Fatal Glamor

  Fatal Glamor

  Nox: Sorceress: Book One

  J.C. Diem

  Copyright © 2021 J.C. DIEM

  www.jcdiem.com

  All rights reserved. Published by Seize The Night Publishing Agency.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Titles by J.C. Diem in chronological order:

  Chapter One

  A WEEK HAD PASSED SINCE Eden had died. Sorcha’s fury and grief at losing her best friend hadn’t subsided yet. The Immortal Triumvirate hadn’t bothered to contact the final two members of the Assassin Guild. The sorceress wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t as if the fairy lord, master vampire and alpha werewolf actually cared about them.

  “We’re just tools to them,” Sorcha muttered as she added ingredients to her cauldron. She was brewing a potion to calm her rage that was showing no signs of going away.

  While Wort had trained her and her two friends to kill, she’d had to learn how to use magic by trial and error. Most of it was innate and came to her naturally. She’d never needed to use a wand to cast enchantments.

  Thinking about the satyr who had used his fists and hooves to beat them into shape darkened Sorcha’s already foul mood. Wort had trained them to use a variety of weapons to kill their targets, but they generally used magic to take their marks down. Eden had been able to seduce her targets and drained their lives away with a deadly kiss. Malachi could do the same thing, but he didn’t reduce his victims to withered husks like his half-sister had been able to.

  Fresh grief at thinking about Eden in the past tense made Sorcha hunch over slightly. If her hair had been white rather than blonde, she probably would have looked like an aged hag brewing something horrible in her cauldron. A ghost of a smile at that thought touched her lips, but it was gone before it could form properly.

  After mixing a few calming herbs together, Sorcha infused her potion with a touch of magic, then poured it into a mug. She sniffed the concoction and winced at the acrid odor. “Why do my potions always smell so bad?” she complained, then took a gulp and swallowed it down. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she had to fight to keep it down. “Gah! That was horrible!” she said, but at least it was working. Her rage was already ebbing, so she quickly drank the rest of the vile brew.

  Now that her anger was at a manageable level, Sorcha left her conjuring den and crossed the hall to her bathroom. She rinsed her mouth out and brushed her teeth, then stared at her reflection. Her usually gold skin tone was paler than usual and her silver-gray eyes looked haunted. She had no idea if the man who had killed Eden was still alive or not. If he was, she hoped she would be given the order to kill him. He’d only defended himself from being murdered, but it was hard for her to care. Her best friend was gone and she had a huge void in her life now.

  A fluttering noise came from the hallway, then a letter zoomed into the bathroom. “Great,” she said with a grimace and grabbed it. It was an order for her to eradicate someone in the Fae District. The spell that linked her to both her target and the person who had given her the order kicked in. Sorcha hated the oily feeling of the enchantment that lurked in the back of her head. It was like having a tiny troll in her brain, prodding her to go into action and kill her mark.

  While Eden had usually been sent to target men and Malachi had mostly been tasked with assassinating women, Sorcha handled all genders and species. That included some she wished she’d never been sent to eliminate. “Stupid demons,” she murmured as she headed down the hall to her bedroom. It had been a few months since she’d assassinated Beleth, but the hell spawn were still hunting for her.

  Winter in Nox was usually brutal and this year was no different. She chose a thick coat to cover her jacket and trousers. Sorcha mostly wore gold, cream and white clothing that the magic of Nox provided for her. She didn’t need to worry about anyone seeing her face while she was on her missions. She was adept at hiding what she really looked like behind a glamor spell.

  At that thought, she glanced into the full-length mirror that hung on one of the doors of her closet. She created an illusion that made her look shorter, plumper and made her hair look black. Not even Eden or Malachi could recognize her now. Another stab of pain speared through her when she thought about the succubus, but it was muted, thanks to her potion.

  Sorcha pulled on a pair of white snow boots and headed downstairs. She couldn’t hear Malachi in the training room or in the living room as she let herself out through the back door. She hadn’t seen him at all during the past few nights. He was grieving for his half-sister, so she’d decided to give him the solitude he seemed to need.

  The sorceress trudged a few blocks away from the four story building she called home. Looking around to make sure no one was nearby, she stepped into the shadows and teleported to the Fae District. Sorcha knew this District well. She’d eliminated hundreds of targets here over the past decade. She’d aimed for a spot in a grove near the elven woods and appeared on where she’d aimed for. The trees sheltered her from the snow that began to fall. She pulled her hood up to shield herself when she stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  Although Sorcha had been given the fairy’s address, she didn’t really need it. The spell in her head led her straight to the mansion where her target resided. The prodding became stronger and more insistent the closer she drew to the building. Sorcha camouflaged herself with an enchantment to blend in with a hedge across the street. She cautiously sent her senses into the house, so she could get a sense of how many beings were inside.

