Pawns
Daughters of The Underworld
Leighelle Stone
Leighelle Stone
Copyright © 2020 by Leighelle Stone
All rights reserved.
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.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
PAWNS Daughters of The Underworld Book 1
1st Edition
Thank you to my beta reader and proofreader!
Cover by 2nd Life Designs
Published by Leighelle Stone
Created with Vellum
“Clickety-clack, motherfuckers.”
Contents
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
Thank you!
Coming Soon!
About the Author
1
Time froze.
“Father Time.”
“Shadow,” the Snatcher said, arms poised carefully behind his back as he surveyed the situation before me.
“It's Shay.” An arrogant tilt of his head let me know just how much he cared.
I knew why he was here. I fucked up just a little bit with this one.
Numerous bodies lay scattered around the bar. Some mangled, some lying peacefully, others were just plain creepy dead—collateral damage. I cringed. There were a lot of corpses.
Oops.
“We’re assigning a statue to you,” he said, his white eyes glancing from dead body to dead body.
“I’m sorry.” I cupped my ear and jutted it in his direction. “I’m not sure I heard you right. I thought you said something about a statue.”
“You heard me right, Shadow. A statue,” he reiterated coolly. Anger surged within me.
“What?” I snapped. “Hell to the no, I don’t work with anyone, and you know that. No way.” I shook my finger in Chronos’s face. He just looked bored—uncaring asshole.
“You’re too powerful, and you refuse to reign it in. A gargoyle will balance you. You’ve been to multiple training sessions, and you have had plenty of warnings. Hades has had enough.”
It wasn’t that I refused to reign it in. It's just that my powers had grown exponentially and sometimes got out of hand, like tonight. With my absentee father and my lack of giving a shit for the general human population, I chose to kill rather than bring it down a notch.
“How is dear ol’ da?” I tried for my best British accent, but clearly, it fell flat on Chronos’s ears. He just stared. “Jeez, you’re in a good mood today, huh? You’d think he would be happy about a bunch of dead people.” I kicked a can that managed to fall from the bar top.
“You are only supposed to snatch the bad souls … He can only take the bad ones … It's not that hard to comprehend.” Despite him being way too sexy for any being, his voice was rather annoying. Or maybe I just saw it that way because I was pissed off and wanting to break something.
Shadows swirled around me, and I reappeared at the door to check out the scene from a different angle.
It was pretty bad. Twenty, maybe thirty dead. Forty if you counted the people who were large enough to be two. I winced and scrunched my lips as I scratched an invisible itch on my forehead.
“I don’t see the problem,” I continued, deflecting as usual, just to irritate him. Maybe one day, I would get some sort of emotion out of those gorgeous features. “The bad guy is dead, so I did my job.” He just stared off into the distance, his white eyes landing on nothing in particular, waiting for me to finish. A blonde hunched over a table in a slinky little leather skirt that was way too short and a V-neck top that was a little too V-ish for her caught my attention. “Look at it this way. She has definitely done bad things and was certainly planning to do bad things tonight. Consider it a two for one kind of deal, no charge.”
He all but yawned, then made his way to a chubby older man with a scrawny, red beard and pale skin. His big belly peeked out from underneath his stained t-shirt—an unfortunate way to fall from a barstool and leave yourself with no dignity, even after death.
“And this lady.” I kicked my boot at an older woman who had a wool sweater over top of a turtleneck. Cat hair clung to the itchy fibers. “Who knows what she does to—with—her cats. Or was planning to do. You know those cat ladies, they can get a little crazy.” I circled my ear with my pointer finger and widened my eyes.
No bite. Nothing. Not even a blink to acknowledge me.
“Okay, well, I’ll be on my way, then.” I geared up the shadows, ready to poof back to my place, when Chronos snapped his gangly fingers, halting all movement. Damn it. I hated it when he did that.
“Not so fast, Shadow.” Actively, I had to hold my hand to my side. I clenched my teeth and flared my nostrils. If he called me Shadow one more time, I was going to smack him.
I pointed at him. “So, you do talk.”
“Enough.” He snapped his fingers again, and I nearly pissed myself.
Beside me, standing about eight feet tall and about four feet wide, was a man that rivaled Chronos in the looks department. Hair that was so black it looked blue dusted his shoulders, framing a wide face that perfectly fit his large frame. His jaw was square and covered in a beard so dark it was the color of coal. It added a particular stormy cloud to his gleaming tangerine eyes. His lips were thin, and that might be because he wasn’t happy to see me, but kissable and lick-able all the same. A long but shapely nose took form in the middle of his face, completing his chiseled looks.
He had a nice forehead for a large dude with long hair. Sometimes, they tended to get lengthy. Along his temple on the left side and dipping down into his cheekbone was a scar that appeared to be stone. It matched a long scar that circled his forearm and wrist in a spiral.
