Chapter 9

9

L ugh made no move to leave the castle. I could tell that he didn't truly buy Jezebel's story. If I were being honest, neither did I. What were the odds that she just so happened to sell some Sapphire to this Quentin bloke without having a clue what he was up to? Especially when she didn't seem particularly fond of fae herself.

"Just a few more questions before we go," Lugh said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You have always been adamant that you do not sell to fae. What changed?"

She bristled at his words. "Nothing. I don't sell to fae."

Jezebel, as far as I could tell, had gotten away with her dealings only because she kept her clientele very exclusive. She stayed away from fae, avoiding Lugh's interests. And the humans she dealt with knew how to manage confidential transactions .

If she'd started selling to lots of fae, on the other hand, she risked a hell of a lot of eyeballs turning toward her little operation.

That seemed unlikely.

"No offence," I said, "but it's kind of difficult to believe you don't sell to fae when you very blatantly sold to Quentin."

She slid an uneasy glance from me to Lugh. "Look. I can see that you're upset about this whole thing, but it has nothing to do with me."

Lugh cocked his head. "What whole thing?"

"I mean, you're here because he used it against you, right?" She looked back to me again. "That's what he said he wanted it for. Now I know that's partially on me, it's just...well, listen. He promised that if I helped him get your spear, then he'd make sure that I could sell to whoever I wanted, no questions asked. He'd even send me a few customers."

Frowning, I turned to Lugh. That certainly shed some light on the situation. Quentin had effectively promised her full immunity with some added income for a bonus. No wonder she'd agreed to sell some Sapphire to him, especially a potent combo.

Which begged the question... "Do you know anything else that you haven't told us? A small tidbit of info that might be useful?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. But since you've gone and ruined my deal with Quentin, what are you going to do to help me instead?"

Lugh tensed. He didn't much like demands, particularly coming from someone who had worked with the enemy to take him down. "I will revisit the laws surrounding the sale and purchase of magical drugs. With my council."

Lugh didn't have a damn council. He just had Saoirse and Uisnech. And me, I guessed.

She sniffed at the air. "That isn't good enough, king on the hill, and you know it. I need your promise that you will relax the restrictions you've placed upon my business."

This was getting us nowhere. Lugh would never back down. And Jezebel clearly wouldn't, either. The problem with the magic-originated drugs wasn't Sapphire. It was pretty potent but fairly harmless in most situations. The problem was the stronger drugs, the heroins of the magical world. Not only could they kill, but if gone unchecked, they could kickstart an epidemic due to a strange contagion they could sometimes create.

Jezebel might not care if her drugs wiped out an entire city, but Lugh certainly did.

"I said I'll speak to my council, and that's all I can promise you right now. This kind of decision cannot be made alone."

She sneered. "What kind of king needs the permission from his lessors?"

"The kind of king that doesn't want to see dozens of humans and fae die because you needed to make a few extra quid." Lugh stepped forward, anger rippling off his body in waves.

I swallowed hard. This was clearly not going well .

Slowly, I stepped between them. "Maybe we can come to another agreement."

"No." They both said the word in unison, sharp, like a punch to the gut.

"Ooookay," I said slowly. Clearly, neither of them were going to back down.

Softly, I placed a hand on Lugh's arm and tugged on his sleeve. "Hey. Can I talk to you for a moment over there?"

Lugh narrowed his eyes, his jaw rippling, but he gave a nod and followed me a short distance across the lawn, just far enough away so that the sorcerer couldn't overhear our conversation.

"You're going to have to agree to relax a bit with the restrictions," I said in a whisper. "Trust me. I know what stubborn looks like, and it's that woman right there."

He scowled. "I can't do that, and you know it. There are too many magical drugs out there that can kill. They're like poison. I've never bothered with Jezebel much because she's stuck to Sapphire, which is harmless. But if she starts dealing the harder stuff, she'll have to be stopped."

"I get that Lugh, but she has information about your—"

"What's that?" Lugh asked darkly, pointing in the direction of the sorcerer. I glanced over my shoulder and sucked in a sharp breath of air. The sorcerer had vanished. Of course she had. In her place stood about two dozen vampires. In the heavy darkness, I couldn't see their faces, but I could sense them all the same.

Lugh's words rang in my ears. The vampires of Edinburgh were nothing like those of London. Down south, the fae had made an alliance with the vamps. They were organised, calm, and...well, caring wasn't the right word, but they had some semblance of morality. They didn't kill humans.

These vamps did.

And, if I were a betting kind of bird, I'd put a hell of a lot of money down on them being here just for us.

Suddenly, a figure in white rushed past us. Jezebel's face was as pale as her dress, and her hands were shaking. "Run!"

Yeah, that wasn't ominous at all .

"Draw your weapon, Moira," Lugh said quietly, pulling a spear from the sheathe strapped to his back. It wasn't his five-pointed weapon, but it looked pretty formidable all the same. It had a long wooden staff that led to a glistening silver point that looked sharp enough to cut through steel.

I drew my sword. In the distance, the vampires roared.

They rushed us. Twenty, or more, vampires raced across the lawn. Their voices shot into the night sky in unison, terrifying cries of pure rage. Heart hammering, I squeezed the hilt of my sword and bent my legs, bouncing on the balls of my feet .

