Launching myself up my front stairwell, I opened the door to find Bram and Trey sitting side by side on the sofa, watching Nosferatu.
I couldn’t find the wherewithal to come up with a snide remark.
“Sweet, you have returned,” Bram said with a leer while his eyes traversed me from head to toe. “And what a sight you are.”
He stood up and approached me, extending his hand as if he wanted to run it down the red vinyl covering my torso. I dismissed him with a wave. “Not now, Bram, I have work to do.”
I grabbed the phone, about to dial Sam, then realized I really didn't want Bram hanging around for the rest of the evening. Not when it involved A.N.C. business. Neither, for that matter, would Knight. And he'd be way less polite about it.
“Bram, thanks for watching Trey, but I can take care of things from here.”
He bowed, his fangs just cresting his lip as his eyes still danced with unabated lust. “I am happy to assist you, Sweet.” He paused. “Do not forget the favor you owe me.”
I nodded, knowing I wasn't about to forget it anytime soon. Hot Hades, it wasn't good to owe favors to anyone, let alone Bram. “Yeah, I won't forget.” “Well, I see you are busy.” He motioned toward the door. “Shall I show myself out?” “Yeah, thanks,” I said as I dialed Sam's number. “Bye, Bram, cool movie, man,” Trey said, extending his bent knuckles like he thought he and Bram were gang brothers.
I didn't hear or see Bram's response, but I did notice the less-than-pleasant salutation offered by Knight and the equally less-than-polite response offered by Bram. Men… “Hello?” Sam said groggily. “Sam, I need a big favor.” “Dulce, what time is it?” I checked my watch. “Two in the morning. Can you come over? I need you to do a locating spell.” “Right now?” she squeaked in a hoarse voice. “Yeah, Knight has the creature's blood on his hand, but he isn't sure how long it will last.” “Oh, wow,” Sam’s voice perked up. “Okay, give me a little time to get my stuff together.” “Thanks, Sam.” “Yeah, yeah.”
I hung up and turning toward the living room, discovered Trey gawking with horror at Knight who stood in his black pants, the red blood staining his hand.
“What the heck happened to you guys?” Trey asked, fear trembling just beneath his bravado.
I shook my head. “It's a really long story.”
An hour later, Sam arrived, carrying a brown leather satchel of potion ingredients. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she plodded into the house still wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt. The expression on her face wasn't welcoming, rather, it screamed: I want to get the hell back to sleep.
“Hi, Sam,” I said apologetically.
“Hi, Dulce.” Then she glanced at Knight and Trey. “Guys.”
They both said hello, and I followed Sam to the kitchen table where she unloaded her bag of tricks-a stone bowl, a wooden spoon and two vials of…something. “We'll need four people for the spell to work,” Sam said. “Then we'll have to use Trey,” I answered, more to Knight than anyone else. He just nodded. Sam faced him. “Where is the blood?” He held up his hand. She narrowed her eyes and frowned. “Might be too old, but we can try.” “Should we rinse it into a glass or something?” I asked.
Sam shook her head. “No, that will dilute the power of the blood, and the chlorine could kill any chance we have of making it work. Nope, the best thing is to see if we can scrape some of it off.” She held his palm and rotated it, as if searching for the largest smear specimen on the top of his hand. “Looks like some is caught under your fingernails; that might be the best sample.” Sam paused, then glanced at me. “Dulce, can you get a knife, and see if you can shave some of the blood off him?”
I frowned, that sounded painful. Thankfully it wasn't my hand. “Yeah, okay.”
“Make sure you don't cut him. That'll ruin the spell, and we'll just end up tracking him.”
I nodded and went for the smallest knife in my selection. When I approached Knight, I held it up with as wicked a smile as I could manage. He just shook his head.
“Hold his hand over the stone bowl, and try to get as many decent scrapings as you can. First, try under the fingernails.”
Knight followed me to the kitchen table. He held his hand over the stone bowl, and I took hold of it, trying to ignore the feelings of pleasure that visited me at his warm touch. “Proceed with caution,” he said in a deep voice. “What can I do?” Trey asked, moving forward. “And who are you trying to track?” “Never mind,” I answered. Knight shook his head and whispered. “I'll take care of it later. You can tell him.” Thinking that sounded pretty ominous, I didn't respond, but Sam did. “We're trying to track the creature, Trey. I'll need you in a second, but for now, just sit tight.” “Over and out,” Trey said and returned to the couch, dropping himself into it as if all the bones in his body had just collapsed.
I rotated Knight's hand, trying to figure out the best way to get under his nails without slicing off the tip of his finger. After acquiring an adequate angle, I took the small paring knife and carved out whatever I could from beneath his nails. A few dark bits of blood drifted into the stone bowl. When I couldn’t get any more, I turned his hand over to shave off the remaining blood. “Use the back of the knife, not the blade,” he said. I glanced at him and grinned. “Why, are you scared?” He paused a moment before returning the smile. “Yes.”
I laughed and flipped the knife, shaving the dried stain with it. More crusty blood flaked into the stone bowl until it looked like a small mound of red dandruff.
“That's probably enough,” Sam said as she inspected my work.
