Faeries and Fangs (The Blood Witch Saga Book 5), page 2
Mercy sighed. “I suppose his unique abilities could come in handy.”
I smiled widely. “The more the merrier!”
Chapter 2
Prince Ladinas was a real prince. His royalty didn’t come by way of self-proclamation, like when Corbin declared himself the Vampire King. Ladinas was a prince in his human life. I didn’t know the exact situation, but there were a lot of princes-turned-vampires in the sixteenth century. When the Ottoman empire took over the Romanian principalities. It was one reason Transylvania became the vampire capital of the world. To help the Romanians resist Ottoman control, an underground sect of the nobility banded together and accepted the bite—courtesy of the late Count Dracula.
Yeah, Dracula was dead. Thanks to yours truly. I’m not usually one to brag, but come on. I killed freaking Dracula. If that didn’t earn me some badass cred, what would?
There were vampires who lamented Dracula’s death, but few in North America. It didn’t put me at odds with Ladinas. Dracula and the other Romanian vampiric nobles parted ways long before my time. Then again, I’d never met the prince in person. He came to the states after Nico died and Mercy went to Europe to secure the support of the old world vampires. He was among the few who accepted the authority of what they called the “American Council.” He fled Romania when Corbin claimed control over the vampires in the region. He helped secure the council’s authority in New England. Now, though, with seeds of doubt sown across vampire communities around the country, many vampires were clamoring for stronger leadership.
Vampires didn’t respect the popular vote. There was only one way for vampires like Mercy—older than most, but hardly the oldest vampire in the country—to gain respect. Eventually, she’d have to prove her merit through strength. If that meant staking her opposition, that’s what she’d have to do. We’d hoped to avoid that, but with an ancient druid who might have been a vampire on the scene, we had little choice.
Mug Ruith wasn’t only a threat to Mercy’s authority. His emergence also presented an opportunity. If we could stop him, any vampire who wanted to challenge Mercy would think twice about it.
A flash of rainbow-colored light signaled Pauli’s arrival. He was one of the most powerful voodoo hougans I knew. He had the aspect of Aida-Wedo, the Loa of rainbows and snakes. In his boa constrictor form, he had impressive, multi-colored bioluminescent scales. He could also teleport over vast distances. When he wrapped himself around us, he could take us with him.
“Pauli’s here, bitches!”
I laughed. Pauli was known for his entrances—and his flamboyance. He was a gay man and an equal-opportunity flirt. If you were a man, he’d come on to you. A lot of gay men reciprocated his flirtations. Pauli saw straight men as a challenge. If he couldn’t seduce them, he got his kicks out of making them squirm.
Mercy showed Pauli her phone. “Can you take us here?”
Pauli huffed. “Is this an all-girl trip?”
Mercy nodded. “Sarah’s staying here to keep tabs on Tommy and Mel. It’s just Hailey and me.”
“Don’t forget Wee Willie!” Willie piped up.
Pauli grinned. “Wee Willie Winker wants a ride on Big Willie Pauli! More than happy to oblige.”
I glared at Pauli. Perhaps the most unsettling thing about working with him was that when he shifted between his snake and human forms, he was naked. He used his shape-shifting abilities to elongate his “big willie” beyond what was natural.
“Please return to your snake form.” I rolled my eyes.
“This is my snake form, honey!“ Pauli did a little dance, his legs wide, as his oversized member smacked between his knees.
Mercy snickered. “Just take us to Exeter, Pauli.”
Pauli stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. “You’re no fun.”
With Willie on my back, Mercy and I hugged. Not to display our affection—Mercy never showed affection. It allowed Pauli to wrap himself around us in his actual snake form.
With a flash of colorful light, we appeared on a small street in Exeter. Since it was an hour later there, it was already dark.
“Call me when you’re ready to go home,” Pauli said.
Mercy nodded. “Thanks, Pauli.”
I cleared my throat. “Where do we go from here?”
