A Crown of Blood and Bone: Paranormal Romance (The Shadow Walkers Saga Book 1)

by Sloane Murphy

  "Buckle up, Angel girl. Donuts are calling to me!"

  We pull up onto my dad’s drive and I groan, I might have just shoveled my way through three raspberry glazed donuts, and I'm not even a little guilty about it, but my stomach now feels so bloated that I feel like I need to unbutton my jeans.

  "I told you that you shouldn't have eaten that last one," Creek gloats and I just give him the bird.

  "You don't get to donut shame me. I needed them. Every single one." He laughs and shakes his head at me, before his face turns serious.

  "How is your head? Has anything filtered through yet?" he asks, almost eagerly, and I hate to disappoint him, but I shake my head regardless.

  "Other than the itching on the back of my neck, I don't feel any different at all really." I shrug, unsure if this is a bad thing or not.

  "Let me see your neck?" he asks, so I unbuckle as we pull to a stop, and turn in the seat, lifting my hair off the back of my neck and he gasps.

  "Holy shit, Remy. You're marked by Leviathan." he says, the awe in his voice startles me. "Your Angel mark is bigger than usual, it goes down under your top, but sits above the Hunters usual marking, is Leviathan’s sigil. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that's who blessed you and holy shit."

  "Who the hell is Leviathan?" I ask, dropping my hair back into place.

  "We should go inside, your dad will know more than I do," he says before jumping out of the truck, and grabbing the boxes of donuts from the back seat. I sigh, because that isn't what I wanted to hear, and I'm sure that when my memories come back, I'll know who the bloody hell Leviathan is, but for now I'm clueless. Climbing out of the truck, I try not to itch the back of my neck, which has started to descend over my shoulder. Shaking it off, I close the door and follow Creek into the house, where I can already hear voices from out here.

  Oh, the wonders of Hunter hearing. I try to shut it out, I don't need to hear all the voices, but it makes a lot more sense now why my parents brought this place, it’s so secluded there's no other houses within miles, so no extra voices to filter out.

  I pull my jacket tighter as I head inside and Colt meets me at the door with a stupid grin on his face.

  "Hey little sister. Welcome to clan for reals."

  "You're such a goofball, Colt." I push him out of the way and he laughs again.

  "Yeah but you wouldn't change me for the world!" his voice follows me as I walk through the house back to the kitchen where I know everyone else will be congregated. It's been the same way for as long as I can remember.

  I enter the room and it goes quiet, except for the sound of Colt still laughing as he walks up behind me.

  "So, that was fun," I say with a shrug and take off my jacket, the temperature inside here is hot as hell. I look around the room and take a seat at the table, grabbing another donut ignoring the fact that I'm going to practically burst. Emotional eating is a real thing.

  "Remy," my dad starts but Maddie interrupts him.

  "Now then, her memories won't be back fully for the next few days, so no questions, from any of you." She pins everyone with a look that says not to give her shit and Nate laughs next to her.

  "My wife, bad ass, mother extraordinaire, and layer down of the law." He takes a sip from the mug in his hand, his eyes still dancing with laughter.

  "Don't you start," she rolls her eyes at him, but the rest of the room murmurs in agreement.

  "Remy is marked by Leviathan," Creek drops and all eyes shoot to him, before turning to me.

  "Leviathan? That isn't possible," my dad says as Bauer leaves the room, and I hear him walk upstairs, obviously going up to the library, because as much as my eldest brother loves cars, he is also a total book nerd. "Remy, will you show us your mark?"

  "Sure, I just showed Creek. I don't understand what the big deal is though?" I stand and turn my back to them, pulling my hair up.

  "Erm, Remy, it’s still growing," Creek says and I hear Maddie shush him.

  "Growing?" I ask warily.

  "Yes sweetheart," Maddie says softly, closer to me than I thought. "I've never seen anything like it, but it’s beautiful. The back of your neck, and from what I can tell, its growing across your shoulder."

