Ashes of the Firebird (The Firebird Fairytales Book 2) Read online

  “I don’t think you can, especially since the demons are so aware of you. They would never lose track of you,” Vadim said as he sat down at the chair opposite him. Oh, Lord, protect him, he thought as he looked at Mychal’s black hair and eyes. A human with a life as hard as his should’ve looked a lot older than his thirty-three years. It was only his eyes that betrayed the age of his soul.

  “It’s not for me, I am a lost cause. It’s for Aleksandra,” said Mychal.

  “The woman who saved you? You found her?” Of course, he had. She would be the raven-haired woman that he had seen in his visions.

  “Yes, I found her. She is an interesting case,” Mychal had warmth in his voice that Vadim had never heard. “She is staying at the incubus’s mansion with Isabelle’s group. Apparently, Isabelle has been friends of their family for a long time.”

  “Wait, she talked of them. There was a sister as I recall.”

  “Katya. She is a hunter. Aleksandra was their tribe’s seer, except they banished her after the demons marked her. They attacked the tribe anyway. Apparently, Aleksandra has been having dreams and visions about me for months,” Mychal explained quickly.

  “You like her, don’t you?” Vadim asked quietly.

  “She isn’t the type of person you can really be angry at. She means well. I feel responsible for her being marked in the first place, so now I’m trying to find a way to fix it.”

  “If the demons do get her and have a direct line to you, wouldn’t it perhaps be wise to kill her?”

  “Have you lost your mind?” Mychal slammed the book shut making Vadim jump.

  “If it comes to you or her Mychal, you will have to pick you. You’re far more valuable,” he said as calmly as he could. “No one can kill demons like you.” However, Mychal would never kill her. Not ever. Vadim’s vision had been clear on that. Still he had to say it so Mychal knew it was an option.

  “You taught me to protect the innocent above all things,” Mychal said coldly and got to his feet, “and no one is more innocent than Aleksandra. She has a pure soul.”

  “No one is that innocent, Mychal.”

  “She is.” He left Vadim in the archives feeling cold and angry with himself, with the fear that not even Mychal could save him.

  ***

  Isabelle knocked on Silvian’s office door, barging in before he could reply. “What can I do for you, Miss Blackwood?” he asked as he looked up from his computer. He probably didn’t mean for the question to be suggestive but it came out that way. She kept forgetting she was dealing with an incubus. The fact that Silvian was reclining on a chaise lounge at his computer was just another thing that didn’t make sense.

  “I want you to look into something for me,” she said and he laughed. It ran over her skin like a warm breeze.

  “You and everyone else. Come, tell me what it is.”

  “My friend Harley was attacked last night. They were human soldiers,” she explained. “I’m starting to think they weren’t anything to do with Ladislav or the Darkness.”

  “You’re thinking that the Illumination are behind it? They both have humans working for them you know.”

  “I don’t know who else it could be. I know that Ladislav has his own secret army that has nothing to do with the Darkness.”

  “So what is it that you want me to do for you? Look into the Illumination and see if there is a hit on her? There is a hit on all of you at the moment. If they are going after known associates, they must be getting desperate. If I do this thing for you it is going to cost you.” The smile on his face made her nervous.

  “What?”

  “A kiss.”

  “A kiss from an incubus? I’m not that stupid.”

  “I have never met one like you before. I didn’t believe that the bite of a possessed human could pass on such unique gifts.”

  “How do I know you won’t be sucking my soul out?”

  “Do you think you have one?”

  That bothered her. It had been a long time since she was faced with such a question.

  “No one can know if they really have one. I know enough to believe that I do.”

  “One kiss from me and you would know either way. You’re immortal, Isabelle. Any damage I could do to you would heal.”

  “You better find something worthwhile for this.” Isabelle leaned over to him and pressed her lips against his. Almost instantly, she felt a slight pull inside of her of something yanking to get free and she pulled back.

