Ignite: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Spelldrift: Coven of Fire Book 2)

by Sierra Cross

  Matt shifted forward, argument rising in him. I put my hand on his forearm, having no desire to see the inside of a Council Suprema jail. He shrugged me off. “All right, tell the Director that’s fine.” His confidence even higher. “If he doesn’t appreciate the courtesy I’m doing him by coming to him first, plenty of folks in the Spelldrift will be happy to discuss vampire jewelry with us.” He rolled up his window and shifted the car in reverse…just as the gate in front of us began to slide open.

  A smile ghosted across Matt’s face.

  I touched his arm. “Nicely done.” He was such a direct guy. I didn’t know he had it in him to play these kinds of games. Luckily, he only did it when necessary.

  He pulled the car up the circular drive and parked it on the other side of a museum-worthy fountain. Looking in the rearview mirror, I noticed with a queasy feeling that the heavy iron gate closed securely behind us.

  Evidently the vampires were as controlling about keeping people in as keeping them out.

  As we stepped onto the porch, the massive front door opened. But instead of a maid or butler, it was a chestnut-haired hottie in a tailored suit that let us in. His coppery scent told me he was a vampire. He looked barely twenty-five, but even I knew you couldn’t guess a bloodsucker’s age by their looks. His sky-blue eyes bored into me with an intensity worthy of Bonaventura. But if Bonaventura resembled a European cologne model, this guy fit the all-American playboy stereotype, with his perfectly tousled hair, his hard body, and the dark stubble along his jawline.

  Curious. How many vampires lived here, total?

  “This way.” He led us across the expansive marble foyer into an equally grand study. “You’ll wait here,” he said, but didn’t leave the room. Instead he filled the doorway with his size, like a guard dog.

  While he and Matt stood squared off facing each other, I looked around for a place to sit. The décor in here was all opulent glamour. Gilt-framed armchairs and chaises. A writing desk with elaborately carved drawer-insets. Very Louis XIV. I’d have assumed it was some rich-people, faux antiques trend, but there was a scent in the air—not musty or bad, just old—that made me wonder if perhaps this furniture was the real deal. From above the fireplace, an ornate golden sun smiled at me. Its eyes seemed to follow me as I moved, which was not un-creepy. Everything about the furniture said, “Don’t sit on me.” I went with my gut feeling and stood in the middle of the room near Matt.

  Dress shoes clipped down the hallway, and then Bonaventura himself entered the study. A twinge of commanding energy swirled in with him, like a brisk wind. He was in another bespoke suit—this one black—every hair in place, deep blue eyes vibrating with a sense of displeasure bordering on disgust.

  “Thank you, Wes.” He dismissed the young playboy vampire in the doorway and closed the door behind him. Then, not even pausing to look at me, he launched into Matt. “Guardian, was I unclear? You are to have nothing to do with this investigation.” His voice wasn’t loud, but somehow the force of it hurt my ears. “Leave my sight now, before you find yourself behind bars. Or worse.” His whole demeanor said, scary animal, run fast, run far.

  Much to my amazement Matt took a step closer to him.

  “It was an anaq,” Matt said the foreign-sounding word with the utmost certainty. “That’s why you didn’t want to talk about the chain. Marley died wearing a vampire relic as an amulet.”

  Bonaventura’s eyes widened for a millisecond before he recomposed his face to stone. “I don’t know what you think you know—” His voice rose in false anger, but I knew my instincts had been right. He had been trying to throw us off the trail of the necklace.

  “I’ve seen one of them before, in Egypt,” Matt cut him off. “They’re unmistakable. And I don’t know how Marley got her hands on one, but I do know they’re illegal under Council Suprema law. So.” His voice turned abruptly from accusing to casual. “I thought we might save the vampire community the embarrassment.”

  I decided to follow Matt’s lead. “If you’d rather we ask every magicborn in the Spelldrift about what could have been on that chain…”

  Bonaventura seemed to be making a quick recalculation. He stalked over to his writing desk with unwavering confidence, as if the change in tactics was his idea. “What makes this necklace so interesting to you? Other than dragging the vampire reputation through the muck?”

