The Entity Within (24 page)

“And a hybrid druid,” Zoe agreed. “It’s no contest. Right, Pat?”

“Right. No contest. The demons would win,” Pat said.

Zoe blinked. “What?”

“If the demons get their hands on the Book of Darkness, they win.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because they can call forth billions of demons.”

“They can do that by themselves?” Zoe said.

“With the book and a special witch,” Pat said.

“You mean Gram?” Zoe said.

“Or you.”

“I didn’t open the book.”

Pat looked Zoe in the eye. “Did you touch it?”

“Yes, but—”

“There are no buts,” Pat said.

“We never saw that book before,” Zoe said. “Why did it show up here and now all of a sudden?”

“Maybe Silas maneuvered what happened in Boston so you would come here to join Damon and me.”

“Why? And how could he even do that?”

“I don’t know,” Pat admitted. “We’re still trying to put this intricate puzzle together, and it’s got so many pieces that it is turning out to be quite difficult.”

“That’s an understatement. And what do all the Latin sayings have to do with this mess? I thought maybe it was a message from my mom telling us how to find the missing spell book but Gram said it was black magic. She stopped me from stringing them together because she said they created a black magic incantation that way. But then on second thought she wasn’t sure it was black magic. I figured it wasn’t worth taking the risk until we learn more.”

“Smart move,” Pat said. “We have to be careful not to make a bad situation worse. Which is why I didn’t approve of Damon’s plan.”

“What plan?” Zoe said.

Damon’s expression hardened. “The one where I go into the tunnels and simply destroy the demons.”

“Except there’s nothing simple about this situation,” Pat said.

“There never is,” Damon said.

“Even you have to admit that Silas is different. He’s more powerful than any demon you’ve ever had contact with before. The readings Neville is getting are off the charts,” Pat said.

“What readings?” Zoe asked.

“It’s like a Geiger counter for demon strength instead of radiation. That’s what Nick told me,” Daniella said.

Zoe shot Damon a look that said,
See, some vampires share information with others.

“The readings could be wrong,” Damon said. “This isn’t an exact science.”

“It’s as close to it as we can get right now,” Pat said. “And there’s still the matter of the missing book. It has the power to release more evil than we can even imagine.”

“I don’t know. My imagination is pretty good,” Gram said.

So was Zoe’s, only hers had been filled with images of Damon, not demons. At least since her nightmare last night.

“I need to get back to my shop,” Daniella said.

“There are things I need to take care of as well,” Pat said.

“Me too,” Gram said.

A few seconds later, Zoe was alone with Damon in her workroom. No amount of lavender could keep her calm when he was so close by. Would she be feeling the same way had the adrenaline surge of danger not been present?

Probably. Because Damon had presented an aura of danger before demons were involved. From that very first meeting she’d sensed the threat he’d presented to her peace of mind.

So what now? Other than the fact that she and Damon couldn’t have sex, what was the plan?

Find the book, kill the demons. Right. But
how
?

“What now?” Zoe asked.

Damon’s deep blue eyes flared with anger. “I have no idea what any of this means and I hate that.”

“I’m not real fond of it, either,” she said.

“This is not how I work,” he said.

“How do you work?”

“Alone.” Turning on his heel, he walked out, leaving Zoe alone.

*   *   *

“Fear me if you dare!”

Damon came downstairs to find Bella repeating lines from the animated movie on the TV. She stood with two paws on the arm of the weird chair with the words written on it, her face inches from the screen.

“She’s watching
Puss in Boots,
” Gram said as she entered the living room. “It’s her favorite movie.”

“Along with
Magic Mike,
” Bella said.

“Where did you get that chair?” Damon asked.

“A beau gave it to me,” Gram said. “It’s one of a kind from a French designer who has made quite a name for himself in Paris. His work is shown in museums and art galleries. He thinks art is too esoteric so he makes his art functional as well. The feet are carved to resemble pencils.”

Damon moved closer to the piece of furniture. The off-white upholstery was filled with a variety of words in different languages and fonts. “Was your beau a warlock?”

