"I'm supposed to know?" Maggie gestured. "I'm thinking, okay?"
Kellan sighed. "Okay. Look in this room, up at the ceiling. And then I want to show you the one in the master bedroom."
Maggie looked into the room where Rose slept. Justin heard her swift intake of breath then she was out the door again. "A sleep spiral. A very strong one, I might add," she said, yawning. "Next?"
Kellan led the way down the hall to the end of the wing, where the door stood open. A huge bed, bare of sheets, dominated the large room. Right over the bed someone had painted a wreath of roses and ivy.
Justin looked closer; entwined there in the foliage were runes. The design looked older there, different somehow from the other paintings he'd seen. He frowned at Maggie, who looked at him with wide eyes. She licked her lips, and panic crossed her face.
She fled the room.
Kellan looked to Justin with raised eyebrows. "What was that about?"
"Don't know. Let's find out, shall we?" The two men left the room, but Maggie wasn't in the hallway.
Justin shook his head. "I'll find her. You go do whatever it is you were going to do."
Kellan grinned. "You got your eyes on that, then?"
"Do you?" Justin frowned.
"Nah. She's pretty, but no pushover. She's smart, plus, you know. A witch. I like my women a lot less complicated." Kellan clapped his brother on the back. "Enjoy yourself."
"Yeah. Whatever." Justin shook his head and went downstairs. He found Maggie standing in the great room, deep in thought.
"Well?"
Maggie jumped. "Well." She shook her head, focused. "Like I said, a strong sleep spiral on the ceiling in Rose’s bedroom. It’s mostly calming, protective, with reassurances of safety and happiness while encouraging sleep. The one in the master is different." She blew out a breath.
Justin looked at her quizzically. "Something wrong?"
Maggie grimaced. "It's—there's a strong sexual pull to that particular spiral," she said, and wiped her hands on her thighs. "Sex and fertility and deep, abiding love. I'm dead certain you don't want me yanking you in there for a hot and sweaty bout of sex. I mean, I don't want to yank you in there. I mean…damn it."
Justin grinned, and his grin got even wider when she flushed. "Never mind. I understand your meaning."
"Okay. When I walked through the kitchen, I found more spirals. Ones of blessings. Protection. Love of family, love of brothers. Respect. That kind of thing."
Justin frowned. "I never thought she manipulated us like this."
"It's not manipulation, exactly. It's more of a wish, a hope, or protection at its most basic."
"And the sleep spiral? Rose took a look at it and was out."
"That can happen. I'll study it closer. My guess is it depends upon the mood of the person who looks at it. Someone who needs sleep, needs to feel peaceful, will find what he needs in that room. Someone who isn't as needy won't be as affected by it. But that's all speculation at this point."
"Hmmm." Justin thought of the two men who had slept in that room as boys. One the product of rape; the other tossed out by his mother. The spiral in that room made sense.
Maggie brought out her cell phone. "I'd like to take photos of every painting. I'll need to get my good camera from home, but I don't want to waste time and they really should be documented. I can use my phone, if you don't mind?" Her brown eyes had cooled and only mild interest showed there now.
"Not at all. Feel free. I'll be outside when you're ready to go." Justin watched as she went toward the kitchen. He didn't know if he preferred her hot and angry, or distantly polite. Both made him itchy.
He headed outside, glancing at his watch. Three o'clock. He huffed out a breath and followed the sound of voices around to the back. Kellan raked dead leaves from the overgrown bed of roses while Gabriel took out his excess energy on a pile of logs that needed to be split for firewood.
The rhythmic thunk of the axe, plus the soothing sounds of the rake, took Justin back in time and he looked about absently, as if expecting to see his father there, directing the other two. He shook his head at the fantasy and leaned against a sycamore tree.
"Now there's good, productive work for your idle hands," he called. Kellan shot him a grin over his shoulder, while Gabriel hefted his axe.
"There's another axe here. Join me," he said. "We'll race," he added, chuckling.
Justin eyed his younger brother. "Considering you're bigger than me, I'll pass on that, thanks. So, I've been thinking."
