Magicstorm (Heart of a Vampire, Book 4) (12 page)

He brushed his hand over her arm, as if
soothed by their cuddling. Her breathing calmed, her heartbeat
slowed. Her body tingled from the pleasures he’d given her.

Beside her, the tense lines of his body had
loosened. He studied her, eyes shining with wonder. She lay
relaxed, her body pliant, sweetly comforted by his heat surrounding
her.

A pounding at her front door jerked them both
from their languid afterglow.

Celeste jumped up, tugging on her clothes. On
the other side of the bed, Brandon watched her as he grabbed his
jeans, his eyes bright with some emotion she couldn’t name.

The pounding continued, louder, more
persistent.

Just as she reached the door and was about to
open it, Brandon slammed his hand on the wood, keeping it closed.
“Wait.”

He glanced through the peep hole, craning his
head to try to see more of the hall. Closing his eyes, he sniffed
the air.

Finally, he stepped back and nodded.

Celeste cautiously pulled the door open,
unprepared for the body flying into her arms.

“Shana?” she asked, as he sister grabbed her
around the waist.

She was soaking wet and shivering.

Celeste led Shana to the couch. Behind them,
Brandon closed the door.

Her sister whimpered, burrowing against
her.

“Shana, what’s wrong?”

She continued to shake, occasionally mumbling
incoherently.

Glancing at Brandon, Celeste pointed to the
hall. “Get me some towels from the closet. A blanket too.”

He nodded sharply and left the living
room.

Celeste did the only thing she could. As when
they were children and her sister needed comforting, she rocked
them side to side, smoothing Shana’s hair, and quietly sang one of
their mother’s favorite songs.

When Brandon returned with the towels, she
grabbed one and tried wrapping it around Shana’s shoulders. Her
sister fought as Celeste tried moving a little bit away.

“Come. I need to get you dry, sweetling.” She
kept singing softly, and was slowly able to wrap her sister up in
the towels, then the blanket.

Hercules jumped up beside them and Shana
jerked, panicked, crying out hoarsely.

Brandon scooped up the kitten and sat in a
chair facing them. His eyes were hooded, his face
expressionless.

After long minutes, which seemed to take an
eternity, Shana began to calm. Celeste tipped her sister’s head
back to see her face. She gasped at the sight of the bruises
covering the left side of Shana’s face from temple to chin. Blood
had dried at her hairline. Some cuts still oozed.

Brandon’s fists clenched as he jumped to his
feet and left the room. He came back holding a wet washcloth.

Celeste gently cleaned Shana’s face while the
girl sat quietly, her eyes dazed.

The cuts were shallow, thankfully, but the
bruises were still darkening. As if he’d read her mind yet again,
Brandon brought over a bag of ice. He wrapped it in one of the thin
towels and handed it to her.

“Thank you,” she said, touched by his
thoughtfulness.

Pressing it to the side of her sister’s face,
Celeste leaned back. Shana sighed, then passed out.

Quietly, Celeste said, “I don’t think she’s
going to be answering any questions for a while.”

Brandon stood. “Where do you want to put
her?”

“Guest bedroom. She’ll be comfortable
there.”

He scooped Shana in his arms and headed for
the room. Celeste followed, watching him, her emotions in turmoil.
Someone had hurt her sister. She would damn well find out who. And
they would pay.

Brandon laid her on the bed, then hovered in
the doorway as Celeste tucked her in. She hesitated. “I don’t want
to leave her alone.”

“You don’t have to,” he replied. “Tend your
sister.”

She grabbed a chair from the wall and slid it
to the side of the bed, then sat down, watching Shana sleep.

Brandon stayed leaning against the doorway,
Hercules twining around his ankles. “What do you think
happened?”

“I don’t know.” She’d asked her sister to
stay in for the night. Her fists clenched, nails digging into her
palms. If only Shana had listened. “One of the victims from last
night was her best friend. I don’t know if she’s mixed up with the
cult murderers.”

Silence descended in the room, broken only by
Shana’s occasional whimpers. Celeste’s heart ached heavily. She
wished she could have done something more to keep her sister home.
Handcuffing her to the bed at their mama’s house might have been
extreme, but at least then she wouldn’t have suffered like
this.

