Demon Marked: Shadowguard Academy Book 2

by Samantha Britt

  Oh god… I hadn’t even thought of that!

  Horror seizes my lungs, and I feel like I can’t breathe. “You… you don’t think that happened. Do you?”

  I’m already on thin ice with Head Minister Hendricks. He made it very clear I’ll be banned from becoming a Guardian if I step out of line.

  I can’t help but think making out with a werewolf is the epitome of stepping out of line.

  “I’m certain it didn’t,” Victor’s words reassure me though his tone is hard and not at all reassuring.

  He turns his frustration toward Gage, whirling to face the lycan with an angry glare. “I was under the impression you’d be on your best behavior if I invited her tonight.”

  They talked about inviting me?

  “Come on. She is Anya’s daughter. How could I resist?”

  I don’t recognize the unfamiliar name, but I’m not an idiot. They must be talking about my mom.

  My heart continues to race, fueled by unbridled hope.

  “And we promised to help keep her daughter out of trouble,” Victor counters with an angry snap. “Not draw even more attention to her than she’s already garnered herself.”

  “Do not lecture me, bloodsucker.” Some of the humor fades from Gage’s face, making him look imposing and regal. “I know what I’m doing.”

  “Oh? Tell me, how does assaulting an unsuspecting female fall into your plans?”

  Gage growls. The animalistic sound sends me stumbling back until I hit the wall beside the door. I want answers, but I’m not dumb enough to stick around if the two demons go after each other. I don’t have any magic to protect myself from the repercussions of their fight.

  “You know my reputation… player, rogue, cad. Take your pick,” Gage snarls. “Aspen is stunning, and my avoidance of her would’ve drawn even more notice than me sharing a simple kiss with her.”

  The compliment is lost on me. I’m too preoccupied with wondering what in the world is going on.

  Gage continues, “And you throwing me halfway across the room definitely didn’t help avoid drawing unnecessary attention.”

  The vampire’s cold eyes assess the werewolf. Gage’s heated ones do the same. Neither speaks as they size up one another and figure out what to say next.

  I clear my throat, “My mom’s name was Rachel Jones.”

  The lesser demons slowly turn to me. Both are hesitant to take their eyes off one another. Victor’s expression is cool and unreadable, but Gage’s fills with eager anticipation.

  It’s the latter who replies, “No. Your mother’s real name was Anya Jansen. She changed it once she went into hiding.”

  I want to deny it—I want to argue because I know it can mean nothing good that my mom confided in lesser demons or that she hid us from Shadowguard society.

  But I’m not a fool. I know my mom changed her name to keep us safe. But I’m surprised. Honestly, I’d started to believe I would never learn her true name.

  “How?” I look between them, searching their supernatural irises for answers. “How do you know her real name? How do you know who I am?”

  “It’s your eyes.”

  I look at Gage.

  He’s back to smiling. “I told you, your eyes are a dead giveaway. None but Anya had such magnificent green eyes.”

  Victor scoffs. “And it doesn’t hurt that I told him who you were.”

  My attention swings to the vampire. “You knew? How?” I repeat.

  He shrugs, feigning nonchalance, but I can see the tension in his shoulders. He’s definitely on guard. I suspect he doesn’t know how I will react. “Your mother and I were… friends. She confided much in me.”

  The way he trailed off…

  The distant look in his eye…

  No.

  Dread pools in my belly.

  It can’t be!

  I swallow back bile. I wish I could avoid asking this question, but I’ll regret it if I don’t.

  “Are you…” I pause, licking my suddenly dry lips. I clear my throat and start again. “Are you… my father?”

  A beat of silence hangs in the room.

  And then Gage bursts into raucous laughter. The force of it is so strong, the pictures on the wall rattle.

  Victor blanches white, making him look even paler than what is normal for his kind.

  “No,” the vampire chokes out, coughs, and then sounds more normal when he continues, “Your mother and I were never romantic. As I said, we were friends.”

