Out of The Shadows (Shadows Ascending Trilogy Book 2)

by Jenn D. Young

  The no nonsense statement of a child. She was beyond delightful.

  This had to be Morgana’s daughter. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the child that she had spoken of.

  I needed to find her and protect her immediately. She was obviously a budding Nephilim, one that would be very powerful if she was entering my dreams. Knowing that she had heard me play multiple times and had even breached through my dream, she was going to be a powerful one. Just like they had told me.

  But I couldn’t go to her. Dreams were the only place that I could see her. There would be time for us later, but for now, dreams would have to do.

  “I’m sorry I made you sad. Do you like to play?”

  “I like the violin. My mommy and I play, but we are always moving. We don’t play as much as I want to.” There was that sad look that had my heart breaking into a million pieces.

  “I tell you what?” At her swift nod I continued, “Whenever you are here, you have your own violin to play.” I held out my hands as a violin appeared.

  Her whole face brightened as she handled the bow and tucked the instrument under her chin.

  We sat there for hours playing, not realizing how much time had passed. It wasn’t until her head snapped in another direction and a look of terror passed across her face that I realized how long we had been in the dream.

  “Theera, look at me.” Her eyes turned up toward me and I laid my palm on her forehead. “You will not remember this. Keep my presence secret.”

  “Why? I like playing music with you.” Such a childish view of the world. I wanted to keep her hidden from our world for just a little while longer. Ten years old was too young to be subject to the horror of the supernatural world. I knew her mother had told her of her heritage, but I did not want to cause her any more grief.

  Being with me caused her to be in great danger. She was already too vulnerable. Too fragile. I needed to protect her and keep her safe. She would be my everything. Morgana would protect her until I was able to step in and claim her. I needed to ensure that she stayed away from me.

  Even if it killed me to leave her.

  “It’s okay, little one. We will see each other again soon.” I placed a chaste kiss on her temple before ending the dream.

  “I’m starting to remember those dreams. I had one the night she died.” Her voice shook me from my memories. She sounded hurt and it made my heart ache. These damn emotions were getting to be tiresome. She was obviously starting to regain her memories of previous dreams, and my reminiscing had triggered this particular one.

  “You were too young to get involved in our world.” I ran my hands through my hair and sighed in frustration. “I regret that I hurt you, but I will not regret hiding you from our world. It was for your protection.”

  She scoffed at me, her hands on her hips and the look she gave me was full of fire and anger. “I’m tired of hearing that, Vincent!” Tears gathered in her eyes, but she would not let them fall.

  “I know, Theera, but the past is the past and I cannot change it. All we can do is move forward.” I cupped her cheek in my palm and caressed her lip with my thumb.

  “You keep stuff like this from me in the future and I will castrate you.” Her tone told me that she was dead serious.

  I couldn’t help but wince and cup myself. I knew she would act on the threat too. My mate was full of fire. Just one of the many things that I adored about her. “I have no doubts that you would.” I couldn’t help but to place a soft kiss on her lips, which made her smile.

  “Boss, check the mics!” Nicolae shouted from the control board.

  Lorelei proceeded to the board and was tweaking with things as we continued to check the various instruments and mics. She was ordering Nicolae around and I could tell the demon was getting uppity.

  “You do realize I’ve been doing this for longer than you have been alive, little girl?” Red began to creep into the blue of his irises as he slapped away her hands as she started turning knobs.

  “Yes, but you are doing it all wrong,” she said through clenched teeth and slapped him back.

  “Children, children, please.” Drya’s lyrical voice sounded from several yards away. I could feel her working her empathic abilities to defuse the situation.

  Lorelei cocked her head at Drya, as if sensing the powers trying to calm her. “What are you doing?” she asked, genuinely curious about what was happening. Obviously, not liking to be controlled, Lorelei was resisting the normally subtle and otherwise undetectable manipulative powers of Drya.

  “She is using her control over emotions to try and calm the two of you down,” I remarked, my hip leaning against a pillar, arms crossed and a smirk on my face.

