Bound by Shadows (Kissed by Shadows Series, Book 2)

by Lola StVil

  Bound By Shadows (Kissed By Shadows, Book 2)

  Lola StVil

  Book 1: The Girl

  Book 2: The Fallout

  Book 3: The Turn

  Book 4: The Triplex

  Book 5, Part 1: The Quo

  Book 5, Part 2: The Lyris

  Book 6, Part 1: The Shoma

  Book 6, Part 2: The Nycren

  Book 1: Blue Rose

  Book 2: The Last Akon

  Book 3: Fall of the Chosen

  Book 4: When Angels Break

  Book 5: Ways of the Wicked

  Book 6: Rise of the Alago

  Book 7: Rage of Angels

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  Copyright © 2018 by Lola StVil

  All rights reserved.

  Formatting by Dallas Hodge, Everything But The Book

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To love is so startling

  it leaves little time for anything else.

  —Emily Dickinson

  Kane sits scowling at me from across the table and I know I don’t have much longer before he goes off on another rant about how I’m wasting my time. I close my eyes for a second, pressing my fingers to my temples. My head pounds and my throat is dry, both symptoms of flicking through the old, dusty books that Sadie left in the bookstore a long time ago. Before today, I forgot I even had them, but now I’m hoping that they contain the answers I need.

  I silently both thank and curse Pest for giving me this idea. He was so insistent that I read the fairy tale he gave me, and as soon as I read it, I knew why. He knew what I had just discovered: Kane is so much more than just a demon chosen at random to be the Keysu. As soon as I finished the tale, I knew I had to talk to Pest, so that’s exactly what I did.

  I open my eyes again and start flicking through the pages of the book once more, but I’m not really seeing the words. I’m thinking back to the conversation I had with Pest and the tiny ray of hope he gave me.

  I’ve been sitting across the table from Pest for the last twenty minutes, and so far, I’ve learned how long a bee lives, how many inches of rain fall in the average desert, where the word scuba came from, and… never mind. It’s fair to say none of it is relevant. What I haven’t learned is the one thing I need to know.

  “Pest, stop going off track and tell me how you knew that Sadie and Nyten are Kane’s parents,” I plead.

  “It sounds a little crazy,” he says.

  You know what’s crazy—learning the real history of humanity. I learned Orah—the god of all things—had two sons: Nyten and Arken. Nyten is the god of goodness and Arken is the god of evil. They are poised to battle for the fate of mankind.

  Arken created an army of demons to kill us all. The only thing standing in his way is a river called River of Hope. Unfortunately that river is drying up. In order to stop that from happening, someone must undertake a quest to find artifacts that will replenish the river. There are supernatural beings throughout the world, known as Shadows, and they choose the being that will go on that quest. That being is called the Seeker. We only get seven chances to go on the quest, and so far six have failed. And now, with only one chance left, the Shadow world has chosen me to go on the quest. I am the last Seeker.

  Arken wants the quest to fail, so he has appointed what is called a Keysu. The Keysu is a super-powered demon who will stop at nothing to kill the Seeker and end the quest. So knowing what’s at stake, what do I do? I go and fall in love with the Keysu—yes, I fell in love with the guy whose job is to kill me and end the world. And the craziest thing of all is that Kane dares to love me too.

  I look over at Pest and assure him, “I promise you, I’m very close friends with crazy.”

  He peers at me, then shrugs and nods.

  “I suppose you are,” he agrees. “It all started in a bar in Casablanca. I was there doing some research into… ”

  Pest sees my raised eyebrow as he goes off on another tangent.

  “Sorry,” he mutters.

  “Long story short, I ran into Nyten in a bar. He was drunk and ready to spill all his secrets to anyone willing to listen. He didn’t come right out and tell me that he had a son; I mean he is a god, he knows when to keep quiet, but I figured it out from what he told me.”

  “And Sadie?” I press him.

  “Sadie was always so quick to defend Kane, even when everyone else was ready to condemn him. He did things that were far worse than the things some of the lesser demons that she happily condemned along with everyone else did. She would insist he had a light inside of him that he just had to find. She still insisted this was true, long after even the most liberal angels wrote Kane off as a lost cause.”

  I shake my head, trying to take it all in. Only Pest could jump to the conclusion that Nyten and Sadie are Kane’s parents from that, but as always, he was right.

  “Kane isn’t a lost cause,” I say, filling the silence that’s fallen before Pest can go off on another tangent. “I’ve seen the light shine through.”

  I smile, as I think back to the night we made love for the first time. I remember how gentle Kane was, how loving. He’s anything but a lost cause.

  “Well… of course… I mean… ” Pest trails off, his face pink with embarrassment.

  I grin and Pest laughs, some of the awkwardness leaving him.

  “You know this isn’t going to be easy, don’t you?” Pest says, all serious again. “I get it. Kane isn’t all bad. But he’s still a demon, Atlas. He has a dark side. And after years of nurturing that dark side and pushing down the light, he’s going to find it hard to change.”

