The Cardkeeper Chronicles: Books 1-5 (Complete Collection)

by A. C. Nicholls

  I climbed the winding steps to my apartment, careful not to wake the neighbors with my heavy footfalls. I knew how thin these walls were – I had been roused enough times by the less-than-polite hillbillies from room 112.

  “Home, sweet home,” I said under my breath as I entered my humble abode. As soon as the front door shut behind me, I stopped and stared across the single room, blowing out an exhausted breath. I wanted a nice, long sleep in a warm and comfy bed, but my springy fold-out couch would have to do. I didn’t have a job – not one that made money, anyway – so I was living off what little finances my parents had left me. After I’d become mortal (and officially declared as deceased by the state of Illinois), I could no longer access their accounts, so I was down to what had been left in the family safe. At this rate, it was enough to keep me going for just a few more years.

  “Oh, you’re home.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the voice. I let out a weak sound, like I’d been punched in the stomach, wide eyes scanning the room. Where in the hell was that little scaredy-cat? My eyes narrowed on the small table by the window, where Link sat in my napkin-lined fruit bowl and gazed out at the street below.

  “I just about wet my pants, traitor,” I said, slipping off my jacket and throwing it onto the floor beside the door. I made a mental note to buy a coatrack and went to the farthest wall of my apartment, taking the magicard from my pocket and placing it on the top shelf. After the aggression I’d been experiencing lately, I needed to gain some distance from it. When I stepped away from the shelf, I immediately felt lighter.

  “Sorry,” said Link.

  I stopped and looked across at him. He hadn’t moved an inch since I’d entered the room. The empty fruit bowl had seemed like a comfortable makeshift bed, but it didn’t look so inviting that it would make you want to sit there all day. Something was wrong.

  Quietly, I pulled out a chair beside the window, and watched with him. A soft drizzle floated through the sky, turning the streets gray. The people below were throwing up their hoods and walking faster. I’d always liked to watch people, imagining that I was one of them, living a simple life. I guessed Link did, too. “What’s up?”

  Link sighed and sat back, covering his face under the silky red napkin that he used as a bed sheet. The outline of his body curled up into a fetal position. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You’re my friend,” I said, pulling off the sheet and exposing his tiny body. “If you’re upset, I’m going to worry about it. Now come on, tell me what’s wrong.”

  After looking at me like I’d run over his cat, Link sat up and folded his arms, staring straight down at the huge toes on his bare feet. “I ran away today.”

  “And?”

  “And I left you in trouble.”

  It wasn’t anything that hadn’t happened before, but I chose not to voice that thought. “It’s no biggie. Trust me, I took care of it. At least you’re safe.”

  “That’s just it. If I’m always safe – always running – I’m never going to… you know.”

  I looked at him quizzically. For a moment, I had no idea what he was talking about, but then I realized: he wanted to earn his wings. That, of course, wasn’t going to happen until he performed a heroic and selfless feat. The fae lords had told him that much. I thought back to when I’d first met him, having saved him from a group of imps who were mere seconds from tearing him apart. That was five years ago, and he’d been attached to me ever since. During that time, I had never seen even the faintest glimmer of courage from him. “There’s plenty of time,” I told him, guilt-ridden that I’d teased him before. I didn’t know what else to say.

  “Is there, though? I’m knocking on the door of forty, and I’m still a coward.”

  “You’re not a coward.”

  “Yes I am, Keira!” He shot up and stood in front of the window, trying to hide his sparkling, moist eyes. Little did he know, I could see them in his reflection. “Back there, when wolf-boy came at you, the first thing I thought of was to stand and fight. To help you. But what did I do? I turned and ran like a little girl, not even looking back to make sure you were okay. What kind of friend does that?”

  Even though he’d just spit the facts, I couldn’t agree with him. He was already having a hard enough time. “Listen to me,” I said, turning his body to face me. “I know that when it really counts, you’ll come through for me. Those wings will come, okay? You just need to hang in there and remember why we’re doing this. And if you decide to run away again, I would totally understand. Half the time, I want to run, too.”

