Blood & Amber Eyes: A Craving Crimson World Story

by Kate Bonham

  Mae was bordering on asking me until I put my hand through the veil and pulled her through. We were behind the waterfall, in the cave that I knew led to the manor Sidonie had lived in for years, before she had fled Wales and hid under another’s protection in Romania. I was surprised it had still been empty, but then again, it was hidden by a veil. Only those who knew how to get here would know about it, I suppose.

  “He lives in a cave?” Mae asked me as I edged her through the tunnel, lanterns lit on the walls to show the way.

  “No, this is just the best way to find the door.”

  “It’s kind of creepy.”

  “Welcome to my world,” I muttered, but I knew she had heard it. We walked for a few hundred meters before I saw the door in the wall. It didn’t look like a door, in fact, it looked like a broken entryway, with rocks all around it. But I knew the door handle was there somewhere.

  As I pulled my hand from Mae’s, I twisted the handle and with a loud creak that echoed throughout the cave behind us, the door opened. I took Mae’s hand again and we walked through the door.

  Mae

  Pristine marble floors and walls came into view as we stepped through the door. I was blown away by the beauty of the foyer. Who would have known this would be hidden in a cave?

  I saw people milling about, their eyes on us, as Bram made his way through the foyer, me at his side. He didn’t want to let me go, I could feel the possessiveness of his grip as he pulled me down a hallway. There was nothing on the walls, no sign of someone living here and for some reason it scared the hell out of me.

  Bram came to a stop at a doorway which was closed. There wasn’t anything special about the door but for some reason, Bram was nervous. Had he been here before?

  Slowly, the door opened, but no one had opened it. No one was even close to the door when we walked through. My fear skyrocketed as I looked around, and finally laid eyes on a man sitting in a chair, with his feet up on the desk in front of him, his hands laced together over his stomach. A woman stood by the window, sadness etched on her face for just a brief moment, before she brought a smile to her face.

  “Bram,” she said. “I’m Saskia. Should I take your friend and you and Frankie can conduct your business?”

  “No,” Bram said firmly. Saskia backed up, nodding, before she moved to sit on the edge of the desk. “Frankie, I’ve come to ask a favor of you.”

  “A favor of me?” The man smirked, a malicious smirk that had be on edge. I’d never met someone who filled me with a sense of dread before, someone who looked just like me but I could see was evil. “Well, now isn’t that great. Where have your manners gone, old friend?”

  “Please, Frankie, there was once a time when you would have done anything for me, just as I would have done anything for you.”

  “And where has that loyalty been when it’s needed?” Frankie asked, taking his feet off the desk and leaning forward. “You know of what has started, and you were nowhere to be found.”

  “I do not agree with war, you know this.”

  “That isn’t the question though, is it?”

  “I would not be here were it possible for another to help me,” Bram said. “I am in need of you, and your skills. Would you deny me that?”

  “What skills do you require?” Saskia asked him.

  “You are the most powerful Alchemist,” Bram continued, not looking at Saskia. I wondered why. Did he know her? Had they been lovers? The thought ran through my mind and I felt myself become hot. “I have an Alchemist problem I need fixed.”

  Frankie chuckled. “You wish for me to betray my own kind?”

  “Haven’t you already?” Bram shot back just as quick. “You have no allegiance to them, nor to the Nosferatu, yet you are both, and if rumors are to be believed, you’ve Fae powers too.”

  “Bram, you never were one for rumors, have you changed so much?” he asked.

  Bram didn’t speak, and an awkward silence fell on us all. I could feel Saskia’s eyes on me, searching, trying to figure out what I was probably, but she wasn’t evil. I could see a kindness there, almost like she sympathized. Why was she with this monster?

  “I keep an ear out for news I may need to know,” Bram said. “You have always been a cherished friend, please, help me this one last time. I will never ask another favor of you.”

