“Fine,” the vampire seethed. “You both can die.”
She raised the water blasters, intending to soak them with the deadly poison.
Alec went to grab Diana to get her out of the way when he felt her arms move up his side, effectively caging him in place.
The streams flew toward them in slow motion. He opened his mouth to shout a warning for Diana to let him go and run when a wall of flame rose, the brightness so intense it nearly burned out his retinas.
Alec heard a sizzle as he blinked rapidly to restore his sight. When he had, there was nothing left of the black-aura vamp aside from a vaguely human-shaped scorch mark and melted plastic. After another quick blast of flames, even that was gone.
“I’m so glad I got here in time,” he breathed, relieved.
When he spun around, his mate wore a sardonic expression. “Really?” she drawled. “Because I would have preferred you show up to get in my way after the fight was over.”
“Well, you’re finished now, right?” he asked with his most winsome smile. “How about dinner? The car should be pulling up right about now. We can be downtown in ten minutes.”
His mate wasn’t paying attention. “Seven…eight,” she counted aloud. “I could have sworn there was one more.”
Diana rotated in a circle, her arm bent at the elbow. When she came to a clump of bushes, she pointed her finger like a gun. “Bam.”
Belatedly, Alec heard the last vampire in the bush, rustling the leaves. There was a sharp intake of air before it bolted. Alec only caught a glimpse, but it was enough.
“Oh my God,” he breathed.
Diana nudged him. Taking off after it, she called, “It’s getting away. Hurry up.”
“But… Di—”
The small form had disappeared beyond the fence. It had to have somehow managed to wiggle under it through a gap an animal must have made.
In a blink, both the small vampire and his mate were gone. Damn it. He pounded after them, running over the fence. This side of the park bordered the bad part of town. The neat and quaint brick buildings almost immediately gave way to industrial concrete and dilapidated wooden shacks.
He hadn’t even been aware Canada had bad bits like this. In his mind, modern cities here were clean and bright. However, before meeting Diana, he’d never sought the underbelly of any city. His old life had been filled with opulent wealth, five- or six-star hotels, and richly appointed apartments interspersed with some very dusty libraries.
Alec finally caught up with his mate at the edge of a dingy neighborhood. She was disappearing into worn three-story apartment building that had seen better days.
“Hey,” he whispered when they met in the hallway. Diana had slowed down quite a bit, showing an uncharacteristic amount of caution.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“There’s a witch in play now.”
“What?”
“A witch swept up the vamp in the alley, then brought it here.”
“Is it John?” Could this finally be it?
Diana shook her head. “I didn’t get a good look, but the body mass is off. This person is too small.”
“Damn.” Well, that would have been too much to expect—not to mention this place was nowhere near as atmospheric as what their adversary would have chosen for a final confrontation.
“Diana, I have to tell you something about the last vampire.”
“I understand.” Diana waved dismissively. “Its aura is reasonably clean. We’ll spare it if it stands down.”
“No, that’s not it,” he said urgently.
His mate stayed his hand, pressing a finger to her lips to indicate someone was listening.
She started up the rickety flight of stairs that led to the second floor. They moved down the hall past empty rooms. He would have heard the heartbeats behind the doors. The rent had to be dirt cheap, but the fact no one was home at this hour said something about the building’s desirability as a residence.
He heard one racing heartbeat behind the last door. Diana stood in front of it, nodding once to indicate the little vamp was in there, too.
“Please wait!”
But Diana had already ignited her hands. One kick, and the doorjamb splintered. The thin particle wood gave way like it was made of paper. She disappeared through the threshold without pause.
“Damn it.” Alec bolted after her, trusting his reaction and superior speed—or his mate—would save him if he were rushing into a firefight.
Diana stood in the middle of an empty living room. A beat-up couch and loveseat were crowded into the too-small space. There was no television. A lot of books stacked in crates had been tied together with fishing line to make a bookshelf.
There was also a fair number of vials and spellcraft paraphernalia laid out on the only table, which he guessed wasn’t used for eating—not unless the practitioner wanted to poison themselves.
He couldn’t hear any heartbeats anymore, so he guessed the witch had activated some sort of masking spell. It wasn’t a good one, however. Its energy was leaking all over the place.
Diana narrowed her eyes on the door next to the kitchenette. At her direction, he yanked it open and stood back. A bathroom was revealed, complete with rusted claw-foot tub. Diana extinguished one hand to pull back the shower curtain.
Inside the tub, a young woman huddled over the vampire child.
His mate huffed in surprise, caught off guard.
“Please don’t hurt him,” the woman pleaded, holding a hand up. She pressed the child’s face down with the other. “I’m begging you—it’s not his fault. They did this to him.”
The witch was quite young, with dark skin and eyes. Her features were Indian, from the subcontinent, but the accent was high-society London—too posh for their surroundings.
Diana’s head drew back, her nose twitching as she studied the vampire child. It stank. The stench wasn’t eye-wateringly bad, but it was close.
The boy’s face was pressed into the witch’s side as they huddled together, but there was no scent of blood, so at least it wasn’t biting her.
“How old is it?” Diana asked, assessing the child.
