Life Cycle (23 page)

“Please don’t tell me a boring story right now,” The
Cycler said. “I’m tired, and we’ve got what we came for. Let’s go
before our luck runs out.”

Hadrian turned the disc on the charm to the runic
combination that had appeared in the smoke earlier. The doorway
opened, and Jack passed through with Tam. The vampire backed away
and the shimmery film closed, leaving Hadrian safe with the portal
charm that would take him back home.

Chapter Thirteen

Cain was running late for the meeting. He’d stopped
to feed—anything to take his mind off the absolute possession he
felt toward the blonde witch in his dimension. Was this what Luc
had felt with Anna? If so, he finally understood why all his
warnings against it had meant nothing. This time, when he fed, he
hadn’t been able to kill the woman.

He couldn’t stop seeing Tam’s face and couldn’t stop
thinking about how disappointed she’d be in him and how much she’d
equate him with Jack if he took another innocent life.

When he reached the penthouse, Anthony and several of
the others were already on the roof, but they were still waiting
for Dayne and Greta and the vampire-priest guy. What was his
name?

As Cain reached the table, Cole said, “I still don’t
like it.”

Anthony rolled his eyes. “I’m sure Hadrian went
hunting. He knows what time the meeting is. I’m sure he’ll be back
soon.”

Hadrian. That was his name.

Charlee came up to the roof then with a small bundle
all swaddled up. Anthony kissed his mate’s forehead when she
reached him.

“You look tired,” he said.

The human shrugged. “It’s hard for me to sleep during
the days. She just goes... dead. Do you know how terrifying that is
for me?”

“Hush, now. It’s normal. It’s what happens to all
vampires. She can’t stay up during the day. It’s just the sun. When
the sun sets she always wakes up.”

“But what if she doesn’t? Watching your baby in her
crib barely breathing is unsettling. Haven’t you heard of
SIDS?”

He wrapped her in his arms and held her for a moment.
“You’re going to have to try to sleep today. You can’t keep going
on like this. Sit.” He pulled out a chair for her.

As she settled into it, the metal door clanged
against the brick wall and everybody’s head turned to it. The baby
started crying. Charlee glared, trying to settle her back down.

“Sorry,” Greta said when they reached the table. She
was so out of breath and flustered, her words came out in broken
stutters and pants. “D-Dayne’s been working on spells to figure out
something that was taken from our memories. I-it’s Hadrian. He’s
working with Jack. W-we did a spell on one of the victim’s blood
and we saw him, but Hadrian took our memories, mine with a spell he
forced Dayne to make, and Dayne’s with thrall.”

“That’s not possible,” Anthony said.

“Wake up,” Dayne said, reaching Greta’s side. “He’s
a traitor.”

“Why would he want our secrets revealed?”

Cole growled. “Maybe he doesn’t like what a control
freak you are.”

Anthony’s eyes glowed red. “Like The Cycler is any
better?! Does nobody care that I want to keep us all safe?”

“No!” They all yelled in unison.

“Please stop yelling, you’re upsetting the baby,”
Charlee said.

Their voices drifted past Cain as a dead calm came
over him. “Everybody shut the hell up. When was the last time
anybody saw him?”

“Before the meeting,” Cole said. “We were up here
talking. Anthony and I went inside to watch the newscasts he slept
through. Hadrian said he’d be right behind us, but never came.”

“Where’s your portal charm?”

“In my coat over there.” Cole’s face turned white.
“How could I know...?”

“Just check for it,” Cain said, not in the mood for
apologies or denials.

“It’s gone.”

It was an unnecessary statement. They’d all known it
would be gone even before Cole had moved to check his jacket
pockets.

“How long ago did all this happen?”

“An hour or so,” the wolf said.

Jane arrived then along with Luc and Anna, the metal
door against brick announcing their arrival. Nobody but Charlee
seemed capable of opening that door without banging it against the
wall.

“Well?” Cain said, still maintaining the calm. It
wasn’t that he didn’t care. He had plans to torture the life slowly
out of anyone who stood between him and Tam. His calm was due to
his certainty that bodies would drop and enemies would suffer.

“We did damage control as best we could,” Jane said
with a shrug. “We’ll just have to see how it takes.”

