Darkness Binds

by Brandy L Rivers

  “Blood cult? What’s their goal?”

  “To bring back Crom Cruach. I had my suspicions, but I had hoped it was a younger generation of vampires to watch for. But no, Eamon, the first vampire is here in Seattle. So is his general. I have no clue who else he may have with him. All I know for sure is that he can’t know who I am. So, you’re in charge at In Other News until I get back.”

  “You’ll be glamoured?”

  He nodded. “I got something for Amelia to help her shield her thoughts even if they get their fangs in her.”

  “She’s supposed to get into the cult. How can you hide her thoughts without looking suspicious?” Zoe asked.

  “If they believe she’s smart, they may suspect it. It’s not uncommon, especially among Shadowstalkers.” Brent lifted a shoulder. “I can destroy most vampires who get close enough.”

  “Most?” Kellan asked.

  He nodded. “Not going into that right now. The important thing is I’ll protect Amelia. And if I get in trouble, you’ll recognize me by this.” He held out his arm, his palm up so they could see the new tattoo across his inner wrist.

  Zoe tipped her head. “What does it say?”

  Kellan answered, “Amelia. In the water language.”

  “Should have listened to me,” Zoe taunted. She had told him to just tell Amelia what he wanted a million times, regardless of the visions.

  Kellan laughed. “She’s often right.”

  “It’s why she’s such a great reporter. She follows her instincts. And she’s taught Amelia well.”

  “Too well. And her instincts are spot-on, which makes keeping her out of trouble impossible.” Zoe offered a smile that did nothing to comfort Brent.

  “Tell me about it,” Brent grumbled.

  Zoe patted him on the back. “We’ll do our best to keep eyes on her in our own way.”

  “Our word. You helped keep us together. We’ll do what we can to do the same for you,” Kellan promised.

  “Now, fill me in on everything you can,” Zoe prompted.

  Chapter 9

  Amelia woke to strong hands kneading her muscles. A moan escaped as Brent worked out a knot she didn’t even know she had. The pressure was perfect.

  “Oh, that’s so good,” she murmured.

  “Hmm, I’ll keep going for a minute. Then we need to talk.”

  She rolled over and caught his hands, pulling him down with her. “You’re too serious, Brent. Talk to me.”

  He sighed, moving to her side.

  She propped her head up as she frowned at the amount of clothes he wore. Too many, as far as she was concerned. But they had a job to do. One that was too important to blow off.

  Still, there were about two hours until they needed to make it to Del Sangre Bar. But the stern expression told her she wasn’t getting him naked.

  She let out a sigh. “Tell me while I shower? Otherwise, I’ll be tempted to waste too much time.”

  “Now you want to tempt me,” he teased, but climbed from the bed.

  “You had my naked body at your disposal.”

  He shook his head. “Not until I know you’re with me to enjoy everything I want to do with you.”

  “I’ll never mind waking up to you inside me.” Amelia winked, then rolled from the bed. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and marched to the bathroom with the intent of keeping her back to him so they could get to work.

  As soon as the water was going, Brent started. “I told you last night, I knew of Eamon. That I had seen Drummond in a previous cult. This is something they attempt every so many centuries.”

  “Why wasn’t Eamon involved when you were held captive?”

  “He was, but not in the cavern where they kept me in. He doesn’t need my boost in power. But Inuala saw what my blood did to a weak vampire, and she decided to use me. She chained me to the wall and made sure their weaker vampires had access.”

  “Was she weak?” Amelia asked.

  He shook his head. “Oh no, but she liked the boost in power. The portions of her magic that had faded came roaring back with my blood.”

  “But Drummond never drank from you?”

  He shook his head. “No, he didn’t. And from what I saw, they didn’t drink from other vampire’s cattle or pets. None of them did, unless invited. So, don’t invite them.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.

  “You’ll have to move up their ranks. The higher you are, the less they’ll want you to drink from powerful captives, but they will want you to drink from one of Eamon’s children or himself.”

