Dare Me

by Parker Blue

  “Are you certain of that?” Ramirez asked.

  “No, but Fang and I will find out for sure.”

  Micah frowned. “How are you going to do that?”

  “Emmanuel has planned on a healing ‘miracle’ again tonight. I’ll take Fang this time, see if he can talk to Max and find out what’s really going on. And since we suspect the hellhound is the one feeding the info to Diesel and Emmanuel, maybe we can convince him to ignore us so we can fill the crowd with our people without Emmanuel knowing and take him down.”

  Ramirez frowned. “I don’t care for a plan that hinges on the help of an unknown hellhound. What if he turns on us?”

  “Then Fang should be able to figure that out right away and warn us. Right, Fang?”

  PROBABLY, Fang said. BUT DIESEL WILL STILL BE CONTROLLED. WHAT IF EMMANUEL FORCES HIM TO TURN ON HIS HELLHOUND?

  Good question. I thought for a moment, remembering what I’d learned in Shade’s memories. I repeated the question for the non-demons in the group and added, “Diesel has some kind of telekinetic ability to move people and objects with his mind. That could be dangerous.”

  “Then we dose him with Perdo,” Micah said, “so he won’t be able to use his powers.”

  “Why can’t you dose Emmanuel with Perdo?” Austin asked.

  I glanced at him in surprise. I should have thought of that. “That should work,” I conceded. “We know it works on part demons to remove their demonic abilities. It should work on a full demon, too.”

  “If you can get close enough to inject him with enough of the stuff,” Ramirez reminded us.

  “Maybe Max can help with that,” I said.

  “If he agrees,” Micah reminded me. “If he doesn’t, we’re in trouble.”

  “Let’s assume he’ll agree,” I said. “To get someone in close, they’ll have to pretend to need healing.”

  “It would have to be a human,” Austin said. “If Max doesn’t agree, he’d be able to spot a demon or vamp. And Emmanuel might, anyway.”

  True. “But we’re not sure it will even work,” I said. “Would it remove his hold on everyone he’s currently controlling if we did that?”

  Austin frowned. “Speaking from experience, I’d say not. I was under his spell even when I wasn’t in his presence.”

  Micah added, “I agree. Emmanuel’s blood would still be in them and the orders he planted still in place. I think they would still be under his influence until the effects of the blood wore off. He just won’t be able to issue new orders with the Perdo in him.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?” I asked.

  “It still might keep him from healing anyone new and expose him as a fraud,” Austin said.

  Good point. “Should we try it? Who could we get to do this?” Most of the people I knew were demon or vamp and would be spotted easily.

  Ramirez shrugged. “I could do it.”

  Of course. I sometimes forgot he was totally human. “But you look really healthy. Won’t he suspect something?”

  The lieutenant grinned—the first time I think I ever saw him do that. “Don’t worry about that. My wife is great with make-up.”

  “Good,” Micah said. “If you’ll arrange it, I’ll provide the Perdo.”

  “Don’t forget, his minions won’t exactly be standing still and waiting for things to happen,” I reminded everyone.

  “That’s where the rest of us come in,” Micah said. “We’ll be there in force to help subdue them and ensure no bystanders get hurt.” He glanced at Ramirez and Austin. “Do you have people who can help as well?”

  They both nodded.

  “Good,” Micah said. “Then, once they’re incapacitated, Shade and Sharra can send the blood demon back to the dimension he came from.”

  “You mean they’ll be on site?” I asked, frowning.

  Micah nodded grimly. “They’ll have to be, for this to work.”

  “But that puts them in danger,” I protested. “What if Max doesn’t cooperate? What if he tells Emmanuel that Shade and Sharra are there?”

  Micah frowned in thought. “We won’t bring them in until we’re sure it’s okay. And we’ll be there in enough force that we should be able to protect them.”

  “I’ll need the amulet,” I said, raising my chin and daring them to argue with me. “I promise to give it up after we get rid of Emmanuel.”

