by J. C. Diem
Dizzy and suddenly feeling boneless, my legs stopped working and I went limp. I was lowered to the ground, then distantly felt my jeans and underwear being torn off and my jacket and shirt being ripped open. Lord Kreaton’s eyes had turned black with unholy lust, or possibly from drinking so much blood. His fangs dripped red as he leered down at me. “I will have my way with you now,” he said gloatingly. “Then I will kill you and you won’t remember that I toyed with your body like the mindless slave that you are.”
I was on the verge of passing out, but I had enough strength left to call Wrath to my hand. White light blazed again, forcing the vampire to throw his arms up to cover his face. Lord Kreaton let out a hoarse shout as steam began to rise from his skin. He scrambled backwards, then fled from the basement before my staff could immolate him with his divine power. I doubted Wrath would have gone through with killing the leech. But Lord Kreaton obviously hadn’t wanted to take the chance.
A few minutes passed, then I heard creaking bones and shuffling footsteps as a skeleton appeared. It wasn’t armed, so I wasn’t in danger of being dismembered. It shambled over to me, then bent down to pick me up. I didn’t have the strength to keep hold of Wrath. He slipped from my grasp and clattered to the ground. My eyes remained closed and my heartbeat was faint. I doubted any vamps would have heard it as I was carried upstairs.
I sensed that the house was now empty as the skeleton made its way to the front door. Rain drenched us both when it stepped outside and veered towards the back yard. Dense forest backed up to the property and there were no fences to act as a boundary. The skeleton entered the woods and the deluge was lessened by the canopy of the trees. I cracked one eye open to see we were on a faint dirt trail and were heading towards the sound of rushing water.
After a few minutes of walking, we came to a stop. I played dead and didn’t react when the skeleton dropped me. Instead of hitting the ground, I landed in the river and sank beneath the surface. I was far too weak to try to swim back upwards. Water elementals squealed with glee and flocked towards me. Moments before they could tear me apart, something splashed into the water directly above me. I looked up to see a blurry form swimming towards me. Tiny paws closed around the tattered remains of my jacket, then I was being dragged upwards. Sharp claws raked my legs and one of my boots was torn off, but we were moving too quickly for the water elementals to latch onto me.
Chesi made concerned noises as I dangled in her grasp. I didn’t have the energy to reassure her that I was okay. Far below in a small clearing, I saw the rotting remains of the vampires who had been executed in the basement of the isolated house. The water elementals had thrown their body parts back onto dry land so their domain wouldn’t become polluted.
My tiny rescuer zoomed away from the Vampire District and flew over the City Square. We entered the Shifter District and headed for the hospital where Travis worked. Chesi deposited me in front of the doors, then banged her tail against the glass to get the attention of the people inside. I passed out as I heard stilettos clacking on the floor as a bevy of sexy nurses rushed to my aid. I was sure I was a sight to behold, since I was mostly naked and I was only wearing one boot.
When I woke up, I was lying on a narrow examination bed and I was dressed in a white gown. A needle was sticking out of my arm and blood was being pumped into my body.
Travis was sitting on a chair next to my bed, holding my hand. His head rested against the wall and his eyes were shut. He looked as ageless as the rest of our kind, but he seemed weary. Sensing he was being watched, he tilted his head forward and opened his eyes.
“Hey, doc,” I said. It came out as a croak. “You saved my life again.”
“We have Chesi to thank for that,” he said. The air elemental was curled up on his lap, fast asleep.
“She was awesome,” I said and conjured up a grin that faded away almost instantly.
“Who bit you?” Travis asked. His eyes went to the dressing that he’d placed over the holes in my neck. The wounds hadn’t been dire and they’d already healed. His voice was low, but his tone was hard. He absently stroked the dragon’s back. She was so hard to see that it looked like he was petting thin air.
“It was Lord Kreaton,” I replied quietly, then told him about my latest near-death experience.
