Blood Magic by Laken Cane

Chapter Fourteen

I wasn’t sure what we could do against the county master. But I did know one thing. I had to stop him if he was shading the humans. And I had no reason to believe that he wasn’t. Sara Simon had told me exactly what they were doing. Paul Ferguson had told me, as well.

What I needed was a supernatural…cop. “I guess you’re it, girl,” I muttered. But I had no power over the vampires. I could tell them what to do all night long. That didn’t mean they were going to listen.

Lucy arrived at the office at two-thirty on the dot. She flirted with Joe, but only a little. She was too nervous about the upcoming appointment at the tattoo shop.

“Oh my God,” Max said, when he found out she was getting a tattoo. “I have five tattoos. After you get one, you’re going to want more.” He looked at me. “Let me take her.”

“That’s up to Lucy,” I said.

“Do you want me to take you?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “If you want to. I’m going to be scared shitless either way.”

He took her arm. “I know it’s scary, but once they start, you’ll relax—I promise. I was afraid for my first tattoo, as well.”

“Really, Max?” she asked.

“Uh-huh. I was thirteen, and—”

“You were thirteen!” Their voices faded as they walked from the office, and I swear, Lucy seemed less scared already. I texted Max the directions to Kassandra’s shop, then texted Kass to let her know someone else would bring Lucy in.

I texted Max a reminder to talk to Lucy about the serial killer, as well. This was not the time for her to be going to bars and picking up dates. She might find herself picking up a murderer.

I’d planned on heading to Alexandria to visit the county master’s place, but for the next two hours, there was a steady stream of visitors to the office, and Joe and I had our hands full.

Nearly all of them wanted their houses cleansed, but there were a couple who were only curious and one who asked me to tell her fortune. Joe sent her on her way, but nicely.

And as I’d figured, by the time things calmed down, it was dark. Well past dark, actually. Lucy and Max returned, and Lucy was all smiles as she showed me the small anti-possession tattoo Kassandra had placed right below her collarbone.

“And Max was right,” she said, happily. “I’m already thinking of getting another.”

Joe and I were on the sidewalk heading toward my car when the vampire we’d dug up appeared suddenly in front of us. I automatically reached for my demon blade, and Joe tried to insinuate his big body between me and the dead guy. “Joe,” I hissed. “Stop doing that.”

The vampire’s face was completely blank and his eyes were empty, but he looked a thousand times healthier than he had the night before. He’d been a good-looking man when he’d turned, though I had trouble seeing anything but the way he had looked as he’d flung himself at me, trying desperately to feed on my blood. And I could not stop my shudder.

He noticed, of course he did, but his expression never changed. “We should talk.”

I nodded. “We can talk in my office.” I turned and walked to the building, but not until he was at my side. I did not want him at my back. Joe strode behind us, and after we went into my office and shut the door, he stood against the wall, his fingers casually brushing his holstered gun.

I made a mental note to give the man a couple of stakes.

I sat down behind my desk and gestured for the vampire to sit in one of the two chairs in front of it. “My name is Kait Silver,” I said. “This is Joe Patrick.”

He gave Joe a nod before putting his eerie stare back on me. “I am Bastien Martel. Thank you both for freeing me.”

“You’re welcome. There was a girl who asked me to help you. She said you could tell me what’s going on with the master. That he’s shading humans.”

“Her name is Farrow, and the master is doing more than shading,” he said. “He is learning to mind-control humans.”

I nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of.” I studied him for a moment, then, “The question is, how do we stop him?”

“You must go over his head.”

I leaned forward and clasped my hands on top of the desk. “The Council? I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to contact one of them.”

He shook his head, and his long, dark hair, silky and shiny, fell over his slender shoulders. “Nor would I. But there are representatives. I cannot go to them because Frederick would stop me before I got near them. But you can. You can bring them in.”

“I can’t believe that they wouldn’t know already,” I said, my voice as expressionless as his.

“The Council and their representatives police every coven in the United States, Ms. Silver. They do not know things automatically. They must be told. Clinton County coven is not large, and we are not on their radar.”

“If Axton succeeds in his quest to control humans,” Joe growled, “I bet you’ll be on the council’s radar real damn fast.” Then he shook his head. “I miss my blissful ignorance. Vampires.” He shook his head again.

“Okay then,” I told Bastien. “Tell me how I can reach someone, and I will call them right now.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy. I have a number that I can give you, and it will get you to someone who can talk to someone who can talk to someone…” He shrugged. “Eventually your message will reach someone higher up. Maybe that person will call you. Maybe, if they’re interested enough, they’ll show up on your doorstep. There are no guarantees, but it’s a start. And it’s the only one we have.”

