Ellowyn Found: An MM Vampire Trilogy Omnibus Edition Books 1 - 3

by Kayleigh Sky

  Jessa stared down at his. The print blurred in the shadows. “Wen didn’t like to read.”

  Otto glanced back up with another mix of smile and frown. “Me neither really.”

  It’s a human pastime, Wen had said.

  That wasn’t true though. They’d had all kinds of books in Celestine, some with jewel-encrusted covers. Jessa had seen pictures of the library.

  “I wonder if Wen hated me. Up until… you…” Otto’s smile faded, his frown deepening. “Up until you,” Jessa went on, “I never heard him say a word against humans. It shocked me, and I told myself that’s not what he meant. I’m stuck on that room in Comity House and what Wen was doing because it doesn’t fit with stealing jewelry if that’s what’s going on. Wen didn’t need money or status.”

  “Not every piece of a puzzle has to fit. People are too crazy for that. Even vampire people. And money? Some people never have enough. And anyway, I still think it has something to do with drainers.”

  “Brillen was a fake.”

  “He wanted blood.”

  “And Wen helped.”

  “It looks like it.”

  Jessa swallowed. The idea Wen might have fed on human blood had never occurred to him. Bile flooded his mouth. He picked up his water glass and drank. “Maybe there was a whole group of people. I mean, with that… room.”

  “Like a conspiracy? And with Frenn our only link.”

  “Why bother going to Gem Fest then? He couldn’t be so stupid as to show up there.”

  “We’re here, and it’s another rock to look under.”

  A last flare of light hit the window before the sun set, twinkling orange and pink and silver on the ocean waves.

  Back at the inn, Otto lit a fire, and they went to bed to the light of the flames. The flicker of shadows reminded Jessa of the fire pits at home. Rune had wanted them because they reminded him of the ones in Celestine. As the room warmed, Jessa nestled into the arm Otto held him with and fell asleep until a dry scrape on the back of his neck roused him again. It was a kiss, but cold, and he squirmed away, pushing off the covers as the kiss pursued him. He sat up, staring blindly into the dark room.

  “Otto?”

  There was no reply, only the brush of a cold palm on his shoulder now. He jumped up and turned toward the touch.

  “Jessa.”

  The voice was a dry rasp. As dry as the kiss.

  “Wen?” The figure on the bed took shape now, gossamer as the strange fog that scared him and yet didn’t. Wen’s face had hollows where his eyes and mouth were supposed to be. “Aren’t you—?”

  “Hungry,” Wen rasped. “Hungry.”

  Jessa shivered. Where was Otto? “Lemme… lemme turn on the light.”

  “No!”

  Why doesn’t Otto wake up?

  Jessa’s hand fell away from the lamp. He was half human and his eyesight wasn’t as good as a true vampire’s, but he moved away from the lamp, closer to the door.

  “C’mere,” Wen whispered.

  Like hell.

  “I’m sorry, Wen,” Jessa whispered.

  “You never loved me,” Wen said. “You defiled yourself.”

  The prickly cold in the room froze his skin, but inside a ball of heat grew where his heart was. “I’m human, Wen.”

  “Human blood,” Wen said, rising off the bed.

  Jessa bolted for the door, but he tripped and fell and threw his hands toward a floor that dropped away beneath him. He fell and fell. Darkness swallowed him. He wasn’t awake. He was dreaming. You’re just dreaming. You’ll wake up. But terror made his heart pound. Wen was a weight following him. The shine of hidden minerals and jewels encrusted in ancient walls loomed out of the dark. Celestine!

  Claws grabbed him. Twisting, his gaze fell on long talonlike fingernails digging into his shoulder, gleaming like bone. He landed on the street of a destroyed city. The ceiling of the earth rose above him, a dome of gleaming white and gray rock. Boulders and rubble strewed the landscape, but a still-standing building drew his eyes. The rubies that encrusted the face of the Celestine Library with the Letters of the Revelatory Passion shone blood red.

  Jessa stared, then Wen swooped in on him and there was nothing but bone left of his face. Gaping eye sockets. A black maw of a mouth. Tattooed fangs, carved and gleaming.

  “Hungry.”

