Cassie’s eyes flicked back and forth as she struggled to see, but it was useless. She couldn’t move her body to turn around. All she could do was sit and wait.

  “Now that I think about it,” Baphomet said. “You don’t look all that hungry, Vera. So let’s forget about the cake. And don’t worry, honey. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  For just one moment, Cassie felt a rush of relief. Maybe Baphomet had changed her mind.

  Then Baphomet’s voice rose from behind her again. “I don’t have to, when you can hurt yourself. So, what I’d like you to do is place your hand on the table. Spread your fingers out.”

  A few seconds ticked by that felt like an eternity.

  “Is that a ring on your finger? Oh, I bet you must be engaged. How touching. Now, what I’d like you to do is take that knife. Exactly, just like that. And, on the count of three—”

  “Stop!” Cassie’s voice rang out like a gunshot.

  From behind her, she heard Baphomet chuckle. “Listen to that, Vera. It sounds like someone managed to find her voice. Let's go and visit this exceptional witch. That’s right, keep the knife. I’m sure you’ll need it.”

  Baphomet made her way across the circle, this time with Vera walking helplessly at her side. Tears streamed from the young woman’s eyes. Baphomet stopped in front of Cassie and Autumn, just the hint of a smile tugging at her slit of mouth. “Well, well. What have we here? Twins?” She thought for a moment. “No, not quite. Oh, wait! I bet I know who this is! These must be the veil witch sisters. Do I have that right, Vera?”

  Vera nodded, one hand still held out with splayed fingers, the other still clutching the knife.

  Baphomet bent to study Cassie and Autumn, her thoughts inscrutable behind those two blank white orbs. “Now let’s see which one of them spoke. I'd like to congratulate her on possessing such strength.”

  Fucking coward, Cassie thought. At least show your real face.

  She willed herself not to be terrified, telling herself that she'd survived worse. She'd been imprisoned in Faerie and tortured by a mad queen. She'd endured a pack of shades slithering over her in a pit of darkness. She'd done battle with a high demon and lived to tell about it twice. She'd crack the code on this one. Then she’d track her down and kill her. For her own sake, for Julia's, and for the sake of everyone here.

  Baphomet turned to Cassie. “Oh, look at the eyes on this one, Vera. Such fire and conviction. I bet this must be the one called Cassie. Intrepid vanquisher of fae mages. A woman brave enough to face down one of my sisters.”

  She had to mean Nepheras, high demon and underworld goddess. So, was Baphomet another high demon? Was she something even more powerful? What the hell was she?

  “I allow you to speak,” Baphomet said.

  Cassie’s throat unlocked and she sucked in air. “Who the fuck are you and what do you want?”

  Baphomet turned to her slave. “Brave too, isn't she, Vera? Such a brave little human. Tell me, why did I just waste my time on the rest of you?” She turned toward Cassie again. “Well, no bother. Clearly, I've found what I'm looking for.”

  Baphomet bent down and clasped Cassie’s face with long, sharp fingers. She pinched her cheeks, turning her head back and forth as if studying a specimen. “What I've learned about the brave ones is that they rarely fear for their own safety. Catch them alone and they'll clam up entirely, no matter what you do to them. Catch them with someone they love, however… Now, that’s a different story!” Baphomet gave Cassie’s face another squeeze, then let go and stepped back. “Do you still have that knife, Vera? Never mind, of course you do. Bring it here, please.”

  Vera stepped closer to Baphomet, the knife still clutched in her hand.

  Baphomet pointed at Autumn. “Bring the knife to this one's throat. Press the blade to her pale pretty flesh.”

  Cassie grit her teeth and thrashed her head back and forth. She remained helpless, trapped, as Vera raised the knife to Autumn's throat.

  “So, brave little Cassie, give me the name of the one I seek. If you do, your sister might live. It is at least a possibility.”

  A rage burned within Cassie unlike any she'd ever known. That fury waged war against the utter terror of her dilemma. No matter what she said, someone she loved would die. Her eyes searched out those of her sister, who managed to just barely shake her head. Still, Autumn’s message was clear. Whatever you do, don’t give Julia’s name to this fucking monster.

