Red Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  The Prince appeared taken aback and finally responded through a grim look, “I will not relinquish my crown to anyone, so you are wrong on both counts.” Even through all of this insanity, I noticed that not one hair on the Prince’s head was out of place. His glamour was impeccable.

  “It’s funny you still think this is your… choice,” I managed as the spell pushed at me once again. Lili was occupied, but she wasn’t down. I still couldn’t access my magic, but at least I could see. “It’s already begun and I know you can feel it. You’ve probably felt it all along. That’s why you’ve been running scared—searching me out, wrongly accusing me, breaking the rules, and going against your own code. You knew this was coming. The power of the Underworld is leaving you. Your Scriptures were right about that. So, again, I ask you, will it go to your wife or your mistress?”

  Lili snickered, and then chanted something in Demonish. My eyes slid closed again. “Those are big words coming from a defeated pawn. You’re not even strong enough to break my spell—the spell I created from the very fiber of your being, strands from your very DNA. The power of the Underworld will choose me. The Princess is dead. There is no other.”

  Rourke snarled as the Prince of Hell roared and lunged at his former mistress. Power accumulated quickly in the room. He grabbed her by the throat and my eyes snapped opened. They began to battle and Eudoxia was by my side in the next instant.

  “If we want to get out of this alive, I need your blood,” the Vamp Queen insisted, leaning over me in hushed tones. “Lili is the most powerful being on this plane right now, and she’s right. The power will choose her. To defeat her, it will take all of our magic combined.” Her face was as intense as I’d ever seen it.

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  As the Prince battled Lili, the spell lifted a little more, but I knew it wouldn’t completely disappear unless I forced it out with magic or Lili died. Magic I couldn’t access.

  “Because I know all about Ardat Lili. I’d hoped she was dead, because no one has heard from her for hundreds of years, but I can see we were not that lucky.” She narrowed her eyes on the fighting duo.

  “How do you know her?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

  Rourke still had me in his arms. “Vampire Queen, explain yourself.”

  “Lili is one of the Five.” Eudoxia’s words were harsh in my ears and not above a whisper. “She can only be defeated by one of the other four. But I think I may have a way around it. As a fae child I learned that there are ways to defeat the Five, but to do it you must have powers numbering five and the ability to control magic.” She cocked her head at me. “And you happen to be able to do such a thing. And there just so happens to be five different supernaturals in this room. A coincidence? I think not. I have learned there are no coincidences when it comes to you.” She shook her head like I tried her patience as her fangs snapped down. “If I had not been forced against my will to follow you to this wretched plane, all would’ve been lost. You would’ve surely died, and now, because I am here, saving your sorry life, you will owe me more than just blood for this.”

  I tried to put the pieces of what she was saying together in my mind. “Are you telling me that Lili is part of the Coalition? Is that what the Five is?” If it was, that news was nothing less than completely staggering. I’d had no idea the Coalition was made up of only five supernaturals.

  “Yes,” the Vampire Queen hissed impatiently. “Can’t you keep up? She is one of the Five, and has been for centuries. But she did something very bad to someone—quite possibly your predecessor—and was cast here as punishment. Lili has managed to escape over the years, but can only stay on our plane for a very short time before she is automatically pulled back. That is where I encountered her. As I said, I think we can defeat her here and now and finally be rid of her forever, but we must hurry.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Why did Fate have to play such a cruel joke on the rest of us by having you be the one we must depend upon?” she scoffed, clearly irritated I wasn’t following along quickly enough.

  Instead of answering, Rourke’s voice sounded low in my ear. “She means by giving you magic from the five most powerful supernaturals at the same time. The strongest Sects are: shifter, vampire, demon, witch…” He glanced up at the Vamp Queen.

  Her eyes shot to silver. “And fae.”

  25

  I couldn’t fight it any longer. Lili had broken free of the Prince and her prime motive was to keep me down. The spell dragged me under once again and I couldn’t respond to my mate. Both Rourke’s and Eudoxia’s landed on my body, both of them transferring power to help me best the spell, but it wasn’t enough.