  “Well I don’t like it, so stop.” She pinned Drya with a sinister look and started checking wires again.

  “Lorelei, love, the sound board is perfect. The club is about to open. Why don’t we get a drink?” I asked, drawing her away from the building tension.

  “I need to show him I’m useful. I need to prove I belong.”

  Desperation cloaked her mental voice and my heart ached painfully in my chest. Her eyes were downcast as I grabbed her hand. It was then that I finally noticed what she was wearing. I growled in approval as my eyes trailed down her figure.

  She had on a tight DemonFall shirt with a black choker, a black mini skirt with red fishnet stockings. She also wore the ruby pendant nestled between her breasts. Her eyes were thickly lined in black eyeliner and her lips were painted in a deep red. She looked like the perfect goth vampire.

  My mate. My demon roared in approval.

  Leaning my head down, I whispered in her ear. “Lorelei, you look ravishing.” I felt the shudder that ran down her spine as my voice washed over her. It effectively derailed her line of thinking as desire became the center of her focus.

  My fingertips traced her cheekbones as she smiled at me. “Behave, you two!” Drya shouted, causing Lorelei to jump back two paces as I started laughing.

  Lorelei grumbled, “How do you get any peace with these jokers around?” Her tone betrayed her amusement at the comments from Drya.

  “Actually, they haven’t been this lively in years. Since you arrived, we all seem to have more to smile about.” My comments were genuine. I had become a recluse, and by association so did Nicolae and Drya. Drya had always been the happy upbeat one and Nicolae the smart-ass, but they knew better than to tease me because of my volatile moods.

  The words caused her smile to widen and her eyes to shine with moisture. I kissed her quickly and vaulted over the bar, grabbing various bottles to mix a drink.

  She cleared her throat, giving her time to get her emotions under control. “So, can we get drunk as immortals?” She sat down at the bar stool and rested her elbow on the counter, with her chin in her open palm.

  I shrugged. “Not really, but we can have lots of fun trying. It is what makes me money, so I don’t really complain about it.” I poured different bottles into a martini shaker and shook it in a fancy style to impress her.

  “Very stylish Mr. Flane.” She winked at me.

  “Right, Mr. Flane, why don’t you go get your stylish on and get ready for our damn show?” Nicolae shouted.

  “Oh, will you just shut up already?” Lorelei yelled back at him, which sent all of us into roaring laughter.

  Applause rang out through the empty club from the stages. Damius stood, hands clapping together with his guitar strapped across his back. “I see that Nicolae has found his lost wit with the arrival of Ms. Blackstone.” His rich accent was ripe with mirth. It was rare that anyone saw a smile crack his face, much less laughter. Yes, the unofficial leader of the council had a quick wit and sarcasm that could match Nicolae’s, but genuine laughing and smiling was something that he rarely did.

  Nicolae just rolled his eyes while Lorelei looked from Damius and back to me, a question in her eyes. “Lorelei, love, Damius is my lead guitarist. Although, I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to sho
w up,” I said wryly as I shadow jumped to appear on stage next to the vampire.

  “Ah, already calling her love. How the mighty have fallen,” Damius said, his mouth turned up at the corner. We shook hands as I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “First Nicolae, then Drya, now you. If Leo appears and starts making jokes at my expense I am going to keel over.” I pinned Lorelei with one final look. “Now let’s go get ready before Nicolae goes all motherly on us and starts tapping his wrist like he has a watch on.”

  I just laughed and ducked when an amp cord came flying at my head.

  Chapter 3

  Lorelei

  A smile split my face as I saw the exchanges between Vincent, Nicolae and Damius. This is what my life has been missing, social interactions.

  Friends.

  Family.

  Lovers.

  Vincent caught my eye and his intense stare made warmth settle in my belly. “Soon, Theera.”

  I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from moaning out loud. His answering laugh as he walked backstage was my only response.

  “Hey,” Nicolae called out to me, “Here.” He handed me an instrument case that was obnoxiously familiar. It even had the various band stickers and symbols on it.

