Wytchcraft: A Matilda Kavanagh Novel (18 page)

While the first drops of coffee hit the bottom of the glass carafe, I reached for the teacup with Roane’s ring inside. The potion inside had completely evaporated, as it should have, and Roane’s ring looked brighter than when I brought it home. I fished it out and set the cup down, holding the ring up to the light. The tarnish was gone and the silver caught the sunlight in a white sparkle. I felt the gentle hum of the magic inside, waiting for me to say the incantation to bring it to life.

“Theo has you,” I mumbled, glaring at the ring. “I just know she does, the hag.” I set the ring back in the teacup, that way I knew where it was until I was ready to go out. I fixed myself a cup of coffee before heading back into the bedroom to dry my hair and get dressed. The sun wouldn’t set for at least three hours, three and half if I was lucky, which meant the entire vampire lair was asleep. It was the perfect time for me to go in and search for Roane, especially with the ring ready to go.

***

I sent Ronnie a text to let her know I was going in search of Roane and I’d let her know later how things went. I didn’t expect her or Joey to be awake so early and I didn’t want to wake either of them. If anything was wrong with Joey, I was sure Ronnie could tend to her just as well as I could.

I’d forgotten just how bad traffic was when the humans were awake en mass. The same trip that took me and Fletcher minutes to accomplish left me sitting at almost every red light on the way there, making the trip nearly an hour long.

Slumping in my seat at yet another red light, I reached forward to turn up the radio, humming along with the tune. The cars crept forward, moving so damn slow that I was caught at the line when the light phased from green to red again. I gripped my steering wheel hard enough to make it squeak under my hands.

“That was the latest from Black Witch White Magic,” the DJ’s super excited voice cut through the music. “Now for the news, brought to you at the top of the hour, every hour!”

Someone behind me laid into their horn, as if it would make the light change or any of us move faster. I saw the man next to me lift his hand and give the guy a one-fingered salute, earning him another blaring honk.

“Another missing person has been reported this week. Last week a fairy man named Batheon Manders was reported missing by his wife, though no ransoms have been made.” I stared at the radio and turned it up. “Today reports have come out about a gremlin man who has been missing for three days. The authorities have not yet released his name.”

“Seriously?” I said, but they were already moving on to another subject.

“And in happier news, someone has finally won the Mega Millions!” The DJ sounded happy enough about that you’d think he’d won the damn thing. “After ten straight weeks without a winner, someone has finally come forward with a winning ticket worth nearly two hundred million dollars!”

“Wow,” I said, glancing at my radio, almost expecting to see the DJs’ cartoon smiles beaming at me. They started bantering about what one could buy with so much money. I turned the radio off.

I made it through the intersection when the light changed to green, but I had to cut a guy off to get through the next one before I got caught by another red light. My wheels were squealing to a halt as I pulled up to the valet in front of the Esterwyn.

With a relieved sigh, I got out of my car and tossed the attendant the keys. Tucking my ticket into my bag, I walked up to the gilded doors. A tall man, whose face was hidden by his cap, opened the door for me. I mumbled a thanks and scurried past him, slowing when I made it into the lobby. Glancing around, I realized there weren’t any supernatural people around at this time of day, which was a little surprising considering not all of us are nocturnal.

I made my way to the restaurant that Fletcher had brought me to. Today it was packed with humans, and I realized it was happy hour. This was either a very good thing or a very bad one; more people meant fewer would notice me, but more people meant more eyes catching a secret door being opened.

“Screw it,” I whispered, tossing my hair and walking in. I was suddenly very happy with my choice in attire. I’d taken a little bit of time applying some makeup to hide the dark circles under my eyes and flat ironed my hair to make it shiny and the tips looked sharp. My black skinny jeans were tucked into my knee high boots and my blue sweater highlighted my eyes, but my short jacket hid it from view. I’d twined a silk purple scarf around my neck again since I’d be around vampires and I didn’t want to send any mixed signals, but I’d foregone any jewelry in case things got violent like last night. But at least I was dressed well enough to blend into this after-work crowd.