  Baphomet’s slit of a mouth widened into a sickening grin. “This is your last chance, brave little Cassie. Give me her name or watch your sister die.”

  Cassie shook her head, fighting against herself this time. She had to do what Autumn asked, even as she had no choice. She felt as if that knife had been driven into her heart, and that it was slowly being cleaved in two.

  Baphomet gestured impatiently. “I told you to speak.”

  Cassie tried shaking her head again, even as her lips began to move. A sound escaped her lips. “Jeh… jeh…jeh…”

  The monster tipped her head back and laughed. “Do you have a stutter, brave little Cassie? What is it that you’re trying so hard not to say? Julie? Jennifer? Or maybe Jessica? I love that name, by the way. There’s just something dark about it. What about Joanne? Oh, wait, I bet it’s—”

  Suddenly, the room blazed with crackling light as three portals opened on three different walls. Beatrice, Regina and Zachary strode forward, their outthrust hands engulfed in violet fire. Baphomet spun away, her spell breaking as Cassie leapt to her feet. Magic flooded back into her veins with a burning fury. For just an instant, Baphomet stood surrounded by four witches, each well trained in combat magic, each locked onto her and ready to fire. Then, with a puff of black smoke, she simply vanished. All that remained was a vaporous tendril left curling toward the ceiling, along with the fading echo of her derisive laughter.

  Chapter 20 - Cassie

  Cassie walked toward the river, following an old overgrown path beside the railroad tracks, one that cut through the woods toward a forgotten stretch of road. No, this was not a good place for a woman to walk alone at night. Actually, it wasn’t a good place for anyone to walk alone at night. Cassie wasn’t worried about it as, hours later, her veins still thrummed with the agitating buzz of unspent magic.

  Her mind still reeled as she went over the events from earlier that night. So many questions remained unanswered. First and foremost, what the hell were they dealing with? What was Baphomet? Who was Baphomet?

  According to Beatrice, the name had a long and elusive history. It had been used to describe everything from a supposedly nonexistent deity to a goat-headed creature worshipped by cults, some satanic in nature. The bottom line was that no one knew who or what Baphomet was even supposed to be, never mind who she was now. Not exactly helpful.

  Of course, none of this was discussed until the pandemonium died down. At first, there’d been the issue of two badly injured witches. Zachary went to work on them immediately. First, he used neuromancy to alleviate their pain. Then, with Regina’s assistance, they escorted them through a portal to a Shadow Order location.

  Then there’d been those still in a state of panic. Within moments, the coven members had gone from being told they faced no threat to suffering a psychic attack of unparalleled proportions. Cassie, Autumn and Beatrice tried to comfort them, but they weren’t exactly successful. Cassie also saw that the coven’s trust in her and Autumn had been badly shaken. Not only had they been wrong in their assessment of the situation, they’d also failed to provide protection. Not exactly qualities witches looked for in their leaders.

  Lastly, there’d been the sudden appearance of three powerful strangers. Strangers who clearly Autumn and Cassie knew but had never mentioned. Beatrice did a fairly deft job of covering them on that score. She explained that they were part of a secret organization tasked with investigating the ongoing attacks. The implication being that Autumn and Cassie hadn’t really lied to their coven, but instead had honored a secret. And at least the coven could take comfort in knowing that, right now, some very powerful witches were looking into things.

  Finally, when three of them had been on their own—Maggie, for the first time, leaving her beloved bookshop in the hands of others—Beatrice explained how they’d known to show up.

  “Wards,” she'd said. “Created specifically to detect intense or unusual supernatural activity. We’ve been setting them at key locations throughout the city—places where witches are known to live, visit or congregate. I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner, but I decided to wait for backup. It was a risk I felt I had to take. We got here as soon as we could.”

  As it turned out, the means by which Beatrice, Regina and Zachary had known to come ended up being the only clear answer provided. Which was why Cassie decided to head out on this mission tonight. She needed information, and she needed it fast. And the only connection they had so far was Sarah Wellingsford, a witch who also happened to be a vampire. Obviously, the witches remained completely in the dark. So, it was time to find out what the vampires knew.

