Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  The worst thing about house arrest is that it gives me every minute of every day to think. Yep, as if I weren’t already suffering enough, I have so much time on my hands. My teachers send me homework each day, but I smash it out within a few hours, which leaves the rest of the day to sit in this dark room and feel sorry for myself. To try and figure out what happened that day in the woods. Who that dark figure was and why Killian was acting like he knew more than me. What was he keeping from me? Speaking of the dark figure, I’ve been having nightmares about him every night. They feel so real, like he’s…

  A knock at my door caused me to stop writing. I placed my pen down and shut my journal. My father walked in with someone behind him; he smiled briefly and stepped aside. I jumped off the bed. Whitney?

  “I thought you could use a friend,” my father said. “She can stay over tonight since it’s already late.”

  I smiled at him as he closed the door. Whitney dropped her bag down at the head of my bed.

  Whitney pulled me in for a hug and I let out a huge sigh. Exactly what I needed, my best friend. Without being able to use my phone journaling was great, but having a friend here to talk to was even better; at least she talked back. We sat down on my bed.

  “So tell me everything, from the moment you walked into that school to the last moment and don’t you dare leave out a thing,” Whitney said as she stretched out on my bed, resting her face in her hands. She looked up at me, batting her eye lashes. I laughed for the first time in a long time. This right here was what I missed most. Propping my hands behind my neck, I leaned back into my pillow.

  For the next hour I told her what had happened—everything, including Killian. Whitney was the only person in my coven who wouldn’t judge me. She had her own issues with falling for the wrong guys, so I knew she wouldn’t hold it against me. She was a part of our coven, and we had known each other since we’d been born. Our mothers were best friends. After I finished with my tale, silence filled the room.

  “Oh my God, Reagan. I can’t believe all this has happened. To lose Miranda and then a fellow classmate? You must be at your wit’s end. How are you holding up?”

  I lowered my head and fiddled with the hem of my top. “I barely am.”

  Whitney placed a hand on mine.

  “My whole world has turned upside down. Everything’s changed since I… since I killed Miranda. I’ve changed. I’m a monster.”

  Whitney pulled me in for a tight hug, my head rested on her shoulder.

  “No Reagan, you’re not a monster. It wasn’t your fault, you’re not a bad person at all. Your friend Christine, that wasn’t your fault either. You even said, she hit her head. That’s what caused her death. Not you.” Whitney reassured me. We stayed silent for several minutes until Whitney pulled away.

  “And this Killian guy. I need to meet him to see if he’s as hot as you’ve mentioned.” She raised her eyebrows up and down.

  As I wiped away my tears, my cheeks felt hot. It was a nice respite to not concentrate on the tragedy, but instead think about Killian. “The thing is I don’t think you’ll ever be able to meet him. He’s, uh, he’s a vampire. You know the rules. Plus, I don’t know if I can ever see him again. It was doomed from the very start.” I threw my hands up in the air.

  “Well, it’s a good thing your father invited me over then, so we can have a slumber party. Seems like you need a distraction.” She leaned over the back of my bed, pulling something out of her bag. She spun around, throwing a dozen bags of suckers and chocolates. My eyes lit up.

  “We’re so watching an action movie, too. Something that won’t make you think about what’s happened or about the lover boy.” She walked over to my TV cabinet and started flicking through my movies. She pulled one out and spun around with a huge grin. “You up for some sexy Paul Walker?” Of course she would pick The Fast and the Furious, one of my favorite movies.

  “I thought you didn’t want me to think about lover boy,” I joked.

  She threw a pillow at me and laughed.

  We settled in with our snacks between us, watching the movie. Halfway through, I glanced over to see Whitney had fallen asleep. Typical. She never could stay awake through an entire movie. My eyes started to droop closed.

  I could feel myself drifting off. I could hear Killian’s voice. Calling me. I wanted to go to him, but I couldn’t move.

  A loud bang shook me awake. Whitney jumped up next to me.

  “What the hell was that?” she whispered, grabbing my hand tightly.

  I looked around in a panic, trying to pinpoint where the sound had come from. Another loud bang rung through my room. My gaze darted toward my window. My curtains were drawn open. Something hit against it again and again. I couldn’t see a thing from my bed, as it was pitch black outside.

  On shaky legs, I stood up and walked toward my window. Something was banging against it. I squinted my eyes, trying to look out. Nothing but blackness greeted me. I leaned back and turned around, shrugging my shoulders. Something knocked against the window again, and I jumped back. A palm laid flat against my window. My heart started beating fast. Who the hell’s out there? I felt something touch my hand, and I swore.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that. Someone is out there.” I snapped at Whitney.

  “Oh my God, who the hell could it be? Could Killian have gotten out to see you?”

  I considered her words for a second, but then I shook my head. No way he could get out and see me. Could he? I glanced back to my window to see the hand had now disappeared. Maybe it had been Killian?

  I let go of Whitney’s hand and reached up, flicking the lock to my window. I had to know if it had been Killian. Whitney helped push the window up. Cold air blew into my room and I instantly shivered. Taking a deep shaky breath, I stepped forward and leaned out my window. At first, I couldn’t see a thing, just darkness. Then the next second someone was in front of me and I screamed.

