A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)

“That might explain how they had such knowledge of the mansions in the first place.” I nodded as she handed me the third satchel. Our fingers touched, and an electric tingle rushed through my arms, heating me up on the inside.

She had a fascinating effect on me. There was something between us, though I’d yet to formulate coherent thoughts about it. I could feel our chemistry, as it thickened the air whenever we were close to each other. Caia kept me on high alert and had even slipped into my dreams. But my celibacy oath took precedence. I didn’t want to put her through the ordeal of waiting around for me. It wasn’t fair to her.

At the same time, I could feel my resolve slowly withering away as we orbited around one another like two neutron stars about to collide and explode into a sea of light. The more time I spent near her, the more I disliked my paternal heritage. The oath had made sense to me when I took it.

To be fair, it still did. But something tugged at my heart, pulling me closer to Caia, and all I could think of was losing myself in her fire. I bit my lower lip and focused on covering the western hole, pushing the rubble in to cover the satchel.

“It does make sense.” Caia continued our conversation, though I did catch the tremor in her voice. I affected her as much as she did me, and she wasn’t very good at hiding it, either. I found that endearing, and it made me fall even deeper. “If they already knew what the key spots in the Xunn mansion were, along with the movements of Iman servants, the daemons could have easily performed an in-and-out operation to plant the explosives.”

“Which would mean that their advancement to the second level of the city only relates to their hunting practices, not their actual knowledge of the city. So, in a way, the attack was their way of telling us not to underestimate them,” I concluded, and couldn’t stop myself from smiling at her. “You’re brilliant, did you know that?”

Caia stared at me, her cheeks blossoming a beautiful pink. My heart faltered as liquid fire pulled through me. This girl was going to really put me to the test, and she didn’t even know it. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get my senses back under control, then carved the last hole into the northern side of the prison wall.

“Thank you, I guess?” she replied softly, her lips stretching into a smile.

There were two ways I could see this ending. Caia was intense, and I knew she would set me on fire—even in a literal sense, if I ever crossed her. This chemistry between us would either fizzle out or make me break my celibacy oath. I doubted I’d ever be able to hold onto any half-measure with her.

Her voice alone was enough to make my whole body buck and accumulate pressure, and I feared that only her kiss, her touch, would be able to free me. After that, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop. Judging by the way her pupils flared whenever I got close to her, I had a feeling she’d be right there with me.

“Okay, we’re done here,” I said, clearing my throat as I finished covering the fourth hole. “We’re off to the top, right?”

“Yup.” She nodded and walked back to the metal stairs leading up to the iron gate we’d come through. “Not sure there are any walls left for us to paint, but four trees pointing north, south, east, and west will do the trick.”

The Correction Officer who had escorted us down to the prison straightened his back when he saw us. He’d been leaning against a nearby wall, looking rather lost. They were all affected by the explosion—some more than others.

“Where to next?” he asked us.

There was a willingness to be around us glimmering in his eyes. I hadn’t noticed it before. He, like all the other Maras working for Lord Kifo, did his best to keep his emotions to himself. But he seemed to warm up to us, in his own way. I figured our presence helped dampen the anxiety that had probably permeated his facade in the wake of the attack.

“Upstairs to the top level,” I replied. “We need to repaint some warding symbols.”

He nodded and went up the spiral staircase. It was a long way to the Lords’ mansions, but I still had plenty of adrenaline coursing through me since the explosions. I looked over my shoulder and noticed Caia staring at me, her eyes wide and filled with thoughts I wished I could understand.

We followed the Correction Officer up the stairs, leaving Fiona down in the prison to look for Demios. She knew where to find us afterward, anyway. I took Caia’s hand in mine somewhere along the way. Her skin felt warm and soft against mine, soothing my very soul. She didn’t seem to mind, either.





Fiona





(Daughter of Benedict & Yelena)





I had enough invisibility paste in my system for about one hour, plus two equal reserves in my backpack—one for me, and one for Demios, provided I found him. It took me a while to familiarize myself with the prison layout, especially with the cages on the bottom level.

Blaze and Caia left with the Correction Officer, while I continued to check every cage. The search process gave me an opportunity to get a better look at the prisoners. They all looked malnourished, weak, and simply out of their minds. Some were unconscious, lying on their bellies. Iron cuffs restricted their movements, the rough, unpolished metal digging into their bony ankles and wrists. Most of them had been in there for weeks, months, even years, but a couple seemed rather new to the “party” and had slightly more alert eye movements.

I had a feeling they’d be more useful to me than the others. Looking through the entire prison for Demios was going to take more than one hour, if I relied solely on myself. It couldn’t hurt to ask one of the inmates.

There was one, in particular, who caught my eye. A young Iman male, maybe in his early twenties. His brown clothes were tattered and dusty, and the wounds on his bare shins and forearms were scabbing. He glanced around, exuding an air of hopelessness that gave me a mild stomachache. I moved closer to his cage, and noticed his blue eyes—pupils strangely dilated. Based on what Heron had told me about the side effects of mind-bending, this Iman was definitely under the Mara influence.

I couldn’t reveal myself, but I needed to talk to him.

Here goes nothing…

“Please don’t be alarmed,” I said slowly.

The Iman’s head shot up, then turned left and right, his eyes wide as the color drained from his face.

“I’m right here,” I whispered, stepping forward. “You can’t see me because I’m cloaked.”

“Da… da… daemon…” He was horrified, slowly slipping to the back of his cage. His mouth opened as he prepared to scream from the bottom of his lungs.

Of course he thinks I’m a daemon. I’m freakin’ invisible!

“No, no, no, I’m not a daemon! Please, please be quiet,” I breathed, my voice trembling. “I’m here because I need to find my friend. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I would’ve already, if I wanted to.”