Diamonds and Demons (Beautiful Beasts Academy Book 2)

by Kim Faulks

  My hair flew back as we ran to the other side of the street and then along the footpath. I had no idea where we were going, nor did I care. Nero turned and smiled at me, setting the pace with long, sure strides.

  Shops and grocery stores blurred together. We ran until we passed one mortal police station and then another, lunging from the pavement to the street to the pavement again.

  I knew the city, well I thought I did. But as we turned one corner and slipped down an alley we came out to a part of the city I’d never seen before. Only then did Nero slow. He sucked in hard breaths, turning to look at me with a sheen of sweat on his brow. I inhaled hard, lifting my gaze to the towering buildings all around.

  It was an alley, but like no alley I’d ever seen before. Bricked in verandas took up the top half of the buildings and every one of them looked into the courtyard.

  “You live here?” I turned to him.

  “I used to.” He tugged my hand, taking me toward a set of stairs hidden in the darkness. “Before my dad wanted me to learn the ways of the Pack.”

  We raced upwards, the cool wind reaching under my skirt as he laughed and then stilled at the top of the stairs. A woman stepped out of a brightly lit doorway, wiping her hands on a towel tucked into her waist. “I’d know that laughter anywhere. Come to me, boy.”

  Nero’s hand slipped from mine as he strode toward her, and with each step he lowered his head and curled his shoulders. For a second I thought he was frightened of her; submissive.

  And then as her arms went around him and pulled him tight against her I understood what it was...love. He loved her, and in her eyes he became someone else.

  Not the blue-eyed cocky Wolf I knew.

  But a boy.

  A son…

  This woman was his Mom.

  “It’s about time you came to see me.” She ruffled his hair, checking the length of his curls and then flicked his ear.

  “Oww! What was that for?” He reached up, and rubbed his ear.

  “That’s for not coming to see me sooner, and get a damn haircut, you’re starting to look like your dad.”

  His grin was wolfish and consuming, bright sparks danced in his eyes. “That such a bad thing?”

  “It is in my book,” she warned, and then turned those careful eyes to me. “And who have you brought to my door, Nero?”

  He jerked his gaze toward me. “Mom, this is Morwenna.”

  One brow rose on the woman’s face. Silver hair sparkled amongst midnight black as she strode toward me. “Morwenna have a last name or you want an old Witch like me to pull a card for that as well?”

  I jerked my gaze toward Nero who flinched sheepishly.

  “Livingstone, Ma’am,” I volunteered and stepped forward, reaching out my hand.

  She stopped two steps away, and caught her breath before she swallowed and glanced to my outstretched hand. “Well, that’s one I never saw coming.”

  “We came for some information, Mom.” Nero watched her. “Someone killed a Vampire in the tunnels and they want us the think it was a Witch.”

  She jerked her head toward him, and snarled. “Why?”

  He just gave a shrug. “That’s what we’re here to find out.”

  She glanced at me once more and then snarled. “Better come in then. And wipe your damn feet!” She swatted the air near Nero’s head as he passed.

  He ducked, chuckled and then dragged his boot on the mat outside before stepping inside. I followed, making sure the bottom of my shoes were clean, before stepping into a brightly lit kitchen. Jars lined the counter, green and black colored glass sparkling under the overhead lights.

  “Now, why in the blazes were the both of you in the sewers to start with?” She leaned over, grabbed a kettle and filled it from the tap in the sink.

  Nero just glanced my way, leaving me to explain. I rolled my eyes, and mouthed, thanks a lot.

  “I was looking for the Vampire,” I murmured, looking around her kitchen. It was spotless and neat, except for the rows and rows of glass jars.

  “Why is that?” She switched off the tap, and placed the kettle on the stove before pressing the button, wait for the poof of the gas to ignite.

  “He left something in my room, and I wanted to know why.”

