tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40876411839799886152024-03-10T15:13:16.673-04:00Welcome!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-10841037061985131102019-11-26T12:13:00.002-05:002019-11-26T12:13:33.968-05:00Contemporary Christian Music Playlist. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nzytK-q6zNSaSD2Zhkg6KIGUUhPCW3I3nkBPsTLofxRp2pJSj95ubqyXkA-QtGYSEeIyAK7Cwhfhpwc1LCDdT2NJE9DQT9889I0pyWlemBjc8bZTYwZnhEci-Z3ZwKhXNPbMCWJdaZxV/s1600/heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="459" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nzytK-q6zNSaSD2Zhkg6KIGUUhPCW3I3nkBPsTLofxRp2pJSj95ubqyXkA-QtGYSEeIyAK7Cwhfhpwc1LCDdT2NJE9DQT9889I0pyWlemBjc8bZTYwZnhEci-Z3ZwKhXNPbMCWJdaZxV/s200/heart.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Hey, if anyone is into christian music, this chick has over 1,000 cool songs. Love her contemporary christian music playlist. <br />
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Check out her huge list here:<span style="font-size: large;"> /<a href="https://ilovechristianthings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">https://ilovechristianthings.blogspot.com/</a></span><br />
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She says:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wanted to quit listening to regular music. But I thought there wasn't much good contemporary christian music. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Boy, was I WRONG! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found powerful worship, alternative, indie, pop, faith-based, acoustic, (and I love those acoustic string squeaks) original, one-of-a-kind, fun, vibrant songs with a unique tone and sound. I found majestic songs with breathtaking vocals, pretty falsettos, gorgeous harmonies, some with beautiful violins, emotional vocals, a contemporary sound, complete with fluid melodic lines, and beloved stringed instruments. I also found stunning <span style="text-indent: 0in;">duets and impressive christian folk music, complete with pretty ballads, </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">songs full of sparkle and bounce, with moving acoustic </span></span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">balladry; rich, layered compositions that swept me away with melody, harmony, lyrics, praise, and devotion.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;">I love slow songs, but I love fast, upbeat ones too. And I love pop, but I love a little rock and folky songs too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;">I found some amazing under-the radar bands that I think you'll love as much as I do. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;">So </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;">here's all the very best christian music in one place. (at least to me. :) lol) And even if you don't like one song but love the artist's voice, check out his/her's album. You might enjoy another one of their songs. If you find a few precious gems you love, then my mission is done here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0in;">I love every single song on my list but here are some of my very favorite groups: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0in;">I have hundreds, but here is a quick list: Rend Collective, Ekklesia Music, Press Play, Brian Johnson, United Pursuit, Mass Anthem, Rivers & Robots, Seeker & Servant, Iron Bell Music, Carrollton, Leeland, Phil Wickham, City Harbor, Chris Taylor, Urban Rescue, David Leonard, Fresh Life Worship, Kari Jobe, Colton Dixon, Travis Ryan, Mosaic MSC, Jordan Feliz, Sanctus Real, Martin Smith, Robbie Seay Band, Mosaic MSC, Allie Paige, Jason Bare, Jason Lavik, Chris McClarney, Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Gungor, Sarah Reeves (christian pop) Dara Maclean (christian pop) Britt Nicole (christian pop) Roy Fields, Passion, Bethel, Hillsong, Red Rocks Worship, Alisa Turner, Travis Ryan, Elevation Worship</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I worked on this christian music playlist for a year and complied the perfect list for me. And I wanted to share it with Christians who are looking for a music play list or different songs. I wanted to help people who were searching for good christian music. I hope you enjoy this little library and find that one hidden gem that's not mainstream. I have a few of those along with the popular radio hits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "courier new";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love christian and biblical music and only picked songs that moved me in some way or had a special message or unique tone or beat. I was looking for something besides choir music. Sure, I love worship, and there are a lot of those type of songs on the list. (Like Hillsong) But I also went for different songs that were unique and played with beautiful instruments and angelic voices. It wasn't your same old, same old. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;">These songs are just beautiful and heart touching with beautiful lyrics and powerful messages. Some songs are slow while others are fast. It's a combination of everything. They really move me and I just want to sing them from a mountain top!</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> Because nothing is better than worshipping my Eternal King, my Lord Jesus Christ. </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-86668852351969307392018-11-14T08:22:00.000-05:002018-11-14T08:48:10.709-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Just wanted to thank everyone who made Rising Darkness #3 at iTunes this morning. </span><span class="_47e3 _5mfr" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 0; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle;" title="heart emoticon"><img alt="" class="img" height="16" role="presentation" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/ff3/1.5/16/2764.png?_nc_eui2=AeEzV-D8trJtIpctYzfsrfkkDfOiTV_sw8IuD1SOotb5Bt4pTA-aZv462ALZxNaqUhbJ06vUeC_m3IeHa5FygBgGTU7w2vMuz5xhAD0spmLYcw" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: -3px;" width="16" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> Thank you! (((hugs))) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I loved writing book 8. So now, it's time to start book 9! </span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-83709525998980053592018-11-12T16:56:00.000-05:002018-11-12T16:56:27.075-05:00Rising Darkness by Chrissy Peebles Releases November 14th!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 28.0pt;">Rising Darkness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The Vampire and Werewolf Chronicles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Book 8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;">Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Copyright 2018 Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></div>
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and
the publisher of this book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination
or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and
trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which
have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is
not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Chapter 1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I took all three of my dogs for a
quick walk outside before I left to get a bite to eat with Beth and Julie. We
hadn’t done lunch in a long time and we were eager to catch up. It was a last-minute
idea we came up with while chatting on the phone. The birds chirped and the sun
shone brightly. Suddenly, my dogs took off across the well-manicured lawn. I’d
give them a couple of minutes before reigning them back in. So I sat down on a
concrete bench and enjoyed the lush garden that burst with vibrant color all around
me. I loved the gorgeous fragrance, it was like I was running in a field of
flowers. The fountain and reflective pool Al had installed were so calming,
tranquil, and relaxing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My gaze drifted off in front of me.
I stared at my magnificent castle. I couldn’t believe how happy I was. While
fairytale castles are more often associated with medieval Europe, I had my very
own right here in the good old USA. I lived in a safe, impregnable fortress
that had stood longer than the United States had been established. I was truly
blessed. Slayer barked. I laughed as my dogs gleefully romped and rolled around
in the soft grass to their heart’s content. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve
never been so happy. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I sent a text to Logan, then looked
down at the time on my phone. I better get the dogs back in and check on Beth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When I stepped back inside, I
called up the stairs to Beth. “Are you ready yet?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Almost.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“C’mon, girl. It shouldn’t take
this long.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That long? You only told me we’re
heading to lunch what, twenty minutes ago?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A little spontaneity never hurt
anyone,” I hollered up at her with a shrug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t lecture me about being
come-what-may. You know the things I’ve seen! I’ll be down in a minute.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Okay.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hey, did you let your hubby know
you’re going to lunch?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“He’s helping Mr. Peterson put up
some drywall in his shop in town. The poor guy is seventy years old and doesn’t
have anyone to give him a hand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Aw. That fella of yours is a
saint,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A grin spread across my face. “And
that’s why I love him.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A flash of yellow light brightened
the room as our friend teleported in. “Hello, ladies!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My little dog, Slayer, barked as his
nails clicked across the marble floor. My hellhounds just wagged their tails.
They all greeted Julie with a warm welcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I rushed over and gave her a hug.
“Julie! It’s so great to see you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s wonderful to see you too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hmm,” I said, staring curiously at
her camouflage attire. “Is this some sort of new trend I didn’t know about?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh. About that…” she said, looking
down at herself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before she could finish her
explanation of the military garb, Beth walked in wearing a cute dress with
ruffles, looking like she’d just stepped off an episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Overgrown Toddlers and Tiaras.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Uh, I’m sorry, but that frilly frou-frou
is just not gonna work,” Julie said, shaking her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beth frowned. “Why not, Miss G.I.
Jane?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My brow raised. “What, exactly, do
you have planned? I was told we were just going to grab a quick bite somewhere
in town.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She handed us some power bars. “There’s
been a change of plans. So here’s a snack.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But I wanted real food.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beth smirked. “What was that you just
told me? A little spontaneity never hurt anyone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hush, you,” I scolded, pretending
to be irritated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No worries, girls. Munch on these
snacks. We can get a bite afterward.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“After what?” Beth said with a
nervous laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh, nothing much, just a little
raid,” Julie said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This time Beth sighed. “Look, my
stomach’s growling, and I’m dressed to kill in this cute little number I found
at that boutique. I’m not doing any raids unless it’s a boxer shorts raid at
the local frat house.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Julie laughed. “It’s not exactly
fitting for taking down a house deep in the woods and arresting all the
occupants.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Arresting them? What for?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They’re vamps who’ve been feasting
on humans, breaking immortal law. The Council thought it might be good for both
of you to accompany us, for a little training and experience.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m intrigued,” she said. “Let me
just change really quick.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Change quickly? That’ll be the
day,” I whispered to Julie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hey! I heard that,” Beth said
before she ran up the stairs. “I may not be immortal, but my ears still work,
you know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I laughed and clapped Julie on the
shoulder. “I’ll be right back,” I said. I then hurried upstairs to my room,
threw my hair into a high ponytail, and changed out of my little skort and tank
and into my trusty camouflage skinny jeans and boots. When I ran into Beth in
the hallway, she was wearing an army-green jacket, black skinny jeans, boots,
and a hat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Much better, you two. Now you
really are dressed to kill!” Julie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We said goodbye to our furry
friends, then we were transported to California, where we were briefed about
the upcoming mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lunch
was definitely postponed. The next thing I knew, I was lying on my belly in the
bushes, peering through the riflescope and watching for any signs of movement
in the house in front of us. I felt like some sort of military sniper. I’d even
been fitted with a bulletproof vest, and I had a tactical earpiece headset to
allow me to eavesdrop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Got
satellite on the house?” a voice asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yep.
Our drone’s up and running, and there are definitely signs of life in there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You
sure about that?” the voice said. “I mean, technically speaking, vamps are—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yeah,
yeah. You know what I mean.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Anyway,
how many?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Four
total, one on the south side, two on the east, and another on the west…er. Hold
up. They’re moving. Looks like they’re movin’ the party to the living room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">living</i> room? Nice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Very
funny…but there’s nothin’ nice about it. We’ve been made!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“All
right. Proceed as planned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
peeked through the bushes and watched a smoke grenade sail through the air,
right into the open window of the family room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Go
time, girlies,” Julie said, then tapped Beth and me and motioned for us to
follow her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
weapons drawn, we crept behind her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Julie
pointed at the door. “Sophie, why don’t you do the honors?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
nodded and grinned, then gave it a swift kick, splintering it down the center.
Sometimes, I didn’t know my own strength. But I was super strong, maybe even
stronger than one of these immortals here with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Once
again, Julie took the lead and leapt in, sweeping her gun back and forth in the
smoky house. With my heart racing, I followed, with Beth right behind me.
Windows crashed, and more immortals from our team flew in, bursting through the
smog and commotion. Shards of glass peppered the floors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Watch
out!” Julie yelled, giving me a shove to save me from doom as glass flew past
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
a shuddering breath, I stumbled against the wall. “Thanks. That was a close
one,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">More
gunfire filled the air, coming from friends and enemies alike. Chunks of
plaster separated from the wall, and screams echoed around me. I blinked and coughed,
trying not to inhale too much of the sulfuric stench. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
I was trying to breathe and ignore the burning sensation in my eyes in the
aftermath of another explosion of bullets next to me, a vampire pounced. The
undead thing growled like some rabid beast as it savagely bit the neck of a
nearby police officer. Beth’s ammo hit it more than once, but it was too strong
and powerful to be taken down so easily, and it quickly turned its attention to
her. Fearing the worst, I ran over to help, but by the time I got there, Beth
had everything under control and emptied her clip into the vampire. It fell
down, twitching, then closed its eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
burst of machine gunfire was next on the menu. Fortunately for everyone on my
side, I could give Superman a run for his money when it came to being faster
than a speeding bullet. I simply held up my hands, and the shells stopped in
midair, then clattered to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
I was disarming the spray of gunfire, strong arms wrapped around me and lifted
me high in the air. Before I could even turn to see who it was, I was flying
over the table and crashing into a mirror. Stunned, and with pain filling my
body, I jumped to my feet. My head spun, and I couldn’t seem to force my eyes
to focus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
thudding of heavy boots and the crunch of glass underfoot alerted me that
someone or something else was coming my way. I squinted through the swirling
smoke and made out a man with long, red hair and razor-sharp teeth. With a look
of disgust on his face, he raised his automatic rifle at me and fired. As a
shiver ran up my spine, I threw up a wall of energy to defend myself. I was
highly relieved when the bullet bounced back and embedded itself deep in the
wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Furious,
the redheaded vampire picked up the table, as if it weighed nothing at all, and
violently swung it around in the air. His wicked gaze never left me, not even
when he sidestepped to avoid the blazing energy ball I hurled his way. The wall
exploded behind him when the fireball hit, but I concentrated on conjuring up
another one. I took better aim with the second onslaught, and that time, I
didn’t miss; with all the accuracy of an NFL quarterback, I knocked that
creature right on his end zone, slamming him into the china cabinet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Drop
your weapon!” Julie shouted at him. “Now!” Then, as soon as he complied, she threw
the vampire up against the wall and cuffed him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was on my way over to help her with the brute when a woman came out of nowhere
and clamped her hand around my throat. Her black nails were so long that I felt
them graze my earlobes, and she came at me with such momentum that it sent us
both rolling, till we collided with the dining room table. I lifted my arm and
threw a fireball at her, and she let out the scream of a banshee in labor as
she flew back and connected with the wall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">End of sample. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rising Darkness releases November 14th, 2018. </span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-73845562266445226332018-09-13T13:13:00.001-04:002018-09-13T18:50:44.084-04:00Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies! OH MY! <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies! OH MY! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">These are my four most popular series. If you love paranormal romance or zombies, then be sure to check out one of these great series below! </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Did I mention that the first book in each series is FREE!?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Check out The Crush Saga Book Trailer below: </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">***</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxYEjzOOV4NHU6JEouHVq6-W56VhTedVGXVx0UrfQ5_dC4fAxjFmcv4Vv_gf3i6vT-oISSMrQfSP-72lxlt3bss9Mfo_ctXloy48rRgU8yNC57KV3JUR6VxZSMeeAnqh5t8cghKyJXDDW/s1600/Conspire+The+Crush+Saga+Advert+Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxYEjzOOV4NHU6JEouHVq6-W56VhTedVGXVx0UrfQ5_dC4fAxjFmcv4Vv_gf3i6vT-oISSMrQfSP-72lxlt3bss9Mfo_ctXloy48rRgU8yNC57KV3JUR6VxZSMeeAnqh5t8cghKyJXDDW/s320/Conspire+The+Crush+Saga+Advert+Banner.png" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Crush Saga</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crush-Saga-9-Book/dp/B01BP0TMKC" style="font-size: 12.8px;">https://www.amazon.com/Crush-Saga-9-Book/dp/B01BP0TMKC</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">A fantasy romance with paranormal elements. </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Enchanting romance. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">FREE Paranormal Romance Series Starter!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Jump into this adrenaline-packed, supernatural thriller from USA TODAY bestselling author Chrissy Peebles.</span><br />
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The Crush Saga (a 9
book series) <o:p></o:p></div>
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Synopsis of the series:<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was born to die... But to defy fate is to control your own
destiny. Little did I know that I was entering a world of ritual and magic and
that my blood needed to be spilled so the witches’ legacy could be complete. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Vampires. Witches. Werewolves. Supernatural Creatures.
Dramatic Revelations. A Ritual Sacrifice. Ancient Artifacts. A Cold-hearted
Serial Killer. Spilled Blood. Secrets. A Hidden Heritage. A Love So Deep.
Supernatural Bloodlust. A Dangerous Curse. An Uneasy Alliance With A Dangerous
Vampire.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Legends of vampires and shape-shifters have been around for
centuries, so Taylor Sparks isn’t too worried when the rumors start to fly.
When Taylor learns secrets that are beyond terrifying, they threaten to destroy
her entire world. She is born to die... But to defy fate is to control your own
destiny. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She warns her crush to leave. But how do you forget someone
who is aligned with your soul? They fight against the witches, the vampires,
and the werewolves. They know the consequences. They know the risk. But they
don't care. Nothing will get in the way of these two star-crossed lovers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Taylor finds out she’s a KEY player in a dangerous game
created 1,000 years ago that will give the witches and werewolves the upper
hand against the vampires. Blood will be spilled and secrets will be revealed
in this action-packed thrill ride and paranormal romance. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Will Taylor dive into a paranormal world she knows nothing
about to be with the one her heart can’t live without? Or will her life spiral
out of control when she learns her blood is needed, just the serum necessary to
lift an ancient curse from a group of supernatural beings and give the witches
back their magic? Werewolves will serve as her guardians and protect her until
the first full moon of the new year, the night of her sacrifice… <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Will she accept her destiny?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Or will she refuse to let evil swallow her up? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Be resilient!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Never give up!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> “Be strong and
courageous!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Be a champion!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Be you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Stand tough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Life is a struggle…but keep fighting!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When life and death were on the line, Taylor Sparks didn’t
become a victim, she became a WARRIOR.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I was born to die... But to defy fate is to control your own
destiny. Little did I know that I was entering a world of ritual and magic and
that my blood needed to be spilled so the witches’ legacy could be complete.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />***</span></td></tr>
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The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Werewolf-Chronicles-Book/dp/B07G3BKFYT">https://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Werewolf-Chronicles-Book/dp/B07G3BKFYT</a></div>
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A werewolf bent on revenge joins forces with a woman who is a secret weapon to destroying his enemy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQS8hFeoGuJ5LHO6974IdiqrbmAG8ZIXG7KMAztc_WqjvQ-NGjzA2jQiSE3jJ2Lm9rj0ByHUck0oTNZ5UJY7LAM2014wfOrBNaOULyotfDt2plOwEvpR0tTq3zyxBjr8VpFmPQ2LiPApZ/s1600/bannerRubysaga+with+Eternal+Conflict.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1100" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQS8hFeoGuJ5LHO6974IdiqrbmAG8ZIXG7KMAztc_WqjvQ-NGjzA2jQiSE3jJ2Lm9rj0ByHUck0oTNZ5UJY7LAM2014wfOrBNaOULyotfDt2plOwEvpR0tTq3zyxBjr8VpFmPQ2LiPApZ/s400/bannerRubysaga+with+Eternal+Conflict.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Ruby Ring Saga: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Ring-Saga-Book/dp/B00ZRJFHWA">https://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Ring-Saga-Book/dp/B00ZRJFHWA</a></div>
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Book trailer - <a href="http://youtu.be/JJzoHW0xVMI" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/JJzoHW0xVMI <o:p></o:p></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Never pretend to be a princess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Never marry a stranger...even if he is a drop dead gorgeous
immortal king.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>And most importantly...never slip on an ancient wedding ring
you know nothing about.</span></div>
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Sarah Larker returns to a cave where her sister disappeared
ten years earlier. She walks through a portal, and is mistaken for a runaway
princess by a dangerous immortal king in medieval times. Her plan is bold as
well as daring; become this princess, wed the king, and slip on an ancient
wedding ring that will unlock the portal back home. Then find her sister, and
run as fast as she can out of Dodge. But taking on the identity of Princess
Gloria comes along with dangerous consequences; and slipping on the ruby ring
comes with an even higher price.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a paranormal romance, fantasy adventure, and time
travel novel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Zombie Chronicles: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Chronicles-9-Book/dp/B071YN9BVW">https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Chronicles-9-Book/dp/B071YN9BVW</a><br />
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Here is the book trailer: <a href="https://youtu.be/ociUHiL1g70">https://youtu.be/ociUHiL1g70</a></div>
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Jump into this action filled, adrenaline-packed, thrilling
series from USA TODAY bestselling author Chrissy Peebles.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The Zombie Chronicles is a young adult dystopian thriller
for fans of The Walking Dead and Hollowland (The Hollows, #1) by Amanda Hocking.
Readers who love horror, zombies, and action-based survival stories will love
this gripping YA adventure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Each chronicle will feature Dean's struggles as he tries to
survive in this new world. And thus the name, The Zombie Chronicles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Welcome to the Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series.</div>
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Book 1 – The Zombie Chronicles<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 2 – Race for the Cure<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 3 – Deadly City<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 4 – Poisonous Serum<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 5 – Undead Nightmare<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 6 – Revelation<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 7 – Trepidation <o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 8 – Impact <o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 9 – Siege<o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 10 – Val<o:p></o:p></div>
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Val was bitten by a zombie and now she’s scheduled for
lethal injection. Breaking all the rules, eighteen year old, Dean Walters snags
an experimental serum. But it can’t be tested until Val turns into a zombie:
something authorities won’t allow. Her execution is scheduled to happen before
transformation is complete, giving Dean only hours to break her out.</div>
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When their helicopter crashes straight into the heart of
Zombie Land, his rescue mission becomes a fight for survival…and giving up on
Val is NOT an option.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tag words: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Fans of Amanda Hocking, Richelle Mead, Stephenie Meyer, Bella Forrest, L.J. Smith will love this young adult paranormal romance series by Chrissy Peebles.</span></div>
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This is a free, paranormal, young adult, vampire romance. </div>
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Enchanting romance!</div>
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From bestselling author Chrissy Peebles comes a paranormal romance, dark fantasy, and urban fantasy perfect for fans of Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and A Shade of Vampire.</div>
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Keywords: urban fantasy, gothic, free, freebie, free ebook, free romance, free vampire, free romance ebook, free fantasy book, free dark fantasy, free lycan, free werewolf, free romance book, paranormal, vampire, quick read, short, serial, romance, free romance books, free romance book, romance, free, freebie, free book, free ebook, free romance ebook, free romance book, free romance novel, free book, free romance books, free fantasy, free paranormal, teen, young adult, vampire love story, vampires, young adult reads, contemporary crushes, werewolves, witches, dark fantasy, supernatural, The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles</div>
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Teen & Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Love, Action & Adventure, Magic, Fantasy<i style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;" /></i></div>
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coming of age, dark fantasy, fantasy new adult, superhero fantasy ebooks, witches, vampires and witches, superhero, paranormal fantasy, paranormal romance, New Adult & College Romance Paranormal, new adult, new adult and college, New Adult & College Romance, Chrissy Peebles, Crush, supernatural, romance, mystery, superpowers, paranormal, series, Young Adult, fantasy.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;"> </b>superhero, paranormal fantasy, paranormal romance, New Adult & College Romance Paranormal, new adult, new adult and college, New Adult & College Romance, w.j. may, supernatural, romance, mystery, superpowers, paranormal, series, Young Adult, fantasy, horror romance, horror, coming of age, free fantasy first in series</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-61368833951695574302018-06-25T14:09:00.002-04:002018-07-12T12:16:54.775-04:00Sneak Peek at Blessed Union - Book 7 - The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles<br />
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<span style="font-size: 28.0pt;">Wanna a sneak peek at book 7? Blessed Union releases August 1, 2018. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDx3-rOgrNnmglh-wEau_Lj_fqzYmOGplcA93xbq3-_FQT5mTDCj7OTJ2UhBDPVQjiCiDjDufYbiaavrQI9DrGd0B0CH73YxgJ6rcC5s8rM8xI4Tucrr8y0Yqo_J-LmuEvdmLcxDAwDAr/s1600/Vampire+and+Werewolf+Chronciles+book+7+Blessed+Union+E-Book+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDx3-rOgrNnmglh-wEau_Lj_fqzYmOGplcA93xbq3-_FQT5mTDCj7OTJ2UhBDPVQjiCiDjDufYbiaavrQI9DrGd0B0CH73YxgJ6rcC5s8rM8xI4Tucrr8y0Yqo_J-LmuEvdmLcxDAwDAr/s400/Vampire+and+Werewolf+Chronciles+book+7+Blessed+Union+E-Book+Cover.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 28.0pt;">Blessed Union<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The Vampire and Werewolf Chronicles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Book 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;">Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Copyright 2018 Chrissy Peebles<br />
<br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.4in;">All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.</span><br />
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.<br />
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Chapter 1<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The cardio alone from the constant
movement and all that boxing made for a mega-intense workout.</span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We jumped rope,
jogged, did knee lifts and butt kicks, then worked on magic and a little
fencing, followed by making like Jack Be Nimble and jumping over an obstacle
course of cones in the courtyard. We even ran laps through the rungs of a
ladder laid in the lush grass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Follow the sway of the bag like it’s
a moving opponent,” Dylan, my tiger shapeshifting instructor, said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I punched with all my might, then
kicked it just for good measure, but I couldn’t move without panting. “I’m
beat,” I confessed between heaving breaths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’re almost done for the day,”
Dylan said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sure thing, Boss,” I said, wiping
the sweat from my brow with my equally sweaty arm. “I bet by now, I could give
any Marine recruit or NFL draftee a run for his money.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Do I sense a little hostility from you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Gee, I don’t know. Correct me if
I’m wrong, but I don’t think you held back when we were sparring earlier.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Listen, I know I’ve pushed you
hard today, but—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That’s putting it lightly!” I
interrupted. “If you ask me, it seems a little…personal.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No, by no means. I cannot afford
to mess around and let emotions get in the way. I have to be hard on you if you
are going to have any chance to survive out there. That’s precisely why Tabby
hired me. Not to sound arrogant, but I know what I’m doing, and I’ll do what it
takes to make you the best there is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yeah, yeah,” I said with a roll of
my eyes and a dismissive wave of my hand. “You’ve trained kings and queens and
yada, yada, yada...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“There is no need for theatrics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I punched the bag harder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He stepped closer. “You did really
well with your magic today. You’re learning to control it, and I’m impressed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Well, it’s nice to know I can
electrocute humans without killing them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, that can be quite
beneficial.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I talked to Julie today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“And?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Look, I know the monks are in the
dark about these little training sessions of ours,” I said. “They want me to be
a bridezilla, not the ultimate Godzilla.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You must be properly trained to
take down the Falcar. They know you must be able to defend yourself, especially
when your </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.4in;">fiancé </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.4in;">is out…well, doing whatever wolves do.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m not sure I’m cut out for all
the roles I’m supposed to play,” I admitted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sophie, they chose <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Well, I never asked to be the
poster child for this cause, and I sure as hell know Logan doesn’t wanna be
either. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.4in;">As for what wolves do, he’s out on
a day mission right now, but knowing how things are going with the case he is
on, he’ll probably be gone for a week.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.4in;">“The marriage will generate peace
across the land and…”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“And what? You know as well as I do
that I’m not going to be some immortal high-society wife. I’m sorry, but I’m
not the Stepford wife type, and Logan is more stubborn than I am. They won’t be
able to clip his wings or mine. If they try, he’ll only be bitter, and then
I’ll have to deal with his pent-up werewolf rage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t you want to be with Logan?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, but I don’t want it to be
forced,” I said. “I wanted a normal proposal, one that comes from someone
seeing me as the love of his life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Regardless of the motives behind
his proposal now, everyone knows Logan is in love with you. He’s very
territorial. I’m surprised he’s not marking his territory all over the castle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Wow. Thanks for that visual,” I
said, shaking my head. “I’m just scared my heart will be broken.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Why? You don’t think even you can
tame him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I honestly don’t know. You know
what a wildcard he is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hmm. Maybe you should have stuck
with the good boy instead of going for the rebel with all the paws,” he said
with a smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Funny kitty,” I teased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sophie…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I stopped punching the bag and
looked at him. “Yes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Do you love Logan?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I pondered, then glanced up. “Yes,
with all my heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“So what’s the problem? If you both
love each other, you don’t have anything to worry about.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I just can’t figure out how and
when it happened. I knew better. Heck, I even tried to break it off with him
and see other people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But it never worked, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Right. I just couldn’t get him out
of my system, no matter how hard I tried.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I knew you were holding back when
we kissed. I never had a shot, because even then, you were wishing your lips
were on him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m sorry, Dylan. At that time, I
honestly thought I was free of him. I was trying to make a clean break.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Some bonds just can’t be broken,”
he said, with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “I saw the look in his eyes when
I was dancing with you at the ball. He felt genuine pain and heartbreak, no
matter how hard he tried to play it cool with Cindy. That wolf loves you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I nodded as he quietly left the
room, then wiped more sweat off my face and returned to hitting the bag. As
exhausted as I was, I still found it therapeutic in some way, a great way to
work out my frustration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Whoa, there,” Al said as he walked
in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ignoring him, I continued pummeling
the unfortunate mass in front of me, like some kind of modern-day, female Rocky
Balboa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You’re
worked up. I can sense it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I stopped only long enough to give
him a shrug. “We’re out of groceries again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Nonsense,” the elf said. “No one
gets that angry over empty egg cartons. Now what’s got you so riled up?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I stopped again, and sweat dripped
down my back. “Nothing. I choose to persevere, overcome, and survive. It’s what
I was born for, right? Sometimes that means blowing off a little steam, that’s
all. Besides, Dylan says I have to train hard every day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“C’mon, Winters. Give it to me
straight.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I sighed. “Fine. It’s Logan.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ah, the wolf. Of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Dylan says Logan loves me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Al paused and stared at me in
confusion. “I’m not sure why you’d be upset that the lad you’re engaged to is
in love with you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I know you haven’t been around
here that long, but the truth is, Logan is sort of a…uh…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A cad?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I had to snicker at that. “Yes, a
cad, or, as modern humans would put it, a player. I swear, he’s dated every
immortal woman there is, even the one I helped to rescue from that mental
institution.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Everyone has a past.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yeah, some more adventurous than
others.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Perhaps you should think of it a
different way. Perhaps Logan dated all those women because he was really
looking for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i>. He’s not playing the
field anymore. He’s with you and only you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, because it’s sort of a job
requirement. I mean, I know he loves me, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have asked me
to marry him, at least not for another five years. What if he resents me later,
because he’ll be stuck with me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t be ridiculous,” Al said,
shaking his head. “From the moment I got here, I could see in your eyes and his
how much you want to be together. No matter how you tried to deny it, I knew.
