The Progeny (The Progeny Series)

by Laynne, Ashlynne

  “Spit it out, Ascher. Tell her, or I will!” Ursula growled then flicked the shades away from her face. Her crimson eyes glowed at Shauna with a demon's light.

  Terror set in, worse than any horror movie Shauna had ever seen, more ghastly than any monster a mind could conjure. Shauna clutched her chest, stepping away from both of them. “Her eyes! Ascher, what’s wrong with her eyes?”

  The stranger giggled and continued piercing her demonized stare into Shauna.

  * * * *

  Ascher struggled to control his mounting rage. Not only was Ursula ruining his chances with Shauna, but her stupidity might expose them. Clutching Shauna closer, he asked, “Do you trust me?”

  The floor vibrated beneath their feet. Shauna’s eyes became cold, the glare of distrust swimming in them. “No, I don’t! Why are you so nervous?”

  “You left Katy alone. You should go back up with her. I’ll be up there in a little while. Okay?”

  “No! I’m not going anywhere. I want to know who she is, right now, Ascher!”

  “Please, Shauna.” He huffed with impatience. “Just do it!”

  Shauna shouted, “No,” intent on standing her ground.

  “For cryin’ out loud,” Ursula groaned.

  “I warned you, Ursula.” Every part of him longed to rip her to shreds. She had nerve.

  “You don’t warn me. Looks like you’ve been keeping a lot from her. Afraid she might not want you if she knows about the real you?”

  Ascher’s lips strained against clenched teeth and pulsing fangs, begging to curl up and release a menacing snarl. Control. He needed to stay in control. Push the anger back down and stem the raging desire to lash out.

  Ursula’s red eyes narrowed, taunting him, daring him to expose himself. He was strong in his gifts, but rage made her stronger and helped fight off his subliminals.

  Ursula cackled. “That won’t work, dearest. It’s time she knows the truth.”

  “Dearest?” Shauna curled her hands into tight fists.

  Ascher reached for her, but she moved away. “Don’t touch me!”

  “Ursula, doing this won’t change things between us,” he uttered, knowing she’d never listen to reason.

  “She still deserves the truth, Ascher.”

  Ascher knew that Ursula wasn’t interested in Shauna knowing the truth. She wasn’t interested in Shauna’s feelings at all. She only wanted revenge for what she considered a threat to her happiness. “Ursula, please don’t do this.” He couldn’t believe he was begging her for anything.

  Ignoring his pleading, she continued. “My name is Ursula. Ascher and I are to seal in two days.”

  Shauna drew in a staggered breath. “Seal, as in marriage?”

  Ascher sighed. The truth he’d dreaded was finally out.

  “Is this true?” Shauna demanded.

  “Damn it.” His head dropped in shame. “Yes, but…”

  “So she is your fiancée?” Shauna paced the room, clutching her head, repeating the phrase, “Oh my God.” Coming to a stop by the window, she said, “And let me guess, she’s the first.”

  “Shauna, I can explain.”

  * * * *

  Clutching her head with both hands, Shauna screamed, “No!” The windows cracked as she ran towards the door, fresh tears flooding her face.

  Ascher grabbed for her—missing.

  “No!” The ceiling rumbled, water raining down from the sprinklers. Shauna pointed towards the door. “Move!” At her command, it flew open, nearly ripping off its hinges.

  Ascher appeared in front of her.

  She scowled. “Go away!” An unseen force removed him from her path. Turning, she backed away from both of them, her eyes fixated on the two. Her finger twirled and pointed at each of them. “Stay!”

  “I hope you’re happy now!” Ascher seethed at Ursula then sprinted after Shauna, catching her before she hit the stairs. He clutched her to him. “Shauna. Baby, please. Just let me explain.”

  A strange burn started in her legs. What’s happening to me? She’d had rage issues all her life, never anything like this. Her clear eyesight blurred gray. The hall she’d seen for three months and knew like the back of her hand, became an unfamiliar maze veiled by her fuzzy vision.

