A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1) (53 page)

Blakedon climbed onto his horse and clicked his heels against the saddle. Leading the men back onto the green covered road ahead, he settled in. His mind raced to plot how he would wait and rest as he conspired to bring about the coming immortal’s demise. He was sure Julian would somehow be involved and he would revel in seeing their death take place before his eyes.

For in the hall of Avery’s legacy, there will only be one left standing. As he looked at the boy sitting tall as he rode beside him, Liam Blakedon knew the fates were sealed.

Read on for A Sneak Peek of

Within the Shadows of Mortals

Ashen Twilight Series Book Two

Coming April 2010 to e-book

England
1722 – Castleton,
North Yorkshire

T
he smell of death permeated across the town, wrapping its mist around Richard William Hammond as he turned closer to the strongest area where his senses blared. There was a stillness in the air. Yet the green countryside held an undercurrent of something he couldn’t quite put a name to. He stepped forward, urging his keen senses of sight, sound and smell to their strongest. His heartbeat grew quicker, like the sound of drums serving as a constant soundtrack to the terror resting beneath his skin.
 
None of the farm animals breathed a sound. They remained still as if they sensed the uneasiness and didn’t want to attract it anymore than necessary. The smell of the freshly dewed grass interjected with pungent decay.
 
Human bodies? Or animal? He wasn’t quite sure. Normally the day would bring a clear blue sky, rich with the scent of fresh rain that usually graced the English countryside. But today something was wrong.

Rich looked around the small farm, half expecting his mother to step out of their quaint farmhouse and call him by his full name. A forceful hint that he wasn’t to dawdle while there were still chores to do. But ever since he returned home from trading the week’s supply of produce in the nearby market, there were no signs of his parents anywhere. The farmhouse was still in shape and it didn’t look like anyone had paid them a visit.

So where had they gone?

A loud gunshot suddenly went off followed by ear-piercing cries from the direction of the smell. Any neighboring townspeople in the area must not have heard it or else they’d be running out to see what all the commotion was about. At least that’s what he expected.

Rich felt the gooseflesh erupt on his pale arm as a shiver claimed him. Could their secret have gotten out? The townspeople had been speaking of large dog-like creatures in the area, sneaking around the area at night. Those rumors clashed with the ones connected to their dead relatives somehow awakening out of their grave to seek the blood of the living.

Hogwash, he always thought. He knew the true story and his kin would never attack people unwillingly much less come back from the dead. This had to be something else. Another explanation. Perhaps it was those creatures that walked the night after they had died, according to the legends. He heard of those bloodsuckers but never came upon them himself. He would be content to have never come upon them, if he could help it. But the large dog-like men that stood on two feet he was all too familiar with. He knew their true story and even refused to believe it at first. Until he felt it, saw it and experienced it within his own body.

What if the townspeople had come upon his family? Would they really cause some sort of harm toward them out of fear like his father had warned him?

The possibilities seemed all too real to Rich now as he picked up his pace and started down the open valley toward the screams. His parents would have it in for him once he returned home to see the animals wandering around the outside of their pen. As his heart thumped faster against his chest, the pounding was the last thing on his mind as fear coursed through his veins.

Indio
– A
Desert
City
- Present Day

Adric Lieber pulled up to the gas station and exhaled. It was nearing midnight as they stopped near
Indio
between
Arizona
and
California
. Gas prices were astronomical when he left Phoenix hours ago and he was beginning to think he fell into a vortex of ever rising gas prices the more he traveled. His long legs tingled as if tiny needle pricks ran under his skin. He definitely needed this break to get out and stretch his legs. He turned to his wife,
Petra
, fast asleep in the passenger side and smiled. Her expression was soft under the moonlight’s glow. Both of her hands wrapped protectively over her swollen stomach, cradling their child within. He placed his hand over her womb, feeling the slight kick underneath his palm. Soon they’d have another addition to their family. One they had been planning for months now. Adric couldn’t wait. He thought about all of the baby items passed over from friends and family throughout the years that he recently packed. Soon all of their histories would continue with the birth of their own child.

He leaned down to gently kiss her belly which made her shift slightly to find a new comfortable position. Her head turned and leaned toward him. Adric immediately moved into steal a gentle kiss.

Petra
smiled before blinking a few times. Her dark grey eyes sparkled toward him and her pretty bronze complexion glowed, signaling the oncoming birth. He didn’t know if it was anymore possible for his heart to swell even more. His hand continued to gently rub her stomach as she watched him.

 
“Are we there already?” Her voice was husky and deep from sleep.

 
“Not yet. I’m going to get us some gas and then we’ll be back on the road in no time. You feel like stretching your legs?”

Petra
shifted her body again and stretched her arms out. “No, not really. I’ll probably stay here and guard the car for you.” She chuckled softly, caressing her tummy once again.

   
“All right. I’ll try not to be long.” Adric kicked the door open and stepped out. “Can I get you anything while I’m inside?”

She pursed her lips and looked upward in thought. “Maybe some of those crunchy onion things and a pint of Cookies and Cream?”

 
“Yecch. Not together I hope!”

Petra
leaned forward. “Hey, I only dipped one time!”

Adric leaned back in the car to give his wife another kiss. “Uh huh. If I can’t use that excuse, neither can you.” He bent down to kiss her tummy. “Lock the car doors, okay? I won’t be long.”

