Chapter Nineteen
The walls were sparking. The windows were cracked, and there was an intense heat in the room that was also intensely cold. The atmosphere felt wrong, it felt angry, and it was all Nicholas’s doing. But he couldn’t help it. For the first time ever, he literally could not contain his anger.
His Preceptors watched in quiet trepidation as their king stormed back and forth, pacing not unlike a caged beast. “Roman, it’s me again,” he spoke into his phone, his free hand running to knot in his hair, fisting with fury as he closed his eyes and tried with all of his might not to let his Nightmare completely loose on an unsuspecting world. “Someone took her. Right out of my arms.”
Roman D’Angelo spoke on the other end, and Nick barely heard him. His blood was playing a symphony in his eardrums. He told the vampire what had happened, tried to fill in as much as he possibly could, and then hung up.
“We’re heading to the Cemetery early,” he said, his words grinding out between clenched teeth. In the kitchen, the sound of shattering glass indicated every champagne flute and porcelain plate had exploded on the shelf.
“I think that’s a good idea,” said Minnaea.
“Yeah, let’s get you out of here before you tear the whole goddamn castle down,” said Andros. He paced forward, Minnaea at his side, and took his king by the elbow. His grip was tight. His wife took Nick’s other elbow, and before Nick knew it, there was a portal around them.
They were handling the travel. He couldn’t blame them. If he took control right now, they’d probably transport directly into the heart of a volcano. Or off the side of a cliff. Or to the bottom of the fucking ocean.
Where he would proceed to boil the whole planet away.
His magic was officially back, every single ounce of it, and it would appear that in its absence, it had multiplied like rabbits. Or people. Both of which managed to proliferate like mad.
“You need to reign it in,” Andros said softly, speaking in his ear. “The world isn’t a great place, I’ll give you that. But there are some good people in it. You don’t want them to die, do you?”
I want everyone to die, Nick thought darkly.
Then he blinked. Oh crap. He really was losing control. And if Stephen Lazarus, Damon Chroi, or the Wishers thought their magic was dangerous, they hadn’t seen anything yet.
Nick closed his eyes as the portal moved around them. He focused on the one thing in the world he actually wanted to see at that moment, and then focused some more until her face was perfectly in view. Adelaide, he told himself. Then he said her name again in his mind. And again.
Little by little, the monster retreated. Or at least it agreed not to destroy the planet. For now.
“That’s better,” said Minnaea. “And we’re here.”
Nick opened stepped out of the portal with his Preceptors by his side. The Cemetery was already occupied. Roman D’Angelo and a handful of others stood waiting for him at the center of the famous circle.
The Vampire King approached him. “You look like hell,” he told Nicholas. “And that’s saying something, since I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
Roman had never seen Nicholas’s current form before this moment, so he was right about that. But probably his assessment had more to do with the aura of fury surrounding Nick than his physical appearance. After all, Nicholas Wargrave was a handsome man in a very expensive tailored suit.
Speaking of the suit.
He said a few words, and now that it had returned to him fully, his magic responded. Just like that, the suit was gone, and he was once more comfortable in jeans, a black T-shirt, boots, and a leather jacket. The boots were necessary. He planned to lodge one firmly up Nero’s ass within the next forty-eight hours.
“Feel a little better?” Minnaea asked.
Nicholas didn’t say anything, but she could tell from the look on his face that he did.
“Nick, you know Jesse Graves,” Roman said, gesturing to one of the men standing beside him.
Nick nodded at the man. They were well acquainted. Jesse Graves was the former Overseer of the werewolf council, a job that Graves couldn’t wait to hand off to someone else as soon as he’d been given the chance. Now he was a liaison between the new Overseer and the other supernatural factions.
Graves nodded back, and Roman went on to introduce the others. “This is Lily Kane, Malcolm Cole, Dannai Caige, and Imani Zareb.” Each introduced person nodded in turn or said “hello.” Nicholas knew of Imani as well. She was the highest ranking witch in the covens, especially now that Lalura Chantelle was dead. Dannai Caige, Nicholas only knew by reputation. Apparently Amunet – the woman the Entity was ultimately after – was Dannai’s mother. She, too, was a werewolf. And there was something else he felt about her, though he couldn’t quite place it.
Malcolm Cole, Nick had never met before. But he had read his books. They were very detailed. And some were downright gruesome. Nick had often wondered what kind of person would write the books he did.
Lily Kane was brand new to Nicholas. But her soul looked tasty, strictly incubus speaking. It was beautiful.
Roman went on. “Lily Kane is a seer. The others are here to lend support however they can, but Lily is here because she had a vision concerning Adelaide.”
Lily was a young woman with long, thick gold hair and equally golden eyes. Nicholas knew at once that she was not only a seer, but a werewolf. She stepped forward and addressed him, but he noticed that Malcolm Cole stuck close to her side as she did. He, too, was a werewolf, and by the feel of it Nick would guess an alpha. A protective alpha.
“If Adelaide is the woman I saw in my vision,” Lily said, “Then I think I can tell you where she is right now.”
Nicholas’s pupils expanded, and his entire being was suddenly focused on the young werewolf. “Where?” he demanded, though he tried to keep the impatience out of his tone. Not only because he didn’t want to be rude, but because he had a feeling Malcolm Cole would take a chunk or two out of him in a fight.
“Egypt,” she said frankly. “And we haven’t got much time.”
“Strictly speaking, they’re in the Duat. At least, in the vision they are,” said Dannai Caige, glancing at her friend. Lily smiled and nodded.
“Right.”
Dannai was a beautiful soul as well – all of the women here were. “That’s why I’m here,” continued Dannai.
Nicholas nodded. “Can you get us in?” He knew of the Duat. It was also known as the Land of the Dead. And as such, it was inaccessible by anyone still living. Which, when he considered that Lily had seen Adelaide there, gave him a chill he didn’t care to dignify.
“I can,” Dannai said. “Since my visit a year ago, I’ve been working on a mass transport spell that can penetrate the border. I think I’ve just managed to perfect it.”
She was a witch. That was the other thing he’d felt coming off of her. She was a very powerful witch.
“The thing is… it hasn’t been tested yet in its final stage.” She looked a little apologetic.
“There’s no better time than the present,” said Nicholas honestly. “And right now, there’s no better test subject than me.”