by Ciara Graves
As I left the hall, striding through the mansion toward my chambers, I grinned darkly.
Rudarius did give me permission to start weeding out troublesome souls from the coven.
But who would argue with me if I called another vampire out for disloyalty?
It was time to start slimming the competition, and I was going to take full advantage of it.
Chapter 4
Draven
I spun the dagger around in my hand as I paced before the line of vampires standing in the hall. The table had been shoved to the side for this gathering.
Lacy was absent, having accompanied Rudarius back to Otherworld to aid him with some matter or other.
I didn’t care if she wasn’t here to contradict what I was about to do.
“I have brought you all here because there is a question of loyalty within the coven, of late,” I announced.
The six vampires standing in front of me were probably the most loyal to Rudarius beneath this roof. Each one glanced to the other suspiciously at my words.
“I have found evidence against some of you that leads me to believe you wish to do our master harm. The evidence points to all of you though I sense it is only three of you who are truly at fault.” I paused long enough to gauge their reactions. All six glanced sideways, wondering who I meant. “If you turn those three over to me, the other three may live.”
“None of us would ever turn on our master,” said Gregory, the vampire on the end.
“It’s true,” Helena said next. “We will forever be loyal to him. How dare you stand there and accuse us of such crimes!”
“I am merely going off the proof I’ve found.”
“And what proof is that?” Helena challenged.
I beckoned one of the chained servants forward, and he stood at my side, shaking, head lowered.
“Tell them what you told me,” I ordered. When he failed to speak, I flipped the dagger over and aimed the point at his throat. “Tell them, or I will see how much pain you can endure before you scream.”
“I heard them plotting,” he mumbled, repeating the lie I told him to tell. “The woman and two men. Heard them say they were going to take Rudarius’s head.”
“That’s absurd,” Helena screamed, but my guards were already moving up behind her.
“What’s the meaning of this treachery?” Gregory snarled. “You can’t believe the servant over us. This is madness.”
“He swore on his life,” I said lightly, looking aghast at Helena and Gregory. “You are in on it with her, are you not? That’s why you defend her so loudly.” I snapped my fingers, and two more guards moved in to take hold of Gregory. “I am amazed at the thought that you two are behind such a horrendous act of betrayal. Who else?” I asked the servant, hiding my evil smile as Helena and Gregory continued to scream and rant. “Who else?”
The servant lifted his hand and pointed to Phillip. He immediately snarled and lunged for the servant, but I was faster. I dug my nails into his throat and threw him backward into the arms of two more waiting guards.
“He’s a liar. A filthy liar. I’ll rip your throat out,” Phillip bellowed.
“Take them away and execute them,” I told the guards.
The last three vampires standing, ones barely thirty vampire years old were wide-eyed as their elders were dragged from the hall. If I was ever to start gaining loyalty within this coven, I would have to start with those who hadn’t been under Rudarius’s care for centuries. “Now then. I trust, you three were not a part of this? Or should I have the guards return for you as well.”
“No,” Taylor said and dropped his head low. The two beside him did the same.
“Good. If I catch wind of your being involved, you will come to regret it. Taylor? I want you to gather a team and begin hunting down any fae in the south. We haven’t ventured there in a long while. Find me any fae who bear rings of power. Find them and capture them. Try your best not to kill them or be killed? Understand?”
Taylor nodded. “Right away, Draven.”
“Now, away with you three.” I waved them off, and when it was just me and the servant, I paced a few steps away from him, listening for the vampires’ retreating steps. “Now then, your reward for a job well done,” I said, turning to face the man.
“Yes, sir, my freedom,” he whispered in disbelief, holding out his chained hands.
“Freedom. That is what we agreed on. If you’re certain.”
“I am,” he said, as if that was even a question. He held out his hands again.
I sighed, and in a blur of speed, I grabbed hold of the man and bit down on his neck.
His scream died in his throat as I drained him of his life, his warm blood filling my mouth as his body weakened. His eyes rolled back in his head, and with one final pull, I tore my fangs free and let his body crumple to the floor. Strength flowed through my veins, and I licked the last few drops from my fangs.
“Freedom, it is,” I whispered to the dead body.
Guilt warred with the beast inside me, and I turned away from those accusing eyes looking wide-eyed up at the ceiling.
“Trust me; death is far better than this life.” I wiped the blood from my lips, hardening my resolve for killing the man. It had to be done. To tie up loose ends.
The door opened and one of the guards loyal to me since I was the one who turned him, stepped inside.
“Christian, remove this trash if you would,” I said as I walked for the door.
“Yes, Draven.”
“Did our prisoners make it to their final deaths?”
“They did, screaming all the way, and cursing you until their heads and hearts were removed and burned.” He glanced at me, worried.
“They’re just words, Christian. They hold no power.”
“You don’t think?” he asked quietly. “I’ve heard of people cursing others, and it doesn’t end well.”
As I mentioned, not the sharpest mind around. “Just stories. See to this body. I’ll be in my chambers.”
I left him to clean up my mess.
