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“I’d hate to see what their hazing rituals are like,” Camille said, shivering.
Smoky spoke up. “So we have three main focuses. One: Find and kill the Karsetii. Two: Figure out what’s really going on with Harold and his crew—”
“And see if they had anything to do with Sabele’s disappearance,” I interjected.
“Right. And three: Start digging up information on Stacia.”
I nodded. “That about sums it up. But don’t forget that we also have to find and recover the fifth spirit seal. With a new general in town, we can’t let down our guard for a moment. Karvanak was bad, but I have an uneasy feeling that the lamia is going to be far worse.”
As I glanced at Vanzir, I found him studying my face. He didn’t look away. “Is there anything else you can tell us about her?” I asked.
He blinked. “As I said, I couldn’t dig up anything more. But the fact that her record is so cloaked doesn’t bode well. Karvanak was bad, but he was also a hedonist. Who knows what this bitch is like?” His gaze lingered on my face.
I gave him a brief nod. “Okay, since we’re here, we might as well begin with the Karsetii. If there are three victims still under attack and they’re all here, maybe we can manage to trace the demon shadows attached to them back to the hive mother.”
“Sounds good,” Camille said, standing up. Morio and Smoky followed suit, as did Roz and Vanzir. “Roz, Smoky, we’ll need you to take us over to the astral. Chase, you better stick around here on this one.”
“Yeah,” Chase said quietly. “I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what to do once I was over there. I’ll help Sharah keep an eye on the victims still under siege.” He paused. “Good luck, guys. Go get the sucker. Delilah is depending on us, you know.”
“We know.” I headed for the door, a wave of foreboding sweeping over me. This was going to be one bitch of a fight, and how we would trace the hive mother down through the astral was still a question that I, at least, didn’t have the answer to. “Believe me, we know.”
CHAPTER 18
Once again, we filed into the medical wing of the building. We’d seen far too many bodies in the past few days, far too many victims. I just wanted to find the Karsetii and vaporize it. For twelve years now, I’d lived in a world of blood and death. When we came Earthside, I found myself hoping we’d be assigned to some rinky-dink post without any stress. Now I was realizing that the carnage had only just begun. The tide against us was swelling, the demons were knocking, and we couldn’t bar the door much longer.
The victims, including Tiggs, the surviving officer, were all in one large room. Tiggs, an elf from Elqaneve, was deep in a coma and fading fast. The others were all Fae. Five victims still alive at this point. I’d lost track of how many dead.
I walked softly between the tables, thinking of their imminent deaths, of their life energy being siphoned off. Their souls would join the ancestors, but they shouldn’t be dying yet. It wasn’t their time. It wasn’t their choice or a death forged out of honor.
I turned to the others. “Let’s get the hell over there and kick the fuck out of this monster. We’ll figure out how to deal with the demon when we’re there.”
Smoky nodded and stood back, holding out his arms. Camille and I gravitated toward him. Roz and Vanzir clasped hands. We looked at Chase and Sharah, who were staring gravely at us.
“If we don’t come back . . . hell. If we don’t come back for some reason, get your ass down to the bar and tell Tavah to send Delilah home to Otherworld immediately. Tell her what’s going on. I guess that’s it,” I said.
He blinked. “You’ll come back. The demon can’t kill you all.”
Camille sighed. “Look around you, Chase. The victims—they’re all Fae—well, Fae and an elf. Face it. We’re a blue-light special to the Karsetii. Smorgasbord on a stick. But with a little luck, this whole conversation is moot. At least we know what we’re up against. Morio, stay here to protect them. We can’t all take a chance on going.”
Morio looked like he wanted to protest, but with a nod from Smoky, he accepted the charge and went over to stand by Sharah and Chase.
In the shelter of Smoky’s arm, Camille reached across his stomach and took my hand as I slid into the nook on his other side. Camille took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I followed suit—the eyes, not the breath—as Smoky wrapped us in his voluminous trench. Within seconds we were shifting, traveling, and I could feel the icy chill that came with crossing layers of reality.
As we stepped onto the astral, Smoky opened his arms, and Camille and I spread out, her to the left, me to the right. Vanzir and Rozurial appeared a few yards away to the right. Roz left his gun in the holster this time, but he opened his duster and pulled out a scroll.
I frowned. “What’s that?”
“Trace spell. If nothing else, we can put a trace on it and follow it back to the hive mother.” He was about to say something else when Vanzir pointed off to our left. Three forms were there: the Karsetii clones. Two were feeding off two victims each, the third was feasting on three, including Tiggs.
“Greedy suckers, aren’t they?” I watched them for a moment. “They haven’t noticed us yet. They must be intent on draining energy. I think Roz should cast the trace first. That way if they get away before we can land any blows, then at least we can follow them. And rather than try to kill them, let’s just scare them off. It’ll be easier to follow them that way than if they vaporize and reappear back at their central source.”
“Good idea,” Camille said, gesturing to Roz. “Go on.”
He spoke in low tones in what sounded like Greek. After a moment, a small flash briefly flared and then died out. He squinted, staring at the demons. “I think it took.”
Camille nodded. “Yes, I can see it in their auras. Now, how do we chase them home without getting ourselves killed?”
“Your handy-dandy light flare, how else?” I grinned at her. “Eventually you’re going to cast that thing so many times you’ll glow like the sun.”