  “That’s what makes you… I don’t know.” Link rubbed his eye on a ragged sleeve and looked up at me. “What happened with Cujo, anyway? Did you kill him?”

  I stared into his eyes, looking for a sign of shame. It still lingered there, but it seemed like he wanted to just change the subject and move on. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Well, he obviously didn’t kill you. So what happened?”

  I explained the recent events to Link, catching him up on the insanity. I sugar-coated the details so his guilt wouldn’t escalate. By the time I was done explaining, I was exhausted.

  Link frowned at the story, biting his lip. “You made a deal with them?”

  “It helped, didn’t it?”

  A silence hovered in the air. I knew exactly what he was thinking, and he might have been right. I was hoping he wouldn’t say it aloud, so when he did, I felt a little embarrassed. “You like him, don’t you?”

  “Who?”

  “Fur-balls.”

  “You mean Jason?” Did I blush? “He’s okay.”

  “No.” Link stepped onto my arm that rested on the table, and stood with his face in mine, examining my reaction. “You like him. I can tell. That’s twice you’ve gone up against him now, and he’s still alive. That wouldn’t have happened if you’d wanted to hurt him.”

  I lowered my head. “Fine. He’s not… unattractive.”

  “Ha! I knew it!” Link smacked his hands together, rubbing them like he’d just hit the Powerball. Finally, he smiled again, dancing around like a goof. “Just be careful, okay? Not only are wolves dangerous, but you don’t want to wake up with hair in your mouth. My father did that for years.”

  “Your father mated with a wolf?”

  “What? No. Mother was just a hairy woman. Looked like Bob Marley on a bad day.”

  Problem solved, I laughed aloud, getting out from my chair before heading for the bathroom – the only room separate from this small, dusty space. “I need a shower,” I called through to Link, running the hot water and attaching the hose to the faucet. “We have somewhere to be tonight.”

  “Oh yeah? Where’s that?”

  The water sprayed into the tub, and I began to peel off my clothes, feeling weak and dirty, not to mention frustrated. “Dante’s Nightclub – our local vampire hotspot.”

  Link didn’t say anything after that. He didn’t have to – I knew that my latest plan would unsettle him, but I tried to remember that everything we did to push the boundaries of his cowardice – every time we did something that made him uncomfortable – he would come a little closer to his act of valor.

  I just hoped we would live long enough to see it happen.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I got in line outside the nightclub, just behind the velvet ropes. Drunks surrounded me, singing, play-fighting, screaming and laughing and yanking my chain. I stomped my shoe on the cold ground as I waited. Even my little black dress was giving me grief; riding up my leg every time I moved and making me look like a hooker.

  After a half-hour and a near-collision with a young girl who couldn’t handle her alcohol, I got inside and marveled at the size of the place. From outside, it had only looked to be the size of a modest bar. On the inside, however, I was met with a glass-lined staircase that led to different floors, each playing a different kind of music and – as a result – hosting different demographics. I found the one
that seemed more likely to allow for audible conversation, and hung there for over an hour.

  As I sat at the bar with Link in my purse, worrying about whether Jason had made it out alive, a dreadful thought crossed my mind; what if the vampires could detect me? What if they could sense magic the same way that us mages could? What if everyone in here was a vampire and they all turned on me at any given moment? I was becoming confident with my magicard, but I would never be that confident.

  The vampires were easy to spot. The ones who were ‘bumping and grinding’ seemed to have their tongues out a lot, tasting the sweaty flesh of their dance partners. I’d not seen humans do it live before but I’d seen those crazy photos on Instagram from spring break in Cancun. To me, that suggested a taste for human skin, and probably, for human blood.

  Those who weren’t dancing were drinking from metallic cups. It had taken me around forty minutes to figure out why they’d started serving drinks in those, and when I did, everything clicked.

  Milk.