Why do you think I never courted you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I blinked at him, shocked. “Huh? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You</i> would’ve asked me out?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Maybe,” he answered, a bit shyly,
“but I would never get in the way of such a special and obvious bond. Besides,
we’re great friends and roommates. I’d never risk messing that up with any
romantic entanglements.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I agree,” I said, then gave him a
fist-bump, something I just taught him to do the week before. “I just wish
Logan and I could have dated like a normal couple. There’s something weird
about being forced into a marriage, no matter who I’m marrying.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“My dear, you basically saved him
from being shackled to that gargoyle for the next 100 years. Not only would he
have been miserable being married to his best friend’s lover, but he also
doesn’t get along with her that well. She is now out of the picture, and you’re
in it. The wolf wants to marry you, because he loves you. It might not seem
like it, but the choice was his.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I just don’t think he’s ready for
marriage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“He’ll be ready enough. Love does
that to a man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I threw down my gloves. “I’m gonna
take a shower, then head to the grocery store.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Mind if I join you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hmm. I’m not sure my fiancé would
like that much. With that temper of his, he might tear off a limb or two.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He laughed. “No, silly! I only
meant for the shopping. I promised you I’d help out around here, and I can lift
more bags with these thin arms than you might think!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Thanks. And I promise not to make
any jokes in the Keebler cookie aisle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Please don’t,” he said with a roll
of his eyes. “Your sister teases me about that enough already!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
Chapter
2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Just after I dressed and was
throwing my damp hair up in a loose ponytail, everything went dark. That didn’t
make any sense, since it was the middle of the day, but I couldn’t see a thing.
I fumbled around for my phone, but I couldn’t even find that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Screw you, phone,” I muttered,
then turned to run out, only to find myself paralyzed by fear when I sensed a
presence in the bathroom with me. If it was even possible, my terror only
escalated when I felt a clawed hand touch the top of my head. Next, another
hand tilted my chin up, and the stench of rotting death invaded my nostrils.
Then, a puff of hot air blew across my neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Vampire?
Hell no!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I opened my hand, and a smoldering
ball within it filled the room with yellow light. A mysterious shadow flitted
above me, but I ignored that and ran to the door. Of course a jiggle of the
doorknob did nothing; it was locked by some sort of supernatural force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suddenly, arms wrapped around my
waist and pulled me back a few feet in a violent jolt. Even when I threw volts
of electricity at the poltergeist, it would not let go. Instead, it only hissed
in my ear, as if mocking me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Help!” I screamed, pounding on the
door. I turned and saw my tormenter, a dark shadow with horns on its head and a
devilish, evil, cartoonish smile on its nasty face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Flabbergasted and horrified, I
closed my eyes and took a deep breath, conjuring up all the magic I could to
blast the door off its hinges. However, when I opened them, everything was
normal again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sun filtered in through my window.
After another deep, cleansing breath, I walked out of the bathroom and stood in
the hallway, trying to regain my composure. Al was downstairs, and I heard the
most alluring music drifting out of the living room. For once, it soothed
instead of annoyed me. In fact, I stopped halfway down the stairs to listen to
the impromptu concert for a few minutes, as I wasn’t quite ready to ruin my friend’s
peaceful moment with my ghost story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I sneaked past the living room and
out the back door, so I could call Tabby and tell her all about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Everything will be all right,” she
assured me. “You are just under a great deal of stress, and the supernatural
forces will toy with you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When I walked back in, not feeling
so reassured at all and wondering if it was the right decision for me to leave
the asylum, I heard Al singing a sweet love song. It was an indescribable
feeling, seeing him lazily strum his guitar and sing those beautiful notes. It
spoke volumes about the elf and his deep-lying passion. He looked up at me but
didn’t seem to actually see me as he continued to croon. It was as if his huge
heart had carried him to some faraway place, to another time. He was a gentle
soul, not at all like the other males in the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sam…” I said gently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh, hi Sophie,” he said, stopping
and looking at me with a smile. “Are you ready to go shopping now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yeah. Hey, you’re really talented.
I could listen to you for hours.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He laughed as he set his guitar
down. “You probably expected me to play a flute or harp, huh?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Maybe…an ocarina or piccolo,” I
joked. “Can you though?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes,” he said with a nod, “and a
violin too. Of all the instruments, I enjoy the guitar the most. I’m not a fan
of tubas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Logan guitars as well,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, but his style is…different.
He played with me once on the patio. He has a wonderful voice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Huh?” I asked, taken aback. “Logan
sings?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Like an angel,” Al replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Wow. You guys will have to perform
a duet for me sometime. You know, it’s a scientific fact that a perfectly
executed G chord will make women swoon. We should get you a gig in a singles
bar with that guitar of yours!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He laughed. “Wouldn’t that be a
sight!?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Musically inclined people are
creative souls, often quite romantic,” I said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, I believe I am. I enjoy writing
soulful, profound lyrics. That one I just sang is about finding the love of
one’s life. I was married for a long time, until… Well, you know. I suppose I’m
different from your wolf because I must have a deep connection with someone
before I will pursue her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“So you’re just waiting for that
special someone to come into your life, huh?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes…another special someone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Aw. That’s sweet. Do you ever
think about getting remarried?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I would love to join with someone
again someday, if the right one comes along. It’s been many years, and I’m just
beginning to feel my heart beating again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You’re a whole different breed
than the men I’ve known.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, I know. I’m an elf.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No, I mean you’re sensitive,
romantic, artistic, and intelligent. Not only that, but you’re a rock star with
that long, blond hair of yours. A little crazy gel job, and the eighties would
have loved you. Have you ever considered leopard-print spandex?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I love nature and would never kill
a leopard for pants,” he said, totally missing the point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Never mind,” I said with a
chuckle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Are you flirting with me, Mrs.
Wolf-to-Be?” he teased with a smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Maybe just a little,” I admitted,
“but please don’t tell my fiancé. I just find it intriguing that you actually
look forward to marriage someday. I can’t say the same for him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Someday, yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Well, at least you’re open to it.
I’m like you in that regard. I don’t have a lot of experience with guys.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Did you not have a flung with your
instructor?” he asked, blinking his eyes innocently at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A flung?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, a flung, with the tiger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh! You mean a fling!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, that.”</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No. Dylan and I only went out
once. Yeah, we fell into a kiss as well, but we both know that was a line we
should not have crossed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Are things between you awkward
now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Not really. I’ve managed to put it
behind me, and he doesn’t come around much, except to train me. I’m assuming
he’s over it too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hmm. You’re right. He doesn’t linger
about, does he? Maybe he’s banished you to emotional Siberia.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yeah,
well, if he has, it’s my fault. I’m just glad the two of us never kissed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“As I told you before, I wasn’t
sure whether the wolf or the tiger would end up with you, but I didn’t want to
be the middle of that sandwich. It’s best for us to be friends…though I thank
you for the thought.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Smiling, I clapped a hand on his
shoulder. “Well, what can I say? You’re fun to be around, passionate about your
music, and so full of life. You’re also spontaneous in the most extreme sense.
I’m glad I met you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Spontaneous? Are you referring to
our trip to those terrifying caverns?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What else?” I asked, laughing as I
grabbed my purse. “Now, are you ready for our shopping trip? They can be pretty
terrifying too. Just hope we don’t get behind one of those grouchy ladies with
a checkbook and a coupon binder.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He looked at me quizzically, then
set his guitar down. “If you say so. Let’s go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What would you like for dinner?” I
asked when we stepped inside the market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We elves must be light on our
feet. Salad sounds nice to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh, that does sound good,” I
agreed. “We probably can’t go vegan, though, or the wolf and gargoyle will
complain.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“With all the complications Logan’s
having on that case, you’re not even sure if the wolf will make it home
tonight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But he might. So let’s be hopeful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Chicken it is, then,” he said.
“You go find the poultry, and I’ll harvest the vegetables.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Teamwork, huh? I like that! We’ll
be out of here in no time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I heard Al laughing over my
shoulder as I walked away with the cart. As I tossed packs of skinless,
boneless chicken and a few filets of fish in it, I thought about my friends and
hoped they were okay. Logan, Cindy, and Fred were out on a day mission with
Tabby herself, accompanied this time by my sister and her friend John. I really
wanted to go with them, especially when I found out Taylor and Julie were in
tow, but Tabby insisted that I stay behind to work with Dylan on fine-tuning my
powers and getting them under control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I sighed at the thought. Dylan had
worked me out rather violently from five a.m. till two. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emotional Siberia is right, </i>I thought, reflecting on Al’s wise summation,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> or more like emotional Mars!</i> I learned
a very valuable lesson in it though: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Never,
ever mix business and pleasure.</i> I picked up an extra pack of thick chicken
breasts for the tiger, but at that point, I didn’t even know if I should expect
him for dinner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Seemingly out of nowhere, a woman
in her thirties smiled at me, approached my cart, then reached in, grabbed one
of the packs of fish, and tore it open. My jaw dropped in shock as she put one
of the raw filets in her mouth and bit into it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A big sushi fan, huh?” I said,
arching a brow at her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rather than answering me, she just
licked the fish juice off her lips and tore into another package. I almost
gagged when she snatched an egg out of my carton, cracked it open, tilted her
head back, and let it ooze into her mouth and down her throat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Wow. Impressive. Rocky Balboa
would be proud of you,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Still, she said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Slowly, I backed away from the
crazy woman who was snacking from my cart. As I did, I saw Al charging toward
me, his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into grim lines. He dropped a head
of lettuce, a bundle of carrots, and a clutch of radishes as he ran, but he
paid no mind to the plummeting produce as he made a beeline toward me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“She’s definitely a carnivore, maybe a wolf,”
I said when he was within earshot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Not a wolf at all! Get away from
her!” he cautioned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What? What’s her problem then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Obviously, she’s being compelled
to act like a lunatic. Who knows what else she’ll be forced to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Wh-What is sh-she?” I stuttered,
staring at her in horror as egg yolk and smelly fish chunks rolled down her
chin and dripped onto the checkered linoleum in front of the meat counter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before Al could answer me, a little
boy ran up to her in a soccer uniform and tugged on her arm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Soccer mom,” Al answered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh. Well, that’s a whole different
kind of monster,” I said. “Tell me, why she’s plundering my cart?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Staring at the woman, he opened a
small box, and retrieved two sets of earplugs. “I snagged these a few isles
over.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You have to pay for those first!
And why do we need these to grocery shop?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ignoring me, he stuffed some in his
own ears, then reached toward mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What are you doing? What’s going
on? We still have groceries to get…and some to replace, so—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before I could finish, he shook his
head and pulled me away from my cart, dragging me toward the entrance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What’s wrong with you? Are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> being compelled to act insane too?”
I then pulled out one earplug so I could hear. “I worked retail for a while,
and I know it can be nuts, but—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“He’s here! Put that earplug back
in right now! It’s for your own good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Who’s here? Vincent?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No! Dominic, our unfriendly puppet
master at play. He told her to do it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My eyes widened, my throat felt
dry, and I darted my eyes around at the other shoppers and wondering how many
of them were zombefied by Dominic’s magic. It did nothing to unsettle my nerves
when my gaze settled on the man behind the meat counter, brandishing a
humongous cleaver and wearing a sinister, Jack-o-lantern grin on his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
Chapter
3<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ladies and gentlemen,” came an
announcement over the loudspeaker, “I’d like to announce a special sale, today
only. Please visit the front of the store for your flyer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I can’t believe this!” I yelled.
“Isn’t Dominic supposed to be in immortal jail?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Al just shook his head, as if he
had no idea what I was saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suddenly, a horde of
customers came my way, waving flyers around. When one fell near my foot, I
picked it up and was appalled to see my picture on it, with my name below it,
and instructions: “Chuck it, one-buck it sale! Any customer who hurls grocery
items and produce at this shopper will receive special pricing of a full cart
for one dollar!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“As a special bonus,” Dominic continued
with his announcements, “everyone will receive a fifty-dollar gas voucher if
Sophie’s adorable elf friend Al slaps her in the face with fish from her cart. Al, I command you to do it. Now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Shit,” I said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Luckily, Al’s ears were still
plugged, so he didn’t follow through with the hali-butt-kicking he was
commanded to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sophie, dearest, I’d like you to—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Quickly, I stuffed the plugs in my
ears so I couldn’t hear the awful thing he wanted to compel me to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When a can grazed my shoulder, I
turned and saw a redhead pitching corn and peas at me, with an evil scowl on
her face. I ducked as the next one flew over my head, but when I tried to use
my magic, Al put my arm down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No!” he said, pulling out my
earplug and pointing up at the security cameras. “We cannot risk it being on
the news.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I covered my face as a barrage of
kohlrabi and cauliflower flew at me from every direction. An old lady on a
motorized scooter lobbed oranges my way, then put her pedal to the metal and
drove in my direction as fast as the thing would go, determined to run me over,
I dodged to the left, and the woman crashed into a towering display and was
quickly buried in a pile of E.L. Fudge cookies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Not a word,” Al said as her
fingers poked through one of the little elves on the packages. “Not one word!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Dear shoppers, please note the
stipulation on the bottom of your flyer. Sophie Winters and her companion
cannot leave this store, under any circumstances,” Dominic announced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I put the earplug back in and
motioned to the exit. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We sprinted down the diapers aisle,
but just as we turned the corner, we noticed that the exit was blocked by a
huge gathering of people, with a wall of shopping carts in front of them. I
wasn’t sure what else Dominic had brainwashed them with, but they looked at us
with pure hatred in their eyes, as if they were possessed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">End of sample. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You can preorder exclusively at iTunes! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Click here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/blessed-union/id1371006150?mt=11">https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/blessed-union/id1371006150?mt=11</a></span><br />
<br />
This book will be available on all eBook retailers on August 1, 2018.<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-51656751258629362882018-03-21T14:06:00.001-04:002018-03-21T14:06:14.043-04:00Royal Secrets coming out June 1st!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 6 coming out June 1st!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">IN</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">***</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-50783730105958823722018-03-21T13:59:00.000-04:002018-03-26T00:12:22.180-04:00Sneak Peek at Brewing Storm - Book 5 <br />
<div align="center" class="Body" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Sneak Peek at Brewing Storm</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Book 5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">coming out April 1st, 2018</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">In</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 28pt; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.25in;">BREWING STORM</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Book 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt;">Chrissy Peebles</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Copyright 2018 Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.4in;">
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.4in;">
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Chapter 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
between loud crashes of thunder, the brilliance of the lightning was almost
blinding. Rain battered the castle roof and pelted the windows. I glanced over to
admire Logan’s side profile, but he was fully engrossed in his notes and laptop
and didn’t bother to look back at me. That werewolf sure wasn’t a ghastly
creature out of a horror flick, not a monster at all. He was dangerous through
and through, but he was also sweet and loyal. His brown hair fell just below
his collar, I noticed, but then I couldn’t help turning my focus to his
powerful shoulders and the muscles in his arms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A
tear almost escaped my eye as I realized he’d never be mine, because the monks had
ordered him to marry Cindy, to unite the immortal world and all that jazz. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blah, blah, blah, </i>I thought with a roll
of my eyes. Hearing those words at that meeting just about broke my heart. Deep
down, I felt like he was more than a friend, and we’d even sneaked a few
kisses, but part of me hoped for something more in the future. Now, all those
hopes were gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Finally,
he caught me staring at him and stopped tapping on the keys. “What’s on your
mind?” he asked, shooting me a lazy smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
bit my lip. “Nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“C’mon,
you can tell me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Ugh!
Your ESP or sixth sense or whatever the heck it is is the worst superpower
ever!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Sophie,
what’s troubling you?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
sighed. “Fine. If you must know… Well, it’s just… I mean, do you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">want</i> to marry Cindy?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Want
to? No. Need to? Yes.” He ran a hand through his gorgeous mop of hair, and I
envied that hand. “You know I have to. Time is ticking, and only the monks can
lift the curse. We all have mountains to climb, whether we feel like it or
not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
almost shuddered; I didn’t want to think of him climbing Cindy. “Why are the monks
forcing you into a loveless marriage? It’s basically blackmail!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They demand unity in the supernatural world. They
aren’t concerned with me or my love life. Plus, they know I’m not, uh…attached
to anyone else. I’m an eligible bachelor, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Right,
I guess,” I said, nonchalantly patting Slayer when the pup jumped on my lap. “I
don’t know anything about your past history with women. You just don’t talk
about it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
don’t kiss and tell,” he said, returning his eyes to his monitor. “Besides,
there’s nothing worth talking about. I don’t mean to sound emo, but in my
experience, relationships have meant only heartache and pain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Is
that why you build up those brick walls, so no one will get too close to hurt
you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
glanced over, then went back to his screen. “Brick walls are for castles,
castles like yours.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Ah,
deflection. I like it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
chuckled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Just
tell me, have you ever been in love?” I asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sighing,
he closed the laptop. “No, but…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“But
what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Truth
be told,” he said quietly, as if he was about to confess some deep, dark
secret, “I guess I would like to know what love is…someday.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“When?
After you divorce Cindy in 100 years?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“What!?
A whole century?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“You’re
immortal, just as immortal as a vampire. You may as well stick it out till the
hundredth anniversary party.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“True,”
he said with a snicker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I,
on the other hand, couldn’t possibly laugh. “For you, that’ll be over in the
blink of an eye, but I… Well, I’ll be long dead.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Is
that what’s upsetting you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Yeah,
death’s a little upsetting,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“You
worry too much. Everything will work out. You know the gargoyle has no interest
in me. She’s more into fangs. She likes her men, tall, dark, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thirsty</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
had to laugh at that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“There
it is,” he said, grinning back at me. “I love that smile.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“If
you’re going to do this, you have to get Cindy to commit to it. She doesn’t
seem too enthused about your arranged marriage either.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“The
vampires are starving, and the wolves can’t keep feeding them. I want to lift
the curse, but it’s not my call. Cindy is wishy washy, as usual, and I’m sure
Fred’s whining isn’t helping.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well,
if she does agree, we’ve already got the perfect venue,” I said softly, waving
my arms up at the ceiling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“What,
here? On the castle grounds? That’s very generous of you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“So
definitely plan to have your dream wedding here in my beautiful castle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Wow.
Then the fake fairytale would be perfect, even if we don’t live happily ever
after.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“You
might be happier than you expect,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Highly,
highly doubt that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Technically,
you two should own this castle, not me. You have royal blood. I just luckily inherited
it. I’m basically just a caretaker.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Look, we’re not entitled to a castle. We both
gave up our royal ties a long time ago.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well,
at least you’ll have a beautiful princess on your arm, the proverbial blonde
with blue eyes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Are
you jealous?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“No!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Not
even of that terrible manicure she gets at night when she turns?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
cleared my throat. “No, not at all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Regardless
of rings and vows, I don’t really want Cindy. She’s not my type. Not to mention
that she already belongs to my best friend.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
heard the marriage has to be consummated, to make it official.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Like
I said, I don’t kiss and tell.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“So
you’ll kiss?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Nope,
and I won’t tell them that either! Trust me, I’m not going to fall in love with
her. This isn’t some Hallmark movie or blockbuster romance. I can tolerate
Cindy, for Fred’s sake if nothing else, but we don’t get along that well. It
was rough when I lived with the two of them at their house. At least here, we
have enough space to put between us. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I
guess. That will be the motto of our fake marriage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
chuckled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
refuse to lose my best friend over some dumb request by the monks. I’ll marry
her, if she’ll go through with it, but nothing about it will be real, and I’ve
got no problem with her seeing Fred on the side.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“If
we all live here, it’ll be very easy for Fred and Cindy to keep their
relationship in secret.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Yeah,
as long as the monks don’t order Fred to leave. He was so ticked when they gave
us that ultimatum. We’ve talked it out, and he’s calmed down, but it’s really
up to his girl at this point. Cindy needs to make a decision quickly. Wolf
packs are donating blood all over the world, just to keep the rioting down, but
it’s not enough, and they can’t keep it up much longer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Yeah,
I know, and it’s definitely not safe in town. Eve said they’re still attacking
wolves. If you go anywhere, be careful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Anyway, you ready to get back to work?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Um,
yeah.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
crystal chandelier overhead flickered from the storm blast, and the hard rain
made it clear that Mother Nature wasn’t going to stop her temper tantrum
anytime soon. It was nearing noon, and we still weren’t sure how to recover the
necklace, the key that would unlock a portal to hell. As we tried to think of
solutions and ideas, we also read about the latest Falcar crime, the murder of
a man at a local gas station, a lead Cindy had left to check out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Logan,
look at this!” I said, pointing to a news article on my laptop screen. “It says
an incredible haul of ancient gold jewelry has been unearthed by two treasure
hunters using metal detectors.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Whoa!”
he said, squinting to look more closely at the picture. Suddenly, his eyes
widened. “I think that’s it, the necklace we’re after, right there in the
dirt!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“It
says that piece was sold to the Louvre Museum in Paris a few years back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
quickly returned to his own keyboard and started tapping away, digging for
information. “Apparently, it was stolen, valued at over ten million dollars.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“So
the woman we caught with it is a thief! Either that, or her boyfriend is. Girls
can get a guy to do anything if they bat their eyelashes long enough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Oh,
really?” Logan said, his voice lilting with a tease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
need that necklace, baby,” I said, batting my eyes at him mercilessly, “so I
can totally end the world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
laughed. “Actually, based on my research, she doesn’t seem like the type that
wants to end the world. She’s not exactly a criminal, and her record’s clean. My
guess is that she is a pawn in someone’s game.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well,
obviously the boyfriend is some sort of convict.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“He’s
trouble, but he only wants money and power, not to end the world or start an apocalypse.
She must be blindly following something else, maybe a friend or relative or
some kind of religious leader. She might not even know she’s being deceived. The
necklace has to be charged by a witch, so maybe someone gave it to her for that
reason, and she’s none the wiser.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“No
way,” I said, shaking my head at him. “Nobody’s that naïve. She can’t be totally
in the dark. She’s wearing a key to open up a portal to hell.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“The
only thing we know for sure is that she’s wearing a stolen necklace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“True,”
I said, but I wasn’t buying it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“It
doesn’t look like she’s been using her credit cards anywhere,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Huh?
You can see all that? Quite the little hacker, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
laughed. “Yeah, well, I have hobbies. I’ve got a whole eternity to kill.” He
paused and looked at his screen again. “The last time she accessed her accounts
was months ago, so she must be living strictly off cash.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Probably
money from the blood banks before they were dismantled,” I interjected. “I can’t
believe they got away in all the chaos.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
know,” Logan said. “If I would’ve been allowed to stay, I would’ve made sure
they didn’t escape my clutches. I would have sent their asses to immortal jail.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
know, but the Council didn’t want their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">delicate
flower</i> crushed,” I teased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Forget
the Falcar who said that. He was just trying to degrade you so he could gain the
upper hand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
sighed. “I know. Anyway, do you think our dynamic duo has a secret blood bank
hidden somewhere?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
don’t know, but if they do, we’ll find it and end it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short while later, while we sat in the
living room, looking at our notes that were sprawled everywhere, a growling
sound emitted from Logan’s middle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I’m
so hungry I could eat a—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“It’s
better to hold your horses than to eat one,” I teased. “Pizza’s on its way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well,
I could eat a horse too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
laughed. “Just promise me Slayer is safe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Before
he could answer, the doorbell rang, and the little dog began barking up a
storm, always happy to see company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Logan
glanced up. “It’s about time, and your dog is officially safe.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
chuckled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He
stood up and peeked out the rain-streaked window. “You’re not going to believe
this, but—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“But
what? They brought two pizzas instead of one? Man, you have great wolf vision
through all that torrential rain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Shit!
You better come here and take a look.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
walked over and pulled the curtain back, only to spy my friend Beth standing on
the doorstep, holding an umbrella and a suitcase. “Wow. Let me handle this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Just
hurry and get rid of her. I’m so hungry, I might eat her too!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hey!
There will be no eating of human girls in this castle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Not
even if you bat your eyes at me?” he teased. “What a shame.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Not
funny…and that wasn’t what I meant. We have house rules, remember?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Then
maybe I’ll eat the pizza guy for being late.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Fred
peeked in. “Or maybe I’ll eat him just out of spite, since I can’t eat pizza.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
gaze narrowed. “You two aren’t eating anyone. Now, please find your manners and
try not to act like paranormal creatures who want to devour the pretty girl at
the door.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Oh,
shit. The notes!” Logan started frantically collecting them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Do
you think she’ll remember you?” I asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Her
memories were suppressed. I’m sure she doesn’t even recall your magic or that
you had a sister or that the two of you were running for your lives. She won’t
recognize any of us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
hope you’re right,” I said over my shoulder as I walked to the door and threw
it open. “Beth! What a pleasant surprise,” I said and pasted on a smile to mask
my nerves. “Come on in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-14615701579737295842018-02-26T23:28:00.001-05:002018-03-21T13:37:11.125-04:00<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Raging Chaos - Book 4 in The Vampire and Werewolf Chronicles is out now!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Read a sample below!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 5 is coming out June 1st, 2018! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a spinoff of the Crush series with Crush characters! </span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 28.0pt;">Raging Chaos</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Book 4</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The Vampire & Werewolf Chronicles</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;">Chrissy Peebles</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Chapter 1</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“How could an entire town of werewolves
just…vanish?” I asked. “Are they in captivity or, um…dead?” The questions
haunted me. My gut feeling told me they were still alive, just hauled off by
someone for some sinister reason. I was certain no one would go to all the
trouble of moving them just to kill them in the end. What I couldn’t figure out
was why they took the children and babies too. <i>Why would they take whole families, innocent kids?</i> My heart ached,
and I couldn’t make sense of the sad, senseless kidnapping as Cindy and I sat
outside in the gardens behind the castle. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Logan
and Fred had immediately left the scene to search for clues, interrogate other
immortals, and use any Immortal Council resources they could to find them.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
thought it was best to just let them go,” Cindy said. “Fred is the only one who
can calm Logan down right now.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
know. That’s why I didn’t press the issue of going with them. Logan is crazed
with grief, just beside himself.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes,
he takes all werewolf issues very seriously and personally.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Who
would kidnap the entire town like that?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
don’t know, Sophie,” Cindy said, shaking her head. “No one seems to have any
idea why this happened, and everyone is shocked. The Immortal Council doesn’t
take things like this lightly either though. They’re on top of it already.
Whoever did this will be sorry.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“It’s
baffling, to say the least, like the plot of some insane sci-fi movie, a small
town in the middle of nowhere suddenly vacant,” I said with a shudder. “That’s
some spooky stuff. If I didn’t know better, I’d blame the little green men from
Mars.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Cindy
somehow managed to laugh at that. “They couldn’t have just vanished off the
face of the Earth. There has to be some kind of clue, and we’ll find it. You
know Logan won’t give up till we do.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
know, but as usual, I’m afraid we’re running against the clock. If they are
still alive, who knows how long we have to help them? Do they have any known
enemies?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“As
far as we know, they’re a very peaceful pack, and they have always kept to
themselves. I can’t imagine who would want to hurt them.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Cindy
and I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing, so we hopped in my car and drove
back to the place where the abduction happened. We’d already combed the area,
but we thought we might see something the second time around.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">On
the way there, I only half-listened to Cindy’s rambling; I had too many
thoughts in my head to pay much attention to what she was saying.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Anyway,
are you glad you joined up with us?” she suddenly asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Huh?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“The
group. You’re part of a team now.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Oh,
that. Well, the truth is, I’m not sure I fit in, Cindy,” I admitted. “See, I’m
living in a world most people don’t believe in, a world that barely exists in
the minds of many. It was hard to hang out with my friends and relatives when I
couldn’t talk about my new life, and I sometimes envied them.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Why?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Because
they only have one life to live, not a confusing double-life like mine. They
had the luxury of disbelief. While all my friends were worried about what was
on sale at the mall or which football team was going to win, I had to think
about battling Falcar. While they were off watching movies about sparkling
vampires or TV shows about teenage witches or two hot brothers driving around
in an Impala hunting monsters, I had to accept that there are real beasts in
the world, some far worse than anything Hollywood can ever drum up. It’s like
they live in a black and white world, but mine’s psychedelic, almost blinding.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“It
is a lot to learn and a lot to accept,” Cindy said. “You are doing fine,
Sophie.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
know, but I’m a rookie, so new to all this. I mean, everyone else—all of
you—are old pros. I’m just not up to speed with you. I can’t flap my wings and
fly like you. I can’t transform into a wolf like Logan or a lethal vampire like
Fred. All of you have earned the respect of the Immortal Council because of the
dangerous missions you’ve been on. You’ve got killer résumés, so to speak, and
I’ve got nothing to boast about.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
belong here with us,” Cindy consoled. “Things are changing, and so are you.
Don’t worry if you feel a bit off balance.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
do. I mean, I’ve accepted my fate, and I know I’m on a new journey. Instead of
heading off to college, I’m in warrior princess training, like some kind of
newbie X-Man just learning to control my extraordinary superpowers. Instead of
hanging out at the movie theater or mall with my normal friends, I’m surrounded
by a bunch of freaks.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Freaks,
huh?” Cindy said with a wink.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“The
good kind,” I quickly corrected. “It’s just… Well, I never expected to
personally know any gargoyles, vampires, or werewolves, and I sure as hell
didn’t think I could actually talk to my dearly departed sister. I know
everything has changed, and I’m doing my best, but I’ve been rerouted to a
long, hard road, and I have no idea where it leads.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You’re
adapting well, Sophie, and we all adore you. Why, you’re the sweetest thing
invented since the Twinkie! Plus, the last time I checked, cream-filled sponge
cake couldn’t conquer Falcar or summon blazing fireballs.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Thanks,
Cindy. It’s so nice of you to say that.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
do not say things I do not mean,” she said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Am
I too sweet to be a bad ass?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Nope.
