Even now, my judgment was tainted toward her. “We need to go into this cautiously. We already have the Duchess stabbing us from the front—I’m not letting Kori in to stab us from the back.”
Death rubbed his forehead, messing up his fine white-blond hair. “There’s this thought in my head—someone is trying to consume Kori—and if he does, we’ll lose everything to him.”
“As in… drink her blood?” I asked.
“Consume… I don’t know if that means feed on her or something else.” He rubbed his forehead harder, as if he was trying to scrub out a thought physically.
I squinted at him, not knowing what to say. Death’s mind functioned differently from anyone I had ever known. “That sounds like one fucked up thought,” I muttered, finally. “Do you think it’s based on something you saw or heard?”
He shook his head slowly. “My instincts have never been… normal when it comes to Kori. She always felt like Pack. It’s probably something to do with that.”
“Why don’t we focus on the rebels under the city now and worry about the rebels in the palace after the meeting. Are you having any confusing as fuck insights into that? Because I’m coming up empty.”
He glanced over at me. “Aren’t you supposed to be the brains of this operation?”
“I’d rather take a turn as the fucking muscle,” I muttered as I crossed my arms over my chest. “We should get down there.”
Death’s black eyes flicked over my bare chest and towel. “Sure. You might get more cooperation from Duchess Dread if you’re going like that.”
I saluted him with my middle finger as I headed back to my room. Ten minutes later, I was dressed in an expensive-as-shit gray suit, and we were heading down the long stairway to the bottom floor of the palace with Death ahead and Ruin trudging behind us with his blue eyes half-lidded.
Death reached for the door but halted with his hand an inch away from the handle. “That vampire… that guards Duchess Dread’s consort. We need to look out for him. He’s not what he seems to be.”
“What is he?” I asked.
Death pivoted slowly, lifting his fingers to rub his forehead again. “I don’t know what he is—but I get the feeling that he’ll pick us off one by one if he gets the chance.”
I glanced back at Ruin, who had a dark brow raised in question.
“It’s not all that surprising,” I said as I stepped up beside him. “Hades is the Duchess’ righthand man. Maybe he’s not so much her guard as her assassin.”
Death flinched at the word “assassin,” and I immediately regretted saying it.
“Henchman,” I corrected, though the word wasn’t much better.
Death nodded and pushed open the thick metal door, only to reveal the man himself waiting just on the other side. Hades probably stood at seven feet or taller. His beard was dark and bristly contrasting with his pale skin. “The Duchess offers her regrets,” the vampire growled as his green eyes traveled between us. “She can’t come to the meeting because she’s busy planning your third homecoming feast.”
Anger rose in my chest, hot and heady as I glared at the warrior. I bared my fangs. “This is the second day she’s canceled to throw a party we specifically told her we didn’t want. Tell her to cancel the feast and come to the meeting right the fuck now.”
The warrior continued to stare, straight into my eyes. A small smile twitched at the corner of his lip, and I could swear for just one second, I heard the words, “I will eviscerate you,” drift through my mind, and then Death shifted between the vampire and me, breaking our stare down.
“Have her meet us in the throne room,” Death said slowly. A surge of liquid rage came through my bond from Death, rattling me straight out of my puny excuse for anger. Death hadn’t lost his grip on his temper in the twenty-five years we’d been bonded, but I felt him at the precipice now, ready to tip over.
“Go.” I leaned to glare past Death’s shoulder. “For all our sakes.”
Hades took his sweet time turning away from us and strolling down the hall. When he’d finally turned out of view, Death growled, “There’s an Amino blood mage somewhere in this palace, and that vampire is feeding on them.”
“What’s an Amino mage?” Ruin asked, and I was glad he did, because I had no fucking clue what an Amino blood mage was.
“Mind mage. They eavesdrop on thoughts and plant ideas in people’s heads. Queen Hell used to drink from one before the domes when she was at her most paranoid—I thought they were gone.” Death said the words like he had ardently hoped the mage bloodline was extinct.
