White Witch (Haven Book 1)

by Lil Hamilton

  Chera could barely dress herself in the morning let alone manage a vampire establishment in the human sphere of influence. She wore long t-shirts, often layered, with casual fit jeans and hoodies, pretty much every time I had seen her, with variations in color mostly. Bland colors like beige, grey, black and white. This was a girl that wanted to blend into the background. She sat hunched, to be unnoticed or because she didn’t want anyone to see what she looked like physically. Her eyes were a delightful pale blue, but her gaze ever shifty and nervous or empty. Her blond was short, slightly longer in front and the sides so it seemed to cling to her face, emphasizing her pixie features and fragile essence. She was nervous and shy, Vivica was bold and ruthless. Obviously her gifts would make Chera a viable choice, assuming they didn’t drive her mad, or she didn’t overdose on whatever she took to dampen and enhance it.

  I had secretly been sending Chera to small coven of witches, hoping they would give her natural ways to increase and dampen her ability. Chera was from a strong psychic background and as such was a natural witch. Viv had told Chera after she was turned she would have the natural shield to protect her and her skill could be honed. It was one way Viv tried to convince the girl to take the turn quickly. I hoped dearly to delay that until the girl was at least twenty-five. Her humanity was precious and I wanted her to live as much of it as she could.

  “Viv, just who I wanted to see,” I said. Chera brought me and Lan a beer each, her steps a little uncoordinated, but at least she looked sober enough to function. She looked me up and down and smiled widely. I forgot I was wearing my fae club wear.

  Viv’s gaze immediately locked on mine, for a moment a flickering golden glow enhanced them, before reflexively masking the demon within.

  “Babe, I love the round little hat. I mean I see the little fae wear them, but never in orange,” Viv said. “Stylin’. I must be rubbing off on you, yeah?”

  “You really need to visit the fae clubs. We know how to dress it up.”

  “Not your usual leathers and cotton shirt combo though, is it? Felt the need to play dress up for your demon guest, eh?”

  “Well, no. The human clothes you purchased for me are all jeans and tees. Nothing club worthy.”

  She smirked. “Stick out like a sore thumb in your special little style. Like the bold color choices though. And all the tees I got you have amusing little phrases on them. Do not dis my tees.”

  “Wouldn’t dare,” I said dryly. “And there is nothing wrong with my sense of style.”

  “So I gather we are gathered because this chickie is vamp bait? Or that is, you want me to check into that angle seeing as I’m already snooping around to see if our missing people are being cultivated as well?”

  She grinned and leaned back in her chair. I wasn’t so much her employer as an amusement and a way to groom Chera, but only if the girl agreed to be turned and only if she had lived more of what life, free from any master, was like. A tenuous bargain. “I’m up for that. These little rogue jobs you send me on are far too easy. I need a challenge. Keeps the blood flowing. Like good sex. We could make it a group hunt. It will be a blast, baby.” Her voice was often a little rushed, full of energy and she tended to give a dry laugh after everything she said, like everything was a joke.

  I grinned at her. It was impossible not to. She had a wide grin and a twinkle in her eyes. One thing I could say about Viv was that she totally threw herself into the decade she was in.

  “Do you want me to check the place out?” Chera asked. “Maybe do a little aura touch testing to get a glimpse of her attack.”

  “Nah,” I said with a sigh. “Normally that would be the best way to narrow down our lead but the place is coated with energy discharge from her wards bursting. Course, I can’t sense all the human aura biz, but I do know the traffic was heavy with Other races which would blur any normal mark. Then the fact I felt the place had been scrubbed, so who knows what mark would be left at all.”

  “Vamps are out first to eliminate, since she did have recent contact with them for sure. It’s our first choice to eliminate anyway,” I said, while thinking at this point it was wishful thinking. “We know she was involved with tracking rogues. So did something go wrong there? Or is she vamp bait?”

