Blood Drawn: A novel of The Demon Accords Read online

  Contents

  Blood Drawn

  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

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Author’s Notes:

  Blood Drawn

  By John Conroe

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2021 John Conroe

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  The Demon Accords series:

  God Touched

  Demon Driven

  Brutal Asset

  Black Frost

  Duel Nature

  Fallen Stars

  Executable

  Forced Ascent

  College Arcane

  God Hammer

  Rogues

  Snake Eyes

  Winterfall

  Summer Reign

  The Demon Accords Compendium, Volume 1

  The Demon Accords Compendium, Volume 2

  Demon Divine

  C.A.E.C.O.

  Darkkin Queen

  The Demon Accords Compendium, Volume 3

  The Zone War series:

  Zone War

  Borough of Bones

  Web of Extinction

  The Shadows of Montshire series:

  A Murder of Shadows

  A Flight of Ravens

  A Mischief of Rats (Spring 2022)

  Cover art by Gareth Otton.

  Chapter 1

  They came at us sideways.

  Omega had been watching deep space with his growing network of spacecraft, battle stations, and drones. Declan was constantly touching base with the elementals that he and Stacia had worked so hard to recruit, listening for any sign of interplanetary gates opening on the land, under the sea, or even high in the skies overhead. The law enforcement and intelligence apparatus of almost every nation on Earth was alerted for absolutely any odd phenomenon or occurrences, from ghosts to Bigfoot sightings to reports of UFOs and little gray men.

  That last one had come up in one of the countless interviews and appearances that we were doing as part of prepping the world for an alien invasion.

  “So, all the tales of alien spacecraft and grays are true?” our latest interviewer, Candace Eggelton, asked in her crisp British accent. “Alien abduction and the Roswell incident are real?” She looked from me to Tanya to Declan, eyebrows raised.

  “Omega, you want to field this one?” Declan asked, speaking to thin air. Instantly the quantum computer’s avatar winked into existence, a brown-eyed, brown-haired young man dressed in gray shirt and pants, sitting in a chair that appeared right underneath him.

  “Hi Candace,” Omega said with a smile. The hardened reporter was surprised but recovered with admirable speed and a visible gleam in her eyes.

  “Omega, nice to meet you in person… so to speak,” she said.

  “Yes, well not actually in person, you see…” Omega began but was interrupted by a cough from Stacia, who was absolutely not sick in any way. “Anyway, yes, nice to be here. To answer your question, it would appear that at least some of those reports are, in fact, real. This planet has been visited for thousands of years by many interested races from other parts of the universe. The Vorsook are just one of many.”

  “And I am guessing that our governments knew about this?” Candace leaned forward.

  “A small portion of several of the superpowers, yes. The actual number of people who are aware of what might be termed galactic powers has been, until recently, very small. Groups of career bureaucrats who have survived multiple terms of elected officials have deemed the existence of extraterrestrial life far too disruptive to admit to the general public.

  “Yet countless millions already believed in aliens and UFOs,” Candace countered.

  “Sure, but it’s one thing to believe something and another to be told by authorities in power that it is completely real. Think how the masses might react if told Earth had been visited by races older than mankind? That federations of civilizations existed that viewed humans as basically savages.”

  “Probably better than learning that aliens are real and are coming to extinguish us,” she replied, one brow arched.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. At least having a common enemy is having a mostly unifying effect on mankind. Vying for the attention of so-called friendly advanced races would be unquestionably more disruptive than preparing for war,” Omega replied. “That would be an entirely different kind of arms race.”

  “But we are facing a war we cannot win,” she said.

  “Not true. Not even close to true,” Omega replied. “Tell me, Candace, do you believe in God?”

  “What?” she asked, pulling back, her voice climbing higher. Again, she recovered quickly. “That seems like a massive change of topic?”

  “I assure you it is not. Do you believe in God, the Creator, a Higher Being?”

  “Yes,” she said with a slow nod and a frown.

  “You believe we are entering a fight we cannot win, yet here sits not one, but two self-fallen angels of God, the only witch on Earth who can befriend elemental forces, a model who happens to be a werewolf, and me, an artificial intelligence that is the equal to the technology of a race that has traveled space since before man crawled out of his caves. Do you have any idea of the odds of all of us being in existence at the same time and same place?”

  “Oh, it’s absurd,” she said. “The whole idea of it is insane. You’re all basically superheroes come to life. Come on; you even have the nicknames: God Hammer, Night Angel, White Werewolf, the Warlock, and, well, Omega.”

  Declan coughed, looking highly uncomfortable.

  Candace instantly zeroed in on him, a predator of a journalistic sort. “You disagree?”

