Twenty six

DEVIN

It took me about twenty minutes to drive over to the countess of blood's house. Wilhelmina"Lilith" Harker was the crazy undead bride of the most fearsome vampire that ruled the eighteenth century. Her nickname was coined from her unending taste for men's blood after the assassination of her husband Vlad the impaler. It was said that she was unable to feel a love any like the kind Dracula has shown to her and had reverted to reliving the only memory she and her husband shared; draining the lives of the innocent. Given all that, Lilith made her home in a ritzy subdivision by the name of the fraternity house where she threw unholy parties with her sires and pets before she got bored and killed them off. Of course, the cops and the many shadow organization that preceded the supernatural society had nothing to say about it. There was little one could do when an ancient immortal with virtually almost no weakness was suffering from centuries of heartbreak.

Within a few miles, I left the downtown grit and grime behind and entered an elegant area of carefully landscaped trees and spacious homes fronted by cobblestone sidewalks and yards big enough for the pros to play football in. The fraternity neighborhood. The whole place reeked of long teeth and I could tell my presence was felt because sooner than later, lights on several houses began to flick on with red ominous eyes trailing the intruder.

I took one last look at my unconscious passenger before eventually steering the car onto a street marked Crimson Lane, and a few seconds later, Lilith's house came into view—a three-story, plantation-style home straight out of one of those cowboy movies. The sprawling, white structure perched at the top of a grassy knoll and featured a series of tall, round columns that supported the rest of the building the way a high-backed chair might prop up an old lady.

I parked the car dragged the still-unconscious vampire out of the backseat, up three steps, and onto the porch that wrapped around the spacious home. Thick, ropy tendrils of ivy and kudzu covered a trellis attached to the porch, along with the bare thorns of several rose bushes. A lone bulb burned on the porch and it flickered with every movement I made making my heart race. Vampires didn't necessarily target werewolves considering our bite was a lethal venom they would rather chance with and our blood seemed to repulse their exotic taste buds but considering long teeth affiliated with Lilith were junkies who dealt with drugs ranging from moonshine to fae dust, one could barely guess what thoughts filled their perverse minds. I could never be too careful.

I threw the vampire's weight on the floor so I could pull open the screen door that fronted a heavier wooden one. Then I picked up the knocker and banged it on the interior door.

The knocker was cold and seemed to be smeared with a thick liquid. The knot in my stomach tightened in disgust just wondering whose bastard's splattered guts ended up in my palms. The air smelled like air freshener. The pungent type that implied someone was trying to hide something. Lilith had been partying. Partying hard. Though, I had a lingering suspicion this was not the usual death orgies she organized. She was sloppy cleaning up and that meant that she was angry. My guess was our August visitor had everything to do with it. To be safe, I twisted the heavy ring on my thumb activating one of Ginger's effective hexes.

I had barely set the knocker back against the wood when the door wrenched open, and a woman stuck her head outside. Lilith Harker looked like that soccer mom everyone wanted a chance with. A short-sleeved, free white gown covered her slim, fragile figure, while her bleached blond-white hair was done up in black sponge curlers. Her face was green with some kind of mask she applied and the side of her rosy red lips dripped with crimson. She was the epitome of crazy but I found myself awfully aroused by this web of issues.

"Are you here for the party? Because it ended quite a well ago." Lilith drawled, taking a peculiarity to her little finger. It was covered in black paint and the sheen it gave us implied it had just been applied. Lilith's eyes then propped up and a look of surprise graced those hollow black eyes.

"Devin Crow." She muttered. "What a wonderful surprise."

In this state, I wondered what was so frightening about her but keeping to mind that she had survived centuries of assassination attempts and scaled through victorious, I pondered if I was grossly underestimating her. It took me a moment to rip my attention from understanding the grieving vampire to remembering my purpose for visiting. I kicked my little present to catch her attention and watched with glee as her pitch-black orbs fell to the floor.

"Deji!" Lilith drawled in a sweeter than honey voice before dropping on her knees to free her pet of the vervain ropes that bound him. He was still out cold. "What did you do to him?" She demanded, keeping her eyes on him like he was the only thing that mattered in the world. It even looked like love but I knew better.

"He attacked me," I informed. "So I neutralized him. I planned to kill him," I added to put in dread and keep her from asking the obvious questions "But I learned he was one of your boy toys. So I brought him over before you figured out he was missing." The second that statement left my lips, I looked into Lilith's humble apartment. The floor was painted red in several corners. There were bits of guts, gorged out eyeballs, and severed heads scattered around. "But it seems you've been busy."

Lilith stood up to face me, her eyes scrutinizing my every move like there was some secret she was trying to dig out. I sensed no aggression in her demeanor but what I sensed was more frightening than an all about battle with the countess of blood. Lilith seemed to be inquisitive about everything that led to me being here at this point and nothing was stronger than a vampire's compulsion. I knew it was very important that Lilith remained in the dark about Olamide's existence. That was the reason for Jason's cold decision after all. It was all in a bid to keep her alive and safe.

"Can't blame a girl for wanting to know why her man walked out on her right?" Lilith laughed like the murder spree was a necessary evil for every girl going through a heartbreak. She then lifted Olamide's brother into her arms like he was nothing but a soft pillow and she headed inside.

"Coming?" Her voice resonated from within.

I was going to refuse her invitation but her tone revealed to me it wasn't a choice so I followed closely. The sweet smell of peaches perfume ticked my nose as we walked through a narrow hallway breathing with corpses.

"What the fuck did they do?" I asked in my fragile attempt to strike a conversation.

"I asked questions and they didn't have answers. So I figured they sucked at their job and I relieved them but don't worry about it. I'll have them disposed of as soon as possible."

"What questions?" I pushed like a dummy. It was obviously about the disappearance of her new pet. She did seem to fancy him a lot and that did not bring me peace. The stupid fellow had just wasted the lives of his kind and put his sister at a potential warfront.

A hundred feet later, the skinny corridor opened up into an enormous room that took up the back half of the house.

Exotic chairs. Blowing hair dryers. Counters crammed full of hairspray, nail polish, makeup, scissors, rollers, curling irons. A long mirror that ran down one wall. Towering stacks of beauty magazines. She placed Deji in a padded chair and offered me a seat.

"Is there a reason for this hospitality?" I inquired as I found a seat.

Lilith's eyebrow curved upwards. "When you say it like that, it sounds like I have a godawful persona. Is there anything you would like?"

"Yes. I would really like us to get to the point. If you don't mind."

"Of course," Lilith said, grabbing a bottle of red wine from the counter, popping it open, and taking a huge gulp. "My pets..." She began, ravishing every frizzle of the wine on her tongue. "When I choose them, they fit a very specific demographic."

"Really, what demographic is that?"

"Hot. Alone and won't be missed when they turn up missing or dead."

"So?" I swallowed, slowly turning the ring on my thumb to the left. I knew how fast this was going to hell town.

"So when a pet who should rely on me and only me for every of their need suddenly becomes independent and runs off, it begs the question if he was truly alone or is there someone I had missed."

"What the fuck are you implying Lilith?" I retorted, twitchy and defensive. My wolf was bursting out father than I could keep it in its reins. Things could go bad. Really bad. I maintained my cool demeanor and prepared for an attack. By the goddess, Jason was going to pay dearly for this.

My eyes met Lilith's and I watched the black depth turn into an even oilier black. I was glued. Unable to take my eyes off her or even breathe. Her lips slowly opened and the question hit my ear like a siren song.

"Of all people, why did he pay a visit to the Alpha of the Crow pack?"

I was being compelled.