  “Vamp bait aren’t food. Maybe a snack here and there, but far more meaningful than food. They must be cultivated and watched to see if they’re appropriate, since only a strong vampire can successfully turn them. Occasionally they’re kidnaped, if one is found too quickly to cultivate. Gotta pluck them when they are all virile and pretty. No one wants a forty year old, balding man with a big old beer belly around for centuries. Unless that becomes the new hot thang. A rogue would kill her if she was in their way, or feed on her, but wouldn’t even be of age to think of cultivating her,” Viv said.

  I shrugged. “Well, we know she‘s not dead, so that implies if it was vampire interest it would be for more than food. So perhaps some official interest. You have access to a list of those potentials?”

  “Yep. Vinny would hardly be pleased if I claimed his bait. I‘ve been tempted to, just to see him flip out about it. He has no sense of humor at all. Never did. I thought he might grow one over a century or two, but so far, no such luck.”

  “Good, that’s a start. However, I wonder at her being contracted to go after rogues in the first place, when generally Vincent comes to us.”

  “We need to find who hired her then,” Viv stated. “Rouse some vamps, invade a few bite bars. If the lower in the hierarchy vamps hunted her for revenge, then she might be in a bite bar, so we must make sure she is not there first. Unless her mate doesn’t mind she is returned a little nibbled on. Since they’re illegal we can crash one and see what we can find out. A witch in one would cause a stir. Sweet blood. As for her being contracted instead of us, likely it’s because someone didn’t want it known they made a rogue vampire, or someone was testing her strength first to see if she would be good bait, like myself, someone who is looking for making a new estate. I’ll ask Vincent if he knows of any minor masters in the city.”

  Dill tossed the appointment book on the table. “We know who contracted her.”

  “Damn, Dill, you could have started with that,” Vivica said with a laugh.

  “I was waiting for you to pause and take in a breath, but you didn’t,” Dill said. “A Matt Lowder of a bar called Temptations.”

  “Ah,” Vivica said. “That’s a gaudy little bite bar. Totally tacky. Lord knows, we like our crimson and black but that place is like way overboard. Matt abides by Vincent’s terms in operating one, which helps when avoiding human law. He wouldn’t willingly draw attention to his establishment, or Vincent would remove that protection. It’s plausible she was hired because one of the lesser vamps got a little excited and half turned a human. No one would like that to get back to Vincent or the press.”

  I grimaced. A half turned human was indeed very messy. Of course, our little witch could easily have been contracted to work for the bite bar. Since they were illegal bite bar owners tended to hire black witches to make their establishment run under the radar. So under the radar that the cops couldn’t find the place even if they knew of its existence, had a warrant and a GPS locator.

  “It appeals to the myth of seductive vampires,” Chera said. “Temptations, that is.”

  “Oh yuckers,” I muttered. It was a pervasive myth amongst human women, but the truth was vamps had a venom that paralyzed the prey when they bite, which is only to immobilize not stimulate. They could totally swamp someone’s mind, amping up their pleasure, so there was something to vamp sexual practices. The fae could swamp a mind better and they didn’t eat your energy while doing so. No accounting for tastes. Who was I to judge when I had never tried a vampire?

  “So we need to interrogate this Matt Lowder,” Sebastian said. He gave me a wide grin and looked devilishly excited by the idea.

  “Whoa, I don’t think so, Bas,” I said. “This is a delicate situation and I don’t want
you making noise by romping through a vamp bar. No one wants to draw attention to this girl let alone proclaiming she is mated to a demon. Or her bloodline. I have to handle this. Weren‘t you supposed to be living it up at a hotel? I could easily tell you what is happening.”

  “Ray is right. We do not like demon interference. Just because Vincent knows you’re in the city doesn’t mean he’ll look kindly on you invading his territory without having any proof,” Viv stated. “Since the mythos says our breed came from demons, I think it’s kinda an inferiority complex. I rather like a little demon man candy.”

  “It ain’t mythos, babe. It’s fact,” Bas said. “Your breed came form the union of court demons and humans. Not High Demons though. Lower court demons.”

