Shattered Illusions
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© 2017 Laura Greenwood
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; lauragreenwood@authorlauragreenwood.co.uk.
Cover Design by: Melody Simmons
Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:
www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk
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Shattered Illusions is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
To Akira, Aspen and Ash, who made me fall a little bit in friend with their author. Now back away from Aspen everyone. He’s mine.
* * *
And of course to Tate, Ayra, Devon and Sian. Creating them together really sealed the deal.
Contents
A Note on Language
Warning
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Broken Illusions
More by Laura Greenwood
About the Author
A Note on Language
Please note that the author of this book is from the UK, and as such, spellings and some turns of phrase will appear in British English.
Warning
Shattered Illusions is a paranormal reverse harem. There are four love interests, and the heroine doesn’t have to choose between them…is this a warning really? Or more like a promise? Hmm…good question, but Ashryn’s still not choosing.
Blurb
Don’t get in the way of me and my sai. At least, not if you’re a vampire. That’s a quick way to end up dead.
My name is Ashryn Barker, and I’m a vampire hunter. One of the best in fact.
I also have a secret. One I can never tell anyone else. When I look someone in the eyes, I can see their deepest secret, the one hidden behind the illusion they show the world.
My name is Ashryn Barker, and I’m here to shatter your illusions.
Chapter One
I spin one of my sai on the tip of my middle finger. Maybe not the best idea, but I know what I’m doing. My training is the best in the world. When I aim for something, I don’t miss. When vampires see me, they tremble at my feet.
I wish.
But they should. I’m one of the best after all. They should be cowering the moment they hear the name Ashryn Barker. Not that they would hear me coming at all.
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating slightly. But I am still one of the best. Though if any vampires actually know my name, then I’m screwed. And not in the fun way. Even if I’d heard that vampires were good in bed. Must be all the biting.
I’m even more screwed if they know about my other gift. Actually, I’m screwed if anyone knows about my gift. Other than exceptional training, and the uncanny ability of keeping the contents of my stomach when I kill something, I’m supposed to be as human as they come. It’s one of the rules of being a hunter. A stupid one if you ask me. Having a couple of shifters about would definitely make life easier.
I’m supposed to be human. Instead, I have the ability to shatter illusions. Sounds grand. But really it’s just kind of annoying. It means I can’t look anyone in the eyes. At least, not without being able to see past the mask they show the world, and into their soul. Not in a life-flashing vision kind of way. More in a just-knowing-stuff way. Like Geoff, one of the other hunters. I know he likes to chat up women half his age. At least he’s fifty, I guess. Makes it just creepy, rather than inappropriate.
With a flick of my wrist, I throw my sai towards the target that’s handily hanging on the wall. I say handily, almost like I wasn’t the one who put it there. But sometimes, a girl’s got to do what she’s got to do. Including throwing knives at the wall. It helps keep my skills up, so no one bats an eyelash, luckily.
Does nothing to help with stake training though. Yet another thing I find completely ludicrous. It’s like they want to be stereotypical. Nothing says vampire hunter like wearing stake holsters or carrying around holy water. And yes, I have to do that too. Thankfully, they draw the line at garlic. But only because it stopped working a century or so ago.
“Ashryn?” Roland’s voice calls out, and I startle. Great going, Ashryn. My reputation as the best is likely under question most days. Because despite being good at what I do, I’m terrible easy to take off guard when I’m not on a job. At least when I am, there’s no way of catching me out. Or not yet, there hasn’t been.
“Yes?”
“The Commander wants you.” He sounds a little nervous to me. Rightly so, too. Roland isn’t exactly a very good vampire hunter. He’s let at least seven of his last ten targets get away. And that’s a lot. My rate was more like one in a hundred getting away, and that was still considered bad. According to the vampire hunter guild, or whatever we called ourselves - no one really knew for some reason - anything less than a hundred percent success was a failure. If you let too many vampires through the net, then they’d toss you out. A euphemism for kill you, I’m pretty sure. I’m not sure how Roland has managed to stick around for so long, but my money’s on him being related to someone big.
“Of course he does,” I mutter, pushing myself up from my chair and sauntering over to where my knife is sticking out of the wall. I pull it out in one swift movement, smirking to myself as Roland flinches. The idiot. If I even want to do anything to him, I could just do it. He wouldn’t know what hit him.
“Erm...he said he wants to see you now.” The nervousness in his voice is cute. Or it would be, if he was six and not twenty-six. So really, it’s just a bit pathetic. There’s a lot of hunters like him. Problem was, once you were in the hunters, you were in for life. No one really knows how they got here either, though my theory is we were sold by our parents. Or maybe not even them. We’re pretty much the unwanted kids of the world. The vampire hunters whatever claims us and makes us do their bidding.
