Suzanne McLeod - The Sweet Scent of Blood

‘Maybe you hugging Neil Banner like a long-lost teddy bear has something to do with that.’

‘Hmm. Regrettably her various protection spells do not allow me to discuss the misconception with her. I have attempted to communicate with the sergeant, but our abilities are rather ineffectual against trolls.’ He sighed. ‘They are such dense creatures. So I have elected to contain the situation and buy us all a small amount of time, as they say.’

I frowned at Hugh. He still hadn’t moved. Was the Earl saying what I thought he was? Was he actually able to selectively stop time and hold individuals in some sort of stasis? Damn, that was some trick—not that I wanted to be impressed—but it wasn’t helping me much.

‘Okay, I get it. So what’s the deal that your friend here wants?’

‘It is quite simple: Louis wishes you to remove DI Crane’s protection spell, the one in her sapphire, without alerting her to the fact.’ The Earl’s voice was as calm as if he were discussing a walk in the park, instead of doing something that would go against every tenet that both the witches and vampires held dear. ‘Obviously,’ he continued, ‘this is a difficult, possibly even distasteful option for you to consider, but I believe it is a task that is well within your capabilities.’

‘Witches good fuckfuck ,’ Louis said with a grin that never reached his eyes. ‘Good blood.’

‘So, if I’ve got this right,’ I said slowly, ‘I can play matchmaker for Psycho vamp Louis and Inspector Crane, or I can let the other sucker here pump me full of venom whilst he attempts to suck me dry.’ I’d already been there and burnt the T-shirt on option two, and was not looking for a replay. Never again would be too soon for that.

‘Eloquently put, my dear.’ The Earl paused. ‘Westman needs blood, and without it, he will be unable to withdraw his hold on Mr Banner, and thus avert the unpleasant situation in which we find ourselves.’

‘Stop playing games with me,’ I snapped. ‘Just order Louis to feed the sucker; I’m quite sure that would also avert the situation.’

A pink bead of sweat rolled down Westman’s face. Louis leaned in and caught it with his tongue. Nice.

‘Sadly, that is not a possibility.’ The Earl didn’t sound quite so unruffled now. ‘Louis does not bow to my hand. He owes his fealty to another.’

I didn’t try and keep the surprise out of my voice. ‘I thought you were the main man around here?’

‘Ms Taylor, Westman needs blood soon.’ He sounded tired. ‘Please make your decision: who will make the necessary donation? ’

‘Decision made. I nominate you.’

The Earl sighed. ‘In Westman’s present state, blood from a vampire not of his family would devastate his mind.’

Damn. ‘And destroy Neil Banner’s along with it.’ I finished the unspoken part of the sentence.

‘Yes.’ Regret tinged his voice. ‘I see you understand the situation.’

Westman tugged at my arms again and I slid another inch nearer. I let out a startled yelp, then clamped my lips firmly together.

Louis grinned, showcasing his sharp fangs.

My heart thudded faster against my ribs.

‘Even now, Louis is still trying to save you. Whether he succeeds is up to you. Westman is young and horribly injured. Should he attack you, it would hardly be unprovoked, for the goblin did offer the first blow, and you are sidhe fae, Ms Taylor, not human. The penalties are not so severe.’

Different races, different rules. Damn. He had it all worked out.

I looked at DI Crane, standing next to Hugh. One hand was still wrapped around her sapphire pendant, but her other hand was now held up, fingers frozen halfway through casting a spell. Had she moved? Then as I watched, her arm jerked, then stilled again. It looked like the Earl had to keep pressing the ‘pause’ button to keep them in stasis. Another yank on my arms brought my attention back to the vampires.

‘I am afraid you really do need to decide, Ms Taylor.’ The Earl’s voice sounded fainter, as though he was further away.

‘I’m thinking,’ I snapped. Not that I had a lot of choices. Someone holds a gun—or a vampire in bloodlust—to your head, and what can you do? Give them what they want? That was a no-brainer. Call their bluff? That one only worked if they actually were bluffing, and somehow I didn’t think they were. The only other option was to try and get control of the gun?

Shit. Would that even work?

‘There is no more time, Ms Taylor.’ A pressure in my head that I hadn’t even noticed dissolved and noise burst over me like an oncoming wave: Hugh’s voice, yelling, growls from the other troll, moans that I guessed were either Banner’s or Hinkley’s.

Louis shot me a fang-filled grin and crooked his finger. The pull on my arms increased and I started to slide towards him and Westman again.

I focused my own magic and shoved it into Westman. Power like a thin steel wire coiled from him to Louis, binding them together, but I ignored it and reached instead for the fat rope of mesma that emanated from Westman and stretched towards Banner. I needed to separate the convulsing red and white strands, but there wasn’t time ... instead I wrapped the rope in my own magic, encasing it in a tube of golden light and sealing it tight.

‘ Putain! ’ Louis hissed, almost breaking my concentration. He tried to prise Westman’s fingers from my wrists, but I poured more magic around the rope, locking Westman in my Glamour, his own hands on my bare skin melding the connection. If Louis wanted Westman free, he’d have to break his fingers one by one; that was the only way he’d get Westman to let go of me.

Sweat trickled into my left eye and I blinked it away.

The scent of honeysuckle permeated the air. Tendrils of magic sprouted out like golden shoots from the rope. Shit , that wasn’t supposed to happen! The shoots twined around the coiled wire between Westman and Louis like some quick-growing vine.

‘ Merde! ’ Louis leapt up and stumbled backwards, hands slicing the air between us.

Damn ... slapping a Glamour on one vamp was probably about my limit. I was operating blind; I’d only ever done this with a human before, so no way did I want to try Glamouring two of the suckers.

Heart pounding, I tried to pull the magic back, but it kept rushing out, the beautiful golden light twisting up the steel wire, stretching like elastic, getting thinner and thinner.

Wordless shouts ricocheted above me: Hugh’s urgent; DI Crane’s sharp with warning—

—then green lightening hit Louis in the chest, arcing along the wire, lashing back at Westman and me ...

... and the world exploded into burning green flames.

Dust was getting up my nose. I fought the urge to sneeze, and shivered: catching the backlash of a stun-spell twice in quick succession is so not something I would recommend. I tried to snuggle into the warmth surrounding me, but the dust kept choking me, making me cough.

‘Genny,’ Hugh’s voice rumbled through me, ‘Genny, are you awake?’

Opening my eyes didn’t feel like a good idea.

‘Is she coming round?’ A woman’s voice, impatient.

‘I think so.’ Heat breathed over the top of my head as Hugh spoke.

‘Perhaps you could put her down then, Sergeant Munro.’

‘In a minute, ma’am.’

Ma’am? Oh yes, the new DI.

Hugh gently patted my arm. ‘Genny, you have to wake up now.’

I didn’t want to; I wanted to stay where I was. I buried my face in Hugh’s shoulder, feeling the warmth rising off him like sun-baked stone. If I could just go back to sleep ... But there was something I had to know first.