Wounded: Book 8 (A Rylee Adamson Novel) Read online

  PRAISE FOR WOUNDED

  “Shannon Mayer’s Rylee Adamson paranormal romances keep me glued to the page. Rylee is a kick-ass character who loves with her whole heart and reminds me of my own Rose Gardner—a collector and protector of lost and broken souls. Every new book is better than the last and I always finish her latest book hungry for more.”

  -Denise Grover Swank

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  “The Rylee Adamson Novels are filled with a wonderfully detailed and rich paranormal world with engaging characters, a fast paced plot and lots of action. A must read for urban fantasy lovers.”

  -Eve Langlais

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  “If you love the early Anita Blake novels by Laurel K. Hamilton, you will fall head over heels for The Rylee Adamson Series. Rylee is a complex character with a tough, kick-ass exterior, a sassy temperament and morals which she never deviates from. She’s the ultimate heroine. Mayer’s books rank right up there with Kim Harrison’s, Patricia Brigg’s, and Ilona Andrew’s. Get ready for a whole new take on Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance and be ready to be glued to the pages!”

  -Just My Opinion Book Blog

  Acknowledgements

  To those who have made this journey an adventure; thank you.

  To my readers who love Rylee, Liam and the rest of the gang; thank you.

  To my team who keep me and Rylee on the right track; thank you.

  To my fellow authors who commiserate and make me laugh; thank you.

  To the two brightest lights in my life, who love me despite all my flaws.

  *DPGROUP.ORG*

  Author Introduction

  The Rylee Adamson Novels are not written as standalone novels. While each book MAY be read on its own, to get a comprehensive understanding of characters and their interactions, I always advise to read the series in order. As the characters do make repeat appearances, I’ve decided to add in a state-of-the-art feature to refresh your memory when necessary.

  In the Kindle edition of The Rylee Adamson Novels, the reader will come across occasional hyperlinks when a character first appears. Clicking on this underscored text will take the reader to a brief description of the character and how they relate to Rylee, for those interested in getting a reminder of characters and past events. Just hit your back button to return to the spot you were reading.

  However, these links are in no way necessary to understanding and enjoying each book on its own or The Rylee Adamson storyline. The ebook format has allowed the opportunity to utilize this state-of-the-art functionality in a way that has been impossible in the print world. I hope this feature enhances your enjoyment of The Rylee Adamson Novels.

  “A wounded deer leaps the highest.”

  ~Emily Dickinson

  Chapter 1

  ALL AROUND ME was silence; but under that silence was a brooding tempest of fear. Doran’s home and courtyard had never been so fucking quiet, though the calm hid the dread flowing around us. The four horsemen of the apocalypse would soon be upon us, thanks to Orion, the demon I was supposed to stop, according to the prophecies. We were in trouble, and as the truth set in, a literal explosion occurred within the council. Chaos. Total and utter madness ripped through the group, driven by fear, by the announcement Faris had made, and by the sight of his missing arm.

  Faris was a powerhouse, a vampire who not many could take on and survive. Yet he’d been nearly killed by Orion’s demons, the ones preceding the four horsemen, who were, for all intents and purposes, stronger and more deadly.

  The four generals of Orion were upon us.

  There was a slam of hands on skin, roars of anger and fear. Yelling, pushing, and shoving. I watched as one of the ogres tripped over a zombie that rose under his feet; another zombie erupted out of the ground next to Faris and grabbed his legs. Faris ripped the zombie’s head off and tossed it behind him, inadvertently hitting a unicorn on the ass. The equine kicked out and nailed an ogre in the guts. Turning my head didn’t improve the view. Doran and Berget used their phenomenal strength to toss those who were closest to them backward, creating a space the zombies kept trying to push into.

  All because no one had thought it would come this fast. No one thought they would really have to deal with the demons. Not with me here. Understanding dawned.

  They’d said they would stand with me against Orion, but they hadn’t really believed they would have to. I could see it in the way they looked at me, their gazes sliding over me. Hope and fear lingered in their eyes, along with a healthy dose of recrimination. Like I should have already stopped this by now.