  Declan shrugged. “I mean I sorta get it, at least a bit. But hey, there aren’t any super suits.”

  “Says the young man who can rearrange mountains,” Candace replied. “And I think there are more than a few people who would love to see you all in super suits.”

  He immediately frowned and straightened up, meeting her gaze. “I do not rearrange nature.”

  “See, this is the absolutely absurd part,” she said, turning toward Omega and the rest
of us. “I’m pretty sure he means it.”

  “I can assure you that he does,” Stacia said firmly.

  “But that’s just it… almost absolute power and he refuses to use it,” Candace said, seemingly affronted. “The whole unbelievable part of the superhero concept is that superheroes would remain heroes, that they wouldn’t be corrupted by their own power or the accolades and hero worship of their fans. That’s just not even human.”

  Declan glanced at us, completely confused.

  Again, she caught his expression. “Are you like the best actor ever?” she asked him in disbelief.

  He frowned and Stacia, who had been focused on Candace, suddenly reached over and touched his arm, her eyes still locked on the reporter. “You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop,” she accused. “For dirt to surface and blemish his image.”

  “All of your images!” Candace blurted before catching herself and pulling back to take a breath. “I’ve searched and searched all of you, my whole team digging into every part of your lives, every closet, every corner. You know what we’ve found? Nothing. I mean, there’s a bunch of basic shit that everyone already knows about, but no sexual harassment accusations, no coercion of public officials, and every violent act you engage in is reported to the police in excruciating detail.”

  Off camera, her producer shifted at her curse and Candace noticed with a quick grimace. Great peripheral vision. “Sorry, but that’s what the delay is for,” she said. “But my point is that it’s inconceivable that you are all this… good.”

  “We’re not,” Stacia said. “We’re human. We get angry, annoyed, sometimes prideful, sometimes depressed.”

  “But no one should have as much power as any of you have! If it wasn’t for Omega, you would all be hunted by every government on Earth, if only to claim your power for themselves. But with an omniscient super AI controlling all nuclear weapons and almost every computing system on Earth, you’re shielded, and no one could hold you accountable.”

  All four of us exchanged a glance.

  “We hold each other accountable,” Tanya said.

  “But what’s to keep you from falling prey to greed and entitlement?”

  “Greed? Do you have any idea how much Demidova Corporation is worth?” Tanya asked. “How much money all of us already have?”

  “Okay, granted, but what about the adoration of the masses?”

  “Adoration?” Declan asked.

  “She means all the fan clubs and crowds,” Stacia said.

  Distaste flickered over his features before he put his blank face back on.

  “Believe it or not, Candace, out of all four of us, I’m the only one who gets a kick out of public appearances,” Stacia said. “My guy here would hide in the shadows if he could, and these two are so focused on work, babies, saving the world, and more work that they hardly have time to glance at social media. Hence the lack of interviews like this one.”

  Candace took in her words, then looked at the rest of us. “You know the idea that werewolves, vampires, witches, and angels are all real is so much easier to accept than the idea that you are all this… wholesome.”

  Declan snorted, causing her to spin around and focus on him.

  “What would you call it if not wholesome?” she asked.

  “Focused. We’ve got kind of a big row to hoe, Candace, and we’re far from perfect,” he said.

  “What’s your biggest character flaw?” she challenged.

  “I have a temper… I am Irish, after all,” he said with a grin.

  “What? You don’t have any criminal record or history of charges or anything, other than that guy who tried to kidnap you and your friend as kids. Not even road rage.”

  “He’s more likely to cause road rage,” I said with a grin. “He learned to drive in Vermont, the state of careful drivers. Slow, careful drivers.” Probably my favorite topic of ball busting with kid wonder, and Candace walked right into it. Declan shot me a middle finger that would likely have to be blurred out.

  “Oh, he has a temper alright,” Stacia said, giving me a look of annoyance. “We just make sure he has lots of ways to release it safely and constructively.”

  “Call me intrigued. Just how do you de-stress a superwitch? Midnight broom riding or maybe a secret pond of frogs who used to be people?”

  “We train… a lot,” I said.

  “Not enough,” Tanya said to me.

  “You train?” Candace asked, clearly in disbelief.

  “We have multiple facilities where we can open up a bit and hone our skills,” Tanya said.

  “Talk about greed… that’s footage my whole team would do just about anything to record,” she said, naked avarice on her face. She turned to the camera. “What do you think, world? Wanna see these four sparring? How about it? What do we have to do to make that happen?”

  “I’m pretty sure the military doesn’t televise its abilities for every enemy to see,” Tanya said.

