Awakening the Nightmare

By Lanie Malone

In a world filled with preternatural beings, Corinne DeLacy stands alone. For centuries she has hidden her heritage and powers from the rest of the world. Then Nick is forced into her life, turning it upside down. Standing in her way at every turn, he watches her suspiciously. Circumstances landed them together and now they must fight to save all that they hold dear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lanie Malone
• Release date: Feb 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466002371

Book preview

Awakening The Nightmare

By: Lanie Malone

Copyright 2012 Lanie Malone

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

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

Epilogue

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

It was just another night in Darling’s, a pool hall in Arlington, Texas that had been a variety of other businesses, under a dozen other names and had been around since before the Great Depression. The old building wore its age well, the battle scars adding character to an otherwise simple and unassuming façade. There were a few bullet holes in the walls, deliberately left unrepaired and the carpet had worn down in several places. The old massive bar in the corner had its fair share of scratches and scuff marks and the door behind it leading to the empty kitchen, a remnant from when Darling’s had once been a restaurant, had long ago come off its hinges. In front of the bar there were several high- top tables, a small stage and dance floor and the front windows, half of which were stained glass. The jukebox by the bar played everything from Elvis to Everclear, Madonna to Metallica and anything in between. The overall effect was charming and inviting and it drew all walks of life through the doors every night. It was a place where businessmen and bikers alike could grab a drink and play a few games on the best tables in town.

The tables were the one area where no expense had been spared. Every single one, from the quarter tables to the ten footers, was in pristine condition. Twenty- five tables in all, they were clean and Heaven help you if you got caught setting a drink or a cigarette down on one. The one rule of Darling’s was plastered on the door when you came in Respect the tables or run while you’re able. Many an unfortunate individual had been chased out the doors of Darling’s. Some had been thrown out and some had to be carried out for violating that one rule. What the rule didn’t mention was that many things could be considered disrespecting the tables and that some of them, like fighting or excessive drunken behavior, would get you banned from Darling’s for life and a mug shot taken from security footage of you plastered on the wall of shame. After twenty five years as a pool hall the wall of shame had over 260 pictures on it and some of the older ones had had to be replaced by photos of the new generation of degenerates when they had run out of room on the wall.

Corinne Eloise DeLacy stood in the doorway that led to the employee only area and quietly surveyed her little kingdom. Business had been a bit slow tonight but then that was to be expected on a Tuesday. A slow night had its good points though. The odds of anyone getting tossed out dropped drastically on a slow night. She listened to the buzz of conversation in her earpiece, a small CIA style device with a tiny little mic that could be clipped on a lapel. Everyone who worked for her had the same set up. Communication could be imperative to survival at times and it had nothing to do with the bar crowd. Every single member of her staff was wanted by someone for something, even her, and she did her best to keep all of them safe.

Satisfied that everything was running smoothly and convinced that it was going to be a nice boring night she turned and headed down the hallway to her office. If nothing else, she would have a chance to get caught up on paperwork, inventory and every other thing she had been too busy to tend to lately. She sat down at her desk and with a sigh started shuffling papers about in a futile attempt to get them organized.

Hey Cory, some guy is at the bar asking for you. He says Artie sent him. Oh and that karaoke chick is here again as well. What do you want me to do about her? She laid her head down on top of the pile on her desk. Gods how she hated karaoke. So far she had politely tried telling the woman that this wasn’t the type of establishment for it and that she simply wasn’t interested. After three attempts to bring Cory around you would think the stupid woman would give up. But Darling’s was a popular place and Linda, was that her name or was it Lydia? Whatever. The karaoke psycho was determined to get herself set up here. She had also started harassing the customers trying to get them to petition Cory for a karaoke night. It wouldn’t be so bad if the woman wasn’t so appallingly obnoxious. Apparently Cory was going to have to make her refusal a little more clearly this time. She picked up her head and smiled. This was going to be fun.

Hey Tony, keep an eye on her and I’ll be there in just a sec.

