Keri Arthur - Kiss The Night Goodbye

"Were you working alone?"

"Yes. The Circle wasn't yet in existence."

But it had come into being shortly after, though exactly how it had come into being, she wasn't entirely sure. "Did Dunleavy kill for the sake of it, or was there a specific reason?"

"The dark gods grant great power in return for blood sacrifices. Dunleavy moved from town to town, kidnapping virgins and sacrificing them on the night of the new moon."

"Sounds like a real nice type," Jake muttered.

"Oh, he was a gem," Seline agreed dryly. "Trouble was neither Michael nor I could take him out straight away. Dunleavy was a shapeshifter—one who can take on the form of anyone he has killed."

Nikki frowned. "So he's more like one of those manarei Doyle was mentioning in monsters class?"

"In a sense, yes, though Dunleavy comes from human stock, and the manarei don't."

"And he could take on male or female form?"

"Yes, which made tracking him doubly difficult. The moment we thought we were on to him, he shifted form. Plus, he'd already kidnapped two women by the time we'd got there, and I wanted to rescue them first."

"I'm gathering Michael wasn't too happy about that."

Seline cackled. "No. But nothing much frightens this old witch, even a vampire hell-bent on getting his own way."

"So what happened?"

"The upshot is that we rescued the two women, killed Dunleavy and burned his body. Unfortunately for us, the fire got out of control and half of Hartwood burned as well."

"What's this got to do with Michael being kidnapped?"

"What we didn't know at the time was that Dunleavy had a twin—Weylin. He's not only a shapeshifting sorcerer like his brother, but a vampire. And Weylin wants revenge."

"Then why not kill Michael straight out?" The words made her heart shudder, but it was something that had to be asked. Simply kidnapping him made no sense. Not unless Weylin intended torturing him, and as yet, that wasn't happening. She'd know . She'd feel Michael's pain, if nothing else.

"Because he needs him for the ceremony."

Nikki blinked and glanced at Jake, who shrugged. At least she wasn't the only one not following Seline's train of thought. "What ceremony?"

"I fear Weylin intends to bring his brother back to life."

Nikki's gaze went from the phone to Camille. "Can you really bring someone back to life after they've been dead for a hundred years?"

"Yes," Camille said. "If the magic and your will are strong enough, you can do just about anything."

"But he's maggot food. How can he be raised?"

"A body is merely the vessel for the soul," Seline commented. "It's Emmett's spirit Weylin intends to raise."

"But… How?"

"To raise his brother's spirit from the hell to which it was consigned, he will have to replicate the events leading up to the night of the new moon—the night Emmett was killed."

Meaning they had five days to stop him. "So he needs Michael." Nikki paused. "And you, Seline."

"Yes. A special delivery letter came addressed to me this morning. He has a list of Circle operatives. I have one day to appear in what is left of Hartwood. If I'm not there, he'll start killing."

"Insanity obviously runs in that family," Jake muttered. "You can't go, Seline. It's suicide."

"I have no intention of going or letting anyone in the Circle get killed."

Nikki closed her eyes. If she had to go in alone after Michael, she would—but she had a bad feeling it would all go to hell if she went without Circle help. "So what do we do?"

Seline paused and said, "I want you to go in my place, Nikki."

"What?" Jake half rose from the chair. "No way!"

Nikki touched a hand to his arm, squeezing lightly to stop his protest, and asked, "How? I might not have met you, Seline, but I know you and I look nothing alike. Besides, it's very likely that Weylin tried to kill me. He knows what I look like."

"Weylin may know a lot about what happened in that week, but I doubt he realizes I was using magic to hide my true appearance. We'll use that same magic to hide yours."

"If he's a sorcerer, won't he sense it?"

"No. The spell will be similar to what he used to get Lenny in the building, but stronger. More hidden."

"So, you change my appearance, then what? I just waltz in there and get Michael back?"

"I wish it was that easy." She paused again, and unease crawled up Nikki's spine. "For this ceremony to work, he will have to have all the major characters in place."

"How, when it all happened over a hundred years ago? Most of the major players will be dead, won't they?" But even as she said it, the image of the gnarled driver came to mind. She had a vague suspicion at least one of the major players was still alive. Whether he was still human was another matter.

Seline blew out a breath. "Yes. But all Weylin really has to do is get living replacements. His magic is strong enough to enforce role-playing."

"So what will I have to do?"

"There are three huge problems." Seline's voice was grim. "The first being, you must do what you can to disrupt the sequence of events. But we do not know which events Weylin knows about, and which he will deem important for the ceremony. Plus, Michael and I were separated much of the time, and I do not know everything he might have done."

"So tell me everything you remember, and I'll play it by ear."

"Yes." Seline paused again. "Then there is the sacrifice. Michael and I rescued the women on the night of the new moon. Letting them die is not an option, so you must try and find them before the new moon rises."

"Will that be enough of a change?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. Maybe the mere fact of you going in my place will be enough to break the spell, but you will be playing my role, so it may make no difference. I can't be sure. If I went in and tasted his magic, I might know, but for everyone's sake, that is something I cannot risk."

"I don't suppose we have anything on the people he might have snatched, so I can try and trace them with psychometry?"

"Not a hope. He could have taken them from anywhere, and we haven't the time to try and track them down."

Nikki grimaced. She didn't think it would be that easy, but she had to ask all the same. "So what's the third problem?"

"Weylin has raised a protection barrier around the old town. We can't get anyone in."

"If you can't get anyone in, how am I going to get in?"

"He'll create a door at a specified time. If anyone tries to come in with you, he'll kill everyone in that town, except Michael. Then he'll start killing Circle operatives."

Nikki blew out a breath and slumped back in the chair. "He's got all the bases covered."

"He's had a long time to plan this revenge of his. Beating him will not be easy."

Beating bad guys never was. "So, how many people are in this town?"

"Hartwood was an old mining town. He'd have to have enough people to cover the main players—barman, saloon girls, general store owner, preacher, people like that. At least a dozen, at a guess. And it is a guess, remember that. I have no idea what path his magic has taken."

"How can he possibly manage all that magic and still control all those people? Surely it would sap his strength?"

"It would, but all he would have to do is perform regular sacrifices, and his strength would be maintained."

"Meaning I might also have to try and stop those sacrifices?"

"Yes."

Great. She worried her lip for a moment then asked, "What about Michael? He has a strong mind and strong shields. How on earth would Weylin force him to play this little game?"

"Weylin tried to kill you. If he could enforce the belief that he had into Michael's mind, then he would put Michael in the same frame of mind that he was in a century ago."

"That doesn't answer my question." She and Michael had their connection—he would know, deep down, she wasn't dead.