Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1)

CHAPTER Eighteen

The Riverdale Police Department annex, where Ryan and his unit were housed, was a four-story, square, red brick building, built in the early 1900s, and frequently upgraded over the years. Once the seat of all police activity, the building had been superseded twelve years ago by a modern structure in downtown Riverdale. The annex still held a full contingency of offices and officers, and handled all crime in Olde Town and the west side of Riverdale proper.

Ari bounded up the steps to the front entrance with its massive double doors that opened onto the second floor. Information and Dispatch were just inside. Elevators would take you down to the first floor temporary jail and the police carport or up to the offices and conference rooms on the top two floors. Ryan’s office was on the third floor. Ari swung into a side hall and took the stairs.

As she had suspected, Ryan and his unit were working Saturday morning. Her partner sat behind his desk in an old swivel chair. As long as Ari had known him, the chair had listed to the left, but Ryan refused to replace it, claiming it fit his butt just fine. A late-twenties officer in street uniform perched on the edge of Ryan’s desk. The two men looked up when she poked her head in the door, and the uniformed officer stood.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No, not at all.” Ryan waved her in. “Just admiring a picture of Tom’s new baby boy. I don’t think you two have met. Tom’s new to the unit, transferred from patrol.”

As soon as the happy father left, Ari sank into a chair and brought Ryan up to date on the call from Rita. She was deciding how to get into the rest of it when the door opened and Ryan’s secretary brought in two cups of coffee. Temporary reprieve. Contrary to most police departments, RDPD had decent coffee, thanks to the ladies of the clerical staff who guarded the pot.

Ari had rehearsed the coming conversation in her head, but now it felt all wrong. She sipped her coffee and worked on a quick rewrite.

Ryan leaned forward to rest his hands on the desk. “Out with it, Ari. Something’s on your mind, and I’d guess I’m not going to like it.”

She nearly spilled her coffee, set it down.

Ryan grinned at her reaction. “You look like you expect to be sent to the principal’s office.”

“That obvious, huh?” Ari hid a flash of annoyance. Maybe she’d have to work on this inscrutable face thing. There was no easy way, so she just told him. “You know I talked with Rita, and that I’ve tried everything to confirm her story. Well, I finally gave up and called Andreas. You remember, the vampire you met at the Second Chance. I went to see him Thursday night.”

“And? You’re still in one piece, so I assume it stayed peaceful.”

“Of course. And I asked Andreas to help us.”

“Thought you’d already done that. And he didn’t seem too eager after the bar fight. Did he agree to find the witnesses for you?”

“Sort of. I asked him to work on the case with me. With us. Like another partner.” Ryan’s brows shot up, but he didn’t say anything, so she continued. “And I asked him to take me to Gordon’s nest.” She sipped from her coffee cup, peering at him over the rim, and waited for a reaction.

Ryan’s body stilled, his face settled into a frown. “And what did he say?”

“He laughed at me.”

Ryan relaxed and leaned back, a slight smile on his face.

Knowing she’d misled him, Ari plowed ahead. “But I didn’t give up, and eventually he changed his mind. Said he’d take me.”

“What?” Ryan exploded out of his chair. He shoved both hands through his blond curls, creating a disordered mass, and began to stride back and forth across the room. “Good God, Ari. You must be crazy! You can’t trust a vampire. And you can’t go into some vampire nest with him.”

“I already did.”

Ryan stopped, his feet glued to the floor, and stared at Ari as if she had turned into a two-headed frog.

“And I’m fine. Andreas went with me. We got what we needed and were back home in a couple of hours.”

If Ari had expected their success would make him happier, he quickly burst that bubble. His face paled, then flushed in sudden heat.

“Of all the lame-brained, idiotic things anyone could do! I know you have this big-time, supernatural stuff going for you, but even you can’t fight off a nest of vampires. How could you trust that…that creature?” He resumed his angry steps.

Ari didn’t want this to end in a big fight, so she decided to keep quiet until he simmered down. That turned out to be a good decision. One of few, according to him.

