Vampire’s Crucible
Book 2
Call of the Elements Series
Copyright © 2019 by Yvette Bostic
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Acknowledgement
I’d like to start by saying, while there are some references to places and events, any similarities to specific people are purely coincidental.
I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the Call of the Elements Series by reading Magister’s Bane first. Don’t start with Vampire’s Crucible or you’ll be truly disappointed. I had a blast writing this tale and allowing the characters to run wild with their own stories. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much.
Book 3-Elemental’s Domain is scheduled to release October 15, 2019. It’s now available on pre-order.
I want to say thank you to the people who’ve helped me throughout this process. My husband has been my encouragement, as well as the perfect sounding board and first-draft proof reader. I could not have done it without his positive attitude and patience. Thank you to my wonderful editor, Hannah at Between the Lines Editorial (www.btleditorial.com). She is an extremely talented young woman who’s also a joy to work with. And thank you to Aleksandra Klepacka (https://www.facebook.com/AlissandraArt/), the very gifted young artist who created my cover art. Thank you to my very gracious beta readers. Your comments and opinions about the characters, events and time lines make all the difference!
And last but not least, thank you to my readers! You’re the reason I continue to write.
The Light in the Darkness Series:
Light’s Dawn: A Novella https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C1WNLJ8
Light’s Rise-Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0762Q52DP
Light’s Eyes-Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079GHC3CD
Light’s Fall-Book 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CV5QQMY
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Prologue
Braden’s new smoke gray Mercedes pulled up in front of the Sanguis Hotel and Casino, the headquarters for the vampire council. The humans pushing their way through the revolving doors made his lips curl. The constant rush to spend their money both disgusted and pleased him. Without them, his financial empire would crumble, but their spontaneous decisions driven by irrational emotions grated Braden’s nerves. They would always cut off their nose to spite their face, regardless of the consequences.
“Do you want me to wait for you?” Gordon asked from the driver’s seat.
“Yes,” Braden replied. “I don’t expect this to take long.”
“Should I have the jet on standby to return to London?”
“No, I still have business with a half-breed.” Business he would thoroughly enjoy.
Braden opened the passenger door and stepped into the hot, dry air typical during Nevada’s late summer drought, something he didn’t have to suffer in London. But a certain mage was here in the desert. One he was anxious to meet.
He quickly made his way through the casino to Jack’s private office, ignoring the suggestive looks of several ladies and a few men. His desires would soon be satisfied. He could wait. Being eternal gave him patience humans were incapable of understanding.
Assuming his usual air of disinterest, he pushed open the door to the office without knocking. Jack would be suspicious if he did otherwise and Braden had no intention of drawing his attention.
“Brother,” Jack said, not rising from the leather chair at his desk. “I’m glad you could make it so quickly.” He waved his hand at the two chairs facing him. “Have a seat.”
Braden crossed the space and dropped into the nearest one, leaning back and crossing his legs. “What is so urgent that couldn’t be handled on the phone?” he asked.
“I’m worried about Sergey,” Jack said without hesitation, which wasn’t news to Braden.
“What has our Russian friend done now?”
“There are whispers that he will betray me,” Jack replied.
Braden didn’t miss Jack’s raised eyebrows or the way he leaned forward in his chair. Did his brother suspect another traitor? Possibly. Jack wasn’t stupid.
“I haven’t heard these whispers,” Braden said, concealing his lie with ease. “While Sergey’s region is difficult to manage, he does it very well. His own personal rewards have been quite substantial. I’d be surprised if he decided to throw all of that away just to defy you.”
Jack leaned back again and steepled his fingers. “Those were my thoughts as well. All our regions could say the same, with the exception of Simon. But Sergey failed to capture the mage.”
Braden waved his hand in the air and smiled. “I believe your little mage needs a different approach, brother, which is why I volunteered to find her.”
“And what have you found?” Jack’s voice lowered with his impatience, and Braden’s smile widened.
“She is with a vampire and currently running from her partner who tried to kill her.”
“Is she?”
“Yes, I believe I can persuade her to join me,” Braden purred. “I will exploit her father’s gifts, just as you planned.”
“What makes you think you can convince her to join us?” Jack asked. “And will there be enough time to train her to use her gifts?”
“Is there anyone I haven’t been able to persuade?” Braden draped his arm over the back of his chair. “As long as we continue on our current timeline, she’ll be more than trained. I’ll convince her to embrace her darkness and use it to its full potential.”
Jack smiled. “Very good. And our illustrious queens will leave her to us?”
“Yes, I’ve already secured that promise,” Braden replied.
“Perfect.” Jack rubbed his hands together. “Make me a weapon that even the fae cannot ignore.”
“It will be my pleasure.”
