by Lisa Edmonds
Silence.
It wasn’t exactly a standoff, but it was close enough to remind me of the final tense showdown among the three main characters in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which Sean and I had watched together just last week.
I wondered if any of my neighbors had spotted our sidewalk tête-à-tête and if so, what they were thinking. If anyone recognized Bell, they’d probably call the cops. The odds of police coming to confront the city’s most powerful crime boss were slim to none. The feds would come, though, if for no other reason than to see what or who had caused Bell to pop his head out after staying in hiding for several weeks.
Bell must have been thinking the same thing. He smiled and checked his watch. “I’d love to stay and continue this conversation, but I’m already late for my dinner engagement. Are we still meeting tomorrow evening for drinks at Luciano’s, Ezekiel?”
Monroe gave him a nod. “Eight o’clock.”
Bell turned to Sean. “A pleasure meeting you, Mr. Maclin. And an honor to make your acquaintance, Ms. Worth.” He smiled. “You certainly make an impression. Do give my offer fair consideration. I’d prefer us to be partners rather than adversaries.”
“I don’t recall an offer of partnership,” I said. “Besides, I’ve already given you my answer.”
“Then I can only hope you reconsider. In either case, you’ll be hearing from me again soon.”
With that threat hanging in the air, Bell returned to his SUV. He opened the rear passenger door, gave me a last glance, and got in. When everyone was back in their vehicles, the lead Court SUV moved to let Bell’s caravan depart.
As they turned the corner at the end of the street and disappeared, I turned to Monroe. “Either you have the world’s best timing or you got a tip-off Bell was headed this way.”
He smiled. “It was, in fact, a little of both, though it’s been said the minions of vampires have the devil’s own luck.” He grew serious. “You appear quite diminished, if I may say so without insulting you too much. The Court offers its assistance in your recovery.” He reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a small stoppered black vial with runes etched into the glass. He held it out to me. “Madame Valas left instructions that we provide this to you whenever it might be needed.”
Beside me, Sean went very still. I hadn’t told him that I’d asked Valas for her help to save his life when he’d been trapped in the cuff or that I’d had to make a deal to secure her assistance. Being called her personal favorite and now Monroe’s offer of her blood, the value of which was beyond reckoning, was likely to lead to some pointed questions later. Damn it.
“Thank you, but that’s not necessary,” I said. “I already healed myself from what happened earlier. I’m just tired.”
He continued to hold the vial out. “My instructions are to ensure your ability to defend yourself is in no way compromised. If I permit you to decline this offer of healing and you’re injured or killed as a result, I’ll be held accountable.”
I had no doubt that was true, but he’d willingly accepted that kind of responsibility when he became Valas’s daytime representative and I didn’t feel obligated to drink her blood to keep his ass out of the fire. Doing so would allow her to have influence over me, and who knows what other consequences there might be. I had no idea what kind of magic Valas had and she was extremely powerful, so drinking her blood might turn me into her puppet. Hell, for all I knew, she might be able to use me to influence Sean and the rest of the pack through their bonds.
“You can assure Valas when she wakes that I’m fine, or that I will be,” I assured him. “Drinking her blood when all I need is coffee and some sleep would be like going to the ER with a paper cut. I appreciate the concern, though.”
He returned the vial to his pocket. “Very well. I’ll pass along your response.”
I waved the red envelope. “Is this a real invitation, or a convenient excuse for showing up at my house?”
Monroe smiled. “It’s quite real. Next week, we will welcome Elizabeth, head of the Chicago Court, and her entourage. Madame Valas and the rest of the Court will celebrate her visit with a gala event. Your presence is requested. You may, of course, bring Mr. Maclin as your escort.” He gave Sean a nod. “We’ve opened an account for you at a dress shop to provide attire for both you and your guest. Their card is in the envelope.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t know the Chicago Court planned to visit. That’s a rare event.”
“The plans have been kept confidential for security reasons, as you might expect,” he said. “Hence the rather last-minute invitation, for which I apologize.”
