Druids Storm Read online

  The room was quiet, everybody listening intently as Markus passionately spoke about the condition that has affected around five per cent of children. They still didn’t understand the disease, couldn’t comprehend how the virus could attack a child while still in the womb of a parent that wasn’t a vampire.

  “As you have all paid the £10,000 entrance fee you are all greatly thanked by the children who are still going strong, and by the children who are yet to be born.”

  Holy shit, this cost £10,000 each?

  “But my next guest has gone far and beyond to help out the children, he and his family have donated a total of one million over the last year to help build a research facility here in London. Please welcome with open arms, our guest speaker, Mason Storm.”

  Alice choked on the final bit of champagne, the bubbles bursting in her throat as she tried to control her breathing. Eyes around the table shot to her in annoyance, sniffing and tutting in displeasure at the disruption. Dread silently handed her a napkin, his attention not wavering from the stage. Coughing into the linen, Alice watched as Mason smiled to the audience, their applause loud and over the top.

  Her heart skipped a beat once she noticed the other man who joined him on stage. Anger, embarrassment, and, weirdly, excitement all flowed across her brain too fast for her to really decipher. Her emotions were chaotic as she watched Riley stand beside his father, a beautiful redhead clinging to his arm.

  You have got to be shitting me.

  Chapter 2

  Alice clapped along with everyone else, her ears unable to pick up the speech Mason delivered as her senses concentrated on Riley. She didn’t understand why she had this reaction to him, a man who was there when she was at her worst, someone who pretended to care and then vanished. It had been months since she last spoke to him, last saw him, last thought of him.

  The man who saved her life.

  She still felt the attraction, his black tuxedo blending in with the tattoos that danced across his throat every time he swallowed. She knew his eyes were grey, like a storm that his name represented, that he had a faint, barely visible scar that started high on his cheekbone and finished at the top of his upper lip, the same lips that were once electric against her own.

  Yet he still left, not giving her a reason.

  Staring at him now she knew it wasn’t him she missed, it was the answers he possessed. She still didn’t honestly know what had happened the night she received a Daemons bite. She had hoped he would tell her.

  Riley saw her then, his eyes flashing in surprise as his smile wavered. The redhead on his arm pushed her breasts into his arm, speaking gently into his ear as she battled for his attention. Riley responded, his mouth moving silently as he replied, but his eyes never left hers. The redhead was tall, almost as tall as Riley in her red heels and dark pink, exceedingly low cut dress.

  “Alice, I think you need to come see this.”

  Alice blinked, welcoming the distraction from Rose. Quietly excusing herself from the table, she made her way towards the back of the room, following the waiters through a set of double doors. The kitchen was large, full of gleaming stainless steel cabinets. Chefs wearing white aprons worked frantically to prepare the five-course meal that was to be served sometime in the next few hours. A waitress leant against a wall beside the ovens, a colleague holding a white sheet against her throat as red seeped through the cloth.

  “Excuse me, no guests are allowed back here.” The waiter holding the cloth exclaimed as he applied more pressure. “You need to leave.”

  “Over here.”

  Danton’s head poked through another door, his eyes a warning as he ushered her though.

  “Please, don’t,” he whispered to her. “I’ll explain everything.”

  Alice gently nodded, understanding. They had been friends since her first day as a Paladin, so she would allow him time to explain.

  “We found this.” D moved to stand beside Rose, her nose scrunched up as she gripped a white shirt in one fist. Her panther prowled behind her eyes, Rose channelling her beast’s instincts.

  “What is it?” Alice accepted the shirt when it was held out, not understanding. “It’s just a shirt.” The same one all the waiters wore, including D and Rose.

  “It smells acidic,” Rose said, her voice deeper than usual. “We found it in the alley.”

  Alice couldn’t smell anything.

  “D, what about you?”

  “It smells sweet,” he shrugged. “The blood on the wrist smells the strongest, étrange.”

  Alice glanced at the small mark on the sleeve even as she made her way to the emergency exit. The alley behind the hotel was surprisingly nice, considering it was full of dustbins. The cobbled stones, that were the same as the front pathway, shone as if they had been polished to a high shine. Lights flooded the small area, mostly from the many windows of the guest rooms high above.

  “The smell is strong back here,” Rose said, her eyes flashing as she took a step forward.

  “Wait.” Alice held up her hand, making sure they stood by the door as Alice slowly walked forward, following the barely visible droplets of blood.

  “Morte,” D muttered under his breath.

  “There’s a body slouched against the brick.”

  Alice bent at the knee, making sure her dress didn’t dip into the pool of blood embellishing the cobblestones, the lights from above making it look like a giant jewel glistening in the night. Rose and Danton wouldn’t have been able to see the body from the door, the man hunched enough to be hidden behind the furthest bin.

  “He smells acidic,” Rose whispered, turning her nose away.

  “He smells sweet,” D frowned, crossing his arms across his chest.

  “He smells dead,” Alice added, recognising his uniform as a waiter from the Gala, one without a shirt. Blood stained the front of his bare chest, a sea of red wet against his skin. “It’s his neck.”

