by brett hicks
Liam said nothing of her piss-poor imitation of Thea’s tone. Seri’s power was whipping off her in torrents of unimaginable force. He wasn’t even sure if Bix would have stood up to this pressure, even if she was only slightly less powerful than Liam himself. Seri often forgot herself and her power washed through like a tidal force cleansing the room of whatever irked her.
“Love, this is what happens when you, a princess, makes her kin. Besides, you did happen to choose the most potent bloody girl on the planet! I dare say she will one day eclipse He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named in all things magic, and possibly already physically. If he lives long enough to see that day, I will be laughing my arse off.”
Seri picked her head up and looked at Liam through narrowly slit eyes of glowing blue.
“You dare to suggest I went shopping for necromancers! As I recall, you begged me to turn her!”
Liam threw up his hands and proclaimed loudly, “You didn’t have to make her bloody kin! I am calling shenanigans on that princess! We both know you two share an… intimate connection. You chose her!”
Seri’s sickly-sweet smile made Liam shiver. She was not above lashing out at him if he pissed her off, but she would never maim or kill him. Inhuman lives were hard, and often perilous.
“Liam kindly move your ass to Harlem, before you anger me.”
She looked at him, her glowing eyes the only true indicator that she was pissed. Seri was in denial. She had fallen instantly for the young necromancer. Thea was Seri’s match in everything. That meant that they would be so hot in the sack, that he expected New York to sprout a bloody volcano overnight! However, right now, they were testing each other. Liam watched how Seri’s body responded to the girl. They were mad, but only because neither was willing to admit what they were feeling beneath the rage. Usually, he would just make popcorn and enjoy the free theater, but they both seemed to insist on putting him in the middle of everything!
Liam bowed, not a typical sarcastic bow, but a real one, showing is submission to her Seri.
“Aye, my Princess.”
His tone was heavy with the power of his devotion and brotherly love for the younger vampiress. Liam could never find a finer woman to pledge himself to, if he had tried! Seri had saved him from the whims of an extremely highly placed Baron in her father’s court. She had happened upon unspeakable torment befalling Liam. Seri, being the second most important royal in the entire world, should not have card for the fate of one lowly master vampire.
Even as a sixteen-year-old at that time, she had shown her unparalleled cunning and intellect. She had wheedled the Baron into wagering Liam’s service to her, implying she wished him for a bedmate, so that she would not be overly tight upon marriage. She bat her red lashes at the Baron, and she even allowed him to ask the price she knew he would. (Why else would the princess have brought up her virginity?) She knew the power-hungry Baron would not miss the slightest chance to spill his seed inside a royal heir to the highest seat of power.
Liam was of little consequence when compared to the chance of siring the next heir to the throne. Seraphina challenged the Baron to his favorite game, shogi. (Japanese chess.)
By all accounts, she should never have been able to beat one of the first vampires. He was a man of extreme cunning, but Seri was far more ruthless. Her mental prowess had ended with a very close match, close because Seri had been letting the Baron believe he had figured her strategy. She baited him, and waited until he couldn’t release the bait, then she struck from three directions at once. Seri was a force of nature, even then, even as a teen.
Of course, her father received word of her victory, and he personally sat in her bedroom and made her and Liam fuck. However, Liam never tells anyone that part. Her father is a twisted and ruthless man, but he plays to the letter of his own laws. That was what he was trying to teach Seri. Not that anyone, even the sore Baron, would have asked her if she had bed Liam.
Liam is the only male who has ever known the princess, not that she ever tells anyone this. She lets everyone believe she has played with men on her whims of taste and lust, but the truth is Seri has only ever had hunger for the female body.
Liam owes Seri everything and he will die repaying her kindness, and her maiden’s sacrifice. Hell, not even Bix knows this little detail. She knows the rest of the story.
Seri waved him off, dismissing him. He knew her so well; she would feel bad to have treated him coldly in her fit of anger later. She was adorable, as was her kin. Thea was perfectly matched for Seri, fire for fire, frost for frost. They had been born over three-centuries apart, but they were a matching set of temperamental and intellectual goddesses. Given a few centuries—scratch that—a few thousand-years, those two girls would cool down enough to synchronize into the perfect couple and rule wisely. If they didn’t kill each other first!
Liam smiled privately to himself as he strode out of Seri’s back office in Cold Coffin. Liam walked to his apartment and packed a few bags. He grabbed some more clothes and other necessities for himself, Bix, and Thea. If Bix’s texts were to be believed, he would be joining them in a rundown human crack house. In addition, if Liam knew Seri in the slightest, she was now purchasing said crack house for a song, and preparing to have it renovated within an inch of its life.
Seraphina never did anything in halves. She was the most aggressive and driven woman he had ever met! Bix was a very close second, granted with a much more even temperament.
As if he conjured it, Seri had text him halfway to his destination telling him she was having the deed mailed to Thea. Her first gift for her future ladylove, Liam really wished he had popcorn for this bloody show! These two girls are going to keep him amused and fearing for his life for many years to come, but Liam had never liked it when his life was boring.
