by K. G. Reuss
Shadow Song
The Everlasting Chronicles
K.G. Reuss
Contents
Epigraph
Dedication
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
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
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
About the Author
Other Books by K.G. Reuss
Coming Soon!
Acknowledgments
The Everlasting Chronicles: Shadow Song
© 2018 by K.G. Reuss. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s overactive imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
Signed Books may be purchased by contacting the author at:
www.Facebook.com/kgreuss
Cover Design: Covers by Christian
Publisher: Amazon Direct, Books From Beyond
Editor: N-D-Scribable Services
First Edition
Created with Vellum
Epigraph
“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both -Niccolo Machiavelli.
Dedication
For Dusty.
They’re real. They exist. I told you so.
Prologue
I had a firm belief that we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. They were gone, leaving behind only their memories. They had no way to defend themselves against harsh words or brutal truths. What was done was done. Let them rest in peace.
All my thoughts on that were flung out of the highest window from the tallest tower the moment the beautiful, green-eyed, raven-haired, ivory-skinned angel entered my life. I didn’t know at the time that she was going to change my world forever. How could I? I was four, and she was only three.
One moment I was in my room, lying in bed after my mother had tucked me in, and the next there was this terrible pull in my gut. It took me from my room and left me frightened in a dark place filled with growls, snarls, and voices hissing through the surrounding blackness. It was my time in shadow. My first time through the darkest places of the Veil. Back then, I didn’t know it was called the Veil.
I cried. I remembered that. I didn’t know where I was or why I was there. I could hear the voices around me. I could feel their claws on my skin. So, I ran. I ran as far and as fast as my little legs could take me.
Suddenly, there was a light — a beautiful, promising light spilling through an opening. As I ran closer, I could make out the form of a girl sitting on the floor of a room. Her blanket was wrapped tightly around her as she rocked back and forth. I burst into the light as the claws scraped my legs, arms, and neck, and tumbled into the girl’s bedroom through her closet door.
She didn’t pay any attention to me. Confused about why she wasn’t seeing me, I looked down and saw that I was as black as night, having turned into a shadow myself. My heart hammered like mad in my chest. While I was afraid for myself, I was even more scared for her. She continued to rock, her green eyes wavering as she stared at her bedroom door. Still frightened about what had just happened to me, and how I’d gotten there, I backed into the corner to watch her. I wanted to talk to her but couldn’t. I didn’t have the right words to say, and she already looked frightened enough. Yelling from somewhere else in the house floated to me, the screams getting louder. She rocked faster as heavy footsteps thudded down the hall.
“You will not touch her!” a woman screamed. “Por favor!”
My fear for the girl grew as the door to her room slammed open. The girl gave a start, her eyes wider as the menacing form of a large, hulking man entered her room, his green eyes wild.
“Everly,” he growled, stomping into the room. She scooted away from him, her small hands still clutching her blanket and a small stuffed rabbit. “They want you.”
“Don’t touch her!” the woman shrieked, rushing into the room. She looked like the girl—long dark hair and a pretty face. But her eyes were chocolate brown where the girl’s were emerald green. The man reached out and struck the woman across the face, sending her flying into the wall where she banged her head and slid down, her body limp.
“Mommy!” little Everly cried out, scrambling to her feet. The little girl tried to run behind her bed, but the man was fast and caught her by her hair then yanked her back to him. He gripped her tightly. His hand clasped over her mouth as she kicked and screamed.
“It’s started! They want you! You’re a curse they can have!”
He tugged her small struggling body to the closet I’d just escaped from and opened the door. The wails from the monsters inside caused me to cover my ears. I watched in horror as many sets of gnarled, dead hands reached out. The stench of death permeated the room. The girl was thrust forward and captured by the creatures in her closet.
“Daddy! Daddy! Please!” she screamed as they tore at her, dragging her into the darkness. He only stood there watching with a grim expression on his face as she was taken away.
Her father had let her go. I watched as he went to his wife who lay unconscious on the floor. He scooped her limp body up easily and left the room. Turning, I stared at the closed closet door, my mind made up before I even realized it.
I drew in a deep breath as I approached the door. I was going to save her. It was a decision easily made. I was put there for a reason.
She was my reason, and I’d die before I let something happen to her.
Chapter 1
“Are we really doing this?” Eric groaned, rubbing his blue eyes, his messy blond hair falling across his forehead. “I hate doing these raids. I’m exhausted for days after.”
