Shadowmarked, p.1
ShadowMarked, page 1
SHADOWMARKED
The EverMarked Series Book Three
Copyright © 2020 by Amy Eversley
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
The Watcher Series:
Watcher
Carbon
Savior
Kenzie Novella
Max Novella
Coleman Novella
Aelish Novella
The EverMarked Series:
EverMarked
DeathMarked
ShadowMarked
FateMarked
For every reader I’ve ever left on a cliffhanger. I’m truly sor—
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
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Epilogue
About the Author
JAYLA
The clouds had opened up hours ago, and it hadn’t stopped raining since. Trickles of cold water slithered down my back, and a shiver trembled through my shoulders. The dark sky lit up with a flash of lightning and a thunderous boom. I didn’t know if I preferred this version of winter or what I’d grown used to in Cytos. We were so far south the snow would never reach us, but the rain poured so heavy the dry desert became a pond. It’d dry up by the first sight of sunshine, but for now it made my steps unsteady.
“Any sign of them?” I shouted over the loud crash shattering overhead. The flashes of light were the only reprieve from the pitch-black darkness surrounding us. The small flashlights we carried were blurs of light against the downpour.
“Nothing,” Caspian shouted back.
I had to stop myself from glancing at him. He’s here. He’s alive. I reminded myself every time the nightmares flared—when I closed my eyes or touched the burn marks covering his arm. They threatened to resurface as the dark consumed nearly everything, and it took all my will power not to let it in. I took another deep breath.
My feet hit cobblestone, a reprieve from the spongy wet sand, but the rainwater made the ground slick. Ahead of us, four Sweepers from Eres crept through the streets with weapons drawn as we entered the silent and abandoned village. I was glad for them—unsure I could manage on my own with my mind so focused on the dark rather than the threat. Their stealthy figures moved through the city soundless and unseen. They were warriors—elite killing machines just like us—but there were too little of us and too many of them.
Em was a few steps behind me, her eyes scanning the destroyed town. “They haven’t gotten far. I can still smell them.” She scrunched her nose.
“The place is ruined,” Jacob, the leader of the Sweepers, said, slowing his pace so he walked beside me. “Not one soul left… just like the others.”
Reeks had torn through the metal wall keeping them trapped inside the Void the day we destroyed The Six’s base just outside the wall. Only a few hundred had escaped but it was enough. They quickly spread through Armestes, destroying villages and towns in their wake, risking spreading the virus farther than any of us would know how to contain. If it reached Cytos or Kuros, where Carbons resided, it would be chaos. We were hunting them down, but they were quick and relentless.
A burst of gunfire caused us all to jump, but the lone Reek was already dead at the hand of a tall Sweeper before I even knew where it was.
The few Sweepers Jacob had convinced to help us were skilled. Formidable allies, but they were far and few between. The Council of Eres wouldn’t risk too many men to search these raided villages—it would leave their city too exposed—so the men who joined us tonight did so in secret and on very little sleep. Still, they had eliminated most of the Reeks we’d faced so far.
We continued creeping forward through the desolate space. The only sound was rain hitting stone and the occasional boom of thunder overhead, but I knew the monsters that had destroyed this place were still out there.
“They’re here,” Caspian whispered, his voice low. His eyes darted across the road and to the stone houses now left in ruins. Entire walls had crashed down, whether from the Reeks or the people trying to save their own lives, I didn’t know. “I can feel them.”
Another crack of lightning and in the distance and I saw what Caspian felt. A line of Reeks stood just at the edge of the street. Their gangly limbs crept over the cobblestone towards us in slow movements.
A head twitched, finding us. Its body lurched forward. And then the Reek was running.
Gunfire erupted, and the small village lit up with the sound. My own gun aimed at the more than two dozen monsters sprinting towards us.
One got past the first line of men, but Em stepped forward with her twin blades and sliced its body in half with one smooth motion. The Reek’s body slid to the ground, its black blood mixing with the water covering the streets.
Within seconds, the path before us was empty and we ceased fire. I took a tentative step forward, feeling my pulse race. I’d been near the back of the group, not as close as the others to the horde of Reeks; still, it had my adrenaline spiking and a cold sweat forming at the nape of my neck. I stared down at the mangled creature near my feet. The sharp pop of a bullet ending one of the Reeks still crawling across the wet ground startled me before I felt Caspian’s hand on my back and I settled.
“Not as many this time,” Jacob mumbled.
“They’re spreading out,” Caspian agreed, his hand still steady against me. “Drawn by the smells. They’ll make their way to the bigger cities soon.”
