Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3)

by Julie Wetzel

  Darien headed towards his office. “Please, and a cheese Danish.”

  Vicky paused at the odd request and looked at the man’s back. Darien usually didn’t eat real food. She shrugged it off and left.

  Darien wasn’t your normal vampire. Having lived for nearly a millennium, he had slowly gotten over most of the things that caused vampires problems. He still needed blood to survive, but he could eat real food in small quantities. The only drawback was the heartburn it would cause if he ate too much. He had also developed some resistance to sunlight that allowed him to get out during the day. Darien had taken full advantage of this ability and built a powerful company that he ran personally. He found he liked the rigors of the corporate world and delved deeply into it to keep his soul young.

  Darien stopped just inside his office door and looked at the rugged man sitting at his oak desk. His black leather biker’s jacket and dark, windblown hair contrasted sharply with the neat office.

  “Good morning, Rupert,” Darien greeted the alpha werewolf playing with his computer. “What are you doing?”

  Rupert looked up as Darien continued into the room. “This is a sweet computer.” He closed out of the window he had been using to surf the Internet. “It’s nice to see that you have finally joined this century, but you really should pick better passwords. It only took me five minutes to guess it.”

  Darien chuckled as Rupert got up from his chair. “Miss Westernly thought it would help with the business.” He nodded at the sleek machine. “So, how many ways did you spell ‘Dubhlainn’ before you got it right?”

  “Six.” Rupert chuckled. “It’s that double ‘n’ at the end that gave me trouble.” He came out from behind the desk so Darien could take his normal chair. The local pack alpha dropped himself into one of the leather seats in front of Darien’s desk and stuck out his legs, crossing his ankles.

  Darien watched as Rupert folded his hands over his chest and relaxed into the soft leather. “So, what can I do for you today?” He sat forwards in his chair and folded his hands on his desk.

  Rupert looked at him through half-lidded eyes and yawned slightly. “You work too early in the morning.” He wiggled to get more comfortable in the chair.

  Darien snickered at him. “You didn’t have to get up so early and come here. I would’ve made time for you later.” Darien leaned back into his chair and relaxed. If Rupert wasn’t getting to the point, then nothing was seriously wrong.

  “I haven’t been to bed yet.” Rupert closed his eyes. “Been up all night dealing with the wolves. They’re stressed out over the new master in town.”

  Darien chuckled. “Christian Bridges,” he said, slightly disgusted. The new master had made a bad impression on him at the club. “He is powerful, but I don’t think he’ll give the Council any trouble.” Darien had taken a moment to size up the man during their handshake. “I gave him Clara’s number so he can talk to her about residency.”

  “I heard about the scene at the club from Zoe. Is Vicky okay?” Rupert sounded a little worried about the woman. He had been a little rough with Vicky when they first met, but he had grown to like her.

  “Yes, Miss Westernly will be back in a little bit with coffee, and you can ask her yourself if you like.” Darien turned his attention to his computer to get started on his day. It was obvious that Rupert only wanted to touch base with him about the master.

  “You and your coffee.” Rupert chuckled.

  Darien gave him a fake offended look that the wolf missed behind his closed eyes. Shaking his head, he pulled up the numbers that he would have to go over before the board meeting at nine. They would tell him if he needed to address the board with praise or a ball bat.

  ***

  Vicky walked into Darien’s office with the morning refreshments. She quietly set his coffee and Danish next to him, placing a blueberry muffin and coffee on the desk for the sleeping werewolf. Sue, the spunky wolf that ran the café, had warned Vicky that her brother was up visiting and sent him breakfast.

  “Thank you,” Darien said as Vicky laid the newspaper on the desk next to his coffee.

  Walking over to the cabinet, she pulled a woven throw out and fluffed it over the alpha. During her morning chat with Sue, Vicky had found out the poor man had been up all night dealing with a tense pack. It was only a few more days until the full moon, and the wolves were wound up with the growing energy. The addition of a few new vampires just added to that chaos.

