by K.N. Lee
The Chronicles of Koa Books 1-3
Netherworld, Dark Prophet, and Blood Princess
K.N. Lee
Contents
Netherworld
Praise for Netherworld
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Dark Prophet
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Part II
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Blood Princess
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Untitled
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
Exclusive Excerpt
25. Awakened 1
26. Awakened 2
27. Awakened 3
28. Awakened 4
About the Author
Also by K.N. Lee
Netherworld
The Chronicles of Koa Book One
Copyright © 2017 by K.N. Lee
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Dedicated to my grandmother, Brenda Lee Cooper
Praise for Netherworld
“The Chronicles of Koa is a wonderful story full of likeable characters, a clear world, and a fun mission.”
—Kirstin L. Pulioff, author of The Escape of Princess Madeline
“It has a fantastic story, twists and turns throughout, and some mysteries you won't see coming. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books as she writes them. The Chronicles of Koa #2 will certainly be a day one purchase for me!”
—Thomas Ray Manning, author of Energize (From the Logs of Daniel Quinn)
“The ending had me on edge. I have to say I have not read a vampire novel like this one before.”
—Glenna Maynard, author of Beautiful Strangers
“The author has created an engrossing world with vampires, angels and other mythical creatures. And not just any mythical creatures, her creations were... awesome!”
—Morgan Jane, author of the Sanguis City series
1
THE CLOCK STRUCK MIDNIGHT, and for once Koa didn’t have anyone to track…or kill.
A buttery aroma wafted into the air as Koa opened a bag of freshly popped popcorn. There came a low purr from behind and she glanced over her shoulder at the stoic black cat that sat on the countertop.
“Smells good, Raven. Doesn’t it?”
Raven stared back with her ethereal green eyes. The cat blinked, and licked her paw.
Koa shrugged and blew her dark blue bangs out of her eyes. “Fine. More for me.”
Through the archway and into the grand hall, Koa walked through the large empty manor. There was a chill in the air, but Koa didn’t mind as she wore nothing but a black lace panty and bra set. The sound of her soft footsteps echoed, and she found herself humming as she always did.
She didn’t pay any mind to the gothic statues that glared down at her on either side of the wide corridor. There was a time when Koa had been frightened by her father’s relics. As a girl she would avoid walking down the hallways at night for fear that they would awaken and grab her with their cold stone hands.
Now, Koa was used to the statues of angels and demons. She barely glanced at them anymore. Such things were a part of her daily life and she no longer feared their artistic replicas.
It took her a few moments to cross the cold marble floors to the large den she had converted into an entertainment room. Koa used a remote to turn off all of the lights. She lit a scented candle just as Raven brushed past her leg. She rubbed her soft fur onto Koa’s bare flesh.
The scent of vanilla made her smile.
Koa flopped onto the plush sofa and put her feet up on the ottoman. She sank into the cushions and closed her eyes in bliss. “Halston has given me a few nights off.” She turned on her television. “Finally, I get to catch up on some reality TV!”
Raven seemed to roll her eyes and Koa grinned. “I know,” she said as she relaxed her back on the orange pillows and popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “I can be such a girl sometimes.” She laughed to herself. She was happy. Life had been so busy lately with the rise of supernatural crime that a single moment of solitude was rare.
Koa glanced at Raven and held her arms out. “Come sit with me.”
Raven snuggled next to her and rested her head on Koa’s lap. Koa smiled and stroked her black fur. Sometimes it seemed as if Raven was all she had left in the world, besides Halston.
Koa just started to crunch on a kernel when she heard the faintest creak in her hallway. It was so faint that she almost didn’t catch it. She didn’t want to catch it. She wanted the night to go smoothly, but it was the way Raven’s ears perked up that confirmed that Koa had indeed heard something.
> Scrunching her small nose, Koa grumbled and put her bowl of popcorn down on her glass coffee table. All of her senses were heightened. There was a definite warning deep in the pit of her stomach. She sniffed the air. There was the faint stench of coal and something rancid.
Odd, she thought, frowning. She had smelled that distinct odor before. It was not from this world. Very odd.
Raven looked down the dark hallway and made a low sound of warning deep in her throat. Her black fur stood on end. Koa shushed her with a hand.
She came to her feet and headed toward the sound. She could feel that someone was there. Like the telling smell of oncoming rain, Koa had an uncanny sense of knowing when something bad was about to happen. She hoped that this time she was wrong.
Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Her one day off, and someone decided to bother her. Raven lowered her head and waited back on the sofa.
“Scaredy-cat,” Koa mumbled.
Koa softly tiptoed into the darkness. She now wished that she was properly dressed. She didn’t want someone catching her in her underwear. She sighed. She was probably overthinking things. Two-hundred-year-old French manors tended to creak in the night. Koa should have been used to the sounds after all these years of living there.
The truth was that Koa was still afraid of the dark, and with good reason. She froze when something crashed to the floor. She quickly pressed her back against the wall and waited. One of the statues had broken.
Voices.
Koa cursed in her head. Someone was definitely in her house. Her breath quickened. Koa could hear Halston’s voice in her head, telling her that it wasn’t worth it—that she should run. She didn’t run.
Instead, she peeked around the corner of the wall and saw flashlights. The harsh, fluorescent light pointed in her direction. Two men. Bald and big. They were dressed in black with tattoos all over their pale white faces and scalps. They clutched silver-barreled crossbows.
Koa’s face paled. Their black eyes searched her hallway.
No, Koa thought with cold realization. Her skin crawled with dread. It’s not possible. “Syths,” she whispered in a hiss. They heard her. Four black eyes looked up and met hers.
