The Shadow Project

  The Shadow Project

  An Urban Fantasy Thriller

  Cecilia Dominic

  When I started writing this novel in 2019, I had no idea that when it would be published in April of 2020, we would be in the midst of a global pandemic.

  Therefore, this book is dedicated to the medical professionals and scientists who do their best to keep us safe and who are racing to find a vaccine and effective treatment.

  Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifice. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.

  Contents

  About The Shadow Project

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  From the Author

  Coming Soon

  About the Author

  About The Mountain’s Shadow

  Look for These Titles by Cecilia Dominic:

  About The Shadow Project

  Fae Files, Book One

  A banished Fae. A veil of lies. The fate of her people rests on her wit.

  It may not be enough…

  Reine will seriously do anything for redemption. Exiled to Earth after failing to protect her brother, she leaps at the chance to get back into Faerie when her scornful mother proposes a pact. But Reine knows she better be careful, because Fae bargains are always loaded with tricks…

  Ordered to smoke out a traitor on a team of supernatural scientists, Reine barely survives an attack by a vicious shifter. And after discovering a shadowy manipulator is intent on seeing her fail, Reine must confront a deadly conspiracy that could spell the end for her kind.

  Can Reine unmask a sinister cabal and finally make her mom happy?

  The Shadow Project is the mesmerizing first book in The Fae Files urban fantasy series. If you like snarky heroines, memorable creatures, and unique magical worlds, then you’ll love Cecilia Dominic’s spellbinding story.

  Buy The Shadow Project to pierce the veil today!

  Copyright

  The Shadow Project

  © 2020 Cecilia Dominic

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This restriction includes use of this material to seed artificial intelligence learning or algorithms.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-945074-57-8

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-945074-59-2

  Editorial services provided by Evil Eye Editing

  Cover design by Ryn Katryn Designs

  1

  The breeze tickled my fingers, and my shoulder cramped from leaning over my desk to the open window, but I didn't move. The little intruder cocked its head, its bandit mask giving it an air of insolence. Just another inch or so and it would pluck the seed from my fingertip. It stretched its neck, and—

  The phone rang. In a flurry of wings, the Bohemian waxwing took flight, then alighted on the branch of a nearby shrub and gave me a baleful look.

  I checked the number, intending to hit Ignore but it was the shop.

  "What?"

  "I have an emergency." Veronica's voice had an uncharacteristic shrillness.

  "What sort of emergency?"

  "Something magical. I can't say more. You'll have to see when you get here." Then she hung up on me. The nerve. But if something had my normally staid clerk in a tizzy, it must be bad.

  Still, I couldn't leave the birdie without any help. It had sought me out, but I didn't know why. I placed a thimbleful of seeds in the little dish on my desk just inside the windowsill and said, "Fine, help yourself when I'm gone." Then I grabbed my helmet and ran for my bike.

  The trek between my cottage and the village had never seemed so long even with a little Fae enhancement to my motorcycle's speed. I grumbled under my breath the entire way. And here I'd thought everything would calm down now that Veronica had returned from the States, where she'd been caring for her ill sister.

  Yet one more reason for me to not depend on anyone unless I absolutely had to. Unfortunately, as the silent financier of the crystal shop in Lycan Village, I had to rely on mortals to take care of things for me. It sucked when they didn't. Hades, I didn't need a crisis right now.

  I quieted the roar of the bike as I slid through the back streets and rumbled to a halt behind the shop. I'd managed to keep my involvement a secret – the Lycanthrope Council wouldn’t approve if they knew a Fae “interfered” with humans by funding their commerce. They had such a picky definition of what constituted "interference."

  Whatever happened must have been bad if she needed me there.

  The bell over the back door chimed. I saw she'd turned the sign to "Closed."

  "Veronica?" I called softly. My senses were alert for an intruder. Or chaos. Or dark magic. Or any magic at all. The only sensations that I could pick up came from the crystals, each ringing with its own little chime in a chorus of stone bells, a new chime with each of my footsteps.

  No, there was something. A whiff of Fae magic, but not strong enough for me to tell where it came from. Something had been here, had gotten past my wards. With my heart in my throat, I walked into the front of the converted cottage to find Veronica holding…a kitten?

  "What's the problem?" I asked.

  "It's this wee moggie," she said and scratched the creature behind one ear. It angled its head into the caress.

  Anger flashed through me and burned out the worry. "You called me here for a cat? You said it was something magical."

  "It's not just any cat," she said. "There's something seriously wrong with it. Look."