Now he would have to play intermediary, between Bix and Thea. Yet another job he did not relish! Those two seemed to grind each other’s gears. Bix was a bit too serious for her own good, and Thea is Seri with a little more color and bigger breasts. That was a powder keg from the first.
“Sweet Lord save a simple Scott from daft women!”
Liam exclaimed to himself before he switched on his music and began to relax to classic rock for the rest of his drive to Harlem. While the commute was not a very long one under most circumstances, Liam had left during rush hour, so he hit some nasty congestion.
That was fine by him, just a little more time for him to brace himself for the storm of insanity to come!
Nineteen:
Bix was prickly the entire time we sat waiting for Liam. She thought I didn’t see her secret giddiness and relief that he would be coming. I did her the unasked favor of not bringing up her obvious infatuation.
Patty strode up to me and her eyes were hard. I bit the inside my cheek to keep from showing any discomfort.
“So, you just show up on my doorstep and claim Harlem for your own?”
I shrugged and said, “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
She looked at me appraisingly.
“You didn’t mention being the kin of the Princess.”
I shrugged.
“You didn’t ask if I was. Besides, that defeats the purpose of laying low.”
Patty arched a brow in amusement.
“And, claiming a territory is laying low?!”
Her tone was heady with sarcasm and layered with something else, almost concern. I spread my hands wide.
“You herd the rest of the situation, right? Either, we all do something, anything, or the city fries. I don’t know fuck about shit where sylphs are concerned, but I do understand that the being who made the Grand-flipping-Canyon is on his way here!”
She nodded her reluctant comprehension.
“The Sky Lord is not one to trifle with. Are you planning to fight him?”
She made the question sound like the most absurd idea she had ever had. I shook my head, no.
“He’s grieving his daughter, who was targeted for this very purpose. I
don’t pretend to know my limits as an inhuman yet, but I wouldn’t want to kill him if I could. He sounds like an ally, just one being twisted to someone else’s dark desire. What I’m going to do is catch that little fucker Henry and I’m going to gift wrap him and deliver him to the Sky Lord.”
She pursed her lips and nodded slightly.
“So, you should be hiding, but are instead declaring yourself Lady of Harlem? That will force attention in your direction, and give your beloved some much needed breathing room?”
My reaction was instantaneous.
“She’s not my beloved! I barely know that crazy chick!”
Patty had a knowing smile playing on her lips, but she managed to swallow the look and nod her understanding.
“You’re really only two days turned?”
I nodded.
“I was born a necromancer, but I didn’t know my parents, so I don’t know shit about those powers.”
Patty’s eyes held deep comprehension.
“Well young Princess, you’re either the bravest, or most crazy young inhuman I’ve ever met.”
“Gee don’t hold back on my account!”
I muttered sarcastically.
“Which is why I’m going to help you.”
I looked up at her with wide eyes.
“But, what about your family, your daughter?”
She gave me a patient look and sighed.
“She will not survive this, unless I ensure that her city is safe from the Sky Lord. Besides, I’d rather align with you and ensure my daughter has a permanent place in this new kingdom.”
I nodded my comprehension.
“Of course, she has a place; she’s only the most adorable little girl ever! She’s going to be strong one day as well.”
She sighed and leaned back against the desiccating wall.
“She is more vampire than either of us have ever been. You remind me a great deal of her, if in a more grown up and bat-shit-crazy way.”
My eyes narrowed to slits.
“Really, don’t mind my feelings; just tell it as you see it!”
She waved a hand and said, “What I’m saying is that I believe you are powerful enough to hold Harlem, and you are not likely to abuse its people.”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“I’m not much for oppression, or any of that psycho-dictator crap.”
“That is exactly why you’re the right brand of crazy for this domain young lady.”
I huffed at her.
“It’s really different when I call myself seven kinds of crazy. Even if I know it’s true.”
She snorted in agreement.
“Give me your word that you shall protect my daughter and all my strength is yours to command.”
I eyed her sincere pleading look. I realized what she was asking me, and I didn’t like the implications. I am young, not stupid, so I knew this was all a deadly gamble. That did not mean I was jumping for joy at the prospect of sending other beings to potential death.
I closed my eyes and blew out a breath.
“I promise to protect Chelsea with all my might, but you had better not die, that girl will need her mother. She’s still a little kid!”
Patty looked satisfied with my pledge and she nodded.
“Little necrovamp, you will soon learn just how cheap life is in battle. I have seen the rise and fall of many nations in my life. I have seen the best and the worst of our kinds. But, I have also seen hope and a possibility for a future beyond this kingdom built on lies and deceit.”
Blinking, I studied her and tilted my head to the side. I was going to ask more of what she meant, but Liam picked that moment to stride in with all the casual grace of a team of dancers.
“So, now yer a bloody Lady of her own domain, are ye?”
His mischievous smile was making his eyes twinkle in amusement. His eyes widened shortly when they took in Patty at my side. He recognized her, but what’s more, he looked as if he was seeing a ghost.
“Milady? Patricia Vanderbloom?”
Patty sighed and slumped back against the wall and swore to herself lowly.
