Shadows of Fate (Shadow Born)

by Angela Dennis

  Gray tried to breathe as little as possible as he made his way to the tunnel opening. As he approached, a guard turned to face him. Although he barely reached Gray’s shoulders, he was twice Gray’s girth and solid muscle. Behind him, the firelight rebounded off the white stone entranceway that led into the depths of the Earth.

  “I have an appointment.” He didn’t know this guard but unlike Claudius, Adare knew better than to instruct his minions to cause trouble. Their relationship was mutually beneficial. With a short grunt, he motioned for Gray to pass.

  Stepping forward, Gray moved into the narrow corridor, his boots sliding across the white marble floor. Adare had once told him he decorated the stronghold in all white because he liked the irony. Black would have been too cliché.

  Adare stood at the end of the long tunnel. Dressed in all black, his cloak cast a long shadow against the white marble wall. His light brown hair hung down his back in a braid, which peaked over his shoulder. He stood by what looked to be a large metal urn that rose halfway up the barren wall. The other man was gaunter than the last time they had met. Dark circles lay beneath his eyes.

  “What do you want, Gray?” Adare stepped more fully into the light. Weapons were strapped to his legs, back and arms. They peeked from beneath his cloak as he walked. Moving closer, Gray stretched out his hand in greeting, which Adare took. “I’m hoping we can help each other.” He gave a pointed look toward the guard behind him. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

  Adare sighed. Releasing Gray’s hand, he motioned down the long corridor. He led Gray down to a large mahogany door. Richly engraved, it stood in stark contrast with the rest of the interior. Adare waved a hand, and slid inside as the door opened.

  Gray followed him into a large study. Overflowing bookshelves covered every wall. The same white marble of the corridor made up the floor, but splashes of color, similar to blood splatter, decorated the marble.

  “Nice.” Gray lifted an eyebrow.

  Adare shrugged. “I didn’t decorate it. It was my predecessor’s. Besides, it seemed appropriate, so I didn’t make changes.” Moving to the side of the room, he leaned against a high back wooden chair. “Again. What do you want?”

  “She’s about five foot six, long black hair. I was told she was last seen with you.”

  Adare’s expression gave away nothing. “What do you want with Marissa?”

  “Where is she?”

  Adare shrugged. “Nothing good ever comes out of playing both sides. She’s probably dead. If so, I didn’t do it. Claudius may have, but I doubt it.” He sighed “We aren’t the only players in this game.”

  Gray bit back the urge to strangle the other man. “Who else is there?”

  “Orien.”

  “Impossible.”

  “Why is it impossible?” Adare smiled. “The mage is insane. He escaped with a vendetta. And that Shadow Bearer you’re with has a bright red X on her forehead.”

  “Orien is dead. Anyone who told you otherwise is lying.”

  “Oh no. He is a little worse for the wear, but he is alive. I’ve seen him myself. He is one of the forces behind the demons breaching the Veil.”

  Gray considered. If that was true, it put an entirely new spin on things. And if Orien was still alive, the threat to Brenna was more serious than he thought. The only way that Orien wasn’t dead was if the Council or Brenna’s father had secretly freed him before the execution. It was possible they had used glamour to disguise then kill a different victim.

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “I’ve seen him with the possessed. He’s definitely working with the demons, but I don’t know how.” Adare shook his head. “He worries me. Not only is he unstable, but he has a death wish—”

  “Which makes him dangerous and unpredictable because he has nothing to lose,” Gray interrupted. “We need to find out why he is here. It can’t only be about Brenna.”

  Adare nodded. “I’m working on it. This concerns me, after all.”

  “I need to know everything you find.” He pulled a copy of Claudius’ map from his back pocket and handed it to Adare. “Recognize this?”

  Adare unfolded the paper, staring at it for a moment. “Yes.” He handed it back. “I gave it to Marissa to learn more about it. Or how to decipher the code. I suspect it is the work of Orien, but I can’t prove it.”

