Crown of Smoke and Blood Read online

  By the time I got to the surgery theater, I had my mask in place. Disgust and self-hatred weighed down my shoulders. I’d done the job. Saved one woman immeasurable pain. Too bad I couldn’t save more.

  At least not yet. But our time would soon come.

  “As you demanded.” I settled the small form of the dead child on the cold metal table.

  The scientist’s eyes lighted with a demonic sort of glee. Hard hands and stiff fingers gripped the flesh. Pulled and stretched the limbs as if it were nothing but a new doll for a jealous child. “You left it intact.”

  I nodded, even though the scientist couldn’t be bothered to raise his head. “I know the punishment for disobeying orders. If that’s all, I’d like to get some fecking sleep now.”

  With a negligent wave, the scientist dismissed me.

  I spun quickly on my heel. My time was extremely limited. And I had quite the distance to cover.

  Casting part of my consciousness to the skies beyond the castle, I began the journey. This body needed to be back in its bed before I arrived at my destination. Vari, my sweet Vari. I do this for you.

  For me.

  For all of us.

  The door shut behind me as I tripped our shared body into her bed. Curling onto our side in her customary sleeping position, I sank behind the partition in our mind and kept her safe for one more day.

  Rubbing my hands against my legs, I fought to rid myself of the feel of that baby’s blood. I had killed a child. And to survive what was to come, I would do it again and again. As long as I could keep it from weighing on Vari, I would kill a hundred innocents.

  For she was just as innocent. The things that had been forced on her. Inflicted on her. She’d done nothing to deserve such punishment, such torture. Simply born in the wrong time to the wrong man.

  I would do my best to protect her mind and heart. If that meant I tore the world down around her, then I would dismantle it atom by atom.

  It was the lessons and training she needed to learn that almost sent me stark raving mad. The pain that I allowed them to impose on her. The agony that sang through our body and rent her spirit into pieces…those I could not forgive. The necessity did not outweigh my guilt.

  The portal crossing had almost fractured us. Split us apart into our original vessels. It had been sheer willpower that I’d been able to keep us together. She would hate me for that most of all.

  But I could bear her hate if it meant she would rise to the position to which she’d been destined.

  There was no one who knew better…the truth lies deeper than most brave to know.

  Chapter 5 – Vari

  A shaft of sunlight poured through the tattered fabric that was acting as a curtain. Wincing against the burn in my sensitive eyes, I held up a hand to block the fiery line.

  Pain exploded through my head. “Aaagh.” I lowered my hand to my pounding temples. Had pixies invaded my brain last night? Maybe some kind of worm had entered through an ear while I laid unconscious. Ear worms were a thing.

  Weren’t they? Honestly, it would be one of the lesser things to invade my body while I was unaware. Even if it had happened by accident.

  Dark blue eyes swam across my mind as I waited for the pain to subside. They reminded me of a midnight sky an hour before the sun broke the horizon. The hard planes of cheeks were covered by scruff that had tickled my fingers while my tongue danced over a stranger’s thumb.

  My core tightened.

  I chuckled as memories of last night rolled over me once more. He’d been so surprised that his persuasion hadn’t worked on me. Even more shocked than when I’d spoken in his mind. The way his pupils had constricted as he searched within himself brought a smile to my face. He wouldn’t have lasted a single day under my father’s tender care.

  Once the pain in my head ebbed, I pulled myself up into a seated position. Took stock of what I still had. Thankfully, my cloak and assorted weapons had survived the portal crossing.

  Glancing down at my leather clothes, I couldn’t say the same for them. Huge slashes and cuts had ripped through the material. Not that it mattered to me, but I was almost more out than in. The humans I knew would be scandalized by my attire. So that would be one of the first things I fixed while I started to make plans.

  My stomach growled loud enough that had I not felt it cramping, I would have assumed my beast had temporarily left my body—if such a thing had been possible. Holding a hand over it, I knew I needed to find some food. And fast.

