Dark War Chronicles Box Set One

by A. L. Kessler

  Something seemed off, but she nodded and followed him down the hall and into the room. She sat in one of the oversized chairs and watched as he lounged himself on the couch.

  "You wanted to know if the Originals and the Father were simple myths. This is not a light topic and I am already fighting so many forces right now. I want to do this in a casual manner so you don't think I am feeding you vampire...bullshit."

  He had that right. She swallowed. "Orion said that bargaining with you was a bad idea. What does he mean?"

  "It depends. If it was to mate someone, then I require you to join my territory. You want information, so I will simply require information back and you won't like what I want." He met her gaze. "I want to know who your master is."

  Her stomach dropped and she opened her mouth to deny it, but he held a hand up. "I can recognize your bond to him. Clearly he isn't in this territory—"

  "Depends on what you consider your territory, it's in the same cemetery that Tegan visits." If he wanted to play shock the human, she'd do it right back. "I have a picture of her visiting a crypt outside of the Hunter owned part of the yard."

  His jaw tightened. "I wasn't aware the Hunters owned land in that area. Tegan visits the resting place of her brother there."

  "I'll give you the name if you stop being so cryptic." She pursed her lips. She hadn't spoken the name of the vampire in ages. Her stomach wanted to heave at the very thought, and judging by Lucius' calm demeanor, he knew that. He inclined his head in agreement. She took a deep breath, "Alexander DeOrleans."

  He paused and stroked his chin. "I've heard of him. He disappeared. I assumed Hunters took him out. He'd gone rogue in my territory, Coran was supposed to hunt him down."

  "The Hunting Society locked him in a silver coffin and he lays in a mausoleum. They didn't want to kill an innocent young adult just because the vampire happened to bond her."

  Lucius' careful mask fell. “Young adult? You were what?"

  "I was seventeen when he took me. I was only with him for a few years before he bound me.” She tried to squash down the painful memories that surfaced. The hours of being fed from, the darkness she was always in, the chains to keep her there. It was a few years after being bound to him that she’d managed to escape. “I didn't experience much cruelty, except I grew to hate your kind." She tried to keep her voice even, but the hate was always there when she mentioned vampires.

  "Cruelty is something we know as a survival instinct." He shrugged. "But I am glad to know he's not running around my territory."

  She crossed her arms. "Now, my information?"

  "Yes, the Originals and Father exist." He watched her, his unnerving gaze never wavering. "There are seven Originals and they are all sleeping. That happened not long before we came here. I don't remember the exact year; I was dealing with other issues at the time. The Father was forced into his own tomb, his soul ripped from his body, and the door sealed with his blood."

  "Vampires don't have souls."

  Lucius laughed. "That is where you are wrong. The Originals and the Father all have souls, but it wasn't long until they fell out of favor with the gods that had given them this blessing. They were able to keep their souls, but anyone that they changed would not. Being a vampire soon turned into a curse, your soul and everlasting blood lust in exchange for immortal life."

  That was certainly something that wasn't in her books. "There's a rumor going around saying that The Circle is planning on raising the Father, what implications would that have?"

  "If they raise him the vampires will grow in power and the war will get out of hand. The Father will want to rule over all supernatural creatures who roam in this realm, just as it used to be. He ruled using the Originals and The Circle, delegating things to them to help him essentially rule the world." Tension crossed his eyes. "It would be a blood bath, because he would try to cull numbers of anything not vampire."

  "How do you know all this?"

  Lucius cleared his throat. "How did you escape Alexander?"

  It was clear now just how much information she needed to give up to get her answers. "I snuck out during daylight hours after poisoning the humans he paid to watch me. They were stupid enough to take me out during the day, and nightshade berries were all over his property." She didn't blink at the confession of taking two human lives. "I was able to find a town and call the police."

  He nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. "One of the Originals is Tegan's brother. I was with him when they trapped the Father and we rescued Tegan."

