The Renaissance: Book 4 of The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Series Prequel to Luna Rising)

by Sara Snow

  Once they left for the Demon Realm, they wouldn't return again.

  Looking down at my hands, I opened and closed them as I thought about my future. The events over the past few days had caused me to rethink my plan to become a bounty hunter. Now that I had the power to heal, to take away pain and suffering, I wanted to use it.

  The world was a different place now. I wanted to believe we’d all come out on the other side of this, but it wasn’t a sure thing. I was learning not to take anything for granted . . . including love.

  This was a part of growing up, I supposed. I had to decide on my own path, even if it differed greatly from the path my loved ones had expected me to take.

  “It’s wise of you to seek help from the Nephilim Sisters, Elinor.” I looked up and saw that Tor had stopped and was waiting for Will and me to catch up. His eyes drifted to Will, then back to me. "They will surely be able to help you defeat the Vampire Queen."

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know who the Nephilim Sisters are,” I said.

  His thick brows pulled together, and he looked at Darian.

  "She doesn't know yet," Darian told Tor as Will and I caught up.

  “What do I not know yet?” I looked from Tor to Darian. “Who are the Nephilim Sisters? Is that who we're going to see, Darian?"

  Darian nodded. “Yes.”

  "So," I drawled as I hunched my shoulders. "Why am I just being told now? Why have you been so secretive about where we were going?”

  “The sisters have lived in seclusion for centuries, and few know how to find the entrance to their territory,” Tor explained as we walked. "Those who know of them seldom speak of them openly. They are three sisters, not linked by blood but by something so much stronger. They were born under the same Bloodmoon, on the same day, which bound them forever.”

  “Who are they, though?" Skye asked the question I needed answered.

  Tor’s tail swished back and forth. “Many centuries ago, three Seraphim—angels of the highest rank—came to Earth, and each one fell in love with a woman from a different supernatural species.”

  “Isn’t that forbidden?” Cyrus cut in. “It happens, but rarely, right?”

  Tor nodded. "Close to never. And yes, it's forbidden. The fact that they were Seraphim and much higher ranked than the other Archangels meant they couldn’t be killed for it. According to legend, all three women died giving birth, and all attempts to kill the babies failed. Even children born from the union of an angel and human are powerful beings, so you can imagine what the children of Seraphim and supernaturals would be like.”

  “Why haven’t we heard of them if they’re still alive?" I strolled by Tor’s side, and I turned my head to look up at him. “Why does no one talk about them?”

  "They don't trouble themselves with mortal or supernatural matters. Or rather, they can't," he answered. “After they were unsuccessful at killing them when they were babies, the angels tried to use the sisters’ abilities, but the girls rebelled, wanting to be in control themselves. So, the angels combined their power and trapped the sisters on Earth. Only death will release them and give them entrance to heaven.”

  "Goddess, that's cruel," Skye growled. "How will they die if they are trapped in one place? They'd have to kill each other or kill themselves?"

  "And I assume they can't do any of that." Tor placed a hand on the hilts of the swords on either side of him, each blade about the length of my entire body. "If they ever committed such a crime, they'd never be allowed access to the God Realm."

  “Mm, makes sense,” I mumbled. “But why am I being sent to them?” I looked at Darian. “If they don’t trouble themselves with mortal and supernatural affairs, what makes Levi think they’ll train me?”

  "You're like them," Tor said, answering for Darian. "You have divinity like they do—although a different kind from a different God. My guess is that they are the only ones on this earth who could understand and teach you to wield your power."

  "If they weren't trapped and, you know, weren't against getting their hands dirty, I'm thinking they could probably end this war without breaking a sweat,” Skye said, obviously a little frustrated. I agreed with her. We could use the help.

  If we had even one of them on our side, we’d be unbeatable. But they couldn’t help, even if they wanted to. I couldn't imagine being trapped in one place for centuries, unable to die and knowing that death was my only escape. I'd lose my mind.