  Immense relief washes over me. I’m glad to know I’m not part-vampire, even if asking the question has made my cheeks flame with mortification.

  “Oh.” I duck my head. “My bad. I just thought…” I trail off, not knowing what to say.

  “Your mother, Anya Jansen, worked with us,” Victor offers in lieu of my silence.

  I lift my head and take in the two lesser demons. I’m not sure what to make of them, but I don’t detect any deceit. And demons can’t lie…

  “Why would my mother work for you?” I cross my arms, trying to hide how they tremble. “And why would she ask you to keep me out of trouble?” I definitely didn’t miss that tidbit of information.

  The two share a knowing look. An entire conversation passes between them before their colorful gazes return to me.

  And I don’t like the expressions on their faces… I don’t like them one bit.

  Victor sighs. “I didn’t say your mother worked for us. Rather, she worked with us. She was our friend, Aspen.”

  “You’ve said that,” I state. “What I want to know is why my mom, a descendant of Thaddeus, would befriend lesser demons?”

  “Why do you think?” Gage steps forward. “You knew her better than any of us, I imagine. So why do you think your mother would be friends with the likes of us?”

  I swallow back my unease and consider his question.

  Most memories of my mom highlight her selfless heart. She was an elementary school teacher and constantly went above and beyond for her students. She purchased winter coats for the lower-income families, provided daily snacks for those who couldn’t afford to bring their own… and she constantly helped our elderly neighbor, Mr. Kyle, with chores and running errands.

  I have my answer.

  “My mom was helping you with something.”

  “Not just something,” Gage replies, “but with everything.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The lycan prince defers to Victor with a dip of his chin. “Best if you explain, I think.”

  The vampire accepts the task without delay. “Anya was unlike any Guardian of her lifetime. She grew up in Shadowguard society, but she came out of the academy untouched by the prejudice and cruelty it tries to instill in all of its graduates.”

  He pauses and stares off, lost in the recesses of a memory. “Anya learned of the evils lurking in the Shadowguard while on her first official mission. She and her partner were sent to eliminate an entire lycan pack in a rural town in Pennsylvania. There’d been reports of attacks on humans. Anya had been given the task of carrying out a death warrant over the entire pack, with no regard for innocent versus guilty pack members.”

  I can’t contain my gasp. “What about the children?”

  The skin around his mouth tightens. “I see you’ve come to the same realization your mother did.”

  I shake my head, unable to believe what I’m hearing. “You’re saying the Shadowguard sent Guardians to murder children? Because of the actions of rogue lycans?”

  “It’s a far more common occurrence than you think,” Gage interjects. A haunted shadow darkens his golden gaze. “The Shadowguard doesn’t exactly value the lives of our kind.”

  It’s sad to admit, but that’s not very surprising. Not after I’ve seen the cruel indifference Head Minister Hendricks shows for his own people.

  I turn back to Victor, eager to hear more of the story. “So what happened? Did my mother follow orders?” I can already guess that she didn’t, but I don’t want to m
ake any assumptions. I want to hear it from him.

  “No. Unable to carry out their orders with their consciences intact, your mother persuaded her partner to speak with the pack leaders. The criminal lycans were found and promptly dealt with. From that moment on, your mother often disobeyed the Shadowguard and convinced her partner to go along with it. They covered their tracks and always made it look as if they complied with all mission orders given to them. They were quite good at it, actually. To this day, the Shadowguard doesn’t know what they did.”

  Then why would she hide us from the Shadowguard?

  “But we lesser demons haven’t forgotten.” Gage takes another step forward, crossing his forearm in an angle across his chest and bending his neck towards me in what can only be described as a sign of reverence. “And my pack has vowed to protect Anya’s daughter with our lives in honor of the only noble Guardian any of us has ever met.”

  I connect the dots. “It was your pack in Pennsylvania.”

