Black Rayne Silent Screams Read online

  strained as he struggled to breathe.

  “Hold your tongue, traitor,” the shadow scolded. “You are hardly in a

  position to be facetious.” Doshar emerged from the darkness, his finger leveled at

  him. The pale light emanating from the tree highlighted his pallid features.

  “No Doshar, it is I who should be calling you the traitor.”

  A malevolent glow shone from Doshar"s eyes. “I am no traitor! I"ve stayed

  true to my blood!” he boasted, slapping himself on the chest.

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  “Ah, true to the blood you say? Would that be the blood you were brought

  into existence with or the blood our gracious dark lord has bestowed upon you?”

  Doshar"s hand sought his throat cruelly. “Enough of this pointless talk!

  Which realm did you send her to?”

  “Sent who?” A weak smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

  His brother"s hand tightened around his neck, pinching off his air flow.

  “Why do you continue to go against your own kind, for the likes of her? ” Doshar

  sneered.

  “Because she will lead me to salvation and save my dark soul,” he gasped

  barely above a whisper as tears of anguish blurred his vision.

  A sinister chuckle erupted from Doshar"s gut. “Save your dark soul, you say?”

  He laughed harder, stopped and growled, shoving his face close to his. “Well

  unfortunately for you, little brother, your savior has met her demise.”

  “Is that so,” Nikena"s voice sung from the darkness.

  The shriek that retched from the large serpent made Mayiki"s ears bleed. Its

  large body uncoiled and slithered to the ground. Heaving and gasping for air, he

  fell over the snake"s limp body.

  Nikena melted through the tree, the huge severed snake head in one hand

  and her blood soaked axe in the other, evidence of her victorious battle. The black

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  vital substance was spattered along her sheer silver gown and wings, but failed to

  tarnish her radiance.

  “Are you well, Mayiki?” she asked, her back to him.

  Nodding as if she could see him, he pushed up from the ground and stood,

  taking in several deep breaths. “Yes, my lady,” he choked out on a cough.

  Doshar grunted disapprovingly. “You address her as such, when she is

  nothing but a demon"s whore?”

  Instant fury carried Mayiki"s feet in a flash step toward his brother, but

  before he could strike, Nikena raised her axe against his chest. He shifted from one

  foot to the other, glaring at Doshar, reluctantly granting Nikena"s request to stay

  put. His chest rose and fell with every angry breath he took. He balled his hands

  into tight fists until his nails bit into his palms. It was all he could do to prevent

  himself from sending a magical strike over her shoulder to sever Doshar"s insulting

  tongue.

  “Calm yourself, my friend. His insults mean nothing to me,” she mused, glancing at

  him over her shoulder. She tossed the snake"s head to the ground and approached

  Doshar.

  Panic dissolved Doshar"s smug grin as he backed away. “Those incompetent

  demons! I sent hundreds after you! Why are you standing here before me, alive and

  unharmed?”

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  “Because the light always prevails,” she whispered, suddenly behind him.

  Doshar spun around. The flash of her blade sliced through his gut.

  Screaming, he tumbled to the ground.

  Nikena stood over him. “Doshar, son of Rydus and servant of Lucifer, I

  bestow upon you a chance to set right your wrongs, a chance to see the light and

  walk into it, therefore erasing the darkness that binds you.” She offered her hand

  to him. Her wings fluttered and gleamed with the power to purify his soul. “The

  pain, the evil deeds―it can all be erased. Just take my hand.”

  For a moment Mayiki thought Doshar would receive her generous offer, as

  he himself had done so long ago, but there was resistance in his brother"s black

  eyes. He felt Doshar"s struggle against her proposal, his refusal to be taken by the

  light.

  The stubborn fool squeezed his eyes shut and frantically shook his head.

  “No! I will not allow you to suck me into the light like you did my brother!”

  “Very well then,” she murmured dispassionately, stepping back from him.

  “Since this will not do…” She leveled her axe at him. “On your feet. Draw your

  blade.”

  Mayiki heaved a heavy sigh. The fool should"ve taken her offer.

  Grimacing, Doshar gripped the handle of his sword and leered his way.

  There was a frantic tap on his psyche, indicating Doshar"s request for mental

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  communication, but Mayiki would not comply. Doshar"s decision to remain on the

  dark side had sealed his fate.

  Sluggishly, Doshar rose to his feet, clutching his bleeding stomach. “You

  think you can best me, you winged whore?” He raised his hand, conjured a ball of

  flames, threw it at her, and fled toward the portal as fast as he could.

  With the casual flip of her hand, she deflected the fireball and hurled it back

  at him. Inches from the portal, Doshar was smashed in the back with his own fire

  spell and pushed through the entryway. His enraged scream erupted from the

  abyss then faded.

  Mayiki moved to Nikena"s side and watched the flames vanish. “This portal

  has access to many realms, my lady. It will take him a while to find the one she"s in,”

  he answered without waiting for her to ask.

