Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  I just can’t allow myself to recognize that … perhaps … Cain would do the same for me.

  Cain suddenly pauses on stage, placing his hand on the Guardian’s arm, indicating the far end of the room. I swivel in the direction that has taken his focus to see two women standing in the doorway. One is Sarah and the other…

  Parker strides confidently toward the front of the room, her head held high, her flowing A-line dress swishing against her long legs. Unlike me, she knows how to walk in heels.

  Lutz stands up as soon as she approaches our table, stepping back and quietly indicating his seat. Abraham and Alexei also politely stand.

  Parker tips her head to acknowledge Lutz’s gesture, murmuring, “Thank you, Lutz Logan,” before she glides into the seat he vacated.

  Lutz promptly strides across the room and positions himself against the side wall, a quiet sentry now.

  Parker folds her hands in her lap, ignores Brenna scowling beside her, and raises her eyes to the stage.

  She gives Cain a small smile.

  Cain can’t hide his emotions, a smile breaking across his face.

  He throws his shoulders back, a weight lifting visibly as the Guardian holds her hand out, palm up. Cain places his in hers.

  She misses a beat at the position of his assassin’s ring, casts him a quick curious glance, but says, “Cain Carter, will you uphold the Assassin’s Code, follow the Code, and die by the Code?”

  Cain inhales. “I will.”

  “Then I sanction your appointment as Horde Master.”

  “Thank you, Guardian.”

  The gathering breaks into applause and many of the assassins rise to their feet. Whatever distrust exists between Cain and Brenna, it doesn’t seem to be reflected in his reception by his Faction.

  Alexei murmurs beside me, “Cain’s fate is now sealed.”

  I ask, “That’s it? That’s the ceremony?”

  He grins. “Assassins get right to the point.”

  The cheering finally dies down while Cain and the Guardian descend from the dais. Brenna shows her first sign of humanity when she swaps seats so that Cain can sit beside Parker, although I suspect she was dying to get away from her anyway.

  Cain is very circumspect around Parker, giving her space and allowing her to direct their conversation. Halfway through the meal, she reaches for his hand and bumps her shoulder against his, leaning in. I don’t have the power to hear what she murmurs to him, and I wish they had privacy to say what they need to say, but Cain responds by squeezing her hand.

  Parker shines a smile at him and for a moment … everything is okay.

  Then two things happen at once: Lutz Logan lifts himself off the far wall, a sudden frown descending over his face, and Brenna excuses herself from our table.

  A moment later, Lutz shoots into action, breaking into a run.

  He roars, “Get down!”

  I flinch as bullets spray our table.

  19

  Pain explodes across my shoulder. Blood splatters the tabletop and Abraham hits it face-first, his dead eyes turned in my direction.

  Too far away to reach me, Cain shouts, “Archer, get down!”

  At the same time, he dives in front of Parker, grabs the Guardian, and pulls them both to the floor.

  A scream wrenches out of me, but it’s a reflex, an exhalation of fear, leaving me cold inside. I shove Abraham off the table and grab the edge of it.

  Alexei’s big hands close over mine, helping me tip the furniture and swing it around as a shield. He propels me behind it a moment before bullets tear into the spot where we were standing.

  From one side of the room to the other, the remaining assassins tip furniture to form shields. Wood splinters and bullets thunder against our table, threatening to tear it apart.

  Lutz slides in behind us and Cain curls around Parker. Cain uses his body as a shield around her while she keeps her head down, huddling beside him.

  His ferocious eyes meet mine, swiftly assessing me for damage. I dive against Alexei, angling my shoulder away from Cain. The minute he sees I’m hurt, he’ll come after me, but he has to protect Parker.

  My wound is a distraction he doesn’t need.

  Cain roars at Lutz, louder than the gunfire. “Who did you see?”

  Lutz snarls, “Your own people. The Novices.”

  The Guardian startles from her position on the other side of Cain. She winces as a bullet bites off a chunk of wood on her side. “A coup?”

  Cain grits his teeth, pale with rage. “Brenna.”

