by Deanna Chase
She stared at me, her brow crinkled, then she shook her head. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re so fixated on—”
I reached out and placed my hand on her arm. Magic pulsed at my fingertips, calling hers to the surface.
“Whoa!” She jerked her arm back. “What the hell were you doing?”
“Calling your magic,” I said as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a tattered business card. All it had was my name and a phone number on it. “If you want to learn about your gift, you can reach me at this number.”
Iris’s hand shook a little as she took the card. “I… That’s not…” She glanced up at me, her expression full of confusion. “I can’t be a witch.”
“You can,” I said. “And you are. You have two choices: bury it and hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass or learn how to control it and open up a whole new world of opportunities.”
She was still standing on the porch, staring at the card as I jumped in my car and headed back to the Arcane library.
4
Dax strode down the dank alley, fuming. The kid he’d opened his home to had not only taken a swing at him, he’d broken Dax’s goddamn phone as well. Then Leo had stormed out, vowing to rip the throat out of whoever was responsible for Rhea’s death.
Dax’s first instinct was to let the kid cool off. Unfortunately, the only people Rhea could’ve gotten Scarlet from was the city’s vampire or shifter population. And if Leo picked a fight with the wrong one, the kid would be the next one in the city morgue. So instead of heading into the office and working on whatever new case the director had for him and Phoebe, he was working his way down Basin Street, tracking down Leo.
Over a hundred years ago, Basin Street had been the center of Storyville, the red-light district where brothels had flourished. So had jazz clubs and any other sinful establishment anyone could think up. But after the area was closed down in the early nineteen hundreds, all those establishments had gone underground. A few years ago, Allcot and his investors decided to bring Storyville back. Only instead of brothels, they opened blood banks, aka feeding houses, and supernatural nightclubs just for the paranormal community. It was where one went when they were tracking down a vamp or shifter who liked to party.
Of course, since it was just after nine in the morning, most of the establishments were currently closed. It was hard to cater to vampires during the day when most would combust in the sunlight. There were some who were daywalkers, thanks to Willow Rhoswen and her unusual gift of being able to turn vamps into sun-resistant creatures, but not enough to justify businesses staying open during the day.
That meant if Leo was still around, there were only two places he could be. Howlers or the Swamp. Dax headed for the Swamp. It was the type of place that welcomed all kinds of supernaturals. It was also the kind of place where an arrogant young kid would get his ass kicked if he wasn’t careful.
The stench of overflowing garbage with a whiff of rotten oranges assaulted his senses, making him fight his gag reflex. He ground his teeth and quickened his pace.
“Damn kid,” Dax muttered, barely able to control his frustration. Rhea’s death had been a blow to all of them. He knew Leo was in pain, but running out and getting himself killed wasn’t going to solve anything.
He strode into the Swamp, pausing for just a moment to let his eyes adjust. “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses blared from the sound system. The stench of stale blood filled the air, leaving no question that the club was also a feeding ground for vamps.
“Hey, handsome,” a sickly-sweet female voice said as a woman slipped her arm through his.
Dax glanced down at her pale, thin face and tried not to let his revulsion show. There were purple smudges beneath her eyes and unhealed vampire bites on her neck.
Classic feeder.
“I’m looking for someone,” he said, extracting himself from her grip.
“Well, looks like you found her. I’m Lexi. And you are?” She put her hand on his back and slid it down to cup his ass.
“Dax. Now remove your hand or I’ll do it for you,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Touchy.” She shrugged and swept a cold, calculating gaze down his body. “I guess that means you don’t want to pay me for my time then?”
He stared down at her, pity mixing with irritation. “I’m not looking for a date, paid or otherwise.”
“Your loss.” Lexi turned on her heel and started to head toward the bar where the bartender was already pouring her a rum and Coke.
He briefly wondered how many drinks it took her to get through the day. Then he silently cursed himself. Whatever her demons were, it wasn’t for him to judge how she dealt with them. He followed her to the bar and took the seat next to her.