  “Let me know if you need anything.” Vicky slipped from the office and shut the heavy, wooden door.

  Darien let out a contented sigh and nodded. Picking up his pastry, he took a big bite out of it and made a sound that bordered on the edge of obscene. He had no idea why he suddenly had a craving for the treat, or why it tasted so good today. Picking up his cup, he sipped the caramel macchiato. It was heavenly this morning. Caffeine didn’t affect vampires like it did normal people, but Darien loved the way the smell and taste stimulated his senses. He stuck the Danish back in his mouth before opening up the paper to see what was going on in the world.

  ***

  Darien looked over the proposal the shipping head had presented to him. “I have no idea where they come up with this stuff.”

  “I don’t know,” Vicky answered as they walked back from the morning board meeting. “He did have a point when he said that automating the shipping system would benefit the business.”

  “Yes,” Darien agreed as he shut the folder. “It is a great idea. It would cut costs and speed up handling times, but it would also cut jobs. I know that we have to do our best in this struggling economy, but is our profit margin worth laying off so many people?”

  Vicky didn’t answer as she walked. She knew what it was like to be out of work, worrying about how to pay her bills. Vicky thought about all the people that worked hard to make sure the packages got to where they were supposed to go.

  “I think we’ll hold off on this plan for a while.” Darien tucked the folder under his arm. “The system we have works for now.”

  Vicky smiled warmly as Darien held the door to her office open. “You’re a good man.”

  “I haven’t been a ‘good man’ in a long time,” he teased as they went in.

  Vicky laughed at him. “Do you think Rupert is still here?” She looked at Darien’s closed office door. They had left the tired werewolf sleeping in the leather chair when they had gone to the meeting two hours ago.

  “Nope,” Darien replied as he opened the door and looked around the spacious office. Rupert had folded the blanket up on the leather couch along the left wall of the room. The only other sign that the man had been there was the sheet of paper askew on his desk. Lifting it up, Darien read the messy writing on the page. “How do you feel about hosting a party?” he called to Vicky.

  She leaned out from behind her desk to look into Darien’s office. “A party?”

  “A ball, to be precise.” He held up the paper. “Rupert has invited us to a get-together with the wolves, but it’s on the same day as the Council’s Halloween party. What do you think about seeing if they want to join the two gatherings?”

  Vicky pondered the possibilities. “One party for the two groups?” Despite long-standing grudges and the new truce, the wolves and vampires seemed to get along well during the time they had spent together at Darien’s home. Maybe this would give the two groups something fun to do together.

  Darien folded the paper up and slipped it into his pocket. “If I invite those two groups, I would have to open it up to the fay, too.”

  “I’ve never been to a ball,” Vicky said, slightly excited by the prospect.

  He laughed at her. “Then clear Halloween,” he said as he sat down in his chair, “and I’ll see what I can do.”

  Vicky giggled and left to go change his schedule.

  He pushed the matter from his mind for now as he went back to work.

  ***

  Vicky woke up to the familiar sound of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue co
ming from her bag. She wiggled out from between the lightly snoring vampire and the greenish-black ball of tentacles wrapped around her leg. Fumbling through the darkness, she pulled out her ringing phone.

  “Hello?” Vicky said sleepily into the phone as she sat down on the couch in Darien’s bedroom. She scrubbed her knuckle into her eye, trying to wake up.

  “Good evening, Miss Westernly.” A soft, female’s voice came through the line.

  Vicky recognized the voice of the head of the Vampire Council.

  “I am sorry for disturbing you so late, but I need to speak with Master Darien.”

  Vicky nodded her head in response. “Mmmm, it’s okay.” She yawned as she got up from the couch and went back to the bed. “Let me get him.” Vicky crawled onto the bed and poked the sleeping vampire. “Darien.”

  He groaned in his sleep.

  “Hey, Darien.” She shook him again. Vicky squeaked loudly when Darien reached out and pulled her back down to the bed against him. She fumbled around for a minute in his arms, trying to get loose. “Wake up! It’s Clara,” Vicky said louder, dragging Darien from his sleep.

