by J. R. Thorn
But I could think clearly now and that decision was one I would take my time to make. The moment that Xavier had released, our bond had broken, and I’d no longer been hypnotized by the crashing waves of his vampiric power. I was myself again, but the experience had changed me. Xavier wasn’t a stranger or a monster. He was everything I could ever desire… and that frightened me.
“No,” Xavier said, answering my question as he pushed away from the doorframe. “I don’t sleep.” His eyes glittered with danger. “And if I stayed the night in bed with you, you wouldn’t sleep either.”
I wasn’t going to let him control this conversation. I let the towel fall and allowed his gaze to rake over my naked body. The lust and need was still there, but the power of his blood had burned out of my veins by the heat of the Blood Stone, or perhaps it had been Luke’s healing magic. An angel’s cum did strange things.
“Are you vexed with me?” he asked, his gaze not deterring from my body. “You shouldn’t tease me with your skin. You know how much I desire you.” He shifted, the bulge at his groin growing when I stepped closer. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have pushed you,” he lamented. “My power has a will of its own. I only wanted to you to understand…”
I moved to him and pressed my hand against his chest as an unbidden smile stretched across my lips. “I’m not angry. I’m glad you showed me.” My hand fell and I walked back to the towel that had piled onto the floor. My point had been made. I wasn’t afraid of him.
Picking it up and wrapping it around myself, I sighed. “I don’t know why my Blood Stone brought me here. I’d thought that it was to protect Hades, but perhaps it believes I’ll be stronger with the power you offer me.” I turned and I tried to read Xavier’s reaction. He watched me with those dangerous eyes that gleamed with familiar energy. “Apollo and the Incubus King are going to be coming for Hades. I’m not sure if they’re going after Ares first. Maybe I have enough time to figure out what I’m supposed to do about it.”
Xavier raised an eyebrow. “Hades can’t be killed. He’s a vampire, remember? He’s already dead.”
I chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”
I hadn’t expected to sleep, but the moment my head hit the pillow I’d gone out like a light. Luke’s reassuring warmth next to me made me feel at peace. Somehow during the night his arms had found their way around my body, tucking me close to his chest without waking me.
It wasn’t his heartbeat that made me stir. My brows scrunched together when a grating, foreign sound found its way into the peaceful bedroom.
Screams.
I jerked awake and untangled myself from Luke’s arms. “What was that?” I asked, my voice still groggy with the need to fall under and not wake up until the weariness had left my bones. I hadn’t fed, and my body was starting to feel the strain. I withdrew a sliver of power from my Blood Stone to compensate, but winced as an ache permeated my chest.
Running a finger over my chest, Luke missed my discomfort and sat up and cocked his head. He had much better hearing than me. He should have been the first awake. When I saw the red haze in his eyes, I swallowed hard. I hadn’t fed on him, but there was no telling what kind of effect having sex with a succubus and a vampire had on his powers.
Another scream pierced the stillness, and then the city came alive as if it had awoken all at once.
“The bloody hell is going on?” I asked and swung my legs over the bed. Marching to the windows, I yanked one open and shivered at the onslaught of fear and panic that permeated the air.
The city glowed with a golden predawn allure that glimmered against the staggered buildings that littered Venice, but it was the ruby motes that caught my interest. It wasn’t just the spark of sunlight that promised to peek over the horizon, but the evidence of magic that came from vampires—or a Blood Stone.
The fine mist of magic wound through the streets in a wandering ball of hazy power. It went door to door and each home it touched left fresh screams in its wake. People stumbled out on to the streets clutching any weapons they could get their hands on. Kitchen knives, bats, and car keys wedged between knuckles seemed to be the weapons of choice.
“Something bad is happening,” I told Luke.
He came up to my side and frowned at the growing panic that was taking hold of the city. “Do you think it’s the vampires?”
I pointed at the winding ball of red that continued its way through the streets. “Is that vampiric power?”