So much blood gave me incredible energy and I did not want to spend the entire day cooped up in this house, but there was no leaving until the sun had set. The evening rays wouldn’t kill me, but they would burn like a son of a bitch. I’d experienced burn pain. Enough for several lifetimes, courtesy of Rudarius and his damned torture chambers. He’d tie a vampire to a stake in the middle of a room and crank open the ceiling to let a single ray of sunlight in, striking the victim right on the chest.
I rubbed the spot. I remembered screaming until I was hoarse and begging for death. I remembered it all too well. Death never came. Rudarius should have just killed me and been done with it.
Once in my chambers with the door closed and locked, I stood before the full-length mirror and removed my black shirt. The brand Rudarius gave to all those in his coven was prominent in the center of my chest, an image of the Black Hawk. One day, I’d replace it with the sigil of my house, of my coven, the one I was rightfully the master of. The Bleeding Crown had been the only coven able to stand toe to toe against Rudarius, but my father had been weak, and we fell. Our people were scattered. At least, those who survived the initial assault. I wanted to track them down, but it had taken so long for Rudarius to be convinced I was with him now, I didn’t hold on to hope of finding any of my old coven members. At least, not alive.
I whiled away the afternoon hours, mulling over a new plan for securing a bit of this fae dust and a set of rings for myself. Rudarius would keep all of it in Otherworld. Getting to it without being caught posed a challenge I couldn’t face alone. I would need at least three, maybe more to get in and out with the dust and rings. And that assumed he had more than what he was wearing.
A knock at my door toward evening had me picking up my shirt to cover my chest. Once my shirt was back on, I unlocked the door to find Shane standing in the corridor, wringing his hands. “You have news from Madwich, I presume? What took you so damned long t
o get back?”
“Several reasons. You’re not going to like all my news. We found some more fae.”
“And for the rest?” I snapped when he didn’t just answer me. I saw the defeat in his eyes and growled, annoyed. “You had one simple task to complete.”
“And we were working on it, but she had backup.”
“What do you mean she had backup? Who?” I demanded.
He bared his fangs as he muttered, “A demon. Her demon. That bodyguard from Valesk.”
“Bodyguard?” I thought over his words, then sighed. “The demon ambassador’s bodyguard.”
“Yeah, him. A big bloke. I’m loyal to you, Draven, you know that, but I’m not going to get my neck wrung by some damned demon, three times my size.”
“Then I’m assuming you didn’t deliver my message?”
“Oh, we did, but she’s a tough one. I doubt words are going to be enough to scare her.”
“Which was why I sent four of you to take care of the matter. You should have killed her and been done with it.”
Shane crossed his arms, watching as I picked up my daggers and sheathed one at each hip then slung on my leather jacket. “She’s not some simple fairy running around in a damned tutu, you know. She’s a trained killer. Where are you off to?”
“Taking care of what you couldn’t.” If I was to fully focus on my plan for bringing Rudarius down, I couldn’t have Seneca Savage, the bloody contract killer, breathing down my neck, spying on me constantly. She was in my way, and that meant she was a problem. I’d end her and get on with finding a way to get the dust and rings I needed.
“You’re strong, but she’s a damned hellion,” he warned me. “She won’t be so easy to kill.”
“I know well enough who she is.”
“Do you? She’s a strong fighter who’s been through as much shit as you have. If not more,” Shane said as I stormed for the door. “She’s got a dangerous reputation for a reason.”
“She works for the Feds. How dangerous can she be?”
“She works for them when she wants to,” he corrected, following me into the corridor. “She’ll do nearly anything for pay.”
“Nearly anything. Where does she draw the line exactly?”
“Humans.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as we walked.
“She won’t kill humans.”
I smiled darkly. Perhaps it was time she started. I would make her life a living hell if I couldn’t kill her, force her to break her rule. She was part vampire after all. The hunger might not fully drive her, but if she wanted to fight against me and the nightmares I was about to bring down on her, she would have to start. She was an outcast. No one from the fae or vampire communities would ever accept her. The only one who stood up for her was the demon. One small obstacle that stood in my way.
“I’ll be back by sun up,” I told Shane. “With her heart in my hands.”
“You won’t be able to kill her,” Shane said.
I snarled at him.
“Merely being honest. She’s stronger than you think.”
“And I’m over two hundred years old. I can handle one half-breed freak.”
“If you say so,” he replied and stayed at the door as I stepped out of the mansion.
I would start in Madwich and track her down.
Seneca thought she could spy on me and get away with it.
I knew from the first moment I was being watched.
Whatever she was hoping to find I would have to disappoint her.
The time had finally come for me to enact a new plan for my revenge against Rudarius. No one was going to stand in my way. If I had to kill her, then so be it.
Madwich was quiet when I arrived, running directly from the mansion. Normally, a few hours away.
It only took me around one hour to get here, and the run had been good to clear my head and get my mind focused on the task at hand.
I sniffed the air, searching for any hint of vampire and fae blood. I walked through the shadows, staying out of sight as I searched for my target. I half expected not to find her here, figuring she would be back to tracking me down, then the breeze shifted, and a strange scent struck my nose. Fae and vampire.