  19

  I stumbled backward, colliding with Whitney, and we both tumbled to the ground. I hurried to get to my feet, grabbing Whitney’s hand to help her up. When we looked back at the window, there was no one there.

  “Tell me I’m not crazy,” I said. “There was someone there. Wasn’t there?”

  Whitney was shaking, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yes. I saw it. Who was that?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I have a strange feeling I’ve seen him before.”

  “When?”

  “Remember I told you about that punishment we had, when I had to go track down a bush in the woods?”

  Whitney’s eyes widened even more. “That was what you saw? Seriously, that’s creepy.”

  We both inched closer to the window, holding on to each other for security. We scanned outside but didn’t see anyone or anything. Just tree branches waving in the wind.

  “Let’s go out there,” I whispered. “Maybe whoever it was went around the corner.”

  “I thought you couldn’t leave the house.”

  “Technically, I can’t leave the block. The Council was at least generous enough to let me get some fresh air if I need to. So, you with me?”

  “I don’t know,” Whitney said, narrowing her eyes. “Sounds dangerous.”

  I rubbed my hands together. “We’re not exactly defenseless.”

  Whitney bit her lip and nodded slowly. “Okay, but do you think we can get past your parents?”

  I put an arm around her. “You know, you really were the best in the coven to perform a cloaking spell.”

  A small smile appeared on her face. “Okay. But remember, it only lasts a few minutes before we’re visible again.”

  “All right. We’ll be fast.”

  Whitney and I snuck into the dark hallway. We could hear my parents in the living room watching something on television. My father’s snores drifted out toward us, so it was likely we could get past him with no problem, but I wasn’t sure what my mother was doing or how alert she was.

  I turne
d to Whitney and nodded. She returned the nod and held her hands on my arms. Closing her eyes, she began mumbling the cloaking spell. I felt a tingle make its way over my body. One moment I was looking right at Whitney, and the next moment she was gone. I looked down at my own body and was pleased not to see it. She was so good at the spell, but she was right—it would only last a few minutes.

  She still had her hand on me, so I took her by the wrist, and together we headed for the front door. As we snuck through the hall by the living room, I spotted my mother. She had her phone in her hands and was concentrating on that. Whitney and I made it to the front door and I slowly turned the knob, grateful when the door didn’t make any noise opening.

  Once we were outside, I whispered to where I thought Whitney’s head might be. “Let’s go left.”

  It made sense because my window was in that direction.

  “Why would that creature from the woods be looking for you?” Whitney asked as we searched.

  “I don’t know. But now that I think of it, Killian always seemed to be extra worried about me. Like he knew I was in danger. Maybe he knew this creature was looking for me.”

  “But then why didn’t he just tell you?”

  We both froze, spotting a moving shadow at the back of the house. We stopped talking, waiting to see the shadow move again. But everything was still and unmoving, so we ventured forward. Something touched my leg; I grabbed Whitney’s hand and held back a scream. Then I felt his fur on my foot. Rascal? I leaned down, picking him up, happiness bubbling inside me at the sight of him. How the hell had he found me? I placed him on my neck, and he nuzzled my ear. Whitney looked at me in question, but we didn’t have time to discuss Rascal right now.

  The light around us began to change. I didn’t understand what was happening. It was as if the sun was suddenly above us, flickering. But no, the flickering was in my head. It was the magic. It was the change in me and Whitney that was causing my vision to flicker. We were becoming visible again.

  “Crap,” I mumbled. “The spell is wearing off.”

  Whitney squeezed my hand. “Come on. We’ve got to go back. It’s too risky.”

  I wasn’t sure if she meant it was risky because of the possibility of my parents catching us or because of whatever it was lurking outside my house. It didn’t matter, though; she was right. We had to get back inside.

  We hurried back to my door, trying to keep quiet as our feet shuffled along. I did my best to turn the knob and creep inside quietly, but when Whitney tried to squeeze in behind me, her foot caught the leg of the side table by the door. The noise scared Rascal, who jumped down on the table, causing the vase on top of it to topple down.

  With a gasp, I reached out in a sad attempt to catch the vase. I missed entirely, and the vase crashed to the floor. Rascal squealed as he raced toward my room, as if he knew where it would be.

  It felt as if I held my breath for minutes, but I knew it had only taken my father seconds to spring to his feet and charge into the front entryway. He stood there, glaring at me, his face going red and his teeth grinding together. I was barely aware of Whitney whispering an apology right before my father’s screams exploded from his mouth.

  * * *

  One hour later, I lay alone on my bed. Whitney had no choice but to go home, and not only did I have to endure house arrest, but I was denied visitors for a week. So much for catching up with my best friend. Rascal lay with me, which I was grateful for. He kept hidden when my parents were around, so they didn’t know he was here. And I had snuck him some scraps from my dinner so he could eat.

  Fighting not to scream into my pillow, I took five minutes’ worth of deep breaths to calm myself down, determined to get a least a little bit of sleep. I must have drifted off because my dreams were filled with dark shadows and strange knocks against my window. I tossed and turned, covering my ears, trying to get the dreams to stop.

