| Supernatural Fiction posted January 26, 2020 | Chapters: |
...44 45 -46- 47... 
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THE IMMORTAL/A Novel of the Breedline series
A chapter in the book THE IMMORTAL
The Dark Abyss
by scongrove
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
| Background Thanks for taking the time to read my chapter. It's still in the working stages, so if you catch mistakes, please let me know. Enjoy! |
Previously . . .
After an age-old creature—buried deep in underground—rises from years of peaceful slumber to feast on humans, it attacks Jena McCain—a young artist who has the ability to speak with the dead—and infects her with the Rougarou curse. As the virus spreads through her body, Jena must resist her newly found urges for human blood for one hundred and one days. If she succumbs to the blood lust, she will become the thing that has cursed her.
Now that the creature is hunting humans, and infected an innocent young girl, God tasks Lailah—a battle angel gifted with the power of holy fire—with an important mission. She must take go back to earth—with the help of her comrades-at-arms—for the sole purpose of destroying this savage creature.
While Jena heals in the hospital, her thirst for blood rises. Desperate for help, she confides in her best friend Angie, realizing time is running out. Surprisingly, Angie has a few secrets of her own. What she reveals to Jena goes beyond unbelievable. Not only is Angie not human—born with the ability to shift into a wolf—there is a secret species of supernatural beings called the Breedline.
Now that Jena’s reality has slowly shifted into a bizarre realm, she must come to accept the unbelievable and trust her friend before it’s too late. As the bond between the two friends become closer than ever, Angie promises Jena she will do everything she can to help her. Left with no other choice, Angie decides to reach out to the Breedline Covenant for help. But unknown to all, the immortal creature will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants—to seduce Jena and make her his bride.
Meanwhile, as Angie has Jena moved to the safety of the Breedline Covenant, the creature manages to seduce Jena, and tricks her into drinking her own blood. Now that the curse is set into motion, Jena is doomed to become what she fought so hard to resist . . . a bloodthirsty killer. Just when Jena begins to feel as though she has lost all hope, someone mysteriously leaves a journal in her bedroom. Soon after, she discovers it’s a memoir from the 1800s and belongs to a Nicolas Ratcliff. As Jena continues to read on, she finds herself drawn to this mysterious person and that he is the creature’s younger brother. When she finishes reading the last entry, there is a note addressed to her. Nicolas asks Jena to come alone to the Salem Cemetery at dusk to help him end his brother’s curse and save a young girl that his brother holds captive.
Regrettably, Jena must face her worst fears. Now that she had weakened to the creature, she had to confess the bad news to her best friend and to the Covenant, not to mention Nicolas’s journal. While the Breedline Covenant process Jena’s dilemma, the battle angels are to arrive at dusk to help Jena destroy the creature.
While the Breedline prepares for the battle angel’s arrival, they unexpectedly discover Jena has shifted into her creature and somehow made it past the Covenant’s security. When Tessa and Angie search Jena’s room, desperate to find out why she took off and where she went, they find a note hidden under her mattress. After reading it, they are completely shocked to find out Jena is heading to the Salem Cemetery to help Nicolas Ratcliff destroy the creature. Before the angels arrive at dusk, they gather everyone in a meeting. When the battle angels and the Fury arrive, the Breedline tell them about Jena’s disappearance. While they discuss their plan, Bull notices Angie is missing and senses she is in distress. Without further delay, they form a plan—sending Jace’s beast ahead of everyone—to help Jena and Angie destroy the creature.
Now that Ashton discovers his brother Nicolas and Jena’s plan to destroy him, he reveals a disturbing secret unknown to all. Not only is Jena a Necromancer, explaining her ability to speak with the dead, she is also a descendant of Isabella and the daughter of Lucifer.
Completely devastated, Jena refuses to believe him. Just when she feels all hope is lost, Nicolas appears out of nowhere and vows to protect her. When Nicolas threatens his brother’s life, Ashton reveals to him that if he dies, so will he.
As the confrontation between the two brothers heats up, Ashton attacks Nicolas and renders him unconscious. As Ashton attempts to take Jena against her will, he’s caught off guard by Angie’s Breedline wolf. Although her wolf is no match for Ashton’s creature, she doesn’t give up the fight and continues to do everything in her power to protect Jena.
When Ashton overpowers Angie, gripping her by the throat, Jena helplessly watches her best friend fight for her life, begging him to let her go. Caught off guard, Ashton finds himself in a hairy predicament when Jace’s beast and three other supernatural beings comes to Angie’s rescue. With the help of the battle angels, the Fury, and the Breedline, Ashton's creature finds himself in a predicament he wasn't prepared for. Burned by Electra's silver whip, Ashton's creature shifts into a transparent fog and tries to escape but discovers his trapped inside Callisto's invisible forcefield.
Continued . . .
Meanwhile, Ashton’s ghostly apparition shot upward and tried to escape but to his dismay, he found himself trapped in some sort of force field even though there was nothing visibly solid surrounding him. Within seconds, he started to shift back into a solid form.
Jena turned just as a shadowed outline of a monstrous figure began to take shape.