  She handed it to me, and I had no choice but to take the warm, soft, purring creature and examine it. The kitten’s little face already had character and perhaps the shadow of stripes to come under its lead-colored coat. The most charming part—one white mitten on its front left paw. I checked under the tail—a boy. It fit in the palm of my hand, and I guessed its age to be about six weeks.

  "I'm a physician, not a vet," I said. When I ran my hand over it, the silly thing purred louder, but I felt what she must have meant—a frisson of something that didn't feel right.

  Still, not an emergency.

  I handed the gray kitten back. "He's fine. He just needs some peace and quiet away from his littermates, at least as far as I can tell. Did your time in the States addle your brain, Veronica?"

  The little creature looked up at me with big blue eyes that already had flecks of gold and green in them. Ugh. I couldn't resist scr
atching him under his silky chin. And my fickle frozen heart melted just a touch when he started purring. I mean, who could resist a purring kitten? I might be Fae, but I'm not inhuman.

  "Are you sure you wouldn't rather watch him for a day? Make sure he's all right?" Veronica's Scottish burr made the words sound innocent enough, but I caught the undertone.

  "Wait a minute… Is this one of your tricks to get one of your kittens adopted? Again, not an emergency. Besides, he's too young to be away from his mum." I arched an eyebrow and put my hands behind my back so I wouldn't succumb to the temptation to pet the little charmer again.

  "No, I'm truly worried for him." With a sigh, she held the kitten to her ample bosom, where he kneaded one of her, er, mounds, his eyes half-closed in bliss. She didn't flinch from his tiny but sharp claws going through her top. Or maybe her sweater was thick enough to handle it.

  Then he disappeared.

  "What in Hades…?" I asked. To say I was astonished would be an understatement. "Where did he go?"

  "Oh, good, he did it. I was afraid he wouldn't and then how could I explain?"

  Well, I wasn't going to apologize for snapping at her. "You could've just said that he randomly disappeared." I looked under the cash register counter in her shop but found nothing. "'Acting odd' is a vague way of putting it."

  "Would you have believed me?"

  "Probably not." Then a slight weight on my shoulder, the sensation of tiny claws digging into my neck, and the sound of a small motor by my left ear told me he'd reappeared. Wherever he'd been, it was cold, and I untangled him from my long hair and held him close to warm him.

  "How long has this been going on?"

  "For about a week now. Since his ears grew pointed."

  "So he's younger than he looks." I held the little lad away from me, and he licked his nose with a tiny pink tongue. Then he licked me, all sweetness and sandpaper. "I truly don't know what to tell you." I didn't often find myself at a loss for words, at least not when dealing with humans, but she had me there.

  "So can you please watch him? See what's up? His mother is beside herself and it's taking its toll on the other babies."

  She didn't tell me what I already knew—that this would be mama cat's last litter since she'd be spayed once they were all grown and adopted out. But Veronica didn't want any unnecessary deaths on her hands should mama cat breed again on the streets, which could be unkind to animals. I didn't blame her, as much as that sympathy shredded my ruthless Fae reputation. Veronica was the only human I allowed to see this softer side and that was only because she knew what I'd do to her if she revealed my secret. I was a big player in the success of her little shop.

  "Fine, I'm intrigued. I suppose I could watch him for a couple of days. What's his name?"

  "Raleigh, after Sir Walter Raleigh."

  "And you're not afraid he'll come back without his head?"

  "Not funny."

  I still laughed. "All right, then, Sir Raleigh. Let's get you back to my place and see what's going on with you. Have you noticed any pattern about when it happens?"

  She pulled a small spiral-bound notebook from beneath her counter. "I've kept notes. Mostly when he seems to be experiencing some sort of strong feeling. Like just now. But not just positive—it's also happened when he's frightened."

  I took the notebook and nodded my approval for her neat, handwritten notes regarding dates and time. "Careful record-keeping, as always."

  "Speaking of which…" She rubbed her temples. "I'm still catching up from being gone. Your check will be late."

  I should have smote her but it was hard to be in a smiting mood with a purring kitten snuggled on my shoulder. Plus, I knew she'd pay me the rent and my share of the shop's profits when she could. I still couldn't believe the Lycanthrope Council hadn't caught on to our little arrangement. I saw it as an act of rebellion, as did she.

  "I know you're good for it. Plus, extra for me figuring out the cat."

  "Don't worry, you'll earn that. He's got mischief in his eyes."

  The disappearance of the cat from my shoulder confirmed her words, especially when he reappeared on my other shoulder just a minute later. Again, that cold air. And again, I untangled him from my curly, white hair, which he batted at with his little kitten paws. She'd sent me off with plenty of kitten food and instructions, but how could I feed him if I didn't even know where he'd be?