"Ah. Something new. Good for you," applauded Kellan.
"Smartass. What I want to know is, why did the demons leave? Why didn't they fight?"
Gabriel thunked the axe deep into a log and came over to Justin. "Perhaps they were just waiting for Dorothy to click her heels so they could go home?"
"You're both smartasses." Justin shook his head and grinned from one to the other. “Danny called, changed the meeting to midnight tonight. Are you both still in?"
Kellan snorted. "Of course."
"Couldn't keep me away."
"What about Rose?"
Gabriel frowned. "We'll keep her here. The house has enough protection. She'll be fine."
"I want Maggie here with her. She can do research," Justin said.
"That works, if she doesn't mind."
"Maggie will have to pick up clothes, being a girl. She can pick up food and stuff, too. And once she's back, you can join us." Justin looked up at Gabriel who leaned against the house.
"You guys should know Satine contacted Rose today in the hospital. Rose couldn't keep her out."
Kellan sent a disgusted look toward Gabriel. "And you're just now telling us?"
"First opportunity. Rose is supposed to hand the three of us over to Satine tonight."
Justin snorted. "Hell. No way is that going to happen."
"Of course not. We'll carry on as planned." Kellan sent a dark look toward Gabriel.
"Just checking. I'll give Maggie a heads-up. Maybe she can put an obscuring spell or something on Rose while she's here, to make it harder for Satine to find her."
Justin held up a hand. "I’ll deal with the witch. You guys keep taking your sexual frustrations out on the gardens. Luckily there’s a lot to do out here."
“Sure is,” Gabriel retorted. “You’ll be taking your turn at it.”
“Dream on.” Justin turned and went into the house.
* * *
"I'm not done taking pictures," Maggie protested as Justin marched her out of the house. "I need a couple more hours."
"You'll get them." He opened the passenger door of his Jag. "Right now, I need to get you to your car and your laptop. I need you to shop for food for a few days, and I need you to drive back out here to take care of Rose tonight while my family and I meet up with Danny. So please. Get in the car."
With a suspicious glare, she got in. "Why don't you want me at the meeting with the weres?"
"They aren't big on witches," he said. "I'm doing you a favor. Trust me."
"You're being overprotective. I can take care of myself. Let me go with you, and leave Rose to Gabriel."
"I need Gabriel with me. I'm asking you to guard Rose.”
Maggie lifted an eyebrow. "Why do I get the sense of being railroaded?"
Justin turned to her and pinned her with a glare. "Look. Satine will try to use Rose to get to Gabriel. If I could be in two places at once, I'd be guarding Rose myself. I am asking you to do that for me. Would I do that if I didn't think you capable?" He stared her down.
"No," she allowed. "Okay. Got it."
He started the car. "Good. You can take as many pictures as you want, do all sorts of research while you're there. As far as I'm concerned, as soon as Gabriel arrives back to the place after the meeting, you can go." He pulled out and headed down the long drive.
"At least tell me where you'll be. What you're doing tonight."
Justin swung onto the 405 Freeway going south and merged into the slow-mov
ing traffic. "We're meeting with the Weres at our office in Santa Monica at ten to discuss the, ah, disposal of Satine and Vlad."
"You're going in tonight?"
"Not necessarily," he said. "We're considering all the options."
"I hope you have Doc Cavanaugh on your speed dial. I have a feeling you're going to need her."
Justin pushed aside the thought. "We need you to keep alert. Try to stay with Rose, if at all possible. You two should be okay in the house tonight. It's not like the neighbors are so close they can see the house. No one will know you're there."
Maggie sniffed. "Just keep me informed. You did such a lousy job of it earlier."
Justin flashed a grin. "I could always dip into your mind." Like this. Do you want me to message you this way?
Maggie stiffened beside him. "No! Stay out of my head. Don't do that unless there's no option. Got it? Just text me, or something."
Justin turned onto the southbound freeway, satisfied.
* * *
Rose sat in a tree swing in the citrus grove. "It's so beautiful here."
Maria Therese smiled. "This house is filled with love. You should stay here until you and Gabriel are ready for your own home."
