The Bite Before Christmas

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Chapter Twenty

 

  I sagged against him, feeling as though my arms and legs had been replaced with jelly. At some point, he'd knelt down as far as the chains allowed, so cold metal bit into my knees from my straddling him, but I didn't care. Everything still tingled too much for me to focus on the lack of comfortable surroundings.

  "I don't want to move . . . ever," I managed.

  His laugh was soft, wicked, and free of the concerns that bound him more securely than the chains lashing him to the support beam. Hearing it was another form of bliss, only this one reverberated deeper than even my previous, explosive climax.

  Something soft touched my legs. I glanced down and saw a blanket winding its way up that had formerly been in the corner. Bones's power curled it higher, until it draped across my shoulders and warded away the chill in the air. Just further evidence that his will alone restrained him, rather than all the chains and locks Ian and I had wrapped around him.

  "Show-off," I murmured, tucking it over both of us.

  He smiled, but a shadow crossed his features, which I knew was the demon coming between us again. "I kept her from using that power as much as I could. If she takes me over once more, the chains will slow her enough for you to shoot me. Don't hesitate. You'll only have moments. "

  I didn't glance behind me to where we'd stacked the guns, but they were within easy reach. "I won't, but let's not talk about that now. You should try to get some sleep. "

  "No," he said at once. "She wants me to sleep so my resolve will be weakened and she can take me over again. "

  Anger burned through me, fueled by my love for Bones and the territorialism that was passed down from every vampire before me. This demon wasn't going to win. She was going to pay for picking my husband to possess. I'd chase her all the way to hell and back if that's what I had to do to get my revenge.

  "Well, then she's got a long damn wait," I said, forcing my rage back enough to smile. "You rarely sleep as it is, and that's when you're not trying to squash a hell-bitch. "

  He touched his forehead to mine, closing his eyes. "You sleep, Kitten. You know I love holding you while you dream. "

  He couldn't touch me with his hands, but further waves of power cocooned me, somehow more intimate than flesh. I hated that he thought this might be the last time I fell asleep next to him, as the emotions brushing mine told me. With the demon lodged in him, Bones felt like every moment between us had an expiration date if he wanted to keep me safe. But I was equally stubborn about saving his life. This demon didn't know it yet, but she'd picked the wrong couple to fuck with.

  I slid my arms around his neck, shifting until I was draped across his lap instead of straddling him. Then I closed my eyes, sighing as I got as comfortable as possible. I wasn't afraid to fall asleep next to him, demon-possessed or not. Nothing in this world or under it would make Bones drop his guard and endanger me while I was vulnerable.

  "I love you," I whispered, tucking my head under his chin.

  Something teased at my subconscious right as I felt myself drift off. Balchezek, talking about the intricacies of simultaneous possession of vampires. The upside is that if you pull it off, you're not limited to only possessing your anchor's human family. You could also go up to the third or fourth generation of your anchor's siring bloodline. . .

  Wraith was the female demon's anchor, but that meant she should only have been able to possess Bones first. Once in Bones, she could have split off into the other vampires when they fell asleep; everyone at the cabin except Denise was within the required first four generations of the same vampiric bloodline. But it wasn't Bones that the demon had mutilated in that hotel room in order to force her first simultaneous possession. That had been Annette, yet Wraith and Annette weren't related as he and Bones were, so that shouldn't have been possible, unless. . .

  I bolted upright, startling Bones. "What?" he demanded.

  "Bones. I- I think Annette might be the person who changed Wraith into a vampire two centuries ago. "

  The sun was just starting to set when Balchezek suddenly appeared in our underground hideout.

  "Got some news," he announced. He might disparage ghosts, but he had a lot in common with them when it came to unexpected entrances. "Let's talk topside so we can have some privacy. "

  "Go," Bones said when I hesitated, hating the need to treat him this way because of the enemy inside him. But I pushed that back and threw on some clothes, then met Balchezek outside by the side of the road, where it was impossible for Bones to overhear us. Ian was there, too, eyeing the demon expectantly.

