“Deal with Alex first,” Baal grunted. “I am eager to re-educate Lorelei on her loyalties.”
Lydia hummed in agreement. “It’s a pity you couldn’t stay longer to reinforce my loyalties once more, master.”
“It’s a pity I must wear this fleshy form here instead of giving you the sort of fucking you deserve. Sometimes I envy Harrow.”
“Where is he, anyway?”
“On the roof, keeping watch. You know how he is.” Baal yawned. “At any rate. Take care of Alex first. Then play around up here all you want. This diversion costs me souls in the short run, and I would like to have you get back to your work, but I can see the value in your proposal.”
“As you wish, master.”
At the bottom of the stairs, standing at the outside the clutch of Brotherhood attendees, Molly watched the whole thing warily. She listened to Anastacia’s speech while studying the other faces on the landing.
“They’re gonna make the move soon,” Molly said into Onyx’s ear. As she turned, she noticed that Onyx was murmuring something. In the palm of Onyx’s hand was a die, only instead of numbers or pips it was marked with arrows.
“Things are about to happen. We need to move over there,” Onyx said under her breath. “This is a bad spot for us.”
Molly didn’t need to be warned twice. She was the more experienced witch, with more spells and more time under her belt, but she trusted Onyx’s natural talent for perception and divination. Molly took Onyx by the hand and led her through the crowd, excusing herself all the while, until they stood at the corner between the foyer and a hallway.
“Christ, this is awful,” Molly said aloud.
“We’ll get him,” Onyx replied. “When they try to get him out of here, there’ll be fewer people to deal with. Just have to wait for the right moment.”
“Not him,” Molly corrected quietly. “Her.” She lifted her head up a touch to indicate the demons on the stairway above them. “Look at her.”
Onyx lifted her eyes up to see the battered, muzzled succubus above them. Her head was bowed, but her body softly shook.
“She’s crying,” Molly observed.
* * *
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, man,” Mitchell grumbled, “didja ever hear such a fucking blubbering mess in your goddamn life?”
“I cannot say that I have, no,” Talon scowled. He stood at the foot of the table while Mitchell remained near its head. Alex still lay restrained and wracked with tears. “At least he has started to quiet down.”
“Finally,” Mitchell said. The old gunslinger spat on Alex, who didn’t even notice. “Shit, this kid’s all of what, nineteen? Twenty at the most? The fuck’s he got to cry so hard about?”
Talon shrugged. “Perhaps his life has been more difficult than we have suspected.”
“Oh, that’s bullshit,” grunted the other vampire. “This kid grew up a healthy white boy in an American city with cell phones and flush toilets. He still lives with his momma. He don’t know what ‘difficult’ even is.” Mitchell spat again, then looked for something else to hold his attention. He found it directly behind the table. “This bitch here doesn’t know how good she’s had it, either,” he said, moving closer to the other captive in the room.
“We are ordered to leave her be,” Talon reminded him coolly.
“I ain’t gonna touch her,” Mitchell said. “Know better’n that. You weren’t there when we caught her. Didn’t see what she did to a couple of our people. Did he, sweetness?”
It was then Mitchell’s turn to be spat upon. Though chained too low on the floor to rise to her full height, the brunette in denim and flannel stayed in a ready crouch. “Fucking cunt,” the vampire growled.
She growled back. Her growl was considerably more feral.
“You are so lucky Talon’s here to keep you alive,” Mitchell snarled at her. “Otherwise I’d cut you loose from those chains just to have an excuse to shoot your sorry ass.”
“I would end you, corpse,” the woman sneered back.
Mitchell’s old but well-maintained revolver was in his hand in the blink of an eye, pointed directly at her forehead. “Put it away, fool,” Talon sighed.
The gunslinger’s eyes narrowed. He raised the pistol threateningly one more time, but then holstered it. “Not in the condition you’re in now, you wouldn’t, bitch,” he grumbled.
There was a knock at the heavy door before it was unlocked from the outside. Talon and Mitchell looked up to see Warren return, along with Jack and the suited vampire’s ever-present tommy gun. “I see the prisoner’s reactions have lessened somewhat,” Warren observed.
“Yeah, he stopped screamin’ about two minutes ago,” Mitchell shrugged. “Little less sobbing now, too. Might even be able to talk.”
Warren cocked his head curiously. “Can you hear me, Alexander?” he asked. “Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Where is Lorelei?” Alex rasped.
“With her rightful owner,” Warren told him simply.
“No,” Alex coughed, shaking his head. “Can’t own people.”
Talon sighed again, looking at Mitchell. “You are right about one thing,” the vampire said. “This is a very soft country in a very soft age.”
“I will need to work a bit here,” Warren informed the other vampires.
“The Lady has conceded to this?” Talon asked with a raised eyebrow. He looked to Jack as if to note the complete irrelevance of anything Warren might have to say.
“She wants us to watch,” Jack shrugged. “Anything hinky or out of place goes on, Warren here becomes a very unhappy customer.”
“Understood,” Talon nodded, turning his attention back to the robed man.
“This is only preliminary,” Warren explained. “The potion still needs time to take effect. With the dosage he received, I must monitor his condition.” His hands disappeared into his robes. When they reappeared, one was held tightly closed, while the other opened to reveal a handful of ash. Warren held it high and blew the ashes out over the room, taking care to turn fully counter-clockwise as he sent it all into the air.
Warren murmured words of magic so softly and quickly that Talon could barely make them out as Greek. What he heard alarmed him, but as he reached for his sword he found it was already too late.
No one else in the room saw it coming, for no one else knew Greek.
“You will all defend me this night,” Warren informed them calmly. “Your allegiance this night is to me and to the Brotherhood. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Warren,” the vampires said, each bowing to him as deeply as they ever bowed to Lady Anastacia.
“Yes, sir,” Warren corrected.
“Yes, sir.”
“Excellent. Jack, please go outside and get a vehicle ready. Something that will hold yourself, Carlisle and I. Talon as well. I’d hate to leave behind such a luminary of your kind.”
Jack bowed again and headed out.
Warren waited a long, pensive moment before he spoke again. “Mitchell, Talon, we are going to lead Carlisle out. You will escort me to Jack’s vehicle, using your authority as agents of Lady Anastacia to ease our departure. I will conceal Carlisle through my magic. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” they both said.
“Do you think Carlisle will be any trouble?”
“He already had a solid beating tonight,” Talon answered. “We will likely have to carry him.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Warren pulled out a pocket watch to check the time. He waited a full minute. “Lady Anastacia’s court should still be underway upstairs. By now the hallways will be somewhat deserted. I suspect court may deteriorate rapidly. Gentlemen, unfasten Carlisle’s bonds. Oh, and Mitchell? No witnesses. Please eliminate the other prisoner before we go.”
Mitchell nodded, even grinning. “You had best close the door, then, sir,” the gunslinger suggested. He finished pulling off the latches on Alex’s wrists. “This room muffles sound pretty well, but if the door’s open, someone might still hear the shots.”