Kill vamps, basically.
I’m not sure how the vampire situation got so bad, but they were like a plague in our city. Almost every street had a nest or coven, and bodies pile up just about daily. Which is what we’re here to try and sort out. Hunters are on call almost every moment of every day. When we’re sent a call to action, we’re supposed to heed it in the same moment. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass to be honest. The amount of times I’ve been caught out while trying to have a life, had reached new heights recently. This just being one example. Least I’d only been playing with knives and not playing with another hunter.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” I finally reply, waving my hand dismissively. He isn’t worth the words it’d take to dismiss him, so I push past him on my way out of the room.
The corridor is deserted, which is a bit weird. Normally it’s teeming with people, all waiting for their next assignment. There’s probably a big raid on or something. That normally clears the place out. Wonder why I wasn’t sent with them? I really should be there.
It doesn’t take me long to reach the Commander’s office, and I knock firmly on the large wooden door. It makes a dull thud. This door is so p
retentious it’s ridiculous. What use has a vampire hunter got for an ornate wooden door? It’s not like anyone can see it, and even those of us who can really don’t care. We’re bad ass enough on our own not to care about a status symbol like a door.
“Enter,” his voice calls out, and I grimace. I’m not looking forward to whatever he says. I slip through the door, and enter the office that is just as decked out as the door itself. There’s red velvet and dark wood everywhere, and some weird bronze statues that actually gleam in the light.
“You wanted to see me?” I ask, purposefully not using his title. This man doesn’t have my respect yet, so no way is he getting any. He has to earn that.
He looks up at me, and surprise, surprise, he’s wearing the damned sunglasses again. He always is when I see him, though I wonder why. He shouldn’t know about my other ability. No one should.
“Miss Baker,” he says with a nod.
“That’s my name,” I mutter to myself. How he got to the top with his insistence to state the obvious is beyond me. A slow smile spreads over his face. Oops. He heard me then. Bugger, that wasn’t part of the plan. “You wanted to see me,” I say louder, hoping he ignores my previous comment. Though I don’t know what he can actually do about it. His precious guild needs me.
“I have an assignment for you.”
Well no shit. And here was me thinking I’m just here to make small talk, but apparently not. The idiot.
“Thank you,” I say through gritted teeth. I never really want to go on assignment. Even if I’m good at it, this isn’t the life I’d have wanted if I’d been given choice. Of course, I’ve been here since I was six, so choice wasn’t something that factored in.
He hands me a sealed envelope and I take it instantly, best not to let him see how reluctant I am. I turn it over and rip across the top , hoping I don’t tear the instructions within. That’d just make me look bad.
“You’re sending me on my own? There’s no stopping the surprise in my voice. The assignment is a big one. A nest of ten vampires, including a higher one. A.k.a an assignment normally carried out by three hunters. I’m good, everyone knows it, but even I doubt I’m that good.
“Can’t you handle it?” He smirks. Damn, he knows he’s got me there.
“Of course I can,” I snap. “Just surprised.”
His smirk widens. Never a good sign if you ask me. No one smiles like that for good things.
“Great. I expect you to be on your way within the hour.”
“Yes, sir,” I reply. An hour is nothing, but I’m used to it. We normally have to be out on assignment quick. Sometimes even faster than that if a vamp is on a rampage.
Chapter Two
The house looks deserted, which is weird. Where are the vampires? They aren’t normally so quiet. And oddly, they don’t normally like the dark. Well they do. But natural night. Sunlight burns them. But they don’t normally like their homes in darkness. There’s almost always candles about at the very least. Or there has been at just about every raid I’ve ever been on, and I’ve been doing this since I was fourteen. Huh. Ten years of vampire hunting. I wonder how many vampires I’ve ended in that time? Probably best not to think about it.
I approach the house slowly, looking around me. Just because I’m good, it doesn’t mean I have to act stupid, and checking for an ambush was definitely a good idea. In fact, it should be a prerequisite for just about any situation.
Seeing nothing, I hasten my pace, an uneasy feeling coming over me. As smoothly as possible, I withdraw one of my sai. Just the one though. I need to keep my other hand free. Opening doors tends to be difficult with a hand full of weapon. Except, I don’t have to open it. It’s already open. Not. Suspicious. At. All.
Even so, I can’t return to the guild without even trying. My options are pretty much kill all the vampires, hope none get away or die trying. If I don’t try, then I’m pretty much dead anyway, so it at least made some sort of sense.
I creep through the door, shivering slightly as I take in the rundown look of the place. It’s everything I expect a haunted house to be. Spider webs everywhere, things falling down, and even the odd gargoyle. This place could be the set for a horror movie. Talk about cliché. I like to think most vampires have better taste than this. I certainly would if I was undead. All that time to develop a style and this is all they can come up with. Typical.
