Dark Cravings

by Pryce, Madeline

  Castro glanced pointedly at me, allowing his gaze to move over my breasts and hips. It took all of my willpower not to fidget.

  “I would make an exception,” Castro finally said.

  “I’m standing right here,” I snapped.

  They ignored me.

  “You’ve put your mark upon her,” Castro said.

  The testosterone in the room notched up a level. Micah’s chest actually puffed out a little. “She’s mine.”

  Castro’s smile spread over his face and he looked less like a demon and more like a proud father. He crossed the room and I found myself bracing for an attack. I didn’t have any weapons but that didn’t mean I couldn’t fight.

  The demon lord took Micah’s hand and, to my horror, the two embraced in an awkward man hug. Castro looked into my eyes over Micah’s shoulder. The light bulb in my head began to blink. I got it, the strange recognition I hadn’t been able to place. It was the eyes. Layered on top of a deep blue, Castro had an invading green ring around his pupil. Mixed together, the color was the beautiful shade of teal I’d gotten accustomed to over the last several months. Micah’s eyes.

  “How exactly do you two know each other?” I found myself asking.

  The question broke up the male-bonding moment.

  “We’re old friends, aren’t we, pretty boy?” There was a warmth in Castro’s voice that spoke of respect and, dear god, kinship.

  I wondered who, or what, they’d killed together.

  “Friends?” Micah chuckled, walked over to the fridge and opened the cabinet above it. “He thinks we’re friends. He just hangs around because he owes me a favor. One I need to cash in on.”

  Micah took out a bottle of scotch and blew the dust off it. With his other hand, he pinched two short tumblers between his fingers and slid them from the shelf. He set the liquor and the glasses on the table before turning around with a stupid smile on his face.

  Had I just stepped into the twilight zone? Was I still drunk? Had Micah literally screwed me stupid?

  Micah took one look at my face, and god only knew what he saw, because his smile faltered. He turned to Castro. “Why don’t you give us a minute?”

  “Take your time. I’ll just make myself at home. After all, this place does remind me a bit of hell. Really, Micah, this place is truly spectacular.”

  I was still shaking my head when Micah pulled me to the bathroom. He shoved me inside.

  “Clothes,” he muttered and walked back out.

  Seconds later, Micah thrust a bundle of fabric at me. “Get dressed.”

  “Screw you.”

  “Come on, don’t get bitchy.”

  “There is a demon lord in your living room slash bedroom. What the fuck, Micah? You and he seem like old buddies. Who is he?”

  I tried not to get distracted when Micah started to undress. This sight still stole my breath. The wet plop of his shirt hit the floor and reminded me of how wet my own clothes were.

  “It’s complicated.” His pants came off.

  I snapped my eyes shut, kicked off my heels. “Uncomplicate it.”

  “Fine. I was introduced to Castro when I was on the hunt for the demon that tortured and killed my sister. Long story short, I helped him, he helped me. We’ve remained in contact.”

  “Who did you kill for him?” I asked.

  In answer I got a blank stare.

  “All right, don’t tell me. I don’t trust him, he is too…charismatic. Aren’t demon lords all about world domination and faithful minions?” I thought about that for a moment. “You aren’t a faithful minion, are you?”

  Micah shook his head. “God, no. Listen, we’re working on that trust thing, right?”

  “You make it difficult when you don’t answer my questions. Tell me this. Is he dangerous?”

  “We are all dangerous, Ella. It’s how we use our power that makes us who we are. Castro stays to himself, protects his own. The Vault, where we went tonight, is a safe haven for a lot of demons, the ones who don’t want to get caught up in the interdimensional wars taking place between the lesser lords. I’d trust him with my life and it’s why I’m going to ask him for a favor. He knows things that could help us.”

  What Micah was saying went against everything I had been taught. Demon lords waged eternal wars with each other. They would stop at nothing in order to find ways to expand their holdings into the outlying dimensions. The underground club, with its roaming portal and devoted, black-robed employees, was not just a club—it was a dimension in itself. On the other hand, who was I to judge one demon from the next when the blood running through my veins was far from human?