  But now I knew why.

  Lili was a member of the Coalition.

  One of the five most powerful supernaturals in the world. She was more powerful than I was. There was no contest. I knew I wasn’t alone in my confusion as I tried to process all the information. Most supes had no idea who sat on the Coalition, not to mention how many. It was clear Eudoxia had knowledge not every supernatural had. My guess was the Vamp Queen had made it her life’s goal to gather as much information as she could on everything and her cunning had paid off. The members of the Coalition were cloaked in secrecy for a reason.

  My wolf snarled, but I couldn’t see her. She managed to flash me a fuzzy picture of us glowing with power, eradicating the spell. It won’t be enough. This spell is attached to our DNA, just like she said. Our body thinks we don’t want to access our magic. My wolf snapped her jaws together. There’s a power order in place for a reason and the top is the Coalition. Lili is stronger. Eudoxia is right. It’s going to take all of us to defeat her. I just hope there’s enough time—

  “Jessica!” Rourke called, his voice frantic. “Answer me.”

  I couldn’t respond. I hadn’t even heard his question.

  My wolf howled, but she was fading from me quickly. Through my haze, I heard Eudoxia bark some orders. Then her fangs entered my wrist. There was nothing I could do to stop her—and even if I’d wanted to Fate was in control now. I said a silent prayer that the direction we were heading in would save me. I wasn’t ready to die yet.

  There were depressions on my chest, hands all around me.

  Lili’s manic laughter echoed in my ears. “Try all you want, but you won’t succeed. Once she dies, I will have her power. It is written. She was the last obstacle in my path to greatness. Once she is gone I will be the One. There will be no more Five. All will answer to me.”

  My chest arched up, my backbone close to breaking as a huge blast of magic entered me, strong and fierce. It came at me from all points of my body, and strangely, each piece had a different signature, texture, and scent.

  “No, you must do it like I’m telling you,” Eudoxia barked. “It has to be together, as one. And with your magic, send your power to aid her.”

  Once again, there was a huge pulse of magic, along with enough power to generate it all. It entered my psyche like a starburst, lighting up my mind, making my head spin like I’d just inflated a balloon the size of a Mack truck in one breath. Dizziness consumed me as the magic streamed into my body unchecked. It was enough to push the spell back a bit. I could see my wolf. My signature was changing as I absorbed more magic, and my wolf and I took it in greedily, my wolf working furiously to combine it with our own to create something brand-new and parcel it away as fast as she could. The time in our cell had paid off. I joined her and we worked in tandem.

  One more blast of energy and I coughed.

  The onslaught of magic filled me, was changing me. Lili’s spell was no longer tailored to me, as my new magic signature was nothing like my old one. But I could still see her spell lingering and I heard chanting now in earnest. We need to eradicate the spell completely, I told my wolf. We take the combined magic and launch it at the spell. She barked her agreement. I took a breath before focusing all the magic inward in one concentrated shot.

  My bo
dy jumped like it had been detonated from the inside as raw magic from five different supernaturals raced through my system at once. It destroyed the spell, smashing it to pieces.

  I blinked my eyes open to see five faces peering down on me. Eudoxia, Rourke, Ray, Selene, and a very disgruntled Prince of Hell.

  “Is that what you wanted, Queen of Vampires?” the Prince spit through his razor-sharp teeth. His glamour flickered for the first time, his reptilian side clamoring to be seen. “Now make good on your promise to me. Immediately!” He rose and stalked off.

  I gazed up at the Vamp Queen. Her eyes were matte black and red tears had formed at the corners. She was in some kind of transition. “You made a promise to the Prince of Hell?” I croaked, trying to shake off the headiness of the combined magic buzzing through my body.

  Eudoxia’s eyes were on me, but they were hollow and vacant. “I did what I had to.” Her voice sounded strange, both far away and close at the same time.

  Rourke hauled me up. I wobbled a little, but managed to keep my balance. “Are you okay?” he asked. “That wasn’t a normal reaction to any spell I’ve ever seen.”

