Dare Me

by Parker Blue

  YOU USED IT AGAIN, DIDN’T YOU? Fang asked suspiciously.

  That’s not important.

  YOU DID. YOU USED IT AGAIN. TALK ABOUT IDIOTS.

  Austin said it was okay. Sort of. I didn’t tell him Austin had promised to smash it if I ever used it again.

  Fang could read the truth in my mind. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t have to.

  “That’s enough, Val,” Shade said, frowning. “You’ve made your point. And though we may need you to help find this blood demon, you also need us to send him back to his dimension when you do find him.”

  “Granted,” I said grudgingly. “We need each other. Now, can we please come up with a strategy without arguing about who isn’t going to do what with despised Paladins?”

  I glared at Sharra when I said that. She looked sulky, but nodded. “What’s your plan?”

  I glanced at Austin, and he shrugged, obviously wanting to stay out of the line of fire.

  Guess it was up to me. “Well, the first thing is to find Emmanuel. I sent the demon hunter back to him with instructions to report back his location.”

  “And you think he’ll just do as you ask?” Sharra asked, looking dubious.

  “I reinforced it with the amulet,” I said, and dared them silently to condemn me for it.

  Shade took up the gauntlet. “You did what? Are you crazy?”

  “No, desperate. We need to find this guy before he kills more demons and vamps. This is the best way to do it.”

  Shade shook his head, looking annoyed. “That thing’s dangerous, Val. You shouldn’t be using it at all.”

  “It’s done,” I said. “Over. Let’s move on.”

  There was so much tension in the air, you could stab it with a stake.

  Austin broke the silence. “If we find him, can the two of you send him back to another dimension? I know Shade did it with a part demon, but this guy is four times stronger.”

  Finally, someone proposed something that actually sounded like a plan.

  Sharra nodded confidently. “Working together, we can. I’ve been helping Shawn, er, Shade, learn how to control his powers like I do. The problem will be getting Emmanuel alone and away from his followers. They won’t be too happy about losing their saint and will try to stop us.”

  I nodded. “We’ll need to go in force to control them. Between the demons and the vamps, we should have enough firepower. And I can use Lola to help.”

  “Unless they’re all hopped up on Emmanuel’s blood,” Shade reminded me. “That makes them extra strong and invulnerable to Lola, putting you in danger, Val.”

  I nodded. He had a good point. “The amulet—”

  But I didn’t get to finish what I planned to say, because Shade and Austin said, “No,” in unison.

  Crap. “Okay, how about we finalize a plan once we get more information?”

  “Why don’t you check the encyclopedia to see if it has any spells that will help find a blood demon?” Austin suggested.

  “You know the problem with those spells,” I reminded all of them. “I’d hate to use them and lose what little ground I’ve gained with Lola.”

  Shade looked like he wanted to object, but Austin said, “Better that than the amulet.” On that one thing, they were united.

  I sighed. “Okay, I’ll check.”

  Remembering the books could hear and understand me, I concentrated on them where they lay on the coffee table and said, “Please show me a spell that might help locate or subdue a blood demon and his minions.”

  The third book quivered, then glowed. I opened the book at the glowy spot and read the spell. “It’s a spell to gain the strength of ten men,” I said in surprise. Sure wished I’d known that earlier. Then again, if I had, I might not have used it because of the trade-off problem.

  “What are the limitations?” Shade asked.

  I read the fine print at the bottom. “It only lasts for twenty-four hours.”

  “Still,” Austin said, “it might be worth it to have it handy.”

  “Yeah.” I read the spell out loud. Like before, as I read each word, it vanished from the page and resided within me like an unexploded grenade. When I needed it, I’d just have to recite the activating words, and I’d be Super Val again. It might even be better than the amulet.

  “Let’s go looking for him,” Austin suggested.

  Shade’s lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed as he glanced between us, looking suspicious.

  Sheesh, this was getting ridiculous. “Uh, can I have a few minutes alone to talk to Shade and Sharra first?”

