Shadows of the Past Read Free Page A

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    Weeks had passed, and the Shadow Fae had lost another to the nymph’s call. Izackarus was furious. He had a new host, a young wilding fae. In the event he failed, her body was hidden in a cave before he flowed as a shadow to where Sapphire swam all alone. The last three of his kind followed.
    The last of the Shadows were with him, hovering in the air just beyond, looking for any trace of anyone else. They swooped in as Sapphire floated to the surface with her eyes closed.
    She was a vision of beauty in the water. Her mesmerizing sparkling eyes opened as all three shadows dove for her. They couldn’t penetrate the spell but Izackarus took every last ounce of his strength to materialize. He dragged her body to his as she took a knife and tried to slash out at him. He was faster and twisted it free, plunging it into her chest as she jerked away. He missed her heart by inches.
    The most brilliant light exploded, blinding him as she cried a spell. It felt as if his essence was being torn asunder as he was cast from the realm of Faerie with the last remaining Shadows.
    “ I am Izackarus, Sapphire, and I vow to destroy your bloodline,” he screamed as he was torn from Faerie.
    He found himself in utter darkness with no taste of anything living, not even his fellow Shadows. There was only the bond to his one last living blood relative in Faerie. The line was spawned when the Shadows still had the power to alter a host enough to reproduce. Each jump to a new body took a tiny piece of their strength. They had lost the ability to produce offspring eons before. There were only a few living fae with any trace of Shadow Fae blood.
    The child only had a trace of his blood, but Izackarus could see through his eyes, and even alter his actions from his new prison. He swore to use his descendants to learn how to escape his prison of solitude and find nymph as pure as Sapphire. One day he would be whole again.
     
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    Xenu and Toryn were hunting when they heard Sapphire’s scream which was followed by horrific primal screams. They both turned on their heel and ran to the lake where they saw a swirl of shadow in the midst of a brilliant light. Toryn didn’t hesitate as he splashed into the water.
    The light faded as the screams died down. Sapphire lay floating in the lake, surrounded by blood. They were too late. He watched as Toryn scooped Sapphire into his arms.
    “Surely you can help her again,” Xenu pleaded.
    A tear slipped down Toryn’s pale cheek as he brushed his fingers over Sapphire’s eyelids. “There is nothing to be done. Her light has faded.”
    “Just like that? She takes the Shadows from our world at the cost of her own life?” Xenu felt the loss deeply. As much as he’d mistrusted her in the beginning, they had become friends these last few weeks.
    “I will bring the news to her family. I promised Paavo I would.” Toryn placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before he strode out of the water, and murmured, “I shall miss you, dear friend.”
    Xenu was sure Toryn referred to Sapphire.

Chapter 1
     
     
    Flashing lights swirled her headache to new heights as the siren drilled into her throbbing skull. Perfect, just what I need after driving all flipping day.
    Amethyst Lakes had just reached Edenton, so being pulled over just added to the layers of crap she was already shoveling. Trouble was the last thing she wanted to deal with, especially after the mess with her ex-boyfriend and her stay with the Silver Council.
    Maybe moving all the way to Edenton wasn ’t the best decision, but Amethyst needed a change. Everything in San Francisco reminded her of Carl, and that just made her sick to her stomach. Her mother had been on her case to do the one thing she couldn’t stand to do, and when she finally did, it all went wrong.
    She still couldn ’t believe he’d committed suicide. It just didn’t make sense. He was never in love with her.
    A burly mountain of a man climbed out of the police SUV, and