The Reverence of One:
Book Three of the Shadow Series
By
J.M. Pierce
Copyright © 2012 J.M. Pierce
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 the prior written permission of the author.
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.
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Chapter One
A subtle hiss and the beeping of electronics slowly filtered into her ears. She became aware that she was awake, but struggled to open her eyes. They felt gooey, like her eyelashes had been glued together.
The blankets felt heavy atop of her, their weight wrapping her thin frame like a cocoon, and the pillow behind her head was soft and warm. Stuck in the fog between consciousness and sleep, she tried to lift her left arm to her face, but it felt as though something were attached. She pulled slightly, but stopped as she felt a tinge of pain in the top of her hand. She rested that arm back down, and slowly lifted her right. Feeling no restraints, she brought her fingers to her face and forced her eyelids apart. Her vision blurred. She blinked forcefully while rolling her eyes beneath their lids and each time her sight became less obstructed with the film that seemed to coat them.
She could see the lights over her. Though dimmed, they still caused her to bury her face into the crook of her arm until her eyes could adjust. She let out a deep sigh.
“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath.
Not a couple of weeks before, she had found herself in the same place; maybe not the same room, but definitely the same place. As soon as her mind became aware, the cravings began. She needed a fix.
She sat up, the speed of which gave her a rush of dizziness that nearly caused her to lose consciousness once again. After a couple of deep breaths, she looked at her arms. Her pasty white skin was covered with red blotches. Tiny, scabbed over holes littered her flesh where she injected her heroin. She saw the I.V. needle in the top of her hand and traced the line with her eyes to a bag filled with a clear liquid that hung half empty on a pole next to her bed. She let out a demented giggle.
“That’s not what I need.”
Yanking the I.V. from her flesh, she swung her legs to the side of the bed and glanced at the heart monitor that was mounted on her thumb. Without thinking, she removed it, causing an alarm to go off on the monitor beside the bed. “Shut up!” she spat angrily as she pushed indiscriminately at the buttons, trying desperately to get the alarm to silence.
Not knowing which one did the trick didn’t matter, it worked. She placed her bare feet on the cold, tiled floor and took one weary step to a chair opposite the bed. On her right wrist was a white plastic bracelet. She rolled her arm over to read it and mixed in with a cluster of numbers, including her social security number, was her name in bold black print.
PAXTON, NICOLE
Leaning back in the chair, she ran her fingers through her jet black hair and whispered to herself. “Now I’ve got a matched set.”
****
The outline of the trees presented itself in majestic fashion as Test peered out the window of Lauren’s home. Though it had only been a couple of days since their arrival, in some ways he already felt as though he were at home. In others, it felt as though he were as lost and alone as ever.
The four of them – Lauren, Cliff, Alyssa, and he—had traveled hundreds of miles in a figurative blink of an eye. After regaining his strength from his battle with Anil and Ikuhabe, they had traveled in the Shadow realm to Lauren’s home outside of Forks, Washington. Alyssa was thrilled when she found out their destination as she was particularly fond of a series of novels that used Forks as its backdrop. Test found it more ironic than anything. The fact that the vampire fantasy was more believable than the reality of the Shadows’ existence was difficult to wrap his mind around.
Test continued to struggle with Alyssa’s death. He knew that he hadn’t lost her, but he mourned for those that had. More so, he mourned for what she had lost. Though she seemed completely at peace with her fate, he knew that her death was his fault. Once again his existence was the demise of another’s life.
From behind him, Lauren’s voice greeted him with what seemed to be her usual frumpy tone. “Good morning.”
Test spun to see her walking into the room. She plopped onto the couch, her plush pajama top and bottoms hanging loosely on her frame. Her hair was put up with a type of band that pulled it all to the back of her head, and as she set down her cup of coffee on the end table, she arched her back with arms in the air and released a long and drawn out yawn.
Lauren was difficult for Test to understand. In many ways she was like Cliff had been when they’d first met; a hardened exterior yet something that said there was a redeeming quality within. Even though there were similarities, Test knew full well that Lauren had been a Reaper for a lifetime, and that fact made her unpredictable and somewhat untrustworthy in his mind.
“Morning,” he responded. “Sleep good?”
Lauren’s hands plopped in her lap as she ignored his question with one of her own. “Where’s the ghost of a girlfriend?” she asked in a stabbing jest.
“Don’t say that,” he replied, trying to keep a respectful tone.
“What, truth hurt? This is the first time I haven’t seen you wasting energy on her since we’ve been home.”
Test turned away from her and returned his gaze to the tree line. The sun had overtaken the tops of the trees and the light had begun to shine brightly into his eyes.
“She’s gone to visit her Aunt and Uncle,” he replied. He turned from the window and sat in a chair perpendicular to the couch.
Lauren huffed. “What’s she gonna do, pop in to say, ‘Hello, Auntie! I’m dead!’?”
