by Parker Blue
The soothsayer stared blankly at Kathryn, then said, “Guilty,” in an eerie voice.
Oh, crap, no! Shawn let out a disbelieving whimper.
DON’T SAY ANYTHING, Max reminded them quickly.
Sharra gasped but clapped her hands over her mouth.
“And the circle’s judgment?” Kathryn asked.
They paused, and Shawn held his breath for what seemed like forever as the soothsayer weighed the intentions of the people of the Underground.
Finally, he turned to Kathryn, his unfocused gaze implacable, and spoke. “There was no malice involved, no intent. The death penalty is not warranted.”
Shawn continued holding his breath, growing dizzy, and hoping desperately that meant the sentence would be light.
The soothsayer continued, “But we cannot afford another such incident. Therefore, the shadow demon is sentenced to see the Lethe.”
Oh, crap. How much of his father would remain if they did that?
Dad raised his head, pride in his voice. “I claim the right to meet my judgment at my own hand.”
Shawn glanced frantically at Kathryn, hoping for a clue. Did that mean what he thought it did? Surely his father wouldn’t—
“So be it,” the soothsayer said. “Justice is done. So as it has been, so it shall always be.”
The circle repeated the words after him. “So as it has been, so it shall always be.”
The tension in the circle suddenly released, and the soothsayer seemed to come out of his trance. He blew out the candle.
“No!” Sharra screamed. “How can you do this to us?”
The members of the circle got up silently and filed out of the room, not looking at Dad or them. The only ones who stayed were Kathryn, Diesel, and Max. Kathryn laid a hand on Dad’s so they could see his face.
Sharra wiped tears from her face. “What does that mean, Dad, what you said?”
Shawn had a feeling he knew all too well. “You can’t,” he protested.
“I can, Shadow Boy.” His father turned to look at them, deep sorrow in his eyes. “I love you both, but if I met the Lethe, I would be left little more than a vegetable. I can’t let them do that, can’t allow you to see me like that. Better it all end now.”
“No,” Sharra sobbed. “Daddy, no!” She threw herself at him, and hugged him tight.
“Your father is right,” Kathryn said. “This is a more humane way. I promise you, we’ll help him find a way that is painless.”
Shawn stared at her incredulously. Like that was supposed to make it better? “When?” he asked, his voice cracking. “When will you do it?”
“Your father will be allowed to put his affairs in order first.”
That didn’t answer his question, not really, but Shawn said, “Dad? How long?”
Dad didn’t answer. Instead, he opened his arms and said, “Come here, Shadow Boy.”
Shawn rushed into his arms, not caring that he might look like a baby. This was the last time he might see his father. They hugged each other tight, though Sharra studiously avoided all physical contact with her brother.
His father stroked Shawn’s hair. “I’m so proud of both of you. You two are my pride and joy, the only reason I kept on living when your mother left. But you have to be brave for me. Promise me you’ll be brave.”
“No, Daddy,” Sharra said in a thick voice. “I don’t want to be brave. I want you.”
“I want that, too,” Dad said, “but it can’t be. I need you to finish your schooling and practice your drills so that you never lose control like I did. I want you to live long, healthy lives. Be a credit to me and to the Underground. Promise?”
It was the only thing he had left to give his father. “I promise,” Shawn said fiercely.
Dad let go of them both, holding them away.
“No, I don’t want to lose you,” Sharra exclaimed, then hauled off and slugged Shawn. “Do something.”
What the heck did she think he could possibly do to stop this?
His father stilled and his voice changed. “Kathryn, will you find good homes for my children until they’re ready to be on their own?”
“Of course,” she said. “We’ll make arrangements for the two of them to stay here—”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Shawn said, not caring how rude he sounded. Sharra was sobbing again, so Shawn spoke for both of them. “You want us to stay with the people who murdered my father? No way.”
“You’re right,” Kathryn conceded, looking flustered. “I wasn’t thinking. We can place you with another Demon Underground, in another state. I’ll make arrangements.”
“Wait,” Sharra said, her voice thick with the effort of crying. “Not together. I don’t want to be with my brother anymore. I hate him.”