Koa pulled back. Her pulse raced. These were creatures of folklore and mythology, but Koa knew the truth. Such creatures did exist. It was just that they shouldn’t be in the human world. She gulped. Something was definitely wrong.
“Shit!” No time to run now. Boots stomped down the marble floor. Dread washed over her, making her skin feel prickly.
Two Syths, equipped with crossbows. Koa knew what those arrows were laced with. Her stomach pumped with anxiety. Why were they in her house?
Raven came around the corner and leisurely sat in the middle of the hall. Koa’s anxiety was replaced with fury. No one had ever invaded her home.
Koa glared over at Raven.
“Fine. Just sit there and let me do all of the work,” she said to the black cat. Koa yelped as a large hand reached for her long black and blue hair. She grabbed the hand and with a push off the ground, she leapt.
Her feet climbed up the air as if by invisible stairs. With a surge of energy, she took flight. She grunted as she lifted the large man’s weight off the ground and flew upward. He used his other arm to direct the point of his crossbow at her.
Koa’s eyes widened and she pursed her lips. She saw the red poisonous bolt ready to be released. The second Syth waited below as Koa went higher and higher up the tall, vaulted ceiling. It was cold up there, and pitch black, but Koa could still see the Syth’s illuminated face.
An arrow zipped past her and she gasped. “Come quietly, Koa, and we won’t have to hurt you,” the Syth below shouted. “Our master doesn’t want you dead. He just wants us to bring you in.”
She snorted. “No thanks. I like my world just fine.” Koa looked down at the Syth whose hand she held. It was rare to see one of his kind.
His lips curled into a malicious grin. “Yes, come quietly, my pretty,” he whispered. His voice was like nails on gravel. “You know you don’t belong here with the humans…”
Koa gazed into those soulless black eyes and felt her stomach churn with dread. They were like small, black beads. The tattoos around his eyes were inscriptions of a dialect that didn’t exist in this world. Someone was letting rogue nephilim out of the Netherworld.
“And neither do you,” she said and with an evil grin, she let go of his hand.
He cried out and fell nearly fifty feet. Koa heard a satisfying crunch of bones. She smirked. Still, it wasn’t enough to kill a Syth. Those bones were probably regenerating already. Koa hadn’t encountered many since she’d become a Netherworld agent, but Netherworld beings were extremely hard to kill.
Koa darted away from another arrow and into the darkness of her empty manor. She stood on the ceiling, upside down, yet defying gravity as she looked down at the two shadows below. She considered all of her options. She could fly out of that window ahead or she could go back and kill them.
Syths were dangerous. She couldn’t let them get away. But her weapons were in her vault. In order to reach her vault, she would need to go past the Syths. How silly of her to think that she was safe. Not even her home was sacred anymore.
Nearly five years as an agent in Halston’s Netherworld Division, and Koa was still caught off guard.
Koa frowned. Halston was right. She should have moved a long time ago. She could already see Halston’s self-satisfied smile. She hoped she’d make it out alive to see that smile again.
Something caught her attention: a glittering light below. Raven’s green eyes glowed.
Like a bolt of lightning, Koa shot through the darkness to Raven. Determination filled her veins. She could make it. She had to.
Bolts bounced off the walls and sparked along the floor. Her heart pumped, but her face was set with purpose. She smiled when she saw her Lyrinian sword lying on the floor, like a beacon of hope in the darkness.
The second Raven stepped away from it, Koa grabbed the silver hilt. A jolt of power slammed into her palm and flooded her body. She gritted her teeth and embraced the euphoric pain the sword caused her. The blade shot out, lengthening from the size of a small dagger to that of a full-sized sword. The jagged blade was a dark metal, rippled with black engravings.
Netherworld dialect.
Koa grinned. Once the initial pain subsided, the power made her feel invincible. The Lyrinian sword had been her father’s. He had trained her to use it when she was only a little girl. This weapon was not of this world—and would not be put away until all evil was vanquished.
“Thanks, Raven.”
The cat seemed to nod.
Koa cried out as a bolt nipped her right cheek. The pain was surprising. It sizzled. Blood dripped from her face as her hand shot to cover the wound.
Her green eyes went dark. She balled up her fist and tightened her grasp around the sword. She narrowed her eyes and turned around. They pulled the triggers on their bows and heard empty snips.
Koa gave them a cold grin and yet there was no amusement in her voice. “You picked the wrong girl to mess with.”
They were out of bolts. Both Syths skidded to a stop. Almost frantically, they reached behind them and into their quivers to reload.
As Koa took a step forward, their eyes went wild with fear of the small girl before them.
Koa held her sword’s black blade at her side. It pulsed with craving for blood—the blood of the evil ones that would increase its power.
Charging at them, Koa was lifted to her toes and. She spun and slashed one of the Syths across his side, a sizzling sound filling the air around them. Her white teeth flashed as the blade burned an iridescent red at the first taste of blood.
The blade craved blood and she would sate it.
It didn’t stop at the bone. It didn’t even pause. The glowing blade sliced through his spine with ease until the man was cut in half. It sped up only when it came through his other side and into the
cold air of the manor.
The Lyrinian sword’s red light encased the black blade and heat radiated along her flesh.
She clenched her jaw as the blade went cleanly though the other man, separating him at his waist. Their cries filled the entire manor as she sliced them to bits.
Both Syths lay on the floor in pieces. Koa kicked their crossbows away, not that they had hands connected to their arms anymore. Her chest heaved as she stood over them. Smoke rose from the blade of her Lyrinian sword. Koa watched their pale white faces, waiting. Blood pooled onto her floor. She watched it gather around her bare feet.
