Wicked Vampire Prince by Bella Klaus
Chapter Two
For what felt like a minute, we stood in the dark. No one speaking, moving, or even seeming to breathe. It couldn’t be more than three or four o’clock in the afternoon, yet it was darker than midnight. The only source of illumination came from Mother Hecate’s ceremonial torch, and even that seemed to shine dimmer.
My throat spasmed. Something had gone terribly wrong with the state of the world. Nothing like this had ever happened in Logris—at least not outside a solar eclipse.
I reached out for Willa and fumbled for her arm. She grabbed my hand back.
“Yana?” she whispered, the tremble in her voice reminding me of her hospice days.
“I’m here. Do you know what’s happening?” I asked.
“No idea.”
I turned around and faced the street. By now, all the vehicles had stopped, their engines stalled. Some of them had turned on their headlights, but even they didn’t seem to be able to illuminate the boulevard.
The air thickened, and rapid pulse beats thrummed in my ears. All thoughts of that mysterious vampire thief faded into the background, replaced by a slew of questions:
Why wasn’t the male enforcer relaying messages of reassurance from his superiors? Why wasn’t Mother Hecate offering us words of comfort?
“What the bloody hell is this?” Mr. Rudo’s shriek broke some of the tension.
“Everybody remain calm,” said the male enforcer. “This is probably just a power outage—”
“At four-fifteen in the afternoon?” the proprietor asked with a splutter. “Since when does the sun run on electricity?”
I squeezed Willa’s hands and whispered, “Those are excellent questions.”
“For a cold-hearted parasite.” She huffed a breath. Given her background, I wasn’t surprised she resented people like Mr. Rudo.
“That type is always the best at survival,” I muttered. In a much louder voice, I asked, “Does anyone have access to the Supernet? Maybe there’s a problem with the wards around Logris.”
A tiny tremor shook the paving stones, making my heart somersault toward my spine. What the hell? First darkness and then earthquakes? The rumble continued until I felt it through the soles of my boots, through the bones of my feet, and up my shins.
Petals drifted down from the cherry blossom trees, followed by small leaves and twigs and debris I had no time to decipher in the dark. I swallowed hard, the membranes of my dry throat sticking together. This was only going to get worse.
My mind’s eye filled with a vision of tiles falling down from roofs, lampposts bending and breaking under the seismic activity. I couldn’t stand here and let Willa, Mother Hecate, and my Sisters get flattened.
When one of the bottles of blood fell on the sidewalk with a clink, my mind kicked me into action. “Let’s go inside the van.”
“Not the vehicle,” the male enforcer shouted back. “Everybody get inside a building.”
“Quick. You can shelter here.” Mr. Rudo’s footsteps pounded toward the doors of Salon Sinn. Dim lights shone from within, illuminating our path.
“Come on.” I sprinted through the sidewalk along with Willa and my Sisters, and we streamed in through the salon’s door.
As with most blood salons, the interior of Salon Sinn was a deep shade of red. Red for blood, red for decadence, and red for sin. I put aside my disapproval and stepped through the doors. It was larger than the average den of vampiric iniquity, with thick sofas lining the right and back walls.
On the left was one of those mirrored bars with glass shelves upon which sat oddly shaped bottles. I tore my gaze away from what was probably alcohol and continued to the seats. Muted table lamps provided dim illumination, adding an element of danger.
The door slammed shut behind us, blocking the sounds of chaos from the street, but the relative calm was soon overtaken by the sway and clink of crystal chandeliers.
Light flared from the wall-mounted television set, and the image of a room with a curved white wall came onscreen. It was lit by a circular light that shone above a round table. My brows rose. I exchanged a worried glance with Willa, who stared back at me through wide eyes.
“This has to be something big if they’re putting on a newsflash,” I said.
“Worse than the supposed death of King Valentine?” she asked.
I raised a shoulder. Newsflashes weren’t common in Logris, but the last one happened when the Vampire King had supposedly died and his murderer had been arrested. I shook off that thought. About a week later, King Valentine himself retracted that newsflash as a vicious rumor. Then rioting broke out across Lamia followed by lockdowns.