Ruin stepped up next to me and rubbed his chin. He didn’t seem whatsoever tired now. “I thought maybe I heard someone speaking in my mind … it was faint. They said that they would disembowel me.”
“Fuck.” I rubbed the back of my head. “I heard that threat, too. That was real?”
Death glowered back. “Good luck proving it. I can’t verify that he was trying to read my mind either, but I could swear…” Death trailed off and shook his head. “Careful of your thoughts when you’re around him.”
Ruin’s blue gaze snapped to mine. “We could ask Kori about it—she’s a blood mage.”
I thought about it, and an urge to go find Kori right now filled my chest. She was staying on the courtesan’s floor with her siblings. I’d knock on her door—hopefully she’d be up. I could look into her eyes, smell her scent, listen to her voice, brush my hand against hers.
… And then she’d probably lie to my face.
I needed to get my fucking head on straight.
“She probably has a lot on her mind,” I muttered. “Maybe we should give her a couple of days before we pull her into our fucking mess.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KORI
Three days after Death’s prophecy, Brendan, Genevieve and I paced through the Portland Palace’s garden courtyard under the full spectrum light of the dome. Our boots crunched over the fallen leaves on the garden paths. The dome shifted, sliding into the blue light of night, its navy illumination casting a melancholy hue on the maze of high hedges and rose trellises. The cool air smelled tangy and crisp.
“Did you know that a long time ago—before the dome, the Queen of the Deep used to rule all vampires?” my sister Genevieve said as she walked alongside me.
“Yes,” Brendan said as he ran his fingers along a hedge, giving out a quiet shushing sound. “Everyone knows that story. She’s the first vampire—crafted by demons with large bat wings and three-inch fangs. The story goes that she fell in love with an assassin named Claire that a rival king sent and made the woman her consort. Then, the competing monarch kidnapped and killed Claire for failing him. After which, the Queen of the Deep vowed to kill any vampire that interferes with another’s bonded mate. It’s more than likely an urban legend that the monarch built around herself, but most vampires live and die by the legend. I’m guessing that Clare never existed. How could this vampire queen know when other vampires broke her laws? She couldn’t.”
“Wow. You really know how to suck the romance out of a story,” I shot over at Brendan.
“It’s impossible to tell you a story that you don’t already know, Brend,” Genevieve said with a trace of exasperation in her voice as she flung back her dark hair. “How about you think of something to fill the silence.”
I slowed, turned to my siblings, and held a finger to my lips. Crunching leaves sounded from the far side of the garden. “Consort! Courtesans, where are you?”
“We’re here!” I called.
“Stay where you are!” Our vampire guardian yelled from some distance off. “I will find my way to you! The feast starts in less than one hour.” There was the sound of rustling and then a muffled, “Oof!”
Turning back to my siblings, I leaned in and lowered my voice. “Did you find anything?”
“No one knows anything about stopping the transfer of power from a human to a vampire. I thought that maybe there was something in the old courtesan notes
and records on binding a vampire’s powers, but when I actually found the page I was looking for, it just said that binding bands wouldn’t work on vampires the way they do humans. So, there’s that.” Brendan shifted his weight from foot to foot. He knocked three times on the trellis beside him, pursed his lips, and squinted one eye at me. “All of the notes on latency are about you, and it’s info we already know. I couldn’t find anything that could explain why the Tempus power didn’t show up until all three of them bit you at once, but I’m guessing that it’s because they took so much more blood than a typical feeding.”
“What if you fed them each separately, Kori?” Genevieve asked as she leaned into the trellis beside me.
“Oh, I plan to.”
“If my theory is correct, that should stop the predictions,” Brendan said, but he didn’t stop pacing. He lit a cigarette, winced, and then put it out in the dirt. “First cigarette I have had in weeks, and the tobacco’s gone bad.”
“Brend, focus. What if their predictions don’t stop?” I asked.
