Make Me (13 page)
Authors: Parker Blue
“They’re not here,” Gwen said quickly.
“Then where are they?” Carla snarled. “Tell me or you’ll regret it.”
Micah didn’t get a chance to find out what Gwen had in mind because a ball of furious fur came charging from the other room. Princess yelled, DON’T HURT MY FRIENDS! She clamped onto the woman’s ankle and bit down hard.
Carla yelped, but shook off the hellhound, then flicked the fireball at her. Micah snatched Princess out of the way just in time and beat out the flames on the rug before the idiot woman killed them all.
Gwen gasped. “Don’t hurt her, she’s pregnant.”
LET ME AT HER, Princess said with a snarl. I’LL TEACH HER—
“Quiet,” Micah told her, holding her tight despite her struggles. “The bad lady has a big nasty gun.”
And she’ll kill you as soon as look at you. Think of your puppies.
That made Princess stop struggling, but she didn’t stop growling.
“Did that dog just talk in my head?” Carla asked, looking surprised.
OF COURSE I DID. I’M A HELLHOUND.
For once, she hadn’t insisted on being a purebred spaniel.
The woman’s face split in a nasty grin. “Well, well. Would you look at that? I thought it was a rumor, but there really are hellhounds left in this world. We could use those puppies.”
I’D KILL THEM BEFORE I’D GIVE ANY TO YOU, Princess growled.
Watch it,
Micah warned her.
She might decide she doesn’t want a puppy after all. Then you’d be one dead hellhound.
Princess sniffed mentally. I ONLY SAID THAT TO YOU.
Good thing.
“Please,” Gwen said, “we don’t have the books.”
Carla scowled. “So it’s going to be the hard way, huh?” Almost nonchalantly, she shot Gwen in the chest with a quiet
pfft
, then before a horrified Micah could react, she shot him, too.
Stunned, Micah fell to the floor and everything faded to black
.
I arrived back at my room still ticked off at having to leave Shade behind. Jack, wisely, hadn’t said anything as we’d headed back to the blood bank, and I’d worked myself up into a good head of pissiness. Unfortunately, there was no one to take it out on.
Jack hurried to his room, and when I opened the door to mine, I saw Fang asleep on his back on the bed, all four fuzzy paws hanging limply above his distended belly. The almost empty pizza box on the floor told the story. He’d pigged out, the little mutt. I slammed the door and dumped my backpack on the bed.
Fang jerked and scrambled upright, looking frantically around the room. HUH? WHAT? WHERE’S THE DANGER?
“Me. I’m the danger,” I spat out. “I want to kill something.”
He backed up a step. THAT SOMETHING WOULDN’T BE YOUR FAVORITE FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND, WOULD IT?
“Maybe. I’m leaving my options open.” I paced around the small room, feeling caged and wanting to claw something.
But he could read my mind and knew I didn’t mean it. He relaxed and scratched his ear. WHAT’S GOT YOUR KNICKERS IN A TWIST?
“Dina Bellama and Shade.”
I didn’t have to say any more as I let Fang read my mind to learn what had happened.
Fang snorted in surprise. YOU LEFT YOUR HOTTIE BOYFRIEND WITH ANOTHER SUCCUBUS? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
“I was thinking I didn’t have a choice. He wanted to stay and I couldn’t force him to leave.” Well, Lola could have, but that would have been wrong. Not that I hadn’t thought about doing just that. For a brief moment. Then sanity had reigned as I’d realized I’d no longer have a boyfriend if I forced him to do what
I
wanted.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Good question. One I’d wrestled with on my stomp all the way back to the room. “I tried to call Micah to see if he could reason with Dina, but he didn’t answer. How can I get Shade out of there without pissing anyone off?” Or keep an eye on him so I wouldn’t worry. I stopped pacing for a moment. “You think David would help keep an eye on Shade?” I figured he owed me after that kidnapping stunt.
MAYBE. YOU COULD ASK.
Good thing we’d exchanged phone numbers. I called David and explained what was going on.
“You were right,” I told him. “There’s something odd going on here. This Bellama chick seems to have a tight hold on all the men in her group.”
“That’s new,” David said. “She didn’t before.”
“I wonder why she thinks she needs it?”
“Whatever the reason, it can’t be good. What’s Micah doing about it?”
I sighed. “I haven’t been able to get hold of him yet, but I left a message. I’m sure he’ll get back to me soon.”
“Hold on, let me talk to Pia.” After a few moments of silence, David came back on the line. “We’ll ask around, see what we can find out… and keep an eye on Shade for you. He’s one of the good guys. I’ll let you know if I learn anything.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I hung up and Fang flopped back down on the bed. SO, WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
I continued pacing, thinking. “The best way to get Shade out of her clutches is to find what’s really causing those attacks so we can go home.”
I’M IN. WHERE DO WE START?
I halted abruptly and made a decision. “We start with Austin.” The cowboy, not the city. “Hopefully, he’ll be through with his party.” It was still a long time until dawn.
I grabbed the backpack and took the stairs up.
Fang followed, complaining. EVER HEARD OF THIS NEW INVENTION CALLED AN ELEVATOR?
“Too slow,” I told him. “Besides, you need to burn off some of that pizza, chubbo.”
Fang burped but came along anyway, grousing the whole time.
I could use some way to work off this mad, so I pounded on Austin’s door as Fang collapsed on the floor with a groan.
Austin opened it with a jerk, wearing low-riding jeans, no shirt, and toweling his damp hair. Dang. Lean, yet muscled, and wearing nothing but those jeans, he could’ve been a male model in a Calvin Klein ad.
Lola liked.