“What?” Shawn asked in disbelief. “You can’t mean that. We’re the Dynamic Duo, remember?”
“Not anymore,” she said fiercely. “This is all your fault. You broke your promise and see what happened? I don’t ever want to see you again. I don’t even want you to know where I am.”
Stunned into silence, Shawn could say no more. He could only feel, and what he felt was horrific—lost, betrayed, abandoned by everyone he had ever loved.
Does she really mean it? he asked Max.
SHE DOES NOW, BUT SHE’S UPSET. APPARENTLY, PROMISES ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO HER—SACROSANCT. MAYBE SHE’LL CHANGE HER MIND IN A DAY OR TWO.
But his stubborn twin didn’t. For some reason, she’d latched onto Shawn as the scapegoat and blamed everything on him. That was the last he saw of his sister, or his father, since his father didn’t want them to have to deal with any more goodbyes.
Shawn and Sharra’s emotions were so out of control, the Underground feared they’d open portals accidentally, so they sedated them. And so Shawn stayed numb and foggy throughout the funeral and when they sent Sharra to some secret location. They respected her wishes and wouldn’t tell him where.
When Diesel returned, he and Max took Shawn to San Antonio, Texas to meet an older man with dark hair and a smiling face.
“This is Lucas Blackburn, the leader of the Demon Underground here,” Diesel said.
“You can live with me,” the leader said, smiling down at him. “I have a son a bit older than you. His name’s Micah. I’m sure the two of you will get along great.”
“Whatever,” Shawn said wearily. The man seemed nice enough, but everyone Shawn had ever loved had left him. He couldn’t afford to get close to anyone else. It hurt too much now that he’d cut back on the happy pills.
Blackburn glanced down at Max and frowned. “Max tells me you’re feeling down. Maybe even . . . suicidal?”
GEE, THANKS, PAL, Shawn shot at Max.
I DON’T WANT YOU TO HURT YOURSELF, Max said gruffly.
“So?” Shawn asked, not caring how surly he sounded. What did he care?
“Well, we might be able to help,” Blackburn said.
“How?” Shawn asked. “Can you give me my father back? Can you force my sister to live with me?”
“No,” Blackburn said softly, “but, with your permission, we can help you so it doesn’t hurt so much.”
“No more pills,” Shawn said flatly. They made him feel dead inside.
“We have another way to help,” the man said in a soothing tone.
Bitterly, Shawn said, “The only way you can do that is if it never happened.”
Diesel put a hand on his shoulder. “His Lethe can help you forget what caused the pain.”
Not feel this crushing sadness anymore? It was tempting, but he wasn’t sure what they meant. “You want to wipe my brain?” Like they threatened to do to his father?
“No,” Blackburn assured him. “The Lethe can be very selective about what memories to dull.”
Shawn struggled to understand. “You mean I’ll forget my family?”
“Not entirely. The memories will be there, but hidden. They’ll seem like something that happened to someone else. But you can remember when
you want to, when you’re ready and willing to deal with the pain.”
When Shawn still hesitated, Diesel added, “It won’t be the lobotomy you feared for your father. It will help you learn to deal with the shadow side of yourself, keep your emotions in check so you won’t have to use drugs.”
And that was the best argument yet. If his only other options were to live in a foggy, drug-induced world or one that was depressing as hell, maybe he should forget. But wasn’t that a bit cowardly?
NOT IF IT HELPS KEEP YOU SANE SO YOU DON’T END UP LIKE YOUR FATHER DID.
Yes, Dad wouldn’t want that. And Shawn had promised he would try his best not to. The only problem was, every time Shawn heard his own name, he immediately thought of Sharra’s, and he couldn’t call himself Shadow Boy without thinking of Sunshine Girl. He doubted this memory loss thing would stick.
THEN CALL YOURSELF SOMETHING ELSE, Max suggested.
“Like what?”
LIKE . . . SHADE, MAYBE?
Shawn weighed it in his mind. Shade? He liked it. It was kind of a combination of shadow and sunshine, but it felt cool and gentle in his mind. “Okay, I’ll do it. Bring on the Lethe. And you can call me Shade from now on.”