  I gripped his forearms. “The spell was made for me, out of my own signature. Without what you all just did, I think it would’ve choked the life out of me. Lili wasn’t lying when she said she was an expert spell crafter.” I glanced around the room, willing my body to cooperate.

  Everyone had fanned out beside me, and we all faced Lili, who stood in the middle of the circle by herself.

  Her face was inscrutable. “I don’t care if you’ve momentarily shaken off my spell. I am confident you still cannot defeat me.” Lili’s voice commanded the room. She turned to address the Vamp Queen. “Eudoxia, I had not expected you to show up in the bowels of Hell, but that does not change anything. My place on the Coalition is sound, and as the last surviving daughter of Lilith, I carry her magic inside me. As I said before, I will be the One. Nothing can change that.”

  “That will only happen if you can defeat the female wolf, as you well know,” the Vamp Queen stated in a bored tone beside me. “And as you can see, we have healed her completely.”

  Lili waved her hand in the air dismissively. “Then I will simply put her down again until it’s done. There is no time frame here. This is not a battle—it’s a sacrifice to ensure power. One that can continue for as long as it takes.”

  As they spoke, the new magic zapped along my nerve endings. My wolf was working overtime to harness it—but it kept spiraling together, separating again, and then colliding. If Rourke hadn’t had a sure grip on me, I wasn’t sure I would still be upright. As my wolf stored the magic, she raced back and forth howling with delight, rejoicing in the strength it had given us. It seemed she’d been waiting for this and was treating it like a homecoming of sorts.

  I, on the other hand, was grappling with the meaning of it all.

  The Vampire Queen laughed cruelly, bringing me back to the conversation. “Dear Lili, it doesn’t seem you are comprehending what I’m patiently trying to explain to you. It’s not that she is healed, but how we’ve healed her. Or shall I say given freely to her, so she could heal herself. Do you grasp my meaning yet, or do I need to spell it out even further for your small mind to grasp?”

  Lili’s face clouded. “It doesn’t matter how she is healed. She’s not strong enough to defeat me.” Her hands drummed her hips, her blond hair flowing out around her.

  The Vampire Queen took a bold step forward. “It seems the brilliant Ardat Lili, the Seductress of Hell, last surviving daughter of Lilith, may have some things to learn about the world even after all these years.” Eudoxia clasped her petite hands, her dark-purple gown shimmering almost like it had been demon-made. “For your information, we have just given the female wolf the power of five. Together, as one, of our own free will. We have chosen to give this”—she cleared her throat—“ wolf supreme power, but it wasn’t really for us to decide, because it was her birthright after all, as you well know.” Eudoxia glanced at me with a knowing look—except I had no idea what she was talking about, as usual. “Regardless of whether any of us like it, the female wolf is now the most powerful being in the room, not you. Do you grasp what I’m saying to you now?”

  “That is impossible,” Lili said, storming forward, her hands fisted. “You cannot just make a supernatural the most powerful. They are born that way, as I was!”

  “Wrong,” Eudoxia retorted, cackling with glee. “I only know legends of Jessica’s predecessor, but I know you knew her intimately.” The Vamp Queen narrowed her eyes. “The female Lycan was part of the Coalition in her time, and was given a special ability, making her unique for a reason. Do you remember why that was, Lili? Or have you blocked it from your mind on purpose?”

  “This one doesn’t have that kind of ability or power,” Lili sputtered, thrusting her head at me. “She is weak,” she spit. “Her signature barely triggers notice in comparison to mine.”

