Claimed by the Immortal (The Claiming) (19 page)

“It’s not awful. I don’t really notice it. It’s not like I lack something. It’s just so pleasurable when I can feel it.”

She tried to imagine but failed. Then her thoughts wandered in a different direction. “Why did you have to become a vampire?”

“I didn’t
have
to,” he corrected gently. “I was asked to.”

“But why?”

“Near immortality and some impressive powers. Every religion wants to impress its followers, and having a priest who never aged, outlived all the others and could perform some amazing physical feats was useful.”

“But just one?”

“There were several of us at different locations.”

“Are the others still around?”

“I’m one of the last, unless there’s something I don’t know. Sometimes my kind weary of existence. And we do age, albeit slowly. There is, I believe, one older than I, far older, but if she still exists she keeps entirely to herself. Some suspect she may have given rise to the legends of Lilith, but I really don’t know.”

“It would be fascinating to find out.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps not. With my kind, one must be leery of intruding on territories. We’re terribly territorial.”

“Then how do you and Jude get along?”

“Some of us manage. For a while. There are presently four vampires in this city. Jude knows us all, but how many have you met? Even when we feel friendship, we don’t form tight-knit groups.” He paused. “I know the others, of course. But it’s not like we hang out together, unless there’s a good reason.”

She liked how he sometimes sounded so formal when he spoke, while at other times he spoke slang with ease. “Are there other vampires where you live? Cologne?”

“Only me.”

“That has to be lonely.”

“I’ve never really noticed. It’s just the way it is.”

She wondered if she would be able to stand that, then wondered why she was even asking herself. Maybe something changed when you became a vampire, but since that wasn’t on her current list of options there was really no point in thinking about it.

This vampire, the one whose lap she straddled, did seem to be enjoying companionship, though.
Enough pondering,
she decided. As he said, there were mysteries, not the least of them the way she responded to him.

She closed her eyes and just decided to savor the moment. Tomorrow night would come soon enough.

Chapter 12

T
he next night brought some news that shook them all up. There had been another inexplicable death.

Just as Jude was getting ready to join Damien and Caro so that he could ward her apartment once again, Chloe stopped them.

“Another guy associated with Pritchett is dead,” she said. “Apparently he was part of the board of directors for the Pritchett business. It’s all over the news tonight, but not because of the connection.”

“Was killed?” Jude asked.

“Let me call Pat,” Caro said. “Maybe she knows something.”

“Terri might be on the scene, too,” Jude remarked. “You call Pat. If you don’t get anything, I’ll call Terri.”

Pat answered her phone on the first ring. “Matthews, Robbery-Homicide.”

“Pat, it’s Caro. We just heard one of Pritchett’s business associates is dead.”

Pat fell silent a moment. “It’s true,” she said finally. “But there’s not a mark on the body. The M.E. is going to have to figure out this one. He was walking into a restaurant with his wife when he collapsed on the street. It could be anything. Absolutely no evidence of foul play, so the case will probably be closed if the M.E. doesn’t find something suspicious. Are you doing all right? The captain is starting to make noises about bringing you back.”

“I’m doing fine and I’m not ready to come back. You tell me, Pat. Do you think this is all unrelated?”

“Coincidence is always possible, but my hackles are saying otherwise. And you didn’t just hear me say that.”

“It won’t pass my lips.”

“Then I’m going to tell you another thing that won’t pass your lips. We found a bookstore owner dead yesterday. And guess whose business card was on her desk.”

Caro froze. “Jenny Besom is dead?” She saw Damien stiffen.

“Apparent heart attack. But pardon me if I find the presence of Messenger’s card there too coincidental. You tell him he may get a visit, although probably not. Cause looks natural. And I’m not going to ask another thing. I need to stay clear of this crazy shit. You know that. Keep your nose clean.”

When she disconnected, Caro relayed the information. Jude immediately pulled out his own phone to call Terri. He hung up not two minutes later. “Too early to tell about the guy, but Besom appears to be an ordinary heart attack.”

Caro, however, had gone into investigator mode. She looked at Chloe. “Did the board say anything yesterday or today about continuing with the demolitions, with Pritchett’s plans?”

“Let me look.” Chloe bent to her computer, tapping rapidly.

Caro looked at Damien. “You said Jenny Besom was being prevented from telling you something.”

He nodded.

“Well, she must have known something, then. We’re running out of time, Damien. I was afraid of this.”

“I know you were, but yesterday you were too weak.”

“Too weak for what?” Chloe asked without looking up. No one answered her.

“I don’t care how awful these men’s plans may seem to some,” Caro said firmly. “It’s wrong to murder. And Jenny Besom didn’t have a damn thing to do with Pritchett’s plans. So she had to have been killed because she knew something.”

