Darkling. Part 11

Nerissa leaned forward. "I don't mean to interrupt, but if he's this bad, why did the OIA let him live? Why didn't they deport him to the Subterranean Realms?"

"I see you've been talking to Zachary. That boy needs to keep his mouth shut before he says something to the wrong person." I deliberately took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't yell at you. Here's the deal. Dredge was on the list for deportation. We were ready to go in to verify what we knew and I was a.s.signed to the case." I paused, trying to push back the tears that I felt sting my eyes. Blood was saltier than water. It hurt to cry.

"You don't have to go on," she said, but I stopped her.

"No. You deserve to know what you're headed into. If you want, I'll drop you off at a safe place and you can go home. Dredge wasn't deported because I failed at my job. He caught me. He tortured me. He raped me. He killed me and when I rose as a vampire, I went over the edge. By the time the OIA figured out what happened, he and the nest had moved on."

"How long did it take for you to... to return to sanity?"

I flashed her a cold grin. "Any day now, babe. I keep hoping."

She laughed, but her laughter was tinged with sorrow. "Oh, Menolly..."

"Seriously... it's okay now. I've adapted. But I went nuts for over a year. I couldn't tell the OIA a thing for a long, long time. You can't hold a trial when n.o.body's there. You can't deport someone you don't have locked away. Dredge and the Elwing Clan stayed on the move for a long time and the OIA didn't want to risk another operative going in. And I refused to go back. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Don't stop," she said quickly. "We have to get to your friend's shop as soon as possible. I want to be there with you."

I glanced in the rearview mirror. Nerissa couldn't see me, since I left no reflection, but I could see her, and her gaze was fastened on the back of my head. The look of desire was naked on her face and I could smell the perfume of her heat fill the car.

I caught Wade glancing at me, then back at Nerissa. A slow smile spread across his lips, making him look geeky-s.e.xy. He gave me a wink and I saw the tips of his fangs extend.

"Don't say it," I said so quietly that even the werepuma shouldn't be able to pick it up. It was like whispering words made of mist that vanished the moment I spoke.

Wade winked at me. "You hooked a hot one," he whispered back. "Want to make it a threesome?"

"In your dreams, psych-boy." But I grinned back. I wasn't the only one repressing feelings. Wade was true to his ethics, but sometimes I thought he sublimated the predator within to the point where, one of these days, he was going to slip. When he did, I hoped it would be his mother he'd take out, for the peace and quiet of everybody in the vamp community.

"I'll just keep dreaming," he whispered back.

I ignored him this time. We had to focus on Dredge, who never slipped because he'd jumped into the shadows feet first and sucked them into himself until now his entire being reeked of the abyss.

Flipping on my left turn signal, I silently took the light and caught up to Camille. Delilah was right on our tail. And then we were there-the Scarlet Harlot. Parking was plentiful during the dark of the night, and I smoothly guided the Jag into an open s.p.a.ce and flipped off the ignition.

Iris leaned forward. "Menolly, could this have something to do with what Grandmother Coyote asked you to do?"

Again the ton of bricks. s.h.i.t. Was I clueless tonight?

"f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k," I said, jumping out of the car. Was I going to have to stake Erin? And would Camille be put through the wringer, forcing me to obliterate her friend? "The G.o.ds are walking on our graves tonight," I muttered as I headed toward the door. "By the time we face Shadow Wing in battle we'll be demons ourselves."

And then the irony hit me and I laughed, my voice hoa.r.s.e and scratchy. I was was a demon. I was already on the wrong side, according to logic, holding on only by making the conscious choice to avoid diving into the h.e.l.lfire. I ignored Iris's questioning glance as we ran to the door, steps behind Camille and her boys. a demon. I was already on the wrong side, according to logic, holding on only by making the conscious choice to avoid diving into the h.e.l.lfire. I ignored Iris's questioning glance as we ran to the door, steps behind Camille and her boys.

We blew through the door like a tornado, Camille and Morio with magic at the ready. Trillian had his serrated blade out. We immediately went into search mode, and Morio cast a Reveal Illusion Reveal Illusion spell. Nothing. After a few minutes, we were sure the shop was clean, and Camille called out the safe word that brought Tim out of hiding. spell. Nothing. After a few minutes, we were sure the shop was clean, and Camille called out the safe word that brought Tim out of hiding.

