“I’m trying to. Get out of my way.” Death growled.
“A little help!” Ruin called out. “What—” Slam, “Did you—” Slam, “Do to her?”
I screamed as my neck throbbed. Blood erupted from my lips, pouring down my chin.
“Kori, I’m going to lift you now,” Death called right into my face. His strong hands scooped me off the floor, going around my back and legs. He ran, clutching me tight as we barreled forward.
“Kori will die if you take her from me!” Ravage’s low, guttural demand followed us.
For once, I believed the King of Nightendale.
“Vampire… I’m a vampire,” I tried to say the words, but all that came out was a gurgle.
Death glanced down. “We’re almost to safety.”
That was the last thing I heard, before darkness swallowed my sight.
Chapter Twelve
Ash
Blood trickled from my mouth as I circled Ravage. The warrior king’s green eyes were fixed on the opening where Death had just vanished through with Kori. Ravage lifted his fingers to his mouth and licked off the blood there. “Do you even remember her sweet taste, Ash?”
Ravage didn’t have to taunt me for me to know that it was Kori’s blood. I had smelled it from across the cavern and known exactly who was screaming. All three of us had fallen into a sprint that blurred the cave around us. The sight we had come into would be burned into my eyes forever. Ravage had Kori pinned like she was being crucified while he ripped into her neck. Blood poured from her wound as her face contorted in agony.
“You’re never going to touch her again, you sadistic fuck,” Ruin cursed as he widened his stance at the entrance of the cave.
“You’re wasting my time—time she needs.” Ravage slashed a hand through the air, and a great gust of wind slammed into my front. My back crashed into the wall, erupting with pain and knocking the wind out of me. Debris collided with my face and body before plastering against the walls.
A body came hurdling at me, colliding with my chest.
It took me a moment to recognize the curly black hair and strong, bold features of Brendan, Kori’s older brother. His face was filthy, and bruises were forming around his eyes and nose.
“Timothy, run,” he mumbled, as his body plastered against mine. His eyes were shut, and I knew that Kori would want me to get her brothers out of here, consequences be damned. For a moment, I considered grabbing Brendan and yelling for Ruin to do the same with Timothy, wherever he was. We could struggle our way to the cave entrance and flee into the tunnels beyond. Ravage wouldn’t even pursue us, he was going after Kori and Death, but we wouldn’t have given them a good enough head start.
“Fuck.” I pushed until Brendan rolled off me and into the wall, and then I fought against the wind, peeling away from the cold stone. When I advanced a step toward Ravage, the wind pushed even harder.
Ravage strolled toward the cave entrance, completely unaffected by the wind. Ruin stood there still, pressed against the wall. He kicked out, and in the blink, Ravage lunged, moving so fast he was only a blur.
“Get down!” I pushed off the wall, grabbing for Ravage.
Mid strike, Ravage changed his trajectory, using his momentum to spin, and he went flying at me, aiming his fist for my chest.
I leapt and slammed back into the wall with the force of the wind. Ravage’s punch went wide, and I kicked the side of his leg. His leg buckled the wrong direction as the momentum of his swing carried him forward.
He grunted in pain, and, for a moment, the wind released me.
Ruin pushed off the wall and kicked for Ravage’s head. I didn't even see Ravage move, but he clearly twisted out of the way at the precise moment Ruin committed his weight to the brutal kick. Midair, Ruin was blasted back, and he slammed into the far wall.
Ravage spun and limped across the room toward me. The wind pressed me back, crushing my chest to the wall until I couldn’t draw a breath into my lungs. Ravage wrapped his fingers around my throat and leaned into my ear. “You have twelve hours to give Kori back to me, or I will turn her brother into a vampire. Not only will I come after you, I will send Brendan on a mission to hunt you down. Brendan will be bound to kill each one of you and bring Kori back to me. You’ll have to murder Kori’s beloved brother to stop him—and if she survives, she will hate you more than she does me. Even I was careful not to kill her family.”
