Final Prophecy 04: Demonkeepers Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  PART I - SUNRISE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  PART II - MIDDAY

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  PART III - DUSK

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  GLOSSARY

  Teaser chapter

  Praise for the Novels of the Final Prophecy

  Skykeepers

  “An exciting, romantic, and imaginative tale, Skykeepers is guaranteed to keep readers entertained and turning the pages.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “Skykeepers will knock you off your feet, keep you on the edge of your seat and totally captivated from beginning to end.”

  —Romance Junkies

  “Jessica Andersen’s Skykeepers is a gripping story that pull[s] this reader right into her Final Prophecy series. I have not read Nightkeepers or Dawnkeepers yet, but after reading Skykeepers, they are both on my must- read list!”

  —Romance Reader at Heart (top pick)

  “The Final Prophecy is a well-written series that is as intricate as it is entertaining!”

  —The Romance Readers Connection (4½ stars)

  “The world of the Nightkeepers is wonderful, and I love visiting it. It is intricate, magical, and absolutely fascinating. . . . Step inside the Nightkeeper world and prepare to be swept away!”

  —Joyfully Reviewed

  “If you’re looking for a book to read, one that has an intricate, inventive, and well- researched world with characters that are fully realized, might I suggest Skykeepers ?”

  —Romance Novel TV

  Dawnkeepers

  “Prophecy, passion, and powerful emotions—Dawnkeepers will keep you on the edge of your seat begging for more!”

  —Wild on Books

  “This strong new series will appeal to fantasy and paranormal fans with its refreshing blend of Mayan and Egyptian mythologies, plus a suitably complex story line and plenty of antagonists.”

  —Monsters and Critics

  “This exhilarating urban romantic fantasy saga is constructed around modernizing Mayan mythology. . . . The story line is fast-paced and filled with action as the overarching Andersen mythology is wonderfully embellished with this engaging entry.”

  —Genre Go Round Reviews

  “Using the Mayan doomsday prophecy, Andersen continues to add complexity to her characters and her increasingly dense mythos. This intense brand of storytelling is a most welcome addition to the genre.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Action packed with skillfully written and astounding fight scenes . . . will keep you on the edge of your seat begging for more.”

  —Romance Junkies

  Nightkeepers

  “Raw passion, dark romance, and seat-of-your-pants suspense—I swear ancient Mayan gods and demons walk the modern earth!”

  —New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward “Andersen’s got game when it comes to style and voice. [This is] a series that’s sure to be an instant reader favorite, and will put Andersen’s books on keeper shelves around the world.”

  —Suzanne Brockmann on WritersareReaders.com

  “I deeply enjoyed the story. It really hooked me!”

  —New York Times bestselling author Angela Knight

  “Part romance, mystery, and fairy tale . . . a captivating book with wide appeal.”

  —Booklist

  “[A] nonstop, action- intensive plot . . . Ms. Andersen delivers a story that is both solid romance and adventure novel. If you enjoy movies like Lara Croft . . . or just want something truly new, you will definitely want this.”

  —Huntress Book Reviews

  “Intense action, sensuality, and danger abound.”

  —Romantic Times

  “If Nightkeepers is any indication of her talent, then [Jessica Andersen] will become one of my favorites. . . . [The book] brought tears to my eyes and an ache in my heart. I read each word with bated breath.”

  —Romance Junkies

  “[A] terrific romantic fantasy . . . an excellent thriller. Jessica Andersen provides a strong story that . . . fans will cherish.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  The Novels of the Final Prophecy

  Nightkeepers

  Dawnkeepers

  Skykeepers

  Demonkeepers

  SIGNET ECLIPSE

  Published by New American Library, a division of

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

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  First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, April 2010

  Copyright © Jessica Andersen, 2010

  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 appreciat
ed.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-18654-1

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  In loving memory of my grandmother Marian Woodard,

  who was never without a book close at hand.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The Nightkeepers’ world is well hidden within our own; bringing it to light isn’t always an easy process. My heartfelt thanks go to Deidre Knight, Kara Cesare, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, and Kerry Donovan for helping me take these books from a dream to a reality; to J. R. Ward for her unswerving support; to Suz Brockmann for being a mentor and an inspiration; to Nancy N. and Julie C. for being rock-star beta readers; to Liz F. for taking over the Keepers’ message board; to my many other e-friends for always being there for a laugh or cyberhug; to Sally Hinkle Russell for keeping me sane; and to Brian Hogan for too many things to name in this small space.

