Faeries and Fangs
Author: Theophilus Monroe
Date: 2000-01-01 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Urban Fantasy; Paranormal; Magic; Fantasy; Young Adult; Witches; Teen; Demons
Rights: Copyright ©2023 byanonymous

Copyright

Copyright © 2023 by Theophilus Monroe.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Cover Design by Deranged Doctor Design

Proofreading/Editing by Mel: https://getproofreader.co.uk/

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For information:

www.theophilusmonroe.com

Chapter 1

I grabbed a vial of blood from my shelf. It wasn’t to drink. It was one of my regular donors—willing humans on call willing to meet my dietary needs. With my blood magic, all I had to do was dip my wand into the vial and cast a simple summoning spell. Jonathan would show up within the hour, craving my bite.

I called it my Grubhub spell. Ready to eat meals delivered to my door at a warm ninety-eight point six.

It wasn’t for me. It was for my new progeny, Tommy. He planned to share with Mel—Mercy’s progeny and Tommy’s new girlfriend. He had the whole evening planned. A romantic candlelight feeding. The string quartet he’d booked was due to arrive at any minute. We didn’t often welcome outside observers when we fed. The quartet hailed from Vilokan—members of the Voodoo Academy’s orchestra. They were hougans and mambos. That’s what voodoo folk call their priests and priestesses, respectively. They knew about vampires already. So long as the youngling lovers didn’t leave a cold body behind, their presence wasn’t a problem. The scene might traumatize them a bit, but I was paying them well. Besides, Vilokan offered great mental health services. The resurrected Sigmund Freud himself was the head psychiatrist at the Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged. He took Cain’s place and was doing admirable work. I told Annabelle—the Voodoo Queen—to reserve a few sessions with the famed psychotherapist the next day. The quartet might need it.

Connor was relaxing on my bed in nothing but his boxers. A bit overdressed for my taste—but we’d already had our fun. Given my aversion to sunlight, when I wasn’t owning the night, Connor and I owned the day—in bed. What better way to pass the time when the sun was up?

Given the hot yoga routine Connor and I just completed under my sheets, he’d sleep through the night like a baby.

With Jonathan summoned, I kissed Connor on the lips and tucked him into bed. By the time I got dressed and left my room, he was already snoring.

The string quartet was setting up downstairs. They were tuning their instruments. Mercy and Sarah were discussing something in her room. Their voices were raised. It didn’t sound like an argument, but whatever they were discussing was serious.

Sarah had a unique gift. She could sense other vampires. For centuries, her gift was more like a curse. She felt it every time a vampire was killed. It made her something of a recluse. Before she joined us in New Orleans, she lived where Mercy grew up—back in her human life—in Exeter, Rhode Island.

They were surely discussing council business. Mercy was the leader of the council. Sarah and I were both members. The council’s authority took a serious blow during the ordeal with Corbin. He’d sowed seeds of doubt among vampires in North America. Could a council truly govern vampires? Vampires understood powerful authority figures. The sire bond probably had something to do with that. We all had our mini-kings, our sires, who we had to obey. Well, most of us did. Annabelle killed mine seconds after he bit me. I was the exception rather than the norm. Most vampires grew up into the bloodsucking life following orders, obeying someone stronger and more powerful than they were. If a youngling survived, and didn’t get staked the first few months when the cravings were at their worst, it was because they followed their sire’s lead.

Now that Sarah could both sense the deaths of vampires and the emergence of new vampires, we could keep tabs on vampires all around the country. Any time more than two or three younglings appeared in an area, Sarah got anxious. She wanted to investigate. Mercy was more inclined to delegate those investigations to council loyalists. Noble and well-behaved vampires strategically stationed in every major city across the country.

If I were to guess, they were discussing something Sarah picked up with her abilities. I’d sat through my share of those arguments in the past and they always ended the same way.

In about five minutes, Sarah would emerge, her face contorted in disgust. She’d stomp past me. I’d ask what happened. She’d give me the “talk to the hand” gesture and retreat to her room to mope. Meanwhile, Mercy would make a call to the loyalist nearest to the situation and get the skinny on what was going on.

I wasn’t about to wait around for that. I needed to get downstairs to chaperone Tommy’s in-house date with Mel. I couldn’t trust the two younglings to exercise restraint. When vampires fed together, it was a semi-erotic experience. Easy to lose control. If they bit each other after they were done, it was euphoric. It also allowed the vampires to accelerate their maturation. A helpful trick for a couple of younglings still working to master their cravings. I had to make sure that our human donor was safe.

When I got downstairs, someone knocked on the door. I welcomed Jonathan in. He was one of my favorites. He was a good-looking, clean cut man of twenty-two. He was sweet. I’m not talking about his personality. I’m talking about his flavor. He was like cheesecake. Sweet, rich, and filling. The perfect date meal.

Tommy was busy setting the table. He was dressed to the nines. He was a tall man with dark shaggy hair. Wee Willie Winker—the faerie refugee who’d helped me escape the Seelie forest and defeat Corbin once and for all—was flying around the dining room lighting candles with his magic. Tommy must’ve had a hundred of them scattered around the room.

It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t a little jealous. Connor was sweet, but he wasn’t the grand gesture type. Connor was a spur-of-the-moment romantic. Tommy had planned this meal for almost a week. If he hadn’t won Mel’s barely beating heart yet, he would by the end of the night.

He wasn’t proposing or anything like that. Vampires rarely married. This wasn’t a special occasion. That’s part of what made it so sweet.

“Is Mel ready?” Tommy asked.

I shrugged. “She’s still getting ready in her room. Need me to check?”

Tommy nodded. “How much time do we have if we fill the wine glasses with Jonathan’s blood? You know, before the blood loses its potency.”

I smiled. “It’ll be good for a half-hour or more. You don’t want to feed straight from the tap?”

Tommy shook his head. “I’d rather keep it intimate. Make it more about us than the meal.”

I turned to Jonathan. I patted him twice on his chest. His pectoral muscle wiggled when I touched it. I chuckled. What a show-off. Meals like Jonathan were always eager to please. “Wait here.”

I headed back upstairs. I passed Mercy’s room. She and Sarah were still arguing. I knocked on Mel’s door.

“Come in!”

Mel was from England. Mercy didn’t turn a lot of people. I didn’t either. I’d turned Tommy by accident. You could say he was a whoops baby. That didn’t mean he wasn’t mine. I was proud of him. He was the only vampire I’d ever sired.

Mel was wheelchair bound before Mercy turned her. Her fibromyalgia was crippling. Becoming a vampire took away the pain. It gave her back her legs. It allowed Mel to resume the passion of her youth. She was a dancer, and a damn good one. My dance skills were limited to shaking my butt and the macarena. Mel was an artist. She was graceful. Becoming a vampire was the best thing that ever happened to her—and that Mercy was her sire was like winning the lottery. I couldn’t think of a better mentor for a young vampire taking her first literal steps into immortality. It almost made me feel bad for Tommy. I wasn’t the best sire around. In vampire years, I was practically a toddler. Then again, my bloodwitchery allowed me to mature faster than most.

Mel was as pretty as a picture. Her long red hair was curled and pulled back. A few stray strands fell over her face. She was wearing a stunning black dress that showed a lot of leg and a feast of cleavage. I wasn’t sure if Tommy could keep his eyes up where they belonged.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, love! You, too!”

I laughed. My hair was a mess. I was in sweats and a tank top. “You’re lying. But thanks.”

“You look like I’d expect after all the sounds that were coming from your bedroom all day. Nothing more beautiful than that!”

I smirked. “Yeah. Good thing vampires heal well. My hips are all out of joint.”

“Maybe if I play my cards right, I’ll get some of the same! Been too long since I had a good pounding.”

I chuckled. “Play your cards right? Honey, you could drop deuces and threes and you’d do just as well as if you laid down a royal flush. That boy is pulling out all the stops.”

Mel blushed a little. “I’m a lucky girl.”

“Not half as lucky as he is. You’re a prize. He’s just about ready. What’s your ETA?”

“Five minutes. I’m almost done.”

“Come down as soon as you can. I’ll let him know.”

When I got back downstairs, the orchestra was playing. I took Jonathan’s wrist in my hands and bit into it. I held his wrist over both wine glasses and massaged his arm, squeezing enough blood out to fill each glass half way.

It didn’t take much blood to satiate a vampire’s hunger. If a vampire drained someone, it was either because they went into a frenzy and couldn’t control themselves or because they were greedy. This was enough blood to keep both Tommy and Mel satiated for the night.

No need for a bandage. The enzymes in my bite would do the trick. I pressed my hand over the wound and channeled a little healing magic to speed up the process even more. “You’re free to go.”

Jonathan nodded. “Thank you!”

I shook my head. “No, thank you! I’ll call you again soon.”

Jonathan headed out the door. Tommy waited anxiously by the table. Willie flew over to me and landed on my back. Faeries are small, about the size of a newborn baby, minus any of the baby fat. He held on to my shoulders as I stepped aside to watch from afar. With Jonathan gone, though, Tommy and Mel didn’t need much supervision.

Mel came downstairs, her heels clicking against the hardwood steps.

Tommy’s jaw fell so far I was afraid he might have to pick it up off the table.

Mel giggled. “Like what you see?”

Tommy gulped and shifted his feet. “Uh huh!”

Mel giggled. She moved to her side of the table. Tommy scurried around to Mel’s side of the table. He almost tripped over his own feet. He pulled out her chair for her. I always found that form of chivalry a bit demeaning. What girl can’t pull out her own damn chair? Still, it was the sentiment behind the gesture that counted.

I headed back upstairs to give the two love birds their privacy. I didn’t want to hover. No one likes a helicopter sire.

When I got to the top of the stairs, Mercy’s bedroom door swung open. I waited for Sarah’s inevitable retreat. Instead, Mercy came out.

“Hailey, would you join us for a moment?”

I tilted my head. “Sure. What’s up?”

Mercy cleared her throat. She gestured toward her open door. I stepped through and Mercy closed the door behind me.

“Tell Hailey what you told me.”

Sarah sighed. “Someone has sired fifteen new younglings in Exeter.”

I raised one eyebrow. “In Rhode Island? That’s Prince Ladinas’ territory.”

Mercy shook her head. “Ladinas usually has his area locked down tight. I got off the phone with him a minute ago. He needs our help.”

I snorted. “If he turned fifteen younglings, I hate to say it, but he’s asking for it.”

Sarah shook her head. “He isn’t the one who did it. It’s a young vampire in his domain.”

“How could a youngling even pull that off? Turning that many people, what are the chances? He’d have to drain them and heal them somehow before they died.”

Mercy nodded. “Ever hear of Mug Ruith?”

I shook my head. “Can’t say that I have.”

“He’s a sorcerer. A blind, ancient, druid. He’s appeared several times throughout history. Initially, the second century before the common era. Some legends put him in Jerusalem at the time of Christ. He also served in the court of High King Cormac mac Airt in the third century.”

I tilted my head. “That’s some lifespan.”

Mercy nodded. “If he’s still around today, that’s not the half of it. His name appears in the records of nineteen Irish kings. He disappeared from the record for centuries and hasn’t turned up again until now.”

I bit my lip. “He either has some kind of immortality magic or he’s a vampire. There’s no other way to explain it.”

Mercy nodded. “That he’s creating a coven of vampires might lend credence to the latter theory. Though he isn’t turning them himself, so perhaps it is his magic that sustains him. Either way, he has to be stopped. Whatever he’s planning can’t be good.”

Sarah nodded. “No one makes so many younglings in such a short amount of time unless they’re up to something nefarious.”

“You said he’s blind?” I asked.

Mercy nodded. “He relies entirely on his spirit gaze. It’s a power most druids possess that allows them to see through the power of the mind. It allows him to see shadows in the physical world. When it comes to magic, he can see everything. If you have so much as a tingle on the tip of you wand, he’ll spot it from a mile away.”

Sarah grabbed a book off of Mercy’s desk and pointed to a passage she’d highlighted. “That’s not the worst of it. There’s a prophecy here, attributed to Saint Columba. Mug Ruith possessed some kind of flying machine. The saint’s prophecy indicates that he’d return in his Roth rámach, a flying wheel of some kind, and lay waste to Europe before the last judgment.”

I scratched my head. “A flying machine? He had this thing thousands of years ago?”

Mercy nodded. “According to the legends, he did. I’m not sure how much of what’s written is true to history, but it was said it blinded anyone who looked at it, deafened anyone who heard it, and killed anyone struck by its weapons. Chances are the stories are embellished. They usually are.”

I sighed. “Perhaps another theory is at work. If Mug Ruith is a druid, and he could travel between the gates, he could also move through time. What if he has some kind of modern fighter jet, maybe a military grade helicopter, and he used it to kill people in the past?”

“I had that thought as well,” Mercy said. “Whatever the case, I’m not especially keen to allow Saint Columba’s prophecy to come true.”

I shuddered. “This guy sounds like a genuine piece of work. It’s certainly more than what Ladinas can handle alone.”

Mercy nodded. “I’ve already put a call in to Pauli. He’ll teleport us there within the hour so we can meet with Prince Ladinas and come up with a plan.”

I scratched the back of my head. “I’ll go get changed.”

“Don’t forget your wand,” Sarah said. “Our best chance is to fight magic with magic.”

I grinned. “Please. You know what they say about a witch and her wand? Don’t leave home without it.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “That’s American Express.”

I shrugged. “Same principle applies. Besides, it’s not like anyone would ever give me a credit card. Are you kidding?”

Mercy shook her head. “I certainly won’t be giving you mine again soon.”

I shrugged. “You’ve got Nico’s money. You can afford it.”

“That’s not the point. There’s no reason you needed twelve pairs of shoes, Hailey. You can only wear one at a time.”

I snickered. “You sound like someone who grew up during the Great Depression.”

Mercy stared at me blankly. “Hello. I sort of did. I was still a relatively young vampire in those days.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like blood supply was affected by the economy.”

Mercy shook her head. “Stalking unemployment lines for a meal isn’t quite as thrilling as the clubs. Then again, it’s funny. Even though not a lot of people had much in those days, there were just as many drunks then as now. Talk about pissing away whatever money you had. Still, have you ever fed on someone down and out? The blood tastes like oatmeal.”

“Gross! Oatmeal sucks!”

“It’s edible. Fills the hole. More boring than anything else. Especially for a young vampire who craved a spicy feed. To quote Dickens, it was the worst of times, it was the shittiest of times.”

I tilted my head. “I don’t think that’s the right quote.”

“I know. It wasn’t the best of times, no matter how you look at it. Things are much better these days.”

“Even with the council in disarray and one bad guy after another threatening our existence?”

Mercy shrugged. “At least it keeps things interesting. Gather your things. Make sure you’re wearing something suitable for a fight if it comes to that.”

“I’ll come along.” Willie hopped off my shoulder and fluttered his wings. “I know a few tricks myself, you know.”

“Are you okay with that, Mercy?” I had to ask. Willie was cute as a button but, well, you know Mercy. She’s not exactly a sucker for the adorable. To say that Willie grated on her nerves would be an understatement. He could be a bit much. His high-pitched, ear-piercing voice didn’t strike the vampire’s ear well at first. He was also like an Energizer battery. Once he started talking, he kept going, and going, and going. He’d kept me up late into the day on several occasions. Ironic for a faerie known for his ability to put people to sleep—hence the name Wee Willie Winker.

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.”

“Damn.” Mercy shook her head. “I’m impressed.”

“Without a lot of practice,” Demeter said. “You’re better off fighting the way you know. I’ll have your back. I should be able to drop quite a few younglings.”

I nodded. “I’ll exsanguinate them as well. Even so, ferals are unpredictable. Keep them off of me so Willie and I can engage Mug Ruith.”

Demeter grabbed a crossbow and tossed it to Ladinas.

“No rifle for you?” I asked.

Ladinas shrugged. “I’m a better shot with this.”

Mercy and I each took a couple of stakes for good measure. We weren’t about to use any of the other weapons that the Exeter vamps had in the armory. Demeter is right. Without training, this wasn’t the time to experiment. Besides, Mercy and I were there more for our skill as witches than warriors.

We left the armory. We had to pass through a series of doors, also protected by retinal scanners. When we got to the last door, two vampires stood guard holding rifles that matched the one Demeter had over his shoulder.

“Impressive security,” Mercy remarked. “We’re not half this stacked at Casa do Diabo.”

I smiled. “That’s because no one there is dumb enough to screw with us.”

Ladinas nodded. “You have magical protections. Not to mention, who is going to walk into the home of a couple of badass vampire witches? We don’t have the aid of magic here, so we have to rely on more conventional methods.”

I raised my eyebrow. “I’d say this is beyond conventional.”

Ladinas laughed. “Perhaps. We do what we can.”

The building housing all that badassery was unremarkable. It looked like an abandoned warehouse. Three military-grade ‘Humvees’ were parked outside.

“No need to drive,” Ladinas said. “It’s not a long walk from here.”

“I know the way,” Mercy said. “Even after all these years, some things you never forget.”

Willie flew beside me as Mercy and Ladinas led us down a street, through an alley, and into an old neighborhood.

“This is where I grew up,” Mercy said. “Most of the houses are gone, of course. All new constructions.”

Ladinas nodded. “Most of this area has been rebuilt a couple of times since then. I have copies of almost all the historical records back at my base.”

Mercy pointed down a street as we passed it. “That’s where the cemetery is where they buried me.”

“You were buried?” Demeter asked.

Mercy nodded. “It’s a long story. People thought I’d died of consumption. After Nico turned me, I rested in my grave awhile. My own father exhumed my resting body after I’d fed on my brother and cut out my heart.”

“That didn’t kill you?” Demeter asked. “How can a vampire live without a heart?”

Mercy smirked. “Moll performed a spell. Fed the ashes of my heart to my brother. It kept me alive while it damned him to hell. For years I lived without a heart at all.”

“The infamous heartless vampire,” Ladinas chuckled. “Kept alive by magic.”

“Technically, not having a heart gave me a few advantages. But having my heart back again also has its perks.”

“How so?” Ladinas asked.

Mercy shrugged. “I can feel more than I did back then. When you’re a heartless vampire, you don’t have a lot of remorse. You don’t feel much at all.”

“Not even love?” Ladinas asked.

Mercy chuckled. “Especially not love.”

“Not true,” I added. “You loved Ramon.”

Mercy sighed. “I’d rather not talk about that.”

“His family isn’t far from here,” Ladinas said. “They’re doing well.”

“You’ve been keeping tabs on Ramon?” Mercy asked.

Ladinas shook his head. “He reached out to me a few months back. He was concerned about the vampire presence in the city. I assuaged his worries. His family, along with the rest of the humans in the area, are under my protection. I haven’t heard from him since. He was told how to reach me if he needed help. I presume he’s well.”

Mercy would never admit it, but she still had feelings for Ramon. She’d never interfere in his new life. He became human again—thanks to the workings of the Morrigan and the Cauldron of Rebirth. He had another chance at a normal life. The last thing Mercy wanted was to pull him back into the world of vampires. She certainly didn’t want to turn him again. Ramon never made a great vampire. Even after a couple hundred years, he’d never got total control over his bloodlust. Still, Mercy felt responsible for him. I could tell from the look on her face she was relieved that he was well, and that Ladinas intended to protect him. Still, concern accompanied her relief. Her narrowed eyes and curled lip gave it away. Not that she didn’t trust Ladinas. It was the looming larger threat that concerned her. If we didn’t stop Mug Ruith and eliminate his newly turned younglings that night, she wouldn’t leave town until we did. She didn’t say it outright, but I knew Mercy. Even if we killed Mug Ruith and his vampires, Exeter was still home to a mystical convergence. There was no telling what might emerge from there in the coming months if the gates to the otherworlds were truly shattered and unguarded.

We reached the edge of the forest. There was magic in the air. Most people couldn’t sense it, but I wasn’t most people. It was potent stuff. Almost as strong as the magic I could wield by drawing on the mystical properties latent in blood.

A flame from what was probably a campfire flickered in the distance.

Mercy sighed. “That’s exactly where Moll used to gather her coven. Let’s try to get a good look at what we’re facing before we charge in.”

“You know a good place to look over the clearing where we can’t be seen?” Ladinas asked.

Mercy nodded. “I think so. Follow me.”

Mercy took us up a steep hill. “Stay low. There aren’t as many trees up there to hide behind.”

Mercy was right. The hill she led us up gave us a view of the clearing below from over the treetops, but there wasn’t much we could hide behind. If we could see them, they could see us. Since vampires can see as well in the dark as in light, we had to be especially careful.

The clearing below included the campfire we spotted before. Several large boulders surrounded it. It resembled a druidic circle.

“That’s new,” Mercy remarked. “Mug Ruith must’ve constructed the circle himself.”

I counted the surrounding vampires. “There are only five inside the circle with him. Where do you think the others are?”

“There’s no way to know,” Ladinas said. “They’re probably off feeding. That’s another problem altogether. One thing at a time. We should take advantage of the situation while Mug Ruith’s numerical advantage isn’t as great as it could be.”

We commando crawled on our bellies down the hill until we were back under the forest’s cover. Willie didn’t have to crawl. He just walked on foot. At his stature, he was as low as the rest of us already.

“I’ll open fire first,” Ladinas said. “The crossbow isn’t as loud as a rifle. I can probably drop one or two before they know what’s happening.”

“I’ll open fire on the rest. It’s up to you ladies, and Willie, to deal with Mug Ruith.”

We got into position. Mug Ruith was facing the opposite direction. That gave us an advantage. If he didn’t see us coming, I could exsanguinate him before he struck us.

Ladinas shot his crossbow. One youngling dropped. I aimed my wand and released my exsanguination spell at Mug Ruith. Another vampire dropped beside him. My spell hit some kind of barrier surrounding the sorcerer. It radiated with red magic before fading again from view. He turned and looked at me. His face was like leather and wrinkled. He was bald. He had a long crooked staff in his hand.

