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12. 1114 AD The Toten
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Anders had waited patiently hidden in the woods for Alice and her guards to leave Inga's house and to return through the woods back to the castle. The poisoned arrow was ready to aim directly at her unsuspecting heart.
His revenge on the Schatten would be the greatest reward, after all the Elders has done to his family. The bitterness that he carried in his heart would last forever. Why should he pay the price for the sins of his father?
Since he suffered on account of his father's sins, then Matthais would suffer too for the deeds of the Elders.
That said, Anders wouldn't do any of the dirty work, he would leave that to the foot soldiers, safely hidden in place as well.
He heard the little party approaching and as he took in Alice's beauty, for a fleeting second, he felt a pang of remorse about what they were about to do. He let his mind wander and wondered if he should turn Alice for himself.
Wouldn't that be
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Matthais silently pleaded with her, 'Please don't go! Don't take off on me!' He was so afraid that he would lose her forever. How could she even fathom that he would be destroyed? His soul would be so fractured and broken that he would not be long for the netherworld. He just couldn't live without her and he tried to tell her that with just the depth of pain in his eyes. Before he could react, she faded again and flew around the room several times. He sensed that she was filled with pure adrenaline and not hatred as she landed on the marble slab, and stood in all of her glory. In her excitement, she shouted, "Ta da!" and she laughed! Emma was lost in her moment! Flying was beyond her imagination and this was, ... what to say - unexplainable, shocking, awesome, crazy, freeing,.... She could go on forever.... His heart melted as he saw her still there. She hadn't run away.
The Shadow Effect 14. The Toten Skirmish
Matthias looked at Emma, and cast to her to shift so they could both return to the vault. "NOW!" He cast anxiously, as he watched her hesitate. It took time for him to calm her down before she was willing to shift back into the vault, but the chaos of the security forces scared her back to safety. "What's going on?" She questioned in anger. "The Toten are here to wreak havoc on your turning. They know you are weak and we are preoccupied with your turning. Or at least they think we are because it been almost 1,000 years since I turned someone to be my mate." She let the 1,000 year reference hang in the air for now and the fact the he turned someone else. She wasn't his first. What was she thinking 1,000 years, how could she be his first? She wanted to laugh, thinking about how shallow modern relationships are, then she heard Matthias clearing his throat. She turned beet red as she realiz
The Shadow Effect 15. The Mirror
Emma was mortified with her appearance and Matthias sensed her concern. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around her, hiding her nakedness under her shift.Kissing the tip of her nose, he whispered, "You're mine and only mine. No one would dare even look at you."Frowning, she took his hand and begrudgingly walked up the hidden staircase into his brother's office, for the only entrance to the vault was through the security wing of the castle.Entering James' office, they found him sitting there with his mate Katja. James was sitting there, with broken leg and bruises that were healing rapidly.The for of them needed to discuss current security concerns based on the latest Toten attack.Matthias and James looked like they had been raked over the coals. Ripped clothes, blood splatter, dirt rubbed in their clothes and on their faces, mud in their hair.Emma had been in the same clothes since the turning and was
The Shadow Effect 16. Smoke and Flames
She felt his presence next to her and her mind was wandering all over the place. Needing to come to grips with the fact that she could never see her family again and everything that she had worked so hard for at her job, well...he stole that life from her. Damn the mating bond. How could it be so strong that even if she wanted to hate him, she couldn't? She was tethered to him and couldn't resist her desires for him. It was as if they were truly one. To hate him would be to hate herself. A tear formed in the corner of her eye as she brushed it away, it caused Matthais to stir, ever so slightly. Not wanting to wake him, she froze into a statue, not moving an inch. She needed this alone time to process and think how to move forward. She couldn't leave him and go back to her old life for the changes in her body were too drastic. Emma was fracture
The Shadow Effect 17. The Circle of Containment
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The Shadow Effect 18. Breaking Connections
As they entered the woods she felt a darkness come over her. Matthias sensed it too and cast out danger warnings to the security council members with them. Katja was just ahead with James when the fighting broke out. Emma saw Katja push a young girl backwards and when the girl got up she was stuck within some type of force field. Matthias cast her the words 'circle of containment' but she had no context and as she was thinking about what it meant, she was thrown to the ground as he landed on her with a heavy thump. The wind was knocked out of her. She thought she broke a rib or something; she heard a snap and felt a searing pain. Oh he'd feel guilty about this. It was a good thing that he got her to the ground in time as arrows flew over head. Before they could get up, two more arrows flew by then Daan appeared with another guard to defend them. Daan motioned silently that t
The Shadow Effect 19. 1114 A.D. Revenge
His secrets revealed. The depth of his depravity unearthed. He was turning into pure, dark evil and he would stop at nothing to get revenge on Anders and his people. Death wasn't enough. He didn't want to just kill them and send them to the netherworld. What fun would that be? No, they needed to live long, difficult and miserable lives. He could banish them, and their souls would be fractured. Then he wouldn't see them hurting and wandering around lost. No! No! He needed to make them pay for their crimes. Their punishment should be one of loss and disappointment, never acheiving their desires. Never reaching their dreams. Theirs would result from a slow loss of power. Stability. They wouldn't be able to stop it because they wouldn't know it was happening until it was too late. That would be
The Shadow Effect 20. Traitor in Our Midst