Another strong tremor made the entire room shake. Crystal prisms from the chandeliers dropped to the ground, and the lightbulbs within the table lamps exploded. I clapped a hand over my mouth to suppress a gasp. Bottles fell off shelves, forming a cacophony of crashes that grated across my nerves. My stomach churned. This was beginning to feel like the end of the world.
“Everybody stay calm.” Mother Hecate raised her torch, filling the room with bright light. “We’ll wait for one of the members of the Supernatural Council to tell us what’s happening.”
As soon as she’d said those words, the Angel King appeared onscreen, a handsome blond man in pale robes. Feathery, white wings stretched out from behind his back like he was about to take flight. I gulped. He was already one of the seven monarchs who ruled Logris. Why did he need to make such a majestic display?
“Citizens of Logris, I thank you for your patience during this temporary turmoil,” said the Angel King.
The Witch Queen stepped onscreen and settled beside the Angel King as though safe in the cradle of his wings. Her skin was darker than mine, but with pale eyes and white hair that complemented her robes.
We weren’t supposed to like her because she and her enforcers always raided our temple, but her one-sided rivalry with Mother Hecate was both reassuring and a distraction. The Sisters banded together each time she messed with us, and I always felt a little less of an outsider.
“Please remain calm,” he continued.
I held a breath, waiting for an explanation.
“This message is being broadcasted across all channels,” added the Witch Queen.
“Get to the fucking point,” growled Mr. Rudo.
I nodded, even though it pained me to be in any sort of agreement with a man who brokered the slow addiction and death of innocent Neutrals.
The Witch Queen said something about staying indoors, taking a seat, and refraining from panic. Useless bullshit that was neither information nor safety advice. Willa pulled me to a bank of plush velvet sofas, where we sat to watch the newsflash.
The Angel King cleared his throat. “As we speak, a rogue element has revealed the location of Logris to the humans.”
“Why don’t you just wipe their memories?” Willa asked the television.
The Witch Queen wrung her hands. “I imagine a lot of you are asking why the Council hasn’t sent out a team of enforcers to fix this breach of the Supernatural Secrecy Act.” She inhaled a deep breath, her thin chest rising. “The fact is that this breach goes beyond a small group of humans knowing our location.”
“Bloody hell,” Willa muttered.
Someone sank into the seat on my other side, but I was too busy to notice who it was. I leaned forward in my seat, my eyes bulging, my mind whirring with possibilities.
“Is this why Logris is encased in complete darkness?” I asked.
“Of course it is,” Richelle said with a delicate sniff.
I shuffled toward Willa, trying to put as much space as I could between myself and my least favorite Sister.
Richelle leaned across me on purpose. “Oh, hello, Willa. It’s wonderful to see you looking so well.”
“Sister Richelle,” Willa replied in a stiff voice.
Guilt tightened my chest. Willa probably didn’t want to show any favoritism between Richelle and me. The night we both found Willa dying in that blood salon, I had rushed to the ambulance, only to get abducted.
It had been Richelle who pulled her out of the boudoir, Richelle who bundled her in the ambulance, and Richelle who held a vigil over her while she fought for her life.
From the outside, it looked like I had spent months trying to make up for having abandoned them both.
One of the demons dragged a ladder to the television set and thumped at its outer shell.
“What’s happened?” I asked.
“The TV went blank,” Willa said. “Now the security guard is trying to revive it with brute force.”
“My apologies for the interruption.” The Angel King appeared back on the screen.
“Success!” The demon raised his arms in triumph.
I shook my head. Any normal day, I might have made a snarky remark about slow-witted demon hybrids. Today, my entire focus was on the disturbance.
The camera zoomed into the angel’s stern features. “Since the knowledge of Logris has spread throughout the humans’ television channels, radio, social media, and world wide web, the problem has become too large to suppress through magical means.”
My stomach flip-flopped. “What?”
“No,” Richelle whispered.
Willa clapped both hands over her mouth. “Oh, shit.”
I slumped back in the seat, my spine curling with defeat. Supernaturals were a minority in the world, and with human overpopulation and technological advancements, we were now an endangered species.
Logris was only one supernatural city located within a magically protected bubble in Richmond Park, London. We could see out into the Human World, but they couldn’t see us. If someone just informed outsiders how to break through our wards, it could mean our extinction.
