Of Blood and Smoke

Chapter 41

FORTY-ONE

Josiah

Faint traces of light streamed in through the blinds and curtains of Della’s room. The blankets on her bed were rumpled and cast down slightly, but she was nowhere to be seen. Turning around slowly, my gaze sought her guard who’d followed me to the bedroom. He had a mildly confused look on his face, as if he were surprised to see me.

“Where is she?”

Kent winced and met my eyes. “She went to go meet with you.”

A trickle of anger dripped into my chest. “Did I not tell you to remain with her?”

“She was with one of your men; he was like you,” Kent replied, taking a step back.

“Who took her?” There were no traces of ether in the room, no crumbs of fear. Everything was as it should be, other than the absence of my Della.

Kent’s hand was on the edge of the door. “She wasn’t taken, she left willingly. With him. He must’ve used magic on me.”

My vision went red. “With whom?”

“Jude,” he stated. Just as he went to run away, my hand thrust out, stopping the man without laying a single digit on him. Who the hell is Jude?

Kent was frozen in time, a leg stretched out in his desperate bid for escape. I moved for his neck, inhaling his soul the same moment as I thrust my dagger through his heart. Demon souls didn’t have the same effect on me as one belonging to a human; there was no feeling of contentment and satiety, no fullness or warmth. All I had to savor was a fleeting sense of justice, the momentary knowledge that the guard couldn’t make the same mistake again.

Jude .

“Micha, come to Della’s immediately.” I shoved my phone back into my pocket after uttering the order. He’d remained at the office after I’d left, and I knew it wouldn’t take him long to arrive.

Della may have gone willingly, if Kent was to be believed, but my Little One was much too unfamiliar with the ways of the High Court. She may have been used to my ways, the ones I allowed her to see, but she was in no way prepared for what awaited her if my suspicions were correct.

I’d never met Jude or had any dealings with him and had no idea how he’d ended up in Ezra’s hands, nor did I know what he’d say to convince Della to leave with him. She must’ve thought I was in some type of danger or was waiting for her, somewhere. The more I thought of her in someone else’s hands, the harder a beat my heart thumped behind my ribs.

“You’re going to wake the dead,” Micha’s voice drawled behind me. “Calm."

His hand smoothed down my back. “Who is Jude? Have we dealt with him?” I barked.

Micha glanced around the room, his nostrils flaring as he attempted to scent the trespasser. “I’ve only heard rumors. He’s a nomad, much like your recent visitor, Ethan. I believe Jude is demon?”

My friend strode closer to the bed, holding his hand out. “She wasn’t molested.”

Neither of us used magic often, when a simple bloodbath accomplished whatever task was at hand. Neither of us had been schooled in the deeper arts of sorcery, with our purposes having been strictly molded for physical lethality. Any magic we wielded was in conjunction with our bodies’ combat skills. Higher magic was reserved for the gods and the Collective.

“Kent is still slightly alive if you’d like to partake,” I offered.

“The air is empty,” Micha said, telling me what I already knew. There were none of the tell-tale signs one would expect when one of our kind had been present, no indication at all anything was amiss. “No trace auras. She went willingly.”

I cast a glance at him as he bent over Kent, digging into his chest with his claws. Nothing of Della’s appeared disturbed. She didn’t keep many trinkets around, just a small potted plant and a few neatly stacked novels. Kent hadn’t touched her belongings, nor did Jude.

I opened her drawers, peered at their contents, and found the same. Nothing had changed. I smirked when I saw her journal, remembering my brief perusal of its contents when I’d wanted to get to know the object of my fixation better. She’d been angry when she caught me, but she hadn’t known her aura screamed loud and clear much of what I’d needed to know.

Interestingly, she hadn’t scribbled another entry since that evening. I snapped the diary closed and slammed the drawer shut. Why would she feel she had to hide from me? Her journal had only confirmed what I’d suspected about her; there wasn’t a single thing she should be embarrassed or ashamed of. I couldn’t protect her if I didn’t know everything about her.

A wave of shame washed over me. I hadn’t kept her safe; she’d been taken away from me.

“I’m leaving for the Realm,” I informed Micha. He stared up at me from where he was crouched, licking his fingers. “I will bring her back.”

“Would you like company, my friend?” He straightened up to his full height and ran a hand down his suit coat where it’d rumpled, a ring catching on a button.

“That is not necessary but if I seem to be away an inordinate amount of time then please offer your assistance. Perhaps Nicholas and Kiam may be interested as well,” I said, mentioning the two vampires that helpfully offered. I didn’t want to need them, but it was possible I would.

My friend bristled, likely remembering our tense exchange with the duo. “We may need to strengthen our circle,” I pointed out. “They may be valuable assets.”