  It wasn’t possible.

  “How…?” I trailed off in shock. “How did you get this?” I flipped open the snaps and opened the lid. Sitting there, encased in black velvet was my violin. The very violin that Vincent had given to me the day that I arrived at Kyara’s house.

  “We went back to your apartment in LA shortly after you were captured. Grabbed some things that we knew you would want when you were rescued.” Nicolae looked almost sheepish, as if emotions were hard for him to process. He rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes to the floor.

  I set the case on the bar and reached out and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.” He stiffened and then slowly returned my embrace.

  “You’re welcome. Vincent tuned and prepared it for you. Rosined the bow. It should be in playing shape and ready to go. Even adapted it for electronic use on stage with us. Now stop touching me before the demon lord beats me again.” There was the familiar Nicolae back.

  Laughing, I stepped back and picked up my violin, testing the bow in my hands, running it lightly across the strings. I quickly ran through my scales and tears welled in my eyes. The music poured out of me and before I knew it, I was playing one of my original songs. The melody was raw and emotional and was exactly what I needed to find my center. My fingers ached at the contact with the strings after so long, but I didn’t care. The pain mean that I was finally reunited with my music.

  I opened my eyes and Damius stood before me. I had to bend my neck to meet his eyes. He had done his make up in typical DemonFall style with all black contacts, pale makeup with black lines under his eyes in various designs. A tight black shirt and black pants with a low slug studded belt. He smiled and showed off a bit of fang.

  “Um,” I swallowed. “You look rather intimidating like that.” I blinked and cursed myself for saying that.

  He just laughed. “May I?” He held out his hands indicating the violin.

  I arched an eyebrow in question and he held out some wires and what looked like a portable amplifier. “You’re going to join us for a song or two.” There was no question in his voice. His tone left no room for contradicting him. His hands worked quickly, attaching everything to my instrument with practiced ease.

  He produced a small box that he attached more cords to, and then secured it to the top of my skirt. “Vincent went to a lot of trouble to modify that violin to make it stage ready for you.”

  “Watch those hands. I’m not in any mood to audition a new guitarist.” Vincent took the amp from his hands and Damius chuckled and held his hands up.

  “As if you could take me, Demon Lord.” Damius rolled his eyes as he stepped away with his hands raised in mock surrender.

  Hands fell to my hips as Vincent dragged me closer to him. My mouth went dry as his fingers lingered on the exposed skin between my shirt and skirt. He finished placing the box with ease and handed me back my violin.

  My mouth hung open as I took in his appearance. His blonde hair hung loose and scattered around his shoulders. Thick black eyeliner rimmed his eyes and he wore contacts that made his irises a bright white with a thin line of red on the edge.

  “Mouth closed, Theera.” He tipped my chin up with a smirk on his face.

  Of course, the man knew he was insanely gorgeous. He was a rock star after all.

  He placed a swift kiss on my lips and turned to walk toward the back of the stage. I couldn’t help admiring his ass as he jumped up onto the stage.

  “You really are going to have to stop staring at him, darling. I can barely function correctly with all of—” Drya waved her hands around in front of my face, “—this sexual energy.” Her face was flushed and her pulse fluttered rapidly beneath her skin.

  “Damn it I’m trying, but look at him.” I laughed and patted Drya on her shoulder in a small gesture of comfort.

  Nicolae clapped, drawing attention. “Get your asses backstage, I’m getting ready to open the doors. Then I need to finish getting my own shit set up. Seriously you people act like I’m your slave or something,” he grumbled.

  “You are our slave, Nic. Didn’t you know? Your title is Nightmare demon, bass player and slave to DemonFall.” Damius smirked as he clasped Nicolae on the back.

  I grabbed my violin case and climbed the steps to follow Vincent backstage. He grabbed my waist and pushed me against the wall, his arm resting just above my head. “You’re killing me in this outfit,” he whispered in my ear. I let out a groan as he nibbled on the edge of my earlobe with the tips of his fangs.

