Vampire Devil

by Rosemary A Johns

  ‘Welcome to the coronation of my daughter, Children of the Light!’ Lucifer’s feathers flared, as he grinned.

  I scrutinised the vampires soaring around us or shifting down in the shadows: the sideways glances and clenched fists.

  This was a powder keg of a divided world. And I was the match.

  Yet Lucifer who was so desperate for loyalty, announced with an obliviousness that made me wonder whether my power had enthralled him, ‘On my fangs, the princess has passed the tests. Yay for me, I birthed a Champion. And yay for the Under World, we now have a Queen of Chaos to sing in the dying of the sun and the dawn of Lucifer’s Light.’ The Devil’s Trident jumped in my hand. ‘You know, being together with my daughter, after missing her all these years…’ His smile was soft and fragile. ‘Huh, I didn’t know joy or pride hurt. But what’s the cost matter, when we have our queen, and I have my daughter?’

  I quailed; my chest tight with a desperate ache.

  Stop tempting me with everything I’ve always longed for…

  I squeezed my sweaty hand around Devil’s shaft.

  He squirmed, whining. ‘Death, death, death.’

  ‘Now I’m queen, you can take off the Kill Collar,’ I lifted my chin, baring my neck. And held my breath.

  Lucifer shrugged. ‘Why not? I mean, yikes, I only witnessed the kinkiest smut. You are a naughty thing, aren’t you?’

  Sniggers.

  I blushed. Bastard Mischief.

  Lucifer waved his hand, however, and the imp lights around my neck broke away. I sagged, as they swayed back to their master, settling around his feet.

  I was free.

  I clasped Devil tighter.

  ‘Death, death, death.’ Devil shook.

  Devil wanted death? Hell, I couldn’t control it: the savage appetite.

  Desire.

  Lucifer raised his arm. ‘To the Queen of Chaos!’

  Cheers, beating of wings, and stamping of feet.

  Lucifer grinned. ‘Now, let the Anarchy commen—’

  I stabbed the Devil’s Trident through Lucifer’s throat.

  Then I wrenched out the prongs, thrumming with Devil’s high at the kill, shaking to shadow the world, even as deep inside I wailed at the betrayal.

  ‘Kill, kill, kill,’ Devil screeched in blood-thirsty delight. ‘Delicious.’

  At first, Lucifer stared at me, his eyes widening. His lights fizzed, flickering like their power was failing. Then they faded, and he was naked and exposed before the Under World.

  Sniggers.

  I wanted to turn Devil on every one of the bastards who laughed at Lucifer’s fall.

  He deserved a lot, but not that.

  Lucifer never said a word and he never looked away from me, unbelieving, then devastated.

  Finally, his eyes rolled back, his wings stopped beating, and he crashed down.

  That’s when the world exploded into chaos, and the angelic army attacked.

  26

  You can fight for your king — or rebel against him. Stand up for your family, freedom, or love. But when everything’s said and done, every bastard needs the courage to fight for themselves.

  An arc of flame blasted me against the wall. I twisted to the side, shielding my singed wing, whilst fire burned down Armageddon-like from the Glories storming my party. There were no angel kid soldiers this time, just Amazonian war bitches in gleaming armour and they weren’t here to dance.

  Drake had said I’d know the time.

  He hadn’t been kidding.

  Screams, feathers, and fangs. Violet met grey in a crimson parade. A coronation transformed to slaughter.

  The vampires had no armour or swords and were bare arsed…

  Guilt clawed at me. Where were the FF? The vampire army? Why had they abandoned their civilians?

  I flinched. I couldn’t betray a whole world to the Glories: that hadn’t been the deal. The angels hadn’t arrived as liberators but conquerors.

  Misrule, who should’ve been leading a simple coup right now, slipped between the cages, letting out the Shadows and captive angels who cast him disbelieving glances before throwing themselves gleefully into the fight. Only then did I notice that vampires were battling vampires in snarling gangs. The civil war had been sparked, just when the bastards needed to unite.

  I truly was the Queen of Chaos.

  I spun Devil between my hands, and he hummed approvingly. His power surged through me; my eyes flared with fire.

