Blood Bond (Blood Bound Book 5)

Chapter 1

Blood Bond

Blood Bound Series book 5

Amy Blankenship, RK Melton

Copyright © 2012 Amy Blankenship

Second Edition Published by TekTime

All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The city of Los Angeles spread out around him in a kaleidoscope of flashing lights and colors. The distant sounds of urban life rang in his ears but Syn paid it no mind, listening instead to the whisper of the soft breeze moving over him. He stood, balanced on the highest peak of one of the tallest buildings in the city, the pinnacle of it being the only thing his feet touched.

Syn had his hands buried in the pockets of his pants while his trench coat whipped behind him like a long cape that seemed to disappear and reappear at random as though it were a living thing. His long dark hair had blown back from his face revealing an ageless beauty the likes of which was rarely seen in this world.

He had taken the precaution of shielding his aura from all creatures who could sense him but he could feel those auras on the ground far below… moving about their lives among the humans with almost no cares in the world.

Looking straight down at the penthouse balcony directly below him, he smirked when he heard Damon giving Alicia the bloodstone… placing it inside of her so she would always be protected from the dangerous sunlight that threatened her new existence. Syn was proud to have such a daughter-in-law, someone who would keep Damon on his toes and challenge him in every way that was important.

His smirk widened when her screams of pain were soon followed by cries of pleasure and he nodded his head approvingly. He couldn’t wait to meet her.

Syn focused his amethyst gaze on the city once more and saw the evil shades of darkness even in areas of light… things others could not see. He didn’t understand why his children had decided to fight this war against the demons. In his mind, he saw demons the same way he saw humans… not really caring one way or the other about them. Yet his children and wayward soul mate had decided to take a stand… choosing to protect those who could not defend themselves against such a war.

A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered his wife… his soul mate. She had always rooted for the underdog, taking up for those who were considered weak. He supposed that not much had changed in her since her previous lifetimes… the soul was the same no matter how many times it was reborn. She had once looked at him as the enemy simply because his power was far greater than most in their world… it had taken years to change her mind.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon and Syn lifted his face to greet it, letting the light flow over him… feeling the vast amount of energy and filling his body with it. Syn knew that his children had chosen to live a human life… something he had never attempted before now. Another hint of a smile crossed his perfect lips as an interesting idea occurred to him.

Yes, it might be a lot of fun to join them since his soul mate also thought she was a mere human and lived by their laws. He would join them… get closer to her and convince her that he was not hers or anyone else’s enemy. This time he would keep most of his power hidden from her so she did not feel so threatened by him. He would become her ally, her friend, and then once more… her mate.

*****

Misery sat on a rock, swinging her legs back and forth making her blond curly hair bounce with each movement. She’d been very busy this week, collecting demons for her growing army. Even now, some of them were hidden in the darkness around her… watching curiously.

Most of the demons she’d collected were weak with no real power to speak of, but then that’s what a soldier was. Standing alone, it was just one weakling. But if you called them together into an army, they could plow through the strongest of enemies with no worry to their own loss of numbers.

Tonight, Misery had felt the power of an ancient aura in the forest that surrounded one side of the city and followed it to a deep cave. The malevolent energy had surged toward her wanting to drive her away from its home but Misery had only been amused by the attempt… that was until the force physically pushed her out.

When she rose to face the demon head on, all she saw was a crow sitting on a rock with its wings ruffled. Searching its black soul, Misery calmed realizing this bird was one of the ancient masters who had been overlooked when the fallen had driven the others to the underworld.

This demon had blended in with its surroundings and made a home for itself. The Native Americans of this land had seen the demon as a great spirit to be worshiped and revered and, from that adoration, the demonic master had grown stronger.

Misery could taste the rage this demon had against the pale-faced humans who roamed its lands freely and sought to take advantage of that. She’d struck a deal with the demon instead of battling it… a battle she now knew she would have lost. The old one seemed agreeable with her idea of releasing their kind from their dimensional prison and had instructed her to gather a blood sacrifice… one of the tools he would need to assist her before flying off into the forest.

When Misery returned to the cave with two vampires and an enthralled semiconscious male, the malevolent spirit was waiting. The crow’s red beady eyes stared piercingly at her before the bird took flight. Misery followed it deep into the forest at the very edge of the game preserve. She had entered a small clearing and was surprised to see an old man sitting beside a large bonfire.

“I am called Black Crow,” the old man stated.

Misery nodded in respect. She remembered the sacred ways of dealing with a demon’s power that surpassed her own. “I am Misery.”

Black Crow laughed mockingly, “What do you know of true misery?”

Misery remained silent, biting her tongue to avoid being ripped to shreds. She had power and he knew it… she was sure he could feel her the same way she could feel him.

