Beyond Secret Worlds: Ten Stories of Paranormal Fantasy and Romance

by Aimee Easterling

  “Leave.” I curl my hands around her throat, repulsed by the creature’s clammy skin beneath my hands. The demon’s pitch black aura is as encompassing as our light, shadowing the world and suffocating.

  “Mine,” she rasps through my grip. The cold runs from my fingers, into her veins and she knows not to struggle. If the Dark remains still she has a chance against me. One I won’t give her.

  “Not her. Not tonight.”

  The Dark glances towards the mangled car. “I’d swap if I could but I’m not allowed. Are you?”

  “Leave or I will kill you,” I growl.

  She snorts. “You’ve no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

  Tightening my grip, I stare back into the Dark’s eyes; behind me the soft sounds from the dying girl dig further into my mind. “Go, before I hurt you.”

  The Dark clutches my hands, attempting to speak and I loosen my grip. “I’ll leave, but she’ll wish I hadn’t.”

  How can something so beautiful hold such evil? The Dark’s symmetrical face and full mouth, smooth skin and youth are at odds with the decay she brings to their world. But then what am I? Deceptively benign with my blonde hair and blue eyes, sometimes the dying call me angel and I smile because it soothes their death. I’m no different to the Dark, I only come to humans when I’m in the company of death.

  Distracted by my thoughts, my hold on the Dark loosens further. White light flashes, my hands sear, and the woman is gone.

  I turn to the girl.

  Her eyes are closed and her lips part with more words I can’t make out. Should I touch her? Can I touch her?

  I inch closer, the bloody water soaking my knees. “Everything will be okay.”

  Her eyelids flicker and she attempts to focus on me. “What’s happening?”

  “You had an accident. I’ll help you.”

  The girl’s eyes close again, her life draining away with the blood from her wounds. “Thank you.”

  I take her hand.

  Mistake. Monumental screw-up. If I hadn’t touched her, I would never have known. I could’ve avoided the fate she propels me towards.

  The world fractures and an overwhelming love for this girl courses through my body. A fire trails along the marks on my arm, until the heat hits my heart and burns through to my soul. What I see when her eyes open and meet mine is the blinding reason I left the man in the car and came to her aid.

  This girl’s soul is the one I need. She is my last.

  The shock knocks me back from the girl. Her time wasn’t due to end for many years, but has been interrupted by the Dark’s need to possess and consume human souls for their own ends.

  She’s lost and I will never find her.

  Wrong.

  I will save her life.

  “What’s your name?” I whisper, taking her cold hand again.

  “Rose.”

  “Hello, Rose.”

  “What happened?” She winces. “Hurts.”

  Blood. Always the blood. Rose’s continues to mingle with the rain, puddling on the ground, and I stiffen. Quick.

  “Everything will be okay.”

  The blue eyes glaze and her fingers relax against my palm.

  No.

  The Dark hovers nearby, no longer visible but she can’t hide the malevolent force I sense surrounding us. She’s here. Waiting to finish what she started.

  “Rose!”

  Her eyes close and breathing stops.

  No. She won’t belong to them.

  I disentangle my fingers and place both hands over her heart. She needs a future. She needs to end her life with me waiting for her soul, not dying in the road tonight. Rose jerks as my energy flows into her broken body, mending the damage killing her inside. I will Rose to open her eyes again, and show me she’s still here. If Rose dies now, I’ve lost. She’s lost.

  The healing flows from my fingers, across her damp skin, until her body warms beneath my fingertips. Her labored breathing transforms to normal and she moves her hand to grab my wrist.

  Rose doesn’t speak and our eyes meet in understanding once more. “Thank you.”

  “Live. Be happy.”

  “I know you.” Her voice is a whisper of confusion.

  “You don’t.”

  “I feel you. Here.” Rose pushes a palm against her chest. “The woman... she hurt. You helped.”

  A siren sounds, growing closer and my shoulders sink in relief. This is the end of my time here, but not hers. “I hope so.”

  As I sit back on my haunches, Rose grabs my hand and the ache spreads along my arm again, squeezing my heart. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me.”

  “Somebody else is coming. Someone who can help you more than I can.”

  Blue and red lights reflect against the road, shining in the water.

  “Who are you?” she asks.

  With my free hand, I caress her cheek and where I rub a finger across her skin it heats. “A friend.”

  She coughs a laugh. “Thank you, friend.”

  I could lift her from the road, take her to safety myself. Be with her longer. My selfishness propels me to touch her again, in the hope I leave a reminder. I doubt she’ll remember me, and if she does I’ll be a figment hanging around the edge of her memories. But people are here. I need to leave. They’ll ask questions, drag me into her life too soon.

  “Where’s Jamie?” she asks.

  The man. I’ve failed him. I blink away fear over my transgression. “You’re safe now.”

  A door slams, voices carry toward me and I snatch my last chance to touch Rose, to leave more of myself with her. I lightly touch her wet face again, the soft cheek ice-cold beneath my fingertips. The warmth doesn’t come as before. Her cheek grows colder beneath my touch and she winces, shrinking from my hand. I snatch it away, confused.

