Descending Into Darkness (Moonlight Academy Book 2)

“The shifter that the woman in the bar was talking about, apparently he runs this town. I suppose none of you heard of him?” I asked. They all shook their heads and Lachlan gave me his usual look that said to be quiet.

It was getting dark very quickly. The tension within the group was palpable and I couldn’t understand why everyone was panicking all of a sudden. We could still defend ourselves, we weren’t amateurs.

“I think that maybe I should do the talking. These shifters are pissed because we crossed into their territory, but in our defense these lands weren’t well marked,” Karina said.

“I don’t think they will care and there are a lot more of them than us,” Claude announced.

We finally vanished inside the woods, I sensed others. Masses of energies belonging to shifters appeared to me too. And they quickly surrounded us. I counted over fifty, but there were probably more. I couldn’t understand how they’d all got here so quickly.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“We do apologise for trespassing into your territory, we did it unintentionally. We are looking for someone in connection with a murder in Bucharest,” Karina started saying and her voice vibrated a little.

Damn it, that girl never showed her emotions, but she was obviously scared.

I had several of my sharp knives inside my boot and I was actually looking forward to kicking their asses. Our team was experienced and we knew how to kill a few shifters–the only problem was that there were more than just a few.

“But you did and now you’re going to lose your heads because of it … let’s start with the vamps. They won’t feel a thing,” a deep, loud voice spoken.

It was the shifter that was surrounded by the others that had spoken as he finally stepped out of the shadows.

Marco was balancing a ball of light on top of his palm, so I could see his face. I suspected that this was the Alpha – Samuel that everyone was so afraid off. He had very sharp features, with large broad shoulders and a stocky posture. Two deep scars ran across his face.

“These are empty threats Samuel. You must be aware that we aren’t from here and we aren’t supposed to prosecute visitors,” Claude spoke and his voice echoed around the forest.

I glanced at Karina who looked as confused as I was. Did Claude know that shifter?

A few more of his shifters stepped forward, growling, ready for their attack. Their eyes were shimmering with energy in the darkness.

“But you aren’t just visiting, you’re here for someone. A little fairy whispered that you’re here on business which means that you have intentionally broken my pack’s rules,” Samuel continued.

“Just let us talk to Christopher. We all know that he’s here,” Claude continued, sounding angry.

Lachlan was clenching his fists and I had a feeling that he was just about to lose his cool, so we needed to act. I could sense his vibrations and as much as I hated to admit this to myself, he was turning me on.

Then, I heard a muffled voice, like someone was struggling. A pair of hands had grabbed Karina from behind and there was a knife at her throat. I didn’t even have a chance to react.

Judas grabbed my hand. He must have sensed that I was ready to reach out for my knife. I looked at him confused and he shook his head.

“No unexpected moves or the shifter is dead. I don’t like you Claude. I have told you before, no one is allowed here, not even you,” Samuel snarled and then he gestured to someone standing at the back.

Out of the darkness, another shifter stepped out and walked closer. Marco’s light shaded his face. It was Christopher–our prime suspect.

So, he had been hiding here all along. He’d lost a lot of weight and had scars that looked like bites all over his face.

“Who killed Marisa and Jackie, Chris?” Judas asked straight away. He must have recognised him too from the few pictures that Marisa had posted online.

Anxiety was rising inside me. Karina was breathing hard looking at me. I couldn’t move. I was too afraid to do anything. That shifter could slash her throat in one swift move. She looked scared.

“Your friend here hasn’t got any manners whatsoever Claude. Who is the new girl, half breed? Although she doesn’t seem like one,” Samuel continued diverting his eyes to me.

He must have sensed the mixtures of my energies. Normally shifters wouldn’t, but something was telling me that he was pretty special.

I knew that I had to stay calm. The shifter was pressing his blade over Karina’s neck. A few drops of blood trickled down her throat.

“Let her go Samuel. She has done nothing wrong and she is not one of yours. We need to ask Chris a few questions. He’s still an Elite student and what if he spilled a few of your secrets? I bet you wouldn’t be happy about that,” Claude replied with a smile.

I could see Christopher swallow hard at that statement. I had a feeling that Claude had finally got the pack leaders attention. Samuel turned his head towards our suspect, who went very pale. He started shaking his head nervously.

“He’s lying, I have been loyal to you and I have no idea what happened to Marisa that night. When I got to the grounds she was already dead,” he started shouting as I inched very, very slowly to the right, trying to reach for my knife. These idiots weren’t going to let us go.

I was prepared to kill a few of them. Adrenaline was pumping through my system.

Split seconds later, Samuel had his hand around Chris’s throat. Then he lifted him above the ground like he weighed nothing. His legs were dangling over the ground.

“I have never trusted you, boy.”

Samuel continued to interrogate him while Lachlan whispered to my ear.

“You take the three in front and I’ll take care of Karina’s shifter, otherwise we are all as good as dead.”

Then he pushed me forward and I stumbled, thinking that he couldn’t have been serious. The other shifters didn’t expect it either, so by the time they reacted I had already pulled the knives out of my boot. To my complete and utter surprise, Lachlan shot the shifter that held Karina directly in his head. I didn’t even know that he had a real gun on him. The smell of blood wafted through the air. Samuel and the rest of the shifters roared.

Two of them quickly transformed into wolves and threw themselves at me while I started stabbing them wherever I could. Covered with blood and not seeing very much else, I tried to push them off me when someone pulled my hair.

That was fucking painful.

“Now, you want to play, so let’s play,” a familiar voice snarled.

