Bound to Blackwood Read online

  Bound to Blackwood

  House Blackwood Book One

  by Sharon Lipman

  Would you surrender your soul for the love of the King?

  ©2015 SLL Publishing

  Disclaimer:

  The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic content.

  It is intended only for those aged 18 and older.

  Table of 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

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Glossary

  Copyright

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  They should have noticed her. Even though Lena hid in the darkness, tracking Vampires was in Fallen DNA. She was uneasy with the development, but schooled herself to patience.

  This part of south-west London was rundown to the point of decay. The rotten garden gate creaked when the Fallen entered the decrepit front garden. There were seven of them converging on the house, all well-armed. She had to stifle a growl.

  Despite appearing human – like her – they were anything but. Too intent on reaching the civilian Vampires inside, they didn't notice they were the ones being hunted.

  The Fallen split up, presumably to initiate some kind of multi-pronged attack on the residents just waking up in the house. She watched some of them disappear towards the rear but one of them ventured towards her. She knew the waiting was over.

  From her spot on the adjacent rooftop Lena slipped down to the ground. She landed several feet behind him, but he didn't show any sign that he'd heard her. Vampires were graceful by nature and could move without any noise if they chose to. She moved silently towards him, drawing her sword. It irked her that she couldn’t engage him in a fight, but she wasn’t stupid; the Fallen outnumbered her seven to one.

  Instead, she attacked from behind. He didn't even have time to look surprised. His head rolled away with the same expression of concentration he'd worn when he was inspecting the security of the downstairs windows.

  She didn't stop to check whether he was dead. Fallen could survive a lot, but not decapitation. That arsehole was not getting up again.

  As she snaked around the corner, she saw another Fallen creeping around the industrial bins at the side of the house.

  “Hanging out with the rubbish; just where you belong,” Lena hissed. She flashed her fangs as she smiled.

  The Fallen snapped his head up. Glaring incredulously, he growled. “You should know, Vampire.” He made the word ‘Vampire’ sound as if he said ‘evil piece of shit’, instead.

  She knew she shouldn't have said anything. She could have dispatched him just as easily as his ill-fated colleague, but Lena relished the challenge, didn't like being some faceless assassin. No, she wanted them to know, and if he called for his buddies to back him up, then so be it.

  She sensed his self-confidence and smiled to herself. He wasn't calling anybody. He thought he could do this alone.

  Lena beckoned him towards her and whispered. “C'mon, you soulless tosser!”

  The Fallen took a few steps towards her. He wasn’t particularly big but he was athletic, moved well and was light on his feet. She wasn’t bothered though. She moved in a blur, her would-be slayer struggling to track her. She crossed the space between them in a nano-second. His eyes flashed with surprise. The look quickly left his otherwise expressionless face, but Lena saw it. It filled her with a sense of satisfaction.

  That feeling dimmed as he jumped to his left, using the bins to pivot around her. She swung around, concentrating on his musculature, waiting for the smallest indication of his next move. She saw it in the slightest bunching of his thigh muscles as he prepared to jump. As he went, his body already committed to the move, he drew his own blade.

  As he landed in front of her, his expression of triumph turned to one of confusion. His left leg gave way and he collapsed to the floor.

  That’s right, dickhead. You were playing Spiderman, I was slicing through the tendons on that leg of yours.

  The Fallen glanced at the sword in Lena’s hand. She knew what he saw: blood — his own blood dripping down the blade. To his credit, he didn’t just lay there. He’d lost the use of his leg, but he scrambled towards the dustbins. He was already dragging himself upright as Lena reached to grab a dagger from her thigh holster. He faced her, defiance showing in every line of his face as he lifted his sword again. Lena threw the knife, but he swivelled to his right. She missed. Damn it.

  The suddenness of his movement opened up his wound though, and he was losing a lot of blood. He couldn’t quite recover from pitching himself across the alley before Lena threw again. This time the blade pierced his shoulder and pinned him to the wall. He stared at his shoulder, his black eyes impossibly wide, then tried desperately to free himself. Lena watched on, relishing the struggle. It didn’t last long. With each twist of his body, more of his life ebbed away.

  When he looked back at her, she saw no panic or fear, just resignation. Lena nodded once, lifted her sword and took a final swing.

  She didn’t have time to enjoy the kill. She heard a gun cock behind her. No matter. The scum had given his position away already. Lena stood stock-still and listened.

  In the time it took the guy to finish cocking the gun and place his finger on the trigger, she’d thrust her blade backwards. There was a sickly slippery noise as her sword gutted him. When she turned around, the guy fell and thrashed like a Nymph out of water. She put him out of his misery with a swift slice across his throat.

  She moved on, snaking through the alleys surrounding the building. The next four hadn't stuck together either and were easily dispatched. It was all disappointingly easy.

  Lena stood in the quiet as the sounds from the city came rolling back down on the scene. All seven Fallen were accounted for, each missing their heads. Blood that pooled at each kill-site had already congealed. She wrinkled her nose trying to get rid of the revolting stench.

