Vintage Soul Part 8

He glanced up, saw that, for the moment, the bird was safe on its mantel top perch, and he nodded.

"It's not the bird that was here before," he said. "Cornwell is dead. Whoever killed him broke a magic circle in the middle of a summoning."

Amethyst stared at him incredulously.

"In the middle? You're sure?"

He nodded.

"There was a break in both the inner and outer circles, as if someone drew their foot across it deliberately. The church was all but destroyed. I took what I could, and I got out of there."

"What about Martinez?" she asked. "I can't imagine something like this happening right under his nose."

"One of his people showed up as I was leaving," Donovan said. "If it weren't for my new feathered friend up there," he nodded at Asmodeus, "I might not have gotten off so easily. I think all they were after was Cornwell's possessions. I'm pretty sure that Martinez wouldn't have broken that circle, and if he did, why send someone else back later for the things he wanted from the church? Why not just take them?

"And there's more. I found this."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue-black raven feather. He held it out to her, and she took it, holding it carefully as if it posed some odd threat of its own. She glanced up at Asmodeus, but Donovan shook his head.

"Different bird altogether," he said. "The other was much larger, and younger."

Asmodeus let out a caw at this, and for the first time since arriving home, Donovan smiled.

"You're no spring chicken," he said, glancing up.

"Chicken." The bird repeated.

Donovan blinked.

"You talk?"

"Talk." The bird agreed.

Amethyst started to laugh.

"It seems that Cornwell managed that spell after all. I guess ol' Moldy up there just didn't want to talk to him."

Donovan heard her, but his mind had drifted again. He kept thinking about the closed case, and the missing crystals. Time was running out for Vanessa much more quickly than he'd thought, and he needed answers. He looked at it from every angle he could conceive, but came up with nothing. Still, something about it bothered him; something was there, just out of reach, something important.

"That only leaves the bone marrow dust," he said at last. "If whoever is behind all of this manages to retrieve that, or find someone else to do it, then we may be too late to stop him."

"If he has something that can s.n.a.t.c.h those crystals from me, despite, my precautions, what makes you think he needs anyone to retrieve the bone marrow powder? Isn't it possible he can just s.n.a.t.c.h it from the casket without opening it?"

He looked at her, and then shook his head, frowning.

"I don't think so. I don't know what it is, exactly, but there is something in your theft we're overlooking. It's itching at the back of my mind, but I can't seem to pry it free. We are both familiar with what is, and is not possible. This is ritual magic, and there are no spells for transportation of objects that I know of. Look around. I think it's more likely that whoever it is wants us to believe he can perform acts we know are impossible. The more off-balance he keeps us, the more chance he has of finishing his ritual. If he does, and it works, nothing we do will make much difference."

He swept his arm in the direction of the books on his shelf.

"I have nearly every occult text known to exist in the last three centuries, in one form or another. I don't' claim to be familiar with all of it, but I can tell you this a if that sort of magic had ever existed, it would still exist. Someone would have found the record of it, recorded it, and reproduced the effect, and then someone else would have found a way to guard against it. Fewer and fewer new secrets are discovered, because to get beyond all that's been tried in the past takes so much time."

"I'd like to believe that's true," she replied, "but I wouldn't bet my life on it. That's what you're doing, you know. You're betting Vanessa's life on it." She frowned, thought about what she'd just said, "Well, her existence, anyway. I guess life is the wrong term in this case?"

Donovan shrugged, and she continued. "If you're wrong? If someone has figured out something new, something we aren't prepared to defend against, then we may be too late already. Whoever it is has been at least one step ahead of us all along a s.n.a.t.c.hing a vampire out from under Kline's security a not to mention breaking Kline himself like a rag doll, then breaking in here, killing Cornwell, and stealing my crystals. I wouldn't want to be responsible for completing any one of those tasks, but whoever this is took them all on, and so far he hasn't left a trace."

Donovan sighed. He was about to rise and refill his drink when the phone rang. He walked to the desk and answered it. He frowned, and then answered.

"Tonight? You've talked with him? Good. Get back in contact and tell him you have someone to do it."

