Acqua (Daughters of Nyx Book 1) Read online

  Acqua

  Daughters of Nyx

  By Lainy Lane

  This Book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Once in a Blue Moon

  Copyright © 2018 by Lainy Lane

  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.

  Cover Artist: Rue Volley

  Edited by EAL Editing Services

  Published by CHBB Publishing LLC.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

  any means without written permission of the author.

  PROLOGUE

  ACQUA

  Two evils living inside one shell, as if one kind of evil being simply wasn't enough. The world wouldn't be able to handle what we were capable of, and I knew it. That thought delighted me, it ignited a spark within me. Blood and power were the only things that mattered anymore. We had a lust for all things that go bump in the night. We had a desire to destroy anyone who stood in our way of reaching our goal. A goal that would be much easier to obtain now that we had been given an advantage.

  A spider crawling underneath your skin, giving way to chills that never truly subside.

  Even if they knew the truth, no one could resist us. Even knowing what was best for you wouldn't be enough to save you. We had become the nightmares that humans only admitted existed in their imaginations. A touch of wicked accompanied with a pinch of risqué, a combination that refused to be conquered. We were the monsters in your bed, sometimes literally, since we could make anyone succumb to our temptations.

  The possibilities of the evil we could accomplish crept around my head. Despite the excitement, a small piece of remaining humanity haunted me with its attempt to creep in and push the evil aside. I took a long drag from my cigarette. The smoke filled my lungs, as the burn soothed me. I chuckled to myself as it choked out the little sliver of humanity trying to disturb my plans of deception.

  Like an animal crawling out of its cage without permission. One that refused to be tamed, my innermost desires took over once more. It was our time to come out finally, and I refused to allow anything to stop us. We were going to give the world something to remember, soak it in gasoline, and set it on fire as we walked away smiling. We were born to rise and rise we would. This wasn't a curse, and there was no cure necessary.

  I stood and turned to my two sisters with a wicked gleam in my eyes. "Ready girls?"

  They stood in unison and took to my sides. We weaved a sick and twisted train of chaos with every move, and we watched haughtily while everyone in the club backed away with fear, allowing us to make our way to the exit. The crowd parted like the Red Sea to create a walkway for us to effortlessly glide through.

  With one last look back at the fearful glares from the crowd, I flicked the ashes from my cigarette on the floor of the bar and smiled at the judging onlookers. The entire crowd flinched in unison, and we merely laughed back. We turned in sequence and walked out the door, ready to bring chaos to the next stop on our schedule.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The water rose from the lake and gently laced into an intricate swirling web of waves that followed the pattern I traced with my fingers. I felt the cold calming spirit that my affinity always brought me as it rushed through my body. I inhaled deeply and relished in its presence. It blocked out my past, covered my scars, and was the only thing that allowed me to feel whole.

  Harleigh was the name that had been given to me at birth, from the sorry excuse for parents I had been so very unblessed with. I had a scumbag of a father who had chosen to never be around. Top that inconvenience with the intellectually incompetent woman that had somehow managed to give birth to me and, just barely, keep me alive until I turned sixteen. That was the year when I finally walked away and freed her from the misery that was my life. The night she discovered my magic had been the last straw, the final thing about me that my mother just refused to deal with. I decided to ensure she didn't have to bother herself with her pathetic excuse for a daughter anymore. As I walked out of that house, I vowed to not face my parents again until I was able to show them what they truly deserved for everything they had done to me. All the years of disrespect, malice, and lack of love would be returned when Karma had its way. I would ensure that Karma reached them sooner rather than later. As I recalled that night, the memories replayed, unwelcome, through my head.

  "You listen to me!" my mother yelled, as loud as possible, without being considered screaming. "I don't know who you think you are exactly, but you will respect me!"

  "Yeah, like you do me? Try again, woman!" I said as I ashed my cigarette onto the carpet and watched my mother’s eyes gleam further with rage.

  "You're gonna clean that up!" She pointed at the scattering of ashes on the carpet beneath me.

  "Hmm," I responded simply, “personally I’m just not so sure about that, mother!” I took another deep drag and ashed on the carpet once more.

  The noise hit me before the pain registered when my mother reached up and slapped me across the face. The sting came shortly after I'd realized what had just happened and my cigarette dropped to the floor under my shock. Fury surged inside of me and made my skin feel as if it was boiling. All of the restraint I’d developed over the years to keep my powers hidden from my mother disappeared in an instant, and I found myself unable to keep it under control.

  All the faucets in the house turned on full power at once, and the water splashed out of the basins it splashed into. Just as my mother realized they were on, every water pipe throughout the walls of the house busted, and water rushed everywhere, flooding the house. The sound of the water squealed in my ears, and my mother stared at me with her jaw hanging open for a few moments without saying anything. I watched her face course through various emotions as she took in the scene around her. Her house wasn't anything more than ordinary to begin with, and now it was being destroyed before her eyes. Once she put the pieces together of what had caused it, her mouth closed and her eyes gaped through me.

