Shadows of the Past Read online

  Shadows of the Past

  Others of Edenton: Book 2

  By Brandy L Rivers

  Copyright 2013 Brandy L Rivers

  Kindle Edition

  http://www.brandylrivers.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Also by Brandy L Rivers

  New Beginnings

  Prequel: Others of Edenton

  In Too Deep

  Book 1: Others of Edenton

  Shadows Fall

  Book 1.5 Others of Edenton

  Coming Soon

  Falling Into Place

  Book 3: Others of Edenton

  I’m hoping to release February 2014.

  Nights Embrace

  Book 1: Others in Seattle

  Possibly before Falling Into Place

  Storms Collide

  Book 2: Others in Seattle

  To keep up with upcoming releases and news visit me at

  www.brandylrivers.com

  www.facebook.com/brandylrivers

  www.twitter.com/brandylrivers

  Table of Contents

  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

  About Brandy L Rivers

  Reference Guide

  Preview: Falling Into Place

  Dedication

  To my Grandma and Grampa,

  We lost my grandma last year, but I will always

  miss and love you, Grandma.

  I wouldn’t doubt if you sit next to Grampa reading

  over his shoulder while he reads my book.

  Grampa, I love you from the bottom of my heart.

  You are the world’s best book pimper

  and best Grampa ever.

  Seriously, my family rocks, I’m truly blessed.

  Acknowledgments and Thank You’s

  I have to start with my mom who helps with proofreading and editing. She’s the best Mom out there.

  Magen McMinimy, thank you so much for everything. You know I love all the feedback, and you’ve let me talk your ear off about crazy plot lines and everything else. And I really can’t wait for NW Bookfest.

  Kristin Mayer, my favorite Slater Stalker, you’ve been a tremendous help. I love all the non-paranormal feedback. It really helps me fill in things that might not otherwise make sense.

  Amanda N Richardson, you’ve been another huge help. Thank you for taking the time to read the early version.

  Emma Kamblach, thank you for being an extra set of eyes. It is truly appreciated.

  Theresa Easterline, thank you for beta reading. I love all the feedback.

  And a huge thank you to all the ladies in Rivers Others, my awesome street team who are great at getting the word out about my books. I really truly appreciate it, all of you.

  Prologue

  520 years ago in the Earth Realm of Faerie

  The chill wind blew Sapphire’s long blue hair across her face as she pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. There was no love, no lust, and no desire left in the town, which left the nymph with nothing to draw extra reserves from. Despair and hopelessness were all that was left to the few remaining survivors. She had already instructed her grandson, Paavo, and his man, Mathis to take the victims inland to where her daughter Opal and several other healers could further help the wounded.

  The smell of burnt flesh wafted to her. Regretfully, she preferred it to the smell of rotten corpses that were left in the streets of the last town.

  Izackarus was leading the last of the Shadow Fae on a crusade to find her, only he didn’t know she had been hunting him with her own band of warriors from each of the four Faerie Kingdoms.

  Toryn came from the Fire realm. He was sent by his king, Reance.

  Aeryana, the Queen of the Air realm sent her brother Aeremaius.

  Xenu came from the Earth realm with his King’s blessing.

  Sapphire appointed herself from the Water realm when it became known that the Shadow Fae hunted her specifically.

  A child’s scream brought her head up. She started running down the pitted road that led to the fields. Strong arms caught her around her waist as she was lifted from the ground.

  “Shh now, Saph,” Toryn murmured against her ear. “It is a trap Izackarus has set for you.”

  The field still smoldered, and in the center was one lone child, burnt and bloodied. The Shadows’ essence was everywhere, flowing toward that young girl in tiny waves of black.

  Sapphire could feel her healing magic bubbling beneath the surface even as she cried in defeat, “We can’t save her.”

  To go into the field would be to invite the Shadows into their bodies. They either destroyed outright, or graphed themselves into their host, taking over and killing the person in the process.

  Xenu lifted his crossbow and took aim with a single glance her way. “It is for the best, but this is your mission, my lady.”

  Her eyes closed but she responded abruptly. “Kill her cleanly.”

  “Aye.” He let the bolt fly, hitting the child between the eyes as the first tendril of shadow wrapped around her charred flesh.

  Toryn set Sapphire down and pulled his hand back as an orb of silver flame formed in his palm. He threw the magical flame at the body as it fell and the shadow tendrils danced over the girl. The primordial screams drowned out all other sound until everything finally went silent. At least Toryn’s spell had burned the residual shadows away.

  “We’re getting close to them, but darkness is coming,” Xenu said. “We should go back to that cabin we found on the way to this town.”

