The Book of Azrael (Gods & Monsters 1)

I FLEW THROUGH THE CRISP NIGHT AIR, HIGH ABOVE THE CLOUDS, ABOVE CIVILIZATION, ABOVE IT ALL. Sleek black wings beat against the current, propelling me forward. One of my favorite things about being Ig’Morruthen was the ability to shapeshift into whatever, and whoever, I wanted. Kaden had told me the ability came from the ancient ones who could bend their bodies into any form they desired. Some could change into terrifying, magnificent creatures so massive they blocked out the very sun itself. They didn’t have the prestigious royal blood, but were gods in their own right. They were feared and respected. Well they were until The Gods War wiped the rest of us out.

Stars danced above me and in every direction. I beat my wings harder, rising toward them. Surrounded by such beauty, I wondered what would happen if I just kept going. This was the only time I felt real freedom, and I reveled in it.

The shape I’d taken was one Kaden had shown me centuries ago and one of my personal favorites. Humans would recognize the beast as a wyvern. They were similar to the mythical dragon, but unlike the four-legged, fire-breathing beasts, I was bipedal in this shape with my hands and arms as wings. Horns and scales decorated the crown of my head, pointing backward to fine, sharp tips. My skin was thicker in this form and covered by armored, scaled plates. A long, razor-tipped tail swung behind me, helping to maintain wind trajectory as I dove and danced between the clouds.

The stars were my only company, and I savored the solitude. I closed my eyes and spread my wings as far as I could, riding on the wind. The plus side to Kaden’s human connections was they wouldn’t shoot down a flying fire-breathing beast. So for the moment, I was at peace. I was not Dianna, the fire wielding death queen, or Dianna, the loving and thoughtful sister. I just was. But reality, like life, always came back with a vengeance.

‘Bring me the head of the brother.’

Kaden’s voice echoed through my subconscious as the memory of the night before played like a movie behind my closed eyelids.

Kaden stood from the bed and grabbed his clothes, putting them on one by one. He’d never stayed, never held me, not once.

He paused at the door, his hand on the handle, and turned to look at me. ‘And, Dianna, make it messy. I want to send a message.’

‘As you wish,’ I replied as I sat up, pulling the sheets toward me. He didn’t speak or say anything else as he left the room. The slamming of the door echoed throughout the volcanic home. I covered my face with my hands as I sat there for a few minutes longer.

He hadn’t just asked me to bring him a prince’s head. No, he was asking me to kill a friend. Drake was one of the very few beings I trusted completely. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had no choice.

My eyes snapped open, and I concentrated on propelling my streamlined body faster through the night sky. With each powerful beat of my wings, I shoved aside my feelings, locking them away once more.

I smelled the seawater from the Naimer Sea before I saw it. Music and the sounds of a vibrant city soon filled my ears, telling me I was close. Tirin was a beautiful city in the heart of Zarall and currently owned by the Vampire King himself. Actually, the entire continent of Zarall was owned by Ethan Vanderkai, Vampire King, and sixth son of the royal bloodline. Every Vampire that spawned from the eastern to western hemisphere was under his rule, but he wasn’t the one I was looking for tonight. No, I was here for his brother, the Prince of Night, Drake Vanderkai.

I had met Drake through Kaden, like all my friends, if you could call them that. Except with Drake, I did consider us friends. His family had worked closely with Kaden for years. They had their hands in almost everything, so they often knew how to obtain the artifacts and items Kaden sought. That was the main reason Kaden was so pissed. He wanted that book and knew they would be a great source of help, but then they had stopped showing up to meetings.

First, Ethan had sent Drake in his place. I hadn’t minded. It was nice to have someone to talk to, laugh with, and not be on guard all the fucking time. But then Drake had stopped coming and this last time was enough for Kaden. He wanted blood, and what Kaden wanted, I provided.

I knew it was another test of my resolve. When I had hesitated in front of him, his paranoid brain assumed I was slipping. I had to demonstrate I wasn’t, regardless of my friendship with Drake. I couldn’t risk my reputation and position. If either was called into question, I risked her. That was unacceptable, and so I would prove my loyalty, starting with Drake.

I dove beneath the clouds and focused on the land below. Yellow and multicolored lights mirrored the stars above. People were out enjoying the night, and the sounds of voices, cars honking, and music floated to me on the balmy air. Bright white beams of light called all who were willing to listen closer to the inner city. There was a party tonight, like all nights, and that was exactly where I was heading.