“I agree with you,” Damien answered. “This bokor is too dangerous. If he means to go after everyone in any way involved with Pritchett’s business, as well as anyone who figures out what he’s doing, he’ll have a lot of blood on his hands. But mostly,
Schatz,
I’m concerned that he’s after you. You don’t even have anything to do with this.”

“He must think I do. I was there when Pritchett was murdered.” She turned things around in her head, considering. “He’s changed his method, this bokor. His first murders, of Pritchett and his immediate family, were gruesome beyond belief. It was intended to scare everyone associated with the project. But apparently people haven’t become scared off, so he’s murdering in a more stealthy fashion, trying to make it look natural. And that means he doesn’t intend to stop.”

She remembered only too clearly what had happened on the street yesterday and was fairly certain the newest death had been caused in just the same way. She could barely repress a shudder when she remembered that feeling of cold crawling into her very bones and her inability to draw a breath no matter how hard she tried.

She looked at Jude. “Tell Terri to look for evidence that his breathing was interrupted somehow. Besom’s, too. That’s what was happening to me.”

Jude nodded and pulled out his phone.

She looked at Damien. “Not that this is going to help us solve this or stop it. We need to get to work.”

“I know,
Schatz.
But this is a time for supreme patience. Everything in it’s time and proper place. Then we go hunting in earnest.”

“We’ve been hunting all along and where has it gotten us? We’re no closer to the bokor.”

“I agree traditional methods haven’t worked. That’s why we’re going to use older methods. No power can be used without leaving traces. None. It rends the fabric between the normal and the paranormal. It leaves a trail. It may not be easy to follow, but I should be in a better position to follow it later. I used to be very good at that.”

“Really?” She lifted an eyebrow, trying to imagine it. “One of your duties?”

“There are always those who seek to pervert power. They have to be dealt with, just like this bokor.”

“What happens when we find him?”

“We’ll have to fight him power for power. Unless you just want to shoot him, which I doubt. It wouldn’t get rid of the elemental he’s loosed, though. It would just leave it directionless.”

“That doesn’t sound good either.”

“Trust me, it’s not. These forces have no conscience. Without direction they can inflict a lot of harm simply because they don’t care. They simply act.”

“Sounds worse than a demon to me,” Jude remarked.

“You can at least argue with a demon,” Damien replied. “Maybe not successfully, but there’s consciousness there. These forces are truly elemental. They exist without any kind of being, despite the writings of Paracelsus. They are the building blocks of this reality, without will of their own unless called on. And once they are called on, unless they are returned to their original state, they function beyond their normal duties often to the detriment of anything they encounter. It’s like starting a volcanic eruption. The volcano doesn’t care what it destroys—it’s a power of nature, doing its work. But what if you were to divert it to wipe out a village? It would keep on in the same direction, heedless of how much it destroys.” He paused. “Did that help clarify?”

It certainly did for Caro, and the dimensions of the problem now seemed larger to her than ever. A force of nature without conscience or intelligence, directed to a task, running around without direction, perhaps murdering anyone it encountered.... That was plenty bad.

Damien apparently read her response on her face, or smelled it on her. “Releasing elementals is something a good mage seldom does. There are kinder, gentler powers to call on. But for something like this...” He shrugged.

“For something like this,” Caro replied harshly, “you need something without conscience or intelligence. We’ve got to get going.”

It was as if these most recent murders were some kind of last straw for her. She didn’t care if Damien wanted to tie her naked to a flagpole in public if it would do something to end this. Too many people had died, including innocent children. Yes, she was scared and nervous, but not just about herself anymore. If this bokor wasn’t stopped soon, he might go for more extreme measures, killing other people’s families and leaving absolutely no way for the police to find him.

For the first time it occurred to her to be glad that elemental had attached itself to her. Frightened as she had been, much as it had shaken her world, it remained that if it hadn’t attached to her in some way, there’d be no one and nothing to stop this bokor because no one would have even suspected something paranormal was at work here.

“Ready?” Damien asked her.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Jude drove them in his battered car to her place, where he set about restoring the wards. Caro stood watching him, noting that he seemed to be taking extra care this time. He placed a mark over every door and window, then marked every single wall, murmuring something quietly as he did so.

Given her unorthodox upbringing, she didn’t have a clue as to what he might be saying. Latin? She wasn’t sure.

“Okay,” Jude said finally. “You’re sealed up as tight as I can make you.” He passed a small bottle to Damien. “Seal the door again after I leave, top, bottom and sides. Then do your own protections.”