Demeter opened fire. One shot after the next, the other vampires fell. Mercy pointed her wand at Mug Ruith and blasted him with fire magic. The flames poured over his forcefield but didn’t penetrate it.

“I can take it down,” Willie said. “It’s magic from the Unseelie. Take your shot when his shield falls.”

Willie flew circles around the sorcerer, lobbing balls of golden light at him. His forcefield weakened with each strike. Mug Ruith slammed the butt of his staff against the ground.

Several arms blasted out of the ground from within the circle. Vampires crawled out of the ground, their bodies caked in mud.

Demeter fired again. Ladinas continued shooting bolts at the vampires. It worked, but they weren’t fast enough. Three of the younglings charged after me. I raised my wand and cast an exsanguination spell. The blood exploded from their bodies.

I tightened my grip on my wand. I inhaled and drew in the power from the blood. Willie’s magic was working, but it was taking time. I had to do something before Mug Ruith launched a counter.

I gathered the blood and formed a shell. I allowed my magic to connect to the blood in the air and formed a prism around the sorcerer.

A stream of blood flowed between the prism and my wand. Mug Ruith touched his staff to the prism. A red magic sparkled around the tip of his staff and it spread through the prism. It flowed from the prism through the stream that connected it to my wand. When it struck me, I flew back with an incredible force. My body struck a tree, and I went into convulsions. It was all I could do to maintain my grip on my wand.

“Hailey’s down!” Mercy cried. “Retreat!”

The sound of Demeter’s gunshots echoed around me. The world was spinning all around. Something grabbed me from behind and lifted me from the ground.

It was Willie. I didn’t realize he was so strong, but he took off, pulling me through the trees.

I gasped for air. My vision faded to a blur. Everything went dark.

Chapter 5

I woke up on one of Ladinas’s red-velvet couches. Willie was sitting on my chest, his bony faerie feet on either side of my face. He had his hands on my head. He was channeling some kind of magic into me.

“What’s going on?” I groaned.

“She’s awake!” Willie shouted.

The sound of footsteps was followed by Mercy’s concerned face looking over mine. “Is she better?”

“For now,” Willie said. “She’s been infected by an Unseelie curse. I can hold off the effects for a time, but I can’t cure it.”

I snorted. “A curse?”

“I’ve slowed down its progress. It’s dormant for now. Eventually, it will adapt to my magic and I won’t be able to stop it.”

“What happens if it spreads?” Mercy asked.

Willie sighed. “She’ll die. I think.”

“You think?” I groaned. “That makes for a shitty day.”

“Let’s assume the worst. How much time does she have?” Mercy asked.

“A day. Two at most.”

“You said you can’t cure it here,” Ladinas said. I couldn’t see him but I recognized his voice. “Where can you cure her?”

“I need several ingredients. They’re only found in the Seelie Forest.”

I shook my head. “You’re a wanted faerie. I can’t ask you to take me there. If the Faerie King catches you--”

“Let me worry about that,” Willie said. “I will not let you die.”

“Is there any other way to stop it?” Mercy asked.

Willie sighed. “Only if we kill the sorcerer and use his staff to withdraw the curse.”

I grabbed the back of the couch and pulled myself up. Willie hopped off my chest and fluttered his wings. He hovered in front of me. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We’re going to kill the sorcerer.”

Mercy took a deep breath. “I don’t know that we can.”

“I just need a clean shot. I can do it.”

“The curse weakens your magic,” Willie said. “It won’t work.”

“Then I’ll use my telekinesis. I can throw something at him and knock him out.”

“It’s too risky,” Mercy said. “We threw everything we could think of at Mug Ruith and nothing phased him.”

“The faerie is right,” Ladinas said. “We managed to eliminate the younglings, but it’s just a matter of time before he either revives them, pulling the splinters from their hearts, or makes more to replace them.”

“Then this is our chance! We take him out now!”

I stood up. My knees buckled under me. Mercy caught me by the arm. “You’re in no shape to fight.”

“We’re going to the Seelie Forest,” Willie said. “It’s the only chance we have. Besides, there might be a few things we can pick up while we’re there to help defeat Mug Ruith.”

“A few things?” I asked.

“Once we heal you in the Seelie Forest, we need to bust into the Unseelie Realm. Somehow, Mug Ruith has a staff vested with their power. We can find something just as strong, if not stronger, that can neutralize his power. We can fight his faerie fire with some of our own.”

“What if you get captured, Willie? What will we do then? You know as well as I do that the Faerie King thinks vampires are an abomination. Helping us is forbidden.”

“Then I’ll come with you,” Mercy said. “I’ll help protect Willie and you both.”

I grunted. “Fine. We’ll go. Can you make a portal here?”

Willie shook his head. “We need a mystical convergence. One we know that’s already connected to the faerie realm.”

I shook my head. “If the sorcerer is still there, how the hell are we going to pull that off?”

“We fight,” Ladinas said. “I’ll mobilize every vampire in the area. We’ll come after him with everything we’ve got.”

“Do you think you can take him?” I asked.

Ladinas shook his head. “Not without magic that works against his power. We don’t need to take him. We just have to draw him away from the convergence and buy you enough time to go through.”

“What if he catches you? A lot of vampires could die.”

Ladinas shook his head. “He’s one sorcerer. There are openings to the sewers everywhere. He might be powerful, but he doesn’t know the way. We can lose him. How much time do you need, Willie?”

“Just a few seconds. It’s simple enough, but we can’t pull it off while he’s guarding the convergence.”

Ladinas nodded. “Then it won’t be a problem. We can buy you the time you need. Just get back here as soon as you can. Come back with a way to kill him and we’ll end this once and for all.”

I gulped. “Blood. I need some blood. I’m weak.”

Ladinas snapped his fingers. A few seconds later, Demeter appeared with a young man in tow. He looked like a young professional—from the neck up. Below that, he was wearing nothing but Speedo shorts.

I raised an eyebrow. “Is this your preference?”

Ladinas smiled widely. “I enjoy variety in my meals. Mercy chose him for you while you were asleep. We have several willing blood maids at our disposal.”

I chuckled. “Mercy certainly knows my preferences. Good thing he’s clean shaven.”

“I’m with you,” Ladinas said. “No one likes a mouth-full of beard.”

“Amen, brother!”

The man approached me, his face devoid of any emotion. What was the “male” equivalent of “maid”? Manservant? That seemed awfully archaic. The word “maid” was a bit off-putting in its own right. Blood bitch? Men could be bitches. Blood person might be the most politically correct term, but isn’t everyone who isn’t dead a blood person? Whatever. He was a ready and willing meal.

The man tilted his head back, exposing his neck.

“You’re seriously cool with this?” I asked.

The man looked at me and bowed his head. “It is an honor to be of service.”

I bit my lip. “Do you also do foot rubs?”

Mercy cleared her throat. “Just take your fill, Hailey. You heard Willie. You’re short on time.”

“Look, if I’m going to die, there are worse ways to go than having an almost-naked adonis at your feet.”

“You will not die!” Mercy stomped her foot.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Fine. Chill. I’ll bite him!”

I sank my teeth into the man’s neck. Ladinas curated his stock well. This guy was delicious. More savory than sweet. The meat and potatoes of blood bitches.

I knew when to stop. After a few years, it’s an instinct. When feeding, a vampire can hear her meal’s pulse. The rate of blood flow into my waiting mouth was another sign. I pulled away. Ladinas handed me a handkerchief. I took it and wiped my mouth.

“Would you like another?” Ladinas asked.

I smiled. “I’d love another, but I shouldn’t. That will keep me satiated long enough. After all, I only have a couple of days before I kick the bucket.”

“Stop it!” Mercy huffed. “I told you. We’re going to save you.”

I shrugged. “I hope you do. If not, well, I guess it’s off to hell. Corbin will be thrilled to see me.”

“How can you be so cavalier about this?” Mercy asked. “Do you realize how many people’s lives depend on you pulling through and stopping this sorcerer? Do you know how much you mean to your progeny?”

I shrugged. “He’d get by. If I die, I’m sure you’ll pull something out of your ass and beat the sorcerer. Mercy always wins.”

“I have nothing in my ass at the moment that can thwart faerie magic.”

I smirked. “Then call Pauli. You never know what he has up there!”

“This isn’t a joke, Hailey. I can’t lose you!”

I tilted my head. “Excuse me?”

Mercy took a deep breath, held it in for a moment, then released it in a long, drawn-out exhale. “You heard me. I can’t lose you. You’re like a daughter to me. You’ve never seen me at my worst.”

I bit my lip. “What are you saying, Mercy?”

“Damn it. Are you really going to make me say it?”

I smiled widely. “Yes, I am.”

“I fucking love you, Hailey. If you die, it’ll destroy me. I’d be a terror without you.”

I smirked. “Fucking love you too, momma!”

Ladinas tilted his head. “Mercy is your sire?”

I shook my head. “My sire was killed just seconds after he bit me. I don’t think of him as a sire. Just a bite donor. In all the ways that matter, Mercy is my sire. Even though I am technically Mercy’s step-sire now.”

“Say what?” Ladinas asked.

Mercy shook her head. “Long story. She had to claim Nico’s status on the vampire family tree in order to defeat Corbin in hell. That means, if she wanted to, she could exercise Nico’s sire bond over me.”

“Merrick’s spell?” Ladinas asked.

I nodded. “That’s the one. I don’t really use it. It seems wrong to force my will on someone. I wouldn’t do that to Mercy. She is like a mother to me.”

“Not to mention, if you ever tried, you’d have to add a qualifier to any command you issued. ‘And when you’re done doing what I said, don’t shove your boot up my ass’”

I laughed. “Fair enough.”

“And if you don’t fight for your own damn life, I’ll shove my boot up the ass of your corpse.”

I shuddered. “Well, that’s graphic.”

“Not to mention,” Willie piped up. “What about that wolf-shifter boy waiting for you back in New Orleans?”

I took a deep breath. He had a point. Connor had lost a lot of people as of late. He lost his old girlfriend. His father was also killed during our conflict with Corbin. Sure, Connor’s father got involved with the Order of the Morning Dawn. Join up with those anti-vampire, anti-witch bigots and you deserve whatever you get. Even so, he was Connor’s father. Connor and his dad might not have seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but when someone is gone, a lot of those issues that seemed to be so important before suddenly don’t seem like big deals at all.

I wasn’t eager to die. Don’t get me wrong. Allowing some kind of unseelie curse to eat away at my insides didn’t sound like a pleasant experience. At the same time, I’d never had to fight for my own life before. Not really.

I’d always risen to the occasion when I had to fight for someone else. I wanted to woman-up and go kick that sorcerer’s ass. That’s the way I wanted to save my life. Giving Mug’s ugly mug a swift punch to the face, followed by an exsanguination spell targeted directly at his skull. That was one of several visions of the sorcerer’s demise I had in mind.

I had quite the imagination. Bind him in chains. Use my telekinesis to send him flying. I’d drop and impale him on a flagpole. I could bind him in blood chains and sink him into the ocean. Preferably into a school of tiger sharks. The blood chains would whip them into a frenzy. There was always the wood chipper option. They say vampires can only die when you burn out their hearts, or lop off their heads. Werewolves were supposedly only vulnerable to silver. Wood chippers trumped all. There wasn’t a creature on earth—supernatural or not—who could survive that gruesome fate.

If I had to kill the sorcerer, I’d find a way. Going to the faerie realm? It might be the best chance we had to save me, but it also meant risking Willie’s life. The plan to distract Mug Ruith involved luring the sorcerer away from the convergence with an army of Ladinas’s vampires. How many vampires might the sorcerer kill before they got away? Why was my life more valuable than theirs?

Then again, if I died trying to kill Mug Ruith in my condition, which was likely, Mercy would have to fight him alone. Mercy was a great witch. Don’t get me wrong. She was an even better vampire. A much better vampire than I was. This was more a witch-battle than a vampire-battle. That meant I was the best shot anyone had to defeat Mug Ruith—and I had to be at full strength to do it. If we could steal a weapon, a power of some kind, from the Unseelie faeries that would level the mystical battlefield, we had to try.

This plan might put some people’s lives at risk. Failure would put the lives of everyone—not just in Exeter, but throughout the world—at risk. After all, some dead saint once predicted that Mug Ruith would destroy all of Europe with some sort of mystical flying machine. Just because the prophecy was about Europe didn’t mean he wouldn’t destroy North America first. We didn’t see any evidence of the sorcerer’s flying machine but, if the legends about Mug Ruith and the saint’s prophecy held any water at all, he had something that could fly and destroy civilizations. Maybe it was a modern aircraft. Maybe it was something more supernatural. Despite my curiosity, it was better if we never found out. The only way to ensure that his murder machine didn’t launch was to kill Mug Ruith before he got that far.

I popped my knuckles. “Alright, Ladinas. Assemble the vampires. We’re going to the faerie realm.”

Chapter 6

Ladinas sent a group-text to the local vampires. There’s a stereotype about older vampires that they’re clueless when it comes to technology. It was definitely true with Corbin. Mercy wasn’t entirely helpless, but she still tended to fall back into old habits. She was as likely to forget her phone at home, leave it sitting on the charger, as she was to have it with her. Half the time she had her phone, the battery was dead. She made some of the funniest autocorrect errors I’d ever seen.

Some of her typos were classic. She once attempted to text me to say that she was going to kick my ass when she got home. Well, the “k” and the “l” are next to each other on the keyboard.

Ladinas was the exception to the technologically inept ancient vampire stereotype. He’d not only used technology to make his underground lair a secure fortress, but he used it to communicate with loyal vampires in the region.

Ladinas pocketed his phone. “We’ll be ready to move within the hour.”

Mercy raised an eyebrow. “You can coordinate an attack in an hour?”

Ladinas nodded. “We run drills. I operate a well-oiled machine.”

Mercy grinned. “Talk about leadership.”

Ladinas shook his head. “Leadership isn’t my forte. I’m a strategist. These vampires don’t follow me because they believe in me, Mercy. They still believe in you and your cause. They follow me for your sake.”

Mercy bit her lip. “Seriously?”

Ladinas nodded. “You’re a hometown girl, the progeny of Niccolo the Damned, and you’ve defeated Moll, twice, as well as Corbin.”

Mercy shook her head. “Hailey played a larger role in our defeat of Corbin.”

“Under your leadership, she did. There are some who doubt the efficiency of a democratic council. Most of the vampires around here would rather see a centralized leader, something closer to a monarchy. Still, they’re more loyal to you than they are to any theory of vampire governance.”

Mercy took a deep breath. “I had no idea.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re pretty oblivious sometimes. Sure, Mercy, there are powerful vampires who oppose you. That’s because you’re a threat. You’re a threat because so many more vampires want to follow you.”

Ladinas pointed at me. “What she said. When I sent out my group text indicating you needed our help, you wouldn’t believe the eager responses I received. They’re still coming in. I had to turn off my notifications.”

“Hailey needs their help as much as I do.”

I shook my head. “Witches follow me. When it comes to leading vampires, Mercy, you’re the bloody queen!”

Mercy bit her thumbnail. “Thank you Ladinas. Make sure everyone knows I’m grateful. I don’t know how long this venture into faerie land will take. I’ll thank them myself when we return.”

“Come back with everything we need to defeat Mug Ruith, and you’ll have every loyal vampire in the region ready and waiting to fight at your side.”

Ladinas and Demeter took us back up to the armory. This time, the place was buzzing with vampires. When we stepped into the armory, every head in the place turned to look at us.

I nudged Mercy. “I think they’re star-struck.”

Mercy grunted. “Shut up.”

I snickered. They say the best leaders are the ones who don’t want to be leaders. The ones who come to power out of necessity, out of the sheer force of their virtue rather than the lust for power, are the leaders that people want to follow. Not because they are afraid of their leader, but because they believe in their leader. That was Mercy—even if she didn’t realize it. The fact that she didn’t see it was exactly why she was a strong leader.

“Everyone clear on the plan?” Ladinas asked. “The goal is not to engage the sorcerer. I don’t want to lose any of you and, trust me, we won’t stand a chance if we have to fight him head-on. Our mission is to buy Mercy and Hailey time so they can escape to the faerie realms. They’ll return with a weapon we can use to stop him.”

One of the vampires—an older gentleman I’d never met—raised his hand. “What of the younglings?”

“We eliminated most of them,” Ladinas said. “That also only bought us a little time. We don’t know if Mug Ruith is a vampire himself, or if he’s using a vampire to turn his younglings. Either way, we have to assume that a vampire allied with him is still out there. That means he’ll replenish his youngling army sooner rather than later.”

Mercy stepped forward. “Thank you, everyone, for your willingness to help. I promise, we’ll come back with what we need. In the meantime, while we’re gone, make sure any younglings that Mug Ruith revives or makes, remain in check. We can’t have dozens of new vampires terrorizing Exeter.”

The vampires nodded in agreement. The same older vampire who spoke before stepped forward and bowed his head in Mercy’s direction. “It’s an honor to fight for you, my liege.”

Mercy released a nervous laugh. She wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. She certainly hadn’t ever been anyone’s “liege.” “The real honor is to have each of you fighting at my side, having my back.”

“We’re both grateful!” I piped up.

My words didn’t carry the same authority with the vampires as Mercy’s, but they weren’t rude about it. Several vampires made eye contact with me, grinned, and nodded.

The vampires suited up in stake-proof vests. Many of them took rifles and side-arms from the armory. Demeter distributed the firearms. A few vampires took bows and quivers. Some of them took crossbows, like Ladinas. Almost all of them carried swords, sheathed, and strapped to their backs. They also had daggers in smaller sheaths on their belts and strapped to their legs. Some of the daggers were made from oak rather than metal. Fancy stakes, shaped like knives, but more effective against vampires.

Demeter led the vampires out of the armory. Ladinas pulled up the rear with us. Willie hovered behind me. He fluttered his wings like a hummingbird. They were a constant blur. He could move like one, too. Impressive given his size. He was a wee Willie, but compared to any other creature that could move like that, he was large.

Ladinas had a headset on that he was using to communicate with Demeter.

“Once the convergence is clear, Demeter will let me know. They’re going to haul ass out of there and draw the sorcerer as far away as possible.”

“We’ll move fast,” I confirmed.

Mercy put her hand on my shoulder. “Can you move fast? You were pretty weak when you woke up.”

“I feel a lot better since I fed. My natural abilities are sustaining me well enough. There is something off, though. I can feel the curse lurking under whatever magic Willie used to restrain it. It’s like a pressure-cooker of nastiness, ready to explode.”

“That sounds right,” Willie said. “We should be prepared. I cannot say for certain where in the faerie realm we’ll emerge once we pass through my portal. Since Mug Ruith is using power from the Unseelie faeries, there’s a good chance we’ll start in that realm. The ingredients we need to heal you, however, are in the Seelie Forest.”

I nodded. “We’ll do what we must. If we hit the Unseelie Forest first, perhaps we can gain what we need there before we get the ingredients we need to dispel the curse.”

Mercy shook her head. “Saving you comes first.”

I snorted. “Saving the fucking world comes first, Mercy.”

“And how much good will any magical weapon do if we don’t have you to wield it? I might be a witch, but I’m not on your level. You are the top priority, and that’s that.”

I grunted. “Don’t make me use Nico’s sire bond.”

Mercy smirked. “You wouldn’t dare.”

We took the same route we did before to the forest. We waited behind the trees. Several gunshots fired in the distance. The vampires shouted war cries. It wasn’t the tactic one would use if they intended to take the sorcerer by surprise, but that was the opposite of the mission. They were trying to lure him away from the stone circle.

Ladinas touched his earpiece. “It’s working. Mug Ruith is in pursuit. Time to move in.”

Ladinas and Mercy led the way. We reached the convergence. Gunshots still sounded in the distance. No screams, so at least there was that. Given that we didn’t know the full extent of the sorcerer’s power, I was anxious about what he might do.

We didn’t have time to worry about it. As soon as Willie cast his magic, there was a good chance Mug Ruith would sense it and return to the convergence.

Willie flew around the circle. He lobbed orbs of magic at each of the stones and carried it with him until something like a large green and gold tornado swirled over the site.

“That’s it!” I shouted. “That’s the portal.”

“Looks just like a druid portal,” Mercy said. “See you on the other side.”

Ladinas looked at both of us. “Good luck.”

I nodded back at him. Mercy and I dove into the portal. Willie jumped in with us. The magic swirled around us and the next thing I knew, a force I couldn’t explain pulled us through what looked like some kind of wormhole, a channel, or a thread of mystic energies connecting the realms.

We landed on our feet in a dark forest. I looked around. Gigantic mushrooms surrounded us. The trees were tall and their branches full.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Just as I suspected, we arrived in the Unseelie Forest. We must move fast before anyone notices our presence.”

“How far from here is the Seelie Forest?” Mercy asked.

“Not far. But don’t think we’ll be safe when we arrive. Remember, my king isn’t any more welcoming than the Unseelie King. “

I nodded. “Lead the way, Willie.”

Chapter 7

I clutched at my chest and fell to one knee.

“What’s wrong?” Mercy asked.

I shook my head. “That damned curse. It’s like coming here awakened it.”

Willie nodded. “It’s to be expected. We’re in the Unseelie Forest, the place where the curse originated. Once we get back to the Seelie Forest, my magic will be stronger. It will help restrain the curse longer.”

Mercy nodded. “Like I said, Hailey. We can’t get what we need from here until you’re well.”

I sighed. I hated to admit it but I couldn’t deny what I was feeling. It was as if the curse was sucking the air out of my lungs every time I took a breath. As a vampire, I didn’t have to breathe, strictly speaking. I could survive under water if I had to. That didn’t mean struggling to breathe wasn’t uncomfortable and painful. It was like I’d inhaled metal shavings.