Jacob nodded.
“Get rid of it all,” I ordered. “Burn it.”
The Sweepers moved forward, using the flame throwers they kept across their backs to douse the entire village even amidst the rain.
Soon, the place was a blurred red and orange painting. The small village burned, and with it any evidence of the Reeks or the people who had died here. I didn’t want to know how many hadn’t escaped before the attack; it was just more names to add to the growing list of people I couldn’t save. The rain still poured, and a mist lifted from the heat of the flames where the water touched.
Another crack of lightning lit the sky.
“We’ll go ahead for a few miles, track which direction they came from,” Em said, her face determined and grim. She’d thrived these last few weeks, accustomed to the fast pace and action, while I felt as though I were running through quicksand. “There’s nothing more we can do here.”
I nodded in agreement, and Em moved to the shuttle waiting at the edge of the village, Logan Wallace seated in the pilot’s chair. He and Em were nearly inseparable since arriving in Eres, and I was glad she had a distraction from everything we faced.
The others began heading to the second shuttle we’d arrived in only an hour ago, and with solemn expressions we climbed in out of the rain. The sky lit up against the burning embers sizzling under the coal black night.
This was the fourth village we had visited. The fourth time we would return without any survivors.
“Their patterns are getting more erratic. Yesterday, it was the northern coast. Today south, much closer to Eres than I’d like. These ones separated from the larger pack, and I’d bet more have done the same. We can’t be in that many places at once,” Caspian said, sliding beside me in the shuttle and wrapping his hand around mine. I released a breath. Outside the rain blurred the city we flew towards—Eres. “We need more people. We need help.”
I grimaced, once again reminded of how little I knew about the Reeks and the horrors Caspian had endured. I’d encountered only a few Reeks, and always with others around—he’d been alone, within the Void, and surrounded by them night and day. It’d been only a few weeks since Caspian had returned, but so much had changed in that short time. He’d returned to his normal role—Watcher through and through—as though the things he’d seen and witnessed hadn’t destroyed a part of him as it had me. I was the one still waking from nightmares. I was the one who couldn’t close my eyes or be in the dark for too long without seeing a horde of Reeks ripping him apart.
The nightmares tortured me, leaving me breathless and unable to function until I could calm down and realize they weren’t real. Sometimes, I couldn’ t convince myself they weren’t real.
“They’re one step ahead of us, every time. We need to find a way to get ahead of them,” Jacob spoke.
“We can’t do that without more help,” I said, keeping my voice steady, even though I felt anything but.
Caspian squeezed my hand. “I think that call for help may already be too late.”
I closed my eyes and tried to wipe away the images, but the Reeks were coming, and one day our small crew wouldn’t be enough.
Em returned an hour later. “We tracked their movements to the north before the winds and rain wiped away their trail. There was no sign of more.” She was wringing out her soaked white-blond hair while Logan poured a glass of strong liquor from the bottle on the table I sat at.
“Any reports from Cytos?” I asked.
“They’ve spotted a few lone Reeks along the city wall, but it’s secure, and they haven’t had any breaches.” Em shrugged, tossing her wet cloak onto the table with a slosh before she took the glass Logan had poured for her and downed it. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, concern in his eyes, which she ignored and slumped down at one of the wood chairs surrounding the table. “No word from Simon yet.”
We’d sent Simon back with Gustov after rescuing the kids from the Void. He was the only Carbon here, and the only one susceptible to the Reek virus should they attack Eres. They would attack Eres; it was inevitable, and we all knew it.
Governor Grayson would protect Cytos and the Carbons inside, even if she didn’t know Simon was one of them. He could stay hidden; he’d done it before. So for now, it was the safest place for him to be.
While he was in Cytos, he was looking for any information that would lead us to where the other Marked kids had been taken… along with investigating rumors of other missing genetic kids. Pur kids.
“We have to find Dr. Merinda and the rest of those kids,” Caspian said. He’d made the suggestion almost daily, but with the Reek attacks and rumors of missing kids, we’d hardly had time to put much effort into the search. I knew why it was important to him. He’d promised Vic he’d get her back, and it was his top priority, but it wasn’t that simple.
“We will—”
“Whatever is going on is tied to her, I’m sure of it,” Caspian interrupted me, crossing his arms over his chest.
“And where do you suppose they are?” I asked him, my tone harsh. He quieted. I ran a hand through my hair and leaned back into the stiff chair where I sat across from Em, letting out a long breath. “We can’t just run around searching for them when we have no leads, no information, and no help. The Sweepers’ assistance will only go so far, and we have no one else.”
