Alexander Buckley’s private research library contains definitions, observations, and questions that reveal the hidden structure of the supernatural world.

Download the research notes to read more from Alexander’s archive.

The Abandoned House has never been empty.

When Celine and Celeste finally confront one another, the structure bears the weight of their fury—magic colliding, truths unraveling, and loyalties exposed. What begins as an argument quickly becomes something far more dangerous.

Read the excerpt from Stolen Portrait Stolen Soul to witness the moment everything fractures.

“Celine…” Alexander began. 

She silenced him, holding one finger in the air, cocking her head to listen. 

“Too late,” she whispered as Celeste approached the house. 

Her sister entered the doorway as Celine tossed a fireball her way. Alexander tipped her arm as she launched it, throwing her aim off, allowing Celeste to escape the attack. 

Celine growled in protest, launching another, this time hitting her mark. Celeste, however, was prepared, firing one back at her sister, knocking her back a step.

“I still have my powers, too, Celine, despite what you turned me into.”

Celine held her hand in front of her, initiating a continual attack. Her sister returned fire. The room lit up in a dazzling light show as the two women continued their respective assaults. 

“Ladies, please!” Alexander shouted. “This is getting us nowhere.”

“What did you expect her to do when you told her?” Celeste asked, breaking off her attack along with Celine.

Celine’s eyebrows raised and she snapped her gaze to Alexander. “When you told me? You knew?”

Celeste issued a harsh cackle. “Oh my, you didn’t tell her? Tsk, tsk, Alexander, you’ll now be on my sister’s naughty list, too.”

Celine tossed a quick fireball at Celeste, knocking her onto her backside. “Be quiet, Celeste, no one is speaking to you.” 

She turned her gaze back to Alexander. “How long have you known?”

“Yes, Celine, I was aware. I’ve known for a few days. I attempted to reason with Celeste first, hoping she would realize the error of her ways, and this could be avoided. When that didn’t work, I planned to tell you. We planned to tell you tomorrow morning,” Alexander explained.

“We?” Celine questioned.

“Oh, yes, your precious Damien knows, too,” Celeste said, standing and brushing herself off.

“I said shut up, Celeste,” Celine snapped, knocking her down again.

“You know, Celine,” she said, standing again, “that is really getting tiresome.”

“Damien spotted Celeste and Michael together,” Alexander explained. “He innocently assumed they were having an affair. He was devastated and very concerned about the effect it would have on you, Celine. He came to me. I realized the true extent of what was happening and attempted to curb it before it continued. We had no luck. Don’t be angry with him, Celine. He didn’t want to hurt you.”

“How touching,” Celeste said. “He’s nearly as saintly as you are, Celine.”

Celine let out a cry as she lunged through the air at Celeste. She pounced on her like a cat on a mouse, pinning her down. 

“Get off of me!” Celeste shouted, trying to free herself but failing. The foundations of the house rumbled as Celine’s anger penetrated every surface of the structure.

“You were asked to stop and refused?” she shrieked. “You realized I’d find out! You didn’t care! This wasn’t an accident, you continued it even after you were warned to stop!”

“Celine, please!” Alexander put a hand on her arm, trying to pull her away. 

Celine squealed, shaking his arm off and blowing him against the far wall while maintaining her grip on Celeste. 

“Remember, sister dear, you made me what I am,” Celeste said through clenched teeth, doing her best to hold her own against Celine.

The cave was never empty—only waiting.

When Celine’s light cuts through the darkness, it reveals something that doesn’t belong there. Massive. Wounded. Impossible. Even the old illustrations never prepared them for this.

Read the excerpt from Darkness Rising to witness the discovery of the dracopire.

On the ground in front of Damien lay a massive, scaled creature the likes of which he’d never seen before.  Not even in the illustrations.  

“Stay back, don’t touch it,” she warned.

Celine’s light revealed pieces of the hulking beast, curled into a fetal position on its side.  The light whipped away as Celine pressed her cell phone to her ear.  

Light filtered in from the cave’s mouth, highlighting features of the mammoth being.  Damien leaned closer, studying the thing with wide eyes.

Thick dark red scales covered it from head to toe.  Two large wings were folded against its back.  A long, thick tail ending in a barbed tip extended from underneath the wings.  It measured at least five feet behind the creature with a base as round as a small tree trunk.  

Two bulky legs jointed like dog legs extended from its core.  They ended in three-toed webbed feet with long claws poking from the end of each of toe.  

Damien stepped toward the head of the beast, noting its human-like face.  A large green tongue lolled from the side of its partially open mouth.  Two pointy fangs extended from the top jaw.  Thick, gooey green globs oozed from a large gash under its chin.  

Large scaled, hooded eyelids covered partially closed yellow eyes.  Two pointy horns poked from the top of its scaled, hairless head.       

Celine spoke in the background.  “It’s me.  Can you come down to Widow’s Cove?  There’s something I think you’ll want to see.”

She pulled the phone from her ear and tapped at it before directing her flashlight toward the creature.

“What the hell is this thing?” Damien questioned, glancing up at her as he squatted next to the beast’s head.

“It’s a Dracopire,” Celine answered.  Her face pinched.  “But what’s it doing here?”

Marcus Northcott has lived long enough to be many things—monster, savior, ruler, and threat.

