Spirit Sorceress: Spirit Sorceress: Book 1 (14 page)

They were very thorough, and it actually took longer for
them to finish here than the repair work had taken at B and B. 

While that was going on, Matt arrived in a car, and
retrieved the unconscious vampire, restraining him heavy metal cuffs and a gag
before putting him in the trunk.  Once I was sure he was secure I released
the power I’d had around him.  Matt also relieved me of the
explosives.  I wondered if we would place guards at all the locations
twenty-four seven, just in case they tried something like this again.  I
also wondered if we had enough guards to do that.

I managed to control my traitorous body a little better for
the ride over to Pulse.  I still wanted his blood, but they say you can
get used to anything.  It didn’t take very long when we got there, just
the hole in the hallway, and the bathroom wall that was slightly singed. 
It was less than five minutes later when they finished up.

Jared assured me he’d send the estimates in sometime today,
and I watched, a little too wistfully, as they drove off.

It was the middle of the day, but I didn’t care that much, I
couldn’t wait for tonight, plus I’d be working anyway.  On the walk home I
stopped at an alley that had a lot of nooks in the cement, and a likely
dumpster to hide behind.  I was faintly disturbed by that idea, but too
thirsty to really give a crap.

I picked out a likely target, he looked about twenty-two,
and I could read that he was healthy.  It only took a moment of eye
contact and he willingly followed me into the alley.  I got a little
carried away, and pushed him into the alcove, out of view of the busy street,
and bit into his neck.  It was even better than I remembered from the
first time.  Pure liquid pleasure, and the taste was better than
chocolate.  When I’d drank my fill, I was completely pressed up against
him, I was more than a little turned on, and could feel he was too, obviously
so.

It was both highly disturbing, and felt completely natural
at the same time, as my mind tried to reject my vampire instincts.  I
wasn’t overwhelmed by it, it was easy to step back now that the blood thirst
and craving were out of the picture, especially since he wasn’t the one I
really wanted. 

I commanded him to forget this ever happened, and sent him
on his way.  Still, I knew I’d need a cold shower when I got back to the
coven.  Maybe it wouldn’t be so pronounced if I feed every other day, I’d
let it go on too long.  I supposed I’d find out.

I smelled like smoke, sawdust, and a little of the
aftershave from the guy on the street.  So I went straight up to my condo
for that shower I’d promised myself, although it was hot instead of cold, and
then I pulled on a change of clothes.  In hindsight, I was glad Lisa had
made me get more than just a few outfits, seemed like I was going through two
or three changes a day.

I put on some black jean shorts, a clingy tee, and calf high
boots which I was able to conceal some blades in.  I probably didn’t need
the steel, not with my powers and being a vampire, but I felt better with them
on.

I looked over at my sword a little wistfully, which was on
display.  I wondered why I was even taught how to use it.  I couldn’t
exactly run around the streets of Seattle wearing a damned sword.  Or at
least, not yet.  Maybe when I was stronger I’d be able to hide it with a
spirit illusion, but it would be a while before I gained that power.

And by a while I mean a century or so.  I supposed I
could carry that pool cue case everywhere, but people would make fun of
me.  It only worked that one time because I knew I was headed to a fight,
usually I don’t know about it before hand.

Hmm, maybe I could ask Tina if she could arrange
something.  I wasn’t sure what a witch could pull off.  Something to
look into another time.

I checked myself in the mirror one last time, and then
headed down to lunch.  The nice kitchen in my condo seemed like a waste,
but if I didn’t have to cook I wouldn’t complain.  I grabbed a tray of
food, and spotted Lisa sitting alone and looking a million miles away and ready
to pass out.

I sat across from her.

“Hey, have you slept?”

She shook her head, and her usual smile wasn’t in evidence,
“Nope, worked a double shift and then some.  That’s why I didn’t show up
last night at Pulse.  There aren’t enough of us to go around with the
increase in both people at each location, and now guarding locations when
they’re closed just made it worse.”

“Maybe things will improve once we take out Mark.”

She shook her head again, “Why do you say that?  It
will just be one rogue issue after another.”

I nodded, “But our cells are bursting with Mark’s
turns.  Some of them might make good guards once they’re freed from Mark’s
compulsions as their maker.  Granted, they suck at fighting, but we can
train them up some, the ones that stay anyway.  Last I checked we still
have fifteen condos free.”

It used to be thirteen, but those two vampires died.

“That’s…” she paused a second, “A fairly brilliant
idea.  Maybe.  I’m too tired to think straight.”

My phone dinged and I pulled it out, Jared sent in the
estimate already.  I took a moment to forward it to Eustice, Karen, and
Daniel, and then got back to my lunch.  A tray was set next to me and I
looked up, it was Melody.

I smiled, genuinely glad to see her, “Hi, what brings you
by?”

