Gone: A Shadow Slayers Story (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 3) by Nellie Steele (best books for 20 year olds txt) 📕

Celine cast her eyes to the floor. She swallowed hard, searching for the words to inform Damien of the latest developments. “Celine?” Damien asked again.

Celine’s eyes rose to meet Damien’s. “Marcus and I are to be married,” she admitted, her voice a hushed whisper.

“What?!” Damien exclaimed. “Celine, you can’t marry him! Besides, you’re already married.”

“Not anymore,” Marcus informed him. “She has already renounced her marriage. All that remains is to formalize it.”

“No,” Damien argued, swiveling to face Celine. “No, you can’t be serious.”

“Damien, please. I realize what I am doing.”

“Celine, no! Your choice is wrong. It’s… it’s just wrong! You can’t! Did he threaten you? Us? We’ll be okay, don’t give in to him. You can’t do this!”

“She has made her choice,” Marcus retorted. “Your feeble protestations can do nothing now.”

Celine stepped around Damien to the door. “Have you brought him here merely to torture him with this news?”

“Of course not, Celine. I’ve brought him here for something quite different.”

“Oh?”

Marcus smiled at her. “Yes. I imagined you might enjoy having your favorite family member at our wedding. Perhaps, Damien, you could give the bride away.”

“I’d never give her to you!” Damien shouted.

“Damien, please,” Celine cautioned.

“Celine, I’m not going to let you throw away your life for… him!” he exclaimed, gesturing to Marcus.

Marcus narrowed his eyes at Damien. “Well, if that’s your stance then I suppose it is time for you to go.”

“No!” Damien responded, circling his arms around Celine.

Celine was torn. As much as she wanted Damien to stay, he was her only connection to the outside world. If he remained in this cell with her, she had no way of contacting anyone outside it. “Damien, I…” she began before noise interrupted her.

Marcus’ brow furrowed, and he turned toward the stairs, waving his hand across the room. Footsteps sounded overhead. They approached the steps leading downward. Celine’s eyes grew wide. Her perfect plan was about to be ruined.

Chapter 11

“What? Gone?” Michael asked. “Are you sure? Where?”

“Yes, I’m sure. And I have no idea where. If I had, I’d be there, bringing him back.”

“Well, where could he have gone? Why would he leave?” Michael asked.

“Whatever caused him to leave must be serious,” Alexander chimed in, standing from his seat at the chess table.

“Yeah, this is unlike Damien,” Michael replied. “But in retrospect, he was acting weird. Nervous. I figured it was just the stress, but perhaps something happened.”

“But what?” Alexander questioned.

“And where is the best place to begin searching?” Michael queried.

“It has to do with Celine. He wouldn’t just disappear,” Gray conjectured.

“Do you think he went to the mill?” Alexander inquired.

“Why would he do that? What could he do?” Michael questioned.

“Did she give him more information than he shared with us? Did he imagine he could help her? Test one of our theories?” Gray postulated.

“Only one way to find out,” Alexander answered. “Let’s go. We must find him.”

“I agree. We’ll start there,” Gray replied.

Michael ran a hand through his hair. “I hope we find him soon,” Michael said, expressing his worry. “Perhaps we should take a blanket and Millie in case we find him sick.”

“Good idea. I’ll get Millie. You two go ahead, we’ll catch up,” Gray answered. He disappeared from the room. Michael grabbed a blanket from the couch and followed Alexander out of the house.

Gray and Millie caught up with Alexander and Michael halfway to the mill. Millie puffed from exertion, trying to keep up with Gray’s pace. “I checked his room just to be sure when I called Millie. No trace of him,” Gray informed them.

“Man, I hope he’s at the mill,” Michael said. “Perhaps we should split up. What if he isn’t there? We’re wasting time.”

“Do you have a better place to begin?” Gray asked.

Michel considered it a moment, but nothing sprang to mind. He shook his head. “No. I don’t. Sorry, I just hate pinning our hopes on one place. If we’re wrong, it could cost Damien…” Michael stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

They arrived at the mill. “You two hang back, we’ll check it out first,” Gray stated, leaving Millie and Michael hidden behind a few nearby shrubs. After a few moments, Alexander waved an all clear.

Michael sprang from his hiding spot, racing toward the building. Millie followed at a slower pace. “Anything?” Michael asked as he approached.

Alexander shook his head. “It appears not.”

“Oh, no,” Michael lamented. “Are you sure?”

“We’d like to have a more thorough check, but at first glance, it appears he is not here.”

They entered the building. Michael glanced around, calling for Damien. “If he’s anywhere, he’d be downstairs.”

“I took a quick glance, I saw nothing, but let’s check it out,” Gray answered.

Michael hurried down the stairs, followed by the others. “Damien?” he called. “Damien! Are you here, buddy?”

They all searched the room, finding nothing. “He’s not here!” Michael declared. “Damn it! Now what?”

Gray shook his head, shrugging. “I’m not sure. Perhaps that clearing in the trees? Maybe the beach? Where are his favorite spots?”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe the clearing,” Michael spoke hurriedly. “He loves that spot.”

“Let’s split up,” Alexander suggested. “Two of us to the beach, the other two to the clearing. Meet back at the house if we find nothing.”

“I have my phone, text if you find anything. Okay, let’s go,” Michael stated, heading toward the stairs.

“Wait,” Gray replied. He stood in the middle of the room, glancing around. “Celine! Damien said you can hear us. I hope you can. Damien’s missing, we can’t find him. Do not contact him until we find him, Celine. We don’t want to take any chances with his life, and he gets very sick afterwards. We’re taking good care of him, don’t worry. But don’t contact him until you hear from us.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, let’s go. Hopefully, she heard us.”

As Michael appeared hurrying down the steps, Celine whispered to Damien, “Are they aware of where you are?”

“No,” Damien whispered back. “He said not to tell anyone.”

Michael called to Damien. The group had a