| |
––––––––
CROWMON WATCHED VELLA and Brycen as they lay asleep in the bed he no longer shared with them. He didn’t need to sleep and he’d convinced his High Priestess that he no longer needed to lie down to rest during the day. “If only she knew how strong I’m becoming,” he whispered, then chuckled beneath his breath.
The shifter-witch and elf lay entwined. Both were naked and were covered with a light blanket. Crowmon drummed his fingers on the armrest of his wooden chair as he studied them. They’d worn themselves out during the orgy he’d been forced to witness yet again. It was a wonder the elf hadn’t pulled a muscle with all the frantic thrusting he’d done. Outside, one of the deity’s minions cawed as his rage swelled. “Not yet,” he murmured. “It isn’t time yet,” he said to himself and reined his anger back in.
In the months since his olde-worlde magic had been stripped from him, he’d slowly been getting used to the death magic Vella had infused him with. After he took control of their bond and started siphoning the power of the souls, he gained a better understanding of what he could do.
He’d been experimenting with his pets and he’d created an entire pack of undead rodents now. They were scattered all over Nox, spying on key people. Most of his minions rested during the day, since death magic worked far better at night. Only his original two crows could remain alert during daylight hours. He figured that was because he’d expended far more of his new magic to turn them into zombies than he’d used on the others.
A meeting he’d witnessed through the eyes of one of his rats still stood out in his mind. Onvier and Azazel were planning to form a triumvirate so they could attempt to overthrow the leaders of Nox. He snorted out a quiet laugh at the idea. Neither of them had enough power to take down the fairy, master vampire or alpha werewolf. Even if Onvier was stealing magic from his guildmembers as Crowmon suspected, he would never be able to rival Lord Dallinar’s strength.
“So many plots are at play,” the carrion god whispered as he continued to drum his fingers on the armrest. Raum was up to something as well. He was paying visits to all manner of female beings, all of whom possessed considerable stores of magic. The wretchedly hideous demon who kept following Raum around had killed the last one, which had amused Crowmon to no end. One of his crows had seen the hell spawn enter the apartment where the female shifter had been living. It had flown past a window that looked into the living room just in time to see the demon kill her. It had breathed hellfire when the werewolf had opened the door and had burnt her to a crisp. Her death had been quick, but far from painless.
“Good times,” he said, then muffled his giggles behind his hand.
Crowmon waited for the sun to set and for darkness to arrive. It was boring watching his former lover and her new man sleeping, but he didn’t have anything else to do to while away the hours.
Vella and Brycen woke shortly after the sunlight faded from the sky. Crowmon looked away as the pair began kissing and groping each other. He realized he was grinding his teeth together and forced himself to stop. He was calm and in control when Vella sat up and looked at him after the pair had satiated themselves. “How are you feeling, my king?” she asked.
“I’m fine, my love,” he replied.
Black hatred flared inside him when the elf smirked. “I’m hungry,” Brycen said. “Let’s join the others for dinner.”
“Of course,” Vella agreed and leaned over to kiss him. “Will you be coming with us, my king?” she asked.
Crowmon shook his head and the feathers of his cloak brushed against his face. “I’ll meet you at the shrine later,” he said.
Brycen ignored him completely as he got dressed. The elf had grown far too uppity for Crowmon’s liking, but the smug little prick was going to learn who was in charge soon.
Left alone to brood, Crowmon reached out to his growing army of minions. His crows had all taken to wing and his rats had emerged from their nests. One of the rodents was watching Lord Kreaton’s mansion in the Vampire District. It saw two men appear by teleportation and the deity merged with its mind.
One of the men was a fairy and the other was an elf. From the way they were glancing around nervously, they were up to no good. “Are you sure we’re making the right decision?” the fairy asked quietly.
“If we hand the instructions to Lord Kreaton, we’ll be richly rewarded,” the elf replied. A folded sheet of paper was clutched in his hands. “If we hand it to the rebels, we’ll get nothing.”
“You’re probably right,” the fairy agreed, but his tone was still uncertain.