  "Why was the Father keeping her? What is so important about her?" Dani knew she was pushing her luck with the question, but she had to try.

  Lucius met her gaze. "That is information I will not give. What Tegan is, what part she plays in all of this is a secret. I can tell you that it is Renee's blood, her family's blood, that can open the tomb. That is why I had to make sure her and Coran decided to stay here."

  "Renee's blood? You know she has a brother, right?" Dani's stomach sank again as she recalled Renee mentioning her brother being off the grid without warning the family.

  "I am aware, but from what I was told he travels a lot and I doubt the Circle has tracked him down, they were so focused on Renee."

  She doubted that. "You might want to look into that. That is, if you don't want the Father raised."

  "I will. Are there any more questions?"

  "When will the Originals wake, and what will happen when they do?" She needed to know everything she could about this. Even if she couldn't share it, maybe Joey could pull the information from her head and use it to prepare the others.

  "I don't know when they will wake, I was never told. We transferred Zaaren's body here when I staked out territory. Tegan wouldn't let me leave him behind." He chuckled, but it wasn't happy.

  Dani stood, "Thank you for the information. I should get going, there's a blood demon out there that I should help hunt down."

  "Don't let it slaughter you." He stood and let out a cold laugh. "I have another meeting. Good night, Hunter."

  Chapter Six

  Lucius paced his room. The pain in his head had started to ease, but there was still an underlying pressure he couldn't place. The only logical reason for it was Tegan; vampires didn't get headaches. That brought hope to him. She may be out of tracking reach in another realm, but she was still finding ways to get through to him. Though he could have done without the pain. It only reminded him that she was in trouble.

  "Tegan, hang in there." He whispered. It hadn't been long since the Hunter left. Sharing information with her had been a whim, in hopes that her connection would lead him to something, anything. But alas, her master was being held prisoner in a coffin. He was sure the vampire deserved the punishment, but to be kept locked away in such a manner...poor bastard.

  He grabbed a collared, button-up shirt absentmindedly. He'd received news via a terrified lesser Fae that the Queen wanted to meet with him. Orion was causing more problems than he was worth at this point. His constant pressure on Tegan to date him, his lack of ability to find her, and there was his constant less than reverential attitude, that made Lucius question why he allowed Orion in his territory in the first place. Maybe Lucius should just hand the Fae over, but he knew Tegan would never forgive a move like that.

  When he reached the great room, Liara was already there, sitting in his throne. She stroked the ivory with her long, thin fingers. "Lucius, you've grown. In power, in people, and in territory. I'm impressed."

  "I wasn't aware that you were keeping tabs on me. I've never met you in person. Orion has told me a great deal about you." Like how she was a cold-hearted throne-stealing bitch.

  Liara laughed. "Ah yes, the stuck-up prince who is now under your rule."

  "Why are you here?" Lucius asked, already tired of her. What could he possibly have to offer the Queen of the Fae?

  Standing, she slinked towards him. "I want you to kick Orion out of your territory."

  Wasn't that in
teresting? Lucius watched her and forced himself not to draw back when she draped an arm over his shoulder. Pushing her away would only egg her on. "You said you had information on my human."

  "And I hear you like to barter. Info on your human in exchange for Orion."

  Protectiveness welled up in him. Though Tegan's pain echoed in his head and he wanted her safe in his sight, he couldn't trade one of his people for her. No. Orion had sworn an oath to him and Lucius could not betray that. "I don't bargain with lives. I won't trade Orion for information."

  "Such a shame, enjoy that Blood Demon in your territory and good luck finding your little bitch." The Queen disappeared and Lucius snarled, clenching his fists.

  The only way to find Tegan would be to put someone in demon territory. Kaden would be killed instantly, but he wasn't willing to exchange Orion's life, even with as much of a pain in the ass as the Fae was.

  "What the hell is going on?" Lucius grumbled, rubbing his head. Closing his eyes he tried to focus on Tegan. 'Tegan?'

