Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(68)

This mastermind…

There were two elder vampires at work in his outer kingdom, he knew. One had been weaving threads together for some time—decades. Only a few stray threads at first, but he’d woven them together over time, creating tapestries. Vlad, his name was. A well-known vampire who was also well positioned within both the Realm and the Brink. He had amassed quite a lot of power and had more than a few eager ears listening to his ideas about revolts. His dabbling in the Underworld could not go ignored, however. When Lucifer had finally agreed to an audience with the vampire, he hadn’t known what his next move would be: issue a strong warning, or just kill the vampire and be done with it.

Amazingly, neither had happened. The vampire was incredibly clever, with a well-established network Lucifer could use. He would be difficult to govern but worth the effort.

The other vampire, though…

Darius Durant, if rumors could be believed. Vlad’s child.

Lucifer glanced up, summoning images of the toughest dwelling area in the Edges, a place where death haunted its citizens, and a single misstep would cost someone their life. The second vampire had set up shop there, forming alliances with some of the toughest residents in the Edges.

This other vampire worked altogether differently than Vlad. He hadn’t attempted to bring any sort of sophistication to the Edges, nor had he tried to change the culture in any way. Because of it, his business thrived. More than thrived—it had spilled over into the areas surrounding it, including those already infiltrated by Vlad, and spread into the very heart of the Dark Kingdom. The vampire knew his market, so to speak.

He knew the Dark Kingdom.

He’d set up trading stalls catering to Lucifer’s subjects. He’d even found someone who could thread Incendium and Glaciem magic into the spells.

An image crystalized in Lucifer’s mind. A blond woman in black leather pants and heavy boots, a sort of pouch around her waist. Lucifer hadn’t been able to make out her face, but he would forever remember that bearing. Strong and straight and utterly fearless, even in the middle of a battle. She’d looked his way in challenge.

And that vampire had been beside her.

Darius Durant.

Lucifer threaded his hands into his pants pockets and turned from the window.

He’d only recently found out the woman’s name: Reagan of the Brink.

She had no records. No friends he could discern. No listed home, no birth certificate, none of the records attached to normal Brink citizens. It was as though she did not exist.

The woman the custodes had recently found had all of those things and more. Every inch of her life could be accounted for, from her mother’s death to her move to Santa Cruz for school and eventual assimilation with the shifters. She’d destroyed Lucifer’s subjects in the Realm, so he’d thought for a time that she might be the one he’d seen. But he’d sent his subjects to check it out. They hadn’t sensed any Underworld magic from her, and her party hadn’t noticed the amare interiorem perched on the roof above them, watching it all unfold.

She was not the one. But she had helped flush out the one.

After an extended absence, an absence not even Vlad could penetrate, Darius Durant had resurfaced. And with him…her.

Her. The woman who was possibly Lucifer’s heir.

The door clicked open, and Lucifer turned as Victoria entered in human form, her legs a little too long but overall well shaped, and the rest of her proportioned perfectly. She maintained that humans liked longer legs on women for some reason and had not been dissuaded from the choice.

“Sir,” she said, sounding harried. “I received reports from our spies in the Realm. Reagan Somerset is being held by the elves. She arrived three days ago with a band of custodes, four mages, and a pack of shifters led by Roger Nevin, the wolf. They detained the custodes and chased out the shifters in an effort to acquire Reagan Somerset. Their plan worked almost to their liking, as far as I have heard. They did acquire Reagan Somerset, though whatever they’d hoped to achieve with the shifters and custodes did not pan out. The two factions successfully left the castle. Most of the custodes and shifters successfully escaped to the Brink. The elves are sending people after them, though we aren’t sure what they plan to do. They don’t have enough forces to cross into the Brink and disband the traitors, as the custodes and the shifters are being called.”

“The elves are trying to save face. The custodes have always been well loved. Their absence has only created a deeper fondness. This will create turmoil for a kingdom already harvesting unrest.”

Lucifer thought back to all that Vlad had said. His plans for striking at the heart of the elves. His assurances of success. His confidence in the players at his disposal. He only needed the might of the Underworld to see his plans unfold, he’d claimed. With Lucifer’s help, their victory was assured.

Had Vlad suspected these events would transpire? His hints seemed to indicate it was so.

“And the woman?” Lucifer asked, calmly collecting his thoughts so as not to react hastily. His actions now would create lasting ripples. One misstep and he could be pushed further down the ranks in the magical world. But if he pushed an advantage, perhaps he could right old wrongs.

“Without a doubt, the rumors are true. She has both Incendium and Glaciem magics, has merged them, and uses them both. The working of her magic is rudimentary at best, but her power level is that of a mid-level five with room to grow.”