  The Guardian reaches into her bodice and pulls out a hair tie, ignoring the thundering gunfire around us. My eyes widen as she shimmies out of her dress to reveal a protective suit beneath it. She untucks multiple flaps, pulls them up to cover her chest and neck, and zips it up. It now covers her from her neck to her ankles.

  Beside me, Alexei also pulls off his tie and suit to reveal his own assassin’s suit. He throws his shirt upward where the bullets shred it. His grin is cold, making me shudder. “Just for fun.”

  When I turn around, Lutz has already rid himself of his formal clothing, zipping up his own protective suit. He scoots closer to Cain, reaching for Parker. “Let me take Parker to safety.”

  Cain’s response is instinctive. “Stay away from her or so help me—”

  Lutz’s fist whips out, thumping Cain full in the face. “Listen to me! I can get her to safety. You can’t!”

  Cain barely reacts to the punch, growling back at Lutz, but the Guardian shouts, “Cain! Lutz won’t let anything happen to Parker. You have my word on it.”

  Meanwhile Parker pushes at her brother. “It’s okay, Cain.”

  He stares at her in shock as she struggles to make him release her.

  She says, “I’m a liability if I stay. I need to go, and I trust Lutz.”

  “You … what?”

  She opens her mouth. Shuts it again. “I’m going with him. Give them hell, brother.”

  She scrambles out of Cain’s arms and barrels into Lutz, who wraps his arms around her and turns so that his back is in the line of fire. He crouches low with her, protecting her head with his big arms.

  A second later, they disappear. Blurred.

  To fit behind the table, I’m pressed up against Alexei, suddenly conscious of his big chest against my side. He’s shielding me because I don’t have a protective suit. He’s also concealing my wound and … I think he knows it.

  I raise my eyes to his, silently begging him not to say anything. There are other assassins who aren’t wearing suits who need Cain’s help. I can’t be a distraction. I sure as hell don’t want Brenna to win this fight and … it’s time to test Cain’s theory about what I am. If he’s right, then bullets can’t kill me. The wound certainly doesn’t hurt as much as I expected.

  Alexei murmurs in my ear, “No suit, huh?”

  “Just a dress.” I take hold of the hem and rip it up to my thigh to maximize leg movement. Then I slip off my heels, all while staying curled up beside him. “But I could stab someone’s eyes out with these.” I laugh, a kind of cold panic filling my veins. “Don’t worry about me, Alexei. I’ve survived a lot worse.”

  He tips his head. “I might worry a little.”

  Talking to Alexei keeps me from acknowledging Cain’s drawn features, the way he’s focused on me, and the fact that I’m completely unprotected with no guarantees that I’m anything more than human.

  The Guardian has pulled her hair back now, her assassin’s ring glowing, casting emerald light around her body.

  She is cold as stone as she says, “Each Novice is complicit in the death of Abraham Kolko, former Horde Master. They have broken the first rule of the Assassin’s Code, for which the penalty is death. Who will kill them?”

  “I will,” Cain growls.

  “And I will assist,” Alexei promises.

  The Guardian nods. “Sanctioned.”

  Alexei grins like a wolf about to eat dinner. He raises his voice to Cain. “Arch
er is prepared to fight. How about you, brother?”

  Cain takes a deep breath, a dangerous calm settling around him, but his gaze remains on me. “I’m ready.”

  With a roar, he stands up into the gunfire, golden light flowing around his body, the bullets streaming off him like leaves in a waterfall. My eyes widen as he takes off at a run, the Guardian hot on his heels. She stays within the slipstream of the shield he created.

  Alexei places a firm hand on my arm to stop me before I can follow them. “There is no shame in staying where you are safe, Archer.”

  I laugh. “If I’m dead, Cain’s problems go away.”

  “Something tells me he doesn’t see you as a problem.” He examines my shoulder now that Cain isn’t watching. “It’s a clean exit wound. You have maybe half an hour before you collapse from blood loss. Less if you’re running around.”

  “Then I’d better use my time wisely.”