Ravage grabbed Brendan by the back of his shirt, and he leapt off the ground, flying straight up and disappearing through a hole in the roof of the cavern. All at once, the wind ceased, and everything in the room tumbled to the floor.
I jumped onto the rock wall and hooked my hands into the ridges of the stone. The roof bent in at such a severe slope, I had to dangle, straining my arm muscles as I climbed up the sheer face.
“They’re gone, Ash,” Ruin called up through labored breaths.
“We can’t let him have Brendan,” I said through a hiss as I reached for the next groove in the rock.
There was the sound of crashing beneath me, but I ignored it and kept climbing. When I got to the highest point in the chamber, a thick layer of ash coated every inch of the rock. Powder filled the air, filling my nostrils and mouth. I coughed and sneezed as my eyes streamed, but I kept climbing as the powder rained down in between my fingers. My shoulders burned, and the layer of ash got so thick, I had to dig through it to find stable rock beneath. I grabbed for a handhold, but it gave way, and I dropped. My stomach flipped, and I just managed to get my feet under me as I hit the floor.
“Fuck!” I pounded my fists on the rock. “Fuck!”
On the other side of the room, Ruin lifted the remnants of a broken table, setting it aside before he pushed over a chair. “When I came in, I could have sworn both Kori’s brothers were plastered against the wall. Did you see Ravage take two men or just one?”
“He took Brendan.” I curled my hand in a fist. “Only Brendan.”
Ruin glanced over. “Kori’s younger brother Timothy has to be here then.”
He kept looking as I rubbed out the wrinkles in my forehead, knowing I was smearing ash all over me, but unable to stop myself.
“Damn it all… he’s not here,” Ruin muttered. “What did Ravage say to you, Ash?”
I glanced up, looking over at Ruin. “What? You didn’t hear him?”
“I couldn’t hear anything over the wind.”
I stared at my friend, contemplating what I should tell him. There was no fucking way on this scorched earth that I would ever hand Kori over to Ravage. Nothing in the fucking world could convince me to do that, meaning, Brendan would be turned into a vampire tonight and enslaved to Ravage’s will. If I told Ruin, he’d have to make the same decision I would.
Best case scenario, Kori would hate us all. Worst case, Ruin would go off after Brendan to play the hero. Every scar on Ruin’s face had been gained from Ruin saving human lives during the time before the domes. People had called me a hero in that time, but I saved people because I was a member of the disaster elite forces when the world went to shit and it was my job. Ruin was the genuine article. He saved lives because he valued life—and even after he was forcibly turned into a vampire, that never changed. Ruin wasn’t naive, none of us could afford to be, but there was an innocence about him that could not be extinguished. He was the best of us. Death knew it, and I did too. Kori had been captivated by Ruin the moment she saw him, and when she was our consort, he was the one who made her smile, laugh, and even blush.
If Kori was going to hate any of us for making this choice, it would be me and me alone.
I concentrated on the cave entrance, not able to look at Ruin while I lied. “Ravage told me that he wasn’t going to stop hunting us—he’s gone after Death now. We can’t wait any longer.”
Something clattered to the ground behind me, and Ruin swore. “Kori’s younger brother isn’t here—he must have slipped off during the fight.”
“It’s in character for the g
uy.” I pressed my hand into the cold stone and forced myself to glance back. “Kori told me about her little brother… in Portland.” Pain welled up in me as I remembered that conversation, a conversation with Kori where I’d admitted things I’d never said aloud before. I pushed away the memories, something I was getting better at doing every day. “She said that Timothy only follows his own plans, and he disappears frequently only to show up and turn reality on its head.”
Ruin sighed. “At least we can tell her that one of her brothers likely survived and made it out, even if we don’t know where he went. Should we head after Ravage or follow Death?”
I glanced over at my friend.
Ruin lifted his dark brows, clearly telling me to take the lead here. More often than not, Death and Ruin acted as if I was the leader of our group when the truth was, they followed my orders when they wanted to and did whatever the fuck they wanted the rest of the time.
