As we waited for him, my phone jangled. I pulled it out and glanced at the text. It was from Nerissa. Are you okay, and are you ever coming home?

Shit…I knew she was feeling left out, even though she understood what we were facing. But she’d gone out shopping for our wedding and I hadn’t even glanced at what she’d bought.

I frowned and texted back, We’re fine. At Carter’s. Camille had a run-in with a bhout. Be home as soon as we can. Go to sleep, will wake you up when I get there. Love you.

A few seconds later, she texted back, Love you, too. You owe me big, babe.

I glanced up. They were looking at me, quizzically. After a moment, I rolled my eyes and said, “Nerissa. She’s pissed at me again and I don’t really blame her. She went out and shopped for our wedding and I haven’t had the chance to see anything she bought.” I sighed. “I wish she could understand that it doesn’t mean I don’t love her.”

Camille nodded. “She’ll be okay. As long as you give her some input.”

“Well, I told her about a gown I thought I might like to wear. Honestly, I was winging it. I don’t know what I want—I always thought I’d like to wear something someone in our family made. Aunt Rythwar is a beautiful seamstress. But I doubt that’s going to happen. I’m just no good at these things.”

“Good at it or not, sometimes you just have to fake it.”

Morio grinned. “You never fake it, babe.” He leered at her and licked his lips, and Camille gave him a withering look but then laughed.

“This is neither the time nor the place for that.” She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders as Carter returned.

He was carrying a tray with sandwiches and cookies, and a goblet of blood. “We all need something to eat.”

I looked at the blood and realized that I was hungry. Accepting the goblet, I tried to drink it without spilling any. No sense in squicking everybody out. As I tucked a sandwich into Camille’s hand and encouraged her to eat, Carter poured himself an aperitif of cognac and settled into the rocking chair.

“All right, here’s what I’ve found. The bhouts aren’t easily controlled—it requires a central, physical anchor to control them, and all of them are controlled through this anchor. Only the most powerful sorcerers or demons can control bhouts—they’re strong-willed spirits and only the strongest of bindings can bend them to your will.” Carter set aside one piece of paper and picked up another.

“Does the anchor have to be in the actual possession of the demon—or sorcerer—who’s summoning the demons?” If so, we were screwed.

At least Carter had good news on that front. “No. In fact, the anchor for this sort of gate is far too big to carry around. It’s more of a place, than a thing. In my opinion,” he said, glancing over the page he held, “you’re looking for a cave. A good-sized one in which to hide the operation necessary to open a gate the size of a Demon Gate. Not only that, but for what he’s up to, it must be near running water—a stream or a creek rather than a pond.” He looked up. “That may narrow your search.”

Delilah frowned. “A cave? That indicates a place out of town. There are a few small cubbyholes in the city, but nothing the size of what you’re talking about. Do you think that means Gulakah is hiding out of the city proper?”

Shade chimed in. “I know something of Gulakah, being from the Netherworld.” He rubbed his hands together. “Gulakah was the Lord of Dreams, as you know, and was cast out into the Subterranean Realms for misusing his powers. He isn’t the sort of demon who enjoys skulking around in corners. He likes to be honored, respected—though that came to mean through fear rather than love.”

“So he’s a ham. What’s that got to do with it?” Delilah was getting punchy; she was listing to the side and looked like she might drop at any moment. Everybody needed sleep.

“It means this, my little pussycat. While Gulakah might have to do his dirty work in the dark corners of caverns, he’s not one to stay there the rest of the time. He has to be the one summoning the bhouts. Telazhar is in Otherworld and you cannot be that far from an anchor to control your minions.”

Carter slowly thumbed through the rest of his papers. “That coincides with the information I have here. Gulakah is, to put it mildly, pompous and egotistical. He needs to see the results of his havoc. No, he’s in Seattle somewhere, except for when he needs to summon more creatures. He hasn’t revealed himself yet, probably due to direct orders from Shadow Wing, but the time is coming when he’ll slip up.”

