Darkness Descending Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Teaser chapter

  ALSO BY DEVYN QUINN

  PRAISE FOR THE VAMPIRE ARMAGEDDON SERIES

  Darkness Descending

  “In Darkness Descending, Devyn Quinn has written a gritty paranormal romance that is as darkly seductive as it is fascinating. Jesse Burke is a gutsy heroine determined to obtain revenge against the demonic creatures that have destroyed her life. Immortal vampire slayer Maddox deValois becomes her sensuous mentor in both combat and passion. The result is an erotic thrill ride readers will adore.”

  —Angela Knight, New York Times bestselling author of

  Master of Smoke

  “Darkness Descending is a thrilling ride of nonstop action and emotion, with sexual tension that sizzles off the page. Maddox is the sexiest hero I’ve read, and the dark, gritty, apocalyptic world makes this a book you can’t put down. Devyn Quinn is a rising star!”

  USA Today bestselling author Sharon Page

  “Packed with grit and urgency. A real page-turner.”

  —Sharon Ashwood, award-winning author of

  the Dark Forgotten series

  “A fascinating urban fantasy with a gritty edge. Devyn Quinn rocks!”

  —Sunny, national bestselling author of

  Mona Lisa Eclipsing

  PRAISE FOR THE DARK TIDES SERIES

  Siren’s Surrender

  “A genuinely unique tale of magical mermaids. The characters are people you can cheer for, and the story line really keeps the pages turning. Thought-provoking historical insights give a sense of realism to a fantastic, romantic story that will have readers hoping for a happy ending for all.”

  —Romantic Times (4 stars)

  “People, whether they have legs or tails, react in a variety of ways under pressure, and Quinn recognizes that in this fast-paced and exciting book.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “A passionate, action-filled thriller.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  “A wonderful second book [in] the Dark Tides series. It is full of adventure and romance.”

  —Sizzling Hot Books (5 stars)

  Siren’s Call

  “Devyn Quinn writes her stories exactly the way I like to read them: rich, detailed, and a touch poetic. You can practically smell the wind, feel the passion, and taste the tears.”

  —Morgan Hawke, author of Insatiable

  “More than a paranormal romance where the star-crossed lovers must battle huge obstacles, Siren’s Call quickly serves up a main course of interesting characters with a side dish of archaeological and historical intrigue. The novel does not delay the inevitable, nor does it retread the oft-trod predictable lines of many paranormal romances. Instead, as the story develops, so do intriguing questions about privacy, relationships, and what the world may have a right to know.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “If you like a fast-paced read that draws you in quickly and leaves you begging for more, this is the book for you. . . . I found myself really absorbed in the plot and emotionally invested in the characters.... And I’m sure some are already screaming in Ms. Quinn’s head, begging her to tell their stories. All I can add is I’ll be waiting none too patiently for the next installment of the Dark Tides series. Ms. Quinn not only delivered, she went above and beyond.”

  —Rites of Romance (recommended read)

  “I enjoyed the story, especially the prickly Tessa. Paranormal fans with a penchant for mermaids are likely to enjoy this series.”

  —The Romance Readers Connection

  “A mystical tale of magick-wielding Mers, a lost civilization, and an evil queen hell-bent on destruction—escapism at its finest! If you haven’t read Devyn Quinn before, let me say this: Her descriptions are vivid. You’ll also enjoy the malevolent characters as much as her likable ones. I certainly do!”

  —Love Romance Passion Reviews

  “This first Dark Tides novel has a nicely inventive shape-shifting heroine. The hero is quite humanly flawed and yet satisfyingly honorable.”

  —Romantic Times

  “The questions, feelings, and issues discussed made this unlikely story more real and believable.... I felt that the author fully pulled me into the world that she created.... I am definitely interested in reading the next book in this series.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  ALSO BY DEVYN QUINN

  Siren’s Call

  Siren’s Surrender

  SIGNET ECLIPSE

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, USA

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, August 2011

  Copyright © Devyn Quinn, 2011

  All rights reserved

  SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  ISBN : 978-1-101-51721-5

  http://us.penguingroup.com
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br />   To Jhanteigh Kupihea, my super-duper editor. Thank you for going the extra mile.

