by Lil Hamilton
I know what she should have done then but the Dyrad didn’t live among humans at all, not like other nymphs did when they were in later life. The Dryad never left her Grove. She protected and mentored the nymphs coming from Faerie to claim land rights and gave them a secluding, natural environment to retreat to. She would not have come to the same fears, suspicions or conclusions. Even if she had it wasn’t in her nature to have the same response I would have or react the same way. Dryads were very protective and aggressive when someone invaded their Grove and attacked those they protected… but to try and figure out how to find them outside of their area of protection they would be lost.
“What did you do?” I asked, keeping all judgment from my tone, all sorrow.
“I believed they were harvesting the faelings for their own pleasure. As the humans would say, for their own… brothel? I sent Nemnae to find them. She has a very fine sense of energy vibrations that could pick up even the most delicate, such as our earth bound children.”
I nodded. “What would you have done had she found them?”
Her expression hardened. “I would have done what was needed. They had no right. I have favours owed to me and I would have collected.”
“Ah.” Now that made sense. Just because the Dryad couldn’t leave the Grove didn’t mean she couldn’t send a posse of Unseelie out there to kick some human ass. That would have left a real fine mess for me to clean up. Under the circumstances, I wouldn’t have minded. “I suspect the situation wasn’t what you anticipated.”
She cocked her head. “It was. I assure you. The witch did as men do. He spoke to each girl. He spent the night with them. All the girls in the Warrens said he was trying to lure them away.”
Now it was my turn to be surprised. It had been Warren. He had always been into people pushing, not brothels. So was it a sex trade thing? Was he luring them away to get them to come quietly to sell them to the highest bidder? “I see.”
“Nemnae searched for them all over the city. She caught traces of them in the Gutters and then, as you know, was seen speaking with them at Tribute before she disappeared. I informed Dillian she was missing, but it is my dishonor. I sent her out there and now she is lost to us.”
If he was starting a side business brothel then maybe that faeling was a Madame? And had been sort of handpicking stock? If so they were enslaving their workers. That would be something Warren was familiar with. He would have a crew of black witches helping him, or he would be working with a local coven. If he was behind the demi kidnapings as well, and I did believe so, then he likely was funneling those through a coven who would ship them off to be sold through the black market once they had been ‘marked’. Only black witches knew the sort of binding compulsion spells capable of taking away will power and enslaving people so they wouldn’t even try to escape.
“I don’t know what sort of operation the witch has going on or where it is based, Bianca, but I assure you I will know very soon now. I have that witch in custody. He is a collector for hire, what they call in his trade a harvester. He hunts down and ‘tags’ people of interest to slavers so his team can then set up an ambush for them. We know his work very well and will know if they are behind any missing people. Covens interested in making money from people pushing hire a crew like him for his skills. It might be he has more than one employer in town this time. Not that it matters. I’m going to crack his head open like an egg and find out, so don’t you worry none.”
“Then bring him to me. I will chop him up and let his blood soak into the roots of my trees for violating the purity of one of my people.”
I honestly wished I could do that because Nemnae had been missing for weeks and I didn’t want to think about what had happened to her in that time. Not to mention Lily. While I still had this faint hope Lily had somehow ended up in Vincent’s stable of potentials, I doubted it. She had been attacked by mercenary witches. And they had known what they were doing. Just like Warren always took down his prey. Only this time I caught him quickly and that gave me the advantage. I didn’t have to wait for Inter to twiddle its thumbs. I knew he was involved with kidnaping a fae breed and that meant I could do anything I damn well pleased, legally, to him. It also meant the case was cleanly and clearly mine.
I gave her a bow of respect to show we were both on the same page. “If there is anything left of him, I will. When I have Nemnae I will bring her to you. It is best she return to Faerie immediately for solace. It might be best if we have someone soften her memories or remove them, if she desires. I will leave that to you to decide. May the ground nourish you.”
“May the wind blow at your back.”
Leaving turned out to be easier than entering. The back cut straight out. Go figure.
Dill phoned and we caught each other up. Malick had been cooperative and now I owed him a favour… or dinner. The timing of the missing demi had been exactly the same as the faelings, right when I went out of town. Forty had gone missing. Not too many witnesses. But those who had caught them in the act said it was a team of five witches, three to ward and two to take down the demi. When someone tried to help out they often would stumble across a confusion trap, find themselves wondering down a street an hour later not knowing how they got there. People had seen Warren and the same faeling in the warrens, likely tagging for harvest. But not since, and Malick had been looking. He assured Dill that he had scoured the Warrens and he knew for a fact they were not hiding anywhere within it. He also assured Dill he had put in place ‘procedures’ to ensure no one else would be taken. Whatever that meant. I suspected the harvesting part was already complete and the binding part was in process, next would be shipping them out. We had to find where they were storing them all.
I met Lan at my car and went through it with him as well. “Then the vampires are but a diversion.”
“But one we must look at.”
