A Dance With Death

S.C. Stokes

Prescient Publishing

Copyright

Author: S.C. Stokes

Cover Art By Bewitching Book Covers

Copyright © Prescient Publishing 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of limited quotations in a book review.

Contents

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

10. Chapter 10

11. Chapter 11

12. Chapter 12

13. Chapter 13

14. Chapter 14

15. Chapter 15

16. Chapter 16

17. Chapter 17

18. Chapter 18

19. Chapter 19

20. Chapter 20

21. Chapter 21

22. Chapter 22

23. Chapter 23

24. Chapter 24

25. Chapter 25

26. Chapter 25 (CONFLICT)

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Chapter 1

Kasey ran as fast as her weary legs could carry her. Winter was in the air, but in spite of the late hour, sweat ran down her brow. A cold, nervous sweat. Her heart pounded with each step and her hands, grasping the Libro Sanguis, trembled. Kasey knew this sensation all too well.

Fear.

If she hadn't seen the vampire army with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. But there they had been, on the docks, container loads of the creatures disembarking from the tanker under the watchful eye of Rhain, King of the Feudal Court. In the face of such overwhelming strength, fleeing was her their only chance for survival.

She looked to her right. Diane Bishop was there. Cal too in his wolf form. She’d never seen him run from anything, but tonight he’d needed no encouragement. The pair kept pace with her easily. On her left, Marion Strang, director of the ADI, was breathing heavily, but managed to hold her own.

Kasey glanced about and did a double take.

Abigail was gone.

The vampire hunter had been with them at the pier, but now she had vanished as suddenly as she’d arrived.

Kasey shook her head. Abbey could still be lurking at the docks for all she knew. Kasey didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind, but Abbey clearly had her own agenda. If she wanted to do her own thing, there was nothing Kasey could do to stop her.

Kasey wondered if this is what Bishop felt like when she went off on her own, running down leads.

Probably.

Wherever Abbey was, she was going to have to take care of herself. With a bullseye on her back, Kasey couldn’t afford to hang around. She needed to go to ground, but first she needed to evacuate Evening Forever. The club they had raided would likely be Rhain’s first stop, and any humans still lingering there were almost certainly going to be fed upon.

Kasey doubted Rhain would react well to discovering the club and his plans to spread Venom through the city had been thwarted.

Under her left arm, Kasey clutched the Libro Sanguis close to her chest. The tome was at the heart of the vampire's plans for the city. Of that much she was sure. The forbidden tome also had significant familial importance to her. It was the only written record the Druidic people had ever made, and it'd been written in blood by the hand of her ancestor, Carys Anglesey, one of the most powerful Druids to ever live.

The Arcane Council had classified it as forbidden, a safe assumption given what Kasey knew about Carys, but if she wanted to know what the Feudal Court had planned, she was going to have to delve inside those pages. She needed to know what they had been looking for. Was it blood magic? Were they trying to improve upon their Venom? Or was there something else nefarious in its pages? A ritual, perhaps.

It was well past midnight in Brooklyn and there were few people in the streets, particularly here in the port district. The nightlife was limited to a few clubs, most of which were several blocks away. The nearest, Evening Forever, Kasey had turned into a disaster zone when she had gone after the Vampire Prince, Marius.

In her mind’s eye, she could still see the surprise in his face as the stake pierced his heart.

She rounded the corner, and the club came into view. Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles were parked around it. The ADI agents were working with a fire crew battling the warehouse blaze.

Wizards and first responders working together; the sight brought a smile to Kasey’s face.

Even as the fire subsided, more sirens materialized by the moment.

As she drew nearer, Cal darted off into an alleyway. Kasey watched him go but said nothing. She had seen him change forms enough times to know he didn't want to be walking around naked in the middle of a police cordon. His pack would still be lingering around here somewhere, and he probably wanted to clear before the first responders asked too many questions about the bloodbath in the club. While the Ninth Precinct was aware of the role they had played, widespread knowledge of the Werewolves’ presence was not something the public had been trusted with.

“Bishop,” Kasey called, gesturing at the scene before them. “We have to get them out of here.”

“It's a crime scene,” Bishop said as she caught her breath. “It still needs to be processed.”

“When they arrive, it's going to be a bloodbath.” Kasey put a hand on Bishop’s shoulder. “We just killed his son and heir. The first time I did that, he put a five million dollar bounty on my head. What do you think is going to happen when his son doesn't meet him and he comes here to find a stake through his heart and his club in ashes?”

“She's right, detective,” Strang said, gripping her battle staff firmly in her right hand. Runes glowed along its length, flickering as she tapped it on the concrete. “Those creatures came by ship. They'll have spent weeks on board and will be starving. Best not give them any easy opportunities.”

“We can't just abandon this place,” Bishop replied, leading the way toward the cordon. “There are people here in Brooklyn. We can't leave them to die.”

“I'm not suggesting we do,” Kasey said. “You know me better than that. The vampires will have to go to ground before it’s daylight. Us staying gives them a reason not to. The city’s best bet is for us to organize ourselves, and that won’t happen if we all die here tonight.”

Kasey slowed to a walk, catching her breath as she went. “That was an army, Bishop. This isn't a skirmish—it's a war. We need to prepare the city to face it. Head back to the precinct. West has the right idea. Get the precincts to band together for added strength and security. Strang, It’s time to gather the Council.”

“I don't need to be told.” Marion held out her hand to stop Kasey. “I’ve spent my life in the ADI.”

“Oh, yeah? And how many vampire lords have you faced in that time?” Kasey asked, cocking her head to the side.

“None,” Strang replied through gritted teeth.

“That's what I thought,” Kasey replied, “but every time I go before the Council, I get slammed for being the doomsayer. The Council might not be willing to say it to my face, but most of you think I have been exaggerating all along. You think I’ve been trying to justify the existence of the task force Sanders gave me. I’m a little tired of it, so I'm not going to report this. You are, Strang. Perhaps they'll take the threat more seriously coming from you.”

“It's not like that, Kasey,” Strang replied as she looked Kasey in the eye. “I came tonight, didn't I?”

Kasey had to concede the point. The director had responded to her call for help. In spite of the hour and the lack of a proper briefing, she’d brought a contingent of the ADI to help turn the tide. But whether she had done that because she thought Kasey was right, or simply didn't want to be chastised by the Chancellor for letting a threat pass by again was yet to be determined.

“Well, I guess we’ll see when I join you later today,” Kasey replied.

“You're not coming?” Strang asked, raising an eyebrow. “You have somewhere more pressing to be?”

“What are you planning?” Bishop asked, stepping in front of Kasey. She raised a hand to stop her from leaving. “I know that look.”

“Nothing like that,” Kasey replied, grabbing Bishop’s wrist and lowering it. “I've been on the run all day. I've been shot, hunted, protested against, and kidnapped. I need to sleep.”

It was the truth, or at least half of it. She also wanted to take a closer look at the Libro Sanguis but she needed privacy for that. The middle of a police precinct or the Arcane Council were not ideal locations to air her family's dirty laundry.

“You can't go home,” Bishop replied. “There could still be bounty hunters out looking for you.”

“I won't be there for long,” Kasey replied. “Kendra has a stronghold in Manhattan. I will head there after I pick up some supplies.”

Bishop’s brow furrowed. “I'll have one of the patrol cars give you a ride back.”

Kasey folded her arms. “And stand watch outside my apartment? I don’t need babysitters, Bishop.”

“You better believe it,” Bishop replied. “If anyone shows up, they'll call in the cavalry.”

Kasey opened her mouth to protest but Bishop’s hands went to her hips.

“Non-negotiable, Kasey. Take the detail, or I'm just gonna wait until you leave and sic them on you anyway. At least this way you get a ride home out of the bargain.”

Kasey let out a sigh. “Fine. I'll take the babysitters as long as it helps get people out of here before we’re all brutally murdered.”

Bishop smiled, clearly pleased at the concession, before she began barking orders to the officers gathering around the scene. If any of them were wondering where the blood-soaked detective had come from, none of them were brave enough to voice their protestations.

Bishop grabbed two uniforms and pointed directly at Kasey. The officers nodded and made their way over.

“Kasey?” one of the officers asked. Her brunette hair was cut short, barely reaching her dark blue uniform shirt.

“That's me,” Kasey replied. “Are you the lucky ducks that scored babysitting duty?”

“I prefer to think of it as protective detail. I’m Oaks.” The officer gave Kasey a wry grin and flicked a thumb over her shoulder. “This is Jones, and that squad car is your ride home. We're ready when you are.”

The few stakeouts Kasey had been on had been tedious in the extreme. No one liked sitting in a car all night, but Oaks was being a good sport about it. Jones looked a little green. He probably hadn't been out of the Academy more than a few months, and Kasey could see why Bishop had picked them. For him, anything would be better than stepping into the club and witnessing the charnel house that was inside.

Some things could not be unseen.

“Let's roll. I could use a little rest and if you two can prevent me from being murdered in the meantime, it would be greatly appreciated.”

“We'll do our level best,” Oakes replied and Kasey didn't doubt her. The more time she spent with the NYPD, the more impressed she had become with their commitment to protecting the city. Even now, when the threat had evolved and included supernatural monsters they hadn’t known existed a few months ago, they didn’t waver.

“Ah, Kasey,” Strang called from behind her. “Aren't you forgetting something?”

When Kasey didn't catch her meaning, Strang pointed at the Libro Sanguis still tucked under her arm.

Kasey looked down at the tome. Its red runes were glowing against the black leather.

She looked up at Strang and shook her head. “Nope.”

“You can't just take that home with you. It's full of the Forbidden.”

The officers exchanged a confused glance with each other, but Kasey clutched the glowing black leather tome tight.

“It might be. It's also at the heart of whatever the court are planning. And seeing as I've been on them the longest, I’m in the best position to work out what they wanted with it.”

Strang frowned, a set of wrinkles forming on her forehead. “Careful, Kasey. If you go down that road, I can't help you. You know what happens to Warlocks. The Council’s position is clear and brooks no exceptions.”

Warlocks, those who dabbled in the Forbidden, found themselves on the receiving end of the Arcane Council’s heavy-handed justice, and there was only one sentence: death.

A shiver ran down her spine as Strang met her gaze. Everything in the director’s cold hard stare told her that Strang would have no trouble carrying out the sentence, no matter who the Warlock might be.

But Kasey knew what the director did not: the Libro Sanguis was full of Druidic knowledge and rituals. It might have reeked of the Forbidden, but if her mother was right, its contents should also contain the ancient rituals of her people. It was also the only record of its kind in existence, penned by the most powerful Druid to ever walk the earth, Carys Anglesey, later known as Carys Bloodborne. The book had incredible potential. One Kasey hoped might hold the secrets to her own struggles with her visions.

After all, she had more in common with Carys than anyone knew. Both she and her ancestor represented the merging of two great Druidic families, and according to Kasey's mother, both of them had been imbued with power during the solstice ritual.

Kasey only hoped the ancient record had something in it that might help her. With the tome clutched tight against her chest, she could feel the latent power within it. No doubt in the wrong hands it could prove dangerous. Kasey's intentions might have been innocent enough, but the Vampire Court had possessed the book for days. Who knew what they had learned in that time.

Druids used blood magic to preserve and strengthen their bloodlines. Kasey cringed at the thought of what the Court might have done with that knowledge.

Strang looked at her, still waiting for an answer.

Kasey nodded. “Of course. I'm simply acting on the Council's errand. You know that.”

“Yes,” Strang said, her hand wrapped firmly around her staff, “but in this, the ends won't justify the means, Kasey. If you dabble in the Forbidden even for the Council, you will be held to account. Not even the Chancellor will be able to save you.”

Kasey had faced death at the Council's charge once before. At the time, the Shinigami Akihiro had been leading the witch hunt. Ever since Sanders had taken control of the Council, Kasey had enjoyed considerably more freedom in her effort to protect the city. Sanders had even created the task force and funded it from the Council’s resources. The thought that the Council might turn on her again made Kasey's stomach twist itself in knots.

“You just focus on getting the Council to gather its forces to face the true threat, Strang,” Kasey replied. “I have no intention of going to the dark side.”

“They never do,” Strang replied as she turned away.

“Night, Strang,” Kasey called.

As she followed the officers toward their car, the director’s words played through her mind over and over. After everything she had done to help, people still didn't trust her. The realization both hurt and irritated her at the same time.

Spotting a loose stone on the sidewalk, Kasey kicked it as hard as she could, sending it skittering onto the road. She wanted to scream her frustration into the night sky, but she had the suspicion the two officers standing next to the squad car might rethink their offer to give her a lift home and head somewhere with a padded cell instead.

“Your chariot awaits,” Officer Jones said, holding open the door.

Kasey affected a mock curtsy before sliding into the back seat.

“Don't worry, we'll get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.”

“We’re a little late for that, aren’t we?” Kasey laughed.

It was well past midnight.

“We won’t tell if you don’t,” Oaks replied, watching Kasey in the rear-view mirror as she put on her seatbelt.

After the night she'd had, she didn't need Strang harping on about the Forbidden. She just needed to rest, recharge, and focus her mind on the problem at hand.

New York might be the city that never slept but at this hour there was less traffic on the roads. Oaks guided the squad car through the city to Williamsburg.

It had taken Kasey a while to find a new apartment. In the fight with Danilo, her last one had burnt to the ground. Unfortunately, the fight with the werewolf had done nothing to improve her rental history. Fortunately, Bishop had pulled a few strings and with her as a reference, her new building had been willing to take a chance on her.

It was one of a hundred things she had to thank Bishop for.

Oaks kept her eyes focused on the roads, but Officer Jones couldn't help but steal the occasional glance at her. The third time he looked at her, Kasey locked eyes with him via the mirror.

“Something I can help you with, officer?” Kasey asked.

He turned a little in his seat. “Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just, you know, I've heard the stories and it’s just a little hard to believe, that's all.”

Kasey slid a little lower in her seat, the fatigue of the day setting in as the squad car rolled quietly through the city.

“Which part?” Kasey asked, though she thought she had a pretty good idea.

“The whole magic thing,” Jones replied. “I feel like we should have known, right? How is it possible that we never noticed?”

Kasey nodded. He was talking about normals. She had often thought the same herself. Witches and wizards went around doing magic all the time, but they had the good sense to do it discreetly. Normals tended to fear things they didn’t understand, and the Council had deemed the supernatural world best kept as a secret. At least until Akihiro had shattered their plans.

“Oh, I think people have always known it was there,” Kasey replied, “like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and fairy tales. There are simply too many accounts to ignore entirely. But it's easier to tell ourselves it’s just a story. That way we don't have to confront reality and the difficult questions that might come with it. People love the idea of magic, but the thought of a witch living next door tends to make them a little uncomfortable.”

“You're saying the Loch Ness monster is real?” Jones asked, his eyes growing wide.

Kasey managed a smile. “She's a placid creature, really, just rather shy.”

“And you're a witch?” Jones asked.

“She's one of us,” Oaks interrupted. “She's bled for the Ninth, and for the city. “

That made Kasey smile. It felt good to have the officer stick up for her. After a day spent with the public railing against her, it was nice to know there were those who felt differently. Together with the Ninth, she had saved a lot of lives.

“Yes,” Kasey began as the car pulled to a stop in front of her apartment. “I am a witch, but if such a thing exists, I am absolutely on your side. Are you really going to stick around all night?”

“Bishop's orders,” Oaks replied. “You get some rest. We've got your back.”

Kasey reached into her pocket and pulled out her pen and notepad. She scribbled her phone number on it and tore off the page.

“This is my apartment's number. If you see anything—and I mean anything at all—you just dial this number and get out of the way.”

“Bishop said—” Jones began.

“I don't care what Bishop said,” Kasey replied, cutting him off. “I've been dodging bounty hunters and vampires all day and I don't want either of you dying on my account. Find somewhere to lie low and if you see something just send up a flare. That's all I need. You hear me?”

Jones shrank at the mention of vampires, but Oaks nodded.

“We've got you, Kasey. Get some rest. We’ll take you wherever you need to go in the morning.”

“Thanks,” Kasey replied. Some rest was just what the doctor would have ordered, if she’d taken the time to ask for their opinion. “I appreciate it more than you'll ever know. If either of you need anything, just call me.”

Kasey slid out of the car and slipped the door shut behind her. Glancing up and down the sidewalk, she didn't see anything out of place.

Pulling her security card out of her jacket, she swiped at the door and the glass doors leading into the lobby parted.

The room was empty but for a coffee table and a few waiting chairs. She made her way to the bank of elevators and punched the call button.

There was a faint ding and the aluminum doors beside her opened.

She stepped into the empty elevator and hit the button for the sixth floor. As the elevator rose, she leaned back against the wall and let out a tired sigh. She looked down at her arms. The red runes on the Libro Sanguis glowed faintly and Kasey felt the urge to open the tome, but she put the feeling aside. Doing so in public was a bad idea.

She might have been alone in the elevator but there was no telling who might be around, or what might happen when she opened the tome. So, she exercised a little caution just in case.

The elevator doors parted, and Kasey stepped out onto the sixth floor. Her apartment was at the end of the corridor on the right.

She just needed to stay on her feet for another minute or two then she could collapse into bed. The presence of the officers downstairs gave her a bit of comfort; she hoped she could get in a few hours of sleep before meeting with the Arcane Council.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Kasey stopped dead in front of her door.

It was open.

Just a crack, but Kasey knew for a fact she had locked it that morning.

Someone had opened her apartment. The fact they hadn’t closed the door after themselves to hide their presence was a little confusing.

Kasey drew on her power and pushed open the door. She had no patience left. If some random had picked her apartment for their B & E, they were in for a world of hurt.

The door swung inward easily on well-oiled hinges, and Kasey stalked into her apartment, scanning for any sign of an intruder.

She flicked on the light.

A small trail of blotches led from the door through her apartment to the couch, where a man lay pressing a red-soaked dish towel to his stomach.

She gasped.

Kasey couldn't help herself. She had never seen him above ground.

Lying there bleeding out on her couch, his lips peeking into the faintest of smiles, was Hades.

Chapter 2

New York's Lord of the Underworld was sitting in Kasey’s living room and bleeding everywhere.

“Welcome home,” Hades said. “I would have bought dinner, but I figured you would have already eaten.”

Kasey’s mouth dropped open. When she’d seen the open door, she had considered a hundred different possibilities, but none of them ended like this. Either Hades was in dire need of care, or this was the most poorly executed booty call of all time.

Kasey swung the door shut, set the tome down on the kitchen counter, and made her way over to her guest.

“What on earth happened to you, and how did you get in? More importantly, how the hell did you know where I live?”

Hades tried to sit up and let out a faint groan before cringing in pain.

So much for the practical joke theory.

Kasey might have had a lot of history with the head of New York's criminal underground, but he was hardly the kind of company she would invite over. Particularly with two members of the Fighting Ninth sitting downstairs. Her unexpected house guest had more outstanding warrants than there were states in the country and despite the goodwill the Ninth Precinct had toward him for breaking the Night Crew siege, they had also made it clear they would not turn a blind eye to his continued illegal conduct.

“A friend can’t make a house call?” Hades asked as he leaned back. He was looking pale. Just how much blood had he lost?

Kasey raised an eyebrow. “Most friends call first. I have a policy for dealing with unannounced intruders.”

“I tried calling,” Hades replied, “but you seem to have misplaced your phone, and at a most inauspicious time too. It seems the Feudal Court were a little upset when I didn't entertain their bounty. I was hosting a marvelous party when a contingent of vampires and thralls hit the Underground. Their masters neutralized my sentries and those drugged out soldiers just tore the place apart. I barely made it out alive.”

Kasey felt a twinge of guilt. Hades had refused to host the Vampire’s contract on account of their friendship. Turns out, the Feudal Court didn’t take kindly to being told no.

Kasey knelt down by the couch. “Here, let me have a look.”

Hades let go of the dishtowel and Kasey gingerly removed it.

Something had done its best to disembowel the Crime Lord. An uneven gash cut across his stomach and blood stained both his slacks and dress shirt, or at least it would have if they weren’t both black. Instead, she could make out the extent of the blood loss by examining the wet sheen coating both. It was considerable.

“You didn't have a healer on staff?” she asked. “That’s not like you.”

“One of the thugs shot him. With everyone else fleeing in the carnage, I couldn’t really ask around, nor did I think it wise to linger.”

“But you have your people, an entire network that could have helped you. Why come here?” she asked, leaning in to examine his injuries.

“Kasey, you wound me. I thought you would be glad to see me,” Hades replied. “I got your message and thought to myself, Hades, booty calls are beneath you but for Kasey, I'll make an exception. I got here as quick as I could.”

She shook her head. She had called Hades looking for help dealing with Marius and his Feudal Court lackeys. Clearly bleeding out wasn't affecting his libido.

“Listen up, Casanova, I found the Feudal Court's lair. That's why I called. I thought you might be interested. I wasn’t summoning you to my penthouse though I find it fascinating that you’d brave the surface to stop by.”

She was teasing him, but he’d started it. She found it far more likely that after his underground retreat had been raided, Hades had some doubts about his own operation. Coming here was likely his way of staying off the grid. If he went to one of his own safe houses and his people were compromised, the Feudal Court could simply follow him there.

Which was a problem as his wound needed to be cleaned and sealed and the first-aid kit Kasey maintained at home was hardly equipped for this sort of trauma, on account of the fact she spent more time cutting up dead bodies than trying to prevent the living from joining the departed.

“Marvelous,” Hades replied with all the mirth he could manage. “You found their lair. I found all their minions. Together we make quite the team.”

“Yes, next time I need someone to drown the vampires in blood, I'll be sure to let you know. Speaking of, we need to seal you up before you bleed out and I don't have the supplies I need. We’re going to need to find a hospital or a healer, fast.”

“No,” Hades replied, gripping her arm. “No hospitals. Just seal it with magic so I don't lose any more, and we’ll find someone to cross the t's and dot the i's later.”

Kasey sucked in a deep breath. She was afraid he’d say that. She never considered herself much of a healer. She’d just never had the practice. Due to her studies, she understood how the body functioned and that gave her something to work with, but there was no substitute for experience and the gulf between healing a few scrapes and bruises, and trying to keep Hades’ entrails from becoming his ex-trails, was too large.

“You asked for it.” She wouldn't have taken the risk but for the fact that Hades seemed liable to bleed out if she didn't do something soon. Kasey closed her eyes, held her hands over the wound, and whispered, “Iacháu.”

Warmth flooded from her hands as arcane power bathed the wound. Kasey kept her eyes closed. She didn't need to see the wound to know what she was doing. In her mind's eye, she could see it vividly and starting above his left hip she knit the flesh together inch by inch, closing the wound as she went. There was a sharp intake of breath as Hades fought off another groan.

Kasey had been pushing herself all day and badly needed a rest, but Hades didn't have the luxury of time. So she dug deep and worked the intricate magic with every iota of concentration she could muster.

The last inch of the blood-soaked wound knit itself closed and Kasey opened her eyes. Hades was still a bloody mess but the wound itself was closed.

“There we go,” Hades said. “I knew you had it in you.”

Kasey studied her handiwork. “It's a start, but you do need a real healer and some antibiotics. Who knows what kind of infection you might get from a vampire.”

Hades nodded. “You’re not wrong.”

“A transfusion wouldn’t go astray either,” Kasey replied, eying the mess he’d made of her couch and carpet.

“All in good time.” He managed a weak smile. “For now, let us enjoy the moment.”

“The moment?” Kasey shook her head. “How about you tell me how you know where I live and how you broke into my apartment? And I warn you, if I get any creepy stalker vibes from you, I’ll finish the job the vampires started.”

“Easy, tiger,” Hades said, raising both hands. “When the Feudal Court placed a bounty on your head, I wanted to make sure I could render assistance if it was needed. It’s hard to ensure I have reinforcements on standby if I don't know where they'll be needed.”

“You have men here? In my apartment?” Kasey asked, looking around. She hadn't checked the bedroom or the bathroom but if there were a dozen goons sitting on her bed, Hades was going to need more than a healer.

“They’re laying low, outside. As for how I got in, I'm a wizard, you know. A locked door isn't really much of an obstacle, now is it? Besides, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I left the door ajar so that you would know someone was here.”

“That's very thoughtful of you,” Kasey replied, sarcasm dripping from her every word. “Nearly scared the life out of me when I got home after midnight and followed a trail of blood through my brand-new apartment.”

“I'm sorry about the carpet,” Hades said. “I'll get you a new one. But for now, we need to talk.”

He eased himself off the couch and began to stand.

“Are you sure that's wise?” Kasey asked, placing a hand under his elbow to steady him.

“I want to get cleaned up,” Hades said, and seeing he wasn’t backing down, Kasey guided him over to the kitchen sink.

Even half dead, Hades’ vanity still got the best of him.

He leaned over the sink, turned on the tap, and began washing his arms and hands.

“If they came for me, it means they're serious about you, Kasey. When I didn't host the contract, they assumed I was siding with you.”

Kasey winced as she realized just how great a price Hades had paid for his loyalty. His underground fortress had been gutted, his people scattered, and he'd almost lost his own life. Perhaps she had been a little hard on him.

Kasey grabbed the soap and handed it to him. He applied it liberally, the running water slowly purging the blood from his olive skin.

“And anyone who isn't with them is against them. They are taking out your support system, Kasey, and they will come for you. You can't stay here. That's why I came. I wanted to warn you. If they're willing to hit the underworld, your little guard detail isn't going to stop them.”

“How did you know?” Kasey asked

“I can smell a lawman a mile away,” Hades replied with a grin. “Occupational habit.”

Kasey raised an eyebrow and he burst out laughing. “I'm kidding. My team saw them arrive. But like I said, well intentioned as they might be, do you know what vampire’s call two police officers?”

Kasey shook her head.

“Dinner,” Hades replied. “It's not safe. Particularly not at night when those creatures can move freely through the shadows. You need to get somewhere safe and wait out the sunrise.”

Kasey placed both hands on the bench and leaned over it. She just needed a break, but her day was only getting worse.

She wanted to believe she had seen the last of the vampire’s new drug. Venom, as Vida had called it, had the capacity to turn a perfectly normal human into a nightmarish version of the Hulk. The thief at Casimir’s had been capable of tearing the steel security grills out of a concrete wall.

Having destroyed their manufacturing facility and burning out a truck laden with the drug, she had hoped she might be free of it.

But if the vampires that hit the Underworld were backed up by Venom-fueled thugs, then clearly the vampires had stockpiled some of it elsewhere. Hades was right. She couldn't stay here. The vampires might not know where she lived but if Hades had found her, they could too. The Courts’ resources were vast, and they had proved highly capable adversaries.

Not surprising, given they had had hundreds of years to perfect preying on others.

If Hades was this concerned about Marius and his thugs, she wondered how he might respond to the news of their king's arrival.

“What is it?” Hades asked. “I can see it in your face. You're holding out on me.”

“I found out what they are up to,” Kasey replied, trying to stifle a yawn. “They were manufacturing the drugs that create their little super soldiers. I tracked the vampire master to a club in Brooklyn. That's why I called you. I was looking for some extra hands on eliminating him.”

“You found Marius?”

Kasey stepped back. “Wait. You know who he is? And you didn't tell me?”

“I only just found out for myself. If I had known he was in town, I would have taken greater precautions. When they attacked the Underworld, I knew who I was dealing with. Marius is one of the Court’s more dangerous Crown Princes. Rhain’s chosen heir, the two are more alike than they are different. He is also Alistair’s older brother, and here to avenge his death.”

“He is also very dead,” Kasey replied. “We got him.”

Hades stopped. “Wait, you killed Marius?”

“I certainly did. Drove a stake through his heart, and I took his little book as well. So whatever Frankenstein experiments they have been conducting, we put an end to those too.”

Hades looked at Kasey and then at the black leather-bound tome resting on the kitchen bench and shook his head.

“What's up?” Kasey replied. “I would have thought you would have been happy. The creature responsible for sacking your lair is dead.”

He let out a sigh. “It’s not that. It’s just, only you could kill an heir of the Feudal Court, have a bounty placed on your head, and think the best course of action was to knock off another.”

Kasey shrugged. “I didn't really have a choice. The guy was already gunning for me, Yesterday, he was inciting a mob. If I left him any longer, he’d have turned the whole city against me.”

“Rhain is going to be pissed,” Hades replied, “when he hears what happened.”

“Safe to say he's already there. He will have found the body already, but on the plus side, we drew him out of hiding.”

Hades might have been pale already, but he went white as a ghost. “You what?”

“After we killed Marius, we chased down the stragglers and they led us to the port. We got there just in time to find a container ship unloading an army of vampires. They were all bowing to a creature that seemed to exude darkness. I figured that had to be Rhain. Was I wrong?”

Hades turned off the tap. “It just doesn't make sense. Rhain never leaves his fortress. It’s the reason he’s survived this long. At his seat of power, no one can make it through the web of minions, fortifications, influence, and allies to knock him off. Why would he come here and risk everything?”

“That's what I want to know,” Kasey replied, pushing her hair back out of her face. “They came by ship, though. So clearly they have been planning this for a while.”

“That and vampires don't really travel on commercial planes. Not in those sorts of numbers. They're up to something.”

Kasey leaned against the counter. “Uh huh. They have been taking a foothold in the city for months. They used their minions, the Night Crew, to sink their teeth in, then expanded their operations using their medical clinic and organ transplants to gain favor and influence. Now they've bought an army. I think they mean to take over the city and use it to establish a foothold here in the United States.”

“As far as theories go, it's a good one,” Hades replied, looking for something to dry his hands.

“I'm afraid you destroyed my only hand towel,” Kasey said with a shrug. “Sanders seems to think that they are seizing the opportunity after Ainslie's death and Akihiro’s attack on the city to make a play. Perhaps they think we are weak.”

“Vampires do tend to thrive on anarchy,” Hades replied. “They use it to sink their teeth into a country's power structure. They turn anyone they can to their cause and use their money to buy others. They have never had much success here but if they could take Wall Street, they’d control the country’s financial markets.”

“A problem for another day,” Kasey replied. “I need to get some rest, meet with the Council, and figure out how we are going to deal with this.”

“This isn't a case for you to solve,” Hades replied. “If Rhain is here, it's already a war. And you can't just take a nap here. You need to get somewhere safe, now. Council headquarters, police precinct. Anything is better than this.”

Kasey groaned. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to sleep but in her heart, she knew Hades was right.

Glancing at the clock on the microwave, she realized it was still at least three hours till dawn and next to Hades’ Underworld, her apartment was child’s play. Not to mention all the innocents that might be hurt should they get caught in the crossfire.

She could head to the Council but with the Libro Sanguis in her possession, she'd have to risk giving it back and she just couldn't do that, not yet. Not without being able to take a closer look at it. Deep down, she knew her feelings about the tome weren’t just about the vampires; she had a personal stake in it. The history of her people was contained in the tome, and she couldn't afford to let the opportunity pass her by. The precinct was similarly not an option, not while Hades was with her.

“If you're here, I suppose that means you didn't have anywhere else to go,” Kasey ventured, hoping the crime lord might have a safe house of his own.

“I'm still trying to work out what has been compromised,” Hades replied. “We could use one if we had to, but I'd rather not. They are the first places the Court will look. Any locations connected with me and my organization might have been compromised.”

Kasey had an idea. There was one person she could turn to. She had lost her phone yesterday, but she had committed the number to memory. After all, if there was one number you never wanted to forget, it was the billionaire heiress who felt like she owed you a favor.

Kasey picked up the apartment’s phone and dialed Kendra Harrington.

In spite of the hour, Kendra answered on the third ring.

“Hey, it's me Kasey. Sorry to call so late. Things got pretty messy out there.”

“I heard,” Kendra replied. “I just had a call from Bishop.”

“Oh,” Kasey said. She hadn’t anticipated that.

What was Bishop doing reaching out to the heiress?

“Yeah,” Kendra continued, “she briefed me on the situation and asked me to hold off on mentioning anything in the media. She thinks it will send the city into a panic.”

Kasey paced through her kitchen. Bishop had a point. It was hard to announce the presence of an army of vampires in a way that wouldn't throw the city into utter chaos. A monster here or there was one thing, but an army of them was quite another. Confronted with the truth about an army of vampires people would lose their cool and she couldn’t risk the public turning the streets into a war zone.

“She's probably right,” Kasey said. “People won't know how to react, and if things turn to anarchy, the military might be deployed to restore order and given what I witnessed yesterday, things are still too fresh. The Council won’t want to risk the rest of the magical community being grouped into the threat.”

“Perhaps, but the creatures haven’t come here for peace. Sooner or later, there will be bloodshed. We need to be ready.”

“I agree,” Kasey replied. “It's one of the reasons I'm calling. I need somewhere safe to lie low and get some rest.”

The phone went quiet for a moment. “Not that I mind, but why not head to the Council or the precinct?”

Kasey let out a long low breath. “Things are complicated. I can't do either. Not yet anyway. Is there any chance I can borrow that safe house you mentioned?”

“Of course,” Kendra replied. “My home is yours, you know that. Just try to leave this one in a better state than the last one.”

“That’s setting the bar pretty low.” Kasey laughed.

“I guess I just know better,” Kendra replied. “I’ll come to you. Where are you now?”

“I'm at my apartment in Williamsburg.”

“Are you mad?” Kendra replied, her voice rising an octave. “There are people looking for you.”

“I know, I know. I just needed a few minutes’ rest and thought I could get away with staying the night. But things have changed. One of my friends is here. He's hurt, and he thinks the vampires are after him. Can you extract us?”

“What's the address? We’re on the way.”

“Thanks, Kendra,” Kasey replied and gave the heiress her new address.

“Keep your head down and don't do anything rash before we arrive.”

“Why would I do a thing like that? It’s—” Kasey began.

“I know you,” Kendra replied, cutting her off. “Keep your head down.”

Kendra hung up, and Kasey placed the phone back on the receiver. Turning to Hades, she managed a tired smile. “Well, that's sorted out our accommodations. They should be here in a few minutes.”

Hades scratched at the nape of his neck. “Let’s hope that we have that long. In the meantime, are you going to tell me what the deal is with your glowing red friend here?”

Kasey looked down at the floor. She couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't tell anyone.

“That's not what you think,” she muttered, not convincing herself, let alone Hades.

Hades tapped the counter beside the Libra Sanguis. “Even I can feel the latent power coming from it. What are you doing running around with a tome full of the Forbidden?”

Kasey fixed him with a stare, but she was fresh out of energy.

“I'm not one to judge.” Hades held up his hands in mock surrender. He leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping to a whisper as he said, “I always suspected there was a bad girl tucked away in there somewhere.”

“You never give up, do you?”

Hades chuckled. “It's how you know I'm alive.”

Kasey poked her finger into Hades' chest and pushed him back another six inches. Looking him in his hazelnut eyes, she smiled. “You couldn't handle me.”

“Oh, but I'd love to try,” Hades replied in a voice that oozed such sultry confidence it should have been illegal.

“Don't make me leave you here.” Kasey turned away before she could get herself into any more trouble.

Hades took a step toward her but the phone on the counter rang.

Saved by the bell.

Kasey reached for the receiver. Before it even made it to her ear, another phone began to ring. It was Hades’.

Her heart sank.

“That can't be good,” Hades replied, echoing her own feelings as he reached for his pocket.

Kasey lifted the phone off the receiver. “Hello?”

“Kasey!” Oaks panicked voice filled her ear. “They're coming!”

Chapter 3

Oaks went silent, but Kasey was already considering her relatively limited options.

“Stay down,” Kasey told Oaks. “Whatever you do, don't draw their attention. Help is on the way.”

Kasey jammed the phone back on the receiver. Hades didn't even answer his phone; he didn't have to.

“We need to move,” Hades said as he made his way to the door. “If we stay here, we will be caught like rats in a trap.”

Kasey looked around the apartment and considered her options. They could barricade themselves in and try to hold out until Kendra arrived but that brought the fight here, to her apartment where her neighbors had no idea what was going on. The risks were too great. If all hell broke out on the sixth floor, she was going to have to pull punches just to avoid the possibility of harming her neighbors in the collateral damage, not to mention the danger if they opened their doors and found a plethora of vampires waiting for them.

“They are already downstairs. How do you suppose we get past them?” Kasey asked.

“I’ll take care of that,” Hades replied. “Let’s go before we’re pinned here.”

Kasey grabbed the tome off the counter, pulled it close, and made for the door. Hades hobbled after her. He was mobile but in his wounded state, he wasn’t winning any sprints either. Kasey yanked open the front door and turned to find him shuffling as quickly as he could to catch up.

As he reached the door, Kasey pulled his arm over her shoulder to help take some of his weight. The normally proud Hades said nothing. Better wounded pride than imminent death.

Together, they shuffled down the hall toward the elevators. Kasey knew she couldn't use them without coming face-to-face with her unwelcome guests but casting a sideways glance at Hades, she wasn't sure he’d make it down the stairs.

As if sensing her thoughts, Hades pointed for the stairs. “Don't worry. I'll be fine. I’ve survived worse.”

Kasey didn’t doubt that. She’d watched in horror as his second in command put three bullets in his back. But Hades had pulled through, against all odds. Death, it seemed, was awfully slow to take him.

Pushing open the emergency door, they made their way down the concrete staircase. Being on the sixth floor, there were twelve flights of stairs between them and the ground floor. If they could reach the city street outside, they were home free.

Grabbing the metal rail, Hades worked his way down the stairs. Kasey slowed her pace and stayed at his side to make sure he didn’t lose his footing.

There were almost at the fourth floor when somewhere below them a steel door slammed into the concrete wall of the emergency staircase. The silence in the staircase was shattered as the intruders filed into it. The shuffling of boots on concrete was deafening as they pounded their way up through the building.

“Dammit,” Kasey whispered, “they've spread out to cover the approaches.”

The footsteps were closing quickly. Kasey had faced enough of the vampires to know she needed to be precise with her magic if she wanted to put them down. Taking off their head or punching a hole through their heart would do it, but everything else would only serve to slow them down.

Her heart raced as the noise rose toward her. She drew on her magic, or what little of it she could muster after the day she had endured.

“Don't,” Hades whispered. “Leave this one to me.”

Hades pressed her up against the concrete walls in the corner of the stairwell. If she had felt cornered before, now she was feeling smothered. Hades stepped in close, until only the Libro Sanguis, held tight against her chest, separated them. Kasey could feel each breath as Hades’ chest rose and fell against the tome.

What was he doing? They were about to be discovered and Hades wasn’t moving at all.

The Lord of the Underworld closed his eyes and whispered, “Mandýas apó skiés.”

Kasey felt the shift as the arcane energy around her distilled into something subtle, and almost imperceptible.

The boots grew closer by the second; they were almost on top of her. Kasey went to speak but Hades pressed a finger over her lips.

“Trust me,” he whispered.

Hearing him speak the words was almost absurd. Hades was as crooked as they came but he wasn’t suicidal. As the vampires drew nearer, Kasey reminded herself that he'd also come through for her more times than she cared to count.

She took a deep breath and waited.

The first figure rounded the bend of the landing beneath them and came into view. He wore a suit and trench coat but the cold black eyes gave away the truth. He was a vampire of the Feudal Court. He mounted the stairs two at a time, almost without a sound. Behind him came two thugs whose broad shoulders had clearly been swollen by a liberal dose of Venom. Their veins ran like blackened spiderwebs through their faces and necks. In spite of their master’s preference for stealth, they were doing their best to simulate a herd of stampeding elephants.

Kasey had to fight to keep herself from lashing out. The vampires’ eyes scanned the staircase and passed right over her and Hades without any hint of recognition.

He hadn't seen them.

Hades smiled. Whatever glamour he had wrought, it was a good one.

The vampire and his thugs trudged past them as they continued their climb. The last thug swayed as he rounded the corner, his broad body coming within inches of striking Hades in the back, but the Lord of the Underworld didn't move an inch. Hades had ice water running through his veins. If the illusion had faltered even for a second, he would have been torn apart.

Once the vampires had passed, Kasey and Hades resumed their descent.

“I didn't know you could do that,” Kasey whispered. “That was a pretty good glamor.”

“One of many talents,” Hades replied without any modesty whatsoever. “You don't get to the top without having a few tricks up your sleeve.

It was a hell of a trick, and it brought with it the uncomfortable reminder that in spite of the time they had spent together, Kasey still had little idea just what kind of wizard Hades was. While her talents lay in raw elemental fury, Hades clearly had a firm grip on the more subtle arts. To work a glamour that good on-the-fly was impressive and something that given a little more time and a few less vampires pursuing her, she would have liked to learn more about it.

“We better keep moving,” Hades said. “Some of them will have taken the lift which means we don't have long before they find out your apartment is empty.”

Kasey and Hades hobbled down the emergency staircase as quick as Hades could manage. He was still a lot paler than she was used to, but he moved without complaint.

They reached the bottom landing and pulled open the door an inch to check the lobby. Kasey's heart sank when she saw the three figures standing in the doorway of her building. The glass doors had been completely shattered, likely the handiwork of one of the Venom-infused thralls. The glass remnants of the doors covered the lobby floor.

“The body corporate is just going to love that,” Kasey whispered. “Looks like they’ll be raising rent again.”

“Two thralls and a vampire,” Hades whispered. “How do you want to play this?”

“I'm open to suggestions,” Kasey replied. “Can you manage another glamour? A little something to help us sneak past them.”

Hades studied the lobby. “Not a chance. The stairs were dark, and we had the shadows on our side. Trying to pull something like that while we’re moving, not a great idea—especially like this.” He pointed at his shredded and bloodstained suit. She was tired, but he had to be running on fumes.

“Then I guess it's down to Plan B,” Kasey said, drawing on her power.

Hades placed his hand on her arm. “And that is…?”

“We take out the trash, and we do it before the others get back.”

Hades smiled. “That's my girl. I'll take Beavis and Butthead. Think you can handle the scrawny one in the middle?”

“You mean the vampire?” Kasey raised an eyebrow.

Hades nodded. “Little scrapper couldn't be a hundred and fifty pounds soaking wet.”

“He's also an undead killing machine,” Kasey replied.

Hades waved a hand dismissively. “I have every confidence in your abilities.”

“And they say chivalry is dead,” Kasey answered as she pulled open the door. “Let's do this.”

As they stepped into the lobby, the vampire and his minions spotted them. In the dead of night, the vampire was making no effort to conceal his identity.

His canines protruded prominently from his upper lip as he hissed, “Kill them.”

The thugs lumbered forward, two grotesquely inflated gym junkies hopped up on as much Venom as they their human frames could endure. It was hard to ignore their imposing presence, but she had to trust Hades to do his part.

Kasey focused her attention on the vampire as he drew a dagger from beneath his suit coat and darted off to the right.

In her peripheral vision, she was aware of the brutes barreling toward her. Drawing on her power, she took aim at the vampire’s chest. She didn't have a stake handy, and even if she did, she was in no state to go hand to hand with the vampire. She pictured the spell she wanted in her mind, a lance of finely honed arcane power carving straight through his heart. Then, accounting for how tired she was, she widened the lance considerably.

“Let's make this one count,” Kasey whispered. “Llinyn ysgarlad.”

The vampire darted forward as the crimson lance struck him in the chest.

Instead of the surgical strike she would normally have opted for, a baseball breadth column of arcane power punched straight through his chest, taking his heart along with what was left of his right lung before boring a smoking eight-inch hole in the lobby wall behind him.

The vampire staggered forward and faced planted into the tiled lobby floor as he slid toward Kasey’s feet.

He was dead, Kasey was sure of it, but his thugs were still very much alive and almost on top of her.

“Lepída skiás.”

The power that coursed from Hades was tangible, as dozens of ethereal blades lashed at the rampaging minions.

Thanks to the Venom, they were inhumanly strong but beneath it all they were still human. The shadow blades moved with clinical efficiency, slitting one’s throat while hamstringing the other. As the injured behemoth fell, another blade plunged through his back, catching him near the heart.

The deadly daggers worked the two thugs over until they ceased moving. Kasey turned to Hades, his arms still moving like the conductor of an orchestra reaching his crescendo. Hades snapped his fists shut and the blades disappeared.

All in all, the fight had lasted all of thirty seconds. The vampires had drastically underestimated them.

Kasey looked at the blood pooling beneath the thugs and turned to Hades. “Little bit of overkill, don't you think?”

“Overkill is underrated,” Hades replied. His voice was cold and distant. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. “Besides, isn’t that your spell still smoking a hole in the wall?”

He had her there.

The thralls were far from innocent, but something about seeing this other side of Hades unsettled Kasey.

With her, he had always been playful and flirtatious. In the back of her mind, she had known there was another side to him. One didn't become a prominent member of New York's criminal underworld through gift baskets and random acts of kindness. Perhaps turning a blind eye to those obvious truths had made it a little easier to work with him.

Kasey looked down at the two dead thralls and the grim efficiency with which they had been dispatched. His gifts were both well-honed and deadly.

“We shouldn't linger here,” Hades said, interrupting her thoughts. “The others will be down any minute. Even if they didn't hear that, we have a minute or two at most.”

Kasey nodded, closed her eyes, and tried to get the image of the shadow blades out of her mind.

“Kendra's people should be here shortly. Let's find somewhere to hunker down outside while we wait.”

As she and Hades crossed the lobby, Kasey noticed two people standing in the ruined doorway of her apartment building.

The officers both had their weapons drawn. Their hands trembled as they surveyed the carnage in the lobby.

“Kasey?” Oaks said, her eyes wide as she spotted the bodies lying in a spreading pool of blood.

“What are you two doing here?” Kasey asked, raising her voice. “I told you to keep your head down.”

“We stayed in case you needed a ride,” Jones replied. He was pale and never took his eyes of the vampire’s corpse still smoldering in the lobby.

“Don’t you worry about that. We have one coming. You need to get out of here. There are more of them, and those things will think nothing of killing either of you.”

The officers noticed Hades at about the same time, their eyes taking in his blood-stained clothes before settling on his face.

Kasey saw in their countenance the moment they recognized him. Their eyes bulged, and their fingers tightened on their weapons.

“What is he doing here?” Oaks asked.

“He came to warn me,” Kasey replied. “Lower your weapons. In this, he is on our side.”

“No, he isn't,” Oaks replied. “There are a dozen warrants out for his arrest. This man is a criminal.”

“This isn't the time or place.” Kasey raised a hand in a stopping motion.

Both officers shuffled back as if they expected to be leveled by some unseen force. The fear in their eyes was haunting.

“Officers, please, I mean you no harm,” Hades said. “True there are warrants, but they didn't prevent me coming to your aid when the Night Crew laid siege to the Ninth Precinct, did they?”

The officers looked at each other, both a little uncertain. Everyone knew what had happened. It was one of the most brazen criminal acts the city had ever seen. Dozens of armed gunmen had assaulted a police precinct. Hades had arrived in the middle of the assault and driven them off. He had also joined the raid on the Shinigami headquarters. For all his vices, when it came to choosing sides, he had chosen theirs.

“We should take you in,” Jones said as he reached for his cuffs. “Let the others sort it out at the station.”

Hades held up a finger. “Officer, please, if you take one more step toward me, it will cost you your life. And that would be a senseless waste. Don't make my men do that.”

Jones paused as he tried to read Hades.

“We don't have time for this,” Kasey said. “The rest of the vampires will be here any second. We need to move.”

“I'm pretty quick on the trigger,” Jones said to Hades. “How do you do with dodging bullets?”

“About as well as you I would imagine,” Hades replied. “Fortunately, I expect my men are much faster. If you don't holster your weapons, I won't be held accountable for what happens to you.”

“You're bluffing,” Oaks said.

“I don’t need to bluff,” Hades said, interlacing his fingers and stretching his arms before him. “I hold all the cards.”

Hades had said his men were nearby, and Kasey didn’t doubt it. There simply wasn't time to entertain this foolishness.

Kasey stepped in front of Hades, shielding him from the officer’s fire. They might be willing to take a shot at the crime lord, but she hoped they would think twice about shooting her.

“Chase, what are you doing?” Oaks asked.

“Saving your lives. Now, move!”

The officers lowered their weapons and Kasey breathed a sigh of relief.

“I don't like this at all,” Oaks said, shaking her head.

“You don't have to like it,” Hades replied. “You just have to deal with it. Believe it or not, tonight we're on the same side.”

Kasey put an arm around the two officers and started pushing them out the door onto the sidewalk.

“Those vampires are going to make him look like a saint, so forget about him and move. Speaking of the vampires, did you manage to count how many of them we’re up against?”

Jones thumbed over his shoulder. “Not counting those three back there, I think there are at least twelve more.”

Kasey's shoulders sagged. “Twelve? You have got to be kidding me.”

“Nope, they piled out of those three vans you see over there.” Jones pointed at a trio of unmarked vans parked along the side of the street.

“They’re empty,” Oaks added. “We checked them before we came looking for you.”

“Good, now get in your car and get out of here,” Kasey replied. “We will hold them here until our backup arrives.”

Oaks turned to face her. “We're not leaving you.”

“I'm not giving you a choice,” Kasey replied. “You’ve done your part. Now it’s time to leave.”

Kasey clenched her fists as Oaks refused to move from the sidewalk. Hades and Oaks stared each other down in a silent standoff.

A series of chimes signaled the arrival of the elevators in the lobby.

Kasey turned to face them as the aluminum doors of both elevators parted, revealing a dozen vampires and their thralls.

The undead and their minions spotted their dead companions, then snapped their gazes to Kasey, Hades, and the two NYPD officers standing on the sidewalk outside.

With a howl that split the cold night air, the mob of vampires charged.

Chapter 4

The vampires charged through the lobby, leaping over the bodies of their fallen comrades without paying them any heed.

“Run!” Kasey shoved the officers.

Jones didn't need the reminder. He raced for the squad car as fast as his legs could carry him.

Officer Oaks drew her service weapon and loosed several shots at the vampires. She might have been a great marksmen, but at three am she didn’t have a snowflake’s chance in hell of landing a fatal shot.

Kasey grabbed her. “It won't be enough to stop them. You have to run. Go, I’ll cover you.”

The officer took a look at the advancing hoard then turned and bolted.

For Kasey and Hades, it was too late, now that they had been spotted. They didn’t have a chance of outrunning the vampires on foot, particularly with Hades’ injuries. Kasey and Hades turned to face the hoard. If they could buy enough time for the officers to make it to their squad car, perhaps they could hitch a lift and make a run for it.

If not, Hades wasn’t limping anywhere quickly.

Kasey considered her options but discarded them as quickly as they came to mind. In these situations, fire was usually her favorite choice. It tended to get the job done. Neither the living nor the dead fared well in an inferno. But she couldn't in good conscience hurl that kind of power into an inhabited apartment building. Whether or not the vampires made it out, the residents sleeping above them would not. That wasn't a risk Kasey was willing to take. Power swirled around Hades as he prepared to make his stand.

“Down,” a voice bellowed.

Without even looking for the source, Kasey threw herself to the ground. The concrete barked her arms as she clutched the tome tight to her chest. A few scratches were the least of her worries. Hades dropped beside her as gunfire erupted from somewhere behind them.

Assault rifles, as many as six of them chattering away on fully automatic, spewed a storm of shrapnel and lead into the advancing vampires. The automatic fire was interspersed with rounds from a high-powered rifle, its report echoing through the street. The Venom-dosed thralls fell swiftly under the unrelenting fire.

