Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1)

CHAPTER Thirty

“And no one told us.” Lilith stared at the tracking screens and voiced what the group was thinking. “They’ve watched us every day.” The accusation was plain in her voice.

“Since the assassination attempt. Before you get too bent out of shape, think about it,” Ari said. “Someone had just attacked the prince. They were seeing the enemy everywhere. So they took precautions. Haven’t we talked about the need for more surveillance? Well, here it is. I don’t like the secrecy either, but at least they told us now.”

“Hey, Mike, look at this.” Maleban grinned as he turned dials and poked buttons; Mike’s eyes lit up. Techies and their obsessions. In this case, it was a good thing. Drawn in by their companions’ excitement, the rest of the team crowded around, and resentment was set aside.

The next two days flew by. During daylight, Ari worked with the security team, established the new procedures, trained on the use of equipment, sharpened defensive skills with sparring and mock attacks. In the evenings, Andreas and Ari continued to comb the Otherworld bars and clubs, patrolling the streets and Goshen Park, watching and listening for some word that would lead them to the Canadian wolves.

Ari was surprised how well they got along. Andreas was a charming companion with a dry sense of humor. As he chatted with many of the bar owners, Ari gained an appreciation of his business skills. No wonder Club Dintero was so successful. Andreas’s keen eye noted every dirty counter as well as the friendly service or the sparkling set of glasses. Ari almost forgot they were looking for killers.

Late on the first night, they approached an establishment new to the strip. Ari had never been inside. Neon lights flashed in pink and orange and black. A rhythmic beat spilled into the street. The tall, brawny vampire at the door sported leather and multiple arm tattoos. He reminded Ari of the vamp in Toronto, except this guy was even bigger.

Ari started for the door, still thinking about the tattoos and the feeling of déjà vu she’d had with the tattooed vamp in Toronto.

Andreas nudged her arm. “Are you certain you want to go inside?

“Why not?” Ari gave the place a once over. The sign read Sin & Skin. Knowing vampires, that could mean anything. “Is it illegal?”

“Not exactly,” he said dryly. “It is a vampire strip club.”

“Male or female strippers?”

“Female usually. Both upon occasion.”

“Oh. Well…” Women were definitely not her cup of tea. Nor were strip clubs for that matter, but no big deal either. “Nothing I haven’t seen before. Might be the kind of place our wolves would go.”

Ari strode toward the door. The bouncer checked them out, quirked a look at Andreas, and motioned them through the entrance.

The club was dark and smoky; it smelled of beer and cigarettes. Prior to the no smoking bans, this had been typical bar atmosphere throughout Riverdale. Now only the vampire strip remained immune to the bans. Since vampires, and most Otherworlders for that matter, didn’t have to worry about lung cancer, smoking was allowed. Ari thought they should show a little more consideration for the human tourists. The music was loud and sensual, with a tropical beat. Three female vamps, in various stages of dress or undress, were pole dancing to the sultry music. After a quick glance that made her wonder if the undead could still get implants, Ari concentrated on the crowd.

She saw a mixture of tourists and locals, but no one who resembled the police photos of the wolves. She began to push her way toward the bar, ready to show the mug shots to the bartender.

Andreas spoke in her ear. “I don’t see any indication of our pack. Shall we call it quits for tonight?”

Ari frowned at him. “Without talking to the barkeep? Do you have somewhere else to be?” A late date?

“Don’t say I did not try,” he murmured in her ear.

Sudden drums began a heavy beat, drowning out anything else Andreas might have said. The overhead lights went out. A spotlight appeared. Strobe lights flashed, and a female vamp with large breasts and long legs glided onto the stage. A red scarf draped around her neck, and three tiny triangles of red silk covered the most critical spots. She held a knife in her teeth. The predominately male crowd shouted as she gyrated her hips and swirled the scarf to the beat of the drums.