As I soared above the mountains, the ocean danced on my left, gentle waves lapping at the shore. I glided around a neighboring cliff and I pulled my wings back slowly, beating them against the air to slow my descent. The music drowned out any noise they made, and the humans were too drunk and preoccupied to notice me.

Black smoke curled around me as I shifted shape mid-air and dropped to the street. I landed in a crouch, several people jumping out of the way. They spilled their drinks and shouted at me to watch where I was going. I straightened and adjusted the thick twin braids I’d styled, pulling the tips of them forward.

Lights varied from silver, red and gold as I reached the inner city of Tirin. The place itself was referred to as Logoes. It was a popular neighborhood, beautiful and most notorious for its nightlife and historical monuments. Everything you could want or need was available there with its numerous bars, pubs and upscale lounges. Tourists and locals flocked to Logoes, seeking to unwind and let loose. I didn’t blame them. This part of Tirin was known to come alive at night, even if the humans weren’t aware of what awoke as the moon crested in the sky.

In the black tank, black leather pants, and heels I wore, I fit in with the crowd, and it only took me a few minutes to reach my destination. The club was located in the heart of Logoes, and a long line of people were waiting to pass through the massive entrance. The red neon sign above the door cast a crimson glow over everything. This was one of Drake’s favorite places, something he owned that wasn’t his brother’s.

The humans cursed and yelled as I pushed past them to reach the front of the club. Twin bouncers folded their arms and shifted to form a wall before me. They were the overly muscled idealistic types made to intimidate and keep people, usually the drunk and stupid, from trying to enter. One has a shaved head with tattoos dancing up the back of his neck the other a long dreaded ponytail. Their eyes glowed gold as they recognized who I was, but I didn’t give them a chance to move.

‘Sorry about this, but he should have showed.’

The front doors burst open, splintering into a thousand tiny pieces as I slammed them through. Fire erupted from the center of their chests where my palms had connected. Their bodies were ash before they hit the floor. The crowd inside didn’t even notice, continuing to dance and gyrate on each other. The people outside did though and screamed running for their lives. My heels crunched on the shards of the broken door frame as I entered.

The inside of the club was larger than what the outside showed. Yellow, blue, pink, and red lights danced off the walls from projectors hanging over the DJ booth. The dance floor separated the DJ booth from the large circular bar that took up the middle of the room. People shouted at the bartenders, trying to order their drinks and be heard over the music.

I’d taken a step toward the soft red glow at the back of the club when a hard object smacked into the back of my head. My head shot forward, but my body didn’t move. Another perk of being an Ig’Morruthen was that our bones were thicker, meaning we were harder to knock unconscious. I turned to see another vampire holding a gun with a look of complete shock on his face. I whipped my arm out, tearing a hole through him and incinerating the remains. That got everyone’s attention. A woman near me screamed and the eyes of the vampires in the crowd lit with yellow, their fangs extending as they turned toward me.

It was going to be a long night.

My blood-soaked shoes squeaked as I walked up the stairs. I was covered in ash, blood, and probably more than one being’s visceral organs at this point. I wiped my forehead, smearing more gore across my face. At the top of the stairs, I stopped short, scanning the large lounge area. There were multiple black sofas against the back wall with matching chairs and small tables placed around the area. The lighting was dim with red up lighting in the corners. There was a smaller bar up here, but it only served the type of drinks the undead craved. It was empty except for the one person I was here for.

Vampire royalty always made my skin crawl. Their power dated so far back that my senses weren’t quite sure what to make of it. There were only four vampire families that had enough power to inherit the throne and one had turned to dust before I was created. The remaining three hated each other, and had fought savagely for a chance to claim the throne. The Vanderkais won and had been in power for a while now. Their victory had been in large part to Kaden, but that didn’t mean they were his lackeys. The older they got, the more powerful they became, and power was all I felt from the back area of the lounge.

I came around the crescent style bar, leaning against the end as our gazes met and his golden eyes bored into mine. A red ember flared as he took a pull from his cigar. He was lounging on one of the large sofas with a single arm draped across the back. He looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world and wasn’t bothered by the carnage I’d inflicted downstairs.

Another pull on the cigar lit up the side of his face, the glow highlighting the dark curls clipped close to his scalp. The rich brown of his skin gleamed, begging anyone dumb enough to touch. Drake was a gorgeous predator. It was another perk of vampirism, everything about them was designed to attract their prey.

‘You look rough.’ He took another tug from his cigar as he crossed one of his legs over the other.

My fists clenched. ‘Why didn’t you show? And don’t give me some bullshit excuse about problems or enemies you have to deal with.’

