Crown of Smoke and Blood

by Sadie Jacks

  There was no room for error.

  Chapter 34 – Koehn

  I woke up on the floor in the throne room. A million candles had been lit, and it was stifling in the huge space. My breath stuck in my throat as I felt for Vari. Heaved a silent sigh of relief when I realized she was still in my arms.

  Pushing up to my hands and knees, I fought to bite back the bile that burned up the back of my throat. Wrenching pain and brilliant agony ate through every neuron in my head. All eighty-six billion of them.

  “My King!” The room jolted into full 4K UHD resolution as someone turned on a suped up Bose sound system to full blast.

  The floor under us shimmied as the entire coven fell to their knees around us.

  “Koehn!” Ambrose shouted from across the room. Within moments, he was beside us. “Mistress Vari?”

  I fell to the side. “She’s here.”

  “Everyone is dismissed until we can sort this out,” Hector said, his voice raised to be heard over the murmurings that filled the room.

  No one moved.

  “NOW!” Gideon yelled.

  Feet finally started to move. Plopping down to my arse, I pulled Vari into my arms as my family filtered out of the throne room. Her body was cold. Too cold. Almost as cold as mine usually was.

  “I need some blankets. Something. She’s freezing.” And she wasn’t waking up.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hector zip from the room. He was back in a matter of seconds, his arms piled high with blankets. Dumping them at our feet, he crouched down and had Vari wrapped up like a woolen burrito in moments.

  “Thank the saints for the candles,” Ambrose said as he pushed more blankets under Vari’s lower body. “We need to get her moved to one of the bathrooms or nearer the fireplace.”

  I nodded. But it felt like all of my strength was needed to make even so small a motion. I was going to need help.

  “Trick, I’m here,” Tavis said gently from behind me. “I’ll take her.”

  I bit back the growl that wanted to surface, but figured he would be the best option. I certainly wasn’t going to let any of my Council take her from my arms. I wasn’t dead yet.

  The light weight of Vari’s body vanished from my arms. Ambrose and Hector moved to either side and helped me to my feet. As if my legs had been obliterated by the pain, I couldn’t stand on my own. How I’d even managed to get to my hands and knees earlier was a bit of a puzzle right now.

  “Hayes,” I said softly. Where was the doctor?

  “He’s here. We finally managed to separate him from his Lady Fair. He should be back to normal by now,” Gideon informed me as we made slow progress towards the back of the room.

  I nodded, still trying to force my feet one in front of the other to move me in the right direction. Tavis’ stride had put him so much farther ahead. And he had Vari.

  My Vari.

  “Have him come to my rooms,” I said.

  Gideon nodded and jumped into motion.

  “Your rooms, Koehn?” Hector asked softly. “You’ve not been in them for at least a decade.”

  “They’re kept up, yes?” I asked, as we finally made it to the door.

  “Yes, of course. But…” Ambrose’s voice trailed off.

  I winced. “She needs privacy and I refuse to let another vampire offer her his place.”

  “She could use one of ours. We would not abuse her trust,” Hector offered.

  I shook my head, winced at the pain that shredded through my spine up into my head. “Mine.”

  We made the rest of the trip in silence. Up the seven flights of stairs to the master’s suite of rooms. It filled the entire top floor. And thank the saints that it did. By the time I had the full Council, Tavis, Vari, and Hayes and his assistants in there, it felt cramped. Nothing like the solitude of my own home.

  The rooms smelled odd. Disuse and furniture wax. A very unpleasant aroma. But it would have to do until Vari came back around.

  “Tavis, get her to the bath,” Hayes commanded. “Just this side of warm. We need to bring her back to a normal temperature slowly. Her body can’t handle the sudden shock of extreme heat.”

  I looked at my Council, saw the looks on their faces. They hadn’t informed Hayes that Vari wasn’t human. Good. None of my family would know.

  Tavis looked at me, one blonde brow high.

  Dipping my chin, I called for Hayes. “Why am I not healing?” I asked him as Tavis vanished with Vari into the bathroom. I could hear the water running and assumed Gideon had gone to help my friend.