  She pulls the back of my t-shirt from my neck and hums. "Just as I thought. Your Hunter mark is there, in the middle at the base of your neck, but it is surrounded by the mark of Leviathan, and then something extra that I don't recognize. It’s like roots, or vines, with bursts of color and symbols. I imagine Bauer will want to start looking into this straight away.”

  "Will I not just remember what it means?" I ask, puzzled. "Not necessarily," Bauer says as he reenters the room with a book bound in brown leather, that looks older than anything I've ever seen. He sits across from me at the table and opens the book.

  "This is the mark of the Hunter," he says showing me an image on a page surrounded by text that I only half recognize.

  "Is that Latin?" I ask and he nods.

  "It is the old language," my dad says from across the room.

  "Once your memories return, you'll be able to read it, write it, and speak it as well as the rest of us. And anything that's missing, Bauer can help you with," Nate says reassuringly.

  "Okay. Can I see that?" I ask Bauer who nods and spins the book so I can look at the image. It looks so strange, and yet at the same time, so familiar. A circle, wrapped in vines, and a sword through the middle, the hilt above the circle, as if the sword is piercing it.

  "Every Hunter has one," Bauer says and lifts his arm to show me his on his wrist, surrounded by tattoos so that its almost hidden. "We tend to disguise them when they're in an obvious place, so it’s not just like a beacon to the other factions. They appear in different places in each life, but your old mark will be represented by a constellation, which people just assume are weird birthmarks, just as you always have. The more marks, the more respect a Hunter is given in the community. Unless they have been cast out as rogues for whatever reason."

  "We can be cast out?" I ask, my head whipping to my dad, Nate and Maddie. Creek and Colt are unusually quiet, but then, they've always been the most in tune with me, so I guess they're trying to give me the space Maddie called for.

  "We can," Nate says. "It is unusual though. If a Hunter breaks our laws, depending on the crime, there are two punishments. Banishment, which is being cast out of the community, or death. Upon rebirth, if killed, Hunters are usually not given the choice again until they have cycled at least twice as a human as part of their punishment."

  "Holy shit," I say, wide eyed. "Nice of you all to have left out these wonderful snippets of information until there's no turning back."

  "Remy, you have never been cast out, or killed for breaking laws," my dad says and Nate looks at him. I can't read it, but it’s as if I'm missing something, a silent conversation between them. My dad shakes his head subtly and I tuck that away, because I'm missing something, maybe my memories will reveal the full truth. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

  "What exactly are the laws?" I look back to Bauer who is scanning the book again. "And is there a picture of Leviathan’s mark in there, or am I going to have to do a weird mirror jig later?"

  "I'll find you a picture of Leviathans mark," he tells me, "but your mark is more than just that, hence the book. As for our laws, there are a lot, most will likely come back to you but the most important ones are do not betray your faction, do not allow humans to become aware of any faction, and under no circumstances, no mixing of the factions."

  "No mixing of the factions? What the..?"

  "There have been Hunters in our history who thought the monsters were more than the filth that they are," my dad says with disgust. "They thought they could be saved, that they were not so different to us. Fools."

  "Oooohhhhh." My dad’s disgust is matched on every face before me. I guess it’s because I don't have my memories, but I don't get it. Love is love, right? But I think I'll be keeping those thoughts to myself;
I don’t think this is the crowd for it. And who knows, maybe I'll change my mind once the memories come back.

  "Exactly. But for now, try not to worry about all of this. You just need to focus on staying rested and letting the memories come back to you."

  "Well, actually, I was thinking we could have some fun, see how much is back subconsciously," Colt says with a devilish glint in his eye. "Throwing competition anybody?"

  Nate and my dad laugh as Bauer and Creek roll their eyes.

  "Really, Colt? You just don't want Remy to beat you," Maddie sighs with a smile.

  "Hey, I'll take what I can get for as long as I can. I'm all about playing the odds to my advantage."

  "What do you mean, throwing competition?"

  "Knife throwing," Creek informs me with a grin. "It might be a stupid competition, but it’s fun as shit. Plus, you used to kick everyone’s ass, almost every time, so it might be nice, treat you to some humility incase everything comes back before you need to hone your skills."