  For once, they didn’t argue. They could obviously see I was right.

  Fang brought it in from the other room in his mouth and gave it to me. OKAY, BUT DON’T LET IT CONTROL YOU, VAL.

  I won’t.

  Lt. Ramirez nodded. “It looks like we have a plan—”

  The door crashed open, and three men stormed in, blood in their eyes.

  VAMPIRES! Fang shouted.

  We all leapt to our feet.

  What the heck? They headed directly for those of us at the table.

  “Give us the shadow demons. Now,” one demanded.

  Oh, crap. Emmanuel had enslaved more vampires. When Sharra and Shade came out of the bedroom to see what was happening, as one, we moved to place ourselves between the vamps and their targets.

  “Get back in the room,” I shouted, and saw Micah and Ramirez herding them back through the door.

  They would be of no use in this fight, so it looked like it was up to Austin, Fang, and me. We each took on one of the bloodsuckers.

  As I punched one in the face with my super strength and had the satisfaction of seeing him go down, I asked Austin, “Friends of yours?”

  “No,” he said, as he caught one of them in a headlock. “Independents. Bad guys.”

  “Good.” I kicked the guy to keep him down and grabbed the one Fang was trying to hamstring. I threw him into the wall, just missing the window. That gave me an idea.

  “Austin,” I called, “find cover!”

  He wrestled his opponent into the hallway near the bathroom, and I used a chair to break the window then shoved the room-darkening curtains aside. Sunlight streamed in, and the two vamps screamed and tried to roll out of the light.

  No way. Grabbing one of them, I hauled him to the window and shoved him out. “Sparkle for me, baby.”

  And spark, he did. Otherworldly green flame ignited, and he was soon engulfed in fire and reduced to ash before he even hit the ground. All fight had left the second vamp—he was too busy trying to escape the deadly sunlight. I dealt with him the same way I had the first, and when I was done, I checked on Austin.

  He had staked the third vampire with a towel bar he’d yanked from the bathroom wall. Hey, whatever worked. “Let me clean that up for you,” I said, and grabbed the body. I hauled it into the living room and tossed it out the window with the others. Ash rained down on the sidewalk. Luckily, no one was outside the back of the hotel to witness it.

  IT’S RAINING VAMPIRES, Fang quipped.

  Micah glanced out the window. “Yeah, there’s nothing but ash down there, with a bloody towel bar in the middle of it. Might want to get rid of it before someone else sees it.” Then, over his shoulder, he called, “Lieutenant, it’s safe now.”

  “Not so much out here,” Austin added, looking down at something in the hallway outside the front door. “Looks like they brought us a present and left it here.”

  Huh? I went to see what he was talking about. A man lay crumpled between the penthouse front door and the elevator, covered in blood.

  “He’s dead,” Austin said, and turned him over so we could see his face.

  Shocked, I realized it was my mole in Emmanuel’s organization. He’d had his throat cut and the word “traitor” was carved into his forehead. Appalled, I whispered, “He didn’t even tell us anything we didn’t already know. And I forced him to do that.”

  “It doesn’t matter to a
guy like Emmanuel,” Austin said in disgust. “It’s a warning. To us. He knew you’d controlled this guy and wanted to send a message.”

  Crap. I’d done this to the poor man. How had Emmanuel known? “What do we do with him?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Ramirez said, Sharra and Shade behind him.

  I took a peek at Shade’s expression with the amulet. He looked pissed. “How did Emmanuel know where we were?” he asked.

  Micah grimaced. “Max probably read it in our minds when we attended the healing. We should have realized that before.”

  Ramirez nodded. “This safe house has been compromised. You need to move them again.”

  “I can help with that,” Austin said. “If someone would please dim the sunlight?”

  Oh, yeah. The sun was on its way down, but still could be dangerous to one of Austin’s persuasion. I crunched my way through the broken glass to close the drapes and ensure no ray of sunshine made its way inside. “It’s safe now.”

