Dragon: The Clan Legacy Series

by J. S. Striker

  Plus, most vampires were psychopaths, with only a few very powerful ones able to tamp down this inherent trait. How on earth was one supposed to converse with a psychopath who sucked on blood and was well pleased he could get away with it?

  Had anyone known the thoughts running in her head at the moment, they would probably have a convulsion. Imagine the vampire clan head, bored of socializing with idiots.

  Focus. Poker face.

  Her human assistant, Nell Louise, also had on a poker face while murmuring names in her ear.

  “Isn't that Gertrude Hannah? The wife of the appointed in-charge in London?”

  Lucinda looked in the direction Nell subtly indicated and raised a brow while still maintaining her neutral expression. There was Gertrude all right, wearing a nude silk gown that showed off her curves and accentuated the fact that she wasn't wearing underwear in the slightest. Said woman was currently cozying up with Marcus Opha, appointed in-charge in Germany and someone Lucinda had strenuous ties with. Her ties with the London in-charge Phil had been splendid, last she remembered, though Phil couldn't make it at the moment. With this in mind, Lucinda kept her eye on Gertrude until the woman finally looked up from laughing flirtatiously at something Marcus whispered in her ear.

  Lucinda smiled quite brightly.

  Gertrude paled.

  A quiet graze near her shoulder made Lucinda break eye contact. She looked at her side and found Raphael Santiago, her second-in-line, eyeing the suspicious couple with an amused gleam in his dark eyes.

  “You always were bloody brilliant with that cutting smile of yours.”

  “I never meant it to cut,” she said mildly, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing human waiter and taking a dainty sip. She could see humans dotting the vampire crowd, a testament that said crowd could control their bloodlust enough not to tear on sight.

  “And that's the beauty of it—it all comes naturally to you,” Raphael complimented, a charming smile playing on his lips. He'd always been a charming one, able to handle everything with finesse and confidence. Back when they'd been lovers, he had displayed the same kind of finesse that had charmed her throughout until they became just acquaintances. She'd always appreciated his candid handling of the politics around him. It was why he was a suitable second-in-line.

  It was also why she could also never fully trust him.

  They chatted for a bit about tiny little tidbits, with Raphael flirting every now and then. She admired his beauty as it was, all dark male with no rough lines. Then her attention was grabbed by a few more vampires who came by to tell her how gorgeous she looked, how they liked her latest meeting decision with the council, how they wanted to get to know her over dinner sometime. Basically, it was the same varied statements of adoration that she'd gotten used to back when she'd become third-in-line up until the old leader got murdered by the old second-in-line—whom Lucinda killed right after. It had been a messy state of affairs, and now as leader for two years, Lucinda still needed to find a third-in-line she could trust a bit.

  John Grimaldi III, the old leader, had been old-school in his ways but very effective, without the typical sadistic streak that most vampires possessed. He'd also been the one who guided her into not taking everything at face value, which she did so now with a very pleasant expression on her face.

  At the next vampire she saw approaching, that pleasantness dimmed a little inside. Here was a vampire who was very old-school and sadistic, and one she disliked more than others.

  He was also head of the vampire governing body—aka, the rulemakers.

  “Good evening, Oscar,” she greeted with a nod.

  “Lucinda. How lovely to see you.”

  “Thank you. And how have you been?”

  “I've been doing great.”

  Oscar Chamberlain was far older than her in years, but never did have the same amount of strength she had to become throne leader. Still, he was an effective governing head, accurate and cold-blooded in all his dealings.

  A swift movement at his side caught her attention, and within seconds, Oscar was introducing a young woman who had his slender stature but was far more beautiful than almost anyone in the hall with her dark hair and almost-silver eyes. Her expression told Lucinda that she was very well aware of it, darting a coy glance to her scattering of male admirers before meeting Lucinda's gaze.

  Now those silver eyes turned sharp as Oscar finished introducing his sired daughter, with daughter being a loose term.

  “It's an absolute pleasure to meet the great leader of our kind,” Victoria Chamberlain said in a sultry tone that Lucinda immediately didn't trust. Pleasure wasn't the reaction she was getting from the female vampire at all. “I do hope you are enjoying the attention from this party.”

  “Not so much the attention, but the company,” Lucinda corrected coolly, glancing back at Oscar and nodding her head. “It's been great seeing you.”

  Oscar nodded back. Then she was gliding off into the crowd, dismissing Victoria as she would any haughty member of their society. Having a neutral expression didn't mean having to be nice to everyone—another reminder John had taught her. A subtle look back told her the silver-eyed vampire didn't like it at all.

  Then she forgot all about Victoria as the host himself, Albert, asked her for a dance.

  Time to mingle.

  *****

  All the blood champagne and glorious music couldn't keep her entertained, and in the end Lucinda decided to call it a night and head for home when she'd socialized enough. Raphael insisted on accompanying her, and so the ride to the airport was composed of the driver, Raphael on the front seat, and her and Nell at the back of the SUV. It was the only vehicle they brought, a decision Lucinda demanded after two of her bodyguards got killed in a recent assassination attempt. Now their bodyguards were of a different species altogether, a favor called in from a friend she had in their kind—sort of. One thing was for sure: instinct told her Henrik had no reason to kill her, and she trusted that enough to trust him.