The skies above us were illuminated with a dark violet magic. It gave the illusion of night. In these realms, there wasn’t a sun. Whether it was light or dark depended on the magic in the air.

The air was sweet, but the scent didn’t hit my nostrils right. I sneezed. The pain spread across my chest.

“Damn it!” I screamed. “It’s like I’m allergic to these damned mushrooms and trees.”

Mercy shook her head. “Magic mushrooms are no joke.”

I chuckled. “Like you’d know.”

Mercy shrugged. “I was around in the sixties and seventies. Shrooms never did much for me, but I enjoyed the residual effects when I fed on hippies.”

I bit my lip. “I didn’t know it worked like that.”

“Our bites filter out alcohol. Other hallucinogens get through.”

Willie huffed. “Unseelie magic fills everything in this forest. Don’t touch the mushrooms.”

I grunted. “The spores are in the air. I’m not sure touching them is the problem.”

“Then don’t breathe,” Mercy said. “You don’t have to. It might be less painful not to breathe than to inhale this stuff.”

I winced. “This stuff doesn’t affect you at all?”

Mercy shrugged. “I feel nothing unusual. It must be on account of the curse.”

“Keep up the pace!” Willie said. “Less talking, more walking.”

“He’s right,” Mercy said. “We don’t have to breathe to live. We have to breathe to talk.”

I scratched the back of my head. She had a point. The more we talked about it, the more air I inhaled. The more air I inhaled, the more my lungs burned.

Several red lights floated in the distance. They looked like fireflies but a different color.

“What are those?” Mercy asked.

“Unseelie faeries,” Willie said. “They’re watching us.”

“Are they going to come after us?” Mercy asked.

“So long as we’re fleeing the forest, I think they’ll leave us be. There’s a treaty between the Seelie and Unseelie that allows for safe passage so long as we don’t take anything.”

I huffed. “Well, that will not hold when we return to get what we need.”

“Stop talking!” Willie and Mercy said in concert.

“Sorry.”

Mercy glared at me. Even saying “sorry” violated the no-talking rule.

The glow of the Unseelie appeared to get closer as we followed Willie down a long and winding trail.

“Are you sure they’ll leave us be?” Mercy asked.

“They should. Unless—“

“Unless what?” Mercy asked.

“Hailey’s curse. It’s Unseelie magic. They think we stole something.”

I stomped my foot on the ground. Willie and Mercy turned to me. I pointed straight ahead and grunted.

“Grunting takes breathing,” Mercy said.

I pointed more forcefully ahead. How much clearer could I be without using words?

“She’s right,” Mercy said. “We should pick up the pace.”

We took off running straight ahead. Until a woman appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the trail. Her eyes were dark. Red magic glowed from her eye-sockets, down her cheek. It resembled the look of a drunk girl with too much makeup who’d spent the night crying at a bar.

“Hello, ladies.”

Mercy tilted her head. “Who are you?”

The woman looked at Willie. “Care to introduce me to your friends, Wee Willie?”

“Leave us be,” Willie said. “I’m trying to save one of them from an Unseelie curse.”

“Since your faerie guide is so rude, I’m the Leanhuam-Shee. You are vampires, are you not?”

Mercy nodded. “What is it to you?”

“Don’t talk to her,” Willie said. “We don’t have time for this.”

“You can call me Leann if it’s easier.”

“What do you want, Leann?” Mercy asked.

Leann stepped past Mercy and approached me. She placed her hands on my forehead. A tingle passed through her fingertips. The pain in my chest subsided. “That should help for a time.”

I grunted. “Thanks. I think.”

“Don’t thank her! We must keep moving!”

Leann raised her hand. “Quiet, Willie.”

“I know your curse,” Leann said. “Let me guess. Mug Ruith is responsible.”

I nodded. “How did you know?”

Leann smiled. “He’s the one who got away.”

“You two were lovers?” I asked.

“Leann!” Willie piped up. “We don’t have time for this.”

“I’ve given her time. You should thank me, Willie. If you don’t like what I have to propose, you can go with Willie. Try to find your cure. Has he told you the ingredients required?”

“Not specifically.”

“We have everything we need in the Seelie Forest!” Willie shouted. “That’s all that matters.”

Leann laughed. “Most of the ingredients are common. The spores of a mushroom connected to a faerie ring. Water drawn from a Seelie spring. A scrape of moss from the north side of a fae-wood oak. It’s the last ingredient that will be a challenge.”

“What is the final ingredient, Willie?” I asked.

“Are you going to tell them, or should I?” Leann asked.

Willie grunted. “The blood of the Faerie King.”

I gulped. “The same king who wants you dead or exiled?”

Willie folded his arms around his chest. “What other king is there?”

“Willie!” I shouted. “I told you, I won’t put you at risk to do this!”

“It’s not a risk! You can draw on his blood. That’s what you do!”

I bit my lip. “Maybe. I can access the power in blood, but I’ve never dabbled in faerie blood before.”

Leann raised her finger. “That’s what I’m here to offer you.”

“Do you know what she is?” Willie asked. “Don’t trust her!”

I tilted my head. “What are you?”

“I’m a faerie, of course. I don’t have wings. Faeries come in many sizes and shapes.”

“You’re not telling them the truth,” Willie said. “She’s a vampire faerie!”

Mercy smirked. “I wasn’t aware there was such a thing! Were you made by Baron Samedi?”

Leann laughed. “I was the inspiration and pattern of the Baron’s creation. Like you, I consume human blood. I feast on their souls. You’re not so different from our kind. You are to humans what the Unseelie Faeries are to our kind. I am invisible to women. On earth, at least. I seduce men, I make love to them, and feed on their souls through intercourse. I only consume their blood when I’ve taken all I can recreationally.”

“She kills everyone she feeds upon,” Willie said. “She’s not like you two.”

Leann shrugged. “There are differences between our kinds, I grant you that. When Baron Samedi created the first vampire, he fused Niccolo Freeman with my essence. I was the prototype. Fascinating history, of course, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“Why are you here?” I asked. “What do you want from us?”

“I want what you want. I want the one who got away back in my thrall. I want to finish what I started with the one called Mug Ruith.”

I shrugged. “Fine with me. We just want him gone.”

“And you should! Let me guess. He’s rallying vampires to his cause.”

I nodded. “He’s been turning younglings. Probably not himself. We think he’s using another vampire to do it.”

“Why do you suppose he’d do that?” Leann asked.

“We don’t know,” Mercy said. “I suspect you’re about to tell us.”

“Because my magic, my essence, is a part of your kind. He’s not making an army of vampires to fight. He’s using vampires as a source of power.”

“Like batteries?” I asked. “If you know what batteries are.”

“I visit earth from time to time,” Leann said. “I know what batteries are and the analogy is accurate. He’s creating vampires, but using a bit of the power he stole from me to prevent the Baron from claiming their souls. He’s using their souls, combined by their nature, to gain faerie magic for himself.”

“Why is he using a convergence to connect to this realm?” I asked. “If he’s getting the power he needs from vampires, why bother?”

“Like attracts like. The more power he gains from the vampires, the more he can draw from our realm. He won’t rest until he’s drained all the power he can from our realm. He’ll use that power to terraform the world. Then create an Unseelie Forest of his own where he’s the Faerie King.”

I glanced at Mercy. “The prophecy.”

Mercy nodded. “There’s a saint of old who said that Mug Ruith intended to use some kind of flying machine to destroy Europe.”

Leann nodded. “A vessel forged from the trees of our realm, granted flight by our magic. When all is said and done, he’ll leave the Unseelie Forest little more than a shade of what it is now.”

“Where has he been all these years?” I asked. “It’s been centuries since he showed his face on earth.”

“That’s because he was my prisoner. I made the mistake ages ago of seducing him. I underestimated the power he’d already gained from our realm through human sacrifice. He warped that power, corrupted it through a magic I do not know. When I took some of his power, he infected me in turn. The magic he used has spread slowly through the centuries through my form. I held him prisoner, I tortured him, I begged him to tell me how he did it. How to cure the curse he cast upon me. He never broke. Over time, the infection weakened me. He escaped my prison and returned to earth.”

“So Mug Ruith isn’t a vampire?” I asked.

Leann shook her head. “He is not. But he could be.”

“You want me to turn him?” I asked.

Leann nodded. “If you can do that, he’ll be beholden to your sire bond. You can compel him to return to me, where I can bind him forever.”

“Don’t listen to her!” Willie pleaded. “There’s another way.”

Leann raised her finger. “I believe Mug Ruith infected you with a curse like mine. However, I cannot approach the Faerie King. If you can acquire the cure, I only ask that you secure a dose for me as well. Curses like that are like viruses. Once you’re cured, the same curse cannot afflict you twice.”

“That might be true. I still can’t get to him. We tried. He’s powerful.”

“I can give you what you need. Consider it a simple trade. The cure for the power to resist any spell Mug Ruith might cast against you.”

“What happens after you’re cured?” I asked. “You come back to earth and start feeding on people again?”

“Dearest witch, I’ve never stopped feeding on men. I will do nothing more than I’ve always done. Trust me, those I choose are men who deserve it. You’ve never heard of me until now. I can promise you, unless you come upon me by chance, you’ll never hear from me again.”

“Can we trust that you’ll stick to your word?” Mercy asked.

“Ask Willie.”

“Willie? What’s the truth?”

“Faeries cannot lie. They can deceive. What she says is true, but it is likely she has other plans and schemes she’s yet to reveal.”

I tilted my head. “That applies to both the Seelie and the Unseelie faeries?”

Willis pinched his chin. “I think so! I’m not really sure now that you mention it. It’s not a topic we think much about. It’s sort of like your digestion system. It’s just the way it is. Not suitable for civilized conversation.”

Leann waved her hand through the air. “This realm courses with dark magic, but it is faerie magic. There are legends of Unseelie faeries who gained the power to speak untruths. I am not one of them. My schemes do not concern the earth.”

I rolled my eyes. “Which is exactly what an Unseelie faerie who could lie would say.”

Leann snickered. “That’s true. You’ll have to decide for yourself. You can trust that I’m speaking the truth and take this opportunity to both save yourself and defeat Mug Ruith. Or you can go about your business and fend for yourselves.”

I pressed my lips together. “Suppose we do this. We still have a problem. How can we get the Faerie King’s blood without putting Willie at risk?”

“Or being taken prisoner by the Seelie Faerie King ourselves,” Mercy added.

Leann pinched her chin. “You wield the power of blood, do you not?”

I nodded. “In a way.”

“What kind of power can you gain from blood?” Leann asked.

“There are powers in all blood I can wield, like any witch who dabbles in blood magic might. As a blood witch and a vampire, I can access other powers latent in the soul.”

“You can gain vampiric abilities, new skills, by cycling the blood through your soul.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s exactly correct.”

“Bite me,” Leann said. “Use my power to seduce the Faerie King. He’ll give you whatever you desire. Including his blood.”

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Mercy asked. “I’ve never fed on a faerie before. What will it do to her?”

Leann laughed. “It will not harm you at all. We are more alike than different. The only side-effect I can imagine is that with my blood, you’ll be more like me. Your soul will once again be your own. The Baron will have no leverage over you and if you ever die, your eternal destiny will depend on you alone.”

“I won’t be damned to vampire hell?” I asked.

Leann shook her head. “You’ll join me here if you like. It’s not paradise, I grant, but it certainly beats hell.”

“You’re telling me that if I ever die I’ll be an Unseelie Faerie like you?”

“I suspect so,” Leann said. “Of course, it’s never been done before. And it may never happen if your earthly form never perishes.”

“And before I die?” I asked. “How will I be different after I do this?”

“Again, there’s no way to say for sure. You will live. I can promise you that. Given your current predicament, I’d say that’s a step up.”

I took a deep breath. My lungs didn’t hurt. Whatever power she’d used to restrain the curse, albeit temporarily, was working. “What are your thoughts, Willie?”

Willie shook his head. “I cannot make this decision for you. It could work. There is still another option.”

“Your original plan. We take the king’s blood by force. If by some miracle we escape the Seelie Forest, we still have to come here and steal a power or a weapon that we can use against Mug Ruith.”

“Attempt that,” Leann said, “and every faerie in the Unseelie Forest will rise up to stop you. You’ll never make it back to earth.”

“Is this true, Willie?”

Willie sighed. “It was always a long-shot. She’s right. Our chances of escape are slim.”

I grunted. “Alright, Leann. I’ll do it.”

Leann tilted her head to the side. “Take and drink.”

I bit the faerie. Her blood tingled in my mouth. The power penetrated my body. It didn’t cure the curse, of course, but it was like I’d fed on a thousand men at once and cycled the power latent in their blood.

After releasing Leann, I took a step back. “I can feel it. I’m changing.”

“You’re cycling my power. You have everything you need to secure our cure.”

“One question,” Mercy said. “If he cursed you the same way he cursed Hailey, why aren’t you dead?”

Leann shook her head. “That’s where vampires and I differ. It is not easy to kill me within the confines of the Unseelie Forest. The power here sustains me. So long as I am here, the curse is dormant. I can only make brief trips to earth where I must go to feed. My trips to the Seelie Forest are even more dubious. You are my only hope. Complete this task and I will give you what you need to stand against Mug Ruith.”

Chapter 8

Leann was kind enough to escort us to the border of the Seelie Forest. Then again, I suspected kindness had little to do with it. She couldn’t get what she needed without me.

Now came the less-than-delightful part. Find the Faerie King and seduce him. If he was anything like Willie by appearance, it was going to take an Oscar-worthy performance to pull it off.

This wasn’t the first time I’d had a seduce-and-betray mission. The first time I met Corbin, the plan was to seduce and assassinate him. Things didn’t go quite according to plan post-seduction. At least Corbin was attractive. We were the same species. Of course, I didn’t have to sleep with the king. I just had to get close enough to bite him and collect his blood.

We crossed the border into the Seelie Forest. The green and pink magic that filled the skies made it brighter than the Unseelie Forest.

Mercy nudged me in the ribs. “Ready to go represent the lollipop guild?”

I huffed. “Shut up.”

“Nothing wrong with screwing a faerie!” Willie piped up. “Size isn’t important.”

Mercy and I exchanged glances and laughed. I bit my tongue. I wasn’t trying to offend Willie but, you know, that’s the sort of thing one would expect a wee little man to say.

“I’m not going to screw him. I just have to seduce him and convince him to trust me so I can get his blood.”

Mercy snickered. “What? Doing a faerie isn’t on your fuck-it list?”

“What the hell is a fuck-it list?”

Mercy grinned. “Everyone you want to fuck before you die.”

“I don’t have a list like that. Besides, I’m with Connor! Do you have a list like that?”

Mercy shrugged. “Maybe. None of your business.”

“I know you’re a fan of Interview with the Vampire. You realize, Brad Pitt isn’t an actual vampire, right?”

Mercy sighed. “One of my few regrets. I should have turned him while he was still young.”

“He’s still young enough. Who are you to complain? You’re old enough to be his great-great grandmother.”

“I look good for my age, don’t I?”

I chuckled. “One of the many perks of being a vampire. You’re a regular g-gilf.”

Mercy raised an eyebrow? “G-gilf?”

“A gilf with a stutter. What do you think it means?”

Mercy chuckled. “I suppose we’d better gather all the simpler ingredients first.”

Willie flew around me and grabbed onto my back. “There’s a field of mushrooms not far from here. We’ll be there soon.”

We continued hiking straight ahead. Willie flew off my back to lead the way down a small trail between two large trees.

“Don’t touch the trees.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Faeries live within the trees. Touch one and you’ll be sucked into someone’s home.”

“Don’t touch any tree?”

“There’s no telling which ones are occupied.”

“How many faeries live inside a tree?” Mercy asked.

“Depends. Some of them house hundreds.”

I scratched the back of my head. “How do so many fit inside a tree?”

Willie smiled from ear to ear. “Magic! Duh!”

We continued down a path. I’d call it a trail, but since the faeries didn’t walk a lot, there wasn’t much of a beaten path. The grasses were full and green. Flower blossoms of every color imaginable were scattered throughout.

A green orb appeared ahead from behind one of the trees. It moved in our direction.

Willie ducked behind me. “I’m not here!”

“What’s the deal?” I asked.

The green glow materialized into the shape of a faerie about Willie’s size. She had pink hair and a cute button nose.

“What are you doing here Willie?”

Willie peeked over my shoulder. “Wanda! Fancy seeing you here.”

“I live here. I thought you were in hiding. Are you mental? If the king finds you--”

I cleared my throat. “I’m Hailey. Nice to meet you.”

Wanda grunted. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, Willie!”

Willie took a deep breath and flew around me, his head hung low. “I had to come.”

Mercy tucked a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ears. “I take it you two know each other?”

“You could say that.”

“Could say that?” Wanda huffed. “I’m his wife!”

I almost choked on my tongue. “You’re married?”

“Have you been poking humans? Have you poked these vampires, Willie? Tell me the truth.”

I shook my head. “He’s never poked me.”

“Me neither!” Mercy said. “Haven’t seen him do any poking at all.”

Wanda folded her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t believe you. Like you could resist Wee Willie.”

I bit my lip. “He’s a stallion, but no. I swear. He’s been faithful.”

“That better be true, Willie. If I find out you’ve been poking around, Wee Willie will become No Willie.”

“Damn,” I chuckled under my breath. “She’s not playing, Willie.”

“She never does. I promise, baby! You’re my one and only.”

Wanda smiled. “Better be. Now, what are you doing here? It’s not safe, Willie!”

“Hailey was cursed by Mug Ruith. We’re here to gather the ingredients for the antidote.”

“I knew you weren’t the smartest faerie in the forest, Willie, but that’s suicide. You can’t possibly get the last ingredient. Not when the king wants your head on a pike.”

I wasn’t sure if it was wise to tell Wanda our plan. Even Willie wasn’t a fan of it and given that Wanda hadn’t exactly presented herself as an open-minded faerie, telling her about Leann wasn’t likely to go over well.

“We’re going to keep Willie out of it. We don’t want to put him at risk. I’m going to approach the king myself.”

Wanda stared at me blankly. “Good luck with that. You’re a vampire. The king thinks your kind is an abomination.”

I shrugged. “If he knows what’s at stake, how Mug Ruith is using faerie magic, and intends to create a new Unseelie Forest on earth, I’m hoping he’ll be empathetic to our cause.”

Wanda pinched her chin. “Good luck with that. I suppose you need a few more ingredients.”

I nodded. “We do.”

“Follow me!”

We didn’t need Wanda to show us where to get what we needed. Willie already knew. Still, she was there and wasn’t going anywhere. She was less interested in helping me than she was in making sure that we got in and out of the forest as quickly as possible. She was worried about Willie. I couldn’t blame her. I was worried about him, too. It was the primary reason I was reluctant to come to the faerie realms to begin with.

Willie joined Wanda and flew ahead of us. They were bickering about something. Probably Willie’s foolishness. He helped me to begin with, which was why he was exiled from the forest. Now, he was helping me again and put himself at risk to do it.

We stopped at a tree. Wanda flew right into it.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“This is our home,” Willie said. “She’s getting a few supplies.”

“Does she know we need two doses?”

“I told her we want to make more than one. Just in case Mug Ruith curses someone else.”

“Smart,” Mercy said. “Probably shouldn’t tell her the full truth.”

Willie sighed. “I know. If she finds out, though, she won’t like it.”

Chapter 9

Wanda emerged from the tree. It was sort of strange. A knot on the trunk twisted open and closed as she came and went. Wanda was roughly the size of Willie. The tree wasn’t large. Its girth could barely accommodate one, much less a family of faeries. Magic must’ve shrunk them down to the size of ants when they went inside for a tree of such diminutive proportions.

Wanda’s arms barely fit around two beakers

They were nearly half her size, but when she handed them to me, they fit easily into my palms.

“I can ask my neighbors if you need more.”

I shook my head. “Thank you, Wanda. Two should be sufficient. I don’t need to drink an entire beaker for this to work, do I?”

Wanda shrugged. “Hard to know? Not sure the proper dosage for giants.”

I chuckled. “I’m not a giant. I’m human.”

“What’s the difference?”

“I haven’t met a lot of giants. I assume it’s mostly a difference in size. Giants are bigger than humans.”

Wanda shook her head as she flew past me and grabbed Willie’s hand. “Big folk all look the same to me.”

Mercy and I looked at each other and laughed. We followed Willie and Wanda through the trees until we reached a field of faerie shrooms. Several small creatures buzzed around. They glowed with a white light and had human-like bodies. They were five or six inches tall.

“What are those?” I asked.

Willie turned back. “Pixies. Another kind of faerie.”

“Faeries and pixies aren’t the same thing?” Mercy asked.

Wanda huffed. “Why do they always think we’re all the same?”

I cleared my throat. “You just said big people all look alike.”

“That’s true, though! We’re clearly different from pixies!”

I snickered. “Clearly? I see the difference. I’m guessing their magic is different?”

Willie nodded. “Pixies are like your honeybees, but way smarter. They’re as intelligent as any faerie. However, their purpose is to nurture the forest. Our purpose is to protect it and to ensure that our magics aren’t exploited by outsiders.”

Mercy smiled. “Outsiders like us?”

Willie nodded. “Pretty much.”

Willie and Wanda darted around the mushrooms. A pixie buzzed around me, sniffing at me as if confused about what I was. I handed Mercy the beakers. I held out my hand and the pixie hovered over it. She waved something like a wand at my face. I sneezed.

She flew off, giggling.

“What was that about?” Mercy asked.

“Just how they say hello,” Willie said. “Don’t mind them. Pixies don’t bite. Just watch your eyes.”

“Watch our eyes?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I said they don’t bite. They poke people in the eyes instead. You’ll be fine so long as you stay calm and don’t make any sudden movements.”

