Stories from the Demons of Fire and Night World

by C. N. Crawford

  Caine glanced out at the smoking corpses, and hollowness welled in his chest. Had Valerie been tortured? “I had no idea Valerie had been arrested.”

  “Valerie? How do you even know her name? She was just a foot soldier,” Aurora said.

  “We were friends.”

  “You don’t have friends.” She eyed him. “Oh, I get you. It was a euphemism. You have a lot of those kinds of friends.” She nodded at one of the piles of ash. “One less to fight over you now. Too bad you took your time before intervening.”

  If he hadn’t gone full-blown primal wrath on the two Hunters, maybe he could have saved Valerie. But even for someone with his speed and strength, there wouldn’t have been time to save all the vampires. “We need to do something about the Brotherhood. They’re out of control.”

  She gazed at him, frowning. “What we need is to talk to Ambrose.”

  Chapter 2

  With Aurora by his side, Caine strode through the long entrance hall of Ninlil Castle, in Lilinor. With its impossibly high arched ceilings, towering above like the ribcage of some enormous demon, the place had been designed for pure intimidation. Paintings and tapestries of leering monsters festooned blood-red walls, and bejeweled human bones adorned Ninlil’s Great Hall. If Caine’s own mind hadn’t already been poisoned by violent memories when he’d first arrived years ago, he might have found it off-putting.

  Perhaps it was precisely because of the darkness in his own soul that he’d always felt at home here.

  Even so, he wasn’t looking forward to this conversation with the Vampire Lord. Ten dead soldiers. His own failure gnawed at him. He should have saved them.

  As he walked through the hall, he tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his chest. He cast a quick glance at Aurora, her blue dress singed at the shoulders where her flesh had burned. Thank the gods she’d made it out alive, even if a network of scars now marred her back.

  At the end of the hall, Caine and Aurora climbed a few stairs to the enormous oak doors. He chanted a spell, feeling his aura rush over his skin. The doors groaned, opening into Ambrose’s Great Hall.

  He never knew how Ambrose managed it, but whenever Caine needed to speak to him, the Vampire Lord was there, seated in his silver throne. It was as though he never left this room. Today was no different, except that Ambrose sat next to his consort, Erish.

  Caine stalked into the hall, casting an appreciative glance at the queen. Ambrose’s lover never failed to catch Caine’s eye, even if her toxic presence poisoned everything around her.

  In any case, she was stunning. Her deep brown hair draped over a sheer black gown, its hem slit up to her thigh. She crossed her long, golden legs, eying Caine hungrily. The sight of the succubus was almost enough to tear his mind away from what had happened this morning, but even her beauty couldn’t lift his mood.

  The Vampire Lord’s features were cold and still as marble. “Caine. I take it you have something important to tell me.”

  Caine straightened. Might as well get to the point. “Ten of our soldiers were slaughtered by the Brotherhood this morning. I didn’t get to them in time.” The words tasted like poison in his mouth. “They were dragged into the daylight to burn. Aurora was the only survivor.”

  Ambrose’s features clouded, and he glanced at Aurora. “Tell me what happened.”

  “The Brotherhood have a dungeon near Harvard,” she said. “There’s at least a mile of cells underground. They kept us each in our own cell.”

  Ambrose leaned forward, his green eyes burning with intensity. “Did they torture you?”

  Aurora turned, displaying the top of her mangled back. “Yes. But I didn’t tell them anything helpful. They had no idea if I was telling the truth or not, so I didn’t see the point of helping them.”

  Ambrose stood, and within a fraction of a second he was inches from Caine. Crossing the room that fast was just one of his deeply unnerving habits. Ambrose’s green eyes bored into Caine. “They killed ten of our soldiers this morning?”

  “Yes,” said Caine. “They forced them into the sunlight. I slaughtered both Hunters, but it was too late. The sun had already touched the vampires’ skin.”

  Within the next second, Erish was by their side. Coral tinged her cheeks, and Caine could feel the hot fury burning off her body. “Why have we allowed the Brotherhood to survive?” She gripped Caine’s collar, pulling him close.

  Her intoxicating scent of anise and myrrh momentarily distracted him.

