Fire Within (34 page)
“Well, are you just going to stand there?” Ari asked.
Since no one had anything to say, it was fortunate Andreas chose that moment to sit up. To Ari’s relief, it diverted their attention.
“You can really recover that quickly?” Ryan demanded. When the vampire nodded, the cop muttered, “That must come in handy.” Then he got back to business. “So, what happened before Ari arrived?”
“Shale called, asking for help with a newborn vampire. He let me in the front door, said the nestling was out of control, and hiding in his conference room. When I entered the room ahead of him, he attacked me from behind. Up to that point, I did not suspect a trap.” He gave them a wry look. “I assume Binderman is innocent. Anyway, I heard a swish of air, so his swing with a large blade sliced open my back instead of taking off my head. It was a standoff for a while. He stayed out of reach, waiting for me to weaken from blood loss. I guess he got tired of waiting and attacked again just before Ari arrived.”
“Did he say anything? Who he worked for? Or mention the murders?” Ryan still wanted answers.
Andreas pointed toward a bloody ceremonial sword in the far corner of the room. “When he was swinging the sword around, I asked if he used it on Vanessa. He said she’d seen him in the alley, just back from feeding. He was switching forms, and he used the first thing handy.”
“It’s a demon sword,” Ari said. “All demons carry them. So Vani’s death had nothing to do with Sarah. It wasn’t because they were lovers?” Ari knew the answer was important to the young counselor.
Andreas shrugged. “Wrong place, wrong time.” He looked at the interested faces surrounding him. “That is all I can tell you. We did not spend much time talking.”
“Well, he told me Sebastian hired him.” Ari gave a smug grin at the immediate attention. She repeated what Chzebar had said about the payment, the violence, and that Daron’s vampires were too tame. “Sound like Sebastian?” she asked Andreas.
“Has a familiar ring. He has, more than once, accused Daron of domesticating, even emasculating, his followers. He would be more than willing to point a demon in our direction and bring Daron to his knees.”
“Chzebar was disappointed there hadn’t been a war. I think he’d been promised one,” Ari said. She couldn’t express how grateful she was the promise had not been kept.
“This is a very fancy blade.” Ryan’s voice interrupted the discussion and drew all eyes to the blood-covered weapon he held in his gloved hands. Jewels sparked in the handle.
“Yes, very unique,” Andreas agreed dryly. “An ancient sword. But it does not look as inviting when wielded by a demon intent upon removing your head.”
“No, I guess not.” Ryan's lips quirked, and he dropped it into an evidence bag. He was treating this like a normal crime scene. Force of habit, maybe. Ryan’s need to get back to the facts, the details that weren’t as weird as speculation on some far-away vampire’s motives.
“I get why this thing dumped Vanessa’s body in the park. To get it far from the agency. What about her clothes? Why was she naked?” Ryan muttered.
“To delay identification, just like it did,” Lilith offered when no one else spoke. The others had stayed pretty quiet up until now, just listening. “Maybe he also wanted to make it seem different, so you wouldn’t tie it to the other murders.”
“Or worried about evidence,” Ari said. “I doubt if he understood forensics, but he kept pumping me for information, to see how much we knew.” Ari lifted a shoulder. “Now that the demon’s gone, there are some things we’ll never know.”
While they talked, the vampire attendants finished the transfusions. As soon as they detached the IV lines, Andreas sprang to his feet. Ryan stared at him. There was nothing that compared with a vampire’s recovery rate.
“We created a bit of untidiness,” Andreas said, waving a hand at the disarranged room with its pools of blood. He looked at Ryan. “How do we explain this to the press?”
Ari’s cop partner looked pained. “Serial killer,” he muttered, “It’s got to be a serial killer. But, damn, I wish we had a body.”
“Which brings up a good question,” Andreas said, addressing Ari. “What happened to our demon?”
