by Deanna Chase
“The fucker broke my shoe,” Clea said as she pouted and glanced at her feet.
“Reason enough to end his sorry existence.”
I settled into a black leather armchair beside Link and wondered how long David planned to let Phoebe try her good-cop routine. Clearly, they’d worked out a plan while I’d been gone at the store. It wasn’t in Phoebe’s nature to be soft on a vamp.
Clea’s face turned dreamy. “I’d like to truss him up with a hook through his heart and watch his blood run dry.”
Phoebe chuckled. “That has appeal, but how about nailing his feet to the floor while using a wench to stretch his arms until the bones separate? That sounds much more painful to me.”
“While stabbing him with a red-hot poker.”
I blanched as the pair continued to one-up each other in the gruesome department.
Phoebe turned somber. “Too bad we won’t get a chance to implement any of those ideas. Well, not on David anyway. I’m going to write down the one involving wasps though. I had no idea vampires were allergic to them. Of course, wasps aren’t night creatures, so how could I have known?”
Clea’s head snapped up. “Don’t be ridiculous. Just let me out and the two of us can take David tonight.”
“I can’t. I’m under orders to keep him alive. For now.” A long blond lock from Phoebe’s wig fell into her eyes as she shook her head, expression pained. She slowly ran one hand along the silver frame of the door. “Besides, this entry is tuned to David’s energy. He’s the only one who can open it. But if you tell us who you got the Influence from, he’ll let you out. He has no other reason to see you dead.”
“I’ll kill him for this. One way or another.”
Phoebe’s lips quirked. “You need to work on your poker face. If you give him reason to believe you’ll kill him, he’ll never let you out.”
The library door swung open and David strode in, tall and dark, brimming with power. Link jumped to his feet and growled. I didn’t even bother trying to soothe him.
David ignored him and came to a stop beside Phoebe. “Any progress?”
She shrugged and took a seat in the leather chair next to me. “Some, but I’m pretty sure she was waiting for you to appear before spilling the dirt.”
Clea hissed.
“Or not.”
“Fine.” David moved to the other side of the room and sat behind a massive banker’s desk. “I have some paperwork to finish. If she isn’t in a talkative mood when I’m done, we’ll lock up and send a cleaning crew in the morning.”
“You bastard,” Clea spat.
When he didn’t respond, she ran through a litany of colorful expletives.
“Impressive,” I whispered to Phoebe. She nodded in agreement and picked up a travel magazine from the mahogany end table.
David traveled?
After a while, Clea calmed and mumbled something.
“Excuse me?” Tired of being an observer, I stood and moved to the glass door.
“Fuck.” She ran a nervous hand through her mussed hair. “I got the Influence from Daniels. Lester Daniels.”
“When?” I asked, holding my breath.
“Early this morning, about an hour before daybreak.”
I caught David’s eye before asking, “Was that before or after you murdered him?”
“What?” she demanded with what appeared to be genuine surprise. “Why would I murder my supplier?”
“No idea, but he’s been dead for a good twelve hours. So you either saw him right before his death, you murdered him, or you’re lying and you didn’t get the goods from him. Which is it?”
She blinked, moisture gathering in her eyes. “Those bastards. I told him to watch his back.”
Whoa. Since when did the vamp bitch have feelings? My lips formed into a shocked O. The vampire actually cared about a human? It wasn’t totally unheard of, but I wouldn’t have pegged Clea as the sensitive type.
I stepped closer and leaned against the glass, my tone gentle. “Who did it?”
She shook her head and a pale stream of pink tears slid down her cheek. “It had to be someone from the inside.”
I waited while the vampire collected herself. Then our eyes met, my blue ones imploring her red-tinged green ones.
“It’s your fault, you fucking sellout.” She pointed a long, elegant finger in my direction. Her deep plum nail scraped against the glass. “You and everyone else associated with the fucked-up corruption of the Arcane. I told Lester to not trust any of you. Now look where it got him. Dead. Fucking dead.”