A centuries-old immortal, his full abilities remain deliberately obscured. He once tried to bind Celine Devereaux to his cause, offering his blood to save her life. She refused—and changed the course of his plans

Marcus is not a hero. But he is not without rules. And when he chooses to help, it is never without consequence.

The Main House has always been the heart of Buckley Estate—and the place where its inhabitants leave their mark.

These character cards introduce the central figures whose choices, loyalties, and secrets shape everything that follows.

Download the character cards to explore the cast of Shadow Slayers.

Dominique Laurent does not view Buckley Estate as fixed—or finished. From her distant chateau, she observes, evaluates, and waits for the right moment to intervene.

Watch the video to hear Dominique speak in her own words.

The Ruined Chapel stands apart from the rest of Buckley Estate—a place where belief once mattered, and where meaning was never as simple as good or evil.

In this space, the story steps back from the conflict to reveal its origin. In a rare behind-the-scenes moment, the creator of Shadow Slayers shares how the series began, why it took the shape it did, and what themes lie beneath the magic

Watch the video to hear the origin of Shadow Slayers.

The clearing is where restraint ends.

When the Dracopire threatens those under her protection, Celine stops holding back. What follows is not strategy or spellwork—it is survival, fury, and a line drawn in blood.

Read the excerpt  from Darkness Rising to witness the moment Celine makes her stand.

“You can’t have him,” Celine said.

“We’ll see,” he taunted.

Celine wrinkled her nose as she sneered at him.  She propelled herself through the air toward him, barreling into his chest.  Her force knocked him back a few steps.  He flailed his wings to keep himself upright as she latched on to him, striking with the poker again.  

He grabbed the poker, stopping her from swinging.  They struggled over it for a few moments before he wrenched it from her grasp and tossed it aside.  It landed with a bounce near the base of a tree.  

He grabbed her neck in his thick paw, lifting her from the ground.  She kicked her feet wildly as she clutched at the scaly appendage.  She gasped for air as he crushed her windpipe.  After a second, she gave up trying to pry his paw away from her neck and instead flung an electricity-laden fireball into his face.  

The fireball penetrated the more sensitive and less leathery skin of the beast’s face.  He roared with pain, dropping Celine to the ground.  She coughed and choked as she rose to her hands and knees.  Seconds later, she sailed through the air as the Dracopire kicked her in the gut.  

She banged into another tree.  It took a second to recover, but she arched her back and leapt to her feet.  Pine needles and branches stuck in her hair as she rose.  

The Dracopire stalked toward Michael and Damien.  Michael desperately tried to tug Damien back, but he was no match for the Dracopire’s speed.

Celine raced toward the creature.  She flung herself upward and wrapped her arms around its neck.  He thrashed in an attempt to throw her, but she held tight to him.  His wings beat against her as he sought to rid himself of her small body.  

As a wing struck her side she grabbed it, leaping from his back and to the ground.  With the wing clutched in her hands, she yanked it downward.  

He roared in pain as she dug her fingers into the wing’s sensitive skin.  He whipped the wing away from her.  His tail crashed down toward her, and she dove away as it banged against the ground.  

She rolled toward the discarded poker.  Her fingertips grazed the item before she was whipped backward.  The Dracopire lifted her by her ankles and flung her across the trail.  She tumbled through the air until she struck a pine tree.  

As she recovered, he closed the gap between them, yanking her upward in his massive paw.  With a throaty growl, he bit into her arm.  

She shrieked as his teeth plunged into her skin.  Warm blood ran down her arm, dripping to the ground below.  He tossed her to the side, and she crumpled against the trunk of a tree.  

Celine squeezed her eyes closed as pain throbbed through her arm.  Her sight blurred for a moment as she craned her neck toward Damien and Michael.  Her vision swam but she spotted the creature stalking toward Damien.

Celine dragged herself to her feet and stumbled toward the poker.  With ragged breath, she wrapped her fingers around it and clenched her jaw.  She craned her neck to stare at the creature.  

With a deep inhale, she stormed toward him, breaking into a run as her bite wounds closed.  She screamed as she sprinted toward him.  He reached Michael and Damien, his arms reaching toward Damien’s legs.  

Celine raised the poker over her head and plunged it through the creature’s back.  Shock shone on Michael’s and Damien’s face as the poker passed through his thick body and jutted from his chest.  A splattering of green blood shot toward them, burning any skin it touched.

The Dracopire howled and stumbled forward.  Celine yanked the poker from his back as he collapsed to his knees.  She circled around him, her face a mask of disdain.  “I told you you couldn’t have him,” she hissed before she drove the poker into his heart.

Some stories unfold in a straight line. Others branch.

The Shadow Slayers series follows a specific progression—one that reveals information, power, and consequences in deliberate order.

View the recommended reading order to follow the story as it was intended.

Tucked beneath Alexander Buckley’s research is a reference he never cataloged.

Some knowledge is too volatile to archive—so it was hidden instead

Unlock a free Shadow Slayers novel by signing up to access what was left behind.

The tide doesn’t only carry debris—it brings offerings.

This was found drifting just offshore, marked with a symbol you recognize.

Use code SHADOWS20 to receive 20% off any Shadow Slayers item in the shop.

Shop here! https://shop.nelliehsteele.com/collections/shadow-slayers-stories

Marcus Northcott pays attention to patterns most people overlook.

Names, places, and creatures repeat themselves for a reason

Explore the word search to uncover what keeps resurfacing in Shadow Slayers.