"Gabriel is fighting me. Fighting what might be between us."
"He is fighting with himself, child. He hasn't yet learned to accept his entire heritage. Instead he picks and chooses." Maria Therese shrugged. "If he doesn't learn to use all of himself, he will fail."
"Die, you mean."
"Perhaps. There is more than one way to fail." Maria Therese reached out and took Rose's hands in her own. "You do matter to him. But he is afraid to love."
"He thinks he's incapable of love." Rose rested her head on Maria Therese's hands. "I am so angry at Satine, at my own part in Gabriel's problems. I'm afraid we’ll lose."
"Dear child. Don’t let fear stop you from doing what needs to be done." Maria Therese's voice filled with emotion. "You cannot stop events from unfolding. You both must move forward. Have faith in each other. Gabriel will remember who he is in the end."
"But are we going to win? Can you promise me that we win in the end?"
Maria Therese smiled. "I haven't been shown the end. But I do know that if you don't go into this battle, you will all lose more than you can know. None of you will be able to run from the fate that will await you, if you refuse to act. Gather your courage. Do what must be done." She moved as if to leave.
"Wait!" Rose left the swing to stand beside her. "Just tell me one thing. The demon on me—it seems to drain me too much to be useful. How do I get around that? How can I use it and push through the weakness that comes?"
The older woman looked at her steadily. "Mephisto is drawn to you. He will give you more than he will take, in the end. I know it’s dangerous, but I deemed it necessary to use him. You need his strength, his power, to do what must be done."
Rose reeled. "You put him on me?"
"A bit extreme," she admitted. "He didn't seem to mind at the time, and it seems to have been effective, so far. Now, trust yourself. You will have the strength you need, when you need it. Remember to call on him for help. Though he is no friend, he is not your enemy, either. Mephisto will make all the difference in the fight to come." Abruptly Maria Therese gathered Rose in a swift embrace. "Be strong." And she was gone.
Rose opened her eyes, the scent of the citrus orchard slowly fading as she looked around at Gabriel's childhood room. She could have sworn she'd been talking to Maria Therese, out there in the orchard.
Rose yawned and gazed up at the spiral on the ceiling. Pretty. What did it say? As she followed the words, once again she succumbed to the lure of sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Two Caines sat opposite the three weres of the Santa Monica Preserve.
"Where's Justin?" Danny shot an irritated look out the window where the sounds of nightlife were diminishing.
Gabriel followed his gaze and pushed down any worry. "He'll be here any second. So, what's the plan? Now that you have your women back," he added.
"You are right, we need to take out the club and all the vampires. Tonight." Danny Roush paced between the conference table and the door. "They need to pay for what they did to our women."
"We agree. We do. But we can't go anywhere near Twisted tonight." Gabriel put up his hands before the weres could protest. "It's not that we don't want to," he added. "Rose has also been compromised by Satine. She's under a compulsion to bring all of us to Satine tonight. So getting anywhere near the place is suicide for us."
"What we were figuring is to go in at sunrise tomorrow," Kellan said. "The vampires' powers will be weakening. And they lost a good dozen demons today. Unless they have more than we think they do, they'll be even more vulnerable at first light."
Danny studied him. "Do you think they'll bring in more demons?"
"That depends on where they got these. If, as rumor has it, they're bringing them through from the Chaos Plane, they won't have time to re-staff tonight. My guess is they'll flee. Find another playground." Gabriel shrugged. "But it's hard to say. Satine isn't the most stable vamp around."
"Tell me about Rose," Danny said. "She's a fire demon? I was surprised to come around the corner and see her standing there, tossing fire."
"Hitchhiker from her time in Purgatory," said Gabriel. "Possibly up to three months ago."
Danny looked impressed. "She's held on for a long time, then. Will she be safe tonight?"
"Yes. She has a bodyguard. A witch," Kellan added, his voice dour.
Danny frowned. "I didn't know you worked with witches."
Gabriel sent a glance toward Kellan who shut up. "So far, she’s been helpful."