“If you’re asking if the chair is magical, then no, I don’t believe so.”

“You don’t believe so?”

“One can never be sure about these things,” Gram said.

Damon swore in Latin.

“I understood that,” Gram said.

“So did I,” Bella said. “Go away. You’re disturbing me.”

“Tough shit,” Damon growled.

“I believe they have medication for that,” Bella drawled. “Stool softeners or laxatives might help you with your problem.”

Damon hated sitting around like this with a smart-ass talking cat and an elderly witch. Being cooped up was driving him nuts. He needed to kick some demon ass.

What if Pat was right? What if Silas was one of the demons who had tortured Damon during his short sojourn in hell? What was his purpose in showing up now after all this time? Eve’s betrayal and the subsequent trouble had occurred over a hundred years ago. Why come after him now?

That was assuming that Silas was after him. Maybe that wasn’t the case.

Damon tried to remember his time in hell, but it was a bloody blur. He could remember every minute of his time in Gettysburg, which was a hell of its own.

Maybe Simon would know. Damon had tried to get in touch with his sire but hadn’t received a response so far. Which wasn’t like Simon.

Damon’s smartphone beeped, indicating an incoming email. Neville had sent him a transcript of the conversation between Zoe and Daniella from a few minutes ago.

He read at vamp speed. One line stood out. Zoe saying,
How can I have this incredibly powerful attraction to Damon yet he aggravates the hell out of me?

He had the same question himself. How could he have this powerful attraction to the sexy little witch and her striking eyes when she aggravated the hell out of him?

And what was the deal with Daniella’s premonition? He couldn’t have sex with Zoe or Vamptown would go up in flames? What was that about?

He couldn’t believe Zoe had said what she did knowing that she was under surveillance. But he knew firsthand that it was easier than you’d think to forget. Especially when the distraction was so strong.

This morning, Daniella’s declaration about her premonition had probably rattled Zoe. Last night, her nightmare had rattled her. And last night, Zoe had rattled him.

Damon didn’t like being rattled. It could result in death for a vampire let alone a vampire Demon Hunter.

As if on cue, Zoe came downstairs. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail; her bangs brushed her eyebrows. Her red
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
T-shirt cupped her breasts while her black pants hugged her hips. She still wore the bangle she’d had on yesterday. The sight of it reminded him of her hands on his body, of her curves pressed against his erection.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

Damon was hungry, too. He’d fed on blood yesterday so he didn’t need more. He needed Zoe, naked on those white sheets in that big bed of hers, her legs curved around his waist as he drove into her. There was so much he could teach her about pleasure.

She stared at him with those remarkable eyes of hers. One green. One blue. Was she focusing on his mouth? Was she thinking about him drinking blood or was she remembering their hot kiss in the middle of the night?

The fact that he was a vampire hadn’t seemed to bother her then. But the fact that she was a witch hadn’t bothered him then, either.

Upstairs in her workroom, he’d been surrounded by so many scents. His vamp senses intensified sight, sound, and smell. Now he associated all those smells with her. Lemon, lavender, cinnamon, apple, and others that he couldn’t name, but they all had a certain intoxication.

As did Zoe. He could hear the beat of her heart, sense the blood pulsing through her body. The predator within him urged him to possess her.

The opening notes of
Phantom of the Opera
floated up from the vent in the floor. A second later the music abruptly stopped and flames shot up from the vent.

“Fire!” Bella howled and flew upstairs.

Neville’s voice came through the surveillance system a moment later. “It’s happening all over Vamptown.”

Gram stood and immediately cast a spell.

Fire, fire, this is dire.

Magic and lore,

Flames no more.

The flames continued.

Gram frowned. “That should have worked. Zoe, you try.”

Zoe repeated the spell. The flames continued and were getting dangerously close to the drapes.

The possibility of the house burning down was not one Zoe was willing to accept. There had to be another way …

Zoe pictured the item needed in her mind and a moment later it appeared. A fire extinguisher.

Damon grabbed it and aimed it at the flames.

“What about the rest of Vamptown?” Zoe asked.

