Dare Me

by Parker Blue

  “Yes, but it won’t be easy. And we have to take care of Emmanuel first.”

  Her mouth twisted in disgust. “Why do we have to wait for them? Can’t we just take him out on our own?”

  It was tempting, to be in the lead for once, instead of always being relegated to the rear. “No,” Shade said regretfully. “Maybe if he was alone, but he has all those minions, and I don’t think we could shove them all through a portal. Nor should we. They’re misguided, misled by Emmanuel’s trickery. They’re not evil.”

  “Okay,” Sharra said with a sigh. “But have you created a portal before? On purpose, I mean?”

  He winced at the reminder that he was having a problem holding it together. “Yes, but it wasn’t all that easy. Do you have a better way of doing it?”

  “Maybe. Let me show you.”

  She demonstrated, then drilled him for about an hour until he could do it himself, then said abruptly, “I’m hungry.” She glanced around the dining room. “Think they have any human food in the house?”

  “I doubt it, but we could order in.”

  Shade started to stick his head out the dining room door, then remembered he might freak out any vampires who didn’t know what he was. Freaked-out vampires—not a good thing. “You ask,” he said, gesturing to Tiny Tim.

  Sharra nodded and opened the door. Rosa was outside the door, filing her nails, but obviously guarding them. Keeping them from harm . . . or keeping them prisoner?

  “Hi,” Sharra said, her hand firmly on her Chihuahua. “We’re hungry. You have anything to eat?”

  Rosa shrugged. “Come. We will find something or order in.”

  Austin, coming down the hallway, gestured for Rosa to proceed. “Go on. I’ll watch Shade.”

  Sharra raised her eyebrows at Shade, clearly asking if she should go with Rosa. “It’s okay,” he told Sharra. “I need to talk to Austin alone.”

  Now Austin raised his eyebrows, but nodded and closed the door behind him. Taking a seat at the table, he asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Val. We need to talk about Val.” Shade wasn’t looking forward to it, but there were some things that had to be said.

  “Yes, we do,” Austin agreed, his expression stern.

  Surprised the vamp agreed, Shade said, “During the healing, Val and I shared a lot of memories and emotions. She loves me,” he said bluntly. “Not you.” Never you.

  Austin smiled and leaned back in the chair. “She thinks she loves you . . . for now. And yet, she’s not indifferent to me, is she?”

  Unfortunately, that was true. “I just want what’s best for Val.”

  “Do you?” Austin raised an eyebrow in clear disbelief.

  “What the heck does that mean?”

  “If you did, and you think you’re best for her, why don’t you tell her that? Why don’t you be with her?”

  Shade shook his head. “It’s complicated.” And he didn’t want to get into his reasons with his rival.

  “No, it’s very simple. Either you’re on her side, or you’re not.”

  “Of course I’m on her side,” Shade protested.

  Austin tipped his chair forward and grabbed Shade’s wrist—tight. Too tight. “No, you’re on your own side.” The cowboy’s gaze bored into Shade’s, as if by seeing into his eyes, he could see into his soul.

  Let him look. He’d see nothing but the truth. Clenching the fist Austin held, Shade said, “I’m on hers and mine. I’m concerned about her, especially her use of the amulet.”

  “Yeah,” Austin said. “That thing worries me.” He loosened his grip, but still held on to Shade’s wrist, no doubt so he could search for lies in his face.

  He wouldn’t find any—Shade was about to get very real and honest here. “It worries the books, too.”

  “The encyclopedia?” Austin asked in surprise.

  Shade nodded and explained how he’d been able to communicate with them, how the books warned that the crystal was dangerous, that Val might lose her keeper status, and that they’d asked him to keep it a secret.

  Austin frowned. “But how about when you shared memories with Val? Did she learn your secret?”

  Startled by the question, Shade ran through the healing session in his mind. “No.” He remembered everything from that healing session, and that hadn’t come up. It was all about emotions—the more embarrassing, the more they came front and center. “She doesn’t know. And we need to work together to get the amulet away from her so she can remain keeper.”

  “Okay, we’re agreed,” Austin said. “So how do we do that? I don’t think staging an intervention would work with her.”

  Neither did Shade. She had too many excuses to keep it. “The book said we could get rid of it through a portal Sharra or I can create.”

  “What if we can’t get it away from her?”