“Jason,” the woman hurried to correct. “His name is Jason. He’s only seven.”
The witch enunciated every word as if she were talking to a kidnapper. Always humanize the victim…
“And you weren’t a part of…” Diana wiggled her fireless fingers in the directions of the park.
“No! I would never do something like this.”
The witch had tears in her eyes now. They appeared genuine. Di must have thought so, too, because she let the other hand’s flames go out.
“He didn’t ask for it.” The witch still shook her head.
“At seven, I doubt anyone would. Immortality in a child’s body would suck… Literally, in this case.” Diana snorted.
Alec winced. Under the circumstances, the joke was in poor taste.
“So, do you know what happened?” he asked.
Still trembling, the woman shrugged helplessly. “It started a few weeks ago. People began disappearing. Sometimes, the bodies would turn up. At first, I didn’t realize what was going on. I thought it was some sort of crime spree. But then Jason disappeared.”
“Is he your son?” Diana asked.
“No. He lives down the hall. His mother—she’s a drunk. I don’t think she’s even noticed he’s missing.”
His mate crossed her arms. “But you did.”
The woman nodded. “I, um, I don’t have family here in the city. He comes over here to eat when his mother forgets to buy groceries.”
Fuck. The gut punches wouldn’t stop coming. The witch obviously loved the child. And he was going to have to kill it. And her… if she got in his way.
He rested his hand on his mate’s arm. “Diana, go outside.”
His mate scowled. “Why?”
He tugged her around to face him. “I don’t want you to watch.”
Inside the tub, the witch wh
impered.
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Turning children is against the Covenant.”
“I’m aware.” Diana sniffed. She was, after all, the expert in the room.
“In theory, turning a child isn’t possible. However, if one does survive, they have to be destroyed. They simply can’t control themselves. So, please, go outside—this is not something you should ever have to see or do. Not in your condition.”
Diana’s frown deepened as the child burrowed closer to the witch. The realization it could understand him only made this worse. But once it got hungry, that would change. All reason and vestige of humanity would vaporize in the heat of its hunger.
His mate smacked him again, hard enough to hurt. “He can hear you.”
“Di—” he began.
His mate ignored him. “Can you stand him up, please?” she asked the witch.
“Please don’t!” The witch sobbed freely now.
“He’ll be fine.” Diana waved dismissively. “It’s just going to get a little hot in here. And you shouldn’t be touching him if you know what’s good for you.”
The witch made a visible effort to get ahold of herself. “All r-right. I’ve heard of you. You’re supposed to be fair.”
Nudging the boy, she urged him into an upright position, keeping hold of his hand. “It’s going to be okay, Jason,” she told him. Then she let go, huddling into a ball at the far end of the tub.
Diana rolled her eyes. “Farther.”
Reluctantly, the witch got out of the bathtub. The little boy hissed in reaction, showing his tiny fangs.
Alec hard to force himself to keep watching. The vampire child was a crime against nature.
Diana put her hands on the boy’s shoulders. A nearly imperceptible lick of flame ran down from each of her hands. They swept down his body, burning his clothes—his hair, as well—away.
And just like that, it was over.
Thoughtfully, Diana regarded the boy. He watched her back, eyes glazed and jaw slack.
Join the club, kid.
“You’re going to look weird for a little while, but the eyebrows and head hair will grow back. The body hair might not, but consider that a plus. Just tell your future girlfriends you’re really into manscaping.” Diana shrugged. “Or boyfriends. Whatever. I don’t judge.”
At that, she pressed her thumb to Jason’s forehead. Immediately unconscious, he slumped over.
She caught the boy before he hit his head on the ceramic. Picking him up, she handed the sleeping child to the witch, who hurried to cover him with a towel.
“You stripped him,” Alec said, dumbfounded. Intellectually, he had always known Diana had the capability to remove magic, including vampirism. It was one of the major weapons in the Elemental arsenal. In spite of this, his mate hadn’t stripped anyone since they’d met. Most of her cases had strictly been the kill-the-bad-guys variety. The rest had been the equivalent of a supernatural cleaner mopping up the various messes Supes got themselves into.
“I suppose this falls into that category,” he muttered. The child was human again. There wasn’t a whiff of magic anywhere. The kid didn’t even smell bad anymore. The fire had cleansed him in every way.
Scowling, Diana rounded on him. “What exactly did you think I was going to do? And what was that other crap about?”
“Uh, something else,” he hedged. “Let’s get out here before we discuss the rest,” he added, aware the witch watched them like they were her evening’s entertainment.
Gia had said it was necessary to keep the pregnancy a secret. Alec didn’t even know this witch’s lineage—although she slightly resembled the Patel clan.
Fishing into his breast pocket, he withdrew a silver card case. Opening it, Alec handed one of the thick vellum cards to the woman. “Call this number.”
Bewildered, the woman took the card. “For what?”
Alec shrugged. “Whatever the child needs.”
“Like a hell of a lot of therapy,” Diana suggested, tugging on his arm.
“And a new door,” Alec called on their way out. They were out in the street before his mate spoke again.
She put her hands in the pockets of the fur-lined parka she’d chosen for their wet winter travels, just over her belly. “It’s not a parasite, is it?”
