Into The Shadows (Shadows Ascending Trilogy)

by Jenn D. Young

  “Fine, but I don’t like it.” Her arms crossed over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at me briefly before returning her eyes to Damius.

  Damius reached out to me. “She has spunk. I like it. You’ll have your hands full.”

  I sent him the equivalent of a mental middle finger and he smiled back at me.

  “Leo, your report please.” Damius was a master at redirecting the topics at hand.

  Leo stood and went to the front of the room. “You all know we were able to capture three of the vampires and one human who worked in the facility. As well as Antionette, thanks to Nicolae.” He paused and made a few motions at the front screen.

  Of course, Leo would have prepared handouts for each of us to review electronically. I rolled my eyes. He really was an insufferable bastard. Lorelei grabbed the tablet from the desk and flicked through the pages. There were folders on each of the individuals recovered.

  “I will let you review the first couple of folders on your own. The important topic to discuss is the information I gathered from Antionette. She is rather susceptible to my persuasive techniques, and it didn’t take me long to get information from her.” He smiled, obviously proud of himself.

  Leo had the ability to command the truth from the weak minded. It is one of his main gifts as a vampire. Obviously Antionette is among the weak minded.

  A small shudder wracked her body as she thought of Antionette. “Theera, she is getting everything that is coming to her. We will have our chance soon enough.”

  She didn’t take her eyes off Leo as he spoke. She didn’t even acknowledge the words that I projected to her telepathically.

  “It seems as if The Syndicate has been searching for Lorelei since Morgana died. They believe her to be a part of a prophecy that one of their seers predicted in the early part of last century. They believe that she is the missing link to freeing Xandrios once and for all.”

  He paused and locked eyes with Lorelei. It was difficult for me to remain in control as he looked her up and down. The damn Greek was a charmer and anyone with eyes knew Lorelei was a beautiful woman. A growl escaped my throat and Leo just responded with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulder.

  “What else did this prophecy say?”

  All eyes turned to Lorelei as she whispered the words. “What? It is a valid question.” She held up her hands in an innocent gesture. “Should I have raised my hand and asked to speak first or something?”

  Damius was the first one to crack and start laughing. It was a complete surprise as there were only a handful of occasions where I had heard him actually laugh. The room joined in the laughter.

  I turned to Lorelei with a smile on my face. Her brow was furrowed in confusion and her lips tilted downward in a scowl. “It isn’t funny. I want to know what the fucking prophecy about me said.” Now I knew she was pouting as she chewed her bottom lip. She was adorable when she was pouting.

  “Lorelei, we aren’t laughing at you. These proceedings have been too formal for too long. Someone speaking out of turn just surprised us and you calling it out was humorous,” Damius said pinning her with a knowing look.

  He sighed and continued. “The truth is we don’t know what the full prophecy said. We only know that they have interpreted it to indicate you are the key to releasing Xandrios.”

  She nodded. I could see her trying to accept the answer. My little Nephilim always wanted answers immediately, ‘I don’t know’ answers never did work for her.

  My Nephilim?

  I needed to get that line of thinking out of my head. Damn it. This was neither the time nor the place for it.

  Damius turned his knowing gaze to me, the corners of his lips turning up slightly. He knew exactly what was going on and what I was thinking. Arrogant bastard.

  “Continue Leo, some of us have things to do,” I growled.

  “Oh yes, Mr. Rock Star, I’m sure most of us are looking forward to your show tonight.” He rolled his eyes and clicked to the next slide. Several laughs were disguised by coughs as I glared. A smile tweaked Lorelei’s lips as well.

  “I know there was a big concern with the control device that was used to contain and torture Lorelei.” I saw her cringe and unconsciously she gripped her neck. Leo’s eyes flicked to her briefly before continuing. “It seems as if this was a device of Antionette’s own invention. It isolates brain waves that are associated with psychic abilities and activates the metal within to heat to an extreme temperature.”

