Vampire Mage 2: An Urban Fantasy Harem (The Vampire Mage) Read online

  Copyrighted Material

  Vampire Mage 2 Copyright © 2018 by Joshua King

  Book design and layout copyright © 2018 by Joshua King

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Joshua King.

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  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

  Epilogue

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  About the Author

  Vampire Mage 2

  Book 2 in the Vampire Mage Series

  Joshua King

  1

  The sound of the explosion was so loud it was still ringing in my ears by the time the ground stopped shaking under my feet. I was so shocked that I stood and stared at Malakan's house for a few seconds before I was able to fully process what I was seeing. Massive flames overtook the entire house. It was several seconds before I came to my senses, and when I did, I took off toward the structure. My feet pounded the ground beneath me, occasionally tangling in the tall blades of grass and making me stumble as I ran. I needed to try to save Malakan. He was still inside, and even though the explosion had already destroyed much of the building and the flames were rapidly spreading across the field, I had to hold out hope he had somehow survived. Maybe he had gone into a basement or other hidden part of the house and was somehow safe.

  I got as close to the building as I could, but the intensity of the heat pushed me back. The flames licked out at me like they themselves were trying to force me to stop. I took a few steps back from the flaming building to brace myself. I didn't want to give up. I couldn't just let him stay in there without at least trying to get him out. Ducking my head, I ran forward into the flames again. I tried to tap into the magic I now knew I had inside me, trying to will the heat away and stop the flames from burning me. It worked long enough for me to get a few yards further in and up the steps. As soon as my feet hit the porch, a new blast of fire burst out of the front of the house toward me. I felt the searing bite of the flames and it was too much. My tenuous grasp of my warlock abilities was no match for the ferocity of the blaze. Pain rushed along my skin and I knew I couldn't get inside the house. I ran back down the steps and toward the field.

  Ahead of me I could see the fire burning across the tall grass toward the trees. It was moving faster as it ate through the grass and blackened the ground. I had to get out. I had to beat the flames across the field if I was going to survive. I didn't know what was beyond the trees; if there was anything at all. I still wasn't completely clear on all of the rules regarding areas that a warlock mirrored. The space could be limited only to what I saw, which meant if the fire got there before I did, I would be trapped. Gathering every bit of energy and strength I had inside me, I shot toward the door in the tree. My speed built with every step until even the pain from the flames seemed to fade. I watched the edge of the fire, the speed with which it was consuming the grass motivating me to move faster. Finally, I could feel cool air against my face and I knew I was getting closer. Giving myself a final push, I burst out of the wall of fire and lunged for the latch on the door. The metal had been heated by the flames even at this distance and I felt it burn into my palm. I wrenched the door open and fell into the tunnel. Rolling over onto my back, I kicked the door closed behind me and scrambled to my feet. The tunnel was even darker after being surrounded by the intense brightness of the flames. Without anything to light my way, I ran blindly through the cliff.

  The silence of Malakan's chambers surrounded me when I stepped inside. Part of me expected someone to be there waiting for me, but it was quiet and still. It was a startling juxtaposition against the roar of the fire I'd left behind. I made my way quickly through the rooms until I got back to the entryway. Rather than the many torches that had been in the walls when Ty and I first arrived here, only one was lit. Knowing the tunnels waiting for me were just as dark as the one I'd left, I reached for the torch. As soon as my hand wrapped around it, the light dimmed. I lifted it from its brace on the wall and moved it across the entryway toward another of the torches. I meant to use the flame to light the second one, but the instant the first torch touched the second, the flame extinguished. I was in darkness again. I had nothing to relight the torches, and no choice but to drop the useless thing and feel for the latch on the door blindly. I moved through the door and into the next length of tunnel.

  I'd done this journey twice before and I knew the path didn't veer off at any point, but the darkness still felt disorienting. It was a relief to not to feel the heat any longer and I tried to focus on that rather than the confusion and growing panic. I drew in deep breaths to rid my lungs of the smell of smoke and burning wood. My mind was spinning with what I had just seen. It didn't make sense. I hadn't been out of the house for more than a few seconds when the explosion happened. I hadn’t seen anything in the house that could explain such a sudden and horrific incident.. I knew very little about Malakan, and even less about the ways of the warlocks, but this just wasn't sitting with me well. There was something wrong. I could feel it. Malakan was far too skilled a warlock to let something like this happen on accident. Someone did this on purpose. They intended for the house to go up in flames with Malakan inside. It happened so quickly after I left, I couldn't help but wonder if they intended for me to be there as well.