  “Now you know that you do have a soul after all,” Silvian said with a grin. “You aren’t as evil as you think you are.”

  “Lucky me. Find something on Harley’s attackers, Silvian. Don’t waste my time.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  ***

  Anya fiddled with the beaded necklace that Honaw had given her. She had awakened to find it around her neck. She was beginning to accept that magic was unpredictable and she had given up on trying to understand dream magic or logic.

  Anya wandered through the rooms in search of Aramis. The beauty of the house no longer awed her. It was starting to feel like a gilded cage. Much like their time spent in Paris, she had seen next to nothing of the sights of Budapest. Anya was going to make sure that things would change when they got to America. With Vasilli, and hopefully anyone else that would recognise her, on the other side of the world she might be able to explore in peace. Isabelle had promised to show her around New Orleans, which was a start.

  Aramis wasn’t in the study or the library so she headed for the gym. As Anya walked through the halls, her usual angry convoluted thoughts started to crowd in on her. She pushed open the door that led into the training area and came face to face with a room full of half-naked, sweating men.

  “Hey Anya!” They all chorused at different times. Izrayl and Hamish were wrestling and occasionally turning into puppies on the mat. Yvan was keeping a steady pace on the dreaded treadmill and gave her a little wave. She found Aramis going through the motions with his sword.

  After seeing him in proper action, the exercise version couldn’t compare. Sweat dripped from the tips of his platinum hair and down his fair skin. Her magic danced along her arms at the sight of him

  “What can I do for you?” he asked as he sheathed his sword and towelled himself down.

  “I want to know when we are leaving Budapest.”

  “Soon. Fox has the facility holding Yanka on twenty-four hour surveillance. Have you been dream walking again?”

  “Only with Honaw. Why?”

  “If Yanka fully knows what’s happening, then her magic could burn out the chemicals they have pumped her with like you did when you were captured in Paris.”

  “You expect me to venture into that murderous forest to tell her that the only thing keeping her locked in her current state is herself?”

  “It would be better if she heard it from you than me.” He smiled and Anya knew she would do it for him. He had given her an ice castle, a beautiful gesture she wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

  “Don’t worry too much about it, Anya. We will be out of Budapest before you know it. I’m glad to see you not drinking today.” That made her self-conscious. It wasn’t like Aramis hadn’t seen her on a binge but ever since Trajan came back she had been drunk every day. “You know vodka won’t take the pain away.”

  “Let it go, Aramis.”

  “Then don’t let it become an issue, otherwise I will intervene”

  “You could try.”

  “I would do more than try.” He stepped towards her and Anya could feel the heat and magic radiating off him. She tensed and he stopped moving. “Find me later. You’re overdue for a lesson.”

  “I was on my way to Aleksandra for a lesson.”

  “Then you had best get a move on.”

  She left the gym wondering if she had upset Aramis. Her thoughts of him were pulverised when she saw Trajan walking towards her.

  “Good afternoon, Anya,” he said politely. “How are y
ou doing today?” She felt like screaming.

  “Fine,” she said and went to move past him. He moved to block her path. “What?”

  “I know that you hate me right now, and you’re more than entitled to. I still care for you deeply and would like us to try to be friends.”

  “I feel like I’m getting dumped all over again.”

  “That wasn’t my intention. I want the opportunity to see if I can become your friend at least.” He was standing too close and that made her angry.

  “Time will tell.”

  Trajan faded and followed her. He had been around her often since he had returned from the ice, but because of her obvious anger and distain of him, he had been careful to keep his distance in his physical form. He followed her as she wound her way through the carved archways of Silvian’s mansion. Finally, she ducked into an empty guest room. Curious, Trajan followed her to the walk-in wardrobe. Curling her knees to her chest in the darkness, Anya tucked her arms around herself and wept. Trajan sat down beside her unmoving and without touching her, powerless to comfort her or soothe her pain.