  Adreon stood, the collar in his hands. “I was able to determine the frequency that they are using to secure the devices to come up with a jammer.” He cleared his throat. “If we are to encounter it again, we will be able to render them inactive right away.”

  My hand moved to the back of her neck and gently rubbed, trying to ease some of her tension. She leaned back into my touch. I smiled at her unconscious movement.

  “Did she reveal anything about how they turned her?” Drake asked, his arm wrapped around Lyiana. I knew they both were very curious about Lorelei and we would have to set up a meeting to have them talk with her. Lyiana was Morgana’s best friend, and she took her loss very hard.

  Even now, I could see the pain behind her soft hazel eyes, her hands clinging to Drake’s as she looked at Lorelei.

  Adreon looked toward Leo, their expressions grim. “It would seem that they were able to obtain hybrid vampire Nephilim blood, which they used via transfusion. It allowed the change to take root after several days.”

  Adreon looked to Lorelei. “We would need some blood samples to try to determine what bloodline that the hybrid was from. Seeing as the number of known hybrids is so low, we have no idea where they were able to get their hands on the individual.”

  Lorelei nodded firmly, but I cut her off, my hand digging into the muscle of her shoulder. “She is not a lab experiment for you to study, Adreon.” My voice was deep and full of power.

  “Vincent, I’m not saying that, we just need samples to try to determine—"

  “I’ll do it. Just let me know when and where.” She held up her hand and stared me down. “You may be my guardian—” her voice dripped with contempt—“but I can make my own damn decisions. I say I want to find out how I was made and if he can figure it out with a little of my blood, then so be it. It’s my choice, not yours.”

  Clapping from the opposite end of the table drew my attention. Nicolae had his feet up on the desk, a wide smile splitting his lips as his hands continued their applause. “You tell him, love.”

  “Death wish,” Kaniul muttered from his seat next to Nicolae.

  Adreon stared at me with wide eyes as he took in the scene. “We can discuss it later.” He took his seat again.

  Kathryn took the moment to speak up, “Do we even know of any other hybrids or seraphim? I thought Vincent, and I were the only ones left?” Her voice was small. She was the youngest of the council and hardly spoke at meetings.

  “I am sure The Syndicate has found some throughout the years,” Leo grumbled. He looked annoyed as his presentation had obviously gone off the rails.

  “The testing is going to be our best avenue to try to determine bloodlines,” Lyiana said softy.

  “Agreed,” Damius said with finality. “Leo, do you have anything else pertinent to add?”

  Leo shook his head and sat back down.

  Damius smile and clapped his hands together once. “Well then, we will see those so inclined at Thanatos tonight.” He winked at Lorelei, “I know I am looking forward to it.”

  “Adjourned.” With a flash, he disappeared.

  Chapter 22

  Lorelei

  Well that was great fun.

  I looked up at Vincent, who had still not removed his hand from my neck. “So can Vampires do that shadow flight thing too?” I whispered, more than aware of the eyes that were still looking in my direction.

  “No, but Damius is far from your typical vampire.” He was looking at each person with narrowed eyes, daring them to approach us.r />
  Kaniul and Nicolae approached from the right. “Nice work, love. You totally threw Leo off his game. It was wonderful to watch.” He held his hand up for a high five and I smiled at him and slapped his palm.

  We both laughed as Vincent growled, “Let’s go.”

  “Til next time!” Nicolae laughed as he grabbed Kaniul by the shoulder and disappeared.

  “He is fun,” I giggled. Vincent responded by rolling his eyes before grabbing my hand. He arched a brow in question, and I nodded.

  Blackness washed over me before we reappeared in his office at Thanatos.

  My back slammed against the wall, and his hands were planted on both sides of my head, caging me in. “You play a very dangerous game, Theera,” he whispered the words against my lips.

  My heart rate skyrocketed as his presence and scent overwhelmed me. Warm breath fanned over my face as he spoke. “No one challenges me like that.” His nose skimmed along my cheek to my ear and sharp fangs nibbled along the soft lobe.

  I could not help the moan that escaped my throat, my brain not able to form any words.

