Page 54 of Cosmic Power

Footsteps echoed in the room as Zvetari continued to pace. “Yes.”

“And you gave it to me?” Luther asked incredulously. “Why?”

Zvetari stopped and locked eyes with him, a serious expression on his face. “Despite what you think, Luther, Leilani wasn’t my favourite. She never was. You are. You’re the only one of my sires I trust wholeheartedly. The only one I want as my successor if I pass. Being in possession of the Garnet Ring ensures that.”

Luther reared back in shock.

What the fuck?

No way. There was no way Luther believed that.

Zvetari sighed. “I know I let you down with what happened in Prague. I wanted to believe you about her, I really did. But she—” his eyes glassed over as if he were holding back tears. “From the moment I saw her, I couldn’t help the wave of affection that came over me. She’s the spitting image of my daughter. My daughter who was murdered on Alterra. I could never bring myself to harm Leilani, or believe anything bad of her because when I looked at her, I saw Novaria. That was, until I saw her through your Elite Guard’s mind. I finally caught a glimpse of the true Leilani and the illusion shattered.”

Luther stared down at the table, an array of memories assaulting his brain as those moments flashed through his mind. He didn’t even know Zvetari had a daughter. All of this made him realise he didn’t know his maker at all. Not one bit.

“I don’t understand. Vampires can’t procreate. The only way to create a new vampire is by turning.”

“For you and all the others, yes. It’s not the same for me. I’ve always been able to have children.” He began to pace again. “I reached out to the other Ancestral beings. Lenore and Elias, the light and dark mage, Vargas, the shifter and Praxis, the demon. Each one of their blood crystals have been stolen.”

Luther’s head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. “All of them?”

“Yes,” Zvetari growled. “There’s only one reason why someone would steal all five crystals. Individually they’re powerful artifacts, but when they’re brought together—”

“They open up a Galactic Portal,” Luther finished.

His maker nodded. “There’s a little more to it than that. But essentially, yes.”

“What else is there?”

“The crystal inside your ring is the Garnet Crystal. As you know, only a vampire can command the power of it. Well, it’s the same for the others. Only the shifters can use the Opal Crystal. Only the Mages can use the Gem Crystals. And only the demons can use the Onyx Crystal. If your skin even touched any of the other crystals, it would burn. Disintegrate right before your eyes. It would eat away at your flesh and bones like an infectious disease until you were nothing more than a pile of ash. When all the crystals are brought together, a blood offering to each crystal must be provided for the portal to open.”

Luther leaned forward, a thoughtful expression on his face. “A blood offering? So you would need the blood of a vampire to activate the Garnet Crystal? And the blood of a shifter to activate the Opal Crystal, and so on and so forth?”

“Not just any supernatural’s blood. They must be a direct descendant of an Ancestral. Otherwise, it’s not a powerful enough offering. Their blood would be diluted with generations of other genetics.”

“Okay, so you have nothing to worry about. Even if someone tries to open a Galactic Portal, it will never work. You don’t have any children, so there’s no blood for them to use to activate the Garnet Crystal.”

Zvetari averted his gaze, looking everywhere but into Luther’s eyes.

Luther clenched his fists and placed his knuckles on the table, slowly pushing himself to his feet. “Right?” he asked through gritted teeth.

His maker sighed. “I have a son. He’s missing.”

Rage blasted through Luther. Enough was enough. “Are you fucking kidding me, Zvetari?!” he roared. “How many secrets have you been keeping from me?! You knoweverythingabout me, about my entire life before and after I was turned. And all the while, you’ve done nothing but lie to me this entire time?!” Luther’s eyes burned red and his fangs snapped from his gums as an uncontrollable anger soared through him. Power burst out of him like a tidal wave and knocked Zvetari off his feet, tossing him backwards.

Zvetari’s black wings shot out of his body and with a gentle push, he righted himself, hovering lightly in the air. His feet dangled a few feet above the ground, anger and tension rippling through his body. “Because I know how much information I’ve thrown at you in the span of such a short time, I’m going to allow that.” His wings fluttered and he lowered to the floor. “But do that again and I’ll put you in your place.”

Luther grunted. He reigned in his anger even as his body shook with so much pent-up rage that he thought he might explode. He took a deep breath, trying to centre himself. He needed blood. He needed to hunt. More than anything, he needed Zamorra. Lucky for him, finding Zamorra meant finding the crystals too, because he was entirely sure Barnabas was the one who had stolen the others.

He sat back down. “Your son…he’s missing?”

Zvetari’s wings ruffled and then disappeared, folding back into place. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck. “Daeva is a nomad; he never stays in one place for too long. He likes to travel and roam the countryside, only stopping in towns to gather supplies before he’s off again. We sometimes go years at a time without seeing each other. When I found out all the blood crystals had been stolen, I tried to reach out to his mind. Even though we don’t have the best relationship, he always responds; even if it’s with some smartass comment about how he’s old enough to take care of himself and I don’t need to check in on him all the time.” He pulled at his hair, his teeth gnawing on his bottom lip. “I couldn’t reach him. It was like something was blocking the connection, stopping me from making contact. Usually I wouldn’t be worried. He’s one of the most powerful creatures on this Earth. He has all the power and abilities I do, but—”

“You’re worried,” Luther interjected.

“If this Alpha shifter who took your Garnet Ring has the other crystals, it means he knows what they can do, and he knows about the blood offering. Though I have no idea how. Taking my son would have been easier than coming for me directly.”

It made sense to Luther. He didn’t think there was anyone alive who could take his maker in a fight—himself included. Although he’d put up a hell of a fight.

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