Kasey looked back over her shoulder to see six of Hades’ Helldrakes taking up firing positions on the opposite side of the road, covering their employer.

Hades, it seemed, had not been bluffing.

The thralls died a swift and bloody death as the officers reached their squad car and fired up the engines.

The vampires themselves took a pummeling, but while the bursts were deadly for their minions, the inaccurate firepower did little but inconvenience them.

Kasey hurled a fist of force at the approaching horde. It collected two of the creatures, sending them crashing back through a third vampire. Hades shouted something in Greek behind her and the fourth vampire paused, confusion registering in his cold dead eyes. Slowly, his head rolled back off his shoulders as if it had been severed by a fine wire at incredible speed.

The fifth and final vampire raced at Kasey. Still on the sidewalk, she scrambled to her feet. Juggling the tome, she drew on her power, ready to take her best shot, but the creature was close now, barely eight feet away.

Behind her, an engine roared. Kasey was bowled off her feet as Hades crash-tackled her just in time for the squad car with Jones at the wheel to collect the charging vampire.

The squad car slammed the vampire into the building, pinning it against the wall.

The creature hissed and scratched at the vehicle but trapped as it was, it couldn’t get enough purchase to get free.

Jones kept his foot on the gas, holding the creature in place while Oaks leaned out the window and emptied her service weapon into the vampire's chest.

Undeterred, the creature drove its fists into the hood at the seam and tore it clear off the squad car. Raising it aloft, he hurled it at the windshield, shattering it.

“Why won't you die?” Oaks shouted as she loaded a new clip.

A split second before she could fire again, the creature’s head exploded, and the report of a high-powered rifle rolled through the street.

“In the heart, or take off their head,” Kasey shouted over the fray. “Nothing else will do.”

“Get in,” Oaks shouted. “It's time to go.”

The remaining three vampires had recovered themselves and were making their way out of the building a little more cautiously than their companions.

Kasey made it to the squad car first and opened the rear door.

“Get in!” she shouted at Hades.

The Lord of the Underworld looked at the back seat of the squad car and shook his head. “There’s only three left. I think I'll take my chances with the vampires.”

“Are you kidding me right now?” Kasey shouted over the Helldrakes opening fire once more.

“Nope,” Hades replied. “I’ve never ridden in the back of a squad car, and I don't plan to start tonight.”

“Fine!” Kasey slammed the door and turned to Oaks. “You two get out of here, now.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Kasey cut her off. “There are nine of us and three of them. We've got this. Get yourselves to the precinct and let Bishop know what went down here.”

Motion down the street drew Kasey's attention as the vampires stalked toward them. One of them had summoned some sort of shield of hazy black arcana. As bullets hit the shield, they vanished into the mist.

Three SUVs rolled toward her from the other direction. At this distance, there was no telling who was inside them, but they were ignoring any notion of a speed limit as they approached. It could be Kendra and her men, but given the slow and purposeful advance of the vampires, it was possible they were simply stalling while waiting for their own reinforcements.

Kasey looked at the squad car and reconsidered her options. The Libro Sanguis hummed with power under her arm. She couldn't allow it to fall into their hands once more.

Hades flipped both his palms up and a series of shadows coalesced above them. Three orbs came into being above each hand, spinning as they materialized. With a flick of his wrists, he sent all six orbs sailing into the vampires taking cover behind the shield. Four of the blasts dispersed into the mist with no effect. The fifth broke through the shield and caught the leftmost vampire, turning his lower half to dust. It might not have been enough to kill him, but he wasn't going anywhere in a hurry. The last orb sailed through the space the vampire had occupied a moment earlier.

The SUVs screeched to a halt and Kasey knew she was out of time.

Just this once, why couldn’t life give her a break?

The doors of the convoy were thrown open and a dozen security personnel toting rifles stepped out of them. Kasey recognized Kendra's strike team from their uniforms, and she let out a sigh of relief as the dozen men added their firepower to the Helldrakes’.

While the assault rifles Hades’ men were using had an almost tinny clamor to them, the Harrington Industries strike force was wielding a type of rifle Kasey had never seen before. They had an elongated barrel and looked like something out of science fiction. As they fired, they let out a series of suppressed whump, whump, whump sounds that were almost silent as their rounds cut through the air. The vampire’s shield flickered out of existence as the vampire maintaining it ran out of juice. The sheer weight of firepower burned through his capacity as he fell to his knees, clutching his head.

Practitioner over-burn was a fate to be feared. Likely whatever was left of the creature’s brain had been reduced to a puddle of gravy. A moment later, a high-power round relieved him of that concern, along with most of his head.

The combined weight of fire silenced the three vampires in a heartbeat. As their forms went still, Kendra Harrington stepped out of the car. She was wearing active wear and a bullet proof vest. It looked like she’d stepped out of the gym, not bed as one would have expected at three in the morning.

“Kasey, let's go, dear,” she called.

Kasey tapped the squad car beside her. “Head back to the station. Let Bishop know I'm safe. I'll be staying with Kendra while we plan our next move.”

The two officers looked at the private security detail and if they had any questions as to who these people were, they seemed willing to let it slide. Perhaps on account of the dozen vampires they had just been spared from.

Oaks nodded. “Will do. You take care, Kasey.”

Oaks shot a look at Hades but said nothing. He responded with a crisp salute as Jones put the car into reverse and backed out onto the street, leaving what was left of the crushed vampire leaning against the wall. Whoever sifted through the squad car’s dash cam footage was in for a hell of shock.

Hades gestured to his Helldrakes to fall back as he followed Kasey to the convoy.

On spotting Hades, Kendra did a double take and stopped in her tracks.

As she followed Kendra's gaze, Kasey realized she hadn't had the opportunity to introduce them yet.

“Oh, Kendra, sorry, I forgot to introduce you to—”

Kendra cut her off. “I am well aware of who he is. What I’m unclear about, is why he is here.”

Kendra's eyes narrowed on Hades. “It's not often you’re seen skulking aboveground. What, pray tell, is the special occasion?”

Kasey groaned. She really should have expected as much. One of the city's most prominent criminals and one of New York's wealthy elite were bound to be aware of each other's existence. Likely for all the wrong reasons. In calling for help, she hadn't really taken the time to consider the two might have shared a history. In fairness, she'd been up most of the night fighting for her life. Hades’ list of enemies, as extensive as that was likely to be, was hardly at the front of her mind.

“I met Hades while I was on the run. When no one else would help us, Sanders and I went to him for help against the Shinigami.”

Kendra's hand went to her hip. “Yes, but the Lord of the Underworld is not benevolent being, are you, Hades? I am sure you had your price.”

“I did,” Hades replied with a nod, “but in my defense, I didn't know who I was dealing with. In the time since, I'd like to think I have proved myself a friend not only to Miss Chase but also to the city.”

Kendra didn’t move out of the way.

“I was there, in the Shinigami’s lair,” Hades replied through gritted teeth. “I lost good men saving this city for people like you. People who’ll never know, never care the price that was paid.”

“And the price on her head?” Kendra interrupted. “That's already cost me a tidy sum. We all know you clip the ticket on every contract in the city.”

“Kendra, he was the one who warned me,” Kasey said. “What's more, he didn't host it, which is one of the reasons I'm still alive and he was bleeding all over my couch. The vampires are no fonder of him than they are you right now. So please, let him travel with us. I’ll vouch for him. He will prove useful in the coming days.”

“It's the little things that let you know she cares,” Hades added with a smile.

“On second thought, you can leave him here,” Kasey replied, stepping around Kendra and heading for the car.

Hades took a step forward, but Kendra moved into his path. “While I am sure she is kidding, know that I am not. If you are to accompany us, I want your sworn oath that you will not lift your hand against my interests now or in the future.”

Kendra’s was no small ask.

A wizard sworn word carried power. Those who broke their oath severed their ties to the supernatural world, diminishing their power and if they persisted, extinguishing it completely. One did not swear an oath lightly.

Kendra’s request was broad and all-encompassing, protecting her from him now and in the future.

“You would bargain with a bleeding man in dire need of your hospitality?” Hades asked.

“Without a second thought,” Kendra replied, as Kasey slid into the back seat of the SUV.

“Are you coming or what?” Kasey called, anxious to get somewhere she could safely rest her head.

“I am an heiress, not a saint,” Kendra said to Hades. “I have only lived this long by exercising an abundance of caution.”

“Very well,” Hades replied, “I swear on my power that I will not lift my hand against your interests, now or in the future.”

A smile crossed Kendra's face, but Hades held up a finger. “Unless I have the need to protect myself from you. Then and only in self-defense will I act.”

Kendra looked unconvinced.

“As you said, my dear, an abundance of caution,” Hades added with a smile.

Kendra glared at him. “Fine. Don't bleed on my seats.”

Hades made for the back of the SUV, but Kendra got there first. “You can ride up front, where I can keep my eyes on you.”

“As you wish,” Hades replied.

One of Kendra's security detail held the door for him, and Hades clambered up into the seat. The security detail mounted up and the convoy peeled out, leaving the broken remnants of the vampire strike force and one very battered Williamsburg apartment annex.

The convoy moved south, opting for the Brooklyn Bridge as their chosen route back to Manhattan.

“This is going to take us perilously close to the docks district,” Hades observed.

“Indeed, but we aren't the only ones moving around the city,” Kendra replied. “By now, our foes will be aware that we are on the move. And while they can be out in force until daybreak, they will expect us to use the Williamsburg Bridge, rather than pass so close to the shipyards. Do not worry, my men have scouted ahead. The path is clear. We'll be back at my stronghold in a matter of minutes.”

Hades kept his eyes on the road ahead, scanning left and right, seemingly not willing to take Kendra's word for it.

“Interesting weapons your men were using. I haven't seen their like before,” Hades said.

The driver tensed noticeably beside him but kept both hands on the wheel.

“It’s new tech that we've been working on at Harrington Industries. So far they have proved extremely effective.”

“I'll say. What does a man have to do to get his hands on a few of these?” Hades asked. “I’d be eager to get a few for myself.”

“I assumed you already had,” Kendra replied. “A number of pallets have gone missing from our facility upstate. With your reputation in that field, I expected you were responsible.”

All of a sudden, Kendra’s reluctance made sense. As did her demands. Perhaps she had been hoping that by extracting the oath she’d be putting a stop to future thefts in her operation. If Hades was responsible, he was a better actor than Kasey thought as he seemed genuinely surprised by the accusation.

“I regret to inform you that you’re mistaken,” Hades replied, looking back over the seat. “Much to my disappointment. Whoever has their hand in the cookie jar, it isn't one of mine. Now that we’re getting better acquainted, might I be able to purchase a few? I’ll pay retail, of course.”

“You must be delusional,” Kendra replied. “Perhaps it’s the blood loss. We are not getting better acquainted. You’re being tolerated because of your exceptional choice in company. I won't be arming you, not at any price.”

“Might I ask why?” Hades asked, a note of curiosity in his voice.

“Let's start with your reputation and moral bankruptcy,” Kendra replied. “Then there’s the added fact that I simply don’t need your money.”

“There’s no need to be rude,” Hades replied, looking out the window at the East River as they cross the Brooklyn Bridge, “and you may not need my money, but one day you may need my help. Goodwill pays great dividends.”

“Where are we headed?” Kasey asked, changing the subject. The less she allowed the two to spar, the more likely they were to both survive the trip.

“My headquarters in lower Manhattan,” Kendra replied. “It's close to Council headquarters and has been fortified, considerably. Nothing short of a direct assault is getting through the front door.”

Kasey did her best to stifle a yawn. “Sounds good to me. I could use a few hours’ sleep.”

“You could use a day’s worth,” Kendra replied. “If you keep burning the candle at both ends, you are going to run out of wick.”

Kasey recalled the vampire stumbling forward, its brains liquefied by the creature’s overuse of magic. When a practitioner found their breaking point, it was never a pretty sight, but it was far more likely a bounty hunter would end her first.

“I'll see what I can do, but the Council is going to want me in session while they formulate their plans. In the meantime, if I can snatch a few hours’ sleep before then, and take a good look at this, I’ll be better prepared for it.” Kasey tapped the Libro Sanguis resting on her lap.

“What is that exactly?” Kendra asked, eying it the way one might a rabid dog.

“Something the vampires stole from a used bookstore. How they knew it was there, I'll never know.”

“It seems to have an unpleasant aura about it,” Kendra said.

“It's old, and some of its rituals likely border on the Forbidden, but if the vampires wanted it, it was for a reason. I need to work out what that is so I can get ahead of them.”

“They've bought an army, Kasey,” Kendra replied. “If you get in front of them, they are going to steamroll you.”

Kasey nodded. Kendra’s warning was sound. Her usual disposition for tackling problems head on wasn’t going to work while she was this out numbered. She needed to outmaneuver them, and that wasn’t going to happen without some foresight.

“They were coming for this. Whatever they want, this is a crucial part of it. We need to make sure it doesn't fall back into their hands.”

“You said they had it, right? What if they've already got what they need from it?” Kendra asked.

“It's always possible but given it deals with blood magic and I killed the vampire that read it, we best err on the side of caution. I need somewhere safe to hole up.”

“You can have my penthouse,” Kendra replied. “It’s the safest room in the building. Even were they to mount an assault, in the heart of Manhattan only streets from the Arcane Council, they’ll never make it to you before reinforcements arrive.”

“That's kind of you, but any room will do,” Kasey answered, sinking into the leather seat.

In truth, she was already almost asleep. Given a few more minutes of smooth commuting in the climate-controlled SUV and she’d be out like a light.

“No other room will do,” Kendra said. “As for your guest, I will see him safely settled in.”

In the rear-view mirror, Kasey could make out Hades about to speak but sensing the flirtation before he uttered it, she chimed in. “I don't suppose you could spare a healer to look at his wounds? I sealed them, but one of the thralls did its best to disembowel him. I'm gonna need him back on his feet if possible.”

“Not only do you want me to shelter this miscreant, you want me to put him back together? I don't know, Kasey. You're taxing the friendship here.” Kendra's lips peaked upward into a grin.

Seeing the opportunity to torture Hades’ ego a little, Kasey replied. “I hear you. On a normal day, I wouldn’t trouble you, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Hey,” Hades said, “I'm right here, you know?”

“Yes, against my better judgment,” Kendra said, pushing her hair back over her shoulder.

“In all seriousness, with the threat we’re facing, we need all hands on deck, and Hades has connections that neither of us could ever make,” Kasey replied.

“Friends in low places,” Hades whispered just loud enough to be heard. “You just can't beat them, no matter how much money you've got.”

The vehicles came to a stop outside a flatiron style building in the financial district.

“We'll see about that,” Kendra replied, pushing open her door. “We’re here.”

The convoy disembarked as Kendra’s security detail took up positions ahead and behind the heiress. Kasey and Hades followed her as she swept up the stairs and into the building that was lodged on the unusual shaped block between Beaver and Pearl Street. Its stone facade reflected the popular style of the early 1900s.

Kendra’s escort opened the reinforced security doors and led the way into a spacious lobby.

The building, known as One Wall Street or the Beaver Building, had originally hosted a mercantile shipping company, before being occupied by a bank and then New York's Cocoa Exchange. Ultimately, it had been renovated extensively and turned into a residential building. Now owned by Kendra Harrington, it had been converted into a fortress.

At least two dozen armed guards were stationed throughout the lobby. No doubt others were lurking in the offices, behind the front desk. The room’s furnishing was spartan but refined. A pair of steel security doors were set into each wall. They looked a little out of place against the crimson and gold interior.

The building itself had to be fifteen stories tall. Kendra would have no shortage of room to conduct her affairs.

“It's impressive,” Kasey muttered as she took in the chandeliers and rich carpets. “I mean, it's no Villa Maria, but it will do.”

Kendra turned away, but not quickly enough that Kasey missed the haunted look that crossed her face.

Kasey kicked herself. She was tired, but she should have known better. While the trauma of that day had since been eclipsed by other horrors for her, for Kendra it was the day she lost her family. Worse yet, most of them had tried to kill her. The pain of what had transpired there was clearly still hiding beneath her collected exterior.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to,” Kasey began, reaching out to touch Kendra’s shoulder.

“It's fine,” Kendra said. “Don't worry about it. Sometimes it just catches me off guard, that's all.”

When Kendra turned back, her face was its usual collected countenance. She beckoned to two of her men.

“Show our guest here to one of the vacant rooms. The fifth floor would be ideal. I'd prefer he is neither seen nor heard while he is on the premises. Be sure to have someone stationed at his door around the clock.” She leaned conspiratorially toward Hades. “In case you should need anything, of course.”

If Hades took offense, he didn't show it. Instead, he simply affected a slight bow and smiled. “My thanks for your hospitality. I will try not to impose longer than is needful.”

“I'll send a healer,” Kendra said with a curt nod.

Hades and his escort disappeared, and Kendra steered Kasey through the lobby, passing the aluminum doors of a bank of elevators. They stopped in front of an elevator with gold leaf doors. Kendra produced a swipe card from her clutch and slid it over a small panel, and the doors opened.

Kendra handed the card to Kasey and stepped into the elevator. “You'll be needing this. It's the only way in.”

Kendra’s security went to follow them into the elevator, but she held her hand out to stop them. “We'll be fine from here, gentlemen.”

“But Ms. Harrington,” the man protested.

Kendra mashed the button for the fifteenth floor, gave them her best false smile, and said, “Good night, gentlemen.”

The elevator rose swiftly to the fifteenth floor and opened into a small antechamber. On the opposite wall were a pair of white doors.

At first glance, they looked like standard interior doors, but on closer inspection, Kasey realized they both had been reinforced and their hinges were in shielded chambers to prevent them from being removed.

As she and Kendra approached the doors, they swung open.

“Sensor in the card,” Kendra explained.

Kasey got her first glimpse of the penthouse. Her entire apartment could have fit in the lounge room and the heiress had not spared any expense in making herself comfortable. There were leather lounges including recliners and a flat screen TV that looked like it would have fit in nicely in a cinema.

As Kasey walked into the apartment, she realized it occupied the entire fifteenth floor, had breathtaking views of lower Manhattan from balconies on either side of the building, and had a kitchen that could have catered a small party.

“You'll be safe here, Kasey. My men sweep it for listening devices each week. You have a detail stationed downstairs, as well as on the roof above. If you need anything, I'll be in the guest quarters downstairs.”

Kasey looked at the opulence on display in the penthouse. Here in lower Manhattan, it had to be worth tens of millions of dollars. She felt utterly out of place, but she considered the layers of security she’d just passed through and for the first time in days, she felt safe.

“I can't thank you enough,” Kasey said.

Kendra smiled and walked back to the elevator. “You already have, dear. You already have.”

The doors closed behind her, and the penthouse was silent.

Exhausted, Kasey stumbled into the bedroom, threw the Libro Sanguis on the bed, and looked longingly at the pillow.

“Just one more moment,” she whispered. She dragged herself into the en suite, stripped out of her trashed clothes, and left them in a heap on the floor. If she was going to borrow Kendra's bed, the least she could do was not destroy the expensive sheets with whatever trace evidence of her fight with Marius remained.

Kendra had one of those expensive showers that blasted water from a hundred directions. After Kasey’s day, it felt like heaven. Enjoying the pressure, Kasey went to work scrubbing the grime from her skin.

She could almost feel the bed calling to her and didn't want to waste any more time than she had to.

Stepping out of the shower, she toweled off. Wandering into Kendra’s expansive wardrobe, she found a set of pajamas that, while a little long for her, would do the job. After dressing, Kasey leaped head long into bed. Exhausted in body and spirit, it wasn't long before sleep overtook her.

When Kasey finally opened her eyes, she looked reluctantly at the alarm clock beside the bed.

It read 10:05 AM.

She let out a sigh. It was more sleep than she could have hoped for, but likely about half of what she really needed. Frankly, she was amazed that no one had woken her yet. There were decisions to be made, plans to be drawn, and vampires to be dealt with. She almost expected Bishop to be waiting at the end of her bed.

Kasey sat up, swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and stretched. Given the state she'd crawled into bed in, she was astounded by just how good she actually felt.

“Amazing what a quality bed will do for you,” Kasey whispered to herself. Maybe she’d have to invest a little cash in an upgrade. She was just about to get off the bed when her hand brushed across the Libro Sanguis sitting at the foot of the bed where she had left it.

She needed to be getting about her day but something in the tome seemed to call to her. She had dismissed the feeling last night, having been too tired to even think about reading it. Besides, if Casimir knew his business and there was every indication that the purveyor of stolen books did, it was written in ancient Latin. Kasey had no idea how she was going to make heads or tail of it, but still there was no dismissing the urge to open the tome.

Perhaps she could track down Casimir. His gift for languages might be just what she needed and by his own admission, he'd already read from the tome so she wouldn’t be exposing anyone else to its secrets.

Given that time was of the essence, it seemed like the most viable solution.

Kasey would have to get his number off Bishop, but in the meantime, she figured it couldn't hurt to have a quick look. After all, Casimir had survived reading it, and he wasn’t even a Druid.

Curiosity had always been her weakness.

She slid the tome onto her lap and opened the cover, and a plume of black smoke poured out of its open pages.

Chapter 5

Kasey leaned back, drawing on her power, but when the smoke dispersed, a man stood before her.

He just stood there, studying her.

His skin was pale, contrasting the mess of chocolate brown hair that was swept back and stopped just above the nape of his neck. His mustache and beard had a tinge of copper to them and were well trimmed about two inches below his chin. The rest of him made no sense at all. He was dressed in leather amour, and a pelt made out of some sort of animal hide hung off his shoulders.

“I’m still asleep,” Kasey muttered to herself. No other explanation made sense. She reached down and pinched herself just above her left wrist. A twinge of pain shot through her, and she knew the truth. An armored warrior was looming over her, and she was still in her pajamas.

Kasey took one look at the sword strapped to the man's waist, shoved the tome aside, and launched herself at him.

She reached out as she dove for him, only to pass through the man as if he wasn't there.

“What?” Kasey exclaimed as she overbalanced, before topping face first into the thick plush carpet of the penthouse’s floor. She drew a sharp breath, pushed herself to her feet, and whirled to face her attacker.

“How did you do that?” Kasey asked. She'd seen Sanders use magic to allow himself to shift through a wall, but she’d never seen a foe make themselves incorporeal. At least that explained how he had made it through Kendra's layers of security.

“Do what? Make a fool of you?” the man asked. “Quite easily. You did most of the work yourself. I just stood here and watched.”

“Very funny,” Kasey replied as she smoothed her pajamas.

The figure didn't move. He stood there studying her intently but made no effort to draw his weapon.

“Who are you? What are you doing in my room?”

The man held Kasey's gaze. “I wanted to see what has become of our bloodline for myself.”

“Our bloodline?” Kasey replied, circling her unwanted guest.

“Yes, the blood of our people runs in your veins. You can't hide it from me, Druid. I can feel it from here. So much potential, so much power, but so little understanding. How is it that you don't know me?”

Kasey studied the apparition and his unusual attire before her eyes caught the glowing runes on the Libro Sanguis, still lying open on her bed.

Could it be possible? He had only appeared when she had opened the book.

“You're him. You’re Carys Bloodborne.”

The man's eyes flared. “Don't call me that. The normals gave me that name, but it is not mine. “

“No, it's not, is it?” Kasey mused quietly. “It's Carys Anglesey.”

The apparition folded his arms across his broad chest. “Not completely ignorant then. There is hope for you yet.”

Kasey sat down on the edge of the bed. “Look, I'm gonna level with you. I'm a latecomer to the whole Druidic legacy, and I have had a hell of a day these past twenty-four hours. So I'm gonna need you to be a little more helpful and a little less, well, all this.”

Carys scoffed. “You would make demands of me?”

Kasey let out a sigh and grabbed the cover of the Libro Sanguis.

Carys’ eyes went wide but Kasey ignored him. With a flick of her wrist, she slammed it shut and the apparition vanished.

“That answers that question,” Kasey muttered.

It seemed the apparition was tied to the tome itself. That accounted for how he had materialized in the middle of her room without warning. Opening the tome had triggered his presence.

Knowing she could vanquish him simply by closing the book gave her a measure of comfort and some semblance of control, but she was also dealing with a thousand-year-old ghost. Ghosts were uncharted territory for her, Carys being the first she had met. The Academy had had its own ghost, a cantankerous prior headmaster, but the specter had never seen fit to reveal itself to her.

Without warning, Carys rematerialized in front of her. “That was a little rude.”

Kasey sighed. “I suppose that was too much to hope for.”

“You thought you could vanquish me that easily, please,” Carys said with a wave of his hand. “You’re practically infantile. Do not toy with me, child. I will—”

“Can you survive me incinerating it,” Kasey asked, cutting him off before he could finish his threat. “Because right now, I’m willing to give it a shot.”

The specter went a little red in the cheeks. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Careful,” Kasey warned. “You don’t know me well enough to dismiss just how reckless I can be.”

Carys let out a long slow breath and his face returned to its normal vitamin D deficient complexion before mumbling, “Fine.”

“Shall we start over?” Kasey asked. “I think we might have got off on the wrong foot.”

Carys nodded. “That stubborn streak. You are an Anglesey if ever I’ve seen one.”

“On my mother's side,” Kasey said. “My father is a Stonemoore.”

Carys’ ears pricked up. “Another joining of the bloodlines, no?”

The apparition closed his eyes. The energy in the room around her shifted as arcane power enveloped her.

Kasey reached for the tome. By all accounts, in life, Carys was one of the most powerful Druids to ever walk the earth. Even in his incorporeal form, if he had a fraction of his former strength, he would be far more dangerous than she had given him credit for.

If she needed to stop him, the tome seemed her best bet.

“Don't,” Carys said, his voice calm and patient as he stretched forth his hand.

Kasey paused and the arcane energy subsided as Carys opened his eyes.

“You're telling the truth.”

“Why would I lie?” Kasey asked.

Carys shrugged. “Over the years, many have come seeking the knowledge I possess. They have sought to barter, blackmail, and deceive me in order to learn my secrets. I will not be so easily swayed.”

“I have no need to lie,” Kasey replied. “I only learned the truth of my heritage yesterday, so rest assured I'm not trying to steal your secrets. I merely wanted to know why the vampires wanted this tome so badly.”

“Vampire?” Carys asked, a look of confusion on his face.

“The being that possessed the tome before me,” Kasey explained. “He might have been using a glamor though.”

“Oh, the servant of the darkness,” Carys replied. “I didn't give him anything. He learned what he could from my writings, but I would not appear to him. I would never aid such a creature.”

“Servant of the darkness?” Kasey asked. “Why do you call him that? The vampires are a plague to be sure, but I thought they were known in your time also.”

“I call him that because that is his nature. No amount of re-branding will convince me otherwise. His kind bargained with beings beyond their comprehension and were cursed for their ignorance.”

“What kind of curse?” Kasey asked, fascinated.

Carys paced before her. “They were cursed with the hunger that can never be slaked. To be possessed of it is to spend your life starving as you wait for a death that will not come. I imagine it is agony.”

“Oh, death comes alright,” Kasey replied, “it just takes some doing. The vampire who had you, for instance. He is very dead, as is his brother. But now his father and a thousand of his most unpleasant friends and family have come here to my city and I want to know why.”

“A thousand?” Carys shook his head, a strange expression crossing his face.

“What is it?” Kasey asked, drumming her fingers on the tome.

“In my time, they were far less numerous. It does not bode well. There is a balance that needs to be restored.”

“If by balance, you mean a whole lot of vampire ass needs to be kicked, we are in agreement.”

Carys looked down at her and smiled. “Perhaps there is hope for you yet. What do you know of their plans?”

Kasey leaned back on both hands as she considered the question. What did she know of their plans? She took stock of everything she had seen and heard of the creatures since she had become aware of them and their minions, the Night Crew.

“I know they have been building power and resources covertly, trying to strengthen their grip on this city,” Kasey began. “They've been currying influence with those in power. I’ve closed down at least two of their operations but now they have an army and have put a price on my head.”

Carys laughed. “A bounty? What use is such a thing when you have the gift? You see them coming, do you not?”

Kasey looked down at her lap. He was talking about her prescience, and while she had been born with it, it had been silent for almost two months now. She hadn't had a single vision since the day she'd killed Akihiro.

“I don't understand. I can feel it in you. You are Earthborn, as I am. You should have the gift.”

“That's what I keep telling myself,” Kasey replied, pounding her hand on the bed in frustration. “Not the Earthborn bit and believe me, I’ll come back to that. I was born with the gift and saw the visions for most of my life, but I haven't seen one in months. Something is wrong. I can feel it, but I don't know what it is, or how I can fix it.”

She had been banging her head against this precise problem for months now and she wasn't any closer to finding an answer. The closest she'd come was the Sidhe Talora's comments to Noah Sanders. She seemed to think that something Kasey had done had somehow tainted her spirit, but Sanders had vehemently disagreed.

“Arcane gifts don't just dissipate. Something must have happened,” Carys replied, gesturing with both hands.

“Like what?” Kasey raised her voice. “One minute I had them, then they were gone.”

“Perhaps you simply have not been in danger and they were not warranted,” Carys suggested.

Kasey's bitter laugh almost made her roll off the bed. “Not in danger. That's a good one. I’ve had bounty hunters trying to kill me all day. Not to mention the Vampire Master that tried to murder me twice. All that and not one peep from my visions.”

Carys stroked his beard as he considered her response. She was hardly in the mood for his dogged pursuit of her failings, but as she tapped on the pages, her mother's words came to mind and she recalled Carys’ own fate. He was the most powerful druid to walk the earth in a thousand years and had been struck down by a hunter’s arrow. If he had the gift, why hadn't he seen it coming?

“What about you?” Kasey asked, thrusting her finger at him. “If your gifts were so strong, how did you die? Could you not see your death coming?”

“I fought for our people for more than a decade,” Carys began. “I had many enemies and they hunted me relentlessly. In my fatigue, I was taken by surprise.”

“I'm not buying it.” Kasey shook her head. “Something happened to you too, didn't it?”

Carys ran his hands through his hair.

“Stop lying to me and tell me the truth,” Kasey replied. “I'm the first instance of both our families uniting since you. They seem to think I am destined to do great things, but my gifts are already failing me. You've been where I am. Tell me what's happening to me.”

“I can't,” Carys replied, clutching his fist in front of his mouth. “I know what I did to lose my sight, but you are far too young and naive to attempt something so foolish.”

Kasey leaned towards him. “Tell me anyway.”

“No!”

“Why not?” Kasey asked.

Carys turned away and the room fell quiet.

Kasey waited. She'd been in enough interrogations with Bishop to know that silence often worked in your favor.

A long slow minute passed before Carys whispered, “Because I'm ashamed.”

“What have you to be ashamed about?” Kasey asked. “My mother has told me your story. For a thousand years, it's been passed from parent to child across the generations, continents, and the face of the Earth. Our people were misunderstood and the normals persecuted them. You defended us.”

“That is not what history remembers,” Carys replied, looking down at the carpet.

“But it is what we remember. It is what your people remember. It is what your family remembers.” Kasey waited a moment, before adding, “Tell me what happened.”

“I do not want to share that which I am most ashamed of,” Carys said. “No one deserves to have their greatest failings memorialized for all eternity. I have been misremembered enough. As soon as I tell you, it becomes part of our tradition. One day you will teach your child and they will know me, not for my sacrifice but for my failings.”

“If you help me, I will never tell another soul. I swear on my power that it will die with me.”

Carys turned to face her. His eyes were red and if such a thing were possible for a spirit, it seemed as if he were on the brink of tears. “I accept your oath.”

The apparition made a sound akin to clearing his throat, an interesting phenomenon given he seemed wholly without physical form.

“Hear the story of our people, child. I am Carys Anglesey, Earthborn, defender of the isle of Anglesey. Hear my tale.”

The story began much as it had when Kasey's mother had told it. He spoke of the rituals that had empowered him as a young Druid. He spoke of those who had stumbled upon Druidic rites being practiced and misunderstood them. He told of the persecution and killings that followed, and as they approached the end of the record her mother had relayed to her, Carys paused.

“Please, continue,” Kasey asked, knowing that there was more she had not heard.

“Not willing to see my people suffer and our beliefs ground to dust, I diverged from our people’s peaceful path and used my gifts for war. They never asked me to. Some of them were furious about my choices, but I witnessed their pain as husbands buried wives, children were orphaned, and the faithful were run out of villages and towns that they had spent their entire life blessing.

“In my anger, I took many lives. I am not proud of it, but I felt it necessary to prevent the wholesale destruction of our people. We could no longer hide in the shadows, relying on their ignorance to protect us. In the absence of anonymity, I wanted to ensure they feared us. And I succeeded for a time, but as I grew older, I began to fear what would happen when I went the way of all the Earth. Who would take up my mantle and defend our people?

“That was when I made the mistake that all those with power do. I began to bargain for more time. I used my knowledge and power to try to prolong my life and when I reached my limits, I sought for the Forbidden. I sought for power over death. But such a power came with a heavy price. One cannot add to their own life without taking from another. This abuse of my gifts offended the Earth Spirit, and she withdrew from me, leaving me blind to what the future held.

“I grew desperate when I realized what I had done. I had corrupted my soul and she would no longer speak with me. I sought for answers, longing to find a path back. Eventually I turned to the Sidhe, those that know the Earth Spirit best. The Fae creatures could sense what I had done in my ignorance and offered a bargain. They would cleanse my soul and restore my connection to the Earth Spirit in exchange for my fealty.

“In my anguish, I accepted. I told my family of the bargain, and they were furious. My son condemned me for abandoning our people’s legacy for power and having seen what I had become, he took it upon himself to end the threat. He followed me into the woods and shot me in the back.”

Kasey's jaw drooped low. “Your own son killed you?”

“Yes,” Carys replied, “I know it hurt him to do it. But he was not going to let the powers of the Earthborn be used in the Fae’s unending struggle against each other. He came to sit with me at the end. Seeing his pain, I used the last of my power for one final act. Fearing the judgment that was to come, I bound my soul to this book. My body has long since passed to dust, but I remain, hopeful that I might atone for my sins before the day of judgement.”

Kasey was speechless at the enormity of Carys’ revelation. Clearly his son had omitted that particular detail from the record he’d passed to his own children. His patricide wasn't something he wanted to be remembered for.

She was also beginning to see why it had been a thousand years before the two bloodlines were willing to risk joining once more. Carys’ existence had brought power and pain in equal measure.

“How did you know the tome would endure?” Kasey asked.

“I was desperate and had nothing to lose. But having possessed great power, I have come to understand the minds of men. As long as they believe they can profit by possessing my tome, they cannot bring themselves to destroy it. I have lived a thousand years in its pages. I have conversed with kings, wizards, thieves, and murderers. All of them are different but each possess the same quiet lust for power. Some human nature is difficult to change.”

“You changed, or at least you tried to.”

“It was too late for me,” Carys replied, “but now you see why my story does not answer your own problems. I doubt you have dabbled with the Forbidden as I did. You haven't taken another's life to preserve your own.”

Carys was right, she had never tried to steal the life force from another, but she knew someone who had.

Akihiro.

In a moment of perfect clarity, Kasey realized what had happened.

“What is it?” Carys asked.

Kasey leaped to her feet. “That's it. I know what happened to my powers. It wasn't me, at least not intentionally.”

“I don't understand,” Carys replied. “You’ve tampered with the Forbidden?”

“Not me,” Kasey replied. “At least not directly. Last year, a warlock tried to destroy the city. He was the Master of the Shinigami, a Japanese death cult that takes life to prolong their own. He had lived for centuries and he devised a plot to destroy the city, hoping that he could use that mass extinguishing of millions of lives to grant himself immortality.”

“And you were exposed to his magic?” Carys asked, his voice hopeful.

Kasey nodded. “He stored power in an amulet. It gave him incredible stores of arcane energy. I couldn't harm him while he wore it.”

“You're lucky to have survived,” Carys replied, his voice a mixture of pride and incredulity.

“I wasn’t alone. My partner shot him,” Kasey replied. “In the confusion, I got my hands on his amulet.”

“Oh, you didn't.”

“It's not what you think. I used the power to destroy both the amulet and its master,” Kasey said. “It's how I saved the city.”

“And in doing so you channeled the life force of others and tainted yourself,” Carys replied, his voice heavy with sorrow. “Whether you intended to or not.”

“But I didn't kill anyone,” Kasey replied. “I didn’t take their life for my own.”

“And yet your visions are gone.” Carys shook his head. “You might not have known what you were doing but the outcome remains.”

“Can't I do what you were going to do, though? Can I not bargain with the Fae to help restore my connection to the Earth Spirit?”

Carys paced back and forth. “The trouble is finding one of Fae whose interests are aligned with your own. Otherwise, the price they would extract from you might be more than you are willing to pay. I was desperate and had little to lose. You are young and still have your entire life ahead of you. I would caution you against treating with the Fae.”

Carys wasn't filling her with confidence but for the first time in months, she had an answer. And options. However dangerous or improbable, there was a chance she could regain her sight. There was no way that she could simply ignore the opportunity, particularly with the threat of the Feudal Court looming over the city.

The Feudal Court had come for New York City and while she had little idea of their true goal, it was easy to derive from their past forays a clear and hostile intent. Everything they had done had been to bolster their position. Of course, the price they had put on her head gave Kasey a personal stake in the matter.

Whatever the vampires were planning, her sight could help. After all, it had foreseen the carnage the Shinigami had planned to unleash on the city. Surely it would have something to say regarding on the vampires’ plans. Failing that, they would have to gather intelligence the old-fashioned way.

Kasey was fighting her tendency to attack threats head on, consuming them in a storm of elemental fury. She knew better than to try that now. One vampire was dangerous, a handful were deadly, and an army of them would be suicidal.

“I have only ever met one of the Sidhe,” Kasey began. “We aren't exactly close, but I suspect she knows something of my condition. I overheard her speaking about it with the Chancellor.”

“The Chancellor?” Carys asked. “That Ainsley fellow? He was a dangerous sort.”

Kasey’s jaw dropped. Of course, that was how the Libro Sanguis had got out of the Repository in the first place.

“Ainsley is dead,” Kasey replied, “and the being that you knew as Arthur Ainslie was the Shinigami in disguise. I killed him but it cost me my gifts.”

“Now it makes more sense,” Carys mused. “I wondered why someone who reeked of the Forbidden had been elevated to such a position of power. I supposed things had grown dire indeed.”

“He fooled a lot of people,” Kasey replied, standing up. “Whatever you could sense in him, it was not as readily apparent to the living.”

“Perhaps because I'd dabbled in his domain, I was more sensitive to the energy he was using.”

“Or perhaps because you're a disembodied spirit, you can sense things us mortals cannot,” Kasey replied, thinking out loud.

Carys nodded. “That is also possible but let us not get off track. You mentioned the Chancellor.”

“Yes, Sanders is a friend. He helped me unmask the Shinigami and has been helping me try to restore my sight. I overheard him speaking to the Sidhe about it.”

“Tell me about this Sidhe,” Carys said, making his way over to the window. “What do you know about her?”

“I know that she is an emissary of the Summer Court,” Kasey replied. “Beyond that, not a great deal.”

“That is a promising start. The Seelie court are much better disposed toward us humans than the Winter Fae.”

“Well, her name is Talora, she has been assigned to the Arcane Council by Titania, ostensibly to foster an alliance but I suspect her true purpose has something to do with Sanders, who spent a great deal of time with the Fae.”

“Your Chancellor lived among the Fae. You must be wary of him.”

“Sanders is a good man,” Kasey protested. “He has saved my life more times than once.”

“Yes, but the Fae always have their own agenda. If he has made a bargain, he will be bound to keep it. Never forget that. Nonetheless, we should speak with this Talora and see if she can be persuaded to help.”

“I suspect she will be in Council with the others determining what should be done about the vampire threat,” Kasey replied, wandering over to the window to see what Carys was preoccupied with.

“Vampires, as you call them, are slow-moving, insidious creatures. Their longevity gives them a patience other beings cannot afford. While they are jockeying for position, we should restore your true potential.”

“If I go to see Talora, I will be dragged into the planning and preparation. I can't just waltz into the Council, tap her on the shoulder, and invite her out for a chat, now can I?” Kasey asked a slight edge in her voice. For a moment, she was worried she might have offended Carys, but her sarcasm didn't even seem to register.

Then again, she doubted that he had spent much of his existence concerned over social graces.

“Could you not just call her here?” Carys asked.

Kasey thought about it. Perhaps Kendra had contacts within the Council. It was possible that she could send word to Talora and gain the opportunity to speak with her, without getting bogged down in Council politics.

Carys had considered the vampires slow-moving and ponderous; she hesitated to even think what his opinion might be of the bureaucracy that was the Arcane Council. If Sanders wasn't presiding over it, she would never travel within ten miles of the place.

“I could make a call,” Kasey began. “There’s a chance I can reach her.”

“A call?” Carys looked at her with confusion.

Kasey pointed at the phone resting on the bedside table. “A telephone call. You pick it up, dial a number, and you can speak to someone at a great distance. It’s a remarkable invention. It saves both time and money all at once.”

Carys’ face was absolutely deadpan as he replied, “I am aware of what a telephone is. I have been living in a book, not under a rock. What I am struggling to comprehend is why you would bother with the phone when you could simply summon her yourself?”

“Summon her?” Kasey replied, growing quiet as she considered his suggestion.

“You don't know how to summon, do you?”

Somehow, her disembodied ancestor seemed capable of balancing condescension and education with a deftness that would have pleased a tightrope walker.

“Nope,” Kasey replied, “they really don't teach bargaining with Fae at the Academy. For obvious reasons.”

She did her best to match his tone with her own.

“And they still call it an education, humph.” Carys rubbed his hands together. “Well, there is no time like the present. We're going to need a stick of chalk, a Hawthorn bush, and a copy of the original Blues Brothers soundtrack.”

Chapter 6

Kasey stared at the spirit of her ancestor, unsure of how she was meant to respond to his bizarre shopping list.

“By all means, take your time,” Carys said, gesturing with one hand. “I'm already dead, so no hurry here. You, on the other hand, had something of a schedule last time I checked.”

Kasey ran through the list again. It felt like her ancestor was having a joke at her expense.

“You want me to find chalk, a Hawthorn bush, and a copy of the Blues Brothers soundtrack?” Kasey asked.

“Yes, exactly. This is going to take a lot longer if you just keep repeating everything I say. Now, do you want to learn how to summon the Sidhe or not?”

Kasey let out a sigh and picked up the phone. Dialing the front desk, she relayed the specter's bizarre list and hung up. Turning to face Carys, she shrugged. “It's done. They’re going to send someone out for it.”

“Excellent,” he replied. “I must say, my life would have gone a lot more smoothly if I’d had an army of minions ready to do my bidding.”

“So would have mine, believe me,” she said. Her stomach let out a rumble, and she wandered out of the bedroom looking for something to eat. Surely the penthouse had something worth devouring.

The specter of Carys Anglesey followed her.

“Don't get used to it,” she said over her shoulder. “The minions are employed by my friend. I'm still slumming it in a 9-to-5, my whole apartment could fit in this living room, and the list of those I have any supervisory capacity over include one very cantankerous werewolf who will tear you in half should you see fit to make any demands of him.”

The spirit let out a disappointed sigh. “I must say, of all those who have possessed my tome, I would have expected my own posterity to have made more of themselves.”

“You can be a real ass, you know that?” Kasey grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and took a pitcher of water from the fridge. Filling the glass, she raised it at the specter. “Don't push your luck, Carys. You annoy me enough and I'll see you spend the foreseeable future buried in a pile of manure. Tell me, can you still smell without a body?”

Carys took the hint, closing his mouth before his retort had a chance to leave it. Instead, he floated through one of the barstools opposite Kasey, took a seat, and folded his arms in a huff. “Kids these days. They have no respect for their elders.”

“Enough with the pity party. Tell me more about this Earthborn business.” Kasey lifted the glass to her lips. The water was cool and had a hint of something in it, lemon perhaps.

“What do you want to know?” Carys asked, resting his head on his hand.

“For starters, what is it, and what does it mean?”

Carys’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean what is it? You’re a Druid, aren't you? How could you possibly be ignorant of the Earth Spirit and her rites? Were you asleep during your own initiation?”

Kasey thought back to her mother's explanation of the Druidic rituals. As far as she understood, the Druids served the Earth Spirit by siphoning surplus arcane power from the Earth, keeping it in harmony while using its bounty to empower their own capabilities. It was an ancient art, and beings that had the knowledge and ability to do so were rare.

What made Carys special was that he was the child not only of two great bloodlines, but also two empowered Druids. He had been brought into the world with great talent and when he had undertaken his own ritual of initiation, he had become something else. Even among the Druids, he was legend. Was that what it meant to be Earthborn?

Unlike Carys, Kasey had not yet undertaken her initiation. If her mother was to be believed, she had been conceived during a solstice ritual, not unlike those normally used to initiate and empower their kind. Her conception accounted for both her capacity and her prescience and while she might be the closest successor to Carys’ legacy in a thousand years, her parents had taken a vastly different path to get her here.

“There appears to have been some developments since your death,” Kasey began. “Rather than wait for me to grow up and teach me the rituals, my parents got a jump start on things when I was conceived. I was born this way.”

Carys perked up. “You mean, you haven't undergone your own initiation?”

“No,” Kasey replied. “Suffice it to say, I wouldn't know how to do it, even if I wanted to.”

“Then you haven't yet bonded with the Earth Spirit. This is good. If you haven't taken the oath, you can't have betrayed it.”

“What oath?” Kasey asked as she opened the pantry cupboard.

Carys made shooing motions with his hand. “She will speak of it when it's time. I’m amazed you have seen any visions at all. Perhaps your parents are onto something. I like it, treading where others have never gone before. Fortune favors the bold.”

“I'd rather not think about it, if it's all the same to you,” Kasey replied. No one enjoyed the thought of their parents’ romantic liaisons. Add to that a Druidic ritual she knew nothing about, and Kasey was confident she didn't want to let her imagination work on that one.

She found a box of muesli and set it on the counter. She’d seen some milk in the fridge when she’d grabbed the water, so she went back for it and set it on the counter next to the muesli.

“It isn't,” Carys replied. “This changes everything. We can do great things together, Kasey.”

After everything she had learned about Carys, when she saw the hunger in his eyes, she took a step back from him. Had she been too quick to trust the apparition? He knew things she had not even begun to consider, but by his own confession, he was also a killer, and a warlock. He'd had more than a passing interest in the Forbidden.

If it was not so, he could never have accomplished the spell that bound his soul to the tome for eternity. Such insights, she suspected, did not come from casual observation.

Kasey made a mental note to exercise caution with him. After all, she had no idea what his agenda really was. Sure, he had wanted to escape his day of judgment, but an eternity on the earth? He had to be up to something.

“Let's just take things one step at a time,” Kasey replied, fetching a bowl from the cupboard. “Tell me about the Earthborn.”

“The Earthborn are the chosen of Mother Earth,” Carys said. “Some beings seem to walk the path by their nature. The Fae, for instance, are bound to her by their very existence. Others are recruited or co-opted by her as agents. As far as I can tell, only the Druids are among the few who have succeeded in forming their own bond with the Earth Goddess.”

“The rites and rituals,” Kasey said, pouring the muesli into her bowl.

“Precisely. We are bound to her, and she to us. We can wield her power, but we must protect her interests. That is where the sight comes from. She is a being as old as time and has spent the entirety of her existence watching others. She has seen the past, the present, and the future and she shares visions of it with us through our bond.”

“To what end?” Kasey asked, filling the bowl with milk before finding a spoon. “Why does she need us?”

“For protection,” Carys replied. “The old ways and those who follow them dwindle. As does deference for her temple, the earth itself. The Druids help maintain order and at times right the imbalance.”

Kasey considered the attack on New York City. She had seen it in vision since she was a child, but for the first time, Kasey thought not of the millions who might have lost their lives as the city collapsed. Now she saw the devastating tsunamis gutting the East Coast. It was little wonder the visions had been so persistent. The environmental toll could have been catastrophic. Looking back, she realized she hadn’t understood the scope of the stakes she’d been fighting for.

A knock at the door roused Kasey from her thoughts. She grabbed the security card Kendra had given her and made her way over to the door. Turning, she found Carys hadn't moved from his seat.

She raised her hands. “What are you doing? Make yourself scarce. I don't particularly want to have to explain away your presence here.”

Carys slid through the seat instead of rising off it and floated sulkily toward the bedroom.

“Tell me how you really feel,” he muttered.

Kasey shook her head. “No one likes a whiner, particularly first thing in the morning.”

Carys didn't respond. He simply floated through the wall and vanished from sight.

As Kasey approached the reinforced doors, the doors swung inward revealing two of Kendra's staff. Their uniforms bore the same cursive H she had first seen at the Villa Maria. One of the staff was carrying a packet of chalk while the other had a small shrub in a terracotta pot.

“The front desk asked us to bring these up to you,” the man said with the air of someone who was following orders they found unusual.

Perhaps he was wondering why having stayed all of one night in his boss’s penthouse, she was looking to redecorate. Perhaps he was concerned with what she might be planning with the chalk. Whatever he was picturing, Kasey felt confident summoning the Sidhe was potentially far worse for the apartment’s well-being.

And why such a particular request for the Blues Brothers? Wouldn’t any music have done?

Kasey had to admit, she’d had the same thought.

“Just come on in and set them down, if you wouldn't mind,” Kasey said, waving them into the penthouse. “I'll take the chalk though, thanks.”

The staffer handed over a packet of thick white sticks of chalk. Each was a little narrower than Kasey’s wrist. They were the kind that kids in her neighborhood used to draw on the sidewalk, play hopscotch, and leave their favorite artwork proudly displayed until the next storm came to wash it away.

The building staff followed her inside, and Kasey pointed at the dining table. “Right there will be fine. I'll take care of the rest.”

The man set the pot down on the table runner, taking care not to mark what was likely a very expensive dining table. Kendra's tastes in that regard seemed to follow in her family’s footsteps.

Neither of the men seemed to have the soundtrack and she was a little reticent to ask. But Carys had been quite insistent.

“And the music? Any luck with that one? I know it's not exactly…” Kasey paused, looking for the right words.

“It's a classic,” the staffer replied politely, “but the penthouse comes with a fully functioning entertainment suite. Simply ask it what you want it to play, and it'll take care of the rest. I believe Ms. Harrington named it Thea.”

A shiver ran down Kasey's spine. Memories of her day spent at the Villa Maria dodging Kendra's murderous siblings came flooding back. All of it had begun with Kendra’s younger sister Thea’s murderous machinations. Kendra it seemed like to have the last word.

“Awesome. Thanks, guys, I'll take it from here.”

The two staff hurried out, pulling the doors closed behind them.

Kasey couldn't help herself. “Thea, please play Shape of You by Ed Sheeran.”

The first lines of the chart topper started playing from speakers built discreetly into the walls of the penthouse. She was bouncing along to the first few bars when Carys reappeared.

“This isn't the Blues Brothers,” he said with a look that seemed a mixture of anguish and disgust.

Kasey shrugged. “No, but he's from your part of the world. I thought you'd enjoy one of the U.K.'s better exports in recent years.”