  “Putting the vampire community in a bad light is the last thing we want to do,” Matt said.

  “Yeah, I like my blood exactly where it is.” I was trying to lighten the mood, but Matt’s sudden intake of breath made me realize I may have gone too far.

  “Whoever stole that protection amulet,” Matt went on as if I hadn’t spoken, “is trying to take down our coven. To set us up for their own crimes. And the missing amulet is our only lead.”

  Bonaventura paced around his desk, a wary look in his eyes, as if he were negotiating with himself. Then he looked right at Matt. “It wasn’t just a protection amulet, it was an anaq mazkehret.”

  As he spat out the guttural words, Matt let out a slow whistle. “I thought the mazkehret were all destroyed—ages ago.” He turned to me. About time, I was starting to feel invisible in here. “An anaq is an amulet containing a relic, like a shard of bone, from an ancient vampire. The anaq mazkehret were said to contain relics from the very first vampire. Enchanted by spells lost since before the birth of Christ. But they’re almost like the Holy Grail. No one knows if any of them still exist.”

  “I assure you, that one exists and the witch Marley had it.” I couldn’t help but notice that Bonaventura’s earlier animosity was gone without a trace. Replaced by desperate concern. He was treating us, suddenly, like partners. “It is very real, and very dangerous in the wrong hands.”

  I dared to ask, “What did Marley want with it?”

  “As to that, I can only speculate.” Bonaventura tented his fingers as he spoke. “The anaq forms a bond with its bearer and enhances the bearer’s power dramatically. Marley was a talented witch, perhaps one of only a dozen witches in this hemisphere who would have had the ability to wield such power. But what would she use it for, security?” He seemed to be musing aloud, his perfectly coiffed head tilted in consideration. “Her investments in wards and Wont security was over the top already. And the mazkehret on top of it all?” He shook his head as if something didn’t add up. “I would be tempted to say she was delusional. If not for her murder.”

  “If this amulet is so powerful,” I said, “how come the murderer was able to waltz onto her property like just walking into a shopping mall?”

  “Ah, you have pinpointed what scares me about the situation.” Bonaventura pulled a pack of unfiltered cigarettes out of his desk drawer and lit one up. “It is logical, yet incredible, that whoever broke her bonds must have had a commensurate power. And they hacked her bond with the relic.” He shook his head and smoked, with absolutely no regard for those of us who with mortal lungs. “It seems that finding this offending party is in our mutual interest. The amulet must be returned—before it causes some great harm, for which the vampire community would certainly be blamed. The indiscretions of one vampire shouldn’t be allowed to tarnish the whole tribe.”

  I nodded in agreement. The last thing I’d want is to be blamed for my Aunt Jenn’s choices as a witch, for example.

  “For obvious reasons, though, I can’t be seen digging around in this.” He opened a desk drawer, pulled out a stack of cash and placed it in an envelope. “This is to secure your services in this investigation.”

  Matt and I looked at each other. There had to be thousands of dollars in that stack. With that, we could each score sleek digs in the most walkable part of the Spelldrift. Maybe even a view apartment above Alchemy Row.

  But it wouldn’t have the view I craved the most.

  “So, you want us to look into this?” I asked, the wind having changed so fast I wanted to make sure I’m keeping up.

  “I expect the utmost discretion,” Bonave
ntura said. “I will, of course, deny any involvement with you if it comes to light.” With no foreshadowed movement, the vampire fast-forwarded next to me. “The thrum of your witch’s blood is unusually compelling.” He reached out and wrapped his elegant hand around my wrist, his thumb precisely placed on my radial artery—I knew this because of my one college biology class. Through the steady pressure he exerted, I could feel my heart hammering away.

  “Get your cold, dead hand off her,” Matt growled.

  The next thing I knew, Matt’s fist was halted in midair, inches from the vampire’s sculpted face. With super speed, the Director’s hand had grabbed Matt’s wrist, blocking the uppercut. With one hand on Matt’s shoulder, he shoved my guardian to the floor like he was a rag doll.

  “And here I thought guardians were masters of restraint.” Bonaventura smiled sardonically, his fangs slowly retracting, as I helped Matt to his feet. “Try a little self-control next time, son. And don’t give me any reason to relax mine.”