You’re the best of both worlds, like Taylor. She is a dear friend of mine and
one of the sweetest people I know. On the other hand, she’s also a powerful
Petal witch, potentially lethal and dangerous in action. You’re very similar to
her.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
take that as a compliment.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
should. In time, Sophie, you’ll be a kickass superhero like the world has never
seen. Just be patient with yourself.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“That
means a lot, especially coming from you.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Change
is scary, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You have to decide what’s
important, then build your life around that. I know how you feel though. I felt
the same way when I first arrived in the States.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
cocked a brow, surprised that a gargoyle could ever feel inferior in any way. “You
did?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes.
The modern world was new to me. Did you know I’d never even eaten a hamburger
before I got here?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Really?
Wow!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Nope,”
she said, shaking her head, “but the immortals took me in, and I found a life
here.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“A
life and a McDonald’s!” I teased.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes,
of course,” she said with a smile. “In time, I proved to be a valuable asset to
the team, and they grew to respect me. I’d been searching for my tribe for a
long time, and I realized that here, I have peace and happiness. It takes a
while to gain their trust and for everything to fall into place, but if I did
it, so can you. Look how far you’ve come already.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Thanks,
Cindy. As weird as all this is, I’m so glad I got a chance to meet all of you.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Scary
stuff, huh?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Maybe
at first. You guys were a little intense, kidnapping me and all.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I’m
still sorry about that, but we knew you wouldn’t come willingly if we would
have said, ‘Hey, little girl, the gargoyle has some candy. Get in before some
freaky vampires stab you in the heart.’”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
have a point,” I said. “I was taught not to talk to strangers, and you people
are stranger than most!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“We
did what we had to do to save your life.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Just
for the record, you might’ve gotten me in the car with some creamy chocolate
Lindor truffles.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">She
laughed. “So now I know your weakness.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I’m
sure it isn’t the only one,” I said, blushing a hit as I thought about Logan.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Well,
anyway, we’ve grown on you, haven’t we?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes,
you have.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Good.
Then my mission is complete. Also, I’ll make a mental note of the truffles, so
when Logan asks what your favorite candy is, I can tell him.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
smiled. “Does that mean he pisses girls off a lot, needs a lot of peace
offerings?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“No,
silly. I just want him to bring the right thing when he takes you on a date.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“A
date, huh?” I shook my head. “That Lycan is a whole other subject.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Hmm.
I didn’t realize we were limited to one topic. You can talk to me about
anything, you know. In fact, I think I’d make an excellent immortal therapist.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
would.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Please
continue. I charge by the minute,” she joked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
smiled. “It’s just that I don’t feel normal, even if I look that way at first
glance.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Can’t
we all say that? You may look over here and see a blonde in the driver seat,
but underneath that façade, there’s a monster that is the stuff of nightmares.
Normal is overrated, Sophie, and I don’t think anyone really knows what it
means. We can’t control or change what we were born to be. All we can do is
make the most of who we are and try to make the world a better place.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“It’s
so hard to fit in though. I feel like I can’t be myself. I don’t want to appear
as weak and pathetic as I feel. Everyone expects me to take down all Falcar, so
I have to put on this tough persona that is really not me.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“When
I first got here, I talked too much about ancient books and artifacts, a love
of mine. I used to scold myself, <i>Shut up,
Cindy! Quit being such a nerd. Try to act more normal! </i>I spent way too much
time worrying about what others thought of me and trying to hide the real me.
Fred gave me the best advice. ‘What the world truly needs is <i>you</i>. Be yourself. Be confident in who
you are. We are all our own person,’ he said, and he was right.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
love that,” I said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
do too, and I listened to him. You should heed that advice as well. Why hide
your personality and try to look and sound like everyone else? Don’t change just
to get others to like you, Sophie. The right people will love the real you,
even if it is a bunch of crazy supernaturals. My gargoyle heritage makes me who
I am, just as being an Ankh witch makes you who you are. You shouldn’t want to
fit in. You should only want to <i>belong</i>.
Fitting in means adjusting to meet the expectations of others. Belonging means
being accepted for who you really are.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the motherly tone of her voice.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“We’re
here for you, so don’t be a lone wolf, okay?” She shot me a quick smile. “Besides,
that title belongs to Logan.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
chuckled again.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Oh!
I love this song!” Cindy squealed. She excitedly turned up the music and sang
along for a moment, then shot me a side glance. “See? This is me being me, and
I don’t care one tiny bit about my hideous croaking voice.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
smiled as we drove on, and I joined her in the off-key karaoke.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Okay,
we’re here,” Cindy said as she parked. “Let’s take a second look and see if we
can gain a new perspective on what happened.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
grabbed my purse, then stepped out of the car. “I doubt we’ll find anything
new,” I said, and we didn’t, even after looking for hours and hours. It was
beyond frustrating that we didn’t turn up any new leads, but at least I had an
opportunity to get to know a good friend better. We didn’t find hide nor hair
of the werewolves, but I was starting to find my place in the world, and that
felt great.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Chapter 2</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
next day, a bright ball of light flashed as Julie and Taylor teleported into
the kitchen with two men.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Julie
waved. “Hi, Sophie. It’s just me.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yeah,
Werewolf Barbie,” Grant teased.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Stop
calling me that, or I’ll go wolf on you all right,” Julie snarked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Grant
shrugged. “Fine. Barking Blondie?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Julie
sighed and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, this is Grant, my not-so-funny husband,
and this guy here is Jesse, Taylor’s ball and chain.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Hmm.
I didn’t know Taylor was into chains,” Grant joked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Hush,
you,” Julie scolded, then gave her equally blond spouse a loving peck on the
cheek.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Julie
stepped toward me. “You’re, uh…mopping?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes.
It’s a chore that must be done, whether you live in a castle or not.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Well,
you need to trade your apron and rubber gloves for some pants and hiking shoes,
buddy. We’ve got a mission to go on. Of course, it’s your choice to join us or
not.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Right
now? Where?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Somewhere
hot.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Um,
Florida?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“More
like Arizona.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“And
exactly what’s in Arizona?” I asked chirpily as I wrung out the mop.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“The
Grand Canyon, for starters.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Look,
a tour of the Seven Wonders of the World might be fun sometime, but I’m not
sure we have time for sightseeing right now.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Don’t
worry. No mule rides to the bottom,” Julie said, trying to hurry things along
by grabbing the bucket of dirty water and dumping it into the sink.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“What?
No donkey tours?” Grant asked, jutting his bottom lip out in the most adorable
pout. “But, babe, you promised adventure.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Acting
like a jackass won’t land you a free ride on one,” she teased. “Anyway, you get
to go whitewater rafting instead,” she said, turning her attention toward me. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Whitewater
rafting? Seriously?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Trust
me on this one, Sophie. We’re going to visit an ancient lost civilization, this
secret underground city below the canyon.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“A
subterranean metropolis? Wow. I guess I should check out the History Channel
more often. Then again, that <i>Ancient
Aliens</i> show always sounds like a bunch of Hollywood hooey.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
didn’t used to believe in vampires and werewolves either,” my friend pointed
out.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Right.
Look, I admit I’m learning new stuff all the time, so maybe you’re right. Maybe
there is something down there.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“There’s
no maybe about it. It’s there.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“And
just why are we going on this little field trip?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“We
have to find the room that contains the prophecies, walls upon walls of them.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Of
course. And I’m sure they’ll be written in twenty-first-century English, right?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Julie
laughed. “Nope.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Chat
lingo? Did the ancient ones LOL? TTYL? ROFL?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">She
laughed again. “I won’t be able to read them, but Jesse and Grant can. It’s one
of their specialties.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Cindy’s
a really good interpreter too. Why not take her?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“She’s
currently occupied elsewhere, on another mission with Dead Fred and Logan. We
can’t wait for them to wrap that one up. This, is uh…urgent.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Why
do you need me though? Tell me you aren’t dragging me down there just to
conjure up a fireball to read by. You guys can do that yourselves. Heck, just
take a flashlight with some of those pink bunny batteries in it,” I suggested,
grabbing the mop from her again.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Sophie,
you need the practice, and this will be a pretty simple mission for training
purposes, if nothing else. Besides, we were just there, and we can’t get
inside. We need you and that rare blood of yours.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Wait.
You want my <i>blood</i>?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Not
much. A few drops. Easy-peasy. What’s a little bloodlust between friends?” she
asked with a smirk.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“How
deep is this place exactly?” I questioned, not quite sold on the idea yet.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“About
a mile underground. It’s a labyrinth of passages and corridors, laid out like
the spokes of a wheel,” Taylor explained. “As Julie said, we haven’t been in
the room with all the ancient prophecies, but others visited about 200 years
ago, including an Ankh witch, before they were all wiped out by the Falcar. We
think you can get us in.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
still don’t see how that works,” I argued. “Me?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">She
playfully nudged me. “Yes, you. We’re looking for some information, some clue
about what’s going on. So far, all our sources haven’t turned up anything.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“The
room is top secret,” Julie said. “No ordinary person can get in.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
looked down at the dirty floor, then at the mop bucket, then up to my friends.
“Fine. Let’s go.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
knew you’d say that!” Julie squealed as she pulled me into a hug.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It
didn’t take long for me to change into mission-worthy clothes, and we left in a
ball of light. Before we departed, Julie informed me that the place was
shrouded in much magic to protect the ancient writings, so we couldn’t just
beam right in, but she could get us close, and a boat was ready and waiting for
us.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Wait.
<i>That’s</i> our ride?” I asked when we teleported
to a patch of rocky beach.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Hey,
I never promised you a luxury cruise!” Taylor said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Jesse
pulled the flimsy yellow raft into the water, and Taylor instructed us to get
in. We put on helmets and were given paddles to help us maneuver down the fast-flowing
Colorado River. Minutes later, we were crashing through the surging, foamy
current, bypassing rugged canyon walls and soaring sandstone cliffs. The gang
knew what they were doing, so I just followed their lead, trying to avoid
cracking any of my traveling companions in the head with my oar and doing my
best to stay balanced and centered.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
was definitely out of my comfort zone, but the scenery was postcard perfect.
The mist and spray of the river water cooled us from the blazing sun, and a
gentle breeze teased the little of my hair that was sticking out from under my
helmet. Birds soared overhead as we bucked off the surface of the angry river,
and it turned out to be a real adrenaline rush. I just hoped I wouldn’t be thrown
out of the big yellow raft as we barreled down the river; as gorgeous as the
place was, I didn’t want the rocky shore to be my cemetery.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Eventually,
the current slowed, and we all enjoyed the gentle, smooth ride as we looked
around at the serene landscape and caught glimpses of the local wildlife. As we
were talking and laughing, mostly about the horrified look on Grant’s face when
we were nearly split in two by a particularly toothy boulder, we noticed a
disturbance in the distance.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Look!”
I said, when I noticed something happening up ahead on the beach. I pointed at
a group surrounding a girl on the beach, two of them on their knees, attempting
to administer CPR. <i>Oh</i> <i>my gosh! What a tragedy! </i>I thought as I
tried to swallow past the knot in my throat and hoped it wasn’t a bad omen of
things to come. Just like that, our little dream vacation to the Grand Canyon
had turned into a nightmare.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Chapter 3</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Taylor
squeezed her ebony-haired husband’s hand. “Honey, we should help.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Jesse
nodded, and none of us bothered to disagree. Without a second thought, the boys
jumped out and pulled the raft ashore. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
was the first of the girls out of the raft, and I hurried over to the frightening
scene. My heart broke when I saw the little girl lying there, her long, curly
locks of hair soaking wet and her eyes closed. She couldn’t have been more than
eight years old, and she was entirely unresponsive.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“No!
No! My baby!” a woman shouted hysterically, struggling against her husband’s
grasp as tears rolled down her face.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“She’ll
be okay, honey,” he said. “Don’t give up hope.” He was trying desperately to
console his wife, but his own voice trembled with every word, and his eyes were
wide with horror.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Where
are the paramedics? Didn’t anyone call 911?” another yelled.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Can
we help?” Julie asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Another
woman ran over to us, also crying. “W-We capsized, and now she… Gosh, my niece
isn’t breathing! We’ve been giving her CPR for thirty minutes. Is she going to
d-die?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Julie
and Taylor shot sad looks at one another.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“They
can’t do anything,” Jesse whispered to me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Why
not?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“They’re
healing powers won’t work on the already dead.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
felt a warmth on my cheek as I shed a tear of my own. “If only we got here
sooner. We should have paddled faster, but now it’s too late.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Maybe
not. I said <i>they</i> can’t help her.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Huh?
What do you mean?” I asked, wiping my face and looking at him curiously.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“We
have you, but we have to act quickly. She’s newly dead, so it should be easy for
you to bring her back.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“But
how? I-I can’t do that.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Sophie,
you have a gift none of the rest of us have. Sure, Julie and Taylor are Petal
witches with amazing powers that shocked the entire immortal world, but they can’t
be the heroes in this situation. Grant and I are strong enough to take down a
whole army, but we can’t bring that little girl back. Only you can do that.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You’re
so bright, so shiny!” a young voice said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Startled,
I jumped back. I looked over at the dead girl on the beach, then at the girl in
front of me. I grabbed Jesse’s arm as I tried to catch my breath. “Jesse!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“It’s
okay. It’s only her spirit. She’s attracted to you, like a moth to a flame.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“So
how do I do it? Also, how do I break it to the family that I’m a necromancer?
I’m thinking that will freak them out, and the last thing I need is this going
viral on YouTube,” I whispered.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
don’t have to blow your cover. Just offer to do CPR,” Jesse said. “Heck, lie
and tell them you’re a lifeguard or something. You don’t even have to mention your
credentials as a certified witch.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“But
CPR isn’t working,” I argued. “They’ve been trying for half an hour.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Our
CPR is different, just theatrics. The CPR isn’t going to save her life. <i>You</i> are,” he said with a reassuring
grin.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Shaking,
I nodded. I wasn’t sure just touching her lips would help. In fact, I was sure
Jesse’s hopes were a bit too high. “Don’t we need something more, uh…elaborate,
some huge ritual or something. Sorry, but I forgot to pack the big black book
and candles.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Are
you going to help me?” the little spirit asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes,
sweetheart.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Then
please tell my mom. She’s ignoring me. Plus, I can’t stand to see her crying.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“She’s
not ignoring you. She just doesn’t see you,” I answered with a smile.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Well,
help her see me again please. I didn’t mean to scare Mommy, and I’ve never seen
my Daddy cry before either.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
walked over to the body on the beach, with the ghostly girl in tow.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">To
my surprise, Taylor walked over and put her arm around the girl. “Come over
here, sweetie.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You
can see me?” the little girl whispered to her.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
see dead people,” she said with a wink, “and Bruce Willis has nothing to do
with it.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Hey,
do you know how to skip rocks?” Grant asked, trying to get the spirit’s
attention.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Julie
nudged him. “Honey, she can’t even hold rocks at this point.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Ignoring
her, Grant picked up a flat stone.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Oh!”
the girl squealed. “That one’s perfect.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Watch,”
he said, then gave it a toss. “I bet I can skip this rock all the way down the
river.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
was glad they distracted her from seeing her own dead body, but I was still a
ball of nerves as I approached. I didn’t know what I was doing or if it was
even possible. I just wanted to get it over with, one way or another, but everything
seemed to be happening in slow motion. The air echoed with forlorn cries and
screams, heavy with grief, and my heart hurt. It was so painful that I wanted
to scream myself.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Can
we try?” Jesse said calmly, tugging on the father’s elbow. “We’re well trained
in the newest procedures.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Well,
I… Uh…”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“We’re
lifeguards,” I fibbed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
man on the ground stopped the chest compressions, certain there was nothing
more anyone could do. “I don’t think anybody can help her now,” he said, his
eyes moist with the shame of his failure.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“No!”
the girl’s mother cried again, tucking her head into her husband’s shoulder.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Jesse
softly touched her father’s arm. “Please let us try.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“I
don’t recommend it,” said the man on the ground, sniffling. “You’ll only crack
more ribs. You have to accept that she’s gone.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“If
we act right now, we might be able to turn things around,” Jesse argued.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“She’s
gone!” he shouted, paled by grief and sadness. “Go away. Her life was cut short
today, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said as he stood, wiped the
sand off his knees, and pushed his way through the screaming, sobbing crowd.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
looked down at the little body, her limbs and lips and inhuman shade of blue.
It was an ugly, violent death, one no one deserved. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Raging Chaos is available now!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Chrissy_Peebles_Raging_Chaos_Book_4?id=Vf1NDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Chrissy_Peebles_Raging_Chaos_Book_4?id=Vf1NDwAAQBAJ</span></span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">iTunes: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1353172372">https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1353172372</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Kobo: <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/raging-chaos">https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/raging-chaos</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Amazon: </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3NFC4J" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c45500; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; outline-offset: -2px; outline: 0px none currentcolor; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3NFC4J</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Barnes & Noble: <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/raging-chaos-chrissy-peebles/1128072666?ean=2940155431213">https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/raging-chaos-chrissy-peebles/1128072666?ean=2940155431213</a></span></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-40092994391250812542016-11-27T08:55:00.003-05:002016-11-30T10:17:52.415-05:00Love & Faith is out now! <div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="a6riq" data-offset-key="cdksf-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 28px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love & Faith is out! It's 63,000 words. This is Sophie's story. Meet Sophie in Love & Faith and follow her journey as she discovers a secret heritage and magical abilities.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-73268385644280196752016-09-10T21:07:00.003-04:002016-11-30T10:19:38.481-05:00Love & Faith - Book 2 - Prologue added. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Ankh witches were given the abilities to rid the world of Falcars. The Falcars were an evil race of vampires that were half demon and half vampire. They wreaked havoc, torment, and bloodshed all over the planet. The Ankh witches fought to rid the world of this vile race of beings. After centuries of battling them, only a few dozen now survived. But the falcars turned the table and came back strong, killing most of the ankh witches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Only two Ankh witches were now left. They conceived a set of twins and delivered them in secret. The falcars have tracked them down. And here our story continues… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 42.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amazon blurb:</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 42.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="line-height: 42.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Thousands of years ago, Ankh witches were created to destroy Falcar vampires. The ancient group of evil vampires finally triumphed eighteen years ago and wiped out the Ankh bloodline forever and rejoiced in their victory. Little did they know, a baby girl was smuggled out and hidden in the human world. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">When Sophie turns eighteen, she is clueless to her secret heritage. Alone and afraid, Sophie can’t explain the flickering lights and exploding glasses, but she knows something isn’t right. Little does she know that she’s now a beacon to all supernatural creatures and leaves a magical signature wherever she goes. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">When the Falcars learn that Sophie exists, they are determined to end her bloodline once and for all. After an attempt on her life, she joins forces with a gang of supernatural beings and works with them to stop the Falcars from wiping out every immortal on the planet. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 42.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="line-height: 42.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="line-height: 42.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">17 years ago…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i>Have hope! This can’t be the end. Fight with everything you have! </i><span style="line-height: 150%;">Marilyn thought as she placed a crystal necklace around the neck of each of her daughters. Every Ankh witch received that special gift at age sixteen, but she knew there was a strong chance she might never see her children again, so she was keen on giving them their presents early. After all, the Falcars had found them, so the clock was ticking. The Catholic church where they hid was completely surrounded by the bloodsucking demons, but a priest bravely offered to sneak the girls out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She touched her precious babies’ chubby, rosy faces. They had dark eyes and hair like their daddy. They were both so adorable, and her heart tore asunder as she tried to grasp that she may not have the chance to raise them. Tears dripped down her face as her children, her life, and her world were about to be ripped away from her. <i>Falcars be damned! </i>her head and heart screamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Maybe the priest can send a picture of us with them,” Marilyn said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No, that wouldn’t be good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Why not?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“We can’t risk even one shred of evidence be traced back to us,” Eric said softly. “It’s the only way to keep their identity safe.” He touched her hand. “We’ll find the girls again, be reunited with them soon. Getting them out is only a precaution. The Falcars don’t know they exist, and we can never let them find out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Marilyn lifted one of her precious babies to her chest and softly rubbed her back. “What if we don’t survive this?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Don’t say that!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I know you try to look on the positive side, Eric, but we have to be realistic. We are sorely outnumbered. It really comes down to two of us against a small army of Falcars, all of whom wish to destroy us, to end our bloodline forever.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">His lips pressed into a grim line as he realized how right she was. There was little chance of them getting out of the mess alive, because those monsters lived for the moment when they could kill the last two Ankh witches, as they thought them to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“If something happens to us, I’m afraid our girls won’t know anything about their true heritage,” she said, weeping. “Their magic will take effect on their eighteenth birthday, and they’ll have no idea what’s happening to them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“The Immortal Council knows about them. They’ll be able to find them, and they’ll tell them all they need to know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“But what if they don’t? They’ll grow up with no idea of who they are, and if those evil Falcars find out they exist, they’ll have no way to protect themselves. We should have the girls taken to the Immortal Council of Merak.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“The priest won’t deliver them there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Why not?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“He fears there’s a spy lurking in their midst. He wants to check things out to make sure there are no leaks or dangers. Once he settles that, he’ll tell the Council where the girls are.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Do you really believe that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“He’s a good man, Marilyn, and I trust him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Well, if he’s so good, he’ll understand why our girls must be taken to the Council right away. I don’t care about his personal opinion. These are Ankh matters that he cannot possibly fully understand, and I know our children will be well protected there. This is our decision, not his!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I will try to reason with him again, but—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“There are no buts about it! Only the Council can give them supernatural protection. The priest is hiding them in the <i>normal</i> world. If the Falcars find our precious babies…” She trailed off, unable to even fathom it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Don’t worry, my love. The Falcars have no idea our children exist. I promise you the Council will find and protect them when the time is right. The necklaces will also help, and I’m sure we’ll reunite with them in a few months or less.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She gripped his hands and looked at him sincerely, her eyes full of hope and pain all at once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“When things settle down, we’ll find our daughters and take them into deep hiding. Right now, though, this place is surrounded by our enemy. If the Falcars catch sight of our children, even a whiff or have any suspicion of their existence… Well, we can’t take that chance. We have to let Father Williams sneak them out. He can easily get by the Falcars, without suspicion or detection.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I know it seems like we have no other options, but I-I don’t think I can do this,” she said, kissing one of her daughters on her soft little forehead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">He cupped her face. “You know we have to, luv.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Why can’t he sneak us out, too, along with them?” she begged. “Please don’t separate us. We’re a family, until the end of time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“The Falcars will detect our magic. The girls don’t have any magic yet. You know this, my darling. Your emotions are causing you to lose sight of reason. I know it is hard, but you mustn’t let your feelings get in the way of what we must do for our children.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She wept into her hands. “I don’t want to leave them. They’re so vulnerable. They need us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“We can’t fight and protect them at the same time. Once the Falcars discover that our babies were born, they will only need the slightest opening, and they will slaughter them in seconds.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“But I can’t bear leaving them, not even for a few minutes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“We’ll all be united soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>Boom</i><span style="line-height: 150%;">!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Eric’s eyes grew wide at the terrifying ruckus that echoed throughout the chapel as the walls shook. “They’re coming!” he exclaimed. “We must hurry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She kissed each baby and tearfully said goodbye. “I’ll see you soon, little ones. I love you more than anything. Be brave.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">The priest took the infants from Marilyn’s trembling arms, and promised he would keep them safe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Marilyn let out a long sob as the priest left the room via a hidden door in the wall, carrying her little bundles of joy. She felt like her soul had been ripped from her. As if the tremors in her heart and soul were not bad enough, she also felt vibrations in her feet. Cracks echoed around her, and pillars began to break and wobble. She stumbled, almost losing her balance. <i>Please let the babies get out alive!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Plaster fell from the ceiling in chunks as the church began to fall. The old building creaked and groaned and even started to sway, the whole floor shifting as if they were in the middle of an earthquake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Eric started chanting, and the noise immediately ceased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It won’t take them that long to break the spell,” she said, taking a steadying breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I know, but we have a few minutes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Tears welled in her eyes as their gazes locked. “I-I love you, Eric.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I love you, too.” He slowly kissed her lips. “Not even death can take that away from us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She stared into his gorgeous eyes and found herself lost in them. They were so beautiful, so passionate, so full of life, and somehow, in the midst of all that heartbreak and chaos, Marilyn found a calm solace in his gaze. She pushed his wet hair out of his face. “I wish it didn’t have to end this way, so soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">The walls thundered as the vampires fought to break the spell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Just keep your eyes on me, baby,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She let out a long sob. Then, as she’d always been told might happen at the moment of her death, her life began to flash before her eyes. She was glad to be with Eric, but she wasn’t ready to die. She wanted to be brave, but she was crumbling inside, as quickly as the walls and pillars around her. She had led the best life she could, and she refused to die in that moment, even if she was next to the man who meant the most to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Look at me,” he said. “Just look at me, Marilyn.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She nodded, focusing on his beautiful face, and his love made her feel better, even as the end taunted her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">He leaned his forehead gently against hers. “Think of our beautiful little girls, the perfection we created together,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Yes,” she said, weeping. “I hope they have a wonderful life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">He hugged her tightly as a tear ran down his face. He wiped her salty rivers from her cheeks, and she used her thumb to brush his away. Then, the two of them just held one another’s gaze for a long time, trying to ignore the chaos unleashing around them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Eric, I…” The back of her throat felt dry, and she swallowed hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“There was never anybody else for me but you,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Tears poured from her eyes. “You’ve always had my heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“If I must die, let it be while I gaze into your beautiful eyes,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You always know what to say,” she whispered, somehow mustering a sheepish smile. “Give me that grin of yours, Eric. I want to remember that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">He smiled for her, and all her fear suddenly melted away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>Bang! Bang!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">When Marilyn turned to look at the looming death, he softly tilted her chin toward him. “Keep your eyes on me, no matter what,” he said calmly. He then slowly brushed his lips across hers in a slow, passionate kiss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him one more time. He gripped her hands and squeezed them tightly. As he looked over at her, she knew it would be the last time she’d ever see his sweet face. Her one true love stayed strong, even when faced with death. He was her rock, and she couldn’t possibly regret making him her husband. “I’d marry you all over again,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">He kissed her lips. “And you I’d do the same.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">In those last bittersweet moments, she couldn’t stop thinking about what could’ve been. She pictured them on the beach, with four little children running around them—all happy, smiling, and giggling. <i>We could’ve had a beautiful life, raised a fantastic family. </i>More tears fell uncontrollably down her face as random thoughts, dreams that would never come true, filtered through her mind. She thought about them watching a sunset, lying on a blanket and looking up at the glittering stars. <i>Could we have conquered the world together?</i> “Yes,” she muttered to herself, certain they could have if not for the cruel fate heaped upon them by the Falcars. “You only find your true soulmate once in a lifetime,” Marilyn said between gasps. “I’m so glad I found mine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Being torn away from you like this is unimaginable, unthinkable. It’s—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Shh. Like you said, no fear, no sadness. If I’m gonna die, I want it to be in your arms, with both of us smiling at each other.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">And with that, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around him. Even though she should have been scared to death, in that pivotal moment, she felt safe and content in Eric’s embrace. In fact, she had never felt so loved. They continued kissing, ready to go out like star-crossed lovers in a Greek tragedy, and Marilyn was certain that if things had turned out differently, theirs would have been the greatest love story of all time. <i>Romeo and Juliet be damned,</i> she mused. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Suddenly, in a flash of red light, the demon vampires broke the spell and teleported in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Marilyn created a powerful burst of sheer telekinetic energy and used all her magic might to lift a pillar that had crashed onto the ground, then threw it into the oncoming line of vampires; they disappeared as the pillar crashed where they stood. “Run while you can!” she roared. “You know our kind can kill your kind.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Their leader, Vincent, faded into view with a smile. “Run?” he asked and laughed snidely. “Why would I do such a cowardly thing when I’m about to make history. Destroying the last Ankh witches will put me in the annals of history as a hero among our people.” He turned to one of his vampires. “Speaking of that, be sure this is all well documented on video.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You’re sick!” she shouted. “We’ve never hunted you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Perhaps not you personally, but your kind has. It is time for payback, and every last Ankh witch must die. Your kind has killed many of my friends and loved ones, and your blood shall be the recompense. I am here now, hundreds of years later, to keep that vow I made to wipe you from the face of the Earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Our kind only killed you to stop your vicious reign on mankind. You were killing hundreds of humans every day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Ah, yes, I remember the good old days before your people slaughtered everyone. Maybe I’ll rebuild and take over this world, because humans don’t deserve it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Marilyn and Eric thrust their arms in the air, and light burst from their fingertips, hitting the ground and a few vampires in a series of violent explosions. Bodies flew everywhere, in a burst of blue flames.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Streams of magical energy hurled across the room in a glorious display of colors as the last two Ankh witches fought with everything they had against the group that wished to destroy them. They flung countless energy volts about that hissed through the air and hit their marks with precision. The demon vampires crashed into the wall as plaster exploded everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Vincent threw up his hands as Eric hurtled a fireball toward him. He disappeared as the fire crashed into the wall. When he reappeared, his hands were wrapped around Eric’s neck. Marilyn lit a flame in the palm of her hand, but it wavered as she fought to remain calm. When she pitched it, another vampire deflected it, and it crashed into the ceiling to her left and sizzled away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Another group of vampires jumped on top of Eric, and Marilyn let out a shrill scream. “No!” she yelled hysterically. