House of Spells: (A Paranormal Urban Fantasy) (The Vampire Project Book 3) Read online

  House of Spells

  The Vampire Project Book 3

  Jonathan Yanez

  Contents

  Also by Jonathan Yanez

  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

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Afterword

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Jonathan Yanez

  The Elite Series

  The Beast Within

  The Trials

  The Judge

  Bad Land

  The Archangel Wars

  Of Angels and Men

  Of Angels and Demons

  Of Angels and Gods

  Of Angels and Legends

  The Dread Novels

  All the Beautiful People

  All the Broken People

  A Special Kind of Crazy

  Thrive

  The DeCadia Series

  The DeCadia Code

  The Crucible

  “An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

  “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

  The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

  The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

  -Cherokee Proverb

  House of Spells

  Copyright © 2017 by Jonathan Yanez. All rights

  reserved.

  Archimedes Books

  Orange, CA 92868

  www.archimedesbooks.com

  Formatting: Archimedes Books

  ISBN: 9781521871256

  No part of this book may be reproduced,

  scanned, or distributed in any printed or

  electronic form without permission. Please do

  not participate in or encourage piracy of

  copyrighted materials in violation of the

  author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the

  hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,

  places and incidents either are the product of

  the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously

  and any resemblance to locals, events, business

  establishments or actual persons—living or

  dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  To Audrey, I told you I’d put your name in a book.

  Chapter One

  Sloan

  “Have you seen anything out of the ordinary around here? We’re looking for a woman, she’s probably traveling with something that looks like a wolf. You also might have seen her with another man in his mid thirties and a gnome.”

  “Haven’t seen anyone like that around these parts.” The man behind the bar wiped at the already clean bar top. “I’ll be sure to keep my eyes open.”

  Everyone in the establishment tensed. The words shared between the soldier from New Hope and the bartender were friendly enough, but each syllable came out stressed.

  “You wouldn’t be lying to old Tensor, now would you?” The leader of the soldiers was a six-foot-tall man with a barrel chest and balding head. “Maybe I should talk to the owner, just to be sure.”

  “Well, you’re already talking to him.” The bartender put down his rag, looking at the soldier for the first time. “I’m the owner. Like I said, there’s been no one in here fitting your description.”

  “Well then, you wouldn’t mind if we have a look around,” Tensor said, examining the inside of the bar. He adjusted the rifle on his shoulder and hooked both thumbs into his pants.

  “Actually, I’d prefer it if you left. You see this is Term, and were not too big on being interrogated in our own establishments.”

  Sloan sat in her chair in the back corner of the room. Her sword was hidden in the folds of a long cloak. A hood hid her features well enough, but she knew if the soldiers got much closer, she would have to fight her way out.

  She didn’t recognize the group of New Hope soldiers that came searching the bar in Term, but if they tried to push their luck, she already felt sorry for them. This particular bar was jammed full of shady-looking characters, from shifters to gargoyles and a few humans added in, and one thing was apparent: Sloan wasn’t in New Hope anymore.

  Inside the city, it was safe to assume the paranormal would consist of the sighting of a random gnome on his way to work, or a wizard or a witch passing through. In the Outland, the paranormal were as common as humans.

  The interior of the establishment Sloan had found herself in would also make conflict difficult for the soldiers; Sloan would be able to slice through them before they could draw a bead on her. The room was mostly filled with wooden tables and chairs. Intricate paintings of animals adorned the walls, ranging from beavers to lions. The bar stood in the middle of the room and a door led deeper into the structure.

  Fragrances wafted from the room, reminding Sloan of how long it had been since she’d had a real meal.

  “Are you saying the queen and her soldiers are not welcome in Term?” Tensor shoved a meaty hand into his waistband and drew his pistol. He placed it onto the table with a dull thud.

  “No.” The bartender crossed his arms over his chest. His right eyebrow arched over his unnaturally bright orange eyes. “I’m not speaking for the whole city. I’m just speaking for my bar, The Shifter. You’re just not welcome here.”

  Silence covered the whole room now; the white noise of men and women talking at the bar and at the tables had quieted. Everyone was either outright staring at the conversation taking place, or pretending not to be paying attention.