Mercy pointed at a manhole cover on the ground under my feet.
“You can’t be serious. Ladinas lives in a sewer?”
Mercy grinned. “Don’t judge a vampire’s domain by its manhole cover.”
Pauli giggled. “I can find innumerable pleasures inside a man-hole!”
I took a deep breath. Pauli disappeared in a flash of light as he returned to New Orleans.
Mercy chuckled as she reached down and pulled the cover off the hole. “Follow me. We have a bit of a hike ahead of us.”
Chapter 3
It’s a common misconception that New Orleans doesn’t have a sewer system. There is one—but because of the city’s altitude below sea level, it wasn’t much of a haven for vampires. It was much more limited than what they had in Rhode Island.
Mercy and I both pulled out our wands. Almost any magic could double as a flash-light. While Mercy wasn’t a blood witch like me, she was talented. It was in Exeter, as a young girl, where she first met Moll and learned the craft.
Willie flew beside me with a bubble of gold and green faerie magic surrounding his form. Our combined magics gave us more than enough light to see where we were going.
The floor was damp and littered with puddles. I was glad I was wearing my boots. Our voices echoed through the sewers. Given how well vampires can hear, I realized how setting up a lair in the sewers could be advantageous. The acoustics amplified every sound, including our footsteps. Ladinas would know we were coming well before we arrived in whatever chamber he called home.
This wasn’t Mercy’s first trip through the sewers. She visited Ladinas once or twice before. I didn’t join her those times. The sewers were a maze. All the tunnels looked the same. Somehow, Mercy knew where to turn.
We were in the sewers about half an hour before we arrived at a large, sealed door. Ladinas had a small security camera mounted above it. Mercy knocked three times. The lock clicked, and the door swung open.
A young blond-haired boy greeted us. He was young for a vampire—couldn’t be over fifteen.
“Hello, Demeter.”
The boy nodded. “Good to see you, Mercy.”
“Demeter is older than he looks,” Mercy said.
“Just celebrated my two-hundredth vampire birthday last week.”
I chuckled. “Never would have suspected.”
Demeter grinned. “I get that a lot. This way. Ladinas is expecting you.”
We stepped into the chamber. My eyes surveyed the place. Who would have thought a place so luxurious could exist in the middle of the sewers? The walls were lined in polished mahogany. The floors were a brilliant white marble. Several glass oil lamps mounted to the walls illuminated the room. The furniture was built of mahogany which matched the walls. Red velvet padding covered the seats and backs of the half-dozen couches and chairs. There were several rooms off the perimeter of the primary chamber. A hint of frankincense with notes of rose swirled through the air. The fragrance called to mind the St. Louis Cathedral back in New Orleans.
The room was more like a high-roller lounge than a throne room. Still, there was a single tall-backed chair at the front of the room where Prince Ladinas sat.
He stood when he saw us.He approached Mercy with a wide smile and open arms. Mercy wasn’t a hugger. She smiled and extended her hand before he could wrap his arms around her.
“Hello, Ladinas.”
“Mercy Brown. Why is it that every time we meet, you’re more beautiful than the last?”
Mercy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because your pickup lines each time we meet are more desperate than the last.”
Ladinas chuckled, then he looked at me. “You must be the delectable Hailey Bradbury.”
I snorted. “I prefer the badass Hailey Bradbury, but you know, to each his own.”
Mercy snickered. “You’d do well to keep your flirtations to yourself. After Corbin’s advances, Hailey’s understandably cynical when old world vampires take an interest in her.”
I huffed. “Besides, I got a man.”
Ladinas shrugged. “What’s your man gotta do with me?”
I laughed. “I don’t wanna hear that, see.”
Ladinas winked at me, then he turned to Mercy. “This one’s a firecracker. I can see why you like her.”
“Don’t underestimate Hailey,” Mercy said. “She’s only been a vampire for seven years, but she’s the strongest witch I’ve ever met. Moll included.”
