The Bone Coven Chronicles: The Complete Series Page 22

  He waved his hand in the air to dismiss my words. “Blood bags. Vampire food. Their days are limited as it is, and they’re providing the Daywalkers with power they shouldn’t have. Time to get rid of them all in my opinion.”

  “Is that why you told the vampires to attack the council?” With a quick breath, I slid my hands into my pockets as if in nonchalance, dancing just a step closer. One more move, and I’d be close enough to do the damage I needed to do. Grab him, tug on the cord, and hurtle back to where Dorian waited with his sword.

  Vincent made a face. “No, that was for the Magister and the Magister only. He was a coward, the kind of leader that only drove our coven further into the ground. I plan to replace him once I finish the four binding spells, but I couldn’t very well kill him myself, could I? Luckily, the vampires took care of that for me, and I only have two binding spells left. I have the rising sun grimoire now, but the shadow book has escaped my hunt, despite my repeated attempts to trap the owner.”

  I swallowed hard. “I’m guessing you mean me.”

  “Your grandmother.” His voice went harsh, and his eyes flashed. “I knew there was a shadow witch hiding in the coven, but I didn’t know who. That was when I landed on you and your cons. Thought I could get you locked up, you know, until Dorian butted in and talked the council into giving you a chance.” He shook his head, sneering. “Idiots. I couldn’t be sure about you, though, not until that flash of shadow magic you showed me in the alley. That’s when I figured out she’d been hiding the grimoire. Fortunately for her, she’d given it to you by the time I paid her a little visit. Otherwise, she’d be dead. So. I’ll be needing that book now, Zoe.”

  In a flash, Vincent darted out, and he dug his fingernails into my arm. “Attack!” His voice boomed as he shouted the order to his demon.

  I gritted my teeth and tried to turn toward the black shimmering cord to take me home, but everything was a blur of light and sound. I couldn’t tell what was happening. The ground seemed to tip underneath my feet. My stomach dropped, and the world went dark at the edges. I moved instinctively, my body going through the motions I was far too scared to do.

  I spun away and whipped the dagger out from behind my back. Vincent’s eyes flew wide, and his grip loosened on my arm just long enough for me to raise my blade. The sharp, glinting end stopped only inches from his chest, and his hands flew up in surrender.

  Vincent shook his head with a laugh.

  “You won’t use that.” He gave me a patronizing smile. “You might have hints of shadow within you, but you don’t have the guts that those witches do.”

  My shadow magic rose up inside me with a roar and forced my arm to move, shoving the blade right into Vincent’s chest. His eyes flew wide, and my heart clenched tight, fearing and hating what I’d done while relishing it all the same. The slurping, crunching sound under the blade made me gag, and I let go like it was a rattlesnake.

  The world spun around me, and suddenly I was back on the floor of Dorian’s apartment. My stomach heaved, and my eyes burned, but I was back. Safe and sound, though I couldn’t say the same about the warlock I’d gone to find. Vincent’s body splayed out on the ground beside me, my dagger coated in his blood.

  Epilogue

  Magic swirled through me while Laura and I held hands over the blood, chanting the words to save Grams. While we worked on the spell, Dorian had taken Vincent’s body to the vampires. I tried not to feel guilt at what I’d let my shadow magic do, but it was hard not to wonder if I’d let things go too far.

  I hadn’t wanted to kill him, only bring him back so we could save the world. Of course, the vampires would have only done much worse. In the end, he would suffer less this way, but that knowledge didn’t stop me from wondering just how deep my darkness went.

  When the last words of the spell left Laura’s mouth, I stared at my grandmother’s quiet form on the bed, watching the steady rising and falling of her chest. My own breath was held tight in my throat, my fingers gripping Laura’s hand. Everything inside me begged for this to work. I didn’t know what I’d do if, after everything that had happened, this was all for nothing. If it didn’t save her.

  Grams coughed, and instantly, I was by her side, my hair curtaining my cheeks as I stared into her face. Her eyes cracked open, and she coughed again. When she met my eyes, she smiled, and my entire body sung with joy. Laura was beside me in a beat. She reached out and grabbed my grandmother’s hand.

