Dread Nemesis of Mine (12 page)

Shelton and Bella had taught me quite a bit
of general magical knowledge. Willpower was a big deal. So long as
I could envision and desire an action with enough focus, I could
make it happen. I had no problems with the desiring part, and
envisioning wasn't too tough either. Focus was my problem. My mind
was like a reel of discombobulated images, constantly fighting for
airtime.

Maybe, just maybe, I could figure something
out. I thought of the vampire guarding me. Mind control was way
above my abilities. Still, someone else might replace her and that
person might be easier to manipulate. I had
powers,
dammit.
I just had to figure out how to use them.

Closing my eyes, I used my incubus senses to
open myself up to the magical energy in the vicinity. I extended a
wisp of essence toward a nebula of sparkling power and soaked it
in. A tiny galaxy of magic whirled lazily overhead, mesmerizing me
with its simple beauty. I wondered if it had magnetic properties
causing it to coalesce like that. As I looked around the room with
my sixth sense, I noticed darker strands of energy, some of them in
similar patterns to the brighter energy.

Lines of magic pulsed up the walls and in the
ceiling overhead as well. All in all, the energy patterns looked
very similar to what I'd seen at Shelton's hideout. I wondered how
it would look in the Grotto, Thunder Rock, or at another of the
angel relics scattered around the planet. Bella had told me about
the powerful ley lines running through those places. I'd felt the
power rush against me after making a circle in El Dorado. Although
some arteries of energy in the ceiling seemed wider than what I'd
seen at Shelton's, none of them seemed large enough to be more than
just a tributary to the great river of magic I imagined ran through
the relics.

I tried to probe down the hallway with my
senses. I felt the cold presence of other vampires nearby, and a
smattering of normal humans, some female. But they were just out of
reach. Even if I managed to lure a female nom down here, the
vampire guarding the door would be sure to stop her.

Out of idle boredom, I tried creating magical
sparks even though there was nothing to catch on fire. I managed a
couple. I heard the guard outside talking on the phone, the other
end of the conversation clearly audible to my super hearing. They
talked about Maximus and how they'd like to get it on with him.

How could people be so stupid as to fall for
someone like Maximus? It made no sense. He was obviously a
power-hungry jackass like most politicians, and yet people believed
in him and supported him. How could so many humans be so stupid? I
growled as a sudden surge of anger exploded in me.

Idiots!

A white fireball the size of my head exploded
in the air above. Spots danced in my eyes from the blinding flash
of light.

Holy crap. Did I do that?

The door slammed open and the vampire rushed
in. "What the hell was that noise?" she said.

I pretended to be asleep, hoping the rapid
beat of my heart wouldn't give me away.

"Was it you?" she shouted. "What exploded in
here?"

I didn't answer.

"I asked you a question, you nasty thing,"
she said, her footsteps fading away from me.

"This entity made no explosion," my roommate
said in his calm, emotionless voice. "It does not know the
source."

The vampire cursed and I heard the sound of a
hand smacking flesh. "I don't know why Maximus keeps you around. He
should just get it over and end you."

"This entity finds such a prospect
undesirable."

"This entity finds such a prospect
undesirable, oh, boo hoo hoo," the vampire said in a mocking voice.
"Cry me a river, dumbass."

"It is not possible to produce such a
quantity of moisture," he replied.

His statement was met with another smack. The
vampire stomped toward me and stopped. I heard her breathing right
next to me. She must have lowered her head because I felt her
breath against my ear. Even worse, I smelled it.

"Are you asleep, snookums?" she cooed in my
ear. She sniffed and it was all I could do not to cringe away.

She touched my face. Her skin felt room
temperature and soft. Something moist touched my neck and I
realized it had to be her tongue. I jerked, eyes opening as I tried
to get away from her. She laughed.

"Not asleep anymore, are we, pookie
bear?"

"Stay away from me," I said, voice
trembling.

She leapt atop the table, straddling me. Her
red eyes locked onto my chest. "Hmm, Maximus is so messy." She
leaned over, eyes locked onto mine, and grinned with malicious
intent. Extending her tongue, she licked the crusted blood from my
chest.

