by Iris Walker
“Yeah,” Zane said, skirting a broken crate. Sirens wailed in the distance, and Lucidia cast a glance back, but they faded out of reach.
“Don’t worry about them,” Zane said. “We make sure the cops don’t bother us.”
“Convenient,” she muttered, stepping over a half-eaten burger. “What kind of vampire problem?”
“They’re pouring in,” Zane replied. “More than normal, and we don’t have the space to accommodate them, so they’re slipping in and hiding, snatching people whenever they can. That leads to more crime, more police reports, and general chaos. When we’re trying to establish a peaceful community, obviously, it puts a damper on things.”
“You’re not kidding,” she said, peering through the foggy darkness.
A can rattled from up ahead, and Zane stiffened, leaning forward. “Gotcha,” he murmured, watching the dumpster closely.
Lucidia nodded to him and banked to the side, creeping around the other end. She gripped the dagger on her belt and felt her burning red power come to surface, glowing even through her sleeves. Just as she cleared the corner, she lunged, slamming the assailant up against the brick wall, her forearm wedged underneath his neck with a vicious snarl. But it wasn’t a vampire.
Her snarl faded to a confused grimace as she released the strongblood in front of her. “Paxton?”
“Lucidia?” he choked, his hand pressed around his neck.
Another figure was pressed up against the wall, a woman, wearing a hood. Lucidia saw golden blonde curls, long and elegant. Oh, God, Lucidia thought in utter annoyance.
A small whimper came from the figure, and she pulled the hood down. “Lucidia Draxos, from our House? Are you here to save us?” she squeaked.
Lucidia’s eyes ran over Anna Lucia Monette’s face, completely alien in the dirty alley. “What the hell are you two doing out here?” she asked with a confused scowl.
Chapter 7 Into the Shadows
Robin
Robin had been in and out of consciousness for two days since the blizzard. Directly after, she’d eaten just about a whole horse (or that equivalent in food) and then lounged by the fire with Harley and Charlemagne, recovering after the exhaustion they’d all experienced at her hands. Darian had made an appearance twice, gliding through the halls and peeking in from the shadows, but never saying a word.
Robin felt a brush of heat run across her skin when he’d moved past them, a hum that followed his presence. She made eye contact with him, a brief moment of understanding, and she could have sworn he’d nodded at her in passing. But after a split second, he was gone, wandering the halls, taking stock of his kingdom.
Which, by the way, was nearly empty. In fact, the whole castle was eerily quiet and dark after the sudden evacuation.
That was just as well because she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes open. And after each time she woke, each deep, dreamless sleep, she felt more refreshed, and more…
Changed.
She looked it, too; less and less human with each moment that passed, as though all of that weakness was being burned off and replaced with a powerful radiance.
The birthmarks had completed their journey, covering her from head to toe in vibrant red strikes, jagged, curling images cut across her pale skin.
She used to scowl at them.
She even remembered covering them up with concealer, that thick, pasty goop that took forever to wash out in the shower. And at that point, yes, she’d been self-conscious of them. But that had been when they were patchy, and incomplete.
Now, as she looked at the striking red marks, fully completed and radiant on her skin, she felt nothing but a thrill of pride.
She might never be able to go to the grocery store again, but she looked stunning.
Stunning in the sense that when your eyes caught sight of her, you stopped, and wanted to look some more.
Powerful, fierce, and whole.
That was the new Robin.
Focus on what you might gain from this, Darian’s words rung out in her head.
She felt power pulsing under her fingertips; raw energy, coursing up and down the tracks of her birthmarks like lightning itself. There was an organization in it. At first, she’d shied away, retreating, buckling down in the face of that inferno. But now it was contained, and it was coiling like a generator inside of her, funneled into those marks and reaching through to the vampires around her.
When she was dozing, laying in bed a moment before that deep sleep found her again, she drew the power up, calling on it with a reflex that she’d never known before. It was as though the instruction manual was ingrained in her muscles, and they knew what they had to do before her mind could contemplate it.
Fire. Energy. Sparks and infernos and lightning bolts of explosive power, all roiling under the surface of her skin.
And finally, she embraced it.
Lucidia
The last time she’d seen Pax had been at the induction ceremony for a new Xander satellite house. They’d been stationed in Nebraska on the cusp of House Mantell’s property, which was as far west as the official Xander houses reached, though Lucidia knew that Darian had unofficial safehouses peppered all over the world.
Nebraska, in a giant mansion, under the rule and care of the vampire Iacob Royoh Xander and about thirty of his closest friends, strongbloods, and pureblood humans.
Purebloods, Lucidia thought with burning irritation.
Humans whose families had been serving individual vampires for generations; in some cases, centuries. They stayed in the palace, enjoying every lavishing the vampires had to offer, living the life of luxury. The vampires showered them in gifts, beautiful clothing, expensive food.
They had no rules, no responsibilities, and no sense of obligation.
In other words, they were spoiled brats, and major, major partyers. As in, they gave spring breakers a run for their money.
And they rarely ever left the strongholds, which is why it was so shocking to see Anna Lucia Monette out here in a filthy alley.