Okay boss lady. What about this guy? He says his name is Devyn. You know him?

Doesn’t ring any bells. I’ll deal with him too. I’m on my way. Just don’t wander too far when I go talk to him okay Tony. I might need you to look big and scary for me.

Sure thing. If Tony was good at anything it was looking big and scary. At 6’5" and 280 pounds of solid muscle, intimidating people was his specialty, which was why he was her doorman and all around security guard. His size alone was enough to intimidate most humans. The fact that he fairly reeked of alpha male werewolf was enough to deter pretty much anything else that came through the door. He had ended up in her employ when he was forced to run from his pack up north. She wasn’t clear on all the details, since he didn’t like to talk about it, but apparently he had some issues with the pack leader. Issues that ended with the pack leader finding his son with his heart ripped out and his testicles stuffed in his mouth with steel wire holding his lips shut.

Tony had shown up on her doorstep with his 12 year old mute sister in tow about ten years ago, begging for a job and a hiding place. In the years that had passed he had never once opened up completely about what had happened and Adelina had never opened her mouth at all. The most Cory could get Tony to say about it was, She used to talk all the time before… and then he would promptly end the conversation. Addie had started working for Cory when she turned fifteen. She cleaned the bar in the mornings and Cory’s apartment upstairs in the afternoon. They were kind of a strange pair but loyal to a fault.

She stepped out into the bar and immediately started scanning the room for Linda or Lydia or whatever the hell her name was. She spotted her sitting at the bar talking to the bartender Vance and from the look on his face she was obviously getting on his nerves. She pressed the little button to key up her mic and said, Don’t eat her Vance I’m coming to your rescue. He looked across the room and glared at her. Following his gaze the irritating woman turned and saw Cory advancing towards them and hopped off her barstool. She stuck out her hand for a handshake and smiled at Cory.

Ignoring the hand offered, Cory looked down at her and smiled coldly in return. Miss… I’m sorry what was your name again? She was doing her best to look down at the woman as condescendingly as she could but the woman seemed to be immune.

Lydia. Lydia Baskins. She was still smiling. I wanted to talk to you again Ms. DeLacy because I have some new ideas about how we could work this out.

Work what out, Ms. Baskins?

Why, my doing karaoke here a…

Cory held up a hand. Stop right there. Ms. Baskins I have tried, repeatedly and in the most polite fashion I can manage, to make you understand that I am not interested in having a karaoke night here.

But you haven’t even listened to what I have to offer and…

I don’t need to. What you have to offer ultimately ends in me having to listen to a bunch of drunken retards butchering some of my favorite music.

But…

But nothing. I am done being polite. You couldn’t accept a nice ‘No’ and move on could you? No, you had to come in here and work my nerves. So, congratulations you are now officially banned from Darling’s for the rest of your natural life. And with a good deal of menace she leaned in closer and quietly added, And if you don’t get the fuck out of my bar this instant that life will be a good deal shorter than you hoped. She straightened back up, offered Ms. Baskins a bright smile, looked at Vance and said, Would you like the pleasure of escorting Ms. Baskins to the door?

Vance looked at Lydia Baskins with the closest thing to a smile on his face that Cory had ever seen him display but a distinctly menacing look in his eyes and said, It would certainly be my pleasure.

Lydia Baskins literally ran out of Darling’s as fast as her stilettos could carry her. Cory chuckled to herself as she watched her go. Lord knew she wouldn’t want to be on Vance’s bad side either.

That was a little excessive don’t you think? This came from a new voice. Cory turned around and assessed the vampire sitting at the bar. She had known he was there before but had not bothered to acknowledge him. Better to get rid of Baskins first and then deal with the potential threat.

No. Excessive would have been letting Vance roast her alive over an open fire out back. What I did was simply prudent. She gave him a blatant once over. And since I don’t know you, you can hardly expect me to give a shit about your opinion. Now, what do you want? Cory knew she was being rather rude but she didn’t trust vampires, except for Artie of course but he had saved her ass more than once.