“What in the hell,” Ashton gritted his teeth, “is this?”
With a stone-cold expression, Electra drew back her fierce weapon and positioned it back on her hip, while her sister Callisto looked visibly amused by Ashton’s unsettled reaction. The force field, after all, had been her doing. Although this time, the creature was defenseless when her shield surrounded him.
Apollyon raised an eyebrow in Callisto and Electra’s direction. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you?” He averted his eyes away from his sisters and focused them on Ashton. “Never piss off a woman who can kick your ass,” he said mockingly. “Much less two,” he tacked on.
Ashton shot Apollyon a murderous glare. “Shut your foul mouth,” he growled, exposing rows of sharp teeth, “before I rip your tongue from your devilish head.”
As Jena watched, nestled under the shawl and huddled closely to Nicolas, she half expected the bat-like creature, who called himself Apollyon, to make some sharp-witted comment in response, but he simply looked at Ashton coolly and remained silent.
It wasn’t until Roman and Bull stepped from the shadows and saw Angie’s wolf lying on the ground, motionless and bloodied, that Bull’s panic-stricken voice broke the silence. “Noooo!”
“Bull—” Roman started, but Bull was already running toward his beloved, fearing the worst. As he neared her, a crackling noise thundered through the air and the ground under his feet began to tremble. He reeled back, surprise blooming his face, as the earth abruptly broke open and exploded with light. The cemetery that housed the dead suddenly lit up with flames, rising in colors of gold and scarlet red.
Bull looked from the fiery pit to Angie’s unconscious wolf, to the battle angels. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of fire was choking. Then he coughed and coughed again. “Someone,” he finally said, shielding his face from the burning flames, “do something—”
And there it came, crawling out like a demon rising from the deepest pits of hell. As it dug its clawed hands into the ground, lifting itself up, the enormous creature was definitely not human. It had five heads, all of them shaped like a serpent: Golden vertical slit-pupiled eyes that glowed against its blood-red scales, wings like a dragon, and jaws filled with dagger-sharp teeth.
A wolfish grin played across Ashton’s face. “Master,” he hissed, and raised his powerful wolf arms, his claws reaching for the sky, almost as if he was reaching for the thing that had risen from below, pleading for its help.
One of the reptilian creatures leaned close to Bull and roared in his ear. The sound sent a jolt of adrenaline through his body—and along with it, rage. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand, but his legs buckled under him. He struggled on his hands and knees, trying to pull himself closer to Angie’s wolf, but the thick smoke and heat radiating from the flames were too much.
“Benjamin!” Lena cried out to her brother, her heart twisting inside her chest as she and Justice rushed to his side.
Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. Jena turned, her eyes searching the graveyard desperately for Lailah and the other battle angels. She couldn’t see them through all the smoke, but she heard growling, and then several pairs of glowing eyes suddenly flickering in the darkness. She scrambled closer on her hands and knees, trying to get a better view, but she could make out only the flash of weapons that looked to be swords and the dark shapes of enormous wolves along with another dark outline of what seemed to be an enormous feline of some sort.
Jena turned to scramble back only to find Ashton waiting for her, in his human form, standing next to his brother’s motionless body. He bitterly smiled down at Jena, who was too shocked to do anything but stare up at him.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” he said, offering her his hand. His voice was harsh, impatient. “Join me, my beloved.”
The shrieking noises coming from the five-headed serpent caused Jena to flinch and look away. There was a scream, and among the smoke and burning flames, she could see three dark figures that looked to be a woman and two men, standing before the demonic creature. It snorted plumes of smoke and hissed at them like a cobra, readying itself to strike in unison.
Jena took a deep, shuddering breath and tore her eyes away from the horror. For a moment, everything seemed to hang in suspension. Then her attention focused back to Ashton, her eyes darkening as they met his gaze. As she stared into his haunted eyes, she remembered the intimate night they had shared. Images more than thoughts were rushing through Jena’s mind, terrible and disturbing images of the next morning, of the monstrous creature she’d become, of the repulsive face looking back at her in the mirror. It was like a distant dream. Like something that had happened to someone else and not her. Then her mind came back to focus. Somehow, Ashton managed to seduce her then, but now, she was determined not to give in to him a second time.
“No.” She shook her head, crawling back slowly. “I refuse to be the monster you have become.”
His face twisted into a mask of rage and his eyes blazed with a wave of painful anger. It was then that Jena braced herself, noticing his impending changes were rising fast. She watched in silence, pleading to God to stop it, as his features began to contort and elongate until he was entirely unrecognizable. Jena was amazed at how quickly his transition took over. Thick black hair pushed out of every inch of his bare skin and trailed down his broad shoulders. In a matter of seconds, it covered him completely.
With her eyes fixed on his hideous face, Jena felt her chest tighten. Ashton looked very angry. Angry enough to kill her. The vicious expression on his face was enough to impel Jena to her feet.
The moment she stood, she heard him growl deep in his throat, and then his clawed hand was on her arm, gripping painfully, forcing her forward.