  To Roberta Brown, agent extraordinaire. Thank you for holding my hand through the angst.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Oh, my goodness! It’s that time again, when I have to sit down and thank all those generous souls who contributed to the creation and writing of this book. I have to say right off that Darkness Descending would not have happened without the hard work of two very important ladies: my agent, Roberta Brown, and my editor, Jhanteigh Kupihea. Both of these gals busted their butts on my behalf, putting in long hours and going above and beyond the call of duty to take this first Vampire Armageddon book from the tiniest germ of an idea (a twinkle in my mind, really) and turn it into a full-fledged novel. Without them, there would be no Devyn Quinn. I would be lost without their guidance, generous spirits, and absolute support.

  I must also mention Jane Steele, whose copyedit was spot-on. Her sharp eyes and sharper red pen made sure all the plot points lined up and made sense.

  I can’t forget my support team, those ladies who listen to me moan when I’m going through the process of writing a new book. Kate Douglas and Darynda Jones always lend a generous ear, as well as share their advice and insights when I am confounded. Sarah Parr, Sara Reinke, Stef Kelsey, Vanessa Hawthorne, Jodi Lynn Copeland, and Anya Howard also chime in with their thoughts—and often kick my tail to get things back in gear. Never to be left out is Del Garrett, who’s been there since the beginning.

  Much gratitude also goes to my beta readers, Lea Franczak, Rhonda Wilson, and Tracey Anderson, who always tell it like it is, especially if I’ve messed up a scene. Welcome aboard to Marissa Dobson, who has also signed on to beta read. Thank you. I need all the eyes I can get!

  Last, to all the readers. I hope you enjoy the book! Please keep in mind that even though the story is set in New Orleans, it is a fictional version of that historic city my vampires are invading. Some places mentioned in the book are real. Other places are purely generated by my own imagination. I have tried to be as accurate as research over the Internet allows, so please don’t slap my hand if I got a detail wrong. If so, I will cop to that old fallback and pull out the license all writers of fiction carry: “I made it up. Really.”

  Prologue

  This is a tale that has been told time and time again; the battle of good versus evil, light versus dark. There are as many versions as there are stars in the sky.

  And it’s all true.

  The story, however, is only half-told.

  Thousands of years ago, one of the most favored archangels challenged the highest power of heaven. Jealous of the freedom accorded to newly created humans, he demanded free will for all angels. The confrontation fractured heaven, creating a legion of upstarts. But far from denying them, heaven granted these angels what they so desired.

  But the gift came at a terrible price. Almost immediately, the angels felt a dark presence, born of greed, stir within. Fear rippled throughout the ranks, but it was too late to beg forgiveness. For their blasphemy, their bodies were torn asunder and reborn in fire, the blood in their veins cursed. Their wings were torn from their monstrous bodies, and they took on the look of beasts.

  The accursed beings were cast out of heaven, made to wander Earth for all time. Humans were given the sanctuary of Eden to protect them from the encroaching evil, but free will once again proved to be both blessing and curse, and they began to travel far and wide beyond the haven. Eventually, Eden became no more than a mirage, its location concealed in the sands of time.

  The fallen angels quickly discovered men, and it was then that they felt the first pull of bloodlust. The seeds of their revenge were sown, and they fed upon humans, integrating themselves into society. Vampirism spread slowly, giving foul birth to a demon race that called itself the Telave.

  Eden is now lost, and no place on Earth offers shelter as those of the Telave continue to build their army of undead soldiers, biding their time to wage war on heaven and Earth. They move virtually undetected, cloaked in the shadowy mantle of human ignorance and denial.

  But heaven has not forsaken the weak and defenseless. The most faithful of angels were sent to mate with human females, giving rise to a race of holy warriors strong enough to withstand the unholy invasion of the vampiric virus.

  However, the warriors are spread thin as the demonic plague escalates. Their victories are few; the casualties many.

  A savior to lead them has long been promised.

  But the centuries have passed, and no savior has arrived....

  When she does, the fate of the world will rest in her hands.

  Chapter 1

  Jesse Burke crouched beside the grave of Candace Ackerman. Her gaze raked the freshly turned soil, her grip tightening around her flashlight. Its weight felt solid, reassuring in her hand. A good thing, too. Her heart pounded so fiercely, she could barely think straight.