I shuddered and writhed. "Get the hell off
me!"

"Careful, incubus boy. You might turn me on."
She ground against my boxers and moaned. "Maybe I should give you a
test ride. Maximus won't mind, so long as I don't drink your
blood."

I shook my head and bucked, but couldn't
dislodge her. She'd have to inject me with enough Viagra to excite
a nursing home because the thought of having sex with her ugly ass
made man brain number two shrink up like a stack of dimes. "Get off
me, you perv!"

She pushed a clump of matted hair from her
face, and smiled. Her fangs retracted, and she looked almost
normal, although nowhere near what I'd consider cute. "I can be
gentle," she said in her girly voice. "I have lots of experience."
She leaned down and nipped my ear, sending a shiver of revulsion
through me. "After all, I used to work in a brothel during the
California Gold Rush."

Her lips touched mine and she pressed her
tongue hard against my mouth, forcing it through my clamped lips. I
would have bitten her tongue, but gagged instead at the onslaught
of tonsil hockey and her nasty, dead breath.

I convulsed and heaved at her unwanted touch.
She leapt off me, quick as a cat.

"I'll have to train you, I see." She tapped a
finger against her chin. "Thankfully, I'll have plenty of time to
break you in."

A phone, presumably hers, rang, and she
walked away to answer it. Before long, she was chattering away
about Maximus again.

After my racing heart slowed down, exhaustion
flowed through my body, leaving me feeling weak. I had done
something amazing, causing a fireball to explode over my head, but
what good did it do me here? I couldn't blow a hole through the
wall.

Thanks to Maximus drinking my blood, the
vampiric prostitute guarding my door, and the moron who shared this
room, my future looked terrifying.

"What are you doing here?" my guard said,
breaking off her phone conversation.

A female answered. "I'm bringing him food,
Amanda. What does it look like?"

The guard snorted. "Trying to get back into
Maxi's favor again? Dream on. I never should have taken—"

"As if you're getting any from him," the
other woman interrupted.

"Yeah, like Maximus would assign just anybody
to guard his new toy, slut. Oh, and you'll have to hand feed him."
Amanda laughed. "Maybe you should puree everything next time." The
guard resumed her phone conversation, throwing in a few insults
about my food handler.

Footsteps approached. I smelled hot bread and
other yummy aromas. My stomach gurgled though my heart beat a
little faster from uncertainty. I had no idea who this new person
was or what they might try to do to me. I felt lips brush against
my ear and almost yelped.

"Don't react when you see me," a woman
whispered ever so slightly in my ear. "I'll try to get you out of
here."

A ray of hope warmed my body. The woman stood
and smiled, though her brow wrinkled with worry. My eyes went wide
with recognition and it took an effort not to shout with excitement
as I smiled back up at Felicia Nosti.

She glanced behind me, toward the door, I
figured. Then she touched the strap on my arm. I waited for sweet
release. But nothing happened. She touched the strap at my neck.
Again nothing. The furrows in her brow deepened.

She leaned down and whispered, "I can't
release them. Maximus must have bonded them to himself."

My jaw went tight with frustration. Being so
close to freedom only made my bonds chafe worse. Desperation rose
in me, and it was all I could do not to freak out and fight the
straps, no matter how useless the effort. "Isn't there some way to
get me out?" I whispered back in the same low voice.

Felicia held an
empanada
to my mouth.
"Here, take a bite and don't take all damned night," she said
aloud. She leaned down. "I'm thinking."

I bit and chewed, swallowing carefully so I
didn't choke. She put a flexible straw to my mouth. I sucked cool,
sweet water down my parched throat. After finishing the meal and
most of the water, I felt the urgent call of nature.

"I've really got to use the bathroom," I
said. "And not just a number one."

Felicia's eyes widened. "Amanda, he's got to
go."

"We put adult diapers on him," the guard said
back. "Tell him to go to town. We'll put him in a sleeper collar to
clean him up later."

"You have got to be kidding me!" I shouted.
"What kind of prison are you running here?"