  “And if I do this favor of you, will you do something for me?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Then we will discuss terms after I have done this magickal thing you wish me to do.”

  I felt scared at those words. Why wouldn’t you discuss terms now? What was Bram promising?

  “I know of a man, a Watcher, having been punished by an Alchemist. Which Alchemist, I do not know, but I need you to find him.”

  “And this man has a name?”

  “Bastien Delacroix,” I said.

  Frankie’s eyes shot to me, and instantly I regretted speaking. There was a sparkle in them I didn’t like, nor did I want to encourage.

  “And you know not of his whereabouts at all?”

  “No.”

  “This will take time,” he said. “Do you have anything of his I can channel?”

  I opened the clasp of my necklace and handed it to Saskia. “He gave me this on my sixteenth birthday.”

  “That will do,” Frankie said, taking it from Saskia. “Who is he to you?”

  “Stepfather.”

  “A loving one?” he asked.

  “Very.”

  “Good, it will be strong enough then,” Frankie said. “Leave me, this will take a lot of energy.”

  Bram led me out of the room with Saskia who closed the door.

  “Come this way,” she said, leading us further down the hallway and into an empty room, filled with a large L shaped lounge and a bookcase full of books.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  Bram let go of my hand but stayed close by. “Why do you look so much like Soleil?”

  The girl was surprised, but she did well to hide it quickly. “You knew my mother?”

  “I didn’t know she had a daughter,” Bram said.

  “Yes, but she gave me up so I could have a life.”

  “Would she have approved of you becoming what she hated?” Bram asked.

  “Probably not,” she said. “But, I am one now, and there’s no going back.”

  “You are not like him,” Bram continued. “He is power-hungry and evil, but there’s something behind your eyes that tells me you are in danger.”

  “I am always in danger, no matter whether I am here or not, I am Soleil’s daughter.”

  Bram nodded. “That is true, she made a lot of enemies, but also a lot of friend’s. I am one of the latter. She helped me through a very dark time in my life.”

  “If that is the case, may I ask something of you?”

  Bram nodded.

  “Get word to my brothers, to my—to someone called Xavier, I am safe. I know what I’m doing, and soon we’ll be able to do what has to be done.”

  I looked to Bram who had cocked his head to the side, but he seemed to understand what she was talking about.

  “You mean to overthrow him from the inside? Do you know how dangerous this is?” he said. “He has absorbed powers from so many different Alchemists, he can easily overpower you, or worse yet, hear you speak of such things.”

  “He hasn’t mastered all his powers yet,” she replied. “He cannot read my thoughts, nor can he hear anything when he is focused like he is right now.”

  “You cannot do this, Saskia, he will gladly kill you if he discovers your deceit.”

  “I have to do this,” she said. “Please, deliver my message.”

  “What is your last name? I will track them.”

  “Hunter.”

  “You turned Hunter to Nosferatu. They will not understand, Saskia, they will hunt you and kill you.”

  “Please, trust me,” she said. “I know you don’t know me well, but you need to trust in what I say.”


  “She sounds sincere,” I said from where I sat. “Maybe we should trust her.”

  Saskia turned to me then, her eyes one of genuine acknowledgement before they changed to one of curiosity. “I can’t read her, what is she?”

  “You don’t need to know the answer to that.”

  She turned back to Bram. “You’re right.”

  “He may not know how to read minds yet,” Bram said. “But he will master it, I’m sure he would have drained someone with that skill set by now. If he learns to master that blood link, you’re in real danger.”

  “I can accept that.”

  Bram nodded. “Were you turned or did you turn by drinking blood?”

  “Turned.”

  “Do you have a skill set you can use against him?”

  “I don’t have the powers of who turned me, no.”

  “You can learn to master it. Focus on your blood link. Who was it?”

  She hesitated, and I wondered why, before she said. “Ektaru.”

  Bram’s expression changed. “He turned you with no questions?”

  “I can be convincing enough.”