  The sense of danger pressed in around me as I continued through the blackness of the cliff. Even though I hadn't seen or sensed anybody inside when I first escaped the flames, I suddenly felt like I was being watched. Not being able to see around me intensified the feeling. I whirled around, retracing my steps at a run for several paces. If there was someone following me, I would have run directly into them. All I met was emptiness. I was alone in the rock, but I couldn't shake the feeling of an impending threat closing in on me. I knew I had to get out of the cliff and back to Aurora and Ashe. When I was making my way through the tunnel to visit Malakan earlier, it had felt so much shorter. Now the dark path seemed to stretch ahead of me. Every step I took ahead lengthened the way until it felt like I was never going to reach the other
door. Finally, I saw a glimmer of light ahead of me. It reminded me of the first time Ty and I had traveled this way and saw the light coming from under the door leading into Malakan's chambers. Now it was the light from the first section of the tunnel. There was only one torch in this section , just like in the room I had just left. It was unnerving, feeling as ominous and purposeful as the fire itself. I hesitated to get near the torch, remembering the reaction of the other one when I touched it. Instead, I moved directly to the door and burst out into Final View.

  I had run several feet into the middle of the community before anyone even realized I was there. Life was just continuing on, following the same rhythm as if nothing had happened. As far as any of the people here knew, nothing had. They didn't know about the house deep in the cliff. They didn't know about the fire engulfing the space Malakan had created. The man wearing one shoe looked over at me sharply as if I'd said something. His head tilted, and he took several steps in my direction.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  "Malakan," I muttered.

  It was all I could manage. I started running through the clusters of people gathered beneath the bridge. It was the first time I noticed the pain in my feet and realized I must have burned them. The sensation became sharp and almost unbearable, then faded, then worsened again. It felt like the wounds were healing and then repeatedly ripping open again. I'd need to let them fully heal, but I couldn't stop. It would have to happen as I drove across the city toward Solomon's Fang.

  I hopped behind the wheel of the car I'd borrowed and raced away from the bridge. I wished I had grabbed my phone when I left. I had been almost to the bridge earlier when I realized I hadn't grabbed it, and I hadn’t felt like I needed to turn around just to get it. Ashe and Aurora were both safe at the bar with Ty when I left them, and I knew if either woman needed me, they could reach out to me through their thoughts. Now I wished I could call Ty to let him know I was coming. We couldn't waste any time. When I finally got close to the portal, I parked the car and jumped out. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I could tell they had healed during the drive. I moved through the portal as quickly as I could, stumbling slightly as I passed through into the basement of Soloman's. I felt a hand grab me by the arm and I tensed, prepared to fight.

  "Hayden?"

  I relaxed slightly when I heard Ty's voice. He let go of my arm and his eyes traveled over me, taking in my burned clothes.

  "Where are the girls?" I asked.

  "What's wrong? What's going on?"

  “Where are they?”

  I started to move around Ty, intending to make my way through the basement and up into the bar, but Ty stepped between me and the door.

  “Move out of the way, Ty,” I demanded.

  “No. You can’t go up there.”

  2

  “What do you mean I can’t go up there?” I demanded. “You are a portal keeper, not the bouncer of my life. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

  Ty took a step back and looked at me firmly.

  “I can’t let you go.”

  “Where are Ashe and Aurora?” I asked.

  “They’re upstairs,” Ty said. “But you can’t go up there.”

  “You keep telling me that, but you haven’t given me a good enough reason to keep me from doing it anyway.”

  I pushed past Ty and ran through the basement and up the stairs into the bar. As soon as I rushed through the door, everyone turned to look at me. Their eyes locked on me, and a few started to whisper. I didn't care. It wasn't the first time people had talked about me when I came into a room, and I had the distinct feeling it wasn't going to be the last. I heard Ashe and Aurora before I saw them. They were laughing, the sound of their voices light and carefree. It was a sharp contrast to the adrenaline rushing through me and the danger I still felt creeping up the back of my neck. Not caring who was there, I forced my way through the people in the bar and ran up to the girls. Aurora saw me first. I noticed her eyes widen slightly, and she nodded her head in my direction. Ashe turned to look at me, and her smile melted off her face.

