Before the Fall

by Sable Grace

  A black form crashed into Kyana’s back. With a grunt, she went down, a mass of fur covering her from head to toe. In wolf form, the beast was clawing into Kyana’s ribs, making it impossible for her to flip him and gain the advantage.

  Sentinels moved forward, swords raised, but Zach’s reflexes weren’t so fast this time. Of all the Dark Breeds that could have scaled the half-risen drawbridge, the last one he wanted to see was a damned Lychen. His arm throbbed in protest even as he clenched his sword tighter in his fist, willing himself into action. More Lychen came, bounding through the small opening just seconds before the gate banged completely closed. They pounced on the sentinels trying to free Kyana, and Zach shoved Shanna behind him.

  Kyana bucked madly, finally loosening the Dark Breed’s hold on her long enough to flip over and kick out at its face. It was then that he saw the long gashes in her sides, and remembering what those gashes had taken from him ten years ago finally spurred him into motion.

  The Lychen lunged just as Kyana managed to find footing, knocking her back onto her ass. Before it could take the advantage again, Zach swung his sword, impaling the Lychen’s belly. He tried to pull it free, but it wouldn’t budge, trapped in place by the beast’s ribs.

  “Fuck!” He needed his sword back. Without it, he was virtually useless against the enemy’s strength and speed.

  A cry of pain sent him spinning around to find a sentinel bleeding out beneath another wolf. Shanna was desperately prying at the creature, but she was no match for its strength. He couldn’t waste any more time trying to free his sword—the sentinel was going to die. He rushed the pair, knocking Shanna over as he used all his body weight to shove the beast off the guard’s jerking body. He rolled with the wolf until they crashed together against the sharp coquina walls. Zach’s head burned and bled as the shell dug into his flesh, but he kept his grip on the beast’s body, holding out his arms to keep the fucker’s teeth as far away from his throat as he could.

  From the corner of his eye, a blur of black moved into view. Kyana was pulling Shanna away from danger, and Shanna, of course, was fighting her. As one of the other Lychen noticed the same situation, it took advantage and preyed its way toward the women. Kyana whipped out a dagger, leaped into the air, and came down upon the creature’s back, stabbing its spine. She waited a moment for the silver to kick in, then broke the wolf’s neck.

  Zach’s arms were beginning to tremble from the struggle of keeping the last Lychen away from his most vulnerable spots, but he was already starting to feel woozy. His ribs and thighs burned like a bitch, and no matter how they tried, the sentinels weren’t able to separate the beast from him.

  “Kill the fucker!” he yelled, knowing that if he so much as wiggled a finger to try to kill it himself, he’d be a goner.

  The miserable weight of defeat was slowly overtaking his mind when he saw his sword still protruding from the other wolf’s belly. If only he had it . . .

  The slick feel of drool splattered his face. The beast was winning. Zach was going to die.

  As Kyana approached them, her dagger raised, he held her gaze. “You make sure Shanna gets to safety. Understand?” he panted.

  She reached for the Lychen’s neck and lifted, but even a Half-Breed as strong as Kyana wasn’t able to free Zach from the crushing weight of the monster. She drove her dagger into its throat. It yelped and whipped its head around, seizing her arm with its massive teeth, sending Kyana to her knees.

  A bright silver glow blinded Zach for a moment. His vision was blurry, but he could have sworn he’d seen the magic of his sword hovering overhead. Could have sworn that the howl emitting from the Lychen was caused by his own sword slicing through the creature’s belly. Could have sworn the Lychen finally fell limp against him at the mercy of a weapon that only he could wield.

  But he hadn’t done it.

  Shanna had.

  Chapter Thirteen

  January 11, 1:06 a.m.

  1 hour and 6 minutes after the fall . . .

  “Is he going to wake up?”

  The sound of Shanna’s voice pulled Zach from the thick fog of sleep.

  “They had to double the potion to keep him from fighting.”

  “I just want him to wake up.”

  He could hear the tears in Shanna’s voice, could feel the slight tremble of her cool fingers on his brow. For her, he wanted to open his eyes, but no matter how he struggled, his eyelids were heavy bricks, mortared into place by magic.

