The Devil's Soldier

by Rachel McClellan

  Lucien pushed himself to a standing position, swaying slightly. He felt a little better, but his muscles still burned like he'd been lifting weights too hard.

  "Let's go," Henry said, passing Charlie in the doorway.

  Lucien followed, dropping the empty blood bag into the garbage. When he walked by Charlie, he lifted his arm as if he was stretching, but made sure his armpit was close to Charlie's face.

  "Close that thing," Charlie said and moved away from him, scowling.

  Lucien smiled and continued toward the stairwell.

  "You were right to bring Rick into the Deific," Henry said over his shoulder as they descended the steps to the second floor. "I wasn't sure at first, but he's proved valuable."

  Henry opened a glass door. On the other side were two holding cells built out of heavy steel and fortified by magic, something Eve had done herself when she had worked here. The metal bars were pretty much impermeable to any supernatural creature. Rick was in one of them. He was lying on the floor, throwing a ball into the air and catching it again. He scrambled to his feet, smiling big. A vampire was in the cell next to him. This one didn't look as relaxed. He was standing at the back, arms folded tight and dark eyebrows drawn together.

  "About time," Rick said. "I am so bored."

  The vampire turned to him, surprise replacing his angry expression. "You know these guys?"

  Charlie unlocked Rick's cell. "It's only been twelve hours. What did you learn?"

  "You traitorous bastard!" the vampire spat.

  "His name is Riley," Ricky said, "but people call him Roudy. He's been a vampire for sixty years. He doesn't have a girlfriend, but wants one. And he has a sweet tooth for those little butterscotch candies."

  "Did you learn anything valuable?" Lucien asked, trying to keep his voice even.

  "How could you?" Roudy asked Rick. "You're one of us!"

  "Not anymore," Rick said without looking back at him. "Roudy has heard of Boaz, but doesn't know where his is. But he told me about this club, Eclipse, where a bunch of Supernaturals hang out. A few of them there claim to know Boaz. Apparently everyone's scrambling to find him."

  "Why?" Lucien asked.

  "They want to be put into a position of power in the human world." His gaze went to Henry. "You were right. Boaz is killing off top political leaders and replacing them with Supernaturals whenever he can."

  "Like in New Jersey," Lucien said. Charlie had told him that the new Lieutenant Governor to replace the state's recently deceased governor was a werewolf.

  "We need to act fast," Henry said. "More humans are going to die."

  "What about him?" Rick asked, motioning his head toward Roudy.

  Charlie walked up to the iron bars and asked, "Would you like to change?"

  "Change?" Roudy looked around at each of them. "What is this, some kind of gay club?"

  "Change as in gain back your humanity. Instead of promoting death and carnage, you fight to stop it."

  Roudy laughed. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

  Charlie turned around and walked to the opposite wall where he picked up a crossbow.

  "I don't know why you keep asking that," Lucien said. "They are not going to change."

  "What are you going to do with that?" Roudy asked, his voice cracking.

  "Rick changed. You changed." Charlie pulled back the bow and pointed the wooden tipped arrow at Roudy between the bars. "Everyone deserves a chance."

  "But it's a waste of time. You would think with your special ability to read people that you would be able to know whether or not they have the ability to choose good."

  Charlie looked back at him. "If I was that good, then I would've killed you the moment I saw you."

  Lucien opened his mouth to speak, but Roudy rushed toward Charlie. Lucien bolted just as fast, reaching Charlie at the same time as Roudy. The imprisoned vampire yanked on Charlie's arm. Lucien jerked Charlie away. They both tumbled to the ground, Charlie falling partially on top of him. Lucien quickly pushed him away and jumped to his feet.

  Charlie wasn't as quick to stand. He stared at him, his eyes wide and mouth open. He held out his hand. "Touch me again. Quick."

  "I knew this was a gay club," Roudy muttered.

  "I'm not touching you," Lucien said.

  Charlie scrambled to his feet. "I'm serious. Give me your hand. Something's different about you."

