They all cared. Even people I hadn’t met were patting me on the back and saying how grateful they were that Darius wouldn’t terrorize the town again, and how much they appreciated my embracing the role of the fifth Protector.
Once the crowd had cleared and they’d left the circle, Rose approached me again.
“It took great strength not to kill the worthless miscreant lying at our feet. I’m very proud of you. Arlea told me you are descended from the D’Roth family. I knew some of your ancestors. They would be proud of the woman you’ve become.” She turned to Erick. “And I am even more proud of you, my strong Viking. I know how much personal pain he has caused you.”
Calliope, Miles, Eli, and several others I didn’t recognize stood a few yards away. Calliope stepped forward next when Rose glanced her way. She held out a small decorative black box with gold and silver inlay. Green jewels sparkled on the edges of the box.
Rose took it from her and Calliope returned to her place in line with the others. Turning to Erick and me, she spoke again. “He will spend eternity in the vault for his crimes. Death would be too sweet for one so evil.” She traced her fingertips along Erick’s shoulder. “Feed him just enough to start the healing process.”
Erick nodded. He bit his wrist and knelt at Darius’ side, pressing it into the Djinn’s mouth. Only a few drops and then he pulled away.
It was enough, though. I could hear Darius’ heartbeat strengthening immediately.
Rose opened the box and let her head fall back until it looked like she was speaking to the night sky. Strange words came from her lips over and over—sikkaru awil pulhu. She repeated them a dozen times before the little black box glowed bright white. Darius’ body glowed white, too, and then turned to a wisp of radiant, white smoke. His essence flowed slowly into the box. When the last trace of it was inside, Rose snapped the lid shut.
“Sikkaru.” She said once more and the box, no bigger than her fist, turned black once more.
Was it over?
Was he really gone?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“What happened to him?”
Rose looked up. “Djinn are an interesting species. Because of their ability to dematerialize and teleport, they are vulnerable to being ‘bottled’ so-to-speak. He will be trapped, suspended in time and space. Unaware that he is inside a box and unaware that time is passing, but still imprisoned and unable to free himself.”
“How do you keep others from opening the box and letting him out?” Surely she didn’t just plan to put that little box on a shelf somewhere, like a trinket to display.
“Only a Lammasu can open or close a quppu box.” She turned to face the large, stone disk behind her. At first glance, I had thought it was a round stage. Now I could see it was much more. Rose reached down to touch one of the marks on its edge. All the glyphs around the disk’s rim glowed gold and the stone began to turn. Pieces moved inside it and the middle began to drop, creating a stairwell into the earth. The edge of each stair glowed with the same ethereal, yellow-gold light. “This is Sanctuary’s vault, Bailey. This is what Darius hoped to find, using you as leverage.”
She stepped over the edge of the main rim and down a couple of stairs. “Come.”
I glanced up at Erick. He nodded and urged me toward Rose. I stepped over the rim and followed her down the curved, eerily glowing stairwell. We went at least three flights before I stepped into a cavernous room. The ceilings soared to fourteen, maybe even twenty feet high. The walls were stone, carved with amazingly detailed reliefs of dragons, and other winged creatures I couldn’t identify. Scenes of battles. Scenes of throne rooms and a painting at the end of the room depicted of one of the most beautiful cities I could’ve ever imagined.
“Where is that?” I pointed.
She smiled and walked to a stack of black boxes very similar to the one she held in her hand.
“It was my home. The home of my people, Babylon. One of the most beautiful places on earth before its destruction.” Her voice carried pain and longing. Even now, after so many thousands of years, I could tell she still considered that ancient city with a lot of love.
I glanced around the room a little more. Lamps hung from the ceiling, bathing the entire room in a soft glow. Stacks of those little black boxes were everywhere. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them.
“Do they all have a Djinn inside them?”
Rose turned back to me. “Yes.”
“He said you locked up his wife …”
She ran her fingertips across another black box. “Yes.” Then walked a few paces and sat on a gilded, high-back chair. “Come, sit with me.”
I joined her, taking a seat in the chair next to her. When I looked up, the painting directly in front of me was of a terrible battle. Bodies were strewn everywhere. Walls were crumbling. As I looked closer, I saw familiar structures from the painting of Babylon across the room.
This painting showed the fall of her home. My unbeating heart clenched in sympathy for what she must’ve gone through.
“We are at war, Bailey. A war that started millennia before you were born. So many years have passed, but I can still smell the fire. Feel the slick on the streets as I ran through the spilled blood of my family. Only three of the Sentinels escaped when Babylon fell to the Horde—my husband, Naram, and his brother, Xerxes, and myself.”
She crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair. “We didn’t know until much later that Xerxes was the betrayer. Naram and I watched our families and friends die, fighting to give us a chance to escape with the Sisters. They were our responsibility and the crown jewel of the city—the reason it was so great.”
“Why didn’t they see the war coming?”
Rose sighed. “They cannot see Lammasu. Our magick supersedes theirs. Anyone we collude with is also shielded.”
“So the Djinn are working for your brother-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“So, why do the Djinn fight for Xerxes?”
