Court of Shadows: (A Demons of Fire and Night Novel) (Institute of the Shadow Fae Book 1) Read online

  Court of Shadows

  A Demons of Fire and Night Novel

  Crawford C.N.

  Copyright © 2018 by Crawford C.N.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For my son James, whose vivid imagination created the concept of Ruadan.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Preview of Court of Darkness

  Also by Crawford C.N.

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  The vampire bared his fangs, and I knew we’d both be dead by the end of the night if I didn’t get him out of here. I leapt over the bar with the speed of a hurricane wind, hurtling toward him. I slammed my fist into his skull—once, twice, three times. He staggered back, then collapsed. He’d fallen so easily I almost didn’t feel a sense of victory, but I grinned down at him anyway. The colored lights of the bar stained his porcelain skin red.

  I had to get him out of here.

  I tried to project a calm I didn’t feel. “Like I said,” I purred, “a guy like you would be more comfortable in a hipster joint with arcade games and herbal cocktails. You can talk about synthwave or whatever there. Move along. Now.” I may have screamed the last word. A sense of urgency was taking over.

  It was at that point, I realized that everyone in the bar had stopped talking and were all staring at me over their pints. A pop song crackled through the speakers, and the neon sign in the window flickered on and off. Otherwise, silence shrouded us.

  Easy, Arianna. Easy. I stood over the fallen vampire, holding up my hands. “Nothing to see here, folks! Just an ordinary Friday night kerfuffle.”

  I loosed a long sigh. Two thin hawthorn stakes jutted from my messy bun, ready for the vampire’s heart, but I restrained myself. My boss would flip his shit if he saw me beating up customers—again. And I definitely wasn’t supposed to kill people—even if they were undead—in front of a crowd. Rufus frowned upon things like that in his establishment.

  You can take the girl out of the gladiator arena….

  It was just unfortunate that the vampire had made the serious error of trying to bite me.

  As soon as this guy had stumbled into our bar, I’d known he was trouble. In fact, I’d immediately assessed three important things about him.

  One, his luxurious Viking beard had told me he was a hipster—not to mention his neon clothing, reminiscent of children’s wear in the early 1980s. Whenever guys dressed like him decided to slum it in the Spread Eagle, it usually went down badly with the regulars.

  Two, his staggering gait and furrowed brow had told me that he was a mean, sloppy drunk. Given the exceptional alcohol tolerance levels of vampires, he must have drunk his weight in craft beers tonight.

  Three, and worst of all, he was a supernatural.

  I cocked my head at him as he lay on the floor. He might even be old enough that the medieval Norseman beard was actually authentic. Supernaturals like him—like me—were outlawed these days. We had to fly under the radar if we wanted to live. Too bad this one was too stupid to keep a low profile. Four years of executions and assassinations, and this fucker had just brazenly walked into our bar, flashing his fangs around.

  As the patrons turned back to their pint glasses, pretending to ignore us, I frowned at the hipster-vampire. Dazed, he still lay on the beer-stained floor, but he’d managed to push himself up onto his elbows. The undead bastards didn’t stay down for long. His pale eyes were trained on me, possibly recognizing my own magic.

  Ciara, my oldest friend, crept over to us, her brown eyes wide. Her hand was clamped over her grin. I could tell she was stopping just short of clapping her hands. “Oh my goodness, Arianna. You punched him. Do you see his fangs?” She had a sweet but unfortunate tendency to idolize supernaturals, like we were some kind of celebrities. After all, there weren’t many of us around these days. “A real, live vampire,” she whispered, pointing at him.

  “I can hear you,” the vamp slurred, now rising to his feet. He staggered closer. “Little girl.”

  “I need to get him out of here,” I muttered. And I had to do it without using any of my magic. You never knew who was watching, ready to turn you in.

  Now, my new Viking friend’s gaze was locked on Ciara. Red flashed in his eyes. He was after blood tonight, and she was clearly an easier target than me. It didn’t help that she was wearing a T-shirt featuring a male model with fangs poking from pouty lips. She gods-damned loved vampires.

  “I know your game, little girl.” The vampire licked his fangs, swaying on his feet. “You read your little books about teenagers falling in love with thousand-year-old vamps. Our skin is supposed to sparkle like a unicorn’s arse, right? And you all get a happy ending. Wrong. Those books are crap. Come with me, and I’ll teach you about reading real literature. Hemingway, Kerouac, Bukowski—”

  His monologue was cut off by the sight of the thin stake I’d pulled out of my hair. I twirled it between my fingers, and the vampire seemed hypnotized by the movement.

  I smiled at him. “Now that you’re quiet, let’s get one thing straight. I will not have you slandering romance books in my bar.” Technically, it wasn’t my bar, but that was beside the point. This arsehole thought he was going to feed on Ciara. And moreover, I would not tolerate anyone banging on about Bukowski. “I’d like to just get back to the shots of Johnny Walker I was drinking before you came in, and I don’t want to have to keep punching you. I’d prefer not to get your blood on my new miniskirt. So run along. I’m pretty sure an ironic meth-trailer-themed bar just opened up a few blocks away.” I leaned closer, arching an eyebrow. “It seems more your scene.”