  "Gay," Roudy said.

  Both Lucien and Charlie turned to him and said at the same, "Shut up!"

  "Just do it," Henry said. "We're wasting time."

  Lucien ground his teeth together but held out his hand.

  Charlie grasped it tightly and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them again. "You've had a spell put on you."

  Lucien looked down at his hand.

  "It's faint, but it's there," Charlie said. "Check it out, Henry."

  Henry stepped forward and took Lucien's hand. Lucien cringed at the touch, but didn't pull away. Instead, he focused on himself, searching for anything foreign, but he couldn't sense anything out of place.

  Henry lowered his hand. "You're right. It's an emotion spell of some kind."

  "Let me see," Rick said and tried to take Lucien's hand, but Lucien stepped back.

  "No one else is touching me," Lucien said. "Besides, Rick, you don't even know magic. So what the hell is an emotion spell and who put it on me?"

  "It's a spell that monitors your emotions, whether you're happy or sad, depressed, angry, that sort of thing," Henry said.

  Charlie picked up the crossbow on the floor next to him and loaded an arrow into it. "It had to have been Boaz or one of the witches that follow him around. He probably is monitoring you to see if you show any kind of happiness. If you do, then he'll assume it's because Eve's alive."

  Air caught in Lucien's chest. "Do you think he sensed anything when I heard Eve's voice the other day?"

  "Boaz's Eve is alive?" Roudy asked from behind the bars. "Boaz has been looking for her everywhere! I can't wait—"

  An arrow shot through his heart; Roudy's body exploded and sprayed the wall with his ashes.

  Charlie lowered the bow. "There's no way we can know for sure, but let's hope not."

  "Can you get rid of it?" Lucien asked.

  "Not me," Charlie said and turned to Henry.

  Henry walked toward the door. "I think so, but whoever put it on you will know the second it's gone."

  Lucien followed after him and went through the door. "But isn't that better than someone monitoring my emotions? What if I hear Eve's voice again?"

  "Lucien's right, Henry," Charlie said. "We need to get the spell off of him."

  "Fine, but as soon as we're done, I want you both over at that club, Eclipse," Henry said. "Speak to the regulars and the owner. One of them has got to know something. We are running out of time."

  7

  Eve straightened the black wig on her head and combed the bangs over her forehead with her fingers. No one should recognize her, not with this hair and tight revealing black dress. Only her green eyes looked familiar to her in the rearview mirror of the car, but she wasn't worried about anyone else recognizing them. Not in a club she'd never been to before.

  She opened the door and straightened her shoulders. All she had to do was find out where Boaz was. Should be easy enough. Ask a few questions and get out of there quick.

  Eve shivered and walked toward a black door of a brick warehouse. This was the side entrance. Around the front, a line of people stretched almost the full block. Most of them were regular humans who probably had no idea who or what lurked within the club's walls.

  The door was locked. With a simple thought, Eve used magic to pop it open, then slipped inside. She was in a long and dark hallway that smelled of sweat and beer. A loud bass drum shook the paper-thin walls. To her left, a man and a woman were making out heavily. Over the man's shoulder, the blonde-haired woman's gaze met Eve's, and the woman smiled as he kissed up and down her neck. They w
ere both vampires.

  Eve walked away and headed toward the music. She parted a black curtain and stepped into a crowd of dancing people. Bodies swayed, hands grabbed, and voices moaned. She pushed through them all, heading in the direction of the bar and to an empty seat.

  She was almost there. Someone took hold of her arm and spun her around.

  "You're new, aren't you? I would remember a body like that," a tall, thin man said. He had blond, almost white, hair that contrasted with his dark skin, and he wore a black silk shirt tucked into tan slacks.

  "How could you tell?" Eve asked, concentrating hard on the man. He was a Supernatural, but she couldn't tell what kind. There was something magical about him, she could sense that much, but his aura felt different from other witches.

  "You look nervous." The man slid his fingers down her arm and to her hand, which he clasped. "My name's Lex. I'm the owner of this club. Let me show you around."

