Shade of Darkness Read online

  Shade of Darkness

  D.N. Leo

  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

  Part 5: Devil Friends

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Part 6: Natural Mage

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Bonus

  Soul of Ashes

  I. Crossroad

  Synopsis

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Also by D.N. Leo

  EXCLUSIVE GIFT

  Afterword

  Chapter 1

  Twenty-one days to the Summoning

  He expanded his wings as far as twenty feet on each side and was pleased that they made no shadow under the sunlight. He was invisible to the eyes of all creatures, however he only paid attention to a special kind. That had been his approach for thousands of years. He was immortal, and he didn’t waste time on primitive creatures like humans or ordinary citizens in the various universes. They were just too … ordinary for him to care about.

  The multiverse was beneath him. He needed to focus on those of his caliber—those who could see him and fight him, his fellow angels and the demons. Maybe there were others who could look him in the eye and put up a decent fight. But until he encountered them, he wasn’t going to waste his time worrying about it.

  They called this place New Earth. Every creature in the multiverse was talking about it because of the Scorpio key Summoning ceremony.

  That stupid key had taken him such a long time to track down, only for him to discover he didn’t have the power to make the stubborn piece of stone surface. He’d have to wait for it to rise in its own natural cycle. As long as there was a level playing field, and ordinary humans and supernaturals also had to wait, he was fine with that.

  Then a rumor in the multiverse had dragged him here early. He had competition. Someone had put out a job in the multiverse to search for the Scorpio key. He didn’t mind competition—it would make his immortal life more interesting—but he didn’t like not knowing who his opponents were. He cursed silently and glanced around, looking for something on which to let out his frustration.

  He saw something from the corner of his eye. It was one of the semitransparent ice creatures from the bloodstone mountain. He chuckled and said, “Well now, long time no see.”

  He leaped into the air and landed just behind the creature. It was one of the minions from the mountain where the Keymaster had harvested his bloodstone to make the Scorpio key. He knew for sure it wouldn’t be able to see him.

  He had wondered several times about the origin of these creatures. Had they emerged from of the bloodstone in the mountain, or had the Scorpion king created them and sent them to get what he needed? If so, what could the rotten, long-dead Scorpion king possibly need?

  He had seen crazy things during his time. He wouldn’t say he knew a lot, but he was sure that once a creature was dead, that was it. No two ways about it. Even if it was brought back by some kind of magic, the creature wouldn’t be the same. It had to be a rebirth of some kind.

  He shook his head, still keeping his eyes on the movement of the ice creature. Rebirth? For what? He laughed to himself. The Scorpion king was ancient!

  He heard what sounded like the chirp of a cricket behind him. He turned around and saw an ice creature looking right at him. The chirping vibrated from its throat again.

  “So you can see me!” He smiled at it.

  It kept making the noise and then tilted its head. It was looking straight at him.

  Or maybe not.

  He turned his head to look down the narrow alleyway behind him and sighed. The ice creature wasn’t looking at him after all. It was watching a human teenager who was gliding along the street on a small piece of wood with wheels underneath.

  The creature approached the human, who couldn’t see it, swung an arm, and whacked him off the moving piece of wood. It stared at the board as it veered away and stopped when it hit a wall. The human’s body smashed against a stone fence, and his natural life left him. As an angel, he could see the young boy’s spirit leave his body.

  It astonished him that no other humans paid any attention to what was happening. The youngster had just died in front of them, but their lives continued, and the traffic diverted from the scene to give way to a large vehicle that came along soon after to clean up the street.

  The ice creature knew ordinary human eyes couldn’t see it. It stood there, contemplating what it might do with the abandoned moving board.

  There was loud roaring noise. He had just enough time to leap away to the top of a high stone fence before a human male on a giant motorbike struck the creature with the bike’s front wheel, crushing it to the stone wall. The man kept the wheel spinning until the creature was shattered into shards of blood ice. The pieces scattered over the ground and then melted away.

  He smiled with amusement. The human on the bike could see the creature!

  Then the human looked up at him.

  “It’s good to see a Dark Angel.”

  He leaped down to the ground. “And it’s good to meet a human who can see a Dark Angel.”

  The man chuckled. “I’m Nathan Breen, leader of Ethesus. I’m a shapeshifter. And if you couldn’t tell I’m supernatural, then you’re not ready for this coming war, Angel!”

  “Don’t you want to know who I am?”

  Nathan smirked. “No, there’s no need for me to know the inferior.” He started his motorbike and zoomed away.