Jena took a shaking breath. “Please, don’t do this,” she pleaded, straining against his stronghold, but her resistance only infuriated him further. He jerked her arm with such force her feet went out from under her. Jena fell to her knees, agony shooting through her as the skin tore from the bits of gravel and the uneven ground below.
“Get up,” he growled.
Painfully Jena turned her head, searching for help, but she couldn’t see past all the smoked-filled darkness. Her head jerked back when something sharp dug into her skin and wrapped tightly around her ankle. Jena cringed but didn’t scream, biting her lip to keep it at bay. In sheer panic, she clawed at the ground as Ashton dragged her from behind.
“Let her go,” said a stern voice, seemingly close by.
Ashton froze in his tracks, but kept a firm grip on Jena. He looked away from her and to the unfamiliar voice.
“Let her go?” Ashton said, squinting his shrewd luminous eyes, searching for the stranger among the thick cloud of smoke. “Who dares to tell me,” he let out a deep-throated cackle, “what to do? And more to the point, whoever you are, what do you mean to do about it? Surely, by now, it would seem obvious that none of your kind can kill me.”
A tall blonde, who Jena recognized as Jace’s twin brother—the one who Angie described as the Chosen Son—emerged from the veil of smoke as though he came out of nowhere. Behind him were huge wolves, perhaps as many as ten, a giant black panther, and Jace’s beast. They paced back and forth, growling and snarling.
“Maybe we cannot kill you,” Jem said as he stepped forward, his palm crackling with light. “But sometimes there are far worse things than death.”
Jena watched in amazement at what looked to be a bolt of lightning, shooting straight out of the palm of Jem’s hand. As it made contact with Ashton’s chest, he instantly howled and clutched at his charred and scorched hide.
Among his piercing howls, Jena could hear the sounds of wings flapping. Crouched on the ground, she looked to the dark sky and a sense of relief suddenly took hold. Flying above—so close she could feel a soothing current of air breeze against her face—were the glorious battle angels, equipped with swords, preparing to fight against the five-headed serpent. Then, she heard them shouting.
“Attack!” Cronus called out, leading his comrades-at-arms into battle.
With lightning speed, Icarus swung his sharp-edged weapon as one of the serpents snapped its head forward, slicing clean through its thick-scaled skin. The monstrous head struck the ground and blood spurted like an acidic red fountain.
The remainder of reptilian creatures simultaneously let loose a hellish shriek as though they felt the death of its fifth companion.
Seething with anger and unbearable agony, Ashton fell to his knees, grieving over the foreseen death of his Master. A look of despair flashed across his face by the tragedy of his loss, but it passed quickly, and unbridled fury reawakened inside him.
“Now!” Cronus yelled, louder this time. We can do this, he thought silently, rearing back his sword, getting ready to slay his enemy. God created us for this, to protect the innocent from evil, and we will not fail him. As he swung his mighty sword—that was as long as his forearm—Helios, Lailah, and Frigg followed suit. All at once, they decapitated the snake-like heads in the flash of light, and at the same time, it released Jena’s binding spell. Now, their task was almost complete.
At first, nothing happened. Then, Jena’s breathing suddenly became deeper and more guttural. It was at that moment, she gasped in relief, realizing the spell had been broken and she was changing quickly now. Already, straining muscles rippled beneath Jena’s skin, while coarse black hairs sprouted from every pore and began to cover the vulnerability of her nakedness. The shape of her face twisted and stretched until her human features were no more. Jena felt herself expanding as if her skin could no longer contain its human form. Her inner creature throbbed with power and a lust for blood—the blood of the monster who had created her.
Ashton’s eyes widened in alarm as he grasped at what was transpiring. He slowly rose to his feet and backed away, wary of Jena’s creature. “No,” he uttered in stunned disbelief. Then his voice became angry. “This cannot be!”
Jem and his allies stood back and watched as Jena released a predator’s growl and moved into an upright position, her body rising and rising until she towered to the height of at least six-feet or more.
For the first time in over two hundred years, Ashton took a step backward in fear of his life.
“Remember, Jena,” said Ashton, looking at her desperate, continuing to slowly back away, getting closer to the opening in the ground. “If you kill me, Nicolas dies.”
Jena was fully aware that Ashton was trying to dissuade her, but she ignored his statement and kept her focus. Although she now had the instincts of a killer, an important part of her still remained intact. Something Ashton had lost a long time ago . . . his humanity.
“I hold all the power,” Jena simply said.
Baring her teeth, she lunged forward and struck Ashton with a flash of fangs and claws, driving him backward. Time seemed to slow as they fell over the edge of the pit below and disappeared into what looked to be Satan’s dark abyss. The haunting sound of a mournful howl went on and on, fading into a distant echo.
To be continued . . .
After an age-old creature—buried deep in underground—rises from years of peaceful slumber to feast on humans, it attacks Jena McCain—a young artist who has the ability to speak with the dead—and infects her with the Rougarou curse. As the virus spreads through her body, Jena must resist her newly found urges for human blood for one hundred and one days. If she succumbs to the blood lust, she will become the thing that has cursed her.
