The Progeny (The Progeny Series) (26 page)

Shauna nodded at her, and off they ran.

As the foliage blurred by, Olivia and Kara talked about random things to pass the time. While they chattered, Shauna thought of every moment she and Ascher had shared, as if they were a flashback sequence in a cheesy romantic comedy.

Her mind conjured up all of the many ways that his face morphed into his
gorgeous smile. She saw the fire that always burned in his eyes when he told her that he loved her. She closed her eyes and focused in on her own mind, leaving it clear for him to channel her.
Please be careful and come back to us. We need you.

A lone tear fell from her eye. Just then a warm breeze blew, wrapping around her like a tender embrace. “Do you feel that Olivia?”

“No dear, I don’t. Are you okay? Do you need me to stop for a second?”

Shauna shrugged it off. “No, it must’ve been the wind.”

“We’re almost there.”

Shauna closed her eyes and concentrated on her thoughts again. Just like before, the warm breeze blew
, squeezing her as invisible fingers stroked her cheeks.
Ascher, is that you?

The warm fingers turned into gentle hands running along her
face, wiping away the tears. Supple lips pressed against hers, kissing her in such soft flutters that her stomach flipped.

I
t was impossible!

She knew
his
lips better than she knew her own. She knew their softness, the gentle curve of his top lip, that subtle little way that his lower lip seemed to envelop hers when they kissed. She’d never forget how his kisses felt. Suspending all reason and accepting the fact that the laws of nature didn’t apply to them, she concluded that it had to be him.

The invisible lips left
, leaving her feeling fierce and strong. She had to fight and take care of herself. He didn’t need to worry, but most importantly, she had to protect their child.

* * * *

At first glance, the tiny cottage looked deserted. Shauna explored the living room and noticed a box of medical gauze in the corner. A silver hair clip on the coffee table caught her eye. It was familiar. She walked over to get a closer look, lifting it to her nose and inhaling.

Two summers ago, Shauna and Katy went to the beach. A
street vendor was selling unique hair accessories, and Katy had purchased a pair of shiny hair clips in the shape of crayons. Shauna often teased her about the juvenile looking clips, but Katy said that she wore them to remember the fun day they’d had. With a scarcity of good times in their past, the girls clung to any happy memory or moment they shared.

“My sister’s been here!”
Shauna cried out.

Her elation met with a vicious growl. She whirled a
round and saw Olivia grab Kara.

“I know,” Olivia muttered
with her face cringing and her eyes threatening to morph crimson. “She hasn’t been gone that long. Her scent is everywhere.”

Kara continued to growl.

A hiss flew from Olivia’s mouth as she struggled to hold Kara back. “You can’t bite her!” She smacked Kara across the face. “She’s carrying Ascher’s child! She’s your sister, Kara! You might not think of her as that right now, but you will. Pull yourself together. If you hurt her, they’ll lock you in the tower and seclude you from the rest of the family. Ascher will never forgive you, and I won’t forgive you. If you need to feed, I’ll take you out. I’m sure there are some deer or moose around we can feed on.”

Kara’s red eyes glowed brighter. “I don’t want an
animal
. I want
her
blood!”

Shauna
gasped as she measured the crazed thirst in Kara’s eyes. Saliva dripped from her mouth. Her fangs protruded while her demonized glare matched the devilish growling escaping her lips.

Panic ran the length of
Shauna’s body now.

Olivia struggl
ed to hold Kara back. She was strong and could seize, bite and drain Shauna before Olivia could ever stop her. Shauna closed her eyes; she knew Ascher had his own problems, so she couldn’t call for his help. She had to learn to take care of herself.

Th
e protection prayer might work.

The wind whipped outside as she chanted, “By the powers of darkness, the gallant sun, and bitter sea. Grant me your mercy. I beg of thee. I ask for your protection so that nothing harms me. Lend me your power. I beg of thee. My mind is receptive. I humble myself to thee. As my mind wills it Mother Mias
—let it be!”

Shauna
opened her eyes and concentrated her silvery stare on Kara.

“Shauna, no,” Olivia pleaded.

She ignored Olivia and continued burning Kara with her glare.

The door to the cottage flew open, a gale blowing in. Shauna pointed her finger to the sky then direct
ed a bolt of lightning at Kara. The heat seared Kara’s wrists, throwing her against the wall. She thought of all the anxious moments Kara had caused her—the constant growling whenever she entered a room, the snarky remarks and her general unpleasantness.

That would be no more
, and she’d fry the bitch before she let her harm her child.

Shauna hurled another lightning bolt and shouted, “I’ve had it with your attitude, Kara. The only thing I ever did to you was fall in love with Ascher. You never even gave me a chance! I’m a nice person
, but this is going to stop! Ascher doesn’t deserve it and Tristan surely doesn’t!”

Kara continued to growl as
glowing manacles held her against the wall.

Olivia inched closer
to Shauna.

“Stay back. I don’t want to hurt you
,” Shauna warned.

“Shauna
—the baby,” Olivia reminded her. “You have to calm down.”

Just then, s
he heard a voice so small that it was a mere whisper. “Katy!” Her next move was clear. If she could hear her, that meant she was still alive. “By the powers of darkness, I evoke Persephone. Grant me your mercy. Lend me your cloak of invisibility.” She made herself invisible.

“Shauna,” Olivia called out, “you can’t leave. It’s too dangerous
for you out there.”

“I’m so sorry Olivia
, but I have to find my sister. Please make sure Kara is okay. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

The door slammed shut, before Olivia could speak another word.

