by Colleen Vanderlinden
Published by Building Block Studios, LLC
Detroit, Michigan, 2014
© 2014 Colleen Vanderlinden
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the author at [email protected].
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Sneak Peek: Guardian
Letter from the Author
Sneak Peek: Copper Falls
About the Author
Dedication
To Roger.
Love of my life, partner in all things.
Thanks for believing in me.
Prologue
The Story of Aether and Nether
As told to the Fates by Nyx, Darkness Be Her Name
In the beginning there was Chaos, and out of Chaos was born Darkness, and from the Darkness came everything.
Darkness called Herself Nyx. And She brought order to Chaos.
The first thing She made was to become Her most beloved creation.
The first thing She created was Aether. Light. Her son.
After Aether, She created more.
Life.
And, because balance is essential, She created death as well.
She created Nether to balance Aether's light.
And She set to Aether and Nether the task of creating realms to house the beings She would one day bring into existence.
From the moment she saw Aether, Nether was entranced.
He was light in all the ways she was dark;
Good in all the ways she was evil.
And she felt unworthy.
And all of the things she saw in Aether, he saw in her as well:
Someone to shroud him in darkness when the light became too much to bear;
Dark to his light,
Cool to his warmth,
Passionate to his calm.
The other side of himself.
And so, they loved.
And it came to be that the differences that had enamored them so
Began to drive them apart.
Strife found her first breath in them,
As did Misery, Sadness, Rage, and Violence.
And so, they fought.
The heavens thundered with their power,
And the newly-formed realms were set ablaze.
And the stars came to be;
Eternal proof of their passion.
And of their downfall.
When it was over, Aether lay crumbled, broken.
Nether, weakened.
And Nether wept over her lover, begging unforgiving Nyx to save him.
But Nyx could not repair the damage that had been done to Her most beloved creation.
She could not let him go.
And yet, he was beginning to fade.
Death would have its first victim.
Instead, Nyx used her power to keep Her son alive the only way She could:
By turning him into the realm that would be home to Her next creations.
A place of light, beauty, and hope.
She would never hold him again, but She could feel his presence there, and it gave Her peace.
But Nyx is not a forgiving being.
She turned Her wrath on Nether,
And, as punishment for what she'd done to beloved Aether,
Nyx turned Nether into a realm as well;
A realm that would be home to monsters.
It would house evil,
And those who lived there would one day rule the dead.
There they would exist for eternity, alive, imprisoned, their strength powering what would, one day, be the homes of beings so great and cruel and powerful that odes would be written and people would pray their names.
They would watch life pass them by. Until the end of everything.
Because everything must come to an end. Balance demands that it be so.
When it was done, Nyx created the Fates and the Furies to provide guidance and punishment to those who would come after.
And, with Her work done,
With Her heart, Her soul, in mourning,
Nyx slept.
Chapter One
My name is Molly Brooks.
Not many know me by that name.
To them, I'm the Angel.
Superhero.
Goddess.
I can't even think either of those two words with a straight face.
And yet, here I am.
The people of my city are becoming accustomed to seeing me soaring in, wearing my customary black, and punching whoever needs to get punched.
They've seen me freeze troublemakers with a word.
And they believe the spin our government has put out about me.
It helps them sleep better at night.
What they don't know, in general, is that the villains don't listen to me out of fear or respect.
They listen because they can't not listen. Because I have control of their minds and actions, and unless they're mentally strong, they don't have a chance in hell of fighting back.
They don't know that I can steal the abilities of those around me, that I feed off of emotions and power. They don't know that, should I ever lose my mind, there's not a whole lot that can stop me.
Lucky for them, I have no goddamn intention of losing myself. Ever.
I have fought my way back from death. Torture. I have been at the edge of the abyss, and I'm still here.
I have been captive. I have had to fight for myself. I have been bonded to the immortals, possessed by an angry primordial being. And where she was, where Nether lived in my soul, I feel emptiness now.
And I welcome it.
For the first time in my entire life, I am learning exactly what I am. Who I am.
I was a lost girl.
I was a freak.
Widow.
Monster.
Goddess.
Prison.
Hero.
And now I'm figuring out what it means to be me, to live by my own terms, to stop dancing to the tune set by those who came before me.
My life.
And I swear on everything I am that I am going to make it a good one.
That I'm going to be the hero I've always wanted to be.
The woman I want to be.
I am done playing games,
being afraid,
fighting what I am.
This is my life.
And there will be no help for those who try to take it from me.
