Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  "I thought I'd give the two of you some privacy." The witch smiled wistfully. "I could feel Donovan's love for you almost like a force of nature. I knew such enduring love like that once, a love that could crush universes with its intensity."

  "You lost him?"

  "I did."

  Fiona ignored her and sat back down in her cell. She pushed the witch from her mind, concentrating only on Donovan. He was waiting for her.

  TEN

  ADRIAN SLAMMED the door behind him, trying to control his rage. He knew this had been necessary but that didn't mean he had to like it.

  I feel dirty. I feel like a true monster.

  "What's happened?" Chanda asked.

  "Fiona is dead," he shouted, hating himself for snapping at his wife, but he couldn't help it. He sighed and pulled her into a hug. "She's dead."

  "I thought it was the right thing," Chanda admitted. "I thought we were protecting us. Who knows what would have happened if Fiona had uploaded that video? But now..."

  "Now you feel like the monster she said we were."

  Chanda nodded. "Are we monsters? Are we evil for killing this poor woman?"

  He pulled her against him, feeling her beating heart soothe him. He wished he could tell her that things would get better, but he'd never forgive himself for this. He could've done something. He could've convinced Gable Trent to try a better option, but he didn't. He stood by and let them kill her.

  "We are not bad people," said Chanda, holding her head up high. She was crying. "We're not bad people. I know that. I feel that. We did something bad, but for a good reason, a noble reason."

  "Maybe," said Adrian.

  "If something like this ever happens again..."

  "We'll have to do the exact same thing."

  She nodded. "Perhaps."

  He hoped there wouldn't be a next time. He wasn't sure he'd be able to control himself. If it came to it he would force Sheriff Trent to come to a different decision, even if that mean risking his own life.

  She kissed him and said, "Come on. It's time to go to the forest."

  He nodded, and they changed into wolves. Only when he was a wolf could he feel some semblance of inner peace.

  Sheriff Trent watched, disgusted, as the two wolves scampered away. Sometimes Adrian's bleeding heart rubbed him the wrong way. If it was up to him everyone would have a fair hearing and be allowed to do whatever they want, damn the consequences to their world. Then again, he didn't object too much over killing Fiona, though the way she stood up to him in his true demon form did give him pause. Not many could look him in the eye when he looked so monstrous. The human had been brave, and he respected that.

  He knew he could keep his council in line. They had no choice. In the end they would protect themselves and their families, no matter who had to die.

  Rose and Circe exited the house. The ancient witch couldn't be read. She seemed passive, unemotional. The high school principal was another story entirely. Gable Trent knew she was easily manipulated, especially now that she'd lost a child. She'd do anything to protect the child she had left.

  "Well?" he demanded.

  Rose sighed. "I gave her a peaceful death. It will appear to all that she took an overdose of pain killers. The grief was too much for her to bear. She couldn't live without her husband." The witch glared at the sheriff malevolently. "Are you going to do the same to me if I should kick up a fuss about my son's murderer getting away with it?"

  "You could take me on, Rose. You could try, anyway."

  "It's always a pleasure working with you, demon. You bring out the best in me."

  "I like you, Rose. You're tough. You don't shy away from the hard decisions. I'd hate to kill you."

  "We have so much to look forward to."

  Sheriff Trent laughed as Rose stalked away. She could prove trouble in the future. Despite her threats, he understood her. He had two children whom he would give his life for. If someone gave them a paper cut, he would make their attacker pay in pain and blood. He was surprised she hadn't skinned Jared alive by now. It might have been fun to watch, just to annoy Dracula.

  What interest did Dracula have in some new vampire, anyway?

  Gable was intrigued. There was a secret there.

  "What was all that rubbish about Donovan's spirit?" he asked, amused. "You know as well as I do that when people are dead they're dead. Ghosts do not exist."

  "She wanted to see the man she loved before the end," Circe explained. She smiled dreamily, as if remembering something romantic from her own past. "I gave her what she wanted, one last meeting with her husband. It was the kind thing to do. You do remember what kindness is?"

  He didn't have the luxury of being kind. Their whole world hinged on his decisions, no matter how distasteful some members of their society thought they might be.

  I think one day the moaning is going to make me kill them all, just for a little peace and quiet.

  He smirked. "You're quite charitable; for an immortal witch."

  "You have no idea," said Circe.

  When she tried to walk away he blocked her. The sheriff was quite sure she was powerful enough to swat him like a fly but for some reason she didn't.

  "What is it, Gable?" Circe asked.

  "You said tonight is a turning point in history," said the sheriff. "How?"

  "You'll find out soon enough." She was about to exit when she added, "And don't think there isn't anything else out there. Souls exist. They have to go somewhere when their body dies."

  In all his billions of years of existence he hadn't found one inch of proof in the afterlife, but she was right about one thing. Souls did exist. He'd seen enough dark magic and wonders to know that. His own existence hinged on the fact that his ancient demonic soul was reborn over and over again after his death.