  Despite the arse-kicking I’d just given him and the stake in my hand, he seemed unfazed.

  He stumbled toward Ciara. “I think I’d be more comfortable if your friend came with me.”

  I gave him a hard shove, and he staggered back.

  The door swung open, and a second vamp came in—this one in a visor, a handlebar mustache, and a pink bow tie. Had someone told them we had a sale on ukuleles or something?

  I had to get them out of here. The last thing I wanted was for the Spread Eagle to attract the spell-slayers’ attention for harboring supernaturals.

  I flashed the two vamps a dark smile. “No supernaturals allowed in here. No supernaturals allowed anywhere. Those are the rules. You’ve got ten seconds to leave this bar,” I said sweetly, while calculating all the ways I could kill them. “Or I might star
t getting angry. And you don’t want that to happen.”

  Viking Vamp snorted, then his irises flared with red. The air seemed to thin around us. “And what the fuck are you, pretty thing? You’re not human.”

  My blood chilled. I couldn’t let anyone overhear him saying that.

  He snatched a whisky bottle—my whisky bottle—from the bar, his movements lightning fast. Then, he jabbed a finger in my face. “You’re not supposed to be here, either. I think I just might tell the spell-slayers on you. Tick tock. Your time is running out, pretty lady. But give me a look at those gorgeous tits of yours and I might keep your secret.”

  Rage surged. And then, as I registered the word “spell-slayers,” dread slithered up my spine.

  Okay. I was done being nice. Now he had to die.

  There was only one thing in London scarier than me, and that was the spell-slayers. The fae assassins haunted London’s streets in dark cloaks, blending into the night sky like smoke. They terrorized humans and magical creatures alike, ruling the city with the points of their blades, silently slaughtering in the shadows. No one was supposed to look them in the eye, or speak to them, or breathe in their direction. But we all owed them a tithe from our paychecks. Protection money, they called it. They were no better than a magical mafia. In short, they were the worst. I hated them and feared them in equal measure.

  I narrowed my eyes at the vamps. “You want me to believe you’re brave enough to attract the attention of the spell-slayers? And risk your own necks? Bollocks. You’re supposed to be locked up in a magical realm with all the other supernaturals, not roaming London’s streets. I’m now four seconds away from dragging you outside and staking you.”

  Truth was, I’d stake them whether or not they left willingly. I couldn’t risk them turning me in.

  I didn’t really have time for too many mental calculations, because the next thing I knew, Viking Vamp was lunging for Ciara again, fangs bared.

  Fast—maybe faster than I should have—I pivoted around him, pointing my stake at his neck. I wasn’t supposed to move too quickly; humans were slow and sluggish. But the sight of him attacking Ciara sent my blood racing, and instinct kicked in.

  I pressed the stake against his jugular. Then, I stood on my tiptoes, whispering into his ear. “I know a stake to the neck won’t kill you. But I will make it hurt when I jam it into your throat and wiggle it round. Then I’ll kill you.”

  Something sharp jabbed into my back, stopping me in my tracks. A quick glance over my shoulder told me that his friend, Visor Vamp, was holding a knife to my back.

  “Drop the stake, darling!” said Visor Vamp.

  Baleros’s third law of power: Always let your enemy underestimate you.

  I dropped the stake. I held up my hands as if I were surrendering, adding in a bit of trembling for good measure.

  Then, when I felt the point of the knife retreat a little, I pivoted, slamming my elbow into his nose. I brought up my knee into his crotch—three brutal cracks to the groin. Vamps might not be alive, but they were still sensitive in the usual places. As he bent forward, I twisted his arm, forcing him to the ground. I snatched the knife from his hand at the same time. Then, I pointed it at his neck.

  My lips curled in a mocking smile. “You still want to play?”

  Now, at last, the vamps had the good sense to look scared. Apart from a warbling pop song, the room had gone silent again.

  Viking Vamp held up his hands. “We’ll leave.”

  I pulled the blade away from the other’s neck. As he straightened, he leaned in close, breathing in my ear. “The spell-slayers will be coming for you.”

  At that, an icy tendril of dread coiled through my chest.

  I watched as the two vamps skulked out of the bar.

  I jammed my hand into the pocket of my miniskirt, and I pulled out a lollipop. Cherry, with gum in the center. Nothing like crystalized sugar to calm the nerves. I popped it in my mouth, staring at the door.

  Ciara grinned. “Well geez Louise, this has been a heck of an evening.” She’d lived in the UK for at least ten years now and still hadn’t lost her thick American accent. “I haven’t been this excited since my Aunt Starlene drew a clown on my bedroom wall to ease my loneliness.”