Luke wrapped an arm protectively around my shoulders and drew me in close. “I’d say that’s proof that Derek got his hands on another Blood Stone. Although, I don’t know how he externalized the power like that. It must be Apollo’s doing.”
Cursing, I shrugged off Luke’s touch. As much as I wanted to indulge in the comfort he offered, I wasn’t a damsel in distress. If Derek was coming after this city, then it was because he knew I was here.
“Do you think he’s trying to flush me out?”
Luke smirked. “Don’t get so full of yourself. One of the male muses lives in this city. If Derek is trying to flush anyone out, it’ll be Hades.”
It didn’t make sense. Surely Derek knew that the ancient vampire slept and couldn’t be woken up. Then I remembered something Xavier had said. It would take two things to wake Hades. The power of a Blood Stone and a vampire who commanded it.
Shouts in another language broke my concentration as a mob chased down one of the vampires. He was impossible to miss with the red haze of panic in his eyes and flashing fangs. These weren’t supernaturals that did well out in the open. Vampires innately lurked in the shadows, employed misdirection and seduction… they never ran.
But this one did. He ran and crashed to his knees, scrambling to get away from the mob coming after him with any weapons they could get their hands on.
“They’re going to kill him,” I hissed. I couldn’t say I knew if this was a vampire worthy of being saved, but the raw panic in his eyes made me cringe. What if that was me? What if humans knew what I’d done and what I was capable of? There’d be a witch hunt for sure.
Luke gripped my wrist when I went for the door. “We need to figure out what’s going on first. We can’t just go—”
His words were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. I shoved Luke aside just in time to see the vampire clutching at the splintered end of a broken bat skewered into his chest. Blood gurgled at his lips as his eyes glazed over and he fell limp to the ground.
He didn’t puff into ash like I half-expected. This was real life and the corpse that bled onto the street looked like anyone else that didn’t deserve to die in such a gruesome way. The mob shouted and cheered with their deed, but they didn’t move to kick and maul the body. I realized it was a lingering red haze that kept the bloodthirsty humans wary.
Grabbing Luke’s hand, I dragged him out of the room. “Come on. We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
Luke followed me under protest. “We can’t stop a city full of people who just realized that vampires exist.”
I dragged him down the hall and only stilled when I heard the soft murmur of voices, then realized it was a news station. I swept into the living room to find Xavier glaring at a TV screen.
A surprising sense of relief hit me when I saw the vampire. Xavier should have instilled fear with the long, dangerous fangs at his lips and the curl of red power that wrapped around his wrists, but I’d seen a part of him that was vulnerable and beautifully flawed. When his gaze met mine, a shiver ran down my spine.
“I can’t understand how this is possible,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous growl. He pointed at the screen as a panicked camera zoomed in on the red ball of power that curled through the streets of Venice, bringing with it screams and people flooding out into the streets. “That’s the power of a Blood Stone.”
Luke stepped in front of me, no doubt taking Xavier’s aggression as a threat. “It’s not Sonya’s doing, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Xavier frowned and str
oked his chin. “No, I would have sensed such intentions last night. I know she’s not at fault.”
A blush crawled up my neck at the memory of Xavier ejaculating into my mouth while Luke… “So,” I blurted as heat slammed between my thighs in response to the mental images sweeping across my mind, “we’ve established I’m not the one sending a sentient ball of magic parading around the streets. That leaves only one other person we know of with a Blood Stone.”
Xavier frowned. “Derek is just an incubus. He doesn’t have this kind of power.”
“And a king,” Luke pointed out.
Xavier shrugged. “Still just an incubus. Just a bit older and more vicious than the rest.”
“What if Apollo is working with him?” Luke offered. “Is a male muse capable of manipulating a Blood Stone?”
Xavier snarled. “They’re capable of anything.” He slammed his fist against the table and the thin-walled television wavered on its silver stand, threatening to topple over. “Damn it. This is why we need Hades awake. He’s the only one strong enough to stand up to this kind of attack.”
