Page 52 of Of Blood and Smoke

The entirety of the immediate area was within an iron and stone wall spanning three hundred feet in height. My parents, and many of their associates, had the privilege of life in the security the perimeter offered, and it’d never been breached.

Beyond the enclosure lay multiple settlements, including a bustling but degenerate metropolis in the distance that could be considered a capitol city. It was ruled by a powerful demon clan associated with the defeated demon god, Julian.

Not that I hadn’t ever availed myself of the nightclubs, bars and other establishments of the hub but I’d preferred the more genteel environment of the palace complex and the refined company of Micha and a few others. I preferred the shadows, rather than the garish lights.

Perhaps I would’ve bonded with a vampire family or clan, but the beastly half of my DNA was an understandable turn-off. Given the extremely low numbers of my own kind, I was often alone.

The Complex was a city of its own, spanning several miles. Once I exited the gardens and passed the main village, I clung to the side streets, uninterested in the throngs of people. After a few minutes, I turned down to the street I had grown up on.

Not much of anything had changed. Stone walls bordered the sidewalk with dense and overflowing shrubbery that pushed up against them before tangling in the thick trees. It was a nostalgic sight. The vines and branches knitted themselves over the road, creating a tunneling effect that dared the sun to reach down to the cobblestone road I’d traversed for hundreds of years.

Purple flowers shoved their way between some of the sidewalk’s cracks providing an eye-catching contrast to the orange tint drifting through the air. It was lush, humid, and beautiful, and I’d been trying to recreate the vision at my riverside estate back in New York but frustratingly, I’d failed.

When I approached the spiked gates of my parents’ home, they opened and allowed me entry. Two wraiths fluttered about the grounds, shooing away what appeared to be an infestation of the damned Second Realm squirrels.

When I got closer, I noticed what the fuss was about. It seemed the tiny creatures had made a feast of an errant griffin and were busy devouring its mane and crunching on its feathers. When one of the wraiths warned me off with a flap of its cloak, I stepped back and continued up the front stairs. It was unusualfor a beast of its sort to scale the perimeter of my parents’ property, but that's what the wraiths were for.

Before I could wave my hand at the door, it flung open. “Josiah!”

My gorgeous mother tugged me into a hug, wrapping her arms around me before pulling me inside. “Hello, mother,” I said, giving her a smile.

“I heard you were here, and I hoped you’d stop by, but I know you’re so busy,” she rambled, and then wiped her hands on her legs, fidgeting in her excitement. I was her only child, as was common in the Second Realm for families—if one was even born. The uniqueness of my crossbreed species had made for a cherished and well-protected childhood due to the heightened risk of homicide. Even supernatural creatures faced fear and prejudice over that which they did not understand, and the novelty ensured my mother and I had a close relationship.

“Why did they summon you to the High Court? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Come, let's go in the kitchen.”

As I followed her through the house, I asked, “Where is father?”

She grabbed a couple tea glasses from an open-front cabinet and poured a vodka and blood mixture and handed me one. “He’s in the city sorting out a mess with one of the nightclubs. The owner went missing a while ago, trapped in another Realm, and he’s still dealing with the paperwork. He’ll be back, later.” She treated her beverage like a shot, tossing it back and then placing it down on the counter. “Virgin blood, this one’s really good.”

She wasn’t wrong and I set my glass down beside hers. “Sounds tedious for father,” I remarked. “I can’t stay, I have my own situation to address. You’ll give him my love, of course.”

“Of course,” she agreed. “The Court?” she prompted.

I shrugged off my jacket and went to place it on the stool beside me but my mother’s housemaid, a Lesser demon named Lydia, snatched it and marched away to hang it up somewhere. Taking a deep breath, I unfastened my shirt cuffs and began rolling up my sleeves. “Ezra and the collective have ordered I take a bride of their choosing. And one for Micha, as well.”

She leaned over and ruffled my hair lightly. “My handsome boy, I’m sure you’ll find a fabulous match.” She smiled at me in that loving way only a mother could, seeing only the best outcome for their child, no matter the circumstances.

My mother’s fussing left my hair in my eyes, so I tucked it back. “Yes, the women were high-quality, the best of the best. I drained two of their witches.” She gasped lightly and I smirked at her.

“It's not a problem," I reassured her and then corrected myself. “That’s not the problem. The issue is I’ve met someone, and Micha has as well. I don’t have any information on his but mine is fully mortal and contains no magic of any sort I can detect. She could be a sleeper, but I strongly suspect that is not the case. I would’ve detected it.”

“Oh,” she said softly, before quickly pouring us both another drink.

The blood had a distinct sweet and earthy flavor; it truly was very good. I drank it quickly. “I won’t bend,” I warned her. “I thought you should know. I’ve tried everything I can think of to stay away, short of killing her. Even treating her abominably hasn’t made a difference—she still desires me.”

My mother rubbed her forehead. She knew the vindictiveness of the Court and the risk of disobedience. We’d both seen it before, and I’d personally had to kill those I’d cared for in the past due to noncompliance.

“No one goes up against them and has a favorable outcome,” she said, softly.

I licked my lips, removing the lingering traces of my beverage. “You and father defied the law,” I pointed out. She had no leg to stand on if she opposed me.

She’d been born human, to two vampires, as happened at least half of the time. Frequently, such a child was devoured by its parents, the infant’s arrival presenting an unacceptable genetic insult. Somehow, my mother escaped slaughter but remained ostracized until a fateful encounter with my father which then activated her latent DNA.

Still, in her youth, demon and vampire mate matches had been punishable by banishment or death. It was taken in stride these days, especially with the benefit of a possible crossbreed—a creature who would likely contain the magic of both racesifa child was born.

“My situation was different, and you said yourself she contains no magic. At least if she was a witch, then maybe. How will you feel if she is killed? What then? There is no guarantee she’d show up in an accessible realm. Does she even know about the Realms?”

My mother spoke of how some humans, upon passing, occasionally transferred to one of the realms we frequented. It was known to happen occasionally, much to either the delight or the horror of the deceased, depending on their outlook.

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