Roots Of Rage: A Vampire King Paranormal Romance (Transfusion Saga Book 9)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Aye.”

  This forced me to ignore the hard set of his jaw and the menacing scar running through his face that seemed to deepen in colour. More often than not, I had a pretty good read on people and this shifter was no different. Which meant that he was getting more concerned by the minute and if I didn’t hand her over soon, then it might all be too late. So, with a grit of my teeth and mentally putting a fortress around my demon so this was possible, I did the very last thing I ever wanted to do…

  I let her go.

  I passed her to the arms of another man, even though the pain of it I would have admittedly rather of lost another hand than do so! However, not at the cost of her life, which is why I got to my feet, dragged a hand through my hair and roared,

  “FUCK!”

  Thankfully, the brothers ignored me and instead focused on Trice as he rolled Amelia to her front. He was holding her in a tender way I wanted to kill him for, as much as I was thankful he was taking care with her. But then he wrapped a forearm around the front of her, across her breasts and I couldn’t help but take a possessive step forward. This was when I was stopped by Gryph’s meaty hand on my chest. I growled back at him in a menacing way.

  “Please m' laird, let him dae whit needs tae be done.”

  “Then can you tell him to get the fuck on with it!” I snapped back, before shouldering off his hold and looking around his large frame to add more, only this time in Trice’s direction,

  “…before I kill him!” At this Trice actually chuckled as if he didn’t believe I could and I had to say, with the sight of my girl in his arms and knowing this wasn’t the first time, it was more than a little tempting to prove it.

  But then he pulled back the sides of her torn clothes and bared her naked back, showing the Hex as it burnt deeper into her flesh. He took a breath as if building up to something and then lowered his head further over the mark.

  “A'richt lassie, time tae shudder once more,” he remarked, and I lost my shit enough to snarl a warning,

  “Your brother has a fucking death wish!”

  “Fur bugger sake laddie git th' fck on wi' it, will ye!” Gryph snapped taking the threat seriously along with Vern who told him,

  “Aye, before he tears ye head aff!”

  But Trice wasn’t listening. No, instead he started to blow a stream of frozen air down over her back, directing his power at the Hex and doing so enough that it stopped trying to bury itself deeper into her body. No, now instead of hurting her more it had no choice but to rise back to the level of the rest of her skin.

  Fuck me, but the bastard had done it!

  I don’t know how because magic that strong had no weakness and a Hex was cast that way for a reason. But then I was starting to discover that this shifter wasn’t exactly like the others of his kind either. That was when it started to hit me exactly who he was, for I had heard of the legends of course, we all had.

  I had heard of the stories told among his shifter kind. One with a power like no other. For it was one that came from the frozen depths of Hell that burned with greater force than that of the heart of the eternal fires and the once great mountain of even Tartarus itself.

  Which was why, without a word, I knelt enough to take back possession of my girl before standing with her in my arms. It was only then did I stare down at him and say,

  “You have been holding out on me…Dragon King.” At this he gritted his teeth and rose back to his feet without taking his eyes from mine. Then he nodded to Amelia in my arms and said,

  “We all hae our secrets…and clearly I am not th' only one keeping them from mae people.” I locked my jaw as I ground my teeth before telling him,

  “I do what I do to protect her.” It was a statement made that didn’t need to be said but was heard all the same before turning my back on him.

  “Aye 'n' a bang up jab ye hae done o' that so far!” he shouted behind, making me take pause and threaten,

  “Take heed shifter King, for your souls still belong to me and whilst you still have fucking breath beneath your feathers and scales, you will yield to my will and right now, there is only one command I have of you!”

  “Aye ‘n’ what’s that?!”

  “To help me get this fucking Hex off my Chosen One and slay a fucking witch!”

  After this I released my wings as my demonic form burst free a split second before I took flight. That part of me could be contained no longer. So, I flew back in the direction all three had fled from, knowing they would follow in their own forms. Because as much as I hated to admit it, now I knew who Trice really was, and what he was capable of, then I had no fucking choice but to put my trust in him.

  I needed the bastard.

  And why…because he was the only one who was immune to the magic of one of the strongest witches in existence. Meaning that right now, he was our best hope at winning this war against my people. And because one thing was for sure, this was only the start. For if anything that the fucking Eye had shown me was real, then this blood soaked future that the Fates had pathed for us, was only going to get worse.

  Worse and a hell of a lot…

  Bloodier.

  Chapter Five

  Weakness is a Witch

  The moment I landed with Amelia in my arms, I knew that to prevent anything like this from happening again I had to start trusting those closest to my rule in this world. I needed to create some inner fucking circle because doing this solely on my own and keeping my girl safe at the same time, was what I now knew an impossible task. So, I had to take a different approach to this realm just as I did topside.

  Which was why, the moment my army backed away from my abrupt and furious arrival, I snapped out my orders,

  “Where is Carn’reau?!” My general’s second in command stepped forward, another dark Fae who was named Alvaro. And well, if the rumours were true, then he was also like a brother to Carn’reau. This was no doubt strengthened by the fact his loyalty had also been gained due to joining him when both were cast from their realm. Although his loyalty to me as King was also shown when he lowered to a knee and bowed a head.

