Darkness Devours (7 page)

The chill got deeper. “How do you know I talked to a reporter this morning?”

Her sudden smile was anything but pleasant. “I did warn you that we intended to keep track of your every move.”

But how? Cazadors were vampires, and no vampire, no matter how old, could stand the sun between noon and one o’clock. Although some—like Uncle Quinn and Hunter herself—could walk around at any other time, thanks to their age.

And if a Cazador had been following me, why hadn’t I sensed it? At the very least, I should have been able to smell his presence, even in the human-drenched confines of the café.

Unless… Could the dream walker Azriel had mentioned have been a Cazador? There
were
Cazadors capable of astral travel—Hunter herself had told me that. And an astral-traveling vampire would
not
be restricted by the noonday sun, because it was only their flesh that burned. Their spirit—soul—did not.

Shit
. We were going to have to be very careful about what we said when that traveler was near. Especially if we wanted to ensure that the keys
didn’t
fall into the council’s hands.

“If you know anything about my history with the reporter I talked to, then you’ll realize I wouldn’t want to tell him anything I didn’t have to.”

Her smile lightened. The same could not be said for the look in her eyes. “Yes, he did gain himself something of a reputation after the rather nice story he did on your mother. I must admit to some surprise that you’d even meet with him again.”

To call it a “nice story” was something of a misnomer, given that it had become a staple for gossip mags
for several weeks. “If you know about the meeting, then you’ll undoubtedly know the reasons behind it. Can we get back to the reason for this call?”

She did so. “As I’ve mentioned, we can find no real connection between the victims besides the club and the manner of their deaths, no apparent motive for the murders, and no trace evidence to suggest who or what might be behind them.”

A chill ran through me as images of Mom’s murder ran through my mind again. My mouth dry, I asked, “And just how were they killed?”

“They were eaten.”

Eaten?
Good lord, I did
not
want to go after something that would eat vampire flesh. “I can’t imagine a vampire sitting around letting someone munch on him.”

“They didn’t. Whatever this thing is, it scratched them first. We found traces of venom in the wounds and further analysis revealed that it contained powerful inhibitors.”

I frowned. “But vampires don’t actually need to breathe.” It was more an instinctive reflex left over from the time before they’d been turned. “And I’ve never heard of a poison capable of killing a vamp.”

“The venom wasn’t what killed them,” she replied, neatly skirting the issue of poisons and vampires. Which to me suggested there
were
poisons capable of doing just that. “The inhibitor prevented reaction, and the killer simply ate them.”

While they were alive? Oh god, this was getting worse and worse. “If it scratched them, surely there was some DNA evidence left in the wounds?”

“None, other than the venom, which we have not been able to trace to any source so far.”

I released a somewhat shaky breath. “This really does sound more like Directorate business than anything I could help with.”

She gave me
that
face. The one that said I’d better do what she wanted or die. And yet I don’t think her muscles even twitched—it was more an odd sort of darkness that crept into her eyes.

“We believe this creature—whatever it is—might have come through when the first gate was opened. The timing is suspicious.”

I shoved away the useless surge of guilt. There was nothing I could do now except get to the other two keys and prevent them from being used. Because if they were, then it really would be hell on earth.

“So where are the bodies?”

“The first four victims have already undergone their final deaths via sunlight, as was their wish. The fifth, however, still lies in state at his home.”

Meaning vampires made wills, like the rest of us did? That was something I hadn’t realized, but I guess it did make sense. Even vampires didn’t live forever—though I guess they could, if they were lucky enough. Or unlucky enough, as the case might be. “When was he murdered?”

“He was found an hour ago.” She paused, studying me. “Why?”

“Because if the thing that killed him did come from hell, then it might have left behind some sort of resonance that we could use to track it down.” According to Azriel, most demons and whatnot that broke through
the hell portal left such a trail. I added, “But it would dissipate with time.”

“Then you’ll need to get there ASAP. But I would advise you to go to Dark Earth immediately and talk to the manager, Brett Marshall.”