“Go back home and find out if Tam has been taken. If
she hasn’t, take her to the caves and guard her there. I’ll be
right behind you.”

“I knew you were using her. You don’t give a shit
about anything that happens to her,” Anna said, mistaking his calm
mask for indifference.

“GO!” he said.

Luc grabbed her arm and steered her toward the exit
before Cain lost his temper.

“Lucien?”

Luc turned. “Yeah?”

“I need heavy duty chains installed in the caves,
and the setup we do for a vampire. Can you take care of that for
me?”

The other demon nodded. Jane followed them out.

Cain turned to the sorcerer. “Can you locate the
vampire?”

“I’m not sure. I can try.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Charlee
said.

Cain turned to Anthony’s mate, an eyebrow raised,
waiting for an explanation.

“He doesn’t trust anybody. I don’t see why he’d
trust The Cycler any more. He’d go to his normal resting place if
he could get there. He doesn’t stay with us at the compound. He
stays at the Catholic church near the woods. In the basement.” She
passed the baby to Anthony, who couldn’t quite figure out how he
should be holding it, while she wrote down directions for Cain.

“Wouldn’t it be too risky to go there now? After his
betrayal?” the demon asked.

“He doesn’t know I know,” Charlee said.

Cain took the slip of paper and turned back to the
sorcerer. “Try to do that spell, anyway. If he’s not here, I need a
backup. Cole, go back to the hive and get another portal charm, I
want everyone here to meet up in my dimension in one hour. No
later. If Tam has been taken, we have to move on this.”

Anthony cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but I believe
I’m in charge.”

Cain rolled his eyes. “You gave up that right when
you let a traitor into the ranks. I’ve played along with your
king-of-the-hill routine for expediency, and mainly because I
really didn’t care that much when we started, but I’m running this
show now. Do you have a problem with that? In a couple of days, The
Cycler is going to kill her and put his plan in motion to enslave
us all. Would you like to run an election to see which one of us
should lead, or will you let someone with a little more life
experience take over?”

The vampire king growled but backed down. “Fine,” he
said between clenched teeth.

Cain didn’t wait for Cole’s agreement. He knew the
wolf was on board. After all, Jane was already headed back to the
demon dimension. He’d want to get back to his mate as quickly as
possible.

“Oh, and Anthony, I need you to come with me to
collect your traitor.”

“Why me?”

The demon shrugged. “You seem to think you’re the
biggest badass here, and I can’t get into a church. Besides, I
thought you’d want some personal time with the rogue priest,
considering he’s made a bigger fool out of you than anyone
else.”

The vampire king glared, but finally conceded. “Good
point.”

“Just don’t kill him. I have a lot of aggression to
get out,” Cain said.

The two of them shared a smile for
the first time. Despite their rocky beginnings, Cain could see
promise in him, even if he
was
a half-breed.

***

Cain hated that he had to rely on a vampire to get
Hadrian out of the church. It was complete bullshit that a vampire
was allowed inside, but a demon wasn’t. The tiny sliver of shiny
human inside the vampire made him still okay? Still acceptable in
the eyes of the man upstairs? Cain snorted in disgust. Anthony was
every bit as evil as he was. Probably more.

“Have something you’d like to share with the class?”
Anthony asked.

“Just go get him.”

The vampire shrugged and went inside. Cain stood by
the door, hating that he couldn’t go in there and kick an ass yet.
There was a chance Anthony could end up on the wrong end of the
stake, then what? Or Hadrian could. Then they were out the one
informant that could possibly help them find Tam before it was too
late.

He felt the stirrings of an emotion he hadn’t felt in
awhile. Guilt. What if she hadn’t been taken yet? What if she was
fighting for her life, and here he was staking out the vampire
priest’s church like an imbecile?

Twenty minutes later, Anthony had an unconscious
Hadrian in his arms. “He won’t stay out for long.”

“That’s fine. I don’t need long.” The portal point
was only a few blocks away.

***

Cain stood over Hadrian, his anger and fear for Tam
simmering underneath a mask of calm indifference. But he wouldn’t
show any of that to his captive. On the surface he would be cold,
empty. He had to maintain control for Tam’s sake.