A male werelion climbed out of the audience onto the stage. He mirrored her movements and reached out one hand, capturing the top two triangles. As he bent his head and bit into a bare breast, the audience stomped and howled. Ari had been wrong; she hadn’t seen this before.

Her feet seemed rooted by the spectacle, the violent, sexual display. When the dancer transferred the knife to her hand, Andreas took Ari’s arm and steered her toward the door. As they reached the exit, Ari saw Sheila.

“There she is! The she-wolf.” Ari dove back into the unruly mob, shoving toward the place she had spotted the wolf. Andreas stayed with her, searching from his greater height. Fights began to break out as the crowd stormed the stage. Bar staff waded in with clubs and Tasers. When Andreas and Ari failed to find any trace of the she-wolf, he finally dragged her outside.

“Are you positive it was Sheila?” he asked.

Was she? It was a brief glance, and all she had to go on was a mug shot. “Pretty sure.”

They circled the building, hanging around until the show was over and the bar began to empty. They scanned every patron. When only stragglers remained, Ari was forced to accept she’d been wrong or Sheila had gotten away.

“I guess we’re done for tonight.” As they started up the street, Ari’s curiosity made her ask, “Back there, were they really going to do it? Right on stage?”

“Yes. And much more,” he said with a straight face. He struggled to suppress a laugh.

She didn’t ask what he meant by ‘much more.’ Knowing vamps and werewolves, and with a knife involved, she figured blood was a prime ingredient. She wasn’t sorry she missed the rest of the performance. There might be less desirable activities than having kinky, bloodletting sex on a public stage, but right now she couldn’t think of one.

Ari grimaced.

And then he did laugh.

“That’s why you wanted to leave. You knew what was coming. Have you been there before?”

“Yes.” His eyes still twinkled.

“More than once?”

“That sounds like a loaded question.” He looked at her with a grin. “And I have better sense than to answer.”

* * *

By the second evening, they were running out of places to look. With no verified sightings, despite her “possible” from the night before, Ari began to think the pack had returned to Canada. She and Andreas had worked the side streets this evening. The next stop was Tillie’s, a small bar and grill patronized mostly by weretigers. It was definitely off the tourist beat.

The owner’s immediate response to the photos sent Ari’s blood rushing.

“Yeah, I seen them. Recognize the woman.” The owner pointed to Sheila’s photo. “Heavy accent. Came in here two or three nights in a row. Ordered from the tap. But I suspected they were selling drugs. Told ’em to leave. Don’t need the police shutting me down.”

“Have they been back?” she asked.

The barkeep shook his head. “No, ma’am. Not since.”

“Did you get the impression they live nearby?” Andreas asked.

The owner scratched his head. “Can’t say about that. But the first night they asked about pizza. Told ’em about the carryout joint two blocks over. That’s where they headed from here. Maybe the pizza folks can help you.”

Ari was out the door almost before the barkeep finished. She sprinted the two blocks, Andreas easily matching her stride. But their luck ran out again. The pizza guy had no trouble remembering the wolves, but they’d used pick-up—not delivery. And paid cash. Another dead end. It proved the wolves were still in town, but that was all.

Tired and let down over the fizzled lead, Ari said good night and trudged home. So far they’d used good, old-fashioned police work, tromping around Olde Town, interviewing potential witnesses, and they had next to nothing to show for their efforts. Maybe it was time to try a little witchcraft. Scrying wasn’t exactly one of her best talents, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

Arriving at her apartment, she opened the cedar chest that doubled as her coffee table, pulled out the scrying bowl, and selected a small crystal pedant. While she’d never located people by this method, she’d found inanimate objects a few times. Well, once or twice. She knew people were harder. The searching spell worked best when the practitioner had personal items from the target—which Ari didn’t have. She’d heard that sometimes images worked, and she had the police photos.

She uncapped a bottle of blessed water and poured two inches in the bowl. Her biggest obstacle was the absence of a foolproof spell. For Ari, that meant she needed the missing family journal, the Book of Shadows. Lacking that, she could only borrow what had worked for her witch mentor in St. Louis.

