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And while I might not have seen Clayton’s downfall, I had my father’s. It was a glorious bit of justice that his underpowered disappointment of a daughter now had more magical capacity than him.
But no amount of bloody justice could negate the fact I’d probably never fully shake the mental scars caused by my forced marriage and the subsequent thirteen years on the run. This place, and the family we’d found within it, had certainly helped, as had being left the entirety of Clayton’s estate in his will and walking away with not only a couple of beach properties but a million in my bank account.
And yet there always would be nights when past fears haunted my dreams.
I swept around the final corner and the SUV’s headlights shone on the nightclub. Until only a few days ago, it had been nothing more than a broken shell.
That had definitely changed.
Though the roof over the front portion of the building—the section that had received the most damage in the explosions—was little more than a frame covered by that silver building wrap, walls had re-risen, and windows replaced. The weird, almost alien-looking biomechanical forms that usually decorated the matte black facade were missing, but the airlock-like front door was in place, as were the two rather sinister-looking security guards who usually guarded it. I wasn’t sure why the latter were necessary, given the place obviously wasn’t in any state to be open just yet, but maybe Maelle simply wanted to keep curious onlookers at bay.
“That building was a skeletal mess up until yesterday,” Monty said. “How the fuck did it get to this stage so quickly?”
“Magic, I’m presuming.”
“Even magic can’t work miracles. Besides, therearesuch things as building codes and the like.”
“Knowing Maelle, she probably has her fangs in someone who can fast-track approvals.” I swung into a parking spot opposite and stopped. “I think we need to have a closer look.”
“Should I ask why?” he asked. “Even if Maelleisusing darker magic to rebuild her place, she can’t be the source of evil. Not when she’s made a vow to do no harm while within the reservation.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be aware of what else is out there. She was never really surprised about the other incursions of evil, remember. You coming in?”
He gave me the look—the one that said, “don’t be daft.” I grinned, grabbed my phone and keys, and climbed out. The two guards were obviously watching us, but hadn’t yet moved. I could barely even see them breathe. But maybe they didn’t need to. Maelle was capable of giving eternal life in exchange for eternal service, and these two should be dead, given one of the explosions had taken out the front portion of the building, right where they’d been—and still were—standing. They might not give off the same weird vibe as her thrall, Roger, but that didn’t mean they were entirely human anymore, either.
Monty walked around the rear of the car and fell in step beside me. “Now that we’re closer, is it possible to tell if the magic you’re sensing is the same magic that’s building this place?”
I hesitated, letting my senses run across the various spell threads that crisscrossed the building. None of the external ones were currently active, though the lingering glow of their power suggested they had been only a few minutes ago. I couldn’t help but wonder whose blood was being used to fuel the renovation spells, then shivered and shoved the thought back into its box.
I didnotwant to know. She couldn’t be using the unwilling and, right now, that’s all that mattered.
“It has a similar feel,” I said eventually.
“A statement I don’t find comforting.”
“And yet, in some ways, it actually is.”
“I fail to see how.”
“Well”—I waved a hand toward the venue we were approaching— “aside from the factsimilaris not the same, the intricacy of the spells being used to rebuild this place so fast, and the amount of blood it must require, has to mean she couldn’t possibly be creating havoc elsewhere.”
“We’re dealing with a very old vampire,” he grumbled. “I’m thinking we have no idea what she is and isn’t truly capable of.”
“A truer statement has never been made.”
“And yet you nevertheless believe she’s not involved in whatever you’re sensing.”
“Notdirectlyinvolved, but the similarity in the magic is troubling.”
I stepped onto the footpath. One of the burly men immediately opened the door.
Maelle was expecting us.
Thatwas never a good thing.
I did my best to ignore the rising wash of trepidation and walked into the foyer. This was the area where you checked coats and paid the occasional cover charge before heading into the main club area through a secondary set of airlock doors. Those doors no longer existed, but the framework was up and a heavy plastic curtain currently separated the two areas. I pushed the plastic aside and stepped through, holding it long enough for Monty to follow.
And discovered the magic that had been paused outside was active within. It filled the room with a dark electricity that had the hairs on my arms rising, even if the spells themselves were restrained to the reconstruction of the internal walls and didn’t come anywhere near us.