  “Ektaru can read minds, he can manipulate you to do whatever he wants. That means you have that power, Saskia. You need to tap into that blood in your veins.”

  “I don’t know how.”

  “You have to try, because if you don’t, you won’t survive this war.”

  I felt for her, she looked genuinely distraught, but it also showed me another side of Bram. A side I didn’t see from afar, one that was usually directed at me. It made me wonder what he was like as a human, was he as kind and compassionate as he was now?

  “I should see if he is ready,” Saskia said, excusing herself and leaving us alone. Bram looked to me, a sad smile on his face, before he joined me on the lounge.

  “So tell me straight, how bad is it?”

  “Is what?”

  “Whatever you promised to do for him.”

  “Knowing Frankie, it could be a lot.”

  “I don’t want you to owe him, I can’t lose you again.”

  He took my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, before wrapping me in his arms. The comfort I felt was second to none, instantly I felt at home in his arms… but that could be all pulled away from me in an instant.

  For the first time in my life, I was truly scared.

  THIRTEEN

  Bram

  I closed the door behind me, leaving Saskia and Frankie in there. Seeing Frankie bleeding from the nose and ears told me how difficult it had been to find Bastien, but he’d succeeded. He found the Alchemist responsible so now all we had to do was track him down and get him to reverse the punishment.

  Easy as pie, or so they say. I knew convincing an Alchemist to reverse a punishment was going to take a lot of work. I needed help, and I knew Frankie wasn’t going to leave the safety of his hidden mansion so I had to do what I always hated and call on an old friend.

  “What did he ask you to do for him?” Mae asked me, as I joined her on the other side of the veil. I sat down on the rock close to the waterfall and sighed.

  “It’s best left to discuss at a later date,” I told her, not wanting to worry her. Frankie had indeed asked a great favor of me, and I intended to uphold it, but it wouldn’t take effect until well after we found Bastien. That was the most important thing here. Mae needed her stepfather back. “Our Alchemist lives in France.”

  “So back to France we go?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  As I took Mae’s hand, I looked back at Saskia standing in the window. She’d asked me to reach out to her family to let them know she was okay. I knew of Hunters, and I knew they were not pleasant to my kind, and yet she had assured me they would not hurt me if I told them the truth. She asked me to find Phoenix. An old acquaintance from way back, and not one I’d want to trifle with either. He had a fierce hunger for blood, but from the way Saskia spoke, he had become a little less bloodthirsty. Still, I’d rather not endanger Mae any more than I had to, she would always come first.

  “Ready?” I asked. She hadn’t time to respond before I sped our way through the countryside of Wales and toward the airport.

  ◆◆◆

  Paris, France

  The streets were as busy as ever, as I tried to navigate with Mae, toward the apartment building I knew this damned Alchemist lived in.

  Marques Dubois.

  I’d heard of the Dubois family of Alchemists but never met one. It was an old family, older than some of the royals still living, and one reported to date back to one of the first Alchemists. Even Frankie had been impressed with the status of this Alchemist.

  Which could only bode well for Frankie to gain more power. Had I done the wrong thing by involving him?

  Possibly, but I couldn’t care about Dubois right now, he needed to release Bastien before it was too late.

  I opened the door to the apartment building and let Mae in. We climbed the stairs together, looking for 3D. Finally, we came to the door, and instantly, I was repulsed with the smell of willow in the air.

  “Asshole.”

  “What is that smell?” Mae exclaimed, holding her nose.

  “It’s the ash of a tree which can be lethal to Nosferatu,” I told her. “Just don’t touch anything in there or get too close to him. He could try and attack.”

  I kicked down the door, to reveal a room that looked like an Alchemist’s lab. Flowers from around the world hung in jars, with potions and herbs lining the wall. The willow scent was stronger in here, but no Marques.

  “Mae, stay close to me.”