Her throat burned and her eyes blurred.
Taking a couple deep breaths, she fought her roiling emotions and
drew on her professional ability to focus, repressing the upheaval
of her raging feelings. Loss of control wouldn’t help anything, or
anyone.

Brandon eased further into the room, drawing
her attention.

“You don’t have to stay,” she said
quietly.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied.

Her chest filled with warmth. She glanced at
him, his gaze trapping her own.

Brandon stared at her, confused. They’d made
love, and he’d felt connected to her on a level so deep it was
frightening. Yet, he didn’t want to run away.

Watching her tend to her sister, he felt so
many things that should have made him want to flee as well.

Yet here he was, entranced by this woman who
could be a tough-as-nails cop, as well as soft and almost...
motherly for her sister.

Family, to him, was life. The most important
thing to live for. He remembered sitting at his brother’s bedside,
the same as she watched over the girl now.

And it struck him deep in his gut how perfect
this woman was, how alike they were inside. Protectors of the weak,
of those in need.

A phone rang from Celeste’s bedroom and her
chin jerked up. Brandon headed down the hall. He picked up the
phone, recognizing the number.

Answering, he asked, “Shane?”

“Yeah.”

“Just a minute.” Brandon moved to the guest
bedroom and glanced at Celeste. “It’s for me.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little. “I was afraid
there’d been another murder.”

In the living room, Brandon paced as he
listened to Shane describe what he’d found at the warehouse.

“The place was saturated with magic. Filled
with traps. I don’t know how the two of you made it out.”

Brandon shook his head. “It wasn’t easy.”

“I suppose not. It’s taken care of now, but
that only means they’ll move to another location. I don’t even
think this was their main place for rituals. This city is so big,
there’s no telling where they are,” Shane grumbled.

“Damn. They didn’t leave any clues?”

“Not a one.” Shane hesitated, then added,
“I’ve got to warn you, this magic is powerful. And strange. I’ve
never seen the likes of it before. It’s not a demon, but whoever it
is has nearly the power of one. It was mixed, as if they can steal
the magic of other Arcaine creatures.”

Brandon inhaled sharply, his mind flashing to
the past, and the sorceress who’d held him prisoner. He swallowed.
“So it truly is sorcery?”

“Most likely.”

The edges of his sight dimmed as his
heartbeat raced. Memories tried to drag him down. He clenched his
jaw, refusing them.

“I can hunt them, but it’ll take time to
gather everything I need to perform the ceremony,” Shane went
on.

“How much time?”

“Depends on how fast I can find everything I
need.”

Screams came from the bedroom down the hall.
“Start looking. I’ll call you back later,” Brandon said. He hung
up, rushing to the guest room.

Inside, Shana was curled in the corner of the
room. Celeste knelt by her, trying to calm the girl.

“
You’re safe,
pequina
.
It’s me, Celeste.”

Shana shuddered, jerking as if trying to
crawl deeper into the corner. Celeste reached for her, and the girl
came up swinging.

Brandon flashed forward, moving between them.
Nails raked down his upper arm and he hissed at the stinging
scratches. Grabbing Shana in his arms, he motioned Celeste to the
bed.

He gripped the struggling girl. She was a
wildcat, fighting as if her life was in jeopardy.

Celeste grabbed her wrists, holding them as
she whispered words of comfort.

Finally, the girl began to calm. She looked
around the room as if seeing where she was for the first time.

“Celeste?”

“I’m here.”

Her gaze froze on Brandon. “Who’s he?”

“My new partner.”

“But you always say you work better
alone.”

“This case is different.” She smoothed a lock
of hair back from the girl’s face. “Tell me what happened.”

A dark shadow flitted over Shana’s face and
she closed her eyes, curling up again. Celeste continued to stroke
the girl’s hair, waiting silently, but her pain and frustration
were clear.

Shana opened her eyes and stared at Celeste.
“You won’t believe me,” she said pitifully.

Shaking her head, Celeste replied, “After the
last few days, I’m ready to believe anything.”

Celeste watched her sister closely, searching
for any hint of reoccurring panic in the tense lines of her
body.

