INEVITABLE
DARKNESS
A Moon Virus novel by
Cassandra Lawson
Copyright ©2018 Cassandra Lawson
All Rights Reserved
Cover designed by J.N. Sheats
Proofreading by Kendra’s Editing and Book Services
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events are creations of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Also by Cassandra Lawson
Acknowledgments
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
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About the Author
Also by Cassandra Lawson
Love Without Batteries Series
Dirty at 30
Naughty at 30
Sultry at 30
Moon Virus Series
Raven’s Blood
Embrace the Heat
Seducing Death
Shattered Restraint
Impulsive Destiny
Untamed Winter
Psy-Vamp Series
Vampires and Vixens
Safe Hex With a Vampire
Vampires Prefer Blondes
The Vampire Will See You Now
Wanton with a Vampire
Vampire in Geek’s Clothing
Wicked Crazy Vampire Love
A Vampire Christmas
Reckless Release Series
Rocking Standby
Rock & Regrets
Rocking Perfection
Spells That Bind Series
Sinfully Spellbound
Shamelessly Spellbound
Seductively Spellbound
Undeniably Hellbound
Inescapably Hellbound
Reluctantly Hellbound
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my wonderful beta readers, April, Kari, Ria, and Yvonne for all of their help in getting this book ready. I also want to thank my beautiful girls, Seramina and Jilliana for their patience.
Prologue
As Orelani cradled her newborn son, she marveled at his perfection. Ten little fingers and ten little toes—she’d counted them more than once. In the first few minutes after his birth, he’d looked like her with pale lilac eyes and deep purple hair. In those first precious moments, she’d started to believe she could keep him, but fate had other plans as she’d learned when his hair and eyes turned brown.
“What have I done, my precious boy?” she asked. A single tear landed on his forehead, but he didn’t blink or cry. He watched her with eyes that seemed to hold far too much knowledge for someone who was only a few hours old.
“You’ve signed his death warrant,” Mirinova snapped. Her sister wasn’t happy about being drawn into Orelani’s problems. Though they were close, Mirinova followed the rules with very few exceptions. She was making an exception for Orelani and her son. “What species is the father? He looks human.”
Orelani hesitated, knowing her answer would only add to Mirinova’s stress. Still, she needed to prepare her. “Demon.”
Mirinova sucked in a sharp breath and stared at her with wide, shocked eyes, the reaction Orelani had expected. “You had a child with a demon?” she whispered. “Why?”
“It wasn’t planned,” Orelani insisted. “The father knows nothing of my pregnancy. All we need to do is hide the child.”
“He can’t stay with you,” Mirinova said, placing a hand on Orelani’s arm. Her voice was gentle. Her sister was the one person she could always count on. As much as she wanted Mirinova to tell her they’d find a way to make everything work and keep the baby safe, Orelani knew the truth.
“We have to hide him from the Fae and his father,” Orelani agreed with a sigh. “If only he’d looked Fae longer. I sense his power just beneath the surface. He could have passed.”
“I have an idea,” Mirinova told her. “There is a cluster of human realms where demons rarely go. If we weave the right spell, it will be hard to recognize his Fae magic there, and those who do recognize it will think he has a Fae ancestor at least several generations back.”
“I don’t want to let him go,” she whispered. “But I can’t let him die.”
“I’ll find a nice human family to take him in,” Mirinova promised her. “He’ll be safe.”
“I want to name him,” Orelani announced. “What are some good human names?”
Mirinova frowned. “John, Braiden, Noah, Seth, Christopher, or Timothy. Do you like any of those?”
“They just don’t seem right,” Orelani mused. “I’ve got it. If he’d looked Fae, I’d planned to name him Imichriel. I’ll name him Mitchell. It sounds similar.”
“Ishmael sounds more similar,” Mirinova stated. “Though, I like Mitchell better.”
“Me too,” Orelani agreed.
Mirinova nodded and held out her arms. “Give him to me so we can cast the spell before I take him away.”
Orelani was about to hand him to her sister, but she hesitated. “Let me add one last charm before you take him away.”
Her sister nodded, and Orelani wove the charm around her son before kissing his forehead. “I love you, Mitchell.”
Chapter 1
Terigin stared out his window at the blood red sky. His home sat high enoug
h that he had to look down to see the demon city below; he was far from the putrid smell of sulfur and decaying flesh.
