by K.N. Lee
“I don’t tell everyone everything for a reason.”
Koa kept her mouth shut and followed. She knew that better than anyone. He’d kept the truth of the years she’d spent wed to the vampire king of Lyrinia a secret from her by erasing her memory. She’d forgiven him, but hoped they would never keep secrets from one another again.
As they headed to the church, Koa licked her lips. A sinking feeling filled her belly and she tried to push it aside.
Blood.
She needed blood.
Chapter 5
Lera sipped from a glass of blood. It was rich, warm, and she closed her eyes with delight at how it slid down her throat. She imagined what it would be like when she was queen. Not second wife, or anything demeaning like that. But, the queen.
Greggan was dead. Her upper lip curled at the memory. She had actually loved him. She was perhaps the only one of his wives to do so. So, his loss had hit her had. It had broken her. But, Lera was not one to wallow in her sorrow. She picked herself up shortly after hearing the news, and began making plans.
Jax was missing.
Only poor little Queen Abigail stood between her and total dominance of the realm.
She folded her slender legs and turned her grimace into a grin.
If anyone knew how to turn a catastrophic failure into an opportunity, it was Lera.
The doors to the lower tower were pushed open. The smell of dirt and sand wafted in, along with a hot wind that reminded her that what passed for dawn in the Netherworld would soon arise.
She would have her crown, and throne, and a kingdom to go with it. Bund may have been a maniac, but he had given her a gift.
She stretched her neck and imagined just how many humans she would enslave after she had the armies and support of her new kingdom.
It would be glorious. A pang of sorrow filled her heart. It would be just the way Greggan would have wanted it.
“Foster Rhine and Otto Proke, My Queen,” Lord Reggar, her first in command said, stepping aside. He was big, carried a two-handed sword, and was no stranger to battle. But, it would take more than a few handfuls of disgruntled soldiers and lords to overthrow the current monarchy in Lyrinia.
“Ah,” she said, sitting up in her chair. It wasn’t a throne, but it would have to do.
For now.
“You’re the smugglers from Prather.”
“That’s right, My Queen,” the skinny one, Foster said. He had a sickly look to him, like one of the hungrier kind of human world vamps she’d witnessed during her few days there. It didn’t matter, though. She hadn’t summoned him or the wiry ghoul beside him for their fighting abilities.
No, they had something much more of value to her cause.
She took another sip from her glass. “Well. Do you have it or not?”
Foster and Otto exchanged glances, and looked back to her with smug looks on their pale, grayish-colored faces.
“Of course,” Foster said, and gave a tug of an enchanted silver leash.
Her eyes widened with glee as a small boy walked in, his hands bound, his mouth gagged.
She stood, and a smile came to her face. This was turning into a very good day.
“I present to you,” Otto said in a voice deeper than she would have put to his face. “The Alchemist.”
A laugh erupted from Lera’s throat as she looked upon what was supposed to be a grand wizard. A creator of potions and spells. A breaker of curses.
She nodded, and clapped. The sound echoed off the walls of the tower.
“Brilliant,” she said as the boy lifted his glare and cast it in her direction. “This will go nicely in my collection.”
RAVEN CHEWED ON THE bars of the cage. She’d been imprisoned before, in her former life. The memories had been suppressed for so long that she’d almost forgotten what it was like to be anything other than Koa’s mother. She had to remind herself that she was more than that. She was created at the dawn of time, and had once been given a great deal of responsibility. Once upon a time, the world had counted on her.
And, she had failed them.
Each passing moment sent her further and further into the darkness of her past, and to her true purpose on earth.
Not even Koa knew just how depraved Raven’s former life had been. She’d worked hard to keep it that way, but the time was upon them to reveal the truth.
Green cat eyes glowed in the darkness as she peered through the bars of the cage and out into the Lyrinian Wastelands. The cage was set on a pedestal in the center of a stone balcony. She’d been there before, but it had been years ago. Once she’d learned of Lera’s plan to take her back, she had tried to escape. Now, while Lera stalked the outlands and the wastelands to build her army, Raven was kept on that balcony, in a cage, with two tall Scayors guarding the tower door.
Red wind swept through the valleys and black-capped mountains, under a pale gray sky. The Wastelands were a desolate, yet beautiful place, where the most dangerous vampires resided. The outcasts of Netherworld society huddled in their caves and stone houses. Anything to escape the law of the many kingdoms of their world. It was the perfect place to find rogues to join an army of outlaws.
Raven shuddered to think of what Lera would do once she had the numbers she was out searching for.
Her stomach grumbled and her mouth was dry. How would she ever free herself?
With a deep breath, Raven ran full speed into the bars of the bird cage. A yelp screeched from her mouth as she crashed into the steel.
The hunger and thirst had weakened her.
The tower door opened and Raven turned to see Lera step onto the balcony.
“Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” Lera purred as she came closer. She was still beautiful, despite what Bund had done to her. The combination of demonic powers and vampiric strength and immortality was unprecedented. Raven’s blood ran cold as she realized that Lera was the exact opposite of Koa. A combination that would change the world.
