Bittersweet Blood (The Order #1)

“She smelled delicious.”


“She’s a client. I don’t want you eating my clients. Now, what brings you here?”

Piers shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered across to the windows to stare out at the lights of the city. He appeared outwardly calm but Christian knew him too well. Something was bothering him and Christian had to curb his impatience as he waited.

Piers turned back to face him. “I want you to come back.”

It wasn’t anything he’d expected and he frowned. “Not going to happen. I left the Order twenty years ago—for good.”

“Come on, Christian, you know it’s not that simple.”

“Can’t you cope? You want me to come back and take over?”

“Hell, no,” Piers said. “I like being the boss. We’ll take you on as a consultant.” His eyes drifted down over Christian. “You look like a consultant. Besides, don’t you miss it?” Piers moved behind the desk, sat in the huge leather chair, and spun. “This is fun, but it hardly compares to hunting demons.” He came to a halt facing Christian. “How can you live like this?”

“Easy.”

Piers considered him for a moment, head to one side, weighing his next move. “Gabriel’s dead.”

Impossible.

Shock ripped through Christian. And following close on his disbelief came a wave of regret. The emotion was unexpected, and he turned away to give himself time to think.

Gabriel was the youngest of the Order’s agents, but he’d still been strong. He should have been stronger than anything he came up against.

“We need you back, Christian.”

“Tell me what happened to Gabriel.”

“We don’t know what happened to him. He went out on a call last Friday night—a typical minor demon sighting—and vanished. He never called in. Nothing.”

“So how do you know he’s dead?”

“What else could it be? We haven’t heard from him in five days. Besides, Ella confirmed it. You know she’s never been wrong.”

A ripple of distaste ran through him at the mention of the Order’s tame witch. Ella had long ago given herself over to the dark practices, but she was powerful, so the Order protected her.

“She also believes something big is coming,” Piers said.

“Another war?”

“She couldn’t say. But there’s more. It was Ella who told us to come to you.”

Christian’s eyes narrowed as he processed that piece of information. Not good news. “Why?”

“Again, she couldn’t say, just that you had an important part to play.”

“Couldn’t say, or wouldn’t? Does she know more?”

“I don’t think so, but you know Ella—she has her own agendas.”

“You were fools to keep her on. I told you that when you took over. You should have eliminated her after the last time.”

“She’s useful.”

“She’s evil.”

Piers smiled. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

Christian pursed his lips. It was an ongoing argument between them. “Do you really believe we’re evil?”

“Good, evil, who knows? By most peoples’ standards we are. So, are you coming back? Will you help?”

“I need to think about it.”

But it was a lie—he didn’t need to think. Excitement unfurled deep inside him, rising to the surface and mingling with the hunger that already stirred in his blood. He knew he’d go back.

Piers grinned. “You’ll be back. Just don’t take too long.” He got up, nodded, and left the room.

Christian sank into the chair behind his desk and rested his head on the back of the seat, staring into space. So few emotions touched him now, but he recognized sadness. Gabriel had been one of his, the last of his offspring.

Christian had left The Order after the last demon war, sickened by the carnage, but also aware of the darkness rising within himself, of the part of him that reveled in the slaughter, that loved to slake his hunger with demon blood.

So he’d stepped down, pursued a different life, a life among humans.

Now Gabriel was dead, and Christian would have his revenge. He’d hunt down whatever had taken Gabe, kill them, and drain their blood. It was a long time since he’d feasted on immortal blood. Humans were fine, but nothing beat the blood of a demon.

His hunger rose. The office suddenly seemed like a cage. He needed to get out into the night.

Graham glanced up as he entered the outer office. “You have a finance meeting in half an hour,” he said as Christian paused by the desk.

“Cancel it.”

“Where are you going?”

Christian smiled, with a small flash of fang. “I’m going hunting.”





Chapter Two


Rule Number Two: Never drink alcohol.

So what was next?