Cain held two items in his hands, considering them thoughtfully. With a shrug, he took them with him and left the room, motioning for us to join him. Alucard was rightfully pissed off when he noticed our return—generally cursing our existence, threatening our souls, and promising dark things he would do to our flesh once he broke free.
“I will burn your hearts to ash—”
“Easy, Little Brother, or I’m calling Nate,” I told him tiredly, using the nickname I knew Alucard used for Nate. He stiffened sharply, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Or anger.
Sure to stand in full view of Alucard, Cain glanced at his two items, silently debating. He held a strange, triangular-bladed device in one hand, and a cassette player with headphones in the other. He finally grinned at Alucard. “I’ll admit, I don’t know what either of these do, but I’m mighty curious to find out.” Alucard set his jaw defiantly. Cain hefted the cassette player and headphones, his eyes lighting up as he made his decision. “This one is probably terrifying,” he said, and then he promptly slid the headphones over Alucard’s ears.
I pursed my lips. It was probably a recording of some sickening sound that made you want to stab through your own eardrums. “Cain—” I said, suddenly reconsidering this approach.
Alucard had gone very, very still, blinking in shock. Then…a ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “This…well, this one’s not really what you were thinking. In fact, I would really appreciate it if you turned it off. Some things should be done in private,” he added, seeming to be biting back outright laughter.
Cain frowned, tearing out the headphone jack to let us all hear the tape.
And sounds of…well, a whole lot of what resembled hyper-enthusiastic Jazzercise students recording a home-workout series rolled out from the tiny speakers.
I’m lying.
It was totally an audio tape of a group sex-a-thon.
Cain’s face turned beet red and Claire actually doubled over, cackling wildly.
Alucard finally let his own laugh join Claire’s in a chiming duet when several of the ‘students’ breached some kind of world-record plateau in their ‘training’.
Simultaneously. Impressive.
Cain thumbed it off hurriedly before the screams of passion could blow the speakers. He scowled in the direction of Starlight’s office. The sickened look on his face told me he was considering some of the other things he may have unknowingly touched. It might have been a table of pain implements, but it apparently also held a selection of pleasure devices as well. Maybe even the pain implements resulted in certain…pleasurable pains.
Starlight was nasty. Claire’s laughter had been replaced by a similarly disgusted look to realize she had been living in a cave with a stoner hermit who had a sex dungeon ten feet away from where she went to sleep every night.
“Claire, do you have any hand sanitizer?” Cain asked very softly.
“Um, I think we have some gasoline.”
“Even better,” Cain said, seeming to perk up.
I sighed, hiding my own smile from my friend, Alucard. Hearing him laugh had brought back a flood of old memories. “You have to tell Nate about this,” I told him absently, knowing Nate would get a real hoot out of it.
Alucard grew very, very quiet at my familiar words, and I instantly remembered we weren’t old friends. Not anymore. His laughter had momentarily taken me to a world that should have been. The world that had been.
But right now, he saw only a demon. I let out a regretful sigh.
Chapter 24
Thirty minutes of infuriating conversation had led absolutely nowhere. In fact, Alucard now seemed even more determined to distrust me—because I was trying so hard.
In essence, it didn’t matter what stories I told him that only Callie would know. In his mind, a demon had kidnapped Callie, tortured all these memories out of her, and then kidnapped him—for reasons unknown. That was what really seemed to annoy him. What we wanted with him, and why we thought he would care about Callie Penrose—a woman he hardly knew.
Ouch.
I couldn’t necessarily blame him. Still, I was almost ready to give torture another go—after a more thorough review of the implements available, of course. I was running out of ideas, energy, and patience. Since my return home, I hadn’t once stopped to catch my breath. I’d tasted the ultimate betrayal, almost had a friend die, been attacked numerous times, and had even met a turtle god who made me run the equivalent of a mental 5k while reciting prime numbers and hopping on one foot.
To say my patience was low and my temper high was the understatement of the year.
