Chapter 15
The town house that Tia had chosen for her visit to New York City possessed the old-world beauty of a Parisian hotel with lofted ceilings and white walls accented with brushes of gold. It also had the benefit of being tucked away in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by trees and a handful of humans. The perfect lair to keep her presence in the city a secret.
She didn’t know where the demon family who owned the building had gone, and frankly she didn’t care. They owed her a favor and she’d cashed it in.
Draped in a satin caftan that reached her ankles, Tia paced the salon, which was bathed in a rosy glow from the overhead chandelier. Long ago, she’d learned the art of patience. Chasing glory might feel good, but the only way to truly succeed was to meticulously plan a goal and execute it with flawless perfection. That was how she’d risen from being sold as a slave to Batu to becoming one of the most powerful, prosperous women in the world.
She imagined herself as a spider, carefully spinning webs that she sprea d far and wide.
Tonight, however, her patience was slipping away with every tick of the gran dfather clock.
Spinning on her heel to retrace her path across the Parisian carpet, Tia heard the back door opening and closing before the heavy tread of footsteps echoed through the silence. At last. She watched as Lynch entered the salon, appearing obscenely out of place in his worn jeans and gray hoodie stretched tight over his bulging muscles. He’d pulled on a Yankees baseball hat to cover his bald head and his feet were encased in a pair of bla ck biker boots.
“Well.” Halting in the center of the room, Tia glared at her servant. “It took yo u long enough.”
The goblin shrugged. “The city’s on edge. Not many demons are willing to share information with a stranger.” His lips twisted into a sneer. “Especially one they consi der a mongrel.”
Tia ignored the male’s griping. He’d been in a pissy mood since they’d arrived in the city. A combination of worry that she might be in danger and the grinding reminder that even in the Gyre he lacked the power of most demons. His blood had been thinned by too many human ancestors. “Did you l earn anything?”
“There are whispers of a new cul t in the area.”
Tia clicked her tongue. “Why do you think I would be interes ted in a cult?”
Lynch hunched his broad shoulders. “You said to ask about an ything weird.”
“There’s nothing weird about cults. They’ve been around manipulating the weak and desperate since the beginning of time. Boringl y predictable.”
“This one’s a death cult.”
Tia’s impatience was abruptly forgotten . “Death cult?”
“Yup.”
“Tell me exactly w hat you heard.”
Lynch took a minute to reply. The male had many fine qualities. He was loyal, submissive, and willing to sacrifice his life to protect her. But he wasn’t the brigh test creature.
“Most of the demons didn’t know more than wild rumors,” he at last said. “They blathered about robed forms and rituals and blood sacrific es. The usual.”
“And?”
Lynch held up a beefy hand, his struggle to stay focused on his story evident in his scowl. “It wasn’t until I found a bar in the Bronx that I eventually located a fairy who was several grogs into the evening. Deep enough to loosen his tongue. He told me a wild story about a rave he attended in an abandoned wareho use last week.”
Tia’s impatience returned with a vengeance. “Again, that’s hardly vita l information.”
“He said while he was at the rave a goblin named Bastian was going through the crowd and picking out a few to invite to a private party.”
“And he went?” Tia arched her brows. As far as she was concerned, anyone foolish enough to follow a random demon to a mysterious party deserved whatever hap pened to them.
Lynch shrugged. “He was promised there was going to be dragon scale there, along with human females. And after spending time with the fairy, I’d guess that he was already drunk when he was approached. His decision-making was probably a bit sketchy.”
Tia frowned. It sounded more like common trafficking than a death cult. Even in these supposedly civilized days demons were notorious for capturing lesser creatures and selling them as slaves.
“Did he remember what happened?”
“He has a few fuzzy memories. The first was getting on a bus with a dozen other demons and heading t o Long Island.”
A dozen? It was a risk to kidnap that many demons at once. “What’s in Long Island? ” she demanded.
“Nothing. They went straight from the bus to a ferry that carried them to a p rivate island.”
A memory stirred in the back of Tia’s mind. “Interesting,” she murmured. “What happened after he got to the island?”
“He said they were led into a wooded area and told t o strip naked.”
Tia tried to imagine what would happen if she’d been led to the woods by a strange demon and told to strip. She would burn the place to the ground, inclu ding the demon.
“Why did they w ant him naked?”
“He thought they were going to an orgy.” Lynch snorted, obviously as unimpressed as Tia by the fairy’s lack of intelligence. “Until he saw the altar. And the robed forms with very large daggers.”
Ah. Now they were getting back to the interesting part of the story. “They were going to be sacrificed?”