  "GET - OUT - NOW!" she screamed in staccato.

  I had wasted the first several nights, questioning what I was supposed to do, where I could go, and nearly considered returning to my mother due to a lack of options. Thanks to finding Ember and Ethereal, I never had to follow through with that ill-fated course of action. They had helped me develop my talents and renamed me Acqua, due to my affinity for water.

  I stood proudly at my point of the triangle controlling my element which left me feeling myself completely. I always felt whole when I allowed my powers to set me free from the world. Ethereal stood to my right taking up her place of the triangle. Her birth name had been Chloe, but her affinity for air caused us to rename her Ethereal. Her curly brown hair blew in the wind that coiled around her at her command, her bright eyes contrasted her dark skin as she watched our affinity’s respond to our requests. Ember made up the last point of our triangle. She had been given the name of Madison at her birth, but since fire had chosen her, we changed her name to Ember. It seemed to fit her looks better anyways. When her affinity made her already pale skin glow, it caused her red hair to appear brighter as the fire responded to her call. Recreating ourselves had been one
of the primary purposes of our coven, so renaming ourselves seemed to be the appropriate final step to enable us to complete the transformation into our new beings.

  When we stood in our form of elemental control, we were practically unstoppable. Most covens tended to prefer to have more members and use a circular formation. We were perfectly fine being limited to our triangle of three. Three sisters determined to take the world on and seek revenge on the ones that had wronged us in the past. Three would be more than enough.

  ***

  "Never again!" I screamed at the sorry excuse for a man that stood in front of me.

  It had turned out to be yet another night of poor options to practice on. All we really wanted was a set of test subjects that we could attempt some of our new spells on. It didn't seem like that much to ask for, not in my opinion at least. Yet all of the humans in this club had proved to be nothing more than wimps. We had ourselves dolled up enough to ensure they were all eating out of the palms of our hands. Which was part of the problem, we needed someone stronger than that, someone far less vulnerable, with an adequate amount of self-control.

  I fiddled with the small strap that held my dress around my neck to deflect myself from the frustration that wanted to seethe out of me. The dress was more aggravation than it was worth. The low cut back and short length made all the men gawk, which was the reason I had chosen it. Despite the success in that regard, the discomfort was quickly outweighing the benefits. It was only adding to my list of things that were stepping on my last nerve for the night.

  While the boy I'd just screamed at slinked away, I brushed my long blonde hair away from my face. My eye makeup was thick and dense, which was my usual choice, I’ve always loved the way it made my soft blue eyes stand out. Ethereal sat on my left, she had her curly hair teased and allowed it to rest wherever it decided to, not that she could’ve ordered it otherwise even if she wanted to. Ember sat on my right, which was our usual stance, her bright red hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her hair was long enough that even being up, it still touched the small of her back. We were all wearing sexy black outfits, heavy makeup, and heels that made us appear to be several inches taller than we actually were.

  "I don't think this is panning out like we wanted it to," Ember announced.

  "You think?" I scoffed in her general direction. She, of course, wasn't who I was actually irritated with, but since she was the first person to speak to me, she was who I took it out on regardless.

  "Geez Acqua, chill," Ethereal voiced.

  I rolled my eyes, but managed to keep it hidden from them. Truthfully, the upcoming plan to seek my revenge on my parents was what had me on edge. We had the spells that we had developed to use for them lined up. The fact that they were new spells meant they would be tricky to say the very least. I had doubts as to whether or not we would be able to accomplish them personally. Ethereal and Ember were confident despite my own apprehension. Their confidence was another bullet point on the list of my irritants. I couldn't figure out how they could feel so assured when I was overflowing with doubts.

  They knew how important this scheme was to me. How much I needed vengeance on the sorry people I was forced to call my parents. If it hadn’t been for these girls finding me shortly after I'd left my mother's house, who knows where I might have ended up. They were all I had anymore. I rolled my shoulders back hoping some of my tension would roll off along with the action.

  "Sorry," I muttered, ensuring my voice sounded sincere.

  "We've got this," Ethereal said, her voice sounded small. A few of her curls tumbled onto her face as she twirled the straw around in her drink. Her eyes conveyed the frustration her voice carefully hid.

  "I know," I sighed. "I guess I just need a little more reassurance first.”

  "And we'll get it. We'll dress like bimbos and come out every night we have to until we find suitable guinea pigs." Ember laughed. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "We won't attempt these spells on your parents first, ok? We'll be sure all the kinks are worked out before we put them into action. I promise this will work. Just try and breathe a little between now and then."

  "We'll see how easy you find breathing to be when it comes time to play out your revenge plan." I shrugged. These nerves were liable to drive me to a mental institution before I ever got a chance to see my retribution come into play.

