Of Blood and Smoke

Chapter 50

FIFTY

Josiah

The wraiths were given specific instructions not to touch or injure Della. They were to kill everyone but Ezra—he was to be saved for me.

Micha wanted to accompany me, but Kiam had no intel on where the other Ancients were currently located. I needed him to safeguard Della should she somehow escape, and I didn’t make it. He was to bring her home and safely return her to her life in the Third Realm. He would remain here, in the safety of the private fortress until I returned, or until he learned of my demise.

Kiam had no interest in engaging in battle with Della’s captors. He had his own agenda, which Micha and I were ignorant of. It didn’t matter; I wasn’t going to push for further assistance from the man. The relationships between vampires and demons were tenuous at best, despite his current assistance. The only thing that mattered was getting Della back.

Running my hands down my leathers, I checked to make sure I had all my favorite blades in place and looked to my companions. Kiam and Micha stood in the background, several feet apart, as the wraiths awaited my order to leave. They would take the underground tunnel system before me, scout Della’s location and report back to me. I would follow the same path and retrieve my love while exacting my vengeance.

“Depart,” I ordered my army.

As they left, the candles flickered out again, and Kiam relit them with a breezy sweep of his hand.

Micha approached me as I stepped out of the circle. “How do you feel?” he asked.

It was a loaded question. “I’m ready,” I answered. Fighting the wave of irritation that swept through me, I said, “We have a lot to learn.”

My best friend placed a hand on my shoulder. “I believe the modern term is ‘deprograming’.”

I hissed at the reminder of my training.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Kiam added, moving to dissemble the ritual space.

Ignoring the man, I opened the door leading to the subterranean tunnel system. Micha lifted his chin, acknowledging my exit and Kiam glanced at me, crouched on the floor as he sprinkled fresh salt around. Fates willing, I’d meet up with Micha later.

Taking advantage of my natural affinity for speed, I flew through the tunnels, anticipating being met by a reporting wraith along the way. It didn’t take long for me to be informed Della was deep in the bowels of the palace, in a ritual and ceremonial room with access to the very same corridor I was currently in.

The wraith disappeared in a plume of mist, and I sprinted the remaining length of the tunnel, taking a right when I came to a junction. Faint light, only detectable to those who could see in the dark, shone against the stone and dirt walls lining the space around me. I heard a scrape in the dirt up ahead, as if someone were dragging along the ground, before the faint odor of the sweetest blood I’d ever tasted hit me, lighting my cells on fire.

My breath flew from my lungs when I spotted her crawling in the dirt. She was dragging a sword bigger than her and was followed by a trail of blood.

“Little One,” I grated out, coming to a sharp stop in front of her. I crouched down and lifted her onto my legs, one hand pushing her hair back from her face.

Her eyes widened in shock as the sword dropped from her grasp landing with a thunk on the floor. “Josiah,” she whispered, tossing her arms around my neck.

Della was covered in dirt, debris, and both dried blood and fresh. With one hand, I examined her, searching for wounds. She gasped when I reached her wrist and I lifted it, noting the deep gash along the side. “Who did this to you?” I growled, before I sealed it shut with my tongue.

She pulled her head back from where she’d nuzzled me along my neck, her eyes shiny with tears of relief. I wiped the moisture from her cheeks.

“I did,” she stated sheepishly. “I fell trying to grab the sword.”

She glanced down at the weapon. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I can’t lift it so I guess I could just look scary dragging it?”

Further prodding revealed a red dot in the crook of her arm, marring her skin. “They were taking your blood.”

“They think something’s wrong with me, like I’m hiding magic or something because I can break free of their hold. Like I did with you that time.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. The only thing wrong is they don’t know you.”

“I’m the dumbass that thought you needed help,” she said, glancing down. “They made it seem like you wanted me to go to them.”

Pressing a kiss against her forehead, I said, “Ezra is about to pay dearly for his deception.” Gently, I set her on her feet before waving my hands in front of her. “This should cloak you at least temporarily. Stay right here and do not move.”

I hadn’t checked to see what charms or spells had been placed on the tunnels, but it didn’t matter. I had the full command of an army. There was absolutely no way I was leaving here without Ezra’s heart in my stomach and Della safely in my arms.

Leaving her in the shadows, I stalked forward. She hadn’t made it very far; the entrance was a hundred feet from where I’d discovered her.

Beautiful chaos spread out before me as I walked into the room. Wraiths dipped and dove, screaming with their mouths stretched open and yellow eyes glowing with glee. Soldiers battled the creatures with sword and knife, shattering them like glass and dissolving them into mist, but not before countless wraiths consumed the men's souls with pleasure, deflating their corporeal forms.

The beings I’d spelled were performing above and beyond what I’d expected.

“Shadows,” I ordered, “Give me space and when I am finished, you are free, as per the terms.”

A ripple of silence vibrated through the room at the sound of my voice. Then the wraiths returned their attention, battling the soldiers and pushing them into the corners and against the walls. Next, the melee parted for me and revealed the Ancient I had come for.

“Josiah, my son,” Ezra purred, his arms by his sides and palms turned upward.

A twinge of loss hit me, before it was immediately dismissed. The man had been my mentor, like a father figure in many ways since he’d been the one who oversaw my training as the High Court’s enforcer.

I’d held a mild affection for the man, but mostly I’d respected him and occasionally enjoyed his company. It’d been several years since I sat and shared a drink with him in private.

Pushing the memories away, I addressed him. “You dare to touch my property?”

“You will address me as befits a man of my station,” he hissed at me. “Della arrived willingly and of her own accord. There was no struggle.”

Reaching behind, I pulled one of the long blades strapped to my back and held it in front of me. “What have you done to my wife?”

He blinked, perhaps not realizing Della had been fully claimed by me, though he should’ve been able to smell it. Then I remembered what she said about her blood, that it’d been a distracting curiosity. He’d been stymied by a human strong enough to escape our bonds.

“The Court retains the right to investigate as it sees fit.”

“Not without my permission, not when it comes to my wife.” I lifted my sword. “Today is the day you die.”

Ezra roared with laughter. “You mean to extinguish me? You foolish boy.”

He grasped his belly, overcome, as I charged forward bringing my blade to his neck. He disappeared at that same moment, and a white-hot pain speared the base of my spine the second he was gone.

I whirled around, catching him out of the corner of my eye as he began to circle, gliding along the floor. He rubbed his hands together, creating a faint light that began to appear between his palms. It grew in form before he tossed the glowing ball my way. Blocking it with my sword, I directed it right back, but it went straight through his ghostly form, acknowledging my former reverence for the man.

The minuscule amount of magic Kiam had just instructed me in was no match for a master of the craft.