He assessed her just as rudely but when his eyes finished travelling up her body he had a smile on his face. My name is Devyn Madigan. Artie sent me to give you this. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out an envelope and handed it to her.

How do I know this is really from Artie? She said it as she eyed the envelope skeptically. No telling what kind of nasty magic could be hiding in that envelope and she had plenty of enemies who would be more than capable of putting it there. And she certainly didn’t trust a man who looked at her the way he did, so very appreciatively. He was too good looking to be anything but trouble for any member of the female sex.

He smiled at her as he said, Paranoid much?

It’s the only way to stay alive. She looked at the handwriting on the front of the envelope and decided that it had to be Artie’s scrawling. She started to open it but Devyn put his hand on hers to stop her.

Is there somewhere more private? He wants me to wait for a response anyway.

She considered him for a moment. He was about her height which would make him just under six feet but with broad shoulders and big muscular arms. It was hard to size him up accurately because he was still wearing his coat. But he was definitely handsome with his freshly shaved head and icy blue eyes. If you’ll allow Tony to frisk you I’ll take you to my office.

Very well.

She led him to the other side of the bar while she signaled for Tony to follow. After the three of them were behind the door and out of view of the humans she looked at Tony and said, Frisk him… and be thorough if you please Tony. As long as he was unarmed she could hold her own against him in hand to hand combat not mention she had a small arsenal hidden in her office. But if he had weapons hidden on his person she might be in for a surprise. And Cory hated surprises.

Tony finished patting him down. He’s clean. Do you want me to stay with you boss

No it’s alright. Go back and man the door. I’ll be fine. She glanced at Devyn and said, Follow me, please.

She led him down the hall and into her office and was even nice enough to offer him a seat before taking her own behind her desk. As she leaned back in her chair she thought it’s a good thing we’re both tall or I’d never be able to see him over all this paper.

Your monster of a bartender, what is he exactly? He asked as he settled into the chair across from her.

Vance? He’s fae. Frowning she leaned forward and moved some of the papers off her desk and set them on the floor anyway. From the look of things she wasn’t going to get caught up after all.

Really? What variety? He was obviously surprised to learn that the three hundred plus pound monster as he called him was fae. Not only were the fae very few and far between in this day and age, the few that remained were usually notoriously vain. They could choose any skin they wanted and they almost always chose the sexiest form possible. Vance’s choice indicated, at least to her, that he was trying very hard to hide what he was entirely by choosing a skin that no other fae would be caught dead in. If Devyn couldn’t tell what he was then perhaps his ploy was working.

I don’t ask and he doesn’t share. The fae love to be all mysterious and creepy. He’s so secretive it’s a miracle I even got a name from him even though I know it’s not his real name.

You strike me as being the cautious type. Why would you hire a fae of unknown origin to work for you?

Cory shrugged. He was my friend long before he came to work for me and he owes me too much for me to have reason to fear him. Fae are very serious about their debts you know.

He seemed satisfied with that answer and before he could open his mouth she asked, Now, before I open this why don’t you explain to me what all this subterfuge is about? Why did Artie send you? Why didn’t he simply call me?

He is afraid that his phones may be tapped. He sent me because he didn’t want to draw any attention to this place with his presence and I am not very well known, and staying that way is one of my many talents. If you will, please read the letter now.

Cory opened the envelope and pulled out what was really no more than a note. This was all so unlike Artie that she didn’t know what to make of it, from the fact that he sent a note with a strange vampire she had never met, to the contents of the note itself.

I need to see you but I need to know that it is safe to come.

I have an enormous favor to ask of you. Please inform Devyn

when you think it will be safe for my son and I to meet with you.

All my love,

Artur

What could Artie possibly need from her? And his son, what the hell did Nicolai possibly want from her. Not that she wouldn’t do absolutely anything for Artie, but this was just so strange.