Damn it. Samuel was sitting on me. His eyes were filled with darkness. He punched me so hard that I saw a stars. I was searching for my knife on the ground, but he kept punching me again and again. In the distance I could see someone approaching, although I thought I was hallucinating. Everyone around me was fighting. I could hear the howling of the wolves. “What are you? Say it now or I rip your heart out and consume it right here, right now.”

His hand was on my throat, squeezing it tightly. I couldn’t speak, my whole body felt like it was on fire. I had no doubt that he was ready to rip me to pieces.

“I’m a fae,” I whispered as the energy exploded through me as his face started changing, his eyes went wide. My fangs descended too.

“Hmm, a fae and a vampire, interesting. I will make use of you,” He laughed.

I felt my magic rising within my core. The fire was growing inside me and I was able to control it.

“Fuck you,” I managed to spit out, releasing my energy.

Then, the most amazing thing happened. My fire was burning him, I wasn’t quite sure how though. I’d wanted to hurt him, but with magic.

I focused on his eyes and neck, thinking about Karina. He should have shifted then, he wouldn’t have felt anything.

He roared and threw himself off me, grabbing his face as the flames of my fae magic were suddenly covering his whole body.

My head hurt, well my whole body was aching badly but I didn’t have time to stay here, but I could barely move my jaw. In the distance I saw Karina. She seemed all right. She’d turned into a leopard and she was fighting with another shifter.

The tiny voice inside my head reminded me that I had to go after Chris.

He saw the murderer that night, he knew who had killed the two students. He’d lied to his pack master, but why?

Now Samuel–the leader of the pack in Transylvania was burning alive and this was my doing. Lachlan was ripping the throat of another shifter. There was blood everywhere and there were more shifters approaching.

I really had to hurry. I forced myself to move, to run past Marco who was using his magic to stay alive.

I had strength in me again, the energy pulsated through me like a thousand small currents, buzzing in my ears. I started running, moving past the trees, trying to track down Christopher.

His animal form was leaving traces of energy everywhere, he wasn’t very good at masking his scent either.

On top of that, he was hurt and he was bleeding badly. The moon appeared in the sky, finally released by the clouds as I jogging between the trees. The scenery changed and I was going uphill towards the mountain. Chris was getting tired and he was losing speed.

My senses picked up someone, or something, in the distance. I stopped abruptly, breathing hard and looking behind me. It was pitch black all around and sweat was dripping down my face. The energy had finally subsided. I was suddenly worried about the others.

There were so many shifters about that knew these lands and there were only a few of us. I waited and listened, trying to pick up on sounds around me. My vampire senses were suddenly very sharp and I could hear and see everything, even the smallest details. If Samuel had burned to death, then my group was going to be all right.

My intuition indicated to the north, so I jogged towards there, seeing an entrance to a cave.

“Bingo,” I whispered to myself, sensing a supernatural inside.

I quickly hid behind a rock when I saw someone in the distance, my breath coming out as a wheeze. My heart skipped a beat and my eyes widened with disbelief.

No, damn it. This couldn’t be him – Leonidas. The ancient vamp that had nearly killed me a few months back. I felt the taste of his blood in my mouth and I was ready to vomit.

Chris shifted back into a human and he was putting some clothes back on. I couldn’t get any closer otherwise the ancient would sense me.

“You shouldn’t have left. This complicates, things and you know that I don’t like attention,” Leonidas said.

I inhaled his scent, wanting to get closer. His energy was addictive. I was ready to get up and just beg him to drink from me again, but kept on breathing slowly, trying to calm down.

No, I was here for Chris and I didn’t need the ancient’s blood.

We were still connected despite everything that happened that night, despite my outburst of energy.

My magic was imprinted in his and right now I was trying very hard to stay concealed. Christopher looked damn scared. He was shaking like a leaf and his skin was ashen.

“But … but I had to leave. They brought this team from the Ukraine to investigate. I couldn’t get exposed. The Council is already looking for me,” he was saying, tangling his hair. There was something wrong with him or maybe he had been hit with a very strong spell, he didn’t seem right.

On the other hand, Leonidas looked strong, filled with more magic than before our confrontation in Russia. Maybe Christopher didn’t kill these two students after all.

The ancient vampire walked up and slapped him. His eyes were shining brightly with red flames.

“You were to create havoc there, a distraction, so the vampire that works for me can complete his task,” the ancient roared. “And you would have known which vampire it was, because of his mark. It’s visible.”

I bit my bottom lip, trying to figure out what exactly he was talking about.

I was right, so Leonidas was behind these two murders, but why? He couldn’t influence Elite. He must have planted a spy in the Elite, but for what reason?

“Marisa didn’t want to cooperate. She was getting difficult–”

“I knew that before you reported it to me. My vampire eliminated her and well, the other female, she was just there, so we had to take care of her too,” Leonidas said, pacing around the cave.

“And they found out about me, they came here. Someone grassed me up,” Chris yelled, really panicking now.

“Your situation or pack is none of my concern. Frankly I’m disappointed in you, shifter. Now my vampire has to wait for the next set of trials to bring the newly created ones into the academy,” the ancient added and my stomach turned.

So this was his objective … hmm nothing had changed. He wanted to open the doors to his vampires. It made sense that he wanted to have them inside the academy.

I was ready to reveal myself, to challenge the bastard. Suddenly, a very bright blue light blinded me and I was thrown backwards. It took me a moment to get up and gather myself.

When I looked up, the cave was empty and Chris was on the ground choking on his own blood. The ancient flew from the scene leaving his prodigy to die a slow, agonizing, death.