Into The Shadows (Shadows Ascending Trilogy)

by Jenn D. Young

  Screaming, I tried to struggle free of the hold, deadly sharp claws raking across my stomach. The agony was almost unbearable, a fire burning inside me as I felt the blood seep down the front of my body. Nathan jerked up at my scream, losing concentration before being driven to his knees by the remaining monsters in the alley.

  They jerked his arms apart and held him while he knelt. Blood was pouring from the wounds on his face, neck and chest. His green eyes glowed in the darkness of the alley and his lips parted slightly as I glimpsed fangs in his mouth.

  I couldn’t think, the fire was consuming me, and screams poured out of my mouth. Rain started to fall and lightning arced across the sky as my emotions swirled.

  The man holding me chuckled. “We better get our little hellfire here under control. Mark, take our guardian friend and deal with him. I will bring her to Kristoff.”

  “Let me go!” I shouted and gathered the suggestive power I had.

  “That isn’t going to work today darling.” He tisked. “Welcome to your nightmare.”

  Fangs pierced my flesh and my vision went black.

  Chapter 10

  Lorelei

  Total blackness surrounded me. Pain racked my entire body as I slowly regained consciousness. My throat burned with thirst and my head pounded in agony. A groan escaped me as I tried to get into a sitting position. My eyes darted around, taking in my surroundings. The floor was a cold unforgiving stone, the walls the same, and a musty smell made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.

  My hands felt around as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. More cold stone everywhere I felt. As I moved, I realized there was a thick collar secured around my neck. I swallowed my rising panic as I touched the cool metal containing me. My nails clawed at the collar, trying to pry it free. Nothing. I was trapped.

  This can’t be happening, I thought as tears gathered in my eyes and ran down my face in steady streams. Breathe, I needed to remember to breathe. I slowly counted to ten, taking deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to prevent the panic attack from taking hold.

  “Kaniul, Vincent, if you can hear this, please help me.” I projected the thoughts desperately. I hadn’t seen or heard from them in years. I hoped beyond all hope that they were still around.

  As soon as the thoughts formed in my mind, excruciating pain radiated from my object around my neck as the collar heated to extreme temperatures. My fingernails tugged at the collar. The metal burned like the fires of hell, and blisters formed along the delicate skin of my throat and my hands as I tried in vain to remove the collar. Pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life, made my body convulse in agony. The skin along my throat and fingers peeled away from my body, the burning sensation not ceasing.

  An alarm blared and pierced my eardrums. Footsteps echoed in the distance and a light became visible.

  “She activated the device. It means she has awoken.” A woman shouted over the sirens. “Shut off that damn alarm!” She screeched.

  Light illuminated the small room I was in.

  No.

  It was a cell I was in.

  A thick door with a small window, lined with bars was the only object on the wall opposite to my position, the rest of the room was made of thick concrete blocks. The cell did not have any furniture or fixtures. It was empty. Except for me and this damned collar around my neck.

  I lifted my arm to shield my eyes from the sudden light. The choker had cooled, yet the pain still blazed beneath it. I looked down at my hands to see that they had started to heal. I shook my head in confusion. I had seen blisters on my fingertips, the skin falling away with severe burns, how were they not there anymore?

  “I am so glad you are awake, my dear.” The woman appeared on the other side of the bars, effectively ending my train of thought.

  Flashes of a nightmare echoed through my mind. My hands tied down to a stone slab with rough rope, this woman was standing over me, pure evil joy reflected through her eyes. The vision faded and as I tried to grab onto the memories, the collar started to heat against my ravaged skin.

  “You must learn quickly to stop trying to use your gifts little Nephilim.” She howled with laughter as I screamed as the metal burned me. She pressed a button on the other side of the bars and the door slid open. Waving a small remote control, she cackled at me, the shrill tones sending a shiver down my spine.