He listened a moment longer, then hung up the phone.

"That was Windham," he said. "He's gotten me the information on the buyer for the bone marrow dust. The offer is still open, and so far, no one has taken up the challenge."

"Maybe there's still time," she replied. "Maybe he's just hoping to send you off on a wild goose chase that will take long enough to keep you out of his hair until he finishes Le Duc's ritual."

"I don't have a choice," Donovan replied. "If I don't go after this dust, someone else will. If I manage to get out of the graveyard with it, I'll have something he needs, and he'll have to deal with me. Without going out of state, he won't find what he needs anywhere else, and he doesn't have time for that. Eventually we'll find him; if he waits too long, we'll catch him. When we catch him, I would not want to get between him and Johndrow.

"I'm going after the dust tonight. He won't know it's me, of course, I'll be going through Windham, but it should get me close enough to either figure out who it is we're up against, or where he's holed up. I can't go after him if I can't find him."

She didn't look convinced.

"I suppose," she said. "In any case, I have to get back. There are still some things I need to check, and I want to make sure Lance is okay. I don't think we'll have any more trouble now that those crystals are gone, but you never know. Whoever it was might think Lance can identify him and come back to prevent it."

"Are you going to question him?" Donovan asked.

She looked startled. "I...yes. I suppose I am. I didn't think about it, but even if he doesn't remember what happened, there might be imprints of some of it that I could read. I was in such a hurry to get over here and tell you about the missing crystals that I wasn't thorough."

"Let me know what you find," he said. "I'll keep thinking about it, too. There's still something not quite right about the whole situation; if it occurs to me, I'll contact you. I can send Cleo."

"Or your new buddy," she laughed, tossing her head and grinning up to where Asmodeus sat, glaring smugly down at Cleo.

"Buddy," he said, flapping his wings and nearly toppling from the mantle.

"Thanks for reminding me," he muttered. "I'll have to find a way to make a truce between these two, or I'll come back to find the building reduced to a pile of rubble."

Amethyst laughed, and turned toward the door. Donovan walked her to the hall, leaned in, and gave her a quick kiss.

"Don't worry," he said. "We'll get through this, and when we do, we'll have a reason to celebrate."

"I hope you're right," she said, ducking into the elevator.

As the door slid shut behind her, he stepped back into his apartment. There wasn't much time. He had to get a message into Windham's hand so the collector could pa.s.s on the intention to fill the order for the bone marrow dust. He also had to gather the materials he'd need, do what he could to map his way through the graves, and get a report out to Johndrow. The old vampire would be worried sick, and after the first encounter with the hotheaded young Vein and his cronies, Donovan was in no mood for further interruptions.

When he was ready, he glanced over at Cleo, who stood poised on his desk. She'd been like that, watching every movement Asmodeus made, waiting for him to make the mistake of flying too low.

"You have to let it go," Donovan said.

Cleo ignored him.

He sighed. Stepping forward, he drew the cat into his arms. She squirmed, but not like she'd done when he caught her earlier. He cleared his mind of thought, pressed his hand to her forehead, and thought about the cathedral. He relived the image of Cornwell's dried, husk of a body crumbling to dust around the toe of his boot, his escape through the rear of the church, and the subsequent attack, where Asmodeus had come to his aid. Cleo grew very stiff in his grasp, but he held her until the images subsided, and when he placed her gently back on top of the desk, she had calmed.

From his perch, as if on cue, Asmodeus croaked "Cleo."

The cat started to wash her face, and Donovan breathed easier. At least it seemed both animals might live to see his return. He double checked the items in his bag, folded the note he'd prepared into his inside jacket pocket and turned for the door. He glanced longingly at his bedroom, then stepped into the hall, and closed the door behind him with a snap.

THIRTEEN.

Johndrow sat and watched as Vein paced the room. There was nothing left to be said about the fiasco at Club Chaos, but there were still things to be settled between the two of them. For all his anger, Johndrow understood Vein's anguish. Vanessa had brought the young one to the blood, after all. They were tied together in ways that Vanessa and Johndrow would never be. Johndrow and Vanessa were blood-bonded, but that bond had been a choice, something cultivated over many years of shared intimacy. What Vein felt was primal, like the protective instinct of a young man toward his mother.

