Blood Bath, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series Book 4) (8 page)

I didn't miss the fact he said
we
and wondered what Aidan had done to include himself. Cash apparently heard it as well and gave me a
fucking vampires
look. I gave him a swift kick in the shin under the table. I held my breath, afraid even the sound of air filling my lungs would bring him back to the present and the story to an end.

"He shouldn't have left her alone but he had no choice.
There was no one to look after her. He slaughtered every vampire he recently sired. At first I thought he did it to save himself, even back then I had a reputation. His little nest had drawn far too much attention from the town and the infamous Dr. Grant. Years later I understood why he destroyed his line.

“
He wanted no evidence of the true monster he was for Mercy to find. For their lives to be untouched by the ferocious vampires he had created in his likeness. So when she refused to hunt, the only thing he could do was bring blood to her. Grant discovered his identity and sought him out. Perhaps it was a rare lucid moment or a shred of her humanity responding to a familiar task that made her open the door- either way, it was to be her end.

"I should have intervened, stopped the necromancer but I thought it would be an entertaining way for my task to be completed. So I waited. I watched Grant work until the ho
rrific acts were too much for even me to witness. Do you know why we hate them, why most vampires fear them?"

I wasn't sure if I was actually supposed to answer. He looked at me expectantly, like he already knew what I was going to say and it
would be wrong. "Because they can raise the dead, they can control us.

"Not just control our minds but our flesh and bone. Grant tortured her, breaking bones, tearing flesh as fast as she heal
ed it. Until her lack of feeding and blood loss finally took its toll. And still he did not kill her.

“
Unable to stomach more I intervened. I think he would have left her that way, unrecognizable, unable to feed or heal herself but unable to die. I had Grant by the throat, ready to finish him, when Gaius came back with a young man no more than fifteen years of age in tow and under his thrall.

“
At the sight of his beloved, distorted and disfigured beyond repair, he became enraged. A newly made vampire in the throes of a blood lust could not hold a candle to the vampire charging toward us. I had gotten lazy and over confident, I didn't know the history then. I knew this vampire was old but that didn't necessarily mean strong. He was using a different name. I had no idea who I was up against until he hit me.

“
He didn't bother to ask who was responsible for what had been done to Mercy, he'd see us both dead. What he didn't know was that Grant was a necro. Pain racked Gaius's body and he crumpled to the floor. With power unlike any I had seen in his kind before, Grant held him, writhing on the floor and focused on me.

“
Never faced a vampire immune to necromancy before, he stumbled when I stepped toward him. I grabbed him by the lapels and wasted no time draining him of his power and blood with the screams of a no longer enthralled young man in my ears.

“
Weakened and vulnerable from the effects of Dr. Grant, Gaius could no longer control the mind of the young man so I was left to deal with the human. I turned to him, my shirt stained and no doubt mouth red with blood. Some things cannot be wiped away. I picked him up and did my best to ignore the fact he had soiled himself. I let the blood call to the predator within me and feasted upon the young man.

“
After making myself presentable and locking up my charge, I found the pastor. I brought him the now decapitated body of the young man and proclaimed he was a vampire. The parents protested but their young daughter was already showing signs of tuberculosis. The blood stains around her mouth were enough to convince their father, Isaac Johnson. We burned and buried the Johnson boy, and young Elizabeth followed a week later.

“
Dr. Grant was buried with his head facing west, ribs broken, femurs crossed in the shape of an X, as was the custom for necromancers, under an incomplete marker bearing the letters J B and nothing more."

"But what about the vampire? What happened to him," I asked, feeling like a child being told a terrifying bed time story.

"I brought Gaius Caligula Caesar before the Council. Agrona planned to make him personally responsible for Mercy's care for all of their unnaturally long lives but the other members, even Kedehern, demanded release for the innocent girl forced to become a vampire. Caligula was made to take her to meet the sun. He stayed with her longer than he should have. It took years to heal the burns."

"Where is he now? I need to talk to him."

Cash had been busy, his fingers flying over the keys on the laptop. "I think we should all have a history lesson before we talk to this guy."

"He's our only lead. We
are
talking to him."

Cash swung the laptop around and tapped the screen. "I didn't say we weren't, just
that you should gather your intel first. You need to know who you're dealing with in order to know how to negotiate."

"I'm not a noob, in case you forgot
, I used to interrogate people for a living. This is what I know how to do."

"And how's that been going for you lately? Because I kind of remember picking you up off the floor today only to have you pass out again in my arms." Cash didn't even glance at Aidan. He didn't have to. He hit his target.

I needed to figure out a way to stop this love triangle before it got started. Ignoring the problem would only make it worse. I had to talk to Cash. He deserved to hear it from me and I was going to tell him. As soon as we found the missing girls and our killer.

"I think that's because the girl was dead. I don't do so well with dead things." I closed my eyes. It was too late to take it back.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Cash gave me a wink and leaned back in his chair.

"Ah, yes. You'd much prefer she shopp
ed at Pet Smart, in the werewolf section, no doubt." Aidan glared at him.

Ready to get the conversation back on track I started reading aloud
from the profile Cash pulled up on Caligula from the Council's files. "This can't be right. Gaius Julius Caesar? Like ancient Rome? That would mean he's..." I  tried to do the math.

