The Shadow Deception: The Shadow Enforcer Series Book Two

by N M Thorn

  A soft tremor rushed through the cave, and the air shimmered with bright orange sparks. A young woman, short and willowy, materialized in the cave and stilled, her glowing golden eyes slipping from one person to the next. As her gaze halted on Oleg, for a brief moment, her face lit up with happiness, and her coral lips parted. But then she turned to the rest of them and bowed, pressing her hands together in namaste. Her long copper hair cascaded down, touching the floor, and she threw it back, straightening up.

  Damian lowered to one knee and pressed his fist to his chest, recognizing the power of his element surging through this woman with unprecedented strength. Cossack mirrored his position, and Cole tried to follow, but she raised her hand, stopping him, gesturing for him to continue what he was doing. Then she approached Oleg, her hand rising to thread through his hair. Even with him kneeling, he was slightly taller than her.

  “Please rise,” she said, addressing everyone in the cave, her voice beautifully melodic. “I’m Sandhya, the Queen of Kendral’s Underworld, and the Elemental of Earth.”

  She approached Azazel and gave him a quick once-over, her lips curving in disgust, and then turned to Damian. “I’ll take this monster off your hands, Lord Enforcer, and deliver him to Kendral.”

  “Thank you, my lady,” replied Damian, slightly inclining his head

  The Queen walked to Oleg and gazed up at him, craning her neck as if she were looking at the Empire State Building. “When are you coming home, my love?” she asked him, rising on her tiptoes to caress his cheek, and Damian’s jaw dropped.

  “I would like to spend a little time with Damian,” he replied, taking the Queen’s small hand and raising it to his lips. “He is my brother in element, but I never knew he existed. I would like to ask him a few—” He cut himself off, looking at Damian, a question in his eyes. “If you have time for that, Commander, maybe we could talk.”

  “I would love that,” replied Damian, stifling a sigh, “but Cossack and I have to return to the Destiny Council realm. I must report to my superior first. If you don’t mind waiting for me at Paradise Manor, I also have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”

  “I’ll wait,” replied Oleg, letting go of the Queen’s hand.

  She smiled at him and turned toward Damian, looking up at him with interest. Then she took his hand and a powerful wave of elemental Energy swept through his body. His eyes closed of their own accord, and a soft moan escaped his lips.

  “You are a Child of Earth,” she whispered, her golden gaze drilling through him. “How did it happen that I—the Elemental of Earth—did not know about your existence?”

  “I don’t know, my lady,” replied Damian, wondering if it was Magnus’ handiwork.

  She reached up, rising on her tiptoes, and placed her hand on his cheek, sending more of the elemental energy through him. Damian let out a harsh breath, the cave starting to spin slowly around him, but she removed her hand, and everything went back to normal.

  “You weren’t claimed,” she whispered more to herself than to Damian, her golden eyes igniting brighter.

  “I’m not sure I know what it means, my lady,” replied Damian, feeling lost.

  “Oleg will explain it to you.” Sandhya smiled and made her way to Azazel, stopping by his side. She placed her hand on his elbow, grimacing as if she were forced to touch a poisonous snake. “Farewell.” She bowed and snapped her fingers, vanishing from the cave together with the Fallen.

  For a moment, Damian remained in place, his mind racing. He thought he knew all there was to know about being a Child of Earth, yet he had no idea what it meant to be claimed by the Elemental. As his memory went back to the fight with Azazel and the way Oleg wielded the power of Earth, he had to admit that the element obeyed this young man’s every command, and he manipulated it with the ease of a person who had been doing it for centuries.

  “Dima…” Cole’s drained voice broke through Damian’s train of thought, and he turned to his brother.

  Cole sat on his heels, his lips and hands covered in fresh blood. Ace lay on his lap, unconscious, her long, black hair cascading down his legs and to the floor. Her face was smeared with blood, but her skin was colorless, and with the dark circles surrounding her eyes, her features looked sharper.

  “Dima,” Cole whispered again, a haunted look in his eyes, “I don’t understand…”

  Damian approached his brother and kneeled by his side. “What’s going on, Cole?”