  Her eyes burned with ferocity. “They murdered one of my sisters in the fifteenth century. Human mages killed the other two. We should have enslaved their species long ago.”

  Caine plucked her hands from his clothes. “The Brotherhood have been weak for the past four centuries—until the mage Rawhed lured them out of the woodwork. We haven’t needed to act until now.”

  “Erish,” said Ambrose, his tone clipped. “Please return to our chambers. This will only upset you.”

  Fury scorched her eyes, and she glared at the Vampire Lord. Before leaving, she tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. Her heels echoed over the flagstones as she strode from the room.

  Ambrose arched an eyebrow. “She gets so emotional about these things. She’d destroy the entire human race if she didn’t depend on them for sustenance. I think she resents that she needs them.”

  At the thought of feeding, Caine ran a hand over his chest where he’d been staked. The wound still burned, and he’d need the touch of a human woman to heal. “It’s hard not to feel wrath when the Brotherhood come for your family. Even if she’s wrong about humans, she’s right about the Brotherhood. We must crush them.” They had Malphus, his brother. That fact alone made him want to tear their skin from their muscles.

  Ambrose stroked his chin. “Most of our army is vulnerable to bursting into flames every time the sun rises. It’s a bit of a problem.”

  One you can’t do anything about. “So we’ll attack them at night.”

  Ambrose stared off into the distance. “We must find a way to get stronger, to overcome our natural weakness. The other kingdoms of night are richer with incubi who can walk in the light, but our numbers are fewer.”

  Aurora frowned. “We’re only weak in the daylight.”

  “Exactly,” said Ambrose. “I would like to remedy that.”

  Caine shook his head. What is he talking about? “That’s never been possible.”

  Ambrose splayed his fingers. “My scholars have located a spell, once held in the ancient library of Alexandria. The legends say any army of vampires roamed the light nearly two thousand years ago. King Cranaus of Athens created such an army to serve him. He used a very powerful spell and a triumvirate of three legendary mages. His vampire army outlived him by over a thousand years, until they were slaughtered by a legion of Persian hellhounds.”

  An uncomfortable feeling simmered in Caine’s chest. “And how do you propose to find three legendary mages?”

  “I have you,” said Ambrose. “And we know there are two more like you. Humans—not nearly as powerful, but with the same magical knowledge. I speak of the Atherton twins, of course.”

  Dread crawled up Caine’s spine. He didn’t want anything to do with the Athertons. “They’re completely untrained. There must be someone else.”

  Ambrose eyed him. “You are a remarkable specimen, Caine. Half-incubus, and half human. And even your human side is extraordinary, imbued with the spirit of a staggeringly powerful mage. I can only assume Lord Atherton found similarly gifted mages for his own daughters. You must put your personal feelings aside. This triumvirate can get us what we need: the gift of light, granted through the power of three. You need a coven.”

  Caine clenched his jaw. The last thing he wanted was to face those girls again. They belonged to a part of his life he was desperate to forget. But how could he say no to Ambrose? Caine had possessed nothing when he’d first met the Vampire Lord. He’d been half-mad and completely alone, driven only by a seething rage. It was Ambrose who
had recognized his true power.

  He met Ambrose’s penetrating gaze. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Miranda roams free, in full possession of her powers, though she is untrained. Rosalind will be more difficult.”

  Of course Rosalind was more difficult. Rosalind was awful. Even as a four-year-old, she’d been a nightmare. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  “She’s a Hunter now. I sent Malphus to find her, but he was captured.”

  So that was how Malphus had been captured. Caine’s chest tightened. “You must be joking. You want me to persuade a Hunter to join a vampire army?”

  He could feel the tension rolling off Aurora. She’d just nearly burned to death at the hands of the Hunters, and she hated them every bit as much as he did. Neither of them wanted to work with someone from the Brotherhood.

  A mixture of guilt and rage tightened Caine’s chest. He’d never known what had happened to the twins—only that they’d disappeared from Maremount. Lord Atherton’s actions all those years ago had set off a chain of events that had warped all their lives—Rosalind’s included. And now she’d become embedded among the very people who wanted her dead. “How did she end up among the Hunters?”

