Crown of Smoke and Blood

by Sadie Jacks

  Licking my lips, playing games with her didn’t even cross my mind. “It looked like a scorpion.” I shook my head as a tight smile pulled at my lips. It had to be fake. Couldn’t be real. Just a trick of the eyes and the light in the heated moment.

  Vari’s cheeks flushed red as her hands clenched into tight fists. Her lips trembled as she spoke under her breath. None of the words made sense to me. Hell, I couldn’t even identify the language—if that’s what it truly was.

  “What is it, Vari?” I asked after it became apparent that she was lost in her mind.

  She startled and looked at me. “Serket.”

  My mind blanked on the name. It meant nothing to me. But from her reaction, I was guessing it was pretty important. “Talk to us, Vari. What are your creatures?”

  Blinking, she sucked in another breath. Blew it out slowly. “To understand, I need to give you a fuller picture.” She wrung her hands in her lap. “My father is obsessed with power. Both his own and those of his offspring.”

  I snorted. “Because he sees it as an extension of his own power.”

  She nodded, casting a considering glance at the men beside me. “You said that all the faith systems worked to create the vampire race.”

  Hector and Ambrose nodded. “Yes. Every major system had a hand in adding magic.”

  Vari’s smile was tight. “Do you know why?”

  The two ancients looked at each other, shrugged, and looked back at Vari. “No,” they answered in unison.

  “Because what we call mythos and faith magic is based on the idea of self-actualized incarnation.”

  My brain tried to twist in on itself. “Come again?”

  “Just what I said: self-actualized incarnation. The idea that if enough people wish it or worship it long enough and hard enough, then it will become true. Their thoughts take on form. Become a god or goddess capable of independent thought and extraordinary power.”

  “So you’re saying that all the faith system gurus from old, got together, poured their faith and hope into these created beings and whamo-blamo, they pop into existence?” Was she crazy?

  Vari nodded. “No, I’m not crazy. We see it every day.”

  “But how did the original faith guys get the power up and running? Where does it all come from?”

  Ambrose exhaled. “There are a few faiths that have only one god. A non-created being that sits in rule over the entirety of the universe.”

  Vari nodded again. “Exactly. All others are either derivatives of those or something that has been twisted into an unrecognizable mess that still manages to convey hope to its congregation.”

  “Christianity, Islam, and…” I trailed off.

  “Judaism,” Hector added.

  “So the Greek/Roman system is self-actualized?” I looked at Vari.

  She shrugged. “To the best of my knowledge, yes. People want hope. They want to know that what they do each and every day has meaning and purpose. One of the best and easiest ways to do that is to gather like-minded people and either congratulate themselves in a circle or all decide on a basic system that provides it to them.”

  My mind was going to explode. “Moving on, what does that have to do with the experiments?”

  Ambrose chuckled. “It can be a bit of a can of worms, I’ll give you that. But in regards to why the faith gurus and scientists gathered, I understand.”

  I looked between Vari and Ambrose. “Well? Care to share with the rest of the class?”

  Vari smiled. “Because if the—the faith gurus—can harness that kind of magic and put it into a body and end up with Vampires as the result, imagine what Faeries can do with the whole process.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Sweet shite, you’re serious.”

  She nodded. “My father has some of the oldest faith system practitioners working beside him. He infused them with the same process and essences they used on your race. If they aren’t the same people, then he’s using acolytes who have risen beyond their predecessors.”

  Ambrose shook his head. “That is not possible. We scourged them from the earth. They have been gone for almost half a millennium.”

  Vari turned to him. “And the ones that you couldn’t confirm as dead?”

  Ambrose trembled. “No. Not possible.” He shook his head. “We killed all of them.”

  Vari continued to stare at him.

  He shot up from his chair. Slammed his fist through the remaining slab of granite. “No! We wiped them from this earth.”

  Vari nodded, a sad smile on her face. “And they ended up in what we now know is Old Faery.”

