Ivy Cross and the Monarch of Darkness (Dark Inquisitor Series Book 1)

by A. D. Winter

  Sophie and I exchanged a glance, holding back our laughter.

  “Laugh now,” he warned as he fixed his red mohawk, “but you’ll both be crying later.”

  Dryden pulled the carriage over as we approached the factory. We didn’t want the vampires to see our approach and had decided that it would be best if we joined in with the crowd on foot.

  “Ready?” Dryden was back in his tweed jacket and V-neck T-shirt, appearing as sexy as usual. His hair was in a topknot, but a couple of strands had come loose, giving him a mussed appearance that was incredibly sexy.

  “What do we do with the carriage?” Crag asked.

  I thought for a moment, my lips twisting to the side. Usually I would’ve threatened someone to look after it. But I’d learned something from the wizard. He seemed to get things done by being nice. Could that work for me? I looked around and saw the workers who’d been looking at us from the street earlier. “You four. Come here.”

  The group hesitated at first, confused by my gesture, but eventually, their curiosity got the better of them, and they rushed across the street toward us.

  “Can we help you, miss?” one of the orcs asked.

  “How’d you like to sit in a warm place for an hour and make some money?”

  He exchanged a glance with his friends. “Is this a trick?”

  “No trick,” I said. “I need some citizens—good citizens—citizens I can trust. All you have to do is sit inside this warm carriage and keep it safe until we get back. You up for it?”

  He rubbed his hands against the cold as he craned his neck, peeking inside the carriage. “I don’t know, miss. Is it stolen?”

  “Stolen?” I feigned a look of insult. “This is a top-of-the-line carriage you’re looking at, straight from Nouvelle Lumière.”

  He blew on his hands again. “So it’s stolen, then.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a shrug, “it’s stolen. But it’s not what you think.”

  “Is that right?”

  I tugged back the sleeve of my jacket and showed him the spirit on my arm.

  His brows shot up. “You’re an inquisitor?”

  “Full-fledged crime fighter,” I lied.

  He fingered one of his sharp teeth as he thought about it. “Yeah, all right. But it’ll cost you.”

  I pulled a coin from my pocket and tossed it to him. He stared at it, bit the edge, then marveled as he realized that it was real. “I’ll give you four more—one for each of you—when we get back. Deal?”

  The four of them exchanged a glance and nodded.

  “Good. And one more thing.” I leaned into his face. “If I come back and this thing’s not here, I’m gonna come looking for you—for all of you. Do you understand me?”

  He nodded.

  “Splendid!” I broke out into a smile as I jumped down from the carriage. “See you in a while, then.”

  “That was kind of you,” Dryden said as we made our way up the street.

  “It was, wasn’t it?” I grabbed him by the arm and whispered into his ear, “And if you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

  He snorted.

  It wasn’t smart for us to be out in the open, so Dryden cast a spell of mist around us, concealing the battle-ax strapped to my back and the war hammer Crag was carrying. It wasn’t the best of spells, but it was enough to keep the citizens from glaring at us in fear.

  Crag brought us to a halt as we reached the factory. It was a giant of a building, with newly furbished bricks brought in from Zuwada. A metal gate with No Trespassing signs was wrapped around the premises, warding off onlookers. In the courtyard, a pair of three-headed dogs with studded collars watched us with tightened expressions.

  Triheads, we called them, descendants of Cerberus that’d been bred with dogs from the human world in an attempt to make them docile. Fat chance of that.

  “I see the pets are out,” Dryden said.

  Sophie’s bottom lip trembled. “My father loved dogs.”

  I patted her on the shoulder. “I’m sure he did, love. I’m sure he did.”

  Dryden moved toward the gate and lifted his hands into the air. He was feeling for the magical barrier that was protecting this place. When he was done, he touched the invisible charm with a finger and winced as it was quickly singed.

  “Yep, that’s not something I’m going to be able to get through.” He scratched the back of his head, thinking.

