Elyssa chuckled. "I think you mean pussy-footing." She jogged to catch up to Fausta. "Who are we going to first?"

"We don't have time for games, so we're going to be direct." Fausta looked back over her shoulder and smiled. "We'll break into their rooms and search them."

Bella walked around the corner and Fausta nearly plowed right over her.

"Goodness!" said the short Arcane. "What…" She looked from Fausta to Elyssa and back again. "Oh. Something really bad must be happening for you two to be taking a walk together." She smiled and rubbed her hands together. "Where are we going? Are we going to rough anybody up?"

"No way," Fausta said, shaking her head. "We'll attract too much attention with so many people."

Elyssa pursed her lips and regarded Bella. Thought about how she'd hotwired cars in seconds. "I think she'll be perfect for what we have in mind. Think about it—who'd be better at opening locks than an Arcane?"

"Oh yes, I'm an old hand at larceny," Bella said. "During my younger years I excelled at breaking and entering."

"Younger years? You still look like a child," Fausta said, towering over the other woman.

"Don't be so mean," Bella said with a frown. "I'm only a head shorter than you. Besides, botte piccola fa vino buono."

Fausta laughed. "I hope you're right."

"What does that mean?" Elyssa asked.

The Arcane woman winked. "It's an old Italian saying: A small cask makes good wine."

Elyssa already knew Bella was more powerful than her size indicated. "If we're searching rooms, we'll need all the help we can get." She gave Bella an appraising look. "I have a feeling our sorceress friend here makes very good wine when she mixes magic and subterfuge."

Bella beamed at her. "After so many boring years in Ciudad De Los Angeles, it will be wonderful to live life in the fast lane again."

"Fine, fine," Fausta said. "Let's go." She stalked toward the officers' barracks.

Bella followed close in her wake.

Worry still gnawed at Elyssa as she caught up to her partners in crime, but at least she knew one thing for sure. Things were about to get interesting.

Chapter 15

I grinned lazily—even though grinning was hard with a gag in my mouth—at the three men standing over me as Dash withdrew a long needle from my arm.

"Don't give him too much," said Maximus.

"I daresay he already has," said the Master.

Dash didn't look concerned. "It's only temporary. I need to undo one of his straps to get the IV in."

The big vampire touched a finger to the strap on my forearm and the one securing my bicep. My arm flopped loose. Dash rearranged my arm. I felt a sharp prick in my wrist.

"Okay, tighten the straps now," he said.

Tension pressed against my arm. But I felt way too good to care.

You're drugged, moron! Snap out of it!

"Why?" I tried to say around the hard ball in my mouth. "I want Mommy."

"He's drooling," said the man with the funky mustache.

"I've set the blood drip so it won't drain him faster than he can regenerate," Dash said.

Maximus nodded. "How much blood can we expect daily?"

"Maybe a liter. But he needs to feed."

"Already taken care of," Maximus said, and looked at the British vampire. "How much blood can you spare for the serum, Master?"

The Master adjusted his monocle. "A liter will be no problem."

Dash nodded. "Once I've diluted the serum, I could quadruple our production."

"Excellent work, chaps. I believe our little plan will pay big dividends in the end."

Their conversation droned on, but I was too out of it to comprehend everything they were saying.

"…but what if Daelissa changes her mind again?" Dash waved his arms as if to indicate the room. "All this work will be for nothing."

Mention of the rogue angel's name snapped me from my haze. I focused on the conspirators and tried to take in whatever they said.

"It doesn't matter if she changes her mind," Maximus said. "She's crazy half the time anyway. We figure out how to reprogram those things and Methuselah can send all he wants. We'll just make 'em part of the army."

"Bloody good, chaps," said the Master. He pulled a pocket watch from his cloak and glanced at it. "My contacts tell me the Syndicate is meeting to discuss their difficulties with the Arcanes. They even sent an envoy to the Templars, if you can believe it."

"Are they still arguing about what to do with me?" Maximus grinned.

"Indeed, my young apprentice. But our people have enough votes to keep the Syndicate running in circles."

"And Vlad?"

"He's been beyond caring about the mortal world for centuries." The Master polished his monocle and held it up to the light for inspection. "I believe full-scale war with the Arcanes is imminent, wouldn't you say, Mr. Armstrong?" He replaced the monocle on his eye and headed for the door.

