by J. R. Thorn
"Now," she said, "recall Liam reading the words. Think them in your mind until you're sure you have them right. Then place your hand on the page and repeat it."
I frowned as I stared at the runes that didn't mean anything to me. "Why couldn't Liam be here to refresh my memory?" I asked. "What happens if I recite it incorrectly?" "You don't want to recite it incorrectly." At my scowl, she sighed. "Liam is one of our most powerful reserves of supernatural energy. He was once a dragon, which makes him a hell of a lot more useful than me." She glared, the fiery nature of her contrasting to her statement. "I was a human before I turned. I don't have nearly as much power to offer. What I have in my blood is all thanks to the vampires of Venice." Nimra's gaze went distant and fierce when she said that, as if she were grateful to the vampires, but hated that she had nothing else to offer them. Her ruby gaze matched mine with determination and I knew that this was her moment. If I couldn't do this, she was going to blame herself.
"You can help me," I said and Nimra straightened. "I can amplify my memory if you allow me to use your brainpower." I offered my hand. "It shouldn't hurt."
She took my grip without hesitation. "Whatever you need. I'll give my life to save this city if I must."
I chuckled. "That won't be necessary."
And then I closed my eyes and concentrated.
I'd never been trained in magic, but I'd been around it all my life. Every time my mother had whispered words to herself, they'd been spells. I knew that now. The familiar tingling that swept across my skin when I entered her room was one of her power. I'd never thought much of it before, but how else would a mere mortal have seduced a full-blooded angel?
Reaching into Nimra's immortal mind, I found the capacity I needed to think back to the words Liam had recited.
"I tape recorder would have been so much easier," I muttered.
"One does not record spells," she hissed back without opening her eyes.
Her grip squeezed on mine and her teeth grit together when I ripped the veil between us open. Her power filled me with unexpected warmth. Vampires weren't all ice and stillness. There was a hot life force that swirled in them if one knew how to access it.
Liam's voice came into my mind and my mouth opened to repeat each one. Carefully, slowly, I traced my fingers across each rune as I spoke.
It was working. Magic pulsated and swept out in a wide arc. I opened my eyes to see the retreating blue ring of it gliding across the city landscape. The houses beneath us lost their burgundy hue, all color slowly draining from the sky as my angelic magic took hold.
The power of the spell was supposed to be red.
I wasn't born a witch, but that power lived in me. I continued the spell, enunciating each syllable with careful scrutiny.
Just when I was about to reach the end of the spell, a bomb exploded at the base of the tower and my body lurched away from Nimra. She screeched as the link between us shattered and the spell unfurled like a spring let loose onto the world.
The blue wave transformed from its languished glide into a crashing tumult of power that dove and crashed through the streets. Fresh cries filtered into the air as my power hit.
"Shit," I muttered as I clung to one of the overturned stones along the roof. I arched my neck to see Nimra heaving, but alive and still on the roof.
She glanced at me, her ruby gaze full of panic and fear, both of which were emotions I imagined she rarely put on display. “I need to get back to the bunker," she shouted. "Meet you there."
And then she was gone in a blur, a trail of smoke cascading down the tower. I sighed and stumbled towards the stairs.
Damn woman was going to make me fight my way back to Sonya. I'd become expendable.
10
Xavier
The visions of Sonya naked before me had plagued me for a hundred years. They'd become a punishment to torture me until I remembered why I suffered. Hades had once been a Muse and instead of succumbing to cruelty, he became a vampire. He is the father of vampires, of witches, and of supernaturals that believe in sanity and harmony.
Somewhere along the way the vampires took on the rebellious nature of the Blood Stone that had created them. I was one of them, and as one of Hades direct sons, it had greatly disappointed him.
I stared at him now, the calm and perfect visage resting in solid stone. Only his red eyes glowed to convince me that this was no statue. This was my father, and he was in the core of his slumber.