  "I did some digging about how you boot the demon from your pals," Balchezek started. "I was right! There is a way aside from the bone-knife-to-the-eyes approach, and the only person who has to die is the demon's main anchor. "

  "Wraith," I said, feeling torn. "We'd have to kill Wraith?"

  Balchezek beamed. "Who's your favorite demon, huh? Told you I'd earn the revoltingly high check you're going to give me. "

  "But you said before that you could save Bones and all the others without killing them," I reminded him.

  "Yeah, your other friends. " A shrug. "Didn't think you considered Wraith your friend. "

  "I don't, but if he's possessed, an innocent man who happens to be my husband's brother is still in there somewhere," I replied sharply.

  Balchezek sighed. "If you believe in the naive idea that anyone's innocent, then that's true. Look, I hate to use a cliche, but you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs, okay? You have to choose between the lives of all your friends or the life of one stranger you just happen to be related to. "

  I said nothing, but my jaw clenched, the only outward sign of the roiling emotions that crested through me.

  "If it helps, I doubt he has much personality left," Balchezek went on. "I told you that Hazael would've had to possess her anchor when he was still human. How long do you think your boy has been a vampire? Because that's how long he's been possessed. Probably a vegetable by now. " A shrug. "Like I said, if your kind were easy to squat inside, my people wouldn't be afraid of ruffling your feathers. We'd have taken you over millennia ago instead. "

  Two centuries of being possessed. Even if Wraith did have any consciousness left, he must be a madman after having his will hijacked that long. No one's sanity could endure that much stress.

  "If it's the only way to save the others, then Wraith dies," Ian stated.

  I wanted to disagree, to find another way, because it was awful enough to sentence an innocent man to die for the greater good, but even worse when that man was the brother Bones never knew. Yet I said nothing, and my silence confirmed my acceptance.

  I was glad we couldn't tell Bones this. He'd think we were withholding information because we didn't want the demon in him overhearing our plots, but I didn't want Bones to carry the guilt over it. He'd taken vengeance against my father so I wouldn't have to. The least I could do was carry the sin of his brother's blood on my hands versus his. I might not like sacrificing Wraith's life, but if it was a choice between him or Bones, that was no choice to me.

  And the demon didn't seem to realize it, but he'd revealed another important detail. I exchanged a glance with Ian, who nodded almost imperceptibly. He'd caught it, too.

  "When do we strike?" I asked.

  "Have to wait until mid-December," Balchezek replied.

  "No way. She knows we're onto her. Why would we give her another two weeks to plot against us?"

  "How many times do I have to tell you I don't make the rules?" Balchezek grumbled. "Mid-December is when many of the world's largest religions begin their big to-do's. Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Muharram . . . faith is at an all-time high. That weakens demons. If you want to drive those splits out of your pals, that's when you have your best shot. "

  "If she knows she'll be weaker soon, what's to stop her from killing everyone before that happens? Tha
t's what I would do," Ian stated with blunt callousness.

  "Survival instinct," the demon replied. He jerked his head at me. "Know how your vampire grabbed control instead of killing her, or watching you sex her up? What do you think will happen if the demon tries to kill the people those other vampires care about? She'll have a mass uprising, that's what. So until she's got everything in place, she'll keep those vamps complacent by not fucking with who they love. "

  Everything in place. For the demon, that would be her assurance of taking over Bones's line when he died. He'd publicly disowned me, but if needed, we could reverse that and deal with the consequences of his enemies and people knowing they had no head to their line. Plus, as long as we had Bones, then the demon couldn't act against the others yet. She'd need them if she tried to find another way to grab the same power. We would use her own plan against the bitch.

  "All right, then it's mid-December. " My smile was tight. "So we have to kill Wraith, which we know how to do. But how do we get the demon's splits out of Bones and the others?"

  Balchezek laced his hands behind his head. "That's where your filmy little friends come in. "