  Austin came in and glanced down at the wreckage I’d created.

  “Uh, sorry about the mess,” I said. “You think Alejandro will be pissed?”

  Austin shook his head. “It’s nothing. Easily fixed. Better to break a window than a shadow demon.”

  “You got that right,” Sharra said. “Where’s a broom and dustpan? I’ll clean this up—it’s the least I can do.”

  Austin found them for her, and Sharra cleaned up the mess as the rest of us discussed where to move Shade and Sharra.

  “Tell you what,” Austin said. “I’ll move them somewhere else safe and not tell you where. Max can’t read my mind, and if you don’t know where they are, he can’t read their location in yours.”

  “But we’ll need them to create the portal,” I reminded him.

  He nodded. “I’ll bring them to the mission with back-up so they can be on hand to send Emmanuel back to his hell dimension.”

  “Good idea,” I said, though I could see from Shade’s expression that he didn’t care for the idea of being beholden to Austin.

  But his feelings didn’t matter, not when his life was at stake. It was the only way to keep him safe.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Shade

  SHADE HATED THIS. He felt like a victim in one of those TV shows whose witness protection program location had been compromised—pushed around, clueless, and helpless to do anything about his own situation. Worse, they’d put him in the hands of someone he didn’t like and wasn’t sure he could trust.

  If it had just been him, he would have refused the vampire’s help, but he had to consider his sister, too. He didn’t want to endanger her any more than he had to, so he agreed to go off with Austin. He dumped a few things in a duffel, hoping he’d be able to come back for the rest when it was safe.

  WHAT ABOUT PRINCESS? Fang asked. AND THE PUPPIES?

  Damn. Shade hesitated. He didn’t want to leave them here and didn’t want to take them with him to some unknown place the vampire considered suitable. “Why don’t we take them back to Val’s place? Emmanuel’s goons will think we’d be stupid to return, so they won’t check there. Princess should be out of harm’s way.”

  “Good idea,” Micah said. “I’ll make arrangements to have my people watch over them. Mood can take them there.”

  OKAY, IT’S A PLAN, Fang said. PRINCESS IS ALL RIGHT WITH IT.

  Well, that was one worry off Shade’s shoulders. And now that the sun was going down, Austin sent his buddies downstairs out first to make sure it was safe. When no other madmen came out of the woodwork, he urged Shade and Sharra into the back seat of the darkened luxury car.

  “Keep your heads down,” Austin said. “Several cars will be leaving at the same time, to confuse anyone who might be watching.”

  Feeling like an idiot, Shade leaned over in his seat, out of sight. Sharra did the same, and Tiny Tim growled at the vampire, uncontrollable shivers wracking his small body.

  As Sharra tried to comfort the Chihuahua, Shade asked, “Where are we going?”

  “I won’t tell you that while we’re still in hellhound range,” Austin said curtly.

  Sharra clutched his arm, and though he couldn’t see her face for the swirls, fear emanated from her. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she whispered.

  Not really. For all he knew, Austin was planning on taking them out to some remote alley, draining them, and dumping them. “Yes,” he lied to calm her. Besides, he didn’t really believe Austin would do that. At least, not until the shadow demons had gotten rid of the threat Emmanuel posed to the city. He didn’t say any of that aloud, though, knowing the bloodsucker would hear him no matter how low he whispered.

  Finally, about ten minutes later, Austin said, “You can sit up now. We weren’t followed.”

  Good—Shade was getting a crick in his neck. He sat up and rubbed his neck, the raised scars from Austin’s fangs surprising him anew. “Okay, we’re out of hellhound range. Where are we going?”

  “To Alejandro’s mansion.”

  “What?” Straight into a whole vein of vampires?

  “You know of any place safer?” Austin asked, his tone dry as the desert.

  “What is it?” Sharra asked.

  “The headquarters for the New Blood Movement,” Shade said. And, for her sake, he added, “We’ll be safe there.” They’d better be.