“There you are,” I whispered to the night, turning until I faced the diner on the corner.
A figure had just emerged with long, red hair.
Seneca.
She wasn’t alone.
I hissed at the stench of human by her side. She was young, barely a teenager. That was too bad. After I dispatched of Seneca, she’d make a nice evening snack. With the dead servant’s blood pumping through my veins, I crept along, following Seneca and the girl as they meandered down the sidewalk, without a care in the world. I would do what Shane should have done and be home before midnight.
Quietly, I removed a dagger from my hip, holding it, so the blade was against my forearm, and picked up my pace. I was only a couple of yards behind now.
Seneca laughed with the girl, a sound that came across as forced. Did she not like the girl? Why was she with her if she didn’t want to be? There was a chance she was important in some regard or another. Not that I planned to waste time asking questions.
“Lexi, you sure you’re going to be alright at home tonight?” Seneca asked.
“Yeah, she’ll probably be passed out by now. Thanks for the last couple of days. Hope I didn’t take you away from anything.”
“Nothing that couldn’t wait.” Seneca suddenly stiffened and grabbed Lexi’s shoulder. She tilted her head just as I made ready to attack. “Get down!” She shoved the girl to the side and spun around meeting my dagger with one of her own. She drew it faster than I could see, and our blades clashed as I unsheathed my second one. “Run, Lexi!”
I snarled at the girl as she took off, ready to go after her, but the movement distracted me long enough to take a knife hilt to the face. I snapped my jaws and went in low to trip Seneca. I was used to fighting fae and vampires but didn’t expect her to be as fast as I was. Or to be crazy enough to fight barefoot.
Vampires grew quicker with age, and here she was practically a newborn, keeping pace with my moves. Her red hair flew wildly around her face as she suddenly had a short sword in her left hand, keeping the dagger in her right. She spun around, her onyx blade whirling in a mad arc, aiming for my heart.
I barely managed to block the hit and shoved her back hard enough to stumble, but she stayed on her feet.
“Heard you’ve been spying on me,” I hissed as we circled.
“Just doing my job,” she replied. “Taking down murderers is what I do best.”
She said it with bravado, but there was a sliver of fear in her eyes. The way she attacked me full said the fear wasn’t for me. So then what was she afraid of?
A few people on the streets yelled in alarm, and she screamed at them to keep moving.
I took advantage of the moment and slashed downward with my blades. One met her short sword, but the other cut down her shoulder.
She snarled, and a bright flash of red light appeared out of the corner of my eye.
Our fighting had been so fast, I hadn’t noticed the rings on her right hand.
Fae rings.
The sweet scent of her blood filled the air, but the injury did nothing to slow her down. If anything, it lit a fire in her and her second dagger disappeared to be replaced by another short sword.
Her footwork was beyond incredible.
If I hadn’t come here to kill her, I’d be impressed. As it was, I realized I couldn’t kill her anyway. Not anymore. She had fae rings which meant she was my ticket to getting fae dust and stopping Rudarius.
Whatever bloodline she came from didn’t matter. If she could power those rings, then so could I, with her blood.
She headbutted me, and I grunted, holding a hand to my face as she landed a kick to my gut.
“You won’t win this fight,” she warned, swinging her short sword casually in her hand, along with her dagger in the
other hand. “You run off now, and I won’t hold it against you.”
“Not happening, love,” I hissed.
“I wasn’t hired to kill you.”
“Pity, looks like you’re missing out on a payday.” I wiped the blood dripping from my lip with my sleeve and smiled. “Then again, I don’t plan on dying tonight.”
“Back off, Draven.”
“Or what? You aren’t strong enough to kill me.” My eyes flickered to her rings, unable to look away as they pulsed, as if in time with her rapid heartbeat.
“Is that a challenge?” The rings on her hand glimmered a range of red, blue, and green. She craned her neck to the side, then glanced from me to her rings. “Something interest you?”
“Fine bit of jewelry you have there.”
“Yeah, thanks,” she said slowly, sounding confused.
She started to lower her blades, lulled in by our conversation, and that’s when I lunged forward. All I had to do was knock her out and get her away from Madwich, but unlike others I’d fought in the past, she did not wear out quickly.
More people screamed in panic as our fight moved down the sidewalk, but I didn’t care. Not right then, when I was having trouble watching how fast her two blades were moving toward my face.
I had been around a hell of a lot longer, though, and no tainted fae was going to get the better of me.
I caught her right wrist and twisted.
She gasped, and the blade clattered to the ground.
I smashed my head into her nose.
She cursed as I threw her backward. She rolled, barely managing to avoid stabbing herself with her sword.
I blurred to her and kicked it from her hand, then kicked her in the side again. I brought my boot back to smash into her face and end the fight, but she grabbed my ankle and yanked.
I crashed to the ground with a snarl.
She scrambled to get away, except I was faster.
I grabbed her by her shirt front, hoisted her up and punched her, over and over.
Somewhere in the middle of the hits, she started to cackle like she lost her mind.
I paused, thrown off-guard.