“If you're finished messing around, we have work to do,” Carys replied, unimpressed.

“Fine, Thea, kill the music.”

The speakers stopped abruptly and Carys nodded approvingly. “This, I could get used to.”

“Well, don't. You're going to be awfully disappointed when we get back to my one-bedroom apartment in Williamsburg.”

That was of course contingent on the state the vampires had left the place in. Judging by the way they’d handled the lobby, Kasey didn’t have high hopes.

Kasey wandered over to the table and set the chalk down. “So, how does this work?”

Carys looked from the chalk to the shrub. “Excellent. These will do nicely. Bring them with us. We’ll use the bathroom. I dare say the mistress of the house will be upset if we were to deface her carpet.”

Kasey tossed the chalk into the potted shrub and carried them into the bathroom, following Carys.

“The bathroom’s dark tiled floor will make a perfect summoning circle,” Carys said.

Kasey set down the plant and opened the packet of chalk. “What’s the plant for?”

“I guess I shouldn't be surprised that your botanical knowledge is woefully inadequate,” Carys muttered, shaking his head.

“Don't sass me, Carys.” Kasey set two of the sticks down beside the pack.

“Why not? What are you going to do? I’m already dead,” Carys replied.

“Yes,” Kasey answered, “but the quality of your company will determine whether I keep you with me, or send you back to the Repository to spend eternity with the rest of the Council’s dangerous goods. I can find other teachers.”

“Please,” Carys said. “In my time, I was a formidable practitioner and I have spent a thousand years learning since then. I was locked away in the Repository with the Arcane Council’s most dangerous knowledge. Where are you going to find my equal?”

“When it comes to being a condescending pain in my ass, I don’t know that I can. But if you don’t get real helpful, real fast, you're going to find our familial bond won't be enough to save you. I'll torch the tome and send you off to whatever unpleasant fate is waiting for you.”

“Look who learned to play hardball,” Carys said with a nod of approval.

Kasey eyed the specter suspiciously.

“What?” Carys asked, raising his hands. “That Casimir fellow liked to keep a movie playing while he read. I’ve grown quite fond of streaming. They didn’t have that when I was around.”

“Yes, we’ve come a long way in a thousand years. We’ve put people on the moon, eased off on crusading, and are working on equal rights, but I’m glad Netflix has hit the spot.” Kasey shook her head. “So, are you going to enlighten me?”

Carys smoothed a hand over his breastplate. “The chalk is for making the circle. Whenever we summon, a circle is used to bind whatever entity is being drawn into our realm. Creatures from beyond the veil are treacherous. Most of them are capricious, dangerous, and have been alive for longer than you and I put together. If you have sufficient power, you can bind their will to yours, but be careful you don't overestimate your abilities. Losing such a contest of will can be fatal, or worse.”

Kasey didn’t want to consider what that meant right now. “And you think all this is easier than simply calling the Council, or sending a messenger?”

“I'm sure of it. The process is both informative and will help you avoid unwanted eavesdroppers. Our people faced resistance because of their power. Others fear what they don't understand. It's best that those around you remain unaware of your true potential. This avoids the need to answer any of their irritating questions and teaches you the basics of summoning, something that you should have been taught years ago.”

Just what I need, someone else in my life who can tell me all the reasons I've neglected my arcane education. Not like I'm not aware of it already.

She considered responding to the comment, but let it slide. Instead, she grabbed a piece of chalk.

“What now?”

Carys pointed at the bathroom floor. “We need a large circle. I suggest three tiles by three tiles. In a proper laboratory, we would use something more permanent as a base. Brass or copper tend to make for good summoning circles. Chalk works well, albeit as a temporary measure.”

Kasey began to draw the circle, but Carys interrupted her.

“As round as you can. Use the outer edge of the tiles for the guide.”

“What do you think I'm doing?” Kasey asked.

“Failing kindergarten art class,” Carys replied. “The more effort you put in, the greater the focus. The greater the focus, the more centered your mind, the more likely your summons will succeed. The devil, as they say, is in the details. A perfect circle, if you will.”

Kasey grabbed a hand towel, wet the corner, and erased one edge of the circle before starting over. After several minutes, she had a circle that measured up to Carys’ exacting expectations.

“Very good.” Carys beamed with pride. “Now place the Hawthorn inside the circle.”

“What is it for?” Kasey asked. “Bait?”

“No, it's a gift. We don't wish to try and bind the Sidhe to your will. Who knows if you would even survive the attempt. But the Sidhe are all about making deals and keeping their obligations. If you give a gift in exchange for the inconvenience of bringing her here, she ought to spare your life.”

“Ought?” Kasey asked. “You're guessing? At a time like this?”

“You know her better than I,” Carys replied defensively. “I assumed a lady of the Summer Court would have no latent hostility toward you. A gift, and a thoughtful one at that, should curry goodwill sufficient to appease her. If we are lucky, she will feel an obligation to assist you in the remainder of our task. Though that is being optimistic.”

“Why Hawthorn?” Kasey asked, studying the evergreen’s leaves.

“Hawthorn has great significance in the supernatural world and is sacred to the Fae. I expect it will endear you to the lady of the Summer Court. It is the best I could do on short notice.”

Kasey nodded. There was an understated elegance in a thoughtful gift.

For all his arrogance, Carys was clever, or at least wile.

“And what task would we require of her?” Kasey asked. “You've been a little hazy on the ritual part.”

“Oh, that's simple enough. We want her to conduct you to the realm of the Fae to a site of power sufficient for your initiation to be undertaken, imbuing you with power, purging any trace of the death wizard’s magic and allowing you to enter into an oath with the Earth Spirit.”

“Oh, just that,” Kasey said, struggling with the magnitude of what they were asking. Carys had run through the list with all the care of someone reciting their shopping list, but somehow Kasey didn't expect it would be that simple.

“The Sidhe might expect a price of you. Be wary what you bargain, Kasey. An oath, once entered, must be kept. While you’re at it, consider carefully the words you use as the more malicious Sidhe, particularly those born of Winter, have a tendency to keep the letter of their agreement, while ignoring the spirit of it. You mustn’t give her too much room to maneuver.”

Kasey nodded along to Carys’ explanation but saw a hole. “And where does the music come into it? Why the Blues Brothers?”

Carys smiled. “Oh, that was for me. The 70s were great, and the Blues Brothers were a cultural triumph.”

“You've got to be kidding me.”

“Not at all. Here, check this out,” Carys said, a look of giddy glee on his face. “Thea, play Sweet Home Chicago, by the Blues Brothers.”

As the music began to play, Kasey raised her voice over it. “Thea, shut it down.”

The music cut off abruptly.

Carys looked at her in disbelief. “What? You could be gone for hours. I just wanted something to enjoy by myself while you're gone.”

“Fair enough,” Kasey said. “You wait here. I'll be back in a moment.”

“Why? Where are you going?”

“To get changed. If I am meeting the Sidhe, I'm not going to do it in my pajamas, and I certainly don't want an audience.”

Kasey made her way out of the bathroom. She had no idea what weather to expect, but New York was still treacherously cold. On reaching Kendra’s expansive wardrobe, she slipped out of her pajamas and found what had to be one of the few pairs of jeans Kendra owned and a t-shirt that would do. The Harrington heiress was a few inches taller than her, so they weren't the best fit, but they were better than she’d hoped for.

Slipping on the shirt and a heavy parka, Kasey found some socks in a drawer and went looking for suitable footwear.

At the end of the walk-in was a wood panel door with a handle. Kasey pulled it open.

A light flickered on, revealing a ten-foot square room in which every wall was lined with racks of shoes. There was everything she could imagine from stiletto heels to sneakers, and several sets of heavy-duty boots. Kasey opted for the boots. Sitting on a stool, she laced up the boots and checked herself out in a full-length mirror on the wall.

She found something lumpy in the pockets of the parka. Reaching in, she discovered a matching set of gloves.

“You really do think of everything, Kendra,” Kasey muttered with a smile.

Closing the door to the heavenly trove, Kasey made a way back to the bathroom. Carys was sitting on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth. On each swing, they passed neatly through the cabinet as if it wasn’t there, re-emerging once more on the return. It was a strange sight.

“Alright, let's do this,” Kasey said, staring at the circle. “How do we do this exactly?”

“Well, we know her name, perhaps not her full name, but it should narrow the field,” Carys said. “You also know a little about her and where she serves. So will power into the circle, sealing it, and then speak loudly and clearly. You must use her name, three times, along with the words, I summon you. Add whatever qualifiers you might wish for, and wait.”

“That's it?” Kasey asked, a little taken aback at the simple nature of the task.

“It is for today,” Carys replied. “Normally, I would instruct you as to how to try and bind her to your will, but that would be detrimental to our goals. One does not begin their initiation ritual by co-opting the spirits of the land to do their bidding. We must bargain and hope she is feeling diplomatic. When she arrives, release the binding of the circle, so that she knows your intentions aren't hostile.”

Kasey rubbed her hands together. “Anything else?”

“No. After that, it's all on you.”

She remembered the last time she’d met Talora, and how it had felt as she had unwittingly matched her will against Titania. She had been completely floored by the Sidhe monarch’s sheer being. It had been like trying to stop a tornado with a sheet of paper.

Kasey looked at the circle, with the Hawthorn shrub inside it. She was summoning one of the Sidhe. What could possibly go wrong?

As she stared silently at the circle, the response kept echoing through her mind.

Everything. Everything could go wrong.

Chapter 7

Silence settled over the top floor of what had once been New York City’s Cocoa Exchange and what was certainly one of the nicest places Kasey had ever stayed. Compared to the motels she and Sanders had hid in during their days as fugitives, it was practically a palace.

And she was about to summon a Sidhe, magic she’d never before tried and with only Carys’ hurried explanation to guide her. Apart from the harm that could come to her, Kasey also worried about the damage she might do to Kendra’s new headquarters. The heiress’ goodwill would only stretch so far.

Kasey stared at the neat chalk circle and couldn’t believe that she was considering performing the summoning. It just didn’t seem like the sort of behavior a reasonable guest should entertain, but Kasey had always preferred asking for forgiveness rather than permission.

Besides, she needed help, and like it or not the Sidhe Talora seemed like her best bet.

“What are you waiting for?” Carys asked. “She’s not going to summon herself.”

“Are you sure?” Kasey replied, sarcasm dripping from each word. “That would certainly make things easier. Probably safer for the apartment too.”

“You’re not wrong,” Carys said. “I’ve seen you conjure, and your aim could use some work. Don’t worry, we’ll work on that later.”

“When did you see that?” Kasey glared daggers at the apparition who managed a smug grin.

“During the fight with Marius. I didn’t adopt this form at the time as I didn’t want to add to the confusion.”

That was news to Kasey. It must have been the same trick he used to disappear when she’d closed the tome. Interesting.

“Watch it, or I’ll be practicing on you,” Kasey said. “Do spirits burn?”

Carys shrugged, seemingly unconcerned with the threat. “Probably something you’d want to know the answer to before you tried. Now are we going to do this or not?”

“Fine, let’s get it over with,” Kasey replied, turning to face the circle. She was procrastinating.

“Remember, you must state the name aloud, three times. Enunciate clearly, and with authority. Focus your mind on your memory of her and infuse your words with your will. Do not get distracted. There are countless creatures beyond the veil that would love to hijack your summoning should you be careless. Such creatures would use your summons for an easy bridge into this world. Needless to say, that could be bad.”

“Bad?” Kasey asked. She’d had enough experience selectively sharing the truth to recognize when the specter was hiding something from her.

“Yes, bad. As in unpleasant, adverse, unfavorable, regrettable, perhaps even terminal. So let’s not do that, shall we?”

Kasey turned back to the circle with a gentle shake of her head. “Yes. Let’s not.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She recalled the first Council session when she had seen Talora in her true form. The Summer Sidhe had an inhuman beauty that was difficult to forget. It was one of the reasons she’d loathed the time the Sidhe had been spending with Sanders. Burying her jealousy, Kasey locked that image in her mind before opening her eyes.

“Talora,” Kasey called, imbuing the circle with her a flood of her will.

She dared not look in the mirror. It felt strange enough speaking to an empty circle. Watching herself do it was bound to break her concentration.

“I summon you.” The words rang loud and clear in the echo chamber that was Kendra’s bathroom.

The bathroom was still and quiet. Three times, Carys had said. That was what it would take.

“Talora, emissary of—” Kasey paused as the memory of Titania the Queen of Summer flooded into her consciousness. The magnitude of the Sidhe monarch’s will had almost left her unconscious. There was no way she wanted to risk uttering the monarch’s name. With that, she adapted her summoning on the fly, continuing, “Emissary of the Summer Court, I summon you.”

Still the room was quiet, the circle filled only with the evidence of her failure.

Kasey could feel Cary’s judgment, even without looking at him.

Ah, the fruit has indeed fallen far from the tree. She could almost hear his disappointment in her mind.

Closing her eyes one more time, she drove the distraction from her mind, replacing it with her memory of Talora.

“Hear me, Talora,” Kasey shouted. “I summon thee!”

As the words left her mouth, Kasey could feel the power ringing in every syllable but when she ceased speaking, the room was still.

Kasey let out a low sigh. She had hoped for more. A lot more.

A sharp crack of thunder pealed through the bathroom. Kasey jumped, almost losing her footing.

Her heart lodged in her throat, and she opened her eyes to find the slender form of Talora standing inside the chalk circle.

The Sidhe turned slowly, taking in the room before her eyes lowered to the chalk circle at her feet.

Talora came face to face with Kasey and folded her arms.

“You would bind me? My dear foolish child, I knew you were overconfident in your abilities, but this is reckless, even for you.”

“Huh,” Kasey muttered, still suffering from shock that the summoning had actually worked. As she recovered from her win, Carys’ instructions played through her mind.

“My errand with the Council does not require me to endure this embarrassment. You would be wise to-”

Before Talora could finish the sentence, Kasey released her mental grasp of the circle. As an added measure, she leaned forward and dragged her foot through the chalk line, breaking it completely.

Talora watched with keen interest as the circle was broken.

“Intriguing,” she said, her melodic voice filling the room. “This I was not anticipating when I came to Council today. Who has taught you of our ways? Sanders? Surely not, he ought to know better.”

“No,” Kasey replied, looking about but not finding Carys anywhere. “Sanders doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”

“A little hurtful,” Talora said. “I expected as much. I’ve had little opportunity to speak with you since joining the Council. Which I thought unusual given your curiosity. I suppose I should have expected as much from him. He is consistent in his distrust, in spite of all we’ve helped him accomplish. Gratitude, as they say, is a virtue.”

What Sanders had to be grateful for, she wasn’t sure, but he had certainly been adamant that they could find another solution to her lack of visions. At least he seemed to believe so. Sanders had been stringently against bringing the Sidhe into the matter. Kasey hesitated to think of how he would react to her current course of action.

But she couldn’t allow Sanders’ disapproval to deter her now. She’d come too far.

“I would have come to Council myself, but I doubted Sanders would have given us the chance to talk,” Kasey said, folding her arms.

“Clearly you have acquired other assistance.” Talora pointed at the now broken circle. “I wouldn't have considered this within your realm of experience.”

If Carys had chosen to absent himself, Kasey didn’t want to give away his presence. “What can I say? I am broadening my horizons.”

Talora stepped out of the circle and looked around the richly furnished bathroom. “Considerably. For a human dwelling, this is quite lovely.”

The understatement brought a laugh out of Kasey. “It belongs to a friend. I needed somewhere to lay low for the night. The vampires seem determined to have a piece of me.”

“Nasty creatures,” Talora replied. “Can you believe they genuinely wanted to be a party to the Arcane Covenant? They would kill us as soon as look at us, but they had the audacity to want to sit down at the table anyway. Fortunately, your forebears had the foresight to block their attempt. Had it gone to a vote, I dare say the outcome might not have been the same. Those creatures bank influence and favors like your kind bank wealth. Obligations never expire. It makes them particularly dangerous.”

Kasey knew the broad strokes of the forming of the original Arcane Covenant. She had been researching its history since working for the Council, but Talora spoke as if she had been there. Vampires might view humans as little more than livestock, but witches and wizards were their sworn nemesis. Their feuding had begun at the first Arcane Congress centuries ago. The Sidhe, it seemed, were not subject to mortality in the same manner humans were, or perhaps simply because they spent so much time beyond the veil they didn't age.

As much as Kasey was curious and wanted to delve into history, she had more pressing matters at hand. She needed a favor from the Sidhe and she had no idea how she was going to secure it. Or more importantly what it might cost her.

“Yes, they certainly are. And they’ve brought an army here,” Kasey replied. “To deal with them I need your help.”

Talora cocked her head to the side, regarding Kasey with interest. “And you meant to acquire it with this shrub?” Talora gestured at the Hawthorn bush. “Even if the Summer Court was interested in open conflict with the vampires, the payment required would be beyond your means to procure. Besides, we have battles of our own to see to.”

Kasey leaned against the bathroom counter. “You've got it all wrong, Talora. The plant is simply a gift. I thought you might like something to add a bit of life to your office. The Arcane Council aren't really known for their interior design, and I thought perhaps a spot of greenery might brighten the place or remind you of home.”

Talora strolled around the plant, regarding it with the same wary apprehension a mouse might regard a piece of cheese sitting on a mouse trap.

She wanted the plant, that much was obvious, but as Carys had suggested she was all too aware of the obligation receiving such a gift might incur. Getting something for nothing was a human concept, one the Sidhe couldn't abide.

Talora was doubtless wondering what manner of favor she would have to grant in order to balance the scales. Given she had mentioned the vampires, Kasey supposed the Sidhe’s reluctance to accept the gift was based on a fear of obligation in that matter.

“To be clear, I don't need you to go to war with the Feudal Court,” Kasey added. “They have come for us and we will respond, but I need your help on a personal errand.”

Talora folded her arms. “Your sight isn't what it once was. Sanders mentioned it. He has been so busy searching for a cure that he has neglected my Queen’s requirements of him. An unwise course of action.”

Kasey seized the opportunity. “Exactly. I agree. So if you can help me, Sanders can get back to work and everyone wins.”

“I have spoken with him on the matter,” Talora replied, brushing her hand against one of the Hawthorn bushes leaves. “He did not want my help.”

“But it's not about what he wants,” Kasey said, stepping closer to Talora.” It's my gifts that have been impacted. My visions that have ceased. Is it not my choice?”

Talora regarded Kasey with a look akin to petty. “But child, you know little of our ways or what might be required. I doubt you even understand where your gifts come from.”

“Do not underestimate me, Talora. I am a daughter of the Druids. The blood of the Angleseys and Stonemoores runs thick in my veins. I know my visions are the product of generations of care on their part to bond with the Earth Spirit. It is she who shares her sight with me, and it is that bond that must be renewed if I am to see as I once did.”

“And you think that entitles you to my assistance?” Talora asked, tapping her foot for emphasis. “The Fae have no obligations to answer your Druidic dabbling. I never understood why you place so much value on prescience when instead of looking to the future, you could shape it.”

“One step at a time, Talora. If I can see what is coming, I can shape it with greater purpose.”

“You seem very confident in your abilities,” Talora replied. “Such pride is a common human failing.”

“Confident? Are you kidding me?” Kasey laughed. “I know the deck is stacked against me. Rhain himself is here and he has brought an army with him. I can't possibly hope to go toe to toe with such a being, but if I'm going to sit here and tell myself it's all over, there is no point in fighting, then the outcome will have already been decided. I prefer to give it my all, hoping for the best and planning for the worst. It's not my abilities I'm confident in. It's the people of this city. They don't die easy. If the Feudal Court has come for us, they're going to fight with every fiber of their being. I trust that. I'm just trying to do my part to help.”

Talora nodded approvingly. “You have come a long way in so short a time. Should you survive your present course, you may yet become a force to be reckoned with.”

That made Kasey smile. It was the closest thing to a compliment she had got out of the Sidhe and she couldn't help but think things were going better than she had expected.

“I must say, the summoning, your understanding of your predicament, and the nature of your gifts surprise me. You have learned much. Who is your tutor?”

It was the second time Talora had launched that particular line of inquiry, and Kasey knew better than to engage with her. Carys had made himself scarce; there had to be a reason. Besides, the presence of her ancestor’s specter wasn't something she wanted to become common knowledge. Not for the Sidhe and certainly not for other members of the Arcane Council. Such secrets could be used against her should Talora's interests not align with her own.

“Let's not worry about that,” Kasey replied. “As you said, there is a great deal going on and time is not on our side. You and I both know that in fighting Akihiro I mistakenly channeled some of his power and that has clouded my connection to the Earth Spirit. It was not my intention, and I want that stain removed. My people would perform such a ritual during an equinox, when the Earth Spirit's power is at her zenith, but we can’t afford to wait. I am led to believe that the Sidhe are not bound by the same constraints my people are.”

The vernal equinox wouldn't come for weeks, and Kasey just didn't have that sort of time. She hoped the Sidhe could do for her what her people could not.

“Again, you are well informed,” Talora mused. “Beyond the veil, we would be able to work such ritual magic more easily. The Earth Spirit’s presence is strong there, but I fear you may not understand what you seek.”

“Then educate me,” Kasey replied. “I have not come this far to stop now.”

“Beyond the veil, in the realm of Faerie, there are two courts, Summer and Winter. Each balances the other, and both vie for control of the sites of power throughout our realm. Their strength is the strength of our people. Right now, Summer is at its weakest and to diminish that power to perform your ritual would tax us greatly. Even should we wish to, with Winter at its height, we risk upsetting the balance that could destroy us and plunge Faerie into unending winter. Remember, as the Earth's seasons follow ours, you would likewise be damning your own world to an eternity in the cold night of winter. We cannot give you of our strength. We simply can't afford it, not yet. Were it summer, I would have sufficient strength to barter. But now? The price we pay would be too great.”

Summer? Kasey didn't have days, let alone months to spare. She needed her visions and she needed them now.

As she considered Talora's words, an idea came to her mind.

“What if we didn't use one of your sites of power?”

“Perhaps you misunderstood me,” Talora replied, studying her own reflection in the mirror. “Without a site of power, we cannot harness the power needed for such a ritual.”

“I understood you, and perhaps it is simply my lack of understanding, but indulge me a moment. You said summer languishes in the throes of winter. It would seem like they have ample power to spare. What if we were to borrow one of their sites of power?”

“You're not bold—you're suicidal,” Talora replied. “If I was to attack one of their sacred sites, it would mean open war. The might of the Winter Court is terrible to behold, Kasey.”

“I didn't say anything about attacking. I simply said we ought to borrow one of theirs. Slip in, perform the ritual, and run like hell before they catch us.”

Talora shook her head. “This is reckless, even for you.”

“But think of the upside. You would be taking power away from your enemies and weakening their position. Is that not worth the risk?”

Kasey was appealing to the Sidhe’s greed, hoping the prestige of weakening Winter and her subsequent elevation in the Summer Court would offset her doubts.

Talora pursed her lips. “Winter has been unusually bitter this year.”

“Maybe run this one up the chain of command. See what your Queen has to say,” Kasey suggested.

“Never.” Talora clenched her fist. “If we were to fail, my Queen must have no knowledge of our actions.”

Ah, politics.

Kasey could recognize plausible deniability a mile away.

“Surely the risk is worth the reward,” Kasey said.

“For you perhaps, but for it to be of meaningful impact to the Summer Court, we would need more from you.”

And there it is. The blackmail for their help.

What did the Sidhe want from her? For Carys, it had been his fealty. Kasey had no intention of being in anyone's errand girl.

“And what exactly would you want?” she asked, leaning against the bathroom counter.

“There is one place we might hope to pull off your ludicrous plan. It lies to the north and is less defended than Winter’s other holdings.”

“Sounds like a good start to me,” Kasey replied, “but you haven’t told me what you want.”

“The site is less defended because of the guardian they have sat there, a savage creature of winter and death. If we can get past it, we can perform the ritual, but I will require one evocation from you. At a time and place of my choosing.”

The bargain was everything Kasey feared. Vague, non-specific promises to be redeemed in the future were to be avoided with the Sidhe. What if the Sidhe asked her to burn down a building or kill someone who had hindered the interest of the Summer Court? Much as Kasey wanted her power back, she had her principles, and Tinkerbell wasn't going to trick her out of them.

Kasey paused, not wanting to reject the bargain outright but unsure of how much haggling would be acceptable to Sidhe. Everything Sanders had told her indicated they were shrewd negotiators, apt at getting their way but mostly they seemed to do it by bargaining from a position of strength. Talora knew Kasey was desperate; otherwise she wouldn't have come to Talora for help.

The fact that she was willing to risk performing the ritual showed its importance to her, but at the same time, Talora's eyes had lit up when she had asked for her price. She didn’t know how, but Kasey had no doubt her evocation was getting the Sidhe something of great value.

Perhaps there was room to maneuver.

Kasey didn't speak. She had learned well the power of silence in a negotiation. Others often felt the need to fill it and in that moment you could learn things you never would have otherwise.

Talora broke first. “Surely one evocation is a simple price to pay for my assistance. You will see like you've never seen before. You will be one with the Earth Spirit. It will bring with it great power. All I ask is that you use a portion of it to help your benefactors, the Summer Court.”

“I'm not questioning the value of your assistance,” Kasey replied. “I simply have a problem with the vagaries of it. You have something particular in mind, and I have no desire to become Summer’s assassin. Tell me what you want, and we can work something out.”

“A skeptic, I see,” Talora said. “You’ve definitely spoken with Sanders. As you wish. Summer has no need of an assassin so be at ease. If my Queen needs someone dead, she has many who might carry out her will.”

“Then what do you want me for?” Kasey asked, making the mistake of looking in the mirror. She hadn’t brushed her hair and she felt like a mess. Standing next to the immaculately groomed Sidhe lady wasn’t helping.

“We want you for this task because you have no fealty to the Summer Court. If I or one of the Court carried it out, it would be an active unprovoked aggression against the Winter Court. The Winter King would have the excuse he needs to retaliate. You are a free agent. Your actions can't be cast at my Queen's feet.”

“I see,” Kasey mused, rummaging through the drawers for a brush. Finding one, she set to work trying to get her hair back under control.

Agitating the Winter Court wasn't high on her list of priorities; she already had enemies enough without looking for more.

Seizing on her silence, Talora continued. “After we complete the ritual, I'm going to need you to unleash some of the power you are granted and generate a little heat for me. Don't worry, we'll be beyond the Veil. The most you'll do is hasten the advance of Summer to all our benefit. If we are lucky, no one will even see us, and we'll be back before you know it.”

Kasey bit her lip. It was a tempting offer. A little fire was nothing to her and she had everything to gain. If they could slip in and out without the Winter Court detecting their presence, she would regain her visions and return to New York a far more capable protector for her embattled city.

In the end, it wasn’t the power that swayed her; it was the thought of what a thousand vampires might do to her city. Every minute they remained, people would perish. Every night that passed, people would go missing never to be returned. Some would be fed upon, and others would be turned to the court. Kasey couldn't let that happen.

“You have a deal.” Kasey extended her hand. “When do we leave?”

“There is no time like the present,” Talora replied, taking it.

A tingle of arcane power pulsed through Kasey’s hand as she took the Sidhe’s and the bargain was made.

Releasing her hand, Talora traced her finger through the air. There was a faint but detectable rush of power and the fabric of reality inside the bathroom began to tear. Like a zip being peeled down, Talora parted the veil between the mortal world and Faerie.

Snow blew through the rift and into the bathroom, melting under the heat of the lights as it fell to the floor, where it pooled in small puddles. Kasey's breath misted in front of her face as the temperature in the bathroom dropped.

Kasey's heart beat a little quicker as she pulled her parka tight around her.

“What are you waiting for?” Talora asked. “Let's go.”

With that, the emissary of the Summer Court strode through the veil and into the bitter winter.

Chapter 8

Kasey plunged through the tear in the veil and raced to catch Talora. The New York penthouse was left behind as she entered the realm of Faerie. With each step, her boots sank three inches into the fresh snow. Winter in New York was cold, but here it was like she had stepped into a freezer.

Kasey’s teeth chattered as her body adjusted to the sudden drop in temperature. She pulled out her gloves and slipped them on, grateful for the reprieve from the winter wind.

Talora seemed unphased by the cold. She strode purposefully across the frozen field, her feet barely leaving an impression in the snow as they went.

“What is this place?” Kasey called out. “And how did you do that, that portal thing?”

Kasey turned to point at the rift, but it was gone. Whatever magic had held it open had now dissipated leaving retreat an impossibility.

Kasey quickened her gait to catch up with Talora, realizing that if anything happened to the Sidhe or she was cut off from her, she could be trapped here permanently.

“Moving between realms is second nature to the Fae,” Talora replied. “It is difficult to explain. Human wizards, for instance, tend to have to puncture the veil to pass through it. Those born with the gift in Faerie simply open a way.”

“If it so easy, why have I not met more Fae? Can they not come and go it will?” Kasey asked as she struggled to keep pace with her escort.

“They can, and many do. They have just become adept at hiding their presence.”

With her fingers to her lips, Talora blew a piercing whistle, paused, and then blew a second slightly higher note.

“Will you teach me how to do it?” Kasey asked.

“Whistle?” Talora asked with a smirk. “It's simple, really. Just told your fingers to your lips and blow. The key is in the shape of your lips and tongue.”

Freezing her ass off, Kasey was hardly in the mood for sarcasm, but given she was reliant on the Sidhe for both her safe passage and the ritual, she didn’t have the luxury of putting her in her place.

“You know what I mean,” Kasey replied. “Can you teach me to move between realms?”

“To borrow a human phrase,” Talora said, “not a snowflake’s chance in hell. You are young and reckless. Should we survive today, I think it would be better for both our people for you to remain on your side of the Veil.”

“Thanks,” Kasey replied, shaking her head. “It's always nice to know when you aren't wanted.”

“You, Kasey, are like good art—best appreciated at a distance.”

Kasey wondered just how far they were going to have to trudge, and whether Talora planned to be a smart-ass for the entire duration or whether she had simply been saving these during Council meetings.

“What was the whistle for?” Kasey asked, changing the subject.

“Our transport,” Talora replied. “Traveling on foot through the lands of Winter would be both slow and treacherous. We need to move as swift as the wind if we are to have any hope of reaching our goal.”

Well, that’s a relief.

No sooner had the thought passed through her mind, then there was a snap overhead, and Kasey was plunged into shadows. Looking up, she shielded her eyes against the harsh glare of the sun. It reflected off everything and was simply blinding.

Above her, there was a beat of wings and a blur of motion as something descended, gracefully landing beside them in the snow. A second creature landed beside it.

Kasey stopped dead as a pair of white stallions with broad feathered wings rising from their flanks trotted along beside them in the snow. The creatures’ manes and tails were pearly white, and their fine coats were white as the driven snow. The winged steeds’ eyes were emerald blue and glittered with an intensity that caused Kasey to draw a sharp frost-laden breath.

They were magnificent.

“Are they Pegasi?” Kasey asked, her voice a whisper. She didn't want to spook the creatures.

“Pegasus was the sire of their species, yes,” Talora replied, approaching the steeds. She placed a hand on the closer creature’s neck. “This is Comet, and his brother Lightning.”

“They are beautiful,” Kasey replied. “I've never seen anything like them.”

Like most young girls, Kasey had always wanted a horse. Her father had taken her for a ride on her twelfth birthday and the memory of riding along on the old gray mare named Sally was one of her favorite childhood memories.

“Their herd is tended by the Summer Court. We guard their existence jealously so that no harm might come to them. The journey before us is perilous but their assistance will make it possible. They shall bear us north, into the lands of Winter.”

“Bear us?” Kasey asked, eying the enormous steeds. “We're going to ride them?”

“Well, looking at them isn't going to get us there.”

“It’s been years since I’ve ridden a horse,” Kasey said, taking a slight step backward, “and even then she was old and slow. These can fly.”

“Your powers of observation are second to none,” Talora answered as she stroked the creature’s neck. “I suggest you hold on, tightly. Lightening will do all the real work. You just need to not fall off and break your neck.”

Easier said than done.

Kasey eyed the Pegasi with wonder. “Okay, how do we do this?”

“They are no common beast of burden. They are as intelligent as you or I. So, if you wish to ride him, you must persuade him to bear you.”

As if to demonstrate the point, Talora made her way in front of Comet, her right hand running along his neck until she stood in front of the Pegasus. She bowed her head and rested it against his.

No words past between them. It was almost as if they were communicating through some sort of telepathic link. Comet let out a neigh, and Talora took two quick steps and swung up onto his back, tucking her legs beneath his considerable wings.

Kasey stood before Lightning and looked into his sparkling blue eyes. She could see the muscles in his chest rise and fall with every breath, forcing plumes of mist to be expelled with each exhalation.

Kasey had no idea what had passed between the Sidhe and her steed, but she put her faith in Lighting and his intelligence as she stood before him.

Gingerly, she held out her hand, not wanting to startle him.

Lightning didn't move.

“You don't know me,” Kasey whispered, “and I've certainly never seen a creature as majestic as you, but today I need your help. We are heading into the heart of Winter. Talora says it's dangerous. I don’t really know much about it. I’ve never been there. What you need to know about me is that I tend to put others well-being above my own. It's almost got me killed, many times, really. Today won’t be a first for me, in that respect. The only reason I'm doing this is to try and protect my city from a great evil, and I need your help.”

Lightning stared into her eyes but didn’t budge.

Kasey continued. “I promise you that while I don't know what we'll face, I won't let anything happen to you. If you do this for me, I promise that if harm comes to us, I'll put your life above my own.”

The creature was intelligent. That much was apparent from the shifting brilliance in his eyes. But for the life of her, Kasey couldn’t work out if he even understood her. She looked to Talora for guidance, but the Sidhe simply watched the exchange.

“So how about it, Lightning? Are you going to help me save a lot of lives? It also sounds like it will help out Summer. You can't like this cold any more than I do. If this works, things are gonna get a little warmer around here.”

Lightning bowed his head and nudged it against Kasey's hand.

In spite of the wintry weather, he was warm to the touch and his gesture made Kasey smile. She stroked the side of his neck as Talora had done with Comet.

Kasey smiled at him. “It's me and you, big guy. I've got your back.”

The Pegasus rested its neck on her shoulder and Kasey took that as a tacit sign of his approval.

She patted the Pegasus on along his neck as she made her way around to his flank. She didn't have half the grace Talora did, but with a bit of shimmying, she managed to get her leg over him and seat herself in front of his wings.

“Hold his mane,” Talora called. “You will need something to hang onto, and he won't mind.”

As if in demonstration, Talora grabbed a handful of Comet’s mane, leaned forward, and whispered something in his ear. The Pegasus launched forward, his hooves kicking up fountains of snow as they tried to get purchase in the newly fallen powder. Comet's wings snapped outward and with two great beats carried them up into the sky.

Kasey was so transfixed that as Lightning took off after him, she almost lost her grip. Lightning turned his head, and Kasey smiled back at him.

“Sorry, big guy. I'll pay better attention, I swear.”

The Pegasus launched itself into the sky, wings beating as he propelled himself upward. Lightning rose swifter than she thought possible, trailing Comet as he soared ahead of them.

Wind whipped at her face and Kasey pulled up the hood of her parka, tightening it as best she could and hoping she didn’t get frostbite in her nose.

Against her better judgment, she looked down. Miles of icy plains and leafless trees stretched out beneath them as they sailed through the air.

I'm flying.

The thought brought with it a giddy exuberance that settled over her as she enjoyed a feeling she expected few humans had ever truly felt. It was one thing to ride in a 747; it was another to feel the wind whip past her as she rode a creature of legend.

The exertion of the past few days fell from her as she soared. New York City, embattled as it was, felt worlds away. The attack, the Shinigami, the vampires, all of it faded into the distance as she climbed through the clouds. Bursting out of the other side, Kasey couldn't help herself: she let out a jubilant whoop.

Talora turned, a smile crossing her face. Not the teasing smirk she had earlier, but a look of genuine delight.

It was good to know that beneath her alien beauty, Talora could still enjoy herself.

Together, they raced over fields and rivers, great lakes, and towering mountains. Lightning let out a snort and Kasey followed the movement of her steed’s head to a castle of black stone far beneath them. It was a citadel that had been built around the peak of a mountain. With cliffs on three sides, it had to be all but impregnable against ground assaults.

Lightning beat his wings and climbed higher, seemingly determined to place as much distance between himself and the fortress as possible.

Talora turned and held a finger over her lips. Whatever the bastion was, it had to be Winter’s domain.

It was a strange sensation to pass through a cloud, but Talora seemed to favor it. Perhaps because of the impeded visibility. If they couldn't see anything, then the chance that anything could see them seemed negligible.

As they plunged into each cloud, Kasey lost track of Comet but Lightning never seemed to. Each time they emerged, Kasey noted the distance between them hadn’t changed. Lightning had far sharper vision or other means of tracking his herd-mate through the sky.

The two pegasi held formation, steadily soaring toward Talora’s destination. Kasey wondered just how remote a site of power the Sidhe had chosen for the ritual.

In the mortal world, sites of power tended to exist where ley lines intersected. The more ley lines that ran through a particular location, the more potent the confluence of power that formed there. While modern society had forgotten the importance of these ancient sites, the wizarding world never had. Ancient orders had built monuments and places of worship there. From the circle at Stonehenge to the Moai at Easter Islands, wherever there was a confluence of power, you could find gathering places for wizards and supernatural beings.

Kasey's ancestors, the Druids of Wales, had protected many such sites of power from desecration and destruction, helping to maintain a careful balance between emerging civilization and the ancient forces of the supernatural world.

Kasey wondered what a site of power in the land of Faerie might look like. Would the Winter Court have fortified it? Or would it perhaps be a great natural wonder? Whatever it was, it was certainly remote as untold miles passed beneath her. She started to grow a little more comfortable. No wonder the Winter Court hadn't stationed an army here; it was hundreds of miles from anywhere.

Of course there was still the Guardian, but with a little care and stealth, Kasey hoped to slip past it unnoticed.

As Lightning burst from a cloud, the sun was blotted out for a moment as a shadow fell over her. It was only fleeting, but it made the hair on Kasey's neck stand on end.

An earsplitting screech filled the air. Kasey spun on her mount, searching for the source of the shrill outcry. Above and behind her, and descending quickly, was a wiry creature with bat like wings and beady red eyes. The creature tucked its wings close to its body as it dove. Behind her a swarm of the carrion creatures closed on them.

Lightning whinnied as the cloud descended. Kasey didn't need to be told. Deep within the heart of Winter, these creatures were either wild or served the Winter Court, a distinction that didn't really matter to her as they dove at her, teeth barred, flexing limbs ending with clawed talons.

Kasey raised her hand and shouted “Pêl Tân!”

A column of fire raced from her outstretched palm, catching the lead creature and turning him from winged beast to fried chicken in the blink of an eye. A second creature was too slow to react. It took the brunt of Kasey's spell, reducing it to cinders. The other beasts rolled out of the way, fanning out as they dove straight for her.

Lightning dove also, striving to put greater distance between himself and their pursuers. Talora and Comet closed in beside Kasey.

“Shrieks,” Talora shouted. “A murder of them. They’re servants of Winter.”

“I figured,” Kasey replied. “What’s the plan?”

“We can't run. If one of them survives, they will carry word to their masters. We need to fight,” Talora shouted.

Kasey looked over her shoulder at the veritable wall of teeth and claws descending at them. Fighting a murder of shrieks was about as enticing as sticking a hand in a moving blender but she could see Talora's point.

“Follow my lead,” Talora called as she pulled on Comet's mane to bring him about.

Talora raised her palm and a flare of brilliant golden light streamed forth from it, bathing the shrieks in a golden haze. Even behind the Sidhe, the light was blinding; for the shrieks, it must've felt like staring directly into the sun.

While the carrion creatures clutched at their eyes, Talora unleashed a burst of lightning that arced between them. Half a dozen of the creatures fell from the sky as the deadly energy cut through their ranks.

Kasey urged Lightning forward into the fray as she lashed about with bursts of fire. The blazing elemental fury cut through the cold-blooded creatures like a scythe. As more and more of the shrieks fell, Kasey took heart.

It’s just like swatting flies—flies with razorblades perhaps.

Just as she was finding her rhythm, one of the shrieks hurtled up at her steed from below. Its claws extended as it swiped at Lightning’s underbelly. Her steed bucked, almost throwing her form his back, but Kasey held on for dear life.

Lightning lashed out with his hooves, catching the shriek in the chest. Even from where she sat, the sickening crunch of its ribs breaking reached her. But instead of plunging to its death, the shriek wrapped itself around Lightning’s leg, clawing at the Pegasus’ pristine white coat.

Lightning bucked and flailed to throw the shriek free but it clung to him. The shriek was directly beneath her, with Lightning’s body in the way, so she couldn’t take a shot. As the creature climbed higher, Lightning kicked, but couldn’t dislodge his foe.

Lightning let out a haunted whinny and hearing the wounded steed, the other shrieks dove, emboldened by their companion’s success.

As the cloud of foes plunged toward Kasey, Talora hit them with a gust of wind that was closer to a hurricane than a sea breeze.

The shrieks were tossed to and fro, buffeted by the raging wind.

Drawing deep on her power, Kasey bellowed, “Aer wedi'i gynhesu.”

She funneled a burst of superheated air straight into Talora's whirlwind, turning the tornado into an oven. More of the shrieks fell and the others redirected their efforts toward the Sidhe, unable to get any closer to Kasey for fear of being sucked into the maelstrom.

The wounded shriek still clung to Lightning as it clawed its way up his flank. Blood marred the majestic steed’s coat and try as she might to kick the creature, Kasey just couldn't reach.

Lightning shuddered as the carrion creature sank its teeth into his hindquarters, his movements growing more and more lethargic as the shriek tore at him.

If she couldn't drive the infernal creature off, it was going to kill Lightning and her with him. Leaning forward, Kasey ran her hand down Lightning’s neck in an effort to calm the creature, but it was in vain.

Kasey looked at the shriek and wanted to fry him as she had his flock but with him attached to Lightning, the risk of collateral damage was simply too great. There was only one choice left, and she didn't like it one bit.

She patted Lightning's flank to get his attention. “A promise is a promise, big guy.”

She drew a deep breath, let go of Lightning's mane, and turned herself around. Shuffling between his wings, she got sight of the shriek that was now clawing its way over Lightning’s rump.

The shriek’s beady red eyes bulged as it saw her, but he was too late. Kasey launched herself forward, crash-tackling the creature of Winter. Her momentum tore it free of the mighty Pegasus before she and the howling shriek plummeted toward the ground.

Chapter 9

The shriek hissed as Lightning slipped out of reach.

There was a moment of sheer weightlessness, Kasey's stomach flipping and twisting. Then together they plummeted toward the snow below, a flailing mass of tangled limbs tumbling through the air.

The shriek tore at her and Kasey’s parka offered scant protection. One claw shredded her sleeve, gouging into her arm and leaving a trail of blood from her left shoulder to her elbow. Shaking with adrenaline, Kasey punched the creature in the face.

With Lightning out of the way, and no risk of collateral damage, Kasey could have melted the shriek with a thought. Doing so, however, would have been terminally shortsighted. Without the shriek’s madly flapping wings, she would drop like a rock to the frozen plains below.

As it was, they were still falling. Try as it might, the shriek’s frame simply wasn't meant to support any added weight. Its membranous wings flapped as it tried to catch a thermal updraft to no avail. The current only served to slow their descent.

Up close and personal, Kasey realized there was very little mass to the shriek. It was all bone and gaunt skin stretched over its frame. Which meant the creature could feel every blow, but it also gave the shriek unprecedented flexibility and for a creature with wicked talons on every limb, it used that maneuverability to tear at her like it had her steed. Kasey felt the burning pain from a dozen scratches and wounds but ignored them in favor of blocking the rending claw that would have torn out her throat.

Holding onto the shriek’s neck with one arm, Kasey grabbed the creature’s claw at the joint and twisted it.

There was a sickening crack as the ligaments gave way and the claw flopped uselessly from the shriek’s broken arm.

The creature howled its protest, but Kasey ignored it, hanging on with white knuckles. If she let go, her future consisted only of a long drop with a sudden stop.

Every passing second brought the ground closer, and the tired shriek was losing its battle with gravity. Somewhere in her adrenaline addled mind, she had hoped to ride the winged fury to the ground. With any luck, she'd find a snowdrift, but she was still coming in far too quickly for that. While the fall might not kill her, it could well break most of the bones in her body. Here in the heart of Winter, she doubted there was much of a difference.

As the ground rushed up to meet her, Kasey punched the shriek in the face. It didn’t help but it did make her feel better, at least until the shrieking stopped and the creature started trying to bite her hand.

“Son of a…” Kasey yelped as she wrenched her hand out of its mouth before its jaws slammed shut.

A loud whinny filled the air around her. Whipping her head about, she searched for the source of the sound and found Lightning diving after her.

The Pegasus had its wings and legs tucked close to its body, plunging headlong towards the ground. He looked like a shining spear as he cut through the air. With the shriek still trying to stay aloft, Lightning was gaining fast.

Kasey let out a holler of excitement as the Pegasus passed her.

The ground grew closer and Kasey knew she was out of time. With one hand, she grabbed the shriek by the throat and bellowed, “Dwrn o aer tân!”

Either spell would have helped. Together, the fiery convocation of force took the shriek’s head clear off. It was no worse than he deserved. Kasey pushed the creature’s ruined body away, leaving her hands free.

Lightning glided beneath her and together they rushed toward the ground.

Kasey stole a quick breath. She was only going to get one chance at this.

Spreading her limbs like a skydiver, she tried to slow her fall as Lightning snapped his wings out to arrest his descent.

The Pegasus rose toward her. Kasey slammed into him, knocking the breath from her lungs as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The impact sent her rolling to the left and Kasey overbalanced, sliding off her steed’s back.

She could feel her center of balance tipping over his wing but she locked her hands together, clinging to Lightning’s neck. The Pegasus descended gradually to the earth, while Kasey held on with everything she had. The biting wind smarted in her wounds, but she was grateful to be alive.

Lightning shuddered as his hooves hit the snow, leaving a trail of hoofprints as he slowed to a stop. Kasey gasped with relief. She was safely back on solid ground.

For a moment, she lay there, resting against Lightning’s as she gently patted his neck.

“Who’s a good boy?” Kasey whispered as she hugged him tightly. “I'm afraid I might have got some blood on you, my friend. But thanks for the save.”

Lightning snorted and stomped at the snow.

“Yes, I didn't think you’d let something like that bother you. We showed those little wretches, didn't we?”

She looked about but the battle, it seemed, had written them both off. There wasn’t a living shriek in sight. Scattered around her, however, were the burnt-out husks of half a dozen shrieks that had crash landed in the snow.

The ambush only served to reinforce her determination to get her visions back. They weren't foolproof, but they had certainly helped her to avoid strife more than once.

Kasey eased off Lightning’s back so that she could better examine her steed.

“Let me see what that wretch has done to you,” Kasey said as she made her way around to his muscled hindquarters.

Lightning’s left rear leg was a mass of gashes and scratches where the shriek had clung to it, mauling his pristine white coat. Kasey ran her hand across his flank to reassure him.

“I'm not much of a healer, but if you'd like, I can take a look at these?” Kasey whispered. “I can at least stop the blood flow.”

Lightning dipped his head and Kasey took that as approval to proceed. Compared to her steed, Kasey's own wounds were merely scratches. Lightning would bleed out if she didn’t do something about it. Kasey held her hand over the most grievous of the wounds, a bloody puncture at the top of his leg, and focused her mind. Channeling her will, she sought to expel any residual traces of the shriek to avoid infection, before closing the wound itself.

“Iacháu.”

The wound knit itself closed and Kasey moved on to the next one. One by one, she repaired the wounds. Any muscle and ligament damage would take longer to heal but she could at least ease her steed’s pain and stop him from bleeding out. When she was finished, she walked around him once to ensure she hadn't missed any injuries before coming to a stop in front of him.

“Hopefully that will help, big fella. Sorry it isn't perfect, but it's as good as I know how.”

Lightning’s eyes focused on her exposed left arm. Blood was still seeping down the inside of what was left of her sleeve.

“You're right. I should get that one too.”

With a word, Kasey healed the wound but Lightning nudged her bloody arm.

Kasey smiled as she waved her hand. “Don't worry about the rest of them. I've had much worse.”

The Pegasus leaned forward, resting its head against her hand and as he did, Kasey felt a rush of power wash through her.

Fatigue and pain faded, driven before the surge of power until it fled from her, leaving her feeling fresh in spite of the hell she had just passed through.

“I didn't know you could do that.” Kasey smiled at her new friend, as she stroked his neck. “Thank you.”

Lightning shook his head at the wounds the shriek had inflicted and let out a whinny.

Realization dawned on her. She’d helped him, and as a creature of the Summer Court, he’d incurred an obligation. One he’d now seen repaid.

“Ah, that was nothing,” Kasey reassured him. “Like I said, I look after my friends. When he came for you, he came for me, and I was never gonna let him have you.”

Lightning rested his neck on Kasey's shoulder as she stroked his neck in a one-armed hug.

Talora was right; the Pegasi were intelligent. One-sided as the conversation may have been, Kasey couldn’t help but feel like she had been both heard and understood.

Her peace was interrupted by a series of impacts that struck all around them. Kasey whipped her head up, drawing on her power, and Lightning let out a snort of warning.

Smoke rose from the charred remnants of a dozen shrieks that were settling into the snow.

Talora landed beside them. Both she and Comet were unharmed.

“You are crazy, even by human standards.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Kasey muttered, looking down at the snow.

“I watched you jump,” Talora replied, but Kasey just shrugged.

“You could have been killed, and all of this would be in vain.”

“Nah, Lightning had my back. Didn't you, buddy?”

Her steed tossed his head indignantly as if offended that she had even asked.

“See?” Kasey replied. “Besides, when I make a promise, I keep it. If anything, that should be a comfort to you.”

“Oh, it is, right up until you get yourself killed,” Talora replied.

“Then we’re good,” Kasey replied. She pointed to the pile of shrieks still smoking in the snow. “Is that the last of them?”

“Yes, fortunately for us, the shrieks are all brawn and no brain. They didn't try to flee until there were only a handful of them left. I mopped those up before they could raise the alarm.”

All about Kasey, the frozen plains stretched as far as her eyes could see.

“Where is here exactly?” Kasey asked. “You didn't really give me much of a briefing before we took off.”

“These are the northern wilds,” Talora replied, “and we must pass through them to reach a site of power that shares significance both in my world and yours. There we should be able to acquire sufficient power to perform the ritual for you.”

“What is it called?” Kasey asked.

“You'll know it when you see it,” the Sidhe replied. “Are you ready to go? We shouldn’t dawdle in this place. There are worse creatures than the shrieks here on the ground.”

Kasey winced. She’d only met one of the creatures of Winter, but she’d already had enough of their ilk. Talora’s warning did raise an important point though.

“Is there anything else I should know? What about this guardian you mentioned?”

Talora glared down at her like she was a stubborn child refusing to come along. “The Guardian is to be avoided at all costs. It is more than a match for either of us. If we’re to survive, it will be through stealth and cunning. If you try to face it, it will destroy you.”