Now that the creature is hunting humans, and infected an innocent young girl, God tasks Lailah—a battle angel gifted with the power of holy fire—with an important mission. She must take go back to earth—with the help of her comrades-at-arms—for the sole purpose of destroying this savage creature.
While Jena heals in the hospital, her thirst for blood rises. Desperate for help, she confides in her best friend Angie, realizing time is running out. Surprisingly, Angie has a few secrets of her own. What she reveals to Jena goes beyond unbelievable. Not only is Angie not human—born with the ability to shift into a wolf—there is a secret species of supernatural beings called the Breedline.
Now that Jena’s reality has slowly shifted into a bizarre realm, she must come to accept the unbelievable and trust her friend before it’s too late. As the bond between the two friends become closer than ever, Angie promises Jena she will do everything she can to help her. Left with no other choice, Angie decides to reach out to the Breedline Covenant for help. But unknown to all, the immortal creature will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants—to seduce Jena and make her his bride.
Meanwhile, as Angie has Jena moved to the safety of the Breedline Covenant, the creature manages to seduce Jena, and tricks her into drinking her own blood. Now that the curse is set into motion, Jena is doomed to become what she fought so hard to resist . . . a bloodthirsty killer. Just when Jena begins to feel as though she has lost all hope, someone mysteriously leaves a journal in her bedroom. Soon after, she discovers it’s a memoir from the 1800s and belongs to a Nicolas Ratcliff. As Jena continues to read on, she finds herself drawn to this mysterious person and that he is the creature’s younger brother. When she finishes reading the last entry, there is a note addressed to her. Nicolas asks Jena to come alone to the Salem Cemetery at dusk to help him end his brother’s curse and save a young girl that his brother holds captive.
Regrettably, Jena must face her worst fears. Now that she had weakened to the creature, she had to confess the bad news to her best friend and to the Covenant, not to mention Nicolas’s journal. While the Breedline Covenant process Jena’s dilemma, the battle angels are to arrive at dusk to help Jena destroy the creature.
While the Breedline prepares for the battle angel’s arrival, they unexpectedly discover Jena has shifted into her creature and somehow made it past the Covenant’s security. When Tessa and Angie search Jena’s room, desperate to find out why she took off and where she went, they find a note hidden under her mattress. After reading it, they are completely shocked to find out Jena is heading to the Salem Cemetery to help Nicolas Ratcliff destroy the creature. Before the angels arrive at dusk, they gather everyone in a meeting. When the battle angels and the Fury arrive, the Breedline tell them about Jena’s disappearance. While they discuss their plan, Bull notices Angie is missing and senses she is in distress. Without further delay, they form a plan—sending Jace’s beast ahead of everyone—to help Jena and Angie destroy the creature.
Now that Ashton discovers his brother Nicolas and Jena’s plan to destroy him, he reveals a disturbing secret unknown to all. Not only is Jena a Necromancer, explaining her ability to speak with the dead, she is also a descendant of Isabella and the daughter of Lucifer.
Completely devastated, Jena refuses to believe him. Just when she feels all hope is lost, Nicolas appears out of nowhere and vows to protect her. When Nicolas threatens his brother’s life, Ashton reveals to him that if he dies, so will he.
As the confrontation between the two brothers heats up, Ashton attacks Nicolas and renders him unconscious. As Ashton attempts to take Jena against her will, he’s caught off guard by Angie’s Breedline wolf. Although her wolf is no match for Ashton’s creature, she doesn’t give up the fight and continues to do everything in her power to protect Jena.
When Ashton overpowers Angie, gripping her by the throat, Jena helplessly watches her best friend fight for her life, begging him to let her go. Caught off guard, Ashton finds himself in a hairy predicament when Jace’s beast and three other supernatural beings comes to Angie’s rescue. With the help of the battle angels, the Fury, and the Breedline, Ashton's creature finds himself in a predicament he wasn't prepared for. Burned by Electra's silver whip, Ashton's creature shifts into a transparent fog and tries to escape but discovers his trapped inside Callisto's invisible forcefield.
Continued . . .
Meanwhile, Ashton’s ghostly apparition shot upward and tried to escape but to his dismay, he found himself trapped in some sort of force field even though there was nothing visibly solid surrounding him. Within seconds, he started to shift back into a solid form.
Jena turned just as a shadowed outline of a monstrous figure began to take shape.
“What in the hell,” Ashton gritted his teeth, “is this?”
With a stone-cold expression, Electra drew back her fierce weapon and positioned it back on her hip, while her sister Callisto looked visibly amused by Ashton’s unsettled reaction. The force field, after all, had been her doing. Although this time, the creature was defenseless when her shield surrounded him.
Apollyon raised an eyebrow in Callisto and Electra’s direction. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you?” He averted his eyes away from his sisters and focused them on Ashton. “Never piss off a woman who can kick your ass,” he said mockingly. “Much less two,” he tacked on.
Ashton shot Apollyon a murderous glare. “Shut your foul mouth,” he growled, exposing rows of sharp teeth, “before I rip your tongue from your devilish head.”
