The Eldritch Conspiracy (Blood Song)

by Adams, Cat

  but I actually know why. I read about

  this online. The border patrol found

  scattered remains in the desert, the

  morning after the full moon. There was

  enough to do DNA matching, and it’s

  Paulo and Raul. It looks as if they got on

  the wrong side

  of

  a

  pack

  of

  werewolves.”

  Wow. What an ugly way to go.

  Almost as brutal and violent as some of

  the things I’d heard they’d ordered. I

  couldn’t say I was sorry. I bet it was

  Maria’s family. Paulo had learned the

  hard way that payback is a bitch.

  Literally.

  “Celia? You still there?”

  “I’m here. I wouldn’t wish that on

  anybody, but I can’t say they didn’t

  deserve it.”

  “That’s almost exactly what the guy

  who wrote the online article said.”

  I believed it. Thinking about the

  Ortegas, though, reminded me of

  Mexico. Not good. Not the kind of

  memories that would improve my mood.

  “Anything else?”

  “Yup. When you get back, the INS and

  the DEA both want to meet with you and

  have you map out as much of the tunnels

  as you can remember. Oh, and the Levys

  are on their way to Serenity with the

  dresses and they are gorgeous. You are

  going to look so amazing! Bruno’s

  finished your joint present for Adriana

  and King Dahlmar. Since he was

  working on it in the same office with

  Jan, he had it checked to make sure it

  hadn’t been tampered with, and it’s fine.

  Emma swears it’s the best focus she’s

  ever seen, even better than the mirror

  you had made for Vicki.”

  Oh! So that’s what he’d been making

  at the college. I’d assumed the mirror

  was a class assignment.

  Wow. That was awesome. It would

  be the perfect gift for Adriana, who was

  a fairly powerful clairvoyant. And

  Dahlmar was enough in love that

  pleasing her was sure to please him.

  Score.

  “He said to let you know he’ll bring it

  with him when he flies out to Rusland.

  He doesn’t want to risk letting it out of

  his sight until then.”

  I didn’t blame him. Major magical

  artifacts are big business and valuable

  as hell. Even the express courier

  companies won’t insure them for full

  value. They’re just too likely to be

  stolen. “He’s sending you his itinerary

  by e-mail, so be sure to get online.”

  Thinking about seeing Bruno made me

  smile, and while Dawna couldn’t see it,

  she knew me well enough to guess.

  “I’m supposed to tell you he loves you

  and he’s really, really sorry. Just

  between the two of us, I’m thinking that

  you’re going to be able to hold that

  whole body bind thing over his head for

  quite a while.”

  I laughed. “Maybe.” Probably not.

  Then again, he really shouldn’t have

  done it. And I did not want him to get

  into the habit of pulling that kind of crap.

  “Ready for the less good news?”

  I groaned. “I suppose.”

  “Dottie came in and got Minnie the

  Mouser.”

  “What?” That was a shock. Fred and

  Dottie lived in government housing. No

  pets allowed. She’d gotten me to take in

  her adored cat Minnie after a friend—a

  cop—who’d been looking after her died

  in the line of duty. Since I’m gone so

  much, we’d made her the office cat. We

  all loved the silly furball. She was

  spoiled rotten.

  “Dottie said it was only for a couple

  of days, that she didn’t want her getting

  underfoot with the movers coming in.”

  Well, that kind of made sense.

  Although, come to think on it, we

  could’ve just locked her in my office for

  a couple of hours. I wondered if my

  clairvoyant friend was up to something. I

  wouldn’t put it past her.

  Dawna continued. “But she was acting

  all weird and sad. She wandered around

  the whole place, even up to the third

  floor.”

  I rolled my eyes. Of course she had.

  I’d told Dottie a million times not to take

  the stairs with that walker of hers. But

  did she listen? Oh hell no.

  “She told me to ship all of your boxes

  —the ones in the storeroom—to your

  house. She was so insistent that I went

  ahead and did it. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Nah, it’s okay. She’s a seer. Who

  knows, maybe she saw that we’ll need

  the space.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of how I looked at

  it.” Dawna paused; in the background I

  heard the door open and people moving

  around. “Gotta go. The movers are here.

  Call me later.”

  “Right.”

  We hung up without saying good-bye,

  but that was okay. Things back at the

  office were in good hands. The Levys

  would be here soon with the dresses and

  Bruno had come up with the perfect

  wedding gift. All in all, not too shabby.

  Oh, there were still plenty of things to

  worry about: Dottie acting strange,

  Okalani being in danger. But I wasn’t

  going to think about them now. I was just

  too damned tired. We were almost back

  to the compound. I wanted food and

  sleep, in that order. Everything else

  would just have to wait.