I must have remained silent for too long. Alucard—still locked down by the Vampyr bracelets in that extremely uncomfortable kneeling position, his face aimed at the ceiling and his back arched—managed to hiss at me. “Stop wasting both our time with this ridiculous farce and just kill me already. Callie Penrose is dead, and if you were as familiar with Nate Temple as you pretend, you would already be running back to Hell with your tail tucked between your legs.” He paused for a moment. “But he would find you even there, wouldn’t he, demon?” he added, laughing huskily.
I rolled my eyes with a snort. Not because the threat was empty—it was anything but that. Simply put, I knew Nate would never harm me—
Then a thought slithered into my brain and my breath caught. Unless…Nate couldn’t recognize me either. If he thought a demon had kidnapped and tortured his friend…yeah.
Nate might just kill said demon for retribution—only realizing too late who I really was.
Cain stepped in before I could respond, snarling down at Alucard from only inches away. “If it was up to me, I would just kill you. Callie Penrose is quite literally the only one I have ever met who saw beyond my past to uncover the man beneath—the man I didn’t even know existed anymore. She pulled that man out of me, accepted me, dusted off my coat and straightened my shoulders to stand up tall, and asked if I would stand beside her. She…” his voice cracked harshly, “she calls me brother…” he finally whispered. “Do you have any idea what that means? To ME?” he roared, gripping Alucard’s shirt with both fists. “And you think I would just waltz back into town with a demon rather than Callie? I’d rather die.” He turned to me, eyes gleaming wildly. “Strike me down, demon. If this vampire is right, why do you stand there and let me disrespect you?” He stretched his neck suggestively, panting.
A minute stretched and I just stood there. Alucard watched suspiciously.
Cain finally turned back to him. “I guess she must be Hell’s most pathetic demon. Or…I’m right. Do you think any of us wants to be here? Callie went through hell for the last year, and when she comes back expecting to hug and kiss old friends that she thought she might never see again, she finds this disaster,” he gestured wildly with one hand, implying Kansas City in general, and not Claire who had been standing directly behind him.
Claire arched a cool eyebrow at him, folding her arms. Luckily, Alucard couldn’t see far enough to notice. He was too busy staring into Cain’s eyes, looking either slightly ashamed or considering. I couldn’t quite tell from this angle. Regardless, Cain was getting through to him.
Cain continued, leaning closer and closer as he spoke. “Her old mentor is now a tyrant, her best friend is forced to hide in a fucking cave, and to top it all off, a Daywalker she apparently respected—for some reason I can’t even begin to fathom—is groveling before a psychopath vampire king like a little bitch!” He spat on Alucard, forcefully releasing his fists as he panted, balling them at his sides instead.
I stepped forward suddenly, holding him back. “Enough, Cain. It’s okay, just—”
Cain glared over my shoulder. “Fucking coward! Callie is twice the man you’ll ever be. She’s risking everything to fix what you helped make. Do you know she can leave the city whenever she wants? She doesn’t even have to be in this shithole, dealing with clowns—
I shoved a finger over his lips, cutting him off and sha
king my head sternly as I shifted to block his view of Alucard. I really hadn’t wanted that bit of information out there. Not at all. Especially not if Alucard was on Team Roland.
Alucard had gone eerily silent. Even with Cain’s slip, I realized there really was only one way to handle the Daywalker.
Confident that Cain wasn’t going to reach over me and stab him, I turned to face Alucard and then stepped into his line of sight. I wasn’t sure if he would even hear my words correctly or if he would hear me spout some demonic taunt, but I could get Claire to translate for me if that ended up being the case.
“Swear on your friendship with Nate Temple that you won’t attack us if I release you. You’re free to go, but I just don’t feel up for a fight right now. I refuse to fight Nate’s friend—not out of fear, but out of respect for the man you once were. Out of respect for the friendship you have shown Nate in the past. If that still means anything to you.”
Alucard’s eyes were full of suspicion and doubt as they flicked my way. “Nate is my best friend. Always,” he promised me. I didn’t react in any way whatsoever. “I swear not to attack you—any of you—if you release me. Although I make no promises for when we meet again,” he added. “I swear this on my friendship with Nate Temple. On my own power, even.”
