A Vampire's Fury

by Raven Steele

  “Crap,” Briar said to herself. Her eyes flew open. “Damnit! I can’t remember what Samira said. What kind of language is fae anyway?”

  “Hello,” I said behind her.

  She jumped and whirled around. “About time. How’s your mob friend?”

  I swallowed the guilt that tried to surface again. I couldn’t think about what I had done or let myself feel any emotions. “Angry like the rest of us. Let’s go get Teddy back and move on to more important things.”

  Briar motioned toward the invisible barrier. “Then say the damn words already.”

  After inhaling a breath, I breathed the phrase to get us inside. Briar and I stepped forward. One second we were at the entrance to the park, the next we were in a bustling village reminiscent of the Old World, minus the occasional flash of a lit-up cell phone screen.

  We walked forward, and Briar stared at the bustling market, wide eyed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”

  I shrugged. “It’s better that way. The fae way of life rarely makes sense to outsiders.”

  We walked quietly, weaving in and out of the many straw-thatched roof buildings, the light from fire-burning sconces guiding us. The moon, although full in our world, didn’t seem to penetrate this otherworldly place as strongly, but several homes had magical lights flitting about, casting a magical glow in all directions.

  Eventually we reached Warwick, the grand palace with its expansive gardens and oddly placed gargoyle statues. Folas greeted us at the main gates.

  I furrowed my brow. “Did you know we were coming?”

  “We have different wards to alert us when supernaturals cross over. When we received a warning about a vampire and a shifter, I knew it was you two.”

  Folas turned around, and we followed him up to the tall front doors. They opened as if by invisible guards. We walked through the palace past wide open doors to the throne room. Unlike last time, there were only a handful of fae in the great room. They looked like guards by the straight way they stood and the weapons on their backs. This was the first I’d seen of them. The other odd thing missing from the room was the whispering shadows that had raced through the wall murals last time we were here.

  What remained the same, however, was Queen Oona and King Haeman sitting upon their thrones on a dais at the front of the room, as if waiting for us. Folas must’ve told them we were coming. Haeman’s grand chair resembled a recliner more than it did a throne made for royalty. His legs were propped up and the arm rest held a tall, golden mug. Tucked between his great body and the side of the chair was a bag of what looked like taffy. He picked at his teeth and watched us with bored indifference.

  Oona, on the other hand, sat on the edge of her throne, her slender hands resting in her lap. She wore a long, light blue gown; the straps hung off her shoulders. Her nearly white hair had gathered at the top, then spilled out a silk ribbon onto her back.

  Teddy was there too, standing off to the side just behind Oona. He looked the same except for dark circles under his eyes, rare for a vampire. I wonder if he had been given enough blood to drink.

  “You’re back!” Haeman bellowed before we had reached him. The deep bass of his voice echoed off the walls of the mostly empty room. Haeman glared at Folas. “Did you let them in?”

  “Samira knows our language. She let herself in.”

  Haeman puffed air out his large bulbous nose. “Then she will be punished so she knows not to do it again.”

  Oona spoke up. “Oh, come now, dear. She meant no harm. She only came to collect her servant.” Oona’s eyes traveled wistfully to Teddy. “I did enjoy him immensely. Consider your debt paid.”

  Teddy bowed, then descended the steps toward us quickly and stiffly, as if it was taking all his strength not to run. He forced a smile and stood next to me obediently. I didn’t dare ask him anything in front of them.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. Great and large is your wisdom.” Briar kept her face even.

  Oona closed her eyes briefly and smiled.

  “Why are you still standing here?” Haeman snapped. “You have your servant. Now leave.”

  Briar turned with Teddy to do just that, but I remained still. Here we were, surrounded by a powerful group of supernaturals who had sat idly by too long while terrible things happened. It was time they fought the war with us.

  I stepped forward. “Because I’m not finished.”

  Briar groaned behind me.