It wasn't a particularly reassuring vote of confidence, but diplomacy and tact seemed to be to social skills Talora invested little effort into. Which, come to think of it, made her an odd choice of emissary for the Summer Court. One would have thought Titania could have sent someone with a little more tact. Or perhaps maybe all Sidhe were as condescending as they were cryptic. Kasey made a note to ask Sanders about it the next time they were talking.

“I'm serious,” Talora said. “I recognize that in saying this, it is akin to raising a red flag to a bull, but you must understand. Here in Faerie, there are beings far more ancient and dangerous than you can imagine. The Guardian is an ancient entity, feared for good reason. His very being drives men to madness. If we can avoid him, we have a chance. If he finds us, we will have to run like the wind and hope it's enough.”

“Okay, I get it,” Kasey said. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just stay behind me and for Summer’s sake, be silent,” Talora replied. “I’ll try to shield our presence as we get closer. If we are lucky, we'll make it into the cave undetected.”

Kasey nodded. At least that was something she didn't know before. They were heading for a cave, and the Guardian, whatever it was, scared the hell out of Talora.

Kasey had enough sense to know that anything that scared the Sidhe ought to terrify her. She swung up onto Lightning’s back and they took off, following Talora and Comet into a freezing headwind.

Kasey and Lightning climbed higher and higher as they moved steadily north. Clearly Talora intended to put as much distance between herself and the ground as possible. Which likely meant that whatever Guardian lurked at the site of power, it was at least a ground dwelling threat. If they had to run, hopefully they could leave it behind as their steeds carried them into the sky.

Endless ice stretched in every direction, and with little else to entertain her, Kasey's mind turned to New York, and the events unfolding there. She felt a little guilty for leaving the city without speaking to anyone. Doubtless Sanders and Bishop would be searching for her, but she couldn't risk either of them trying to talk her out of her current course.

She knew that both of them had her best interests at heart but sometimes the road that must be taken was the more dangerous one.

Kasey wondered what was going on in New York City. At that very moment, more than a thousand vampires were prowling the city. Just how many had made it off the super freighter? Kasey had wanted to gather more information, but with vampires swarming the dock, she hadn't had the luxury of being able to hang around. There was simply too great a threat of being overwhelmed.

Where would so many vampires even hide? During the day, they would have to go underground. As she considered the problem, she realized why the Night Crew had spent so many resources taking a foothold in the city. They weren't just forming a burgeoning criminal empire; they were preparing the infrastructure for Rhain’s army.

Just how long had he been planning this invasion? And what was his ultimate objective? He wanted Kasey dead for the part she played in his son’s demise but his plan had to have already been in motion when Alistair died. She wasn’t the target; she was merely an inconvenience in a far larger picture.

Did the vampires intend to overtake the city? Their cultivation and use of the compound Venom seemed to indicate that they had plans to plunge the city into anarchy. Dousing the water supply would certainly turn many of the city’s occupants into mindless killing machines but to what end?

Kasey imagined New York City in ruin, overrun with Venom-infused thugs, while vampires fed on the city’s survivors. The thought sent a shudder through her that she couldn’t shake.

Destruction and disorder in New York would certainly occupy the Arcane Council. Marius had said as much, indicating that there was a perception of weakness after the Shinigami attack almost destroyed the city. Perhaps that had motivated them to action. A widespread assault in the heart of the Council's jurisdiction would undermine confidence in the Council right as the supernatural community was thrust into the spotlight. If the Arcane Council couldn't protect its people, perhaps the government would be forced to side with the vampires.

Kasey cringed at the thought of any deal that might capitulate to the undying. Such a macabre prospect would surely bring death and misery on a widespread scale. After all, the vampires saw people as little more than food, so any peace talks would surely involve concessions with food supply.

She couldn't allow the Feudal Court to achieve their objective, no matter what it was. The vampires were numerous and dangerous, but Kasey wasn’t alone. She had the people of New York, and New Yorkers were resilient. They would not take a beating laying down.

If the vampires wanted her city, they were going to have to fight for it.

Should it come to that, Kasey just hoped that her sight, if she could get it back, could help turn the tide in her favor.

As Lightning flew north, the sky steadily darkened and as it did, a malevolent influence seemed to fill the air around her. Whether the aura was a product of the arcane energy that seemed to permeate the air here, or a function of her mind playing tricks on her was impossible to tell.

Talora started her descent and as they broke through the cloud cover, the vista beneath her took Kasey's breath away. From the northern horizon, a frozen river of brilliant blue hues snaked its way through the frozen plains. The river widened as it moved south, arriving at an immense horseshoe-shaped set of waterfalls.

The falls themselves were the largest she had ever seen, and Kasey would have recognized them anywhere.

Though she had never been here, these falls had a parallel in her own world. And Kasey had visited those twice in her lifetime.

Talora's words started to make sense. The set of waterfalls known as Niagra Falls sat on the border between Canada and New York state. The largest of them, Horseshoe Falls, were over a hundred and fifty feet high and could pass up to six million cubic feet of water a minute. They formed a vital part of the ecosystem and in her world at least were responsible for generating a considerable volume of power. Significant engineering efforts had been made to ensure their steady flow and prevent them freezing over.

Only here in the heart of winter without ice bridges and man-made interference to assist, the falls were completely frozen over. Cascades of frozen ice in brilliant hues arced over the cliff and formed a sprawling buildup of glacial ice. The face of the falls themselves shone with a supernatural brilliance that rivaled the Aurora Borealis. It was one of the most breathtaking sights Kasey had ever seen.

From her mother’s accounts, she knew that Druidic rituals took place at sites of power for one crucial reason. That was where the earth released its pent-up power. Niagara Falls, and its equivalent in Faerie, were clearly confluences of tremendous arcane energy. The sheer size of the falls themselves powered entire cities in the mortal world; here in the land of Faerie, they had to be accumulating immense power. Power the Winter Court was usurping to freeze the river and the falls themselves, subjecting Faerie to an enduring and bitter Winter.

Kasey wondered what correlation existed between conditions in Faerie and the mortal world. She knew from her discussions with Sanders that the two realms were linked and certainly the environmental impacts humans were having on the earth had affected the Fae. Were events here were manifesting in her world? Was this why she’d been freezing her butt off for weeks with no sign of spring in sight?

Was the bitter winter they were currently experiencing a product of this surge in Winter's power? If they succeeded in freezing the falls, it would affect the ecosystem of Faerie, but would it not also snowball into her realm? How long could this go on?

She would have loved to ask Talora, but the Fae had been clear in her instructions. Radio silence.

As they plunged toward the falls, Kasey couldn’t shake the sneaking suspicion that she knew exactly why they were here. A sparsely defended site of power at the heart of Winter’s expansive domain. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

Talora had been too easily convinced to perform the ritual, and the Sidhe had asked precious little in exchange.

Kasey looked at the walls of ice and suspected she knew exactly where Talora expected her conjuration.

She’d never killed a season before, and the thought of the power required to affect such change boggled her mind. The image of the vampire collapsing, its brains reduced to mush, filled her mind as she considered the implications of such a spell. And Talora thought she was mad; she’d have to be insane to attempt such a feat.

Together they plunged toward the falls, aiming for the far-right face of the curtain of ice. The wall of ice rushed toward them, and as they hurtled headlong at it, Kasey noticed a cleft between two sheets of ice. It was narrow but deep enough that the light vanished into it. The Pegasus plunged through the gap and landed deftly in the cave, their hooves sending up a spray of ice as they arrested their descent.

Talora turned and held her finger to her lips signaling for silence.

She raised one hand, palm upward, and a series of gold werelights flashed into existence above her hand, lighting the tunnel.

All about them, the tunnel was formed from layer upon layer of ice that had passed over the falls and frozen in place. The walls of the crevasse were smooth, and Kasey doubted that they had formed naturally. More than likely, arcane power had played a part in the creation of the frozen cave.

They made their way through the icy tunnel, moving deeper and deeper behind the falls. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the cave began to widen. Together they pressed on, leading their mounts until the tunnel opened into a massive chamber. Talora flicked her wrist, and the werelights shot out, hovering in the four corners of the cavern, casting light through the icy structure.

Kasey noticed the color of the ice at her feet was tinged with a crimson sheen. A crimson sheen that ran from the wall until it pooled across the floor of the cavern.

Forms were frozen into the wall itself. Bodies, more than a dozen of them and not all of them animals. Two of them were clearly Sidhe, or at least what was left of them. Each of the forms had been frozen in place with shackles of ice whilst something had feasted upon the unfortunate victims.

Kasey tore her eyes away from the gruesome sight and found Talora standing beside an obsidian column that seemed to jut out from the cliff. It was the only part of the entire cave that wasn’t hewn from ice, a lone finger of stone punching through the icy prison to form an altar in the heart of the cave.

In the summertime, Kasey imagined that there was no cave at all, simply millions of gallons of water flowing over the exposed finger of stone.

Talora motioned at the altar and Kasey gave her a puzzled look.

“What are you waiting for?” Talora whispered. “Get on the altar so that I can perform the ritual.”

Kasey approached the altar. Talora drew a circle that took in the altar. Around it she scratched a series of runes Kasey didn’t recognize. She worked quickly and efficiently as the two Pegasi watched from the corner of the cave.

When she was done, Talora examined her handiwork and nodded. “It’s time.”

Kasey took a deep breath and climbed onto the altar, laying herself down upon it.

As she did, she looked up into Talora’s alien features and wondered if she had made a terrible mistake.

No one even knew she was here. The Sidhe could kill her, and no one would ever know.

Kasey’s heart started to pound in her chest, the anticipation taking its toll as Talora raised her hand over Kasey.

“No matter what happens, do not leave this altar until ritual is complete.”

“Why would I leave the altar?” Kasey asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

Talora closed her eyes and a flood of power enveloped them both as she replied, “Because the pain will be intolerable.”

“What?” Kasey shouted, but before she could get out another word, power the likes of which she had never felt surged through the altar.

Kasey bucked and twisted as every nerve in her body felt like it had been set on fire.

What have I done?

Chapter 10

Kasey’s body convulsed as pain shot through her.

Everything she had been told about the Sidhe had indicated that they could not lie. Deceive, yes, but this should not have been possible. As the agony grew, Kasey couldn't help but feel that she had been betrayed.

Whatever ritual was being performed, it seemed just as likely to kill her as cleanse her soul.

Kasey grit her teeth against it as the sweat rolled down her face.

In desperation, she tried to roll off the altar but try as she might, she could not lift her back off it. The weight of the unseen power held her to the stone column. She struggled and thrashed, kicked and fought, but to no avail. There was simply nothing she could do to get free. The power amassed against her was simply too strong. Surrendering to the pain, Kasey opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and Kasey felt like she might have a heart attack.

At the pinnacle of her suffering, the ice cavern vanished and Kasey found herself standing in a meadow. Wild grasses and sunflowers reached almost to her waist.

She looked around, shocked at the suddenness of the shift.

As a warm gentle breeze kissed her skin, Kasey couldn’t help but wonder. Was she dead? Was this the afterlife? She had heard stories of the fields of Elysium and as she studied the peaceful meadow she stood in, it certainly seemed to match her imagination of what heaven might be like.

The field rose in a gentle slope and the top of the hill was covered in worn boulders that were battered and scarred and gray with age, but out of them grew an immense tree.

Something about it impressed her, and Kasey started out toward it.

As she climbed the hill, she spotted movement in the distance. Four stags rose out of the long grass and bounded down the hill away from her.

Kasey resumed her climb toward the enormous tree. At first, she expected it to be a short hike, but with time, she realized it was simply an illusion created by the immense size of the ash tree.

Overhead somewhere, an eagle cried. Kasey lifted her eyes to the heavens to try and find the bird but the sun on her face was too bright.

She dismissed the presence of the great hunter. If the eagle wanted her that badly, it would get the first strike, but it was going to have to come closer to take it.

Next to a vampire, an eagle hardly seemed to rate on her threat-o-meter.

As Kasey approached the tree, she found one of its immense gnarled roots running down the hillside. It was bigger than her car, or at least bigger than her car had been before Savage Garden had blown it to pieces.

Kasey pressed on, climbing for what felt like an eternity until at last she reached the base of the ash tree.

Its trunk was gnarled and weathered with age. Its boughs twisted around each other, seemingly holding the tree together.

Walking around the tree, Kasey realized two other roots like the first stretched away from it. Spaced equidistant from each other, the enormous root network held the ash tree firmly in place atop the hill.

How ancient did a tree have to be to dominate the hill it was growing out of?

As Kasey studied the tree, a familiar feeling passed through her. There was a power here that resonated deep within her soul. Kasey was well accustomed to the feeling of arcane power, but this was something else. This power seemed to speak to her, filling her soul.

In the presence of the tree, her pain was forgotten, and Kasey had the distinct impression that she was not alone. Someone was watching her.

She looked about and saw no one. The stags frolicked in the distance, unconcerned by her presence. Kasey walked around the tree but found no one else.

She started to approach the tree, but stopped in her tracks.

This place was sacred ground.

She didn't know how she knew, but the sense of it blared in her mind like a warning klaxon.

The Druids of old had built their altars in places like this. Here they had worshiped the Earth Spirit. Of that she was certain. Kasey regretted that she had not learned more of her people. If she had, she might have known how she ought to conduct herself in this holy place.

She reached down and slipped off her boots and socks. As she straightened up, she could feel energy coursing through the grass beneath her feet and was convinced she had made the right choice.

As if in response to her unasked question, a peace came over her.

She stepped closer to the tree and studied its knotted and weathered trunk. The bark was brown and gray but as Kasey looked higher, she could make out rusty crimson trails running down its face. It looked like blood.

How had that got there? What was this place and why had she been brought here?

Two rivers ran through the meadow, running parallel to each other. The place was pristine and untouched by humanity and while a sense of being filled the meadow, Kasey had no idea what purpose the place served.

“Why have you brought me here?” Kasey called as she slowly turned, unable to shake the impression of someone’s eyes on her.

Part of her felt foolish for speaking to a tree, but there was nothing else around but the tree that loomed overhead, casting its shadow over her.

Kasey waited, but only the breeze whistling through the branches answered her.

“Come on, I can feel your presence. The Sidhe sent me here, but I don't know why. What am I meant to do?”

There was a grinding like that of stone sliding against stone. When it ceased, a deep voice answered, “I brought you here.”

Kasey leapt backward away from the tree, her feet catching on one of the smaller roots, sending her stumbling until she landed flat on her butt.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she sought for the source of the voice. A knot in the tree trunk had parted and in the smooth bark beneath the weathered exterior, she could make out the shape of a face. There were two large eyes with a high brow ridge, along with a distinctly thick nose and mouth that moved slowly as if the tree were chewing something.

“I'm sorry,” Kasey stammered, her heart racing.

“For what?” The tree asked.

Kasey racked her brain; she didn't really know. It just felt like the right thing to say.

“I don't know. I, uh, didn't mean to disturb you.” Kasey struggled like a boy asking a girl to prom.

“Yes, you did,” the tree replied. “But for this purpose you came, did you not? For this purpose, the Sidhe works her magic even now.”

Each labored word was slow, considered, and full of power. They were declared with an absolute authority that brooked no disagreement.

“You're the Earth Spirit,” Kasey said, putting two and two together.

“And you are Earthborn,” the Spirit replied, “though you have taken a strange path to get here.”

Kasey nodded and was about to open her mouth when the tree continued.

“Are we going to continue stating the obvious, or are you going to tell me why you have come?”

For someone who took such an agonizingly long time to speak, the Earth Spirit was certainly in a hurry.

“I was hoping that I might be able to restore my sight,” Kasey asked. “I was born with it, but now it’s gone.”

“Hmm,” the tree mumbled, its bark lips moving to form each word. “You seem to see just fine.”

“I don’t mean my eyes,” Kasey replied. “My prescience. I used to see visions, but I seem to have lost my connection to it. I was told you are responsible for such things.”

“I am not responsible for what you have done. Great gifts were given, a reward for the efforts of those who came before you. How you squandered them was not my doing.”

Kasey felt like a child floundering in a class whose rules she had never been taught.

“I don't mean that you are responsible for me losing them,” Kasey replied, climbing to her feet. “I mean you were responsible for me having the gifts in the first place.”

“It is the right of the Earthborn,” the Earth Spirit replied. “I do not understand why would you so readily forsake my gifts? Were they such a burden?”

“No,” Kasey replied. “I mean, sort of. They felt that way at first, when I was younger and I didn’t understand them properly. But as I got older, I have been able to use them to help others. They gave purpose to my life and helped me save millions of others. They are part of what makes me who I am, but I lost them.”

“I watched your battle with the warlock,” the Earth Spirit replied. “When you embraced his power, you hurt my soul.”

Kasey trembled as she came to terms with the enormity of what she had done. Clearly there was more to being Earthborn than she had realized. Not only could the Earth Spirit share its omniscience with her, but the bond was a two-way street. Her actions affected the Earth Spirit.

“I’m sorry,” Kasey whispered, looking down at the ground. The thought of bringing harm to a being of such peace horrified her. “If I had known then what I do now, I never would have done it.”

“I am not so sure,” the Earth Spirit said. “You are a stubborn soul. I can feel the fire within you.”

“I can learn,” Kasey pleaded. “I just need someone to teach me.”

“Even now, Talora works to cleanse your soul,” the Earth Spirit said, “but it is I who decides your fate.”

“Fate?” Kasey swallowed. Part of her had feared she was already dead.

“Yes,” the spirit replied. “So make your case.”

“I'm going to level with you,” Kasey said to the tree. “I might be Earthborn, but I didn't really understand what that meant until yesterday. And even now I know I have much to learn.”

“A druid with no sense of their own identity?” The Earth Spirit groaned. “It is incomprehensible.”

“But not incurable,” Kasey answered. “I might be late to the party, but I'm doing my best.”

“What if your best isn't good enough?” The tree shook its branches, sending a cascade of leaves raining down upon her.

“Then a lot of people are going to die,” Kasey said. “The vampires have come for my city and I'm fighting blind. I need help and I need my visions back.”

“Vampires?” the tree asked, seeming unsure.

What had Carys called them? Kasey cast her mind back to her discussion in the penthouse.

“The servants of the darkness.”

The tree shook vigorously, leaves raining from its branches as the face bellowed, “They have no place here in my world.”

Kasey nodded along. “You don't have to tell me. I've been fighting them for weeks, but I need more help. I need my power back. That's why I'm here.”

“Oh, you have plenty of power, child.” The tree laughed. “Your parents saw to that. By the time Talora has finished, your frame won’t be able to contain it, but you have no direction. You go wherever the wind blows you. It is time you embraced your purpose.”

“As long as that involves kicking the vampires out of my city, I am all onboard,” Kasey replied, doing her best to reason with the Earth Spirit.

“It's a lot more than that,” the tree replied. “The Earthborn protect and preserve the realm. You must push back the darkness, and the vampires are but one servant of a greater threat.”

Kasey's mind reeled. The vampires were a conniving and consuming evil. They preyed on the human populations of the world, bending them to their will or twisting their nature. What could be a greater threat than that?

“I don't understand,” Kasey replied, still feeling like a student who was lagging behind her class.

“You are not ready,” the Earth Spirit replied. “In time you might be, if you survive.”

“Survive what? The vampires?” Kasey asked.

“No, the Guardian. He has come. We are out of time.”

“No, I need your help,” Kasey shouted, reaching for the tree.

“Then swear you will stay the course,” the tree bellowed. “Swear you will embrace your destiny Earthborn. Swear to me!”

It wanted an oath. Kasey hesitated. She felt like she was signing a contract she hadn’t even read yet, but if the Guardian was coming, she couldn’t afford to wait. It was now or never.

Kasey poured her will into every word, hoping to satisfy the Earth Spirit’s demands.

“I swear it!” she shouted, her voice shaking the hilltop. “Now help me!”

“You shall have it.”

A root shot up out of the earth and raced at Kasey.

There was no time to react. The gnarled, soil-coated root wrapped around Kasey's arm, and she collapsed. Her world turned black as the root snaked around her. She could feel her body moving but she was no longer in control.

It was as if she was falling through a dark abyss. All around her there was only darkness.

A light burst before her and images played before her mind.

An immense ballroom filled her mind’s eye. Dozens of couples moved around the floor in time with a band’s lively number. Each of the people wore masks. It was a masquerade ball in an ornate ballroom.

Then as quickly as it appeared, the scene dispersed. Kasey found herself back at Kendra's penthouse. It was dark, the lights were out, and it seemed to be the middle of the night.

A silhouette landed on her balcony and arrived at the door. There was a faint click and the door swung open. A figure dressed in black entered the penthouse and began rifling around, looking for something.

The thief made quick progress as the moved with purpose from room to room. He disappeared into the bedroom and emerged carrying the Libro Sanguis. Kasey cursed as the vision closed and another opened.

She found herself standing on the deck of a ferry heading for Staten Island, but it was the scene behind her, not the iconic statue, that had her attention: New York City at night, but the brilliant lights of the city skyline were slowly disappearing beneath a veil of darkness. The choking fog rolled over Manhattan and into the river, thickening until the southern point of the island vanished behind it.

Each of the scenes were seared into her mind. They were vivid and disturbing, each in their own way. But interestingly only one of them had shown her death. What did that mean? Her prescience had always focused on death, hers or someone else’s.

In spite of the terrible vistas, something inside Kasey burst like a dam breaking. She had seen a vision, and not just one, but three of them. Fleeting though they might have been, she had seen them.

Her prescience was back.

The darkness dispersed and Kasey could feel the cold stone against the back of her head.

Once more, she was laying on the altar in the icy cave. Talora stood over her, beads of sweat running down her brow.

Kasey felt alive. What was more, she felt better than she had for weeks as power seemed to thrum through her being. There was an elemental abundance that she’d never before felt. It was as if her power were going to lift her into the air and carry her away.

“Welcome back,” Talora whispered. “It appears you were successful.”

Kasey swung her feet over the edge of the altar and as her heels struck the stone, she realized they were bare. Her boots and socks lay discarded beside it.

Had she removed them herself? Just like she had at the tree when speaking with the Earth Spirit?

Whatever the case, it didn't matter now.

“You damn near killed me,” Kasey said, blood pounding through her veins.

“I did what was required in our bargain,” Talora said, her voice weary. “No more, no less, and it is done.”

Kasey looked down at her hands and could see a faint glow about them. As she examined herself, she realized her entire frame seemed to be radiating an inner light.

“What have you done to me?” Kasey asked.

“I performed the ritual,” Talora replied. “I purged the last vestiges of your corruption, driving it out and replacing it with the magic of this place. You are far more now than you have ever been.”

Kasey couldn't deny it; she felt incredible. She felt like she could do anything.

As she went to climb off the altar, the cave trembled and she remembered the Earth Spirit’s warning.

“We’re out of time,” she said. “The Guardian is here.”

A deep rumble echoed through the cave as the creature howled its outrage at them.

In the darkness at the end of the cave, Kasey could make out the outline of the Guardian as it moved toward them.

Shadows and mist seemed to envelope a creature so large that the antlers protruding from its head scraped along the icy ceiling, sending shards of ice raining down upon it.

Kasey's heart stopped beating as the air in the cavern turned still, causing the hair on her neck to stand on end.

Talora's golden eyes went wide with fear. She turned to Kasey, her voice little more than a scratchy whisper. “The Wendigo.”

The Wendigo let out a haunting cry and lunged forward, its dark beady eyes settled right on Kasey.

Chapter 11

The Wendigo strode through the icy tunnel toward her. Every footstep sent tremors through the cave. It moved with the steady lumbering gait of an apex predator whose prey had unwittingly landed themselves in his trap.

A seemingly sentient shadowy mist emanated from the beast. The mist spread through the cavern, washing over them.

Kasey was struck with a sense of utter hopelessness.

Panic set in as her heart beat faster and faster, but her legs simply wouldn't move.

The paralyzing miasma of terror held her in place.

Through the mess, the creature’s flaming red eyes focused on her.

The body of the creature was skeletal and gaunt. Strips of pallid flesh clung to its bones which were warped and twisted. From its back, a tangled mass of bones, like the boughs of a long dead tree, rose toward the ceiling. Thick antlers jutted out from each side of its head and its long slender face narrowed to a pointed chin beneath which its gullet was open and showed a mouthful of teeth that had been painstakingly sharpened to fine points.

“What’s a Wendigo?” Kasey whispered.

“An ancient evil,” Talora replied, “set to guard the falls by the Winter King himself.”

As the creature approached, the Pegasi balked, whinnying madly in the face of the paralyzing aura the creature put out. Kasey understood the discomfort. She didn't want to be here either.

Arcane power coursed through her veins, more than she had ever felt in her life.

Whilst she had never seen one, Kasey had heard stories told by the people of the Native Americans who had inhabited the land long before Europeans had arrived. The indigenous people spoke in hushed tones of humans turned into monsters having fed on the flesh of their fellow man. Kasey could readily see why so few first-hand encounters had ever been shared. She doubted people survived meeting the Wendigo.

If the creature could sense the power Kasey was giving off, it gave no indication, instead continuing its implacable advance.

“What's the plan?” Kasey asked Talora. “Are we going through it, or what?”

“Not a chance,” Talora said. “You might feel invincible now, but that creature has been feeding here for months, drawing power from this place and twisting it to freeze the falls. It is at the heart of the bitter winter we’re facing. The Wendigo is ancient and deadly. You couldn't hope to defeat it.”

“Are you sure? I'm feeling pretty good right now,” Kasey replied.

Power coursed through her, playing along her skin like static electricity.

“Positive. Besides, that power you’re feeling is temporary. Your body cannot hold it for long and you will need it for our bargain.”

The Wendigo launched itself forward.

Kasey leaped off the altar, her feet hitting the icy floor and sliding. She fought to keep her balance as she hurled a sphere of fire straight at the Wendigo.

The creature drew in a breath that sounded like a rusty hinge opening and then exhaled. A blizzard of freezing wind, laced with stalactites of ice, poured from the creature’s open mouth. Kasey's fireball went out like a candle on a birthday cake. As her conjuration whiffed out of existence, the storm of icy shrapnel flew straight threw it.

“Damn it!” Kasey yelled, diving behind the altar. Spears of ice shattered against the stone. To her right, Talora stood behind a shield.

“See what I mean? You can't beat it. We need to leave.” Talora expanded her shield, sealing the entrance to the cavern.

“How do you expect to get out? You just shut us in,” Kasey shouted over the wind.

“Where not leaving that way,” Talora replied. “It's time.”

The Wendigo beat on Talora's shield, and the Sidhe flinched. Each swipe of its bony limbs reverberated through the cavern, but Talora held firm, holding the creature at bay.

“Time for what?” Kasey asked.

“Time for you to make good on our bargain. I have given you the power and now it’s time for you to answer. I want fire. I want you to bring Summer to the heart of Winter.”

“Now?” Kasey asked. “The whole cave is made of ice. It's going to melt.”

Talora cast a sideways glance at Kasey that told her everything she needed to know.

That was the Sidhe's plan all along. She hadn't picked the Falls because of its lone guardian. As Kasey watched the terrifying form of the Wendigo pound at Talora’s shield, she knew that was a convenient fallacy. Talora had picked this place for its strategic significance.

By exercising his control over the river and the falls, the King of Winter was stretching the season itself, casting a prevailing Winter over the land of Faerie and by extension the mortal realm.

And Talora wanted that to change. She needed it. She expected Kasey to be the one to pull the trigger.

Kasey wondered at the obvious danger in doing so, not only for herself but for the dramatic shift in power she might spark among the Sidhe courts. Their power waxed and waned with the seasons. She would be hastening Winter’s fall. Or would she be righting it? Had Winter’s own manipulation called for this? Surely winter had overstayed its welcome and she was simply restoring the balance of power. The justification felt a little hollow, but she didn’t have a choice.

Talora's words echoed through her mind again. The words of the bargain struck in Kendra's penthouse. She had given her word, her sworn oath that she would perform one evocation.

At the same time, her words to the earth spirit played through her mind. She had already risked her gifts once. She could not afford to deviate from the path. She was Earthborn. If Winter was altering the natural order of the earth itself, that balance needed to be righted.

“What do you want me to do?” Kasey asked.

“These are the Falls. In Summer, water would pour through this place. Everything before the altar is simply Winter staying the river’s course. I need you to bring it all down.”

Kasey glanced about the cave. “This whole place is ice. As soon as it, thaws we'll be underwater.”

“Would you rather take your chances with him?” Talora asked as her shield flickered. “The Wendigo eats its prey.”

The Wendigo redoubled his efforts against the shield.

That was when Kasey understood the measure of the Sidhe's resolve. Whether or not she made it out of here alive was secondary to her mission. And with every second that passed, the Wendigo grew closer to wearing through her defenses.

As she considered the task before her, Kasey knew the truth. She'd never tried anything as remotely taxing as this would be.

She could feel the energy of her initiation coursing through her body. She was almost floating on the power pent-up within, but would it be enough?

“Hurry,” Talora cried, her voice growing shrill. “The Wendigo will not kill us quickly.”

Kasey remembered the corpses stuck in the ice at the edge of the cave. The carcasses of animals that had been frozen and half consumed.

“It will pick the flesh from our bones, slowly, while we watch and then when our spirits surrender to its madness, we will join the rest of them.” Talora pointed to the frozen forms trapped in the ice.

“Hell no.” Kasey climbed back onto the stone altar.

The Wendigo howled but she forced its haunting visage from her mind, as she turned to face the outer edge of the falls. Sheets of ice divided her from the outside world, and she needed out, now. Kasey saw a way to kill two birds with one stone. Talora might have been content to die here, her sacrifice bringing the Summer Court victory, but this struggle in Faerie was not her fight.

Her battle lay in New York City where the Feudal Court was preparing for war.

The stone plinth was freezing against her feet, but she didn't have time to worry about things like frostbite. Being eaten by the Wendigo was a far more pressing threat.

In front of her lay sheets of ice. She didn't know how thick, but they were dark enough to blot out the sun. She was going to have to bring all the heat she could muster.

“Time to take these Earthborn powers out for a spin,” she whispered to herself. “Let's see what they can do.”

She closed her eyes and tried to blot out the sound of the Wendigo’s howling as it pounded against the shield. She struggled to seal her mind against the possibility that a rampaging cannibal would come tearing through the cavern at any moment, but still, she could feel the darkness emanating from the creature. A chilling pall of death that haunted her mind.

She pushed the thoughts down deep and focused on the ice before her. A quiet calm formed in her mind, and she raised both hands pointing them at the wall of the cavern before her.

“Wal Tân!”

Fire poured from her outstretched hands like flames from the maw of a dragon. The fire superheated the air around it and struck the wall of the ice cave with an intensity that surprised even herself.

Power flowed through her in torrents and whether it was her initiation and subsequent bond with the Earth Spirit, or simply the energy of this place she could not tell, but Kasey poured her will into the inferno.

Steam hissed from the wall as the fire melted the ice and boiled the resulting water all at once.

The evocation carved through the cavern wall and the Wendigo howled.

He knows.

The creature might have simply been hungry before, but now the nightmare understood their true intentions and redoubled his efforts. In her mind, Kasey felt something wrestling with her will. It was like the Wendigo was playing tug of war with the power she was drawing.

The temperature inside the cavern started to plummet. Around the periphery of her vision, Kasey could see the ice trying to reform.

As she stood on the altar, Kasey could feel the power of the falls trapped beneath her feet. Millions of gallons of water, frozen in place by the cold hand of Winter, and beneath it all flowed the magic of this place: a confluence of incredible power and equal significance in both realms.

A reservoir of power that was trapped by the Wendigo’s magic.

Kasey poured power into her spell, and as the Wendigo continued its assault on her mind, her own power flagged. Whatever power Talora had given her during the ritual was beginning to wane. She needed more, a lot more.

Ice was melting before her, great sheets of it collapsing before her might, but it wasn’t enough.

Even as it dueled with her will, the Wendigo continued to triage the damage Kasey was inflicting. The walls around her closing inch by inch.

“You need more power,” Talora shouted. “You must tap into the ley line. You are Earthborn. It will hear your call.”

As if in response, the icy walls of the cave molded themselves into wickedly sharp stakes of ice, that closed on her as she stood on the altar.

“I am Earthborn,” Kasey muttered the words aloud and the stone beneath her feet trembled. Not from the Wendigo stampeding at the door, but from the power coursing through it, trapped behind the Wendigo’s will.

In her mind, she could feel that same will fending her away as she tried to lay hold of the power beneath her. The creature was fighting her on both fronts, and it was winning.

Changing her approach, Kasey ceased fueling the inferno before her and focused all her will on the battle for the heart of the Falls. Kasey’s will punched through the Wendigo’s defenses like a dam being hit with a ballistic missile. They crumbled, and Kasey experienced the true power buried beneath the layers of ice.

“Hear me,” Kasey bellowed as the power of the falls welled up within her. “Gwynt Tân!”

She was but a conduit siphoning the pent-up arcana and shaping it. Pillars of fire exploded from her outstretched hands, carving through the sheets of ice, melting the walls around them and obliterating the icy spears racing toward her.

Sunlight flooded into the cave, as gravity pulled the pooling water out through some opening.

She had done it; she had broken through.

Kasey widened her efforts, channeling fire and superheated air at the frozen falls.

Great sheets of ice were sloughing off the falls and piling into the river beneath. The earth shook as each glacier like piece crashed into the earth beneath. The Wendigo howled in bestial fury as its frozen palace came crashing down.

Water dripped from the roof and Kasey looked up to discover the ice above her head cracking and melting. With one last burst, she sent pillars of fire into the frozen floor of the cavern, carving straight down into the frozen falls beneath her. The earth shook violently as the weakened ice shelf shifted.

“Time to go,” Kasey shouted. “Lightning?”

The Pegasus bounded forward, its hooves slipping on the slick melting ice.

A gaping crevasse opened between Kasey and Talora as the two halves of the ice shelf started to part. The earth shook all around them. Only the pillar on which Kasey stood remained untouched.

Lightning snapped out his wings and launched himself forward. As he passed, Kasey by leaped off the altar onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck as the Pegasus soared into the sky. Kasey looked over her shoulder and found Talora riding Comet right behind her. Talora was sweating and shaking as she clung to her steed.

There was a deafening rumble of thunder as the Wendigo raced to the edge of the collapsing falls, ice forming above its outstretched hands as it prepared to rain hell upon her.

With a deafening roar, the frozen falls broke apart. Glacial shelves collapsed in an avalanche of ice as the river broke through. The wall of surging water bowled the Wendigo over the falls where it vanished into the icy mess at the fall’s base.

“You did it,” Talora cried.

Kasey's heart was on fire. The elation of her victory was all consuming. She had her powers back, and she’d kicked the Wendigo’s ass too.

“How much power did you give me?” Kasey called to Talora.

“Everything I could,” Talora replied. “The body has limits. I didn’t want to find yours, but I think we were close.”

Kasey knew the Sidhe spoke the truth. The pain she had felt at her initiation was excruciating. Was it simply her body protesting against the power it was being given? What might have happened if Talora had continued? Kasey looked back to her time on the altar and realized just how close she’d been to death—and that was before the Wendigo had made its appearance.

“Fortunately, I was able to break through the Wendigo’s barriers and use the power of the Falls. They are truly something else.”

“Indeed, the falls are vital part of Faerie,” Talora said. Her golden eyes seemed somewhat dimmer than Kasey remembered. “In winter, we cannot contest them readily, but come spring they will be our domain once more. The Summer Queen will be well pleased.”

“And the Winter King? What of him?”

“Oh, he'll be furious with you.” Talora shrugged. “And the Winter King doesn't rest in his wrath. He will most certainly try to kill you.”

Chapter 12

Suddenly things made a lot more sense. When Talora had been willing to perform the ritual in exchange for such a simple favor, Kasey had been surprised. After all, the Sidhe had wanted a far greater price from Carys. What was one evocation in the scheme of things?

At the time, Kasey had thought perhaps it was simply goodwill on Talora’s part. After all, they shared a common purpose on the Council, and with the vampires attacking the city, Kasey figured her own empowerment would help them both avoid destruction at the Feudal Court’s hands.

But it was not so. The lady of the Summer Court had deftly maneuvered her into throwing a devastating first strike at the Winter Court.

Looking back at it now, she couldn’t help but appreciate the Sidhe's manipulation. It was as subtle as it was deadly, bringing her here and trapping her in the cave with the Wendigo blocking the only way out. Kasey had been given no choice but to keep her word.

Sanders had warned her that the Fae were treacherous. Now she knew the truth of it for herself.

Of course, Talora had only asked for a single evocation, but it wasn’t out of goodwill. She simply didn't expect Kasey to live long enough to pay a greater price.

If Talora had forced Kasey to swear fealty to the Summer Court, it would have dragged Summer into the fray by extension. Now that Kasey had done the damage, she would be disavowed and left to face Winter’s reprisal alone.

Kasey glanced sideways at Talora riding her Pegasus. The Sidhe wore a self-satisfied smile on her lips.

“You tricked me,” Kasey muttered.

“I did no such thing,” Talora replied. “You asked a favor. I set the price and you paid it. Now we must all live with the consequences.”

“Easy for you to say. You won’t have Winter hunting you.”

Talora shrugged. “You worry too much about that which is to come. Relish your victory. We survived the Wendigo, and the Earth Spirit has taken a liking to you. It's been a good day.”

“Will that matter if the Winter King wants me dead?”

The Sidhe monarchs were some of the most powerful beings beyond the Veil. Titania’s will alone had sent her reeling. Having a being with power of that magnitude wanting her dead was haunting.

“Relax, Kasey. The Winter King has more to worry about right now than your interference. As spring breaks, Oberon will be wholly occupied. Freezing the Falls subverted the natural order, and my mistress will extract a price from him for his treachery. Beside Titania, you are of little concern to him.”

That was a little more reassuring. Survival through insignificance. Never in her life had she wanted to be overlooked so badly.

“That said, I'd sleep with one eye open,” Talora added.

As far as giving reassuring pep talks went, Talora sucked. Which wasn’t a surprise, really. The Sidhe had the diplomatic tact of a hangry rhinoceros but at least she had been good to her word. Not only had Kasey undergone her initiation, but she'd come face-to-face with the Earth Spirit: Mother Nature itself, or at least some aspect of the divine intelligence that had possessed the tree.

Generations of her family’s sacrifice had culminated in this moment. Kasey wondered what her mother might think of the exchange and felt a pang of guilt. Her parents had hidden the truth from her all her life, and when her mother had come clean, Kasey had stormed out of the house.

But hindsight was a powerful thing, and Kasey was starting to feel that she’d been too harsh with her mother. After all, she’d simply been respecting Kasey’s wishes. Sure, she’d hidden the truth about Kasey’s visions from her. Visions that had brought her pain all her life, but they were the same visions she’d just started a war with Winter to get back. She couldn’t really stay angry at her mother without feeling like a total hypocrite.

She needed to make that right and talking to her mother about the Earth Spirit was a good excuse to try and mend the fences she’d steamrolled through in her anger.

She still didn't quite know what to make of the meeting. While the Earth Spirit had proved helpful, she had also seemed preoccupied. Kasey remembered the feeling of the spirit’s will enveloping her. She had sworn an oath to the timeless being, and she hadn't done it lightly. Unlike her bargain with the Sidhe, Kasey had no regrets about that.

After all, the Earth Spirit and her visions had been helping her since the day she was born. Like her, the Earth Spirit seemed intent on preserving the world and its inhabitants. If the Earth Spirit was willing to help her as it had in the past, she had no hesitation about taking it. Unpleasant though some of her visions might have been, they saved lives.

This might not have been the life she had imagined when she was younger, but she was riding a Pegasus through the heavens above Faerie. Dangerous though it might be, this was so much better.

Of course, it had a potentially far shorter duration, one shrinking in response to an ever-multiplying list of enemies, but as Lightning's wings beat steadily, she couldn't help but smile.

The Falls faded into the distance behind them, and the power coursing through Kasey waned also. When she had emerged from the ritual, she had felt an overwhelming amount of power building inside her. It reminded her of jumping on a trampoline as a child. After she would tire, Kasey would lay flat on the mat, moving her arms and head back and forth gathering as much static electricity as possible until her unsuspecting sister Sarah would join her. Kasey would reach out to help Sarah climb onto the trampoline only for the static shock to scare the daylights out of her.

At the moment she had emerged from the ritual, she had felt just like that: a coiled spring ready to unleash raw power. But thawing the Falls had taken that out of her. Whatever power Talora had channeled into her, Kasey had expended and more. She felt like her old self again but with one exception. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt something that hadn’t been there before. Was it a lingering reminder of her bond with the Earth Spirit?

Kasey figured she would ask Carys about it later. She didn't trust Talora any further than she could throw her, and much as she'd like to try to throw the Summer Sidhe, it was likely more trouble than it was worth.

Kasey recalled the moment she had connected with the Earth Spirit and the flood of visions that had passed through her mind. Three visions in a matter of seconds. She had never felt anything like that. Was it a sign of things to come?

With the long flight still ahead of her, Kasey tried to piece together what she had seen.

The visions had been swift, but she couldn’t help but think the Earth Spirit had imparted a rush of information in that instant. Seeing so much in so short a time presented its own problems. The shorter the vision, the more difficult it was to interpret.

Kasey had learned the hard way that context was everything. Unless she understood what was happening, her actions might inadvertently bring about the exact situation she was striving to avoid.

The first vision had been of a ballroom. But it was not just any ball; it had been a masquerade ball. From their elegant eveningwear, Kasey could easily deduce that the guests had been at the affluent end of the social spectrum. Expensive masks had concealed the identities of the attendees as they laughed and danced through the hall. The room had been lit by a number of chandeliers.

By the band, two men had stood speaking. One of them, a large man with jet black hair and half his face concealed by the mask from Phantom of the Opera. The other wore a three-piece suit, a white porcelain mask, and in spite of being inside, he had still been wearing his fedora.

Beyond that, she got nothing.

She didn't recognise the room or a single person in it. For all she knew, it could be New York, or anywhere else on Earth. There hadn't been a clock that she could use as a point of reference. So whether the event was today, tomorrow, or fifty years from now, she couldn’t tell.

In fact, what she didn't know vastly outweighed what she did. With little context, the vision was no help to her whatsoever but perhaps that would change with time.

The second vision had been longer than the first and as she recalled it, her heart began to beat a little quicker. With everything that had transpired, she had simply been too busy to process what had occurred. As plain as day, she'd seen Kendra's penthouse and someone breaking into it from the balcony.

The thief had made their way through the apartment and emerged with the Libro Sanguis. Unlike the first vision, this was clearly a warning of a present danger.

She may not know exactly when the theft was to occur, but she was occupying the penthouse now. It could be any day, but someone was certainly going to attempt to steal the tome.

She couldn't let that happen.

Carys had already been immensely helpful, and she had no doubt she had barely scratched the surface of what her ancestor knew, and she hadn’t even read the tome. It was clear that few others understood the true purpose of the book, but even without Carys’ shade to guide her it was invaluable. Carys had filled the tome with rituals intended to appeal to a user’s greed and prevent them from losing or destroying the tome. Drawn by its power, they would spend their time harnessing its magic and thereby prolong Carys’ life.

But it did beg the question, who was the thief?

Was it the Feudal Court? Had they discovered where she was hiding? It seemed a little too subtle to be their style.

Perhaps it was someone else. Could Strang or the Council be trying to recover the tome against her will? Strang had certainly been keen to have it returned to the Repository.

Kasey knew in her heart that she could never let that happen. Carys, the talkative little egomaniac, might tell others her secret. Kasey wasn't ready to have her family’s dirty laundry aired before the world. The city saw her as a hero. What would they think if they knew she was descended from one of the most infamous druids to ever live?

Whatever the cost, she couldn't allow the tome to fall into anyone else's hands. Whoever this thief was, she needed to secure the tome before he could take it.

Of course, she could always move it, but where would be safer than Kendra's?

As she soared through the sky, Kasey had a better idea. She knew what they wanted, and she knew they were coming. Perhaps the Libro Sanguis was best used as bait. If she could catch the thief, perhaps she could learn more about what they were after. Was that why the Earth Spirit had granted her the vision? Kasey doubted it was on account of any affection for Carys. After all, he had betrayed his oath. With everything else that was going on, Kasey couldn't see the Earth Spirit prioritizing Carys’ well-being over anything else.

Then there was the third vision. She had only seen it for a moment before it had been taken away. A portentous view of New York City vanishing under a shroud of darkness. Was it literal or figurative? Even now, the Feudal Court was spreading through the city like a cancer. Unfortunately, the vision did little to clarify anything other than the fact it seemed to take place at night. As far as help went, it wasn’t particularly useful.

New York City being in danger wasn’t something she needed to be told. What she needed to know was the precise nature of the threat. The Feudal Court’s plans were still a mystery. That was what she needed from her visions, though clearly the Earth Spirit didn’t know or didn’t feel the need to share any greater insight she might have had on those.

Was the scene she’d witnessed connected to the vampires? Or was it some other peril, like the Shinigami's attack on New York that the Earth Spirit was forewarning her of? For all she knew, it could be weeks, months, or even years from now. She had no way to tell, but in her soul, she knew the visions couldn’t be ignored.

Her visions were back. It was a strange feeling, both terrifying and reassuring all at once.

The one thing she knew for sure was that there was work to be done.

Lightning soared through the skies above Faerie, crossing plains and mountains, eating up mile after mile without complaint. The creature’s mighty wings beat steadily, and Kasey enjoyed the panoramic view.

Talora was silent as they made their way south. As the sun started falling over the horizon, Talora and Comet dropped into a sharp descent.

Kasey didn't need to say a word. Lightning dove after them as they made a beeline for an icy field below.

The Pegasi alighted with the grace of an Olympic figure skater into an empty field.

As far as Kasey could tell, it was just like a hundred others they had flown over in the last hour but no sooner had Comet landed than Talora swung off his back. Kasey followed suit, greatly mourning the loss of her boots as she landed shivering in the thick winter snow.

“This is where we part company,” Talora replied. “I have business at Court that must be seen to.”

I'm sure you do.

“We’re going to need you at Council,” Kasey replied. “The city has threats of its own to face.”

“I will return soon enough,” Talora replied. “In the meantime, give my apologies to the Chancellor.”

Talora delivered the perfunctory exchange with the sincerity of a seasoned politician. Then she turned and with a trembling hand, opened a rift through the Veil.

To Kasey's great relief, she could make out Kendra's bathroom through the tear in reality.

“Hurry now. You’ll catch a cold like that,” Talora said.

Kasey ran her hand up Lightning's neck. “Thanks for the ride, big fella. Couldn't have done it without you.”

The Pegasus let out a proud whinny and Kasey laughed. Lightning had spirit, and plenty of it. She was going to miss him.

“Lightning seems to have taken a shine to you,” Talora said. “He normally balks at strangers.”

“Ah well, it’s mutual,” Kasey replied. Turning to Lightning, she looked into his big blue eyes and whispered, “I hope to see you again.”

She ran a hand through his mane, patted his neck, and without another word to Talora, she stepped through the rift into Kendra's bathroom. No sooner had she passed through it than the rift sealed shut behind her.

Under the heat lamps in Kendra's penthouse, the snow clinging to her clothes turned to water.

She looked around the bathroom and realized the Hawthorne shrub was gone. She hadn't even seen Talora touch it.

“Tricky little Sidhe,” Kasey muttered to herself with a shake of her head.

“Kasey, is that you?” a voice called.

Before Kasey could gather her thoughts to reply, the bathroom door swung open, revealing Detective Bishop.

The detective took one look at Kasey's battered and bloody parka and wind tossed hair and shook her head.

“Kasey, where have you been?”

Chapter 13

Kasey stood in the center of the bathroom. The water pooling around her feet from the freshly melted snow still hadn’t managed to obscure the thick chalk outline of her summoning circle.

One glance at herself in the mirror told her everything she needed to know. Kendra’s parka had been shredded by her encounter with the shriek and there was no hiding the blood. Some of it was hers, some of it was Lightning’s, but with the numbing cold she’d hardly noticed her wounds.

The promise of what the Wendingo would do to her and Talora had far outweighed her concern for the largely superficial damage the shrieks had caused.

Kasey looked at her unkempt appearance and knew that there was no hiding from Bishop. She’d watched Bishop crack hardened criminals, and right now she was a mess and looking guilty as sin. With no plausible avenues open to her, Kasey held her tongue.

Bishop shook her head. “Only you could get in this much trouble taking a shower.”

She wasn’t wrong. Trouble, it seemed, followed her wherever she went of late. It was like a puppy expecting to get a treat.

“Very funny,” Kasey replied, peeling off the parka and tossing it into the bathtub. It was destined for the trash, but at least for the moment the bath would contain the mess. “I’ve been working on our vampire problem.”

“Oh, have you?” Bishop asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because we’ve been waiting for you to show up for hours.”

“Hours?” Kasey looked around for a clock. With the way time distorted beyond the Veil, she had no idea just how long she had been gone. “What time is it?”

“After four. Where have you been? Kendra said you were sleeping, but clearly that isn’t the case.”

“After four?” Kasey breathed a sigh of relief. Her trip through Faerie had only taken about five hours, at least on this side of the Veil. It could have been much worse. “Look, I’m sorry, but I needed to take care of something, urgently.”

“As urgent as an army of vampires ravishing the city?” Bishop asked. “Because things are getting worse by the day.”

Kasey nodded. “It’s going to help us get a bead on their plans.”

Bishop stood in the doorway with her hands planted firmly on her hips. She didn’t seem the least bit convinced.

“The guards say you haven’t left your room,” Bishop began, looking at the puddle of melted snow at her feet. “But clearly that isn’t true. How did you get past them?”

“I didn’t,” Kasey replied, using a brush from the drawer to try and wrestle her windswept hair back to a manageable mess.

“You have a price on your head, Kasey. You shouldn’t be running around the city on your own. What’s going on?”

That was Bishop, always looking out for her. It was endearing, when she wasn’t being accused of reckless stupidity. But in Bishop’s defense, she’d done that sort of thing more than once.

“I wasn’t running around the city. I was somewhere else,” Kasey replied, examining herself in the mirror. Her lips were still a little blue from the exposure, not to mention the claw marks raking down her left arm and just below her neck. All in all, she’d seen better days, but she’d also seen worse.

“Then where were you?” Bishop asked. “I thought we don’t do secrets anymore.”

A pang of guilt pricked Kasey’s heart. She’d hid the World of Magic from her friend, and it had almost got them both killed when the Shinigami attacked the Ninth Precinct. After that near miss, she had come clean about everything. She just wasn’t willing to risk her friend’s lives.

She didn’t like hiding things from Bishop, but neither could she tell her the whole truth. Carys, the Libro Sanguis, her family’s legacy. Kasey felt like she didn’t even understand them well enough herself yet. How could she explain them to her friend?

Besides, the last thing she wanted anyone to know was that she was descended from one of the more murderous Druids to ever walk the Earth. Whilst it might boost her street credibility in certain circles, it wasn’t going to inspire confidence from the NYPD and her allies there; she was going to need to filter her narrative.

“Okay, this is going to be a lot,” Kasey said as she turned to face her friend. “And I’m telling you, not the NYPD. Understood?”