I blushed then, realizing how invasive that question might
be.  Was it really my business?

Melody smiled though, and said, “Just visiting, mainly for
the free food.”

Another tray popped down next to Lisa, and it was
Ceara.  I’d never seen her in here before.

“Good catch on the bombs Miku.  I have good news, Tina
figured out a spell and she’ll be here in a half hour.  Will you come with
us?  I need to know if he has any plans in place in the case of his death,
and what exactly he was planning to do.  What resources he had… all of
it.”

“Sure, sounds like fun,” I wasn’t about to say no.

Melody laughed, “Fun?”

I shrugged, “He tried to have me killed several times, and
blown up once, I wouldn’t miss it.”

Ceara asked, “Do you think you can get through his shield?
 He’s about twelve hundred years old.”

I honestly didn’t think I could, but that wouldn’t matter.

I smiled in anticipation, “Nope, but that’s okay.  I
can read him after you rip his head off.  Once he’s dead, his soul is mine
until I let it go.”

Ceara nodded, and I looked over at Lisa who was clearly torn
between wanting to go along, and finding the nearest bed.

I asked Lisa, “You trust me?”

She nodded, a little warily.

I threaded her shields, and started to pull elemental spirit
magic and poured it through the link, feeding her soul.  She straightened
up a bit as it recharged her energy.

She grinned, “That’s amazing, I feel like I slept for days.”

I nodded and then burst her bubble, “But you haven’t. 
You’ll have to pay for it tonight.  Think of it like a magical energy
drink, eventually you’ll crash.”

She asked, “Is it dangerous?”

“No.  Well, if I kept doing it over and over yes, your
body would eventually rebel, but not dangerous just the once.”

I switched tracks, “So, as long as you’re here, I have a
theory I’d like to run by you.”

I explained my theory about me needing blood more often than
a normal baby vampire, and why.

Ceara nodded, “That sound right.  It does change the
body over time.  More than just related to blood as well.  Imagine
punching someone at my speed.  If my body was the same as a mortal’s all
the bones in my hand, and possibly my arm, would shatter at the impact. 
The skin is tougher too, nothing that a knife or bullet couldn’t break, but
tougher.”

I felt a bit better knowing I hadn’t been just being a wimp
earlier.  I was pretty sure anyway, but it was good to actual know for
sure.  Three more trays clattered down, and Eustice, Daniel, and Ethel sat
around the four of us.

Eustice asked, “Can I come along?”

Ceara replied, “If you wish.  We’re leaving soon.”

We finished lunch in silence after that, and then headed
down to the lobby to greet a witch…

There weren’t that many of us, just Ceara, Lisa, Eustice,
and myself.  The rest of the guards would be staying behind to watch the
buildings just in case.  She never said so, but I had a feeling Melody was
just hanging around for free food
, in case the coven was attacked with
Ceara out.

To be fair, with Ceara along, it wouldn’t matter how many
minions Mark had.  She was just that scary, and I was glad to be on her
side.

We didn’t have to wait that long, Tina came in the front
door and exchanged greetings with Ceara.  The rest of us she acknowledged
with a single nod, and then we were headed down the stairs to the cells.

We picked an empty one, and without a word Tina knelt down
and started to draw a circle on the ground, with arcane symbols around
it.  I barely restrained a giggle, because she was using pink chalk. 
It just seemed wrong to me for some reason.  It was very complex,
amazingly so, and she never once paused or faltered.  She finally
finished, and stood.

Tina said, “Bring me one of his turns, he can be
unconscious.”

Ceara zipped out and back, and held one of the rogues by the
neck with one hand.  He was gasping for breath, or trying to at least, it
didn’t take long for him to pass out.  She carefully placed him inside the
circle without harming the chalk lines.

Tina said in a monotone, already slipping into a trance of
some kind, “This shouldn’t take long,” and she took out a crystal.  I had
no idea what kind of crystal, but it was yellow and about the size of a walnut.

She started to chant in Latin.  I don’t think anyone else
could see, not even the witch, but I watched as elemental fire, air, and earth
magic twisted together and formed before my eyes.  I guessed water wasn’t
necessary for this spell.  The air magic supported by fire magic dug into
the vampire’s body, as if searching for something as the chant went on. 
Then it backed off, and the magic was sucked into the crystal, like a fisher
reeling in a line.  Lastly, the earth magic wrapped around the crystal,
sealing the spell within.

Tina looked suddenly drained, and held out the crystal to
Ceara, “This will give you a direction only, though I got the sense while
casting he was in Tacoma, and the spell is pulling mostly south.”

Ceara took the crystal and held still a moment, “Thank you,
I can feel it, a subtle pull.”

Lisa picked up the vampire and threw him back in his cell,
and we waited while Tina cleaned up.