“Do you believe Lily to be forced to work in a whorehouse or to be sold as a slave?” he asked. The rage he was containing was leaking out enough to be felt pricking against my skin and likely my phone just died a quick death.
“I’m not sure. Yet. Witches sell well as slaves. They are useful, but you know as well as I do from tracking down demons, as I track down fae… fucking feeders who are twisted love to feed on races ripe with energy, willing or no, and add sex into the mix? Just turns them on more. I don’t know what sort of set up this is yet. Let’s just get this meeting out of the way and we’ll get to the real interrogation fun parts.”
It ended up being that I had to drive, simply because Lan didn’t drive. He teleported. I rather thought it would be rude of him to teleport himself there before me. He claimed he had the strength for the both of us, but I wondered if my shields would prevent the merge of our energy enough. I could end up in Alaska or into a billion little sparkles. He said I had trust issues, which was so obviously true I gave no other reply but to grab my keys and give him the finger.
For a few blocks we traveled in silence, the traffic sluggish with people returning home from work and weres and vamps heading into work. I glared at Lan when the radio only gave off static and he shrugged. I really wondered about that demon interferences. The car worked fine, but an iPod out of the question. Anything electronic wise they seemed to disrupt the fields causing glitches or all out failure. I admit I was fascinated by human technology; it seemed like their own magic, so I was a little annoyed he kept breaking my toys.
“All right, lay it on me, what did you find out in the Gutters?”
“It is ripe full of stoned witches and juiced up humans looked for their next vamp blood fix.”
“Yep. Not quite on the tourist map is it? Main street runs through the Commons, a neutral market area for witch covens to sell their legit merchandise. Truce area. It runs straight down into the hellish area of the Gutters where the less legal drug concoctions witches sell are sold and where blood whores sell their wares. Generally still neutral territory, but it rubs against quite a few coven territories. Most
ly some grey covens, a few blacks and of course a lower vampire district.”
“There is some indication of activity. People are nervous. It sounds like some heavy hitters are moving in somewhere, but no one has any idea where. If you are thinking a slave based brothel then it is underground and not advertised, but there are plenty of them there. Most of the blood whorehouses, but I can see them expanding and all it would take is them having another isolated space to have the other merchandise stored. I asked about Warren and people have seen him and I even sensed him, but couldn’t track him. The place reeks of black magic. Fresh gang markers. I took some pictures of the symbols because maybe you have contacts in Inter who might be able to tell us who uses those tags. There have been some recent conflicts as well. I bet some other covens are not too keen on whoever it is taking space there.”
“If they are taking space there it is because they just are looking for marketability. And they need a little more of a stable outlet, which means carving out a little retail space. I bet whatever coven it is, they were not in this market before. That is why they hired in Warren and why there was a sudden influx of people being taken from here. Unless they have taken from elsewhere as well and just taping into the rather vast resource we have here. Either way, Warren is our in to finding the coven.”
I punched the gas, turning into side roads and attempting a short cut, which I was entirely aware, might get us lost, as was my tendency. That is why they invented GPS. I liked to think driving fast down random side streets was more satisfying than waiting in clogged traffic the straight route.
I held up my cell to do some dangerous texting and driving but it was dead. I cursed.
“You’re going to be the bane of my gadget ridden life, Lan.”
“The very fact you are entertained about such things amuses me. It is such a human thing. You can do what you wish and instead you depend on such things.”
“It’s not a matter of need. It’s want. Get into the human vibe, man. It is all about want. Besides, I told you, this realm grates on my essence. Just cause I can do something doesn’t mean I’ll be happy with the magic hangover it will cause.”
It was be really unwise of me to say one fae weakness in the mortal realm was a sort of backlash to our spell work. Must be because this world didn’t quite vibe the right way, so we got feedback on the energy we threw around. So the more spells we tossed around the more of an effect it had on us physically. I saved all my spells for as needed magic, as in needed for work. Others wasted it on bling and artful illusions. Too much spell work made us feel sick like only a human could understand. The last time I had done so I’d had migraines, intense muscle fatigue and fluctuated from cold chills to fevers for a month. I had heard it was one way we could suffer the true death, spelling ourselves right into dying a mortal death. Fact was, if one of us let it get to that point they wouldn’t be able to spell heal either.
“I like this border realm, Lan. I like the time flow of humanity and its buzz. I like not having to force my will on its reality. Thus I tend to only use magic and demon abilities when I work. Humans are brilliant with these toys and I love them. And you’re walking static electricity or some such thing.”
“I am sorry I displease you,” he murmured, but when I glanced at him he was he was smiling with amusement.
I almost crashed the car when I felt the heat of his aura spread through the confining place, tendrils of red energy flicked over me causing a feathering tingling as they brushed over me. “Stop that. Do you want us to die in a fatal car crash?”
“Obviously I must try harder to please you,” he replied, his tone deep and husky.