When Daan kissed Janna, she felt a thousand emotions bearing down on her soul. She was forever separated from the Toten and her brothers. That pain cut like a knife through her heart. Unbearable! Then, there was the searing pain of the turning. She remembered taking Daan's blood and the binding started. They transported her into the castle once she was placed in a deep sleep, to hide her screams from Anders. Janna would not require days to turn like Emma, but they still took her to the turning room and placed her on the marble slab, where she was restless. Her body was fading in and out as she continued to change. Daan watched from the corners of the room, questioning if his decision was the right one or not. But fate gave her to him... After several hours, her eyes shot wide open and she panicked, Anders was dead!!!! What the ...? Janna screa
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The cobwebs of sleep kept Emma tethered between the dream world and reality, under the covers in their bed. She could hear the fire roaring in the fireplace, and the aroma of the coffee finally tempted her to open her eyes and reach for the hot elixir waiting for her on her nightstand. She breathed in the hazelnut scents and sighed in utter contentment, just as she wondered where Matthias had disappeared to. Before she could take her first sip of coffee, she heard a noise outside on the balcony and wondered if he was relaxing. With that thought in mind, she placed the coffee and hopped out of bed. She slipped into a pair of cozy PJs and grabbed her coffee, taking her first sip of the day. Suddenly, Emma felt like she was on fire from the inside out as the poison worked through her system. Desperately she clawed at her throat and tried to tell Matthias that she needed his help. Before he could reach her, the shadow found her instead, smothering her face with a pillow and holding it th
The Shadow Effect 51. Captured
Searing pain raged through his body as the tip of the knife pushed into his chest. The wound wasn't yet fatal, but if she continued on her path of destruction he would most certainly fade to the netherworld within the next few minutes. Screaming in agony, he begged "Please! Stop! I have done nothing to deserve this!"Her laughter filled the room as she just held the knife in place, twisting it ever so slightly. Suddenly she pulled the knife out and traced the edge of the blade down his leg. Carsten tried to move away, but the chains left him little room for movement. His eyes opened wide, when he realized where she was holding the blade and he watched as the tip of the blade was once again ready to inflict more damage to his already broken body.He continued to plead and beg for her to stop torturing him to no avail. After she inserted the blade in several locations throughout his body, she took out other instruments of torture. Before she used any of the instruments on him, she
The Shadow Effect 50. Rekindling Brokenness
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The Shadow Effect 49. Poise Unearthed
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The Shadow Effect 48. A Twist of Fate
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The Shadow Effect 47. Lost in the Woods
Watching his hands start to fade, he felt the pull and the disorientation that followed. It was as if his body was flying through a vortex, as images of his past life were stolen from him. Memory after memory disappeared from him regardless of how hard he tried to retain his past. The harder he tried to cling to those he knew, the harder it was on him as he screamed obscenities at Matthias until all memories of him were erased. He traveled through the darkness silently once his past was erased completely then his broken body slammed into the hard unforgiving earth. The air was sucked out of his lungs, as he heard his ribs snap and he remained motionless for what seemed like hours. Alone, somewhere in the world, he was lost and couldn't remember anything about the long and privileged life that he had lived. He could not recall a face or a conversation from his life, nor could he remember ever being loved or the fact that he loved. It was simply all gone. As he looked
The Shadow Effect 46. The Elders
Matthias stood in the doorway of their temporary chambers and was stunned into silence at what he was witnessing. How in the hell did this happen? He would never in a million years anticipated what his eyes were registering. His mother, his stern and ancient mother, was standing in the middle of his living room, with Emma in her arms, consoling her as her little frame shook from the tears that continued to stream down her face. Emma was inconsolable regardless of what his mother said to her, as she was trying, really trying to show compassion."Emma, darling. This world is cruel and sometimes these things must happen. Matthias is correct, my dear. Viktor has been with him through all of the twists and turns in his life, but his own brothers betrayed him. He could not have let Viktor fade. They love each other too much for that and their friendship is ancient and strong.""But he sucked his soul..." she managed to say through her tears but added "It's not right to take
The Shadow Effect 45. Resistance at the Border
The echo of voices rang through the valley as swords clashed and voices shouted orders. The battle was in full force as Matthais and Emma appeared at the edge of the skirmish. Before entering the fray, Matthias held Emma back to assess the situation. Viktor was a bloody mess, but he wasn't sure if it was his blood or the blood of those he had already defeated. Daan was in a fierce battle and Katana was silently using magic to stem the wrath of the Toten and tilt the balance of power to the Schatten. Turning to Emma he asked, "Are you ready to unleash the fire bound inside of you?" Emma looked a bit green but replied "All of the training these last weeks, truly doesn't prepare you for this. Does it?" Matthias felt his heart sink as he looked at his mate, afraid yet somehow exhibiting her newfound strength. "Emma, it is never easy to face your enemies in battle, no matter how much you prepare. We will go in with our fire, to push them back and into a circle of
The Shadow Effect 44. The Gloaming
Several weeks later...mere moments that seemed to fly by without a private moment with her mate or time to relax alone for there was just too much for her to do. She felt inadequate and not up to the task but she muddled through daily with Matthias by her side.Suddenly Emma was thrown into a leadership position in a new world that she was so unprepared for. She was helping to run the castle and preparing for the arrival of the remaining Elders, including Matthias' parents. She was certain that their visit would not be a pleasant one, as Matthias would be investigated for all that occurred over the last month.There was no joy in all that surrounded her and she so wished for the simple days when she was just mad at him for turning her and their alone time. She so longed to be in his arms and problem free, but she wondered if this castle would ever know peace after all of the tragedy that occurred.Betrayal after betrayal.Emma was still thinking a
