Thinking of the Veil, she wondered what was up with the Fae. She’d petitioned them through one of Simon’s contacts for a contact. They had some Fae stories told via other cultures and Others. But she wanted to ask them herself.
They existed in a different state of being. Time was not the same. So she had no real idea when she’d hear back, though she did hear from Calder that several of the Fae he knew had gone back to the other side of the Veil once they heard about the Magister.
Which only scared her more. If the Fae were running, they were seriously in trouble.
The Fae would have something about the Magister, she knew it. She just had to wait and hope they assented and came to her before it was too late to be of any help. In the meantime
all she could do was what she could do. Which right then was to continue sweeping her part of downtown.
SEVERAL
hours later, she’d input some data into her map system. Noting the spots where she’d detected the energy from dark rituals. They had to either be around here, or one of them had a favorite café or stalking spot nearby. The one she’d seen in Jonathan’s memories had been far too dingy to be in downtown, though. What she knew was that these were hunting grounds. Predators liked their places, so why were they there? Another question to be answered. She hoped.
By the time she strolled into Heart of Darkness, she was ready to admit she really needed to see Simon.
SIMON
knew when she came through the pass from the human part of Heart of Darkness to where he waited. Her energy was bright. She emanated menace all while glowing with her magick and a sort of healthy aura that he’d come to believe only happened when the person was on a just path.
She brought happiness everywhere she went. She smiled and waved to his bar staff and stopped to chat with some witches who’d been standing at the bar. The character of the room changed whenever Lark Jaansen entered it. And there she was, moving to him, her smile altogether different than the one she’d worn for her friends.
“Hey you.”
He didn’t bother pretending he didn’t want to touch her. He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head and then when she tipped her face up, most likely to complain about PDA, he laid a kiss on her. One designed to melt away any of her resistance. It apparently worked because when he finished she had a dreamy look in her eyes.
“Right on time. Dinner is here. You want to eat out here or in my office?”
“If I said your office, you’d try to put the moves on me.”
He laughed. “Of course. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.”
“Come on, I need to talk with Gage and some of the others
and as everyone seems to hang out here now, we’ll eat at your table so when I see them I can grab them.”
He didn’t let go of her hand, drawing her back to his table. He knew one of the servers had seen her arrive and would bring the food to them along with drinks so he settled with her, close enough to touch whenever he wanted. And to send a message to anyone else out there, including that Were she went out with once. Lark Jaansen was his.
“Sara made crepes for you.”
As he’d hoped, Lark’s eyes lit. “Really? I figured you’d score some Mexican food to sway me. Crepes are even better.” She arched up to kiss his chin. “Thank you.”
They’d gone out to brunch when she’d first come to town and he’d made the discovery that she was weak for crepes. He’d tucked that away, not really planning to use it for any romantic purpose at that time. But now? Well, he was a smart male and he knew that with a woman like her, he had to use every tool he had at his disposal. Canny, was his pixie, so he had to be as well.
This back-and-forth between them was rather like foreplay. It kept him on his toes at the very least.
Sara was one of their cooks and when she’d heard that she could cook real food, not just bar snacks, she’d jumped on the chance. And she liked Lark, which was helpful too.
Soon fresh crepes, both sweet and savory, arrived with a fresh carafe of coffee and some juice. Lark didn’t drink any alcohol while she was on patrol.
“When do you go to see the vampires?”
“You know.” She paused to eat some of her crepes. “Damn, these are good. Anyway, up until this very moment you had a super-smooth thing going. The kiss when I first arrived. The crepes. All that manliness turned in my direction. You have a lot of finesse for a guy as big as a tree. And then you rush right to the vampire topic. You’re slipping.”
She made him laugh at the oddest of times. Certainly their lives would never be boring.
“Well, what’s the purpose of pretending when you know what I’m going to ask?”
“Hm.” She polished off the crepes and before she could sit
back, another platter arrived. “Damn, even your staff is conspiring against me.”