  “The books did give me another suggestion,” Shade said reluctantly, then sighed. He had to tell it all. “The next best thing is to build Lola back up, so she doesn’t need the amulet. I can’t help her there. Not yet.” Not until the demon was exorcised from him, and he didn’t have to worry about losing his temper. Shade took a deep breath, not believing he was actually going to say this, then spit it out before he could change his mind. “I give you permission to feed her as often as she needs to bring Lola up to full power.”

  Austin’s mouth quirked in a smile that was anything but humorous. “I don’t need your permission.”

  Shade knew that, but he had felt the need to give it, to be in control so the thought of Val sharing Austin’s lust wouldn’t send him off the deep end.

  “Besides,” Austin added with one of those infuriating smiles, “I believe she’s more with me now than she is with you.”

  Exactly what Shade had been worried about. He stuck his face belligerently in Austin’s. “That’s what you think. But mark my words. As soon as I get rid of my demon, I’m getting Val back. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  “I don’t have to stop you. All I have to do is wait for Val to get tired of waiting for you to grow up. When she’s tired . . . when that ship sails, I’m going to be on it. You can make book on that.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Val

  WE FINALIZED OUR plans, then headed out separately. Fang and I took my Valkyrie to the mission where Emmanuel had promised another healing. We showed up about an hour before the promised time, hoping Max would be there with Diesel already.

  We were in luck. As I suspected, Diesel was scoping out the security already. I glanced down at Fang. “Can you reach Max? Is he being controlled, too?”

  YES, HE’S HERE, BUT HE DOESN’T KNOW YET THAT I’M LISTENING IN. SO FAR AS I CAN TELL, HE’S NOT BEING CONTROLLED.

  “Will you—”

  CAN IT, VAL. I KNOW WHAT TO DO. NOW HUSH SO I CAN DO IT.

  I just want to know what’s going on.

  OKAY, he relented. I’LL KEEP YOU UPDATED. HOLD ON, LET ME CONTACT HIM.

  There was silence for a while, and I grew antsy.

  STOP FIDGETING, Fang said. I TALKED TO MAX, AND HE’S WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO SAVE DIESEL FROM BEING CONTROLLED BY THE BLOOD DEMON.

  Thank heavens.

  Fang paused. HE SAYS HE JUST WANTS ONE THING IN RETURN FOR HIS HELP.

  What?

  Fang leapt to his feet, fur bristling. NO WAY!

  What? What did he say?

  HE WANTS TO DO THE DEED WITH PRINCESS. Fang sounded highly indignant.

  Good grief, why?

  BECAUSE HE WANTS STRONG HELLHOUND OFFSPRING, OF COURSE, Fang said.

  I couldn’t even imagine what the puppies of a bulldog and Cavalier mating would look like. “How does he even know about her?”

  HE READ IT IN SOMEONE’S MIND YES
TERDAY—SOMEONE WHO WAS HOPING FOR A PUPPY.

  That made sense. “Do you think Princess would go along with that?” I asked.

  Fang’s lip curled in a sneer. DOESN’T MATTER. I WON’T GO ALONG WITH IT. Then, saying so I could hear as well, he said, NO WAY, DUDE. FIND YOUR OWN BITCH.

  “But Fang, if it will help save Shade . . .?”

  He glared at me. WOULD YOU ASK SHADE TO BREED WITH ANOTHER SUCCUBUS TO SAVE ME?

  Well, I’d kind of already done that—to save Micah, Gwen, and Princess. “Maybe.”

  WELL, I WON’T DO THAT TO PRINCESS. FORGET IT.

  Max came around the side of the mission to take a leak, and incidentally, take a look at us. A deep gravelly voice joined Fang’s in my head. I HAD TO TRY, the bulldog hellhound said to both of us. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?

  “We want to send Emmanuel back to his own dimension,” I explained. “If you can refrain from telling him about the vamps and demons in the audience, we’ll use Perdo to incapacitate him and find a way to get him apart from the humans so we can send him back to the hell he came from.” Getting him away from the humans was going to be the hard part.

  WHAT IF IT DOESN’T WORK? Max asked.

  “Then we’ll try something else. But this will work.”

  OKAY, THEN MY DEAL IS THIS—WHETHER IT WORKS ON HIM OR NOT, YOU GOTTA HELP ME GET DIESEL OUT FROM UNDER HIS INFLUENCE.

