Influential Magic (11 page)

“Hey, yourself. I’ve got the background info on your Influence customer.”

“Hold on.” I hustled back to the table and picked up a pen. “Okay, shoot.”

“Good news or bad news first?”

“Good.”

“His Influence permit is valid. He works part time as a research assistant at the college.”

A weight I hadn’t realized existed lifted off my chest. That
was
good news. “Okay.”

“He’s also an independent courier. He opened his business sometime last year.”

More good news. “That explains why he was delivering a handwritten message. Looks like he was multitasking.”

“Maybe,” Phoebe said with a heavy dose of suspicion.

“What?”

“He’s also a file clerk at Cryrique.”

***

“Wake up!” I demanded, using my toe to nudge the limp vampire.

Link jumped in front of me and growled at David.

I let out a hollow laugh and backed off but didn’t close the closet door. “I need answers, Link. I can’t afford to sit around and wait for the dead to rise.”

My dog stared me down as if processing my words. He didn’t understand what I’d said, but he did very well at interpreting moods. He set his paws and shimmered as he shifted into full wolf form. It wasn’t a surprise considering the amount of agitation spiraling in my system.

Moving in, I tried to nudge David again, but Link cut me off, blocking me from getting near the vampire.

He was right to be wary. I didn’t know when or how David would wake up. The sun was moments from setting. Did dusk act as some vampire internal alarm, or did they wake on their own when they were good and rested? He wouldn’t get the chance if I had anything to say about it.

It was eerie how still he was, lying there as if he was…well, dead. Creepy. Why would anyone choose to be turned after seeing that? Especially David. It was a concept I couldn’t wrap my head around. He’d never fit the profile of questing for eternal youth. He’d even talked about growing old, sitting on his front porch with grandkids at his feet. What had changed?

Maybe he fell for a vampire.

That’s why they all turned in the romance novels. Could a warm-blooded male be expected to resist the eternal beauty? Is that why he broke up with me? The thought made me want to punch him.

Whatever. He’d turned. I needed to get used to it.

“David. Nap time is over.”

His eyelids flickered and my internal vampire alarm went off, only this time the sensation brushed against me, light and airy.

That was different
.
For the first time I noticed I hadn’t been aware of him while he slept. I stopped mid-step and studied him. Was that always the case? In the few years since I’d developed my ability, I couldn’t remember sensing one during the day. But then I wasn’t out patrolling for them, either.

“What’s wrong?” he growled, leaping to his feet.

“We’re going out and you’re coming with us.”

***

According to the file, Lester Daniels, AKA the messenger, had worked for Cryrique for over two years. Even though he was only a lowly file clerk, I didn’t believe for one moment Allcot hadn’t known Lester worked for him. Vampires like him made a point of knowing everyone they employed, right down to their cleaning crew.

“Is this the one?” I pointed to the dark shotgun house in a rundown block of Lower Carrollton. The overgrown vegetation blocked most of the crumbling path leading to the front door.

David nodded and took the lead. Link followed with his nose to the ground.

I watched them go and took a moment to settle before reaching for my magic. If any other vampires were around, I wanted to know about it. A ball of energy in my core spread out, searching as I focused. David filled my senses. Acknowledging him, I stretched farther. Nothing. My vampire radar remained quiet. Good.

I hadn’t expected to find another, but after the night before, I had to check. It wasn’t known vampire territory. This area hadn’t been touched by Katrina and wasn’t anywhere near Frenchmen Street or Midtown, where the vast majority of their kind dwelled.

David and Link had disappeared. I traced their trail toward the distressed front porch. Peeling paint and rotting stairs greeted me. Neglected, just like so many other old houses in the city.

I scanned the overgrown yard, seeing nothing in the shadows. Maybe they were inside already. I raised my hand to knock. Link’s wolf howl echoed from inside the house. I froze. Then, without thought, I tore into the house, following the sound. “Link!”

“Back here,” David called.

A table crashed to the floor as I ran, dodging tattered furniture and piles of old magazines. A growl sounded from the next room. I skidded to a stop in the tiny kitchen at the back of the house. Link stood in the corner, hackles raised and teeth bared, hovering over a crumpled form on the floor.

I rounded on David. “What did you do?”

He pulled out his cell phone and tapped the screen.

“David!” I stared at his back as he retreated to the other room, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Bastard,” I muttered and crouched next to Link, getting a better view of the victim. The shock of red hair and pale face matched Lester’s Influence ID perfectly. With a shaking hand, I reached out to check for a pulse.

“Come on.” My sweaty fingers slipped off his cold, clammy skin. Panicked, I turned his head and leaned in to check his breathing. Then I saw the bite marks. Angry tears burned my eyes as I stood. David hadn’t done this. Lester had been dead for hours.

Link continued to guard the body, pacing back and forth as if to protect the man.

“Cool it, Link. There’s nothing we can do for him.”

Link whimpered and came to sit by my feet. I searched for my own phone and swore when I came up empty. It was probably among the clutter on my desk. Again.

David reappeared, stepping next to me. “We need to go.”

“Give me your phone.”

