by G. Bailey
Runes of Truth
A Demon’s Fall Series Book One
G. Bailey
Runes of Truth Copyright © 2018 by G. Bailey
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Description
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Afterword
Links
Also by G. Bailey
Excerpt of Wings of Ice-
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Excerpt from Escape the Sea-
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Runes of Truth © 2018 G. Bailey
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.
Cover Design by Andreaa Elena Vraciu.
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Thief. Runaway. Assassin. What happens when your rumoured name destroys your life? When the very runes engraved on your skin since birth, are a death sentence?
Evie doesn't remember a life before she was on the streets, a life before thieving to live and killing to stay alive.
When a royal family she didn't know anything about goes missing, Evie finds herself thrown into the royal court of the protectors, and they demand her help.
Help in exchange for a chance at freedom and the name that's haunted her, forgotten. A name she can’t even read, a name she doesn’t understand.
But when three Royal protectors are tasked with helping her get into hell, her demon ex who is literally from hell, stalking her . . . will Evie ever be free?
For all the people that live in books. For all those that live in worlds only made up by dreams and words.
“I . . . I am so sorry for this,” I mumble, kissing my niece’s forehead, wishing I didn’t have to leave her here. If there was any other way . . . no, I can’t think like that. I look up at the flashing lights of the hospital, my heart breaking with every little step towards the entrance steps. It shouldn’t be like this, nothing about this is right. Protectors do not leave their own on the streets, and she will be alone.
“We will never forget who you are, Evelina. My sister’s life was not lost for no reason tonight, because you will live,” I whisper to her. I place the basket on the steps, making sure Evelina is covered up in her blanket, with only her arms out. I glance at her beautiful face, her now dark-blue hair, and her rune marks on her little arms. Only two weeks old, and her life is changed forever with only her hair as proof anything happened at all. The door to the hospital opens, and I turn, walking away. I know the humans will keep her safe. They cannot see her runes, they will just think she is one of them until she is older, and her powers emerge. I hear Evelina start to cry, and then the soothing voice of a human comforting her. I stop, calling one of my runes and opening a portal to my home, knowing I cannot come back here. Not ever.
“Where is she?” the keeper asks me as I portal into the hall and see them all waiting for me. Not that I expected much less, I just hoped I could escape the same death as my sister.
“Gone,” I respond.
“Tell us, or we will make you. The child needs to be destroyed, she is a monster!” the keeper growls. I slide my sword out of my holder, and look up at the ceiling, through the glass to the sky. I watch the stars for a second, keeping the image in my mind. The beauty of the night is a wonder.
“For Evelina,” I shout, and slide the sword straight through my stomach.
Evie
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask, trying not to yawn with boredom as I hold my sword at my side, resting on it and staring at the Protector. He isn’t the typical type that come after me, that’s for sure. Usually Protectors are all posh assholes in shiny suits, but this guy looks like a fake-leather store threw up on him.
“You must die, and I will be the one that finally–” he gets interrupted in his boring, predictable speech when my phone starts ringing. I sigh in relief, not wanting to hear that speech again. I pull out my phone and see Hali’s name flashing. I answer it, placing it on loudspeaker, and resting it on the dumpster near me.
“Yeah?” I answer, looking back at the protector as he runs for me, his sword raised.
“Evie, when are you home? I’m starving, and you promised me Chinese tonight. The good stuff from Chingwa, not from the crappy one you like,” she says as I hit my sword against the protector’s, and swipe my leg under his, knocking him over. I kick his sword away from him, wondering why they even bothered sending this man after me, he is a worthless fighter.
“Yep, I won’t be long, and I’ll get that damn Chinese for you. Anything else?” I ask as the protector grabs my leg, calling his fire rune and trying to burn me. I laugh, leaning down, and grabbing his hand off my leg. I jump on him, placing my sword under his neck.
“Evie . . . what are you doing right now?” Hali asks, suspiciously.
“Err . . . nothing,” I reply, kneeing the protector between his legs as he tries to knock me off him. He whines, before coughing out in pain.
“I don’t believe that, but I want my Chinese, so I’m going to stay quiet. Later,” Hali laughs, and then the sound of beeping lets me know she put the phone down. Good, no fifteen-year-old should have to hear this.