  Ambrose rushed around the table, grabbed Vari by the throat. “They are gone. Dead.”

  Vari’s eyes pulsed with black for a second as she gripped Ambrose’s fingers and slowly peeled them from her neck. “Radulfus Goodfeather. Benedict Swinheart.”

  Ambrose stumbled back. His body jerked as the names landed like blows. He shook his head, shoved his fingers through his hair. “It can’t be. It can’t be true.”

  “Albin Funery.”

  Ambrose stiffened and sank into the predator’s stance. “I killed him myself. That man is nothing but dispersed ashes.”

  Vari closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were blood red and sparkled with bright ruby flames. Her skin slowly morphed to match her eyes. She waved her hand in the air. Molecule by molecule, a face took shape. In less than thirty seconds, a man’s face peered out of the space between them. Except for the red cast to it, it could have been a hi-res picture from a modern day professional camera. “Is this him?”

  Ambrose snarled, the sound raising the hair on the back of my neck. “He lives.”

  Vari shoved her hand through the magic picture, returning herself back to the woman I was familiar with. “Yes. He’s particularly cruel. Especially to the women.”

  Ambrose dropped to his knees as a keening scream rent the air like a sword. He raised his hands, ripped them down his face. Huge gashes tore through his skin, only to be stitched back together immediately.

  Vari slid down from the counter, sank to her knees beside Ambrose. “Help me kill my father. And I’ll give Albin to you personally.”

  Ambrose’s mourning cries cut off in an instant. The faint echo of them whistled through the house for a brief moment. “I pledge my fealty to you, Vari of Faery.” Without hesitation, he raised his wrist to his mouth, scored a fang over the pulse point, and offered it to her.

  Vari dipped her head, licked over the wound. “Welcome to the Army of the Vast, Ambrose.” Her smile was stained crimson as her eyes flickered between black, red, and amber.

  Chapter 25 – Vari

  Ambrose smiled back at me. His pale blue eyes were slightly muddy as my magic and his vow rushed over him. When I swallowed the blood, the haze washed from his features.

  The darkness I carried inside me expanded. I’d known it would, but there was no other way. Purposely accessing my creatures always swelled that midnight pit. And I’d just done it twice in the span of a very short time. Not to mention a blood oath.

  I tried to shake it off. Tried to shove it down. All I needed to do was make sure I kept a lid on it. On them. On me. Easy. Totally easy.

  He leaned back on his heels. “You’re quite a bit more than you’ve let on.”

  I smiled. “A girl needs her mystery, Rosey.”

  His cheeks pinkened. “My wife called me that.”

  I chuckled. Nodded. “And I would never besmirch her memory, Ambrose.” I got to my feet and lowered my hand to help him up.

  He chuckled, but put his hand into mine. When I lifted him easily to his full height, his eyes widened. “Much more than you’ve let on.”

  Winking at him, I turned to Koehn and Hector. “Will you join me?”

  Hector almost catapulted himself over the ruined kitchen island. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” He repeated the blood vow process.

  My brow furrowed as I accepted his vow of fealty. “Will you promise to help
me kill my father and any who wish to seek to hurt the Vast?”

  Hector nodded so quickly his brown hair danced on his head. “I do so promise, Mistress Vari.”

  I leaned down, licked my tongue over the slash in his wrist. “Welcome to the Army of the Vast, Hector.”

  As with Ambrose, the magic added a haze to his eyes until I swallowed, sealing the blood vow within my very soul.

  When I looked at Koehn, I saw the hesitation on his face. The need for more answers. The desire to ask another of his infernal questions.

  I sighed, pulled myself back up onto the counter. “Ask.”

  His brow furrowed for a moment. “How did you know I was going to ask a question?”

  Ambrose, Hector, and I all laughed.

  “You’re the most inquisitive person I know, Koehn.” I waved him forward. “Ask me. If I have the answer, I’ll give it to you.”

  “Why did you think you’d addicted Gideon to you?”

