Veiled Threat (16 page)

Thomas snarled and tried to buck him off. The front door rattled as a zombie no doubt threw itself at it.

“Get off me, Guardian. I know how to end your life. I have no qualms about piecing you out to my pets.”

Liam didn’t move, fury and true fear racing through him. Not for himself, never for himself. Rylee had better have made it through the veil. His muscles clenched and he fought to keep from snapping the necromancer’s neck. They needed him for a while yet. “You sent her to bring back your protégés, how did you think she was going to get them?”

Thomas stared up at him and slowly the mania faded from his eyes, and the thumping against the door stilled. “Get off. I am myself again.”

He waited a half breath before moving, then pushed to his feet. But he did not offer his hand to the necromancer.

With great difficulty, Thomas got to his knees, then his feet, his whole body shaking. “It has been many years since I last came across a vampire. The memories are too strong for me to deal with. Do you know the story of why the vampires and the necromancers hate one another?”

“No.” Liam wasn’t sure he cared either, but then again, maybe there was information that would help them later. Or maybe not. But the FBI agent in him knew all the knowledge he could gather couldn’t hurt.

His body trembling, Thomas slid into his chair, and then lowered his head into his hands.

“Necromancers created vampires. An experiment with the dead to see if we could truly return life to those we’d lost. At first we ruled them, controlled them and their thirst for blood.”

Thomas swallowed hard. “But in the end, they revolted and killed most of our people, taking us to the brink of extinction. From that moment forward, it is bred into our very being that we must kill one another.”

“And you can’t control it?”

The necromancer shrugged. “When I was young, yes. But I was a captive of a vampire for many years. He had been held by a vindictive necromancer and he returned the favor to me. I learned much, but …”

Liam didn’t want to feel sorry for the necromancer who’d just tried to kill Rylee, but he understood all too well the feeling of being held captive. How would he have dealt with Milly if he’d been bound by her for years? No, there would have been no coming back from that; even Pamela wouldn’t have been able to win him over.

“Rylee will have to use the vampire to bring her back.”

“My zombies are cued to recognize a vampire and kill it if it steps foot onto our land.” Thomas finally lifted his head. “I will not remove that from them.”

Not that he couldn’t, but he wouldn’t. Liam wanted to pull his hair out. There was no way to contact her, no way to tell Rylee to have Faris drop them off further away.

He moved into the kitchen and picked up the phone, the line hissing at him but it didn’t go out. Without another second wasted, he called Doran’s number.

The phone on the other end rang a dozen times before he hung up. He waited a minute and called again. Nothing.

Damn.

Doing his best not to give into his inclination to smash the phone into tiny plastic pieces, he hung it up rather hard. There was nothing he could do.

Back in the living room he stood with his hands on his hips staring out the window at the zombies swaying ever so slightly in the early morning light.

Perhaps he could get more information out of Thomas, find a way to make this time pass and be of value. He dove in without preamble.

“There are demons coming through the veil, and they are possessing supernaturals.”

“Yes and no. Evil spirits are coming through; they’re not the same as demons. Like shadows of a demon.”

Liam frowned. “Why yes and no then?”

“Some demons are being drawn through as well. I don’t know who is doing it but I have felt that through the veil. They are being called forth with magic. The veil has not ripped wide open, though there are attempts being made.” Thomas placed his fingers under his chin, propping his head up. “It is a precursor to the final break. Most likely whoever Orion has working for him on this side has the capability to bring forth demons and then allow them to possess others. It is a slow process, which is why they are freeing the evil spirits to possess the weaker-willed supernaturals as well. They are covering all their bases, whoever is doing this.”

Liam thought of India, and the black coven, how close they had come to having their first victim in that little girl. She’d been inside a pentagram and a hoarfrost demon would have possessed her if Rylee hadn’t stopped the ceremony.

“Witches, black witches are doing it,” he said, sure of himself.

“They would have the power and access to the knowledge. It takes more than a desire to pull a demon through the veil.”

He turned toward the old necromancer. “Can we send the demons back?”

“Yes. There are ways; that is what the Slayers were for. But there are none left but your Tracker.”

“Erik—”

“Is a faint imitation. Years ago, he would have been lucky to be a teacher in the school that educated demon slayers. It is only because he is a brother to the greatest Slayer our world has known that he is even tolerated. Slayers are not human.”

Liam closed his eyes. “And Erik is.”

“Yes.” Thomas frowned. “There is something about him I can’t put my finger on, but I do believe he can teach her. If she will learn. I do not think it will be enough to stop Orion in the end, though.”

That was not what Liam wanted to hear. Not for a second.