“Thanks,” Damien said, accepting the bottle. “I don’t feel the elemental in here now. Do you, Caro?”

She reached out with her burgeoning senses and after a moment shook her head. “No, it’s not here.”

“Seal up quickly after me,” Jude suggested. “Don’t give it an opening.” Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brass crucifix. “I know this isn’t your tradition, Damien, but every bit helps. Put it in the room with you.”

Then he left. As Damien quickly marked the door according to Jude’s instructions, Caro felt her cheeks heat and her stomach flutter. “How much does he know about what we’re doing?”

Damien finished the door, sealed the bottle and looked at her with a wry smile. “Only what he suspects. We haven’t discussed it. Second thoughts, Caro?”

“I’m just, well, uncomfortable with all of this. It seems so...so...”

“Alien to you?” he suggested.

“I guess.”

“Well, it will be my pleasure to ensure you don’t feel that way for long. All we are going to do is make love, and our point is to reach the highest levels of delight, where the life force flows freely and without inhibition. Does that sound so bad?”

She hesitated, the butterflies resuming their agitation in her stomach. “I’m just not used to putting things like this on a calendar.”

“Only because you’ve never had the opportunity before. Imagine you are going on a date with someone who attracts you. Don’t you spend the entire evening wondering how it will end? Don’t you hope and perhaps expect that your date will make a pass?”

He had a point. Sort of. She drew a couple of deep breaths. “Promise you won’t tell anyone about this.”

“Why would I? This is between us and no one else.”

He set the bottle down and crossed the room, moving slowly enough that he didn’t startle her. “Think of it as a date,” he purred. “And all I am going to do right now is kiss you. Then I’ll prepare the room.”

The kiss, as always, left her light-headed and hungry for more, much more. Damn, he was good at that. The need filled her, a sweet ache that refused to dissipate even as she followed him around, watching his preparations.

He chose her bedroom, and she knew instantly he intended to tie her to her bedposts. The thought of
that
caused her insides to clench in anticipation now, and the uneasiness seemed to have faded to the background.

He stripped her bed of everything, then spread out a brand-new white sheet, stretching it to fit the corners tightly. A new pillow popped out of another bag and was centered on the bed.

Apparently he was serious about removing detritus.

Thick white candles appeared on every flat surface in large numbers.
A ring of fire around the bed,
she realized.

He added an incense burner with a long stick of incense and ignited it with a pocket lighter. Within moments the room started to fill with the unmistakable scent of frankincense. Her nose twitched a little, then settled down.

He glanced at her, as if gauging her response, then brought out rolls of wide white ribbon. He held out one to her.

She took it, surprised at how soft it felt. “Satin?” she asked.

“Yes. All natural. All of this has to be natural. Even the candles are beeswax. I promise not to bind you too tightly. It won’t hurt. It’s just that I have to protect you.”

She stroked the ribbon, imagining it twined around her wrists and probably her ankles. Her stomach churned nervously, but lower down she felt that sweet ache renew.
Quit fighting it,
she thought. She wanted it, nervous or not. And the fabric was so soft as to feel sensual in itself.

She passed the roll back to him, watched him cut long, long lengths of it and tie it around all four of her bedposts. Apparently he meant what he said about not tying her too tightly. Looking at those lengths, she knew she would have some room to move.

Her mouth was starting to grow dry, and she didn’t think it was from a need for water. Conflicting needs buzzed in her, and whether she was longing for this or not, she couldn’t entirely get rid of her nerves.

He finished his task in the most surprising way: he sprinkled rose petals across the bed and around the room. Their fragrance was heady and joined the incense to create a perfume of unearthly beauty.

Beside the bed, he placed a few vials. Then, after surveying everything, he turned to her with a smile and held out his hand.

“Come,” he said gently.

Her hand was trembling as she took his. He drew her close and kissed her deeply, causing her to tremble in a very different way. “I know this is all new to you,” he murmured as his lips brushed teasingly against hers. “But it is beautiful beyond imagining. Try to trust me,
Schatz.
I’ll lead you every step of the way.”

She couldn’t find her voice but managed a nod. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Facing that, how could she not face the rest?

He picked up a garment bag from where he had laid it over a chair, then carried it as they went to her small bathroom. It was designed for a couple, with two sinks, but hardly big enough to hold them both at the same time. He hung the garment bag from the hook on the back of the door.

“Adjust the water to your liking,” he said. “I have no way to tell if it’s the right temperature for you.”

Her mouth now felt like the Sahara, parched almost to cracking. Without a word, she went to turn on the faucet in the tub. With only one knob, it was easy to set because she knew exactly where she liked it. Then she turned on the shower and closed the curtain to prevent splashing.