  "Are you telling me that Heaven exists?" he asked, his cynical side taking over.

  "Perhaps," she admitted. "Perhaps."

  With those parting, enigmatic words, she vanished.

  Angie dropped the single white rose on the grave. It reminded her of a mother's day card Donovan had once made. The cover had been full of white roses. He'd put such effort into it and her reaction was to throw it in the bin because her son was human and not worth loving. She was wrong. He was worth loving, and now she could never tell him.

  "Are you still here?" Bert demanded.

  She wiped away her tears, careful not to show any emotion. Bert would only make her life more unbearable if she openly wept for their son.

  "It's a nice grave," she said.

  "That wife of his should’ve spent her money on something else." He stopped by her. "Are you coming? I'm expecting a package."

  "Yeah. I was just...thinking about the son we never had."

  He sighed and walked away, leaving her to think again. She'd never forgive herself or her husband for the way they treated Donovan. The only way she knew how to make it up to him was to give him the justice he deserved.

  She smiled, pulling out the tiny Micro SD card from her pocket. She'd found it on the floor of the town hall. It must have fallen out of Fiona's cell as it broke.

  This has all the evidence I need to make this town pay for what they did to my son.

  She wouldn't reveal her secret weapon just yet. She needed time to prepare.

  "One day," she whispered. "One day we'll all get what's coming to us."

  * * *

  The End

  The world of The Vampire Inheritance Saga begins in Summer’s Deadly Kiss, which you can get FREE from this link, as well as sign up to a newsletter where you can be informed of future titles and enter giveaways for exclusive content.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Cate Farren lives in Sheffield, England. She has one cat and loves Doctor Pepper, spaghetti and discovering new films on Netflix.

  HALF SOUL

  LAURA GREENWOOD & ARIZONA TAPE

  Half Soul © 2
018 Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape

  * * *

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  HALF SOUL

  No half dragon will have a mate, but two halves does not a soul make.

  No half dragon will have a mate, but two halves does not a soul make.

  As a half-vampire, Marcus already knew he didn't have a soulmate and he thought he'd made his peace with that.

  Until he met Zara and decided to push through the walls surrounding his heart.

  A paranormal romance set in the Twin Souls Universe.

  ONE

  HAVE you ever felt there's a part of you missing?

  I had. Each and every day. But that was mostly because I had to live with the knowledge that I'd never be complete. My soulmate, my one, never existed. It was one of the curses of not being a full vampire. And my family's deepest secret. Even more so than Uncle Frederick's killing spree in the eighteen-thirties.

  But I couldn't think about that. Not with my best friend getting honoured today. I'd never been to a dragon blessing before, and apparently, they'd never had a vampire at one either, which meant everything was all hush hush about me. But I'd do anything for Ayra. She was like a sister to me, or at least, since she kneed me in the balls for trying to kiss her, she was. More so than any of my real siblings. The world worked in funny ways.

  It had taken me a little bit of getting used to her being a dragon. It all seemed so alien still. It wasn't that long since I'd been berating her for not drinking blood often enough. Back when she was a vampire living in someone else’s body. Now she could turn into a massive blue dragon, and probably eat me if she wanted to. I hoped she wouldn't, I didn’t think I'd taste very nice, I used far too much hair product for that.

  "You alright, Marcus?" she asked, and I glanced up. She took my breath away, she always did.

  "Yes, sorry, just thinking."

  "I thought I was supposed to be the one staring off into space today," she teased.

  "Yeah."

  She had a point. Then again, she was the mother, even if she wasn't right, I had to pretend she was. Not that anyone would be able to tell she’d given birth nine months ago. Ish. Ayra had that glowing new mother look, but her egg was at the bottom of a sacred lake, so there was no proof of child so to speak. Unless I counted the doting husband I knew was close by.

  "Are you nervous about being here? You don't have to stay." Her voice faded at the end, and I felt instantly guilty. It would be cruel of me not to. She didn't have anyone else here. As far as I knew, her parents weren't even aware of what had happened to her. Though I could understand that, they'd never been close.

  "No."

  "Even though you're the only vampire?" She smiled slightly this time, but a sad look crossed her face at the same time.

  "You know why they can't be here." I reached out and placed a comforting hand on her arm, trying to cheer her up.

  "I know." To my surprise, she laughed. "I think I must be one of the only people in the world to be sad my ex isn't at my weird Blessing ritual."

  "Sian's not a normal ex though..."

  "I know. And she's not here because it'd be even weirder to have my old body at my Blessing." She chuckled at that one, and I joined in. That was pretty amusing. And not exactly normal. But from everything she'd told me about dragons, not having Tate and Sian here was the right option.

  "How are you saying we know each other again?"

