CRYSTALLUM (The Primordial Principles Book 1) (9 page)

As far as the Ward would be concerned, what he was doing was so far from okay there probably wasn't a word for it. Not to mention, from an outsider's view, it would seem like he was a borderline stalker. Truth was, Filios Daemoneum hunted Primordial fledglings who weren't under the protection of a common house until they were killed or turned, and regardless of the fact that Kadence didn't fall into the usual fledgling status, or the fact that Cole had destroyed the Shadows who'd been hunting her at Crystalline, she wasn't under the protection of a common house, and he wasn't comfortable with the Shadow saying the word “her.”

Checking the clearing beside Kade's house first, he scanned the backyard, and the tree line. The front door opened, spilling a narrow line of light over the yard, and he stopped in his tracks on the side of the house. Kadence's dad made his way down the front porch steps toward his SUV, jumped in, started the truck, and drove off.

Cole stood still for a minute wondering if he was going to circle back. Her dad couldn't have just left Kade alone? At night. In a very unpopulated, not to mention, very dark, section of the mountains?
Right?

No lights were on upstairs, and Cole wondered if he should
knock on the door, come up with some excuse, and make sure Kade was okay. Deciding that was the best approach, he took a step forward, and a shiver ran down the back of his neck, accompanied by a sickening smell. It always reminded him a skunk. With a groan, and a curse, he turned around and faced the dark forest.

Silhouettes converged like gray fog through the trees, spreading out and becoming one with the night before solidifying and taking shape. Wings came into view under the moon's light, their leathery appearance reminding Cole of a huge bat. Talons curved inward like a sloth’s on red scaled hands. Slit nostrils expelled puffs of smoke into the cold air, and the demon stepped from the woods, silver teeth shining in the darkness.

Cole flexed his hands. Sometimes he wished he wasn't always right.

"You shouldn't have come, boy."
The creature's deep voice echoed inside Cole's head.

"Dracon, how nice of you to join me this evening. I must have missed your host by seconds the other night in Utah." Cole crossed his arms casually. "And to see you here of all places." He gestured toward Kadence's house. "I'd like to think it was coincidental, but I'd be simply playing dumb at that point."

"Young Primori Alpha."
The Draconis gave a respectful tilt of its horned head.
"Out of your range on your own, I see. Does Warden Caelius approve?"

Cole returned the gesture with a polite nod. "My range is just a loose guideline, really. And I'm not alone." He glanced over his shoulder.

Danny stalked across the front yard like a tiger, weapons in both hands. He might complain a lot, but he was never far behind when it came to tracking the enemy, or having Cole's back.

"Dracon." Danny offered a courteous smile, coming to a stop several feet away in the front yard. "It's been a while. Still among the Devil's Children, I see. You won't reconsider?"

The Draconis grinned as if everyone had gathered for afternoon tea.
"Young Primori Beta. Old habits. I much prefer this line of work. You look well."

"And you." Danny stood his ground, not moving any closer.

Cole grinned at the customary observance of formalities. It
always amused him. "I'd have thought you'd be busy slithering off to create another Alveare after we destroyed the last one. A church this time?" Cole shook his head. "A Daemoneum Hive in a holy place. Clever. Took us a little while to locate it. But we did."

"The Primordial race knows nothing of what is holy. Move along now, my business is not with you. The gurgulio have a job to do."
The Draconis gestured toward two juvenile gargoyles stalking the woods at his back, their leathered wings held high above their muscular bodies in a proud manner, fangs cutting over their mouths. Cole remembered seeing them detaching themselves from the rooftop in Venice before flying through the Leygate and disappearing.

"Teaming up with the Nefarius, I hear, as well? And I thought
you hated each other." Cole smirked. "You need to be better about keeping me in the loop. The Nefarius we tracked were full of information. Until I killed them. Are these two gurgulio still in
training?" He gestured toward the gargoyles. "I would hate for anything...regrettable to
happen to them this evening...fighting so young." Cole held the
Draconis' red-eyed, unfaltering stare. "Are you sure they're ready? Because I also have a job to do." He glanced over his shoulder
toward the second-story windows.