  “Music to my ears, darling.” His lips blazed a trail down my neck, his teeth scraping along the tender skin. “You make me quite hungry, theera, I think I will have a bite.”

  White lighting ignited within me as his fangs pierced my vein. My mouth dropped open, and a scream started to build before he clamped a hand over my mouth, dulling the sound. My legs wrapped around his hips, his erection pressing into my core. His hips ground into me as he took another deep swallow of my essence.

  “Your blood is unlike any I have ever tasted.”

  “Boss man, sound check is—” Nicolae paused on his words as he burst through the door.

  Fangs lifted from my neck and turned on Nicolae with a ferocity I had never seen before. Vincent was in full demon mode as he hissed and roared at the Nightmare demon.

  For once, Nicolae reacted appropriately, dropping to one knee and lowering his head in respect. “Aural.”

  “Leave.” The word was wrenched from his throat, his demonic presence lacing it with power. Nicolae vanished the next moment.

  I felt the blood dripping down my neck. I faced Vincent in his full demon form. Red mottled skin, black horns, 3-inch-long fangs and eyes that were fully black. His features were sharper and more defined. He blinked at me for a moment, eyes drifting down to the blood running down my neck. His pupils dilated his he focused on the trail of blood flowing down to my collarbone.

  My hands reached up and cupped his cheek, my mind fully connecting with his. The force of his desire intensified as my fingers touched his skin. His eyes closed as he leaned into my hand. The growl that left his throat made me swallow harshly.

  Although terrifying, Vincent’s form did not frighten me. I knew in my heart he would never harm me. He took my wrist and secured it above my head in his hand. His form flickered before me and his skin returned to a normal color. For a moment, I saw beautiful wings appear on his back, but in the blink of an eye, they were gone. I blinked in confusion. Did I really see that?

  “You make me lose the control I’ve perfected for millennia,” he rasped. Head bent, his tongue traced the trail of blood that had trickled from the now healed wound in my neck. The slow lazy motion had me throwing my head back and groaning.

  “Vincent, please,” I begged. My legs wrapped around his hips again, my body fully aligning with his. His hard cock pressed into me through the fabric of our clothes, making me groan. His responding growl had me digging my nails into his shoulders.

  “Fuck,” he slammed his lips against mine in a punishing kiss. He dominated my mouth, and I lost myself in his kiss. Our tongues danced as he held my head at the angle he favored. His firm control over my body just adding more to my desire.

  He pulled away and his forehead pressed to mine, our breathing erratic. “We have to stop.”

  I smacked my head back against the wall. “You have a show to get ready for.” I swallowed, my throat dry, my body humming with unfulfilled desire.

  He continued to place feather light kisses along my face and neck. “It will be impossible to stop if you keep doing that.” It came out breathy as I tangled my fingers in his hair.

  “Mmm hmm.” He nibbled at my ear, causing shivers to run down my arms.

  “Vincent, concert, sound check. Tune your instruments.” I couldn’t believe I was saying the words, especially when what he was doing with his mouth felt so good.

  “I’m going to go kill Nicolae first.”

  I yelped as he bit down hard enough to draw blood again. He soothed the wound with a long lap of his tongue. Reaching behind his head, he removed my hands from his hair, taking a step back. I set my feet back on the ground and he placed his hands on my waist to steady me.

  “Don’t kill Nicolae.” I slid my hands around his shoulders to his chest. I wasn’t ready to let him go. Energy danced in my veins, electricity buzzing around me, and I could barely think with the cloud of desire muddling my vision. The raw passion between Vincent and I was getting to be almost too much to handle.

  His eyes locked with mine, raw carnal cravings lighting a flame behind them. He rubbed his hand over his face and through his hair with a curse. “This is more difficult than I thought it would be.” The words were whispered so low, I barely heard them. He crossed the room and stood at his desk. He slammed a fist over the paperwork littering the top and a string of curses left his mouth.

  Distract him, I thought. That might help.