Wanda flew around the mushrooms, gathering spores. Willie darted in and out of the trees on the perimeter. They each flew back and dropped various ingredients into each of the two beakers in Mercy’s hands. The pixies flew around both of us, examining us, speaking to each other in such a high pitch that I couldn’t make out their words. Then again, they were probably speaking Pixish. If that’s a thing.

I watched as the two faeries navigated between the mushrooms and trees, playing with the pixies as they went about gathering the ingredients. The beakers were about half full by the time they were done.

“All that’s left is the Faerie King’s blood,” Wanda said. “You sure he’ll agree to help?”

I shrugged. “What choice do I have? It’s that or I die.”

“And if she dies,” Mercy added, “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to take on Mug Ruith alone.”

Wanda sighed. “Well, we certainly don’t want that sorcerer making a new Unseelie Forest. That would be dreadful.”

Willie was turning purple holding his breath. Apparently he was afraid if he opened his mouth he’d give away our real plan.

“Where do we go next?” Mercy asked.

“Willie can’t come with you,” Wanda said. “And I’m not leaving his side. You’ll have to go looking for the king alone.”

I tilted my head. “Could one of these pixies lead the way?”

“Sure,” Wanda said. “But they’re known for taking the scenic route. Follow a pixie’s lead and she’ll give you a tour of every tree between here and your destination.”

I cleared my throat. “Alright. Well, you’re right. It’s probably best if Willie keeps his distance. How do we find the Faerie King?”

Wanda shook her head. “You don’t find him. He finds you. It’s a wonder he hasn’t yet. Get as far from here as possible and we’ll go in the opposite direction. Don’t leave the forest. Not if you want the king to find you. If you want to speed things up a bit, whistle a tune.”

“Whistle, what kind of tune?” Mercy asked.

“Doesn’t matter! Just purse your lips and blow. The Faerie King can’t resist a good whistle!”

I sighed. “Yeah, well, I can’t whistle for shit.”

Wanda giggled. “You’re not whistling for shit, silly. You’re whistling for the king!”

Mercy snickered. “She means she doesn’t know how to whistle. I suppose I’ll have to do it.”

“You don’t know how to whistle, Hailey? It’s easy peasy! I’d show you, but then the king might show.”

I bit my lip. “Yeah, well, I’ve tried to whistle more times than I can count. My lips just don’t work that way.”

“It’s more about breath control than your lips,” Wanda said. “You’re probably blowing too hard.”

Mercy raised an eyebrow. “That’s what he said.”

I stifled a laugh. “We don’t do that! He’s afraid of my fangs.”

“He thinks you’re going to bite it right off or something?”

I grinned. “Probably. No skin off my back. I’d rather not do it, anyway. Yuck.”

“Do what?” Wanda asked. “I’m not following.”

I sighed. “You don’t want to know.”

Willie flew over to me and wrapped his arms around my neck. “You be careful. Come find me when you’re done.”

“How are we going to find you?” I asked.

“Easy! We passed our tree before. That’s where I’ll be.”

“And how do I find that tree? The trees all look similar.”

“Don’t worry,” Wanda said. “I’ll be on the lookout. Can’t be too careful when your hubby’s a wanted faerie. Just head back this way and I’ll find you.”

I nodded. “Alright. Well, thanks for the ingredients. Is there anything I need to do once I collect the blood to make this elixir work?”

“Not much,” Willie said. “Just make sure it’s well mixed and it should do the trick.”

Chapter 10

Mercy and I headed off through the forest while Willie and Wanda left in the opposite direction. We barely left the mushroom and pixie clearing when I heard a lot of high-pitched screaming and shouting. It was coming from the direction Willie and Wanda took when we parted ways.

“Damn it! We have to go back.”

Mercy grabbed my hand. “It sounds like a lot of faeries out there. If we go after Willie and Wanda our presence will only confirm that he’s helping us.”

I yanked my hand out of Mercy’s grip. “Once we reveal ourselves to the king do you really think he’ll assume it’s a coincidence that Willie returned at the same time we came to the forest? They’ll know he was the one who brought us here.”

“Do you really think the king is there? He wouldn’t be out on patrol looking for Willie. They’re probably lackeys. Soldiers, if the faeries have soldiers. If they see us, they will not be concerned with taking us as prisoners. They’ll either kick us out of the realm or kill us.”

I huffed. “I’d like to see them try.”

“You don’t understand how powerful faeries are. If Mug Ruith got his power from faeries, how powerful do you think actual faeries are? Besides, even if we could fight them and get away, we’re not really sure how to kill them. If it’s possible to kill them at all.”

I grabbed my wand from the pocket I’d sewn into the thigh of my pants. “I’ll take my chances. Willie came back here to help us. I won’t allow them to arrest him.”

Mercy grabbed my wrist and wrested my wand out of my grip. “I know you can use Nico’s sire bond to make me give this back. Listen to me for one second before you rush in there and compromise this entire mission.”

I clenched my fists. “Fine.”

“It’s too late. They have Willie. Our best chance to save him is to stick to the plan. We go to the king. You use Leann’s seduction ability to convince him to both give you his blood and free Willie.”

I snickered. “Free Willie.”

Mercy shook her head. “That movie was lame.”

“Was not. It’s a classic. Whatever. I guess you have a point.”

Mercy nodded and placed my wand back in my hand. “We’ll save him. You will, anyway. Who knows what they’ll do to me?”

I took a deep breath. “Go back to Wanda. She’s not the outlaw. If my plan fails, it will fall to you two to save Willie and me.”

Mercy pressed her lips together. “If the plan fails, there won’t be any saving you. The curse will take you if the faeries don’t.”

I shook my head. “There’s more than one way to take someone’s blood. If he won’t give it to us, if Leann’s abilities don’t work, there’s no one who I’d trust to do what has to be done more than you.”

“I already told you. We don’t know how to kill faeries.”

“Maybe not. I bet Wanda does. And even if you can’t, you don’t have to kill one to take his blood.”

Mercy sighed. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

Mercy turned to leave.

“Mercy.”

“Yes, Hailey?”

“Be careful.”

Mercy nodded and handed me the beakers. I ripped off the bottom of my shirt and tore the piece in two. I tied the cloth around the tops of the beakers to keep the ingredients contained.“You too. You’ve got this.”

The shrill faerie screams stopped. That meant they probably had Willie. Hopefully, we were right that they wouldn’t arrest Wanda. Aiding and abetting, or whatever. Faerie laws weren’t human laws. There was no way to know for sure.

All I could do was run as far away as possible. One problem I didn’t think of when I sent Mercy away—I didn’t know how to whistle.

It’s always the minor but crucial details that I overlook in the heat of the moment. All I was thinking about was Willie—and keeping Mercy safe. She was right. We didn’t know how to fight the faeries. I thought if I sent her to Wanda I could carry out the plan, seduce the king, save Willie, and be done with it. Mercy would be fine. No risk of something bad happening to her while I was attempting to seduce the king. I’d take the elixir, bring Leann her share, and we’d leave together to stop Mug Ruith.

If only I could whistle.

I pursed my lips and blew. Nothing but the sound of air escaping my lips. I tried that thing that some people do where they put their thumb and forefinger in their mouths to whistle. I ended up with spit on my fingers, but that was it. I wiped my fingers off on my shirt.

I tried to mimic the sound of a whistle by throwing my voice into falsetto. Nothing happened.

I sat down in the grass. There had to be a way to get the king’s attention. If I couldn’t whistle with my lips, maybe I could use something else to make a similar sound. When I was a girl, I used to use blades of grass to make a high-pitched squeak. I’d put the blade between my thumbs and blow on it. I plucked a blade from the ground and made the sound. It wasn’t close enough to a whistle.

I set the beakers beside me. I looked at them for a moment.

That might just work.

I pulled the remnants of my shirt off one beaker. I emptied the contents into one hand. I was careful not to drop any. I didn’t know how precise the quantities were for the elixir and didn’t want to risk screwing it up.

I placed the rim of the beaker on my bottom lip and blew. It produced a sound a lot lower than a whistle, but it was a whistle of a sort. I repeated the sound a few times before I put the ingredients back into the beaker and tied the cloth from my shirt over it again.

I looked around and waited. It was a long shot, but unless I could train myself to whistle the usual way—something I’d failed to do after years of trying—it was the best shot I had.

Three glowing green orbs appeared in the distance. They emerged from a tree straight ahead. If that was the king, that tree was his castle.

The orbs didn’t take shape. I had no way of knowing if one of them was the king or not. But if the king sent them, if they were more of his soldiers, I knew where to find him.

I’d encountered the Faerie King once before. When I entered the faerie realm on my quest to recover Merrick’s grimoire. If the faeries showed their true forms, I’d know if the king was with them. I didn’t know how to force them to do that. I didn’t know if any spells I had would do a darn thing to slow them down. What I knew how to do was run. As a vampire, there was a chance I could outrun them.

I took off toward the tree they had emerged from. They came after me. I juked my body like an NFL running back. I wasn’t much of an athlete, but when you have adrenaline on your side, there’s no telling what’s possible.

Two of the three faerie orbs collided. They shrieked. The other orb shot at me. I ran so hard that if the ground had feelings, it would scream in pain.

I held the beakers tight with one hand and gripped my wand with the other. I aimed my wand at the ground. My magic might not hurt the faeries, but I could still use it. The force sent me flying fast toward the tree.

All I had to do was touch it. That’s what Wanda said. My body slammed into the trunk—but it didn’t hurt. It didn’t stop me. Instead, golden magic surrounded me. It flowed around me like sap.

My feet landed on a wooden floor. I looked up and saw the Faerie King sitting on a throne grown from vines. Green and pink blossoms sprouted from it.

The king stood from his throne. Now that I was in his domain—inside his tree—we were of a similar size and stature. “The blood witch returns. I’d say it’s a pleasant surprise, but it’s neither under pleasant circumstances that you’re here, nor is it a surprise.”

“What are you talking about?”

The Faerie King smiled at me. “I’ve been expecting you, Hailey.”

Chapter 11

“What do you mean you’ve been expecting me? I thought this was going to be a surprise.”

The Faerie King stood from his throne as he laughed. “For centuries the security of our realm was secured by the gatekeepers. Merlin and Lilith traversed the fabric of time and ensured no one could enter our forests, or pass between any realms, without their permission. There were rare exceptions, of course. There were always ways to bypass the gatekeepers, but such incursions were rare enough that we could deal with it. Such is no longer the case.”

“You’re talking about the mystical convergences.”

The Faerie King nodded. “That’s one word for it, I suppose. Despite the gatekeepers’ ability to move through time, there was always a point in the future in every realm they couldn’t move beyond. Naturally, we assumed it was the end of time.”

“Well, we’re still living and breathing.”

The Faerie King nodded. “The time the gatekeepers could not move beyond came and went. I have a theory if you’d like to hear it.”

I shrugged. “I’m all ears.”

“The gatekeepers were mortal. Descended from dryads, yes. Their power came from the Tree of Life. But they were mortal, no less. Given enough time, they could only do so much. They could only keep the gates for so long. Every mortal is finite. The realms are infinite. Inevitably, a time would come when they’d done all they could do.”

I tilted my head. “I’ve met Merlin. He’s just a boy. He lives with his father in Missouri. He’s supposed to go back in time later, go to Camelot, go to Annwn to guard the gates.”

“And he will go back. He cannot go forward. While he exists in many times, past and future, his life still has a beginning and an end. Nonetheless, the gatekeepers themselves knew this was true. They allowed the gates to open, they strategically granted power to a few who were worthy, so that when their time ended, when the era of the gatekeepers passed, the era of the guardians could begin.”

I pressed my lips together. “Merrick told me I was a guardian. So was Mercy.”

“Merlin’s father, Elijah Wadsworth, is numbered among them as well. So is your old friend, Nicky or Nyx, in Kansas City. There are more who you do not know and still more who must become guardians. Vampires are especially well-suited for this role.”

“Because we can live forever?”

The Faerie King nodded. “I believed your kind to be an abomination. Now, I believe your creation was planned all along by the gatekeepers.”

“You’re telling me that Merlin and Lilith schemed to create vampires? I thought we were made by Baron Samedi. Made from the essence of the Leanhuam-Shee.”

The Faerie King tilted his head. “Perhaps Baron Samedi was simply doing what the gatekeepers told him he must. To create a formidable race that might protect the gates in the future. However, I must ask, how do you know of the Leanhuam-Shee?”

I took a deep breath. I hadn’t expected this conversation. Leann said I’d have to seduce the Faerie King. I had to make a choice. Tell the Faerie King the truth or stick to the plan. Was this conversation just a way to distract me until the Faerie King’s legions could return and bind me? Or was it Leann who deceived me? She was among the Unseelie, after all, a murderess who fed on human souls. I had to find out more. That meant telling the Faerie King as much as I could—except that I’d cycled Leann’s power. I had to keep that ace in my back pocket, just in case.

“Mug Ruith escaped the Unseelie Forest. He came to earth through the convergence in Exeter. He started making vampires. That’s what got our attention.”

The Faerie King narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean he escaped?”

“He was a prisoner in the Unseelie Forest, wasn’t he?”

The Faerie King huffed. “Hardly. He ruled the Unseelie Forest. There isn’t a creature there who doesn’t do his bidding.”

I gulped. “Including Leann?”

“Especially Leann. She is his queen, bound to him by a curse.”

I grunted. “Well, isn’t that dandy?”

“What is it you’re not telling me, Hailey?”

I took a deep breath. “Mug Ruith hit me with a curse. That’s why I came here. I needed a cure.”

“My blood.”

I nodded. “Right. Leann found us when we passed through the convergence. She asked me to bite her. She said her power could be used to seduce you into giving me your blood. All she wanted in return was a dose of the cure herself and she said she had something she could give us that would allow us to overpower Mug Ruith’s magic.”

The Faerie King shook his head. “You’ve been deceived.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I was picking up on that.”

“Mug Ruith’s curse afflicts all of the Unseelie. It’s a part of what makes them Unseelie. It’s one reason why our forests are divided. They don’t serve him willingly. They do so because they have no choice.”

“Like a sire bond with vampires?”

“Similar, yes, but it’s more than that. The Unseelie are irrevocably corrupted. Even if the curse was removed, their nature would remain warped, tainted, and power-hungry.”

I tilted my head. “If Mug Ruith’s curse corrupted them, what about Leann? She said she’d attempted to seduce and feed upon Mug Ruith. That’s when he cursed her.”

“A half-truth. Leann is a faerie, but she is also a demon. A succubus.”

I gulped. “Some kind of nasty hybrid?”

“You could say that.”

“Well, that tracks. Succubi drain people’s souls through intercourse, right?”

“Precisely. Faerie magic isn’t passed through blood that way. If you cycled her power, she infected you not with faerie power, but with demon blood.”

“Is there anything we can do to fix that?”

The Faerie King shook his head. “The power will transform you if you use it. Until you do, it will have no power over you.”

“So she wanted me to seduce you so I’d transform?”

“That’s a part of it. She wanted my blood for the cure, just as you assumed. She also knew if you used her power against me, it would kill me. Her goal is not merely to spread the Unseelie Forest to earth. She wants to corrupt all the faeries, to claim my forest as her own, and from there, all the otherworld.”

“So if I don’t use her power, we stop her, right?”

“She intended to help you kill Mug Ruith both so that she might have her revenge on him, but also so that you, the protector, might become like her. Her counterpart on earth. You must never use her power.”

“Wait. Does that mean no sex?”

“No intercourse at all. If you do, you’ll both kill your lover and begin the transformation into a succubus yourself.”

“Well, isn’t that fantastic? Connor is going to be thrilled.”

“Who is Connor?”

I sighed. “My wolf-shifter boyfriend. Are you certain there’s no way to fix this?”

“There is one way, but it won’t be easy.”

“I’m up for the challenge.”

“You must kill Leann before your power takes hold. It will not cycle through you completely until you use the power. If she dies, her essence within you will fade.”

“Let me put these pieces together. Mug Ruith’s curse can only be cured with an elixir brewed from your blood. Leann knew that, which is why she tricked me into all of this. Mug Ruith knew it as well, but he also knew she could never come to the Seelie Forest herself to secure your blood for herself.”

The Faerie King nodded. “She is not at all averse to spreading the Unseelie Forest to earth. She simply wishes you, as her progeny, to be the one who spreads it. Not Mug Ruith, who still controls her through the curse.”

“If I’m like her progeny, does that mean she can manipulate me, too?”

“Only if you cycle her power and become a succubus yourself.”

“How do I kill a succubus?”

“Leann was not wrong. Vampires were made in part from the blood of a succubus but you are also very different. You only consume souls through feeding. You need not kill everyone you bite. That is to say, you are a weaker version of what she is. The same principle applies to how you might be killed. A stake through the heart will kill you, though only temporarily. Your heart must be burned. A succubus can be killed if staked once. There is no need to burn her heart.”

“Alright. Well, that makes this a lot easier.”

The Faerie King extended his finger. “Except the stake must be forged from the Tree of Life.”

I bit my lip. “Alright. Well, the Seelie Forest is connected to the garden groves, correct? We can get to the Tree of Life from here.”

“Herein lies the problem. Leann’s power has not matured within you, but it’s still a part of you. The Tree of Life will not yield the weapon you require to you so long as you’re corrupted.”

I pressed my lips together. “I brought a friend with me. She’s a vampire and a witch as well. Can she get the stake?”

“Perhaps. If she’s worthy. Still, to remove Leann’s infection, you will have to be the one to drive the stake through her heart.”

I nodded. “Alright. So, Mercy gets the stake. She gives it to me. I do the deed. Badda bing. Badda boom. I can screw my boyfriend again.”

“Again, this presents us with another complication.”

I sighed. “Of course there’s another complication. Should have seen that coming.”

“In your hand, a living branch or, in this case, a stake from the Tree of Life will burn. The pain you’ll have to endure to use the stake will be unlike anything you could imagine. If you do not finish the deed quickly, it may even kill you.”

I scratched the back of my head. “Alright. If that’s what it takes. I can handle the pain.”

“There’s still one more matter that must be addressed.”

“My cure?” I asked.

The Faerie King laughed. “Yes. I’ll give you what you need. However, with Leann dead, you’ll still have to deal with Mug Ruith.”

“If I’m cured of his curse, he can’t use that against me again, though, right?”

The Faerie King nodded. “That is correct. You will be immune to the curse. There are many other ways, however, that he might kill you. He will not be easy to defeat.”

I shook my head. “I’ll find a way to handle him. Immunity won’t hurt. How about that cure?”

The Faerie King glanced down at my hand. “Give me the beaker. I trust the other necessary ingredients are ready?”

“Willie and Wanda took care of that.”

The Faerie King smiled. “Yes, Wee Willie Winker. He’s been a thorn in my side for years. I hope his exile, however, has proven useful to you.”

I tilted my head. “He’s been invaluable.”

The Faerie King nodded. “Just as I’d hoped. Willie is not our prisoner. We took him before for his protection. When you leave, should he wish to go, he may still serve as your guide. He may even be able to help you defeat Mug Ruith.”

“What about Wanda?” I asked. “Surely he’ll want to go back to his family.”

“Do this, Hailey. Defeat Leann, and I’ll lift Willie’s exile. I will grant him free passage in the Seelie Forest. He can come and go between earth, to accompany you as a guardian, and here where he may live his life with Wanda.”

I smiled. “Sounds like a deal.”

“Give me the beaker. I only need one. The other can be discarded.”

I handed him both. “You can get rid of the second one yourself.”

The Faerie King tossed one beaker aside. He removed the cloth from the top, bit his hand, and his golden blood flowed into the beaker. “Well, how about that? Not everyone bleeds red.”

The Faerie King swirled his blood with the ingredients in the beaker and handed it to me. “My blood is different, even from the other faeries. Drink this, and Mug Ruith’s curse will fade.”

I took the beaker. I raised it toward the Faerie King. “Bottoms up!”

I drank the elixir. A tingle swelled through my body. My vision blurred. The Faerie King took my hand and helped me down to the ground. “This will take some time. You must rest.”

Chapter 12

I woke up in an egg-shaped chamber. The grains of the oak and the glowing golden sap that seeped through suggested I was still inside the Faerie King’s tree. I knocked on the wood.

“Hello! Your Highness?”

No one responded. Why was I trapped in a tree? Why would the Faerie King heal me if he intended to put me into some kind of faerie prison the moment I lost consciousness?

There must’ve been a reason. Willie said faeries couldn’t lie. Leann was a succubus, a demon, and a faerie at the same time. Not even Willie knew that about her. She’d been among the Unseelie for so long we have assumed her demonic nature to be a quirk of her particular “brand” of faerie. The Faerie King knew better. I didn’t know how old he was, but I had the distinct impression he’d been around a lot longer than faeries like Willie and Wanda.

“Hello!” I shouted again. Still no answer.

At least the elixir worked. The curse was gone. I wasn’t going to die. At least not because of the curse.

One side of my egg-shaped prison glowed green. I was about to touch it, to see if I could push myself through, when another body passed through and struck me in the chest.

I fell back, and Mercy was on top of me.

“Damn faeries!”

“What happened?” I asked.

Mercy shook her head. “Wanda sold me out. Tried to make a deal with some of the Faerie King’s lackeys. Let Willie go free and they could have me.”

I sighed. “Well, I’m cured at least.”

Mercy tilted her head. “Are you serious?”

I told Mercy about my conversation with the Faerie King. How I was damned to abstinence until we killed Leann. How she’d have to be the one to secure a stake from the Tree of Life.

“If that’s the case, why are we stuck in this... whatever it is... like prisoners?”

I shrugged. “Beats me. The Faerie King added his blood to the beaker. I drank it. He told me I needed to rest. It would take time for the elixir to work. The next thing I knew, I woke up in here.”

