by John Corwin
Possessed by You
An Overworld Novel
John Corwin
Copyright © 2015 by John Corwin.
Digital eBook Edition.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
LICENSE NOTES
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people unless expressly permitted by the author. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please go to a digital ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Possessed By You (Overworld Underground, #1)
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
To my wonderful support group:
Alana Rock
Karen Stansbury
My amazing editors:
Annetta Ribken
Jennifer Wingard
My awesome cover artist:
Regina Wamba
Thanks so much for all your help and input!
Books by John Corwin:
The Overworld Chronicles:
Sweet Blood of Mine
Dark Light of Mine
Fallen Angel of Mine
Dread Nemesis of Mine
Twisted Sister of Mine
Dearest Mother of Mine
Infernal Father of Mine
Sinister Seraphim of Mine
Wicked War of Mine
Dire Destiny of Ours
Overworld Underground:
Possessed By You
Overworld Arcanum:
Conrad Edison and the Living Curse
Stand Alone Novels:
No Darker Fate
The Next Thing I Knew
Outsourced
Seventh
WHAT YOU SEE IS A LIE
"As I walked further into the alley, a chill that had nothing to do with the night air crystalized like frost beneath my skin. Isabel was kind of tall for a girl, but there was no mistaking Stephen's taller frame. I grabbed Izzy's arm and jerked her into the light. She slumped to the ground sideways, her dark hair spilling across the alley floor.
The other figure stepped into the dim light. Stephen smiled, and licked blood from his lips."
Emily Glass thought a move to Atlanta was just what she needed to jump start a new life. But after her roommate and best friend is attacked by a man with superhuman strength, she discovers an underworld to Atlanta she never expected.
Recruited by a strange organization with an enigmatic agenda to help apprehend the attacker, she soon finds herself doing strange side jobs for them. To make things more complicated, the boss at her day job expresses romantic interest. Despite her misgivings, she finds him irresistible and senses that, like Atlanta, there may be a lot more to the man than what she sees on the surface.
Unfortunately, there are secret organizations that know his true nature and will stop at nothing to capture him and destroy everything they have.
Chapter 1
My first night out in a new city, and I already had a stalker.
"Why do you keep looking over your shoulder?" Isabel asked, looking back the way I had.
"The guy from Sutra is following us."
"The really cute one?" She stopped and started to turn toward our follower.
I gripped her arm. "What are you doing?"
A confused look spread over her face. "Well, I was going to have a talk with him, but I don't see him."
She was right, I realized when I took a quick glance back. Aside from a couple of drunk girls wearing ridiculously short skirts and a scattering of other people, I didn't see Mr. Cute-n-Creepy. "Huh," I said. "Weird. I totally could have sworn—"
"You need to loosen up, girl! Drink more," Isabel said in a stern voice. She hooked her arm through mine and dragged me into Gronsky's Pub. "This is my fave place, and it's my duty as your sister to introduce you to one of the seven wonders of Atlanta."
I gave the establishment a dubious look. A large oak door garnished with countless bottle caps sat in the façade of a brick building with dirty windows. It looked like an old, abandoned warehouse. Compared to the other nightclubs on the strip, it seemed terribly out of place. "This establishment looks a bit dodgy. Why don't we go to Floppers instead?" I looked further down the street and saw a happy crowd of well-to-do people our age laughing and chatting on the balcony of the other club.
Isabel sighed. "It's too crowded. Besides, I want to catch up with my little sis, not yell over all the noise."
Technically, Isabel and I weren't related. She just took the whole sorority sisters thing way too seriously. Despite her stuck-up attitude toward those without a Kappa Beta Gamma pedigree, and her obsession with buying purses that cost more than my car, we'd become as close as sisters during high school and been flat mates at university.
"Isn't this place a little poor for your tastes?" I said as she pulled me through the door.
She laughed. "I think you'll be surprised."
And I was. The lacquered floors, tasteful art, and rustic design of the interior stood in direct contradiction to the grimy outside. They even had purse hooks at the bar. "Okay, so it's kinda nice," I said, trying not to give her too much satisfaction.
The grin on her face told me I'd failed.
We took the last two seats at the bar. Most of the tables teemed with happy drinking people. I wanted to be happy like them, really I did. Maybe it was time to cut loose.
"Please tell me you're not brooding again," Isabel said. She raised a hand and got the bartender's attention.
"What can I get for ya, Izzy?" He flashed a smile at her and reserved a nod for me.
"Alex, this is Emily. We went to school together."
He held out a hand, his grin revealing nice white teeth. "Great to meet you."
I could always appreciate someone with proper dental hygiene. I took his hand. He gave mine a wimpy little squeeze, as if he was afraid he'd hurt me or something. I gripped his hand tight and smiled at the slight widening o
f his eyes which told me he'd felt it.
