Ashes to Ashes Book One

Prologue

In the future

Millie Crown

Sebastian came toward me, that look in his eyes. There was energy there, spreading through his stiff cheeks and hard jaw. Hell, who was I kidding? Energy spread through his whole body. I didn’t need to see the magical illumination breaking around the cuffs of his expensive suit or the glimmer playing along his signet ring. It was in his eyes, in his strong shoulders, and more than anything, in the hand holding the wedding ring.

You ready? he asked in that breathless voice I was now getting far too used to.

My stomach kicked as if I’d swallowed a thousand horses. Ready? Hell no.

There’ll be no going back. Then again, it’s preferable to dying at the burning hands of a demon, isn’t it?

Preferable? I wasn’t so sure.

I….

He reached me. My hand was shivering beside me. He plucked it up. That tremble only raced into my shoulder, pushed down my back, and settled in my stomach. It got a hell of a lot worse as he angled closer. I saw the gold ring glinting in the moonlight making it in from the window behind him. It gave it this otherworldly presence. Fair enough; it was otherworldly.

Sebastian didn’t look away, not once. There could be an earthquake behind me. The whole city could fall to demons. He wouldn’t care. He only had eyes for me. And if his promise was correct, he’d only have eyes for me until the day he died.

I suddenly became aware he hadn’t taken a breath for a while. His chest froze, his muscles pushing against his expensive white shirt and crisp black tie.

… Then, in a rush, I realized I hadn’t breathed ever since he’d walked toward me. I took a rattling gasp. He didn’t shift his eyes off mine, but I knew he was well aware of every single one of my nervous symptoms. His superior vampire body would be able to track them, just like a scientist noting down every single milligram change in blood pressure, every new electrical potential racing through my heart, the temperature building across my skin, and the sweat collecting between my fingers.

From somewhere outside, I thought I heard this crack. It could have been a car approaching the manor – and maybe it had backfired. The sound was far too close to the crack of a demon’s wings, though, and I let out a scream.

At the sound of my fear, Sebastian’s body tensed. It was like his nervous system connected to mine.

He held my hand tighter. He gazed at my finger once, and as soon as he dragged his stare away, it was like the sun moving behind a cloud. But when he sliced his eyes over to me once more, intensity built in his pupils, gathering like sparks ready to surge into flames.

This was it. Everything would change from now on.

He placed the ring on my finger. I secured my eyes as tightly shut as I possibly could. I couldn’t stare at him anymore, and I sure as hell couldn’t face this moment.

Millie Crown, I do thee wed. From this day forth, you will be my bride under the auspices of the St Vern family. Those who attack you, attack me. The protection of my family now falls upon your shoulders. And the weight of your heart is now borne by my hands. From ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Only death will do us part.

It wasn’t the standard wedding vows a human like me was used to. But this was no standard wedding.

Only one thing remained. He leaned toward me, his lips close. I could feel his breath on my cheek.

And outside, that crack changed. It turned out it hadn’t been a car backfiring after all. It was a demon. And it was coming right for me.

Chapter 1

The present

Millie Crown

I thrust my hands into my pockets and stared at the TV screen past my niece’s shoulder. She was joyously bouncing up and down on the couch.

Aren’t you a little too young for this? I frowned hard, shoving my hands further into my pockets and disturbing my police tag. It was brand-new.

Because I was brand-new. Okay. That was a lie. I was not new. I was pretty crusty around the edges. But I was brand-new to the violent crimes division of the Angeles Police Force.

I’d made my way as a consultant witch up from the traffic division to violent crimes. And that was a feat indeed.

My niece, Vivian, whipped her head over her shoulder, her blond locks playing around her face. She gave me this scandalized frown. Too young for what?

I gestured toward the TV. Watching vampire romances. I mean, who even does that anymore? They had their heyday, like, 20 years ago, back when I was a kid, but times have well and truly moved on. Right? Maybe there was a hopeful note in my voice. I’d been obsessed with vampire romances as a kid. As I’d grown, I’d kind of hoped the whole world had grown up with me.