  ‘Pain,’ Devil howled, ‘devour pain.’

  ‘You want pain? Time for din dins.’ I swooped into the bedlam. ‘The angels,’ I hollered at my blokes, who’d been pinned on one side by vampires, and the other by angels, ‘stop the angels.’

  Ash nodded, shoving back the vampire gang and taking effortless command in a way that shocked them into good little tin soldiers.

  Rebel unsheathed Eclipse — because I hadn’t allowed him to come to this shindig defenceless — and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet as he swung it, before signalling the nearest Glory with the universal gesture for come on then, wanker. A hunter, the battle electrified Rebel as much as it did me.

  I dived into the ranks of the violet-winged Glories, ramming the prongs through one, then shoving the sharp end of the shaft back into another. Laughing, high on the shadowed power of the trident, all was a blur of glorious death. One name rang out, however, clearer than anything since I’d been mired in the Under World: Protector.

  Angel or vampire…did it matter what side I chose in this supernatural world, if I protected those who needed me?

  I span and fought, until nothing stood alive. At last, my gaze refocused, and I choked, stepping back with a wet squelch onto an outstretched hand.

  I stood atop a mound of feathered corpses.

  When Devil cackled, my hands shook. How had I lost myself like that?

  ‘Back in your box.’ I shook Devil.

  Devil burnt my palm in protest but shrank down. I hid him in my bodice, before picking my way over the bodies.

  I’d promised Anarchy and Ash that I’d save the Bloods and I bastard would.

  Whish — crack.

  I stumbled backwards into the maelstrom.

  Mischief crackled with energy, which snapped across his flowing hair, transforming him into Gandalf leading an army, and his magic ranks were the Bloods. Their tattoos glowed, snaking out in whips.

  Whish — crack.

  A scream, as a tattoo whip burst through the chest of the pierced vampire who’d tormented the Blood by holding his head beneath the fountain. Another gurgled scream, and a second whip exploded through his eye socket.

  What had Mischief said about beaten dogs needing to learn to bite their masters?

  Yeah, they’d got that trick down.

  Mischief had planned this. But had he intended the brutal beauty of this uprising?

  Then I caught my sister’s gaze across the chamber. She fought with the Blood Lovers right next to their vampire partners — next to Wings — blasting the angels flying with her power. She wasn’t human anymore, just as I wasn’t, and the deadly glare she shot me told me that we’d landed on opposite sides of the war. To her? I’d been offered my dad’s love, the Crown, and dominion over the world, and instead I’d turned traitor and murdered Lucifer.

  I was the big bad wolf. And she was the huntress.

  I touched the pouch around my neck, which held her necklace.

  The sister I’d known was dead. I’d been clinging to a fairy tale, the same as Jade. She was no damsel; she was a fully-grown bitch, and hard as it was, I had to trust her to make her own choices, despite the fact I ached to storm over and drag her by the hair onto my side. Yet my friend Gizem had rejected me, as firmly as Jade had rejected her angel necklace, the moment she’d known I’d lost my humanity. I couldn’t do that to Jade. She’d always be my sister, even if I was nothing to her.

  The Bones couldn’t choose or fight for themselves, however, and unlike the Bloods, they needed resc
uing before they could be taught to bite.

  I nodded at Ash over the mayhem. He fell back, spinning sidekicks through the angels.

  I still hadn’t spied where Lucifer fell. I cast a final anxious glance over my shoulder because if I hadn’t killed him…? Then this battle had only been the sideshow before the finale that was coming next with warnings for violence and character death.

  My wings flared in the pitch-black of the shelter, catching flickering glimpses of the curved ceiling. Above, thundered the human trains. Below, the Bones lay in ghostly quiet.

  I buried my nose in Ash’s wing to hide from the chalky mustiness. Ash smiled, grabbing me around the waist and turning me into his kiss. It was tender, trembling with everything we’d witnessed.

  We shared Devil’s darkness: the whispered temptation to kill.

  Ash must’ve made one hell of a dark soldier.

  When Ash drew back, his gaze was alive in a way it hadn’t been since his sisters’ deaths. ‘You’re even hotter with the trident than me.’