“He freed their king. My race bottled him thousands of years ago. Xerxes let him out.”
“And after all these years they still owe him?”
“Now they fight because they must. Over the centuries, I have decimated their numbers. There are only a few hundred Djinn left. If they hope to survive as a species …” She gestured around the room at the thousands of jeweled black boxes. “Xerxes is the only one in the world besides me who can free their people.”
I was trying hard to understand it all. “Why does he want the Sisters?”
“To sire children with them.”
“Xerxes could have a child with one of them? A son? With powers?”
“Yes. Not only could he have a son, he could have a Lammasu son with powers of premonition. It could add an entirely new and powerful ability to our species. The Sisters are the only beings on earth, besides another Lammasu, that he could father a child with.”
Meaning Rose and Xerxes were the last of their kind.
“They look so normal.”
“Doctors would be unable to tell the difference, so we allow the misinformation to perpetuate. It’s less complicated for everyone.”
“So they’re not human at all?”
“No.” Rose sighed. “In fact, humans are not allowed to live in Sanctuary. It’s too dangerous.”
“But you let me stay.” I gasped. “That’s why Miles and Eli were so upset I was staying with him.”
She nodded. “I knew who you were. Arlea saw you in a vision the day before Erick arrived with you. I’m sorry, I hadn’t had a chance to tell anyone else beside the pixies and brownies at the café.” Rose met my gaze and I waited for her to go on. “When Erick called from the bus and told me he was bringing you to Sanctuary to stay with him, he was breaking our code. The only human visitors allowed in town are the ones who stay under lock and key at the Castle. They are vetted members of the club and understand that we are very secretive and private.”
“So he knew I was supposed to be this Protector fro
m almost the very beginning?” Holy shit.
Rose’s eyes widened. “If you are doubting his affection, don’t. I’ve only seen him care for a woman one other time in his life. Believe me, he would move mountains for you. In fact, he challenged me for your right to walk away if that was your choice.”
Wow.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the wall. My forefinger rolled the signet ring on my thumb. I’d forgotten it was there.
“You should probably keep this here.” I removed the ring I’d taken from Darius and placed it in Rose’s hand.
Tears made her eyes glassy and she closed her fingers around the ring. “You got it back? Thank you.” She got up and walked to a small table a few yards away. A jeweled, silver jewelry box sat centered on it. She opened it, kissed the signet ring, and then placed it inside. “I never thought I’d get that piece of him back. When I saw it on Darius’ hand, it was like losing Naram all over again.”
“I do want to stay, Rose. And I do want to help the Sisters be free from Xerxes. I know I don’t understand everything that’s going on yet, but I can learn. I’ve never felt more at home than I have here in Sanctuary. The people who live here care about each other. They take care of each other.”
“We are a family, in a sense.” She turned back to face me, leaning against the edge of the table. “Even though, in other parts of the world some of our kind wouldn’t deem to be within a hundred miles of each other, we’ve found a way to coexist and have become stronger for it.”
I looked past her to the wall behind the table. Another large painting hung on the carved stone wall. A landscape so beautiful it took my breath away. Lush forests, mountains, and buildings unlike anything I’d ever seen on earth. They had spires that must’ve reached thousands of feet into the heavens, giving the residents of them the amazing sense of living among the clouds.
She turned and looked up at the painting as well. “The Veil. The original home of the Lammasu.”
“Why aren’t you there?” I asked, not able to imagine why anyone would want to live in Texas if they could live there. Calliope had mentioned it, but her description paled in comparison to this painting.
“In the chaos of the battle that destroyed Babylon, we also lost the key to the Veil.”
“Are there people trapped on the other side?”
“I suppose for a long time there were. Eventually, we heard whispers that the Drakonae, the dragons, had the key and had taken over the Veil, leaving earth completely.”
“If all the dragons left, how did Miles and Eli end up here?”
Rose shook her head. “That is not my story to tell. I wanted you to see where we come from—why this town is so important to us. Why we protect the Sisters at all costs. They are never allowed outside the castle. With Miles’ and Eli’s aid, Xerxes can’t get inside either.”
“Is he scared of dragons?”
Rose’s face split into a grin. “Very.” She motioned toward the stairwell. “Dragons are the Lammasu’s only equal in size, when shifted. And, we can both fly. Lammasu have more magick, but dragon physiology creates a natural shield against it. However, their true advantage lies in their breath. Dragons are either born of fire or ice. Miles and Eli are both fire dragons. And one Lammasu against two fire dragons would be suicide.”
“That’s why he keeps sending Djinn.”
She sighed. “He’s trying to steal one of the Sisters.”
I got up and followed her up the stairs. “Calliope said I should ask one of them to breathe fire for me.” I heaved one foot in front of the other and peered up the seemingly never-ending stairwell. “Honestly, I thought she was kidding,” I added.
“It is an amazing thing to see. Perhaps one day they will show you.”
“Do any of you in town ever shift? Just because?”