  “So, what kind of setlist do you have planned for tonight?” While my voice was still husky, it was not as deep and raspy as before.

  He narrowed his eyes as he looked at me, as if he knew what I was trying to do. This was not only to distract him. I needed a distraction myself. “Would you like to join me for a couple of songs?” The teasing tone was back.

  I smiled shyly, “Maybe, I don’t know.” I tucked a strand of my dark hair behind my ear, turning away. While I had performed before, it had always been as part of a large ensemble and I was hidden in the back, afraid of drawing attention to myself.

  Footsteps echoed in the room as he crossed over to a door opposite the exit and opened it. Inside was a lush dressing/bathroom. “I would love to have you on stage with me one day.” His eyes trailed along my body from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. “One day,” he repeated.

  I could imagine the fireworks that would happen if we took the stage together. Having listened to and followed DemonFall as long as I had, Vincent’s voice was undeniably the sexist thing I had ever heard. I knew my obsession with them had to stem from somewhere. It was then that it clicked into place for me.

  “You knew it was me you got lyrics from, didn’t you? Even though I used different pseudonyms, you still knew.”

  He just shrugged. “I have always watched over you to make sure you were safe. That included knowing all the various names you used to hide your identity in the music community.” He paused, deep in thought for a moment before continuing.

  “I have always written my own music and lyrics, but as I discovered your songs, I knew I had to use and adapt them.” He pinned me with an intense stare.

  My mouth parted, and I felt the familiar flames of longing dance across my skin. He turned away, breaking the spell. I exhaled sharply. This connection was getting to be more intense and started to feel suffocating. I closed my eyes and tried to center myself, my emotions getting the better of me.

  A knock sounded at the door, sidelining me from my wayward thoughts. Vincent sighed and called out. “Stop sulking and just come in.”

  Nicolae walked in, along with Kaniul, both kept their eyes down. “A demon never sulks,” he said, begrudgingly. He even had a small pout on his face.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. The laughter set me off, bubbling up and wracking my body. The three powerful men stared at me with their heads tilted in question. I couldn’t stop the insane laughter.

  “But-but—” I couldn’t e
ven speak. The laughter was so intense that tears started falling down my face. “Pouting—” I was gasping now, “—funny.”

  The emotions within me swirled out of control. Everything inside me was on fire, my skin over sensitized, every nerve ending alive with a sensation that bordered on pain. My breathing became erratic, and I started to hyperventilate. The men rushed over, Kaniul was the first to catch me before I fell to my knees.

  “Iah, breathe,” his rich voice whispered in my ear. I couldn’t stop the shaking that rattled my body.

  I heard their voices, but I couldn’t focus. His hands on my skin felt wrong, he was all wrong.

  “When did she feed last?” Kaniul sounded angry.

  “Right after we got her back the other day,” Vincent was quiet, his tone strong as I felt him try to slip into my mind.

  “That’s it?! She is a fledgling, she needs to be feeding two to three times a day,” Kaniul thundered.

  “She isn’t just a fledgling. She is something else entirely. She didn’t exhibit any signs of hunger or weakness,” Vincent responded.

  I slipped down further into my unconsciousness state. I felt as if I was hovering above my body, looking down at the scene that was happening around me. Nicolae had taken over trying to comfort me while Kaniul and Vincent faced off.

  I wanted to shout at them to stop, but no sound emerged from my mouth.

  Movement across the room caught my eye. I turned, seeing an imposing figure surrounded by white light.

  “Who are you? What am I doing here?” I couldn’t hear my voice, but I knew I spoke.

  “Little one, you are coming into your power much faster than expected. It is overwhelming your body.” The sound made goosebumps rise over my skin. The male voice was so lyrical and soothing. A feeling of déjà vu swept over me. The voice sounded so familiar.

  “You need time, rest, and blood from your mate to maintain your control. You will all need to band together to face what is coming.” The light was so bright I lifted a hand to shield my eyes as he came closer to me. His presence warmed me. I caught a flash of strong wings and white glowing eyes.