  “Lord Atherton gave his twin daughters to the Brotherhood. He didn’t want them to know their own power. You know why.”

  Caine’s stomach clenched. Ambrose and Malphus were the only people alive who knew all his secrets. “Rosalind has no idea what she is? She believes she’s an ordinary human?”

  “From what I understand,” said Ambrose, “she’s particularly committed to the Brotherhood’s cause. She abhors magic.”

  Even if this outcome had been set in motion by her father’s actions long ago, it was hard not to loathe Rosalind. Hunters like her had murdered scores of ordinary humans over the years—and now that they knew what they were doing, they were coming for the real demons. He’d just witnessed the product of their fanaticism this morning when he’d watched Valerie and the others burn to death in the morning light.

  “There must be another way,” he said. “I don’t trust anyone associated with the Brotherhood, and I don’t want to waste time trying to persuade one of their slavish devotees to see reason while my brother languishes in a torture dungeon. I don’t even know if he’s still alive. And if this spell is as complicated as you say, how long will it take for me to train her? If she doesn’t accept her magic, it won’t work. We’re wasting time.”

  Ambrose’s nostrils flared. “The Chambers stands rigged with flamethrowers and anti-magic devices. We can’t set foot in there.” He paused, pressing his fingers over his lips. “I see your point, though. We must free Malphus as soon as possible. I’m not going to let another incubus die. You must access your magic in some way. There must be a spell that can help us.”

  Caine closed his eyes, running through some of the military spells in his arsenal. “I know a number of attack spells, but I’d need a second mage to contain the destruction, or the prisoners will die.”

  “He would destroy half of Boston,” said Aurora.

  Caine crossed his arms. “Most mages work in covens for exactly this sort of reason.”

  “Exactly my point. You need two more. The Atherton twins will be useful to you, to help control some of your raw power. Find them, and we can free Malphus. And then we will work on the daylight spell.”

  “I hate Hunters,” said Aurora. “But if you think this is best for us, I will do whatever it takes to find these girls. Where do we start looking?”

  Ambrose acknowledged her with a nod. “Rosalind is a student at Thorndike University. I believe you’ll find her out hunting tonight.”

  Caine rubbed a knot in his forehead, still trying to process this information. “If she’s possessed by a mage’s spirit, why haven’t the other Hunters killed her?”

  Ambrose took a deep breath. “She doesn’t know. But my source tells me the Brotherhood may have learned her true nature.”

  Of course. Malphus might have recognized her… He let the thought die out, unwilling to entertain what his brother must have endured to give up his secrets.

  “You must warn her, now,” Ambrose continued. “Tell her the truth and give her some time to accept it. Keep an eye on her. As soon as the Brotherhood turn on her, you’ll be waiting there to rescue her.”

  For so many reasons, Caine didn’t want anything to do with her. “You know how I feel about her family. I will do as you ask, but I won’t spend any more time with her than absolutely required.”

  Ambrose’s green gaze bored into him. The vampire was obviously losing patience. “You only need to take her to Abduxiel Mansion and report back to me. Orcus can help her learn about magic while you look for Miranda. She’ll be easier to handle. She never joined the Brotherhood. This is an order, Caine.”

  “I’m surprised they haven’t lost their minds,” muttered Caine. He knew only too well the dangers of having an extra soul.

  “Perhaps they have. That’s something I’d like you to find out.” A faint smile played on Ambrose’s lips. “I have complete faith in you. If anyone can persuade a human woman to do what they want, it’s you.”

  Chapter 3

  Caine lay on his bed, his body sapped of energy, and stared at the arched stone ceiling above him. He’d slept for hours in his tidy room within Ninlil Castle, dreaming of milky sunlight and white-blossomed trees, until the scent of burning flesh curled into his nightmares.

  Exhaustion wracked his body. He’d failed today, utterly and completely. His injuries sapped his energy, and a gnawing emptiness welled in his chest. It was hard not to think of Valerie’s terrified face just before she burned to death. Would Malphus suffer an equally appalling fate at the hands of the Brotherhood?