  I pulled on the clothes Micah had grabbed for me—a tight-ribbed tank top, a pair of bikini panties and cargo pants. All black, all clean and all blessedly dry. With a couple of knives and a bra, I might even feel like myself again.

  Castro was sitting at the table when I followed Micah out of the bathroom. The demon had one long leg crossed over his knee. He held a tumbler of amber liquid. As he swirled the glass, the contents inside spun in a fast, neat circle.

  “A drink for the lady?” he asked and held out the still-spinning liquid.

  “God, no,” Micah and I answered at the same time.

  The revolving slowed and Castro gave me a full smile, oozing charm. I recognized the tilt of the lips. Just how much time had Micah spent with Castro? How could I love Micah when I knew he had demon lords for drinking buddies?

  “How did you enjoy your Flaming Sunrise?” Castro asked.

  My mouth watered at the mention. When my fangs gave a little pulse, I concentrated on keeping them sheathed. “How do you know about that?”

  “Ah, my dear, I know everything.” He looked to Micah and the smile I’d been admiring turned a little wicked. “You two left in quite a hurry.”

  With only one chair left at the table, I found a seat on the narrow counter next to the kitchen sink. I hopped up, let my bare feet bang against the hollow wooden panel beneath. The noise helped distract me from the way Castro’s demonic presence leached under my skin.

  “This favor you wish of me, what is it?” Castro asked.

  Micah took the open chair, spun it around and dropped into it with his chest resting against the slats. Casually, he opened the bottle of scotch and poured a finger’s worth. He too, swirled the liquid and I was beginning to wonder if the gesture was a requirement to drink it. What in the hell was there to mix?

  “There has been a new development. I need my mother’s medical records as far back as you can get them.”

  Castro took a delicate sip from his glass. “Given your pedigree, I assume they are in the Agency Headquarters.”

  “Is that a problem?” Micah asked.

  “Of course not.” Castro took out a slender metal case and flipped it open. He pulled out another black cigarette. Instead of using a lighter, he pressed the tip against the top of his hand. I was both appalled and impressed. The sweet scent of cloves filled the room.

  After a moment, Micah spoke. “Why were you looking for me?”

  “Ah, yes.” Castro took a drag off his cigarette. Smoke streamed from his nostrils. “I’d heard some interesting information regarding the lady friend you were always going on and on about.”

  “That is interesting,” I said to Micah.

  Castro went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “It appears the two of you are in quite a bit of trouble.”

  I stopped banging my feet and sat up straighter.

  “Lizbeth, the vampire queen, has put a bounty out for Ella’s death. I must say, the sum is quite extravagant.”

  I jumped off the counter. My feet slapped the linoleum floor. “What did I ever do to her? Hell, I’ve never even met her.”

  Julian. This must have something to do with him. When I had first met Julian he had mentioned the queen in passing, as someone he worked for in his quest to rid the world of rogue vampires that would threaten her majesty’s existence. It’s why he was working with the Agency. Or so h
e said at least.

  Castro looked at me, and it was remarkably similar to the way Micah did when I said something stupid.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Lizbeth is Julian’s sire,” Castro explained.

  My mouth fell open with my shock.

  Micah blinked at me. “You didn’t know?”

  “Julian never mentioned his sire by name. I only knew she was female and that she was possessive and…”

  The pieces sort of just fell together. Julian had cheated on his sire, girlfriend, life partner—whatever—with me. He’d betrayed the queen. For me.

  I felt ill.

  Chapter Thirteen

  With the new knowledge that I’d stolen Julian from the queen, I could see the mess forming. Was Julian’s betrayal enough for her to want me dead?

  “All right. She’s pissed that I screwed her boy toy. That was seven years ago, why lash out now?” I asked.

  A muscle twitched in Micah’s jaw and I instantly regretted my choice of words. In one fast tip, Micah swallowed his liquor. When he slammed the empty glass on the table, the sound echoed in my head.

