by Rain Oxford
Whispering Shadows
Abyss of Shadows Book 2
Rain Oxford
Whispering Shadows © 2017 Rain Oxford
All Rights Reserved
Cover art by Piero Mng (Gianpiero Mangialardi)
Edited by Crystal Potts
Previously, in Abyss of Shadows…
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Previously, in Abyss of Shadows…
I was happy with my life. I own a bar that caters to paranormals, and being a vampire, I’m strong enough to deal with rowdy customers. I have my two wolf-dogs, Deimos and Phobos, and my human friend, Brandy, who is my bar manager. It was what I enjoyed doing.
Then children started going missing in a small town and magic was suspected to be the cause. A friend of mine named Astrid was a paranormal investigator and would have taken the case, but she was also missing (for an unrelated, unknown reason). So, I drove to the town with Deimos and Phobos and searched the room of Lilly Hartwell, who had asked for help before disappearing. She was a witch.
That was when I met Logan, who helped me solve the case. He was also half demon, Lilly’s brother, and an insanely good kisser. He wore a magic chain that limited his power and calmed his demonic nature. It looked like a tattoo but could actually be pulled off his body if he needed serious power. Otherwise, he could heal people and he was smart.
We learned that several people in the town, including a school counselor, a police officer, and a farmer, were trying to summon a powerful demon using innocent kids as sacrifices. We managed to trap and banish the demon using magic that I learned from a witch in town.
I returned to my bar and Logan returned to the magic shop he owned in Oregon. We lived more than three thousand miles apart, so despite the obvious mutual attraction, neither of us made an effort to deepen our relationship.
I liked my customers, but after fighting a demon, I found myself bored at the bar.
* * *
There were four recognized factions of paranormals— vampires, wizards, fae, and shifters. Additionally, there were magical creatures and powerful beings. Labels became complicated when wizards were not considered humans, psychic humans were not considered paranormals, and paranormals were allowed to mix. Despite the modernization of human myth regarding the paranormal world, it remained the most well-kept secret on the planet.
People who wanted to believe in paranormals saw evidence of us every single day, no matter how well we hid ourselves. People who didn’t want to believe in paranormals could watch a man shift into a wolf and call it “special effects.” This is explained best by Douglas Adams’s S.E.P. (Somebody Else’s Problem) field, in which people’s mind filters out anything they don’t want to see, aren’t expecting, or can’t explain.
The flip side to this is what I less-eloquently called the I.Y.P. (It’s Your Problem) reaction, in which someone who sees something that is in everyone else’s S.E.P. field is called insane or a liar. The amount of denial my kind faced could make a vampire doubt her own existence.
Wizards and fae were magic-based paranormals; they had very few physical traits that were different than humans. While wizards could do devastatingly powerful magic, they had to learn it. Fae, on the other hand, usually only had one or two supernatural abilities, but those abilities came naturally to them. Fae looked just as human as the other paranormals. There were also different types of fae, like the forest fae (who had nature-based powers) and psychic fae (who had mental-based powers).
Vampires and shifters were physical-based paranormals; our magic manifested physically. It took magic for shifters to change from their person form to their animal form, yet they couldn’t do any other magic. Along with our superior strength and speed, vampires did have one magic skill; we could thrall people. This ranged from simple suggestions to complete mind control, depending on the vampire’s power.
Shifters had weaknesses and strengths depending on the animal they shifted into. Vampires were more straightforward; we had excellent night vision, but not superior to a human’s in every way. Our vision was based on movement, so details and color were less clear. Although we could smell blood, human emotions, and the health of a person, we couldn’t detect if someone was bleeding a mile away. Our hearing wasn’t much better than the average human’s, either.
* * *
My father was a scientist who invented ways to make the lives of paranormals better. When I was twelve, he disappeared and I was captured by Joshua and Janet Fox. They were a married human couple who kidnapped paranormal children for experimentation. I managed to escape, only to end up in foster care. Unfortunately, Joshua and Janet were still after me and I ended up on the streets. It was a vampire my age named Astrid who saved me. Cody, an ex-cop, helped as well.
I spent most of my childhood learning about paranormals. Astrid and Cody brought me into the coven of Stephen Yocum, the most powerful vampire coven master in North America. Even though I was human, Stephen welcomed me. I ended up leaving the coven and got caught by the Foxes again. I got shot and would have died if Astrid didn’t find me and turn me. I spent years in Stephen’s coven until I met Brandy.
My bar was in Stephen’s territory, but by special permission, I was able to stay without being a member of his coven. Vampires who were unaffiliated with a coven were called rogues. Most paranormals considered rogues to be dangerous and out of control.
Chapter 1
1988
I woke as my father picked me up. The blankets fell away and I shivered from the cold. My dad had my coat in his hand, but he didn’t put it on me. Before I could fully wake, he was carrying me out of my bedroom. “What’s going on?”