  Taking a stumbling step, she regained her balance against the wall. “I told you how important honesty was to me, and you’ve kept this from me the whole time. You told me she was nobody—that it was only physical curiosity. It doesn’t look that way to me. She talks like she owns you. You said that was over. How were you going to cover up getting married to someone else?”

  “I wasn’t. Please, just listen to me—”

  Shauna shook her head. “I’ve listened enough, and I can’t trust you. Without trust, we have nothing. All you’ve done is feed me lies. You’re a liar! I despise liars! I can’t believe I was going to sleep with you, allow you to be my first.” She gripped her stomach and doubled over as the nausea crept from her depths. “I’m going to be sick.”

  He reached for her again.

  “Don’t touch me!” Every ounce of restraint left her body, and chaos flooded her brain. She wanted to lash out. No, she needed to lash out.

  “Shauna, just let me take you home. I promise I’ll explain things to you.”

  “What part of I don’t want to hear your lies don’t you understand?” Pushing her hands away from her body, toward him, she barked, “Back!” He flew back and against the wall. “I don’t want to hear anymore lies!” She sobbed into her hands. “I hate you. I wish I’d never met you!”

  Pain and disbelief creased his face. “Shauna? You don’t mean that. You’re just upset. Let’s talk things through.”

  “There’s nothing left to say, Ascher. Just leave me alone. I never want to see you again.”

  “Shauna, I love you. Please. You don’t—”

  “Oh, yes I do. I mean it and I quit! I can’t work here anymore.” She ran out the emergency exit, setting off the door alarm, sprinting into the night.

  * * * *

  Sheridan, Massachusetts

  The bright sun streamed into Shauna’s bedroom window. Shielding her swollen eyes, she mustered enough strength to sit on the side of the bed. She’d sequestered herself in her apartment for a week. Most of the time she cried. Some of the time she sat catatonic, staring at her four walls.

  Ascher called at least ten times a day.

  He should just stop calling.

  He claimed his heart was breaking.

  His, wasn’t the only broken heart.

  He pleaded with her to see him.

  Hell would freeze over…

  He said he’d explain everything.

  Like she’d allow him to, or believe a word…

  Her favorite game show was on, and she argued with the TV about the price of a motor bike. “Twenty five hundred—you idiots. That bike is twenty five hundred dollars,” Shauna grumbled.

  She smirked as the last contestant spoke—an older woman who she was sure might have a heart attack riding the thing.

  “Twenty-five hundred.”

  A larger smile came when the contestant won her five hundred dollars for having an exact bid. Game shows weren’t a lot of fun when you knew the answers. It was fun to watch the look of surprise on a person’s face when words, they didn’t plan on saying, came flying out their mouth.

  She made her way to the bathroom and groaned at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was tangled and matted, her complexion blotchy from stress and neglect. The dark circles under her eyes made her look forty-one, instead of twenty-one.

  Shuffling down the hall to her kitchen, she looked through her fridge, checking to see if anything had survived her weeklong hiatus from the outside world. Her phone rang. She picked it up, saw that it was him then carelessly chucked it on the table. Give up already. I don’t care what your excuse is. It doesn’t matter. You lied to me, and I can’t forgive you.

  She sniffed a bunch of green grapes and found that they smelled okay.
She bit off a tiny piece and chewed it, scrutinizing the flavor. Sitting at her tiny table, she ate the grapes and continued to watch television. After eating the whole bunch, she decided to clean her apartment. To rid it of him.

  She’d slept in their almost sexed sheets for days. At first, his scent was comforting. She’d pushed her face to the ambrosia-like scent with pleasure and thought about that night. The more she snuggled her nose into those sheets, the worse she felt. Finally, on day three she stripped the bed to forget his smell.

  The nights were no better. When the town quieted, her four walls closed in. The nightmares were worse. She still dreamed of demons, fire, and magic. Now there was a new star in her dreams. That woman and her red eyes frequently made guest appearances. Nobody has eyes like that. Why wasn’t he concerned about that woman’s glowing red gaze? He didn’t even bat an eye.

  A clean body changed her whole demeanor. She’d told her professors that she had a family emergency to explain her absence. It was time to resume her life, so Shauna decided to go to class.