  “Until last week, my dear, you weren’t truly a vampire. News has traveled far and fast. Her boy toy, as you call it, has been her consort for over four hundred years. And it wasn’t about the sex.” Castro eyed Micah’s clenched fist on top of the table. “As a rule, vampires fuck whoever and whatever they feel the urge for. Maybe you’re unaware, but vampires of the court have all been sired by Lizbeth. Each one of her officers took an oath never to sire another. The queen fears diluting the bloodlines and losing power as her father did.”

  “Her father, Vlad Tepes?” Micah asked.

  “Precisely.” Castro looked pleased. “Lizbeth was born unto him, not sired. She carried the genetic defect that made her vampire. For centuries she was locked away, protected under heavy guard until her father’s death. She became queen, protector of the race. Her blood is pure and there can’t be more than a dozen or so that she has changed over. She has been quite strict about it. None of her court has sired another…except for Julian.”

  “So you’re saying the vampires Lizbeth sires are more powerful because the blood is less diluted?”

  “Your Agency does not educate their hunters very well on what they are supposed to kill,” Castro remarked.

  “We are taught how to kill. Indiscriminately,” Micah said with a sneer I silently shared.

  I brought us back to the conversation. “So Julian wasn’t supposed to change me. Go after him. Not me.”

  “When Lizbeth discovered what Julian had done, she was furious. I hear he has spent most of the last seven years in a dungeon, chained to a wall of silver. As the turning was not a success, she didn’t kill him. Out of all of her vampires, she has an emotional attachment to Julian. He is her favorite.”

  “You said it wasn’t about the sex.”

  “Do you know why vampires kill their own kind?” Castro asked.

  I realized that I knew almost nothing about vampires. I knew the basics, the obvious mechanics, but this… Before I’d been turned, Julian was secretive about their society. After I’d been bitten, he’d left.

  I told him the part I knew. “Because like most demons, they want their secret kept. They police their own kind, hence the Vampire Court.”

  “Partly true,” Castro said. “Vampires differ from demons.”

  Every time Castro said the word vampire he spit it out. I wondered what his beef was with the undead.

  “With the exception of Vlad and Lizbeth, they are not capable of reproducing in the normal human fashion. Unlike the demon, they have no beating heart. Vampires infect. The more they contaminate, the weaker the infecting bloodline becomes. As Lizbeth feared, the bloodlines have become so thin that most of the vampires you hunt are little more than mindless zombies, crawling from their graves.”

  Castro pointed to my eyes. “The eyes are the window to the soul. The red sheen in the rogues’ eyes shows the only thing animating them is the thirst for blood and death. Among the more powerful vampire lords, creating another is forbidden, but it happens. And when it does, they multiply like rats. The Vampire Court often intervenes.”

  Rats. I remembered standing outside the red door earlier in the evening, rats twining through my legs. I shuddered. “I think I understand now. Now that I’ve…transitioned, she wants me dead because I’m weakening her?”

  Castro shook his head and a gleam I didn’t like lit his eyes. Succubus. Graveyard. I was having a nasty case of déjà vu. “Lizbeth’s bloodline is pure, she has kept a tight leash on her court. You do not weaken it, you challenge it. Your heart beats yet your eyes shine blue. You have fangs yet you sustain yourself without blood. You’re heir to the throne. If others discover there is an alternative…they might not be so inclined to follow the old ways anymore.”

  Surely I hadn’t heard him right. The sick knot slowly tightening inside me moved to my throat. I swallowed it.

  “Heir? I’m missing something. Because she is Julian’s sire it makes me her grandsire or something?” I asked.

  Castro pressed the palm of his hand between his eyes and looked to the ceiling. “How you’ve made it this far in life is beyond me. Child, who do you think formed the Shadow Agency? Why are hunters faster and stronger than normal humans?”

  I blinked at him and wondered if he wanted an answer or if these were rhetorical questions.

  Castro shook his head. “When Micah first started talking about his little hunter I did some research. The information wasn’t really that hard to find.”

  Little hunter? I looked to Micah with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and poured more liquor.