“You know them?” Zane asked in a sharp tone.
“Yeah,” Lucidia said, “they’re members of House Xander. But… why are you here?”
Pax straightened up and gave Lucidia a tense nod. “We had to flee. Barely made it out in time. The royal family went into hiding, but some of the lower vampires and I were able to make it here. We’ve been hiding in refugee camps and dodging attacks for two weeks.”
A million questions popped into Lucidia’s mind. “What? Flee from who?”
“It was horrible,” Anna Lucia moaned, stepping into the light. Her young, fresh face was now obscured with that annoying, helpless fear.
“We don’t know who ordered the hit, but we were getting reports from other Xander houses that troops were approaching. Then, a week after we’d closed our walls and battened down the hatches, the reports stopped coming. It was like candles being blown out. Nobody was answering any phones, and communications were completely shot. That night, we were hit. Barely made it out with our skin.”
“The casters?” Lucidia thought, her jaw clenching.
“No,” Pax said. “Vampires.”
Her brow crunched together. “What House?”
“Didn’t see them. But the symbol was new. I didn’t recognize any of it, and we weren’t exactly in a position to stop and ask.”
“And how many Xander houses were hit?”
Pax’s eyes flared with concern. “Of the ones we had contact with? All of them.”
Lucidia shook her head, anger and confusion boiling up inside of her.
“We’ve heard reports,” Zane said, “but we didn’t know it was that bad…”
“You knew?” Lucidia asked, turning on him.
“Well-”
“If you knew your kin was being invaded and cut down, then you had an obligation to answer the call.”
“We seceded,” Zane growled, tensing in the sterile alley light. “And to our knowledge, there were just rumors.”
“Where are you going?” Zane called.
“To get some fucking answers,” Lucidia growled, steps angry against the damp pavement.
Robin
Robin awoke with a strange feeling deep in her gut. Long shadows clung to everything in the room; it had to be around 4 a.m., judging by the pitch-black window. It had been three nights since she’d learned to control the fire of energy that had fused with her body, and three nights since she’d had contact with Calliope.
If contact is what you call it, she grumbled. The strange, vivid visions were hardly concrete, though deep down, Robin knew it was real.
Robin rose, letting her feet brush the ground. Her hands tingled with that warm buzz that she felt around Darian and Ezra, but it was stronger now, like bees trapped inside of her. She rubbed her hands and walked over to the window.
It was still snowing, barely visible against the near-black sky. As Robin neared the window, she felt the warmth stolen from her, quickly. The blizzard was still raging. Through the white flurries, she caught sight of something, a blur. Robin squinted into the darkness, following the shadow she’d just seen flit across the courtyard.
“What the hell?” she muttered, leaning closer.
As the snow pressed in, swallowed by shadow, everything was obscured. She scowled, stepping back from the window.
A prickly fear seeped into her gut.
“Harley?” she whispered, barely audible.
No response.
The strongblood was just as dedicated to her duty as Lucidia had been, and in some cases, more so. Robin’s heartbeat spiked, and she ran for the door, gripping the knob and bracing herself.
Someone outside was struggling.
Harley, Robin thought in a panic.
She ripped open the door and scoured the dark hallway.
Arcs of red light swung across the shadows, as Harley fought two vicious vampires. Snarls rang out against the stone walls, grunts of impact and pain following in rapid succession. Glinting steel extended from Harley’s arm, and Robin watched in horror as she plunged the machete deep into the heart of one vampire, piercing him completely and eliciting a cry of anguish.
Harley, the nonchalant strongblood that didn’t give a damn about anybody or anything, was an absolute unit in battle.
Robin’s eyes widened as the other vampire advanced on Harley, glinting nails curved and looking for flesh to shred. In an instant, she countered, delivering a series of crushing blows to the creature’s torso.
Robin barely noticed the flash of heat that sprung at her back.
Ice cold hands snaked around her, an iron grip against her torso, and she was flung backwards, slammed against the cold, hard rock. Robin felt her spine collide with the wall, and crashed to the ground, wrists bracing her body weakly.
Just as she pulled a gasping, shuddering breath in, a pale hand wrapped around her neck, dragging her upwards and pinning her to the wall.
Her skin was burning with heat now, a fire born out of mortal terror, so fierce that she felt her hands shaking from the colliding energy contained within her, trapped, confined.
With nowhere to go, she thought in a panicked daze.
Her hands clawed, digging into marble flesh, until she felt the pull; an outlet for that raw power. Time and sound faded as her mind was magnetically drawn to that core, aligning herself with it.
Energy, pulsing just like hers.
Her terrified gaze dropped from the vampire’s burning red eyes, wide in desire, and moved to the source of that pulsing energy.
She didn’t understand what she was doing until she’d done it, operating on instinct, with a numb, mechanic movement. Robin’s palm found the source of that power, and pressed, right above the vampire’s heart.
Fire collided with fire, and she felt it drawn into her own skin, racing up her arm with a wave of vibrant red glow. As the light moved into her, seeping into the tracks of her birthmarks, Robin’s eyes flicked up to the vampire’s.