“You could be dead,” he ranted. “And I wouldn’t even know it. You’d just be missing. Since you didn’t bother to tell me, I wouldn’t have a clue what happened—or where to look. Did you tell anyone?”

When Ari shook her head, he rolled his eyes. After another minute or two of verbal venting, Ryan dropped into his chair, still shaking his head back and forth. “Why? Just tell me why?”

“Because I couldn’t do my job without him.” Ari leaned forward, eager to make him understand. “He has access to places we can’t go, places I can’t even find.”

“Maybe so. But no single case is that important.” His jaw set in a stubborn line.

“I don’t believe that, and neither do you. You put your life on the line every single day.” Ari gathered her thoughts. “I pledged to protect every member of the magic community, not just those I like. Or think are worth it. I never forget that oath. Just like your responsibility to protect the humans, even the bad guys sometimes.”

“I understand duty.” Ryan spoke with resignation. “But I don’t understand how you could trust him.”

“What was my choice? There wasn’t one. My brain hasn’t gone soft, Ryan. I know what he is, but so far he’s kept his word.”

“Lucky for you. I hope you don’t expect me to trust him.” His tone was acerbic.

“No,” she sounded resigned. “Not unless he earns it. But work with him. And we’ll both keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t seem right.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Contrary to one person’s opinion, I’m really not a lame-brained idiot.”

Ryan’s mouth twisted in a rueful grin. “Sorry about that. But damn it, Ari…” He stopped and regarded her with a worried frown.

“I know you don’t like the idea. But fess up, Ryan, we can use his help.”

He fiddled with a pen on his desk. “We’ll see about that. I suppose I can go along with this for now. But you knew that when you walked in here.”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t that confident.”

“But why didn’t you at least call me? You shouldn’t have gone into that nest by yourself.”

This seemed to be a sticking point Ryan couldn’t get past. She tried again. “I wasn’t alone. And I didn’t call because you’d try to stop me. So can we drop it now? We’ve got a good lead. A reason to go into the wolves’ home, conduct a search, and start asking official questions.”

Ryan still needed to vent, especially about including Andreas as an equal partner. As they argued through his objections, he gradually got used to the idea. Once he reached that point, they started planning the next move. Whatever was going to happen, it had to happen that night. Andreas wouldn’t wait beyond dark. And Ari wanted to be part of any confrontation with the wolves, not mopping up the mess afterward.

* * *

Four hours later, Ryan held the necessary warrant papers and plans for a raid were in place. Ari recruited Steffan and a couple of his wolves to keep watch on the house on Vine and report any activity. Ryan arranged for four officers to assist in the search. Or the shootout, Ari mentally added. Molyneux didn’t strike her as the compliant type.

Ryan wanted to move as soon as he had the warrant, but Ari convinced him to wait for Andreas. Depending on the condition of the vampire victims, they might need Andreas’s help. And although she didn’t mention it to her disgruntled cop, Andreas had earned the right to be there.

Around 4:00 p.m. Steffan reported Molyneux had left the house carrying an overnight bag. The wolf leader wasn’t moving like he was alarmed or in a hurry, but the bag indicated he planned to be away for some time. Ryan and Ari talked it over and decided to let him go rather than blow the entire operation. The goal at the moment was finding the young vampires. If they found evidence of criminal activity, they’d locate and arrest Molyneux after the raid.

Another half hour passed before Andreas called. “Do we have a plan?”

“You bet.” Ari arranged to meet the vampires in twenty minutes at Steffan’s command post. She jumped in the van with Ryan and his impromptu SWAT team, and everything proceeded as expected, until they were only blocks from the rendezvous point. Ari’s cell rang, and Steffan’s excited voice could be heard all over the van.

“They’re running! The whole bunch is piling into a black van. What do you want us to do?”

“Nothing,” Ryan shouted. “We’re almost there.”

“Were any vamps with them?” Ari demanded.

“Not that I saw. Just a pack of wolves. Dammit! They’re pulling out.”