Lauren’s demeanor had begun to anger Test. She hadn’t known him long enough to be lashing out in such a bitter tone. He sat forward in his chair, a faint blue light beginning to emit from his hands.
“Careful there hero,” spat Lauren as she too leaned forward. “I’m not one of those humans that you’re used to tossing around.” She held her palms up for him to see, and let a devilish grin slip into view. “I can fight back.”
Test could see the light ready to burst from beneath the flesh of her palms, and he immediately shoved his hands under his legs.
“I’m sorry,” he replied forcefully, “but do you have to be so…callous all the time. If we’re going to live together, can’t we…”
“Whoa! Hold it right there!” exclaimed Lauren, cutting him off mid-sentence. “We are not living together.” She stood from the couch and pointed a finger at Test. “You are just visiting for a while.”
Test dropped his head. “Damn, Lauren. Does it really have to be this difficult?”
He stood from his chair and crossed the room in front of her. Before he could pass, he felt her invisible grip on his arm. He turned his head to her as she held her right hand out towards him, a gentle blue glow visible in her palm.
“Hold on,” she said in a now suddenly softened voice. “I’m sorry. You have to understand something,” she began as she released her grip on him. “I’ve not had to play nice for the majority of my life. In fact, I’ve been taught to do just the opposite.”
Test relaxed his stance sli
ghtly and nodded without a response. As he began to walk away, he felt her grip begin to hold him once more. He turned quickly and, in an eruption of red and blue light, released a burst of energy that sent Lauren reeling backward onto the couch.
“Don’t think that just because you are so much older than me, or that because you used to be a Reaper that you can be a bitch whenever you feel like it.” Lauren stared at him wide eyed from the couch while he continued. “I am grateful that you saved me. I am grateful that you have given Alyssa and me a place to stay. It’s true that I need you—I want to learn more about what I am—but I will not be your whipping boy for eternity if that’s what you have in mind.”
Though shaken by Test’s show of strength, Lauren responded with a playful smile. “We don’t live forever.”
Test wrinkled his nose with confusion. “What?” he asked.
“You said that you wouldn’t be my whipping boy for eternity. Shadow’s live a long time, yes, but not forever.” The smile on her face grew even larger. She reached to the floor and picked up the coffee mug that Test’s outburst had knocked off the end table. She stood and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Oh yeah, and you’d better be careful about letting go of too much power. They’ll find you that way. You want a cup of coffee?” She spoke calmly as though none of the animosity of the moments just prior had ever happened.
Test eyed her curiously as she passed him and headed into the kitchen. “Yes, please,” he grunted. Under his breath, he mumbled as he turned to follow her. “Great, my mentor is a bi-polar bitch.”
“I’m not hard of hearing,” she replied in an unusually chipper tone as she grabbed the coffee pot.
Test entered the kitchen and pulled out a heavy oak chair from the kitchen table. He rested his palms on his knees, feeling the slight pulsing waves of energy coming from them as he tried to calm himself.
Inside, it was a beautiful house, one that he wouldn’t have expected from someone like Lauren. Everything was pristine and bright. The stainless steel appliances reminded him of Nicole’s parents’ house, though Lauren’s was much cozier. Dark stained oak trim and crown molding outlined the floors and ceiling, matching the color of the cabinets perfectly. The walls were all an off white with the north wall accented in a dark chocolate brown which, when the lights were dim in the evenings, looked nearly black. The floor was made up of unevenly shaped stones that looked as though they were meant for a patio as opposed to a kitchen floor, but it worked in the room. The countertops were a dark marbled material with fat rounded edges. In the center of the ceiling was a large skylight that allowed copious amounts of light to enter the room; again, something that he wouldn’t have expected in a house Lauren owned.
“I don’t think I’ve told you,” said Test, trying to lighten the moment, “but you have a very nice home.”
Setting a cup of coffee in front of him, Lauren replied with a smile. “I know.” She sat down next to Test, took a sip from her mug, and while still holding it to her lips, asked, “Not what you expected?”
Test felt the rush of embarrassment flow through him as she put him on the spot. “No—I mean yes. It’s…”
“It’s okay,” she replied, cutting him off. “Just because I’m a bitch doesn’t mean I don’t like nice things.” Again the smile appeared on her face just before she took another sip.
“I didn’t mean—before, I,” stuttered Test.
“Yes you did.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment. As she stood from her chair, Test spoke.
“Have you seen Cliff?” he asked
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, he told me to tell you that he’d be gone for a while. Something about going to make peace with his son,” replied Lauren.
Test’s face wrinkled. “His son? He never told me that he had a son.”
“Did you ever ask?” she quipped.
Exhausted from her constantly shifting attitudes, he did his best to tune her out and returned to his cup of coffee. He inhaled the aroma deeply, letting the steam from his breath rebound out of the cup and onto his face. Just before he took the first glorious sip, Lauren ruined it.