  Something else weighed him down—either his assignment with the Athertons had riled him, or he really needed a woman’s touch to heal himself. Probably both.

  All he knew was that he’d spent the past five years trying to forget about Maremount, and he didn’t relish the idea of dredging up those nightmares again. Not to mention the fact that Rosalind had been a horror, even as a child—and now she was a Hunter. He couldn’t think of a worse combination. It would be hard not to slaughter her on sight.

  Someone rapped on his door and he rose, his chest aching from the bullet holes and gaping chest wound. He crossed the faded rug and pulled open the door.

  Erish stood before him in the dim hallway with a human woman—a tiny thing, her bones as delicate as a bird’s, but with enough feminine curves to tempt him. Her ginger hair tumbled over her bare shoulders. She wore only a black bra, panties, and fishnets. Her lips were painted ruby red. She shivered in the cold stone hall.

  If his chest wound hadn’t stirred his need for a human touch, he wouldn’t be in the mood—not after what he’d seen today. But his chest thrummed with hunger, and he was already thinking about wrapping his arms around the girl.

  Erish stood nearly a foot taller than her. The succubus planted her hands on her hips, eyes roaming over Caine. “I saw that you were injured. I brought you a human courtesan, trained by Arielle. She will heal you before you leave Lilinor.”

  The girl’s blue eyes widened. “I was scared of coming to the vampire city, but I really wanted to meet an incubus.” Tentatively, she stepped closer, sliding her small hand up his chest. He could already feel her energy coursing through her fingertips. “I know you’ll keep me safe.”

  She was a fool, then. Monsters like him didn’t keep people safe—not even his own soldiers, apparently. Moreover, he’d be a fool to accept a gift from Erish. And yet, desire burned through him, and he couldn’t take his eyes off the courtesan’s red lips. Her energy beckoned him closer. He took her hand, leading her into the room.

  As Erish followed, irritation flickered through him. Why did she need to stay?

  Caine pulled the girl close to him, smelling her silky hair—a beautiful scent of apples and cherry blossoms. “What’s your name?”

&
nbsp; “Alice.”

  Caine touched her chin, tilting her face up to his, and her delicate body pressed against him, eyes burning with desire. Ambrose was right about one thing: these human women didn’t stand a chance with him. If Erish wanted to watch, then fine. He wasn’t going argue when he needed this so badly.

  He brushed his mouth against Alice’s. Her lips parted, and he kissed her hungrily. Her energy coursed into him, soothing the sharp ache in his chest, replenishing the strength in his bones. Her vibrant life-force seeped into his muscles, imbuing him with strength. He ran his fingers down her back, feeling her smooth, warm skin. She moaned slightly.

  Abruptly, her body jerked away. Erish’s hands wrapped around the girl’s head. For a split second, Caine considered stopping what was about to happen—thought of bursting Erish’s heart—but he couldn’t do that to Ambrose’s consort. So instead, he stood by as the succubus twisted her arms. The sound of Alice’s breaking neck echoed off the high ceiling.

  A hot tendril of anger flashed through Caine as the girl’s body crumpled. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Erish took a deep breath. “I wanted you to feel better, but I don’t like watching you with other women. You know that.” She leaned close him, her breath hot on his cheek “You should be mine. I’ve been telling you this for months.”

  He had to stop himself from throttling her. Caine wasn’t one for emotional attachments, but he’d seen enough senseless cruelty for one day. “You brought her to me.”

  She waved a dismissive hand. “She was stupid to offer herself up in the first place. You’re just upset because I didn’t let you finish.”

  His wound still ached, but that wasn’t what angered him. It was the games Erish played, using people’s lives as her pawns. “If you weren’t Ambrose’s consort, I’d rip you in half.”

  “If that’s what it will take to get your hands on me…” She crossed her arms, pouting over Alice’s corpse. “Don’t be angry with me. I only killed her because she made me jealous. You’re the perfect match for me. As an incubus, your abilities as a lover are legendary, but you’re human enough for me to feed from. You should lead Lilinor, not Ambrose. I know you mute your abilities around others. You are capable of terrifying power. I know your lineage, Caine Mountfort.”