He’s in danger isn’t he? She couldn’t think of a single being on Earth powerful enough to hurt Artie… save one. Is it Trevayne?

Artie isn’t in any real danger, no. You may rest easy on that score. But there are other things, things that involve Trevayne that have been going on. I can say no more. This is for Artur and Nicolai to discuss with you. I’m just the messenger.

She wrote a reply to Artie stating that her place was still secure, they could come at any time and then sent Devyn on his way. She was sitting at her desk staring at the note when it suddenly hit her. She knew exactly what was going on and that meant Nicolai, Artie’s only child, was in very, very real danger and she was about to get dragged into too.

* * * *

A week had gone by now, with no word from Artie, and Cory was starting to worry about her old friend. She hadn’t been sleeping well and so had put her insomnia to good use and cleared up most of the paperwork piled on her desk. It was the truly boring part of business but it had to be done. She ran Darling’s by the book as far as the U.S. government knew. She paid her taxes on time and everything, whatever it took to avoid drawing attention to herself and her people.

Stupidly she had taken the night off, leaving the running of the bar in the capable hands of Vance and Tony. She had intended to try and find Artie tonight because she was tired of just sitting around worrying. She didn’t handle worry very well and she certainly didn’t do inaction. After two hours spent with Michael and Gabriel, her techsperts, rerouting phone calls and trying to track Artie’s cell phone without leaving a trail for anyone else to follow, she had finally given up hope of being able to just call him or locate him by GPS. There wasn’t much in the way of magic she could use either. Selena, one of the witches she kept on her payroll, was currently out of town visiting her dying mother. From what Cory had heard of her mother she suspected Selena might just be there to help the old hag along.

Out of ideas for tracking Artie and in desperate need of something to do she had decided to clean out the fridge in the employee break room downstairs. When she was stressed she cleaned and since Addie had just cleaned her apartment that afternoon she had nothing to keep her occupied upstairs.

She was elbow deep in old Tupperware filled with things so ancient they could no longer be identified as having ever been edible when she heard the phone ringing in her office down the hall. She slammed the fridge shut, making a mad dash for the phone. She was tearing through the doorway to her office when she ran straight into something solid. It was like face planting into a brick wall. She recovered and steadied herself on her feet, then looked up into the most handsome face she had ever seen. Vampire, definitely a vampire.

She stepped back feeling

Reviews for Awakening the Nightmare

[loonyalana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read from March 16 to 18, 20124½♥'s... Ignore the lackluster title and cover, it's more than worth the read!Where has this book been hiding? I am SO glad I stumbled across it and was allowed to read it in exchange for an honest review. I know the cover is just kind of *Meh* and the title is OK (it does actually correlate to the story)... but this book NEEDS to be read. If you like urban fantasy with hot vampires, strong non-human female protagonists (that kick serious butt), smokin' hot demons, fae, werewolves... pretty much the whole menagerie of paranormal creatures- then run, don't walk, and go out and buy yourself a copy. At only $2.99 on Amazon, that's a small price to pay for the amount of enjoyment you will get out of it. When I first read the blurb, I was thinking, OK- I'll give it a chance. I wasn't really expecting anything spectacular... but oh, my was I WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! It has such an ensemble cast (there are the 'main' characters, but we also learn so much about the secondary characters.) I enjoyed every single one, and found myself wanting there to be spin-offs further exploring some of the secondary characters. Like Edge... we need more Edge.I found it to be a wonderful mix of sexual tension, bedroom antics, action, suspense, thriller, and even some romance. There were aspects that were easily guessed, but surprises as well that balanced the story nicely. I really, really hope to see more from this author (series anyone? Hint, Hint!) There was also a nice reversal of 'traditional' emotional roles in the romance. The guy was making room in his heart, and being vulnerable while the girl was running from her feelings. It was a nice change of pace.I consider this a hidden jewel of a book that deserves to be read by anyone and everyone that enjoys urban fantasy. I will most definitely be on the lookout for more books by Lanie Malone!