After Dark (Between the Veils Series, Book One) Read online

  After Dark

  A Between the Veils Story

  By Kris Norris

  Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  http://www.resplendencepublishing.com

  After Dark

  Copyright © 2012 Kris Norris

  Edited by Christine Allen Riley and Jason Huffman

  Cover art by Kendra Egert, www.creationsbykendra.com

  Published by Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  2665 N Atlantic Avenue, #349

  Daytona Beach, FL 32118

  Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-546-5

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Electronic Release: August 2012

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  To Bronwyn, Jess, Jen, Mia and Emily. Thanks for the best time EVAR in the UP. Can’t wait until next year.

  Jen…I’m having a special Nickelback CD made for you as we speak.

  Bronwyn…let’s just say I’ll never think about screen doors quite the same again.

  Mia…you know what I’ll remember and well, I can’t put that in writing.

  Emily…thanks for the reading…it was the only one I liked the outcome of.

  And Jess…Stop Bragging.

  Chapter One

  Saint Louis Cemetery, next exit.

  “Finally.”

  Temperance Dunnigan watched the sign disappear in her rearview mirror as she allowed the car’s speed to bleed off, staying right as the ramp appeared ahead of her. She’d had one hell of a time picking her way through the various road closures and weaving amidst a spider web of one-way streets and pedestrian-filled alleys. She’d even been forced to backtrack around a couple of police blockades and sat at a stoplight for several minutes as a forty-foot dragon boat had meandered down the center of the street. Why she’d agreed to visit the offerings of New Orleans during Mardi Gras was a mystery to her. Mixing business with pleasure rarely resulted in anything other than pounding headaches and missed opportunities.

  She sighed and guided the car to a halt. It wasn’t really a mystery. She knew damn well why she was here—Avery Smith. Infamous ghost hunter and self-proclaimed psychic, he’d sent her a personal invitation to join a few of his handpicked researchers in a weeklong investigation of some of New Orleans’ most notorious sites. And if Avery could be believed, there’d be no shortage of spirits, though she wasn’t holding her breath. She’d been there a day already and hadn’t spied anything vaguely transparent, other than the rest of the investigators, who insisted on following Avery around like a pack of lovesick puppies.

  She huffed, unclipping her seatbelt as she grabbed her keys. At least the back gate of the cemetery had been left open, a testament to what money could buy in this city, though she suspected her time would be limited. Thank god she’d tossed a few pieces of equipment in the trunk before leaving the hotel…or should she say escaping? Though the Lamothe House Hotel was known for its own paranormal activity, there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d catch anything on tape with the entire street partying outside her window. Ghosts might be adventurous, but she doubted even the most active spirits would put on a display with endless jazz music blaring through the rooms.

  “Avery and his idea of ‘research’. What a crock of shit.”

  The man was an ass at the best of times, a criticizing bastard every other minute of his life. He’d used his inherited wealth to buy his way into stardom then he’d looked down his nose at every other struggling paranormal investigator, who’d had the courage to go for substance over flashy tricks. Not that she wasn’t thankful for the opportunity his money had afforded her, it was just…she hated walking to the beat of someone else’s drum. And god help her, the guy had his own freaking band.

  A cool breeze tickled her skin, soothing the raw feelings as her hair billowed in the wind. Thankfully, everyone else had elected to stay at the hotel, instead of insisting on joining her. She knew Avery had planned on visiting the cemetery first, apparently to ‘scout’ out interesting places, but he’d gotten caught up with the other investigators, allowing her to slip out un-chaperoned. Besides, she wasn’t really in the mood for company, and she could only imagine what she looked like—faded jeans topped by a hand-knit sweater, both of which had seen better days. Her shoulder-length auburn hair hung in curly strands about her face, the tousled mass blowing in the wind. She hadn’t even bothered to put on any make-up, not that she usually wore any. But there wasn’t much chance of anyone spotting her at a graveyard at sunset and it wasn’t as if she had someone to look special for.

  Temperance pushed away the annoying thought and glanced around the cemetery. This was the largest of the three burial grounds spread around New Orleans, and one of the most ornate. Towering marble tombs lined the rows, with the occasional tree casting finger-like shadows along the ground. The setting sun glowed at the edge of the horizon, staining the small gathering of clouds a fiery orange. She’d been warned not to come here alone, and never at night, but the sounds of Mardi Gras had grated on her nerves until she feared she’d go crazy. That was part of the reason she loved being a paranormal investigator…quiet, lonely places where even the hidden residents generally needed special equipment to talk to her. Besides, she wasn’t helpless. She’d taken years of self-defense training, and she knew how to maneuver through the stone monuments while maintaining the highest degree of safety…that and she’d promised herself she wouldn’t stay more than an hour…just enough time to snap some photographs, try to catch a few electronic voice phenomena on her digital recorder and take some temperature readings. It wouldn’t even be fully dark by then.