  Hangry took on new and terrifying heights when I was the one needing sustenance. Even my beast got skittish when I didn’t have enough food. Some of the few times he left me alone.

  Taking a deep breath, I rolled to my side. Tried to push up to my knees. Collapsing back to the hard ground, I blew out a breath as a new, different pain washed through me.

  Something was wrong with me.

  Throwing off my cloak, I ripped down the shabby curtain and let the light flood in. Stupid, I know. But it made me feel better to think needing light was the problem.

  Glancing down the length of my body, I did a thorough scan. Inside and out. When the visual scan showed the same creamy, unbroken skin I always saw after enough time, I started with the internal investigation.

  Please, Danu, don’t let anything be wrong. Please.

  Lying flat on the ground, I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I focused my power on a Fae—even myself—my vision ran red. Much like seeing the circulatory system of a human body, I could see and trace each vein and artery.

  Starting at my feet, I sent my power through my body. Except for some minor inflammation in my soles, my lower extremities were in excellent health. Knees and thighs were fine as well. The low burning in my sex was a bit of an oddity, but since it didn’t matter to my survival, I bypassed it.

  The first wisps of trouble began just above my pubic bone. The red was encased in some kind of shimmering blue lace that I’d never seen before. I traced a phantom finger over the delicate webbing.

  As if I’d waved a hand through a cloud, the blue dispersed and slid along the major veins up my torso. Giddiness bubbled up inside me.

  Giddiness.

  I was disgusted by the very idea. Except, I was currently giddy about it. What kind of split psyche was I going to be dealing with here? I had a kingdom to topple. An arsehole of a father to kill. I had things to do.

  Pay attention, my beast said.

  I pushed the thoughts from my mind and focused once more on the abnormality that was my life. When I looked again, the blue had grown. The power around my abdominal area was now a vibrant purple.

  “I’m going to kill him,” I muttered. This had to be that vamp’s doing. Unless he was secretly some kind of supernatural Dr. Frankenstein, then he was more than he showed himself to be.

  As if you aren’t, my beast sniped back.

  “It’s different.”

  How?

  No words came to mind. “It just is.”

  My beast harrumphed and metaphorically settled back to watch the show. If he’d had some berries or popcorn, the picture would have been complete.

  “You’re an arsehole. You know that, right?”

  Entertain me, puny Fae.

  I rolled my eyes. “A little help? Have you ever seen or heard of anything like this? Even among the Vast?” In case he’d forgotten, I showed him a picture of the now purple power we were packing.

  No. So this should at least be interesting.

  “Thanks for all the help, douche.”

  He snickered. At least all the kidnapped humans helped your vocabulary. You no longer sound like some stuck up British bitch with a pike stuck from arse to hat.

  “So glad I can make your day brighter.”

  Me too. Carry on.

  “Hello?” someone called.

  Crap. I slapped a hand over my mouth. I’d been talking to him out loud again. Reaching down, I tried to pull my cloak up to cover myself.

  “Hello? Is
someone back there?” The speaker was female, or one very high-pitched man. “Ye get no trouble from me. But the garbage is being collected today. Ye might want to move. I’m walking back inside now. Don’t make me come out here to a dead body.”

  I bit my lip to keep from chuckling. She sounded like my kind of woman…had I been into women sexually. Even so, until I heard a door of some kind slam closed, I wasn’t moving. No need to give the nice lady a heart attack.

  When the faint tap of wood on wood came to my ears, I threw my cloak off. Out of time and options, unless I wanted to be in the literal trash, I pushed myself to my feet.

  The world around me swam with bright lights and fuzzy colors. My stomach pitched to and fro as I struggled to breathe through the woozies. I only retched once, so I marked it in the win column. A girl could never have too many wins, in my not so humble opinion.

  Using the wall for support, I stumbled out of the cramped alleyway. A faint twitch to my left had me glancing in that direction.