“Any sign of Willie?”

I shook my head. “He wasn’t in the Faerie King’s throne room. They must’ve taken him elsewhere. The Faerie King said he’d be free. Once all this was done, he could come and go at will between earth and the Seelie Forest.”

Mercy huffed. “Would have been nice if the faeries explained what was going on before they grabbed me and threw me in here.”

“Did you fight back?” I asked.

“I didn’t have a chance. Those little buggers are fast. I didn’t even see them coming.”

I shook my head. “There must be a good reason.”

Mercy shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t trust us. Just because faeries can’t lie doesn’t mean they can’t be deceived. And like you pointed out before, we don’t know that she can’t lie. If she’s a demon, well, that’s sort of what they do.”

“If I was trying to trick him, why would I tell him everything Leann wanted us to do?”

Mercy shrugged. “Maybe he wasn’t sure that was the truth. One’s fiercest enemy will always present himself first as your friend.”

I nodded. “Like Leann.”

“Right. But perhaps the Faerie King needed to do a little digging to see if your story checks out. You might have told him the truth, but he doesn’t know that. It would be irresponsible for him to simply take you at your word. There’s too much at stake.”

I took a deep breath. “Maybe you’re right. I wonder if I could blast us out of here with a spell.”

Mercy chuckled. “It might work, but trying to escape wouldn’t do much to convince the Faerie King that we’re on his side.”

I bit my lip. “Yeah, you’re right. I suppose a little patience won’t hurt. Especially now that I don’t have to worry about the curse.”

Mercy and I sat down beside one another. I was still tired. Being cursed and cured took a lot out of me. The Faerie King’s blood in the elixir didn’t satiate my vampiric needs like human blood might. What I would have given for a nice, young, clean-shaven man like Johnathan, ready and willing to open his veins. Usually I could go awhile between feedings. A few days to a week. I could go longer than that if I had to. Doing magic, especially blood magic, made me hungry a lot sooner. Drinking from a succubus, having a sorcerer’s curse tear me apart from the inside, and getting cured again, all stoked my appetite.

I rested my head on Mercy’s shoulder. She grunted at first—she didn’t like to be touched. Then she relaxed and wrapped an arm around me. She ran her fingers through my long, blond hair.

“Hang in there, Hailey. We’ll get through this.”

I closed my eyes and drifted off. I’m not sure if I totally fell asleep. My body jerked a little. That happens sometimes when I’m falling asleep. Vampires don’t have to sleep, but as a witch, I slumbered more than most. My magic was stronger when I was well-rested. A little sleep also helped with my cravings.

Mercy shook me awake. When I opened my eyes, I saw another green patch appear on the side of the shell of our cage. Willie flew through and landed on my lap.

“Hailey-boo, and Mercy, too!”

I laughed. “You’re well! We were worried about you.”

“Understandable! The Faerie King told me everything, but it’s all hush-hush. He wanted me to tell you that all was going according to plan, but he couldn’t have you two running free. It was best if everyone thought he’d taken you two as prisoners. Can’t let anyone know what’s happening. There are faeries who engage with the unseelie. Can’t risk word of what’s going on reaching Leann.”

I took a deep breath and released it. “Well, that’s a relief. I thought he’d turned on me. Tricked me into drinking that elixir so he could imprison me.”

“No worries, Hailey-boo! Glad to hear you’re cured!”

I smiled. “You had the right recipe.”

“Of course I did!”

The egg-prison started to shake and shift. The change sent Mercy rolling over onto me. She quickly rolled back. “What is happening?”

“We’re moving!” Willie said. “Carried by faeries out of the Seelie Forest and into the garden groves!”

Mercy tilted her head. “What are the chances I’ll be able to get the weapon we need from the Tree of Life?”

“No clue!” Willie said. “I imagine there will be a test.”

Mercy grunted. “I hate tests. I’m guessing it isn’t multiple choice.”

I shrugged. “Could be worse. Short essays suck, too.”

Mercy bit her lip. “Been a long time since I went to school. I’d think essays would be better. At least then I could bullshit my way through it. I suspect it’s more like a trial than a test. Something to examine my worthiness or some shit.”

“That’s exactly what it is!” Willie said. “At least, I assume, that’s what will happen. The Tree of Life doesn’t bless just anyone. I recommend against bullshitting. The dryads will see through it.”

I smiled. We were joking about the test format, of course, but only because Mercy and I were both skeptical we’d pass. I already knew I couldn’t do it. Mercy had a lot of virtues, but she also had a lot of skeletons in her closet. There are times in her past when they were literal skeletons.

If this was the only way we could kill Leann, and the only way to get rid of this power she tricked me into taking, we had to try.

Chapter 13

Faeries don’t fly straight. I’d seen it in the forest before. Even those faerie soldiers, when they were coming for me, didn’t fly in straight lines. Mercy and I were like jelly beans in an Easter egg. When the faeries bounced, we bounced.

Willie didn’t hang around with us. I couldn’t blame him. He was probably one of the faeries carrying us through the forest on our way to the garden groves and the Tree of Life. When he flew out through the oaken shell that formed our little prison he told us to hold on tight.

Hold on to what exactly? Our asses?

I don’t think I’d ever heard Mercy drop so many f-bombs in such rapid succession. I let a few fly myself. When you’re being jostled around and thrown into walls and each other, gosh darn it, and gee whiz don’t cut it.

As vampires we could take a beating. We heal fast. When Mercy and I bonked heads, I’m pretty sure it gave me a concussion. I saw stars. Nothing I couldn’t overcome in a minute or two.

In the words of the King—not the Faerie King, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll—we were all shook up.

The shaking stopped suddenly.

“About damn time,” Mercy rubbed the back of her head.

“At least now we know what it feels like to be a scrambled egg.”

“That’s not funny.”

I smirked. “It’s a little funny.”

Mercy held out her arm and rubbed away a bruise. I had a few, too, but they were fading. Vampire healing rocks.

The light coursing through the surrounding sap turned from gold to an emerald green. The dome over us parted at the apex of the egg and split open. The light of the garden groves hit my face.

I gasped. On earth, sunlight was a problem. Here, it didn’t hurt us at all. Then again, there wasn’t a sun there at all. The light emanated from the sky itself. This realm was light—pure and warm. I could have stood there staring into the light for hours. I hadn’t stood in the sun since I was sixteen. That was going on eight years ago. Since then, the few times I’d ventured out into daylight, I was running to take shelter as it burned my flesh. More than a minute or so would leave scars that wouldn’t heal as fast as other wounds. This light was healing. My entire body tingled.

When the egg fell away, Willie flew around us. Five other faeries, including the Faerie King, hovered in the air straight ahead. A giant tree, full of green foliage and adorned with a red, bulbous fruit, stood behind them.

I gulped. “The Tree of life.”

Mercy nodded. “It’s beautiful.”

“Follow me,” the Faerie King said. “We must appeal to the dryad within and hope he’ll sympathize with our situation.”

I cleared my throat. “By the way, King whatever your name is, if you have the need to transport me in one of those things again, mind adding a little padding?”

The Faerie King laughed. “My name is Oberon. I apologize for the rough ride. It was the only way to bring you here with no one knowing I was helping you.”

I nodded. “Right. We wouldn’t want Leann to find out. I get it.”

“More than that!” Oberon rested his bony hand on my shoulder. “I have a reputation to uphold. Aiding vampires violates my own laws. Those laws haven’t changed. You two are a necessary exception.”

“What about these other faeries who helped carry us out?”

“They are my most loyal and trusted subjects. They understand what’s at stake. Come, let us summon the dryad.”

Oberon approached the Tree of Life. Mercy and I followed him and Willie flew up close behind us.

Oberon tugged on his beard. It was only about six inches long, but nearly reached his waist. He took a deep breath and with green magic in each of his palms, he placed them on the trunk of the Tree of Life. He squeezed his eyes shut. Was he concentrating or communicating with the dryad-protector of the great tree?

The bark on the tree was moving. Almost like it wiggled. A shape that matched the tree’s bark stepped out of it. Then a hand. Soon, an entire tree-like creature was standing in front of us. It’s strange to see something that looks like it would move like an animal. It was human-shaped mostly, but the limbs were long and gangly, and the creature’s head was boxy and had a face nearly twice as long as the average human’s.

Oberon fluttered his wings and backed away from the dryad.

“Lugh!” Oberon giggled. “You’re looking fantastic!”

Mercy nudged me. “I wonder if he barks.”

I snickered. “Was that a tree joke?”

“Thank you, Oberon,” Lugh said. “I see you’ve brought two of the chosen guardians.”

I waved my right hand through the air. “Hey there!”

Lugh tilted his head and narrowed his eyes--which looked almost like knots in the trunk of a tree. “Hello. Oberon, may I have a word?”

“Yes, you may!” Oberon exclaimed.

Lugh walked off in the grass, and Oberon followed. The dryad must’ve known we could have heard what he was saying on account of our enhanced vampiric hearing, so he spoke a tongue I’d never heard. Mercy’s furrowed brow suggested the language was foreign to her as well.

I sighed. “My parents used to speak Pig Latin around me when they were trying to keep secrets. It didn’t take me long to figure it out.”

Mercy grinned. “This language is distinct. I’ve picked up a few languages through the years. It’s not like anything I’ve ever heard.”

I snorted. “Sort of sounds like Klingon. Do you think they’re speaking Klingon?”

Mercy laughed. “It’s not Klingon, Hailey.”

“Do you know Klingon?”

“No. But I seriously doubt that the Tree of Life’s protector-dryad and the Faerie King speak a made-up language attributed to a war-hungry fictional race.”

I shrugged. “Maybe the otherworld is infested with trekkies. You don’t know.”

“Do you see a television set anywhere?”

I shrugged. “Maybe he has one inside the tree. You’d be surprised what you can fit inside a tree with a little magic. Besides, if I lived inside a tree, I’d be bored, constantly.”

“Don’t you mean you’d be a board?”

I shook my head. “The tree jokes keep coming.”

“I think Lugh has wood for you, Hailey.”

I rolled my eyes. “He has wood for everyone.”

“He’s covered in bark but isn’t wearing clothes. Is that a twig between his legs, or is he just happy to see you?”

I laughed. “You’re horrible. You really think you’re going to pass this test of virtue?”

Mercy sighed. “I can hear him telling me already. Yeah, we’ll overlook all those people you killed back in the day, but you told penis jokes. That’s unforgivable.”

I tilted my head. “How many people have you killed?”

Mercy sighed. “There was a brief period where I gave in to my urges and accompanied Ramon on one of his dismemberment binges. We only killed people who deserved it, though. Heroin dealers. Politicians. People like that.”

“You put drug dealers and politicians in the same category?”

“Depends on the politician. This one was running the heroin dealers and using the cartel to fund his campaigns. Plus, he was harassing his intern. Couldn’t have that.”

“So you were acting as an angel of wrath.”

Mercy chuckled. “I did it to feed and indulge in my darker urges. Ramon and I targeted scoundrels just so we could justify it to ourselves.”

“Well, it’s your past. It’s not like you still do that kind of thing.”

“Then, there was that time I castrated a priest. He deserved it, too.”

“I’m not going to ask why. I can connect the dots.”

“When I was first turned, I fed on my younger brother.”

“This isn’t confession time, and I’m not a priest. Even if I was, I don’t have anything you could lob off.”

Mercy snickered. “I’m just saying, if this test involves a catalogue of my past indiscretions, there’s no way I’ll pass.”

I shrugged. “He just said we’re both guardians.”

“Right. Because we kick a lot of ass. That doesn’t mean he’s going to give us a stake to kill Leann.”

“Doesn’t mean he won’t.”

“Think about it, Hailey. This is the Tree of Life. Killing shit isn’t exactly its modus operandi.”

“By that reasoning, why would it give a stake to anyone, no matter one’s resume of virtue or record of vice?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe to save me from becoming a fucking succubus.”

Mercy smirked. “That’s redundant, Hailey. You realize that’s what succubi do, right?”

I snorted. “Right. They literally screw people to death. Not exactly my idea of the best way to cap off a romantic evening.”

“Then take the purity pledge. Lots of people do it, you know.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right. Religious tweens take the purity pledge. Most of them break it. What you’re talking about is like a nun’s lifetime celibacy vow. I’m not built for that!”

Mercy snickered. “Well, hopefully, the dryad values your sex life as much as you do.”

“It’s more than that. Oberon explained it all to me. If I ever give in, even once, that’s the only way I’ll be able to feed. Every time I do it, my victims will die.”

“Then don’t give in. Even once.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“I’m on your side. I’m just telling you, I’m not exactly optimistic that the dryad is going to be as quick to help as you’re hoping.”

I shook my head. “Oberon wouldn’t have brought us here if there wasn’t a chance this would work.”

“Oberon wants Leann dead as much as you do. She’s a threat to the Seelie Forest.”

I scratched the back of my head. “I know. Hopefully Lugh sees it the same way.”

Oberon was raising his voice. Lugh was shaking his head. I didn’t know what they were saying, but it didn’t look good. When Oberon threw his hands into the air and Lugh returned to the tree, the news he brought would not be good.

Oberon flew over to us. He was shaking his head.

“What’s the verdict?” I asked.

“The Tree of Life will not provide a weapon meant to kill.”

Mercy nodded. “Could have seen that coming.”

“So we’re screwed?” I asked. “Is there nothing we can do?”

“There is one option, but I don’t like it.”

I shrugged. “I’m listening.”

“The Tree of Life will not provide a weapon. This is not the only tree that might give us something that can be used against the succubus.”

Mercy shook her head. “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?”

Oberon nodded. “Also known as the Wayward Tree. You’ll have to venture into the land of darkness, into Samhuinn. The Wayward Tree is protected by thorny vines. If you can retrieve a thorn from the Wayward Tree, it can kill the succubus.”

I bit my lip. “I’m guessing there’s a catch.”

Oberon nodded. “You’ll be able to wield it without pain. That’s the good news.”

“And the bad news?”

“The Wayward Tree is also vested with powerful magic that will invigorate the darkness within you. It may awaken Leann’s essence and transform you the moment you touch it.”

“What if I use it?” Mercy asked.

“Hailey still needs to use it to kill Leann. It’s the only way to purge Leann’s essence. You might kill Leann if you strike her with it, but it won’t cure Hailey.”

“What will it do to Mercy if she holds it?” I asked.

“Temptation. Beyond what you could imagine. There is no reason to corrupt the both of you. Hailey must take and wield the thorn.”

Mercy shook her head. “But you said it will change her, maybe the second she takes it. What will happen to her if she uses it and stakes the succubus?”

“That is why this must be done quickly. When Hailey strikes Leann, it will be as if she plunged the thorn into her own heart at the same time.”

I bit my lip. “What if I don’t touch it at all?’

“How can you possibly strike the succubus if you don’t?” Oberon asked.

I smiled. “Telekinesis. It’s one of my abilities.”

Mercy cleared her throat. “We’d still have to bring the thorn to Leann. How are we going to get it to her in the Unseelie Forest if we don’t touch it.”

I pinched my chin. My shirt was already torn. I’d needed it for the beakers. There wasn’t much left. “What if we wrap it in material? I could rip my pants. Maybe Mercy could tear off a piece of her dress.”

“I cannot say. Take extreme care to ensure it doesn’t come into contact with your skin. Not until it strikes Leann. Then, however, you must touch it if you wish to be cured. If you can wait to touch it until the moment before it strikes her heart, you might purge her essence from you before it transforms you.”

“How much time are we talking?” Mercy asked.

Oberon shook his head. “I cannot say. The transformation won’t take more than a few moments. It must be simultaneous.”

“And if I hold the thorn too long before I strike her?”

“It may kill you when it kills her. Once your essence transforms, and nothing of what you are remains, destroying the succubus will destroy you.”

I nodded. “Alright. We’ll have to be careful. I still think we can pull this off. We just have to make sure that the thorn is in position, that I call when I’m ready to strike, and I make sure it’s my hand rather than my telekinetic ability that plunges it into Leann’s heart.”

Mercy nodded. “It could work, but only if Leann doesn’t see it coming. Demons are fast and formidable. So are faeries. She’s a bit of both. It’s essential she suspects nothing.”

“That will be difficult to ensure,” Oberon said. “The trees of the Seelie Forest are connected to the Tree of Life. The root system extends deep into the soil of the garden groves. The Unseelie Forest is connected in the same way to the Wayward Tree.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” I asked.

“Faeries can travel through the root system,” Willie piped up. “If the Wayward Tree is wounded, if someone takes a thorn from the vine that protects it, the effects will radiate throughout the Unseelie Forest.”

Oberon nodded. “That’s why I didn’t suggest we use the Wayward Tree from the start. If you acquired a stake from the Tree of Life, Leann would never know. There is a risk. She’ll know what’s happening before you even leave Samhuinn. Any faerie in the Unseelie Forest will see what’s coming.”

I bit my lip. “Fair enough. Maybe she’ll know we’re coming for her. That makes this harder, but not impossible. She still won’t expect me to use my telekinetic abilities.”

Oberon crossed his arms in front of his chest. “If I were her, and I found out you’d taken a thorn from the Wayward Tree, I’d do whatever I could to ensure that you touch it. If you’re changed before you use it against her, and if you staked her with it after you’re changed, you could die.”

Mercy nodded. “It’s a fair point. Just by forcing you to change, Leann could ensure her own safety. She’d both eliminate you as a threat and turn you into the creature she wants to use as her progeny on earth.”

I took a deep breath. “You’re absolutely certain that I will die if the thorn transforms me before I can use it?”

“If it happens too soon, Leann will control you. It may not matter if you live or die.”

“It’s like a sire bond, right? And since I have Nico’s bond, if I’m turned into a succubus will that still be active?”

“It is likely,” Oberon said. “I cannot say for certain.”

Mercy’s eyes widened. “That means Leann might not only be able to control you, but she could use you to control me as well.”

“How many vampires are still alive who Nico turned?” I asked.

Mercy shook her head. “Not many. Corbin is gone, for instance. His lineage would not be affected. Still, probably half the vampires across the world can trace their lineage to one of Nico’s living progeny.”

I clenched my fist. “If I touch that thorn and don’t kill her fast enough, Leann will not only have me. She’ll have a vampire army. All she’d have to do is manipulate the chain of command via sire bonds.”

Mercy shook her head. “This might not be worth the risk. Celibacy is still an option, Hailey.”

Oberon shook his head. “It’s not much of one. You’re not the only one who could take a thorn from the Wayward Tree. If Hailey does not give in and become a succubus, all Leann would need to do is capture Hailey. Since your portal home goes through the Unseelie Forest, and the trees there are all connected to the Wayward Tree, I suspect Leann won’t allow you to return to earth until Hailey’s transformation is complete.”

Chapter 14

This was an awful plan. The problem was that it was our only plan. We had little choice. I couldn’t stay in the Seelie Forest or the Garden Groves forever. I was still the best chance anyone had to stop Mug Ruith back on earth. I had to stake Leann with a thorn from the Wayward Tree. I couldn’t touch the thorn and I had to go into the Unseelie Forest to do that. If they captured me, Leann could take me into a tree. Since the Unseelie forest was connected to the Wayward Tree, if I so much as touched a tree in that forest, the influence of the Wayward Tree could catalyze my transformation into a succubus.

I was a fly, Leann was a spider, and the Unseelie Forest was her web.

Willie, Mercy, and I headed out from the Tree of Life toward the blighted Samhuinn. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’d been to hell—and this place was just as bad. Annabelle had gone there several times. Mercy once or twice. Their stories about the place weren’t exactly inspirational. The place was pure nastiness. The weather there was bad enough—hot as hell, dry as a desert.

There were also monsters. Dragons were a problem. Especially when traveling on foot with no comparable beasts of our own to fight against them. If we saw any, there was only one thing to do—run. The place was also home to a few vile demigods. Snakes were a problem. The most famous of them all was Nachash. Cain dealt with him before. It was the same snake that tempted his parents and earned humanity a permanent exile from the garden groves. I wasn’t sure how much of that story was true. Suffice it to say, though, that if a creature holds a part of the blame for the worst of all human inclinations, it’s not the sort of creepy crawlie you want to engage. I didn’t know what else we might encounter but it was a pretty sure bet that anything we met wasn’t going to be cute and cuddly.

The plan was to get in and out of there as soon as possible. The longer we lingered in the realm, the more likely it was we’d encounter something dangerous. As if we hadn’t already had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Crossing the border from the garden groves into Samhuinn was jarring. Sort of like hopping out of a hot tub and directly into a pile of snow—except in this scenario what we were jumping into wasn’t freezing cold but unimaginably hot. It was like when the timer goes off, and you bend over to take a pan of cookies out of the oven, and are greeted by a blast of hot air. One degree more and I’d be a vampire roast—all the better for the creatures of this God forsaken realm to serve up for dinner.

Pity the monster who ever tried to make a meal out of Mercy. She was saucy, but also tough. If a dragon tried to swallow her whole, she’d kick out his incisors from the inside. Provided he didn’t burn her to death with his breath first. The moral to the story—no matter how much a bad ass you might be, don’t get eaten by a monster.

Willie said he knew the way. Some kind of faerie rite of passage. When faeries came of age, they made pilgrimage to both the Tree of Life and the Wayward Tree. Since each tree was connected by its roots to the Seelie and Unseelie forests, respectively, Willie said visiting each tree helped young faerie’s natural magic mature. It’s how they could discern the difference between Seelie and Unseelie magic.

Willie wasn’t phased at all by the heat. The ground was so scalding that I smelled the rubber of my shoes melting.

Vampires don’t usually sweat much. Even when I was still human, I perspired less than most. From both the heat of the place and my exertion, my clothes were soaked. The air was so arid that my eyes were dry. They also burned from the sweat.

