Arcane Solutions (20 page)

“
I have no clue what you’re talking about. Can you help me?”

He smiled, revealing strong white teeth that belied his apparent age.
“Silly girl, what do you think I’ve been doing? Not that you ever thank me or anything.”

Great, I was dying, and stuck listening to a crazy delusion in the process.
“And you are…?”

A scowl moved his wrinkles in odd directions.
“That, you’ll have to figure out for yourself. Now, can you hear him?”

That lone voice was still whispering to me. Quiet desperation seeped from it.
“Yes, but who…”

“
Shush the questions.” He rolled his eyes, one hand rising in an impatient gesture. “Listen to him, and let him guide you back. I’m far from done with you, young lady.”

He turned, beginning to walk away, and then stopped to look back at me.
“Pay closer attention to those colors.”

With that, he disappeared, leaving me alone in the darkness. Well, not completely alone. The voice was still there, though even fainter.

It was hard to reach for. I couldn’t feel anything, didn’t know what was happening to my body. Making one last, panicked effort, I reached out and caught hold of the whisper.

Light blazed, burning my eyes. Hot air rushed deep into my lungs, and I retched, bloody drool spilling out. Sound returned, but I couldn’t make sense of it at first. Someone had my hands. Someone else was supporting me in a semi-recline.

My first clear image was Nick’s face. He was shirtless, face pale and drawn. “Cordi.”

“
Hey.” My voice cracked. Someone laughed in sharp relief, probably Schumacher. Nick squeezed my hands, head dipping over them to press his lips against my knuckles. I rolled my head enough to find out who was holding me.

Dark green eyes, flecked with bright gold. Logan also looked a bit pale. He smiled.
“Gave us a scare.”

“
Sorry.”

***

“Somebody owes me a shirt.” Sitting on my rock, I held the front of my tank top closed with one hand. The material was tacky with drying blood, and ripped open from neck to hem.

Everything but my shoes was covered or at the very least, splattered. Not that any of it had been my first concern. Checking the shimmer had been. Zoe was still alive.

So was I, which could only mean one thing: a new ability.

Damian had dragged Nick away to do the promised searching after one of the EMTs checked my vitals and announced they were normal.

Logan removed the work shirt he wore, revealing a snug white tee, and silently offered it to me. His forearms had smears of dried blood, and his left hand was coated in it, because he’d cleared the blood out of my mouth.

“
Thanks.” After a glance around, I decided everyone had already gotten a look at the lacy, once lilac bra under my tank. Yanking off the ruined top, I quickly slipped the shirt on.

“
I’ll replace that,” the shifter said, nodding at the wadded remains.

“
You tore my shirt up?”

He offered a sheepish grin.
“When the blood soaked through, I thought you’d been shot or something. But there wasn’t a wound.”

Yet. My future wasn’t looking bright enough to wear shades for.
“Oh. Don’t worry about it.”

“
No, she seems fine now.” Phone glued to his ear, Damian paused a few feet away, his gaze raking over us before looking around. “I don’t know. Yes, that’s correct. Four minutes.”

Fingers busy with buttons, I asked,
“Four minutes what?”

Logan’s eyes widened.
“You were dead for a little while, Discord.”

“
No I wasn’t. I could hear someone saying my name.” At least, it had felt like my name being whispered, over and over again.

A slight pucker appeared between his brows.
“I think that was Nick. But seriously, you weren’t breathing, didn’t have a pulse. I checked.”

“
Cordi, can you…” Damian paused when I held up a hand.

“
I saw myself being killed.” Taking a deep breath, I added, “Guess I have precognition, since I’m still here.” For now.

The warlock grimaced.
“Sorry. Mr. Whitehaven is worried.”

“
Tell him I’m fine.” I hoped the boss didn’t ask us to come in, because I’d have to relive the whole thing. It was too soon for that. Logan dropped down beside me, an arm hesitantly sliding around my shoulders.

Letting go, bawling my eyes out and yelling about how unfair everything was seemed like a potentially good idea. I was terrified.

How often were precogs wrong? Were visions of the future only one possibility of what could happen?

Or was I definitely going to end up on that altar with a knife sticking out of my chest?

I didn’t know any psychics with precognition to ask. Hell, I didn’t know any other psychics at all.

“
It won’t happen.” The shifter’s quiet assurance poked at my barely established resolve not to break down. Rapid blinking didn’t keep the building tears from falling.

I buried my face against his shoulder, failing miserably at stopping the flood. Logan’s response was an embrace as a soft rasp jump-started his purr. At least my sobbing wasn’t too loud. I could hear Damian over it.

“She needs rest. He’s helping to search for more bodies. Yes, he’s here. All right.” A pause. “Logan, is it possible for you to take her somewhere quiet until Nick’s finished?”

“
I’ll take her home. Someone will have to give him a lift, because his truck’s at the garage I work at.”

“
I’ll bring him along. Cordi, you get some rest and calm down.” Damian patted my shoulder. “We’ll figure it all out.”