Rose paused on the stairs above me. She looked back at me. I could see sorrow in her eyes. It haunted me, sending an icy chill across my already cool skin. “I haven’t shifted in nearly a thousand years. With the advances in technology, it’s just not safe. Some here are able to shift regularly. Wolves aren’t a red flag to anyone in the country, but they have to be careful about the ranchers in the area. Many of them are trigger happy, even if their cattle haven’t been disturbed.”
She turned away and began climbing again. “Most of us hide in plain sight, trying our best not to draw extra attention to our existence. Even though the Texas Republic favors Others right now, there’s no guarantee it will remain so.”
Made sense. Still, I wondered what a Lammasu or a dragon really looked like. It would be amazing to see them in their element. Scary for sure, but I couldn’t imagine that it was anything short of breathtaking. Having all that power locked inside for so long must be excruciating. But, they were right to do it. If people knew there were beings like them walking among humans, it would be the riots all over again. Maybe worse.
I ran my fingers along the stones as we climbed. The golden glow slowly faded and I saw the light from the moon above flooding the stairwell.
We stepped clear of the vault rim. Erick, Calliope, and several others stood a few yards away. The stone covering began moving again, closing up and returning to a solid, smooth disk. I stared carefully, searching for a crack or crevice that showed where the parts fit together.
“Amazing.” I ran my hand over the smooth rock, tracing along the markings decorating the edge.
“Magick,” Rose whispered. “Speaking of which. Would you like to see the sunrise in a few hours?”
I nodded and smiled up at Erick who had already moved to my side.
He slipped an arm around my waist and squeezed me against his hip. I loved being close to him. His touch filled me with longing and comfort at the same time.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
After a quick detour to his apartment to wash the blood off my skin and change clothes, we walked slowly toward the Castle. Rose, Calliope, and the others were already there.
“What are you thinking, my precious Bailey?”
“That even though I’ve only known you a short time, I love you.”
“Mmm,” he rumbled. “Perhaps you should wait to declare your affections until after we have our time together in the Castle. I worry that you may not want to have anything to do with me afterward.”
“Why do you want to go through with it then?”
“You deserve to go through your now-very-long life without coming undone at the smell of leather and the sound of a cracking whip. Submission can be a beautifully exquisite exchange and I want you to see that part of it.”
“Oh.” I shivered at the mention of the whip. He was right. It did bother me. I dreaded hearing or seeing it, even now. It didn’t matter that I was a vampire with supernatural strength, fangs, and the ability to protect myself. I’d proved that by taking down Darius. Yet, the thought of restraints or a whip completely terrified me. Given the choice, I would hide from them still.
I had no clue how he thought he could get me over it. The idea that a scene in a place called a dungeon could be beautiful was doubtful in my mind, but I trusted him completely. If he really thought he could help, I was willing to let him try.
The great doors of the Castle opened and a wave of heat rolled over my cool body. When I looked up, Miles’ honey brown eyes stared down at me from the gaping entryway. I knew it was Miles, even before I saw the tell-tale scar above his eye. Miles didn’t smile. His brother, Eli, was always grinning, even though his eyes held great sorrow.
Both of them were saddened by something terrible, but they each dealt with it differently. Miles hid behind a gruff exterior and Eli behind a smile. I had a feeling it had to do with the woman Erick had mentioned when they confronted me in his house. Diana.
Miles bent to give me a hug. “Everyone is ready and waiting for you in the main courtyard.”
“Thank you, Miles,” I answered, still a little shocked by the show of affection.
He and Erick nodded to each other and we paused
to wait while Miles secured the huge front doors. I watched in awe, amazed he was moving them at all without any type of mechanical assistance. The doors were easily a foot thick and wrapped in wrought iron.
“Can anyone else open those doors?”
The light in the entryway dimmed as the door slid slowly into place, leaving only the soft glow from the chandeliers high above our heads. The dark floors and walls, while decadent and polished, still made the place seem more like a cave than a castle.
Miles pulled down a heavy bar from the side of the entrance and it dropped into place across both doors. The thump of the bar echoed ominously through the room. I swallowed, wondering if there were any other exits from the Castle that didn’t require help to open.
“Rose can,” Miles finally answered, bringing me back from my thoughts. “But it would take several vampires or wolves working together to get them to budge.”
Wow. It was hard to believe Rose, so small physically, possessed as much or more strength than one of the giant Blackmoor brothers.
A few minutes later we were in a small, grassy area, separate from the large garden area I remembered from before. Sisters lined the walls and Arlea stood with Rose in the center. The breeze had died down, but I could smell the grass underfoot and the scent of fresh water on the soil. Other smells mixed with the natural ones—oils, leather, sweat. No one would have suspected a group of women dressed in flowing, white dresses was the heart and soul of a sex club.
Erick stopped and I paused beside him. I felt a little underdressed in my white shorts, blue sparkly t-shirt, and flats. But no one looked upset. They were all smiling.
Rose caught my gaze and motioned me forward.
One of my feet stepped forward, but I hesitated when I realized Erick wasn’t moving with me.
“I have to stay here. You will be fine, kjaere. I promise.”
“It won’t hurt?”
“It tingles a little, but nothing worse than a static shock.”
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