In fact, she wanted to reach out and touch… real bad. She even sent a few tendrils that way, but no way was I giving that cowboy any more ammunition against me. I reined her in, tight. It was tough to do since I stupidly hadn’t let Lola top off her tank lately. I’d hated to take advantage of Shade by feeding on him too often, but now I was paying the price.
“Geez, Austin, put a shirt on,” I snapped.
He raised one eyebrow and a corner of his mouth quirked up as he leaned against the door frame. “I just got out of the shower. You’re lucky I put on pants. Where’s the fire?”
Annoyed by his amusement, I said, “I thought you were all hot to find these chupacabras
and your friend Wes. Let’s go.”
“Did you have some place particular in mind?”
I averted my gaze so Lola wouldn’t be tempted by the eye candy. It was disturbing feeling this way about a vampire. “Uh, the scene of the crime. Maybe we can learn something the police didn’t. Fang has an excellent nose.”
Fang belched again. SO LONG AS FANG DOESN’T HAVE TO WALK.
I ignored him.
Austin nodded. “Good. Lisette gave us information on where the attacks took place. Let’s see what we can find out.” He put on his shirt, boots and hat, and we headed out the door.
Now that we were actually doing something, I felt my anger fade.
I navigated using the map Lisette had provided, and Austin drove northwest of the city, out into hill country. Fang, the big load, commandeered the backseat to take another nap.
“So, how’s the boyfriend?” Austin asked.
I winced. Trust him to find a sore spot. “Fine,” I replied in a tone that didn’t encourage further discussion.
It didn’t stop Austin. “Had a fight, did you?”
“No.”
“Then what’s put you in this foul mood?”
I sighed heavily. “I visited the Demon Underground in Austin. Let’s just say they didn’t exactly welcome me with open arms.”
“Is that all?”
“No. Their leader, Dina, wanted to take the books from me, saying there was a mage demon in the area and she wanted to ‘protect’ them.” I shook my head. “There’s something hinky going on there, but I don’t know what.”
Austin was silent for a moment, then said, “You think she might have something to do with this chupacabra scare?”
I thought for a moment. It would tie things up very neatly if she were the bad guy and I could stop her and take Shade back all in one fell swoop, but… “I doubt it. There are demons missing as well.”
We were silent for the rest of the drive to Bull Creek District Park. The parking lot was deserted at this time of night, and as I got out of the car and peered into the dark woods, I asked, “Got a flashlight?”
Austin closed the driver’s door. “Nope, don’t need one. Don’t you carry one around in your handy-dandy slayer kit?”
All I had in my “kit” were the extra stakes I tucked in the back of my waistband, plus the books and other odds and ends in my backpack. I resisted the urge to punch him and just stared at him, my jaw set.
He shrugged. “Let’s check the trunk.”
Luckily, the trunk held a few tools, including a flashlight, so I grabbed it. “Okay, where to now?”
He consulted his notes and pointed to a trail. “Take that one down to the creek.”
Fang took off in that direction, his nose low to the ground. “Smell anything?” I asked.
LOTS OF THINGS. TOO MANY. HUMANS, DOGS, DEER… THEY’RE EVERYWHERE. THIS MUST BE A POPULAR PLACE.
I relayed his comments to Austin, who nodded. “Very popular. During the day, lots of hikers, dog lovers, kids.”
“And at night?”
“Let’s just say there’s an unsavory element at night.”
“Like vampires?”
He chuckled. “Or demons.”
WHY DO YOU EVEN TRY? Fang asked, his nose still to the ground. YOU CAN’T EVER GET THE BEST OF HIM.
I let that pass and glanced around. “I don’t see anyone.”
Austin shrugged. “Maybe because of the news reports of chupacabras in the area.”
That made sense, but I was going to keep a wary eye out just in case. We followed Fang down to the creek. It was cooler here, and I wished I’d worn a heavier vest. The area around the gravel path was dense with juniper and oak, the darkness making it creepy. I heard the water before I saw it, and though some rocks in the creek dripped with icicles, the water still flowed. I bet this was gorgeous on a balmy spring day. Now, in the darkness with only a flashlight for illumination… not so much.
Austin stopped to consult his notes again. “A coyote was found drained of blood over there.”
I went in the direction he pointed, toward a huge oak tree. I shined my light on the area, but the coyote had been removed. I couldn’t see much except trampled brush. Austin could see better in the dark, so he bent down to examine the area.
“Find anything?” I asked.
“No. Too many people and animals have been in this area to distinguish any prints.”
Just what Fang said.
Speaking of Fang, where was he? He’d evidently followed his nose elsewhere.
I SMELL SOMETHING OVER HERE. TO YOUR LEFT.
“Fang smells something,” I explained to Austin. “What is it?” I asked Fang.
SOMETHING DEAD.
Oh, fabulous. Sure, I made bloodsuckers dead on a regular basis, but I didn’t have to stick around long enough to actually smell them. And, as we shoved our way through the brush, the closer we got to Fang’s find, the more I got a good whiff. Make that a bad whiff.
Phew
.
“A deer,” Austin said unnecessarily, gazing down at the dead animal.
He bent down to examine it while I played my flashlight over the body in the trampled brush. It looked as though it had been dead a week or so. Too bad this winter hadn’t been cold enough to freeze it. As Fang sniffed the deer, I remembered what I’d heard about dogs.
“Don’t go rolling in that smell,” I warned him.
He cocked his furry head to look up at me. PUHLEEZE. I’M A HELLHOUND. I DON’T HAVE THOSE PRIMITIVE CANINE INSTINCTS.
“Well, excuse the heck out of me. How would I know that?”
They both ignored me as Austin continued to examine the deer and Fang wandered away.
Austin rose, dusting off his hands. “Three bite wounds, all different.”
“Vampire?”
He settled his hat more firmly on his head. “Yep.”
There was pain in that simple word. “Different? You mean three separate vampires?”