Rebirth of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 6) Page 2

  “You told Prince Draconius how to find Valentine,” I said through sobs, my flames receding back to my palms.

  “I did nothing of the sort.” Hades rose to his feet and settled on the brown leather sofa. He stretched his arms across its back, staring down at me as though he hadn’t just nearly been reduced back to ashes.

  Invisible hands helped me up and draped my cloak over my shoulders. I turned my head to where Nut had to be standing and offered her a smile of thanks. “It had to be you. Nobody else knew Valentine and I met in Koffie.”

  His brows rose, and he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his spread thighs. “Because I’m the only member of the Supernatural Council who noticed you were wearing a reaper cloak or because I’m the only member of the aforementioned group with access to ReaperNet?”

  My mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Think, Miss Griffin.” Hades tapped the side of his head. “Who has the most to gain from the death of King Valentine, and your eventual suffering?”

  I stepped back, holding the edges of my cloak together and shaking my head from side to side, trying to fend off my confusion. The fire behind me snapped in counterpoint to my rapid pulse. Was he trying to trick me into believing he didn’t have a grudge against Valentine?

  Hades folded his arms across his chest, sweeping his gaze down to my bare feet. “And ask yourself what would happen to me if my actions caused you harm?”

  A lump formed in the back of my throat, making me gulp several times in quick succession as I digested his words. That time Hades shoved me into the bathroom, leaving me hungry, thirsty, and hurting for thrall, he had also suffered. I peered down at the Demon King, whose raised brow said he was waiting for an apology.

  “Alright then,” I mumbled. “It wasn’t you.”

  Hades cupped a hand behind his ear. “And?”

  “I’m sorry, alright?” I snapped.

  He patted the seat next to him and raised a hand. Namara rose from her seat, sauntered across the room, and stepped out into the smaller office that led to the hallway.

  I stared at his hand, wondering how on earth I was going to retrieve Valentine’s body from Koffie, and what Hades would ask me to give him if I requested his help.

  “Come on, Miss Griffin.” He continued to pat the seat at his side. “I don’t bite, but perhaps that’s a deterrent for one addicted to thrall.”

  A sharp breath hissed from between my teeth.

  “My apologies for the crudeness.” He raised his palms. “Please take a seat and let me know how I can help.”

  I shuffled toward the sofa, my steps weighed down by the boulder of grief crushing my heart. As soon as I came within grabbing distance Hades pulled me into the seat next to him and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

  Sagging into the half-embrace, I stared at my lap. The cloak gaped open, revealing my pale thighs. How on earth could I ask Hades for a favor after attacking him and accusing him of stabbing us in the back?

  “You really are the most peculiar little creature,” he murmured into my dry hair. “All that power and grace, yet you waste your affection on a child barely out of his first millennium.”

  Irritation tightened my skin, and I blurted, “Can you help me steal Valentine’s body?”

  “I could…” Hades elongated the last syllable.

  I drew back, meeting the mischief dancing in his eyes. Hades was about to ask for something humiliating or stupid as revenge for showing him such disrespect. Straightening, I raised my chin and made a vow to myself that I would consider his demand. “What do you want in return?”

  His gaze dropped to my breasts. “Sleep with me tonight and surrender to the depths of pleasure, and on the morrow, I will present you the corpse of your Vampire King.”

  The words hit like a punch to the gut. “You have to be joking.”

  “You won’t entertain my offer even to save your precious King Valentine?” Hades slid his hand over my bare thigh and leaned forward, pinning me against the sofa. His lips grazed my ear, the puff of his warm breath against my skin spreading ripples of anxiety. “He wouldn’t even have to know. It would be twelve glorious hours of passion, where I would leave you satisfied and fully versed in pleasing a man for when you finally resurrect him from his ashes.”

  His hardness pressed into my thigh, making my flesh want to crawl from my skin. I was sure someone out there might find this the height of seduction, but my pulse pounded hard enough to burst my eardrums. Hades whispered suggestions in my ear that made my blood cry out for vengeance. How dare this infernal creature take advantage of my desperation?

