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"Cicely? Look." Rhiannon turned around, holding one of the books she'd picked up off the shelf.
A strange tingling started through my hand as I reached out to take the volume from Rhiannon. The energy surrounding the book was frightening, wild, ancient. I didn't know if I really wanted to touch it, but I had no choice. I had to look. The tome was large, with a navy cover. I flipped open the cover--which was blank--and read the title, which appeared only on the inside.
The Rise of the Indigo Court.
"It would seem we've found an answer."
"Somehow, I think your answer is just going to lead to more questions," Anadey said, glancing at it. "Why do I feel like we're opening Pandora's box?"
"Because we are." And I opened it to the first page.
Chapter 6
I slowly made my way to the dining room table, and the others followed me. Setting the book on the table, I opened it to the first yellowed page. The words were handwritten, in a tight, clear text. Old ink. Old pages. The smell of library dust and time gone by.
Steeped in a secrecy far deeper than even that of the Unseelie Court is the Indigo Court. While the Unseelie are nefarious and dangerous, the Indigo Court are considered the Fallen Fae, corrupt for they not only bear their own bloodline, but the blood of the Vampire Nation. The merging of the two races evolved into a breed stronger than either, and yet with their own unique vulnerabilities.
I stopped, looking up. "Vampiric Fae?" The thought made me cringe. Somehow that just seemed . . . so wrong. "I've never heard of them before. Has Leo ever mentioned them? He works for the vampires."
Rhiannon shook her head.
"I've never heard of them either, but obviously Mother knew about them or she wouldn't have the book." Anadey leaned in to look over my shoulder.
"How did they start? How on earth could the vampires mix with the Fae? Did they turn them like they do humans?" Peyton looked as confused as I felt.
I skimmed through until I came to a passage that seemed to answer her question.
Some thousand years ago, a scouting group from the Vampire Nation led by Geoffrey the Great attempted a raid on the Unseelie Court. They took prisoners--a group of the bewitching dark Fae. Intent upon siring the women as vampires in order to infiltrate the Unseelie, they used the techniques that they'd always used successfully on humans.
What they did not expect was for the women--nearing death and forced to drink of the vampires' blood--to live and regain their strength at an alarming rate. But the vampire blood had changed their makeup.
First, the vampires quickly discovered their new daughters weren't bound to them the way humans would be. Second, the Unseelie women could still use most of their magic, as well as having the vampires' strength. But they'd shifted even further into the shadow realm.
The Vampiric Fae quickly took control of their captors, forcing them to bring in males of their race and turn them. Since the Vampiric Fae are alive, rather than undead, they can still mate. Their offspring keep all characteristics from their parents.
A war broke out within the Unseelie Court, who considered the tainted Fae to be abominations, and the Fallen Fae were cast out, pariah. These nests of living vampires--the Vampiric Fae--were driven off, but only due to their lack of numbers.
Ruthless, far more terrifying than either of their sires, they crossed an ocean and retreated into the dark forests to create their own social structure. The Indigo Court is ruled over by Queen Myst, the Mistress of Mayhem, the original Faerie who was turned by the vampires. She is awesome in her beauty, seducing before she strikes.
Over the years, the Indigo Court faded from view while growing in numbers and strength. The Vampire Nation has sworn they will gain revenge for their defeat and humiliation. A prophecy of theirs, first put forth by Crawl, the Blood Oracle, discusses the breakout of an eventual war between the two races.
"Holy fucking hell." I pushed the book back. "We're facing a group of living, breathing Vampiric Fae. And their mortal enemies are the . . . I guess you'd call them the true vampires."
The thought washed over me like a river of glacial water, as chilling as the huge mountains of ice they came down from. Queen Myst . . . Grieve had mentioned she now ruled the forest. We were living next to a nest of vipers, of hunters. Predators, first created by . . .
"I wonder, is that the Geoffrey that we know? Regent for this area?"
Anadey shook her head. "I don't know, but he's old enough to be the one."
"And Myst lives in the forest next to our home," Rhiannon whispered, voicing my thoughts.
I shivered, feeling an alarm ring in the pit of my stomach. "And now they're ready to climb out of obscurity, back into the light. That could well mean the destruction of everyone and everything they touch. And . . . I think they've turned Grieve."
I crossed to the window and stared out. The snow was back, lightly drifting down. If we were right, the world had just turned upside down and we were a step away from chaos. I turned back to the others.
"So what do we do to stop them?"
Anadey let out a long sigh. "I suppose we find out what their weaknesses are. We have to scour that book for information. Rhiannon, Leo works as a day runner. Do you think he can ask his employers about the Indigo Court? Apparently they hate each other so much the true vampires believe there's a war coming. We might find out some useful information from them."