"Incredibly old and powerful. Which is why we are going to be sure he is involved before we barge in with guns bla
zing." I wasn't sure why Aidan was looking at me when he said that. Okay, maybe I deserved it a little.

"The necklace is enough to connect him to at least one of the girls. We
have to talk to the crazy bastard." Cash slid his chair closer so we could both look at the file. "Scroll down. See if there's an address."

"I said he was crazy not stupid. The words are not i
nterchangeable. He has not seen two millennia of sunsets by being the village idiot. And despite his past transgressions he is well received in vampire communities today, even the Council seems to have forgotten the incident in Willington. Though I doubt he has."

"So what's your plan? You want to invite him over for dinner and see if it comes up in casual conversation? How've you been Caligula? Things are good. I've been drai
ning girls and leaving them in their bathtubs. Would you please pass the o-neg?" Cash grabbed the mouse.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. For some reason I pictured Caligula in a toga, complete with sandals and olive branch crown sitting at my kitchen table. Aidan didn't seem amused. Maybe if I described the whole toga and sandals thing, nope even then he wouldn't have seen the ridic
ulousness of it.

"Do you trust me?"

I wasn't sure if that was a trick question. Did I trust him? With everything but my heart. I was happy he had come to his senses and that we were back on. Still, it was going to be a while before I stopped wondering if he was going to find another reason why walking away was better than being together.

"Yes." It was the only answer I could give but we all heard the hesitation in my voice. I saw the pain in Aidan's eyes and then the determination to undo the damage to our relationship. Cash sat back content to let Aidan set himself up. I sat up a little straighter and tried to convince everyone I meant what I said. "What do you have in mind?"

"Can you get us into the morgue?"

7

"This is a terrible idea, Aidan." I hated being in the morgue.

"
You said you trusted me."

"I do
, but you weren't here when I tried this previously. It kind of cemented the fact that I can't read dead people," I whined. During that whole debacle, I attempted to read a dead witch, whose hands and tongue had been cut off. Needless to say, it didn't go well.

"Not to mention I had an appointment to be here last time. You didn't tell me we were breaking in."

"
We're not breaking in. We're sneaking in."

"Semantics. I don't think the police will see much of a difference. I'm warning you, Aidan, it was really bad last time."

"The reason is there's too much death in a morgue for you to be effective. Your power is centered in the living world. You need to connect with someone whose power isn't."

"How do you know that?"

"Cash can't keep the technician distracted for long and Conry can't remain in his ethereal form forever. We don't have much time. I promise I'll explain later."

"Aidan." I hoped that one word conveyed the trouble he was in if he didn't answer me.

"You're not going to do anything until I tell you are you?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I was doing research about the Kellen factor and sort of stumbled across it. I was hoping to confirm it with your father."

"And you were going to tell me this when exactly?"

"I found out around the time Agrona told me they thought you'd outgrown your position as liaison and were considering making you a permanent part of my team. I just haven't had a chance to tell you."

"Oh I understand, not a minute to spare. You've been so busy making decisions and planning my life. How could you possibly find the time to discuss any of it with me
?"

"Maurin, please. I'm happy to let you berate me for something I have already apologized for, after we find out if Caligula truly is involved. Personally I find it a little too convenient for the necklace to be found among the girls b
elongings."

"
We're definitely not done talking about this, you can bet on that. And for the record, you apologized for dumping me without having the decency to talk to me about it. This? This is a completely separate mistake. That requires its own apology. And groveling. Lots of groveling. You know, you've been around a long time; I expected you to be way better at this relationship shit."

"Indeed. I
can't help it. I lose the ability to think clearly where you're concerned." He pulled me into his arms but I didn't give in to the embrace. Well, not right away. "Are you ready to give this a try?"

"Just tell me you didn't call Kellen." The fact that Aidan wanted to confirm anything with Arawn told me everything I needed to know about the Kellen factor. He kissed the top of my head, before walking down the hallway to the eme
rgency exit and pushing on the bar to open it. "I'm warning you, if Kellen walks through that door I'm staking you at sunrise."

When I saw who walked in I almost wished he
had called Kellen. Graive came through the door with Oberon in tow, their hands clasped. Well weren't they just the picture of perfect coupledom. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

I had gotten over the fact that Mahalia
- former high priestess and convicted attempted murderer - convinced Oberon to pursue me romantically to ensure my allegiance and the coven's seat on the Council. Graive had obviously gotten over the fact that he broke things off with her to do it.

But we were
all far from friends. I was still kind of hung up on the “killing me by demon” plot Mahalia concocted. The Council was convinced of their innocence in Mahalia's master plan but I was pretty sure if Graive knew about it she wouldn't have done anything to stop it. I think we all agreed Oberon's ethics were questionable at best. The coven's blind loyalty to Mahalia was why I had avoided them since her incarceration with the fae. That and some of her coven loyalists decided to shun me.

Amalie slipped through the door just before it closed and I was actually happy to see her. I knew she didn't have anything to do with Mahalia's plans. She declared it
often enough and I was being a royal bitch by lumping her in with the rest of them. I thought about what Cash said and how she had stuck up for me twice in the Daily Grind, even if it meant the shunning extended to her. I walked over, gave her a hug, and whispered an apology for being such a jerk in her ear. She squeezed back before letting go and wiped a gloved hand over her eyes.