  Gage lifts his head. “One of many my father oversees as the king of the Woodlands. I was just a young pup at the time, but there isn’t a lycan alive today who doesn’t know the legend of Anya Jansen and her brave defiance of the Shadowguard’s unjust rule over the rest of us.”

  My mind fills with the memory of my mom’s blonde curls framing her face as she smiled. I never pictured her as the defiant type, or even a fighter. But if I knew anything about my mom, there was nothing she wouldn’t do to help those in need. She always did what was right, even if she had to do it alone.

  Which begs the question, “Who was my mom’s partner? W-was he my father?”

  Both Victor and Gage smile.

  I’m confused. “What?”

  Gage finally lowers his arm, abandoning the respectful gesture. “It would be impossible for Anya’s partner to be your father, considering she was female.”

  “Oh.” That surprises me. Most Guardians partner up with their chosen romantic partners or, if their lover is not a warrior, the Shadowguard assigns them one of the opposite sex. The point is to have diversity of thought and skill. Guardians never know what tactic or strategy they will have to implement while on a mission. “Who was she?”

  Again, the two lesser demons share a look.

  “Stop doing that.” I stomp my foot, completely aware it makes me look like a child. But my emotions are running too high to care. “Don’t telepathically speak about me, or whatever it is you’re doing. Please. Just tell me. Who was my mom’s partner?”

  Despite my plea, the two continue to look at one another. Reading their expressions, I can tell they’re unsure if they should heed my request. I don’t understand their reservation. What’s the harm in learning the name of my mom’s partner? I don’t see how it is a big deal.

  As it turns out, learning her name is a very big deal.

  Victor tucks his hands behind his back, rocking onto his heels in the first sign of unease I’ve seen form the vampire. “Anya’s partner was known as Vivian Holloway of the renowned Holloway family, but I believe you know her as Vivian Van der Klay, your foster mother.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Blood rushes through my head, beating against my eardrums in constant rhythm.

  “Where’s Logan?”

  No one answers. Gage and Victor aren’t sure what to do.

  “Aspen?” The vampire says in a low voice. “Did you hear what I said?”

  “Of course, I heard you,” I snap. I’m feeling so many things, and my frustration is ready to be unleashed at the slightest provocation. I need to get myself under control, but I’m not sure I have the strength to do it alone. I need Logan.

  “Where’s Logan?”

  Victor’s forehead creases, obviously unsure what to make of my unwillingness to discuss the latest revelation dropped in my lap. “Isabella is keeping him busy.”

  White hot jealousy stabs my chest. I do my best to hide the reaction, but nothing gets past creatures who can sense emotion.

  “Ah,” Gage dips his head. “You are in love with another. That is why you do not return my affection.”

  “I don’t return your affection because I don’t know you,” I shout. Gage couldn’t be more wrong. I’m absolutely not in love with Logan. I just don’t like the fact he’s left me on my own so he can flirt with a gorgeous vampire. He’s supposed to be my mentor.

  “Why would you tell Logan we needed to bring someone with us to the gala? Why are we here?” Besides telling me my mom’s name and revealing her as some kind of vigilante for the benefit of lesser demons.

  “You’re here because it’s time you know who your mother was and what type of organization you’ve associated yourself with.” Victor reaches into his jacket pocket. “Instructing Guardian Hendricks to bring another was meant to keep him preoccupied long enough for me to speak with you.” He hands me a folded piece of paper with worn edges.

  I realize the paper is actually a photo when my fingers brush against the smooth material.

  Trepidation makes my fingers tremble as I unfold the photo.

  There, staring up at me, is a picture of my mom. She looks similar to how I remember her, but with fewer lines around the corners of her eyes. Beside her is none other than Vivian. I’d recognize that beautiful blonde hair and stunning smile anywhere.

  Victor isn’t lying. My mom and Vivian really were partners. And from the way they have their arms wrapped around one another, they were friends.