  Cole shifted Ace’s limp body slightly, exposing an incision on her chest, an inch below the collarbone. It didn’t seem to be deep, yet blood kept seeping from it without stop, streaming to the floor.

  “This is the only visible injury,” he said, his fingers threading through her hair absentmindedly. “But my blood doesn’t heal it, and I can’t wake her up. Nothing works…”

  Feeling a quick tap on his shoulder, Damian raised his eyes to find Cossack standing next to him. He squatted and brushed his fingers over Ace’s face, the soft light of his magic enveloping his hand.

  “Open your other sight, Dima,” he said, raking his fingers through his unruly curls. “Do you see what I see?”

  Damian channeled his magic and opened his other sight. Ace’s aura was still present, enveloping her with its soft white glow of a human soul, but the malignant purple patches he had noticed before were spreading through it, slowly devouring it.

  “Dammit. This has to be a spell. The Fallen’s magic,” he muttered.

  Placing his hands over Ace’s chest and forehead, he started to circulate the healing energy of Earth through her. With his second sight, he could see his elemental energy working its way through her, and he increased the flow of his power. Oleg kneeled across from him and placed his hands over his, increasing the potency of the healing magic.

  Ace’s long lashes fluttered, eyeballs rolling from side to side under her tightly shut eyelids. A second later, she opened her eyes and winced, unable to stop a cry of pain.

  “Stop, please stop…” she croaked, her voice shaky and weak. “You’re hurting me…” She fell silent for a few seconds, her chest barely moving with uneven breaths. “You can’t save me… the Fallen made sure of it… made sure I knew it.”

  Damian and Oleg pulled back, exchanging a troubled look.

  She moved her eyes, searching around, her eyeballs rolling back for a brief moment. Then her fading gaze stopped on Cole, and her face fell, the shadows under her eyes and cheekbones growing deeper.

  “Cole,” she whispered, tugging feebly on his coat. He leaned forward slightly to be closer to her, and she continued, “I’m sorry… I never… loved you. I had to pretend… seduce and… I was ordered to—” Her voice cut off, and she closed her eyes.

  “Ace?” Cole squeezed her hand gently. “What were you ordered to do? Who gave you the orders?”

  She opened her eyes again, and her lips twitched in a faint smile. “You’re a good man… the best I’ve ever met… You didn’t deserve…”

  “Ace.” Damian leaned closer to her. “You told me your orders were to shadow and protect my brother.”

  “In the beginning… that was true,” she replied. Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, and she coughed, her chest spasming painfully. “My orders… changed… I was supposed to create a rift between you and your… stop all of you from…” She moved her eyes up to look at Damian and even this tiny move came with an effort to her. “Damian, be careful… you must help… Magnus is—"

  Her lips kept moving, but she could speak no more. Her eyes widened. Her gaze flashed to Cole for a brief moment and then stilled, the last breath escaping her lips. For a few seconds, Cole sat still, his face a mask of despair. Then he moved his hand over her eyes, closing them forever, and looked up at his brother.

  A pregnant silence enveloped the cave, and for a few endless seconds, no one said a word.

  “Dima, it’s impossible,” Cossack said at length. “It sounded as if she was ordered to sabotage you and your brother. But I’ve
heard with my own ears from the Destiny Council—they wanted to support the direction Cole took with the Arizona Vampire Court.” He shook his head, spreading his arms. “That can’t be true.”

  “She was dying,” snapped Cole, gently moving Ace’s lifeless body to the floor. “She had no reason to lie.” He got up, his moves torturously slow, and bit his lip, the scarlet glow in his eyes fading. “And I must admit, I believe she was working against us. Her behavior in the last few weeks was strange—stupid and childish even. When Simon’s pack attacked Paradise Manor, her action almost killed us all. I couldn’t understand why…”

  Damian lifted Ace’s body with a strenuous grunt, his every muscle responding with soreness and aches.

  “I intend to find out the truth about this,” he said. “I want to know who sent her and why she was ordered to sabotage us.” He turned to Oleg, different thoughts racing through his mind at the same time, tripping over each other. “Oleg, can you please take my brother to Paradise Manor? I have to return to the Destiny Council realm.” He glanced at Ace and a heavy dread settled in his chest. “I have to take her home. Even though she was still in training, she was a Destiny Enforcer. Maybe it’s not over for her… But if it is, she deserves a proper burial.” He stifled a sigh, frowning. “Besides, I have to report to my superior and find out what’s going on.”