  Temperance gathered her gear and locked her car, ambling over to the far end of the grounds. She could see why tourists flocked to this place…she’d never visited a cemetery quite like it. Historic and beautiful, it was more of a piece of architecture than a burial ground. But she hadn’t come to stare at the pretty tombs. She wanted to talk to their residents.

  She lifted her camera, snapping stills of the various monuments from different angles. Sometimes she’d get lucky and catch strange light anomalies or shadows that would be revealed when she examined the footage later. The camera clicked in rapid succession as she walked up and down a few aisles, finally stopping at one of the tombs. But unlike the others, this one looked as if it’d been vandalized. Burn marks charred the face of the once pristine stone and someone had painted graffiti across the side. Dark-red pentagrams and strange symbols plastered the surface, the edges running down the face like dried streaks of blood. While she’d expected to see names and dedications scribbled across some of the tombs, the sheer malice emanating from the marks was disturbing, and the uncharacteristic defacement piqued her curiosity.

  She glanced over her shoulder. The grounds were still empty, with only the long shadows from the setting sun following her movements. She snagged her bottom lip and decided to chance a closer look. Like many of the tombs, a fence of wrought-iron bars surrounded the grave, these ones high enough she’d have to climb over them. The pungent smell of urine greeted her first, and she nearly retreated when she noticed something glittering near the ground at the rear of the tomb.

  So much for keeping a level head and avoiding danger, girl.

  Temperance scolded her impetuous
nature as she vaulted over the bars. One of the pointed ends caught on her jeans, leaving a small tear down the side. She brushed it off and turned on her digital recorder, determined to catch any electronic voice phenomena that might pop up as she edged forward, squeezing through the tight space between the bars and the tomb. This wasn’t her smartest decision, but as she stepped out on the other side, she knew it’d been worth the risk. A small medallion hid amidst the stone, one edge sparkling in the last rays of sunlight. She reached for it, when the air around her suddenly heated.

  Temperance pocketed the medallion then pulled out her digital thermometer, scanning the immediate area. There wasn’t much to see, the view blocked by the massive tombs on either side. She ignored the prickling feeling down the back of her neck and pressed the button, watching as the temperature rose from a comfortable sixty-three to a blazing eighty-five. The hairs on her arms stood up, and despite the heat, a rash of goose bumps erupted across her skin—she wasn’t alone. And if her instincts were right, the presence was less than friendly.

  She took a deep breath, clipping the gauge back on her waist as she thumbed at her camera again. A low rasp sounded behind and she spun, afraid she was about to be mugged. But what stood before her wasn’t human—at least not anymore. A figure in a black-hooded robe hovered above the ground, its body mostly transparent as it wavered in and out of focus. Tiny flames danced in circles around its hands, licking at the robe as if desperate to ignite it. Its face was shrouded in darkness, save for a slight wedge of pale skin near the side of its mouth. She stared at it, feeling her stomach drop when the edges of its lips curled into a sadistic smile.

  “I knew you’d come…I’ve been expecting you.”

  The disembodied voice echoed around her, the sinister tone sending shockwaves of panic through her veins. She took a step back, just as a set of hands wrapped around her waist and mouth.

  She tried to scream, but nothing more than a muffled gasp made it past the fingers holding her captive. She shifted her weight, readying her elbow when a puff of warm breath coasted over her earlobe.

  “If you want to live, I suggest you follow me, and quickly, before our demonic friend gathers enough strength to take you back to Hell with him.”

  “Avery?” She glanced back at the man, pinned by the deep blue of his eyes. She’d never seen them so vivid.

  “Now, Temperance. He’s already feeding off of your energy.”

  Temperance nodded, allowing Avery to tug her away, back through the tight press of stone and over the fence. Bellows of rage sounded behind them, followed by the hiss of fire on stone, but she didn’t stop to look when Avery broke into a sprint, his hand still entwined with hers. She could feel the entity reaching for her, its fiery hands searing her skin, but she kept running, nearly slamming into Avery’s Porsche when the man veered sharply to his right.

  He released her hand and slid over the hood, landing on his feet. “Get in!”

  She stared at the vehicle. How the hell did he afford this kind of stuff?

  “Damn it, Temperance, we can discuss my obscene use of money later. Now get in the fucking car before that demon drains every ounce of energy from your body!”

  Temperance glared at him, hating that he’d seemingly read her expression so easily, but jumped in, clicking the seatbelt tight as he revved the engine and ripped out of the lot, skidding across two lanes as he hit the accelerator and peeled away. Her entire body got sucked into the seat, but at least the burning sensation on her skin diminished. She looked down at her hands and felt the color drain from her face. A black star at the base of her left wrist glared back at her, the edges tinged a dark red.

  She looked over at Avery, but he merely shook his head.

  “Consider yourself lucky. Another few minutes and your body would have been covered in those things. You wouldn’t have been able to leave if that had happened.”

  She forced herself to swallow past the lump in her throat. “But I don’t understand…what the hell was that?”