  Austin drove them around to the back of the mansion. “No sense advertising your presence in case anyone’s watching. Alejandro knows you’re coming.”

  He took them through the kitchen in the back and into a dining room, both devoid of any personality, unlike the other vampire properties he’d seen. They were obviously just for show since the bloodsuckers didn’t need them. Unless they used the long, oval-shaped table for meetings or something.

  Sharra plopped down in a dining room chair and looked around at the featureless room. “Oh, great. Now what do we do?”

  Shade pulled out his laptop. “I guess we can do more research.”

  “Yeah, or we could call those people who had their demons removed.” She glanced at Austin. “You know who to call?”

  “Yes—Lisette will help you.” He gave them the phone number, then left, saying, “Stay here. I’ll let folks know you’re here, find a place for you.” He closed the door behind him.

  “Good idea,” Shade said. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number Austin had given them, then put it on speaker.

  Lisette answered with a charming French accent, and Shade explained what they wanted.

  “Ah oui, but of course. If you will hold on un moment, I will fetch one of them for you.”

  Soon, someone came on the line. “Hello?” a male voice said. “Who is this?”

  “Shade and Sharra, shadow demons.” Shade hesitated. “And you?”

  “Blaine Williamson, fire—former fire demon.”

  “Are you one of the ones Val Shapiro exorcised the demon from?” Shade asked, just to be sure.

  “Yes. But the demon is gone. I’m fully vampire now, you know.”

  Unfortunately, Shade couldn’t tell how the guy felt about it. He wondered how to phrase his questions, but Sharra jumped in without hesitation. “We’re thinking of having our demon side exorcised, too. Would you recommend it?”

  Blunt, but it did the trick.

  Blaine hesitated for a moment, then said, “It’s not the same thing at all. I was forced to become a vampire, and mixing that with my demon side sent me into loony land. Taking the demon out made me sane and saved my life, you know?”

  Or rather, made him fully undead, he meant. “We understand that,” Shade said, “but other than making you sane and a full vampire, how does it feel?”

  “Weird, man.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, I do
n’t know what it’s like for shadow demons, but for fire demons, there’s always this spark deep down in your soul, you know?”

  Shade didn’t, but he made encouraging sounds.

  Blaine continued, “The spark is what helped me create fire. Now, it’s gone. Forever. I kinda miss it.”

  “How has it changed you?”

  “I’m a vampire, dude.”

  Shade sighed. How could he pull the information he needed out of the inarticulate Blaine?

  “We know,” Sharra said, interrupting. “But surely, you and the other three who were exorcised have talked about the difference. Let’s say you were fully human. No vampire, no demon, just mortal. How would that change things for you?”

  “Well, it’d suck big time, you know?”

  “How would it suck?” Sharra persisted.

  “Well, we were kinda used to having these powers, you know? And now that they’re gone, there’s like this big hole where they used to be. Empty, you know?”

  Shade wanted to yell that he knew, already, but didn’t want to alienate the guy. “Okay,” Shade said, encouragingly. “Tell us more.”

  “Well, it’s not like we’re Emo or want to do anything, you know, suicidal, but the drive is gone, man.”

  “Did it affect your intelligence at all?” Shade wanted to know.

  “No, dude. We’re all just as smart as we were before. Maybe smarter, you know?”

  So he’d always been this way? Reassuring. “Okay, thank you,” Shade said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

  He hung up and Sharra snorted. “Really helpful, ‘you know’?”

  Shade chuckled. “Well, he was annoying, but at least we know their intelligence didn’t suffer. That is helpful, actually. And it’s good to know that though they feel the absence of their powers, they’re not zombies or suicidal.”

  “Yeah, they just have a hole somewhere in their psyche.” Sharra thought for a moment. “I could handle that . . . to be fully human.”

  “Me, too.” A dream come true.

  She squeezed his hand. “Now we just have to convince your Paladin to help us get rid of this curse.”