“The demons loose now—”

Again Thomas cut him off. “I know what you do, wolf. You try to gain knowledge through me. I see it in you, but I truly have little dealing with demons. What I know, I have gleaned from many years on this earth, not from direct contact. Necromancers are not demon dealers. We like them no better than the rest of the supernatural world. If those who were lost had truly done their job, the demons would have been sealed off forever.”

“You mean the Blood of the Lost?” Oh, Thomas had his interest now.

“Ah, you know of them?” Thomas lifted an eyebrow. “They are all gone now. And with them the last of our hope.”

Liam took a chance. “They are not gone. One is left.”

Thomas slowly brought his head around to stare at him. “Do you speak of yourself, wolf? Guardian and werewolf, you are a strange mix, one that has not been called upon for many, many years.”

“No, I don’t mean me.” Perhaps he’d said too much. Yet, his wolf seemed to be inclined to trust this man. Much as he’d tried to kill them, it had been in self defense, of a sort.

“Then you must mean the Tracker.” Slowly, the necromancer bobbed his head. “Yes, I see it in her now. The confidence, the brash behavior, the belief everything will turn out in the end. It never does, you know. The darkness is always stronger than the light, snuffing out candles and hope with a single sweep of its hand.”

“I pity you, if you truly believe that.”

The silence stretched after Liam’s words, the ticking of some distant clock in the house the only sound and he doubted Thomas could even hear it. But he could. He heard the way the necromancer’s heart beat, a funny hitch every third or fourth ‘lub, lub.’ Liam shook his head; so what if the old man had a twitchy heart?

“And I pity you, wolf, for you will follow her down all the dark paths she takes, and in the end, it will kill you.” Thomas’s eyes pinned him.

Liam didn’t turn from him, didn’t blink, just met his stare with his own.

“I know. But I wouldn’t leave her, not for an extra hundred years of life.”

Thomas laughed softly, lacing his fingers together under his chin. “Then it seems we pity one another, for I would not follow her, not for all the love in the world.”

His eyes narrowing ever so slightly, he turned from the necromancer. Not so long ago, he might have agreed with Thomas. But not now.

Not now that he had Rylee.

Chapter 16

I
stood on the
threshold of Doran’s home and very softly said, “Alex.”

He slunk forward, breathing in the air deeply, and just as softly answered me. “Ogres.”

Oh fuck. There was a shuffle of feet deeper in the house. A grumble of voices. Berget and Doran were not helpless, but they would be bound to stay in the dark rooms and spaces of the house. I wished it were night and Faris had been able to come with us.

Putting a hand on Erik’s arm, I tugged him close. “Ogres are big, fast and all they really know is fucking and fighting. And right now, they hate me with the heat of a thousand burning suns.”

“Poetic,” Erik whispered, “but I did manage to figure that out the last time I saw you interact with them.”

I shrugged and gave him a tight smile. “Thanks. I don’t know how you’ll fare against them, but stick close to me.”

He stilled. “I’ll wait outside.”

Again, he was going to leave me to do this on my own. Hell, he was really not much help at all. What a tool.

“Try not to get killed.” I pulled my sword free of its sheath and headed into the house. I aimed for the kitchen, keeping my footsteps quiet, knowing the ogres might already know we were here. Their sense of smell was, in some ways, better than Alex’s.

“Steak,” Alex whispered and I caught a whiff of meat being roasted, setting off my saliva glands. Apparently they were good cooks, just like Dox.

We inched closer until I could peer around the corner into Doran’s kitchen. Except for the two ogres screwing each other’s brains out on the huge butcher slab that acted as an island in the middle of the kitchen, everything was the same as I remembered. One ogre was green, the other red. Like a seriously perverted Christmas scene. Never mind catching mommy kissing Santa Claus.

Their moans and cries were starting to fill the room, the slap of flesh against flesh sounding more painful than pleasurable. I’d lay down good money even if we weren’t so quiet, they’d never notice us.

Using hand gestures, I relayed to Alex what I wanted. I’d slip in and put my blades to their throats mid-hump. Carefully, I slid my second blade from its sheath, the bare whisper of steel on leather the only sound.

Alex nodded and we swept in, as fast as we could. Fucking hell, it worked.

I had my blade on the throat of the one on the bottom for a good three seconds before he felt the pressure of the blade. Pressing hard, I tucked my short blade against the throat of the green female, her breath hitching to a stop as her eyes rolled to mine. And it was definitely a her. She reminded me of Sas in the way her sensuality rolled off. Alex had his claws wrapped around the male’s legs, ready to hamstring him if necessary.

A shuffle of feet behind me made me freeze. Alex grunted, “Uncle here.”