Fat chance. The world was just as obsessed with vampires as it had been when vampires had revealed themselves 50 years ago, instantaneously modernizing society while securing themselves firmly at the top of the food chain. Not, of course, that they ate humans. Or at least that’s what they told the ordinary populace.

Vivian turned her head back to the TV just as a ludicrously hot vampire grabbed some trembling woman’s hand and placed a ring on it.

Vivian clapped her hands together. This is my favorite part, she cooed. That revealed she’d seen this not just once, but probably hundreds of times, knowing her.

I winced at the TV. It was sickly sweet.

The heroine’s expression made it clear she was not, a) a heroine, and not, b) aware of how manipulative vampires were.

Yeah, before I’d joined the force, maybe I’d had the hots for them. They tended to have preternatural good looks. But after you’d dragged your first arrogant vampire in to speak for a crime, the luster quickly wore off.

On the face of it, they didn’t think they were better than humans or the meeker magical races. In practice, they knew they were at the top and could do whatever they wanted.

So I watched this scene with a slightly more learned eye. While Vivian grabbed a cushion, flopped down onto the couch, and hugged it tightly, I actually growled at the TV screen. I saved most of my attention for the vampire. He was honest to God wearing a lacy cravat. He even had a velvet suit on. It was red. Most vampires on TV wore red as if they couldn’t get away from the color of their favorite food. It would be like humans walking around dressed as steaks.

The scene lingered. Before the vamp slipped the ring onto his bride’s finger, we got a close-up of his teeth. They were too long. Trust me. I’d seen enough vampire incisors to know just how long they should be. While most of them peered just past the corner of a vamp’s lip, there were vampires with longer teeth. They were the ancestral kinds.

I didn’t deal with them too often. When I did, it was a cringe-worthy affair.

I rolled my eyes again just as the vampire finally kissed his heroine and finished securing the ring on her finger with a whispered spell.

I do thee wed, he began.

I couldn’t take this anymore. You know she is nothing more than a damsel in distress, right? I said pointedly. In the real world, you need to look after yourself. You can’t just wait for some vampire to come and sweep you off your feet. Plus, you don’t want that. You want to be in control, I emphasized as I slammed a fist into my palm.

Vivian just looked at me, her brow rumpling. You haven’t seen the whole story. She’s a kick-ass vampire hunter. She can throw a vamp across the room with nothing more than her mind.

My lips kinked into a snarl. I didn’t like it when I was wrong. Still, in a way, I was right. Sure. I don’t care how far she can throw a vampire. I care that she’s giving in to that idiot. I shrugged toward him. I mean, look at him. Arrogance oozes out of every pore.

Shame on you. Vampires are different from us. We need to accept their culture.

This has nothing to do with culture, I said, now getting really riled up. As she spoke, and as I watched, I thought of one specific vampire I’d been unlucky enough to have multiple run-ins with ever since I began my tenure as a witch consultant. He was the most arrogant of all. He was also one of the strongest vamps in the city. The richest too. And if you believed the gossip mags, he was easily one of the hottest.

I did not. I’d seen him up close. I’d had to deal with his snarling stupidity on far too many occasions to ever think he was hot again.

That’s not the point. None of this is the point. A real woman, I said, voice hard, would never give in to a dumb vamp like that.

But this is so romantic. He’s marrying her to protect her.

If she can throw a vamp across a room, why would she need protection from him? I crossed my arms.

From the damned. You don’t know anything about vampire romances. Just crawl back into that lonely little cave you live in, Auntie, and head to work before you’re late.

I spluttered as if I was a big fat balloon of anger and someone had just poked me with a pin. I’m sorry. Lonely little cave? I—

She brought up her wrist and tapped her smartwatch. Time’s ticking. You don’t want to be late for your first day in the violent crimes unit, do you? That would not go down well.

