Duality (Cordelia Kelly #1): Empath Urban Fantasy (16 page)

“You never know, it could be you he’s smitten with. I’m beginning to feel like Alice when she fell. Ok, nothing you said explains why you’re looking at me as if I might turn into some kind of monster at any moment.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew. “That’s it isn’t it? You’re worried I not only absorbed some of Pandora’s powers, but I absorbed some of her vile. Enough to tip my scales."

Sol nodded. “Pandora was evil incarnate. The Devil held her soul at birth. I hope your light side filtered out the evil, but you need to spend time at the light enclave or the Sanctuary for us to be sure.”

I made a face and I hope it reflected my sour mood. The Sanctuary is a spiritual place created by two half-breeds to provide a safe haven for Empaths, both dark and light. The bickering and politics that divide the dark and lights in the outside world are not allowed in the Sanctuary, it’s neutral territory. Over the centuries, the Sanctuary has become a place where Empaths can go to mediate and learn how to control newly manifested powers. It’s the one place where Empaths can escape the constant bombardment of human emotions. Without the Sanctuary, some Empaths would go mad.

I had been to those hallowed grounds once as a child when my Grams took me there to test my elemental abilities. I have less than fond memories of the place and I couldn’t find it again if my life depended on it. However, since I was manifesting new powers almost daily, I probably needed to spend some time at the Sanctuary and soon.

“I'm reasonably certain I filtered all her vile out of my system when I obliterated her and healed you at the same time. The toxins swam through my veins but I used it as fuel for my light side. Now, you’ve mentioned the Sanctuary twice. Do you know how to find it? How about the light enclave?"

“Reasonably certain isn't one hundred percent. Yes, I just returned from the Sanctuary yesterday. Yes, I know where your enclave is too.”

I growled. “Well fuck me. What were you doing at the Sanctuary?”

Sol laughed. “Cordy, I’ll tell you the rest of what you need to know later.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Ok, let’s go, I can walk.”

“No, I’m carrying you. We’re not far from your condo where I left my car when I came looking for you.”

★★
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Sol raced through the streets carrying me in his arms as effortlessly as I would carry a loaf of bread. My condo was about two miles away and at the rate we moved we’d be there in less than five minutes. If anyone had put a stopwatch on Sol they’d know he wasn’t human. I buried my face in Sol’s chest because I was getting dizzy from the blurred landscape.

Like a lot of urban areas undergoing gentrification, we’d gone from the shopping district to a warehouse district within a few blocks. Abruptly Sol slowed and I raised my head to look around. “What’s wrong? We’re not at my place yet.”

“Zack,” was all he said.

“What?…where?”

Sol’s gaze locked on four shadowy forms in the distance. “Vamps. What the hell are they doing out so close to daylight?” He whispered. His head swung left and then right. Tension vibrated his body.

I squinted against the glare of the rising sun and focused on the four distant shapes. I don’t know how the hell Sol could tell they were vampires, but my spidey sense starting screaming ‘Danger Will Robinson’.

Sol growled deep in his chest. “I can smell them,” he said as though he heard my thoughts.
How the hell does he do that?

“They reek of the cloying, sweet stench of death. They have no emotions or feeling, just an insatiable hunger plus a penchant for cruelty and convoluted schemes. They are an emotional wasteland for an empath. I fucking hate vampires.”

I didn't smell a thing other than Sol, but who knows what kind of preternatural senses, vision and smell he had absorbed over the years. “I don’t see Zack. Where is he?”

“Cordy, we can’t stop, we already have enough problems to deal with. Besides, Zack’s a big boy, or rather, a big wolf. He can take care of himself.”

Before I could respond, Sol took off running again even faster than before. I turned to look over his shoulder as he rounded the corner leaving the warehouse district behind us, and a wolf’s howl pierced the morning’s quiet.

The End

"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in another, and the delight in the recognition."
~ Alexander Smith

About Ryanne Hawk

She lives in New England with her husband, four children, two cats, and a billion chickens. You can find her at her website, occasionally on Facebook, and instagram.

http://www.erpierce.com

http://www.facebook.com/authorerpierce

http://www.amazon.com/ER-Pierce/e/B007GXIGQO

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Works by ER Pierce / Ryanne Hawk

Finding Time
(An erotic marriage novella) ER Pierce

Fractured Moon
(Aurelia Fridell #1) Ryanne Hawk

Moon Bound
(Aurelia Fridell #1.5) Ryanne Hawk

Moon Justice
(Aurelia Fridell #2) Ryanne Hawk

Moon Magic
(Aurelia Fridell #2.5) Ryanne Hawk

Duality
(Cordelia Kelly #1) Ryanne Hawk