  "Well, I guess since tonight is obviously hopeless, we should just count our losses and head out." The moment the words left my lips, he strolled in and my attitude and mood transformed.

  He waltzed in with a restraint about him that stood out amongst the groups of deadbeats we had already been approached by. There was a hint of arrogance seeping off of him. He walked straight up to the bar with confidence that no one else in the place had even a fraction of. He was tall, chiseled, and tanned. He wore a tight shirt that flaunted his six-pack underneath, he wanted to be sure no one missed it. His jeans were almost as tight as his shirt, and he had on a pair of brown shoes that looked like they should be worn with a suit instead of his casual get-up. His hair was messily strewn about and hung just below his ears; it was deep chocolate with caramel undertones throughout.

  "There it is ladies," I whispered and nudged my head toward the man. "He's our lab rat." I gave them both a knowing look which signified for them to follow my lead. I stood and added an extra sway to my walk as I made my way to the bar and took my place next to him.

  "Well hello there," I used my best seductive voice and lightly traced a finger along his arm as I spoke. "I'll have another drink as well, thanks, dear." I smiled my ruby red lips and flashed my over lined eyes, it was a look that caused most men do my every bidding.

  "Oh, are you buying?" the man asked and cocked his head to the side.

  I was taken aback by his reluctance to fall head first into my snare. Apparently I'd spent far too much time playing with the losers of this place, who didn't have a smidgen of self-control, this one was going to be a bit of a hurdle. Good thing I was always up for a good challenge.

  I giggled. "No sweetie, you are." I leaned into him slightly and turned up my pheromones a bit.

  "Tell you what." He smiled coolly. "I'll buy mine, and you can buy yours. Sound like a deal to you?"

  I was stunned and more offended than I would have ever admitted to. Typically an outfit like this one, drastically heavy makeup, and the extra ooze of pheromones would've sent any man into a mad attempt at flailing up my skirt. What was his deal exactly?

  "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name," I said adding a bit of an icy tone to my voice. My nerves were already on edge, and he was doing nothing but furthering the annoyance mounting inside of me. I didn't have time for this and I didn't have time to not put full effort into seeing this through.

  "I didn't give it," he said taking his own drink off of the counter. "But if you're asking, it's Phoenix."

  Ethereal and Ember stood behind me, ready to follow the lead that I had lost a long time ago. This meeting wasn't going anything like I'd pictured it in my head.

  "Acqua." I realized after I'd said it that he hadn't asked what my name was and I immediately felt dumb for giving it anyways.

  "Hmm, that's a new one." He smiled, an actual genuine smile finally. I perked up at the slight change of pace, hope rising under my skin. "And what about your posse back there?" He nudged his head toward the girls standing ever so faithfully behind me, as usual.

  "Ember and Ethereal." I looked at them respectively as I stated their names.

  "Acqua, Ember, and Ethereal. Must be a cult or something." He shrugged the comment off, but seemed intrigued by the prospect somehow.

  I smiled at the remark and held back the snicker that would reveal just how close to the truth he actually was. "Not a cult," I said.

  Judging by the look on his face, I finally hit the nail on the head. Hook. Line. Sinker. He was intrigued, and the tables were finally turning in my favor. I winked to add to the effect, I wouldn't miss the chance to push the act up to full speed
, I had to make this work. He gulped down his drink quickly. I pulled out my cigarettes and pressed one in between my lips. He promptly grabbed a lighter sitting on the bar in front of a large man a few seats down and lit it for me. I embraced the increase in confidence I felt as his attitude shifted.

  "Thanks, Phoenix." I took a long drag without taking my eyes off of him.

  As if he was just noticing me for the first time, he did a once over, and there was a look of approval in his eyes when his gaze came back up and met mine.

  "You girls sisters or something?" he asked.

  "Or something," I replied.

  He was it, I could feel the assurance in my bones. My nerves eased up as I realized that we had finally found our test subject and he was beginning to seem to be willing to start eating out of my hands. Maybe we did have this after all.

  "You're not all— together, right?" His eyes seemed puzzled, as he glanced excitedly between us.

  "No. Not like that." I wasn't surprised by his assumption. It wasn't the first time we'd been asked that and I was confident it wouldn't be the last.

  "So, like what then?" he asked.

  I took another drag from my cigarette and flicked my ashes on the floor next to him. Yes, it was a nasty habit and yes, it more than pissed people off when I flicked my ashes wherever I pleased. Which is why I kept doing it; to light people's fires. It was something I'd always gotten a sick bit of pleasure out of. I had stopped considering what other people thought of me long ago.

  "How about you come with us and find out?" I was immediately worried I'd jumped the gun by diving into the invitation so quickly.

  A look of doubt crossed his face momentarily and then morphed into intrigue. He peered around the bar quickly as if he were scanning for something, or someone, in particular. Apparently he didn't find them because he shrugged and returned his attention to me once more.