I’d heard chatter among the Lessor demons and others, of beings of our kind joining and working together successfully. Or, as successfully as they could. Micha and I were at a steep disadvantage relying solely on each other. The humans and lower-classed demons we employed, while useful in different aspects, were not enough when it came to situations needing a stronger hand.

Even the demons and angels in nearby Providence were more organized than us, swiftly ending dissention and treachery under the guise of human gang wars. The demon royalty up in Boston now had a hand in arms dealing and regularly used guns to solve disputes.

They’d seamlessly earned respect among politicians and other prominent names and families, cementing themselves into human society. They were acclimating brilliantly while hidden in plain sight.

Micha and I had the riches and associated power to a degree, but we remained in the corporate shadows, reclusive and weak. How long before it all came crashing down? How long before Della was taken from me permanently?

Onychinus may have been a runaway hit, and I had other promising drugs in the works, but one bad drug, one wrong contract, and we’d be done. There were too many variables.

We’d left the Second Realm in order to live life on our own terms, but we’d been going about it wrong. Our love of solitude and extreme privacy were working against us.

“Now is when we need strength in numbers, Micha.” As much as I wished it wasn’t, it was true.

He eyed me warily. “You shouldn’t go alone, it's a trap.”

“I need someone to run Ipomoea in my absence.”

“We have the humans and mid-levels for that, we’ve trained them well,” Micha pointed out.

“If they kill me, then they’ll kill you too. Who then, will retrieve Della?”

Micha tilted his head. “I’m going with you.”

“No,” I shook my head.

“See you there,” Micha smirked at me and in an instant, disappeared.

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath.

Bending down, I picked up the blade I’d used on Kent and wiped it clean on his pant leg. The second guard, George, chose that moment to finally investigate the disturbance in Della’s bedroom. He appeared dazed and I knew then, magic had surely been deployed. He hopped back a step when the blade entered the doorframe right beside his face, the handle quivering in the oak finish.

“What weaponry do you possess?” I demanded. My outstretched hand halted his movement—other than his mouth. Satisfyingly, fear permeated the atmosphere surrounding him as he was captured under my spell.

“Nothing like yours, sir. I can do simple spells. Shoot a bow and arrow decently.”

Idiot .

“On your person—knives? Guns?” I didn’t give a fuck about archery right now but made note of it. The way things were going, one never knew.

Chagrined, he answered, “Some knives and a gun.”

“You will give them to me,” I said, approaching the man. I patted him down and relieved him of the items, including taking the spare magazine he had in his back pocket.

I didn’t favor guns, though they were effective. There was no time like the present to expand my arsenal. “Thank you. Remain here.”

“Josiah!” My bedroom door crashed open as my mother rushed in.

“Hello, Mother,” I greeted her, planting a kiss on her cheek. I was happy to be back in my childhood home in the Second Realm, despite the circumstances.

She stepped into the walk-in closet where I was going through the clothing and belongings I’d left in the Second Realm. “What are you doing? What is the meaning of this?”

She was perturbed I hadn’t entered through the front door. “They took Della. I am going to retrieve her.” I opened a large wooden chest, overlooking the lock and waving a hand over the safeguard.

“You will wait for your father to get home and take him with you,” she announced, rifling through one of the shelves that lined the wall beside her.

The shelf contained books and other curiosities such as the skeleton of a bird I’d painstakingly reassembled as a small child—after I’d eaten its flesh and organs. I met her gaze as she lightly trailed a finger over the fragile bones and then smirked at her. I’d been soundly lectured on civilized behavior after an incident involving the small creature. She’d instructed me to reanimate it. I did, feeding it my blood, and kept the sparrow as a pet and familiar for many years, until its life force ceased.

Finally locating what I was looking for, I gathered the heap of clothing from the box and exited the space. “Time is of the essence and Micha will be there. He already is, I believe.”

“These need freshening up,” my mother announced, straightening out the leathers she grabbed from me. “War garments? Really?” She glanced up.

“Yes. This is war. They took something that belongs to me.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed, this is folly.” She placed a hand on my shoulder as I picked up the pants she’d tossed to the bed. “Why haven’t you cleaned these? They stink. All I can smell is rotting flesh.”

My mother snatched the pants from me again and threw them on the floor before she waved her hands over them. The air wavered and a glittering, ethereal mist descended on my garment.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m going to be covered in entrails, I’m not going to a party.” Leaning over I picked them back up off the floor, wrinkling my nose at the floral scent now emanating from the garb.

My mother had the grace to look sheepish. “It was bad.”

“Lily of the valley is not terror-inducing, I hate to tell you.”