Dressed in Dockers and a thick sweater, he looked nothing like Marilyn Monroe, the current fave in his retinue. His short brown hair had grown out into a curly mop, and he had faint traces of stage makeup still dappling his face, but what struck me was the fear that lingered in his eyes.

"She's gone... They took her. I couldn't stop them. I knew that if I tried they'd-"

"Shush," Camille said as Delilah enfolded him in her arms and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead. He leaned against her shoulder, looking war scarred and weary.

"Did you hear anything, Tim? Did they say where they were taking her? How many were there? What did they look like? I know you're upset, but you need to tell us everything you can remember." I hated to press him, he looked so bewildered, but the sooner we could go after them, the better.

Nerissa noticed a microwave on the side counter, along with a box of tea and a bag of Oreos. She hurried over and popped a mug of water in the microwave and in less than two minutes, pressed a steaming cup of peppermint tea and a few cookies into Tim's hands. "You're in shock. Eat, drink... the sugar and mint will help."

Wade started sniffing around the shop, trying to catch a scent, while Camille and Morio moved off to the corner and crossed hands. I caught his whispered comments to her.

"Breathe deep. Focus, now focus... the vamps live in the realm of death and we can reach there through the Summoning Dark Ones Summoning Dark Ones spell that I taught you last week. If we leave out the last stanza, we won't risk calling them to us. If we're lucky, this just might point the way to them. Add the Moon Mother's energy to the spell if you can." spell that I taught you last week. If we leave out the last stanza, we won't risk calling them to us. If we're lucky, this just might point the way to them. Add the Moon Mother's energy to the spell if you can."

"I'll try," Camille said. "I can bring down a silver arrow silver arrow and we might be able to turn it into a compa.s.s." and we might be able to turn it into a compa.s.s."

I glanced at Delilah, who had caught the exchange. By now, we all knew Morio had been teaching Camille death magic, but I wondered just how deeply entangled she was becoming with the fox demon. Truth was, none of us knew all too much about him, nor did we know how far in the shadows he walked. He was on our side, Grandmother Coyote had made that clear, but I was beginning to think there was a lot more to him than he let on. s.e.x magic, death magic... just what kind of youkai was he?

Delilah shook her head and I let it drop. Now was neither the time nor place to enquire. We had too much to do. I turned back to Tim, who clutched the mug in his hands like a shield. He looked over at me and shuddered.

"You asked me some questions?" Haggard, he'd lost any fight he might have had. I could tell that we'd have to direct his every move to get anything useful out of him. It wasn't that he didn't want to help. He was just too exhausted to do anything on his own.

"Let's start with what you saw. Tell us every detail that you can remember." I motioned to Iris, who pulled out a notebook and pen. She had a photographic memory but I didn't want to take any chances.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out sharply. "I was changing in the back when I heard Erin scream. I pulled on my pants-I was naked-and by the time I got to the doorway leading into the main store, I could see three men. They had hold of Erin, and she was putting up a fight, but then one waved his hand in front of her face and she stopped, like she'd forgotten what was happening."

"You said they're vampires. How do you know? What did they look like?" I was clinging to a nebulous hope that Erin had been dragged off by a bunch of FBHs who maybe wanted to rob her. It was a ludicrous hope, but one that would make it much easier to save her.

Tim dashed my hopes though. "They were standing in front of the big mirror, over there." He pointed to a three-way mirror Erin had set up in the main room of the lingerie shop. "The only one I could see was Erin. None of the men showed a reflection. Are there any other creatures that don't show their reflections?"

I closed my eyes, trying to come up with something that would give us hope. "Maybe... a few spirits but... no, Tim. Chances are good that you're right and vampires kidnapped her. Tell me what they looked like. You said three men? Are you sure there wasn't a woman with them?" The four newborns from the theater-the only ones we knew about who were still out there running around-had been two men, two women. Unless the guys had ditched the girls and taken up with a third male vamp, it didn't seem likely it was them. Newborns nesting together tended to be cliquish.

Tim frowned and I could tell he was trying to remember every detail. Erin was his closest friend, and he was hurting like h.e.l.l. The pain oozed off him like motor oil, burnt and thick. I also suspected Tim was feeling a little bit guilty over hiding out rather than trying to stop them. Sometimes doing the smart smart thing didn't track as doing the right thing. thing didn't track as doing the right thing.