  * * *

  I woke to the sound of someone knocking

  on the door to my suite. A glance at the

  clock told me it was only 10:30. I’d had

  less than three hours of sleep, which was

  worse than none at all.

  “Go away,” I growled, and pulled my

  pillow over my head.

  Baker’s voice drifted through the door

  and the soft, feather down pillow.

  “Celia, Isaac and Gilda Levy are here

  with the dresses for the fitting. Princess

  Adriana has asked that you join

  everyone downstairs at your earliest

  convenience.”

  O h , hell. Early wasn’t convenient.

  Not at all. Damn it, anyway. I needed

  some rest. I was tired and depressed.

  The last thing I wanted was to be around

  people. And Gilda and Isaac were so

  damned

  perceptive,

  they’d

  know

  something was up the minute I walked

  into the room.

  Still, there was nothing for it. They

  were here. There wasn’t much time for

  them to do any alterations as it was. It

  would be rude of me to make that time

  any shorter.

  “Tell them I’ll be down in a few

  minutes.”

  “I’ll tell them ten minutes.”

  “And get me some coffee,” I adde
d.

  “Please. Lots and lots of coffee.”

  I could almost hear Helen smile.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I took one of the shortest showers on

  record, brushed my teeth and hair, and

  pulled on jeans and a little yellow T-

  shirt with horizontal stripes. I strapped

  on every weapon I’d be wearing at the

  weddings, from my knives on down to

  the Glock and ankle holster. Isaac was

  going to want to make sure the dress and

  jacket fit properly over my armament.

  He’d probably also renew the accuracy

  spells on my gear, which was never a

  bad thing. I practice at the range

  regularly and am a good shot even

  without the spells. But when it really

  matters, I want every possible edge.

  When I opened the door to my suite, a

  scant seven minutes after my summons,

  Baker was waiting outside. She offered

  me a huge mug of coffee that smelled

  like everything good in the world.

  Taking the mug, I inhaled deeply, then

  took a sip, careful not to burn the roof of

  my mouth. It tasted fabulous. I wondered

  what blend it was and if I’d be able to

  find it back home.

  Raised voices greeted my ears from

  downstairs. Oh, I so didn’t need to get in

  the middle of an argument this early.

  Instead, I blew on the steaming liquid in

  the mug and decided to take my time

  going down. Baker didn’t seem any more

  excited to get involved than me.

  Adriana’s voice, crisp and commanding,

  cut through the quarreling voices

  downstairs, saying in crisp, cold,

  English. “That is enough!”

  I turned to Baker. “She really wants

  me down there, huh? You sure?”

  She nodded vigorously.

  “Peachy.”

  I stepped past her and made my way

  down to the living room, where Adriana,

  Olga, and Natasha were gathered

  together with Gilda and Isaac Levy.

  “Oh, Celia. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Gilda beamed up at me. “Come with me.

  We need you to try on your dress and

  jacket so we can make any last-minute

  adjustments.” Zipping across the room,

  she retrieved a garment bag from where

  it was draped over the bar.

  I doubted there’d be any alterations.

  After all, they’d just seen me a few days

  ago. Granted, it had been a rough few

  days, but I doubted I’d lost enough

  weight to change my measurements.

  Isaac gave a short wave in greeting

  from where he was kneeling on the floor,

  pinning the hem of Natasha’s gown. She

  was standing on a raised stool, her

  expression one of martyred patience.

  “Natasha, glad to see you’re feeling

  better.” I tried to make it sound like

  she’d had the flu, rather than being an

  instrument of near-assassination.

  She turned to look at me, over Isaac’s

  muttered protest, and her expression

  lightened. “Princess, I’ve been wanting

  to thank you. I am told you were the one

  who saved my life.”

  I admitted it with a shrug but added,

  “Not the only one. King Dahlmar’s

  friend…” I had gone blank on his name.

  “Igor,” Adriana supplied.

  “That’s him. Igor. He did CPR, too.

  Are you feeling better? What do the

  doctors say?”

  “They say I will be fine. The only

  lasting effect is the lost memories.” Her

  face clouded with worry. “I do not like

  not remembering.”

  I could understand that. I’d had a spell

  worked on me that affected my memory.

  It nearly drove me nuts before I was

  finally able to get it lifted.

  She shook her head and smiled. “But

  Princess Adriana has been most kind.

  She has forgiven me, in spite of what I

  have done, and is still willing to have

  me beside her in her wedding.”