  But when I sat straight up in bed, I realized the knocking wasn’t from my dreams.

  Rain splattered onto my window. I threw off my covers and climbed to the edge of my bed, drawn to look outside. The closer I got, the faster my heart began to race. There was something out there; I knew there was. It wasn’t just hearing the noise from outside, it was a feeling, as if I was being silently called. But by whom? And why?

  I slowly stretched my neck out, leaning closer to the windowpane, reaching my hands out to move my curtains out of the way. I was barely able to swallow a breath before lightning struck and my window shattered into a million pieces.

  20

  Frozen in place, I didn’t dare move an inch. My body shook as I saw the broken glass shattered all over my bedroom floor. Rascal let out a squeal before he ran back to my bed and hid under the covers. Nothing happened for a good minute while I stood there in shock, and then suddenly someone was there inside my room. I held back the scream as he floated toward me. The figure that we had seen earlier, the one that I’d seen that day in the woods. He now stood in my bedroom with the hood of his black cape covering his head and face.

  I wanted to scream out to my parents, but something made me stop and wait. He obviously wanted something from me, but I couldn't figure out what. I watched him carefully as he lifted his hands, pulling back his hood. My heart instantly went into overdrive. His fangs were the first thing I saw, and then his dark, haunted eyes struck me. They looked pitch black, no life in them at all. His long hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and it went all the way to his butt. He had a scar that ran down the side of his face, from his right eye down to his chin that looked gruesome. Then something about him felt recognizable, as if I’d seen him before. From the way he carried himself, he had to be someone high up in the vampire ranks. Though it appeared as if he’d lived a long life the way he held himself. He still looked reasonably young, probably due to vampires not aging.

  What the hell was he doing in my bedroom right now staring at me like he wanted to eat me?

  He stayed silent as I observed his features. His mouth turned up into an evil smirk.

  “We need to leave now, Reagan,” he said in a rough voice, moving toward my broken window.

  How the hell did he know my name? He was crazy if he thought I was going with him without getting any answers first. He was my enemy; we weren’t to mix with vampires. It was against the rules—which I had broken by getting close to Killian.

  I took a step backward. “I’m-I’m not going anywhere, especially with-with you,” I said, stuttering, though trying to sound powerful. But my voice had been weak. He threw off serious power, and I didn’t want to do anything that might put me in danger, but I also didn’t want to go willingly.

  “I’m not asking.” He snarled and advanced directly toward me.

  I tried to move away, but he was in front of me in a second. He grabbed ahold of my arm and yanked me toward the window. I tried to pull free, but he was too strong for me. Before I had even thought to use magic on him, I was falling through the broken window, heading straight for the ground. Then everything went black.

  * * *

  Screams filled my ears. What the hell is that?

  I tried to move my hand out to switch off my radio alarm. But as I reached out, I felt nothing but air. Odd. Another scream pierced my ears. I rolled over to stop it. Instead of my warm comfortable bed, I felt the hard ground below me. Groaning, I opened my eyes to find I wasn’t in my bedroom. Then all the memories from the night before hit me all at once.

  The vampire in my room. Then him throwing me out of my window to my death.

  I gasped and quickly checked myself over for damage, but nothing seemed out of place. I wasn’t hurt. But the clothes on my body were not mine. Instead of my pajamas, I was dressed in a skin-tight black outfit that was a little more revealing than I would have the guts to wear. I wasn’t sure if the material was leather or vinyl or something else.

  Where the hell am I? And who dressed me in this?

  I scanned the room. It was a large bedroom that reeked of m
oney, judging from the large chandelier that hung in the center of the room to the ridiculously large bed that was next to me. I pushed myself off the hard ground where I sat. Whoever had put me here had either not bothered to put me in the bed, or I had fallen out of it.

  Another scream tore through the air.

  And then he walked in.

  He wore the same black cape he had on last time, but now the hood was off his face, just like it had been last night. He looked me up and down with dark eyes, causing a shiver to prickle its way up my spine. He was beyond creepy. One of those monsters you dream about. His eyes met mine and then he smirked, his fangs showing over his bottom lip. My body went into flight mode; I needed to get out of there immediately before anything else happened. My eyes darted around the room trying to find my escape, but there weren’t any windows. I was in a box of four walls and a single door. He noticed my attempt and laughed.

  “There’s no getting out of here, Reagan, not unless you want to be eaten alive.” He licked his lips.

  I wanted to vomit. No wonder we weren’t meant to associate with these psychopaths.

  “Come,” he said. “We have business to discuss.”

  Business?

  He moved back out the door, but I was frozen. Should I follow him out and finally find out who he was and why he needed me? Or should I attempt to escape and risk getting eaten alive? My legs moved me toward the door to follow him out, so I guessed that was my answer. No way I was going to be someone’s meal, not today.

  Stepping out of the bedroom, I followed him down the narrow corridor, making sure I took in every little detail. How many doors were there? I counted four on each side. We made it to the fifth one to our right, and he stopped. The door opened, and he disappeared inside. I took three deep breaths before I went in after him.