As Jena watched, nestled under the shawl and huddled closely to Nicolas, she half expected the bat-like creature, who called himself Apollyon, to make some sharp-witted comment in response, but he simply looked at Ashton coolly and remained silent.
It wasn’t until Roman and Bull stepped from the shadows and saw Angie’s wolf lying on the ground, motionless and bloodied, that Bull’s panic-stricken voice broke the silence. “Noooo!”
“Bull—” Roman started, but Bull was already running toward his beloved, fearing the worst. As he neared her, a crackling noise thundered through the air and the ground under his feet began to tremble. He reeled back, surprise blooming his face, as the earth abruptly broke open and exploded with light. The cemetery that housed the dead suddenly lit up with flames, rising in colors of gold and scarlet red.
Bull looked from the fiery pit to Angie’s unconscious wolf, to the battle angels. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of fire was choking. Then he coughed and coughed again. “Someone,” he finally said, shielding his face from the burning flames, “do something—”
And there it came, crawling out like a demon rising from the deepest pits of hell. As it dug its clawed hands into the ground, lifting itself up, the enormous creature was definitely not human. It had five heads, all of them shaped like a serpent: Golden vertical slit-pupiled eyes that glowed against its blood-red scales, wings like a dragon, and jaws filled with dagger-sharp teeth.
A wolfish grin played across Ashton’s face. “Master,” he hissed, and raised his powerful wolf arms, his claws reaching for the sky, almost as if he was reaching for the thing that had risen from below, pleading for its help.
One of the reptilian creatures leaned close to Bull and roared in his ear. The sound sent a jolt of adrenaline through his body—and along with it, rage. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand, but his legs buckled under him. He struggled on his hands and knees, trying to pull himself closer to Angie’s wolf, but the thick smoke and heat radiating from the flames were too much.
“Benjamin!” Lena cried out to her brother, her heart twisting inside her chest as she and Justice rushed to his side.
Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. Jena turned, her eyes searching the graveyard desperately for Lailah and the other battle angels. She couldn’t see them through all the smoke, but she heard growling, and then several pairs of glowing eyes suddenly flickering in the darkness. She scrambled closer on her hands and knees, trying to get a better view, but she could make out only the flash of weapons that looked to be swords and the dark shapes of enormous wolves along with another dark outline of what seemed to be an enormous feline of some sort.
Jena turned to scramble back only to find Ashton waiting for her, in his human form, standing next to his brother’s motionless body. He bitterly smiled down at Jena, who was too shocked to do anything but stare up at him.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” he said, offering her his hand. His voice was harsh, impatient. “Join me, my beloved.”
The shrieking noises coming from the five-headed serpent caused Jena to flinch and look away. There was a scream, and among the smoke and burning flames, she could see three dark figures that looked to be a woman and two men, standing before the demonic creature. It snorted plumes of smoke and hissed at them like a cobra, readying itself to strike in unison.
Jena took a deep, shuddering breath and tore her eyes away from the horror. For a moment, everything seemed to hang in suspension. Then her attention focused back to Ashton, her eyes darkening as they met his gaze. As she stared into his haunted eyes, she remembered the intimate night they had shared. Images more than thoughts were rushing through Jena’s mind, terrible and disturbing images of the next morning, of the monstrous creature she’d become, of the repulsive face looking back at her in the mirror. It was like a distant dream. Like something that had happened to someone else and not her. Then her mind came back to focus. Somehow, Ashton managed to seduce her then, but now, she was determined not to give in to him a second time.
“No.” She shook her head, crawling back slowly. “I refuse to be the monster you have become.”
His face twisted into a mask of rage and his eyes blazed with a wave of painful anger. It was then that Jena braced herself, noticing his impending changes were rising fast. She watched in silence, pleading to God to stop it, as his features began to contort and elongate until he was entirely unrecognizable. Jena was amazed at how quickly his transition took over. Thick black hair pushed out of every inch of his bare skin and trailed down his broad shoulders. In a matter of seconds, it covered him completely.
With her eyes fixed on his hideous face, Jena felt her chest tighten. Ashton looked very angry. Angry enough to kill her. The vicious expression on his face was enough to impel Jena to her feet.
The moment she stood, she heard him growl deep in his throat, and then his clawed hand was on her arm, gripping painfully, forcing her forward.
Jena took a shaking breath. “Please, don’t do this,” she pleaded, straining against his stronghold, but her resistance only infuriated him further. He jerked her arm with such force her feet went out from under her. Jena fell to her knees, agony shooting through her as the skin tore from the bits of gravel and the uneven ground below.
“Get up,” he growled.
Painfully Jena turned her head, searching for help, but she couldn’t see past all the smoked-filled darkness. Her head jerked back when something sharp dug into her skin and wrapped tightly around her ankle. Jena cringed but didn’t scream, biting her lip to keep it at bay. In sheer panic, she clawed at the ground as Ashton dragged her from behind.
“Let her go,” said a stern voice, seemingly close by.
Ashton froze in his tracks, but kept a firm grip on Jena. He looked away from her and to the unfamiliar voice.