There was no point asking why Elizabeth was coming for a visit; the vamps wouldn’t share that information with outsiders. Instead, I asked about something else that was bugging me. “So, drinks with Bell tomorrow evening, huh?”
Monroe smiled mirthlessly. “Moses Murphy’s aggressive attempt to establish a foothold in the city has made for strange bedfellows.”
“The Court is backing Bell against Murphy?” Hoo boy. That wasn’t surprising, but my brain started spinning in circles thinking about how that might affect things. “Enemy of my enemy, and all that?”
“It doesn’t make us friends. We are uneasy allies, what you might call ‘frenemies,’ at least in the matter of Murphy’s attacks on the city.” Monroe shook his head. “Perhaps it’s an exercise in futility to argue that one cabal leader is better than another, but Bell is the devil we know.”
Moses was the devil I knew, and I certainly didn’t want him anywhere near my city. The sooner Bell and the Court put an end to his campaign to take over Bell’s interests here, the better.
He glanced at my house. “You are now a target of Bell’s organization. As a valued associate of the Court you will have a protective detail, and you are invited to move into an apartment in Northbourne Manor. Mr. Maclin is welcome to join you, if he desires.”
I shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I decline the protective detail. Sean and his pack stand with me.”
Monroe didn’t look surprised by my refusal. “When she wakes, Madame Valas may insist you accept our protection.”
“Alice’s safety is my primary concern,” Sean said. He’d stayed quiet, letting me take the lead in my conversations with Bell and Monroe, but the prospect of Valas “insisting” on anything related to my safety brought an end to his silence. “I appreciate the Court’s concern, but Alice is not an employee of the Court. She accepted your protection against Kent Stevens because his escape from custody was a direct result of a botched Court operation, but this is a matter arising from one of Alice’s cases. The Court has no authority to force her to accept a protection detail from you. My attorney can confirm that, if you wish.”
Like most of the Vamp Court’s daytime reps, Monroe was a lawyer. “Legally speaking, you are correct,” he said. “But Madame Valas’s concern for Ms. Worth’s wellbeing is likely to supersede her concern for following the law.” In other words, go cite legalities somewhere else.
“As my consort, she has the support of our pack and the Were Ruling Council. More to the point, she is more than capable of defending herself, as you well know,” Sean said.
“Besides, you just called me not only a Court associate but also a personal favorite of Valas,” I pointed out. “Bell’s not stupid or desperate enough to come after me and jeopardize losing the Court’s support against Murphy, much less risk pissing Valas off. She’d eat him for breakfast and he knows it.”
“I tend to agree with you on that point,” Monroe said. “However—”
I sighed. “If I think I need the Court’s help with Bell, I’ll let you know. Right now, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
He gave me a nod. “I will share your perspective with Madame Valas. In the meantime, do you intend to stay in your own home or with Mr. Maclin in his?”
“With Sean.” My stomach cramped and I wrapped an arm around my abdomen. Blasted healing spell. I wondered what Ma
lcolm had done differently this time for it to still be making me sick hours later. “Though I’m in the middle of a case, so I probably won’t be at the house all that much.”
“I sincerely hope Mr. Bell takes our warnings seriously and opts to avoid causing you trouble, but should he become an immediate threat, do contact us immediately. In the interim, perhaps it would be prudent to avoid crossing paths with his lieutenants.”
I didn’t comment on that, since I had every intention of crossing paths very soon with one of his lieutenants in particular.
The corners of Monroe’s mouth turned up, indicating he knew very well what I was thinking. “We’ll let you be on your way.” He glanced at Bryan, who’d stood silently at his side since their arrival. “Will you be returning with me to Northbourne or rejoining Mr. Vaughan at his home?”
“I’ll go to Mr. Vaughan’s residence,” Bryan rumbled. “I need a moment with Ms. Worth before I leave.”
Monroe returned to his SUV and three of the four Vamp Court vehicles departed.