  She tried to protest, but he was already pulling her back into the crowd and to the other side of the dance floor. Although he wasn't touching anyone, people parted for him as if he'd given an invisible command. Maybe he had.

  He guided her past the DJ and stopped at the bottom of a circular staircase that led up.

  "You've got some serious power in you," he said, his lips inches from her ear to be sure she would hear him over the music. "I sensed it the moment you walked in."

  "Is that a problem?" she asked, trying to appear confident, but it worried her that he was able to sense the only thing she had going for her. Her magic wouldn't be a surprise here.

  "On the contrary!" He leaned in closer, his lips brushing her earlobe. "We love magic here. In fact, most would say we worship it."

  She narrowed her eyes. "What are you?"

  "Do you not recognize me?" He clicked his tongue. "Very few do. I'm a Vyel. It's a shame our kind aren't more well known. We do so much for witches, after all."

  "Like what?" she asked as she tried to recall what she knew about Vyels. They were rare. And something about teleporting.

  He smiled big, exposing Chiclet-like white teeth, and looked toward the top of the staircase. "How about if I just show you?"

  She followed his gaze and frowned. Was it only a prop? The metal stairs spun all the way to the top of the ceiling and then just stopped.

  "There's nothing there," she said.

  "Ah, but the view is fantastic. Come with me." He placed one foot on the first step.

  A cold shiver broke on her skin. Something wasn't right. She took a deep breath and looked again at the staircase. Using magic, she blinked and "opened" her supernatural eyes. This time she saw something different.

  At the top of the stairs, on a whole other level, another party was taking place. Lights pulsed from a parted black curtain. Just beyond it, all kinds of Supernaturals were in full party mode.

  "Maybe another time," she said and turned back toward the bar, deliberately moving her arm away as he reached to stop her. "I'm looking for someone."

  Lex followed after her. "Maybe I can help. Do you have a name?"

  Eve moved in and out of the dancing crowd and didn't stop until she was at the bar. She slid onto a stool and turned around. With a loud voice, so to be heard over the blaring music, she said, "Boaz. Have you heard of him?"

  A slow smile spread across Lex’s pale face. "We are dear friends. I would be delighted to introduce you. What did you say your name was?"

  "Laura. Laura Renfield. And I don't need an introduction. We've met before. Really, all I want to know is where I can find him. You see, it's been a long time since we've seen each other so I want to surprise him."

  Lex pulled away from her. "Boaz doesn't like surprises."

  Eve could barely hear him over the music.

  "He'll like this one. I promise." She flashed her best smile. "So, where can I find him?"

  His mouth tightened, and he glanced back toward the balcony where the secret Supernatural party was in full effect. "Let me think about it."

  Eve reached for him, hoping to add some extra charm, but just like that he was gone. She glanced around. No one had noticed, not even the bar tender who was a few feet away, pouring red liquid into a tall glass. Maybe Lex had some kind of cloaking spell on him similar to what hid the upstairs balcony.

  "What can I get you?" the male bartender asked, startling her.

  "Water, please." Her gaze went back to the balcony.

  From this viewpoint, she could only see a couple of pair of legs just inside the parted curtain. She was going to have to go up there at some point. This much was certain. Lex didn't seem to be too willing to share Boaz's location with her, but maybe someone else would know.

  The bartender reached his tattooed-arm toward Eve and placed a glass of water on top of a white napkin. Eve thanked him and took a sip.

  While she thought about her next move, her hand absent-mindedly tore the napkin into long strips. Her best bet would be to find another witch like herself. Boaz had always been fond of them, but only because he was able to use their magic without them knowing it. Or maybe they did know. Her mother had surely known and that didn't stop her from being near him.

  Eve twisted each of the napkin strips until she had several. She took four of them and placed them into a square to be a base for a small cabin. She could get a witch to talk to her, to trust her. She knew the talk and the walk, having already lived the life with Boaz. Her stomach turned just thinking about playing that role, but it was necessary.