That one had to hurt.
Thick black brows hid eyes of fire. Bright, burning eyes that took me in just as I sized him up. First, he looked as if he remembered me, but that faded into disdain and anger and so much pain.
I had to look away.
I didn’t know much about gargoyles, other than they were honorable and particularly dark creatures, as they fed on shadows of other creatures, taking the pain from their victims but also killing them in the process if need be. Though, most didn’t. They could be pretty ruthless bastards, especially over their mates. Then again, most of the mythical world involved cold-hearted killers. I did know that for them to scar, the damage had to be pretty deep. I would have bet he had some good stories behind those war wounds.
“This is Coal.” I snickered. Coal. As in the rocky, stone-like stuff. Get it? He’s a gargoyle, A.K.A a statue in our world.
Coal grunted and nodded his head, crossing his barrel-like arms over his chest. I mimicked his pose, just to be a dick, and added a pouty tilt to my lips.
He grunted again. Quite the smooth talker this one was.
“Great. Now that we are well acquainted”—my
shadows stirred—“I can get on to the ba—” Chronos snapped once more, vanishing my shadows. I let out a long, childish grunt in frustration, clenching my fists and stomping my feet. Face calm once more, Chronos pinned me with a hardened look that said I’d better start behaving.
“You two will live, eat, and breathe your work. Starting from now, you are on probation, Shadow. Hades is not playing around. Coal, stay with her, train her. You two need to learn everything about how the other works if she wants to stay topside.”
“N—oh. My. God. No. Have you seen him? He won’t even fit in my apartment, let alone my car. What the hell am I supposed to do with him?”
“This is no laughing matter, Shadow.”
“Obviously! He could eat me in one bite! Look at him! He is gigantic. Massive.” With my hands, I emphasized just how large he was. My arms straight up did not even reach over his head.
“No one can hurt you, Shadow. You’re untouchable. That’s the point.” Something dark flashed in his eyes but disappeared before I could catch it. I smiled, my ego inflating a little bit. I was untouchable. “Probation, thirty days. No more unnecessary deaths, or it’s back to the Underside.” I raised my hand. Coal opted for an annoyed grunt.
“What’s considered unnecessary?” Chronos’s jaw shut, a blank look on his face. I laughed, but inwardly this time.
“Thirty days.” Father Time snapped his fingers, and the bodies all disappeared.
“Then what happens?” He snapped again and vanished. “Dick,” I muttered. Coal grunted though I couldn’t tell what exactly he meant by it. I scowled at him, slapping my thigh in exasperation. “What does that mean?” He rolled his eerie orange eyes and held the door open for me. Ignoring his chivalry and acting like the toddlers they were, my shadows stretched and yawned, annoyed with the control Chronos had on them. They swept up over my feet, whisking me away to my apartment.
My evasion lasted all of two seconds before Coal glitched into my view. “Oh, damn it all to hell, I just want to take a bath.”
“Then, take a bath,” he said plainly, as his eyes swept over my tiny apartment.
“With you in the apartment? No way. Jesus Christ, look at you; you take up the entire living room. You must feel claustrophobic. Are you sure you want to stay?” He grunted again. I reached out to slap him but thought twice about it and dropped my hand back to my side. It would probably feel like smacking a brick wall. Plus, I might just lose said hand if I tried. I was curious, though, was he hard like rocks? Hmm, one might just have to find that out.
“Look, I don’t like this any more than you do,” he said, guarded. His eyes hid something I couldn’t quite pin down. This one was going to be hard to read.
“Way to charm a lady, sir.”
“If you want to go take a bath, go take a bath. We can train later. I’m not hungry anyhow.” He settled in on the couch like he owned the place, eyes straight forward, dismissing me.
“Wow, three whole sentences.”
“Shut up.” Rude.
I grunted just to spite him and carried my dirty, tired self to the bathroom, then slammed the door shut.
2
I soaked for as long as I could before the water just felt like I was sitting in piss. Nobody likes getting peed on, or maybe they do. To each their own, but it wasn’t what I enjoyed. I wrapped myself in my plush black robe and ran my fingers through my tangly, wet hair. Normally, I’d just walk around naked, but I had company that required me to be a little bit civil.
But then, I thought about honor and all. It might have been a good idea to walk around naked. Anything I could do to make him disgusted by me and get him to move on. So, I shrugged out of the robe and tossed it to the side. It was my apartment, after all.
Oh, Coal, the big bad statue sent to keep me in check by my sweet dear of a dad, Hades himself. Typical of my father. Sent me topside for some time with little contact from the mothership, and the one time he must tell me something, he used Chronos to do it. What a dick.
Love you too, Dad.