“What the fuck is that stench? Ruth!” Footsteps pounded up the staircase before my father walked in.

“Your son was going on a rescue mission in dirty clothes.”

Traitor .

“Not on my watch,” my father ordered, crossing the room and patting me on the back.

Clearly, stopping at home was an awful idea.

My father was a formidable man, taller than me and a massive wall of solid muscle outfitted in the finest suits and footwear. Intricate tattoos covered nearly every inch of his skin, climbing up his neck and winding around to the back of his head, telling a detailed story of his victories on the many battlegrounds of the Second Realm.

My own flesh contained no ink, my existence being a novelty and my having lived primarily in the service of the inner courts. The battles I’d fought took place on palace grounds, either in the gardens, on the streets, or in the throne room. They were short-lived but gloriously bloody and gory fights, not the epic drawn-out scenes my father was used to.

“You know what you are up against, son. If you falter, there is nothing I can do for you,” my father informed me. “Have you considered training in higher magic and sorcery?”

“I’m aware.” I began stripping off my suit, handing my jacket to my mother and then loosening my tie. “I’ll be downstairs in a minute,” I said, dismissing them both, and the needling question.

My parents exchanged a look and exited the room. With a thought and a flick, I shut the door and sat on the edge of the bed.

There was no way to know exactly what Della was going through this very moment, but I knew they wouldn’t do much of anything to her until I arrived. This knowledge gave me room to try and formulate a plan beyond entering the compound and tearing everyone’s head from their neck.

Ezra wanted me to be mated with another magical creature, and that just wasn’t going to happen. There was nothing I could do to convince him otherwise, unless Della was unknowingly a witch or other powerful creature. I’d tasted her blood and drank her essence enough times to know she was devoid of magic.

Cellphone and internet usage was spotty in realms other than the Third, despite having unique frameworks set up for the atmospheric differences. With all the magic and other elemental factors the realms contained, it was a downfall and inconvenient.

Nevertheless, I tugged my phone from my pocket and texted Micha, asking him to invite Kiam and Nicolas. I was fairly positive I could handle Ezra on my own but with the collective of five joined together, I wasn’t as confident. It was unknown how many of them remained in the palace.

I finished getting changed and laced up my boots, wrinkling my nose at the pungent smell of the lily of the valley flowers my mother had infused my leathers with. The stench of rotting meat had dissipated, camouflaged by a floral scent. Moving to my dresser, I picked up an elastic and shoved my hair into a low ponytail before leaving the room.

“Ah, much better,” my mother said. “No child of mine should ever reek of refuse.”

“You are aware, are you not, that I am about to alter the fabric of our society?” I said.

My mother’s carefree attitude was beginning to grate on me.

“Don’t get smart with your mother,” my father snapped at me.

I took a deep breath. I had to remember that life here in the Second was much different than what I’d become used to. Standards were higher, and life was more defined by exacting roles. I hadn’t realized I’d become erringly casual.

“I apologize,” I murmured, bending to give my mother a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you have a specific plan?” my father asked.

“No,” I answered, taking the offered glass from my mother. I sipped on the blood, finishing the whole glass, as my father tossed me a couple blades I snatched mid-air. “Thank you,” I acknowledged both gifts.

“How is your magic?” my mother inquired.

I placed the glass down on the kitchen counter. “Non-existent. You know we weren’t trained.” My day-to-day life didn’t necessitate much more than the learned simple manipulation of inanimate objects or paralysis of my victims, and those same skills were useful for dealing with victims of the Court. When one was as fast and bloodthirsty as I, more magic wasn’t needed to remove any obstacles in the way.

I’d been schooled extensively in physical arts by the master's themselves—the Ancients, as had Micha. I hadn’t had much use for elaborate spells, and it was forbidden. Why bother?

My father grunted. “I don’t need to tell you you’re a fool.”

“Karl,” my mother began. When he whipped his head around, I knew he’d stopped her with a glance. I heard her faint sigh before she backed off, arms crossed.

“Our son broke free from his servitude and has had plenty of time to master his natural capabilities.”

He wasn’t wrong. My indoctrination ran deeper than I realized and now it was too late. I hadn’t given much thought to expanding my knowledge or skills, singularly focused on Ipomoea and building the brand. With regret, I remembered Micha hinting we should pursue the knowledge.

“Leaving the palace without her is not an option, and I won’t be alone.” My father eyed me dubiously. “I will bring Della by to meet you both as soon as I am able.”

As I turned to leave, my mother called out, “Josiah, honey, don’t let Della touch your clothes!”

I’d forgotten lily of the valley was deadly. My dear mother had gone and doused my leathers with poison.