The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5)

by Jonathan Yanez

  “Always.” Kade grinned. “I’d offer to be one of your vampires myself, but I don’t know how that would work with my shifterness and all. I might be transformed into some bit cat-bat thing. I’d be Bat Cat Man.”

  Sloan burst out laughing at Kade’s remark. “No, you’ve done more than enough. I like you just the way you are.”

  “That’s good.” Kade paused their walk under an archway leading into a residential section of the city. They were alone, under the stars. The sky opened up overhead like a million witnesses to this very moment. “Because I want to ask you something.”

  “Oh?” Sloan let Kade hold her hands. Her green eyes met his orange ones. “If you get down on a knee, I’m going to have a heart attack, if vampires can even have those.”

  “You’re not going to be that lucky tonight.” Kade squeezed her hands. “Not yet at least. I want you to know how much I like you and that I don’t want to see anyone else. You’ve ruined me as far as dating any other woman in the Outland. There’s no way they could compare to you.”

  Sloan’s heart hammered in her chest. Face down a thundering army of vampire soldiers, sure. Attack a cavalry of New Hope soldiers, why not? But ask her to be open and honest with her feelings, and Sloan was a stuttering mess.

  “I, uh … that’s so nice. Thank you?”

  “You’re really horrible at this, aren’t you?” Kade caught her eyes again as they sunk to the ground in embarrassment. “It’s okay. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

  Sloan had no idea how someone could like her. She was usually a mess—dressed in dirty riding boots, with her hair in a ponytail, and not to mention her nonexistent makeup kit.

  “I like you too, Kade.” Sloan tried to think of the exact right words for the moment, but nothing seemed to fit. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time. Maybe ever.”

  “Well, in light of my being so great”—Kade winked at her—“I want us to be exclusive.”

  “Is that the adult way to ask me to be your official girlfriend?” Sloan could feel heat rise to her cheeks.

  “I guess so.” Kade released her hands and dug into his pants pocket with the arm on his non-injured side. He produced a folded white piece of paper and handed it to Sloan. “I was going to give you this, but it seemed a little childish.”

  Sloan accepted the piece of paper with a grin. It was folded into four perfect parts, creases where Kade had refolded the sheet to get it just right. Inside, the paper was one simple question with two options, each distinguished with a check box beside them. The question was: “Will you be my girlfriend?” and the options were: “Yes” and “Yes.”

  Sloan laughed again, shaking her head in amusement. She felt light inside like, just for that moment, she was able to forget about her duties and merely enjoy Kade’s company.

  Sloan raised a playful eyebrow. “What if my answer was no?”

  Kade cocked his head to the side. “Does that mean your answer is no?”

  “My answer’s yes.” Sloan allowed herself to be drawn into Kade’s embrace. “Now get over here and kiss me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sloan

  Sloan sat alone, watching the sunrise over the ocean. Very quickly she was coming to love Azra and its place in the world. After a wonderful night spent with Kade, Sloan had left him in the early hours of the morning to be alone with her thoughts.

  She soon found herself sitting on Azra’s wall, in a nook between the watch stations. Every so often an Azra guard would pass on routine patrol, but other than that, everything was quiet, peaceful.

  “Don’t kill me, I’m not trying to sneak up on you,” Edison’s voice drifted over to Sloan.

  She had heard him coming even before she had seen him. The inventor wasn’t exactly the most stealthy person in the world.

  “Good morning, Edison.” Sloan lifted her feet off the wall’s brick surface and swung around to see her friend. “I was just admiring the view. What’s up?”

  “Well, I’m glad you asked.” Edison handed Sloan a large mug with a top on it that looked like a cap. “Kimberly and I have been experimenting on a substitute for your blood craving. Granted, I don’t think this is a cure, but maybe it will help satiate the cravings so you’ll have to indulge on animal blood less often. At the very least, you can use it if you find yourself in a bind.”

