Dark Souls (Soul Hunters Book 1) Read online

  Dark Souls

  By: E.J. King

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  EPILOGUE

  Copyright©2014 by E.J. King

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  PROLOGUE

  Monsters lurk in the shadows. Evil comes out to play at night. Your worst nightmares are real. All of the ghost stories and supernatural tales you read to yourself as a child are true. You have every reason to be scared, you just don’t know it because you can’t see it. You don’t have the gift. I do.

  Forces of darkness are at work, doing their very best to destroy all that is good in the world. I should know- they nearly destroyed me. My family was slaughtered, killed by the creatures we spent our lives hunting. I would have been killed, too, if it wasn’t for a mysterious man that appeared out of nowhere and saved me, then vanished just as quickly.

  I owe him my life. I also blame him for it.

  It’s been two years since that night, but it feels like yesterday. I can still hear their screams and see the blood pooled beneath their bodies. And I can still see the piercing blue eyes of the man that saved me and feel his warm, strong arms wrapped around me as he carried me to safety.

  I don’t expect to ever see him again. But then again, life has a way of surprising you, of kicking you in the ass right when you least expect it.

  CHAPTER ONE

  My morning routine was simple- an early morning run around campus followed by a full pot of coffee and a long, hot shower. Then I went to my closet and picked out the most comfortable outfit I could find. Every morning, I glanced at the trunk at the bottom of my closet and my chest would tighten. But once the door was shut again, so was my past.

  For breakfast, I fixed myself an egg white omelet and occasionally allowed myself a side of delicious bacon. If the weather was nice, I enjoyed a quiet breakfast on my porch, listening to birds chirp as the sun rose in the sky. That was pretty much the best part of my day.

  During the week, I attended classes at Jackson College. I was an undeclared freshman, certain only that I wasn’t ready to pick a major and uncertain of just about everything else. It seemed crazy to me that some people knew exactly who they wanted to be at just eighteen. I barely knew what I wanted to have for lunch on any given day.

  That’s not to say I didn’t like school. Quite the contrary. I enjoyed learning for the sake of learning, and I was hopeful that one day I might even make a friend or two. College was easier for me than high school. In high school, you spent your whole day trying to fit in and not stand out in any way. In college, strange was cool. And I had plenty of strange going on.

  I set off in the morning feeling motivated that today would be different. I would smile, even when I didn’t want to and I wouldn’t look away when I passed strangers on the street. On the way to class, I stopped at a corner coffee shop for a double espresso. My caffeine intake was excessive, but also necessary. It was the only thing that kept me going while running on a couple of hours of sleep.

  In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I slept through an entire night without waking in a cold sweat from the nightmares I doubted I would ever be able to shake. The good news was that after two years, I was starting to get used to living in a constant state of sleep deprivation.

  College was supposed to be amazing. I had been dreaming about it since I was 13-years-old, still living under my parents’ roof and hating every minute of it. I thought that when I got to college, I would be free to live my own life and I wouldn’t have to follow their rules any longer. I was ready to shake off my family’s expectations and start living for myself. Now, on my own, I would give anything just to hear their voices again.

  Some days were easier than others. On the days when I was busy, I could sometimes spend an entire hour without thinking about them. Those hours were rare blessings when I managed to trick myself into thinking I was just a normal college freshman. Then I would finish the test, or my shift at work, and I would have time to remember again.

  Today was going to be one of those busy days. I had a midterm in the morning, and a paper due for my afternoon class that I still needed to write. So I spent the day the same way I spent nearly all of my days- with my nose buried in a book in the library. As further evidence of my extreme nerdism, I felt a rush of excitement when my favorite table on the quiet floor was empty. It’s the small things in life.

  The semester started several weeks ago and while I still hadn’t made many friends, I did recognize many of the students around me. That wasn’t surprising considering they were members of my nerd club. We all wore the same nerd uniform- comfortable clothes in neutral tones. Our accessories were piles of books, laptops, and neat rows of highlighters and notecards. I felt comfortable around these people, except for one.

  The young man across from me had only started appearing a few days ago. He had just one book with him- a leather journal that was small enough to fit inside his jacket pocket. If that wasn’t strange enough, he also had a weird habit of wearing his sunglasses inside. I wasn’t sure how he managed to see anything in the poorly lit library, but he split his time making notes in the journal, playing on his phone, and staring at me. I did my best not to stare back, but it wasn’t as easy as you might expect. He was very attractive.

  “You are so obvious.”

  I jumped, completely busted. “Hope!”

  The only semi-friend I had made so far took a seat across from me. Her red lips turned up in a crooked smile. “I’m onto you, Kaylie Jones.”

  “Huh?”

  “You still haven’t written your paper.” She grinned smugly. “Slacker.”

  Hope was what my mom would’ve called a “firecracker.” She had a bubbly personality, a hazy understanding of personal boundaries, and a blatant disregard for rules and authority. We had met at orientation. While standing in line to get our student ID pictures taken, a fraternity guy had called me Babe and tried to slap my ass. Hope had kicked him in the shin, thereby establishing herself as someone I wanted in my life.