“I clearly need to pay them all a bonus. So?”
She heaved a sigh. “Only if you keep quiet. I’m not joking. They’re having one of their open houses tonight. They’ll be on their best behavior because humans are around. But I need to break them to my… guidance and I need to do it my way.”
“Why do you scare me so much? You’re making me old before my time.”
“You can stay here if you like. It will get bloody. You know how they are.”
“No. No, I don’t. When I’ve dealt with them, there’s never been blood.” He sure as hell didn’t get into any blood play with the two vampire females he’d dallied with. “They come here and behave most of the time. Sometimes they have to be tossed out, but they haven’t raised blood here.”
“We’re going to their nest. I’m new in town. Just let me do my job and keep your annoyance to yourself. If you get attacked, you can defend yourself. Fuck them up if you have to. Just don’t kill anyone and don’t do it in front of any humans.”
“How come we have to play Fight Club? Why not just go over, have a chat and leave?”
“Because, they have to admit I’m capable of helping them. I’m not a vampire. I’m a witch. We’re not always the best of friends. I have to assert dominance. They have to assert dominance and then we can get down to business.”
He heaved a sigh and prayed for patience. “All right.”
LARK
tied the back of the collar-style necklace she’d brought. Hiding the skin at her throat and yet accessorizing it all at once. She’d dealt with vampires enough to know how to approach them. They were bloodthirsty in most ways. Insular. They didn’t like outsiders, especially Others. They generally stayed in a city, left the other paranormals alone and did their thing. There was only one group who fetishized rules more than witches and that was vampires.
And she needed to tell them they were a target.
The local nest was a rather large home in Madrona in
a quiet neighborhood with great views. They walked up the sidewalk and stairs to the front door where there were two vampires in jeans and T-shirts checking who was entering.
They were having an open house, which made her visit timely and also probably more fraught with tension from the vamps. They had open houses for humans considering converting to Vampirism. They came and mixed, got to know the local vampires and their rules. And if they decided to go forward they needed five sponsors and approval from the local guild. Their version of government. They checked mental health status, criminal and financial background and they had to go to classes for a certain period of time and live as a vampire for a year before they were converted.
It kept out the fame whores and the spur-of-the-moment humans and policed the population quite well. It was a good system and it had kept them on the edge of being outed for several years because by the time a human was allowed this far, they’d gone through several levels of security.
The local master was not as old as Toril, the master in Los Angeles. But this one was politically well connected and feared as well as respected.
They paused at the door as the guards took them in. “This is a private event.”
“My name is Lark Jaansen, I’m with Clan Owen and I have an appointment with Franco.”
One of the vamps must have recognized the name because he stepped aside to make a quick call and then turned back to them. “I’ll take you through. Do you have weapons? If so, you need to leave them up front with us.”
“Yes, I have weapons. No, I won’t be giving them up.” She jerked her head at Simon. “He’s a weapon too. Not giving him up either.”
“I can’t let you in with a weapon. That’s the rule.”
“Look, I don’t care. I’m not leaving my weapons with you. In any case, I could still use my magick if I chose. It’s not going to happen so get permission or we can play this for a while and your boss will still let me in.”
That’s when he made his move. A move she was ready for so she stepped aside, kicking out to knock him into the
doorway. The other one moved to intervene, but Simon growled. She gave him a quick glare and he glared right back. Damned man.
The vamp she’d kicked got to his feet. She knew he wouldn’t be falling for that trick again any time soon so she had to change her tactics. She wouldn’t use her weapons.
Couldn’t
use her weapons or she’d be acknowledging their need to take them from her.
“You’re going to be sorry for that, witch.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s get to it.” She rolled her head on her shoulders to loosen up. The vampire at her back wouldn’t do a thing, not with Simon there. He did come in handy. She could take both vampires, but she’d rather not if she didn’t have to.