“The vamps all have fire extinguishers.”

“Daniella’s cupcake shop?”

“Has extra fire extinguishers,” Damon said.

Gram opened the windows to let the smoke out and the fresh air in.

Pat was in their living room an instant later. “This is getting dangerous.”

“The flames were put out,” Damon said.

“This time.” The words came from Tanya. She stood just inside the doorway with two vampires by her side. “Who knows what will happen next? We can’t take the chance. The witches have been called before the Vamptown Council for immediate action.”

Chapter Twenty

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Gram said.

“What does ‘called before the council’ mean?” Zoe asked.

“It means you are both to haul your asses over there immediately,” Tanya said.

Zoe shot a nervous glance at Damon. “You’re not going to grab me at vamp super speed, are you?”

“No.”

“And no other vamps are going to try to grab us and do that, right?”

“There won’t be any grabbing going on,” Pat said.

“Unless you fight the order.” Tanya looked like she was hoping Zoe and her grandmother would do just that.

“We’re not fighting. I’m just trying to understand what is happening,” Zoe said. “Where are we supposed to be going?”

“For security reasons we will be having the meeting in Nick’s bar,” Tanya said.

“Where is Nick?” Zoe demanded.

“Waiting for us in the bar,” Tanya said. “Along with the rest of the Vamptown Council.”

“How many are in this council?” Zoe asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Stop stalling.” Tanya nodded to the two vampires by her side. “Take them.”

Damon stepped in front of Zoe. “I told them there would be no grabbing. They can accompany you without force.”

Zoe saw Bella and Morticia in the shadows at the top of the stairs.

Stay here
. She sent the telepathic message to Morticia and prayed that Bella would pick up on it as well.

“This isn’t really my going-outside outfit,” Gram said. She turned, and her colorful caftan was replaced with the knockoff vintage Chanel suit she’d worn when they’d first met Nick and Damon. The magic only worked between that particular caftan and that suit.

Tanya was not impressed. “You’d think a witch could come up with a better outfit than that. What about you?” She directed her question to Zoe. “Are you going to use your magic to change clothes, too?”

“No,” Zoe said curtly.

She had no intention of wasting magic on appearances. She might need it for something more urgent later on.

“Let’s go.”

Zoe shot a look at Pat, but he seemed intent on avoiding her gaze. His expression was serious, and that was enough to worry her a lot.

The walk from their rental house to Nick’s All Nighter Bar and Grill seemed to take no time at all. They entered the bar to find the normal tables gone and two rows of chairs set up in a court-like arrangement.

Gram got the same vibe. Maybe it went back to their ancestor’s experiences in the Salem Witch Trials, but being called in front of this kind of tribunal was not a good thing. Back in Boston, their coven had deliberately avoided any setup that might mimic a trial. Instead they’d gathered in a circle even as they reprimanded Zoe for revealing the fact that she was a witch to a human.

Gram looked around nervously. “Courts give me the creeps the same way funeral homes give Zoe the creeps. I can’t even watch
The People’s Court.
”

Tanya sauntered up to Zoe. “Where’s your magic wand and fairy dust now?”

“I’m a witch, not freaking Tinker Bell.”

“I doubt that Tinker Bell could raise hell the way you have. And I’m not saying that in a good way.” She paused to give Zoe the once-over before adding, “Besides, you’re not thin enough to be a fairy.”

“Let me give her some warts,” Gram pleaded. “On her nose and forehead. And a few boils on her neck.”

“No, we are not stooping to her level.” Bending closer, she whispered in Gram’s ear, “We are in enough trouble as it is.”

“All right. But when this is all over I plan on giving her warts.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Zoe murmured. “We need to focus on the current problem. Come on, let’s sit down.” She chose the two seats closest to the exit.

She recognized Nick, Pat, and Bruce as well as Neville but there were several other vampires there she did not know. Damon had once mentioned that Doc Boomer had a booming voice, so she identified him. She didn’t know the two vampires who had come to the house with Tanya.

“Put the two witches up front,” Tanya said.