Ancient Enforcer

by Reus, Katie

  “Humans are being turned into vampires, and I know it is not any of you who are behind it,” he said, glancing at each vampire—Ingrid, Claudine and Justus. “I do have a name, however. Magnus.” He looked at them all, waiting for a reaction.

  Claudine was the only one who reacted even remotely, a flick of her eyes. It was subtle though.

  “Never heard of him,” Santiago said with a shrug. “He’s turning humans against their will?”

  “I don’t think against their will. But he’s breaking the mandate not to turn any humans right now.” King had made that order for the time being, only a temporary ruling, and every vampire leader agreed with him. It was a miracle they all agreed on something. But while he got his territory in order, he couldn’t risk having too many vampires and not enough humans to feed on. It was an unlikely problem, and vamps were usually careful about who they turned anyway, but he’d wanted the mandate official, regardless.

  “I have some contacts I can reach out to,” Ingrid said.

  “I’ll speak to my mate,” Justus said. “Cynara has many contacts across species.”

  King figured Justus would also reach out to his former coven as well. They were located in upstate New York and had survived The Fall.

  “I don’t know a vampire named Magnus, but the name itself is familiar.” Prima tapped her finger against the table, looking lost in thought. The ancient dragon female had been awake for a little while. Before that she’d been in a deep Hibernation. If she’d heard of the male, he must be old. Ancient like her.

  “I do not know the name,” Reaper said simply.

  “I don’t know the name either,” Thurman said. “But…it makes me think of darkness. I can see it on the horizon. I had a similar vision about Avery. It’s the same darkness.”

  King frowned slightly. The human could see things, not necessarily future events but Thurman often had feelings. And okay, was slightly psychic, was King’s understanding. And he was a whiz at spells. As good as some witches. Maybe better.

  He really did wish at least one witch had been here tonight, more or less because he wanted all species in the city to have a voice. He would relay everything to them later. He’d also invited Aurora for…so many reasons. But she’d been working on something else for him. For the territory, he mentally amended.

  “I know the name,” Claudine said, glancing at Thurman. Then she looked back at King.

  He wasn’t sure how old she was, she’d never told anyone, but if he had to guess he would say over five hundred years old. She carried herself with an elegant authority. He’d never once heard her raise her voice at her people, but he had seen them cower at just a hard look from her. He also knew that she’d once saved a bunch of children from a fire that went out of control in the warehouse district about ten years ago. She’d gained nothing from it either. So she might frustrate him on occasion, but he respected her.

  “I should say I know of a Magnus,” she continued. “He is a vampire. This is from many, many years ago. He is…old. Much older than me. He’s compelling. He fell off the face of the earth so long ago. Disappeared. I figured he had gotten bored and maybe gone into a deep sleep.”

  King knew that some very old vampires could go into a deep sleep much in the same way that dragons went into Hibernation. He didn’t understand the details of it, however. Vampires didn’t share all their secrets with outsiders—no supernatural species did. “What can you tell us about him?”

  “Not much, unfortunately. I heard that he was maybe…Greek or Roman? Magnus was not his human name so I can’t even guess. He was an anomaly to me. He knew magic and was a vampire, but I always felt as if he was…more. I never fought him so I do not know just how skilled he is, but he wiped out two vampire covens that tried to encroach on his territory, using a dark magic. This was a very long time ago. It was a bloodbath. Brutal and savage.

  “A human village was caught in the crossfire. He could have stopped the carnage but once he and his coven won against the other vampires, he allowed his newly turned vampires to run rampant over this human village that had never harmed anyone.”

  Her jaw tightened once, which might as well have been actual shouting for anyone else. Claudine always kept her expression carefully neutral. She was one of the hardest beings to read—one of his lieutenants had likened her dark eyes to shark eyes.

  “I’ve seen a lot in my life,” she continued. “What he allowed his vampires to do… They defiled men, women, children alike. It was…wrong. There was no reason for it. It was evil for the sake of being evil. Whatever he wants, it is not good. If you go up against him, I am with you.”

  He nodded and looked around for any other additional information but no one said anything. Claudine giving her help so quickly was a sign that either Magnus was that evil, or things were changing for the better in the city. Maybe both.

  Since there was nothing more to say, King moved on to another subject. They had much to discuss about the rebuilding of the city and expanding territory. But he could not allow this Magnus or his newly turned vampires to run free.

  They needed to be stopped—he just had to find their nest.

  * * *

  King raised his hand once in greeting to Aurora as he crossed the street to see her. They’d decided to meet up near the zoo and it was quiet this time of night, with people already in their homes. As always the sight of her was a punch to his senses. Every. Single. Time.

  “How was your meeting?” she asked as he stepped up next to her on the sidewalk. She was in dark pants, a dark sweater and black boots, the outfit anything but plain on her. Nothing could ever be plain on her. The female practically glowed—sometimes she actually did. Tonight her dark violet eyes were unreadable.

  He fell in step with her as they walked along the sidewalk. “As well as could be expected.” He didn’t scent anyone other than a few humans walking nearby but wasn’t going to give too many details in public like this. “I have people looking for…what we need.”

