Chapter Five
Anton
W hen I woke one evening a week or so after the party, I was famished, so I walked to the kitchen and took out three blood bags. I downed them as quickly as I possibly could, doing my best not to gag at the ash taste in my mouth.
With that done, I took a shower and got myself ready for the evening. I had no plans except to go to the bookstore I owned for a few hours, but I wasn’t sure if the kids had something else in mind.
My bookstore was open twenty-four hours a day to accommodate every species, no matter their sleeping habits. I’d owned it for a few decades, so the place basically ran itself since I had a wonderful staff who knew what they were doing.
But I loved my bookstore and enjoyed spending time there. With everything else in my life out of sorts, I figured being in the one place where things were going right might be helpful.
I spoke loudly, knowing they could hear me no matter where they were in the house. “I’m going to work. Call me if you need anything, or you’re welcome to come help out there.”
“Sounds good, Fang-Daddy,” Jed said from close by, making me huff.
“I’ll come by soon,” Phaeron said, not surprising me. He liked working at the bookshop as much as I did. He and I shared a love of reading. All of my children did, to be honest, but not like Phae did.
“Kat and I are going to a bar for some fresh meat tonight,” Beshiro said.
That made me pause. “I’m assuming that was a euphemism?”
When Katja spoke, I could practically hear her eye roll. “Obviously. We want to feed from the vein, so we’re going to a vamp bar. Don’t worry about us. You know we would never hurt anyone or take their blood without permission.”
“I know.” I’d taught them how to feed properly—and politely—a very long time ago. All four of my fledglings had always been responsible in that way. “Be safe.”
“We will,” all four of them chorused together, making my lips twitch with a small smile.
Just as I opened the front door to leave, my phone rang, so I paused and pulled it out. My brow lifted in curiosity at the name Thayer on the screen. Thayer was a witch from Brinnswick and a part of the Ellwood coven—the most powerful and influential family in their country, perhaps the most powerful and influential witch coven in the world.
Tan was a part of that coven, and therefore, I was now aligned with them—not a bad place to be, to be honest.
“Hello?” I answered, holding the phone up to my ear.
“Hey, Anton, this is Thayer. Thayer Ellwood. I’m sorry to bother you, but do you have a minute to talk?”
“It’s no bother. I can always spare a moment for a friend.”
“Thank you.” The guy sounded just as sunshiny on the phone as he was when we met in person. He seemed like a good guy. Honestly, all of the Ellwoods did. “We’re having a bit of a hunter problem, and Julius is concerned about—actually, would you mind speaking to him directly?”
“Sure.”
Julius was also a part of the Ellwood coven, only he was a vampire, not a witch. As far as I knew, there were three vampires in their coven, although I suppose there could be others since I hadn’t met every single person yet. Their coven was very large and seemed to be growing every year.
“Hello, Elder,” a new voice said. “My name is Julius Vereno Hargrave of the Ellwood coven. I believe we met in passing a few months ago but were never properly introduced. It’s an honor to speak with you.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. It had been a very long time since I’d spoken to another vampire I didn’t already know and who addressed me so formally.
It made me smile a bit. “Hello, Julius. It’s a pleasure to speak with you as well. No need for any titles. Anton is completely fine.”
“Thank you, Anton.”
“As I understand it, you’re both Tobias and Emrys’s sire? Is that correct?”
“Yes, Elder. Emrys is also my viramore.” Wow. Every time I spoke to the Ellwoods, I found out another of their partners were viramore pairs—soulmates. Ailin and Sebastian Ellwood’s coven was very lucky indeed.
“That’s wonderful, youngling. It pleases me to hear when a fellow vampire finds their viramore.”
“That’s very kind of you to say.”
“Now, back to business. I understand you have a hunter problem?”
He sighed, sounding utterly exhausted. “Recently, a local den was attacked, and of the fifty members on the premises, only three survived.”
My eyes grew wide. “Three out of fifty? That’s…”
“Yes. It’s horrific. It was… not a pretty scene, that’s for sure. A few days after that attack, a smaller vampire den was attacked on the other side of the city. This time, they left only one alive. The poor thing’s only a year old and completely traumatized. I ended up bringing her home with me and—well, that’s not important right now.”
“Is there anything linking the two attacks, aside from them being vampire massacres, obviously?”