“Are you implying Daniels had associations with the Arcane?” Phoebe asked, moving to stand beside me.
“How do you think he got his Influence license?” Clea sniffed.
“He worked for the university,” I said. “The research department.”
“That’s what they want you to think. You of all people should know how they cover their tracks.”
I glanced at Phoebe and an unspoken acknowledgement passed between us. The vampire could very well be telling the truth. The Void branch of the Arcane moved without boundaries. We couldn’t rule out the possibility someone we knew and worked with was trafficking Influence. But why would they? Agents of the Void could get a license easily if they had just cause.
Clea stepped back and sank into a white wicker chair, the pink tears flowing faster.
“Crying won’t help you,” David said, ice in his tone.
The vampire sobbed and mumbled something incoherent.
“What did she say?” I whispered.
Phoebe tilted her head. “I think she apologized to Daniels.”
“Why?”
Phoebe shrugged, unfazed by the sobbing mess in the sunroom. “Maybe she’s holding something back. David, how long until sunrise?”
He stood and joined us. “A few hours.”
“Good. After she’s done with the hysterics, we can get to those torture techniques we discussed earlier.” Phoebe turned to study Clea. “Maybe then she’ll remember what she isn’t telling us.”
“Whoa!” I stepped between them and held up my hands. “I can’t allow torture.”
“She’s a vampire.”
“So is David.”
Phoebe pursed her lips. “I’m not above torturing him if he gets out of line.”
David growled.
A snarling wolf leapt in front of me, teeth bared as he forced David to take a few steps back.
David’s eyes flashed red, a sure sign he’d lost all patience. “Call him off before I end this permanently.”
“Good luck with that. Link wouldn’t be an easy opponent even if a witch and a faery weren’t here to help him.” Phoebe turned to me. “How long do you think it would take the three of us to disable your boyfriend?”
“Damn it, Phoebe. No one’s fighting anyone.” I took a step forward and snapped, “Down, Link.”
David’s lips curved in satisfaction.
It took every ounce of willpower I could muster to not rescind my command and let Link do his worst. “If you ever threaten my wolf again, that pretty vampire face of yours is going to need reconstructive surgery.”
David stared at me, then his eyes crinkled slightly.
“I’m not joking, David. Consider yourself warned.”
His face cleared, and I knew he didn’t believe me. Why would he? Vampires had super-healing abilities. He had no reason to feel threatened.
I turned my attention back to Clea. In the time we’d taken to have our petty argument, no one had been paying attention to the prisoner. Now she stood with a small knife aimed directly at her heart. Where the hell did that come from?
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice steady.
“I know there’s no way you’ll let me live, and I refuse to spend the last moments of my life in service to any of you.” She inched the knife slowly and deliberately into her chest.
“No!” I cried, grasping the frame of the door, searching for the secret opening. My finger ca
ught and the enchanted glass shimmered. Before either Phoebe or David could stop me, I leapt through.
Clea watched me through already deadened eyes, the knife a quarter of the way in her chest. Once it passed through the heart, she’d be gator food. “I knew the witch lied. You could’ve let me out at any time.”
“Did you expect us to?”
“No, but I had to try.”
High-heeled boots clattered on the tiled floor, and I knew Phoebe had moved to stand right behind me. “How about we make a deal? You tell me everything you know about the Arcane and the Influence, and I’ll make sure you live and neither of them hurts you.”
Clea studied me, her expression lined with skepticism. “You’re full of shit. Without your enhanced edibles, you’re useless. You must think I’m an idiot. If they decide to kill me, there’s no way you’re strong enough to stop either of them.”
“You underestimate the power of this particular faery,” Phoebe said, her voice hard. “If she wants you to live, you will.”