No longer burning.
Wavering.
The bright red color was fading with each pulse of red light running into her body. A cry of anguish escaped from the vampire’s lips as blood began pouring out of him, his eyes, his nose, and then his mouth, reducing him to a writhing, gurgling pile of flesh.
Robin staggered back, catching herself on the wall, as the sound rushed in to greet her, a roar in her ears, accentuated with each jarring heartbeat.
“Robin!” Harley growled.
Her eyes snapped to the strongblood, sprinting towards her.
“Are you okay?” Harley asked, assessing the damage with a quick glance.
“Yes,” Robin said, hands still shaking from the unstable power she’d funneled through her fingers, that core of red-hot energy.
Harley’s grip dug into her arm. Normally, it would have hurt, but now, the pain was grounding her, pulling her back into her body and reminding her that there was a very real and present danger.
Vampires.
“Who are they?” Robin whispered, gasping for breath as they sprinted down another hallway.
“Not sure,” Harley panted, a vicious scowl marring her face. “But we’re not waiting to find out.”
Just as more flashes of heat wrestled underneath her skin, and a shadow raced at the end of the corridor, Harley yanked her to the side and the stony wall swallowed them up.
Lucidia
Lucidia’s furious steps pounded against the floor as she stormed up to Landon’s office. She threw the doors open, finding Landon Prior at his large desk, reading a series of paper reports like an aloof pencil pusher.
“You knew,” she snapped.
He raised his red eyes, drilling into her. “What are you talking about?”
“You knew that you’d drive a wedge through the remaining vampire houses if you pulled out, and you did it anyway,” she seethed. “And then, when the call came, you closed your doors like a coward.”
Landon held a cautioning hand up. “Those divides were forged long before I was in power. And we didn’t know to what extent the threat reached until recently.”
“You didn’t tell Zane, or anybody what was really going on?”
“They know what they need to.”
“You lied to your own fucking people,” she spat. “Spineless fool.”
“Did you come here to insult me?” Landon roared, smacking his fist on the desk and sending a splinter through the air.
For a tense moment, she reminded herself that she was talking to a vampire that thought he was the master of a house. She needed to tread with a little more caution.
Her eyes were burning with rage. “Do you know what’s happening out there?”
“We’ve heard reports. That’s why now more than ever-”
“Give it a rest!” she growled. “I don’t want to hear another inspirational speech about your vision. People – my people - are being slaughtered like animals.”
“Yes,” he said bluntly. “That was Magnus Demonte’s fault. He got in bed with a rogue caster, and now their suffering is on his head. Wherever the hell he is.”
“His people aren’t the only ones being hunted.”
“I know, Lucidia,” Landon said firmly, hints of frustration creeping into his voice. “It’s a very complicated mess.”
“So explain it,” she pushed through gritted teeth. Landon gestured for her to take a seat, and Lucidia crossed her arms. “Don’t push me.”
“Very well,” he said with a sigh. “When the casters attacked Demonte, they enacted part of the treaty that all the major houses signed, the agreement that if one of the houses should be under attack, then the others should come to aid.”
“Yeah, I’m familiar,” Lucidi
a said. “I was guarding the doors when it was signed.”
“Well, when word broke out that casters were assembling to attack the vampires, instead of honoring that treaty, the masters went into defensive mode, because it was seen that Magnus had brought the attack on himself. And in such cases like these, where magical attacks are present, I’m sure you know what the policy dictates.”
Lucidia’s brow crept together. “They fled.”
“Yes. They crawled into their caves, or wherever they go to wade out attacks, and they cut House Demonte out of the picture completely.”
“Okay,” Lucidia said with a scowl. “But only House Demonte was targeted in the caster’s attack. What’s happening to the others?”
Landon let out a controlled breath. “There was a secret gathering, whispers among masters of the lesser houses. Alliances have been forged behind closed doors, hands shaken, secret deals made.”
I am simply taking stock of where my loyalties lie, Darian’s voice echoed in her head. There are dark clouds looming on the horizon, and the ties of power are ever shifting…
Another pit of fury wedged in her gut. He’d known the whole damn time, that red-eyed snake.
“The smaller houses have banded together. They believe that the large houses have grown corrupt, and no longer have the interest of the everyday vampire at heart. There is sentiment that the masters sit in their castles, gorging themselves and hiding when the real battles start, and that over the years, vampires have been oppressed, pushed to the back burner, so to say. So movements have been launched to systematically purge the world of those groups of vampires, and anybody who may support them.”
“Who’s leading the charge?” Lucidia asked, her fists clenching.
Landon’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Two leaders have arisen from the struggle, and have joined forces against Xander, Albus, Mantell, Augustus, and Nero.”
Lucidia’s jaw clenched. Her voice was a harsh whisper. “Who?”
“Fausta Ambrose and Cain Demonte.”
Robin
They were running through a corridor, hidden in the walls of the castle. Torches lit up as they approached them, flickering with a golden light that wasn’t fire, and was extinguished as soon as they’d passed. Robin didn’t even have time to contemplate the strange technology as their flight for life continued.