by Lexi Ostrow
Sirens in Steam
Alliance of Silver & Steam Book 3
Lexi Ostrow
Colliding Worlds Press
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Preview of Silver Wings
Published by
Colliding Worlds Press
The right of Lexi Ostrow to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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 written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover art by: Dreams2Media
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, actual events, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Edited by CLS Editing
Copyright © 2015 Lexi Ostrow
One
McKenna still didn’t understand the purpose of her life, post-hunter training, if all she did was wander the hallways of the guild and mill about. Frustration wrapped around her as she turned the corner and saw two of the hunters, Philippe and Lucius, heading towards the back hall and the exit the hunters used to get on the motorbikes.
The entrance she had never once gotten to use.
“That’s not entirely true,” she mumbled to the air, “you trained on a bike your third month and went in and out of that exit like a real hunter. Once.” Bitterness laced her words, and she sighed.
McKenna trudged down the hall, keeping her eyes on the shiny marble tiles of the main hallway floor. Looking up would only lead to more chances of seeing the hunters getting to leave to hunt. She hadn’t had a family in ages, and the Guild had given her that, the Alliance of Silver and Steam had given her that, so she had never voiced her upset.
Growing up on the streets in London wasn’t the cleanest of lives, but after her parents’ deaths, she had kept her nose clean. McKenna had done her best to earn an honest living, only pickpocketing the poor sods who mistook her for a nightwalker. McKenna had done many things to put food in her mouth, but selling her body to unsavory gentlemen had never been one of them.
When she was ten and seven, she had been bought and sold to the Crown, and after a time had been passed off to work in the upper levels of the guild where the actual clocks were produced. She’d been the oldest acolyte at the guild, but they’d accepted her with open hearts. Then, one night she’d never forget, a carriage ride back from a grand ball had let demons into her life.
Had let the Alliance of Silver and Steam into her life.
She’d been with the guild for four years before that deadly attack, and she’d never had an inkling of what went on beneath the surface, let alone that there even was a beneath the surface. Now, five years later and barely twenty and three, she was the only hunter to be initiated younger than Felicia Westham.
“Miss Caffry, you’re wanted in the Guildmaster’s office.” Felicia, one of the highest-ranking hunters, said as stepped in front of her.
McKenna bit her lower lip. She’d idolized Felicia for the past year during her training. Having the fiery-eyed, red head barking an order at her was not the interaction she’d been dreaming of, though. Especially not one that sent her to the new Guildmaster.
Odette Cosgrove had only been in charge there for three months, and the woman had been anything but friendly to anyone not amongst the council members. It was as if her father’s death had forced her into a position she didn’t actually want.
It had been exactly five months since McKenna had been retitled as a hunter, by Felicia herself, whilst the former Guildmaster had been on a mission. A mission he didn’t return from. Felicia had never spoken to McKenna beyond that ceremony, and McKenna had never had a reason to seek the woman out. Seeing her now, in such a sensual corset and a spark in her eye, only made McKenna dream even more of one day being like her.
Felicia raised a brow and put her hands on her hips. “I have a young at home who does not listen, do not make me treat you as I do little Thomas.” Felicia turned on her heel, and a swish of her long chocolate skirt was all that was left after she spoke.
McKenna swallowed deeply and turned in the direction of the lift that would take her to the levels below. “Angels help me, I haven’t done anything wrong.” She’d invoked the Angels instead of God ever since learning of the Alliance.
One foot after the other, she shuffled her boots across the pristine floor towards the lift. The upper levels of the Guild belonged to both the public, and the people that called it home. The Alliance stuff—the labs and the Guildmaster’s office—were two and three levels below. If anyone that ventured inside thought the massive gold doors at the back of the main hall were strange, none had spoken of it. In the past, she had been told they had to be careful of using the lifts with regular guild members around. After a disastrous invention had blown up, all of the guild knew of the secret technology they dabbled with, but only the Alliance members knew why.
The Alliance of Silver and Steam held secrets that London, that the world, wasn’t ready to hear. Learning of it herself that night a year and a half before still blew McKenna’s mind. Demons weren’t just in London, even if the London sect of the Alliance never seemed to interact with the other locations, the demons were all over. She’d never understood why they didn’t communicate. Not that anyone asked the opinion of an orphan, but she thought it seemed foolish to act separately.
Pain abruptly shot through her big toe, and she realized she’d stubbed it into the lift door because she had been lost in her thoughts. Traditionally, hunters wore thicker boots, but she had never had a reason to wear anything but men’s garb since she’d joined.