The hostess, a vampire pet by the look of her pallor and the scent of dried blood that clung to her, spared me a glance, but I kept my eyes resolutely forward and walked to the bar so she didn’t stop me. I slipped through the crowd, trying my best to be inconspicuous until I got to the end of the bar and only a few feet and one guy stood between me and the invisible door. I took a half step toward it only to have that guy take a half step in front of me. I cocked an eyebrow and looked up at him. He was awfully pale.

He eyed me from his great height with grey eyes so pale the color nearly bled into the whites of his eyes. They were in stark contrast to the mop of black hair slicked back on his head. Apparently the entire lair wasn’t asleep after all.

“May I help you?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Just going in,” I said, feigning a casualness I didn’t actually feel. I just hoped he couldn’t hear my heart thudding in my chest over the din of the restaurant.

“Humans are not allowed in without an escort,” he said. He crossed his arms over his barrel chest before lifting his chin, taking his eyes off of me, dismissing me. I wondered if it was helpful or hurtful that he thought I was a human. I decided not to enlighten him.

“Well, my escort is inside,” I said, waving a hand at the door behind him. “He probably hasn’t risen yet.”

“And why are you here so early?”

I shrugged, “Got off work early. Thought I’d come on over, maybe surprise him.”

“Not always the smartest idea,” he said, glancing down at me again. I stared up at him, refusing to look away, not wanting him to think I was lying or had anything to hide. “You’re a pet?”

“I am.”

“Who do you belong to?” I hated that question and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to balk at the phrasing.

“Fletcher,” I said.

“Huh,” he said, his shoulders relaxing just a bit. “He’s a good kid.”

“Yeah,” I said, capitalizing on his sudden change of attitude, “I like him.”

“All right, but you listen to me.” He pointed a finger at me, squinting. “Pet or no, don’t you show up here after hours by yourself again. You get me?”

“I do,” I said with a nod. “I’m sorry, I’m new at this.”

“It’s okay, I like Fletch.” He turned and touched the same spot in the wall I’d watched Fletcher touch and the door opened. He held it open for me and I slipped in under his arm, darting into the hallway before he closed the door behind me.

The hallway looked entirely different today than when I’d been with Fletcher. Gone were the dark and pressing red lighting. Now it was bright and open, the overhead lights turned on and the wall sconces were off. That wasn’t the hallway I was most concerned with; it was the next one with the fetish rooms and voyeuristic audiences. I started down the sloping hallway, feeling the temperature drop as I went. What was with vampires and the cold? Maybe they wanted their pets like they wanted their cocktails: chilled and on ice. Weirdos, the lot of them.

I was more than a little grateful for my jacket and scarf when I came to the door at the end of the hall. I stared up at the little trap door where a peephole would be in a normal door; I’d forgotten about this. Fletcher hadn’t given some secret password to get through; the guy on the other side had just looked at him and let him in. I reached for the doorknob only to stop, realizing there wasn’t one.

“Frogs,” I whispered. I steeled myself, balled up my fist, and knocked lightly, almost hoping no one would answer.

The wood slid back and I had to take a couple of steps back to be able to see the pair of dark eyes staring at me. I could see the spark of life in those eyes, so I knew it wasn’t a vamp manning this door like the first one.

“Yes?” he asked in a deep baritone. I swallowed, wondering what I was supposed to say exactly, but I figured I might as well keep up the same story as I’d given the first guy.

“Sorry, kinda early I guess,” I said with a light laugh. “I’m here to see my Keeper.” It took a lot for me to choke out that word.

“Who’s are you?”

“Fletcher?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but it did. The guy stared at me for a few moments, and I was just glad he wasn’t a vamp because I was sure my lie hung heavy on my breath.

“Fletch got a new pet?” he asked, and I could see the skin around his eyes crinkle as his brows drew together. I gave a small shrug, not sure how to address that. Had it been so long since Fletcher had a pet that this would be strange to someone? Gods I hope not.