  Nero’s Mom turned and rested her hands on either side of her body as she stared at me. I could tell she didn’t like me. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my name or the fact that I was a Vampire. If I’d been anyone else, I would’ve been hurt. But I wasn’t. I was a Livingstone, and we were used to being sneered at, scowled at...uninvited and unwanted, only until someone needed a service we could provide. Then we were their new best friend.

  “And what would a sewer dwelling Vampire leave for a Livingstone?” She watched my every move.

  I could lie...I could evade the truth. I could flat out tell her it was none of her business. I didn’t owe her a damn thing. I glanced to Nero…

  But I owed him.

  Nero risked his life to get my ring back from the cat gang, and was awarded a kick in the balls for it. The least I could do was show his Mom a little respect, even if she was toeing the line of probing questions. I reached into the pocket of my jacket, grasped the soft felt bag and pulled it free. “He left this.”

  Her gaze narrowed on the bag. She said nothing before she pushed off the sink and crossed the kitchen. Her gaze roamed across the bag, but she made no move to touch it. “You said someone made the Vamp’s death look like it was done by a Witch?”

  “Yeah, but they fucked up. The corners weren’t called, because they weren’t connected. Whoever drew the pentacle didn’t have a clue what they were doing.”

  “Amateurs,” she snarled as the kettle on the stove started a soft whistle.

  “But he was definitely dead, all shriveled and shit.”

  She tore her gaze from the felt bag in my hand and made for the sink once more. “All shriveled and shit, isn’t an apt description, Nero. He might live in the sewers, but the creature deserved a little more than to die at the hands of a lying murderer. I don’t know what your father’s teaching you out there with the others, but it sure as Hell isn’t reverence.”

  She pulled put out three tea cups from a cupboard and set them on the counter in front of her. Fingers danced across the metal lids of the glass jars before they stilled.

  She unscrewed the caps, taking pieces of bark, and roots and other things I had no knowledge of before she dropped them one by one into the ceramic pot and filled it with steaming water.

  Nero smiled. He seemed excited by the seeping brew.

  “So, we have a Vampire, dead at the hands of a liar and a bag marked by Witches, filled with magic that shouldn’t be in the hands of an inexperienced Vampire. No offence.” She cut me a glare.

  “None taken,” I murmured.

  But underneath I flinched from the sting. Part of me wanted to let her know how powerful this inexperienced Vampire was.

  She grabbed the handle of the teapot, swirling it three times to the right and then three times to the left. “Is that magic, you casting a spell on me or something?”

  Nero gave me a look that said seriously?

  “No, I’m mixing the tea,” his mother answered. “Something to relax you...you seem a little on edge, Vampire.”

  I gave Nero a look of my own...your mother started it. He just shook his head, smothering a smile as his Mom turned and strode toward me with a cup half filled with dark green tea. “If I wanted to hex you, Morwenna, you’d be quaking like a damn duck and looking for somewhere to nest.”

  “Mom,” Nero warned.

  I still had the bag of diamonds in my hand, and the mere fact she never touched them made the jewels feel...unworthy. She gripped the cup and offered the handle. “Please.” She motioned deeper into the room. “Take a seat.”

  Nero strode to the sink, grabbed the other two cups and followed as I walked into a small dining room. There was a round table there, four chairs tucked neatly underneath. Nero
’s Mom motioned to one as she pulled out a chair and sat.

  I felt awkward around her...unsure of myself, and I was never unsure of myself. But Witches never mingled with Vampires, or Wolves for that matter.

  Dad hated the Wolves, but he quietly feared the Witches.

  “Drink your tea,” she murmured.

  I found myself lifting the rim of the cup to my lips and blowing on the steaming liquid before I took a sip.

  Gross. Tasted like dirt.

  Still I drank as Nero’s Mom started talking. “I don’t need to touch them to know what they are. They’re magic, and not just run of the mill Witches magic either. They’ve been spelled, and the Witch that spelled whatever’s on that bag is far more powerful than I am.”

  She reached out, curled her finger underneath the bottom of my cup and lifted, raising the rim to my lips once more. “Drink it all. Yeah, I know it tastes bad, but it’ll protect you, as much as I can anyway.”