Dash nodded and followed him. "My contacts told me the council is pushing hard for retribution. They've tripled security on arcane schools, and are calling in the battle mages."

"That should keep the Templars off our backs," Maximus said. He leered down at me for a few seconds before turning and leading the others out of the room and away until their conversation faded.

Whatever Dash had injected me with lost its hold some indeterminable time later, and I lapsed back into coherence. I felt tired. So very tired. Hopelessness pressed against me like a suffocating wave.

"Those entities seem intent on doing bad things," said the calm voice of my companion.

I almost cussed him out for stating the obvious, but felt way too exhausted to make the effort. Besides, for all I knew, they had him on the same drugs Dash had doped me with. Anyone would be stupid with that crap in their veins.

"Ungh," I said. It took everything to get one syllable out, not that it mattered with the ball gag in my mouth.

"I do not have a greater context to understand their motives. Perhaps if a library were made available to me I could understand their puzzling desire to cause you harm."

At least he cared.

A hot tear trickled down my cheek. I closed my eyes against the pain. Elyssa's face filled the void. I looked longingly at her full lips, her bright violet eyes, her porcelain skin. I might never again touch those lips or feel her warmth press tight against me.

I miss you.

I groaned.

Someone made a noise to my right. I looked and saw a middle-aged woman I didn't recognize standing there. "I'm supposed to come here," she said, looking around. "Uh, Maximus sent—"

My demon surged for her so fast she didn't have time to complete the sentence. My essence latched onto hers and drew long and hard, an alcoholic having the first drink of the day. She moaned and rubbed her hands up and down her body. I felt the feverish hunger in me burning in my eyes. The woman straddled me and pressed her lips to my face, my chest.

I was out of control. Part of my mind watched in fascinated horror. Another part was too angry and tired to give a damn. Energy flooded into me, rich, warm, and fulfilling. Within minutes, the woman slumped and rolled off me, thudding on the floor. Guilt stabbed into me and I jerked control from the demonic force within before it killed this woman. She might love Maximus and want to be a vampire, for all I knew, but killing her wouldn't solve a thing.

Maximus was the first in a short list of people who needed killing.

Amanda appeared, an evil grin on her face. "Enjoy your dinner, spawn?"

I glared at her. It was all I could do with the gag in my mouth. She tossed the woman over a shoulder, and carried her away down the hall.

Fully refueled, but thoroughly depressed, I stared at the ceiling and wondered how long I would suffer this fate. My only choice would be to let myself die. But would my demonic urges allow me to do such a thing or would it take control at the last minute?

A hand gripped something on the back of my head and the gag popped loose. I spat it out and looked into Maximus's eyes.

"What are you doing down here again?" I said. "Come to gloat more?"

He leaned against the wall to my side and regarded me with a serious look. "Who is your mother?"

"As if you don't know already."

"Humor me."

I considered telling him to screw himself, but saw no harm in telling him something Daelissa must have already told him. "Alice Conroy."

"Are you certain?"

"Go screw yourself." I felt marginally better going with my first instinct.

He smiled. "I'm genuinely curious. You are mixed spawn and human which should make your blood worse than a pureblood, and yet even Dash agrees your blood is far superior."

"Have you ever met someone with my pedigree?"

"No. So for all we know, the assumption that a human-spawn mix is inferior might be wrong." He shrugged. "Dash finds you fascinating. I suspect he would like to take you apart to satisfy his magical curiosity."

"Thank heavens you're such a good, caring person."

Maximus pulled up a stool and sat down. "You realize we don't have to be enemies, Justin. Although I have cooperated with Daelissa, she is far from being a true ally. If anything, I'm just a tool for her."

"Then why help her? She plans to let her other angel friends into this world, and guess who they won't need anymore?"

"I'm not a fool. You think I don't know her plans? I'm a diversion, nothing more. I know she has true allies who are far more involved in her plans, but I don't know who they are. The Master is my true ally, my mentor, and there are several Arcanes who also believe in our cause."

"To do what? Form a vampire army and rule the world?" I snorted. "Maybe you could be a little less cliché with your plans for world domination. Hey, I have an idea—how about you and your vampires sponsor a roadside trash pickup? You can save the environment and feel great about yourselves."