“I could let you go, but only if you will tell me who sent you,” I say, already knowing his answer before he says it. They always say the same thing.
“Never. I would never betray my people. Protectors never betray their blood, we always protect,” he spits out.
“I’m your people, you idiot,” I try to reason with him, giving him one more chance.
“You are not,” he spits out.
“I’m a protector. I don’t want to do this, but you won’t give up, will you?” I sigh deeply before lifting my sword and shoving it through his heart before he can reply. His mouth widens in shock, and I pull my sword out, standing up.
“Death will find you, and we will never stop hunting you,” he crackles out, just before his soul light leaves his body, floating up into the sky. I remember the first time I had to kill a protector, and I saw the light of his soul leave his body. It scared m
e, but then I saw it as what it is, beautiful. That even an evil protector, has light in his soul. That no matter how many of my own people I have to kill to survive, there might be a little bit of light left in my own soul. At least I can hope there is.
“If only things could be different,” I say, disappointed in another one of my kind. I pull out my pen, from my pocket, and my little notebook I carry everywhere now, ripping out a page. I quickly write the same thing I do every time I have to kill one of them that come after me. I write my rune name, the very thing that they hunt me because of. The very thing that many people now fear, and yet I have no idea what it says. I leave the note on his stomach and pick my phone up before walking out of the alleyway, and down the empty street.
“Crappy Chinese, here I come,” I mutter, wishing Hali didn’t love that place. They don’t do the bacon fried rice that I love, or anything with bacon in it. The place sucks. I keep my eyes down as I walk down the empty streets of the small Scottish town I live in. The people here don’t come out after dark, too scared of the possible demons around. Little do they know that demons wouldn’t be interested in a small town like this, it’s why I chose to live here. The flashing lights of the Chinese come into view, and I walk across the road, pulling the door open and hearing the ringing of the little bell. The middle-aged Chinese woman looks up, rolls her eyes at me, and looks back down.
“Hello to you, too,” I mutter, but the woman doesn’t reply to me. I grab a Chinese menu off the side, looking through it before looking back at the woman.
“I’m ready to order,” I say, getting her attention.
“Your child called and placed your order already, Miss Evie.”
“She isn’t my child, more like a pain in my ass. I’ll just wait then,” I grumble, putting the menu back in its place.
“A young girl like you shouldn’t be out on the streets at night,” the woman says, stopping me from walking away.
“Thank you for your concern, but I’m not afraid of demons.”
“No, your kind is never afraid of what they hunt,” she chuckles, as the bell rings behind her, and she walks over to get my bag of food before I can reply to her. Not many beings can sense what I am, and I’m quite surprised a human has. She hands the bag over the counter to me.
“How did you know?” I ask.
“My family have always been able to sense things. You should be careful at night, Miss Evie. Demons are not what you should fear,” and with those cryptic words she walks away, leaving me standing in the shop alone, wondering if she is mad, or possibly telling me the truth.
Evie
“Awesome, you’re finally back,” Hali says, coming out of the kitchen, and running over to me. She doesn’t look at me with any kind of care, nope her eyes are just on the Chinese. A girl after my own heart, right there.
“I have to feed the teenager I look after, don’t I?” I say, and she smiles, taking the bag off me. I glance over at Hali, wondering when she started to look so much older than she ever has. She doesn’t look like a child anymore, which to be honest with myself, freaks me out a little. She turned fifteen yesterday, but I still think of her as the eight-year-old she was when she started living with me after her mother died. Hali is beautiful, with black, long African hair which she braids, and it matches her deep-brown skin. She has stunning pale-grey eyes, which all witches have, and they reflect off nearly all lights. I turn around, pulling my coat off, and hanging it on the hook by the front door I put my sword underneath it, using my coat to hide the blood on it from Hali. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror behind the door, almost cringing at how much of a mess I look. My dark-blue, waist length hair is messy today, and my blue eyes look tired. I don’t like my twenty-five-year-old age, no, I look about fifty from all the stress. I swear if I find a grey hair, I’m going to lose it.
“Did you finally kill the Protector following you?” Hali asks shocking me as she sits on the sofa, and pulls Chinese boxes out of the bag like she didn’t just ask something important.
“How did you know we even had one following?” I ask, curious. She never has noticed before, and she is basically a human until she turns eighteen, so it couldn’t be magic she used to find out.