Ladinas nodded. “Then you may be exactly what we need. Mug Ruith’s abilities are unlike anything I’ve seen in five hundred years.”
I bowed my head slightly. “We also have a faerie here to help.”
“I noticed! What’s your name, little guy?”
Willie flew a circle around Ladinas. “Wee Willie Winker. The one and only!”
Ladinas laughed. “I’ve heard of you. Is it Winkie or Winker?”
“I’ve been called both. Why do you ask?”
Ladins chuckled. “There was a Scottish woman in my court back in Moldavia. A blood maid. She sang a little rhyme about you to her child.”
I snorted. “A blood maid?”
Mercy nudged me. “It’s like a milkmaid. But she provides blood.”
I shuddered. “That’s some kind of life.”
“We revere our blood maids,” Ladinas said. “They live lives of luxury. They also allow our kind to live in relative peace without the need to feed on the general human population.”
“What was this nursery rhyme?” I asked.
“I don’t recall it word-for-word. It speaks about how Willie here visited children at night to help them sleep.”
Willie nodded. “That’s right! Haven’t done that job for a while. But those who revere the fae often summoned me to perform such a task.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re like melatonin?”
“With more personality! In other parts of the world, I’m known as the sandman.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is the tooth faerie real, too?”
Willie shuddered. “She is. But she joined the unseelie court about three hundred years ago. Summon her now, and she’ll yank every tooth out of your mouth and stuff a roll of quarters down your throat. If you wake up the next morning, consider yourself lucky.”
I winced. “I’ve had that dream when all my teeth fell out. I hate that nightmare. My parents played the role of tooth fairies when I was a kid. I’m grateful they didn’t invoke the real thing.”
Ladinas shook his head. “Faeries are no joke. I’m certainly glad you’re on our team.”
“One question,” Mercy said. “If the tooth faerie belongs to the Unseelie court, and you’ve been exiled from the Seelie kingdom, does that make you an Unseelie faerie?”
“Faeries are the guardians of otherworldly magic. The difference between the Seelie and the Unseelie is less a divide between good and evil and more about philosophy. The Seelies believe that magic from the otherworld should only be granted to those who prove themselves worthy. The Unseelies bestow power on those who pay the price.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What is that price?”
Willie shrugged. “It depends on what the Unseelie court desires or demands. Sometimes it’s the completion of a particular task. The court is also known to accept human souls as payment.”
“So you can sell your soul to the unseelie faeries and get power in exchange?”
Willie shook his head. “That’s demons, not faeries. The Unseelie court collects souls offered in sacrifice.”
Mercy tilted her head. “Human sacrifice?”
“That’s right. It’s given some of the ancient druids a bad name. Most of the druids were a peaceable people, they honored and revered nature. They were granted power on that account. There were some, however, who sought power from the Unseelie realm. Most of them paid for that power with souls.”
“Is that how Mug Ruith gained his power?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not privy to the Unseelie court’s dealings.”
I bit my lip. “What does the Unseelie court do with human souls? Do souls give them power or something?”
“Not at all. They eat them. Human souls are a delicacy for our kind. Quite scrumptious, I’m told, but it’s not a part of the Seelie diet.”
I bit my lip. “I know a couple of druids in Missouri. Elijah and Emilie Wadsworth. Do they get their power from the Seelie king?”
Willie shook his head. “Good friends of mine, they are! They’re different. Elijah’s mother is a dryad, a protector of the Tree of Life. Their power comes directly from the source. That’s why they’re more powerful than common druids.”
I pinched my chin. “Exeter is the location of one of several mystical convergences on earth. When I was in the in-between and met Merrick, I learned that something was changing. The era of the gatekeepers was over. We’ve entered an era when the gatekeepers could no longer protect the world from the gates to the otherworlds. He told me in the absence of the gatekeepers, the responsibility to protect the world from forces that emerge from other realms would fall to several appointed guardians. I’m one of them. So is Mercy. I wonder if that has something to do with Mug Ruith’s arrival.”