There weren’t many of us left. Em, Logan, and Caspian were the only ones I knew willing to do whatever we must to save these people. The Sweepers would protect Eres, but anything more was done in secrecy and would only last for so long.
Our only connections in Cytos were Simon and Gustov, along with his men of the North, but they had their own problems to deal with. The Watchers had been taken over by the new Governor Holden, the snake. But we knew Grayson held his chain, so she was now in control of the Watchers.
On top of all that, genetic kids were going missing. The reports started a few days ago… a few kids disappeared. Then more. The stories stretched farther than just Cytos, there were reports of genetic kids in Kuros disappearing as well.
I’d set up a guard rotation with the Sweepers around the Marked kids we’d rescued from the Void. If someone was hunting the genetic kids and found out about the more than sixty we had here, they’d be at risk once again. I wouldn’t let that happen.
“So what will you have us do then?” Caspian finally asked.
I sighed. I don’t know, was what I wanted to admit, but instead I said, “We need more men. And we need to get ahead of these Reeks. We can’t keep falling a step behind. I can’t walk into one more village and see bodies torn apart.”
Caspian took my hand, and he squeezed it gently. My heart steadied at the touch alone, and his eyes narrowed in worry before I looked away.
Be strong, Jayla. Don’t let this weigh you down. Don’t let them win.
“You should rest,” Caspian said softly, but I shook my head.
“I’ll rest when this is over.”
SIENNA
“When will I be cleared?” I asked the healer who scanned my leg with a small scope sending information to the tablet beside her.
My body ached from the few hours of rest I’d gotten in the uncomfortable bed at the MediCenter I’d been stuck in while my leg healed. They’d finally allowed me to walk around, leaving the room for a few hours only if I promised to return if anything hurt. Everything hurt if I was being honest, but I was sure most was due to not moving. My leg was nearly healed, I could feel it, but it was weak. The pain was dull now and usually only came when I did too much. I was restless and sick of being stuck inside.
My hand entwined with Theo’s, who sat in the stiff, high-backed chair beside my bed. He’d been here every day and night, even when I insisted he head to one of the bunkers provided for the Marked kids. They were cramped and full, but no one was complaining after what we’d escaped.
“It still needs time to heal,” the healer said. “You may feel fine now, but the bone is still weak and doing too much too soon could cause a setback.”
I groaned.
“Just give yourself time to rest, you deserve it,” Theo whispered.
His own wounds had healed already. A small scar sliding down his jawline to his neck was all that was left; he’d fared much better than I had. When we escaped from the horde of Reeks in the tunnels of Venzier, he’d managed only bruised ribs and the cut on his face.
The worst part of all this was how useless I felt. Having to hear reports Jayla and her team were searching for Reeks that had escaped the Void while I was unable to do anything to help. There were rumors someone was hunting genetic kids, even the Pur weren’t safe any longer. Vic was out there, somewhere, and I was sitting around doing nothing to find her. I was aware Vic was strong—much stronger than I gave her credit for, Caspian had told me—yet I still felt a need to find her, protect her. She was my sister, my family.
The nurse handed me two pills and a small glass of water before she slipped out of the room. I swallowed them, downing the water before I leaned back on my pillow with a sigh.
“You have to be patient, Sienna,” Theo said.
“How can I?” I argued. “Vic needs us, and with the Reeks destroying every village they find, no one is looking for the genetic kids. We have to do something, Theo.”
“I know.” Theo brushed away a strand of hair from my face, letting his hand cup my chin, and I leaned into him. “But we’ll be no use to Vic or anyone for that matter if you can’t run. We both know what it’s like out there, and you can’t expect to save her when you aren’t one hundred percent healed.”
He was right. I knew what the Reeks were capable of, we both did, and so long as they were out there, I couldn’t do anything without risking both of our lives.
We’d only been here a few weeks, and we’d had little time alone, but I couldn’t help wonder where I would be without Theo.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He smiled, leaning in and pressing his lips against mine. I slid my hand to the back of his neck and pulled him in closer. His other hand slid up my side, under the thin shirt I wore, sending goose bumps prickling up my skin, and he chuckled against my mouth as I shifted closer to him. This was what I needed. Him. To feel like everything wasn’t up to me to solve, to fix. I’d made so many mistakes the last few months, and sometimes it felt as though there was no going back from it all, but in these small moments when it was just me and Theo, I felt as though a weight was lifted off, even if it never lasted.