  “And what happened when High Demons got their groove on?” she asked, maybe miffed at the whole lower court business.

  “Djinn,” I said.

  “Seriously? Those exist?”

  “Not here,” I said. “The Hells claimed them back. They come and go, just like any lower court demon.”

  I sucked back my beer thinking about this witch, while Chera engaged Bas about Djinn and the history of them. When there was a lag I said, “This witch has some fae pedigree, some unregistered pedigree. Which means we have to find her without making too much noise about looking for her.” It meant I had full authority to be as aggressive as I wanted in my investigation, while demon interference would be a delicate political situation.

  “You mean that she is half Seelie fae,” Dill said. “That’s why she had an open fae circle.”

  “She didn’t make the circle or the patch it leads to, but her father did. This girl will have more serious problems than vamps if the Queen finds out one of her inner circle has a half breed with a human.” The fact Lily had stirred up some trouble and caused someone to take an interest in her was very dangerous. Thankfully, the Queen didn’t have the control in the border realm as in Faerie. While she had many spies, a witch disappearing would hardly be a blip on the radar. If someone noted her breeding that was an entirely different story. It was likely having that open circle had been what led the hounds to her in the first place. I shrugged. “At that point, I’ll walk away from this.”

  Sebastian gave Lan a look. “Complete the testing, Lan,” he said softly.

  “Bas, don’t encourage him,” I said. “What father wants will only make things worse. Especially now. Later, when this is done, we could consider it.”

  Sebastian leaned forward. “Ray-Ray, you see what can happen if you are not bonded. You’re at risk.”

  “Bloody imp balls, I wasn’t at risk until you all started mating with witches,” I snapped. “Besides this Lily and this frisky cousin of mine are mate bonded and obviously that has not helped her any. Nor will it help me. It’s way better if the Queen believes she has me entirely.”

  I scrubbed a hand through my hair. The Queen did own me. It didn’t matter if I wanted to get in touch with my demon side because the Queen would never allow that. Or worse, she would use me to spy on my own kin.

  “They are mated,” Sebastian said, “but the bond is new. It’s why our cousin can’t find her and is in such a temper that he can’t even function. If he were here, he would rampage through this city. Now that the fae are involved, it’s too dangerous for you not to have the protection your demon lineage can produce. As it is, you don’t even have the ability to transport yourself to the Hells on your own. If you were bonded you would.”

  “I know you don‘t know that for a fact, but nice try,” I said. I could make a fine fae circle, but I couldn’t use demon portals. Demons linked to the border realm in a flexible fashion. Not tied links or circles, but rather through mirrors or the elements, if not straight teleportation. I had no elemental powers. Just the physical changes that came with my rages. The extra muscle mass, some impressive canines and claws. From the aftermath of my attacks, that was impressive enough, in the border realm anyway. But my mass was fixed. It’s why I could only use established demon portals, which were only open during certain times of the year, or hitch a ride, to get in and out of the Hells.

  “We can know from observation of what the merging does for interracial connections,” Sebastian said.

  “I think we can safely say that is hardly predictable,” I said dryly.

  “Father demands it, Ray. He has more need to secure his family and rights in this realm than the fae queen. You are his blood.”

  I watched as Viv ran her eyes over Lan and winked at me, while Chera was giggling softly. Lovely. Seeing the boss bicker with her brother was just great. “This whole demon openness is too much. Let’s stick to the case, because honestly I don’t want sexual advice from my brother. At all. Ever.”

  “Yeah, man, it’s so wrong that you’re asking a guy to bang your sister,” Chera said.

  “Bang her good, baby!” Viv exclaimed causing her and Chera to burst into giggles. Because I did have an off kilter sense of humor I started laughing too.

  Sebastian gave her a puzzled look. “Really? Why is this wrong?”

  “Because you’re family,” Chera said openly laughing now, with tears in her eyes. “Besides people don’t just talk about sex that openly. Sure you can talk smack and ogle someone up. And girls can talk about their men, and men talk about their girls. But to talk about it like it is just any other topic in front of co-workers is just like awkward.”