“It’s possible,” Ladinas said. “I knew Merrick well in life. No vampire I’ve ever known knew the druids better. If he was worried about such things, we should be as well.”
Mercy tilted her head. “Where exactly is Mug Ruith gathering the younglings?”
“In the forest just east of town.”
Mercy sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. Those are the forests where Moll gathered her coven when I was still just a girl. It’s where she taught me the craft. If there’s a place here where there’s a mystical convergence, I’d bet dollars to dog nuts, that’s it.”
I chuckled. “It’s dollars to doughnuts.”
Mercy raised an eyebrow. “It is?”
I smiled. “That’s the saying. Who would want dog nuts? Gross!”
Mercy furrowed her brow. Clearly, my revelation had rattled her world.
“Do you think we can stop them?” Ladinas asked. “My thought was Mercy could use her compulsion ability to chase off the younglings. Then we could take on Mug Ruith three-to-one.”
Mercy winced. “About that. Dracula stole my compulsion ability right before Hailey killed him.”
Ladinas grunted. “That certainly complicates things.”
“No worries,” I said. “I can exsanguinate the vampires. It’ll turn them feral, but it should free them of any sire bonds that might compel them against us. I don’t know how powerful this Mug Ruith is, but I haven’t met a sorcerer that I couldn’t take.”
Ladinas smiled. “If you bested Dracula, far be it from me to underestimate your skill. The sooner we take him out, the better. At the rate he’s gathering young vampires, there’s no telling how many he might have in his company if we wait even another day to attack.”
I twirled my wand between my fingers. “Let’s go kick some ass.”
Chapter 4
Ladinas led us through a door off his chamber. Demeter was with us. The door opened to a long hallway that ended with an elevator.
“Seriously? There’s an elevator that leads down here?”
Ladinas chuckled. “It’s not common knowledge and will only work for me.”
Ladinas pressed his palm on a small screen on the wall next to the elevator. The screen flashed a green light and the elevator doors parted. We stepped inside.
Ladinas pressed his face to a retinal scanner inside the elevator and pressed a button with his thumb.
“High tech!” Mercy laughed. “I like it.”
Ladinas nodded. “It’s important that we old world vamps keep up with the times. Especially with our security measures. It sure beats a trek through the sewers every time I come and go.”
I chuckled and did a quick sniff-check of my pits. So far, I was tolerable. “Tell me about it.”
The elevator opened up into an armory. I’d never seen so many guns in my life. Not a lot of vampires used guns. Why would we? There were also several swords and daggers. One wall featured bows, crossbows, and a table that had what looked like grenades. There was a room filled with lockers. Presumably, the vampires who worked with Ladinas had personal armor and weapons that weren’t available for common use.
“Holy crap,” Mercy said. “I didn’t know you were so stacked!”
Demeter reached into a cabinet and pulled out a few vests. “Put these on. They’re bullet proof. More importantly: stake proof.”
I grinned. “Nice! Why don’t we have these?”
Mercy shrugged. “That’s a good question. Mind if we keep a couple?”
Ladinas nodded. “Help us stop Mug Ruith, and you can have whatever you like. I can always get more. I have a military connection.”
Demeter grabbed a large rifle and slung it over his shoulder.
“Guns against vampires?” I raised an eyebrow.
Demeter laughed. He grabbed a small metal box from one of the cabinets and showed it to me. “Wood-tipped bullets. As good as a stake.”
I tilted my head. “Sure, if it doesn’t go straight through the heart. Unless the bullet stays in there, the vampire will revive fast.”
“Not necessarily. These rounds shatter on contact. It throws a dozen splinters into the chest. They aren’t a hundred percent, but given my aim, there’s a better-than-average chance it’ll stake the vamp and, short of performing open heart surgery, there’s no way to remove the splinters.”
