Ravenous

want you so much?'

'Yes,' he said, one hand stroking her hair. 'I'm sorry.' He said it with ineffable melancholy.

Holly gave an uncomfortable laugh. She couldn't stop stroking his smooth, strong muscles. Petting him. Reveling in his presence. 'Isn't having a love slave supposed to be a good thing?'

The bedroom light was dim, the corners of the room in shadow. Holly felt as though her whole world were in that circle of lamplight, what fell outside it lost in the realms of myth. Alessandro pulled Holly to him, resting her head on his shoulder. It felt wonderful. Safe. Connected. Cherished.

His voice was deep, resonating in his chest. 'A large part of me rejoices at binding you to me, but there is a cost. You're dear to me. I love you. I don't want to hurt you, ever, and I'm afraid I have.'

Now that he had said the words, Holly could feel his control. It was part of that circuit, that binding of their energies that tied them together. The effect was an ultimate veto on her every thought or action. She walked and talked only because he let her. He hadn't compelled her yet, but that could change in a blink.

'Give me back my will.'

'I would if I could. I don't know how.'

Suddenly what had happened was cold and real. With the mark came an imperative to touch him. To pleasure him. To feed him. To ultimately be consumed by him until there was nothing left. This is how vampires survive.

A solemn feeling came over her, stilling every function of her body. She couldn't quite encompass the realization of what had happened. I can't do this. I can't be this way.

'I did it to save you.'

Her gaze dragged up to Alessandro's face. 'You're a predator.'

'Maybe, but I lost something, too. You could have Chosen me. If I'd won your heart, you could have freed me from the blood hunger. I had hoped'—he said the word strangely, as if it were unfamiliar—'that we had a different future. One my curse couldn't touch.'

His words wrenched her heart. 'You never told me any of this.'

He blinked, obviously fighting his own wash of emotion. 'How could I? Not without blackmailing you. Not without admitting it to myself. Not without risking that you didn't love me, even when I adored you.'

Holly's mouth was parched. She hurt for him. She hurt for herself. 'I did love you.'

'But not anymore.' The words were barely there. 'It doesn't matter; the Chosen is only a legend.'

'I can't tell what's real anymore.' Her eyes stung, but she was past tears. A heavy weight hung in her chest, dragging on her every breath. Through the circuit of their energy she knew Alessandro felt it, too.

They wanted to be together, but not like this.

Like an alien invader, the phone rang. It took a moment for Holly to register what the sound meant. At the same time Alessandro's cell phone pinged Beethoven's Fifth. They released each other, at once reluctant and relieved. They stood, holding hands, not quite ready to break the contact of skin to skin.

'I'll get the one in the office,' Holly said.

'No, don't go,' he said, the casual phrase of someone reluctant to release his lover.

And then it happened. The sound of the phones drifted away, meaningless. Holly snuggled back onto his chest, only dimly remembering there was something she had meant to do.

Alessandro's eyes grew wide. Holly saw the horror, but didn't understand it at first.

'What?' she asked.

His face twisted with self-loathing. 'You were going to answer the phone. Go do it.' His voice charred her with its bitter regret.

Sweet Hecate. She felt herself turn, helpless as a doll. Helpless as Mac being tossed into the garden. Holly stumbled to the den, disbelief numbing her limbs.

Kibs was sitting on the desk, staring at the phone. With a wave of guilt she wondered when she'd last filled his food bowl. He butted her hand as she picked up the receiver.

'Hey, kid,' said Grandma. 'I've got some info for you.'

'Good. I could use answers about now.' Holly sank down on the desk chair, sick with shock. What the hell just happened there? Was that a demonstration of his vampire power? It was far, far stronger than she would have guessed. I am in such trouble.

It made it hard to focus on her grandmother's voice. She wanted to say something, to beg for help, but the words just wouldn't come. Was it some magical compulsion, or just plain shame?

'I was consulting with colleagues about your demon problem. Some scuttlebutt came up that I thought you'd want to hear,' Grandma began. Holly heard the flip of a page, as if her grandmother were consulting notes. 'The best book on demon wrangling is something called The Book of Lies. Word has it that it was sold privately about a month ago. Dirty sale. Stolen from the vamp queen. Very hush-hush, go-betweens, the lot.'

That was just interesting enough to snap Holly's mind back on track.

'Stolen from Omara?' She kept her voice low. So that's the book they were looking for! 'Do they know who bought it?'

'Someone local with a lot of money. Seller was a vampire.'

Inside job? She scratched Kibs's spine and was rewarded with a tail up her nose. 'So you think this local buyer opened the portal with the book?'

'Yup. If you can get your hands on it, you're well on your way to getting rid of your demon friend. It also has a ton of spells for weakening hellspawn and making them easier to manage.'

'Apparently the hellspawn's name is Geneva.'

'That's the same one Elaine fought.' Grandma's voice was hoarse with worry. 'Look, we need more information before we tackle her. She's a nasty piece of work.'

'What if things come to a head sooner?'

'Pray that doesn't happen. With or without the book, the only real tool you have is pure energy. If you can back the demon into a portal, use raw energy like a water cannon. They can't digest your power in that form. The two sources I found recommend Aurelia's matrix or the Caer Gwydion reduction spells to augment your control. That'll hold your demon, but it's going to take a lot of strength. For you, it's going to hurt like blazes.'

'Okay.' Maybe. Maybe not. With her power unblocked, she just might skip the agony part.

'The trick is closing the portal. When a working portal shuts, normally it just closes to a trickle on its own. If you slam it shut, it releases a blast of magic that'll kill you. That was the mistake Elaine made. Don't do that.'

'So get the demon on the other side and hold it there till the hole closes on its own.'

'Bingo. But. Be. Careful.' It was the closest to fussing that Grandma would ever get, but Holly heard the unspoken fear in her voice.

Holly thought about her dream. Grandma needed to know all about it, but Holly didn't have the strength to discuss it. Not now. She took a deep breath. 'Will raw energy kill the demon?'

'Enough will. Witches can't pull that much, though. We just don't have the juice.'

Damn. 'I left you a message about the Dark Larceny. That cop friend of mine…'

'If he's already started to Turn, it's doubtful you can pull him back. Too bad, I know.'

Holly looked outside again. The lonely streets were desolately beautiful until the image drowned in tears. 'He kissed me.' The words were wistful, more a tribute than anything else. Poor Mac.

'Ah, he's a baby demon. No worries.'

'I think his mistress gave him extra power. He's not so much a baby as her proxy.'

Grandma paused a heartbeat, tension surging down the phone line like something solid. 'That might screw up your magic for a bit, but you should get over it. Get the demon on the other side of the portal however you can, and it won't matter. She can't reach you from there.'

Holly froze, the world shifting as Grandma's words hit home. 'Someone said a vampire bite was the best antidote. Doesn't that work?'

Grandma laughed, but not with mirth. 'Oh, yeah, it'll work, but there're better ways. That's like treating