Copyright © 2017 by A.D. Trosper
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by Black Feather
An imprint of Eternal Ink Publishing
Cover Design by Katie Jennings
First Edition: October 2017
This book is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author
ISBN-13: 978-0-9993741-1-5
ISBN-10: 0-9993741-1-7
Thanks go out to my family for all of your support, my beta readers who helped shape this into a better story, my editor for all of her hard work, and my proofreaders who helped hunt down escaped typo gremlins.
Other Books by A.D. Trosper
RAVEN DAUGHTER
Unveiled
Betrayed
Inherited (coming 2018)
BOUND
Bound by Time
Bound by Legend
DRAGON’S CALL
Embers at Galdrilene
Tears of War
Ashes and Spirits
A New Beginning (short prequel)
For Stacy
Chapter 1
I’d left my friends behind without an explanation, without telling them where I was going, without a goodbye, and I’d left them in the company of demonborn at the house of a couple sealed to Caius’s younger sister, Lilly. I carried the guilt of that as I stood in the portal, just as I carried the surety that it was for the best. With my hand clasped firmly in Caius’s, I waited for everything to settle while inside the guilt warred with confusion over the kiss Caius and I shared. It still had me jumbled up.
The portal we came through from the mortal world stopped shimmering. Caius let go of my hand the second we stepped away from it.
We were in another forest, only this one was lush with trees that stood above a low carpet of thick green grass. Warm golden sunlight sparkled off a narrow, crystal clear stream that wound past where we stood. Brightly colored fish darted among rounded rocks under the water while trees that looked like weeping willows dragged their pale-pink leafy fingers across the surface.
Strange bird calls filled the air and flowers I had never seen before bloomed along the grassy bank of the stream in a riot of soft colors. So different from the cold snowy landscape we left behind in the mortal world, it looked like a fairytale forest.
I inhaled the sweetly scented air and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”
Taller trees grew beyond the willows, their deep blue leaves rustling in a light breeze. A small deer with tiger-like stripes stepped close to the glittering stream and dipped its nose to the water. I watched, almost holding my breath for fear of scaring it.
The breeze shifted, carrying my scent toward it. The deer raised its head and stared straight at me, water dripping from its muzzle. There was no tension in its body, no fear in its eyes, only curiosity. I got the strangest feeling I could walk right up to it and it wouldn’t run.
Caius, who had already started down the path, paused and looked back at me. “Get a move on, Reaper.”
The deer jerked its gaze in Caius’s direction, snorted in alarm and bounded away, disappearing among the trees in three graceful leaps. I shot a scowl at Caius. “You didn’t have to scare it.”
“We aren’t here to sightsee and this isn’t a zoo. The Between is a wild place, it’s best you remember that.” He turned without another word and began walking.
I followed him, trying to take in the unfamiliar trees with their pale, almost shiny, smooth bark, perfectly straight branches, and long narrow blue leaves. Caius moved fast enough I couldn’t properly appreciate them as I worked to keep up. Wondering what had him in such a hurry I asked, “Do you think they are going to catch up to us that fast?”
“They won’t catch up to us at all. They weren’t physically linked to us. The portal won’t deliver them to the same spot.” He glanced back at me. “My family and your friends aren’t our concern now.”
“Then why the hurry?” The path led over a pile of rounded rocks and I scrambled over them, feeling sweat bead on my face even though the temperature was about as perfect as it could get. The combination of long-sleeved shirt and cloak were going to be too warm here.
“We have a long way to go. The sooner we are done here, the better.”
How far away was our destination? I glanced at his tense shoulders and closed body language and decided I would let him walk off whatever was bothering him before I asked for more details.
I wondered at his distant tone and clipped answers. The kiss had seemed so… but no, he was just trying to stop the firestorm I started. It hadn’t meant anything to him. I’m sure in the many years of his life he had kissed lots of women. Though I was certain of my deduction, it didn’t stop me from feeling something.
It was my first kiss, and what a first it had been. Just the thought of it made me mushy and tingly deep in my gut. What would it be like to have him kiss me like that and mean it?
Caius kept up a brutal pace. Despite the difficulty I had, I actually appreciated it. The hard walk forced me to focus on the trail and navigating the occasional obstruction. It also exhausted me. Both were good things since it kept my mind from wandering to places best left alone.
I doubted he had lingering thoughts over it. He would want someone taller, more elegant. Someone more experienced in all the ways I wasn’t. Someone who wasn’t some weird mix. That’s what I was, a mutt. A Heinz 57. I really needed to stop thinking about it.
After a couple of hours, we stopped to rest next to the stream that continued to follow the path. Its clear water was better than any I’d ever tasted when I gulped it down. I pulled off my black reaper cloak and ripped the sleeves off the snug, long sleeved t-shirt I’d been given at Lilly’s safe house. It was much cooler without them. Caius watched me pull a few loose threads still hanging from the seams and said nothing. In fact, we hadn’t spoken since we entered the forest.
