The Entity Within

“Maybe Silas maneuvered what happened in Boston so you would come here to join Damon and me.”

“Why? And how could he even do that?”

“I don’t know,” Pat admitted. “We’re still trying to put this intricate puzzle together, and it’s got so many pieces that it is turning out to be quite difficult.”

“That’s an understatement. And what do all the Latin sayings have to do with this mess? I thought maybe it was a message from my mom telling us how to find the missing spell book but Gram said it was black magic. She stopped me from stringing them together because she said they created a black magic incantation that way. But then on second thought she wasn’t sure it was black magic. I figured it wasn’t worth taking the risk until we learn more.”

“Smart move,” Pat said. “We have to be careful not to make a bad situation worse. Which is why I didn’t approve of Damon’s plan.”

“What plan?” Zoe said.

Damon’s expression hardened. “The one where I go into the tunnels and simply destroy the demons.”

“Except there’s nothing simple about this situation,” Pat said.

“There never is,” Damon said.

“Even you have to admit that Silas is different. He’s more powerful than any demon you’ve ever had contact with before. The readings Neville is getting are off the charts,” Pat said.

“What readings?” Zoe asked.

“It’s like a Geiger counter for demon strength instead of radiation. That’s what Nick told me,” Daniella said.

Zoe shot Damon a look that said, See, some vampires share information with others.

“The readings could be wrong,” Damon said. “This isn’t an exact science.”

“It’s as close to it as we can get right now,” Pat said. “And there’s still the matter of the missing book. It has the power to release more evil than we can even imagine.”

“I don’t know. My imagination is pretty good,” Gram said.

So was Zoe’s, only hers had been filled with images of Damon, not demons. At least since her nightmare last night.

“I need to get back to my shop,” Daniella said.

“There are things I need to take care of as well,” Pat said.

“Me too,” Gram said.

A few seconds later, Zoe was alone with Damon in her workroom. No amount of lavender could keep her calm when he was so close by. Would she be feeling the same way had the adrenaline surge of danger not been present?

Probably. Because Damon had presented an aura of danger before demons were involved. From that very first meeting she’d sensed the threat he’d presented to her peace of mind.

So what now? Other than the fact that she and Damon couldn’t have sex, what was the plan?

Find the book, kill the demons. Right. But how?

“What now?” Zoe asked.

Damon’s deep blue eyes flared with anger. “I have no idea what any of this means and I hate that.”

“I’m not real fond of it, either,” she said.

“This is not how I work,” he said.

“How do you work?”

“Alone.” Turning on his heel, he walked out, leaving Zoe alone.

* * *

“Fear me if you dare!”

Damon came downstairs to find Bella repeating lines from the animated movie on the TV. She stood with two paws on the arm of the weird chair with the words written on it, her face inches from the screen.

“She’s watching Puss in Boots,” Gram said as she entered the living room. “It’s her favorite movie.”

“Along with Magic Mike,” Bella said.

“Where did you get that chair?” Damon asked.

“A beau gave it to me,” Gram said. “It’s one of a kind from a French designer who has made quite a name for himself in Paris. His work is shown in museums and art galleries. He thinks art is too esoteric so he makes his art functional as well. The feet are carved to resemble pencils.”

Damon moved closer to the piece of furniture. The off-white upholstery was filled with a variety of words in different languages and fonts. “Was your beau a warlock?”

“If you’re asking if the chair is magical, then no, I don’t believe so.”

“You don’t believe so?”

“One can never be sure about these things,” Gram said.

Damon swore in Latin.

“I understood that,” Gram said.

“So did I,” Bella said. “Go away. You’re disturbing me.”

“Tough shit,” Damon growled.

“I believe they have medication for that,” Bella drawled. “Stool softeners or laxatives might help you with your problem.”

Damon hated sitting around like this with a smart-ass talking cat and an elderly witch. Being cooped up was driving him nuts. He needed to kick some demon ass.

What if Pat was right? What if Silas was one of the demons who had tortured Damon during his short sojourn in hell? What was his purpose in showing up now after all this time? Eve’s betrayal and the subsequent trouble had occurred over a hundred years ago. Why come after him now?

That was assuming that Silas was after him. Maybe that wasn’t the case.

Damon tried to remember his time in hell, but it was a bloody blur. He could remember every minute of his time in Gettysburg, which was a hell of its own.

Maybe Simon would know. Damon had tried to get in touch with his sire but hadn’t received a response so far. Which wasn’t like Simon.

Damon’s smartphone beeped, indicating an incoming email. Neville had sent him a transcript of the conversation between Zoe and Daniella from a few minutes ago.

He read at vamp speed. One line stood out. Zoe saying, How can I have this incredibly powerful attraction to Damon yet he aggravates the hell out of me?

He had the same question himself. How could he have this powerful attraction to the sexy little witch and her striking eyes when she aggravated the hell out of him?

And what was the deal with Daniella’s premonition? He couldn’t have sex with Zoe or Vamptown would go up in flames? What was that about?

He couldn’t believe Zoe had said what she did knowing that she was under surveillance. But he knew firsthand that it was easier than you’d think to forget. Especially when the distraction was so strong.

This morning, Daniella’s declaration about her premonition had probably rattled Zoe. Last night, her nightmare had rattled her. And last night, Zoe had rattled him.

Damon didn’t like being rattled. It could result in death for a vampire let alone a vampire Demon Hunter.

As if on cue, Zoe came downstairs. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail; her bangs brushed her eyebrows. Her red KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON T-shirt cupped her breasts while her black pants hugged her hips. She still wore the bangle she’d had on yesterday. The sight of it reminded him of her hands on his body, of her curves pressed against his erection.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

Damon was hungry, too. He’d fed on blood yesterday so he didn’t need more. He needed Zoe, naked on those white sheets in that big bed of hers, her legs curved around his waist as he drove into her. There was so much he could teach her about pleasure.

She stared at him with those remarkable eyes of hers. One green. One blue. Was she focusing on his