Chasing Shadows (The Initiative Book 1)

by Kindra Sowder

  “Don’t make me have to kill you, Izzy,” he said as his now black eyes searched mine, wishing that I would just give into the plan that they had in store for me, but I had other plans.

  I smiled at him, and his face relaxed slightly and when he was about to speak again I spat, “Fuck you.” Anger spread over his features as he twisted the gun even further. I kicked out, my heel making contact with his shin, making him fall to one knee. I then sent a roundhouse kick into his head that sent him sprawling and sputtering. I picked up my mother’s sai and provoked him, saying, “I thought you would’ve been harder to take down with that filth crawling around inside of you, Richards. And I have a question for you.” I kneeled down next to him as he rose to his hands and knees. “Were you a sleaze ball before that?”

  His elbow came out of nowhere, making contact with my cheekbone and sending me stumbling back until I was sitting on the floor, landing so hard my spine and head were jostled by the impact. He rose to his feet at the same time I was on my knees prepared to shove the sai into his gut, but I stopped when I heard a familiar voice float to me from within the apartment.

  “Izzy?” McGrady called out to me. “Izzy!”

  When I froze, Richards was able to land a kick with his knee right beneath my chin, turning away from me to go after McGrady and the agents that I could feel moving into the apartment. I didn’t fall. I shook off the blow and followed Richards and, when McGrady rounded the corner bloodied with a gun aimed at Richards’ chest, I plunged the sai into Richards’ back and twisted it. A low, demonic growl rolled from within his chest as and then faded as blood poured out over my hand as I stood and leaned into him to whisper in his ear.

  “I won’t be anyone’s puppet, Richards,” I said through gritted teeth.

  He turned his head toward me, his eyes scanning my face as the black began to fade from them and replied, “You will, you just have no idea yet. You’ll see soon enough.”

  At that moment it was as if a sonic boom hit in the dead center of my chest, sending a ripple through the atmosphere that knocked us all off our feet and onto the ground, the sai clattering to the ground as I lost my grip on it. A bright flash of light assaulted my eyes and then everything was silent as a dark, inky mass began to drift from the wound I had inflicted on Richards, the dead human body falling to the floor as it did so. It screamed, high pitched and demonic, throwing itself into the ground and then disappearing from sight altogether as we all stared at each other.

  My eyes met McGrady’s and within mere seconds he was on his feet and rushing toward me, wrapping me in his loving embrace as I let the fear leave my body. He pulled back, and I saw blood running from a gash at his hairline, his eyes glazed over with tears.

  “Yoo’re nae doin’ anythin’ loch this ever again, ye hear me?” he breathed as he pushed my bloody hair away from my face.

  I smiled weakly at him, those amber eyes taking me into them and holding me there, and answered, “I hear you.”

  Chapter 19

  It had been a week since Richards had been dispatched, but what had happened had pulled at me. Especially when it came to my scars that were said to have turned me into a beacon for Abraxas. A doorway of sorts that made me even more useful as a vessel, but I wouldn’t have that. I had put in the request for the Initiative to cover the procedure to at least clear my body of the sigil in a physical form, but what about deeper? Richards had stated Eshu could do this for me on both levels, but I wanted nothing more to do with the man after what had happened, so I opted with a medically controlled acid bath that I was waiting on the approval for.

  I was in my office at the Initiative, attempting to clear up oh so much paperwork that came with killing a demonic governor and it seemed like it would never end. There was a knock on my door and then McGrady entered, all grace and muscle as he held an envelope in his hand and grinned from ear to ear. He sat on the corner of my desk closest to me and held it out to me. It hadn’t been opened, but somehow he seemed to know what it was.

  “Yoo’ve got mail.”

  I watched him skeptically and took it from his hand, reading the front carefully. It was the department that would tell me if the procedure had been cleared or not, and I was sincerely hoping they saw it in themselves to let me have at least this considering everything. Butterflies took residence in my stomach and my heart leapt into my throat as I slid my finger underneath the tab and opened it, pulling the letter out and unfolding it. I read through it as quickly as my eyes would allow and smiled, my heart racing with jubilation.

  “Yes,” I cried, pumping my fist into the air, nearly startling McGrady to the point of him falling off of the desk.

  He righted himself and asked, “Ah tak’ it they went fur it?”

  “God, yes,” I sighed in relief, rising from my chair to stand in front of McGrady and lacing my hands behind his neck. “The end result may not be pretty either, but at least it won’t be this ugly sigil.”

  “Nothin’ about ye is oogly, Izzy. Not e’en yer scars.” He pulled me into him and kissed me softly, and I finally felt like I was safe again with not even the shadows chasing me.

  About the Author

  Kindra Sowder was born and raised in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. At the age of 12 she moved with her grandparents to Spartanburg, SC where she graduated from high school with honors as well as a superior achievement in Spanish. She graduated college with two degrees in Criminal Neuropsychology. She still lives in South Carolina and lives with her husband and three cats. Two of her series have become bestsellers and she continues to write for the love of the craft.