  What has come before . . .

  Two years ago, a reluctant king stepped up to rule the scant dozen surviving Nightkeepers and their winikin protectors. Bound by blood and magic, this small band of saviors must protect mankind from the rise of terrible demons on December 21, 2012, as prophesied by the calendar of the ancient Maya. In order to reach their full powers, the magi must find and bond with their gods-destined mates . . . who aren’t always who or what they seem.

  With their numbers decimated by demon slaughter and their information stores destroyed by religious cleansing, the Nightkeepers fight a rearguard action against not only the dark lords of demonkind, the Banol Kax, but also against their earthly enemies, the magic-wielding members of the Order of Xibalba, who seek to preempt the end-time for their own purposes. Badly in need of new spells and prophecies in the final three years before the end- time, the Nightkeepers must gain access to their ancestors’ library, which is hidden in the barrier of psi energy that gives them their mage powers. Their only hope for this lies in the scarred hands of a formerly demon-possessed human who now harbors the powers of a Prophet but can’t figure out how to use the magic to save his own life . . . or that of the woman he once loved.

  PART I

  SUNRISE

  The beginning of a new day

  CHAPTER ONE

  June 12, New Moon

  Two years, six months, and nine days to the zero date

  University of Texas, Austin

  “I just got the booty call,” Jade announced as she let herself into Anna’s office, which could’ve doubled as the set for a movie of the archaeologist-slash-adventurer-saves-the-day variety, with artifact-crammed shelves and framed photographs of rain forests and ruins. After closing the door to make sure nobody out in the cool, faintly damp halls of the art history building could overhear unless they made a real effort, Jade dropped into the empty chair opposite her friend’s desk and let out a frustrated sigh. “Thing is, it wasn’t the booty-er calling. It was your brother.”

  Anna winced. “Ew.”

  “No kidding, huh?” Not that Jade thought Anna’s brother was an “ew”—far from it. Strike was massive, raven haired, and seriously drool-worthy, but he was also thoroughly mated, and the fact that he was the Nightkeepers’ king had added to the squick factor, taking the uncomfortable phone call from “gee, it’d be nice if you and Lucius hooked back up” into royal-decree territory. Granted, Jade had volunteered for booty duty, and the sexual mores of a mage were way more liberal than human norm, but still.

  Propping her feet on a cracked, knee-high clay pot that showed a sacrificial scene of a victim’s beating heart being ripped out, and which currently served as Anna’s trash can, Jade slumped down and let her long, straight hair fall forward around her face. It obscured her view of the trim jeans and upscale, low- heeled sandals that would’ve looked casually elegant on Anna, but on her just blended. As she slouched, she swore she heard Shandi’s voice in her head, chiding, Sit up straight, Jade. The members of the harvester bloodline are always dutiful, diligent, and decorous. The three “D”s. Even before she’d known she was a Nightkeeper, or that her last name of Farmer was a modern take on her bloodline, she’d been hearing about duty, diligence, and decorum, along with the familiar remonstrations: Walk, don’t run; listen, don’t talk; speak, don’t shout; follow, don’t lead; blend, don’t stand out.

  Gack.

  Tucking her hair behind her ears and straightening her spine—because she wanted to, not because of her winikin’s remembered chidings, dang it—Jade glanced at the black, tattoolike bloodline glyph she wore on her inner forearm, along with the scribe’s talent mark that tagged her as little more than a glorified librarian. Bared by the soft white button-down sleeves she’d rolled up past her elbows, the marks stood out in sharp relief against her pale skin, which refused to tan despite her otherwise dark coloring of sable hair and light green, almost sea-foam eyes. Ten bucks says Shandi never expected that the “duty” part of the three “D”s would come down to something like this, she thought snidely. Really, though, she had zero problem with what she was being asked to do. Her problem was that Strike had been the one doing the asking. Damn it, Lucius.