"The girl is not yours to protect."

Both crystal blades slipped from the inner sleeves of Cole's jacket, and rested, concealed, against his palms. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

The Draconis sighed.
"For some reason that I do not fully understand, I like you, Mr. Spires. So, this will be my last warning. Please. Step. Aside. We all have our rules to uphold, and the girl is not one of your
own."

Cole couldn't stop the genuine smile that spread across his face, or the words that spilled from his mouth, and in that moment, he didn't want to.

"She is now."

***

Kade was shaken awake from a sound sleep. Her alarm clock read ten thirty-three P.M. The floor rumbled, her leftover soda from the burger place on Saturday night tipped off the night table and splatted onto the floor. Another rumble, and her bed shifted a few feet, the legs scratching against the wood floor. Kade shot up, swaying on unsteady feet.

Earthquake.

“Dad!" She bolted out of her bedroom. The house shook again. "Dad. Wake up." His bedroom was empty. “Dad!"

A loud crack reverberated through the house. Down the stairs, she ran. Through the kitchen, the living room, back up the stairs.

"Dad." Energy radiated out of her, unbidden and riddled with fear.
Where are you?

Bolting back into her bedroom, whitish light illuminated the
space, turning it from dark to daylight. Kade opened the window blinds all the way and let out a breath.

Waves of energy quivered in every direction over the tree tops, the air moving in fluid motion, like ripples across the surface of a glassy lake.

Impossible.

Not an earthquake.

Something worse.

She yanked her boots on, her coat, made for the stairs, and threw the front door open. Her dad's truck was gone. Energy streamed through the trees like a laser light display gone wrong. Silver, gray, lavender, and red ribboned out in every direction, illuminating the entire sky. It reminded her of video footage she'd seen of the Aurora Borealis over Alaska, except the colors were wrong. A surge of energy echoed with a grumble, and Kade ran for the woods, boots sinking into the snow. Frozen tree limbs and underbrush reached for her face, clothes, and the thin fabric of her pajama bottoms. She stopped at the top of a hill, and the cold air invaded her lungs.

As if the strobe lights from Crystalline had infiltrated the
mountains,
a clearing below was awash with fluttering color. Glimpses of red flashed among the white trees, a stench she knew too well
overwhelmed her senses, and Kade backed up.

"There you are. I have been looking for you."
The low, raspy voice rang in her head like it always did. Trees limbs shook ahead of her, snow falling to the ground, and deep, reddish-black wings took shape. Horns and taloned feet and hands followed, and smoke from the demon's wide mouth puffed around his head. Dracon.

Kade took another step back, and then another, energy building in her core, and her shoulders squared up against a tree. "Leave me alone."

Colored lights continued flitting through the clearing. Dark
shapes moved below. Something lay motionless in the snow.

"But you are my treasure. My reason."

Kade shook her head, and a shout tore through the woods, followed by a scream. The lights vanished, and an oppressive silence pressed in.

"Well, I am sorry to see him go. I rather liked the Primori."

Kade wasn't listening. She'd heard that word before. Several times. Primori. The old race. Celestial Children. Descended from the ancient gods. Guardians. Dracon had been one once, he'd told her when she was young, but she thought he'd been lying. The Primori were good. That was all Dracon needed to say for Kade to know he'd never been one of them. He said he'd turned his back on them to fight for a bigger cause. A better cause.

The demon extended a taloned hand, breaking Kade's train of thought.
"I have allowed you time and kept my distance so that you could adjust, but now we must go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"You know the repercussion of that action."
Dracon grasped her arm, and Kade yanked, but his grip was too strong.

A swooshing sound touched her ears, and a sharp screech rang from the clearing. Movement caught her periphery, so quick she almost missed it, but she was sure she'd seen something.

"I smell you, Dracon," the voice was strained, winded, and vaguely familiar. "Did you decide you wanted to join in now?" The voice moved closer. "You can take the place of the gurgulio. I don't think they liked our game. I warned you that might happen. They were fast, though, I'll give you that. Just not as fast as me."