It wasn’t a total blatant lie. My power went beyond infusing plants and baking. I could manipulate just about any living thing, which meant I could exert some control over Phoebe if I wanted to. David was another story. Technically, he was dead. My life magic wouldn’t do anything but be sucked into the ether. Complete waste of time.
The air seemed to move behind me and I spun, coming face to shoulder with David.
Clea hissed and something silver clattered on the floor. The knife. She must have dropped it after yanking it out of her own chest. Clea tackled me, and I slammed into David, my entire torso erupting into a burning inferno from the vampire energy. David grabbed me, trying to shove me away, but Clea’s rock-hard limbs trapped me between them. They each grabbled, trying to choke the other one. My ears rang in time with a loud, piercing scream, and only when I gasped for air did I realize the sound had come from me.
I jerked in agony, vaguely aware of Phoebe chanting in the background as the vamp fire intensified. Pain overrode my brain, my world spinning as lightbulbs exploded behind my eyes, and though I knew I was in the crossfire of a death match, everything went weirdly silent.
My world slowed to a dreamlike state and my life force left me. Was this really how I would die? Trapped between two vampires intent on killing each other? Of all the stupid—
A brilliant flash of white light flared. The two vamps froze and fell away from me. I crumpled, landing sprawled on the hard tile floor, its coolness easing the fire from my limbs. Blinking, I stared blindly into the dark twilight of predawn.
A shadow hovered over me. “Wil?”
I opened my dry mouth and tried to swallow.
“Wil,” Phoebe said again.
“Yeah,” I croaked.
“Thank the gods. Can you get up? We need to get back inside.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t move.
“I think the door is going to seal. You have to get up.” Phoebe tugged on my arms.
A tingling of comprehension worked its way into my consciousness. I lifted my head, clamping my hands over my temples as dizziness threatened to claim me.
“Crawl,” Phoebe demanded.
I obeyed, placing one knee after the other as if I’d been force-fed Influence. When I breached the door into the library, I flopped back down, my head landing on something solid. Pain lanced through my cheek and I flinched. My eyes swam, fighting for focus.
“Lie back,” Phoebe said.
I turned my attention toward her soft voice and my eyes cleared. “What happened?”
“I dusted them.”
“Good.” I closed my eyes, allowing Phoebe to place a pillow under my head. “Where’s David?”
“Shhh. Just relax. I’ll get you some water.”
The floor creaked as Phoebe left the room. I lay motionless, waiting. A few moments later my eyes popped open. Wait, what did Phoebe say? I dusted them. Them? As in both of them?
“David!” I shouted, sitting straight up, my eyes locking on the limp male form crumpled on the floor.
Chapter Thirteen
I half-crawled, half-dragged myself to David’s side, tears blurring my vision. Peering down at him, I wiped them away. His slack face grossly contrasted with the wide, shock-filled eyes staring past me at the ceiling.
“No!” I threw my hands down on his rock-solid chest, pounding furiously as if I could pump life back into his still heart. “You can’t die,” I sobbed. “I forbid it.”
Resting one trembling hand on his cold cheek, I gently tilted his head back with the other, determined to force air between his tight lips. I locked my mouth over his and my lungs constricted, straining with pressure. But my effort was met with a solid wall of resistance. I just didn’t have enough strength to fill the concrete lungs of a vampire.
Vampire. Vampires don’t breathe. Nor do they have beating hearts. As the realization crossed my panic-stricken mind, I slumped, laid my head on his statuesque body, and whispered, “We weren’t finished.”
All of the anger and resentment I’d harbored since David stepped back into my life fled. Why had I been so mean, so judgmental, about his life choice? Now he’d never know I hadn’t stopped loving him.
None of that mattered. He was dead. My heart thundered in my chest and blinding fury took over my senses.
I wouldn’t let him go. Not like this.