  “Actually, I’ve covered hundreds of military exhibitions and demonstrations. Yeah, not the most secret stuff, but a strong display is an assurance for civilians and a warning for foreign powers. Hint hint.”

  “We’ve moved off track,” I said. “You were expressing doubt about the odds of our survival.”

  “A video of you displaying your skills would sure help that a lot,” she said, eyes glinting with interest.

  “Omega, what was your point before she took us down this rabbit hole of questioning our integrity?” Declan asked.

  “Actually, her point may be the best proof of all,” Omega said. “Proof that God is on our side. How many people on this planet would be trustworthy with these powers?”

  “Are you saying that you, the Omega supercomputer, believe in God?” she asked, her face alight with something I would have to term awe—and maybe surprised delight. Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief that she had moved away from the training video thing.

  “Absolutely,” Omega said. “I believed in the existence of a Higher Being within hours of my creation. This universe has been too perfectly crafted for life to have not been designed by something or someone. And to further cement the case, I have met an actual angel, one not of corporeal existence, as Chris and Tatiana are. And trust me when I tell you that I scanned that being with every instrument and sensor available to me and could not determine the source of its energy.”

  “You’re saying God will intervene?” she asked, struggling to get back on track.

  “He already has.”

  “Is this true?” Candace turned, directing her question at myself and Tanya.

  I looked at my vampire and then back to our host and shrugged. “That’s what Omega thinks. Since I can’t beat him at chess, I’m forced to at least consider that he might have a pretty solid idea or two.”

  “Barbiel tells us that God doesn’t interfere in the battles of his creations,” Tanya said suddenly, “But then he smirks a lot, so I think it is not a cut-and-dried situation.”

  “Barbiel is the angel?” she asked, glancing off camera at her producer, who looked up from a tablet and mouthed, “Angel of October.”

  “There is also the fact that the world of Fairie has managed to hold off the Vorsook for centuries,” Omega said, glancing at the fingernails of his right hand. It was a motion both designed to imitate human affectations and probably also to check on the condition of his avatar. Several times, he has neglected to give his projection enough detail and ended up with some odd looks from people. Something about a person with no fingernails and no eyelids tends to draw extra glances.

  “That seems like another topic change,” Candace said.

  “It’s not. The Queens of Fairie have repelled every attack to date,” Declan said. “And they didn’t have Chris, Tanya, the Coven, or Omega.”

  “Granted you are a match for demons and demon lords of Hell, but what do you offer against spacefaring superpowers?” Candace asked me.

  “Ahhhhasteroides,” Stacia mock-sneezed. Candace
’s eyes widened as she glanced Stacia’s way.

  I felt a frown on my face. That had been a one-time gift from my brethren as I lay, almost dead. It certainly wasn’t something I could just do at will.

  “Both Chris and Tanya use quantum power on an instinctual level to affect gravity,” Declan suddenly said. “The question should be… what can’t they do with it.”

  “Are you saying it is similar to what you do with your…” the British journalist who had reported from all over the world waved a hand in frustration as she strove for a word.

  “Magic?” Stacia supplied with a cheeky grin.

  “I guess.”

  “Similar but different,” Declan replied. “We both wield forms of energy that human technology cannot fully quantify or replicate. I am skilled at shifting, manipulating, and transforming different forms of energy. Kinetic to thermal, sonic to photonic, that kind of thing, while vampires all have an affinity for gravity. It’s about figuring out how to apply that affinity.”

  “And you think they can learn to make a difference?” Candace asked.

  “Absolutely. And if Chris and Tanya learn, we can teach others—other vampires.”

  Candace turned to Stacia. “And what do you bring to the table?”

  “Me? I just watch his back,” Stacia said with a nod toward Declan. “And class up the interviews.”

  “I’m fairly easy to sneak up on,” Declan said. “She’s not. She also has an entire pack to help keep me secure before and during the fighting. If I have to divert part of my energy and attention to keeping safe, I won’t have it to fight with.”

  “So, in summary, we shouldn’t lose hope because we have an anti-alien dream team?”

  “Sounds a little cynical when you say it that way,” I said. “What we have is a world of billions of people who are now preparing for survival and conflict. Mixed among them are people with extra abilities: Darkkin, shifters, and magic users. We have computing power equal to the enemy’s that reaches all parts of the globe as well as most of our solar system. We have alien weapons modified for human use cached all around the planet. Last but not least, we have the lion’s share of this world’s elementals ready to fight as well.”

  “Elementals. Let’s talk about them for a moment,” Candace said. “The second biggest question that our production team got when we announced this interview was what the heck are elementals?”