  “Very well,” Sapphire answered. She felt torn apart. As a healer, it always took a toll on her when she was unable make it to someone she could otherwise save. To reach the child she would have lost herself and the girl would have still died. That was little comfort after the atrocities she had witnessed since setting out on this journey.

  * * * *

  “Why is it we chase this nymph? What do we gain by Sapphire’s death?” one of the lesser Shadows asked as he knelt in front of Izackarus in the badly beaten body of a young satyr.

  It was an old question that Izackarus had long ago grown tired of answering again and again. Ezale was but a child when they found themselves in the dimension of Faerie.”

  Izackarus let out a heavy sigh, and sneered. “You are too young to remember what we were before we came to this colorful land. There was a time we walked in our own skins, bringing chaos and destruction in our wake. Now, we are but ghosts of what
we were as we hop from failing host to a fresh one, in a quest to manifest our own.”

  “I enjoy taking a new body every few days. I crave my host’s terror when I tear the living soul from their flesh.”

  “Yes, but in our own flesh, we can continue to tear these fae apart, and grow stronger from each soul we infect with our very essence. So many of us have to feed constantly just to have the strength to move to the next host. How many have we lost in these many years?” They had been searching for a way to rematerialize in their original forms since their exile.

  The Shadow Fae had nearly devastated their previous planet. The intelligent beings had done them a favor but also cursed the Shadows when they exiled them from their world.

  There was only one well-fortified fortress left. So much grief, anger and hate drifted from their walls, swirling across the wasteland. They only had to float through the barren lands to glean enough sustenance to keep going, but it was a pitiful existence.

  The Shadows had finally decided it was time to breach the walls and take the remaining people. Before they made it to the fortress a wall of brilliant light surrounded them. A whirling vortex spun into existence, sucking them from their world and spitting their now bodiless forms into a vibrant forest.

  Only a hundred or so Shadows made it to the new world. Many more died in the first few hours. Without their physical form they weakened and faded into the Abyss.

  Izackarus and others went in search of answers. He was the first to find a lone farmer in a field, and swept into the body. The fae’s terror fueled him, reviving his waning essence. It took months and many more losses for the Shadows to learn to survive by jumping from one failing host to a fresh one.

  Over the centuries in this blasted land, they were down to eight Shadows, and were now deemed Shadow Fae. In reality they were something far worse, but the Fae did not believe in demons.

  Izackarus still couldn’t believe the whelp before him had managed to cling to life from such an early age, but he had to admire Ezale’s ability to conform to each fae he possessed.

  “Will it ever be enough to simply exist?”

  “No, we have so much more power in our own bodies and we grow weaker with each new host. The prophetess promised me that a pure nymph’s heart blood would be the catalyst to our original forms. Sapphire is the strongest of all nymph healers.”

  “Or our ruin,” Ezale reminded him for the millionth time.

  “We shall not lose this battle.” They couldn’t. They wouldn’t survive much longer at this rate.

  * * * *

  After waking early the next day, Sapphire took a swim in the waters of Crystal Cove. The gemstones that lined the bed of the lake gave the water a magical look.

  She could feel Aeremaius watching her. She drank in his blatant lust, but she would not have the swine as a lover. She knew he found his release in his victim’s pain, not pleasure.

  He was probably up there imagining her bound and gagged as he sliced into her body with his favorite dagger. Then he would pleasure her enough to let her heal so he could do it all over again. The rumors claimed Aeremaius favored nymphs and sirens because they always healed from intimate release.

  Sapphire would never choose to spend her time alone with the twisted man. If he were not an air fae, it would be easy to force her own will on him, force him to pleasure her and perhaps teach him a better way to spend his time. However, it was nearly impossible to force a compulsion on an air fae, so that was a situation she would never let herself fall into.

  “Pleasant morning,” Toryn said as he walked into the water. Now he was a splendid man with his glowing white skin, shiny ebony hair, and sparkling azure eyes. He had a wicked tongue, talented hands, and hips that moved like no other.

  He moved toward her, and she swam up to him.

  Aeremaius let out a frustrated growl and stormed off.

  “I do love your convenient visits.” she smirked up at him before dipping under the surface.

  He caught her under the arms and pulled her above water. His eyes were heavy lidded and framed by black feathery lashes. “Mmm, now as much as I love your mouth around my cock, and even more when I’m inside your luscious body, we need to talk. Reance has sent an old scroll that may help your quest.”

  Her head dipped in a nod as she fought back a powerful wave of lust. “Very well. I suggest clothing if we are just having a conversation.” With a sigh, she swam to the shore and climbed out.