Ryan turned on the lights, and the van skidded around the corner on two wheels. Ari spotted the house, but the wolves’ black van was out of sight. Steffan ran into the street and waved.

“Which way they’d go?” Ari yelled.

Steffan pointed, and Ryan stomped on the gas. They careened around the next corner, tires squealing. Still no van. Ryan radioed the other patrol cars to be on the lookout for the fugitives. After driving around for another ten minutes, Ryan looked at Ari. “Shall we go back to the house?”

“The vampires weren’t in the van.”

“Yep, noticed that. We’ll let patrol look for the van.” Ryan swung back onto Vine and pulled over. Steffan and Andreas stood on the front walk, surrounded by a group of wolves and vampires. The two leaders appeared to be arguing. Ari and Ryan jumped out to join them.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

“Nothing now,” Steffan said. “A disagreement on whether we should enter the house before you got back.”

Ari gave Andreas a quick glance, figuring he was ready to tear the house apart. In fact, she was surprised he’d paid any attention to Steffan.

“So what happened?” Ryan demanded. “What spooked them?”

“Damned if I know.” Steffan’s voice was sharp. “As I told Andreas, everything was quiet. Then all hell broke loose. They came pouring out like the house was on fire.”

“They were tipped.” Ryan said. “Either they noticed the surveillance or they were warned.”

“We weren’t seen. I’m sure of it,” Steffan said. “We hadn’t moved out of those trees in two hours.”

“Could Molyneux have spotted you when he left?” Ari suggested.

“No, he turned the other direction. Never came near us.”

Ryan’s jaw tightened, and he looked at Andreas. The vampire stared back. It wasn’t hard for anyone to see what Ryan was thinking.

“We’ll worry about it later,” Ari said, before something got started between the two. “Let’s check the house. See if we can find our vamps.”

Ryan nodded once. He wasn’t a happy man. Andreas started across the lawn.

Victor, one of the four vampires Andreas had brought, caught up with Ryan. “Shouldn’t we be chasing the van? We can’t be that far behind. If we lose them, we might never find Marcus.”

Ryan shook his head. “They’re long gone from here. Patrol officers will call us if they spot them.”

“How likely is that?” Victor grumbled. “We should try.”

“It’s too late,” Ryan said, not without sympathy. “Now, let’s go get the evidence in this house before we lose that too.”

Victor looked like he wanted to continue the argument, but Andreas shook his head. Victor subsided into a sulky silence as they entered the house. Ryan and his team began clearing the first floor, the wolves sniffed around the untidy mess, and the vampires charged into the basement. Ari started flipping on lights, until she heard Andreas yell. She dashed for the basement stairs, Ryan and Steffan close behind.

At first glance, the poorly lit basement looked like every other old cellar, damp and cluttered with junk. Ordinary, except for the smell. The faintly sweet scent of vampire mingled with a stronger stench of decay. Ari’s witch senses recoiled, and she paused halfway down the stairs. A single dirty lightbulb revealed a gruesome sight in the far south corner. As she moved closer, she saw a nude male vampire wrapped in heavy ropes and secured to the wall by chains. On the far side of the room, a shrunken creature with leathery skin was confined in a similar way. For once, Andreas’s still face spoke volumes. They’d found the missing vampires.

The chained victim whimpered intermittently, as if in great pain. The other creature sagged, limp, unresponsive, so mummified that Ari hadn’t immediately identified it as another vampire. Andreas knelt beside the first victim. Puzzled that the other vampires weren’t helping, Ari hurried forward. As Andreas started to unwrap the ropes, she shoved his hands away, finally seeing the problem. Over the ropes, both vampires were wrapped in thin, silver chains.

“Ryan, I need your help.” She unwound the first layer as Ryan took Andreas’s place. “Silver isn’t strong,” she explained in answer to the question on Ryan’s face, “but it immobilizes vampires and burns their skin. The rest of this stuff—the iron chains and the ropes—is just overkill.”

