by T. F. Walsh
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
BINDING CURSE
The Dark Fae Hollows – Hollow 4
T.F. Walsh
Charmed Legacy
Copyright
Binding Curse: The Dark Fae Hollows – Hollow 4 © 2017 T.F. Walsh
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Description
She needs him to save the world. He needs her to save himself.
A terrifying darkness has risen and is sweeping Kutia Hollow, leaving dead bodies in its wake. Luna Vale, a fae militia lieutenant in post-apocalyptic Moscow, discovers evidence that a criminal holds the answer to stopping the murders. Except those in charge at the precinct are corrupt. She's determined to protect everyone from extinction and breaks Axel out of prison.
Devastated to be on the run from her former friends and colleagues, she must now work together with Axel before the killers close in on them. But time is running out, and falling for Axel only heightens the dangers. To survive, Luna must find strength in her arcane powers and confront the cursed creatures whose malevolence knows no bounds. Failure isn't an option. Not when it means losing her family, her job, and her life.
BINDING CURSE is a standalone contribution to the Charmed Legacy Dark Fae Hollows collection. Stories can be read in any order. To learn more, visit CharmedLegacy.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Discover More…
Also by T.F. Walsh
Demon’s Fever Excerpt
About the Author
Chapter 1
No matter how much my ex, Talan, pissed me off, swapping my life with someone else wouldn’t do me any good.
Santasha nudged my arm with her elbow. “Did you hear me?” she asked. “Vassily had high-five sex!”
Who cared? I didn’t waste my time on the gossip vine about my boss at the Peace Protection Division in Russia. I had better things to do. Like imagining my cheating ex was the pincushion I stabbed every night. Yeah, much healthier.
I refreshed my emails on the comm device across my wrist for the hundredth time. Nope. No new intelligence from the chief.
“Can you believe that old pervert?” Santasha poked my arm. “Luna, are you listening?”
I looked up, a headache pounding through my skull. Serves me right for typing up reports all afternoon. Now I suffered through the night shift, guarding Moscow against gangs when I should be pounding the streets and tracking down who was mercilessly killing faes.
Santasha stood across from me, hands thrust deep in the pockets of her tailored pants. Her eyebrows wiggled. The filth that came from this fae’s mouth could put a pimp to shame. And she’d been that way since we’d become friends ten years ago.
“Never heard of the high five,” I said.
A breeze tossed the dark ringlets that escaped from under Santasha’s officer’s hat. Her wide amber eyes stared with such intensity, any criminal would back off. She lifted her arms to chest level. Her index fingers stuck upward while her wrists pulled outward, thumbs touching at the base in a U-shape. “Two guys and the girl lying between them. Get it?”
Despite my best efforts to keep a straight face, I rolled my eyes. Picturing my boss, Vassily, in such a state caused dinner to hit the back of my throat. “Told you before, don’t share your pornographic fantasies with me.”
I walked away. Sex didn’t bother me, but damn, I desperately needed playtime. But not when it involved my boss.
To my left stood the Outlands, swallowed by darkness. Hexed fire had burned down the territory outside the city walls during the Great War between humans and faes, decades ago. Not much grew there anymore, so humans had erected the barricades to keep faes out. Fifty years later, and the city of Moscow had morphed into a hotpot of races with faes in the majority. The ironic part was that most humans now chose the Outlands as their home because they insisted faes couldn’t be trusted. Our city gates were always open to them, and we encouraged them to join us. But very few took the offer.
“Hey, Luna,” Santasha called out, “aren’t you curious how I found out about Vassily?”
“Nope.” I strolled along the perimeter where spotlights dotted the thirteen-foot stone fence surrounding the city. After tonight’s shift, I’d speak to the chief again and convince him my time was better spent tracking down killers. Maybe he’d even allow me to work with the inspectors.
Santasha closed in from behind; when she set her mind on a mission, she wouldn’t give up.
I faced my friend, the turquoise swirl along the side of her neck glistening beneath the overhead lights. Like all faes, the colors and designs were as varied as human fingerprints, appearing on our necks and parts of our bodies. Santasha’s always reminded me of a flower. Mine was a pale blue color.
“Spill, but no graphic details,” I said.
Santasha rubbed her palms together. “Well, yesterday I walked in on them.”