Bishop pushed a strand of her blonde hair back behind her ear. She let out a slow breath. “Got it.”

“When I said I didn’t sneak past the guards, I was telling the truth.” Kasey set down the hairbrush.

“But you did leave the hotel,” Bishop replied, holding Kasey’s stare.

“Yes,” Kasey said, “in a sense, but it’s not what you think. I never left the building. I went through the Veil.”

“The Veil?”

Bishop went quiet as she cocked her head to the side. As a newcomer to the existence of the World of Magic, she knew little of the realities that existed beyond the mortal realm.

“The Veil separates our world from the Supernatural Realms. It’s a barrier of sorts that prevents all manner of unpleasantness from spilling into the mortal plane of existence. Beyond it, there are many realms including Faerie, which is controlled by the Sidhe Courts. That’s where I went.”

Kasey waited as Bishop tried to process that. It was a lot, particularly for a normal. Kasey had known almost nothing of its existence before she’d met Talora at a Council meeting and begged Sanders to teach her more about the Sidhe Courts. Even now, while she understood the purpose the Veil served, she had no idea how to even pass through it. She felt like a child trying to explain the finer points of the laws of physics. Knowing gravity existed, and understanding how and why it functioned were two very different things.

“Veil, supernatural world, realm of Faerie,” Bishop repeated. “Leaving for a minute the fact that none of those words make sense to me, why now?”

“What do you mean?” Kasey replied as she wandered out of the bathroom’s second door and into Kendra’s expansive walk-in wardrobe. Bishop followed her, her eyes going wide as she took in the wardrobe that was a room in its own right.

“Holy moly,” Bishop said as her eyes played over the racks of clothes.

“Tell me about it,” Kasey replied. “My whole apartment can fit in here.”

“And she just lets you use whatever you want?” Bishop asked.

“Pretty much,” Kasey replied. “She told me to make myself at home. Which was kind of her, ‘cause I didn’t get a chance to pack a bag.”

“But why?” Bishop asked, looking around. “First, she pays the bounty, now all this. What did you do for her?”

Kasey held up a finger. “That I can’t tell you. It’s not my secret to tell.”

Bishop bit her lower lip. She hated not being in the know, but Kasey had promised Kendra that no one would hear the truth of what happened at her family’s estate, at least not from her.

“I made a promise,” Kasey replied. “It was my last job at the OCME, and I helped her out of a tight spot.”

Kasey worked her way through the racks and found another set of jeans. The ones she was in were cold and wet, and she didn’t want to chance a trip outside in them. Hypothermia could kill her just as readily as the Feudal Court, and it wouldn’t be fair to deprive them of the pleasure.

She peeled off her jeans, not caring that Bishop was still in the room. After all, Bishop had seen her in worse states than this. After pulling on her new jeans, Kasey raided another set of boots from Kendra’s supply. The first set were still floating in the thawing lake at the base of Faerie’s equivalent of Niagra Falls, and with the Wendigo prowling about there wasn’t a snowflakes chance in hell she was going back for them.

“Okay, so what has all this got to do with the vampires?”

Kasey sat down on the elegantly carved wooden stool and pulled on the boots. “I’ve been having some problems with my powers, and I needed help.”

“Your visions?” Bishop asked.

Kasey’s jaw dropped open. “How did you know?”

Bishop smiled. “I got pretty used to your dreamy stare when you’re seeing one. I haven’t seen it in months.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Kasey asked.

“I don’t really get how it works.” Bishop shrugged. “At first, I thought that maybe it came and went, but you haven’t mentioned them since Akihiro and when you had none on our loan shark case, I figured there was a problem, but I also knew you’d tell me when you were ready.”

Bishop had known all along and hadn’t said a word. All Kasey’s life, people had been treating her differently because of her visions. For better or worse, they colored people’s perception of her.

But not Bishop.

Whether she could see the future or not, Bishop didn’t care. She was still here for her.

Kasey looked the detective in her warm blue eyes and before Bishop could react, she pulled her in for a hug.

“Okay.” Bishop squirmed a little. “What’s this for?”

“For being you,” Kasey replied, squeezing her tightly before letting go.

Bishop shuffled awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She wasn’t great with her feelings. People figured her as something of an ice queen, cold and distance, but they hadn’t taken the time to get past the rigid layer of professionalism that Bishop wore like a Kevlar vest.

“Don’t think you’re hugging your way out of this one,” Bishop said, raising a warning finger.

“Not in my wildest dreams,” Kasey replied. “So, I went through the Veil to get some help with my powers. I was trying to fix what Akihiro broke, essentially.”

“And…?” Bishop asked.

Kasey’s lips peaked up into a grin. “It worked. I had a vision. Well, a string of them actually.”

Bishop’s eyes lit up. “Of the vampires?”

“Not exactly, but they’re clues. I can feel it.”

“We need every one we can get,” Bishop replied. “They ran wild last night. We lost several patrols and once the sun came up, they had vanished. We went looking for any trace of the creatures and found almost nothing.”

“What?”

Bishop raised her hands. “I know, but Strang and I put together a team to see if we could track them. There was no sign of them at the docks. The ship was there. Its manifests all seemed to be in order, but its cargo was gone.”

“They’ve gone to ground,” Kasey muttered.

“Certainly seems that way,” Bishop replied. “We were expecting open warfare, but it seems they have more subtle plans.”

While Kasey was relieved that the vampires hadn’t ransacked all of Brooklyn, she could readily see the danger.

Open warfare would likely bring the military and the Arcane Council down on their heads. It would invite a swift and bloody conclusion to the matter, one way or another. Guerrilla warfare, on the other hand, posed its own problems. A horde of hungry vampires infesting the city would be a cancer. The number of missing persons would swell, police resources would be taxed, and panic would ensue. Each nightfall would bring with it danger as the vampires had free run of the city.

What was more, their movements clearly showed a defined plan, not the emotionally charged response she’d expected from a vampire whose two sons she had killed.

Rhain, it seemed, was patient, and that was bad news for everybody.

“We’re going to need to go after them,” Kasey replied. “We can’t give them time to sink their fangs into the city.”

“We’re open to ideas,” Bishop said. “The Council’s been waiting for you to surface all day. Eventually they lost patience and sent me here to drag you out of bed.”

Kasey nodded. “I’ll head down to Council Headquarters and get to work. Any chance of a lift? My car is still scrap metal.”

“There’s no need, Kasey,” Bishop replied, pointing at the floor. “They’re all downstairs waiting.”

“What?” Kasey asked, her eyes going wide. “They’re here?”

Fear of the Council coming upstairs flooded through her. Not only was the remnants of her summoning circle still on the floor of the bathroom, but the Libro Sanguis was still open on the bed. And who knew where Carys’ spirit was or what he was up to.

She had to get downstairs. She couldn’t risk them coming looking for her. The penthouse was a proverbial minefield of things she didn’t want them to see.

Strang had made her feelings on the Libro Sanguis abundantly clear already and seeing it open, and Kasey studying from it, wasn’t going to do anything to resolve her concerns.

She needed to clean up and get downstairs before any of them thought to check on what was taking Bishop so long.

“They figured with that price on your head, it would be better to meet here, where you’re safe. The less time you spend running around town, the fewer resources the Council and NYPD need to commit to keeping you safe,” Bishop said.

“Keeping me safe?”

“Yes,” Bishop replied. “We’re all in agreement. If the Vampire Court is willing to spend millions to have you murdered, there has to be a reason. If they know about your visions, it would explain why they want you dead so badly.”

Kasey nodded slowly. It made sense. She’d figured the bounty was Rhain’s retaliation for killing his son, but it was possible there was more to it than that. Kasey tended to keep her prescience close to her chest. Apart from her family, Bishop, and Vida, only the Arcane Council and their staff had any idea.

If the Feudal Court knew the truth, where had they learned it? The thought bothered her, but there was little she could do about it right now. She needed to speak with the Council and start putting together a plan to evict the vampires from the city, with prejudice.

“So, they’re all downstairs?” Kasey asked. It was certainly convenient. After her trip through Winter’s domain, setting foot outside in the middle of winter wasn’t something she was looking forward to.

“They sure are, and they’re waiting for you.”

Kasey groaned. She barely felt human, but she didn’t have the time to do much about it. She grabbed a jacket off the rack to hide the traces of the shriek’s affections and raced back into the bathroom. Looking at her hair once more, she grabbed the brush again, wrestled her hair into a ponytail and looked in the mirror.

“That’ll have to do,” she muttered. Her lips weren’t nearly as blue now, which was a relief. Heading back out to the bedroom, she found the Libro Sanguis where she had left it, snapped it shut, and slid it under her pillow. She’d find a more sophisticated hiding spot later, but for the time being it would have to do.

Besides, she already knew someone was coming to steal it, and given that it was dark in her vision, Kasey figured she had at least a few hours to work with.

Bishop fell into step with her as she headed for the door. Kasey grabbed the security card and the heavily reinforced doors swung open to meet her.

“Oh, and Bishop,” Kasey whispered as they waited for the elevator. “Everything I told you about the Veil and the Sidhe. I’m going to need you to keep that between us.”

Bishop raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and why is that?”

Kasey looked her friend in the eye and knew she deserved the truth.

“Because I might have started some trouble there, and I don’t want to distract the Council.”

“Some trouble? How very unlike you. Dare I ask?”

“Probably best not to,” Kasey replied, taking a leaf out of Talora’s book. “Plausible deniability and all that.”

Bishop sighed but let it go. Which was probably a good thing, as Kasey had no idea how to explain the war she might have started between the Sidhe Courts with her right in the middle.

Chapter 14

Guided by Kendra's security detail, Bishop and Kasey were led through the hotel to a fortified bunker. As they approached, Kasey recognized the guards standing outside it. The gunmetal gray suits of the ADI were distinctive, but it was the battle staff that each of them carried that she recognized immediately.

Each of the agents kept a ready lookout and Kasey couldn't help but notice that beneath their suit coats all of them were wearing bullet-proof vests. The ADI were ready for war.

As they approached, Kendra's security detail pulled out a remote and pressed a round button on its face.

The heavily reinforced steel doors swung inward slowly as motors hidden in the wall whirred quietly in the background.

Inside, the bunker was dominated by a large rectangular hardwood table, and one wall of the conference room featured a bank of screens showing readouts of the news, and maps of Manhattan and the tristate area.

In spite of its size, the table itself had few vacant seats. Most of the Arcane Council were present, including the chancellor, but there were also some faces Kasey hadn't expected to see. Chief West, her old boss and captain of the Ninth Precinct, was seated between two other police officers who judging from their uniforms were also captains. Beside them sat Kendra Harrington. She smiled at Kasey as she made her way around the table to a pair of vacant seats.

Strang, naturally, was in attendance, and like her agents she was dressed for war. Her oak staff rested casually against the table beside her. Stacey Linda, the Keeper of Knowledge, was also present. Heironymous, emissary of the gods, was seated quietly sipping something out of a large mug, and at the head of the table was Sanders. He looked up from a stack of papers in front of him, and as his eyes settled on Kasey, a smile formed on his lips. His eyes followed Kasey to her seat.

Vincent Kane, head of the Administorum, and Michael Rosenberg head of Judiciary were both absent. As was Talora though Kasey had expected as much after their mad dash through Faerie.

“Kasey,” Kendra called, “good of you to join us. I take it that you were able to get some rest.”

She looked at her watch and gave the smile of a gracious host who had achieved her objective.

“A good deal more than I had expected. Thanks for that,” Kasey replied as she took her seat halfway down one side of the table. Bishop took the seat beside her, and Kasey turned to Sanders. “Sorry I'm late. Last night didn't quite go as I'd expected.”

Sanders’ eyes never left her. As a wrinkle appeared in his furrowed brow, she recognized the concern that he left unspoken.

“Marion and Bishop have filled us in on the assault and subsequent death of Marius, heir to the Feudal Court. Is there anything you'd like to add?”

Kasey was confident that the two law enforcement officers would have adequately briefed the assembly on the raid, so she considered what she might add. “It was certainly a success. The vampire thought he had laid a clever trap for us but we hit him like a wrecking ball. Marius is dead. We torched his facility and as much of the dangerous compound they were manufacturing there as we could lay our hands on. I suspect they either have more stockpiled or other facilities in the city as we have encountered some of it this morning when a strike team hit my apartment. I’d hoped with Marius dead that we’d put an end to its production, but I cannot say for sure.”

“This compound,” West said, “what exactly do we know about it?”

“Only what Vida has turned up so far,” Kasey replied. “It's a potent cocktail of conventional narcotics blended with supernatural additives. The vampires’ venom for one is a key component, as is the blood.”

“Blood?” West asked. “Human blood?”

Kasey nodded. “That’s the reason they had been running those blood drives recently. Stockpiling food and ensuring they had a ready supply on hand for producing this compound.”

“Why blood though?” West asked. “It’s barbaric.”

Kasey nodded. “It is, but it’s also the key to the entire process. Most ingredients can't conduct arcane power, and to achieve the outcome they are seeking, they require magic. Blood is an effective conductor and allows them to affect such a swift and violent transformation.”

“And one dose of the stuff sends a perfectly reasonable human into a drugged up super soldier?”

This question came from the police chief sitting at West’s right.

“I'm afraid so,” Kasey replied, drumming her fingers on the hardwood table. “They are far stronger and swifter than a normal human but equally vulnerable. They may not feel the pain, but they can still be brought down, as evidenced in the Brooklyn robbery at Casimir’s.”

“And the transformation,” Bishop said, “is it reversible?”

Kasey slid her hand across the smooth surface of the table. “It's too early to tell. We haven't had a chance to test the long-term effects, particularly with a live subject. But my initial thoughts are that it's permanent.”

“Why would anyone do that to themselves?” West asked, shaking his head.

“Most of them have no choice,” Sanders replied. “They are in thrall to the vampire court. They are slaves that do what their masters tells them.”

“Why would anyone subject themselves to that?” West asked.

“They don't, or they can’t, fight it,” Sanders answered. “It's a byproduct of being fed on by the Feudal Court. The vampires break their will and flood their system with that venom. It’s a high as addictive as any man-made narcotic. They are utterly bereft of the will to defy their masters. Think of the most intoxicating narcotics you are aware of and combine that with a powerful psychological subversion. There is little hope for someone in thrall to the court. Some are taken, others give themselves willingly to the Court hoping they too will be elevated into the ranks of the undead.”

“But who would risk such a thing?” West struck his palm against the table. “You're talking about a lottery where the losers are fed upon.”

“The truly desperate don't care,” Stacey Lender countered. “Take someone with a terminal diagnosis. Would you rather while away your life waiting to die or take your chance at immortality? Vampires that feed never age. It is a longevity most mortals would kill for, and it's that desperation that makes them suitable subjects for the Feudal Court.”

“Unthinkable savages,” Heironymous said.

“This is why the Arcane Congress exists,” Sanders replied. “Witches and wizards everywhere agree on this. Vampires are predators feeding on humanity. We won't abide their presence, not here, nor anywhere else.”

“You still haven’t told us why they are here,” said the police chief sitting at West’s right.

He was older than West, and it showed in his worn leathery skin. His furrowed brow was lined with deep disapproving wrinkles.

The room went quiet.

Sanders leaned back from the table. The Chancellor, young though he might be, was not in the habit of being interrupted. He was the supreme authority of the wizarding community.

An authority not recognized by the New York Police Department.

“Why have they come now?” the police chief demanded. “I’ve lived in this city all my life and never once have we had a problem with vampires.”

“Not that you know about,” Sanders replied, folding his arms.

“Excuse me,” the chief said, going a little red in the face.

“You’re excused,” Sanders replied, and Kasey fought to suppress a grin. “I said, not that you know about, Chief Murray.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Chief Murray leaned toward Sanders.

The chancellor didn’t flinch. He maintained his deadpan expression and held the chief’s stare.

“Precisely what I said,” Sanders answered. “Vampires have existed for centuries. The Supernatural world has been here since the dawn of time. You’ve known about one for a few months and the reality of the other for less than a day. You’re hardly in a position to speak definitively on the city’s history with vampires, are you?”

Kasey’s eyes bulged. Sanders was normally a peacemaker, adept at bringing an end to conflict and navigating the halls of bureaucracy with a capability that she envied. Today, he was on the warpath.

“You arrogant little bastard,” Murray said, his voice rising an octave. “I lost eight men last night. We listened to their screams as those creatures took them, and you want to…”

The chief’s voice faded as he met Sander’s gaze.

The Chancellor didn’t bat an eyelid.

“Eight men? I feel for your loss,” Sanders said, “but I’ve spent my career burying agents who died, saving you from a world you didn’t even know existed. They paid the ultimate price without complaint for people who are still ignorant of their sacrifice. Your peace of mind was purchased with their blood.”

Sanders’ hand tightened into a fist. “Now you’ve come face-to-face with the grim and deadly reality of the supernatural world, and you want someone to blame for it. I’ve listened to you for hours, and I’m tired of it. You want a scapegoat, not a solution, and I won’t have it.”

“I wouldn’t have been here all day if she’d deigned to grace us with her presence,” Murray replied, his cheeks red as he pointed at Kasey. “And she’s the one they want. We’ve all heard about the bounty.”

“And we got there at last,” Sanders said, “but you’re going to be sorely disappointed. I’ll not have my people blamed for doing their jobs.”

Kasey’s heart skipped a beat as she realized what was happening. That was what had Sanders riled up; he was defending her. Something, it seemed, he had been doing for some hours.

Grateful as she was that Sanders had her back, she was perfectly capable of looking out for herself.

Kasey cleared her throat and Noah turned, her eyes meeting his. There was a warmth in his eyes and his lips peaked up into a slight smile.

Kasey tore her eyes away, as she realized that everyone else was staring at her.

“I’d have been here earlier, but I’ve been out all night killing vampires. A master, actually, and a dozen of his most murderous friends, and I wasn’t alone. The ADI was with us, so were officers from the Fighting Ninth. Some of them gave their lives for the information we now have. So, blame me if it makes you feel better, but don’t disrespect their sacrifice by wasting the opportunity they brought us.”

Murray went to speak but West put his hand on his colleague’s forearm. “I know your pain, Murray. I’ve been where you are. I spent the morning visiting the families of my men and women who never went home last night. Angry as you are right now, you need to put that anger where it belongs—in dealing with the creatures who took them from us. That’s why we’re here.”

“But—” Murray protested.

“But nothing,” Kendra interrupted. “You’re here as my guests, for the purpose of unifying to protect the city. Let us focus our efforts there, where they are of most use.”

Murray glared at Kasey but went silent.

“My thoughts exactly,” Sanders said to Kendra. “We’re not here to be adversarial. We want the same thing you want—to keep the city safe. Now that Miss Chase is here, I’d like to hear her thoughts. After all, she has been following this threat since it first emerged. I think we ought to hear from Kasey, don’t you?”

The room was silent.

“Kasey, what do you have to say about all this?” Sanders asked.

Kasey rested her palm against the table as she considered the question. She had a lot to say, but she wasn’t sure how much of it should be shared in such an open forum. After all, the Feudal Court had taken out a bounty on her head. And while it could well have been the result of her killing Alistair and torching their medical clinic, she couldn’t discount the possibility that they knew about her gifts and were trying to silence her like the Shinigami had.

Everyone knew the part she’d played in thwarting Akihiro, but hardly anyone knew how she had done it. Few people knew the truth about her ability to see the future.

And most of them were in this room.

That fact gave her reason to pause. If someone in this room had shared the truth about her prescience with the Feudal Court, then they had been compromised, and the mole, if there was one, could just as readily share any plans that were made to thwart the court.

That put Kasey in a precarious position. The city’s defenses needed to be organized but somehow she needed to make sure they weren’t compromised at the same time.

“Kasey?” Bishop prodded.

Kasey nodded slowly. “Like I said, I was there. I’m sure Strang has told you what transpired, but I’d like to add a few thoughts.”

Kasey considered what she knew about the vampire’s intentions.

“We’ve killed two heirs of the Feudal Court, Alistair and Marius, powerful vampires in their own right. Their presence here tells us that New York City is at the heart of the Court’s plans. The first heir, Alistair, was sent to lay the groundwork, building power and resources here in the city. We saw him expand on the foundation put down by the Night Crew.”

“Thugs and murderers,” West chimed in. “You think the two are connected?”

“I know it,” Kasey replied. “They’re the Court’s foot soldiers, it seems. Our country has a healthy track record for keeping the vampires at bay, so they sent the Night Crew to form a beach head and create safe havens for their masters. They were followed by Alistair who established their medical clinic and started a black market for organ transplants. We should expect them to have procured considerable influence and funds in the city.”

“They even tried to subvert one of our Council Members,” Sanders added, “but we were able to intervene in time. You should likewise exercise caution as there will be others in high office throughout the city whose favor has been brought or usurped.”

Sanders’ warning was for the police chiefs, but Kasey couldn’t help but think that Sanders was concerned about others who might have been compromised.

“Yes, anyone who has recently received a timely organ transplant or had a medical reversal of fortunes could potentially be complicit. I know it isn’t much to go on, but still it’s better than nothing,” Bishop said.

Kasey continued. “When we thwarted their plans, they sent Marius. Among other things, he seemed responsible for the compound that is turning ordinary people into their super soldiers. We destroyed the factory we found in Brooklyn, but we have no idea if others exist. Searching for them should be a priority as the compound could be a potent weapon for destroying the city. Think of what enough of it in the reservoir might do? What would happen if you gave most of Manhattan the strength to carry out their darkest desires?”

“The city would tear itself apart,” West said.

“Exactly,” Kasey replied. “So we need to guard the city’s water supplies and keep an eye out for any hint of the compound being manufactured.”

“But why would they want to destroy the city?” Murray asked. “I don’t get it.”

“They are the undead,” Sanders replied. “They thrive on anarchy and chaos and preside over it. In a dystopia, ageless killing machines come out on top. New York City in its prime would never accept them or their ilk. But they would happily rule over the ashes of whatever is left of it. Besides, if they can cripple New York, they do untold damage to the country’s financial network. This isn’t an experimental foray into our country, and the opening salvo in a war. The Court got a stranglehold in Europe, and they have endured for centuries. If we aren’t careful, we’ll be next.”

Kasey considered the darkness spreading over the city in her third vision. “Keeping that in mind, we should try to avoid gathering in large groups for events and concerts. It simply gives them tempting targets to aim for. Targets where they can do concentrated damage. Such occasions are an all-you-can-eat buffet for vampires.”

“Cancel events?” West rubbed his pate. “This is New York City. There are shows, sporting events, and gatherings by the hundreds every day. We can’t just shut down the city.”

“We can if you want to save lives,” Kasey replied. “But we have to be smart about it. We don’t want to panic people. It will only create greater problems for us to have to deal with.”

“Let’s, for a minute, believe that the mayor will consent to us shutting down the city,” West began. “What do we do to combat this incursion?”

“Yes,” Murray chimed in. “How do we drive these creatures out?”

“It’s no easy feat,” Kasey said. “They take a lot of killing.”

“It can be done though,” Murray replied. “Someone’s out there doing it now. We’ve seen their handiwork.”

“What do you mean?” Sanders asked.

“I mean someone is out there killing these vampires,” Murray answered. “When we went to recover the bodies of our officers this morning, we couldn’t find any of them except patrol twenty-eight. Our men had been slaughtered, but so had half a dozen of those things. Their severed heads had been stacked neatly on the hood of the patrol car. That’s you guys sending a message, isn’t it?”

Kasey nodded along as Murray spoke. Six vampires was no mean feat. It had to be Abigail. The vampire hunter was relentless. When they had fallen back from the docks last night, she’d simply vanished. Kasey had figured she’d gone to ground, but Murray’s account told a different story.

She’d gone hunting, and Brooklyn had become a target rich environment.

What would possess her to linger there with an army of vampires coming ashore? Outnumbered and alone, it was suicidal. She was evidently well trained and could hold her own, but she was just one woman. Eventually she would be overwhelmed.

Kasey thought back to last night and the cold clinical efficiency with which Abigail had dispatched the vampires. One after another, without hesitation or equivocation. It was a drive born of hatred.

Whatever the Court had done to Abigail, she was intent on repaying it in kind. Kasey couldn’t help but think that as capable as she might be, her crusade was going to get her killed. She was after all a normal, and Rhain had been slaughtering humans and wizards for centuries.

“We’re aware of the individual responsible,” Kasey added noncommittally. “They were with us last night at the night club, and they aren’t wrong. The only way to end the threat is to kill the creatures and drive them out of the city.”

“But we must caution against any reckless engagements,” Sanders said. “The vampires are a parasite seeking to weaken the power structure of the city. While we plan our response, you must gather together and conserve your strength. We can’t let them pick us off piecemeal.”

“But surely they will turn others,” Strang interrupted. “Their numbers will grow, and they will slowly overpower us as they have others. We must root them out and put an end to them. The sooner, the better.”

“I agree,” Kasey replied, “but they’ve gone to ground. We need to work out what they are planning and pick our battles. Once they show their hand, we destroy them.”

“You want to wait?” Stacey asked. “People will die. Innocent people.”

“Yes,” Sanders replied. “Many, and we will do our best to protect them. But I have seen the Court’s work before. The vampires will use our better nature against us. They will use our desire to protect the innocent to bait us into poor engagements. We must exercise an abundance of caution. This isn’t a skirmish—it’s war. We will use the daylight to our advantage, but come nightfall we need to retreat. They will be hunting.”

“How do we kill them?” Murray asked.

“Take their head off or put something through their heart. Nothing else will do the job,” Kasey said, leaning back in her chair.

“And in the meantime, we just wait for them to come to us?” Murray asked.

“Or for us to find their king,” Kasey replied. “Rhain is the brains behind their operation. If we can find him, then it’s checkmate.”

Chief West looked at his watch. “It will be nightfall in a few hours. We best start preparing for the worst.”

“Agreed,” Sanders replied. “I know it isn’t easy, but it is the best course.”

“We’ll take your word for it,” West replied, “in the interest of fostering a healthy working relationship between our communities. But keep us apprised of anything you discover.”

“We will,” Sanders said. “And thank you.”

“For what?” West asked as he pushed out his chair.

“For working together,” Sanders replied. “There is much good we can do for both our people. Division and disharmony is easy. Cooperation and unity takes effort. We appreciate yours.”

That was the diplomatic Sanders she knew. Though Kasey had to admit, she did enjoy watching him come to her aid.

“Ms. Harrington, our thanks for your hospitality.” Chief West gave a slight bow.

“You’re most welcome, Chief. Thank you for coming.” Kendra rose and walked the chiefs to the door.

No sooner had the police departed than Strang rose from her chair. “I best be going too. There is much to do.”

“Very well,” Sanders replied. “Let us adjourn for the evening. We can reconvene tomorrow and compare notes. If we can track the Court’s movements, we should be able to learn their true intentions.”

Everyone rose from around the table, and Kasey went to follow them out.

“Not you, Kasey,” Sanders called. “I want a word with you.”

Bishop looked to her, clearly ready to come to her aid but Kasey signaled she was fine.

As the members of the Council filed out, Stacey Lender looked back over her shoulder at Kasey before disappearing into the hall.

The doors closed leaving Sanders and Kasey alone, for the first time in days.

Sanders looked at her, and his smile faded. “Kasey, what have you done?”

Chapter 15

Kasey gave Sanders the most deadpan look she could muster.

“What do you mean?” she asked tentatively.

Sanders leaned back in his seat. “I don't know which part is more offensive—the fact that you expect me to believe you spent all day sleeping or that you thought I wouldn't notice the change in you.”

Sanders’ comment hit her like a Mariachi band at midnight mass. She just didn't know how to respond. Of course she had felt different after her initiation into the Earthborn but after burning off so much power at the Falls, she hadn't really expected anyone else to have a clue.

Not only had she been wrong, but Sanders had picked the difference from across the room. A room filled with some of the more capable and dangerous arcane practitioners on the East Coast of the United States.

“I suppose I should have expected that,” Kasey replied. On the one hand, she was thrilled that he had noticed the difference. With everything that was going on in the world, Sanders was paying close enough attention to see a change in her. That meant something, didn't it? Normally, Kasey would have felt good to have someone so much as notice she’d cut her hair, but to see something within required a level of care and attention that frankly she had never experienced from another person.

While they had been on the run together, she and Sanders had connected, a product of the shared trauma of being hunted. But no matter how much time they spent together, Noah just never made his move. Kasey had given him an opening, many times. But something in Sanders seemed to be holding him back. At first Kasey had just assumed she had misread things and that he wasn't attracted to her, but the true issue, it seemed, ran deeper.

“Well, at least you have the decency not to lie about it.” Sanders shook his head. “I thought I told you we could fix this.”

That was the part they didn’t tell you about adopting an attitude of asking forgiveness rather than permission. Forgiveness was a path that passed through pain, heartache, and disappointment. All of which were fighting for control of Sanders's face right now.

“I've been working night and day, you know,” Sanders began, “trying to find some way to help you get your sight back. I wish you had trusted me enough to wait. I'd have found a way.”

“That's the thing,” Kasey replied, moving down the length of the table toward him. “It's not you that I doubted. It was me. What if I wasn't worthy of my gifts and they were taken from me for a reason? I would have been wasting your life trying to fix me when it couldn't be done. At least this way I know.”

“But at what cost, Kasey? What did they ask of you? I hope it's worth it?”

“If it was just about me,” Kasey replied, “I never would have done it. But things here are going from bad to worse. Now it's not a vampire or two; it’s the whole damn Court, an army of them. That's what I saw last night. I saw rank upon rank of them kneeling before a being I can’t even describe to you. You and I might be able to afford to wait for my gifts to return, but everyone else out there, they don't have that luxury.”

Sanders shook his head. “They aren't all your responsibility, Kasey. Bad things happen to good people. That's life. You can't save them all. No one can.”

“I know that,” Kasey replied, looking down at the table to avoid Sanders’ steely eyes. “But I can save some, and that matters. I can’t let the enormity of the task stop me from trying. If I do, I’ll have failed them all.”

“Only yesterday they were being riled into an angry mob. People forget very quickly the price you paid.” He shook his prosthetic hand. “The price we paid.”

“It's not their gratitude that defines us.” Kasey leaned on the table. “I do this so that when I wake up each morning and look in the mirror, I can love the person who is staring back at me. This is who I am. This is the very best me I can be. So whether they thank me or not, ask for my help or not, love me or hate me, I am going to give everything I have to buy them one more day of freedom. Freedom to live and breathe, freedom to choose, freedom to hate me if they will. But I can’t do that fighting blind.”

“You didn't have to treat with the Summer Court,” Sanders said. “They are dangerous, Kasey. Take it from me. They might look tame next to Unseelie Court, but they don't do anything for the benefit of others unless it aligns with their own interests.”

“What choice did I have?” Kasey replied. “Bounty hunters are roaming the streets. The vampires have brought a whole army. It's the bottom of the ninth innings and our backs are against the wall. You're right. I could go to bat blindfolded and hope for the best. But what if I miss? The world is watching us. If we allow the Feudal Court free reign of the city, others will come to feed on the carcasses. It's time to send a message and I couldn't do that at half strength.”

“You were never half of anything to me,” Sanders said, his voice fading to a whisper.

Kasey’s heart beat a little faster, as she wiped her clammy palms on her jeans. This was not how she had anticipated this discussion going. She’d spent months hoping Sanders would open up to her, but she would have had more luck killing a vampire with a toothpick than getting Noah to talk about his feelings.

Of all the times he could have chosen, the undead apocalypse was his idea of the right time. Some men were just talented that way.

As the silence lingered, Kasey searched for the right words but when she couldn’t find them, she decided if Sanders was going to talk about his feelings, he was going to have to do better than that.

After several moments of awkward silence, he spoke up. “So are you going to tell me what happened? Or do I need to ask Talora?”

“How did you know it was her?” Kasey asked.

“She was here one minute and gone the next. I suppose she could have been summoned back to the Summer Court, but given your current state, this feels like a safe assumption.”

Kasey sank her hands into her pockets and nodded.

“Where did you learn to summon? We haven't covered that in our lessons.” Noah fixed her with a stare.

Kasey bit her lip. She didn't want to lie to Sanders but there was simply no way she could tell him about Carys. Not right now. There was too much going on and she couldn't afford for the disembodied spirit of her ancestor to be discovered. Not now, not while he was proving so helpful. Kasey might know the truth about him, but to the Arcane Council, he would no doubt be a threat they would not tolerate.

“That depends,” Kasey replied, “are you going to tell me what your business is with the Summer Court?”

Sanders recoiled like he’d been stung. Kasey had broached the subject once before and while they had spoken about the Sidhe, Sanders hadn't really gone into any detail about his obligations. Titania’s visit made it abundantly clear that whatever he was doing was important enough to attract her attention.

“You know that I can't reveal anything that I have given my oath to keep secret,” Sanders said. “What would you have me say?”

“Anything you can,” Kasey replied. She wasn't kidding. The thought that the Chancellor owed favors to the Queen of Summer was a grave concern. The head of the Arcane Council shouldn't be beholden to anyone, but the fact that she'd been able to use her influence to have a member of her Court assigned to the Council proved that her power over him was substantial. His refusal to speak about her only added to Kasey’s concern.

“Fine,” Sanders replied, “but you will have to do the same.”

Kasey had expected as much but she was left wondering what had changed since their training session. Sanders was never this forthcoming. Something was going on, but she had no idea what it was.

“Titania has tasked me with retrieving something of great value to her. It was taken from her, and she wants it back. Unfortunately, due to the dangerous nature of the aforementioned treasure, it was hidden. Titania has searched for it for years, but her foes are wary of her pursuit and have gone to equally great lengths to keep its location hidden from her and her agents. She needed someone with reach and influence. Thanks to Akihiro vacating this office, I have both. So, she called in her debt and tasked me with finding it.”

“Like a treasure hunt then,” Kasey replied with a shrug. “If it's that simple, I don't understand all the need for secrecy.”

“Well…should I succeed, it will anger a great many people and alter the balance of power among the Sidhe.”

Kasey laughed awkwardly. Her errand for the Summer Court had likely enraged the Winter King and brought on a much needed hastening of summer. She and Sanders had a lot in common; getting murdered by Winter might well be another moment they could share.

“So, pissing off the Winter Court?” Kasey muttered. “Sounds like a good time.”

“Among others,” Sanders replied, standing up to stretch his legs. “If my part in this is discovered, it is safe to say that everyone will turn against me. The other members of our Council, the Winter Court, hell, even the greater Arcane Congress would have something to say about it.”

Kasey’s eyes bulged. The Arcane Congress was the name given to the worldwide assembly of the leaders of the supernatural world. Kasey was left wondering just what Sanders had been tasked with finding that could arouse such universal hatred.

“Well, I shared mine,” Sanders said. “Now it's your turn.”

Kasey wondered just where she ought to begin, and what parts of the tale were best censored. If her understanding of what had transpired at the Falls was correct, he was bound to hear about it sooner or later. It did little good to hide it from him now.

“I have been doing a lot of research about my people,” Kasey began.

“The Druids of Wales?” Sanders asked, leaning forward onto the table.

“Exactly,” Kasey replied. “I went to see my mother and she told me things about my past that she had never shared before. I discovered that we were right. In fighting Akihiro, I did harm my gifts, albeit unintentionally. My prescience, it seems, is a product of my Druidic bloodline.”

It wasn't strictly a lie, but it was far from the whole truth. Kasey wasn't sure just how much she could or even should say about the Earth Spirit. Having just gotten back on the deity’s good side, Kasey had no desire to jeopardize the relationship or violate the oath she had sworn.

“The Sidhe and my people share similar purpose, that of preserving the Earth and her balance of power. So while I know that you do not trust them, it became apparent that my best chance of rekindling my gifts lay in a ritual known to my people and the Sidhe.”

Sanders ran his hand through his hair, scratching at his scalp. “If it was known to your people, why not go to them? Why risk speaking to the Sidhe?”

“My people are limited in their timing. For them to have performed of the ritual, we would have needed to wait for the equinox and those were weeks I simply did not have.”

“And the Sidhe have no such burden?” Sanders raised an eyebrow.

Kasey took a deep breath. She knew that Sanders would not approve of her actions, but she was already in too deep. Best to rip off the Band-Aid in a single stroke.

“Beyond the Veil, the connection to the Earth is much greater and the sites of power throughout Faerie are more potent, being closer to the source. So Talora took me through the Veil to perform the ritual.”

“I'm surprised that they would give so freely of their strength,” Sanders mused. “Particularly at the height of winter.”

“Well, I might have had a suggestion in that regard,” Kasey replied, managing a smile. “We borrowed one of Winter’s.”

Sanders’ face went pale.

Kasey ignored it and plowed on. “We went north to where the Great Falls had been frozen by a beast of Winter. Talora performed the ritual re-establishing my connection to the Earth Spirit and purged the traces of Akihiro’s magic.”

“She did more than that,” Sanders replied. “I knew you before, Kasey. I can feel the difference now. You resonate on a different frequency, like your mother. Haven't you ever wondered why she makes other practitioners uncomfortable? This is why. They can feel the difference. It’s familiar yet alien. Talora did something to you.”

Kasey held out a hand to stop him before he leveled any more blame at the Fae. She didn’t want him starting something on her account. “Only what I asked her too. This is the way of my people, Noah. This is what I was always meant to be.”

Sanders was taking it far better than she had expected. He sat quietly for a few moments before speaking. “But I expect she had a price for her assistance. They always do.”

Kasey nodded. “She had me use my power to thaw the Falls and end Winter’s grip on Faerie.”

Sanders opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.”

“I know what you're thinking,” Kasey said. “They're going to be pissed.”

Sanders shook his head. “You have not met the Winter King, Kasey. If he finds out that it was you that interfered, he will have you hunted. Summer has drawn you into their war and whether you meant to or not, you have chosen a side. You can never return to neutral ground.”

Kasey shrugged. “Let's be honest, what's one more person looking to kill me? Without my visions, I was unlikely to survive the week. Now I have a fighting chance. Assassins, the Feudal Court, or the servants of Winter, it doesn't matter. They will come and I will fight, but at least now I’m not blind. Besides, there will always be someone who wants me dead because of what I stand for. Today, tomorrow, or five years from now. What does it matter?”

“It matters to me,” Sanders replied.

Kasey took a deep breath. “You can't spend your life protecting mine. You’ve given enough already. I need to stand on my own. Now I can do that.”

“But you don’t have to stand alone,” Sanders replied. “I’m with you.”

The room grew quiet, and Sanders seemed to consider his next words carefully.

“Does this mean you have your gifts back? Have you seen anything?”

Kasey nodded, smiling.

“Why didn’t you say something in the meeting?” Sanders asked.

Kasey told him about her theory. If she was right, the Feudal Court were hunting her because she was prescient, and someone had given her away.

“Someone on the Council?” Sanders winced. “I hope you’re wrong, but we best be cautious all the same. Tell me about your visions.”

“I saw a string of them in quick succession during the ritual. They were so fast I barely had a chance to look at them, but my gut tells me they have to do with what’s going on in the city right now.”

“What did you see?” Sanders asked.

“First, I saw a masquerade ball with dozens of elegantly dressed couples dancing throughout a ballroom. I saw two men speaking, but I didn’t recognize either of them.”

Kasey considered sharing the vision of the Libro Sanguis being stolen but chose to keep that one for herself.

“Then I saw the city from the Staten Island Ferry. Thick darkness was flowing over it and into the bay, obscuring the city form view.”

“What do you think it means?” Sanders asked.

“I don't know yet,” Kasey replied, “but it's a start and I feel better than I ever have, and it’s just the beginning.”

Sanders let out a deep sigh of relief. “I'm just glad you're okay. That's all I ever wanted. But you scare the hell out of me”

“You're not mad?” Kasey asked, incredulous. She’d expected anger, betrayal, some fist pounding on the desk. Anything but this calm measured response.

Sanders raised an eyebrow. “I am sure I should be pissed that you took this risk without me, but what's the point? What's done is done. You're back safe, which is everything I would have asked for. Doubtless you've put the cat among the pigeons with the Courts of the Sidhe, but hopefully they'll be too busy dealing with each other to deal with you. And if we're lucky, we might survive the week. All in all, things are looking up.”

There was a knock at the door.

Kasey spun to see it opening. Two of the hotel staff wheeled in a trolley laden with two covered silver platters.

“Chancellor,” one of the staff said, “we've brought your meals. If you're able to just give us a minute, we’ll set up.”

Kasey watched in stunned silence as a dozen staff bustled into the situation room, spread a red tablecloth across the corner of the mahogany table, and laid out two settings. Another man appeared with a candelabra that he set in the middle of the table and lit each candle. Another set down a wine chiller and opened a bottle.

“What's all this?” Kasey asked, pushing a stray hair back out of her face.

Sanders grinned. “I believe it's called dinner.”

He rose from his seat, made his way past Kasey and pulled out one of the chairs, and gestured to it. “If you’ll join me, of course. I hate to eat alone.”

Kasey's heart beat a little faster as she looked at the expensive meal, the fine bottle of wine, and the romantic candlelit dinner. Kendra's staff even dimmed the light as they disappeared out the door, leaving her and Sanders alone in the situation room, which all of a sudden had a whole different vibe to it.

“Noah Sanders,” Kasey said in disbelief, “is this a date?”

“If you say yes,” Noah replied. “Otherwise, it's a poorly lit working dinner. Your choice.”

Kasey was utterly shocked, but Sanders pointed to the empty chair and she made her way over and sat down.

“Never in a million years,” Kasey muttered to herself. Something was different with Sanders, but she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Sanders sat down opposite her, smiling and looking very satisfied with himself. “You might be prescient, but you didn't see that one coming, did you?”

Chapter 16

As the elevator doors opened, Kasey practically floated to the penthouse doors.

Dinner with Sanders had been an unexpected delight. Things between them had been difficult of late, and skipping their weekly training sessions had hardly helped her cause. Or had it? After not seeing her, Sanders had gone out of his way to organize dinner, which was not the reaction she had anticipated. After she'd gone off on her own to work with the Sidhe, Kasey had expected him to be furious.

Instead, she had enjoyed a candlelit dinner in the situation room free from interruptions or other cares. In the secured confines of the converted hotel, she’d almost forgotten the army of vampires lurking outside its walls.

As the penthouse doors opened, Kasey couldn't help but wonder what had changed. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, but Sanders had always been so reluctant to embrace the clear chemistry that existed between them. Apart from meals eaten together on the run, they had never so much as gone on a date.

Kasey wasn't going to count sparring lessons as a date, no matter what taunts Bishop leveled at her.

She hadn't had much luck with men, but she wasn't willing to let him off that easily.

She'd pressed him about dinner, but Sanders had deflected, leaving her at a loss as to what was driving the sudden change. He was still the Arcane Chancellor and technically her boss, so nothing had changed there. Clearly, his obligations to the Summer Court remained. Perhaps as Kasey had, he was finally starting to realize that if he waited for the perfect time, it might never come.

“Men,” Kasey muttered to herself, “who knows what they're thinking?”

The penthouses security doors sealed shut behind her and Kasey strode toward the bedroom. Between the Wendigo, her initiation, and the briefing in the situation room, she was exhausted. Much as she wanted to track the vampire’s movements, it was already late outside and there was no way she was venturing outside with vampires roaming the city. It would be suicide.

She would have to start gathering intel tomorrow. In the light of day, only the most powerful vampires would risk being outside and even then, only under duress. Daylight put them on a more than even footing with their prey, and vampires preferred to fight dirty.

In the bedroom, a voice behind her muttered, “Take your time, why don't you? Not like we have anything to do.”

Kasey leapt a mile and when her feet finally touched the carpet once more, she whirled about to find Carys Anglesey standing in the kitchen of the penthouse.

“Don't do that to me,” Kasey replied. “It's bad enough that you can appear and disappear at will but if you keep trying to scare the life out of me, our relationship is going to come to a premature end.”

“I teach you to summon, arrange a meeting with the Summer Court, and get you initiated, and this is the thanks I get.” Carys raised both hands. “A little gratitude wouldn't go astray.”

Kasey kicked off her shoes. Her initiation had almost gotten her killed but the plan had worked. As much as she might not like to admit it, the specter was right; the initiation had been a game changer.

“Thank you, Carys. Your help today was most appreciated.”

“I can sense the change in you,” Carys replied approvingly. “Tell me everything.”

Kasey sat cross legged on the end of the bed. She told him of her encounter with the Earth Spirit, her visions of the city, and the fight with the Wendigo before raining fire on the Frozen Falls.

Carys’ eyes were wide with incredulity. “Oh, Kasey, you have kicked the hornets’ nest there. The Sidhe hate others interfering in their business.”

“What choice did I have?” Kasey asked. “Without my gifts, my life expectancy was negligible anyway. What's a few more people trying to kill me?”

Carys shook his head. “Even for a Druid, you have a reckless disregard for your own well-being. You might be able to see the future coming but you can still die. Case in point.” Carys pointed at himself. “But I remember the feeling well. My own initiation, the power of the Earth Spirit coursing through me. I felt invincible. It's intoxicating, isn't it?”

Kasey nodded. The power coursing through her had been like a river running through her soul and she had felt invincible, until the Wendigo had come within inches of turning her into an icicle.

“Don't let that confidence blind you to caution. If you are reckless, the Earth Spirit will let you embrace your inevitable fate,” Carys replied.

“Look, I'm doing the best I can,” Kasey replied. “A year ago, I would have just taken off to search the city for any trace of the vampires. Tonight, not a chance.”

“Good, though I must say I am a little concerned by this thief you mentioned,” Carys replied.

“Oh,” Kasey answered with mock surprise, “are you afraid that somebody is going to separate us right when we were starting to get along?”

Carys cocked his head to the side. “If there's something I have learned in a thousand years, it's that no matter how dull or stubborn the possessor of my tome might be, things can always get worse.”

Kasey laughed. “You can try to hide it beneath this cold gray exterior, but I know the truth. You're glad to be back in the family.”

It was warmer in the apartment than it had been downstairs, and Kasey took off her fur coat and dropped it on the bedside table. There was a rattle as something heavy struck the timber.

“What was that?” Carys asked.

“Oh, those,” Kasey replied, reaching into the jacket and pulling out a set of handcuffs. “Those I borrowed for our thief. We're going to do a citizen’s arrest.”

“Arrest?” Carys asked with a voice tinged with disgust. “He's coming to steal me and you going to arrest him. Kasey, you really need to learn about the danger of half measures. When people move against you, you must deal with them, permanently, lest they return to finish the job.”

“You'd have me kill him?” Kasey asked, looking up at the specter.

“Of course,” Carys replied with a shrug. “You have the advantage—you know he’s coming. Why give him another opportunity?”

“Well, for starters, we have no idea who they are or what they want,” Kasey replied. “The thief could be a vampire or one of their agents. He might possess useful intelligence. Or he could be something else entirely and in killing him I would be unaware of the threat posed by him and any organization he might represent. Unfortunately, I’ve pissed off a lot of people in the last year. I can't afford to just turf him out of a window. I need to know why he is here and what he wants with your tome.”

“A waste of time if you ask me,” Carys said, “and a dangerous distraction while you already have the vampires to contend with.”

“We could vote on it,” Kasey replied, “but when it comes to killing people, mine is the only one that counts.”

“Soft,” Carys muttered.

Kasey shook her head. Some habits, it seemed, lingered even after death.

“So, we’re going to lay a trap,” she said. “I've already spoken with Kendra who has seen to the security detail outside. We just need to bait the trap.”

“Bait,” Carys said. “I don't like the sound of that one bit.”

“That’s such a bait thing to say,” Kasey replied as she stood up and started pulling pillows out of the cupboard.

“What are you doing with those pillows?”

“I need him to believe I'm asleep.” Kasey jammed the pillows down under the covers. She stuffed and fluffed the pillows until she got the results she was looking for: a serviceable lump about the size of her beneath the heavy blankets. Finding some hair extensions in Kendra's bathroom, she poked them out from the top of the blankets and positioned them to help sell the illusion.

“You think that's going to fool them?” Carys asked.

“I don't need it to fool them. I just need it to stall them long enough to get the drop on them.” Kasey flicked off the light and sat Carys’ tome on the end of the bed. “I need you to make yourself scarce. They see a specter floating around and they're going to know something is up.”

“Fine, I will be neither seen nor heard, but if you lose my tome, I swear I will haunt you for the rest of your natural life.”

“Your company will be a blessing,” Kasey replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Carys passed through the wall and was gone, and Kasey set about finding a hiding place of her own. At length, she settled on a spot where she was pressed between a dresser and Kendra’s desk. She was about four feet from the door. Anyone coming through it would need to walk around the dresser to have a chance of spotting her and by that time they would have already seen her form in the bed and the Libro Sanguis waiting for them. Kasey just hoped their greed would be enough to buy her the few seconds that she would need to take them down.

As Kasey huddled in between the two pieces of furniture, she dug in for the long haul.

Of course, there was the chance that the thief might not come. After all, the future wasn't set in stone. She had proved that herself by stopping the attack on New York City. The thief's own decision-making also played a part. Perhaps he’d succumb to wisdom and decide not to rob one of the more violent witches in Manhattan.

There was also every chance he might come another night. She had no idea exactly when the vision took place. That was the tricky part to a being as old as the Earth Spirit; a day or two was almost meaningless. Days, weeks, or years might roll together before the eyes of such a being and feel like an instant.

Not for the first time, Kasey wished she had seen a clock or a calendar or anything, really, that might have given her any idea when the thief was coming. The notion that she could spend the entire night crouched between the cabinets and follow up one of the best night's sleep in her life with one of the worst, was a distinct and frustrating possibility.

The minutes turned into hours, and Kasey was well and truly regretting her decision. Her joints were cramping from being wedged between the dresser and the desk, and she was both tired and losing focus. Stakeouts had been her least favorite part of working with Bishop. Patient waiting just wasn’t in her DNA.

Kasey considered ringing Kendra to call the whole thing off. Surely doubling the patrols and stationing some additional sentries in the surrounding buildings would be sufficient to deter or detain the thief. Kasey didn’t like leaving her fate in others’ hands though.

She stretched her arms above her head and tried to restore the feeling in her extremities.

“Cut it out, you wimp,” Kasey told herself. “You've faced werewolves and vampires, and you’re letting a little stakeout kick your ass?”

She stretched her legs but held her position. It was after midnight, and she still hadn't seen a sign of the thief. Perhaps she should give up, get some rest, and try again tomorrow night.

A faint click echoed through the still apartment. Kasey held perfectly still.

The balcony door slid open quietly on well-oiled hinges and Kasey resisted the temptation to charge straight for her guest. The whole reason she was hiding in the bedroom was in case the thief was another practitioner. If they were looking for the tome, there was a chance they had arcane talent. And they would likely be searching for her presence inside the penthouse. Their sweep, if they bothered to do one, would find her here in the same room as where she was meant to be sleeping. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

The faintest footsteps moving across the carpet raised her heartbeat. Whoever it was, they were good. They barely made a sound as they passed through the apartment.

Kasey had left the bedroom door ajar. The thief pushed it open, and a trickle of light made its way into the room and fell over the bed. The thief paused in the doorway, clearly considering Kasey's sleeping form, or at least that of the pillows she had put in her stead. Kasey could almost feel the excitement as their attention settled on the Libro Sanguis.