  Gray trailed his fingers over the wood of the bookshelves. “Do you know if they succeeded in bringing anything over?”

  Adare rose to his feet and joined him. “Without hosts? My contact told me they were getting close. Of course that contact died and I haven’t been able to get anyone else in his circle.”

  “No one volunteering?”

  “Would you?” Adare laughed. “Of course not. You like to keep your hands clean. That’s why you use me.” He crossed the room to a different bookshelf. Raising his hand, he pressed his palm against it and mumbled an incantation. The wood slid apart, exposing a narrow door.

  “I do have some of his toys, however.” The door opened with a wave of his hand. He disappeared inside for a moment, returning with a large metal case. “We found this at one of our shrines.” He flipped it open to reveal a series of what looked to be handcuffs and spurs, covered in dried blood. “The Brotherhood hasn’t used these instruments for eons. We’ve outgrown things like torture.”

  The stench was atrocious. Gray stepped closer trying not to inhale. “You’ve gone sophisticated?”

  Adare cocked a brow. “Something like that. We’re more efficient now.”

  “Good to know.”

  Although Adare had provided Gray with the potions he needed for his recovery, Gray didn’t trust him. Theirs was a relationship based solely on trade, much like Ga’loh. Adare provided obscure potions. Gray provided blood to strengthen Adare’s powers. Gray had never been able to figure out exactly what Adare was, but odds were he was a hybrid of beings. Though a hybrid of what was the real question. Either way he was strong.

  One look into the case and he knew Brenna and Adare were right. Orien had been held up as a paragon of virtue to those of the Sors Clan, but the truth was he had liked torture as much as Gray loved the taste of Brenna’s blood, and these had been his favorite toys. They were made of metals that didn’t exist on this plane, so they would have been slipped through the rift at some point.

  Gray closed the case. “I need these. What will it take to get you to hand them over?”

  “So forthcoming.” Adare waved a hand over the case and the latch clicked shut. “You must really want them.” He carried the case back into the widest part of the room, the bookshelves closed behind as Gray followed.

  “Name your price.”

  Adare stopped. Turning, he smiled and said, “You couldn’t afford it.” He dropped the case, which hit with a resounding thud on the marble. “So I’ll give them to you. You’ll owe me a favor. One I can recall when I choose.”

  Gray added the usual condition. “And it will be within reason and I will respond to it at the time of my choosing.”

  It was an old deal. One they had made repeatedly, but had never failed to honor.

  With a nod, Adare moved across the expanse of the room, leaving the case at Gray’s side. He settled himself back in the wooden chair, one hand casually brushing at his sleeve. “Whoever made these, I want them shut down. I don’t have the resources to waste hunting them, so I want you to keep me updated on what you find. Do that and we’re even.”

  “The competition too stiff?” Gray lifted the case, relieved that the favor hadn’t been worse. “Are your recruits jumping ship?”

  “No. But they will once they learn how they can slip through the Veil.”

  Gray froze. “That’s just a rumor. You said so yourself.”

  “I lied.” Frustration filled his black eyes. “I have tried for years to pierce the Veil, and Orien has done it in less than six months. They are bringing demons through and feeding them hosts like candy. It has to stop.”

 
“How are they controlling the backlash?” Gray’s heart raced. This could be the break they needed.

  “I don’t know.” Adare shrugged. “Does it matter? It’s dangerous. They need to be stopped.”

  “I’m surprised the Brotherhood hasn’t signed up already.” Gray monitored his sarcasm, but Adare wasn’t stupid.

  “The hosts they are feeding the demons are members of the Brotherhood. They are experimenting on vampires and crossing lines nature did not intend crossed.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “But you are right. My people want to ally themselves with these savages. I need proof of what they are doing before I’m forced to join them.”

  “Has their leader approached you? Is it Orien?”

  Adare shook his head, a lock of dark hair falling across his forehead. “If so he has not come directly, and I haven’t been able to infiltrate them again. They’re impossible to pin down to one spot.” He lifted his head. Cold fury filled his narrowed gaze. “The ramifications of them succeeding are unthinkable.”