  Unable to stay next to Rose, I stand and edge into the shadows. The rain pours down my face, my clothes saturated but I barely notice. I fixate on the girl, on the green uniformed men bending over her the way I did. They call to each other in insistent voices and when I see Rose’s arm move, relief rushes in.

  She will live.

  “What the hell did you do?”

  Surprised by the voice, I spin around and look into Cole’s face. The blonde haired man’s perfect features are twisted into disgust. Behind him, Roman stands in the dark, arms crossed. They shelter beneath the canopy of the tree, their dark suits untouched by the weather.

  “It wasn’t her time,” I say.

  “But it was his, and now he’s lost.” Cole gestures at the crumpled car where other emergency crew swarm. “Your Dark friend didn’t want to go back without a soul, so she took his. You’ve condemned him.”

  Should I feel guilt? Fear? Nothing. “I had to save her.”

  Cole scoffs. “Is that what you believe? That you saved her?”

  “She’s alive.”

  “She’s broken.”

  “No, I fixed her body. She can complete her time.” I look down at my hands, at Rose’s blood staining my fingers.

  Cole steps into my space, face close to mine. “The Dark damaged her soul in preparation for taking her, she was halfway. If she’d died, she would have left with the Dark but instead you’ve given life to a demon.”

  I reel, stumble back. “Wrong.”

  “Half-demon,” mutters Roman. “You created an abomination.”

  “I saved her,” I repeat. I did. The girl carried in a stretcher to the rear of the ambulance will live her life. She’s young and I gave her what she deserve. Didn’t I?

  “A demon with healing powers. Nice work, Finn.”

  “Half-demon,” I reply as if it makes a difference. “Which means she isn’t evil.”

  “Don’t you admire his optimism?” says Cole to Roman with a shake of his head.

  “I guess he’s stuck now,” Roman replies.

  “Stupid bastard.”

  I bristle at their talking as if I’m not here. “I did what I felt was right.”

  �
��You’re not here to do what you decide is right or wrong, you’re here to do a job. This is what happens when you guys step out of line!”

  I push both my hands through my damp hair. “Can I fix this?”

  “Oh, yeah. You can fix this and you’re going to.”

  “How?”

  “How do you think? You put things back to how they should be.” I’m about to question him but Cole’s sneer answers me. “You kill her.”

  “We don’t kill!”

  “We don’t bloody resurrect people either! You fix this balls up, or you die.”

  The rain soaks the ground, the earthy smell of the human world overcoming me with Cole’s words. Die.

  What the hell have I done?

  “Why? She’s a good person, I felt it when I touched her.”

  “Was a good person. You idiot. Touch her again and you’ll know what we mean. Even as only a half-demon your touch will kill her,” Roman says.

  I’ve already touched, and I already know. My energy, the power that gave Rose life, will kill her. I stare at the ground, zoning out of the gathering storm around me.

  I’ve saved her, but my life is over.

  ***

  I hover around the edge of Rose’s world, watching her heal in a space of time which shocks the medical staff. There are multiple opportunities to step into the room and take her life but I can’t. I’ve watched people die daily but never killed; the idea goes against everything I believe. Cole could send somebody else to do this but they refuse to be tainted by murder. We can never go back from deliberately taking a life.

  Once, I stood by Rose’s bed as she slept. The urge to touch her wasn’t prompted by a desire to hurt, but to connect again. She’s beautiful, a serenity around her as she rests at odds with the pain and fear the first time we met. I don’t know what Rose is, but she isn’t a demon. Nobody will explain her true nature to me, but she must threaten the balance if there’s a danger to my life for creating her.

  I’m lost. Her soul is damaged and when she dies, Rose won’t be mine anyway. Her death will send her soul to Hell. My mark will never complete and I’ll be stuck in this half-life of my own.

  If Rose lives, she’ll spend an eternity alone too unless there are others like her.

  We’ll always be bonded, but she’ll never be mine.

  More from Lisa Swallow

  Rose’s story continues in Between:

  Alek could kill Rose with a kiss, Finn with a touch. Her connection to the two men threatens them all.

  Rose survived the accident which killed her friend. The problem is the life she returns to scares her more than the night she almost died.

  When Alek and Finn enter her world, Rose discovers the after-effects of the accident are worse than she thought. The slow recovery and fogged nightmares aren’t the only changes she needs to cope with.

  Rose has an immediate and intense attraction to arrogant housemate Alek. This confuses her as much as the chilling effect of her mysterious work colleague, Finn.

  Alek has lived years closed off from people. He didn’t expect someone like Rose to come into his life and challenge the reality he grips onto.

  If Finn doesn’t fix the mistake he made, his life is in danger. His desire to help and protect Rose makes his task difficult, especially when she’s the mistake he needs to fix.

  This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

  More details, including buy links, here: http://lisaswallow.net/the-dark-intent-series/

  Find me here:

  Website: http://lisaswallow.net/

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisaswallowbooks

  Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lisa_swallow_au

  Lust At First Sight

  Moonlight Prequel

  By Katie Salidas

  Copyright © 2015 by Katie Salidas

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Characters in this short story belong to the Immortalis Series created by Katie Salidas.