“Everybody, please remain calm. What you’re feeling right now is our wardmasters bolstering the protections around our home from human attack.”
“They’re here already?” I whispered.
The rumbling stopped, plunging us into silence.
Some of the tightness around my chest eased a little, but it was too soon to exhale a relieved breath. If enough humans knew our location, the magic might repel them at first, but they would regroup, rethink, and band together to break down our wards.
“I must implore everyone who is not part of our campaign to protect Logris from human invasion to seek shelter,” the angel said. “Reinforcements from Heaven are descending to deal with those attacking our wards. Stay inside. If you wish to keep your vision and your sanity, keep away from the windows.”
Sweat broke out across my skin, which prickled with terror. I turned to Willa and asked, “Did they ever teach you about angels in your academy?”
She gave me a shaky nod. “You didn’t learn about them in the Temple of Light?”
“Only the basics,” Richelle answered. “Reapers, the Angel King, and a few of the people who work for him.”
Willa licked her lips. “You know how among witches, you have different levels?”
“Power ranks?” I asked.
“Right.” She flicked her head toward the now blank screen. “The Angel King is an archangel, which means he’s close to the top. Reapers are at the bottom.”
“Like foot soldiers?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Reapers are the worker bees, I suppose. They collect the souls and ferry them to the gates of Heaven or Hell.”
“Alright.” I nodded, already having seen reapers in action during my patrols. “So, what’s in between?”
“I didn’t take Advanced Angel Studies, but they’re split into a number of factions. But I think the Angel King was talking about ophanim and cherubin.”
“What are those?” Richelle asked.
“Monsters,” Willa replied with a shudder. “The types of creatures that rained down the wrath of Heaven in towns like Sodom and Gomorrah.”
My mouth dropped open. Even though we Sisters had lived sheltered lives under the care of Mother Hecate, even we knew that ancient bible story. Mother Hecate used to tell us that without our prayers and picketing and protests, the village of Lamia and its vampires would turn into a city of death and debauchery like Sodom.
“I can’t believe there are angels that can strike a person blind,” I murmured.
“Or insane,” Richelle added.
The doors opened, and a quartet of vampires walked inside, led by a red-haired male. “Right, then.” He clapped his hands together. “If Logris is falling down, then we might as well drink and be merry.”
A harsh breath whistled through my teeth. Hungry vampires. A supernatural disaster. A salon of sin filled with virgin nuns. These were the ingredients of a bloodbath.
I rose to my feet, with a battle cry roaring between my ears. Years ago, I swore that I would die before another vampire touched me. If those blood suckers so much as made a move toward us, I would be ready.
Mr. Rudo rushed forward with his hands clasped. “Gentlemen,” he said in an oily voice. “Welcome to Salon Sinn, where drinks are aplenty and the blood is sweet.”
The red-haired vampire glanced at the empty bar. “Looks like you’re out of liquor.” He turned his gaze to us and grinned. “But these morsels you’ve gathered for us certainly look delectable.”
“Shit.” Richelle stumbled to her feet.
Mother Hecate strode forward, holding the torch. “Neither I nor my Daughters of the Light are available for consumption.”
The red-haired leader rocked forward on his feet. “Well, hello gorgeous.” He waggled his tongue and broke away from his small group. “Look at you. Tall and curvy and smelling of sweet pussy.”
“Leave her alone,” I snarled.
“Yana,” Mother Hecate said, her voice sharp with a warning.
“Jealous?” The red-haired vampire appeared before me in the blink of an eye.
I tried not to flinch. “Go home,” I snapped. “There’s nothing to drink.”
His grin widened, and he swept his arm across the velvet seats where my Sisters huddled. “I would beg to differ. Today’s tasty little morsels just need more unwrapping, but beneath all those robes I’m sure you’re more exquisite than any blood cow.”
“Sir?” Mother Hecate said.
One of the vampires from the group appeared behind her and wrapped his arm around her middle. “Looks like I’ll keep you warm while Caliban is busy with the little squirts.”
Caliban offered me his hand. “Will you tell me your name?”
I held out a palm. “Don’t come any closer. We’re not selling our blood.”
Willa stood. “Excuse me, sir?” I could tell she was trying to keep her voice from trembling. “Biting people against their will is a criminal offense, punishable by the removal of one’s fangs.”