  Nothing came back to him and his gut clenched. With all the pain he knew she had to be going through torture. He started to doubt her humanity, could she be killed without being beheaded?

  "Lucius?" Mae's voice broke his thoughts. He looked up at his newest fledging. He hadn't planned on changing her, but he couldn't let her return back to human life. She was adjusting well and eventually she'd be powerful.

  He'd been attracted to her the first time he saw her and despite the time they shared in bed, she didn't push for more, or less. Like she didn't want a mate. Since Tegan's disappearance they hadn't spent much time together at all. "Yes?" He opened his eyes.

  "I've got things handled at The Disappearing Act, we should be able to open tonight."

  "Good, thank you. Anything else?"

  Mae shook her head. "No, I'm just checking in. The staff is exhausted so I took some extra shifts."

  "When was the last time you fed?" He demanded.

  She thought and looked away.

  "Mae?"

  "A couple nights ago. It’s okay, don't worry about me. I'll get Orion to feed me or one of the other guys at the bar." She gave him a smile.

  He didn't like this; it wasn't like her to go so long without feeding. Mae had been a private investigator dealing in supernatural creatures and had helped out the police many times. "Mae, in your contacts, do you have any demons, or demon hunters?"

  "I don't. Are you thinking of sending someone after Tegan?"

  Lucius pressed his fingers together. "I don't think I'm going to have much of a choice."

  "Can you still feel her pain?"

  He shook his head. "That stopped a few hours ago, I don't know what to do. Her brother isn't waking, so I can't depend on him. She's going to be a mess when she gets back...if she gets back."

  "We'll find her, Lucius." she placed a hand on his shoulder.

  He hoped she was right.

  Dani knocked on the townhouse door and waited for Orion to answer. After a few minutes Orion's face greeted her when the door opened, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "Hey, what's up?"

  "Sorry, I should have called, but I thought I should apologize in person." Her heart sped up when he stepped out the door and closer to her. The porch light highlighted the change in his eyes and she blinked a few times. "Your eyes have changed."

  "So people keep telling me. What do you have to apologize for, Dani?" He took her hand and pulled her to his chest.

  She relaxed at his touch and couldn't figure out why he chose to give her that little bit of affection. "For running out on you this morning. It wasn't fair. I'm sorry." She struggled to put her feelings into words.

  "Don't be, I hope you just did it because you had something important to do."

  She shuffled her feet. "I had an anniversary date that I needed to keep." Though if she was honest with herself, she had felt an overwhelming need to stay with him, one that she couldn't explain and it scared her.

  "You want to come in for a cup of coffee?" He offered and gave her one of his easy smiles.

  She crossed her arms. "I thought we'd go demon hunting again. I've got some places marked on a map, did some research. A summoned demon like that always returns back to the place it was summoned when its mission is done, waiting for its next mission."

  "So where did you mark and how did you find out where someone would summon a demon?" He asked, eyes wide.

  She laughed. "I'll tell you over coffee. My treat." She wanted him alone, not with his roommates.

  "Sounds good." He stepped back into the house and came back out shoving keys in his pocket. They walked together, not touching and the strange urge ran over her to reach out and grab his hand.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. "I'm sorry if I seem distracted. There's just a lot going on."

  "I know, Lucius was telling me about some of it earlier tonight." She felt him tense even though they weren't touching.

  "I didn't want you to bargain with him, he'll use that information over you one day." He snorted. "What did you exchange?"

  She shook her head. "Something private, but there's no way that he can use it against me. The...problem is well protected, but I did learn a lot about the Originals and the Father."

  "Things that you shouldn't know about because that information is dangerous to the Hunters. I don't think you understand that."

  "We already knew about the Originals, Orion, there is a Hunter in every territory trying to locate the graves."

  He stopped and spun her to look at him. "What? Why?"

