"But not great breasts. As a race, we tend to be slender and flat. I'm just the weird exception."
"Not weird-delicious. And not every man on this planet likes his breasts large."
"No, but the largest money earners in that club seem to be the more buxom ladies-be they natural or surgically enhanced."
"It has been my experience over recent years that most males do not care if there has been surgical enhancement. It's you women that often sneer."
"Given the bitching I'd overheard in the changing rooms at the club, that's certainly true." I put the coffee down and began munching on breakfast. "I found our sorcerers. They own the club."
"Are you sure both these women are involved in the murders?"
"Pretty much. One of the women is definitely hiring teenagers to sleep with vampires-and I presume, let the sorceress into the house somehow-and the other is using the zombies and hellhounds to kill the girls."
"So you're dealing with two sorcerers, hellhounds, and zombies-not a good mix if you ask me. Which is why I got the holy water you asked for."
"Excellent." I popped a quick kiss on his cheek, then grabbed some bacon.
"I also acquired a silver knife."
I raised my eyebrows. He knew silver and I weren't compatible, so it seemed an odd purchase. "Why?"
"Because a silver knife will more easily slice through the hellhound's flesh and bone, making it simpler to decapitate them. I would suggest blinding them with the holy water first, though."
Blinding any other creature might work, but hellhounds hunted as much by scent as by sight. "So they're as allergic to silver as I am?"
"Most magical creatures have problems with pure silver. It's just more commonly known when it comes to werewolves."
"So, burn their eyes out, then cut their heads off. Easy stuff," I added with a wry grin. "Of course, me even holding a silver knife could be problematic."
"It has a bone handle. You should be able to hold it long enough to use it. When it's not in use, keep it in the sheath supplied. It has a thin lead lining, so I think it should give you enough protection."
"For an old man, you think pretty well."
"I'm not too old to teach you a thing or two, my pretty young werewolf."
"You reckon so?" I teased, one eyebrow raised.
He picked up the tray and put it on the floor beside the bed. "Obviously, I'm going to have to prove it."
"Obviously," I agreed.
Luckily for me, he did.
My shift at Meinhardt's was again uneventful, and try as I might, I couldn't spot Kye. I had no doubt he was here-every now and again awareness would wash across my skin-but I could never pinpoint the exact location. The man was a will-o'-the-wisp, and obviously had no desire to catch the promised lap dance. Which, while disappointing, actually left me quite relieved. I wasn't entirely sure either of us was strong enough to resist such a close and intimate situation, and neither of us could afford the trouble it would give us if things got out of hand.
I did see Jessica several times through the night, and again I sensed that odd air of desperation about her. It was anger and helplessness and frustration combined, and it was stronger tonight than it had been last night. And I caught her watching me several times, although she watched the other acts, too, so maybe I was just being overly nervous.
I didn't have much luck getting close to the locked and guarded doors, however, and that was damned frustrating. The only thing I actually learned over the course of the night was that the cameras monitoring the doors were also infrared, meaning they could pick out a vampire-or even a half vampire-wrapped in shadows. What lay beyond them had to be vitally important to those running the club.
Of course, it might be something as simple as living quarters or the money-counting and safe areas, but instinct suggested it was something a whole lot more sinister.
After all, the sorcerers had to be performing their magic somewhere, because they weren't likely to want to be setting up new pentagrams every time they had some evil deeds to perform. And I couldn't feel the caress of magic anywhere else in parts of the building I had access to-beyond what I'd felt when Hanna was interviewing me, anyway.
It was close to one by the time I showered, changed into warm clothes-I wasn't about to end up half frozen as I had last night, so this time I'd even bought a jacket with me-and headed out the back entrance. It was Saturday night-well, Sunday morning, technically-and King Street was a whole lot busier than the previous night. This time the heavy beat of music mixed with the raucous sound of men singing off-tune, and their noise overrode the roar of cars passing by this back alleyway.
I shoved my hands into my coat pockets and began to sing softly along with the drunks, my voice no less off-key than the men ahead. Only I wasn't drunk, just tone deaf.
After a few minutes, that odd sense of awareness washed over me again, and I couldn't help smiling. "I was wondering when you were going to come out of hiding, Kye."
He appeared out of the shadows to my right, and fell in step beside me.
"I thought I'd better, or you might just keep singing."
"Smart ass."
"Someone had to tell you. Even the rats were running for their lives." He glanced at me, eyes glowing like bright embers in the darkness. "So, are you going to arrest me?"
I glanced at him. "What would you do if I did?"
His gaze swept me briefly-a look that was almost impersonal. Almost. "A fight would ensue if you tried, and I'd hate to see bruises marring that luscious body."
"You're presuming you'd the get the chance to land the first punch. Trust me, that won't happen."
"Maybe. Maybe not." He shrugged, like it didn't matter.
And really, it didn't, because I had no intention of arresting him or getting involved in a fight with him. Sal might not have come back yet with any deep and dark secrets about this man, but every instinct I had suggested he was dangerous in ways I couldn't even begin to imagine. Getting involved with him in any way was not on the agenda-unless it was absolutely necessary.
I just wished my wolf could get that particular message.
"You didn't find me tonight," he commented into the silence.
"I had too many men wanting a dance to spend time finding one lonely little killer."
Kye's amusement swam around me, warming me in ways I couldn't even explain-and certainly didn't want to examine.
"So you looked, but couldn't spot me. Excellent."
Up ahead, near the King Street, something scraped softly against the concrete. It sounded like the nail of a dog or something similar, yet there were no animals of any kind haunting the shadows or scrounging around the overflowing bins. There didn't even appear to be any rats-maybe they had fled due to my tone-deaf singing.
