“That’s strange that he would be in the human realm.”

“Not that strange. Many supernatural live and work there. You’ve just never seen them.”

“Right. Say I believe you. Say you have nothing to do with this at all. Where do we go from here? Do you have any clues for me?”

“I was rather hoping you’d have some for me.”

“I did find something.” I hesitated.

He moved nearer, his steps slow, as if he wanted to avoid startling me. I thrust out a hand. “No closer.”

“Nervous?”

His mind control power didn’t work on me, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid of him. “You’re a vampire, for God’s sake. With fangs and maybe even super speed.”

“Yes to both, but I don’t attack unarmed women.”

“Armed ones?”

“Rarely. And only if they’re out for my head.”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

He shrugged. “I’m a feminist vampire.”

“Vlad the Impaler is a feminist?”

“Searching for history?”

“I don’t even know your name. Everyone just calls you the Devil.”

“If it fits….”

“It does. But I’d like a name.”

“Grey.”

“As in shadows?”

“As in Gardens.”

My jaw nearly dropped at the joke. He could joke? “Grey Gardens?”

“Of course as in shadows.” He leaned against the desk. “Now, do you trust me enough to tell me what you found in the body?”

I dug my mobile out of my pocket and pulled up the picture so that he could see it. Maybe he would know more than Mac had. “His heart was missing. And this symbol was burned inside.”

A small smile stretched across his face, a smile of pure satisfaction.

“You know what it is?” I demanded.

“Not exactly. But I know we can use it to track the killer.”

“Couldn’t we have used the spiral-shaped burn mark to track him?”

“No. That’s a generic mark of necromancer magic. Small and untrackable because it contains so little magic.” He pointed to the phone. “That is evidence of powerful magic. Big enough to leave a stain on the victim and the murderer. The Sorcerers’ Guild can perform a spell that will locate the person who also bears this mark on their soul. That will be our killer.”

“Holy crap, we’re close?”

“Perhaps. Would you like to come with me?”

“To the Sorcerers’ Guild?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “For a price, they’ll track our killer.”

“You’re paying?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

He nodded, another satisfied smile stretching across his handsome face. Somehow, I felt trapped, the first course of this vampire’s dinner.

15

The Devil

Satisfaction roared through me when Carrow agreed to visit the Sorcerers’ Guild at my side. I’d told her the truth about the necromancer and his likely goals—but I didn’t like hearing that the entire police force was after her. It roused a protective instinct in me I’d thought long dead. Guild City was a fine place to live, but being unable to return to London would make it a cage.

“Come.” I strode around her, inhaling her scent as I passed.

Lavender.

And something intrinsically her that I liked very much but couldn’t identify. Both scents were so faint that I drew in the aroma more deeply just to get the barest taste of it. Oh, how I wished I could smell her better. It made me feel more alive, somehow. Reminding me that I’d only been existing these many years—not truly living.

Ice man.

The strongest urge surged through me to turn around and pull her into my arms. I resisted, moving toward the door without looking back at her. She found my intense attention uncomfortable, and I needed to remember that. For now.

Not to mention, every second I spent with her, I wanted to bite her. I hadn’t wanted to bite someone in centuries.

But her…

Yes.

I shook away the thought as best I could and strode down the hall.

Her footsteps caught up to mine, and she joined me, shoulder to shoulder.

“You have a contact at the Sorcerers’ Guild?” she asked.

“I have contacts everywhere.”

“What now? Do we walk up and knock on their door?”

“Not quite. But we will walk there.”

“Yeah. No cars in town, right?”

“Just motorcycles.”

“You don’t ride?”

“Who needs a ride when I can turn into a bat and fly?”

She choked. “You…what?”

“Joking.”

“I didn’t think vampires had a sense of humor.”

I shrugged. “We are enigmas.”

She huffed a dry laugh.

The club was busy as we passed through, but the crowd parted before us. It was a perk of owning the place. Of owning the whole town, actually. People got out of my way.

We passed the hostess stand, and I leaned closer to Miranda.

“Yes, sir?”

“If I’m not back by closing, see that the shifters come to the Sorcerers’ Guild. They’re to find Carrow and get her out.”

She nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Thank you.”

The night air welcomed Carrow and me, the moon shining bright over the city in front of us.

“What was that about shifters?” Carrow asked.

“The shifters are my bodyguards, though I don’t bring them with me often. And the Sorcerers’ Guild doesn’t . . . like me. If it doesn’t go well there today, the shifters will rescue you.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be dead.”

She stumbled, and I stopped to meet her gaze. I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“You’ll be…dead?”

“It’s highly unlikely. But if we do run into trouble, I’ll get you out of there or die trying.”

Her jaw slackened a bit. And frankly, the words shocked me as well. This urge to protect…I’d never felt it before, but it was real. It hung from me like an ill-fitting coat, but one that felt somehow natural.

“If you think you’re going to die, why not bring the shifters with us?”

“As I said, highly unlikely. Paranoia is suffocating. But being prepared is the only way to make it in this world.”

“True enough.” She started walking again, and I joined her. “Where is this place?”

“Two towers over. Not far.”

We walked in silence, but I found myself itching to ask about her. What was her life like on the outside? Who was she?

This strange curiosity was unsettling.

Fortunately, there was more than enough to distract me on the streets of Guild City. The streets between my tower and that of the Sorcerers’ Guild were a party zone, and the bars were busy. We passed drunken supernaturals of all kinds, and I could feel her interest.

“Have you not met many supernaturals before?” I asked, unable to help myself.

“No. Not until the murder.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t know this world existed.”

“But you’re part of it.”

“On the outskirts, at best.” She sounded wistful, and I wanted to fix whatever made her feel left out.

What the hell was happening to me?

“How is that possible?” I asked.

“None of your business.”

Maybe, but I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know everything about her. I craved the information like I’d once craved blood. Like I craved her blood.

I was going insane.

Fortunately, we’d arrived at the Sorcerers’ Guild. It provided a welcome distraction.

The tower was taller than any other guild tower, a monstrosity of dark gray granite that speared the night sky and dwarfed the towers around it. Only the clock tower was larger, and it was on the other side of town.

“Creepy.” Carrow started toward the front door, an enormous black thing studded with iron.

I reached for her, then clenched my hand into a fist, drawing it back. I couldn’t touch her. If I did, I might not stop.

“Not that way.” My voice was rusty.

She turned, brows raised. “That’s the door.”

“Precisely. We can’t enter that way. Come.” I turned and walked toward the city wall to the left of the tower, heading for a set of stairs secreted in the stone. I pressed my hand against a rough surface, and a section of the wall slid away, revealing the hidden steps.

I ascended quickly, and she followed. Despite her light footsteps, it was impossible not to be aware of her.

The top of the wall was empty at this hour, and I turned left toward the tower soaring upward. The stone was dark and smooth, rising high into the sky.

“So, this place is full of sorcerers?” Carrow asked.

“Yes. They specialize in spells.”

“Don’t the witches do that?”

“Yes, but different types of spells. The witches will sell you spells to take on your way. Useful things, but often not quite as powerful or dangerous as what the sorcerers sell.” I slanted her a look. “That’s not to say the witches aren’t as powerful as the sorcerers. They’re more so, but they don’t share their strongest magic.”

“Untrusting?”

“Very. Each guild has a motto. Theirs is, ‘We are the daughters of the witches you could not burn.’”

“They got caught up in the witch burnings?”

I nodded. “And they haven’t forgotten.”

“So then, if you want something powerful, you come to the sorcerers, and they sell it to you?”

“Exactly. But they insist on performing the spell, too. Unlike the witches, they don’t sell spells to go.”