Night Huntress Part 16

She didn't move, didn't turn around, but by the shift in her stance and the droop in her shoulders, I knew the answer. "He didn't, did he? You didn't know at first."

"Fine," she said, polishing off the booze. "I didn't know at first. Chase didn't tell me." She turned around, looking less confident. "I found out about you two weeks ago when I went to his office. He had slipped out for lunch. To kill the time, I started talking to the elf-Sharah? Anyway, she told me you were his girlfriend. She didn't know I'd been seeing him. When he came back, I had it out with him. He said that he thought you two were on the rocks. I told him to break it off with you, then. I didn't realize until this week that he was exaggerating. I should have expected him to do something like that, d.a.m.n it."

Tears rose in her eyes, and even though I didn't want to, I felt sorry for her. "What do you mean?"

"Because that's that's why we broke up in the first place. Let me ask why we broke up in the first place. Let me ask you you a question now. Did he ever tell you about me?" She placed her gla.s.s on a coaster and dropped back into the armchair. a question now. Did he ever tell you about me?" She placed her gla.s.s on a coaster and dropped back into the armchair.

I shook my head. "No, he didn't. He told me . . . he said he'd never had a serious relationship before."

"I see," she said. Even though she was trying to keep a straight face, I saw the devastation creeping in around the edges.

"We were engaged for three years. I suppose, in his book, that doesn't qualify as serious. Or maybe it was just me. Anyway," she said, shaking her head. "Two months before the wedding I found out that he had f.u.c.ked my best friend. He insisted it had been a one-time slip. I loved him, so I took him back. The night before our wedding I caught him with a stripper. In our our bed. I left him. Moved away." bed. I left him. Moved away."

I felt like I'd just been hit with a brick. Chase had done this? My Chase? Sure, he was abrasive at times, but he always seemed to preach doing the right thing. And now I find out he had a history of being a slimeball?

She glanced up at me, her gaze flickering over my face. "Aren't you going to gloat?"

Shaking my head, I said, "Not my style." Which wasn't entirely true, but this time, I meant it.

"Thanks, I guess. Anyway, I thought . . . when I came back a month ago, he seemed changed. He apologized. He brought me flowers and told me he was happy to see me. I'd never really gotten over him so I . . . we . . . I fell for him again. When I found out about you, I knew he hadn't changed. So I decided to play him for as good of a fling as I could get. I'm not out to keep him, Delilah. I just wanted to build him up, then drop him like he dropped me. I wanted to hurt hurt him." him."

Cripes! I stared at her. Revenge ran deep among FBHs as well as the Fae. Chase would have his own side of the story, no doubt, and the truth probably fell somewhere between the two, but whatever the case, the whole mess left me with a lot to think about.

"So you were arguing about me?" I asked again.

"About you-about responsibility. About doing the right thing. I don't give a flying f.u.c.k if you get your p.u.s.s.y bent over this. But I am angry that Chase still doesn't have the b.a.l.l.s to stand up and say, 'Yeah, I did this,' and accept the consequences. Yesterday, when he blamed me for all the problems, I decided that I'm done. I'm too old to play head games with a spoiled brat. And I'm not interested in getting involved in a love triangle. Or a three-way."

She stood, arms folded, her exquisitely painted nails drumming a beat against the smooth silk robe. "My motto anymore is that when it stops being fun, I'm gone. And it stopped being fun. You wanted to know when the last time I saw him was? Yesterday, at Ruth's Chris Steak House. We were having drinks and appetizers. He walked out and stuck me with the bill."

With that, she turned to me. "I am going to get dressed. When I come out, I'd appreciate it if you weren't here. I'm leaving town today. He's all yours, honey. But I don't recommend you plan on any long-term commitments, because Chase is carrying a s.h.i.tload of baggage in that trunk of his."

I watched as she disappeared into the bedroom, then slowly got up and left, making sure to lock the door on my way out.

So Chase had lied to me, several times over. If Erika was telling the truth, Chase had done to her what he'd done to me, only worse. The night before their wedding . . . even in Otherworld, that behavior wouldn't be acceptable for anybody except n.o.bility. And only the kind of n.o.bles that congregated around Lethesanar.

I slowly returned to my Jeep, rehashing the conversation over and over. Chase was missing. Chase played the field. Chase had lied to me, had lied to her, had a history of lying about women.

In some ways, it made me feel better that I wasn't the only victim. If only he could have accepted an open relationship from the start, maybe this wouldn't have happened. But he couldn't-at least not on his woman's side. I was beginning to get the picture. Chase needed to play the field, but he couldn't stand having the tables turned on him. So where did that leave us? Me? Him?

