The Scarlet Deep Read online

  Contents

  The Scarlet Deep

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  Preview: A Very Proper Monster

  About the author

  Acknowledgements

  Also by Elizabeth Hunter

  Praise for the Elemental World

  Copyright

  On the waves of the North Atlantic, a poison spreads, sapping the life from humans and striking madness into immortals.

  THE SCARLET DEEP

  Patrick Murphy, the immortal leader of Dublin, has been trying to stem the tide of Elixir washing into his territory, but nothing seems to stop the vampire drug. While others in the immortal world work to cure the creeping insanity that Elixir brings, Murphy has been invited to London to join a summit of leaders hoping to discover who is shipping the drug. If Murphy and his allies can cut off the supply, they might be able to halt the spread long enough for a treatment to be found for the humans and vampires infected.

  Anne O’Dea, Murphy’s former lover, retreated from public life over one hundred years ago to help immortals in need… and to heal her own broken heart. Though powerful connections keep her insulated from the violence of vampire politics, even Anne is starting to feel the effects of Elixir in her isolated world. The human blood supply has been tainted, and with Anne’s unique needs, even those closest to her might be in danger. Not just from infection, but Anne’s escalating bloodlust.

  When Anne and Murphy are both called to London, they’re forced to confront a connection as immortal as they are. As they search for a traitor among allies, they must also come to terms with their past. Behind the safe façade of politics, old hungers still burn, even as an ancient power threatens the fate of the Elemental World.

  THE SCARLET DEEP is the third full novel in the Elemental World series.

  THE SCARLET DEEP

  An Elemental World Novel

  Elizabeth Hunter

  For my dear friend Sarah

  You have been a source of joy, wisdom,

  generosity, and enthusiasm for so many years now.

  What a year you’ve had, my friend.

  I only wish hugs could cross oceans.

  Consider this book my hug.

  Water, water, every where,

  And all the boards did shrink;

  Water, water, every where,

  Nor any drop to drink.

  —The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

  Prologue

  WHEN SHE DREAMED, she dreamed of death and madness. Of the deep and of forgotten things. The moon shone full through the water, and the drifting weeds surrounded her as she stared into the night sky.

  The water enveloped her. The pulse of the current took her, and she drifted deeper.

  Past the edge of land.

  Beyond the silken brush of reeds.

  She sank past the touch of moonlight, where the chill of the water crept into her bones and settled her soul.

  But the hunger…

  The ever-present gnaw in her belly, like the ache of a newborn, stalked her.

  In the cradle of darkness, she bit down and drank her own blood.

  Chapter One

  THE MAN SAT ACROSS from Murphy with desperate, angry eyes. He knew he had no recourse . Nothing he could say to the vampire leader of Dublin would make Patrick Murphy change his mind.

  Perfect.

  “Andrew,” Murphy said, his voice cool, “what did you think was going to happen? Did you think I was going to sit idly by and watch as you tried to maneuver the Blue Delta contract out from under me? That was my contract, Andrew. Just because the Americans will always go with the lowest bidder doesn’t make that the way we do business.”

  “Mr. Murphy—”

  “Just Murphy, Andrew.” He spread his hands, palms up. “We’re not strangers. I thought I knew you better than this. Thought we had respect between us.”

  He saw Brigid roll her eyes in the corner, but he ignored her. His eyes kept focus on the nervous human across from him.

  Garvey wore a work shirt and pants. His clothes and carriage spoke of a man who worked on the water and had since he was a boy. But Murphy also noted that the man’s shirt was carefully pressed, even if the pocket was torn. Murphy noted things like that because the measure of a man was often seen in the details.

  Garvey was no slob; he had ambition.

  Nor was he a threat to Murphy. The man knew about vampires; his father had worked in the docklands before him and knew how things ran. The American contract was Murphy’s to turn down. He had a reputation to maintain after all. He needed to make a point with the human, and he wouldn’t let a little thing like actual business interests stand in his way.

  “I do respect you, Murphy.” Garvey’s voice said one thing, but his eyes said frustration. The young man had grown up working with his dad and had hustled through the grey areas of the docklands in order to improve his lot. Murphy could respect that. He also knew that Garvey was leaning closer to the darker shades of grey on a few deals lately. “You know my da—”

  “Never would have expected Tim’s son to pull something like this.” Murphy made sure to keep his voice low. He didn’t need to project anger. Not anymore. He was aiming for disappointment. “I had people lined up for that contract, Andrew.”

  He hadn’t.

  “I had plans for those people.”

  He didn’t.

  “And now what do I tell them, Andrew? What do I tell those people who were counting on me?”

  Murphy took a deep, considering breath he didn’t need. Vampires, after all, had no need to breathe. As long as he had blood and water to draw his elemental strength, he’d last until God and all the saints returned. The breath wasn’t for Murphy, the breath was for Andrew Garvey.

