“I was correct,” Stefan said, looking from Lydia to Baal. “Our exiled former Brother pursued his research. He summoned up Lorelei in an attempt to enslave her. Carlisle stumbled upon him while pursuing some unrelated foolishness. He saw what he thought was a bizarre gang rape about to occur and so he intervened. In the process, he was connected to the succubus. He is currently both her victim and her master.”
“Curious,” Baal replied. “What else?”
Stefan frowned. He stared at Alex, who wondered why Stefan didn’t mention Rachel. Stefan’s eyebrows rose. “I am unsure of the efficacy of our former Brother’s ritual, but I can confirm that Carlisle is not a Practitioner, as we suspected. Examining the details of the incident through his recollection will require enhancement of his memory’s accuracy and reach. Warren here is an expert in such things,” he added, gesturing to the man in robes.
“How good of you to share all of your suspicions with the rest of us, Lord Stefan,” murmured the pale woman in the regal dress.
“Does our bargain hold, Lord Baal?” asked Stefan.
“It does,” said the man with the smoky eyes, “if Lydia feels it appropriate.”
“And ours?” asked the other woman.
“Lady Anastacia,” Lydia smiled, clearly enjoying her moment of glory, “I will happily fulfill all agreements when my business here is completed. Would you mind waiting for me upstairs? This will all likely become a bit…visceral and crude.”
Lady Anastacia stiffened, but gave a polite nod. She held out her hand for the man in the black suit. They walked out together with the cowboy in tow.
“Warren?” asked Lord Stefan. “What more do you need?”
“I have blood and hair and flesh,” the man in the robes said. “All I need now is a few tears.”
“I’d hate to make you wait,” Lydia shrugged. She promptly reached to Alex’s face, forcing one eye open and then rubbing a finger over it. Alex tried to fight it, but she was too strong. The robed man held a vial against the side of his irritated eye until the tears flowed.
“With this,” Warren said, “I will only need a short time and some privacy to complete my work. I will return immediately upon its completion.”
“Then let not another moment of my master’s time be wasted,” Lydia shrugged. “I will keep our prisoners occupied until you are ready.”
“Lord Stefan,” said Baal, “might I speak with you upstairs?”
“Of course,” Stefan nodded. He pulled Warren aside, conferring with him in a language Alex didn’t recognize and could barely hear anyway. They both turned to leave.
Before he followed, Baal lingered to stare at Alex. The young man and Lorelei looked to one another with mutual concern.
“You know,” Baal mused, “he looks oddly familiar.”
“I thought as much myself,” Lydia shrugged. She indulged herself in a slap across Alex’s face…and then another, and then another. Her open hand didn’t injure him, but it delivered more stinging pain than any punch Alex had suffered all week.
“Still intent on killing him with kindness?” Baal smiled.
“Later, master,” Lydia smiled. “That will wait until I haven’t so many cats to herd. Lorelei deserves to feel him go. I would hate to rush it.”
* * *
Rachel felt the first sensations of pleasure forced upon her lover. For a brief moment, it lifted her hopes. Then she felt the accompanying revulsion that replaced any feeling of enjoyment. The sensations continued while the revulsion grew.
Revulsion, and fear.
She stood in the summoning circle, staring off into space and trying to control her worries. The sensations she received from Alex-sexy, hopeful, then the polar opposite of both-gave her all too good an idea of who had him. She couldn’t see him, though. She saw only her surroundings. Just pagan décor, yard-sale shelving and candles.
Rachel tried to break through the summoning circle many times after Molly and Onyx left her there. The pair had done their job all too well. She was good and stuck here, until either their summoning ritual wore off-and Heaven only knew how long that would be-or until they released the spell.
He couldn’t die like this. Not now. Not after so many lonely and painful lifetimes. Not when that whole pattern seemed to have been broken…except it was entirely possible that this was just another tragic ending.
Overwhelmed with fear for her new love, only so recently consummated in her heart as well as physically, Rachel sank to her knees. Even angels prayed.
* * *
The suburban woods and hills northeast of Seattle along the shores of Lake Washington could conceal much. Urban development competed with natural scenery over the years as the city and its neighbors expanded. With enough money, connections and planning, one could take advantage of the sorts of obstructing hillsides thick tree lines that most locals took for granted.
Not long after joining Ms. Black and Talon in their dark SUV, Molly and Onyx felt that they were out in the middle of nowhere. They both knew that couldn’t actually be the case. Yet the tall, seemingly thick woods lining both sides of the empty road created an air of isolation.
They finally turned off to a side road, where a pair of pale men in black trench coats and dark-toned clothes tended a tall wrought-iron gate. Talon, behind the wheel, leaned out and said something in Russian. One guard walked a full circle around the vehicle, casually holding a rifle of some sort under his coat. The other waited until the circling guard gave a nod. Then he opened the gate by hand.
Up ahead, not entirely obstructed by trees and a rising landscape from the gate, waited a huge home reminiscent of a southern plantation manor. Numerous cars sat parked in a small lot off to one side. The grounds were spacious, with the trees cleared away from the house for a good fifty yards in any direction.
As the SUV rolled up to the manor, Ms. Black leaned over from the front seat. “This is a highly unusual assemblage,” she said. “We don’t normally associate so openly with the, erm, nightlife. Tonight’s a special occasion, though. The Brotherhood has been invited here to establish peaceful ties with their society.”
“Anyone else invited?” Molly asked. “We gonna get to meet our first werewolves?”
Talon hissed. “Don’t even joke about that.”
Molly blinked. “Wait, for real? I thought that was just a cheap movie gimmick. You guys really don’t get along?”
“Few supernaturals get along with others as a general rule. But I wouldn’t worry about them,” Talon said. He seemed to glance up at them through the mirror, but as he cast no reflection they couldn’t be sure. “They have incentives to stay away. Still, do yourselves a favor and don’t bring it up. It’s the only advice I will give. That, and…should you in any way violate the hospitality of the Lady or our host, Lord Blackthorne, you will discover the sorts of torments one learns to inflict over the course of a few hundred years of practice.”
Molly held back from telling Talon how frightening he wasn’t. She had to be nice. Tact and deference were vital to their cover story. She and Onyx could only afford to show the bare minimum of contempt for vampires expected within the Practicing community.
“Seems like a pretty random Monday night to have such a party,” Onyx observed.
Talon pulled the SUV up to the front steps of the manor. Several men waited to open doors, take coats and provide other simple assistance. “It was short notice for all of us, but the Lady’s invitations are not to be ignored,” Talon said. “Much of the Puget Sound is here tonight-all who could possibly make it. The Lady promises to explain all before the hour grows late.”
Ms. Black glanced at his back as he got out, then rolled her eyes for the benefit of her new associates. “Pretentious douchebags, all of them,” she muttered. “Not as powerful as pop culture would have us believe, but they are still very dangerous. And numerous.
“Watch yourselves in there. The vampires don’t want to piss us off, but many are letting their freak flags fly to intimidate us. Naturally, the Brotherhood doesn’t feel like being cowed. You’re bound to see some wild sights tonight. If anything appalls you, come talk to one of us before you do anything rash. This is a diplomatically sensitive event. Lord Stefan warned us that the precious Lady Anastacia has made some… otherworldly allies as well. Live and let live is the rule tonight.” With that, she exited.