I paused and turned to him, sighing inwardly as I brushed his hair away from his sparkling blue eyes. Michael’s dark blond hair, which he always wore longer than was fashionable, never failed to look as though I’d been running my fingers through it. Probably because I had. After nearly three quarters of a century together, I still couldn’t keep my hands off my dashing husband.
“You’ve told me at least twice,” I replied softly, “but a woman can never hear it too many times.”
I thought my new burgundy evening gown, with its black lace and jet beads, was particularly lovely. Hoop skirts had thankfully gone out of style years ago, and the use of bustles was in decline. I sincerely hoped such good sense would soon herald a return to the more uncomplicated fashions of my youth. My new dress was the first one in years that I truly adored. My blood-red hair was done up in artful curls, and Michael reached out to tuck an errant strand behind my ear.
A discreet cough came from somewhere behind me. All thoughts of my handsome husband were suspended as I turned to see a rather grim-looking dark-haired young man waiting in the hall. I closed the distance between us and silently regarded him. He’d been young when he was turned, perhaps only eighteen or nineteen years old. He didn’t look as one would expect a warden to look, but I’d learned long ago never to judge a vampire in such terms. Michael was a prime example of that. He didn’t have Devlin’s great height, or his massive build, but he was a brawler, and infinitely the more dangerous of the two. I would reserve judgment on this young man until I’d seen him in action.
“Miss Craven,” the warden said, executing a respectful bow. “My name is Grady and I am a warden for the Regent of London.”
It was rare for vampires to use surnames. Though Michael and I had been married for well over half a century, there was no tradition among our kind of a wife taking her husband’s last name, as there was in the human world. I had not abandoned the use of my family name after I was turned, therefore I would forever be “Miss Craven” to those showing respect. To those who spoke my name in fearful whispers, I was Cin Craven, the Red Witch of the Righteous, or simply the Devil’s Witch.
“Warden,” I said coolly. “You’ve traveled a long way. What is so important that it couldn’t wait until the conclusion of the opera?”
“I was instructed by the Regent to come here with all haste and speak to you immediately,” he said, glancing nervously at Michael. “And privately.”
“You may speak freely in front of my husband, Warden,” I assured him. “We keep no secrets from each other.”
The warden shifted his weight uncomfortably. “My instructions were very clear, ma’am, and I dare not disobey the Regent. I am to speak to you, and only you.”
I cocked my head to one side. “I don’t recall Charles being such an ogre,” I said.
“Charles is no longer Regent,” the warden replied. “He was challenged and defeated last year. The new Regent is young, but he’s strong and ruthless.
“Who is he?” I asked out of curiosity. Whoever he was, he had already begun to annoy me.
“His name is Sebastian,” the warden replied.
I stilled, my stomach clenching. “Sebastian Montford?” I asked.
Grady nodded. “I believe that was his human name, yes.”
At that confirmation Michael shot forward, his hand curling around the warden’s throat.
Grady’s eyes widened in fear, as well they should have. Once, when we’d both been human, Lord Sebastian Montford had wanted to marry me, though I had not returned his affections. Perhaps my polite but firm rejection of his offer had hardened his heart to me, or perhaps it had only turned his love into some dark and twisted thing. Whatever the case, when Sebastian had been made a vampire, he and his master had come for me. Sebastian had wanted me in his power, and they’d both wanted control of my magic. Fortunately, though, The Righteous had come to my aid. In order to save me, Michael had turned me into a vampire. I had become his lover, and later his wife. I don’t think Sebastian would ever forgive either one of us for that.
“What game are you playing at, boy?” Michael growled.
There was a soft gasp from the hallway behind me, and I turned to see a white-haired dowager flutter her fan and duck back through the door to her private box.
“Michael,” I said calmly, laying my hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to make a scene.”
“It’s not a game,” the warden said. “I was sent to bring the Devil’s Witch back to London.”
Michael laughed harshly. “Does Sebastian Montford not recall that I promised to kill him if I ever saw him again?”
“I am supposed to bring her, and her alone,” Warden Grady said.
Michael pulled the warden closer. “You go back to your Regent,” he said in a voice that sent shivers up my spine, “and you tell him that if he ever again tries to get to Cin, I will hunt him down and set him on fire.”
Michael released the warden with a shove and Grady staggered back. Righting himself, he straightened the collar of his shirt and tugged at his coat.
“So you won’t help me?” he asked.
“Help you?” Michael replied incredulously. “Help you put the woman I love in the hands of a man who tried to enslave her when she was human? I think not.”
Warden Grady clenched his jaw and a very firm look of resolve settled on his face. “I don’t know what history you have with the Regent,” he said, “and I don’t bloody well care.”
Michael raised his eyebrows and started to say something, but I laid my hand on his sleeve to still his invective.
