James's POV (Continued)
When I turned twenty and I learned about the existence of shadow magic and our family's role in the Order, I resolved to be the best damn Shadow there ever was. At least then father would be proud of me and then he'd have to acknowledge me. Thanks to father retiring quite early, Beaumont became the new master of the House. Okay, a little education.
The Order was essentially the magic police. We maintained law and order between the humans and the supernatural community. Put together witches, undead beings and some idiots that can into four legged animals and you have a lot of testosterone -don't matter if they're male or female, the quest to dominate all is the same- and that's where we come in. The our own brand of force -thats the shadow magic we have- and human technology, we have been able to keep everyone in line and dealt judiciously with those who haven't. What's a great organizationCHLOEAugust 1,2016.I was running late. I checked my dashboard again to make sure I was still driving under the approved 40 km/hr limit since this was a residential area. It wouldn't do to be pulled over and delay getting to Alicia.That little menace had called me up a few minutes ago and demanded I come over. Immediately. Apparently she was injured in the gazebo. She had fallen down when climbing to the top of the gazebo. Why she would do something as dumb as that,I had no idea.I found it strange though that she
Chloe's POVOur beloved town was more than eighty years old, but the friendship between the Black family and the Crane family had existed for longer than that.It started with my great-grandfather Carl Black and his childhood friend Shane Crane roaming far away from home to become pioneers of the land soon to be known as Lyfette.Their friendship continued on through their sons Lyle Black and Conner Crane. Lyle Black(my grandfather) gave birth to Philip and Sylvester Black. Mr Conner gave bir
MILES' POV"What are you doing here Miles?"A voice asked, nearly making me jump out of my skin.I'd been so engrossed in going through James' secret desk that I forgot to listen for footsteps. A rookie mistake that I shouldn't have made.I turned to face the new occupant of the room.It was Chloe, arms folded, giving me the patented Chloe look. The look that said she was seconds away from blowing the whistle on me.This was bad.If I didn't shut this down before it got out of hand, she would go to James and ask him about this room. A room I was not supposed to know existed."I need an answer Miles or you can explain yourself to James" There it was. Chloe's only flaw.She was a tattle tale.I pushed out a bit of my essence, enveloping the flash drive I'd found in black."I will tell you later." A defiant look was my only reply."Not happening. Tell me right now." She walked into t
MILES' POVI'd woken up to the strangest feeling ever. I felt both heavier and lighter than air. My head felt foggy. It was like having a morning after after a night of partying. Problem was, I'd skipped the drinking part.I could also see shadows. Like literally see the shadows that weren't there. A friend once told me that you can't touch imaginary things so I put my hand to the wall to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I saw my own hand and screamed in fear.I saw my hand....and a shadow of my hand. Beneath my hand was a shape of my hand. The shape was black. Not dark, but black. Pure inky blackness. If it were possible I would have peed myself.My door burst open and Mrs Cook, our housekeeper rushed in."Miles? I heard you scream." She held a golf club over her head, ready to swing at any threat.The incredulity of my housekeeper, a woman pushing sixty, defending me from an intruder
Miles' POV"Ow" I yelped in pain.I looked down to my tingling flesh and realized someone had poked me in the thigh. I pivoted my head to glare at the broad shouldered jerk that just poked me with a pen.The sharp pain in my thigh did the job of rudely returning my focus back to where it should be. Debriefing my handler about James.The occurrence at James' office had happened four years ago. I'd come a long way from that clueless boy."What do you have for me?"He asked in a gravelled voice.I handed over the flash drive silently."I will pass this on to him. Standby for further instructions." Blade was out of my car in the next second.I tracked him with my eyes until the night swallowed him up. With a heavy heart, I reversed my car and drove home.I wished more than anything that I didn't have to resort to such underhanded tactics against my own family.Unfortunately, I didn't have a
"Your fiancé is very handsome"Chi Chi,one of the apprentice at Lou Couture gushed as she helped with my wedding dress.I turned and glanced through the partition at the man in question. He bore strong resemblance to my silver fox. He was the replica of what James looked like ten years ago. He had a runner's build. Lithe yet compact muscles,not a single hint of fat anywhere. He was tall enough for a man,over six inches. All this was genial enough. What made you stop and take a second look was those weird green- grayish eyes. Hazel under the right shade. It changed colour with his mood. Those eyes could blaze with fury just as much as it could smolder with intensity. Either way,take a look in those eyes and you would be forever lost. It didn't help that he had a chiseled jaw and aquiline nose that made him look like a roman god. Bushy stubble that you just want to bite or run your hands through. Yeah,I would totally hit that.The weird thought