  “No problem.”

  AND EMMANUEL WILL BE SUSPICIOUS IF I DON’T IDENTIFY ANY OF YOU, SO I MAY HAVE TO POINT OUT A FEW.

  He had a point. I didn’t like it, but had to admit it was the only option. “Okay, we’ll let you know whose identity you can reveal.”

  ALL RIGHT, Max said, and trotted back around to the front of the church. KEEP ME POSTED.

  When he was gone, I asked Fang, “Can we trust him?”

  I THINK SO. I HOPE SO.

  Me, too. The success of this operation was riding on an unknown hellhound whose primary loyalty was to a Paladin who was being controlled by a blood demon. Not exactly confidence-inspiring. But it was our best shot—we had to try it.

  Fang kept me posted as people arrived. Austin brought Shade and Sharra in one of Alejandro’s limos with a bunch of New Blood Movement vampires to watch over them. He brought Gwen, too, which bothered me a bit. What was she doing here?

  SHADE SAYS SHE INSISTED ON HELPING. AND NOW THAT MAX IS ON OUR SIDE, WE DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON JUST HUMANS TO GET CLOSE. THERE ARE THREE PEOPLE IN THE CROWD WITH SYRINGES FULL OF PERDO—GWEN, LUDWIG, AND RAMIREZ. HOPEFULLY, ONE OF THEM CAN GET THROUGH TO DIESEL AND EMMANUEL.

  I frowned, really wishing Gwen could stay out of this.

  SHE’S A VAMPIRE NOW, Fang reminded me. SHE’S MORE THAN CAPABLE OF TAKING CARE OF HERSELF. PLUS, THEY’RE LESS LIKELY TO SUSPECT HER. SHE LOOKS SO INNOCENT.

  True, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

  I spotted Lieutenant Ramirez in the crowd. His normal healthy skin looked grey and made him appear frail and sickly. Good make-up job.

  We ensured everyone arrived in pairs, to make it less likely anyone else would be taken by surprise and turned into Emmanuel’s blood slave. We also made sure at least one person of each pair was a demon so Fang could contact everyone. It was much better and more reliable than radios or cell phones. Plus, it was impossible for Emmanuel to overhear if Fang focused on only our people.

  Fang told Max to identify the demons and vamps Diesel had already seen, like Austin and me. Hopefully, if he kept his eye on us, one of the three carrying Perdo would be more likely to get close to them.

  The crowd tonight was even larger than the one the night before, and they didn’t even try to hold it indoors. Word had obviously gotten around, and everyone wanted to be healed or at least take a peek at the guy who dominated the news. Unfortunately, news crews were everywhere, too. That might complicate things. I sure wished I had a flashy neuralizer thingy like the ones in Men in Black to make everyone forget anything strange that might happen here tonight.

  “Where’s Diesel?” I asked Fang softly.

  UP BY THE FRONT OF THE MISSION. MAX SAYS EMMANUEL ISN’T HERE YET.

  I frowned. It was fifteen minutes past the time when he’d promised to be here. Where was the guy? Does Max know when he’s going to be here?

  NOPE. EMMANUEL DOESN’T TRUST ANYONE ENOUGH TO GIVE THEM HIS SCHEDULE.

  Paranoid much? Well, maybe he had good reason to be. And we couldn’t take Diesel out of commission until after Emmanuel arrived since it would knock the Paladin out. Might make Emmanuel a tad suspicious.

  The crowd was getting restless, and it was a good ten minutes later when the priest finally stood on the low wall again and raised his hands for silence. He got it. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . Emmanuel!” He made another one of those theatrical gestures, and Emmanuel rose to tower above the crowd on the old well.

  He raised his hands so everyone could see the stigmata. The crowd gasped, and a few even fainted. Sheesh. It totally ticked me off that people were thinking of this creep as god-like.

  As Emmanuel called for volunteers to come forward and be healed, I murmured to Fang, “Time to take Diesel out of the equation.”

  GOT IT, Fang confirmed. Then, to everyone in our group, he said, SHOWTIME, PEOPLE.

  I’d been hanging at the back, but now I made my way toward the front, using Lola when I had to, to move men out of my way. At this range, she worked plenty well.

  Ludwig, Gwen, and Ramirez moved toward the front as well, answering Emmanuel’s call for those who needed to be healed. The plan was for them to get close to either Emmanuel or Diesel and try for one of them.