It was time to go and end this…

We were in a black BMW heading south on route five going at
least ninety.  Ceara looked impatient in the passenger seat, as if Eustice
was going way too slow.  Granted, if she’d gone alone she’d have been
there by now.  Right before we reached Tacoma, Ceara directed his driving
as we tried to triangulate exactly where he was.  It took a little while,
but we eventually figured out he was in an industrial area, inside a
warehouse.  We parked a few blocks away.

It gave me a bad feeling, “Does anyone else think this is a
trap?”

Lisa asked, “You think he knows we’re coming for him?”

I nodded slowly, “He likes nice hotels with good amenities,
and he always takes the best room, the penthouse if it’s available.  He
doesn’t usually slum it like this.”

Ceara sighed in disgust, “Maybe we have a leak?”

“Maybe,” I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, “Or a good spy,
electronic bugs, or a hacker to invade our own security systems.  I’ll
find out when I read his soul.  Another thing, he’s only got one other
person in there with him.  That feels wrong too.”

Ceara nodded, “Nothing to do but spring his trap.”

That’s what I was afraid of.  We got out and approached
the building cautiously.  I tried to thread through his shields with a
tendril of spirit magic, but as I suspected there was just no way
through.  When I was more powerful I’d be able to punch a hole, but until
then I’d have to not get into an argument with any vampires that old.

Considering my life lately, somehow I doubted I’d be that
lucky.

The second person, a female vampire, I’d had no luck with
either, though she was younger than Mark, more like James maybe.

Lisa took point and carefully pulled on the door.  It
was unlocked.  Alarm bells were going off in my head, but I didn’t feel
anything other than a very old vampire, and his one companion.  We walked
into an empty warehouse that looked to have seen better days.  There was
some trash on the floor, and empty beer bottles.  They were at least fifty
feet away from us, if not more.

Mark said enthusiastically, “Wonderful, I’ve been expecting
you.”

There was some truth in what he said, but I got the idea he
hadn’t been expecting us to find him this soon.

Ceara said sternly, “That won’t help you, surrender
peacefully and I’ll make it quick.”

Mark laughed, “I think it’s you all who will die,” and
turned to the woman vampire, “Now my dear.”

The old vampire female started chanting in Latin and I
cursed.  If there can be a vampire sorceress, why not a vampire
witch?  At least he’d threatened my life, I didn’t need to hold
back.  I raised my hand and hit her with spirit lightning, I’d been
holding my full power since the car had stopped.  It didn’t do any good,
the lightning coruscated around her body without touching it or her soul, some
kind of ward or shield.

She finished the chant, it had been very short, and I felt
magic rise around us, wards that had been quiescent, undetectable until she’d
just activated them all.  Ceara ran forward, but too late, she only made
ten steps and then tripped and fell on her face.  I could see right away
what the witch had done, she was warding against elemental air magic.

The wards couldn’t get passed my shields of spirit, but they
didn’t need to, our souls were cut off from the actual plane of air which fed
our vampire natures.  The only good thing was that both of them were cut
off as well.  I nailed them both with lightning, but again I was denied,
the witch still had her witch magic, and was protecting the both of them.

Mark chuckled, “Bet you haven’t felt this helpless in a
while Ceara, I have to admit, it’s rather disconcerting.  However, it was
the only way to put us on shall we say… equal footing?”

Then he pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it
in a high arc across the floor toward us.  In desperation, I pulled a
throwing knife from my boot and flicked it at the grenade, trying to knock it
off course.

Of course, I totally missed.  I did say desperate
didn’t I?

Ceara got up and we all ran forward, we passed the grenade
as it angled down and landed behind us.  It exploded a moment later and
threw us all forward.  My back was on fire with pain, and I was a little
dizzy from my head bouncing off the concrete floor when I’d landed.  I
looked up angrily, and Mark had a smile on his face, and he drew a nine
millimeter Beretta from behind his back.

I didn’t bother trying to hit them with lightning again,
might as well just bang my head on the floor for all that it would do. 
Instead, I studied the cage of magic around the building.  It was mostly
elemental earth, with water and fire mixed in.

While I studied the magic Mark said, “No more council,
finally.  As soon as I put you down, we will be free to do as we choose.”

I had no idea what to do, I thought maybe if I could figure
out a critical spot to hit with raw elemental magic of spirit, it would break the
ward.  Then I could take a nap and let Ceara kill them all.  But I
really had no clue where to start.  Maybe the answer wasn’t magic at all.

I drew another knife from my boot, we were much closer to
them now, and I threw it at the witch.  Unlike the grenade, I didn’t miss,
the knife took her in the center of her throat.  Apparently I wasn’t the
only one to have this idea, because she was taken with two other blades right
after mine, one stuck her in the heart and the other one right below mine. 
She gasped and started to bleed out, and then fell to the floor like her
strings had been cut.

