Waking Darkness: A Supernatural Academy Paranormal Romance (Academy of the Underworld Book 1)

by Laney Powell

  I woke to find four pairs of eyes over me, and it scared me so badly I screamed and scrambled backward, hitting my head on the headboard of my bed.

  I was in my room, surrounded by Carrick, Xavier, Mikhail and Devin.

  “What are you doing here?” I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

  “You called me,” Mikhail said.

  “Us,” Carrick added. “You called us.”

  “I did?” I could feel the tears leaking down. “I don’t remember. I was just… I was just trying to get away from him.”

  “Who?” Four voices demanded.

  “Wait,” Devin said, stopping the other three as they made a move to sit next to me on the bed. “Everyone off.”

  “What the hell?” Xavier muttered.

  I got off the bed, my hands held by Mikhail and Carrick.

  “Over here, please,” Devin commanded.

  We all moved next to him. He flicked his hand, and the night table between the beds moved to the corner on the other side of the fireplace. Then the beds moved together, and Devin said something in a low voice that I couldn’t understand. The bedposts that were touching glowed for a moment.

  “All right, now there’s room for all of us.” I could hear the satisfaction in Devin’s tone.

  “You had to make it such a production?” Carrick rolled his eyes.

  “If you weren’t such a moose, no, I probably wouldn’t have,” Devin said mildly. “Be grateful. You’d be on the floor otherwise.”

  “My ass,” Carrick said.

  “Shut up both of you,” Xavier said. “Raven, are you all right?”

  “No,” I said. “No, how can I be? What is happening? And how did I call you?”

  “But you’re going to be all right,” Mikhail turned to me and put his arms around me, his head resting on mine. “We’re here. We’re with you.”

  I felt the other three come to me, and their arms went around me. We stood there together, the five of us. Then Carrick made a noise, and pulled apart. “I’m tired. We going to bed or what?” He got into the bed, pulling out one of the pillows to put behind his back, and gestured at me, a huge smile on his face. I joined him, and within a minute, Carrick was snuggled behind me with me between his legs. Mikhail moved to one side of me, his body at an angle, his head on my shoulder. Xavier, with a wicked grin, slid between my legs, laying his head on my stomach. And Devin came to me—to us—last, tucking himself on my other side.

  It sounded all sorts of awkward. But as I lay here, surrounded by these four amazing guys—men—my guys, I thought maybe there was a chance that crazed dream demon wouldn’t get me.

  “How did I call you?” I asked.

  “I heard you say my name,” Carrick’s voice rumbled against me. “That was it, but I could tell it wasn’t in a good way.”

  “Same,” Devin said.

  I heard a murmur from Xavier and Mikhail.

  “How is that possible?” I asked, feeling sleepy.

  “We can talk about it later,” Devin said. His voice came out soft.

  The breathing of the four of them slowed, and I felt my own eyes drooping. You’d think with all this hot maleness around me, I’d be ready to toss off all the clothes and get going but I could barely keep my eyes open. Devin’s arm lifted, and he snapped his fingers.

  The lights went out, leaving the room lit with only a soft glow of the fire. I let my eyes close, feeling at peace. Whatever was going to happen, and it would happen, and it wouldn’t be good—I was going to be okay.

  Because I was home.

  I fell asleep to the sounds of the guys around me. Just as I let myself go, I felt the room shake. I opened my eyes to wake up the guys. But they didn’t move.

  “Get up!” I screamed, but they didn’t move.

  Then a bright light obscured my vision, and then I saw nothing at all.

  Thank you so much for reading the first book of The Academy of the Underworld. I love Raven, and I love the four guys that she’s falling for.

  The next book, Claiming Darkness, will be out on February 5, 2020. In that, we’ll see what happened just as Raven thought she was going to have some quality down time with Carrick, Mikhail, Xavier and Devin. Honestly, I think the loss of the quality down time is going to piss her off the most!

  xoxo,

  Laney

  P.S - Turn the page for a sneak peek!

  Epilogue

  Claiming Darkness Sneak Peek

  Chapter One

  It seems a little crazy that I’m here, wherever here is, and less than two months ago, I was tearing down to the beach near our house on my Bonneville motorcycle, pissed off at my dad. At that time, being angry at him seemed like the worst thing in the world. Now, I wish that was the only problem I had.

  Because right now, I was basically lost. And scared to death. And not entirely sure I was going to make it.

  I screamed as I felt myself thrown—to what, I didn’t know. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. And where were the guys? The last thing I remembered was all five of us cuddled together in bed together. What the hell was going on?

  The light that woke me, and tossed me into who the hell knows where faded a little. I had woken up screaming, but now I was falling, and all around me was darkness. I closed my mouth and tried to get my bearings. I tried to see what was coming from below, and frantically searching my mind to see if I had any magic that could keep me from splatting when I eventually found the bottom of whatever this was.