  I sniggered, tracing over the names Ash had painted onto his skin, hesitating at the letters over his heart: VIOLET.

  As well as the two smaller names beneath…

  Ash caught my hand. ‘Free the Bones. Win the civil war. Elect Misrule. This first part…? It’s for Anarchy: the best mate a bloke ever had. And I’ll deny that, even under threat of death by butter knife.’

  I swaggered towards Roman Vampire, who was harnessed to the mechanical wheel that opened the floor. He studied me balefully.

  I tapped my tiara. ‘Queen of Chaos here, so open sesame.’

  Roman Vampire merely hunched his shoulders, slumping against the wall.

  I stiffened. The fighting above grew louder…closer.

  How long did we have to rescue the captives before either vampires or angels discovered us?

  Why’s it not working?

  You think wearing that tiara makes you a Queen? A leader?

  This Not So Friendly Giant has been trapped in your dad’s nightmare for longer than you’ve been Violet Feathers. Why should he trust your bony pussy just because you say so?

  Incentivise the bitch, I get you.

  I unsheathed Star, surging with Devil’s shadowed ectasy in carnage. Then I leapt at Roman Vampire, holding the tip of the shank to his throat.

  Ash gasped.

  ‘I said, open it,’ I repeated, pressing the blade just hard enough to slice his silvery skin.

  Then I was being dragged back by my shoulders, struggling like a wild-cat. I stared with wild, dilated eyes at Ash, who smoothed my hair, even as I held Star to his gut.

  When I fell from the high, I sheathed Star, horrified. ‘I don’t know… I didn’t mean…’

  Why the hell had I attacked? Why had I listened to J?

  That was a bitch move.

  I gave you the steps, but you’re the one who danced.

  Why do you reach for a blade, instead of words? If you want to have freedom, then you need to make your own choices and control the monster.

  Ash gentled me down from my spiralling panic with circling caresses on my arms. ‘The trident’s a drug; the hit’s powerful if you’re not used to it. Devil’s still in your system. How about I try out my charm?’

  I nodded.

  Ash slunk to Roman Vampire, lounging on the wall next to him. ‘Lucifer’s a tyrant who deserves nothing less than execution for what he’s done to you.’ Roman Vampire’s flat gaze flared with sudden terror. He writhed as if he could escape Ash’s treasonous words. Ash shrugged. ‘The bastard’s dead. Probably.’ Roman Vampire reared back. ‘I gave everything to fight him and free you because if you help us rescue the Bones, then they’ll save you as well. Deal?’

  Roman Vampire cleared his throat, and I wondered how long it’d been since he’d been allowed to speak; his gaze darted around the shadows, like he’d find the answer there.

  At last, he gave a curt nod, before straightening his shoulders and pushing. As he strained, pulling on the chains, the metal floor clanked open.

  ‘One at a time,’ Ash warned. ‘We’ll have to take off the wire…’

  Clank, clank, clank.

  I stepped to the lip of the tomb, before kneeling down next to Ash. A wave of roasting heat shimmered across my cheeks.

  Key squinted up at us through his curls, shaking.

  Hell, that barbed wire muzzle stretching his lips…

  I nodded at Ash, and we bent down, pulling Key out of the hole.

  Key howled, as his limbs cramped after being held still for so long, and the sharp barbs of the wire dug into his skeletal frame.

  I winced; my palms had shallow cuts just from moving him.

  How could we free him?

  ‘Vampire proof?’ I asked.

  ‘When you’re starved of blood, you’re weaker than Sarah Connor, and I’m talking The Terminator, not her kickass transformation in Judgement Day. It doesn’t need to be that strong to punish.’

  ‘No one’s punishing the Bones again.’ I eased behind Key’s head, unwinding the wire from his hair, which was stiff with matted blood.

  Key whimpered, as I unmuzzled him. I hurled the wire into the black, before unwrapping the remainder from the rest of his body like stripping open a thorny parcel. I bit my lip not to let out a gasp; my palms were slick with my own blood. I was suffering for a moment. How long had Key been trapped in this agony?

  Then soft fingers stroked my hair, and I glanced up at the whispered, ‘Thank you.’ Key’s voice was hoarse, like his throat had been sandpapered. He coughed, trying again. ‘Anarchy…?’

