“I went shopping in your mind.” Sparkle's smile was all about sly satisfaction. “I came home with lots of bargains.”
“Out!” Gerry felt the slide of her fangs as she hissed at Sparkle.
“You're right. We'll save all that for another session. Enjoy the bed.” She closed her makeup case and dragged it to the door.
Gerry watched her leave. Did Sparkle
have
to put sexual invitation into every sway of her hips? She thought about Conall. Would Sparkle teach
her
how to do it?
As Sparkle closed the door behind her, Gerry started to sink onto the bed. Then she remembered the erotic scents. No sense in wasting all those sexy smells when she was the only one there to appreciate them.
Sparkle would wake Conall and then they'd go out searching forâ
The click of the lock startled her. Someone had just locked Conall out. How? She was the only one in the room. Before she could react, Dell materialized beside the door.
“Hi there. Thought I'd drop in to see if tonight was a good night for you to die. It's good for me if it's good for you.”
His friendly smile took none of the chill from his words. His eyes glowed red. They matched the drapes and couch. If she came out the other end of this alive, she'd give Holgarth first-person proof of Dell's demonic nature.
Her fangs were still out, so she was ready to rumble. “Before I tear your demon head off . . . No, maybe ripping out your heart would be more satisfying. Hmm, what's the status on your heart? Have one? Anyway, before I rip off some body part, I have two questions.”
Dell raised one brow. “More feisty than I expected. Good. Ask away, but make it quick. I have to kill you before Conall realizes something's wrong and smashes through the door.”
“I'm guessing you know we're on to you. That's why you're taking this chance. How'd you find out?”
He shrugged, and Gerry noticed the powerful width of his shoulders for the first time. When she'd first seen him, she'd thought he looked like her uncle Ray. Sure, some of their facial features might be similar, but even in old pictures you could see a soul in her uncle's eyes. Dell's easy-going personality had blinded her to a lot of things.
“You talked about me at your meeting. I listened at the door. I would've joined youâinvisible of courseâbut a few in the group were powerful enough to sense my presence. Since you outted me, I thought I'd better get it over with.” While he talked, he silently stalked her.
She moved so the bed was between them. “Why do you want me dead?”
He laughed. “Nothing personal, darling. You just need to die so something else can happen.”
Without warning, he flung himself across the bed at her. A wave of scents filled the air as he landed heavily on the mattress.
“What the hell?” He stared down. “I have this uncontrollable urge to have sex with the bed.” Then he sneezed.
Gerry wasn't going to miss an opportunity. She threw herself on top of him and sank her fangs into the back of his neck. She shook him like a dog. Woof.
A heavy weight thudded against the door, and Conall exploded through it, sword in hand.
With a final “Damn,” Dell broke free and disappeared.
“Well, hell.” Gerry pushed herself from the bed. “I was kicking major demon ass, and he just disappeared on me. We've got to come up with a way to stop him from going poof.”
“Did he hurt you?” Conall dropped his sword while he ran his hands over her body.
“That feels really good, O'Rourke, but shouldn't you be asking if I hurt
him
?” She tried not to show her disappointment when his pat down stopped. “Did you get a look at him?”
“No. You were blocking my view. He disappeared before I could check him out.”
He pressed those sexy Irish lips together, and she'd guess he wanted to comment on the battle he'd seen. Probably wanted to say she should've let loose with a few girlish squeals and allowed Dell to chase her around the dungeon until the big, strong warrior rescued her.
Suddenly, he grinned. “You were giving him a butt whooping, vampire lady. Couldn't have done better myself.”
An emotion she could only describe as a deep yearning tugged at her chest. Not heartburn. “Thanks.”
Then Conall was all business. “Did he give a reason for the attack?”
Gerry frowned. “He said it wasn't personal. I had to die so something else could happen.” She absently brushed a few strands of hair from his face, a gesture Conall found oddly sensual. But then everything she did lately turned him on.