"There has to be something we can do," Vein said. He spun to face Johndrow and dropped his palms flat on the desk between them, meeting the elder's eyes. "We can't just sit back and hope the magic man pulls her through this."

"What would you have us do?" Johndrow asked, keeping his voice neutral. "We don't know where she is, and we don't know who her captor is. Even if we managed to locate her, we don't know what we'd be facing; so how would we prepare? We must wait."

"I can find her," Vein said. It wasn't a boast; Johndrow saw this in the young one's eyes. "I feel her. The bond is weak, but it's there. I could follow it. You know I could, you've done so yourself, in other places, and other times. I know the stories as well as any."

Johndrow nodded. It was true. He'd spent an entire winter tracking the one who'd made him, but that was a different matter altogether from this. That had been a journey fueled by hatred, and vengeance, and there had been only one end possible. That bond had itched at Johndrow's thoughts and clawed at his mind. That other's eyes had mocked him and the dry, lilting voice behind that gaze called out to him in tones that broke like brittle crystals.

"I had no choice," Johndrow said. "When I chose to walk that road, I walked it alone, and I knew that it was likely I would never return. Vanessa brought you to us, but you came willingly enough. I was taken, toyed with, and cast aside. That is what I thought about each night, when I woke to the darkness, and that is what I thought about when I fed. There was no time for pleasure, and no room for forgiveness. This is different."

"It is not." Vein said flatly. "You are right in saying that what she gave me is a gift that I cherish, but how does that weaken the bond? I know she's held against her will. I know that she's great danger, and that the bond could be severed permanently. As much as you loathed the tie that bound you to the one you killed, I cherish mine. I have to do something."

"Ah, but there is a difference," Johndrow said, rising slowly. "There are two differences, in fact, distinct and important. The first is that, when I tracked and killed the one who made me, there was no council in place to stop me, or to help me. I was on my own, and I was going mad. You, on the other hand, are not alone. You have those you call friends, and you have the council."

"What is the second difference?" Vein asked.

"DeChance," Johndrow said, stepping around the desk to stand beside the younger vampire. "You have DeChance on your side. I know you don't understand it a that you probably don't believe it a but that one is strong, and he is smart. He can go places we cannot, and he can do things for us that no one else might accomplish. He has a personal stake in this, as well, so there is no fear of treachery."

"As long as the blood in his veins flows hot and red, and it is his own, he cannot be trusted," Vein said. "You yourself taught me that rule, and I have never forgotten it. He may help us for the money. He may even help us out of friendship. It changes nothing. He is what he is, and we are...something altogether different. There is no way he can change the instinct that makes his kind fear our kind, and with that fragile bond in the center of your bargain, I can't trust her to him. I want to, believe me. I want to believe she will be here with us any moment, asking for a gla.s.s of your precious brandy and wrapping around you like a cat in heat. I don't believe it, though, and that's why I have to do something a anything a other than sitting here and waiting."

"The Council will not sanction any rash action," Johndrow said softly. "I want you to understand that. I know you believe you are doing the right thing, but your attack on DeChance might have cost Vanessa her life, if it had been less ill-conceived. Don't believe he'll be unprepared a second time."

"I have no further interest in the magic man," Vein said, glancing away toward the dark, obsidian surface of Johndrow's window shield. Beyond it the afternoon shadows lengthened and stretched out dark fingers to clasp in the center and banish the light of day.

"But you will go?" Johndrow asked softly.

Vein nodded.

"I have to go."

"If you find her," Johndrow said, "tell DeChance where she is. Don't try to get in alone. Don't try to do it by yourself. I know you want to, but that's your pride speaking, and pride speaks only for fools. Don't let thoughts of revenge, or heroism, cloud your judgment. Whoever took Vanessa is no fool, and he will know you are coming a you or someone like you. He will be aware of the blood bond, and he will use it to his advantage."

Vein turned to the door with a shrug. "If he has blood, I will make it mine. You can count on that."