  I shoved him aside and raised my ax. “Let me handle this.”

  But both Dryden and Crag reached out to stop me.

  “It’s a protective charm, my dear,” Crag warned.

  “Protective charm?” Dryden shook his head decidedly. “This thing’s a fortress. The grand duke must’ve hired an army of witches to conjure these spells.”

  “So it’s impregnable?” I asked.

  Dryden cupped his chin as he thought, seeming determined to undo the magical riddle. “You ever heard of Sylvester Starlight?”

  I frowned. “What about him?”

  “He was one of my idols.”

  I arched a brow at him. “The crazy wizard who turned himself into a cat?”

  Dryden raised a shoulder, seeming indifferent. “There’s more to him than just his sexual proclivities. For one, he was a genius. I studied him on the Isles; everyone did. Probably his greatest contribution to the magical world was his Theory of Inevitability.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “The theory that every spell, no matter how impregnable it may seem, has a lock that can be opened with a simple key.”

  “So where’s the key?” I asked.

  “That is a good question.” Dryden sighed as he stared past the magical charms holding us at bay.

  He was a resourceful wizard, I’d learned, but he was only, by his own admission, an academic. To get past something like this, he’d have to be extremely powerful or amazingly clever. I doubted either was the case.

  He arched a brow at Crag. “You said the grand duke loved his family, yes?”

  “It was the only thing he cared about,” Crag admitted.

  Dryden thought for a bit, seeming conflicted, then knelt before the young princess. “Sophie, me feras-tu confiance?” Sophie, will you trust me?

  Sophie was at a loss for words. “Je ne sais pas. Puis-je?” I don’t know. Can I?

  “Come.” He held out his hand for her to take.

  Sophie hesitated, unsure of what to do, and Crag quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, unwilling, it seemed, to let her go.

  But Dryden leveled his gaze at the princess. “I promise, I won’t let any harm come to you.”

  After a few seconds, Sophie took his hand, clearly nervous, and he led her toward the magical barrier, where he guided her finger to the sky.

  I watched with bated breath as the princess held out her little finger. Anything could happen. An explosion. A fire. A burst of lightning. And none of it good. But then the most amazing thing occurred.

  The barrier began to change. It slowly rippled, like a peaceful lake that had been awoken by a pebble. And then, all at once, it parted.

  By Danu’s sweet soul.

  The princess smiled as she saw the shimmering outline of a golden path, and Crag moved in behind her, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  “Your father might have been a guarded man,” Dryden said to the princess as he knelt next to her. “But there is no doubt that he loved you. Always remember that.”

  A tear slipped from Crag’s eyes, and I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, doing my best to ease his sadness.

  Together we marched onto the grounds of the factory, our reverence marked by our silence. Now that the charms had been undone, all we had to worry about was the dogs. I held my battle-ax at the ready, expecting to be attacked at any second.

  I loved animals, but triheads were difficult beasts—and extremely dangerous. They could rip off your head with one snap and leave you footless with a nibble. I needed to be careful.

  The dog
s leaped to their paws as we neared them, and I heard the growls of six heads ready for meat.

  “Don’t tell me Sophie can handle this one too,” I said.

  Dryden shot me a grin. “Actually, I was expecting you to handle them.”

  The dogs barked as we drew closer, and I was just about to step forward when Crag moved past me. “I’ll handle these two, my dear.” He latched his war hammer to his back and crouched as he approached the frightening hounds.

  “You want a piece of me, do ya?” he asked, cracking his knuckles. “Well, have at it!”

  The dogs leaped at him, knocking him back. But instead of tearing out his throat, they did something else.

  They began to lick his face.

  The dwarf laughed as his nose and eyes were devoured by the dogs’ slobbering tongues, and I heard the laughter of Dryden and Sophie behind me.

  “Okay, okay,” Crag said, pulling away from the excited dogs. “That’s enough. I’ll come play with you later. But for now, I’ve got some other matters to attend to.” He rubbed their heads and motioned for us to continue.

