The Shadow Champion: a vamp & demon story full of romance and ass kicking

The Shadow Champion

Hero had only lived with the hive for a year and so she had only a rudimentary understanding of how hives worked. Still, she knew more than most outsiders did. And outsider she was. She and her uncle had not even known of the Shadowworld eleven years ago. Even now, she still couldn’t understand the queen’s kindness all those years ago—it wasn’t like hive queens deigned to take random human strangers in without good reason. Hero had yet to figure out Latona’s motivations.

Hero decided to change the topic, moving away from Inis and Latona and Luciana. “So, what did you tell Derek about our sudden disappearance?”

“I told him I heard about a vamp gang war a few blocks over and wanted to check it out.”

“And he didn’t demand that you go with the rest of the crew?”

“No. I told him the war was probably already over, said it was smarter for him to stick around Club Midnight and see if anything interesting happens.”

“And he listened?”

“You forget that I’ve been in with the hunters for quite some time now.”

Hero shook her head incredulously, “I still can’t believe your training requires you to go undercover with hunters. They hate vamps. If they found out who you really are, you’d be so dead.”

Adrienne raised her eyebrows. “Give me some more credit. I can take them all.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an entire crew of hunters. I mean, don’t they usually work in pairs or by themselves?”

“Yes. That’s why the War Council’s Subcommittee on Hunter Activities was interested in the Young Bloods. They may be overeager, but they are surprisingly efficient. Strength in numbers, I suppose.”

“So, it’s the whole ‘know thy enemy’ deal?”

“Yes. I’ll be handing my report in by the end of this week. The Young Bloods are pretty harmless, in fact, they may be quite beneficial. They know nothing of the underground hives. They hunt the city’s loners, many of which are rogue and don’t follow hive rules anyway.” Adrienne shook her head. “This is why only the queen and council members should be able to bite humans. The slums of aboveground human cities are being ravaged by hordes of thirsty, barbaric vampires with no allegiances.”

Hero shrugged and said, “Dante seemed pretty nice.”

Adrienne rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you actually like him.”

Hero replied carelessly, “Well, he is kind of cute. Not to mention, he’s quite the gentleman.”

“I suppose there are exceptions to every rule,” Adrienne conceded, but then said, “But none of that matters. You’re probably never going to see him again. For the next few weeks, we’ll be concentrating on getting the princess back. Once that happens, you’re leaving the Shadowworld behind for good and I’m getting my initiation bite.”

“Initiation bite.” Hero shook her head. “Do you know how cultish and freakishly dirty that sounds? I’d never let someone bite me, not in a million years.”

“It’s an honor. Besides, I’m not sure anyone in the hive would want to bite you. Who knows, given your strange abilities, your blood is probably poisonous.”

“Oh, gee, thanks,” Hero answered sarcastically.

Adrienne ignored her sarcasm and said, “Here we are.”

She parked the rental and the two girls got out.

Adrienne said, “The aftermath of the gang war should be right around the corner.”