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EMBER FLEW HIGH ABOVE the carriage that was carrying Lord Kreaton to his home. It stopped in front of a large stone mansion and she settled on its roof. She heard the master vampire enter his house, then murmur something to one of his servants. Like Lord Graham, he didn’t have any family or close friends living with him. Both rulers of the city only had lackeys in their houses.
The servant left the house through the back door and sped off faster than the human eye could follow. Ember saw him heading to the Fae District. She wasn’t surprised when he returned a few minutes later with a witch slung over his shoulder. He carried the woman he’d captured with his vampiric charisma through the back door, then headed upstairs to where his master was waiting.
Ember silently dropped down onto the balcony of Lord Kreaton’s bedroom and peeked through the drapes. The servant placed the witch on the bed, then murmured something when his master snapped his fingers. The witch came out of her daze, then blanched when she saw Lord Kreaton looming over her. His servant scurried out of the room and closed the door behind him. “Where am I?” the witch asked, trying to shake off her stupor.
“You are in my home,” the bloodsucker told her.
“How did I get here?” she asked as panic began to set in. “I remember someone knocking on my door, then waking up here.” Her breath began to hitch as she sensed she was in danger.
Lord Kreaton leaned down and captured her with his gaze. “Be silent,” he ordered her before she could try to scream. Her eyes glazed over as she fell beneath his dark spell.
Ember scowled at the petty satisfaction in the leech’s eyes as he studied his victim. She expected him to strip the witch naked and satiate his sick desires on her, but it seemed he wasn’t interested in raping her. Instead, he sank down on the bed next to her and took her in his arms. He drew the woman to him, nuzzled her neck, then bit down on her flesh. She remained wooden and entranced as the master vampire drank from her vein.
The demoness clenched her fists in fresh rage. It was obvious Lord Kreaton had no intention of stopping until he’d drained his victim to death. Gross sucking noises sounded through the French doors as the witch became paler and paler. Her head lolled at an awkward angle when her skin had turned almost translucent. The vampire pulled away moments before her stare became fixed and lifeless. The master showed his true self when he shoved the body to the floor like she was a piece of trash. He crossed to the door and opened it. His servant appeared before he could call for him. “Get rid of the body,” Lord Kreaton ordered.
“Yes, master,” the minion said. He entered the room and slung the corpse over his shoulder, then hurried back downstairs.
Ember followed him as he ran eastward. The minion headed directly for the river that divided the Vampire and Fae Districts. He unceremoniously tossed the corpse into the water, then raced back to the mansion.
The demoness hovered over the river long enough to see the water elementals ripping the body to pieces, then headed for a small park in the Fae District. She was already convinced the Immortal Triumvirate were just as sick and twisted as she’d heard. Yet she still wanted to see what Lord Dallinar got up to when he thought he wasn’t being watched.
She squeezed into the small opening of a tunnel and made her way towards the underbelly of Nox. Every now and then, Ember felt as if she was being watched and looked over her shoulder suspiciously. She didn’t see or sense anyone following her, but she took a roundabout route to get to the pit. Stopping for a final time to scan the area, she couldn’t see anyone lurking nearby, so she flew up to the hidden entrance to her lair and crawled through the passageway. She dried herself with a musty blanket, then lay down to try to sleep.
Her dreams were full of memories from her past that she tried so hard to banish when she was awake. After three and a half decades of being a slave, she was now free, but in her dreams, she always ended up back in a cage.
Ember was sucked into a memory of Beleth shoving her into a net made of silver and hanging her from a hook on the ceiling. The pain had been excruciating and she’d screamed herself hoarse. He’d left her hanging there for three nights before he’d finally taken her down. She’d barely been conscious when he lifted the net off the hook and upended her to the floor.
Beleth had always been a sadistic bastard, but the dream changed from what had really happened. Instead of beating her unconscious with his fists, he dragged her over to his makeshift bed and tossed her onto it. He climbed on top of her and forced himself inside her, then he began biting her. She shrieked in pain as his teeth worried her tough, scarred hide. His claws scored deep cuts in her side and black blood poured from her wounds.
She tried to push him off with her wings, but he was too heavy for her to move. He bit down on her neck and chewed until her blood began to flow freely, then he started slurping it down like a demonic vampire.
Ember woke up tangled in a blanket and thrashing to try to escape from her nightmare. Tearing the blanket free, she tossed it away, then just lay there, shuddering in reaction. The dream had started out as a real memory, but it had morphed into a nightmare halfway through it. Beleth hadn’t been a biter and demons didn’t usually drink blood. She could identify with the shifter and the witch. Both were victims just like she’d been. If it hadn’t been for the assassin who’d murdered her former master, she would still be imprisoned right now. “Never again,” Ember said, pushing the vestiges of her nightmare back into the recesses of her mind.
She had the entire night to kill and went in search of food. Now that everyone knew who she was, she couldn’t sneak into the markets and steal a few scraps to devour. Eyes followed her as she brazenly strode into the market like she owned it. She walked over to a stall and grabbed a loaf of bread.
“Are you going to barter for that?” the stall owner growled.
She met the demon’s bright orange eyes and bit into the loaf. “Nope,” she replied with her mouth full. “Send the bill to Raum,” she added over her shoulder as she sauntered away.
Chuckling that she’d scored some free food, Ember knew the bubble would soon burst when Raum figured out she wasn’t going to join his cause. He would rescind his protection order and she would most likely be hunted by the denizens of the catacombs. That was a problem to worry about later. For now, she had to figure out how she was going to follow Lord Dallinar home, if he even turned up at their headquarters. They didn’t have meetings every night. Sometimes, the Immortal Triumvirate didn’t come to the City Square at all. The fairy could teleport, so he didn’t need a carriage. Finding his house wasn’t going to be easy.
Ember pondered about the problem, devouring the loaf of bread as she joined the throng who were heading to the Demon Guildhall. She ignored the stares and whispers and launched herself into the air as soon as she was clear of the catacombs.