  I never thought I’d be so elated to see a gate open to let my car out.

  “Okay, so he totally messed with our minds for fun at the end there,” I said as Matt pulled onto the street. “But we escaped with our lives. And a fat stack o’cash.”

  “Notice how he had that all ready to go?” Matt gestured to the envelope in his lap. “Didn’t even have to count it.”

  “Are you saying he planned to hire us all along?” The thought pissed me off. Had the Director played us? All of that shutting us down in public only to hire us in private...what was that, just vampire theatre?

  “Don’t even try to guess what Bonavenura’s game is,” Matt said. “A vampire’s moves are hard to anticipate. Their kind plans for every contingency. If we get caught up in whatever chess game he’s playing, we’ll be his pawns.” He took his hand off the steering wheel to massage his shoulder, which had to be aching badly from Bonaventura’s grabbing him. “And the bastards are artists of pain. Whoever stole that amulet’s gonna spend months, if not years, bleeding out in agony, kept inches from death. They’ll be begging for the end.”

  “I don’t feel a bit sorry for them.” But the picture that conjured in my brain haunted me throughout my entire shift at Sanctum. And when I finally rested my head on the pillow that night it was the last thing I thought of as I fell asleep.

  CHAPTER SIX

  O nly the candle’s flickering flame lit my path as I walked across the sand, its pale grains warm on the soles of my bare feet. Greedy lust, rising from my core, propelled me forward. A hot, dry breeze ruffled the tissue-thin white fabric of my flowing gown, brushing my legs like a lover’s touch as I moved. I saw him, my would-be lover, standing in the shadows, hand outstretched beckoning me to him. As I got closer, his spicy, musky scent told me his need for me was just as urgent as mine for him. Feeling alive and ready, I walked at a measured pace, running my hand down my almost transparent bodice, over my breast and taut ribs.

  You were born for me.

  The words formed in my head, but they were not my own, they came to me from the object of desire.

  Yes, formed on my lips. That yes moved me toward him, yes with every molecule in my body. The shadows parted and I saw his swarthy skin, and salt and pepper hair, his blue eyes heavy with need. I moved next to him, pressing my body into his, and gazed up into his chiseled, refined features.

  “You were born to be my dark queen and to rule by my side.” His low voice was in my ear now, his stubble brushing my skin. My lips parted spontaneously, for him. As his tongue entered my mouth, fireworks of want exploded inside me.

  I woke with a start, swallowing the bile that had risen in my throat. Oh my God. That was not Matt. It was Eric Starr. Also known as the skinsuit of Tenebris Stella. The Caedis demon who massacred my mother’s coven. The demon I hated. Who I’d helped send back to the Demon Realm.

  Cheap bedsheets were twisted around my legs. A thin layer of sweat covered my body. I must have been thrashing pretty vigorously—this is what Matt was talking about yesterday morning. Oh God…on the night the Caedis tried to kidnap me, had I really been dreaming about Matt? Or was it Eric then too?

  Disgust curdled my stomach, vying for attention with the hot shame that bloomed lower in my belly. In the dream, I had seen it was Eric and kissed him anyway. Voluntarily. Hungrily. I’d longed for what I hated more than anything in the world. My body felt dirty from the inside, like I was bathed in a stink I’d never be able to wash off.

  But that wouldn’t stop me from trying.

  I staggered down the hall and, averting my eyes from Matt’s sleeping form on the couch, rushed to the bathroom where I twisted the shower faucet all the way to hot.

  “Alix!” the barista barked, and I jumped up to retrieve my order.

  It was a full house at Strong Brew—Seattle’s caffeine culture was rocking in all its glory. The crowd was mixed this morning: Wonts, magicborn, and even a few Nequam posing as hipsters. Though I thought maybe the warlocks were holding their own and had a handle on the Neq infestation—at least there weren’t more Neqs on the streets than there had been last week. Liv and Asher had reported that the wards were still in good shape. Asher managed to cobble together a secondary layer to make it harder to breach—not a long-term solution, but it would buy us a little time.