Knight pulled his hand from mine and started for the sink, washing his hands twice.
Sam grabbed the wooden spoon from the table top and a vial of something that looked like pink lemonade. She poured the entire contents of the vial into the blood bowl and began stirring, inspecting it for who knew what. The stuff in the bowl didn't do anything-the blood just disappeared into the pink lemonade liquid and that was that. “Dulce, there should be a pH test kit in the bag, can you get it for me?” I shuffled through her bag until I found the rectangular sheets of paper. “Just dip the end of one into the potion,” Sam said. I did as I was told, and the paper went from white to a deep purple. “Flap it around like you're drying a Polaroid photo.” I obeyed and flapped it. It didn't change color. “Great, now you just have to drink it,” she said with a smirk. “Drink it?” I repeated, my stomach churning at the thought. “Sure, how do you think you're going to be able to find the creature without taking some of it into yourself?” “Please tell me you’re joking.” I backed away, shaking my head. “I'm not drinking that.” Knight faced me. “It's either you or me.” That was easy. “You.”
Sam's smile beamed wider. “Actually, you both have to drink it… if you want it to work right. Besides, don’t both of you want to be able to track the thing?”
I couldn't argue. Sam opened my cupboard and produced two juice glasses. There wasn't that much potion in the stone bowl, so we'd each just have a gulp, probably. Okay, I could handle that. Disgusting, yes, but doable all the same.
Sam ladled out two equal portions and placed the glasses before us. Then she turned to Trey, who was still riveted by Nosferatu. “Trey, I need you now.”
He nodded, his attention still stuck on the screen, even as he made his way toward us. “What do I do?” he asked.
Sam took his arm and positioned him between Knight and me. She stood next to Knight so we were all surrounding the kitchen table like the wise men bringing gifts to baby Jesus. Only our gifts weren't gold, frankincense and myrrh, but nasty creature juice. Just then, the phone rang. “Should I get it?” I asked Sam, not wanting to appear rude. “Yeah, go ahead.” Wondering who the hell could be calling me at this hour, I lifted the phone. “Hello?” “You have some nerve coming here and asking for my help and then nearly blowing the whole goddamned thing!” Dagan roared. I gulped down an acid response. “I already got an earful.” I glanced at Knight-I'd gotten a lot more than an earful. “You're lucky I don't come down there and show you what I really think of you.” “Is that a threat?” I asked, my temper thinning. Threatening a Regulator was not a good idea, even if I had royally screwed up.
“No, it'll be a promise if you ever embarrass me like that again. Luckily for you, I was able to convince my guest that you were just a silly, jealous idiot and not some incompetent cop.”
I frowned. “Is that all you have to say?”
“Don't show your face around here for a while. I won't be held responsible for my actions if you do.”
Yeah, I'd say that was a threat. “Speaking of being responsible, Dagan, why the hell did you let her drink your blood? And don't even start by telling me you don't know what a demon's blood will do to whoever drinks it.”
He chuckled, long and hard. “There aren't any laws against me sharing my blood.”
No, there weren't. He did it purely to make my job harder. “You asshole,” I seethed. I slammed the phone down before he had the chance and turned to face the others, who regarded me with undisguised curiosity. I shrugged. “Dagan's just pissed off with me, that's all.”
Sam nodded, like it wasn't news and motioned for me to resume my place with a cock of her head. “Okay, now Knight, er Todd…” she glanced at Knight sheepishly.
“It's okay,” he said.
Trey didn't even notice.
“Okay,” Sam started up again. “You and Dulcie need to drink the potion and then grab the hand of the person next to you as quickly as you can. Trey, you and I need to focus on containing them.”
“What?” I asked, stiffening. “Containing us?”
“That's why we need four people. Well, really, we could've used more but four will do. When you take a creature into yourself, you adopt some of its mannerisms, and if it's a violent beast, then the same can be said for you.”
I dropped her hand. “You mean to tell me that Knight might end up having some of the creature's…tendencies in him?”
Sam nodded, a nervous smile on her lips.
I sighed. “So, we might have a six foot four monster on our hands? Built like that?” I said, pointing at his chest. He just grinned. Bastard.
“Well, you might have a bad reaction, too,” Sam said.
I shook my head, not concerned about myself-I’d be more like trying to contain an enraged mosquito; it was the potential Frankenstein in the corner that worried me. “Maybe this isn't such a good idea.” “It's the only chance we have,” Knight interrupted. “I can control myself, and I can control you.” I frowned at that less than humble announcement and took Sam's hand again. “For Sam and Trey's sakes, you’d better be right.” Knight disregarded me and faced Sam. “How long will this spell last?”
Sam was silent as she considered the question. “Well, if the creature does rub off on you, in terms of habits, those usually last maybe a day or so. As far as being able to track the creature, you'll probably have about two weeks.”
“That should be plenty of time,” Knight said. He picked up his glass of nasty libation and regarded me with a smile. I grasped mine and watched Sam take Trey's hand, hesitation in her eyes. Trey was eyeing the wretched juice as if he wanted some.
“Cheers!” Knight said and downed his. I was quick to follow. Then I plastered my hand into Sam's and Trey's. At first nothing happened. But then, I thought I was going to explode.