Erika said she was leaving, and I believed her. I now realized she wasn't the enemy. In fact, there was no enemy . . . there was only the gaping void left by my new inability to trust a man who insisted he loved me. A man who had introduced me to pa.s.sion, to love, to my human emotional roots.

Now what was I supposed to do? Turn my back on him? Walk away? But I couldn't do that. We needed him because of his job, because of the demon problem. Could we pull back, be friends instead of lovers? The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. At least until we got our heads sorted out.

Wondering where the h.e.l.l he was, I took off for home, deciding to put any major decisions about our relationship on hold until we'd had a chance to talk.

As I pulled into the driveway, I had the feeling something was wrong. I parked the Jeep a ways down the drive, just in case, and slipped up to the house by skirting through the woods. I hurried up the kitchen steps and stopped, staring at the door leading to the back porch. It had been ripped off the hinges. s.h.i.t!

Racing inside, I kicked aside the basket of laundry that had been overturned. The kitchen was a mess, with broken dishes and upended food everywhere. A glance showed that Menolly's entrance to her lair was still closed; with any luck, whoever it was hadn't found it.

But Iris-and Maggie? I whirled around to Maggie's playpen. It was torn to shreds.

Fighting back a scream, I raced into the living room, which was also upended. An odd fragrance hit my nose, and I recoiled. Almost overpowering, it was like decaying fruit: oranges and sugar vanilla and jasmine . . . oh f.u.c.k. Oh h.e.l.l. The scent of Rksasa. Karvanak had been here.

I sank down to the floor, crouching as wave after wave of energy rolled through me. I wanted to transform, to run and hide under something where it was safe and dark and hidden. As I fought the urges that ate at me like a junkie craving a fix, I could only wonder if Karvanak was still here-and if Iris and Maggie were still alive.

CHAPTER 21.

"No, no, no . . ." I whimpered. If only I could change into my tabby self and go find a safe corner in which to hide. I didn't want to be the one to find the bodies. I didn't want to see what Karvanak had done to our home. Where was Camille? She was better at this than I was. Why wasn't she here? She was my big sister, and it was her job to take care of us.

I rocked back and forth on my heels, holding my head in my hands, trying to blank out the destruction around me. By now, I should be shifting. Why wasn't my body taking over and forcing me to do what I wanted to do? For years, the involuntary shifting had been a refuge from fear and anger, a respite from arguments. Where was it now that I really needed it?

After a moment, I realized it wasn't going to happen.

Both relieved and chagrined, I looked around. The urge to shift had died down to a manageable level. Another moment, and I could breathe again. I stood up, swallowing my fear. I forced my shoulders back. I had no choice. I'd deal with whatever aftermath the Rksasa had left in his wake.

My pulse racing, I flipped open my cell phone and dialed the Indigo Crescent, Camille's bookstore. As soon as she answered, I said, "Get your b.u.t.t home now. The demons have been here. And contact Smoky if you can. We might need him."

Pocketing the phone, I edged my way over to the stairs. I had the ability to move silently-creeping like a cat-and I used it for all I was worth now, gliding up the staircase until I came to Camille's floor. The doors were all standing open. I checked each room. Everything had been torn apart. There were clothes everywhere in her bedroom. I glanced in her study. Her magical oils had been overturned and spell components destroyed, but there was no sign of the intruders. Thank the G.o.ds she carried the unicorn horn with her.

As I made my way up to my own chambers, I listened carefully, trying to pinpoint any noise that stood out. When I reached the third floor, I found the same situation. Everything tossed, some things destroyed, but n.o.body around.

That just left Menolly's lair. Praying that she was okay-and that I'd find Iris and Maggie alive-I raced back down the stairs, only to run into Camille and Smoky as they appeared in the living room, Smoky's arm around Camille's waist.

"We came through the Ionyc Sea," she said, looking disoriented. "I left my car at the shop."

"Thank the G.o.ds you're here," I said. "I haven't found Iris or Maggie yet, but I searched both the second and third floors, and there's no sign of blood, bodies, or the demons. Can you pick up the scent? Karvanak was here."

She breathed deep, paling as the fragrance of the Rksasa hit her. "h.e.l.l and high water."

"Let's check Menolly's lair." I slipped past her.

We stopped in front of the bookshelf. Smoky was standing behind us. I glanced at Camille and she shook her head. "He's bound to find out sometime. Open it."

So, for the second time since we had come here to live, we revealed the secret entrance to Menolly's lair. As the shelves swung open, Smoky said nothing but gave a little nod.

I slipped into the dark opening and flipped on the dim light that illuminated the staircase leading down to Menolly's nest. As we slowly descended, I struggled to pick up the demon's scent, but there were no telltale fragrances lingering to indicate that he'd found the lair.