  My nostrils flared and I exhaled hot, labored breaths. It was time to teach him a very crude lesson never to mess with a phoenix.

  I reached between our bodies, running my hands down his biceps and down his waist. When Hades shifted to give me access to his crotch, my insides flared with triumph. Avoiding the organ that demanded my attention, I reached lower, wrapped my fingers around his testicles, and gave them a tight squeeze.

  His entire body stiffened, and half the weight crushing me lifted as though he was ready to bolt. “Miss Griffin?”

  “Yes?” I said through my teeth.

  “It’s customary for women to seize the larger, much firmer organ,” he said.

  “I’m not entirely cruel,” I murmured into his ear. “You’ll need something to fill your pants after I’ve burned off your balls.”

  Hades vanished, reappearing on the mezzanine at the top of the dual stairs. A shudder ran through his body, and he folded his arms across his chest. “No sex, no help retrieving the pieces of Valentine’s corpse.”

  Scrambling to my feet, I reached into the pocket of my cloak and extracted the miniature scythe. “Next time you proposition me, I’ll maim you before announcing it.”

  The door opened, and Namara sashayed inside, followed by a tall figure in a black cloak. The imp swept her hand up to the mezzanine. “My lord, the Mage King is here as requested.”

  Hades leaned over the handrail. “I’m balls-deep in fire users and it’s all your fault.”

  “What did you expect me to do?” said a bitter voice that set my teeth on edge. “We were supposed to capture the phoenix, not bring her into the fold.”

  Adrenaline slammed into my heart and coursed through my veins, making every pulse in my body accelerate. Blood flowed to my arms, my legs, the capillaries of my face, and the edges of my vision clouded.

  Up until that moment, I never understood the concept of blind rage, even after having transformed into a phoenix out of anger and what those people had done to Valentine. The tall man straightened to his full six-foot-six height with his back turned to me, tilting his head up to the mezzanine where Hades stood.

  My teeth clacked, and I glanced at Namara, who now sat behind the desk and winked. I nodded back. Hades hadn’t betrayed me to Prince Draconius—the Demon King already learned that anything he did to me would backfire. Only one other person resented me enough to report my movements to Valentine’s uncle, and that was the Mage King.

  Hades leaned across the railing, staring down at his former ally. “Has it occurred to you that with Kresnik returned from the dead, we might need King Valentine intact?”

  “What are you talking about?” the Mage King spat. “If we allow the phoenix to resurrect him, he’ll kill us both.”

  The thudding between my ears quickened to a drumroll, and magic surged down every meridian in my arms. “Bastard.” I launched myself across the room, the scythe in my hands expanding to its full size. Flames shot out from the curved blade, which made the air ring with vengeance. “You got Valentine killed!”

  The Mage King turned around, his black eyes wide. Shadows rose from beneath his cloak, forming a protective barrier of magic. “What is the meaning of this?”

  I raised the reaper blade in an arc, specks of fire flying from its blade. By now, the Mage King’s magic had formed a black sphere—the same one he’d used to imprison me when I’d w
alked into his and Hades’ trap.

  This time, I wouldn’t be satisfied with slicing off a testicle. This time, I would make sure he never tried to capture me again. My blade swept down, cleaving through the shadow and slicing straight through his chest.

  The Mage King stared down at me with wide eyes and his mouth agape. The rest of his shadows fell away, and yellow flames erupted from his chest.

  Chapter Two

  An arc of crimson fire lashed out from the Mage King’s chest. I jumped to the side, my nostrils filling with the scent of burned blood. My stomach dropped, and I placed a hand over my mouth. What the hell just happened?

  The thin man threw himself against the stair post, screaming loud enough to shake every molecule in the air. Shadows rose from the edge of his cloak, forming blankets of darkness that tried to swallow the flames, but the fire crept around them and spread up the stairs.

  “Stop this,” the Mage King sobbed.