He stepped through the door and pulled it closed behind him. Johndrow stood in silence and watched him go. When he was sure Vein was out of sight, and hearing, he whispered.

"Bring her back to me, Vein. Bring back my life."

Vein took the private elevator down to the garage level. His car waited for him, as he had known it would. The others were already in the back, and the trunk was loaded with the equipment they expected to need. He'd only visited Johndrow out of a sensation of grudging respect. If Vanessa saw something in this man to look up to, the least Vein could do was to acknowledge it. That was as far as he was willing to go, however.

He had lied to the elder on several counts, or, at the very least he hadn't been fully forthcoming. Foremost among the things he'd left out of their conversation was the fact that he was pretty certain he already knew where Vanessa was being kept. He'd followed the weak thread of the blood bond since the night of her capture, and after countless weaving, spiraling drives up and down the streets of the city, he'd managed to pinpoint where that bond was strongest.

Since the meeting with DeChance, Vein had been obsessed with two things. He needed to find and free Vanessa from whomever, or whatever had taken her so easily, and he wanted revenge on the magic man and the woman. Vein had worked long years to earn the respect of his small band of followers. They weren't old in the blood, and there wasn't a very bright bulb among them, but they were loyal. Seeing him bested publicly, and with such indifference, had been a blow to his ego, and to the loyalty and courage of his small posse. For the moment it was on the back burner, but it was an insult that couldn't be ignored. That's how Vein saw it, anyway.

He stepped off the curb as the sleek limo pulled out of its a.s.signed spot and drew up beside him. The rear door opened and Vein slid inside. The others waited, all dressed in the long dark overcoats and dark sungla.s.ses they preferred. It was an affectation, and Vein knew it. The world around them changed every few decades. Styles came and went, and with each transformation of that outer world, a more subtle shift ran through Vein's own. This new wave was born of bad movies, old westerns, cheesy gothic novels and a simple desire to be "cool" that had not faded with the years. Vein was young enough to have clear memories of the time before he'd met Vanessa, and even in those early days of America, the long coat and gruff demeanor was in style. It hadn't changed that much over the years, and for the first time in the history of humanity, vampires were "cool" just by existing. It was a good time to be undead, and Vein intended to make the most of it, regardless of the edicts and warnings of the elders. It was his time.

"Did you find everything?" he asked.

A blonde man in the front seat nodded. His hair was cut in a flat top, and his collar was turned up, shielding his face from view. This was Bruno, who was the youngest in the blood, but had been the oldest at the time of his transformation. He appeared to be in his mid forties, and it bothered him that he didn't fit in well with the others, all of whom had given up the breathing life in their twenties. More than once he'd been mistaken for their father, or some sort of teacher with his cla.s.s on a field trip. He was tall, broad, and a half-notch smarter than the others. Vein counted on him when there was anything more than the simplest of planning involved.

"Right here," Bruno said, patting the seat between himself and the driver, who paid no attention to him at all. Kali had been eighteen when she was taken, and beautiful. She, like Johndrow, had been taken against her will, and her att.i.tude had never improved. She hung with Vein and his crew because they paid little attention to the rules, and because Vein had promised her that eventually he would help her hunt down the one who had changed her. She didn't speak unless spoken to, and most of the others steered clear of her when Vein wasn't present. She liked that just fine.

Vein watched her for a moment as she pulled out of the private garage and onto the streets. He felt a special kinship with Kali that he lacked with the others, and he knew he'd have to pursue it eventually. Everything in its time.

"We had a little trouble with some of it," Bruno said, breaking the silence. "That was expected, though, and we handled it."

"We'll deal with that when it's over," Vein said, dismissing the matter. "If we succeed, no one is going to begrudge us the few things we took, and if we don't?"

He shrugged, and none of his companions felt compelled to fill in the blanks. If they failed they weren't likely to be coming back at all a at least not in any condition for immediate punishment. All of them had issues with the elders in one way or another, and this was put up or shut up time. They'd been saying for years, at least since they linked their various cars to the "Vein train," that they knew how to handle themselves, now it was time to prove it.

