Demon Song

I shrugged and adjusted my ball cap for the long walk back to my car. “Neither do I.” My hand was on the doorknob when something occurred to me. Jones was staring at my back. I could see his reflection in the glass, and his face held both confusion and thoughtfulness. “But … I’m not heartless. I’m willing to find the Vaso.” His brows rose until I added, “For a price,” then lowered in suspicion and anger.

“You don’t seem the mercenary type.”

I turned and stared at him calmly. “I’m not. I’m the self-preservation type.” I told him about my little run-in with Edgar the previous night. By the end of the story, Jones was openly growling and the flames of magic in his eyes were licking at his pupils. “So. You tell me what Edgar is trying to get from me and I’ll find Kevin’s Vaso. You refuse and so do I.”

His lips pursed and I could see the wheels turning in his head. He was nothing if not a smooth negotiator. “What makes you think I know?”

I chuckled. “Call it a hunch. He didn’t want my knives, even though they qualify as artifacts. The only other thing I have of any interest is the Wadjeti the sirens gave me. Is that what he wants?”

He shook his head. “Hardly. He must think you have a Millennium Horn. It does sort of make sense. We haven’t been able to find it and you are part siren.” The Millennium Horn? That sort of rang a bell, but I couldn’t place the term right away. Jones must have noticed my confusion, because he let out a small sound of exasperation and continued. “Didn’t you learn anything in college? The end of the first age of the sirens was marked by a battle with a greater demon of immense power.”

Oh! Wait, it was coming back to me. “Right. I remember now. All of the siren queens banded together to seal the rift between our reality and the demon one. The Millennium Horn—”

“Horns. There were two. If they were blown simultaneously, the psychic and magical sound would shatter the barrier between the two dimensions. The sirens, as guardians of the oceans, decided after they defeated the demon that they could never again risk a demon finding the horns.”

I was nodding now as the old folktale came back to me. “So they were hidden away and nobody ever saw them again.”

He held up his palms and shrugged. “The Company has searched for them for years.”

Why was I thinking it wasn’t to destroy them? The very thought made me shudder. “But if Edgar left the Company—”

The frown was back on Jones’s face. He put a hand on the banister. “Then he’s working for someone else. Who I don’t know. But I’d suggest that if you have an old horn hidden away somewhere, you keep it out of sight.”

“Nobody’s ever seen the Millennium Horns. There aren’t any photos, drawings, or even descriptions of them. They purged the records so there was no trace. The only way someone would recognize one is if they were around to see them the first time they were used.” And funny thing … I happened to know someone who was around. Queen Lopaka. It might be worth asking about it, especially if Edgar knew more than I did about them.

“So now I guess it’s time for you to find a Vaso.”

I sighed. I’d made the terms, and even though I had no idea how to accomplish it, I’d follow through. “I guess it is.”

11

Sometimes the best way to think of something is to not think of it. This was not one of those times. My mind was working on two questions: who Kevin’s Vaso might be and why Edgar was looking for the Millennium Horns. The problem was I didn’t know which was more important. Night was almost here, which meant that Edgar would be out and looking for me. But how long could Kevin hold out with no way to drain his power? It had already been a full day that I knew of. How often did he need to give power to his Vaso? Did they have to do it in person? I could swear I remembered something about distance feeding from my lycanthropy classes. But maybe that just wasn’t possible in this case, and Kevin obviously didn’t want Jones or anyone else knowing his Vaso’s identity. Her cover would definitely be blown if she went to him.

My hood ornament was missing when I got back to the car. Damn it. It was probably somebody’s necklace by now, and I didn’t have time to mess around searching. I’d just order a new one from the dealership or on the Internet and deal. Hey, I still had four tires and they weren’t slashed. That was something.

The steering wheel was hard to hold with my burned hands, which were swollen and ached like I’d poured scalding water on them. I was betting they weren’t healing as fast as usual because I hadn’t eaten enough today. I hadn’t had a chance to restock the car, and though I’d seen a thousand and one food items in the little Indian convenience store, I hadn’t spotted even a single nutrition shake.

The bottom line was that by the time I got back to the office I was beyond twitchy. My pulse was throbbing in my head and every person on the street was glowing and looking tasty.

I parked the car in my reserved space and locked the door. I had to get a handle on my hunger before I walked into the office. I could feel the heat of the day sliding into cool darkness … as slow and delicious as easing your body into a pool. It was a sensual feeling that made my muscles come alive with the need to flex and chase. Hunt and feed.

My eyes snapped open when a tentative tap sounded on the window. Dawna was on the other side of the glass, but I couldn’t see her face past the bright band of pulsing red energy that lit her up from the inside. She held something up to the window and it pulsed, too. “You’re going vamp, Celia. Drink this.”

Drinking was exactly what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t the cup I wanted. Still, I held on to my sense of self long enough to lower the car window. I grabbed the Styrofoam container from her hand and raised it to my lips. Thankfully, I’d left my seat belt on.

She stepped back quickly, went into the building, and locked the door—I could hear the bolts snap home.

Smart woman.

The lid of the container defeated me for a moment, which told me just how badly off I was. I stabbed at the lid with my fangs until it finally gave way and wonderful warm bloody juices began to flow down my throat. It was a large container and I had no idea where she’d gotten it or how she’d known I needed it. But thank heavens she had. It was just what I needed. By the time I’d finished what must have been a quart or more I was feeling nearly normal. I’d even managed not to spill anything down the front of my shirt.

After I sat there long enough to see the sky edge to velvet, my hands felt like normal and I could see without a haze of red over everything. I didn’t shake when I stood up, and when I went into the office Dawna looked like Dawna, not like dinner. She was working on bills, which was typical of this time of the month. While best intentions ruled and all of us tried to get bills out by the fifth, it was usually the tenth before they were approved and ready to mail. “All better now?” she asked as I walked up to her desk.

“Don’t know where you got the au jus, but it was perfect. Right temperature, good spices. Yum.”

She looked up at me and smiled. “Found a new source, that barbeque place down on Third. I stopped there for dinner the other night and they were pulling out this huge pan from under the grill, filled with juices that dripped down during cooking. Beef, chicken, and pork, and they were just pouring it down the drain, so it didn’t take much effort to convince them to pour it into a bunch of containers for a few bucks. They’re in the freezer, so all it takes is a few minutes in the microwave. But don’t forget to do a shake chaser. Meat juice might feed what’s still alive in there, but you need vitamins, too.”

Good point. I went into the small kitchen and opened the fridge. Ooh! Chocolate caramel. That was new. I popped the top and took a sip as I walked back to her desk. “Sorry I flaked out on you earlier. It was sort of an emergency. And thanks for restocking the fridge.”

She nodded but didn’t look up from her data entry into the computer. “It’s not the first time we’ve missed lunch,” she said, and laughed. “The seminary called. They picked up Maria’s folks and everyone’s safe. What’s going on?”

Dawna’s a member of my team, so I didn’t hesitate to fill her in about the girl and the balloons and the unexpected exit down the toilet.