Hour of the Wolf

by Bell, Dana Marie

  Gideon nodded. “As you all know I won’t say it, even his vessel’s name, or he’ll be able to listen in on us.” He shifted in his seat, his brow furrowed. “If this is PB’s real name then we’re in for the fight of our lives.”

  “The name could be his boss’s name, right?” Noah stared at Selena, hoping he was right. Selena was a tough cookie. She wouldn’t flinch at a minor demon’s name, so whoever this was had to be a heavy hitter. “I mean, could he be invoking his boss to get through our defenses?”

  “It’s possible, but unlikely.” Gideon shivered. “Demons of this magnitude fight amongst themselves for power and prestige. To draw on your superior is a sign of weakness others could exploit to gain favor. You don’t do that unless you want to be demon meat.”

  Shit. He hated being right wrong, especially now. “Then it’s his name we’re seeing, and his blood we’ve been destroying,”

  “Fire works on him,” Mollie said thoughtfully. “Is he afraid of it? Could we use that to drive him out?”

  “Maybe, but to work on an actual demon and not just its blood we’d have to amp it up.” Gideon began tapping his fingers. “A mixture of dragon fire and spells might do the trick, but it would be a long shot.”

  “My wolves could distract him. If he’s being bitten in a dozen different places, he won’t be able to concentrate on landing any of his own spells. My pack would love the chance to take revenge. Hell, I would too.”

  “Do we want to kill him, only to have his spirit take over another body?” Selena stood and pounded her fist on the table. “Hell no! I say we figure out how to destroy the spirit, not just the body.”

  “Again, difficult if not impossible,” Gideon replied. “It might take bringing every single person in Maggie’s Grove with us, and even then we’d lose far too many to make the enterprise worthwhile. I’d rather kill the body, place a tracer tag on the spirit, and shore up our defenses.”

  “And leave other supernaturals susceptible when he regains a body?” Selena stuck her finger practically up Gideon’s nose. “Fuck. No.”

  “Don’t you think I’d be willing to sacrifice myself if it meant Maggie’s Grove could live peacefully?” Gideon stood slowly, his anger evident in his stiff posture and flushed face. “I would in a heartbeat, Selena. But killing half the residents is not the way to set us free.”

  Selena seemed to collapse in on herself. “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. We kill the body and tag the spirit, so when he comes back we’re ready for him.”

  Brian cleared his throat uneasily. He was still becoming used to being the voice of the ghosts, and it showed in his quiet, shy movements. “Greg has a question. What about using a dybbuk box? We could imprison him in that, then ward the hell out of it.”

  The two witches stared at one another before they both began to grin.

  “For those of us who don’t practice the arcane arts, what the fuck is a dybbuk box?” Vasile, the dragon prince, sounded totally confused. His thick Romanian accent made the curse word sound even filthier.

  “A dybbuk box is an arcane box that is made specifically to hold evil spirits,” Selena replied. “In Jewish mythology a dybbuk was the spirit of a once living person. They linger beyond death, usually to fulfill a goal. They can be very malicious and possess humans to do their deeds, leaving once their goal is met. The human becomes a shattered shell of their former self, sometimes becoming a dybbuk themselves.”

  “Then what’s a dybbuk box?” Vasile asked.

  “The dybbuk box is an item that, with the proper spells placed on it, can contain them,” Gideon answered. “With the right symbols and a slight change to the spell a dybbuk box could, in theory, be created to hold a demon of Peter Bradley’s caliber.”

  “Ah. What would we need to do this?” Vasile pulled out a tablet PC. “And what can the dragons do to help?”

  “Good question. What can my wolves and the other shifters in town help with?” Noah was all about putting this demon in spiritual jail for the rest of eternity, never to be seen again.

  “We have his name, or at least part of it.” Selena gazed at Gideon as if expecting him to answer.