  He cracked an eye and looked at the woman disturbing him. “Huh?”

  Vicky pushed the phone at him. “It’s Clara.”

  Darien stared at her, confused for a second, before shaking his head to clear it. He released Vicky as she thrust the phone at him again. Taking it, he pressed the microphone end to his ear. “Hel…” Darien’s voice cracked a little with sleep. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Hello.” When no sound came out, he looked at the phone and realized his error. He twisted it around and tried again.

  Clara was laughing into the other end of the phone. “Are we awake now?” Her voice was thick with amusement.

  Darien blinked his eyes, trying to get them to focus in the darkened room. “No.”

  Zak grumbled as Vicky wormed her way back into the warm covers.

  “What’s up?” Darien tried to ask, but it came out more like ‘t’s up’.

  Clara laughed again. “You wanted me to call you when I heard from Christian Bridges.” Amusement leaked from her voice as she spoke.

  Darien breathed deep to clear his mind.

  “Mr. Bridges called this evening to set up a meeting with the Council. Everyone is gathering here on Thursday night.”

  Darien made a confirming noise as he tried to fend off sleep.

  “Did you hear me?” Clara asked, not sure he was awake.

  “Bridges. Council meeting. Thursday,” Darien mumbled as he rolled back over into Vicky’s back. “Got it.”

  Clara laughed at him again. “Go back to sleep, and don’t forget about the meeting.” She hung up the phone.

  Darien groaned in response and dropped the phone behind him on the bed. “Clear Friday,” he mumbled as he buried his face into the crook of Vicky’s neck.

  Vicky made some kind of positive noise before they both dropped back off to sleep.

  ***

  Darien looked at the file Vicky had just handed him. Confusion crossed his face as he flipped open the folder and looked at the progress reports. “What’s this for?” Darien asked as he read over the material.

  Vicky looked at her boss, confused by the question. “It’s the information you’ll need to talk with Marcus in shipping.” She turned to go out to her office. “He’ll be here in ten minutes.”

  Darien shook his head as he tried to clarify his question. “I can tell that. I mean, why am I doing this now? Aren’t we supposed to be heading over to meet with Mr. Rodgers?” He always looked forwards to the Thursday trips to the shipping hub on the north side of town. “I’m supposed to meet with Marcus tomorrow.”

  Vicky looked at him, slightly concerned. “I moved the meeting from Friday to Thursday to clear your schedule,” she said. “This is the last meeting before we leave to see Mr. Rodgers.”

  Darien cocked his head, still confused. “Why?” He couldn’t figure out why Vicky would do such a thing.

  “Umm… because you told me to,” Vicky said slowly. The look that crossed Darien’s face would have made her laugh if his lack of memory weren’t so disturbing. Usually, if he forgot something, the little information that Vicky had given him would have been enough for him to remember it.

  “Umm…” Darien tried to figure out when he had told Vicky to clear his Friday. “Why?” he asked again.

  Enlightenment dawned on Vicky, and she laughed. “You don’t remember the phone call from Clara on Monday night, do you?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Maybe?” Darien questioned as his forehead furrowed in thought.

  Vicky cocked her hip and glared at him.

  “No,” he admitted sheepishly.

  Letting out an exasperated sigh, she rolled her eyes at her boss. “This is why you have a personal assistant. Clara called on Monday and said something about a Council meeting tonight. When you hung up, you asked me to clear your schedule for Friday.”

  The epiphany struck Darien as he vaguely remembered Clara’s laughter on the phone. “Oh yeah!” he exclaimed. “That explains why the last two days have been busier than normal.”

  Vicky let out a sigh and shook her head. “Read over your report,” she instructed her boss. Dropping her arms, she turned to leave. “Marcus will be here shortly.”