  She spun around, her wet hair slapping her skin. “What?”

  Amelia had mentally prepared to drink from Others. Another vampire was a whole different situation. They could get into her head, search her memories. Theoretically she could stop them, but she’d never done anything of the sort.

  “I don’t like it either, but I’d rather you drink from a vampire than an Other, me being the exception. I’d prefer you to feed from me exclusively, but that’s not likely to be an option while we’re working on this story and stopping them from summoning Crom Cruach.”

  “But another vampire could get into my head, my thoughts. Why the hell would you want that?”

  “Hear me out. You want to help stop them. The only way in is through blood. I bought you some jewelry that will keep anyone out of your head you don’t want there. In fact, if you want someone there, you have to open to them.”

  Amelia nodded, turning back around to hide her scowl. She did agree to this, and in all honesty, it was the only option they had. But sharing blood with the other vampires scared the hell out of her. Especially Eamon. Something about him made her want to run, no matter how much a part of her was drawn to him. And none of that made a damned bit of sense.

  “How does the jewelry work?” she asked.

  “Simply wear it. And if you want me in your head, you just have to let down your shields. In fact, I’ll teach you how to do that after you’re dressed.”

  “You’re going to teach me to raise my shields?” she asked.

  “Yeah, but you already do that pretty well naturally. And you could do it against the vampires, if you’re vigilant, without the jewelry, but that takes work.”

  “How do you know I can shield?”

  He sighed. “If I concentrate, I can glean the loudest thoughts from most people. Never could reach yours.”

  Her head tipped. “But I have no magic,” she answered.

  “Don’t need it for mental walls. And being bound to me, you may gain some magic.”

  A laugh escaped. “Nothing worthwhile, I’m sure.”

  “Won’t know for some time, but even small things can be necessary in different situations. You’ll see. I’ll be in the living room, making a call.”

  Closing her eyes, she hurried through the rest of her shower. Once she was dressed, she sat down next to Brent.

  He took her hand. “If you’ve changed your mind, we can pull out of this.”

  A nervous laugh escaped. “No. There’s no one else more qualified than you. Together we can do this. You just have to stay glamoured.”

  He smiled, rolling up the cuff of his left sleeve to reveal something scrolled in symbols across his wrist. “Fae?”

  “An old water language. Your name, in fact.”

  Her cinnamon eyes locked on his. “My name? And why a Fae language?”

  “I’ve loved, I’ve lost, and I’ve always gone on because I knew you were the one I was waiting on. And my father was a water Fae.”

  “Then why hold me away for so long?”

  “I’ve seen a dozen ways of how we end, but very few days with you.”

  “How do we end?” she whispered.

  His eyes closed. “Never good. One or both of us die. But now, I fear what will happen if you fall to the darkness of Crom Cruach’s blood.”

  “Wait, but he’s summoned. Isn’t he more like a spirit or demon?”

  Brent glanced at the books. “Perhaps a bein
g from another realm that’s lost, and now he’s stuck in between. My understanding is that he wants a vessel. Something strong enough to hold him. He’s been summoned, but the ritual has never been completed.”

  “How do we prevent anyone from trying in the future?”

  “Kill Eamon and his vampires. It’s possible. I’ve banished entities on occasion, but I need more information first. Like what realm he’s from, and how many ways there are to summon him physically.”

  “Which would be bad, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s catastrophic. I’m not sure what he is, or who would know. There are places in this world where the veil between ours and another is thin enough to cross over. And Others seem to be drawn there. We have places like that near Seattle.”

  “We do?” she asked.

  “Yeah. The Old House.” He rubbed his neck. “There are patches in that area where people can slip right through to other realms. There are locations like it in Ireland and other places in the world. Portals, undetectable ones.” He stood up and walked away. “That’s got to be where they’re meeting.”

  “Wait, what is the Old House?”