“We have to go. I’ll explain later.”
I was coherent enough to realize every light in the house was on, and nothing was packed. In my mind, that meant we weren’t going to be gone long, because my dad never left his laboratory equipment behind.
Then the lights started flickering and my dad gained speed. He practically ran out of the house towards the street, where a black SUV was waiting. “Where’s Smokey?” I asked. He didn’t answer me. “Daddy, where’s my cat?”
“He’s gone.”
“Why?”
“I need to concentrate, honey.” He opened the back door, sat me in the far seat, and buckled me in. Then he slammed his own door and handed the driver a black satin pouch. “Take us to Ronez.”
I didn’t know who he was talking about, but I didn’t like leaving my cat. I couldn’t get any words out, though, because I was scared by my father’s behavior. When the driver slammed on the gas and I was pushed back into my seat, my dad put his hands over my ears. It wasn’t enough to stop the sound of an explosion, though. I struggled out of my dad’s grasp and turned to see the house behind us. There was nothing but smoking rubble left.
* * *
I woke to the sound of glass breaking and groaned. Phobos rolled over, putting his paws in my face. I pushed him off and forced myself to get up. When I got downstairs to my bar, I wasn’t surprised to see two shifters fighting. Brandy had a bat and was trying to get between them, but Theodore was blocking her.
Deimos and Phobos joined me, but didn’t get in the way because they knew I wasn’t in danger.
“Break it up!” I shouted. The shifters separated instantly. One was a coyote who I had only seen in my bar twice. His tail curled under him and he crouched submissively, barely resisting the urge to roll over.
The aggressor was Melvin, a gra
y wolf and unemployed biker, who came in every weekend. Most of the time, he was all talk and no bite, but when he argued with his girlfriend, he came here to work off his aggression. “I’ve warned you, Melvin. Don’t even shift. Just go. Don’t come back for a month.”
He grumbled, but left. The coyote shifted and opened his mouth to explain, but I held up my hand to stop him and addressed Brandy. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“Of course.” Brandy was like a sister to me and despite knowing she could take care of herself, I was protective of her. She looked younger than she was. Of course, neither of us knew her exact age, because when I rescued her from some paranormal hunters, she had no memories of her life before then. Her baby-face and large blue eyes made her seem harmless, but she had proven she could stand her ground against a paranormal. Her long, naturally white-blond hair with dark roots was braided over her shoulder. She wore a vibrant aquamarine, satin dress… which reminded me of Logan’s eyes.
She patted Theodor’s arm and he returned to his seat at the bar. He was a six-foot-nine bear shifter with brown hair that matched his fur and honey-colored eyes. He also had terrible scars on his throat and chest, probably from a fight with another shifter. Since he was mute, I didn’t know the exact situation.
“I could have handled it,” Brandy said quietly.
“I know,” I said. I went behind the bar and Theo made a gesture for another drink so I got it for him.
“I thought we were going to get dinner and a show,” Nicholas said, smirking. He was a regular of mine and a vampire. He also made no effort to hide his attraction to me. I handed him a bottle of Sanguatine, which was a partially synthetic blood drink. “When are you going to get good stuff in?” he complained.
“I told you; Sanguatine stores better, it’s safer, and this is my fucking bar. If you don’t like what I’m serving, you can go find another paranormal bar.” Sanguatine tasted as good as real blood and only those who thought humans were merely food complained about it.
Predictably, he lowered his eyes and drank his blood.
Brandy and I spent the next hour chatting and serving drinks. I used to be happy doing this, but since stopping a demon from being summoned to Earth, I found regular life boring. Deimos, too, was clearly restless. Phobos, on the other hand, missed Logan more than danger.
Phobos brought me my phone and I saw that Logan had texted me.
Logan: I was offered three gallons of hyena semen. I thought I should ask if that was something you wanted before I turned it down.
I laughed. Logan was offered a number of weird things. While he ran a magic shop, he also collected rare and powerful artifacts, and he sometimes traded magic supplies for other magic items. However, some people had very strange ideas of what was considered magic supplies.
Rory: Is it real hyena semen? How can you know it’s not dog semen?
Logan: That’s a good point. I should demand to see the hyena in person.
“Logan?” Brandy asked.
“What?” I set my phone on the bar.”
“You’ve got that look you get when you talk to or about Logan.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. My phone rang, but I didn’t look at it.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. You don’t have to lie about liking him. I just don’t know why you deny it.”
“I’m not denying it. It doesn’t matter. I doubt I’ll ever see him again and I’m not going to uproot my life to fit someone else into it.”
She looked at my phone. “You’ve told me you never wanted to ‘settle down’ anywhere. Now you’re telling me you have. When was the last time you looked for your father?”
“He’s gone, Brandy. It’s been over twenty years.”