“The fairy didn’t hang around long enough to find out,” Lynch admitted. “He had an emergency crystal that he wore as an earring. It held a spell that allowed him to fade into the shadows. Once he was away from the group he ran to the shoreline and swam home.”
“Does he know what happened to the others?”
“He claimed that he hadn’t seen any of them since that night.” Lynch shook his head. “But I’m guessing the bastard hasn’t been sober since he escaped. It obviously scared the shit out of him. I doubt he’d recognize his own mother in his curr ent condition.”
Tia turned away, churning over what Lynch h ad discovered.
The information was vague and unreliable. Who took the word of a drunk fairy who might have imagined the entire evening? Then again, it wasn’t like she had a dozen other le ads to follow.
Lynch wasn’t the only one who was struggling to find someone to share information. Her contacts either claimed they hadn’t heard anything or had already fled the city to avoid any potential conflicts. Skirmishes between demon clans were not only dangerous, but they were also costly. Better to go into hiding than be asked to donate to one s ide or another.
Which meant she could continue to pace the floor or she could check out the strange cult. And she knew exactly where to start her search. There was only one local island that was fully saturated in the magic of the Gyre. The rest were too muted to offer more than a small pulse of power.
“Get the car,” she abru ptly commanded.
Lynch frowned. “The fairy wasn’t in very good shape when I last saw him. If you want to question him you should probably wait u ntil tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to speak to the fairy.”
“Then who—” Lynch bit off his question as he caught sight of Tia’s expression. “I’l l get the car.”
“Wise choice.”
Tia returned to her bedroom to change into the little black dress that Chanel had personally designed for her, and matched it with sky-high pumps that cost more than most cars. Then, smoothing her silver hair into a knot, she wrapped a lacy shawl around her shoulders and grabbed a clutch bag stuffed with potion-filled spheres before heading down to the wai ting Mercedes.
The clothing wasn’t just to look her best, it was necessary to blend in with the crowd.
An hour later the Mercedes was illegally double-parked and Lynch was escorting her through the large crowd gathered outside an elegant nightclub. Even living on a remote estate in Colorado, she’d heard of Valen’s newest club, Neverland. It was the most exclusive nightspot in Manhattan. Which of course meant it was where everyone wanted to be.
Ignoring the muttered complaints as she squeezed through the line, Tia confidently approached the bouncer guarding the front door. He was an oversized goblin with bulging muscles beneath a black-and-gold uniform with long black hair pulled into a braid. His aura pulsed a bright red, which might have explained his arrogant expression. This was a male who stood high in the demon hierarchy. And he knew it.
Flicking a bored glance over Tia’s expensive attire, he held a hand toward Lynch . “Invitation.”
“It’s in the mail,” L ynch retorted.
The guard snapped his fingers . “Invitation.”
Lynch growled deep in his throat. “I’ll give you a n invitation—”
“I’ll handle this, Lynch,” Tia interrupted, stepping between the two males to capture the goblin’s narrowed gaze. Then, reaching out, she stroked her fingertips over his cheek, releasing her spell. “I’m Tia, and you’re delighted to have me as your guest.”
The guard frowned, momentarily resisting the magic. A second later, however, his features softened and he peered down at her with utter devotion. He was strong, but no match for her powers.
“Delighted,” he breathed, the word pulled from the depths of his soul. “Such an honor, Tia.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed, low ering her hand.
He offered his arm. “Allow me to show y ou to a table.”
“No need.” Nodding toward Lynch, she moved past the guard to step through the open door. “I’ll fi nd my own way.”
“Are you sure?” The male doggedly followed her into the main area of the club, which was framed with smoked glass walls that reflected the laser lights bouncing off the dance floor. “I can get you a seat in the VIP section. Or a pr ivate balcony.”
With a sigh, Tia turned to once again touch the male’s cheek. This time the burst of magic shattered the devotion at the same time it wiped away any memory of her arrival.
“Return to your duties and forget I’m here,” she whispered.
With a blank expression the guard obediently returned to his post next to the door. Tia focused her attention on the crowd that moved through the vast space with elegant grace. Demons and unsuspecting humans mixed together, filling the dance floor or posing next to the mirrored walls. Laughter and shouted conversations battled against the loud, thumping music, the scent of enchantment thi ck in the air.
Valen had created the perfect combination of elegance with undertones of sensual pleasure. No wonder it was such a success.
Ignoring the long bar where half-naked bartenders served the line of waiting customers, Tia threaded her way to the floating spiral staircases that led to the upper floor. Stomping next to her, Lynch eyed the crowd with a s our expression.
“You’re growling,” she chided softly.