Maybe someday he’d even have the courage to remember everything that had happened.
(Keep reading for an excerpt from Dare Me by Parker Blue)
Dare Me
by
Parker Blue
(Coming Summer 2013)
———
Chapter One
Val
I GLANCED up and down the dark, threatening road, lit only by an anemic flickering streetlight. “Why can you never find an evil bloodsucker when you really need one?” I muttered. Here I stood, female, a mere eighteen years old, alone but for a small dog in a scuzzy industrial area of San Antonio, looking like a prime victim. Why couldn’t I get any action?
Fang, the small dog in question, poked me in the leg with his nose. HEY, YOU’RE NOT EXACTLY HELPLESS WITH ME BY YOUR SIDE.
Yeah, but they don’t know that. Especially since we had the advantage of communicating telepathically. And I’m not exactly without skills myself.
Fang, part hellhound, part scruffy terrier mix, and all snark, snorted. YEAH, I KNOW. BUT VAL SHAPIRO WITHOUT MOJO IS KINDA LIKE . . . A REGULAR HUMAN.
As if I needed a reminder. A month and a half ago, on Christmas Eve, I’d had to use a spell in the Encyclopedia Magicka waaaay too many times to exorcise demons not only from my enemies, but friends and allies as well. Ever since, my own personal demon, Lola, had been weak and wimpy inside me. Hard to be part succubus when I couldn’t even . . . suck.
That was the disadvantage of using the spells in the encyclopedia. The more I used a spell, the stronger it became, making any other spells or magickal abilities harder to access. Weird balancing act, especially since I hadn’t been able to rebuild Lola’s strength yet. After all those spells, my succubus was only at about ten percent power.
AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? my own Jiminy Cricket wannabe asked.
“Shade’s,” I muttered. Everything had been going along just fine until my supposed boyfriend, the totally hot shadow demon, turned cold and distant. No sucking any lusty male energy from him, not when he’d been in a mood since Christmas. And all I’d done was leave him with another succubus . . . because he asked me to. Men. I’d never understand them.
YOU COULD FEED ON AUSTIN, Fang suggested, waggling his eyebrows. HE’D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE YOUR STUDPUPPY.
Yeah, that was the problem. The hunky cowboy vamp was only too willing, and it kinda bothered me. Especially since I enjoyed it a tad too much myself. It felt like cheating on Shade.
SO, IF YOU WON’T FEED ON AUSTIN, AND YOU CAN’T FEED ON SHADE, HOW ARE YOU GONNA BUILD LOLA BACK UP?
Well, if an evil bloodsucker would just show up, I’d feed on him. No guilt there. I walked down the street a ways, hunching my shoulders, letting my eyes dart around as if I were scared there was a boogeyman around every corner. Hello, anyone there? Helpless victim here.
Fang helped, trotting along beside me, his tongue lolling out for all the world like he was a brainless toy. SO, WITH LOLA DOWN FOR THE COUNT AND YOUR STRENGTH AND SPEED GONE, JUST HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ANY VAMPS WHO MIGHT SHOW UP? I MEAN, I’M GOOD, BUT I DO LIKE SOME BACKUP.
I have the amulet, I reminded him, fingering the crystal teardrop hanging on a chain inside my shirt. I’d taken it from Dina, the power-hungry succubus who tried and failed to rule the Demon Underground with it. It enhanced a succubus’s or incubus’s abilities many fold and had even allowed Dina to control men after they left her presence. With it, I could enhance Lola’s abilities until I could get her back up to speed. I didn’t really want to use it, but I had no choice.
I’M NOT SO SURE IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO RELY ON THAT THING, Fang said. YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
I knew enough. I glared down at him. Would you rather leave, go check on Princess? I’m sure she’d love that. After all, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was heavily pregnant with Fang’s puppies.
Fang shuddered. GIMME A BREAK. I JUST ESCAPED FROM HER FOR A FEW HOURS. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE DEALING WITH A PREGNANT HELLHOUND?