  There had always been something a little off about Adare, and in that moment, Gray caught a glimpse of the man beneath the carefully crafted façade. And what he saw was unsettling.

  Gray stepped back, the case pressed against his thigh. “I’ll have to send the information through a courier. I won’t have time to come myself.”

  Adare nodded. “Use a ghost, perhaps. Most of my people aren’t gifted enough to sense them. But my own ability to go astral comes in handy in situations like these.” The door to the room slid open on its own. “You’ve stayed too long. We will speak again soon.”

  Gray returned to the marble hall. A small crowd had gathered, mostly human and vampire, who watched him cautiously as he left. The stench of burnt sulfur assailed him. They must have made another attempt at their ritual.

  Hopefully it was as unsuccessful as all the others.

  The case gripped in his hand, he stepped into the snow. It was time to return to the boarding house and unravel this puzzle.

  Chapter Eight

  The house was silent. Snow whipped around the distressed window panes. Frost covered the glass in a thin layer of white. Gray considered shifting into his room, but didn’t want to burn the energy. The surge from Brenna’s blood was starting to fade and it was much easier to shift into wide open areas. Between the trip and strengthening his glamour, he had used too much magic. The tonic could only help so much. His blood would need to be restored soon.

  Snow crunched beneath his boots as he moved around to the front of the house.

  And found Brenna alone, sitting on the front stoop.

  Although she was a small woman, the rotting wood was shifting beneath her, creaking in the silence. He imagined she had come outside to calm her nerves or to escape the others.

  The sight of her struck a long untapped chord in his heart. Her long copper hair hung in waves down her back, sprinkled with dots of ice and snow. She didn’t move, either she was ignoring him or she hadn’t noticed him yet.

  He moved forward. His feet sunk into the snow and the sound echoed around them.

  Straightening, a sigh shifting her shoulders, she turned to face him. Her golden eyes glistened. “You’re back.” Brenna got to her feet. “I was wondering where you went. I felt you shift out.”

  A glimmer of regret flashed. The blood exchange must have stirred the connection between them if she had felt him leave. Any bond between them risked exposing him, but they would share blood again. He wouldn’t be able to resist. Another taste of her was worth the risk.

  He dropped the case at her feet. “I come bearing gifts.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “They stink, even through the metal.”

  “Which is why I don’t want to take them inside,” he said. “Is there somewhere I can put them?”

  Stepping off the stoop, she motioned for him to follow. “No one uses the shed out back.” She paused, glancing back at him. “What are they?”

  “Torture devices.”

  She stopped. “Excuse me?”

  “I got them from the Brotherhood. They found them at one of their own shrines.”

  Her pale skin flushed, slowly moving up her neck until her face was deeply colored. He cringed as she ripped open the door to the shed, the deadlock flying across the snow.

  “You went to see Adare. Did you even consider the risk?”

  How did she know Adare? The leader of the Brotherhood kept his identity under tight wraps. The IRT was better informed than he thought.

  “It needed to be done.” He said, ignoring her glare. “I know how to handle him.”

  “I doubt that.” She bent down, opening the case, and pulled back as the scent of rotted flesh filled the air. “He must like you.”

  “We have an understanding.”

  She snorted, looking at the gruesome contents. “Clearly.”

  “There’s another group working with the demons, bringing them over. They are using these.” He bent down and picked up a stick, then lifted a pair of blood covered handcuffs from the case. “Lucy might want to run tests on them.”

  “Yeah. She’ll love that.”

  Her anger hung in the air between them, a large white mammoth stomping across the room. Gray waited for her to say what was on her mind.

  “Seraph and I have an agreement. All contact with Adare is supposed to go through me.” She turned to face Gray. “Do you have any idea what you’ve jeopardized?”

  “He’s a big boy. I doubt he’ll get his panties in a wad over it.” Gray grinned. “Besides, my connection with him predates my tenure with the IRT.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “So does mine. He’s a friend.”