Sonya stood beside me with kindred magic running in her veins. She didn't understand the process of turning into a vampire, none of us did, but the old Sonya had died and this one was what remained. She was so beautiful. Her skin had paled just a shade lighter than before and a ruby gleam sparkled in her eyes. When I ran my thumb over her cheek, she smiled at me, and I knew that I'd never have to wonder if my visions were real.
She was mine.
11
Alarm Clock
I wondered what Xavier was thinking when he looked at me like that. But now was not the time. Luke had done his part. Now it was my turn. It was time to wake Hades.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Xavier asked, his thumb still stroking my cheek.
I pressed my fingers against his and leaned into his touch. "I will be," I promised. I met his gaze, determined not to feel weird about my next demand. "But I won't begin until I know that Luke's okay."
Xavier didn't flinch, but a shadow passed across his gaze. I'd banished his hope that turning into a vampire would make me forget about Luke. There was no way that was going to happen. If anything, binding myself to Xavier only cemented the certainty of who I was. The succubus part of me had diminished, but it was still there. I didn't think that the vampiric transformation had fully worked, but I couldn't deny the fangs poking out of my teeth.
"Nimra should bring word," Xavier said, then fished through his pockets for his phone. He brought it out and frowned at the screen. "Something's wrong."
I peered around his shoulder. "What do you mean?"
He showed me a picture of the sky with an arc of blue light unfurling like a tidal wave across the city. My eyes went wide. "I have to get up there."
Xavier gripped my arm. "Luke is an immortal in every sense of the word. Even Derek can't kill an angel. You'll do him more good staying here and awakening Hades." His gaze flashed with warning. "If you don't, then we all will perish with my father."
I growled and ripped free of him. Xavier startled, clearly not expecting me to be strong enough to overcome him. I grinned. Being a vampire was going to be fun. "Fine," I said, "but don't think I'm doing this because of you. Luke is just as important to me as you are and I know he can take care of himself, but I've seen what Derek is capable of.” I clenched my jaw. “Luke might have survived his heart being ripped from his chest, but he almost didn't survive it being broken. Derek knows which buttons to press.”
Xavier took a step away from me, giving me the space I needed. I hadn't rejected him, but he knew that if he pushed me, I would. "I leave my fate in your hands, Sonya," he said, his foreign lilt stronger as emotion raged against him. He wasn't used to letting someone else be in control. "I only wish to protect you."
I whirled from him and approached the ancient vampire trapped in stone. Hades’ arms crossed over his chest and glittering red emanated from his eyes. "If you want to help,” I said, “then be quiet while I concentrate.”
I reached out and lightly pressed my fingers against Hades. Stone seemed like it should have felt cool under my touch, but heat speared through me the moment I made contact. Hades was alive and well—and aware.
His curse trapped him in this state for years at a time. But he wasn't aware of me or Xavier or anyone else in this room. He was inside his own mind. When I closed my eyes, I sensed him and reached for him.
Hades? I asked, the words echoing in an eerie ghost-like chamber as my spirit moved into Hades’ consciousness.
An attractive man who could have passed for late thirties turned an
d frowned. He'd been buying a gelato from his favorite cafe—the very same one where I'd met Xavier. Perhaps there was something to be said for vampiric magic. Hades kept an eye on his sons, even while he slept.
"Who's there?" Hades snapped and a sudden wind ripped the gelato from his hand. It crashed to the ground, the treat melting into the cobblestone street.
My presence was a terrible disturbance on this peaceful place where Hades let his mind rest. But there wasn't any choice. Derek had brought an army to take him down, and I didn't know what the Incubus King planned to do with me, but whatever it was, I didn’t want to find out.
You have to wake up, I urged and punctured my nails through the veil.
In the real world, his statue fractured under my touch, sending sharp cracks digging against my fingers. and Xavier's emotions raged with concern and fear. But this was exactly what needed to happen.