  He let out a chuckle that always made her crave him. “If this were not so urgent, I would take you here and now. You are much too hard to resist otherwise.”

  * * * *

  Xenu had received news of his son’s birth and guilt churned through him. He had loved Rowan since they were both just children too young to work in the fields.

  He stared at the letter in his hand as Sapphire and Toryn walked into the small cabin.

  Sapphire lightly touched his chin, raising his face to meet her gaze. “What has such a stoic man so upset?”

  He let out a heavy sigh. “My Rowan gave birth last eve. I missed my son coming into the world.”

  She smiled softly. “We are close to your town, are we not? We could stop to visit. I have a blessing for your son if you would accept.”

  His head tilted to the side as he stared at her. This woman had been nothing but infuriating in her freeness. As a nymph who was strengthened by love, she did not seem to understand that he loved his spouse so much that he would touch no other.

  Upon retrospection he realized he may have been harsh in his judgment. She had not approached him after the first time he turned her down rather harshly.

  “Have you ever been in love with another?” He asked softly.

  Sapphire stepped away and sat down in another chair. “No, but I don’t need to be in love to understand it. Do not worry, you said your piece, and I have no intention to break whatever vows you have made to your love. I only wish to help your babe and even your Rowan if you would like. Until we rid our lands of the Shadows, everyone is in danger. I would like to protect those you claim in the only way I can, but I will need your help.”

  His suspicions bubbled forward, unfounded as they were. A nymphs magic was increased by lust, love and even sex. “At what price?”

  “Come now, does a friend charge to help another with small charms?”

  “Are we friends though, Sapphire?”

  “I would like to think so.” Her smile brightened.

  Aeremaius joined them. “And am I a friend?”

  A snort escaped her. “No. I do not make friends with those who take pleasure in harming others.”

  “Perhaps you should make an exception,” Aeremaius countered.

  Toryn shot a glare at Aeremaius, and warned, “Until Sapphire changes her mind, you will not touch her.”

  A scowl twisted his expression before he stormed out.

  Toryn cleared his throat. “Before we go, I do need to speak to the two of you. My king found a prophecy speaking of a pure nymph, whom I believe may be you, Sapphire.”

  “Please, continue,” Xenu stated. Sapphire nodded.

  After unrolling the scroll, Toryn read, “Once strength fills your essence, depart from your host’s body and manifest. You must then lay claim to the heart blood of a pure nymph. Their healing power will solidify your forgotten form. Be warned, their light may chase you back into darkness if you are not strong enough to maintain your form.”

  Sapphire shook her head as she stared into the flames in the hearth. “We suspected that I may be able to chase the Shadows back to the Abyss, but I don’t understand how.”

  Xenu’s hand came down on the arm of his chair as he sat forward. “Perhaps if you heal him, he will be forced into the Abyss.”

  “There’s more,” Toryn added. “Apparently Izackarus left before the prophetess finished her trance. She went on to say that your healing light can force him into the Abyss, and if you are not strong enough, it can chase him into a soul prison. Either
way, I say we come prepared with a soul prison.”

  “All the more reason to visit home,” Xenu murmured. He had a bad feeling things would not go as well as they hoped. If this was his only chance to see his son and Rowan, he would take it. “We are two days ride from Hemlock Ridge.”

  * * * *

  For weeks, they searched in circles. Izackarus felt as if they were closer to the pure nymph. He could feel Sapphire’s power, but could not sense the direction, and was always close but not close enough. Soon, he would need a new host, but there was no one left living.

  If he wasn’t so desperate for his original form, he would have moved on to new lands, but he was determined to find her. So now they searched for anyone left living, but the few wretched survivors had either been removed or killed. There was no pain, despair, or anything to draw energy from. He dreaded heading to the Earth Realm’s main town, preferring to destroy the outer edges, but these last few years had been worse than before.

  His people needed more chaos as time went on to survive. In that time their methods of terrorizing only a few had changed to ruining whole towns, and still it didn’t seem to be enough to sustain them for long.

  So many families had moved closer to their leader’s castle, believing there was safety in numbers. It was both true and false. In numbers, he could cause more chaos and feed longer, but there were fae who had learned to combat the Shadows and drive them away without a host to fade into nothingness.

  It was why they had circled further into the Earth realm than ever before. Still, they hadn’t found the nymph he was looking for. He knew only that he would feel her presence strongly when Sapphire was close.

  Ezale stumbled to his knees as they marched on. “This will end badly, Izackarus. Mark my words. All will be lost if we do ever find her.”