  Soon, Cassie reached the spot where the road met a barrier meant to keep out cars. A faded, rusting sign warned against trespassing. Cassie ignored the sign and walked around the barrier. She kept going until she reached a fence topped with razor wire. Behind the fence sat an old brick building that had once held an aluminum plant. These days, it was home to a group of vampires—the same group which had inspired Cassie’s fundraising idea.

  She stopped and checked the time on her phone. Shit. Almost ten. Nora and her pals might have left already. She sighed and muttered, “Why the hell didn’t I just text her?”

  “Text who?” said a voice right next to her ear.

  Cassie jumped back, light already crackling at her fingertips.

  Nora’s face loomed inches away, her blue eyes glowing as she laughed. “Gotcha!”

  Cassie tried to calm her pounding heart as she focused on the small, pale girl with dark hair. “Shit! You scared the crap out of me.”

  Nora eyed her up and down. “Whoa, look at you, all fired up. Planning on turning me into a pile of bones?”

  Cassie lowered her hands. “Yeah, well. I’m supposed to. I am a veil witch, after all.”

  Nora grinned, showing her fangs. “But then you met me and I turned you into a big softie. Don't worry, I have that effect on all the veil witches.”

  Cassie stared at Nora, trying to figure out if she was kidding, only to realize that three figures had materialized behind her. Freaking vampires. You never heard them coming. Thankfully, Cassie already knew John, Eric and Stephanie, Nora’s roommates at the abandoned factory. Those three would remain, for all time, in their early twenties. Nora, on the other hand, had been nineteen when she’d been turned by her lover, in her case willingly. Cassie knew she’d been around for more than a century, but Nora would forever look to be not much more than a kid.

  Cassie offered a little wave to the group. “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey, Cass,” John said.

  “What’s up?” Eric said.

  “How’s it going?” Stephanie said.

  It remained nearly unimaginable to Cassie that she could have this casual rapport with a group of vampires. Not to mention a strong friendship with one of them.

  “So, what’s going on?” Nora said.

  Cassie shrugged. “I just figured you might be heading out to feed. Mind if I tag along?”

  The corner of Nora’s mouth quirked in a smile. “You just want to watch? Didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.”

  Cassie’s face grew warm, even though she knew Nora was kidding. She also wasn’t sure how much she should say in front of the others. “Well, I was just sort of in the—”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Nora said. “I figured you must have some weird Cassie agenda.” She turned to her friends. “Hey, guys. You should probably go on without me. It looks like Cassie wants to get herself into trouble again.”

  Nora’s friends knew that Cassie had recently borrowed a vampire body while attempting to infiltrate a group of vampires. Her plan had been successful, in that she’d gained a lot of useful information. But she’d also been captured and left staked out at sunrise. She would have ended up as vampire bacon if it weren’t for Autumn, Beatrice and Julia.

  They started walking away from the vampire compound as the others set off in a different direction. ”Sure you’re okay with this?” Nora said. “I wouldn’t want you to fall off the wagon.”

  Naturally, she was never going to let that one go. Fair enough, really. Cassie, proud veil witch and vampire hunter, had succumbed to drinking human blood while wearing a vampire body. It had been either that or curl up into a ball and die. At least, that’s what it had felt like at the time, as an all-consuming hunger burned through her veins.

  “Not worried about it,” Cassie said. “I’m more into solids these days.”

  “Gross.”

  When Cassie phrased it that way, it actually did sound kind of gross. “I mean like actual food.”

  “So, like dead cows and pigs?”

  “Well, chickens too,” Cassie said, realizing that didn't sound any better.

  “Like I said, gross. I let my food live.”

  “Apples and tomatoes,” Cassie said. A total non sequitur, she realized, as soon as she said it.

  “Was that some sort of code phrase?”

  Cassie couldn’t help but laugh. “No, I mean I subsist mostly on apples and tomatoes. Plus pears and strawberries. Plus starch and cheese.”