  "I don't know why, it's just my job to give them the location of the grave."

  "You can't do that, that's Tegan's brother, she'll never forgive you if something happens to him."

  She noted the panic in his voice and it broke her heart. He’d never care for anyone more than he did Tegan. "I don't plan on turning the information over. I don't know what the Elder Hunters want with it. Knowing what I do now, I'm not willing to risk more human lives."

  "Good, very good." He started walking again. "I bet it was an exciting lesson."

  She laughed. "Frightening is more like it, but now I know a little more about the war going on."

  "Yeah, that's a hell of a war." He muttered. "And it's going to reach a turning point if we can't figure out a way to stop the Circle from raising the Father."

  "Simple, rescue Tegan." It hurt her to say, because she knew it would take all his time and he'd willingly do anything for the woman, but it was the only answer.

  "What?"

  "There has to be a demon in this territory that you can send in. Someone willing to do it against Lucius' demands. He's just going to sit there and twiddle his thumbs and wait for her to come back."

  Orion frowned. "You got all this from tonight?"

  "Yep. So let’s take a look at the map for this blood demon, shall we?"

  "Yes.” Though his words sounded far off.

  They got their coffee and took over a table in the corner as she spread the map over the top. "This is the city, the places marked with x's have shown signs of summoning a demon."

  "Which is what? Where did you get this information?" His brows drew together and she entertained the thought that he might be worried about her.

  She pulled out the book of bound documents Joey had given her. "A lot of it is in here, other than that, once I knew what I was looking for the information was easier to find in our library."

  "You guys have a library? Man, what I wouldn't give for access to that." He looked over the map. "So tell me about the signs."

  "Scorch marks, dead animals, or a dead human. It seems someone has been busy. If we knew who summoned it, it would give us a better idea of which of these ten areas the demon was summoned in." She brushed her fingers over the map. The red X’s went from the foothills of the mountains, over Manitou and further east.

  Orion growled. "I know who summoned it. It was the Queen of Blood and Darkness."

  "Fitting." She mutte
red. "Why is she involved?"

  "She sent it to kill me because of my alliance with Lucius." He leaned back in the chair. "Speaking of, I want to know where you got the information on my heritage."

  She shrugged. "Talking to people here and there. If you get the guys drunk enough at The Corner, they start talking. I've gotten a lot of information on Lucius' people that way."

  He drew in a sharp breath. "Lucius is going to flip if he finds that out."

  "Which he won't, calm down. You worry too much about what he knows."

  "He controls the territory, he could kill me for treason. Hell, he'd kill you for treason and you're not even actually tied to him. You just bargained and took an oath not to share information."

  "Pretty sure he'd kill me for breaking that oath," she laughed and then tapped the map. "Back on target, which of these spots would she choose to summon a demon?"

  He tapped the one closest to Manitou. "The Fae favor this city, even with all the recent flooding and damage. She'd be able to get everything she needs."

  "That city is known for the occult, but I didn't think demon summoning was amongst the practices."

  He shook his head. "It's not, but she'll feed off the magic there to help with it. Let me guess, an animal death here. Maybe a few of them."

  "Yes, how did you—"

  "Because she could siphon a large amount of magic from the area, it means a lesser death sacrifice to summon the demon. She was trying to throw people off its track."

  Made sense, but she wished she had studied harder in magic class. "Great, finish your coffee and we'll go."

  "We're going to need back up for the demon. Let me make a phone call and I'll have Kaden meet us there."

  She raised a brow. "And Kaden is?"

  "A dream demon, he'll be great for back-up."

  "If you say so."

  Markus smiled down at Tegan. The woman curled on her side, drenched and shivering. He'd had the demons bathe her in preparation for the feeding tonight. The demon poison was now out of her system, but he was sure she still felt the after-effects of it.

  Flipping her over with his foot, he pressed his heavy boot into her back. "You know what I want, Tegan, you can stop this torture with two simple words."