Curse of Shadows and Light (Demonblood Series #3)
Title Page
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2. Liora
Chapter 3. Lucky
Chapter 4. Lucky
Chapter 5. Liora
Chapter 6. Liora
Chapter 7. Liora
Chapter 8. Lucky
Chapter 9. Lucky
Ch apter 10. Lucky
Chapter 11. Lucky
Chapter 12. Liora
Chapter 13. Liora
Chapter 14. Liora
Chapter 15. Liora
Chapter 16. Liora
Chapter 17. Lucky
Chapter 18. Lucky
Chapter 19. Liora
Chapter 20. Liora
Chapter 21. Liora
Chapter 22. Lucky
Chapter 23. Liora
Chapter 24. Liora
Chapter 25. Liora
Chapter 26. Lucky
Chapter 27. Lucky
Chapter 28. Lucky
Chapter 29. Lucky/Liora
Chapter 30. Liora
Chapter 31. Liora
Chapter 32. Liora
Chapter 33. Liora
Chapter 34. Lucky
Chapter 35.
Chapter 36.
Chapter 37.
Curse of Shadows and Light
Demonblood Series #3
A novel
by
Penelope King
Copyright © 2013 Penelope King
authorpenelopeking.blogspot.com
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and events are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Cover art by Claudia McKinney at PhatpuppyArt.Com
Font Design by Catie Crehan at thefontdiva.com
To Mom~
Thank You.
Chapter 1.
The dried leaves and twigs rustle as he leans his full weight on top of me, a perfect fit as our two bodies meld into one. His bare skin is so soft over his hard muscles, and I gasp for breath before his lips press again on mine. His hands roam my body as if I am his most treasured possession, created for him and him alone.
This claiming of me. This ultimate surrender of my soul to his. I am on fire.
But he doesn’t just take. He gives. His fingertips dance along my arms and face, and saying nothing, he tells me so much. This is no ordinary kiss. No ordinary touch. No ordinary love.
For he is no ordinary man.
He is inside of me, filling every space in my broken soul, healing my wounded heart, strengthening my faltering spirit. He brings me back to life.
He is mine. And I am his.
Forever.
********
“Liora… Liora, wake up.” Corrine nudges my shoulder rougher than necessary, and I open my eyes. A half-second later I realize where we are, and it couldn’t be further from the magical place I’d just been.
“You dozed off,” she continues with a peculiar look. She pushes up her thick glasses. “But we’re coming up to Crystal Cove now. We’re almost there.”
I sit up straighter and rub my eyes. Kieron glances at me with a tight grin but keeps his attention on the road. He lowers his hand from the steering wheel to give my leg a gentle squeeze before reaching for the bottle of water in the center console and taking a big swig.
“Anyways,” Corrine continues in a chipper voice, “I let you sleep through Los Angeles, ‘cause it was just slow traffic on the freeways. Not quite the golden paradise they make it seem like on TV. And not one celebrity anywhere. But you can’t miss this part—it’s amazing out here!”
I tilt my head against the passenger side window. She’s right… the scenery is breathtaking. The wide, paved roads are shiny black with nary a pothole in sight. Rolling hills of brilliant emerald blanket the sides of the highway. Rows of perfectly-shaped palm trees stand like proud beacons navigating us through brilliant displays of strategically placed flowers… their blooms so precise, I can’t help but wonder if they’re even real.
This couldn’t be more different from the place we just left. The small, rural cabin in the Virginia woods was the only home I’d ever known. The only place I felt comfortable and loved. This is like another world.
Will this one reject me too?
Like suppliants in need of protection, Kieron, Corrine, and I will soon be arriving at the home of Tattie’s twin sister, Anastasia. My guardian had only recently told me she even had a sister, and I have to admit her revelation caught me by surprise… as if there were this whole other secret side to Tattie that I never knew existed. And the fact that she’d never mentioned her until we were truly desperate was concerning as well. If things were good between them and they were close, surely Tattie would have said something sooner.
“Why so quiet… you feeling okay?” Kieron glances my way as he turns the car down a narrow side street.
I nod and try to smile, but my heart isn’t in it. There is too much sadness in my soul.
“You’ve been awfully sleepy lately,” he continues. “I’m sure you’re just exhausted from all you’ve been through. It’ll be nice to sleep in a real bed in a real house. Give you a chance to relax and recover from all the drama.”
I nod again and turn my attention back to the whizzing scenery. I can’t tell him that no amount of sleep will ever help me ‘recover’ from the horrific events of the past several days: Finding out that my friend Tristan was a Light-angel who’d been brainwashing and using me. Lucky getting expelled from her homeland of Thiberoux with the threat of death if she ever returns. To be sure, it was a horrible, hellish place, but it was the essence of our existence, whether I liked it or not. I’m not sure how she’ll survive not being able to go home. It’s like telling a shark it’s no longer welcome to swim in the ocean.
And then, the awful realization that we’d never be safe where we were with the Light-angels after me, and I’d have to leave Tatiana and my life in Dove Creek behind. The only life I’d ever known and the only woman who’d ever shown me kindness, compassion, and love. And I had to leave.