  “I had a little bit of luck, I think,” she said quietly, tucking her dark hair behind one ear. It fell down her back in soft waves. “A few humans from the college, male and female, have gone missing. But not like a kidnapping. They’ve all told their friends various versions of being invited to ‘become immortal’ by a dark, serious man. In a few cases, they were invited by a blonde female who promised them that if they left with her, they would be turned. Only two declined and I made note of who they are. Whoever you’re looking for—”

  “Magnus,” he said quietly. “I’m pretty sure that’s his name.”

  She raised an eyebrow as she continued. “Well whoever he is, it sounds like he’s the one turning all these humans.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I didn’t want to ask them about the dead humans since that’s not public knowledge. I didn’t want to start a panic or anything. Some have seen their friends since being turned and others have texted with their friends, but not seen them. So, he is turning them. And if I had to guess, he’s not training his newly turned vamps to feed properly. If he’s turning humans at such a rapid pace—when he’s not supposed to be, and hasn’t even told you he’s in your territory—then I seriously doubt he’s going to worry about following rules and not killing humans.”

  “I was thinking the same thing myself.” There could be a serial killer from the group Magnus had turned, or a lone vampire who was randomly killing humans, but King was playing the odds on this. Usually when something was the most obvious answer, he took it at face value. “You said a blonde female has been approaching humans as well?”

  “Yes. And in one case, she approached them in daylight. She didn’t stay long but promised them immortality and the gift of walking in sunlight on occasion.”

  A blonde female vampire walking in daylight sounded eerily familiar. “I’m going to want to talk directly to whoever told you that. I’ll need a description.”

  “I figured… So I drew a sketch already. I made a few sketch
es actually. Of her and of the male, though those weren’t very good. Most people only remembered vague images of the male… It was odd. Like, they knew the basics: he has dark hair, is tall, has bronze skin. For the female, however, I have a much better description. And if they’re right, she’s stunning. Which will hopefully help in finding her.”

  “Thank you.” Of course she’d already done sketches. King wasn’t even surprised. Aurora always seemed to be on the same page as him.

  Though the last couple of weeks things had been different between them. Not bad… Just, she’d seemed distant. And not only from him, but everyone. He didn’t like that, especially not since he knew she’d been held in captivity for so long. He wondered if she was struggling but didn’t want to push. He knew if he did, she would only pull back.

  As they reached the intersection where a small grocery store was still operating and providing for the neighborhood, he waved at some people he knew as he and Aurora crossed the street. “Is everything okay with you?” he finally asked. No matter what, she was his friend and this wasn’t pushing.

  “Yes… Kind of.”

  He glanced at her but she wasn’t looking at him. Instead she stared straight ahead as they stepped up onto the opposite sidewalk. Music and voices trailed out from an apartment two stories above them, the laughter a balm to him. Laughter was a good thing right now. “Feel like talking about it?”

  She sighed and rubbed a hand against the back of her neck as if she had a headache. “I just haven’t been sleeping well. I’ve been having dreams lately.” She looked at him then away quickly and glanced around at their surroundings.

  He was aware of every single thing around them—the man out on his front stoop texting two doors down, the female walking her dog on the other side of the street, the other female behind a tree smoking a cigarette, and the couple arguing with their window open four houses down. All background noise. King kept most of his focus on her, and on making certain there was no danger nearby.

  “I’m just dreaming about my time in captivity. Not dreaming, having nightmares I guess.” She shrugged, but the action was jerky and she let out a jagged breath. “I thought I had dealt with everything but apparently my reaction is delayed. I’ve…been struggling.”

  He didn’t know much about her time in captivity, just that she’d been held by a power-hungry dragon for a year. That was a very long time to have your life stolen from you. And if the dragon who had kidnapped her wasn’t already dead, King would kill him now. Slowly. Methodically. Painfully. “I’m always here to listen to you. Always. But if you need to talk to someone…I’m certain Greer will gladly speak to you.” The dragon healer had been working with human and supernatural psychologists alike, helping people adjust to this new world.

  “I’ve been talking to her a little bit. It helps. But the dreams are still there.” She shrugged again, this time the action more fluid. “Nightmares. I just need to call them that.” Another sigh, this one sad.

  “I’m sorry for everything you went through,” he said simply. He wished he could do more, like hold her, comfort her. But he did not have that right. And he understood more than most that sometimes time was simply the only thing that made things better.

  “Thank you.”

  Before King and Aurora made it to the back of her house, his dragonling, who he’d started calling Hunter, flew down from one of the trees, not quite mastering stealth yet. His wings flapped too loudly but King had discovered that his dragon—and when had he started thinking of it as his own?—had a natural camouflage and often blended into his surroundings.

  Hunter chirped loudly as he landed on the grass in front of them. He chirped excitedly and butted up against King until he petted the little one’s head.

  “He has so got you figured out,” Aurora murmured.

  “Oh yeah, how so?”