As they disappeared around the corner, I turned to Bryan. “What’s up?”
Bryan’s expression was grim. “What do you know about the stone Mr. Vaughan purchased at the auction you attended together?” he asked without preamble.
I blinked. “The Tepes stone? Only what I read on the Magic and Objects of Power database since Charles was so damn cagey about it. The MOP website’s records on vampire objects of power aren’t very extensive. The one Charles bought at the auction—assuming it’s the same one I found described on the website—was once part of Vlad Tepes’s collection of vampire objects of power, but it probably dates back at least a couple hundred years prior to Tepes’s reign in Romania. Its primary purpose is as a weapon, from what I understand, allowing its bearer to drain the life energy from a victim, whether that be a human, a shifter, or a vampire. The problem is keeping the stone can come at a pretty high cost.” I studied him. “Why do you ask?”
The enormous enforcer seemed to be debating what to say. “Mr. Vaughan is…not well,” he said finally.
Beside me, Sean growled softly. “Define ‘not well,’” I said.
Bryan lowered his voice. “He’s dying.”
His words hit me like a punch in the stomach. “What? Why the hell hasn’t anyone done anything to help him?”
“There are few people who are experts in vampire objects of power, and they have been consulted. Several mages who work for the Court have examined him but could do nothing. The stone has become…poisonous. I don’t know of a better word to describe what it’s doing. It’s like he’s dying from the inside, and every night it’s worse. For the past three days, I haven’t been sure when he retires in the morning if he’ll rise again at sunset.”
In all the years I’d known him, I’d never seen Bryan this worried. “Why did no one call me?”
“He forbade it.”
I blinked. “What? Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
“So you’re telling me this against his orders?”
He nodded.
Well, shit. If I hadn’t already believed the situation was dire, that clinched it. I glanced at the sky. “Sunset is in what, a little over two hours? I’ll be there. Will he see me?”
“I’ll see that he does.”
“You know that disobeying his orders could be bad for you, even if it’s in an attempt to save his undead life?”
“As far as I’m concerned, I have no choice.” He studied me. “He hasn’t been the same since his walk in the sun. He’s changed, become morose. I’d almost go so far as to say he wants to die, or at least he’s not fighting it.”
I’d gotten Charles involved in my search for a spelled cup that allowed a vampire to walk in daylight for one hour. He’d used the cup—against everyone’s advice, including mine. By the end of the walk, the daytime excursion had turned from a miraculous event to a source of torment. He’d rediscovered the pleasure of feeling human, only to have it taken away. Though he’d made the decision to use the cup, I had made it possible, and now I felt at least partly responsible for his mental state.
“I’ll see you at sunset,” I said.
Bryan gave Sean a nod. “Mr. Maclin. Miss Alice.” He started to leave, then paused. “Thank you.”
I shook my head. “Don’t thank me unless I can figure out a way to save him.”
“Thank you for agreeing to try. I know you’re still angry about the cuff, so this can’t have been an easy decision for you.”
“Actually, it was easy.” I shrugged. “Charles saved my life after I was stabbed by Amelia Wharton and again when Kent Stevens shot me. I’m squaring our account—or at least, I hope to square it.”
“I’ll be seeing you later, then.” He headed to the remaining SUV and got in. The vehicle pulled away from the curb and accelerated down the street.
“You and your ledgers,” Sean said as we watched the vehicle turn and disappear around the corner. His tone was light, but tension rolled off him in waves.
“I burned the list of the things I thought I owed you for,” I reminded him, heading for my car. “Vamps keep ledgers too, you know, and they’re a hell of a lot more aware of who owes whom. Charles has saved me twice. Maybe the Kent Stevens shooting was a direct result of the Vamp Court’s decision to change their plans at the last minute, but I still feel like I owe him for saving me after Amelia Wharton stabbed me. Call it irrational and maybe it is after everything he’s done, but I want to settle that debt so it doesn’t bother me anymore.”