♦ ♦ ♦
Nain and I walked through the huge arched front door of Assumption Grotto just as the church's bells started ringing. I glanced over at him for about the millionth time since he'd come out of our room that evening.
"Stop gawking at me, woman," he muttered, even as a smile quirked at the corners of his mouth.
"You are wearing the
hell out of that tux, babe," I said, and he laughed. "Damn." He pulled his hand out of mine and put it around my waist, pulled me close. The wedding party was already assembled in the foyer, minus the bride, of course. I glanced around and had to smile. Nain, Brennan, and one of Stone's best friends, a shifter from the Hamtramck pack, all stood there in their tuxes. The bridesmaids were three of Ada's best friends, fellow witches she'd known her entire life. We all greeted one another, and Eunomia walked in with Hephaestus and his girlfriend, Meaghan, who was an Earth-witch as well as the best assistant I'd ever had.
"A dress, Mollis? Will wonders never cease?" E asked, hugging me. I looked down at the pale purple long-sleeved dress I was wearing. Matching heels and everything, which had nearly killed me at least a dozen times. Screw Titans or insane immortals; it was the heels that would be the end of me.
"Ada picked this out. Can you believe she didn't trust my fashion sense?" I asked, and she laughed. We all chatted for a few minutes as guests filed in. A few minutes later, the priest came out of a little side room and smiled at all of us.
"Father Balester," I said respectfully when he came over and shook my hand.
"Angel. It is an absolute pleasure to see you under happier circumstances," he said, smiling.
"Definitely," I agreed.
Father Balester wasn't your average Catholic priest. His flock was not exactly normal, either. Father Balester was one of us.
Supernatural.
The man could turn into a tree. Not even kidding. He was an Earth guardian. His kind were rare, and their job was to try to keep the natural world in some kind of balance. He had his work cut out for him, working in an industrial city like Detroit. But he loved the city, and he'd gone into the priesthood because he could sense that there was a need for someone like him for our kind to turn to.
In the past three weeks, he'd had his hands full presiding over supernatural funerals. Levitt. Chief Jones. Three vampires from Queen Rayna's family. Five shifters from various packs. Two witches and a warlock who were allied with us. Things had been grim, and Ada and Stone had considered calling off the wedding they'd started planning before the world went insane.
As I stood there with my friends, I was even happier they'd decided to go ahead with it. Life was insane, and ours was even crazier. You had to grab happiness the second you had a chance at it, because it could be taken from you at any time. We knew that all too well.
"Shall we head in, then?" Father Balester asked, and the groomsmen all headed up the aisle toward the front of the church, where Stone was already waiting, looking more nervous than I'd ever seen him, his white handlebar mustache impeccably trimmed and combed. I smiled as I watched him pull yet again at the sleeves of his jacket. Nain kissed me before heading in, and Father Balester gave me another small smile. E took my hand, and we walked into the church together, heading for one of the front pews reserved for the bride's and groom's families. I spotted Shanti and Zero sitting with the rest of Rayna's family, and waved at both of them.
One of the pews on the right side of the church could easily have been dubbed the "immortal section." Heph, Athena, my aunt Meg, my mother, my father, Persephone (who had struck up a fast friendship with Ada over witchy stuff after the battle downtown), Asclepias, Apollo, and Artemis were all sitting there, and E and I joined them. I sat between E and Artemis, who had Sean on her lap.
I greeted everyone, then glanced at Sean, who looked pretty dapper in his tiny suit. He was almost a year old, and had just started walking. "Hey, kiddo," I said. My glowing eyes didn't impress him any more the way they had when he was an infant. Too many supernaturals around, all of us with varying colors of glowing, freaky eyes, and I was nothing special.
"This child is a nightmare," Artemis said, a small smile on her face. "I am starting to miss the playpen days."
I smiled. "He's keeping you in shape, old woman," I said, and she smacked my arm lightly, laughing. I glanced at her and her twin brother, Apollo, who was on the other side of her. They both wore their usual clothing; Artemis in her sleek white leather, Apollo in his impeccably-tailored gray suit. They shared the same golden hair, same perfect features, similar to most of the other Aether immortals. I'd gotten to know Apollo more, and while he was generally quiet, he adored his sister and seemed to be getting close to Brennan. Decent enough, for an immortal.
I looked down the row. The immortals weren't here because they were particularly close to the happy couple (though some of them were). They were here for security. Part of the reason we'd even considered holding off on the wedding was because things were still crazy among supernaturals, and a big gathering of our allies all in one place seemed like asking for trouble. Ada and her witch friends and Persephone had worked a whole lot of magic to shield and protect the church and its grounds, and it was unlikely anything that wasn't supposed to be there could get in.