  It was dark, and smelled like old feet, and the air around me was thick and heavy and I couldn’t see anything. There was a red under glow to everything, which was kind of a clue. Trying to figure out what was happening calmed me, and allowed me to be a little bit logical. I looked around as I fell. This wasn’t my first rodeo in this environment.

  The demon.

  I’d had a nightmare earlier this semester where a demon, presumably in hell, had tied me to a chair and yelled at me. ‘Where is it? Where is she? I know she gave it to, you will give it to me,’ sort of thing.

  Was this the same thing? It sure seemed like it. I mean, there was no one else that was into harassing me this way. He’d shown up in my nightmares again and again, although I hadn’t ended up tied to a chair. This, the falling into a dark and stinky void—this was new.

  I stuck my hands out, but they disappeared into the mist and haze around me. I was still falling, and normally, that would make me vomit all over the place. I hated roller coasters, hating that drop. Thankfully, however, vomit didn’t seem to be on the menu. I closed my eyes, though, because now that I was thinking about it, that could bring it on.

  Wherever I was going, I wasn’t in charge. I took a breath, and tried not to choke. Closing my eyes, I waited for this to be over, whatever this was.

  A few seconds, or hours, later I fell on my face, the fall stopping with a thump. I didn’t go splat, but I also hadn’t found a way to stop my fall. I lay still for a moment, trying to get my bearings and catch my breath. My side hurt. Finally, I pushed myself up on my arms and looked around.

  I was in a place that felt similar to what I’d seen in the dream. At least this time, I wasn’t tied to a chair. Well, not yet anyway. I got to my feet, and brushed off my hands. “Okay, I’m here! You went to all this trouble! Where are you?” I said into the dark red void.

  No one answered.

  “Hello?” I screamed.

  Something around me, something in the air, shifted. I was about to yell again, but the shifting dark smoke all around me that was moving stopped me. Waiting, I watched the smoke.

  It was definitely not normal smoke. It swirled, and then stretched, and took the shape of a man.

  The dark haired demon I’d seen before—when I’d been tied to a chair, did I mention that?—stepped out.

  “At least you didn’t fight this time,” he said conversationally.

  Like this was a social call. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Didn’t seem to be much of a point.”

&nb
sp; “You’re right,” he said. “I must say, Raven, you are stronger than I expected. Although perhaps I was wrong to expect less of you. Don’t you know when it’s time to go to bed?”

  Not only did I not like the way he was saying my name, I didn’t like what he said. Something about it tickled a nerve, like a forgotten memory. It felt dangerous. A cold finger of fear ran from the back of my neck down my spine.

  “Why do you want anything to do with me at all?” I asked.

  “You have something I want, something I need,” he said. “And you’re being a pain in my ass. I had to drop you into sleep and close you off from those with you.”

  “Who are you?” I asked. “Am I dead? What is going on?”

  He waved a hand, and a chair materialized out of the dark smoke. Wasn’t that just great? This guy and his damn chairs.

  The area around me cleared a bit and I could see that we were in a room of sorts. At least, it looked like a room. About ten feet away from where my nightmare man and I were, there was a—holy shit. I stared. A man, hung up by his feet. Looking up, all I could see was darkness, and I shuddered, momentarily unable to speak.

  The man twirled slowly. As I saw his face, and the horns on his head, I realized that this must be some kind of demon. At least, this was what I’d always thought of demons looking like. He had a tail that hung down from the middle of his back.

  That wasn’t what made me speechless. It was the look on his face, his eyes wide with terror, his mouth open in a scream that indicated great pain. I didn’t think he could see me. I took a breath and nearly choked. The smell of this room had a taste—like burnt dead things, and something else I couldn’t identify, and my stomach rumbled, the pain shooting through my midsection. I forced myself to stand up despite the pain. I wasn’t going to show pain if I could help it in front of this guy. I looked over at nightmare man, and he was in front of the chair he’d just conjured.

  I took a couple of steps back. I would not be tied to a chair again without a fight.

  But instead, he sat down in it, threaded his fingers together in front of him, and looked up at me. “You are not dead. You are still at that school,” his lip curled derisively at the word, “And you are asleep. You really have no idea who I am?”

  He didn’t even look at the poor hanging demon. As though the demon wasn’t there.

  “Why should I?”

  “You are Raven Nox,” he sneered my last name, “daughter of Sonia. You are a siren, correct?”

  A laugh bubbled up, although I think it was to keep myself from screaming. “You mean you’re not sure you’re torturing the right person?” I asked.

  “Of course I’m sure,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I wanted to make sure that you knew who you were. Apparently,” he looked me over in an appraising fashion that made me extremely uncomfortable, “You do not.”