Amanda burst into laughter and started
telling her friend on the phone all about it.

Felicia looked at me with horror and
sympathy. "I'll leave you to—uh…" she gagged, and from the look on
her face, probably puked in her mouth. When she regained some
composure, she leaned down. "I think if I can get a few drops of
Maximus's blood, I can open the straps. Don't worry, Justin, we'll
get you out of here. I promise." She glanced back in Amanda's
direction. "And be careful around her. She's effed in the
head."

As if anyone needed to tell me that. I
briefly wondered who this "we" was, if maybe there were other
vampires who were on our side, but didn't have time to ask before
Felicia left. I fought the urge to pee as long as I could, anger
and humiliation raging inside me. I felt like a caged, abused
animal sitting in dog pound and waiting for the axe to fall. The
fury within me surged to the point I could feel my inner demon
seeking escape. If I didn't give in, I might try to manifest again.
Given what had happened last time, I knew such a thing would only
lead to strangulation.

Amanda came in, a leer on her face. She held
her phone's camera toward me. "You see him?" she said. "Any minute
now and he's gonna crap himself."

Repressed anger exploded. I roared. A deep
guttural voice came from my mouth, speaking in the strange language
I somehow understood.
You will be first to die
, I
translated. My body thrashed. Muscles expanded. My neck pressed
hard against the strap, harder and harder. But I no longer cared. I
would break my bonds or die trying.

The world collapsed to a tiny circle as my
brain burned through its remaining oxygen. But it felt like
something was giving. Like the strap might have loosened.

The last thing I saw was Amanda laughing at
me.

Elyssa

"What—how did you get in here?" Elyssa asked
as shock rippled through her.

Underborn gave her a lopsided smile. "May we
come in before someone notices our presence? I took a considerable
risk coming to you."

"You're not coming inside until you explain
what the hell you want." This man was responsible for leading
Justin through a gauntlet of gray men, hellhounds, and god only
knew what else all so he could test his mettle. Underborn's real
name was Kevin Sorensen, but he'd also posed as Mr. Turpin, an
English teacher at their high school. As a former Templar, this man
had survived the massacre at Thunder Rock, unbeknownst to Thomas
Borathen, the leader of the ill-fated mission to apprehend Vadaemos
all those years ago.

The large man pushed past Elyssa like she was
nothing. Underborn followed, slipping in like a greased eel. He
pulled a chair from the table in the center of the room, spun it
around, and took a seat, propping his arms on the back of it. The
big man leaned against a wall and crossed his arms.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming to me,"
Elyssa said. The desire to smack the smile off Underborn's face
threatened to overcome her good sense.

The assassin held up his hands in surrender.
"Believe me, Miss Borathen, I did what I did to be sure Justin was
up to the task at hand. So far, he has proven himself most capable,
if a bit clumsy. He took down
Vadaemos
." Underborn seemed
genuinely impressed.

"He wasn't alone." Elyssa didn't care about
credit, but Justin wasn't infallible. Nobody was.

"I know, Templar. It is Justin's ability to
form the unlikeliest of alliances and forge a resolution that makes
him so remarkable." Underborn scratched his head and looked at the
silent, looming figure in black for a moment before continuing.
"Unfortunately, it appears we have been outsmarted."

"By Maximus?"

Underborn shook his head. "By Daelissa."

Elyssa smacked a fist into her palm. "I just
knew that bitch was involved somehow." She narrowed her eyes. "And
what do you mean by
we
?"

"Naturally, I mean all of us in the
collective sense."

"No." She shook her head. "I know you wanted
Justin to take on Maximus. Somehow, you have a hand in this mess,
don't you?" She crossed the room and looked down at him. "Did you
have something to do with the kidnapping of his sister?"

A grim-lipped smile crossed the assassin's
face. "I assure you I had nothing to do with that. However, it
would appear the entire kidnapping was an elaborate setup."

Elyssa felt a jolt of surprise. "Ivy wasn't
kidnapped?"

Underborn shook his head. "As I said, this
entire fiasco has Daelissa's fingerprints all over it."