  Due to their nocturnal inclinations, vampires needed the vitamin D, and couldn’t get it from sunlight. It made perfect sense to seek it from other sources. I would probably have done the same, if I’d suffered the same curse.

  Slowly getting fed up, I drank the last of my absinthe, knocking it back and wishing I hadn’t. My immortal genes caused my blood cells to recover so quickly that it was almost impossible for me to get drunk, but it still tasted like a sweat-hardened sock.

  Link stirred in my bag as I headed for the stairs, willing to try another floor.

  That was when I saw him.

  The expensive blue suit gave him away. Over six feet tall, he stood out like a sore thumb in this place. His long, black hair fell down his back in a perfect ponytail, while stray wisps lingered around his pale face. His sky-blue eyes had a healthy glow, highlighted by the whiteness of his flesh. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was a vampire, and his stylish attire indicated a position of power.

  I tried to get closer, careful not to stand out to him or the bouncer he was talking to. The music blasted in my ears, and for the first time in my life, I hated Bohemian Rhapsody. I inched closer and hovered behind the suited man, leaning closely to eavesdrop.

  “If he can’t control it, he shouldn’t have it,” the suited man said to the bouncer. “That guy is a problem for all of us.” His hand rose and scratched the back of his neck. I was close enough – lucky enough – to get a glimpse of the bite-mark under his collar. This guy was definitely a vampire – no question about it.

  “What do you want me to do?” the bouncer asked.

  But the suited man didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to look at me. I tried to act casual, staring out at the dancing crowd, swaying to the music and pretending I was just another drunken white girl. My acting didn’t work – I could feel his eyes all over me, staring and assessing me.

  By a thin stroke of luck, he turned and continued with his business. Then, he whispered something into the bouncer’s ear and took off toward the stairs. The bouncer stood stock still, glaring at me.

  “We need to get out of here, Keira,” I could imagine Link saying. I wouldn’t have thought it was a sign of weakness, either. Something didn’t sit right, and I also thought that we should leave, pronto.

  While the bouncer kept staring, I turned quickly and took the stairs farthest from me. I didn’t want it to look like I would cause trouble. All I needed was information, and if I couldn’t get it here, I would rather be elsewhere. Screw Victor Kronin – let him have his fun, if that was what it would take to leave this place. Let him use his power and destroy the Sacred Temple of R’hen. It wasn’t like we would live to know about it, anyway.

  I reached the bottom of the stairs and scanned the perimeter. Bouncers stood on either side of the exit. One of them had a hand on his radio, taking orders as he held it to his ear. It looked like he was trying to focus, listening intently to his instructions.

  Until his eyes locked with mine.

  My pulse quickened and a sweat broke out on the nape of my neck. I had to get the hell out of the bar, but I couldn’t use my power. If I did, it would just draw attention from the hundred or more vampires still inside.

  Desperate now, I turned to head back the way I came. But I didn’t manage to turn all the way round. Before I could face away from the exit, a large hand clamped over my shoulder, gripping tight. Squeezing. My heart raced. When I looked up, the huge bouncer from upstairs stood before me, anger filling his eyes.

  There was no escaping this. I was all alone and surrounded by vampires.

  And they had home-field advantage.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The bouncer manhandled me up a steep staircase and through a locked door. I didn’t try to fight him – I knew my odds pretty well, and didn’t feel like taking any chances. All I could do was let him escort me to God knows where.

  On the other side of the locked door was a small, dark room, with an exotic fish tank along the left wall. An executive desk sat at the back of the room, where the suited man sat with his feet up. His hands were tucked behind his head, and an arrogant grin played on his lips.

  “Frisk this one,” he said.

  Deciding not to kick up a fuss, I raised my hands and closed my eyes, biting down on my lip. I knew what was coming; first, he would disarm me of my magicard and leave me vulnerable. Then, when I was left defenseless, they would search my bag and find Link. I realized then that I was in the middle of a snake pit. I swallowed, hard.