Shana shook her head. “Not this. You
won’t.”

“Try me.” Celeste took one of Shana’s hands
between her own.

With a sigh, her shoulders bowing in defeat,
Shana mumbled, “There’s things out there you’d only think belonged
in fiction.”

“I know. I’ve seen them.”

Her sister jerked, meeting Celeste’s gaze.
“Really?”

“I told you the last few days have been
strange.”

Shana sat up straighter.

Celeste tightened her grip. “Tell me what
happened.”

“I...”

Trying to wait patiently, Celeste bit her
tongue to keep from pressing too hard. Near the door, Brandon was
stillness itself, as if he had all the time in the world. But his
eyes flickered with the same impatience she felt.

“You know that guy I told you about?”

“The one whose name you didn’t know?”

Shana’s lips tightened. “Yeah. My
freebie.”

Biting her tongue harder, Celeste finally
said, “What about him?”

“I lied. I do know him. We met at the club
Black Dawn a few weeks ago. Donna had been hanging out there for a
while, and she took me there. I met Jess, and we’ve been getting it
on since then.”

“What’s Jess’ last name?”

“I don’t know. He never said.”

“So you’ve been dating him--”

Shana sneered. “Not dating. We’ve been
fucking like rabbits.”

Celeste took a deep breath, trying to calm
her growing anger and censure. She needed information rather than
an argument.

Brandon stiffened, crossing his arms over his
chest. He stared at Shana as if she were some species he’d never
before seen.

Celeste asked, “So what happened last
night?”

Shana’s sneer disappeared as she realized
Celeste wasn’t going to rise to the bait. With a shrug, she said,
“Last night he said he had something really cool to show me. Rather
than go to the club, or his house, he took me to this deserted
building. I thought it was gonna be a rave, or something.”

“Where was it?” Celeste asked, itching for
her notebook.

“Dunno. I wasn’t paying attention. Besides,
I’d already had a few drinks.”

“You don’t have any idea where it was?”

“No.”

“Anything on the building itself that might
help me find it?”

Shana pulled her hand away. “I told you.
No.”

Celeste watched her sister, knowing she
wasn’t getting the whole truth. “Fine. What happened then?”

“We went into this creepy basement. There
were candles all over the place, and people standing around the
edges of the room.” Her eyes unfocused as if she was back there.
“Everyone wore these black Goth hooded cloaks. You could barely see
how many were hiding in the shadows.”

She shivered and Celeste reached for her hand
again, but Shana scooted further away.

“In the middle was this counter, with more
candles and a cool dagger lying on it.”

“What then?” Celeste glanced at Brandon, but
he was concentrating on Shana’s words.

“Jess kissed me and started taking off my
clothes. I don’t mind exhibitions, but I was feeling a little
strange. When I tried to slow him down, he hit me.” Her eyes
flashed with anger as she shivered.

A long minute passed. Finally, Celeste said,
“And then?”

Shana blinked and met her gaze. “I hit the
bastard back. The people in the shadows shouted, rushing closer.
They ripped at my clothes until I was naked. Then Jess laughed.”
She shivered again. “It was cold.”

This time, when Celeste eased closer and
tried to take her sister’s hand, Shana let her, holding on
tight.

“Jess pushed me toward the counter. I fell.
He grabbed my hair and made me stand back up.” Shana’s voice grew
hoarse. “He hit me again, then shoved me onto the counter. It was
freezing, marble or something.”

She met Celeste’s eyes and said, “The people
in the room, all of them, ripped their cloaks off. Everyone was
naked. Jess grabbed the knife and raised it in the air, then
started talking, but I’ve never heard that language before.”

Brandon asked, “Do you remember any of the
words?”

Shana shook her head. “But the longer he
talked, the more I felt... strange. Like I’d been doing drugs or
something. I dunno, maybe he slipped me something. ‘Cause a few
minutes later, the people in the room changed.”

“How?” Celeste asked, patting her sister’s
hand.

“They turned into monsters. Like wolves and
bears and things that can’t really exist. A couple guys stayed
mostly normal, but they had red eyes and fangs, like vampires.”