Red hot power shot through me and my back arched and my eyes went wide, my vision momentarily overwhelmed by brilliant red flames. Had I been a succubus, the power would have been too pure for me to handle. But Xavier had changed me. I knew what these fires were. Vampires seemed just as cold as the stone beneath my feet, but there was a fire so hot inside their veins that it could burn the world to ash if set free. This was the raw power of the Blood, of life and sacrifice.
The stone I'd worn, and eventually absorbed into my chest, was just a construct to contain it. As a vampire, I more than held the power within me, I communed with it. When red-hot flames scorched through my veins, I should have turned to ash. Instead, I endured.
Being able to survive the invasion of Hades' power didn't save me from the agony. A scream ripped from my throat and Xavier's hands extended to grab me, but I knew if he touched me he'd die. I snapped out a hand and sent a blast of lightning and he flung to the other side of the room. The other vampires didn't dare touch me and huddled against the wall with eyes wide and fangs extended.
The dream-world enveloped me and Hades snarled. His slicked-back hair and clean-shaven face transformed to a beast with red eyes that howled with rage. "Who are you?" he demanded. His words hissed through his fangs and it took every ounce of willpower to remind myself that this was just inside his mind. He couldn’t hurt me… right?
When he blurred, moving too fast for even my vampire senses to keep up, he appeared in front of my face and grabbed both of my wrists. I resisted him when he tugged. If he managed to drag me into his world, I might fall into the cursed sleep with him.
"Xavier is in danger," I blurted. "The Incubus King is attacking the city and we think Apollo is helping him."
Hades scoffed, but his vice grip eased. "Why would anyone attack a city full of vampires?" His eyes flashed with warning. "Xavier wouldn't let anyone into this city."
I rolled my eyes. "Who do you think sent me here? Do you really believe that I found the super secret vampire bunker, converted myself with vampirism, and found you all by myself?"
Hades glowered, but drew in deeper to inhale my scent. "You have Xavier's blood in you. Your turning was recent."
"Yeah," I said with a grin. "Very."
He looked down at his hold on me with a grimace. "No, I don't believe it. My son wouldn't have turned you. He's plagued by visions of the girl he can never have. He won't turn anyone else except for her. He can't. He's tried before and they always died. His heart belongs to a woman he's never even met." He squeezed his eyes shut and the ruby glow of his power illuminated his eyelids. "I regret cursing him with such a terrible fate. I'd only intended to teach him how to feel. He'd become so cold and cruel, but the witches didn't tell me the visions would never go away."
I shivered as Hades unfurled the truth. Xavier had tried to turn women before? I couldn't imagine the guilt he carried with him for those failures.
“Perhaps they’ve finally come to pass,” I whispered and Hades' eyes flung open. "I'm the one from his visions."
Hades leaned in and furrowed his brows. His lips parted as he inhaled my scent again, this time his tongue flicking as he tasted the air. "It's impossible," he whispered, but the shock on his face said he knew that I spoke the truth. "The witches didn't learn that the visions were a future so utterly unlikely until it was too late. There's a better chance of..."
I grinned. "Of a succubus being seduced by a vampire?" I wiggled out of his grip that had finally loosened. "Yeah. It happened, believe it or not." Turning serious, I ripped the veil between us a fraction more. "You have to wake up, Hades. If you don't, Venice will fall to the Incubus King's mind control, and so will every vampire in it."
That got his attention. He growled and my footing wavered. I couldn't tell if it was from a bomb in the real world, or Hades unfurling his dreams into reality. "I'll need a fraction of the power you've brought with you," he said. "It's going to hurt."
Closing my eyes, I readied myself. "Rip the band-aid off."
He hesitated, and depending on how long he'd been asleep, maybe he had no idea what a band-aid was, but then a low growl rumbled in his throat. Heat spread across my chest and electricity zapped through my hair. I grimaced when lightning hot flashes scoured through me, but I fisted my hands and endured.