“How are you feeling?” she asked in a strange and uncharacteristically gentle tone.
Somewhat taken aback by her apparent concern, he stared at her with a look of confusion. “Fine thanks,” he replied. “I wish Alyssa was here, but other than that, it feels good to finally have a moment’s peace.”
“You’re better off without her,” she replied.
Slamming his mug down on the table, Test reigned in his temper and spoke in an even voice. “I thought we’ve been over this?”
She placed her empty mug in the sink and then rested her palms on the outer edges of the large stainless basin. Calmly, Lauren replied. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean any ill will towards her. I’m just saying that she takes away your strength, what with you always releasing energy to keep her on this side. You’re going to need all of the strength you can get. So, soak up your moment’s peace while you can. It won’t last long.”
Her last sentence was cold and ominous. Test pushed away from the table and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What do you mean?”
“Seriously?” she asked as she turned and rested with her back to the counter. “Do you think it’s over?”
Knowing what she meant, but trying to force away the truth that had just been realized, he replied. “Isaac?”
Lauren giggled and crossed her arms. “For starters,” she replied. “I’m afraid that you—we—will have more to worry about than just Isaac.”
“From what little you’ve told me, how is there more to worry about than Isaac?”
Lauren walked to the table and pulled out a chair on the end. As she took her seat, she replied. “Isaac will assemble an army to find you if he has to. Anil was his right hand man and he will not be pleased that he was destroyed. Besides that, to my knowledge, the Reapers have never failed to either convert a Shadow, or to destroy the one that was deemed not worthy.”
Any comfort that Test had felt moments before had faded. A deep and bottomless pit formed in his stomach.
“I thought you said there were only three of them left? That hardly constitutes an army.”
Lauren laid her head down on the table with her cheek resting on her forearms, seemingly numb to the enormity of the conversation taking place. “That’s right, I did say there were only three left—that I know of. It’s a big world, Test, and I’m willing to bet Isaac will pull out all of the stops for you.” She paused. “There’s Ikuhabe, too. Though you fought well and drained him of his power, you failed to kill him. He will more than likely take Anil’s place.”
The image of the Native American flashed in Test’s mind. He’d nearly forgotten. Standing from the table, he walked to the counter and pressed his fists into the granite. “So what can we do?” he asked. “Do we hide the rest of our lives?”
With her head still resting on her arms, she replied casually. “You can’t hide. He’ll find you—us—somehow. It’s inevitable.”
Once more Test asked the question. “What can we do?”
Her tone suddenly more serious and dire than ever before, Lauren replied. “We get ready.”
Chapter 2
After being released from the hospital, Nicole entered her apartment late in the afternoon. As she opened the door, the stench of her roommate’s trash took her breath away. At one time it bothered her, the left over fast food wrappers from a week prior, the empty beer bottles littering the floor, but not anymore.
Her hands trembled as she closed the door behind her and, as she double and triple checked the locks, she had a difficult time even focusing her vision. As she turned, she could see Travis passed out on the couch; his eyelids partially open revealing the bottom half his dilated pupils as his eyes rolled up into his head.
Nicole had found Travis at a bar in downtown Kansas City. She was trashed and he was wasted, and from there, the mistakes snowballed. Sh
e refused to call him her boyfriend when in fact he was nothing more than a live in dealer. Still, she’d done things for him in the recent months that, in another place and time, she would have found deplorable. These things were never done out of love or caring, but always with the end goal of getting another fix.
The first time Travis had ever injected her with heroin, she was terrified. Though he’d tried for a couple of weeks to get her to try it, she was able to resist; knowing that the drug had killed so many in the past was her salvation. Depression would be her demise.
After what seemed like an eternity of nights filled with nightmares about what had happened in Lincoln, and the love she’d lost with Test, her strength gave out. As the needle entered her arm for the first time, she didn’t care if it killed her or not. She just wanted the pain to end. Death didn’t come that night, but a lapse in reality did, and from that point on, that was the only thing that drove her.
As she stepped carefully through the living room, she came to the end table where Travis’s paraphernalia rested. The top of the end table was made of glass which was covered in scratches from where razor blades had been used to chop up the meth or cocaine that was also a main stay of theirs. Sitting next to a spoon, a lighter, and a used syringe, was an empty baggie that she knew hours before contained the heroin she so desperately needed. Tossing the baggie on top of Travis, she rolled her eyes and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
She began to rummage through the apartment, checking each of their normal hiding places for anything that could give her the escape that she so desperately needed. Running out of options, she entered the bedroom, the only bedroom, and began to dig through the pile of clothes that was in the bottom of the closet. And then she saw it.
In the corner lay a tiny clear bag with a solitary pea sized white rock inside. It wasn’t supposed to be there, but from experience, she knew that Travis had failed to take everything out of his clothes from time to time, and this was far from the first time she’d discovered a treat on the closet floor. She never told him though; it was hers for the taking.
The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series Page 1