Allison Brennan - Carnal Sin

“I swear to you,” Julie said, “it was Tuesday. We had nothing to do with Kent. Wendy did not want him dead-Marcus is hugely suspicious of how she got half of Kent’s business without paying for it. When he gets back into town Wendy knows she’s gonna be on the hot seat.”

“And,” Rafe continued, “Skye told us there was a dead woman found frozen in his house, who’d been missing since last Wednesday night.”

Julie said, “Stephanie. She was a waitress at Velocity. But those deaths aren’t connected.”

“They are,” Rafe said. “Galion had the same mark on his back that Monroe and Erickson had. The same mark that Detective Nelson has.”

“It’s connected to Fiona,” Moira said. “Not Wendy’s ritual. It goes back to the Seven.” She asked Julie, “When did Nicole Donovan arrive?”

Julie frowned. “Why does that matter?”

Moira snapped, “Answer the question.”

“Two weeks ago. It was late Saturday night; she showed up at Velocity. Surprised Wendy. They don’t get along, but Nicole moved in with her.”

Moira said to Rafe, “What if she brought the demon Lust with her to Los Angeles? It’s the psychic leash-maybe the Seven are connected to the coven members. And the witches are immune because they were in the protective circle when the Seven Deadly Sins were released. That’s how Nicole could affect Hank Santos, but not be affected herself.”

“A catalyst,” Rafe murmured. “Like Typhoid Mary.”

Julie interrupted. “What are you talking about?”

“Nicole didn’t tell you? She was part of Fiona O’Donnell’s coven that released the Seven Deadly Sins from hell. They’re not your friendly neighborhood demons; they’re big, bad, bold, and brazen.”

“So Galion was affected before the ritual,” Rafe said. “Because he spent time at Velocity. The demon Lust would feed on a place like that-the sexual tension, the physical attractions. And the connection to Nicole Donovan keeps Lust in the vicinity.”

Rafe turned to Julie. “You said that Wendy changed the ritual on Tuesday?”

Julie nodded. “We wanted to give Kali more power so she wouldn’t leave after one, um, soul. I thought that if she didn’t get Grant last night she’d go back to the underworld, but Wendy said she’s still here and stronger than before. She nearly broke out of the spirit trap last night!”

“Don’t we know it,” Moira murmured. “Rafe, they had to have trapped the demon Lust. We knew it was Lust, but didn’t know how or why it was here. Now we do.”

She turned to Julie. “Get out. I don’t trust you, and we have to figure out how to save the man you claim to love so much you planned to kill him.”

Rafe pulled Moira out to the balcony and whispered, “We can fight this thing. Especially since it’s trapped in a body.”

“We tried it last night, but it didn’t work. We’re not dealing with a succubus-we’re facing one of the Seven. I think it’s too powerful to be trapped in the chalice-remember what Jackson said? The demon goes back through the portal it came from. Lust has no connection to the chalice. I think it’s like a, a-” She couldn’t think of the word.

“A red herring.”

“Yeah. Maybe Lust got trapped because of the spell, and is required to fulfill the terms of the agreement in order to be free.” Moira blanched. “When that happens, it’s loose.”

“We have to find it before sunset.”

“If we can believe her.” She glanced through the half-closed door at Julie. She sat slumped in a chair, head in her hands. She looked beaten and defeated. But Moira didn’t feel an ounce of pity. She had brought it on herself.

Rafe said, “You know as well as I do that most rituals are most effective at night.”

“I don’t trust her.”

“She wants to save Grant Nelson. Moira-I don’t trust her completely either, but she can find out who the demon is possessing. If we have that information, we can set a trap. We can control where Grant Nelson is at sunset.”

“And then what?”

“Then we need to weaken it, just like we did with Envy.”

“How?”

Rafe shuddered. “We’ll find out from Anthony.”

“And Rico. He’ll have some tricks up his sleeve, I’m sure.”

Rafe didn’t want to call Rico, because he feared that it was Moira’s life that Rico would put on the line. But Rafe had no choice. Especially if he couldn’t get ahold of Anthony. “Does this sound like a workable plan?” he asked Moira.

She nodded.

They stepped back into the room.

“I don’t understand,” Julie lamented. “For five years we’ve been prosperous, we’ve never had any problems, no one ever died, but then Nadine-”

“No one died? What about the men you killed?”

“I mean, nobody who didn’t deserve it.”

“Get out.”

“No! Please, you must help me. Help me save Grant!”

Moira felt Julie silently working a spell. She held out her dagger to reflect any energy sent her way. “Don’t even try it, or I’ll slit your throat.”

Julie looked stunned. “How’d you know?”

“Like I’m going to tell you that.” She said to Rafe, “We need to find Nelson.”

“Oh, thank you! I can help reverse the spell. We can do it right now-”

“No. I’m not a witch.”

“That’s not true.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to call me a liar.”

“But everyone says you’re one of the most powerful magicians in the world.”

“That would be my mother.” Moira tensed. “Who’s everyone?”

“It’s well known. It’s why-”

“Why what?”

“Wendy has been trying to get into Fiona’s good favor. When Nicole was invited into her coven and not Wendy, Wendy went a little crazy. She thought if she delivered you, it would give her the in.”

Rafe stepped toward Julie, his gaze narrowed, and said in a low voice, “Are you setting up Moira now?”

“I swear I’m not. In fact, I’ll tell you exactly how Wendy is going to do it.”

“I’m not concerned about Wendy,” Moira said.

Rafe raised his voice. “Moira, you need to be concerned!”

He was worried, and Moira didn’t want to worry Rafe. If he changed his focus from fighting the demon to protecting her, they’d lose. Of course this relationship of theirs, or whatever it was, was a terrible idea. She couldn’t afford to lose Rafe as her partner. Together, they had a chance. Apart? They’d both end up dead.

She said, “Okay, I’ll watch out for Wendy. Happy? Right now, we’re late for our meeting with Detective Nelson, and now that we know he has a demon’s mark, we’re also running out of time. We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”

“What do you mean?” Rafe said.

“Grant was cursed by Wendy’s coven, but the demon’s mark is on him because he’s susceptible to lust. Julie said it herself-Grant played the field, slept around. That means he’s prone to attack and go postal like Kent Galion-or, if he fights it, he might end up like the basketball player in Santa Louisa, dead of an aneurism. If he can fight it until sunset, great. After that, his soul is demon food.”

Julie was incensed. “How can you save Grant if you won’t reverse the spell?”

“I don’t know yet,” Moira answered.

“I can’t believe this.” Julie sank down on the edge of the bed, holding her head in her hands. “Grant’s going to die.”

“Not if I can help it. He may not be a saint, but he doesn’t deserve to die or lose his soul. He had no part in this except he pissed off a couple of jealous witches. Honestly, you don’t deserve him.”

“I love him!”

“Funny way of showing it.”

Rafe touched her on the arm. “Moira, we need to go.”