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">In a flash, Vincent’s hands were wrapped around her neck. He laughed as he squeezed, tighter and tighter. “Goodbye, little Ankh witch,” he said, slowly sucking the life out of her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Marilyn’s body trembled and thrashed as she closed her eyes. She felt overwhelmed, frantic, scared, and helpless as her lungs burned, begging for air. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“How about a taste?” one of the others asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No,” Vincent said. “I refuse to drink from a bloodline so tainted.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">As psychedelic spots invaded her vision and everything blurred around her, Marilyn felt a tinge of gratitude that her daughters had been whisked away, just in the nick of time. Her only relief was to know that they were safe, hidden from the Falcars. She could feel it deep inside as she felt her life slip away. <i>I love you, sweet girls.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">His fingers loosened, and he allowed her a gasp for air as he gazed into her eyes. “There’s only one way to kill you two. Fire. It’s the most fitting way for a witch to die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No!” Marilyn shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Let’s take this outside,” Vincent said. “Shall we?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">As they were tied to a wooden stake, a sharp cry echoed through the cold night air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Marilyn…” Eric turned his head to the side and tried to cough. “Honey, stay with me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I’m sorry, Eric,” another voice cut sharply over the growing hiss of the fire, “but you really shouldn’t give her false hope. “If you really care about her, you will tell her the truth. The quicker you die, the quicker it will all be over. The two of you have put on an admirable show, but your time is up,” Vincent continued, stepping over the body of one of his lieutenants, with little more than passing interest. “It was…much better than I expected. I’ve always heard that Ankh witches present a great challenge, but you two have been out of the game for a while now,” he said, cocking his head curiously to one side as he stared at Eric. “Too long, I suppose.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">He watched with a flicker of interest as a crackling flame began creeping toward Eric’s leg. It sizzled around the bottom of his shoe, and the vampire’s lips turned up in a smile. “Makes me wonder what the two of you were doing all that time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Eric spat in his face, even as the rubber on the sole of his boot began to melt, filling the air with an acrid stench. That horrible stink was followed by the even more ominous smell of burnt flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Eric…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A muffled sob drew everyone’s attention to Marilyn, who was helplessly straining against the ropes that bound her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Please…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Eric’s face broke with a truly heartbreaking expression, and his hands stretched blindly behind him, toward hers. Their fingers interlaced, all four tied at the wrists, and he squeezed with all his might.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Vincent kicked the burning logs closer, toward their legs, irritated that even in that clearly orchestrated moment, the two of them only had eyes for each other, refusing to play his game. “I’ve already won!” he spat, laughing maniacally as the flames drew closer and closer. “I’ve destroyed the Ankh race, rendered them extinct, obliterated from Planet Earth. Now we, the Falcars, shall be unstoppable!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The two of them were weighted down with rope and chain, trapped in the middle of a quickly growing inferno. The logs beneath Marilyn’s feet suddenly split open with a roar, and a river of molten ember splashed upon her bare legs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The night echoed with an ear-splitting scream: “Marilyn!” Eric strained with all his might, but he was unable to help her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">For a split second, even Vincent glanced warily between them, unwilling to take any chances with a bloodline as powerful as that of the Ankh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Her eyes flickered once to the stone walls of the sanctuary and rested for a brief moment on the tallest tower, before she closed them and let out a sigh. Her fingers squeezed those of her lover’s, and her body tightened as the fire began its deadly climb. “I love you,” she murmured, bowing her head in agony as ash and tears streaked down her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I love you too.” He squeezed her back but shook his head quickly from side to side, either unwilling or unable to come to terms with the fact that his wife was quickly burning to death behind his back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I will always love you,” she said as the flames licked up to her waist, the smoke stealing her oxygen and making it almost impossible for her to speak. “We’ll find each other in the hereafter. We all will. We’ll…” Not another word was uttered from her dry, chapped, burnt lips. Her body seemed to almost lift into the air as she was engulfed from head to toe in the roaring fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Eric held on for as long as he could, even tighter when the flames spread from her hands to his own. It was over very quickly then. After a couple involuntary screams, a burst of deadly light, and the sound of Vincent’s wicked laughter, the fire silenced of all voices except its own crackling as their bodies disintegrated into ash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Almost <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">18 years later...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><br /> A sudden creaking noise came from the floorboards, indicating a subtle shift of weight. The last rays of the setting sun moved about, casting waves of darkness over the little store here and there, bursts of light flickering through the blinds on the windows, glittering off a pair of long, serrated fangs. A tall shadow rose slowly out of the darkness, creeping its way towards the front counter. For a moment, all was still; the world itself seemed to be holding its breath. Then, with a bloodcurdling cry, the vampire hurled itself out of the shadows for the sixth time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Jimmy!” I looked up from my sketchbook, bored out of my mind. “How many times do I have to say it? The costumes are for <i>paying</i> customers only. Keep parading around in that thing, and I’m gonna have to charge you for damages.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">There was a muffled laugh, and a little boy pried off the sticky mask, grinning from ear to ear with his six-year-old smile. “But I don’t even got any money. C’mon, Sophie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I blew back my recently acquired bangs with an exasperated sigh, set the sketches down, and walked out from behind the counter. “Yeah, I kinda figured that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Most days of the year, the shop where I worked after school functioned as a basic apothecary. Weaved nets of herbs and ominous-looking spices were draped from the ceiling, warding away all but a few loyal customers while filling the air with the pleasant scent of sage. It was quiet and sunny, a perfect place to work on my drawings while greedily collecting my minimum wage paycheck every Friday afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Every October, though, tragedy struck. In that most macabre month of the year, the store put away its fragrant plants and stocked the shelves with bat wings and witch hats instead, transforming into the only Halloween costume shop in Hallowood Heights. Then, instead of drawing as much as I wanted to, I spent the bulk of my time trying to stop Jimmy Alden and his band of miscreant friends from sticking the decorative fangs in their mouths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Now beat it,” I demanded, pushing the increasingly annoying hair out of my eyes as I shoved him toward the door. “I’m closing up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">He dug in his heels, looking longingly at the fake eyeballs. “Just five more minutes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Nope,” I said firmly, glancing out the windows. “Where’s your mother anyway? If this is Miranda’s way of trying to get free babysitting, tell her that ship has sailed. No amount of Subway gift cards is worth spending the evening with a monster like you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I was a vampire, not a monster!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Same thing,” I said with a snicker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Jimmy grinned, displaying several holes where his teeth should have been, looking quite like a jack-o-lantern himself. As I looked at the child, I recalled myself as a young girl. On the day I turned thirteen, when I thought I was grown up enough to run a business of my own, I went out and did what I was sure every other young woman in my town of 900 people did at that wise old age: I made little cards with my parents’ phone number on them and left them at the local supermarket and all the shops on Main Street, advertising my services as a paid guardian of children. Jimmy Alden was my first charge. I babysat until I got this job here. And let me tell you, this job paid way more than babysitting. I had made a savings account to save for college and was proud how much money I had saved so far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I’m not going, Sophie!” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I tickled him. “Oh, yeah? You better hurry. Now get out of here before I boil you alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">He giggled again, cocking his head curiously as he stared at my face. “Did you get a new haircut? You look different.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My hand automatically lifted to shove the bangs out of my face. “Yeah. I saw this picture in a magazine and thought… Well, things always look better in the magazines than real life,” I admitted, then suddenly realized I’d been duped. “Wait. Why on Earth are we having this conversation? You’re not staying! Get out of here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The boy pushed out his lower lip and pouted as an elderly woman pushed past him, making her way into the store. “Why? <i>She</i> gets to stay,” he complained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No, she doesn’t,” I muttered, in a sudden hurry to go before any other customers could sneak in after hours. Without another word, I pulled his hat down over his head and playfully shoved him toward the door. “Go on now. I see your mom across the street.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">He sighed, then nodded and took off running.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Bye, Sophie!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I shook my head with a smile. “Look both ways!” I called out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Once I saw that Jimmy made it safely to Miranda’s side, I forced a polite smile onto my face, flipped back my hair, and turned to the old woman, who was perusing a display of crystal balls, picking each one up with a rather nostalgic look on her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You know,” she croaked, “last time I saw one of these was in a catacomb on Surrey Island. They said the crystal was forged in a fiery cavern, revealed only by the tide.” Her eyes flashed electric blue as she fixed them on my face. “Where did you get these?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<i>Is she for real? </i><span style="line-height: 150%;">Irritated and bemused at the same time, I considered lying for a moment, before I picked one up and flipped it upside-down. “Made in Taiwan,” I read with a smirk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“My dear, can’t you see? It’s as fake as you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I cocked a brow. “Excuse me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It’s not an insult, dear, just a…fact. You pretend to fit in with this world, but you stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I wanted to be offended, but I was also intrigued by what she meant. “What do you mean?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“They hid you well. I must give them that. We were not even aware of your existence till now. You must watch your step, though, honey. You have <i>many</i> enemies, most of them unseen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Huh? I don’t have any enemies. There isn’t one mean bone in my body, and—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Oh, but you do, and you will have more as of tomorrow. Your eighteenth birthday is like a beacon in the darkness. With all that power and energy flowing through your veins, you’ll attract many.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I chuckled. “Who put you up to this? Beth?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">She studied me. “You don’t know, do you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Know what? That you’re playing some kind of Halloween prank on me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Hmm. Well, I suppose they thought it would be too risky to tell you. Do not let your naiveté be your downfall, dear girl.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“My downfall?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Don’t worry, luv. I’m not here to destroy you, not yet anyway. I was sent to observe the situation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but if you were only sent as a spy, why say anything?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“To gage the situation, to see if you are aware of who you really are. Clearly, that secret has been well kept, even from you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“With all due respect,” I said, avoiding the urge to roll my eyes at her, “I’m well beyond that juvenile point of finding myself. I know exactly who I am, and I know what I want in life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Those blue eyes bore into me again. “Do you now?” she asked, arching her brow at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I smiled sweetly and calmly stated, “Actually, ma’am, we were just closing up for the night. I’m happy to ring you up if you’re ready. Otherwise, I can put one of these on hold for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No, that’s quite all right.” She gathered up her purse, wearing a rather peculiar smile that verged on disturbing. “I’ve seen everything I need to see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>Good</i><span style="line-height: 150%;">, I thought as she finally made her way toward the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Unfortunately, she stopped suddenly and jerked her wrinkled face around to look at me again, as if someone had called her name. Her eyes landed on my throat, and an instinctual shiver crept up my spine. Then, before I could even take a step away, she was right in front of me; she moved impossibly quickly for someone so old. “That’s a lovely necklace,” she said, her eyes dilated hungrily as a set of withered fingers stroked the pendant I always wore around my neck. “Where did you get it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I shivered again and wrapped it protectively in my hand. I was unnerved by her odd behavior. I was good at customer service, but this one was definitely too close for comfort. “I’ve just…always had it,” I mumbled, wondering why she insisted on invading my personal space. “It came from my parents.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">A high-pitched laugh rang out in the little store. “Yes, it must have, but it is yet more confirmation of exactly who you are.” Then, in a flourish, she was gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I stood there in her wake, blinking and frozen in place. It wasn’t until the bell chimed above the door, announcing her departure, that I was able to snap out of the shock and awe of the uncanny encounter with the elderly, toothy stranger. <i>I’ve been working here too long,</i> I thought as I realized the fangs had to be part of my imagination or a very well-orchestrated part of the plot to scare me, probably a costume piece bought from the shelves in the very store where I worked, like the fake ones Jimmy was always trying out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">A final shudder trembled through my arms before I glanced at the clock, snatched up my sketchbook, and swept out the door myself, shaking back my stupid bangs as I headed off into the night. “Why is October so cold?” I muttered to myself, wrapping my arms around me as I went.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I called a few friends, and none confessed to pranking me, so my only option was to settle on the fact that the lady was crazy. She did know how old I was, but I dismissed that rather easily; the shop owner had put up a poster to wish me a happy eighteenth birthday, so my age was no big secret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">The smell of cheese ravioli hit me hard as I opened the front door to my house, making my mouth water as the steam warmed my chilly skin. I dropped my bags in a heap in the corner and made my way into the kitchen, then poured myself a glass of water and settled into a chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Hey, honey.” My mother looked up with a smile from where she was poking at the pasta on the stove. “How was work? The Halloween crazies coming out to play yet?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I laid my head down on the counter and let out an exasperated groan. “I don’t get it. It’s still three weeks away. Do they really need <i>this</i> much of a jumpstart?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">She chuckled and poured in a jar of sauce. “It’s good for you, you know. This kind of suffering builds character.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I groaned again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“At the very least, it will give you great inspiration for your drawings,” she said, grinning. She held up her hands so her fingers framed an imaginary headline. “I can see it now: <i>A Town Devolving</i>…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I guess.” I yawned and stretched my arms out in front of me. “I can draw Jimmy Alden jumping out at me, dressed as a vampire. He’s done it 1,600 times, so I’ve got a lot to go on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">She laughed again, pulled the pot off the stove, and turned off the burner. “I can’t believe Miranda just lets him run around, and Sophia…” She stopped sharply and stared at me from across the room. “Look at me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">For the second time that day, chills tingled through me. I’d been so caught up in all my self-centered work angst that I had completely forgotten. “Oh, uh…actually, I’m not that hungry. I’ll just—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A manicured finger caught me by the chin and tilted up my head. “Bangs! When did you do that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I felt the color pooling in my cheeks as I avoided her eyes. It wasn’t just that I’d taken it upon myself to get a haircut on my own; it turned out to be a rather stupid haircut as well. “It’s no big deal, Mom,” I challenged. “I can style myself all on my own, thanks. I’m turning eighteen tomorrow, a legal adult by midnight. If I can vote for president and sign contracts, surely I’m allowed to wear my hair however I want.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips as if she was trying to stifle a grin. “And this is your first act of adulthood, this…hair?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My shoulders wilted as a rather crestfallen look came over my face. “Can we call it the last mistake of childhood instead?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Another bout of laughter rang out as she pulled me into her arms. Her fingers fluffed through my locks in a practiced sort of way, and when we finally pulled apart, there was a twinkle in her eye. “I’ll tell you what. Let’s eat this pasta before it gets cold, and after dinner, I’ll fix this little issue for you—just one last motherly intervention, for old time’s sake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A reluctant smile lifted the corners of my lips. “I suppose that would be all right.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">She rolled her eyes and carried the ravioli to the table. “Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up, Soph. Trust me, bad haircuts will be the least of your problems.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I settled deeper down in the chair and dished out a steaming portion onto my plate. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ll be old enough to get my own place, and I’m sure I can handle it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Yeah,” she said, then laughed humorlessly, “you can move out, but that comes with bills, mortgage payments, student loans, and all kinds of other fun things that come from entering the world of adulthood.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I grinned again. “Wow. Thanks, Mommy dearest. You make it sound like an absolute dream.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“If you’re <i>really</i> lucky, you’ll end up with some smart-ass kid who will make you seriously think twice about the merits of birth control.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Soph…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“What?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Happy early birthday.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Despite my mother’s caustic warning, I went to bed that night feeling quite excited, so excited I could hardly sleep. <i>Eighteen? I’ll be eighteen! Legal and fair game, a woman on the prowl… </i>A silly grin stretched across my face as I lay back and gazed up at the ceiling. <i>Woman on the prowl? Sure, in this Podunk town of less than 1,000, all of whom I know by first, last, and middle name. </i>There<i> </i>wasn’t a lot of prowling to be done, no matter how legal I was. The place was so tiny that those Taiwan stickers on the back of the cheap crystal balls made them seem exotic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">With my belly full of ravioli and my thoughts exhausted from Jimmy and the weird old woman at the store, I finally began to drift off. Sleep took me, but I was quickly cast into a dream, one I would never, ever forget… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I blinked and looked around in confusion, wondering how I’d gotten outside. I could feel the chilly wind assaulting my bare shoulders and the moisture of the early-morning dew on my feet. In spite of the balmy temperature, it was beautiful out there in that strange place, a lovely little meadow seemingly untouched by the outside world. Flowers of all colors danced among the tall grass, and the sky above me was tinted with just the faintest trace of pink hues as the sun greeted the day over the horizon. Then I heard it, a scream, and in that instant, the perfect image in front of me shattered into a million pieces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I slowly rotated around and realized that the meadow was obviously not as secluded as it first appeared. Instead, it was more of a clearing, surrounded by horrible mayhem, as if the entire outside world was just using that gorgeous patch of land as a place for some kind of raucous, terrifying party.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My eyes swept over the blunt torches, and my mind swarmed with confusion. <i>Why aren’t they using flashlights? And their clothes? Those didn’t look like regular jackets. </i>In fact, their attire resembled the costumes we sold in our shop, mid-century cloaks of some sort. I noticed that they were all gathered around something, though I had trouble discerning what had their attention. I squinted for a better look, and a terrible thought crossed my mind.<i> If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that’s an—</i></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Please!” the girl screamed again. “Please don’t hurt me.”</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A horrified chill swept up my spine as I realized it wasn’t a celebration at all. It was, in fact, some sort of sacrifice, and the centerpiece for that sadistic ceremony was a girl tied to a slab in the middle of the meadow, straining against her ropes until her wrists bled with the effort. Tears of pure terror rolled down her cheeks as she gazed up at her captors with the same confusion in her eyes that mine held. She didn’t understand, any better than I did, who they were, what was going on, or how she had even gotten there.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The people themselves couldn’t have been less concerned. They ignored her, chanting in a language I couldn’t interpret as they formed a silent ring around the stone altar. The tallest one, a man standing in the middle, pulled something out of his pocket and raised it high in the air. The blade flashed silver in the waning moonlight.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The girl screamed again as she realized what was about to happen, and my scream mirrored hers. I tried to race toward her, to help her in some way, but my feet refused to obey my wishes and would not move. All I could do was yell with all my might, at the top of my lungs, but even that was not enough to garner their attention, and the people who aimed to kill her didn’t even turn their heads to look at me. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">After another flash of silver, all the screaming stopped. A river of crimson trickled down the smooth stones, into the tall grass, and the entranced, cloaked people all bowed their heads.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“One down,” the murderer muttered with a sickening smile on his face, “and only one to go.”</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Happy birthday, honey!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I jerked awake with a start, only to see my mom and dad hovering over me, wearing the kind of ridiculous party hats we sold at the store. Their faces were frozen in identical, goofy smiles, and the second I opened my eyes, two ear-splitting kazoos whipped out in celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You’re eighteen now!” my dad said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My face paled as the horrific scene I’d witnessed in my dream slowly faded from my eyes. It still lingered in my memory, though, and I could still almost smell the wet grass and hear that girl’s pleading cry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Well?” My mother threw an arm around my shoulder, jolting me even further out of my midnight madness and pulling me back to the present. “Now that you’re officially awake, I guess it’s time to ask the obvious question. How do you feel, kiddo?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My fingers trembled as I stared from one to the other, trying to keep up. “S-sorry,” I stammered. “How do I feel about what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My dad laughed and settled on the other side of me. “About the death of childhood, of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A shudder ran through my body, even as my mother burst out laughing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“About officially being a grownup,” Mom clarified. “Is the world of adulthood as scary as I made it sound last night?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I took another second to catch my breath before forcing my face into a casual smile. “I’ll have to keep you posted. So far, so good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You seem a bit distracted, dear. Are you okay?” my mother asked. “I hope we didn’t give you a case of heart attack by kazoo. We only wanted to surprise you, not scare you to death.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No, it wasn’t you. It’s just… I had a bad dream, more like a nightmare,” I confessed. “It was a sacrifice of some sort, some poor woman. Gosh, it felt so real, like I was witnessing it with my own eyes but couldn’t do anything to stop it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Honey, it was just a dream,” my dad assured me with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You work at a Halloween shop. Isn’t there a bloody display there, some sort of sacrificial altar or something? I know your boss goes all out with those store displays.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Yeah, but—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Honey, working there all day, with that thing in your face, would easily trigger bad dreams for anyone. I know it would for me. Not only that, but you and your mother are always watching those horror movies. A girl can only see so many Freddies in hockey masks before she has a nightmare.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It’s Jason, Dad.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Huh?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Jason Voorhees wears the hockey mask. Freddy’s got the claws.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">He chuckled. “See? Someone who is such an expert on slashers will certainly have a bad dream now and then again, don’t you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I guess you have a point,” I said, nodding slowly. “It was just weird, that’s all. It’s never happened before.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">They gave me a few more words of encouragement, being the great parents they were, but in a flash, they were out the door and down the stairs, leaving me to my thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I pondered the whole thing and felt again like I was actually there. It was nothing like a normal dream. I struggled to make sense of it, but in the end, I was sure my daddy really did know best. “Stupid Halloween,” I muttered, furious that the season was getting to me like it never had before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Out of bed, sleepyhead!” Dad called up the stairs a few minutes later. “What are you stalling for? Scared to eat my pancakes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Now <i>that</i> might give me nightmares!” I yelled down with a smile. My dad was a man of many talents, but cooking was not one of them. Nevertheless, on my birthday every year, he insisted on burning a huge stack of pancakes for me. It was a tradition but one I cherished and looked forward to, no matter how much syrup it took to cover up the ashes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I threw my legs over the side of the bed and pulled myself to my feet. As I walked over to my dresser, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. That was a small thing that happened every morning, but this time, I couldn’t help but pause. I was surprised to find that I didn’t look any different, certainly not any older. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">For all intents and purposes, I was really the same little girl I was the day before. I turned my face this way and that, examining it for even the most minute change, but everything looked pretty much exactly the same, except for the awesome hair intervention my mom had given me the night before. I smirked as the lovely chestnut bangs that swung gracefully back and forth, framing my pale skin and making my wide brown eyes seem even bigger than before. “Just like in the magazine. Mom’s a genius.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Suddenly, the light in my room flickered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<i>That’s weird, </i><span style="line-height: 150%;">I thought but quickly dismissed it as a power surge.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I headed downstairs and sat down as my dad loaded my plate with overly crispy pancakes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I tried. I really did,” he said. “I don’t have much practice, since your mother only lets me near the stove once a year.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I laughed. “Lucky me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My mom poured me a glass or orange juice, but just as I went to thank her, the glass exploded in a burst of glass shards and Tropicana stickiness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Ah!” I screamed and jumped up, to avoid being drenched.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“What the…? What happened?” my dad asked, running over with the spatula still in his hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I don’t know. It just exploded!” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“That was odd, but don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” my mom said, rushing to dampen a towel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">In spite of her inappropriate calmness, my hands began to tremble. “Something’s wrong. I just feel…different.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My mom stooped to pick up the broken glass. “You’re another year older. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“No, it’s not that. It’s something else, but I’ve got no idea what. I just…sense danger or something.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I’m sure that nightmare just has you on edge, honey,” my dad said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Yeah, that has to be it. It really shook me up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Don’t dwell on bad dreams. Just try to enjoy your birthday.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I smiled and took a calming breath. “You’re right. I think I will.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“We’ll rent a movie,” my dad said, “and none with psycho killers in it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“G-rated it is,” I said with a nervous laugh, “even if I am officially old enough for those R-rated ones now. Bring on the <i>Toy Story</i> or <i>Mary Poppins</i>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Yeah, definitely no <i>Killer Klowns from Outer Space</i>,” my mother said as she washed the orange juice off her hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"> Chapter 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The sad part about having an October birthday was that I had no chance of being off school on my special day. After choking down as much charred batter as I could stand, I slung my book bag over my shoulder and headed off to school, another birthday morning tradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">My best friend, Beth, greeted me the second I set foot on campus. Even if I hadn’t been looking for her, I would have seen her all the same, as she was the only person in school who insisted on wearing skimpy summer clothing far after Labor Day, despite the autumn chill. She was also standing beneath what was possibly the largest gathering of balloons I’d ever seen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Happy birthday!” Beth shrieked as soon as she spotted me. She ran over, with so many helium-filled orbs above her head that I feared they might carry her away to Oz. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Thanks, bestie,” I said, beaming and blushing at the same time. “You’re the sweetest!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<i>Pop! Pop!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">As a few balloons burst, I jumped back, struggling to catch my breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Oh no,” Beth said, jutting her lip out in a pout. “That’s weird though. It’s not even windy or anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Weird seems to be my middle name today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“What’s going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I can’t explain it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">How did I possibly tell her that lights flickered and glasses exploded around me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">She pondered. “Hmm. Maybe it’s your dad’s burnt pancakes. Did you eat the whole stack?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I laughed. “Yes, of course. I have to. It’s tradition, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Yeah, and you always, always stick to the routine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Not always,” I argued, rolling my eyes upward, trying to give her a clue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Girl, you’re so predictable the weathermen wouldn’t even have to try.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Not always,” I repeated, then lifted a finger to point to my head. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Oh my gosh! Look at your hair!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I know, right?” I tossed my mane over my shoulder and gave her a seductive smirk. “What do you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It’s very...age of consent,” she said, then cracked up laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Ya think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Absolutely, not that you’ll find much to consent to around here,” she said, having reached that same point herself two months earlier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The two of us giggled and linked arms, then headed up the wide, sloping steps with the balloons clumping stubbornly above us. Our classmates waved cheerfully and parted like the Red Sea for us, not wanting to get tangled in the mess of strings and ribbons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Seriously,” Beth babbled, “maybe we oughtta plan some kind of road trip into the city for this weekend. This awesome new club is opening, and if Caleb’s older brother finally comes through with those fake IDs, I’m sure we can—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Ow!” I cried out of the blue, spinning around to see what had smacked me so hard in the shoulder. A whiff of citrus and sandalwood washed over me as I tilted up my chin and squinted into the sun. In front of that glowing star stood the hottest guy I’d ever seen, gazing back at me. I was sure he, too, had to be a figment of my recently crazed imagination. <i>No way could someone that good-looking and perfect exist in real life, let alone in Hallowood Heights. That body, that face, those eyes… </i>His faint dimples appeared as his smile curved up into a smirk, an expression that reeled me back down to Earth and snapped my attention back to the present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Beth, seemingly oblivious to the glorious stranger, dug through her book bag as she walked, chattering on, completely missing the life-shattering moment that was happening right next to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">With an instinct ingrained by years of watching female-empowering television, I jutted up my chin and gave him a sarcastic once-over. “Watch where you’re going, why don’t you?” I said, then shot him a huge, disarming smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The dimples were even more pronounced as he deepened his grin, and his eyes twinkled brighter than the sun behind him. “My mistake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Then, in the next second, he was gone, leaving me in a little cloud of that delicious scent. I sucked in a deep breath of it as I tried to gather my wits, well aware that the only evidence of actually having met that glorious Adonis was blowing away in the wind. I had no idea who he was, and I was one hundred percent certain he didn’t go to our school, so I wondered why he was there in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“So, anyway, I told him we won’t be caught dead in that thing, unless we were living somewhere where they don’t sell Pop Tarts to begin with.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">There was a beat before I turned slowly back to Beth. “I’m sorry, Pop Tarts? Huh?” I stuttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">She flipped her head back impatiently. “Caleb, fake ID, breakfast pastries… Geesh, Soph, try to keep up, would ya? You sure your dad didn’t lace those pancakes with something?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Right.” I shook my head quickly, scanning the area for any sign of the guy, but there was no one that even remotely resembled his unforgettable hotness. “Sorry. I guess that cute guy distracted me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“A cute guy? Here? Where?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You didn’t see him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Nope,” she said, shaking her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Well, I guess you were too busy talking and digging in your book bag. He had to be about twenty or so, bumped right into me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“C’mon, girl! You’ve gotta let me know when you have collisions with hotties. They’re a rare commodity around here, slim pickin’s.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I will. I promise I will next time. It just happened so fast,” I said, still confused about his disappearing act. Already, that handsome face was etched into my mind, and I desperately wanted to know who the stranger was, even if I did conjure him up in my own fantastic imagination, a little birthday present to myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">After school, I stood behind the counter at the Halloween shop, feeling a bit more witchy than festive. “That’ll be $17.50,” I said, stifling a yawn. As the customer pulled out his debit card to pay, I slipped the boxes of fake teeth into a bag and protected them with a layer of decorative orange and black tissue paper. I didn’t bother asking why the town banker required what amounted to three pounds of fake molars, and he didn’t volunteer that information. I only hoped it wasn’t something to do with embezzling the town fortune and leaving nothing behind but some fake dental records. My mother always said I had a wild imagination, and it was certainly in overdrive on my birthday, for some odd reason or another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The banker wasn’t the only weirdo skulking about town though. I blamed it on the stupid holiday. The closer the calendar moved to that pagan party, the more insane everyone acted. On the way into work, I walked right past a grown man sporting a pair of fake fangs beneath his seventies porn star-looking mustache. To be fair, though, the weirdest person in that encounter was probably me; instead of being curious, my first instinct was a bizarre burst of territorial rage. His fangs looked far better than any of the costume accessories we sold in our store, and I was almost envious, wondering where he got fangs that looked so realistic. It was at that point that I realized I had officially joined the asylum that was my hometown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The clock on the wall must have broken down from sheer boredom, because I could have sworn time had never ticked by so slowly. There was a steady flow of customers, so I wasn’t totally bored or alone, but it still wasn’t exactly what a girl would want to do on her birthday. As soon as the clock struck seven, I was out from behind the counter and practically running to the door, before anyone could stop me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A frigid wind swooped down on me the second I pulled the door open, so strong it smacked the door right back into me, squealing on its hinges and knocking me backward so hard I nearly tumbled into that window that boasted the horrible sacrifice display. I caught it just before it banged against the brick wall and forced it shut again, digging in my boots to anchor it in place while I struggled to lock it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">The sound of soft laughter drifted across the darkened street, and I whipped my head around to see who had witnessed my humiliating near-topple. Unfortunately, it was the last person in the world I wanted to see right at that moment. <i>Oh gosh, </i>I thought, blushing as I spotted the young man I’d run into at school, the beautiful bearer of the dimples. Seeing him again, I finally understood what people meant when they said someone took their breath away, because standing there staring at him, I felt as if I might hyperventilate. My face turned a million shades of scarlet, and I ducked my head down quickly down to finish locking up. When I glanced back up through my lashes, he was still standing there, but at least he was no longer looking at me; instead, his eyes were fixed on something just over my shoulder, something that had wiped the smile clean off his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">A little shiver ran up my skin as I stared in fascination. Never before had I seen someone look so adorable and so angry at the same time. He was a living, breathing paradox, a mystery I wanted to solve. Then again, I had never seen anyone look so furious and scary, so downright dangerous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I peeked over my shoulder to see what had him so riled up, but there was nothing there, other than the weird old lady who had accosted my poor necklace in the store the previous day. A little frown creased my forehead as I glanced back across the street, only to see the guy walking away. He was texting someone on his phone, his nimble fingers flying over the keys, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<i>Hmm. Bipolar much?