Without further ado, Logan adjusted his hold and stood, sweeping me up.
“I can walk.”

“
You died. That takes a bite out. Grab your purse and call your hound.”

Obeying seemed my best bet, and really, being carried off by a hunk of a guy, like some heroine on a romance cover, felt kind of cool.

Way cooler than getting stabbed.

Twenty-
four

He carried me the whole way back, not setting me down until we were beside his truck. After retrieving the keys from a front pocket and unlocking the door, he stepped back while opening it. Leglin jumped inside.

“
Guess he didn’t like riding in back,” I said, scratching at my chin. There were dried flakes of blood under my fingernails when I checked. A rub of a finger under one eye showed dark with damp mascara.

I climbed in, wanting a shower to wash away the visible marks of the whole horrible situation. 
“I need something from Nick’s truck.”

“
We’ll swing by,” Logan promised, sliding behind the wheel and starting the engine. He eased the truck free of the crowd of vehicles surrounding us, and pointed the nose toward the Palisades.

Leglin tentatively licked my right hand. When I didn’t push him away, the hound settled in to wash both. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back.
“This has been one hell of a bad day.”

“
I was wondering about something. Do you think that tunnel we fell into might lead to this cavern you keep having visions of?”

“
I don’t know. Can you smell demons?” Eyes opening, I turned my head just enough to view Logan’s profile.

“
Yeah, they smell bitter and smoky.” The corner of his mouth quirked. “Guess I just answered my own question.”

I grinned briefly.
“You’ll make an investigator yet.”

“
So location still unknown.” His fingers drummed the steering wheel. “Feel like talking about it?”

“
No. Oh crap. I’d better call my mom.” She’d be worried, not having heard from me since last night’s shocker. Freeing one hand from Leglin’s ardent attentions, I found my cell phone.

“
Hey, Mom.”

“
Cordi.” She sounded relieved, which added to the burden of guilt I was carrying.

“
I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier, but I’m fine.”

“
Just as long as you have, and you’re safe. Is Nick there?”

“
Uh, no. He’s busy. But I have Leglin and we’re with Logan right now, heading home.” I made a note to grab the sword out of Nick’s truck too, just in case.

“
All right. I’ll call your father and let him know you’re safe.”

She’d called Dad? Betty probably loved that.
“Okay, thanks, Mom. Love you.”

“
Love you too. Be careful.”

“
I will. I’ll try to call earlier tomorrow too. Bye.”

“
Bye, honey.”

Ending the call with a sigh, I dropped the phone back into my purse.
“There.”

“
We’ll be at the garage in a few minutes. What did you need out of Nick’s truck?” Logan slowed and stopped at a red light. Music pounded the atmosphere from the low rider next to us. The driver stared at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him before answering Logan.
“Laptop and sword.”

Head turning, he raised an eyebrow.
“Sword?”

“
Kills demons.”

“
Oh. All right, I’ll grab both. Do me a favor, and keep your hound in the truck. Some of the guys have been hunted before.” The light changed, and he let off the brake.

“
Did you know the hounds are part shifter?”

“
There’s always been rumors.”

“
They are. Being part demon, Leglin couldn’t be here unless he’s also part something else that doesn’t need demonic magic. He’s like,” I’m no scientist, so went with what seemed logical. “One third each demon, shifter, and regular dog.”

Logan glanced at the hound.
“Are you keeping him?”

“
He’s on loan.”

“
He’s bound to you by blood. If the elf’s at fault for the danger you’re in, you can demand the hound as,” he hesitated. “As hazard pay.”

“
But that would make me his owner, and he’s kind of a person.”

“
Elves consider hounds little more than possessions, Discord. Not pets or people.”

“
Well, that doesn’t mean I have to go with the flow.” The hound was a thorny issue for me.

“
He’d be an asset,” the shifter remarked. “Vampires are demonic.”

“
They are?” No one had told me that. “Really demonic, not just act like demons?”

Logan chuckled.
“According to legend, the first vampire was a child of Lilith. She was a succubus, impregnated by a human. Which is almost unheard of, since it usually takes a combination of humans, succubus, and incubus to produce a child.”

After a minute of trying to puzzle that one out, I just asked.
“Explanation, please.”

“
The succubus has sex with a male human, then with an incubus to pass the collected,” he hesitated, shooting me a glance. “Sperm. The incubus turns around and uses that sperm to impregnate a human female.”

My first reaction was
“Eww, gross!”

He laughed again.
“Here’s the weird part: those children aren’t vampires. Sometimes they’re hybrid succubi or incubi. Other times, they’re dhampyrs.”

“
Wait. Dhampyrs are for real?”

“
Most things are, or were.”

“
Fan-freaking-tastic. Vampires that can walk in the sun.” We reached the garage, and Logan honked. The door rolled up almost instantly. He drove inside, and parked.

“
Be right back.”