  Outside, somewhere in the distance, a horse galloped down the main road. Sloan wasn’t afraid of getting into a fight. Whatever it was she was becoming was more than willing and able to kill all of the queen’s men at the bar. Still, she hadn’t found her friends yet, and giving herself away would do nothing to help her attain that goal.

  “You innocent shifting prick.” With his right hand, Tensor lifted his pistol from the bar. He pressed the barrel of the weapon against the bar owner’s chest. “I should kill you right—”
>
  Before Tensor could finish the rest of his sentence, movement cascaded across the inside of the bar. Every single man or woman, paranormal or not, stood from his or her seat. Weapons of every make and model were produced from sheaths, belts, and harnesses.

  In the second it took for the action to happen, Sloan counted at least half a dozen firearms, three throwing blades, and two magically enhanced staffs pointed at the group of soldiers, Tensor in particular.

  Tensor stood stunned. The group of four soldiers under his command didn’t even have time to say anything, much less raise their own weapons in return.

  “You should get going before something bad happens to you and your men.” The bartender turned away the pistol aimed at his chest. “You see, not only at The Shifter, but in Term in general, we stick together. We have no love for you, or your queen.”

  Tensor gulped visibly; his fat Adam’s apple bobbed like an actual apple in a barrel of water. He lowered his pistol, placing it back into his belt. The entire time, he ignored eye contact with the bar owner.

  “Men.” Tensor cleared his throat, taking in the vast array of weapons still being pointed at him. “We’ll be going now. It doesn’t seem the people we’re looking for are here.”

  There was no argument from any of the soldiers who followed in his wake. They maneuvered around the bar’s occupants, who refused to move to make way for them.

  The next second, the group from New Hope were gone. As soon as the swinging doors closed behind them, the room erupted in a roar of laughter.

  “A round of drinks on the house!” the bartender yelled above the noise of celebration. “And thank all of you rotten drunks. I was starting to worry I was going to have to kill the entire group of them myself.”

  “You could’ve taken them, Kade.”

  “They practically pissed themselves, did you see that?”

  “Did the shifter king say drinks on the house! What are we waiting for?”

  Sloan couldn’t help smiling as she witnessed the ragtag group of human and paranormal descend on the bar. There was more shouting and laughing, a lot of backslapping and clinking of glasses.

  Sloan found her amusement at the sight short-lived. She was hoping that she would be able to catch some sign of Edison, Jack, even Elwood. Since her and Aareth’s escape from New Hope, there had been no sign of the others in Term. Everyone she had asked thus far only looked her up and down with disdain and shook their heads.

  Money was nonexistent. Sloan was reminded of this as her stomach rumbled with frustration. What was her next move? Aareth was still in his half-human, half-wolf form. It was all she could do to find a place for him to hide while she entered the town to look for the others. She hoped he had listened to her and was still there waiting where she had left him, when she returned.

  “So what did you do to piss off the queen?” Kade stood in front of Sloan with a pitcher of water and a steaming plate of food that smelled better than anything Sloan could remember. “Must have been something pretty bad if there are soldiers willing to knock on my door.”

  Sloan kicked herself for allowing her thoughts to wander so far, she hadn’t realized Kade had been walking toward her. She looked into his bright orange eyes, wondering what kind of animal he shifted into.

  “I didn’t play nice in New Hope.” Sloan lowered her hand so her fingers tapped across the sword at her side. “How did you know the soldiers were looking for me?”

  “Please, I know the drunks who come in here.” Kade pushed a chair away from the table with his foot. He took a seat as he placed the water and the food in front of Sloan. “You’re not a local and you’re not a drunk. You don’t have money because you didn’t order anything. You chose to sit in the corner of the room and you haven’t taken off your hood since you stepped inside.”

  Sloan took a deep breath. Was she really that easy to read?

  “All right.” Sloan pushed back the hood, revealing her travel-weary face. “You win. I guess I owe you a thank you for not giving me up when the soldiers came in, ready to blow you away.”

  Kade shrugged.

  “We stick together in Term. Any enemy of the crown is an friend of mine.” He pointed to the food and water. “Dig in. I would have brought you beer, but that would go straight to your head if you haven’t eaten, and what kind of a gentlemen would I be, intoxicating a lovely young woman like you?”