</i><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I headed off in the opposite direction and took my regular shortcut down the alley as I played the whole strange scene back in my head. <i>Just goes to show that every rose really does have its thorns, </i>I thought sagely, mentally complimenting myself for the proper use of such a brilliant cliché. <i>See? This adulthood business is making you wiser already, Sophia.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“My dear…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">I whirled around and let out a shriek that would have rivaled that of any alley cat when I saw the old woman standing directly behind me. She moved so stealthily, quickly, and quietly that I didn’t even hear her walk up. Not only that, but she was standing at such an angle that I couldn’t move past her. In fact, as she took a step forward, I had to back into a wall to avoid my second awkward collision of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“That really is a lovely necklace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Um, thanks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .4in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I do hope you don’t mind if I hijack it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I scrunched up my brow and positioned myself into a fighting stance. I wasn’t one to get into violent altercations with senior citizens, but I wasn’t about to let her mug me for my jewelry either. I looked around her, to her left, and saw that I could probably just make a run for it. All things considered, I thought that a much better option, as I was sure that she was not exactly mentally stable. That decision, however, was one that turned my entire world upside-down, and in hindsight, I came to wish I’d just punched her square in the wrinkly-prune face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Before I could convince my feet to move, I watched in horror as the woman transformed before my very eyes. Her teeth elongated into horrific fangs, not at all part of a prank or a costume. Her blue eyes darkened to violet at first, then morphed to the deep crimson of blood. Bones snapped and cracked as her wrinkled body stretched and hardened into something resembling a walking shadow. Then came a sound as soft as a whisper as her floral print dress and handbag fell in a forgotten pile on the wet pavement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Just a taste?” she murmured, her voice distant, as if it was seeping up through the asphalt beneath her. “Just one drink, my dear, and then I’ll take you to a special meadow on a special altar before I send you to hell, along with the rest of your vile clan!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">When her knotted hands reached out for my throat, her brittle nails sharpening into claws, my heart began to race. She moved with supernatural speed, and I didn’t even have time to turn and run before I felt sharp fangs graze my skin. Panic flooded through me, and I let out what I was sure would be my final scream. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">At that very moment, like some crazy scene out of a comic book movie, a heroic silver blade shot through the center of her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise, as wide as mine, and she fell to the ground without so much as a grunt, convulsing and shriveling up till there was nothing left but an old dress and a weathered handbag.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">In her place stood the hot guy I’d seen before, still clutching the bloody weapon, with a manic slime lighting his handsome face. His chest rose and fell in quick, shallow breaths, yet he didn’t seem the least bit afraid or even fazed; it was as if he had stabbed a hundred old ladies in a hundred dark alleys, and it didn’t bother him one bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You killed her?” I asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It,” he corrected. “I killed <i>it, </i>you could say, though I technically didn’t. These things can only be killed by a rare breed of witch.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Well, she’s gone. It sure as hell looks like you killed her…er, uh…it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It’s half-demon. I just sent it somewhere else, on a little vacation, but rest assured it’ll be back. They always come back if they’re not banished properly by an Ankh witch.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“A what?” I said, but before he could answer me, I looked down at my shaking hands and let out a gasp through my labored breath. My legs had gone to jelly during the assault, and I almost collapsed into a puddle on the pavement myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"> “Are you okay?” he asked, looking me up and down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I blinked, then blinked again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">A shaky hand came up to push my quivering hair out of my eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Sorry,” I said, my voice coming out at a much higher pitch than usual. “You said that thing was some kind of demon?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Is. Not dead yet, remember?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Oh yeah.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“It <i>is</i> a vampire demon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I struggled to process his words, wondering if it was all just another bad dream or some sort of elaborate hoax, some crazy Halloween prank or a birthday joke. <i>Did Beth put me on one of those prank TV shows? </i>I considered, looking around for cameras. I knew what I saw couldn’t have really happened, but I really couldn’t vouch for reality anymore. If there was such a thing as a vampire demon, all sense of reality had been shattered for me, and I worried that I was actually experiencing hallucinations. <i>Maybe I fainted and this really is another nightmare,</i> I thought hopefully, fumbling for answers and wishing someone would wake me up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“I-I don’t understand,” I said, my voice trembling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You will soon enough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“But I need to know now!” I demanded, beginning to panic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“You’re too upset,” he said softly. “This is too big of a shock for you.” He then pulled what looked like a bag of powder out of his jacket pocket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“What are you, some kind of drug dealer?” I asked. “I’m not looking for any chemical help here, buddy. I can relax just fine on my own.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">He laughed. “I beg to differ.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Did you drug me before this? Am I on some kind of high, tripping or whatever they call it? Is that what’s happening here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">“Don’t worry, darling. You won’t remember any of this, at least not for a while,” he said, then blew some white powder into my face from his hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">I coughed and tried to protest, but I couldn’t even get one syllable out before darkness consumed me. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBCM9WW" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 28px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBCM9WW</a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-59057501082076475032016-09-10T21:07:00.001-04:002016-11-30T10:20:13.815-05:00Love & Faith <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0in;">Also know that I may change the beginning and turn into a fight scene that'll show you Sophie's biological parents fighting for their lives and </span>sneaking<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0in;"> her and her twin sister out of the compound when they are babies. Vampires have attacked and are determined to wipe out their rare race. But two baby girls survived and were adopted out. And this will start 18 years later with this chapter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0in;">See next blog post for most updated version. It's out now. Thanks!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-81142578505139303902016-08-16T15:39:00.001-04:002016-08-16T15:39:14.542-04:00Chaos - book 4 is now on audio! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Look what published today on audio! Book 4 of The Crush Saga!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have a listen to the sample by Kylie Stewart, my narrator. She's working on book 5 as we speak!</span></div>
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Click here: <a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Chaos-Audiobook/B01KBAR2AO/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1471374845&sr=1-1" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 19.32px;" target="_blank">http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Chaos-Audiobook/B01KBAR2AO/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1471374845&sr=1-1</a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-48715315290655273872016-04-01T09:24:00.003-04:002016-04-01T09:24:37.377-04:00Unedited Sample of Surviving Darkness - Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt;">Part 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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With Danny at her side, and her newfound powers growing, Blair feels like she <i>should</i> be okay. Heck, she even has a—sort of—friendship going with Tori, her long-lost half sister. Tori might be an assassin, but she draws the line at killing family, and she’s willing to help Blair with something no one else would: taking down Vlad the Impaler, legendary vampire and all-around bad guy extraordinaire. Just one problem, though: he’s also their father.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Blair knows that time is running out, and when Tori arrives with the story of an ancient artifact that could protect her, she sets off to search for it. She’s sure that she’s just keeping herself safe while she prepares for her fight with Vlad—but it soon becomes clear that every step she takes, every enemy she defeats, is just bringing her closer to the inevitable showdown…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Chapter 1<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The sounds of bird calls echoed through the canopy of trees, and sunlight dappled the deck, playing over my bare feet as I sat stretched out on one of the lounge chairs. The scene was such a picture-perfect family vacation, with the smell of pancakes coming from inside and the grill just waiting for hot dogs and hamburgers later in the day, that I could hardly reconcile it with the conversation that was taking place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“There’s no way,” Danny said, for what seemed like the hundredth time. His plate of blueberry pancakes lay abandoned, and he was frowning at Tori. “Those things never work.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Those things,” Tori mused. She made finger quotes in the air and then gave him a look. “Those things like…witchcraft?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You know what I mean.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“No. I don’t. You’re a witch, Danny, and you think enchanted amulets aren’t real?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Danny’s head turned sharply, his eyes meeting mine. His ancestry was a closely-guarded secret. In public, he only admitted to being a werewolf, something that had kept him and his brother safe from other werewolves trying to keep the bloodline pure—or, as had happened to me, members of his bloodline’s coven trying to come after him for the unpredictability of his powers. The fact was, Danny was just like me: powers under control (though his were better trained), and perfectly able to be a member of polite society. But a secret like that could be used against him, and of all the people he wanted to find it out, a woman who’d been one of Vlad the Impaler’s top assassins was probably not on the list.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 19.2px;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 19.2px;">I shook my head. </span>“I didn’t tell her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I can smell it on you,” Tori said. “Witches always have the same smell.” When he paled, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, most people can’t. Vlad never could. I’m sure he has more witch children he never knew about. He hates witches—in theory. But he ends up screwing an awful lot of them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I wrinkled my nose. Vlad might not be a father in any sort of traditional way—like, say, not trying to kill me brutally or draw me into a ring of mass-murderers—but I still didn’t want to hear about his sex life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Anyway,” Tori said, drawing us all back to the point at hand. “The amulet is real.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“How can you possibly know that?” Danny gave her a look.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I read,” Tori said, with great dignity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“If it can do what you say, why isn’t it being used?” I asked reasonably. Tori had shown up about an hour ago with stories of an amulet that could protect me from our father, and while I was happy enough to have it, as well as oddly pleased that she seemed to be looking out for me, I had some questions of my own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The temple it’s in is abandoned.” Tori shrugged.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well, why was it abandoned? Because it seems to me, if you’ve got something that powerful, you don’t just…leave it there when you leave the temple. Either it can only be used by a few people, or there’s something wrong with it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Like a curse,” Danny chimed in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“First you don’t believe in it, now you think it’s cursed?” Tori raised an eyebrow at him. “The amulet is <i>fine</i>. There’s no mention of a curse in anything I’ve read. It protects against vampires.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And you don’t think there will be any sort of conflict with the fact that Blair <i>is</i> half-vampire?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Maybe if she tries to hurt herself.” Tori seemed amused. Her smile faded when Danny didn’t return it. “Seriously, dude, what is your problem with this? I’m not trying to screw her over. She’s my sister.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Maybe that seems like a weird line in the sand for you,” Danny shot back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She was up in his face a moment later, crouching over the chair as she looked into his eyes. “I <i>never</i> hurt family unless they try to take me out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Blair did try to kill you that one time.” He wasn’t cowed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Because I was coming after her with weapons. I’m not going to hold that against her.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “So you shut the hell up about my loyalties. I would never hurt her…unless she started siding with Vlad.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“<i>Fine</i>.” Danny pushed her off him. “But that doesn’t change the fact that what she <i>should</i> be doing is learning her magic here, where it’s safe. She doesn’t need to go traipsing off after some mythical amulet in…whatever, some jungle somewhere. Or is it in a museum? Do we need to do a jewel heist?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I told you. Temple.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Fine, so it’s Tomb Raider instead of Ocean’s 11. Still stupid.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hang on.” I put my hands up to keep them both from speaking. I’d thought it was a good idea to let them get their jabs out early, but it had been a while and we were getting nowhere with the two of them at each other’s throats. “So, Tori. This amulet. Who made it? How does it work?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I don’t know how it works.” Tori shook her head. “I don’t really know anything about spells. Maybe this one will be able to tell you,” she added grudgingly, jerking her head at Danny. “All I know is that it was made by a coven of witches. They disappeared a while back, no one knows how, but before they did, they built a temple in Tibet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“<i>Tibet</i>?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It’s not exactly a weird place for a coven. Very remote. Not a lot of connection to the outside world unless you’re in one of the major cities. It’s hard to hide in Europe or America. But Tibet…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Tibet.” Danny was frowning. “I could swear I heard something…” His frown deepened and he shook his head. “I can’t remember it. Damn. Sorry. But that doesn’t change anything. Blair has spent her whole life not just not being taught about her powers, but actively being taught not to use them. She can’t take on Vlad like this.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I know other things,” I pointed out. “It’s not like I know nothing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I know you do.” He looked over at me and his face softened. “You know how to heal. You’ve learned about science. Most witches never do.” He reached over to squeeze my hand. “It’s remarkable.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Touching.” Tori’s voice was like acid. “But we still need to get the amulet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We don’t. We don’t need Blair going anywhere until she’s figured out her magic. And that could take months.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Months in which Vlad is almost certain to find out where she is,” Tori pointed out brutally. “You think you’re safe out here? I found this place on my own. And I’m good. I’m one of the best. But Vlad <i>collects</i> the best. He’s not going to rest with Blair out here. He’s going to try and track her down, and kill her before she reaches her full strength—or at the very least, kidnap her and try to turn her to his side.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He wouldn’t.” My blood ran cold. The thought of Vlad bending me to his will, holding me in a cage and working on my mind until my very sense of reality warped, was so vivid that for a moment I thought I was going to throw up. “I can’t…I can’t…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He’s not going to get that chance,” Tori said, almost gently. Her voice hardened. “Because you’re going to go get that amulet and stay safe.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“No, she’s <i>not</i>,” Danny insisted. “She goes back out into the real world, and he’ll pick up her trail in a second. He’s going to be watching for her to try to run.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Actually,” Tori said, grinning, “I think he’s betting on her being just as pigheadedly stubborn as <i>you</i> are. All of our family tries to throw themselves headfirst at things they don’t have the strength to fight. She’d already have gone after him if you hadn’t been keeping her here and softening her up with all your…distractions.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I blushed a fiery red. The fact that Danny seemed to be able to make me weak at the knees just by looking at me was something I didn’t really want my sister to know. Her laugh only made me blush harder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“<i>Anyway</i>,” she said, the laugh still lurking in her voice, “what she needs to do is have protection in case he comes for her while she’s learning the ropes. So.” With a glare at Danny, she unrolled a map.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was new, an almost photorealistic view of Tibet, and somehow that seemed incredibly funny to me. We were searching for ancient amulets—shouldn’t we have an ancient map?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tori just shook her head at my giggle. “There isn’t a treasure map to this thing. It’s just a reference in some old books.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Wait…” Danny was staring at the map, his fingers tracing over mountain ranges. “Wait.” He opened his mouth to speak, and then pushed himself up and disappeared into the house.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tori looked over her shoulder and then shrugged. “Okay, so there’s a set of tunnels somewhere around…here.” She tapped at the map. “You’ll need to follow them down. They’re close to the base of one of the mountains, and they’ll be well-hidden. Whoever these witches were trying to escape, they did a damned good job of it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Not forever, apparently,” I pointed out. “Why did they leave this place? It’s not filled with…giant spiders or anything, is it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Not giant spiders,” Danny said. He had returned, holding an old, leather-bound book, and he dropped it unceremoniously on the map, pointing at a paragraph in almost indecipherable script. “Hellhounds.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn’t have the first idea what he was talking about, but Tori pressed her lips together, swallowing uncomfortably.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“See?” Danny pressed. “Not a good idea.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What are hellhounds?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hellhounds,” Danny pronounced, sitting back down with a glare at Tori, “are part dog, part bear, part human, part…demon.” He shook his head, his features contorting. “They’re nearly impossible to kill, they’re strong as hell, and they’re <i>vicious.</i> Oh, and they’re territorial. If they claimed that place, you can be damned sure they haven’t given it up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It’s got to have been centuries since they were there,” I tried.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He’s right,” Tori said glumly. “They’re probably sill there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Is the amulet?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Quite possibly.” She met my eyes. “And I still think you should go.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You can’t be serious!” Danny jabbed his finger at the book. “Hellhounds. <i>Hellhounds.</i>”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Vlad the Impaler,” Tori responded, unimpressed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Danny collapsed back into the chair and groaned, his hands over his face.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Okay, say I decided to go.” I leaned over, tapping him on the arm.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Why did I know you were going to say that?” His voice was muffled. He didn’t look at me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Say I did. What kind of magic could defeat the hellhounds?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He rolled his head to look at me. “You’re impossible, you know that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Yeah, well, it takes a special kind of person to go after Vlad the Impaler. So. Magic.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He sighed. “You’d need to learn warding,” he said finally. “And…more than just the lightning. I can think of a couple of things. <i>But</i>,” he added, as I lit up, “I’m going with you. And you’re staying here until I think you know that magic well enough for us to have a fighting chance.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He gave Tori a look, clearly blaming her for this state of events, and she only smiled, sleek and self-satisfied as a cat that has the cream. She stood, stretching, and zipped her leather coat up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And when you get back, I’ll see about introducing you to the other sisters.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“There are other sisters?” I sat bolt upright.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“When you get back?” Tori repeated, unconcerned. She smiled at Danny, showing teeth. “I’ll show myself out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And she was gone. Danny sat back with a groan, and I reached over to tap him on the shoulder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hey. It’s going to be okay.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You two will be the death of me.” It was a weak joke, and his smile was gone almost instantly. He reached over to clasp my hand. “Blair, promise me you’ll take this seriously. Hellhounds are nothing to joke about.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">“I promise,” I said. But as he settled back in his chair, I knew that I didn’t have the first idea what I was promising. Suddenly, the world didn’t seem like a place where I was supposed to fight Vlad, but a place that was full of dangerous things that might kill me before I could face him again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">End of sample.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">I don't have a release date yet. But I'm half way done. : )</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-89555862849931734222016-04-01T08:21:00.001-04:002016-04-01T08:21:34.896-04:00Sample of The Ice Pack - Book 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt;">The Ice Pack<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt;">Part 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">by<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Copyright 2016 by Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Cover Artist: Book Cover by Design<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Editor: Autumn J. Conley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Gripping a stake tightly in her hands, Julie walked into the dense woods. It was midmorning, and she was ready to kick butt, dressed in a flannel shirt, well-worn blue jeans, a winter coat, and black boots, with her hair tied up in a tight ponytail to keep it out of her face. They were hunting a nest of vampires who had been murdering innocent people for at least six months. Myles had evidence that victims were being taken to the nest, where the vamps kept them alive; they were like helpless prey, with no chance against the supernatural threat against them. Now, it was time for someone to go after the vicious predators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie could smell it, the alluring scent of the hunt. The vampires had walked that very path last night, and the stench they left behind triggered a quick vision. She gasped as a vampire sank its razor-sharp fangs into the neck of a screaming woman, but then the vision ended as quickly as it had begun. Short as it was, it was enough to turn Julie’s stomach. Her blood boiled with rage and thundered through her whole body, swirling her mind into a fury. <i>That’s it,</i> she thought. <i>It’s time to send these monsters back to Hell!</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Her team consisted of six Ice Pack wolves, and Myles had dubbed Zach the leader. They all knew it was best to catch the vampires when they were sleeping, and they had discovered that none of their fangy foes were wearing daylight rings, which was a relief. The team had spent over a week trying to find out where they were holed up, and that persistence had paid off. Now, it was time for the bloodsuckers to go down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Sunlight glistened on the snow Julie crunched beneath her booted feet, making it glisten like a thousand tiny diamonds. As pretty and serene as it was, it was also quite creepy, like some sort of Halloween scene thrown haphazardly into the script of a Christmas movie, a Norman Rockwell painting on the verge of a bloodbath. When a bird fluttered its wings and flew off, Julie jumped, and her heart almost beat right out of her chest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Shh!” Zach scolded, lowering his crossbow and motioning for her to be quiet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie was eager to get it all over with, because the sooner they put the vile nest of vamps out of everyone’s misery, the sooner she could go back and look for Grant. The leads she’d followed hadn’t panned out, so she was frustrated, but she knew she had to keep trying. No matter what direction her hunt for Grant took her, the trail eventually grew cold. She had no idea where he was or if he was even alive. It was as if he’d just walked off the face of the Earth. Not even Tabby could find him, and with all her connections, that didn’t make any sense at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie glanced around at the tall pine trees as she swiftly moved past them. When Zach pointed, she followed his finger to the elusive vampire nest, housed inside an old mansion. <i>Get</i> <i>in and out,</i> Julie thought hopefully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">She was well aware that Taylor, her best friend, would prefer to try to rehabilitate the vampires at the immortal sanctuary, but after seeing the bloody crime spree photos, she knew they didn’t deserve a second chance. Besides that, Tristan had ordered that the vampires were to be killed and their lair burned to the ground. Not only were they killing by the dozens, but they were bringing way too much attention and bad press to the immortal community, and that was dangerous for everybody involved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“We could just burn it down with them in it,” one team member suggested. “If we pool all our magic together, we’ll turn ‘em into toast in a matter of seconds.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“No!” Julie said. “Have you forgotten that they’ve got hostages in there? We set their dinner free, then hit ‘em hard and fast, then play <i>Firestarter</i> on that nasty old house, just to make sure we got them all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“There can’t be that many hostages remaining. What are a few human lives anyway? Why should we risk ours when we could just as easily—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Um…every life matters,” Zach retorted, “except for those murdering, vampire pigs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“You’re biased,” Jordan said, shaking her head. “Still hurt from past experiences.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“C’mon, sis. You know what they took from me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I get it, Zach. They killed your girlfriend. And you can’t stop thinking about revenge. It’s too personal for you. You shouldn’t be here, whether we have to destroy them or not. That kind of thing is what gets people hurt.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“You gonna hate vampires forever?” another team member asked as he pushed through the vegetation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t hate <i>all</i> bloodsuckers—only the fanged freaks who hunt and kill humans, like the animals we’re hunting now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Well, just don’t let that hate get you killed in the process, man.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">They made it to the basement without incident and followed a tunnel to a large room. Julie could smell the metallic tang of blood, and it turned her stomach. Zach pushed open the door and walked inside, only to see the grim sight of people hanging from chains, inside metal cages, like livestock. The vampires were cozy as could be, all nestled in sleeping bags on the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Look at ‘em,” Zach whispered, “huddled down there like Boy Scouts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I doubt they’d help any old lady across the street,” Julie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Maybe to this godforsaken torture chamber of theirs,” Zach said, glaring at the vampire closest to him and resisting the urge to stomp his face in with his boot. “Let’s do this. These things make me sick.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">One of the men hanging helplessly in a cage met Julie’s gaze and moved his dry, cracked lips, as if to say something, and she motioned for the prisoner to be quiet. Zach and Jordan quietly sneaked over to the cages to unlock them, while everyone else positioned themselves near the snoozing vampires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Help me!” the man blurted. “For goodness sake, get me out of here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Just like that, the element of surprise was gone, courtesy of his petrified, piercing cry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie lifted her stake high in the air and readied herself to plunge it deep in the heart of the vampire sleeping below her in a purple sleeping bag, but he suddenly jumped up and kicked her back with all the strength of an MMA fighter. She flew into the wall, pain exploding in her back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The vamp, a nasty creature with spiky hair and scary eyes, pounced on her in a blur. Drool dripped from his gaping mouth, and he struggled to bite Julie with his long, sharp, fully descended fangs. His fierce claws sliced at her face, coming dangerously close to slashing her. Julie kicked his ribs with everything she had and finally sent him flying, but he raced right back over to her in the blink of an eye, smiling sadistically and baring his terrifying teeth. The beast inside Julie fought an animalistic urge to rip his heart out, and she instead reached for the stake she’d dropped in the collision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Growls and snarls filled the air as the other wolves were locked in battle, but everyone silenced when a gunshot echoed and a bullet penetrated the ceiling, sending plaster and paint chips crumbling down on a few of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Wait!” the vampire yelled, tightly clutching the rifle. “Stop this fighting!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“And who are you to tell us what to do?” Zach hissed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I’m Sal, the coven leader. Can we not talk this out, come to a truce, so there is no bloodshed on either side? Surely you wolves are more civilized than…this,” he said, looking around at the carnage and the blood that had already stained the floors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Civilized?” Julie said with a smirk. “You call this civilized? Murdering people, keeping them in cages till you get a sweet tooth and drain them dead? If we let you walk out of here, you’ll just make a new nest somewhere else like the vipers you are, and the killing will just start all over again in a new place.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The man in a black shirt and leather pants, with eyes the most unusual hue of green, stepped toward Julie. Even when he pointed his rifle at her, Julie wasn’t frightened; she knew she could stop the bullet in the blink of an eye with her magic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“You know, there’s this old song,” Julie snapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“What song?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“It’s called ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me,’ The Police. I know it’s about as ancient as you are, 1980 or something, but you oughtta give it a listen sometime and stop standing so close to people who don’t wanna smell your nasty breath!” she said, peering furiously at him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Is it because we’re on your turf?” asked a vampire with long, blonde hair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Listen, we don’t want any trouble with the local wolves,” their leader said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“We’re not local,” Zach said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The vampire smiled. “We’re willing to share. We’ll even give you first dibs on our prisoners. You can have all the meat you want, as long as you leave the blood for us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“We didn’t come here for a freaking buffet, you monster!” Julie shouted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Why are you here then?” Sal asked. “I was under the impression that you dogs are here in search of…Puppy Chow, like those nasty hyena kin of yours who try to surround a poor lion and steal his hard-earned prey.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“The only preying that is going to go on in here should be yours, on your knees, begging for your undead lives,” Julie said. “Are you really so stupid that it isn’t obvious? We’re the cavalry. We’re here to save the people, not eat them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Oh. My mistake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“As Sal said, we want no trouble, and we are happy to go elsewhere,” another said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“If you didn’t want trouble, you shouldn’t have made this town your feeding grounds,” Julie barked, “or any town, for that matter. You can drink from blood bags or animals. As your slimy leader said himself, there is no need for all this bloodshed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Blood bags? No!” a vampire answered. “Why should we be condemned to drink stale blood from some unknown source? We don’t just merely drink blood…we drink <i>life</i>. We enjoy draining our victims. And I can’t believe you’d have us drinking from rats and rodents!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Well, you <i>are</i> what you eat,” Zach sniped, “though that’s somewhat of an insult to the filthy rats, I suppose.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Your murderous rampage caught the attention of the Immortal Council, and now you must be punished,” Julie said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The blonde woman’s eyes widened with horror. “The Council? So you’re…vampire hunters? They sent you after us?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie nodded. “Yes, and we’re here to shut you down permanently.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“That won’t happen, you mutts!” Sal said, shifting his stance to study his adversaries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Wanna bet? You may think you’re invincible, you toothy terror, but remember that we tracked you down pretty easily, in just a few days. You’re not so smart, and your bloodthirsty rampage ends right now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">They stared at each other hard for a moment before Sal inhaled sharply and spat, “I smell you, wolf. You stink like a wet dog.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The wolf inside Julie growled at the insult, desperate to rip the vampire open with razor-sharp claws. It took every single ounce of control she had to stop her wolf from taking over, but she didn’t want to be controlled by pure rage, as she knew it would override all her common sense. Her wolf was infuriated by the fact that the nest survived by committing mass murder, but she had to tame the beast inside her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie smiled. “I smell you too. What is that scent called anyway?” she asked, sniffing the air. “Oh, I know. It's called...Revolting.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Cute,” the vampire said. “Now let’s talk this out.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie took another step closer. “There’s nothing to talk about. Prolonging your pathetic life by drinking the blood of these innocent people just pisses me off, you rogues.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">An entourage of six vampires moved in behind Sal, and several more eased over to join them, until he was surrounded by at least a dirty dozen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The beast within Julie stirred. It feared nothing and longed to attack, but she managed to stifle her anger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Sal crossed his arms. “Well? What are you going to do, little pup? We are not about to run…or repent.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I doubt running would get you very far anyway,” Julie said, seething. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Sal’s fangs lengthened, and his eyes glowed. “You claim you are smart, but it seems you came so…unprepared. Only a few crude stakes? Darling, you really should be more armed to fight a coven like ours,” he said, pointing at his gun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Not necessary,” Julie said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Sal laughed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“No, really. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“You think you’re stronger than us, little wolf? Perhaps you are in the stinking department,” he said, drawing laughs and cruel chuckles from the others of his kind, “but we are certainly not afraid of a mangy bunch of house pets.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Julie met his gaze. “Well, I’m not your typical mutt.” With that, she flung her hand, and a large gust of wind knocked the entire group backward. “And that, <i>darling</i>, is why I don’t need weapons like you do.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Who are you?” Sal demanded, dumbfounded and stumbling to his feet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“We’re The Ice Pack,” Julie answered, “and we’re about to freeze this nest for good!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“The Ice Pack? That can’t be true. It’s just a myth, some silly fairytale about mythical creatures created to guard elite immortals,” a woman shouted, laughing. “Next, you’ll be telling us you are the Tooth Fairy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“We <i>do </i>exist, and we have strength, power, and magic like none you’ve seen before. No immortal can win against us. Surrender now, or we will kill you. We will destroy you so thoroughly that there will be nothing left but ashes, not even one fang for you to put under your pillow!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“We are vampires, and we do not surrender, least of all to dogs!” a woman shouted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">An arrow flew at Julie’s face, but she caught it in a split second, just before it hit her face. “Nice try,” she said with a growl in her throat and a glow in her eyes. “All that did was make me mad though. I warned you before that you should run, and I won’t warn you again.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The ravenous predators did opt to run, only at her team instead of away from them. The Ice Pack fought back, charging directly at their enemies and dodging fists, claws, and fangs. As they fought, the humans in the cages, roused from their painful, nightmarish sleep by all the commotion, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A vampire in a fedora threw his fist at Julie, but she ducked the blow easily with immortal Ice Pack speed. In exchange, she delivered a flurry of blows to his face, chest, and groin. He struck her with his body, sending her reeling backward, then fell clumsily on top of her. As he tried to punch her, she threw her arms up, and a yellow stream of energy threw him to the ceiling, so hard that large chunks of concrete came raining down. As soon as he crashed to the floor, Zach rammed a stake through his heart, and he vanished, leaving behind only a pile of black dust with the fedora sitting on top of it, like some sort of twisted Indiana Jones shrine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Jordan kicked another vamp’s legs out from under him. As he started to stagger and stumble like an old drunk, she staked him. Next, a furious redhead took slow, measured steps toward her, but Jordan kicked her in the chest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The vampiress flew back but somehow caught her balance and let out a demonic, inhuman growl. “You killed my husband!” she shrieked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Jordan gripped her stake tightly and lifted it high in the air, ready to strike again. “Then you need to join him…in Hell!