“
Sure.” I seriously needed to re-think the whole private investigator career. Fast food or retail sounded far less dangerous, and even downright relaxing.

Logan returned, handing both sword and laptop case over. I realized that I felt a little better.
“Thanks.”

“
No problem.”

“
No, I mean, well, yeah, for getting these, but mostly for the distraction by vampire info.”

He smiled.
“You’re welcome.”

***

Logan sat at the table, nursing a beer. The sword lay within easy reach.

I’d had a shower and was preparing dinner. Nick hadn’t called yet.
“If you need to go after you eat, it’s okay.”

“
No plans for the evening. I’m good.”

The potatoes were almost ready for draining.
“I’m going to make a wild guess that you called Whitehaven while I was in the shower.”

“
You’re a natural at this private investigating thing.” He grinned when I looked over my shoulder. “I thought someone should update him.”

“
Thanks. The boss does like knowing we’re still in one piece.”

“
He cares about his people. What are we having?”

“
Chicken-fried steaks.” I laid one in the waiting skillet, and after the crackling become less deafening, heard someone sniffing. “Is that you, or Leglin?”

“
Both,” Logan admitted. “Do you feel like talking about it yet?”

“
There’s not much to say. I have to find Zoe, destroy that book, and not get killed doing either.” Watching the oil bubble around the edges, I sighed. “And yeah, I’m freaking scared to death. If I’m the sacrifice now, where does that leave Zoe?”

“
Probably safe. Have any of you considered the fact her case might be a set up?”

“
What?” I turned around, shaking my head. “No, it can’t be. I’m empathic, Logan. Her mother was a hair away from being completely frantic when I met with them.”

He studied the condensation on his beer bottle.
“Maybe she’s not part of it.”

About to naysay that, I paused.
“You may be onto something. Her husband certainly didn’t seem to care that Zoe was missing. But that opens up more questions.”

“
Such as?”

“
Why the hell go through such a convoluted mess to get me, and why would I be a sacrificial choice?”

Logan seemed fascinated by the beer bottle, the tip of one finger chasing drops across the label.
“I think you may have answered that second one the night we met. You’re a psychic with more than one or two abilities. You’re powerful. Power fuels a lot of things, and this spell is a huge thing, Discord.”

“
Okay, let’s work with your take. Can you get out the laptop and boot it up? I want to check something before we go any further with that.”

“
Sure.” I continued cooking while instructing the shifter how to access programs and run the search I wanted. By the time I had three plates loaded up, Logan had the answer. “He’s listed as the architect for that hotel’s blue prints.”

He pushed the laptop out of the way, and I set a plate down for him.
“Damn, this looks good.”

“
Thanks. Okay, so it’s way more possible Mitchell is involved. I still don’t know why a vampire would’ve been there. Zoe had already been missing for days by then.” I put a plate down for Leglin, and waved my hand. “Let’s forget the vampire parts for a minute.”

Logan made a sound of agreement, and watched me sit down with my own plate.
“Mitchell arranged for Zoe to disappear, in order to have a reason to establish contact with me. Thorandryll said the book had gone missing three days before our meeting. The second meeting.”

“
Okay. This is really good.” He’d begun eating.

“
Thanks. Would elves want the demon realm brought into this one?”

The shifter shook his head.
“I doubt it. Demons can kill elves. One of the few things that can.”

So Thorandryll’s interest in me probably wasn’t murderous. Good to know.
“You know, I’ve avoided the press, and vampires aren’t exactly media darlings. They’re the ones that know the most about me, since most of my cases have dealt with them. So how did the cultists figure out I’d make such an awesome sacrifice?”

Logan chewed, eyes slowly scanning the kitchen. After swallowing, he set the fork down, had a drink of beer, and then met my eyes.
“Rumors and gossip. Word of mouth by satisfied clients.”

“
You are getting good at this.” I reached to pat his shoulder. “Must be that, because Thorandryll knew I had more than one ability. He said as much after that demon showed up at the office. Plus, the first time he mentioned being told that I work alone.”

We ate quietly for a few minutes, and then Logan asked,
“So what would happen if you disappeared? Took a vacation to Tahiti or something?”

Boy, did that idea sound amazingly tempting.
“I don’t know. But it would probably mean someone else ending up with their guts spilled all over the place.”

The shifter sighed.
“Yeah, guess so.”

“
A totally selfish part of me liked the idea.” We traded a grin.

“
But you’re not going to go with it,” he said, and I shook my head.

“
Good guys don’t hide from trouble. I try to be one of the good guys.” My cell phone rang. “Let me get that.”

The second I answered, Jo’s worried voice sounded.
“Cordi, Kate’s here and she’s been in one hell of a fight. Percy’s screeching his damn head off about demons, and says he has to talk to you.”

My stomach dropped.
“I’ll be right there.”

Logan was already rising, sword in hand.
“Where?”

“
Let me call Nick, leave him a message. It’ll be faster to teleport.”