Searing pain shot through me, like someone was shredding my insides. Unable to continue standing up, I started to collapse to the floor but Sam and Trey fought to keep me upright. My blurry eyes found Knight's face. His eyes were shut tight against the pain as he leaned against the wall.
I wailed out against the agony as tears streamed down my face. Trying to tear my hands from Trey and Sam's tight grasp was next to impossible and finally, when I knew I couldn't handle anymore, it stopped.
I caved into the floor as soon as Trey and Sam released me.
Sam hovered over me, her expression pinched. “Well, now we know who can hold their potions.”
I looked at Knight who seemed to regard me with amusement-a raised brow and broad grin. There didn't seem to be any sign of the creature in him. Just the same cocky bastard he always was. As for me, I couldn't say I felt any creature stirring within me either. “Why didn't you tell me it would feel like that?” I demanded. Sam held out her hand and helped me to my feet. “Because you never would have agreed to take it.” I frowned. “So, how does this spell work anyway? I don't feel any different.” Sam shook her head. “You and Knight need to focus on wanting to track the creature. You have to awaken the spell for it to work.” “So, what will we see?” I insisted. Sam smirked. “Why don't you try it?” “Okay, what do we do?”
“It helps if you’re close together. Now focus on one another's eyes. Then inside your mind, call to the creature, make it to show you where it is.”
Knight stood before me, a slight smile playing with his lips. I faced him and gazed into his eyes, trying to call the creature, but the only image in my mind was how hard Knight had been when laying on me in the woods. I closed my eyes, hoping the darkness of my eyelids would dispatch memories of Knight and his erection.
Luckily, I saw the creature. And it wasn't the redhead at all. It was hideous in its natural state-oafish and bulky with red body hair that covered its entirety. Its face was flat, two huge, yellow and round eyes peered from its head. It didn't appear to have a nose, but its mouth was full of teeth that looked like they belonged to a tiger shark. It was hunched over, its back making a perfect half circle. It dug its teeth into the carcass of what looked like a rodent, macerating the small animal in the same way it must have done to Fabian, Tad and Guy. I was suddenly ill.
Victoria's Secret catwalk? Ha, not on your life.
“Where is it, Dulce?” Knight whispered.
I pulled my attention from the creature and noticed its surroundings. High ceilings and broken windows, cement floors with puddles of Hades only knew what. The whole place was dark and drafty. “The abandoned warehouse on Magnolia,” I whispered, opening my eyes. “Let’s go after it.”
I started for the door, but Knight grabbed my arms, chuckling as he did so.
“It will be morning soon, Dulce, and shapeshifters are like vampires-they don't operate in the day. Its master isn't going to call it tonight. From here on out, we track it every evening.”
I nodded, silently pleased I wouldn't have to do any more detective work tonight. Hey, I was tired.
Knight faced Sam. “Thank you, Sam, you are some witch.” She beamed. “I hope you understand I'll have to swear you to secrecy, Relations Office orders.” I rolled my eyes. Goddamn, Knight and his Relations Office orders. “I understand,” Sam said simply. “One more thing,” Knight started before glancing at Trey, who’d returned to watching TV. “He can't remember what went on today.” “What the hell does that mean?” I insisted, thinking Knight was putting a hit out on Trey or something. Sam smiled. “It means he wants me to give Trey a forgetting potion.”
Oh, well that was better than killing him. Sam rummaged through her bag. “Dulce, do you have any chocolate syrup or anything?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I think Knight got some maple syrup but that's all we have.”
Sam glanced at Trey and then nodded. “Yeah, he'll like that.”
I grabbed the maple syrup and handed it to her. She fished inside her satchel and produced a vial of what looked like tea. “What's that?” I asked. “Forget tea. It'll wash his short term memories right out of his head.” “And you just carry that around with you?” I asked with a smirk. “I came prepared.” She laughed. “Can you boil some water?” I grabbed a saucer. Filling it with water, I threw it on the stove and turned on the flame. “Pour a little syrup in it. The tea can be tart.”
I nodded and squeezed the syrup over the saucer until the liquid turned a caramel brown. Once it started boiling, Sam put the tea into a metal sifter and plopped it into the syrup water. After a few seconds, she removed it with a spoon. Grabbing a mug, she poured the tea and handed it to me. I carried it into the living room and presented it to Trey. “Drink this.” He willingly accepted it, blowing on it wetly before he brought it to his lips. “Mmm, takes like syrup.” I just smiled as I walked back to Sam, who was packing all her things into the grocery bag. “Well, looks like my job here is done.” “Thanks, Sam.” I said.
She started for the door, Knight and I right behind her. Her gaze drifted to Trey, who was sipping the tea like I'd told him. “He'll sleep like a baby tonight,” she said with a little grin.
I shut and locked the door behind her. Then, crossing my arms against my chest, I thought about how tired I was. I sure as hell didn’t need Knight’s half naked body next to mine. I’d never be able to sleep. “Trey,” I said as he glanced at me. “You're sleeping in my room tonight.” Then I addressed the unimpressed Knight. “You get the couch.”