All she had to do was push the discrete marking on the wall, the one designed to look like nothing more than a decorative element, and the doors would open. One foot in front of the other, well you’ve done that part. Suck in a breath and push the bloody button. Her hand shook as she slowly raised it. She was no longer afraid of the lift and standing there as she was held no purpose.
McKenna wasn’t afraid of anything. Well, almost not afraid of anything. She feared being dismissed from the Alliance before ever getting to serve. She’d been unwanted since her parents had passed when she’d been only five. Being dismissed from The Alliance, as she had been by the Royals, was an insult she didn’t think she could bear.
She sucked in a deep breath, and the air burned her nose a little, some of the fumes from the lab below probably mingled with the air so close to the lift. In a quick fit, she shook her hands about and slammed her index finger into the button. The lift door opened smoothly, and she forced herself to step inside, ignoring the smells.<
br />
“Being afraid is going to look bloody excellent in front of a woman who seems to be as frigid as winter,” she muttered thinking about how stoic Odette was.
The laugh that came as the doors slid open made McKenna jump slightly.
“My dear, whilst I do reserve most of my heat for Philippe, I can assure you, I’m not as frigid as I appear.”
Odette stood in front of McKenna. The woman’s deep auburn hair was twisted to the side in a plait, and her green eyes sparkled with something McKenna almost thought was amusement.
“I am glad Felicia finally found you. However, I wish she would have done so before me retiring for evening meal with Eliza.” Odette sighed and stepped to the side, motioning for McKenna to get out of the lift. “I suppose Eliza’s update will have to wait. Please head down the hall to my office. I will be there in a moment. I need to let Eliza know, and, as you know, these bloody communicators don’t work down here.”
With a curt nod, McKenna all but raced down the hall to Odette’s office. She heard Odette complaining about the stupidity of the communicators not working where the Guildmaster worked and a loud knock on the lab door just near the lift.
The office door was open, and McKenna inhaled, shocked that Odette was so trusting. As she stepped inside, McKenna couldn’t help but revel in the beauty of the office. She had never been in there, and it certainly rivaled some of the items she had seen about the castle during her small stint as a serving girl.
The marvelous, dark wood desk was imposing, as was the large chair behind it. The chair was almost gothic with its large, balloon back, curved arms and dark black paint. The chairs opposite the desk were no less splendid, two beautifully cream-colored wingbacks with a dark wood table betwixt them. She turned in a circle and looked at the paintings on the wall. Master Thomas Agardawes’ bright blue eyes met hers, and she reached out to touch the picture as if the Guildmaster was in the room with her.
“Please don’t,” Odette’s request was soft spoken.
McKenna’s hand dropped immediately, and she turned to face the current Guildmaster. “Forgive me, it’s just, he was the closest thing to a father I had.”
Odette snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “He was like that to many. I had thought it just myself and Felicia, but I’ve come to learn how many of you looked up to him.” Tears shimmered in Odette’s eyes and shook her head. “Please be seated. I did not bring you here to converse about my father.”
McKenna inwardly flinched. Odette had seemed human for just a moment, and then the harsh, proper upbringing slipped out in her words. McKenna could never sound as refined as someone like Odette, and the thought fueled the smallest twinge of anger. Maybe that was why she was there, to be told that they had changed their minds and lowborn people could not belong.
Despite her thoughts, she sat, and Odette did as well. The older woman picked up a quill and twirled it over her fingers. McKenna couldn’t help but watch, transfixed, as the feather seemed to almost glide over Odette’s fingertips. The silence stretched on betwixt them until Odette leaned forward and blew out the candle lighting the room. A moment later the eerie glow of a purple crystal lit the room.
They didn’t use crystals for power oft, or they weren’t supposed to. McKenna shifted uneasily in her chair, trepidation growing as quickly as she’d ever felt it. She itched to ask why Odette had done so but knew that the Guildmaster would never answer. So she bit her tongue.
“You’ve been a hunter since right before I returned from our mission, is this correct?” Odette set the quill down, clasped her hands together and looked at McKenna.
“That is correct. I was granted the promotion by Mrs. Westham in your father’s absence.” She silently thanked the Angels that her voice was level sounding.
“You have also never hunted? Is that correct?”
McKenna moved again, just slightly. “Yes, Ma’am. I have had high hopes too. However, I have not been granted a partner as of yet.”
Odette nodded. “I see. So you are not tied up in any ongoing investigations? You have not had your mind twisted by an older partner into hunting only their way either then, I suppose?”
“No, I have not. I would gladly accept a post as a hunter with any. Though I admit, I have wished to hunt with the greats, just once, to learn their style outside of a classroom.”
