Dread Nemesis of Mine

Copyright © 2013 by John
Corwin.

Digital eBook Edition.

Smashwords Edition

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without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The characters and events in this book are
fictitious.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead,
is coincidental and not intended by the author. 

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When Justin's long-lost sister, Ivy, shows up
at the funeral for Elyssa's brother, Jack, it seems like the family
reunion Justin has long hoped for is finally here. But Ivy isn't
interested in playing Barbie or hanging out at the mall with her
big brother. She's on a mission against evil, and Justin is at the
top of her big-bad-meanies list.

Before Ivy can carry through on her threats,
Justin finds out that she's been kidnapped. The kidnapper is none
other than Maximus, a self-styled rebel leader of his own army of
vampires who once kidnapped Justin's father. He also happens to be
a world-class douchebag. Despite Ivy's homicidal inclinations
toward Justin, loyalty to family leads him to go after Ivy and
settle things with Maximus once and for all. Unfortunately, nothing
goes to plan, and Maximus's minions capture Justin.

But even as Justin fights to free himself, he
discovers Maximus plans to use Justin's incubus blood to fuel his
quest for world domination. And the rogue vampire isn't even at the
top of the food chain. Far more powerful forces stand behind him:
Daelissa the insane angel, Maximus's vampire sire, and, even worse,
Justin's grandparents and, quite possibly his own mother.

To my wonderful support group:

Alana Rock, Kayla Moore, Patrick Yates,
Karen Stansbury, Dana Prestridge, Karla Ileana, Keren Hall, Nicole
Passante, Anino, and Pat Owens

Thanks so much for all your help and
input!

I was at Jack Borathen's funeral when I saw
the young blonde girl watching me as she leaned against a towering
gravestone. I noticed the family name etched into the dark marble
and shuddered.
Conroy
. My mother's maiden name. The last
name of the grandparents who'd stolen my little sister Ivy from
us—wrenched her from our lives when I was just a kid. Mom had
blurred the memories of my sister from my mind. In fact, I'd never
seen her face in real life.

Until now.

Elyssa's hand gripped mine painfully tight as
they lowered the casket bearing her brother, Jack’s, remains into
the ground. Her other brother, Michael, towered in dark silence
across from us. My sister—or a girl who looked just like I'd always
imagined my sister would look—stood some fifty yards behind
him.

I stood frozen with indecision. A funeral was
a bad time to dash away without a word. Silent tears streamed down
Elyssa's face leaving dark trails of eyeliner against her alabaster
skin. I looked back to the other girl. Her bright blonde hair was
tied back in a ponytail and she wore a blue dress patterned with
flowers. It seemed awfully out of place for winter. She smirked.
Her blue eyes glinted. I couldn't tell if they sparked with malice
or happiness.

"May his soul rest in the forever, which
awaits us all," the Templar priest intoned as he sprinkled the
casket with holy water.

I hoped desperately for the ceremony to end
so I could excuse myself. But the priest seemed determined to drag
things out as long as possible, droning on about the afterlife,
God's goodness, and the better place awaiting us all.

I had to call BS. I'd met angels—two of them,
in fact. If they were heavenly messengers, the only thing waiting
in the afterlife was a world of hurt, and God had hopped on a
unicorn and ridden into the sunset a long time ago.

The girl, apparently tired of the long-winded
priest, formed an imaginary mouth with her hand, pressing the thumb
and fingers together in a talking motion, and gave an exaggerated
yawn. She rolled her eyes, and stepped behind the Conroy family
headstone. I couldn't let her go. I had to know for sure if she was
really my sister, or just some kid who'd wandered off from the
funeral. I kissed Elyssa on the cheek and whispered, "I'll be right
back."

Her violet eyes widened with confusion as I
released her hand and backed away through the crowd. I tried to
look casual. And failed. Thankfully, Elyssa's parents were sitting
to her right and didn't seem to notice me slip into the crowd right
away. The second I cleared the fringe, I sped in a wide arc around
the sprawling graveyard and toward the headstone behind which I
hoped my sister still waited.

Instead, I found only a note taped to the
stone.

It fluttered in a gentle, chilly breeze,
taunting me for not coming sooner. I cursed and jerked it free.
Unfolded the sheet and looked at the words scrawled on it:
Look
behind you.

I spun, suddenly quite aware I may have
walked straight into a trap set by Maximus—a real douche of a
vampire who'd once kidnapped my father—or any other number of bad
guys. Instead of a group of angry vampires ready to beat me and
take me to their rogue leader, Ivy stood there, arms crossed, and a
blonde eyebrow arched imperiously.

"Justin?" she asked, her voice still that of
a teeny-bopper—cute, but with the sauciness of a fledgling tween.
Her big blue eyes and golden hair looked exactly like our mom's,
and the resemblance in her face almost took my breath away.

