The Warrior Vampire(113)
He set her down and took off toward Luz’s 4Runner. They couldn’t take their eyes off the prize when they were so close to getting some real answers. It was going to take a gallon of Ronan’s blood—or a few hours of mind-blowing sex—to replenish Naya’s stores and she wouldn’t have an opportunity again tonight to run interference.
Thank the gods Naya and Luz had placed wards of protection on the city block that the pod occupied. Otherwise, there’d be a few of Crescent City’s finest to add to the mess of the night. What happened on their block remained contained. Any sound, the shock wave created by Naya’s magic, would be undetectable to anyone outside of their property. ’Cuz this was some fucked-up shit.
Joaquin and the others had begun to shake off their disorientation. They gathered en masse, their gazes fixated on Naya and all of them full of awe. And fear. She supposed the power she’d unleashed had been a little damned scary. Hell, she’d managed to shake herself up.
Over the murmur of voices, Luz’s rang out. “On penalty of death, I, Luz Morales, apprentice bruja to the Crescent City pod, swear that the charm cast upon our chieftain, Paulo Alvarez, is sanctioned by the goddess, the mother of magic, the first of our ears. And the words hereby spoken from his mouth are truth.” All eyes turned to Luz, including Naya’s. She pushed herself up from the ground only to find Ronan by her side before she could stand up straight. He helped her to the 4Runner where Paul stood, immobile. “You wanna take it from here, Cuz?”
Naya’s throat was raw, her voice a harsh rasp, as she asked, “Paulo Alvarez, did you willingly use foreign magic and allow it into your body?”
“Yes,” Paul spat.
His malicious gaze slid over her, but Naya refused to be intimidated. “Have you created mapinguari from that same magic and unleashed them to do your bidding?”
His teeth audibly ground in his attempt to keep from answering. After a moment the word burst from his lips. “Yes!”
Murmured voices carried from the elders as they stopped dead in their tracks, stunned by their leader’s admissions. Joaquin remained silent, his jaw hanging slack and his eyes wide as he looked from his father to Naya and back again.
“Are you in possession of a stolen vampire relic?”
Spittle dribbled down the chieftain’s chin. “Y-yes.”
Naya looked over at Ronan, took his hand in hers, and squeezed. “And have you taken captive a female dhampir?”
Paul’s eyes narrowed with hate as he looked at Ronan. “Yes.”
Ronan’s body tensed beside her and Naya funneled every ounce of calm she could muster through their tether. She needed him to stay level, to let the pod handle this business, as was their right. He let out a rush of breath at the same moment she filled her lungs. “Where are the relic and dhampir? Tell me, now.”
Paul’s words were stilted as the magic forced them past his lips. “Beneath the ground. Fifteen miles from here. There’s a cabin off of Humboldt Road, deep in the Elk Valley land trust.” His eyes lit on Ronan’s once again and his lip stretched in a sneer. “But the female isn’t a dhampir. Not anymore.”
* * *
“Does it offend your sense of originality to find out you’re not the only one in the pod with a secret hideout?” Luz said to Naya as they sped down the Redwood Highway to the Elk Valley land trust. “Any guesses on what we’re going to find there? I’m starting to think we should have brought an army just in case.”
Ronan shifted in his seat, cracking his neck from side to side in an effort to relieve some of the tension that pulled his shoulders tight. He was inclined to agree with Luz. They had no idea who—or what—Paul might’ve set to guard his private sanctuary.
“He couldn’t lie under the influence of the truth charm, Luz.” If only Ronan felt as confident as his mate sounded. “I asked him if anyone else was out there. He said no.”
“Who’s to say he couldn’t have found a way around the truth?” Ronan suggested.
Naya cut him a look and her jaw screwed up in a lopsided set. “Are you saying you don’t trust our magia?”
“Hell,” Luz chimed in, “I don’t know if I trust our magia. We’ve been through some shit tonight, Naya.”
Sunrise was just over four hours away. Already Ronan could feel the brightening horizon as a prickle on his skin. What condition would they find Chelle in? And would they be able to get her—both of them—out of there before the sun crested the horizon?
“It’ll be all right, Ronan.”
Would it? “Chelle’s a fighter. There’s no doubt about that. But, Naya. I don’t want you to sugarcoat anything. I know what we might find there. And I have to be prepared for what needs to be done.”