  “Here.” Alexei reaches for his discarded shirt and wraps it tightly around my shoulder. He is matter-of-fact. “This will give you longer. Seek shelter when your vision starts to blur. You won’t have long after that. But hopefully we can get you help before then.”

  I shake my head. “You’re tending the wound of a dead woman. I either die tonight or I die tomorrow.”

  He nods. “It’s time to choose.”

  I say, “I choose the path that keeps Cain alive.”

  I close my eyes so I don’t have to see Alexei’s pity. I focus instead on listening for the bullets, sensing the direction from which they’re coming—near the entrance. Brenna must be blocking the escape there. Lutz is sure to have taken Parker out the back. Other assassins are also fleeing in that direction, running from table to table. I catch sight of Sarah among them, running to safety. What I know of their code tells me that only Cain and Alexei are sanctioned to kill the Novices, so there’s no point in the others staying to die.

  We are the only ones running into the battle.

  A sudden gap in the spray tells me that Cain and the Guardian must have reached the attackers.

  I dart out from behind the table and Alexei follows close behind me. Unlike Cain, he doesn’t create a shield around himself and I wonder briefly if he can’t. I don’t know enough about assassin’s magic to know if everyone’s is the same.

  In the distance, Cain plows into a group of five Novices. He grabs the first weapon he can reach, twists it, disarms the Novice, and slams him with a fist so hard that the man’s face caves in. I suck in a sharp breath while my feet pound the floor. If that’s the sort of damage Cain can do, it makes me realize how strong the Jaguars were. And yet I wrestled one to the ground and broke its jaw.

  Another Novice screams when Cain’s boot meets his ribs, and a third doesn’t have time to draw breath before Cain snaps his neck.

  Now that Cain is fighting hand to hand, his shield is down and his back is vulnerable. The other Novices scatter and locate themselves behind two tables, one on either side of the fight, attempting to get a clear shot at Cain.

  Not if I can help it.

  I draw the attention of one group with a shout, zigzagging toward them while Alexei attacks the other. He flings his hand out, ebony darts forming in the air and spearing toward the attackers, taking down half of them in one sweep. The others try to take cover, but Alexei crashes into them, his own version of hand-to-hand combat even more brutal than Cain’s.

  On my side, multiple gun barrels follow my movements as I run toward the Novices, projectiles sweeping the air beside me, but I avoid them until … a bullet hits me. Straight in the heart.

  Pain explodes through my chest as the bullet enters and swiftly exits my body. I miss a step, anticipate death, expect to fall but…

  I sense the continuing thud-thud of my most precious internal organ.

  Well, what do you know?

  I should be dead but I’m not.

  My heart keeps beating and I keep running. Alexei gives me a brief glance from a distance, cursory enough to make me think he believes the shot missed me.

  Another bullet flies past me, this one from behind me, taking down two of the Novices who were firing at me. From the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Juliet kneeling behind a table to my far left, her weapon carefully aimed.

  I leap the table and plow into the Novice who fired the shot into my heart. I recognize this guy as the one who bullied Juliet. He pulls the trigger as I crash into him—a shot through my ribs that doesn’t stop me.

  The others shout, confused that I’m still moving, but I am faster than ever, a whirlwind of movement, as if being closer to death gives me fuel, energy I didn’t have before. I grab the guy’s gun with one hand, thump him with the other, flip the weapon, and follow his fall to the ground with a bullet to the head. Then I whirl, disarm two more and end them both.

  “Novices! Haul back!” Brenna’s sudden shout causes the Novices to rush toward her. Only four of them remain.

  Alexei takes up position beside Cain, two giants waiting to annihilate their enemies. The Guardian stands beside them, and Juliet strides forward to join them. As soon as Cain looks for me, I rush to position myself beside Alexei, a step back and to his left, making sure I’m out of Cain’s line of sight—Alexei’s too. The blood pooling on my chest is a dead giveaway that I’ve been shot.

  Brenna continues to shout as she approaches from the doorway: “Horde Master, you are hereby challenged.”

  Cain’s big chest rises and falls, his features filled with battle rage. “You’re no match for me, Brenna.”