  Sloan accepted the stone mug. By her thumb was a lever that when pressed would force the top open. She thumbed it now, smelling the brew inside.

  Sloan breathed in the aromatic odor deeply. “It smells like coffee. You said Kimberly helped you with this?”

  “Yes.” Edison nodded, squinting into the distance as if he were still trying to unravel the mystery himself. “Kimberly comes from the far north, past the charted Outland where she said her people had a solution for deep cravings. She went on to explain various mating rituals and such, but I tuned her out after a while. She can be very … descriptive.”

  “I know what you mean.” Sloan breathed in the smell of the liquid again. “So, what’s in it?”

  “Well, coffee beans are the main ingredient.” Edison tapped the edge of his chin. “That’s to mask the taste. The rest is an assortment of chemicals and herbs that will hopefully work.”

  “Have you tasted it yet?” Sloan asked, bringing the mug to her lips.

  “Oh, God, no.” Edison shook his head with disgust. “Not after seeing what I put into it. The process was … I should just shut up if I want you to drink it, shouldn’t I?”

  “Yep.” Sloan brought the mug to her lips again, and this time, she let the warm liquid slide past her lips and into her mouth. The texture of the drink was light, with a hint of a coffee taste along with something else Sloan couldn’t place. It tasted like a mix of berries and vanilla.

  “Well?” Edison looked on expectantly. “What do you think?”

  “It’s not bad.” Sloan shrugged and took another gulp. “I kinda like it. What are you calling it?”

  “I let Elwood name it, and that was probably a mistake, but he insisted. He wants to call it coffee.” Edison shook his head. “I understand how that will be confusing, since that name is already taken by actual coffee, but he was insistent. Maybe we can call it vampire coffee?”

  “How will we know if it works?” Sloan looked into the mug, still holding the top open, and swirled the dark liquid inside.

  “We won’t, until you start having another craving.” Edison reached into his pocket and provided Sloan with a flask. “I’ve filled this with vampire coffee, as well. You can carry it with you wherever you go. We may have to adjust the recipe, but it’s a start.”

  “Thank you, Edison.” Sloan exchanged the mug for the flask. She put the container in her pocket. “I know this must have taken a while to make.”

  “Think nothing of it.” Edison rocked back and forth on his heels, pleased.

  A sound of rushing wings interrupted the two from any further conversation. A dot in the sky was coming toward them quickly. The dot soon turned into Cherub’s familiar form. The large grey gargoyle carried someone in her grip, her hands just under the person’s armpits to support them while she flew.

  Sloan did a double take. Cherub was carrying Jack Walker to the wall. Sloan and Edison took a step back. A gust of wind hit them full in the face as she came to rest on the wall beside them.

  Cherub released a stone-faced Jack from her grip. He was different now from when Sloan had remembered him. Despite the short passing of time since she had seen him last, he had grown. Maybe not so much in age, but in wisdom. His boyish grin was gone, his young, eager face lined with the weight of worry.

  When he regained his feet and took in his new surroundings, he managed to weak smile toward Edison and Sloan. “I’m so glad to see you two.”

  “You’re going to make me cry.” Edison flung his arms around Jack, fighting to keep his composure. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

  Jack patted the inventor on th
e back.

  “He’s right.” Sloan stood by as Edison released his grip on Jack. “It’s great to see you. But how? And where’s Abigail? Is she all right?”

  “They’re fine.” Jack looked back at the path he had flown over with Cherub. “They’re coming with the rest of the New Order now. But Sloan, the queen is—”

  “If we could wait to debrief you along the proper channels, that would be best.” Cherub gave Jack a hard stare. “I understand the urgency of your news and the fact that you want to share it with you friends, but let’s do it together.”

  Jack looked over to Sloan for direction.

  Sloan nodded her agreement.

  “Thank you.” Cherub motioned over to a trio of guards who awkwardly stood by, pretending not to listen while they were doing just that. “Kyle, I need you to get Theo and Croft. Have them meet us in the capitol building. George, do the same for Aareth, Kimberly, and Kade. Justin, there’s a party of tired New Order rebels who have traveled all night on the way to Azra. Ride as fast as you can with a party and bring them back safely.”