  I glanced over at Adriana, who was

  smiling. That she wasn’t holding a

  grudge was pretty damned generous of

  her, all things considered—and not at all

  like the Adriana I’d first met. Being with

  Dahlmar had mellowed her. She was

  definitely less prickly than she’d once

  been. Love will do that to you.

  Gilda shooed me toward the hallway

  that led to the nearest bathroom. “You

  have to try on the dress with the shoes

  and jewelry. I’m especially worried

  about the shoes. This brand seems to run

  narrow.”

  She followed me into the good-sized

  bathroom, shutting the door firmly

  behind us before giving me a quick

  update on what I’d missed.

  “The bridesmaids are arguing. The

  younger one…”

  “Olga,” I said, and Gilda nodded.

  “Olga is very angry and frightened. So

  many things have gone wrong. Nothing is

  going according to plan. She was

  counting on Natasha’s fear of her father

  to keep her in line, keep her agreeing to

  whatever Olga suggested. But that’s

  changed now that Natasha is no longer

  under the influence of the spell. The two

  of them have been arguing and sniping at

  each other. Olga insists that Princess

  Adriana is using her siren abilities to

  control

  King

  Dahlmar.

  Natasha

  disagrees.”

  “Natasha’s right,” I said firmly as I

  slipped out of my shoes and unzipped the

  jeans.

  “You’re sure?” She hooked the hanger

  with my dress over the hook on the back

  of the door, flipped the lid down on the

  toilet, and took a seat.

  “Positive,” I assured her. “First off,

  Adriana is way older than she looks and

  way, way older than Dahlmar. Sirens

  live a long time, and she’s told me

  directly that she considers Dahlmar a

  younger

  man.

  She

  couldn’t

  have

  manipulated him using siren abilities

  because she doesn’t really have any, at

  least not to the level where she could

  control somebody as strong-willed as

  the king. Besides which, I made sure he

  had an anti-siren charm that would

  prevent her from doing any hanky-

  panky.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it didn’t stop that.”

  Gilda gave me a saucy wink. “Adriana

  is a beautiful woman who is accustomed

  to getting her own way. There are many

  ways to manipulate someone; you don’t

  need to have psychic powers. And from

  what I’ve seen, most women’s normal

  abilities are usually enough to influence

  most men. Now we’ll just have to find a

  way to find a way to work that into the

  conversation. Because I am not letting

&nbs
p; those two little bitches ruin that girl’s

  big day.”

  “I

  thought

  you

  said

  she’s

  a

  manipulator.”

  She turned wide, innocent eyes to me.

  “Well, of course. But the manipulation

  she’s doing is only the time-honored sort

  that all women do. I respect that.”

  I nearly laughed out loud, but managed

  to smother the burst of noise with both

  hands so that it came out in a muffled

  snort. Gilda was right, of course. We

  needed to intervene. But I couldn’t for

  the life of me figure out how we were

  going to manage that. Still, I was game.

  The new Adriana was growing on me.

  Besides, to my mind, every bride

  deserves a terrific wedding day.

  I stripped down to my underwear.

  Gilda looked me up and down. “You’ve

  lost weight again,” she scolded. “You

  need to eat more. And that”—she

  pointed to the scar in the middle of my

  chest—“is a new scar. I thought you

  promised me you’d be careful.”

  “I am careful,” I protested. She was

  right about the scar, though. It wasn’t

  huge, but it was noticeable. But I’d been

  damned lucky not to be hurt worse when

  Jan had done his thing.

  I wished fervently that the feds would

  catch him. So far though, they’d had no

  luck. Damn it, he was apparently as

  good at hiding as he was at magic.

  “Hmpf.” She wasn’t happy, but she

  didn’t say anything else. She also didn’t

  suggest a “beauty enhancement spell.”

  Silly for that remark to still sting, after

  everything that had happened. But it did.

  I unzipped the black canvas garment

  bag to reveal my dress.

  It was beautiful. The color was a rich,

  deep purple, the color of flawless

  amethysts. On a separate hanger, the

  bolero-style jacket gleamed, thanks to

  the black silk embroidery on the front

  panels and the jet beads used as trim.

  My breath caught in my throat. I

  couldn’t believe how beautiful it was,

  and on such short notice. The Levys had

  outdone themselves, again.

  At my reaction, Gilda gave me a smug

  little smile. I didn’t mind. She deserved

  to be smug. It was gorgeous. “Look in

  the compartment in the bottom of the

  bag,” she suggested.

  I unzipped said compartment to find a

  black velvet jewelry case about the size

  of a hardback book. The velvet had

  browned a little with age and the brass

  lock was a little tarnished. With

  trembling fingers I twisted the little

  lever that locked the case and flipped