 
“I love you.”

 
“Love you back.” He winked at her then closed the door behind him.

The night air was mild for this time of year in the desert. He was thankful for it as he was already tiring of the harsh summers and winters of the desert. It was time to change up for some warmer climates and a new location to start fresh.

Adric dove the row of gasoline pumps and nodded politely toward a tall man in a plaid shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat before heading inside the pay center. Only a handful of people stood around the market grabbing drinks snacks and mostly waiting in line to pay for their gas and food. His eye caught the brightly colored bags of chips and he spotted the bright yellow bag his wife wanted. He grabbed a few for himself and for later on. Who knows what the road would be like and how long the rest of the journey would take. To his surprise, the line was thinning out pretty quickly by the time he got to the freezer for a pint. He shoved the bags onto his arm and balanced the pint in one hand while opened the side door, held it open with his foot and reached for a cold soda with his free hand.

 
“I tell you I never did see one until that day,” a male voice near the counter filtered throughout the store. “That eclipse was either a blessing or a curse of an invasion from outer space or something.”

Adric set his items on the counter, pushing them forward to block gravity’s stubborn pull. He looked up at the cashier, who was away speaking to the older customer across from him.

“Come on, that was just a crazy weather mix up thing,” the cashier said as he rung up the merchandise. “Some clouds or that global warming crap they’re trying to sell us.”

 
“No, no. The news reports said there was no clouds in the sky and no moon to block the sun. I tell you, something was wrong and I saw one of them dog things walking around that very same day.”

Adric felt his muscles tighten at the man’s sentence.

 
“Right, pops.” The chime of the cash register sounded throughout the front of the store. “Here, keep the change.”

 
“You just wait and see when they attack us all. Eating our flesh and drinking our blood. You’ll be sorry you didn’t prepare before then.”

The cashier smiled and waved. “You have a good one now.”

Adric chuckled, sliding his items further on the counter. The cashier, with the nameplate Chanson, scoffed and pointed his thumb toward the door. His thin dark eyebrows lifted as his eyes widened. “Can you believe some people?”

 
“Everyone’s been crazy since that eclipse,” Adric said with a shrug. He eyed the growing neon green numbers on the cash register. “I guess anything out of the ordinary will put people into a frenzy.”

Chanson’s hands worked at a quickened pace as he grabbed the items and scanned them in. “I believe in the paranormal. No doubt. But why get all kinds of crazy when it’s nothing you can control? Once a creature puts its hands on me, I’ll take care of it but until then…live and let live, man.”

Adric’s lips twisted upward in a smile. “I hear that.” He slipped his hands in his pocket to retrieve his wallet. He grabbed the stack of bills stuffed in the main pocket and waited for the final items to be counted.

 
“All right, will that be all for this evening?”

 
“Yep, that’ll do it. Plus I’ll take 40 on Pump 3.” Once he was given the final price, Adric pulled out the whole amount and handed the bills over. “Keep the change,” he said grabbing the large paper bag.

“Thanks, man. You take it easy out there.”

Once he stepped out into the night air, Adric’s senses blared to life as if ice was thrown on his bare skin. There were no cars in the pumps nor across parking lot except for his own car sitting at the far end. Darkness surrounded the gas station and there was no sign of any cars other than the highway a few miles down.

But something
was
wrong. He could smell it. Deep inside his body, a sense of urgency threatened to break free as he slowly approached the car. He sniffed the area, still pungent with the scent of those who were around before he entered the pay market. He knew it wasn’t safe in the bright spotlights to release the change clawing at his gut. Too many eyes watched even in the darkness. He quickened his pace toward the car when his senses went on full alert.

 
“
Petra
, open the…”

Then he saw it. A large hole shattered the passenger window near his wife’s head. Blood splattered across the window shield cracked with webs of the shattered glass. She laid still, her hand still cradling her stomach and her face turned away from him.

Adric’s body froze with a crippling emotion that nearly sent him to his knees. He lost all feeling in his arms as the bag fell out of his grip and crashed to the ground. He saw only red as a blood filled rage pulsated his body and threatened to release the beast that he carefully held within. Before he could take another step a shot rang out from the darkness, and then another followed by a flurry of others following. He felt each and every bullet piercing his skin like knives stabbing through rough tissue. His knees buckled and gave in under him.

Petra
…He wanted to go to her. To hold her just one last time before it all slipped away. He wanted to run his hand over her stomach that held….no, that once held their child. Was it a boy or a girl? What kind of life would it had led if…if…

He couldn’t bring himself to believe it. A child he had created with his lifemate had been taken from him. Its life stripped before it even started. What kind of monster would do such a thing?

Thin slivers of pain shot throughout his body like blades of poison seeping in his veins. He smelled his blood burning, his insides melting as if a substance like…silver. These were silver bullets!

The world turned sideways as Adric fell limp on the ground with a crash. The pint of ice cream rolled by. Cookies and cream. His wife’s favorite since he took her out on the pier on Fisherman’s Wharf years ago. It reminded her of home just like she had reminded him of home.

His breathing labored as he tried to hold on.

The sound of boots crunching behind him echoed in his ears. Dark black boots stepped into his view, but he couldn’t move to see the face. More shots rang out in his ear as he was hit more times at close range. He felt his body relax as the burning pain overtook him. Slowly, he closed his eyes and surrendered to the hands of death.