“Notice I’m not telling you that I don’t want you to go.” He got into the driver’s side of my car as I lowered myself gingerly into the passenger seat. “Nor did I say your feelings were irrational. I am concerned that Bryan ignored Vaughan’s orders, which means Vaughan is going to be angry when you show up at his house at the vampire equivalent of the crack of dawn, intending to get involved. Depending on how much his condition has deteriorated, he may not be entirely rational, and that makes him more dangerous than usual.”
He turned the key in the ignition. “Not to mention you need sleep, Alice. You look absolutely exhausted. Maybe you can nap at my house before we go.”
“Maybe.” I was tired, but too much had happened for me to be able to sleep anytime soon. I’d cut someone’s hand off, been thrown through not one, but two walls, lost Jana, puked in front of Sean, argued with Malcolm, been threatened by Darius Bell, been named a personal favorite of Valas, and found out Charles might be dying. Even for me that was a full day, and it wasn’t even over yet—not by a long shot.
7
I’d expected my stomach to feel better by the time we made the half-hour drive to Sean’s house in the Heights, but the painful churning sensation only got worse. By the time he turned into his driveway and parked next to his truck, which Ben had apparently already dropped off, I was hunched over in my seat, my arms wrapped around my middle.
When I started to open my door, Sean said, “Alice, I’m worried about you. I’ve never seen a healing spell have this much of a lingering effect. Why are you still hurting?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed and pushed my door open. It took more effort than it should have. “I need to put Malcolm into a circle to speed up his regeneration and make a couple of phone calls. Then I’m going to lie down for a while and see if that helps. I’m sure it will get better soon.”
Sean got my first suitcase and my duffel bag and escorted me to the front door.
To my surprise, it opened as we approached, revealing Ben. “Hi, Alice.” His smile disappeared when he saw how I looked. “Let me get those so you can help her,” he said, reaching for the suitcase and bag Sean carried.
Sean handed them over, but I made it inside on my own two feet, sidestepping Sean when he tried to take my elbow. Ben hurried upstairs with the bags and then went out to my car.
“Where’s Rogue?” I asked.
“Out in the yard,” Ben said as he passed us again, carrying my other suitcase.
I needed privacy to make my calls, but that wouldn’t be easy with werewolf ears. Normally the easiest thing would have been for me to go upstairs to one of the guest rooms and shut the door, but at the moment the stairs seemed particularly daunting. I’d have to go up at some point if I intended to lie down, though, so I might as well tackle the steps now.
“Come outside for a moment,” Sean said to Ben as I headed for the stairs. “I want to ask you something about the truck.”
“Sure.” Ben followed Sean out the door.
When it was closed, I began the slow process of hauling myself up the steps. I appreciated that Sean had taken Ben outside so he didn’t see me struggling to climb stairs.
By the time I made it to the top I was out of breath. I was still uneasy, but the painful churning in my stomach had eased, thank goodness.
I headed for Sean’s room, where Ben had put my suitcases, but paused at the threshold. For some reason, I thought I might rest better in one of the guest rooms. At first that didn’t make sense, but the uneasiness and churning sensation faded when I thought about not being in Sean’s bed, so I moved my bags to a room down the hall and closed the door.
This bedroom shared a connecting bathroom with the other guest room. I took my chalk into the bathroom, moved the bathmats aside, and spent ten minutes drawing the spellwork for a power circle on the floor. When it was done, I placed Malcolm’s crystal in the center, pressed my hand to the runes around it, and closed the circle. In my Second Sight, the runes glowed with energy as they began amplifying the energy in the crystal. I hoped Malcolm would be recovered enough for me to take him with me to Charles’s house.
I sat on the bed, took off my boots, and sighed. I had two calls to make, neither of which I looked forward to. I decided to bite the bullet and make the harder one first. I scrolled through my contacts and called Allan Garrett’s number.
The phone rang once and then he answered. “Did you find him?”