"Pleased to meet you as well," I said.
He reclaimed his hand. "What kind of accent is that you have? Australian?"
Isabel leaned forward. "No, she's British. Isn't it just the neatest?"
"Oh bloody—" I stopped myself before finishing that very British statement. "Might I have a martini?"
"Make that two strawberry martinis, double vodka," Isabel said. "My girl just moved here, and we're celebrating."
"Sweet," Alex said. "Coming right up." He moved back down the bar to start on our drinks.
"Alex is great," Isabel said. "Me and some of the other girls come here a lot after work. We're getting together next week for Angela's birthday—oh, you're going to love Angela. She's Kappa Beta too, but from UGA, and she has great connections." She took in a breath. "Candy and Michelle are awesome too. Oh my God, you're going to love everyone, I just know it." She squeezed me in a hug. "I'm so glad you decided to move in with me! It'll be just like the old days."
"Yes, it'll be wonderful," I said, a headache already working its way down my forehead.
"Here you go, ladies." Alex set down our drinks.
"You are so fast," Isabel said, giving Alex a smile I'd seen before. A smile I knew all too well.
"No way," I said, after he'd moved on to help other patrons. "You slept with him?"
Isabel's eyes went wide. "How—oh God, Em, how did you—wait, it was the smile right? I did it again?"
"That and the dreamy look in your eyes." I repressed a sigh, thinking back to the one thing about Izzy that drove me crazy during our time as roommates. "Please tell me you've cut back on the men."
"I totally did, scout's honor and everything!" She held up her pinky finger and wiggled it.
I laughed. "Scout's honor, eh?" I sensed a slight chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. It was as if something reached through my skin and brushed against my very soul. A familiar face caught my eye and I froze. Light blue eyes stared back at me. With thick black hair hanging to his shoulders and pale but flawless skin, the guy was definitely cute despite the long sideburns. Okay, I had to admit he was gorgeous. He wore a black sport coat with expensive designer jeans and a blue oxford shirt, which showed he knew how to dress.
But none of that mattered. It was the same guy from Sutra. The same guy I felt certain had followed us here, because he looked too made up to be in this place. Granted, Isabel was wearing a nice dress, while I'd tossed on jeans, a T-shirt, and a nice sweater, so perhaps it was my dress code that wasn't quite up to snuff.
"It's him," Isabel said with a longing sigh. She turned to me and squealed. "I think he likes you!"
"He's creepy," I said, averting my eyes from the guy, and back to my drink. I took a long gulp, almost coughing it back out again. "Ugh, did you really have to ask for double vodka?" The cold sensation grew stronger, radiating against my back.
"Hello again," said a deep masculine voice behind us.
I jumped, nearly spilling my martini.
"Why hello you," Isabel said, one of her hands unconsciously brushing her long dark hair.
I turned and glared at the intruder. "Look, I'm really just catching up with my friend. Do you mind?"
Isabel's shoulders slumped a fraction, but she picked up on my girl code. "Maybe another time?"
The man smiled, revealing perfect rows of white teeth. "I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Stephen."
He had a strange accent, I noticed, though not a foreign one. More like his English was rusty or something. The coldness emanating from him made me want to shiver. It was a very strange vibe, one I'd felt when we'd encountered him earlier at Sutra. Only now was I beginning to realize it was something more than just a typical bad feeling about someone.
"I'm Isabel," my friend said, holding out her hand.
"That's great, Stephen." I pulled Isabel's outstretched hand down. "Now please, will you excuse us?"
Instead, he leaned toward me. His blue eyes seemed to darken. "We should get out of here," he said. His pupils dilated wide, and seemed to be trying to suck me into their depths. It seemed as though his voice echoed ever so slightly in my mind.
I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's all you got?"
"Okay," Isabel said, a dreamy quality to her voice. "That sounds like fun."
Stephen quirked an eyebrow and looked almost comically confused. "Come with me," he said, leaning in even closer.
"And, that's enough." I stood up and pushed him back a few feet. "If you don't leave us alone, I'm calling a bouncer."
"Got a problem?" Alex called out from behind me.
I raised an eyebrow and looked at Stephen. "Well, do we?"
His easy smile flattened, and his eyes glinted like hard diamonds. "No, of course not." He smirked. "Be seeing you."
"Not if I can help it," I muttered, pausing a minute to watch him go back to the far side of the bar.
Isabel stood and moved to follow him. I grabbed her arm and sat her back down. She flinched. "Whoa, Em." She shook her head as if clearing out cobwebs. "I think I must've had too much to drink."