  Gideon replied, “If we can be certain we have all of his name, that’s a big start, but demons rarely divulge their full name to anyone lest they be controlled by it. We’ll need more than that to force him in.”

  “Hair, fingernails, that sort of thing?” Mollie asked, grinning.

  “Not quite.” Gideon scowled. “We need his essence.”

  Iva gagged. “No way am I jerking him off into a napkin.”

  Everyone shuddered.

  “What about blood?” Brian asked. Of course, a Renfield would ask that. They helped keep their vampires fed and calm, so their knowledge of the power blood could hold was vast.

  “No, not in his case.” Selena’s tone was thoughtful, her expression brooding. “His blood is part of him, and he can control it. Through the blood he can make out our plans, perceive our actions. It would be a very bad idea to use that.”

  Noah’s mind began to race. “Iva’s idea might not be a bad one.”

  Iva stared at him in horror. “Fuck no.”

  Noah rolled his eyes. “You’re not getting anywhere near his dick, sweetheart. No. But other bodily fluids could be used as a link to Peter and the spell.”

  “Like urine?” Frisco nodded soberly. “We might be able to do something about that.”

  “How? Walk up to him and ask him to pee in a cup?” Mollie smacked Frisco on the arm.

  “I don’t think they have random drug testing in the construction business,” Zander added drolly.

  “But that’s not the only business PB owns,” Noah responded. “Dominic?”

  Dominic pulled a tablet PC from inside his jacket. He began tapping on the device. “The Bradley Group owns not just Bradley Construction, but a contracting service, a credit union, and a catering company.”

  “Shit.” Frisco’s jaw clenched. “He’s got the means to get people everywhere at any time.”

  Noah nodded. “Exactly. But that means he’s got employees who have health care needs. Who do you trust when you’re a paranoid demon in charge of an organization out to kill every supernatural that exists?” Noah recognized he was on the right track when the two witches glanced at him with approval. “He’s got control of a human, so he must go to the doctor or the other Van Helsings will get suspicious. So how does he give a lab a blood sample? He can’t give them black blood, he has to give them red. He must retreat at least a little to allow PB’s blood to come out, right?”

  “It’s possible, but I doubt it. I’m not sure the human PB even exists anymore.” Gideon sighed. “He’s another soul lost out of hatred and greed.”

  “But if we could find a vial, or even a few drops?” Noah nodded to Iva. “I think Iva could find out where it’s being held.”

  Iva tilted her head curiously. “What makes you think that?”

  “You’re the brain, or so I’ve been told, of the four ruling dryads. Can you find PB’s blood or not?”

  She shrugged. “With the help of some others, yes, I can.”

  “Then we have that part covered.” Noah turned back to Gideon and Selena. “What else will you need?”

  “Rock, Mollie, Frisco and Zander can stand in as living embodiments of their elements, strengthening the spell.” Selena nodded to Brian. “And he can stand in for Spirit.”

  “No.”

  Noah jumped as the firm, frightened voice spoke out of nowhere. That voice had only come across the spiritual divide once before, when Brian had been injured during a seance. Greg, Brian’s ghostly husband, was making his presence, and his displeasure, known. Brian’s gift—that of a physical medium—was so strong he could physically interact with ghosts, allowing him to even make love to his ghostly husband. Unfortunately, with a power as st
rong as his, there were drawbacks. It made him vulnerable to demonic possession and physical injury when in contact with the shadow of one. It had happened when they’d held a séance, thinking they were dealing with a spirit.

  It was a demon’s shadow, and it had nearly crippled the young man.

  Parker nodded. “I agree with Greg. Brian is too vulnerable. It’s happened once, remember? His shoulder still doesn’t work correctly. I say hell to the no.”

  “I agree with Parker and Greg.” Noah had no desire to see Brian hurt again. Brian was a sweet man, in no way suited for battle. “Brian’s arm isn’t fully healed from the last time he helped us. Let him sit this one out and get someone else to sit in for Spirit. Another medium would do, right?”