James's POV (Continued)When I turned twenty and I learned about the existence of shadow magic and our family's role in the Order, I resolved to be the best damn Shadow there ever was. At least then father would be proud of me and then he'd have to acknowledge me. Thanks to father retiring quite early, Beaumont became the new master of the House. Okay, a little education.The Order was essentially the magic police. We maintained law and order between the humans and the supernatural community. Put together witches, undead beings and some idiots that can into four legged animals and you have a lot of testosterone -don't matter if they're male or female, the quest to dominate all is the same- and that's where we come in. The our own brand of force -thats the shadow magic we have- and human technology, we have been able to keep everyone in line and dealt judiciously with those who haven't. What's a great organization without an arch nemesis? Welcome the w
"James?"A voice called from behind me. I turned around to find Sylvester Black poised on the staircase. "Why do you look like something the cat dragged in?" He asked,a frown marring his features.I feel like something the cat dragged in. Aloud, I said "I had business out of town and I just got back.""Still doesn't explain your appearance. It's not befitting for a Scion of the Crane family to be seen looking like.....this" He finished with a raised brow.Sylvester Black and my older brother, Beaumont have been friends since they were in nappies, and as such, I've been around him since I was a child. Everytime I interacted with the man,I was left feeling wrong footed and unsure of myself. Even when he wasn't summing up your worth with a single dismissive glance,his very presence was enough to make anyone feel inferior. I felt it then as I stood in my dirty bedraggled clothing."James?"A feminine voice gasped, interrupting the Inquisition."Hel
James's POV (Continued)When I turned twenty and I learned about the existence of shadow magic and our family's role in the Order, I resolved to be the best damn Shadow there ever was. At least then father would be proud of me and then he'd have to acknowledge me. Thanks to father retiring quite early, Beaumont became the new master of the House. Okay, a little education.The Order was essentially the magic police. We maintained law and order between the humans and the supernatural community. Put together witches, undead beings and some idiots that can into four legged animals and you have a lot of testosterone -don't matter if they're male or female, the quest to dominate all is the same- and that's where we come in. The our own brand of force -thats the shadow magic we have- and human technology, we have been able to keep everyone in line and dealt judiciously with those who haven't. What's a great organization
James's POV My earliest memory from childhood was when my ball got stuck in the tree. It was an ordinary day, just like any other. I was about four or five? The details of such a young age is quite foggy, but I remember wanting that ball so bad. I don't think it was my birthday or even remember where I'd gotten the ball from. I just knew I wanted it and it was stuck so far away, and there was no one around, not even my parents. It would be years later until I realized that my parents' absence wasn't because of work or any problems but simply choice. Anyways, I started crying profusely. My nanny -one of many over the following years- came and she tried to console me. I pointed to the ball up in the tree. "Oh, it's so high up. How about I just get you another one?" She had answered in dismissive tone. She carried me away from the tree and back to our house, ignoring my cries. I didn't like being in the house. It was always just me wit
At midnight, just as instructed, I walked into a deserted warehouse. How Blade knew all of these places I didn't know existed in a town I grew up in, I would never understand.I was too anxious to sit still and wait for him. I roamed around the warehouse before finding a streetlight and leaned against it.There was a flash of black and then Blade was standing in front of me."Here." He said without preamble.No hey, how you doing. Nothing. I doubted the man knew how to have a proper conversation with anyone."And this is?" I opened the black purse to reveal three vials of grayish liquid."Tyier." He stated simply. Getting answers from Blade could be likened to pulling teeth."I have no freaking idea what a Tyier is.""It's made of Eitr,but diluted.""I thought we agreed not to kill my uncle." I muttered."I made no such agreement with you. I relayed your concerns to my master and he informed the Three. They agree with you." I breathe