In an effort to ignore him, I focused on the trees surrounding us. A squirrel scampered a short way along a branch before stopping to eat something. Stripes, the same deep blue color as the leaves, ran horizontally down its slim, dark body and bushy tail. It paused and cocked its head at me, nose testing the air. A quick, dashing scamper brought it closer to me. I could see now that its eyes were a lighter blue than the stripes in its sleek fur. I gazed at it, entranced by the colors that were so different from its mortal world counterparts.
A raven glided through the trees and landed not far from the squirrel. The movement sent the strangely colored creature scrambling for cover. I lost sight of the squirrel as its fur quickly blended into the foliage. I turned my attention back to the raven who stared at me with an odd intensity.
The bird made think of my friends and I looked away from it. A twinge of regret for ditching them tugged at me and I ruthlessly squashed it down. It was safer for them this way. They couldn’t keep risking their lives for me.
Even though I was sure of my course of action, I couldn’t help wishing Bethany and James were here. It was certain I didn’t deserve them as friends, but I still wanted them. Hopefully, they would forgive me someday for just disappearing.
When Caius finally stood, I was more than ready to walk again. It was just better if my mind stayed occupied with physical exertion. I started to drape my cloak over my arm before changing my mind and tossing it on the ground.
Caius glanced at it and frow
ned. “Not taking it with you?”
Shrugging, I walked away from where it lay. “I’m done dragging that thing around with me. I have a warrant for my arrest, it’s not like I’m a reaper anymore.”
“You are a Daughter of Morrigan; you will always be a reaper.”
Yay me. Daughter of an angel and Daughter of Morrigan, a mix that was strictly outlawed. And now, thanks to Caius saving my life, I had Archdemon blood flowing in my veins too. And of course, there were the Sentinels who were tasked with capturing me and taking me to my death. Tack on the fact I had been lied to by the people I was supposed to trust, nearly killed by a crazy hidden chamber as well as demonborn and even Caius’s own mother.
Even the people who were supposed to stand with me wouldn’t because I was somehow supposed to bring about the end of something. There was the stupid freaking dagger that I wasn’t even sure would do what we thought it would. Add to that whatever my feelings were for Caius—I hesitated to think too closely on those because it seemed like it would be easier to take his eventual rejection if I never gave the feelings an actual definition—and it was just freaking fabulous to be me.
As my rambling mental rant came to its conclusion, I realized Caius was waiting for me to say something. “Yeah, but it isn’t the cloak that makes me one. That’s what I meant.” I glanced back at the pile of black material. It had felt good to be a part of something. To belong. “I’m nothing but a pawn on a chessboard now and everyone either wants to use me for their own ends or knock me off the board.”
Caius didn’t say anything, just watched me with unreadable eyes. When he started down the trail again, I followed without a backward glance at the item that had once marked me as part of a new family. A slight breeze drifted through the woods, cooling the bare skin of my arms as I walked forward into whatever future awaited me.
He didn’t speak to me the rest of the day and I didn’t try to initiate conversation with him. Walking behind him was both a blessing and curse. A blessing because he couldn’t see me watch the way he moved with almost feline-like grace. A curse because I could watch him all I wanted and it was better if I didn’t. As if I didn’t have enough problems on my plate. Did I really need to add lovesick infatuation to it as well? Especially when it was for someone who didn’t return the feelings, someone I should never enter into a relationship with anyway.
Darkness slowly settled over the forest. Neither of us had any trouble seeing despite that, and for a while, we kept going. I’m not sure how long we continued through the heavy blackness blanketing the forest floor while various strange bird and animal sounds echoed among the trees. At first, I worried about what might be out at night in this forest in the Between, but after a time, even that wasn’t enough to keep my attention. Nothing seemed interested in approaching us—or attacking us.
We hiked for hours in darkness before we finally stopped to rest. Too tired to care much whether or not I might be eaten while I slumbered, I curled up against the trunk of a tree and closed my eyes. Sleep took me almost immediately.
I wandered lost through blood-splattered snow while demonborn stalked me. I shivered though, the snow didn’t feel as cold as I remembered. Maybe because all of my concentration was on keeping silent as I moved past trees whose limbs were weighted with a coating of white that gleamed in the moonlight. I didn’t know if I was searching for something or trying to get away.
The snowy landscape stretched on forever. Always there was blood, bright red and gleaming, staining the thick blanket. I seemed to move in slow motion as I waded through the depths of it that rose above my knees. My breath came heavy from the exertion even as the skin on my face warmed from it. Shouldn’t the frozen air make my face cold? A slight ache in my side made me wonder if I’d been injured. I wanted to check, but was afraid to stop moving. If I paused to rest, even for a moment, they would find me.
An indistinct light glowed in the distance, beckoning me forward from across a wide expanse of snow. Somehow, it seemed safe. If I could only reach that light, I would escape my pursuers. Unwilling to expose myself by crossing directly to it and unable to take the time to consider my best move, I began to circle toward the light, keeping to the cover of the trees.
Though the sheet of snow that spread out between me and the light was unmarred by even a single footprint of any kind, droplets of blood still glimmered on its surface. I watched, horrified, as the blood coalesced, running together, steaming hot in the frigid air as it became a river through the center of the clearing. I stepped back. The snow trembled then melted into the river of red, soaking my feet.