  “He will find her, at the mortal age of twenty, when she reaches her peak and

  the heavenly scent flows from her body. It will not matter what realm she"s in, he

  will sense her.” The silver melted from her eyes and was replaced with gold.

  Sadness veiled her lovely face. “Her essence will draw him from the pits of hell.”

  “I will find her first and cast a gychi spell. I cannot detach her scent, but I can

  make it very difficult for him to locate her.”

  Sighing, she looked up into the night sky and frowned. “I must go into exile,

  Mayiki.”

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  “Yes, my lady, I know.”

  “I trust you"ll do what you can to protect my daughter until I can go to her.”

  “I will give my very life to protect her.”

  A warm smile graced her face. She turned and locked her golden gaze with

  his admiring dark stare. “I"m so glad I was able to bring you to the light, my dear

  friend.”

  She grazed her fingers across his forehead, blessing him with a touch of the

  sweet divine. It traveled through his limbs and brought tears to his eyes.

  “Me too,” he strained out on a whisper, touching the warm spot where her

  fingers had kissed him.

  Nikena turned her attention back to the sky and displayed her wings. “He

  must not find her before her chosen consort does.” Her aura gleamed powerfully.

  “There will be many nights of a scarlet moon in the earthly realm.”

  Mayiki tried to shake the question burning his brain, but couldn"t. “Please

  forgive me if this offends, but…” He paused to choose his words carefully. “Why

  didn"t you destroy Doshar when you had the chance? Why are you allowing him to

  go after her?”

  She glinted at him then turned to walk away. He cursed himself for asking

  her such a foo
lish question. “My lady, please forgive―”

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  “Because my daughter will be the one to claim his head,” she replied over her

  shoulder. “And she will succeed.” Her form became a sphere of white light before

  she shot to the skies and vanished.

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  Chapter One

  Take a Bow

  Miami, Florida

  Earthly Realm; 20 years later

  “Thank you, Miami!”

  Sharayna Rayne Piers bowed to the sea of cheering fans. Heat from the

  crowd"s excitement radiated over her like a soothing shower of rain. She kissed her

  fingers and spread her arms wide, sending love and gratitude to her admirers as

  they chanted her name.

  Smiling appreciatively, she bowed once more. “I love you, Miami! Good

  night!”

  The hydraulic platform she stood on lowered into the stage. She waved her

  hands rhythmically with the exit music until she dropped out of the audience"s

  sight.

  His arms folded across his massive chest, Sota waited for her. “Another great

  show, baby girl,” he extolled, taking her hand.

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  With sweat dripping down her back, she hopped off the platform and shook

  her tousled hair from her shoulders. “Wheew, and one more to go. Hometown, big

  papi, you ready for it?”

  “Are you?”

  He wasted no time leading her through the path beneath the stage. She

  slapped high fives and gave fist pounds to her backup dancers as they moved along

  the corridor.

  He ushered her to the exit where Troy, her lead male dancer tossed her a

  towel and mouthed, “In your dressing room.”

  Winking, she mouthed back, “We"ll see.”

  The stadium"s security detail surrounded her once Sota pushed the doors

  open. They tunneled through the crowd of anxious fans, reporters, and

  photographers. Rushing along, she waved and smiled, holding her persona for the

  cameras.

  “Rayne, I love you!” someone shouted.

  “I love you too!” Rayne shouted back, trying to keep her feet beneath her.

  They made it to a set of double doors, which Sota plowed through with her

  wrapped in his massive embrace. The security guards closed the doors promptly

  after they cleared it. Heavy breathing from the uniformed men echoed through the

  quiet hallway that led to her dressing room.

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  “Wow, that was a rush,” she jested, smiling up at Sota.

  “I"m so sorry, Miss Piers,” one of the security men breathed out, his face

  flushed in embarrassment. “That part of the hall is usually blocked off from the

  public. Someone must"ve let them in.”

  She dismissed his apology with a casual flip of her hand. “Aw, don"t worry

  „bout it, man. Me and Sota do this all the time. Ain"t that right, big daddy?”

  Giggling, she patted Sota"s huge chest.

  He held an austere expression, cupped her elbow and led her to the dressing

  room. “Thank you gentlemen,” he called down the hall before whipping the door

  open. “Wait here a minute.”

  Leaning against the doorframe, Rayne folded her arms under her breasts and

  watched him search the room, like someone could actually hide in the wide open

  space. He stuck his hands in the center of her wardrobe and spread them to the

  sides. The hangers screeched across the chrome rod, making her wince.

  “Seriously though? Who"s gonna hide in there, Sota?”

  He sliced her a sidelong glare over his shoulder. “You just be quiet.”

  After thoroughly checking the room, he all but yanked her in. “You"ve got

  ten minutes before the winners of that radio contest come in for autographs.” His

  deep voice was urgent and demanding. “So hurry up and change.”

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  “Yes, drill sergeant!” she shouted, doing her best Forrest Gump

  impersonation. When she got nothing but a bleak expression, she frowned.