"The one who was holding her was stocky, short... He had a buzz cut. The second man was... I don't know... ordinary. Those two looked like they belonged here, today, in this world. But the third... he scared the h.e.l.l out of me."

I looked up into his eyes. Raw fear. Primal terror. And I knew, right then. "He was tall, with long curly dark hair, wasn't he? And he had a five o'clock shadow and wore black studded leather, didn't he? And you knew, just by looking at him by looking at him, that you were looking into the face of h.e.l.l."

Tim nodded, eyes widening. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Did he say anything?" My stomach felt ready to leap into my throat.

"Just two words. He said, Take her Take her. He's evil, Menolly. I swear to you, I was so scared just watching him that I almost p.i.s.sed my pants. I wanted to help Erin, but... he looked like he'd eat me up and spit out the bones. I lost my nerve. I hid, d.a.m.n it. I hid and didn't do a d.a.m.ned thing!"

As I stood back, letting Delilah move in to comfort Tim, I knew then that Dredge had Erin. At least for now. It had to be Dredge. He fed off of fear, and when you looked in his eyes, you knew your life was over, that you'd lost the battle and the punishment was about to begin...

"What's your name, girl?" His voice cut me to the quick. Ice cold, and I knew no tears would work on him, no amount of begging would get me out of what he had planned. "Tell me your name."

Even though I knew better than to give my name to a vampire, I couldn't resist the command. "Menolly," I whispered. "Menolly D'Artigo."

Dredge leaned over me, the crooked smile on his face filled with dark delight. He slid one sharpened nail along my cheek, stopping just before he drew blood. "Well, Menolly D'Artigo, I'm about to carry you up to the highest mountain. There, I'll drop you into the abyss and watch you fall, and fall, and fall fall, and fall, and fall."

He ripped open my tunic and my nipples hardened in the cold dampness of the caverns. I heard whispered laughter from around the room and realized we had an audience. Murmurs reached my ears, catcalls and suggestions, but Dredge waved them away. "Patience. We have all the time in the world."

Leaning down, he slowly licked me from breast to navel.

I shuddered, not wanting to respond, angry that my body was betraying me. A quiver in my stomach made me catch my breath, and again he laughed.

"You like? Good. What about this?"

He interlaced his hands, cracking his knuckles. The next thing I knew, a line of razor-thin blades ripped across my stomach, slashing a trail of shallow lines that burned along my flesh. Unprepared for the pain, I shrieked and Dredge shuddered, drinking it in. "Scream as loud as you want. There's no one to hear you. No one to save you."

Another line of cuts and the sudden sting of salt water over the wounded flesh. I bit back my cries for the next few minutes as he laboriously began etching thin patterns along every inch of my body, drizzling salt water over each cut, each scar-in-the-making. After the tenth cut, a spiral right between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, I started screaming. After the thirtieth, I was beyond words. And after a hundred, the torture began in earnest.

"Menolly? Menolly? Are you okay?" Delilah touched my shoulder, startling me. She quickly danced away when I hissed.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. No time for me to get lost in memories. Dredge had Erin and that meant she was doomed unless we got to her before he had a chance to.

"Sorry... just thinking." I saw Delilah glance at Camille, who was holding a silver arrow made of moonlight. "Did your spell work?" I asked, ignoring the glance that pa.s.sed between them.

She paled and shook her head. "No. Not a single clue."

"We have five hours till sunrise. We'll have to just start searching the city-" I stopped as Delilah's cell phone rang.

"Chase," she whispered, flipping it open. Please, please let everything at home be okay, I prayed, hoping that for once the G.o.ds would be listening. She hung up. "We have to go home. Chase just got a call from Sharah. Four more vamp victims-the FH-CSI team got to them before the regular force heard. They haven't risen yet, but you know they will."

I glanced at Tim. "Tim, we have to go. We have to take care of them before they rise and hurt somebody else. We don't have any choice."

"Can't Chase take care of it? Erin's out there with that monster..."

"I know, and if there was any way I could go get her right now, I would. But we don't have a clue to where they took her. I promise you though, we'll do everything we can. Morio and Camille will drive you." I glanced at them. "Along the way, try to figure out if there's something you can do to locate Erin." I begged them silently to play along, even if they didn't think they could help. Tim needed to hold onto hope for a little while. And I had to go to the morgue and stake some bloodsuckers.