“Let her go?” Ashton said, squinting his shrewd luminous eyes, searching for the stranger among the thick cloud of smoke. “Who dares to tell me,” he let out a deep-throated cackle, “what to do? And more to the point, whoever you are, what do you mean to do about it? Surely, by now, it would seem obvious that none of your kind can kill me.”
A tall blonde, who Jena recognized as Jace’s twin brother—the one who Angie described as the Chosen Son—emerged from the veil of smoke as though he came out of nowhere. Behind him were huge wolves, perhaps as many as ten, a giant black panther, and Jace’s beast. They paced back and forth, growling and snarling.
“Maybe we cannot kill you,” Jem said as he stepped forward, his palm crackling with light. “But sometimes there are far worse things than death.”
Jena watched in amazement at what looked to be a bolt of lightning, shooting straight out of the palm of Jem’s hand. As it made contact with Ashton’s chest, he instantly howled and clutched at his charred and scorched hide.
Among his piercing howls, Jena could hear the sounds of wings flapping. Crouched on the ground, she looked to the dark sky and a sense of relief suddenly took hold. Flying above—so close she could feel a soothing current of air breeze against her face—were the glorious battle angels, equipped with swords, preparing to fight against the five-headed serpent. Then, she heard them shouting.
“Attack!” Cronus called out, leading his comrades-at-arms into battle.
With lightning speed, Icarus swung his sharp-edged weapon as one of the serpents snapped its head forward, slicing clean through its thick-scaled skin. The monstrous head struck the ground and blood spurted like an acidic red fountain.
The remainder of reptilian creatures simultaneously let loose a hellish shriek as though they felt the death of its fifth companion.
Seething with anger and unbearable agony, Ashton fell to his knees, grieving over the foreseen death of his Master. A look of despair flashed across his face by the tragedy of his loss, but it passed quickly, and unbridled fury reawakened inside him.
“Now!” Cronus yelled, louder this time. We can do this, he thought silently, rearing back his sword, getting ready to slay his enemy. God created us for this, to protect the innocent from evil, and we will not fail him. As he swung his mighty sword—that was as long as his forearm—Helios, Lailah, and Frigg followed suit. All at once, they decapitated the snake-like heads in the flash of light, and at the same time, it released Jena’s binding spell. Now, their task was almost complete.
At first, nothing happened. Then, Jena’s breathing suddenly became deeper and more guttural. It was at that moment, she gasped in relief, realizing the spell had been broken and she was changing quickly now. Already, straining muscles rippled beneath Jena’s skin, while coarse black hairs sprouted from every pore and began to cover the vulnerability of her nakedness. The shape of her face twisted and stretched until her human features were no more. Jena felt herself expanding as if her skin could no longer contain its human form. Her inner creature throbbed with power and a lust for blood—the blood of the monster who had created her.
Ashton’s eyes widened in alarm as he grasped at what was transpiring. He slowly rose to his feet and backed away, wary of Jena’s creature. “No,” he uttered in stunned disbelief. Then his voice became angry. “This cannot be!”
Jem and his allies stood back and watched as Jena released a predator’s growl and moved into an upright position, her body rising and rising until she towered to the height of at least six-feet or more.
For the first time in over two hundred years, Ashton took a step backward in fear of his life.
“Remember, Jena,” said Ashton, looking at her desperate, continuing to slowly back away, getting closer to the opening in the ground. “If you kill me, Nicolas dies.”
Jena was fully aware that Ashton was trying to dissuade her, but she ignored his statement and kept her focus. Although she now had the instincts of a killer, an important part of her still remained intact. Something Ashton had lost a long time ago . . . his humanity.
“I hold all the power,” Jena simply said.
Baring her teeth, she lunged forward and struck Ashton with a flash of fangs and claws, driving him backward. Time seemed to slow as they fell over the edge of the pit below and disappeared into what looked to be Satan’s dark abyss. The haunting sound of a mournful howl went on and on, fading into a distant echo.
To be continued . . .
NOTE: This is not part of the chapter. A reference for terms and cast of characters, especially for new readers:
BREEDLINE - A species of humans that have the ability to change from human form into wolf form if they are born an identical twin. They are not like the old legend of the Lycanthropy myth. The Breedline species can shift into their wolf at will. The moon has no power over them. They do not pass their ability to other humans. Although they live among humans, their species is secret. In wolf form, they have super-strength, speed, and heightened senses. Compared to humans, Breedlines have tremendous advantages when it comes to health. Their bodies heal fast and are not subject to illness or diseases. The only thing that slows their healing process is silver. It is their kryptonite. Besides old age, a silver bullet to the brain is the only way to kill a Breedline.
All male Breedlines change into their first wolf at the age of eighteen. Female Breedlines do not go through the change until they make love to their Breedline bonded mate.
BREEDLINE TWINS - They have a strong, unbreakable bond from birth. Born with telepathic abilities, they have the power to sense their twin�¢??s emotions or injuries. In some cases, the bond between twins are so strong, they cannot live without the other.
BREEDLINE BONDING - The male Breedline spends their life searching for their bonded mate. When two Breedline species experience a bond, they instantly feel a simultaneous, desirable attraction. The bond is for life. It is possible for them to have more than one mate in their lifespan.
