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  Sacred Spite

  Flames of the Sea - Book 2

  Nadia Heaton

  Copyright © 2019 by Nadia Heaton and Southern Heat Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Nadia Heaton

  Sacred Spite

  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

  Nadia Heaton

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  Chapter 1

  About the Flames of the Sea Series

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  About Nadia Heaton

  Sacred Spite

  Flames of the Sea - Book Two

  Nadia Heaton

  1

  “Savion…”

  “Shut it,” Savion snarled. “I am not leaving, not without Jermaine.”

  Eliane wisely listened to him and took a few steps back, her lips pressed tightly together. She and Bekka exchanged worried glances, but kept silent. Savion scanned the dark waters, growing more worried every moment.

  Growling under his breath, he started pacing. How could he have been so careless as to lose track of his brother in the fight? He and Jermaine had always looked out for each other, and now, for all he knew, Jermaine could be dead.

  No. Savion would know if Jermaine was dead. They had a bond as brothers, and he could still sense that Jermaine’s life-force was in this world. Still, it was faint and flickering. Savion suspected Jermaine was hurt.

  “Here.” Bekka handed him a plastic blood bag, and Savion tore into it, not realizing until now how hungry he had been. Having human blood rather than animal was a luxury, but they all needed it. They were weakened after the battle with the witches.

  The water rippled, and a manta ray swam to the surface. Savion’s heart leapt, only to deflate in disappointment when he realized the ray wasn’t Jermaine. He transformed to human form, and Bekka gave him a hand onto the boat.

  “Have you seen Jermaine?” Savion demanded.

  Barav shook his head. “No, I lost track of him when the witches started shooting that underwater fire.”

  That was the time Savion had lost track of him too. He noticed that Barav had burns on his arms, and gestured to Eliane. “Take Barav to the medical bay, give him some blood and treat his burns.”

  Fortunately, they were used to burns. Vampires could burn in the sun if they stayed in direct sunlight too long, and Savion had treated his fair share of them in his time.

  He went back to watching the water, going over the events of the night in his head. It had been an ordinary night. He and Jermaine had been on watch at the volcano. Jermaine had sensed something and swam off to check it out.

  The next thing Savion knew, there was a submarine heading his way. A submarine filled with witches. For generations, witches and vampires had maintained an uneasy truce. Despite their distaste for each other, they needed one another.

  The vampires guarded the underwater volcano that was the source of the witches’ power. Witches couldn’t survive in saltwater, so the sea vampires were left to guard the volcano. Now, apparently, the witches found a way around the saltwater, which was going to be trouble for Savion’s kind.

  If the witches no longer needed them to watch over the volcano, they would have no reason to guard the eternal flame in the north - the source of the vampires’ power. The temperatures were too cold for vampires to survive in, which meant it was up to the witches to keep humans from finding their power source and picking it apart.

  Savion still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. If the witches destroyed the volcano, they would lose their powers, something he’d never have thought they would be willing to give up. Apparently, they wanted vampires gone, enough to make the sacrifice.

  The destruction of such a huge source of magical power would send shockwaves through the world, eliminating magic everywhere. Witches would survive; they would just be human. Vampires wouldn’t survive. They would all die.

  A ripple in the water had him leaning forward eagerly, but it was just another wave caused by the turmoil beneath. The witches had been driven back, for now. Their submarine was gone, as were their brethren on broomsticks, who it seemed had been flying above the site in case they were needed as backup.

  Bekka came to stand beside him, staring out at the water. “He’ll be ok, Savion.”

  “I know he will, because I won’t stop looking until I haul his ass out of whatever trouble he’s gotten himself into.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think there’s more going on here than just the witches. He went to investigate a disturbance in the opposite direction to which they arrived. Someone else was here. A boat of humans. Surely you can still pick up their scent in the air?”

  “Yes, faintly. But they can’t have had anything to do with this, Savion. Humans know nothing about us. There were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Savion didn’t voice his thoughts, the worry for his brother’s heart staying his tongue. He knew that Jermaine was in love with the human woman, Bethany. Savion had met her briefly, and she didn’t seem like the type to give up easily. He was prepared to bet that it was Bethany who caused the ripple in their wards.

  If that was true, it would put her on the hit list of a number of vampires in their coven, and Savion couldn’t do that to Jermaine. It also brought up the question of how she’d gotten here in the first place. No human should have been able to find this place without help. Someone had tipped her off.

  He could deal with that later, though. For now, he needed to focus on finding Jermaine and making sure his brother was safe. He was well aware that he couldn’t stay here forever. Night was wearing on. There was a safe port for the yacht not far from here, but they still needed to get there before dawn.