  Vampires do drink blood, but even the most desperate wouldn't touch the tainted blood of the Fallen. The thought of sniffing it, let alone ingesting it, made her stomach flip. She thought about calling clean-up, but remembered she wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.

  Fallen didn't decompose like humans; they turned to ash, much like all Fae did. The bodies would be gone by morning, and judging by the neighbourhood, anyone who saw them before they disappeared would probably be shit-faced on their drug of choice or simply wouldn't care. She left them there.

  Ryver needed some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, the only way get it was by sitting in this dump and letting the screams of the guest "singer," and manic guitar riffs drown out everything else.

  “Diablo,” was a Goth club in south London. Housed in a disused warehouse,
its red signage was peeling and in need of new light bulbs. From a distance the sign actually read “ia lo.” It had been like that for years and no one seemed to care.

  Inside, that huge space was made up of mostly dance floor. A long, once gleaming, chrome and black bar stretched down one side of the building, and the back gave way to a tatty seating area with booths and square looking pouffes that were only kept together by layer upon layer of gaffer tape.

  Strictly speaking it was a human club and it had a really crap name. There were lots of wannabes there with their dyed black hair and dodgy contact lenses, but half the Order also hung out in there. He'd spotted a handful of other Vampires from time to time, as well. With his military-short hair and perma-scowl, he fit right in. That, and the fact his civvies just looked like a more relaxed version of his uniform. Tonight he'd gone with a muscle tee and a baggy pair of combats. All in black. Apparently the multiple straps, stud-work and pockets made his outfit, "alternative." Ryver just thought they were comfortable.

  He sat at the bar, beer in hand and smiled to himself. He heard Lena before he saw her. How could he not? They were blood bonded and her thoughts were being tannoyed at him as soon as she barged through the door. Her carelessness surprised him; she was normally so guarded. Of course, as he listened, he understood why. Well, well, well. Lena had been up to no good. Again.

  Ryver was the only telepath in the Order. Well, he was the only telepath, as far as anyone knew. He could tap into the minds of Fae and humans alike, in a way most didn't like to think about. It wasn't just what they were thinking right that minute. Ryver could “hear” what they thought last week, last year, or 200 years ago if he really wanted to. If he concentrated, he knew everything about everyone, just by looking at them.

  Though he was only fifty years old, the novelty had well and truly worn off. Most Fae had strong mental shields. Unfortunately not all of them remembered to use them and humans were even worse. Random thoughts filled the air around him at all times, which was why he was in this damned flea-pit in the first place. The god-awful music was loud, literally deafening. Unless of course your best friend came in and did the mental equivalent of shouting at you.

  Ryver watched Lena as she sat at the bar and ordered tequila. A bottle, not a shot. As she looked across the club, she smiled at the clientele. He couldn't fathom why; the dance floor was full to overcapacity and each dancer seemed to merge into the next until the whole crowd was moving as one. Watching for too long made him feel sick.

  She turned back and downed more tequila before surveying the less frenetic scene at the bar. He heard her congratulating herself on a good night’s work. She grinned as she remembered how a blond Fallen had tried to fight back. Feeling pleased with herself, her gaze wandered down the bar to the far end of the room to where Ryver sat with a knowing smile planted firmly on his face.

  Evening, Lena. Her midnight-blue eyes widened slightly as she met his gaze, and he couldn't help but chuckle. The last thing he heard before Lena slammed up her mental shields was "Oh shit."

  Ryver knew he was being mean, but this one-woman-army thing had gone on long enough. If he had to take orders, then Lena did too. And it would do her good to stew on it for the night.

  The smile slid from Lena's face and her shoulders twitched as she sat bolt upright. He knew without having to listen that Lena's old friend, paranoia, was making its merry way up her spine. Guilt pricked Ryver's own conscience. Shit. Now he felt bad.

  He pushed his stool back with the intention of going over and apologising but Lena beat him to it. She grabbed her shot glass and saluted him with it before downing the lot. She relieved the barman of the bottle of tequila, paid her bill and left. She didn’t stop to say goodbye.

  Great. She was going to be in a foul mood tomorrow, and not just because she was spending the night with Mr Cuervo. Ryver shook his head and ordered another beer.

  There was that buzzing noise again. God, it was annoying. Tossing and turning, Lena shoved the pillow over her head. She'd get some sleep if that noise would just stop.

  It took her a while to realise that the incessant noise was her phone vibrating its way across the bedside cabinet, rather than the pounding of a tequila-induced headache. She fumbled around in the dark and managed to knock the damned thing on the floor. Bugger.

  Still trying to convince her brain that she was actually asleep, she leant over the bed and scooped it up. Cracking one eye open she saw it was a text from Kaden, her boss. Sighing, she hit the read button: “Get in hr NOW,” it read. Shit.