  “You girls okay?” Grams reached up a hand to her face, and she felt her skin as if she’d never touched it before. “I’m back. You saved me.” Her face fell as she stared at my shirt. I looked down and grimaced at the blood. “Oh, sweetheart. What did you do?”

  “It’s a long story, Grams,” I said. “How do you feel? Are you okay?”

  Her eyes fluttered, and she yawned. “I’m exhausted. My body feels like it’s been run through a washing machine. Let me get some sleep, and we’ll talk about all of this later.” She paused, face softening, before reaching up a trembling hand to touch my cheek. “Everything is going to be okay now.”

  Smiling, I squeezed her hand and held it until she drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep. But I knew deep down in my gut she wasn’t right. Things had changed in the supernatural world. Nothing was the same now. Our coven leader was dead, and the situation with the vampires was far more tense and uncertain than it had ever been.

  We might be okay now, but I didn’t know how long the peace would last.

  A knock sounded from a distance, startling me from fitful sleep. In an instant, I was on my feet, dagger out and fingers trembling with shadow magic. Even though Grams and I were safe and sound back in our apartment, I’d been on edge all week, expecting things to explode into a new disaster at any moment.

  “Zoe? You in there? It’s me.” A familiar voice called out from the other side of the door. With a sigh, my shoulders relaxed. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Dorian. I hadn’t seen him since the night in question. Whether that was because he’d been busy with the council or avoiding me, I didn’t know.

  “Come in,” I said when I opened the door, ushering him inside. He stood just inside the doorway, glancing around like he hadn’t seen the place in years. “What’s up? How have you been? Weather’s been pretty shitty lately, huh?”

  His lips quirked. “Small talk. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  “There you go underestimating me again,” I said.

  “You’ve got that backwards. I would never underestimate you, Zoe.”

  The two of us stood there, awkwardly staring at each other in silence. I’d been hoping for days that he would stop by, churning through all the things I wanted to say. But now that he was here, my mind was blank and the words weren’t on my tongue. All I could think was…

  “I’m sorry,” I said at the exact moment he said the same. With a cock of the head, he laughed, and I did, too.

  He strode across the room and tucked his finger underneath my chin. My lips parted, and my stomach flipped. The vampire blood had long since worn off, but the feeling I got around Dorian Kostas hadn’t dimmed in the least. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. For being an ass. For storming off like an idiot when I found out the truth. I remember how it felt when I was trying to hide my vampire nature from you. I know it’s scary, not wanting anyone to find out the truth. Worried about what they’ll think. So, I’m sorry.”

  “No.” I shook my head and smiled. “I’m the one who is sorry. I really should have told you. We were partners, after all.”

  “Speaking of,” he said. “I have a message from the council. You’ve been nominated by Ben Ackers, who was impressed by how you’ve handled this whole thing. They’d like you to come work for them as an Enforcer.”

  “What?” My mouth dropped open.

  “You heard me.” His lips broke into a rare grin. “You’d get a salary and everything, though I have to admit it’s not much. You’ve seen my place.”

  I couldn’t possibly
be hearing this right. Me? Working as an Enforcer for the Bone Coven? A few months ago, I would have said no. There wouldn’t have been a question in my mind. But now it seemed like an impossible thing to turn down. Not only would it help me put food on the table, but I would have a chance to be a part of a world I didn’t even know I’d been missing before.

  While the fights and the battles had been dangerous and difficult and scary as hell, I wanted to be there next time something went wrong. I wanted to help.

  “They want me? An inexperienced witch?”

  Dorian nodded. “They were all very impressed by how you handled things. You would need training though, so you’d be stuck with me for awhile as my partner-in-training.”

  Dorian’s partner? It almost sounded too good to be true.

  “And what about…you know.” I couldn’t help but ask. “Why didn’t you tell them that I’m a Shadow and not a real member of the coven?”