And of course, Bones. His death truly saddens me. But it is absolutely killing Her. She keeps it buried, deep inside. But I feel it. Like an emptiness in her heart… a black poisonous hole that can never hope to be filled again.
“What do you think she’s like?” Corrine asks as she leans forward from her perch in the back seat. Her eyes are positively huge as she stares out at the luxurious countryside. “Other than obviously super rich.” She gulps and her lips become tense.
I shrug. “Dunno. Other than the fact that she’s Tattie’s twin, I don’t really know much about her at all.”
“She’s a powerful witch, though,” Kieron adds. “She knows real magic. Just keep that in mind.”
Corrine swishes her hand. “Pshaw. As if that would freak me out. After traveling cross-country with a couple of demons, you have to do better than a silly ol’ witch to get a rise outta me.”
Despite my melancholy, I can’t help but chuckle. Her easy acceptance of Kieron’s and my true nature had shocked me to some extent. But somehow, deep down, I must’ve known she’d be okay with it. Of course she’d been taken aback at first, and even frightened for a moment. But she soon started nodding and saying how it all made sense now. She was convinced several of her mom’s awful boyfriends had been of the demonic variety, including the one who’d assaulted her right before our escape from Dove
Creek. I didn’t have the heart to set her straight— to tell her that some humans can behave just as terribly as any demon I’ve ever known, if not worse.
“Do you really think she’ll be able to heal you, though?” Corrine asks, softly now. “Make you and Lucky one again?”
With a sigh, I absently tap the window with my fingertip. “I don’t know… maybe. Tattie thought maybe there was a chance. But I don’t see how—”
“Look, this is it. We’re here,” Kieron says as we come to the turnoff for Crystal Cove Estates. We drive a few more moments before arriving at a small guard shack in front of some monstrous black iron gates. “How do you want to do this?”
I shrug. “I assume we’re expected, but I have no idea. If there are any problems you’ll have to take care of them.” I note the sun hovering on the horizon. “Lucky won’t be here for several more minutes, but we need to hurry.” I’d thought it best we meet my ‘aunt’ in my human form, as apparently she’s not too fond of demons, and obviously Lucky can’t be trusted to behave.
“May I help you?” the rotund guard asks as he approaches the driver’s side window. His eyes narrow as he peeks inside and sizes us up.
Kieron flashes his movie star smile and turns on the charm. “Yes sir, good afternoon. We’re here as guests of Miss Anastasia Havish.”
The guard frowns and stares at us like he’s already decided we don’t belong here and are all up to no good.
“Miss Havish hasn’t called in any visitors’ names today,” he says. “I’m going to need to see some identification.” He takes out a small pad and starts writing down the car’s license plate number.
Kieron and I exchange a glance. “Ugh. Do it. Hurry,” I mutter.
“You don’t need to see my ID,” Kieron calls out the window. “And you don’t need to write down my license plate number. In fact, go ahead and rip up that paper right now.”
Immediately the guard stops his scribbling and looks at us, a blank look on his pudgy pink face. Then, without blinking, he tears the paper into tiny pieces and throws them on the ground.
“Hey, he didn’t have to litter,” Corrine grumbles.
“Now you will write down exactly where Miss Havish lives and give us the directions. You will open the gates and let us in, and forget that you ever saw us. Understood?” Kieron’s voice is firm, but not unkind.
The guard nods and starts scribbling again. “Yes sir, just straight on through…follow the road around there then take that last turn. It’s the last house; you can’t miss it. Biggest one in here.” He gestures over his crude map and hands it to Kieron. Then he rushes back to his little hut and a moment later the mammoth gates part, permitting our passage.
The guard waves at us happily, and Corrine wiggles her fingers at him as we pass by. “You don’t need to see his identification… These are not the droids you are looking for… Move along,” she says in a funny voice. Kieron and I both turn to look at her, and she bursts out laughing. “What, you never saw Star Wars? You just totally Jedi mind-tricked that guy!”
I chuckle at Corrine’s amusement and give Kieron a pleading glance. “Help us, Obi-Wan Kenobi… You’re our only hope.”
Kieron makes a face at us. “Yeah, yeah, yuck it up. Wonder why our hostess didn’t put us on the list?” He glances down at the paper and makes another left turn.
“Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding. Maybe she thinks we’re coming tomorrow, not tonight. Or maybe Tattie just didn’t have a chance to call her yet.”
Still, I can’t help but feel uneasy about this whole situation.
“Okay, this is it,” Kieron says a few minutes later as the car comes to a stop at the end of the street. He isn’t smiling. “Don’t exactly see myself Jedi mind-tricking our way through that.”
The narrow drive is blocked by a high, black gate, and a fence that seems to go on forever. There are no handles, no call box, no guard, no nothing.
“What do we do now?” Corrine whispers.
We sit there in silence for several long moments, while Corrine fidgets nervously in the back seat. I can feel Kieron silently questioning me as he glances around us, but I don’t say anything. I just sit there, perfectly still.