  “The Agency was originally founded by Lizbeth’s uncle, Radu, and her older brother, Jacob. Others joined as well, but you, my dear, are a direct descendent of Jacob Tepes. The records were obscure and hard to dig up, but I found the connection. I believe you inherited the gene that made Lizbeth a living vampire. Julian activated it and now the current queen will make damn sure you’re never in a position to take over her kingdom.”

  In some roundabout way, Lizbeth was my…aunt? “Who knows about this?”

  “That’s for you to determine, not me.”

  “Well, I don’t want to be queen. Can’t I just tell Lizbeth that and things can go back to normal?” I glanced at Micah. “Well, close to normal.”

  Castro slid his arms over the table as he leaned closer. Excitement shone in his eyes. In fact, they were glowing. Micah’s eyes got bright like that too. I shook the thought away.

  The demon waived his hand at my remark. “Moot point. Now, let us move onto the next order of business. Since you know so little about vampires and your lineage, tell me how much you have been able to find out about demon mating.”

  “We only know what my sister was able to translate from some obscure texts,” I answered.

  I didn’t just see Castro’s joy, I felt it. I’d heard of some demons that were able to project and manipulate feelings. Was this Castro’s power?

  “The mating bond is complex, intense and immensely powerful. I have no words to describe the beauty,” Castro said.

  “I’d rather get back to Lizbeth,” I said.

  “It is all connected, this trouble you’re in. Now, if you keep interrupting I’m bound to get cross. You don’t want me to get cross, do you?”

  I shook my head. Castro grinned.

  “Good. As I was saying, the bond between you and Micah is…extraordinarily powerful. It is remarkable, really, breathtaking. The power, the energy running between you intoxicates. I can see it sparking between you. Every look. Every breath. You’re connected. Your sire has benefited from your joining a great deal.”

  “How exactly did Ella and I create this mating bond?” Micah took a swig of liquor directly from the bottle.

  I ignored Micah’s question and asked one of my own. “What does this have to do with Julian?”

  “The vampire has been gorging himself on t
he energy you two create. I’ve never heard of it happening before, but Julian has grown so powerful he has broken his bond with the queen. By all rights, he is master of his own bloodline. He would have killed her if he could, but as you know—or probably don’t—vampires cannot kill their sires. The bond does not allow it. Anyway, Lizbeth is furious with Julian for his betrayal…and she blames you!” Castro laughed with glee.

  “That can’t be good,” Micah and I said at the same time.

  “It is delightful!” Castro clapped. “Julian is a king coming to collect his queen, only his queen has already been claimed by another. There will need to be a duel! I haven’t seen a good duel in centuries.”

  I had an awful thought.

  “Did Julian know what would happen? I mean, is it possible he hired the succubus to come after us?”

  “She is not a succubus,” Castro said curtly.

  Micah shook his head. “It was a succubus.”

  Castro wiggled his finger back and forth. “No, she isn’t. She is Guinevere.”

  “How can you possibly know that?” I asked. This entire conversation was making my head spin.

  “Because,” Castro said simply, “she’s my sister.”

  My mouth literally dropped open. Micah leapt up and sent his chair skidding to the ground.

  “If you had something to do with this…” Micah growled.

  “Calm yourself, pretty boy. Of course I didn’t have anything to do with this. If I had known it was even possible to do what was done, I would have found a way to reap the benefits of your union myself. Please give me some credit. I haven’t seen Guinevere in decades. She is a favorite consort of Lucifer. She only comes to this dimension when she’s bored. One of her specialties is soul walking. It is a very unique way to travel between the dimensions without leaving the one you’re in. When you saw her, was she corporeal?”

  Micah clenched his jaw.

  Castro gave a satisfied smile. “I see she is still doing the same parlor tricks.”

  “If she isn’t a succubus, how could she have…enchanted us the way that she did?” I asked.

  What I felt in the cemetery, in Micah’s hospital room, was unlike anything that could have been natural. We spent four days having nonstop sex. We could have killed ourselves. Not normal.