Chapter 1
I stared at the long, metal warehouse in the valley below. The sun’s rays reflected off its shiny surface, making me glad for my dark sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat. They’d been a gift from Logan, the man standing next me, to protect my ridiculously pale skin. His own ball cap shaded his features but didn’t hide his exhaustion. While the sun wouldn’t kill him, long exposure to it weakened him greatly.
“Why are we standing out here in the sun?” I asked, watching his eyebrows meet and the long bridge of his nose wrinkle. “This can’t be comfortable for you.”
“Something isn’t right,” he replied, his attention focused on the metal building and mine on the dark circles under his hazel eyes. “There are too many cars.”
“Then let’s come back after dark,” I suggested. “There’s no point standing here letting the sun bake our brains.”
“It’d be nice to know who’s taking
up so much of Jonathan’s time,” he said, apparently ignoring my attempts to alleviate his discomfort and mine.
“Then let’s find some place in the shade.” I fanned myself dramatically with my hand, but he continued to ignore me. “Fine.”
I huffed and scanned the high desert stretching out in front of me. Jonathan Smith, the man who’d taken in the magical world’s outcasts and half-breeds couldn’t have picked a more remote location for his compound. It was the perfect hideout for his super-secret-squirrel-society. Tall cliffs protected the northern side, sloping down to the east and meeting the only entrance in and out. Rocky hills covered the southwestern side, providing little shade from the setting sun. In two hours, the oppressive heat would give way to the desert’s chilled night.
A group of thorny shrubs hung out over three large boulders just down the hill from me. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than exposing my delicate skin to the blazing ball in the sky. I shifted in that direction, knowing Logan would see me. His hand settled on my shoulder, and I smiled.
“They’re certain to have look-outs, and rocks sliding down the hill followed by a little girl will definitely be noticed,” he said, turning me around to face him. I craned my neck back to look up into my favorite eyes.
“Then you should run really fast to that group of shrubs,” I said. “Carrying me of course, because I’m not running really fast.” I motioned to the welcoming shade just below us, and he followed the direction of my pointing finger. I knew he would argue just as he knew I was suggesting it for his sake.
“I don’t need a mother hen,” he growled.
“Could’ve fooled me,” I countered, putting my hands on my hips.
“I’ve managed the last forty years without you.”
“Yes, but now you’re stuck with me, and I’m tired of watching you wither away in this heat.”
He opened his mouth to reply, then snapped it shut. I gasped as he scooped me up and dashed across the fifty yards within seconds. I barely had time to flatten my hat against my head before we arrived in the shaded alcove.
“I need to learn to tell you no,” he hissed.
“No, you don’t,” I chimed, lacing my fingers around the back of his neck. The boulders behind us blocked out the sun, casting shadows across his face. “At least you can watch your friends now without being discovered.”
He lowered me to the ground, a grin spreading across his face. “Try not to find any snakes or scorpions.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t thought of that. They’d be hiding from the heat as well. I peered beneath the shadowed ledge but didn’t see anything moving. They probably wouldn’t move until I sat my skinny butt on the ground. I picked up a brittle stick and started poking around beneath the boulders. A few spiders and long-legged bugs scurried away, but nothing else emerged.
Logan chuckled and I whipped around, brandishing my tiny stick. “What’s so funny?”
“There’s nothing there. Now sit down and get comfortable,” he said, the little smirk I’d always found irritating spread across his face.
“And what makes you so sure?” I narrowed my eyes at him and he laughed.
“Only humans refuse to recognize a predator among them, princess,” he replied, his smirk turning into a full smile.
I knew a pair of fangs hid among those pearly whites. I’d seen them twice, but today he was just Logan. My friend and somehow bonded-partner-thing that I still didn’t understand. I crossed my ankles and sat down, folding my legs in front of me. He turned his back to me and continued staring at the three black sedans parked in the front of the building below.
His white t-shirt stretched across his shoulders and tucked into his khaki cargo pants. His lean, muscular build matched his easy-going and patient attitude. It was hard to believe he was a vampire. I’d always assumed they were heartless beings incapable of any emotions, but Logan had proved me wrong. Still, he reminded me frequently that most other vampires were exactly what I believed. He tried to pound it into my head that everything they did was for their own selfish ends. They were incapable of compassion, and loyalty was born of the commitment they received in return. It had nothing to do with honor, love, or friendship.
Interacting with Logan on a daily basis made it hard to believe.
In the last few days, I’d tried many times to discover why he was different but couldn’t get an answer from him. Rather than tell me he didn’t know, which I knew was a lie, he changed the subject. That tactic would only work for so long. It pissed me off more than anything else and cemented my determination to find an answer. I thought he would know that and just give in, but apparently not.