  Her magic swept forward and infiltrated the house. A dozen fairies of varying strength were inside. Her target was the strongest. She was surrounded by family members and guests. Sorcha didn’t have enhanced hearing, but she wasn’t interested in listening to their conversation. For a few moments, she contemplated asking the fairy if she could break the link between her and her overlords, but discarded it. It would take someone with a lot more power
than her mark possessed to help her.

  Someone approached the house and she quickly withdrew her magic from the building. When she saw it was just a courier carrying a package, she laughed at herself for being so jumpy. He flicked a look in her direction and she froze. His eyes passed over her and she relaxed again. He was just a lackey and there was no way he could possibly know she was there.

  The courier walked along the path and knocked on the door. It was opened by a servant and he was ushered inside. Sorcha wouldn’t be able to enter the house so easily. Permission was needed to gain entrance. It would be too dangerous for her to pose as a courier. She couldn’t get close enough to the inhabitants for them to sense her power far exceeded theirs. All magic users were members of the Magic Guild. They would know something was wrong when they didn’t recognize her. As usual, she needed to hide in the shadows and strike from a distance in order to take her quarry down.

  Chapter Two

  KADE SINCLAIR WAS LOST in thought as he carried a package towards a mansion in the Fae District. He’d gained a lot of power after he’d formed a triumvirate with Sebastian and Raum, yet he had to pretend that he hadn’t changed. He’d come up with a spell that hid his strength from others a few nights ago. For now, he had to continue with the ruse that he was just a low-level lacky of the Magic Guild.

  A wry smile touched his face as he neared his destination. He heard a low laugh coming from somewhere nearby, as if someone had read his thoughts and agreed with him. His head turned and he scanned the street. A woman was standing in front of a hedge across the road. Her face was hidden by her hood, but her posture was fearful. She flickered strangely and he realized she was hiding behind a camouflage spell. He’d always had the ability to see through glamor, but hers was pretty good. It looked like she didn’t want to be noticed, so he pretended he couldn’t see her and walked down the path to the house.

  Kade knocked on the door and a servant opened it. “Good, you’re finally here,” the young fairy said with a scowl. She was so weak in power that her wings had vanished sometime after the Energy Tax had been introduced. “Come in,” she snapped in annoyance, treating him like he was even lower on the fae hierarchy than she was.

  “I’m just supposed to drop off this package,” Kade said, but he entered the house as he’d been directed.

  “My mistress wants you to take a parcel back to the Magic Guildhall,” the servant said and pointed at him. “Stay there and don’t move!” She took the package from him and hurried towards the staircase.

  Kade looked around at the grand house and compared it to his mansion. His house was larger and more opulent, which befitted his new status, or so Nox had decided. It had been a shock to find the City of Night had chosen a new place for him to live. It seemed not all of the magic that fueled the city was being hoarded by the Immortal Triumvirate. There was still enough left for Kade and his new allies to utilize for their own means.

  A tea party was being held on the floor above him. He heard the tinkling of laughter and voices coming from the top of the stairs. There was a lull in the conversation when the servant reached them, then it started up again. Kade cautiously sent his magic out, questing for someone powerful enough to become his potential partner. The mistress of the house was strong, but nowhere near powerful enough to suit his needs.

  He sensed her leaving the room and followed her progress as she moved towards the front of the house. The warlock withdrew his magic before anyone could sense it, then waited for the servant to bring him the package.

  A couple of seconds later, he felt a spike of strangely familiar magic, then a piercing scream came from upstairs. He raced up the stairs to see what had happened. The party guests spilled out from a sitting room and he followed them to a small den. A fairy Kade assumed was the mistress of the house was lying on the floor next to a window. A hole had been burned through the window and through her head. It was so precise that it had killed her instantly.

  “Someone killed her with black magic!” one of the guests exclaimed in horror as the deceased’s family wailed in grief.

  Kade knew it wasn’t black magic that had murdered the fairy, but he wasn’t sure exactly what it had been. He crossed to the window and peered down to see the woman dressed in white staring up at him. She must have heard the scream and was wondering what was going on.

  His eyesight was far better than his hearing. The warlock saw she was wearing a glamor spell of a fairly ordinary person as well as the camouflage spell. He saw beneath the enchantment to her stunning face. Her skin had a gold tinge to it and her eyes were a beautiful silver-gray. Her body was slender and just as gorgeous as her face.