  She turned his head, having to use some strength when his muscles resisted.

  “He hasn’t been dead long.” He wasn’t stiff enough to be in full rigour mortis. “He must have been killed just as the guests were arriving.”

  Alice studied the few small holes in his flesh, neat, not what she was expecting considering the amount of blood. “He was a blood donor.” She released his head, cringing when it didn’t immediately drop back to its original position. “He shouldn’t have bled out this much.”

  “I’ll call The Tower, we need to get someone down here,” Rose said as she got out her phone.

  “He’s a Norm, you’ll have to call the Met too,” D added.

  “Do you think I don’t know that?”

  Alice left them to bicker, not wanting to be away from the party for too long.

  Slipping back into the main hall she spotted Dread standing at their table. The speeches had finished, so the guests were mingling amongst themselves as soft music filled the room from the pianist in the corner. A small crowd had appeared on the dance floor, their bodies slowly swaying.

  “Commissioner...” She began politely before she felt someone jerk her shoulder.

  “Alice.” A hand encircled her wrist, pulling her away from the table and into the array of the dancers.

  “Riley?” She tugged against him, his grip like iron.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked as he pulled her toward him, clasping their hands together until he moved her into a gentle dance matching the rhythm of the piano. She allowed him to lead, not wanting to make a scene as she tried to catch Dread’s attention. She didn’t have time for this.

  “I was invited.” Well, technically, she was still a guest.

  Riley narrowed his eyes, it was obvious he could not imagine how she could afford a ticket. She tried not to scowl in response.

  “What is S.I. doing here?”

  He controlled their dance, moving seamlessly between the other dancers. She was lucky he could lead so well, she had no idea what she was doing. His hands started to crush into her hips, his fingers finding their way up the high slits of her skirt.

  “You’re working, I can feel your knives.”

  She yanked his hands away, trying not to draw attention to herself.

  “Maybe I like always to be armed.” She caught a look behind his shoulder, Mason staring at them from beside the stage, his face like granite as he followed them across the dance floor. “Your dad doesn’t seem impressed with our dance.”

  “Wouldn’t take it personally, he doesn’t like anyone,” Riley said as Alice tried to hide her laugh, the noise escaping in a snort. “You look… good, your aura is much better than the last time I saw you.”

  “Yeah well, growing back most of your aura isn’t a fun experience, I wouldn’t recommend it,” she quipped. “Not that you would know.”

  “Look, I haven’t come here to upset you. I just need to talk…”

  “You’ve had several months to talk. I’m not interested.”

  She had searched for him, wanting to know what happened with the Daemon. Yet she couldn’t find him. He had left her at the hospital once her aura was stable enough and disappeared, left her to figure it all out for herself.

  She turned her head away, not wanting to look at his face. Her eyes immediately wandered back to Mason, Riley’s father talking to the redhead with pillow breasts. The woman abruptly turned to stare, her eyes shooting daggers as she puckered her cosmetically enhanced lips. Alice couldn’t tell from this distance whether it was a permanent enhancer or just a charm.

  “Well, this was a nice dance. But if you mind...”

  “I’m trying to talk.” He gripped her harder. “I’ve been assigned as your Warden.”

  “My what?” Rose buzzed in her ear, the noise a hum she couldn’t concentrate on.


  “Look, this wasn’t my decision. The...”

  “May I interrupt?” a voice interjected. “I would like this dance.”

  Riley pulled her against his chest, his arms enclosing as he spun them away from Nate. “Fuck off Blackwell,” Riley snarled, his eyes flashing silver in a warning.

  “The lady clearly wants to leave. Go be with your bimbo over there.” Nate nodded towards the redhead. “Didn’t think you were into forcing women, Storm.”

  “Excuse me, gentleman.” Alice slipped beneath Riley’s arm. “Enjoy dancing together.”

  What the hell was a Warden? Her mood darker than before she finally made her way back to the table, her ear still buzzing as Rose and Danton argued.

  “For goodness sake just call it through,” Rose moaned.

  “I thought that was your job?”

  “Can’t you see I’m a little busy here?”

  “His heart stopped a few minutes ago, you can stop holding his throat now.”

  “Guys,” Alice tried to break into their dispute. “What’s happening?”

  “Another waiter has died, bled out.” Rose quickly replied, breathing heavily.

  “We need to talk to all the staff,” Danton added.

  “We need to shut this thing down,” she murmured to herself, reaching out for Dread. The man opposite her started to choke, the Victorian clutching his throat as he began to convulse, blood spluttering from his mouth to cover his shirt.

  Alice raced towards him, catching him as he fell to the floor while his date screeched beside them.

  “Help me!” she shouted at the hysterical woman as she struggled to hold his weight.

  Another guest reached over to help, laying the Victorian onto the floor safely away from the table. He suddenly shouted, throwing himself forward as a fountain of black poured out of his mouth. The violent movement pushed Alice away, the black liquid barely missing her as she watched his spine twist at an impossible angle.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Can someone call 999!”