  “I’ll do it,” Lore replied firmly.

  Everyone stared at him in shock.

  Lore sighed. “No, I’m not a medium, but I am...telepathic, in my own way. That will have to be enough, because I’m refusing your request for a medium. Any of my people volunteer and I’ll arrest them before you can perform the spell.” He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, every inch the town sheriff.

  “As I don’t want to go to jail, I’ll have to sit this one out,” Brian said before sitting back down. He put his hand on his own shoulder, the palm hovering over it. He must be touching his husband, reassuring him as Iva did with Noah.

  “Then that part is taken care of.” Noah glanced at Dragos. “A vampire could also sit in for spirit, since they’re part living, part dead.”

  “Nope. Let me do it. The vamps have another job, I’m thinking.” Lore gestured to Gideon. “Go on, tell them.”

  Selena was the one who answered. “You’ll be controlling the blood.” She grimaced as Dragos and Parker gaped at her in astonishment. “If anything goes wrong, you’re the only ones who can kill it.”

  “I can deal with the blood,” Iva replied.

  “No.” Noah’s response was as instinctive as Greg’s. “Let the vamps deal with it. You concentrate on figuring out how to get Peter’s jizz or something.”

  “Ew.” Iva scrunched up her nose. “Fine. I guess they should have something to do.”

  “I’ll stand guard at the ceremony,” Amara replied, cracking her knuckles.

  “I will as well,” Dom responded. “You might find me useful.”

  A unicorn protecting everyone from evil? Yup, that was a no-brainer. Neither Gideon nor Selena would be able to find a problem with that.

  “Dragon fire would be useful in etching the spells, da?” Vasile stood. “My dragons will be there to defend as well. I’ll send some of our scholars over to work on any runes needed for the spell. Some of our legends might be helpful as well.”

  Dragos nodded. “Good idea, brother.”

  Vasile nodded. “We are done? Because I have some dragons to discipline.” He scowled. “Laurentiu’s influence is still felt in the clutch.”

  “Do you need my help?” Dragos stood as well.

  “Nyet. You work on bringing down the demon without. I’ll work on the demon within.” Vasile strode from the tables and out of the Throne without another word.

  “A man of few words and fewer manners,” Parker drawled. “I like that so much about him.” He tilted his head and stared at Vasile’s butt. “That and he has a fabulous ass.”

  Amara snickered. “You’re right. He does.”

  “Thank you,” Vasile’s deep voice replied from above them. “Yourssss issssn’t bad either.”

  With a flap of his wings the dragon prince was gone, leaving behind a blushing Parker and a bunch of friends ribbing him endlessly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Iva stretched in her office chair, her shoulders aching from hours of hunching over the keyboard. Blake had been able to feed her some information, mostly the names of people his father had spent time with. With those to start, she’d figured out who was a Van Helsing simply by watching for similarities in their business patterns, social patterns and, surprisingly, their Facebook posts.

  Following the money had proven fruitless, as had trying to follow the Van Helsing links to the Catholic church. She’d even gone so far as to contact some of the other forest Minds that existed, but none of them had anything to add either.

  If she and the other Minds couldn’t find a link, then the link didn’t exist.

  However, she’d found out some interesting things she’d shared with her contacts. Who knew the Van Helsings loved superhero movies? There was also a bitter argument about whether or not Father Alexander Anderson of the anime Hellsing was right to use the Nail of Helen to transform himself into a monster in order to fight the anti-hero, the vampire Alucard.

  She’d seen that anime. It was bloody and full of fighting and kinda awesome. The speech of the Major before the evil vampire Nazis invaded England was epic in its malevolence.

  With that done she’d managed to figure out that the Baltimore Van Helsings tended to use the same six doctors. Now she was determining which lab those doctors used. As all the Van Helsings had different insurance thanks to their day jobs, that task was proving harder than she’d thought. Each lab took different types of insurance, so she’d probably have to do some sort of spreadsheet or database once she’d gotten all the data.