To my surprise, he handed it over without protest. I took a step sideways, giving myself some room, and then scrolled through his contacts, found the number, and hit send.

“Davidson, I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon,” the vampire drawled.

David hissed in a breath and grabbed for the phone. Ready for him, I fluttered to the other side of the room, near the ceiling.

“It’s Willow.”

A pause, then Eadric chuckled. “Ah. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

“We need to talk.”

“Davidson is with you, I presume?’

“Yes.” I spared a glance at my partner and nearly winced at the fury vibrating through him. It didn’t help that Link had shifted and had him cornered.

“And did he not advise you against calling with such demands?”

“He didn’t have a choice.”

“I see.” A lilt of amusement touched his voice. “How could I pass up such a pleasant offer of your company? I’m at my club. I’ll be available for the next hour.”

“Fine.” I hung up and called the Arcane about the body. They’d want to investigate.

After giving the investigator the address, I slipped David’s phone in my pocket and landed beside my wolf. “Link, back off. David isn’t going to hurt me.”

I hoped.

Link retreated with his hackles still raised. The look on David’s face made me question my earlier statement. The scowl and the tension in his arms suggested he’d like nothing better than to rip my wings off at that very moment. Instead, he turned his back to me and stalked out of the house.

I sped down St. Charles Avenue with David fuming in the passenger seat and Link snarling in the back. Stomping on the gas, I willed the lights to stay green. If the tension got any thicker, one of them would snap. Then what? I couldn’t let David hurt my dog, even if he was only protecting himself. I rolled down the window, hoping some air would help.

It didn’t.

David’s growing agitation sent my internal vampire alarm into overdrive. Adrenaline filled my veins, making me shake. “Cool it, David. You’re worse than Link.”

David growled. Actually growled.

And that’s when Link lunged…in full-on wolf form. His gray and white mass filled the space between the seats as he twisted with his enormous jaws bared. David’s pale arm shot out, slamming the wolf into my side. Pain pierced my ribs. I sucked in a sharp breath, struggling to keep control of the wheel.

“Link, no,” I cried, but he let out a furious howl and lunged for the vampire again.

Snap!
The seat crumpled backward. David scrambled into the back seat, kicking at Link.

I swerved to a stop, barely missing a large oak tree. “Stop it, both of you!” I threw my door open and jumped out to run to David’s side of the Jeep.

Neither paid any attention to my demands. David’s left hand clutched Link’s neck, pressing the wolf against the opposite door. One wrong move, and David’s arm would be wolf food. Horrified, I ran to the other side of the Jeep and yanked the door open.

“Link, David, stop!” I cried, unable to do anything but watch in horror as the pair tried to kill each other.

Link twisted free of his grip, simultaneously slashing with his razor-sharp claws. Bright red blood seeped from David’s shoulder. He roared, his vampire fangs seeming to elongate, though I wasn’t at all sure that was possible. Link, being a wolf, lunged for the open wound. David countered the move and slammed him against the back window. Link yelped and shrank back before shimmering into puppy form. He fell into a heap, vampire blood dripping from his tiny Shih Tzu paws.

David tore from the Jeep, his image blurring past me. When he finally stopped, he stood half a block away, hidden in shadows.

Heart pounding, I started after him, then stopped and climbed into the car to check on Link. He lifted his head at the sound and whimpered.

“Ah, Link. What were you thinking?” I picked him up, cradling him in my arms. “Poor puppy, you just need time to learn to control your impulses. It isn’t your fault.”

He licked my hand and snuggled closer.

“You can come back now. He’s too weak to shift again,” I called.

David didn’t respond.

“Seriously, it’s safe.” I tucked Link back into the Jeep. Blood dripped from the broken passenger’s seat. How badly had Link wounded him? I used an old sweatshirt to wipe the blood from his paws and cleaned the seat as best I could before looking up.

I spotted David a few feet away. “Are you all right?”

He glared. “You think I’m scared of your dog?”

“Well…”

“You have a lot to learn, Willow. Your wolf can do some damage, but he’ll never survive in a fair fight with a vampire. Learn to control your temper or you’re going to get him killed.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, meeting his steely gaze. “This is my fault? You’re the one who actually growled. You should’ve known it would set him off. Honestly, growling?”

He lowered his voice. “I’m not human anymore. Remember that next time you deliberately piss me off.”

Of course he wasn’t human. The evidence was overwhelming. But what the hell was he talking about? Piss him off? “What?”

“Using my phone to call Eadric. Do you have any idea how dangerous this game is you’re playing? He does not care for you. If you become a liability, he will have you eliminated. And I’ll be powerless to stop it.”

“Allcot’s not going to harm me. He knows I work for the Void and they’re investigating him. If I go missing, there will be hell to pay.” Right? Maude would make sure of it. She was a power-hungry, controlling, evil witch of a faery, but she wouldn’t stand for anyone offing her Influence-making niece. I was too valuable. That much I knew, but did Allcot?

David closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he leveled me with an intense stare. “So naïve. If Eadric wants you dead, it will happen, and the trail will never lead back to him. I know I’ve lost your trust, but on this, please, listen to me.”