  With any luck, as soon as we took him out, he’d lose control of his blood slaves, and we’d be able to denounce him and make everyone think him a fraud.

  Diesel stood on an elevated platform where he could survey the crowd. He kept an eye on me and on the others Max had identified. Good—he didn’t seem concerned about the people who had the Perdo. Max really was playing on our side.

  I stopped well short of the front, so Diesel wouldn’t be inclined to warn Emmanuel. As Emmanuel played healer and gave an old woman one of his snake oil elixirs, the man mountain that was Ludwig, the water demon, reached up to grasp Diesel’s leg.

  I don’t know if the Paladin was suspicious of Ludwig’s size or his demeanor, but whatever the reason, he resisted. Hard. With one sweep of his hand, he used his telekinetic power to propel Ludwig backward into the crowd, bowling over several people. But while he was distracted by that, Gwen darted forward and sank her hypodermic into Diesel’s calf.

  He scowled and made a gesture toward her, but couldn’t complete it. He crumpled like a used tissue.

  YAY. GO, GWEN! Fang exclaimed.

  Max added, YOU PROMISED TO GET DIESEL OUT OF HERE SAFELY.

  WE WILL, Fang assured him. WE ARE.

  Austin was suddenly there, lifting Diesel like he weighed nothing. Some idiots in the crowd screamed, and, in the confusion that followed, Ramirez managed to inject Emmanuel.

  Yes!

  But wait. The blood demon didn’t crumble. In fact, it didn’t seem to affect him much at all.

  No!

  Emmanuel lurched for a moment then leapt down from his perch, and his minions went nuts. One of them yelled, “Assassins,” which was all it took to panic the crowd.

  Crap. Now what? I lost sight of him in the crowd, so I reached for him with Lola, but she was too weak. I couldn’t find him.

  Luckily, Ramirez was paired with Mood, who immediately sent out waves of calm to the crowd. It slowed the minions down a bit, but didn’t affect them enough. There were probably too many people for Mood’s mojo to work effectively.

  Use me, the crystal whispered urgently.

  No. Not unless I had to. I’d promised
.

  You have to.

  Maybe. Maybe not.

  WATCH OUT, BUDDY, Fang said with a yelp as everyone in front of us tried immediately to get behind us. Afraid he’d be trampled, I picked the hellhound up and bulled my way forward. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it’d be, with everyone pushing and shoving. Crap. There were a lot of sick people here. Someone was going to get hurt.

  “Tell everyone to help the innocents,” I told Fang.

  He broadcast it to our group, but I wasn’t sure how effective they’d be. Not when the Penitente followers were going berserk. I tried using Lola to reinforce Mood’s calming mojo, but she wasn’t strong enough to affect more than a few men at a time.

  You have to use me now, the crystal insisted.

  “I need to use the amulet,” I said to Fang.

  NO, YOU DON’T, he argued. WE CAN HANDLE THIS WITHOUT YOU GETTING SUCKED INTO ITS DARK NEEDS.

  Crap. The only other useful ability I had at the moment was my super strength. I said the spell again and felt the power surge through me, hot and electric. I used it to shove my way to the front, where there were a lot fewer people. Only the minions and the good guys—us—stuck around to slug it out. Emmanuel had disappeared.

  “Where’s Emmanuel?” I asked Fang as I dropped him, ducked a punch, and used a savate kick to take the guy down.

  DON’T KNOW, Fang said, leaping into the fray. HE’S GONE. AND MAX LEFT WITH DIESEL AND AUSTIN.

  “Then why the heck are we fighting?” I asked, exasperated.

  OH, I DON’T KNOW. MAYBE BECAUSE THEY’RE ATTACKING US? Fang snarked.

  Okay, had to give him that. After having Fang transmit an order to get the shadow demons out of harm’s way, I went Slayer on their asses. I knocked a few of them out before I heard the warning blat of a police siren and a bullhorn telling us to stand down.

  Suddenly, the remaining minions took off as if they were allergic to police. Though we had Lieutenant Ramirez on our side, I didn’t want to have to explain what was going on, so I told Fang, “Tell everyone to disperse. And make sure the vamps take care of the news crews’ memories and film. We don’t want this showing up on the six o’clock news.” Having vampires on tap was even better than the Men in Black.