  “No problem,” Oleg replied, a weary smile ghosting his lips, and just now Damian noticed how truly drained this large man looked. “If you don’t mind, I’ll wait for you there.” He ran his hand over his chin, smearing blood and dirt all over his skin. “I hope River won’t mind me in her house.”

  “I don’t think she will. But just so you know, Cole owns a house next to Paradise Manor, so you won’t have to sleep outside.” He chuckled mirthlessly.

  “I love sleeping outside,” murmured Oleg, giving him an arched stare. “I’m sure you do too.” He approached Cole and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Ready?”

  Cole nodded, and Oleg snapped his fingers, teleporting them out of the cave.

  For a moment, Damian stood still. Drained physically and magically, he wasn’t sure he could make even the smallest move. Then he took a deep breath and glanced at his friend. “Something tells me I’m going to be in a world of trouble.” He sighed, expelling a ragged breath. “Why don’t you take the wheel this time, Cossack.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Dima,” objected Cossack, taking his elbow.

  “Oh, yeah?” Damian laughed, but there was no humor in his laugher. “What’s good about being right and dead?”

  Cossack shook his head and snapped his fingers. The world around Damian spun, and the cursed cave melted into the darkness.

  Chapter 35

  ~ Damian Blake ~

  They materialized in a small room illuminated by a soft blue light that seemingly was coming from nowhere. Over the centuries, nothing had changed here, and Damian knew where he was right away. Still holding Ace’s body in his arms, he turned to his friend.

  “Cossack,” he said, worry coiling in the pit of his stomach, “why are we in your room? I’m so drained, I can barely stand on my feet, and while I’m still in the upright position, I must see Moore. He’s the only one who has a chance to bring Ace back.”

  “Dima.” Cossack took a tentative step toward him but then halted, a deep frown shadowing his features. “I brought you here so we could discuss the situation first.” He rubbed the back of his neck and brought his hand forward, staring at the mix of blood and demonic goo on his palm. “You can’t go to Moore. That man hated you from the moment he laid eyes on you. He’ll use Ace’s death to blame you. You were a Commander, and she was an inexperienced recruit. He’ll find a way to turn it against you.”

  “I know, and I don’t care,” replied Damian, feeling too tired to continue this discussion. “What do you propose?”

  “Let me take Ace to Moore and deal with the repercussions,” said Cossack, putting his hand on Damian’s shoulder. “You should go to Magnus and give him a full report. It’d be better if he heard the story from you. We captured the Fallen, but Koschei the Deathless is in the wind. He needs to know that.”

  “And I will tell him everything after I speak with Moore.” Damian headed toward the door, but halted there, turning to his friend. “You really think I would allow you to take a beating for me?” He chuckled bitterly. “Five hundred years is a long time. You forgot me, my friend.” He shrugged, carefully readjusting Ace’s body in his arms. “Stay here, Adrian. As a Commander, I am equal to that asshole. Except for showering me with insults and threats, there is nothing he can do to me.”

  “Fine.” Cossack threw his hands in the air. “I’m coming with you then.”

  “Stubborn ass,” murmured Damian as his friend opened the door for him, gesturing for him to go first.

  “It takes one to know one, Lord Commander.” Cossack chuckled, following him into the perfectly white hallway.

  They found Commander Moore in the training facility. Dressed in a white martial arts uniform, he was sparring with a large man—a purebred werewolf, judging by his powerful energy signature. Even though Moore wasn’t short, the werewolf was at least a couple of inches taller, and his muscled body, glistening with perspiration, was worthy of any Mister Universe Contest.

  Damian wasn’t surprised to see that. Moore had quite a few teams of Enforcers working under his command. All his Enforcers were picked from the strongest and most powerful representatives of their supernatural types. All of them were well trained in different styles of martial arts and knew how to use their powers and magic in a combat situation. However, his personal team was the cream of the crop. It was small—no more than fifteen members—and to become a member of Moore’s personal team wasn’t an easy task.