"Iris? Iris?" Camille called softly down into the depths of the bas.e.m.e.nt that we'd retrofitted for Menolly. As I set foot on the bottom step, I found myself staring at Iris, her brilliant blue eyes wide with fear and anger. Maggie was tucked behind her, and she held out her wand with the Aqualine crystal on it.

"Stop where you are," she said, raising the wand.

"It's us, Iris . . ." I stopped. She was right to worry. Rksasas were masters of illusion. We could easily be the demon and his cronies, cloaked behind a mirage. "Go ahead. Cast your Dispel Illusion spell, and you'll know for sure."

She raised the wand, and I could see her hand was shaking, but she called out in a loud, clear voice. "Piileva otus, tulee esiin!" "Piileva otus, tulee esiin!"

A wash of light splashed over us, and I felt a little odd, but nothing much happened except for a moment I thought I was going to shift into my tabby form. After the flare died away, she lowered her wand, sinking to the ground and gathering Maggie into her arms.

"Thank the G.o.ds, thank the G.o.ds . . . I thought . . ."

"You thought we were the demons," I said, running to her. Camille checked on Menolly. When Menolly walked through her dreams, she looked wan and pale, dead as the vampire she was. She neither stirred, nor breathed, nor made a single movement. Sometimes I wondered where she journeyed in her dreams, but she wouldn't tell us, although I knew she wandered through her memories at times.

I gave Iris a kiss on the forehead and was about to help her up when Smoky gently pushed me away. He gathered Iris and Maggie into his arms and, as if he were carrying two feathers, headed up the stairs. Camille and I followed, securing the bookshelf firmly after we entered the kitchen again. Smoky deposited Iris by the rocking chair and motioned for her to sit.

"Tea," he said to Camille.

She nodded, searching through the mess of pots and pans that littered the floor. She found the stainless teakettle-dented but still usable-and filled it with water, then set it to heat.

Our teapots were smashed, but I managed to find four intact mugs. The cupboards had been emptied, but I finally located a box of Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger and dropped a tea bag into each of the mugs.

Iris shivered as Camille sat by her side, holding Maggie. "Can you tell us what happened?" my sister asked.

"Shortly after you left, I was washing up breakfast dishes when I heard a crash from the living room. I didn't call out. First, I knew everybody was gone, and second, it sounded like someone overturning a shelf or something rather than the slam of a door. And then I smelled it. Orange and sugar vanilla and jasmine . . . and I knew that Karvanak was in the house."

She hung her head. "I was afraid to run out back. He might have had guards outside. So I gathered up Maggie and slipped into Menolly's lair. As the latch closed, I could hear somebody enter the kitchen. Another moment, and I would have been too late. There was a lot of noise, shouting and crashing. I crouched in the dark and waited. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't have my cell phone, and when I picked up the land line down on Menolly's nightstand, it was dead."

I picked up the receiver on the wall phone and listened. "No dial tone. They must have cut the wires outside."

Camille handed Maggie to Iris and wandered over to what had been the playpen. She removed a large skillet from the mattress pad, then pulled the cushion away from the debris, making sure no broken gla.s.s was stuck to it. She set Maggie on the cushion and dropped to the floor beside her.

Iris let out a long sigh as she looked around the room. "How's the rest of the house?"

"Just as bad as the kitchen. Except for Menolly's lair. We're facing a lot of cleanup. A lot of loss." The kettle whistled, and I poured our tea.

"Oh man, what about the Whispering Mirror?" Camille jumped up.

"I didn't notice," I said, and she took off for the stairs.

I pressed my fingers to my temples. A headache a mile wide was pounding out a frenzied beat in the back of my mind. Migraines R Us, Migraines R Us, I thought. I thought.

Smoky opened the refrigerator door. The demons had apparently ignored it. The contents were intact. He pulled out a loaf of bread, lunch meat, and all the fixings for sandwiches and silently set to work. I had to give it to him. When the chips were down, he did what needed to be done without urging or complaint.

Camille returned to the kitchen as Smoky finished making a platter of roast beef sandwiches. We looked at her.

She shook her head. "Shattered. We're going to have to send someone through the portal to Queen Asteria and ask her if she has a spare. All of my spell components have been trashed. Some are missing. And on the not-so-urgent but irritating side, my makeup's been upended and smashed. Thank heavens for hardwood floors. If I had a carpet in my bedroom, it would be trashed." She pulled out her cell phone. "I'm calling Morio and Roz. We need all the help we can get."

While Camille talked quietly on the phone, Iris dragged in a trash can from out back. I turned my attention to the mess on the kitchen floor. Sandwich in one hand, with the other hand I began tossing chunks of broken gla.s.sware and battered pans into the can.