  “Kyana, if we can get a little more of your blood . . .” An unfamiliar voice said from somewhere above Zach.

  “What good is her blood going to do him?” Shanna’s voice rose an octave. “She was bit by that thing, too.”

  “A Lychen’s bite doesn’t affect one of its own,” Kyana said. “In fact, it cancels it out. My blood will help clean Zach’s.”

  Shanna rubbed her eyes, trying to take it all in. None of this made sense. The Lychen had barely punctured the skin around Zach’s ribs. She didn’t understand why such a minor wound would knock him out. Not that she understood much of anything at the moment. Like why Kyana had brought them through the strange swirling light—which had threatened to turn her insides out—to the place they were now, which looked like something straight out of a Greek history text: everything marble and bright and cobbled.

  And Kyana, whoever the hell she was—whatever the hell she was—wasn’t exactly eager to answer any of Shanna’s questions, either.

  Zach would. If he ever woke up again.

  No. She couldn’t think like that. He had to wake up again. She had to tell him what Kyana had told her—the reason she’d been able to wield the sword created from Zach’s blood . . .

  She forced herself to look at Kyana. “Is Zach— Is he going to become one of—”

  “That’s a bullshit myth,” Kyana said, sneering. “We have bacteria in our wolf-form’s saliva and claws, but it will only kill you—not Turn you.”

  Shanna swallowed, realizing Kyana had said “we.” That was what she’d meant when she’d said the Lychen bite wouldn’t affect one of their own. She was Lychen.

  She took a hesitant step back.

  “Relax,” Kyana said, half-smiling. “I don’t bite. Much.” She knelt and pressed her hand to Zach’s forehead. “He’s still burning up. But I think we got him to the Healer in time. He should be fine.”

  “I am fine.”

  Shanna gasped at the sound of Zach’s voice and jerked around to find him staring at her through bleary eyes. Her heart lurched with relief. He was alive! And there was so much she wanted to tell him before he could pass out again, but she didn’t dare. How much could he take in his current state? Better to wait until he was stronger . . . until she figured out what she wanted to do.

  “You scared me,” she whispered.

  His smile was pathetically weak. “My bad.”

  Zach’s gaze hovered on Shanna’s face as she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. An enormous question had smacked his brain and had given him the will to break through whatever subduing potion the Healer had given him. Shanna should never have been able to wield his sword, much less make it glow as it had, and kill the Lychen. It was crafted from Zach’s blood. Only his blood would make it work.

  That meant Shanna had to have his blood inside her. A few hours old or not, their reckless encounter in the Ravelin had left her with far more than a memory to take away. It had left her pregnant.

  That thought should have made him sick to his stomach. Avoidance of fatherhood had been a mission throughout his life. Yet as he stared up at Shanna while she rained kisses on his cheeks, it wasn’t his stomach that knotted. It was his chest. The thought of his child growing inside her made him feel strong enough to take on the world.

  But that child would be marked for a life in Ares’s army—the main reason he’d been adamant about never having kids. Even if the world righted itself, their child would be dedicated to the Order of Ancients, whether he or she wanted to
be or not—until that child came of age and was granted the right of free will. That meant Zach would have to remain dedicated, too, since he’d never abandon his child to the Order. He’d have to find a place for himself back within the Order’s permanent ranks.

  But what about Shanna? If he told her what was growing inside her, she’d never get over the fact that he’d just made damned sure she could never have a normal life.

  Would she walk away from him? From their child?

  “Shanna—”

  “Shh.” Her kisses moved back to his mouth, light and gentle and soothing. “We have a lot to talk about, but not until you’re on your feet again.”

  He lifted his hands to push her far enough away so he could look her in the eye. “You need to know why you were able to use my sword.”

  She smiled down at him, her eyes glassy and dark. “Kyana already told me. I . . . wasn’t sure you’d know . . .” She averted her gaze. “Or how you’d feel.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like I might have ruined any shot I ever had with you. You told me a long time ago that you never wanted kids. I didn’t think I did, either.”