  "It's said one sister fell in love with a werewolf who came across the entrance to their territory and found them. She tied herself to him and his bloodline so that any children of his would have a connection to her, no matter how many generations had passed. I'm guessing this Levi you mentioned must be from that bloodline; otherwise, getting their help would’ve been impossible."

  Then Tor stopped walking and pointed to the left. We all looked simultaneously towards two stone pillars that were standing in the middle of the forest. They had vines wrapped around them and were broken in places. They resembled ancient columns from where a house had once stood.

  "Walk through the pillars, and on the other side, you'll find the sisters. Their land is cloaked in shadows and mystery. Not everything will be as it seems. And there is danger. You’ll need to be mindful of the creatures—deadly ones—who live there with them." Tor took a step back. "This is as far as I can go, I’m afraid. But I wish you all the best of luck with finding them.”

  "Thank you, Tor, for taking us this far." Darian placed his fist over his heart and bowed with respect, and Skye and I did the same.

  "I’m happy to help. I hope you find the sisters and that they help you, White Wolf. Once on the other side, you must hurry. You’ll see a white sparrow soon after you cross into their land. Follow it, and it'll take you to the sisters.” His hold on his swords tightened, his fists turning white. “But be careful. The creatures that live there are said to be . . . unimaginable creatures of old." He looked at Will as he said that, and my eyes narrowed. "Take care."

  “Thank you, we will,” I told him as Will entered first, stepping between the pillars. The space between the columns shimmered, and he vanished.

  I took a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever I might face on the other side.

  “I learned today that another creature of old is real and still alive.” Tor cocked his head towards the entranceway where Will had just vanished.

  “You know who he is?” I inquired.

  Tor released his swords. “I do, but only from stories told to me as a child. That vampire was once feared more than the Queen herself. I won't ask why he's traveling with you and betraying his Queen, but if he's indeed on your side, you have a powerful ally."

  I looked at Darian, who didn't look pleased at all. He nodded to Tor and then turned and walked through the pillars. He vanished, followed by Cyrus and Skye. I took a deep breath and called on my divinity to protect me before I stepped through the barrier as well, leaving everything I knew behind.

  12

  Elinor

  I opened my eyes as I came out on the other side of the barrier, and it was as if I had stepped into another world. Day was now night, and a light fog floated along the forest floor. The trees were thicker, too, blocking out any moonlight there might have been to help us adjust to our new surroundings.

  A bird I'd never heard before—if it was indeed a bird—called in the distance, and another answered it right away. The feeling in the air here was different, too. It was heavier with magic, much like it had seemed when Will and I had gone to the Dragon Territory.

  With that thought, I wondered if Cyrus had heard from Theanos. There hadn’t been a word from him since he went back to the Dragon Territory to inform his father, the King, of what was happening. As Cyrus’s half-brother, he was just as powerful as Cyrus was. And right now, we could use his help.

  Cyrus held his hand out as if touching something. "The magic here is strong. You all feel that, right?"

  "I do," Skye answered. "Is your wolf reacting to it
, Elinor? Mine sure is."

  I nodded because, indeed, my wolf was whimpering in my head, begging to be allowed to explore this unknown land. "Remember what Tor said? We need to move.”

  I started walking, and so did the others, silently. The forest was silent, except for the sound of night critters. The last thing I wanted to do was alert the creatures that lived here of our presence.

  "What we need to do is find the white sparrow Tor mentioned," Skye said. And as if on cue, soft bird song drifted down to us from the trees. “T-There it is!”

  There it was, indeed—a beautiful white bird that could fit in the palm of my hand. It stretched its wings wide and flapped them as if greeting us. Then it took to the sky, and Will, who was beside me, vanished, giving chase.

  The white bird was much faster than it looked, and the rest of us raced after it as well. It zoomed through the trees, and we did our best to follow. Unfortunately, we were running with our eyes on the trees as we tried to keep the bird in sight, which caused us to make much more noise than was wise as we crashed through the forest.

  The sooner we found the Nephilim Sisters, the better. Maybe then, we wouldn't have to worry about what kind of creatures lived here. The sisters lived with them, so they presumably knew how to handle them.