  Hector and Ambrose settled me in one of the ostentatious high-backed chairs that reminded me more of a throne than even my official throne downstairs. Hayes rushed over, his little legs moving in a blur that was more about his small stature than his vampire abilities. His cheeks were pale like always. But at least his eyes were clear. None of that odd haze that had covered them earlier.

  “How long were we gone?”

  “Two days. We were holding a vigil for you,” Hector replied immediately. “None of us could feel you on our connection. Not even Tavis could find you in the portals.”

  My eyes widened. “We were gone maybe an hour. Two at the max.”

  Ambrose shook his head over Hayes’ bent one as he poked and prodded at me. “No, Koehn. Two full days. A little over, actually.”

  “Shite.”

  All of the vampires nodded somberly.

  We sat in silence as Hayes continued his examination. He finally straightened. “Blood. You’re low.” He dipped his chin and stepped back. From the depths of his medical bag that had probably been new in the early 1800s, he pulled a plastic bag of blood. “You have some time. Do you want to heat it?”

  The taste of ashes filled my mouth again at the thought of consuming that crimson liquid. None of it tasted right since feeding from Vari. But she was in danger, and I wasn’t willing to put her in more danger just because I was low on blood.

  Nodding, I watched as Hayes moved out of the main sitting room and through the doorway that led to the small kitchen. While he was gone, I looked up at Ambrose, Hector. Gideon walked over, wiping his hands on a towel that he slung over his shoulder.

  “What happened to the women?” I asked softly.

  “Hayes looked each of them over. Healed what he could without blood. Mistress Vari stated that she wanted a chance to give them a new life. But then you disappeared. We were going to release them back to their families in the morning,” Ambrose said.

  Hector and Gideon nodded.

  “They’ve been under compulsion this entire time?” I asked, amazed.

  All three men nodded. “I had Vinnie take over for Catriona,” Gideon said. “She was quite hysterical when you disappeared. Almost killed herself before Vin got her under again.”

  Wincing, I slumped back into the chair. “Sweet feck. What happened?”

  “That’s what we’re wondering, Koehn. Where did you go?” Hector asked, his Spanish accent musical in the quiet room.

  Shite. Did I tell them the truth? That some kind of demon had invaded our family seat and moved us to a different dimension.

  If danger was possible, I needed to make sure my Council circle was aware. “We were take—”

  A scream that sounded like someone was ripping her soul from her body ripped through the room.

  Before I knew it, I was by her side in the bath. Tavis crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the room. My body aching and quivering from exhaustion, I pushed her wet hair back from her face. “Vari, it’s me.”

  Wide, golden red eyes stared back at me from a face that was white with shock. Her cheeks had sunken and the circles around her eyes were dark. “K-K-K-Koehn?”

  My heart broke at the quaver in her voice.

  “Yes, little warrior, it’s me.” I pushed my hand through her hair again. “What’s wrong?”

  She looked over my shoulder, her eyes widening until I could see pure white all around the beautiful color of her irises. She
jerked her chin over my shoulder as she tried to huddle away in the bathtub.

  My back muscles tightened until it felt like I had a steel spine. I took a quick glance. Saw absolutely nothing. Looking back at the small, terrified woman in my tub, I licked my lips. “What do you see?”

  It dawned on me then that Tavis had kept her in her clothes. Simply settled her into the water. I was going to give the man the best birthday present he’d ever received for such thought to detail.

  “They’re here,” Vari whispered.

  All movement and sound in the small bath stopped. I could hear the tickling of water through the pipes from the faulty drain plug. But that was the only noise.

  “Where are they, Mistress Vari?” Hector asked softly.

  Vari raised one shaking hand. Drops of water splashed my arms as she pointed behind me. “All of them.”

  “Who, Vari?” I asked.

  She looked back at me. “I’ve killed them. All of them. They should be gone.” Her eyes started wheeling around in her skull as her gaze flitted from one side of the room to the other. At one point, her gaze got stuck on the ceiling, as if the specters of her past clung from its heights. “They’re here.” She licked her lips. “And they’re hungry.”

