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

by Sara Snow

  “We didn’t want to rush you into confronting something that would seem frightening or unacceptable,” Carter said. He was talking to me in a calm, slow tone, as if I had dynamite strapped to my chest and a lighter in one hand.

  “Bullshit! You didn’t tell me because you wanted to keep me under your control while you used my powers and trained me to serve your needs. And you, Carter Black, wanted to use more than that.”

  I couldn’t read the expression on Carter’s face, but his body tensed, and I knew my words had stung him. I also knew that I had more to say and I wasn’t going to stop.

  “I trusted you, Carter. You and all the others on the team. I’ve never trusted anyone the same way. I thought you cared about me and that you had my best interests at heart. Now I can see that’s not true.”

  “Georgia, listen to me. We were going to tell you when the time was right—”

  “When is the time ever right to tell someone that they are half-evil? That’s the kind of revelation that requires therapy for the rest of your life! Hiding something like that doesn’t make it any better.”

  Carter tried to reach for me, but I smacked his hands away.

  “Don’t touch me,” I snapped. “I’m leaving.”

  I started to step around him to get to the door. He blocked my path.

  “You’re never going to make it on your own,” Carter said. “They’ll come to take you as soon as they know you’re not with the Venandi anymore.”

  “I don’t have to join the demons. It’s my choice. I’ve been on my own since I was eight years old. I can stay on my own, no problem.”

  Carter gave me a small, bitter smile. “That’s what you think. But these demons have ways of persuading you to join them. Many of those ways involve pain, humiliation, and terror. In other words, the idea that you have a free choice about what you do with your soul...it’s an illusion.”

  He stroked the skin on my arm. The burns had already vanished. I’d grown stronger than ever since joining the Venandi, but I didn’t need them anymore.

  “Do you really think you could have taken on that demon today alone and survived?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” I said, though I didn’t feel as confident as I was trying to sound. “And if you try to put a hand on me again, I’ll fight you, too.”

  He laughed. “You wouldn’t have a chance against me, Georgia. Not if we were truly fighting. Everything we’ve done so far has been child’s play.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on that,” I said. “I could easily kick your ass. I’m half-demon, after all.”

  Carter stepped back. Suddenly cold, he opened the door of the training center.

  “I don’t want to fight you, Georgia. You’d only get hurt. Go ahead and try to make it on your own. Once you see what’s waiting for you out there, you’ll come running back to us.”

  We stared each other down for a few long seconds. I searched his dark eyes, looking for any sign of the person that I had been falling in love with.

  He looked away first.

  “I’ll take my chances,” I said. I pushed past Carter, walked out the door, and stepped into the world alone.

  The docks outside were just like they had been when I first arrived, full of mist and shadows. Before the door could slam shut behind me, I heard it flung open again. “Georgia, wait—”

  But it was too late. The mist wrapped around me, and I was gone.

  28

  Carter

  I let her go. The pain in Georgia’s violet eyes and the hard set of her jaw told me that I had no chance of getting the cambion to listen to me. She had made up her mind that we had hidden the truth for our own gains, and nothing I could say would convince her otherwise.

  After that fiery slaughter under the pier, I wasn’t in any shape to fight with anyone.

  Besides, I knew I could get Georgia to come back. It was just a matter of giving her the time and space to realize that the human world wasn’t going to welcome her anymore. And the demon realm was going to destroy her if she didn’t have our protection.

  Now, I had to face a truth of my own: my feelings for Georgia had gone way past sexual desire. Though I couldn’t shake the belief that she was too good for me, I also couldn’t crush the hope that she might want me in spite of all my past sins. Or that she might even come to forgive me for hiding the truth about who she was.

  I checked my phone to make sure it was fully charged. Georgia would call. It was only a matter of time until she found out how tough it was to survive out there among the hordes of demons.

  And now that we had slain another one of their number, the demons would be more determined than ever to make her one of their own.

  I took it easy that afternoon. My body was pretty banged up from the day’s adventures, and my heart was bruised from Georgia’s accusations. After a few beers and several rounds of pool with Eli, I started to feel more like myself again. I didn’t tell Eli or any of the others that Georgia had walked out. There was no point in getting them worked up until I’d heard from her.

  By six o’clock, I still hadn’t heard a peep.