“I’m not free,” she said without even looking at him.
Dax reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “I’m looking for information.”
Her eyes lit up as she focused on the cash lying between them, but as she shifted her gaze to him, they turned assessing. “It’s going to cost you more than that.”
The bartender chuckled as he wiped the counter. No doubt he’d witnessed her song and dance before.
“There’s more where that came from if you have the information I need,” Dax said.
She raised one eyebrow and took a long sip of her drink.
“I’m looking for a young shifter.”
“Aren’t we all, honey,” she said flippantly.
“Early twenties. Highly agitated.”
“Shifter with a death wish?” she asked. “Blond kid, ranting about drugs?”
“Perhaps. Have you seen him?” Dax narrowed his eyes at her, assessing if she was shoveling him a load of bullshit.
“Sure.” She smiled, showing off perfectly straight, although stained, teeth. Her shoulders were relaxed, and self-confidence rolled off her in waves. If she was fucking with him, she was one really fantastic actress.
“When did you see him?”
Lexi tapped the twenty. “Gonna cost you a little more if you want answers.”
If Dax hadn’t been having such a shit morning, he might have laughed. He had to give her credit. She sure as hell knew how to hustle. He put a five on top of the twenty.
She frowned.
“No more until you prove you have solid information,” Dax said impatiently.
She reached out to take the cash, but Dax grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
“Not until I get answers,” he all but growled.
“Jesus. No need to be an asshole.” Lexi jerked her hand out from under his grip. “Your boy was in here about thirty minutes ago, ranting about Allcot and the Cryrique. Seemed to think they somehow got his girlfriend killed.”
Dax sucked in a sharp breath, already climbing off the stool. That was Leo all right. He was convinced someone from Cryrique was selling Scarlet on the black market. “Where did he go?”
She opened her mouth, already eyeing the money again, but before she could say anything, he added another twenty. The smile was back. “Eventually, the Cryrique building. But he said he needed answers first.”
“Shit.” Dax ran a hand through his thick dark hair and turned on his heel, moving toward the door. But just before he slipped out, he called over his shoulder, “What was he doing in here?”
“Lookin’ for a vamp named Strix. Apparently he’s the last person his girl spoke to before she overdosed.” Lexi’s hard exterior cracked, and she gave Dax a small, sympathetic frown. “Tell your kid I’m sorry about his girl. I’ve lost people I love to that poison too.”
Dax gave her a short nod and strode back into the morning light. Your kid. Her words echoed in his mind. Is that how he saw Leo? As someone he was responsible for? Yes. He absolutely did. The younger shifter didn’t have any other family, and Dax had pretty much appointed himself Leo’s guardian… whether he needed one or not. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to leave him hanging out to dry while he hunted down Strix, the
daywalking vampire who was rumored to work for Cryrique.
Dax didn’t even bother heading into Howlers. Strix wouldn’t be in a shifter bar. Not unless it was filled with strippers. And Howlers wasn’t that kind of place. But Dax knew exactly where to find him.
He reached for his phone and came up empty. “Fuck,” he said through gritted teeth. He’d already forgotten Leo had broken the dammed thing. The hot sun beat down on the back of his neck as he took off at a dead run.
The strip club he was looking for was only five blocks away on Bourbon Street. Mornings in the French Quarter were usually eerily quiet, but not this one. Tourists were already filling the streets, out looking for breakfast and Bloody Marys to continue their vacations of debauchery. Dax ignored them all and brushed past two college kids guzzling their Huge Ass Beers to enter the strip club known as Peaches.
“Dax Marrok… Well, I didn’t expect to see you in here.” The woman working the front door stepped in front of him, barring him from going into the club.
He glanced down at her, taking in her pink lace push-up bra, matching hot pants, and white lace thigh-high stockings. All she needed was a bow around her neck and she’d look like a present all ready to be unwrapped. Most men would be distracted by her creamy flesh and saucy smile. He wasn’t. All he saw was an obstacle. “I’m looking for someone.”