Travis’ hand tightened on mine and his face became ashen at my close call. “We knew the Immortal Triumvirate were evil, but I didn’t realize just how depraved they are,” he admitted.
“Lord Kreaton is just as bad as Lord Dallinar,” I said wearily. “They’ve both tried to rape me and to bend me to their will now. It’ll be Lord Graham’s turn next.” I hoped the alpha werewolf didn’t have any immediate plans to try to make me his own personal lackey. Quilla had foreseen that all three members of the unholy trinity would pull stunts like this, yet it hadn’t adequately prepared me for the trauma of it all.
“Is there anything we can do to stop it?” my main squeeze asked me plaintively.
“I can’t change my fate, babe,” I said as gently as I could. “They won’t succeed, so at least I don’t have to worry about becoming their slave completely.”
“You’re lucky you have Wrath and Chesi guarding you,” Travis said. My weapons had come to me while I’d been unconscious. The staff was propped up against the wall next to my silver sword. Both weapons were bound to me and they would always find me no matter where I went. “Wrath came to you straight away, but a skeleton dropped the sword off about an hour ago,” Travis added. “I have no idea how it found the sword if you left it in the basement of that house.”
“Our belongings always find their way back to us,” I said with a shrug. The skeleton had known to bring the sword to the hospital by using the magic of Nox to locate me. It was a reminder that none of the Night Cursed could hide from them.
“I wish Wrath’s holy power would work against shifters,” Travis murmured, returning to the topic at hand.
“Me, too,” I replied, unable to hide my dread. I’d successfully stopped two of our evil overlords from violating me, but I knew I would have to go through this one more time. Mature shapeshifters were strong, fast and deadly in combat. As an alpha of alphas, Lord Graham would be able to snap my spine with one hand if he wanted to. I wasn’t looking forward to my eventual confrontation with him.
“Why were the witch and the priest pretending to be Night Cursed?” Travis asked, switching the topic to something less unsettling.
I shrugged again, then winced when the needle pulled against my skin. “I’m not sure if they were trying to fool me, or the vamps who work for Lord Kreaton.”
“I didn’t know there were any evil priests in Nox,” he mused, lacing his fingers with mine.
“Neither did I,” I agreed. “He doesn’t follow any of the normal religions and I’ve never seen him in any of the churches or monasteries.”
“Who do you think he worships?”
“Someone who isn’t holy,” I replied. “I have a feeling he’s tied to the demons somehow.”
“Why would a human want to get mixed up with demons?” he asked in surprise.
“For power would be my guess,” I said, then yawned. Dawn was drawing close now. Frankly, I couldn’t wait for this horrible night to be over. When I woke up tomorrow night, I would be back to normal again. I hated feeling so weak and depleted. As always, my hot doctor boyfriend had managed to keep me alive. It was just one of the many reasons why I loved him.
Chapter Seventeen
QUILLA AND LADY MARIGOLD banged on my door shortly after I woke up in my bed the following night. My sword was strapped to my belt and my clothes were back on me. Like all Night Cursed who didn’t make it to their dwelling places before dawn, I’d been magically whisked home.
I left my dinner sitting on my plate on the dining table and hurried over to open the door. “Hi, girls,” I said in a forced bright tone. “What’s shaking?”
“You were last night if the vision I had when I woke up was true,” Quilla said as she pushed
past me.
“Is it true that Lord Kreaton bit you and drained you nearly to death?” Marigold demanded after stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
“How much did you see?” I asked the gypsy as we all took a seat at the table.
“Only flashes of something that happened in a dark place,” my bestie said. Sandwiches appeared on plates in front of them. Wine in crystal glasses materialized as well. “I saw Lord Kreaton drinking your blood, then someone carrying you away and dumping your body somewhere,” she added.
“Whoever this miscreant was, we’ll hunt him down and kill him!” Marigold said, eyes flashing dangerously.
“It was just a skeleton minion taking out the trash,” I said dourly. The trash being me, of course. Her lower lip pooched out in a pout that she wouldn’t be able to seek revenge.