  “Listen, I"ve been holding this happy joy front for months now, like my life is

  fabulous when you and I both know it"s not. The least you could do is play along.”

  His brows bunched and his lips tightened. He quickly pushed the door

  closed. “I"m sorry. I"m not trying to…how are you feeling Rayne?”

  Avoiding his hardened stare, she trudged over to her duffle bag. “Like the

  world is spinning in the wrong direction,” she grumbled. She fished out the small

  orange bottle and popped a pill in her mouth. “It"s getting worse, Sota.” She took a

  swig of water and sighed. “You said not to worry, but I dunno, brah…It happened

  again, on stage this time. I mean, damn man, my stage time is my therapy, and now

  that"s taken away from me. I think I"m sick, for real.”

  “No, you"re not sick—”

  “Then what"s wrong with me?” she whined.

  “Not a damn thing.” He rubbed her back then reached around her to switch

  on the small stereo on the vanity.

  “You"re all calm, acting like I"m going through some regular episode. There

  ain"t nothing normal about this shit, and you know it.”

  Nina Simone cooed from the speakers. Feeling Good. Rayne briefly closed her

  eyes and tried to get into the feeling that Nina sung so soulfully about.

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  “Try not to think about it. Let"s just get through the night. You"ll feel better

  when you talk to Narri tomorrow, okay. Want me to call off the get together with

  your fans?”

  “Naw, uh-uh, don"t do that.” She plopped down in the chair and lowered her

  head to the vanity. “Give me about twenty minutes to put on my Rayne"s life is

  wonderful and I"m not losing my damn mind face, a"ight.”

  “Ya know, you don"t have to do—”

  “Twenty minutes until this valium kicks in,” she drawled. “And I"ll be all

  smiles for my peeps, okay.”

  When she heard him huff then exit the room, she groaned. “Try not to think

  about it? Seriously?” If he only knew how close she was to slitting her damn

  wrists…

  Raking her fingers through her hair, she pushed up from the chair. She

  rested her hands on either side of the dresser top, stared into the mirror and

  wondered who the girl was staring back at her.

  Silver eye shadow accented her deep chocolate brown eyes. Glittery powder

  glistened against her rich mahogany skin. Her tousled mane fell over her shoulders,

  and brushed over the peaks of her breasts. A silver skirt hugged her hips, and

  flared out slightly a few inches past her behind.

  Way too short for her liking, but this was the image she projected.

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  A matching top, no more than a bra, fitted snug over her size C mounds. She

  straightened her back, tilted her head and brushed her fingers over her muscled

  abdomen then fingered the small, silver navel ring.

  This flashy appearance wasn"t her. It was a façade, put on to visually satisfy

  her fans— the image of Rayne.

  Behind the bold reflection in the mirror was a normal girl who"d grown up

  in Florida with a talent for singing and dancing, but now, that girl was anything

  but normal.

  About a couple of months ago on the day of her twentieth birthday, some

  real life-changing mysteries turned her world upside down. First it was the bright

  red highlights in her hair, w
hich pretty much appeared over night, and

  consequently became a fashion trend.

  Then days later the nightmares began; terrifying nightmares of young women

  brutally murdered by something or someone unseen. It wasn"t long before the

  horrid dreams turned into visions that haunted her without warning, during the

  day and just recently she suffered one while on stage.

  Thank God her backup singers were able to pick up where she fell out of

  sync.

  At first she thought the visions were caused by her overwhelming life. It

  was stress, her brain"s way of telling her she needed a break from her sudden

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  stardom. Then young women began to disappear in the real world, outside of the

  freak world in her mind.

  Coincidence?

  Even as their faces were flashed across the televisions, and their names

  blared out on the radio, she couldn"t be sure they were the same girls from her

  nightmares, but deep inside the possibility was frightening.

  “Ohhh Jesus, help me,” she sighed.

  Restraining her tears, she lowered to the seat and removed her make-up. It

  didn"t matter what Sota said, she knew deep in her heart she was a basket case.

  Problem was, her façade was breaking down and pretty soon everyone else would

  know too.

  Huffing, she pushed up out of the chair, spun around and propped her foot

  in the seat. As she unstrapped the three inch silver pump, the door creaked open.

  “Don"t move.” She turned toward the husky voice to see Troy sliding into the

  room. He bit down on his lower lip and closed the door behind him. “Stay just like

  that.”

  She noted her position—her foot in the chair with her leg bent. She knew

  exactly where he was headed.

  30

  She chuckled lazily. “Hey there, sexy boy, change of plans. A few fans won a

  radio contest and are gonna come by to chill with me for a hot minute. I"ll catch up

  with you later, at the after party.”

  Like she hadn"t said a word, he swaggered across the room, cradled her face

  and hungrily took her mouth. Playfully, she pushed back from him and scuttled

  out of his reach.

  “Am I talking to myself?” she chortled. She kicked off her loosened shoe and