  “An ever-changing house that exiled Fae sometimes meet Fae that still reside in Faery. It’s neither here, nor there, so they can cross over. I was held in a similar place. Damn it, that has to be it.”

  “Will enchantments work there?”

  “Should. And I can shield my thoughts and memories well enough without.”

  “Were you hoping to hide from me?” Amelia asked.

  “No, and it wouldn’t work now that we’re bound. Not for long. You’ll always be able to slip behind my shields. I did it in case I’m ever in a situation I can’t prevent a vampire from getting in my head.”

  “Think that will be a problem?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I have no idea.”

  His honesty sent a jolt of fear through her. What had he seen? Would he share? Did she even want to know?

  “And you think I could go to the dark side.”

  One corner of Brent’s mouth twitched before he sighed. “It’s possible. I’m planning to do everything in my power to make sure you don’t.”

  “I need to know what you’ve seen to make you worry like this.”

  “It’s not that simple, Amelia. None of the visions make sense. For now, I need to focus on showing you how to block everyone from your head. So drink.”

  “Don’t want to take too much from you,” she whispered.

  “I wouldn’t suggest it if I was too low. Besides, I heal fast. My blood replenishes faster than most Others even. Why do you think they wanted me as their blood fountain?”

  “Really?”

  “Dozens fed from me every night for years. You drinking your fill won’t be a problem.”

  Her eyes closed and her chest heaved.

  “Please, I want your teeth in my neck. I want you to leave marks. And, it will help ensure they know I’m your source of sustenance. Though I’m positive one of them will expect you to bite them at some point.”

  He pulled her hand toward him, and she turned to straddle his lap before biting deep.

  His gasp sent another shock of lust through her.

  * * * *

  Would have been easy to let lust take over, but Brent focused on the memory Amelia needed. How he learned to block others from being in his head while he had no access to magic.

  He’d been chained for weeks, vampires dipping into his head, digging deeper into his thoughts, then twisting them. Some of them made his nightmares worse. Others pushed their fantasies on him—things he wanted no part of.

  The collar around his neck blocked his magic. They barely fed him, never offered water. They gave him wine instead, to keep him in a haze. Only his system burned through alcohol too fast for it to help.

  So he started building mental walls in his imagination. The walls were made of stone, like castle walls. He built it high, then built another around it, and another, until nothing could get in or out.

  The petite vampire, the one who reminded him of his first kiss, walked to him, watching him like he was her favorite prey.

  He closed his eyes, hiding behind the mental walls.

  She dropped down beside him, pinning him against the wall. Her fangs sank in and his walls trembled. He pushed more stone into them, the walls thickening.

  A frustrated growl left her lips as he was lifted up, her hand exploring the front of his pants.

  “Viola, release him,” Inuala stated, her voice cracking through his senses, but the walls held. He landed on the floor, the air leaving his lungs.

  “I can’t get in his thoughts,” Viola hissed.

  “Then our pet has learned a new trick. A blessing, considering how much you torment him. We don’t want him broken. We will need him later.”

  Brent cracked one eyelid open to find Inuala closing the distance. She picked him up, setting him on his knees, then took her own taste of his blood as she tried to get into his head. It was over fast, though he had a headache by the time she sealed the wounds. “My sweet child, you’re smart for your youth.”

  He was only sixteen at the time. He would be in the vampire’s hands for almost five years. A few more years of experience and perhaps he wouldn’t have fallen into their trap in the first place.

  Amelia’s fangs retreated as she sat back. He opened his eyes to find her watching him.

  “Is she dead?” Amelia asked.

  “Who?” Brent asked.

  Her eyes glowed red, a growl entering her voice. “Viola, the bitch who wanted to twist your thoughts around.”

  “She died in the firestorm I brought into the cavern,” Brent admitted.

  Amelia sat back, closing her eyes. “Saves me the trouble of hunting her down.”

  He brought her down for a soft kiss. “Ready to learn?”