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The woman gnashed her teeth and charged, but Jordan was much too fast and easily penetrated her chest with the stake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A vampire with a red Mohawk charged at Zach, but he easily pulled back his fist and took a hard swing at the corpse’s face. The sucker-punch knocked the creature right out, and he fell to the hard floor with a loud <i>thud</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A gothic chick with dark eye makeup hissed and leapt at Julie, but she quickly delivered a crushing blow to the vampire’s throat, sending her to the ground in an unnatural, twisted contortion. Before she could stake the sprawled-out vampire, she heard the crunching of glass behind her and spun around to see another female adversary rushing in her direction. A kick to the chest sent her flying against the wall. Julie ran over as the monster hissed, snarled, and curled her lips, and she finished her off as the thing lurched at her with deadly intentions. Julie was enraged, and two more fireballs emerged from her palms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I now see the legend about The Ice Pack is true,” a vampire asked, growling through her bared fangs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">The vampire vented her fury and, shrieking like a banshee, ran at Julie with a butcher knife. Julie moved faster, her Ice Pack instincts kicking in. In a blur, she threw a stake so hard it sank straight into her heart. With a guttural growl, the vampire exploded.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The Ice Pack is available here for preorder: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B6K4RME" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B6K4RME</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-72203991209260612042016-01-06T20:14:00.000-05:002016-01-22T15:49:06.571-05:00Siege - book 9 sample (not edited!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SIEGE</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">CHRISSY PEEBLES<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Copyright © 2015 by Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span> <span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Note: </span></b><span style="font-size: large;">This is in rough draft and has not been edited. Readers kept asking me for a sample or a taste. So here it is. :) Please note that scenes can change, more details can be added, and stuff could be a tiny bit different in the official book.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869252"><span lang="EN-GB">Part 1: On The Road</span></a><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869253"><span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 1<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Dean</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The land outside was changing, I thought as I looked out the window of the armored Knight SUV. Ohio had always been a pretty gold-and-green state with lots of good farming land with all kinds of green vegetation. Everything was growing out of control. Saplings now crept down from the edges of the road, some even sprouting up from cracks in the road. I could see small farms choked by tall grasses, wild wheat, and out of control weeds. The ghosts of abandoned cars off to the side of the road peeked out from their greenery as we zipped along the interstate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Well, it sure looks like home-sweet-home went to crap,” Lucas said from the passenger’s seat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“You think it’s just here?” Nick gripped the steering wheel tightly. “It’s everywhere, buddy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Welcome to the zombie apocalypse,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">My older brother chuckled as he drove.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I had to agree with Lucas. It <i>did</i> look like Ohio was pretty much deserted and abandoned. The zombie apocalypse had forced people to flee their homes, head for the coasts, or (even stupider) head for the cities in hope of finding government bunkers that didn’t exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Ugh.</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> I shuddered. We had seen first-hand what had happened in the cities: close quarters, zombies everywhere, lots of places to hide but nowhere to run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Nah, give me the open roads and wide spaces any day,” I murmured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Hmm?” A warm weight lifted from my shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Jackie.</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> I felt a surge of love lift my heart. Jackie–who would have thought that this was real? That I got to be here, with her? After all we’d been through, she was still by my side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“What did you say, hon?” she said sleepily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Tenderly, I brushed away a lock of her long, brown hair that fell out of her ponytail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Nothing, babe. I was just thinking how I’m glad to be back here in Ohio…. With you,” I added, a little softer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“That’s so sweet.” Jackie smiled, her hand squeezing mine where she had held it as she slept. I could smell her hair under my chin, and feel the warmth of her pressing against me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I wonder what the future holds.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Good things,” I said. “And we will never join the zombie horde. I promise you that. If we survived this long, then we’re making it to the very end.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I’m shocked at how fast we adapted to all these life and death situations.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Well, we rise to the occasion or we die, it’s that simple,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We’re pretty adaptable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“And that’s why we’re still alive. We’re survivors. The world just suddenly stopped…and we did what needed to be done. Sometimes, we had to make hard decisions.” I thought back to the first man I ever killed in self-defense. I was still haunted by taking another life. But I knew I didn’t take his life intentionally. I did what I did….to live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I personally know the pain of surviving. It’s a long, painful process. And I fought for every single breath I took. I knew the constant battle to stay alive reinforced emotional numbing and avoidance of painful emotions. I’d been through so much, but I stored it away so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. I didn’t want to deal with it. But would it all come tumbling back one day? Would I be buried underneath all its weight? My spirit remained alive under the worst conditions imaginable. Yet, I was alive. I knew eventually I would have to deal with it. But not right now. Right now, I only dealt with immediate survival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Ever since doomsday hit, my world has been full of violence, fear, and hostility. Lack of food, water, and trust had led to terrible choices, compromises, and conflict. Sometimes I feel like I have no control over my life. It’s like climbing up a mountain. One wrong misstep, and down you go. But whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I don’t want my heart to be hardened,” Jackie said. “Sometimes in this</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 21.4px;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">grotesque new world, I feel like I’m soulless. Just going through the motions, pushing hard to survive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm. And I know we’ve been weathering one long heck of a storm. But I promise the sun will eventually come out. We’ve just gotta keep on believing it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“You just blew my mind,” she said, stroking my hair out of my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Do you want me for my mind or my zombie-killing skills? Or maybe my good looks?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She laughed. “Oh, it’s the blue eyes for sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Really? I thought maybe you’d say it was for my big, strong muscles.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She gazed into my eyes. “I love you. For your beautiful mind, sexy body, and compassionate soul. And you’re my end-of-the-world legendary hero. You rescued me when I was at the lowest point in my life. And you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She looked so adorable, so beautiful. She flashed me her perfect, white smile. Her hair hung in a long, dark braid. She had high cheekbones and pretty eyes. I kissed her on the lips. “I love you too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She stroked my face. “I couldn’t imagine doing this without you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“You’re the only thing that gets me through this,” I said. “And I about died when I thought you were dead.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I knew I had her in my arms, but I’d never forget that deep pain I felt when I thought she had left my life forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Her hand brushed across my cheek. “Oh, baby. Don’t even think about that. I’m here, and I promise I’m never leaving you ever again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Gas!” Nick shouted, waking me up from my stupor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">"If you're having gas, we can stop," Lucas laughed. "’Cause I can't handle the stench."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">"You know that's not the gas I'm talking about."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I had managed to fall asleep, again with Jackie curled up next to my side, and Kate on the other side of her. If we needed gas, then we’d have to stop the convoy and fill up somewhere. And gas was a rare commodity these days. It was always a challenge to find some. But all we had to do was get back to the Sandusky area. Once we were on the island, we wouldn’t gas as often.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Uh, about fifteen minutes more, maybe?” Nick said, looking out the window. The wind began to pick up and the sky was starting to get darker. Lucas zipped up his body armor and checked the ammo on his guns. Stopping to get out of your car in zombie country meant you had to be fully prepared if anyone dared took a step outside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“There was a place, a little way back,” Kate suddenly spoke. “A turnoff on the left. It had a gas sign on it. Didn’t you guys see it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Nick looked over to Lucas. The question went unsaid, but we were all thinking it. <i>Can we risk it? What if it’s overrun?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">BZZT!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> The walkie-talkie in Jackie’s lap buzzed. It had to be one of the others in the RV coming up behind us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“This is Val. Why are you slowing down?” she asked, her voice crackly with static.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie spoke into the radio. “Need to fill-up. Kate says she saw a gas station a little way back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Skip gas stations. You can’t get gas from electric pumps anyway. Those pumps don’t work. I think we all know that. Let’s find an abandoned car or parked truck.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie looked questioningly at Lucas, who just shrugged, slowing the Knight down to a crawl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Tell her we haven’t seen a salvageable car or truck,” Nick said. “And what are the chances we’re going to run into one in the next fifteen minutes? So we’re stopping at the gas station and checking it out. It’s better than nothing. And we can’t run out of gas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie related the message.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Nick hates your car idea,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Val laughed. “Of course he does.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Most gas stations have huge underground tanks,” Nick said. “If we’re careful, we can access it without power.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The message was related and Val said we didn’t have time for that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“If we pry up the lids over the main tanks we can either hand pump or use a bucket to bring fuel up. And if she doesn’t like that idea, most farmers have diesel or gasoline stored in large quantities to power their farming equipment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Why don’t we vote on it?” Jackie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There was a mumbled agreement from everyone inside the vehicle. We didn’t have much choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“They all voted for stopping at the gas station,” Jackie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Okay,” Val said over the walkie-talkie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We turned our vehicles around and started crunching over the trash-laden interstate back to the turn-off Kate spotted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I joined in the discussion Jackie, Nick, Lucas, and Kate were having on zombie traps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Building deep ditches around your shelter is a must,” Kate said. “Unless you’re on an island. And then you have the water as a barrier.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas wrapped his arm around her. “Something basic like strong rope can stop lots of zombies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah, we’ll just make a rope wall. I’ll weave that rope in a zigzag pattern. That way we can squeeze between but zombies won’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I like it,” Jackie said. “It can slow down a zombie and give a survivor a chance to run.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Wooden stakes, string, or wire braided across the ground will trip zombies too,” Nick said. “We could easily walk past it with no difficulty.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas nodded. “Yeah, everyone should have that little number. It would slow the zombies down in case of a breech.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Metal poles could be installed deep into the ground to slow zombies to a trickle if there was a breech. And if they all bunch up, they’d topple over.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We went on to talk about all the creative zombie traps that we could build. The possibilities were endless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869254"><span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 2<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Val</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The RV wasn’t as cool as the Knight with all its neat features, but I guess that we should still thank the good people of Fairmont for giving it to us after we’d helped them out over the winter. But she handled like a whale, I thought as I steered her down the ramp to Kate’s turn-off, and started down the smaller access road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">My thoughts drifted to Max. I missed him so much. I knew he would want me to go on. And I would go on for him. But it hurt…bad. I couldn’t even lean on Lucas. He was dating Kate now, and they seemed to be hitting it off. I was glad he was happy. He deserved happiness. Maybe I would get it one day. My heart might still be hurting, but I’d never give up on hope. I had hoped against all odds, my parents and grandmother was still alive. If they were still on the island, I wouldn’t be allowed there. I knew that. It was why I didn’t want to come back home to our parents in the first place. I had a safe place to live in Fairport. Would I have that same opportunity in Sandusky? I didn’t know. I’d never forget how the security team ripped me from my mother’s house and took me into isolation. They took Jenny, Kyle, and Sammy from me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I took a deep breath as emotion consumed me. They left me in a room to rot and were going to give me a shot to end my life because I had been bitten by a zombie. My life literally flashed before my eyes the second I’d been bitten. Going back to a place where I was given a death sentence was very hard for me. Dean and Nick didn’t understand why I wanted to stay behind in Fairmont. They were so sad and upset when I told them I wasn’t coming. They thought family should stick together no matter what. And I do believe that. But they were taking me to a place where I could be put in isolation all over again. What if the leaders of that island decided to humanely end my life once again? It hurt to think about it. And it scared me to death. Yes, going back there instilled a terror deep in me that I couldn’t even begin to explain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I could hear Sammy’s screams as they tore her away. I could see Jenny’s tears. And then there was the love of my life: Kyle. He told me he loved me. I knew he meant every word. I shook all those thoughts away. How could I ever get past all this pain?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">But I decided that I loved my family. So I conquered my fear of going back so I could be with Dean, Nick, my parents, and my grandmother. I just prayed it all turned out the way I wanted it too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Asia cut into my thoughts. “Boy, this is a tight squeeze.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I snapped back into reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Are you okay?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Sorry. I was deep in thought.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah. You looked like you were a million miles away.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“I was.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She smiled as she playfully nudged me. “Well, girl, get your head back into the game. Or let me drive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I’m fine, Asia.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Okay, then.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Maybe taking the RV in first wasn’t such a great idea, I started thinking as the road narrowed, and then narrowed more, until the sounds of the overgrown tree branches scraped the top of the RV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Need me to do some whacking?” Asia asked, one hand on the door, the other on her machete.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I peered out the window. “Nah, I got this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">We had a variety of weapons at our feet, from guns and rifles to bats and axes. No matter what situation we ran into, we’d be ready for anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah, it widens out right here,” I said, nodding up ahead to where the road dipped, and then rose up; the trees and overgrown weeds falling away on both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“This would make an excellent place for an ambush,” Asia muttered, and I remembered why exactly I liked her. She thought like a survivor. We all knew we had to be ready for anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah, but pity the poor people who tried to ambush us, huh?” I grinned back, and Asia nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We kick butt,” she said, keeping her eyes on the woods. “We’re better at it than anybody else.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“You bet! Now you’re getting your head back into the game.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I laughed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">No sign of zombies, no sudden lurches from the shadows of the trees, no signature zombie moans. No drifters. No gangs. No cannibals. This place was deserted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“So far, so good,” Asia said, tapping the dashboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I realized that the road was starting to widen and bend, approaching a truck stop and a wide turning circle next to a small gas station.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“You know the drill,” I said. “Let’s get this done as fast as possible, then get back on the road.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Gotcha,” Claire responded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There in the truck stop was a tanker, still emblazoned with the oil companies’ logo, one door open, and the window smashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Ransacked?” Claire asked. “If so, there might not be any gas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Guess we’ll see soon enough,” I said, pulling the RV around in a circle, so that we were facing back out the way we’d come in. The Knight had roared up to the truck stop, spun around in a spray of gravel and parked right next to us. At least, we’d be in the right direction when we had to leave. And we’d be ready if we needed a quick getaway. You always have to run eventually. Run or fight. That was the story of my life. For all of us, actually. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Okay, let’s get this done,” Claire said. She opened the side door and jumped down onto the dirt. She stuffed her revolver in her waistband then glanced around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“It’s a ghost town,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I like ghost towns,” Claire responded. “The quieter, the better.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She zipped up her leather jacket, tying back her long, red hair. Then she grabbed her gun and pointed it in front of her. “Asia and I will secure the perimeter. You guys do your thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I unbuckled my seatbelt as Claire and Asia stepped around the front of our vehicle, up to the cab of the tanker, holding their revolvers out in front of them. I jumped out of the vehicle. Gun drawn, I followed them. There was only the sound of our footsteps and the wind in the tree tops. There were big rigs parked all over the place. But all the eighteen-wheelers were devoid of drivers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I then heard the others. Nick and Lucas went straight into what I always thought of as their ‘military mode’ acting in tandem – with very few spoken words between them. In just a second my brother and Lucas had fanned out on either side of the vehicles, scanning the periphery. They were walking around the entire gas station and secured it. Dean and Jackie acted as lookouts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Claire glanced up at the rig. “Wow. We’re missing a door.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I glanced inside. The driver had been decapitated. It was a bloody mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Any zombies?” Kate asked, stepping around in wide strides, swinging her rifle from her shoulders as she checked for any signs of possible danger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Nah, just this poor guy,” Claire said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Not good,” I said.<i> “</i>If this guy was hijacked or jumped, then there is probably nothing left here. This whole place has been sucked dry by psychopaths or lunatics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Not necessarily.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I sighed. “Okay, let’s see if this place has any gas. If it doesn’t, we’re screwed. And it’ll be a total waste of time. I told you we shouldn’t backtrack.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie approached. “C’mon. We didn’t have much choice. Do you think we were just going to run into a car full of gas? Dream on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“If we’re desperate, we can do what Nick said,” I said. “Get gas from underneath the gas station.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Last resort,” Claire said. “Because I don’t want to hang around here any longer than we have too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Agreeed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">SCKR! </span></i><span lang="EN-GB">the radio crackled. “Everything looks secure,” Nick said. “How about you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I picked up the walkie talkie attached to my belt. “We got one dead driver, but no zombies – not yet, anyway. It’s secure here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Good. We’re getting gas. Found a Sedan back here with a full tank.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Great. Hurry up and let’s fuel up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie looked over at the gas station. “I’m hungry. Wanna look for any snacks?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“No,” Claire said. “We have no idea what could be hiding in there. We take no unnecessary risks. Especially when we’re this close to the island.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie playfully nudged her cousin. “I’m kidding. Lighten up, will ya?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She smiled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“There. I missed that smile.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Claire gripped her gun tightly. “Well, you’ll see it a lot more once we’re safe on the island.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I agree,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie looked at me. “Are you glad you came, Val?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah. I know I had created a safe place in Fairport, and I loved the people there. But I need to be with my family. And I need to know if my parents and grandma are alive. I’d rather create a safe place with all of your guys and with them too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I loved everyone we met in Fairport,” Asia said. “But I wasn’t leaving you guys. You guys are my family now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I threw an arm around her. “And you’re our family too. I’m so glad we met.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She grinned. “Awww. Me too. And I think we’ll be safer on an island. If that force field breaks around Fairport, they’re screwed like everyone else.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie pointed. “Did you see that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I pointed my gun in her direction. “What?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I saw an old man peek out the window,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Claire glanced over. “Oh, man. I thought this place was deserted. I don’t want to steal some guy’s gas. We’re not thieves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I looked at Jackie. “Are you sure it wasn’t a zombie?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Positive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Maybe we should check it out. I don’t need somebody shooting us in a blaze of glory because we’re trespassing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I leapt to the hood of the car and looked around. A zombie with torn and tattered green skin came from behind the semi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Straggler!” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It let out a snarl as jaws snapped. It grabbed Claire’s shoulder. In a flash, she broke the zombie’s arm with a tremendous downward jerk. With her free hand, she grabbed the zombie’s head and slammed it off the car until it was dead. I holstered my axe and nodded to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“What a fine brawl, girlie,” I said in a Scottish accent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Thanks.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I was overdue for a workout anyway.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I laughed, then looked around some more. I didn’t see any others around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I walked across the parking lot of the gas station. I tried the door, but it was locked. I peeked inside through the window. Asia stepped up and moved me aside. With her tool she used to break into cars, she attempted to jimmy the door open, but she couldn’t get any leverage on the lock because of a metal lip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> “Here,” Claire said. “Let me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Asia and I stepped aside as Claire took out a pocket knife and began to work it around the edge of the window. In a few minutes, she had the rubber cut loose. I couldn’t believe my eyes when Claire pushed the point of her knife under the window and pried. The window fell out. Kate and Asia grabbed the glass before it could hit the ground and shatter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I looked at Claire. “You’re not the girl I first met.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She grinned widely. “Nope. I’ve got skills now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I reached my hand in through the now open window and unlocked the door from the inside. The door squealed on its hinges as I opened it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Is anyone here?” I asked. “I mean you no harm. I just wanted to know if we could buy some gas from you. We can give you weapons in return.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Instantly, I froze. For a moment, I thought this place was clear of zombies, but a growl from deep in the back meant that they were indeed here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I looked at Jackie. “There’s nothing here but zombies. Are you sure you saw somebody?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I thought I saw an old man. Maybe it was a zombie. We better just go. No use stirring up a hornet’s nest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Three zombies suddenly charged from the back of the store. I moved to the right and Claire to the left. I was amazed by how well we all worked together. We knew what the other was going to do before the other did it. My wrench slammed into the side of a zombie’s head with a crack of bone. She dispatched the other two while Asia and Kate checked to make sure the rest of the store was clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Once we were sure the store was clear, we made our way back to where we were. Kate had a big grin on her face when she finally reached us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> “What are you so happy about?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> “Look.” She swept her arm around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> I looked around and broke out in a smile myself. The shelves around us were stocked with various foods and goods such as batteries, flashlights, lighters, clothes, and more. How this store had remained untouched, I didn’t know. But I was grateful for it. We gathered a few supplies and packed them into the trailer. I knew the guys would be happy for all the snacks we’d found. Where were they anyway? They should be back by now. Just as I was about to go look for them, they radioed me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The radio crackled. “Company!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I pressed the button and talked. “How many?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Lots! And we’re cut off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Don’t worry. We’ll give you a pathway!” I nodded to the others. “C’mon!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We sprinted to the back of the gas station where shots rang out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">BANG! BANG!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">There was a big group of zombies, but I was confident we had nothing to worry about. We could clear a path for the guys, then hop into our vehicles and leave. I just hoped they were able to bring back some fuel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I raised my gun as zombies lumbered toward the guys. I targeted their torn and ripped up heads. The first bang echoed in the air as I fired once, twice, three times into the approaching zombies. A few zombies turned in my direction. Two more dead heads with bloody and matted hair stumbled right toward me. As they got closer, I could see the maggots crawling through their skin. My stomach turned. I carefully aimed my gun and fired. Bullets hit their cranium precisely on target. They both dropped to the ground at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A zombie growled from behind me. I spun around and gazed at its disfigured and grotesque face. Deep bite marks lined its leathered face. I managed to lash out with a foot just in time to kick away its reaching hands. It fell, and I squeezed my trigger. I shot a bullet right into its peeling forehead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A blonde zombie in only a black thong crawled on the ground. She suddenly reached for my leg. But I jumped back just in the nick of time. Sunlight glittered on the silver jewelry the corpse wore. She had a piercing on her eyebrow, nose, and lip. A mass of stab wounds covered her dragon tattoo sprawled across her back. I pointed my gun at her head and fired. Her eyes fluttered shut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I suddenly tripped over two dead zombies Kate had just killed. As I went to jump to my feet, a creature in a white lab coat lunged at my face. My gun clattered to the ground. Everything happened so fast. My hands shot out to keep the doctor’s snapping jaws away from me. Its demonic eyes met my gaze. Black liquid poured from its snow-white eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Something grabbed my foot. My heart thundered. I thrashed my legs and kicked. It grabbed my leg once again and I kicked it as hard as I could. A chill shot down my spine. I needed this doctor off me right now before the zombie at my feet took a bite of my leg! I couldn’t see how close the zombie was because Dr. Chick was in my face blocking my line of vision. Did I kick it hard enough? Or was it coming back? Dr. Chick hissed. She was so close I could see the bruised dent on her forehead. It looked like she had her head bashed in with a bat. I reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of sharp sheers. I stabbed her eyes with every bit of strength I had. I threw the dead doctor off me and fumbled for my gun. Just as the zombie at my feet hissed, I aimed at its blistering face and fired. When it dropped, I sighed in relief. Getting bitten <i>again</i> was my biggest nightmare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I tried to make my way over to Nick as another zombie stepped in my path. It was tall; its hair unkempt, its beard matted with filth and dry blood. Just as I went to shoot it, dead hands wrapped around my waist. Heart racing, I kicked it back with my foot before it could get a bite in. I fired at the zombie in front of me, then spun around to finish off the one behind me in the black dress, wearing a large, gold crucifix. Her throat had been slashed. Somebody didn’t do the job right. So I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Bang.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She fell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">More shots echoed loudly in the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869255"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></a></h2>
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<h2 align="center">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 3<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Nick</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Die<i>!”</i> Lucas shouted, followed by a sharp bang from his revolver, and then another, and another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">BANG!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Down!” I shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Lucas dropped and rolled a few steps to my right, and I did the same on the left, bouncing up to crouch by the fender of the Sedan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">A zombie with dark hair, matted and dirty, fingers cracked and broken, shaped in crude claws hissed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">BANG! BANG! BANG! </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I rose into a half crouch, taking aim and firing. One shot hit the first zombie in the chest, spinning it slightly. The second missed it entirely as it had moved, but the third found its target.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Dean raised his rifle to fire over our heads in the opposite direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Asia slammed into the thing, her machete hitting the thin guy just above the ear, and lodging in his skull. The zombie had a short blonde crew-cut, its head smeared and blurred with dried mud and blood. With a gurgle, it sank to its knees, just a couple of feet away Claire with her outstretched gun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You didn’t have to do that,” Claire muttered sullenly. “I had it covered.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Asia stepped back from the dying zombie, her chest heaving with the exertion and the force of her blow. “Yeah well, y’know. Maybe next time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Claire, you alright?” I said, kicking the now-dead corpse to one side, and folding Claire into my arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Yeah, of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Guys…? No time for that!” Lucas said, frowning as he held his M4 assault rifle. I followed his gaze where the sound of growling could be heard…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I was a crouching animal waiting to pounce. I stayed alert and attentive, my senses on full alert. I strained to hear every rustle, every twig snap, every footstep. Gun aimed, I crept forward. I wasn’t scared. I’d fought these things a million times. Killing zombies was my life now. And I enjoyed the kill. Killing them felt good. They’d taken away the woman I was going to marry. Sometimes I felt like the universe was paying me back for all the horrible things I’d done. Taking Darla away just pissed me off. And it felt like revenge each time I crushed a zombie’s skull. I could feel the anger building up the more I thought about it. I was ready to put a single bullet right into the center of a zombie’s forehead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I heard the signature zombie moans. Yep. That was my cue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Ready!” I shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Val followed my lead, her sniper’s rifle in her hands. The first zombie to clear the same side of the store was different from the others. It was on the end of a stick. And that’s when I noticed the oncoming zombies had something silver trailing behind them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“They’re on chains!” I yelled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Looks like someone released them!” Val said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Shots rang out as we all started firing at the approaching zombies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Three zombies staggered toward me. I got into firing position and steadied my aim. I fired at the blonde freak right between the eyes. She fell, and the guy in overalls tripped over the woman’s corpse. Shot him before he could even stumble up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">White eyes stared at me as a zombie reached for me. I lifted my gun and let off a well-aimed shot. The third one went right down, but more came. I shot a tall man in a white, dirty uniform right in the torso. The bullet whizzed right through his rotting body and hit the short zombie wearing a red dress right in the head. I finished off the waiter and a guy with long hair and half a face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I surveyed the situation with my hand on the butt of my gun. I waited, ears strained for even the slightest of sounds. Then I realized that there wasn’t a single sound. The bird that had been singing in the brush just off the road had suddenly gone quiet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">A zombie burst from the bushes. Startled, I jumped back. I could tell by the fresh blood and the limber way it moved that the zombie was fresh. I drew my tactical knife. The black, twelve-inch blade was sharp. I held the knife with the cutting edge up and waited. When the zombie was three steps away, I sprang into motion. My blade cleaved through the air with precision. With my right foot, I crushed the kneecap of the zombie, making it stumble. The blade struck the zombie between the eyes, buried to the haft. I spun and let the weight of the falling body extract my knife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“One less,” I said as I wiped off my blade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“More are coming,” Jackie whispered. “We don’t know how many. Let’s not attract more with gunfire. Unless we have too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Lucas smiled as Kate stepped forward and drew her knife. Dean pulled his combat hatchet as he walked forward. I had worked with Lucas enough to know that he would be good for the two on the right. That left six more. The hatchet leapt from Dean’s hand like a bullet from a gun. Hours upon hours of practice made the thirty yard throw an easy one. The hatchet buried deep into the forehead of the middle zombie, and it dropped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I smiled at my brother. Job well done. Lucas rushed forward to engage the zombies to the left and dispatched the massive one with a viscous thrust to the eye socket. I kicked out with my left foot and snapped the knee of the zombie in front of me. It stumbled and fell forward as it tried to take another step on its broken leg. I dropped a knee into the middle of the zombie’s back and slammed my knife home into the back of its skull. I spun to find the last zombie much closer than I would have expected it to be. Too late. I realized that it was much fresher than the others and could move faster. I raised my hands to defend myself from the attack, but a bat collided with the side of the zombie’s head. It went down and stayed down with a dent in the side of its skull. Asia shouldered her bat and offered her hand to Lucas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> Lucas took Asia’s hand with a smile. I had dispatched his two zombies and had sat down on a log. Lucas motioned for Claire to come over and sat down beside me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “That was fun,” Lucas said. “Even if Asia did take my last kill.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “What?” Asia looked at him like he was crazy. “I saved your butt.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “He’s joking. Don’t think nothing of it,” Claire explained. “Lucas’s good at that. He isn’t good at much else, but he does fine at cracking jokes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Sure. Sure. Make fun of the handsome guy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“I don’t see anything,” Kate said. “Looks clear.” She suddenly stopped. “Wait. Hear that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Faint moans rang across the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I started crossing around on the far side of a semi to get a clearer shot of what was going on. Up ahead, this zombie was a big, muscular guy with a balding head, but looked as though he could have been a pro wrestler or something similar once upon a pre-death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">The zombie had a metal collar snapped around its neck, and from that collar there sprouted a long metal stick, easily about three feet long, held by a small, elderly man. The man had a woolen cap pulled down over his forehead. He looked to be over seventy, with ragged clothes, a couple of padded, quilted shirts over each other, and a gun in a holster at his side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Hold it!” Lucas was shouting at him. “Hold it right there, old-timer!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Whatever you do, don’t tell him to drop his weapon,” I hissed through gritted teeth, as the old guy yanked and pulled on the zombie stick, menacing us with the brute. I had a clear shot of the guy every few seconds. Should I take it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“What do you want? Just get off my land!” the old man shouted. “Get out of here, you and your lackeys!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Ain’t nobody a lackey here, sir,” Val said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You’re trespassing!” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“We didn’t know anyone was here. We thought this place was deserted.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Well, it isn’t!” The man turned his pet zombie to face my sister. “And I’m going to let this zombie eat your face.