fellow I’d “retrieved” for them, had been dead, decayed, and missing the majority of his legs. That knowledge brightened my day.

But I knew what the vampires were up to. When all was said and done and Kathryn and Van were home safe, Seth and his people would come out smelling like butterscotch-flavored roses. They would take the credit, letting everyone know how they’d suckered a pack of wild bat-demons and ferreted out the bad apples in their own bunch. If things turned out badly, they’d disavow any knowledge of our agreement and leave us holding the bag.

Basically, it was business as usual.

Or at least it was for Seth, but what of Marco, the “head guard,” as Carmel had called him? He had made the recommendation that we escort the Queen. The smarmy Italian didn’t seem the type to admit he couldn’t handle a problem. Why would he convince Seth to take himself and his team away from guarding such a prominent visitor, especially when such admission could cost a vamp his head?

Mynx immediately left for her office. I shook my head as I heard her pick up the phone and ask for Nana. I left my office to show JJ the rooms that would be hers alone. On our way past Mynx’s office, I shut her door, not needing to hear what those two were planning.

This was exactly the sort of challenge Mynx thrived on so I would leave it to her. I just hoped she knew what she was getting into, because I sure as hell didn’t. Seth’s message meant the Council had moved up their plans to autopsy Roskov’s body then remove it to an unknown location. I had less than forty-eight hours to bring Gem’s father home or risk losing him forever to the Council’s clutches. It made me wonder why they were in such a godawful hurry that they’d change their plans.

It wasn’t like the dead vampire was going anywhere…as far as they knew.

* * *

A new year, 1727

The first night the boy came back with a knife belted to his hip—walking and talking like a man, his eyes as black and mad as his would-be-father’s, expecting…almost wanting to be punished—the ever-fickle, pale-haired LaFortuna simply laughed and slapped him. “Fortune favors the bold,” he said.

If the boy was arrogant enough to think that he could kill him, LaFortuna would let him try.

And so it became a game. One that amused his Master and kept the boy alive and free of his chains. Each night, LaFortuna would set the boy outside the only entrance to his private rooms then bar and ward the door. The tired boy would return to his mother’s room to rest and think. Hours later, when the sun was high in the sky, the game began.

The first day, the boy smeared the alchemist’s wooden door with tallow from the always generous cook and set it ablaze. Prepared for this, its wards doused the flames and blasted the boy. The second day, it was gunpowder from the armory. The third, lock-picking. The fourth, wood-boring ants (courtesy of the sleeping gardener). The door was slightly slower to recognize the insects as a threat, but each time ended with the same result: The boy was flung away to lie in a bruised and battered heap. And when he managed to pull himself back up, the door—the evil, mocking, sadistically clever door—was always undamaged.

But the stockade and village were filled with many sleeping corpses, and each had a different suggestion on how to breach the door. Ropes and pulleys, pry bars, flaming arrows, battering rams, metal-eating acids—none of which worked. It wasn’t until weeks later that he found his answer.

In desperate hunger the boy borrowed the sleeping stable master’s tall boots and a guard’s bow and forced his way through the deep snow to hunt. There, sleeping deep beneath covers of cold white powder, was the mason. With his own hands, the rough gristly-bearded man had carved the stockade’s foundation out of the mountain, had helped lay each block, had helped the carpenters secure each beam. Forgotten by all, he had been the alchemist’s first victim.

Though weak, thanks to months of consuming Otherworldly flesh and vampire blood, the boy was stronger and faster than he should have been. He managed to shoot several rabbits and, under the mason’s tutelage, set snares to trap more. As the boy returned with his catch, the mason’s ghost walked back with him. The hungry boy slit the innocent hares’ throats and let their blood flow down his own like wine from a gourd before skinning them. While he consumed the meat, sucking the blood and sustenance from each raw piece before swallowing them, the mason spoke.

As it turns out, the boy didn’t have to go through the door. He simply needed to make his own. And the sleeping mason was more than willing to show him how.

Chapter Fifteen

“Death and rebirth, this is all we know. One day maybe it will be enough.”

—Phoenix D’Artanian, former leader of the Draig

There wasn’t enough time to do the run for Gem tonight. As it was we were rushing to cover all the details by tomorrow night. Waiting meant cutting things close, but we had no choice.

After speaking with Carmel, I called Fera, informed her of our change in circumstance and timetable, and asked her to stir up her spells at the house. While waiting on Fera, I gave JJ the basic rundown of her duties and outlined the role I’d like her to play in the run for Gem. She agreed to help and also offered to make the needed illusion charms, saving me some time. Then Mynx and I had a long, disturbing talk about Fera’s interrogation of Ramus’s demon cohort. She confirmed Benito Carmel’s statement that a vampire from Kathryn’s escort had assisted the demons. But worse was the certainty that Ramus and the winged demons with him weren’t acting on their own, meaning others might come for Kathryn before we could get her safely home. Mynx stayed with JJ at the agency offices while I went back to the main house to wait for Fera.