  My breve latte and egg and cheese brioche were waiting on the bar. I half expected to see Callie’s bright face behind the counter…I shook off that sad thought and made my way back to the table we’d snagged in the bay window at the front of the shop. Liv had invoked the Circle of Silence. I was really going to have to learn that spell.

  “All right, we know the necklace is a vampire relic,” I said, taking a huge bite of the soft bread and its savory contents. “It enhances the power of the person who’s wearing it exponentially. But we don’t have the first clue of where to look for who stole it. Who would be that desperate for power?” They were staring at me, like it was something I should be getting but was not, and none of them wanted to tell me. “What, what am I missing?”

  Liv and Asher looked away.

  Finally Matt said, “Your aunt.”

  Holy crap. I set the breakfast sandwich down on the wax paper it had been wrapped in. The bite I took sank like a rock in my belly. All the compartments I had been trying to keep separate in my brain popped open and everything ran together. The fond memories of my childhood ran like water colors in the rain. It was all a lie. I knew that, I guess I just hadn’t processed it yet. “Huh. That could make sense,” I said trying to evaluate it rationally and not let them see that the thought ripped me up inside. It was one thing to accept that she’d tried to have me kidnapped; after all, we knew that she wanted to turn me to dark magic, to be like her. In some sick way, I clung to the thought that she still wanted me as her daughter. But to think of her killing Marley, killing all those women? It was almost too much for me to take.

  Yet even though I didn’t want the facts to fit, they started aligning in my head. “She’s trying to take over a whole demon empire with just her dark witch’s power,” I said aloud. “Her magic is strong, but not Caedis strong. Of course, she’d have a vested interest in gaining more power. And now heading up Millennium Dynamics, she’s got the deep pockets to make it happen.”

  “Not only that.” Asher seemed to think I was stable enough to handle more bad news. “She spent enough time with the Coven of Fire to learn a thing or two about how they cast the wards. Enough to know how to weaken them.”

  An hour later, a prototype of a Millennium Dynamics robot opened the large glass front door for me, its long metal arm reprogrammed from moving auto parts to holding a door handle. “Good morning and welcome,” the synthesized voice said. The automation software softened to simulate an actual human greeting.

  I walked across the Millennium Dynamics lobby, a rare winter sun made the glass and chrome gleam. Urban professionals hurried through, going in all different directions. The chairs were full of visitors, salespeople, and int
erviewees waiting for their turn to be escorted to the other side of the glass security wall. The aura of dark magic prickled on my skin but it was nowhere as strong as it was when Eric had been in charge. This would be the first time I saw my aunt since the battle at the cave.

  Through the sweeping glass windows I saw Matt sitting on the wall of a concrete planter outside. We agreed I’d see my aunt alone, but he insisted on being on campus. I guess I couldn’t blame him; if it was her that tried to kidnap me, I could see why his guardian senses were lighting up. But snatching me kicking and screaming—and that’s the only way I’d go—in the middle of the day wasn’t Aunt Jenn’s style.

  I sized up the young hipster behind the reception desk, prepared to do a song and dance to get into see my aunt.

  “Oh, hello, Miss Hill.” He smiled a harmless Wont smile. “Your escort will meet you at the security door.”

  Do what now? No one knew I was coming. I spun and looked to the front of the line where people were queuing to swipe their badges to enter. Waiting for me just on the other side of the glass was a sweet face, beaming at me. Callie. She gave me a goofy, excited wave, looking so much like our Callie my heart broke all over again. I got in line, waited my turn and swiped my temporary badge.

  “Alix!” Callie said, in that same four-syllable way she did when I first saw her at Sanctum. But as her arms wrapped around me I felt the prickles scrape across my body. Dark magic pumped in her veins. “It’s so good to see you. I felt your presence the second you walked on to campus. Cleared some time on your aunt’s schedule. I’m guessing you’re here to see her, right?”

  I nodded, wanting as little contact with this version of Callie as possible.

  But her enthusiasm bubbled over. “Maybe we could grab a coffee after? There’s so much I want to tell you.”

  “Pretty sure it’s nothing that I’d want to hear.” I tried to keep an edge to my voice, but I couldn’t make it stick. Not with that pixie face reminding me of when we were kids. My God, how could we have lost her?