Turning away from the window, he caught sight of himself in the mirror above the fireplace. To look at him, few would guess Terigin held a position high above other demons. He had long brown hair, brown eyes, and an average human build. Unlike some other varieties of demons, his type looked no different from humans.
Pouring himself a glass of elfin wine, he sat beside the fire and watched the flames dance. With each passing day, he grew more impatient. Tapping the side of his glass with one finger, he considered all the ways he’d make his tracker pay if he didn’t return with useful information soon.
Hearing a knock on the door, Terigin set his glass to the side and called out, “Enter!”
Destran entered the room, looking pleased with himself. Terigin didn’t know if that meant his underling had information, or if he was just too foolish to realize Terigin was looking for someone to take his bad temper out on. Destran had coarse, shoulder-length black hair, jet-black eyes ringed with red, and gray skin.
“What have you learned?” Terigin demanded.
It had been more than a year since Terigin had detected large pulses of demon power emanating from one of the human dimensions. He’d immediately recognized the connection to his brother and wondered if Aglinon was responsible for the magic. Terigin had always been sensitive to magic—capable of discerning which demon line it came from. Aglinon had never been the type to start a rebellion, but he often involved himself in human wars.
Much to Terigin’s surprise, his brother hadn’t been involved—not directly, at least. It seemed Aglinon had a half-breed bastard worthy of his attention. Terigin wanted to find the mutt, and he’d been closing in on the dimension when the power surges suddenly stopped. At first, it appeared as if the halfling had died before he could get to the child. Then, he’d started to sense muted pulses. Whether the halfling was suddenly being cautious, or someone else was masking the magic, Terigin didn’t know. It didn’t matter either way. He intended to locate the half-demon and find out if they were a weapon he could exploit or one he needed to destroy.
“I’m closer to pinpointing the location of the halfling. I’ve narrowed it down to a cluster of human realms,” Destran told him. “I’ve also been looking into all of your brother’s known offspring to see if any one of them is responsible for the magical surges.”
“The ones we know about are too weak,” Terigin snapped as he snatched his glass off the end table, stood, and began pacing the room. “I need more than just a cluster of human realms, Destran. I need an exact realm. Why are you wasting your time talking to my brother’s other bastards?”
Terigin stopped directly in front of Destran and allowed his magic to move up along his skin, heating the glass until the crimson wine bubbled over the edges.
Destran swallowed hard as he took a step back. “Two of his bastards had some interesting information. Your brother had a brief tryst with a shapeshifter, and the timing for that affair would be right. His mutt should be in demon adolescence now, and that could explain the energy surges. The cluster of human realms I’ve narrowed it down to are the only realms with shapeshifters.”
Terigin shuddered at the thought of joining with one of those dirty beasts. They were little more than animals, and he couldn’t imagine getting it up with one. “How could fucking a shapeshifter produce such an impressive little mutt?” He shook his head. “No, that’s not possible.”
“Once I learned of the possibility, I had Larakie examine the shadows of the power pulses,” Destran explained.
Larakie was one of a handful of demons who could see shadows of magic used as far back as a thousand years. The ability had caused her to lose her mind at a young age, so it wasn’t easy getting her to help. Terigin had tried using her skills several times with no success. Destran had apparently caught her on a good day.
“And she confirmed your suspicions?” Terigin asked.
Destran nodded. “She gave me a lot of information before she started muttering nonsense again. The power contains strong traces of shapeshifter magic. Larakie also senses the connection to your brother. While she was still lucid, Larakie said the name, Kishara. The halfling is a female, and your brother must know about her if she has a demon name.”
“This is a good start, but I need more,” Terigin told him.
Destran grinned. “I have more.”
“Tell me,” Terigin commanded. One of Destran’s more annoying qualities was his desire to draw out any explanation. Terigin often considered disemboweling Destran to cure him of the habit.
“I met Larakie near the River Zarus,” Destran began. “As you know, she prefers the company of the Fae.”
Terigin nodded. Few demons were seers, but the ability was common among the Fae. Demon seers were often shunned and considered weak among their kind. For that reason, they sought out the company of the Fae at places like River Zarus.
“After I got what I could from Larakie, I decided to go into one of the Fae pubs for a drink,” Destran explained. “Inside the pub, I heard the name Kishara, so I stuck around longer. I overheard some gossip about Arawn bringing someone back to life after a battle involving Kishara. I don’t know if Kishara killed the person, but Arawn is definitely not happy with her. Unfortunately, the Fae noticed me lingering and stopped talking. I hurried out of there so they wouldn’t decide I was a threat. I’m not positive if Kishara is really an enemy of Arawn’s, but it sounded that way.”