  They didn’t think demons were truly something they would have to face. They thought there would be other supernaturals, or maybe humans they would each have to battle. But demons? No, that realization had only now sunk in. And it scared the ever living shit out of them. As it should.

  In a matter of seconds, the council, so newly formed, was about to incinerate into tiny, dangerous shards that would leave us standing on our own against Orion and his demons.

  Through it all, I sat, unmoving. Liam stood behind me, Alex sat at my feet and Pamela sat to my left. Against the edge of the house, my uncle Erik, last of the trained Slayers, leaned, watching. Surreal, the scene seemed to push me out of myself. I needed a moment; I needed distance. So I sat and did nothing to stop the fights breaking out. In that moment I needed calm and the only way to get it was to withdraw.

  I needed to think, to remember why I was doing this.

  Had it only been months ago that I’d gone after India, the young spirit seeker? It felt like years. That had been the first case I’d worked with Liam, though I’d known him as O’Shea then. The first case where I’d ever faced a demon. From that moment forward, my life had gone into overdrive. I’d been stung by a Hoarfrost demon and nearly caused an apocalyptic winter. I’d faced down a necromancer raising children from the dead, her blind attempt to fill the void her long deceased daughter had left.

  My best friend Milly had alternately turned on me and saved me and now she was lost to the deepest veil, captive of Orion once more, and there was nothing I could do to save her or the child she carried. I’d found Pamela, a young witch who was fast becoming a power to be reckoned with. I’d lost Giselle, my mentor and mother of my heart. I’d fallen in love with Liam and chased him across Europe to prove it, to bring him back from the brink of losing his humanity.

  I’d lost one of my best friends—Dox, an ogre and ally I could never replace. I’d lost Jack, someone who could have been a great mentor, a Tracker like me. I’d gained back my little sister Berget, who I thought was gone forever. Blaz and Erik had come into my life, giving me two someones to lean on as I faced what was on its way.

  All of those things, both good and bad had brought me to this moment.

  The current through everything in the last five months was a sense of urgency, a fear that drove me and those around me. Orion was coming, a demon sent to take the world into his hands and claim it for his own.

  I was to stand between him and the world with nothing more than the memory of the books of prophecy I’d read before they’d been destroyed by Deanna and her druids.

  I leaned back in my chair, watched the supernaturals around me yelling and roaring at one another, the noise distant in my ears. In some ways, I wish I didn’t need their help. The days of Tracking a child on my own seemed so far gone, and so simple.

  A missing child to find, bring them home no matter what—what had seemed difficult at times in the past now looked straightforward. Almost easy compared to what loomed ahead of me.

  Yet here I was, supposedly t
he only person who could save the world.

  Something in me clicked into place. Saving the world would save more than one child; it would save many, many thousands. This was my fate; this was my place in the world.

  This was what I’d been born for, even if it scared me worse than anything I’d ever faced. There was no greater cause than stopping Orion, no matter how much fear the task gave me.

  Enough daydreaming of the past and how I wished things were as they’d been. We needed someone to lead, someone to pull the reins on this runaway carriage or we might as well give Orion our souls on silver and golden platters.

  Fucking hell.

  I’d already known, but still, a small part of me hoped Doran or someone would have stopped the hemorrhaging of this open wound, the council falling completely apart. Nope, looked like it was going to be me to pull this together.

  “Are you all about done with your pissing and moaning?” I barely raised my voice. Didn’t yell, didn’t scream. Booyah for me, acting all calm and cool. Leaderly-like, even.

  The silence that dropped over the outside courtyard was more than a little cool. It was downright icy. Or that could have just been the late January wind whipping through and around us, teasing at the spray of water over the koi pond. Everything stilled, zombies included.

  Ogres, vampires, necromancers, witches and werewolves, and unicorn. All turned to me, and more than one was a little … ticked.