MILESDude was so weird. Any reasonable person would have sent an actual address.I entered the coordinates into my phone and turned on the gps location. I drove for some minutes before the blue indicator stopped moving. That meant I'd gotten to my location. My location turned out to be a heavily wooded area with paved roads big enough for two people to walk through at once. This would be a perfect spot for a run or cycling.I made a mental note to drag Kyle out here in the nearest future.I huffed as I felt my mood going sour.I wasn't certain that I would have much of a future. I couldn't renege on the case after I'd come so far. To refuse to complete a mission after accepting it meant death.I couldn't kill James either. Regardless of what James had done, he was still family.My passenger door opened and Blade fitted his large body into it. I hadn't seen or heard any movement.That was Blade though. You would never see or he
Miles.I was a distracted mess when Kyle finally showed up several minutes later. I'd managed to hide the evidence in my gym bag but I hadn't done much else. Kyle was full of apologies for making me wait. I waved him off. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Blade had delayed him so he could shatter whatever illusions about my uncle that I haboured"Miles? You okay?"Kyle murmured,his forehead creasing in concern."Nothing dude. I'm fine." Everything's just dandy."Ok. Now I know something's wrong." Kyle grated out,dropping his dumbbells on the floor carelessly. I was startled at the sound the dumbbells made. I looked up to find myself on the end of Kyle's glare.He pointed at me accusingly. "You are hiding something from me. Spill it. Now" How the heck was I supposed to tell him that I'd been ordered to kill my uncle? I couldn't even tell Dad. Oh shit. Dad. I couldn't go to Dad. Three of his closest friends had died in the
MilesSeveral millennials ago,a woman by the name of Alba convinced her husband Shiv to make her more powerful. Alba was a descendant of a long line of powerful sorceresses. When her mother died,she became the next sorceress for their clan.Unfortunately,Alba was a very weak sorceress. She couldn't commune with spirits. She couldn't cast spells or any of the other things a sorceress could do. Afraid she would lose her place as a leader of the clan,she convinced her husband Shiv,a powerful mage to perform a ritual that would grant her more powers. For the ritual to be completed,seven human souls would have to be sacrificed.One of their victims happened to be a young girl of nine,sister to Shiv's half blind apprentice,Raj. When Raj found out that his only sister was about to be killed,he sought help from a hunter friend of his.The resulting rescue in the middle of the ritual ended with Shiv dead and Raj with the ability to become o
MilesI hurried away from the blistering heat and into the heavily conditioned air of the gym. I waved to the guard on duty and strode directly for the weights room. Kyle and I worked out here once every week. I'd already canceled on him once and failed to show up for lunch. If I flaked on Kyle for the third week in a row,I was gonna get reamed. If our roles had been reversed,I would have done the same thing to him.Kyle was still gonna rip me a new one though. I just saw a red Audi in the gym's parking lot. Kyle made a trip down from Austin,a town more than two hours away and still beat me here.I entered the second weight room with some slight trepidation. Kyle once complained about the extravagant amount the gym charged for it's exclusivity. I figured it was prudent not to clue him in on how much I paid to reserve the room when we worked out here. Being an account major for one session apparently meant he should be frugal-- even when
Chloe - The Black House"You did what?!" Mother bellowed. Her face turned purple with rage and indignation. I cowered back from her anger, unable to believe my mother can show any emotion towards anything that didn't involve the latest fashion trend or her high class parties."He has been ignoring me mother." I tried again to explain my reasoning to her."He has been busy! He is the most eligible bachelor in this country and you want to dump him because he doesn't have time to go to fittings with you?!""I didn't dump him. I just want him to give me more time. That's not too much to ask is it?""No baby girl. It isn't. But you need to understand that he is a very important member of society and as such his time is very limited. He needs to prioritize....."And I wasn't worthy of making his list of priorities? I screamed or growled, I wasn't certain which and ran to my room. The door made a loud thwack as it collided with the frame heavily.
JAMESSo,where have you been?" Chloe asked, staring at me suspiciously."Are we the only ones having dinner?" I asked with some surprise. The table was laden with food that would make any royal house proud,but there was only three plate settings."Yes. Aunt Tara is visiting her mum. Kyle and Ty have other engagements. My parents are on a cruise. I told you that last week." She finished,glaring at me accusingly.I winced,more strikes against me."Yes you did. Sorry. I forgot.""Seems to be a recurring theme with you. Especially where I'm concerned." She snarled,poking at her food."Has Miles been here today?" I asked Sylvester,sure he wouldn't bite my head off for asking a question"No. Is there a special reason why he was supposed to be here?" Sylvester dabbed at his chin daintily."Yes. I asked him to deliver a package to Chloe." That explained why she was still angry with me. Chloe loved pretty things. If M