He sucked in a breath. “The manner of the attacks were… rather gruesome and… painful. It looks like someone released UV rays right smack in the center of their dens, and then came in with swords, slicing necks, stabbing hearts, cutting off limbs. With the manner of the killings, I… I honestly have no doubt these attacks were done by the same people.”
I grimaced. “That sounds… horrible.”
“It is, and unfortunately, that’s not the worst part. We decided to investigate other vampire murders to see if we could pick up on anything, and… it looks like these hunters have been killing off vampires for a very long time. They’ve been to nearly every corner of Brinnswick, slaughtering dens and killing off any vampire they come across. It feels like every time I go digging, I find more evidence that these hunters have been at it for months. I’m not sure how far back they go yet, but I think… I think I might’ve found a hunter cult.”
I cringed harder at that. A hunter cult wasn’t exactly a standard term, but that was exactly what some of these hunter groups were. Most of the time, their goal was to rid the planet of all vampires, with no regard to whether they were good or bad. They were fanatics and just about the most dangerous people I’d ever met.
If there was an active hunter cult in Brinnswick, it wouldn’t be too long before they made their way here. History taught us that violence and hate like that always spreads.
“That’s… horrible news.”
“Agreed. But you have experience with these types of hunters, correct?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve dealt with my fair share of them over the years.”
“I’m out of my depths here.”
“What do you need from me?”
“If at all possible, I would love your expertise in this area. I know this is a big ask, but would you be able to come here, examine the crime scenes, and help me figure out how to take care of these guys? I just… I need backup that understands how these guys work, and none of my fellow vampires in the BCA seem any more knowledgeable about it than I am.”
I opened my calendar on my phone to make sure I didn’t have any meetings I couldn’t reschedule coming up, then I nodded to myself and said, “Alright. I can be there in a few hours, as long as your coven doesn’t mind letting me use your portal?”
“You can definitely use it. Anything you need, elder. I’ll let Seb and Ailin know to expect you.”
I decided to let him get away with the honorific since he seemed so overwhelmed. “Alright. I can be there in a few hours. Can you let me know when you talk to Ailin and Sebastian about the portal? I don’t want to walk through until I’m sure they’re ready for me.” That would just be bad form.
“Of course.”
“This is my cell. Can you save my number—give it to whoever you need—and send me a text from your phone so I’ll have your number as well?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I better get going so I can pack a bag and let my children know I’m leaving.”
We said our goodbyes, hung up, and when I turned around, I was surprised to find Beshiro standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.
Before I could speak, he said, “I heard everything, and we’re coming with you.”
“You don’t need to uproot yourselves for me. I’ll be fine with the Ellwoods.”
He shrugged. “That may be, but we don’t know the Ellwoods yet, so this is a good time to introduce us. Plus, I sure as shit am not letting you go anywhere alone as long as you have that curse on you. We can’t risk it.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then thought better of it and snapped it shut, giving him a nod. “Fine. I’ll text Julius so they know to expect you. They’ll have to find a way to let you through the wards on the other side of the portal. Be ready in an hour. Tell your siblings to hurry up.”
He shot me a small grin before using his vampire speed to rush up the stairs to the floor with all the bedrooms. I could hear his voice yelling at his siblings to hurry up and their answering cries of confusion.
It made me grin and shake my head. My family was something else.
As soon as Julius’s text came through, I shot him one back to ensure my children could come with me. It didn’t take long for him to respond.
Julius Ellwood: That won’t be a problem. Seb and Ailin are ready for all five of you.
Me: Thank you, Julius.
As I packed myself a bag, I made sure to grab the unfinished letter I’d written Keryth. I’d written it a few days ago, but I hadn’t known how to finish it or how to get it to him. I was afraid he wouldn’t read it if I simply put it in the post. But if I was using the portal at Remi’s house, it was the perfect opportunity to give either Remi or Bel the letter to pass on to my sweet little fae.
So I took a moment to read it over, write a few more lines, and sign it. Then I stared at it for a few seconds, hesitating before adding a postscript at the bottom.
As I folded it and placed it into an envelope, a bout of nerves made my stomach clench, but I steeled myself and put the envelope in an outer pocket of my bag so I could easily grab it later, determined to do something, anything, to get Keryth to speak to me.
I simply… needed him in my life, badly, and I was willing to do anything to make that happen.