  She laughs. “Oh, I’m not going to fight you.”

  A figure walks behind her, lithe and graceful, emerging from the shadows like a predator slinking out of the dark. The newcomer is entirely covered in a protective suit. Only her eyes are visible.

  Cain’s rage instantly becomes more intense, pinpoint.

  I frown at the newcomer, my eyes suddenly watering. With her arrival, the scent of roses wafts up my nose and sticks, heavy and repugnant. Roses are meant to be beautiful, but what I sense beneath the scent is foul, like something rotting.

  Brenna smiles at Cain. “I believe you know Lady Tirelli.”

  I suck in a sharp breath. Rage and fear storm inside me. My instincts scream at me to step forward and fight her. I may have hated Patrick Ryan, but he was the only father I knew and she killed him.

  Cain’s voice is hard as granite as he addresses Brenna. “You brought Lady Tirelli into the Realm.”

  Brenna shrugs. “If you die, I win the Horde.”

  The Guardian speaks up, her scathing response like ice: “Any assassin can challenge a Master. Nobody has ever been stupid enough to try.”

  Brenna snarls, “Lady Tirelli is my proxy—”

  The Lady herself interrupts, speaking in a voice that reminds me of a waterfall, soft and lulling. Almost … beautiful. It sings into my ears, tugging at me as her focus lands on me. “Archer Ryan, you will come with me.”

  Cain steps between us, blocking my view. I’m grateful he doesn’t look back. I may be standing upright, but the front of my dress isn’t in good shape. It seems I can survive bullets, but my body is taking its sweet time healing the wounds.

  “Stand aside, Cain.” Lady Tirelli glides closer to him. “And I won’t hunt down your sister.”

  Brenna interjects, “Wait … you won’t fight him? That’s not our deal!”

  Lady Tirelli’s hand snakes out. She grabs Brenna by the throat, pulling her close and squeezing her neck. “You’ve outlived your usefulness.”

  Brenna gasps. Flails. Her eyes pop wide. She gasps for air, her face turning red as she chokes.

  Her neck snaps.

  Lady Tirelli throws Brenna to the side. Her lifeless body flops to the floor. The remaining Novices scream and shout, start running, but Lady Tirelli twists in their direction, pinning them with a glare. They jolt to a stop, falling silent, and crowd against the wall, all of them eyeing the door. They’re dead if they don’t get out of here. If Lady Tire
lli doesn’t kill them, Cain will. I find it hard to pity them. Brenna led them astray, but they demonstrated their cruel natures when they tried to hurt Parker on the first day.

  Lady Tirelli says, “Move, Cain. Or watch your world burn.”

  “No.”

  He takes a battle stance, pulling out one of his daggers, preparing to fight her.

  Her eyes narrow. “Many have fought me. None have succeeded.”

  I squeeze my eyes closed. I’ve spent my life hiding. I hid behind my name for sixteen years, becoming a faceless myth. For the last four years I’ve hidden behind aliases, never staying anywhere long. This week was the first time I didn’t hide. I was happy … the best week of my life.

  Reality is only a step away.

  I draw my shoulders back, deliberately undoing the shirt from my arm. Blood flows down it and I let it drip as I take each step I need to take. Cain said that the Keres can choose to die. If I am one of them, I will choose to bleed out before I do anything this woman wants.

  I step out from behind Cain.

  Lady Tirelli’s smile becomes so wide that it’s visible beneath her gauzy face mask.

  Cain grabs me, inhaling, eyes wide, but his concern is not my destination. “You’re hurt!”

  I whisper, “Whatever she wants, she won’t have me for long.”

  “No—”

  I place my hand over his heart. “This woman ended my father, despite protection from the Glass Fox, despite an army of men. She can get to anyone. I won’t let her hurt Parker.”

  He believes me. There is not a shred of doubt in his eyes, as if he has already seen firsthand the damage Lady Tirelli can do. But the set of his lips, the way his expression begs me not to take another step…

  He would have fought for me.

  I meet his eyes. “Thank you. For everything. For making my life … mean something for a little while.”