  He looked down and shuffled some papers on his desk. Papers he’d had his assistant, Angie, bring in a few moments after Andrew Garvey had sat down across from his desk. He lifted up the “Blue Delta Industries” file and paged through it.

  You’re a bastard, the first paper read.

  Murphy didn’t let the smile break through his solemn exterior as he perused the papers Angie had typed out at her desk outside his office.

  You had no interest in that shipping contract until you heard Blue Delta went to a human first.

  He flipped through them one by one, scanning the mostly blank pages as Garvey squirmed across from him.

  Pint after work, boss? One of the new lads thinks he can beat you, and I need the money. Declan must have slipped that one in. Declan was full of it. Murphy knew the man lived like a monk and saved like a miser. He didn’t need the money. He just wanted to show the new employees what was what.

  Andrew Garvey is a nice young man, and his wife just had a baby girl.

  Angie was being a touch dramatic, wasn’t she? It wasn’t as if he was going to kill the human. He just needed
to scare him. And maybe remind Garvey why Murphy had been stricter about who did business on his docks the past few years. Despite what Angie thought, this was about more than just a minor human shipping contract.

  “I expected courtesy from Tim Garvey’s son.” Murphy steepled his fingers together and leaned his elbows on his desk.

  “I never intended…”

  Murphy brought his dark eyes up to lock on Garvey’s exasperated gaze, and the man fell silent.

  “It’s not respectful to bring cargo into my city without knowing what it is, Andrew.”

  The human’s face want from frustrated to downright pale.

  “I… There hasn’t been any—”

  “Don’t ever lie to me.”

  Garvey shut his mouth.

  “It’s one thing to take a bit that doesn’t go on the books.” Murphy’s voice was barely over a whisper. “We’ve all shipped a few crates of this and that, haven’t we?”

  Garvey was trying to smile, but it wasn’t working. “Just a few crates, sir. Even my da—”

  “But you didn’t know what was in those crates, did you? And ‘we don’t ask questions’ isn’t an acceptable answer anymore, Andrew. Not for anyone who wants to call me a friend.”

  Murphy had him. Andrew Garvey had gone from confused, to irritated, to angry, to frustrated, and now he was at defeated.

  Garvey knew the vampire had laid down the law among those in the know that he would be watching more closely. The drug problem had gone out of control, and one drug in particular had devastated his city only two years before. A drug there was no cure for yet. A drug that killed both humans and vampires.

  Elixir.

  It was supposed to be a cure-all, for mortal and immortal alike. Healing power for humans and a cure for bloodlust all at once.

  It wasn’t.

  “I want to keep my friends in business, Andrew. And I can’t do that if they’re not open with me.”

  Garvey leaned forward. “I want to make this right.”

  Gotcha.

  Murphy took another deep breath as Brigid had a suspicious coughing fit in the corner of the room.

  “I know you do, lad.”

  “How do I make this right?”

  “The Blue Delta contract—”

  “Is yours.” The human nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll withdraw my bid tomorrow.”

  “Now, now.” Murphy held up a hand. “You already have time and money invested in that. I’m not interested in putting you out of business. I need good people around. Dependable ones.”

  Garvey nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.”

  “You’ve a family, don’t you, Andrew?”

  “Yes, sir.” He saw the man grow pale.

  Christ, maybe he did need to lay off a bit. He wasn’t going after the human’s little wife and babies.

  Murphy let a smile touch his lips. “I consider my employees my family.”

  “I know you do, sir.” Garvey relaxed a bit.

  “I take care of the people who take care of me. And I know you’re just as interested—being a family man—in making the city as safe as it can be.”

  “I am, Murphy.”

  Murphy let the silence fall between them as he stared at Garvey. He could hear the man’s pulse pick up.

  It was difficult—very difficult—to not see the man as prey when his heart beat like that. The scent of his fear filled the room. The tang of adrenaline. Murphy glanced back at Brigid to see the younger vampire staring at the back of Garvey’s neck with heated eyes.

  “Tóg go bog é,” he said in a voice only she would hear. Take it easy.

  Brigid was younger and still struggled with control. He could feel the room heat up from her amnis. While Murphy’s elemental affinity was water, Brigid’s was fire.

  Unstable. Highly dangerous. And excellent for his reputation. It was worth putting up with her temper if it meant having a fire vampire on his payroll.

  “No more unquestioned cargo,” Murphy said quietly. “It’s not a friendly thing to do.”

  “Sure thing, Murphy.”

  “And I know you’ll be taking a hit,” he added. “I’ll keep that in mind. I have some contracts I could use a sub for. Local jobs.”

  The human’s face had morphed from scared to grateful. “You’d do that?”

  “I told you, Andrew. I take care of my friends.”

