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“Thank you.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Edward left Cooper in the library, where he was investigating the books, maps, and artwork therein. He promised to not be long since traveling from California to Florida took him mere seconds. He went directly to Niemi's office in downtown Miami, but the place was empty. No secretaries, office personnel, or security no one was present, and it was mid-day in Miami.
When he was transported to Niemi's ocean-view penthouse, he got his answers. The place was destroyed, and among the debris, there were bodies. Norman Niemi and his operation here and downtown had been wiped out in a very loud and messy manner. Niemi was there amongst the destruction, what was left of him at least. It would seem that someone had beaten him to the threat removal.
Edward opened his senses and took in the area attempting to identify who was responsible. They didn't care about being heard or seen, so they were not vampires or shifters. Only mages were this careless, and it would have taken a powerful mage to rain down this much pain and misery.
Whoever they were, they took the precaution of covering their own scent but not the scent of their toadies. The underlings were coarse and gritty and made of heavy mist, so the leader was either a sorcerer or a warlock. They were the only magic practitioners who made and used minions. The scene was brutal and thorough. Whatever Niemi did to piss them off was enough to cause his entire takedown.
Edward planned to remain aware of the actions from this day. Niemi was pulling out the stops to locate and capture Cooper so Edward would not let his guard down, even with Niemi no longer in the picture. There was something bigger going on there, and he would not risk Cooper's safety. They would remain at the castle until he had a better understanding of the situation that was unfolding.
Louis was meeting with Ismael and Silas regarding the new team of guards that carry the Cyprian sword. Louis had them protecting the palace, but now he believed that they should be broken into small groups of perhaps five that would patrol the grounds. The threat of magics was returning with the sudden pall in the air that Louis could not identify, and he wanted to be ahead of the problem and not wait for it to come knocking on his door.
"I agree the palace is secure with you and me and Silas carrying the power of the sword and with the skill of our guard force. The grounds need to be secure as well. Letting anything get too close is a recipe for disaster. Keep them on the back heel and keep them out of our territory, and the new team of guards is perfect for such an undertaking." Ismael was on board Silas also agreed but also added his recommendation.
“It would be beneficial; I believe in having Valerian Keller lead one of these smaller teams. He has skill with the darkness that we have not yet begun to realize. As a hellhound, his abilities and understanding of the darkest of the dark continually impress me. He hasn't said anything about it, but I suspect he has spent time in the darkness beyond his hellhound origination." Silas addressed both Louis and his father.
Everyone was accepting of this suggestion, and Louis was about to comment when the sorcerer Batiste appeared in the room, walking purposefully out of the shadow cast by the thick velvet curtains near the balcony windows. He was serious and focused, and that had everyone on alert, for this man was a consummate joker who took nothing seriously.
"You have trouble coming your way." He stated in a tone that gave everyone a slight chill. "I don't know when, but it will be soon." Louis stepped forward, demanding an explanation.
"I'll make it brief, so listen closely." He prefaced in his usual form. "Marsden, a warlock of considerable skill, is hunting the mage that you held here briefly. He believes the pure blood of this mage will allow him to walk in the light and not be forever doomed to the shadows. He is also aware that this mage is with the Black Prince." Batiste walked toward them, and his gravity swelled.
"Marsden has no access to the Black Prince, no way to find him or to get close. He does know that the Prince has seen and spoken to no one in nearly seven centuries until two days ago when he contacted Louis DuCane. Marsden plans to go through you to get to the Prince with the goal of capturing the mage."
"That doesn't make sense. How can Louis find the Prince? No one knows his whereabouts." Ismael countered.
"It doesn't matter if it makes sense. It is what the warlock plans, and he will do whatever he needs to do to get what he wants. The last person who got in the way of his search for this mage is now spread to the four winds along with his associates." Batiste looked almost sympathetic, another expression that was alarming to see on a character such as Batiste.
"He's powerful, and he is on his way here. Prepare yourself." With that, the sorcerer disappeared.
“Why didn’t Batiste himself do something about Marsden if he is such a threat?” Silas grumbled.
"He doesn't get involved anymore. Apart from issuing warnings or providing information, I think it has to do with his vow to follow the laws of magic and not play games or interfere destructively. Before he bonded with that vampire from Hadden's Coven, he was a terror and as bad as any warlock, but since then, he has, like the Black Prince, sought to improve himself." Louis informed. "I have no doubt we can deal with this warlock on our own." He pulled his blade from his jacket, as did Ismael and Silas.
They began making plans and moving the guards to the outer edges of the property, along with enhancing their magical shields, when Louis received a message indicating that there were intruders in the hedge garden. He and the others raced to the location specified in the warning, a system that had been set up by Easton to aid in the defense of the coven lands, and what he found shattered his heart.
Cooper was feeling on edge ever since Edward left to take care of business. He was pretty certain the business involved Norman and the man's relentless drive to capture Cooper and bring him back to Miami. He probably wanted to make an example of him for screwing with him, but it felt like more than that, and it felt so much darker than Norman's usual shadiness. He pushed it from his thoughts, not wanting his issues with Norman and that bunch to dampen the joy he feels and finding and bonding with his true mate.
Edward still had secrets, and he admitted as much, and Cooper wondered what they were and how they would affect him and their union. Nothing could be so bad as to take away from the amazing feelings pumping through him after being marked and claimed by such a man as Edward. He gave him a bit of background when he spoke of his father and the disappointment he held, but not much else. Edward was an ancient that was obvious, and he was a noble also obvious, but that was all Cooper knew for sure.
He walked around the library thinking, and suddenly his eyes fell upon an old bible, very old leather bound with brass buckles. He pulled it out from beneath a few other books on the shelf and took it over to the padded bench under the stained glass window. Sometimes people put family genealogies in Bibles, and he hoped it might give him some clarity.
The book was older than he could have imagined, and the information within was more surprising than he'd expected. He found a reference to Edward, Prince Edward's heir to the throne. Cooper knew it was him because they included a nice royal portrait. Apart from the hair, which was quite long in the portrait, they were unmistakably the same man.
His father was King Edward The Third of England, and he had a son Prince Edward of Angouleme, who died at the age of five years. They mention a wife, some Princess Joan from the County of Kent in England. That was some news, and Cooper wasn't sure how to process the wife and son. Edward hadn't mentioned that he'd been married, but then Cooper never asked.
About two years after his son's death Prince Edward was removed from the line of succession and dubbed the Black Prince. His father, King Edward mourned the loss of his son and his grandson to the day he died. Cooper continued reading, and the fact that struck him most was that this entire family was human, and yet Edward was a vampire. It didn't fit with what he understood about the paranormal.
He was well and truly confused and set the bible beside him on the bench. Did he just bond with a man that had a wife somewhere? If Edward was a vampire, was his wife also a vampire, and if so, then she too could still be alive. His previous joy was fast draining away as all the possibilities came rushing to the surface and filled his thoughts.
He noticed Edward when he entered the room and began walking toward him. His expression tightened, and his steps accelerated when he saw the pain that Cooper tried to hide but clearly failed.
"What's wrong? What happened?" He took a seat next to Cooper and tried to pull him into his arms, but Cooper resisted. He needed his head to be clear, so he kept a few inches between them. Cooper placed his hand on the bible lying next to him, and Edward seemed to understand.
"You read about me?" He asked, and Cooper nodded but did not look at him. "I planned on telling you." He began, and Cooper suddenly burst out with his fears.