She is watching us.
I felt her eyes on us from the moment we pulled up to the guard shack. She is watching, and feeling. And I’m pretty sure she can even hear us right now. If I’ve learned anything from being raised by Tatiana it is never to underestimate the extraordinary, and often unexpected, powers of a witch.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. “Please… we come in peace and we mean you no harm. We are your friends… your family. We’ve come a long way and you are the only one who can help us. We need your protection. Please, please let us in,” I silently beg. “You know we’re not evil. I know you can feel our intentions… our humanity…”
“Look!” Corrine gasps. “The gates are opening!”
I open my eyes and see that indeed the mammoth iron bars have slowly begun to part. When there is enough space, Kieron eases the car through. At first it seems almost like driving through a golf course, with gentle hills of perfectly manicured grass as far as the eye can see. The winding driveway is lined with more palm trees and cherry bushes, and after another few moments a majestic, brightly-lit mansion rises into view, set against the cerulean backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.
This time I’m the one gasping. It’s a breathtaking sight, and I’m having a hard time imagining someone related to Tatiana living in such unbridled luxury. I guess deep down I’d been hoping her sister would be exactly like her. But so far she couldn’t be more different.
“Wow,” Kieron mutters. “What are we in for?”
As we continue our slow descent down the long driveway, a voice in my head whispers, “Tread lightly. Or I will end you.”
I suck in my breath. I don’t hear the words so much as I feel them, and the power behind them. I know that whatever we’re about to face is very formidable… maybe more so even than my dear guardian.
“Holy cannoli, are you kidding me?” Corrine squeaks. “Who lives like this? I mean, this isn’t even a mansion. This is like a castle!”
I don’t answer her. Truth is, I have no idea who this woman is.
And I’m suddenly terrified.
Chapter 2. Liora
We pull around the circular driveway and stop in front of the house. Standing on the front porch is a woman I immediately recognize as Tatiana’s twin sister, only because they have the exact same diminutive build, as if a strong breeze could pick them up and carry them away. But I know all too well how deceptive that frail appearance is, and the warning to ‘tread lightly’ still rings in my head.
“Is that her?” Corrine whispers, leaning forward again.
I nod with a gulp and turn to her and Kieron. “You two stay here. Let me go first.”
Kieron peeks around me to look at her again. “Are you sure? Maybe I should go with you just in case—”
“No, you stay here. I’ll be fine.” I give his hand a squeeze and force a small smile. “If she didn’t want us here she wouldn’t have opened the gates.”
He lets out a deep breath and shakes his head slightly, then casts another wary gaze across the grounds. “I dunno. Something feels really off about this place.” I can’t blame him for his concern. This whole area is beyond surreal. Even I can feel its intense mystical energy, and I can only imagine what he’s picking up.
“It’s Tatiana’s sister. I’ll be fine.” I take a deep breath and try to steady my shaky hand as I open the car door. So much is riding on this woman. If she refuses to help, I truly have no idea what will become of us.
She’s wearing a long white dress, and standing next to an enormous marble statue of a lion that looks like it could turn its head and swallow her whole in one gulp. Her long, silvery-white hair is pulled off to the side and fastened with a lilac flower. She makes no move to greet me as I approach, and remains as still as the statue beside her.
> I feel myself staring… she looks so much like Tatiana it’s shocking. But at the same time, she looks like her complete opposite. Totally blind, Tatiana’s eyes were a solid milky white, and while it was impossible to judge her age, she always had a haunted, wizened countenance.
But the woman standing here has brilliant, unnaturally sparkling turquoise eyes that are almost hypnotizing, and she radiates a youthful energy and vibrancy that is making me seriously question how old Tatiana really is.
I clear my throat and step closer, but not too close. “Hello, Mrs. Havish. I’m Liora…Liora Greyson.” I hold out my hand, but she still doesn’t move, and just looks at me. I gulp, and my stomach clenches even tighter.
“Tatiana sent me… us.” I turn and motion to the car where Kieron and Corrine are staring at us through the window. “I’m her… um, daughter—”
“You are not her daughter, you are a demon bastard she found in the forest one day,” she snaps, her face still passive.
I’m taken aback. “Oh. Um. I—well, yes, sort of technically, I suppose. But I’m not really a demon… not now anyways. It’s this whole long story—”
She holds up her hand. “Save it. I’m not interested. Tatiana took you in because of some misguided loyalty and obligation, and she was an utter fool to do so. Demons are dangerous and unpredictable and cannot be trusted. I’m not making the same mistake she did.”
Her eyes flash brightly, and suddenly a violent wave of nausea washes over me. I take several deep breaths and put my hands on the lion statue to steady myself.
She shakes her head in exasperation and takes me by the arm. “Here, come with me. There is a bench around the corner you may rest on. I may not want you here, but I don’t want you passing out on my front porch either.”
“I’m fine, I can stand.” My voice sounds hollow even to me. Another wave of dizziness nearly knocks me over, and she grips me tighter. “Okay. I’ll sit for a minute. But only until I don’t feel like I just flew off a roller coaster.”