Shadow's Pleasure: The Shadow Warder Series, Book Two (A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (41 page)

Druj turned to leave the long hallway lined with cells. They had a transport van arriving with new Warder recruits. In a matter of days, each one would be on his or her way home, carrying with them a new mission, and the seed of a Voratus growing inside their souls.

Turn the page for a note from the author and an excerpt from Shadow’s Discovery, Book Three of The Shadow Warder Series.

Thank You!

Thanks for reading Shadow’s Pleasure. I hope you enjoyed it!

* 
Click Here
 & Sign up for my New Release email list. I’ll email to let you know about new books – including exclusive, limited time discounts and stories only publicized to members of this list.

* Reviews are a wonderful way for other readers to find books they’ll like. You can leave a review on 
Amazon.com
 or on 
Goodreads
.

* 
Click Here
 to be added to my ARC team. I love to give out advance reader copies to readers who like to read & review books before they’re released.

Also in The Shadow Warder Series:

Prequel Novella: 
Shadow’s Passion

Book One: 
Shadow’s Awakening

Book Two:
Shadow's Pleasure

Book Three: 
Shadow’s Discovery
 (Spring 2015)

Book Four: 
Shadow’s Promise
 (Fall 2015)

Do you want to know what happens next? Read on for an excerpt from Shadow’s Discovery.

Shadow’s Discovery: Excerpt

The Shadow Warder Series, Book Three

Keeley hated to admit it, but she was lost. Incredibly, mysteriously, turned in all directions, lost. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad. She knew she was in South Carolina. Somewhere in the low country, near Charleston. She’d been no more than a half hour outside the city when she’d caught a hint of the healing tag. Light ash wood discs, about an inch in diameter, they indicated a rare Voratus infection that could be healed. Part of Keeley’s job was to track these healing discs to their source and save the infected victim, drawing the invading Voratus demon out of the human body with a delicate skill. Most days her job consisted of hunting and killing demon-infected humans. The chance to save one was irresistible.

Her fingers were crossed that whatever she was tracking this bright day, it wasn’t anything she’d have to take down. Fighting was part of what she was. While healing humans of demon infection was her inborn calling, no Shadow lasted long as a tracker if they couldn’t fight with deadly skill. For a young Shadow, Keeley was an accomplished fighter. At only forty-three, she was already as proficient as most trackers several times her age. Normally, she was up for any challenge.

Not today. Today her feet were aching, her skin was sticky with sweat and the constant buzz of bugs in her ears was about to drive her right out of her mind. The idea of having to exert herself further was too much to take. She’d be more open-minded, she admitted to herself, if she had some idea where she was. Most of this area of the low country was sparsely populated. She’d been following the trail of her target through the damp, scrubby forest for hours. At some point she’d lost her bearings. It was embarrassing to admit she couldn’t figure out how far she was from her starting point. Had she been moving in a straight line or wandering in circles?

Another bug tangled in Keeley’s thick eyelashes. She swatted at her face, managing to smack her nose without driving the bug away. Any other time, if asked, Keeley would have said she loved the low country. The sense of history, the damp, salty scent of the marshes, the shallow beaches and vibrant sunsets. The mountains of Tennessee where she’d grown up had never settled in her soul the way this place had. Her current assignment had her ranging between Atlanta, Greenville and Charleston in rotation with three other trackers. Keeley tolerated the other two cities, considering them a trade-off for time spent in Charleston.

Another few hours lost in this humid forest and she might reconsider. Coming to a halt, she sat on a half-rotted log and took off her shoes and damp socks. Carefully setting her sneakers and socks on the log beside her to keep out the dirt, she dug her toes into the loose, sandy soil of the forest floor. She was a Shadow, a being created to thrive on an intimate connection with the earth and its energy. Shadows did not get lost. If they did, it would be in a city or other area cut off from the soil. Not here in the untouched wilderness. It was impossible to conceive that she could sit here with her feet half buried in the earth, the too-slight breeze tickling her damp skin, and still have no idea where she was.

Cold, sharp unease spread through Keeley’s gut. There were times when optimism was the best plan. Then there were times it could get you killed. She hoped this wasn’t one of those times. All morning she’d tracked her quarry, focused on the healing to come, refusing to dwell on the growing realization that either her quarry was leading her deep into the desolate, swampy woods, or she was lost. As Keeley finally let go of her rose-tinted view, she had to acknowledge that it was probably both. There was no doubt she’d been tracking the healing tag for the past few hours. So the infected human was wandering in these woods for some reason. And, Keeley also had to admit, moving far faster than the average human to have drawn her so far from her normal territory so quickly. And she was also lost.

An infected human moving this quickly was unusual, but not impossible. Alone, it wouldn’t have raised more than an eyebrow. Keeley getting lost in the woods on top of the speedy human? Way beyond coincidence. Which added up to her being screwed. With deliberate slowness, Keeley brushed the dirt from her damp skin and slid her socks and sneakers back on her feet, lacing them tightly. She reached for some of the energy around her, seeking to draw from the heat of the bright midday sun, to tap the movement of the sluggish breeze. A trickle of power boosted her flagging reserves. She should have felt a rush of energy. The Shadow’s version of a triple shot Caffé Americano. Though she liked those too. This weak thread of power wasn’t enough to keep her going. Something had cut her off from the energy of the world around her.

The gravity of her situation was sinking in, giving teeth to the cold fear in her stomach. She was alone, lost, tired and without the ability to power back up. Shadows had access to almost unlimited energy. It was easy to get overconfident. She’d always thought she was too smart for that, but here she was. Checking her phone, she wasn’t surprised to see no signal. No signal and no battery. So the stupid award for the day would be pinned on her shirt. First, she had to get out of here.