  “But he has changed,” I insist.

  “He has in some ways,” Pest agrees but he doesn’t look convinced.

  “I do believe that what he feels for you is real, and that’s a step in the right direction. But by his own admission, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to the rest of humanity.”

  I look down at my hands on the table. Kane did say something along those lines, but I’m sure he can change. I just don’t know how to convince Pest. And if I can’t convince Pest, who is ready to see the good in everyone, how will I ever convince Kane, who wrote himself off years ago?

  “So basically, Kane must find his way to the light—really care about humanity as a whole, not just you. If he can do that, he can potentially help his father win the bet with Arken and ultimately save the world. But if he can’t… well, let’s not go there,” Pest says.

  “Yeah, that’s basically it,” I agree. “Easy, huh?”

  Pest laughs, but it sounds like the laughter of someone on the edge of a breakdown rather than the laughter of someone who finds something funny.

  “You know how much work is going to be involved with finding the three remaining objects, Atlas,” Pest reminds me gently.

  I nod my head in agreement. I do. We’ve only located one object so far, and we’ve already lost one team member. I bow my head as I remember Mason. He was so strong, so made for this, and now he’s gone. And somehow, I have to fill his shoes.

  “And do I need to remind you what the fourth and final object is?” Pest asks me.

  I shake my head. How could I forget that to be successful at this mission, I end up dead? The last object is my heart. It’s not something that just slips someone’s mind.

  “If you’re trying t
o cheer me up, you’re doing an awful job of it,” I tell Pest.

  “I’m just trying to make you see the truth, Atlas. You have a long and dangerous path ahead of you that can only end one way. Do you really want the added work of trying to help Kane find his light?”

  “Honestly? I don’t want any of this. I want to go back to the bookshop and close the book I was reading and shake my head at the story. I want all of this to just be a far-fetched fairy tale. But it’s not. It’s my life now. So, if what you’re really asking is if I’m ready to give up on the one person I’ve met who can make this bearable, then the answer is no. I’m in this, Pest.”

  He nods his head and fixes me with a steely gaze.

  “Then I hope you have a plan,” he says.

  I shrug. Now isn’t the time to tell him I feel lost and have no idea what comes next.

  “I’ll know what to do when we find out what the next object is,” I tell him, sounding more convinced than I feel about knowing what I’m doing.

  “Hmmm,” he mutters, not convinced. “I can’t help you with that, but I might be able to help you with your Kane problem.”

  That gets my attention, and I sit up straighter.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense,” I comment.

  “You remember those old books Sadie asked you to keep for her in the bookstore?”

  I nod. I vaguely remember Sadie bringing me a bag of old, dusty books a while ago. I agreed to keep them in the back of the store for her for safekeeping.

  “Well they might just contain the secret you need,” Pest says.

  I stop myself from rolling my eyes. For a guy who likes to explain everything about everything, Pest can be overdramatic and draw the moment out when he has information I actually want.

  I wave my hand impatiently for him to go on.

  “Well, Sadie doesn’t do anything without a reason. This makes me think there’s something in one of those books that can help you. If there’s a way to protect Talon from Arken, then Kane won’t have to bend to his will and become the Keysu again,” Pest says.

  “Okay.” I nod, feeling the first flicker of hope I’ve had since learning of Arken’s blackmail.

  “What kind of thing am I looking for?”

  Pest looks away from me, not meeting my eye.

  “I have no idea,” he admits.

  I feel the spark of hope start to fizzle out. If Pest, who knows everything, doesn’t know, then what chance do I have?

  Pest looks back at me.

  “Sadie obviously thought you would know what you were looking for when the time came,” he says.

  I cling to the tiny bit of hope I have left. Sadie believes in me. She always has. And Pest’s right about one thing—she doesn’t do anything without reason, so if she’s left me those books, I need to go and read them now.

  “Thanks, Pest, you’re the best,” I say, jumping to my feet and pulling my cell phone from my pocket.

  “What are you doing?” Pest asks, also getting to his feet.

  “I’m calling Kane. We’re going to be doing some reading,” I say.

  “Is it a good idea involving Kane before you have anything?” Pest shouts as I leave.

  “I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out,” I call back over my shoulder.

  It wasn’t a good idea. Kane was happy to meet up with me, but once I told him what I had in mind for us to do, he was less than thrilled.

  I explained what Pest had told me, that these books could contain the answers we needed—a way to protect Talon and ultimately stop Arken from forcing Kane back into his role as Keysu. He just shook his head and told me there was no way to protect anyone from Arken.

  I’m not ready to give up quite so easily. Kane’s made minimal effort to help, and he has spent most of the time just sitting glaring at me, throwing in the occasional comment about my eternal optimism wasting our time.

  “Look, you’ve wasted almost three hours on this,” Kane says now, pulling me back to the present. “And what do you have to show for it? Nothing.”

  I feel my temper rising a little.

  “If you would help me instead of sitting there giving me a hard time, maybe we’d have found something by now,” I fire back.

  Kane rolls his eyes.