  “What do you need?” Oona said, her voice overly kind to make up for her husband’s lack of manners.

  “A war is going on outside your walls, one that is taking the lives of many. Your people have also felt the effects. And it’s only going to get worse.” I glanced back at Briar and Teddy. Briar was giving me a look that warned me not to say anything else, but I couldn’t keep silent anymore. We needed as many supernaturals as we could on our side. I know Roma didn’t trust the fae, but we had to do something different, something the Phoenix might not suspect.

  And so I told the truth.

  “We believe the great fae witch Ivona is here. In Rouen and working with Korin, masquerading as a man named the Phoenix. She lives in a place much like this, protected by invisible walls and safe inside a great cathedral. We believe they are creating an army the likes many of us haven’t seen for centuries. These are genetically altered creatures who have been stripped of their humanity. They kill simply because they’ve been ordered to.” Briar came to stand next to me, and her presence gave me strength. “But that’s just one of the problems we’re facing out there. Ivona is close to raising Trianus, and if that happens, how safe do you think you will be in Black Glen? Trianus will not be bound by earthly rules. He will see this place, and he will destroy it just like everything else. Then what will you do? Will you continue to grow fatter on your throne while the rest of us fight, only to die yourself in the end?”

  Haeman stared at me, his eyes blazing both heat and cold at the same time. He lowered his leg rest, and with surprising agility, jumped from his chair. “Seize her!”

  The guards on each side of the room moved in.

  Briar gasped. “Are you kidding me right now?”

  “My Lord,” Oona began.

  “I said seize her!” he screamed, spittle flying from his fat lips.

  Briar lowered into a defensive position beside me with Teddy at my back. Even Folas backed toward us, eyeing Oona anxiously as if waiting for orders.

  But I wasn’t about to let any of them fight my own battles. Especially not against this lazy, tyrannical ass.

  I blinked across the room with vampire super-speed before anyone could move, withdrawing my sword as I went. I pressed the tip to his throat, hard enough to draw blood. The Kiss surged inside me at the suddenness, its dark tendrils touching parts of my mind and heart with searing tips. It was hungry for him.

  I stared deeply into his eyes, not to compel him, but to terrify him. “Your time of sitting back is over. Do you understand? You either agree to help, or I’ll run you through with my sword right here and now.”

  His lip curled upward revealing dirty, yellowed teeth. “You’ll do no such thing. You’ll never get out of here alive. Guards, kill her!”

  Oona stood. The action was graceful and smooth, yet sent a powerful wave of energy strong enough to stop me from ramming my steel through his throat. Even the guards stopped. “Samira, enough. There will be no bloodshed.”

  I lowered my weapon, not yet prepared to fight her, too.

  Haeman laughed, a dirty, ugly sound, and clutched his oversized belly. “Thank you, dear. You’ve always been a good and obedient wife.”

  “I know I have, and yet, you’ve shirked your duties as husband and King. You’ve left us weak and unguarded.”

  Haeman’s face turned red in anger. “We have guards.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  “This war has nothing to do with us. Let them have their wars, so we can continue to live in peace.” He held his hand towards her. “Com
e, my dear. Have I neglected you for too long? Let me show you my appreciation for your role as my Queen.”

  “No, thank you.” She glanced toward the guards and nodded her head toward the King. “Take him to the furthest dungeon from me and bind him well.”

  Haemen’s head snapped toward her. “What is the meaning of this?”

  She sauntered over to him, the edges of her long gown whispering against the stone dais, and delicately brushed the back of her fingers over his cheek. “This is me finally taking my role as Queen seriously. I have sat back long enough while the fae grew fat and weak. It’s time we melted back into the human world and helped our fellow supernaturals before we’re all destroyed.”

  Several guards had surrounded the King. None of them were hesitating.

  Oona stepped back. “Take him.”

  He flung his hand forward as if to perform some sort of magic, but Oona beat him to it with a flick of her slender fingers. Soft light tinged with blue poured over him. The effect snuffed whatever he had been trying to do.