As soon as they’d freed the first victim, Andreas pulled Ari back and nudged Ryan to one side. “Stay back,” he warned. “They’ve been starved. This one will be desperate for blood. Healing demands it. And you will smell like ambrosia.”

Ryan jumped back, nearly tripping over a broken chair. The vamp’s eyes flew wide open, his nostrils flared. An intense primal look focused on Ari. She backed out of reach, more than willing to let Andreas take charge.

Ryan and Ari moved to the second creature. The cop’s face displayed his raw emotions at what he was seeing. Revulsion, yes, but also pity. His biases had limits. Even after they removed the ropes and chains, the vamp didn’t move. His life force was so faint, Ari wasn’t positive it was there. She was afraid they were too late.

Andreas crouched beside her. He reached out and gently touched the creature’s face. After a moment, he told them there was still hope. “Where the life force exists, even a flicker, there is possibility.”

Ari wasn’t sure whether Andreas was being realistic or fantasizing the outcome he wanted. The emaciated creature was young Marcus.

“This kind of healing requires the blood of a master level vampire,” Andreas said. “Marcus and Gordon must be taken to our community for treatment. Gordon’s recovery should be swift. At least physically. It is early to predict his emotional stability. Denial of blood is the worst torture imaginable for a vampire.”

Ryan and Ari gave their approval to his plan, and the vampires prepared for departure. A big vamp cradled Gordon in his arms and carried him out the door. Ari watched as the remaining vampires wrapped Marcus in sheets from the linen closet upstairs. They worked slowly, with great care.

“Is there really a chance he’ll survive?” Ari was finding it hard to believe.

“We can only try.” Andreas’s eyes lingered on the wrapped figure of his young friend. “The death process is well advanced. If his body recovers, it may take days, weeks, or months. I cannot even predict the rest.”

“So he might never tell us what happened?”

“He may not be cognizant again.”

Ari realized what pain those words must cause him. And that surprised her. Not so long ago, she’d have said vampires felt nothing, especially emotional pain.

“But the other one will recover,” Ryan broke in. “How soon can we talk to him?”

“A day, perhaps two. As soon as he is fully fed, his system will rejuvenate during the sleep cycle. I will call when he is ready.”

As the vampires left, Ari wondered what kind of treatment the vampires would receive. The Otherworld hospitals carried a blood supply, but she’d never seen a vampire there. Then again, how often did a vampire need medical treatment? Andreas said the victims needed blood from a master level vampire. Would that have to be Prince Daron or were there other masters? Like maybe Andreas?

Ryan’s relief that the vampires had taken charge of the victims was palpable. Ari wanted to mention how helpful it was to have a vampire partner, but she held her tongue. There are limits, even in a healthy friendship.

Steffan and his wolves went home. Ari, Ryan, and the four police officers searched the rest of the house. The strong doggie odor left by unwashed werewolf bodies, mingled with the smell of dirty clothes and spoiled food, made the search rather unpleasant. They didn’t find much beyond empty beer cans, cigar butts, and discarded takeout cartons. Ari took a quick look at the electronic equipment, a fax machine and two printers, all empty. The laptop she’d seen in Molyneux’s office was missing, probably in his carry bag.

Ryan’s grim-faced team carried the last evidence bags to the van. As Ari and Ryan followed, she leaned toward him, keeping her voice low. “Why such long faces? We recovered the vampires.”

“An empty house. Junk for evidence. What do you expect?” He gave her a calculated look. “But you know what’s wrong. The wolves should be in custody. Would be, if something hadn’t spooked them.” He shook his head. “I’d sure as hell like to know how that happened.”

Ari watched him walk away, his body bristling with tension. She thought he was overreacting and hurried to catch him. She laid a hand on his arm. “We’ll find them again. Maybe their escape wasn’t all bad. It’s a residential neighborhood, and they weren’t going to give up without a bloodbath. And Andreas seemed relieved to get his vampires back.” When Ryan glowered at her, she realized this had been the wrong moment to mention the vampire. “Yeah, it wasn’t a perfect outcome. But this isn’t over.”