A Dash of Vampire (Cocktails in Hell Book 4), page 10
“Death is on the table?” Dave asked.
“Everything is on the table,” I confirmed.
“Be quiet, be stealthy, be thorough.” My voice was low and grim. I’d tell Lucifer when I got back. If I told him now, he’d stop me from what I was about to do. But Kendrick had betrayed us all. Landry and Jude, too.
“Promise me you will keep what you learned here today between us.”
All three nodded. Dave placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head. Lachlan nodded. Clara’s ferocious grin touched the darkness lurking in my heart.
“Ready?” I asked.
Nods again.
“Meet at the place we started tonight in twenty minutes.”
“Thirty,” Dave said.
My eyebrows went up.
His eyes glinted with death. “I don’t like people who betray my friends.”
“Michael is here, Dave. It’s unwise to tangle with him. We don’t have enough firepower with us.”
Clara snorted. “One day, Violet, you’re going to realize you’re the only firepower anyone needs.”
I gave her a withering look, even as her words sparked something deep within me.
“Thirty minutes,” he repeated.
Our gazes locked. Finally, I sighed.
“Thirty minutes, then.”
I gave them a tight smile. “Let’s go fuck some stuff up.”
We all went our separate ways.
I just hope we all came out alive.
chapter fourteen
I don’t know why I trusted them to do what needed to be done, but I did. These three strange, powerful creatures had somehow wormed into my heart, Lachlan included. I might lose them, sooner rather than later, but for now, we were united in one goal.
Destroying those who tried to destroy us.
I walked down the corridors, marking each door with a piece of my power and a potion to boost it. One I rarely used.
One meant only to destroy, to burn with the fire that tried to consume me when my father tossed me into it.
A message to the King and to Archangel Michael.
Telling him I knew.
I knew what he’d done.
And this was only the start of my answer.
I walked his halls, fingers sparking with power as they trailed along the doors and walls, readying the keep for my word.
When I finished, I inhaled a deep breath and whispered the finishing words to the spell I’d cast on the hoards, the potions boosting its power.
“MINE.”
The word tore from my lips, rumbling the walls and floors. As soon as I spoke it, I took off at a run, flying through the keep at full speed. The glamour potion still held, but I only had a few more minutes before its effectiveness reduced.
Metallic clinking and clanking rattled through the walls, the sounds of the treasure moving its onerous bulk from his keep to the place I’d rented specifically to store it. I’d warded it within an inch of its life. No one except for me would know where it was. I hadn’t told a single soul.
I flew past the dining room. A quick look inside revealed multiple nude dragons doing things on the table that would scar me for life. A bubble of laughter escaped me as I burst through the doors and out into the night. The sentry’s shout of alarm registered, but I didn’t slow down. He couldn’t see me anyway.
Another shout came from the roof. A blur of motion from the corner of my eye revealed Lachlan. He shot a feral grin my way and followed me to the meeting place.
When we got there, we collapsed onto the ground just as my potion wore off. I sighed as the magic shook itself away and relaxed as the wind tickled my neck.
“Do you think Clara stayed with Dave?” he asked. He lay flat on his back watching the stars.
“Definitely.” I groaned and flopped back. “I should go check on them.”
“Take a breather first. I’ll go back with you.”
We took a minute or so to calm our breathing. I couldn’t stop the grin from forming on my face, and it turned into full-throated laughter shortly after.
A roar shook the city thirty seconds later.
Lachlan snorted. “You got it?”
“Every fucking penny,” I snarled.
He sat up and held out his hand. “Ready?”
I took it, marveling at the warm, calloused feel. “They probably don’t need our help, but better safe than sorry.”
We made it back in record time just as the roof spotlights gleamed on two rainbow-colored tentacles.
Arms.
Maniacal laughter came from the front yard. I wasn’t sure who to watch first—Dave as he played Hulk Smash with Kendrick’s dragons, or Clara as she wrestled with the Dragon King.
Lachlan’s expelled breath made me snort laugh.
“What did you do?” he roared. Kendrick lunged for her, but she popped out of his path before jumping onto his back like a rabid spider monkey and sank massive fangs into his neck.
Kendrick shrieked like a little girl and tried to pry her off, but she’d locked powerful thighs around his waist and held on with the strength of twenty men.
The other dragons ran around, examining the two trying to figure out how to separate them, but they couldn’t do it without harming him.
A smile played on Lachlan’s lips. “You take the left, I take the right?”
“Done.”
Without further ado, we jumped into the fray. Dave happily pounded through dragons on the roof and didn’t seem to need our help, so we left him alone.
I took on three dragons, all distracted by the sight of Clara snacking on their king’s neck. They wore blue and green, so I used fire on them, uncapping one of my potions and tossing it their way. The bottle shattered, splashing its contents on their ankles and calves. I whispered the activation word and didn’t wait to hear their screams before I turned to the next set.
Lachlan was a whirlwind of shadow and light as he cut through his side like wheat. We plowed through Kendrick’s people, the only sound our grunts and the crackle of flame and lightning from the bottles I shattered on the ground.