  "Is this a good idea? I've never thrown knives in my life, and if my skills of throwing so much as a ball are anything to go by, this could be dangerous."

  "You'll be fine, we're Hunters. We're made of tougher stuff," Colt says cockily.

  "Or at least we heal quickly," Creek says with a shrug. "Why not?" Nate shrugs and my dad shakes his head. "Fine, come on. Let’s get the targets set up. Colt, your idea, your responsibility, so you get to help me and Nate haul everything out of the shed." He strides across the room, giving me a small smile, and heads out the back door into the back yard, with Nate, Colt and Creek in tow.

  "Men, I will never understand. No matter how many lives I live. Their incessant need to compete for everything never changes," Maddie says sitting next to me. "How are you doing?"

  "I'm okay, I think. I'm a little freaked about the weird blessing, and my freakazoid mark that's apparently growing, but otherwise, I'm okay. I mean, I'm sure there's going to be a point where I have a complete melt down, but that's future Remy's problem. For right now, I'm dealing."

  "I'm glad to hear it sweetheart. I know none of this is easy, but I must remind you that you can't say a word to Nirvana," she urges.

  "I know, I would never endanger her. She's going through enough as it is, she doesn't need any of this on top of it even if she could know." I smile at her and she returns it.

  "She told you?" she asks, and I nod. "It figures, she's always seen you as a big sister more than anything else. I'm glad she has you to confide in. And I'm glad you'll be there when it’s her turn for all of this."

  "Me too, I can't imagine going through all of this with no one around to answer questions, and just stop my general freak outs. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for Bauer."

  "There is a reason that boy always has his nose in a book when he's not hunting." she says with a sad smile. "Your mom was great with him though. Your dad and Nate, they can be a little draconian with their methods, so be thankful its Bauer training you. In the lives where you were the only child, yours and your father’s arguments when training are almost legendary. Your mom would lose her mind."

  "I'm looking forward to remembering," I sigh wistfully. It will be nice to have all these memories that everyone else already seems to have.

  "Just remember, you might not remember everything. It is rare for a Hunter to regain all of their memories. I've only heard of it happening once in all of our history, so there might be holes, or stories someone has that you have no recollection of. You'll learn to embrace it. It also takes time, so try not to get too frustrated. With as many lives as you've lived, I can tell you, there is always things you'd rather not remember."

  I hug her as shouts carry through to the house from outside. "I guess we better head out there."

  "Oh no, I'm not getting involved, they're all such sore losers. You go, I'm going to whip together some food for lunch, I have a feeling everyone’s going to be hungry after this," she chuckles and shoos me out of the door.

  I cross the grass until I find the four of them about half a mile from the house, with five targets set up, each one further back than the one before it, the fifth one so far back, I can barely see the black dot in the center.

  "This doesn't look impossible at all." I roll my eyes and they all chuckle.

  "It'll be good practice. You can always have a few practice shots at the trees if you want. Seems fair," Colt says cockily.

  "Hand me the stupid knives," I tell him putting my hand out to him. He hands over five blades, I put four of them on the ground at my feet and get a feel for the one left. The weight and balance of it feels so familiar that I hide a smile and watch as each of them takes a turn at the first target.

  Everyone hitting the yellow ring, so close to the black dot, but not quite there.

  I step up to the mark on the ground, and palm the knife until it feels just right. Reaching back, I throw the knife forward, watching in awe as it hits the yellow ring. Not quite where I was aiming for, but for a first go, I'll take it. I whoop and Colt grumbles behind me.

  "Beginner’s luck."

  "Don't be sore, Colt," Nate chuckles as my dad makes a note of who came closest and we get points, one to five depending where we hit. I got two points, having come fourth, with only Creek below me. He gives me a smile that lights up his whole face and I know he's not pissed I beat him. It’s only the first go anyway.

  The second target goes much the same, yellow ring all round, but this time I get third, and Nate grumbles too about stupid girls and beginner’s luck, while I do nothing but smile. Something about this feels so right, like something I've done a million times before. Like this is my thing, when I've never really had a thing other than dancing, and I'm not

  going to lie, it feels kind of epic.