He sniffed. “The room smells different. It makes me . . .” Hard. No, not an appropriate reaction in the middle of life and death stuff.
“Sparkle's shot at driving us crazy with lust. She made a bet with Edge that she could hook us up faster than he could get Banan and Destiny together. We're winning one to zip. She wants to run up the score.”
“Figures.” He pushed Sparkle and the scents to the edge of his consciousness. “So why a direct attack now?”
“Our meeting convinced him to act. He listened at the door. And since we already suspected him, he decided to move on me.”
“Okay, so now we have the key. What would happen if you die?” Morrigan. But Conall didn't have a chance to stroll down that obvious path as Asima stepped over the destroyed door.
“Did I miss something? Holgarth will boil you in bitter words when he sees that door. Whatâ”
She blinked and looked around.
“Sparkle's been here. Only the queen of bad taste could've conjured such a horror in the name of sex. Is there no low that woman won't sink to? Someone should tell her that red velvet is
not
a fashion statement. We can fix this. First we'll get rid ofâ”
“Dell attacked Gerry while I was sleeping on the other side of that door.” He hoped Asima got the message that an attack on Gerry was more important than an attack of red velvet.
He scanned the room, for the first time getting the full impact of Sparkle's work. She was one scary woman.
“Oh.”
Asima looked alarmed. She padded around him.
“He didn't touch you, did he? I don't see any obvious wounds.”
Conall snapped. “What the hell is it with you?
I
wasn't attacked. Gerry was. While I was asleep on the job. Don't you feel
anything
? How about a little guilt? Weren't you the one who was going to stand guard outside the door?”
“Guilt? Maybe.”
She avoided his stare.
“A small fluttering, perhaps. But Gerry's not my . . . Umm, anyway, no one was injured.”
“I'm not your what, Asima?” Gerry hunkered down in front of the cat.
Said cat yawned.
“You're not her job.” Conall couldn't avoid that conclusion anymore when the proof was shoved in his face on a regular basis. “You work for Bast, so I guess you're protecting me on the goddess's order, right?”
“I couldn't say.”
“Why would Bast care?” He crouched down beside Gerry and Asima.
“I'm not free to discuss this.”
She looked around the room again.
“Will you be going out soon?”
“Maybe. Why?” Conall didn't like the gleam in her eyes.
“Hmm?”
She dragged her attention from the velvet drapes.
“Oh, I just want to make sure I'm here to accompany you.”
Her gaze slid back to the drapes.
“Isn't this the night I watch
Swan Lake
with you?” Gerry didn't sound too pumped about it.
“Oh, yes.”
Asima's blue eyes lit with excitement.
“The red velvet made me forget. I've invited a few other messengers of Bast to join us. We'll have a party. Get dressed now. I'll wait for you.”
Gerry nodded. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” She smiled at Conall. “We'll talk as soon as I get back. Dell won't make another attempt while I'm with Asima. The two of us would take him apart.”
Conall tended to agree, but he couldn't let her escape without a warning. “Don't underestimate him. He's a demon. If he can disappear, he can do other things. He didn't realize you were one tough lady. He won't come at you directly next time. Make sure you're never alone.”
He was thinking about his words a short time later as he hunted down his friends. Even though he knew Asima had enough power to take care of a dozen demons, he still worried about Gerry. And his worry was mixed with other emotions he never thought he'd feel for any Kavanagh. What to do about them? He'd face them, but not until Gerry and he had taken out the demon.
Luck was with him. Holgarth, Eric, and Brynn were all standing together at the entrance to the great hall while the fantasies went on without them. They stopped talking as he approached.
“We have a problem.” Holgarth's grim expression hinted that the problem involved loss of money. “Jinx has stolen a ruby brooch from one guest and a diamond toe ring from another. And even my gift for creating plausible lies fails when confronted with a hysterical guest claiming a snake robbed her. Either Gerry stops him or I will. The reputation of the castle is at stake.”