  He swallowed and struggled to sit, easing her onto his lap as the Healer pulled Kyana away to grant them privacy. “They won’t let you terminate. Even if you tried, they’d make sure it wasn’t successful. They’re pretty big on free will around here, but not when it comes to taking a member of their Order.”

  Her eyes widened and a flash of anger lit up inside them. “They can’t control me like that! Who the hell do they think they are? I—” The fire in her eyes faded. “Who am I trying to kid? I couldn’t do it anyway. Are you okay with that?”

  “I think I am, yeah. But, Princess, that means you’re stuck with me. I can’t walk away from my kid—and most certainly not from you. I let you go last time, but this time, I’m going to fight. There’s still a little warrior left in me.”

  “There’s a lot of warrior left in you, Zach. If you can find a way to trust me again, I swear to whatever gods are out there that I won’t betray it. But I can’t spend a life with you if you’re only hanging around for the baby.”

  He smiled, touched her cheek, and closed his eyes. “Shanna, I was ready to spend my life with you the day we met. That hasn’t changed.”

  “Then marry me.”

  He opened his eyes. “Think real hard about what you’re saying. Marrying me means marrying yourself into the Order. It’s a crazy life, Princess. It means accepting shit you never thought you could and being strong enough to stay even when you’re scared out of your mind.”

  “I’m scared out of my mind right now, but I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

  “You two lovebirds want to wait for a more appropriate time to finish this vomit-inducing moment?”

  Zach shot a glare at Kyana, who was making her way back toward them, a small vial in her hand. “Go away, Kyana.”

  She handed him the bottle. “Drink it, asshat. Your wounds are almost sealed, and if you really want to live out this horrifying happily ever after, you need to finish sealing them or she’ll be burying you before you buy her a white dress.”

  Shanna gasped and helped him open the bottle. “You heard her. Drink!”

  As Zach drank the vile liquid that seared his insides like rocket fuel, Kyana chuckled.

  “She’s a keeper, Merchant,” Kyana said. “She saved your sorry life.”

  Shanna leaned down and kissed him, her lips curled into a smile. “No, Kyana. He saved mine.”

  “Oh, gag me. I can’t watch any more of this shit. Enjoy your stay Below, you sad, lovesick fools. I have Chosen to track and blood to drink.”

  Shanna winced, pulling slightly away from Zach. “Blood?”

  “She’s half Vampyre.”

  “Oh. Okay.” She grinned. “Look at me. Accepting such an out-there statement. Progress, I think.”

  “Yeah,” Zach said. “Progress.”

  He gently eased her from his lap and stood, the world turning on its head as he fumbled for balance.

  “Whoa!” Shanna grabbed his shoulder. “Where are you going? Sit back down!”

  “Can’t. Gotta go find a white dress before you change your mind.”

  The hand on his shoulder squeezed. “I’m not changing my mind, Zach. I’m here to stay.”

  “Good. Then let’s go find Aphrodite and have her perform a proper Order wedding.” He looked down at her, watching her closely for any signs of doubt. He saw none, but he had to make certain. “If you really want to, that is.”

  It felt surreal to be talking about such normal-life things when war was still rampaging in the world outside whatever realm this was. But sometimes a little normalcy was what kept a person alive. Together, they’d be stronger, could help fight the odd form of terrorism that had taken over her precious world. She could still get the bad guys, whether it was for the KWPD or the Order of Old People, or whatever they were called.

  “Shanna?”

  “Hmm?” She breathed a sigh against his neck, enjoying the brief moment of contentment while she could.

  “I asked if you really want to marry me.”

  She smiled, stretched onto her toes, and threw her arms around his neck, nearly sending him back on his ass. “I do, Zach. I do.”

  An hour later, Shanna repeated those exact words and meant them with every fiber of her being. She watched with a stomach full of nerves as Ares strode toward them, a folded uniform in his arms. He offered it to Zach, held out his hand and shook Zach’s.

  “Welcome back, soldier.”

