Free Death's Daughter by Kathleen Collins Page A

need your assurance for my own piece of mind. I don’t need that on my conscience.”
    He hesitated but a moment. “Anything you need just pick up the phone and dial the front desk. All staff will be instructed to knock and leave anything you request at the door. If you’d be so kind as to call when we can retrieve dishes and the like, I believe all is in order.”
    She gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Nicholas. I’m running back upstairs for a moment. If you’d please notify me when someone arrives.”
    “Of course, Ms. Norris.”

Chapter Six
    The unctuous aroma of fear and desperation tainted the air in Raoul DeSoto’s rooms. It mixed rather horribly with the scent of unwashed vampire. Everything around them was coated in a layer of filth that went beyond a simple lack of care or attention to detail. Bugs skittered around on nearly every surface at home in the squalor. Whatever else their prey was, he was filthy and unhygienic. He also wasn’t here.
    Thomas scowled at his second in command as he clenched his teeth, his jaw aching from the strain. “Certain he’s here, are you? No way he could have gotten away?”
    Michael kicked a box across the room. “I told you, we all saw him come in and no one saw him leave. We put a dampening spell on the building so he couldn’t have used a portal. There are only so many ways out of here. We had them all covered.”
    “Evidently someone fell asleep at their post.” And the gods help them when Thomas found out who they were.
    The men in question were ripping the rooms apart around them, desperate to prove they weren’t at fault for their quarry’s escape. Michael walked over to a dilapidated dresser, the top of which overflowed with books of every size, shape and color. He flipped through a few pages of a couple, then picked one up and turned to Thomas. “These are all spell books.”
    Thomas frowned and took the volume from Michael’s hand. A quick scan of several pages showed that it was indeed a spell book. “To what purpose does he have these? He can’t do magic anymore.” Once, Raoul had been a rather powerful mage. The turning, or process of making someone a vampire, had the side effect of stripping magic from the person.
    Michael shrugged. “Maybe that’s how he melted his face. You know the kind of shit that happens to people who play with magic that’s too powerful for them.”
    Thomas pursed his lips. “Box these up. Send them to James.” James was Thomas’s brother-in-law. He also happened to be the head mage in their region. He would know if the books had any value or not. Perhaps he’d even want to add them to his library. Regardless, it would be better than leaving them lying around for whoever happened to wander by.
    “In here,” one of the men searching called.
    Thomas and Michael exchanged a look and then made their way to the back bedroom that the cry had come from. A twin bed sat cockeyed on the floor, its mattress askew. In the corner, a gaping hole yawned on the floor.
    “A tunnel? Seriously?” Michael said, giving voice to Thomas’s thoughts.
    “What do you suppose the odds are he didn’t portal away as soon as he got out from under the dampening spell?” Thomas asked, bitterness coloring his words.
    “There’s a chance he didn’t.” Michael frowned down at the hole with his hands on his hips. “Since you’ve put the word out that you’re after him, I’m sure he’s having a harder time finding people to help him. Portal mages are a scarce lot. It would be easy enough for you to track who helped him. They may not be willing to take the risk.”
    His second was right. In fact, he was irritated the thought hadn’t occurred to him first. “Good point, but you know what that means.”
    “We’re going down the hole, aren’t we?” Michael couldn’t have sounded more annoyed if he tried.
    Thomas chuckled and gestured for his friend to lead the way. Sometimes being the boss had its advantages.

    Juliana went back to