  Henrik had mentioned that he'd sent two, yet she hadn’t spotted them at all. Either they were not around at the moment or were just too good with subtlety for her to notice. She couldn't glimpse them either on the trip to Prague, though her old driver, Brody, confirmed that they were around and were just respectful enough to keep their distance.

  Raphael was talking about the people he'd met at the party and the meetings requested with Lucinda, and she noted the other people she'd seen him with and he didn't mention at all. She filed all this for later, responding steadily to all his questions and watching Nell scribble at her side. Nell was a memory whiz, the exact reason why she was her top assistant, so Lucinda figured she was tired for her to be writing down the details instead of just noting them in her head.

  An hour into the ride, Lucinda was feeling bone tired, too. She hadn't slept well in days due to being so busy with things—and screw those who said vampires didn't need sleep.

  The landscape had switched to a deserted road with a beautiful night view of the mountains and fields, and Lucinda watched for a few quiet moments before her eyes gave up on her. With an inward sigh, she closed them, intent on getting a few minutes of power nap before they reached the airport and then New York, where things would become busy again. Raphael had fallen quiet while looking at the view, and Nell was still softly scribbling on her tiny gilded notebook—

  The explosion happened without Lucinda noticing at first. It was so loud that it jolted her right out of her almost-sleeping state, and for a second she thought the engine had some sort of malfunction.

  Then the view became upside down as another explosion occurred, bringing fire and chaos with it. Raphael was blown out of the tumbling vehicle. She smelled Brody's blood and heard Nell's scream of terror, a sound she wasn't likely to forget.

  And then the demons came.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Vampires were more boring than Finn had initially thought. He expected a spectacle, really—politics ge
tting out of hand and vampires tearing each other out by their throats—but none of that happened at all at the so-called grand party he and Robbie observed from afar. Vampires mingled, vampires laughed, and no rogues came. What a waste of time.

  About three hours later, he regretted that last thought as two explosions set their world on fire, with the last one upending the vehicle the vampire leader was in. It screeched an ugly metallic sound, and what followed was a sight so horrific that yes, he'd have preferred the vampire ball very, very much.

  There were only two kinds of demons known to mankind: the greater and the lesser. While a greater demon had more brains and was more powerful, they preferred keeping things subtle and taking precautions every step of the way.

  Lesser demons were the exact opposite: less powerful, unruly and ready to eat whatever flesh they could find in sight.

  Also, dumb.

  A swarm of said lesser demons had already surrounded the vehicle before Robbie and Finn could make it there, gangly and ranging from black to red-skinned. Their nails were as sharp as knives and their teeth were even sharper, and Finn saw one of them drag the driver out of the SUV and tear him to pieces.

  With a curse, he took out his dagger and went to action. Robbie did the same, and together they cut through the swarm with the precision of two men who knew each other's moves without hesitation. The only way to kill lesser demons were to cut off their head—a feat proving to be difficult as their hides were thicker than expected. It took Finn three tries on the first demon before a second one rode on his back, poised to bite him. He roared and slammed his body backwards on the ground, grunting as his side sliced in pain before rolling to decapitate the still-shocked creature.

  Robbie was having better luck than he was, having had experience in the past in dealing with the lessers. Finn took quick note of his hand movements and easily followed them, and after a few moments, three tries became two—and then finally, two became one swipe at the neck, tearing the demons' heads right open.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screaming assistant, Nell, being surrounded as more demons came. What portal were they coming from? Demons didn't live in this world—they had their own realm, only able to come here when summoned or when powerful enough to cross. The swarm continued coming, and Finn partially shifted until his arms had turned to glistening red scales and his hands had turned to dark, razor sharp claws. Then he leaped at the throng and killed whatever he could get his hands on as Nell ran away.

  He sensed more than saw Robbie shifting fully beside him, his large black form surrounding them, and he also sensed two others fighting with them—Lucinda, without a doubt, and her second-in-line named Raphael. Almost as if on instinct, his eyes searched for her until he found her, in her full vampire form as she tried to kill as many as she could—sharp fangs out, blood dripping off them, fiery look of a born killer. Blood sprayed everywhere, on her face and torn clothes. Her lithe form moved with a grace that fascinated him—all sensually efficient, none of the underlying roughness that was present in all shifters. It was all so controlled, as if being irrelevantly wild was not part of her vocabulary. Her dark-blonde hair went flying in the air as she sailed through the demons' heads like the most efficient martial artist he saw.

  Beautiful.

  And then a demon took hold of that hair and yanked, sending her crashing right to the ground. Finn heard her gasp in pain right before she stood up—but it was too late as, in unison, all demons left who they were fighting with and ran for her with a single purpose.

  They were going to murder her, and her fanged snarl of realization was a sure sign that she was aware of it.

  Light-green eyes met his, as cool as grass in summer—and just as refreshing.

  And then everything happened too fast.