  Our friendship hadn’t exactly been instantaneous though. Hope lived in one of the dorms and had signed up for all sorts of clubs and social engagements. That made it hard for her to bond with a recluse like me that lived off campus. Fortunately, it seemed she had made it her mission to force me to have fun.

  “I still have plenty of time to finish it,” I said, stealing one more glance at mystery guy.

  He was no longer staring at me, but was blatantly checking out Hope. It wasn’t exactly surprising. She was petite, blond, and busty- a triple threat in the dating world.

  “Hurry up. We can go hang out in the quad and flirt with boys.” She pouted at me, but I stayed strong.

  “I really have to finish this paper, Hope. Besides, I have to work tonight anyway.” I turned back to my laptop and tried to ignore her dramatic overreaction.

  “Fine.” She sighed loud enough that several people looked over. “Bail on me today, but you can’t get out of tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow night?” I was sure we had
already had this discussion, but I didn’t remember the conversation.

  “Party. Beer. Woods. Bonfire. Hayrack rides.” She ticked each item off on her finger. “Please tell me you haven’t already forgotten about the most epic party of the year?”

  “Didn’t that already happen?”

  “No. It’s happening tomorrow night and you have to go with me.”

  I was vaguely starting to remember that Hope had mentioned this party over lunch a few days ago. I had been hoping she would forget or change her mind. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Hope.”

  “No. Way. You are not backing out on me! I need a wing-woman.” Hope’s voice was getting progressively louder and the people on the quiet floor did not appreciate it.

  “Fine. Fine. I’ll go with you.”

  Hope squealed and clapped her hands. “Ohmygosh. This is going to be so fun.”

  “If you say so.” I lost my battle with a smile. “Now would you mind leaving me alone so I can get this paper done and not fail out of school?”

  “If you insist.” She jumped to her feet. “Tomorrow night. Nine o’clock. Don’t forget.”

  “Go!” I pointed toward the stairs. “Don’t make me change my mind.”

  Hope saluted me and skipped away.

  I finished my paper exactly ten minutes before it was due and sent off a quick email to my professor. School work done, it was time to head to my night job. As I packed up my books and supplies, I felt mystery-man watching my every move. I allowed myself a glance in his direction. In usual creepy guy fashion, he was wearing his sunglasses and I could see myself reflected in their mirror lenses.

  He smiled at me, not in a nice-to-meet-you way, but in an I-want-you-to-be-scared-of-me way. I flipped him a middle-finger salute and whirled on my heel. His deep laugh followed me as I stormed away.

  It wasn’t until I was back home, changing for my esteemed job at the Lucky Lady, that I realized I had made it through the entire day without talking to anyone but Hope. That would end in thirty minutes when I would be forced to play nice with drunk college kids for minimum wage and measly tips.

  While I would have greatly preferred to stay in my jeans and hoodie, I had learned that less was more in the world of bartending, so I found my shortest skirt and skimpiest top. Long legs- check. Ample cleavage- check. A quick brush through my long, red hair and I was ready to face the vultures.

  The Lucky Lady was located two blocks off campus and right in the middle of the bad part of town. The college kids thought it was cool to slum it with the locals and the locals came to hit on drunk college girls. I didn’t care who showed up or who they left with as long as they tipped well.

  “Hey, Boomer.” I smiled at our bouncer, a big guy with a bald head and plentiful tattoos. He was scary to look at, but he had a warm smile and quick laugh.

  “Kaylie. Lookin’ good.”

  Boomer’s eyes rested on my chest rather than my face, but I didn’t mind. He’d saved me from more than a few groping fraternity guys in the past few weeks.

  “How’s the crowd looking?” I asked. It was dollar draft night which meant the crowd would come early.

  “Drunk,” he said with a laugh that shook his round belly.

  I grimaced, knowing that was both a good and bad thing. Drunk people tipped more, but they also fought more.

  Immediately after I walked inside, a beer bottle flew across the room and crashed against the wall, exploding loudly. I sighed and headed to the back to get the cleaning supplies. It was going to be a long night.

  Midway through my shift, we hit a strange lull and I was able to take a few minutes to regroup. Normally, it was moments like these when my mind would start to wander, but the other bartender, Owen, had other plans.

  “You’ve got an admirer,” he said.

  We were leaning against the wall, next to the shelves of vodka and rum, and had the perfect vantage point to survey the room.

  “It’s the cleavage,” I explained.

  “I’m sure that’s why most of the guys are drooling,” he said with a laugh, “but this guy looks smitten. Maybe it’s true love?”

  I followed Owen’s gaze, looking for my secret admirer. “There’s no such thing.”

  “Spoken like someone who’s had her heart broken.” He grimaced knowingly and then stepped up to the bar to take orders.