“Tell us what happened,” Quilla ordered.
I filled them both in while eating our dinner. Marigold’s face was red with rage and her jaw was clenched by the time I was done. “This is reprehensible!” she hissed. “How dare Lord Kreaton treat you like that?”
“He and his allies created us,” I reminded her, then took a gulp of coffee. Alcohol was the last thing I needed. “They own us, mind, body and soul,” I said morosely.
“This is wrong,” Quilla said with tears welling in her eyes. “No one should have to suffer like that. No one should have that much power over anyone even if they did create us.”
“I don’t understand how the Immortal Triumvirate created us,” Marigold said, pushing her half-eaten food away. The sandwich and plate vanished now that she was done with them.
“The witch who was pretending to be Night Cursed said something about a spell that was cast on Halloween,” I said, watching their faces carefully. “She said we were changed into the costumes that we were wearing at the time.”
Both of my friends winced and grasped their heads as pain lanced through them. “That can’t be,” Quilla said in a near moan. “I’ve always been a gypsy. It’s who I am!”
“And I’ve always been a free-spirited Englishwoman who is in love with a pirate scoundrel,” Marigold added.
“Do either of you remember your childhoods?” I asked. “Do you remember your parents or siblings?” My memory was empty when it came to my past. They stared at me blankly, just as I’d known they would. “We weren’t born like this,” I said, gesturing at us all. “We had to have had families who raised us, but why can’t we remember them?”
“Black magic,” Quilla said in a tone of absolute certainty. “It was a hex that caused this, if the witch wasn’t lying. Being changed like that messed with our memories, which is why the Night Cursed can never remember anything for long.”
Marigold rubbed her temples as if they were aching, then gulped down her wine. “I don’t want to think about it,” she complained, dismissing the topic. “We need to focus on the Triumvirate and what their plans for us are.”
“We don’t know what their plans are,” I pointed out. “We don’t know why the Night Cursed exist, except to act as batteries to power Nox.”
“We know our leaders want to control you completely,” Quilla said. “All three of them want to make you their personal puppet.”
“Two of them have failed and Lord Graham will as well,” I replied confidently.
“But look at the torment they put you through,” Marigold said and reached over to pat my arm in sympathy. “I wish there was a way we could prevent the werewolf from attempting to gain control of you.”
“So do I,” I admitted glumly, then finished off my meal. The sandwich tasted like sawdust as I swallowed it down.
“We can’t linger tonight,” Quilla warned us. “I feel as if we’re being watched. I don’t want anyone to become suspicious and figure out that we’re not normal Night Cursed.”
“Our beaus will be waiting for us downstairs by now,” Marigold added. “Quilla believes we should act as if nothing is wrong and behave in our normal fashion.” That meant Steve would leave first and take a carriage to his firehouse in the Shifter District. Quilla would head to her workplace in the business zone in our District in a different carriage. The pirate and his ladylove would travel to Pirate Cove together.
I sent my senses out and picked up on a vampire lurking on a rooftop in a building across the street. “We are being watched,” I confirmed. He was far too distant to be able to hear what we were saying, thankfully. “Chesi is watching him,” I added when I picked up on the dragon’s energy as well.
“I can’t believe she managed to save you from the water elementals,” Quilla said as we left the table and headed for the door. It was raining again, so I snagged my yellow umbrella on my way out.
“She was pretty amazing,” I agreed. I opened the door, then jerked back when something fluttered towards my face. It was a magical letter. Two more were right behind it, one for each of my friends.
“We’re being summoned to the City Square for another execution,” Quilla said as she saw a flash of the future.
I’d already figured that out, but I tore the letter open anyway. As always, the message was short and to the point.
“An uncursed citizen has broken the law and you’re to hunt him down,” Marigold said, golden eyebrows arching upwards. “I wonder what his crimes are?”
“We’ll find out when we get to the City Square,” I said, then ushered them out. Since I had an official hunt ahead of me, I put my umbrella back in the stand. I would need both hands for the task ahead.