  "This is why you have the Archer’s mark," Creek whispers to me from behind, closer than I'd realized he was standing.

  "I have what?" I ask, not moving away from him, barely any space between my back and his front.

  "The Archers mark. One of your constellations. You've always been an excellent marksman. Your constellations represent parts of you from each life. Colt knows this, I don't know why he always thinks he'll beat you, but every life, he always tries. I just like watching him eat his words." his breath warms my ear and I shiver.

  "Your turn, Creek," Nate says, eyeing us with another look that I can't read. Creek steps away from me and to the mark for the third target and hits the red ring with a shrug. I see my dad and Nate’s knives in the yellow, my dad’s closer than Nate’s, but still no black dot.

  Colt swaggers forward and throws, but his frustration is clear before he releases the knife and builds further when his knife rides the line of red and yellow. "Fuck sake."

  "It's okay, you might still beat me," I goad and he gives me the finger, making me laugh. "It's all just good fun, you big baby. Suck it up."

  I step forward and take the spot he was just in. Taking a deep breath, I focus on the target, filtering out the world around me in a way I didn't think possible. Without thinking too much, I release the knife and wait, holding my breath as it hits its mark. Riding the line of the yellow ring and the black dot.

  "Well hot damn!" My dad whoops, "she's still got it." I clap my hands and grin at his praise while the others just grumble.

  "That’s my girl," he says as I walk past him and gives me a high five. I haven't seen my dad this loose and happy in forever, it’s nice.

  "You showing them how it's done?" Maddie calls out from the back porch, protecting her eyes from the sun.

  "She sure is," Nate shouts back and she laughs. "Lunch is nearly done, so don't take too much longer."

  "Yes, ma'am." Nate tells her with a salute and I laugh as she blows him a kiss. I wonder if my parents would still be as happy as they were if Mom was still alive.

  I watch as they each throw at the fourth target, closer this time than last but I still take top place when I graze the center dot again.

  "Las
t chance, Colt. You're third. Your sister is winning. You think you can take her? There’s only a point in it." My dad goads him light heartedly as Colt steps up to the mark.

  "Shut it old man. I've got this." He rolls his shoulders and stretches out his neck.

  "Get on with it, stop delaying the inevitable," Nate calls out with a laugh. Apparently they don't mind losing as much as my brother does.

  He throws and lets out a yell as his knife hits the center of the target. "Hell fucking yes. Now you can go eat crow old man."

  Nate waves him off and goes to retrieve the knife. "Only fair that we clear the board for everyone on this one."

  The others take their turns none coming as close to the central dot, but not seeming to mind. I step up to the mark and Creek appears behind me again. "You've got this, I've seen you make this hit without even thinking about it more times than I can count. Your mind is remembering, even if you can't tell. Don't think, just let go."

  I take a deep breath and try to focus like I did before, filtering out the noise, letting go of everything, and focusing on nothing but the target, and the weight of the knife in my hand. I line myself up and close my eyes, letting my instincts take over as I release the blade.

  "Holy shit," I hear Colt say before I open my eyes and see my knife, embedded deep in the target, dead center.

  "Woooooooo!" I cry out and Creek laughs, lifting me up and spinning me around.

  "I knew you could do it," he says as he puts me back down and Colt groans.

  "Come on, this is so unfair!" he whines and I can't help but laugh.

  "Better luck next time? It was only one point, who knows, maybe it was a fluke." I wink at him and my dad and Nate laugh.

  "Something like that," my dad says shaking his head. "Colt, get this shit packed up, we'll meet you inside."

  "Come on, man. I'll help you," Creek says to him as I head inside with my dad and Nate, to find a grinning Maddie flitting around the kitchen, laying the table, humming to herself.

  "You show them how it’s done?" she asks when she turns and sees us.

  "You know she did." Nate says with a wide smile. "Colt was pissed as ever. Poor guy, you'd think after this many years, he'd have accepted it."