  “You’ll pay for this, Oona!” Haeman shouted as they drug him away. The bag of taffy had become partially stuck in his pants, and a trail of candy spilled behind him. “Do you think I don’t still have powerful friends?”

  “Your friends will be joining you soon.” She watched him leave, and only when we could no longer hear him shouting did she turn to us. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  Briar snorted. “I’m not. That’s why I filmed the whole thing.” She held up her phone, grinning. “We’re going to have great fun watching this a million times with a few beers in us.”

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

  Oona didn’t laugh, but she did smile. “That was a long time coming.” She glanced at me. “Thank you for being the spark I needed to ignite the fire. A lot is going to change around here.”

  I cleared my throat. “Your Majesty, we’d like to discuss plans, specifically how to get into the cathedral.”

  She sighed, thinking. “To be honest, I’m not sure we can help with that. Witches may be better suited for the task. Fae magic is powerful, even more so against our own kind.”

  “Why is that?” Briar asked.

  “Because we know how each other’s magic works. It makes it easier to block against other fae.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “But not impossible. I’ll put Eddie on this as he is already comfortable in your world. He will have to spend a lot of time near it to capture different magical particles of the barrier.”

  “How else can the fae help?” I asked. The sound of desperation in my voice hurt my ears.

  “However we can, but it might take a little time to acclimate most of us back into earth’s true form. Even the air in your realm behaves differently on our lungs. It can be difficult to get used to.”

  “Try to make it happen quickly,” Briar said. “The fae witch is getting closer to raising Trianus.”

  “We’ll start tonight,” she vowed.

  We spoke for a few more minutes, telling her of our plans with the campus. She didn’t think any of her people would be ready that quickly, but offered Eddie’s help. I thanked her, and we said our goodbyes and headed back the way we came, with Teddy leading the way. He seemed to know his way around the palace very well.

  I waited until we were inside Briar’s vehicle before I swiveled around in the front seat to face Teddy. “What happened in there?”

  He shook his head and the knot in his throat bobbed up and down. “I think I’m going to need a few days to process everything.”

  “Did they hurt you?”

  He thought about this. “Not really, and yet, have you ever had so much of a good thing that it becomes a bad thing? Like if you drink too much blood, it can make you feel sick?” When he caught Briar wrinkling her nose, he added, “Or if you eat too much ice cream, it can hurt your stomach?”

  At this, Briar nodded in understanding. “I remember wearing my favorite silk panties three days in a row while riding my bike across the country. After that, they weren’t my favorite panties anymore! Those suckers hurt to come off!”

  Teddy grimaced. “I guess that’s the same. Basically, I think I had too much of something I love and now I feel kind of sick.”

  I met his gaze. “Thank you for going. You helped us a lot.”

  “Good, but please take me far away from this place.” He flopped against the back seat as if he were exhausted. After Briar drove for a while, Teddy leaned forward in his seat. “Can I stay at your place for a little while, Samira? I think I need to recuperate somewhere quiet.”

  “Of course.”

  Briar looked at me. “So to your hotel or Lynx’s place? Which one is home to you these days?”

  I noted the hint of sarcasm in his voice, but I wouldn’t indulge her. “Let’s go to Lynx’s.”

  Briar turned that direction, and, after we walked inside, Teddy immediately darted in front of us. “I need a drink and oddly, normal food. Too much blood and sex.”

  “Help yourself.” Briar tried showing him the way, but he was already in the kitchen removing ice cream from the freezer. He didn’t bother with a bowl. Just opened the lid and dived in with a spoon. Briar brought him a bottle of scotch, which he immediately drank.

  While he ate, Briar and I filled him in on everything that happened while he was away. He shared his own information about Black Glen and the palace. Some of it was helpful, but the rest was completely unnecessary, especially about his sexual encounters with Oona. But Briar insisted on being told everything to be sure we didn’t miss something important.

