Jaye Wells - Green-Eyed Demon (Sabina Kane)

For your information, Zenobia said, raising her chin, Im only three-quarters human.

My grandfather was a mage. My grandmother and mother were both voodoo priestesses. Rhea sent you to me because Im connected to both the humans and dark races in New Orleans.

Still, I said, ignoring her explanation. I cant believe Rhea send us to a dirtnapper for help.

Oh, I get it. She crossed her arms. Youre a darkrace supremacist.

My mouth dropped open. Thats the most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard.

Really? How many mortally challenged individuals do you count as friends?

My chin came up. Please. Ive known lots of humans.

Sabina, I dont think it counts if you ripped their throats out, Giguhl said.

Hey! I glared at my disloyal minion.

Vampires are the worst. Zenobia screwed up her lips. Immortalists, the lot of you.

Excuse me, but Im only half vampire. And you have a lot of nerve. Like humans are any better. Last time I checked, you dont exactly consider cows your equals.

Her back went up. Are you calling me a cow?

I raised an eyebrow. Moo.

Sabina Kane

Red-Headed Stepchild

The Mage in Black

Green-Eyed Demon

Look out for:

Silver-Tongued Devil

Published by Hachette Digital

ISBN: 978-0-7481-2147-2

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2011 by Jaye Wells

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

Hachette Digital

Little, Brown Book Group

100 Victoria Embankment

London, EC4Y 0DY

www.hachette.co.uk

Dedicated in memory of two of the best
storytellers Ive known:

Charlotte Hughes, one of my first uppity-woman
role models, who also taught me about
strength and forgiveness.

Jay Migues, my favorite Cajun and the embodiment
of laissez les bons temps rouler .

Graves at my command

Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let em forth

By my so potent art.

But this rough magic

I here abjure.

William Shakespeare, The Tempest

O n my extensive list of enemies, the top two spots belonged to Lavinia Kane and time. One I planned to kill as soon as possible. That is, if I didnt run out of the other one first.

The dashboard clock flipped to 10:01. The ones mocked me like two extended middle fingers. Impatience was my third enemy.

Id already been sitting in the white van parked on a windy stretch of road near Pacific Palisades for twenty minutes. The hood of the van stood open, but the engine idled in preparation for the ambush.

Giguhl, any visual on the car yet?

Negative. His voice crackled through the earpiece, but his body was perched in a tree just outside the Dominae compound.

I sighed. Okay, thanks.

Dont you mean roger? he responded.

Whatever, I said. Let me know the minute the gates open.

Hey, Sabina?

Yeah? I said a tad more impatiently than I intended.

Why cant I have a gun again?

I rolled my eyes. I might be crazy, but Im not stupid, G. Now focus.

I live to serve, he grumbled.

I settled back into the seat. Outside the van, the landscape offered little distraction from my impatience. Scrub brush, low stone walls, and roadkill speed bumps. Light from the City of Angels rose above the shadowed hilltops like a dusty halo.

Los Fucking Angeles.

Whoever said you couldnt go home again was full of shit. The truth is you shouldnt go home again. And when Id left California, Id promised myself that I wouldnt return. Ever. But Fate that fickle bitch made a liar out of me. Again.

Three days earlier, my twin sister, Maisie, had been kidnapped from a mage estate in New York. Three weeks before that I hadnt even known shed existed. The long-story short version is our vampire mother died in childbirth a few months after our mage father was murdered. Because mating between the races was forbidden, Maisie and I were separated at birth by our vampire and mage grandmothers to keep the peace. Maisie was raised by the mage side of the family in New York, and I got the short straw a vampire upbringing in Los Angeles. The desire to meet my long-lost twin was one of the reasons Id left Los Angeles.

The fact our vampire grandmother, Lavinia Kane, wanted me dead was the other.

But now the tables had turned. Lavinia had kidnapped Maisie in an effort to hurt me. So now I would do a little kidnapping of my own.

Giguhls voice bounced off my eardrum, making me jump. Big Black is on the move. Should be on your tail in T minus sixty seconds.

A sudden rush of blood. My hands tightened on the wheel. Showtime.

Be ready when I summon you, I replied in a calm tone.

Ten-four.

In my previous life as an assassin, Id disposed of problem vampires for the Dominae. Therefore, despite the personal stakes and the adrenaline surge, my body had kicked instinctively into mission mode.

I shifted the car into drive. The sweat on my palm meant it took two tries to manage.

Hey, Red? This from Adam Lazarus hottie mage and the third member of our little team. We used to have a fourth a Vanity demon but shed been kicked off the team twenty-four hours earlier after an unfortunate incident involving a vampire strip club, a large explosion, and a lovers quarrel with Giguhl.

Yeah?

Are you ready? The mage always had a frustrating knack for breaking through the insulating layers Id built around my feelings. Damn him.

Two pinpoints of light turned onto the road several blocks back. I took a deep breath and willed my heart to slow. Are you kidding? I snorted. Totally.

He knew me too well to buy that. Well get her back, Sabina. His tone had a hint of unwelcome pity.

I ignored the spark of fear that flared at his words. Of course we will. Not getting Maisie back was not an option. Okay, everyone, switching to radio silence. Lets do this.

My hands contracted on the steering wheel, my knuckles pale in the dim light. I tried not to focus on the only glitch in our plan: We were about to kidnap the wrong Domina.

In a perfect world, the vampire in that Mercedes would be my grandmother. When shed taken Maisie, shed sealed her fate with me. Although, to be honest, she was pretty much at the top of my must-kill list for a host of other reasons that included manipulation, lying, kidnapping, attempted murder, and the destruction of my prized Ducati.

Yeah, I know. We make the Manson Family look like the Brady Bunch.

Anyway, Lavinia wasnt an option for the kidnapping plan, because she rarely left the Dominae compound. But Persephone left the grounds each Tuesday to host a mass for the plebian vamps at a temple located in Santa Monica. And with the war between vampires and mages looming, the Dominae needed to spread anti-mage propaganda to strengthen support for the war. Where better to do that than at a religious service?

Besides, of the three Dominae who ruled the vampire race, Persephone was the weakest. Weak is relative when discussing ancient female vampires, of course. But Persephone tended to be more interested in preserving history and promoting spiritualism among the vampire bourgeoisie than in crushing opposition or amassing obscene fortunes like the other two Dominae. That meant shed be far easier to manipulate than Lavinia or Tanith the Beta Domina, who controlled their business interests. The plan was to nab Persephone and deliver her to the faery and mage leaders for interrogation and a possible hostage exchange. Simple.