  She knew what this was about. Having grown tired of the Order's reactionary strategy, she'd gone out hunting. Alone. She knew it was against orders, but she was fucked if she was just going to sit around waiting for Fallen to attack.

  Vampires belonged to the Seelie Court; the aristocracy of Faerie, and were bound by honour and love and beauty. They were not the demons most humans believed them to be. Their need for blood stemmed not from evil, but from duty. Before modern day religions like Christianity and Islam, there was only Faerie, and Vampires were tasked with sending the souls of the dying back to The Glory.

  But, as Lena understood it, avarice was a formidable opponent. Unrelenting, cruel and all-possessing, those who let her in would never be free. Once enthralled, those consumed by greed would change their very nature to satisfy that lust for power.

  Millennia ago, one Vampire coven chose to keep the souls with which they had been entrusted. Their sacred burden forgotten, they fed on a power and vitality they never knew existed; they let the souls die and failed in their duty to convey spirits to the Glory of Faerie.

  These became the Fallen. So enraptured, they walked from the light into the darkness and, in doing so, cursed an entire race.

  Stealing mortal souls and taking pleasure in harming humans were just two of their hobbies. Those bastards were ruled by a code of dishonour and greed, and it was thanks to them that Vampires like Lena had never walked in the sun or known the Glory of Faerie. Her entire race had been cursed to walk in darkness until the Fallen were vanquished.

  Just thinking about Fallen made her headache with fury. Who the hell did they think they were? Killing innocents was not okay in Lena's book. That's why she went out last night. She may have gone out by herself, but she wasn't stupid, or unprepared and she definitely wasn't unarmed.

  Bloody Fallen! Seven dead soul-suckers was definitely a good thing.

  Lena opened her eyes again, the pleasure of remembering diminishing by the second. Oh God! She groaned as another memory danced before her eyes. Ryver had been at Diablo. He was rubbish at keeping secrets and must have told Kaden what she'd done. She shielded like mad when Ryver was around, but last night he caught her off guard. Even though he tried not to “listen” to anyone in the Order, sometimes things just slipped out. Lena made a mental note, “do not drink tequila anywhere near Ryver.”

  After fishing about for the phone, she realised she had the makings of one hell of a hangover. It would seem that even Fae genetics couldn’t escape alcohol-induced dehydration. She amended her mental note to plain old, “do not drink tequila,” and closed her eyes. If Kaden wanted to reprimand her, he could bloody well wait. Just another couple of hours and she'd be bright as a button. Yeah right.

  The phone went off again.

  “Oh for fuck's sake,” Lena shouted into the darkness.

  Fully awake and glaring at the phone she hit read to see more of Kaden's demands. Reading it she sat bolt upright. It read “CODE 1 TB IN ATTD ALL.”

  Fucking Hell!

  CODE 1 meant this wasn't just Kaden reprimanding her. Something serious was happening. Only the King ever issued a code 1 order. That was what the TB was all about. Thorn Blackwood, the Vampire King, was in attendance at the Order's Command Centre at House Blackwood. Even if the King sanctioned the code, he didn't always attend the strategy meeting.

  Lena did her best to avoid being in close proximity to Thorn. With his golden eyes and jet-black hair he wa
s handsome. The six-foot-seven frame and washboard abs were an obvious bonus. But it was the immense power and strength, not just of body but of mind, that made him Lena’s very own kryptonite. She didn’t trust her reaction to him.

  Being so close to Thorn would be torture. The fact that all the Order were being called in, though? This really was serious.

  Lena gulped. Her customary feelings of paranoia kicked in. What if this was about what she’d been up to last night? What if Kaden told Thorn that she disobeyed a direct order and he'd decided to do something about it? She did things like this all the time, to the point where Kaden expected it. Bending the rules was what she was all about. Kaden knew that, didn’t he? Shit.

  Breathing out, Lena forced herself up off the bed. As she looked down she realised she was still wearing last night’s clothes, black, leather boots, bootleg jeans, strappy vest and a leather jacket. As she looked closely she could see blood on both her jeans and her boots. Not hers, obviously.

  She hit reply on her phone and wrote, “On way.”

  Then she stripped and hit the shower at breakneck speed. Wouldn’t do to see the King with Fallen blood all over her, now would it?

  Chapter 2

  Kaden slammed the heavy, oak door to his room and rushed down the hallway, his heavy footfall echoing off the flagstones. The code 1 had caught him by surprise, so he was still tugging his uniform into place as he moved. He pushed his white-blond hair from his eyes as his mind turned over the implications of the order.

  Like everyone in the Order, his uniform sported the Blackwood Crest. Unlike everyone else, three gunmetal-grey keys adorned the epaulettes on each of his broad shoulders. Kaden had stood as Keeper of the Watch for the last seven hundred years. He was the head of the Order — second only to the King. Responsible for missions, the safety of the Royal Family, his Guardians, and the general Vampire population. He was custodian of the most dangerous of secrets, yet he had no idea what this meeting was about.