Make Me (31 page)

Yeah, I could see how that would work. “I take it Dina wasn’t invited,” I said carefully.

“That bitch,” one dark-haired woman said, twisting a tissue in her hands. “She has hold of our men and won’t let them go. That’s why we’re meeting here today. We can’t take it anymore, and we want to find a way to stop her.”

I smiled. “Then we have the same goal. She has my boyfriend in her clutches, too.”

Beth nodded. “We all have husbands, brothers, sons who have either turned against us or gone missing. Micah said you know something about that?”

“I’m afraid we have bad news,” I said and glanced at Micah.

He told them what we’d figured out about Dina trying to make male demons into Memory Eaters, and the horrible consequences.

All the color drained from Beth’s face. “You mean my brother—” She stopped herself, then said, “The missing men… they’re all… dead?”

The rest looked as shocked as she, if not more so. “That’s one possibility,” I said gently.

An older woman glared at me through tear-filled eyes. “The only other possibility is madness. How is that better?”

I hadn’t said it was better or worse, but the poor woman needed to vent, and I was a convenient target, so I let it slide.

“Will they be able to recover?” another woman asked.

Micah shook his head. “I don’t know. But, to be completely honest, I doubt it.”

Blunt, but I had to admit that if I were in their place right now, I’d want to know the truth, too. Not listen to namby-pamby platitudes.

THEY NEEDED TO KNOW, Fang confirmed. AND THEY TRUST MICAH EVEN MORE NOW FOR TELLING THEM THE TRUTH.

That was good, at least.

“I knew it,” one woman said—Annie, I think her name was. Petite and fragile looking, she didn’t look old enough to have come into any powers. But I knew all too well that appearances could be deceiving. “When Dina wouldn’t let any women but her and me into the Naming Ritual which produced her name as leader, I knew something hinky was going on.”

“You’re a soothsayer?” I asked. At her nod, I added, “Of course. You wouldn’t remember what you said while in a prophetic trance. She could have lied about whatever you said.”

“Right. And the men present all swear I chose Dina.” Annie shook her head. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

Which led to my next question. “That’s true,” I said. “But a succubus or incubus can control the opposite sex only while in their proximity, not while they’re unconscious or sleeping. Dina should have lost control of them then, and they’d have regained their senses.”

“Wrong,” the older woman said. “Once she got her hooks into the men who were at the ritual, she had them twenty-four/seven.”

“That’s not possible,” I protested. I mean, I wasn’t Super Succubus or anything, but if I couldn’t do it, I didn’t know how she could.

“It’s true,” she insisted. The rest nodded to confirm she was telling the truth.

Were they all deliberately deluding themselves? I glanced at Micah for help.

He frowned. “Has she always had this ability?”

Annie shook her head. “Just for a few months. After our former leader died—under suspicious circumstances, I might add—Dina arranged for the secret Naming Ritual. It’s just too convenient that she was named leader.”

“I’ve heard of a way an incubus or succubus could extend their power,” Micah said thoughtfully. “But I always thought it was a myth.”

“What?” we asked in unison.

“My father used to tell me stories about an amulet, a stone, that would extend our powers. He said all you had to do was concentrate on the person you wanted to control and you could implant commands they would obey even beyond your normal range. Kind of like hypnosis, and it would work for a very long time.” He grimaced. “Of course, in the bedtime stories he told me, the succubi and incubi only used it for good.”

DINA PROBABLY HEARD IT AS A BEDTIME STORY, TOO, Fang said to everyone.

“But how would she have found such a thing?” I asked, bewildered. I wouldn’t know where to start to look.

“I think I know,” the older woman said. “Dina and her father were estranged. He was in another state—Montana, I think. She didn’t even attend the funeral when he died. But a couple of weeks after that, she got something in the mail from him. I remember hearing her say it was the only good thing he ever gave her.”

I leaned forward, intent. If Dina had this thing, I had to get it away from her. “Do you know what it was?”

“She didn’t say.”

“What else do you remember?” I asked Micah. “Did the story say what it looked like?”

He shrugged. “No, but an amulet is usually worn as a piece of jewelry, something held close to the body. She’d probably wear it all the time.”

“The crystal,” I exclaimed. “Every time I saw her, she was fondling that crystal teardrop.” I thought she’d been trying to draw attention to her boobs, but instead, she was controlling male boobs. “How long has she been wearing it?”

“A few months,” one of the women said, and the rest agreed.

Coincidence? Not.

The dark-haired woman with the shredded tissue stood up, looking determined. “We’ve got to get it away from her. Smash that thing to smithereens.”

“We’ll take care of that,” I said firmly.

“When?” Beth asked, and the others looked hopeful.

“Tonight, right after sundown,” I told them. “We have the help of some female vampires to take her then. They won’t be swayed by her, and we’ll make sure they get her crystal.”

They appeared doubtful, and Micah added, “Val’s right. The local vein of vampires has just as much incentive to want her stopped as we do.”

Yeah. No more Dina, no more chupacabras
.
And they could move on with their legislation.