  “It is of my own invention of course. It isolates your brain waves when you are using a psychic ability. Once it picks up those waves, it immediately heats up that fancy metal collar to over 200 degrees Fahrenheit.” She skipped along the entrance of the cell in glee. Her white lab coat flapping behind her. Curly blonde hair scattered about her head, desperately in need of a brush. Her hazel-green eyes danced wildly as she witnessed me writhing on the floor.

  “Not only will it isolate those brain waves and heat but also when I press this little button here—" The collar heated up again, hotter than ever before. “—oops, I didn’t mean to do that,” she cackled.

  No noise came out of my throat this time as it was cracked and bleeding from the agony. My muscles seized and contorted as I writhed on the concrete. My nails broke and bled as I clawed at the floor.

  She giggled in glee and pressed the button again to stop the molten heat. “So, you see, little Nephilim, you need to be good and listen to exactly what I say. The master will be so pleased with me, catching the little Nephilim.”

  What the hell was a Nephilim? Why did that word sound so familiar?

  My head throbbed in vicious pulses, agony radiating through me as the sense of Deja vu would not subside.

  She continued to rant along. “Even if I did have to turn the little girl, he will still be pleased with me, won’t he?” She turned to me. “Even as a vampire, you are still a Nephilim! The chosen one who will resurrect our savior!”

  Reaching down, she shook me until I whimpered. “Vampire! Nephilim! Doesn’t matter, still the chosen one!” She patted my cheek, her eyes wild as she caressed my skin.

  “Ah! You must be hungry! Feed. You must feed.” She skipped away shouting in a sing song style down the hallway. “Bring me blood for my little vampire Nephilim!”

  This woman was crazy. What was she saying? Vampire? Nephilim? My mind was spinning. I tried to sit up, using the wall as an anchor. Feed? At the mention, my stomach cramped, and I doubled over to grab my midsection. Everything in my body screamed at me. Every nerve ending was alive with overstimulation and pain. My teeth ached, my incisors elongated and sharpened along my tongue.

  What was wrong with me?

  “Antionette is back little vampy!” The blonde announced her presence as she dragged along a woman. “Here is some food for you.” The woman sobbed as Antionette roughly jerked her head back by the hair to expose her neck. There were already puncture wounds with blood trickling down her neck.

  “I had a little taste. She is very yummy!”

  I ignored her words as I focused on the blood. My nostrils flared taking in the glorious aroma of the liquid.

  The woman was pushed to her knees before me and in a flash, I grabbed her and sank my new fangs into her neck. I moaned as her lifeforce exploded over my tongue and down my throat. I swallowed deeply, drinking of the life-giving sustenance. With each mouthful, my strength grew. The woman under my fangs grew cold, and the blood stopped. I whimpered as I retracted my fangs from her neck.

  I threw my head back and roared, blood dripping from my chin as Antionette clapped and squealed.

  “Erik, remove the corpse, please,” she shouted, and a tall man removed the woman’s body. I looked at him with wide eyes and he glanced in my direction. Sharp gray eyes widened, and he gave me a subtle nod.

  I blinked in confusion and he was gone.

  “I must get some blood samples!” She held up a finger and whirled off.

  Black spots dotted my vision and dizziness made the room spin. Chills racked my body and nausea spread through my stomach. The blood that had
just healed me came up as I violently wretched across the floor. I cried out in pain as my body rejected the sustenance.

  Leaning back against the cool stone, my forehead dotted with perspiration, I closed my eyes. Shaking racked my entire body, my teeth chattering as waves of nausea and pain rolled through me.

  “What was all that noise?” She held various items in her hand, including syringes and other blood collecting items. “Ewwww.” Her pale nose wrinkled as she saw the regurgitated blood on the floor.

  “That hasn’t happened before.” She looked off in the other direction, staring blankly at the wall. “Very interesting. Oh well, I still need samples.” She snapped her head back toward me and knelt at my side.

  Roughly, she grabbed my arm and stabbed the needle into my vein. My muscles wouldn’t obey and the only thing I was able to do was rotate my neck to look at the blood flowing through the tube to the collection vial. Antionette hummed an off-key melody as she bobbed her head back and forth.

