by ID Johnson
“No,” Aaron replied, holding the door open at the top of the stairs. “I’ve let that go. But one thing is for sure, once we figure out what came back with you, it’s going to make what you did down there, and facing Gibbon, look like….”
“Like amateur night at a bearded lady contest?” Elliott interrupted.
“Um, I’m not exactly sure what that means,” Aaron admitted.
“You know, small and unimpressive, but still nothin’ you want to cozy up to without a few shots of Wild Turkey.”
“Yes…” Aaron said, nodding as Jamie chuckled behind them. They were walking back across the campus now, headed toward Aaron’s office building, and off in the distance he could see the statue of his daughter, the one Elliott had given to him as a birthday present. Everyday that Elliott had been gone, he had looked at that statue and remembered two of the most important people he’d ever lost. Now, at least, he had one of them back. “It’s going to be very difficult to hunt this thing down and destroy it. But, as Cadence has said a hundred times, I know we are stronger because you’re with us.”
“Thanks, boss man,” Elliott said, clapping him on the back and then placing his other hand on Jamie’s shoulder as well. “I’m sure that, if something came through, we can stop it. As long as we work together, there ain’t nothin’ we can’t handle.”
Aaron hoped that his best friend was right, but inside he knew that wasn’t the case. There was something out there, something more sinister, more vicious, than anything he had ever faced in almost two hundred years. The others could be optimistic; he would be practical. Whatever it was, it was going to take everything they had to defeat it, and right now, it seemed as if they were all headed down a path of total destruction.
Epilogue
The room was dark, just the way she liked it, and as she sat on the makeshift throne she’d had her minions construct as soon as she’d entered the premises, she began to tap her fingernails impatiently on the chair railing. The time was almost nigh, of that she was certain, but it would be a few moments more, and she almost couldn’t contain the excitement she felt pulsating inside.
The demons that had greeted Asteria when she’d stepped through the portal had been eager to please their new goddess, and once she’d made her way out of the desert they had been most accommodating. She’d made her way here in a matter of days, and stepping over a dilapidated sign that read, “Larundel Hospital,” she’d ordered her followers to begin to restore the building to it’s former glory. It seems they were quite resourceful, and soon the broken down structure began to resemble a mansion worthy of such a powerful goddess, one even the strongest of Hunters would find quite difficult to penetrate. She knew that, eventually, as word spread of Asteria’s conquests and forages into the local inhabitants, they would come. When they did, they would be faced with an evil far beyond anything they could ever even imagine.
But their arrival was not what she anticipated this night, and as she ran her hands through her flowing blood red locks, the yearning within her chest reached a precipice. The time had arrived; he was there.
Holding back the anticipation, she pulled herself from her seat and slowly began to make her way out to the stairwell and down the several flights of stairs, each step bringing her closer to the one she had longed for all this time. In hell, each hour had felt like a year, each day like a decade. Though the passage of time marked in this dimension said they’d only been apart a little over a year, it seemed like eternity.
When she reached the front door, she leaned against the frame, unable to trust her eyes. He looked slightly different as he made his way across the front lawn, the moonlight gleaming off of his pale skin, his hair darker than it had been when last they met. But it was most certainly him, her one true love, the god to her goddess.
He stopped before her, his blood red lips curling into a smile, “Oh, how I’ve missed you my love.”
“I have missed you, too, darling,” Asteria replied, and no longer able to control herself, she plunged her mouth against his, pulling him close to her, the feel of his familiar hands on her sending shivers through her body.
Noticing the others’ eyes on them, she finally pulled away, glaring in the direction of those who dared to stand, gaped-mouthed, and watch. “My darling,” she said, the smile returning. “How has your journey been?”
“Long and tumultuous, but the shadows whispered of your power, and even though the name they used was foreign to my ears, I knew that it was you, my love,” he replied, gazing into her eyes.