  “Rise and speak,” I told him making him do as I asked, and when he did, he removed his helmet at the same time. This meant that when I was now faced with the mountain of a muscle bound Fae, I did so by staring into a pair of startling light blue eyes. Eyes that were a stark contrast to his midnight black skin with hues of blue over prominent features.

  A harsh and serious story was told in his ancestry from his high cheekbones and keen gaze. The same hues of blue dusted the top of his forehead near the hairline and down the bridge of his nose. This same colour was also seen in the thick snakes of dreads that were tied back off his face and could be seen reaching his waist down his back.

  “Carn’reau is dealing with the witch, my lord,” Alvaro answered in that deep gravelly voice of his, though it had to be said, he wasn’t your typical Empyrean being. For this was what all Fae were known as. That being if their ancestry was more than just myth.

  Empyrean was known as the highest part of Heaven, thought by the ancients to be the realm of pure fire and where all light Fae had been created. But as for the dark Fae, well they had been born in the Empyrean of Hell and ironically one not made of fire, like Hell is known for, but one purely of the darkness.

  The two most powerful forces of all Elemental beings. It was said that eons ago, the two Empyrean sides collided, and it created the Elemental realm. A world not of Heaven or Hell but of both. It was thought that if all the worlds combined were made up of layers, then Heaven would be at the top. Of course this also meant that the Earth realm would be in the middle and Hell situated at the bottom, meaning then that the Elemental realm would have been what was sandwiched in between. However, these realms were not made up like this, they were made from gateways and portals. Which meant that looking up to the sky and praying was utterly fucking pointless unless you thought God might be on a plane!

  It was why I always shook my h
ead and rolled my eyes when I saw humanity making these mistakes, even if we ourselves had adopted the habit. The reason these habits existed of course was that the gateways or portals to get to these other realms were usually the ones found underground, not the actual realms themselves. For no sky existed under the Earth’s crust, just as lands existed in the realm of Heaven and not every Angel or God there lived in the fucking clouds!

  The truth was that geographically, it was more accurate to say that most of these worlds existed side by side to one another. Admittedly Hell was the lowest of them all, which was why it was always referred to as being ‘down in Hell’. And contrary to human belief, Hell wasn’t all fire and brimstone either. Nor was it just hordes of soulless demons gorging themselves on the souls of others or torturing the vessels of what once belonged to the evils of mankind.

  No, it was a world like any other…admittedly a more brutal one than most, but it had an economy just the same. It had a food chain among its races and creatures like the animal kingdom and humanity of Earth.

  Demonic beings worked, they ate, they paid for goods, and lived in dwellings. They were part of armies that too had to be fed from those that farmed the land or kept livestock. Many were master builders and beings of craftsmanship just like the rest. Hell even had a workforce known as Ukobachs. These dwarf sized demons were usually stationed in heated environments due to their preference for the hotter temperatures, which was usually why they were found working in the boiler rooms in places big enough to need them. If not put to work, then they became scavenger type creatures that could always be found close to the flaming rivers in Hell. But a subspecies of these creatures were also known as grafters, and under strict guidance could build almost anything, for working in large groups were what they were best known for.

  After all, not all castles like mine were built off the back of a mage or a witch. Which meant that not every soul that ended up in Hell was cast into a forgotten oblivion, forever doomed to a torturous life. Some were chosen for more, depending of course what level of evils brought you a one-way ticket to an eternity in Hell. In short there was a place for every type of soul that ended up here and speaking of Hellish souls, mention of the witch most certainly caught my attention.

  “The witch?!” I snapped out my question,

  “We believe she was the cause of the diversion and the one to create the army. Carn’reau found her fleeing into the Echoing Forest soon after it was discovered.”

  “Nero, whaur is she?!” The angry Scottish voice came from behind us and at the same time my men all drew their weapons and pointed them at the furious shifter. One who had now lost all that easy-going manner and replaced it with a shifter’s rage…interesting.

  I turned to the side to watch as his brothers followed seconds later in their landing, doing so as men after changing back into their human looking vessels whilst still in the air. From below it had ended up looking like two tornados not connected with the ground had consumed their bodies, as the power of their shift created a vortex of air to be sucked in around them.

  This was because of the power they each held in any realm they were in, being one of the elements. The land would crack at a mere touch from a Gryphon shifter’s hand and that same land would be scorched with just the click of fingers from a Wyvern. And as for Trice, who was still uncertain just how much power he had, what I did know of him he could freeze that land at just a thought or whisper of breath. Naturally then the air around them was attracted to such a living force of nature and shifting took a lot of power and strength for such a creature as big as each of them. It was also why when combined into one it took even more and wasn’t a power that could last as long.

  I watched as the army started to close in around them and knew I didn’t have time for this shit, which was why I snapped at who I knew Carn’reau had appointed leader in his place,

  “They are not the enemy, have your men lower their weapons!” His slight frown in confusion was the only answer I received before he barked orders in his own tongue, commanding them to do my bidding. Just then a woman’s terrified scream was heard above and was one that was quickly drowned out by the sound of a Zilant’s roar. This was no doubt in response to Carn’reau’s beast as it swooped down and landed in the spot his men had cleared for him.