Ari darkened the room and lit the candles of the four elements. Holding the police photos in one hand and slowly swinging the pendant with the other, she concentrated on the water and summoned the Goddess. Forming the image of Sheila inside her head, she repeated the she-wolf’s name three times, asking the Goddess to grant her wish. The water swirled and clouded, but despite Ari’s repeated efforts, it remained opaque, unreadable.

After an hour, she gave up the effort and went to bed. As she lay there still awake, she was glad she hadn’t mentioned the attempt to Andreas. It was bad enough she had to live with her failures. It would be worse if others knew. Good thing she didn’t have to depend on the witchcraft.

* * *

Since they had confirmed the enemy pack was still in town, Ari arrived early at the compound on Saturday morning. It was no longer a question of whether the wolves would attack again, but where and when. She wanted to share the news with her team and make sure they were ready.

When Maleban hadn’t arrived by six, Ari called his home and cell without getting a response. Tension spread through the security room as everyone began to realize something was wrong. Concerned about splitting her team or leaving the compound a man short, Ari refused to send one of them to check his residence. She finally called police dispatch for an assist. Within minutes, they reported no one was home. The patrol officers agreed to cruise the neighborhood for anything unusual.

When Ari disconnected, she shook her head.

“This is bad,” Lilith said.

The stillness at her words proved they were all having that sinkhole in the gut feeling. When the phone rang again, Ari flinched at the sound of Ryan’s voice. Dispatch wouldn’t have alerted the lieutenant on a welfare check, not unless it had gone sour.

“Your guy’s dead, Ari. Looks like a sniper with a high-powered rifle. Two shots. Head, heart. A marksman. Patrol found the body around the corner, not more than a block from his apartment. You want to tell me what’s going on? Is this connected to Sebastian?”

“Probably. Maleban was a member of the security team that protects Prince Daron.”

Ryan sighed audibly. “You better warn me before this explodes all over the community. I don’t want to get caught with my pants down. You hear me?”

“Sure, but so far no humans are involved.” That’s what he really wanted to know. As long as the problems stayed in the Otherworld community, Ryan’s bosses would let the Magic Council take the lead. In fact, they’d prefer it that way.

He grunted an acknowledgment. “You want a lab workup and autopsy?”

“He’s half demon. The body will decay like a vampire’s. Send the remains to the Magic Council.”

“Can do. Anything else?”

“Ballistics. I want to know if the bullets were silver. And, who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and find a rifle for you to match.”

“Oh, yeah, like that’ll happen,” he said, disconnecting.

As soon as Ari took the phone from her ear, Lilith demanded to know what happened. Ari repeated everything. The team took it in silence. When she asked about notification, no one knew of any family. Nobody to care except the people in that room. And Ari didn’t know how to help them. She felt the loss, and she’d known him only a week. The others had worked with him for years. They needed time to grieve, to recover, but she couldn’t give them that time. The enemy would know their need too, might even try to take advantage of it.

Why had they gone after Maleban? Was he some special threat? He could use fire, but so could she. Or was he just the most accessible? He lived the farthest away, and he lived alone. That might make him an easier target. A first target? Ari’s stomach clenched. With a sniper at their disposal, maybe they intended to pick them off, one by one.

Not on her watch.

“None of you can leave the compound tonight.” Ari’s abrupt words got everyone’s immediate attention. “You’re all targets now. With a sniper it’s not safe to go home. If you need to notify family or friends, do it. Tell anyone who lives with you to lay low, maybe stay somewhere else for a day or two. “

“What about our clothes? Toothbrush?” Lilith asked.

“Make a list of what you need. We’ll ask the vamps to pick them up after dark. Any other questions?” She looked around. “Then let’s figure out where you’re going to sleep.”

