Passion of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 5) by Bella Klaus (best motivational books txt) 📗

didn’t usually wander about the streets—at least not in their uniform—but it wasn’t unusual to catch a glimpse of one or two of them in a public space.

Beyond the glass walls was the central square, a paved area decorated with statues and fountains and stone benches. I hurried through the automatic doors, inhaling Logris’s pollution-free air.

A mild breeze swept down from the trees that separated the center from the residential villages, and I peered up into a clear sky illuminated by a pale sun that hung halfway to its zenith. Office workers swarmed the square, as did young people in black uniforms, who streamed across the courtyard to the Academy’s main entrance.

I turned to the right, in the direction of the enforcers’ barracks, looking for signs of Captain Zella. If anyone could help me collect samples, it would be her. Not only did the captain have access to the Logris central database, but her rank allowed her into private homes where I’d just be told to bugger off.

After ten minutes of walking, I found its entrance around the side of the complex and stepped into a hotel-style reception area manned by a civilian concierge wearing a white shirt and black tie.

She rose from her seat, placing a hand on her chest, and stepped back a few paces from her counter. “May I help you?”

“I’m looking for Captain Zella,” I said. “Is she in?”

Her lips thinned, and her gaze darted from side to side. Did she think I was here to reap the captain’s soul? I wanted to assure her that I wasn’t but then that might lead to a round of nosey questions I was in no mood to answer.

“Captain Zella,” I said in a much firmer voice.

“I’m not at liberty to say,” she blurted. “If you have business with her, then meet her out in the field.”

The coin in my palm warmed, and I unfurled my fingers and placed it on the counter.

Her eyes bulged, and she placed a hand over her mouth. “One moment, please.” She scurried to a computer and typed in an inquiry at a rapid pace, her gaze darting toward the coin I’d left on the counter.

It probably wasn’t a timer as Hades had claimed, but some kind of golden ticket that intimidated others into doing my bidding. Or the receptionist thought it was strange that someone wearing the uniform of a low-level angel would be in possession of a demon’s coin. My throat dried. If I wasn’t in such a hurry to save Coral from being drained of her blood, I might have given the receptionist’s behavior more thought.

“Mess hall.” She flipped up the counter and stepped out into the reception area. “I’ll walk you through.”

I followed the receptionist through a security door and down a long hallway, passing doors similar to the room I’d slept in on my first night back to Logris that didn’t involve being a prisoner. Faint chatter filled the air, which grew louder as we approached a set of double doors at the end of the corridor.

My heart thrummed with anticipation. If the captain wouldn’t help me find Coral’s samples, Hades would drag her back and hand her over to that alchemist. A shudder ran down my spine. I distrusted those who ran experiments on others and didn’t want to think of what he would do with all her blood.

The receptionist shoved open the double doors, revealing a large white room with tables of four arranged around a lounge area and a serving hatch on its right side that reminded me of the Flame’s refectory. I placed a hand over my mouth. Maybe they’d modeled it after this place—Krenik’s shadow seemed to have spent enough time in Logris, spying on others, and even harassing Coral into expressing her fire.

“She’s over there.” The receptionist pointed at a table on the far right and turned on her heel.

I thanked her and continued around the room, ignoring all the glances from the enforcers sitting around the tables. Right now, I’d rather be gaped at by people thinking I was a reaper than having them remember me from the trial and subsequent newspaper articles.

Captain Zella sat with the male and female enforcer I’d met in her van, and was deep in conversation with the man when I approached. Her female subordinate tapped her arm to catch her attention, and the captain’s gaze locked with mine.

She rose from her seat and frowned. “What are you doing here?”

I cleared my throat. “It’s about a certain Light Lord.”

She gestured at me to sit.

As I lowered myself into the seat, I leaned forward, keeping my voice low. “He’s stationed a thousand zombies—”

“What are those?” asked the female enforcer, another black-haired woman with the cool energy of a shadow mage.

I bit down on my lip. How had Hades described them? “Magicless undead?”

All three faces around the table paled, indicating that I’d gotten the wording right. The male enforcer, who I suspected was also a shadow mage, raised a mug to his lips and took a long drag of coffee.

“Why haven’t we been informed of the danger?” Captain Zella asked.

My heart sank. Valentine had told me this yesterday, and I’d slept on that information an entire night, due to a combination of overtiredness, hunger, thirst, and a yearning for thrall. If I told her that the Demon King had maneuvered me into spending hours locked in a bathroom, she’d probably think I was pathetic.

“I have no idea.” I raised my shoulders, hoping she would never discover the truth. “But we think there’s a way to destroy them without collapsing the sewers.”

“There had better be,” muttered the male enforcer. “All of Logris is built on networks of tunnels. Any disturbances, and we lose Supernet, the Hatch, heat, lighting, groceries…”

As he continued counting off all the services the average supernatural obtained from the Council, my stomach twisted into knots. Maybe that was Kresnik’s plan all along. To destroy the infrastructure of our society so he could rebuild it in his name