A sharp scream cuts through the air. A very human scream. Shit, not good. Everything I know about how I should be acting right now, flies out of my head at the sound. How could it not, really? Someone is in trouble, my instincts are to help them. Even if that technically breaks the rules of the guild. Yep. Apparently we’re supposed to leave other humans to die if there’s a choice between that and killing vamps. Totally shit if you ask me, most likely the guild has forgotten that we’re human too. That they’re human too.
I skid into an even more depleted room. But this one isn’t deserted. In the middle, there’s a woman tied to a chair, thrashing about and desperate to get free. I run over to her, dropping to my knees without hesitation and sawing through the ropes with my sai.
The woman wriggles free, and I sigh in relief. At least she isn’t too hurt to not be able to do that. I wasn’t all that great at first aid despite all my attempts to learn. Guess I had to be bad at something, and this was it.
“Hold still,” I mumble as I almost manage to cut her. The idiot. Squirming isn’t always the best idea, you know. Stupid humans. I know I shouldn’t say that. I mean, I am a human. But still, I’m not this stupid.
“Or what?” she bites back. Huh, hadn’t expected her to be so sassy. I’m here to save her after all, I don’t want to hurt her or anything.
“Or I’ll accidentally hurt you, I don’t really want to do that,” I point out through tightly clenched teeth. I’m not a people person. Probably should mention that.
“Are you sure?” she asks, and I properly look at her for the first time. She’s blonde. Like proper bottle blonde, with a huge rack. Damn, she’s glamour model worthy, which just makes me feel great with my boyish figure, small breasts and unruly dark red hair. You know, not the type anyone really looks at twice.
But what gets me most about her, is the pair of sharp white fangs that press against her bottom lip. Oh. Not so good. I’m freeing a vampire. That’s stupid to the nth degree. I’m not stupid, so why am I acting it? This is frustrating as hell.
I spring back, pulling out my other sai as I do. Got to be prepared, especially as I have no idea if there’s any more of them about. The paperwork said there were ten, so I’m going to work on the assumption the others are nearby. Probably lying in wait for me to do something idiotic like fall for their trap.
The female vamp lurches towards me, and I raise my sai just in time to block her claws. Well, not claws, fingernails, but I still don’t want to be scratched by them, Lord knows what kind of infection could be underneath them.
Except that’s not right. It’s not how the vampire curse is spread. Works for werewolves, but vampires not so much. I need to keep my lore straighter in my head.
She spins around, throwing her leg out in an attempt to trip me. Well that’s not going to happen. I jump over, narrowly missing being sent sprawling to the floor, and lash out with my left arm.
She’s not quick enough, which is surprising. She should have super speed. And strength. Basically, I should be screwed, and not in the way I like. She’s not really my type for that either though.
“You bitch!” she screeches. Well that’s not very nice, is it?
“Says you,” I mutter to myself, spinning around and catching her on the other arm. She makes a weird keening noise that hurts my ears. Probably to distract me. It almost works too.
The woman swipes at my hand, and to my surprise, manages to knock one of my sai away. Shit. That doesn’t happen to me normally. Come on, Ashryn. You’re better than this. Except that, right now, I really don’t feel like I am. For some reason, I’m really out of it.
I withdraw one of them from the holster around my waist, thankful I didn’t decide against bringing them. Really, I wasn’t allowed not to, but I like to think I have a choice in the things I do. Even if that means lying to myself almost daily. Okay, definitely daily.
I spin the stake around in my hand, showing off in a vain attempt to instill fear into her. Believe it or not, sometimes it actually works as well. And this time is no exception. I see the panic cross in front of her eyes and smile to myself in satisfaction. Yes, she’s mine.
I lunge forward and grab hold of one of her wrists, giving it a tug so she lands smack, bang, against the side of the wall. For the first time, our eyes lock. Kills children for fun. The thoughts flash through my mind as I see her deepest darkest truth. There’s not going to be any guilt killing this one then. I don’t waste any time, and slam the stake straight through her heart, years of practice mean my aim is true, and she crumbles into dust almost instantly.
That’s one thing I’ve always thought about vampires. Their deaths are all so anti-climatic. You’d think after a big fight, there’d be some kind of dramatic death. But no, instead they just go poof. Must be a nightmare for the cleaners.
I holster my stake and dust off my hands, turning so I can go and retrieve my sai. I don’t like not having them on me, it makes me feel naked. More so than when I’m in bed with no clothing, actually. But that could be cause I sleep with them under my pillow. One of the things they teach us at the guild. Vampires could strike at any point in time. Particularly those inclined towards revenge. So, all of them really. They weren’t particularly complicated if you ask me.