  As soon as Damian walked into the training facility, Moore stopped the sparring session and gestured for the werewolf to leave. Then he turned to Damian, wiping the sweat off his flushed face with the back of his hand. His brown eyes darted to Cossack, then to Ace, and his bulldog-like face hardened, a muscle twitching in his tightly pressed jaw.

  Without any rush, he sauntered toward Damian, his bare feet stepping softly on the hardwood floor. He stopped a few feet away from him and put his hands on his hips, cocking his head slightly. His eyes lit up with the brilliant glow of his magic as he opened his other sight and scanned Ace. A heartbeat later, his eyes returned to their normal color, and a corner of his mouth lifted, forming an uneven smirk, as if a young woman whose dead body Damian held in his arms meant nothing to him.

  “Look who the cat dragged in,” he rasped. “Commander Dmitri Chernov—once again.” He bowed mockingly, spreading his arms. “Oh, wait… It’s Commander Damian Blake nowadays, isn’t it?”

  Damian lowered to one knee and placed Ace’s body on the floor between them, his heart giving a painful jolt as he watched her head loll to the side lifelessly. Then he straightened and spread his shoulders, an overwhelming wave of weakness rushing through him, making him sway. After the battle with the Fallen, he was drained magically and exhausted physically, and getting in a confrontation with one of the most powerful Destiny Enforcers didn’t seem like a good idea.

  “Commander Moore,” he said evenly, suppressing the burning desire to wipe that ugly smirk off Moore’s face. “It’s not about you or me. So, just cut the crap and bring your recruit back. She was one of yours. You can do it.”

  Without sparing a single glance to Ace, Moore took a step forward, nearly stepping on her arm. His eyes darkened with hatred, and his magical energy spiked around him.

  “You’re right, Chernov. It isn’t about you or me. It’s about you, only!” He stepped over Ace’s body, invading Damian’s personal space, his face contorted with icy contempt. “It was always about you. You’re nothing. The biggest failure I’ve ever seen in the Destiny Council realm! Yet, you seem to do no wrong. Magnus always pulls your sorry ass out of any shithole you manage to dig yourself in. Why is that?”


  “Moore, the young woman is dead, and you’re the only one who can bring her back.” Damian took a step back, trying to keep calm and civil for as long as he could.

  “Damn right she is dead!” Moore shouted, pushing Damian on his chest. “She was an inexperienced recruit, and you were a Commander with at least five hundred years of experience, and you let her get killed. She died on your watch, and you’re the only one who’s responsible for her death! And if for one second you think I won’t hold you accountable for that, think again!”

  A low growl rumbled in Damian’s chest as his forced patience start to lose the battle with anger. “If you cared for her so much, then why did you send such an unprepared recruit into the field? To shadow an ancient vampire to boot?”

  “I had my orders!” Moore boomed. “But you don’t know how to obey orders and comply with the chain of command, do you?”

  “Stop! Stop arguing!” Cossack raised his arms up, stepping between Damian and the infuriated Moore. “The longer Ace stays dead, the harder it is to bring her back.” He turned to face Moore, still holding his hands up. “My lord, please, bring her back, and then you and Commander Blake are free to beat each other into a bloody pulp.”

  Moore’s glowing eyes shifted to Cossack, and for a brief moment, he stilled, a terrifying shade of magenta rising from his neck to his square face. “How dare you speak to your commander in this manner!”

  He swung his arm, the glow of his magic surrounding his massive fist. But before his punch landed, Damian pushed his friend out of harm’s way and blocked the powerful strike. The impact was so strong, however, it sent him staggering a few steps backward. In a heartbeat, Moore was in front of him, and Damian barely had any time to block his next punch. Moore didn’t stop. With a ferocious growl, he increased the speed and the ferocity of his attacks, pushing Damian into a corner.

  Damian raised his arms and lowered his head slightly to protect his face, feeling like a cornered animal. Every punch that landed on his sides and stomach made him cringe, pain reverberating through his insides. Severely weakened by the earlier events, he could do nothing to stop his opponent, and even the smallest use of his magic would only drain him more at this point. His vision blurred, and his knees trembled. He groaned, putting all his effort into keeping upright.