Heart of Darkness Read online

  Copyright © 2016 by Angello Adrien

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  ISBN-10: 1721219927

  ISBN-13: 978-1721219926

  Cover Design: Designed by Starla

  Interior Formatting and typesetting: Phoenix’s Quill Formatting

  Dedication

  This book is for the all the people who believe in me and those who are passionate about the beauty of storytelling.

  I have no need to name names—you know who you are.

  From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this possible.

  Last, but certainly not least, this is for you, Robinson Jean Baptiste. Thank you for everything.

  Be at peace in the summer lands. I will always love you.

  Prologue

  A Letter from Valentino To You

  Dear Human,

  The world you thought you knew has changed in ways you probably never imagined, hasn’t it? You probably always thought you were the only dominant species on this planet, didn’t you?

  But one day, you found out you were wrong.

  So very, very wrong.

  The supernaturals stepped, flew and crawled right out of the closet, and everything you’ve been taught was simply a myth or just a mere fantasy—a creepy nighttime story to scare your friends with, perhaps?—was actually very much a reality.

  Parents can no longer ignore their child’s fear of the boogieman under the bed or keep them at bay with a ridiculous nightlight. Vampires, werewolves, faeries, merfolk, elves, pixies, goblins and so much more, both good and bad, wander among you now.

  There’s much speculation as to why they chose to finally reveal themselves to all. Maybe they had simply grown tired of the way humans have been abusing the planet they both have to share. Or perhaps it was just the right time. Maybe a specific date had been picked long ago.

  I’m sorry, I really don’t know why. But the fact remains, they have been with us long before we knew it, though I do believe some of us were fortunate—or unfortunate, depending on the circumstances—to have had the opportunity to see what most others couldn’t, or wouldn’t see. They must have! Because how in the world do we have all these stories, movies, Halloween costumes, toys, cartoons and on and on, if no one ever did? The ideas had to come from somewhere.

  So, they were with us then, they are with us now, and they will be here long after we are gone.

  They own their own homes and work in schools, churches, nightclubs, bars, diners—

  Oh yeah, you’d better believe it!

  The woman your husband hit on last Friday night when you were out of town, bought a few drinks for, and even took home with him for a one-night stand? She was one of them, a she-wolf, who could have put his hairy chest to shame if she’d wanted to.

  The kid who bagged your family’s groceries, and smiled at you so sweetly as he loaded them into your car yesterday afternoon? He was an elf.

  The lady who painted your nails this morning, and you kept flashing that diamond ring at, every chance you got? Remember how you tossed a couple dollars in her tip jar, before strutting out of the salon, thinking you were something else? She was a mermaid, a very wealthy mermaid.

  The seemingly frail old man you assisted across the busy street just moments ago and left him safe and sound, as you walked away, feeling so proud of yourself for doing your good deed for the day? Well, he was an extremely powerful—and deadly—ancient vampire!

  Some of you have accepted the supernatural and are able to work and live alongside them just fine, while others of you are still resisting and are not particularly thrilled about the idea. To make matters worse, the same can be said for the supernatural community and their feelings toward the humans.

  So, in an attempt to maintain peace between the supernaturals and humans, five grand councils, which govern all supernatural beings, was formed. They are the Angelic Court (Light), the Demonic Court (Dark), the Vampiric Court (Crimson), the Were-Kind Court (Lunar) and the Grand Faery Court (Emerald). The last of which is then divided into two smaller courts—the Seelie (Golden) and the Unseelie (Silver)—and four seasonal courts: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.

  Each of these five courts are based in the larger cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Paris, London, Como, Moscow and the like. Along with the courts, a guardian is also assigned, much like a human mayor, I suppose would be a fairly simple way of explaining it, though quite a bit more powerful. Both the courts and guardians have specific regions they govern, so as to ensure all areas of the world are covered.

  Hold on! What exactly is a guardian, you ask? Or maybe you didn’t, but since it’s important to my story, I’m going to tell you anyway.

  A guardian is a supernatural being of immense power, whose job it is to maintain both the supernatural and human laws of the region they are assigned. They try to find the best solutions for each side to co-exist, and so are often called upon when disputes and issues arise. Guardians are the first step in an attempt to keep the peace, before reaching the point of needing court interference.

  Each guardian has a personal human consort. A human consort’s main purpose is to show both humans and supernaturals that working, and even living together, can be a positive experience. Consorts do so much more than that though, which you’ll discover soon enough. I guess you could think of a human consort as a political spokesman, a middleman, a mediator, or a liaison officer of sorts...which is where I come in.

  Human consorts must be, well, human for one thing. Completely human. At least, they’re supposed to be. I am a human consort; however, I’m only half human and half...something else. Something I have to hide from both humans and supernaturals alike. Though there are plenty of half-breeds in this world, I happen to be one who is very rare, or so I’ve been told.

  I am part-human, and part-incubus.

