Because not even vampires had any protection against spells.

14

Blake got out of the shower and dressed quickly. It was mid-afternoon and he’d only slept a few hours, but he’d gotten a call from Scanguards twenty minutes ago that they’d found Hannah’s car and were transporting it to headquarters for examination. He wanted to take a look at it, in the hopes that Hannah had left a clue as to her whereabouts.

He opened the door to leave his bedroom, when he heard sounds from the guestroom Nicholas and Adam were occupying. The boys were stirring. He knew he couldn’t leave them to their own devices, particularly since he didn’t know how long he’d be gone.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Wesley’s number. It took three rings before Scanguards’ resident witch finally replied.

“Yeah?”

“Hey Wes, how did the scrying go?”

“It didn’t.”

“You didn’t find anything with Hannah’s DNA on it?”

“I did, but it didn’t work. The crystal couldn’t pinpoint her location. I can’t find her.”

“What does that mean? I thought you could find any human.”

“I thought so, too.” He sighed. “Listen, I’ve gotta get back to what I’m doing.”

“One more thing.” Blake stopped him from disconnecting the call. “I need your help.”

“I’m really busy right now.”

“It’s important. They found Hannah’s car. I need to check it out. Can you look after Nicholas and Adam, and keep an eye on Lilo, too?”

“Can’t you find somebody else? I’m examining some files right now.”

“Can’t that wait?”

“No!”

Blake sighed. “Then why don’t you bring the files with you to the house? You can work in my office. Come on, be a good sport.”

“Why is it that your work always takes precedence over mine?”

He heard the edge in Wesley’s voice and knew to tread lightly. “It doesn’t. But this is about Hannah.”

There was a short pause, then Wes replied, “Blake, I don’t want you to panic, but… there’s something we found on Ronny’s computer.”

“What did you find?” His heart was suddenly hammering as loud as a locomotive.

“It’s possible that Ronny has been experimenting with potions.”

“Potions? You mean like your kind of potions?”

“Not exactly. More like drugs.”

“Doing what?”

“I don’t know yet. There’s something else: today Donnelly transferred a human into our custody. It looked like he was under a spell or something. But when I examined him I couldn’t find any sign of witchcraft. Which leaves us with something physical.”

“Physical?”

“Yeah, as in drugs. Something mind-altering. And it just happens that I came across an herb today that scares the shit out of me.”

“An herb scares the shit out of you? You’re exaggerating.”

“I found the name of the herb on Ronny’s computer. That’s why I’m going through these files. I need to find out what he’s been up to. If he’s been using this stuff, this Höllenkraut, on humans…”

“Shit! What does it do?”

“Not sure exactly. There were other ingredients, too, that have strange effects on humans. I’m not sure exactly how he’s combining them and what the point of all this is. But I don’t like it.”

Blake blew out a breath. “Neither do I. Any leads on Ronny’s car?”

“Donnelly and his team are keeping their eyes and ears open, but nothing so far. Have you spoken to the vet?”

“The office wasn’t open yet when I went to sleep. I left Ryder a message to stop by the clinic during office hours and find out whether Hannah kept the appointment she had for her dog.”

Ryder was Gabriel and Maya’s son, and a hybrid, which meant he could be out in sunlight without the rays damaging his skin. But he and his brother Ethan and sister Vanessa were different from the other hybrids in his care. Their parents were very special vampires: before they’d been turned they were satyrs. Their species’ DNA was so dominant that even as vampires they retained some of their satyr traits and had passed them on to their children. And while their parents’ ability to tolerate sunlight had been extinguished at their turning, as born vampire-satyr-hybrids, just like as born vampire-human-hybrids, Ryder and his siblings were able to be out in sunlight without being turned into ash.

“I’m waiting to hear from him,” Blake now added.

“Good.” There was a short pause, before Wes added, “You’re doing everything you can.”

“It doesn’t seem to be enough.” Because Blake still had no lead on Hannah’s whereabouts. And with every hour that passed, the chances of finding her alive and well, dwindled.

A sigh on the other end of the line. “I’ll be there in half an hour. But you’d better tell those boys that I need to work and am not there to hang out with them.”

“You’ve got it. You won’t even notice that they’re here.”

“Yeah, right.”

Blake disconnected the call and walked to the guestroom. He knocked briefly, then opened the door and walked in, pulling it shut behind him.

Nicholas sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. Adam turned beneath the duvet and mumbled something.

“Hey, sorry guys, but I’ve gotta go to the office. Wes will be over shortly; he’s going to stay with you until I’m back.”

Adam shot up to a sitting position. “Wes is coming? Cool!”

Blake raised his hand. “Now, just so you know, Wes is bringing his work with him, so I don’t want you to disturb him unless there’s an emergency.”

Adam grimaced. “Then what’s the point of him coming over at all?”

“To watch us, dummy,” his brother replied. “As if we were little kids who needed a babysitter.” He huffed.

“Wes isn’t your babysitter, he’s your bodyguard,” Blake corrected him. “You should be used to it by now. You’ve had bodyguards since you were born.”

Nicholas rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and it’s getting old.”