“They’ll start by having vague and imperfect visions of the future and might dismiss them as having random errant thoughts for a while until enough of their errant thoughts come true,” my brother said it all matter of fact, but I could tell in his rigid movements that he was far from calm.
“How long do we have until we can escape?” Genevieve whispered as she laid a hand on my arm. Her black lacy cuff rode up, exposing the matte gray band embedded into her wrist.
“It might take months to find enough leverage on the high courtesan to convince her to release your bindings,” I said.
“And what if we escaped while our powers were still bound?” Genevieve asked, and the question twisted my gut. Only a mage much stronger than Anastasia or the head courtesan herself could break her binding, and aside from us four and Griff, all of Portland’s blood mages died in the square.
“Maybe two weeks,” I whispered. “All of the tunnels out of the city are swarming with soldiers. If we leave the palace, fifty warriors surround us. In the palace, we each have at least one. They’re just waiting for the rebels to make their move.”
“What if we took the train to Nightendale?” Genevieve asked.
I shuddered. I hadn’t told anyone about my encounter with the King of Nightendale. I didn’t know how to break it to Brendan and Genevieve that they’d been dead for nearly a day. But after Death’s prediction, a cold ball of dread formed in my stomach. The King of Nightendale would make me pay the price for the flower I stole. The only question was when.
I rubbed the back of my neck and cleared my throat. “Griff galloped the whole way, and it probably took about ten hours. I’m guessing it was about fifty miles or more. The tunnels branched out, too. Griff knew the way, but I couldn’t even begin to remember it.”
“Meaning, we probably would get back to the army no sooner—if at all.” Brendan broke away, paced past us, and leaned against the hedge, kicking one foot over the other before he stood again. Tilting his head back and forth, he stared at the leafy floor before him like it held the true answers to our predicament. “I looked back on my notes about the history of Tempuses, and how the prediction came from a Tempus in the first place. Someone with the power of Tempus is going to enslave all of vampire-kind—according to the prediction. The vampires have a bloodline extinction law. So even if you can’t access your powers, you’d be put to death.”
I hugged myself. “Well, that’s thorough of them.”
“It’s fine. Everything will be fine.” Brendan wheeled around to face us. “If we kept Timmy from the vampires for fifteen years, we can keep this secret for two weeks. Even right under their noses. Just make sure you feed at least a day apart, and then we’ll flee to reunite with the rebel army and figure out how to take back Portland.”
“Timmy kept his power from being discovered,” I said. “He was always a step ahead of everyone. I can’t do that.”
“You’re right,” Genevieve whispered, “If their power doesn’t stop, the kings will figure out that they’re predicting the future probably sooner rather than later. It’s better they learn from you, Kori, so you can have a chance to convince them to keep it a secret. Maybe it will even deepen their affection for you, which we can use to escape.”
“That’s illogical, Vivie,” Brendan snapped as he continued to pace. “They’ll either have to execute her or risk war with the three other vampire kingdoms before they even have control of their own. Any king with an ounce of sense would kill Kori without a moment’s hesitation.”
Genevieve shook her head. “You’re very smart, Brend. But not every decision should be based on logic and data.”
“Now you’re just talking nonsense…” Brendan trailed off as something rustled the bushes directly to our left.
My siblings and I only had time to exchange a look of alarm when a mound of dirt pushed up under the foliage. Long thin claws poked out of the dirt, followed by an animal head the size of a wolf, but much more similar to an engorged rat.
We all backed a few steps away as the massive rodent burrowed its way out of the dirt. Under the dome light, its hide had a distinctively greenish tint. When it was fully out, I realized that it wasn’t a wolf or a rat at all. Dirt slid off its long narrow snout ending in a stubby pink nose. I couldn’t see any eyes in its face, but large clawed hands stuck out from its sides with five engorged fingers each.