  "Hayden," she said. "What's going on?"

  "I need to talk to you," I said. "Now."

  "What happened to you?" Aurora asked.

  I looked down and for the first time realized the full extent of the damage to my clothes. All of my injuries had fully healed, but my pants and shirt were burned badly enough that sections hung in tatters. Blood from my burns stained the fabric. Ashe got off her bar stool and came toward me.

  "Hayden, you need to go upstairs."

  I hadn't realized Ty had followed me up into the bar until I heard his voice behind me. I looked back at him and saw him scanning the people spread throughout the dimly-lit space. His expression was stern.

  "Come on," Ashe said.

  She and Aurora got on either side of me and led me toward the stairs with Ty falling into step behind us. They hurried me up and into Ashe's apartment. Ty closed the door and locked it but didn't come any further into the room. He kept his back pressed against the door and crossed his arms over his chest as the girls brought me into living room and sat me down on the sofa.

  "I'll send for some clothes for him," Aurora said.

  I was starting to feel frustrated. They were more concerned about the way I looked than what I needed to tell them.

  "Why do my clothes matter so much?" I asked.

  "You have a bad track record recently of getting the wrong type of attention from the wrong type of people," Ty said.

  I rolled my eyes.

  "I swear. One more fucking cryptic speech from you and I'm going to crack."

  "I’m not being cryptic," Ty said. "It's a fact. Since the first time you walked into the bar you've been catching people's eyes. You lured in Aurora, but she proved to be the least of your worries, and when a woman who was hours away from throwing you to the dogs and letting you rot is the least of your worries, you know you are royally screwed."

  "Isn't being royally screwed the exact thing that got me into all this?" I asked, sliding my eyes over to Aurora.

  I could see the familiar hunger flashing behind the concern in her eyes and I wished I could steal a few minutes alone with her. If there was ever a time I needed some de-stressing, now was it.

  "That's not the point."

  Something he said snapped back into my mind.

  "Wait. There were dogs involved? No one told me about dogs."

  Aurora shrugged sheepishly.

  "Watching people die lost its novelty a long time ago," she said. "Sometimes I just can't stomach it. The dogs are good at making sure I don't have to witness it when pesky people decide to try to make a display of themselves at the palace."

  I shook my head.

  "That is messed up," I said.

  She smiled and pulled out her phone. She dialed, and within seconds was telling whoever was on the other line to bring clothes. Rattling off a long list of garments, she seemed to be requesting an entire new wardrobe for me.

  "That's still not the point," Ty said.

  "Then what is?" I asked, my amusement disappearing and the annoyance returning. "Why did you three drag me up here to change my clothes? Aren't you even slightly concerned about what might have happened when I went to see Malakan."

  "Of course we are," Ty said. "Which is why you can't be seen like this. As we've learned, we never know who is watching. When someone who has pissed off and threatened as many people as you have in the last few days shows up burned, bloody, and wild-eyed, it’s obvious some serious shit went down. We don't want anyone who might be watching to see you that way. You don't know what else they might have planned."

  The way Ty said it only cemented the sense of impending danger.

  "I went to see Malakan," I said.

  They nodded.

  "You told us that was where you were going," Ashe said. "Remember, we wanted you to stay with us and continue the celebration of your change."

  I nodded. We'd been celebrating since the n
ight before, and while I enjoyed the revelry, I'd been drawn back to the house in the cliff. Now I felt more like I'd been lured there. Everything that had happened when visiting Malakan ran through my mind. I didn't know how much to tell them right now. My true identity as the kidnapped son of the warlock leader loomed in my thoughts, but the sight of the fire held my tongue. I couldn't talk about both at the same time. I wasn't even completely sure if I believed him, or what it meant if I did. For now, I needed time to really wrap my head around all of that. I needed to be able to absorb it before I shared it with anyone else. At this moment it was more important to tell them about the fire and Malakan. Then we could decide what to do next.

  "Right after I left the house, there was an explosion."

  "An explosion?" Ashe asked.

  "The house was carved into the stone," Ty said. "How could it explode?"

  Aurora gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. She shook her head.

  "Not the stone chambers," she said. "The house. His house. The one he created in the recess behind the stone."

  "You knew about it," I said.

  Aurora nodded.

  "Of course, I did," she said. "He was my confidant. I met with him regularly. He didn't like to bring my father to that house, but I went there many times. I didn't think anyone else ever went there."