Keri Arthur - Dangerous Games

"But how can spirits march in and take over someone's body like that?"

"Magic. Blood magic." He looked at me. "And they need regular, willing sacrifices to maintain their existence."

"Hence the bodies we're finding." And the reason they were going after those with extreme sexual tastes. "Why willing victims? A sacrifice is a sacrifice, isn't it?"

"The dragons may need the taste of pain, despair, and the fear of death to feed, but the god of darkness himself grows strong on the acquiesence to evil."

"That doesn't entirely make sense considering his dragons feed on pain, despair, and death."

"But Angra Mainyu is the god of darkness, the eternal destroyer of good. He feeds on the enjoyment of darkness and death."

This was all getting a little weird for me. "However much these people enjoy pain, I can't see how they'd willingly go to their death. Have you seen what he does to these people?"

He hesitated. "Yes. But the desire for pain is often a growing one, and these people are carefully pushed to crave more and more, until only death will bring them the ultimate satisfaction."

Visions of Jan rose. The mess of her back, the way she needed—begged—for me to finish it. How long had Jin and his cronies been working her up to that point? How long would it be before she became the next victim found neatly sliced and diced on some warehouse floor?

"Trouble is," I said, repressing a shudder, "he doesn't just feed on the joy of killing them."

"No. The flesh of heart and liver and kidney are sweet on the tongue."

"I do not even want to contemplate how you know that."

The smile that touched his lips was gentle, and yet somehow sad. "I have been a vampire a very long time, Riley. And all vampires, whether they admit it or not, have their dark times."

"Doesn't mean I have to know about them."

"You should, because they are a part of what I am."

"And a werewolf is part of what I am, but that doesn't stop you trying to circumnavigate the fact."

He didn't answer, just looked back at the house. When you didn't want to answer a question, ignore it. That was Quinn's usual mode of operation, and it was getting more and more annoying.

And yet, I had to admit it was contradictory to want to know about his past, and yet not know about his dark times. I surely couldn't have one without the other. Not if I truly wanted to understand this vampire.

"And fan?" said, as I returned my attention to the house. "When will she be recovered enough to move?"

"Perhaps tomorrow," a fresh voice said. It took me a moment to realize it was Marcus, the whip-happy blond from the club. "We applied Jin's salve, and the healing is progressing satisfactorily."

"Then tomorrow night. We shall meet and see how suitable she is." He paused. "Jin, bring an appropriate partner."

"A testing may not be a wise move with O'Conor and the Directorate on our tail," Maisie commented.

"It cannot be helped," Kingsley said, voice a lash of anger. "Unless you wish to contribute your own flesh again so soon?"

Maisie's shudder ran down the mental lines, becoming my own, even though I had no idea what Kingsley actually meant—and no desire to find out. "I'm only looking out for your safety, John."

"I know. But I need a full blooding. If you raise another demon before then and kill Quinn, it should not be a problem."

"I have only so much blood in my body, John. I cannot—"

"You can, and will. I need six more victims to sustain my existence on this earth. After that, we are less vulnerable."

I glanced at Quinn. "Did you know this?"

He nodded.

"Then why have you not gone after them?"

"Because I am a vampire above everything else, and vampires have restrictions." He motioned toward the house. "If they do not move from their lair, I cannot kill them."

"Maisie moves."

"Maisie was my one and only connection to the others. I could not kill her until I had found all the tendrils of this evil."

"Then why won't you take Maisie out of the picture now that we've found all the players?"

"Because, as I've said, it would warn the others and perhaps send them undercover again."

Inside the house, Maisie said, "We cannot risk raising too much magic at the moment."

"The house is secure enough. As is the altar."

"Yes." But there was doubt in Maisie's voice.

"Just got word from Jack," Rhoan said into my ear. "If Maisie's the one raising demons, get rid of her as soon as you can."

"He doesn't want to talk to her?" I had a job to do, I knew that, just as I knew taking Maisie out would save others from suffering. But I couldn't help the reluctance to take that final step and kill on command.

Quinn gave me an odd look, then glanced at my ear and smiled grimly. Obviously, he'd forgotten I'd been permanently bugged.

"He says it's too much of a risk if she's the blood sorcerer." Rhoan paused. "We can swap if you like. I'll take her out, and you take over monitoring."

"No, it's okay." It wasn't, but I wasn't about to let Rhoan step into dangerous situations just because I had issues. Hell, it wasn't as if I hadn't killed before, and Maisie was every bit as bad as the men whose lives I'd taken in the past.

But it was just one more step. One more slash at my futile determination not to walk that path.

I blew out a breath and looked at Quinn. "Any idea how to take out a sorcerer?"

"I do not think this a wise course just yet."

"She's already raised one lot of demons to hunt you down, and she's been ordered to raise another. There's no saying she won't also send them after me or Rhoan or Jack. And unlike you, our life forces can't just conveniently fade. Nor do any of us have a clue on how to deal with a demon."

"I'm not saying we can't kill her, just saying it would be better if we delay until we find the gate through which she is bringing the demons."

I blinked. "A gate? Demons have a gate?"

His all-too-brief smile had my hormones sitting up and taking notice. Not that they ever needed much encouragement. "Spirits and demons can't tear their way into our world willy-nilly, you know."

"Well, that's good to hear." I guess. "But what about souls, ghosts, and the like?"

"Souls are the essence of people who live and die in this world. They do not hang around, but move quickly into the next life. Ghosts are souls who are pinned to this plane of existence for some reason."

Some of that I actually knew, but it was nice to have confirmation that there wasn't some permanently opened gate into the netherworld through which these apparitions could come through and taunt me. Especially given the recent developments in my clairvoyant talents. Ghosts and souls popping in for a quick chat at all hours of the night was not something I particularly wanted.

"So what does a demon gate look like?"

"It's not actually a gate, as such. It'll be a specially cleansed area that contains a magic circle and most probably a pentagram. In this case, an upside-down one."

I rubbed my head. This stuff was certainly a lust killer—as he had probably intended. After all, he might want me, but he'd never been one to give in to desire when on a hunt. "So a magic circle contains the demons?"

"No. It's a sacred and purified space where magic—in this case a summoning—can be safely performed. It serves as a boundary for the power and is the doorway from this world to the spirits."

"And the pentagram?"

"An upside-down pentagram is said to be the sign of evil."

"Said to be?"

He shrugged. "A pentagram facing north can cause great problems, as north is associated with darkness and the unknown from pagan times."

"How do you know all this crap?"

His smile was almost bitter. "I am a very old vampire, and sometimes easily bored."