  He raised a hand, made a fist, and pumped a lightning strike, hitting the back wheel of the vehicle. Nathan lost his balance and jumped from the bike, sending the bike skidding driverless across the ground until it hit the stone fence.

  Nathan turned and looked at him. “I have one equal opponent. She is Alyna McCabe. I don’t care how much magical power you have. I know you can kill me with one of those lightning strikes of yours, but if you want my respect, you’ll have to earn it.” He chuckled. “What’s your name?”

  “So now you want to know my name?”

  Nathan smiled. “That bike cost me a great deal of money, and you trashed it. That’s why I need your name.”

  “Call me Dark Angel then.”

  “That’s a job description, not a name.”

  “And what’s the job description of a Dark Angel?”

  Nathan shrugged. “Angels who deal with shady business.”

  He laughed. “All right. I’m Azriel.”

  Nathan nodded. “Azriel, you’ll have to compensate me for the bike. And for your information, debt collection is one of the lines of business we do
best at Ethesus.” He turned, shifted into a lynx, and darted away.

  In the last thousand years, Azriel couldn’t recall encountering anyone who had insulted him and remained alive, and he didn’t care to set a precedent now.

  Chapter 2

  Alyna and Caedmon’s long metal staffs clashed together in an ear-ringing clamor. They then pushed away from each other. She knew he was a lot stronger than this and could do her a lot more damage than a gentle nudge. Whatever culture he had come from had taught him not to harm a female or those physically weaker. But with that mentality, he wouldn’t survive New Earth to do whatever it was he was here to do.

  She charged at him mercilessly, all kicks and elbows. In no time, she had pushed him up against the wall of the martial arts practice room.

  “That’s enough,” Caedmon said.

  She swung another punch to the right of his face. He caught her hand midair.

  She used her other hand to form a gun, pointed it at his head, and made the sound of a gun firing. Then she released him. “Don’t talk when you fight, and don’t quit before the opponent is totally incapacitated.”

  “It was only practice.”

  She smiled at him. “You’re lucky it was,” she said. She wondered which features he took from his father and which from his mother. The face looking at her now was sinfully handsome with striking gray eyes and a killer smile. He had been topless during practice, and she had to admit that the toned muscles of his upper body were easy on the eye.

  He had told her that where he came from, creatures were human-like with angelic features. All the citizens were virtuous and beautiful. He had a lot of human in him, however, and he considered himself to be a bit on the ugly side.

  She rolled her eyes inwardly. If that’s ugly, she thought, I’ll take it in a heartbeat.

  “Alyna!”

  “Huh?” She gave herself a mental slap.

  “Are you sure about our agreement regarding the Scorpio key?”

  “The Scorpio key used to be the most important matter for Amaraq. Why would I agree to anything without being absolutely sure?”

  “Why is it no longer important?”

  “I never had a spiritual bond with it. For me, it’s an artifact. Pukak knew that. He knew I didn’t follow the spiritual path. He wanted me to be the leader, so I suppose he respected my opinion. Amaraq is an organization that protects people. My priority is to ensure we do well as an organization. I don’t believe that worshiping the Scorpio key—and dealing with any baggage that comes with it—helps with that.”

  “So by agreeing to let me take it to my universe, you’re freeing yourself of a burden?”

  She threw her arms in the air. “It has a mutual benefit, doesn’t it? I thought you wanted the Scorpio key.”

  He chuckled. “I do. But it’s not just me who wants it. The entire multiverse wants it. I think you’re giving it to me too easily and don’t appreciate its importance. It could put you in danger.”

  “Me?”

  “You’re a good fighter. But—”

  “Yes, yes, both the Scorpio key and the spirit of Amaraq are larger than life. Pukak said that his whole life. See what it got him in the end? I don’t operate at the metaphysical level the way he did. We were in a car crash. My parents died. He dragged me out of that mess, fed me, and trained me—”

  “I take it you mean he brought you up and respected that you didn’t share his spiritual beliefs. But Alyna, he hoped you’d come to terms with the spiritual practice of Amaraq one day and protect the key.”

  “Did he tell you that before he died?”

  “No, but I know what my parents expect of me. Pukak isn’t your father, but I can see he had some influence on you.”

  “You don’t know me, Caedmon.”

  “Don’t get angry. All I’m saying is that when you come to terms with Pukak’s death and want to talk more about the key, I’ll be more than happy to do that. I can explain to you how it’s safer with us in Eudaiz than here. Of course I want the key, but I don’t want to take advantage of the situation when you’re not totally informed.”

