Demon's Vengeance The Complete - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,51

looked down at me, a wide grin stretching across his face while joy filled his eyes. “Ellen is pregnant as well.”

If the man felt any fear about their newest little one, it did nothing to cloud his obvious happiness. There were no worries about being discovered by the Towers or about his daughter developing powers. There was only the promise of a new little life that would one day join his family.

“Congratulations,” I said in a rough voice.

He nodded. “I think this one will be a boy.”

And for a brief flash, I envied his sense of peace and acceptance.

CHAPTER 3

Upon returning to North Carolina, we stopped at the house that belonged to the vampire nest. Our return caused the police who had cordoned off the area to retreat as we resumed our investigation. They didn‘t look pleased by our arrival, but no one spoke as we slowly picked our way across the lawn to the massive, three-story house. Not surprisingly, law-enforcement agencies around the globe quickly learned not to oppose the Towers when something interested them. They simply stepped back and waited for the Towers to leave.

The doors were left standing wide open, allowing the sunlight to pour in. The old wood floor creaked as we entered. A quick look around revealed that nothing was disturbed or out of place. There was a mix of antique and modern furniture around the place, as well as the requisite flat-screen TV and sound system. Books neatly filled shelves.. But what else would you expect?

It was well known that upon conversion a vampire became instantly allergic to the sun and all foods and liquids besides blood. What a lot of people didn‘t know was that the vast majority of vampires also developed obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. For some reason, nearly all of them became as neat as a pin and compulsively organized, particularly about objects. There was some speculation that it had to do with how their brain handled the information it was now receiving through newly heightened senses. No one knew for sure, but it meant that every nest and vampire house I had ever been in was incredibly orderly. It was fucking creepy.

We continued through the house until we finally reached the sleeping quarters and located numerous bloodstains in the sheets. They had been attacked while they were sleeping.

“I don‘t get it,” I said as I walked out of the third bedroom behind Gideon. “Not one of them made a sound? Not one heard a noise and woke up? No one fought back?”

“Maybe they couldn‘t fight back.” The warlock stopped in the middle of the hall and rubbed the fingers of his left hand together as if he had gotten something on them, but I hadn‘t seen him touch anything. “There‘s a residue left here.”

“Yeah, I feel it too. It’s from the dark magic spell we came to investigate.”

Gideon shook his head, continuing to stare at his fingertips as if he could actually see the magic. “No, it’s under that. It’s almost sugary . . . like cotton candy or cooked caramel.” When I frowned and only shook my head, he pointed to the stairs leading to the third floor. “The scent of the blood is masking it. Go to the stairs.”

Following his orders, I started to climb the stairs, but stopped on the third one. It was there, so subtle and soft that you could catch only the barest whiff before it was lost in the other magic hovering in the air. He was right. It was like walking into an old-fashioned candy shop or the midway at some amusement park.

“It’s . . . almost fey,” I whispered as I tried to analyze something that I was getting only the faintest hints of. “But the fey rarely have a quarrel with vampires. The bloodsuckers don’t prefer them for prey so they’re not a threat. And this . . .” I paused, waving back toward the bedroom where the murders had taken place. “The fey wouldn‘t be involved in something like this.”

“Except for maybe the dark elves.”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t put much past the dark elves, but their magic doesn’t feel like this. It’s grittier. Maybe a brownie or a pooka? A red cap?” I suggested, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew they were wrong. The magic felt as if it should be fey but it wasn’t like any fey I had ever encountered.

Gideon shook his head, letting his hand finally fall limp at his side. “We should