  During the pool game, I kept pulling my phone out of my pocket to see if I’d accidentally silenced my alerts. I casually asked Eli to call me, just to double-check. When my phone rang as usual, I felt a cold sensation spread through my chest.

  “What’s up?” Eli asked. “Expecting a call from the mayor or something? Maybe he wants to give you the key to the city for killing off that demon.”

  “Nah.” I gave a hollow laugh. “Already heard from him. We’re having the ceremony next week.”

  “Then I’d say you had a woman on your mind, if you were the type who waited around for women to call.”

  “It’s Georgia. She left a little while ago, said she had a few things to take care of back at her apartment. I thought she’d have called by now to let me know how it was going.”

  From the skeptical look he gave me, I knew Eli had caught the worry in my voice.

  “Is she okay?” he asked. “I thought she’d hang around to celebrate your victory. I was wondering what happened to her.”

  “She’s fine,” I lied. “Just needed to pick up a few things, pay a bill, stuff like that.”

  Eli aimed his pool cue and took his shot, sinking the eight ball. He’d won again. My concentration had been off all afternoon.

  “You probably shouldn’t have let her go back to the apartment alone,” he said. His tone was casual, but I knew he was aware of the risk Georgia was taking.

  “Right. I’m going to go check on her.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Eli straightened up and began to search through his pockets for his car keys.

  “No, I’ll be fine. Let me take care of this.”

  Eli shrugged. “You know how to reach me if you need backup.”

  I knew I should tell Eli and Kingston what had happened. If we didn’t find Georgia soon, the evil that she faced would surround us like a tidal wave.

  But I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth—not yet. I wasn’t ready to accept Georgia’s accusations that we had broken her trust. First, I had to convince her that she was wrong.

  I drove to Georgia’s apartment, committing a few driving violations as I forced my way through the evening rush hour traffic. When I pulled up in front of her building and saw that the lights in her windows were on, relief flooded my body. I would go upstairs and find her sitting in front of that ancient computer, or maybe playing her guitar as she tried to work through her anger.

  My relief lasted less than two minutes.

  There was a strange smell in the stairwell of her building. It wasn’t the usual odor of stale cigarette smoke and urine, but the rank stench of something burning, almost like singed hair.

  My feet felt numb as I climbed the stairs. I had a hunting knife in my pocket, but it wouldn’t have been my weapon of choice if I’d taken the time to plan this out. I pulled the knife from its sheath and held it at the ready as I climbed the last of th
e stairs.

  The door of Georgia’s apartment stood open. Scraps of torn paper, blown about by the wind, skittered into the hallway. I knew she had a bad habit of forgetting to pull the deadbolt, but she was way too smart to leave her door gaping.

  The stench of burning hair grew stronger. I crept along the wall, preparing to jump anything that emerged from the apartment. Before entering, I peered through the open door. The place appeared to be empty. The windows stood open, and a strong breeze blew through the rooms.

  I walked softly through the apartment, taking in the evidence. Georgia’s computer sat in its usual place, the monitor dark. A textbook, a pad of paper, and a ballpoint pen sat beside the keyboard. In the sink sat an unwashed bowl and spoon. The card table, folding chair, and sagging couch remained in their usual positions. In her closet stood the suitcase Eli had given her as a birthday gift. The suitcase was empty.

  I looked around at Georgia’s meager belongings. What would she have taken with her if she’d willingly left her life behind?

  Her beloved guitar still stood in its corner under the poster of John Lennon. My heart clenched as I flashed back to the night I’d given Georgia the guitar pick...just before I kissed her.

  Fear numbed my entire being. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore—Georgia was in big trouble. If she could have taken anything with her, it would have been that old, banged-up guitar.

  The breeze blew a ball of crumpled paper across my shoe. I leaned over to pick it up.

  I set down the knife, unfolded the paper, and smoothed it out onto the card table. The paper was the same size and color as the pad on her desk. A note had been scrawled on the page. The last word had been underlined with such a heavy hand that the pen had torn the cheap paper.

  Someone had been in a big hurry, or had been scared shitless. Maybe both.

  ASK C—PAIMON??

  Ask C. Ask Carter?

  I’d been waiting for Georgia to figure out that she was in serious danger if she took off on her own, without my protection.

  I had waited too long.