“Will they kill her?” one hard-faced woman asked.

That idea even took me aback. “Uh, I don’t know. Depends on whether she resists or not, I guess.” Though it would solve some problems if they did ensure she never saw the light of day again. Wonder if I could plant a tiny suggestion in their ears.

THAT WOULD TEACH HER FOR STEALING YOUR BOYFRIEND, Fang said with amusement.

Oh, shut up.
I wasn’t going to do that, and he knew it.

“What about the men under her control?” Annie asked. “The vampires won’t hurt them, will they?”

“I’ll ask them not to,” I promised. Though I couldn’t swear it wouldn’t happen, not if Dina forced them to attack the vampires on her behalf. I turned to Micah. “What happens to the men if Dina dies? Will the stone still control them?”

“I’m not sure, but let’s hope her control would end with her death.”

Yes. Then Shade could return to his senses. I hoped.

“Why aren’t
you
helping the vampires with Dina?” Beth asked.

“There’s a rogue mage demon in town who has kidnapped one of our people. We set up a Naming Ritual tonight to lure him in.” I explained the situation to them. “You’re welcome to come, but if you do, be aware there may be danger.”

“I’ll help,” Beth said instantly. “It’s the least I can do after what you’ve promised to do for us.”

“Thank you.” A fire demon might come in handy.

“Me, too,” Annie said.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” I asked. The soothsayer looked like she’d break in two if someone looked at her.

“I’m sure,” she said firmly. “Where is it?”

Micah glanced at me. “Tessa was going to text you and David on where we’re holding it.”

I pulled out my phone. She had. “She reserved a pavilion in Mountain View Park in the Spicewood Springs area. She sent a map.” I opened it and showed it to them.

“Yes,” Annie said. “I recognize the area. Just north of the Bull Creek greenbelt.”

“Good,” Micah said. “We set the time for an hour after sunset. The weather is supposed to be a little warmer than normal, with no rain. We expect the attack to come then.”

“We’ll be there,” Beth promised.

“Thank you,” Micah said. “Now, we’ll leave you to your tea.”

It was probably cold by now, but I’m sure they didn’t care. Not when success was within their reach.

As I drove back to the blood bank, Micah asked, “Are you sure it’s wise to have those women attend? They could get hurt.”

“It’s their choice, and I gave them the option to stay home,” I reminded him. “You know, some of us frail womenfolk like to have a little more control over our destiny. We don’t always want to leave it to you big, strong men to take care of us.” I batted my eyes at him.

He grimaced. “That’s not what I meant. You’re trained and they’re not. Aren’t you worried about having to protect them?”

“Not really. We’ll way outnumber Asmodeus and Lilith. The women will be fine.”

“Ever heard that saying, ‘No battle plan survives contact with the enemy’?” Micah muttered.

“Don’t be such a negative nelly. Our plan will work.”

It had to. I couldn’t live with any other option.

Yeah, the past few days had brought it home to him. Micah hadn’t been able to keep the club profitable, hadn’t been able to prevent the mage demon from kidnapping and enslaving Gwen, hadn’t even been able to keep himself safe.

Fang snorted. YOUR FATHER WAS NO BUSINESS GENIUS, AND HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP HIMSELF OR GWEN SAFE EITHER.

What do you mean?
Hadn’t his father done an excellent job of running things?

SOMETIMES. BUT IF YOUR FATHER WASN’T GOOD AT SOMETHING, HE IGNORED IT OR PRETENDED EVERYTHING WAS HUNKY-DORY. THE CLUB DIDN’T DO AS WELL UNDER HIS GUIDANCE AS YOU THINK. OR THE UNDERGROUND.

Well, that was a revelation. Micah had always thought his father was the perfect leader. Why had no one told him this before?

NO ONE WANTS TO SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD… ESPECIALLY TO HIS SON.

Except David and Pia. They’d tried to pound some sense into Micah’s thick head and Micah had ignored them. Hadn’t wanted to accept that his father hadn’t been a visionary, because that meant he’d wasted his life in service to an ideal that hurt the people who trusted him.

YOU ARE YOUR FATHER’S SON, BUT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STRENGTHS. LIKE COMPASSION, HONESTY, INTEGRITY, AND COURAGE. NOT TO MENTION A WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS AND LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.

Maybe. Micah appreciated the pep talk, but he wasn’t convinced. Trust wasn’t easily earned after you’d lost it. The hell of it was, he hadn’t been ready to be a real leader the first time he was named. And now that he was ready, now that he understood the job, the Naming Ritual would confirm his suspicions that he’d waited too long to see the future. It was time for a new vision, a new leader. He’d accept whatever the decision would be.

WE’LL HOLD YOU TO THAT, Fang said.

They arrived back at the blood bank and Austin’s suite in time to make the rendezvous, meeting Dan at the elevator. David, Pia, the Memory Eater and Ludwig had already arrived, and Tessa had come up from San Antonio as well. Once everyone settled in Austin’s suite, Val told them what they’d learned.