Iris joined me, kneeling over a spot by the table where at least four place settings of our good china lay, smashed to bits. She gathered up the halves of a broken serving platter in her hands and hung her head.

"I'm so sorry, girls. I feel like I should have been able to stop them."

"Don't be ridiculous," Smoky said. "You're lucky you had time to hide. You saved yourself, and you saved the cub. Otherwise, you'd both be demon fodder by now. Rksasas are cannibalistic, you know. They feast on anything that walks on two or four legs. Karvanak would happily munch you down for an afternoon snack and then follow up with Maggie as dessert. So don't even think that you were lacking courage. You did the smart thing. Now, sit at the table, and eat."

Iris flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you for that, my dragon friend. I felt so helpless, sitting there in the dark. For about two hours, I wondered whether it was safe. Should I try to come up? Should I wait? What would happen if Delilah or Camille came home alone and found the Rksasa in the house? It's been a soul-searching morning, that I can tell you."

I stared at the mess. Now that my worry over Maggie and Iris was quelled, a new, uneasy feeling began to grow. "Oh s.h.i.t. Oh h.e.l.l."

"What's up? What's wrong?" Camille asked, looking over at me from where she was sorting a few unbroken plates from the rubble.

"Chase! I went to see him at his apartment. The living room was trashed. I stopped in at Erika's, but she said she hasn't seen him since yesterday afternoon, and I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth." My gut twisted. Had Karvanak been there? I hadn't smelled the telltale scent of his fragrance, but then again, he had plenty of lackeys working for him.

"Do you think-" Camille dropped the bag. "You don't think the demons took him, do you?"

"I don't know," I said miserably. "There wasn't any blood-not any that I could see. Only the living room was tossed. I left just as Sharah arrived. But, could it be coincidence? Iris, do you have any idea what the demons were looking for?"

She shook her head. "No. The seal, perhaps?" With a loud sigh, she motioned for Camille to join us at the table, then wiggled her fingers. The whisk broom and dustpan Camille had been using righted themselves and went to work on their own. "There's no need for us to bother ourselves with this mess when I can set the tools to work by themselves."

"Or who," Smoky said after a moment.

"Who what?" I asked. Camille had found some potato salad in the fridge and was dishing it out to go with Smoky's sandwiches, which were so well-endowed with beef and cheese that the meat overshadowed the tomatoes, lettuce, and bread. I didn't mind. I was a carnivore. I bit into a second sandwich and closed my eyes as the taste of rare beef trickled down my throat.

"I mean, maybe the demons weren't looking for a what what, but a who who. What if they were searching for Iris and Maggie? All of your cars were gone except for Menolly's, and Karvanak knows she's a vampire. He knew she'd be asleep. You'll notice they didn't come during the night or early morning, when you'd all be at home and awake."

I didn't like where this was going.

"I think the demons have been waiting for a time when Iris would be alone and unable to protect herself," he said.

"You mean, they were out to kill kill her?" Camille asked, thudding into the nearest chair. her?" Camille asked, thudding into the nearest chair.

"Not necessarily-" Smoky stopped as my cell phone rang, cutting him off.

I flipped open the phone. "h.e.l.lo?"

A low voice, masculine and throaty, answered. "Is this Delilah D'Artigo?"

"Yes," I said. Warning bells were ringing loud and clear in my gut. The energy coming through the line was so threatening that my hackles rose.

"Karvanak here. Shut the f.u.c.k up and listen. Your boyfriend's life depends on your ability to follow instructions."

Oh h.e.l.l! They did have Chase. I hastily motioned to the others and held my finger to my lips, motioning for Camille to crowd next to the receiver so she could listen along with me.

"I'm here," I said.

"Good girl," he said. "Here's how this is all going down. I know you have the fourth spirit seal, so don't even bother lying about it. You hand over the seal and my renegade flunky to me. I hand over your boyfriend-relatively untouched-to you. Sound good?"

s.h.i.t, he thought we still had the seal. Of course. How would he, or any of the demons, know we were giving them to Queen Asteria? Shadow Wing probably thought we were gathering them to use for ourselves! I kept my mouth shut. I might be naive sometimes, but I wasn't stupid. Camille glanced at me, her jaw set.

"How long do we have to find it? We haven't got the seal. Not yet."

"Sure you do. But just on the off chance that you've somehow lost track of the gem, allow me to be generous. Reflect on what your detective means to you. And you should know, if you decide to back out of our little deal, your boyfriend takes a one-way trip back to the Subterranean Realms, and I'll sell him into slavery."

Taking a deep breath, I asked, "How do I know Chase is still alive?"