  Dorian sighed and ran a hand down his face. “I’m a vampire. I can’t cast any judgment. And besides, a Shadow wouldn’t have done what you did. They would have tried to join Vincent’s team, just like Professor Wagner did. Thanks to you, the grimoire hunter is now behind magical bars for the rest of his life for helping out a murderer.” Dorian gave me a soft smile. “I’m not going to tell them, if that’s what you’re worried about. Your secret is safe with me.”

  “This sounds crazy,” I said with a laugh. “Zoe Bennett, con artist turned Enforcer.”

  “I think it has a nice ring to it myself.” He held up a coven badge and raised his eyebrows. “So, what should I tell the council?”

  “You know what?” I grabbed the badge and smiled. “I’m in.”

  Chapter 1

  A long howl ripped through the night. Everyone in the crowded space fell silent. Even though it was a Wednesday night, Blue Moon Tavern was bustling with activity from a peculiar combination of humans, mages, and vampires.

  When word had spread through the magical community about what I’d done to repair the alliance between the vampires and the Bone Coven, the bar where I worked had turned into a verifiable hub for supernaturals. Half were curious about the newest bone witch on the scene and half were just glad there was another haunt to add to the college bar crawl. The latter was humans, mostly.

  Not that the majority of the humans here had any idea they were rubbing elbows with bloodsuckers. The vamps were allowed to chug cheap beer in the tavern on one condition and one condition only: no feeding on my customers. But not all humans were still blissfully unaware that danger lurked under the surface of the normal world. There were rumors circling through the underground Boston scene, ones that spoke of demons and vampires and mages who killed.

  “What the hell was that?” One of the locals asked from where he was perched on a barstool next to Anastasia, the female Daywalker who still showed an uneasy amount of interest in my best friend, Laura, even though it had been three months since Laura got her coven mark.

  Anastasia twirled a long strand of blonde hair around her finger and smiled at where Laura wiped away a spillage of port. “Sounded like someone screaming in agony, though sometimes pain can be pleasurable. Don’t you think, Laura?”

  I scowled at the vampire. She’d been saying shit like that to Laura far too much for my liking. Her smile only widened as I raised my voice for the entire bar to hear. “Nothing to worry about, you guys. Just the upstairs neighbor’s dog. He’s been howling like that for months. Now, drink up!”

  Immediately, the mood shifted back into rowdy dive bar mode. Shot glasses clinked against shot glasses, a group of frat boys howled in the back corner, and a cluster of vampires began swaying lustily to the melancholy rock ballad playing on the jukebox. Just another night at Blue Moon Tavern.

  As I turned to grab two pint glasses for the next customer, Laura scooted over to my side and dropped her voice to a whisper. “We really should talk to Juno about that damn dog.”

  “No kidding,” I said, glancing up at the ceiling. While the dog had been howling off and on for months, he had gotten a hell of a lot louder recently. Ear-splitting was a pretty accurate description. Like Anastasia had said, the poor creature sounded like he thought the world was ending. “That’s two nights in a row the howling has freaked out customers. This place is booming right now. Don’t want to scare people off.”

  “Or, maybe that’s part of the ambience,” Laura said, blushing as she glanced over her shoulder at Anastasia. She still hadn’t gotten over her embarrassment about what had happened a few months back at the vampire club, Slayerville. Without understanding the repercussions, she’d downed a vampire elixir that had caused all her inhibitions to go flying right out the window. And she’d ended up in Anastasia’s lap, getting fed upon.

  Back then, Laura had been an unmarked witch, which meant she hadn’t officially belonged to any coven. So, she’d been fair game for vampire dinner. Not anymore though.