  Zach grinned and Shanna allowed herself to exhale.

  Married to the man she loved, carrying his child, and trying to figure out a way to exist in a world she no longer understood.

  The world had gone crazy, but for her, life was perfect.

  If you enjoyed Before the Fall, don’t miss out on Sable Grace’s Dark Breed series, in which the gates of hell have opened, and only one woman can stop the ultimate chaos.

  ASCENSION

  A Dark Breed Novel

  Available now

  BEDEVILED

  A Dark Breed Novel

  Available January 2012

  Chapter One

  St. Augustine, Florida

  Despite the chaos of war around her, she couldn’t help but hum Queen’s “We Are the Champions” in her head. Of course, we had become I as she’d twisted it to fit her mood for the night. She had an irresistible urge to flex her muscles, or strut, or . . . something equally tacky.

  It had been a long night, but a successful one. Most of the Chosen were safely tucked Below. The one her minions, Farrel and Crag, now carried was the last of the living on her list. The rest would be found . . . and buried . . . at daybreak. But what had her feeling as smug as a pig in dog shit was not the number she’d managed to find and save, but the who.

  Jordan Faye. One of the most crucial finds on the Ancients’ list of Chosen.

  Kyana slipped her daggers back into the sheaths at her back and boot and reached for the flare gun tucked in its holster on her hip. Behind her, Farrel and Crag grunted and whined about the burden they carried. Every Vamp within the Order of Ancients had minions to assist with the grunt work. Sadly, Farrel and Crag were hers. One look would shut them up, but she was in too much of a hurry to bother.

  When they neared what had been the Castillo de San Marcos’s pay station only a week ago, she fired the flare gun and waited for the fiery burst to explode overhead and dissolve into a flurry of white dust that would alert the sentinels manning the gate. Like tiny puffs of smoke, the name Kyana slowly formed in the night sky, and the newly working drawbridge lowered in recognition.

  The Castillo was the oldest piece of stonework in North America. That it had held up against so many attacks over the years had made it the best choice for the Order to set up headquarters in the southeastern United States the moment the war between Hell and Earth had begun seven days ago. Sentinels walked the b
astions, ready to fight to the death at any sign of trouble, and in the old storerooms beneath the sentinels’ patrol, Mystics had opened a portal to Below where the Chosen were taken for safety.

  The night Tartarus opened and unleashed masses of Dark Breeds onto Earth, the residents of St. Augustine and neighboring cities had flocked to the old fort. Most of the Order argued to save as many as possible, but Kyana saw the folly in such emotionally driven suicide. Sure, she didn’t want the world wiped clean of innocents any more than the gods of Olympus did, but there was no way they could all be saved. Wiser to focus on the Chosen first, make sure they had a safe place to lay their heads. Then the Order could see to the everyday, average Joes and Janes.

  Behind Kyana, wails and shrieks, both human and non, had become the city’s soundtrack. There were Dark Breeds nearby. She could smell the scent of urine emitting off the demons, feel the blighted Vamps, and taste the sulfuric, restless souls that had been uprooted from their earthly graves to become what humans called Zombies and the Order referred to as Leeches. Kyana’s body itched to return to the streets and hunt, but she couldn’t. Not until she’d safely placed her catch inside the fort.

  “Take her in,” she said, waiting impatiently for Farrel and Crag to adjust the weight of the woman they carried and shuffle up the walk toward the gate. Her gaze didn’t waver from the unconscious body they toted. Other tracers had declared Jordan’s trail cold days ago, but Kyana had been too stubborn to admit defeat. There was a reason she was the best at her job. She had something other tracers lacked—the ability to hold on to a scent for days without it losing its potency. Jordan hadn’t been home in days, her trail had grown cold . . . for the others. But Kyana didn’t rely on tracking perfumes and other unstable, common odors. She clung to a particular pheromone and could follow it to Hell and back, no problem. One tiny trace of leftover fear in Jordan’s bed had led Kyana all around St. Augustine, and finally to the damned garbage bin behind St. George Street that had smelled so foul it had nearly tripped Kyana up.