"Ivy," I said, taking a step toward her, arms
outstretched for the brother-sister hug I longed for.

She backed away, waggling a finger at me.
"Nuh uh, big bro." She stopped and crossed her arms, raking me with
a critical eye. "I'm disappointed."

My mouth dropped open and I froze in my
tracks. "Not exactly the greeting I was expecting."

"I expected you to look more dangerous. Maybe
have a scar or an evil scowl on your face."

I wrinkled my nose. "Why in the world would I
look evil?"

She snorted and gave me a y
eah right!
look. "Because you
are
evil."

I staggered back a step, my gut feeling like
she'd just landed a physical blow with a sledgehammer. "But—but
why?" I sputtered.

"You can act innocent if you want, Justin
Slade
, but I know all about you. Grandma and Grandpa told me
how your dad tricked Mommy into marrying him and how you got all
the demonic genes while I inherited Mommy's. Basically, I'm pure
and you're gross."

"He's
your
dad too," I said, anger
overcoming my shock. "And our grandparents stole you from Mom and
Dad when you were an infant. Did they tell you that?"

She stuck out her lower lip and nodded. "It
was to protect me."

"Yeah, then why did Mom stay with Dad all
those years, huh? Why not go with them right then?"

"Because she wasn't sure how you'd turn out.
Once she figured out you were a spawn, she left."

I opened my mouth to throw a retort in her
face, but what if her words were true? What if Mom
had
left
me when she did because she saw I was developing incubus powers?
Becoming just like Dad? Even if the Conroys had filled Ivy's head
with nothing but lies, I had no proof to fight them with. A million
retorts flew through my head all at once, but none of them would do
a damned thing to keep Ivy from hating me.

Except…why was she here?

Despite the lies and whatever twisted
upbringing her—our—grandparents had given her, she'd come here,
apparently on her own, to see me face-to-face. Maybe deep down she
doubted what they'd told her. Maybe she wanted to decide the truth
for herself.

"You can't believe everything they told you
if you came here to see me," I said after a few seconds of silence
stretched between us. "In fact, I'll bet you're full of doubt."

She giggled and shook her head. "No, I'm not,
silly."

"Then why—"

"I came here to get rid of you so I can save
the world. Otherwise, you'll have a good chance at wrecking
everything we've worked so hard for."

I almost laughed at the idea being harmed by
a tiny girl and almost cried because my own sister seemed so sure
it was the right thing to do. "Get rid of me?" I shook my head.
"Wouldn't that be the evil thing to do?"

"Not if it's for the right reason."

I turned away from her, shaking my head. "I
can't believe this. I
cannot
believe my long-lost sister
wants to kill me."

She giggled again and dragged the toe of her
black tennis shoe in the dirt. "I didn't say
kill
you. I
said I'd get rid of you. There's a difference."

"And you're not even going to hug me first?
Geez, I realize we didn't get a chance to know each other, but I
was hoping for a happier reunion than this."

She grimaced. "Eww. As if I'd touch demon
spawn."

"We're related, Ivy. If you know anything
about the birds and the bees—"

She waved her hands frantically. "Don't make
me think about it! Gross."

I leaned against the tombstone and folded my
arms. "Look, before you try to kill or get rid of me, why don't you
take some time to get to know me? We could climb trees together,
and drink Kool-Aid. I’ll cut the hair off your Barbie dolls and you
could tell Mom and Dad on me. You know, like real brothers and
sisters." Having never known her, I really didn't have a clue what
growing up with a sibling would be like, but I did have friends
with sisters and remembered some of those Barbie doll incidents
pretty clearly. Especially the one we'd dismembered to see if it
worked as a voodoo doll. It hadn't.

"I figured you'd try this emotional stuff on
me." She blew out a breath. "I mean, if I didn't know you were pure
evil, I'd love to have a brother. There are some really mean kids
at the school I go to, and I would love to teach them a lesson if I
could get away with it."

"Well hey, just point me in their direction
and I'll beat them up." I smiled at the thought of coming to my
sister's aid, especially if someone was bullying her. I'd been
through hell with jackasses who thought nothing of pushing around
others simply because they could.

She actually seemed to consider it, pursing
her cute little mouth and tilting her head like a puppy, blonde
ponytail hanging at an angle. A sigh broke through her lips. "It
would be cool to sic a demon spawn on those meanies, but I really
can't risk the end of the world just so you can beat up a few
idiots."

I tried a different tact. "Why do you think
I'll cause the end of the world?"

"Because Grandpa told me."

Biting back a sigh, I asked, "What exactly
did he tell you?"

"You're gonna unite the nasties and kill off
all the good guys like Grandma and Grandpa. I mean, anyone who's
friends with vampires and trannies is messed up."