Her glass was still half-full and Isabel wasn't exactly a lightweight, but I was willing to go with the drunk angle. "If you hadn't asked for double vodka, you wouldn't have encouraged mister stalker over there."
A little sigh escaped her lips. "Oh, poo. He's gorgeous. How could you not like him?"
"After everything I've been through, you still ask me that?"
She frowned. "I'm sorry, Em. Oh god, I'm so stupid sometimes."
I smiled and hugged her. "Don't worry, I still love you."
"I miss you being there to take care of me." She patted my back as I hugged her. "You know how weak I am when it comes to temptation."
"I recall both of us failing when it came to that," I said with a laugh. "Remember the time we gorged on all those Dove bars?"
"Right after our boyfriends broke up with us in the same week!" She shuddered. "I thought I was going to die!"
That had been our freshman year at university. At the time, it had felt like the worst week ever. We'd overcome it the womanly way, with lots of chocolate, ice cream, and a weight gain of at least five pounds. Isabel, naturally, had a new boyfriend by the end of the next week. I didn't have even a single prospect I was interested in.
By the time I choked down my martini, Izzy covered her brief affair with Alex, and I'd forced confessions out of her about three other guys she'd dated. Me, I had nothing to report. And why would I? Just thinking about my last "romance" made me sick to my stomach. If I'd learned anything in my twenty-three years on this earth, it was this: romantic love didn't really exist. Only lust and carnal needs did. Men desired nothing more than sex and control.
"Oh god, you started thinking about him again, didn't you?" Isabel said. "Alex! Emergency!"
The bartender showed up. "We have a nine-one-one in progress?"
Isabel made a panicked face. "Shots, on the double!"
He returned a moment later, shot glasses filled to the brim with something that smelled like pancakes. I grimaced. "I wasn't planning on getting smashed tonight."
"Doctor's orders," Isabel said, pushing one of the glasses in front of me. "Besides, it's a Saturday night, you're all gloomy, and neither of us have any prospects for a happy ending later." Her eyes wandered the bar to find Creepy McCreeperson chatting up some other girl.
I groaned. "Girl, that guy may look good, but he's full of shit."
Isabel sighed. "I know. But all I want is one little happy ending."
Determined to tear her mind off tall, dark, and gruesome, I held up my shot glass. "Here's to being roomies again."
"Roomies!" she said, her shout overpowering the noise of the crowd for a split second—enough to attract the eyes of the nearest dozen people.
Isabel hadn't changed a bit. Something inside me snuggled up against that comfortable fact. True, she might not exactly be a role model for moderation, but she l
oved me, I loved her, and the rest of the world could go to hell.
We gulped down the shots in tandem. I nearly coughed mine back up as it burned down my throat. Not a minute later, I crossed the "comfortably buzzed" threshold and entered "mildly intoxicated" territory.
"Let's do another," Isabel said, raising her arm to get Alex's attention.
I fumbled for her arm, pulling it back down. "Give me time to recover."
She laughed.
"I've got to pee," I said, unsure if I might also need to throw up. The concoction Alex had made us left a sickly sweet coating on my taste buds.
"Want another martini?" Isabel asked.
I stood up. Shrugged. "Keep the vodka level normal this time, okay?"
"You got it."
I wandered to the back of the bar and, with guidance from a helpful waitress, found the queue to the washroom. The men's room, as usual, had only one guy waiting outside, while I stood behind at least six other women. All in all, it took about five minutes. When I returned to my place at the bar, Isabel was gone.
My eyes flicked across the crowd, looking for her dark hair while my ears listened for her excited squeal. Isabel was not an easy person to hide, crowd or not. With her exotic, canted eyes, honey-brown skin, and infectious personality, the crowd usually migrated toward her. When I failed to find her, I looked back at the bar as Alex deposited two fresh martinis in our spots. Izzy's purse was gone. Mine still hung by the hook.
"Did you see where Isabel went?" I asked Alex, shouting to be heard over the crowd.
He shrugged. "Thought I saw her talking with that guy from earlier."
"Guy?"
"Yeah, the one you pushed."
A hot rush of anger hit me. "Thanks," I snapped. Isabel, I'm going to kill you! This wasn't the first time she'd ditched me to go with a guy, but she usually told me before running off. And to leave my purse just hanging there without even bothering to watch it was beyond the pale. It might not be a Burberry, but damn it, it held my ID and what little money I had, not to mention my phone with all sorts of personal stuff on it.
"I think they went outside." Alex gave me a concerned look.
Despite the heavy alcoholic buzz in my head trying to make me happy, I had to take a deep breath to calm my anger. My first night in town, and Izzy had eloped with a guy I expressly told her was a loser. "Can I tab out?"
