Blade on the Hunt

by Lauren Dane

He stalked over and hauled her close with a snarl, kissing her senseless.

  He finally broke away, setting her back from him. “I don’t like you put into jeopardy again and again because the very organization you’re serving is actively trying to derail you. And it doesn’t help that those doing it seem to want to wipe my kind from the planet.”

  “As if. See, the problem is, they’re dangerous because they lack any real intelligence when it comes to how to deal with the results of their little revolution. I’m sure as hell not letting any cabal, not of Vampires, sorcerers or hunters, go genociding around. But I can’t do this right now. I need my head on the plan. Let’s go. One major threat at a time.”

  * * *

  He took her upper arms, pulling her close again, locking his gaze with hers. “I will not allow anyone to harm you.”

  Six months ago she’d have bloodied his nose for this sort of touch. Maybe. They also could have ended up fucking against a piece of furniture. She really was perfect for him.

  She had already been protecting him for months. Spent her entire life protecting other people, but it was more because it was Rowan caring for Clive. And that she was being attacked by those within Hunter Corp. made his blood boil. She was his to keep safe in ways they couldn’t possibly have understood.

  But they would. They underestimated Rowan but they had no context to what he was going to do with those threatening his woman.

  “I can protect myself.” Her voice was a whisper. He saw the fear in her gaze. The worry that this would turn emotional.

  “You can. And you do.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And the fact remains. I won’t allow this to go unanswered.”

  “This is what happens when you have a Vampire boyfriend,” she muttered.

  “I’m not your boyfriend. I’m your mate. Your husband. Now that you’re delightfully cranky again, let’s go.”

  “Husband?” Her sigh was theatrical and it made him laugh as he followed her out. She called back over her shoulder as she headed down the stairs. “The only thing good about this whole trip is that I get to do crime. That’s it.”

  He waited until they’d reached the bottom before taking her hand. And in full view of everyone gathered there, he kissed her knuckles. “After you get your fill of stabbing and killing I’ll take you for gelato.”

  But she didn’t get mad. Surprised delight scattered across her features for a brief moment and he resolved to bring that expression to her face as many times as he could. She needed more of that in her life.

  “I know a place. Open all night. You’re paying.” Rowan pulled her hand back pretending to glower.

  “I’m at your service.” He bowed deeply and she flipped him off. He pretended to be offended at her vulgarity and the spring was back in her step by the time they headed out into the night to do some crime.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Clive knew the Villa was one a powerful Vampire had been in recently. Had rested at least once or twice. During the daytime when they were asleep, they tended to leach magic into their surroundings. Over time it created a protective spell in that place.

  It was a beautiful sort of synergy and one that convinced Clive that Vampires were as meant to be on this planet as humans. Vampires had carved out their place in the ecosystem.

  He made the hand sign for empty and pointed at the villa. Rowan’s brow knitted as her anger boiled over through the alley they stood in.

  “Darling, you know that that does to me,” he murmured as he moved closer.

  “This is bullshit. How does she keep one step ahead all the time?”

  Clive shook his head. “This is just another delay. But it won’t be a long one. Or one we won’t overcome. This is winding down to its ultimate conclusion.”

  He simply knew it to his bones. Anticipation hung heavy in the air. Humid, tense, that inevitable march toward whatever was supposed to happen.

  “That sounded remarkably new age.”

  Said the woman sharing her existence with a millennia old deity.

  “Since I’m not prone to such flights of fancy, you should take my words seriously. Let’s get closer. If it’s empty we should get in there to see if we can find anything to locate and end her once and for all.”

  “Yeah. We may as well speak with the others first.”

  They pulled back several canals over and met up with everyone at a tiny church courtyard. Donna unlocked the gate in the little stone fence and they went inside.

  Once they did, Rowan nearly gasped at the way the spell simply tightened around them as the gate closed once more. Wards were usually sort of like a gate, this felt like being squeezed into a coat. For a moment it was a little uncomfortable, but then it wore off.

  Donna said, “Let’s go inside. We can speak freely.”

  It was indeed a church. The hardwood floors gleamed, smooth from generations of feet shuffling over it. They headed to the front where the altar was to gather in the pews.

  “The villa is deserted,” Clive didn’t waste any time getting to the point.

  “I’ve spoken with the other practitioners who came out tonight. We all agree on this point. There is a great power in that villa,” Donna said.

  “That I agree with you on. But the wielders of whatever power are not there. If she were there, or whoever that old Vampire was who has been lodging there, all the Vampires here would have known it,” Clive explained.

  “What you’re feeling is the residual magic Vampires leave when they rest in a place for a while,” Warren added.

  Donna sighed and thought about that for a while. “You may be right. But if you’re wrong, we’d like to be on hand to help. The energy there is so strong I really don’t think they’ve been gone very long.”

  Rowan agreed. “I’m convinced someone powerful was there this morning when we walked by.”

  Warren cleared his throat. “All right then, Donna. How about you tell us what’s going on because this obviously has a magical component you’re not entirely forthcoming about.”

