Read Demon Storm: Belador book 5 Online
Authors: Dianna Love
Demon Storm: Belador book 5
DEMON STORM
––––––––
Dianna Love
Praise for the New York Times bestselling Belador series:
WITCHLOCK | Belador book 6 (June 2015)
Please Enjoy this BONUS Short Story | DEADLY FIXATION
TIME TRAP | Red Moon Trilogy book 1
––––––––
R
ISE OF THE GRYPHON
“...Its been a very long time since I've felt this passionate about getting the next installment in a series. Even J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. It’s a story you don't want to end and when it does, you can't help but scream out ‘No! NO THEY DID NOT JUST DO THIS TO ME!! NO!!!!’"
~~Bryonna Nobles, Demons, Dreams and Dragon Wings
“...shocking developments and a whopper of an ending... and I may have exclaimed aloud more than once...Bottom line: I really kind of loved it.”
~~Jen, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer
"I want more Feenix. I loved this book so much...If you have not read this series, once again, what are you waiting for?"
~~Barb, The Reading Cafe
"..fantastic continuation of the Belador series. The action starts on page one and blows you away to the very end."
~~Fresh Fiction
––––––––
T
HE CURSE
“The Beladors series is beloved and intricate. It's surprising that such a diverse and incredible world has only three books out.”
~~Jessie Potts, USA Today, Happy Ever After
“The precarious action and genuine emotion in THE CURSE will continuously leave the reader breathless...a mesmerizing urban fantasy story overflowing with heartfelt emotions and dramatically life-altering incidents.”
~~Amelia Richards, Single Titles
“If you're looking for a series with an epic scope and intricate, bold characters, look no further than the Belador series...This new addition provides all the action and intrigue that readers have come to expect...a series to be savored by urban fantasy and paranormal romance fans alike.”
~~Bridget, The Romance Reviews
––––––––
A
LTERANT
“There are SO many things in this series that I want to learn more about; there’s no way I could list them all... have me on tenterhooks waiting for the third BELADOR book. As Evalle would say, ‘Bring it on.’”
~~Lily, Romance Junkies Reviews
“An incredible heart-jolting roller-coaster ride...An action-packed adventure with an engrossing story line and characters you will grow to love.”
~~ Mother/Gamer/Writer
“An intriguing series that has plenty of fascinating characters to ponder.”
~~ Night Owl Reviews
––––––––
B
LOOD TRINITY
“BLOOD TRINITY is an ingenious urban fantasy with imaginative magical scenarios, characters who grab your every thought and more than a few unpredictable turns ...The paranormal action is instantaneous, while perilous suspense continuously escalates to grand proportions before the tension-filled and satisfying conclusion. The meticulous storyline of Book One in the Belador series will enthrall you during every compellingly entertaining scene.”
~~Amelia Richard, Single Titles
"BLOOD TRINITY is a fantastic start to a new Urban Fantasy series. The VIPER organization and the world built ... are intriguing, but the characters populating that world are irresistible. I am finding it difficult to wait for the next book to find out what happens next in their lives.”
~~Diana Trodahl, Fresh Fiction
“BLOOD TRINITY is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve read this year... a tale that shows just how awesome urban fantasy really can be, particularly as the genre is flooded with so many choices. If you love urban fantasy, don’t miss out on BLOOD TRINITY. I can’t wait to read the second book! Brilliantly done and highly recommended.”
~~ Debbie, CK2s Kwips & Kritiques
Copyright © 2013, Dianna Love Snell
KINDLE EDITION
All rights reserved.
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the
non
-exclusive,
non
-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of copyright owner.
Please 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 reverse engineering, uploading, and/or distributing of this eBook via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner 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.
Cover Design and Interior format by The Killion Group
T
his book is for Karl – there would be no books without you. Thanks for all of your love and support.
S
torm moved silently through the obsidian night, staying within striking distance of Nadina, the witch doctor who dared to threaten Evalle.
Nadina had made a huge mistake.
Not that Evalle Kincaid wasn’t deadly in her own right as one of the Beladors who protected humans from dangerous preternatural predators. She was.
But Evalle was also the woman Storm had taken to mate.
He just hadn’t told her yet.
Small detail, because he knew Evalle loved him. He hadn’t intended to ever care for anyone again, not after Nadina had killed his father. But Evalle had stolen his heart.
No one, not even a witch doctor with Nadina’s powers, was going to harm the woman he loved.
Nadina performed black majik for entertainment as much as for the power she gained from the victim’s fear and pain. He would not allow that to happen to Evalle.
Two questions kept drumming his skull.
Where was Nadina leading him? What was her game tonight?
She’d snuck into his house, threatened Evalle then run, knowing he’d follow.