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“He can <i>try</i>,” Val said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Enough was enough. When the man let go of the stick, I squeezed the trigger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">BANG!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I made a clean shot. The big, pro-wrestling zombie-on-a-stick fell to the ground, jerking the metal prod out of the man’s grasp, sending him sprawling to the floor beside it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You killed him!” the man yelled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I lowered my gun. “Yeah that was kind of the point!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“How could you?” the man shouted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You were going to let it go,” I said. “And nobody messes with my family. If you cared about your zombie, you should’ve kept it away from us. We don’t play games. The only good zombie is a dead one!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Nick!” Val hissed at me, rolling her eyes. “You could have warned us!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Why? I wouldn’t have missed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“I could’ve handled it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“I know you could’ve of. But I’m not risking it. Its nails almost swiped your skin. We’re too close for any accidents. And nobody should know that more than you. You were bitten when you were almost to our parents’ home last year. You were bitten at the last possible moment! I didn’t want a repeat.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“How chivalrous of you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">The old guy started rolling on the ground, reaching for his revolver, fumbling for it as he pulled it from his holster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Oh no you don’t,” Val said. “Look at us. How many guns do you think we’ve got on you right now? Eight? Nine? You wouldn’t even get a shot off. Come on. Just give it up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I saw the fight go out of the old guy’s face. “I won’t work for you, you know. You can tell the Colonel that from me personally!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">The Colonel?</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“What did you say, friend? We’re not with any Colonel,” Claire said as the old guy threw his revolver down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I rushed over to kick it out of his reach. “We’re heading toward Sandusky. We’ve been in Fairmont over the winter, and now we’re coming home, back to our family.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">The old man lifted up his head and looked at me. “Well, if you got family in Sandusky, then you got family working for the Colonel, let me tell you that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Val looked over at me, raised an eyebrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“The Colonel? What does he mean?” asked Dean. “Who is this guy? Ex-military? Some local boss?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“He wishes he was ex-military, He was a freeway cop, or so I heard,” the old man said, looking up defiantly at my little brother, standing over him. “And he’s carved out a nice little bit of land up there for himself on the lake. But he’s mean, mean as a rattlesnake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Dean knelt down so that he could look the store-owner in the eye. “You keep pets? Dead-rising-psychos?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“And I have more too!” he yelled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Dean flicked a glance over at the recently leashed zombie. “You seem to have uh, a talent for capturing them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You know how hard it’s been? Up here all alone? With raiders, bandits, and gangs and these vermin.” He kicked the body of the dead zombie at his side. “Just about everywhere? I only keep these zombies to protect me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">At first, I thought he was crazy, like all the other nut jobs we’ve run across. But I could see that he was just trying to survive like the rest of us. He was fighting to stay alive and I admired him for that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“It’s okay. We’re not here to enslave you or kill you,” I said. “We just need to get some fuel. We’ll even pay you for it. How about some kind of fair trade?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Hmph,” the guy clucked his teeth. “Well, you got more manners than others that come through here. You showed me respect. You’re asking, and you’re even offering to pay by trading. Others would just kill me and steal it. I can see you’re good people, and I want to help you. But you did kill lots of my protection… And you took my gun.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You’ll get your revolver back when we’re ready to leave,” Asia said. “We can’t take a chance that you’ll shoot us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“I saw you siphoning gas and taking stuff from my store. But it’s okay. Just take it and leave,” he said. “But please give me back my lucky gun.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Not a problem,” Claire said. “And thank you for your kindness.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You’re welcome.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“So who is this Colonel?” Dean asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I nodded. “Yeah. Good question. Like I said, we’ve got family on Kelley’s Island.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Right by Sandusky,” the man said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Yeah. So why don’t you tell us about this Colonel.” I kept an eye on our perimeter. That was the problem with living in the apocalypse, you just never know when a zombie would rear its ugly head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“This sinister man came here about six months ago,” the store owner said. “Came down from Cincinnati in a cop car wearing a police uniform. He brought along lots of men from his police force. Called himself the Colonel, and started making rounds in his car, clearing out the zombies that were still wandering around out in the open. He recruited the boys from Sandusky to help him, and pretty soon he had his own little patrol going on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“And? So? What’s so bad about that?” I muttered to Lucas and Val as I kept a look-out. “I’m sure that I would do the same if I could.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Well, he put Sandusky back together. Had a citizen’s council and everything. Everyone thought he was the big cheese – until he started telling people that they <i>had</i> to come in behind the Sandusky walls, or else they wouldn’t be covered by the patrols anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Again, pretty sensible,” Lucas reasoned at my side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“He’s sensible until you don’t agree with him. Then you’re public enemy number one. And that puts you on his hit list. You mysteriously disappear. He wanted me to come and join him. But how could I? This is my place! This here store! This has been my home for years!” the zombie-catcher protested. “If you don’t follow his rules, he’ll make you pay. You have no idea how dangerous he is. He’s a psychopath if you ask me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Maybe we won’t run into him,” Jackie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“He’s running the town, so yes, you will. All I’m saying to you is; that I’ve seen his like before. He ain’t no leader – he thinks he’s a guru or a savior or something,” the man spat. “That same dead-eye cold look in him gives me the shivers. I won’t go into Sandusky and have a man like that in charge of me. No way. And if you’re sensible – you won’t either!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“We have to,” Dean said. “It’s where our family is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">We talked to the guy some more and thanked him for the gas, then we left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">VAL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I was careful as I maneuvered the armored car around two crashed cars. A pickup had t-boned a luxury car in the middle of the road. Glass littered the road and I wondered if the wheels on the trailer behind us would be okay. The armored car had heavy duty wheels, but the trailer didn’t. Cars littered both lanes of the highway, but so far I had been able to get around them. We’ve been lucky so far. Maybe we’ll get lucky some more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“We need to switch roads,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“According to the map, we can take a different route,” Dean said. He had the map spread out in front of him. I studied him out of the corner of my eye. I was glad that I was with him. His very presence gave me confidence that we would survive whatever happened. I was glad I picked my family over Fairport. I knew that they meant everything to me. And there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them. And I knew they felt the exact same way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Roadblock up ahead,” Jackie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Crap!” I muttered. “Not another pile up of cars!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Jackie sighed. “Yeah, tell me about it. This world definitely needs clean-up crews.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I geared the armored car down another gear as it topped the rise. A group of zombies lumbered in front of us. While I maneuvered around an overturned van, Dean grabbed the walkie talkie and radioed the rest of the group in the trailer. I was amazed at how calm my brother sounded no matter how dire the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “There are nearly a dozen zombies,” he said. “They’re spread out, so if we move fast, we can take them out without them giving us too much of a problem. Then maybe we can move a car out of the road so we can get through.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> The radio crackled. “Got it,” Claire answered. “We’ll be ready.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I parked and got out to assess the situation more. Dean handed me a large wrench. Of course, I had my gun, but I always liked backup. I had tried other weapons. Machetes, a sword, a bat, even a hammer, but I liked my big monkey wrench the best. It felt right as I hefted its weight in my hand. Dean radioed back once more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “Remember. No guns. No yelling. We don’t want to risk drawing anymore in. Or we’ll never get through this blockade.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “Got it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> “Go!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> I made a dash for the zombie closest to me. My wrench whooshed through the air and connected against the zombie’s temple. The skull caved under the impact, and the zombie hit the group in a heap. Lucas stepped past me with a claw hammer in his fist. I’d seen him use it more than once, but it never ceased to shock and amaze me at how deadly and brutal my gentle friend could be. The hammer came down in a whistling arc. It connected with the zombie’s head with a loud thwack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;"> I dispatched two more zombies. By the time I had finished with the second, the rest of us had finished off the remaining stragglers. Nick called for everyone to gather around him. I trotted over and stood beside my brother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">His eyes widened. “We got a big problem.” He pointed behind us, and I could see a large horde in the distance moving toward us. Luckily, they hadn’t spotted us yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Thank goodness we didn’t use guns,” Claire said. “Or we would’ve been screwed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Yeah,” Asia said. “Ringing the dinner bell wouldn’t have been very good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Kate swallowed hard. “Well, we got a little time. They don’t know we’re here…yet. And they’re slow as snails.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“I can’t believe this,” I muttered staring at the large group of shambling zombies in our direction. “Okay, people, let’s get these cars moved! The clock is ticking.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Kate started to say something else about trying a different route, but Nick raised his hand. I had seen the same look on my brother’s face before, and it meant he was getting angry that she was challenging his decision. No one said a word. I knew how intimidating my brother could be when he got upset. And I agreed with him. It was better not to venture off some side road Kate had mentioned. We still had a small window of time to get those cars moved and make a pathway. If we got through the tangle of cars, we’d be fine. End of story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">The wind blew in our direction and we all about gagged. The smell of decay, death, and rot overwhelmed everything. I assumed that I would get used to the smells of the zombies and the new world, but right now I just couldn’t picture that happening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I worked out about how fast the horde moved and estimated that the zombies would reach us in about fifteen minutes. I checked my gun one more time and listened to the sound of the zombies as they moved closer. Together, we pushed a silver Ford out of the main road. We scooted a red Escape over. The guys were able to start two more of the cars by hot-wiring them. They drove them out of our way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I peered at the cleared pathway. “Yep. That’ll work.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Dean nodded. “Great! Let’s get outta here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Yeah, those moans are too close for comfort,” Lucas added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">Nick put an arm around Claire. “Great job, babe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Nothing like an adrenaline rush to get you moving.” She smiled as she rushed to the Knight. Guess she was switching vehicles. It was constantly like musical vehicles. I jumped back into the Knight and Dean scrambled into the trailer. He was able to maneuver around the wreckage pretty good. I hit the gas and was so thankful everything had worked out. As the sounds of the horde died away, Asia pulled a blanket up a little tighter to her chin and shifted to a slightly more comfortable position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">I looked at her. “What I wouldn’t give for a soft mattress. That and a pillow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Go ride in the trailer with Dean,” she said. “I can drive the Knight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“I’m fine. I’m tough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">She chuckled. “Only the strongest survive, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Yeah. It’s do or die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“No safety nets in this world. We’re all starting over whether we like it or not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“It’s like all mankind has been reset by fate,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Yep. The playing field has been leveled. It doesn't matter anymore where you came from or what color you are. The reset button has definitely been activated.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“It doesn't matter if you flipped burgers or were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company; you are now at the bottom of the food chain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“You know what? The zombie apocalypse can really get you down if you think about it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“But fate is what you make of it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">She yawned. “Absolutely.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Get some sleep,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Goodnight, Val.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">“Goodnight, Asia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 21.4px;">She drifted off to sleep.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<h2 align="center">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869256"><span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 4<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
<h2 align="center">
<span lang="EN-GB">Dean</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“What do you think, Dean?” Jackie asked. “About that old man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I could feel her eyes on me as we drove through the Ohio evening. It was dark outside, and only the light of our high beams from the Knight and the RV illuminated the freeway ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I nodded my head back the way we had come, indicating the store-survivor and his crazy ‘pet’ zombies. “We’ve seen worse.” People did terrible things to each other when they thought that they had to, in order to survive. Just what had I done to get that serum and get my family back...?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie sighed. “Do you think that’ll be us one day? Old and crazy, surrounded by zombies?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I didn’t take my eyes off of the road – but I could tell that her eyes would be shadowed, concerned. She spoke in that husky hush that she used when she was really worried.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">But why so worried now? </span></i><span lang="EN-GB">It must be because we were nearing our final destination. With the end of it all in sight, she was starting to worry what might come after. Would we survive, and if so, what would our lives be like? Would we get happily ever after? Or would we be fighting for the rest of our lives? Would the zombies die out? Or would it keep infecting new people? Would the serum work? Would scientists be able to cure everyone? So many thoughts ran through my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“No. We’ve got the serum, remember? Scientists are going to figure it out. It might take some trial and error, but they will get it straightened out.” I tried to sound reassuring, keeping my voice low so that we wouldn’t wake those behind us. Nick and Claire dozed, their arms wrapped around each other. Lucas and Kate had decided to move over to the RV for the night, to try and get some sleep as Val drove on behind me. At least some of us would get some sleep, I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I shot Jackie a side-glance. “We’re never going to end up like that crazy old guy. We’ve got each other. You’ve got me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Are you saying that you’ll stop me from going crazy?” Jackie’s voice brightened, even teasing me a little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“<i>Stop</i> you? You’re already there. Aren’t you, babe? Because I know I am.” I shot back with a grin, to receive a playful slap on the shoulder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“I’m not crazy. My reality is just different than yours,” she retorted with a laugh, before settling back into her seat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It was strange. I kind of pitied the old man in some ways. He had stayed out here, all alone, protecting what he had from who knows what or who, going slightly mad in the process. We were all a bit tougher and stranger now since civilization collapsed. I thought back to the naïve guy that I had once been, so long ago – with my high marks and thoughts about college. The thought almost made me wince. How naïve I must have been back then. How unprepared for what was to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The darkness folded itself around us once more, lit only by the headlights of the vehicles. The freeway should shoot straight up to Sandusky, straight along the edge of the highlands on our right, all the way to the lake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The Knight was out in front, as per usual. I didn’t push her to the speed that she could go, having already passed a couple of burnt out and crashed cars on the road. Things kept slowing us down. More road blocks with cars, telephone poles, or trees. We had to take side roads that Nick absolutely hated. And I understood why. It was dangerous going into overrun towns. We could easily get lost in the dark. So our journey took even longer than expected. Instead, we cruised at a little under fifty, crawling through the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“The wind’s picking up,” Jackie said beside me, and I nodded, seeing the saplings and young trees by the side of the road whipping back and forth. In fact, they were beginning to look pretty violent. I could feel the SUV starting to shake a little as strong gusts raced across the freeway at us. If we were doing fifty and they were hitting us that strongly, then how fast were the winds? Sixty? More?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">No rain, though, my mind registered. Wind and no rain was either a really good or a really bad sign. It meant that the weather system would either pass by quickly or that it was strong enough to tear apart any cloud banks up there. Either way, it didn’t look great. I swallowed hard as the wind roared outside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Get Val on the radio,” I said. “I think we should pull in somewhere and wait it out. If we go into a ditch, we’ll never get this thing out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Not without a tow truck. Maybe we could lay low just until the wind dies down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah. I agree.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie got the walkie-talkie and started relaying the information back to Val in the RV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Jackie nodded. “Okay, we got the thumbs-up from them. Asia says we could go to one of the farmhouses nearby. It could be temporary shelter. What do you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Only if they aren’t already inhabited,” I said, my mind replacing the last word with ‘<i>infected</i>’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Yeah,” Jackie turned back to the radio. “Hey, Val, it’s the Knight. Dean’s worried about running into local zombies. Or more crazy people. Is there anywhere sheltered but not populated nearby?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Where else is there to go?” Val’s voice crackled. “The Ritz?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Just tell her to find somewhere,” I growled. “A layby will do. An old quarry. A dried up creek bed, whatever.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 align="center">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869257"><span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 5<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
<h2 align="center">
<span lang="EN-GB">Val</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The weather outside was looking to be getting worse, and one of the worst things about the apocalypse, apart from all of the zombies lurching around, was that there wasn’t radio stations and weather forecasts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Ugh,” I tried to peer up through the windshield to see the dark skies above, but to no avail. It must be past ten at night, and the sky was pitch black. There wasn’t a star in the sky. Sometimes, I missed the starry skies. I guess those twinkling lights always gave me a sense of hope and a better future. What was even more frustrating, was the fact that all of those weather satellites were probably still up there, as well as all of the antennas and the radio stations still out there, everywhere recording their data and broadcasting empty static.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">But there was no one to listen to them. That was why we couldn’t just pull up a weather app on the phone or tune in the radio to hear where the alerts where. It was because all of the stations and receivers were staffed by zombies now or lying empty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">To think that all of society is just there, sitting there and waiting for us to rebuild…</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> It was one of the main reasons that motivated me so much, I knew. We had a possible cure we needed to get into the right hands. Our world was drowning in disaster. This just might be the miracle everyone was waiting for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Val! Look out!” Asia’s terrified gasp, and I blinked, just in time to see a shower of sparks as an electricity pylon hit the freeway ahead of us, pulling thick cables down behind it. Rain started to pour down and beat on the windshield. The wipers could barely keep up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Brace!” I screamed, hoping that Lucas and Kate were at least strapped into their bunk, as I swerved the RV, feeling it dip on one side as I dragged on the steering wheel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">Thunk-thud!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> My question was answered by the sound of two bodies hitting the floor of the RV behind me, followed by swearing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Ow!” Kate complained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Sweet mother of…” That was Lucas. His army training always made his language a little more colorful than Kate’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">Skcreeeeee-</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> We skidded across the freeway. Up ahead of us, Dean in the SUV was nimbly swerving to the far side of the road, ahead of the whipping cables. I tried my best to control the RV as I also swerved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">There was a terrible grinding sound, and I felt the RV jerk under my feet. What had we hit? What had hit us? There were blue sparks scattering across the windshield, and then we were clear, dodging twigs and broken branches as they flew across the road. A hundred feet ahead of us, the Knight screeched into a halt. Its headlights turned back to see how we were doing, illuminating the debris that was being thrown across the road. We drove around the power lines, and cables blocked the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Val, we can’t go through this,” Asia said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Uh, I know.” I slowed the RV to pull up near the SUV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“We need to find shelter,” she said again as the walkie-talkie emitted a squeal of static between the two vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Screw the walkie-talkies,” Lucas said. “Just roll down your window.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I looked at Dean parked next to me, then put my window down. Outside the wind was picking up into a roar. Dean rolled down his window also and shouted something, but his words were snatched by the wind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“I can’t hear you!” I said through exaggerated lips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Follow us!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I nodded. “Okay.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I concentrated on the rear lights of the Knight as it crawled its way through the wind. Lucas barked out a few orders and tried to take the wheel, but I pushed him away. I could drive just as well as he could. Kate tried to defuse the situation by ordering him to sit in the back with her. He finally listened, and I was glad to get him off my butt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Asia stared out the window. “I can only see a couple of old farm buildings. It looks like there’s nothing here but silos and fields. Maybe our best bet is to get into a farmhouse until the wind dies down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“We’ll have to take it,” I said through gritted teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Dean kept our convoy at a slow crawl, hovering around forty and no more, enough speed to swerve when a car door appeared out of the darkness from nowhere, banging the side of the RV and taking out one of our headlights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I swore. Lucas and Kate were already suiting up in their body armor. “What are you two doing?” I called back to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Getting prepared,” Lucas said, not wanting to admit what I felt. That we wouldn’t be able to last much longer on this road with the storm this fierce. We had to find cover quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Trees bent over in the wind and debris flew everywhere. Lightning flashed like a strobe light, and the sounds of high winds and heavy rain made me cringe. This wasn’t good. I could barely see through the windshields, even though they were on full speed. The sky grew darker, and the winds reached furious levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of lightning and a crack of thunder. A great roar echoed like we were standing next to a roaring waterfall. Everything around us was in violent turmoil. Metal objects few over us. Something banged into the side of the vehicle with a loud thud. Other things flew over us like a big tool box and some yard decorations. I knew we needed to take shelter. Suddenly, a crowbar crashed through the window. Glass flew everywhere. The wind pounded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Check it out!” Asia said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Looking into the rear-view mirror, I could see a dark funnel coming up from behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Crap!” I shouted. “It’s a flipping tornado! We gotta find shelter fast!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Looking back over my shoulder, I saw freight cars being thrown like toy trains from their tracks. The asphalt began to “peel” and lift up into the air. The tornado was completely leveling buildings, tossing trees and power poles like toothpicks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We have a twister behind us!” Jackie announced over the radio. “Looking for shelter.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">My heart raced a million miles a minute. “This is <i>not </i>good! We’ve gotta find a place right now! ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Dean drove down the off-ramp from the freeway. I felt a sickening lurch in my stomach as the whole RV swerved to one side as it was shaken by gale winds, almost to the crash barrier itself, but we made it down. There was a mighty roar outside, and rain spattered the ground in sleets. The windshield wipers could barely keep up with the huge amounts of rain being dumped on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Where’s Dean going?” Lucas asked, trying to peer past the windshield wipers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“He’s looking for a safe place to go,” Kate said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Or anyplace!” Asia corrected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Our two vehicles crept through a narrowing road as trees whipped back and forth along one side until we could go no further. There was a snarl of trees across the road, torn up from their roots. I watched as Dean pulled the SUV snug against the upended root ball of one, leaving space for me to do the same with the RV. Our vehicle resisted, skidding on the wet pavement. But I felt the wind lessen when we sat under the makeshift barricade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">A minute later, there was a rapping on the door. Lucas opened it, and Nick jumped in, closing the flimsy door behind him. He had his jacket over his head, but he was still soaked, even from the short jog over here. I cut the engine, feeling the whole vehicle wobble and shake around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We’re blocked!” Nick said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“What’s the plan?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Dean peeked his head in, rain dripping down his face. “We gotta move! We were going to try to ride it out. But we can’t now…” Another shake of the vehicle showed all of us how unwise that would be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Screw the vehicles! Let’s find shelter,” Nick said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We had cargo bags full of weapons, and another bag full of useful tools like short-spades, hand axes, extra bandages and a medical kit, a soldering set, mechanic’s tools. These were already packed and just had to be picked up. We abandoned most of our clothes, food, and fuel. I hoped we had something left in the morning. I put a gun in my holster and slung a rifle over my shoulder. I also grabbed a bat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Nick opened the door, and a gust of wind hit us. I could see the swirling column to the east as my hair blew around in the wind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Suddenly, a zombie snapped at me spastically like a rabid dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Milky-white eyes glared as death came at me. It wanted a fresh meal of my flesh. <i>Not happening!</i> Loose skin hung from the skeleton as jaws snapped. Its chest had been eaten. I didn’t see one organ, only bony ribs. Baring its sharp teeth, it tried to tear into me with its long, dead fingernails. I jumped back. The zombie lifted its lip in another snarl. It launched another attack, its fingernails swiping at my face. Swinging my bat back, I swung with all my might. I smacked its razor-sharp teeth down its throat. The zombie flew backward and walloped the ground. But it wasn’t done. It kicked and thrashed in the mud as it tried to claw at me. It wanted nothing more than to rip those nasty nails through my skin. I shuddered at the thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Before it even had a chance to get up, I delivered another crushing blow to its sunken nostrils, putting it out of its misery forever. Bone, blood, and brain matter splattered. Wincing, I wiped my face with my sleeve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">More zombies came toward us. It seemed like fighting the living dead never ended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Dean shot me a side glance. “Get Albert Einstein! I got Cher. Nick, you get the Incredible Hulk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“The green one is all mine!” Nick spat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Gripping my bat, I nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The zombie reached out, and I backed up so I could get good momentum for my bat. The thing had frizzy, wild, white hair and leather skin. I stared into its flesh-devouring face as it gazed at me. Another step and it was in perfect proximity. Hurry up! Take one more step. With a hiss, it stepped forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I swung.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Blood gushed. Its head cracked like an egg. Another oncoming zombie approached. It had wrinkled, black skin, and no hair. Its cheek had been bitten off. My breath quickened as it moaned and reached out its dead, black hands. I smashed its skull in one smooth, fluid motion. It crashed into a trembling heap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The next one had a dislocated jaw, and I could see its ripped tongue and blood-stained teeth. It took a step closer, its brown-gray intestines dragging in the grass as it staggered toward me. It made rattling breaths. The poor thing was pathetic. Just as I was about to send it into next week, the wind grabbed it, and it flew off about ten feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">A half-dozen whacks later, we’d eliminated them all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Rain dripped down my face. I pushed the wet hair out of my face. My heart was pounding in my chest. I took a few steps back from the grisly scene. My guard had been down because of the tornado. No matter what’s going on, you can never let your guard down, not even for a second.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc435869258"><o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> </span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 6<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 align="center">
<span lang="EN-GB">Nick</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I stopped the car to momentarily talk to the others. We decided to look for shelter until the storm was over. As I stepped back inside, I noticed something under the seat. Once inside and moving I fished the object out. It was a half of a pack of cigarettes. I hadn’t had a smoke since I quit two years ago. I tossed the pack up on the dash and shifted into a higher gear. In my mirror, I caught a glimpse of the zombie I had killed and thought what the heck. I snatched the cigarettes off the dashboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> The first drag set my throat on fire and made me cough, but the second was a little better, and the third was better still. The road ahead was relatively clear of cars and there wasn’t a zombie in sight, just wind and rain. I let my mind wander back to how this nightmare began.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">Over a year earlier<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">Somewhere in the Atlantic<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> The air was damp and cold as I stood at the bow of the ship and looked out over the ocean. I had always hated sea travel, and this time didn’t make any difference. The fact that we had lost contact with headquarters didn’t make me feel any better, but I knew we were close to New Orleans, and that much closer to home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Lucas stepped up beside me and rested his hands on the railing. He had a smirk on his face like he always did. I’d take five of him over a hundred regular soldiers, I thought. Lucas waved a hand over the sea and began to speak in a pirate voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“The sea. She be calm on this night, but she be a finicky lover. Finicky indeed. One moment she be as calm as can be. The next she be raging and young trying to kill ye.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Shut up, Ahab.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“They still can’t reach headquarters, but Gary thinks that we shouldn’t be more than a few miles from port. He said that it’s hard to tell with all the satellites going crazy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Good. I’ll be glad to get my feet on dry land.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Aye. It will be good for ye won’t it, landlubber. I can see that ye are a bit green around the gills with the rocking of the...land ho!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I turned away from Lucas, and sure enough, I could just make out the outline of New Orleans. It was hard to tell against the night sky, but I thought I saw smoke. It seemed to obscure the stars near the top of the buildings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Five minutes later, I was sure it was smoke. I could smell it in the air along with a smell that I hoped I was imagining. I hadn’t smelt anything like it since Afghanistan. It was a smell that I knew well, but hated all the same. Death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">At dawn, none of the men on the boat were prepared for what we encountered when we hit land. There wasn’t a soul around. No cars, no delivery trucks, no boats pulling in or out of the harbor, no planes overhead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It looked like the city had been bombed and people had fled for their life. Were we being attacked?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Look!” Lucas said, pointing. “I just spotted someone. Over there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">A man with blood covering his shirt and the lower half of his face stepped from behind a building and charged the boat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“He’s carrying a human leg!” one of the soldiers shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Dude!” another shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“What a sicko!” another said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Ted grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked out. “I see the dead woman missing a leg.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“He killed some innocent woman?” one of the men said in shock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Yep. We’ve got a psychopath on our hands. And I hate to tell you this. But there’s a pile of dead people over there. He’s killed more than one!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Swallowing hard, I grabbed the binoculars and glanced at the pile of dead bodies. I was mortified. This nut killed at least three other women. I raised my rifle and shouted for the man to halt, but he didn’t seem to acknowledge the words. I flipped off the safety and once more yelled for the man to stop or he would be fired upon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Hissing, the man kept coming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The report of the gun was loud in the silent harbor. The bullet struck the man in the chest dead center and should have put him down, but he shrugged the shot off like it was nothing. He continued to walk toward us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Is he on drugs?” Lucas asked. He stepped up beside me and shouldered his own rifle. He shot the man through the chest again. This time, the man stumbled slightly, but still didn’t go down. “How the heck is he not going down?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I’ll put him down,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I took careful aim and shot the man between the eyes just as he stepped onto the ramp board to the ship. The bloodied man’s head snapped back from the force of the bullet, and he collapsed on the ramp. Before anyone could check the body, it rolled off the ramp and into the water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“And that’s how it’s done,” Lucas said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The men were baffled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We need to get to Grey Matter Headquarters and figure out what the heck is going on,” I told the men. “Get your stuff together, only essentials, double time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Moments later, the six of us made our way into the burning and abandoned city. The silence was so complete that the sound of the burning buildings could be heard from blocks away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Where is everyone?” one of the men asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Now that’s the million dollar question,” Lucas said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“The city was obviously attacked,” another said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Another glanced around. “I think everyone was evacuated.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I listened intently to the crackling fires all around us. Black smoke billowed all around. It was like walking through a ghost town. The New Orleans headquarters of Grey Matter Securities was only a couple of blocks from the harbor. We rounded the final turn that would take us to the office when moans echoed in the air. We came face to face with a horde of at least fifty people. They were covered in blood and looked crazed like the man that had tried to attack them earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Were they hurt?” Tommy asked. “Maybe a building fell on top of them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“They’ll need medical attention,” another said. “We’ll need to radio this in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas stared intently. “I think something’s wrong with them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">They snarled like rabid animals and I saw they were tearing something apart. An animal? No way. And that’s when I noticed they were ripping apart actual humans. My heart clenched. There was nothing we could do. The people were already dead. I just wished we would’ve gotten here a few minutes earlier. Maybe we could have helped them. The men let out a chorus of curses as they realized what was going on. Lifting my gun, I aimed at the freaks. I wanted to shoot every single one of those sociopaths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“They’re cannibals,” I whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas came up next to me. “We can’t help those people,” he said. “You know that. And there’s not enough of us to take on that crazy group. We need backup. Let’s just ease on out of here and get some help.