Terigin tapped his chin as he processed the new information. Arawn’s involvement was both an interesting and annoying development. As the Fae responsible for dealing with the dark souls of humans, even demons shied away from him. If Kishara had killed someone close to Arawn, she was lucky to still be alive, and Terigin wondered how she’d escaped with her life.
“We need to find her, especially if Arawn might also be looking for her. Kishara might beg for my protection if she’s crossed Arawn,” he mused. “I need to have a word with my brother to find out where he’s hiding his bastard and why. If he named her, he must know where she is.” First, he needed to find his brother.
“Larakie also traced other magic from around the time Kishara disappeared,” Destran told him.
Terigin caught Destran by his throat and slammed him against the wall. “Tell me everything now or I’m going to skin you alive. I don’t have time for you to drag this story out.”
Visibly shaken, Destran’s gray tongue darted out to moisten his lips before he replied. “The magic used to shield Kishara just before she disappeared is somehow related to yours. She sensed five varieties of magic surrounding Kishara—demon, Fae, witch, shapeshifter, and mage. The Fae magic wasn’t Arawn’s, and the demon magic originated from your line. It’s one of your sons.”
“One of my children is hiding her from me?” he asked as he allowed Destran to drop to the floor.
“It must be one of your half-breed children,” Destran suggested as he stood.
Terigin smiled as his rage faded. Had it been one of his legitimate children, he’d have strung them up by their intestines. “This makes the situation all the more interesting. Two powerful half-breeds, and all I need to do is find them before anyone else does.”
Chapter 2
Jase’s fist connected with the young lynx’s chin before he spun and kicked his challenger in the ribs. The lynx collapsed to the ground and stayed there.
“Are you done?” Jase demanded. Blood ran from the cut at his hairline, clouding his vision. This had been the best challenge to his position he’d dealt with so far. There’d been plenty since he’d taken over as leader of his clan. Challengers always came forward when a new leader took over. Many felt Jase had only been made leader because he was Max’s son. They questioned his ability to lead, and that meant fights. Others simply wanted to prove themselves. Only a handful of fighters had been worthy of his attention. Usually, they went down within the first few minutes,
some without landing more than a single blow.
“Yeah, I’m done,” the lynx said with a cough.
Jase reached out a hand to help him to his feet. This lynx was too badass to send back to the ranks. He was a fighter worth recognizing—one Jase wanted to have his back.
“You are a tough bastard.” He laughed as he caught his breath. “Damn, Cade. I still remember when you were a young kitten chasing butterflies. Who would have guessed you’d come so close to kicking my ass?”
Cade laughed, wincing at the pain in his ribs. “I didn’t come anywhere near winning this fight.”
“Did you truly think you were going to win?” Jase asked. It seemed unlikely since Cade had challenged him privately. The others had all wanted a crowd to witness their victory.
“Nope,” Cade replied. “I wanted to get your attention.” Cade was a couple of inches taller, tall for a lynx shifter, with black hair and pale green eyes.
“You got my attention, but you may regret that,” Jase warned. “I’m not about to waste your potential, and that means you’ll work hard. What we did here today is just a sample of the type of training I have planned for you.”
Cade grinned. “I like the sound of that. What will I be training for?”
“I need enforcers,” Jase stated. “You’re second under Rex.”
“Only second?” Cade asked with a raised eyebrow.
“For now,” Jase replied. “I’m impressed with how you approached me for this position.”
“If I wanted the job, I had to think outside the box,” Cade stated. “When I first came to you, a few months back to ask about being an enforcer, you said I was too young.”
“You are,” Jase agreed since Cade was only twenty-eight. “Under other circumstances, I’d be pissed at you for this stunt, but I didn’t leave you any options. In the future, I would recommend you avoid playing games with me. This is your one pass.”
Cade nodded, looking down as a sign of respect. “No more games. I’m loyal to our clan, and I plan to prove I should be your top enforcer. I will protect you and the others with my life.”
Jase bit back a grin, not wanting to encourage the young lynx’s arrogance. He was about to speak when he caught a familiar scent. His eyes closed, and he inhaled deeply. When he opened his eyes, he started stripping out of his pants. “I’m going for a run.”
Inevitable Darkness Page 1