  All the moisture in my throat evaporated, and I stared at the tip of my fully retracted reaper scythe, which still crackled with sparks. I hadn’t been trained in how to use these weapons, so why had it worked for me?

  Flames spread from the stair’s posts to the spindles, racing up the staircase to where Hades stood in the mezzanine. His eyes tightened with disapproval, making my insides shrivel to the size of my fist. It wasn’t like me to lash out—everything had gotten on top of me this evening, starting from the wracking symptoms of my thrall addition, the altercations with Prince Draconius and his henchmen, to Valentine’s death.

  A tight first reached into my ribcage and clenched my heart, stealing my breath. Valentine.

  The Mage King dropped to the wood floor and rolled onto a Persian rug, spreading fire across its burgundy surface. Any reservations or guilt I had about setting this wretch on fire vanished into smoke. Without him interfering with Valentine’s free will, I might have been able to restore him before the Royal House of Sargon had sent Prince Draconius and his ancient warriors to destroy Valentine.

  “You are a dangerous young woman.” Hades’ voice cut through my thoughts.

  As the Demon King sauntered down the stairs, he raised a fist, shrinking the flames into the wood. Somehow, he’d even manipulated the light of the crimson flames to bring out the golden undertones of his skin. By the time he reached the bottom steps, all the fire had disappeared from the staircase, the rug, and his colleague, who lay on his side, panting like a dog.

  Hades gazed at me with eyes that shone with dark amusement. I stepped back. He couldn’t have swallowed my phoenix flames, not when that same fire had turned him to ashes when he’d fought Kresnik.

  My feet turned to lead with the weight of my realization, making the Mage King’s screams recede into the background. I’d resurrected Hades with my blood. Maybe it gave him immunity to my fire. I shook off that thought and focussed on the moment. Even if Hades didn’t care about the welfare of his fellow monarch, he likely cared that I’d damaged his property with my flames.

  “What am I going to do with you?” he said in a tone that suggested he already had a few ideas. Ideas that I would find objectionable.

  I pointed the scythe at the approaching Demon King. “Stay away.”

  His features broadened into a wide grin, and he raised his fists, each of them glowing with crimson light. “I mean you absolutely no harm.”

  “For the love of Logris,” cried the Mage King. “Heal me.”

  Hades glanced down at his colleague, and the line of fire burning through his torso receded into a glowing scar. I sucked in a sharp breath through my nostrils. Why did he get his imp to bring the Mage King here, only to rescue him moments after I attacked him? My lips parted to protest, but the words came out a huff.

  “Thank you, my friend,” the Mage King said through panting breaths.

  He raised his head and glanced down his emaciated chest to survey the damage. A crimson line remained from where I had sliced through his torso, looking like it had been sealed shut with magic. Even the skin around the slash mark was barely reddened.

  My lips tightened. Where was the justice for Valentine?

  “I can only hold back phoenix fire for a limited time,” said Hades.

  The other king’s mouth gaped open. “What?”

  Amusement glimmered in Hades’ maroon eyes, making them look like he was reflecting the crimson flames. “If you would like Miss Griffin to call off her attack and retract her fire, then you must tell her the truth.”

  My brows drew together. “About how he tracked the location of my cloak and told Prince Draconius where to find Valentine?”

  “The whole truth,” Hades said in a voice sharp enough to cleave metal.

  Anguish twisted the Mage King’s face. He raised his head, this time to shoot me the filthiest glower. I clenched my teeth. What did he expect me to do when his actions led to the destruction of my fiancé? Stand there and weep?

  “Call the enforcers and have that creature arrested,” the Mage King snarled. “She has attacked me for the last time.”

  “Very well.” Hades loosened his fist, letting out a flare of crimson light. “I will leave you to Miss Griffin’s lack of mercy.”

  The flames sprouted from the Mage King’s chest, making him howl. “Alright!”

  Warm satisfaction surged through my insides, and I flared my nostrils. “Alright, what?”