The elf knocked on the door and a servant opened it moments later. “What business do you have here?” the bloodsucker asked in a dour tone.
“We wish to speak to Lord Kreaton privately,” the elf said in a self-important tone. “We have information we believe he will find extremely beneficial.”
The servant eyed them both skeptically. “Wait here,” he said, then shut the door in their faces. He returned a few minutes later. “My master will see you,” he said grudgingly. He let them in and the rat scurried to a hole it had chewed through the wall that was hidden by grass. The rodent stealthily raced to a hole hidden behind a sideboard and climbed up the walls to the third floor. It made its way to the den and crouched behind Lord Kreaton’s desk without the ancient leech knowing it was there.
Lord Kreaton was seated on an armchair next to the fireplace, sipping a glass of fresh blood. He gestured at his visitors when his servant pushed the door open further. “Enter,” he intoned. The fairy and elf exchanged glances, then stepped inside. The servant bowed to his master, then left the room and closed the door behind him.
“My lord, we have come into the possession of instructions on how to use the artifact someone smuggled into Nox many years ago,” the fairy said, getting straight to the point.
Lord Kreaton almost spat out his mouthful of blood in surprise, but managed to swallow it down. “Do you know where the artifact is?” he asked in a forced casual tone.
“No, my lord,” the elf said. “No one knows who stole it from the elven woods, or where it is now.”
Narrowing his eyes, the master vampire drained his glass, then sat it down on the coffee table and rose to his feet. He stalked over to the pair and snatched the sheet of paper out of the elf’s hands. He scanned the instructions, then walked over to the fireplace and tossed it onto the flames. The fire flared and reduced the paper to ash in seconds. He turned around and stared at them for a moment before crossing back to them.
Crowmon chuckled beneath his breath in anticipation, knowing the ancient leech was about to do something interesting.
Lord Kreaton caught the gazes of the fairy and elf and unleashed his vampire charisma on them both. They swayed on their feet and their eyes glazed over as they fell beneath his spell. “Why did you bring the instructions to me?” he asked.
“We figured you would reward us, master,” the fairy said.
“The rebels don’t have anything we need,” the elf added.
“Who smuggled the artifact into Nox?” the bloodsucker asked next.
“We don’t know, my lord,” the fairy replied.
“We were chosen to be intermediaries with the rebels,” the elf added. “The smuggler sent the box to us and instructed us to hide it in the elven woods.”
“We were told to make contact with Raum’s scouts and to broker a deal with the rebels,” the fairy said. “We were rewarded well when we obeyed the instructions.”
“What are the scouts’ names?” Lord Kreaton asked. He wasn’t at all surprised to learn Raum was involved in this, even if it was just on the sidelines.
“They’re just lowly minions, master,” the elf said. “We didn’t ask them what their names were.” Even deeply beneath the vampire’s power, his scorn was obvious.
“Are either of you trustworthy?” Lord Kreaton queried. He already knew the answer, but he just wanted them to confirm it.
“No, master,” the fairy admitted. “We’ll turn on you in an instant if we think we’ll get a better deal from the rebels.”
“Did you make a copy of the instructions?”
“Yes, master,” the elf confirmed. “We both have one copy each.”
“Go home and destroy your copies and wait for further instructions,” the master vampire said. The treacherous visitors obediently teleported out of his den. “I need to send two letters,” Lord Kreaton said. Two sheets of paper and quills appeared. “Instruct Malachi and Sorcha to eliminate my two visitors,” he said and the quills went into action. Names and addresses appeared beneath the execution orders. Then envelopes appeared and the letters zoomed off towards their targets.
Crowmon withdrew his consciousness from the rat’s mind and grinned in glee. “How very interesting,” he murmured. The fairy and elf had underestimated how powerful and evil the master vampire was. Lord Kreaton wouldn’t hesitate to crush anyone who posed a threat to him. He’d managed to prevent the rebels from ever getting their hands on something that would have had the power to weaken him, if not kill him. “Or did he?” the deity mused. Something told him there were more copies of the mysterious instructions lying around. They were bound to turn up sooner or later.