Without fanfare, I reached down and unclasped the Vampyr reeds from his wrists, taking a few quick steps back to get out of immediate reach.
Alucard let out a groan of relief, flopping down onto his side for a moment, his feet probably asleep with pins and needles and his muscles likely spasming at the sudden release of tension. He scrambled unsteadily back up to his feet, watching the three of us as if expecting us to attack him.
“Nate would be disappointed to see you now, but your sister would be proud of what you have become,” I told him sadly. “Mark my words. If you remain on your path, Neveah will see you sooner than you wish.” I turned my back on him, ignoring the stunned look on his face. “Go. Before I change my mind, Alucard. And for your sake, I would get as far away from Roland as possible. He dies tomorrow night—as do his associates. Helping me might absolve any crimes you did in his employ.”
I walked over to one of the chairs and sat down tiredly, shoving my hand in my pocket and pulling out the silver butterfly charm Nate had given me. In the hectic schedule after my return, I had almost forgotten about it. I smiled at it sadly, thinking of kisses.
I wondered if keycard access to Roland’s church came with the added bonus of some kind of magical oath that prevented them from disobeying the Red Pastor. It would make sense and would explain their subservience.
He studied me suspiciously. “Can you really leave Kansas City?” he asked, attempting to mask the eagerness practically dancing in his eyes. He also tried to hide the pain my previous comment had caused him. Or…maybe he’d heard something else entirely since my words were sometimes dubbed over by demonic Google Translate. Regardless of that risk, I decided to continue speaking directly to him rather than subbing Cain or Claire in to speak for me.
I let out a bitter laugh at his question. “It’s complicated. If it works, I might just run off to Fae with Nate and let this world burn,” I growled, biting back the sudden threat of tears. I wouldn’t, really. Not until Roland was dead, anyway.
Claire looked over at me sharply, surprised by my words. The pain in her eyes stemmed from a deep well of empathy for the mental surrender that had birthed my comment—not the comment itself. That I was so hurt by current events that I was ready to throw the towel in. I waved off her concern, staring down at the silver butterfly charm to center myself. Would Nate know me or would he see a demon as well? If that happened…
I wasn’t entirely sure that I hadn’t meant what I’d said about giving up. Of running off to Fae with Nate. A lifetime spent running, fighting, and solving my problems with immediate violence. Washing the blood off in a crisp pond with Nate every night. Then sitting around the campfire after to warm up. A lifetime of moments.
Of mornings.
Of evenings.
With Nate…
Yeah. That’ll do, pig.
Alucard made a strange noise and I looked over abruptly, fearing he had broken his promise. He was staring at the charm in my hands. His lips moved silently like he was muttering a spell. If I hadn’t known he was incapable of such a thing, I might have incinerated him on the spot by pure reflex. “Where did you get that?” he rasped.
I glanced down at the charm. “Nate gave it to me.”
“When?” he demanded.
I narrowed my eyes, not appreciating his tone. “At Chateau Falco. Before he went to Fight Night against Mordred.”
He studied me, not speaking, seeming to be arguing with himself internally. Had Nate mentioned this charm to Alucard? “Where did he get it?” Alucard asked me.
I frowned. “A friend in Fae. Barbie, I think he said her name was. A silver sprite who loves sexy time.” I realized how that had sounded and clarified. “In general, she loves sexy time. Gets a rush from it,” I said, trying to clarify the source of her power.
Alucard flashed me a genuine smirk. “Yeah. She does.”
I narrowed my eyes at his lecherous grin. “You better not be saying Nate fucked a fairy or I’ll kill him. Slowly. And I’ll practice my technique on you,” I snarled, clenching my fists.
Alucard’s brief humor evaporated. Then I realized he was staring at my hands, not scared off by my tone. I glanced down to see claws sprouting up from between my fingers. I regained control of my thoughts, banishing the apparent jealousy that had taken over, and they disappeared.
Another thought surprised me. He’d…heard my actual words, not a demonic threat dubbed over my words.