  Austin raised one eyebrow, then said, “Sure. I’ll be downstairs in the lab. Come when you need me.”

  HEY, BABE, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS? Fang asked.

  I’m sure. I’m tired of being treated like I have cooties.

  Once Austin was gone, I faced the twins. “Okay, what’s up with this ‘Val is the bad guy’ crap?”

  Fang was obliging enough to stand between them, touching them both so I could see their expressions.

  Shade frowned, but Sharra, who had apparently had a lot more practice in hiding her feelings, tossed her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Yes, you do. You can’t lie to me, you know. Not with a hellhound who can read your every thought.”

  Sharra glanced down at Fang in horror. “Can he really—?”

  HE CAN, Fang said with a canine smile. AND HE WILL. C’MON, SPILL.

  “Is this really necessary?” Shade asked, squeezing Sharra’s hand.

  Why couldn’t he hold my hand? Weird. I even felt jealous of the attention he paid his sister. “Yes, it is. We need to work together for a common purpose—catching Emmanuel and sending him back to the hell dimension he came from. It’s difficult to do that when you’re obviously hating on me. What gives?”

  “I don’t hate you,” Shade said.

  TRUE, Fang confirmed.

  “Can your sister say the same?”

  Sharra wouldn’t look me in the eyes. “I don’t hate you.”

  KINDA SORTA THE TRUTH, Fang said to the room.

  Belligerent now, Sharra said, “All right, the truth is, I don’t trust you.”

  “Why not?” What had I done to earn her mistrust?

  She avoided my gaze. “Because you’re a Paladin.”

  “You realize that doesn’t even make sense,” I said. “Paladins are chosen to defend demons in the Underground, chosen in a ritual with the consensus of the membership. If they trust me, why can’t you?”

  She compressed her lips and refused to answer. Shade put his arm around her. “You have to understand, Val. It was a Paladin who captured our father, a Paladin who brought him back to the Underground for judgment. If it hadn’t been for him, our father might still be alive.”

  AND IF YOUR FATHER HADN’T LOST CONTROL AND BROUGHT FULL DEMONS INTO THIS WORLD, HE WOULDN’T HAVE NEEDED JUDGMENT, Fang reminded him. And the snarky hellhound’s tone was remarkably gentle for a change.

  HEY, I CAN BE NICE WHEN I NEED TO, he said privately.

  Yeah, he just didn’t often feel the need. No matter. I was glad he’d said it so I didn’t have to.

  Sharra winced, so I guess Fang nailed the issue.

  “Give her a break,” Shade said. “We’ve talked about this, and she’s trying, but it’s an understandable phobia.”

  From his viewpoint, maybe. Especially since I suspected he kind of felt the same way.

  HE DOES, A BIT, Fang confirmed.

  I sighed. Diesel had just been doing his job, but I knew that wouldn’t work as an argument. “Look, I understand the emotional knee-jerk reflex, but let’s look at this logically.” That should appeal to Shade, anyway. “You’re shadow demons like your father. Does that mean you’ll
bring demons through into this world like he did?”

  WHOA, WRONG ANGLE OF ATTACK, Fang cautioned me.

  “It was an accident,” Shade said tightly. “He didn’t mean to do it. He lost control of his emotions.”

  “And he paid the ultimate price for that mistake,” Sharra added. “You think we don’t know that? You think we don’t worry that we’ll be just like him?”

  Oh, crap. That’s not what I meant at all. And, given Shade’s willingness to kill himself rather than let demons into this dimension, it was obvious it had always been on his mind, even if he hadn’t consciously remembered why. I spread my hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry, bad example. Look at it this way instead. There are some demons who are bad and some who are good. Just because you run across one, uh, fire demon who is an arsonist, that doesn’t mean every fire demon is a firebug, right?”

  Sharra didn’t look convinced. “No, but—”

  “So why do you assume all Paladins are bad?”

  “It’s the position, not the person,” Sharra said stubbornly.

  Shade looked exasperated. “It’s not the same thing at all, Val.”