  “It’s not over.” There’d been something too cocky about those vamps, and their parting shot had told me everything I needed to know. I’d heard of some supernaturals acting as informants to the spell-slayers. Supernatural narcs. Maybe that was how these two idiots had managed to stay alive, biting humans like Ciara with impunity. “Can you cover the bar while I’m out?”

  “No problem.”

  I had a pair of vampires to kill.

  Chapter 2

  I snatched my stake off the floor, then my backpack. I never went anywhere without it. My bug-out bag had everything I might need in an emergency: a headlamp, a lighter with aerosolized deodorant for smelling nice or lighting things on fire, medical supplies, a water bottle, cherry lip gloss, fresh knickers, a shortwave radio, ropes, assorted lollipops, duct tape, and a shitload of knives. Never say I wasn’t prepared.

  The door creaked as I pushed through it into the night air. A sooty bridge arched over the Spread Eagle, where pigeons made their home in the shadows. They cooed above me.

  I tossed my lollipop in a rubbish bin. I didn’t like to kill things with sweets in my mouth.

  Shivering a little in the misty air, I scanned the dark streets under the bridge until I saw movement. The two vamps were moving toward the Tower—the seat of spell-slayer power. I wouldn’t let them get any closer to its walls.

  I trailed behind them over the damp, cobbled road, moving silently. A light rain misted over my skin, curling my lavender hair.

  Quickening my pace, I drew the hawthorn stakes from my hair, holding one in each hand like a pair of daggers. My pulse raced, heart quickening with the thrill of the hunt. I had them in my sights, and I wasn’t letting them get anywhere.

  When I’d come up behind them, I crooned, “Hey, vamps.”

  They whirled, and I slammed my stakes into their hearts. And just like that, the fight was over.

  Baleros’s sixth law of power: Crush your enemies mercilessly.

  Their eyes went wide, but within seconds, they had crumbled to piles of ash on the pavement. Rain dampened their blackened remains.

  I pulled my stakes from the ash and wiped them off with a tissue from my bag. As I did, I lifted my eyes to the medieval fortress before me. Once, it had simply been known as the Tower of London. Now, people called it the Institute. It was the one place the spell-slayers hadn’t outlawed magic. Even from here, I could see its walls and towers brimming with sorcery. Pale blue light streamed from the stony spires into the skies, and a moat of golden light surrounded the entire structure.

  The spell-slayers claimed they’d outlawed magic to keep the peace. They said that the apocalyptic wars twenty years ago—the ones between angels, fae, and demons—were forever at risk of erupting again. They said all supernaturals should remain segregated and locked in magical realms. Apparently, only the fae nobility were capable and worthy of remaining neutral among the human world. Everyone else was an animal, you see.

  But I knew how the spell-slayers really thought. Magic was power, and they wanted it all for themselves. I hated them with an intensity that rivaled the brilliance of their gleaming spires.

  I turned, walking back to the Spread Eagle. As I did, I tucked the hawthorn stakes back into my hair. I’d rid myself of that threat quickly enough. So why did I still feel that eerie sense of dread hanging over me?

  When I slipped back into the bar, I found that another grim hush had overtaken the place, and my heart started to race.

  I scanned the room until I figured out why.

  When my gaze landed on a fae male in the corner, my blood began roaring in my ears.

  I glimpsed a sweep of black hair under his cowl. The neon lights of the bar flashed over olive skin and vibrant green eyes. His broad shoulders
took up half the booth, and an opening in his cloak revealed leather armor underneath. I had no doubt that every inch of his body was muscled and strapped with weapons. He held himself with a preternatural stillness, gazing at me like a snake about to strike. My stomach dropped.

  Fae nobility, and a spell-slayer. Like so many of his kind, he was shockingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Under his stare, I felt uncharacteristically self-conscious in my bargain-basement miniskirt that was just a little too short. Of course, spell-slayers like him wanted everyone else to feel like crap. They lived to dominate and terrify. They’d mastered messing with people’s heads.

  And right now, I was certain he’d come for me, even if I’d tried to be careful.

  If I turned and ran now, it would confirm my guilt, and he’d be after me instantly.

  My gaze slid to the bar, where Ciara was trying to act natural, although her hands were shaking as she pulled a pint.

  Rufus, our boss, now stood by her side. The presence of the spell-slayers had unnerved him, too, and I could see sweat droplets beading at the edges of his graying hair. Ciara and Rufus weren’t even supernaturals, and the slayer still scared the crap out of them.

  Rufus met my gaze, his eyes flicking wide open. The strained look on his face said, Get the hell over here. Now.

  Swallowing hard, I crossed to him. I watched as he pulled our most expensive bottle of wine—which, let’s be honest, was something he’d picked up from Tesco, simply labeled French Red Wine. Staring across the bar at the spell-slayer, he poured a glass.