But she was right; I had always hated the idea of settling down. I didn’t want to get attached to a place, which was why I had planned on leaving Brandy in charge of the bar. She could take care of it.
I just didn’t seem to be able to leave.
“That could be Logan,” she said, gesturing to the phone.
I checked it. I didn’t recognize the number, so I ignored it. There was too much spam going around. “It’s not him.” A moment later, I got a text from the same number.
Lilly: Rory, it’s Lilly. Call me.
I called the number back. “What’s wrong?” I asked. She had agreed to help me find my father and I was hoping she had some luck.
“I was using my crystals and tarot cards, trying to find out what Mom was going to get me for my birthday, but I saw her---” The call broke up for a moment.
“Lilly, calm down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I saw her die!” she said slowly.
“Your mother’s dead? Does Logan know?”
“She’s not dead yet. She’s going to die, though.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell your brother?”
“I’m not allowed to call him.”
“I’ll call him, then.”
“No, I need your help. If he comes, Mom will know I used magic and kick me out.”
“How is it any different if I help you?”
“You can thrall her. Please.”
I ran my hand over my face, wishing Astrid wasn’t missing. This was the kind of thing she was good at. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to see the girl become an orphan if I could help her. “Fine. I’ll be there in three days. I’ll text you when I get into town.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up. “It sounds like I’m running the bar for a week,” Brandy said, more excited than the situation called for. She didn’t need to prove herself to me; I knew she was capable.
I just wasn’t ready to give up the bar. I wanted to find my father, and without any clues, I didn’t know where to start. I wasted my childhood looking for him and found nothing but death and danger. I was afraid to find out the truth. I didn’t want proof that he was dead.
Brandy was a human who had been drawn into the paranormal world against her will. I was the same once, which was probably why I was so protective of her, and why I didn’t leave her in charge of the bar full time. I didn’t want her to be here. I wanted her to have a human life.
I lost my father when I was twelve and wasn’t likely to ever find out what happened let alone see him alive again. Deimos, Phobos, and Brandy were the only family I had left.
“Rory?” Brandy asked when I didn’t say anything.
I nodded. “That was Lilly.”
“Logan’s sister?”
“Yes. Apparently, she foresaw her mother’s death and thought I could help for some reason. She didn’t seem up to explaining. She sounded on the verge of being hysterical.”
“I bet it’s another demon,” Brandy said.
“Not everything has to be supernatural.”
“Said the vampire in her paranormal bar.”
“It’s a human world out there. You forget that because you’re here all the time. I’ve only met one full demon and one half-demon before, so I bet they aren’t all that common.”
“You were ‘marked’ by Marluk, and so was Lilly. You saw people’s souls on their faces. That kind of thing doesn’t just go away. I bet it has to do with the whispers, and Meredith’s death.”
“I told you not to talk about that,” I said. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” She shut her mouth, knowing arguing wouldn’t convince me. “If you don’t think it’s a demon, then take me with you.”
“And who would I leave the bar in the hands of?”
She rolled her eyes. I went upstairs to pack, leaving Deimos and Phobos with her.
* * *
Like my previous trip to the small town Lilly lived in, it took three days. During the day, I had to find a place to park my car and hide in the trunk where no one would call the cops on my dogs. It was worse because it was summer and I couldn’t leave them in the car. No one was going to approach two black dogs tha
t each weighed more than two hundred pounds, but I expected animal control or cops to shoot on sight.
One morning, I parked in the underground parking lot of a mall. The second morning, I parked in the woods and let the boys roam free. The boys were beyond themselves with excitement. Deimos was eager to fight and Phobos wanted to see Logan again. When I told Phobos I doubted Logan would get involved, he took my phone and tried to call Logan. Fortunately, his claws didn’t work on my smartphone’s screen.
* * *
It was eleven at night when I arrived at the town, so I texted Lilly that I was going to be at the motel. I didn’t know what the girl’s schedule was like, but it was a school night, so I figured she was asleep. When I entered the office of the motel, the same lady was there who rented me a room last time.
And she recognized me.
“Not you! You blew a hole through the wall last time!”
“That wasn’t me; that was a police officer who was trying to kill me.”
She picked up the business phone. “I’ll call the cops if you don’t get out of here!”
“That’s not very nice.” I resisted my automatic response, which was to thrall her. The fact was that her establishment was damaged because of me and I couldn’t say it wouldn’t happen again. I nodded. “I will find another place to stay.”
I called the number of another witch local to the small town. Apparently, she checked her Caller ID. “Please tell me there isn’t another demon in town,” Cindy said by way of greeting. She had given me vital information on demons, but I wouldn’t call her a friend.
“I hope not. Lilly called me for help and I need a place to stay.”
“There’s a motel.”
“I know, but they don’t want me there because my room was blown up last time. Can I sleep in your basement or something? I’ll stay out of your way at night.”