  "Shit, where did it go?" Darian growled. We caught up to Will, who had been ahead of us.

  His hood was down, revealing his windblown hair and eyes that had turned a bright red as they darted around. "I had it. It just vanished."

  "There!" I yelled, and we all made a sharp right, following the white wings darting through the trees.

  For ten minutes we followed it, then lost sight of it . . . then found it again. I was starting to wonder if someone was messing with us. And if so, who?

  Will stopped abruptly, causing me to bump into him. The others stopped as well.

  "Why are we stopping? Did we lose it again?”

  Will held his hand up to silence Skye, who didn't look pleased.

  “But—”

  "No, wait." Cyrus held her back as he took deep breaths, his nostrils flaring.

  “What is it?” I asked, my black eyes searching the darkness around us.

  “We’re being followed. Can you smell it?" Will asked Cyrus, who nodded, his eyes widening. "You know what it is, don't you?"

  Cyrus nodded again, and a sword made of black smoke appeared in his hand. The rest of us went on the defensive, turning our backs to each other and creating a circle.

  “Fill in the rest of us here, will you?” Darian inhaled deeply, and I did the same.

  That's when I caught the scent.

  I grimaced. It wasn't a scent I was familiar with, but it was the most disgusting thing I'd ever smelled—a stench that reeked of decay and burnt flesh. "What the hell is that? Do you guys know?"

  “Yes,” Will and Cyrus answered at the same time.

  "I've only seen one once, when I was a boy, long before I left the Demon Realm. I didn't want to, and I definitely didn't think I'd meet one again. It's a demon native to the Underworld, but a defiant type. Even some high-ranking demons can’t control them.”

  "I thought the ones on Earth had gone extinct," Will hissed, his hand reaching out for mine. "I faced one once, many, many years ago, and it almost killed me. We can’t stay here.”

  "If we run, we'll draw its attention,” Skye cautioned.

  "Trust me, it already knows we’re here. No matter where we go, it'll follow. But I highly suggest running."

  Just the thought that this thing made even Will uneasy caused a churning sensation in my stomach. A branch snapped in the distance, and Will suddenly tightened his hold on my hand and began running, dragging me along beside him.

  “We can’t lose the bird!” Darian growled low as he caught up to us. “It’s our only guide to the sisters.”

  "Right now, finding the sisters isn’t a priority,” Will hissed. “Reaching an open space where we can see this thing is." He pulled on my hand. "Use your divinity to run faster and go on ahead. I'll be right behind you."

  “I’m not leaving you!” I protested.

  “You have to. Only you can help us. The sisters have divinity, too. If you draw on yours, they'll sense it and follow. We don't have time to look for them, so they need to find us. Because none of us are prepared to fight a Leviathan."

  “A Le-what?” Skye asked as she jumped over a broken tree branch lying on the forest floor.

  "They are creatures that predate even some of the Gods. They are demons of old," Cyrus answered, and the feeling of dread rising in my chest almost choked me.

  The crash of something hurling through the trees had us all pushing ourselves to run faster. It sounded as if the forest behind us was being ripped apart. I awakened my divinity as Will had suggested, and a bolt of lightning flashed above us, illuminating the area.

  As I glanced behind us with my enhanced sight, I could just barely discern the outline of a shadowy creature right on our heels. “Shit! It’s coming!”

  Cyrus’s wings burst from his back as he stopped running and turned to face the direction the creature was coming from. “The rest of you go! I can hold it back for a while.”

  "No!" Skye screamed as the sword in Cyrus's hand turned into blue flames.

  Darian grabbed Skye around her waist.

  "Put me down! Cyrus!"

  “I love you, Skye. Darian, please take her!”

  “Cyrus, you bastard!”

  Will vanished from my side and reappeared beside Cyrus. I ran forward to join them as Darian yelled at me to stop. But I refused to let them fight alone. Whatever this creature was and however powerful it was, the three of us would handle it together.