A smile tugged at Danny's full lips as he looked from one to the other. "Your family is—most unusual. That you're willing to work with both witches and wolves is admirable."
"I suppose so. Kellan, give us our bomb options." Gabriel, uncomfortable, turned to Kellan. "When we do go in, it would be nice to blow the place to smithereens."
"If we set off four charges one level down, that should pretty much take the building down.”
“Risking any people on the streets. But we have an alternative,” blurted out Favor.
"Sig? What’s your alternative?" Danny regarded his second with a raised brow.
"We go in. Satine doesn't know Favor or I. We go in, clear the place of humans, kill the vampires, and get out."
Gabriel steepled his fingers, shooting a glance at Danny. "Simple, to the point."
"And stupid," Kellan ground out. "Every vampire there will know you for what you are."
"Exactly," shouted Sig. He stood and punched the air with his fist. "We hide in plain sight. Doing anything else will get many killed."
Kellan gave a snort of disgust.
"Sig. Sit," ordered Danny.
"Kellan," Gabriel said, his voice quiet.
The two men bristled. Kellan turned away, went to sit on the far end of the conference table. Sig leaned against a wall and stared at the rest, his chin thrust into the air.
"So bombs aren't going to be viable," Gabriel concluded.
“They are viable,” Kellan argued. “If we’re going in during the day, it’s all good. Going in at night is more difficult. We’d need to get the bombs in position and clear the place of humans.” Kellan tapped his fingers on the polished table.
The sound reminded Gabriel of the passing time. Where was Justin?
Danny shrugged. "If we can get both Satine and Vlad out of the way?"
“Then we have a better chance of slipping in with little notice. We just need to figure out how to detain the two of them.”
Kellan interrupted. "Wait. The lower we go, the less precise the bomb has to be. Or if we do several small charges, and add fire, I think it will do enough damage to destroy the building without taking the entire building down, or harming anyone on the surrounding streets. The sonics shouldn't cause that much damage. It may take out a few windows in th
e neighborhood." He shrugged.
Sig sighed. "What is the point, if we don’t kill any vampires? We need a big enough bomb. I’ve had training," he added, eyeing Kellan. “I could help.”
"Do we know why the J'aadt demons didn't defend their territory?" Kellan swiveled around on the table to look at Danny. Gabriel caught their surprised glances. "Remember? They all up and left. We practically waded through the lot of them to get to you guys."
Chagrined, Danny shook his head. "J'aadt demons can be bought. If they weren't paid, they'd walk."
"Perhaps a fire demon was more than they bargained for. J'aadts don't like fire. If Rose tossed a fireball at one of them and it went poof, the rest would clear out." Gabriel glanced to the door, expecting Justin.
"J'aadt demons don't like fire any more than vampires do. That is the most likely interpretation, I agree," Danny said.
"Where is Justin? He should have been here an hour ago." Kellan looked to Gabriel. “I can’t reach him. Can you?”
Justin? Where are you? At the lack of response, an icy shiver trickled down Gabriel's back. He shook his head and looked to Danny. "Have there been repercussions from the loss of the were tiger?"
"Not yet. Rumor has it he hooked up with Satine a few years ago after being kicked out of his own pack.”
"So only Satine will be the injured party." Gabriel looked toward his brother. Alerted by the tension in his shoulders, Gabriel cleared his throat. "Kellan? What's up?"
"Vampires." He turned to his brother, his eyes whirling iridescent gold. "They've got Justin. There," he added, and looked out the window.
Gabriel could easily see across the shopping mall to the building opposite them. There, spread-eagled, two stories off the ground, was Justin.
His head lolled to one side. A vampire held his right arm and leg, another vamp had his left arm and leg. They hovered, grinning right at the group in the window.
Gabriel swore a quiet oath.
Kellan put a hand on his brother's shoulder in sympathy. "Open to her."
"No." His eyes blazing, he glared back. "You don't know what you're asking."
"It's the only way we'll find out what she wants."
"She wants Rose. I'm not sacrificing Rose for Justin. And I'm sure as hell not sacrificing Justin for Rose."
Demon Soul Page 18