  Two figures dove in front of Lucinda, taking the brunt of the attack and shielding her for a few seconds of it. Nell's scream was cut off as a demon's teeth sunk in her neck before leaping off her, and she slid to the ground like a lump. A few other demons swarmed Raphael until he was rendered immobile and unconscious as well, where they proceeded to try to feast on him.

  Not gonna happen on his watch.

  Finn roared and shifted to full form, Robbie's tense voice echoing in his mind.

  I'll take the second back to New York and report to headquarters. You take the leader somewhere safe—keep her out of the city.

  Finn didn't need further encouragement as he only said one sentence in return.

  Look for the damn demon portal and seal it.

  Then he was scooping Lucinda off the ground with his clawed feet and taking her with him as he flew out of the bloody mess, meeting the night sky and the stars.

  *****

  The demons that could fly followed—of course they would, the damn idiots. But Finn's dragon form was bigger and faster, and he tried his best to outfly them and keep invisible by flying through whatever clouds he could find. Pretty soon Lucinda was wet and cold above him—having climbed on top in the middle of their flight—but she kept quiet as her hands clutched his hide for warmth, no sign of shivering running through her body.

  Right. Vampire.

  She didn't feel like a vampire, because she felt warm on his back despite being so drenched. Finn felt her body stiffen before he heard a demon flying overhead, screeching in a scratchy, horrible voice.

  He flicked it with his tail, and it dove down the ground and crashed on a giant set of rocks.

  “Find a forest,” Lucinda ordered coolly, voice utterly calm. “We need to lose them.”

  Not liking her tone one bit, Finn did as she asked—by swooping down a stream of clouds and passing through them before diving for the nearest area filled with trees. He quickly shifted to his human form, naked as the day he was born and with no time to use the extra clothing he had attached at a wrapped area near his ankle. A glance above showed no sign of any other demon following.

  So far, so good.

  A glance at Lucinda showed her staring at him—or more specifically, his nakedness.

  Silence filled the air. Then Finn couldn't help it as he grinned and tipped his head. “I'm flattered the vampire leader finds my junk fascinating enough to stare.”

  He would have hardened if not for his cold state—a natural reaction. Instead, Finn led the way and ran towards the darker part of the forest.

  After a moment, he sensed Lucinda following.

  *****

  The trek to find a safe hiding place was done in silence, with Lucinda only stating once that Nell's death would be avenged before falling back in her own thoughts.

  “Glad to agree with you, sweetheart.”

  Pitying her drenched state, Finn stopped once to put on his pants and offered her his shirt. She took it without preamble and put it over her torn dress before nodding at him to keep going. Even in the loose clothing, she acted every inch royalty—elegant and calm, almost like they were just taking a stroll in the park.

  They passed lots and lots of trees—trees of different sizes and shapes, the color of the leaves darkening as the area became thicker with them. A few screeches overhead stopped them in their tracks, and they both stayed under a particularly thick branch and waited for the noise to die down before quietly continuing their trek.

  It was on their way towards a tiny clearing that footsteps sounded, heavy and rough, followed by the familiar sounds of the demon's grunts.

  Quickly, Finn took out the last thing he’d brought inside the wrapped area around his leg—a bottled potion the color of gray clouds. Sophia had given him and Robbie one bottle each, telling them to drink it only when absolutely necessary.

  Now was that time.

  He drank half of the liquid inside, a tasteless concoction, and gave the other half to Lucinda, muttering to her in a low tone what it was. She drank the rest, and he saw them both vanish a few seconds later right before his eyes. Memorizing her location, he went on to grab her arm and dragged her to a nearby tree, pressing them both again
st it just as a demon popped into view.

  The whole potion would have given him invisibility for an hour, so half meant they only had a half hour of safety and needed to get away soon.

  More demons came, scouring the area and narrowly missing them. While shifters and vampires had a good sense of smell, lesser demons could smell basically nothing out of the ordinary. They also had piss-poor hearing, relying on their sight to guide the way.

  Which gave the two the advantage.

  They stayed where they were, with Lucinda's back pressed against the tree and Finn pressed against her front. It would have been sexy if not for their current situation. As it was, they watched the demons run back and forth, and Finn's fingers itched with the need to decapitate them all. However, moving was risky, so they stayed where they were and waited it out.

  Rain poured out of the sky, dripping from the trees and right at them until they were all wet again. This time Lucinda shivered. Instinctively, Finn pressed himself closer against her, a protective gesture even as his body molded against her still-warm one—and there was nothing protective about what he was feeling at the moment.

  A mission, he reminded himself. When this was over, he was going to find himself a warm, willing woman—not a vampire, and certainly not a vampire leader—and slake whatever thirst he was feeling until it was gone.

  Eventually, the demon crowd died down until the forest became completely silent—not even Lucinda's breathing could be heard, though he could still feel her against him. It was mighty convenient because the invisibility potion's effect was almost gone, and they needed to get out of there before they could be seen again. Finn whispered in her ear to climb the tree, and he soon followed her right after he removed all his clothes again and put them in the wrapped area around his leg.

  The sky was clear again, no sign of anything.