“I hate th ese creatures.”
“Which ones?”
“All of them.” Lynch bared his teeth at a fairy who strolled past him with a dismissive glance. Lynch was twice as wide and a hundred pounds heavier, but the fairy’s aura shimmered a deep emerald green. The slender creature could easily overpower Lynch in a battle. “They’re arrogant shitheads who think they’re better than me because their ancestors happened to be a bunch of inbreeders.”
Tia clicked her tongue. She’d found Lynch in a fight club where he’d been used as a hapless opponent to rile up the bloodlust in the other competitors. Like a bait dog. She’d bought his contract and taken him back to her estate, knowing he would be for ever grateful.
And she had n’t been wrong.
“Don’t be grumpy.” She climbed the stairs, heading to the most exclusive seats in the club. “Demons might be obsessed with bloodlines , but I’m not.”
“I don’t understand why we’re here,” Lynch complained. “If you want more information I can take you to a few local joints where you can get what you want for five bucks and a ta nkard of grog.”
Reaching the upper floor, Tia paused to scan the tables. She’d never met the goblin she was searching for, but she’d seen his picture pasted in the financial magazines. Omar Burrell. Sometimes referred to as Lord Omar Burrell despite the fact that he couldn’t claim royal blood. He was one of the richest demons in the world and capable of buying anything. Incl uding a title.
His astonishing wealth meant he was the most sought-after bachelor in New York, and he was wise enough to enhance his playboy reputation by being seen at the latest social scene with the most beautiful women. Publicity was always goo d for business.
“I spent a fortune on these shoes,” she murmured in distracted tones. “Do you really think I’m going to risk them in a sleazy bar with a horde of drunk demons?”
“Better than this place,” Lynch groused.
Tia’s gaze swept over the balconies that overlooked the dance floor. “Where do you suppose we would find someone capable of hiring two mages and who knows how many demons?” she demanded. She understood Lynch’s distaste for his fellow demons, but he was going to have to overcome his prejudices if they were going to get the information they needed. “Oh, and just happens to own a p rivate island?”
Lynch widened his eyes. Had he assumed she was there because she liked the ambiance? He should know after so many years together that she lived in an isolated castl e for a reason.
She hated people. And demons. And most espec ially vampires.
“You know who owns the place where they took the fairy?” Lynch demanded.
“I have a good guess,” she murmured, her gaze landing on a male seated in the middle of the l argest balcony.
He was tall and surprisingly slender for a goblin, with satin black hair that was smoothed from his perfectly chiseled face. His skin was deeply tanned and his eyes were the rich shade of cognac. His aura wasn’t as dark as others, but it was enough of a flare to reveal the purity of his blood. Currently, he was sitting with a pretty fairy with golden hair and wide green eyes. A problem that was easily solved.
Tia tapped into the magic flowing through her veins, creating a thin strand of power that she sent toward the cozy couple. Then, wrapping it around a champagne bottle, she gave it a small jerk, knocking the bottle over and sending the expensive wine spewing over the fairy. On cue the female shrieked, jumping to her feet as she gazed down in horror at her sequined dress.
“This is ruined,” she wailed loud enough to turn heads. She waved her hands in a flamboyant gesture, as if enjoying the attention. “Just look at this mess.”
The male frowned in annoyance, clearly unimpressed by the female’s dram atic reaction.
“Go dry yourself off,” he commande d in low tones.
The female snapped her lips shut, clearly sensing she’d made a mistake, before she turned to scurry away from the table toward the back of the room. Tia brushed past the fleeing female, entering the private balcony and sliding into a seat next to the goblin.
“Hello, Lord Burrell.” She reached out to stroke her fingers over his hand resting on the table. “M ay I join you?”
“This is a private balcony and I’m not looking for friends....” His words drifted away as the silvery swirl of magic seeped into his skin and spread through his body. It was a powerful enchantment, but it wouldn’t last for long. She had to get the information she needed as quickly as possible. “Well, hello there. My table is your table.” He leaned toward her, as if trying to breathe in her scent. “And call me Omar.”
“Thank you, Omar. I’m Tia,” she purred, glancing toward Lynch, who moved to block the entrance to the balcony.
Omar arched a dark brow, mistakenly assuming that Lynch was close by to protect her, not to keep the fairy from returni ng to her seat.
“There’s no need to worry,” he assured her, before he abruptly grimaced. “At least not in here. Valen takes his security v ery seriously.”
Tia smiled as he offered her the perfect opening. “Perhaps, but a woman can’t be too careful these days, can she? Not with...” She allowed her words to trail away, glancing over the edge of the balcony with a v isible shudder.
