Make Me (19 page)

“What does that mean?” Gwen asked.

He paused, obviously playing with them.

OH, NO. Princess said, whimpering. HE’S A MAGE DEMON.

Not good. Not good at all. Jack had told them mage demons had only one power without the books. Trevor’s was a mind shield.
What’s this guy’s power?
he asked Princess.

I DON’T KNOW. Broadcasting to Asmodeus, Princess asked, WHAT’S YOUR POWER, MAGE DEMON?

He scowled. “So you figured out what I am, huh? It doesn’t matter now.” He gave them a tight smile that looked deadly. “I have the ability to reach into another dimension and pull back a damned soul and anchor it in a person’s body in this world.” He crooked his finger at Gwen, beckoning her to him. “I think you’ll do.”

Micah wasn’t sure what that meant, but it couldn’t be good. “No,” he said, holding back rage and fear. “You can’t.” How could he stop this?

Though she looked scared to death, Gwen asked, “Is it permanent?”

Asmodeus smiled. “Oh, yes, quite permanent. Unless I free you.”

“If I do this, will you let them go?” she asked and took a step toward the demon.

Micah couldn’t let her sacrifice herself. “No,” he said firmly and reached out with his incubus powers to grab hold of her. “Gwen, don’t move.” His power wasn’t at full strength, thanks to the double shots of Perdo, but he could hold on to one woman.

She froze obediently.

Just in case, he grabbed the chain binding him to Gwen, pulling it until there was no slack on Gwen’s side and she couldn’t move without him letting go. Princess moved to put her small body protectively between Asmodeus and Gwen. But the Perdo still hadn’t worn off—how long could he hold her? Right about now, Micah wished he had that mythical amulet.

“Don’t be stupid,” the demon snapped at him. “Why would I accept her deal when I hold all the cards? I don’t need her permission. Or yours.”

Having nothing to lose, Micah rushed him, intent on wrapping the chain around his neck. But Asmodeus was too fast for him. He backed up the stairs quickly, and Micah came to an abrupt halt, knowing the chain would keep him from reaching the demon.

Asmodeus laughed. “I also don’t need to touch her.” Tucking the dart gun into his belt, he closed his eyes and raised his hands palms out, muttering something.

A spell?

Damn it, no.
Micah rushed back and grabbed Gwen in a fierce hug, hoping that if he held her tight enough, if he held her fast in his own thrall, Asmodeus wouldn’t be able to subvert her soul to a damned one.

As Princess snapped and snarled, Asmodeus’s chant suddenly came to an end. And the woman in his arms changed. She still looked the same, still clung to him, but there was a vast difference. She didn’t feel the same and her expression turned sly, her hands aggressive. Worse, his incubus powers had been abruptly cut off from her.

“Gwen?” he asked uncertainly.

She looked up at him with a wicked smile. “I’m afraid not. You can call me Lilith.”

I shook my head.

IF HE HURTS EVEN ONE OF THEM—

I didn’t hear what Fang would do because his mental voice deteriorated into nothing but snarls and growls.

I stared at the phone again, then noticed the charge was getting low. What if he called back and the phone was dead? I found the charger quickly and plugged in the phone. “We’re going to the club, just as soon as the phone is charged.” And hope like hell he’d meet us there.

Jack sank down on my bed, looking stunned. “Do you think they’re still alive?”

“Yes,” I bit out. They had to be. I wouldn’t consider anything else. “He wants the books.” I couldn’t help but pace. “He’ll keep them alive to trade.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jack said.

OF COURSE SHE’S RIGHT, Fang snapped. AND WHILE SHE WAITS AT THE CLUB, WE’LL FIND MICAH, GWEN AND PRINCESS AND SAVE THEM.

Sounded like an excellent plan, with just one teensy flaw. “How?” I asked. “We don’t know who it is or where they are.”

Austin moved closer to stare down at the phone. “Think. He wants the books. Who could it be?”

Frustrated, I snapped, “It could be anyone.”

“Not just anyone,” Austin corrected me. “Only those who know what the books are and what they can do.”

He was right. That narrowed it down a little. “Then it’s either a demon or a vampire. Humans wouldn’t know about the books.” Except for a few—some of my friends in the Special Crimes Unit. And Gwen. But none of them could even use the books if they had them.

“This doesn’t sound like one of us,” Austin said. “Alejandro prefers you control the books, and Lisette thinks they’re too dangerous to have around.”

“Then it must be a demon,” I concluded, pacing. “Someone in San Antonio or here.” I glanced at Jack. “Unless you told the Los Angeles Underground.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know anyone there anymore.”