  “Why isn’t it? Because it’s personal? Because it happened to you?”

  “Well, yeah,” Sharra said.

  “So because a vampire enthralled my sister and threatened to kill her and my stepfather, I should assume all vampires are bad?”

  “Aren’t they?” Sharra asked with lift of her eyebrow.

  I stared at her in disbelief. “Where have you been? Haven’t you seen how Austin and Alejandro have been helping us?”

  “Because you have them under your sway, and Austin has a thing for you,” Sharra said.

  I snorted. “Under my sway? Not hardly. Shade, didn’t you tell her about the New Blood Movement?” I ignored the second part.

  He shook his head. “Sharra, she’s right. Not all vampires are bad.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “And besides, you’ve met Gwen and Elspeth. I can’t hold them under my sway,” I added triumphantly.

  “No, but Micah could,” she shot back.

  “Okay, that’s true,” I conceded. “He could, but he doesn’t. The New Blood Movement is a vein of vampires dedicated to living in harmony with humans, accepting blood donations through blood banks like the one down below. Kinder, gentler vampires.”

  Sharra snorted.

  IT’S TRUE, Fang assured her. ONCE A BLOODSUCKER IS TURNED, HE BECOMES MORE OF WHAT HE WAS IN LIFE. SO, IF HE’S EVIL, HE BECOMES MORE EVIL. IF HE’S NOBLE, HE BECOMES MORE NOBLE. IF HE’S BRAVE, WELL, YOU GET THE IDEA.

  Sharra cast an uncertain glance at Shade.

  He nodded. “It’s true. They’re friends, Sharra.”

  We’d gotten way off the main point. “The point is, you shouldn’t judge all of a group simply because of your bad experience with one of them.” To be more clear, I added, “And you shouldn’t judge me because of one bad experience with a Paladin. I’m not Diesel.”

  Sharra still looked uncertain.

  YOU’RE MAKING HEADWAY, THOUGH, Fang assured me. AND SHE PROMISED SHADE SHE’D TRY.

  To bring it even further home, I said, “Shade, have you ever known me to be as callous and uncaring as you obviously think Diesel is? Deliberately?”

  Shade hesitated, and it felt like a slap in the face.

  “No,” Shade said finally. “Misguided, maybe, but you always do what you think is right, even if it hurts you or someone else in the process.”

  Sharra’s lips firmed, and I had a good idea I knew why. Evidently, she didn’t like sharing her newfound brother with anyone else.

  BULL’S-EYE, Fang said.

  I sighed, knowing I was going to have to address this, too, but really didn’t want to go there. “Look, forget that I’m a Paladin. Forget that you’re jealous I had a relationship with your brother when you didn’t.”

  “I am not—”

  “You are,” I said firmly.

  CAN’T LIE TO ME, Fang told her cheerfully.

  That shut her up.

  “Forget that crap. What else do you have against me?” It wasn’t like I was a great beauty or incredibly intelligent or rich or anything like that.

  “Nothing, I guess,” she admitted with a shrug, but wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “Then how about you get to know me first before you judge me?”

  She finally met my eyes. “Okay, deal. But you have to do the same.”

  I nodded. Good enough. I’d much rather make friends with Shade’s sister than have her as an enemy.

  OH, GOODIE, Fang said. ARE YOU GOING TO GO PLAY BARBIES NOW AND CURL EACH OTHER’S HAIR?

  I gave that comment the attention it deserved—silence. Sharra and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes in unison. Well, at least we had that in common—a disdain for stupid sexist comments.

  YOU’RE WELCOME, Fang said.

  Yeah, right. Like he’d done that on purpose.

  “How about you, Shade? Are you willing to give me another chance? Put aside your distrust of Paladins and your abandonment issues to give me a chance to prove myself?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I get it. I can deal. And I never distrusted you.”

  “Okay, good. Let’s—”

  Two quick raps sounded on the penthouse door, and Austin stuck his head in. “Sorry to bother you, but I have news.”

  “It’s okay,” I told him. “What did you find out?”