The creature morphed, its skin writhing like it was made up of worms. Bones shifted, reforming in the familiar form of Griff. His beard seemed even more matted than the last time I saw him. The animal blood mage’s eyes darted to and fro. We ignored his nakedness and reached to embrace the man that was the closest thing we’d ever had to a parent. Clumps of dirt clung to his bare skin, and he smelled of wet earth and moss.
“We were so afraid that you died,” Genevieve whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
“Not yet, Vivie, not yet,” he whispered, his voice growly and rough. “But I don’t have much time. I don’t have any time at all.”
We all pulled back, but not too far.
“What happened?” Brendan whispered.
“No time.” Griff held out a hand. “Timmy told me I could find you right here, right now, but if we weren’t quick about it, that we’d be caught.”
“Timmy,” Genevieve breathed the name. “He’s safe?”
“He was three days ago. Then, he disappeared into the night just when we needed him the most.” Griff bared his teeth. “Just something your brother would do. Knowing Timmy, he’s somewhere in the city, following his own plan and risking his damn neck.”
My heart soared at his words. Timothy had survived. If anyone would, it was my wily brother. “Timmy vanished the same day the kings arrived from Seattle,” I mumbled. It was hard to believe that it could be a coincidence. “What about the rebel army?” I whispered. “How many survived?”
“About eight thousand. It wasn’t good. The vampire warriors attacked daily, killing the stragglers and pushing us into deeper caverns. Timmy kept the bulk of us ahead of the vampire warriors for a couple of weeks before he vanished. We were starving. People were dying.” Griff bared his teeth. “The same day your brother disappeared, our luck changed. There’s a blood mage from The Deep who wants to ally with the rebel army. He’s—something I didn’t think was possible. He doesn’t only have one blood power. He has several. He calls himself the Sorcerer.”
“Sorcerer?” Brendan asked. He and I glanced quickly at one another before turning back to Griff.
“Excuse me!” called our vampire guard from what seemed like even further away. “Where are you?”
“We’re here!” Brendan called. When Griff looked to be backing toward his hole, Brendan whispered, “Our guard is lost in the hedge maze. He’s loud. We’ll hear him long before we see him. Do you think this sorcerer could be a spirit mage?”
“No. I was around before the dome was finished when spirit mages lived in Portland. Spirit mages ar
en’t like blood mages. Their magic is…” Griff waved his hands. “They need to use incantations, runes, wands — shit like that. The Sorcerer is like us. The magic is inside him. I’ve seen him control gravity, thoughts, all of the elements, he healed mortal wounds. And, he has other blood gifts. On top of that, the Sorcerer knows the tunnels better than even me. He led us to edible algae, bat colonies, and water. The vampire warriors can’t find us, and they’ve backed off in the past few days.”
“Griff…” I paused to shake my head, “I know things are tough right now, but we can’t trust this Sorcerer. You’re our leader. Please, don’t let him take that from you. Give us two weeks. We’ll escape, and then we’ll all devise a plan to take Portland back together.”
“No one is taking the army from me.” Griff shook his head. “But we need you three where you are, in the royal court as courtesans and the consort of Portland.”
“News travels fast,” Brendan said. “This Sorcerer knew about us?”
“He can slip in and out of the city unnoticed. The rebel army needs you to stay at court and collect as much information as possible. The Sorcerer will find you. We need to know political alliances, who supports the new kings, and who opposes them. We need to know their strengths and weaknesses.”
“I can do more for the rebellion with you,” I said, leaning in. “This guy came out of nowhere when our army was its most vulnerable. We can’t trust him.”
“I told you, Kori, he’s not trying to take over,” Griff growled. “So far, he’s only helped us when no one else would.”
I took a step back. I didn’t know if Griff was directing that comment at me, but it felt like it. I had made a choice, and that choice was saving my family instead of returning to the rebel army. It wasn’t the choice Griff would have made. I knew that. But I couldn’t regret it.
Ruin: A Reverse Harem Dark Fantasy Vampire Romance (Fire & Blood Book 1) Page 11