  As the hours dragged by, Savion’s hope that Jermaine would suddenly surface faded. Surely, if Jermaine was here and capable of coming to him, he would. He wouldn’t want Savion to worry needlessly.

  “Savion… we need to get going.” Eliane gave his shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “We’ll find him, don’t worry.”

  “I know. You take the boat ahead, I’m going to look for him.”

  Her grip on his shoulder tightened. “You can’t! It’s not safe. The witches released too much magical power into the water around the volcano. We have no idea what going too close could do to you. Best to wait for it to dissipate completely.”

  “I’ve waited as long as I can. Jermaine may be down there in trouble. Don’t worry about me. If I don’t contact you by this time tomorrow, send a rescue party, but I think I’ll be fine.”

  Eliane didn’t look happy, but it was clear she wasn’t going to convince him. “Just be careful. Don’t get any closer than you need to.”

  “I won’t.” Savion dove easily into the ocean, feeling the familiar water embrace him. He glided several feet before morphing into his manta ray form. He swam steadily downward, deep enough that the rising sun wouldn�
��t be able to reach him.

  As he got closer to the volcano, he could feel it. Magic pulsed through the water, and it would have made his hair stand on end if he’d had any hair at the moment. The volcano was glowing an unhealthy green, but it was still there.

  The power the witches had unleashed on it had very nearly caused it to explode. Only the power Savion’s coven had exerted over the volcano had kept it stable, just barely. He started by swimming around it, hoping not to have to get too close.

  There was no sign of Jermaine or anyone else. The rest of his coven seemed to have gotten out alright; it was only Jermaine who was missing. The witches all seemed to have escaped too, though Savion was sure that they’d at least managed to injure some of them.

  He swam in circles, slowly getting closer to the volcano. The magic pulsed against him uncomfortably, but it wasn’t painful. Savion’s kind had some limited use over magic, but nothing like witches did, and he had no idea how harmful the residue around him really was.

  Not that he was tempted to turn back, despite what he knew Eliane would say. He had to find Jermaine. The water started to heat up as he got closer to the volcano, but not unbearably so. Savion approached slowly, taking his time to swim over the top and finally right into the volcano itself.

  It wasn’t an active volcano, which meant it had no chance of exploding, except when there were witches throwing magic at it. The water was uncomfortably hot inside, and Savion could feel the magic tingling against his skin. Manta rays had tougher skin than humans, but he still wasn’t invincible.

  He didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Jermaine wasn’t here. He didn’t like his brother’s chances after spending hours unconscious in this place, but that begged the question, where was Jermaine?

  Savion spent a few more minutes searching, just to be sure, before swimming away as fast as he could. It would likely be a couple of days before the coven deemed it safe enough to resume their normal guard schedule of the volcano, though they’d have people on patrol looking out for witches in the area regardless.

  He was almost at the nearest safe point to surface in daytime when he stopped. Going home to his coven wasn’t going to help him find Jermaine. If they knew where Jermaine was, they would have told him by now. He had to look elsewhere to find him.

  A plan slowly started forming in Savion’s mind. Of course, he’d need the boat if he wanted to make it in a timely fashion. He knew Jermaine was alive, but he could be badly hurt, and Savion wanted to find him as soon as possible. Bekka wouldn’t be happy, but it was his yacht, he could do what he liked with it.

  He kept heading toward the safe zone, where Bekka would have parked the yacht before going inside to sleep during the daylight hours. He knew that Bekka and Eliane would probably insist on coming with him, no matter how crazy they thought his plan was.

  Before he left, he’d have to get their promises that they wouldn’t hurt Bethany. Savion had no attachment to her, but he knew Jermaine would be beyond devastated if she died. No, Bethany was off limits, and he had to make that clear to the others before they left. Once he did, they could set off to find his brother.

  2

  “You want to do what?”

  “Don’t look at me like that, Bekka, it’s not as crazy as it sounds.”

  “Really? Explain it to me, then.”

  “You were there when we took Bethany home. You saw how Jermaine looked at her.”

  “I did, but Jermaine is smarter than that. He had a nice night with her, but it was only a fling. It could only ever be a fling, and he knows that.”

  Savion wondered how much he dared tell Bekka and Eliane. They were his and Jermaine’s closest friends. The twin sisters had been turned at the same time as him and Jermaine, which always created a bond. He wanted them on his side with this, but he wouldn’t endanger Jermaine’s heart to do so.

  “It won’t hurt to check. She clearly wasn’t giving up on him, and from what Jermaine told me, she’s determined and resourceful. We have no other leads on Jermaine. It’s worth a shot.”