When Andreas arrived, Ari broke the news. He didn’t say much, but his jaw hardened. The wolves were collecting bad karma from a bottomless cesspool.

During the following hour, quarters were assigned and set up in nearby rooms. Lilith and Russell in one, Mike and Benny shared another. Once she was satisfied the team was settled for the night, Ari headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Andreas asked.

“I have work to do. There’s a pack of killers out there, and I’ve got a community to protect. I’m neglecting my other duties. Like patrol, for instance.”

“Not alone. If you go, we go together.” He cocked his head. “And after patrol? What are your plans?”

Ari knew where this was going. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you serious? You can’t return to your apartment. The wolves know where you live.”

“And I’ve been safe there for days,” she countered. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“That was before they had a sniper. Maleban thought he was safe too. Arianna, be reasonable. Take your own advice. You just grounded your team.”

A quick glance around the room confirmed the team was listening to every word. Otherworld ears were too damn good. While they could use some diversion right now, she didn’t think a heated argument with Andreas would help.

“Can we settle this later?” she asked with a significant tilt of her head toward the observers.

“Of course,” he said, his voice amiable enough, “but we will settle it. We have an agreement for your services. I believe that gives me the final word.”

Lilith snickered, and Ari gave her a half-hearted glare. The werelioness returned a knowing smirk.

“He’s right,” Russell offered.

Traitors, Ari thought. This was so not comfortable. She lifted a hand in an abrupt wave and exited the door, Andreas in close pursuit. The cool evening breeze felt good on her flushed cheeks. Andreas caught her with a restraining hand at the curb.

“What?” she grumbled.

He waved at a silver SUV pulling to the curb. A young vampire jumped out, handed the keys to Andreas, and disappeared inside the compound.

Andreas jangled the keys in one hand. “Drive or ride?”

“Drive.”

She caught the toss. Once behind the wheel, she glanced at him before starting the engine. “Why the wheels?”

“I thought that was obvious. If there is a sniper out there, walking the streets is somewhat risky.”

“OK, I buy that, but you had the car waiting. You just tried to get me to stay in the compound.”

“Yes. That is what I wanted.” Andreas stared out the front window. “But I had no illusion you would comply. I called for the car thirty minutes ago.”

Ari jabbed the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Andreas was beginning to know her a little too well. At least he realized she wouldn’t blindly follow his orders.

“But you cannot go home tonight,” he added. “I will not indulge you in something that risky.”

“Indulge me?” Ari couldn’t believe he’d said that. “I’ll quit before I let you order me around.”

“And abandon your team? I doubt that. And if you do something so rash, the Magic Council will no doubt respond to an appeal from Prince Daron.” He eyed her calmly. “If you won’t stay with the team, then Club Dintero will have to do. We can protect you there.”

“I’ll stay with Claris.”

“And endanger her? The wolves targeted you once before. Now you are working with us, which makes you a bigger target. If you stay anywhere that is not secured, you place yourself and others around you at risk. For no good reason I can comprehend.”

Ari subsided, realizing Andreas had a valid point about risking others, but still trying to come up with an alternative. She didn’t need anyone to protect her. They rode in silence for the rest of the trip. Andreas spoke once, directing her to stop at Club Dintero. They left the SUV at the front door. This had become a regular nightly stop, Andreas checking on business while Ari sampled the free food.

Tonight, Andreas had something else in mind. He led her to his office, opened the closet, and pulled the handle on a trap door. “This secret passage leads to Daron’s compound. With the sniper threat, we may need to use it.”

Ari peered down the narrow wooden steps that turned sharply to the right into darkness. “Who knows about this?”

“Hard to say. It hasn’t been much of a secret. On the other hand, it has rarely been used. Daron and I built it when we first bought the Club. The other end is in the hallway near the compound security rooms.” He dropped the trap door in place and stepped back into the office. Glancing at his desk, he frowned at a tall stack of papers, picked up one, and began to read through it. “Can you give me a few minutes? I would like to check if there is anything urgent.”