“I know.” She crossed her arms over her chest and didn’t budge.
He narrowed his eyes and let out a small growl as he said, “Are you refusing to let me enter this establishment?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Just giving you time to cool off a bit.”
He itched to just pick her up and move her to the side. Instead, he leaned one shoulder against the wall and stared down at her, letting interest flash in his dark eyes as he raked his gaze down her body. “You’re not exactly helping with that.”
The stripper ran her fingertips over the swell of her breast and gave him a flirty smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
The action told him everything he needed to know. Someone—Leo—had put her up to stalling him. He was certain of it. There was no other reason she’d know his name or try to keep him from the show on the inside. “How much did he pay you?”
“Excuse me?” She jerked her head back and feigned surprise.
“The blond shifter. Leo. How much did he pay you? I’ll double it if you drop the act,” Dax said, making no effort to hide his impatience.
“Fifty bucks.”
It was a lie. Leo didn’t have that kind of money. The kid could barely pay for his morning coffee. It didn’t matter. He pulled out a wad of bills and stuffed them in her bra. “Is that enough?”
She glanced down and, without a word, stepped aside. At least he understood the language of Basin and Bourbon Street. Money was the underlying motivator. It made the area a hell of a lot easier to navigate.
Dax strode into the club. The tables were all lined with linens while the walls and chairs were all a rich peach velvet. The ornate chandeliers were set to low, giving off a soft glow as “Dancing in the Dark” played over the sound system.
Only instead of spinning around the pole, the stripper was off to the side, clutching a tiny red silk robe to her almost-naked body.
And right in the middle of the stage were Leo and Strix. The vampire had Leo in a headlock, his fangs lodged into the shifter’s neck as he tried to suck the shifter dry.
Dax didn’t hesitate. He flew through the air, his body already making the shift into his wolf form. His large paws hit the stage and he leaped forward, his jaws clamping down on the vampire’s shoulder.
Strix immediately released Leo and let out a roar of outrage as he turned to Dax, landing a powerful punch to his head. Dax slammed to the stage floor, but not before he took a chunk of the vampire with him.
In seconds, Dax was back on his feet, right between Strix and Leo, blood dripping from his muzzle.
“What the fuck is this?” Strix said with a hiss. “Can’t a vamp enjoy his morning of tits and ass without some jackass shifter interrupting the show?”
“Fuck you and your morning!” Leo cried out, the pain radiating from him sounding like it was coming from a wounded animal. “You’re a piece of shit, you know that, Strix?”
Strix just shrugged. “I never claimed to be anything other than an asshole. That’s not news.”
Dax clamped his jaws shut and shook his head. He was positive the vampire had no idea why Leo wanted to end his sorry existence.
“This is some fucked-up bullshit,” Strix said, shaking his head to clear his shaggy black hair from his field of vision. “What happened? Did I fuck your girlfriend or something?”
A low, deadly growl came from Leo.
Strix threw his head back and laughed. “I bet that’s it. What’s the problem, little pup? Can’t keep her satisfied now that she’s been with the Strix?” He jerked one thumb at himself and came off looking like the biggest asshole to ever hit Bourbon Street.
Dax shifted back into human form, leaving himself standing between Leo and Strix, completely naked. A group of catcalls came from the dancers gathered at the wing of the stage and a couple from the back of the room. Shifters weren’t modest. They spent entirely too much time shifting to worry about offending anyone with their human form.
“Word on the street is you’re selling Scarlet,” Dax said.
“Who said that?” he asked, making a concerted effort to stare over Dax’s shoulder.
“Does it matter?” Dax asked, watching Strix carefully as he inched toward the edge of the stage.
“Sure. I should know who’s spreading rumors about me.” His brilliant blue eyes flashed with amusement.
A deep-seated desire to rip the vamp’s head off rolled through Dax, but before he could make a move, Leo darted out from behind him, brandishing a needle.