  And how much was I not having that conversation about his brother when Key had only just been dragged from hell?

  ‘Your bro’s safe.’ It wasn’t a total lie: Anarchy was safer than he’d been as Stephanie’s pet. ‘Plus, we’re going to free every single vampire trapped in the Bones. Then the bloke who’s helped plan this, Harahel, is waiting in the Bat Cave to keep you safe until the war’s over. He’s an angel, but you’ll have to trust him, just like you need to trust me. This is the big hope moment.’

  Words, not weapons.

  Key studied me, thoughtfully. Then he smiled, even though it split open the gashes on his lips. ‘Saviour.’

  I flew on the word: not Champion, beast, or destroyer. I couldn’t save everyone, but I could bring the whole world tumbling down, like I’d promised Anarchy. And if that saved one person’s little brother from torment…? Then it was worth more than every fang or feather I’d earned on my leather necklace, the Devil’s Trident, or my Crown.

  I’d made my choice and I’d controlled the monster: I soared.

  Finally, Key twisted to Ash, falling into his arms with a sob.

  Ash held him close, stroking the back of his neck. ‘Key,’ he murmured, ‘you’re OK, mate. I said I’d take care of you and wouldn’t forget you. I’m sorry…’

  They rocked in each other’s arms.

  Anarchy was like Ash’s little brother, he’d once said. No wonder Lucifer had tortured him through Key. I hadn’t been able to save Ash’s sisters, but I’d stopped Lucifer taking the last of his family.

  ‘Open the next tomb,’ I called out to Roman Vampire. ‘I’m busting this gaol wide open.’

  ‘Wrong, wench.’ I startled at Wild’s bellow, jumping up and fizzing violet across my skin.

  Wild loomed in the doorway to the shelter, flanked by the FF. Unlike the vampires at the party, they were dressed and armed.

  What had happened to the rebellion? Why were the FF hunting me?

  When Wild swaggered closer, Ash crouched in front of Key. He pulled out his shooter, balancing it on his knee, as he pointed it at Wild’s balls.

  Wild chuckled. ‘Still defiant? Are you throwing a wobbly because your riot has been crushed?’

  I dropped my gaze, paling.

  The bastard was lying. He had to be lying…

  My heart shrank, but I forced on a smile. ‘Not much left for you to fight for when the ki
ng’s dead.’

  Wild stilled: fury and distress flickered across his face. His eyes shone.

  Wild was under Lucifer’s spark. The Feathered were caught in his fervour.

  The original and most loyal were also the most enthralled.

  ‘Wrong again.’ Wild stalked closer, sweat dripping from his muscled arms. ‘And he’s right mad about being betrayed. You’ll be begging me to save you, bab. He won’t just take your head, he’ll burn you.’

  I shuddered: screams, blinding light, charred flesh…

  Yet I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. When Ash had been disloyal, Lucifer had taken his weapons, rank, and identity, and then had hurt or killed everybody he loved in front of him.

  He’d burned him inside and out.

  I was the leader, however, and that meant no more running away. If there were consequences, I was the one who’d face them.

  ‘Yours, use, fight,’ Devil wheedled, shifting in excited anticipation.

  My hands lifted puppet-like towards my bodice…and the trident. I stilled them, however, because I couldn’t risk another monster in the yard. I’d let one out to take down Lucifer; I couldn’t let it out again.

  I trembled; fire flicked on and off my fingertips.

  ‘Enough of the Moriarty,’ Ash snarled, ‘more of the bang, bang.’

  Wild growled, before the Feathered swarmed into the Bones, surrounding us with flames.

  I hollered, shooting a fireball. It sputtered out, weakened by my confused righteousness, or after my taste of Devil, lack of it. I hissed, backing up.

  Bang, bang.

  Wild clutched at his crimson guts.

  Direct shot.

  At last, the Feathered howled as they attacked.

  27

  Once, I’d stood up to the top boy in my class. In the teen equivalent of pulling my pigtails to get into my pants, he’d tormented me for weeks, until I’d snapped, holding a shank to his face behind the science lab, whilst he’d pissed himself.