  “Alice, we have a problem,” Danton said into her ear.

  “Yeah, well I have a problem of my own,” she muttered into the microphone, scanning the crowd for Dread. He stood with his back towards the wall, his eyes razor- sharp as he took in the chaos surrounding them. A feminine scream brought her head around, another guest convulsing as her eyes bled down her porcelain skin.

  Dread began to bark orders, people running in panic as they tried to escape. Among the confusion, Alice noticed a single waiter wearing a smirk. He watched everything unfold while he held a cloth against his throat, the fabric turning a pale pink.

  She caught his eye, his own flashing in panic before he turned and ran towards the back of the hotel, towards the lifts. Without thinking she followed, her dress wrapping around her legs as she ran through the crowd.

  “HEY!” she shouted after him. “Fuck sake.” She kicked off her heels before unclipping one of her knives. Within a few seconds she had sliced off the bottom of the dress just above her knees, leaving the remaining fabric behind as she quickly followed the blood trail up the carpeted stairs.

  The hotel’s décor was minimalistic, pale grey carpet with white walls and wood panelling, helpful when tracking the blood. Trailing the droplets, she walked down the hallway lined with closed doors, her back to the wall as she listened intently. She had already noted the map by the elevator, knew there was no exit this direction other than the way she had already come.

  “Hey, what’s happening down there?” a man asked as he opened his hotel door, his face angry as he stepped into the hall in just a towel.

  “Get back into your room please, sir.”

  “What, you a stripper or something?” he said before he spotted her knife she still had in her hand, his face becoming ashen before he ran back into his room. She couldn’t really comment, she could feel the breeze on her bare legs.

  Red smeared against the wall, leading around a corner.

  A woman shrieked, running past her from the direction of one of the bedrooms. The door was ajar, showing the minimalist design flowing elegantly throughout.

  The waiter was half crouched, half collapsed beside the bed, the sheets soaked through with blood as if he had tried to stem the flow.

  “Are you okay?” Alice asked as she quickly checked the room for threats.

  The bathroom door was open, the oversized mirror allowing her to see it was empty from her position. The room itself was large but bare, giving her confidence there wasn’t anybody there other than the two of them. She sheathed the knife.

  “Why did you run?” she asked as she knelt beside him, watching his eyes glass over as blood seeped from between his fingers. “Let me help you.”

  With a last burst of energy, he jumped to his feet. “You can’t help me.” He pushed past her towards the balcony. Unable to stop him in time she watched him disappear several floors below.

  Chapter 3

  The bus screeched as it pulled up at the end of the road. Alice tried to step off with as much dignity as she could muster, ignoring the open stares from the other passengers.

  She looked deranged, wearing a dirty evening gown with the hem badly ripped. Her hair was no longer in its bun, the blonde strands tickling her bare neck and shoulders. She wasn’t even wearing shoes, the heels having been lost in the commotion.

  Dread had been forced to leave the event early, leaving Alice the option of walking home or public transport. Luckily she lived in London where night buses were a thing, although, apparently that was when the weirdos liked to ride. Which showed how unstable she must have looked, as no one would sit next to her, preferring the crazy cat lady or even the man who had chatted happily to himself.

  Curtains twitched, letting light leak into front gardens as the curiosity got the better of her neighbours. She’s sure she’d hear about her unsocial behaviour from Mr Jenkins a few doors down as soon as dawn broke.

  He had candidly introduced himself as the head of the Neighbourhood Watch, one that expected complete decorum from his street. He almost had a heart attack when he once found Sam as a leopard sleeping in the windowsill, soaking up the sun. The fact Sam was a shifter didn’t bother him, it was the fact he decided to shift in full window view to give him a wave.

  It was unfortunate that clothes didn’t magically appear once shifters changed back into their human form.

  Alice personally thought it was funny, but she was used to shifters aberration to clothing. They liked to touch too, their animalistic personalities finding it comforting while everybody else thought it was invasive.

  Mr Jenkins liked to remind her repeatedly he had lived on the street for over fifty years, meaning he probably knew her parents. She had decided not to ask him if he remembered, it didn’t matter. She had accepted their deaths, was no longer haunted by it. So she allowed him to moan at her for Sam’s indecent behaviour, their loud music and her late nights. He meant no harm, just an old man that needed to fill in the loneliness since his wife passed away.

  Alice stopped cautiously by her front door, her eyes scanning the darkness before settling back on the medium box that was sitting in the middle of her welcome mat. Warily she approached, wishing the Neighbourhood Watch that Mr Jenkins gloated about so often actually worked.

  “What’s that?” a voice said from directly behind her.

  Jumping she turned, not having heard anyone sneak up behind.

  “You almost gave me a heart attack.” She glared as Riley stepped out from the darkness. “What are you doing here?” She didn’t want to talk with him right now, she had a strange box to deal with.

  “I thought you might have needed your shoes back?” he smirked as he held her heels on the ends of two fingers. “I also wanted to compliment you on the lovely legs.”

  His eyes travelled down past the poorly cut dress, his smile telling her he was messing around.