  All three men saluted and rushed to obey.

  “I understand you want everyone to know at the same time what’s going on.” Jack’s gaze returned to his grim vigil of looking back over the wall toward the path to New Hope. “But we have to hurry. I saw the mage engine. They’ll be here soon.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Sloan

  The trio of Edison, Jack, and Sloan followed close behind Cherub’s quick pace. The gargoyle had donned a long, white cloak to shield her from the day’s rays as they walked down the wall’s steps and up toward the capitol.

  At this early hour, most of the city of Azra was still asleep. Only the very first risers were already walking to the harbor or opening their shops along the city’s main road.

  “How did you know they were coming?” Sloan asked Cherub’s back. “How did you know to go and get Jack?”

  “I didn’t.” Cherub looked over her shoulder. Her deep hood hid every inch of her skin. “Croft had a headache last night as she felt a large use of magic close by. I can fly three times faster than a horse can run. She sent me out to take a look.”

  Jack spoke up. “Yeah, when I first saw her, I felt like I was still in a dream. We decided it was best if I came first. I can tell you whatever you need to know, including the death of—”

  “Not yet,” Cherub warned Jack with a stern scowl. “Wait until everyone is gathered.”

  During the rest of the trip, Sloan caught up with Jack’s training and his life as a member of the New Order in New Hope.

  Before they knew it, they were entering Azra’s capitol building and heading for the room with descending coliseum seating where Sloan had first met Theo.

  When they walked inside, Croft and Theo were already present, the latter rubbing sleep from his eyes. Croft didn’t look like she had ever gone to bed. She was a mess, from her disheveled red hair to her wrinkled black cloak.

  Sloan could only imagine what she had to be going through. She was about to meet her daughters for the first time in years and try to explain to them why she had abandoned them so many years before.

  “Jack.” Theo, ever the politician, was the first to grab Jack’s hand. “Thank you for your service in the New Order and now coming to aid us in our hour of need.”

  “You’re welcome.” Jack released his hand. His stare quickly turned into a gawk as he looked at Croft next. “You … you look a lot like—”

  “Yes, well, let’s just be done with all of the questions at once, shall we?” Croft looked up to where the remaining members of the meeting were piling in. Kimberly, Aareth, and Kade entered through the door. Aareth and Kade looked like they had just rolled out of bed. Kimberly was fresh and rested.

  “Jack!” Aareth quickened his pace down the stairs when he saw his friend. The hard man picked Jack up in an uncharacteristic move. “You’re all right.”

  “I can’t … I can’t breathe,” Jack gasped.

  “Oh, sorry.” Aareth dropped him, grabbing both of Jack’s shoulders in his arms and keeping him at arm’s length. “You look good. I was starting to worry. Where’s Abigail?”

  “Everyone take a seat.” Croft stood in the center of the room. “I understand there are plenty of questions, and we will have all our answers, but please, sit down so we can begin.”

  Aareth and Jack sat next to one another, whispering information. Kade found a seat next to Sloan. “I was going to make you breakfast this morning, but I woke up to an Azra guard shaking me awake, instead of your beautiful face.”

  Sloan was about to respond, when Croft’s commanding voice filled the room.

  “Let’s make this short and simple.” Croft looked each of them in the eyes before she continued. “The time for caution is over. I’m the sister of both Queen Eckert and Leah Nobel, as well as the mother to Abigail and Elizabeth Ahab. I also rule the city of Azra. All of this has been kept a secret until now, but there’s no reason to hide it any longer. An enemy is knocking on our door, and it’s time to shed blood instead of hide truths.”

  Everyone besides Sloan, Theo, and Cherub looked to one another in various levels of shock.

  “Questions can come later.” Croft motioned for Jack to take the lead. “Right now, Jack has information we all need to know. Jack, please.”