BELOVED - A word used by a Breedline to express the bond to their mate.
DOUBLE BONDED - In some cases, male Breedline twins bond with the same female.
BREEDLINE COVENANT - The Breedline species must live within the boundaries of their Covenant. There is one in every state. A council governs their laws and oversees the species population.
THE BEAST - It is the second born son of the Chiang-Shih demon. When provoked into rage, he will shift into the Beast instead of the Breedline wolf. The Beast is also known as the Great White due to his white fur and enormous, two-footed stature. One bite from the Beast has enough venom to kill the Chiang-Shih demon, leaving the soul of the person the demon possessed unharmed.
Jace Chamberlain (a.k.a. the Beast) - He is a Breedline species who later discovers his birth father - who is possessed by the Chiang-Shih demon - murdered his mother when he and his twin brother were four years old. Raised by their new foster family and their Uncle Jacks, he later discovers he was born with a curse of the Beast. With the help of his identical twin brother, Jem, and his bonded mate, Tessa, they help him cope with his rage to keep the Beast at bay. He's an IT engineer, and is the lead singer and plays acoustic guitar in the band Chaos.
Jem Chamberlain (a.k.a. the Chosen Son) - He is a Breedline species and Jace's identical twin brother. He carries the gene of the Chiang-Shih demon which gives him the power to create a portal and a force of electric energy used as a weapon and other powers he discovers later. His bonded mate is Mia Blackwood. He's an IT engineer and the drummer in the band Chaos.
The Fury - Three fraternal twins created by an evil German scientist named Dr. Hans Autenburg. Using his own DNA, he mixed it with the genetics of a Breedline, an Adalwolf, and a powerful Wiccan. After he kidnapped Sonya Hothburn for her genetics of a full-blooded succubus, he forced her into surrogacy. When the children were born, he forbid Sonya to see her children.
Their purpose was to destroy the Breedline species and dominate the human world. The first-born Apollyon, meaning 'destroyer' in Greek grew up with the strength of ten men, and possessed the power to dematerialize, taking others with him, from one place to another. He can transform into a creature that resembles an Adalwolf and a vampire-like hybrid. The second born, Callisto, meaning 'most beautiful,' developed the power to form a shield, protecting herself and others from harm. Electra, meaning 'the shining one' was last to be born. She has the power to conduct electricity from her body, using it as a weapon. Inheriting their species instinct and extraordinary power, their thirst to kill became uncontrollable. As they grew up, the Fury became more and more unstable and unruly. With an insatiable hunger for human flesh and unmanageable powers, they became a hindrance to the physician. He had no other choice but to drug and imprison them for all time, each one placed inside a sarcophagus in a state of deep slumber, until their mother discovered their whereabouts and set them free.
Battle Angels - Their one purpose for existence is to serve the Creator in the war against demons and evil havoc on earth. The battle angels are unlike any of the Creator's angels. The indigenous battle angels, on average, stand ten-feet-tall. Although, a few tower to the height of twelve feet with a more muscular build. Tattooed with unique warrior markings, the black-winged warriors are suited with armor typical of ancient heroes, and they wield a type of sword associated with a long-gone empire. They are the bravest of angels, who consider only the importance of their mission, and are perfectly willing to give their life in the service of righteousness. Gifted with special powers, they fight against the dark side. They are particularly fond of the human race and consider themselves humanity's special protectors.
Lailah - She is a battle angel gifted with holy fire used to trap or immobilize demons and other evil supernatural beings, rather than killing them outright. Forty-one years ago, in her human life at age seventeen, she was savagely murdered. Although her killer got away with the crime, her younger brother, Detective Manuel Sanchez, promises to dedicate his life trying to solve the murder.
Helios - He is a battle angel and a descendant of an African king. When God brought him into the group, he converted Helios's body into a lethal weapon. The tips of his feathers are sharp as knives, and he has talons capable of shredding through skin and bone. Although he was born without vocal cords, he can communicate using his mind.
Icarus - He is a gorgeous battle angel gifted with the power of telekinesis. He can influence, manipulate, and move matter using his mind.
Frigg - He is one of God's originals, serving as a battle angel for more than a century. With a personality bigger than life, a bit of an attitude, and a love for rock-n-roll, cheeseburgers, and classic black-and-white movies, he oddly resembles the singer, Billy Idol of the 80's punk rock band - sporting the same trademark bleached spiked hair and English accent. He has the unique power of shapeshifting. He can transform and reshape himself into any living thing.
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and 2 member cents. BREEDLINE - A species of humans that have the ability to change from human form into wolf form if they are born an identical twin. They are not like the old legend of the Lycanthropy myth. The Breedline species can shift into their wolf at will. The moon has no power over them. They do not pass their ability to other humans. Although they live among humans, their species is secret. In wolf form, they have super-strength, speed, and heightened senses. Compared to humans, Breedlines have tremendous advantages when it comes to health. Their bodies heal fast and are not subject to illness or diseases. The only thing that slows their healing process is silver. It is their kryptonite. Besides old age, a silver bullet to the brain is the only way to kill a Breedline.
