Chapter 25

25

T he more Vanth thought about it, the more the encounter in the tunnels bothered him. Lazarus would have had a decent enough shielding spell to survive the firebomb, which still made him a problem.

"You are looking awfully pensive all of a sudden. What's wrong?" Elektra asked. She had a smudge of ash on her cheek that was adorable as fuck. He was so gone on her, it was disturbing.

"Lazarus has been sacrificing reapers, and fuck knows what else. He didn't have that much power in the tunnels. He's storing it somewhere, or his main base is somewhere else. Not to say that he never used the tunnels for magic. There just should have been more of it," Vanth replied and took out his phone. "I'm going to need you to drive while I make some calls." He pulled over, and they swapped places.

"I suppose it was just wishful thinking that the bomb could have gotten the bastard. Maybe he's storing the power in some kind of magical battery?" Elektra said and pulled back out onto the streets. "It would make sense that he would need to channel a fuck ton of magic to summon a god and tear the Veil. Your mother was a devotee already, so that might have been the reason that Orcus replied to her call. Lazarus has only ever cared about power, so he would have to force Orcus somehow to come to him."

Vanth nodded. "Makes sense. The problem is a magical battery like that is a nuclear bomb waiting to go off. We need to find it, and I have to warn some people."

Vanth hit a contact number and didn't have long to wait. Dhampir were up all hours.

"Vanth? This is a surprise," Zia answered.

"Hate to interrupt the honeymoon. Please tell me you are still in Florence?" It had recently been announced that the new head of the Volso family, Ares, was going to take Zia for his bride. It shocked everyone in Inferno except for Vanth, who had seen the two murderous, love-struck idiots together and knew it was a done deal.

"We are here for a few days. Why? You're sounding more agitated than usual," Zia replied. She had truth magic, so Vanth knew he couldn't lessen the threat of Lazarus and his bullshit. He gave her the abbreviated version instead.

"Let me get this straight. You are telling me that an unhinged necromancer is running around Inferno with a magic battery so he can use it to summon a god, gain control of the Veil, and basically raise an army of zombies?" Zia said, and Vanth heard Ares curse in the background. "And you're informing me of all this why exactly?"

"I need you to warn the vampires about it. I'm about to call Thor, and he can use his contacts to warn the wolves. I need everyone to be on the lookout for Lazarus and also to be keeping watch on their people who are vulnerable. I wouldn't put it past Lazarus to be grabbing anyone with magic to harvest," Vanth replied. In a city of powerful monsters, there were plenty of people who were seen as prey. No one would notice if they went missing. "Elektra and I are going to try to locate Lazarus and stop him. I just wanted you to know and maybe stay in Florence out of harm's way."

"Aw, Tarael, I knew you liked me."

Vanth grinned. "I do not. You're a nuisance, but I don't want you hurt. Warn Mercury and Asteria. Mercury has magic and will be able to sense things that other vampires won't. Maybe he's felt a disturbance in the city."

"Will do! Watch your ass, Vanth, and keep your girl safe," Zia said. He didn't know what she had read in his tone, but it didn't matter. She was right. Elektra was his, whether she knew it or not.

"I will. I'll text you if I learn anything," Vanth replied and hung up. Next, he tried Thor's number.

Thor was technically a vampire, but he could also warg out into a wolf if he wanted to. He had a clan of ancient Viking warriors that could do the same and had become such a menace to the vampire council that they had given him a seat as a Lord. He was a silver-haired, tattooed giant that looked like the son of Geralt of Rivia and the goddess Freya if they decided to make a baby together.

Vanth liked him immensely because he rarely said anything, but when he did, it was always worth listening to. He also had a tendency not to leave behind anything that could lead back to him at murder scenes, which made Vanth's job of cleaning them a whole lot easier.

After seven rings, the phone finally picked up. Depending on what mood he was in, Thor tended to answer his phone in one of the Scandinavian or Nordic languages. He must've had a bad day because he answered in English with a growly, "What the fuck do you want?"

"Some dickhead necromancer is trying to raise an undead army and break the Veil. Thought you should know if I can't stop him, then the city might be invaded by the dead. Maybe get your brothers to spread the word to the wolves if you're not fighting with them," Vanth said, not wanting to waste Thor's time or get in the way of his legendary temper.

Thor grunted out some ancient curse. "Me and my clan have fought draugr before. I'm not afraid," he said before hanging up the phone.

"He sounded absolutely charming," Elektra commented, not looking up from the road.

"He's a Viking. He has a lot of charm when he wants to use it. They have had problems with certain werewolf families in Inferno. It's coming to its natural conclusion, and Thor is grumpy because I think he was convinced to solve it with diplomacy as opposed to using his battle ax," Vanth replied. He tapped his phone against his palm. "I suppose that's good news for everyone. I really don't have the resources to be cleaning up after a group of enraged Vikings right now. They will spread the word no matter how grumpy Thor is tonight."

Elektra pulled into his parking garage and turned off the van. "I will get stuck into your mother's books tomorrow. I really need to sleep before I start digging around, trying to unravel whatever magic she was using at the time."

Vanth took her hand and kissed her palm and the soft skin of her wrist. "Aren't you forgetting your promise to wash my hair for me?"

Elektra's grip shifted on his hand and tugged him closer. "I haven't forgotten a thing." She kissed him softly before her sharp teeth nipped his lip. Vanth groaned, but she was already getting out of the van with a cheeky little laugh.

"So a lesson is in order. Good," he said with a soft laugh and hurried to follow her.