“Ravage didn’t take Brendan to kill him, he did it so Kori will give herself up. As long as we keep her from him, Ravage won’t hurt her brother.” The lie felt like it was burning a hole in my tongue, and I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the sensation. “We should go after Death and protect Kori—it’s the only way to keep her brother alive.”
“Shit. She’s not going to like it, but you’re right.” Ruin grabbed a rucksack from the floor and hefted it over his shoulder. “I’ve found her supplies, let’s go.”
We took off at a run, following the path that we’d seen Death flee in. Every time there was a chance to head downward, Ruin headed that way without breaking stride.
“Is there a reason we’re descending?” I asked as I caught up to him. “Death hates cramped underground spaces. I’d think he’d head to the domes.”
“To which dome? Ravage rules Portland, and Seattle is out of the question. Queen Hell would hand Kori back to Ravage in a second. Anyway, this is the direction Kori and her brothers were heading, and Ravage only just caught up to them. Death will head down. We just need to get close enough for him to track us back.”
A roar ripped through the air, echoing in the cave system until it sounded as if it came from all directions. The sound came again, a ragged cry of misery.
Ruin and I picked up speed, kicking off walls and leaping over fallen boulders. We leapt down an outcropping, plunging what must have been fifty feet before rolling on rough stone. Searing pain sliced into my shoulder, but I ignored the agony and the warm liquid streaming down my arm and jumped to my feet.
A hundred feet away, Death clutched Kori’s limp body. He wasn’t roaring anymore. He just held her to his chest as her eyes stared at nothing.
Ruin fell to his knees beside them, his hand going to cup under Kori’s head. Tears coursed down his scarred cheeks, and he muttered, “No,” over and over until it wasn’t more than a chant.
I fell into a crouch. “Lay her out on the ground.”
Neither man listened to me. “Lay her the fuck out, Death. Now!”
Dark eyes came up to look into mine, and what I saw peering out of him could never be defined as human. For one second, I thought he was going to attack me, but then he loosened his arms enough to show me Kori’s body, though he didn’t let her go.
Blood stained up the front of her shirt. It was ripped and filthy. “Ravage was savaging her neck when we arrived…” I pushed the collar aside, only to see unmarred skin. “Did anyone see what he was doing to her?”
“He pinned her with magic into a brutal forced feeding,” Death said, his words more growl than human language. “Her heart stopped.”
It was likely too late for CPR, but I pushed on her chest anyway, using only a fraction of my strength.
Without me saying anything, Ruin pinched Kori’s nose and pushed up her chin before administering breath.
We kept going, one of us pumping, then the other of us breathing while Death held her tight.
I was just pushing down when there was a fluttering under my fingers, and then, Kori’s heart began to pump.
“She’s alive,” I said, and just as I was saying it, her eyes snapped open.
Her gaze darted about the space.
“Timothy, Brendan,” she said, and then her eyes closed and her heart ceased to function.
“Fuck!” I shouted as I took up compressions again.
We kept going for an hour, when her heart began to pump, and her eyes opened once more.
“My brothers,” she whispered.
“Do we even know where they are?” Death growled, but before we answered the question, Kori died again.
We revived her four more times, and each time, she asked for her brothers and died.
“This isn’t how a human fucking body is supposed to work,” I muttered. My arm ached, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop. Not ever.
Ruin was giving Kori another breath when he pulled away. “You’re right, Ash. This isn’t how a human body works,” he said.
“Keep going.”
“Listen to me, Ash—”
“Keep going,” I growled as I pumped.
“Stop,” Ruin said as his hands moved to cup Kori’s cheeks. “Kori’s dead, un… dead. Ravage changed her. We need to let her human body die, so she can wake up as a vampire.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ravage
It had been centuries since I turned a human. Vampirism wasn’t a curse that I’d wish on my worst enemy, let alone the brother of my consort. Yet, there were advantages of having a scion.
