“That’s what I thought, too.”
“Maybe you’re just tired,” Wes suggested.
John instantly flashed his fangs at him. “I’m not fucking tired!”
“Just saying…”
“I’ll try it,” Haven interrupted, but a moment later had to concede, too. “John is right. He doesn’t respond to mind control. Very odd.”
“Something is wrong. Seriously wrong,” Wes murmured.
Mind control worked on all humans. And this man was clearly human.
“He might be under a spell,” Haven mused. “It’s a possibility, right, Wes?”
“We’ll find out. Somebody get me my black bag from my office.” It contained basic tools for witchcraft. While he kept a more comprehensive collection of tools, books, and herbs at his home, he always had the essentials in his office. “And then clear the room. It won’t be safe in here for any of you.”
Because not even vampires had any protection against spells.
14
Blake got out of the shower and dressed quickly. It was mid-afternoon and he’d only slept a few hours, but he’d gotten a call from Scanguards twenty minutes ago that they’d found Hannah’s car and were transporting it to headquarters for examination. He wanted to take a look at it, in the hopes that Hannah had left a clue as to her whereabouts.
He opened the door to leave his bedroom, when he heard sounds from the guestroom Nicholas and Adam were occupying. The boys were stirring. He knew he couldn’t leave them to their own devices, particularly since he didn’t know how long he’d be gone.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Wesley’s number. It took three rings before Scanguards’ resident witch finally replied.
“Yeah?”
“Hey Wes, how did the scrying go?”
“It didn’t.”
“You didn’t find anything with Hannah’s DNA on it?”
“I did, but it didn’t work. The crystal couldn’t pinpoint her location. I can’t find her.”
“What does that mean? I thought you could find any human.”
“I thought so, too.” He sighed. “Listen, I’ve gotta get back to what I’m doing.”
“One more thing.” Blake stopped him from disconnecting the call. “I need your help.”
“I’m really busy right now.”
“It’s important. They found Hannah’s car. I need to check it out. Can you look after Nicholas and Adam, and keep an eye on Lilo, too?”
“Can’t you find somebody else? I’m examining some files right now.”
“Can’t that wait?”
“No!”
Blake sighed. “Then why don’t you bring the files with you to the house? You can work in my office. Come on, be a good sport.”
“Why is it that your work always takes precedence over mine?”
He heard the edge in Wesley’s voice and knew to tread lightly. “It doesn’t. But this is about Hannah.”
There was a short pause, then Wes replied, “Blake, I don’t want you to panic, but… there’s something we found on Ronny’s computer.”
“What did you find?” His heart was suddenly hammering as loud as a locomotive.
“It’s possible that Ronny has been experimenting with potions.”
“Potions? You mean like your kind of potions?”
“Not exactly. More like drugs.”
“Doing what?”
“I don’t know yet. There’s something else: today Donnelly transferred a human into our custody. It looked like he was under a spell or something. But when I examined him I couldn’t find any sign of witchcraft. Which leaves us with something physical.”
“Physical?”
“Yeah, as in drugs. Something mind-altering. And it just happens that I came across an herb today that scares the shit out of me.”
“An herb scares the shit out of you? You’re exaggerating.”
“I found the name of the herb on Ronny’s computer. That’s why I’m going through these files. I need to find out what he’s been up to. If he’s been using this stuff, this H?llenkraut, on humans…”
“Shit! What does it do?”
“Not sure exactly. There were other ingredients, too, that have strange effects on humans. I’m not sure exactly how he’s combining them and what the point of all this is. But I don’t like it.”
Blake blew out a breath. “Neither do I. Any leads on Ronny’s car?”
“Donnelly and his team are keeping their eyes and ears open, but nothing so far. Have you spoken to the vet?”