“Until then, what do we do?” Morio asked.

“Simple. Find the cave and destroy the Gate. However…” Here, Carter paused, shaking his head, “That’s not going to be as easily done as said.”

“What haven’t you told us yet?” I could tell by the look in his eye that there was something else—something we weren’t going to want to hear.

Carter winced, then shrugged. “All right, here it is…none of you are strong enough to destroy a Demon Gate of this magnitude. Morio and Camille don’t even dare try—if they go near it, they’ll immediately be attacked by the bhouts. There are few creatures who are immune to them.”

Shade blinked. “Dragons, for one.”

“Yes, dragons. And some demons. And…vampires. Very few others.” Carter tossed the papers on the table. “If you send in a human with magical abilities, they’ll be a target. Same with one of the Fae. Send in an FBH without magical powers and they’ll be ripped to shreds as the bhouts send objects flying through their bodies. Because with the bhouts come ghosts of all kinds.”

“Crap. So Smoky, Shade, Vanzir, Roz, and I can go after them, but Camille and Morio, not?” It wasn’t a bad force, but it would have been nice to be able to wield magic against them.

“What about me?” Delilah sat up straighter. “I don’t use magic.”

Carter held up his hand. “No, Delilah—not a good idea. But even if the five of you do go after the gate, you won’t be able to destroy it. You must have a powerful sorcerer to disrupt the field of the Demon Gate. And none of you can do it. It doesn’t take someone quite as powerful as the conjurer of the gate, but none of you have nearly enough power to destroy it.”

I sat very still for a moment. A thought was creeping into my head, and I really wished it would go away because it meant asking a favor from someone I never wanted to meet again. “How powerful?”

“Powerful enough to disrupt spirits—someone who’s been working magic for a long, long time. Again, they cannot be mortal—unless they’ve been around a thousand years.”

Anxious, I pushed myself to my feet and paced. “I might know somebody, but I have to make a call first. May I step into your kitchen, please?”

“Use my parlor.” Carter ushered me into a small chamber off the living room. I’d never been in here before and was quite surprised to see a television set and a stack of DVDs. Movies of all sorts. I gave Carter a quizzical look.

“Movies? TV? You? Really?”

Carter flashed me a sheepish smile. “I have my moments, Menolly. You are very quick to assume, I’ve noticed. Perhaps that is one quality you should be working on.” The rebuke was gently given, and I gave him one of those what can you do looks.

“I am what I am, Carter. I try, but…”

“But you enjoy jumping to conclusions; you leap first and look later, and I think that’s just your nature, girl.” He headed toward the door but stopped to look back at me. “I offer criticism only with the best of intentions. With your strength, and the fact that you are a vampire, it would be easy to act first and come to regret afterward. And I somehow think…regret weighs heavy on your shoulders when it makes its appearance.”

With that, he exited the room. I stared at the door behind him. He was right. I had a great deal of power and strength, and it would be so easy to abuse it. I’d seen that lack of restraint in other vampires, and I’d seen the bloody results.

“Maybe you’re right,” I whispered to the closed door, before taking out my phone. As I punched in Mallen’s number, I grimaced. I’d be waking him out of a sound sleep. But there was no help for it.

He answered the phone after three rings. “Menolly, charming. Do you realize what time it is?”

I’d never heard Mallen being quite so churlish before. “I’m sorry to disturb you. Is everything all right?”

He let out a long sigh. “No. We lost three patients today. We have no clue why they died—well, we do, but there’s nothing we can do. Charlotine told me they were drained. Apparently, whatever it is, isn’t just draining of life force that can kill, but also draining magical abilities and energy.”

I held the phone to my ear, staring straight ahead. “Yeah, we know.” I made a decision and filled him in on the bhouts. “The deaths began with the guards on our land.”