“No, you didn’t, or Vassily would have kicked you out of the force.”
She shrugged. “No one saw me. Anyway, I hea
rd these grunting sounds and went to investigate. All three of them were crammed in the old stationary room. The PA, council rep, and Vassily.”
“Eduard, that council representative?” Okay, now I was gonna vomit. Firstly, the girl was a twig, while both Vassily and Eduard were walruses.
Santasha smirked, nodding her head.
I’d been born with an innate ability to detect lies, and much to my horror, Santasha was telling the truth. I didn’t sense a single spark across my skin. Kind of disappointing because who would want to believe the chief of the PPD had a threesome? Gross.
Santasha’s expression flattened. She gripped her waist, cinching the black uniform jacket that was a few sizes too large. Even the insignia with two stars on her shoulder, dictating her rank as lieutenant, curled around her arm from the loose fabric. Her double lines of silver buttons glinted against the spotlights. Salary sacrifice for a new uniform was out of the question. Santasha was saving money to buy an apartment so she and her husband could move out of her in-laws’ place. She’d be surprised next week when she got the new uniform I ordered and paid for her.
“Nah, I’m telling you,” she said. “I bolted out of there. Can you imagine if the chief and council rep busted me?”
“Wonder why Eduard’s in Moscow?” Eduard was a representative who reported to the two council leaders—a fae and a human. Both of them made decisions on behalf of the populace in Kutia Hollow. The leaders worked with enchantments to keep Princess Kutia safe until her resurrection in a year’s time. After all, our planet was created with her energy and power. Until then, she remained asleep underground where she had been for the last ninety-nine years. When she awakened, she would once again bring peace. Long overdue. So reps, like Eduard, did the council’s bidding, but they had no clue where the two leaders were kept as they remained protected in a secret compound. The only time Eduard came to visit our precinct was for one of two reasons: the council leaders disliked something we did, or he was delivering shit-we’re-gonna-die news.
Santasha whacked me in the arm, bringing me back to the present. “I gave you the best gossip in Kutia Hollow, and you’re worried about why he’s here? You’ve got your priorities twisted.” She paused for a moment, staring at the sky, then said, “Дорогой.”
I laughed at her attempt to say, my dear. “Your Russian makes you sound like a tourist.”
“Hey, at least I’m finally taking a class.”
The Russian language was native to humans, not fae, except PPD militia was expected to know the lingo. “Yeah, but—” The faint purr of an engine stole my words. I stiffened. “Did you get a message about anybody arriving or leaving the city?”
“No.” Santasha placed a hand on the Taser at her belt.
I spun and crept toward the side entrance. “Santasha, take the front.”
Wind whipped my clothes. I pulled the officer’s hat off my head and threw it aside, my ponytail unraveling and landing halfway down my back. As I careened around the wall, I slipped across the pebbles, lurching onto the driveway. Staring at the metal gates flung open, I found no guards, just a barren area with a boom gate. Beyond that lay a cluster of apartment buildings. The towers flanking the entrance were unmanned. My stomach locked up tight.
I turned, the Outlands at my back. A sudden flash of red appeared then vanished. Brake lights. The terrain was a bitch to drive through.
Who had exited the city? And why?
I switched on the comm fastened to my wrist with a swipe.
My muscles knotted. The right decision was to report this, wait for support and approval to pursue. By then, whoever left would be long gone. All the patrol cars remained at the PPD building in the center of the city, so it would take them at least ten minutes to arrive. And we’d been given instructions that no one was to enter or leave.
I lifted my wrist to my mouth. “Dispatch, this is L3-03. Unknown vehicle exited west gate.” I paused for a moment, figuring if I waited too long, I’d lose sight of the car. As a fae, I was quick. I could catch it. With the bumpy terrain, the unknown vehicle wouldn’t move fast. Too dark to figure out what type of car we dealt with, either.
The response crackled. “L3-03, recom… you s… at the gate … we send bac...”
I stared into the darkness, the red lights fading. Backup would take too long. “Dispatch, I’m pursuing the suspect on foot. Send a patrol car. My tracker is activated.”
I heaved the gates shut to keep the city enclosed, my muscles straining.
The crackling response on the comm came out disjointed and unintelligible. No time to waste.