Alucard was slowly shaking his head, looking like he’d been struck between his eyes. He cocked his head, appraising me up and down with a confused frown. “Is…it really you, Callie?” he asked, bewildered. “What the hell is going on here?”
I nodded, having no idea which part of our strange conversation had convinced him. My scalp suddenly flared with heat, and I let out a gasp of surprise. I spun to face Claire, pointing at my hair where I had felt the sensation. She nodded excitedly, but she followed it up with a wary look towards Alucard—who had begun laughing hysterically under his breath. “This is so incredibly fucked up,” he muttered between gasps of laughter.
Cain and Claire were staring at Alucard uncertainly, likely assuming his laughter signaled a rapid downward spiral into insanity.
“Are you telling me,” I began, feeling suddenly angry, “that all I had to do was flash some claws at you to convince you who I really was?” I snapped, realizing I was actually really, really pissed off, now. I felt relieved but I was also shaking with fury. I could have whipped out my claws in the fight if I’d known that was all he’d needed to see to be convinced.
He took a few gasping breaths, trying to silence his laughter. “No,” he wheezed. “I’m not laughing at that,” he tried to explain, fighting another bout of giggles. “Nate…never fucked a fairy!” he abruptly belted out, his laughter returning twofold as the words echoed through the cavern. “But you can bet your ass I’m going to tease him about it the next time I see him!”
Cain had walked over and was staring at the laughing Alucard, nodding satisfactorily. “I knew I nailed my speech. Especially that live-action part,” he said matter-of-factly. “That pendant and fairy sex thing was a little helpful, I’m sure.” He patted me on the shoulder consolingly, not even remotely joking.
I placed a hand on his shoulder, watching the giggling glampire. “You’re right. It must have been your speech,” I lied.
“Fairy fucker!” Alucard cackled, plopping down onto his back and laughing at the ceiling, blinking through his tears.
Cain gave me a somber look. “This is entirely unhelpful. Not to mention unprofessional.”
I nodded absently. We’d convinced—and possibly broken the psyche of—Alucard. And we were still no closer to a way into Roland’
s church. What a colossal waste of time.
Chapter 25
As the Master Vampire tried to master his laughter, I made the decision that I wasn’t going to tell him about Dracula. Just because he finally saw through the spell making me look like a demon did not mean he was on my side. He’d worked for Roland well before I came back to town, knowing full well how wrong Roland’s actions were. Running and hiding in a cave like Claire had been forced to do was more honorable than working with Roland.
As Roland’s second lieutenant, Alucard was complicit in the Red Pastor’s crimes. Period. Judgement on those crimes would come later…
After he had outlived his usefulness. Now, he was a tool for me to use. Nothing more.
Cain had moved some folding chairs into a lopsided circle, somehow leaving Alucard all alone before the three of us—Cain and Claire seated on my left and right. Alucard smirked faintly, catching the subtle hint, but he sat down without comment. His eyes drank me in like I was some kind of optical illusion. Probably because I still didn’t look like myself, even though he had learned otherwise. A conundrum. “I don’t understand this demon thing,” he finally said, waving a hand at me. “I can see…a Callie-esque person, but you still look different, like a flickering hologram. That white streak in your hair wasn’t there earlier.”
I nodded, trying to focus my rage—putting his crimes on a shelf for later. “Thank Le Bone for that. He hit me with some whopper of a magical spell last night and this was the result—”
“Le Bone is dead,” Alucard interrupted, frowning in confusion. “He was executed by decapitation almost a year ago. I was there. Roland called it axe-communication,” he chuckled hollowly. Cain echoed him, but his laugh sounded amused. “I even helped burn his corpse after. A welcoming gift to Kansas City,” he added dryly.
I blinked a few times, my mouth clicking shut. Dead. I sensed Cain and Claire shift uncomfortably on either side of me, not liking that news one bit. I pursed my lips, thinking furiously. I turned to Cain, arching an eyebrow. He shook his head, silently telling me he was confident he had seen Le Bone.
Feathers and Fire Series Box Set 2 Page 68