That witch doctor had a reason for everything she did.
Storm couldn’t allow her to lead him into a trap. At twenty-eight, he was far more powerful than when he’d escaped her years ago, but she had surprised him with her own improved powers.
Cool October air stole through Inman Park, a historic section of Atlanta where very little moved at one in the morning on a Tuesday. East of downtown, the area sprawled in a jumble of old neighborhoods and industrial properties. Much of it was being reclaimed, and even the warehouses were being renovated as eclectic neighborhood residences.
Sirens whined downtown, too far away for human ears to pick up, but Storm heard every tiny noise. Like the scuff of Nadina’s shoes when she stopped quickly on the asphalt a hundred feet ahead of him.
Pausing in the shadow of a scraggly water oak, he sniffed at the smoky licorice scent spiraling in her wake. It was the smell often associated with practicing witchcraft on demons.
The witch doctor wasn’t trying to hide her path. Her power reached out, calling to his. Taunting him.
Claws shot from Storm’s fingers and muscles rolled beneath his skin as his animal chomped to be freed. He gritted his teeth and forced his jaguar back under control.
Bad sign.
That involuntary flash of change had happened twice in the last half hour.
The longer he chased the woman and the closer he drew to his prey, the more difficult it became to hold back the call of his tainted blood.
Tainted because it was hers. He’d inherited the dark blood from Nadina. His mother. Storm felt his lip curl into a sneer.
Mother
was too good a word for the evil bitch. The Ashaninka witch doctor had trapped Storm’s Navajo shaman father with a spell while his father had been in South America giving aid to reclusive natives.
Storm wouldn’t hold Nadina’s evil against the innocent Ashaninka tribe. You couldn’t blame an entire race for one narcissistic psychopath.
But she would pay for all she’d cost Storm.
Just as soon as he had his animal settled down so he could take another step without shifting.
He stood beneath the tree limbs, shuddering against the battle stirring between his demon blood and the humanity he’d inherited from his shaman father, who’d also passed him the genetics of a Skinwalker. He had to pull himself under control before he confronted her or she’d gain the upper hand. She’d been a powerful witch all those years ago when she used majik to seduce his father for the sole purpose of breeding a demon.
A half Spiritwalker, half Skinwalker who shifted into a black jaguar. Then she’d forced the Skinwalker genes Storm carried to actually manifest–by stealing his soul. Mix in the dark blood passed down to him from Nadina’s ancestor Sinaa–a child of jaguars–and Storm struggled against the constant threat of losing his grip on humanity.
If Storm gave in at any point and allowed the animal to control his shifting rather than
him
controlling
it
, Nadina would have her demon.
She’d almost succeeded once, back when she’d first tricked him with twisted words and taken possession of his soul. She’d acted as his sponsor, forcing him into brutal beast fights where he’d be forced to shift in order to survive. He’d struggled to control the shifting every minute back then, but the moment had come when he’d snapped. He won a bloody battle, then he tore through a crowd of mixed deadly predators and their dark-arts sponsors just to escape that bitch.
Storm had enjoyed freedom for all of a day until word of his father’s death had reached him. He’d had to face Nadina again to bury his father.
He’d been too young to realize just how dangerous she was or that she’d also taken his father’s soul.
His father’s deep voice had whispered through Storm’s mind as he’d stood at the grave of the only real parent he’d ever known. “Be true to your Navajo blood. Hold onto your human side. Never allow the demon to rule even once or you’ll be lost forever. Do not trust Nadina, for she killed me and will tear your heart from your chest just to make you watch the last time it beats. Run, my son. Run as far as you can.”
Nadina had disappeared from the burial site before Storm could turn his rage on her.
But he’d taken his father’s advice to heart and vanished, hiding in the deepest parts of the Amazon jungle where he spent every waking minute working on his skills, growing stronger. He studied the light arts–and the dark–from Santeria babalaos, priests of the Santeria path. He studied every form of black majik he could find, and once he could travel outside South America, he even learned kala jadoo, an art he would normally never touch.
All because he had one goal.
To know his enemy and grow stronger than she was.
Until recently, Storm wouldn’t have cared if he lived or died as long as he made Nadina pay up, then choked her until she gasped her last breath.
But now he had Evalle’s safety to consider first.
Nadina would die painfully if she touched Evalle.
Wind swirled past his face and he picked up a new scent. Something old that smelled of decay. He had no time to spare for whatever unnatural being crept through the city at this hour unless it was connected to Nadina.
As long as it wasn’t another of the witch doctor’s tricks, he’d leave the creature to VIPER agents–Beladors and other supernatural warriors who kept such beings from preying on humans. Those humans were unaware of the deadly things that prowled the night, or of the guardians who held them at bay.