  “Did I make anyone awkward?” Sebastian asked.

  “Other than Ray?” Viv said with a glimmer of humour in her eyes that told me there were going to many jokes at my expense on this. “Not really. But you have to work on your human skills, demon boy. Other than, ‘Hey, demon, would you like to do my sister? She so hot and you come from a good blood line, it‘ll be a match made in hell.’”

  “Don’t bother, Viv. He’s not going to learn the foreign concepts of privacy and human conversations just to make us all comfortable.”

  Viv flashed Bas a grin. “He can invade my privacy any time.”

  “Good gods,” I muttered rubbing my temples.

  “So how best to talk to the owner of Temptations?” Dill asked and I sent him a thankful look.

  “Protocol for speaking with a second level vamp is to arrange a meeting. So that he can allow you onto his territory, anything else would be seen as an intrusion and an invitation for confrontation. Not that they would be any trouble for you to handle even if it went there. You could totally roll a few low end vampires. You’re permitted to bring two body guards,” Viv said, ever useful in helping me with vamp regulations. “I recommend you swing your fae mojo because lower vampires, younglings, like to throw their bulk around. Such arrogance there is in youth.”

  “Right then. Viv can you set that up for tomorrow night?” I asked.

  “It will be no problemo. But, even if Matt contracted her, I totally doubt he holds her. Or at least not for food.”

  “Of course not. That would be too easy,” I said flippantly. When it came to vampires things rarely were.

  “A lead is a lead,” Dill said. “The girl went somewhere and the covens don’t know where or are not talking. The girl has no friends in the city.”

  “We need to eliminate the possibility that they have her or have taken her to turn,” I said with a frown. “But we need to follow up on all the missing half-breeds and our nymph. I’d like you to go see Malick at the Gin Joint.” He was an Orc who ran a casino in the Warrens and had deep contacts within the demi demon community which often overlapped with the faelings when it came to the Warrens. “I want to know how many have actually gone missing. A timeline. Witness reports. If any similarities between Lily and our nymph case wise can be seen. I know for a fact he will have been aware of this long before our nymph went missing, or Lily, and we got on the case. And he would not just let that slide.” Malick had his own ’security’ force of demi demons who ran in the Warrens and they wouldn’t take it too well that someone was snagging people from their neighbourhood. “I want to
know what he knows.”

  Dill nodded. “Sure thing. If anyone has been scouring the Warrens looking for leads it’s been him. Might even give you the information as a favour, but it’ll be for a future favour owed knowing him. Or not, since he always did have a thing for you. Lan might have some competition there.”

  Lan looking mildly amused by that. Malick was quite yummy and he and I had spent some fun nights together, I’d admit to that. Orcs and elves were cousin races. Very few orcs had magic and those that did had a sort of blood or earth magic. They could see through glamours and illusions though. So elves didn’t much like them and really didn’t admit the close kinship. However, in the end I had tried to kill him so we tried to step around each other these days.

  “Yes, but I need to chit chat with Vincent about a possible Master in the city. He would know, since a new Master is a threat, especially if he is using this area to make his estate. And I need to look at the bait lists. So I can’t go to any meeting,” Viv said.

  There was an unwritten rule that we each handled contact with our own races to prevent miscommunications. Viv could roll a vampire under Vincent’s rule for the fun of it and suffer no consequences, but if I did it, it was a big issue.

  “Dill has a good relation with Malick and a solid network in the Warrens. Viv, you’re the only one that can get information from Vincent. At least pertinent information. I’m sure I can handle this. I’ve dealt with vamps before. I’ll bring Chera, she might pick up something. With my demon shadow here, it should be good. It is not like their high on the food chain. Vincent will forgive me for knocking them about. Plus it will be fun. More fun than this mission has been so far. I don‘t get to mess with vampires enough. And I have not pissed Vincent off in months.”