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“The majority—no,” Vanzir said. “But there are a few, especially half-demon-half-human, who can manage that kind of magic without frying themselves.”
“Shit. Then we’re possibly facing a half-demon wizard on Shadow Wing’s side? Just dandy,” I said.
“Don’t assume,” Smoky said. “We need facts, not assumptions, or we could let ourselves in for trouble.”
“What does this Stacia look like? In both her natural form and human?” Chase shifted in his chair, his right hand twitching.
Karvanak had captured him and tortured him, trying to blackmail us into giving him the fourth spirit seal. I still wasn’t clear on what Chase had been through. He was reticent about discussing the subject, which I understood all too well. It had taken me twelve years to talk about what Dredge did to me the night he killed and turned me.
But whatever had gone on between the demon and the detective, it left Chase short most of his pinky finger, as well as making him a lot edgier. When it came to going up against the bad guys, Chase had always been a by-the-book guy. Now he was harder, more willing to go to the extreme.
Vanzir arched his eyebrows. “She’s not a Penthouse Pet, that’s for sure. At least not in her natural form. Lamias generally look like a giant anaconda with the torso and head of a human female. In human form, they’re like sirens and can bewitch men with their song. So we know that much, but as to Stacia—the only other thing I found out is that, down in the Sub Realms, they call her the Bone Crusher.”
Camille rubbed her temples. “This just gets better and better. We don’t know where she’s at or what she looks like when she’s in human form?”
Vanzir shook his head. “Nope. Woefully lacking on info there. Sounds to me like Shadow Wing’s been keeping her hidden. What she can do, what she looks like, where she is—there’s just no information to be had right now.”
“Delightful,” she said. “We’d better pass this information to the Triple Threat and the Supe Community. She could wreak havoc in no time. Want to make a bet she’s traveling with a bunch of snakes?”
“Snakes aren’t a problem,” I said. “Demons are.”
“Snakes aren’t a problem unless they’re being controlled by a badass bitch,” Camille countered. “There’s a chance, given what she is, that she can summon them, and want to make a bet that if she can, they aren’t going to be harmless little garter snakes but a bunch of pit vipers or cobras or something equally deadly?”
I had to give her that one. “Good point. Okay, so that’s another thing on our list. First, figure out what she can do and where she’s hiding. Then hunt her down and put her out of commission. Meanwhile, we’ve got to kill the Karsetii, or at least drive it back into hibernation, and we have to do so before the full Moon.”
“Yeah,” Camille said, “both Delilah and I will be useless when the Moon Mother goes ripe.”
I thought for a moment. “You can’t ask the Moon Mother to direct her Hunt the demon’s way, can you?”
Camille blinked. “I never thought about that possibility.” She bit her lip and then shook her head. “No. When I’m running with the Hunt . . . I can’t even begin to explain. It’s like being in the grip of a mania. The Moon Mother leads us where she will, and we have no choice but to follow. There’s no thought, no planning, no coherency. Just the ecstasy of the chase.”
I shrugged. “Eh, it was worth asking. Okay, count that idea out.”
I toyed with the pen Chase had tossed on the table. “Then we just have to find the motherfucker and blast it out of existence before we’ve got a body count higher than a teen-slasher movie.”
“Anything else we need to know?” Chase asked.
“Yeah.” I grinned. “This is your lucky day, Chase. While we’re tossing problems into the ring, we just came from Harold Young’s house. For starters, two of the boys are into gang rape via Z-fen. And second, I suspect Harold and his cronies of killing Sabele. He’s a fucking lunatic, and he’s dangerous. I recognize the predator nature, and he’s got it big-time.”
“He’s also tied in with the Demonkin, somehow. I’m not sure what the connection is, but his energy reeks of it.” Camille frowned.
“Yeah. And considering the sleazy way he put the make on Camille—”
“What did you say?” Smoky slowly swiveled his head my way, and all I could see was angry dragon, not the man who sat calmly in the chair.
I struggled to keep from laughing as Roz shrank away.
Arching an eyebrow, I said, “Don’t get your wings in a flurry. Morio took care of almost killing him. He would have finished the job, but I managed to intervene first. But that’s not my main point. Yes, Harold got too touchy-feely with Camille, but last night I heard his buddies Larry and Duane discussing spiking some chick’s drink with Z-fen and screwing her. They were far too proud of the act.”
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” Chase said. “Z-fen. That crap’s everywhere. Cheap to make and so addictive that after a couple of doses, you’re a fucking junkie. Why don’t we just spike the water supply with it and hand over control to the pushers?”
“Yeah, well, the pimps use it to control their stables. We already know that.” I sighed. “I guess we need to find out what connection Dante’s Hellions have with the demons.”
“Dante’s Hellions?” Chase frowned. “Just how much have I missed out on?”
We brought him up to speed.
I jotted down a few notes for him. “The group is scary, and what’s even worse is that they’re smart. I get the feeling there’s a minimum IQ level applicants have to meet to be offered membership.”