  “It’s not that I’m lying.” Donna’s tone was sharp. “We’re all responsible for protecting something, eh? I’ve said all along that whatever magic is being practiced in that villa is wielded by someone who doesn’t care about the cost. Which is steep.”

  Practitioners—what they called all brands of witches, sorcerers and the like—had pretty live-and-let-live attitude with one another. Even the ones who worked with blood and other darker elements Rowan tried not to think about. But all the practitioners here in Venice were universally repulsed but whatever was going on. Which made Rowan simultaneously curious and resolved to never know.

  “Can we ask about it or is this a secret?” Rowan asked. She was surrounded by people keeping secrets and it annoyed her, even as she had her own.

  “It’s something none of us, even those who practice the darkest of arts utilizes.”

  Great.

  Rowan knew that was all she’d get for the moment. Eventually she’d force the issue, but they had bigger issues to deal with just then. “All right. I tend to agree with Clive and the Vampires on this. They’re good at knowing if places are empty or not because they have that built in predator instinct and great hearing.”

  “You’ll make me blush with all your flattery,” Warren said.

  “I’m sure you’re just misunderstood. Anyway, Donna, get your people in place.” They’d established that none of them but Rowan’s team would enter that villa or even get within a block without her permission. “David, you’ll be with me and Recht. Clive, Alice and Warren, you three head—”

  “Perhaps David should be with me and Alice can be with you.” Clive tried very hard to say it, make it sound like an imperious order but also make it sound like he was asking nicely. Only a Scion level Vamp could do it as well as Clive
had.

  Not that it worked. But she admired the effort. “David is with me.” She could keep an eye on him better that way.

  “We know the entry points,” Clive said, without referring to the subject again, “so we’ll take the north and you the south.”

  Within minutes they’d headed back out.

  Chapter Twenty

  It was late, but it was also Venice, so despite the rain—maybe to spite it—windows were opened up and the sound of conversations, of clinking glasses, televisions and music drifted down to the street they walked along.

  The villa loomed ahead and each of the three approached it from a different angle. Rowan had let go of David. He’d been trained. He was smart. She could ask for a lot worse than his first field work to be in the company of so many who’d step in if he needed help.

  Brigid pushed to the surface as Rowan reached for their connection, wanting to view this from Her perspective. This close, and all the windows remained dark. Some on the third floor appeared to be uncovered, but the first two floors had dark drapes and shutters. Someone could be inside, behind those covered windows.

  There was a lip on the edge of the canal leading to a small dock, mostly rotted. The villa’s back wall faced it there. It would give Rowan a measure of cover while she got a closer look.

  She motioned to Recht that she was headed that way. He paused, looked at her path and then nodded. Did the same.

  Now as she walked the tiny ledge over to the dock, the ooze of broken, misused magic began to stick to her skin.

  Brigid didn’t much like it. The surface of Rowan’s skin burned white hot. So hot she nearly fell into the water when she jerked at the pain. And then it was duller and finally normal again. Except the magic wasn’t clinging to her anymore.

  Okay, so a little pain was worth that.

  The wrought iron gate appeared to be stuck closed with disuse. But it allowed her to get close enough to see the house. She took in the scene. Second floor shutters all closed but the ones here at the back of the house on the first floor were bare but for drawn curtains.

  She didn’t need to see in the house to smell it though. Not just death, but very bad death. Pain. Fear.

  Inside Rowan knew Brigid had seen this before. Maybe back when Enyo killed the last Vessel.

  Once she’d had that thought she was sure that was it. Enyo was there. Oh, not at that moment. Clive had been right. There was no one in the house. But in the city. Rowan scaled the stone wall quickly and walked along the edge until she got past the trip wire that had been left armed.

  The shuttered windows were light tight and would be locked most likely, but the third floor had a balcony that looked like it led up to a rooftop deck.

  So many people, even people who should know better, forgot how easy it was to hop from a fence or wall to an upper floor window or deck. The sheer number of times she’d entered a place that way because it wasn’t locked never ceased to amaze her.

  Rowan jumped, grabbing the edge of the casement around one of the shuttered windows. There was no way she could have gotten in there, but that perch allowed her to get a handhold and pull up to the deck and up to the roof. Where, as she suspected, several large skylights had been installed.

  After making sure the room below was empty, Rowan got the French doors to the deck open and went inside.

  Before they’d left the church’s courtyard earlier, Donna had given Rowan a talisman. A coin that made her feel better the moment her friend had placed it in Rowan’s palm.

  It heated through the material of her pants, burning against her thigh. Rowan didn’t have to be told to know it was warding off some bad shit in that house. The stain of what had been done there would not be easily removed. If it ever could.

  Moments later, Clive strolled in, Alice in his wake.

  They did a sweep of the third floor and then she and Recht met each other as she came down to the second floor and he was coming up. David popped up a second later.

  Warren came down the other end of the hall. He hit a code and the doors all clicked unlocked.