A demonborn landed with a splash in front of me, his eyes wild, fangs in full view.
I jerked awake, my heart pounding. The instinct to be quiet and stay hidden so strong in my mind that I swallowed the gasp that tried to break past my lips. The ache in my side was more pronounced. I quickly felt for a wound only to discover a small tree root under the place I laid. I must have rolled onto it. As the confusion from my sudden waking cleared and the nightmare images faded, I became aware of Caius’s cloak covering me and a small fire dancing happily a few inches off the ground.
Embarrassed a stupid dream could scare me so much, I searched for Caius. He sat on the other side of the fire, his back against a tree trunk. His eyes held mine. I looked away first. Why couldn’t he have been asleep? I hoped I hadn’t done anything stupid like cry out or thrash around. I shifted off the root, buried my face under the cloak, and did my best to find sleep again.
If I dreamed again, I don’t remember. I came awake slowly to a small persistent sound. An alarm clock? No, I had rarely ever needed one of those even in the mortal world. Besides, this wasn’t steady enough for that. I pushed myself to a sitting position, the cloak falling back as I did.
It was lighter now, maybe early morning. With the thick canopy of leaves above, it was impossible to tell for sure. The sound continued. Plaintive and frightened, it almost sounded like a strange bird or bug screaming. Even so, it tugged at me. I glanced around our campsite, if it could be called that. There was no sign of Caius.
I slowly stood, stretching to relieve stiff muscles. Somewhere in the tangle of branches above me, a raven called. The strange bug-like call came again. Glancing around again, I carefully stepped off the narrow trail, following the sound. The noise grew louder as I crept closer. When I peered through alien looking ferns, the cry cut off in a hiss. I stared. It stared back. It was a rather large kitten, probably three or four months old.
I glanced around apprehensively. Where was its mother? If the kitten was this big, then the mother must be roughly the size of a cougar. Not something I wanted to come face to face with, especially if she thought I was disturbing her baby. After several seconds, I looked back at the kitten.
Its short fur was a rich, charcoal grey. Jet black ears sported small tufts on the tips, and its ice blue eyes were heavily lined in the same black that made streaks down either side of its nose. Comparing it to mortal world cats, it had the markings and ear tufts of a caracal and the build and size of a cougar. Like the two had been crossed, if either of those types of cats came in that color or had long, fluffy tails. Careful not to make too much noise, I crept back toward camp, anxious to put space between me and the kitten before its mother showed up.
It didn’t take long to make it to the tree I had slept by. Caius’s cloak was still crumpled where I’d left it on the ground and he was still gone. Unsure what do to, I sat down and leaned against the tree. The morning was cool against the bare skin of my arms and I pulled the cloak over my lap, tucking my hands under it.
A faint crackle pulled my attention to the ferns and bushes I’d just exited. A small shape bounded through the shadows beneath the undergrowth and then the kitten slid into view. It sat there, across the path from me, its bright blue eyes focused intently on mine. There was an intelligence in its gaze I wasn’t expecting. After a long moment, it broke eye contact and set about washing its front paw as if it sat near people e
very day.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The kitten, though big, was absolutely adorable and its dark gray fur looked so soft. Something caught its attention and it crouched suddenly, eyeing my side of the path. In a sudden, not quite graceful movement, it leaped across the path and pounced. Whatever it was, it must have been a figment of the kitten’s imagination. It arched its back and bounced in a circle, batting at nothing, then stopped and stared at me as if shocked I was still there.
After a bit, it crept forward and explored the edge of the cloak, watching me closely all the while. When I made no move, it sat down and let loose its strange bug sounding meow.
Slowly, I took my hands from under the cloak and held them toward the kitten. It gave them a wary look before carefully sniffing them. It stared me in the eye again for a long moment before climbing on my lap and settling on the cloak. It had to weigh a solid fifteen pounds. Seeming content, it began to kneading the cloak, and unfortunately, my leg.
“Ouch!” I gently lifted that paw and pushed more of the material between me and the claws. The kitten peered up at me, eyes half closed as if pleased with itself. I traced my fingers lightly down its back. The kitten surprised me by purring. As I carefully pet it, aware that it was a wild animal that might take offense at any moment and tear into my hand, I asked, “Where’s your mama, little one?”
The kitten blinked at me but didn’t respond otherwise. Getting braver, I began to rub around its ears. The kitten rolled in my lap, exposing its underside and the fact it was a female. I moved to scratch her belly. As soon as my fingers touched the fur there, she shot off my lap with a hiss. Okay then, no tummy rubs. She sat on the path and groomed her front paw again while occasionally shooting me offended glances.
“I’m sorry,” was all I could offer.
The kitten looked like she couldn’t decide if she should forgive me or not. Then something in the undergrowth caught her attention and she disappeared into the vegetation. At first, I could track her movements through it, but after a while, the sounds faded and I was left on my own again.
Betrayed (Raven Daughter Book 2) Page 1