“They aren’t rumors, you piece of shit,” Leo cried, waving the needle in front of Strix. “Why else would you have this on you?”
“Whoa, I—”
Leo leaped forward and grabbed the vampire by the neck, cutting off whatever it was he was going to say.
“Fuck!” Dax said just as Leo brought his arm down, clearly intending to stab Strix with his own needle.
Strix shot his hand out and grabbed Leo’s wrist. The two were locked in a battle of wills, Leo trying to squeeze the life out of a vampire who couldn’t die, Strix trying to crush Leo’s wrist. The vampire bent Leo’s arm back, causing Leo to fall to his knees and lose his grip on the vampire’s neck.
“Listen, you little fucker. I don’t deal. That shit is for personal use. The only girls who ever get it from me are the ones who earn it.” He glanced down at his crotch. “You understand?”
Leo let out a howl and bared his teeth at the vampire.
“If you ever touch me again, I’ll rip your fucking head off,” Strix said through clenched teeth, only moments away from breaking Leo’s arm.
Dax knew Leo had been hasty in his attack, but he wouldn’t stand by and let some lazy, drug-using, low-life vamp beat the shit out of the kid who’d just lost his girl twenty-four hours ago. There was no reasoning with either of them. Both were already too far into the fight. Instead, Dax waited for his opening, and just as he saw triumph in the vampire’s expression, he lashed out. Dax’s fist struck the crook of Strix’s arm, breaking his connection with Leo.
Leo was knocked off-balance and fell backward as Strix spun, turning on Dax.
“You want a piece of me, pretty boy?” Strix growled.
Dax raised one eyebrow. “Did you supply Scarlet to Rhea?”
“Who the fuck is Rhea? That blond bitch who wanted to get high so bad she offered to suck me off in the alley?” he asked, disgust lining his face.
Leo let out a howl and transformed into his shifter form at the same time Dax threw another punch, connecting with the vampire’s nose. There was a sickening crunch as the vampire went down. But in the very next moment, he was back on his feet, the needle Leo
had dropped clutched in his fist as he rushed Dax. Leo clamped his jaws around Strix’s free arm, but the vamp just kept coming.
Dax tried to dart out of the way, but the vampire was too fast, and Dax threw his arm up, trying to block the blow. A sharp stab of pain radiated through his shoulder, and a second later, he felt the burning sensation of a potent drug rushing into his bloodstream.
Euphoria took over, sending pleasure everywhere. Dax just stood there on the stage, the drug rush making his insides tingle. All the pain vanished, and Dax felt as if he were floating.
He barely heard the scramble that was going on in front of him. He didn’t care. All that mattered was the high that had propelled him into another world.
Then suddenly, Dax’s blood heated and sweat coated his skin. He grew nauseated, and in the next moment his world started to turn black. Jesus, he thought. This is it. I’m suffering an overdose. Just like Rhea. Regret overwhelmed him. Of all the ways to go out, this had never been on his radar.
As his limbs gave out and he slumped to the floor, he thought of Phoebe and pictured the devastation on her face as she identified his cold, dead body.
5
I climbed the stairs to the Arcane library, noting how different the structure looked in the light of day. The white columns shone in the summer sun and the windows sparkled. The place was inviting, innocuous in its almost regal architecture.
Nothing about the place said a vampire attack had happened there the night before. A chill swept over my skin as I entered the air-conditioned building. I would’ve brushed it off as a temperature change, but it came with an ache in the pit of my stomach and a sense of foreboding. I paused, inhaling the scent of decaying paper that always accompanied old books, and noted the dust motes swirling in the sunlight.
“Good morning, Ms. Kilsen. What can we help you with this morning?” The Arcane librarian pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she smiled at me.
I glanced at her, surprised she’d remembered my name as I tried and failed to place her. I’d only been to the library a few times. The woman must’ve had a gifted memory. “Hello, Ms.…?”