Alec swore under his breath. “You know you’re…expecting.”
“I’m not an idiot. I could feel it.” Di let out a long breath through her nose. “Are you sure it’s not a parasite?” she asked hopefully.
He shook his head. “I can hear the heartbeat.”
“Already?” Diana frowned down at her stomach. “I figured it out because of the growing temperature differential.”
“But you hear it now, right?” Diana’s hearing was almost as good as his own.
“I’m actively trying not to listen. It’s distracting.”
“Oh. Of course.” He understood that. An Elemental on the front lines couldn’t afford to let her focus stray.
“And how do you feel?” he asked, unable to hide his anxiety.
“The same.” His mate sounded as confused as he was. “It’s not supposed to happen this way.”
“I know. Please don’t be mad, but one of the reasons I stayed behind in Costa Rica was to ask Gia about this. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any answers. This is unprecedented for your kind.”
Diana crossed her arms, lips pursing. “I could have told you that.”
“I just wanted to be sure there wasn’t anything I’d missed. I’ve been reading every record of previous Elementals and their offspring. But conception while in service has never happened. Or, if it has, it was never recorded. I brought Gia into this to make sure.”
He rubbed his temple. “Gia didn’t want me to ask Salvador about it, but we should find someone—maybe a healer in T’Kaieri. We’re going to need some sort of prenatal care.”
Her expression darkened. “Well, haven’t you been a busy bee buzzing in everyone’s ears?” He didn’t need to be told she was angry at him. The extra heat in the air made the slight drizzle steam up.
“We were never going to be able to keep it a secret,” he pointed out. “Connell could smell the change in your scent in Costa Rica.”
She grimaced. “You still should have discussed it with me before you spoke to my sister.”
He hung his head. “I know, and I am sorry. I was just hoping to have something positive to tell you—at the very least an answer as to how this happened.”
Diana snorted. “I have the only answer I need—that the rule book is out the window. From here on out, we’re in uncharted territory. Do you have a problem with that?”
Given their union was also an unprecedented novelty, he could hardly argue. “No. As long as you’re happy about the babe… Are you happy?”
“I’m still processing. That’s allowed, isn’t it?” she asked with a touch of sarcasm.
He inclined his head. “Of course. And, for the record, I’m also still processing. But I’m pleased, too. Since I turned so young, I didn’t think I would get a chance to have one you know…a child.”
“I didn’t want one,” she confessed. “I never wanted one.”
He knew that. Diana had despised the vulnerability of her childhood. She would never inflict that on someone else. But her life was exceedingly different now. She was strong, and she had him. They had each other.
A thousand promises came to his lips, reassurances he would always be there for her—that he would never let anyone hurt their baby—but he stopped before he made them.
Uncharted territory. The rules were changing too quickly. Making promises he might not be able to keep wouldn’t make her feel better.
“And now that we’re going to have one, do you think you could learn to be happy?” Or would she decide not to continue the pregnancy?
Apparently, Diana had no such ideas. She nudged him with her hip, slinging an arm around his waist. “As long as you change the d
iapers, I can deal.”
He laughed in relief before taking her in his arms. She leaned against his chest, melting into him. “I’m serious about the diapers.”
“I know you are. Don’t worry. I already bought several instructional books on the subject.”
20
Gia didn’t have to carry a watch to tell the time. Her internal chronometer was more accurate than most timepieces. Which was why she knew Salvador had spent thirty-seven minutes choosing what to wear. And now he says he has to find shoes…
Sighing, she tried to hold onto her patience. After all, this was her fault. She was making Salvador walk into the lion’s den because it was more expedient for her. Guilt flared as the man in question passed by the window in a three-piece suit.
Wow. Not bad…Gia told herself it would be unseemly for an Elemental to wolf whistle. And where had he been hiding that suit?
In the back of the closet, just in case.
Delavordo men gravitated strongly toward bespoke suits unless they were part of the younger set, in which case they wore designer clothes fresh off the runway—whatever was fashionable.
Ten more minutes passed before Salvador emerged from the cottage. He was wearing a lightweight linen shirt and a pair of khakis—an outfit almost identical to the one he’d insisted he needed to change out of. The only concession he’d made to their upcoming visit was the shoes.
“So…you only changed the sandals?” she asked skeptically.
Salvador glanced at the loafers he wore. They appeared expensive, no doubt a pair leftover from his pre-exile days.
He put a hand on his hips. “My mother would have a heart attack if I walked over her Persian rugs in earth shoes.”
The sad part was that was probably true.
After a pause, Salvador held up a cell phone. “I can have one of Alec’s drivers pick us up.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t planning on an overland route.”
Salvador’s handsome face scrunched. “I was afraid you were going to say that. But, as your doctor, I have to advise against this. It’s got to be taxing, traveling that way.”
“We will be fine,” she assured him. The Delavordos had property all over the world, but they were creatures of habit. At this time of the year, Fulgencio and Lucia could always be found at their compound in Belize. “Crossing under an ocean might be a bit much, especially with a passenger in tow, but I can handle anything on this continent. Probably. Definitely…”
The Elementals Collection Page 97