“I was worried you might remember me, hello Liam.”
Liam strode in and he swept her into a tight hug and twirled her about the room. He looked on her with wonder and a happiness that bordered on sadness.
“So, friend of yours Liam?”
We turned to the cross tone in Bix’s voice. Liam had the good sense to set Patty down, step away, and keep his hands where Bix could see them.
“Bix, this is Patricia Vanderbloom, the same one who helped raise me well before I met Seri. I know I’ve spoken of her to you.”
Bix’s eyes widened.
“How did she gain her freedom?”
She held a deep suspicion in her tone. Patty sighed and spoke calmly.
“When I heard of Liam’s fate, I managed to slip our old master a few decades later. I sailed the high seas and after I had properly confused his trackers, I slowly made my way to New York. Word was out that there was a reasonable domain. I made my home on the outskirts because I was technically a runaway slave. If I approached Seraphina, she would have been forced to announce my presence in her domain, so I hid in the less desirable adjoining domain. No one wished to claim what later became Harlem, out of fear of Seraphina’s future expansion.”
I felt like I was missing a huge chunk of this story, but I just blinked and nodded.
“Uh Huh, well I’m going to go play with the wards and see if I can’t keep the intruders out when they do decide to come. Seri will have sent out her message to her father and to all the other domains by now.”
Liam smirked and rocked back on his heels.
“Oh yes, our little princess is having her debut in polite society.”
I raised a questioning brow.
“Is there such a thing where ancient and musty vampires are involved?”
Liam spread his arms wide.
“Why lass, I thought you loved us musty old vampires.”
I grinned back at him and winked.
“Don’t worry; we’ll always have Brooklyn, right Liam.”
He chuckled deeply and nodded in agreement. Bix looked like her vein was about to pop from the suppressed emotions not quite making their appearance in her features.
Those two need to find a dark corner and work out their angst!
“Well, I’ll be back soon.”
Liam snapped his head around and huffed a breath.
“Not alone you won’t.”
I arched a brow in question and he muttered a string of explicative words about “daft bloody women.”
“Fine, come on then, no point in trying to talk you out of following me this time, right?”
My smirk was cock, and Liam sighed in exhaustion.
“Aye lass yer bloody kin would have my hide as a leather jacket if I lost track of you again.”
I didn’t have to ask him to know that Seri had been pissed with my disappearance. Liam had likely suffered her mighty wrath in my absence. Seri certainly had a temper and it rivaled my own. Yet my gut twisted at the thought of her, and the phantom taste of her on my lips.
Damn inhuman hormones!
Twenty:
Rundown apartments and boarded up businesses surrounded my strong hold—such as it was—on all sides. A park was one block up on the north-west side. I could have chosen a better location for defense, but I had selected this place for hiding. At the edges of my senses of all the lives loyal to Patty, and now to me, I could feel malice. A dark shadowy desire, some unseen foe was awaiting me in every unseen corner watching, hoping and longing for something more.
Is this some base impulse in every powerful inhuman?
My mind spun at the feelings of hostility and hunger, such wild unsuitable emotions.
“This has become like the Wild West of the 1800’s Lass. Because Seri never claimed Harlem’s land for her own, and the dark fae queen was too smart to cross so close to Seri’s holdings, thi
s became a place of refuge for exiles. You are now Lady to a kingdom of the wild and indomitable inhumans. You couldn’t have chosen a worse domain in this country if you had tried, lassie.”
Liam’s tone was a mixture of amusement and mild disapproval. He believed I should be curling up next to Seri, looking for cover in the shadow of her wings. Liam was showing how little he knew of me. I had fought, and I have killed, I will not be running from this fight. Besides, if my instincts were correct, turtling up with Seri would only guarantee our defeat. This man who wanted Seri so badly, he would not have planned all of this without factoring in all her domain’s strengths and weaknesses.
Seri was under siege and she was currently crawling with enemies. This was check, and I had to move boldly, throwing off his moves, and hopefully scattering his pieces in the process. (Yes, I am a chess player! This is New York! Try to hang out in the parks and not find a million games going on over stone chess tables!)
“Are you going to help me learn to activate these bloody wards and fix them, or are you just here to bitch and brood?”
My look was stern and my eyes chastising. Liam snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Oh, Jesus wept, of course I’m going to help ye. Who else would be crazy enough to follow you into the very maw of your foes?”
I waved my hand back towards the apartment. The apartment building was a ratter ugly fading cream-colored building, not exactly anyone’s choice in domain strongholds.
“I’m sure I could find someone.”
“Aye, you could, but could they teach ye how to cast and mend wards powerful enough to repel yer foes lass?”
I scoffed at him and popped his thick peck muscle lightly.
“Stop being such a fussy fanged bastard then and let’s get this over with. The monsters aren’t going to lurk forever, or do you not sense them?”
Liam’s smile was thin as paper and his eyes condescending.
“Oh, I feel them, and I can even pick out their species, can you lass?”
I wrinkled my nose at him.
“Having to win every argument isn’t an attractive quality for a man, you know that, right?”