Followed by two female vampires, Lera wore tight black pants and a red shirt under a leather duster that hid her enchanted daggers and other weapons. The other two women, Stacia and Priscilla, were dressed similarly, their hair pulled back in a single braid like their leader. A brunette, a blonde, and the dark-haired Lera looked to Raven like a knockoff emo band.
Lera went to her knees before Raven’s cage.
The once Netherworld vampire’s skin was a pale white, streaked with black veins. Raven wasn’t frightened easily, but fear was exactly what she felt as Lera’s dark purple eyes watched her.
“What do you say we go on a little adventure?” Lera asked, pausing, as if waiting for Raven’s reply. Her lips curled into a grin.
Stacia nodded. “An adventure sounds divine.”
“Can we cut off her head when we storm the castle?” Priscilla asked, her big blue eyes widening to the size of quarters. “I’ve always wanted to see the queen’s head on a pike.”
“Have you? What a strange thing to say,” Stacia said, tilting her head as she looked to Priscilla.
“Don’t worry, ladies. We will rule the Netherworld, one kingdom at a time,” Lera said, still watching Raven.
Raven was ready to fight as soon as the cage door was opened. This might be her only chance to free herself and escape so that she could protect Koa from the demon hybrid. She kept her gaze fixed on Lera and mustered all her courage.
Once upon a time, Raven had struck fear into the hearts of demons. She prayed she could do it again, just this once.
When Lera unlocked the cage and reached her hand inside, Raven scratched it, drawing blood. The action was so quick that Lera barely saw her move. She growled at Raven and grabbed her by the neck.
Struggling to breathe, Raven clawed at her hands and desperately tried to get to her face.
She took the pain with a wicked grin, and began to laugh.
“Oh, dear. I admire your spunk,” she said, swinging Raven through the air. “But, I have a little treat for you.” She whistled a
nd in walked two male vampires carrying a bigger cage.
Inside it was a boy of no more than ten.
Raven’s hair stood on end when she recognized the boy.
It couldn’t be, yet it was.
Roderick. The Alchemist.
Her heart filled with hope.
The cage was set on the floor and the door was opened.
Lera tossed her inside and slammed the door shut, locking it.
When she peered in through the narrow bars, her grin was as big as her face, stretching from ear to ear. “See,” she said. “I’m not so bad after all. I’ve brought you a little company.”
Her cackling echoed as she and the others left and closed the door behind them.
Raven looked to Roderick.
Lera had done more than bring her a little company.
She’d brought the wizard who had cursed her.
Chapter 6
Situated in the center of a forest, the abandoned church was as they left it. Koa and Halston slipped inside under the cloak of night, cautious and quietly. Slivers of moonlight spilled in through the stained-glass windows set high along the stone walls. The air was still and stale, cold from the chill of the evening.
“He’s here,” Halston said, glancing back at Koa with a look of relief on his face.
Koa breathed in and nodded. She crossed her arms over her bosom and met Halston’s eyes which now glowed in the dark. Eerie and unsettling, she’d never seen them do that before.
“Good,” she said, clearing her throat and looking away. “We’ll need his help.”
“More than ever,” Halston said, and led the way through the main worship room to a side door that led to another floor.
Downstairs, there were small bedrooms and another door which led to the old underground catacombs. Koa shivered whenever she looked toward that door. It was odd. Being half-vampire had always made her comfortable with her immortality. It was the thought of death that frightened her more than anything. If there was one person who could kill her.
It was Viktor. And now, he hunted them both.
Halston pushed open the door to their meeting room, where Halston’s computer station was set up, and a wall of weapons awaited behind a vault door.
Tristan stood from his place on the floor. At nearly seven-feet-tall, he towered over them. More like a giant than a man, Tristan was a War-Breeder, the only natural predator of vampires. Scars covered nearly every inch of his exposed bronze-colored flesh. They were the result of an ancient ritual practiced back in the Netherworld where the War-Breeders dwelled in small cities amongst the many vampire kingdoms.
Koa kept back, lingering near the door. She’d seen what Tristan could do to her race, and it still left her shaken. Even though he had spared her, she was unsure of where they stood.
His dark eyes went to Halston and rested on Koa, giving her chills. “You’ve both made it, then.”
“We did, my friend,” Halston said.
Tristan gave a single nod and clasped his hands together. “Good. Now what?”
“We aren’t safe anymore,” Halston said. “Viktor will be hunting us down.”
Exasperated, Koa shook her head. “Why can’t he just leave us alone? After all we’ve done for the Netherworld Division they can’t just turn their backs on us.”
“They can, and they will. There has never been a vampire, angel hybrid in the history of the earth,” Tristan said.
Koa wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“We are now what the Division has tried to protect the humans from. Well, I am, at least.”
Koa’s heart broke for Halston. All he wanted was redemption and to return home to heaven. Because of her, he would never have those things.
“We will make this right,” Koa said under her breath. She willed herself to believe it, but the future seemed bleak.
“How?” Tristan asked.
Halston walked over to a swivel chair at his desk and slumped into it. With a sigh, he shrugged. “We lay low, try to stay off Viktor’s radar, and find a way to change me back.”
