Demon Marked: Book 1 of the Venandi Chronicles ( An Urban Paranormal Romance Series)

by Sara Snow

  I did it. Holy crap. I could hardly believe it.

  It had to be triggered by my emotions. When it happened at my old apartment, I was so angry. Then, my dream tonight brought up feelings of fear and more anger. It was my emotions that triggered it, which was why I hadn’t been able to do it by sheer force of will.

  Excitement and fear battled for dominance inside of me. This was amazing, and I didn’t know how it had come about, but I had a legitimate superpower!

  But I knew, deep in my heart, that this was dangerous, too. If people found out, I’d probably end up in a secret underground lab somewhere, a human guinea pig getting poked and prodded by government scientists. It would put a target on my back.

  This thing, whatever it was, had to stay a secret from the rest of the world.

  4

  Carter

  I could sense her power, the woman that I was supposed to be keeping an eye on. Her power was strong, and probably still growing without her even realizing it.

  That was going to be a problem, because I wasn’t the only one who could sense it.

  Every demon and supernatural creature within twenty miles would be able to detect it, too. They’d all come for her. Demons were all about possessing power, so they would want her to join forces with them. And I’d never met a single demon who took the word “no” very well. If she tried to resist, she’d be eliminated. It was always a “join us or die” situation with those guys.

  Other supernatural creatures might want the same, or they might just be interested in killing her, either to absorb her power or eliminate a potential threat.

  Unlike some, cambions got to choose what side they wanted to be on in the war against evil. They weren’t necessarily bad just because they were the offspring of a human and a demon. Cambions got to decide their own destinies. A cambion had a ton of power, so everyone wanted that behind them.

  The group I was a part of, the Venandi, weren’t above craving that power ourselves, but at least we didn’t intend to harm her. And we wanted her help slaying evil beings. I just had to figure out the best way to approach the woman. Her powers were newly awakened, and I wasn’t even sure if she’d realized she had them yet.

  Continuing to live her life as she’d known it was impossible. Danger lurked around every corner, so she could either learn to fight it alone, which would only keep her alive for so long, or join others who could help keep her safe.

  I was at her apartment building, waiting for her to arrive. My presence was hidden as I lurked in the shadows of the dimly lit parking lot by her apartment building. I had chosen my position carefully, and no human would know I was there unless I wanted them to. Vampires were a different story.

  “Interesting seeing you here,” a smooth voice called out from behind me. I’d already sensed Dominic’s presence, so I didn’t react to him.

  “I’ve been here since before sunset,” I said without turning around. The cambion’s car had just pulled in and she was parking in her designated spot. “I don’t suppose you would have been able to pull that one off yourself.”

  “Not without getting a hell of a tan,” Dominic agreed with amusement in his voice.

  A normal vampire would burst into flame within seconds of being in direct sunlight, but a half-breed like me...I could handle it with no problem. I did prefer the dark of night, though. It was part of my nature.

  “So, that’s the one,” Dominic said, moving forward until he was standing next to me.

  His thin, pale face was a stark contrast to his black hair and clothing, and he looked almost like a floating head standing there in the shadows. His eyes were glued to the woman, who was getting out of her car. I hadn’t laid eyes on her yet, so I followed his gaze.

  Her back was toward us, and the first thing I noticed was her raven hair. Long and thick, it fell straight down to the middle of her back and looked to have an almost bluish hue in the moonlight. She was thin—that I could tell from her legs, which were covered in skinny jeans that were like a second skin—but the baggy hoodie she wore hung off one shoulder hid the shape of her body.

  Then, she turned, and I sucked in a sharp breath. She was gorgeous. I’d been around for a long time and I’d known some great beauties in my seventy years of immortal life. But there was something about this woman, with her high cheekbones, soft jawline, and cupid’s bow lips, that stirred something inside of me I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  I wanted her.

  She was walking toward the apartment building when she suddenly stopped, her head swiveling around as if she sensed she was being watched and was trying to figure out the source. Dominic and I remained motionless as her unique purple eyes skimmed over the spot where we were standing. I knew there was no way she could see us, but for just a second, her gaze lingered and I thought that she might have somehow spotted us. But it passed and she moved on.

  Neither of us spoke again until she was inside.

  “Stay away from her,” I said, still staring at the door she’d disappeared through. “She’s under my protection.”

  “Yours? Or the Venandi’s?”

  “Both.”

  Dominic didn’t reply for a long moment, but I braced myself for a fight. He wasn’t exactly the most hot-headed vampire I knew, but I was sure he wasn’t here of his own volition. She’d sent him. The leader of the clan. My mother.

  She wouldn’t be happy about my interference here.

  “You know that the cambion has to make her own choice about which side she’s on,” Dominic said, as if I needed to be reminded. “You can’t lay claim to her just because you want her power.”

  I didn’t bother to tell him that after getting a glimpse of that woman, her power wasn’t the only thing I was interested in. I just pinned him with a withering stare.