The figure took two steps into the room and paused.

They were clad from head to foot in black clothing and a balaclava. The thief was broad shouldered and a few inches taller than Kasey.

If Kasey had to guess, the thief was a man.

The interloper looked at her prone form and Kasey waited for the attack. Anyone brazen enough to break into Kendra’s stronghold and steal the tome would surely take a shot at collecting her bounty.

But the attack never came. Instead, the figure stalked quietly over to the bed and picked up the Libro Sanguis.

It's now or never.

Kasey launched forward, her cramped joints protesting as she pushed off the wall, charging straight for the thief.

The thief whirled as she approached but Kasey was already on top of him. Drawing back with her right arm, she sent a thundering blow straight at the thief's face.

Her clenched fist struck his granite jaw like a sledgehammer. His head snapped around like an open door in a cyclone, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

“Alright,” Kasey panted, reaching for his balaclava. “Let’s see who is hiding behind door number one.”

Chapter 17

Kasey sat on a chair opposite the thief, drumming a steady rhythm on her thigh with her fingers as she waited for him to come to.

Since knocking him out cold, she had dragged his heavy ass back into the living room, heaved him into a chair, and cuffed his hands behind it. The thief was heavier than she had anticipated, and beads of sweat were working their way down the side of her face.

The thief’s balaclava lay on the table beside them and for the first time Kasey got a real good look at her intruder.

The man wasn't what she had expected. He had a strong thickset jaw covered in the best part of two days stubble. It was a shade darker than his chestnut brown hair that had been cropped an inch or two out from his scalp.

Kasey had been worried that she might be dealing with a vampire but simply punching him in the face wouldn't have been enough to stop a member of the Feudal Court. He was human. Wary of her uninvited guest, she had tested him for glamors and illusions but found none.

He was, as far as she could tell, both human and utterly out of his depth.

The thief’s head lolled to one side as he stirred.

Kasey waited for his eyes to open. “Good morning, sunshine, you seem to have gotten a little lost.”

The man blinked before settling his gaze on Kasey. “Oh good, it's you.”

Kasey stopped drumming. “I don't know who else you were expecting, given you broke into my room.”

The man cringed a little as he took in his predicament, his steel handcuffs clinking against the back of the chair as he tested his restraints.

“I don't understand,” he began. “You were in the bed.”

“Something was in there, but it wasn't me,” Kasey replied.

“A decoy,” the man replied with a nod. “Clever. But why were you expecting me? Are you just that paranoid, or did somebody see me?”

“It’s not paranoia when everyone’s actually trying to kill you,” Kasey replied. “As for you, I saw you coming.”

His brow furrowed, his face turning pensive as he tried to retrace his steps.

“It's just not possible,” he muttered.

“I’d say you picked the wrong apartment, my friend, but given what you are after, we both know that’s not the case. You’re either desperate or a fool. Which one is it?”

“You don't know the first thing about me,” the thief replied.

“You're right, so let's start with that. What's your name?”

“I don't think so,” the thief replied, his eyes roaming around the apartment.

“Alright, how about you tell me why you are after the Libro Sanguis?”

The man leaned to one side, stretching his neck. “What makes you think I wanted that?”

Kasey laughed. “You had a five-million-dollar bounty laying on the bed in front of you and you didn't give me a second thought. You wanted the book so badly you didn't even care that I was there. That’s interesting. Most people would have taken the money.”

“That’s the problem with the world,” the thief replied. “Everyone’s looking to make a quick buck.”

Kasey studied the thief. In spite of being handcuffed to a chair in front of a well known witch, he seemed unconcerned. The man wasn’t sweating. Hell, he barely batted an eyelid.

“How did you even know I was here?” Kasey demanded. “Are you an agent of the Feudal Court?”

The thief swept the room again with his eyes. “I don't work for anyone, let alone the vampires, and I’m certainly not chasing their bounty. You have nothing to worry about from me.”

Kasey laughed. “You're handcuffed to a chair in my penthouse, and you think I am worried about you? You might have greatly misread your situation.”

The man shook his head. “I don’t think so, and it's not your apartment, is it? This particular penthouse belongs to one Kendra Harrington. You're simply a guest.”

Kasey clenched her fists. “Look, I have had a long couple of days, and you've just cost me hours of much-needed rest. So, either you become a whole lot more helpful and forthcoming, or I'm going to send you out the way you came in—straight over the balcony.”

The man took the threat in stride and didn't flinch. Which wasn't a good sign. If he were an ordinary thief, particularly one in Manhattan that knew her reputation, he should have reacted. The city had seen the footage of her killing Akihiro. It tended to intimidate people. The fact that it didn't seem to faze him was concerning.

“We appear to have got off on the wrong foot,” the thief began.

“Oh, so you didn't break into my apartment in the dead of night to steal something from me?” Kasey asked.

“Oh, I most certainly did that, but like I said, I didn't mean you any harm. You said I'd have to be an idiot or desperate. Well, I'm not the former.”

“What would make you desperate enough to risk breaking in here?” Kasey asked, crossing one leg over the other.

The thief considered the question before shrugging. “That would be my business, now wouldn't it?”

“I have a low tolerance for stalkers at the best of times,” Kasey replied. “The last one was burnt to cinders along with what was left of my apartment.”

“You have problems with anger management, clearly,” he replied, leaning back in his chair.

“You’re about to have problems with gravity,” Kasey suggestively eyed the window behind him.

“I’m not here for you.” The veins in his neck bulged as he raised his voice.

Kasey studied him intently, looking for any signs of deception. “Prove it.”

“Easy.” The man raised both his hands. “I've been free of the cuffs for minutes and I haven't made a move. I just want to talk.”

Kasey looked at his wrists; the cuffs were completely gone, and she hadn’t heard a thing. How had he done that? She uncrossed her legs, leaning to the side. The cuffs weren’t on the floor either. There was however a small pile of dust beneath where his hands had been bound. Magic, it had to be. Why hadn’t she felt anything?

The man was a practitioner.

She had made a terrible mistake.

Kasey's heart skipped a beat as she tried to work out how he had managed such a feet without her detecting his use of magic. She reassessed the threat he posed.

As the thief brought his hands together, Kasey raised her hand palm toward him. “Dwrn o Aer!”

The fist of concussive force struck the thief, blasting him backward through his chair and sending him rolling across the apartment.

The phone started to ring but Kasey ignored it. Launching herself forward, she took two steps and crash tackled the thief before he could recover.

They wrestled their way across the carpet floor. He was strong but Kasey’s spell had caught him off guard. She drove the top of her skull into his chin and managed to buy herself enough space to raise her hand.

Kasey drew on her power, but the thief drove his boot into her chest, forcing the air from her lungs. Kasey wheezed as the spell died on her lips. She swung her fist at his chest, but her hand struck something hard. He was wearing a bullet proof vest beneath his shirt.

“What kind of thief wears body armor?” Kasey asked, shaking her sore hand. She would be lucky if she hadn’t broken a bone.

“One who knows exactly who you are,” he spat back.

The thief wrapped one hand around her ankle as Kasey grabbed his shirt in both hands. This time she could feel the power building within him.

“You cast that spell, and I’ll turn you into barbeque.” Kasey glowered.

The thief held her gaze, his dark brown eyes never leaving hers. “Try it and you'll spend the rest of eternity as a statue.”

Kasey didn't know how to react to that. She could certainly feel the power within him, but she had no idea what kind of practitioner he was. He had reduced the steel handcuffs to a pile of dust; the notion that he might be able to make good on his threat was concerning.

The penthouse’s reinforced doors burst open, and Kendra Harrington came racing through them.

She was wearing a white pant suit and was dressed for the office in spite of the late hour.

“Kasey, let him go,” Kendra shouted.

“What?” Kasey shook the thief. “He broke in here. But it’s not a problem—I can take him.”

“Questionable, given your position,” the thief replied.

“I don't doubt you,” Kendra replied, “but you can't kill him. I need you to relax.”

“You're going to want to listen to her,” the thief whispered. “When I get nervous, I get a little twitchy. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Relax?” Kasey demanded, as her sweaty hands clung to the thief. “He tried to steal the tome.”

“It doesn't matter,” Kendra replied. “That's Seth Caldwell. Let him go.”

“Seth who?” Kasey replied, still struggling with the thief.

“Seth Caldwell,” Kendra repeated. “And if you harm him, you'll have more problems than the Feudal Court.”

Kasey couldn't believe what she was hearing. This thief had almost stolen the Libro Sanguis, and Kendra wanted to let him go. It didn't make any sense.

“I don't care who he is. He tried to rob me.”

“It doesn't matter,” Kendra replied, standing over Kasey. “There’s some fights you can’t win. He’s one of them. Consider him a protected species.”

“More like an endangered species,” Kasey replied, not easing her grip on him for a moment. “Soon to be extinct if I don’t get some answers. Protected? By who?”

“I…I…” Kendra floundered, her cheeks red as she stammered, looking for a response. “I can't say.”

Kasey gripped Seth tightly, but he never let go of his iron grip on her ankle.

“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Kasey replied. “You know him, how?”

“We went to school together, Kasey,” Kendra said. “Now can you let him go?”

It was the first time since the Villa Maria that Kasey had seen Kendra panicked. Something was genuinely terrifying her. She hadn't balked at vampires or hired assassins. What on earth was she afraid of?

“I will let him go the second you tell me who's protecting him.”

Kasey had no intention of relenting. This was the first time Kendra was trying to hide something from her and it only fueled her desire to know more.

“I want to tell you, but I can't. They'll kill you,” Kendra said, her expression pleading.

Kasey's mouth tightened into a snarl. “Many have tried. None of them have lived to talk about it.”

“This is not the same, Kasey,” Kendra said. “Please, just let him go.”

Kasey looked from Seth to Kendra but didn't relax her grip. Looking Seth straight in the eye, Kasey demanded, “What is she talking about?”

Seth took a deep breath. “I believe she is referring to the Brotherhood.”

Kasey’s jaw dropped. The Brotherhood? She had been searching for traces of the organization since Danilo had mentioned them with his dying breath. But search as she might, she hadn't turned up any concrete evidence of their existence.

The Council archives had been utterly bereft of any mention of them, as had the police databases. As far as the world was concerned, the Brotherhood didn't exist.

Kasey narrowed her eyes on Kendra. “What do you know about the Brotherhood?”

Kendra backed away slowly.

The Brotherhood had been responsible for sending Danilo after her. Half a dozen young women had been brutally killed as the Golden Wolf had searched for her. The Brotherhood was the same organization that Akihiro had belonged to. They had tried to destroy New York City. But the better question was, why did Kendra Harrington know who they were?”

“Enough…What do you know?” Kendra replied noncommittally.

“As fascinating as this little party is,” Seth began, releasing Kasey’s ankle, “would you mind letting me go while you sort yourselves out?”

Kasey shoved Seth back, his head bouncing off the carpeted floor. “You'll shut up if you know what's good for you.”

She looked from Kendra to Seth, and for the first time she felt outnumbered. Seth was a member of the Brotherhood; was Kendra also?

“You don't understand, Kasey,” Kendra said. “They’re dangerous. If you know their secrets, they’ll kill you for them. I don't want to be responsible for that.”

“Are you one of them?” Kasey asked, as she considered her options. If Kendra turned on her, things were going to get ugly, fast.

“No,” Kendra replied her voice pained at the assertion. “But my father was.”

Kasey reeled, running her hands through her hair. The truth had been in front of her all this time. Lester Harrington had been a member of the Brotherhood. She had been in his house, she’d solved his murder, and all along he'd been a part of the organization that was trying to have her killed. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

“Your father was, but you're not?” Kasey asked. “You expect me to believe that.”

“Yes,” Kendra replied, “I do. I've never lied to you. The Brotherhood is a boy’s club I couldn't join even if I wanted to, which I don't. I know of their existence because my father was a member, but they were sorely disappointed when it was me, and not one of my brothers, that became Lester's successor.”

“But he's one of them?” Kasey asked, gesturing towards Seth, suddenly glad she hadn’t barbequed him. Perhaps now she could get the answers she’d spent the last year looking for.

“One of them?” Kendra laughed. “He’s a Caldwell. They are the Brotherhood.”

Kasey fixed her gaze on Seth, her temper rising. She could feel raw elemental fury coursing through her veins.

“I think there has been something of a misunderstanding,” Seth began, taking a step back.

Kasey expected him to lash out, but instead she felt his power dissipate.

“My father is a member of the Brotherhood, but I’ve never been much of a joiner.”

“What nonsense.” Kendra shook her head. “You want me to believe that the Brotherhood hasn't secured the Caldwell family fortune? I don't believe that for a minute.”

Seth held out both his hands. “Don't get me wrong. They’ve tried, but I refused. I’ve got my own problems to deal with and I don't feel like spending my life chasing to their agenda. Just because I was born into this family doesn't mean I want to perpetuate the sins of my fathers.” He looked at Kendra. “That is a sentiment I would have expected you to understand.”

Kasey looked down at the mark Seth's hand had left on her ankle. Clearly, he’d been considering something, but the wizard was making no other efforts to attack her.

She didn't know what to do. Both Seth and Kendra knew about the Brotherhood, an organization she had been hunting for months with no success. She couldn't harm him without risking their wrath, but neither could she let him take the tome. The Brotherhood had attacked the city once. She couldn’t give them the rituals they might need to finish what Akihiro had started.

“I honestly mean you no harm,” Seth said. “I swear it on my power. I am many things, but a liar is not one of them.”

Kasey’s jaw dropped open. For a wizard to offer such an oath willingly was unusual. She relaxed. After all, there was little he could do to her without compromising his own gifts.

She scrambled to her feet, pushing her hair back out of her face. She trembled as she looked from Kendra to Seth. “What the hell is going on here?”

Neither Kendra nor Seth answered her.

Instead, the Caldwell heir turned to Kendra. “It's been a while. How did you know I was back in town? Dizzy reached out to you, didn’t she?”

Kendra nodded. “When you didn't come out, she feared the worst. She called me on my cell, and I got here as fast as I could.” Kendra shoved Seth. “What were you thinking breaking into Kasey's room? She could have killed you.”

“It's complicated,” Seth muttered as he pulled another chair out from the table to replace the one Kasey had destroyed earlier.

“Then un-complicate it, before I let Kasey finish what she started.”

Seth slumped into the chair. “Can you keep a secret? Because I've grown tired of bearing this one alone.”

Kendra sighed. “What's one more?”

Seth turned to Kasey. “What about you? You have a reputation for recklessness. Can you keep your mouth shut?”

“I have kept more than my share,” Kasey replied.

“Swear it.”

Kasey considered the request, carefully. Oaths weren't to be trifled with and she had sworn one already today. She doubted the Earth Spirit would take kindly to her risking her powers so swiftly after having them restored. She wasn’t just risking her powers; she was risking the Earth Spirit’s displeasure.

Kasey took a deep breath. “Your secret safe with me.”

“That's not what I asked,” Seth replied. “This secret has been in my family for generations. I cannot share it unless you will swear to it.”

Kasey looked at Kendra and Seth. The thief was the closest thing to a member of the Brotherhood she had met. She wanted to know more. She needed to know more.

“I swear it,” Kasey whispered, infusing the words with her will.

“As do I,” Kendra replied somberly. “I swear it.

Seth leaned back heavily in his chair. “I need the tome because I'm dying.”

Chapter 18

Seth’s announcement sent the penthouse silent.

Kendra’s jaw dropped as she stared at Seth. “Since when?”

Seth met Kendra’s eye. “Since forever. I was born this way, but my parents didn't tell me about it until I turned eighteen.”

“Born this way? Is it a birth defect? Surely your family’s fortune can help,” Kendra replied. “I mean, a heart problem would make sense. I’ve seen your luck with women.”

Kendra’s attempt to lighten the mood did little to dispel the tension in the room.

“Savage,” Seth replied, “but I'll have you know, I'm engaged.”

Kendra's eyes almost rolled out of her head. “You? Engaged? I don't believe it.”

“Nice to know there are some secrets Dizzy can keep,” Seth replied. “Let's just say my views have evolved somewhat in recent times.”

“This is all very exciting,” Kasey interjected, “but can we get back to the matter at hand? You said you are dying, and that you need the tome. Why? What's going on?”

“You might want to take a seat,” Seth replied. “It's hardly a short story.”

“I’m good,” Kasey said. “I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

Kendra pulled a seat out from the dining table and sat down, crossing one leg over the other.

“It all started when my ancestor stole something from a coven of witches in Panama,” Seth began.

“Nice to see larceny runs in the family,” Kasey replied, cutting him off.

Seth gave a half-hearted nod. “Yes, it’s something of a profession. He was Francis Drake.”

“As in, Francis Drake the privateer?” Kendra asked.

“One and the same,” Seth replied. “He stole a great deal from the Spanish, but what most people don’t know was that he found something else during his time in Panama. He found love. A woman named Ellawaya, who was a member of a blood witch coven that ruled the local region. Both of them were tired of their obligations—his to the crown, hers to the family business. So they faked his death and fled the country. Together they made it back to England and with the wealth he had accumulated, combined with her gifts, they forged the Caldwell Dynasty.”

Kendra rose from the table, and grabbed a set of glasses from the cupboard and a pitcher of water from the fridge. Making her way back to the table, she set them down and poured three glasses of water.

“That still doesn't explain how you’re dying,” she prompted.

“I'm getting there,” Seth replied. “When the High Priestess, Ellawaya’s mother, discovered her daughter was missing, she was furious. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Ellawaya’s flight coincided with the Spanish conquistadors attacking the temple. As the coven fell, the High Priestess gathered what power she could muster and used it to place a curse on her own bloodline. She killed herself in the process, but that curse has passed from generation to generations affecting the oldest living Caldwell heir.”

“How does it work?” Kasey asked. “What does it do, exactly?”

Seth took a sip of water. “It’s a voice within our mind that slowly drives us to insanity. Most of my ancestors have taken their own lives, rather than endure it any longer. As we speak, my father lingers under the affliction, but its hold over him grows stronger every day. He is doing his best to hold out, but…”

“You will be next,” Kendra replied. “When your father passes, you will be next.”

“Exactly.” Seth set down his glass. “That's why I'm here. The Libro Sanguis is meant to be one of the oldest records of blood magic anywhere in the world. I am hoping it can help me understand my curse so that I can find the key to curing it.”

Kasey nodded as he spoke. “What I don't understand is how you found out about the tome. It's not exactly common knowledge that it exists, let alone that I have it.”

“The Caldwell dynasty is old money, Kasey,” Kendra said. “They make us Harringtons look like paupers.”

“That's hardly fair,” Seth replied, “but not wholly inaccurate. Kendra’s right. Our family has vast resources, which is how I located you. As for the existence of the tome, that particular bit of knowledge was passed to me by an acquaintance in the CIA.”

“The CIA?” Kasey asked, shaking her head. “What business is it of theirs?”

“None,” Seth replied, “but since when have they cared? You put magic on the map, Kasey, and now they have a whole division doing nothing but tracking these things. The tome is a powerful relic. They knew about it as soon as the police did, and you can see why they'd be interested.”

Kasey’s heart was racing. “But how did they know I have it?”

Seth took a sip of water. “They weren’t positive, but they knew it didn’t make it back into evidence, and when I learned that it had been stolen from the Council, I just put the rest together myself. There are plenty of people looking for you right now. It wasn't hard to track you here. You’re holed up in the one place only an idiot would attack.”

“Didn't stop you though, did it?” Kendra asked, teasing.

“Hey, I didn't attack it,” Seth replied. “I just stopped by, and I was simply looking to borrow the tome. You said it yourself. I had a clear shot at you, at least I thought I did. You were laying on the bed, out cold, but did I even consider it? Not for a second. I don’t mean you any harm. If anything, I want to help, but I need to cure my curse and everything I’ve done has led me here to this book. Have you read it? Do you know what it contains?”

It was a question Kasey didn't particularly want to answer. It was practically admitting that she dabbled in the Forbidden. If she said yes, that would give cause to have her considered a Warlock. If she said no, she would surely arouse suspicion as to why she hadn't read it.

In reality, reading it seemed a little redundant as long as she had Carys as her teacher. Far better than reading thousand-year-old Latin was having its author teach you in your own tongue.

“I haven't had it for long, but I am making some headway,” Kasey replied.

“Would you consider lending it to me?” Seth asked. “I know what you’re thinking. I don't want to keep it. I just want to see if there's anything in it that might help save my life. Name your price. It's really no issue.”

Kasey paused. Money was pretty tight and in spite of her new gig with the Council, there wasn’t any dollars burning a hole in her bank account. It probably had something to do with the fact that her car had just been blown up and her new apartment had been trashed by vampires. She had no doubt that she could name a price and the Caldwell heir would pay it. She could see the desperation in his eyes.

She also knew the secrets the tome held, and the dangers they posed in the wrong hands. Kasey couldn’t risk the Brotherhood finding it.

“I can't lend to you,” Kasey replied, shaking her head. “I'm sorry.”

Seth's face fell, his grip tightening around the glass of water he was holding.

“I get it. I really do. But as you can see, I don't really have a lot of options.” His shoulders sagged in defeat.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. For a man who had all the money in the world, it wasn't doing him a bit of good.

“I didn't say I wouldn't help,” Kasey said, leaning closer. “Just that I can't lend you the tome. You see, what most people don't know is that I'm a Druid. A Welsh druid.”

Seth's head snapped up. “A Welsh druid? That’s not in your file.”

“We keep that pretty quiet,” Kasey replied. “I changed my name years ago, and with everything that’s happened in the city, I’m trying to keep my family safe.”

“I see,” Seth replied looking up at Kasey. There was a hopeful gleam in his eye.

“You should see her work elemental magic,” Kendra added. “I've never seen anything like it.”

Kasey smiled. “We are an elemental people but that's not what we were infamous for, is it Seth? Your family is an old English bloodline. You tell her what we’re known for, what we’re feared for.”

Seth clasped his open hand around his fist. “The Druids practiced blood magic. At least that was the rumor. The Druids never speak about it.”

“The rumors aren’t wrong,” Kasey replied, “but they aren't right either. We certainly know our share about blood magic. We simply use it for a different purpose to other Forbidden practitioners. I'll tell you what. I am willing to forget the fact that you broke in here, and I'm willing to use both the tome and my family expertise to help understand and cure your condition.”

Seth stared at Kasey in wide eyed amazement.

“On a number of conditions. One, Kendra vouches for your character. I’m not going to waste time trying to help you if you’re spending your life stealing from those less fortunate than yourself.”

Seth looked to Kendra, a please crossing his lips. “You know me well enough by now, Kendra.”

“He's a thief and a rogue,” Kendra replied, “but one with a good heart. He tends to take dangerous relics from those who would do ill with them.”

Kasey nodded. “Two, you have to use the considerable resources you mentioned to assist us against the vampires.”

“Easy enough. It's one of the reasons I’m here. I was in England when I heard about the mounting pressure from the vampires, and I came as quick as I could. I brought my team with me. We aren’t many but we consider this our second home. We’re happy to do anything we can to help.”

“And the third condition,” Kasey replied, standing over Seth. “I want to know everything you know about the Brotherhood.”

Both Seth and Kendra turned to stare at her.

“Why would you want something like that?” Kendra asked. “My awareness of their little boy’s club causes me no end of trouble. You don't want any part of them, Kasey. Trust me.”

“She's not wrong,” Seth added. “They guard their secrets jealously. If they have any idea you know, or worse yet, that you might take a threatening position against them, it could cost you your life.”

“Many have tried,” Kasey replied. “I'm willing to take the risk.”

“I don't understand your death wish,” Seth said. “It will be my death too if they learn I shared their secrets. Why do you want to get involved with the Brotherhood anyway? They'll never let you join.”

“I don’t want to join,” Kasey replied. “I’ve had previous dealings with them.”

Seth set down his glass. “Oh yeah, and what were they?”

“They tried to have me killed. They sent the werewolf Danilo Lelac to do the deed. He killed half a dozen innocent people before I put an end to him.”

Seth looked incredulous. “They tried to kill you, and they sent Danilo Lelac? Why would they do that? And how did you manage to stop the Golden Wolf?”

“Trade secret,” Kasey replied. “But it didn't work out for them. I shish-kebabed him. I have been a little concerned that they might come back to try and finish the job. What I want to know is why they tried to kill me in the first place. I suspect it has something to do with the attack on the city.”

There was a glimmer of recognition in Seth’s eye.

“What is it?” Kasey asked.

“You haven't heard from them since the attack, have you?” Seth asked, tapping the table.

“Not a word,” Kasey replied. “Not even a, you foiled our insane plan; here’s a gift basket and a pipe bomb. It makes no sense at all. Why try to kill me one day, and leave me alone the next?”

Seth smiled. “That's because you've been attributing the actions of one insane individual to an entire organization.”

Kasey shook her head. “No, I heard Danilo say it himself. The Brotherhood hired him.”

Seth raised his hands. “I don't know what to tell you. He probably thought that was true. But he likely only ever spoke with Akihiro the Shinigami. That’s who you're talking about, right?”

Kasey nodded. “I know he was a member of the Brotherhood.”

“You're right, he was,” Seth replied. “One of the inner circle. But his plan to attack the city never gained widespread support. After all, some of the Brotherhood's highest-ranking members are American. There is no way they were going to condone the destruction of the country's financial system and millions of lives. It was an extreme plan proposed for his own gain. The Brotherhood washed their hands of him the moment he died. That's why you haven't heard anything from them. In their eyes, you probably did them a favor.”

Kasey paced nervously around the table. “You know an awful lot for someone who isn’t a member.”

“Straight from the source,” Seth replied, folding his arms. “My father's a member of the inner circle, like Kendra's father was. But if you believe that Akihiro is the norm for the Brotherhood, you're mistaken. Don't get me wrong—they do terrible things, believing them to be for the greater good, but they didn't sponsor the attack on New York and they probably haven't given you a second thought since it happened. No offense, but if they had, you might already be dead.”

Kasey just couldn't believe it. For months, she'd hunted for any sign of the Brotherhood and all along it had been right under her nose. Lester Harrington had been a member of their inner circle! She had crawled all over his house. If only she'd known then what she knew now, who knew what she might have found. She certainly would have been more reluctant to burn the place down.

“What else can you tell me about them?” Kasey asked. “And why should I believe you?”

Seth shrugged. “Well, first, I don't lie. Second, I’m not on great terms with them myself.”

Kendra's head whipped around. “Oh, really? And how did you manage that misfortune?”

“Life choices,” Seth replied. “I have been so busy chasing cures for my curse that I haven't shown any interest in joining their little cabal. Normally, membership is optional but when your father is a member of the inner circle and your forebear helped found the initiative, it's less optional, more obligation.”

“Helped found them?” Kasey asked, her jaw dropping. “And you didn’t think to mention that until now?”

Seth waved his hand. “I figured you’d overreact. You have to understand, when the Brotherhood was formed, its founders, Drake included, had spent a life either at war, or on the brink of war. By bringing together men of power and influence, they sought to avoid the continued loss of life. They haven’t always been successful but for much of the past four centuries, they have tried to use their power to better the world.”

“But they're losing ground,” Kendra replied. “First Akihiro gets taken out, then my father dies. Now your own father is suffering the effects of this curse. They have lost access to the Harrington fortune, and the Caldwell dynasty is slowly slipping out of their grasp. They're losing control and want to shore up their financial woes by dragging you into the fold.”

“That's about the measure of it,” Seth replied, standing up. “They’ve been trying to bully me into their ranks all my life, but I don't subscribe to their philosophy, and I have no interest in being an errand boy. So, if you really want to engage in some crusade against them, go right ahead. It's no skin off my nose. Hell, you're probably even doing me a favor. Just understand that I won't be joining you. I happen to like my life, and plan to keep living it. While I might not want to be a part of their club, I'm not foolish enough to set my hand against them either.”

“Give me a name,” Kasey asked, stepping into Seth’s space. “Everyone you mentioned is dead or dying. I want to name, someone in this inner circle.”

“You have a death wish,” Seth replied.

“No, I have a memory. In the event they do make another move, I need somewhere to start. Out of respect for our arrangement, I have no desire to bother you or your father, but I need someone.”

“Knock yourself out,” Seth replied. “Andrew Lynch. He's the chairman. He is also the Director of Clandestine Operations for the United States Government and one of the most powerful men in the country, so please, consider your next move very carefully and whatever you do, don't drag me into it.”

Andrew Lynch. Kasey couldn’t believe her luck. She had learned more about the Brotherhood in a matter of minutes than she had in months. Was this why the Earth Spirit had shown her the vision of the robbery? She highly doubted the Earth Spirit had any interest in preserving the Libro Sanguis, or Carys’ existence.

It was difficult to come to grips with what Seth had shared. She had figured the Brotherhood were still hunting her but if what the Caldwell heir had said was true, she had only been dealing with a fringe element. She needed time to re-evaluate her options and consider what she would do with the information she'd been given. Could it be true? Were the Brotherhood a force for good that she’d misunderstood? Or was there more to it than Seth was sharing?

Satisfied that she had a starting point for further investigation, she turned her mind to the more pressing threat: the Feudal Court.

It was clear that the Earth Spirit had no love for the vampires, and Kasey wasn’t going to let them turn her city into a wasteland.

“Alright, Seth, you've held up your end with the Brotherhood. Help us with the Vampire Court and I promise, I will do everything I can to help you with your curse.”

“How can you make that promise?” Seth asked. “What do you know about curses?”

Kasey shrugged. “Your family are thieves, mine are druids. If this curse is blood magic, they will know something that can help you.”

“Druids have a reputation for not sharing their knowledge with outsiders,” Seth said, leaning against the table.

“In this,” Kasey spoke slowly, “I'm willing to make an exception. But when the time comes to deal with the Feudal Court, we need all hands on deck. It’s going to be a war.”

“It already is,” Seth replied. “People are turning up missing every day, brazen attacks against the police. It’s unprecedented.”

“And we’re hunting for them,” Kasey replied. “In the meantime, is there anything else you can tell me about your curse? Anything, no matter how small or insignificant, might help.”

Seth scratched at the nape of his neck. “I know it passes from parent to child, always affecting the oldest living Caldwell. I know that in casting the curse, the blood witch priestess used a dagger that tore her spirit out of her body. I have the blade and I have seen it in action.”

Kasey decided to ignore the ramifications of what that meant.

“You mentioned that it drives people insane. How exactly does that happen?”

Seth nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but they hear the voice of the High Priestess in their mind. Day and night, she won’t shut up. I have heard her once, and trust me, she’s infuriating.”

Kasey nodded. “That's something to work with at least. I’ll look into it for you. In the meantime, you've already cost me most of my beauty sleep. Any chance you'll let me catch a few z’s so that I can stay on my feet tomorrow?”

Seth nodded. “I’m not going to try and rob you again, if that’s what you’re asking. If you're willing to help me with the curse, I don’t need the tome.”

“Can I count on you to help with the Feudal Court?” Kasey asked. She needed allies and every able body counted.

“You have my word.”

“Speaking of your team,” Kendra interrupted, “where are they?”

“They'll be outside, keeping watch on the building.”

Kendra shook her head. “That won’t do. Bring them in where they'll be safe. I'll make room for them here.”

“We wouldn't want to impose,” Seth replied.

“Nonsense. Besides, we have a lot of catching up to do.”

Kasey and Seth stood up and Kendra guided the thief to the door.

“You see this, Seth?” Kendra pointed at the door. “This is how normal people enter my home.”

“Haha,” Seth replied, shaking his head.

Kendra pushed him toward the door before calling over her shoulder, “Get some rest, Kasey. I'll see that you're not disturbed.”

Kasey breathed a sigh of relief. At best, she was only going to get few hours, but the sacrifice had been worth it. Nothing had been as she’d expected but the intel she’d gained on the Brotherhood changed everything.

Kendra turned to Seth. “Call Dizzy and tell her to get her ass in here.”

“We both know her better than that,” Seth replied. “She'll do whatever she pleases, like always.”

The doors shut, leaving Kasey alone with her thoughts.

Wandering through the penthouse, she searched for the specter. “Carys, are you still here?”

When he didn't appear, Kasey shrugged.

“Fine, suit yourself. I'm headed to bed. Don’t wake me.”

As an afterthought, she moved the Libro Sanguis into the bedside drawer. Seth was being kept under Kendra’s watchful gaze, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Kasey yawned as she threw herself on the bed. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but the haunting countenance of the Wendigo leered at her from the darkness.

Her eyes opened, and she bolted upright, beads of cool sweat running down her face. The creature of Winter had really done a number on her. If she couldn't close her eyes without seeing him, she wasn’t going to get a moment’s rest. She touched her temple and whispered a spell.

A wave of Arcana rolled through her and before Kasey’s head hit the pillow, she was out cold.

The penthouse was still dark when she started to stir. Rolling over with a labored sigh, she searched for the alarm clock. Its digital readout glowed green in the darkness and read 6:30am. She’d barely managed a couple of hours sleep but an uneasy feeling kept her from closing her eyes and trying to get back to sleep.

Try as she might, Kasey couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she grabbed a pair of slippers and headed downstairs. As the elevator doors parted, they revealed a lobby in chaos.

There were people everywhere, some lay bleeding on mattresses on the floor. Others were propped up against the walls nursing wounds. The hotel lobby looked like an emergency room after a ten-car pileup on the expressway.

As she scanned the room, her eyes settled on a familiar face clutching a swaddle of blankets in his arms.

It was Cal.

Chapter 19

Kasey raced through the lobby toward him. All around her, doctors and healers were tending to the wounded, but she paid them no heed.

Her eyes locked on the small figure clutched in Cal’s arms, and her heart rate went through the roof.

“Cal, what happened?” Kasey called as she reached him. Dried blood was caked to one side of his face, but he didn’t seem to notice, or care.

The alpha werewolf in human form lifted his head, his eyes settling on Kasey. His voice was quiet, little more than a whisper. “The vampires came for us. All of us. They hit the other packs too.”

“What?” Kasey replied. “When?”

“Just before dawn. More than a hundred of them. Our sentries raised the alarm but there were already on top of us. They were everywhere.”

Kasey looked down at Faith, too scared to ask, but unable to look away.

“Faith?” Kasey managed. “Maria?”

“Faith's fine,” Cal said, stroking the bundle with a bloody hand. “She’s just sleeping. Maria is with the healers.”

“Is she alright?” Kasey asked.

“She'll be fine,” Cal replied. “They went for our child, Kasey. Those creatures would have killed my little girl.”

Kasey stood in shock as she studied the battered remnants of Cal’s pack. All werewolves had powerful regenerative properties, which only made the scene before her all the more heart-wrenching. Cal’s pack had been torn apart.

“How did it happen?” Kasey asked.

“Two of them came through our window,” Cal said, rocking his daughter in his arms. “Maria caught them in the hall heading for Faith’s room. She tore them apart, Kasey, literally. More came, but we gathered as many of our pack as we could and broke through their lines. We killed dozens of them, but they were everywhere and armed with silver blades. It was a slaughter.”

“You say they hit the other packs too?” Kasey asked.

“At the same time,” Cal replied, the veins in his neck bulging with rage. “So none of us could warn the others. Our packs in the Bronx and Queens seemed to have been wiped out. Any stragglers that survived are running for their lives. There’s still a pack in Jersey but the werewolf population of New York City has been devastated. My pack alone was more than three hundred strong. Now, less than half that remain. We’re looking for survivors, but it doesn’t look good. Generations of our families were destroyed in a single night.”

Kasey shook her head. The assault was a savage first blow in a war she felt certain was going to claim a lot more lives.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” Kasey placed her hand on his arm.

“You can’t be everywhere. I know you would have been if you knew they were coming.”

“Without a second thought,” Kasey answered, looking down at Faith. “What can I do to help?”

“You can find them,” Cal replied, his voice rising to a husky growl, “because when you do, I'm going to kill them. All of them.”

“We’re outnumbered, Cal, now more than ever. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I don't care,” Cal shook with rage. “We’re going to hunt them down and kill them all. Every last one of them.”

Kasey knew there was no reasoning with him. She could see the rage consuming him.

She couldn't blame him; he’d just watched his own pack slaughtered in their beds. A more level-headed individual would be incensed. A cantankerous and innately volatile werewolf was not going to use his words. Cal had said he was going to kill them all, and Kasey had no doubt he meant to make good on the promise.

Kasey reached out and stroked the wispy hair on Faith’s head. “Together, Cal. We'll get them together. You have my word. In the meantime, stay here and look after your daughter.”

Kasey looked around for one of Kendra's staff. She still hadn’t replaced her phone and needed to get a message to the heiress.

Spotting one of her security detail, Kasey rushed over to him. “Where is Kendra?”

“She's in her suite,” the guard replied. “She’s been with the wounded for the last hour and needed to change.”

“Where can I find her? I need to speak with her urgently.”

“There’s no need. She’ll be back any moment. She’s called an emergency meeting here. The Council is coming. They’ll be here any minute. You can wait in the situation room if you like.”

“Thanks, but I should preferably grab a bite to eat,” Kasey replied, her stomach rumbling.

The guard gave a slight smile. “Breakfast will be served there shortly. Do you have any preferences, Miss Chase?”

Preferences? She was starving. Right now, she would eat anything that could fit into a bowl. More often than not she missed breakfast. Being habitually late tended to have a price. But if they were taking orders, Kasey thought she might push her luck.

“I'm not a fussy eater but I could certainly go for a waffle,” Kasey replied. “What are my chances?”

The guard’s smile widened. “A girl after my own heart. I'll see to it. In the meantime, head on through and make yourself comfortable. Ms. Harrington will be with you shortly.”

Kasey made her way through the hotel lobby. All about her, the wounded were being tended to. She wanted to help but it seemed Kendra’s staff already outnumbered the wounded and were creating order from the chaos. So, Kasey reluctantly strode past Kendra's security checkpoint and headed for the situation room. It was empty, the immense conference table looking somewhat barren after the previous day’s gathering.

Studying the city maps on the display monitors, Kasey wondered what the Court’s next move would be. Things were moving quickly, far faster than she had anticipated. The frontal assault on the city's werewolf population had caught them off guard, but it would also have been costly. Werewolves are innately difficult to kill and would no doubt have taken more than a few of the Feudal Court with them.

What had motivated the Court to such a reckless action?

There had always been enmity between werewolves and vampires. After all, the werewolves had been accepted into the Arcane Covenant whilst the Congress had blocked any attempt by the vampires to join. Both were dangerous predators, but they had not received an equal welcome. Was it simply an act born of ancient enmity or were the vampires maneuvering for position?

After establishing their private medical clinic, the Feudal Court had attempted to drive the werewolves out of the neighborhood. Was the Court making up for their previous failure or, as Kasey considered far more likely, were they just trying to ensure that their movements couldn't be tracked? After all, Cal had been hunting their kind day and night. Given they couldn’t endure sunlight, they tended to be particularly susceptible to attack during the day. Anyone that could locate their hiding places could potentially trap them.

Perhaps the Feudal Court feared an alliance between the city's werewolf packs and the Arcane Council.

Kasey laughed at the notion. While both were members of the Arcane Covenant, there was immense distrust between the wizarding world and the werewolf community. Occasionally there were dual citizens, but on the whole, they tended to avoid each other. Kasey's previous case solving a fire that had been intentionally lit in Cal’s building had been a reminder of that distrust.

If anything, the vampires had made such an alliance far more likely. Even wizards and werewolves could put aside their differences when faced with a greater enemy. By wiping out several of the city’s packs wholesale, they ran the risk of uniting the remnants against them.

Cal would certainly do his part to drive such an outcome. Revenge was a powerful motive, and Cal in his fury was terrible to behold.

Kasey considered the map. If the werewolves were the first strike, what was the vampires’ ultimate goal?

She recalled the visions she had seen. A masquerade ball and darkness enveloping the city. At the ball, everything appeared to have been running smoothly. It was hard to tell what significance the event held. The city swathed in darkness was clearly a warning. Magic on that sort of scale would require an immense amount of power. Where did the Court plan to find it?

When it came to her visions, context was always a problem. It had plagued her when she had worked for the Ninth Precinct, as had timing. For all she knew, the visions might be years away from occurring. After all, she had seen the attack on New York as a child.

The doors to the chamber opened and Hades strode through them.

In the chaos of the last day, Kasey had almost forgotten he was taking refuge in the hotel. The head of New York's underworld was looking considerably better than when she had last seen him. The blood-soaked clothes were gone and much of the color in his complexion had returned. It seemed that in spite of their differences, Kendra had taken good care of him. Not that she expected anything else. Kendra was the consummate host.

“Look who's back on their feet,” Kasey called to Hades.

A sly grin spread across his face. “Yes, it's amazing what a few healers and a blood transfusion will do for you,” Hades replied as he rounded the table heading straight for the chairs beside Kasey. “I must say, I'm still a little disappointed you haven't been to see me.”

“If you had any idea the day I have had, you’d know it wasn’t an intentional omission.”

“The vampires still making moves?” Hades asked, sliding into the seat beside her. “Attacking the Lycans was a bold choice. It's going to force their hand.”

“That's what I'm counting on,” Kasey replied, as her stomach let out a deep rumble. The sooner breakfast got here the better. “Even if they weren't excited to aid us before, seeing this many of their number annihilated has given us a common enemy. The vampires made a big mistake when they failed to finish the job.”

“Don't let them hear you say that,” Hades replied. “They’re an angry lot.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t pick on me. I’ve had a long night. Fortunately, we have nothing to fear on that front. Their Alpha is a good friend of mine.”

“Fortuitous indeed,” Hades replied, leaning a little closer. “I must say I was a little surprised to get an invite to this meeting. Perhaps Kendra is starting to see the value an old rogue like me can bring to the table.”

Kasey raised an eyebrow. “I don't think it was ever a question of value. More one of risk, I would think.”

Hades leaned a little closer. “I don't bite, much.”

The Lord of the Underworld had a way of breathing a little lust into practically any sentence. It was a quality that Kasey couldn't decide whether she loved or hated.

Before she could reply, the doors to the situation room swung open and Seth strode in accompanied by a wiry olive-skinned man, whose dark hair and beard were shot through with gray.

“Morning, Seth. I must say I much prefer it when you use the front door,” Kasey replied, turning to his partner. “And you must be Dizzy.”

The wiry man at Seth’s side burst out laughing. “Oh no, dearie, I’m Murdoch, but I'm pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The man stretched out his hand and Kasey paused. Making contact with another individual now that her prescience had returned was a dangerous proposition. Given the threat they all faced, she half expected to see a vision of the man's demise. Reluctantly, she took his hand, but her sight remained silent.

The man leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “See anything interesting?”

Kasey stepped back as if she’d been shocked, and the man shot her a wink as he let go of her hand.

How does he know?

Seth watched the exchange but didn’t seem to have caught the older man’s whispers.

“Murdoch is a friend. He can drive anything that moves and has saved my life more times than I can count,” Seth added.

“Ah, the muscle then?” Kasey asked as she used her arcane senses to try and read Murdoch.

“Oh no,” Murdoch replied, “just a humble driver. Dizzy’s the muscle, and I expect she'll be here shortly.”

There was something about the driver that was different, but Kasey just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. But she resigned herself to trusting Seth. If Caldwell trusted him, she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

Hades extended his hand. “You must be the luckiest thief in all of New York. Trying to break into this one's apartment, you are lucky you’re still on two feet.”

Seth took Hades outstretched hand. “Luck had little to do with it. We simply found some common ground. Seth Caldwell, pleased to meet you.”

“Caldwell?” Hades mused, shaking his hand. “Intriguing. We've fenced a few of your relics if I'm not mistaken.”

Seth's eyes narrowed on the crime lord. “And you would be…?”

“Hades, Lord of the underworld. Pleased to meet you in the flesh.”

Seth laughed. “A grandiose title to be sure, but after meeting your namesake, I'd recommend against usurping his identity.”

Hades’ grip tightened, Seth's knuckles turning a little white as Hades cocked his head to the side.

“You've met Hades?” he asked. “Medium height, pasty skin with blue fire burning where his hair should be?”

“No,” Seth replied, “but his eyes did. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Hades eyes bulged. “So you have met him too. Interesting. I'd love to hear how that happened.”

“I don't think so,” Seth replied, “and I'd reconsider masquerading as him, when he could crush you with a thought.”

“Oh, he is very aware of me,” Hades replied. “The big guy and I have had an understanding for years now. No need to fret on my account.”

Hades offered his hand to Murdoch who ignored it. Murdoch pulled out a chair and sat down.

If Hades thought anything of being snubbed, he didn't show it.

Kasey's mind was racing a million miles an hour. Were they really speaking about the Greek god? Had Seth and Hades really met him? How did one meet an Olympian?

Then again, she had just met the Earth Spirit, so her opinion of what was possible was a rapidly widening horizon. She hadn't set out to have a face-to-face encounter with Mother Nature, but it had happened, nonetheless.

The revelation cast Hades in a whole new light.

The doors swung open, and Bishop walked in, followed by Sanders. He met Kasey’s eyes and smiled.

Kasey couldn't help but return it. The candlelit dinner had been even better than she’d expected. Sanders, though glacial in expressing his emotions at times, seemed to be growing less and less discreet about his feelings. It was a welcome change.

When the Chancellor saw Hades, he gave a slight nod. The two had met before. They’d even shared a hospital room at the Administorum for a night.

Sanders took a seat on the opposite side of the table and sat facing Kasey.

Bishop eyed Hades warily and gave Kasey a disapproving glare, but she didn't have time to entertain Bishop's disdain. The vampires needed to be stopped and every ounce of muscle they could gather would help.

Last but not least, Kendra Harrington entered the room, wearing a slim fitting silver dress that looked to be worth as much as Kasey's entire wardrobe. She was laughing as she spoke to the woman walking beside her. Shorter than Kendra, the black woman had an infectious smile, jet black hair cut just above her shoulder, and carried herself with a confidence Kasey couldn’t help but envy.

“That,” Murdoch said from his position down the table, “is Dizzy.”

Kendra made her way to the head of the table and placed an envelope on it. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it sliding down the table toward Kasey.

It slid to a stop in front of her, and Kasey lifted it off the smooth timber surface.

The envelope was made of heavy card stock with a gold embossed border. On its face, it bore her name in cursive. It had already been opened.

“I’m sorry,” Kendra called. “The security team opened it for your safety,”

Kasey reached inside the envelope and pulled out a single invitation.

One half of the invitation was dominated by a mask that would cover half the wearer’s face; it resembled the porcelain white mask from the Phantom of the Opera.

Inscribed over it, in gold embossed script, was a brief message.

Rhain Vladislav cordially invites you to a ball held in your honor, this night at 7:00pm at the Prince George Hotel. We look forward to seeing you there.

Chapter 20

Kasey stared at the elegantly embossed invitation and simply couldn’t believe it.

“They can't possibly expect me to attend this? They've put a price on my head, hunted me relentlessly, and even incited a mob. Surely they can’t expect me to walk into such an obvious trap?”

“You’re not going,” Bishop interrupted. “I know what you're thinking. If he’s actually there, you can end it all, but we both know it’s a trap.”

Kasey laughed. “Of course it's a trap. It’s just a variation of the same dirty ploy Marius tried in the nightclub. At best, it's a distraction; at worst, it will be terminal. Of course I'm not going.”

The King of the Feudal Court was trying to use her pride to get to her. If she had been willing to go toe to toe with the Shinigami, he had to be hoping she would be reckless enough to do the same with him. In spite of her newfound powers, Kasey had no intention of walking into a trap. She and anyone that went with her would certainly die there. After all, it wasn't just Rhain. It was a legion of his fanatical court as well.

If she allowed the court to pick the time and place of the battle, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. One she was not willing to entertain.

“We aren't going to play their game. Let them have their ball. We will find out what they're really up to. I think it’s safe to say they're using the ball as cover for something else,” Kasey said, staring at the invite.

“They slaughtered a significant portion of the city’s Lycan population last night,” Sanders said. “I believe that was an attempt to cripple our allies so that they can move more freely through the city. There is no way a thousand vampires could evade detection with three packs watching the city.”

“I agree,” Kasey replied, “but if our indications are accurate, two of them were almost entirely destroyed. Their remaining pack members are scattered to the winds. What's left of Cal’s pack is holed up here. The werewolves going to ground means the city is open to them.”

“That's not all they've been up to,” Bishop said. “They firebombed the Thirteenth Precinct in the early hours of this morning. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but a dozen vehicles were destroyed and fifteen officers are in the hospital being treated for burns and smoke inhalation.”

“Not to mention a dozen instances of their venom empowered thralls rampaging through the city. Midtown, Upper East Side, Harlem, Hell's Kitchen. They’re everywhere,” Sanders added, clenching his fist. “The ADI took them down but there have already been civilian casualties and there's going to be more.”

“They are trying to divide our resources, stretch us thin while they maneuver into position,” Kasey replied, drumming her fingers on the conference table.

“Well, they’re succeeding,” Bishop replied. “It's death by a thousand cuts. While we are running around putting out fires, they are busy starting the next one. Sure, we've killed a few thralls and a vampire here or there, but people are starting to notice and they’re panicking. Some have started leaving the city. Just this morning, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels are choked with traffic heading west. I can't help but wonder if they aren't the sane ones.”

Such pessimism wasn't in Bishop's nature. When it came to protecting the city, she was the first to put her life on the line. She had been doing it for years but clearly the last few days of sleepless nights while being harried by the forces of the Feudal Court had her on edge.

“We can't just give up the city,” Kasey replied. “Hades, what do you think?”

The room went quiet as all eyes turned to the Crime Lord.

“Well, they've hit the Underworld. Vampires thrive on the darkness and fear, but they don't do anything by chance. They’re weakening the power structure of the city, leaving us exposed. They're not trying to destroy the city; they're trying to conquer it. Spread fear and misdirection as they build their numbers. Make no mistake, even now they will be turning others to their cause. We need to root them out and stop them before this army turns into a plague that can't be stopped.”

“What about the military?” Bishop asked. “If we need more manpower, surely we should look to them for help.”

“Two problems with that,” Hades replied. “First, we are going to need the mayor onboard before calling in the National Guard, and for him it’s admitting defeat. It’s conceding that the situation has gotten out of his control. If he does, he'll never see re-election. We need to do the opposite and seal the city while we cut out the cancer before it can spread.”

“You’re not wrong, but sealing the city will raise a panic. We need time just to manage the logistics. In the meantime, how did we go with canceling events?” Sanders asked. “Gatherings are dangerous, both for the populace at large, and for us. The potential for large populations to be turned cannot be ignored. We can't afford to give the vampires any more strength.”

“Chief West spoke with the mayor last night,” Bishop said. “It didn't go well.”

“What do you mean?” Seth interrupted. “Surely he can see the danger?”

“You would think so,” Bishop replied, “but he’s in denial. He didn't believe a word about the vampires and refused to use his office to help. We have reached out to as many venues as we can, citing every excuse under the sun. Some are canceling, but other are holding out. New York is a city that entertains, and these business owners are just trying to make a living. Without the mayor's help, we don't have a chance.”