  I didn’t know what she meant, still I swallowed as the hot liquid spilled into my mouth.

  “Have you tried to get rid of them?” She leaned close and looked at the purple bag in my hand.

  I just nodded. “They keep coming back. Dad says they’ve marked me.”

  She winced at the word. “Not necessarily marked, but drawn to you. Powerful magic surrounds them...but not necessarily you, and that worries me for a few reasons. There’s a presence…” She held her hand over the bag. “It’s dark and powerful...and very feminine. But it’s hiding itself from me. But this…doesn’t mean they have anything to do with the death of a Vampire, sewer dweller or not.”

  She stared into my eyes and under the sparkling overhead lights I caught the concern in her eyes. She never turned her head, but spoke to her son. “You need to be careful, close your own circle, you understand me?” She glanced at Nero. “Keep your friends close.”

  He just looked at me with a fierceness I’d never seen before and murmured. “I felt something the moment I saw the diamonds, and then again around the Vampire’s body. Someone wants to start trouble with the races. Someone powerful.”

  His Mom turned back to me and with a cold, icy tone. “And it looks like they found the perfect target. You’re powerful, Morwenna, and power can be a tricky thing, give too much to someone not yet ready to consume it, and it could destroy you. So, the focus for you must always be making sure you’re strong enough to withstand it.”

  She rose from her seat with barely a sound. “My door is always open, if you have any questions, or you need a sanctuary. Us Witches who live here are no longer part of the Blood Moon Coven, we prefer to think of ourselves as solitary sisters. But we’ll protect you if you come to us.”

  I tucked the bag of diamonds into my pocket before she reached out, slipped a warm hand over mine. Maybe I had her all wrong, maybe underneath that bitter exterior there was someone who cared for me.

  “And you.” She whipped her gaze to Nero. “Tell that no good father of yours that my bathroom tap still needs fixing, and if he doesn’t get his furry ass here in the next week, I’m going to find someone else to fix it for me.”

  Nero’s cheeks burned bright red. He gave a nod and then rose to leave, before his Mom chuckled and reached out, ruffling his curls. I glanced around the small dining room that led into a lounge, and rose as well.

  Black and white candles lined the mantelpiece above a well-used fireplace. There was a picture above it, dark, gloomy, blacks and blues, and a woman stood in the middle. Three actually, three versions of the same woman.

  The clatter of a cup in the sink drew me back. I grabbed my own and strode into the kitchen as Nero’s mom leaned in close and whispered something in his ear that only made him blush harder than before.

  He cut me a glance and muttered something about. “Not the right time yet, Mom.”

  “When is there ever the right time?” she asked him.

  He just shook his head and then glanced at me. “You ready?”

  I wanted to say no, to enjoy the loving torture his mom was giving him just a little more, but I needed to get back and check on Ava. She was always a little seedy after eating a person, goodness knew how she felt after eating a Demon. “Yep.”

  He leaned close, gave his Mom a peck on the cheek before reaching for my hand once more.

  “Don’t forget about my bathroom tap,” she called out as he towed me through the door and out onto the veranda.

  “Got it the first time Mom!” he yelled.

  The heavy sound of his boots rang out behind us. I glanced over my shoulder and raised my hand. “It’s was nice to meet you, thank you for the tea!”

  “Come to me if you need, Vampire,” she called. “And be careful.”

  Her words resounded in my head as we ran down the stairs and then out into the courtyard. Her words stayed with me, like a weight around my shoulders.

  I sucked in a breath as Nero slowed three blocks from his Mom’s house. “You...you don’t stay with your Mom when you’re not at the Academy?”

  He shook his head, his chest rising and falling with huge gulps of air. “Mom’s a Witch and Dad’s a Wolf. They tried to make it work, but it just ended with him baring his teeth at her, and her threatening to turn him into a rug for the fireplace.”

  “Seems like she still loves him.”

  “Oh yeah, they love each other, just can’t stand to live together. Dad needs to run, and Mom...well...she needs solitude.”