“I knew you had escaped as well, the second I arrived on this plane. I felt it in my bones. Now, together, we will reign. There is nothing the others can do about it now. We are far too powerful to be stopped.”
“Yes, my love,” he agreed. “And just as you have cast off your former name, what shall I be called now that Carter has risen again from the ashes?”
Asteria smiled at the sound of his old name. “From now on, darling, you shall be called Perses, God of Destruction. Together, we shall stake our claim and shift the Ternion in the favor of those we lead. May the Vampires reign now and for a thousand years!”
The night air filled with the sound of her maniacal laughter, and in all four corners of the earth, the Vampires awoke, whispers of, “The time is now,” seeping from their crimson lips.
***
Cadence watched as her sister dozed in a chair across the room while she and Aaron talked about flowers, colors, and invitations. Cassidy hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days, and when she’d finally gotten an explanation, Cassidy had only said that the images she’d seen while invading Gibbon’s brain were too disturbing to sleep. Cadence had considered having Elliott put her into a deeper slumber, as he’d done for her once upon a time, but for now, Cassidy seemed to be soundly sleeping at last.
Cadence had finally found a color palate she thought they could both agree upon when Cassidy let out a loud moan. Cadence looked at Aaron, whose face showed he was just as concerned as she was. The younger sister seemed to relax for a moment, but then, she shot bolt upright in the chair, her eyes open but glazed over, and said in a monotone voice Cadence couldn’t even recognize, “The time is now!” before collapsing back into the chair in a dead sleep.
Cadence looked at Aaron. Whatever this was, it was not good. “What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to know,” Aaron admitted.
Cadence took a deep breath and sat her wedding planning aside as Cassidy began to toss and turn. It appeared as if a new nightmare was just beginning.
The End
Dear Greatest Reader Ever in the History of the Universe,
Yeah, that's you! Thank you so much for reading Illumination. I can only assume if you've read Book 5, you've probably read the previous ones as well--which is absolutely amazing! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you chose my books when there are millions of other books you could have read instead. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Now that I am a full-time writer, reviews are even more important than ever. If you have a second to return to Amazon and leave some feedback, I would greatly appreciate it, and so will other readers who are trying to decide whether or not to give The Clandestine Saga a read. Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PV76TH/
I'm planning two other series based on these characters that I think you will love! One is based on Cassidy's adventures starting out when she first realizes something is different about her sister--but she isn't quite sure what it is. So You Think Your Sister is a Vampire? will be released in 2018.
Another series will give you even more insight into the lives of your favorite characters. Readers have already shared that they are excited about Backstories. Look for the first novel, Jamie, to be released in early 2018.
To make sure you never miss a release, please subscribe to my Paranormal Romance newsletter, which you can find here:
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Also by ID Johnson
Also by ID Johnson
Deck of Cards
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss
Ghosts of Southampton: Titanic
The Doll Maker’s Daughter at Christmas
The Journey to Normal: Our Family's Life with Autism
Beneath the Inconstant Moon
For updates, visit www.authoridjohnson.blogspot.com
Acknowledgments
Illumination is dedicated to my brother-in-law, Cristian, who insisted every single time I've spoken to him for the last two years that Elliott should not have died. Hope you're happy now!
I also want to thank my amazing editor, Lauren Yearsley Morgan, who catches everything and even knows when it's "toward" and when it's "towards." My writing is so much better now that she's in my life!
I have an amazing support team, and while I'm sure I'll miss someone if I try to list everyone, I particularly want to thank Patty Egenbacher, Jordan Lide, Norma Hargrove, Shelley Bryant, Elisa Ellis, and Teri Lide for their continued support with this project.
Finally, thank you to my husband, whom y'all know as Bill, for allowing me to follow my dream and be a full-time writer. It's not easy to carry the family financially while I turn my living room into a daily office and talk to imaginary people all day, and I appreciate how much Bill and my girls do for me everyday.
Thank you again for reading Illumination. I hope you'll return for Destruction in 2018.