“Really?” I asked with a smirk. “You’re an ancient vampire and there’s no Plan B if daddy is asleep?”
Xavier scowled, the motion making him look adorably delicious. But then his eyes widened. “You’re right. Hades wouldn’t leave us defenseless in the event one of his brothers ran amok.” He sighed. “But you’re not going to like it.”
4
Heck of a Failsafe
Xavier wasn't kidding. "That's your idea of a failsafe?" I shrieked.
Luke scoffed. "What a terrible idea. There has to be another way."
The only way to stop supernaturals from overtaking Venice and getting to Hades would be to cast them into a slumber that he himself had been cursed with. It had begun as means to retain his sanity, but Xavier explained that it was a magic that could be used against their enemies.
"Vampires don't need to rest," he said, his fangs flashing as excitement lit his eyes. "But if we do, we become stronger and more stable. Hades knew that as a male muse going into hundreds of years of existence he was reaching the end of his mind's capability. Vampiric slumber was what saved him from the sickness that has stricken his brothers."
"Marcus was able to resist ennui," Luke pointed out.
Xavier nodded. "And now I expect that he is dead."
Panic crawled over my skin. "A muse can be killed?"
Xavier looked out the window as chaos continued to envelop the city. The red haze of magic poured in, as well as enemy supernaturals. Where the humans had mobbed against the vampires, now Incubi and sirens subdued them and hoarded them away. "It won't be safe here for much longer. We need to get to the bunker."
"Bunker," I repeated. "Vampires have bunkers?"
Xavier nodded and snatched up a bag. He went to the refrigerator and began stuffing it with packaged blood. "Hades isn't to be disturbed during his years of slumber, so he's secreted away in the tunnels of Venice where no one would think to look for him. Vampires will have gone there for sanctuary during this attack. We need to get to them and prepare for the failsafe."
"We?" Luke said and grabbed me by the wrist.
I didn't mind when Luke was being overprotective. I kind of liked it, but right now I didn't have the patience nor the time for his masculine tendencies. "We'll figure it out when we get there," I promised him.
His icy blue irises locked onto mine. "Did you not hear what he just said? The failsafe casts the entire city of supernaturals into slumber. Only the vampires will remain awake, which means either you and I are going to be vulnerable, or—”
"Or I become a vampire," I finished for him.
There was no way we were going to leave Venice. Derek and Apollo prowled the streets looking for us. No matter where we ran, there wouldn't be any way to hide. I had to fight them. "This is our best chance," I said. I pressed a hand against his chest. His heart fluttered under my touch. "I know it sounds dramatic and I should really take more time to think about something that'll change me for the rest of my life, but what's the downside if I become a vampire? I'll be able to survive without feeding on sexual life-force."
Luke scoffed. "Yeah, you'll just feed on blood instead. That's so much better."
"But no one will have to die," I said.
His eyes narrowed. "You can feed on me and I won't die."
I pressed my lips into a thin line. He knew just as well as I did that my powers would eventually get the better of me. I craved sex and not just with him, but with other new and different lives that I could indulge the endless ache in my soul. "My powers control me," I said, my voice almost a whisper. "For once, I want to be the one in control."
Darkness passed over his gaze, but he understood why I wanted this, even if he couldn't accept it. If I became a vampire, then I would be Xavier's wife and bonded to him in ties that ran just as deep as a soulmate.
"I won't ever let you go," I promised when I glanced at Xavier. "You've always said that you were willing to share me."
His grip ran around my waist and he pulled me close with a sigh. "That's because I know you don't have a choice as a succubus. If you're vampire, then how am I to know that what feelings you have for me will remain? What if you are trading one power that dominates your will for another?"
I knew what he was asking.
What if Xavier takes you away from me?
An explosion interrupted our conversation and the walls shook.