Captain Shortbeard and Steve Banner were waiting for us in the entertaining area on the first floor. They were holding the letters that had been delivered to them and they were chatting quietly.
“A vamp is watching us from across the street,” Quilla warned them when we joined the pair. Neither of the men seemed surprised to hear that. Our letters all vanished now that their messages had been imparted.
“We need to act casual,” Steve surmised and slung his arm around her shoulder. Their height difference should have been comical, but they were so obviously perfect for each other that they were a matched pair.
“I’ll take a separate carriage,” I said. It was my usual routine when heading out on a hunt, but they usually travelled to the City Square together.
“Good luck tonight,” the gypsy said. “I have a feeling you’re going to need it.” She didn’t give me any hints about what I would be facing. Either she didn’t know, or she couldn’t bring herself to tell me.
We filed outside and two carriages pulled up at the curb. Other carriages were streaming past us, ferrying the Night Cursed towards the City Square. A trio of ghosts swept towards us and we parted for them. The smallest one veered over to pass through Jasper just to be a pain in the ass. The captain swore beneath his breath and shuddered at the unpleasantly cold sensation.
“Pussy faced twat!” Gip squawked at the phantom and received a malicious giggle in reply.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Gip,” Jasper said. He righted his hat, then extended his arm to his lady. “Shall we, my love?” he asked.
All four of my friends climbed into their carriage while I headed to the second vehicle. The vampire who was spying on us leaped down from the roof and landed in the shadows of the alley. I sensed he was uncursed and I caught a glimpse of dark skin and a closely shaven head. It was the same bloodsucker who had carried me to the isolated house last night. It seemed that Lord Kreaton had tasked his minion with watching me.
Chapter Eighteen
MY VAMPIRE STALKER had no trouble keeping up with the carriage as it rumbled towards the center of the city. He blended in with the crowd when we reached our destination. The spectators parted to let me through and I approached the platform where the Immortal Triumvirate awaited. A magical barrier had been erected to keep the rain from drenching our overlords. It drummed down on the rest of us, soaking us to the skin. The magical folk had erected small invisible shields and I spied a few umbrellas here and there.
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“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lord Dallinar said in his usual pompous tone. As always, his voice was magically amplified so the vast crowd could hear him. “Once again, a citizen of Nox has broken our laws and he must be punished!” An inch or two shorter than me, he had lilac hair and pointy ears. His eyes were emerald green and glittered with malice. Like his allies, he always wore black when he was in public. His outfit was a tunic and tight-fitting trousers.
I could sense a few hundred uncursed beings among the crowd. They probably worked in the nearby buildings and had decided to watch the spectacle in person. The fairy overlord was projecting the proceedings into the minds of all civilians, so everyone would see and hear what was happening.
“An individual known as Nandon murdered his own kind,” Lord Kreaton said in a derisive tone. He was much taller than the fairy and towered over him. An image of an uncursed vampire appeared in our minds. I recognized him immediately. He was one of the men who had attacked Jardine. “I myself witnessed one of the murders,” the master vampire went on. “For his crimes, he has hereby been sentenced to death at Xiara Evora’s hands.”
I glanced at a group of holy men and women and saw them nodding in agreement, which meant he was telling the truth. He really had seen the leech kill someone. My expression remained neutral through sheer force of will. I had to act like I’d never seen Nandon before. It was lucky that I’d had a lot of practice at pretending to have no memory of the people I’d met.
“Go now and bring this unholy monster to justice,” Lord Graham commanded me. He received a sardonic look from Lord Kreaton at his choice of words. With his ginger hair and beard, the alpha shapeshifter had a wild appearance. His eyes were amber and held the same contempt for me as most of his kind felt. He dressed far more casually than his allies in a t-shirt and jeans.
I nodded subserviently, then the crowd parted for me again as I strode towards a waiting carriage. There was no need for Quilla to give me a hint where to find my target. He was a bloodsucker, so he would be somewhere in the Vampire District.