"I'll find you tomorrow night," I said, concentrating more on the surrounding darkness than on what I was saying. "I'm told Sundays tend to be slower, so I'll have more time to play."
"I'll tip you a hundred if you do find me."
I glanced at him and shook my head in mock sorrow. "Overconfidence gets them every time."
"You've got to find me first."
"I will."
He smiled a disbelieving sort of smile. "Have you found out what's behind the locked doors yet?"
"Have you?" I countered, my gaze searching the night again, but still finding nothing. And yet my uneasiness was growing.
We swung onto King Street and headed down toward Flinders, as we had last night. This time I had every intention of catching a cab home-my arm muscles were still aching from last night's flight.
"Anyone who gets near those doors, even accidentally, is swiftly thrown out of the club."
He touched my arm, the contact electric as he pulled me sideways a little. I glanced down, saw the puddle of vomit, and muttered "thanks" before moving free of his grip. But the heat of it still burned my skin regardless.
"I haven't seen the blonde at the club, either," he said, "Though her scent is quite strong in various rooms."
"I've seen both of them." I didn't add where, because I didn't want him storming the offices and possibly warning her and her accomplice that we were on to their hideout.
Again that odd scratching noise whispered across the silence. I frowned and glanced over my shoulder. Nothing and no one followed us, and yet... the shadows didn't seem to be quite so empty anymore.
Something was there, watching us.
Kye stopped abruptly, but his gaze was on the road ahead rather than on the shadows behind us.
"What?" I said, halting beside him.
"Magic," he said softly.
"Magic?" I frowned, letting my senses roam ahead, feeling for anything out of place. There wasn't anything immediately obvious. Yet the unseen drunks didn't seem to be singing as loudly and an odd sort of tension was rolling through the darkness.
Then the meandering wind brought with it a familiar scent.
Sulfur.
"Oh, fuck."
"What?" he said, his gaze still ahead, his body alert.
"Hellhounds."
He glanced at me. "The ones that were at the warehouse with the crow and the zombie?"
"I think so. They've obviously come to finish the job." And Jessica had obviously suspected me a whole lot more than I'd figured.
I swung my bag around and began picking through the mess of clothes to find the small containers of holy water. I dragged out two and handed one to Kye.
Kye shook the container, then gave me a somewhat dubious look. "Water?"
"Holy water. It burns them like acid and will blind them if it gets in their eyes."
"You really are a most surprising woman, Riley Jenson."
His expression was an odd mix of amusement, excitement, and hunger. The hunter was ready for his kill-and I wasn't entirely sure who, exactly, was his prey. Nor was I sure whether the shiver that rolled across my skin was excitement or fear.
"So how do we kill it?" he continued.
"Them," I corrected, shoving the container into my jeans pocket, which freed up my hands but kept the water within easy grabbing range. "I think there's two-one in front, one behind. And decapitation is the only way we can get rid of them."
"Do we attack, or do we wait for them to come to us?"
He didn't seem perturbed either way, but then he hadn't fought these things before. I had, and I'd prefer not to relive the experience if I could avoid it.
"Let's keep moving. They may not be here for us at all."
"You don't believe that any more than I do."
Well, no. And I couldn't help wondering why they were stalking me tonight. If they'd been at the club all along-and I had no doubt their mistress would keep them close, for safety's sake if nothing else-then why hadn't they come after me last night? She'd suspected me then, too.
And the hounds couldn't have picked up my scent at the club because I'd used Liander's special soap both times... Then I stopped and cursed myself for being a fool. I may have used Liander's soap before my shift, but I hadn't used it when I took a shower after work. Which meant I'd washed away the neutralizer and allowed my own natural scent to come through.
That's why they'd picked it up. It was a stupid, stupid, thing to do, and one I'd make sure never to repeat. If I got out of this situation okay, that is.
We walked on, our footsteps light on the concrete. Cars rushed by, their headlights tearing through the surrounding shadows and revealing nothing more ominous than discarded soda containers and old hamburger wrappings.
I flared my nostrils, trying to catch the scent of sulfur, but it seemed to have disappeared as easily as it had come. Yet they were still out there, still watching. I could feel them, like a blot of evil growing on the horizon.
Kye stopped again. "The feel of magic just got sharper."
I viewed the street ahead. I still couldn't sense anything more than I had moments ago, but that didn't mean much. "You're sensitive to magic?"
"Yeah, something like that," he said, voice clipped. "There's people walking this way, too. Unless you want to endanger them, we'd better bring this thing to a head in a more secure spot."
"And here I was thinking you didn't care about anything or anyone else but yourself," I said, then pointed up Little Bourke Street. "There's several small alleys there that aren't really used at night. It'll limit the possible damage to others."
"That'll do, then."
We headed across the street and down to the first alley. The sulfur scent drifted past again, sharper and closer than before. I still couldn't feel the hellhound in front of us, but there was definitely one behind.
The reek of rot and rubbish from the nearby bins filled the air, overriding every other smell. As I stared into the darkness, I reached into my bag for the knife, drawing it from the sheath and out into the darkness. The silver blade seemed to glow with its own blue fire, and markings I hadn't noticed before suddenly appeared along the blade's length. But its closeness burned my skin. I wouldn't be able to hold it for very long, bone handle or not.
"More magic," Kye said, voice flat and all the more dangerous for it. He was looking at me rather than at the knife. "That's an interesting looking implement you've got there."
"It's a gift from a concerned lover."
Something flared in his eyes-something dark and very, very dangerous. "I'd like to meet this lover sometime and find out where he got it."