Black Crow stood up and approached them. She took in his humanlike appearance and couldn’t understand why one so powerful would choose a body so frail. He looked ancient, very old and wrinkled, with long white hair and dressed in tanned deerskin pants. His shirt was made of the same deerskin and adorned with beads and feathers. A small pouch hung at his hip and more feathers had been braided into his hair above one ear.

Black Crow abruptly reached out and lifted the human man’s head by the hair to look at his face. “This one will do nicely,” He stated and returned to the bonfire.

“What do you wish me to do?” Misery asked.

“We must wait,” Black Crow stated and added more wood to the bonfire.

Misery let her irritation rise, “Wait for what old one? I do not have eternity… my war will happen with or without you.”

Ignoring her, Black Crow added more wood to the bonfire and started to sing. Misery was about to leave when she found herself frozen in place. She could feel her power being leeched from her and her child’s form began to rot away. This was not the effects of her corpse appearance… her entire being was slowly being drained of the power she’d stolen from humans.

“Your plan will fail without me.” Black Crow said condescendingly. “Your existence became mine when you made your bargain. You are weak and hold no power over me for you have nothing that I want.”

Misery was suddenly released but glared at him as she remained sitting on the huge rock waiting for who knew what. Black Crow had been constantly feeding the fire and the flames had risen to an amazing height. The old man stood up and walked to the far side of the clearing to an old redwood that Misery hadn't noticed earlier.

Black Crow kneeled down next to the massive roots and took up a fistful of dirt. Returning to the bonfire, his singing became very loud and rhythmic before throwing the dirt into the fire. The fire sparked and climbed higher when the dirt met the searing flames. His body began moving in a tribal dance while his chants grew louder.

The shadows around them stretched forward until only Black Crow remained untouched by them, dancing inside a perfect circle. He suddenly stopped and reached toward the shadows around his feet. The inky darkness pulled toward his hand, seeking the touch of warmth Black Crow exhumed before he pulled it from the ground. It too met the flames with a spark that quickly turned into an explosion, making Misery reach up to shade her eyes.

An inhuman wail filled the clearing and Misery watched as the shadow slithered up from the flames, glowing red from the heat. It flew across the clearing back to where Black Crow had grabbed the dirt and vanished into the ground. Moments later, the dirt began to heave like it was breathing and two withered boney arms thrust up out of it.

Black Crow immediately went to the blood sacrifice Misery’s vampires had acquired and pulled him from their grasp.

The young man, a student at the local community college, awoke from the vampire’s t****l when Black Crow took possession of him. Still disoriented, he didn’t know what was happening until he saw the long blade approach his throat. By the time he could do anything about it, the blade ripped into his flesh and his scream was silent.

Blood sprayed over the open flames, feeding the bonfire with hisses and sparks. The arms that had thrust up from the ground were now pulling the rest of its body out into the dark night. Long, low pitched moaning erupted from its throat accompanied by grunts of hunger as it dragged itself toward the dying man.

Skeletal fingers fisted into the man’s shirt and the creature lowered its head to the open wound, feasting on the blood and flesh. As it ate, muscle and flesh started to grow over the protruding bones and Misery found herself titillated by the scene. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the work of art Black Crow had created and clapped her hands with glee.

“He will need more to feed upon before he is completely revived… but this one will do for now,” Black Crow said with a touch of boredom caressing his graveled voice.

“Can we make more?” Misery asked as she watched the blood and gore glitter in the firelight.

“I can,” Black Crow said simply and Misery didn’t miss his implication… he could do it and she could not.

“Now young demoness… show me your power,” Black Crow ordered.

Misery smiled and touched the spider pendant hanging around her neck. The spider immediately scattered into thousands of its tiny counterparts before scuttling back together. Black Crow watched as two of the arachnids crawled down her legs and across the uneven ground. The creatures stopped about halfway between him and Misery before burrowing into the dirt.

Black Crow stood in silence as the ground began to shift and a thin blood red c***k split the earth open accompanied by a small earthquake. The trees rustled and the cries of forest animals joined in as the ground rumbled in annoyance. Five shadow demons flew out of the opening and around the clearing. Their cries sounding more like screams filled the night with their song. They converged on the bonfire and flew in circles around it, coming closer before pulling back at the last second.

This continued on until the demons grew tired of the game and vanished into the darkness of the forest… toward the city where they could sense their prey. Black Crow stared at the rift into the underworld with an unreadable expression. However, when he approached the jagged c***k, he stepped down on it, closing the rift and preventing other demons from escaping.

“A fair effort,” Black Crow stated. “But you are young and foolish. Such a thin sliver between worlds will only allow simple shadow demons to enter back into this realm… leaving our real allies still trapped on the other side. You will need more power than this!” his voice rose then calmed. “While you gain that power, I will make your army... but they will ultimately answer to me.”