Which wasn’t a very vampire-sounding name, but then, the newer vamps tended to have regular monikers. “Why so urgent?”

“Because he is a friend, and I wish you to talk to him first.”

“And?” There had to be another explanation, because I wasn’t buying the first one at all. From what I’d seen, Hunter wasn’t the type to have friends. And even if I was totally wrong, she didn’t seem the type who did favors for them. She was more of a “what’s in it for me” type of vampire.

“And because,” she said, “Dark Earth is no place for a non-vampire to be after dark.”

Fear quickstepped into my veins. “Meaning?”

“Meaning,” she said softly, “that even the presence of your dark angel could not guarantee that you’d walk out of that club alive.”

The sick sensation of fear settled deep in my stomach. “So how is going to this club in the daylight any safer?”

“The bar will be almost empty, and Brett is powerful enough to control the few who are there. He has guaranteed your safety this afternoon.”

Which didn’t mean I
would
be safe. Not if the place was as dangerous as Hunter was making it out to be. “What about viewing the body?”

“I’ll send you his name and address. He lived alone, so you can choose your own time to go there. He will lie in state until his maker arrives to officiate his final death in a few days.”

Makers officiated the final deaths? That was something I hadn’t known. “Have autopsies been done on all five victims?”

“On what remained, yes. Results will be slow to come, though, as we need to keep this private.”

Which suggested the autopsy was being done in-house via high council resources rather than through the Directorate. “And what, exactly, do you expect me to find at this bar?”

She shrugged—an oddly elegant movement. “Talk
to Brett. Look around the bar. You may see or sense something that the Cazadors—who don’t have your psychic skills or your knowledge when it comes to the gray fields—wouldn’t be capable of.”

Given that they had Cazadors capable of astral travel, I actually doubted they’d have any less knowledge of the gray fields than I did. Although I guess astral travelers were restricted to
this
plane and weren’t able to travel on the fields themselves. “I’ll give you a call once I’ve gone there.”
And
gotten out alive.

“Be sure that you do.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to retort that it really didn’t matter if I did or not because she’d get the report from the Cazador who’d been assigned to follow me around anyway. But I resisted the urge. Right now, it was better if Hunter didn’t know I knew about my follower.

I signed off without bothering to say good-bye and shoved my phone back into my purse.

“There goes your afternoon nap,” Ilianna commented darkly. She’d expressed her opinion about my working for Hunter more than once, but had finally stopped harassing me about it. She knew, like I did, that there was no real choice given that half the council currently wanted me dead.

I grimaced and stood. “Yeah. But there’s not a lot I can do about it.”

“No. And I haven’t got holy water or even a stake in my purse to give you.”

“You said that like they’re everyday items one finds in a purse,” I said wryly.

She snorted softly. “Given the way Hunter is dragging
you further and further into her web, they should be. At least then when the spider calls to the fly, the fly will be better armed.”

“Ilianna—”

She held up a hand, stopping me. “I know, I know. But the fact remains, you want revenge more than you want out of any deal with Hunter.”

Well,
that
was certainly true. “If this whole key business blows up in our faces, we might yet need Hunter and her Cazadors on our side.”

“If this whole key business blows up in our faces, we’re
all
going to be ass-deep in demons and fighting for our lives. I think Hunter and her council cronies will be too busy saving their own skins to worry about the rest of us.”

That was also probably more true than not. And Hunter was an unreliable ally. She may have convinced the council to give her more time to prove my worth, but that didn’t mean she—or they—couldn’t change their minds. And considering that they’d already thrown one test at me, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was yet another one.

I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes wearily. “I’ve arranged for Sara to come in and do your shift at the café. I want you to go home tonight and get some sleep.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Sara couldn’t pour a decent drink to save her life.”

“Which is why I’ll be pouring drinks and she’ll be tending tables.” I raised a hand against her objections and added, “No more arguments. Just go home and rest.”

“Okay, okay,” she muttered. “I promise.”