  Jack’s eyes were wide as he digested the meal of information Croft had just provided. He cleared his throat to try to buy himself time to gather his thoughts.

  “Eleanor Eckert is dead,” he said. “We suspect killed by Leah Nobel. Fenrick Trillion was murdered the same night. The New Order barely escaped the city. We were hounded by an army of Leah’s latest vampire soldiers.” Jack took a breather, letting his words sink in. “There’s also a railway being built day and night from New Hope to Azra. They have some kind of mage engine on the tracks now. It looks like it’s meant to raze Azra to the ground.”

  A rippled of murmurs echoed through those gathered.

  “We meet them with violence before they can arrive at the gates,” Kimberly said, rising from her seat next to Edison. “We don’t give them an opportunity to use their machine.”

  “Though I agree with Kimberly”—Aareth shook his head in regret—“my pack of wolves won’t be ready, and neither will Sloan’s vampire squad. We were supposed to start turning them today.”

  “So then the question becomes: do we wait and prepare our soldiers and defenses here”—Croft narrowed her eyes in thought—“or do we go now before the enemy reaches our homes?”

  Sloan had remained quiet until now. There was a piece of the puzzle no one had voiced yet. She was a military strategist, and the first rule of strategy was to anticipate your enemy’s moves. Leah would be counting on them meeting her attack, head-on. She would have to understand that as soon as the reports came back to her, the New Order militia had escaped to Azra.

  “If we do go out and fight,” Sloan said, looking to Croft and meeting her stare, “Leah will have a few surprises for us. She’s betting that we leave the safety of our walls. She knows that those escaping New Hope will have seen her mage engine.”

  “She wants us to go out and fight her?” Edison asked as though he was thinking to himself. “But why?”

  “I don’t know.” Sloan stood from her seat to be able to gauge everyone’s thoughts. “And I’m not saying because of that we stay here, but I am saying we should consider that, as well.”

  “We have to go out and fight.”

  Everyone in the room looked over at Kade. He had a faraway glimmer in his eye. As he continued, Sloan could tell he was thinking about his dead and broken family. “Allowing those monsters right outside your walls isn’t an option. Keep them as far away from your people as possible.”

  A hush crept over the room as everyone debated the pros and cons of the situation. What they decided now could very well be the beginning of a victory against New Hope, or defeat.

  Sloan finally broke the tense silence
. “We do both. We meet them on the battlefield and stop their progress, while others remain here and bolster our forces. This is going to be a war, not a single battle. We have to act now but still plan for the bigger picture.”

  “I agree.” Croft once more looked at everyone in the room. “This is what we’re going to do.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Croft

  The meeting was over; her mind was made up. So many years of preparation and it still came down to more plans. Sloan and Aareth would each turn one member of their choosing to harness the paranormal strength inside of them, and then, in turn, others. Edison would stay back and help these soldiers in their transition period. Hopefully, Sloan and Aareth would be back soon to help, but they couldn’t count on that.

  At the same time, Cherub and Kimberly would be in charge of bolstering the city for a siege in case their plan failed. Both gargoyles had voiced their opinions about being left out of the fight, but in the end, they realized they would be the last line of defense with the Azra gargoyles and human guards if they failed.

  Croft would go with Theo, Jack, Sloan, Aareth, and the rest of the Azra shifters. The anxiety she was feeling now as she dressed herself for battle had nothing to do with the battle itself. It was about seeing her daughters again. Jack had assured her Abigail was on her way, and they suspected Elizabeth would be in charge of the mage engine.

  How would they receive her? Would they hate her for what she had done? She couldn’t blame them if they did. In a way, she hated herself for the decision she had made.

  A light knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

  “Come in.” Croft slipped her hands into her metal gauntlets.

  “I just wanted you to know everyone is ready at the gates.” Sloan stepped inside the room. She wore the white colors of Azra with silver armor, her mage sword by her side.