She was right. She was wrong on every other level, though. I didn’t even deign to say goodbye. I turned around fast on my foot and headed for the door.

I passed my sister, Anne, on the way.

She chuckled. Go easy on her. It’s her favorite genre at the moment.

Don’t you think she’s a little young to be watching that crap?

You read vampire romances from the age of five, she said pointedly.

I kind of hid the flush that climbed my cheeks. Whatever.

Yeah. Good luck on your first day.

I sighed. I hoped like hell I wouldn’t need it.

I walked out to a blustery breeze. It ran down the street. It soon collected the hems of my jacket and sent them whipping around my hips.

I ignored it. I settled the hope in my heart that today would be a good day.

My chief had taken a gamble on me. I wasn’t quite the witch consultant they usually had in violent crimes.

I didn’t have the requisite power, see.

Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t selling myself short. I was an absolute ace when it came to potions. I lived with my sister, and I had the whole basement. It was cram-packed with absolutely all of the greatest chemistry equipment you could imagine. I was always distilling something, always enchanting some new potion, and always preparing myself for the next battle.

Okay, I said battle, but I’d hardly ever investigated many violent incidents since I’d started working for the police 10 years ago.

That was not the point.

I didn’t have raw magic, but I had intelligence. That was better by far.

I barely made it to the car by the time my phone rang. I shoved it in its holder, turned the car on, and answered. Millie here, I muttered as I pulled out from the curb.

Don’t bother heading to the station. It was my boss, Frank Smith. He’d been my boss in the traffic unit, too. He’d hand-picked me to go on with him when he had received a promotion himself.

I frowned hard. What’s going on?

There’s been a disappearance.

Who?

Samantha Appleby.

I frowned. I don’t recognize the name—

You should. She changed her last name to her husband’s. She was Samantha Vaughn.

I clenched my teeth together and forced a whistle through them. Damn. Wait, one of the most powerful ancestral vampires in the city has gone missing? My voice shot up high.

Yeah.

So where do you want me to head?

To Franklin Quay. To the superyacht docked off it, to be exact.

Onto it.

I have high hopes for you, Millie. You might not be… as skilled in the witch department as our last consultant, but you’ve got what matters.

I grinned. Thanks, Frank. I won’t let you down.

I drove to Franklin Quay as fast as I could. Fortunately there wasn’t much traffic around. Maybe the wind kept people away. Maybe the fact it was a crisp Monday morning kept other people away, too. It looked like it would be a grim week ahead.

I knew I would’ve preferred to stay in bed a little longer.

I parked at the dock. It wasn’t hard to spot the superyacht. You could’ve seen it from space. Not only was it so big that it looked like it had swallowed every other boat, but it just drew the eye. Whichever pretentious git owned it probably had a personality twice the size of it.

And whichever pretentious git owned it was most likely a vampire.

I’d already made my peace with the fact I would be dealing with more vampires as part of this job. As I jumped out of my car, I sealed a breath deep in my chest, and I told myself I could do this.

It didn’t take long to see the other detectives. They waved me toward the yacht.

They weren’t the only ones standing outside. Besuited bouncers stood ramrod straight like tent poles. One look at them, and it was obvious they were vamps.

One look at me, and it was obvious they thought I was no threat at all. Fair enough. I was pretty small, and I certainly didn’t give the impression of someone magical in the first place.

I yanked my tag out of my pocket and secured my lanyard around my neck.

Phillip Jones stood close by one of the bouncers. I’d done a short stint with him on a combined case a while ago. We’d become fast friends.

He grinned and gestured me toward the gangplank. The boss is waiting upstairs. You ready for your first day?

I flashed him a smile. I think what you meant to ask is whether Angeles City is ready for my first day. I’m gonna become a hell of a witch consultant.

He laughed. Maybe others thought I came across as arrogant, but that wasn’t in my tone. It was just pure playfulness.

Trust me, Millie, Angeles will never be ready for you.

I conceded his point just as