  Jessa screamed, struggling back as Wen shot forward, teeth coming for his throat.

  Until—

  The fog!

  Soft and heavy and gray. It appeared out of nothing and drowned Wen in its folds. Jessa staggered back as the amorphous shape undulated, turning from slate to black to soft gray again.

  Then it was gone, and all that was left was a pile of bones on the dark city street.

  Jessa screamed again.

  “Hey! Hey!”

  He was back, buried under the covers, wrapped in Otto’s arms. “Otto?”

  “Shush.”

  Silver wisps of fog clung to the sliding glass doors and a faint warm glow came from the fireplace.

  “You just had a nightmare,” Otto murmured.

  No.

  Jessa had gone to Celestine City, a place he had no memories of. But even as he held onto the picture, it faded, though he knew he should remember. Something that wasn’t the fog.

  Though the fog was dangerous too.

  He listened to Otto’s slow breaths and stared into the dark. The shapes of empty windows formed in front of him, and glowing red eyes slowly surfaced.

  Fallen angels?

  Or black souls?

  Or worse…

  45

  Gem Fest

  Gem Fest sprawled over a mile of property. This section of town, once wrecked in the Upheaval, had been reclaimed by the Ellowyn, and many of the old warehouses had been converted into artist and jewelry-making studios. For the next three days the streets were blocked off. Festivalgoers meandered the streets from place to place. Outdoor booths decorated the area with brightly colored fabrics, and umbrellas carried by sun-sensitive vampires dotted the crowds. The air was fragrant with the salty sea breeze, cooking food, and incense.

  Coming from the direction of a square gray building near the main entrance to the grounds was a pair of vampires in a golf cart. The one not driving jumped from the vehicle when it stopped and rushed toward Jessa and Otto. Despite his haste and smile, no subservience rolled off him. The dip of his chin bringing his head down with it carried the weight of a being who knew his power.

  Shifting beside him, Otto tilted his head. “Aren’t you Zev’s cousin?”

  The vampire’s smile broadened. “You remember. I’m flattered.”

  He offered his hand and, after a minuscule hesitation that maybe only Jessa caught, Otto shook it.

  Now the vampire turned his smile on Jessa. “I am Moss and honored to be your host, Prince Senera. Are you an artist like Prince Rune?”

  Jessa laughed. “I make jewelry. Costume jewelry. I have a co-op.”

  “You should show your work here next year and maybe coax a piece from the prince.”

  He nodded with a smile, but Rune never sold his pieces. He created in a frenzy and gave them away. “I’ll ask.”

  “Good,” said Moss. “Good. In the meantime, I’m at your disposal. Don’t hesitate to ask for whatever you need. The golf cart here is for your use, and you, Detective Jones, are welcome here, but you will encounter surprise. We seldom admit humans. Anything you need, just ask. I’ll be in my office for most of the day.”

  Taking the keys Moss held out, Jessa grinned at Otto, and they headed to the golf cart.

  “I’ve never driven one of these.”

  Otto slid in cautiously. “Don’t tip it over.”

  “Very funny.”

  It jerked when he first stepped on the gas, but then it ran as smoothly as any car. At the first corner though, he slowed down and said, “So where are we going?”

  Otto took a brochure from a holder attached to the dash and opened it to a map on the ba
ck. “Well, Brillen worked with metal clay.”

  “Let me see.”

  Jessa leaned over, resting against Otto’s shoulder. As he gazed at the map Otto’s breath in his hair sent a shiver through him. “You’re distracting me.”

  “Fair’s fair,” Otto muttered.

  “Well… This… this word here.” Otto nuzzled his neck, and a warm, drifty feeling filled Jessa’s head.

  “Hm…” murmured Otto. “What word?”

  “Falla,” he whispered. “It means… metal in Celes Ellowyn.”

  Otto drew back, and the warm air suddenly cooled. “Okay. Let’s go there.”

  With a nod, Jessa shifted the cart into gear and pulled back onto the street. He drove slowly as he rolled through the crowds. Tents dotted a large lot, shading the tables and chairs underneath. Vampires gathered around, playing games. Balloons bobbed, attached to a helium tank.

  A few minutes later, Jessa parked the cart alongside a grassy park where kids played on ladders and jungle gyms.