When he realized that Michael wasn’t likely to grab him by the throat again, the warden stood taller, and continued. “I assure you that the threat to our city is very real. We’ve lost ten percent of the vampire population in just over three months. I did not travel all this way to reignite whatever feud you have with the regent. If that had been Sebastian’s intention, he would have sent someone else. I am not one of his lackeys. I am a deputy warden of the city of London, and the policing and security of our vampires is my responsibility. In point of fact, I have argued long and hard to call you to help with this problem, and I believe it proves just how reluctant Sebastian was to have you in his city that he waited this long to allow me to do so. If it had been entirely up to me, I would have tracked you down two months ago.”
“What’s happening in London?” I asked with concern. Ravenworth, my home when I’d been human, was only thirty miles from the city. As a human and a vampire, London had been like a second home to me.
Warden Grady looked at me grimly, and asked, “Have you heard of Jack the Ripper?”
TWO
Michael scoffed. “What does a human killer have to do with us?”
“The Ripper is not a human,” Grady replied. “He’s a demon.”
Cold dread washed over me at his words. “I hope you’re speaking metaphorically,” I said.
The warden shook his head. “I wish I were. We paid little attention to him when he was killing humans. As you said, a human murderer is none of our business. But eventually he tired of slaughtering humans and moved on to vampires. I can only assume it’s because we’re harder to kill.”
“Better sport,” Michael said grimly.
“Exactly,” Grady agreed. “The wardens have tracked him down on several occasions, but we’ve been unable to kill the bastard. We assumed that he was a vampire, but we once managed to stake him through the heart, and that only angered him. The last time we went up against him, the Chief Warden managed to take the Ripper’s head.”
“That certainly should have done it,” I said.
Supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, faeries) are susceptible to different things (sunlight, silver, cold iron), but beheading will kill anything. Correction: beheading
“That’s when we realized what we were up against. You see, at first we thought we were tracking a whole group of rogue vampires. It made sense because the human police have had such varying descriptions of the Ripper.” Grady paused, as if trying to collect his thoughts, and a faraway look crept into his eyes. When he continued, his voice was soft and gently laced with fear. “There were four of us that night. We had him surrounded and we all rushed him at once. Even so, I didn’t think we were going to be able to take him down. His strength was incredible. Then James got in a lucky blow and sliced the Ripper’s head right off his body. The body fell and … and an eerie blue light rose up out of it. The light, it rushed over James, surrounding him, and then it disappeared. We all stood still for several moments, unsure of what had just happened. And then James looked at us and his eyes were glowing red. He turned on us then. The only way I can describe it is that the Chief was no longer in control of his body. The demon was.”
“So the demon now inhabits the body of your Chief Warden?” I asked.
Grady shook his head. “We found James two weeks later, wandering the streets. Physically, he was unharmed, but he doesn’t remember anything that happened to him from the time he cut off the Ripper’s head until he woke in an alley in Whitechapel. I have no idea whose form the demon has taken now, but it seems to only be able to occupy dead bodies—those of humans who are already deceased, or vampires.”
I blew out a breath, trying to reconcile what I knew of demons with what the warden had just told us.
“Warden,” I said, “go back to your Regent and tell him that I will come to London, but I will not come alone, and I will not grant him the courtesy of an audience. In fact, considering that Michael swore to kill Sebastian if he ever saw him again, I think it might be a wise idea for you to keep him inside his townhouse while we’re in the city.”
“Thank you, Miss Craven,” Grady said, smiling. “You are our last hope.”
I smiled back, putting a great deal more confidence into the gesture than I felt. “We will find a way to slay this demon, but I give you fair warning—if I discover that Sebastian had anything to do with summoning it into our world, he will answer for it with his life.”
The warden nodded gravely. “I’ve seen firsthand what the Ripper has done to my vampires, Miss Craven. The young ones, they don’t turn to dust like the old ones do. I know what tortures they endured before he put them out of their misery. I’m sure the Regent wouldn’t do anything to bring harm to our vampires. But if evidence should come to light that he has any connection with this monster, I will gladly stand by your side against him.”
THREE
I hate winter. You’d think that, as a vampire, it would be my favorite season. After all, the days are shorter and the nights are longer, which is undeniably helpful if you’re a prisoner to the sun. To me, however, winter is such an ugly time of year. I would gladly trade shorter nights for leaves on the trees and flowers in bloom, for the smell of green grass under my bare feet. Looking out the carriage window at the streets of London—thick with the soupy gray sludge of dirty, melting snow—I longed for spring.
“What has you so pensive,
I turned my attention from the world outside to the man who sat next to me. Devlin was driving the carriage and Justine had elected to ride up top with him, so it was just Michael and me