  “Well, I’m not that naive. I thought we had a deal.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, indeed. I’ll stay and help you carry out the Summoning smoothly as part of the deal. But I’ve got to tell you, the old leaders of Amaraq aren’t going to cooperate. They’ll cause you a lot of trouble before you can even deal with the outsiders like Ethesus.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  He smiled. “Let’s say that in Eudaiz, my rank is quite senior, and I’m in charge of a lot of combat situations where I need to deal with complicated creatures, both inside and outside of our group. I’m used to it. I consider humans and mages to be pretty much the same as the creatures I used to handle.”

  “What exactly do you do?”

  “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”

  He turned to put the staff away. She watched his bare back as he turned. His skin glowed a golden shade, and if she wasn’t mistaken, she saw fur appear on its surface. Then his body was haloed in a glowing, shimmering light, and the golden fur disappeared.

  He turned back and saw the look on her face. “What’s wrong, Alyna?”

  “You … just …”

  He chuckled. “You saw a glow?”

  She nodded cautiously.

  “Don’t worry. I have an internal healing mechanism that helps me heal any injuries in my body—as long as I do the right thing by it. I felt a bit uneasy just now, so I turned the mechanism on briefly. That’s why you saw the light.”

  She nodded. He hadn’t seen the golden fur. He hadn’t figured out she had asked Teacher to turn him into something even she didn’t know. Unsure of whether he could read minds, she asked, “You know what I’m thinking?”

  “I’m not a mind reader if that’s what you’re thinking. My mother has that talent, but unfortunately, I don’t.” He grinned at her. “Are you thinking about something you don’t want me to know?”

  She shrugged. “I am. I’m trying to figure out how to turn you into a lion with golden fur. I know you weren’t born a lion, but maybe if you were bitten by a were-lion …”

  He laughed. “You have a wild imagination, Alyna. If I were bitten by a paranormal creature, I’d put a bullet in my head before they could turn me.” He looked at her. “You look disappointed.”

  “Why would I be disappointed that you’re not turning into a furry animal? I have this feline here to rub.” She reached out and pulled Lazi, who had just sauntered into the room, over to her. She stroked his back. The cat purred loudly and tilted his head up for her to scratch.

  “If you want to experience the fur of paranormal creatures, I’ll introduce you to Uncle Lorcan. He can shift into a magnificent blue fox. I’ve seen it.”

  “You have a shapeshifter in your family?”

  “We’re not blood-related. But we’re like family. As I said, I don’t mind paranormal creatures. I just don’t want to be one.” He rubbed his wrist. “Speaking of Lorcan, I’ll need to ask him to get me a new wrist unit. Are you sure mine was in the lake? Because if it’s lying loose somewhere in the temple, I’ll need to get it back as soon as possible.”

  Alyna shuddered. She remembered shoving the broken wrist unit under the rug with her foot to hide it before Caedmon recovered from being turned into a paranormal creature at her request. She didn’t know how he would take the changes she had imposed on him. Whether it had saved his life or not didn’t matter. She hadn’t asked his permission.

  He would obviously object to being turned. She’d need some time to figure out how best to let him know what had happened. She was sure it would cause friction in their relationship. But for now, she could deal with only one thing at a time. And Amaraq and the Summoning were her top priorities. She decided to play it by ear.

  “When we pulled you from the lake, I didn’t see the wrist unit. I only noticed because I streamed the light into your hands before you turned into an ice block
.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care to swim to the bottom of that lake anytime soon. Apart from you, who has access to the temple?”

  “The current leader is the only one with access.”

  He nodded. “Then I’ll consider it to be relatively safe for now.”

  “The temple is safe, but it’s not invulnerable. I told you our number one enemy is Ethesus. They always want to get inside the temple. If you help me control Ethesus, when the Summoning is over, the Scorpio key is yours. It’s only fair.”

  He grinned. “Deal!”

  “It’s late. I’ll let you rest. We’ll have quite a lot to do tomorrow.”

  He nodded and smiled at her. “Thanks for the training.”

  “I’m not sure you need it.”

  “It never hurts to learn new things.”

  She nodded a goodbye and scurried upstairs, hurrying into her room.

  Chapter 3

  The beginning of time.

  She stopped in her tracks on the way to her usual secret spot where she practiced the skills she needed to avenge her parents’ deaths. She knew Keymaster was aware of her secret practices, but he was turning a blind eye to what she was doing. That seemed to be his approach when confronted with things he knew he couldn’t help her with. She had outgrown his resources and knowledge. She needed much more than he could provide. He knew this and stayed clear, giving her the space to do her own thing.