The vampire priest slumped in a set
of chains, still unconscious. The demon looked over at the table
filled with instruments of torture. Something inside him jumped
with glee over the idea of having not only a half-breed, but a
former holy man in shackles.
It’s not
about that. Remember why you’re here.

Hadrian opened his eyes slowly, swaying a little as
his feet sunk into sand. His gaze darted around the cave, the
smallest hint of fear in his expression when he saw the demon. He
tugged at the chains, but they held strong. Luc had done a good job
installing them.

“It’s about time you rejoined us. I’ve got some good
news and bad news. Unfortunately, it’s the same news,” Cain said.
“Here in the demon dimension, you can’t go dead for the day. So if
you thought you just had to hold out a few hours before you got a
break from me, sorry to disappoint.”

He felt the demonic fire burn in his eyes and he
rolled right into the only question that mattered. “Where is
Tam?”

Hadrian looked at the ground, his jaw set in
determination.

“Hey, I love torturing people. I don’t get to do it
enough. You see, most of my time is spent in a pretty woman’s bed
seducing the life right out of her. It’s a bit more low key than
what I’ve got planned here. You can imagine my excitement over the
change of pace. I like to be gentle with the ladies, you see. So
I’ll ask again nicely. Where’s Tam?”

“She’s with Jack,” Hadrian said. It earned him a
hard punch in the jaw.

“Don’t be clever. I’m sure the difficult task of
thinking is a strain. You’re obviously not very bright to do what
you’ve done.” Cain wanted to shred the vampire like paper, peeling
strips of skin off one at a time. The vampire would probably
survive it. It would be interesting to find out.

Hadrian looked up. “Oh really? Because what I’ve done
is going to end Anthony’s control. Do you know he had plans in
place to put up barriers vampires couldn’t cross without
permission? Not just therians. And after that, do you think he
would have left you and the rest of the demons alone? Anthony likes
control. He likes to keep tabs on everybody and have tags and
numbers on them so he knows exactly where they are at all times.
Excuse me for not wanting to be a lab rat. I thought this vampire
gig was supposed to mean freedom.”

“You don’t think Jack would do the same?”

“I don’t think Jack
could
do the same. I’ve
spent a lot of time with him. He’s too crazy to be that organized.
That’s the point. I knew he was a nutter the second I met him. Why
do you think it’s taken him so long to take out his coven? Do you
really think he’s got the mastermind genius to be a threat over the
long haul? Anthony is the real threat. The most important thing is
to destabilize his control. Even if the cost is the humans finding
out.”

Cain nodded. If Tam wasn’t
involved, he might be on Hadrian’s side. But she
was
involved. “I don’t
disagree about Anthony. Unfortunately, you helped take something
that belongs to me and I’m very possessive. Demon occupational
hazard.”

The vampire rolled his eyes upward. “Oh my God. You
think you’re in love with her. That’s what this big torture
sequence is all about. It has nothing to do with being on Anthony’s
side or stopping a mad man. You just want the girl.”

It was the wrong thing to say. It was too much truth.
The demon ripped the fabric covering Hadrian’s torso, tearing away
the Roman collar with it. He smiled at the expanse of bare flesh he
was about to destroy. He wondered if the vampire would scar. Time
for more cutting and less talking.

He turned to his table of blades and clamps and
spikes and crosses, trying to decide what to use first. It allowed
him a moment turned away from the vampire to reign in his emotions
and push the firey glow from his eyes. He had to stay cold for
this. If he lost control he’d kill the vampire and never get to Tam
in time. Finally, when his breathing was back to normal, he chose a
thin, sharp blade. Jagged would hurt more, but he had plenty of
time to get to that.

He pressed and dragged the point across Hadrian’s
skin, slicing it like a ripened tomato. The skin flayed open, red
spilling out. The vampire hissed, but that was far from the worst
Cain had.

“Something I’m interested in,” the demon said
conversationally, “is what holy water does to a priest turned
vampire. I know what it does to a vampire, but perhaps you’re
immune. You do still wear your clerics, after all. Surely, living
and sleeping in that church, you’ve gotten curious. Maybe dipped a
finger in just to see? I know I’m curious, so let’s answer the big
question on everybody’s minds.”