  "Find the sisters, Darian. Don't argue!" I allowed my dominance to take hold of Darian, and a thick vein appeared on his neck as he tried to resist. "Take Skye and go!"

  Then the sound of something falling from above made us all look up. The object slammed into the ground, knocking us backward and covering us with dust and dirt. But I was on my feet within seconds, sending another bolt of lightning to light up the forest.

  I frowned as a very tall woman climbed out of the crater in the ground.

  Her long raven hair fell to her knees, and she had what looked like a gem in the center of her forehead. Eyes that were the color of steel looked us up and down before they landed on me, and she twirled the silver staff in her hand.

  "You're the white wolf, aren't you? You don't look like much. I’ve never seen a white wolf so small.”

  I was already staring at her, but my mouth fell open at that. “Excuse me?”

  “Behind you!” Skye screamed, and the woman spun around. The tip of her staff connected with the jaw of a black creature and sent it flying through the trees.

  The Leviathan’s body was obsidian in color and shiny, like an eel’s. Even its eyes and claws were black. We could have run right by this thing earlier, and we wouldn't have seen it because it blended so well into the darkness. Its scent would have given it away, though. It was a little taller than the woman, but it was a giant compared to us.

  It was back on its feet within seconds, the high-pitched sound that escaped it forcing us all to wince.

  "Well, that's not nice. Why would you call to the others?" the woman asked, shaking her head at the creature. It let out another sound, a deeper one that seemed aimed directly at her.

  Its clawed toes dug into the ground as it charged at her, and I watched as she spun the staff around in her hand and the tip of it changed shape, its flat end transforming into a long, pointy one. She stood there waiting, and the moment the Leviathan was close enough, she stepped forward.

  Her staff pierced the Leviathan’s chest, lifting it off the ground. Then she slammed it back down, pushing the staff further into its chest and pinning it to the dirt.

  She strolled around it and sighed, a look of disappointment on her face. "This one was young and underfed."

  This one was young!

  “Imposs
ible,” Will grumbled under his breath. "It's impossible to kill a Leviathan so easily, let alone pierce its skin with only a staff."

  “Yet I just did it, Vampire. So it’s not impossible.” She tilted her head to the side and studied Will. Removing her staff from the creature’s chest, she said, “I’m confused. I wasn’t told a vampire would be coming along. Aren’t vampires the ones causing all the chaos outside?”

  "I was as surprised as you are," Darian grumbled, and I rolled my eyes.

  A high-pitched scream like the one the dead Leviathan had made echoed in the distance, and my face fell.

  “Looks like company is coming.” The woman, who I assumed by this point was one of the sisters, held her hand out, and flames erupted from the earth to surround us.

  “I was thinking more along the lines of running,” Skye chuckled nervously.

  "Where's the fun in that? Just stand behind me, and you'll all be fine." As she instructed, we all moved to stand behind her, but as I walked by, she grabbed my arm. When I looked up at her, her eyes narrowed. "Not you." She pushed me back. "The others I'll protect, but you, White Wolf—you’ll have to kill a Leviathan yourself."

  "Are you kidding?" I growled.

  But she neither blinked nor moved. "I don't make jokes often, no. Kill one, or you won't get the help you need here. So . . . deal or no deal? Fight or leave, but think fast because these things travel in packs.”

  "She's not strong enough to kill one alone," Will hissed, his nostrils flaring.

  The sister looked right at Will and her eyes flared with light, shining as brightly as a star but not beautifully. The vibrations from her power caused the little hairs on my arms to stand up. "Then she's not strong enough to kill a vampire Royal!" She turned back to me. "You have power. I can sense it. Kill a Leviathan, and if you die, so be it. But do it!”

  I swallowed hard, looking from Darian to Skye, to Cyrus, and then finally at Will. He looked as though he’d like to hurl some choice words at the sister, but he answered my unspoken question with a slight nod. He seemed resigned to the fact that like myself, he was no match for this woman. She exuded power. Another high pitch screech echoed in the distance, and she began snapping her fingers.