  "Work." She looked uncomfortable as she said it. Probably because of the number of lies her and Devon were still having to tell. They had to lie during their mating ceremony and when they thought they could stay away from the community, Tate’s parents insisted on blessing Devon and Ayra for their baby. Well, it was still an egg at the moment. But it was another weird tradition they needed to adhere to. And it had to be done in front of the rest of the dragons, and Ayra had to use Tate’s name. Which annoyed her no end, and not just because they both hated the name Tatiana.

  But the dragons were rather close-minded. And having a vampire at their sacred ceremony was apparently ‘not done’. But Ayra was freaked out enough as it was. To be fair, I’d be freaked out if I knew I’d had an egg growing in my stomach. Even if it was already out of there.

  Okay, yeah, the Blessing ceremony made a little more sense now. I’d want to ask the Ancestors for their favour if I had to push out a big ass egg like Ayra had nine months earlier. And, as they said, better late than never. So I’d have to make sure not to ruin this Blessing by revealing my nature.

  "Okay, and no mentioning I'm not a dragon. Got it."

  "They might be able to tell..."

  "If they do, they do, that's for me to weather."

  "Hmm true."

  "Now, stop worrying yourself. Are you ready to have the Elders chant over your stomach and paint ancient runes on you?”

  Her tinkling laugh came as a reply, but I could tell she was nervous. Devon explained to her many times over what would happen and how she needed to reply, but she was still stressed. I crooked my elbow for to take hold of so I could escort her to the altar. I’d stick close and hold her hand during, but I was sure the Elders wouldn’t allow that. No, that privilege was reserved for the husband and her parents. Not that they provided much support, from what I heard. Tate didn't speak very highly of her family, and Ayra wasn't much better.

  “Ready?”

  Ayra nodded, her eyes shifting through the room until she found Devon. The nervosity flitted from her face and she nodded.

  “Ready.”

  Taking my seat at the back of the assembled people, I watched in fascination as things got underway. And by that, I mean Ayra and Devon were standing at the front looking bored as they tried to sneak glances at each other. She did well with Devon. He was handsome, smart, accomplished...everything Sian was too actually, but he was a better fit.

  As the dragon elder prattled on about something to do with fish and feeding, my eyes wandered away, looking around all the people here. When I say all, there's probably only about fifty or so, but that was fifty people I hadn't met before, so they were all fascinating to me. If I hadn't known, then I probably wouldn't have guessed they were dragon shifters, they all looked so...normal. There wasn't a single one that stood out.

  My eyes snagged on someone in the row across from mine. I should take it all back. There was one who stood out. She was something else. I continued my survey of the room, trying to put the names I knew to faces, but my gaze kept darting back to the woman opposite me. I had to stop. For a start, I didn't have a One, so she wasn't holding my attention for that reason. And secondly, from what Ayra said, I did not want to be involved with a dragon shifter. Individually, they sounded fine, but dealing with the collective? Ick. This ceremony was saying it all anyway. They were deadly boring, with a lot of traditions and ceremonies, none of which I had time for.

  I tore my attention away again, and continued to look around. There was an older looking version of Ayra at the front, with pursed lips and an almost discontent look on her face. That was Tate's mother then. I no longer had any doubts of why Ayra stayed away from her. Even without Tate's tales of childhood on my mind.

  That meant the man next to her was Tate's father. He just look
ed...weak. Not how I'd expect a dragon shifter to come across. Surely he should have presence, and an air of power? Like Devon did. Like Ayra did for that matter.

  Well, like Ayra did in her dragon form. She held a spark and an energy in her new body that she always lacked when she was still a vampire. Yes, she was radiant in her white dress and the flowers in her hair.

  “All rise.”

  Startled by everyone standing up, I quickly followed suit and got up from my chair. My neighbours folded their hands over their heart in what I assumed to be another weird dragon tradition.

  “In.. Umm… Weakness… Yes, no tearing. Uck, what no tearing? I mean, oops, of course…” Shit. I should’ve just shut up instead of trying to sing along with the hymn. I earned a weird look from the people around me and I could’ve sworn one or two of them hissed at me. Right, dragons were weird.

  “Sorry, sorry,” I whispered, nervously fondling the leaflet I was handed before. Tate and Devon James. Yup, that looked really wrong. It should’ve read Ayra and Devon, but they all agreed that the body swap was too weird to explain to the dragon community.

  Heck, it took me a good while to actually understand what was going on. Two people who swapped souls every now and then wasn’t exactly a regular occurance. Especially not if one of those people was your best friend.

  Although, Tate gave Ayra a run for her money. She was so similar and yet so different. And with Ayra spending more time with the dragons, I hadn’t seen her as often as I liked. But yet, here I was. The only vampire invited to a dragon blessing, to see my best friend off into her married life. Again.

  I sighed and looked around, wondering when this weird sing-hum-something would stop. Everyone seemed lost in the trance of prayer. Everyone except…