  After preparing her makeup and dressing, she grabbed her backpack and dashed out of her apartment while squinting at the bright sun. Her first day back at school was less painful than she imagined it would be. None of the students gave her a second glance. Nothing was worse than going through a crisis and having everyone treat you awkwardly. Avoiding Ascher was priority one. She took the long way to all of her classes and was successful in avoiding him the entire day.

  She gave the library a cursory glance when she arrived, hoping to avoid a confrontation with him. Sitting at a table in the back, near the librarian, she allowed her body to slump down in the seat. She listened to her playlist while solving some harder equations. Ascher was a liar, but he was an exceptional tutor. With his help, she’d brought her D average up to a high C—only two points from a B average.

  As the singer crooned about her broken heart, Shauna thought about hers. How could someone so handsome be so bad? His stunning blue eyes had been the most devious keepers of deception and lies.

  * * * *

  Ascher followed her to the library. He’d come there every day and was surprised to finally see her. Only concerned with her well-being, he stood in the aisle of poetry books to watch her. Seeing her made his heart thump with excitement and pain with misery. He didn’t know how to erase the pain he'd caused.

  Now he just wanted to fix it, but feared it was too late.

  Closing his eyes, he attempted to channel her. He’d been, for the most part, unsuccessful at reaching her. The two times he’d accessed her mind, it gave him nosebleeds.

  Now her face was calm, her temperament more even. That same cluster of memories remained guarded. His key keeper status didn’t seem to make much of a difference. She was solving complex equations and doing a great job. She sighed, before her mind rattled off a long string of thoughts. Maybe you should just go out with someone else. You fell in love with him and he was all wrong. Maybe he was just a warm up. There are plenty of nice guys around here—just pick one.

  Ascher felt something he’d never felt before—jealousy. The need to rip the throat from any man daring to lay a finger on her suddenly surfaced. His face burned with anger and a growl slipped through his teeth.

  Shauna’s eyes scanned the room. Ian Cosgrove is cute enough and smart, too. He’s been checking you out all year. Maybe you should ask him out. The best way to get over Ascher is to move on with your life. She sighed and continued to solve for “q.” Her eyes swept the library again. Hmmm, Declan MacGruder is definitely hot; he has that Irish accent and those gorgeous green eyes.

  Ascher saw his face flit across her mind, before it shut completely down.

  He hissed and cursed under his breath—in French and English—then tore from the library. It hit him hard. He was in real danger of losing her. Permanently. He needed to get her back. It didn’t appear that he had a month to give her space and he might not even have a week, judging from her thoughts. Growling under his breath, he knew he deserved her distrust and anger as punishment for the lies. The possibility that he might lose her was his own fault.

  * * * *

  Ascher slumped into the sofa, watching his brothers drink cocktails and converse about inconsequential things. Shauna’s thoughts continued through his head, burning his brain with their vile intent.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Quinn teased.

  “What is it?” Tristan questioned, sitting beside his perplexed brother. “Are you okay?”

  Too angry and upset to speak, Ascher sat perfectly still, his eyes downcast with his heart splintered into a million pieces.

  Quinn and Tristan stared warily at him. His brothers were drinking Bloody Rousseaus—their take on a traditional Bloody Mary, the tomato juice replaced with blood from the blood bank.

  “Would you like a Bloody Rousseau?” Quinn questioned.

  Ascher nodded.

  Tristan’s eyes widened. “Now I know something is wrong. You never drink with us. What gives, Ash?”

  “I just left the library. Shauna was there.”

  “Did you two make up?” Quinn pried.

  Ascher shook his head.

  “What happened?” Quinn asked.

  “I read her mind.” Ascher paused to take a sip. It wasn’t the best he’d ever tasted, but it wasn’t the worst. The blood was off—definitely not a trinity. A strange burn started in his throat as he gulped the drink down.

  “Easy now,” Tristan warned, watching his brother down the drink and hand Quinn the glass for another. “What happened with Shauna?”