  Magic flooded the room like someone had placed us in the middle of a hurricane. Vari’s eyes widened again. Then snapped shut.

  When she opened them again, they were fully black. Like a starless night with no moon. Her skin had shrunken against her bones as well. She looked like a living skeleton. Sitting in the bath, she wore a glare to scare the devil on her face.

  “What business do you have here?” she asked. The words were low and guttural.

  I heard no answer, but whatever was said must have been wrong. Vari—or whatever was currently using her body—pushed to her feet in a swift whoosh of water. “You cannot have her. She has done no wrong.”

  “Mistress Anouk?” Hector asked, his voice barely over a whisper.

  Shite. The one who called ghosts and pulled my magic from my body.

  The woman in front of me turned towards his voice, but she said nothing.

  “Is Vari available?”

  The woman shook her head. “She is struggling. I am here to deal with the dead.”

  Shite. We were dead. Was she going to kill us?

  A boney hand lifted as skeletal fingers threaded through my hair. “She demanded no harm come to you. Do not make me regret sparing you.”

  The energy in the room splintered, fractured. Then rushed together as if it had been melted down into molten metal. It was heavy on the air and stuck to the back of my tongue when I swallowed.

  Mistress Anouk waved her hands through the air in a complicated pattern I didn’t understand. But whatever she did pushed the magic out. Allowed the normal feeling of air and energy to return.

  Gritting my teeth, I stood up on shaking legs Prayed I didn’t disgrace myself by falling over. It took me a moment to realize that Mistress Anouk was taller than me by a good handful of inches this time. By the time I blinked up at her, she had focused her attention on my Council at my back. She was definitely a change from Vari’s diminutive size.

  “Mistress Anouk, would you grace us with some knowledge, my good lady?” Ambrose asked.

  Mistress Anouk turned, a smile on her desiccated face. “You honor me with your query, Nightwalker. You may ask me three questions.”

  Ambrose’s voice filled my head. What do you want to know?

  My mind was completely blank. I was still in shock over what was happening. And why the feck no one had any good answers for me. And where the feck was my Vari?!

  “Vari spoke of the different beings she carried. We know your name. But we do not know your species. Would you please enlighten us?” Ambrose finally asked.

  Mistress Anouk dipped her chin. “I am an Ankou.”

  “Thank you, kind mistress. We are lacking in our knowledge of that race,” Hector added.

  Mistress Anouk’s mouth twitched at the corners. “What is the year?”

  “Two thousand and twenty-one, my lady,” Ambrose said.

  She blinked a couple times. “Then I am not surprised by your lack of education. Many would call me demon, but I am a being of spirit. Most of my people were from Wales. I am what is now referred to as a grim reaper. I commune with the spirits of the dead. They answer my call and do my bidding.”

  Holy saints and all the angels.

  “Vari protects you, even though you straddle the line of life and death. She has not voluntarily protected anyone in her travels through the dimensions. You should be mine to control. But she has set you apart, away from my power. Tell me, how did she do this?”

  “We are blood oathed to her, my lady. We seek to help her in her quest,” Ambrose said with a strong voice. “What was done to us has also been done to Vari. To the best of our understanding, she carries you inside her as part of this process we seek to end.”

  Mistress Anouk studied the Ancient for long moments. “Then I will add my vow of protection to you as well. No force of death will steal your spirit until your quest has ended.” She waved her hands in the air as a new sensation settled in the pit of my stomach. It felt like sunshine and Christmas all wrapped up in a single feeling.

  “Blessings, Mistress,” Hector said as he bowed low at the waist.

  Mistress Anouk smiled. “You have two more questions, Nightwalkers. What other knowledge do you seek?”

  “Do you know what Vari truly is?” The words sprang from my mouth without my conscious consent.

  Mistress Anouk lowered her head to look at me. “Yes. But I vowed long ago that I would never share the knowledge. Not until the time was right, and she was suitably prepared for her role in the new dawn.”