I suppressed a grin. I had a pretty good idea. Princess was demanding at the best of times. Pregnant, she must be a real bitch—pun intended. Ah, poor Fang. You—
But I didn’t get to finish that thought as something big, strong, and incredibly fast slammed me up against a brick building. I felt a sharp pain as fangs pierced my neck. What? No foreplay?
Crap. I tried to fight back, but my strength was gone, and he had me pinned. And now that he was within Lola’s field, he was enjoying it waaaaay too much.
Fang clamped his jaws on the guy’s ankle, but he was wearing heavy boots, and Fang couldn’t get a grip. Fear surged through me, and I shoved Lola into the vamp, yelling “Stop,” but Lola was too weak. It only made him pause for a moment.
He tried to control my mind, keep me quiet. Big mistake—his. That gave me access to his thoughts, and I realized what a cold killer Bruce here really was, how many defenseless people he’d murdered.
How could I stop him? The amulet! Concentrating, I called on it and tried harder. “Bruce, stop,” I commanded, trying to control my panic.
That did it. He froze, fangs still at my neck, then cursed and jerked away, swatting at his rear. No wonder. Fang had jumped up and clamped his jaws on Bruce’s butt.
“You can let go,” I told Fang. “I got him.”
YEAH, I KNOW. BUT HE PISSED ME OFF.
Fang gave one more shake then let go. The big bloodsucker stood there, awaiting my next order, my blood dripping from his fangs, and his blood dripping from his butt.
Anger surged through me, and I snatched a stake from my back waistband. Damn it, he’d almost killed me. I wanted to shove the pointy end through his heart but stopped myself. First, I’d drain every bit of energy I could out of him. I put my other hand on his chest and concentrated. Sinking Lola’s energy tendrils into his chakras, I let lust for my succubus fill him then tried to pull his energy into me.
It was like sucking molasses through a straw. Lola couldn’t draw it hard enough, so I used the amulet to augment her puny strength. Oh, yeah, that was the ticket. The flow eased right up, and all that luscious energy surged into the empty wasteland my chakras had become. It was weirdly unsatisfying but more of a rush than usual. This could get addictive.
VAL, WATCH OUT, Fang yelled.
Another vamp was suddenly on me, yanking me away from Bruce.
“Leave him alone,” she yelled.
She? Oh, crap. Lola wouldn’t work on a woman. What weapons could I use on her?
Oh, yeah. Him.
“Stop her,” I told Bruce.
He tried, and if I hadn’t half drained him, he’d have had no problem. Instead, they were pretty evenly matched.
DON’T JUST STAND THERE, Fang said. STAKE THEM!
Yeah,
I would, but they were moving too fast. If they’d just oblige by standing still for a moment . . .
Instead, their fight shoved them into me and knocked me off my feet. Crap. I hated being so helpless, without the strength I’d leaned on for so long.
Suddenly, a blur whizzed by me, yanking the stake out of my hand. Another vamp had joined the fray, staking first Bruce then the woman. I scrambled to my feet. What the heck . . .?
I reached out to control him before he could turn on me, too.
I’d barely sunk my energy tentacles into him when he turned and winked at me from under his Stetson. “You don’t need to do that, darlin’.”
Austin. I should have known. I felt a pull from the amulet, urging me to yank the annoying cowboy under my control, but I ignored it. Instead, I said, “Oh, yeah? Dare me.” I yanked another stake out of my waistband and held it high in my fist.
He dropped his bloody stake by the vamps’ bodies. As it clattered on the pavement, he sauntered toward me, hooking his thumbs in the loops of his jeans. He raised an eyebrow and grinned at me, daring me in return to take him on.
WHAT’S THE MATTER, VAL? HE JUST HELPED YOU.
That was the problem. I didn’t want to be indebted to the sexy vampire, especially since he always seemed to be amused at my expense. When he was a couple of feet away, I said, “Stop right there. Have you been following me?”
He slowed. “Seems that way,” he drawled.
“Why?”
He moved closer, not at all afraid of me or my weapon. “Because you need me.”
Table of Contents
Praise for the Demon Underground series
Other books by Parker Blue
Forget You
Copyright
Forget You
Dare Me