Conall figured they could all hear him grinding his teeth. If Jinx was smart, he'd slither into some crack and stay there for the duration, because if Conall found him now, he'd twist the thieving serpent into a pretzel.
“We'll take care of him.” We? A limited partnership? How limited? And would he remain on equal footing with his “partner” when they butted heads and Gerry realized she was really the boss?
“I should hope so.” Holgarth sniffed.
“Later.”
“Later is
not
acceptable.”
Eric made an impatient sound. “Give it a break, wizard. I think Conall has more important news for us.”
Relieved, Conall forgot to be pissed that the vampire was rooting around in his head. “The demon attacked Gerry while she was alone in the dungeon for a few minutes. When I broke down the door, he disappeared. I didn't get a look at him.”
“Regrettable, of course, but we need to discuss Jinx and lost revenue first.” Holgarth wouldn't let it go. “And did you mention a broken door? Dungeon doors costâ”
“Don't push me, wizard.” The words came out as a low rasp of warning. “Gerry comes first. Always. Anything happens to her while you're counting coins and I'll bring this castle down around your money-grubbing head.”
Holgarth shut up.
Brynn put his hand on Conall's shoulder. “What can we do?”
Conall forced his muscles to relax. These were his friends. Wouldn't do any good to unload on them. “Gerry was holding her own with the demon when I broke in, so he probably won't take the direct approach again. Problem is, he can disappear.” He glanced at Holgarth. “Anything you can do about that?”
“Perhaps.” He pursed his thin lips while straightening his damn pointed hat. “I'll need to borrow some power from all of you, but I should be able to keep him from dematerializing while he's in the castle. That means, of course, that Gerry can't leave the building.”
Conall nodded. “That'll be a big help. Do it.”
Holgarth held up one thin hand. “Wait. Not so fast, my immortal friend. I'll need to tap into a deep well of concentration. And how can I possibly concentrate when Jinx is on my mind?” The gaze he sent Conall was filled with sly triumph.
Conall surrendered to the inevitable. “Okay, what do you want?”
“I want you to find Jinx and keep him under surveillance at all times.”
“Yeah, yeah. Done.” Holgarth was a human thumbscrew, squeezing painful compliance from his victims. Conall would worry about what he'd agreed to later.
Holgarth allowed himself a tight smile to celebrate his victory. “Come with me. I'll need all of you.” As he motioned them outside, he threw out orders that everyone be kept away from the door leading to the courtyard. Once in the courtyard, he turned to face the two gargoyles guarding the entrance to the great hall.
Conall made eye contact with Eric and Brynn. They'd all seen what he could do with those gargoyles.
Now that serious stuff was about to happen, Holgarth shed his snarkiness and got down to business. “I'll draw energy from all of you to merge with mine. Then I'll wake the Guardians of the Castle. Do you give your energy freely?”
“We do.” They gave the ritualistic response as one.
Holgarth nodded before raising his arms to the two grotesque stone heads with their bulging eyes and fanged mouths stretched wide in silent screams.
As the wizard began to chant in an old language, Conall felt a sudden draining of his strength. Only pride kept him erect. If the demon appeared right now, they'd all be easy pickings. Silently, he hurried Holgarth along.
When Holgarth reached the grand finale, he switched to English. Conall suspected it was for effect, but he'd forgive the wizard his love of drama if the chant worked.
“Guardians of the Castle, awaken.” A flash of lightning streaked across the clear sky followed by booming thunder that shook the ground.
Conall was pretty sure even stone faces couldn't sleep through that. He just hoped they weren't grouchy before they had their first cup of coffee.
“Only those in corporeal form may enter the castle. Any who attempt to dematerialize within these walls will fail.” He waved his arms around, and the lightning and thunder did their things again. “Awaken and do my will.”
“At least he got rid of that dumb wand.” Eric sounded amused. “He doesn't need props.”
No kidding. No matter how big a pain in the ass Holgarth was, Conall never doubted his power.