Kasey looked around the room. Bishop's tired, worn expression was shared by most of those seated around the table. That was the problem with vampires. Their very nature ensured that they were most active and destructive while humans needed to rest. The Feudal Court was slowly wearing away the will of those who were fighting to protect New York City.

We need a win. We need to get ahead of them, and we need to boost morale.

Kasey stood up and placed both hands on the table. “So, what’s on tonight?”

“Pardon?” Sanders asked.

“What events are on in the city this evening?” Kasey replied. “If the ball is cover for something, then it’s going down tonight and we need to be ready for them. We can't be everywhere, at least not in sufficient numbers to stop them, but if we can narrow it down, we can concentrate our forces. What events will not close?”

Bishop pulled out her pad. “We have preseason game with the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Plenty of people will turn out for that. There is also a matinee and evening show of Hamilton on Broadway, along with a dozen smaller shows in venues around it. But the biggest risk has to be the Knicks vs the Heat at Madison Square Garden. They're sold out and while we tried both the venue and the team owners, their exact words were, over our dead bodies. Ironic really given the circumstances.”

Kasey could see the problem. There were so many events and the threat they faced was simply beyond their comprehension. Any of those events could make a viable target. All would be heavily attended but the nightmare had to be Madison Square Garden. The Knicks versus the Miami Heat in a sold-out arena. Twenty thousand people all turning out to watch the game. Whatever security they had wouldn't put a dent in an army of vampires.

But the same issues that made the event the most obvious target could also make it the most useful distraction.

The amount of manpower it would take to secure Madison Square Garden would leave the other targets almost entirely exposed.

Yankee Stadium also made a very serviceable target. If the vampires wanted, they could continue their guerrilla tactics. All they had to do was make a little noise in the city near Madison Square Garden and it would take everything the Council and its allies had to try and protect the massive venue.

Yankee Stadium located in the Bronx would be the best part of thirty minutes away, more in peak traffic. There was no chance they would be able to reinforce it in time. There were simply too many targets over too diverse an area. It was an impossible task.

“The best we can do is scout all three locations today and try to determine where they'll strike. If we keep the bulk of our forces in reserve near Midtown, we will be in a position to defend either Madison Square Garden, Broadway, or with a little bit of advance warning, Yankee Stadium.”

“It's a good start but we need better intel,” Hades replied. “These creatures are masters of subversion and stealth. We need to know where they're going to be before they get there. I’ve put every man I've got on the street, but it will leave me precious few for whatever action we have planned tonight.”

“Who exactly are we?” Seth asked. “Don't get me wrong, I’m in. But we’re up against an army of vampires and there are only a dozen of us in this room, two of whom I bought with me. So, who exactly is we?”

It was a fair question. She’d not really taken the time to introduce Seth and his party to the rest of the room. With everything going on, it just hadn’t seemed a priority. With the city's officials reluctant to play ball, it had to appear like they were a rogue group trying to hold off a tsunami.

“For one, the combined might of the Arcane Council and the Arcane Defense Initiative will be there,” Sanders said.

Seth perked up a little. Clearly, he hadn’t recognized Sanders. “Well, that’s a little more reassuring.”

“Every man and woman I can muster will join them,” Kendra Harrington replied.

“My Helldrakes and I will be wherever Kasey is,” Hades answered. “Criminals though they might be, they aren't bad in a fight.”

It was the understatement of the day. She’d watched them gun down the vampire strike force at her apartment with surgical accuracy.

She looked the Caldwell heir in the eye. “All told, we should be able to muster as many as they can, perhaps more if we can convince others to join us. But we need to be in the right place at the right time. Are you with us?”

Seth looked at Murdoch and Dizzy. Both of them nodded.

Seth turned back to Kasey. “We’re all in. My fiancée is reaching out to some old contacts. We might be able to bring a few more to the party. Are you going to be in a position to make good on our deal?”

Kasey's heart beat a little faster. She hadn't seen Carys since he’d disappeared last night. Now Seth was asking if she could actually deliver on her promise to help cure him. She had made the bargain in good faith but the truth was, at the moment she had no idea how such a curse might work. Without her ancestor’s help, there would be little she could do, and he was about to risk his life to help the city. She couldn't let him down.

She needed to speak with Carys and failing that, she'd have to go see her mother.

Kasey nodded slowly as she considered the cost. Compared to the price they might all pay, it was nothing.

“I have not forgotten. I'll do everything I promised, you have my word.”

“Then you have us, such as we are,” Seth replied. “We might be few, but we pack a punch.”

“May the Almighty smile upon us all,” Murdoch added, bowing his head.

Kasey looked at Murdoch. Something about the man bothered her. He was certainly the most tanned Irishman she’d ever seen but that wasn't it. There was something about his eyes.

“We’ll take any help we can get,” Kasey replied with a smile, pushing her fears aside. “Speaking of help. I’m going to reach out to some other interests and see if I can persuade them to help share the load.”

“And who might that be?” Kendra asked.

Kasey looked over at Hades and then Bishop and decided that discretion was probably the better course. “Let's just say they have a vested interest in Yankee Stadium.”

“Where to from here?” Kendra asked. She directed the question at Kasey rather than Sanders.

Kasey looked at the map of the city flashing on the screen. “Let’s place scouts around the locations we discussed. Bishop, use any influence you can muster within the force to close as many other venues as we can. Kendra, Seth, and I are going to go have a little chat with the mayor, just as soon as I can gather a few things.”

“The mayor?” Kendra asked. “I thought West already tried that angle.”

Kasey sighed. “He did, but I figure that two of the wealthiest people in his city might be able to persuade him of the merits of our position. We need him on side to narrow the field. Perhaps he’ll see things more clearly when he realizes whose requests he is ignoring. Let's meet in the lobby in an hour and we’ll head out.”

“An hour?” Seth asked, standing up.

Kasey nodded. “I need to make a few calls and talk to an old friend.” She was of course referring to Carys but she wasn’t going to share that openly. “In the meantime, you should all get some rest today. Tonight is going to be a long night.”

“You haven't mentioned the ball,” Seth replied. “Are you just going to ignore it entirely? What if the vampires try something there?”

He was right. Just because it was an obvious trap didn't mean dozens of unsuspecting city socialites wouldn't walk straight into it.

Kasey let out a sigh. “I don't know. I know I can’t go, and I seriously doubt we can afford the manpower to deal with it.”

“Mind if I borrow the invitation then?” Seth asked, reaching for the piece of paper.

“Not at all. What are you going to do with it?” Kasey asked, handing it to him.

He tucked it into his pocket. “I'm going to give it to a friend. He’s a roaring gossip that loves to party.”

“He could be walking into a deathtrap,” Kasey replied.

Seth laughed. “It’s no less than he deserves after everything he’s put me through. I'll see if he's interested in attending. If he is, it will be one less location we need to worry about.”

“Who is this friend?” Bishop asked. “That can wander into a nest of vampires and save us the trouble?”

Seth paused. “Well, he’s more of an acquaintance than a friend really. His name is Edward Knight.”

Kasey racked her brain for any recollection of an Edward Knight, but she couldn't recall having ever heard of him.

“Yeah, because that's just what we need,” Bishop interrupted. “Another criminal in our midst.”

“You seem perfectly content for me to help when you need it, detective,” Hades said, “but despite our differences, I agree with you. Knight is a menace who shouldn't be allowed in the city.”

Bishop shot Hades a weathering glare. “Do you really agree with me, or are you just concerned he might be after your turf? After all, his criminal empire makes yours look like a start-up.”

“Yes, and he is one of the most wanted men in the world,” Hades replied. “My empire will endure long after he's been captured or killed by the authorities. Not a lack of ambition on my part. It's simply a clear understanding that the tallest blade of grass is first to be cut by the lawnmower.”

“Enough,” Kasey said. “If you don't have something useful to add, simply be silent. We don't have time for you all to measure your collective egos.”

Kendra cleared her throat and the room fell silent. “Command, bring up Knight’s dossier.”

Edward Knight's dossier appeared on the large panel of monitors running along the conference screen wall. One half of the screen was dominated by a list of his suspected activities. But it was the image on the left that caught Kasey's attention. It was of a man in a sharply tailored three-piece suit, his hand gripping the edge of his fedora as he tried to evade the security camera that took his picture.

It was him. The man from her vision.

Chapter 21

Kasey stared at the man in the suit, his face largely obscured by his hand and hat. He was adept at avoiding cameras, but there was no question in her mind that he was the man in her vision of the masquerade ball.

She’d have bet her life on it. The real question was, was that an outcome to be avoided? Or cultivated? Was the Earth Spirit warning her or encouraging her?

“How well do you know him?” Kasey asked. “Can we trust him to side with us against the vampires?

“He’s pro people. He’s not going to throw in his lot with the Feudal Court,” Seth replied.

“How can you be sure?” Bishop asked. “It wasn’t random acts of kindness that got him on the most wanted list.”

“He’s ruthless to be sure,” Seth answered, “but he has a code, and we have an understanding. If you want some extra muscle, he’s the man for the job.”

“But he’s just a normal, right?” Kasey asked. “You want to send him and his thugs into the ball. It will be a massacre.”

Seth tilted his head to one side. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Kasey wasn’t so sure, but she didn't have the luxury of turning down help right now. She needed every bit of manpower they could muster.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Maybe she’d get lucky, and Knight and the Feudal Court would take each other out. Save her the effort. The thought brought a smile to her lips. There wasn’t a chance in hell she’d get that lucky, but it was nice to dream.

Kasey handed the invitation to Caldwell. “Fine, have it your way. I wish him the best of luck.”

“I doubt he'll need it. Have you seen the news the past few days?”

Kasey shook her head. She hadn't had five seconds to herself, let alone spare time to watch TV.

“There have been a series of attacks through Spain. The world thinks the Catholic Church is under attack, but it’s not the case. If you look closely, you’ll find those locations are own and operated by an extreme sect known as the Spanish Inquisition.”

“The Inquisition?” Kasey’s jaw dropped. “As in…”

“As in the witch hating zealots? Yes, those ones. I’ve met them and they are a delight, let me tell you. Fortunately for us, they are suffering retaliations for recent actions they have taken against Knight. The man has a five-hundred-year-old organization on the run. If you need help with the vampires, it seems it be wise to send him in your place.”

“What makes you so confident he can deal with vampires? They aren’t human and they aren’t going to give a damn about his street cred,” Kasey replied.

Seth looked down at the table and scratched the nape of his neck. “It’s not his street cred they’ll need to be concerned about. It’s the blessing Ares gave him.”

“Ares,” Hades muttered as he sat up in his seat. “That’s how you met them. You were at the Grand Trial. It all makes sense now.”

“Trial?” Kasey asked. “What Trial?”

A smile crossed Hades’ lips. “From time to time, as he sees fit, Ares the God of War hosts a Grand Competition. Twenty champions compete for the ultimate prize. The winner receives Ares’ blessing, at least for a time. You’re telling me Knight has it?”

Seth nodded. “If the reports in Spain are anything to go by, he’s putting it to good use while he can. If he’s willing to throw down for the city’s defense, it would be in our best interest to let him. Who knows what he’ll get up to otherwise.”

Kasey wasn’t going to turn down the help, but nothing Seth had said reassured her. If this Knight really had been blessed by the God of War, he was every bit as dangerous as the vampires they were facing.

“Fine,” Kasey answered. “He can have the ball, but he works with us. If he crosses us or harms our people, he will earn my undivided attention.”

“I imagined he'll find this acceptable,” Seth replied. “After all, he does so like to dance.”

Kasey didn’t know what to make of that, nor did she have the time to give it the attention it likely warranted. “Organize yourselves and gear up. As soon as we know where the Feudal Court are, we’re going to hit them with everything we have. In the meantime, we’ll go see the mayor. See if we can’t prevail on him to see reason. Give me an hour, and I’ll meet you in the lobby. Until then, behave yourselves.”

Sanders looked to her for an explanation but as Kasey turned to him, she found Hades looking at her also.

“I just need to take care of some things upstairs. I'll be back,” Kasey said.

“You’re not going anywhere else, are you?” Sanders asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

Kasey laughed. Clearly, he was worried she planned to slip through the Veil again. Little did he know, she had no idea how to even accomplish that.

“Just need to prepare myself. I’m not headed anywhere.”

Sanders nodded. “Good. I need to organize the Council's forces. We’re bringing every able-bodied agent, but that won't happen without a great deal of effort on my part and Strang's. Just call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Sanders,” she replied, the words feeling overly formal after dinner last night.

Kasey made for the door but Sanders called after her, “I had a good time last night.”

Kasey turned and found Hades’ eyes glued to her, waiting for a response.

“Me too,” Kasey replied, looking down and rushing toward the door. If there was one thing she didn't need today, it was an awkward sandwich featuring Sanders and Hades. The Crime Lord’s flirtation had been both persistent and overt, but Kasey had always figured it was just him being himself. But seeing the look of disappointment on his face, she wondered if she had misjudged things.

After all, Hades had gone out of his way for her time and time again, often against his own interests, and put himself in peril as a result.

Kasey forced the thought from her mind. She just couldn't afford the distraction right now. As she headed upstairs, Kasey borrowed the phone at the concierge’s desk and dialed a number she knew by heart. Not because she called it often, but because he’d once threatened to kill her. Yes, it was one more potential ally she was positive Bishop would disapprove of. But after one of his freelancer’s had tried to kill her, Kasey figured he owed her a favor and now was as good a time as any to collect.

When he answered the phone, Kasey gave him a run down and suggested he might cover Yankee Stadium considering his recreational interests there. Kasey hung up before he could protest and headed for the penthouse. While she did need to change, she was more concerned with Carys.

“Carys?” Kasey called as she entered the penthouse. “Carys, where are you?”

“I believe you told me to be neither seen nor heard,” the specter answered as he materialized in the kitchen. “I see you got your thief.”

“You were watching?” Kasey asked, a little surprised that he hadn’t shown himself during the conflict.

Carys shrugged. “I did have a vested interest in the outcome.”

“If you were watching, then you know what I’m going to ask. What do you make of his curse?”

Carys stroked his chin. “Such a thing is possible, a blood curse passed one generation to the next. But it would have had to be a powerful ritual. If his ancestor was vindictive and practiced enough to manage such a ritual, then I doubt she would have entrusted her revenge to chance. Such a plan can be fraught with potential pitfalls.

“What do you mean?” Kasey asked as she made her way over to the kitchen counter.

“Well,” Carys began, “let's say, she laid the arcane malady on her own bloodline. His ancestor likely had other siblings who his forebear would not want to afflict. After all, only one child strayed. If his bloodline perished, the curse would turn its attention to her other progeny. Arcane curses once laid are not sentient. They move unrelentingly toward their objective until either they succeed, in this case wiping out her own bloodline, or until they are dispersed by an equally powerful counter charm.”

“And?” Kasey asked leaning over the counter.

“I find it unlikely that a practitioner capable of casting such a curse would resort to such an unpredictable course of action.”

“So, you do have a theory then?” Kasey replied.

“More of a lesson. It’s time you learned more about our heritage. Blood and ritual magic are at the heart of who you are.”

“Carys, I don’t have time for a history lesson. I need answers for Seth.”

“You need to stop neglecting your past when your future depends on it. The deal you made with the thief won’t matter if you don’t live long enough to help him.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Kasey clenched her fists.”

Carys shrugged. “I do. I’ve waited a thousand years to see my successor. I’m not going to watch you die because you’ve neglected your preparation.”

Kasey looked at the clock on the microwave. The minutes were rolling by faster than she had realized. Clutching her head in her hands she groaned. “Fine, where do we start?”

“Blood. It might be the root of Seth’s problems but it’s the source of your power.”

“I know, my mother told me as much,” Kasey sighed. “Druids use their rituals to imbue their bloodlines with power, creating generations of progressively more powerful practitioners.”

“You say their like you aren’t one of us,” Carys raised his voice as he stepped closer. “Ritual magic made you who you are. Never forget that.”

“Which I’ve known about for the better part of a few days. It is going to take some time for me to get used to.”

Kasey stepped away from Carys. She had no desire to bicker with her forebear, and he did have a point. The vampires had possessed the Libro Sanguis before her; if they intended to use its rituals to accomplish their ends, she needed to know more.

She took a deep breath.

“Please, tell me more,” Kasey said pacing as her time rapidly evaporated.

Carys placed his hands together. “Very well. Ritual magic allows practitioners to channel power far beyond their ordinary means, to accomplish extraordinary feats of magic. They rely on foci to help channel that strength without melting their mind. The power still needs to come from somewhere though, ley lines, sites of power, solstices are all options, though the simplest answer is often the easiest.”

“Blood,” Kasey replied, recalling how Marius had made use of it when he was cornered.

Carys gave an approving nod. “Exactly. While on average it contains only a token amount of power, in sufficient quantities it could be used to muster a serviceable amount of power. Given who you are dealing with, I feel it’s the most likely vehicle.”

He wasn’t wrong. The Court had been running a blood drive surreptitiously for weeks, not to mention the less voluntary and more barbaric aspects of their nature. There was no telling how much they might have stockpiled.

“To disrupt their ritual you will need to rob it of power, redirect its foci, or overwhelm it with a superior degree of power, no easy task, yet it’s the same task Seth will face if he’s to cure what ails him.”

At that Kasey’s ears pricked up. Carys had been helping albeit on his own terms. It wasn’t much but it was a start.

Kasey turned to thank him only to find in front of her. “Thank you,” Kasey said as she passed straight through her ancestor.

“You’re welcome,” Carys replied, but this time instead of hearing him with her ears, his voice echoed within her mind.

“What the hell?” Kasey muttered, looking around for her ancestor but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hello?” The voice of Carys called like someone testing the line on a telephone.

Kasey jumped, looking around, but couldn't see him.

“Hello,” Carys’ voice came again but now it felt like he was right on top of her. Then Kasey realized the truth. He wasn’t on top of her at all. He was inside her. She was hearing his voice not with her ears, but with her mind. Two spirits sharing the same space.

“Well, this is weird,” Kasey replied.

“You're telling me,” Carys replied. “Notice how you can hear me. I dare say that while I'm here you couldn't tune me out, even if you tried.”

“I think you’re giving yourself too much credit,” Kasey replied.

“You're the first woman I've been inside in a thousand years,” Carys replied, “Not at all how I remembered it.”

Kasey's reaction was visceral, shuddering as she struggled to force the image of the specter from her mind.

“Hell no.” Gathering her will, she snapped, “Get out!”

Carys’ spirit reappeared in front of her as it was forcefully evicted from her body.

“I would slap you if I didn’t know it would pass right through you.”

“I wasn’t the one who invaded your space,” Carys replied haughtily. “You ought to watch where you’re going. “Just because I can’t feel you doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings, you know.”

As her ancestor lectured her on his personal space, she thought of Seth and his curse and how he had described it. As she did, an idea came to her mind. One she thought might be of significance to the Caldwell heir.

“I know very little of actual rituals,” Kasey said, changing the topic. “Your tome is full of them, and the vampires had you for days. Assuming they're planning something big, do you have any idea what they might be trying to accomplish?”

Carys gave her a disapproving stare. It reminded her of her of her teachers at the Academy. “You really ought to read it some time. It would greatly expand your horizons of what is possible.”

“I'm sure it would,” Kasey replied. “In the meantime, I need the Cliff Notes version.”

Carys sighed. “Most practitioners find themselves limited by the power they can muster at a single call. Few really learn how to push beyond their limits by taking power from beyond their own being, but those that do soon learn that the limits are far greater than they ever might have imagined.”

“What do you mean?” Kasey replied.

“What I mean is, once you understand where power comes from and how to manipulate it without channeling every iota of magic through the frail filter of your mind, you learn that your only limitation is how much power you can gain access to. The more dangerous practitioners in history learned that the answer to that is simply the limits of their imagination.”

“So like at my initiation, I was able to draw it from the ley line?” Kasey replied.

“Exactly,” Carys replied, “at the right time and season, but less discerning practitioners tend to lack patience. Based on the timing of their assault, I imagine the vampires have their source prepared or a suitable target in mind.”

“Like what?” Kasey replied.

Carys shook his hands. “Think Kasey, you've seen it before. With the necromancer.”

The Shinigami.

Akihiro had been planning to devastate the city so that he could capture the life force of those extinguished in the attack. Taking in that much power he believed would grant him immortality.

“Death,” Kasey replied. “They can power their ritual with death.”

“With life, actually,” Carys replied. “But yes. It is the power of life carried in the blood they will spill. Death is just a byproduct. It is one of the oldest and most dangerous forms of magic. But if the vampires are planning something in the city at this time of year, and knowing what we do of their feelings toward humans, it is safe to assume whatever ritual they intend to enact will be powered by the blood of those they sacrifice.”

“And the more people they sacrifice…” Kasey whispered.

“The greater the power for their ritual,” Carys replied. “There really are very few limits other than sufficient fuel for the fire.”

“So with enough lives,” Kasey muttered, “they could do anything. Like plunge the city into darkness.

“Like your vision?” Carys nodded. “Easily.”

“How do I stop them?” Kasey asked.

“Are you not listening? You need to rob it of power, redirect its foci, or overwhelm it with a superior degree of power.”

“I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to do any of those,” Kasey replied, thinking out loud. “I’m going to need you to come with me.”

Carys shook his head.

“No way, I was stuck with those creatures once. I'm not risking that again. Besides, even if I wanted to, I'm limited in how far I can travel from the tome and you said it yourself. You can't risk your friends seeing it in your possession.”

“I need you close at hand,” Kasey replied. “Just in case. Any ideas?”

Carys scratched his head. “There are a few things we could try. You are Earthborn, after all. I imagine some of my old spells are within your reach. Not all magic is strictly offensive or defensive. A battle between practitioners is a fight not only of will but utility. If you can outthink or out-prepare your foe, then you have a greater chance of surviving. Good wizards must prepare ahead. This spell allows you to do just that.”

“Cwdyn Daear,” Carys chanted.

In the air between them, a small rift opened in the fabric of reality. It reminded Kasey of the passage Talora had opened through the Veil. But instead of icy plains, it was a dank dark tunnel that reeked of death.

Kasey wrinkled her nose. “Yech, what the hell is that?”

“It is the place I hid in life, and after my death, my son interred my remains there. You're looking at my cairn.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kasey muttered, peering into the darkness. “Your body is in there?”

Carys shrugged. “I doubt it is little more than a skeleton now. The important part is that the rift is to a place of significance to you, one preferably untouched by others. That grave hasn't been disturbed since my death. And in life, I stored all manner of trinkets there. Most of it would be useless now. I imagine my son took whatever wasn’t, but until you find a serviceable location of your own, it’s a start. If you want somewhere safe to stash the tome, you must put it where others can't reach it.”

Carys flicked his hand and the rift disappeared.

“Now you try,” Carys replied. “You've seen the place. I'm sure you shouldn't have any trouble picturing it in your mind. Now think of it and the significance it has to our family. It is where the body of the last Earthborn rests. It is your heritage, Kasey.”

“What happens if I tried somewhere else, like a Donut Shack? Could I get one in a pinch?” Kasey asked.

“Wouldn't work,” Carys answered, shaking his head. “It lacks the connection to anything but your belly. This place has been of significance to our family for generations. That's why it works. Try it.”

The rumble in her stomach told her a donut was fairly significant seeing as she’d skipped breakfast, but she set her hunger aside.

Kasey closed her eyes, picturing the dark, putrid smelling cavern. Even now, she could almost smell the lingering stench in her nostrils as she whispered, “Cwdyn Daear.”

Kasey opened her eyes to see the rift opening before her. It revealed the same dank, malodorous cave that Carys had shown her earlier.

Carys clapped his hands together, but no sound came from them. “Well done, it seems we might have more in common than you think. You're a natural talent, Kasey.”

Kasey grinned at the compliment as she headed into her room.

“Where are you going?” Carys called after her.

Kasey didn't answer she simply snatched the tome from its resting place and made her way back to the kitchen.

“Wait, don’t toss me in there yet,” Carys protested.

“I'm leaving the hotel and I can't trust that you won't be disturbed. I'll put you there where only I can find you. At least you will be safe.”

Carys’ eyes were wide as he replied, “Yes, but if you die, I could be stuck in that hole forever.”

“I'll do my best not to die, then. See you soon.”

Kasey placed the tome gingerly inside the rift and closed the portal. As it shut, Carys winked out of existence. He wasn't going to be happy about that, but she really had no other choice. The penthouse was too exposed, and she needed to keep the tome on lock down.

The better part of an hour had passed while she had been talking to Carys. She raced into the wardrobe, got changed quickly, and made her way downstairs to meet with Kendra and Seth.

“Take your time,” Seth called out. “Not like it’s of the essence or anything.”

Kasey couldn’t help but notice he was now wearing a bullet proof vest over his tan shirt, but beneath his brown leather jacket. Clearly, he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Patience, padawan,” Kasey replied. “I was looking into your little problem.”

Seth's eyes brightened and his whole countenance shifted. “And?”

“I'll deliver as promised. Right after you do,” Kasey replied. “In the meantime, it would be in your best interest to see that I don't get brutally murdered.”

Kendra patted Seth on the shoulder. “Fair warning. Keeping her alive is a full-time job. I should know. I've been doing it for the last week.”

“Are we ready?” Kasey asked.

Kendra pointed to the front door. “Detail is out front. They'll take us to City Hall.”

The three of them loaded up. City Hall was only a brief trip away, but Kendra wasn’t taking any chance. The detail was heavily armed and each of the vehicles was reinforced and bulletproof.

On arriving at City Hall, Kasey paused.

The whole building was still, and at this time of the day for a city in crisis, it should have been a hub of activity.

Something was very wrong.

Kasey, Seth, and Kendra piled out of the car and made their way up the front steps. In the broad light of day, the threat from the vampires was less. That said, more than two dozen of her security personnel followed them into city hall.

City Hall’s lobby was completely deserted. It was unheard of, but Kasey didn’t have time to linger. Perhaps they had gone home early to be with their families.

Consulting the information board, Kasey pointed to the elevators. “Second floor. Let's go.”

It took three of the elevators to safely convey the group to the next floor.

As the aluminum doors parted, Seth whispered, “I don't like the feel of this at all. I’ve been in more lively tombs.”

“I'm beginning to have second thoughts myself,” Kendra replied, “but the mayor took the chief’s calls last night and this morning. He has to be here.”

Every room was deserted. Here and there, office chairs had been toppled over. Desks were no longer resting perpendicular with the walls.

When Kasey and her team reached the office of the mayor, his assistant’s desk was empty. Kasey leaned over it and saw a smear of blood that ran from the desk into the mayor’s office.

“That can’t be good,” Kasey muttered. Walking up to the door, she knocked on it three times.

There was no answer

Kasey pushed open the door. The room was dark. All the drapes had been drawn and the lights were out.

Kasey stretched out her hand and whispered, “Ysgafn.”

Three small orbs appeared floating above her hand before spreading out to cast a dim light over the room.

A voice groaned.

Kasey's eyes tracked the sound to the corner of the room where a man in a ripped suit was huddled.

“Mayor Telson?” Kasey asked. “Is that you?”

The man hid his head in his hands. “Who wants to know?”

“It's Kasey Chase. We came to see you about getting some help closing down the city. It’s an emergency.”

“Kasey Chase?” the man asked with a throaty wheeze.

“That's right,” Kasey replied. “We really need your help.”

The hunched over form of Mayor Telson turned toward her, his head slowly rising as he found her gaze.

Kasey’s heart stopped. Two orbs of darkness stared back at her. There was no sclera, simply inky black orbs peering back from the mayor’s pale face.

His mouth and chin were covered in blood. Kasey’s eyes darted around the room, and she noticed a pair of legs sticking out from behind the desk.

“Oh, Mayor, what have you done?”

The man leapt to his feet with inhuman speed, the light catching the pair of fangs protruding from his upper lip. “I had to feed.”

And with that, the once Mayor of New York City sprinted straight at Kasey.

Chapter 22

Only he wasn't the mayor any longer. The fangs protruding from his bloodied maw told the truth of his situation. Mayor Telson had been turned by the Feudal Court. It certainly explained his reluctance to cancel anything. He was not trying to protect the city or win re-election; he was openly in thrall to his new masters.

The shock of his transformation took Kasey by surprise. By the time she had gathered her power, the newly turned vampire had already crossed his office. He drove his fist straight into Kasey's stomach.

The words of her spell died on her lips as she reeled backwards. She landed on her ass in the lobby and the vampire hissed his defiance.

Unfortunately, he'd also just cleared the only thing standing between him and Kendra's security detail. In the middle of City Hall or not, Kendra's detail opened fire.

Their high-powered rifles let loose, bracketing the vampire. He staggered forward, fighting against the weight of fire.

One step. Two steps.

Round after round tore into him, slowing his advance.

Wheezing, Kasey gasped, “Gwaywffon!”

A lance of scarlet arcana in the shape of a spear plunged into his chest, right where she suspected the remnants of his heart might be.

The mayor collapsed to his knees and pitched forward onto his face.

“Cease fire!” Kasey called.

The security team obeyed, smoke rising from the barrels of their weapons as she got to her feet.

The room went silent, and she raced over to Telson. He was laying face down next of the trail of blood heading into his office. Kasey kicked the body, but he didn't move. Wedging her boot underneath him, Kasey turned him over and a small breath escaped his lips. The black orbs filling his eye sockets were starting to fade and as the white sclera came back into view, the man gasped.

“Help me.”

There was nothing Kasey could do for him. Given what he had done to his assistant, it was better than he deserved.

“I should have known better,” Kasey muttered. “The Feudal Court got to him first.”

“They’ve been keeping us busy,” Kendra replied. “But money and influence, that’s their M.O. Now that he’s dead, we don't stand a chance shutting down the city. Short of an order from this office, it's going to be businesses as usual and with him dead, I don’t see that happening.”

“Me neither,” Seth replied. “Nor do I think we still want to be here when the police arrive. Vampire or not, you just killed the mayor.”

It was true. The mayor’s office stank like death but his bullet ridden body was still going to be tied to Kendra's detail.

Kendra turned to her men. “Two of you stay behind and clean this mess up. Doesn’t look like there is anyone here to stop you, so find the cameras and wipe them. I don't want anything that can be tied back to us. The vampires killed him the moment they turned him. We just put him out of his misery.”

Kasey nodded. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for a human to turn on those he worked with. To feed on his own assistant, driven by the all-consuming hunger, must have been horrendous. Though it didn’t explain why the rest of the office was vacant. It was City Hall but there wasn't a person in sight.

Kasey, Kendra, and Seth made their way back downstairs. The abandoned building had a strangely eerie feel to it.

As they walked, Kasey pushed open doors and looked through the offices, hoping to find anything to explain the bizarre phenomenon.

“What are you looking for?” Seth asked.

“It's almost midday in City Hall in one of the busiest cities on Earth. There should be people here but it’s completely empty. Had the rest of the office discovered the Mayor’s condition and fled?”

As she strode through the hall, her foot slipped. Catching herself, she looked down and spotted something black laying on the tile floor. Bending over, she picked it up.

It was a black zip tie, fastened on itself, ready to be used as a restraint.

Kasey took a few steps and spotted another.

The chairs behind the lobby desk had been knocked over and a pile of paperwork had been scattered across the floor.

This is where it started.

The building wasn't deserted; it had been emptied. After all, that would be the only way for the vampires to ensure no action was taken to change the city’s status quo. If there was no one in City Hall, there was no one who could interfere with their plans. The vampires and their cronies had emptied the building. The fact that there was little in the way of bloodshed led Kasey to believe that its occupants had been kidnapped against their will.

“They have taken all of them,” Kasey replied. “Every single person.”

Kendra shook her head. “We’re talking more than a hundred people. In the broad light of day, how is that even possible?”

“That's why they hit the Thirteenth Precinct,” Seth chimed in. “Law enforcement will either be taking cover or hunting for those responsible. This isn't the work of vampires. They would have slaughtered the place. This will be their minions. They'll have taken everyone at gunpoint. Cleaner and quieter.”

“We're on our own,” Kasey replied. “But at least we know we’re on the right track.”

“What you mean?” Kendra asked.

Kasey held up the zip ties. “If they have become this brazen, then we are right about tonight. Whatever the Feudal Court is planning, it's happening tonight.”

Kendra nodded. “We better gather what manpower we have and find their target. We’re only going to get one shot at this.”

“We need to make it count,” Kasey replied. “Let’s head back to your fortress and work out what the others have found.”

Kasey strode through the abandoned lobby and down the front stairs. She climbed into the back seat of her vehicle, and Seth piled in beside her.

Kendra took the front seat and motioned to the driver. “Back to the hotel. Don't stop for anything.”

“Roger that,” the driver replied, sliding the vehicle out into the traffic.

As they made their way back to Kendra’s stronghold, Kasey turned to the Caldwell heir. For someone that was reportedly worth a small fortune, he had an understated wardrobe: a tan shirt, khaki slacks, and boots, with a leather jacket. It was more Indiana Jones than Forbes Rich List.

She studied the two days’ growth on his face and the black bags that had formed underneath his eyes, and realized he was every bit as tired as she was.

“You're looking a little worse for wear,” Kasey said.

Seth turned to her, looked her up and down, and replied, “You’re not the only one who missed out on their beauty sleep.”

Kasey got a look at herself in the rear view mirror. He had a point. She had spent most of the last night waiting to be robbed and had been running herself ragged for the better part of a week. She knew why she was so tired; she figured the billionaire should have had a more forgiving schedule.

“I've been dodging bounty hunters and vampires for days now, not to mention the occasional robbery.”

Seth managed a pained smile. “I'm sorry about that, but I didn't think I had any other option.”

“You’ve been busy too,” Kendra replied, looking over her shoulder. “It sounds like you've had your hands full last few weeks.”

“Have I now?” Seth replied raising an eyebrow. “How much has Dizzy told you? I’m flattered. I didn't think I’d rate a mention during pillow talk.”

Kendra Harrington flushed red and looked away.

“The pair of them go way back,” Seth replied as he turned to Kasey. “Some things it seems never change.”

“Yes,” Kendra replied. “Dizzy is still allergic to the idea of settling down. She has more commitment issues then you do.”

“I'll tell her you said that,” Seth replied with a grin.

“I will bury you in an unmarked grave,” Kendra snapped. “Don't you dare. And stop changing the subject. What was all that business with the Trial and Edward Knight?”

“Desperation and obligation. I was looking for answers to my curse and I needed information. I traded favors with the Red Knight and damn near got killed for it. Now we have reached something of an accommodation, and that’s about all I'm willing to say about it.”

Seth scratched at his jaw as he looked out the window.

“Okay,” Kasey replied, “I have to admit I’m still a little curious about meeting the real Hades. What was that like?”

“I don't want to talk about it,” Seth replied, sliding lower in the leather seat and turning more toward the car door.

Kasey wasn’t one to give up so easily.

“You've met an Olympian and you have nothing to say about it?” Kasey replied. “Definitely not one for the gossip, huh?”

Seth continued to stare out the window and was quiet for a long minute. When he spoke, his voice was softer.

“There are things you are better off not knowing. You're a witch. You know the kind of supernatural beings that exist beyond the Veil. I met many of them, more than I care to mention, and they scared the hell out of me. Zeus, Hera, Hades, Ares, the Sidhe monarchs, and others. I was stuck with them for days. My fate was their amusement. You know what I learned? They all have their own agenda, and they don’t give a damn about us. Not unless it's in their best interest to do so.”

“You met the King of Winter?” Kasey asked. If he’d met the Sidhe monarchs that had to include the King of Winter. She seized the opportunity to learn more. “What was he like?”

“That’s awfully specific, picking Oberon out of that lineup.” Seth raised an eyebrow. “I never spoke to him directly, but I watched him freeze an arena with less effort than you or I take to breath. He could manipulate magic on a scale that our minds can't comprehend, and his heart was as cold as his domain. Pray that you never have to meet that cold bastard, or any of his people. They'll be the death of you.”

Kasey wanted to know more but it was clear that Seth didn't want to say anything else on the matter. His experience beyond the Veil had certainly left an impression.

His description of the Winter King was more than a little concerning. Now more than ever, Kasey hoped that Sanders was right. If the Sidhe were busy at each other's throats, it would hopefully leave little opportunity for the Winter King to track down the source of his woes.

The remainder of the drive passed in silence. Kasey stared out the window at Manhattan as they passed through it. All about her, hundreds of thousands of people were working, utterly oblivious of the growing threat in their midst. The hours were passing quickly, and she couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that everything the Feudal Court had been working toward was coming to fruition this evening.

The Masquerade Ball, the attacks all over the city. New York and its defenders were stretched thin and largely in the dark about Rhain’s plans.

Carys had given her clarity. If they were performing ritual magic, they would need power. The more power they wanted, the more people they needed. In her mind, that left two real targets: the preseason game at Yankee Stadium or the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. With Yankee Stadium being so far north, there was little Kasey could position in the area and still hope to make a meaningful resistance anywhere else.

That was why she had called Vincent Camarano. The family had a heavy presence in the city and their interest in the stadium was more than recreational. Hopefully, he would take her warning seriously and put up a fight. Anything was better than being overrun by the Feudal Court.

The convoy pulled up at the hotel and everybody piled out. The security detail around the hotel had been doubled and as Kasey looked up at the surrounding rooftops, she could make out the barrels of rifles resting over the ledges of many of the surrounding buildings. Anything approaching the hotel was going to meet overwhelming resistance.

Unfortunately, it seemed the vampires weren’t foolish enough to attack the stronghold. She was going to have to go out to root out the infestation.

As they entered the hotel, Kendra turned to Kasey. “I need to muster my men. I'll pass on any intelligence I receive. In the meantime, get yourself something to eat. I’ll see you in the situation room.”

Kasey wandered through the hotel lobby and into a small restaurant that had been converted into a galley and mess for Kendra's security. Grabbing a plate off the pile, she helped herself to the leftovers from lunch. Lasagna and salad. It wasn't pizza but it would certainly do. Piling her plate high, she made her way over to a bench seat facing the door.

The clock above the door read 2:05 PM. They were running out of time. With little else to do, she dug into her meal knowing that it could well be her last.

It didn't take long for the doors to part and Cal appeared. The broad shoulders of the stocky alpha werewolf filled the door. He was the leader of Manhattan’s one remaining werewolf pack, or what was left of it. Overnight, they had become an endangered species, not that she’d ever say that to his face.

“Hey Cal, how are things?”

The werewolf shook his head. “Not good, Kasey. They wiped out whole families. It’s going to take us a generation to recover.”

Kasey could feel the pain that filled his every syllable. Her visions hadn't shown her anything about the werewolves, but she couldn't help but think that while she was laying her trap for Seth, the Feudal Court had been preparing to purge the werewolves from the city.

“I'm sorry, Cal. If I'd have known, I'd have been there.”

“None of us knew,” Cal replied. “They chose their timing carefully. Most of us were resting in preparation for the full moon.”

Cal slumped down onto the bench, and it creaked beneath his weight. Resting a meaty fist on the table, he turned to Kasey. “Tell me you have a plan. A plan to make them pay.”

Kasey wanted to reassure him, but more than anything she knew what Cal wanted. It wasn't safety or security; it was revenge. She had seen him in battle and his fury was terrible to behold.

She leveled with him. “We don't know where they are planning to hit, but we suspect it will be tonight. We're bringing everything we’ve got to bear on our most likely targets. If they show their heads, Cal, we’ll be there to take them off.”

“Count me in,” Cal said. “The pack too.”

“No,” Kasey replied, “you can't risk what's left of your family in a fight we’re not even sure we can win. You could be wiped out. If you die, who’ll care for Faith?”

Cal shook his head. “If you fail, there won’t be a city left for her to live in. I won’t hide while others decide our future. They came for us in our home, and we will answer. Every last one of us.”

Cal wasn't asking. Whether she wanted it or not, New York City’s remaining Lycans would be joining the fray. And desperate as she was, their strength was sorely needed.

“Then get your people together, Cal. Whatever is going down, it's going down tonight. We need to be ready.”

“We already are,” Cal replied, rising to his feet. “All you have to do is call and we’ll be there.”

“It won’t be long,” Kasey said. “Spend what time you can with Faith.”

She left the rest of the sentence unsaid but Cal’s somber expression told her he understood. They were heading into the fight of their lives. There was no guarantee any of them would make it home. If he fell, his infant daughter wouldn’t even remember him.

Kasey gripped her fork. She couldn’t let that happen.

Finishing her meal, Kasey left her dish on the counter and made her way into the situation room. Kendra was there, as was Sanders and Hades. The three of them were pointing at the wall of monitors which were currently displaying a map of Manhattan with a number of locations blinking.

“Where are we at? Kasey asked.

“We have scouts at all three locations,” Sanders answered. “Strang and a small contingent of ADI are in Broadway, watching for trouble. Stacey Lender and fifty of our agents are at Madison Square Garden. Heironymous and his followers are laying low near Yankee Stadium. The bulk of our reinforcements are mobile and waiting in secure locations around Manhattan. Whatever happens, we’ll be ready to respond promptly. Comms are being run from here and our teams can report in if they see anything.”

“Things are happening, alright,” Hades replied. “They just aren’t showing their faces yet. My scouts report a higher than usual number of trucks moving through the city today. I believe the vampires are on the move and they're using the trucks to protect themselves from the sun. I suspect they’re getting into position even as we speak.”

“It ends tonight,” Kasey replied. “We know they held a tome full of forbidden rituals. I suspect they are going to try and distract us while they perform one of them. We need to find them and stop it before all hell breaks loose.”

“Any idea what kind of ritual?” Sanders asked.

“No idea,” Kasey replied. “They could blow up a city block or send citizens into a mad frenzy with their venom. The ritual could even help them turn more acolytes. Turn their burgeoning army into a stampede of the living dead.”

“You paint a terrifying picture,” Hades said, his brow furrowing.

“It's the truth,” Kasey replied. “In my vision, I saw the city shrouded in a darkness that concealed all of Manhattan. Literally or figuratively, they're trying to drown us out. We need to take back our city.”

Together, Kasey, Hades, Kendra, and Sanders made their plans, designing and redesigning the city's defenses. They did the best they could, given the limited intelligence. Time crawled on, and then the clock struck five.

Before Kasey could comment, the speaker in the center of the table crackled to life. “This is Strang. We have movement in Broadway. I can't see them, but I can sense them at work. Their practitioners are gathering power. A lot of power.”

Kasey was just about to respond when the speaker came to life once more. “This is Heironymous. One of our agents just spotted two dozen of the creatures piling out of the back of a truck in the loading dock. The vampires are here and moving.”

Kasey ran her fingers through her hair. They'd been waiting for any report on the vampires’ movements. What she hadn't expected was for them to strike both locations.

The radio crackled to life once more.

“This is Lender. We have vampires at The Garden. A lot of them. I think they are slipping in with the crowd. We’re trying to track their movements now.”

Kasey realized the depth of her mistake. The vampires weren't concentrating their forces at all. They weren't striking a single densely populated target. They were hitting them all. A thousand vampires; the damage they could do was incalculable. Not to mention the support the Night Crew and their allies could give.

Kasey's heart raced as she considered her choices.

“Has anyone got eyes on Rhain?” Kasey asked. The King of the Feudal Court was unmistakable. Kasey had felt his presence the second she’d seen him on the docks.

“Negative,” Lender replied. “No Rhain here.”

“Same here,” Strang replied.

“Likewise,” Heironymous added. “If the King is here, we haven’t seen him.”

Kasey groaned. “We can't be everywhere at once.”

“Agreed,” Sanders replied. “If they’re dividing their strength, we can defeat them in detail. I’ll take the strike team and relieve Strang. If they have practitioners there, the Council must act. We’ll hit them with everything we have and grind them to dust. You take Hades, Kendra, and the others to Madison Square Garden. Whoever spots Rhain first can call for aid. Heironymous, you're at the furthest point and seem to have the smallest threat. Only engage as you need to. We’ll send reinforcements as soon as we are able.”

“Hurry,” Lender called. “They’re everywhere.”

“We're on our way.”

“I have cars waiting,” Kendra motioned to the door. “Let's go.”

Sanders looked at Kasey and mouthed the words, “Be careful.”

Kasey gave him a weak smile, and with sincerity of a gambler at the races, she whispered, “Of course.”

Sanders shook his head, as the situation room emptied. Waiting in the lobby were Cal, Dizzy, Murdoch, Seth, and a woman whose brown curls barely brushed her shoulder. She wore green fatigues and a black bullet proof vest.

“Kasey,” Seth began. “This is Lara, My fiancée.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kasey replied. “I only wish it was under better circumstances.”

Lara’s hand rested on a holster at her waist. “My pleasure.”

Sanders joined a group of ADI agents, their battle staves and gunmetal gray suits unmistakable as they filed out of the lobby.

“It's on,” Kasey replied. “We have movement everywhere. I’m headed for Madison Square Garden. If anyone wants out, this is your last chance.”

“Not on your life,” Cal replied, headed for the elevator. “I'll take the pack. There are too many for the cars. We’ll go on foot. It will be quicker that way.”

He didn’t wait for an answer and Kasey knew there was no calling him back. He had a target and was seeing red. She felt sorry for anything that made the mistake of getting in his way.

“We’re here as promised,” Seth said. He was dressed much as he had been that morning except for the addition of a brown felt fedora.

“It's time to stand and be counted,” Murdoch replied. He was carrying a black duffel but wore nothing in the way of protection. “I’m in.”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world,” Dizzy replied. She was dressed in sleek black plated body armor. A black hunting bow and quiver were strapped to her back. As Kasey leaned closer, she could have sworn she saw the Harrington Industries marker stamped in the sleek black plate work.

“It's my city too,” Lara replied. “They can’t have it.”

Seth put his arm around her, his big hazel eyes filled with worry. He clearly would have preferred she were somewhere else, but it seemed he had little say in the matter.

Bishop strode through the hall toward her, with a familiar face at her side. The six-foot rogue had his black hair tied back into a tight bun and was wearing one of her spare NYPD windbreakers over what had to be a Kevlar vest. The battle staff in his right hand wasn’t police issue.

Trying to save his father, Jack Rosenberg had almost started a war with the werewolves. Ever since, he’d been doing his best to undo the damage. And, it seemed, spending more and more time with Bishop.

“Good to see you again, Jack,” Kasey said with a smile.

It would be great to have someone else helping keep Bishop safe. Dianne Bishop was a formidable woman and an excellent detective, but humans tended to fare poorly against vampires. While she’d never say it out loud, Kasey was worried for her friend.

“Take this,” Bishop said, holding an earpiece out for Kasey. “I don’t want you out of reach for a moment.”

Kasey grinned as she fitted the earpiece. Bishop still thought she was the one doing the looking out.

“Let's do this,” Kasey called.

Together, they piled into a fleet of waiting vehicles and flanked by a police escort from the Ninth Precinct, they made their way through the city, lights and sirens blaring, heading straight for Madison Square Garden. Located between Seventh and Eighth Avenue, the venue dominated the block above Pennsylvania Station.

Thanks to their escort, they made record time. Kasey led the charge to the security cordon. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a veritable army of security personnel, police officers, and the grim set faces of her friends. They reached the cordon and never slowed down. Kendra's men, their weapons carried in bags over their shoulders, sent the metal detectors ringing like wild.

“You don't want to know,” Kendra called as the stadium’s security moved to try and stop them. “And you don't want to be here. Get out while you still can.”

The handful of security took one look at the mass of police and security and legged it for the city streets.

Once the strike team reached the concourse, the bags were discarded, and Kasey led the charge into the Garden.

The stadium was filled to capacity, the energy of the pregame excitement emanating through the arena. But amongst it, Kasey could feel something else.

“Vampires,” she said, her voice low as she surveyed the crowded seats all around them. From where she and her companions stood on the walkway at the second tier, there were seats between them and the basketball court, as well as banks of seating rising steadily toward the arena’s roof.

“Where?” Bishop asked, looking about.

“Everywhere,” Kasey muttered. “I can feel them. Where the hell is Lender?”

There was no sight of the Councilwoman or her ADI escort.

The cheerleaders finished their floor routine, and the arena went quiet. People were starting to notice Kasey and her crowd standing awkwardly in the gallery, not making any move to take a seat. It might have been dimly lit in the stands, but it wouldn’t take long before someone noticed the guns. Then the panic would set in.

The opening notes of the national anthem boomed through the speakers and a singer made his way out to half court to lead the anthem.

The singer was tall, broad shouldered, and pale skinned but wearing a perfectly tailored black suit. As Kasey's eyes settled on him, she felt the power radiating off him in waves. It was palpable and she had seen it once before, on the docks in Brooklyn.

He wasn't a singer at all. It was Rhain, King of the Feudal Court.

Chapter 23

Rhain, King of the Feudal Court, strode along the center line until he stood beneath GardenVision, the multi-pan old LED Jumbotron that hung from the middle of the stadium roof.

In one hand, he held the microphone. The other hung loosely at his side.

The energy he was putting off shimmered around him like a cloud of darkness that Kasey sensed rather than saw. To her naked eye, he looked like a man ready to sing the national anthem. To her arcane senses, he looked like a time bomb about to explode.

He raised a hand and the music ceased abruptly. Whispers broke out in the stands around them. Fans speculated that this was another protest.

“People of New York City, I am Rhain, the undying. I am not here to entertain you. I am here with an offer of immortality.”

Shouts echoed through the arena as angry fans hollered from the stands.

“Get off the stage!” a fan behind Kasey shouted.

Rhain’s lips drew into a tight smile as his dark eyes settled on Kasey. “None of you are leaving here alive. Embrace death’s kiss as our outliers or perish where you sit. The choice is yours.”

Kasey summoned her power around her as movements on the basketball court drew her eye.

The referees and the men sitting at the scoring table rose and made their way to center court. As they did so, their faces twisted, glamours faded, and fangs became visible as the emerging vampires leered at the crowd.

“Get out of here, freaks!” a fan called. “Bring on the game.”

“Very well,” Rhain said. “Let the bloodletting commence.”

All at once, Madison Square Garden dissolved into chaos.

Kasey watched as a vampire rose from his seat in the row before her and sank his teeth into the neck of a woman at his right. The woman's screams turned into paroxysms of pleasure as the venom coursed through her. Kasey expected the vampire the tear out her throat but instead he drew back, his face slick with blood. The woman turned and Kasey watched as the whites of her eyes faded to darkness. They weren't killing everyone. They were turning them.

A gun shot rang out. The vampire’s head exploded.

Kasey turned to find Hades holding a smoking Desert Eagle.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” he asked.

“We need to get them out of here,” Kasey shouted as screams filled the arena. “Kendra, use your forces to shepherd out anyone you can save. Each one out is one less vampire. If it has fangs, take its head off. Heads and hearts, people. You know the drill.”

“You heard her,” Kendra bellowed. “Start getting these people out of here. One by one, bring the undead down. Echo Team, head to the upper level. Watch your shots and make them count.”

Another vampire leapt up onto the rail. Jack Rosenburg leveled his staff at the creature and blew a hole through its chest so big Kasey could see through it.

Down on the court below, Rhain raised his arms and started to chant. The vampires around him took up defensive positions around the central circle, right where the jump ball should be taking place. The four of them started chanting in sync, in a language Kasey couldn't comprehend, but the wall of darkness rising from the central circle was impossible to miss.