Clara rode Kendrick to the ground, holding him like a lover as she laid him out like a…
Corpse.
“Is he dead?” I asked.
Clara toed him with her boot, grinning at me with sharp teeth stained with glittering blood.
“Probably.” She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. “He’s delicious. I’m not going to have to feed for a month.”
Lachlan chuckled.
“You alright?” Dave shouted in between slams.
“All good!” she called back, giving him two thumbs up.
There was no sign of Michael. We couldn’t have taken him on if he’d been here, so maybe it’s good he’d already left. Still. If we could take him out before he had the opportunity to gather a full army, it would save us a lot of heartache.
I surveyed the destruction. Dead dragons lay scattered around the lawn. With a sigh, I opened my mind to Lucifer.
“You’re going to be mad…”
Lucifer’s dark presence swirled through my mind. “I’m not going to look. Tell me when you get home.”
“Probably for the best.”
His dark chuckle caressed my thoughts. “Until then.”
I shut down the bond. “Should we get rid of the evidence?”
“I’ll take care of the ones out here,” Lachlan said. “What about the ones inside?”
Clara shook her head. “It will take care of itself. In about…” she tilted her head and squinted.
A rumble shook the foundation.
“A minute. Dave! Let’s roll!”
Dave jumped off the roof. I sucked in a breath, but he sent one arm out and slowed himself by hanging onto one of the tree limbs, dropping down on both feet less than a foot away.
“We need to go. Quick,” Clara said.
“What did you do?” I asked.
Lachlan laughed. “What did you all do?”
“You told us nothing was off limits,” Dave said with a shrug.
Clara tugged on my arm. Her voice rang with urgency. “Now, Violet.”
We’d just reached the meetup point when the keep shuddered and groaned. Seconds later, a massive explosion rocked Kendrick’s stronghold, sending debris hundreds of feet into the sky.
I sucked in a shocked breath, horrified at the possibility of all those civilian casualties, but Lachlan laid a warm hand over my arm. “It’s shielded. Everyone is safe.”
I looked closer and realized a shadowy flexible shield kept the destruction contained. The only thing destroyed was Kendrick’s keep.
And every dragon and shred of evidence inside.
“VIOLET!” Lucifer’s voice roared in my head.
I shut the bond down, tuning him out.
“Daddy is really mad,” I whispered.
Clara cackled with laughter. “Want some ice cream?” she asked.
I thought about it. “Dave?”
The octopus shifter was covered in blood and gore. He shrugged. “I could go for some rocky road.”
“Lachlan?”
“I do not know what ice cream is, but I think I’d like to try.”
Clara winked. “Think you could clean us up a bit?” she asked him.
A wisp of wind brushed over us, removing all the blood and dirt. I didn’t feel clean, but I looked it.
Good enough for now.
chapter fifteen
Lucifer tried several times to break through and yell at me, but I’d learned from the best. Ice cream first. Yelling second.
Lachlan looked like a kid in a candy store as he perused all the ice cream flavors. Clara and Dave had already ordered and chose a booth toward the back. True to his word, Dave got Rocky Road. Clara chose a wild array of blue, pink, and white. Cotton candy or something.
“You can sample them,” I said to Lachlan.
His eyes widened. “A taste? Of one?”
I hid my smile. “Of however many you want.”
We looked like we’d come from a LARP meeting, Lachlan looking most like a story character. At least the blood was gone.
The person behind the counter stared at us curiously, but this was New Orleans, and everyone after ten at night was a little weird. Lachlan pointed to a couple of flavors he wanted to try, and I settled on a scoop of vanilla mixed with caramel and fudge in a waffle cone.
It felt strange to be out—even stranger to be out with people who weren’t quite friends but who might become them. Dave seemed to have adopted me, but I still had a lot of questions about him.
I paid for everyone’s. It was the least I could do since they’d all risked their lives for me.
Lachlan ambled over to the table, holding a cup of three different flavors, none remotely alike.
Dave’s eyes glittered. “Delicious, right?”
“We have nothing like this in my lands,” Lachlan said, lifting his spoon and poking at the first flavor.
“Wait until you see the dinner offerings,” Clara said, smacking her lips after her next bite.
We were content to eat and settle down for the next little while. No one spoke of Michael, Kendrick, or the betrayal waiting for us back at the bar.
Clara scooped the last of her ice cream into her mouth and tossed her container in the trash. “So,” she said to Lachlan. “You seem way too content for a hostage. What’s going on?”
She looked between him and me. I shrugged. It wasn’t my story to tell.
Lachlan’s look was unreadable. “This is new to me. As prisons go, my chains are gilded.”
One of her dark eyebrows went up. Dave snorted at her look. “Leave it alone, Clara,” he said gently. “It’s not our business.”
To my utter shock, she did. “Fine then. If you hurt Violet, I’ll bite you where it hurts.”
Lachlan sighed. “Even diminished, I can squash you like a bug.”
Her smile widened.
“Please stop,” I begged. “We have to go home soon. Lucifer is waiting on us, and he’s beyond pissed. Can we get along for just a little while longer?”
“Fine by me,” Lachlan said.