  “Stop talking in riddles,” I said. “You’re not cute, or clever. What do you mean, I don’t know who I am?” My words were tough, but I was worried. Without even seeming to try, he’d hit on one of my biggest concerns. I’d always thought I knew myself. Finding out about my mom, coming to Darklight—it showed me there was a lot I didn’t know. I was fine with not knowing things in general. You could learn. But this? This was me, my history, my family. And it was personal as hell.

  Therefore, it also made anything surrounding this topic a huge vulnerability for me. Not something I wanted this smug demon asshat in front of me to know. I hated the idea that he might know more than me. “While we’re on the topic, who are you?” I asked.

  “You can call me Rafael,” he said.

  “Okay, Rafael, why the fuck am I here? Where is here? And what is it you think I can do for you?”

  He studied me some more, and then said, “What do you know of your mother?”

  “My mother is none of your business,” I shot back. “You dragged me out of my sleep for this?”

  “Oh, but she is. She stole something from me, and I want it back. You will help me find it.” He glanced over at the man in the corner, who still had his mouth open in a silent cry. “If you do not,” he shrugged, still looking at the poor, pain-wracked demon. “There will be consequences. Where is the Ocean’s Light?”

  I couldn’t look at the hanging demon. He made my skin crawl with fear even as I was overcome with pity for him. “What the hell are you talking about ?” I lost my temper. I was tired of being picked on, and scared, and threatened. “Just ask the damn question so we can be done!”

  “How old were you when your mother left?” Rafael asked. “And I did ask the question. Where is the Ocean’s Light?”

  I stopped. How did he know my mother left? And what was the Ocean’s Light. I could hear the capitalization in those words. It was the name of something—something he said my mother stole from him. Maybe he did have some information, and frankly, no one else was offering any. But I was wary of what someone like this would have to offer. He made all my senses scream ‘Red flag!’

  “I was three,” I said.

  He nodded. “So she didn’t have a chance to tell you much about yourself,” he said. Rafael sounded like we were having a polite conversation.

  That made the red flags wave even harder.

  “If she did, I don’t recall,” I said.

  “Let me enlighten you. Since you’re at school, I would presume you’re studying history?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, what happens to a siren when her mate is no longer enamored of her?”

  “You want me to tell you about my mom and dad’s relationship?” He was insane. That’s what this was. I’d been targeted by a completely bonkers demon.

  “No, foolish girl, I’m asking you what you know of what you are.” He rolled his eyes again.

  “Why don’t you tell me?” I asked.

  “When a siren no longer holds the love of her mate, she—”

  Whatever he was going to say disappeared in a roaring that sounded like the wind in a storm. I could still see him, and his mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear him.

  “What?” I shouted.

  Rafael got out of his chair and reached for me, but the roaring wind pulled me back, lifting me up in the air. I felt a jerk, as though my entire body was at the end of a chain, and then everything around me—the dark room, the chairs, Rafael—was gone.

  There’s your sneak peek! You don’t have long to wait. Claiming Darkness is live and out in the world right now! I hope you enjoyed this!

  Xoxo

  Laney

  Also by Laney Powell

  Academy of the Underworld

  Waking Darkness

  Claiming Darkness (Feb 2020)

  Ruling Darkness (Mar 2020)

  Paranormal Underworld

  Captive Demon

  Fated Demon (June 2020)

  Broken Falls Ranch

  His Heart

  His Redemption

  His Destiny (2020)

  His Salvation (2020)

  His Forever (2020)

  Diablo Falls Paranormal Short Stories

  First Taste

  Betrayal from Hell

  The Spar Island Girls

  His Naughty Nurse (The Halloween Honeys)

  Hot Apple Pie (Second Helpings Short Story)

  Naughty or Nice (Santa’s Coming Short Story)

  Snow Job (Resolution Pact Short Story)

  Dear Shy Guy (The Matchmaker Series)

  Forever Mine (Ireland Forever Short Story)

  Mr. Black (A Mr. Billionaire Short Story)

  Spring Break Delight (A Spring Break Short Story)

  His Buttercup (The May Flower Series)

  Three Weddings and Forever (The Wedding Season Series)

  Her Firecracker (The Fireworks Series)

  Cowboy’s Heart (Big Sky Short Stories)

  Cowboy’s Heart is the Broken Falls Ranch series prequel

  Affair With The Billionaire

  Episode One

  Episode Two

&nb
sp; Episode Three

  Episode Four

  Episode Five

  About the Author

  I'm a Midwestern lady, living life in the Rocky Mountains. I adore strong men with hearts of gold, even if that gold is initially hidden. That's what drives me to write the stories that I write. I love not only a good cowboy romance, but a sexy demon love story, so look for both from me. Contemporary or paranormal—everyone wants love, steamy sexy times, and a happily ever after.

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  laneypowellwrites@gmail.com

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  thelaneypowell.com

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