  “Some of these lads—”

  “I can send Tom or one of my people around more,” Murphy said. “Make sure everyone knows where things stand with you and me. Make sure no one causes trouble. If that would suit you, of course. It’s your business, Andrew.”

  Garvey nodded. “I’d be grateful.”

  And I’ll be grateful for that fat envelope I know you’ll have ready.

  Murphy picked up the fake file and shuffled a few more papers.

  The last in the stack read, Don’t make me poison your tea, Patrick. It won’t kill you, but it will give you an awful stomachache you will deserve one hundred percent.

  He let the smile curve the corner of his mouth. Oh, Angie. What a treasure.

  Murphy closed the file and stood. “I don’t want to keep you any later. Thank you for coming by, Andrew. I know it’s after dinner hour with your family.”

  “It’s no problem, Murphy.” Garvey stood with him and held out a hand. “Glad we were able to get this cleared up.”

  Murphy smiled, letting the warmth of it flood the room. He pushed the feeling of security and contentment up the human’s arm, knowing that Andrew Garvey would lay his head down in bed tonight knowing that Patrick Murphy was damn near his best friend.

  “I know you’ll do well with that Blue Delta contract,” he said. “Come to me if you have any questions, yes?”

  “I will.”

  “And no more unquestioned loads, yes?” His face grew serious again with just a touch of concern. “We need to know what’s coming into our city, don’t we? For everyone’s safety.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Murphy clasped his other hand around Garvey’s and gave it a friendly squeeze. “Good man.”

  HE tasted the whiskey Brigid poured in two glasses between them.

  “You know,” she said, “Before I started working for you, I used to think you were serious. And polite.”

  “I am serious.” He lifted one eyebrow. “And Angie taught me manners, so any complaints you’ll have to take up with her.”

  “You, Patrick Murphy, are a fantastic con.”

  He added more than a dash of water and sipped again, letting the potent taste of the liquor linger on his tongue. Vampire senses were far keener than human, hence the disproportionate amount of water.

  “A con?” he asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “A confidence man, as the Americans would call it. A grifter. A swindler.”

  Murphy raised his drink. “I did not swindle young Mr. Garvey out of anything he did not want to give me, Brigid.”

  “You managed to scare the shite out of Andrew Garvey about taking illegal cigarettes and ensure protection payments from him for the foreseeable future. All the while making him feel grateful you were letting him keep a contract you had no intention of pursuing in the first place.”

  He let the smile grow. “I did do that, didn’t I?”

  “Admit it, you’re a con artist.”

  Murphy grinned. “Of course I am.” He clinked the side of her glass and took another breath, this time to relax. “Impressed?”

  “Jesus.” Brigid couldn’t hold back the smile. “You are a bastard, aren’t you?”

  “Both literally and figuratively. Does your former priest of a husband know you’re taking the Lord’s name in vain like that, young lady?”

  She couldn’t stop the low rumble of laughter. It almost made Murphy sad she’d turned down an alliance with him.

  Brigid Connor would have been a perfect romantic partner on paper, but she was hardly his type personally. Most of the time, Brigid looked like
a very angry pixie with an acerbic sense of humor, a short temper, and a fondness for hair dye. This month, her dark cap of hair had a distinctly purple cast. The month before, it had been blue.

  No, not his type at all, though she made a truly excellent friend and a half-decent drinking partner. She preferred soccer to boxing, but no one was perfect.

  “You just can’t help yourself, can you? You’re the same way with the human girls, though they like to think it’s charming. Is everything a con to you?”

  “Why shouldn’t it be?” He set down his drink and spread his hands. “There are two sides to every job, and the best jobs end with everyone walking away smiling. Just like young Andrew. He’ll be more careful of what he allows on his boats, and with my protection behind him, those who want to move things more… discreetly will have greater confidence in his operation. I’m happy. He’s happy.”

  “And you’ll get a cut from all of it.”

  He raised his glass. “Naturally.”

  “Why did he try it?”

  Murphy shrugged. “They always do. The younger humans—the ones who haven’t been involved in the quieter aspects of things—will take over for their mam or dad. And they see…” He motioned to the elegant suit his tailor had finished only last week. “This. The suits and the haircut. The manicure and the manners.”

  “Don’t forget the season tickets to the symphony.”

  He nodded. “Exactly.”

  Brigid smiled. “How scary could he be? He’s a modern vampire. Not a monster at all.”

  He sipped his drink as Brigid continued.

  “They push a little, and you let them. They push a little more…”

  “It’s only to be expected,” Murphy said, letting a smile touch his lips. “After all, I’m not a monster.”

  “Until they push a little too far. Get just a bit over their head. And then you pounce.”

  A door slammed somewhere in the building and they both fell silent.

  “Are you judging me, Brigid?”