It started on the court and was rising quickly, completely enclosing the vampire king. From overhead, something began to drop. At first, it was a pitter patter like a summer shower but as the valve opened, it cascaded in great torrents. Pouring out of the overhead LED display was a waterfall of blood. They landed on the court around the vampire king who continued to chant. The blood glowed an angry red as a puddle turned into a pool which began to rise. Contained by the protective barrier of his minions, the blood rose inch by inch until the base of his boots were submerged and still it kept rising.

Frenzied people were rushing for the exits, and Kasey was madly trying to filter through them. While Rhain was the biggest threat, the last thing she wanted were rogue vampires making it back into the city. After all, just one could start an infestation.

In the stands above, Kasey could make out the silhouettes of dark forms darting through the crowd. Shadows rising and falling as they sank their fangs into their hapless prey.

“We need to stop that,” Kasey shouted, pointing at the center of the arena. “Hades, watch our backs. Seth, Bishop, Jack, you’re with me.”

The arena was utter mayhem, the stairs and walkways crowded with people trying to escape the slaughter.

“We have to go over.” Kasey leapt over the rail in front of her and dropped in to the chairs beneath. The stands before her where emptying, but a dozen shapes moved in the semidarkness that were far too quick to be human. One of them went down, felled by a shot from above, but the others pushed forward. They raced over the chairs toward her.

Bishop was beside her, pulling an MP5 out of her duffel.

“I can't fire,” she said. “I can't risk hitting bystanders.”

Kasey got it; Hades and his crew operated by very different risk analysis. In their eyes, everyone in the arena was already dead. Anyone that made it out alive was a bonus.

Bishop, having spent her life in the Ninth Precinct, couldn't take that chance.

“Stay close to me,” Kasey replied. “You'll get your chance. Don't worry.”

Jack interposed himself between Bishop and the approaching vampires as Seth, Murdoch, Dizzy, and Lara dropped into the grandstand around her.

“Dizzy, clear a path,” Seth called. “Lara, Murdoch, watch out back.”

The throng of vampires in the arena was growing. All they had to do was give the kiss to a mortal. The hapless victim would be consumed with the desire to feed and in doing so, would perpetuate the cycle.

Kasey wanted to do something about it, but she couldn't be everywhere at once. Whatever Rhain was doing had to take precedent. If the King of the Feudal Court wasn't lending his weight to the fight, it had to be for a reason. He was brimming with power just like she had been after her ritual initiation. Whatever he intended to use that energy for, she had to stop.

Dizzy leapt nimbly onto the seats in front of her, taking the lead. Kasey wasn't used to following anyone but with the amount of innocent people around, she was also reticent to let loose. Collateral damage was her middle name and while New York might forgive a great many things, she was pretty sure that burning down Madison Square Garden would end with her being evicted or incarcerated. Not to mention the lives that could be lost. Kasey couldn't abide having them on her conscience.

The vampires stalked toward Dizzy. As they closed, she perched momentarily on the top of a chair before launching herself into the air. In the blink of an eye, Dizzy vanished and a hulking silverback gorilla was flying through the air in her place.

A shape shifter.

The gorilla landed on top of one vampire, breaking every bone in his chest as she crushed him flat to the floor. A meaty backhand sent the vampire through the grandstands.

“The muscle!” Murdoch yelled as he reached into is duffel and pulled out his double barrel shot gun.

Kasey followed in Dizzy’s wake, dispatching vampires at point blank range with focused bursts of power.

Light caught on the edge of a blade as it flashed toward her throat. Kasey ducked under the knife and as she rose ready to dispatch the creature, she found Seth already there.

He grabbed the creature by the throat, and with a word of power, he released his spell over the vampire. The vampire screamed as his pallid flash turned to granite. The spell spread quickly until the creature’s jaws locked open in the shriek of terror turned to petrified stone.

Kasey blinked as she recalled the vice-like grip he'd hand on her leg as they had fought in the apartment. Had that been his intention? How did he do that?

The vampire collapsed under the weight of his own head, which shattered as it hit the ground.

Murdoch was beside them. His shot gun roared and great gouts of flame burst from both its barrels, incinerating two vampires before him. He cracked the gun, ejecting the two spent rounds in one motion as he pulled two more shells from his pocket and jammed them into the chamber.

Together, their party carved a bloody way through the vampires. The undead were quick, but there simply weren't enough of them focusing their attention on stopping Kasey's berserk charge. Inch by inch, she fought her way toward the basketball court. Her ears were assailed with the chaos of the arena, gunfire, magic, and the cries both of the innocent and the blissful jubilation of the Feudal Court vampires eating their fill. They were everywhere. Kasey could see her allies losing ground in the grandstands.

Even if she made it to Rhain, it was quite possibly a one-way trip. By the time they could make it to center court, a critical mass of vampires would be waiting at their back. Kasey could only hope reinforcements reached in the meantime.

After taking off the head of another vampire with a lance of arcane power, Kasey reached for her ear. “Sanders, come in. How are you fairing?”

“It's madness on Broadway,” Sanders replied. “They spiked the refreshments with venom. There are thralls everywhere and their practitioners are selling chaos everywhere they can. Strang is pinned down and we are moving to assist.”

“Hurry up.” Strang's voice filled the comms; it was high pitched and Kasey could sense the panic there. “They’re all around us. We can't hold out much longer.”

“It's the same here,” Kasey replied, “but Rhain has taken to the field. He is working on some kind of ritual. I can feel it. We're trying to reach him now.”

“You can't take him alone, Kasey,” Sanders replied. “Hold your ground. We will be there shortly. “

“I can't do that.”

Every moment she waited, people were dying. Rhain wasn't going to wait for Sanders to arrive, and who knew how long his ritual might take. The blood was slowly rising inside the circle, but the vampire king seemed undeterred. His lips moving steadily behind the arcane barrier.

“Lender, where are you?” Kasey demanded.

“Underneath you.” Lender’s voice echoed in her ear. “Sorry, we were set upon in the tunnels and we have been fighting our way back. I'm almost to you now.”

“Join us on the court,” Kasey replied. “You should be able to reach it from the tunnels. We need you here as soon as we can.”

“Roger that. I'm on my way.”

Kasey had almost made it to the edge of the seating section. Only one more stretch of chairs separated her from the basketball court. She swung her leg over the rail as howls echoed through the arena. Not a solitary howl of the lone wolf; a chorus of them. Wolves baying for blood.

Terrified people rushed back into the arena. The crowd parted like Moses going through the Red Sea, and a black and gray werewolf appeared at the entrance to the arena. Even at this distance, Kasey could recognise Cal.

He reached the rail and let out an earsplitting howl that filled the arena. He was joined by another werewolf with a thick brown coat. She too added her howl to the chorus, as did others. Cal's entire pack streamed into Madison Square Garden.

Rhain's attention wavered. He turned his head to take in the tide of werewolves streaming into the packed arena. Shaking his head, Rhain’s hands shook as he began to chant once more.

Kasey punched the air. “We got him worried.”

Cal and his pack had entered the arena on the opposite side of the court, behind where the New York Knicks would normally sit.

The pack was doing what it did best, hunting.

They set upon the Feudal Court with a vengeance born from tragedy. The vampires converged on them, and chaos ensued. Everywhere Cal went, vampires were torn apart, but the Feudal Court had come prepared with blades made of silver. One cut could be fatal even for a creature of Cal’s strength.

The vampires fell upon them from all around, but the pack fought like demons possessed, reaping a bloodied toll through the servants of the Feudal Court.

Kasey and her escort clambered over the rail and dropped down to the floor beneath. They were court side now. Only a few rows of chairs separated them from the court and Rhain himself.

Risking a look over her shoulder, Kasey saw Hades and his Helldrakes fighting side-by-side with officers of the Ninth Precinct. They were fighting a rearguard action as an overwhelming mass of vampires pushed them back toward the exit.

Cal and his pack were starting to lose momentum. The savagery of their charge expired as the vampires used the raised seating all around to harry their flanks.

Kasey raced toward the court. The vampires guarding Rhain watched her every move, but continued to chant. Clearly, whatever they were doing required their whole attention. The blood was almost up to his waist. All about her, the air was thick with the scent of it. The slaughter in the grandstands left them slick with blood that ran down toward the court like a macabre waterfall.

Kasey's feet hit the court. The arena doors at ground level burst open and Stacey Lender came through them, several dozen battered ADI agents at her back.

Kasey's heart stopped. She pointed at center court, at Rhain. “We need to stop him!”

Stacey advanced towards Rhain, the ADI fanning out behind her. Stacey lowered her staff toward the circle, and Kasey drew on as much power as she could muster, hoping to pierce the barrier keeping her from Rhain.

Then Stacey Lender turned abruptly, her staff leveled straight at Kasey, and bellowed, “Exsequiis!”

Chapter 24

Kasey's heart stopped. Stacey was the traitor. She couldn’t believe her eyes, but she couldn’t argue with the evocation headed her way.

“Tarian,” Kasey cried, erecting a shield between her party and the traitor on the Arcane Council.

The pulse of emerald energy struck her shield. It took the brunt of the lethal force of the spell, but its residual energy still sent her flying backward through the chairs.

Flailing wildly, Kasey groaned as she slammed into a seat, before she tumbled to the floor.

Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense. No wonder the Feudal Court had so deftly avoided them. They had known exactly what the Arcane Council was doing at every move. Lender had been feeding them information, for how long Kasey couldn’t say, but as she plucked herself up off the ground, she decided she didn't really care.

Lender had chosen a side—the wrong side—and Kasey was going to see her pay for it. The ADI behind Lender flickered out of existence and as the glamour faded, Kasey could make out the forms of dozens of newly turned vampires.

The depth of Lender's betrayal became evident. She had led her own agents to the slaughter to be turned. Now not only were they vampires, but they were vampires who had been practitioners in their past life.

Kasey was staring down the better part of fifty of them, all of it led by a sitting Council member, the Keeper of Knowledge no less.

Who knew what magic she’d studied in the confines of the Repository?

Kasey wanted to cry. She was so close. Rhain was less than fifty feet away, but Lender and her vampiric agents interposed themselves between Kasey and their king.

Kasey kicked the nearest chair out of her way.

The Feudal Court had known she was prescient; doubtless they had been fed that juicy tidbit by their willing spy. The more she thought about it, the more truths flooded to her mind. Had the Keeper of Knowledge been responsible for the loss of the Libro Sanguis? After all, she'd known exactly where to find it. Kasey had to applaud her acting ability. She had never suspected a thing but as she looked at the smug face of the Council turncoat, her mind filled with far more violent thoughts.

“Give up, Kasey,” Lender called. “It's over. We’ve already won.”

“You're going to regret that, Stacey,” Kasey shouted. “I can see the future, remember?”

Stacey Lender's laugh echoed over the court. “You didn't see this coming.”

“Yeah, but you screwed up. You should have killed me while you had the chance. Now, there is no future in which I don't kick your skinny ass.”

“Kill her,” Stacey shouted, pointing at Kasey.

Kasey felt the collective might of the agents-turned-vampires as they drew on their power. The potential for devastation was horrifying.

A high-powered rifle shot echoed through the arena. One of the agent vampire’s heads exploded.

A second shot rang out, and another vampire went down. The newly turned vampires looked about in confusion. It was as if no one had explained to them that their newfound immortality still required their heads to be attached to their bodies.

Kasey raised both hands and bellowed, “Pêl Tân!”

She conjured and hurled fireball after fireball into the dense mass of vampires. Lender jammed her staff against the ground and a sapphire shield rose before her. Several of her agents followed suit, but two of the vampires were caught looking around and were reduced to ashes by the intensity of Kasey's assault.

A brilliant golden light filled the arena and Kasey lifted her eyes to the grandstand. Off to her right, on the far side of the court behind Lender and her minions, a figure strode into sight. His staff rapped the concrete with each stride. His face was totally obscured by an aura of undeniable power. In the dimly lit stadium, he shone like the sun at the height of summer. His light reflected all around him, driving away the darkness inside the Garden.

Kasey would recognize that spell anywhere.

“Sanders,” she breathed.

“We’re here,” Sanders replied, his voice filling her ear. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Lender…” Kasey began.

“We heard everything,” Sanders said, striding down the stairs toward the court.

Sanders and the ADI continued their implacable advance.

“Deal with the King,” a man shouted behind her.

Kasey turned and saw Jack Rosenburg racing over to her. Every time his staff struck the floor, he multiplied. First there were two of him, then four, then eight. All of them moved in time, mirror images of himself advancing on Lender and her minions.

Bishop appeared behind him, her MP5 leveled at the vampires. With no civilians in her line of fire, she let loose. The MP5 tore through their ranks, vampires howling in anguish as the rounds bracketed them.

“What the hell?” Kasey muttered. Bullets shouldn't have been enough to put a vampire down. Not unless the shot was perfect and as far as she could tell, Bishop was firing indiscriminately into their midst.

“Take that, you bitch,” Bishop shouted over the fray.

When the magazine ran dry, Bishop tossed it aside and reached for another. She turned to Kasey.

“They've been blessed. Each and every round, courtesy of Vida and the good Father Cleary down at St Patrick's.”

Kasey grinned like a maniac. The Ninth Precinct had been doing their research.

All around them, the tide of battle was turning. The ADI, the real ADI, were making their presence felt. Seth and his companions had taken cover behind the edge of the arena and were trading shots with Lender and her minions. One section back, Hades, his Helldrakes, and the Ninth Precinct were bringing up the rear.

“To me, my children!” Rhain's voice bellowed through the speakers.

Every vampire in the arena turned and heeded his call. At his command, the mindless melee reformed itself into a mass of undead descending toward the basketball court. Vampires, thralls, and newly turned creatures of the night raced toward him.

All around Kasey, the wall of death swarmed toward her. All the while, she could feel the rising power of the vampire king as his ritual reached its zenith.

She didn't know how she knew, but she could feel it in her soul. She was running out of time.

Kasey wanted Lender’s head, but she had bigger fish to fry. Leaving the traitor to the Council, she raced for the ring of vampires protecting Rhain. The four of them stood like sentinels, their feet rooted to the floor, their mouths moving in concert as they shielded him from harm.

Kasey gathered her power and with a precision she had mastered in the past few weeks, she refined it into a thin lance of ruby red arcana. Wielding it like a light saber, she swung for the first creature’s throat with form that would have made Obi-Wan proud. The vampire didn't bat any eyelid. Not even when its head rolled off its shoulders. The shimmering shield around the vampire king wavered and blood spilled out across the court.

More blood poured down from above but as the shield waned, it released a crimson tide across the court. It flowed over her boots and Kasey could feel the power that had been stored in it.

“The shield!” Rhain said. “Reform the shield.”

Before his acolytes could refocus their efforts, Kasey leapt into the central circle. The shield took shape behind her, trapping her inside.

“Pathetic child.” Rhain scoffed. “Do you truly believe you can contend with me?”

“That's what your sons wondered,” Kasey spat as the level of the blood started to rise once more. “Now they're both dead and you’re about to join them.”

Rhain laughed, a high lilting laugh that only served to increase Kasey’s desire to punch him in his smug face.

“I have walked this earth for hundreds of years. Do you have any idea how many of your kind I have fed upon? I have more power in a finger than you have in your whole frame, Earthborn.”

Kasey’s face fell. What did he know about the Earthborn? Her heart raced as all about her she could feel his power building.

“You're a child playing in a game you don't even comprehend,” Rhain said.

Kasey studied the Vampire King. He exuded confidence, but in spite of the fact that she was mere feet from him, he hadn't even bothered to move.

It didn't matter how strong he was. If she could drive something through his cold heart, he’d die just like the others. Kasey took a step forward, blood swirling around her leg.

Before she could take a second step, Rhain backhanded her across her face.

At least, that was what she thought happened. He'd moved so fast, his motion had barely registered in her brain before her body was flying through the air, her cheek burning like she’d tried to kiss a passing train. She struck the shield and fell to the floor. Blood lapped over her as she struggled to regain her feet. Her face throbbed, a bruise already forming on her cheek where the King had struck her.

“I am your end,” Rhain shouted, but this time his voice was in her mind. Just like Carys' had been. “Earthborn, I am a child of the Void. I am your nemesis, and you don't even know me. The sorry depths your master has resorted to are truly pathetic. You cannot beat us. Surrender. Surrender your will to us and I will teach you everything. Power the likes of which you have only begun to taste, shall be yours. We will remake the world and you can be a part of it.”

“Not a chance in hell,” Kasey replied, pushing herself to her feet.

“Then die!” Rhain drove his foot into her chest. “Your passing means nothing to me.”

Kasey collapsed, gasping for breath. Pain coursed through her, and her vision turned white. Her ribs felt broken.

“No, no, no,” Kasey pleaded. If she lost consciousness, she was as good as dead.

She looked up at Rhain standing triumphant over her and was reminded there were fates worse than death. As he lorded his victory, she couldn't help but wonder. If he was so powerful, why was he resorting to beating her senseless?

All around her, she could feel the power inside the circle growing.

He is channeling his will into the ritual and cannot afford to break it.

With the tide of battle turning, Rhain was on a timer. He didn’t have the luxury of starting over, not with the Council closing in. So while he tried to channel the ritual, he was stuck doing things the old-fashioned way.

Kasey smiled, pushing herself to her feet. The vampire started to move, but Kasey was already chanting. “Tarian!”

There was a deafening crunch of cracking bones as his fist struck the wall of her shield.

A few broken bones wasn't going to stop the Vampire King but the pained grimace crossing his face was priceless all the same.

“That looked like it hurt,” Kasey said. “But give it another go. I'm sure you'll do better next time.”

Kasey poured energy into her shield. Rhain slammed the sole of his boot into the sapphire shield pulsing around her.

The shield wavered under the assault but deflected the blow all the same. Even deflected, Kasey felt the exertion in her mind as the vampire pit his physical strength against her will.

“Come on,” Kasey said, “even your sons did better than this.”

A flash of rage crossed Rhain's face. “You dare compare me to those failures?”

Kasey raised her left arm and shook it. The crude bracelet she'd made from their canines jingled as she taunted him.

“You’re next,” Kasey said. “You should have picked a different city.”

Taunting the King of the Feudal Court was hardly a wise course of action, but her hope lay in getting him to abandon the ritual for long enough to crush her. It wasn’t a great plan but if he couldn't bludgeon his way through her shield, he’d be forced to resort to magic.

Rhain's eyes settled on her, those two dark glossy orbs. “Cower behind your shield all you want. The moment the ritual is complete, you and your pathetic band of misfits will die.”

Kasey cringed as he spoke. He knew exactly what she was trying to do, and he didn't give a damn.

“But your suffering will not end in death,” Rhain shouted over the furor in the arena. “The shattered remnants of your mind will be bound to my will until your mortal frame fails you. You, the Council, and your filthy Lycan allies will be the instruments of your city's demise. From these masses I will raise an army, but who will the mortals hate? You, the Council, their would-be protectors. You have given me everything I wanted, so by all means, sit there and watch, smug behind the safety of your shield. It will mean nothing when the ritual is complete. You will be mine.”

Sweat ran down her face as the effort of maintaining her shield grew.

Kasey looked around. Sanders and the ADI had reached the basketball court. Stacey Lender and her vampiric minions were in disarray. Seth, Lara, Murdoch, and Dizzy in the form of a lioness were fighting their way toward Hades and a small band of surviving Helldrakes and police officers who looked liable to be overrun. On the other side of the court, Cal and his pack were broiled in a seething mass of vampires and thralls.

It wasn't enough to try and stall Rhain. She had to do more. She had to stop the ritual.

Maintaining her shield, she reached out with her mind. She was at the heart of the power he was channeling. Perhaps she could put a stop it. Days ago, such a course would have been madness, but after the Falls, the horizons of what she considered possible had expanded. Closing her eyes, Kasey reached out with her will and gasped.

In her mind's eye, she could still see the torrents of blood raining down from the roof above.

Only now did she notice the rivers of blood being drawn down out of the grandstands. They showed in her sight as brilliant rivers of crimson energy flowing straight to Rhain. Every drop of blood that was being shared simply lent its strength to his.

At the center of it all, she could see him. Not as the Vampire King, but as a being of utter unyielding darkness that towered triumphantly over her. His hands were raised toward the heavens and Kasey felt the arena pulse.

She stood waist deep in the pool of blood and could feel it vibrating with the power it contained.

Beyond the pool, the three remaining vampire sentinels glowed crimson as they focused their master's will.

Kasey needed help, but there was none to be had. All around her, her friends were fighting for their lives.

Raising her hand, Kasey opened a rift to a centuries’ old cairn in Wales. Reaching into the darkness, she closed her hand around the familiar leather bound cover of the Libro Sanguis.

She opened it, and the ethereal form of Carys Anglesey materialized before her.

“Kasey, what are you doing?” Carys demanded as he looked around. His eyes bulged as he saw Rhain in his terrible majesty.

“I need to stop the ritual,” Kasey replied, as one of the three sentinels maintaining the circle collapsed. The shield shifted, struggling to contain the growing mass of power within it.

“You can't,” Carys replied. “It's too late. He’s reached a critical mass of power. If it is not consumed, it will break its bounds and destroy us all. You must channel it, take his power, and bend it to your own will.”

“Kasey,” Sanders called, his eyes glued on the tome in her hands. “What are you doing?”

“Focus,” Carys cried, drowning him out.

“I don't know how,” Kasey said. “This is blood magic at a level I can't even begin to understand.”

Carys clenched both fists. “Get a grip. This is not the time to panic.”

Rhain let out a howl of bestial triumph as the ritual reached its climax.

Another sentinel fell, clutching at his chest. The power within the circle grew unsteady. Like a pool overflowing its bounds, it threatened to spill out.

“Help me,” Kasey cried as she felt the fabric of her mind starting to crack under the pressure. “Teach me!”

“There simply isn't time,” Carys said pointing at Rhain.

“We must try,” Kasey shouted, thinking of all those who would perish if she failed. Her knees buckled, and she sank into the mire. The pool of blood reached almost to her chin.

“Get up!” Carys shouted. “This is not our end.”

Kasey looked up at him, her eyes pleading as she whispered, “You must do what must be done.”

Carys shook his head. “They won't understand, Kasey. They never understand.”

In a moment of crystal clarity, Kasey knew exactly what he meant. The humans of his time had witnessed Carys performing blood magic and had misunderstood its purpose. As a result, he had been hunted and persecuted relentlessly. His people, the Druidic order, had been forced into hiding. The ritual couldn't be stopped; it had to serve another purpose.

There was a problem though, one that could not be denied. At best, blood magic was frowned upon, but this was a ritual fueled by the slaughter of innocents. It wasn't dabbling in the dark; it was taking a running leap into the deep end of the Forbidden. The Council would never abide it.

Kasey thought of Sanders, trapped outside the circle looking in. She thought of Hades who had given everything to help her. Seth and his newfound love Lara, not to mention Murdoch and Dizzy.

Last of all, she thought of Bishop. In her mind's eye, she could see the detective fighting side-by-side with Jack. On her friend’s face, grim determination as she battled the undead beside her new boyfriend. The first in a long time.

In that beautiful moment of perfect clarity, Kasey knew what had to be done.

“I don't care,” she said. “We must do it anyway.”

“Very well,” Carys replied before his incorporeal form disappeared inside her.

When she next heard him speak, Carys' voice echoed within her mind. He was chanting, not in English but in Welsh. Kasey felt the words pass her lips as she rose to her feet, her body moving, seemingly of its own accord.

But it wasn’t; it was moving according to Carys' will. She felt more than saw her will collide with the Vampire King, only this time the circle reverberated under the impact.

“No!” Rhain shouted as Kasey drove through his mental defenses and laid hold on the ritual. “How is this possible?”

The combined power of their minds wrestled control of the magic building within the arena. Rhain tried to force her out, but now it was two against one. Working in perfect harmony, Carys and Kasey alternated attack and defense. Darting in, they would tear at Rhain's mind, before retreating behind their own defenses. The vampire floundered, unable to both hold the ritual and defend himself. Panicking, like all selfish creatures, Rhain chose himself.

The last sentinel fell, an eight-inch steel projectile protruding from his heart. As he collapsed the enchanting circle crumbled.

The ritual's power burst through the waning circle like a dam breaking.

“Now!” Carys shouted. “You must guide it.”

The vortex of power swirled about her like a cyclone, but Kasey channeled it at the cause of all this misery and pain: the Feudal Court.

The first crimson blast sent Rhain flying out of the circle. He didn't hit the ground until he crossed the three-point line.

Kasey closed her eyes. She didn't need to see what was happening. She could feel it. In that moment, she was one with the arcane energy coursing through the arena. She sought out the undead and gave them everything she had.

There was no hiding from her. She could sense the corruption within them. The hunger at the core of their being. Its very resonance offended her soul, and that was when Kasey realized the truth. It wasn't her feelings she was experiencing at all. No, buried deep within her was a part of her soul, still tethered to the Earth Spirit. And that venerable being had only hatred for the darkness before it.

With a thought, Kasey brought her power to bear, crushing their corrupted hearts beneath the weight of Rhain's own ritual.

The vampires screamed in a deathly chorus as their immortality came to an abrupt and premature end.

With surgical precision, Kasey hunted down every vampire she could find. As the last creature fell, mere steps short of the turnstiles at the gate, Kasey opened her eyes.

The floor of the arena was littered with the bodies of the Feudal Court. All around her, the defenders of New York City stared at her in slack jawed amazement. Sanders, Bishop, Jack.

In the sudden silence of the arena, Kasey looked down. She was drenched in blood and still clutching the open Libro Sanguis.

In their faces, she could make out two conflicting emotions. The first was relief. Utter relief at being alive, relief at enduring the endless tide of vampires and surviving. The second was fear. Fear of the magnitude of the power they had witnessed. Fear that an entire arena filled with vampires had been laid low in an instant.

Kasey didn't like that look on them.

“I told you,” Carys whispered in her mind.

“It's over,” Kasey muttered in reply. “No matter the cost, this is better than what might have been.”

At the three-point line, there was movement.

Kasey shook her head in disbelief as the crumpled form of Rhain started to rise.

His pale face was gaunt, skin sagging from bones of his face. His chest had been crushed; it looked like it had been danced on by a rampaging elephant.

“You,” he muttered as he staggered to his feet. “You can't kill me. I am eternal.”

Before Kasey could react, a snapping sound filled the air. A split second later, a six-inch steel bolt appeared in Rhain's chest. The piece of steel punched straight through where the vampire's heart ought to have been.

Rhain looked down and regarded the projectile with disdain.

Another slammed into his chest, and then a third. Kasey tracked the source of the projectile and saw the familiar face of Abigail Lincoln striding across the basketball court. The vampire hunter held a crossbow up to her shoulder. Each time she fired, a small mechanism whirred, drawing back the wire and loading a new bolt. The repeater crossbow sent no less than a dozen steel shafts into Rhain's chest, but still he stood.

Abbey's jaw dropped open as the vampire king shrugged off wounds that should have slain any of his kind.

In her mind, Kasey felt the Earth Spirit's influence, guiding her thoughts.

The Darkness cannot abide here without a form.

Kasey nodded. She knew what needed to be done. Drawing on her power, she focused everything she could muster into a sphere of pure earthly arcana.

“Dadelfennu!”

Her spell raced toward Rhain. He took one look at the evocation, turned tail, and ran. With a word, he parted the Veil. Beyond the tear in reality was only darkness, as far as the eye could see.

Rhain threw himself through the portal, Kasey's spell following hot on his heels.

The rift closed abruptly, and Madison Square Garden was silent.

“You should have killed him,” a voice shouted. Kasey turned to find Abigail Lincoln, tears streaming down her face. “You should have killed him when you had the chance.”

Pain was etched deep in the woman's face.

Kasey closed the Libro Sanguis and tucked it under one arm as she wrapped the other around Abbey.

The vampire hunter didn't fight it. Kasey didn't know the woman well, but she could see the obvious weight of the pain she bore. Pain was something Kasey was only too familiar with.

Patting her gently on the back, Kasey whispered, “I tried. We both did.”

“Where did he go?” Abby asked.

Kasey looked at where the rift had been. “I don't know, but I dare say he won't be back in a hurry.”

“How do you know?”

Kasey pointed at the mounds of dead vampires littering the arena's floor. “There is nothing to come back for. The Feudal Court is no more. Rhain, whatever he was, has nothing left here.”

Chapter 25

Kasey spent the better part of two days recuperating in Kendra’s penthouse, though how she’d made it back there was something of a mystery to her. She didn’t remember the trip at all.

Time and time again, the events that had transpired at Madison Square Garden played through her mind. She recalled the titanic struggle of wills as she had wrestled with Rhain. If it hadn’t been for Carys and his intervention, she’d be dead. Or worse, thrall to the Feudal Court. At the precipice of victory, Rhain had gloated of her coming subjugation.

Kasey hesitated to think of the horrors he might have perpetuated at her hand.

But the city was safe. Rhain was gone. What remained of the Vampire King’s physical form had fled beyond the Veil. In her heart, she hoped her spell had finished the job, but in her head she knew better.

There was more to the Vampire King than met the eye. During the ritual, she had seen the being of darkness at his core. It was as if his insatiable hunger had taken its own form. The sight of it caused her to tremble even now.

Fear was healthy. It was how she knew she was still alive.

At the hotel, she’d been reunited with Cal. Both he and Maria had survived the carnage at the Garden, though from what Kasey had seen, they had caused plenty of it. His pack was battered and were mourning their fallen, but they all moved with the same quiet satisfaction. The Court that had come for them was no more. That reality wouldn’t take away the pain they felt for their departed loved ones, but it brought hope for the family they sought to rebuild.

Bishop had come too. Kasey had missed her visit, but the note she’d found on the Stromboli’s pizza in Kendra’s fridge let her know her friend hadn’t forgotten her.

Kasey set down the Libro Sanguis. Reading it was painfully slow going. Her Latin was pretty ordinary but according to Carys, she wasn’t completely utterly awful, which as far as Carys went, was practically praise.

She strode over to the Penthouse balcony and opened the doors. A breeze greeted her, as did the sound of cars moving along the busy streets below.

New York, for the most part, had no idea how close it had come to annihilation. Kasey had seen the news. The stations were pushing a story about a gas leak at the stadium, something about powerful hallucinogens. Kasey shook her head. For some denial came too easily. The Council seemed content to preserve the narrative, though where they had buried the pile of corpses she’d left at Madison Square Garden, she had no idea.

Kasey had no doubt she would find out soon enough. The Council had sent word they wanted to speak with her. Like a boyfriend wanting to talk, that couldn’t be good. Half of the ADI had witnessed what had happened in the arena. Few of them would understand what had truly transpired there, and Kasey wasn’t sure she wanted to speak with the Council. They had seen her with the tome and witnessed firsthand the destruction she had wrought.

For all she knew, they were already considering her a warlock. Though if that was the case, she doubted they would have left her to rest and regain her strength. Perhaps Kendra had something to do with that, or perhaps she’d be finding out where the vampires were buried when the Council tossed her in the same hole.

Either way, it was a problem for another day. The Council could wait. Today, Kasey simply wanted to be. The city was safe, as safe as the busiest city on earth could be, and she had enough pizza to withstand a siege of the penthouse for at least a day.

No, there wasn’t a chance she was leaving the hotel today.

A knock at the door brought Kasey’s mind back to the present.

Making her way inside, Kasey closed the balcony door behind her.

She wasn’t expecting any quests, and the knock told her it wasn’t Kendra. Checking the security camera, Kasey saw the now familiar face of Seth staring back at her. He waved at the camera and Kasey buzzed him in.

The penthouse’s reinforced doors swung inward, and Seth strode into the room.

“Hey Kasey, hope I didn’t wake you.” He was carrying a large red apple in his left hand that he tossed and caught.

Kasey smiled and shook her head. “Nope, been up for a few hours now. What’s going on?”

“The team and I are about to head out. Thought I’d come and see you before we headed to the airport.”

Kasey leaned against the side of the kitchen counter. “You mean you thought you’d come collect on your debt?”

Seth looked down at his feet, scratching at his scalp.

“It’s not like that,” he started. “In all honesty, we were happy to help. This city has been our home too, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was hoping you’d come up with something.”

Kasey nodded as she recalled his team in action at the arena. They’d worked well together, and Kasey wished she had more time to talk to them. Dizzy the shifter had been a force of nature. Murdoch and Lara had emerged from the carnage seemingly unscathed, but Kasey remembered all too vividly the image of Seth breaking off the vampire’s stone head.

“How did you do that?” Kasey asked. “Turning the vampire to stone??”

Seth paused. “How did you wipe out the Feudal Court? What happened in the circle?”

Kasey smiled. She ought to have expected that. She certainly wasn’t ready to share that truth just yet.

“Trade secret,” Kasey replied. “Druids, you know. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Seth laughed. “Fair enough. So is mine.”

Kasey looked down at her ankle. “Would you have really done it to me?”

The smile faded from Seth’s lips as the air between them became tense.

“If you’d given me no other choice,” he said. “But it didn’t come to that, and I’m glad it didn’t.”

Kasey recalled Kendra’s description of Seth. “You really never lie, do you?”

Seth shrugged. “It’s a slippery slope.”

Kasey couldn’t help but like him. He had a laid-back nature to him that put her at ease. Or at least it did when he wasn’t breaking into her apartment.

She held his gaze for a long minute. “I’m glad you came. There are some things you should know about your curse, Seth. Things I think might help you find a cure.”

Seth’s face perked up. “You found something?”

Kasey nodded. “I think so.”

“What is it?” Seth asked. The look on his face resembled a patient waiting for a doctor’s prognosis. It was equal parts hope and fear.

“Just a moment,” Kasey replied, “I’ll be right back.”

She raced into the bedroom and snatched an envelope off Kendra’s writing desk. Making her way back to the living room, she found Seth staring out the window.

“I don’t have all the answers,” Kasey began, holding out the envelope. “But I think you might be coming at this the wrong way. I made a few notes for you, if you need a hand with it, or anything for that matter. You know where to find me.”

Seth tucked the envelope in his jacket pocket. “Thanks for this. It means everything to me.”

Kasey smiled. “Glad I could help. After all you risked, it was the least I could do.”

Seth returned the smile. “We’d have done it all the same.”

“Where to now?” Kasey asked, sliding her hands into her pockets.

“Back to England. We have a wedding to plan, and a curse to cure,” Seth said as he gravitated toward the door. It’s going to be a busy spring.

“Well, come back any time,” Kasey called as she punched the button to open the front door. “I much prefer it when you use this entrance.”

Seth reached reflexively for his jaw, his hand brushing the bruise Kasey had left there when they had first met. “You and me both.”

As he turned for the door, Seth tossed and caught his apple. As he raised it to his lips to take a bite, he paused. Turning he called out to her.

“Kasey?”

“Yes?”

“I was sorry to hear about your car. Bishop mentioned you’d only had it a few days when it got blown up.”

“That’s right,” Kasey said, shaking her head at the memory. “Bloody gnomes trying to collect my bounty.”

“Gnomes, you say? Interesting. A pair of them, was it?”

Kasey caught the thoughtful look as it crossed his face. “You know them?”

“Possibly, but the Gnomes I know don’t miss,” Seth replied.

He didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to name his associates, so Kasey let it go.

“Why ask about my car?” Kasey asked, a little perplexed.

Seth shrugged. “Oh, it’s just that I know the feeling. Some little blighter blew up mine, nearly took me and Lara with it.”

“Sorry to hear that. I guess being a Caldwell has its price.”

Seth nodded, raised his apple to his lips, and whispered something Kasey didn’t quite catch.

“You can say that. Has its perks, too. Here, take this. He turned and lobbed the apple across the room to Kasey. “Consider it a gift, a down payment on your next car.”

Kasey caught the apple but staggered, taken aback by the weight of it. Recovering her balance, Kasey lifted the apple up and took a closer look.

“How’s an apple going to—” Her sentence died on her lips as she realized the apple in her hand no longer had a rich red skin.

No, the apple appeared to be made of solid gold.

“How the hell did you do that?” Kasey looked up but Seth was gone.

The End

Kasey may have run the Vampires out of New York, but her actions at the Falls have fanned the flames of war. Winter may have broken but Summer comes at a price. Join Kasey in Death Warmed Up. Rally behind Kasey for her next adventure here.

In the meantime, if you have only just met Seth, I have great news. You can follow Seth, Dizzy, Murdoch and Lara as they hunt for lost temples, and cures to ancient curses. You can delve into the adventure here.

Chapter 25 (CONFLICT)

Kasey spent the better part of two days recuperating in Kendra’s penthouse, though how she’d made it back there was something of a mystery to her. She didn’t remember the trip at all.

Time and time again, the events that had transpired at Madison Square Garden played through her mind. She recalled the titanic struggle of wills as she had wrestled with Rhain. If it hadn’t been for Carys and his intervention, she’d be dead. Or worse, thrall to the Feudal Court. At the precipice of victory, Rhain had gloated of her coming subjugation.

Kasey hesitated to think of the horrors he might have perpetuated at her hand.

But the city was safe. Rhain was gone. What remained of the Vampire King’s physical form had fled beyond the Veil. In her heart, she hoped her spell had finished the job, but in her head she knew better.

There was more to the Vampire King than met the eye. During the ritual, she had seen the being of darkness at his core. It was as if his insatiable hunger had taken its own form. The sight of it caused her to tremble even now.

Fear was healthy. It was how she knew she was still alive.

At the hotel, she’d been reunited with Cal. Both he and Maria had survived the carnage at the Garden, though from what Kasey had seen, they had caused plenty of it. His pack was battered and were mourning their fallen, but they all moved with the same quiet satisfaction. The Court that had come for them was no more. That reality wouldn’t take away the pain they felt for their departed loved ones, but it brought hope for the family they sought to rebuild.

Bishop had come too. Kasey had missed her visit, but the note she’d found on the Stromboli’s pizza in Kendra’s fridge let her know her friend hadn’t forgotten her.

Kasey set down the Libro Sanguis. Reading it was painfully slow going. Her Latin was pretty ordinary but according to Carys, she wasn’t completely utterly awful, which as far as Carys went, was practically praise.

She strode over to the Penthouse balcony and opened the doors. A breeze greeted her, as did the sound of cars moving along the busy streets below.

New York, for the most part, had no idea how close it had come to annihilation. Kasey had seen the news. The stations were pushing a story about a gas leak at the stadium, something about powerful hallucinogens. Kasey shook her head. For some denial came too easily. The Council seemed content to preserve the narrative, though where they had buried the pile of corpses she’d left at Madison Square Garden, she had no idea.

Kasey had no doubt she would find out soon enough. The Council had sent word they wanted to speak with her. Like a boyfriend wanting to talk, that couldn’t be good. Half of the ADI had witnessed what had happened in the arena. Few of them would understand what had truly transpired there, and Kasey wasn’t sure she wanted to speak with the Council. They had seen her with the tome and witnessed firsthand the destruction she had wrought.

For all she knew, they were already considering her a warlock. Though if that was the case, she doubted they would have left her to rest and regain her strength. Perhaps Kendra had something to do with that, or perhaps she’d be finding out where the vampires were buried when the Council tossed her in the same hole.

Either way, it was a problem for another day. The Council could wait. Today, Kasey simply wanted to be. The city was safe, as safe as the busiest city on earth could be, and she had enough pizza to withstand a siege of the penthouse for at least a day.

No, there wasn’t a chance she was leaving the hotel today.

A knock at the door brought Kasey’s mind back to the present.

Making her way inside, Kasey closed the balcony door behind her.

She wasn’t expecting any quests, and the knock told her it wasn’t Kendra. Checking the security camera, Kasey saw the now familiar face of Seth staring back at her. He waved at the camera and Kasey buzzed him in.

The penthouse’s reinforced doors swung inward, and Seth strode into the room.

“Hey Kasey, hope I didn’t wake you.” He was carrying a large red apple in his left hand that he tossed and caught.

Kasey smiled and shook her head. “Nope, been up for a few hours now. What’s going on?”

“The team and I are about to head out. Thought I’d come and see you before we headed to the airport.”

Kasey leaned against the side of the kitchen counter. “You mean you thought you’d come collect on your debt?”

Seth looked down at his feet, scratching at his scalp.

“It’s not like that,” he started. “In all honesty, we were happy to help. This city has been our home too, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was hoping you’d come up with something.”

Kasey nodded as she recalled his team in action at the arena. They’d worked well together, and Kasey wished she had more time to talk to them. Dizzy the shifter had been a force of nature. Murdoch and Lara had emerged from the carnage seemingly unscathed, but Kasey remembered all too vividly the image of Seth breaking off the vampire’s stone head.

“How did you do that?” Kasey asked. “Turning the vampire to stone??”

Seth paused. “How did you wipe out the Feudal Court? What happened in the circle?”

Kasey smiled. She ought to have expected that. She certainly wasn’t ready to share that truth just yet.

“Trade secret,” Kasey replied. “Druids, you know. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Seth laughed. “Fair enough. So is mine.”

Kasey looked down at her ankle. “Would you have really done it to me?”

The smile faded from Seth’s lips as the air between them became tense.

“If you’d given me no other choice,” he said. “But it didn’t come to that, and I’m glad it didn’t.”

Kasey recalled Kendra’s description of Seth. “You really never lie, do you?”

Seth shrugged. “It’s a slippery slope.”

Kasey couldn’t help but like him. He had a laid-back nature to him that put her at ease. Or at least it did when he wasn’t breaking into her apartment.

She held his gaze for a long minute. “I’m glad you came. There are some things you should know about your curse, Seth. Things I think might help you find a cure.”

Seth’s face perked up. “You found something?”

Kasey nodded. “I think so.”

“What is it?” Seth asked. The look on his face resembled a patient waiting for a doctor’s prognosis. It was equal parts hope and fear.

“Just a moment,” Kasey replied, “I’ll be right back.”

She raced into the bedroom and snatched an envelope off Kendra’s writing desk. Making her way back to the living room, she found Seth staring out the window.

“I don’t have all the answers,” Kasey began, holding out the envelope. “But I think you might be coming at this the wrong way. I made a few notes for you, if you need a hand with it, or anything for that matter. You know where to find me.”

Seth tucked the envelope in his jacket pocket. “Thanks for this. It means everything to me.”

Kasey smiled. “Glad I could help. After all you risked, it was the least I could do.”

Seth returned the smile. “We’d have done it all the same.”

“Where to now?” Kasey asked, sliding her hands into her pockets.

“Back to England. We have a wedding to plan, and a curse to cure,” Seth said as he gravitated toward the door. It’s going to be a busy spring.

“Well, come back any time,” Kasey called as she punched the button to open the front door. “I much prefer it when you use this entrance.”

Seth reached reflexively for his jaw, his hand brushing the bruise Kasey had left there when they had first met. “You and me both.”

As he turned for the door, Seth tossed and caught his apple. As he raised it to his lips to take a bite, he paused. Turning he called out to her.

“Kasey?”

“Yes?”

“I was sorry to hear about your car. Bishop mentioned you’d only had it a few days when it got blown up.”

“That’s right,” Kasey said, shaking her head at the memory. “Bloody gnomes trying to collect my bounty.”

“Gnomes, you say? Interesting. A pair of them, was it?”

Kasey caught the thoughtful look as it crossed his face. “You know them?”

“Possibly, but the Gnomes I know don’t miss,” Seth replied.

He didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to name his associates, so Kasey let it go.

“Why ask about my car?” Kasey asked, a little perplexed.

Seth shrugged. “Oh, it’s just that I know the feeling. Some little blighter blew up mine, nearly took me and Lara with it.”

“Sorry to hear that. I guess being a Caldwell has its price.”

Seth nodded, raised his apple to his lips, and whispered something Kasey didn’t quite catch.

“You can say that. Has its perks, too. Here, take this. He turned and lobbed the apple across the room to Kasey. “Consider it a gift, a down payment on your next car.”

Kasey caught the apple but staggered, taken aback by the weight of it. Recovering her balance, Kasey lifted the apple up and took a closer look.

“How’s an apple going to—” Her sentence died on her lips as she realized the apple in her hand no longer had a rich red skin.

No, the apple appeared to be made of solid gold.

“How the hell did you do that?” Kasey looked up but Seth was gone.

The End

Kasey may have run the Vampires out of New York, but her actions at the Falls have fanned the flames of war. Winter may have broken but Summer comes at a price. Join Kasey in Death Warmed Up. Rally behind Kasey for her next adventure here.

In the meantime, if you have only just met Seth, I have great news. You can follow Seth, Dizzy, Murdoch and Lara as they hunt for lost temples, and cures to ancient curses. You can delve into the adventure here.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE

I hope you enjoyed A Dance With Death. The final chapter in this particular arc of Kasey’s adventure. Do not fear, Kasey will be back. I have big plans for her, and to be honest I just love writing her.

You’ll no doubt have a few questions after reading A Dance With Death. What happened to Edward Knight at the Masquerade Ball? What else did Seth get up to while he was in town?

A Dance With Death was simply a massive adventure and there was still more, but I couldn’t stand the thought of splitting it into multiple books. So, I’ll be making them available free of charge on my website in the coming weeks. You can sign up to my newsletter if you want to be notified of them as soon as they release.

Kasey will of course be back in Death Warmed Up, so get excited, I know I am. We’ve also expanded the universe with Seth in the Urban Arcanology Series, so if you’re looking for your next adventure you can find it here.

Before you go, I’d love to ask you for two favors:

First. If you love Kasey and want to see more of her, share her with a friend. I don’t have a mammoth publishing engine behind me. It’s just me, my laptop, and a love of writing. So, every time you share a post, or tell someone about one of these adventures, it makes a difference. Your support means the world to me.

Second. If you have enjoyed this book, I would greatly appreciate if you could spend a minute or two to leave a review for me (it can be as short or as long as you like), all that matters is that it’s honest. If you loved it, great. If you didn’t, let me know.

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Thank you, your support makes all the difference!

Until next time!

S. C. Stokes

P.S. I love to hear from you. So feel free to reach out, on Facebook or email anytime. You can also join the fun in our private group. It’s full of Urban Fantasy fans, just like you and me.

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Scroll on for a preview of the fun waiting for you in Half-Blood’s Hex

Preview - Half-Blood's Hex

Racing across the chamber, I darted right onto the next safe tile. Bullets whizzed about me as I threw myself forward, tucking into a roll and coming to a halt behind the next piece of fallen stone.

I was almost through the chamber. Up ahead, the entrance to the inner sanctum loomed. The thick white mist billowed through the tunnel. Behind me, the Inquisition scrambled after me.

I wasn’t going to make it in time. They were everywhere.

I didn’t even know what the mist was. My best guess was that it was another trap. From the carnage behind me, it seemed a distinct possibility.

With the Inquisition behind me, traps all around me, and a potentially deadly path ahead I was starting to really reconsider the choices I had made in my life.

Murdoch's words came back to my mind and a gradual descent into madness didn’t seem so bad. It certainly compared favorably to being used for target practice in the annex of a forsaken temple in the tropics of Panama.

“That's quitter talk,” I told myself.

I needed to move, and a shield was my only option. I couldn't just sit here slinging spells at the Inquisition. Sooner or later, I'd run out of juice or be overwhelmed.

I could raise a shield behind me and run for the doorway. It was a gamble, but it was the best I had before me.

Such a shield would draw power proportional to the impact it absorbed. An entire magazine from an assault rifle would be taxing. Trying to hold off the combined might of the Inquisition was doomed to failure. Likely in a matter of seconds.

I needed more time than that to reach the passage, and I needed more power.

The mask in my hand thrummed in response to my unspoken plea.

The arcane relic seemed to exude raw power.

I had felt such promises before. Power always comes at a price, and while it was common for such relics to be infused with power, one had to be mindful of where it had come from. Witches and wizards would enchant jewelry or other items like staves so that they could unleash far more power in battle than they could normally manage. It gave them greater flexibility in a fight and more stamina when outnumbered by their foes.

In my hand, I held the Máscara de la Muerte. The death mask of the high priestess of the Brujas de Sangre. And here at the seat of her power, it was singing with arcane energy. I clutched the mask in my hand and a single overwhelming thought rang in my mind. It wasn't my own voice. No, it was a woman’s voice. Ancient, powerful, and almost seductive in its promise of power.

“Put it on,” the voice commanded.

That's not good. Hearing the voices of the dead was never a good thing. I remembered the words of my father. He spoke of a maddening voice that pushed him to the edge of his sanity. Was this what he heard every day?

“Don't argue with me, child. Put on the mask,” the voice demanded. “There is more at stake than your petty debt.”

I turned over the mask, having memorized the last few tiles I needed to cross, and weighed my choices. It was almost certainly a terrible idea, but I needed more power than I had to make it to the door.

Gunfire filled the chamber as bullets impacted all around me.

“Even if you make it on your own, the mist will kill you. Put it on,” the voice said.

The overwhelming desire to put on the mask filled my mind. It was as if something had seized control of my being. The compulsion came from within me, but acted of its own accord.

I felt my hand raise the mask to my face and as the timber touched my flesh it took hold of me.

The ancient mask clung to my face without assistance. Power surged through my being, sending a shiver racing down my spine. I stood and faced down the Inquisition. With one hand, I swept a lance of crimson energy through the chamber. It carved straight through a cluster of the gathered soldiers, splitting them from shoulder to hip like they were made of paper.

Such a spell should have been taxing but the exertion didn’t even register. Power coursed through me and it felt great.

“Come get some,” I hollered.

I motioned at the wall beside them, as if raking it with my hands.

“Venir!” I bellowed. Stone fountained outward as if the walls had exploded. The stone shrapnel killed two more soldiers and blasted a third onto one of the trapped tiles. He died as had his companions before him, lanced with dozens of tiny spears. The Inquisition went to ground as I stared them down, radiating power and deadly majesty.

Looking ahead, the central path lay open. My vision grew red, and I could no longer see the mist.

That’s interesting. The mask had to act like some kind of protection. That was what the voice had meant. The mask was necessary to pass safely through the mist into the temple's inner sanctum.

The office of high priestess officiated in the rites of the temple. Without the mask, no others could access the temple or its secrets. The skeletons in the tunnel made a lot more sense now. They had never stood a chance of entering the temple unbidden.

I raised a shield behind me, a wall of crimson energy eight feet wide and seven feet tall. The Inquisition’s shots ricocheted uselessly off it. Bolstered by the mask’s power, I barely felt them register. At the entrance to the tunnel a lone skeleton stood, his morion still resting on his head. He had made it further than his companions, but he had not been permitted to enter the temple’s inner sanctum.

I stepped past him and plunged into the pitch-black tunnel. The floor rose upward as I went, and the noise of the inquisition fell away behind me.

The feminine voice spoke inside my mind.

“Welcome home, Seth.”

Continue the adventure in Half-Blood's Hex

Also By

Also By S.C. Stokes

Conjuring A Coroner Series

A Date With Death

Dying To Meet You

Life Is For The Living

When Death Knocks

One Foot In The Grave

One Last Breath

Until My Dying Day

A Taste Of Death

A Brush With Death

A Dance With Death

Urban Arcanology Series

Half-Blood's Hex

Half-Blood's Bargain

Half-Blood's Debt

Half-Blood's Birthright

A Kingdom Divided Series

A Coronation Of Kings

When The Gods War

A Kingdom In Chaos