“He’s in hell, where he belongs. His energy is gone. When I covered both of you with the banishing potion, the energy level dropped to almost nothing. Not enough to support two, even if one was a ghost. At first, I didn’t know which of you had survived.” She turned away, afraid of giving away too much of what she had felt, and addressed Ryan’s concern. “As for a body, who’s to know you don’t have one? Carry something out in a body bag. Announce his death. If anyone asks, he’ll be cremated at public expense. It’s not like there are relatives to complain.”
Ryan wrinkled his forehead in disapproval. He was a black and white guy, didn’t like deception, but appeared to be thinking it over. Ari figured he’d agree in the end. After all, what else could he do? He couldn’t tell the public about demons.
“OK, the demon’s gone, but how do we put a stop to Sebastian’s efforts?” Russell had helped the vamps pack their blood equipment, but obviously kept track of the conversation. “It may take a while for him to think up another scheme, but he won’t quit now. We’ve stopped him twice.”
“Next time, we will be better prepared,” Andreas said. “Although, I am not convinced Daron will wait for Sebastian to make the next move.” His mouth suddenly curled into a smile. “Whatever happens, the danger is over for today. The future will simply have to wait. I am inviting everyone to join me at the re-opening of Club Dintero.”
Ari jerked her head up. She’d temporarily forgotten about the opening. The sudden shift into the normal, everyday world was disorienting. She looked down at her blood-soaked shirt.
“Maybe some of us need to stop for a change of clothes first,” Andreas amended.
“I guess the club’s a fitting place for the day to end,” Russell said. “Considering what lies ahead.”
Lilith rolled her eyes, while Marcus barked a short laugh.
“What’s so funny? Did I miss something? Why is it fitting?” Ryan frowned, watching the others head for the door.
“He’s referring to the club’s name,” Ari said.
“Dintero? Why? What’s it mean?”
Andreas’s eyes met Ari’s, and they grinned at one another. He grabbed her hand.
Russell was the one who finally answered. “It means Destiny.”
Epilogue
Bella head-butted her mistress's chin until Ari opened one eye to meet Bella's green-eyed stare. The damn cat was scowling. Ari wondered if bringing home a familiar had been a mistake.
“Okay, I’m getting up,” Ari grumbled. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, slipping on the Birkis Claris had given her for her last birthday. After she splashed cold water on her face and threw on shirt and jeans, she turned on the coffee pot.
It had been two days since the confrontation with Shale—or Chzebar. Her body was sluggish, a letdown from the tension of the last four weeks. Bella had woken her at dawn by patting her face with gentle paws, but Ari had managed to stave her off for an added hour of sleep. She had no appointments today, no known killers stalking the city, and her boyfriend wouldn’t be up for hours.
When Bella was fed and Ari was drinking her first cup of coffee, she half-heartedly considered a morning run. The doorbell chimed, and Ari’s gaze swiveled to Bella. Was this why Bella had gotten her up? Was she a genuine familiar?
Adrenaline dispelled Ari’s lethargy. It wasn’t quite 7:00. Who would be here, unannounced, at this time of day?
She grabbed her derringer and approached the door. A look through the peephole fed her suspicions. She saw no one. Seriously on alert, she kept the security chain in place, stayed off to one side, and eased the door open a fraction.
Now she saw her visitor. An elderly, four-foot-tall wood nymph. He looked vaguely familiar.
“Arianna Calin?” he asked, squinting at her through the crack.
“Who’s asking?”
“I’m Yana’s father.”
“Mr. Montrey! Ah, just a moment. I’ll let you right in,” she said as she grabbed clothes off the couch, stuffed them and her derringer under the bed, and raced back to fumble with the chain. “I’m so sorry.” She swung the door open. “Please, come in.”
Ari was embarrassed that she’d kept him waiting and even more so that she hadn’t recognized him. His daughter had been her mentor, her friend, and the former Guardian in Riverdale. She hadn’t seen him since Yana’s murder last fall.
“It is I who should apologize for appearing so early and without warning,” he said. “But I do not own a phone to call ahead, and I felt some urgency in the matter.”
“No problem. It’s fine. Please, tell me how I can help you. Is your family well?”