  According to legend and myth, an incubus is a lusty male demon who satisfies his sexual urges by attacking women while they sleep. This, however, is not exactly true. At least, not for me.

  First of all, I don’t have sex with only women, in fact, I prefer men exclusively, with a rare exception. Second, I only have sex with willing partners—no, I don’t tell them what I am. I can’t!—and I guarantee you every single person I have sex with is wide awake. I also ensure we both have a mind-blowing sexual experience. No one can ever call me a selfish lover.

  That being said though, there certainly are some unpleasant, and at times, horrific things that come from being an incubus. When it comes to sex, both incubi (males) and succubi (females) feed on energy, sexual energy. They’re the true soul-eaters of the supernatural species, and even though I’m only a half-breed incubus, it doesn’t exclude me from that particular need.

  Note I said need. It’s not a choice for us to go without, at least not if we want to live.

  One of the most horrific aspects of being an incubus I had to learn the hard way, back when I was young and didn’t know much of anything about myself. I didn’t know you could take too much of that energy, and I would inadvertently drain the humans, often far past the point which becomes fatal when I had sex with them. I didn’t know then how to get the e
nergy I needed to survive any other way.

  I still mourn those deaths, and I’ve never forgotten any of my accidental victims. According to legend, I should only be concerned about myself, and stealing all the energy I want, regardless of the consequences to anyone else. That’s just another one of the myths of the incubi, which is only a myth in itself.

  Eventually I learned, and because of this unfortunate side-effect from my lovemaking, I now limit my nighttime activities when I’m very hungry to supernaturals only, since their energy is much stronger and more abundant, allowing them to survive the experience of my intense passion and need. Sometimes I do still sleep with humans, but only if it’s to top off when I already have plenty remaining, so that I’m never ravenous and won’t go too far.

  Amoria—a Royal fae from the Seelie Court—is my guardian, the one I’ve worked for since I first became a human consort. But most of all, she is my closest friend. Only four people were aware of my secret heritage, and she’s one of them. Amoria is the only one, supernatural or not, I can have sex with on a regular basis. In fact, she’s the only woman I have sex with at all.

  There is, however, a bonus to making love to humans over supernaturals though. I can wipe human memories clean; no memory whatsoever of me (plus!), or the incredible sex (what a waste), and no worries about someone expecting a serious relationship (plus! plus! plus!). I often find I have a problem convincing some of my supernatural one-night stands that they were, in fact, simply a one-night stand. Why the goddesses didn’t think of adding supernaturals to our mental housekeeping ability is beyond me. However, thanks to a couple very good friends of mine, I now have that ability as well, which works lovely...most times.

  But anyway, that little perk does come in quite handy when I need it, which when I do have sex with a human, it’s always needed. In addition, being part-incubus does have some other nice benefits, besides the mind-blowing sex, which is intense for both of us, not just me, in case I haven’t made that clear.

  But listen, before I tell you the next bit on the advantages of being an incubus, I just want you to know I’m truly not a vain or self-obsessed man, nor do I think I’m better than anyone else. I promise this isn’t just my own opinion, but the truth is, I’m extremely attractive.

  At least, now I am, though I wasn’t always.

  My powers only began to manifest in my early teen years. Over the summer months, I hit puberty, and my whole body went through such a transformation, that when I went back to school, I was suddenly no longer the shy, overlooked, awkward boy I used to be the year before. I was taller than all the other kids, and most of the teachers too, which made it impossible to hide any longer, and my popularity quickly soared right up there with my height.

  Even though they may not have been able to miss me in a crowd, I wonder now if some kind of pheromone from my incubus side may have been the reason all my classmates wanted to be near me so much. Whatever it was, I never lost it. I still turn heads everywhere I go, and I always notice a shift when I walk into a room full of humans.

  For example, if I go to a night club, before I walk in, people are spread out around the building in their own small groups of friends. But as soon as I enter, it seems as if there’s a lot more empty space across the room from wherever I am, and very little anywhere around me. And where I move, the crowd always seems to follow.

  Oftentimes, there’s a line waiting for me on the other side of a restroom door, and they’re not there because they need to relieve themselves. No, they’re just waiting for me to come back out and join them. Some have even followed me in and just stood there, watching me, and making it incredibly awkward to do my business.

  With my caramel-colored bronze skin, most people automatically assume I’m African-American, but I’m actually part Caribbean-Creole, thanks to my father’s side. I could really be any mix of heritages though, as my mother’s side of the family is a bit of a mystery. I’ll explain a bit more of this with you later as well.

  I keep my hair cut close to my scalp, my lips are full and, so I’ve been told, luscious, and my eyes are deep brown, though they change to an intense green or blood-red when I feed on sexual energy. My entire body looks as if I work out in the gym seven days a week, though I’ve never set foot inside a single one of those places.

  Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with going to a gym, at least for most people, but can you imagine the scent of all that testosterone and sweat? The amount of skin on display? The view of all those tight asses, and the crotch-shots which hold you mesmerized, unable to possibly look away, while some Adonis is working out one machine or another?

  Now, try to imagine being surrounded by all that as a sex-addicted incubus, who might accidentally kill you. Not such a pretty thought, is it? Besides, I’ll never gain weight since my metabolism is so high, and my body will never lose the ripped look, so why tempt fate?

  My human strength has been greatly enhanced by the supernatural DNA, and I even have the ability to perform magic, thanks to my incubus side.

  I also believe I’m the only human consort who’s ever been permitted to live away from my guardian in my own home, even though the courts had decreed that a human consort must remain at a guardian’s home until the consort’s death, but the guardians themselves often are replaced by a new one when they are needed elsewhere.

  I have another job, a day job, as I call it. I’m a private detective, specializing in supernatural crimes, mostly the most gruesome of deaths. I’ve seen so much. Too much.

  I am Valentino Celestine—private detective and human consort for Amoria, the Guardian of Philadelphia. I welcome you to my world...

  Chapter 1

  Damn, how I hate change!

  The day I had been dreading was finally here, the last day for Amoria as guardian of the city. She was returning permanently to the Faery Realm, and I was required to be at the house to meet the new guardian.

  After a light breakfast and a long shower, I dressed in my blue jeans, white t-shirt, black leather jacket, and matching leather boots, then drove to Amoria’s house, which is situated outside the city in a less-populated area.

  The woman has good taste, and everything about the house screams fae. It’s a giant version of a botanical garden, and home to the most beautiful flowers of every color, flowers that haven’t been seen on Earth for hundreds of years, which is why it’s my most favorite spot, as it always brings me peace and calms me like nothing else can.

  The garden didn’t bring me its usual peace that day, as Amoria was absent from its center. It had always been her favorite place to greet me, which told me she had already left...without saying goodbye.

  I sank onto a nearby bench, leaned forward, and dropped my head in despair.

  “She ordered this garden to be left intact under the new guardian’s term.”

  I gasped and lifted my head, then turned it in the direction of the voice. “Hello, Dan.” I couldn’t hide the misery in my tone.

  Dan was Amoria’s companion, her fae consort. You could tell just by looking at him he wasn’t human. He looked young, but he was as ancient as the moon. His silvery eyes have seen so many sorrows and joys. As usual, he was dressed meticulously in a pair of thin, blue, cotton pants and a matching shirt.

  “Did she now?” I ran my hand across the back of my neck as I let my gaze rove over the familiar collection of plants and flowers.

  “Well, she knows this is your favorite spot.”

  “Thank her for me.”

  “Thank her yourself. She’s waiting inside for you.”

  “She’s still here?” Surprise, mixed with relief, flared through me. “I was sure she’d already left.”

  “She has to greet the new guardian and bind you to him with a ritual, you know that. Plus, you should know she’d wait for you.” He sat down on the bench next to me. “You know, this garden is my favorite place, as well.”

  “Why does she have to leave, Dan?” I should have been embarrassed by my inability to h
ide my anguish, but I wasn’t. “I know, I know. It’s one of those damn fae rules.”

  “And fae rules are not that simple,” he said as he stood back up. “The fae need a new Seelie Queen, and destiny has chosen Amoria, so she has no choice and must go. The fae land, the survival of the fae, depends on her.”

  “Gods, I hate it when you’re right.” I rose to stand next to him and gently gave him a push on the shoulder. “But I get to visit, right?”

  “Of course!” He smiled at me, and the sudden warmth transformed his entire face.

  “So, any scoop on the new guardian?” I asked.

  “Scoop?” Dan looked at me with a raised brow. “Is this one of those human slang words? It means information, correct?”

  “Yes! Look at you, finally getting the hang of it after all this time.”

  He simply nodded once in acknowledgment, but I could clearly see his grin. I’ve been trying to teach him for so long the ways of the human world.

  “So, can you tell me what you know of him?”

  “He’s a blood-drinker from the Vampiric Court and lives in Milan.”

  “Gods, an Italian vampire. Great.” I rolled my eyes. For some reason, Italian vampires reminded me of sixteenth-century Florence clergymen.

  “He lives there, but he’s not Italian. He’s much more…ancient.”

  “How ancient?” Suspicion prickled my nerve-endings.

  “An Atlantean,” he answered bluntly.

  Whoa!

  The vampire race had started back then, and he must’ve been one of the very few survivors who had escaped the sinking city. His power had to be immense for him to take the place of Amoria, for only an equal, or more powerful guardian, could replace another. It was just one of the many rules set forth by the courts.

  With that thought in mind, I said goodbye to Dan and went in search of Amoria.

  Her private chamber was the biggest in the house, and the most serene of all the rooms. The walls were a vibrant green, like grass after a summer rain, and the floor was covered in polished blue marble, the same color as a summer sky. It all looked so sparkling and ethereal.