“And they’re likely to continue. We’ve got a full schedule tomorrow of people complaining of the same symptoms. I don’t know what we’re going to do. Sharah’s having to slow down a little because of the baby. The pregnancy is taking a toll on her—she’s got such a slight frame.” Mallen usually wasn’t this outgoing with information. It worried me because it meant things were on the downswing for sure.

“We may be able to stop this plague. We have some information that might just change things. But if we can find the core of the problem, we’re going to need help in putting a stop to it. Apparently none of us are strong enough to do anything about it.” I paused.

“What can I do to help?”

I swallowed my pride. “Your friend—Charlotine. You said she’s a powerful sorceress? We need her. Will you talk to her and ask her to call me?”

Mallen chuckled. “Menolly, that’s the last thing I expected you to ask.”

“Me, too,” I said. “Me, too.”

Chapter 16

By the time we got home, everybody had gone to bed. I’d told the others about Charlotine, and they agreed to give her a chance, but first we had to find the cave. Tomorrow, the others would start searching for a plausible spot where Gulakah was gating in the bhouts.

I peeked into the parlor. Nerissa was asleep on the sofa. Marion and Douglas were staying in one of Delilah’s spare rooms—we’d put up an air mattress for them, and they and their cat, Snickers, had settled in. Delilah and Snickers got along surprisingly well, and she spent time in her tabby form chasing him around the house. He never fought back and followed her around with those big round moon-eyes, both when she was Tabby and when she was Kitten. Misty, Camille’s ghost cat, got in on the act, and all three of them would go tearing around the joint, knocking things over and racing up the curtains.

I crept into the parlor and over to the sofa. Nerissa was snuggled beneath a thick comforter, and her long tawny locks fell across her face in the most winsome way. She might be a powerful woman when awake, but in her sleep she looked young and vulnerable. My heart melted as I softly sat beside her, stroking her hair away from her face.

“Sleeping beauty.” I whispered softly so as not to wake her, she looked so comfortable. The boxes and bags were over in the corner and I decided to take a peek, stopping by the fireplace to stoke the fire. I didn’t want to turn on the lights—that would wake her up—so I lit a couple of vanilla-scented candles.

Tiptoeing over to the pile of shopping, I settled myself in the center of all the goodies and started carefully picking through the bags. The first contained shoes—two pair in silver, one in Nerissa’s size, the other in mine. Hers were stiletto pumps, and mine were strappy sandals with a platform heel. I smiled as I slid them back into the boxes and set them to one side.

The next box contained a rich plum halter-top gown, velvet and stunning, with a plunging V-neck. I held it to my face, the material soft against my skin. Nerissa would be so beautiful in it. Refolding it, I examined the next box. My dress. I let out a quiet “Oh” as I held up a silk gown. The neck was Grecian, while the arms attached from tiny bows on the top of the shoulders, creating a draped sleeve. The color was the color of spring lilacs, of pale lavender, and it would blouse gently at my waist, then fall in sheer layers to create a diaphanous effect.

For some reason, I felt a little let down and I didn’t quite know why. The dress was gorgeous, but something nagged at me. However, Nerissa would never know that I felt this way. She’d only know that I loved what she found for me.

I slipped the dress back in the box and set it aside. The rest of the bags contained an ivory bra, garter, and stockings in Nerissa’s size, and pale white in mine. Evening bags and jewelry rounded out her shopping spree, and as I stared at the finery around me, I suddenly felt horribly sad and, realizing what was upsetting me, I slowly walked over to Nerissa, kneeling down beside her.

“Nessa, baby? Wake up.” I gently shook her awake, hungry for her lips as she woke from her drowsy state.

She glanced at the clock. “Three o’clock?” She pushed herself to a sitting position, her knit chemise stretching over her rounded breasts. I soaked in the vision of her, her scent filling me full, making me so horny I could hardly sit still. Just the sight of her turned me on, and when she was tousled from sleep, even more. I slid up on the sofa next to her and wrapped my arm around her. She was warm and her skin was silky, and all I could think of was how much I wanted to kiss her, everywhere.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.