  I finally found the person that had caught Owen’s attention. A man sat at a table in the back corner of the room. He would’ve blended in with all of the other guys if he hadn’t been wearing his shades inside. I sucked in a breath. My library companion had followed me to the bar.

  Sure, it was possible it was just a coincidence. But that didn’t explain why he was staring right at me, watching my every move.

  “Hey, Hottie! I need beer.”

  I blinked hard and snapped back to reality. I had a job to do; Shades could wait. But the next time I had a break long enough to look around the bar, he was gone.

  It took longer than usual to clear out the bar and I was in a bad mood by the time I cashed in my tips. My haul was good, but it was late and I was exhausted. Boomer offered to walk me to my car. It was a nice offer, but I didn’t need anyone to protect me. I’d gotten pretty good at protecting myself over the years.

  The parking lot had been full when I arrived, so I’d had to park around the corner. Walking to my car, I sensed that I wasn’t alone. I whirled to face whomever, or whatever, might be following me. There was nothing behind me but an empty, dark street.

  “Paranoid,” I muttered to myself, turning back, then pulling up short when I saw that I wasn’t alone. “You.”

  Shades smirked, nearly imperceptibly in the dark. He was leaning against the side of my car with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Me,” he said, his voice as deep as his laugh.

  “What do you want?” I asked, trying not to sound nervous. I wasn’t exactly afraid that he was going to hurt me, but I didn’t like not knowing his motives. “Why are you following me?”

  “I’m here to save you, Kaylie.”

  “You are going to save me?” I laughed, but hearing him say my name also made me shiver. “Creepy and funny. You are quite the catch.”

  He pushed away from the car, pulling up to his full height. It was the first time I had seen him standing and I was surprised that he was well over six-feet-tall.

  “You heard about the blond girl that was killed last night?”

  I nodded and swallowed hard. Just a couple of blocks away from where we stood, a college girl had been brutally attacked. “What of it?”

  “It was supposed to be you.” Shades took a step forward and every muscle in my body tensed.

  Could he be one of them? How had I not suspected that already? Especially since I had never seen him without his shades. “What do you want?” I repeated.

  “I need you to come with me, Kaylie.” He moved even closer.

  “Why would I ever do that?”

  He leaned close, so close that I caught whiff of his scent, spicy and intoxicating, and also familiar. “Because I was the one that saved you that night.”

  Ever since I had found myself in the arms of that stranger, being carried to safety after my family had been brutally murdered in front of me, I had wanted nothing more than to find that man and learn the truth about what happened that night.

  Shades knew the exact thing to say that would get me to listen.

  Even though I knew it was crazy to go anywhere with him, I got in my car and followed him as he drove toward the edge of town. He stopped in front of an all-night diner that boasted to have the best coffee in the area. I was skeptical.

  “You’re hungry?” I asked in disbelief as we stood in front of the neon diner sign.

  “I’m always hungry,” he replied dryly. “But I also didn’t suspect you would be willing to follow me into my motel room.”

  I nodded. “So at least you’re not a complete idiot.”

  “I make no promises.” He nodded
toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  The diner was nearly empty, but Shades led us to the back and picked a booth in the corner. He slid into the mafia seat and reached for a menu.

  I sat across from him, not quite sure where to look.

  “Late night?” the waitress asked.

  “Is there any other kind?” Shades said, flashing a blinding smile. It occurred to me based on the waitress’s reaction that his smile had probably gotten him into a lot of women’s beds.

  “What can I get you?” she asked, playfully batting her lashes as she smiled at him.

  He handed her the menu. “Burger. Fries. Chocolate shake- extra thick.”

  I groaned internally as I watched her cheeks flush. She started to walk away without even glancing in my direction. “I’ll take a coffee!”

  “Oh. Of course,” she said, noticing me for the first time.

  “Wearing those shades inside makes you look like a complete tool,” I said, glaring at him as he stared at the waitress’s ass.

  He reluctantly turned to me. “Wearing that sneer makes you look like a complete bitch.”

  The door chimed behind us as another patron entered the diner. I was surprised when Shades waved a hand, flagging over the newcomer.

  “Well done, Rafe,” a man said. “You got her to come.”

  “I always do,” Shades replied with a wink.

  I threw up a little in my mouth. “Rafe? What kind of name is that?”

  The new arrival slid into the booth next to Shades and stuck out his hand. “Ethan Night.”

  I shook it hesitantly. “Kaylie Jones.”

  Ethan’s lips twitched. “You’ve met my brother?”

  “Not officially.” I took a good look at Ethan, appreciating his kind eyes and warm smile.

  He was light where his brother was dark- blond hair, fair skin, and pale blue eyes. The family resemblance could be seen in their strong jaws and inviting smiles.

  “James Rafferty,” Shades said with a sigh. “Most people call me Rafe.”

  “You’re brothers? But you have different last names?” It was hard not to feel a little inadequate sitting across from the attractive brothers. I was definitely the odd man out.