  A carriage rumbled between them, blocking her from his curious gaze. When it moved out of the way, she was gone. He figured the screams had scared her into running down an alley between two houses. He scanned the house across the street, trying to figure out where the assassin had struck from. All the windows were shut and he couldn’t see any faces pressed up against the glass. The killer must have been on the roof when he’d assassinated his victim. It was highly likely that the culprit was long gone by now.

  “We have to inform Guild Master Onvier about this!” one of the grieving fairies said. “You!” she exclaimed, pointing at the lowly courier. “Go to the guildhall and advise our Guild Master of this murder at once!”

  “Yes, my lady,” Kade said obediently. She could have sent Guild Master Onvier letter, but she clearly didn’t want to use her reserves of magic to do it.

  “Take this,” the servant said and pressed the package her mistress had wanted him to deliver to the guildhall into his hands. “Give it to whoever is working at the reception desk.”

  He nodded, then took the package. On his way past the deceased fairy, he gazed at the wound on her forehead and frowned. He was far from an expert on injuries, but something about it seemed wrong. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

  Kade left the house and closed the door behind him. He felt bad for the poor family who had just lost someone they’d loved. He’d lost his mother during his childbirth and his adoptive parents from old age. He didn’t even know who his father was, or if he was still alive.

  Snow was falling faster now, but his dark red cloak and hood sheltered him from the weather. He figured he would have a long walk back to the Magic Guildhall, but he found he was in luck when a carriage pulled up. That had been happening more and more often since he’d formed a triumvirate. His standing had become greatly enhanced. The city itself deemed him to be important enough for the undead chauffeurs to stop for him.

  The skeleton’s bones creaked as it turned to look down at him. “I need to go to the Magic Guildhall,” Kade told it. It nodded and he opened the door and climbed in. The black carriages were identical. They had plush black seats and dimly lit lanterns on either side to light the way. The creature’s Night Cursed tattoo was branded on the back of its skull. All skeletons wore their mark in that spot.

  Kade found himself studying his driver during the journey. He wondered how the Immortal Triumvirate had pulled off the hex that had affected millions of civilians. Sebastian believed Lord Dallinar, Lord Kreaton and Lord Graham had been behind the deaths of their own families. He thought it had given the trio the power to create the curse and Nox to house them in.

  “Maybe he’s right,” the warlock murmured. He could feel the strange magic that linked the cursed to their creators. It had black magic and demonic magic mixed in with it. Raum hadn’t admitted that he’d helped the trio craft their hex, but Kade was pretty sure the Demon Guild Master had been involved in it.

  He let out a small sigh that he’d become linked to two evil creatures. Sebastian didn’t seem so bad, especially now that he was bonded to Eden. The succubus had boosted the master vampire’s powers and she’d changed him in the process. While Sebastian didn’t have a soul of his own, he was now sharing hers. It had given him back a trace of the humanity that he’d lost when he’d been turned over a thousan
d years ago.

  It was unlikely that the same thing would happen to Raum. The demon lord was evil through and through. While he seemed pleasant enough on the surface, Kade had sensed what he was really like. It would take a woman with incredible fortitude and determination to stand up to a creature as ruthless as his demonic ally.

  His musings ended when the carriage reached the City Square and the driver pulled up in front of the Magic Guildhall. Kade climbed out and nodded his thanks, then the skeleton set the vehicle into motion again. The warlock paused to glance around the square. The fountain that depicted their rulers hadn’t changed since the night they’d stolen the energy from the Night Cursed population. It had been the first sign that things had changed drastically for the City of Night. Their actions had resulted in the ruination of everyone, except for the wealthy and privileged. Everyone else was weak, starving and increasingly stricken by poverty.

  Everything would change once Kade and his allies gained enough power to challenge the current rulers of Nox. Once he and Raum found their matches, they intended to destroy the Immortal Triumvirate. What none of their small number of allies knew was that the city itself would most likely cease to exist once its creators fell.

  Guilt followed in Kade’s footsteps as he took the stairs and passed between the gigantic stone statues. The robed figures seemed to frown down at him in disapproval as he opened the door and stepped inside. Kade had no intention of speaking to Onvier himself. He approached the wizard who was manning the reception desk and handed the package to him. “I was asked to pass on a message to Guild Master Onvier,” he said after the wizard took the parcel.

  “What’s the message, then?” the wizard asked impatiently.

  “Another fairy was murdered by magic in the Fae District tonight,” Kade said and gave him the address. “I’d better get going,” he added as the wizard gaped at him. Dawn was only a couple of hours away now and his colleague assumed he’d have to walk home. Kade was glad he was classed as the lowest of the low. He wasn’t important enough for their Guild Master to want to question him personally about the latest murder.