  I strode past the dogs, emboldened to pet them on their heads. But they quickly barked at me, causing me to jump back.

  “Careful,” Dryden warned. “They can sense danger.”

  “Of course they can,” I said, flashing my teeth at the dogs, who quickly whimpered in fear.

  I still got it.

  Dryden opened the doors of the factory’s entrance with a wave of his hand, and I saw an empty hallway that was darkly lit. On instinct, we crowded around the young princess, making sure she remained in the middle, and continued.

  Vampires, as deadly as they could be, were still vulnerable to sunlight. But now that we were inside the factory, a place where the bloodsuckers could hide in the shadows, we needed to be careful.

  I sniffed the air, searching for their scent. There was definitely a reek here, but it was clouded by something stronger, something stranger.

  “What is that?” Dryden asked.

  “I’m not sure.” I motioned for them to follow. “Let’s find out.”

  We came upon a set of double doors leading to the heart of the factory. I was about to open them up when Crag stopped me.

  “Only a new apprentice enters the master’s office on the first day, my dear.” Crag pointed toward a set of stairs to the left. “Best if we get a bird’s-eye view of the facility before we go in chopping up vampires.”

  I clenched my teeth in frustration. I didn’t like to be held back from a fight. But then I glanced down at Sophie, captivated by her round face and big blue eyes, and knew that there was more at stake than just my pride.

  “Fine,” I said. “We’ll take the stairs, but only because I need the exercise.”

  The stairs were long and dark and really boring. When we finally reached the fourth level, we hurried out onto the scaffold overlooking the factory and hid.

  Below us, there were dozens of workers. They stood before assembly lines, filling up purple vials, closing them shut, then packaging them away into crates that were then hefted by bulky vampires onto the backs of black carriages.

  I exchanged a glance with Dryden and saw my terror reflected in his eyes.

  The possession charms. They were getting them ready for distribution. Was this why the vampires had assaulted the chateau? To use the grand duke’s factory to bottle their evil potion?

  I gripped my ax and rose to my feet, ready to leap into the fray.

  But this time I was stopped by all three of them.

  “What in Elvis’s name are you doing?” Dryden whispered.

  “What does it look like?” I replied.

  “We need a plan, my dear,” Crag said.

  “I have a plan,” I whispered back. “I’m gonna jump down there, kill every one of those bloodsuckers, and call it a day.”

  Crag cupped his face in frustration.

  “Look,” Dryden said. “If we’re going to do this, we need to do this right.”

  “Okay, guv’nor,” I said mockingly. “What’s your plan?”

  He sighed as he thought. “Sophie will remain hidden.” He motioned toward the shadowed end of the scaffold, an empty corner that was completely out of sight. “Over there.”

  “You’ll protect her?” Crag asked.

  “With my life,” he assured.

  Crag studied him a moment and nodded.

  “Meanwhile, I’ll create a mist, one large enough to eclipse the bottom floor. When it’s full, you and Crag leap down to attack.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Argh, this is exhausting. But fine, whatever. Can we just get to the part where I get to kill vampires?”

  Crag kissed Sophie on the head, and sent her off to her hiding place, while Dryden turned to me, staring at me in concern.

  “You be careful, all right?” he said.

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” I said, hefting my ax in my hands. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you can,” he said. “Still, I’d hate for you to die before our date is over.”

  “Our date?”

  “It hasn’t ended yet, has it?”

  I rolled my eyes, acting like I didn’t care. But inwardly my heart was doing somersaults. He still thinks we’re on a date? By Danu’s bright teeth make me look awesome down there so he can be impressed. “Whatever,” I said, feigning indifference. “Just keep an eye out, okay?”

  “Will do.” He moved his hands in a dizzying pattern and whispered a spell quietly to himself.

  The air began to change, and I felt a dampness along my skin. A mist began to form around the workers, and the vampires began to look up at the ceiling, startled.