  The Venandi Chronicles Continue…

  Demon Kiss (Book 2 The Venandi Chronicles) (A Paranormal New Adult Series)

  Demon Kiss (Book 2)

  https://ssbks.com/VC2

  I knew vampire Carter Black wasn’t being straight with me

  Damn those sexy brown eyes

  But I won’t be taken twice. I’m better off on my own anyways

  . . . if only demon minions would quit trying to bring me to my deadbeat dad, Paimon.

  I couldn’t exactly be mad when drop-dead gorgeous Jacob showed up and thwarted their plans

  But no hot guy is ever just simply a hot guy…

  No, it turns out Jacob is a half-human, half-angel

  And what is worse, he is Venandi.

  But unlike Carter, there is something about him that I trust

  And, like it or not, the Venandi have the information that I need in order to survive Daddy Dearest and all his horrid minions

  But between Carter’s bedroom eyes and Jacob’s irresistible dimples, how is a girl supposed to focus on kicking demon ass?

  https://ssbks.com/VC2

  Also By Sara Snow

  The Venandi Chronicles

  Demon Marked (Book 1)

  https://ssbks.com/VC1

  Demon Kiss (Book 2)

  https://ssbks.com/VC2

  Demon Huntress (Book 3)

  https://ssbks.com/VC3

  Demon Desire (Book 4)

  https://ssbks.com/VC4

  Demon Eternal (Book 5)

  https://ssbks.com/VC5

  The Luna Rising Universe

  Luna Rising Series (A Paranormal Shifter Series)

  Luna Rising Prequel (Free Download)

  https://ssbks.com/LunaPrequel

  Luna Rising (Book 1)

  https://ssbks.com/LR1

  Luna Captured (Book 2)

  https://ssbks.com/LR2

  Luna Conflicted (Book 3)

  https://ssbks.com/LR3

  Luna Darkness (Book 4)

  https://ssbks.com/LR4

  Luna Chosen (Book 5)

  https://ssbks.com/LR5

  The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Series Prequel to Luna Rising)

  The Awakening (Book 1)

  https://ssbks.com/BW1

  The Enlightenment (Book 2)

  https://ssbks.com/BW2

  The Revolution(Book 3)

  https://ssbks.com/BW3

  The Renaissance (Book 4)

  https://ssbks.com/BW4

  The Dawn (Book 5)

  https://ssbks.com/BW5

  The Destine Universe

  Destine Academy Series (A Magical Academy Series)

  Destine Academy Books 1-10 Boxed Set

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  Have you read the Luna Rising Prequel?

  Click below to get your FREE copy of the Luna Rising Prequel.

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  Axel

  I’m next in line to be ALPHA

  …and I’m ready for the challenge.

  Focused and determined to make my father proud, I won’t let anything get in my way.

  Until the day I met HER…

  She’s a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with eyes like an aquamarine gem...and she’s a witch.

  But I’m a werewolf.

  And some unions are FORBIDDEN…

  That little witch has turned my world upside down.

  All love comes at a cost.

  But this love may cost me everything…

  https://ssbks.com/LunaPrequel

  Enjoy This Book? I would love to hear from you…

  Thank you very much for downloading my eBook. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!

  Reviews of my books are an incredibly valuable tool in my arsenal for getting attention. Unfortunately, as an independent author, I do not have the deep pockets of the Big City publishing firms. This means you will not see my book cover on the subway or in TV ads.

  (Maybe one day!)

  But I do have something much more powerful and effective than that, and it’s something those publishers would kill to get their hands on:

  A WONDERFUL bunch of readers who are committed and loyal!

  Honest reviews of my books help get the attention of other readers like yourselves.

  If you enjoyed this book, could you help me write even better books in the future? I will be eternally grateful if you could spend just two minutes leaving a review (it can be as short as you like):

  Please use the link below to leave a quick review:

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  I LOVE to hear from my fans, so THANK YOU for sharing your feedback with me!

  Much Love,

  ~Sara

  About the Author

  Sara Snow was born and raised in Texas, then transplanted to Washington, D.C. after high school. She was inspired to write a paranormal shifter series when she got her new puppy, a fierce yet lovable Yorkshire Terrier named Loki. When not eagerly working on her next book, Sara loves to geek out at Marvel movies, play games with her family and friends, and travel around the world. No matter where she is or what she is doing, she can rarely be found without a book in her hand.

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