The sun had dropped the final few feet below the horizon and the city was drenched in twilight. Some street lights flickered on, others awaited more complete darkness. Businesses were caught in that dead zone between daylight and fluorescent splendor. Neon kicked in here and there, but was mostly silent, that gaseous, humming incandescence saved for the darker shadows. Bright lights to keep the city safe, dark, beautiful colored neon to lure them back into shadows. Vein loved the twilight.

They saw their goal long before they reached it. The Tefft Complex was a huge, gleaming structure of reflective gla.s.s windows, steel, and concrete. Lights winked out of offices up and down the north, east, and west face of the building, visible from anywhere in the downtown area. It wasn't the tallest building in San Valencez, but it was one of the most imposing, and, as Vein had discovered, it had a secret. Like a giant, metallic bone stretching up into the darkening sky, he knew it had a core that wasn't visible to the casual observer. The Tefft Complex had a hollow core, and it was in that central, sealed section he knew Vanessa was being held.

There were several businesses housed in the complex. There was a small, foreign bank, a jewelry importing firm, an insurance company, and even a small coffee shop on the first floor. Banks of elevators rode smoothly up and down the walls of the skysc.r.a.per, and if you walked in through any of the main entrances, you'd see that they ran in a tight circle near the center of the rear wall. The southern face of the complex had no windows, and the elevator shafts did not actually run across that back facing wall a and they were not all visible.

It had taken some doing, but once Vein had determined he had the right building, he'd started digging. When it came to the darker side of the city, what seemed apparent on the surface was almost always deceiving. The Tefft Complex proved no exception to the rule. There were at least two elevators in that structure that could not be accessed through the lobby. There was also a large section of the building itself that was accessible by no obvious means, but that certainly existed.

A little more digging, and he was certain he'd found the flaw in the facade. While the elevators didn't open into the main lobby of the building, there were maintenance halls between the shafts, and they extended to the hidden shafts, as well as the others. Private elevators weren't uncommon, and they required the same types of maintenance and service that public elevators did. Vein and his crew were very adept at climbing, and it didn't seem likely that an elevator shaft would cause them much trouble.

What they might find once they entered that closed level he could only guess, and the guesswork was what made him nervous. Johndrow was right about one thing a they were less equipped than DeChance against most magical attacks. Strength and speed were on their side, but the innate weaknesses of undeath were too widely known and easy to emulate by magical means.

It was a problem. Vein had sent his followers crawling through all the darker pits of the city in search of charms, protections, and weapons that might give them an edge, or, barring that keep them from being destroyed. The haul was a small one, but surprisingly potent. He grinned, thinking about it.

On the corner of Oak and Vine, there was a small gift shop that specialized in occult items. Though she wasn't always there, it was known that this shop was run by the woman called Amethyst, the one who'd humiliated Vein so easily in the alley. Her specialty was amulets, charms, and crystals, and though most of what she sold in the shop was powerless, meaningless junk, you could find the better items if you knew where, and how, to look. As it turned out, Vein wasn't the only one in the city attracted to Kali. Amethyst had an apprentice.

Kali had talked the guy out of five amulets that would protect them from magical detection, and one larger crystal meant to deflect spells. In addition, Vein had purchased a blood crystal. There was little magic available to the undead, but magic didn't always reside in the pract.i.tioner. Often it was imbedded in an object a a talisman, or a scroll where the words were enchanted to act of their own volition once the bearer spoke them aloud. Blood crystals were among the only enchantments unique to the undead, and Vein had gone to a lot of expense to acquire the one he wore around his neck.

The crystal had only one purpose. Once he placed a drop of his own blood to it, the stone would swing out to the length of the thong that held it around his neck, and it would stretch in the direction of the strongest blood bond. In this case, he intended to use it, once they'd managed to break through the security of the inner building, to find Vanessa as quickly as possible. He wasn't bonded to any other, not among the elders, and certainly not among this crew. The only one with promise was Kali, and as he'd told himself earlier, that was for another time.

They pulled to the curb several blocks away from the Tefft Complex and sat with the motor running for few moments. Bruno handed out the amulets, and they slipped them over their necks in silence. Vein stared down at his, an almost solid black crystal.