Drake didn’t say anything which only pissed me off more. I took one step forward then another. He tapped the cigar out against the silver tray on the table next to him.

‘Kaden is trying to open the realms, Drake. It means freedom for us, for our kind. No more worrying about the celestials or The Hand. Why are you and Ethan suddenly so against that?’

His eyes roamed mine for a second searching for some sign that I was joking, but only pain edged my voice.

‘He has a point, yes. I would like to not be hunted, me or my family, but his beliefs are clouded.’ He stood, unbuttoning his jacket and taking it off one sleeve at a time. ‘Ethan won’t follow, and nor will I. He’s a tyrant, Dianna, no matter what pretty picture he paints.’

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to hold back my tears. ‘You know you can’t talk like that. You know what that means.’

‘I know.’ His voice was barely a whisper and suddenly closer now. I opened my eyes and was unsurprised to find him only inches away. He lifted his hand, brushing the loose hairs that had escaped my braid away from my face. ‘And will you, his pretty weapon, be the one to execute me? My brother? Our family, too?’

The part of me that was still good screamed at me to stop as I grabbed him by the throat, but I had no choice. He didn’t struggle as I lifted him and tossed him through the back wall. Wires sparked in the large hole made by his body and several pictures fell to the ground as the building shuddered from the impact. Dust and debris filled the air as parts of the interior crumbled. ‘You know what happens now. You knew when you repeatedly sent others to the meeting what he would do, how he would react. He was never going to tolerate your disobedience, Drake!’ I yelled.

Twin blades flew from the hole, heading straight for me. I slapped one out of the air and the other whizzed by my head. They weren’t meant to kill, only distract. The air flew out of me as I was tackled to the floor. We rolled, crashing into the bar. It burst into several pieces of wood and glass.

‘When he comes back you need to make sure you are on the right side. You think this book he wants isn’t going to start another massive war?’ he snapped as he pinned me to the floor. He held my arms crossed against my chest with one knee on my stomach and the other on the floor, supporting him.

‘Oh you can’t be serious! You, too? He is a legend at best, and yet you condemned your whole family for it? They are stories, Drake, stories to keep us in line. They all died. The old gods are dead. The Gods War remember? All that’s left are the celestials and The Hand, that’s it.’

‘Gods, he has you so fucking whipped.’ He slammed his fist across my face, rocking my head to the side.

I faked a slight spell of unconsciousness, and as I felt him relax, I slammed my knee into his groin. He lurched forward and I freed my arms, tossing him off of me. I rolled to my feet, but by the time I was up he had recovered. He was standing with his fists in the air and a shit-eating grin on his face.

My chest tightened. Drake was the one who had made me smile when I first turned and was dealing with the fact I no longer had my freedom or humanity. He wasn’t just my friend, he was Gabby’s too. He was always there when I needed him, and now I had to kill him because he and Ethan decided to switch sides. I had no choice and that only pissed me off more. I raised my hands to match his, clenching them tight before dropping them.

‘I don’t want to do this.’ My voice cracked but I didn’t care. Didn’t care if he saw it as a weakness.

He dropped his fists too, his expression softening ‘Then don’t. You are one of my best friends, Dianna. I don’t want to fight you. You are just as strong as him, if not more so. Stay with me, with us. We can help and protect each other.’

I smiled softly, knowing he meant every word he said, and then I was in front of him. His eyes went wide as his mouth gaped open once, then twice. He looked down at my fist lodged in his chest. My hand curled around his heart, and I felt it beat. His life was in my palm.

‘I said I didn’t want to. Not that I wouldn’t.’

He smiled at me as his hands touched my wrist. ‘Better to die by what you think is right, than to live under a lie.’ I held his gaze as I willed the flames from my hand. His body lit up from the inside. His smile didn’t waver. It was the same smile that comforted me when the nightmares got too bad. The same smile that curved his lips when he told me jokes, making me laugh, even when I felt like dying. I watched with contained horror as the same smile that could light up a room disappeared forever.

I stood there for I don’t know how long, my hand still outstretched and full of the remains of what remained of my friend’s heart. A loud upbeat ringing filled the room and I thought it was odd that they would still play music when the club was destroyed. Then I felt the vibration against my hip and shook myself from my daze. I wiped my hands on my jeans and pulled the phone from my pocket.

‘You can go see your sister now.’

I scanned the ruin of the room, my gaze catching on the camera mounted high on the wall. Kaden had seen everything. I nodded once toward it and hung up the phone before disappearing from the wreckage.