  Hades retightened his fist, extinguishing the flames once more. “Why don’t you start with the beginning,” he drawled. “Explain to Miss Griffin how a third-class shadow mage from the proverbial typing pool rose to the rank of monarch.”

  I placed a hand on my chest and glanced over my shoulder for signs of Nut and Geb. While I approved of the torture and confessions of the Mage King, Valentine was still out there, needing my help. I slipped a hand into the pocket that contained his heart, not daring to extract the sphere in case Hades confiscated it.

  Turning to the Demon King, I said, “Will you help—”

  He raised a hand. “You will want to stay around to hear this,” he said in a deep, commanding voice that rooted my feet to the ground. “My operatives in Koffiek inform me that King Valentine’s disembodied corpse is quite safe.”

  “What’s this about?” I lowered my gaze from Hades to the Mage King.

  The thin man’s tongue darted out to lick cracked lips. “My power…” he rasped. “It came from a shadow.”

  I stepped closer, my fingers tightening around the shaft of the scythe. “Whose?”

  He shook his head. “It didn’t identify itself,” the Mage King said through panting breaths. “Centuries ago, when I was a clerk working in the office of the Mage Queen, it melded with my shadow, infusing me with a magic unlike any other I’d experienced.”

  My eyes widened, and I swallowed several times, my stomach fluttering. This had to be the work of Kresnik.

  “You didn’t reject the foreign magic?” asked Hades.

  “Why would I when it gave me everything I needed?” said the Mage King. “When we combined forces, I was likable, competent, irresistible to female shadow mages. Over the decades, it infused me with enough strength to compete for the throne after the death of the previous Mage Queen.”

  Nausea swirled through my insides. Kresnik probably killed the woman to get his puppet on the Supernatural Council. I placed a hand over my mouth. “What did it want in return?”

  “Information at first.” The Mage King rolled onto his side and pushed his emaciated body off the floor. He leaned against the stair post, gulping mouthfuls of air. “Nothing too onerous. It gave me the impression that it was curious about life in Logris, and I was happy to share my knowledge. After I was crowned, it demanded that I help smuggle fire users. I wanted to disengage from it but the wretched thing began leaching my power.”

  Hades and I exchanged glances. The Demon King rocked forward, his features smug.

  “And you didn’t contact one of us to seek help?” asked Hades.

  “It would fo
rce me to reveal the extent of my crimes.” The Mage King dipped his head. “The shadow could take over my body whenever it wished, and made me do things…”

  “Like impregnating women?” I snarled, picturing Clarence, who was also thin and wielded shadows.

  “He forced me to smuggle those children,” the Mage King howled.

  Hades shook his head and tutted. “How sordid.”

  “Why did you betray Valentine?” I asked.

  “The shadow told me it was time for the Vampire King to die,” he replied, sounding broken.

  I bit down on my lip. Valentine’s soul had been right about the dangers of working undercover with Kresnik, but neither of us knew the extent of the madman’s power within Logris. I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a breath. If Kresnik could take control of the previous Vampire King and fool everyone for decades while he worked to undermine our society, it made sense that he would do the same with the Mage King.

  My throat thickened. There was still something I needed to ask. “How long did Kresnik know Valentine was betraying him?”

  Hades placed a hand on my shoulder. “Since Kresnik used King Valentine’s blood to create his preternatural vampires, acting against him would result in every member of his blood-sucking elite force perishing.”

  I shook my head. “Then why kill Valentine now?”

  “Why don’t we ask our shadowy friend?” asked Hades.

  The Mage King drew his spindly legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around his shins. “I only had my orders.” He shuddered. “If I didn’t do as it said, it would make me a puppet for days.”

  “Perhaps Kresnik found a strong enough replacement for King Valentine,” said Hades. “Or he has realized the futility of creating a preternatural army and has embarked on another plan.”

  My lips thinned. Both options sounded dire.

  “Now that you know I wasn’t acting of my own volition, you’ll save me from the shadow, yes?” The Mage King raised his head, staring up at Hades through glistening eyes.