Michael's fingers moved from her neck to her forehead. 'Dunleavy made her stand there and watch as he finished his bloody task,' he said softly. 'Then he made her watch as he shifted to his true form and drank every drop of life from the man.'
'Why do that, then let her go?'
'Dunleavy feeds on emotion as much as blood. Forcing her to watch him tear apart the woman then drain the man gave him a triple hit of fear.'
'So why let her go?'
'He was probably too bloated to kill her. Besides, as I said, there was the silver.'
She very much suspected Dunleavy had left this woman alive because he had other plans for her. 'Can you help her? Or at least block her memories?'
He blew out a breath. 'I don't know. Dunleavy's control runs deep, and my telepathy is just coming back.'
He raised his other hand. Touching the fingers of both hands to either side of the woman's temples, he closed his eyes. Silence fell, broken only by the woman's rapid, gasping breath. But the link was far from quiet. It burned with power. Burned with the force of his words, as he battled to gain mastery over the woman's mind.
After a while, he dropped his hands. 'I've done what I can. I cannot erase the lock Dunleavy's magic has on her self perception, but I've erased her immediate memories.'
'What did you replace them with?'
As if in answer, the woman looked up. Her face was tear streaked, eyes huge and fear-filled. But her body no longer shook with such intensity, and the sense of deep shock was already retreating from the blue of her eyes.
'Did you get that goddamn snake?'
'Yes,' Michael said softly. 'We did. But I'm afraid you won't be able to use the room again for a while, as we created a bit of a mess.'
She shuddered. 'Don't you be worrying about that—I ain't ever going back into that room. That thing was a monster. It might have kin living in the walls.'
In the walls, in the ceiling, and in the floor, Nikki thought, sharing a glance with Michael. Dunleavy has access to them all, thanks to his slug shape. How the hell were they ever going to track him down?
Michael rose, caught the woman's hand, and helped her rise. 'You should go downstairs and get yourself a drink.' He pressed some cash into her hand, and power caressed the link again. 'Take the night off, and take a long bath. I think you deserve some pampering.'
'You know,' she said, her fingers clenching around the cash. 'I think you're right.'
She pushed past them and walked unsteadily down the hall. Michael's gaze met Nikki's. 'She's from Arizona. A preacher's daughter.'
'Shit.'
'I can think of several stronger words that would be more appropriate,' he muttered, and something dark and dangerous glittered in his eyes. 'But it's really no surprise. Emmett had a penchant for corrupting the virtuous. Looks like his brother is much the same.'
Her gaze went past him, settling on the door. 'Do we need to go in there?'
'No. Dunleavy is long gone, and we've already seen the destruction his feeding frenzy produces.'
She let out a relieved breath. A smile tugged his lips, and he caught her arm, pulling her into his embrace.
For a moment, he did nothing more than hold her, and she was more than glad to simply stand there, allowing the warmth and strength of his touch chase the chills from her flesh.
After a short while, he kissed her forehead. Then he slid his hand down her back and guided her down the hall.
The stairs creaked with each step, a sound eerily loud in the strange hush that filled the bar. The barkeep still polished his glass, and the woman they'd met upstairs was leaning over the bar, grabbing the key tagged bathroom.
But everyone else was gone.
Nikki stopped on the bottom step and said, 'This can't be good.'
'No.' His hands touched her shoulders, gently propelling her to one side. He walked past her to the bar.
'Where did everyone go?'
The barkeep shrugged disinterestedly.
'When did they leave?'
Again a disinterested shrug. Energy caressed the air, and Michael glanced at her. 'They left the minute we'd disappeared up the stairs.'
'Meaning Dunleavy was somewhere close?'
'If he was, I couldn't see him.'
'But if he was underground, you wouldn't, would you?'
'No.' He pushed away from the bar and walked across to the doors, carefully looking right, then left.
'No sign of anyone in the immediate vicinity.'
'There had to be at least ten men in this room,' she said, walking across the room and stopping beside him. The street was empty, except for the odd tumbleweed being blown along by the wind. 'Ten men can't walk out of this place and then completely disappear.'
'In this town, they might be able to. Remember, the ground is probably riddled with mine shafts.'
'Yeah, but not all of them would be useable. And surely the rangers would have closed all the ones around the town. This place is a tourist attraction, remember, and they wouldn't want to risk lawsuits by having someone fall down an unused shaft.'
'I doubt even the rangers would know the location of all the shafts. Hartwood had hundreds of operable mines in its heyday, and many of them were one man operations that didn't consider themselves accountable to anyone when it came to permits and plans.'
'So where does that leave us?'
'Well, there's one thing in our favor—ten men are going to throw off a mass of body heat that won't be missed. We'll check the town, and if they aren't here, they have to be in the mines. Wait here.'
He opened the door and walked out, his gaze scanning the area before he looked over his shoulder. 'It's safe.'
She joined him as he walked down the steps. 'You think Dunleavy plans to sacrifice them all? One big bang before the ceremony that brings his brother back to life?'
His expression was grim when it met hers. 'No. I think he plans an attack. On us. The aim being to kill me and capture you.'
Wasn't that just what she needed to hear. 'Dunleavy would surely know that ten humans wouldn't be much of a match for the two of us. I mean, those men aren't going to fight like they really mean it.'
'We can't say that for sure. And he has at least one more shifter at his beck and call.' They reached the cross street. He hesitated, looking right and left, then tugged her left, heading down Green Street towards Fuller. 'It does mean, however, that if we want to try to destroy that pentagram, we'd better do it before he realizes what we're up to.'
'But that's only giving him time to plot his attack. Shouldn't we be trying to find those men and somehow short circuit his hold on them?'
'Unless my psi abilities kick into full gear, I haven't the strength to counter his magic's hold on their minds. As for tracking down the men, that could be exactly what he wants us to do.'
'I very much suspect we'll be playing into his hands, no matter what we do,' she muttered, looking up as a bell chimed. Ahead, an old wooden church stood on the street corner. Though much of the redwood had faded with age, the building itself was in remarkable condition, especially considering the rundown condition of the surrounding buildings. The bell chimed again and she glanced up. The wind was hitting the bell tower with some force, and the old bell was swaying back and forth, as if it were being rung by some invisible hand. 'That church almost looks as if it could still be in use.'
He shrugged. 'Maybe the rangers have someone come in to do services for them.'