  “You mean, the creepy supernaturals like the creepy vibe? Who would have thought?” I turned the tap and watched the foamy liquid fill the glass. “Are you sure you’re okay with Anastasia being here? I can escort her outside if it’s too weird for you. Plus, I don’t want her getting any bright ideas about having a second helping of Laura blood.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Laura said as she grabbed a new bottle of whiskey from underneath the counter. With her long hair twirled into a messy bun, her slender neck was very much on display, and Anastasia did nothing to hide the fact she had her eyes locked right onto Laura’s pale skin. “She won’t touch me now that I have my coven mark.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I mumbled, but I decided not to push it. Anastasia didn’t seem like the kind of vampire to care much about the alliance, or else she wouldn’t have fed on a witch in the first place. Laura might have technically been up-for-grabs, but vampires tended to avoid drinking from mages, marked or not. The alliance was far too tenuous to rock the boat.

  Thankfully, Laura no longer had that problem. When she’d helped me cast the blood spell in order to reverse the curse on my grandmother, the magic had been strong enough to trigger her coven mark. She was now an official member of the Blood Coven, though she hadn’t yet been welcomed into their folds. While there were a few blood mages in the Boston area, the official coven headquarters was located in Scotland, and Laura had little desire to leave behind the only home she’d ever known.

  Another howl shot through the night, a grating, goosebumps-inducing noise that spoke of pain and fear and anger. A momentary bout of silence followed as everyone in the bar turned to stare up at the ceiling. Several girls grabbed their purses and made a move for the door, whispering about angry ghosts. With a roll of my eyes, I leaned down to adjust the speaker controls that were located underneath the counter and pumped up the volume of the jukebox. If this didn’t stop soon, more people were going to leave.

  “As soon as Nathan shows up,” I said as I glanced at the neon-lit clock on the wall, “I’m going to have a chat with Juno. She needs to get her dog under control.”

  Laura blew at her jagged bangs and wiped away a bead of sweat on her forehead. The heat was almost stifling with all the warm bodies and the flowing booze, despite the dropping temperature outside. “He’s been late all week. There’s no telling when he’ll show up. No, you go ahead now. I’ll be fine.”

  “You can’t man the bar by yourself.” I gestured at the bodies that had begun to crowd in close, a cluster in the front leaning forward with money in their hands. “It’s way too busy.”

  “I’ll be fine for five minutes while you talk to her.” She grabbed ten shot glasses and began to line them up in a row, throwing me a thumbs up.

  With a nod, I shrugged through the crowd, finding relief in the cool air when I stepped outside. Overhead, the sky was dark and clear, and a full moon glowed like the brightest of bulbs. I shivered in my thin cotton shirt, suddenly wishing I’d grabbed my leather jacket. Winter was in full swing in Boston, and soon enough
, snow would begin to pile on the city streets.

  I turned toward the door that led to the staircase, pushing the buzzer for Juno’s apartment, which sat directly on top of Blue Moon Tavern. A moment later, the door screeched, signaling that she’d let me inside. One short flight of stairs later, and I stood on the landing outside of her apartment, staring back at a pair of dark green eyes that peeked out through a cracked door.

  “What’s up, Zoe?” she asked, keeping the door open just enough for me to see a sliver of her face. There were bags under her eyes that emphasized her light freckles, and her red hair was twisted into a messy bun. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. The dog was obviously not making things easy on her either.

  “I need to talk to you, Juno, and I come bearing gifts.” I lifted a bottle of her favorite beer. “You going to let me come in?”

  She nibbled on her bottom lip and glanced behind her. “Um, okay. Just give me a second.”

  After disappearing into her apartment and rustling around, Juno swung open the door and ushered me inside, her cheeks pink with color. She hugged her arms around her ratty band t-shirt and stared down at her pajamas-clad legs. If she were anyone else, I’d feel bad about dropping by so late, but Juno was a night owl. And there was no way she’d been asleep with all that howling.

  “Sorry about that. I just…the place is a wreck,” she said.

  She wasn’t wrong about that. I let out a light exhale as my eyes drank in the state of Juno’s apartment. The coffee table had been knocked sideways, and chew marks were indented on every wooden leg. The stuffing had been ripped out of her couch, and paint chips from the wall were scattered across the floor from where it looked as though someone—or something—had tried to claw its way out of the room.

  I raised my eyebrows and let out a low whistle. “Everything okay, Juno?”