I could barely see Willie as he flew ahead of us. Mercy wasn’t fairing much better.

When you’re in hostile lands, home to innumerable deadly creatures, the last thing you want to lose is your eyesight.

My hearing was still intact. I wondered how long it would take before it was also compromised. There were a few times back when I was human that I worked out so hard my ears felt like they were pressurized, like when you go up in an airplane. That hadn’t happened to me as a vampire, but this was uncharted territory. I was supposed to be extremely strong and fast, but in this place, I felt mortal.

There was something tall and shadowy in the distance. My vision was still too blurred to make it out. Since we were heading straight for it, I hoped it was the Wayward Tree.

As we got closer, the shape crystalized. It was definitely a tree and, so far as I knew, it was the only thing that grew in Samhuinn’s arid soil.

As we approached the tree and slowed down, my vision returned to normal. The Wayward Tree was flourishing, as if it hogged every last nutrient the soil in this place could offer. It was almost like the tree made the land desolate. If the Tree of Life fed the garden groves and made those lands flourish, this tree did the opposite.

We approached the tree. The vine encircling the trunk was covered in black blossoms. The thorns were almost two feet long.

“How are we going to break one off without touching it?” Mercy asked.

I grunted. My pants were too hot in this place as it was. I dug my nails into the material and ripped it across my thigh, just under the pocket where I kept my wand. I did the same with the other leg.

“We only need one, Hailey.”

I nodded. “Yeah, well, if I’m going to wear cut-offs, both legs need to match.”

I slipped my legs out of the torn portions of my pants. “Are you sure we can even break these thorns off?”

Mercy nodded and pointed at the vine. “Looks like one was broken off already. You can do it.”

“Who would break off a thorn?” I asked.

Mercy shrugged. “Willie?”

Willie was flying around, keeping watch. He looked at the vine. “Could be anything. There’s a reason the Wayward Tree is protected. Any number of creatures could have attempted to steal one of the tree’s fruits and broke a thorn by mistake.”

I sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get this thorn and get the hell out of here.”

Mercy yanked the pant leg out of my hand. “Let me do it. If I touch it by accident, it might awaken some of my primal vampiric urges, but it won’t change what I am. It’s safer this way.”

I nodded and watched as Mercy placed my pant leg around one of the thorns and snapped it off. She tied each end of the pant leg shut. “Got it. Now let’s go kill a succubus.”

Chapter 15

We didn’t run so hard leaving Samhuinn. We hadn’t encountered anything on our way to the Wayward Tree so we weren’t as anxious about the return trip.

We were about halfway back to the garden groves when the ground under our feet shook.

“What the hell is that?” Mercy asked.

Willie gulped. “Earthworms.”

I chuckled. “Worms? Why would earthworms make that happen?”

“These aren’t worms like you know from earth,” Willie said. “These are big. Enormous.”

I tilted my head. “How big exactly?”

The ground under our feet cracked.

“Run!” Willie screamed.

We took off as fast as we could. I looked back over my shoulder just in time to see a giant worm-like creature, with massive jaws and pointed teeth, break through the ground where we stood before, chomping at the air.”

I grimaced. “Nasty!”

“They can’t see or hear. They sense their prey by vibration.”

“So we stand still?” Mercy asked.

Willie shook his head. “It will sense the last place you stepped. It’s coming here next. The only way to get away from an earthworm is to run faster than it can burrow. And it’s best if you keep some space between you. Multiple vibrations might confuse it.”

Mercy and I looked at each other and nodded. We took off at opposite angles, both heading toward the garden groves. An earthworm broke through the ground just behind me. Another one blasted through the ground near Mercy.

“There are two!” I screamed.

“Probably more!” Willie shouted back. “Keep running!”

I didn’t stop to ask questions. I ran as fast as I could. More earthworms were shooting out of the ground. I counted six at once and two more a half-second later. There were probably even more.

Another one blasted out of the ground about twenty feet ahead of me. Were these bastards anticipating the direction we were moving? I changed my angle and ran harder. The more I changed my path, the more confusion. That was the theory anyway. I didn’t have a chance to stop and ask Willie questions. Willie flew ahead and took chunks of ground and rock and threw them around. The vibrations distracted the earthworms. The little guy was downright brilliant sometimes. The worms were taking the bait and emerged wherever he directed them.

Willie was making bigger vibrations than the pitter-patter of our vampire feet. It was working. He was luring them away from us.

When we reached the edge of the garden groves, I collapsed in the grass. I laid there a moment, staring at the bright sky and took several deep breaths.

Willie landed beside me, giggling. “Well, that was fun!”

I turned and saw Mercy strolling through the green grass, heading toward me. I looked back at Willie and tilted my head. “You have a strange idea of fun.”

I stood back up. What clothes I had left were still soaked. I smelled like a gym bag. Mercy wasn’t half as wet as me. Maybe I was sweating out Leann’s essence. How lucky would that be? It couldn’t be that simple. It never was.

Mercy looked me up and down. “You look like shit.”

I laughed. “Gee, thanks. That’s what I was going for. I hear the shit look is in this season.”

“We have one more problem.”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s always one more problem.”

“We have to go through the Seelie Forest to get to the Unseelie Forest.”

I shrugged. “Why is that a problem?”

“Because Oberon doesn’t want anyone knowing we’re running free.”

Willie giggled. “Don’t you worry about that! I have that covered.”

“Please tell me that doesn’t mean another ride in a wooden egg.”

Willie pressed his lips together and grunted. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“You told me not to tell you it means another wooden egg. So I will not tell you!”

Chapter 16

The first time was bad enough. This time, I was sweaty and stinky. I felt bad for Mercy. No one wants to be stuck in a confined space with someone who smells like a foot. As many times as we bounced off of each other on our trip back through the Seelie Forest, my stench was all over Mercy as well. At least we matched. We were odor twinsies.

It was a good thing Mercy had that thorn double wrapped in my two torn-off legs. I thought it was overkill, but given our rough ride, and how sharp those thorns were, it was likely to bust through like a single-bagged milk jug.

The egg shell opened as before when we arrived at the border of the Seelie and Unseelie forests. The Faerie King wasn’t there but his lackeys were—they’d helped Willie carry us through the forest.

I had a small egg on the top of my head that matched the one we rode in. I didn’t have a mirror to check, but I took the heel of Mercy’s foot in my eye on the ride and probably had a black eye.

I also broke a nail. That would take time to grow back. The faerie realm’s public transit system sucked pixie balls.

We stepped out of the egg and onto the dark and damp ground of the Unseelie Forest.

“How are we going to do this?” Mercy asked. “Until we know where Leann is, it’s hard to make any definitive plans.”

I nodded. “I’ll approach her once we find her. She’s expecting me to return with the elixir. Get the thorn into position. Untie one end so I can pull it my way with my mind.”

“The easiest way to stake her would be to make sure she’s between us. You might not get credit for the kill, though, if you aren’t touching the thorn when it kills her.”

I nodded. “Right. Which is why you need to position yourself somewhere to the side. Make sure there’s a straight path to my hand that won’t hit Leann or anything else. Once I have it in my grip, I’ll stake her. Hopefully, I’ll be cured, she’ll be out of the picture, and we can turn our worries back to Mug Ruith.”

Mercy tilted her head. “Didn’t she say before that she’d find us when you came back with the elixir?”

I nodded. “I believe so. We’d best put a little distance between us if we’re going to pull this off.”

“I’ll stay with you.” Willie hopped on my back. “She’ll expect that I’ll be with you.”

“She’ll expect I’ll be here, too,” Mercy said. “But if she asks, I guess you could tell her we split up looking for her. You know, to cover more ground.”

“Sounds reasonable enough to me. I don’t see why she’d question that.”

“Hopefully, the other Unseelie faeries won’t bother us.” Mercy turned past one of the trees to find another path. She had to be far enough away that it looked like we’d split up, but not so far I couldn’t call the thorn. There had to be a clear flight path between Mercy and me, so the thorn would arrive when I needed it.

We hiked through the Unseelie Forest for nearly half an hour and hadn’t seen a single faerie, much less Leann. Willie hopped off my back and with his wings aflutter, he stretched out his arms and legs. “Maybe we should look closer to the portal where you first arrived.”

I took a deep breath and glanced through the trees at Mercy, who looked back at me. She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Do you know how to get there? I’m lost. Everything here looks the same.”

Willie giggled. “Every tree is very different! No two trees are alike, Hailey. You just have to have the eyes to see and appreciate the differences.”

I scratched my head. “I get it. No two trees have exactly the same branch pattern. They don’t have the same number of leaves. The bark is like a fingerprint. Those aren’t the kinds of differences I can easily commit to memory. Maybe if we had something to mark the trees with so I could identify them and make sure we weren’t going in circles.”

“We’re not going in a circle. The gate back to earth isn’t too far from here.”

I rubbed my brow. The one positive development since arriving in the Unseelie Forest was that it was cool. My sweat dried up, but my clothes were still damp. The breeze chilled the material against my skin. “Lead the way.”

Willie flew a few paces ahead of me. He didn’t move too fast. He was a lot faster than most bi-pedal mammals. As vampires, we could keep up fairly well, even if he flew ahead at full speed. If reaching the destination was our goal, moving faster would have made sense. We were surveying our surroundings, keeping an eye open for Leann or any other faeries who might be in the area.

Mercy maintained her distance. When Willie and I arrived at the clearing where we’d first appeared when we arrived in the Unseelie Forest, I examined the area. Still, no Leann. I turned and looked for Mercy. She was staring at the ground with one hand over her mouth.

“Did you find something?” I shouted my question through the trees.

Mercy looked up and her eyes met mine. Even from a distance, I could tell she was troubled. I ran over to her and Willie flew behind me.

When I saw what she was looking at, I gasped. There was blood—more violet than red—smeared all over her body. A large thorn was stuck in her chest. Her mouth was agape, as if she’d been taken by surprise.

I opened my mouth but couldn’t find the words.

Mercy shook her head. “Someone killed Leann before we could.”

My heart thumped hard in my chest. “Who the hell killed her?”

“Who do you think?” Willie asked. “There’s only one person who had something to gain by murdering Leann.”

Mercy nodded. “Mug Ruith. He must’ve learned of her plan.”

I fell to my knees and rested my face in my palms. “I can’t be cured. I can’t be with Connor. I can’t be with anyone.”

Mercy rested her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find a way to fix this. There has to be another way.”

“If there was, don’t you think the Faerie King would know it?”

Mercy shook her head. “Not necessarily. Leann wasn’t only a faerie, Hailey. She was a demon. Oberon doesn’t know everything.”

“Who the hell might know? Demons aren’t exactly open about their weaknesses and secrets.”

“You’re still a vampire, Hailey. We both are. That means you have a connection to Baron Samedi. he can see everything we can see. We are his eyes and ears in the world. Perhaps he will help.”

I huffed. “You expect Baron Samedi to come to my rescue?”

Mercy sighed. “He’s the one who first made vampires by using the essence of a succubus to forge our kind out of Niccolo’s spirit. He managed to turn Nico into a vampire, a hybrid between a human and a succubus demon. If there’s a way to isolate Leann’s essence and purge it from your body, he knows how to do it.”

I bit my lip. “We’ll need Annabelle or another powerful mambo to summon him. We might be his eyes and ears, but he can’t materialize out of nothing.”

“What do we do now?” Willie asked.

I stood back up and took Mercy’s hand. “There’s only one thing we can do. We have to go back and try to stop Mug Ruith. We know what he’s planning now. We’ll deal with my problem later.”

“Are you sure?” Willie asked. “We could always go back and ask Oberon if he knows another way.”

I shook my head. “If he knew another way, he wouldn’t have sent us to the Wayward Tree to recover the thorn. Mercy is right. Baron Samedi is the only one who might have the answer. With Leann off the map, though, Mug Ruith still has control over the Unseelie Forest.”

“Do you think he’s still here?” Mercy asked. “If he’s the one who killed Leann, he must’ve been here recently.”

Willie grunted. “If he was here, he’d use the faeries in the Unseelie Forest against us. It’s reasonable to assume he’s already returned to Exeter.”

Mercy kicked a rock at Leann’s staked body. “We still don’t know how to kill him.”

I stared up at the sky, clenched my fists, and screamed.

Mercy put her hand on my shoulder. “Calm down, Hailey.”

I shrugged off her hand and stomped away from her. “Don’t tell me to calm down! We’re just as screwed as we were when we came here. The only plan we had is fucked. I’m fucked because, well, I’ll never get fucked again. Chances are that ass hat sorcerer is already growing shrooms in Exeter and he’s getting more powerful with every vampire he turns.”

“That’s not true,” Mercy said. “You’re immune to his curse now. Plus, you aren’t dying.”

I huffed. “Might as well be.”

“Stop whining. So you can’t make love to your boyfriend for a while. Boo fucking hoo. You can resist the urge until we find an answer.”

I shook my head. “You heard what Oberon said before. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds a way to turn me. If Mug Ruith stole a thorn from the Wayward Tree before us, who is to say he won’t use one on me and complete my transformation? He’ll use me the same way we feared Leann might. He’ll force me to use the sire bond to control other vampires.”

Mercy shook her head. “The only reason he could manipulate Leann was because of the curse. He doesn’t have that kind of control over you.”

I grunted. “You’re right. This might be pointless, but we might as well give him our best shot.”

Mercy stepped up next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. “Back to Exter?”

I nodded. “I don’t know what else to try.”

We started to move back to the portal when something grabbed my ankle. I looked down, and a root had wrapped itself around me.

“What the hell?”

Mercy bent over to pull at it, but when she did, another root shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around her body. It pulled her down into the ground. The soil enveloped her. Then the root on my ankle tugged hard. The ground under me cracked.

“Willie! What is happening?”

“It must be the Unseelie Court! I’ll try to free you!”

Willie lobbed a green ball of magic at the root around my ankle. The root loosened just in time for another one to shoot out of the ground. It wrapped itself around my waist, my chest, then my neck.

“Let go of me!” I screamed.

The roots yanked me down into the ground. A violet magic enveloped me as it pulled me deeper.

With a thud, I fell onto a hard surface. Mercy was there as well, her body still wrapped in roots. I tried to move, only to discover the roots remained firmly wrapped around my body as well.

A faerie woman approached us. She was like Willie, but her skin was a deep shade of purple, her hair long and black, and her eyes glowed with violet energy. She was as tall as we were—just as Oberon was when I entered his tree.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked.

“My name is Malvessa. I’m the Empress of the Unseelie Court.”

I snorted. “I thought Leann was in charge here.”

“She is not one of us. She has never been one of us.”

“But didn’t she rule this place?”

Malvessa narrowed her eyes. “She exploited us for power. That hardly makes her a queen.”

“What do you want with us?” Mercy asked.

“I want what you want. Mug Ruith is a threat to all of us. He did us a favor, I suppose, by killing Leann. We are free, now, to operate in our own flesh however we wish. Still, he draws power from our realm and seeks to enslave many of our kind to serve him in his new forest on earth. We’d very much prefer that not to happen.”

I struggled against the roots that constricted my body. “you and me both, sister. If you want our help, choking me out isn’t the best way to get on my good side.”

Malvessa laughed. She raised one hand, and the roots loosened and fell from my body. They returned to the domed black ceiling above. “I simply needed to be sure you’d listen. I’ve been observing you since you returned to the Unseelie Forest. When I heard you intended to go after Mug Ruith I intervened.”

“I thought you wanted us to kill him.”

“I do! But if you’re going to attempt it, I’d prefer to see you succeed.”

Mercy glanced at me and shrugged. “She has a point. A few tips wouldn’t hurt.”

I took a deep breath. “What do we need to do? Do you have a weapon we can use against him? A spell, perhaps?”

Malvessa laughed. “You already have the weapon you need.”

Mercy held up the thorn, still wrapped in my pants. “The thorn from the Wayward Tree?”

Malvessa nodded. “Mug Ruith is powerful in his own right, but the greater dose of power he’s accumulating is coming through the sacrifice of your kind. He’s creating vampires that he might draw power from what your kind has in common with the succubus. Now that he’s eliminated Leann—a necessary move since she was scheming to betray him—he requires another vampire whom he might bind and turn into her replacement.”

I shook my head. “I’m already cured. That won’t work.”

“Not you,” Malvessa said. “The older and stronger the vampire he corrupts, the better. Your power as a witch must’ve been a draw for him before. However, this one will do just as well.”

Mercy grunted. “The name’s Mercy. Not this one.”

Malvessa smiled. “Pardon me for failing to ask. Time is of the essence here. The longer this takes, the more power he’ll accumulate. He’s already taken more than he needs to complete his mission and create a new Unseelie Forest.”

“Are you saying that Mercy is who he is after?”

“I’m suggesting that she might make fine bait.”

Mercy raised an eyebrow. “Bait? You can’t be serious.”

“Since much of his power has been extracted through vampires, and through the succubus, he can be weakened in much the same way that he killed the Leanhuan-Shee. The thorn you hold will not kill him. He is not a succubus, himself. It will give you a chance to beat him.”

“Why is he planting his forest, then? Why does he need it if he can curse vampires and make succubi for himself?”

“An Unseelie Forest of his own will give him access to immense power. The larger his forest, the stronger he might become. That is why you must act fast.”

I furrowed my brow. “One question. Once he’s gone, that convergence will still be open, connecting our realms. What are your plans once Mug Ruith is gone?”

Malvessa grinned widely. “My interest is in my own realm. I cannot close the gate between worlds. I can dislodge it from the Unseelie Forest. What realm it might connect to after that will be your problem.”

Mercy sighed. “You’re saying that there’s no telling what monsters might come through the convergence next?”

“Monsters? Angels? Gods? How could I possibly know what will happen. I simply intend to ensure that no other sorcerers from earth take an interest in my domain.”

I glanced at Mercy. “That means Willie won’t be able to move freely between the Seelie Forest and earth. He’ll have to choose where he goes.”

Mercy nodded. “It would be best if he remains with Wanda. You’re right, though. It’s his choice.”

I interlaced my fingers and popped my knuckles. “Alright, Malvessa. Send us back. It’s time to take the fight to Mug Ruith.”

“One question before we go,” Mercy piped up. “Do you happen to know how to purge the succubus essence from Hailey?”

Malvessa shook her head. “If I knew how to do that, the Unseelie Faeries would not have endured the Leanhaun-Shee for so long. I know even less about your kind. I am sorry that I cannot help.”

I bit my lip. “No problem. You’ve helped enough. Thank you for the assist.”

Malvessa laughed. “I’m hardly the virtuous King Oberon. My interests are my own. Still, if it so happens that saving my realm and our faeries from Mug Ruith also protects the people of the earth, then so be it. Do not mistake this assist, as you called it, for an alliance. Should we cross paths again, under circumstances that are not suited to our mutual benefit, we may very well be enemies.”

“Noted.” Mercy nodded. “The same goes for you. Don’t get any funny ideas about taking over and making an Unseelie Forest on earth after we get rid of Mug Ruith.”

“Please.” Malvessa rolled her eyes. “Earth is a lesser realm. My ambitions remain here.”

I smiled and bowed my head. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Chapter 17

Malvessa channeled more roots to carry us back to the surface. I wasn’t sure if we were inside a tree or some kind of cave when we were speaking to her. Magic was involved. Whatever the case, her roots dropped us back on the ground next to Leann’s bloodied body.

Willie was sitting on a large rock with his elbow on his knee and his chin on his fist. When he saw us, he flapped his wings and flew circles around us.

“You’re back! Willie was so worried!”

I smiled. “We’re fine. It was Malvessa.”

Willie shuddered. “You’re lucky to be alive at all!”

“Our interests align for now,” Mercy said. “She told us how to stop Mug Ruith. We just have to get back to earth and use the thorn against him.”

“Right-o!” Willie exclaimed. “Let’s go!”

“One thing.” I raised my hand to get Willie’s attention. “Malvessa said she’s going to try to separate the convergence from the Unseelie Forest after we stop him. If you come with us, Willie, you might not be able to get back here.”

“You should probably go be with Wanda,” Mercy added.

Willie waved his hand through the air. “Nah. She’s a nag! Besides, the veil between the worlds is like swiss cheese. If this convergence won’t get me back, there are many others that might. What’s important now is to stop that sorcerer!”

I grinned widely. “Alright. Glad to have you on the team.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell Wanda goodbye?” Mercy asked. “It might be a while before you get back to see her again.”

Willie shook his head. “Wanda will be fine. Earth will not. She will understand.”

I bit my lip. “Are you sure about that? She didn’t seem to be especially understanding, before.”

“Don’t worry about her. I’ve made my choice. Willie wants to fight!”

I smirked. “You really should choose between the first and third person and stick with it.”

Willie tilted his head. “Who are these persons you speak of? I see two of you. I am the third. That means we are three persons together!”

Mercy snickered. “Mercy thinks he has a point, you know. It’s not exactly a shocker that Wee Willie Winker never attended human grammar school.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Hailey finds Mercy annoying sometimes.”

We returned to the convergence. It wasn’t visible to the vampire eye, but we knew it was there. Willie activated it before when we were back in the forests outside Exter. Would any magic do? It didn’t take much. All Willie did was lob one of his magic balls at the clearing.

Magic balls. Not the best name for what he did, I suppose. I wasn’t sure what else to call it. Referring to them as faerie balls was ripe for confusion.

No one wants to get blasted with faerie balls. That’s the sort of thing that will really ruin your afternoon.

Green and golden magic swirled around the clearing.

“Cannon ball!” I jumped in and tucked my knees. It didn’t make a splash, but it worked well enough. Mercy probably belly-flopped in behind me. Willie might have performed a swan dive. He wasn’t anything like a swan, but he was the only one who had wings, so he was the best candidate.

We landed in a forest of gigantic mushrooms.

“What the hell?” I asked. “Is this Earth or did it take us back to the Seelie Forest?”

