There was nothing left to hide any part of the wide concrete floor.
Beneath the spot where the rugs had lain was a black marble square with three concentric circles that touched, like a witch circle made of three parts. The outer ring was twenty feet in diameter, made of wood, the middle was iron, the inner was also wood, sandwiching the iron. The circle was marked along the outer perimeter with symbols that resembled runes, and these were made of stone. The Glob remained inert, not pulling energy into itself, which was a good sign. But Brute went rigid, his body vibrating with a fine tremor, so tight I could feel it through the spot where we touched. He growled low, the sound rumbling, so dangerous that even the vampires went still as statues.
A grindylow popped into view, landing on Brute’s neck, chattering. Its steel claws were out. Not a good sign.
“What is it, Brute?” I asked.
And then I remembered another ring in another floor, in the basement of a witch’s home, where she had called and trapped a demon. That demon had been eating the two sacrifices. One of the chewed sacrifices had been Brute.
I knelt beside the white werewolf and said softly, “It’s okay Brute. You’re safe. We’re here.”
Brute tuned pale eyes to me. He growled low, the rumble like a freight train coming closer.
The grindy put its claws against Brute’s neck. It no longer looked like a neon green kitten. It looked like what it was—the executioner of were-creatures who passed along the were-taint.
Inside, Beast tensed.Madness in Brute brain. Like rabies.
No. It’s fear,I thought back. “Is it a demon circle? Smell it. Do you smell brimstone?”
Brute turned his gaze from me back to the ring. He snarled, his lips curling to show his fangs before he huffed, sniffed three times, and sneezed.
I scratched Brute thoroughly under the chin, our noses nearly touching, breathing in and out, sharing breath. Brute’s smelled of grilled steak, which was interesting. I wondered who had been feeding him. “It’s okay. We’re here. You’re not alone. You can leave at any time if you need fresh air.”
He began to relax. Brute sat and met my eyes, shaking his head no, in the human way. The grindy sheathed its steel claws, chittered at me, and vanished. Like poof. I gave the white werewolf a last scratch behind his ears before standing.
The vamps and humans and my Consort were staring at me. “What?”
“You used to hate that wolf,” Bruiser said.
“I used to do a lot of things,” I replied. “I’d like everyone to stand back while I check out the circle in case there’s some residual power, or maybe a latent working that’s only triggered by other magic.” Holding the Glob out in front of me, I walked slowly toward the marble square and the circle. I hadn’t expected Brute to follow, but he did, sticking tight to my jeans on my left side, which allowed me free access to my weapon on the right. Not that a nine-milwould help much if a demon attacked or a spell went active. I switched the Glob to my dominant hand. It was the better weapon for now.
I bent close to study the construction of the rings. It looked as if the circle had been cut from the marble, the wooden rings put in place, and molten iron had been poured inside them. The wood was heavily charred where it touched the iron. Outside the circle, the cardinal points were etched in the black marble, with north indicated by an arrow. It was anoldwitch circle, from the times when witches and vamps in New Orleans had worked together. It was far older than the demon circle in Evangelina’s house, though like that one, this still carried an old stink of sacrifice. Side by side, we walked around the circle once, widdershins. I paused at each stone rune, but the Glob was nonreactive, and Brute didn’t seem to smell an active working.
When we reached our starting point, Brute moved ahead of me and stuck his nose against the floor to sniff, moving closer to the circle, working his way in. He made little snuffling and snorting sounds, his lips pulling away from his fangs, his tail sagging slowly. I stayed close to him but out of his way.
Ugly wolf, good nose,Beast thought at me.Would chase wolf tail if in Beast form.
Uh-huh. No.
I touched Brute’s head, and he stopped snuffling long enough for me to get down on the floor with him again. I stretched out my arm and placed the Glob on the floor, almost touching the outer ring. With one finger, I slowly pushed the Glob closer, until it was lying directly on top of the iron. Nothing happened. I shoved the Glob across and inside the ring. Zilch.
“Okay, Brute. Go for it. What do you smell?”
Brute began snuffling again, and reached the iron ring. His scenting sounds were much more elegant than the sounds bloodhounds make, which are slobbery, lippy snuffling. Brute began to follow the circle, stopping and smelling as he moved.
Ugly wolf, good nose,Beast thought again.
This was the circle I had seen in Sabina’s vision. Down here, on the floor, I was close enough to see that the thincracks between the black marble and the rings were caked with residue. It stank of magic and old blood. “Brute. The stuff in the cracks. Is it blood?”
Brute turned and padded to Kojo, sitting at the vampire’s feet, looking over his shoulder at me.
“Vampire?” When Brute didn’t react, I asked, “Vampire of African descent?”
Brute nodded and went to a human security guy. Except she was a woman.
“Female, Caucasian, human?”
Brute nodded, came to me, and sat.