  The engine of the black sports car fell silent as Darien parked it next to the fountain in the center of the circular drive. He had taken his Aston Martin DB9 to the meeting with Mr. Rodgers instead of the beautiful ‘66 Ford Mustang that Charlie had picked out. The caretaker of Darien’s cars agreed with the decision when Darien told him they would be heading out to visit the Council this evening. Charlie had been miffed when Darien had damaged the last classic car he had taken out there on some road trash. Roger, Clara’s mechanic, had done a good job of finding a radiator hose that would work on the Ford Torino, but it really wasn’t the right one. He had to jury-rig it in so that Darien wouldn’t have to call Charlie for a wreaker to pick them up.

  Darien, Vicky, and Zak got out of the car and headed towards the steps that would take them inside.

  Vicky looked up at the stone villa and sighed. The two-story mansion was a little out of place here in America. It would have been more at home in the English countryside. The last time Vicky had come out here had changed her life. This place was where she discovered that vampires weren’t just fodder for B-rated horror movies and bad romance novels. Vicky shivered as she remembered the feel of fangs on her neck, and she quickly pushed the memory away.

  Darien wrapped his arm around her and squeezed gently as they climbed the steps to the door.

  “Good evening, Master Darien,” Clara’s butler, Hank, said as he opened the door to let them in. Hank was the public face of Clara’s house and took care of dealing with the outside world. The older man looked the part dressed in a black tailcoat. He bowed to them as they passed. “The Council is already assembled.”

  Zak barked at the man as he ran past in his Shih Tzu form.

  “Thank you,” Darien said as they entered into the grand foyer. Due to the extra meetings and the early sunset, they had arrived well after dark. “See you later,” he said to Vicky as he kissed her on the cheek before she turned and headed to the doorway on the right. It would take her down to the area where Clara’s menagerie lived. Vicky had become good friends with them when they had come to stay with Darien.

  Zak nuzzled her ankle before turning back to follow Darien to the Council room.

  Darien took the ornate stairs at the far end of the room. When they split, he followed the left side up to where the Council was meeting. He let Zak in before stepping through the double doors leading to the meeting room of the Vampire Council. Eleven sets of eyes turned to look at him.

  “Welcome, Master Darien,” Clara called to the new arrival.

  Darien went to the chair left open for him.

  Zak made the rounds, getting petting from each of the Council vampires before heading back
over and jumping up in Darien’s chair. Darien wasn’t really part of the Council, but they always left a place open for him in case he changed his mind.

  Pulling off his coat, Darien hung it from the back of his chair. “Please forgive me. I came over right after work.” He picked the dog up from his seat and sat down.

  “It’s all right. We’ve just started.” Clara watched him settle the hyper little fay in his lap. “Mr. Bridges was just introducing himself to the Council.” Everyone turned their attention to the finely dressed man standing next to the oval table. “Please, go on,” Clara prompted him.

  Christian tugged at his suit coat as Darien rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt.

  Zak stared at Christian with beady, black eyes that just peeked out from his fur.

  “As I was saying, I would like to petition the Council to join your fine city,” Christian continued.

  “Why did you leave your previous residence?” Clara cocked her head and considered the man before her.

  “I needed a change of pace.” Christian shrugged. “I had been in Clarksdale, Arizona, since the city’s founding in 1912. I thought it was time to find someplace new.”

  “Why did you pick Brenton?” Lillian asked.

  Christian looked around the room at the faces as he thought about the answer. “It seemed like a nice place to move to.” He shrugged again. “From what I have seen, there is a fairly low ratio of vampires to humans, the school systems are better than average, and the job market is fairly stable.”

  Darien nodded his agreement to these things.

  “A few of my menagerie have family here, so I came on their suggestion.”

  “And how many would you be bringing with you?” Clara looked at the two unnamed vampires standing next to him.

  “I only have two fledglings. Sara,” Christian held out his hand to the petite woman on his right, “and Aiden.” The man on Christian’s left bowed his head. The pair of fledglings had the same dark hair and amber eyes. They could have easily swapped places with each other.