IT’S SOMEONE IN AUSTIN, Fang snarled. HE WANTED TO MEET YOU AT THE DEMON HEADQUARTERS HERE.

He was right. “Dina Bellama,” I said with disgust. “She’s mixed up in this somehow, I know it.”

Austin lounged against the door. “Think. Are you sure you’re not just saying that because she’s playing footsie with your boyfriend?”

I don’t know how, but he managed to make the word
boyfriend
sound childish. My mouth tightened, but I refused to let Austin get to me. He had a point. “No. I’m saying it because she wants the books, she can control any man she wants, and he asked us to meet at her hangout. Isn’t it interesting that they were kidnapped after Dina found out I had the books? Who else could it be?”

“She has a point,” Jack said.

Yeah, several of them. All nicely sharpened and ready to plunge into a heart. I’d only used my stakes on vampires before, but they’d make a demon just as dead.

“So what’s your plan?” Austin asked.

KILL DINA, RESCUE OUR FRIENDS AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS TOWN, Fang snarled.

“You need proof first,” Jack protested. “You can’t just kill people because you suspect them of doing something.”

The voice of sanity. I hated sanity.

Austin looked confused, so Jack filled him in on what Fang had said. The cowboy didn’t say anything. He just looked at me with his eyebrows raised, as if silently asking me if I was really going to do this thing.

Crap. They were both right. I couldn’t stake her without proof. That would make me just as bad as those I fought. But what could I do?

“What can we do if he doesn’t show up at the club or call you?” Austin asked.

I didn’t even want to think about that. “We grab Dina and force her to tell us what’s going on.” I suddenly remembered something very important. “Wait. Maybe we
can
find them on our own.”

Fang’s head snapped toward me. HOW? he demanded.

I smiled. “Erica. She’s a finder and she owes us big time.” Shade had cured her inability to have children, and I’d been instrumental in making that happen. “She’ll help,” I said with certainty.

GOOD IDEA, Fang said. CALL HER.

I didn’t have her number, but Tessa probably did, and I had to break the bad news to her anyway. I dialed her number.

“Hi, Val,” Tessa said. “I was just going to call you. That guy whose wallet you called about, Adam Bukowski? He belongs to the Underground there in Austin.”

Everything bad seemed to point back to Dina’s organization. “Thanks, Tessa, but that’s not why I called. I have bad news.” I explained about the phone call and waited for Tessa to calm down. “I’m sure they’re still alive,” I assured her. “I just need Erica’s help to find them. Can you give me her number?”

“Sorry,” Tessa said. “But she’s not in town. She and her husband went on a cruise to celebrate her cure and make a baby. She didn’t take her cell and won’t be back until next week.”

I shut my eyes in frustration, then I remembered
her
ability. “You’re a soothsayer. Can’t you get a prophecy to find out where they are?”

“My gift doesn’t work that way.”

I knew she had no control over it, but… “Can’t you at least try?” I was desperate here.

She sighed. “Okay. I’ll let you know if I have any luck. Call me as soon as you know something.”

We hung up and I checked my phone to see if the kidnapper had called while I’d been on the phone. Nope. Now what? I glanced around and my gaze fell on my backpack. The books.

I dumped them onto the bed and grabbed one of the volumes, clutching it tightly. “Please, please, please, for your sake as well as mine, give me a power that will help me find them.”

Light glowed on one of the pages and I opened it, my hope rising. I read the page eagerly, then threw the book back on the bed with disgust. That again. “Paranoid much?” I asked the books, knowing it was useless and petty, but not caring.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

“It’s the spell to locate mage demons,” I bit out. As Jack had mentioned before, the books were more concerned about protecting themselves than about helping me. “No help there.”

BACK TO MY PLAN, Fang insisted.

“Okay,” I said. “We find a way to go after them after my phone is charged. I want to make sure it’s fully operational in case someone calls back.”

“You can’t just show up at the club with the books,” Jack protested.

I couldn’t stop pacing. “Yeah, I know. I have to leave them behind, so I’ll have something to trade once he assures me Micah and Gwen are safe.”

AND PRINCESS, Fang added, a dangerous edge to his voice.

“Of course, Princess, too.” I thought it went without saying.

Fang seemed mollified, so I added, “Jack, you’ll have to stay here.”

“Why?” he protested. “I can help. Give me something to do.”

I didn’t have time right now to worry about his need to be useful. “You can help by safeguarding the books. You said it yourself—I can’t take them with me.”