I sat up and rested my hands lightly on his chest. He really was gone—the contact no longer pained me—but I had to try. No matter how futile the effort. I closed my eyes and imagined David as I knew him before, muscular and tanned from his oil-rig job with softer, less-chiseled features and an easy smile. I bent down to place a soft kiss on his closed lips, catching a trace of his familiar, faint woodsy scent still clinging to his silk shirt.
A single tear spilled as my breath caught and my heart seized. If my magic failed, I’d never again hear his deep laugh or peer into his midnight-blue eyes. Unacceptable. I’d find a way, even if it killed me.
Trembling, I forced in a steadying breath and let my senses take over. The granite shell beneath my hands radiated with emptiness, barren of any tendrils of life. I pushed my will deeper, searching, until finally a whisper of something familiar washed over me.
“David,” I said softly, barely daring to believe a tiny piece of him still existed. It wasn’t life energy, but something remembered, a recollection or shadow. I didn’t care. It was something.
The sensation slipped through my magical grasp. I dug deeper, struggling to force my magic through David. A part of him was in there. I’d just touched a piece of his energy.
“Come on,” I pleaded. Sweat rolled, stinging my already-damp eyes. I shut them tight and pulled my magic back, wrapping it around my heart, the place most concentrated with faery magic. Then I poured every ounce of love, fear, disappointment, and even the anger I carried for the vampire back into him on a wave of desperation.
My head swam with emotion as I registered the slowing of my heartbeat, but I held tight and forced the magic into him. The stream of power resisted, and I pushed harder, only managing to straddle the magic between my heart and David’s soul.
It wasn’t going to work. His soul was gone.
Beau’s face flashed in my mind. “No!” I wouldn’t survive another loss of someone I loved.
I barely noticed Link press his Shih Tzu body against my thigh as I wrapped my arms around David, pressing my chest to where his heart would be. A pale green cloud of magic swirled, engulfing us both. I didn’t have the strength to keep forcing my will into him. Unwilling to let him go without a fight, I built a mental barrier in my mind, one solid glass block at a time. Once the last piece was in place, if I severed my magical link, the power would have no choice but to latch onto the one it was created for. In theory, anyway.
It worked with animals. At least that’s what I’d learned in all the reference books. But I’d never tried it before, and David was a vampire. Ruled by death, not life. With my wall one block short of being men
tally constructed, I severed my magic and finished the barrier. My strength waned, weakening my mental wall as my magic strained to return to me. “No! Go to David,” I huffed out.
Blackness crept into the edges of my vision. My hands started to numb, and I knew I’d soon pass out, or worse. The plan wasn’t working.
“Willow! What the hell are you doing?” Phoebe demanded, reentering the room. The door slammed with enough force to rattle the bookcase.
Startled, I let my wall crumble and the magic slammed back into me, overwhelming my senses with all the emotion I’d poured into it. My heart swelled with love while simultaneously shooting out darts of pain. Tears welled in my eyes and adrenaline made me tremble.
“Saving him,” I shot back. Stubbornly, I leaned down and placed both hands on David’s cheeks and whispered, “Take what I give you, for it is all I have.” I pressed my lips against his and forgot everything as I forced my magic-filled love into his being.
The sensation crashed like a wave flowing in and out, siphoning small amounts at a time from me into the vampire. The resistance vanished like a dam had broken, and everything I had rushed into him in a startling whoosh.
I froze and opened my eyes to David staring at me, confusion and wonder lighting up his face.
“What happened?” he rasped.
“You died,” I said and the room faded to white.
***
I sensed the familiar weight of Link’s body on my feet and pried one eye open.
“Good morning.”
Turning my head, Talisen came into sight. He sat against the wall, dark circles rimming his usually bright green eyes. It was then I noticed the lush leaf canopy overhead and realized we were in my room, on my bed.
“It’s morning?” I asked, peering through the dim light.
“Afternoon, actually.”
“Oh.” Someone had closed my blinds, blocking the sun. I turned my attention to Link, who had moved to my chest. “Keeping an eye on me?”