The muscles across Logan’s shoulders tensed, pulling the fabric tight, and an uneasy feeling seeped through our bond. I squinted down at the building. Several men dressed in black suits emerged from a side door and wasted no time getting into the waiting vehicles. Two people remained at the entrance, but I couldn’t identify them from our hiding spot. I assumed one would be Jonathan, though.
“Don’t move,” Logan murmured.
The tension in his voice silenced my sarcastic remark. Billows of sand and dust rose behind the three vehicles as they raced towards the canyon’s exit. I leaned forward to watch them go.
“I said don’t move,” Logan hissed, his body completely motionless in that way only vampires could achieve. “They’ll be looking for any sign of surveillance and I have no desire to be a target.”
My body froze, half leaning forward. “Who are they?”
“Braden, a member of the council, and his entourage,” he replied. Of course, he could see them with his super-vampire-sight. But that meant they could see us, too.
“Why would he meet with Jonathan?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Logan didn’t reply as we watched the clouds of dust disappear.
“Can I move now?”
“Yes.” He took a step backwards and sat down next to me, folding his long legs beneath him.
“Does Jonathan know I’m with you?” I asked, hearing my voice quiver. The vampires had to be looking for us. They couldn’t be happy about the Magister’s fate. Her death took away the vampires’ access to more mages.
“No,” Logan replied, still focused on the building below. The two people at the door disappeared inside and he turned to me. “He doesn’t know I’m coming either, which isn’t unusual. I don’t have the typical nine to five job.”
“No, I suppose not.” I picked at a loose thread on my jeans, thinking before my next question. Logan had been working with Jonathan for decades, and I didn’t want to push him away by accusing his employer of selling him out. “Can we trust Jonathan?”
A long sigh drew my attention to my vampire. I thought of him as mine because our lives were tied together. If one of us died, so would the other. I was also denying an attraction to him. Okay, not really.
“I thought I could, at least with some things,” he replied, pulling his ball cap from his head. The long black hair on the crown of his head fell across his face. He ran his fingers through it, pulling it back into a loose ponytail before replacing the cap. “I thought we were on the same side when it came to the mage-vampires.”
I frowned remembering my first conversation with Jonathan. “He told Kellen and I that he had a small group of vampires on his side.”
“When?”
“Just after our fight at Victor’s,” I replied. “Jonathan was waiting for us at Kellen’s. He said he had the European mages, several groups of shifters, and a small group of vampires allied with him.” I forced myself to maintain eye contact with Logan as I remembered the rest of the conversation. I wasn’t ready to share the part about Kellen’s mother and the Europeans’ assumption that Kellen and I were more than just partners. “I’d assumed Kellen told you.”
Logan’s eyebrows rose for a second then narrowed and met in the middle. “It’s possible Jonathan meant the mage-vampires we’d been recruiting.” He pulled his gaze from me and looked d
own at the metal warehouse. “But, I’m not sure.”
“Did you really not know about his visit?” I asked.
“No, neither of them told me, even though there were plenty of opportunities in the two weeks that followed.”
The old ‘Kellen’ ploy. Tell only part of the story and leave the rest for later. Maybe. In my partner’s defense, though, my vampire had never told us about his working relationship with Jonathan Smith. Kellen had even asked Logan if he knew Mr. Smith, and he’d sat right there in the kitchen and evaded the question without anyone noticing.
But Logan saved me from the goons Kellen sent after me. There was that.
“We should be at full strength before going in there,” I said, thinking of my weakened vampire.
“As much as I don’t appreciate you pointing out my weakness, I have to agree.” He turned back to me and his hazel eyes shifted colors with his mood. “We’ll wait until dark, then make a decision.”
“Why can’t we go back to your place?” I asked, thinking of food, water, and a cool shower.
“It would take nearly an hour in my exhausted state,” he replied, lying back and lacing his fingers behind his head. “And I’d have to carry you all the way back. It’s only two hours from sunset. I’d rather wait.”
He closed his eyes and that irritating smirk played at his lips. It didn’t take us an hour to get to Jonathan’s. It was more like thirty-five minutes. He knew I would feel the lie and said it anyway. But he had a point; he was tired and he would have to carry me. A four-hour walk for me turned into a thirty-minute run for him.
Stupid vampire.
Two hours was a really long time to sit and do nothing. I didn’t even have a cell phone to distract me, and I wasn’t tired. I laid back and mimicked his pose, lacing my fingers behind my head. The reddish-brown striations on the underside of the rock ledge were interesting. Not. What the hell was I going to do until sunset?
I rolled to my side, cradling my head on my arm, and stared at Logan’s profile. His forehead wasn’t long or short, but just the perfect length between his hair line and thick brows. His nose had a slight bump right between his eyes before smoothing out as it pointed towards his lips. His long, dark lashes brushed against the pale skin beneath his eyes. I wished I had eyelashes like that, but no. I was stuck with barely-there lashes that no one could see because of my white hair.
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