  A keening sound escaped my throat as she collected tube after tube of my precious blood. My eyes drooped as my consciousness faded.

  Antionette’s palms sharply connected with my cheek. “Stay awake vampy!” she squeaked.

  “Why are you doing this?” I was surprised I could form the words.

  “You are the chosen one. You will wake the master.” Finally, she removed the needle from my arm, gathered up her supplies and my blood. “You will see. Master will be very pleased with me.” With a swirl of her white lab coat, she was gone.

  The door to my cell slid shut.

  Blackness overtook me as consciousness faded.

  Chapter 11

  Vincent

  I paced back and forth along the mahogany hardwood floors. My rage barely contained within me. Fingers lengthened into claws as my fangs exploded in my mouth. Once again, I tried to reach out along the mental connection I had to Lorelei. Nothing. A solid brick wall. This had never happened before and a fury unlike anything I had experienced before consumed me.

  For the last three years, she had thought I had abandoned her, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I was always present in her life. A shadow hiding just beyond her vision. A dark angel, protecting her. Ever since the first time I felt her presence, I have protected her.

  Yet, now I’ve failed her.

  Growls escaped my throat as I threw my glass of scotch against the wall.

  “Calm the fuck down, Flane. You aren’t helping anything,” a familiar voice scolded from the doorway. He smirked at me and took a drink from his own glass. “And you are wasting my good scotch.”

  “Fuck you and your scotch, Leo.” My voice took on the demonic qualities of my alternate form.

  Leo laughed and pushed himself from the wall. His long legs ate up the distance as he crossed the room. He ran a hand through his thick black curls, musing them as he pushed them away from his face. “We all want to get her back but pacing and throwing things is not helping.” He settled his hand on my shoulder and gripped it in a gesture of reassurance. Hazel green eyes shone with concern as he looked at me. No one was used to the great demon prince losing his legendary control.

  Leo was the strategist of the council. An ancient Greek general, he was legendary on the battlefield. And he was an arrogant ass that I barely tolerated in my presence.

  “Has Kaniul been able to pick up anything from her?”

  Leo took another sip from his glass as he lowered his eyes and shook his head. “Same, just a brick wall.”

  I cursed. We needed to reach her to find out where she was. “Anything from Nathan?” The name caused rage to burn hotter within me. The council had decided to send that Casanova to be Lorelei’s guardian. Some guardian he was. The only thing he managed to do was put his hands on my woman and get her captured.

  Her twenty-first birthday was another milestone in her progression of power. Assigning her another guardian was a logical next step for the council. I had protested their choice, but in the end, I had been overruled. Not wanting to overplay my hand, I had let them insert Nathan into her life. Meanwhile I made plans of my own to ensure her safety, as I had always done in the past.

  “Nothing as well. We believe he was either taken or killed outright. We haven’t been able to find any remains or signs to show either scenario.” Leo glanced through his phone checking for any messages or updates.

  A sharp pain pierced my skull. “Kaniul, Vincent, if you can hear this, please help me.” My jaw clenched as her agony rushed over me. It almost brought me to my knees. I reached a hand out to a nearby chair to steady me as I pushed the heel of my hand into my forehead to relieve the pressure.

  “What was that?” Leo rushed to his feet and was at my side. I held out a hand to keep him at length. I didn’t need him touching me right now. His phone vibrated in his hand, and he turned to take the call.

  I swallowed and tried to follow the familiar mental pathway back to Lorelei. “Theera, where are you?” I heard her scream and felt the agony centered around her throat. Our connection slammed firmly shut and my consciousness crashed back into my body. A key detail stood out as I was able to connect with her, however briefly it was.

  She had my pendant.

  I had given her the custom-made necklace on her eighteenth birthday. It was a gift I had commissioned for her not only to be beautiful, but functional too. It had a tracker installed inside the ruby so I would be able to find her if something like this happened. Imbued with a small amount of my essence, it would allow me to track her even if whoever held her found a way to scramble the technology.