  “Looking for bedroom tips for you and Luke?” I asked her.

  Her mouth fell open dramatically. “I’m just trying to be thorough, and maybe hearing about Oona’s reverse cowgirl position might give us some information we might not have known before.”

  My deadpan face emerged. “Like what?”

  Teddy cleared his throat, then coughed on the ice cream in his mouth. “Can we please not talk about this? Too soon.”

  “Agreed,” I said. “Just tell us about everything that went on outside of the bedroom, then we can hurry over to the college.”

  Briar huffed and folded her arms as Teddy told us what he thought was important, specifically Oona’s schedule first. She left every day at sunset and didn’t return for several hours. Teddy said she’d always come back with items belonging to humans. He didn’t think it that strange until she came back with a briefcase of several vials of blood. They hadn’t been for him to drink either. She’d given them to Folas. Teddy tried to find out what they were using it for, but he couldn’t ever find a lab. As for the King, he didn’t do much other than eat, sleep, and screw. He didn’t have a clue what was going on around him.

  Teddy also told us about the fae warriors. There were far more than we ever suspected. Most of them had been ordered to stay out of view from any other supernatural or human. Even the King didn’t know how large Oona had grown their army. Teddy was pretty sure he’d be punished severely, and not in a good way, if Oona discovered he knew about the fae army. We swore to keep it a secret.

  This revelation worried me greatly and even Briar seemed unsettled by the news. If the fae were on the Phoenix’s side, I didn’t know if we could beat them. Either way, we needed to secure our relationship with the Witches of Rouen and with the vampires. There were other covens in neighboring towns we could reach out to. Shifter packs, too.

  “What are you thinking, Samira?” Briar asked me, her brows furrowed. She seemed just as concerned as I was about the fae army.

  I looked up at her. “We need to prepare. None of us are ready for what’s coming.”

  Chapter 14

  The sound of Oz’s high-pitched laughter reached me even though I was still inside my coffin. I threw open the top, not wanting to waste a single second. There was work to do.

  I showered and dressed quickly in the basement of Fire Ridge and headed upstairs. It had been three days since Roma told us abou
t the college. Every night and day we had gathered as much intel as we could about the place until there was nothing left to uncover except for what lay beyond the security door.

  Briar was sitting on the kitchen counter with Luke between her legs while they kissed. I blinked past them into the living room, hoping to go unnoticed, but I moved so fast I nearly ran into Oz.

  He jumped and squealed. When he saw me, he clutched his heart and panted loudly. “You scared me.”

  “Clearly. When do we leave?”

  “We’re waiting for Angel and Mateo to get here,” Oz said as he reached into his backpack on the coffee table and began to unload several of his knuckle-blaster guns.

  “What are those for?”

  “Tonight.” Oz removed the last one. Six guns in total. “Just in case we run into any trouble.”

  Briar came up behind him. “It’s a college campus. Other than the drunk and disorderly, what kind of trouble do you think we’ll find?”

  From behind her, Luke said, “Briar is right. Not even Korin would risk exposing a bunch of his Hyde creatures to humans.”

  “But Korin is also not a fool,” I reminded them. “There’s a good reason he placed that lab where he did. For whatever reason, he thinks his goods are safe there.” I looked at Briar. “Wasn’t Roma coming?”

  “She was, but she called about an hour ago. She said she’s neck deep in Mugwort and bat shit and thinks she and Owen are close to coming up with a spell to get us across the cathedral’s barrier. She said we can call her if we get into trouble.”

  I nodded, glad she was still working on it. For me, getting into that cathedral was of the upmost importance.

  Eddie descended the stairs from the second floor and walked into the living room wearing his signature black t-shirt pulled tight across his chest. His eyes darted around the room taking everyone in.

  “When did you get here?” I asked.

  “I came a couple of hours ago.” He glanced upstairs. “I’ve been practicing elemental magic in case we need it. Where’s the pack?”