Tristan lifted a brow. “Is it even possible? No demon goes back to being an angel. None that I’ve ever seen.”
Halston shot him a glare. “That’s because they don’t want to. I want to. I need to.”
A tense silence filled the room.
Koa wanted to go and hold him in her arms and tell him it would be okay. But, the truth was, she wasn’t so sure it would. She left the doorway and made her way to Halston. Kneeling before him, she took his hand into her own and kissed his knuckles. His hands were cold, but she didn’t care.
“We will find a way, Halston. I won’t rest until we do. We’ve been through so much together that nothing can stand in our way.”
He looked down at her, the hardness of his gaze softening. He placed his hand on her cheek and leaned in close. “I know. We will find a way. Together.”
A small smile came to Koa’s face as she pushed her cheek against the palm of his hand.
He looked at her with love in his eyes—the way he had before both of their worlds were turned to chaos after Bund and Greggan entered the picture. But, her smile faded as Halston withdrew his hand and took a step aside. His eyes narrowed as he stared ahead, as if reading something.
“What is it?” Koa asked, frowning as she watched him.
He held a hand up. “Netherworld text.”
“That’s odd.” Her brows rose. “What does it say? Who is it from?”
When he looked back at her, she could tell that she would not like whatever he was going to say.
She braced herself. “What is it, Halston?”
He looked to Tristan. “A ransom note from Lera.”
“Ransom?” Koa took his arm. She’d nearly forgotten that Lera was still roaming the human world. She’d half-hoped that she had perished along with her husband. “What does she want?”
Halston hesitated, but looked to her with worry in his eyes. “She wants you.”
“In exchange for...”
“Listen,” he said. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll handle this.”
“Tell me,” Koa said in a voice steadier than the frantic beating of her heart. “What does Lera want in exchange?”
Halston sighed.
“No more secrets,” she said. “No more lies.”
There was no way he was getting out of telling Koa.
“She has your mother.”
The world was chaotic before those words, but after, Koa could see and feel it all crash around her.
Chapter 7
Koa dropped Halston’s arm and covered her mouth. Panic filled her mind, leaving room for nothing else. There was little in the world that could be worse than what he’d just said. Her mother was everything to her, and she would not let that maniac harm her. The Netherworld was the last place she wanted to go, but nothing would be able to hold her back from its gates.
“How the hell did she get my mother?” Her voice rose as she spoke those words. Her face flushed and her hands balled into fists. She was beginning to think she was the worst at protecting those she loved. First, her father was killed right before her eyes. Then, she’d nearly drained her pet of blood by mistake. Now, her mother was taken by the one person who hated her more than anything in the world.
“I don’t know,” he said, raking his hand through his hair. He turned around and rubbed his chin. “She must have found Alice. She had to have known we’d be separated.”
Her pulse quickened and she was certain her veins would explode from the rage that bubbled within. Why hadn’t Alice kept her safe? It was her one job. She should have known that it was a terrible idea to trust her mother’s safety to an angel she’d never met.
“What else did she say?”
“She has raised an army and will take the Lyrinian Throne.”
“That looney bitch,” Koa growled. Her hate for Lera ran deep, but it had reached a point where nothing would stop her from slicing the woman’s head fr
om her shoulders.
“Let’s go,” she said, walking to the weapon’s cabinet.
Nothing else mattered. No one. Nothing. She would rescue her mother and end Lera for good. If Lera could raise an army big enough to stand a threat to the Lyrinian Army, they were in for a difficult task. One that required the best weapons on the planet. She dialed the security code and stepped back as the metallic door opened outward. She was shaking as she stood before the assortment of guns and knives, and grenades. Everything was there.
Everything but her sword.
“Well,” Tristan said with a sigh as he knelt before a table pushed against the wall. “If we’re going to war, we’re going to need the proper equipment.”
She looked over her shoulder and watched as Tristan knocked on a wooden bench. “Someone had to look after this while you and Halston were off getting into trouble.”
Koa’s eyes widened and she ran to the bench, and swung the lid of the storage bench open. She laughed, and exhaled as she pulled her sword from inside. It was wrapped in a suit jacket, but it was as perfect as she remembered it.
“You found it!”
“Yeah, it nearly burnt a hole in my hand. So, I had to wrap it in order to get it out of Lady Colleen’s,” Tristan said, rubbing his chin. “Good thing I heal just as fast as you vamps or I would have left it there for the Netherworld agents.”
“That’s bloody brilliant,” Halston said as he watched Koa summon the sword to extend to its full length.
She took the sword’s hilt in her hand and nearly stumbled backward at the jolt of energy that filled her body. How many times had she felt its power and the pain it required to wield it? This time, there was no pain. There was just an overwhelming since of warmth and euphoria. Koa closed her eyes and embraced it.
So much power. Even more than before.
“Well,” Koa said, clenching her jaw. “Let’s go.”
“We will,” Halston said, nodding. “But, we need to find a way into the Netherworld. One Viktor wouldn’t have agents waiting at.”