Clara sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine.”
“Good.” I finished my ice cream during the ensuing silence. Lachlan and Dave finished theirs a few minutes before. “Are we ready?”
Clara cracked her neck. “We should do this. Once a week.”
“Ice cream?” Lachlan said hopefully.
Dave laughed.
“Something like this,” she clarified. “Dinner, ice cream, dancing. Something to get us out of that bar.”
“I would be amenable,” Lachlan said.
“Sounds like you’re interested in staying around, shadow boy.”
Dave gave Clara an inscrutable look. She laughed and held her hands up. “I’m just making an observation.”
“I would also be amenable,” Dave said. “It is refreshing to spend time with people outside of the underseas.”
“Looks like it’s up to you.” Clara propped her chin on her hand. “What do you say, Violet? You up for a weekly date?”
“If I have time,” I hedged. It sounded nice. More than nice. But caring about people made it that much harder to do what had to be done.
Clara’s eyes softened. She reached over and took my hand. “We’re here voluntarily.” Her eyes slid toward the fae. “Most of us.”
“I’m here of my own volition,” Lachlan rumbled.
“You can’t hide yourself forever. Everyone needs friends, people they care about. It makes you stronger. Let us be that for you.” She grinned. “Or at least me. I don’t know what’s going on with Dave or Lachlan.”
“She was my friend before she was ever yours, Vampire Queen,” Dave rumbled.
Clara pointed to him. “You’ve never even been to her apartment, squid.”
Dave snorted.
Lachlan stared between us like we were all mad. Perhaps we were.
“What about you?” Clara asked.
His face remained unreadable. “I will speak to Violet later.”
“Oooh,” Clara crowed. “Rejection in private. Totally understandable.” She leaned over and stage whispered to me. “Fae are untrustworthy anyway.”
Lachlan’s jaw tightened. “Your stories are false. When we take vows of friendship, we keep them. Forever.”
Clara’s eyebrows lifted. “Truly?”
“Truly.” He tossed his cup in the trash.
“Violet is worth it, you know,” Clara said.
Color brightened my cheeks. “You’ve known me less than a week,” I grumbled.
“So what?” Clara grinned. “When I know, I know.”
I stood and gathered the rest of the trash. “I can’t avoid this forever. Let’s head back.”
We stepped outside to total chaos. Helicopters roared overhead, the sound of sirens blaring through the night. Black smoke rose above the buildings and people were gathered several blocks down.
“Don’t be suspicious,” Clara sang, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s go the other way.”
“No need,” Lachlan said. “Step into the alley here.”
“Ooh. Is this where he kills us all?” Clara whispered.
Lachlan’s put-upon sigh made me laugh. “Hold on to each other,” he instructed. Lachlan took my hand.
“Why didn’t you do this the first time?” I asked.
“It takes too much out of me.” His scent swept over me when he stepped closer. “Hold onto each other, and don’t let go.”
Night folded over us, plunging us into darkness.
One sickening lurch later, we landed on our knees in the barroom of Swan’s, the devil looming from his seat above us.
“Ah. If it isn’t the four amigos,” he drawled. “Care to share what you’ve been up to?”
Clara thumped onto her ass. “So many things,” she said with a breathy sigh. “Magic. Mystery. Mayhem. Murder. Where could we possibly start?”
Dave grinned.
Lucifer sighed. “And you, Dave. Really?”
He shrugged. “I was overdue for a little fun.”
The Devil’s eyes went to Lachlan. “Even you?”
Lachlan stayed silent but squeezed my hand before he stood. “Perhaps I should head upstairs.”
“Coward,” Clara coughed.
“No, please stay. I want to ensure you all have the same story.” Lucifer gestured at the table he sat at. Four chairs skidded around him with a flick of his finger, pushed out for us.
Clara got to her feet. “It’s been so long since I got a lecture.” She plunked down into the chair. “You’re the worst, Dad.”
Lucifer’s look was withering.
Dave sat beside her. Lachlan took the other seat, but I went over to the bar and pulled us all a beer.
When I settled in beside the fae and passed the beverages around, Lucifer folded his fingers and shut his eyes for a brief moment.
“I thought I gave explicit instructions not to kill anyone.” His voice was calm and collected, but rage pulsed through the bond.
“You did,” I said.
“Ah yes. I knew I wasn’t going senile. Pray tell what happened for that one simple instruction to result in the mass destruction of an entire keep of dragons?”
I blinked. We killed them all? “Errr. It’s a long story.”
“Condense it,” he hissed.
Clara leaned forward. “Your dragons, specifically Kendrick, were double-crossing you. They all deserved more than they got. We made their deaths quick. We all know they wouldn’t have done the same for us.”
His eyes flicked to me. I nodded. “It’s the truth.”
The only hint of his surprise was a flicker through our connection. “When you say double-crossing, what exactly do you mean?”
“Michael was there,” Dave cut in. “He and Kendrick discussed finding the Grail and bringing it to the Archangel.”
Lucifer’s jaw tightened.
“On top of that,” I continued, “Landry returned to help find it. Jude is here for other reasons.”