While he perused the paperwork, Ari wandered around his office. She’d only seen it for brief moments prior to tonight. Not very fancy, she thought, and not nearly the size she’d expect for the owner’s private office. Adequate, although the furniture was definitely upscale. His desk was polished cherrywood, the matching chair upholstered in leather like dark chocolate. She imagined she could smell fudge. A large, pillowy sofa claimed the same lush material. Two leather chairs of similar style, but in an off-white, provided color contrast, and a carved cherrywood file cabinet stood in the corner.

Ari poured herself a cup of coffee from the wine and coffee tray brought in as soon as they arrived. Sinking onto the couch, she watched Andreas work as she waited for the hot liquid to cool.

Showing no awareness of her scrutiny, Andreas’s athletic body relaxed into the desk chair, his long legs stretched out before him, fine features intent on his work. He occasionally gave brief attention to his glass of Chianti. Ari wondered if he knew what an appealing picture he made. But she wasn’t just enjoying the view; she was forming and discarding arguments to convince him she didn’t want or need his protection.

As if hearing this inner dialogue, he lifted his gaze. “You can sleep in this room, if you like. That sofa is quite comfortable. I will introduce you to the night staff, and of course, I will be on the premises until dawn. You won’t be disturbed.”

Ari parted her lips to protest, but he stopped her with a sharp look. “Staying alone is not an option.”

“Is that an order?”

He looked at her in silence.

“And you expect that to work?”

Andreas let out a long breath and laid his papers aside. He swiveled the chair toward her. “I hoped you would see the necessity for this precaution. The wolves will eliminate anyone in their way.” He leaned forward, forearms on thighs, his eyes serious. “You would be the logical next target, and your team can’t afford to lose its leader.”

She released a sigh of her own. Why she was arguing with him? She knew her apartment wasn’t safe. The longer she stayed there, the more she invited an attack and the more she endangered the other tenants. But damn, she resented Andreas telling her what to do. Of course, giving in gracefully, especially when she was wrong, could be a good thing. Yeah, right. It wasn’t likely to become a habit with her. Maybe just this once, but no way would she return to the compound, hauled home like some willful adolescent. She could imagine Lilith’s peals of laughter.

* * *

Later that night, as she lay curled on the sofa, patrol completed, her own pillow retrieved from her apartment and fluffed under her head, Ari’s thoughts returned to the unproductive search for the wolves. How did they continue to elude her search? Who was the insider helping them? And most important of all, what were they planning next?

She woke when something brushed her arm. Terrified the wolves had found her, she grabbed for the dagger under her pillow. Strong hands caught her wrists. Before she panicked, a familiar energy registered.

“Arianna.”

She relaxed, willing her pounding pulse to slow. Good thing he had quick reflexes. Andreas released her.

“I apologize,” he said, so close she breathed in the scent of his cologne. “I didn’t intend to frighten you. It is almost dawn. The SUV is at the curb. We have searched outside and nothing seems amiss. It is safe, if you depart soon.” He moved away, switching on the desk lamp.

“OK.” She sat up, trying to shake the remaining fuzz out of her head, and blinked at the sudden light. This was not the ideal way to waken. Adrenaline and a sleep-drugged brain don’t mix well.

“Here.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “This should help.”

Ari half curled under the warm blanket. She must have been sleeping hard. She sipped at the dark liquid. Hmm. His special blend. Yummy. She lifted her drowsy lashes to peek at Andreas. He looked good in black slacks and, surprise, a silver shirt. She never doubted the brand. The shirt hugged his chest and shoulders in all the right places. He looked rather yummy himself.

Whoa, scratch that thought. Vampire, she reminded herself. She sat up straighter and took another sip. “I’m fine now,” she said. Whether the reassurance was meant for him or her, Ari wasn’t sure.

Andreas smiled, his eyes glinted as if he’d read her mind, and he slipped out the door.