  Otto bought a tub of calamari from a vampire who took his money with a suspicious glare, and Jessa popped one of the morsels into his mouth with a moan. “Um. That’s so good.”

  “We’ll check the auditoriums too,” said Otto. “They’re supposed to have presentations going on all day.”

  On foot now, they moved along with the flow of the crowd past booths displaying metal bracelets, rings, and goblets. Ceramic pottery in another. Oil paints, wood carving, bead jewelry, and an array of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, anklets, body chains, and rings at Falla’s Follies. The Revelatory jewelry was too heavy for Jessa’s taste, but his gaze strayed to the same body chain Otto was focused on. The Letters of the Revelatory Passion hung from the silver chain, all cloisonné, and flat and thin as parchment. Otto traced a finger under the chain, and it rippled like water.

  After a moment, he drew back and ran his palm over his bristly scalp. “Jewelry, drainers, Solomon Frenn. Acalliona was related to the Nezzarams and Frenn was Abadi’s lover. Frenn and Acalliona both dealt in jewelry and both knew or had met Wen. Frenn was suspected of killing a drainer, and Brillen was pretending to be one.” The frustration on Otto’s face grew. “I’m getting nothing.”

  “Come on,” said Jessa. “You can’t force it. Let’s walk for a while. I love this weather.”

  “Feels good,” Otto agreed.

  The breeze had quickened, slapping loose banners, spreading the scents of incense and spicy food.

  An auditorium as large as a hangar held the presentations. Inside, Jessa lost himself at a glassblowing exhibition where the artist created goblet after goblet in shimmery blue and green glass. Each one looked as translucent as the sea. Occasionally, he caught sight of Otto checking out the different exhibits. When the glass blower took a break, Jessa looked around again, but Otto was gone. A jolt of panic zapped his heart.

  Silly.

  But where was he?

  The bigger vampires hid his view. He rose to his toes. For fuck’s sake. Otto wouldn’t leave him. Why did Jessa even think that?

  Wen did.

  Well, Wen was dead, that’s why.

  He hated you.

  No, he didn’t. Jessa was sure Wen didn’t hate him. His dream… was your guilty conscience.

  For not loving Wen. For loving Otto when—

  Loving Otto?

  You know you love him.

  His heart squeezed, because how dumb was that? This isn’t a romance story. You aren’t going to end up with the hero.

  Well, why not? Why did Jessa read those books unless he halfway believed them?

  “Jess!”

  He stopped, vampires bumping against him. A hand rose. Otto. He stood outside a black tent-like enclosure.

  Jessa hurried over. “What’s this?”

  “Books. Come see.”

  Incense filled Jessa’s senses, strong and spicy, and curls of smoke floated in the air. Shelving units stuffed with books stood against the fabric walls.

  Jessa bent his head to look at the spines. Poetry and cookbooks. A few novels, but no romances. Children’s books and a human bible.

  Otto gestured to a glass curio cabinet in a corner. “Vampire, isn’t it?”

  Ellowyn cuneiform decorated the covers of the books inside, but they had to be replicas. Only special books had covers, and those were precious and only displayed in libraries.

  Otto pointed at a black book with a picture of a vase in brilliant jewel tones on its cover. “I saw a vase like that at Frenn’s. What does it mean?”

  “Gloria Adi. Um… Adi is treasure and gloria is the honor or praise you give God.” Jessa chewed on his lip. “This is switched though. The order of the words. Sometimes that matters. Usually it would be Gloria Adi because God always comes first. This is more like a treasure you get because of your honor to God.”

  “How religious are you people?”

  “Like humans. Some a lot, and some not at all.”

  “I’m going to get it. You pay for it though. I doubt the guy selling it will talk to me.”

  The vampire didn’t want to talk to Jessa either. “Why do you want it?”

  Jessa went blank for a moment.

  “It’s a precious item,” the guy added.

  Annoyance kick-started Jessa’s tongue. “It’s not original. I like the cover. We have a vase like that at home. And besides, the cover degrades its value if it is an original.”

  The vampire’s eyes narrowed. He was skinny but towered over both Jessa and Otto. “It’s original.”

