Coyle and Fang: Curse of Shadows (Coyle and Fang Adventure Series Book 1) by Robert III (best books for 7th graders .txt) 📕

step back, heart jumping in her throat, fists clenched. Her eyes shifted back and forth. Oh, how she hated the dark. Her mind tried desperately to balance logic with the flood of adrenaline. She closed her eyes, remembering what the doctors had taught her to calm her nerves.

Nothing is there. You have an overactive imagination is all. Nothing is there.

“I’m alone in a cell,” she said. “All by myself, surrounded by iron and stone and correctional officers. No imaginary beings, no monsters and certainly not him.”

Her breathing steadied, and she took one long, deep breath before she opened her eyes into slits. Her gaze shifted to the same black corner.

Are those eyes staring back at me?

Panic cascaded through her mind, her breathing turned to gasps, her mouth opened to scream. A shadow rushed from the darkness, and a thin, cold hand clamped her mouth shut. A beautiful, pale woman with eyes like living embers stared into her own terrified gaze.

My judgment awaits.

But then a curious thing happened. The stranger held a slim finger to her lips, squinted, nodded.

“No need to call out. I’m not here to harm you,” she whispered. “Understand?”

Coyle shifted her gaze, studying the creature who was asking for understanding. She shook like a frightened rabbit in the stranger’s powerful, iron grip. But, if the woman wanted her dead, she would have done it already. Right?

Coyle nodded, and the woman slowly lifted her hand away. They stepped away from each other, Coyle to the wall at her back, the stranger to the far side, allowing Coyle to study her.

A simple black dress covered her lithe frame. She was taller than Coyle and stood with the posture and build of a prima ballerina. Straight locks of short, dark hair framed a heart-shaped face. Her smile was at once both charming and disturbing. Her glowing amber eyes were full of savagery, cunning intelligence and focused will. A chill crept down Coyle’s back, and she crossed her arms.

Is this my overactive imagination coming to fruition in the guise of a mysterious woman?

“Before we make standard introductions, I must confess I’m still in wonder at your attention to detail,” Fang said. “How old am I, and where am I from?”

Coyle said nothing, still trying to decide what was happening. Maybe if she played along, the aberration would dissolve and she would shake herself awake. She gave the woman a glance before answering.

“Twenty-three, and your accent is southeast England. If I had to guess, you were raised near Buckinghamshire.”

“I’m a bit older than that.”

“Now to more important questions. If you’re real, how did you get in here?”

“I can shift into a Shade. Vapor and shadow. It makes getting to my targets much easier.”

“What are you?”

“That’s a question I ask myself from time to time,” she said. “I’m not entirely sure you would believe the answer.”

The burning eyes. The ability to morph into a phantom shroud. Unnatural strength. All of it made horrible sense, but she didn’t want to believe any of it.

“You’re a vampire,” Coyle said.

“You are quick, I’ll give you that. But I do have a name. Why don’t we start with the introductions?” she asked, and smiled. “Hello, my name is Fang.”

“Fang.” Coyle raised trembling fingers to her lips and immediately shifted her hands to her throat.

“You’re not my type,” Fang said.

“What are you doing here?” Coyle asked. She wiped her damp palms together, trying to stay afloat between madness and curiosity. What in the world is a vampire doing in my cell? A vampire who doesn’t want to harm me?

Fang sat on the bench and clasped her hands together between her knees. She looked out the window and sighed, her eyes glimmering like hot coals as she stared at the stars.

“I need your help finding something.”

That’s not what I expected.

Coyle took a deep breath, letting out her nerves. “Your honesty is refreshing,” she said. “But, I really have to ask, why me? I’m not a detective. I’m not good for anything.” She motioned to the stained walls.

“Your value is based on your environment?” Fang squinted.

Coyle looked at the floor.

Fang continued.

“I need to find a dangerous book called The Curse of Shadows. It was written by the fae thousands of years ago. It’s a book that, if used correctly, can change people into creatures or something worse. The scientists couldn’t find it, but that didn’t stop them from making me into this. They shaped me into their version of a nightmare: a vampire with military enhancements, complete with the ability to kill me when necessary.”

“Sounds as if you’ve been through a lot. It also sounds like you need a librarian or antiquities dealer to find this book.”

“It was stolen by two dangerous men, Trevin and Moreci. I killed Trevin six months ago, but Moreci is still out there somewhere, and he’s going to use the book to kill hundreds of thousands of people.”

“How... how can a book kill that many people?”

“There’s a lot more going on in the world besides what you see on constable patrol.”

“I don’t like the way this sounds. We should go to the authorities. Maybe the government has resources.”

“I killed my way out of a special weapons facility that used to belong to a group calling themselves the Templars of the Unseen Path. They’re the ones who shaped me for their clandestine operations. Besides, you know none of those options will work. Look at me. Look at what I am, Coyle.”

“Wait. You killed Trevin?” Coyle’s fingers combed through her hair. “I solved that case fifteen days ago.” She raised her hands in disbelief. “And here I am. Stuck in the same cell with the very murderer whose work I was tasked to decipher. Unbelievable.”

Coyle paced. She was left with two options: help a vampire find a dangerous book, or tell her to leave. And everything in her liked the second option. She had always considered herself intelligent, despite her imagination and fear of the dark. She wasn’t prone to incredulity or tall tales, and this tale was