So, Erik decided to creep in after us.

“Get over here and help me.”

Erik moved to my side and I tipped my head at the female. “Hold the knife tight against her.” Erik swallowed hard and I glared at him. “Don’t let it slip. We need them alive for the moment.”

The red ogre glared at me, then blinked a couple of times. “You’re Rylee.”

I nodded. “I am. And you are?”

“Raw.”

I couldn’t help the laugh. “I’ll bet you are. But what’s your name?”

His lips twitched. “My name is Raw. And not all of us hate you, Tracker. Ogres die all the time, but Sas can’t see that. Your words stirred those of us who knew she was fighting her grief.”

“Why are you here then?”

Footsteps came toward us and I pressed harder into his neck, drawing blood. “Tell me.”

“She struck a deal with someone, someone else who hates you.”

“Fuck. Let me guess, his name is Orion.”

Raw’s eyes went wide. “How do you know that?”

“He’s a demon. And he means to take over the world.” I stepped back and motioned for Erik to do the same. Raw sat up and gently pushed the green ogre off him. She slid down, all suppleness and sensuality, unashamed she was bare assed naked. But her eyes were hard and full of intelligence, and I didn’t discount her for a second.

“I knew she was going to get us killed. She is blind.” She spat on the ground. “I will not follow her if she is so stupid as to take orders from a demon.”

“Mer. This needs to be discussed,” Raw said, as the footsteps I’d been hearing stopped in the doorway. Three very large, very black ogres stared at us (though to be fair, they didn’t all fit in the doorway; I counted the legs and did the math) before launching into the room, weapons flailing. There wasn’t enough space to accommodate them. As the first ogre in line caught his sword in the iron hanging pot rack in a downward sweep that would have taken the green ogre’s head, I drove my sword toward the exposed, black belly.

“ENOUGH!” Raw bellowed, his voice rocking through the room. He lifted his hands and everyone literally froze, held with magic that affected them all. No one could move. Except me of course—score another one for being Immune. I pulled back from my sword thrust, sparing the ogre at the last second. I stood straight and let out a breath. That had been close. I walked toward Raw. “Can you convince them Sas is wrong?”

Raw shook his head slowly. “Some will believe you, some already do. You killed the Roc, you are the one our prophecies speak of, and for many, that is enough.” His dark, nearly black eyes searched mine. “Sas sent us here to kill your allies. To set them against you so you would lose the vampires at your back.”

Shit, I wasn’t surprised, just pissed I hadn’t thought this far ahead. “Where do you and your friends stand on the subject?”

Raw and Mer exchanged a glance and she blinked once. He turned to face me. “We are with you, Tracker.”

The three black-skinned ogres struggled, the one in the front finally speaking. “Traitor! Sas will kill your pansy asses for this, after she strings up the Tracker and peels her hide from her body.”

“Will they ever be convinced?” I walked toward them, but my question was for Raw.

He hesitated, then slowly said, “No. They will not.”

That was all the answer I needed, though I’d hoped it would not be this way. The more enemies dead before the final battle between us and Orion, the better. Three quick swipes and the black ogre’s heads rolled to the ground, blood bubbling up and spewing out their neck holes. Raw dropped everyone and he then stepped around the bodies. “You could have been an ogre.”

“I could have been a lot of things,” I said, trying not to feel sorrow for killing them. They were the enemy; they would have killed us.

Mer slid into a pale green dress that offset her darker skin. “We could not find the new vampire leader, or his young sidekick, though we searched the house several times.”

I let out a slow breath. That at least was good news. “Raw, you and Mer gather those ogres who would side with me against the demons. Do it quietly, do not draw attention to yourself.”

Raw nodded and took Mer’s hand. “We will do what we can. I do not think there will be many. Where should we meet you?”

This was as good a place as any with the farmhouse destroyed and the demons popping through doorways they were creating. “Here, bring them all here.”

“And the vampire?” Mer asked, fluffing her hair back, then tying it into a loose ponytail to one side. Doran wouldn’t be mad—at least, I didn’t think he would be.

“I will find him and talk to him. He will agree to this being the central command.” I thought of Frank and knew he would be happy there finally was a central command.

There were no goodbyes; I didn’t tell them where we were going. Nor did I think we had time to find Doran, though I felt him sleeping deep below the house. A hidden bunker no doubt. But I knew how to contact Berget and I was tired enough that a nap was in order.

Doran’s sleek, silver Mustang was parked in the garage, keys in the ignition. “Erik, you drive. I’m going to nap.”

Alex woofed. “Sleeping helps sick people.”