Willie sighed “It’s Earth, alright.

Mercy pointed at the sky. “Look at that.”

I followed Mercy’s finger with my eyes to what looked like a massive wheel of oak floating through the sky. Something like gigantic oars swept through the sky as if the wheel was floating down a river. “Is that what I think it is?”

Mercy sighed. “It’s Mug Ruith’s flying machine. Roth rámach. The one from Saint Columba’s prophecy. He’s terraforming the forest.”

“This looks more like the Seelie than the Unseelie forest.”

Willie nodded. “You’re right. It makes little difference. It’s still a great source of power. It’s not the trees or mushrooms that make the Seelie Forest seelie, or the Unseelie Forest unseelie. It’s the connection of each to the Tree of Life or the Wayward Tree, respectively. It’s the decisions made by the faeries who inhabit and rule it.”

“Which tree is this place connected to?”

“Neither,” Willie said. “There is no master tree to norm the magic of this place. Everything here is connected, but it operates according to the sorcerer’s will.”

Mercy sighed. “How are we going to get to him? I’m betting he’s up in that giant wheel.”

“I can fly up there!” Willie fluttered his wings.

I shook my head. “We aren’t sending you up there alone. We have to do what Malvessa suggested. He wants more power. That means more vampires and a succubus. All we need is a hook and a worm.”

Mercy shuddered. “I have seen enough worms today to last my immortal existence.”

“You realize I’m not talking about literal worms.”

Mercy rolled her eyes. “I know. I’m the bait. The oldest vampire with the most influence who he might use in his quest to expand his power. If I’m the worm, though, and the thorn is the hook, how are we going to reel him in?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Not by going after him like this. We need to know more about what’s happened since we left. We should go back to Ladinas and find out what he knows.”

Chapter 18

There was no way to get past Ladinas’s security measures to go through the armory. He had cameras around there, but he didn’t tell us they were monitored. Unless they triggered an alarm, or he or one of his vampires was watching the monitors, they wouldn’t see us anyway. The only way to get back to his lair was to reprise our journey through the sewers. Yes, I called it his lair. Birds have nests. Dogs have dens. Men have caves. Vampires have lairs. At least some of them do. Why didn’t I have a lair? I wanted a lair!

Casa do Diabo was cool and all, but you can’t have an above-ground lair. At least, if you do, it has to be hidden from view. You might get away with a lair at the top of a skyscraper, for instance, if it was hidden behind the façade of a Fortune 500 executive office. The key to a lair was that no one knew it was there. With Casa do Diabo we took the opposite approach—we were hiding in plain sight. There was even lore about the vampires who lived there. Most people laughed it off, but the stories were well-enough known that people steered clear. It worked but, damn it, it just wasn’t as cool as a lair!

So, we went all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and headed for the sewers. Why couldn’t Ladinas’s lair be behind something more sanitary? The basement of a deodorant or pot-pourri factory, perhaps.

Add the sewage smell to my body odor and killing Mug Ruith might not take any effort at all. I’d just show up and raise my arms and say, “take a whiff, buddy!” He’d gag. Death by asphyxiation. Victory: mine.

If Ladinas wasn’t home, we were wasting time. If he wasn’t home, chances were Mug Ruith had him. Could a dude become a succubus? I’d heard of an incubus before. They were a nineties rock band. Also, a demon who can bone the soul right out of someone. I had to wonder, if I became a succubus, could I do an incubus? Would we kill each other or would our soul-killing sex cancel each other’s out?

I had to chase those thoughts out of my mind. This wasn’t about me. Not right now. Still, you try having demon blood in you that wants to transform you into a homicidal horn ball and see if you can focus on anything else.

Saving the world was old hat. Been there, done that, killed the bad guy and got the t-shirt.

What I was going through was existential. It was like when I became a vampire. It felt like the world I knew before was being yanked away from me and a new life was being thrust upon me. That word “thrust” was going to take on a whole new gruesome meaning if Leann’s essence took over.

I still didn’t know how Mercy found the way, but we arrived back at Ladinas’s door. She knocked. The camera focused on us. I could hear the little mechanisms in the camera moving as it turned and zoomed in on us. The door clicked and opened.

Willie was on my back. He hadn’t said much since we got back, which wasn’t normal for him. Something was bothering him but I didn’t know what it was.

Ladinas welcomed us in himself this time. Demeter was somewhere across the room, most likely, but there were too many vampires in the room to know for sure. If it wasn’t for the unusual quiet, I’d have thought a party was going on. You don’t get that many vampires in one room without a lot of chatter and noise. The air was thick with stress. It was almost like a funeral and when I walked in, it was like I was the widow everyone felt bad for. Everyone wanted to say something to me but no one could think of the right words to use without resorting to trite cliches.

Then again, maybe they were responding to Mercy, who walked in behind me. She was the famous one, after all.

Either way, these vampires weren’t here because they delighted in Ladinas’s hospitality. They were hiding.

I guess when a giant wooden wheel is rowing through the skies, younglings are being bred faster than rabbits, and a nasty sorcerer was out there extracting power from vampires, taking cover was a rational response.

“Are you well?” Ladinas asked.

I nodded. “I’m cured. The sorcerer made a lot of progress while we were gone.”

“How long ago did he go Proud Mary?” Mercy asked.

Ladinas tilted his head. “Proud Mary?”

“You know. Big wheel keep on turning.”

I chuckled. “Right. Tina Turner.”

Mercy huffed. “Try Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was living in New Orleans when the song came out. Fogerty’s version, the original version, is more my style.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know who that is.”

“Seriously? Kids these days.” Mercy shook her head.

I furrowed my brow and looked at Ladinas. “More to the point, what do you know about this flying machine? What can Mug Ruith do with it? Does it ever land? We know he’s planting a faerie forest. How much land has he covered so far?”

Ladinas narrowed his eyes. “We know little. So far, all he’s done is fly around and blast the land with a green beam of magic. The trees change shape. Giant mushrooms sprout up everywhere. It’s like he’s engaged in some kind of high-level botany project.”

“Has he spread into Exeter at all?”

Ladinas shook his head. “So far, he’s stuck to the surrounding forests. That doesn’t mean Exeter is fine. All the vampires he’s been making mean a lot of missing persons. I suspect he isn’t transforming the city because he’s treating the place like a farm. Raising up humans until he can harvest them as vampires.”

Mercy nodded. “He can draw power from the vampires. It connects him to the Unseelie Forest. At least it did. Now that he’s gained enough power to grow a forest of his own, I suspect he’ll be able to draw as much power as he needs from his new forest. Especially if he enslaves faeries from the otherworld to tend to the forest.”

“What is his end game?” Ladinas asked.

I huffed. “He’s a bad guy. He wants to take over the world like most bad guys do. Seems kind of dumb, if you ask me. Way too much responsibility.”

Mercy chuckled. “It does get a little old. The whole power-trip thing, right? You’d think, eventually, the bad guys would learn that it just isn’t worth it.”

I snorted. “If I was a villain, and I might be one sometime soon, I wouldn’t take over the world. If anything, I’d take over an Island in the Caribbean. Use my powers to fill my island with naked men—preferably a few who have massage skills, cooking skills. You know, things that are useful.”

“You’re a vampire, Hailey. The islands aren’t nearly so enjoyable at night.”

“I’m just saying, maybe there’s more to it that world domination. Corbin only wanted to take over the world because he thought it was the only way to ensure a secure future for vampires. It wasn’t just because he got off on power. There has to be more to it than that for Mug Ruith.”

Ladinas shrugged. “Well, good luck finding out. We’ve tried to reach out to him several times. The man isn’t much for conversation.”

Mercy stared at me. “What are you getting at, Hailey? Are you second-guessing our plan?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I mean, we learned most of what we know about his plans from a succubus and from a self-proclaimed empress of the Unseelie Forest. It would be nice to know what he’s really up to and why before we drive a thorn through his heart and I exsanguinate his ass to hell.”

Mercy rolled her eyes. “He cursed you before. You were going to die. He turned dozens of people against their will just so he could use the vampires like batteries to charge up his power. Whatever his end game, we can’t let him realize it.”

I nodded. “I know. You’re right. We still have to get his attention. We need him to make a move. Ladinas, where can we bring Mercy so that he’ll see her? We think he won’t be able to resist coming after her. She’s the most powerful vampire around.”

Ladinas tilted his head. “I’m older.”

“But Mercy is also a witch. She’s like a poor man’s me.”

Mercy raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Only when it comes to witchcraft! You’re the queen when it comes to bloodsucking.”

Mercy smiled and nodded. “Damn straight.”

Ladinas pinched his chin. “I don’t have any way to fly you up to his ship. We might be able to go back on the hill where we were before. We could shoot up some flares to get his attention.”

I scratched the back of my head. “What if Mug Ruith only takes Mercy and leaves me behind?”

“Then I try to stake him by myself. I have the thorn.”

I sighed. “He’s strong. I don’t know if you can get close enough.”

“I’m a determined bitch. I’ll find a way. But if he tries to take me, you come along if you can. Same plan that we had for Leann except, this time, you can’t touch the stake. Killing him won’t purge her essence from you, but you can still use your ability to pull the stake through the air. He doesn’t know you’re telekinetic. We might be able to take him by surprise.”

I nodded. “We’ll only get one shot at this.”

“We’ll have to act fast. The first chance you have, you have to take it.”

“The stake won’t kill him. Malvessa made it clear it will only weaken him. He might still wreak a lot of havoc with his ship if we don’t kill him as soon as we stake him.”

Ladinas turned to the rest of the vampires in the room. “Alright, everyone! Time to arm up!”

Mercy grinned. “If he gets away from us, take him down.”

Ladinas smirked. “This is what we do. All we need is an opening, and that sorcerer is going down.”

Chapter 19

Willie pulled me aside as Mercy followed Ladinas, Demeter, and the other vampires through the security door to the armory.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“Something about all of this doesn’t feel right. That forest he was making, it was like the Seelie Forest.”

“Right. He’s still in charge of it. He’s using the power himself.”

“I understand that. I said it before. It’s the character of the one wielding the power that matters. That forest isn’t evil. There’s good magic there. If there’s a way to use it, to save it, we should try. Especially since it’s over a convergence.”

“Do we know what will happen to the forest if we kill him?”

Willie shook his head. “Someone will have to take charge of it. Someone who can handle magic.”

“Ladinas doesn’t have anyone here who can do that.”

“I can,” Willie said. “What I’m trying to say is this. If you stop Mug Ruith, I’m not going back to New Orleans. We can’t let that forest fall into the hands of someone unseelie.”

I chuckled. “Wee Willie Winker as a Faerie King. I like it! You might even bring Wanda back as your queen.”

Willie winced. “Yeah. I’ll have to think about that.”

I chuckled. “Well, your marriage is your business, Willie. Whatever the case, I think it’s a splendid plan.”

“I am sorry I cannot come back to help you get rid of Leann’s essence.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that. If I need your help, I’ll know where to find you.”

“But first we have to stop Mug Ruith!”

I gave Willie a thumbs up. “That’s right. We’ve got this.”

Willie thumbs upped me back. “Right-o Hailey-boo!”

Willie and I pulled up the rear and followed the rest of the Exeter vampires through the security door, up the elevator in groups of six or seven at a time, and to the armory. Ladinas had to stay in the elevator to activate the palm and retina scanners. The vampires knew what to do. Some of them had their own lockers with stake-proof armor. Demeter fitted Mercy and me into a set of our own again. Since my shirt was shredded, mine wasn’t covered. It didn’t matter. It would stop a stake if Mug Ruith or any vampires with him knew I was wearing it or not.

I touched my leg. My wand was in my pocket, ready for action. I didn’t need rifles or crossbows. My magic was my weapon.

We headed out through a few more security doors and went outside. We were fortunate when we returned from the faerie realm that it was night. It was still dark. We had plenty of time before sunrise. We didn’t know how many vampires Mug Ruith had with him. He might have been more vulnerable during the day. He wouldn’t have any vampires to protect him. Provided they would protect him. He was sacrificing them for his cause. Still, we couldn’t fight him during the day any more than the vampires at his side could fight alongside him.

Mug Ruith had created most of this new faerie forest during the day while Mercy and I were gone. If we didn’t end this at night, now, there was no telling how much more he might do the next day. We didn’t know how much more powerful he might be the next night if we missed this chance.

The vampires marched through Exeter to the edge of town. We had to go straight through Mug Ruith’s faerie forest to reach the hill. It was risky. We were in his domain. He had control of the magic that flowed through the trees and mushrooms.

I expected vampires to jump out at us from behind the trees. Maybe more would blast up from under the ground like before. If not vampires, maybe more roots like Malvessa used to pull us into her chamber.

The magic radiated off of everything. As a witch, I could feel it. It wasn’t a magic I knew how to harness, but I knew if I could, there would be very little I couldn’t do. That scared me—because at the moment, Mug Ruith controlled all of it. He knew how to use it. Why, then, didn’t he stop us then and there? Perhaps he didn’t know we were coming. He was still in his flying wheel soaring above, blasting the ground around the perimeter of the forest, planting more trees and sowing more seeds and mushroom spores. Every second that passed made him stronger.

We made our way to the top of the hill without any interference. We didn’t crawl on our bellies this time. We were trying to get the sorcerer’s attention. Mercy and I stood at the apex of the hill. Demeter launched a series of flares toward Mug Ruith’s flying machine as it flew overhead.

The giant wheel violated every principle of aerodynamic science. There was nothing about its shape or structure that suggested it could fly. Faerie magic powered it—a lot of it.

The wheel turned slowly in the sky. The oars on the side continued to row. It crept its way back toward us and hovered over where we stood.

A green beam of magic blasted from the bottom of the wheel and enveloped Mercy and me. It didn’t hurt. It tickled a little. It tugged at us until we found ourselves floating over the ground. Like a tractor beam on the Starship Enterprise, it drew us into the hull of the wheel.

When the magic faded, Mercy and I were standing alone in a closed room. It wasn’t egg-shaped at least.

Mercy huffed. “Well, great. We’re in a prison.”

“I’m not so sure. I guess he left Willie behind. He was on my shoulders when the beam struck.”

“He doesn’t want a faerie interfering with his faerie magic.”

I nodded. “Probably not. Stand on the opposite side of the room. If he shows up, we need to be ready.”

The ceiling above us turned green—just like the egg shell did when Willie passed through it.

“I think he’s coming.” Mercy untied the top of the pant leg that was still holding the thorn from the Wayward Tree. “Be ready to do this. Don’t hesitate.”

I nodded and watched the green glow get brighter. Mug Ruith passed through it and floated down to the ground.

“Welcome, guardians. It’s high time we had this conversation.”

“No conversation!” Mercy shouted.

I tilted my head. “What are you doing here? What is your purpose?”

“I’m doing my part to save the world!”

I snorted. “Save the world?”

“Hailey!” Mercy shouted.

I furrowed my brow. “No, I want to hear this.”

Mug Ruith looked my direction. His eyes were blank, his irises faded. I almost forgot he was blind. He was looking at us in spirit gaze. Maybe he sensed my magic as a witch. Still, it was as if he was looking through me rather than at me. “I was imprisoned in the Unseelie Forest for centuries. When the gates failed, I escaped.”

“Yup,” Mercy said. “Knew that already.”

Mercy stared daggers at me across the room. I couldn’t do it. I had to hear him out.

“You’ve been sacrificing people’s lives. You really expect us to believe you’re saving the world?”

“I am a druid! The earth is and always has been my home. Do you know what the Leanhuan-Shee intended to do? I knew this gateway was the key to her plan. I had to gather power by any means necessary to protect and seal the portal.”

I shook my head. “You still took people’s lives. You turned dozens of humans into vampires. How did you do it?”

“There are some of your kind who understand what I’m doing.”

“I need a name!” Mercy demanded. “What vampire is helping you?”

Mug Ruith shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t know him. He’s not among those who were with you when I brought you here.”

“You cursed me!” I shouted. “I was going to die.”

“You attacked me first. The curse never would have killed you. You’re a guardian. I can only protect this portal. There are others elsewhere and you’re needed. Still, I had to do what I had to do.”

“Leann is dead,” Mercy said. “She’s no longer a threat. You can stop this. We can guard the convergence.”

Mug Ruith tilted his head. “She’s dead?”

“You killed her!” Mercy shouted.

Mug Ruith shook his head. “It wasn’t me. Though I would have done it if I had the chance.”

“How many more people have to die?” Mercy asked.

“This is just the beginning. I must maintain my power. I must get stronger. The powers from the other side are infinite.”

I tilted my head. “You won’t stop sacrificing people so you can gain power? This is how you intend to protect the world?”

“You don’t understand what’s at stake. You don’t know the Unseelie Faeries like I do.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Mercy said. “This has to stop.”

“I am sorry. I cannot stop. The sacrifice is necessary for the sake of the world.”

I raised my hand. I wasn’t sure I could do it. Mug Ruith furrowed his brow. He raised one hand and clenched his fist. A blast of magic hit me and threw me back.

As I hit the wall, I saw Mercy take the thorn in her hand. Her eyes were always red, but when she touched the thorn, they glowed. She charged Mug Ruith and plunged the thorn into his chest. “This ends today!”

I struggled to my feet. The whole airship shook. The surrounding wood cracked.

“What have you done?” Mug Ruith cried.

“What I had to do.”

“My power is the only thing stopping the Unseelie Faeries from invading.”

“Malvessa told us she had no interest in this world,” I grunted.

“She lied!”

“Faeries can’t lie!” Mercy screamed.

Mug Ruith shook his head. “The Wayward Tree invigorates the Unseelie! That’s the seat of the original deceit. Most faeries cannot lie. That’s not true of Malvessa. She’s already coming. I can feel it!”

“How do we stop her?” I asked.

“This thorn purged me of my power. I can’t wield it. My vessel is failing. If she gets control of the forest, all will be lost. There will be no stopping her!”

The floor beneath us cracked. The crack widened. I could see the forest below. It was a long drop.

When the vessel fell apart, we fell with it. This was going to hurt. Mercy and I could survive. Could Mug Ruith? He wasn’t a threat. He knew things we didn’t.

As we fell, gunshots fired. Demeter was a crack shot. I didn’t realize he was such a great sniper. Blood spurted out of Mug Ruith’s chest as his body hurtled to the ground.

Something grabbed me by my stake-proof vest. I craned my head back. It was Willie. He cast some magic around me. It formed a bubble and slowed my descent. Willie left me and darted through the air and grabbed Mercy. He gave her a bubble like mine.

“Willie!” I screamed. “You have to take the forest!”

He didn’t respond. He was too far away. I looked down. We were floating down over the stone circle. Red magic swirled over the ground. Mug Ruith’s body crashed to the ground just outside of the circle.

A host of dark figures blasted out of the portal. They had wings. As they emerged the trees all around turned black. The mushrooms burst, filling the air with spores. I didn’t know if Malvessa was one of the faeries. From a distance, I couldn’t tell.

Willie flew down and found the biggest tree that hadn’t yet turned. He flew into it. The foliage glowed green. Somehow, he was using its power. The dark power continued to spread but it didn’t encroach on Willie’s tree. It was a single Seelie stronghold in an expanding Unseelie Forest.

My bubble landed next to Mug Ruith. It popped when it hit the ground. I ran over to the sorcerer. His chest was covered in blood—both from the thorn and from Demeter’s shot.

He was barely breathing. Somehow he survived the thorn, the gunshot, and the fall. He wouldn’t live for long. I grabbed his feet and dragged him toward Willie’s tree.

Mercy was running ahead. She saw everything that happened. She touched Willie’s tree and disappeared. I picked up the pace. With my vampiric strength, it wasn’t as hard as one would think to drag the sorcerer’s dying body behind me. More Unseelie faeries were flying out of the portal. How long could Willie hold the tree? Would it stand against an entire Unseelie Forest?

Still holding on to Mug Ruith’s ankle, I touched the trunk of the tree. It pulled both of us in.

We found ourselves standing in a hollowed-out room, not unlike Oberon’s throne room. This room, though, was bare. No fancy furniture or decorations.

“Why did you bring him in here?” Mercy asked.

“Because he’s still alive. Just barely. If he knows anything that might help, we need answers.”

Mercy sighed. “Fuck it. I already touched it once.”

Mercy yanked the stake out of Mug Ruith’s chest. She bit him on the neck and sucked the blood out of his body.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saving his ass. At least this way he’ll be bound to me as his sire. Grab your wand. Get a healing spell ready.”

I bit my lip. “Just when shit couldn’t get any crazier.”

Mercy bit him again. She continued draining him of whatever blood he had left. I aimed my wand at the sorcerer and cast a healing spell over him. It took a lot of power. He wasn’t just drained of blood; he had some serious injuries.

Mug Ruith gasped for air. His eyes shot open. His irises were dark now. The only light we had in the room was from the magic that Willie was using to maintain control of the tree. I leaned over and looked Mug Ruith in the eye. His eyes were red. By the way he looked past me, though, he was still blind. My spell hadn’t healed everything. It did make him a vampire.

Mercy grabbed the sorcerer by his neck and pulled him to his feet. Not the gentlest approach, but certainly effective. He was weak. His knees wobbled under him, but Mercy maintained her grip on his jugular. “Tell us how we can stop them.”

Mug Ruith grimaced. He gestured to the thorn that was lying on the floor. The thorn was coursing with magic. He might not see everything, but his spirit gaze allowed him to see magic clearly. “Use it on Malvessa.”

“I can kill her with it?” Mercy asked.

Mug Ruith shook his head. “Not you.”

I gulped. “I have to do it? If I touch that thing, I’ll become a succubus.”

“And it was a succubus, the Leanhuan-Shee, who dominated the Unseelie Empress before. She won’t be able to hurt you if you change.”

Mercy gulped. “Hailey. You don’t have to do this.”