“You wouldn’t be if you let Brandon or me heal you,” I pointed out as I pulled my sword out and examined it. The titanium silver gleamed beneath the overhead lights of our weapons room.
“Brandon has a hard-enough time keeping up with all the healing he has to do with Damien,” Eric argued, looking over to Damien, the dark-haired shifter who was eating a bag of potato chips instead of making sure his weapons were in order for the night’s raid on a carrion nest.
“Are you complaining again, Craft?” Damien asked, finally getting up from the table he was sitting on, tossing his now empty bag of chips into the trash and wiping his hands on his pant
legs.
“Just about you,” Eric retorted.
“If you two would put as much effort into getting your things together as you do in antagonizing one another, we’d already be halfway through this raid,” I mumbled irritably, stuffing the blade into the sheath on my back before grabbing two daggers and strapping them to my legs beneath my long, black cloak. “Brandon and Adam are already done and ready to go.”
“Like you have anything to be worried about,” Eric grunted, stuffing his dagger into the strap on his leg. “You’re just going to charge in there, kill some carrion, and walk out without a scratch.”
“Probably,” I shrugged, knowing he was more than likely right. I never got hurt. Because I was very good at my job. I scooped up my favorite set of throwing knifes and attached them to the holster on my chest. I paused as a strange warmness washed over me. It traveled from my head all the way to my toes making me adjust my shirt collar. My whole body felt tingly and light, almost like that moment right before sleep claimed me each night.
“What the hell?” I murmured, trying to shake it off. It was just anticipation for the evening’s impending ordeal. That was all. It disappeared a moment later leaving me feeling lightheaded and woozy. I swallowed down the nausea and drew in a deep, calming breath as I pushed my silver hair away from my damp forehead.
I’m stressed out over the Cipher threat. I’m overworked and exhausted. That’s all. It’s nothing. Damn Cipher. With them being in direct opposition to the Order, it fell to me and my crew to eliminate as many of them as possible. I made a mental note to get a decent night’s sleep since it had been weeks since I’d actually had one. The nagging familiarity that had accompanied the tingly was still gnawing at me though.
“You know what I can’t wait for?” Eric continued as he eyed his blade.
“What?” I asked, still frowning as I tried to push my troubled thoughts away.
“The day you get paired off after an induction. Adam got Chloe last go. Brandon got Amanda. I can only imagine how it would change you,” Eric mused, a tiny smirk on his lips. He was referring to our pairing ceremony in Conexus where we stood on a dais and let our blood decide who our best suited partner would be. And it wasn’t a love thing. It was a fighting thing. Anyone could get paired with anyone else. I hadn’t been paired. Ever. I didn’t figure I ever would be. It would have to be a crazy strong Special to be able to match up with me. But if I ever found one, my abilities would be out of this world strong—and so would theirs. It would bring a whole new level of badassery to our group.
“That won’t happen. I’m a machine all on my own.” I shot a half-assed grin at him, still feeling weird inside, that damn nagging familiarity getting stronger.
“Well, Mr. Machine. We going to get some breakfast after we finish this shit?” Damien asked, surveying one of his blades carefully before glancing over his shoulder at me. “Because I’m already hungry.”
“You just ate an entire bag of chips, and I’m pretty sure Sloane is going to kill you when she sees you drank all the milk. Again.” Eric rolled his eyes at the hulking shifter.
“She’ll have to touch me to do that.” Damien waggled his eyebrows at Eric who shook his head, smiling.
“Sloane doesn’t have to touch you. She could probably end your life from twenty feet away all while tying her shoes,” I commented, mentioning the powerful caster in our ranks and one of our roommates. “And I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t. At the very least, she’s going to get on your case. Hard. You know how she is about empty milk cartons in the fridge.”
“I know.” Damien grinned wider. “Why do you think I leave them there?”
“You’re a glutton for punishment.” Eric slapped Damien on the back, and the two exchanged laughs.
I doubled over suddenly, my head spinning wildly as the warmness from before became an intense heat.
“Shadow?” Eric asked, concerned. Damien snapped his head up and looked at me.
“You OK, man?” Damien asked, stepping toward me, the worry evident in his now serious voice. I was never sick. And Damien was never serious. Something was very wrong.
“I-I’m not feeling well,” I murmured, reaching out to steady myself. I found my two best friends at my side, trying to keep me on my feet.