  Air pressure in the club changed. Became more electric and full of a powerful energy. Eve sucked in and turned around to find the source. Rotating lights on the ceiling illuminated different parts of the crowd as the people bounced up and down and grinded against each other. Her attention was drawn to the entrance of the club, but she couldn't see through everyone.

  Eve placed her feet on the first wrung of the barstool and pushed up, making her stretch a good foot past the moving crowd of people.

  Her heart stopped. Lucien.

  What was he doing here? But more importantly, Eve no longer sensed an emotion-detecting spell on him, which meant—she could be with him. Right now. Her heart beat again—raced, actually—until she thought it might burst. Finally she could be where she belonged, where she felt whole.

  She immediately thought of the cloaking spell she had put on herself at the monastery. The power behind the enchantment surged all around her, taking her breath away.

  Solvo Lucien, she thought.

  Instantly, the connection was open between them, but would he realize it? Surely he had already tried many times to connect with her in his dreams only to be greeted by a dark hole.

  Just then Lucien turned, and his eyes met hers. She opened her mouth to speak his name, but the word never came.

  Instead, an icy cold hand gripped her arm and a velvet voice said, "There's someone who wants to meet you."

  8

  Lucien froze, stopping mid-step. On the other side of the room, his gaze locked with a pair of sea-green eyes. He'd know them anywhere.

  Eve.

  And then, just like that, she was gone. He whirled around, searching everywhere for her. The club was packed with people all dancing in time to a beat that hurt his head. The constant buzzing, moving swarms made him feel like an intruder to an extensive beehive. But at the same time, there was power in this place he could relate to. The whole building reeked of it, yet Lucien saw only humans.

  Lucien yanked Charlie out from the swarm of girls, and said loudly, "Eve is here!"

  The blood drained from Charlie's face. "Where?"

  "At the bar. Let's go." Lucien squeezed his way through the hive until he was spat out where he last saw Eve, but she wasn't there now. "She was just here!"

  "Are you sure?"

  Lucien thought hard, hoping he hadn't been wrong. "Her hair was black and cut short, but it was her, I swear it."

  Charlie pointed at the top of the bar. "You're right. She was here."

&nb
sp; Lucien picked up one of the twisted strands of napkin that formed a side wall of a miniature cabin. Definitely Eve. Then it was true. She really was alive. She wasn't a ghost. She wasn't some much-wanted figment of his imagination. She had been in the same room with him. His chest swelled with heavy emotion. It was a feeling he thought he'd never experience again.

  "Where did she go?" Charlie asked.

  "I don't know. She was here one second and gone the next."

  "Did she see you?"

  Lucien nodded and searched the crowd. She had to be here somewhere!

  "Do you think she's deliberately avoiding you?"

  "I don't think so. It looked like she was about to say something just before she disappeared. I think she's in trouble."

  "Let's split up," Charlie said. "I'll see what I can pick up, and you go somewhere quiet and try to do that weird connection thing you have with her."

  "I told you that wasn't working. Something changed."

  "But that was before you saw Eve alive. Maybe you weren't trying hard enough before because a part of you really thought Eve was dead."

  Lucien continued to search the crowd. "One way to find out. I'll meet up with you later."

  "Stay alert," Charlie said just before Lucien was swallowed up in the hive again.

  He pushed his way to the back of the club, away from the DJ and large speakers. Off to his left, he discovered a short hallway and, at the end of it, a door. He turned the knob and glanced within. A custodial closet. He slipped inside next to a bucket and mop and closed the door. The loud music became a dull, repetitive thump that rattled his nerves.

  This better work.

  Lucien leaned into the wall and closed his eyes. He had seen Eve! Only a few feet had separated them. He smiled, the first real smile since Eve's supposed death. His whole body pulsed with a familiar warmth that only Eve gave him. The warmth in his stomach swirled to sickness when he realized the danger Eve must be in. If Boaz knew she was alive… What was she doing here? And where has she been all of this time?

  He inhaled deeply. Find her first, ask questions later.