All male Breedlines change into their first wolf at the age of eighteen. Female Breedlines do not go through the change until they make love to their Breedline bonded mate.
BREEDLINE TWINS - They have a strong, unbreakable bond from birth. Born with telepathic abilities, they have the power to sense their twin�¢??s emotions or injuries. In some cases, the bond between twins are so strong, they cannot live without the other.
BREEDLINE BONDING - The male Breedline spends their life searching for their bonded mate. When two Breedline species experience a bond, they instantly feel a simultaneous, desirable attraction. The bond is for life. It is possible for them to have more than one mate in their lifespan.
BELOVED - A word used by a Breedline to express the bond to their mate.
DOUBLE BONDED - In some cases, male Breedline twins bond with the same female.
BREEDLINE COVENANT - The Breedline species must live within the boundaries of their Covenant. There is one in every state. A council governs their laws and oversees the species population.
THE BEAST - It is the second born son of the Chiang-Shih demon. When provoked into rage, he will shift into the Beast instead of the Breedline wolf. The Beast is also known as the Great White due to his white fur and enormous, two-footed stature. One bite from the Beast has enough venom to kill the Chiang-Shih demon, leaving the soul of the person the demon possessed unharmed.
Jace Chamberlain (a.k.a. the Beast) - He is a Breedline species who later discovers his birth father - who is possessed by the Chiang-Shih demon - murdered his mother when he and his twin brother were four years old. Raised by their new foster family and their Uncle Jacks, he later discovers he was born with a curse of the Beast. With the help of his identical twin brother, Jem, and his bonded mate, Tessa, they help him cope with his rage to keep the Beast at bay. He's an IT engineer, and is the lead singer and plays acoustic guitar in the band Chaos.
Jem Chamberlain (a.k.a. the Chosen Son) - He is a Breedline species and Jace's identical twin brother. He carries the gene of the Chiang-Shih demon which gives him the power to create a portal and a force of electric energy used as a weapon and other powers he discovers later. His bonded mate is Mia Blackwood. He's an IT engineer and the drummer in the band Chaos.
The Fury - Three fraternal twins created by an evil German scientist named Dr. Hans Autenburg. Using his own DNA, he mixed it with the genetics of a Breedline, an Adalwolf, and a powerful Wiccan. After he kidnapped Sonya Hothburn for her genetics of a full-blooded succubus, he forced her into surrogacy. When the children were born, he forbid Sonya to see her children.
Their purpose was to destroy the Breedline species and dominate the human world. The first-born Apollyon, meaning 'destroyer' in Greek grew up with the strength of ten men, and possessed the power to dematerialize, taking others with him, from one place to another. He can transform into a creature that resembles an Adalwolf and a vampire-like hybrid. The second born, Callisto, meaning 'most beautiful,' developed the power to form a shield, protecting herself and others from harm. Electra, meaning 'the shining one' was last to be born. She has the power to conduct electricity from her body, using it as a weapon. Inheriting their species instinct and extraordinary power, their thirst to kill became uncontrollable. As they grew up, the Fury became more and more unstable and unruly. With an insatiable hunger for human flesh and unmanageable powers, they became a hindrance to the physician. He had no other choice but to drug and imprison them for all time, each one placed inside a sarcophagus in a state of deep slumber, until their mother discovered their whereabouts and set them free.
Battle Angels - Their one purpose for existence is to serve the Creator in the war against demons and evil havoc on earth. The battle angels are unlike any of the Creator's angels. The indigenous battle angels, on average, stand ten-feet-tall. Although, a few tower to the height of twelve feet with a more muscular build. Tattooed with unique warrior markings, the black-winged warriors are suited with armor typical of ancient heroes, and they wield a type of sword associated with a long-gone empire. They are the bravest of angels, who consider only the importance of their mission, and are perfectly willing to give their life in the service of righteousness. Gifted with special powers, they fight against the dark side. They are particularly fond of the human race and consider themselves humanity's special protectors.
Lailah - She is a battle angel gifted with holy fire used to trap or immobilize demons and other evil supernatural beings, rather than killing them outright. Forty-one years ago, in her human life at age seventeen, she was savagely murdered. Although her killer got away with the crime, her younger brother, Detective Manuel Sanchez, promises to dedicate his life trying to solve the murder.
Helios - He is a battle angel and a descendant of an African king. When God brought him into the group, he converted Helios's body into a lethal weapon. The tips of his feathers are sharp as knives, and he has talons capable of shredding through skin and bone. Although he was born without vocal cords, he can communicate using his mind.
Icarus - He is a gorgeous battle angel gifted with the power of telekinesis. He can influence, manipulate, and move matter using his mind.
Frigg - He is one of God's originals, serving as a battle angel for more than a century. With a personality bigger than life, a bit of an attitude, and a love for rock-n-roll, cheeseburgers, and classic black-and-white movies, he oddly resembles the singer, Billy Idol of the 80's punk rock band - sporting the same trademark bleached spiked hair and English accent. He has the unique power of shapeshifting. He can transform and reshape himself into any living thing.
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