  Chapter Twenty-Two- Scars

  Aleksandra left her room and headed down the hallway toward the library. She felt nauseous from spending the last two hours trying to teach Anya about runes and it had taken its toll. She was hoping she could find some information or history on demon marks in Silvian’s books. Surely, someone like Silvian would have something related to demonology!

  Aleksandra liked the library and rarely had the opportunity to explore it without Aramis or someone else being there. The massive two-storey room had impressive stained glass windows, study areas and large brown leather chairs. Silvian, despite his love and fascination of technology, had an extensive collection of rare antique books.

  Aleksandra had been browsing for forty minutes before she sensed another presence moving amongst the shelves. Very slowly, she closed the book that she was holding and glanced behind her. Not even a shadow. The hair on her arms was beginning to rise. As she turned right into a row of new books, Mychal materialised out of thin air. She squealed and dropped all the books she had been holding.

  “You bastard! Do you always have to scare me every time you visit?” she rebuked as she bent to pick the books up. He crouched beside her to give her a hand.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to,” Mychal said. She caught a glimpse of curved chest muscles down the front of his black shirt and quickly looked away. He held a pile of her books and got to his feet.

  “A little light reading?” he asked innocently. He glanced down at the top title and frowned. Aleksandra had discovered Silvian had a lot of books on demons.

  “I thought I would try to learn more about the marks and if they can be removed,” she explained though she really didn’t have to justify her reading material to him.

  “I’ve looked. I don’t think there is a way.”

  “You never know,” she said optimistically. He carried her books to a study table before sitting down on one of the leather chairs. Aleksandra did her best to ignore him and kept looking through the shelves. His dark eyes followed her slowly wherever she went.

  “What’s bothering you?” Mychal asked after a while.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she answered vaguely.

  “Yes, you do. Tell me.” Mychal sat calmly expecting her to reply.

  “How do you know it’s not you that’s bothering me?” Through the gap between the shelves, she saw his mouth twitch into a smile.

  “It’s not me that bothers you.”

  Aleksandra ran her gloved fingers over the book, spending more time watching him than reading covers. She wondered if he ever relaxed. Even now, she knew he would be fully armed underneath his long coat. She didn’t want to admit that she was worried about leaving Budapest. The thought of being away from him made her more uncomfortable than she was willing to admit to herself.

  “Why are you here anyway?” Aleksandra asked. “Don’t you have a city to protect?”

  “I had some spare time,” Mychal said vaguely.

  “Here I was thinking it was because I’m your only friend,” she teased. He got off the chair and started moving towards her. She had the mad urge to run. Aleksandra held her ground as best as she could, but she had lost sight of him through the books.

  “Is that what you think we are?” Mychal said from behind her. He was so close she felt his breath on her ear. To her credit, she didn’t squeal again.

  “I certainly don’t think we are enemies.” Aleksandra didn’t turn around, frozen to the spot.

  “Friends aren’t afraid of each other. You’re afraid of me.”

  “You are very intimidating.”

  “I know I am.” Aleksandra turned slowly to face him the best she could. It didn’t help that she was eye level with his chest. “I’m glad you’re still wearing the cross.”

  “I’m too nervous to take it off,” she said as she twisted her fingers over it.

  “Good. Don’t.”

  “Do you know you’re surprisingly hard to talk to?” she asked irritably.

  “Yes.” She glared up at him and noticed he was smiling. Really smiling, not the sarcastic one that usually adorned his lips.

  “Great, you’re teasing me.”

  “It took you a while.”

  “You are kind of a jerk…” she began. A sharp stabbing pain drilled into her head and she fell to her knees. There was fear, blood, and screaming agony. Then it was black.

  Vadim slowly finished his bottle of whiskey. The letter for Mychal was safely hidden behind a copy of Milton’s Paradise Lost. He felt a hot breeze on the back of his neck.