“Yes, they are fine. This is about what I can do for you.” He smiled, his wrinkled face crinkling even more and reminding her of Yana. He stepped inside, carrying a brown paper parcel.
Ari offered him coffee, which he declined. Containing her curiosity, Ari waited while he took a seat on the couch, proper and upright, the brown package resting on his knees. She settled opposite him in her favorite red chair and waited.
He regarded her with the serenity of age. “Yana kept a large trunk in her bedroom. We brought it home shortly after the burial and put it away in the attic. It was too soon to look at her belongings. Last night my granddaughter, Kyra, opened it and found something unusual inside. When she brought it to me, I knew it belonged to you.”
“To me? What made you think it belonged to me?”
“I cannot tell you, for I do not know the answer. There was no writing, no instruction. At the risk of sounding a bit fey, I would say it led me to you.” He held out the package. “Open it. See for yourself.”
On closer inspection, the package seemed pretty ordinary, a brown paper bag wrapped around a rectangular object. A box, maybe. She reached out to take it, but as soon as her fingers touched the paper, she felt a warmth enter her hands. Her witch magic started a pleasurable hum, and she trembled as she reached into the bag.
Ari’s heart stopped or at least skipped a beat. The world receded around her, and all she saw was the ancient red leather book. As she stared at the worn surface, the title slowly began to write across the cover in black script, but she already knew what it was. The Calin family Book of Shadows had come home.
Unable to speak, Ari cradled the ancient tome against her chest, Great-Gran’s voice echoed in her head. “Do not worry about the Book, Arianna. Your mother will have kept it safe. And, when you are ready, it will find its way home.”
Ari hadn’t dared to trust her words, but they had come true. Mr. Montrey wasn’t so far off when he said it led him here. The Book of Shadows had a power all its own, the power of the Calin witches. Ari’s mother must have had a premonition of her death. She’d left the Book in Yana’s safekeeping, until Ari earned the right to have it. Ari now realized that she’d had to trust her own powers before she was worthy of the Book.
She looked at the patiently waiting elder wood nymph with unashamed tears. “You cannot know what this means to me. You’ve given me back my family.”
“I am pleased to have been of assistance,” the old man said. “As I am gratified to see you once again.” He rose from the couch and bent his head in a mark of respect, which she returned. “I must go. At my age I do not like to be away from the forest for long. Good morrow, my daughter’s friend.”
After he had gone, Ari curled on the sofa, feet tucked under her, still clutching the Book. Bella snuggled close to her side, as if she understood and wanted to share in the importance of the moment. Tears streamed unchecked down Ari’s face.
The ancient journal rested, heavy on her lap, as she opened to the first ivory page, releasing a blue shimmer of magic. Ari took a deep breath, savoring the anticipation another moment.
She dropped her eyes and began to read the handwritten script.
~ About the Author ~
Ally Shields is the pseudonym of Janet L Buck, a former attorney and juvenile officer, residing in the Midwest.
Find out more about Ally Shields here:
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~ Coming Soon ~
Burning Both Ends (Guardian Witch Book 3)
Blood and Fire (Guardian Witch Book 4)
~ Also by Ally Shields ~
Awakening the Fire
Arianna Calin has sworn to keep the peace in Riverdale. Most of the Otherworlders prefer to haunt the Olde Town district--partying at vampire strip clubs, dining in elegant supper clubs, and inhabiting the cliffside caverns along the Mississippi. Being a cop is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it, and Ari's got her derringer, a sharp stiletto, and a few handy charms against things that hunt in the night. She's also a fire witch--a pedigree that comes in handy, since her partner's only human.
When a virtual reality drug hits the streets, people start to die, and an elusive pack of werewolves threatens the status quo. Ari and Ryan are drawn into a web of murder and evil that will lead sworn enemies to a confrontation. While the city simmers around them, Ari struggles to prevent an all-out supernatural war...
Buy
Awakening the Fire
here
http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Fire-Guardian-Witch-ebook/dp/B0099ZDHO8/
~ More Fantasy from Etopia Press ~
When the Moon is Gibbous and Waxing
by Angela Parson Myers