He turned his hand over to grasp her fingers, his expression one of concer n. “With what?”
“Not with the strange cult that’s been kidnapping demons from the city.” She turned back, catching the sick expression that rippled over his face. As if her mention of the cult had caused him phy sical distress.
Good. That meant he had some person al connection.
“You know about th em?” he rasped.
“I assume that means yo u’ve met them?”
“No!” Omar coughed, as if belatedly realizing he’d already revealed that he had some knowledge of the cult. “I mean, I’ve heard the gossip, of course. Everyone in the city has.”
Tia allowed him to cling to his pretense of ignorance, even as she easily sensed he was lying. “There are some saying that it’s a death cult. Is that w hat you heard?”
The male visibly shu ddered. “Yeah.”
“And that they are currently secluded somewhere outside the city. Maybe on one of the larger estates.” She widened her eyes. “Oh wait. You have a private island, don’t you? That would be the perfect place to hide.”
“I…they aren’t there,” he burst out, his voice harsh. “I don’t know where you heard that, but it ’s…ridiculous.”
His stumbled protest merely reinforced her suspicion that they were using his island. She leaned forward until their lips were nearly touching, intensifying the web of magic she’d wrapped a round the male.
“Is it true they sac rifice demons?”
There was a short pause as if Omar was unconsciously struggling to break free of her enchantment. Thankfully he was no match aga inst her spell.
“There might be some sacrificing,” he finally admitted, his gaze darting from side to side, indicating that a member of the cult might be lurking nearby. “Or at least, that’s wh at I’ve heard.”
“Horrible. It’s one thing to take advantage of the gullible, but to actually kill them? Why?” She studied his handsome feature s. “For power?”
His jaw clenched. “I’m trying not to t hink about it.”
There was a harsh sincerity in his voice. He might have witnessed the sacrifice, but it hadn’t been at his request. So why were the cult members practicing their evil rituals on his island? He held a position of authority among the demons. It seemed unlikely that they could force him to concede to their demands. Not without some sor t of coercion.
“Where did t hey come from?”
His musky scent swirled through the balcony. Her question had offended him. “How would I know? I’ve told you I don’t have anything to do with them.”
“Surely the gossips have speculated on how they arrived and what brought them to this area?” she countered in soothing tones.
“There might be speculation, but no one has any answers.” His gaze narrowed. “At least no one I ha ve discovered.”
Ah. He’d been doing his own research. Another indication that his connection to the cult was an unwilling one. Unfortunate, since he was her one lead to discovering the truth. Tia released her last burst of magic as she caught sight of the fairy out of the corner of her eye. She was going to toss a fit when Lynch refused to allow her back on to the balcony.
“What can you tell m e about them?”
Omar flinched as the spell squeezed around him, bending him to her will. “They arrived at my—” He barely cut off his revealing words. “Arrived in the city a couple weeks ago,” he h astily amended.
“Who arrived?”
“There are no specifics. The main group keeps their identities hidden behind robes that cover them from head to foot.”
Tia swore under her breath. This wasn’t how she did business. She asked questions and got the answers she needed. That’s how she’d built her empire. Knowledge was power and she used it without mercy.
The sensation of banging her head against one wall after another wasn’t doing a damned thing to improve her foul mood.
With an effort, she leashed her surge of impatience. One way or another she was going to get w hat she needed.
“Were there symbols on the robes the demons were wearing?”
He paused before slowly nodding, as if he was searching through his memory. “Yes.”
“Did they look like this?” Using the tip of her finger, Tia drew a glowing line of magic on top of the table, outlining the symbol from Ba tu’s medallion.
Omar released his breath with a loud hiss, his eyes darkening with accusation. “You ’ve seen them.”
“Unfortunately.” She brushed away the glowing line. His words had confirmed that the supposed cult had something to do with her former master. And the reason she was in New York City. “Tell me a bout the mage.”
He blinke d. “What mage?”
“Don’t screw with me, Omar.” The smile that curved Tia’s lips was an unspoken threat. She was at the end of her patie nce. “Tell me.”
“I…I don’t know her name, but she shows up every couple of days and meets wi th the others.”
“Does s he come alone?”
“Sometimes there’s a demon with her. I think he belongs to the Yalicks.” There was an edge of bitterness in his voice as he spoke the name of his rival clan. Did he suspect they were behind the invasion of his island? “And there are a couple local fairies who do the grunt w ork,” he added.
“No vampire?”
He flinched at the abrupt question, sweat dotting his forehead as he struggled to break free of her enchantment. This was obviously a question he didn’t want to answer.