I filled my mind with visions of Luke lying in bed with me, smiling, content and happy. I don't think he'd been able to smile very much in his life. To be able to bring him joy gave me indescribable pleasure and I wasn't about to leave him to fend for himself on the war-torn streets of Venice.
Hades roared and the pain of his awakening cracked through my ears as his statue shattered.
Unconsciousness threatened to take me, and stubbornly I fought it.
"Luke," I whispered. "Xavier."
The two men in my life. I knew I'd never be able to let either one of them go.
“What are you doing?” Nimra shrieked as she entered the sacred chamber where Hades slept.
I was too far gone to fully understand her words or what she wanted. All I recalled was that it had been her duty to protect Luke, yet now she was here, and he was not.
Hades shifted under my touch and came close to his awakening. When I glanced at Nimra through the haze of my agony as Hades drew the power of my Blood Stone for his premature awakening, I noticed that her eyes dusted with a faint red mist that didn’t match her vampiric nature.
“She’s come into contact with Derek’s mind-control fog,” I said through clenched teeth.
Xavier moved to stop her, but she’d become too strong. She snarled and dangerous fangs flashed before she sank her bite into his neck. Xavier groaned as the power of her jaw worked at his tendons and blood spilled down his chest.
“Nimra!” I tried to wiggle free of Hades, but the magic between us kept me locked in place.
As Xavier’s gaze flickered and he crumpled to the floor, she grinned at me with his blood smeared across her face. “You don’t deserve each other,” she growled, then bared her teeth in a hiss before going for me.
I knew what would happen when she touched me. Too far linked with the father of all vampires, only the holder of a Blood Stone could survive the power coursing between us. Red-hot magic seared through my body and I was barely keeping it together as it was.
When Nimra wrapped her fingers around my throat, her body jolted and her eyes went wide.
I knew it was Derek’s mind-control that was making her do this, but I had a feeling she’d left Luke to fend for himself before she’d become infected.
“Have a nice afterlife, bitch,” I said as Nimra turned into ash.
12
Luke
Hades was awake, but I hadn’t done my part. My spell should have cast all supernaturals into slumber so that the vampires could pick them off while Hades went after his brother, but something went wrong. The blue aura that overtook the sky rained down fine dust that tasted sweet on my lips.
I watched the horizon, sensing that I had called something to aid us instead. My magic wasn’t a witch’s power, but there were other supernaturals in this world that
I’d yet to discover.
A howl sounded and I crouched, my teeth grating at the impossible sound.
Wolves.
In spite of my better judgment, I ran towards the sound, only to stop when screams followed. A beast burst through the red fog of mind-control, but he shook his fur and the dust drifted to the ground as dead ash.
Glorious blue eyes met mine, a kindred to angelic power in that of a wolf. I reached out, barely brushing his snout, before he ran off in a blur and was gone again, sending more screams in his wake.
Perhaps I hadn’t followed the plan, but I grinned, because I’d called freaking werewolves to help us fight Derek’s men.
13
It's Over
“Vampires fly?” I asked as Hades soared through the air.
Xavier smirked, then winced and adjusted the bandage. It amazed me that a vampire needed a bandage, but wounds from a vampire’s bite took longer to heal. Something about kindred magic. “Just Hades,” Xavier said.
Breaking into a run, I felt like I could fly myself, the vampiric power compelling my legs making me blur through the streets of Venice. “This is awesome!” I called to Xavier who managed to follow.
I lost sight of Hades as he blurred into a nest of buildings, but we were still bonded by the ties of blood. Focusing, I sensed which way he’d gone and followed.
I reached a very shocked Derek and male muse who faced the seething vampire.
“Betrayal!” Hades hissed at his brother.
Derek was the first to break free of his shock. He glanced at me, his eyes going wide when I revealed my fangs. “Sonya,” he whispered as if heartbroken. “What have you done?”