  “Tell my mother the same thing, would you?” I grinned, showing my fangs. That was a clear invitation to fight among vamps, but Dominic was too even-keeled to be provoked into a fight. It was probably for the best, anyway. Kingston wouldn’t like it.

  As the leader of the Venandi, Kingston was especially interested in this cambion. He’d been the first to sense her power, but that was something of a specialty among angels.

  “You know, Carter, you’re welcome to come home whenever you’d like.” Dominic smiled, and I wanted to punch his pale face. “Your mother misses you.”

  “No one else around to treat like dirt?”

  This time Dominic chuckled, and it was a dark sound. Cold.

  “There’s always someone. The weak are everywhere, Carter.”

  I gnashed my teeth together. As he faded further into the shadows, I wanted to pursue him, to show him just how strong I really was by putting him down once and for all—to Hell with what my mother would say. But I resisted the urge. If I did that, I would be leaving the cambion unprotected, even if it was just for a few minutes. That was a bad idea, and probably exactly what Dominic wanted.

  When I was alone again, I scanned the upper windows of the building. I didn’t know which one belonged to her, but I could sense the general area her power was coming from, and as I watched, she crossed in front of one of the windows I was looking at. Third floor, second window from the left.

  Movement nearby drew my attention back down to the parking lot, and I frowned when I saw the soul-eater. Low-life scum. They were the bottom-feeders of the supernatural world, but at least they were easy to kill. The thing looked human, but its power signature left no doubt as to what it really was, and now I had to stop it.

  Unbuttoning the black trench coat that fell down to my knees, I stepped out of the shadows just as the creature entered the apartment building. I shook my head—this was precisely the kind of thing that happened when you lived in a place that didn’t have a doorman. Any soul-sucking being could just waltz right in.

  This woman had a lot to learn, but I had to save her first.

  5

  Georgia

  “Come on, you slow piece of crap,” I mumbled, as I wait
ed for my computer to load the registration page on my school’s website. I was going to have to resume my classes online now, since I no longer had the convenient evening shift at the gas station that allowed me to work around my class schedule.

  I was nervous about it for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the stupid computer I owned was the cheapest I could find when I bought it last year, and it ran like I needed to put in more quarters to get more time. I wasn’t at all confident that I would be able to take online classes with this thing.

  I also didn’t know if I had the discipline to do it, either. Without going to class in person every day, I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to keep myself motivated, but I had to give it a shot. I was going to continue to pursue my nursing degree. Then, I could get a job that allowed me to afford furniture.

  It had been a week since I moved into the apartment, and I’d gotten my first paycheck from the call center. It wasn’t much, but I was able to get myself a used futon, so at least it was an upgrade from the air mattress. I worked forty hours a week to be this poor.

  I had a glass of sweet red wine in my hand that I sipped from while I waited for the page to load. Once my glass was empty and I was losing patience with the computer, I set it aside and got up for a refill.

  To hell with it. I was going to indulge as much as I wanted for one night.

  I pulled the wine out of the refrigerator and was in the process of pouring it into the glass when there was a knock on the door of my apartment. I went rigid, remembering the creepy feeling I’d had of being watched when I first got home. I hadn’t seen anyone around, but now there was a knock at my door when no one should be there. I didn’t really have anyone in my life to come and see me.

  There was another round of knocking when I didn’t answer right away, and I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I set the wine bottle and glass down on the counter. By the time I got to the door, there was a third round of knocking—harder this time.

  When I glanced through the peephole, I let out an irritated sigh. I couldn’t see out. It looked like something was smudged on the other side, so it was a bit like trying to see a reflection in a steamed-up mirror. All I could make out was the vague outline of a person.

  “Who is it?” I called out, my hand on the doorknob.

  “Delivery,” came a man’s voice from the other side of the door. I frowned. It was almost eight o’clock at night. That seemed late to me for a delivery, but maybe it wasn’t the postal service. It could have been food or flowers or something. I wasn’t expecting anything, but it wouldn’t hurt to see what it was.

  I kept the chain lock on so that I could open the door a couple of inches and just peek out. As I did, I recognized the man on the other side as Victor, the handsome stranger from my old place.

  “What are you—”

  I didn’t even get the chance to finish that sentence before Victor slammed his body into the door, breaking the chain so that it flew open, sending me tumbling backward onto the floor. I landed painfully on my elbows, but thankfully, I didn’t hit my head. The last thing I needed right now was another brain injury.

  I scrambled backward as he entered the apartment, slamming the door closed behind him. The look in his eyes was crazy, and my thoughts became a jumbled mess of panic as he closed in on me.

  Then, things got weird.

  He started by angling his head to the side until his neck cracked. The sound was sickening, but then he reached up with his hand to his hairline and started to pull at the skin on his forehead, ripping it down his face.

  I screamed. I couldn’t help it. I hoped that someone would hear it and call the police. But even as the sound left my throat, I knew that this was not the kind of neighborhood where people tended to get involved in each other’s business, but I had to try. I was terrified, shaking and trying to put distance between us as he continued to move in closer.

