‘And what do you want?’
He licked his lips and ran one hand slowly down the zipper of his leather trousers, cupping himself. ‘I thought I made myself quite clear – I want Devereux.’
Something about the way he said Devereux’s name sent chills up my body. My pulse quickened and my stomach contracted. Where is Devereux, anyway?
‘You aren’t strong enough to do anything to Devereux.’
He gave a Cheshire-cat smile. ‘Perhaps not. But Lucifer and me together – well, let’s just say we’re an unbeatable team.’
That was the second time he’d mentioned that name. Was he talking about the Devil? ‘Who’s Lucifer?’
He laughed and uncupped himself. ‘You’ll find out soon enough.’
Suddenly the air was filled with the familiar popping sounds and at least two dozen vampires materialised into the room. They carried bottles, carved boxes, enormous gemstones, ancient-looking books, statues and swords. A couple of the new arrivals resembled the old bearded characters in The Lord of the Rings.
Somehow I didn’t think they were there to hold a Renaissance Fayre.
Bryce nodded, pleased. He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. ‘We’ll go and enjoy the party while the ritual is prepared.’
‘What ritual?’
‘The ritual of High Magic that will render Devereux helpless long enough for me to take control of him. Lucifer already began the binding process in Devereux’s dreams. Even now his power weakens.’
Devereux had mentioned he’d been experiencing strange dreams, and he’d said something about being tricked into entering a ‘difficult reality’, whatever that was.
Until that moment, I hadn’t seriously tried to contact Devereux telepathically. I still had a hard time believing I could call up my supposed abilities at will. Pushing the doubt aside, I put everything I had into sending a burst of thought to him, and for a second I could’ve sworn I heard him say my name.
I didn’t know if that was good news or not. It certainly would be great for me if he turned up – but if he did, he’d be the guest of honour at the Ritual from Hell. I didn’t care for the sound of this Lucifer guy.
‘What about Midnight and Ronald and Alan?’
‘They’re perfectly fine.’ Bryce spoke pleasantly, nonchalantly waving a hand in the air. He lowered his chin and whispered. ‘For now.’
‘Can you save Midnight?’
Harsh laughter burst from his mouth. ‘Silly human.’ He addressed his pint-sized servant. ‘Raleigh, drag the girl and her saviour over to the corner with the FBI agent. We need the space in the centre of the room to cast the circle.’
Raleigh gave a dramatic bow and skipped over to Midnight. He pulled her by the arm and her head slammed onto the floor as it fell off Ronald’s lap.
‘Please! Don’t hurt her!’ Ronald’s eyes glistened with tears. It feels horrible to be helpless.
‘Get over here under your own steam or I’ll be happy to drag you, too,’ Raleigh yelled at Ronald. ‘Of course, your arm might accidentally be pulled out of its socket, but by that time you’ll have passed out and won’t notice.’ He made a braying sound that was probably laughter.
Bryce beamed like a proud parent watching a precocious child. He appeared to be having a very good time. He turned to one of the bearded vampires who’d brought over a jar of something for him to inspect.
Movement in one of the mirrors caught my eye. A man dressed not in vampire regalia but in an old-fashioned waistcoat and breeches stalked across the room and stood at the edge of the activity, watching. In his hands he carried a violin and bow. He began gesturing angrily with the bow, his face contorted, his mouth forming soundless words.
None of the vampires in the middle of the room responded. Apparently they couldn’t hear him either. I shifted my head so I could see the man directly instead of reflected in the mirror. He wasn’t there. Turning back to the mirror I found him right where he’d been before.
I tried the experiment again, with the same result. What the hell? Was I the only one who was able to see this guy?
It was obvious from his body language that the violinist was becoming progressively more upset the longer he was ignored.
He moved towards Raleigh, who was hefting a large black stone into place in the circle, and poked him with the bow . . . which passed right through his body. Not getting the result he desired obviously enraged the man further. He stamped his foot and threw his bow on the floor.
When he bent over to pick it up, his eyes met mine in the mirror. Surprise flashed across his face and he disappeared.
No. I didn’t just see that. Bryce must’ve messed with my brain again. No more supernatural weirdness. I refuse to believe one more unbelievable thing.
At that moment, Bryce dismissed the bearded vamp and turned to me. He closed his arm around my waist. I felt a feather’s breath of air against my face, then we were down on the main floor, in the middle of the party.
I almost asked him how he managed to come and go without smashing into or landing on top of anyone, but caught the words before they left my mouth. I didn’t want him to mistake my nervous chatter for actual interest in anything about him.
I craned my neck, searching the area for Brother Luther, and was relieved to come up empty. Since I hadn’t heard back from Lieutenant Bullock and Alan was incapacitated upstairs, I hoped the lunatic wouldn’t show up. According to what Bryce had said, there was already a full dose of misery on tap for the evening.
Misery, and a ghost in the mirror.
A velvet voice floated through my mind. ‘My love.’
I started to say, ‘Dev—’
‘Speak to me silently, in your mind. Bryce is not very good at telepathy – he lacks discipline – but we do not want to draw his attention.’
I didn’t waste any time questioning whether or not I could communicate telepathically. I sent him a bundle of thoughts, emotions and pictures, sharing everything I knew about Brother Luther, Bryce’s intentions, the ritual to trap him and someone named Lucifer.
‘I will not allow harm to come to you. Do not let anyone know you have spoken to me. I will be close by. No matter what.’
I felt an odd emptiness and knew he was gone.
Bryce’s mouth was moving, so I assumed he’d been talking to me. I focused on his words, hoping he’d provide more useful information.
‘—why he would be interested in someone like you.’
‘What?’ I blurted, annoyed that I’d missed the first part of his sentence. I held my hands over my ears, pretending I hadn’t heard him because of the loud music.
He scowled and raised his voice. ‘Devereux knew when he brought me over that I’d be powerful. He also knew how I felt about him. I don’t care what he says – he’s as bisexual as the rest of us. I never did believe his song and dance about waiting for some soulmate or whatever. It’s bad enough he’s making a fool of himself over a woman, but a human woman is beyond belief.’ The evil grin slid across his face again. ‘He’ll have a long time to regret and reassess his choices. I might still take him back. If he begs. Let’s dance.’
Before I could protest, or think of a way to avoid the close contact, Bryce had pulled me onto one of the table-free areas where couples were slow-dancing. He put his hands on my bottom and ground his lower body against mine.
I struggled to free my arms from his rigid embrace. He didn’t even notice. He was busy studying my cleavage in the low-cut dress.
‘I might just have to sample the goods Devereux is so hot for before the night is over. You’ve got big tits. I like that.’ He reached a hand around, grabbed my breast, squeezed it and laughed. ‘More than a handful.’ He slid his hand from my breast to the hair resting beside it and lifted a curl. ‘Your hair is long. It’s almost as pretty as mine. Almost.’