  “Is that your planned defense for when you end up in chicken court? I can tell you right now, they’re not going to buy it. Neither will the bovine attorneys or the porcine judge. Just saying.”

  Cassie laughed again at that image. It was also a little mind blowing to think that her vampire companion might, in some ways, be ethically superior. Of course, not all vampires were like Nora. That’s where things got sticky.

  As they kept hoofing their way back toward civilization, it wasn’t long before Cassie struggled to keep up. Not only were vampires quiet, they were fast as hell. After a few more blocks, she admitted defeat. “Can we please just take a bus?”

  Nora heaved out an exaggerated sigh. “It’s like being with a toddler, but fine.”

  They walked until they found a bus stop, their timing good since one appeared before long. They climbed aboard and made their way to the back. Cassie sighed as she plunked herself down. Nora sat beside her, jiggling her leg.

  “Okay, so what’s the deal?” Nora said. “I’m just guessing it has something to do with the terrorist attack.” She used finger quotes when she said it.

  Cassie nodded as she loosened her boots. Damn, her feet hurt. “I figured you’d pick up on that. An attack, definitely, but the terrorists have been targeting witches. They started by killing one of our mages. Then, two friends of mine were at that bar in Shockoe. One barely managed to get out of there and the other died. Well, technically, but we brought him back. Tonight, my coven was attacked by some chick with no face. Psychic illusion, but still. Truth be told, we’re freaking out.”

  Nora let out a low whistle. “Damn, that sounds bad.” After a moment, she added, “But it sounds about right.”

  Cassie shook her head, confused but hopeful. “What have you got? We’re desperate for clues.”

  Nora lowered her voice even more. “Word on the street is that Sarah Wellingsford has managed to keep her cause alive, and that she's working with Nepheras again. Big surprise. Anyway, the real news is that they’ve teamed up with some real bad-asses that make you guys look weak. And by weak, I mean like kid’s party magicians.”

  Great. So that was the word out there in Vampire Land. Not exactly encouraging. “But who are these bad-asses? More high demons?”

  Even as she asked, Cassie knew they couldn't be. At least, not based on that signature she'd picked up on.

  “That appears to be the big mystery,” Nora said. The bus slowed and she added, “This is us.”

  Cassie wasn’t surprised to see that they were down by the canals, where there were a number of clubs within walking distance. Get enough drunk young people wandering around, and it was just a matter of time before some of them split off from the herd. In other words, the vampire buffet was now open.

  Nora looked over at Cassie as they walked along Dock Street. “I wish I knew more, but it’s mostly just rumors at this point. I’ve heard that some vampires have been joining Sarah Wellingsford’s new coven, but I can’t prove it. Supposedly, it’s some sort of hybrid deal.”

  Which was exactly what Cassie had been worried about. “So, another witch-vampire alliance. Presumably teamed up with the demons again.”

  Nora shrugged. “Probably, but nobody knows for sure. At least no one I’ve talked to. But people are getting nervous. And, by people, I mean vampires. You saw what happened last time. Vampires started dying just for choosing a side.”

  Her voice grew tight with anger, and Cassie understood why. Some of them had been Nora’s vampire family. It had been those same murders that Sarah Wellingsford tried to pin on Autumn, hoping to cast suspicion upon the two veil witches.

  “What about werewolves?” Cassie said. “Have you heard about any being involved in this deal?”

  Nora bristled. “Wouldn’t that just complete the picture. Toss a few fucking weres into the mix. But not that I know of. At least, I haven’t heard—”

  Abruptly, she stopped walking. Her head snapped up. “I don’t like the sound of that.” Nora took off running at vampire speed, a blur racing toward an alley. Cassie ran after her, soon plunging into those same shadows. Then she heard what she’d been unable to before—the whimpering pleas of a terrified girl.

  “Just leave me alone. Please. I don’t know what you want from me.”

  Nora stood between her and two figures she couldn’t see clearly. Both were female, one cowering in fear. Cassie’s veil witch senses kicked in, an edginess spreading through her. A sensation she managed to quell when around Nora. The other was a vampire, no doubt about it.

 

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