  “And her bathroom taps fixed.”

  His cheeks went red again with the comment. I stopped walking and then turned with my hands on my hips. “Why do you turn beet red every time she mentions that.”

  “It’s code,” he mumbled.

  “Code? Code for what?”

  Nero shot me a glare. “What do you think?”

  It took me a second, a whole second, before I felt the heat rush to my face. “Oh.”

  He chuckled even though he blushed. “Yeah, oh. Dad comes around when Mom calls, other than that they maintain separate lives. Witches and Wolves and all that.”

  One tug of my hand and we were walking again, hurrying along the city streets until we left the traffic behind. The familiar view of trees filled the horizon. Through the woods, lay Bestias Academy. It looked so strange from this view...so...normal.

  We hurried, racing along the Academy road and then cut across the grassy area and slipped into the trees.

  Branches snagged my jacket as we hurtled toward the grounds and then in an instant Nero slowed.

  I inhaled hard, glanced around us. “What…what is it?”

  He just leaned over, braced his hands on his knees for a moment before straightening. His blue eyes sparked with something akin to fear as he took the two gigantic strides and closed the distance between us.

  He lifted his hand and cupped the side of my face, his voice husky with desire. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”

  And in a heartbeat he leaned close and kissed me.

  I froze, unable to register anything but his hand on my cheek and lips against mine, moving deeper...hungrier. I found myself giving into him. Parting my lips for him as the kiss turned urgent. Nero moved closer. His chest pressed against mine, his hand fell to find the small of my back.

  He held me against him…

  I lost myself.

  Until a twig snapped.

  Nero flinched and pulled away.

  I sucked in hard breaths as he searched the trees and then froze.

  “Judas.” That one word turned everything upside down.

  My heart clenched tight, filling my chest with not a thud, but a flare of agony. I wrenched my gaze toward the movement finding Judas as he turned those pain-filled brown eyes from Nero to me.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Kiss That Led To Ruin

  “I expected her to betray me with the teacher, but not you,” Judas snarled, the shadows darkening his sharp gaze, his attention locked on Nero and me.

  Ice ripped through me as I stumbled f
rom Nero’s arms.

  “Judas.” I reached for him.

  “Forget it.” Judas stepped backwards, and that hurt more than any slap could. “Just forget it all.”

  He turned then, striding between the trees...taking a chunk of my heart with him. I glanced to Nero...who stared after the Alpha...lost.

  “I don’t understand,” I murmured.

  Deep down I knew I’d hurt him...we both did.

  Nero shook his head, pain ravaging his blue eyes. “You did nothing wrong, Mor. This...this is all on me.”

  He took a step, leaving me standing there unable to process how I’d hurt him. “No.” I strode forward, grabbing Nero’s arm. “I don’t understand what happened.”

  He lowered his head, shoulders curling in defeat. “Judas already told you. It’s none or everyone with him. We never set the ground rules. I just figured that you and him would...oh Hell, I figured you’d go to him and then we’d be able to...but then today, I just...today with you and me, it just felt so real.”

  I swallowed hard, as the entire day raced through my mind. The water on my cheek, and the laughter ringing in my ears. “It was real. It was all real.”

  “And then I kissed you, and ruined it.”

  My mind was racing, trying to fit it all together. “So, he’s upset that you kissed me before he did?”

  Nero flinched. “No. He’s hurt because we did this in private. I could kiss you all over and he wouldn’t raise a brow, if anything he’d like it. But it was because we didn’t do this with him and Bond, because this was selfish. And that’s not the pack way.”

  Not the pack way, that was the second time I’d heard that.

  My body was trembling as I lifted my gaze to the trees where Judas had disappeared. “I’ll explain what happened. I’ll tell him it was my fault.”

  Nero just shook his head and took a step away. “It wasn’t...and it isn’t. This is up to me to fix. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

  I opened my mouth to say something...anything.

  I’d let the Wolves into my life. I didn’t want to lose them.

  Not now.