“Get him a chair,” Eric commanded tightly. A moment later Damien was sliding a chair beneath me. I sat back on it still feeling woozy.
“Man, you’re pale,” Damien commented. “Can you heal?”
I frowned as I tested my healing. Nothing happened. If anything, it made me feel sicker. I shook my head weakly, leaning forward with my head in my hands. I tugged at my silvery locks in frustration as my vision blurred.
“Go get Brandon,” Eric commanded. Damien was out of the room and back within seconds with Brandon, our Fae healer, in tow.
“Shadow, what’s going on?” Brandon asked, kneeling in front of me. I managed to raise my head to look at him and swayed to the side, an intense pulling starting in my core. I felt like I was being torn in two. It was a feeling similar to the one I got when I shadow melded—one of my many gifts, gifts that I could bestow on my crew in Conexus.
“Shit,” I moaned. Brandon’s hands came out, and he placed them on either side of my head. His eyes closed as he tried to heal me.
“It’s not working,” he muttered as he shook his messy dark curls in frustration. “I-I don’t understand. It should work.”
I fell forward then, knocking Brandon roughly aside and hit the ground with a painful thud. I managed to roll over with a groan, my eyes focused on the overhead light. There was a scurry of activity as my friends bustled around, trying to help me.
“Shadow? Shadow!” Damien called out. He shook me, but I couldn’t rip myself away from whatever was beginning to happen to me. It was so strong, it left me helpless.
“What the hell!” Eric shouted frantically. “Man, what’s going on? Shadow! Come on! Brandon, help me get him to the couch! Damien, call Brighton. Get him here quick. See if Madam Ann is around, too.”
I was lifted into the air and moved to the couch in the commons room, my body unable to move on its own. Beyond my eyes were flashes of places I hadn’t seen in years as I stared at the ceiling, unable to move my body. My friends’ voices clamored in the background still, but this trumped everything, even Brandon’s efforts to bring me back again.
Her face flashed in my mind, a blur of dark hair and beautiful emerald colored eyes. I hadn’t seen her since we were twelve. The girl I’d once cared deeply for but now hated with every fiber of my being. My mind raced through the last time I’d ever seen her. I’d been pulled to her ever since I was four years old. She’d been a tiny, terrified three-year-old at the time of our first encounter. In all the years I’d been drawn to her, I’d only spoken to her once. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I was afraid to. I didn’t want to frighten her. She was already a troubled girl having to deal with her abusive father. And them. The dead.
“Daddy! No! Please!” she shouted in her tiny voice, kicking and screaming. I could hear her as I raced through the shadows, my mind in overdrive.
Panic surged through me. I wasn’t going to get to her fast enough. Her father might actually win this time.
With a thud, I landed in her bedroom as I’d skipped through the shadows to get to her. But she wasn’t there. A crash came from downstairs, making me take the stairs as fast as I could. I burst into her living room and found her bound with her father tying a gag tightly around her mouth. Without thinking twice, the large man lifted her small body up and pushed her into the coat closet.
“Let them have if you they want you!” he bellowed, slamming the door closed on her. I rushed forward and threw myself through the door, my form a shadow which was naked to the Nattie eye, people who didn’t possess powers like me. And even those who did, wouldn’t see me. I’d always been good at walking and existing with the shadows, hence my name.
The inside of the closet was gone. Instead, it
was a void of shadow. A place where the darkest creatures existed in torment. I’d been there many times. I ran forward, letting the attraction to her guide me. And then, there she was.
She lay curled in a tiny ball as the creatures of shadow—the wraiths and the lost ones, souls who wandered—tore at her ferociously, cackling wickedly. I didn’t hesitate. I plunged my blade through every single one of them until there was nothing left but her coiled tightly in a dirty, white nightgown.
Rolling her over, I took the gag out of her mouth. Her eyes were closed, and her face bled from their nails scratching her. I tried to heal her, but my powers didn’t work in the void. I lifted her limp body in my arms and carried her to the exit, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Even at twelve, I was a tall, muscular guy. Muffled shouting filtered through from the other side of the closet door as we approached it.
Her mom was home. She’d help.
“Everly?” I called out, cutting the ropes off her wrists and ankles as I laid her near the door. “Everly? It’s me. It’s Shadow. Please wake up. Please?” I begged, clinging to her. With trembling fingers, I pushed her damp hair away from her face, and her eyelids fluttered before opening. I was greeted with her pretty green eyes gazing up at me.