Shauna rushed along the crooked stone path toward the castle. She was exhilarated, a wicked grin of satisfaction turning up the corners of her lips. Sure, she’d reap the repercussions for her actions, but Kara had it coming. She continued with a hurried gait along the path, running with effortless, long strides.

“Ha!” she scoffed,
while thinking of Sister Joanna Leighton. Even though she was the fastest girl on her cross-country team, the good sister still taunted Shauna for having limited aerobic capacity. Shauna’s inhumanly fast speed belied her false statements. Before long, she was approaching the cement guard wall. “What to do,” she whispered, stroking her chin in wicked contemplation. “What to do.” She chuckled. “I know!”

Clashes of thunder and bolts of lightning streaked the sky. Mother Mias was warning them. Shauna waved her hands directing the electricity towards the castle. She cleared her mind, feeling her body become weightless and buoyant.

This is so wicked!

The wind tousled her hair as she jumped over the gray wall.
Descending to the other side, she lifted her hands to the sky, causing another bolt of lightning to flash above the castle roof. “Now,” she cackled. “They’ve been warned. ‘Tis not my fault if they don’t heed the warning.”

She ran past two guards
, avoiding notice then ran faster, as the invisibility spell would soon wear off. She slipped through the heavy wooden doors outside the castle, her blazing gaze and wicked spell searing the minds of two guards as she sauntered past.

They dropped to the ground.

“That should hold them for a while.” She continued, unseen, down the long corridor.

Her invisibility did not change the fact that she was in danger. The corridor was dark and scary, worse than any horror movie castle she’d ever seen.
Stay focused. Be alert
. She had to find Ascher before she materialized.

The dark hallway teemed with strange and sinister paintings. These people really
were
evil. She spotted a familiar piece of artwork by a huge door—the vampire carrying the woman in the white dress. A feeling of calm and euphoria inundated her as she thought of Ascher.

Raised voices and screaming rang out
from somewhere close. She tiptoed over to a red door at the end of the hall, recognizing one of the voices.

Ursula!

She’d never forget someone who sounded so shrill and annoying. She startled, and then remembered that she was invisible as a darkling hurried out of the red door. She slipped in as the door closed, hiding behind a black curtain near a window. She peeped out and saw her sister lying on a silver table, instruments of torture spread on a smaller table beside her.

Ursula circled the table like a hungry shark circling prey, her face contorted into an evil grin. “Tell me where he is, Katy. If you want the pain to stop, tell me where Gabriel is.”

“No. I’ll never tell you, and if you kill me you’ll never know!”

Ursula took a curved blade and carved a line through Katy’s wrist. Trickles of blood dripped to the floor.
“You won’t be able to take many more cuts like that, Katy. Soon, you’ll become woozy from the blood loss. Then, you’ll faint.” She ran her pale finger down Katy’s battered face. “Who knows if you’ll wake up? Maybe you’ll slip into a coma, or maybe I’ll become so ravenous for your blood that I’ll just put you out of your misery.”

Bitch!
A hot flame sparked as Shauna thought of Ursula bleeding her sister to death. The now familiar warm burn started. She let the hate fuel her inner witch.
She’ll pay for everything she’s done. I’ll make her pay!
Shauna sprinted across the room, jumping then coasting through the air to kick Ursula away from her sister.

“Who’s there?” Ursula screamed, gripping the knife tighter. “Show yourself,” she demanded.

Shauna rushed over to Katy and whispered in her ear. “It’s me, sissy. I need you to be still and
don’t
say my name. I’m going to free you, but I need you to lie here until I tell you to run. Can you run?”

Katy nodded.

“Remember to stay still, okay?”

Ursula approached the table, the knife pointed out in front of her
, sniffing the air. “So, I see we have a visitor, Katy. Your sister is here to see you and she’s invisible, no doubt. That’s a very nice trick, Shauna. I see you’re no longer a virgin. Congratulations. Hope you enjoyed my seconds. Too bad you won’t be able to enjoy him again.” She turned to Katy. “And it's also unfortunate that you’ll witness your sister’s death.”

“Back away from her, Ursula,” Shauna growled.

“Show yourself, or I’ll cut her again!” Ursula shouted.

“Now
, Katy. Run!” Shauna opened the door to help facilitate her escape.

“Skylar, Ian!” Ursula sh
rieked.

When Katy passed her, Shauna placed her hands on her head, transferring the last of her invisibility spell to assure her escape.
Shauna then watched her reflection materialize in the mirror.

Ursula
snickered. “Ah—there you are and I’m assuming that if you’re here, Ascher can’t be far. What I can’t figure out is how he let you out of his sight. It’s so dangerous out here. One never knows what might happen.”

“I’m not scared of you. You’re nothing to me and even less to Ascher.”

“You bitch!” Ursula shouted. “I’ll teach you some respect!”

Shauna laughed then directed a bolt of lightning toward her. It missed, scorching the wall
instead.

Ursula’s eyes widened. “
What
the hell are you?”

Shauna levitated.
“Did you ever think
I
might be the one teaching the lessons, Ursula?”

“
This
can’t be. The covenants state that—”

Before she could finish the sentence, Gab
e flitted into the room. He gasped, staring up at Shauna floating above Ursula.

Shauna let her guard down for a second when she noticed him, allowing Ursula to catch her ankle. She twirled her once
, throwing her against the wall. She lay very still, because she was too weak and in too much pain to move. Gripping cramps in her stomach tore through her. “Gabriel help me—the baby,” she groaned. Her mind was cloudy and confused.
I need help. We’re in trouble. The baby and I are in so much trouble, Ash. Please…

She fainted.

* * * *

Gab
e shouted as he watched Shauna’s body fly across the room. He turned to Ursula, contempt and hatred burning in his eyes.