A small smile broke out on Odette’s lips. “I can assure you, they are splendid to watch, but not much different, except Lucius. He has been known to back away screaming a time or two.” Odette let out a genuine laugh, and McKenna grew more uncomfortable.
“Why am I here? You were on your way to a meal, and I am eager to practice.”
“Your initiative and spunk were not falsely reported. Good. McKenna, you’re getting a promotion. You will not be hunting, though. You will be guarding, and let me tell you, you’re about to go on the mission of your life. If I didn’t think you could handle this, I would not be sending you to Hell.”
The words washed over McKenna, and she was torn betwixt letting out a whoop of joy and retching up her last meal up at the mention of Hell, where the old Guildmaster had died.
“Why me?” this time, her voice did shake.
“I need someone fresh, fast and eager to step into the danger. You are all of these things, I am told. Plus, if I send Felicia alone with the men, she’s more than likely to kill them. Especially Lucius.”
McKenna’s heart fluttered with excitement. She would be on a mission with not one, but two of the best hunters the Alliance had ever known. Even if one of them was a demon.
“If you accept this charge, you are to be at council chambers tomorrow night. Enough time has passed since my return, and there is action that needs to be taken. If you do not show up, your position as a hunter will not be jeopardized.”
“Can I know what the mission is?” the question slipped out, and she regretted it.
Odette’s brow furrowed, and the smile slipped into a displeased frown. “Information is given to those attending. There are delicate measures at hand, and the fewer people that know the details, the safer everyone at the Alliance is.”
Tingles broke out over McKenna’s arms and legs, and she shivered. This was the life she had been waiting for. She wouldn’t ruin it by asking more questions.
Determination radiated from her words. “I’ll be there. I swear I’ll be there.”
Two
A trail of blood slid down Seraphina’s arm, and a shiver raced through her body. It wasn’t the blood that made her shiver; it was the look on Kellan’s face. His pale green eyes had followed the subtle drip all the way down to her fingertips with a look of pure and unabashed hunger.
Addicting a human to Fallen blood was always risky. They could go crazy and kill themselves seeking it out. Kellan had drunk hers almost daily for two months. After all that time, he had finally begun to drink it without her hand forcing his head to wherever she had sliced herself.
The warm flick of his tongue over her collarbone as he helped himself to her blood twisted her stomach into knots. Every day she fed so that she could turn around and sever the feedings in a short whilst to interrogate him. Yet, every day, she told herself she would tempt him with her blood just one more time.
The hunters had at least one Pure Angel on their side, which meant they knew there were still entrances to Hell open. It was only a matter of time before they would come after their brethren. That was something she’d had a chance to study when they’d ventured into Hell to save the female, Odette. They were devoutly loyal to one another, and that meant torture had to progress at a certain pace, or she would be looking at a group of the bastards in her home once more.
A place humans did not belong, her home. Hell. The demons’ realm. Whatever it was called, it had no religious connotation and indeed no room for humans as they had no place for demons up above.
She didn’t want to admit she enjoyed such a strong and powerful male hungering after her. Didn’t want to admit she’d c
ontemplated making him into her own little slave, instead of interrogating and killing him. Because that would mean she’d have to admit she liked the attention of a human, and she would never do that.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and she startled, realizing how long he’d been licking at her neck and how much she’d been enjoying it. In an instant, she flashed away from him and across his cell, careful not to step in the dried blood from when their time together had begun.
Seraphina’s breath was coming in small pants, and she felt how rapidly her heart was beating. She had spent too much time with Kellan, too many hours trying to coerce him to her side. He’d been so much stronger than she could have foreseen and addicting him slowly enough that the information she wanted from him remained intact was a hard process.
It was also a process she was apparently growing to like. Not because of the lust control brought her, but because of the way it felt, being touched by someone who had her blood teeming inside their body.
Her eyes flicked open, and she hadn’t realized they were closed. “That’s it. That’s precisely what this is.”
Kellan’s eyes were a cross betwixt blood lust and blood craze—and she hated that her body heated thinking he wanted her after drinking her blood and not just more of her blood.
“I dinnea ken this was possible. Ta want ye. But aye, I want ye, and I will kill myself before I let ye touch me or I touch ye.”
Kellan’s sensual accent slid over her for the first time, and she shook with lust, shocked but understanding. “You’re Irish then.”
“No. My old partner was,” he said curtly. “I slip when I cannot think because of your blood.” The stilted British accent that matched her own was back.
Seraphina knew the truth, though. Kellan was of Irish descent. Which explained his ability to not slip into a blood craze after almost three months of her blood. Not to mention why he could look upon her and not fall to his feet to do her bidding. She wondered if he knew that little secret. That the Irish were so deeply wound with the mystical that demons had a hell of a time with them.