  Eliane’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”

  “Not exactly.” He wasn’t revealing the depth of Jermaine’s feelings for Bethany, but Savion didn’t feel that was his place. If Jermaine decided to trust Bekka and Eliane with it, that was his choice, not Savion’s. “I’ve told you everything relevant. I believe that Bethany is our best shot at finding a lead on Jermaine. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want.”

  “Like you could stop us.” Bekka gave him a playful shove. “I assume you want to leave as soon as the sun sets?”

  “That’s right. I looked it up, and there’s a wildlife reserve not far from Bethany’s home town, so we shouldn’t have any problems with getting blood. We can stay with Rashid, I’m sure he’ll be happy to have us.”

  Savion had never met Rashid, but he was a well-known vampire who owned a huge chateau on the coast. Some of Savion’s coven had been to Rashid’s parties, and always came back hung over and grinning. It took a lot of alcohol to get a vampire drink, and Rashid was an expert. He was always up for new guests.

  “Fine, but we’ll find out whatever it is you’re keeping from us.” For someone as beautiful as Eliane, she could certainly look terrifying when she wanted to.

  “You should get some sleep.” Bekka’s expression brooked no arguments. “If we’re sailing tomorrow, we’ll all need to be up to working the magic – unless you want the journey to take a week, that is.”

  “I’ll sleep,” Savion grumbled. Bekka was right, of course. Vampires didn’t usually have teleporting abilities – that was more the domain of witches – but the yacht was an ancient heirloom passed down in Savion’s family for generations. He didn’t know how it had originally been imbued with the spell. That knowledge was lost, but thankfully, the knowledge of how to get it to work remained. It was draining, but possible.

  He did his best to sleep, though mostly ended up tossing and turning. Savion could still sense that Jermaine was alive, but nothing beyond that. That meant the distance between them was increasing. He couldn’t tell if Jermaine was still injured or not, and that worried him.

  When the sun finally set, Bekka and Eliane were ready. It was just the three of them. Savion knew the rest of the coven would disapprove, and it wasn’t like he had to report his movements to anyone. Apart from his shifts guarding the volcano, he could do what he liked.

  The trip took less than an hour, leaving them tired, but satisfied. Rashid’s chateau was beautiful and it had an open port that was warded against most beings, but vampires could pass freely. There was no one around, but Savion wasn’t worried about being turned away. He docked the boat, then walked up the path to the main house with Bekka and Eliane.

  He recognized Rashid at once from the descriptions. The tall vampire had red hair and dark eyes.

  “Greetings, my Caribbean friends.” He spread his arms in welcome. “What brings you here?”

  “We have business in the area, and we were hoping to be granted a place to stay.” Savion kept his voice respectful and his eyes lowered slightly.

  Rashid laughed. “But of course! Come inside, please. I don’t have any other guests at the moment, so you’ll have your pick of rooms. May I interest any of you in a drink? I have an excellent brew just coming off the lab counters now.”

  “No, thank you, not for me.”

  Savion rolled his eyes as Bekka and Eliane eagerly accepted. He could hardly blame them. Rashid’s experiments with mixing alcohol and magic were legendary.

  “Before you start drinking, I’d like to talk to you, Rashid, if you don’t mind.”

  “Certainly. Come this way.”

  Savion looked around as he was led through expansive halls to a comfortable, elegant lounge. Rashid sprawled on one of the couches, and Savion took a seat opposite him.

  “I wanted to ask you about a woman named Bethany. I don’t know her last name, but she lives not far f
rom here. We dropped her at a dock just east of here, which is part of her home town.”

  Rashid’s eyes lit up with something like amusement. “Ah yes, Bethany. I’ve met her once or twice. Nice girl. Why are you interested in her? For that matter, why were you dropping her off at home?”

  Savion hesitated, wondering how much he dared tell. Jermaine could get into huge trouble if it came out he was in love with a witch, but Rashid wasn’t likely to feel helpful if he thought information was being hidden from him.

  “She knows my brother, Jermaine. They had a brief connection, and now Jermaine has gone missing. I’m thinking he might be with her.”

  “A brief connection?” Rashid’s eyebrows drew down. “With a mortal? How brief, exactly?”

  “Just one night, that’s all. I’m sure it’s over, but since Jermaine was in the area anyway, and I think he may be injured, he could very well have gone to her for help.”

  Jermaine had hardly been in the area, in fact, Bethany had been in his area – but Savion kept that information to himself.

  Rashid’s face softened in sympathy. “Of course. I can find her address, if you’d like?”

  “Please. I have the phone number to her house, but I don’t know a spell that can track down which house the number belongs to.”

  “None that we can cast. Don’t worry, I have contacts. Give me a few hours, I’ll get that address for you.” The teasing glint in Rashid’s eyes was back. “I’m sure you’ll find everything you expect to, and more.”