  “I’m not doing anything weird in payment for this food.” Sloan noticed for the first time how attractive Kade really was. He was tall with short blond hair and a slim physique that said he watched what he ate and enjoyed his cardio. “I’m not sure what you’re after, but you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

  “Easy.” Kade leaned back in his chair. “It’s not like that.”

  “Then what is it like?”

  “Wow, you have some serious trust issues, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, well, if you’ve been through what I have, you would, too.”

  “Fair enough.” Kade sat straight in his chair and cleared his throat. “I’m not after anything. I honestly was trying to be nice to someone who looks like they’re in over their head. I didn’t get to where I am in life on my own; I had people help me along the way. I was just trying to help you along yours.”

  Kade held Sloan’s gaze for a moment. A mischievous twinkle raced across his orange eyes.

  “But, if you insist I’m up to no good, then I can just take these back.” Kade placed a hand on the plate in front of Sloan.

  On instinct, Sloan shot her hand forward. She hit his forearm harder than she had intended.

  “On second thought, maybe you’re not so bad after all.” Sloan tried her best at a cute smile. It didn’t work. Sloan didn’t do cute. “Thank you.”

  Kade released his hold on the plate.

  “Please, dig in.” Kade motioned to the food. “You look like you’re half starved. I haven’t seen anyone ever resist our food this long, not when it’s staring them right in the face.”

  Sloan wasn’t exactly sure what Kade was saying. Her basic instincts were taking over now as she grabbed the pitcher of water and quenched her thirst. The cool liquid felt heavenly as it rushed down her throat and into her rumbling stomach.

  Next, she went after whatever it was on the plate. If there were utensils provided, Sloan didn’t see them, and neither did she care. It was some kind of meat that smelt heavenly. She chomped into the dark, juicy mystery meat that shared a texture with beef. It wasn’t beef, though: the taste was spicier, tangier.

  “Slow down,” Kade warned, “there’s more where that came from.”

  “I should warn you…” Sloan did her best to hide her mouth full of food as she spoke. “I don’t have money to pay you. Not yet, at least.”

  “You’re right”—Kade took a deep sigh—“you do have trust issues.”

  “I’ll find a way to repay you somehow.” Sloan gulped down another swallow of the delicious meat. “What is this, by the way? It’s amazing.”

  “Ummm…” The way Kade hesitated told Sloan she had asked a horrifying question. “I’ll tell you when you’re done.”

  “Seriously.” Sloan wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “You could tell me this is the soldiers you just kicked out right now, and I’d still eat it.”

  “All right.” Kade shrugged. “You caught me. It’s one hundred percent grade A human meat.”

  Sloan’s jaws stopped chomping. Her stomach twisted in revulsion as she looked down at her hands. What had she done?

  “I’m kidding.” Kade stood up with a laugh. “Don’t throw up. It’s only buffalo meat.”

  Sloan sighed through her nose.

  “You almost made me puke all over your table.” She skewered Kade with a glare that turned into a smile. “But I bet you have a lot of that going on around here.”

  “You’d win that bet.” Kade produced a towel from the half apron he wore around his waist. “Do you have a place to stay?”

  “Actually, I was look
ing for someone,” Sloan said, dodging the question. For some reason, Kade’s sincerity made her feel uncomfortable. “You might have seen them. They would have passed through here within the last day or two. One group could have been a young boy, late teens, traveling with two girls?”

  “Sorry.” Kade shrugged again. “No such luck.”

  “The other group would have been two sciencey-looking guys with a woman carrying a sword, and a gnome.”

  Kade’s eyes flashed a dangerous shade of orange.

  “If those are your friends, you're better off heading out of town in the opposite direction.” Kade wasn't angry, but there was definitely something in his voice that verged on worried. “For your own sake, I mean.”

  “Why?” Sloan pushed the empty plate of food from her. She half disguised a burp. “What’s happened to them?”

  “Word on the street is, a group like that came into Term yesterday. One of the guys couldn’t keep his mouth shut, kept yammering about a New Hope invasion.” Kade shook his head as if it were a pity. “He ruffled a few feathers. There’s an unofficially elected mayor in Term who goes by the name of Kimberly. I guess there was some kind of fight. A lot of people died. Your friends were taken prisoners. They stand trial tomorrow … before the hanging.”