  “He knows you have a marshmallow inside.” Her smile was soft as they headed around toward the back of the house where the rest of her crew and roommates lived.

  “I don’t have a marshmallow inside.” Not even close.

  “Fine. You do for him.”

  “True enough.” And he did for her too, but that didn’t matter. At least not right now. He wondered if she even knew how he felt for her. Then he stowed that thought because it didn’t matter. She was clearly still dealing with the aftermath of what she’d been through. And the only thing he cared about was her healing.

  “Aurora!” Avery smiled as she spotted the two of them rounding the back of the house.

  There was a huge spread of food on the patio table and most of Aurora’s roommates were there, except Harlow and Axel.

  “Avery, I’m so happy you’re here.” As the two women hugged, King nodded at Mikael. He’d asked Mikael and Avery to meet him here instead of at the compound as it made more sense for both of them.

  “Have you had any more issues today?” he asked, though he had a feeling Mikael would have already contacted him or one of his lieutenants if he had.

  One day he wanted to convince Mikael to work for him directly—he’d talked to enough dragons to know that Mikael had been a warrior and very good at what he’d done. He was supposed to be an incredible tracker, something King respected since he was one as well. He could use someone like that, especially right now.

  The stronger he built up his people, his territory, the harder it would be for anyone to threaten them in the future. And he was building for the future every minute of every day. Right now the world was rebuilding, readjusting, and he would be ready once that changed—once some supernaturals decided to test limits, territories, to see if he was strong enough to hold his.

  Even though he had plans for Mikael, something told King that Mikael would not be moving from his current position in construction until he and Avery officially mated. And probably not even then, not until the newness of mating wore off. And sometimes that never happened.

  Hunter kept a decent distance from Mikael, sizing him up before he chirped something at the dragon shifter then flitted off toward Avery.

  “Pretty sure I just got scolded by a dragonling,” Mikael murmured, amusement in his voice.

  King snorted. “Definitely.”

  “Have you named him yet?” Avery asked as she hugged Hunter around the neck, nuzzling him. “Lola says you keep calling him ‘dragon.’”

  “Did you change your mind about keeping him?” he asked instead of answering.

  Hunter looked at him, giving him big, sad eyes, his wings drooping, and King felt like a giant dick. He’d only been joking.

  “I’m kidding,” he said quickly when Avery and Aurora both gave him a look of horror. His dragonling started chirping at him, his wings lifting back upward as he nuzzled Avery.

  “That dragonling understands everything you’re saying. I would bet any amount of treasure on it.” Mikael shook his head slightly.

  “I’m calling him Hunter.” King sat at the table with some of the others.

  “I like the sound of that.” Lola grinned, her rainbow-colored hair glinting under the strings of lights above them.

  “So did you find any more dragonlings?” Avery asked. “Because if you do, I want one.”

  “We’re still looking.” They’d found some scent trails, but had been unable to actually locate any more.

  “Have you taken Hunter to see Dallas yet?” Avery asked as she sat back in one of the chairs next to Mikael.

  “Not yet. I’m hoping to bring him to her tomorrow.” He glanced at Aurora. “Will you show Avery your sketches?”

  She pulled out a few from her bag and laid them on the table, spreading them out in front of Avery.

  Avery froze, her eyes widening slightly as she continued petting Hunter, scratching behind his ear. And he was totally eating it up. “That’s Lindsey.” She tapped a finger on one of the pictures.

  He’d figured, but was glad to confirm. “Do you know any of the others?”

  She scanned them quickly, frowning as she looked ove
r the pictures. “No.”

  Mikael, however, leaned in closer and touched a finger to two of the sketches. “Both of these two males were at the dive bar the other night. This one was wearing the same leather jacket that Aurora drew as well.”

  Avery looked at him, her eyes wide. “You remember that?”

  Yep, King was convinced that Mikael would be an excellent tracker for him.

  “Of course,” Mikael said before looking back at King. “They are definitely vampires. They didn’t appear to be with Lindsey, however. And when she left, they didn’t follow. They also didn’t intervene when I…” He glanced at Avery. “Threatened her.”

  “They’ve all been seen around Tulane asking humans if they want immortality, if they want to become vampires. I’m going to make copies of these and distribute them. If you see anyone from any of the sketches,” he continued, “keep your distance.” That was directed to Avery. Mikael could definitely take care of himself.

  King knew Avery had a spelled pendant around her neck but he didn’t want to risk her getting hurt. She was a kind human, and he liked her. So did his new dragonling.

  It was also clear that Mikael liked her—in the possessive way of dragons—and King hoped the two of them would eventually figure things out and mate.

  Maybe your dumb ass will figure things out as well, his wolf grumbled.

  Chapter 21

  “We will discover where she is,” Mikael said to Avery as he locked the front door behind them. She’d been pensive, quiet on the walk home. And he’d scented a trickle of fear when Avery had seen that picture of Lindsey.

  It was now his mission to find the vampire who thought she could attack Avery. He had given the female a chance to leave town, but she’d squandered it. Now she would die.