Though crowded, the kitchen was the best place for stirring a spell so that was where I found myself during the late morning hours. Fortunately, the room only held me, Jacq, Fera and Brittan. Jacq had volunteered to take over Brittan’s magic training for the morning while Nana and Kathryn worked on something for me. Watching Fera conduct her spell was a golden training opportunity. Aunt Helena had gone to Wellsy’s to help Cassie strengthen the old house’s wards and would send Gem back soon to discuss her part in the rescheduled run. My grandmothers were even now chatting over their third or fourth pot of tea. And Van was still camped out in front of the TV, watching cartoons, eating corn chips and drinking beer, both of which he’d demanded after determining they were the preferred snack of Earth males.

Fera was still reviewing the needed ingredients for her spells while Jacq was explaining things to Brittan who had offered to assist with the run. Brit wasn’t trained, but had shown that she did well under fire. I’d relented and given her a small safe task.

This was also Brit’s first time to watch a spell cast. Understandably, she was very interested in every little detail. And she wasn’t the only one. It was my first time to see a Fae conduct magic, but I hid my excitement. Elfin spells were closely guarded. We would likely never again have such an opportunity. If Fera knew how badly I wanted to stay and watch, she’d kick me from the room for the hell of it.

Brit and Jacq had been poring over Fera’s ancient spell tome, but now Brit looked from the book to the large bowls of ingredients scattered across the table.

“This is too much,” Brit said, drawing me from my thoughts. “This only calls for a small amount of these and these,” she pointed at two bowls, “and an even smaller amount of this and this.” Confused, she looked at me and Fera. “You could make a gallon of potion with this.”

“Two gallons actually,” I said, not looking up from my map. As an afterthought, I added, “Of each spell.”

Brit blew out a large breath. “This says an ounce for a full-sized adult. What are you putting to sleep? An army?”

“Something like that. And there are ingredients there for the color-changing potion I mentioned. We’ll have to have two buckets of that as well.”

The amount of potion needed was something I’d changed when I’d called Fera. The new amount had her spinning in confusion, but she’d agreed to the request. Fera had given her word that she would do the spell, so she wouldn’t mess things up, not intentionally. That wasn’t why I’d asked her to work the spell here. I simply didn’t like the idea of having magic worked on myself without understanding it. And I was particularly sensitive about this procedure.

If things went wrong, I would die. And I was not fond of the idea of dying.

There were two spells: one to invoke the stasis and the other to undo it. Both were potion-based and would have to be swallowed then invoked as needed.

“What’s this?” Brit picked up a small vial.

“Don’t open that!” I warned. “That’s liquid Were phers for making suppression amulets.” I pointed to the wooden disc Brit wore around her neck to mute the symptoms of the musky Were phers the unconscious Rom still emitted. “If you get the liquid on your skin and absorb a concentrated dose the amulet won’t help.”

Brit put the bottle down gingerly. The phers affected her less strongly now that she was magical, but she had enough experience with them to know an undiluted dose was a bad idea.

I returned to the notes I’d been making, discouraging conversation. Brit took the hint. Fera did not.

Smirking, the sheriff pointed to the small pond that sat in the middle of the mapped area I was currently planning to invade. “Speaking of armies, General Cate, will we go by land or by sea?”

Gem had told me where Roskov’s body was being kept. Seth had confirmed the information. I hadn’t told Fera the location, but she’d found out anyway. She and Jacq now knew where we were headed, but I hadn’t shared the how…and had no plans to do so.

What Fera didn’t know couldn’t get me arrested.

I gave her what I thought was a fairly good imitation of her one-brow arch. “You go nowhere. You do the spell. Then you’re out. The rest of us will take it from there.” I could have said, “Then you go home,” but that was wishful thinking. The amber-eyed Fae had been stuck to Mynx like glue and had only gone home after Mynx said she had to get to work. Fera had run back here so fast after I’d called to ask her about the spell that I wondered if she had been sitting at the end of the driveway.

Fera crossed her arms. “You’re about as fun as a barrel full of flying monkeys.” She wore a fresh-pressed version of yesterday’s khaki uniform, minus the hat, continually tempting me to peek at her ears. But it was a lost cause. I couldn’t see their tops under all that multicolored hair.

“You bet…and proud of it.” I gave a crooked grin. “Don’t worry.” My grin became a smirk. “If your Friday night sitting here demon-sitting Van and Kathryn is dull, I guarantee we can make up for it. You and Jacq will be well-entertained Saturday as you help my two unexpected demon houseguests escape back home.” Mynx had told me this last detail of her and Nana’s plan before I’d left the office. I was very happy to enlighten her unsuspecting cohorts.

“What’s this?” Fera scowled. “I haven’t said anything about playing guard to your grandmother and her pussy-hound of a nephew, not for one day much less two.”

Inwardly, I snickered. When Mynx and I checked on Vanguard earlier, the demon had pulled himself away from a commercial advertising body spray long enough to hit on Mynx. He’d kissed her hand in thanks for the snacks then quoted some line of obscure demon poetry about the purity of her eyes and ripeness of her smell. Not only was Mynx unimpressed, but Van had nearly gotten clobbered by an irritated Fera.

One could only hope that the demon would avoid sniffing women in the future.

My smile widened at the memory, and I said oh so sweetly, “You didn’t have to say a word. Seth has pulled his protection. Other arrangements had to be made and you two,” I patted Fera’s cheek before leaning against the table, facing away from Jacq but resting my hand on hers, “were drafted.”