Camille jumped on board. "There are still spells we haven't tried that we can cast at home. Come on, Tim. Menolly, are you going alone?"

I glanced at Wade and Nerissa. "No. Take Nerissa, Iris, and Trillian with you. Trillian, once there, head out to the morgue with Chase. Delilah, Wade, and I will meet you there." I hated putting Delilah in danger, but we had no choice and she was better in a physical fight than Camille.

Things were bad now, but I had a feeling they were going to get much worse over the next few months and here on the front lines, we didn't have the luxury of retreat. As we headed out into the night, my thoughts flashed to Erin and I felt queasy all over again. Whatever happened to her, I prayed it was quick. But in my heart, I knew Dredge would never offer anyone that much mercy.

CHAPTER 10.

"Morio, take Nerissa and Iris in your SUV. I'll ride with Camille and Tim," Trillian said.

Camille bundled her arm around Tim and led him toward the door. She glanced back at Delilah and me. "You guys be careful, okay?"

Nerissa held open the door as they hurried out into the glittering night. I turned to Delilah. "You and Wade go on ahead to the morgue. I'll meet you there. Don't play hero-wait for me before going in. Wade, we need stakes. Got any handy?"

He snorted. "Yeah, like I keep those around."

"He may not, but I do." The voice from the door made me jump. I spun around. Roz entered the shop.

"Have you been spying on us?"

"Not exactly. I checked out the zoo like I told you I was going to, then followed your... trace... here." He tugged at the belt of his duster, looking almost bemused.

"My trace? I've got a trace?" Traces were like a magical GPS and usually meant you'd been tagged by some wizard or witch. If I had one, then somebody had slapped a spell on me to monitor my position and I d.a.m.ned well wanted to know who'd done it.

His eyes flickered and he looked surprised. "You didn't know about it?"

I frowned. "If I'd known, I'd have put an end to both the trace and the person who triggered it."

Wade feather-touched my arm. "There's no time to debate whether or not you're being spied on. We have to take care of those newborns before they rise."

"He's right," Delilah said. "We can ask Camille and Morio to find out who's behind it later. For now, let's get moving. Chase will be on his way to the morgue pretty soon and I don't want him there alone. And it's not safe to leave Sharah holding the bag, either. If those vamps rise before we get there, she's dead meat. Or maybe undead elf."

They were both right. I motioned to Roz. "Come with us."

Wade jumped in Delilah's Jeep, while Roz climbed in my Jag. "After we're done," I said, "we need to have a little talk. Dredge captured one of our friends-a human. We can use your help rescuing her."

"What do I get in return?" Roz turned his head out the window and stared as the blur of dark buildings and incandescent lights flew by.

I didn't answer. As I pushed the gas pedal to the floor, I thought about the trace. Could Dredge have somehow whammied me? But that wouldn't make sense. He didn't need a trace to find me.

"Did you put the trace on me? You'd better give me the truth because Camille and Morio will ferret it out."

Roz didn't even turn at the question. "I had no need. The trace was already there. I just picked up on it."

"Do you know who did? Was it Dredge?" I had the feeling he knew more about it than he wanted to admit.

"Your guess is as good as mine but if I had to come up with an answer, I'd say no. Your sire wouldn't need to do that. My guess is that Queen Asteria had it fixed to you and your sisters. That way she can find out where you are, should something happen."

Queen Asteria! I'd never have thought it, but it made sense. "You might be right. She's protective, and she knows we're in danger. And dropping in on her with a few dead demons hasn't exactly put her mind at ease." I glanced at Roz. "No doubt she told you all about it, so don't even ask. I don't want to think about Bad a.s.s Luke and his cronies."

Roz laughed, throaty and deep and I suddenly was all too aware that I was in the presence of another demon who, like me, walked between shadow and flame. "I wasn't going to. All I care about is hunting down Dredge and destroying him."

I shifted and headed up the hill toward the morgue, Delilah's Jeep keeping pace right behind me. "What will you do after he's dead?"

"Go back to doing what I do best, I suppose," he said. "Seducing women in the night. What else is there?"

"You ever think about putting some of your talents to use for the greater good?" Roz was helpful. We needed to know more about him, but I could see him becoming a strong ally in our fight against Shadow Wing.