  “And degraded.”

  “A hundred bucks.”

  “A hundred bucks,” Otto echoed. “Is the cure for cancer in there?”

  A sneer twisted the vampire’s face. “Like I care about cancer. It’s out of print. It was put out by some masons that aren’t even active anymore. You want it, a hundred bucks. You don’t want it, get out.”

  Jessa paid, and Otto stuffed the book into his pocket.

  Outside the tent flaps, Jessa said, “What now?”

  “We eat. Then look around some more.”

  Otto slung an arm over his shoulder, and for a while, they were just a pair of guys enjoying a festival. The sun kept shining, and the breeze kept the day cool. They ate fish and chips at a picnic table and drank spiced iced tea and took the golf cart up and down the streets. By the time the sun fell low, and they’d returned the cart, a shuttle approached the gravel entrance. Light and shadow flashed on the windshield, black and eerily red like a pair of eyes. Jessa recoiled but got nowhere before the earth shook and threw him off his feet. He tumbled forward, and the shuttle swung sideways, flying straight at him. He hit the ground with a jolt, grinding his cheek into the gravel. A roar filled his ears, and the sky somersaulted. He flew backwards, stumbling into a hard wall with arms that wrapped around him and crushed the air out of his lungs.

  “Jesus Christ,” Otto whispered in his ear.

  The shuttle stopped, its doors swinging open, and the driver, a vampire, emerged and stared with eyes that… No. They didn’t glow. God, he was seeing things that weren’t there now.

  The driver’s eyes were dark and narrow in the sun.

  Plain, everyday eyes.

  .

  46

  Epiphany

  The ordinary sound of a running bath gave Otto comfort. A cupboard door clapped shut. Something clanked on the counter.

  That quake had scared the hell out of him. Seeing Jessa go down had done crazy things to him. His heart had slammed against his chest with enough force to knock his air out. No sound had come from his mouth when he’d yelled, “Jess!”

  But Jessa was okay.

  What was Otto doing getting so wrapped up in the vamp. When this was over he’d go back to his life. Would he get his job back?

  Taking a breath he tried to concentrate on that, his job, and opened his book, squirming back into his pile of pillows to get comfortable. He’d taken a shower, ignoring Jessa’s attempts to coax him into the tub. He want
ed to get to his book. Finding it was written in English was a surprise, but Jessa had said, “It’s because it’s not from one of our cities. It’s new. Most computers are still only set up for humans, so we print in your languages.”

  “Which you all know,” Otto had said with a strange bitterness, as though all of humanity had been the unsuspecting victim of a skeezy Peeping Tom for the past ten thousand years.

  “We were always a part of your world. You just didn’t look.”

  “You hid.”

  “You wanted us… dead,” Jessa had whispered against his cheek before stepping into the bath.

  Wanted. And hated. Or feared. The allure of the lost soul. When there’d been nothing left in the world to save, Otto’s struggle had been over. He’d drowned it in whiskey, and his parched throat still ached to swallow the fuzzy emptiness the booze had brought. But there was still some light from somewhere in him. Something that didn’t want to give up on Maisie, Brillen, Mateo… himself.

  He settled back and began to read.

  Adi Gloria, devoted followers of the first faith, unwavering adherents…

  Otto skimmed the introductory passage and code of ethics. The Adi Gloria appealed to merchants of a particular style of jewelry called Guardian Reminders. All metal clay and gemstones.

  A loud groan interrupted him. He raised his gaze and stared at the open bathroom door.

  “This feels so good,” Jessa called out. “Come and see.”

  “What are Guardian Reminders?”

  “Revelatory jewelry, like the letters for the seven families, but for everyone.”

  “Costume jewelry?”

  “Kind of.”

  With gems. But gems were abundant in the underworld. Otto continued reading. Every true guardian has a unique position, no one above the other in placement. Always seek a circle of the Nine, continuous and unbroken, in the order of the true ascendancy.

  Nine? Weird.

  So far, he’d found no mention of the vase on the cover. After a few more pages he came to a list of bylaws, grievances, meditations, and fees for the different levels of membership. Flipping back to the beginning, he reread the passage that still had no obvious relation to masons—Every true guardian has a unique position.