  Once I held him in my right hand, I sniffed him. Beyond the delightful smell of cat, there was something else, something familiar, but I couldn't place it. I put him on my chest and zipped up my jacket. He snuggled in and didn't dig in too hard, thankfully.

  Yes, in spite of his youth, Sir Raleigh had a certain dignity that deserved the honorific.

  When I arrived at my house, my haven in the countryside, I found the door open. I placed Sir Raleigh and his food on top of the mail in the basket to the right of the front door and latched the lid shut. Not that it would deter the cat if he really wanted to escape, but I wouldn't knowingly bring him into harm's way.

  With a deep breath, I drew from the energy of the ley line that ran beneath the house, the creek behind it, and the trees over it. Then I wove the nature and ley magic into a web around me that would hopefully capture or deflect any dangerous spells that came my way. Unsophisticated compared to what I could previously do in Faerie, but it was my best for now.

  And in case of human intruders, I pulled a small but deadly sharp silver knife from my boot. Its wooden hilt kept the metal from harming me—not that silver did much to me, anyway. Now iron—that was a different matter. I hoped that whoever had intruded upon my home didn't know who or what I was. But who could have found me? I'd kept my address in this realm a secret.

  I pushed the door open with the toe of my boot—synthetic, not leather—and crept inside. My eyes adjusted immediately. Nothing seemed amiss, although the air eddied with having recently been disturbed. My spells and wards hadn't been triggered, so who or what could have gotten in?

  The foyer held no surprises, nor did the parlor to my right. I glanced up the stairway to my left, but I didn't hear anything moving around or breathing above me. That left the living room and the kitchen to the back.

  When I walked into the living room, the lights came on. Again, my eyes adjusted immediately, and I spun around, but saw no one. So who had turned on the lights?

  Something brushed by me, and a low growl by my left ear told me Sir Raleigh had returned to his perch.

  "You feel it, too, huh?" At least the cat helped me to feel less insane. Whoever was in my house was invisible. A ghost? No, my wards should have kept them out. So then what?

  The lights went out again, and with an eddy of air that smelled of must and decay, whoever or whatever it was ran out of the house. I heard its footsteps, but still not its breath. What in Hades could it have been? The entire house seemed to sigh with relief.

  "We all have enemies, Lady Reine," Veronica had told me once. "And someone like you must have powerful ones."

  I'd demurred—no one should care about a cast-out Fae like me, but apparently someone did. I walked through the kitchen to my office, which overlooked the back garden, and found my desk, cabinets, and shelves had been raided. I thought about checking the hiding place under the desk, but what if whatever had intruded still watched by some means? I didn't trust my wards. No, I wouldn't show it my secrets—my treasure—that easily.

  With one trembling hand, I attempted to soothe the cat, which had crawled half-down my front, mewing piteously. With the other, I picked up the phone, cradled the handset between my head and neck, and called the one person I trusted—and that loosely—with a crime of this nature. The best investigator I knew.

  "Gabriel?" I asked. "Can you do me a favor? Someone broke into my house."

  It didn't take long for Gabriel to arrive in his green Jaguar along with a pleasant surprise—Maximilian Fortuna, "Max" for short.

  "Well," I said, "I'm honored to have such high-ranking officials
visiting me."

  Then another car pulled up and I wrinkled my nose.

  "You called Inspector Garou, too?"

  "He's the new Lycanthrope Council Investigator," Gabriel said. "I'm not in that game anymore." In fact, while he rarely seemed happy to see me, his voice carried the extra weight of irritation.

  I snorted. "Like Hades you aren't."

  Inspector Garou hadn't registered on my Fae-dar as important, but now that I looked at him, I noticed something interesting. He was a human with no magic or shifting abilities, but his dark eyes sparkled like flint, and there was a hardness to his jaw. No, Garou might not have any current magical abilities, but I'd bet there was gargoyle in his blood.

  My indifference hardened, if you'll forgive the pun, into dislike.

  "Problem?" Gabriel asked. He'd come to stand beside me, and I suppose he noticed my expression. I could typically hide my emotions, but not when they hearkened to the reason for my exile.

  "Garou. He's not one of you, but he's got elemental in him. Water and earth, specifically."

  Gabriel's eyebrows lowered as he studied the inspector. I wondered what he saw with his still-burgeoning alpha abilities. "Gargoyle?"

  "Yes. I don't want him anywhere near me."

  Now Gabriel turned his hazel gaze on me in surprise. "What do you have against gargoyle blood? It must be several generations ago."