  “Yeah, and maybe we’d all get to live happily ever after in suburbia with a pet unicorn and a Volkswagen. Face it, Disney, it’s not gonna happen. Do you really think Arken isn’t at least two steps ahead of us? Do you really think the secret to stopping him is written in some old book?” Kane demands.

  “I honestly don’t know, but I’m willing to try anything right now,” I admit.

  Kane slams his hand on the table in angry protest.

  “Look, you tried. Now we only have a couple of hours left until I have to become the second greatest evil in the world and destroy your team. Can’t we just enjoy them?”

  “You know, funny enough, I’m not really in the mood to enjoy myself,” I snap. “There has to be a way to protect Talon, and I feel like you’re not even trying. Maybe you actually want to be the Keysu again.”

  Kane sighs. “You know that’s not true. I just know this is impossible. This is our last chance to be together, and I’d rather spend that time doing something other than reading old books.”

  “Oh my Orah. I’ve got it,” I shriek excitedly, the argument we were having forgotten.

  “Kane, look at this,” I exclaim, pushing the book towards him and pointing to some notes scribbled in Sadie’s spidery handwriting in one of the margins.

  I rush around the table so I’m standing behind Kane, looking over his shoulder as he reads Sadie’s note.

  “How will making a Typhlock potion help?” Kane asks me.

  I point further down the page. “Because it can make someone invisible for long periods of time. If Arken can’t see Talon, then he can’t kill him. Right?”

  “Right,” Kane agrees.

  He doesn’t sound enthusiastic at all.

  “What is it?” I ask, confused.

  Does he really want to be the Keysu? I only said that to get a reaction. I didn’t really believe it when I said it, but now, I have my doubts.

  “To make the Typhlock potion, you need three drops of blood from an Alacore. They’ve been hunted to near extinction. There’s no way we can find one in the few hours we have left. I’m sorry, Disney, really I am, but it’s over.”

  I shake my head.

  “It’s not over. We can do this. Maybe not alone, but if we have help… ” I trail off.

  “Help from whom?” Kane asks.

  “My team,” I say.

  Kane looks for a second like he’s going to argue, but he takes in my determination. He nods.

  “Call them then,” he says.

  I know he doesn’t think this will work, but it’s our only shot, and I want to show him that we can find a way. That light always beats darkness.

  The bookstore is filled with a flurry of noise as the team files in.

  “This had better be good, Atlas,” Langston says as they enter. “I was perfectly happy working on a much-needed tan out there.”

  Perry snorts. “Yeah, it’s so important to look good when you’re on a mission.”

  Langston glares at Perry, and I step in before they can continue bickering.

  “Thank you for coming. All of you,” I say. “I know you all had a couple of days left of your vacation, but this is important.”

  I quickly explain to them my need to find an Alacore. I explain that by making the Typhlock potion, I can stop Kane from having to once again become the Keysu.

  I can see I’m losing them, but I keep going anyway. I have no other options left.

  “Please help me,” I beg.

  “No way. I’m out,” Saudia announces.

  Regal nods in agreement. “Sorry, Atlas. It’s not our place to help demons.”

  “But it is your place to help me,” I counter. “And let’s not be so quick to forget that Kane helped us on our last mi
ssion.”

  I stand my ground, looking at each of them. Kane stands beside me, and I can feel agitation coming off him in waves. He was finally starting to believe there might be a way to stop all of this, and if the team refuses to help us now, I know he’ll never accept that he can be anything other than a demon.

  The team exchange looks between them. Looks that I can’t read. I reach for Kane’s hand and cling to him.

  “Fine. We’ll help you get the Alacore blood,” Regal says.

  He glares at Kane, who holds his gaze calmly.

  “And then we’re even with the demon,” Remy adds.

  I feel a wave of relief go through me.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “Let’s get this over with then so we can get back to that beach,” Langston says. “And by the way, who is this demon we’re helping to hide from Arken?”

  “His name’s Talon. He… ” I start.

  I trail off when I see the team’s reaction. An instant tension comes over them. Regal fixes me with what I can only describe as a death glare, and Remy, whom I’ve never seen without a smile, is suddenly looking at me with an icy stare.

  “You know him?” I ask them, confused at the magnitude of their reaction.

  “Oh we know Talon, better than we’d like to,” Remy says, the tone she addresses me in matching her stone-cold look.

  I don’t want to ask. I don’t want to know. But I need to.

  “What happened?” I ask, suddenly filled with dread. Regal meets my eyes and addresses me in a dead tone.

  “He killed our parents.”

  Before we can stop him, Regal charges towards Kane, screaming accusations. The momentum causes him to hit the floor when Kane sidesteps out of the way. But he bounces back up on his feet. Kane stalks over to him, and they circle each other.

  “You bastard,” Regal spits at Kane.

  “I can just imagine you and Talon, sitting there laughing over the destruction you caused, the lives you took. Laughing about my parents. Congratulating yourselves on being the scum of the earth and taking the lives of innocent people for your own goddamn entertainment.”