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35. The Fireball
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Viktor was screaming for help.
His clothes were on fire and his skin was starting to burn. He fell to the ground, rolling around, trying to stop the spread of the fire before he needed a legion of souls to heal.
His eyes caught Matthias' before he landed but suddenly a loud rushing fireball raged overhead.
Viktor watched as Emma and Matthias tried to dodge the fire, but they were too late. He was helpless as the fire surrounded them, fearing for the worst as the couch and curtains set on fire and crawled up the walls and fanned across the ceiling.
Smoke started to billow throughout the room but there was no movement from Emma and Matthias. Not a sound.
Yet he
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"My little shadow, just be yourself and all will be fine." Just as Matthias finished speaking Viktor fell into their room with a raging fireball chasing him down the hall. With barely enough time to react, Matthias managed to release a charm of protection around both of them. Emma tried to scream but he covered her mouth and told her to fade. Hidden in their Schatten forms, they remained within the illusion while Katana used her magic to put out the fire. Watching William scoop up a severely burned vampire, Matthias turned to Emma and whispered "He'll survive but will act like a baby as he recovers. We need to go into hiding before we have a definitive answer on who was behind the fire, although I think that I kno
The Shadow Effect 37. Banishment
Matthias and Emma turned to Katana and nodded before throwing open the door to Carsten's chambers. Without a word they entered along with the security team. Glaring at his brother, Matthias started to brutally search Carsten's memories for any signs of past betrayal and future plans. At first, there was nothing to find, but when Katana and Daan joined forces, the cracks in Carsten's shield fell away. Carsten was fighting them off but eventually he lost the fight and betrayal plot after betrayal plot was revealed. Numb to the deceit, Matthias gritted his teeth and continued watching memories of Carsten talking with James about how beautiful Alice's death was orchestrated. Learning that James had paid Anders to follow Alice and torture her once she was alone in the woods. The original plan was just to harm her but killing her, well... James was proud of himself, knowing that without a mate, Matthias would not
The Shadow Effect 38. The Appearance of Sleep
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The Shadow Effect 39. Broken Vows
Standing in her room, she looked out over the castle grounds and she could still smell the stench of the smoke that clung to everything in the castle from the curtains to the bedding. The mirrors were covered in a black film and the raging fire was burned into her memory. The screams and chaos that ensued as Matthias disappeared left everyone scrambling to find him and his precious mate, but not everyone was playing the same game.As her eyes wandered across the beautifully landscaped gardens and the picture perfect world created for the elite Schatten, rage built up within her and she wasn't sure if the darkness or the light would win over her heart.She clung to the pillow with Daan's scent and took a deep breath, knowing the way her mate touched her and electrified every part of her when they made love, she was confused. Completely and utterly confused. She wanted to hate him and not love him. She wanted to kill these miserable Schatten out of vengeance that stemmed
The Shadow Effect 40. The Iron Chains
The iron chains that bound his wrists fell to the floor of the vault and he sighed in relief as he rubbed his sore wrists to start his blood circulating again. Trying to stand up, he was wobbly from lack of food and sleep, but the shadow standing before him, helped him to steady himself and regain his balance. He reached out to this beauty standing there and leaned in to kiss her sweet lips, whispering "How have you broken their defenses, my love?" "You have taught me well and I used the illusion charms that we have so often practiced. As I found my way down here, I took out a few soldiers but they were not on our team anyways," she replied in a cavalier tone. His eyes roamed around the vault to ensure that they were the only ones contained within the walls of the vault, but then he turned to her and questioned, "Did you send them to the netherworld or place them in a deep sleep?" She smiled wickedly at her mate and the evil in her eyes became fully a
The Shadow Effect 41. A Soldier's Dilemma
He could feel her will to live sleep away as he held his hand over her mouth, but somehow he just couldn't go through with it.Not yet.He released her mouth and heard her gasp for air. It was all she could do to recover, for she was still trapped within her deep sleep.Their eyes came into contact and he snarled at her silver eyes, "Traitor. You will be the ruination of Daan and he should have banished you upon learning that you are his mate. But I will do what he is incapable of doing."Janna's eyes looked to and fro, but she couldn't scream for help or signal Daan that she was in trouble for their connection was broken as she laid there unable to move or communicate.She was frozen from her mate and this soldier knew that she was helpless.He leaned in again and softly whispered, "No one is coming to help you. No one wants you around. You are a traitor to the Toten and to the Schatten and for that you shall die this very evening."
The Shadow Effect 42. An Evil Twist
Matthias banged his hand upon the table and said, "I already know the potential consequences of my behavior but James was found to be guilty of treason against both of my mates. I had every right to yield that punishment and I will face the ire of their wrath upon their visit!"Viktor was just about to speak out and suggest another path when Daan burst through the door and without preamble exclaimed, "Matthias, some of the soldiers are planning on finding Carsten and bringing him back to take over the castle and stop your reign as an Elder. You have not ended the conspiracy and betrayals surrounding you."Matthias felt like all of the air was emptied from his lungs. Their soldiers too. How far did this conspiracy go? Who else was involved? He ordered all of the soldiers to be brought to the training grounds and they would be investigated immediately.He quickly quelled any protestations as to his methods and his investigation yielded results. Another ten soldier
The Shadow Effect 43. The Secret of the Knife
The horror of the words Matthias spoke cut like a knife into his fractured soul. He would break without Janna by his side but he could not push back against the punishment for he too would be banished or... He didn't want to think about the alternative. Not now. Holding Janna tightly in his arms, he looked at her and whispered, "I will be waiting for your return my love." Before she spoke, he heard her gasp and watched helplessly as the blood started to form in her mouth. Collapsing to her knees, Daan kept her from hitting the ground hard. His heart started to pump so hard that he thought that he was going to die, at the sight of the knife sticking out of her back. He screamed, "Janna! Janna! WTF is going on? Stay with me! Don't leave me!" Daan was in shock and lost his composure when he watched her start to fade in front of his very eyes. He felt Viktor pull him away from her and watched Matthias place Janna gently on the ground, with the knife still in her
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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
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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 campers started to pack up their campsite the next morning and Carsten controlled the idiot's actions so that he would leave him food. He was too weak to fade and fly long distances and or to remain in his shadow form for a long journey. So, he decided to stay in the park for a few more days, surviving off of food and blood from the unsuspecting campers.It was a great plan until the torrential rains came and he was left outside in the elements as he watched the campers packing their wet gear and taking off and within the hour the campground was deserted. He decided to fade into a large van and hide in the back until the group arrived twenty minutes later at the security gate. He left the van and made his way into the tourist trap, souvenir and general store. He appeared in the bathroom and then walked out, pretending to look around at the clothes. He picked up a new outfit and walked over to the cashier, who cut off the tags and wrapped the Rocky Mountain sweatshirt and
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