Brendan stood against the wall, glaring at me in defiance. I had ordered him to stay with the army and not attack anyone, and thus far the orders had held. A few minutes ago, I sent the bulk of their number ahead.
Crossing the distance, I brushed Brendan’s dark curls away from his face. He pressed his back into the cave wall, looking like he might keel over at any moment. His skin was an ashy shade. The circles under his eyes were the color of plums, but Brendan’s umber gaze fixed on me with a ferocity that almost gave me pause. He pushed my hand away and paced back and forth before me. I could practically feel the burning hunger inside him.
“This ends now, Brendan. We both know that your hunger for blood is getting worse by the second. You need to drink while you’re still lucid, or you’ll lose control and kill the human sent to feed you. I don’t think you want that.”
“I’ve got a better idea. How about you kill me now, Ravage. You have to know that I will find a way around any order you give me.”
I nodded. “Call me your highness.”
“As you please, your highness,” he said as if the words tasted foul.
A smile crept its way onto my lips, but I forced it away. “Listen to me carefully, Brendan Ignis. I’m only giving you one order, and in truth, it’s giving you what you want as well as what I want. Your sister Kori is dying. She needs to come back to me, but we both know how stubborn she is.”
“Don’t pretend like you know Kori,” he snapped as he continued to pace. “She isn’t stubborn. She’s resilient and enduring. The subtilty of the difference is probably beyond your comprehension.” Brendan bared his teeth at me, showing an impressive set of fangs. They had grown within hours of my turning him. They probably ached like hell right now.
“Brendan, I do know your sister,” I reasoned, “And I know you too. Turning your whole family has been part of my plan for some time now. There is room for very few humans in the kingdom I’m building, and I need all three of you by my side for far longer than a human lifespan. Do you know where blood mage powers came from?”
He glared over at me. “There are many theories.”
“And only one truth. You cannot even fathom the wealth of information I will give you, Brendan. This will be my first gift. You are the descendants of fae-human hybrids. Your Ignis power is from the Autumn court, and Kori’s Tempus power is from my court, the Summer Court.”
Brendan’s eyes sparkled with interest, and I could see a new craving brewing there—a voracious thirst for knowled
ge. His gaze broke away from mine. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re a distant relative with an incest kink? No wonder you’re so determined to capture my sister. You probably don’t have many relatives left. Aren’t all the fae supposed to be extinct?”
I squeezed my fist and reminded myself to be patient. I wasn’t going to win Brendan to my side easily. “Charming, but no. There’s no possibility that Kori is my relative. My family died without descendants, and Kori was the first human I ever had sex with.”
Brendan raised his hand. “Well, if you didn’t notice, I’m no longer a blood mage. You took my power.”
“I know that agony all too well. That’s why I came here to make sure you get your power back. This is a hard transition, but you’ll find that there are privileges to being my scion.” I glanced over my shoulder to where a human man waited. He was in his early to mid-forties, with a distinguished face and gray hair around his ears. His body was muscular and large.
“Ferris is not as powerful of an Ignis as you were,” I said, “But the same Autumn Court power runs through his veins.”
Brendan’s gaze fixed on Ferris, and his pupils dilated. With a gasp, he wheeled away and pressed his hands into the stone. “You shouldn’t be here, Ferris. Get away from me—it’s not safe.”
“I wanted to come,” Ferris said as he stepped closer. The Ignis courtesan watched Brendan with hunger in his eyes.
I went to stand beside Brendan, setting a hand on his back. The new vampire shook under my fingers like an addict trying to resist his drug of choice. “You’re a vampire royal now, Brendan. I have assigned you as my war librarian and advisor.” I gestured out to the courtesan. “Ferris says that you would go to him for sexual relief between feedings back when you were a courtesan. He claims that you two share a particular bond, and he volunteered to be your courtesan for your first feeding. When you drink from him, you’ll have your power once more. As you are a member of my high court, I will pay for Ferris’ living for as long as you wish to keep him by your side.”
Ash (Fire & Blood Book 2) Page 9