A slight current of excitement went through me. It had been far too long since I'd truly fought.

The first vampire reached me, and I swung hard at his head. Moving with impossible speed, he rushed to the side. My sword found air, whistling through the night. With another swing, the blade connected with his gut. It sliced straight through his abdomen, and black blood spilled on the pristine grass. I yanked my sword out of his belly and watched him tumble to his death.

Gritting my teeth, I moved to the next vamp, only to find two more instead. They launched toward me with sharp, talon-like nails outstretched. I ducked down low. They flew past me, screeching. Before they could regain their footing, I sliced through one, grabbed a dagger from beneath my jacket, and threw it at the second. It landed with a thunk in the vamp's head.

They both fell hard.

Beside me, I could hear Lugh fighting just as hard. His spear sank into vamp after vamp after vamp. I whirled toward the next enemy. Three more vamps loomed large.

They were on me before I could even hold up my sword. Their bodies collided with mine, and my sword flew across the lawn. My back hit the ground hard, my teeth knocking together. The vampires screeched, their sharp claws scratching at my skin.

I screamed into their faces, throwing my body left and right to knock them to the ground. One grabbed my hand and pressed it against the grass. Its eyes were bright red, its teeth elongated. It looked like a wild animal, nothing like the vampires I'd met in London.

With a deep breath, I steeled myself and slammed my forehead against the vampire's. It screeched and fell back, giving me time to slam my fist into the nose of the second. Bone crunched beneath my knuckles. That only left one.

Before I could launch my attack, the vamp leaned down and sank its teeth into my skin. A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through my neck, and I screamed.

But then its weight vanished off my chest. I scrabbled back, my eyes wide as Lugh shoved his spear through the vampire's head. Black blood spurted out, drenching my shirt. It stank of iron and salt and a strange kind of mildew that made bile rise in my throat.

In the name of the Morrigan, these things were as bad as the Sluagh.

"You okay?" Lugh asked, huffing as he tossed the dead vampire onto a pile just behind him.

I stared up at him, my heart still racing. "I think so." Reaching up, my hand smeared against the blood on my neck. "It bit me."

Normally, I wouldn't refer to a vampire as an it , but in this case, the title seemed appropriate. These things were like rabid animals. They'd lost any sort of humanity they'd ever had.

Lugh reached out a hand, and I took it. His strong fingers curled around me, shooting warmth into my chilly body. He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. Sighing, I leaned into him and closed my eyes. The attack hadn't been anything worse than I had faced before, but I still felt relief at being in his arms.

Suddenly, sharp nails dug into my arms and ripped me out of Lugh's embrace. Eyes wide, I yanked against the grip, panic shooting through me when I saw another swarm of vampires surrounding Lugh.

Several more had grabbed ahold of me, and it took all of my enhanced fae strength to drag myself away from them. My sword glistened in the distance, the light of the moon dancing along the blade. It was halfway across the lawn. Too far for me to make. I danced from side to side, dodging the blows of the vampires. From behind me, I heard Lugh roar.

My heart tripped in my chest, and I risked a glance behind me to make certain that he was okay. The vampires had managed to grab his spear, and one mangy-haired enemy had dug the sharp end into Lugh's shoulder. Blood poured from the wound, splashing onto Lugh's dark shirt.

I jolted, forgetting about the attackers now surrounding me. I had to get to Lugh. I had to knock that vampire away from him. Despite the prophecy, a real, deep fear went through my gut. Lugh was surrounded. He didn't have his weapon. What if he died here tonight?

Tears burned in my eyes. With a roar, I sprang toward him, my feet pounding hard against the carpet of grass. I reached him within an instant and slammed my fist into the vampire's head. The creature stumbled back, letting go of the spear. It was just enough of a break in the fight for me to grab the end of the spear and yank it out of Lugh's skin.

Another enemy loomed over Lugh's shoulder. I curled my hand around the shaft and shoved the spear's end into the vampire's eye. Blood spurted into my face.

I let go of the shaft, stumbling back as I wiped the stinging goo out of my vision. Another bony hand grabbed me again. And then another. I couldn't see them, but I could certainly hear them. It was a chorus of screams and gleeful cries of rage. The sound rose around me like thunder, complete with the pounding drums in the form of charging feet.

Something heavy slammed into my body once again, and I fell back onto the grass. My head hit the ground. Now I couldn't hear. Hell, I could barely think. There were so many of them. They squatted on my chest. Sharp stabs went through my neck once again, and all the life felt as if it were flowing right out of me.

Distantly, I understood exactly what was happening. We'd been swarmed. By dozens upon dozens of them. They were feeding on me. Hungry, rabid, desperate for my blood. They would drink me dry. Too wild to comprehend the need to stop, they would feed until there was nothing left of me but the timid pulsing of a heart that had no blood to keep it going any longer .

I tried to fight them off, but my body was far too weak. They'd already drank so much of me. The world seemed to tip to the side, and a strange light flickered in a distant corner of my mind. I was leaving the world. It was slipping away from me.

I was going to die here.

The vampires were going to make sure I didn't survive.

And I would never again see my mate.