"Time to go," Xavier said. The stiffness of his body as he slung his bag over his shoulder wasn't just the cold stillness of being a vampire. He was just as conflicted as Luke about where my loyalties might lie. He'd dreamed of me for so long and he'd never had to entertain the idea of sharing me with another, but if he'd been able to last night, then perhaps there was a chance this could actually work.
I followed the vampire as he sped out of the room, his form blurring to his accustomed vampire speed. Fleetingly I wondered that when I changed, if I'd be able to move like that.
Xavier paused in the doorway as he waited for Luke and I to follow. I took Luke's hand and gave it a squeeze. Fear gripped me, not just because I didn't know what was waiting for us outside, but for the first time, there was a future I wanted, and I desperately hoped that I was going to get it.
As if my Blood Stone sensed my desperate need, a warmth spread through my chest. It'd lost the ability to speak to me, but that sentient mind was still there. It spoke to my desires with hopes of its own. When I became Vampire, I'd truly understand the power from which it was born. I'd master a magic I'd been born into, and whether I knew it or not, I was destined for.
Shivering with that distant omen, I walked side by side with Luke, my angel, and followed my vampire out into the streets of supernaturals gone to war.
If I'd thought that Venice had looked intimidating from Xavier's luxurious apartment, then seeing the mayhem up close and personal gave me the chills.
"Watch out!" Luke shouted and shoved me out of the way of an Incubus crazed with red power.
I'd recognize that power anywhere. My Blood Stone fueled me and gave me a red aura that infused me with strength and resolve. But in the wrong hands, a Blood Stone had a very different effect. Mind control marked the incubus before me, his features distinctive and the seductive allure a trait I'd recognize in any incubus. But there was something innately wrong with him. Streaks of red marred his face like poisoned veins.
"Succubus!" he shouted and shoved a finger at me. "For the king!"
"Shit," I said under my breath and grabbed Luke's arm. Xavier hadn't bothered to fight the unfurling army of supernaturals. He blurred through the streets, pausing and waiting for us to follow. "This way!" I shouted and yanked Luke towards the vampire.
There were too many to fight. We had to get to safety and make our plans.
When a blade flashed, the blood drained from my face before Luke yanked me away just in time. He took the blow straight in the gut and groaned as fre
sh blood pooled around the steel embedded into his stomach. He yanked it out and threw it on the ground, sending it clattering down the cobbled streets before it splashed into a canal. The siren who'd stabbed him opened her mouth to sing, but Luke hauled off and slammed a fist in her face. She crumpled to the ground like paper.
My fingers shaking, I grabbed Luke and pulled him towards the vampire. "I hope this bunker is close," I snapped.
Luke limped and I wanted to stop and make sure he was all right, but I reminded myself that this was the angel that had survived his own heart being ripped out. A stab wound wasn't going to do him in.
The haze of red continued to swarm around the city and blocked off our path. Xavier peered up a sheer wall face. "We'll have to scale it," he said. "If we touch the fog, I have the feeling that we'll be put under its spell."
I considered the three-story building that seemed to tilt to one side as if the ground beneath it had begun to corrode. "I don't know..."
Before I had a chance to protest, Xavier wrapped an arm around my waist and hoisted me up. "Hold on," he said, and then he began to climb.
I watched as Luke and the bloodied street retreated as Xavier took me up the wall.
"I'll get him next," Xavier promised.
My heart clenched when an incubus flashed another blade and went from Luke's back. "Look out!" I screeched and shot out a hand. Red power burst from my grip and shot the incubus down before he had a chance to land the blow.
Luke whirled around and gawked at the supernatural I'd taken out while being carried up a freaking wall.
"It's the vampire power, darling." He grinned against my neck and the cool deadliness of his fangs kissed my skin. "Imagine your power when you're my bride."
I swallowed hard and realized that the hard bulge of his groin pressed against my abdomen. Xavier wanted me more than anything, and to be in his arms and feel a taste of the power he promised made my insides crave to give in.