  A small cherubic face was squished up against the glass. Bright blue eyes were wreathed by the reddest hair I’d ever seen on a head. Her nose created steam trails on the window as she stared at me with huge eyes.

  I lifted a hand. “Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

  She nodded slightly. Her nose left a slight streak of oil on the pane. Her fingers danced in a wave at the edge of the window. “Bye, luv. I hope ye hurt him.”

  I chuckled, dipped my chin. “I will. Have no doubt on that.” I waved again and tried to walk away like a normal person. Except for one stumble that took me to my knees, I think I did an overwhelmingly fantastic job of mediocre.

  You’re an idiot. My beast laughed inside me.

  “Yeah, but at least I have a body all the time.” Getting back to my feet, I managed a slow drunken lurch down the street. “A little help would be nice. Especially if we want to find Vampy Man.”

  My beast heaved a heavy sigh. Fine, but I want to come out later.

  “Just do the thing.” We would talk about my voluntarily letting him out ten minutes after never.

  He rose up through me, just this side of bursting through my flesh. But close enough to change my vision. With his help, I could see the energy trails of the last twelve hours. It was the longest time we’d ever been able to manage.

  Right now, I was lucky if we were seeing three hours. “Ramp it up, Beastie. We need to get back to his house.” I needed a snack and to kill a guy.

  If you would have just taken his residence as I told you last night, you wouldn’t have put us in this predicament.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just put some back into it, please.” I grabbed on to the railing of some helpful neighbor’s fence. Pulled myself along as I waited for the power to amplify.

  Something is wrong.

  My growl of annoyance sounded more like a whimper. “We’ve already discussed this. I know something is wrong. You need to pull your fecking weight and get us back to his house.” My regular vision was going a little fuzzy at the edges. I really needed something to eat.

  Maybe even just some sugar or something. I was running on empty and my fumes were dissolving as well.

  Then allow me to access the others.

  I gritted my teeth. “No. We talked about that a long time ago. The only reason you’re out is because you’re too fecking big to fit back in the box. Just do what you do.” I bit back the begging and pleading. I didn’t beg anyone for anything. Ever.

  The street came up and attacked me. I fought it down with everything inside me. Even gave it a good body blow. But in the end I wasn’t enough of a fighter. I just lay there, broken and bloody, a travesty of war.

  If you faint, I’ll pick you up and move your useless hide.

  I snorted softly as the black closed in around me. “Give it your best shot, Beastie.” Thankfully, he wasn’t strong enough to move us on his own. He at least needed me conscious. And in about point two five seconds he was going to be out of—

  Chapter 6 – Koehn

  A heavy pounding sounded at the door. Tavis and I looked at each other for a long moment. “Did you invite yer bloody family over?” Tavis asked.

  I snorted.

  He smiled. “Didn’t think so. So who’s braving the master’s keep, do ye think?” He rubbed his hands together as the magic that floated around him like a scent-cloud brightened in my new vision.

  I narrowed my eyes against the glare. “Tone your magic down, you arse. Probably just some idiot who can’t read the damn signs.” I pulled my shirt back on, covering the mark. Sliding silently from the kitchen to the front of the house, I sent my senses out to see if I could identify the intruder.

  The scent of berries and lemon drifted on the air currents in the cool house.

  My brow furrowed. I didn’t recognize the scent, but I felt like I should. Quirking an ear, I listened for the telltale thump of a human heart. I heard a thumping, but it sounded more akin to a hummingbird’s than a human’s.

  I stopped in my tracks, held up a hand.

  “Yeah, I noticed it as well,” Tavis said in a soft whisper. “What do you think it is?” He moved up beside me, inhaled deeply. We’d been hunting together enough times for me to know he held the scent in his lungs with his eyes closed. After a moment, he jolted slightly.

  When he looked down at me again, his normal bottle green eyes were rimmed in teal. “Get out of here, Koehn. Now.” He shoved me back with a hard elbow as he pulled something from his personal freaking pocket dimension. Damn all Fae and their inherent magic.