“We’re all about to die, and I’m thirsty, so kindly fuck off.” He gave her a shove, sending her flying over the sofas.
My mouth dropped open. Without meaning to, I took my eyes off Caliban and tracked Willa’s movement across the room. She landed in a corner with a gentle thud and fell onto her hands and knees.
I ground my teeth. It was hard to tell if her enforcer’s uniform had cushioned the impact of her crash or the vampire had been gentle. Either way, I didn’t care.
Caliban’s warm fingers stroked my cheek. “You’re a pretty little nun. I wonder if you taste as good as you look.”
Fury painted the edges of my vision red. A little voice in the back of my head screamed at me to step back, deescalate, curl into a little ball and cry for mercy, but those tactics didn’t work against vampires. Vampires were ruthless, relentless, and not afraid to use mind magic to get a nun to remove her magically protected habit.
Bitter experience had already taught me that assholes like Caliban wouldn’t stop until he got his blood.
“Why don’t you come closer?” I placed my gloved hand on his crotch.
Caliban thrust his hips. “Do you like the feel of it?”
“Hardly.” I clutched his growing bulge, pushed my power into my gauntlets, and set his junk alight.
He leaped back toward the bar, his eyes wide, his fly covered in artificial flames. “What the fuck is this?”
“Holy fire. Tickles, doesn’t it?” I folded my arms across my chest. “Right now, it’s linked to my life force. Hurt, kill, or upset me, and that light show will burn.”
He bared his fangs. “You crazy bitch.”
I raised a shoulder. “If you mean I’m crazy about not being bitten and drained against my will, sure.”
“Well done.” Mother Hecate gave me a gentle sound of applause. “For handling that vampire without resorting to violence.”
Pride warmed my chest, but the feeling was tinged with worry. Worry for what Caliban would do next and worry about the vampires standing around Mother Hecate looking like they wanted to sink their fangs into her neck.
Caliban strode up to me with his fists clenched. “Turn it off.”
My eyes narrowed. When in the history of hostile stand-offs did a line like that ever work? I flicked my head toward the door. “If you leave this establishment now with your friends and swear never to come back, I will remove my enchantment when I return to the temple.”
He glanced at the door, his bravado dimming. “But the Angel King said—”
“You’ve got vampire speed,” I snarled. “Use it.”
A pained look crossed his features. I was pretty sure that with his fancy vampire education, he knew exactly what manner of creature he would encounter if he left Salon Sinn. The impression I got from the newsflash was that the monstrous angels would attack from outside the wards, but who wanted to take that risk and venture out into the street?
“Alright.” Caliban raised his palms. “Could you at least dim the flames so it looks like my cock isn’t on fire?”
“No.” I placed my hands on my hips. “Now, take your friends, sit on the far side of the salon, and stay quiet while we weather this storm.”
His shoulders sagged, and he turned to his small group of leering ruffians. “Let’s go.”
“Cal,” a black-haired vampire said with a whine. “You’re not going to let that little nun order you about?”
“Do as I fucking say,” Caliban snapped.
His friends exchanged annoyed glances before stepping away from Mother Hecate and sloping to the sofas lining the room’s back wall. As soon as they took the seats furthest away from us, I sat, and finally exhaled all my tension.
Willa returned to my side and squeezed my arm. “Well done.”
“Picketing blood bars means dealing with belligerent vampires every day,” I said in a low voice.
Mother Hecate turned to me with a warm smile and a nod of thanks. I placed a hand over my chest and smiled back. It had been years since she looked at me with anything except disapproval or a reprimand. Just as I relaxed into the velvet backrest and readied myself for a long stay, another tremor shook the room.
Ozone flooded the space, accompanied by a surge of power that exploded the wall of mirrors behind the bar, smashed the glass shelves and shattered what was left of the bottles. I grabbed Willa around the shoulders and ducked.
The glass locket behind my wimple cracked, and warm liquid trickled down my bare skin.
“Shit,” I whispered under my breath.
“Are you alright?” Willa asked.
My throat spasmed, cutting off my air. That locket had contained a preserving charm that protected my dirtiest secret. And it was the only thing concealing the dark object under the floorboards beneath my bed.
If anyone discovered what I had done all those years ago, I was finished.