  Underneath the skin, there wasn’t the nauseating mass of blood and tissue that I would have expected to see. Instead, there was another face—this one leathery—and there was a sucker protruding from its mouth. It was a monster. An honest-to-god, horror movie monster, and it was in my apartment.

  Things started to fly around, and I knew that I was causing it again, but I didn’t know how to stop or control it. The wine bottle I’d left on the counter soared all the way across the room before smashing into the exposed brick wall, drenching it in wine.

  Why couldn’t that have hit the monster in the head?

  “W-what do you want?” I asked, my voice nearly hysterical as I bumped into the futon. I had nowhere else to go. No getaway.

  “You,” he rasped, and I flinched as he bent over me, grabbing each of my arms in a bruising grip as he lifted me up from the floor and into the air.

  I struggled in his grasp. “Usually, men buy me dinner before I let them get this handsy!”

  The sucking protrusion moved closer to my face, and I took in a deep breath to let loose another scream, but the door to my apartment was flung open behind the monster and yet another man came storming into the room.

  This man was tall with brown eyes and dark hair. He was moving fast, so fast that I could barely track him, and his black trench coat fluttered out behind him, revealing the guns and knives he had strapped to his waist.

  What the hell?

  I didn’t get a chance to wonder further because the creature released me and I fell back to the ground, crumpling into a heap at its feet while it turned toward the man. I just wanted to get the hell out of there, so I scrambled to my feet while the creature leapt at the man. They tumbled and scuffled around my apartment. I wanted to laugh like a maniac when I realized that if I’d actually had furniture in the place, they’d be breaking a lot of stuff.

  Talk about a blessing in disguise.

  They were furiously fighting, and it occurred to me that I’d never seen a fight in real life before. And I couldn’t have broken that streak with a stranger fight. It was surreal. I shook my head at the crazy thoughts I kept having. Maybe it was some form of shock. I certainly had enough going on.

  I hurriedly went toward the door of the apartment, trying to figure out something I could use as a weapon. I grabbed an umbrella that was propped up against the wall by the door. It was better than nothing. Then, I saw the man pull a dagger out from a sheath at his waist. Oh my God, was I about to watch someone be killed?

  Then again, the thing was clearly not human.

  The man strode forward, striking the monster in the face with his free hand, and when it fell backward, he put his boot on its chest to hold it in place. Then, he raised the dagger above his head before bringing it down hard into its heart. There was an unholy scream from the creature, and its arms and legs flopped around like a fish out of water before going limp. Just like that, it was dead. At least, I hoped it was.

  The man pulled his dagger out and stepped away just as the creature’s body started to change, turning to black smoke right in front of my eyes, and just floated away. It was as if it had never been there at all.

  “Always take out your weapon before they go misty on you,” he said, wiping the blood off the blade and onto his coat before sheathing it once again. “I’ve lost some good knives.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I shrieked.

  Everything on the counter shook with my shout. This was turning out to be a spectacular day.

  6

  Carter

  She was upset. Okay, that made sense.

  “Just calm down,” I urged, holding my hands out in front of me to indicate I wasn’t a threat. I wasn’t sure how exactly her powers were manifesting, but I didn’t want to find out the fatal way. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  I couldn’t help noticing that she was even more beautiful up close. Her delicate features reminded me of Grace Kelly, an actress who had been popular back when I was a child. Even when she was upset, she was attractive, her cheeks flushed and her purple eyes flash
ing.

  But I couldn’t allow myself to focus on that right now. I needed to get her to hear me out.

  “Listen...what’s your name?” I asked. Kingston hadn’t given me much information to go on before sending me here. He just knew where the woman was—where his sense of her power was strongest.

  “To hell with that!” she snapped, jabbing her umbrella in my direction. “I don’t know how things work where you are from, but you broke into my apartment. Tell me your name.”

  “Carter,” I said, holding her eyes. “Your turn.”

  “Georgia. Now get the hell out.”

  “I just saved your life,” I reminded her. “That thing was a soul-eater. So, I saved your soul, too.”

  “I don’t know what you want from me, but you’re not getting it,” she snapped, poking her umbrella at me again. Irritated, I snatched the thing out of her hands.

  “You’re being ridiculous,” I told her, and the look of angry indignation she shot my way made me realize that I was in the line of fire. A second later, a paring knife of all things came rocketing out of the wood block in the kitchen, sailed across the room and found a new home in my right arm.

  It hurt, but I wasn’t worried. I had supernatural healing. Pulling it out, I looked at Georgia and saw a flicker of guilt cross her face.

  “Did you do that on purpose?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Her eyes were glued to the wound in my arm. It was barely bleeding and had started to heal already. Georgia looked like she might pass out, she was so overwhelmed by what was happening. “Why don’t you sit down?” I asked, gesturing to the futon. She stubbornly shook her head, staying on her feet even though I could see that her arms and legs were weak and shaky. She had a strong will, I’d give her that.

  I decided to look around for a chair to bring over, and noticed for the first time that there was almost no furniture in the apartment at all. There was only the futon.