Cat Devon - The Entity Within

“Care to share them?” Nick asked.

Damon shook his head.

“Does it have something to do with you being a Demon Hunter?” Nick asked.

“It has everything to do with my being a Demon Hunter. A witch betrayed me not long after I was turned.” Damon didn’t like talking about that period of his afterlife, but even so, the memories were always there. The Civil War, or the War for Southern Independence as the southerners called it, was the most devastating war in American history, with nearly seven hundred thousand dead. A war that ripped families apart, including his own. His younger brother, Sam, had taken up the cause of the Confederacy while Damon had fought to preserve the Union. The ensuing bloodshed was something that stayed with him even when he’d left his humanity behind and become a vampire.

Damon could feel the muscles in his jaw clench. The Battle of Gettysburg had replayed in his mind millions of times. He’d had his doubts about the wisdom of the orders given by the men higher up the chain of command, but he’d been in no position to question them. Even so, he had no way of anticipating how bad it would be.

Nick interrupted his dark thoughts. “You were turned in the Civil War, right? The American one, not the English?”

Damon nodded.

“Is that when you became a Demon Hunter?”

Damon didn’t like the attention being on him. “Yes. But you already know all this, don’t you. I’m sure you had me checked out before you gave me the job of head of security.”

“True,” Nick said.

“Then why the inquisition?”

“I want to know how much your bad experience with that witch in your past is coloring your thoughts and decision making now,” Nick said.

Damon didn’t appreciate Nick’s line of questioning. Damon wasn’t the guilty party here. Zoe was … along with her witchy talking cat.

“My concerns are reality-based and specific to the current situation. Speaking of which, Zoe asked about the funeral parlor,” Damon said.

Nick frowned. “What made her do that?”

“I don’t know but I don’t like it. How do we know she’s not some kind of Trojan horse sent here to spy on us and gain access to our source of blood? She didn’t even ask about our ability to tolerate daylight.”

“Maybe she was afraid to ask questions,” Nick said.

“She wasn’t afraid to ask about the funeral home.”

“What possible connection could she have to that place?” Nick demanded.

“To what place?” Daniella asked as she joined them.

“Your family’s funeral home,” Damon said. “What did you tell Zoe about it?”

“I only mentioned it in passing when I talked about growing up in this neighborhood without knowing I was surrounded by vampires.”

“What exactly did you say?” Damon’s voice reflected his impatience.

Daniella shrugged. “I don’t remember exactly. I mentioned that my father and brother didn’t have any druid blood. I didn’t say I was adopted. I certainly didn’t say anything about what’s going on there.”

“Did she ask you?”

“She may have. But not in a nosy kind of way,” Daniella hurriedly added.

Damon rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t tell her anything confidential. I don’t even know all the details of how you process blood from the funeral home, and I really don’t want to. It’s not something I care to dwell on.”

Daniella might not care to dwell on it, but Damon was well aware of Vamptown’s special blood source. Doc Boomer, the vampire dentist/doctor/chemist, had developed a formula to revitalize the human blood they received from the human-run funeral home. When he’d first arrived in Vamptown, Damon hadn’t believed their claims that it was better than fresh, with additional calcium for healthy bones, teeth, and fangs. Doc had filtered out all the impurities. No germs, diseases, or viruses. Not that it mattered, since vamps were immortal. But no one went looking for sickness. Even vamps.

Daniella’s family was unaware of the side business being run by the vamps, thanks to compelling when required.

But Daniella knew. Not the details, as she’d said. She knew enough, which was fine by Damon. Any additional info was on a need-to-know basis only.

Daniella eyed the empty plate in front of Nick. “Weren’t you supposed to save me some?”

“Let me make it up to you.” Nick reached up and pulled Daniella closer to kiss her with unabashed passion. She tumbled onto his lap with a laugh.

Damon had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at their public display of affection. He refused to imagine tugging Zoe onto his lap and kissing her. Instead he kept his mind on business.

“I know Zoe’s grandmother is a friend of yours,” Damon told Nick. “But there are red flags showing up on their very first day. First they use magic to block the video camera feed, and then Zoe brings up the funeral home. Did she ask you why we could tolerate daylight?” he asked Daniella.

“No. I think your hostility toward her threw her a bit,” Daniella admitted.

“Good.” Damon wanted her thrown. He wanted her thrown right out of Vamptown.

“I liked her,” Daniella stated. “It was nice having someone a little unusual to talk to.”

“You mean not human?” Damon said.

“The fact that she’s a witch doesn’t mean she’s not human,” Daniella said. “Does it?” She turned to Nick for confirmation.

Nick shrugged. “It’s a bit of a gray area. I’m no expert on it.”

“My point exactly,” Damon said.

“And you are an expert on witches?” Daniella asked him.

“I’m an expert on how devious they can be.” A century and a half ago, shortly after he was turned, Damon had ended up in New Orleans after the war. Eve Delacroix had been a dark-eyed beauty with a reputation for driving men beyond the edge of reason. But Damon wasn’t a man any longer. He was an immortal vampire and a Demon Hunter, turned by powerful vampire Demon Hunter Simon Howell himself.

Simon had told Damon that he’d chosen him from the bloodied battlefield in rural Pennsylvania because of his courage in battle. Despite having been shot several times in the arm and shoulders, Damon had kept moving forward until his leg was nearly blown off and he’d collapsed. He was stubborn that way. He wasn’t one to give up easily.

Damon had done the same thing with Eve. He’d been sure that he was the one who could win her. He hadn’t known she was a witch at first, but even when he discovered that fact he hadn’t been in any way unsure of his ultimate success.

She had been a hot seductress, well versed in the erotic arts and acts. But she ended up betraying him in the worst possible way.

So, no, Damon didn’t like witches. Didn’t trust them. Didn’t want them around.

Daniella reluctantly hopped up from Nick’s lap. “I’ve got to get back to work. I really didn’t get the feeling that Zoe is devious.”

Before Damon could make a scathing reply, they were joined by Neville Rickerbacher, Vamptown’s resident vamp super-nerd. He was a computer genius and a stock market whiz. Damon knew that Neville and his elite team made most of the money that kept Vamptown going using shrewd investments. Neville was also in charge of the neighborhood’s surveillance system.

“The cameras are back online,” Neville told them. “But they are now broadcasting Animal Planet. Here, look.” He showed them his tablet.

Damon’s growl made Neville shiver nervously. “Wait, now it’s back to normal. Nope, back to Animal Planet.”

“Still think she’s not going to be any trouble?” Damon asked Nick. “I gave her half an hour to get the cameras going again, and this is her response.”

“Zoe admitted she spelled the cameras?” Nick said.