He used his speed and got in a solid right to her gut. As she struggled to get her breath back, she called her magick. He got another solid punch to her kidney. She’d feel that one tomorrow. But his balance had shifted enough that she was able to give him a hard jab to the solar plexus and he reeled back, wheezing.
Her magick built, filling her, and she breathed in deep, letting it. Closing her eyes and giving over to it. Lark turned off all her other impulses, just letting her magick be in charge. Her speed kicked up, as would her strength.
One of his shots ducked and she responded, delivering her own punch. The very satisfying crack of a nose sounded, followed by the cool spray of his blood on her hand and arm.
She leaned to the left, avoiding his upper cut and ducked into a kick that knocked him to the ground. She opened her eyes, put her boot on his neck and held a ball of fire in her palm where he could see it. “Your nose will heal. But fire, well, that’s a different story. You see I’m lethal without my weapons.” She slowly removed her foot and stepped back.
He got to his feet, begrudging respect in his gaze. “Come on then.”
Part one was over.
He knocked on a door and opened it, revealing the sumptuous room on the other side. Vampires did know how to live large and comfortably, she gave them that.
“Your guests.”
“What happened to your face?” Franco Pendergast stared at Lark as he spoke to his minion. “Her wounds aren’t fresh. Yours are.”
“We had a difference of opinion about giving up weapons at the door. We solved it.” Lark shrugged. “A turned witch did this to me yesterday. He’s working with the Magister.”
Franco’s already pale face got even whiter. “Come in and sit down. You too, Lycian.”
Simon waited for her to sit before he did. Adorable really, but she had to keep her attention on the situation and not how lucky he was going to get later.
“I haven’t heard that name in a very long time. And even before it was as a ghost of a memory. A story told to frighten children. First you tell us the turned witches and mages have begun to attack the vampire ranks and now this?”
She told him most of what they knew.
He thought awhile. “We’re not joiners. We’ll protect our own, naturally, but I’m not sure about anything more. The convocation is still in session, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
The vampires had gone to the extraordinary step of calling a convocation. A group meeting with all the top guild members across the nation. Their main topic had been to discuss coming out fully to the humans. But once the kidnappings began to include them, they’d also put the topic of the mages on the schedule. And now this. It had been going on for nearly two months. She could only imagine what the delegates were up against. She’d go insane if she had to go through two months of daily meetings where all anyone did was preen and argue.
“Naturally, you’ll have to address them on this matter. It’s why I came to you instead of attempting to go directly to your guilds.” It would also give him some measure of power to take the issue to them himself and it would mean he’d owe her a favor. They both knew it as they sat in his office.
“But the bottom line is that I’m protecting my people. If yours don’t wish to unify over this matter, you’ll be less protected.” She shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
“I’ll speak to them and get back to you. In the meantime, I thank you for sharing this information with me. We’ll take
every precaution with our protected. And should we find ourselves confronted by one of these mages, I hope you won’t expect us to return the body.”
She smiled slowly. “Of course not.” She knew they wouldn’t feed from any of the turned witches or mages. It’d not only be toxic but also considered offal.
AS
they walked back to the car, Simon remained silent, which was good because her phone rang right as they got to his car.
She noted it was Gage’s number. “I’m just leaving the nest now. What’s up?”
“It’s Nell.” His voice held panic. “They took her.”
Fear struck her heart. “Who did? When?”
“We don’t know exactly. I’m here with William right now.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t leave yet.” She looked to Simon, who was already making his way to his side, his keys out and ready.
“You’ll find her.” Simon didn’t race away from the curb, but he moved pretty quickly so she let herself at least relax in that knowledge.
She turned her attention back to the call and Gage. “Who is there? Have we put our hunters into play?”
“William just called me five minutes ago. Meriel is on her way here. I didn’t know what…”
“Hold it together, Gage. We’ll get her back. I’m going to let the team know to be ready to mobilize. Let me get there and we can decide the next steps.”