  “It’s on all the news channels.” He used some kind of fancy remote, and the humongous flat screen television came to life. He flipped channels until he found what he was looking for.

  The announcer said, “Earlier this evening, Mission Concepcion was the site of what some are calling a healing miracle.” They cut to the mission, and the pretty blond on-scene reporter added, “This evening, a man came to the evening service and offered to heal the parishioners. One man in a wheelchair accepted his offer and is claiming to be fully healed.”

  She pointed the mic at an older, fragile-looking gentleman who told how he was offered a healing elixir—with Emmanuel’s blood in it, no doubt—and after he took it, he was able to get out of his wheelchair and walk. He was still a bit shaky after not having stood for so long, but he said he had feeling in his legs for the first time in twenty-four years.

  Another man on the street, when asked for his comment, said, “It’s some kind of hoax. They probably had it set up ahead of time.”

  Then they cut back to the older man again who raised his liver-spotted hands to the heavens and beamed. “It’s a miracle!”

  Back to the reporter. “Hoax or miracle?” she asked. “You decide.”

  They returned to the camera in the studio where the anchor was grinning. “Well, he’ll be there all this week. Think I should get my hangnail fixed?”

  They laughed and went on to the next news story, and Austin switched off the television.

  “Emmanuel?” I asked.

  Austin shrugged. “Another news story had a blurry shot of the healer and remarked on his resemblance to iconic Jesus paintings. And since he had the healed ones drink something . . . yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s Emmanuel.”

  “Does the healing last?” I asked. “Or will it wear off as well?” If it was temporary, that news ought to squash his bid for power.

  “According to the book, the healing is permanent,” Shade said. “And now we know exactly where he’ll be tomorrow night. What are we going to do about it?”

  “We need more information,” Austin said. “Need to confirm it’s him.”

  I nodded. “I bet there will be a big crowd tomorrow. Why don’t we join them, gather as much info as possible, then come back and decide how to proceed?”

  They all made agreeable noises, so I called Micah and Lieute
nant Ramirez to let them know what our plans were. With any luck, we’d catch a break and the bad guy at the same time.

  YOU REALLY THINK IT’LL BE THAT EASY? Fang asked.

  I can hope, can’t I?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Val

  MY NEWLY ACQUIRED and well-behaved mole in Emmanuel’s organization called to confirm that his boss was going to be at the mission the next night—not that I needed the info now. When the time arrived, we left the two shadow demons at home where they’d be safe. No sense risking them until we really needed them—this was just a reconnaissance mission.

  Shade and Sharra argued, but we pointed out that it might be difficult to keep their swirly demonosity hidden in a crowd. Besides, Emmanuel probably knew what they looked like when they weren’t all swirly and would have people watching for them. Best for them to stay at the penthouse where the vamps downstairs, plus Gwen and Elspeth upstairs, could keep them safe.

  They didn’t like it, but they agreed. Fang elected to stay in and protect them as well, along with his puppies and Princess.

  Austin and I joined up with Micah, Ramirez, and Alejandro outside the centuries-old gray stone church with its twin bell towers. Though I’d lived here all my life, I really hadn’t spent much time at the city’s famous missions. Mission Concepcion claimed to be the oldest unrestored church in America, and it looked it—crumbling and ancient. But they still held services here every Sunday.

  The only thing that surprised me was how small it seemed. Maybe it was the huge crowd that made it appear that way—they couldn’t all fit inside the chapel. I’d never seen so many sick-looking people in my life.

  Good thing Fang had decided not to come. He might have been trampled.

  “Let’s split up,” Ramirez suggested. “We might be able to get more info that way.”

  We all agreed, and wonder of wonders, Austin even agreed to leave me on my own for once. Strange, the only time I felt truly alone was now that I was in a crowd.

  So many people tried to force their way into the church that it created a bottleneck at the door, with people shoving and cursing, desperate to get in and get their own personal miracle. Crap. Where was Mood when you needed her? This crowd could use some attitude adjustment.