  It quickly became clear that the witch Alvaro had spoken of, combined with that of Vern’s worry was none other than the witch I had encountered back in that shit stain of a town that was closest to the wastelands. So, she was the one who had been tasked with creating the diversion. I shook my head a little and looked down at the sleeping beauty in my arms and knew the depths a person would go to for love. And well, from the looks of things, the Wyvern and the witch were travelling that depth together.

  The moment Carn’reau’s beast calmed he swung his legs from the saddle and dragged the bent form of a struggling Nero with him. His manhandling of the girl had the shifter lose his mind and along with it the sight of the army at the control of the dark Fae. Because before anyone could stop him, he half changed into his other form, so when he pulled back on his bow, a flaming arrow was what was aimed at the Fae’s head. This in turn caused the soldiers around him to aim their spears and swords at the new threat against their general, quickly having his back.

  Not that the Wyvern even flinched at this, telling me exactly when it was that usual brutal and unyielding strength came out, along with his true power…His only weakness.

  “Let. The. Girl. Go.” This threat came from the belly of the beast as it was barely a sound you would have heard produced from a human’s vocal cords. However, Carn’reau didn’t look at all phased and the reason became obvious as to why. He barked an order over his shoulder at his men who all fell back a step at his command. Then, once they lowered their weapons, his grip tightened on Nero who whimpered, making Vern pull his bow tighter in reaction to his actions. But Vern had underestimated his opponent when all Carn’reau needed to do was raise a single fingertip to the tip of the flaming arrow before it extinguished into black smoke. This enraged the shifter enough that those same flames started to engulf his form, telling me this was about to get too fucking ugly and having either one of them out of commission was not an option right now.

  It was time to intervene.

  “Enough! You two, put a fucking leash on your brother and Carn’reau, let the witch go.” My general looked to me and with a slight sadistic smirk he released his prisoner by uncurling his fist he’d had shackled around the top of her arm. She fell into Vern with a stumble, making a halo of long navy-blue waves cover half her face with the flick of Carn’reau’s hand.

  Vern snarled over her head after first cradling her to his chest, telling me that the bad blood between these two now ran deep due to both the events of his capture and now that of the woman he clearly loved.

  Fucking peachy, I thought with an inward groan. Just what I fucking needed. But then what fucking choice did I have in the matter, for as usual time wasn’t on my side here and I needed every fucker I could trust working on this!

  Gods, but I missed my council and the level of trust I knew came with having them sat at my table for both decades and centuries. I missed having Adam as my second in command, knowing he would do all that was possible to get the fucking job done. Even Pip, who was as loyal as the Gods made them, despite her wacky and eccentric personality. Caspian and Liessa, Ruto and Hakan and even Percy were of those that I had come to trust with that of my life. And Clay, my head of security, who would no doubt be the first one to warn me of trusting the shifters as I was about to.

  Fuck yes, I missed them all and if the fantastical notion of wishes were true then it would have been those on my council I would have wished for right now. However, that was one luxury I didn’t have and being choosy right now wasn’t an option.

  “Carn’reau, you trust your second?” I asked not giving a shit that he was stood within hearing distance. A slight frown in question was the only indication he was surprised b
y the question. Then he looked to the Fae in question and said,

  “With my life’s blood, My Lord.” His answer was good enough for me, making me reply,

  “Good then bring him with you…all of you are with me…including the witch!” I ordered before turning around and leading the way into my castle and into a place that up until now, no one had ever been before other than myself and the unconscious troublemaker in my arms…

  My Tower.

  Chapter Six

  Fated Inner Circle

  “Wow, this is cosy,” Nero muttered after having a good look around with wide dark blue eyes. It was also obvious that she was making jokes on account of her nervousness. After all, she had gone against her King and therefore the anxiety I could scent coming off her was doing so in waves.

  “Nae noo, Nero,” Vern warned taking a step closer in a possessive and protective way the moment I shot her an unimpressed look that said it all. I walked straight over to the bed and with a mere thought, I forced the shards that surrounded it to seep back to the floor. This was so it made it easier for me to lay Amelia down without causing her any unnecessary discomfort.

  Not that she had so much as stirred since first losing consciousness. In fact, if it hadn’t been for my connection with her and being able to hear her constant and steady heartbeat then I would be far more worried. But even Trice had explained to his brothers on the way up here, that the longer she was out of it the better it was. This was because the Hex couldn’t claim her whilst she was asleep and that was fine by me, just so long as she wasn’t in any danger and no longer feeling any pain.

  “Just give me a little longer, Sweetheart,” I told her after laying her down and brushing her dark hair from her face, some of the thicker strands had become knotted due to all that she had endured in yet another fucking day in Hell. A place she most certainly didn’t belong and the sooner I could get her home, the better. Something I was soon to discover wasn’t going to be quite as easy as I originally believed.