  “You could bail.” Anna leaned back in her desk chair, toying with the thin metal chain that disappeared at her neckline. The king’s sister was a striking woman in her late thirties, wearing a moss-colored lightweight sweater that counterpointed her dark, russet-highlighted hair and the piercing cobalt eyes she and Strike had both inherited from their father, King Scarred-Jaguar. Despite her heritage, though, Anna had recently stepped up to head the human university’s ancient civilizations department. Of the scant dozen Nightkeepers still living, she was the only one who had refused to take up residence at Skywatch and commit to the Nightkeepers’ war against the Banol Kax and the fast-approaching zero date. Although Jade knew that Anna’s decision had caused—was still causing—problems back at Skywatch, she considered herself lucky that the other woman had stuck to her guns, not just because the university connection gave the Nightkeepers access to high-level information on the ancient Maya and the world at large, but because the campus itself had turned into a landing spot for magi looking to get away from Skywatch without being totally out of the loop . . . like Rabbit, who’d needed to escape the compound’s isolation and memories of his borderline sociopathic father, and Jade, who’d needed . . . Hell, she didn’t know what she’d needed. Space, maybe. Perspective. A cooling-off period, and some new skills that didn’t rely on magic.

  Now, though, she was being called back to Skywatch. Back to duty. And back to a man who . . . Shit.

  Jade took a deep breath. “Sure, I could back out.” As she turned her palms up, her forearm marks flashed a stark reminder of duty. “But then what? We need access to the library; Lucius isn’t getting it done on his own, and the others haven’t managed to trigger his powers using rituals and blood. Besides, we’ve got plenty of proof that sex magic trumps blood sacrifice. Strike and Leah used it to drive the Banol Kax back to the underworld; Nate and Alexis used it to repair a breach in the barrier; and Michael and Sasha used it to defeat Iago and his Xibalbans.” Although that last point was somewhat debatable.

  Sure, the Nightkeepers’ earthly enemies, the members of the Order of Xibalba, had been quiet since the winter solstice, but the last time the Nightkeepers had laid eyes on the Xibalbans’ leader, Iago, he had been in the process of summoning the soul of the long-dead—and seriously bloodthirsty—Aztec god-king, Moctezuma. Iago had been trying to create an ajaw-makol: a powerful human-demon hybrid that retained its human characteristics in direct proportion to the degree of evil in the host’s soul. But the transition spell had been interrupted when the Nightkeepers had breached Iago’s mountain lair, making the outcome far less clear. The few hints Jade had found in the Nightkeepers’ archive suggested that an interrupted makol transition could go one of two ways. Most often, the human host-to-be slid into a comalike stasis for weeks or months while the demon spirit fought to integrate itself—or not—with the host’s brain. Which was what the Nightkeepers suspected was happening with Iago. Less often, both the d
emon and human consciousnesses could coexist while the host remained conscious, with the two souls fighting for dominance . . . which was what had happened to Lucius. The Nightkeepers had eventually managed to rescue him and banish the makol, but that hadn’t actually been their goal. What they’d really done was offer his soul to the in-between in an effort to turn him into the Prophet: an incarnate conduit capable of channeling badly needed intel from the metaphysical plane. Lucius’s exorcism and survival had been a side benefit, which galled Jade at the same time that it forced her gratitude.

  Now she tried not to notice how Anna was just sitting there looking at her, the way she did with her Intro to Mayan Studies students. Keep going, the look said. You’ll see where you went wrong in a minute. “Three times now,” Jade continued doggedly, “sex magic has turned out to be the key to unlocking the larger powers necessary for successful high- level magic: Godkeeper magic in Leah’s and Alexis’s cases, the Volatile’s shape-shifting ability for Nate, and the balanced matter and antimatter of Michael’s and Sasha’s talents. So it seems logical that sex magic could be the key that triggers the Prophet’s power in Lucius.”