A deep growl rolled from Dracon's throat, and he turned toward the empty clearing.
"Primori, you are testing my patience."

"And you're testing mine."

Dracon swirled to the right, not letting Kadence go, and another quick glimpse of movement caught the corner of her eye through the falling snow.

"You didn't tell me we had a mutual friend." Cole stepped from the trees, as silent as a ghost, eyes alight as if a fire blazed behind them. He grinned like he was out for a midnight stroll. What the hell was he doing there?

"We do not have a mutual friend. Kadence belongs to me."

"Belongs?" Cole glanced at her, eyebrows raised. Kade's eyes widened with fear, and shame. He would see her. The real her. He
would know. She averted her eyes." Call me old fashioned," Cole said. "But I don't like the way that sounds. And I could be wrong, but I think Kadence agrees with me." She didn't meet his eyes.
Couldn't.

"Where is your Beta? Please do not tell me my gurgulio destroyed him."
Dracon grinned.

Danny dropped from a tree like a stalking cat, his green eyes sparkling in the dark. "Nope."

"I told you before," Cole leaned against a barren tree, "we have a spot open for the game we're playing. Maybe I should've clarified. That translates to: the gurgulio are dead." He held the demon's hard stare. "But you can take their place and test your own luck if you'd like. Think of it as roulette."

Kade's mouth dropped open. He
killed
something?

"It's been a damn long couple of nights for me and Danny," Cole continued. "You can't imagine, so if we could make this simple, and you let go of Kadence's arm...it's turning blue, and I'm not a doctor, but that's not normal, we could call it a night. I, for one, could use some sleep." He stretched, and his jacket raised, exposing muscled ridges on his bare stomach.

Kadence stared, which was completely inappropriate
considering the circumstances. He seemed so relaxed. As if this was a normal
Monday night for him. Dracon's grip loosened slightly around her arm.

"As much as I like you, young Alpha, I am afraid we have come to a crossroad we cannot return from."

"I'm afraid you're right." With a movement so swift, Kade almost missed it, Cole swiped his hand through the air.

A blast of frigid snow swept over the forest like a reverberating tidal wave, consuming the silence with a deafening roar. Kade was shoved back. The ground rumbled underneath her feet as if it were cracking apart. Dracon's grip loosened, and she yanked hard and ran. Raw power stampeded through the woods like a tornado. She swerved through the deadly maze of falling snow in a blind panic, the wind screaming at her back. Trees swayed precariously, bending sideways. Dry pine needles careened in all directions, sharp tips acting as miniature darts, pinging off her face and arms. Her legs sunk into snow, and she struggled to run, but couldn't pick up speed. An arm grabbed her from behind. A hand covered her mouth, stifling her scream.

"Stop." Hands grasped her flailing arms and pressed them against her sides. "Kadence." Wide eyes stared into her own, and she immediately fell still. Cole pressed a finger to his lips, and pulled her behind a clump of bushes. "I'm sorry I scared you. Stay silent."

She stared at him, mute with shock.
He knows Dracon. Knows
him
.
How is that possible?
"Wha-what are you doing here?" It was all that came out of her mouth.

"I thought I owed you for what you did at Crystalline. Even if I didn't need your help.” Cole grinned.

There was still the unshakable truth that he had been the one to destroy the Shadows at Crystalline, an idea Kade had yet to give more than two minutes thought. It was completely insane. Except that it wasn't. All she had to do was look in the mirror to know that monsters existed in the world.

She was one of them.

The storm continued, tree roots tearing from the ground with ripping, popping sounds. Cole peeked out from behind the bushes. "I'll be right back."

“Wait!" Kade grabbed his arm. "Why are you helping me?"

He tilted his head to the side and there was a tenderness about the motion. A realness. "Because you need my help."

"But—"
I'm a monster, and you shouldn't.

"Stay here for a minute." He moved away from her again.

"No... I—"

"I have to help Danny." He held her fearful gaze. "Everything will be okay. I won't let Dracon hurt you."