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SEBASTIAN WAS DRIVING Eden insane with pleasure when he heard a letter squirm its way beneath the front door. It zoomed upstairs and squeezed beneath the door to his bedroom as he continued to drive himself into his lover. The succubus batted the letter away when it came between them. “Not now!” she snarled. She was close to the edge and she didn’t want the vampire to stop now.
The letter wouldn’t be denied and fluttered back over to the pair. Sebastian was its target. It hovered in front of his face until he growled and snatched it out of the air. He crushed it in his fist without breaking his rhythm. Eden’s legs tightened around him, then she was moaning and crying out his name. He lost his tight control and a few more thrusts had him spiraling over the edge as well. “This had better be important,” he said as he rolled onto his back and opened the letter.
“Who is it from?” Eden asked when he tensed beside her.
“Jardine,” he replied. “She wishes to meet with me.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible.” His tone held a hint of cautious hope as the letter and envelope vanished. “Maybe she’s finally heard from the person who smuggled the artifact into Nox.”
“I wish I could go with you,” Eden said as he slid off the bed and padded to the bathroom to wash up.
“It’s too dangerous, mon amor,” he said over his shoulder. “No one can know you are still alive. If word gets back to the Immortal Triumvirate that you aren’t dead, they won’t stop until they find you and figure out how you broke free from them.”
“I know,” the former assassin said and blew out a sigh.
“I’ll be as fast as I can, chérie,” Sebastian said when he strode back into the bedroom. He chose an outfit from the closet and dressed quickly. Blowing his beloved a kiss, he used his innate speed to zoom to the warehouse Jardine had named as a meeting place. The female master was waiting for him. He could tell by her downcast expression that she didn’t have good news for him. “Jardine,” he said in greeting.
Jardine flinched, alarmed that someone had managed to sneak up on her without her realizing it. Her daggers were in her hands before she spun around to see it was Sebastian. “My lord,” she said, then tucked the weapons back into the sheaths that were strapped to her wrists beneath her sleeves.
“What news do you have?” he asked.
“Nothing good, I’m afraid,” she said, confirming his hunch. “I heard from one of my allies that the instructions of how to use the artifact were handed over to Lord Kreaton.”
Sebastian let out a string of curses in French. “The artifact is useless to us without the instructions,” he said in dismay. “Can we get another copy of it?”
Jardine shrugged helplessly. “I have no way of contacting the person who brought the object to Nox. I’ll notify one of Raum’s scouts. Maybe the Demon Guild Master will come up with a plan.”
Sebastian intended to advise his ally about this development himself, but he nodded. He only trusted Jardine so far. He wasn’t willing to share the knowledge that he’d formed another triumvirate with her yet. “I will inform my allies of this setback,” he said.
“There’s one more thing, my lord,” she said before he could leave. “I was approached by a man who wishes to join our rebellion. He’s not a vampire, but I believe he has the potential to become a strong ally.”
“Who is he?” Sebastian asked, intrigued by her vague description.
“His name is Malachi. He’s one of the members of the secret Assassin Guild.”
She had to be talking about Eden’s half-brother. “Why does he wish to join us if he works for the Immortal Triumvirate?” Sebastian asked.
“He’s being forced to murder for them by spells Lord Dallinar presumably cast on him,” she explained. “He hates them as much as we do and he wants to see them fall.”
“I’ll think about it,” he said.
“Malachi is an incubus, my lord,” Jardine added. “Or half incubus anyway. He seems like a decent man, for a murderer.”
Sebastian shook his head in bemusement at her take on the assassin. “I’ll be in touch,” he told her, then he raced back home.
“That was fast,” Eden said when Sebastian was suddenly standing in front of her. She was sitting at the dining table, eating her dinner. “Bad news?” she asked, seeing how despondent he was. She could feel his emotions roiling around in the back of her head.
“The worst news,” he said as a glass of blood appeared on the table. He sat down across from Eden to drink it and told her about his meeting with Jardine.