“That sounds like a lot of red tape and politics,” Joe grumbled. “You’re a hunter, Kait. Grab your machete and your stakes and take the bastard out.”

I snorted. “I wish it were as easy as that. Bastien, you don’t happen to know where Axton will be sleeping tomorrow, do you?” I didn’t wait for his reply, as I already knew the answer to that question. “I can’t just go in and take him out when he’s awake. His people would kill me before I got close. I’m good, but…”

“But no one is that good,” Bastien finished.

I nodded. “I’m going to have to track him, find his resting place, and kill him while he sleeps. And right now, that seems pretty damn impossible.”

Lesser vampires could be caught because they didn’t have the protection Axton had. They liked to party, too, and they could be found in clubs looking for a donor or for a girlfriend or boyfriend they could “date” regularly, though not many humans would be fooled for long.

If Axton succeeded in his efforts to go beyond the shading, then anything could happen.

Bastien leaned forward. “Stake out Scarlett’s,” he murmured. “Of the master’s clubs, it is his favorite. Sometimes he goes there to…” He shrugged. “He may be there tonight, or he may not enter the club again for weeks. Eventually, though, you will find him there.”

I slapped my desk, causing Joe to jump. The vampire, however, never so much as twitched. “You could have led with that, Martel.”

“I do not believe you will be admitted into Scarlett’s. If you are…” He hesitated. “The vampires are aware of what you are, Ms. Silver. Scarlett’s is not safe for you. And it will not be any easier to get to the master there than it would be if you attacked his home.”

I narrowed my eyes. “There’s another reason you’re reluctant for me to take him out at Scarlett’s. What is it?”

For the first time, his stare wavered. “If there is a battle at Scarlett’s, Frederick Axton is not the only one who will get hurt.” He shrugged. “It is more than likely he is not the one who will get hurt at all. But there are others there who will. If you go in, it will get bloody.”

I understood. “There are people inside you care about.”

He stood. “Scarlett’s is a special club. There are more vampires inside than humans. It has long been considered one of our…safer places. I want to see Frederick stopped before he destroys us all, but that does not mean I am not a vampire. Once you infiltrate Scarlett’s, it may cease to exist. That will be a black night for all of us.”

He walked out, leaving me staring silently after him.

Joe walked to the window. “Is he a good guy or—”

“No,” I said. “He’s a fucking vampire, Joe. There are no good guys when it comes to vampires. They eat humans. Their brains don’t work like ours. They live too long and see too much to be good.” I sighed. “He wants our help to take out Axton, but you can bet he has a bigger motive than protecting humans and worrying that the world will discover vampires are real.”

“What can be bigger than that?”

“I don’t know. But don’t ever trust a vampire.”

“Trust them? I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that they exist. Doesn’t matter what I saw.”

“Understandable. I’m surprised you’re not curled up in a corner sobbing.”

He frowned. “You see me as the type of man who would sob? What the fuck, Kait?”

I waved a hand. “Not literally, Joe.”

He only glared.

“Anyway,” I said, eager to change the subject before I insulted him further, “I’m going to have to start visiting Scarlett’s, let them get used to seeing me.”

“As the vampire said, apparently they know you. They’re not letting you in.”

I nodded. “Vampires make it a priority to learn early on who their threats are. They’ll know who Remy Simon is, as well.” I squinted at the ceiling, thinking. “I have to get inside.”

“You could wear a disguise.”

“I thought about that, but I’m honestly not sure that’d work. I’m pretty sure they’d scent my—” Oh hell. One of these days, I was going to fuck up and tell the world I was a wolf. “My…particular scent.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “They’d scent your scent?”

My cheeks heated and I busied myself looking in my desk drawer for nothing. “Shut up.”

Max opened my office door and hurried into the room, a little paler than usual. “You have a visitor, Kait, and you’re not going to like who it is.”

“Fuck.” I got to my feet and clutched the handle of my demon blade for comfort. “Remy Simon?”

He nodded. “Remy Simon.” His eyes bulged slightly and he pursed his lips, waving his hands somewhat frantically. “Lucy is currently out there flirting with him?”

“All right,” I said. “Send him in.”

“I’ve got your back,” Joe said. He hurried to stand at the wall behind me. “And I have a gun. I’m not above shooting the son of a bitch if he gets out of line.”

“Thanks, Joe.” I sat back down and waited for the boogeyman to walk into my office. Deep inside, my wolf growled. She had my back, as well.

I’d never been close to Remy. Had never even seen him in person. In my mind, I’d built him up to be this huge presence with an overwhelming ability to make people piss their pants just by looking at them.