Even with the witch gone, the wards stayed, but I suspected
the shield wouldn’t.

Mark’s eyes widened, which told me I was right about the
shield, and he turned the gun on me instead of Ceara as the greater threat, but
I was faster.  I blasted him with spirit lightning again and rolled as he
pulled the trigger.  I felt a sting on my leg as his soul flew from his
body, and his body dropped where it stood.  I smiled, I’d never have been
able to do that if he had his vampire powers.  I wrapped his soul in my
power so he couldn’t escape, and stood up shakily.

My leg was okay, just a graze.  I wasn’t sure about my
back yet.

Ceara looked at me a little nervously, and I realized that
for the moment, I was the strongest person in the room.  I shook my head,
the idea of killing her just because I could hadn’t even entered my mind, at
least not until I saw the unsure look on her face.  I ignored it, she
wouldn’t thank me for pointing out her momentary weakness, even to just
reassure her.  Instead, I went to retrieve my knife, cleaning it on the
witch’s clothes before I placed it back in my boot sheath.  I was a little
dizzy, where was my other knife?

I found it, and we all made for the door, my head was
killing me.  It was ironic, I’d hated being turned to a vampire against my
will.  It was unnatural.  But a sense of relief settled in my mind as
my power rushed back to me as soon as we crossed the thresh hold, and the air
magic started to heal my injuries, while I helped out with spirit.  I
wondered how bad my back was, it still stung like anything, but my head was
already clearing so I probably didn’t have a concussion.

Eustice said, “Well, you were right, it was a trap.”

Lisa and I exchanged looks and giggled at the
understatement.

Ceara asked, “What about that ward?”

I frowned, “I think it will just die out in a day or two,
without a witch to recharge it.”

I wasn’t positive, but it sounded right.  Magic wasn’t
free, it had to come from somewhere.  I turned to Mark’s ghost and read
his life, and then I released his memories, and let his soul go.  I had no
interest in hurting his soul, his life was ended, and that was enough.  I
hoped it would be quiet for a while, although I was sure he was only the first
rogue bent on stupidity that I’d have to help face.

I shook my head, despite not being a guard.  Maybe
Ceara’s playful joke was right, I was a rogue magnet.

Ceara looked a little shaken, and I had to admit I was right
there with her.  If Mark hadn’t stopped to gloat and grandstand like a
jackass, we’d all be dead right now.  I was also glad I’d packed knives,
if I’d depended on my vampire abilities for physical protection, we’d be
dead.  Spirit magic was powerful, but it didn’t do crap against the
physical.

It was why I’d been so well trained with blades and other
weapons by my mother, and I sent her spirit a silent thank you, though she
probably didn’t hear me.  It’d been two years, she might have been reborn
by now.  Maybe I’d go see Tina sooner rather than later about some kind of
invisibility or a don’t notice me spell for my sword.  My back burned, and
I could feel the wind against my bare skin, I imagined I was missing part of my
shirt.  The shorts for some reason seemed to have escaped damage.

Either way, I was going to need a third shower today, and
more clothes.

We all piled in the car, and headed back north.  Lisa
called for a cleanup team, none of us wanted to go back in there. 
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, no doubt thinking of their
mortality.  At least, I knew I was.

Ceara asked, “What did you learn?”

I composed my thoughts, “There was no spy, and he had no
contingencies.  He planned to make a mistake on purpose in another attack
tonight, this time on the coven itself not the businesses, which would have led
you to the warehouse outside of Tacoma.  The trap wasn’t really ready yet,
it wasn’t supposed to just be him and the vampire witch, they were going to
have more people and guns.

“So he didn’t know we were coming at all, or at least, not
yet.  I don’t think the attack will happen anymore, his vampires must have
felt their compulsions fall, they’re probably running for it.  If they’re
smart.  Still, it wouldn’t hurt to prepare just in case.

“None of this was really about the coven at all, he just
wanted to take you out and stop a new council from forming.  He didn’t
care about ruling our kind outside of his own coven, he only wanted to be free
to do what he wanted, which was to control governments, and make lots of money
without interference.

“Oh, and he had hundreds of millions in off-shore
accounts.  I have the account numbers and passwords, as well as the
websites.  I’ll type it all up later and send you a report?”

She nodded, “Good, you’ll get five percent in a recovery
fee,” she turned to Lisa, “I know your tired, but make sure the guards are
ready for an attack tonight, and then go back to the normal schedules
tomorrow.”

Lisa nodded, “Will do.  I’d also like to troll the
cells for anyone willing to join our coven and the guard, with your
approval.  We really do need more.”

Ceara agreed, and then we were all left to our own
thoughts.  Me?  I was speechless, five percent of half a billion
dollars would go a long way…