  “As easy as you made it seem in the vision?” she asked.

  “Can be. I want you to block me from your head. And I know if you can block me, you should be able to block everyone else.”

  Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “That makes sense. But how are you going to try?”

  He smiled and reached out mentally. He slipped into her head, giving her images of his mouth on her, his hands sliding under her blouse.

  She gasped, squirming in his lap. “That’s not fair. I’m starved for you.”

  He chuckled. Starved, yeah, he was too. “Fight it. You need to learn. This is the fastest way. At least I’m giving you pleasant thoughts. The vampire I learned to block wasn’t giving me wanted thoughts.”

  Amelia gulped.

  Then he felt her push back. That could be fun, but he needed her to shut him out, not play games. “Walls, Amelia. Later, we can practice other tactics. Right now, we’re going for simple and effective.”

  Sighing, her lips pursed, then he was locked out of her head in an instant.

  “There, perfect. Teaching you the rest will be easy, but we need to get to Del Sangre Bar.”

  Standing, she walked back to his room. He reached for her with his mind and couldn’t get past the shields. He would only have to push a little harder, but he didn’t want to shake her confidence. In fact, he hoped her confidence would stop anyone from messing with her.

  “That’s perfect,” he praised.

  “I’m a quick study.”

  The bell rang and she turned with a raised brow. “Gaius? I thought we didn’t trust the elders in this instance?”

  “Most, no. If any of them would be on my side, it would be Gaius. Change and we’ll see what he has to say.”

  Amelia walked down the hall and entered the bedroom. Brent answered the door and found one of the few vampires he trusted. “Evening.”

  Gaius snorted. “Not good?”

  Brent shook his head and stepped aside. “Come in.”

  One brow arched. “Definitely not good.” Gaius entered the room, and Brent shut the door. “What’s going on?”

  “Eamon Mac Domhnaill is in tow
n, and his people are taking humans and Others much like they did all those years ago. I need to know if the elders plan to do anything about it or not?”

  “Not. None of them believe he will succeed. He hasn’t yet.”

  “And are any of you going to stop us if we stop them?”

  “You may gain the anger of a few elders, but I’ll come to your defense. Though I don’t believe Eamon is the true problem. Eamon does want to bring his god into this world, but he doesn’t pursue the goal like some of the others do. I believe he’s a negligent leader at best. However, the world may be a better place if he were gone. Maybe some of the strange power surrounding his clan would finally dissipate, and the elders among us directly descended from him would lose their foothold. I don’t trust three of them.”

  Amelia came back in a form-fitting scarlet dress and matching shiny red shoes.

  “Gorgeous,” Brent murmured.

  Gaius smirked. “Amelia. You look like a beautiful devil. You’re investigating Eamon?”

  She nodded. “Brent and I.”

  “Careful with Eamon. You look much like his wife.”

  Her head tipped. “You knew her?”

  “No, but I’ve seen the paintings, heard the stories. He killed his first wife the night he was changed, when he fell to blood lust. Tore her open, bathed in her blood, broke her body in the heat of his thirst.”

  She shuddered. “Thanks for that image.”

  “She was the first sacrifice to Crom Cruach.”

  “Somehow, I truly doubt she was the first. Maybe the first by him, but the Irish worshipped Crom for ages before Eamon was turned,” Amelia countered.

  Gaius perked up. “You know some ancient history?”

  She nodded. “My grandparents had an interesting library in their old home. I couldn’t resist the knowledge.”

  Now Brent wanted to know if there was more to learn there.

  * * * *

  Amelia shivered under Gaius’ stare. He said she looked like Eamon’s wife. How was that possible? Would explain her arousal and fear in Eamon’s presence, but she didn’t believe in reincarnation.

  “Must be a coincidence.” Amelia offered.

  “I never spent much time with him, but I can remember four different women he was with over the centuries. All could be your twin. Tread carefully. None of them have lived, though Eamon wasn’t the one who killed them.”