But if they did, they'd have eleven immortals ready to kick their ass. Nothing was going to mess up Stone and Ada's day.
I glanced toward the front of the church to see Nain watching me. I gave him a tiny smile, then the organ music started, and the bridesmaids started making their way down the aisle. I turned with everyone else to watch them, and as I did, I surveyed the room. We were doing a good job working together. It was strange to see demons, immortals, shifters, werewolves, vampires, witches, and warlocks all in one place. It was even stranger to see them sitting, not solely in groups of their own kind, but all mixed up together. The battle for Detroit (as some in the media had started calling it) had brought us together, made us interact with one another in a way we never had.
I turned my attention back to the bridesmaids, and once the final one reached the altar, the music changed, the wedding march started, and everyone rose and turned toward the back of the church.
When Ada walked through, tears came to my eyes. She was radiant, her silver hair intricately braided around her head, her face glowing with happiness. She wore a long cream dress that trailed behind her, lace everywhere. I could see the silver pentacle she always wore, still around her throat. No veil, and I was glad. The look in her eyes, the happiness there, was absolutely breathtaking. She glanced toward me as she made her way up the aisle, and smiled. I smiled back and watched her continue up to the altar.
We all sat, and I dabbed at my eyes.
"I never would have taken you for the type to cry at weddings," E whispered, leaning toward me.
"Shut up," I said. "I'm not crying."
"Of course not," Artemis whispered on my other side, rolling her eyes.
I shushed them both and focused on the group at the front of the church. Father Balester started talking, and my attention went back to my husband.
Damn.
As crazy and sad as the last few weeks had been, between the continued fighting and all of the funerals we'd attended, it had been a happy time for the two of us. We were having that goofy, happy newlywed period we'd never had before. We were all over one another, and it still wasn't enough. Every day I learned something new about him that I loved. And every day, he did at least one thing that made me want to kick his ass.
He's a demon, after all.
I watched him, smiled to myself.
I can't wait to take that off later, I thought at him.
You are insatiable. Quiet, woman.
Though maybe you could keep the tie on.
I watched as he tried to keep a straight face.
You are gonna get it later.
Promise?
His eyes met mine, and I could see that he was trying not to laugh. And then I turned my attention back to Ada and Stone as they started saying their vows.
They were beautiful. That was all I could think as I watched them say their vows and exchange golden bands as if they were the only two people in existence. The way they focused on one another. The love between them was strong, warm. I wiped at my eyes again, and E passed me a tissue, right before she dabbed at her own eyes.
When it ended, everyone
milled around taking photos, and then we all slowly but surely made our way back to the loft for the reception.
The loft was empty of most of our usual furniture, which was sitting in moving trucks down in the garage, waiting for us to move the rest of the stuff out. Nain had found us a quad over on the East Side. Between the four units, there would be enough room for everyone who currently lived at the loft.
I hated that we had to move.
But now that Nether was free, it was just a matter of time before she finished generating a body. And once that happened, she would come after me.
Which meant that she would come after everyone I loved. She'd told me as much, and I had no reason to doubt her. She hated me. And she knew everything I knew from sharing soulspace with me for so long, from sharing my mind and body. She knew who I loved. Where to find those people. Who my friends and allies were and were they lived.
Everyone was moving. Rayna had already relocated her people to a house in Indian Village. We would finish packing once Ada and Stone's reception was over, and then we'd be moving on from the loft, too. But it was the perfect place to host this little get-together, now that the main part was mostly empty. Long tables had been set up, each covered with a white tablecloth, with wooden folding chairs along all of them. The reception, like the wedding, would be fairly small, but we hadn't cut any corners. There was a towering white wedding cake on the kitchen island, where everyone could see it, and the former training floor was now a dance floor. Near that, one of the vampires was setting up his system. Yep, a vampire DJ, one of Rayna's people.
Rayna had brought us plenty of connections. She was a shrewd businesswoman, and it was becoming clear how she made her money. She had several small businesses, including a restaurant and a catering company. So we used them, and even got a discount because she likes us. The vampire servers were setting the food up on a long table along one wall, and I could smell it. I was starving.
Everyone milled around, talking and eating, congratulating the bride and groom. The cake was cut, and then the DJ started doing his thing and we watched Stone and Ada have their first dance. Nain stood beside me, huge hand on my hip, and I could feel his happiness for his two oldest friends.
Nether: Hidden Book Five Page 1