Twenty years tracking infected humans and Keeley had never turned her back on a target. She always took care of the victims—healed them if she could and put them out of their misery if they were too far gone. She’d never decided to walk away. But with her awareness of her environment now fully online, Keeley knew there was a good chance she was in trouble. It was time to get out of the woods and return to civilization. Once she figured out what was going on, she could call in back-up and they’d go out after her victim again. Staying out here alone wasn’t smart.

Keeley reached out with her senses in search of whatever was blocking her. She didn’t feel anything, aside from an odd blankness where there should have been the warm vibration of the earth’s natural energy. Not a huge surprise. The only thing that could be blocking her like this was spell craft. As a Shadow, Keeley had the ability to bend the energy of the earth to her will, but spell craft was alien to her makeup. Most Shadows disdained even the thought of using something as mundane as tools to work their will. Keeley thought they were just jealous. Not that she wished for more power. Being a Shadow was a pretty powerful deal. But spell craft was cool. When it wasn’t directed at her. If she could feel it, she might have been able to find the source. Instead, she was blind, coming up against that strange, impenetrable wall of nothing when she reached out. Now she knew what it was like to be human. Powerless, unable to use energy or spell craft to protect herself. She didn’t like it.

Trying to recover her innate optimism, Keeley looked to the sun for navigation. Of all the times to realize she was lost, the peak of midday was the worst. Her cheerful disposition was really taking a hit. Hard to be positive about being lost with no way to navigate.

Before she could work out a back-up plan, Keeley heard a low rustle in the scrubby brush behind her. With a sour sense of fate, she turned to see what new catastrophe awaited her. More bad news. Two men loomed over her—one tall and broad, the other a little shorter, though still taller than her. With her petite frame, everyone was taller than her. The second man was thinner than the first, but Keeley was too experienced to miss the fluid way he held himself or the lean muscles on his frame. He was also her tagged human, and confirmation that this was all off-key. This body had been infected by the Voratus long ago. It had been months, maybe years since you could call it a non-fatal infection. The tag was a decoy.

The first man was the real mystery. He was more than human. It wasn’t just his size and muscular bulk, though he was easily over six foot five and powerfully built. His body thrummed with a low-level energy that wasn’t human, yet not demon. Definitely not Shadow. Even with her access to natural energy somehow dimmed, Keeley his energy signature was like nothing she’d ever felt before.

Wearing a t-shirt and faded jeans, he was dressed like any other guy, except for the leather cord he wore in a tight band around his neck. In the center of the cord, flush to the hollow of his throat, was a wooden disk, similar to the tracking discs Keeley used. She didn’t recognize the rune. One more odd thing in a day of weirdness. The man’s eyes were bright with anticipation, narrowed in eager focus. Despite her years of training, Keeley had to stop herself from stepping back from the intent in his hungry gaze.

“Stay there, little Shadow,” he said, easing closer.

The Voratus stayed where it was, bouncing on the balls of its feet in anticipation. Uneasy, Keeley recalled that the Vorati, in ancient times, liked to eat their victims alive. Damn her treacherous brain for remembering all the gory, useless facts from school. The thought of being crunched by a demon wasn’t helping her get her nerve back. Inhaling a smooth, deep breath, Keeley shored up her composure. No longer the bone-crunching beasts they’d been in the past, Vorati were now forced to infect human bodies and draw sustenance from human emotion. They could feed on any strong emotion, but they preferred pain and terror. Already outgunned and weak, the last thing she needed to do was give in to her fear and make her enemy stronger. She might as well just lie down and give him her throat.

If she let the larger man touch her, Keeley knew she was lost. It was hard to tell exactly what he was, but she had no doubt he was far stronger than her as long as she was cut off from the energy in her surroundings. Prepared to run, Keeley gathered what strength she had. The part of her brain grounded in reality screamed that she didn’t have a chance. She was weak and these things meant to take her down. She wasn’t fast enough, strong enough. She would have to be smart enough. Keeley prepared to fight for her life.

The big man took another step closer. Keeley studied him, evaluating his stance, the way he had his weight balanced. She knew she would only get one chance.

“Everything is okay,” he said. “My friend and I just want to talk to you for a minute about the tag you’re tracking.” His attempt at soothing fell flat. There was too much gleeful anticipation for him to sound at all comforting.

Keeley pretended to listen, waiting for her opening.

He reached for her. Taking him by surprise, Keeley’s hand met his. In a move she’d learned long ago, one designed for a smaller fighter who would be battling against people far bigger, Keeley used the man’s bulk against him, driving her shoulder into his midsection and tossing him over her back. As he rolled, she used his momentum against him again, twisting his arm in her grip until she heard the crack of bone. She might be weakened by whatever they’d used to block her, but she was still a Shadow and far stronger than the average human.

He landed with a thump that shook the forest floor where they stood. His accomplice hovered, frozen in shock, jaw dropped in cartoonish surprise. Keeley struck before the Voratus could get its bearings. Launching herself at him, she took him to the ground, rolling their tangled bodies over the rough earth, taking them farther from the larger threat. In the pockets of her cargo pants, Keeley had a number of items she might use against a full-strength Voratus. While she was tasked with healing those she could save, once she determined the infection was complete, her only job was to kill the Voratus. The death of the original human host wasn’t a consideration. The host was already dead—the body containing the Voratus was only a shell. She scrambled, trying to keep the Voratus down while she found something that could save her life.