  While Rowan and the others made sure the villa was truly empty, Warren and Recht headed off to be sure there weren’t any alarms or listening devices they hadn’t seen and dealt with.

  Burnished hardwood and wrought iron curved up a grand staircase. The furnishings were antique and absolutely stunning. Art hung on the walls that the Vampires probably stole centuries before. It was, quite honestly, one of the loveliest homes she’d ever been to in Venice. In fact, there weren’t many places in Venice left with this kind of majesty.

  Which made what had been done within the walls even more repugnant and offensive. Everything awful in the world seemed to seep from the walls. From the beautiful rugs at their feet. Hopelessness cloyed against her skin as they searched the place. They kept going outside to get fresh air so the nausea could subside.

  Rowan wasn’t sure that gorgeous art and the antiques could be saved. Or the home itself. There was no telling how that magic was going to affect the people living and working in the vicinity. Would it leak? Should it be neutralized? She was out of her league when it came to this kind of magic. That’s when she made the call to allow Donna into the villa to see what her take was.

  * * *

  It wasn’t quite an hour and a half later when everyone came back together to discuss the situation.

  “They sure up and got out of here fast. Like they were ready to go at a moment’s notice,” Donna said.

  “That’s a basic precaution all Vampires are advised to take. Most of us have multiple bolt holes, caches of money and the like. It’s a skill we don’t like to let get rusty. If they had anything to hide, they took it with them.” Warren paced.

  Rowan looked to Donna. “What did this magic? They left that behind. A signature.”

  Donna wrung her hands a few moments. “You don’t understand. If anyone knew what some of us were capable of, all would bear the punishment. We’d be in danger by those who’d seek to engage our services, voluntary or not. We’ve been drowned and stoned and burned since the first of us. We have laws I won’t break.”

  Like Rowan could argue with that? It was nothing but the truth.

  “I did get a call. The other practitioners have all consulted with one another and we don’t think any being of a power who could do this,” Donna waved a hand, “has left Venice.”

  “Why is she still here then?” Rowan asked. A boat and they could have been gone from town and on a plane before Rowan had even left her own house earlier that night. “Is there something she needs from here that she can’t get anywhere else? As a Vampire or magically?”

  “We’re looking into that now. There aren’t any holy days for at least a month for those of us in the known arts. There are certainly places here that are conducive to personal power and working spells. This is an old place. That’s the beauty of old places.”

  Clive spoke. “I don’t know of anything she’d need here that would aid her. Not based on any history or lore that I’ve been taught.”

  Recht shook his head.

  “Maybe it’s not a place she came for but an item or some sort of ceremony. Maybe this is her new thing. Like she declared her candidacy for Empress of Monstertonia and now her gig is traveling around and causing trouble.”

  “And we caught her in mid trouble and she had to scramble to get out of the way. She didn’t expect us to find her here.” Clive squeezed the bridge of his nose at the thought.

  “At least not yet. We came to Venice early, remember? We were supposed to stop in Rome but changed our mind at the last minute.” Rowan tucked that away to stew on it in the background. But she had things to do. “Do we need to stay here or can we get moving? We still have some darkness left so I’d like to get back to it.”

  “Once you leave, I
’ll let some of my compatriots in. The more traditions the better. One of us will hopefully see something that can help. In the mean time, we’ll be keeping watch for you to see who is coming and going. So we’ll be safer,” Donna assured her.

  “I don’t want to leave you without more protection.”

  Clive nodded. “If she came back...”

  “We’re no small power.” Donna stood taller.

  Warren bowed deeply. “Madam, you are of course, very powerful. You have my admiration as a petty dabbler in spellwork myself.” His attention shifted to Rowan, asking if it was cool for him to stay there.

  It was his territory this was all happening in. He’d want to run Enyo to ground nearly as much as Rowan did. But this was also part of his job. A Vampire in his land, one who owed him fealty, had done this. Left whatever stain this gross magic had by doing whatever secret stuff so awful Rowan couldn’t even imagine what it could be.

  He was stepping back, giving the hunt over to her for real, and in doing so, he was being a better Scion. Rowan nodded slightly and he turned to Donna again.

  “Would you consider letting me stay here with you while you and your friends go through this place? As I said, I’m a petty dabbler so I’m sure you could all teach me a few things.”

  Donna sniffed and then smiled, flattered. “If it’s all right with everyone else, we’d love to have you.”

  Rowan nodded her thanks and they quickly took off after promising to keep Warren updated.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Recht headed off in one direction, with Alice. He had access to a nice little boat—access meaning he stole it—and they planned to search via water.

  “David, I need you to go back and deal with Carey. He needs to know what’s going on so he looks where he should. I’m heading to the HC villa. I want to case it a bit. Text me when you connect with him.”

  David paused a moment. Rowan knew he was most likely trying to figure out if he’d been exiled. He nodded. “I will. And then I’ll join you once you let me know where you are.” He darted off without giving her a chance to argue.