  Her breath caught as a wild thought popped into her head. What the hell am I doing?

  Most people didn’t sit in cemeteries after dark waiting by a grave the way someone would wait for a bus. Most people, even bereaved family members of the recently deceased, had the good sense to go home after the sun set. And most people didn’t believe the dead would awaken, return to walk again. After all, the deceased were no longer alive.

  Jesse believed. Because she believed, she’d traveled to the Metairie Cemetery to do one thing and one thing only—to slay her first vampire.

  No matter if she died in the process. As far as she was concerned, she’d passed away months ago and just didn’t have the sense to stretch out in a coffin herself. No matter if she had to endure a lot of pain to make it happen. She wasn’t leaving until one of them stayed put.

  Permanently.

  She’d already examined the temporary metal plate marking the grave several times with the beam of her heavy Maglite, reading and memorizing the brief stats of the occupant.

  CANDACE DENISE ACKERMAN. BORN 1984. DIED 2006

  The girl had been only twenty-two years old. Found wandering in a delirium, she had appeared to be uninjured save for a few bruises and ragged punctures dotting her throat and arms. Feverish and vomiting, she’d died shortly thereafter. The source of her strange wounds and sudden onset of illness was unknown. Whispers about the plague were beginning to spread among the population.

  Remembering the newspaper’s retelling of events, Jesse felt chills scrape up her spine. Beneath her feet lay Candace’s body, occupant of the nice satin-lined coffin her grief-dazed parents had recently purchased.

  “All the signs are there,” she said aloud, as if saying the words made them true. “This means only one thing.” The cult that had taken her and her twin was on the move again, recruiting new members to its ranks. Barely a month had passed since the identical death of a twenty-one-year-old man.

  Memories she couldn’t easily suppress rose to the forefront of Jesse’s mind. Bitter acid welled in the back of her throat as strange, distorted faces swam out of her mind’s dark corners. Soulless eyes stared; they were empty, terrible things. Taut, ruby red lips were drawn back over sharp white fangs.

  Unwilling to let the beasts out of the cage locked tight in the back of her mind, Jesse closed her eyes hard. A thin film of sweat coated her skin. Icy fingers grasped her spine, holding on tight. Like the girl in the grave, she knew how it felt to be taken, her blood sucked away drop by precious drop to feed an unholy hunger.

  Unlike the girl in the grave, she’d survived.

  At this point in her life nothing scared her—nothing at all. She’d spent almost a year preparing for this moment, waiting for the chance to be something more than a victim. She had to get it right this time.

  Opening her eyes, Jesse blinked several times, wiping beads of perspiration off her clammy skin. Refocusing on the freshly filled grave, she strained in an attempt to see through the dirt. Although not quite full, the moon provided sufficient light, bathing the beautifully ma
nicured cemetery in an unearthly silver-blue glow. The night air smelled clean. The wandering breeze stirred stray leaves and tugged at her hair, tousling the strands around her face and shoulders.

  She heard the vampire before she saw it. The muffled sound of a strange wail cut through her like a knife. Hands braced against the cool ground, she lowered her head and stilled her breath, listening. She easily detected the distressed scrabble of fingernails tearing through wood. The beast had awakened and was beginning to dig itself out.

  Heart hammering in her chest, Jesse pulled herself to her feet. As her gaze darted from side to side, she saw all, yet at first she comprehended nothing. At last she saw the ground heave upward as though the corpse below were attempting to take great gulping breaths of air.

  “I can do this,” she murmured.

  Dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and army boots, she’d filled every pocket of her secondhand Levi’s jacket with her meager arsenal. Her research had narrowed down the weapons best used for slaying vampires: garlic, a cross, and, of course, a wooden stake, its end sharpened to a deadly point.

  Suddenly, the stone-walled cemetery wasn’t so peaceful or calm. The temperature dropped significantly as the breeze kicked up, winnowing among headstones.

  A voice, a grating whisper, echoed on the breeze, caressing her ears. The fine hairs at the nape of her neck rose. “Get the hell out . . .”

  Was it her imagination . . . or something more sinister?