But I knew better. Daddy was getting nervous that he wouldn’t be able to control me. Coal was here to kill me if need be. He fed on shadows, and I was a Shadow, the Shadow. Not that hard to put two and two together, though it was certainly nothing that ever crossed my mind, and I had lived my life as if I were invincible. Humble pie, anyone? Score one for Hades. But they could call it what they wanted. I wasn’t stupid. Daddy had tried to control me for a long time, but he couldn’t do it himself.
Cue the goon.
Can Coal kill me? I wondered. If he tried to consume all the shadows within me, the things I’d seen and done, would it be overload? Could his brain handle it? I knew the more they fed, the darker they tended to get for a while. Would he off himself if he attempted it?
What was I going to do about Coal? I couldn’t keep him around. No, that would drive me crazy and probably him as well. I was a lot to handle, and I knew it. I didn’t keep people in my life for that reason. It got lonely, but I didn’t want to answer to anyone. Probably why Dad didn’t want anything to do with me. That’s okay. I liked my life. I came and went as I pleased with no one to answer to. Until now, that was.
But just because he was here didn’t mean I was going to answer to him.
I could train with him and try to take it seriously. Maybe get in a few rogue hunts as well, just to show them that I could do it without him. I’d have liked to avoid the Underside as much as possible.
I was unsure what was supposed to happen after thirty days if I didn’t get my act together. Probably nothing, but maybe something now that Daddy had backed up his threat with a possible weapon. I highly doubted my father would want me back. So, most likely, Coal would get orders to kill me if he hadn’t already.
Father of the year, everyone.
With my belly rumbling for some actual human food, I slipped my feet into my unicorn slippers and shuffled my way through my tiny apartment. Like five steps. But it was enough to catch Coal’s attention.
“Do you know how to pick up your feet when you walk?”
“My place, buddy, my rules,” I returned dryly, then opened the fridge. Not much was in there. A few left-over take-out containers from the Chinese place down the street. Korean from two weeks ago, and a half-eaten pizza. All things I was sure I wasn’t supposed to feed my human body since I wasn’t exactly positive how old they all were. The night the Chinese happened was still a little fuzzy, as I’d had one too many whiskey neats. That was also weeks ago, so I’d better not.
Besides the rotting food, there was a can of black beans— I’m not sure why they were in the fridge, but who knows with me—and a carton of milk that had been there so long the milk curdled then went solid.
Take-out it was.
“I guess I have to feed you too, huh?” He grunted. “What does that mean? Yes, no, maybe?”
“I don’t need human food. I’m not human,” Coal grumbled from the couch. His tone implied I was an idiot.
“Way to state the obvious. I’ve never met someone so large. Then again, I’ve never met someone with Elephantiasis either. Do you have Elephantiasis all over your body? That would explain the gray patches.”
“Do you ever shut up?” he asked, and worked to get himself to his feet. I smiled to myself, counting the seconds until he saw the fact that I was completely naked. Maybe having him around wouldn’t be so bad. My sarcastic attitude decided it loved him.
“Do you need a crane, or do you have it under control?” He huffed, and all color drained from him. He narrowed his eyes as they raked over my birthday suit. It took every ounce of restraint not to laugh. Ripping his eyes from my body and grunting, he shoved his hands in his pockets, settling with an annoyed look. I had a feeling I was going to be seeing that look a lot. “I’m going to order some pizza from Devil’s. They are the only ones that deliver this late at night. Should I order you one as well? Or four?” He slid carefully onto the barstool next to me, keeping his eyes glued to the menu. I winc
ed when the wood creaked, and we both waited a few seconds before we moved or breathed. Just to be safe. I was going to need new furniture if I made it out of this alive.
“What the hell kind of pizza is this?” he asked incredulously.
“The kind you eat. But then again, I should be surprised that you even know it’s pizza since you don’t eat human food.”
“Have they ever heard of just pepperoni? I don’t even know what half this shit is.” He pointed to a picture of a pizza that was overflowing with everything under the sun, including some rather disgusting-looking little fish.
“I wouldn’t expect you to anyway.” I shot him a look that said I thought he was stupid for not knowing, then picked up my phone to dial. I ordered four pizzas—pepperoni for him and two with pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives for me. I figured I’d need to stock the fridge with something for the next few days until I could get rid of him. Pizza would do just fine.
“Hungry much?”
“Have you looked in the fridge? I’m starving. Who knew topside I’d have to eat so much? Plus, I have to feed your gia—”
He cut me off by holding up his hand. “Trust me. I get it. I’m a huge bastard; you don’t have to keep saying it.”
“Awe, is someone sensitive? Did you get bullied when you were little? Couldn’t fit on the slide at recess?” He snarled and stood, towering over the countertop. I gulped. The way the shadows formed around him had him looking even more chiseled. I licked my lips. I was on a lady kick lately, but he might just flip the switch.
Nope. I couldn’t go there. I must get rid of him.
Pawns Daughters of The Underworld Book 1 Page 1