Anya screams as she is grabbed from behind around her waist, “Anya! Where’s the fire love?” someone asks swaying with her.
“Not now, Christian!” she snaps and stomps on his foot.
“Damn, Anya, you didn’t say that last night, Did ye?” He growls sloshing his pint. Anya has an idea and leans in to whisper in his ear, and he smiles as big as the sun. “Anything for you, love!” and he hurries off.
Not bothering to look back they push on and hear the bells of the church begin to toll. It is ten o’clock.
“Hurry now, he’s behind you!” Katie hears as she is beginning to whimper, she can feel the cold brush of his spirit behind her. Anya grabs her hand and pulls hard, just as a loud siren sounds.
People rush into the street to escape the fire, and Anya smiles. “He is so going to get rewarded for that!”
They can see the bridge, and the moment they step foot on it, Katie begins to feel better. She dares to glance back at the creature hunting them. His black eyes meet hers and he grins baring rust stained teeth. They can hear the sounds of the fire engines coming and people are shouting, crowding the streets. The bell ringing out snaps Katie out of her daze and she turns to run and realizes her heel is stuck in the brick of the bridge. “Anya!” she screams.
Katie tries to pull free as Anya yells, “Oh my God, he’s coming Katie!”
Katie pulls her foot free of the boot and slips the other boot off and holds it tight. The girls run, making it to the other side of the bridge. Katie turns wielding her stiletto like a weapon and that is when she realizes he has stopped. She remembers her granny saying, the Fae could not cross running water! She smiles and grabs Anya’s hand running towards to glowing windows of the church.
“Aye, run Katie, run. I won’t be crossing water but who says I can’t fly?” Gallus yells out to her.
The church bell tolls for the fifth time, and Katie ignores his taunting laughter, running as fast as she can.
Gallus rockets to the earth in front of the doors to the church, just before a group comes around the side of the building. The guide has been giving a tour of the famous crypt, and he is holding a torch for effect. Anya snags the torch from him yells, “This way, Katie,” and they run in the direction the group came from, counting on the crowd to block his path for the moment.
Anya skids to a stop then pulls open the grey wooden doors and descends down into the dark halls below. Anya’s torch lights the way, leading them through the damp, cool tunnels and under stone arches. Katie keeps pace, following her best friend, hoping they are not walking to their own death. Clutching her boot to her chest, Katie is trembling from shock and fear as they come to a dead end.
Behind them, they hear Gallus call out, “Time to play, pretty Katie,” and his laughter echoes out.
A hand snakes out from behind covering each girl’s mouth, and Anya faints in fear. A flash of light and Katie squeezes her eyes shut feeling a rush of cold air, suddenly she feels soft earth and grass beneath her feet. When she dares to open her eyes, they are in her backyard of the cottage that her granny had left her when she had passed away.
A group of four beautiful people stands in front of her. “You have been marked by a Dark Fae, Kathleen O’Haley. We can help, but we will need your assistance to catch him,” the tall blonde male says.
Katie tries to speak, but her voice comes out strangled. “A dark what?”
Chapter 4
The Shadow King is hunting one of his own. It really is not that hard to catch a Dark Fae. Today, Reese hunts in the streets of Dublin. Lucky for him, he does not hunt alone. They have tracked this one for months, following his bloody trail across Ireland. He hurts humans for sport. Sometimes he lets them live, but they are never the same after the attacks.
The Fae are elemental beings with supernatural abilities, some call them fairies, while others call them fallen angels. Humanity drove them to create a protective barrier, called the Vale. Once a Fae leaves the Vale for the human world, they lose their magic. They begin to age, and some develop a taste for human blood. Not all shadows are evil, some choose to stay outside the Vale and protect humanity, as Reese did.
Reese blocks out the noise from the crowded street. Tourists, street performers, panhandlers, and pickpockets roam the streets. He focuses on the scent of the elemental as he flows down the cobblestone streets searching for his victim. His team is in place. They are three well trained warriors, handpicked by the Shadow King to seek and destroy those who harm others. Now they wait for the bait.
As if on cue, Kathleen O’Haley stomps down the street, with murder in her eyes. Construction crews have blocked the street her café is on, and the noise from the jackhammer is deafening. The crew begins ripping up the damaged red cobblestone walkway. Some break up the bricks, while others toss the pieces into a wheel barrel.
Concrete barriers are set up with caution tape blocking the street. Two construction workers guard the barrier to