I froze mid stride and looked back at him. “I’m not sick, Alex. Just tired.” His big golden eyes went soft and serious as he grabbed me around the waist.

“Rylee goes, I goes.”

It was an echo of Giselle’s last words for him. That he would be with me to the end.

“I know. Come on. We’ve got to find Frank and his new friend.”

We piled into the car and I took the back seat with Alex, stretching out and lying my head against his back.

“Rylee, I thought you were joking.” Erik shot me a glance over his shoulder.

“Nope.” I cracked a yawn.

“I don’t know where we’re going.”

Good point. I gave him directions as I dozed off, calling Berget’s name in my mind.

She responded faster than ever.

“Rylee, do not come to Doran’s, there are ogres here. Doran was in a trance and saw them coming with the end of the night, but only just barely. We almost didn’t make it below ground before the sun kissed the Earth.” Her long blond hair was disheveled and her clothes were rumpled.

“Too late, we’ve been and gone. There are two ogres that will side with us. A red and a green, Raw and Mer. They are going to bring what help they can.”

Berget’s eyes widened. “You think some of the ogres will side with us?”

“Raw seems to think so. Tell Doran I’m sorry, but I think he will have to be headquarters from now on. The farmhouse is gone, Giselle’s home in the city is too small and I don’t know where else to set up.”

“He won’t mind.” Her voice softened and I saw it in a brief flash. She cared for him. And he was in love with me. Shit sticks that was not going to be fun.

She smiled, reading me easily, seeing my discomfort. “It is truly all right, Rylee. He keeps me close and it is more than I could have hoped for. But I have other news for you.”

“You do?”

She held my hand, seemingly crouched between the front and back seats, though I knew she wasn’t really there. “There is a way to close the veil to the deep levels if one is opened, like at the farmhouse. The blood of a guardian will do it.”

In my mind I saw Eagle spread out in the bathtub, drained of all his blood, killed when he should have still been alive. “How much blood?”

She swallowed hard. “As much of it as you can. It will kill the guardian; it is one of the only things that will do it. Their body has to be opened with a weapon that has been cursed, and then they must bleed out.”

Fucking hell, that was not the news I was hoping for. Though it explained a lot. The demons hadn’t wanted us to follow them, so they closed the gate. My heart ached for Eagle and chilled when I thought about who was next. There were only so many guardians around. If they were captured by the demons and used to close gates as they needed …

“There is a catch, Rylee.” Berget reached over and put her hand on my cheek. “But I am not sure my parents are telling me right. I think because the blood is forcibly taken from the guardian, the closure affects only the single doorway. There is more about closing off the veil with blood than they are telling me. I will keep trying.”

My brain and heart balked. I didn’t want to go down that route. Something about it scared me, so I just nodded. “Be safe. Orion is hunting my allies and friends. Trolls, witches, and now ogres are working for him.”

“Frank left for Dox’s yesterday while the sun was high.”

My brain ached trying to deal with the time difference between here and England.

“How did you know?”

She smiled. “He is rather loud and talks to himself, not realizing he can be easily heard. My memories of necromancers are not good, Rylee. I do not think it wise to bring Frank here again.”

I let out a sigh. “Fuck, I really wish everyone could just get along.”

With a nod she stood. “Yes, that would be easier, wouldn’t it?” And then she was gone and I sat up.

Alex yawned, leaned over and put his nose to mine. “Hungry.” I pushed him away.

“Yeah, I know. That isn’t anything new.” In fact, he seemed to be hungry more and more. Was there a tie between his appetite and his becoming less submissive? I rubbed my face. Something to think about another time, perhaps, but not now.

He flopped onto the seat, rolling his eyes up to mine, begging in the most pitiful way possible. I shook my head and yawned.

Rubbing my face, I let out a low groan. Power nap my ass. Sometimes talking to Berget did nothing but tire me out more.

“I think this is the place,” Erik said, “but it looks pretty shitty and burnt out. Are you sure?”

Ahead of us was a charred and blackened shell of a building that had only a few timbers left standing, blasted from the fire Doran had set. The broken and abandoned pieces of the Landing Pad hurt my heart as I thought of Dox and his pride in his home and business. Of his unwavering friendship for me even when I was being difficult. I gritted my teeth against the emotions welling up in me. No time. There was never time for the grief that circled me like vultures waiting for me to finally let them at my heart.

“Yes. This is it.” I rolled down the window, crisp air circling in with only a whisper of the burnt building tainting it. I leaned out and peered into the clear blue sky. High above us was a rather large bird floating on the drafts. So high, I was pretty sure it would be Eve. I Tracked her and sure enough, it was her.