Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Prologue

Dear Reader!

This is book five of the Shadows of the Night series. If you haven't read books 1 - 4, please go back and start with "Breathe Under Water" - Don't miss all the fun ;-)

For the rest: You know the drill.

Book five. Wow, just wow. When I started out I never imagined the story and the characters would make it so far. So I can only repeat myself: thank you for reading. Believe it or not, you made this story happen.

Lara

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Copyright @ Lara Stein All Rights Reserved Copyright:

All the chapters and content of this book are copyrighted. All rights reserved by the author (Lara Stein) and any unauthorized copying, broadcasting, distribution, manipulation, or selling of this work constitutes as an infringement of copyright. Any infringement of this copyright is punishable by law. Any links, brand names, the cover picture or otherwise copyrighted material is not my own, and is not covered by my copyright. No copyright fragment intended.

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"You must make Water of the Earth, and Earth of the Air, and Air of the Fire, and Fire of the Earth. The Black Sea. The Black Luna. The Black Sol." (excerpt from The Ripley Scroll)

Prologue

Never lie to someone who trusts you. Never trust someone who lies to you.

I've heard these words before. I know their meaning – it's clear to me. So much so that I can almost believe these words are my own. You don't give trust easily to someone. You can't simply take it. It's one of the last things in this world you can't buy with money. And have you been granted trust, you respect it. You honor it.

So why did I violate this one golden rule? Why did I reject words that I once believed to be my own?

I've come too far to turn back now. The Raven set a trap and I walked right into it – with my eyes wide open. 

Not that I had much of a choice. When he showed up, the world had just caved in on me, leaving a shattered construct of beliefs and truths that once were. I was raw and vulnerable, open to possibilities, vague escape routes, and half-lies that I wanted to be half-truths. What was more, Medici threatened to kill innocent people to get me to that point. Come with him quietly, or people die. Real simple.

If it was anyone else, I might have taken my chances, see if he was bluffing. But this is the Raven we're talking about. I'm not ready to risk my life taking a gamble with him. He has shitloads of power and the right kind of reputation to back his threats and make them real possibilities. No, I'm not going to risk anything when it comes to him. And that might be the death of me.