  “No, she is young,” the Vamp Queen said with a sigh, “but she has never been weak—untrained and so very, very ignorant, it’s true, but it can’t be helped. I have finally come to accept what Fate has set in front of us, and it’s time you did too. This female wolf possesses the same abilities as her predecessor. She has not utilized them properly… up until now.” The Vamp Queen held one hand up, dismissing Lili’s rebuttal before she could begin, the Queen’s pale skin glowing with a new power, one my blood had given her. “This wolf now has the power of five inside her, and it has made her… unparalleled.” She cleared her throat again, because admitting I was powerful was still a hard pill for her to swallow. “And if you don’t believe me, send your power out to her now. Her signature has changed. The female Lycan has the ability to mold magics, and she will stand as the new justifier, just as her predecessor did. It is her role to enforce the High Law and her rebirth has triggered all that has come in its wake.” She opened her arms wide to indicate the predicament we were all in now. “I have tried my best to deny it, it’s true, but it has done me no good, as you can plainly see. I find myself standing here next to her, enduring her foolishness, but the truth cannot be avoided any longer. The female wolf has just become more powerful than you and is now ready to take her rightful place on the Coalition.”

  I was so flabbergasted by the news, I turned to openly stare at the Vampire Queen with my mouth wide open. I made a small noise in the back of my throat as Rourke tightened his grip on my waist. None of us had ever guessed such a thing. The Coalition? It was shocking.

  The fae must be record keepers of some kind, or if her aunt Alana was any indication, they must have their fair share of oracles. The wolves had no idea a female Lycan had existed before, much less sat on the Coalition. My father was only five hundred years old, and when our records were entrusted to him they’d been damaged. Now I knew why. Keeping this information from the wolves had allowed Lili to keep the upper hand. She had perpetuated the Cain Myth and had destroyed our history. But that all stopped today.

  Anger jumped out ahead of Lili and my head snapped back to her. “She will not sit on the Coalition. Even with the power of five she does not have the power to stay my hand. And even if she did, this is not what Fate intended for me—I am sure of it.” Lili had taken the Vamp Queen’s advice and her power assaulted me now, testing my signature. I rebuffed her easily, a gridlock of new magic fortifying me. “I’ve studied the Scriptures and it says a powerful new reign shall begin once the female Lycan arrives in the Underworld. And I’ve waited for centuries to take my rightful place as the One. I am that new reign, there is no one else.”

  I took a step forward and Rourke let me go reluctantly. “I have to correct you there, Lili. I don’t fully understand everything yet, and I don’t have any insightful knowledge about the past, but I am putting the pieces together and I do know that Fate would never allow just One to rule. The Coalition has been the same for thousands of years—for a reason. In order for it to work, it has to have one representative fr
om each of the most powerful supernatural Sects. But I’m thinking you know that already, don’t you?” I glanced at Eudoxia to my left and Rourke to my right. Everyone else stood behind us. Lili had been sentenced to life in Hell, and if my predecessor had put her here, there had to have been a grave reason why. I narrowed my gaze at her. “This is exactly why you were sent to the Underworld in the first place, right? You fought to become the One before… and lost, and your punishment was exile.”

  One look at Lili’s face, and I knew I’d put the pieces together correctly. Out of the corner of my eye I spied the Prince of Hell. He stood near his bride with both his hands fisted. It was strange to know he couldn’t defeat Lili, even if he wanted to. I glanced between him and his bride and something incredibly important struck me.

  Lili still couldn’t take control of Hell without my magic, combined with the Princess’s powerful heart. Without them, the power of the Underworld would not choose her and she knew it. But, with them, there was indeed a possibility that she could become the One and wreak havoc on us all.

  I couldn’t let that happen. And to stop it, the first thing I needed to do was save the Princess—and I’d already figured out a way to do it when Lili had spelled me the first time. I hadn’t lied to the Prince when I’d said I had a plan. Lili had told the demon audience that the Princess wouldn’t die if her heart lived on in the clone’s body. But the Princess didn’t need her heart to bring her back—she just needed a heart. I sprang forward, shouting, “Ray, make sure the Princess’s soul is still in her body! If it’s not, find it!”

  “I’m on it,” Ray answered without pause.

  I moved so fast I was a blur. All the magic inside me coalesced as I raced forward, tightening and strengthening, making me faster than I’d ever been. Eudoxia had been right. I had craved this, but I’d had no idea I needed it or where to get it. As I moved toward my prey, I finally felt like the supernatural I’d been born to be. My wolf howled in agreement.