The tendrils danced over my energy and then over my breasts and between my legs. I shivered and tried to concentrate but I felt the liquid desire spread through me and then heating up. I glared at him again and his smug smile suggested he knew how aroused I was from the energy touch. When I jerked into a parking space in front of the bar I was trembling with pleasure and gasping slightly.
I yanked my seatbelt off and turned to him, noting his half lidded eyes of desire. I leaned over and pounced on him, demanding a passionate kiss. He groaned pulling me closer, grasping my hair in a firm hold as slid his lips over mine. I gasped at his forcefulness and he thrust his tongue into mine, while his hand grabbed my breast squeezing slightly. He tugged at the nipple to arouse it then flicked it. I gripped his shirt, and then grabbed his shoulders, kneading my hands into the muscles. He released me abruptly and smiled with satisfaction.
“Now they will understand you are claimed. My scent will be on you.”
Stunned, I leaned away from him. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. I had gone from zero to aroused in 2.5 seconds. This demon could tempt a nun to sin.
“You could just piss on me and be done with it,” I said with a laugh but the power of my attraction to him was disturbing. I tugged the rim of my hat down since it had been knocked askew by his eager hands. “Now when we get in, I want you to stay in the bar. Scope out anyone for information.”
“I will go with you.”
“I can’t deal with this vamp with you flexing your metaphysical muscles and pounding on your chest. This is essentially my job, to keep the fae and half-breeds protected. I’ll have no troubles showing him who is who. Frankly, it‘ll me loads of fun.”
“You are so very vexing,” he growled. “I have a need to protect you. All this ‘you stand here and watch’ bit is getting tiresome. I’m a warrior hunter, not a bodyguard.”
“Then go kill something,” I said with smirk.
“I am honour bound to protect you.”
I laughed and shook my head. “That rather means you’re a bodyguard.”
“It does not,” he said firmly.
“The definition of a body guard is someone who guards and protects a body. I’m the body and you are the guarder of said body.” I leaned back and smirked at him. “When the fighting begins then you can play. Right now, I need to do my thing. If you were not so obsessed with shadowing me, I’m sure you could be doing your thing.”
“I am going in. I will have your back, even if you say you do not need it. Never go into a situation without having someone cover your back. Basic common sense.”
I was not a fool. Gee, like I would confront any Other race without backup. They were not my race, not entirely magical and so unpredictable offensively.
“I’ll only invite you if you play nice,” I said taunting and laughed as his expression darkened. “This is simple really. Not hard at all. Just a meeting with them about the witch. No one thinks she is actually at a bite bar. The people who run these joints are way down the vamp hierarchy and no threat to me. While I am finding out how they know our mark you can do your demon thing and scope the place out. It likely has a few basement levels and escape routes. See if you pick up any blood slaves.”
That was not to say I was not going to royally roll them, just to make sure. Given the time constraints on this mission, it was best I used some flare and got my answers far faster than negotiating and bargaining. Besides I hated bite bars. Vampires who ran the places were pretty much scum. Some were vampires only and offered blood slaves as appetizers. This one drew in the food. The Accords demanded all vampires have voluntary human donors, who got paid, but what humans were not aware of could not be prosecuted as a crime.
He got out when I did and looked at me over the Mini. “It is possible she is here. It is possible it was a misunderstanding and they have yet to decide what to do with her. Maybe wrap her in a pretty bow and hand her to their Master. You coming for your announced and official visit would upset them and force them to act. This then would be an ambush, just waiting of an arrogant Seelie to stroll all in without any backup.”
“That is not what happened,” I said with a sigh. I wish that is what happened.
“And yet it is possible. Even if your speculation is correct and these harvesting witches took Lily, she might have been sold out by her employer. Have you neve
r run into a situation thought to be routine and discovered you had no idea what was really going on?”
“Yeah, sure, totally FUBARed.”
He shook his head and smiled, showing he was familiar with that acronym.
“Well, then. Always be prepared.”
“Yes, scout master. That is why I brought with me a muscular demon escort. Who will remain at a stand down and be the alert back guard and let me do my arrogant fae thing,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
When I walked into the establishment it was obvious Chera was right. It was a bite bar that catered to foolish humans, and geared towards the female side it seemed. The environment was crawling with crimson curtains, paint and cushions; like the place oozed blood into the furniture. Likely a décor that helped with inevitable stains. Rather practical assuming they cleaned it up quickly and I assumed they definitely did. It was a place designed for lounging, with half couches. I guess when their victim got all dizzy and anemic they needed a little nap. Already I saw some giddy group of women sitting at a table by the stage, reinforcing themselves with alcohol as half-clad male vamps served them. Naturally they were all young things, dressed dramatically in black and black leather. With about four piercing each, that I could see anyway. They were thin and pale, which were indications it was not there first time down this road. Lan gave the place a swift scan and settled on an expression of disgust. Bet his fine-tuned sense of smell was not such a perk at this point.
I shrugged. “Well, I hear the strippers are to die for. Heh. Vampire joke.”