  She did just that as we made our way through the apartment. Marques was standing by the doorway to his balcony, a stake in his hand as well as a potion in the other.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  “Maron?” Mae said from behind me. “Is that you?”

  “Mae!” he exclaimed. “What brings you to Paris?”

  “You know him?” I asked, surprised.

  “Of course, he’s my mother’s friend.”

  “I see,” I said, realizing that Amabelle was behind Bastien disappearing after all. “And does Maron know your stepfather?”

  “Of course he does.”

  Marques looked to me, worriedly. “Is Amabelle here?”

  “No, she’s not.”

  “Good.”

  “Did she ask you to get rid of Bastien?”

  “No,” he said. “Why would she? But with him around, Am and I couldn’t be together.”

  “She doesn’t love you, Maron,” Mae said. “She never loved you.”

  “You’re wrong, child.”

  “Then why are you here and she’s not?” I asked. Marques looked to me, anxiously, then at Mae. “Where did you put him?”

  “He’s where he should be.”

  “I’m not going to ask you again,” I said, calmly.

  Marques was slowly edging away from me, and toward Mae. Before I could stop him, I saw him throw the potion to the ground. A great green smoke filled the air. When I finally cleared the air, Marques had Mae in his arms, a blade at her throat.

  “You can’t stop me now,” he said, viciously. “Amabelle will have to take me as her lover if she wishes to save her child.”

  Mae was confused for a brief moment before she kicked out of his grasp, and wheeled around to look him in the eyes.

  “What?” he gasped. “No, you poor child, now I must kill you.”

  I moved to pull them apart, but I was too late. The stake landed in Mae’s stomach. She stumbled back, the stake was obviously made out of willow, which was poisonous to us. The tree’s properties were sliding through her veins, poisoning her from the inside. I caught her as she fell, and Marques fled.

  “What is happening?” she managed to get out. “It hurts.”

  I pulled the stake out of her, but already I could see the brown lines running up her stomach.

  “Stay here,” I said and I ran for the wall to look thr
ough the herbs and potions he had on hand. Finally, I found the bottle with the word Stasis on it. Running back to her, I tried to tilt her head up but it was a battle. “Mae, I need you to trust me, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said, groggily.

  “This potion will stop the infection from spreading but you won’t be able to move, okay?”

  She nodded slightly, her eyes rolling back in her head. I popped the cork off the top of the glass bottle and tipped it down her throat. Once it was empty, I checked her skin. The brown wasn’t moving anymore, it was still.

  “Okay, don’t be scared, I’m going to find Bastien, and then I’m going to find that little weasel to take this poison out of you. I’ll be back, don’t get scared.”

  I knew she was, but she didn’t show it. My little warrior. Once I closed the door again, I took off after that little asshole Alchemist. He wasn’t as powerful as I thought he would be, but it did seem like he was sneaky, which was the worst kind.

  It took me exactly an hour to track his sorry little ass down, trying to board a train to England. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him into an empty building close by, away from the train station.

  He whimpered as I moved toward him, my fangs extended in fury. “Now, listen here, you little rat. You’re going to do two things for me, and if you don’t I’ll find the most excruciating way for you to die, do you understand?”

  He nodded, still whimpering in fear. Not too brave without his tricks and his potions.

  “Where did you put Bastien Delacroix?”

  “He’s on top of the Notre Dame.”

  “Okay, now let’s go.”

  He moved ahead of me, but he knew better than to run off without me. I could feel his fear coming off him in waves, and to be honest, it made me sick.

  Once we got to the Notre Dame, my heart sank. Crowds were being cordoned off, and fire crews stood trying to quell the flames erupting from inside.

  The Notre Dame Cathedral was on fire.

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  Marques looked to me, with a smirk on his face. “Well, let’s put it this way, he’d be feeling a little hot right about now.”

  “You’re going to release him from your punishment, or I’m going to find a way to extract every finger from your body in a very brutal way, do you understand?”