“You look tired, exhausted, because you don’t sleep when one follows us. Plus, you have blood on your boots,” she says, and I look down, seeing that she is right. Damn, hope that comes off, these are new boots. I reach over, picking up a box and grabbing a plastic fork out of the bag.
“Good work, detective,” I say, making her laugh, but it dies off quickly as her pale, serious eyes meet mine.
“Do you think they will ever stop coming after you? What did you do anyway?” she asks, and I go to change the subject because I think she is too young to deal with the truth when she interrupts me.
“Don’t lie to me. I’m not a kid anymore, and don’t you think I have a right to know?” she asks, locking her eyes with mine, so I can’t really look away. I know she isn’t a child, sort of, but I still want to protect her. She is like a sister to me, the only person in the world I’m close to, and I don’t want her to understand the evil in this world until she really has to. This world is full of demons, protectors, witches, angels, and even the occasional reaper. It was, apparently, better a hundred years ago when all supes used to hide from humans. Now everyone knows about supes, and supes rule the very world humans pretend they still have control over.
“They don’t come for you, so no, not really,” I say, shoving food into my mouth, hoping she will just drop this. I almost gag on the taste of the sweet and sour chicken, it’s crap. I miss bacon already.
“Evie . . . protectors don’t come after me, but you know I will be hunted when I’m older. It’s why you teach me how to fight, it’s why we live in the middle of Scotland. I want to know why they come after you, as you already know why they will surely come after me,” she says, seeming much older than she should. I’ve always known why they will come after Hali one day, but I won’t let anyone touch her.
“I don’t know why they come after me, Hali, but I know they can find me because of my rune name. Protectors can always find another protector if they know their rune name,” I explain to her the little I actually know. I don’t even want to think about my asshole ex who told me all this stuff about my own kind.
“Like a tracker?” she asks, thinking about it. “Why don’t you remove the rune name off your skin? It doesn’t give you powers like your others.”
“The problem is, I don’t even know what my rune name says, and have no clue how anyone else could know it. I won’t remove it, not until I know. I was born with it, whether it’s a curse or not, it’s mine. It’s all the answers I have to my past, and one day I will find out what it says,” I explain to her, and her eyes cloud over in sadness. I often forget what she was born with herself, and why she lost everything because of it.
“Could it be your family that know? That send their people to kill you?” she asks.
“I don’t have any family, other than you,” I reply quickly.
“I mean blood family. You had to have had a mother and father, and it would make sense they would know your rune name,” she says.
“I don’t get why the person hunting me doesn’t just come after me, themself, but that’s not your problem,” I say. “Now let’s change the subject to something less depressing.”
“Like watching the new Catfish episodes?” she says, thankfully changing the subject despite the sadness I still see in her eyes. I smile at the big, fake grin on her face. She is addicted to these shows, and I can’t say I don’t find them funny and addictive.
“Go on, then,” I say, smiling at her overexcited face as she grabs the remote.
Evie
“Faster, you need to hit that quicker and jump a tad higher next time,” I warn Hali, and she nods, listening to me for once. That’s a surprise; since she became a teenager, she stopped listening like her ears fell off or something. I watch as she steps back, run
s and jumps in the air, throwing her dagger at the same time at the moving targets, and she hits one dead in the centre. That’s my girl. I hold my hand up, high-fiving her before picking my own daggers up. “Perfect!”
“It only took five goes,” she says proudly, and I pat her shoulder. It would have been two goes if she’d listened to me the first time I offered her advice.
“How’s school?” I ask her as she sits down on the bench. I glance at the other five demons in the training room at a local private gym, each of them training their demon children. It’s the only safe place to train around here, even if the demons look scared of us. Well, more Hali. They know what she is, and that she shouldn’t be training with demons and me.
“Crap, as usual,” she rolls her eyes at me. I step onto the marked ‘x’ and hold my dagger up, watching the moving targets, and throwing one, hitting the head of the target perfectly.
“Come on, there must be more,” I push her for more of an answer, and she sighs.
“Fine, the human kids are crap to me because they know I’m not one of them and all of the supes ignore me. I basically just go to class, eat lunch alone, and then come home,” she says. I pause at her lost tone, putting the daggers down, and going to sit next to her. I bump her shoulder, making her look at me like I’m mad.