  Blaz’s voice whispered through my mind, and I stared at him on the edge of the courtyard, his eyes on mine. They are afraid. Be careful not to drive them away, Rylee. Orion has planted the seed of fear well and it grows with a violence that will cut down those in front of it.

  The dragon was on point, of course, and I knew they were afraid. Could almost smell it, even though I was no shapeshifter.

  They were not the only ones who thought facing down demons called “the four horsemen of the apocalypse” was a very bad idea.

  Yeah, if I were a betting gal, I wouldn’t bet on us, either.

  I lifted one hand, palm up, and wiggled my fingers at them. “Look, this is what Orion wants. He wants us fractured and freaking the hell out, because he knows if we are too busy fighting each other, he can swoop in and kick all of our asses. So everyone calm the fuck down.”

  Liam hadn’t move from his position behind me. Nor had Pamela or Alex shifted away from me. Okay, Alex as making faces at the crowd, his long tongue flapping at them, but he stood by me. My heart swelled. Even if everyone else walked in that moment, I wouldn’t see this through alone. I had my family.

  Nikko, the black unicorn was the first to nod, his voice projecting much like Blaz’s, inside all our heads at once.

  You are right, of course. There is no sense in fighting one another. We will do the demon’s job for him if we kill each other now. I will listen to what you have to say, Tracker. We have promised our help, and we will stand by our word. He lowered himself to the ground, then tucked his legs underneath his body, his golden horn glinting even in the starlight.

  One by one, each of those in the council found a seat or at least put their weapons away. On each of them I saw tightened lips, narrowed eyes, twitching muscles, sweat-dripping skin in the cold winter night air—marks of fear. I wasn’t sure I could convince them all to stay, and we desperately needed them to stay.

  Without the numbers, I wasn’t sure we would have any way of stopping Orion and his demon hordes. Because even if it came down to me and Orion, one on one, I was pretty sure I would have to battle through his demons to get to him. Or at least, I was assuming.

  Doran and Berget stood side by side, unmoving, looking as if they hadn’t just been ready to toss everyone out. This was, after all, Doran’s place we’d invaded. I wouldn’t blame him. But he looked at me and gave me a slight nod of encouragement.

  I stood, felt the world sway, and locked my knees. Fuck me if I was going to pass out in front of all these powerful supernaturals.

  First thing’s first.

  “Faris, tell us exactly what you saw.” I paused and fought to say the next word without a hint of sarcasm. “Please.”

  Faris pushed himself away from a shadow that held tight against the house, his eyes flicking to Thomas, then back to me. He didn’t cradle the stub of his missing arm, though his good hand twitched as though he’d like to. “I went, at Doran’s bidding, to check on the state of the castle. We wanted to know for sure that all the doorways were indeed destroyed and there was no way through those left into the human world.”

  His eyes went to Doran, who gave him a nod.

  “There was nothing at first; I didn’t see anything or smell anything. Then a woman stepped out of a third floor balcony—”

  I lifted a hand to stop him. “What did she look like?”

  He took a breath before answering. “Long white hair, but young in the face. I didn’t get much more from her than that.”

  “Did she give her name?” I suspected who it would be, but I wanted to be sure.

  Faris shot me a look, his eyes puzzled. “No, she didn’t.”

  “I’ll bet it was Talia,” I muttered. Who else would it be, really?

  Apparently, I didn’t mutter so quietly. Thomas sucked in a sharp breath. Of course, he would recognize a fellow necromancer. Maybe he’d even trained her. I’d only met her once, and I knew she worked for Orion, albeit reluctantly. Orion needed a necromancer to open the gateway to the deep veil and he’d been training Talia against her will for some time. At least, according to what she told me.

  The vampire went on. “She did something to the last doorway, the one that leads to the deep veil. The one that leads to the demons. I don’t know how, but she opened it. And then the pack of demons was in the castle and I was fighting them.”