  “Drya told us to behave,” I breathed as I slid my hands up his chest and curled my fingers in the fabric of his shirt, just above his rapidly beating heart.

  He groaned against my neck. “You make that very difficult, Lorelei.” Light kisses trailed up my neck. My back arched in response and my aching breasts pushed into the solid wall of his chest. “But alas, I need to show you a couple last minute moves.”

  “It seems you are showing me some of your moves right now.” I curled a hand around the back of his neck and dragged my nails along the bare skin at the edge of his hairline. Another harsh sound left his throat and he lifted his head to meet my gaze.

  “Tonight.” His lips connected with mine in a brutal, punishing but ultimately too brief kiss.

  “Tonight,” I confirmed.

  ******

  I heard the crowd start to gather in front of the stage as the rest of the band assembled and finished their last minute preparations. I looked down at my violin and frowned. What was Vincent expecting me to do?

  “Whatever you want, Theera. If you feel like joining us and playing you can, if not, then no big deal.” Vincent placed a comforting hand on my cheek and pressed a light kiss on my forehead.

  I let out a breath and watched as they took their place on the stage. The crowd erupted in screams and applause. I barely heard Vincent’s words as he addressed the crowd.

  My heart was beating rapidly in my chest, sweat beaded on my forehead and my palms were slick with it. Nerves overwhelmed me, my mind racing as I thought about joining him on that stage.

  The first song started with a low bass and guitar riff. The rhythm was soothing and familiar. Unconsciously I swayed to the beat. I instantly relaxed, falling into the music and his thrilling voice. My eyes opened and I watched as Vincent sang into the microphone.

  Both hands gripped the stand as his voice deepened to sing the chorus. Damius was banging his head as he joined Vincent for vocals. Nicolae sauntered across the stage fingering his bass as they played to the crowd. The atmosphere was electric and I felt goosebumps rise over my arms as the guitar solo was played.

  The song ended and the room erupted in deafening screams. I clapped my hands and screamed from my place off stage.

  V
incent sent me a heated look and winked, his eyes sparkling with mischief. This man was every bit the rock star of legend. The way he moved, his presence, everything screamed of sin.

  “I am the demon lord, love.”

  I couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle as they launched into the next song. A chill went up my spine as I realized this was one of my songs.

  “You don’t fight fair.”

  “Never said I did.”

  He turned in my direction and continued to sing, his voice was deep and full of emotion. The song was about loss, love and the afterlife. About living a life free of regret. I had written the song about my mother.

  His eyes beckoned to me, calling me up on stage with him. Flipping the amp on and adjusting the pedals to lower the bass, I brought the violin up to my chin and played along. I’m sure he knew I wrote this song with a violin or cello accompaniment.

  The notes poured out of me as I walked on stage and stood toe to toe with Vincent. He did not take his eyes off me. He was singing to me. Only to me. The crowd disappeared. Leaving just Vincent and I on stage. Emotions welled up inside me and I channeled them into the music.

  My fingers and bow flew across the strings as I matched the guitar solo. It blended perfectly. Lost in the music I modified and adapted, Vincent and Damius kept up with me as I played furiously. My eyes were closed, my body swayed with the rhythm as I twirled and danced across the stage. I was playing my heart out. Enjoying the feeling of finally playing the music that I had dreamed of for so long.

  The song ended on a long sad note from me and I finally took a deep breath. As my arms dropped, Vincent grabbed me roughly by the waist and took my mouth in a furious, possessive kiss. My arms wrapped around his neck, my violin and bow still dangling loosely in my hands. The roar of the crowd echoed in my ears, the world fading away until the only thing left was just Vincent.

  Our tongues battled, hearts beating in sync as our bodies aligned. The adrenaline shooting through my bloodstream had me riding on a high like I had never felt before. The scent that was uniquely Vincent invaded my nostrils and caused a whimper to leave my throat. His teeth nibbled at my bottom lip before pulling away and resting his forehead against mine. I’m sure there would be smudges of white makeup against my skin. A ridiculous smile split my face as I flicked my bow down to slap his backside.