  Fallon

  Fallon’s new friend Zuri, a Boston native and vampire, had brought everyone out to an awesome pub in downtown Boston. Or, at least Fallon thought that was where they were. Honestly she had no clue. She’d never been out of Vegas before and suddenly found herself in the coldest place in the world. Whoever said the east coast was great, lied. Fallon would take the desert any day. But, freezing fingers and toes aside, she really dug the vibe this place had. It was totally rockin’.

  Word was this little indie place was where lots of local bands begin their career. And that was right up Fallon’s alley, being a former Copioh-goer. Open mic night had always been a regular thing there and had always an adventure—not always a good one, but definitely an adventure.

  The Theater, that’s what the place was called, looked pretty nondescript from the front, just a red brick building attached to other storefronts in the small strip along the street, but inside it was wall to wall people.

  The group snagged a booth near the bar but close enough to the stage to enjoy the show. Alyssa, Fallon’s best buddy of twenty-five years and vampire for the last 6 months, scooted into the seat next to her, while her super-hot two-thousand year old (but could still get carded at the bar) boyfriend, Lysander took a spot across.

  Zuri seemed to know everyone. The mocha-skinned vampire waved to almost everyone around as if she’d been friends with them for years. She even got immediate table service and had drinks on hand before the band on stage had even begun their sound checks.

  “This place is my home. You newbie vamps remember the rules. No feeding on the premises,” Zuri warned.

  “Scouts honor,” Alyssa giggled.

  Fallon just sipped her Long Island and laughed at the absurdity of the whole vampire situation. She’d never admit it out loud, but the whole blood thing was a bit...ewww. They’d offered her the life and she had politely declined. Not. Her. Thing. She’d stay human, thank you very much.

  The first band had just finished sound checks when two of Zuri’s other roommates showed up.

  “The twins are here!” She pointed to them as they walked through the front door. “And F.Y.I. not all of my housemates are vamps.”

  “Wolves?” Fallon asked.

  “Yeah. How’d ya guess?” Zuri looked both shocked and amazed that the only human in the group would have guessed right.

  “Seemed the next logical leap. Isn’t that a bit weird?” Fallon asked. “I mean, I had only just learned vampires were real. Just assuming werewolves isn’t like a racial thing is it?”

  “Well, what are wolves if not our cousins, right?” Zuri said. “Supes are in the minority, so it’s best we work together to keep the peace. Aiden and Brady are from the local pack.”

  Fallon glanced over to them as they headed in our direction... Damn!!

  While not identical, they were both equally impressive in stature. Aiden stood taller than his brother. He was well built and muscular. The skin-tight tee-shirt he wore left nothing to the imagination; however, his baggy carpenter jeans did.

  “Where do I get tickets to the gun show?” Fallon whispered under her breath, as she zeroed in on Aiden’s massive arms.

  He did have a nice pair of cannons, but they were nothing compared to his mysterious eyes—black as pitch and framed by just enough brow to draw in your attention
and keep you there. It was working. Fallon was transfixed. She’d almost forgotten her friends, Alyssa and Lysander, were sitting next to her. Alyssa elbowed her in the arm and cleared her throat as a reminder. Fallon turned and grinned sheepishly.

  “These your friends, Zuri?” Aiden asked, in a sexy bass voice. Even over the music, his words were loud and clear.

  Fallon stared up at him with interest, knowing right off the bat that he wasn’t a vampire. No pale skin there, his was sun kissed and... perfect.

  After a silent exchange between them, Fallon felt a little silly. She probably looked like a gawking idiot. She was, practically drooling at his wide, masculine jaw. And the curves and ripples of his muscles. That shirt really didn’t leave anything to the imagination!

  She mentally shook herself and turned to Brady. He was a hair shorter, but equally built. And just like his brother, he chose clingy clothes that accentuated his physique. Unlike Aiden, though, with his pitch black eyes and hair to match, Brady’s hair was a dirty blond and his eyes a chocolate brown. She could see the family resemblance, though, in their long and sharply pointed noses.

  She nearly knocked over her beer to introduce herself when no one else did. “I’m Fallon.” She held a hand out to Aiden.

  Aiden turned and regarded her silently for a moment before taking the offered hand.

  She lost it. All composure. It was like she had never seen a man before. Fallon just stood there, voiceless, beaming like an idiot.

  “It’s not often I find a human among vampires. Very nice to meet you.” He took in a slow breath and closed his eyes as he held her hand to his lips. His mouth quirked into a smile as if he were secretly making a special note of her scent, and then he planted a kiss on her knuckles.

  Her knees just about gave out. Fallon thought she was going to drop right there on the floor.

  Her heart beat so fast and loud she could hear it over the band.

  “You travel with these vampires?” Aiden asked, his deep voice carrying well over the din of the bar. That one question brought her out of the raging hormone induced stupor.

  “Yeah. Alyssa has been my best bud since we were kids.” Fallon was beginning to get sick of people asking her about her vampire friends. Yes, it was an oddity for a human to hang out with any supernatural creature, let alone a vampire, but still, Aiden was a wolf, why would he find it strange?