  “What do we have here?” the bouncer said, taking my card in one hand and pulling Link from my purse in one large, meaty fist. “Looks like the mage brought you a snack.”

  I stepped forward, wanting to slap his stupid bald head. I only made it two steps before his fangs came out and he hissed, reminding me that I’d been disarmed.

  The suited man stood and made his way around the desk, leaning back onto it with his arms crossed. “Put the faery in the cage, Brisco, and bring the magicard to me.”

  “But–” Brisco the Bouncer began.

  “Do as you’re told,” the suited man said.

  I watched in silence, worried about what might happen to Link as he was placed inside the bird cage. I strained my eyes to see if there was an actual bird inside, but thankfully I couldn’t make one out. As for Link, I was actually quite impressed to see how he was taking it. Although he shook like a leaf, he didn’t try to squirm, squeal or run away. In fact, he did nothing but stay still, which was probably all he could do to stay alive.

  Brisco handed over the magicard, and left the room when dismissed.

  Now it was just us, and the man in the fine blue suit.

  “Do you know who I am?” he said calmly.

  I shook my head.

  “Do you know what I am?”

  This time I nodded. “A vampire.”

  “Very good.” The man smiled and stood, holding out a hand.

  I cautiously took it, and gave it a short, firm shake.

  “The name’s Edgar George,” he said, before making his way around the desk and sitting back in his reclining office chair. “You may have figured this out by now, but you’ve been drinking in my establishment. Now… you’re a mage, and I’m assuming…” he said, raising my card and crooking an eyebrow, “a Cardkeeper?”

  Watching the card glow with the soul of the mage inside, I nodded slowly. I had never been more grateful that a vampire couldn’t use a magicard. Not unless he was a mage, too, but the chances of that were slim at best.

  Edgar placed the card back on the desk, and then leaned forward, tenting his hands and looking me dead in the eye. He reeked of confidence. He was a big man anyway, but being a vampire as well, I imagined it would take a lot to spook him. “So then, care to tell me what a Cardkeeper and a faery are doing inside my club?”

  “What makes you think we knew this was a vampire lair?” I said with a sneer.

  Edgar grinned at that. “Because you brought a magicard with y
ou, sat at the bar for an hour with only one drink, and then tried to sneak out after listening to my conversation. I know you probably don’t get much company at the Vault, but you must know that mortals don’t behave like that.”

  “I could have come here to kill you.”

  “Then you should have brought a few of your friends.”

  “Maybe I did,” I bluffed.

  “Not likely.”

  “How’s that?”

  Edgar leaned back, a smile creeping out and exposing his sharp fangs. “You may or may not know this, but your magic stinks. It doesn’t even need to be active for me to pick up on it. The smell is…” He sniffed at the air. “Putrid, like rot. Powerful, dangerous rot.”

  I guess that answered a question of my own. I would be sure to let the Keepers of all the pillars know that vampires could smell our magic. If I made it out of here alive.

  “I’m going to ask you one last time,” Edgar said. “What are you doing here?”

  I took a deep breath. It was time to come out with the truth, and put all my cards on the table – so to speak. “A powerful magicard was stolen from our Vault by a man named Victor Kronin. He used it to kill a pack of werewolves, and sources tell me that he has been here. Or will be, anyway.”

  It must have taken everything he had to neutralize his expression. The news that a pack of wolves had been slaughtered must have been music to his ears, but if he was amused, he was hiding it behind a stern, serious face.

  “Victor’s wife says that there would be an assault carried out against the vampires. As soon as I heard that, I made my way here to see what I could dig up. The way I see it, if I could get a murderous mage off the street and defend the vampires, you might have been interested in sharing some information. That’s why I’m here.”

  Edgar finally broke into a laugh, a hoarse noise that chilled me to my very bones. When his laughing fit subsided, he wiped his eyes and pierced me with an accusatory stare. “You came straight here from Kronin’s house, huh?”