“That sucks,” the succubus said with a scowl and pushed her empty plate away. It and the cutlery disappeared, no doubt cleaned with magic and returned to their places in the cupboards. “You can’t trust anyone in this city,” she said. “Everyone is always looking out for themselves.
“I trust you, mon amor,” Sebastian said with a smile that lifted her spirits.
“I trust you, too,” she agreed. “Are you going to let Kade and Raum know about this?”
“Oui. I will send them a letter requesting a meeting shortly.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” the succubus asked, picking up that he had more to say.
“Jardine has met someone who wishes to join our rebellion,” he replied. “You know him quite well, I believe.”
“Who is it?” Eden asked.
“His name is Malachi.”
“My brother wants to join the rebels?” she asked in amazement and growing excitement. “He’d be an awesome asset, but we’d have to sever his link to the Immortal Triumvirate first.”
“That was my thought as well, chérie,” he agreed. He didn’t know Malachi and he didn’t trust him at all, but it would make Eden happy to have her half-brother on their side. “I need to send a letter to Kade Sinclair and to Raum,” he said. Two sheets of paper and quills appeared. He asked the pair to meet him on the rooftop of the insane asylum in the Night Cursed District in an hour. If Raum was attending a meeting with the other Guild Masters and the Immortal Triumvirate, it would hopefully be over by then. Envelopes appeared around the letters, then they zoomed off towards their targets.
“I’m coming with you this time,” Eden said firmly. No uncursed beings would be in the Night Cursed District, except for the four of them. Her identity would remain a secret.
“As you wish,” the master vampire agreed and leaned over to kiss her.
An hour later, they were standing on the rooftop of the asylum. The weather was as dismal as always. Eden was dressed in midnight blue from top to toe. She held a matching umbrella from her collage. Sebastian’s hood shielded him from the light rain that was threatening to turn into a deluge.
Kade teleported to the asylum right on time. Raum descended from the sky, transforming into his human form a moment later. “Delightful weather we’re having,” the demon said, glancing up at the clouds ruefully. He didn’t have an umbrella or a hood to cover him. His usually impeccable hair soon became slicked to his head.
“You have news for us?” Kade asked. He’d been searching the fae woods when he’d received the summons from Sebastian. He would head to the suburbs in the Fae District to search for a match after their meeting was over.
“I heard from Jardine,” Sebastian told them. “The instructions on how to use the artifact were given to Lord Kreaton. I imagine he’s destroyed them by now.”
Raum cursed in his demonic tongue. Hellfire flickered in his eyes before he regained his temper. Kade’s mouth turned into a grim line, but he remained silent.
“There’s more,” Eden said. “My half-brother, Malachi, wants to join the rebellion. He’s an assassin like I was.”
“Wonderful,” the Demon Guild Master said sarcastically. “Why don’t we invite the entire Assassin Guild to join our ranks? What could possibly go wrong with having a pack of ruthless killers who work for the Immortal Triumvirate knowing our plans?”
“Malachi won’t turn on us,” the succubus said coldly. She didn’t like Raum and she didn’t care if he knew it. “I trust him with my life,” she added.
“Well, I don’t know the man and I don’t trust him with mine,” the demon retorted.
“Are any of your other colleagues going to want to join us?” Kade asked, putting a stop to their argument.
Eden shrugged and flicked a look at Raum. “I don’t know. Maybe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” She had no intention of contacting Sorcha and inviting her to rebel against their rulers. It would be far too dangerous for the demons to learn her identity.
“We’ll meet with Malachi tomorrow night,” Kade decided. “We need more allies and it would be unwise to turn away someone who could be beneficial to our cause.”
Raum grumbled beneath his breath at being overruled when Sebastian nodded in agreement. “Fine,” he said in capitulation. “It will have to be after my meeting with the Guild Masters and our leaders. I can’t miss this next session. I’ve already missed too many during my search for a suitable partner.”
“We’ll meet in the warehouse in the Vampire District this time tomorrow night,” Kade said and received nods of agreement. He teleported away as Raum transformed into his demon form. Sebastian whisked Eden into his arms and carried her back to their mansion.