  Overhearing Leo, he was on the phone with Kaniul, who had heard Lorelei’s plea as well. “Have him meet me at my office. I have something that we can use.” My voice was rough, gravel lacing my words. Leo nodded in understanding and I knew Kaniul had heard as well.

  I turned without another word and made my way up the stairs to my suite. Pressing the biometric lock, the door opened, and I was able to step into my private quarters. I approached my home office space and booted up my laptop. Starting the tracking program, I let myself hope that we would be able to find her.

  My phone rang, and I brought it to my ear. “What?” I said gruffly.

  “Sire, she is at the testing facility.” It was Erik. He was my inside man and spy within The Syndicate operation. He had infiltrated their ranks as a soldier and reported back to the council on the various goings on.

  “Antionette has her,” he whispered. Erik was risking much by placing this phone call.

  My blood ran cold. Antionette was the lead researcher for The Syndicate. She was the fledgling of Kristoff, the leader and mastermind behind the evil organization. Their goal was to bring about the end of the world by resurrecting the dark Primal god. Knowing Antionette and her predisposition to evil and sadistic torture, I knew I had to get her out and quickly.

  Erik cleared his throat nervously, “S-Sire,” he stuttered. “She turned her into a Vampire.”

  “I will be in touch.” I ended the call. The tracking program finally opened and showed me her location. Confirmed to be the same area where Erik has led them to as a research and testing facility for The Syndicate. A Vampire. I cursed, slammed the laptop shut and teleported to my downtown office building.

  This shouldn’t even be possible. Her Nephilim blood should prevent a transformation from taking hold. These were questions to be answered once we found her. That was the main goal.

  ∞∞∞

  Leo and Kaniul were waiting for me, along with Lyiana, Damius and Nicolae. They gathered around the computer, and discussed various facilities where Lorelei could have been taken.

  “Now that half the council is here,” I commented wryly.

  “And the other half on via video call,” Nicolae held up his phone which showed a room filled with the rest of the council members. Adreon, Catherine, Drake, and Alexandrya were sitting stoically, gathered around their devices.

  I set my laptop on the large desk and opened
it to pull up the locator device. “Erik made contact.” A couple of the council gasped, and I saw Kaniul close his eyes and curse.

  “So, it is the worst then, she is at the main testing facility,” Damius spoke, his soft Greek accent rolling as he ran his fingers through his black hair.

  “Yes,” I swallowed and continued, “Yet, that is not the worst of it. He informed me that Antionette has turned Lorelei into a vampire.”

  Every member of the council said a few choice curses in their various languages. I had to focus on containing myself, or quite literally, my demon would come out.

  “How is that possible? Shouldn’t her Nephilim blood prevent a change from taking hold?” Adreon, who was the scholar of the group, pondered out loud.

  “The only mixed blood Nephilim are those that were born,” Catherine remarked.

  I rolled my eyes as Catherine stated the obvious. Children that were born of a Vampire and Nephilim relationship were referred to as Hybrids. Those born of a Demon and Nephilim mating were called Seraphim. Both were extremely powerful in their own ways. Each possessing abilities of both their parents, and they were some of the rarest beings on the planet.

  “Enough!” I slammed my fist on the desk. I was done with the academic discussion. “It doesn’t matter what she is, we need to get her out of The Syndicate’s hands. The longer they have her, the more time they have to torture her.”

  Leo frowned and looked from Kaniul to me. “Were either of you able to pick up on anything about her situation that will help us with a rescue attempt?” Leo was ever the strategist. The former Greek general looked at every situation as a battlefield which benefited us in times like this.

  Kaniul spoke before I could. “She was able to get one projection out before it was cut off. It seems they have something to dampen her psychic abilities. I don’t believe we will be able to make contact via the mental connections. Vincent?” He turned to me and arched a brow in question. “Your connection to her is stronger than mine, what did you pick up from her?”