  “She was thinking about all of her suitable options.” Ascher’s face frowned as her thoughts filled his head again. “I thought she’d strip naked and do the first guy who glanced her way.” He paused, aware that he was being unfair and exaggerating to mask his pain. Only a week removed and she seemed ready to move on. Was it so easy to replace him? He missed her every day and mourned the loss of their closeness. He was in love with her, which made her gawking at other men excruciating to witness.

  Quinn chuckled. “I don’t believe that. She’s nuts for you.”

  “I’m exaggerating,” Ascher confessed, before taking a heaping gulp to dull his pain. “She was only checking out her prospects.”

  Tristan glanced at Ascher like one of his patients—head leaned forward, eyes focused and voice calm. “Shauna is a lot of things, but she’s not fickle. She’s a twenty-one year old virgin.” As was his habit, he put a psychiatric spin on every situation. “That is a rarity in this society. I don’t believe she would want to go to bed with you and then just start up with another guy so soon. She’s hurting right now, so give her some time to heal. Trust me, she loves you, Ash.”

  Ascher took another swig and sunk deeper into the couch. The vodka was taking effect. “I don’t know guys. Her mind seemed certain that she’s ready to move on.”

  “They never fully commit to a position,” Tristan reminded him. “Tomorrow she may feel completely different about things. Have you called her?”

  “Every day,” Ascher spoke then burped.

  His brothers laughed.

  “I always get her voicemail. I understand why she’s angry.” He spoke in a slurred, irregular pattern. “But she won’t even give me the chance to explain myself. You know I had my reasons for not telling the truth.”

  “This is why a relationship with a human is not ideal,” Quinn advised. “It’s too late to think about that now.”

  “It’s not impossible, but it is difficult. Until you reveal your truth, you have to walk a fine line, and you can’t reveal yourself until you quicken. Until then, you can’t be completely sure about her,” Tristan added.

  “I know.”

  “Give her some space and have patience. She’ll let you know when she’s ready,” Tristan spoke with an eerie certainty.

  Too drunk to question him further, Ascher stood to leave. His head whirled with his blurring, doubled vision, while his stomach flipp
ed. Glancing at his brothers’ smirking faces, Ascher clutched the wall, mentally begging the room to cease its spinning. His eyes rolled in his head. “Guys, I don’t feel very good.”

  Quinn and Tristan chuckled.

  “Seriously guys, am I supposed to feel like I’m on a roller coaster?”

  They howled with more laughter.

  “You consumed quite a bit of vodka for your first time,” Tristan continued to speak in his Dr. Rousseau voice.

  “Dude, you’re jacked the fuck up!” Quinn teased.

  Tristan shoved Quinn’s shoulder and asked, “Do you need help getting up the stairs?”

  “No.” Ascher’s head clouded with a dizzy confusion. That was the last thing he remembered.

  * * * *

  Shauna sat with Aggie under an old sycamore tree in the middle of Langley Forest, a book of incantations lying between them. The day was warm and breezy—the perfect day to cast a few spring spells.

  The first week after the break up was hard on Shauna. Thank god for Aggie. Besides being an unbelievably caring soul, she’d been like a personal assistant. Too depressed and broken to communicate with the outside world, Aggie ran Shauna’s errands, collected her class assignments, and even managed to provide her with bouts of comic relief. Shauna could definitely see why she was Ascher’s friend. After their meeting in the park, Aggie insisted that Shauna spend time with her learning the craft.

  “I want you to be very still, Shauna,” Aggie warned. “Don’t move a muscle. Breathe in and out of your nose.”

  Shauna closed her eyes and concentrated on evening her thoughts. Her breath slowed until her chest barely moved.

  Aggie chanted the serenity chant, but stopped abruptly. “Now Shauna, you have to concentrate. Try to forget everything but your breathing and chanting.”

  “I’m trying, but I can’t make him go away.”

  Aggie opened her eyes, flashing Shauna a heavy stare of disapproval. “Want to talk about it?”

  “No! I know that being nice to me is hard enough, without me spewing my feelings at you. I won’t talk about him with you Aggie. It isn’t fair.”

  “The sisterhood means more to me than some guy. I get that he’s in love with you. I know that you don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.”