“There’s only one vampire in the city,” he managed to rasp. “My master, Valen.”
“What about on your private island ?” she pressed.
The sweat dripped down his face, his muscles tightly clenched. “What a re you asking?”
“Is there a vampire hidden there?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Valen would kill any demon stupid enough to invite a rival leech into his territory.”
Tia wrinkled her nose at the sour stench that drenched the air. This wasn’t a fear that his reputation would be damaged. Or that Valen might punish him. This was terror that went to his very soul, as if he had seen something so evil he couldn’t bear to think of it.
“But that doesn’t mean one couldn’t sneak in and force his way onto someone’s private property,” Tia insisted. “It wouldn’t be the innocent demon’s fault if that happened.”
“There’s no vampire,” he ground out, his face flushing and the veins of his neck visibly throbbing with emotion. “Sto p saying that.”
Tia’s lips parted, but before she could demand to know what he’d witnessed, the sound of a shrill voice cut through her intense focus. The fairy had realized that not only was her way to the balcony blocked, but also, there was a new woman sitting in her place. She was clearly unhappy with the situation.
“Shit. I don’t have time for this,” Tia muttered. “Lynch,” she called out, waiting for her servant to glance in her direction before nodding her head at the o utraged female.
Lynch’s expression tightened with a reluctance to leave her unprotected, but grudgingly he turned back to the fairy and wrapped his hands around her slender waist. Then, with one smooth motion he tossed her over his shoulder and headed tow ard the stairs.
As Tia had hoped, the infuriated female screamed at the top of her lungs, beating Lynch’s back with her fists and kicking her feet hard enough to offer glimpses of her lacy black undies. No surprise, the entire club turned to watch the noisy spectacle, allowing Tia to rise to her feet and boldly grab Omar’s sweaty fac e in her hands.
“Stop!”
The goblin tried to jerk away, but Tia was leaning down to capture his gaze as she released the last of her magic. Her talent as a dream teller made it easier to enter the minds of others, but she was reaching the limit of her endurance. She would have one chance to discover what Omar was so anxious to keep hidden.
Thankfully the male hadn’t developed any shields to protect his mind. Typical for a powerful demon. They assumed that as long as they were bigger and stronger than most other creatures, they didn’t have to worry about a direct attack. Their arrogance left t hem vulnerable.
Slipping into his memories, Tia skimmed over the past few days that had been spent at his apartment in the city, easily following the trail back to a dark night a week ago. She could see Omar striding through the woods, a semiautomatic weapon clutched in his hands. He’d caught the sound of demons, along with the acrid stench of smoke, just when he’d been about to sweep his date up the stairs to his bed. The interruption had infuriated him. It was bad enough that anyone would be stupid enough to intrude into his privacy, but to ruin a romantic evening wa s unforgivable.
He fully intended to teach the idiots a lesson they woul d never forget.
Charging into the clearing, he stumbled to a halt as he realized it wasn’t a horde of drunken intruders who could be easily intimidated. Instead there were a dozen robed figures who were standing around a blazing fire.
“ What the fuck?”
Omar lifted the gun, prepared to shoot first and ask questions later, but before he could squeeze the trigger a young woman appeared from the woods, wrapping him in st rands of magic.
A mage.
Glaring in frustration, he was more annoyed than frightened, assuming that a rival clan had decided to make a move against his stronghold. It wasn’t the first time, and Omar was confident his own soldiers would soon swarm the place to effectively e nd the threat.
It wasn’t until the robed forms silently parted to reveal the altar that had been placed over the fire that he accepted this was something he’d never seen before. There was a naked body stretched on the flat stone, and at least two more bodies that were lying on the ground, obviously drained of blood and staring sightlessly in Om ar’s direction.
With a shocked gasp, he swept his gaze back to the altar where a robed form was bent toward the screaming demon, its face buried in the gaping wound that had been carved into the creature’s stomach. Was that thing eating the demon while they we re still alive?
Omar instinctively stumbled back. He wasn’t opposed to causing his enemies pain. Or even torture. But thi s? It was sick.
He was near the edge of the trees when the robed form finally lifted its head. Omar wasn’t sure what he expected. A demented goblin. Or a fairy high on so me exotic drug.
Instead he caught a glimpse of a broad face with eyes sunk so deep they looked like black holes and chunks of flesh that were peeling off like a snake she dding its skin.
Was it a zombie? He’d never believed they were real, but…
His dazed thoughts were shattered as the beast parted his mouth and the long fangs of a vampire glinted in the garish glow of the firelight.
Screaming in horror, Omar t urned and ran.
He didn’t know where he was going, but he was certain he was nev er coming back.