  That answer shook me to my core. Buckled my weak knees. I crashed back to the floor, fuzzy-headed and trembling. Two ancient magical beings were willfully withholding information from Vari. And both made references to what she would become in the future.

  Shite.

  “You may ask one more question,” Mistress Anouk stated. When I peered up at her, she wore a kindly smile on her face that reminded me of a tutor from my adolescence.

  “What will she become, good lady?” Ambrose asked. I heard the trepidation in his voice.

  “She will become what some once thought impossible. A being of such power that the old gods and new will tremble at her name.”

  Well feck.

  Mistress Anouk smiled. “Do not be afraid, Nightwalkers. She will need you in the new future. Your kind was foretold so long ago that many have forgotten about you. This is good. This is right. This is as it should be. For the evil that haunts all dimensions has forgotten you as well. You will rise up with her, carry her when she stumbles, and be the army that will set her upon the throne. She is wise, smart, and brutal. But her heart is pure. Remember this.”

  Mistress Anouk sank back down into the water of the tub. Settled herself against the back wall and closed her eyes.

  The magic in the room shifted in an instant. The scent of berries and lemon permeated the air as the temperature rose significantly. The heat built to dizzying heights. It made my head swim as my stomach cramped with hunger. I was just glad I was already on my knees this time.

  When it felt like we stood within the depths of a furnace, it broke. A cool mist swept through. And with it, Vari’s beautiful amber eyes opened.

  “Sweet feck, Koehn. I’ll give you anything you ask if you can give me a chocolate. Please tell me you have chocolates here.” She blinked up at me, a sexy smile on her face.

  Tavis and I burst into laughter.

  It wasn’t only my laughter that was tinged with desperation.

  Chapter 35 – Vari

  My belly was screaming. Cramping and biting at me from the inside. I was starving. Ravenous. And chocolates were at the top of my mind.

  Koehn’s long bronze neck was arched back as laughter sprang from his throat. “Sweet gods, Vari.” He wiped his
eyes with a hand I could have sworn was shaking. He leaned forward, pulled me into his arms. I frowned at the lack of strength in the gesture. “I’ll buy you a lifetime supply of the stuff. But don’t ever disappear on me like that again.”

  He stuffed his face into the crook between my shoulder and neck. I heard him inhale as he licked a line up towards my ear. “Ever again. Do you hear me?”

  My hands lifted to his hair. Threading my fingers through it, I held him to me. “I promise.” Even though I had no idea what he was talking about. I’d woken up briefly as Tavis put me into the water. But I’d been talking to Koehn the whole time.

  Hadn’t I?

  Over Koehn’s shoulder, I saw Ambrose, Hector, Tavis, and Gideon standing there. Looking at me with puzzled and curious expressions on their faces. In the case of Ambrose, he looked like he was considering something, more than he was confused about anything.

  “What?” I asked.

  Ambrose smiled. “I think I’ve discovered a way for you to help us with our little conspiracy problem.”

  Koehn’s arms tightened around me. “Shite. I’d forgotten all about that.” He tugged on my arms. But all he managed to do was splash water all over us.

  Tavis came over, a bag of blood in his hands. “Drink this, then you can move her.”

  Koehn’s sexy mouth curled up at the corner, but he let me go and took the bag. Once it was empty, he smacked his lips as if he’d tasted something nasty. “Saints, that was awful.” He mumbled something else, but I couldn’t quite catch it.

  He got to his feet and reached down, pulled me from the tub in a single sweep. Drenching his own clothes as he cradled me in his arms.

  “I can walk on my own, Koehn.”

  He growled at me. “I know. I like holding you. Everyone get out so I can get her some dry clothes to put on.”

  The room emptied immediately. Tavis walked towards the door as he shot me a wink.

  I smiled at him. “Thank you, Tavis.”

  He nodded and pulled the door shut. “Ye’re welcome, little sister.”

  Koehn moved me from the tub to the counter that lined the wall. Sinks had been cut from its depths and mirrors sat on the wall over them. “Stay here.” He patted my leg and went across the room through a doorway without a door.