I took a deep breath. “Yes, I do. If it stops this from happening, well, I’ll just have to deal with it.”

“It will turn you into a demon! We don’t know if there’s any way back from that if you do it.”

“If I don’t do this, Malvessa will rule an Unseelie Forest on earth.”

“There is a way you can come back from this,” Mug Ruith said. “It’s not common. It may only be a myth, a legend.”

“Spit it out!” Mercy demanded.

“The thorn will affect your transformation, but it will not be permanent until you embrace your power as a succubus. You can resist it and purge the demonic essence from your spirit, but only through repeated acts of valor, through the sheer force of your will.”

“Acts of valor? What does that mean?”

Mug Ruith shook his head. “I cannot say. The Wayward Tree corrupts, but only when you allow its corruption to claim you. Your will is paramount. You must resume your role as a guardian. Fight what’s evil. Only you mustn’t kill a human—not by your abilities as a succubus, and not by any other means. You must remain pure of heart.”

“But I can kill Malvessa with the thorn, right?”

Mug Ruith nodded. “You can. Kill her if you can catch her. If not, the next best thing is to chase her back through the portal. If your faerie here can reclaim the forest, he can hold her off as I did before.”

Mercy cleared her throat. “One last question. Who the hell is the vampire who helped you before? I can make you speak now that I’m your sire.”

Mug Ruith took a deep breath. “His name is Ramon De Leonne.”

Mercy gasped. She took two steps back. She shook her head. “No. It can’t be. Ramon became human again.”

“When he learned of the convergences, and my plan to stop it, he found a young vampire to turn him again. He wanted to help. To save his family.”

“Who turned him!” Mercy screamed.

Mug Ruith shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. He approached Ladinas first. Ladinas turned him down and offered him protection instead. Ramon was dissatisfied with that arrangement. No matter, Ramon’s sire is dead. He was among those you killed when you came after me in the forest the first time.”

“They weren’t killed,” Mercy said. “Those bullets leave wood splinters in the heart. They can still be revived. It’s not easy.”

Mug Ruith pressed his lips together. “It’s not possible. Ramon burned out his sire’s heart himself. Then he ripped him to shreds. He’s out of control. He’s a monster. It took all my effort when I still had my power to restrain him. Now, he has an entire army of equally brutal and vicious vampires that he turned for me. They were meant to be sacrifices. That’s not going to happen anymore. Thanks to you.”

Mercy slammed her fist into the side of the wall. The entire tree echoed with thunder when she struck it. “Fuck!”

“I know you love Ramon, still. I’m sorry this happened.”

Mercy clenched her fists. “Go kill that damned faerie. Make it painful. I’ll deal with Mug Ruith.”

“Don’t hurt him!” I grabbed Mercy’s hands and stared her straight in the eyes. “I know you blame him for what happened to Ramon, but he’s under your control now. He still knows strong druidic magic. We might need him.”

Mercy huffed. “Fine. I won’t kill him. That doesn’t mean I can’t kick his ass until I feel better.”

Mug Ruith gulped. His eye sockets widened and his eyes wandered. Mercy delivered a swift kick to his face, and he fell to the ground. “I’ll deal with him later.”

I took a deep breath. I picked up the thorn. A pain spread through my body. My blood boiled. I started to sweat. I had the sudden urge to screw every male in sight—Mug Ruith, even Willie.

“What’s happening?” Mercy asked.

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s done. I’m a succubus. Good fucking times.”

“No good fucking times for you, missy.”

I glared at Mercy. “Not funny.”

Mercy smirked. “Let’s end this.”

“Wait!” Willie said. “I need you here. It’s not safe for you out there.”

“I’m not staying in here while Hailey goes to battle alone.”

“She’s not alone,” Willie said. “Ladinas and the others are coming down to fight. I need your help to hold this tree as long as possible. If we lose this tree, even after Hailey kills Malvessa, I won’t be able to reclaim the rest of the forest. You can wield magic. I need your help.”

“I’m a witch,” Mercy said. “I don’t know faerie magic.”

“You don’t need faerie magic. Any power you can lend me, I can repurpose.”

Mercy huffed. “Fine. I’ll try.”

I nodded. “Willie. How, do I get out of here?”

“This tree can’t hold you. You’re a demon now. Walk through it.”

I huffed. “I’m not a demon. I just have a demon’s body. Sort of.”

“All the same,” Mercy said. “Go kick some faerie ass.”

Chapter 20

I pushed myself through the tree. Walking through wood is weird. I wasn’t thrilled about becoming a succubus, but if immunity to faerie magic and the ability to move through faerie trees was a perk of my new nature, I intended to make the most of it.

No sooner did my feet hit the grass and dozens of red faerie balls came flying at me. One of them struck me in the chin. Don’t hit me in the chin with your balls. I’ll bite you down to size.

I tightened my hand on the thorn. I charged every faerie I saw. When I struck them, they exploded in a shower of red magic. I dropped five or six of them before they got the message and fled.

The boulders surrounding the portal shook. One of them flew out of the ground. I looked past it and saw Malvessa. She used her power to throw it at me.

I braced myself. When the boulder hit me, it shattered around my shoulder. It also hurt like hell. She threw more at me. One after the other. I lost my balance and fell back.

“You think you’re so clever, vampire!” Malvessa shrieked.

She grabbed a branch from one of her dark trees and snapped it off. She had a stake. She charged at me as I got to my feet. The stake hit my chest. My vest stopped it.

“Yup. More clever than you, bitch!”

Malvessa’s eyes widened. I took off after her. She darted through the trees. She was fast. So was I. She had wings. I didn’t.

She flew over me. She placed her hands on either side of her face, pushed her thumbs to her temples and wagged her fingers as she stuck out her tongue. “Na na na boo boo!

I flipped her off. Never flipped off a faerie before. It was oddly satisfying.

“I can do this all night! Can you do it once the sun comes up? Don’t think so!”

I grunted. She had a point. All she had to do to avoid the thorn was stay beyond my reach.

I was going to have to get creative. I had my wand. Most of my magic didn’t work well on faeries or anyone wielding faerie power. I learned that lesson the hard way when I tried to capture Mug Ruith in a blood prism. It didn’t matter that his curse wasn’t meant to kill me. I thought I was going to die, and that wasn’t a feeling I wanted to experience again. I didn’t know what Malvessa could do if I tried to throw a spell at her. I didn’t know much about the extent of her abilities. All I knew was that her magic couldn’t hurt me. That might not be true if she reflected my own magic back at me.

My telekinesis might work if I could throw something at her. I couldn’t throw the thorn at her. I couldn’t move objects at will. All I could do was pull objects through the air toward me. Given that Malvessa could fly, she could easily soar up over the trees, and there wouldn’t be anything I could use to knock her down.

Gunshots sounded from a distance. Demeter was one hell of a shot, but hitting a faerie was more than I could expect.

I was at a loss. Malvessa was right. All she had to do was evade me until morning. I’d have to hide back in Willie’s tree or retreat to Ladinas’s lair. There was no telling how many faeries she might bring to earth while I was out of commission.

The sound of several sets of footsteps approached. I turned to see Ladinas, Demeter, and the rest of the vampires heading my way. I was glad it was them. I didn’t know where Ramon was with his vampires. With Mug Ruith down, he was probably off wreaking havoc on the town or hiding somewhere to regroup with his army of younglings. I had no reason to suspect he’d take sides with Malvessa. He had his own agenda. Knowing Ramon’s history, that agenda included a lot of dismemberment. Taking over the world or wielding faerie power wasn’t his priority.

“How can we help?” Ladinas asked.

I pointed at Malvessa as she flew around the top of the trees. “We have to bring her down. I need to stake her with this thorn, or at least chase her back into the portal. I can’t get to her.”

Ladinas chuckled. “We’ve got this. Demeter?”

Demeter smiled widely. He extended his hand. One of the other vampires handed him what looked like some kind of bazooka.

Demeter took a knee and lifted the bazooka to his shoulder. “Check this shit out.”

I watched as Demeter fired something at Malvessa. It wasn’t a rocket, which is what I expected, but a giant net.

It expanded over her and fell around her. I didn’t know if it would hold her but it gave me a shot.

I took off toward the net as it pulled the Unseelie Empress down. She fluttered in a panic in the net.

I plunged my thorn into the net and hit her between the wings. She shrieked and exploded in a puff of red magic. Screams sounded from all around the forest. The Unseelie Faeries blasted past us. They avoided me—for good reason. They poured through the portal. As the faeries retreated, the surrounding forest changed.

The trees turned green again. The mushrooms swelled. A palpable magical tingle spread through the air.

I chuckled. “Willie is taking the forest back.”

Ladinas grinned. “I think it’s high time we call him Big Willie.”

I snickered. “I’m not sure that comes out the way you mean it.”

Ladinas laughed. “Fair enough. Good work. What’s next? Any thoughts?”

I took a deep breath. “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”

Ladinas tilted his head. “What’s that?”

“I want to rip off your clothes and have my way with you.”

Ladinas’s eyes widened. “Far be it from me to say no to a good time.”

I shook my head. “Trust me. It wouldn’t be a good time for you. I’m a succubus now. My desires aren’t exactly savory.”

Ladinas took two steps back. “Alright, Glenn Close.”

I tilted my head. “Huh?”

“Fatal Attraction. Don’t tell me you don’t know that movie.”

I snorted. “Heard of it. Never seen it.”

“The point is, I appreciate your desire for me. Given what you’ve shared, I’ll have to pass. I prefer my love making not be accompanied by death. Nothing personal.”

I snickered. “No offense taken.”

Chapter 21

We settled on the title King Willie over Big Willie. This was his Seelie Forest, now. If he chose to share his rule with Wanda, that was his business. His primary goal, though, was to guard the convergence. So long as he ruled the forest, we had a good chance of keeping the bad faeries away. That didn’t mean the convergence wasn’t still a problem. The convergence could connect to another realm. Maybe even Samhuinn. If those earthworms came through, there’d be a problem. Still, the Seelie Forest was a first line of defense against whatever might attempt to break through.

We went back to Ladinas’s lair to shelter for the day. Mercy pulled me aside.

“I have to talk to you about something.”

I took a deep breath. “You’re staying.”

“I’ve been in New Orleans for more than a century. It’s time I returned home. These vampires could use someone who can handle magic.”

I raised one eyebrow. “That’s not the reason. You and I both know why you’re staying.”

Mercy took a deep breath. “Ramon.”

“If anyone can get him under control, it’s you.”

Mercy shook her head. “I had to use my compulsion abilities before to keep him in check. Now that those abilities are gone, this will not be easy.”

I hugged Mercy. It was the closest thing to any sort of intimacy I’d get with anyone in the near future. “You’ve got this.”

Mercy hugged back, then put her hands on each of my shoulders. “You’ve got this. Remember, you can overcome this through the force of your will.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell Connor.”

“If he loves you, he’ll wait. You’re worth it.”

For some reason, tears welled up in my eyes. Was it because Mercy was staying here and I had to go back to New Orleans without her? Or was it because it scared me that Connor and I wouldn’t make it? Probably some of both. He would want to wait for me, but I didn’t know how long it would take to overcome this succubus problem. It could take years, maybe decades. I couldn’t expect him to wait that long. I didn’t know if I could trust myself around him. My urges were strong. I wasn’t even particular about it. I couldn’t look at anyone with a Y chromosome without having unsavory urges.

I was even attracted to Mug Ruith. How gross is that? He looked like someone had dipped his entire body into a wood chipper. Still, he had the working parts my succubus nature required. I had to wonder what would happen if I screwed a vampire. Technically, a succubus fed on souls. Baron Samedi held the souls of every vampire. Would I rob the Baron of the vampire’s soul if I laid with a vamp? Would it hurt the vampire at all? I didn’t know and I couldn’t afford to experiment. If I fed the succubus once, the change would be permanent.

Mug Ruith was sitting by himself in the corner. Imagine that. He wasn’t making friends. “What are you going to do with him?”

Mercy shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“What about Mel?” I asked.

Mercy sighed. “She should be with me.”

“Tommy is still my progeny.”

“He has to stay with you.”

I grunted. “They will not like that. They’ll want to be together.”

Mercy shrugged. “Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

I snorted. “That’s the kind of crap that people in long-distance relationships say to make themselves feel better.”

“If Pauli will help, perhaps they can visit each other periodically. Until they both have their cravings totally mastered, that’s how it is going to have to be.”

I laughed. “I can handle Tommy. You really think Mel is going to play ball with this plan?”

Mercy shrugged. “She doesn’t have a choice. It’s not forever. None of this is forever. Don’t forget that. We’re all going to get through this.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that. Right now, it’s pretty overwhelming.”

Mercy rolled her eyes. “I get it. But you killed freaking Dracula. You defeated Corbin. You just killed the Unseelie Empress. This isn’t the biggest challenge you’ve faced.”

I shook my head. “It’s one thing when your enemy is someone else. It’s another thing entirely when my enemy is a part of me.”

“You didn’t have to deal with cravings as a youngling like a lot of vampires do. Annabelle helped with that. So did your magic. What you’re enduring is unique, but at its basic level, it’s a craving you have to resist. It’s not anything other vampires haven’t overcome before.”

“Most younglings slip up once or twice. I can’t slip up even once.”

“You know what’s at stake. Bad vampire pun not intended. It’s not just your future and who you’ll become. Other people’s lives are at stake. When a youngling slips up, they might tell themselves they can get away with a reckless feed without a body left behind. You’re guaranteed that anyone you screw is as good as dead. You’re not a killer. Never have been. Stay true to yourself and you’ll be fine.”

A wide grin split my face. “I might need a distraction. Maybe I’ll redecorate Casa do Diabo.”

“Don’t go crazy. It’s still my house.”

Chapter 22

Mercy called Pauli to come pick me up. He couldn’t find Ladinas’ lair so we had to wait until nightfall.

You know what’s really crazy? I had desires for Pauli when he showed up. That he was naked when he shifted out of his snake form didn’t help. Thankfully, he didn’t reciprocate my desires. He was like me—he exclusively desired anyone and everyone with a Y chromosome.

Maybe I’d join a convent. I’d have to convert to Catholicism. I wasn’t sure if they accepted vampires. They probably didn’t accept succubus demons. I don’t know why not. Go figure. Still, it was a way to avoid temptation.

Monastic living probably wasn’t the test of character and virtue I’d need to overcome this. I was a guardian. New Orleans was riddled with mystical convergences. If the city wasn’t already swarming with otherworldly monsters, it was only a matter of time. Hiding away and avoiding men at all costs would not cut it.

Pauli teleported me back to Casa do Diabo. Connor wasn’t there. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. I had to have the talk with Tommy and Mel first. Pauli was waiting to take Mel to Mercy.

Mel wasn’t especially thrilled with the arrangement. I knew she wouldn’t be. Tommy took it better. He was a glass-half-full type. Still, I could tell it broke his baby vamp heart when Pauli took Mel away. Young love was crazy like that. An old married couple, like Willie and Wanda, might look forward to time apart. That didn’t mean they didn’t love each other. Love evolves and matures over time. Sometimes it’s strained and fades.

When you’re in a new relationship and infatuated with each other, even a few days apart feels crushing. Emotions like that could be especially volatile for a young vampire. I was going to have to keep a close eye on Tommy for a while. I’d have to accompany him on his feeds.

I wasn’t looking forward to that at all. I wasn’t even sure if I could feed directly from someone without indulging my demonic side. I was going to have to drink from a glass for a while. It was the safest option. Taking Tommy out for a feed and chaperoning his meals was going to be like taking a sober alcoholic to a bar. Come to think of it, maybe I could benefit from a twelve-step program. Hello. My name is Hailey, and I’m a murderous succubus.

There probably weren’t a lot of groups out there for folks in my situation.

I decided to have the conversation with Connor over the phone. It was tacky. It wasn’t a break-up, but it felt like it. I didn’t know how I’d react if I was alone with him in person. I mean, good lord. I was attracted to Mug Ruith, Pauli, and even Wee Willie Winker. I knew it wasn’t a real attraction. It was more like a hunger that manifested as sexual desire. I didn’t trust that I could control myself around someone I genuinely wanted to be with. Maybe my love for him would give me the strength to resist. Maybe my succubus nature would take over.

Connor understood the reasons. He wasn’t any more thrilled with the arrangement than Mel and Tommy were with their situation.

Usually, Connor and I talked for hours. If we weren’t together in person, we could sit on the phone all day long and talk about nothing at all. This was possibly the shortest phone call we’d had in months. Once the truth was out there, once he knew we couldn’t be together for a while, there wasn’t much to say. He needed time to process it all.

I finally got my shower. I’m not sure I’d ever seen the shade of brownish-yellow that colored the water as it ran off my body. Once I sufficiently purged myself of the combined odor of sewage and sweat, I curled up in my bed.

Sarah agreed to keep an eye on Tommy. She wasn’t his sire, but she was better suited to watch him at the moment. I was exhausted and, damn it, he was a dude. I needed some time away from someone who awakened my desires.

I turned off my phone. I didn’t want any distractions. I wasn’t sure if I could sleep. I didn’t have to sleep, and it’s difficult for vampires to get to sleep.

I was just dozing off when the doorbell rang. I pulled the covers over my head. Sarah could handle it.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

I groaned. “What do you want?”

The door squeaked when it opened. I felt someone’s fingers run through my hair. I turned to see Annabelle looking at me.

“How are you doing?”

I sighed. “How much do you know?”

“Pretty much everything. Mercy called to explain what had happened. I told her I’d keep an eye on you.”

I sat up in bed and tucked my knees into my chest. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Of course you can. I hate to do this to you right now, but I have something to show you.”

I rolled my eyes. “What is it?”

Annabelle showed me her phone. “Ever see anything like this before?”

I rubbed my eyes. The picture was just a shadow, but it was something large. “Some kind of swamp monster?”

Annabelle shrugged. “Maybe. These things have been seen all over the city. They cast shadows, like this, but otherwise they’re totally invisible.”

“Have they done anything bad?”

“Not yet. But whenever there’s something like this that pops up in the city, it’s my job to look into it. Given that the gates to the otherworlds are shattered, and you’re supposed to be the guardian, I thought you should see it.”

I took a deep breath. “It might be harmless. Not everything that looks scary really is.”

“Whatever these things are, they’re not supposed to be here. In my experience, creatures out of their element turn violent sooner rather than later.”

I rubbed my brow. “Where was this taken?”

“In the alley, just outside of Vilokan. They’re all around the French Quarter. Social media is lighting up with supposed sightings.”

I grunted. “No rest for the wicked, I suppose.”

Annabelle grinned. “You’re not a full demon. You’re definitely not wicked.”

I shrugged. “I have wicked thoughts. You wouldn’t believe the shit running through my head.”

“Thoughts are just thoughts. It’s the choices you make that matter.”

I swung my feet off the edge of the bed. “You’re right. Let’s go check it out.”

The Blood Witch Saga Continues in…

Monsters and Mambos

ENJOY THIS BOOK? LEAVE A REVIEW!

Mercy’s story continues in The Fury of a Vampire Witch, Book 1, Bloody Queen. Coming soon: Summer, 2023. Follow Theophilus Monroe on AMAZON or BOOKBUB to be notified when it is available.

About the Author

Theophilus Monroe is a fantasy author with a knack for real-life characters whose supernatural experiences speak to the pangs of ordinary life. After earning his Ph.D. in Theology, he decided that academic treatises that no one will read (beyond other academics) was a dull way to spend his life. So, he began using his background in religious studies to create new worlds and forms of magic–informed by religious myths, ancient and modern–that would intrigue readers, inspire imaginations, and speak to real-world problems in fantastical ways.

When Theophilus isn’t exploring one of his fantasy lands, he is probably playing with one of his three sons, or pumping iron in his home gym, which is currently located in a 40-foot shipping container.

He makes his online home at www.theophilusmonroe.com. He loves answering reader questions—feel free to e-mail him at theophilus@theophilusmonroe.com if the mood strikes you!

Also By Theophilus Monroe

Gates of Eden Universe

The Druid Legacy

Druid’s Dance

Bard’s Tale

Ovate’s Call

Rise of the Morrigan

The Fomorian Wyrmriders

Wyrmrider Ascending

Wyrmrider Vengeance

Wyrmrider Justice

Wyrmrider Academy (Exclusive to Omnibus Edition)

The Voodoo Legacy

Voodoo Academy

Grim Tidings

Death Rites

Watery Graves

Voodoo Queen

The Legacy of a Vampire Witch

Bloody Hell

Bloody Mad

Bloody Wicked

Bloody Devils

Bloody Gods

The Legend of Nyx

Scared Shiftless

Bat Shift Crazy

No Shift, Sherlock

Shift for Brains

Shift Happens

Shift on a Shingle

The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged

The Curse of Cain

The Mark of Cain

Cain and the Cauldron

Cain’s Cobras

Crazy Cain

The Wrath of Cain

The Blood Witch Saga

Voodoo and Vampires

Witches and Wolves

Devils and Dragons

Ghouls and Grimoires

More to come!

Druidess

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GoE OMNIBUS COLLECTIONS [in Chronological Order]:

The Druid Legacy

Wyrmrider (Books 1-4)

The Voodoo Legacy

The Legacy of a Vampire Witch

The Legend of Nyx

The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged

Other Theophilus Monroe Series

Nanoverse

[Also Available in an Omnibus Edition]

The Elven Prophecy

[Also Available in an Omnibus Edition]

Chronicles of Zoey Grimm

The Daywalker Chronicles (Coming Soon!)

Go Ask Your Mother (Coming Soon!)

AS T.R. MAGNUS

Kataklysm

Blightmage

Ember

FREE EPIC: DARKWORLD (GET IT HERE!)

Table of Contents

- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- About the Author
- Also By Theophilus Monroe