  “I knew you would come,” he said as calmly as he could. He turned and faced the demon. It was in a human form, its long auburn hair hanging over a shoulder. It wore a neat grey suit and made Vadim’s crawl.

  “And still you stayed here without the Mychal to protect you.” Its voice came out in a hiss, as if it hadn’t spoken in a long time.

  “You came here for Mychal. I will not pass him up to you.”

  “Even if it means that I am going to kill each and every priest in this church?” Vadim did not expect that but things had changed. He knew what Mychal was now and why they wanted him so badly.

  “I will not give Mychal to you.”

  “Aleksandra?” Mychal was shaking her shoulders. She opened her eyes and saw worry in his black eyes.

  “We need to go,” she said and pushed him out of the way. “They could be dead already.”

  “Who? What is going on?”

  “The priests at Matthias church; they are going to kill them!” Aleksandra grabbed the sleeve of his shirt but Mychal was already moving.

  “You saw this?” he questioned.

  “Yes, we have to go! I’m coming with you.”

  “No, you are not.”

  “Yes I am!”

  “Aleksandra, no. If there are demons there I am not putting you into their hands.”

  “I will follow with or without you, Mychal. Make the choice. You can’t stop me.”

  “Stubborn little cow!” he grabbed her hand and pulled towards the large stained glass windows.

  “What the hell are you doing? We need to go!” she struggled but he held her firm.

  “Stop it! We are going! This way is quicker,” he insisted. He opened the latch and swung the window open before helping her climb out onto the ledge.

  “Oh, God, I’m afraid of heights,” Aleksandra said as she held herself against the stone wall. Mychal grabbed her and pulled her close.

  “Hold on,” he commanded and she clung to his waist tightly.

  “Wait what-”

  Mychal stepped off the side. Aleksandra gripped onto him with every ounce of strength she had as they plummeted towards the gardens below. At the last second, they slowed to a stop and hit the ground.

  “You can let go now,” he said and she managed to open her eyes. He let go of the black rope and she untangled
herself from the inside of his coat.

  “You could’ve warned me you had a rope,” she said as she ran behind him.

  “No time.” Mychal led her through the trees and out of the security gates. A block from Silvian’s mansion was a black SUV.

  “Get in,” he said and she did as she was told.

  “Tell me what you saw,” Mychal said as they drove. Aleksandra told him what she remembered and he sped up.

  From the outside, the church looked still and peaceful. The church had been closed for the day. Some tourists still lingered taking photos of the snow-covered exterior. Maybe she had gotten it wrong and it hadn’t happened yet. Mychal reached behind her chair and pulled out a black bag. He opened it and gave her a large silver handgun.

  “If you insist on coming, you have to be my back up,” he said gruffly. “Do I need to show you how to use it?” Aleksandra checked the bullets in the clip, slipped it in and took the safety off.

  “Katya has shown me the basics,” she said as calmly as possible. God, she wished her sister were there right now. This was her area not Aleksandra’s.

  “Bullets won’t kill them, they will slow them down enough for you to get away,” Mychal said as they climbed out of the car. He took her hand and pulled her close against him. “I don’t want you doing this.”

  “I’m not going to let you go in there without me.” He knew she was scared but wasn’t going to be able to talk her out of it.

  “If it looks like I’m going to go down, get out of there. Don’t charge in thinking you can save me. You can’t. Understand?” He held her face tightly in his hands and she nodded. For a brief, frightening second she thought Mychal would kiss her. He let her go and started walking towards the back of the church.

  The gun felt heavy in her hand as she kept it raised. Mychal’s steps barely made a sound as they entered the priest’s quarters. The smell of raw meat hit Aleksandra first. The floor was slippery with blood and she struggled to keep her eyes firmly on Mychal’s back. When she dared look around, she wished she hadn’t. Hands and feet were piled up on bench tops, intestines were strewn across the floor. In one room they passed through there were skinned corpses hanging from the ceiling.