  She was ready to take a break, to let her brain stop bleeding out her ears from information overload. She’d been working on this all week and was near a breakthrough, but she’d barely spent any time with her mate and she was becoming cranky about that.

  At least she’d managed to officially meet with his pack as Noah’s alpha mate. She’d gone to school with some of them, and some were mated to her dryads, so she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the wolves. Still, meeting them in an official capacity had been important.

  It had been a total non-issue as well. The pack was aware of what she was to Noah and had shown their approval of the mating with little touches, smiles and an all around sense of ease that had taken care of the fears she had harbored about taking on the double roll of ruling dryad and alpha mate.

  Still, she needed to spend more one-on-one time with Noah. Noah deserved better from her, and so did she, but they’d both agreed that this task was important. Without Iva tracking down the laboratory they had nothing with which to call the demon to the dybbuk box. Everyone else had day jobs or were paid to patrol, keeping the area safe. Iva was off-duty until her arm healed, per Mina’s orders, so this was her top priority.

  Speaking of which, her work had piled up while she’d been healing. She needed to check out Dom’s computer. He’d mentioned something about it making weird sounds. Probably a ball-bearing loose in the cooling fan but, in this town, it could also be a mild haunting. She also needed to make sure the dragons were hooked up. She’d already had ten requests for gaming machines, one of which was from Vasile.

  Iva yawned again. She still wasn’t certain how they were going to separate the demon from Peter Bradley’s body, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. Unfortunately, she’d probably be there when it happened, since they’d be taking part in the ritual. Odds were good that, even if the human lived through the separation, he would be what the humans called brain dead. Selena would call it soulless, because that would be the truth.

  Bodies without spirits attracted them, especially one that had housed a spirit before. They were like a candy buffet to the spirit realm. Peter Bradley’s living corpse would be a beacon to every nasty spirit in a fifty-mile radius. Brian had called Dragos and Mina to warn them and ask them to pass that warning around. Iva had been horrified, but it made a sick sort of sense. An empty house would either be sold to a new family or attract a new “tenant” no one wanted.

  Either a Maggie’s Grove ghost would have to take Peter over or they’d have to kill the body to keep it from being a psychic roach motel. Iva was leaning toward the later, vicious as it was. No one was going to be happy wit
h Peter Bradley’s face walking around their town. The backlash, unintentional though it would be, wouldn’t be fair to the spirit who took over the body. Better to destroy it than to let that happen to some innocent ghost who was just trying to help them out.

  “Knock knock.”

  Iva got up from her chair and peeked around her office door. Surely, that hadn’t been Noah’s voice at her door. She’d left it open in case Mina needed her for something, but the access from the seat of the Throne should have been closed. Iva hadn’t taught him how to enter the secret code, far too busy with other matters to even think about it.

  But there stood Noah in all his masculine glory. His jeans were just tight enough to showcase his muscular thighs, his biceps and pectorals straining the T-shirt he wore. His hands were in his front pockets, framing his package very nicely, thank you.

  “My eyes are up here, princess.”

  Iva’s gaze immediately snapped to his face. Noah was silently laughing at her with smug pleasure he wasn’t bothering to hide. He was happy she’d been checking him out.

  Iva straightened, stepping out of her office and toward the front door. “How’d you get in here?”

  Noah pointed with his thumb toward the stone staircase that led to her underground fortress of a home. “I walked.”

  Iva rolled her eyes. “No, I mean how did you get in here in the first place?”

  “Oh, that? I saw one of you duck in here once and just watched the sequence you used to get in.”

  He sounded so pleased with himself that it took a moment for what he’d said to sink in. She gaped at him in astonishment. “How... That’s not possible. The Throne would prevent anyone from seeing that. It’s part of our protections.”

  He smiled smugly, refusing to answer.