when she’d come into her fangs at puberty and had taught her to stalk the shadows and take a donor without killing. Yet, her father had noticed that her donors were different after Summer’s bite. Some struggled with voices about them that they grasped for as if at insects. Others shouted out to nothing but the madness inside them. It seemed a condition that lasted for hours.
Over the years, her family had figured that Summer’s bite was somehow changing her donors. A little or a lot, depending on how large a drink she took from them. A long drink? The donor very possibly went mad. It had frightened her to know she had such an ugly power. And confused her. Why only her? Other vampires did not impart madness with their bites. Nor did her bite seem to affect the paranormal breeds. But she could hardly keep her blood drinking only to paranormals. Humans were so much more abundant.
Fortunately, she had a strong family support system and had learned to control her hunger as much as she could. Which meant taking only a small sip and then hoping the donor would be okay. Just a touch of madness.
It was no way for a vampire to exist. But it was her life.
What she wouldn’t give to be a normal vampire who could take a nice long quaff from a pulsing vein and then walk away, whistling a show tune.
Her job did make avoiding that emotional struggle a little easier. No time for empathy for others or personal-relationship woes. She kept busy. Focused on the prize. And never got involved with distractions such as families who may own the sought-after magical item, or humans who wished to challenge her for the prize, she, as a Retriever, had been assigned to obtain.
Life was basically good. And it would be much better when she dumped this weird, whispering violin.
“I’m going to bring you in to the Archives to be cataloged, tagged and stored. Never to be played,” she said and followed with a sigh. “That’s so wrong. This violin is exquisite.”
Whatever horrible powers it might possess could be counteracted with a witch’s spell, yes?
No. She wouldn’t go there. Dark and dangerous things were best kept under lock and key. And wards. And spells. And any other magical device that could be slapped on to the thing. Better safe than sorry.
She picked up her phone and scrolled to the director’s number, when it suddenly rang. From the director.
“Yes,” Summer answered. “I’ve found the black violin. Got it in the case and sitting next to me right now.”
“Excellent. So you’ll be flying it to Paris today?”
“Uh, you know I drive.” Because, adventurous as she was, soaring up to thirty-thousand-feet altitude in an airplane? Not going to happen. She was a creature of the earth and intended to remain as close to it as possible. It wasn’t that she was afraid of flying, she was merely sensible. “I’m sure I can have it there by tomorrow evening. Monday morning at the latest. I might find a place to pull over and rest because I’ve been driving all night.”
“That’s fine. As long as it’s secure, there is no rush. Go ahead and bring it directly to the Archives for cataloging.”
“Uh... Director Pierce?”
“Yes, Santiago?”
“What is the thing with this violin? I mean, it seems innocuous. It’s just another violin, albeit remarkably well preserved. The strings were even tight—”
“You didn’t play it, did you?”
“What?”
“Don’t play that violin, Santiago. All of Beneath will, quite literally, break loose if anyone should play that violin.”
“Uh...” Gulp. All of Beneath? That covered quite a lot of area. And included its ruler and nemesis, Himself. But really?
“Summer.” The director rarely used her first name, so that set her back in her seat. “Tell me you did not play the violin.”
“I did not play the violin.”
“I’m sensing there’s a but?”
She sighed heavily, and with a glance to the violin case, nodded. “But I did drop the bow, and it slid across the strings. It wasn’t as if it was purposefully played. It made more of a noise than anything.”
“Fuck.”
She had never in her service to Acquisitions heard Ethan Pierce swear. And now Summer noticed her hands shook. What the heck? She hadn’t done anything cataclysmically wrong. She was still alive. A vile nest of demons had not been released from the depths of the storage room where she’d found the violin. The sky was still blue. The earth still circled the sun. The birds were chirping. The...well, really. Everything was cool.
“Summer, Paganini had specifically stated that violin be destroyed. He did so because before his death the devil Himself made him an offer.”
“I know the history.”
“Yes, the history you can read in books and on the internet. But the real history—the one Archives records in the Book of All Spells—details that if Paganini had played one song on the instrument he would have been granted all the power the devil possessed.”
“Yes, but, Director Pierce, Paganini is dead. And like I said, it was just a note or two. Some noise. I did not play the violin. I’m pretty sure the uh...” No one spoke the devil’s name too much. Say it three times? You’ve invited him for lunch. “...the Big Guy hasn’t risen either. Everything is cool.”
“Is it?”
“You know I’m an ace at the smooth, clean mission. Why are you so worried?”
“It may be a precautionary worry. And I certainly hope it is. But what if playing a note or two disturbed the dead Nicolo Paganini? It’s a probability I have to consider due to the nature of the strange magics with which we often encounter.”
Summer let out a burst of laughter. And then she silenced. Director Pierce had not offered equal levity with return laughter. “Really? No. That’s— Why the musician? It was just a note or two.”
“Where was the violinist buried?” She heard clicking on his end, indicating he must be doing a search on the computer. “Parma. Not far from Cella Monte.”
“Yes, I’m just outside Parma now. I pulled over to...” She wouldn’t admit she’d been considering a nap.
“Then you can ensure your little mishap didn’t stir up trouble. You must go to the grave site to check that the musician’s grave is undisturbed.”
“Seriously?”
“Santiago, it is essential. You have either dallied very closely with a wicked bargain, or have, in fact, released a malicious force into the world.”
He had a way of making it sound so devastating that Summer shrank even deeper into the car seat. But then she sat up straight and hit the steering wheel with a fist. “I have done no such thing. Have you ever known me to mess up a mission, Director Pierce?”
“No, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions with this one. But that violin has been forged by