  I shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. But you’re the first vampire I’ve ever been in contact with. And you seem to be addicted to me. It stands to reason that he would have been as well.”

  His face clouded over. “But he has no mark.”

  I shrugged again. “I don’t have any answers for you on that score, Koehn. I’m sorry. Anything else you want to know?”

  “How did you know that Michael had, or was going to, kill those women?”

  Shite. I licked my lips. “One of my creatures is able to see the future.”

  “So they are not yet dead.” He nodded, his shoulders dropping slightly.

  I shook my head. “My creature doesn’t think so. But I suggest we look into the matter as soon as possible.”

  Ambrose and Hector turned to Koehn.

  “I’ll stand as witness,” Ambrose offered immediately.

  “As do I,” Hector said.

  My brow pinched slightly. “Stand as witness for what? He’s dead. You all already saw that.”

  “They are offering to stand as your witness, Vari. Not mine.” Koehn scraped a hand down his face. “You killed a vampire under my protection. If you have at least three witnesses to testify that you acted in defense of yourself or others, then no punishment will be meted out.”

  My brows winged up. “And if I can’t find a third?”

  “Then a full investigation has to take place.” He turned to his brethren. “You know you can’t offer as a witness. The investigation must stand.”

  Ambrose edged between me and Koehn. “I taste the truth of her words, my King.”

  I blinked at the title. “King?”

  Koehn glared at Ambrose. “For feck’s sake, Ambrose.”

  Ambrose’s shoulders hunched. “I apologize.”

  “Well, I don’t,” Hector announced. “And I, too, taste her truth. But I will stand by her side if the investigation must go through. No harm will come to her while she walks on this plane.”

  Wait. What was that now? I looked at Hector. His chest was puffed up, his head held high. His body was deceptively positioned—weight balanced on the balls of his feet, his arms loose at his sides. He was ready to pounce on Koehn if anything happened.

  Koehn hissed out a snarl. “If you think to protect her from me, Hector of Spain, then we have many things to discuss. She is mine, not yours.”

  All the creatures inside me balked at his words. They’d been purposefully awakened. And none of us belonged to anyone. I glared at Koehn. “I’m not anyone’s but mine. And I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Thank you very much.” Idiotic men thinking they were better than me. Have to save the helpless woman. I rolled my eyes mentally. At least men seemed to be the same, no matter their plane of existence.

  That was only mildly comforting.

  “And I say she is mine,” Gideon said from the doorway. His almost silvery blonde hair was in snarls and tangles around his angular face. His bright golden eyes were shadowed with pain.

  Koehn shoved up from his chair. Spun and advanced on his other Council member. “The feck she is. You’ll stay away from her, or I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” He lifted his fists, his nails lengthened to claws.

  “For the last time, I belong to no one. Now everyone sit back down.” My voice wasn’t quite to shouting level, but my limit for idiots had just been reached.

  None of them moved.

  Arseholes. “NOW!” I shoved some of my compulsion magic into the demand. Watched as each arse hit the nearest section of floor or stool.

  Anger etched each face as they stared at me.

  I glared back at all of them. “Get it through your heads: I’m stronger, more powerful, and certainly better trained than any of you.” I let that sink in on the group of idiots before me. “I do not need your protection. I need your help. If you can’t give one without the other, then I will release you from your vow.”

  Koehn’s expression changed first. He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

  Gideon snorted. “Pussy whipped already, Trick?”

  I reached out with a shot of magic, slapped Gideon upside the back of his head. “That’s disgusting and rude. Lift your shirt.”

  Gideon smirked as he got to his feet. “Told you she was mine.” He stripped his shirt off. His velvety skin came into view. And while I did want to touch it, I was far more interested in the design that had been charred into his flesh.

  “What the feck?!” Koehn jumped to his feet. With a hard hand, he turned Gideon around so he could see the other man’s left rib cage.

  As if it had been threaded through his ribs, Gideon carried the same mark that matched Koehn’s and my own. Damn it. I was not looking forward to the bitching this would mean from both of them. They’d already proven themselves incapable of clear thought.