I sprinted into the Outlands. Yeah, the chief would lecture me, but if I caught whoever left, he’d praise me for my efforts.
The heavy moon revealed a worn track. Very few residents owned vehicles except for PPD militia, but if an officer entered the Outlands, surely we would have received notification. And where the hell were the guards? Either way, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I did nothing.
I bulleted onward, skirting around large rocks planted by human rebels to hinder PPD from speeding into the Outlands. Most faes reached almost twenty-five miles an hour if exhaustion didn’t kill us first.
Dried grass crunched underfoot.
I gasped for air with each quickened step. Fifteen minutes later, my legs screamed for rest.
The car angled toward Sky Rock—a massive boulder. Alongside it stood the last remaining forest in Moscow, and the sedan had zipped into the woods.
At Sky Rock, I stopped. Sweat rolled down my spine. Almost there. I burst into the woodland where the caress of pine trees stroked my senses.
The engine hum guided my path, along with glowing brake lights flashing on and off.
At once, the motor silenced.
I halted six feet away and hid behind a pine, my breaths still in a race. Rebel attacks were frequent, but I had a weapon. Two figures emerged from the car parked on a dirt track, and the identification swirls along their necks glinted in the moonlight. One of them stood a full foot taller than his buddy.
Faes! Were they new recruits? We’d been asking for more staff. Within the folds of the night, I couldn’t identify the duo, but a thin snap of energy danced down my arms. The same one that screamed deception, lies; my skin rippled with goosebumps.
One drew a hood over his head, and both slipped deeper into the woods.
Each step I took was quick and precise to avoid noise. As I passed the dented sedan, I noted the PPD number plate and kept following the strangers’ footfalls.
The faint wisp of burning wood cloyed my nostrils. The farther I trekked behind the dark shadows, the stronger the smell. Soon, the flicker of golden flames glowed and rippled across the forest.
The faes were racing toward the campfire. Humans often hunted animals for food. Not illegal, but faes were vegetarians, so we grew most of our food within the city.
Suddenly, the duo charged ahead, moving quicker than lightning.
My heart leaped into my throat. I lunged, despite the evergreens snagging on my pants, and my ankle twisting in a freakin’ pothole. Keep going.
I found the lofty fae pinning a human guy to the ground, both rolling around, several feet from a roaring fire. The man bucked the fae sideways, then scrambled upright, blood trickling from a cut beneath his eye as he confronted his two opponents. His V-neck T-shirt lay torn across his shoulder. Muscles everywhere. Damn handsome too with his strong jawline. If a mountain man ever came to life, this guy would be what I pictured.
A fae licked his knuckles coated in the human’s blood.
I shuddered. What was he doing? The faes, not in PPD uniform, glanced at each other. Then they attacked, each flanking the victim. Their punches pounded his body. Were they apprehending a wanted criminal? Except I’d received no intelligence tonight. I crept closer, remaining in the shadows, tracing a finger across the hilt of one of my blades.
The Binding prohibited taking a life so they wouldn’t dare kill him. Enforced by the council, ever
y fae and human baby were matched at birth, bound by magic. If one died, so did the other. Whether it was by natural cause, murder, or even just a virus that killed someone, the paired one faced the same tragedy. The strategy was the council’s solution to eliminate the ongoing killings between the two races, but they couldn’t narrow it down to just unnatural deaths. As a result, no one knew their soul-sharing partners. Yet in the past two weeks, faes had been dropping dead all over the city.
A glint of silver flickered from the knife the tall fae had pulled from his belt.
Ice filled my veins.
I pounced into the campsite, gripping my Taser and blade. “Put your weapons down. You’re both under arrest.”
The two faes spun in my direction, and I swore red flashed behind their eyes for a split second. Something was off with these two.
Then they charged toward me.
Chapter 2
I tightened the grip on my knife, my sister’s engraved name digging into my flesh. Panic squeezed my chest as I faced off with two faes, both towering over me. With a flick of my thumb, I hit the charge button on the Taser and zapped the guy to my left. His knees buckled, and he fell, convulsing. I dropped the weapon and turned to the second fae who wore a Mohawk and a grimace promising to skin me alive. Even his fae marking, resembling barbed wire across the middle of his neck, screamed danger. That earlier dread resurfaced, crashing through me.