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A little ticked, I shushed him. "That's not my point. This is their home, there are probably kids on the premises, so let's try to keep from wrecking the joint or putting anybody else in danger. Which is why I don't want to involve Exo in our fight. I don't even want him to know about it until we're done, because if Dredge charmed him, Exo might well give us away without meaning to. Get it?"
"There—the elevator. Or do you want the stairs?" Delilah pointed to the stairwell at the end of the hall.
Elevator would be faster, but his room was only on the fourth floor. "Stairs. That way we won't get a nasty surprise if the doors open and Dredge happens to be standing there. Or any of his cronies."
My thoughts raced ahead as we jogged up the steps. How would we do this? Dredge was terribly strong, and it would take everything we had to bring him down, especially since he was tied to Loki. My heart told me we could win, my head warned me that counting on victory was an invitation for disaster.
As if reading my mind, Delilah asked, "What's the plan? I assume you and Roz go in first."
I nodded. "Yeah, we have the best defenses against him."
"And we have the most payback to deliver," Roz said, his voice grim. "Don't forget, I lost my family to him. Everyone in my family."
"Are you just going to try to stake him?" Camille paused on the landing leading to the third floor. "Is he immune to magic?"
I leaned against the stairwell wall. "If we go in trying to stake him, he'll win for sure. No, it's going to take more of a battle than that. He is vulnerable to some forms of magic. You don't have the ability to resurrect, do you?" I was joking, but barely. Morio seemed extremely well versed in death magic, and I suspected he was far more than the youkai he let on to be. "That would probably kill him."
"You'd need a powerful necromancer for that," Morio said.
Chase glanced at him, apparently running along the same lines of thought I'd been. "You and Camille have been working some mighty powerful hoodoo. Got anything in that spell book for vampires?"
Morio glanced at Camille and shrugged. "Perhaps. We might be able to slow him down a little or to cast an illusion that might catch him off guard. Do you know what he's afraid of?"
I thought for a moment. "Yeah, or at least something that will make him hesitate. Can you create the illusion of Fenris standing behind us?"
"Fenris?" Roz asked, staring at me. "Ah… I think I see where you're going with this."
"Who in the hell is Fenris?" Chase asked.
Camille frowned. "A giant wolf. Son of Loki, the havoc monger."
Morio inclined his head. "I could probably keep up the illusion for a few moments, but he's going to figure out it's not the real thing before long."
"A few seconds will buy time. Time when he's not paying attention to us," I said. "When we go in, I want that wolf behind us. Change of plans. Camille, you and Delilah are in front with me. Roz, you're next with Morio. Camille, you shoot a bolt of lightning to fry his senses. Chase, stay back and be ready to grab anybody who gets severely wounded and drag them out of danger. Roz, what have you got?"
"I'm heading in with a stake, but I've got something else up my sleeve." He pulled out what looked like a cherry bomb. "This is a garlic smoke bomb. Ignites on contact with the undead. Yeah, this baby should throw him into a tailspin. If nothing else, it will jolt him into a world of pain while we fight. You won't be able to handle it, either, Menolly, so if I end up playing Emeril, then sweet cheeks, get your cute little ass out of the room stat."
I grimaced. "Ugh. Keep that thing away from me unless it's absolutely necessary and for the sake of the gods, warn me if you have to use it." I closed my eyes. There was no sense putting it off any longer. "Okay, let's go. Be careful, please. I don't want to have to sire anybody else tonight, and trust me, you do not want to fall into Dredge's hands."
Another minute and we emerged onto the fourth floor and headed down the empty hallway. I counted doors, stopping in front of the one that should contain Dredge. As we neared the door, the overpowering smell of vampire filled the air. He was here all right. Chances were he knew that his newborns—or most of them—were dead. If we were lucky, he wouldn't know who'd killed them. If not, then he'd be waiting for us.
I glanced back at everyone. "Let's rock this joint." I kicked open the door and rushed in. Camille and Delilah behind me. There was a sudden hush. At first I thought a lot of people had been talking and abruptly fell silent as I entered the room, but then I realized that I was only facing Dredge. There were no other vampires in sight.
"Menolly—" Delilah's voice quavered. I glanced over my shoulder for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough to realize that only my sisters had followed me into the room.
Dredge settled himself on the side of the writing desk that overlooked the window, a triumphant smirk on his face. He was as I'd remembered him, gorgeous and deadly, dressed in a pair of black leather pants and vest.
"Well, it took you long enough," he said. "What? Surprised that I'm ready for you?"
"Hell. He set up a magical barrier," Camille said glancing back at the door. "Menolly, the guys can't get through." She took two steps back and I could feel her energy flare as she let loose with a blinding light.
Dredge covered his eyes and I leapt forward, but the light fizzled and I barely sidestepped him as he almost grabbed my wrist.
Hell and hell again! Damn Camille's ever-present faulty wiring. I'd have to buy time, give the guys a chance to break through the barrier. "What's the matter? You're so afraid that you had to separate us?"
He let out a low whistle and shook his head. "On the contrary, pretty Menolly. I wanted to have a small, intimate party. You're going to find that no one without Otherworld Fae blood can enter that barrier. No humans, no demons… Oh yes, I know you're running around with that incubus spawn and the fox cur. But unfortunately, for you, the three of you are my guests here. You can't break back through the barrier, so, no girls, it's just us. You, me… and your sisters." He rubbed his hands together. "I'm going to enjoy tonight."
I glanced around. "Where are your cronies, Dredge?"