“Good for him.” He slid the partition closed, and I heard the locks turn in the door before it opened. The man stood back and held the door for me as I slipped through. He was definitely a human and definitely a pet by the studded collar and the tiny black leather shorts he wore. There were metal loops around the collar where he could be tethered and walked like a dog. I tried to control my lips as a sneer threatened to give me away. The only other thing he wore were a pair of boots that I thought Fletcher might like; they were black vinyl that reached to his knees. They looked so shiny I could’ve checked my makeup in their reflection.

“Thanks,” I managed with a tightlipped smile. He nodded at me, the inky tips of his hair shifting forward to hang in his eyes. He turned away from me, crossing his arms over his broad, naked chest, and stared resolutely at the door. It was strange to have him turn his back on me, just trusting me to move through the lair unattended. I guess Fletcher was pretty well liked and trusted. I was going to have to be careful not to trade too heavily on his name; I got the feeling he wasn’t the guy I wanted to cross. I shook off my worry and turned away from the doorman.

I was so relieved to see that the lounge was just as brightly lit as the hall. The sounds of flesh hitting flesh and moans were gone; the room was filled with sweet, sweet silence. I blew out the breath I had been holding, more than a little grateful that I wasn’t going to have to navigate through naked, gyrating bodies by myself.

I checked my phone for the time. I still had about two hours to get back to my apartment for Kyle’s appointment. If I hurried, I could make it. With one more check over my shoulder to make sure the doorman wasn’t watching me, I pulled Roane’s ring out of my pocket and whispered, “
Expiscor
,” against the metal. I felt the zing of answer as the trigger word set the charm into motion, but then it went quiet in my hand. I frowned at the ring, holding it up close to my face, as if I could see what was wrong with it. If Roane was anywhere nearby, it should be practically vibrating in my hand, not lying flat like this.

I remembered how deep Fletcher had taken me into this place and thought maybe, with so many walls between us, maybe Roane was still too far away for the ring to pick up on his signature. I tucked the ring back into my pocket and walked to the door leading to the next hallway. I would eventually get deep enough to be close enough to him to get the ring to respond for me.

It was strange moving through this place while it was so empty and well lit. When I went through the door leading into the antechamber where the more violent sex acts had occurred, I found myself hesitating, terrified that maybe there would be vampires awake and already occupying those spaces. I didn’t want to know how much worse they behaved when they didn’t have a human audience. Would they be worse? Or more tame? I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. It didn’t matter; either way, I didn’t want to see it.

With one last breath to steal my nerves, I pushed the door open. The hallway was just a brightly lit and empty. What was more, the rooms were empty too. Though now I could see all the apparatuses that were in some of the rooms. There were tables with chains and restraints, a wheel with restraints at five points, whips and canes of various sizes hanging on walls, and latex costumes hanging like Christmas sweaters in opened bureaus. It was all so clean and organized, like a doctor’s office, it made me a little dizzy. Each room had a drain in the center of the floor. I didn’t like to think why those were necessary and moved down the hall, clutching my bag to my chest so it wouldn’t bounce against my hip.

I turned the corner, finally finding the hallway with the doors that lead to the living quarters of the resident vampires. I remembered Fletcher taking me down this hallway, but then we turned and turned and turned again, and I knew there was no way I could be sure which door was his. But why would I need to find Fletcher’s door? He wasn’t the one I was looking for. I shook my head to clear it and dug out Roane’s ring, expecting it to be tingling with energy, but it continued to lay quiet in my hand.

“Buzzard’s guts,” I hissed, staring at the little ring of metal. “I know I did the spell right, damnit.” I closed my fist around the ring and started down the hall. There had to be another way into the common rooms than just through the apartments. At least, I really hoped there was. If not, I was royally screwed.

I wandered through the halls, arbitrarily choosing left and right turns as the hallways ended, praying I’d find my way out of here before the vampires rose for the night. I was getting so turned around I was willing to give up on finding Roane if it meant I got out of here alive. Finally I came to a door that looked nothing like the apartment doors; this door was nearly twice as high as the others with ornate carvings trailing all over, much like the bathhouse door. My stomach knotted up against my spine and I checked the ring again. Still nothing. If I’d done the spell right, and I was pretty sure I had, that meant Roane wasn’t here. Just like Theo had said.