“What is it you want?” Cain asked without preamble.
“Ahh.” She hummed. “The vampire king himself. Isn’t this an honor?”
“I don’t have time to play games.” That was a lie. All Cain had was time. “You want to speak with me, then speak.”
“What I have to discuss will require a face-to-face interaction. I can be outside your gates in a few moments if that works for you.”
The so-called portals.“Fine.” He ended the call.
Five minutes later, Cain ushered the sprite into the compound. She introduced herself as Celise. They looked out over an open space where his remaining hybrids slept. Unsure if they would be sane, Cain had yet to order Willis to awaken them. The king was getting sick of dealing with psychopathic toddlers.
“I think we can help one another.” Celise leaned back in her chair. She wore a canvas bag slung across her body, big enough to hold a substantial amount of things, including a large book.
Cain’s brow lifted, and he held his hands out briefly. “How so?”
“There’s been a rumor of a woman, a gypsy healer to be exact, that was in your care. I understand she has been taken from you.” Cain wanted to hiss at the sprite, but he held silent. “I believe I have a way that you can get her back.”
Cain shook his head. “Even if I could, she wouldn’t want to be with me. And I don’t want a woman who is with me against her will.” Perhaps that made him sound weak, but after once having Alice through her own choice, he would accept nothing less.
Cain watched the sprite tap her chin, thinking. While she considered his words, he narrowed his eyes on her. “What is it you want, or perhaps need, from me?”
Her lips turned up in a smile. “Smart man.”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, and these aren’t my first negotiations. Get on with it.”
The sprite stuck her hand into her large bag and pulled out an ancient book.
Cain’s eyes narrowed. “I, too, have heard rumors—rumors that someone had gotten their hands on the Book of the Dead. It appears they are true.”
She nodded. “It is more powerful than anyone could have imagined.”
But at what cost?Since when was there ever a cost I wouldn’t pay?
As if reading his thoughts, the sprite said, “It’s powerful, but requires … certain things, as all powerful spells do.” She laid the book on the table and ran a hand across it like a lover, reverently touching the object of her affection. “The spells in theNushtoniarequire blood.”
“Naturally.” Cain nodded. “Dark magic means blood magic.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “And I can only assume by your presence here that the blood required is more than mere human. You must need the blood of a vampire to make your book go.”
She shook her head. “Not just any vampire—the king of vampires. Your blood carries the power of all your species.” Cain saw the desire in the sprite’s eyes. She sounded like a junkie bargaining for her next fix.
“Well, since I no longer desire Alice’s return, what can you offer me?” Cain flicked his tongue against one of the sharp incisors, wondering what sprite blood would taste like and if it would give him any sort of enhanced strength like the blood of other supernaturals did.
Celise held up her hand. “I can see the wheels turning in your twisted mind. Do not even think of attacking me. I have the protection of theNushtonia.” She patted the book. “It’s bonded to me. I promise, it would not go well for you.”
Risky move. If the book was damaged or destroyed, Celise would suffer the same fate.
“I can give you the magic that will allow your vamps to travel through portals.” Her words sped up in her eagerness. “Just think of all the damage they could inflict, being able to travel miles in the blink of an eye.”
He glanced at the book and then back up at her. “Okay, and what spell do you want to cast that would require my blood?”
Celise traced the edges of theNushtonia, staring at it briefly before looking up at him. She appeared to be weighing how much she should tell him. “I need the power of hell at my back. At the moment, I can call only minor demons. I want more.”
Cain coughed. “You want to open the gates of hell?” To say that would be a ballsy move would be an understatement. He’d known the sprite must’ve been crazy, but wow, he hadn’t expected complete off-the-wall bonkers-ness.
Celise held up a hand. “The book will allow me to control them,” she said, a hint of defiance in her voice. Then her lips turned up in a smile.
Cain frowned. “What else? There’s something you aren’t telling me.”
She shook her head. “I need to cast another spell, too, but it will have nothing to do with you. And it will not affect you. At least it won’t be bad for you.”