  I inhale a ragged breath, then look up to meet Victor’s expectant gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me this the first time we met?”

  “You’re enrolled in one of the best Shadowguard academies in the world. Your mentor is the Head Minister’s son. I believed you were safe. There was no need for me to reveal the truth at that moment. That is… not until I learned the identity of the mysterious demon infatuated with you.”

  My eyes widen, but I don’t say a thing. He can’t mean what I think he means.

  “What?” Gage who breaks the silence. He steps closer to Victor. “What demon?”

  Victor and I stare at each other. He’s giving me the chance to admit the truth, but I don’t take it. I don’t owe him or Gage anything. They might’ve known my mom, but they don’t know me.

  Victor sighs, resigned to be the one to reveal, “The original demon, Belial, is… fond of Aspen.”

  “What!?” Gage barks.

  My stomach sinks.

  “You heard me,” Victor speaks to the werewolf, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me. It’s like he’s ready for me to take off and run.

  To be honest, the thought had crossed my mind.

  But I know there’s no way to outrun the two lesser demons in front of me.

  No. I need to face this. There’s no escape.

  Damn it.

  A cell phone begins to ring, making me jump. I hit a picture behind me, sending it crashing to the ground. I quickly retrieve it and return it to its spot on the wall. When I turn around, I see Victor scowling at whatever he reads on the phone’s screen.

  “There’s trouble coming,” he mumbles to Gage. The werewolf leans over his shoulder and growls when he sees what’s upset Victor.

  Victor puts the phone back in his pocket. “Listen, Aspen. There’s still much you don’t understand, but you must stay away from Belial. I don’t care what information you think you can get out of him. Trust me, he is one step ahead of you.”

  “What was on the phone?” I ask, ignoring his warning. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Victor tugs his tuxedo jacket, straightening the expensive fabric. “But I must return to the party. We both do.” He nods to Gage.

  The werewolf dips his head. “Of course.”

  And just like that, the meeting comes to an end.

  And, once again, I’m left with more questions than answers.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The gala is swarming with finely dressed demons. Victor and Gage left my side just before we reached the populated area, saying it would be
best if we aren’t seen coming back together. I don’t understand the need for secrecy. After all, everyone had seen us leave together. But I don’t argue. I let them walk away without a single word.

  So, here I am, wandering through a crowd of lesser demons I do not know, trying to make sense of the bombshell dropped on me a few moments ago.

  My mom’s name is Anya Jansen.

  Her best friend and fighting partner was Vivian—the woman who raised me these past few years. And she never said a word.

  My first reaction is anger.

  Why wouldn’t Vivian tell me the truth about my mom? Countless lingering stares suddenly make more sense. I recall all the vague references she’d made to how strong my mom must’ve been to create such an impressive daughter. There’s no way Vivian didn’t know my true identity. She’s lied to me for years.

  But why?

  The question fuels my second reaction: uncertainty.

  There’s something else going on here—something more than my mom going against Shadowguard orders to prevent heinous crimes against innocent lesser demons.

  Victor said my mom had never been caught. So why did she leave the Shadowguard?

  I’d asked Gage and Victor just before we went our separate ways. I didn’t want to let them out of sight without learning another piece of information. There’s no telling the next time I’ll get such an opportunity.

  After sharing another frustrating silent look, the coven leader and lycan prince said they couldn’t tell me. My mom decided to leave Shadowguard society when she found out she was pregnant with me, but they had no idea why. All they know is Mom dropped by to see them before disappearing, and she asked them to keep an eye on me if something should ever happen to her.

  I bet she wasn’t thinking cancer would be that something…

  Hot tears burn the back of my eye. I dig my fingernails into my palms, and the pain helps dissolve the tears. Thank goodness.

  I leave the ocean hall and return to the rotunda, scanning the crowd for Logan and Cortney. I blink twice, thinking I see a familiar head of blond hair. I realize too late who the hair belongs too.