  Maybe they would be open to sharing, a voice deep inside me said.

  Mentally, I snorted. Men less prone to sharing I’d yet to meet. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to be shared by any of these men, anyway. They were stubborn and bullheaded, without sex in the mix.

  “Why do we not have marks?” Hector asked, a slight pout to his plump lips.

  I shrugged. “I have no idea, Hector. I’m sorry.” But I was getting pissed at the lack of information on the thing that bound the three of us together. “I’ll see if I can find any information on the marks. What they mean.”

  Koehn let go of Gideon, turned back to me. Anger pulled at his face. “What does that mean? Do you have informants here? A library? A book of answers?”

  I glared at him as anger suffused my veins. The demand in his voice felt like a metal knife scratching over porcelain. “I don’t answer to you, Koehn. Not now. Not ever. You ruined a lot of things by picking me up off the street. If anything, I own you. Not the other way around.” It was nothing but the truth, and I needed to remember it.

  None of the essences or creatures inside me would have allowed this body to die. They all needed me to stay alive and well enough to fight. To win. To rule.

  That he picked me up and fed me his blood in an effort to heal me was something I was willing to not crawl down his throat for. But if he kept using it as a way to try to control me, I would rain hell down on his head.

  “So you’re saying I have a mark on me now?” Gideon asked as he turned this way and that. Like a dog trying to catch its own tail.

  “Yes. It’s identical in shape, but not size, to ones Koehn and I carry.” I lifted my shirt. Knew he saw the same emblem on my upper left torso, just under my breast.

  Gideon stepped forward as if he were under a trance. His hand lifted as his eyes glazed over. “I need to touch it.”

  “The feck you’re going to touch her.” Koehn wrapped the slightly bigger man in his arms and held him back from me.

  I dropped the shirt. “Gideon, come back.” I pitched my words low and husky. Hoped they found him in the haze of his mind.

  Gideon jolted, shook his head like a dog out of water. “What the feck was that?” He looked at the other men in the roo
m. Fear sliding over his features. He turned back to me. “Are you a witch?” One corner of his mouth slid up in disgust.

  My eyebrows rose. “A bit late for that question, huh? You fed me your blood on the porch and now you’re wondering what I am?”

  “We might be able to stake him outside. Wait for the sun to rise,” Koehn offered.

  The other men sucked in noisy breaths. “My King.” The two words were echoed through the room.

  Koehn chuckled. “I was just kidding.” He looked at me. Lifted one brow. Kinda.

  I snorted softly. “How about we wait on that part? You guys have said something about a trial. I’d really like to get that out of the way before we all focus on the war.”

  “Wait. What war? And what trial?” Gideon’s face was screwed up in confusion.

  “We’ve pledged fealty to Vari of Faery for an upcoming war,” Hector said as if he were announcing me at some kind of gala function. His smile was both youthful and cherubic.

  Gideon looked at Ambrose.

  Ambrose nodded. “I would settle old scores. Vari will allow me to help her in return for part of that score.”

  I laughed softly. “I think I need you much more than you need me, Ambrose. But thank you.”

  Ambrose dipped his chin. “We see it differently, Mistress, but have no fear, I will not fail you.”

  Blinking a couple of times at the title he gave me, I just nodded. We did have other paltry matters to deal with right now. This ridiculous trial against me for killing Michael was simply one of them.

  “And the trial?” Gideon asked.

  “I killed Michael. Apparently, that’s a big no-no.” I shrugged. Not that I cared in the slightest, but I didn’t want to leave Koehn looking bad in front of his people. That was never a good solution to a pesky problem. And honestly, doing so could add many more issues than it solved.

  Koehn nodded. “I’ll need to call a coven meeting. But first, I’d like to see if you could lead us to the place where the women are being held.”

  Shite. I’d forgotten that part. That meant I would have to call on a creature. Again. But we needed to get this out of the way. If this was the only way to do it, then so be it.