I was just a little taken aback—and maybe the tiniest bit deflated—when Simon first walked into my office. He was around six feet tall, had perfectly styled, short brown hair, and a slate-gray smoldering stare that said he was sexy and he knew it. He was dressed in a beat-up brown leather jacket, a dark green shirt left unbuttoned over a black t-shirt, and worn jeans.

He did not look like the boogeyman. He did not feel like the boogeyman.

Relieved and slightly ashamed of myself, I stood and walked toward him, smiling. I held out my hand. “Mr. Simon. I apologize for not returning your…uh…text. Please, have a seat.”

He shook my hand. “Sorry for barging in, Ms. Silver, but I wanted to talk to you about my dead sister.” He returned my smile, and I froze. There was the boogeyman. He’d been hiding, but he couldn’t stay hidden for long. Not from my wolf.

He kept hold of my hand for too long, his smile dimming as he probed my face with his scary stare.

I pulled my fingers from his and returned to my chair, a little less cocky than when I’d left it. “Sit,” I said, no longer smiling. “How can I help you?”

He sprawled in one of the chairs. “Well, seeing as how you anonymously called me up to tell me where my sister was buried and claimed to have talked to her after she died…” He gave a shrug and an exaggerated good ol’ boy grin. “You can see why I might be curious and interested in discussing the situation further.”

I leaned forward. “And I’m sure you can see why I’d want to keep what I do under wraps.”

“You have a sign on your door,” he pointed out.

“Only announcing that I cleanse spirits from houses and investigate the paranormal. It’s how I make my living. If word got out from a reliable source that I legitimately communicated with people who’d passed, my life would be over.”

“You exaggerate. My sister’s life is over—because she’s dead. You might experience some inconvenience.”

Anger surged inside me and I clenched my fists, then forced myself to calm before I spoke again. “Mr. Simon. What do you want? As much as I’d like to waste more time sparring with you, I have work to do.”

“Why did they kill her?” His voice went flat and his eyes darkened, and once again, his façade melted away and I saw the killer inside him.

I considered my options, and I made a snap decision. Maybe I’d regret it later, but I’d rather have Remy Simon as a friend than an enemy, and I knew one way I might achieve that. “That’s one of the things I’m working on. The Clinton County master is a man named Frederick Axton. Most vampires can shade humans, as you know, but this man has somehow figured out how to go beyond that. What he’s doing is…” I shook my head, searching for the right words. “Hypnotizing them. Mind-controlling them. Not just making them forget so he can feed but making them obey his commands. He’s been practicing, and humans are disappearing—and dying. I was hired recently by a man who believes his wife was taken by vampires. I believe Axton is using her to kill humans.” I softened my voice. “Sara was a victim of one of his victims.”

I paused to give him a moment, and when he said nothing, I continued. “She told me the woman he’d forced to kill her was a puppet. She was unaware she was attacking Sara. Your sister told me that it was like the woman wasn’t even there. I think he also gives them extra strength, as hard as that is to believe.”

Abruptly he stood, and I couldn’t help but recoil. He was like a tall, sinister shadow looming over me.

“You want to work together to take his motherfucker down?” he asked.

I blinked. “Yes. I do. I could use the help of another hunter.”

He studied me for a few moments, his stare sharp. “You’re a hunter.”

I couldn’t tell if there was mockery in his tone, but I thought that yes, there probably was. No matter. Bastard would find out soon enough that I could hold my own against the monsters.

Before I could say anything, he grinned. “I’m sure you’ll be of some help. You have connections here. Let’s see what you can do to impress me, Ms. Silver.”

Behind me, Joe snorted. I’d nearly forgotten he was there. “Before this is over, bud, you’ll be wondering what you can do to impress her. You’re the one who needs to prove himself.”

Remy didn’t lose his smirk. “Boyfriend?”

“No thanks,” Joe said calmly. “I already have one.”

I laughed. “This is Joe Patrick. He works here.”

“Ah,” Remy said. “One of your goons.”

Joe took a step toward the other man, curling his fists, eager and mean. I knew the feeling. I shot out a hand to stop him. “Not yet, Joe.” Then I looked at Remy. “I sincerely hope your reputation is not entirely exaggerated, Simon, and that you’re more than just another asshole. I’ll give you one chance to work with me. If you fuck up, you’re off the case.”

He didn’t laugh. “I know enough to investigate on my own.”

I inclined my head. “And you’re more than welcome to try.” Then I grabbed my keys from my desk and strode to the door. “One fucking chance.”

Max was hurrying back to his desk, the little eavesdropper. There was no sign of Lucy. “Um?” Max called, as Remy, Joe, and I walked from the office.

“Close up and go home, Max,” I called as I walked to the door.

My voice was calm and smooth. Remy Simon might give me nightmares, but he was never going to know it.

And it looked like I had a new partner.

For now.