  When it was as thick as a cloud, Dryden gave us a nod, and we jumped over the side.

  I aimed for the biggest vampire of the bunch, a hulking brute with slicked black hair and a leather vest. His arms were thick and tattooed with cheap art he must’ve gotten in the human world. Killing him was almost a mercy.

  I saw his face before I reached him. It was the look of fear and desperation that I’d come to know so well. Lifting my ax, I aimed for his forehead, and his body erupted in a shower of ember by the time my boots hit the floor.

  “Gotcha,” I said with a grin.

  The screams of workers rose around me, their shadowed figures moving in the surrounding mist. I sniffed the air and shoved them aside, yelling for them to leave.

  It was chaos.

  I swung and swung, chopping vampires at the waist, slicing off their limbs, removing their heads. It was crazy. One came at me from the mist, a wily one with long black hair. He leaped at me through the air, flashing his ugly fangs.

  Right for the slab!

  I stepped up with my battle-ax, ready to swing at his head like it was a baseball. But he was quick and fast and easily avoided my attack.

  He punched me in the face, kicked me in the gut, then tripped me at the ankles, sending me onto my back.

  Pain shot through my spine, and my mind flashed white.

  But I quickly righted myself, rolling to the side and leaping to my feet, barely avoiding the vampire as its knee crashed to the floor. He was good. I’ll give him that. But in the end, he got it the worst of all.

  I reached for the ax, swung it around me, and sliced off his head just above the shoulders. His head flew through the air like a kicked box, and I watched as it landed at the feet of a chosen who was trying to escape. The woman screamed as she kicked it away.

  “Sorry ‘bout that!” I called out.

  Through the screams of chaos, I heard a terrifying sound—it was the thud of steel crashing into concrete.

  I smiled. Nothing sounded quite like a war hammer being used in battle, and Crag was clearly having fun.

  “You call that a fashion statement?” His voice tore through the air as he punished the poorly dressed bloodsuckers. “That was so last season!”

  Eventually, the fighting stopped, and the screams of chosen left the building. It was then
, as the mist was chased away by some unseen magic, that I heard the terrible laughter of something threatening.

  “What is that?” Crag looked around, searching for the voice.

  “That,” I said, pointing toward a pair of figures lifting from the mist. “Looks pretty scary.”

  My grip tightened around my battle-ax as I studied the figures carefully. They were tall and ridiculously slim, slants of evil made for mischief. They reminded me of marionettes from a dusty old attic, sticklike figures filled with quiet and menacing thoughts.

  Both wore black coats with large buttons, and their slacks tapered into their boots. Their movements were symmetrical, as if they had one mind, and I could feel the terrible vibration of their dark souls.

  I swallowed.

  But it was their faces that frightened me the most.

  With alabaster skin and sewn-up eyes, they were like nightmares from hell, and I quickly realized who they were: the warlocks who’d cursed Sophie.

  Danu help us.

  “Well, well, well,” the taller one said with a rotten grin. “It appears that we have guests.”

  27

  The Initiate

  The young initiate was standing on the corner of the street when he heard the screams. He turned around and saw a crowd of workers rushing up the road. They were screaming out for help, waving at the factory behind them.

  What in Salvation’s name …? He grabbed one of the workers by the collar and yanked her aside. “Hey, what’s all this now?”

  “It’s the factory,” said a short, pimple-faced girl. “It’s being attacked.”

  “Attacked?” The initiate glanced over his shoulder at the factory in the distance. “By whom?”

  “It all started a couple of days ago.” Her eyes glossed over as she began to speak quicker. “The vampires. Oh, such a horrible sort. They forced us to make potions for them. Told us if we said anything, they’d kill us all. I was so scared. But we didn’t have a choice, you understand. They were going to eat us!”

  The initiate gripped her by the shoulders, yanking her back to the moment. “Who’s attacking the factory!”

  She glanced up at him, startled by his insistence. “The woman,” she said.