  “That, my dear, was the king bastard of demons…a nasty bugger who lures innocent virgins to his lair so he can drain them of their life force. They say once he has enough souls, he’ll walk the Earth and inflict pain and suffering on all of us.”

  Temperance snorted at him. “Nice try, but there’s just a few holes in your story. There’re no such things as demons. You said that yourself in one of your more ‘dramatic’ interviews. That was nothing more than a ghost…albeit an evil one.”

  “Guess I can’t argue with myself.” He nodded at her, though his eyes didn’t convey the confidence in his voice. “Any other flaws?”

  She smiled at him. “I’m hardly a virgin.”

  His eyes lit up with a fire that made her knees go weak and her flesh burn, in a way far more alluring than the ghost had caused.

  He gave her body a long, slow sweep, ending it with a wink. “You don’t say…good to know.”

  Temperance stared at him, wondering when he’d gone from asshole to charming hero without her even realizing it. And since when did a look from Avery Smith make her feel hot and lightheaded, as if all her blood had left her brain and pooled in her groin? She was more than aware of his feelings for her, or should she say lack of. That was another reason she’d accepted his invitation. No hidden motivation. He saw her as a professional—period. Besides, she wasn’t his type—her breast size didn’t equal her IQ and she didn’t care about his money. So why was his lingering gaze making the temperature in the car rise until she was tempted to roll down the window?

  She groaned and leaned back in the seat. If this was any indication of the remaining seven days, she was definitely going to be in for one hell of a long week.

  Chapter Two

  Avery pulled into the hotel parking lot, shoving his car into first gear as he yanked on the parking brake. He didn’t miss the loud pounding of his heart in his head or the way his hands trembled on the stick. He could still hear the bellowing voice of the demon and feel the searing heat it had directed at Temperance. God, if he hadn’t learned of her plans and headed for the cemetery…

  He glanced over at her, watching as she stared out the window. She seemed lost in thought, her deep blue eyes reflected in the glass. He’d never realized how beautiful she was, her unruly hair hanging in a tangle of curls around her face, her pale skin hued with a deep pink blush. Her worn sweater hugged her curves, accentuating pert breasts and a lean waist. And her jeans—fuck, they skimmed over an ass better than any fantasy he’d ever imagined. She wasn’t skinny, but firm and athletic, with a strength that had surprised him. Being several inches taller than her, he’d expected to have to drag her behind him when they’d run down the aisle between the tombs, but she’d matched his every step, nearly beating him to his car.

  Avery sighed and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He wasn’t quite prepared for the sudden shift of his feelings toward her, not that he had any real idea how he felt. All he knew was that he wasn’t ready to let her out of his sight just yet.

  Temperance turned toward the windshield, startling when she realized they’d stopped. She looked over at him, those perfectly sculpted lips pursed into the cutest damn pout he’d ever seen. They were all pink and shiny, and he wanted nothing more than to sink his hand into her tousled hair and taste that smooth skin with his tongue. His cock jerked in his pants, and he cursed the cruel humor in the situation. He’d invited her because of her skill. Because she was the one investigator who showed true talent and a natural chemistry for uncovering the paranormal. He’d had absolutely no attraction to her, until she’d shown up on his doorstep, bag hooked over her shoulders, a hesitant smile on her face. He knew what she thought of him…that he was nothing more than a rich, arrogant prick who’d used his money to further his career. But the fact she’d still agreed to be part of the team had told him everything he’d needed to know about her. She was here to hone her craft, plain and simple. And he’d been more than happy to keep it that way…at least that’s
what he’d thought.

  Then she’d smiled, and his damn heart had done a somersault in his chest. He’d found himself staring at her. Watching her work, hell, watching her eat. Every movement, every small gesture was like a caress to his body, and he’d spent the better part of the past twenty-four hours cursing his ever-present hard-on…just like now.

  Temperance looked away for a moment then sighed, glancing back at him. “I suppose I owe you an apology.”

  He raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting, and he couldn’t help but be intrigued by the unusual comment. “What for?”

  Her gaze shifted before she made direct eye contact. “I had you pegged as the kind of guy who only saved his own ass.”

  “And not those of my guests?”

  A hint of a smile touched her mouth. “Exactly.”

  He chuckled. “You know, Temperance, calling me a self-centered ass isn’t really an apology.”

  Her smile widened. “I never called you an ass.”

  “Not to my face.” He resisted winking at her. “You really should be more careful about talking on your cell around here. The walls inside are obnoxiously thin.”

  Her eyes widened, but she didn’t flinch as she continued to watch him. “And your reputation precedes you.”

  “You can’t believe everything you see on television.”

  “So you’re telling me you’re not an arrogant ass?”

  He flashed her a genuine smile. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and find that out for yourself…if you manage to stay alive long enough.”

  Her face sobered slightly. “Point taken. And thanks…for the whole evil ghost thing.”