Which meant she would. In this place, you didn’t break promises made. “I’ll see you sometime tomorrow, then.”

She nodded. I dropped a kiss on Tao’s fiery cheek, then left. The day seemed even hotter after the cool darkness of the Brindle. I squinted up at the sky, looking for the storms they’d been predicting for later this afternoon but seeing only endless blue. This was Melbourne, though; weather could—and often did—change in a blink of an eye.

As I neared my bike, Azriel appeared. “I do not like the sound of this bar.”

“Neither do I.” I unlocked the Ducati, then pulled on my leathers. And immediately began to sweat. Having to wear heavy protection on a hot day was one of the few bad points of bike riding—although it was better than falling off and skinning my body down to bone on the tarmac. “Which is why I wouldn’t mind you appearing as something fearsome.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I would think a reaper is fearsome enough, even for a vampire.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I guess that depends on what you expect death to look like. If they envision him as a scantily clad, nubile young woman, I rather suspect that’s not going to be much of a deterrent.”

“I am not female, so I can hardly give them the visage of a young woman.”

Amusement ran through his words and a smile tugged at my lips. “So they’ll see the scythe-bearing shroud instead?”

“Yes. And that is often scarier than anything I could draw from their minds.”

Having seen such reapers myself, I could certainly attest to that. Even knowing that they weren’t coming for me didn’t erase the tendrils of fear. That vision of death was too locked into literature and film to produce anything else.

I checked my phone and discovered that Hunter had followed through with her promise and sent me the address—not that I’d expected anything else. Dark Earth was located on Barkley Street, either near or in the Barkley Square shopping center. It didn’t seem an ideal area for an underground vampire bar, but maybe that was the whole point.

I shoved the phone away and met Azriel’s gaze. “Shall I meet you there?”

He nodded and disappeared. I climbed onto the bike, fired her up, and zoomed out of the parking lot. The traffic was heavier than before, the roads filled with people undoubtedly escaping the office to enjoy the afternoon sunshine, so it took me a little longer to get across to Brunswick, even though it wasn’t that far away.

Once I’d parked and secured the bike, I walked down Barkley Street. According to Hunter’s instructions, the entrance to Dark Earth was located between Coles and the Kmart loading bay, in a small shopping-trolley collection nook.

I found the nook easily enough, but there sure as hell wasn’t any entrance.

Azriel appeared behind me, his heat fiercer than the day itself, but a whole lot more welcome. “It wouldn’t be evident given that the vampires have no desire for humanity to know its existence.”

“Logic is not what I need right now.” I ran my hand over the sunbaked apricot-colored concrete wall. It was rough and grimy under my hands, and there were vague stains lower down that smelled faintly of urine.

“Then may I suggest that you press what looks to be a piece of chewing gum on the upper part of the left rear wall?”

“Seriously?” I studied the gum a little distastefully, then stepped forward and did as he bid.

Nothing happened. Not immediately, anyway. I stepped back and frowned at the wall. As I did so, there was a faint crackle. “And you would be Risa Jones, I’m guessing,” a deep, somewhat dry voice said. “Hunter is nothing if not efficient with her people.”

“I’m hardly her people,” I retorted, my gaze searching the top of the wall for some sign of the camera that had to be there, with little success. Whoever had installed them had done a damn fine job.

“If you work for her,” the voice said, “then you’re hers. There is no escaping her web once she has spun it around you.”

A comment that echoed Ilianna’s fears, and not something I wanted to hear. “Look, I’m here to see Brett Marshall. If you’re him, let me in. If not, tell him I’m here.”

“My, we are an impatient one, aren’t we?”

“The sooner I check this place out, the quicker we may be able to track down the killer.” And the sooner I could get away from it. I might not have been inside yet, but Hunter’s words loomed large in the back of my mind. I did
not
want to be here any longer than necessary.

“Then by all means, come in.”

As he said the words, the wall gently slid to one side, revealing a long, steep staircase that led down into darkness. Trepidation flicked through me and I hesitated.