  He shook his head, his lips tightening, his fangs peeking out between them. “I thought I could take them, but there seemed to be nothing I could do. I fought my way free far enough to open the veil to escape. As I fell backward through the veil, I saw them leave through the gate in the courtyard. The broken doorways seem to have slowed them, but not by much. Whoever broke the doorways has done us a favor.”

  There was silence for a few heartbeats, nothing but the sound of the wind and the trickle of the fountain splashing.

  “You’re welcome.” Erik pushed himself from the wall and stepped forward, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. “Rylee, if I may address this?”

  My eyebrows had never climbed higher, but I cleared my throat and managed to answer. “Yes, say what you’ve got to say.”

  He nodded as I gave my permission. “I broke those doorways and sealed the final two, making them traversable only one way, because I ran out of time. That was when I was grabbed by Talia and her little helpers. They hunkered down and waited for you while Bert took my spot.” He must have seen the question in my eyes. How the fuck did someone take out a Slayer like Erik? He gave me a wry twist of a smile, “They hit me from behind.”

  “Blaz, tell Bert we want to speak to him. Maybe he can enlighten us on what the fuck Orion is up to.” Bert was still an unknown to us in many ways. He’d started out as my Uncle Erik’s doppleganger, sent by Orion to get close to us and take out our two dragons. But we’d caught him in time, and now he’d sworn fealty to my uncle. It was that or die and he’d chosen wisely. Strange to think, though, that a demon was on our side.

  He’s coming, Blaz said, loud and clear so everyone heard him.

  While we waited, Faris handed me two pieces of paper. One was handwritten with no signature; the other was a picture. I looked at the photo first, memorizing the kid’s face. It was a young boy, maybe sixteen years old, with the name Simon scrawled across the back. Faris dropped his voice to a low, quiet pitch. “The necromancer slipped this to me before the fight. Said it was all she could do to help and asked me to give it to you. Likely it is a ruse, but I don’t know for sure.”

  I stared at the picture, the dirty blond hair, and skin so dark I wondered if it was his he
ritage or if he just tanned that way. But it was his eyes that caught me, made me hold my breath. Eyes that seemed to have blue, green, and aqua swirling within them. Shit, a Tracker? Another one?

  Suddenly, my place as the so-called ‘chosen one’ was not as solid as I thought, and a tiny part of me was really, really happy. But this Simon kid, he was just a boy. A child who likely didn’t even know what he was, and there was no way I would want to put this burden of saving the world and facing down Orion on him. Hell, the kid probably didn’t even know how to Track yet. The ability to Track didn’t come until late teens, well into puberty and, according to Jack, most often not until something traumatic happened. Then there were the prophecies. They referred always to a ‘she’. Lucky me.

  I opened up the folded sheet of paper, scanning the words.

  Four packs precede the four you should fear above all others. Kill the packs and seal the doorway with the blood you cherish above all else.

  There was no signature, but the handwriting was feminine, and I didn’t doubt Talia had written it. I folded and tucked it into my back pocket, choosing to not think too much about ‘the blood you cherish above all else’.

  Faris let out a breath, and tapped the picture. “They will try to kill him, take out any possible successors for you. Just to be sure. Assuming, of course, he is a Tracker and this isn’t a trap of some sort.”

  I nodded and tucked the picture into my inner jacket pocket. Fuck, this complicated things in a way I didn’t really want to address right now. Could I not have just one problem at a time?

  There was some muttering amongst the council, the tension rising with each minute that passed, but it stilled as Bert stepped into the courtyard. As a doppelganger, he could have chosen to look like anyone. What he decided to project was a weak imitation of Bruce Lee. After we realized what he was, he told us how he’d fooled us so completely. He’d apparently taken possession of a very minor witch, one whose skills were miniscule enough that they could be easily passed off as other things. Like the skills of the so-called Slayer he’d tried to impersonate. The little bit of magic he’d had, he used to making us believe he truly was my Uncle Erik so he could get close to us and kill Blaz and Ophelia. The only thing that stopped him was his true affection for Ophelia. That hadn’t ended well and Ophelia left us, for gods only knew where.