  A low shhrrriiiing sounded when a sword as long as my arm appeared in his hands.

  “For the love of all the saints, what is that for?”

  He put a finger up to his mouth and stalked to the door on silent feet.

  The heavy pounding came again. No one yelled or screamed. Just the ham-fisted knocking that sounded as if a giant were trying to be nice about tapping my solid oak door down.

  Tavis stopped a couple feet away from the door. He settled his shoulders, took a couple deep breaths.

  As I moved up beside him, he jutted his chin in the direction of the door. “Open it and run.” He turned to me quickly. “Fast.”

  I rolled my eyes. The last time I’d run from a fight was two hundred and thirty-five years ago. I wouldn’t be making the same mistake twice. Especially not when it left my only friend in possible danger.

  At my home.

  I stepped in front of him. Yanked the door open quickly. I was prepared for just about anything. A band of villagers with pitchforks and lanterns. An internationally recognized boyband who needed a place to rest their weary heads. I’d even imagined a small troupe of those girls who shopped biscuits around.

  I wasn’t prepared to see the woman from last night. Or to find her in the condition that she was in. Like some kind of circus performer, she was wrenched over backwards in a bend that made my spine ache just looking at her. Her abdomen was stretched and bulging at the same time, an oddly shaped bump in the middle of her overly extended belly.

  Leaping forward, I got my arms under her arched body just before it tumbled. The shaking sticks of her arms and legs gave out. She hung limply over my outstretched arms.

  Just as before, she felt lighter than air. But I knew the power she held in her deceptive frame. My inability to force her off my thumb last night was a vibrant memory that still made me angry.

  Her body jolted for a moment. Tavis caught a foot to the face. And from his reaction, he’d been hit with a wrecking ball. He flew back through the house. Smashing up against the back wall, he lay there for a moment as if he’d passed out.

  Her limbs flung out in all directions. But her head still hung like wet noodles over my arm. Her golden neck was perfectly arched and ripe for the taking.

  Getting the woman into the house, I laid her down on the floor and rushed to my friend. “T?” I slapped his cheeks when he didn’t move. At least his heart was still beating normally. And his magic hadn’t dimmed
from the blow.

  “Tavis MacDougal!” I slapped his face.

  He jolted.

  I danced out of the way in the nick of time to avoid being shish kabobed on his sword. “Easy with the sword, mate,” I snapped at him.

  He blinked up at me, his gaze unfocused. “Koehn?” He looked around the room. Back up at me. “What am I doing on yer floor?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know. Get up. My visitor from last night is here.” I pointed back towards the door.

  As if someone had goosed him in the arse, he jumped to his feet. Shoved me behind his bigger body. “All the saints.”

  I snorted. “You’re Fae. Do you have saints in your religion?”

  He elbowed me back. “She’s Mallacht.”

  I pushed him out of the way. Moved up beside him. “I just said that, didn’t I? Now, what to do with her?”

  “Burn her at the stake?” he muttered.

  I glared at him. “I want her to remove this mark first, if you don’t mind.” I walked over to the motionless woman laying on my foyer floor. I nudged her foot with my own. “Hey, lady.”

  The scent of berries and lemon flooded my head, made me feel like I’d been dabbling in demon blood again. Which I haven’t, just for the record.

  Nothing. Not even a change in her breathing.

  “Is she already dead, then?” Tavis asked as he came up beside me. His sword was still in his huge hands. “I’ll be glad to send her to Danu. Just say the word, Trick. One swipe, she’s done for.”

  I turned and glared up at him again. “Didn’t I just say not yet?”

  One side of his mouth kicked up, but he was still watching the frozen form on the floor. “Not actually. Ye said ye wanted yer mark removed.”

  “Same thing.”

  He shrugged, but didn’t put his sword away. “I’m staying on my guard, thank ye very much. But ye’re a big boy.” He put a hand in the middle of my back, shoved me forward. “Ye take her.”