  His suspicions rose. “What type of friend?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  Gray growled. If Adare had touched her, he was a dead man walking. He grabbed her wrist. “He works with demons and uses people to gain power. You can’t find that attractive.”

  Brennan fought his grip. “Things aren’t always what they seem. He’s not a monster.”

  “Close.”

  She pulled her arm free, but Gray’s eyes hardened. “So was it Seraph’s idea to whore you out for the team, or did you come up with it by yourself?”

  She brushed past him out of the shed. “It’s nothing to you if I decide to whore myself. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  Her meaning struck him like ice water. “Seraph is not your father. You can say no to him.”

  She laughed. “You’re right, I can.” She glanced back at him. “You’re assuming I want to.”

  He followed her outside, spelling the lock on the shed. Her reaction bothered him. He cursed himself. Only an idiot would imagine she held no bitterness at being told to sacrifice herself for her people. But before the wedding, he had thought she was willing.

  “I didn’t know you were so bitter,” he said. “A hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge.”

  Brenna stopped and turned back, fire dancing in her irises. “I’m not bitter. I’ve made a career out of being the sacrificial lamb.” She stared him down. “Adare is my friend. Whether or not he is my lover is none of your concern.”

  “It is if it affects our job.” How could she flirt with the idea of being with Adare when she had sworn a blood oath to be faithful to someone else? Betrayal singed his emotions. He struggled to control his anger.

  “The only thing affecting our job is your refusal to play well with others. Contact Seraph and have him pick those things up. Some dried blood and guts might make Lucy’s day. I’m going to go clean up your mess.”

  “Take someone with you,” he ordered as she turned. The glance she shot over her shoulder would have castrated a weaker man.

  “Once again, last I checked, you weren’t the boss. Call me if Marissa shows up, or you find out anything new.”

  Gray watched her disappear into the house. His rage simmered. Only a hundred years had passed since Dunham’s death, had he meant so little to her? He wanted to demand a
nswers. Instead he had to hide behind this glamour and pretend to be something he wasn’t—a man who had no reason to care.

  He slammed his fist deep into the tree beside him, and pulled back bloody knuckles. Once he had regained control, he pulled out his newly imprinted phone and rang Seraph.

  No one answered. He imagined Brenna had gotten there first.

  Do not turn around. Do not give him the satisfaction.

  Brenna repeated the mantra in her head as she stepped into the front hall. Hands shaking, she pulled out her phone to contact Seraph. Gray was going to get them all killed.

  She didn’t wait for the sound of Seraph’s gravelly voice to start her tirade. “Why did you think it was a good idea to assign this moron to me? Does he listen? Is he helpful? No. He’s going to get Adare killed.”

  “Take a breath, Brenna.” He sounded amused. That did nothing to calm her down.

  “Not until you take him back. I don’t want him. I can’t work with him.” She moved further into the room. “Give me someone else. Anyone else. What about Shepard? I can’t babysit a Shadow Bearer right now. I don’t have time.”

  The connection clicked as if someone had tried to tap in.

  “The bastard is trying to contact me,” Seraph said. “Probably to complain about you. So, what did he do?”

  She filled him in.

  “If you had told him about your past with Adare, this wouldn‘t have happened.”

  She squeezed her hand into a fist. “This is not my fault. We were supposed to go together. Besides, Adare is in deep. I didn’t think Gray needed to know.”

  “Even though the Brotherhood keeps coming up on our list of suspects?” he asked, not bothering to hide his censure.

  “I didn’t want to blow Adare’s cover.”

  “Gray is one of us. Couldn’t you offer an olive branch, instead of waiting for him to screw up?”

  “No.”

  Seraph blew out a hard breath. “Why not?”

  She glanced across the yard to where Gray stood, next to a tree. “He’s a Shadow Bearer. We’re all liars. Besides, Adare cooperated with him. That is a major red flag.”