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Was there an airborne virus? Were droplets of pathogens expelled into the air? Was this a terrorist attack? Did our government level the city to contain the pathogen? Biological warfare? Was a biological weapon released? Were toxins or infectious agents released? Should we be walking through here without masks?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I put up my hand to halt the men. I motioned for them to back up as slowly and as quietly as we could. Spooking this group of crazed cannibals could be our downfall. We were almost out of sight when one of the men, I never will know which one, kicked a glass bottle and sent it clattering down the street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The crazed people spun around as a unit. I’d never seen anything like it. Their eyes fixed on me and my team. With snarls and growls that sounded nothing like humans, they charged forward en masse. I screamed for our team to open fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The men were trained to shoot at the body, but no matter how many rounds they put into the oncoming people, they wouldn’t go down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Head shots!” I shouted. “It took down the first one we encountered!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Right away, I saw that there was no way we were going to stop the horde of people before they reached us. What the heck was happening? What kind of nightmare was this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Down the alley!” I bellowed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We charged past the trash cans when another group of crazy people came at us. Shots rang out as we fired. So much chaos ensued that everyone went different ways and down other alleys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">A man dressed like a policeman reached for me. He wasn’t in his right mind, just like the other freaks we’d come across. His eyes were white and he wore a blank stare. He snapped his jaws as blood dripped down his face. I took aim and fired off a shot right between his eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“This way!” Lucas said, tugging my arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We took off to the left and ran down another alley. More crazy people stumbled toward us with loud moans. We didn’t have a chance down here. These people were everywhere! I looked for a way out and found a way in the form of a fire escape to my left. I fired twice more and took down two of the crazed humans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Up the fire escape!” I shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I leapt high into the air. The fire escape was at least ten feet off the ground, but I caught it with the tips of my fingers. I rode it down and landed beside Lucas. Lucas was on his knees firing into the crowd. I looked around for the rest of my men, but I couldn’t find them. I heard screams and my heart thundered. I wondered for one brief moment if I could get us out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Johnson!” Lucas yelled, waving his hands. “Over here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“They bit me!” he shouted, holding his arm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Eyes wide, he ran toward us. Aiming carefully, I shot a few crazed people behind him. He stumbled over a pot hole in the road. Taking full advantage, a woman with milky white eyes jumped on him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“No!” I shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I aimed and shot at her, but ten more people jumped on my friend. They were like sharks in a feeding frenzy. I fired off a round, but there were far too many. Johnson screamed as the people bit deeply into his flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Shoot me!” he shouted in pure agony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas aimed and shot Johnson so he wouldn’t feel the teeth ripping through his skin. When the crazy people focused their attention on us again, I grabbed Lucas by the shoulder and forced him up the ladder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We have to get them out, Nick!” Lucas yelled and tried to pull away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We can’t!” I pulled him onto the platform and yanked the ladder up behind them. “We don’t have a chance down there! And maybe the others got away. We have to go! Now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“We can’t leave them!” Lucas yelled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I looked into his eyes. “We don’t know where they went. They’re smart. I’m sure they’ll find a way out like we did. But going back down there is a death sentence. Do you understand? We don’t even know what we’re up against. So let’s keep moving.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“What’s happening? What are those things?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I don’t know. But they sure didn’t look human.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas shook his head. “What’s been unleashed down there? They’re some kind of cannibal monsters! And they’re just roaming the city killing anybody they see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I know. We’ve got to take them out. But first, let’s find out what’s going on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Lucas was still in a daze. “Whatever those things are…they’re ruling this city now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Later, when I found out what was going on, I was in complete and utter disbelief. I didn’t believe in the end of the world. But here it was… I headed straight back to my parents’ house. I flew them and Dean to my grandmother’s island. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB">Present day<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I snapped back into reality. The storm was getting worse. There was a farmhouse not too far away. I parked. The door to the RV was wrenched from my hands, flinging itself back against the body of the vehicle, and I felt the wind grab me and almost drag me off of my feet, out of the RV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Watch out!” I shouted as I skidded along the floor of the road, my hands grabbing at the branches of the torn-down trees. Behind me there was a grunt as Lucas jumped from the RV, holding onto Kate as he sought to get over to the downed tree beside me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Sckreeee- </span></i><span lang="EN-GB">A horrible squeal as I saw the RV start to push away from the trees, it was taller than the Knight, the wind could get a stronger grip. I saw Asia’s worried face appear in the doorway as Lucas and Kate joined me, hunkered under the tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Come on!” I gestured, and Asia jumped down. For a moment, in mid-fall I saw her blow sideways a good three feet in the gusts of the wind, before rolling on the ground, crawling and trying to stand up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">That left only Val, who had already run from the RV door, reaching to grab onto Lucas’s outstretched arm, before being pulled into the relative safety. Another squeal, as the RV was pushed back another couple of feet. The sound of rattling and smashing as the wind got inside it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“No, no, no!” I realized I had been muttering under my breath. If we lost the vehicles, we would be royally screwed big time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">But we had no choice. I pointed to the near side of the road where a white house sat, built of strong wooden panels and corrugated iron. It had already lost its weathervanes and all of the electrical wires to it, but the structure itself looked pretty weak. On the far side of the road, was the red barn. I thought that house was probably more secure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“This way!” I said, my words disappearing as soon as they were out of my mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Strong hands gripped my shoulders. Lucas on one side, Val on the other. On the other side of Lucas, I saw Asia, then Kate. We were forming a human chain as we pushed across the road, fighting for every step.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Katha-BOOM!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> We were almost there, almost to the wooden door when a sound like a mountain being torn asunder pulsed through our chests. Even the torn and flattened grass underneath us shook. For a second, the whole night was illuminated by a gigantic flash of lightening. It was so sudden and so clear that it etched itself upon my retinas: a bolt of brilliant white. I could see two buildings on both sides of the road. The skies were low, a churning blanket of ugly gray and dirty clouds. In the distance, a column of black, writhing air headed this way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">A twister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“There! The farmhouse!” I shouted, reaching for the hand of the person behind me. I saw Dean, with Jackie and Claire forming another human chain, just a few feet away on the other side of the tree that blocked the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I pointed, shouted, but even I couldn’t hear my own voice. Everything was drowned out. Dean had the right idea though; he was pulling himself and the others along the side of the debris toward the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It was so dark. That was the strange thing about tornadoes. It wasn’t just the noise and the rain, but it was the darkness as if the air itself was being rent asunder. My clothes felt like they were in danger of being torn from my body, and every time I lifted a foot I moved almost a foot in the direction of the gust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Fingers squeezed around my arm. I thought it was just one of the others beside me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Until it hissed….</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">End of sample. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCEwPoK5YtU0cuMfnBnqcVbb07_5SMIr3SwH_H_D3gDlAE-X2_uIFqsE4Y3Yocr8vmpFD28q5-VenI5oTM2OpXRqb94UW6QKZ8KNX7kScFRnK-tv4w-8O06HsVrMXwnaOSFSZPAh-3iec/s1600/The+Zombie+Chronicles+E-Book+Cover+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCEwPoK5YtU0cuMfnBnqcVbb07_5SMIr3SwH_H_D3gDlAE-X2_uIFqsE4Y3Yocr8vmpFD28q5-VenI5oTM2OpXRqb94UW6QKZ8KNX7kScFRnK-tv4w-8O06HsVrMXwnaOSFSZPAh-3iec/s400/The+Zombie+Chronicles+E-Book+Cover+9.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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<b>Available here: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Chronicles-Apocalypse-Infection-Unleashed-ebook/dp/B018FBKHCQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452125705&sr=1-1&keywords=siege+peebles">http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Chronicles-Apocalypse-Infection-Unleashed-ebook/dp/B018FBKHCQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452125705&sr=1-1&keywords=siege+peebles</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-5586209776618923922015-12-14T07:16:00.001-05:002015-12-14T07:16:37.679-05:00Conspire book 9 is available for pre-order!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Conspire book 9 is available for pre-order!</span></div>
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywfuhSd0f96ZvikipdeeIZCg1Ok4rsBLc932M6ZzQIyh8-k3l1pJWrje8YCVkdZ-l7bsMA3bFRTOZpctr0bCmJYZSTSHkn44-212ikLZbqe28VoPHQC_GbrbksKyMDhBQd2c-bsvvIm8f/s640/Conspire+wolf.jpg" width="426" /></div>
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Available for preorder now! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BVQCJQ">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BVQCJQ</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-138713171260456572015-11-19T17:11:00.000-05:002015-11-19T17:11:18.532-05:00New Cover for Conspire book 9!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Just got my cover
from Book Cover By Design for book 9 of The Crush Saga by Chrissy Peebles. I love it! In this
book, we have some radioactive werewolf action happening! Run! These wolves are
jacked up!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYv8FJdbBqt7g0F0i8KXWfAbxc7cO9CwSegKWtshRcOHLcEbkxUjRW-mM4jaCfb4pf5fzM_RBRXlB87LIc0TQIPUlclbXCK64EJ_nHZ7W_LTgD512y1eDHyg9tPPfSG0OA3dNEGeOfhQZ/s1600/Conspire+wolf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYv8FJdbBqt7g0F0i8KXWfAbxc7cO9CwSegKWtshRcOHLcEbkxUjRW-mM4jaCfb4pf5fzM_RBRXlB87LIc0TQIPUlclbXCK64EJ_nHZ7W_LTgD512y1eDHyg9tPPfSG0OA3dNEGeOfhQZ/s640/Conspire+wolf.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gsoAZrpteMMDftEFrWoYoPndDFGSn_7RgFajfDGe33zvSIxZ5eZqUysf4_nIw7CqZjQ4GA7yKl9iRtH6xQrmWuQPOEaaiyYfXiSg1jHo8W1wp7hSM5wvyrQOca2K5TD11Ln0M5__Tyml/s1600/Conspire+The+Crush+Saga+Advert+Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gsoAZrpteMMDftEFrWoYoPndDFGSn_7RgFajfDGe33zvSIxZ5eZqUysf4_nIw7CqZjQ4GA7yKl9iRtH6xQrmWuQPOEaaiyYfXiSg1jHo8W1wp7hSM5wvyrQOca2K5TD11Ln0M5__Tyml/s640/Conspire+The+Crush+Saga+Advert+Banner.png" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-11429509254284050832015-11-14T11:17:00.000-05:002015-11-14T11:17:16.793-05:00I just finished Frozen Paws! It feels good to finish this book. :) It's up for preorder and will release soon.<br />
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Amazon link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016U2JZQ6" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016U2JZQ6</a><br />
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This is a 58,000 word story. *This is a 3 book series*<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is a subplot with Taylor in this story for all you Crush lovers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Julie (Taylor’s best friend from The Crush Saga) leaves Big Bear Lake when she is chased by evil that wants to consume her powers. She dyes her hair, packs her stuff, and goes on the run… She hooks up with a werewolf pack that is branched off from The Ice Pack. They vow to help her. But can she really hide from her enemies?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Julie is eighteen years old, discreetly going about her life as the daughter of a witch. Her biggest concern is trying to convince her mother to let her marry her boyfriend, a werewolf.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Everything changes when, after a fight with her mother, Julie goes for a drive and ends up in a car accident. The other driver gets out of his car and attacks Julie with inhuman strength. She is forced to use magic to defend herself, and accidentally kills her attacker in the process. A few short hours later, the same man walks out of the hospital without a scratch on him. </div>
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<o:p></o:p>Julie goes on the run, hunted by a coven of vampires long thought to be extinct. Even in a town full of Immortals, Julie is not safe. The only way for her to stop running is to defeat the vampires that hunt her. With help from two new friends and fellow vampires, Julie goes on a journey to find three rare ingredients to use in a potion that will destroy the entire coven that hunts her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She constantly battles not only against vampires, shape-shifters, and ghosts—but also with herself. Can she learn what it means to be part of a pack? The answer will determine her success or failure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-67673452179062376712015-10-29T09:02:00.001-04:002015-10-29T09:02:40.458-04:00Cursed - Book 8 is Coming on Halloween!Cursed is coming to Amazon on Halloween! It's a long one too! One of the longest in the series at 93,000 words! :) The kindle version is available for preorder. I just got my paperback so I wanted to show you all. I am very pleased with how it turned out. Cover done by Book Cover by Design.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNd_n1oCPd850aod_L_gZ9sa1cxhPnXBg3dbvEayAEljrQjJ3N5ouTzqtq_LEoNS2NY0g_raWCjEnd8KIrayx5nLr-iXJw561TfzbJVP4LzkPR3C5-33QDePYQ0SwHkVBrB_PyBwXCAqXU/s1600/Cursed+paperback+at+home+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNd_n1oCPd850aod_L_gZ9sa1cxhPnXBg3dbvEayAEljrQjJ3N5ouTzqtq_LEoNS2NY0g_raWCjEnd8KIrayx5nLr-iXJw561TfzbJVP4LzkPR3C5-33QDePYQ0SwHkVBrB_PyBwXCAqXU/s320/Cursed+paperback+at+home+3.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PKvRHbSn4IVFdkhvmV1XUKajx0-I7wYVaRbhpc3CG2JXQjPHQZLTo6CrhDQrsI_EcuNYaUvXjDVcacLrFASw8iTRQ8h1emCNtUOpdacjDtWiF-_2baeA2q8o04R8tr4i1CE8FqFTI1yG/s1600/Cursed+paperback+at+home+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PKvRHbSn4IVFdkhvmV1XUKajx0-I7wYVaRbhpc3CG2JXQjPHQZLTo6CrhDQrsI_EcuNYaUvXjDVcacLrFASw8iTRQ8h1emCNtUOpdacjDtWiF-_2baeA2q8o04R8tr4i1CE8FqFTI1yG/s320/Cursed+paperback+at+home+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-27571391844000427302015-09-15T16:43:00.001-04:002016-03-11T18:02:36.750-05:00CURSED - Book 8 - Sneak Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "batangche"; font-size: 48.0pt;">CURSED<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Book 8 in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Crush Saga<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">by<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Copyright © 2015 by Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Chapter 1</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The sunlight faded fast, casting a purple haze on the jagged black mountains that surrounded the troops. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I shrugged my shoulders under the light metal battle armor; the king had insisted that I wear it. I chewed my lip nervously, wondering how it was all going to play out. Alexios knew the enemy well, but he’d shared little with me. Beyond what Dylan had shown me at The Sapphire Academy of Magic, and what I’d already seen in Big Bear Lake, I had no idea what the fey even looked like, at least not the ones we’d be fighting. I had no idea what we were up against, and that only made it all the more frightening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“How do we kill them?” a servant girl next to me asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I know a few ways,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The guard next to me shook his head. “You won’t be fighting, Taylor. You’re just here for show, to give the people something to believe in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“If I’m here, I’m fighting. I have amazing powers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, I heard what you did in France,” another hunter said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Then you know I can be a great asset to this cause.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Races from all over the world have joined us. It isn’t necessary to risk our queen’s life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But I can do so much more,” I said. “Please let me join the fight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s time for our queen to speak,” another said, touching my arm softly and gently leading me away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I stopped. “What’s going on?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We need you to speak to the people, and then I have orders to escort you back to the castle before the battle starts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> As we walked up the mountain, I turned to look at the soldier. “This is crazy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I suppose it does seem odd,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What happened to the girl who was sunbathing on the beach at Big Bear Lake, talking about her upcoming school year? That naïve girl who jumped from the cliffs, listened to music, and swam at the swimming hole?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I believe that ship has long sailed, Highness,” my escort said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“So much has happened. I’ve…lost my innocence.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You’ve gained experience, and now you can encourage our troops,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was led up a large hill. At the top, I glanced down upon thousands of vampires, werewolves, and witches, hordes of them stretching as far as my eye could see. My hands began to tremble, as I wasn’t used to being in front of such a large crowd, particularly when a great majority of the eyes looking back at me weren’t even human. I had spoken at charity events and parties and a few lectures Alexios had planned, but this was different. There were thousands upon thousands, a sea of beings, all waiting for me to say something. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“And now, here is our queen!” Alexios announced, guiding me over and kissing me on the cheek. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My nerves began to get the best of me, and a kiss from him certainly didn’t help. Instantly, I froze, and it was as if I’d swallowed an entire cantaloupe and couldn’t possibly squeeze a single word out around it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Just speak from your heart, the way you always do,” Alexios said. “Tell them that you’re on their side and that we will conquer our enemies. Leave them with no doubts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I looked out at the crowd before me, an odd mixture of vampires, wolves, and witches, united as one because of all the hard work Alexios and I had put into trying to bring everyone together against the threat. They all listened to me because I was a hybrid, and I harbored within me a little piece of them all. <i>Maybe being a mutt has some purpose after all,</i> I mused as I mustered up the courage to speak to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hello, everyone,” I nervously began, my half-chewed bottom lip trembling ferociously. “For so long, our races have been divided, and now the fey have stormed in to try to take over, but we mustn’t let that happen. You stand before me now, a supernatural army, united and strong. As your queen, I am part of all of you. I am werewolf, vampire, and witch. You are all special, and I am honored to carry a part of that within me. We are supernatural beings, all fighting for one sole purpose, and that is to win, to survive. We cannot stand by and idly tolerate injustice. I say we show ‘em what happens when a bunch of supernatural beings unite and band together!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A cheer began to ripple through the crowd, coupled with howls and even a few disturbing whistles that sounded more like hisses. For a moment, I thought I even heard a few barks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We must set aside our differences, our grudges. Save your anger for those freaks who want to destroy us and take over our world. It’s our destiny to live and to make the most of our lives. Let’s work together and take back our world! United we stand! As separate tribes, we will never defeat them, but if we combine into one brilliant military force, we can come out victorious over our common enemy. Let’s not live in enmity for one more day, even one more hour, one more minute. Right now, turn to your neighbor and tell that person, ‘I’m here for a reason, and I will fight for what I believe in. If there has been a rift between us, I forgive you, and I hope you’ll forgive me. We must unite and work together, and we will fight and take our world back!’ Life is short, people, and no one has the right to tell us how to live it. We will fight and give it all we’ve got in every battle, and we will ultimately win the war!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suddenly, the whole meadow was alive with applause and cheering, and creatures and people of every kind began shaking hands and embracing one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Thanks for listening to me today,” I said. “I consider you my brothers and sisters in this world, and I want you to know that I’ll never, ever give up until justice is served and we get our world back! You have my word on that, and I hope I have your word as well.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">More clapping, screaming, whistling, cheering, barking, snarling, and growling ensued, and I basked in the uplifting inspiration of one of the most glorious moments in all my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You did it,” Alexios said, lifting my arm high in the air and smiling at me, as if I’d just won some world-champion boxing match. Everyone cheered even louder when he enthusiastically shouted, “United we stand!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was then led away, but as I gazed up at my so-called husband, I wanted nothing more than to fight. “Alexios,” I begged, trying to free myself from the grip of my escort, “please let me join this cause. You must let me fight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I looked around and saw that he’d tasked an entire legion of soldiers to accompany me, surrounding me like the Secret Service would shield a hated President. I knew I could never take on so many. “I can’t let our people fight without me,” I muttered, shaking my head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A hunter overheard me and shook his head. “You will not fight today, Highness. You are a queen, not a warrior, and my instructions are to get you safely back to the castle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A blonde woman rushed through the crowd. When she screamed my name, I immediately recognized her voice, and I commanded the guards to let me see her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Taylor!” she shouted, pushing through the soldiers to reach me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh my gosh! You’re here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Since the fey are here and attacking, Alexios let every supernatural being into his kingdom so we can all stand united and fight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Good. I’m so glad you’re here. Alexios has been awful to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“And you stayed here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I had too. I was the spokesperson for the war. People came together because of me and my hybrid status. If the supernatural races had remained divided, we wouldn’t stand a chance of winning this war.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You’re selfless, Taylor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We can’t let the fey take over this world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Of course not.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “What kind of a fashion statement is that?” I asked, looking at her chainmail. I knew the armor was more symbolic, since she was part witch and werewolf. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Alexios made us wear it. Do I look ridiculous?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Um…a little.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She hugged me. “We’re all here to back you up. When we found out the fey are here, we all dropped what we were doing and came right away.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Where’s the rest of the gang?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Grant’s with Jesse and Tabby. Dylan’s running around here somewhere, in tiger form. I saw Violet, and Cindy and Fred took off with Drake and Ivan.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They won’t let me fight,” I said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Why not?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I guess they think their good queen might break a nail.” I looked around at my entourage. “I can’t stand it, but I’ve got an idea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hmm. That’s usually scary.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I grinned and concentrated, ready to try that trick Dylan taught me in the woods, hoping I could summon the orb that would lift me high in the air. I pulled my friend into another embrace. I wasn’t sure if it would work with me holding Julie, but I didn’t really have much to lose. Electricity flooded over both of us. It didn’t hurt; it just felt like a small electric shock. Together, we turned into a ball of light and darted into the sky, hovering above the small army that had been guarding me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Come back!” one of the hunters shouted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We glided high over the towering tree line, stunning the guards with our getaway. Furious, and probably worried that Alexios would have their heads for letting me slip away, they chased us until we were out of sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We floated for a while and found a seemingly safe place to touch down. Unfortunately, landings weren’t my specialty, and as we started to descend, I began to lose control. At an insane speed, we lost altitude, hurtling toward the grass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thud!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Are you okay?” Julie asked, noticing that I was rubbing my head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I massaged my pounding temples. “Yeah, I’ll live. How about you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She brushed herself off. “Hey, I’m breathing. The important thing is that we got you away."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sorry. I guess I need more flying lessons.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s fine, but how did you manage, carrying me?” Julie asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I figured it was worth a try.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I couldn’t talk up there, but I could see everything. It was freaking amazing, Taylor!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I know. In time, I hope to master it…including the landing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“So? Are you ready to fight?” Julie asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yup. I say we show the fey who’s the boss around here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ready to fight, we walked into the army and prepared ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Won’t Alexios send more guards to find you?” Julie asked. “He seems to be on quite the power trip.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They’ll never find us,” I said. “We blend in like everyone else. Besides, they’ll be too busy trying to save their own butts.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">About an hour later, Julie was beginning to grow impatient. “How much longer?” she whispered, yawning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’ve got no idea, Julie,” I said and then immediately grimaced. I knew I was being too sassy and snippy with my best friend, especially after being apart from her for so long. It was the building pressure of the battle ahead, especially with all those unanswered questions. <i>What will the fey look like? How will they fight?</i> I wished we knew more, because I didn’t like going into combat so blind. I wasn’t even sure if I should be in the fight at all, since I hadn’t been properly trained, but I knew that mine and Julie’s powers would come in handy. “We’ve just gotta wait it out,” I said. “If the fey take over this world, ours will be next.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I wonder where the king is.” Julie stretched her neck and gripped the hilt of the small dagger at her side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Somewhere on the other side maybe. I really couldn’t care less,” I snapped. “I just want him to stay out of my way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Not exactly wedded bliss, huh?” Julie asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“More like a nuptial nightmare. That slime-ball tried to keep me caged in his castle like some kind of porcelain doll. I want to fight for our people, to take out this threat before they destroy both our worlds. We can’t let the fey gain a foothold. If they do, nothing in either world will ever be the same again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But Alexios wants to destroy the fey too, Taylor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Yes, I know, but he’s got other problems, starting with the fact that he’s a royal pain in my royal—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hey, now!” Julie said, smirking and cutting me off. “No disrespect to his Royal Highness,” she said, giggling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suddenly, a young man with brawny shoulders stopped in front of us and saluted. The look of brute strength said he was a werewolf, though he definitely wasn’t part of the pack from Big Bear Lake. A few seconds later, a warlock brought some horses to us. We talked for a few minutes about the impending battle, then hopped on; fortunately, they didn’t seem to recognize us in our armor or by our voices, so they didn’t tattle to Alexios. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I grabbed the reins and led my horse closer to the action, with Julie in tow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“My queen?” a soldier began.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I gritted my teeth at the title and said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Aren’t you supposed to be safe inside the castle?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m here to fight, just like you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A true warrior,” he said, smiling appreciatively. “We can use all those we can get, Highness.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I wasn’t expecting that; I was sure he’d try to haul me off to the castle. I let out a long breath. “Thank you. Can you tell me what’s going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The scouts have spotted the first of the enemy. They’re about five minutes away.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Five minutes?” I repeated, then swallowed hard. “Thank you,” I said, but the werewolf was already gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Queen,” Julie commented, shaking her head. “I still have to get used to that.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t start, Jules,” I replied, giving her a playful roll of my eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I couldn’t keep the nerves at bay any longer, and thoughts of Jesse clouded my mind as well. I studied the field between the massive black mountains, hoping to put my mind at ease. I didn’t have to actively command any troops, but I was sure knowing the layout of the land would help me in battle anyway. We had to use every advantage, even know the terrain, for the existence of all immortals hung in the balance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Witches stood in rows at the back of the massive force, waiting patiently, with their arms folded and engaging in leisurely discussions about what was to come. They were our most powerful close-range fighters, so keeping them safe was the main priority. I grinned at the thought: <i>Get close enough to a witch, you nasty fey, and they’ll incinerate you on the spot as soon as look at you.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beyond that were battalions of vampires, pale and regal in their black, form-fitting armor. They came from every coven in the country, tall and silent, their eyes blazing with focus, and they breathed power and looked as menacing as they were. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amongst them were small battalions of werewolves, not transformed yet. The fighters were ready, flexing their muscles and baring their teeth, but they didn’t bother with armor, as they didn’t need it. All they had to do was turn, and they would be a force to be reckoned with, with all the fury of nature at their beck and call. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Two minutes,” Julie commented, shifting her chainmail to stretch her legs and arms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Are you ready?” I asked, staring out across the shifting mass of fighters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Julie said with a growl, raising her hand and twiddling her fingers. A flame sparked between them, and she made it dance from one fingertip to the other, until it reached her thumb. When she clicked her fingers, it disappeared. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A glint of metal caught my eye amidst the torches some of the troops were holding. I searched for it, then frowned hard when I realized its source. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Alexios sat atop a silvery white horse. The helmet on his head was glistening in the sun, the top of it shaped like a crown<i>. So arrogant, even in battle,</i> I thought. He was flanked by special fighters, strange creatures masked by their armor. A few were hunched over; I assumed they might be very ancient vampires, but I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t believe the man atop that mighty steed was my husband, and I couldn’t wait for the marriage to be over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Here they come,” Julie murmured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A slow roar spread through the ranks, rippling backward. Even the witches were noisy, and I joined in, yelling in defiance. The fey spread out over the cliffs, and I squinted up at them, using my advanced eyesight to pick them out. They had wings; that much I could tell, but their other features were masked in the fading light. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They’re so creepy,” Julie shouted over the racket, “with wings and everything!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Charge!” I roared, raising my hands into the sky, hoping my special petal witch heritage would not fail me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A lightning bolt shot out of me, and the first line of creatures burst into flames. The troops screamed for victory, and even though they hadn’t transformed yet, the werewolves howled at the sky. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Show off,” Julie said, then threw her own lightning bolt, a powerful one that took out the next two lines of creatures flying in our direction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Alexios glared at me from across the battlefield, but I ignored it. He didn’t look happy about me being out there, but he didn’t try to have me put on house arrest either. The battle was on, well underway, and his selfish expectations weren’t my problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I paced from side to side, and my horse, Clara Belle, whinnied nearby. She wasn’t a fan of the werewolf in me, but I pushed her forward anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The fey roiled on the hill, and the humming of beating wings filled the air in the silence between the army’s might roars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What are they waiting for?” I mumbled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Maybe they’re looking for a gap in our defenses,” Julie wisely surmised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The last sliver of orange sunlight disappeared over the top of the mountain, and like a million bats leaving their cave for the night, the fey swept down the hillside. The flying creatures looked different from the ones Julie and I had just torched with our volts, and the fact that they had waited till sunset to come at us was not lost on me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They don’t like the light!” I screamed. “Light the torches, everything you have! Make a bonfire if you can.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The order was relayed to the back line of the witches, and they immediately shot handfuls of flames into the air. Unfortunately, they fizzled out quickly, casting only a quick flare of light on the approaching troops. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Julie created a massive, swirling ball of yellow energy. “Let’s see how they like a fake sun,” she said, fixing the giant sphere of light above the flying creatures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The fey didn’t shriek or retreat, but they slowed before they reached the penumbra on the ground, then landed on the grass in a great scuffle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Darn. I guess the light doesn’t bother them,” I said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It was a good try,” Julie said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I ducked as energy volts and arrows sped past me. A fey held up its hand, and the weapons stopped in midair. A single creature stepped forward from the bunch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hold your fire!” Alexios boomed across the distance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The troops fell silent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What does it want?” I whispered in the sudden quiet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The creature stopped just outside the circle of light, then pushed her face in close and pressed it to the nearest vampire’s. She was horrific to behold: a gaping maw of a mouth, with two rows of sharp teeth, pointed ears, and long brown hair parted past them. I shuddered at the sight of her; she was like some horrific monster out of a twisted fairytale, with black claws and drool dripping from her chin. Black wings unfurled at her shoulders, and she flapped them languidly, gazing at the vampire before her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I am Dierdru,” the fey said, speaking in a high whine that made me wince. “Do you lead?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The question was asked of the tall male vampire, but he didn’t reply. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As menacing as she looked, the fey was small, the size of a child, and she hovered in the air for a moment, then landed and punched the silent vampire in the stomach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Still, the vampire didn’t move, didn’t even flinch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I am Dierdru,” the fey repeated. “Do you lead this rabble?” The creature poked the vampire again, and one of the werewolves released a growl from deep within his throat. The fey cocked her head like and eagle and focused on the werewolf instead. “Or is it you?” Then, before the werewolf could answer, the fey took to the air and climbed slowly into the light. “I am Dierdru!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The shriek pierced the night, and a few of the witches began to stir nervously. Clara Belle whinnied and reared up on her hind legs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The creature looked down on the troops again. “Who leads this army?” Dierdru’s voice echoed off the sharp rocks, rebounding and growing in intensity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I started to step forward, but Julie caught my arm and shook her head. “No, Taylor. Don’t.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m gonna tell her where to go, back to the Hell she came from.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Watch instead,” she whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Frustration built up inside me, spreading to my extremities. <i>Why should I watch and do nothing? Am I not the queen of the immortals?</i> It wasn’t that I particularly enjoyed the title, but it wasn’t with in me to stand idly by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Who leads this army?” the creature asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I am king of the immortals,” Alexios boomed, directing his own horse to move forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The hunched-over guards walked with him, vigilantly keeping watch over their master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I lead this army.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dierdru glared at my husband for a long while, as if considering what she should say. Finally, she screeched out, “I am the leader of the fey. Surrender now, or you all will be destroyed. We will paint every blade of grass with your blood!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We will fight you, cursed ones!” Alexios shouted. “You will not so easily defeat us and take our world. We are all prepared to fight to the death.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Then so be it!” the fey scowled. She turned and flitted back to her frightening companions. “If you fight, it will be to the death!” she screamed, but then she began uttering words in some garbled language that none of us could possibly understand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The noise of her incoherent babbling increased as the other fey joined her, becoming an unbearable litany. They had a ground army and a flying one, and I could smell their foul stench from a mile away. They were fearless, soulless, emotionless, and ominous, and I gulped hard as the two armies grew closer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Attack!” Alexios yelled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">With a loud <i>bam</i>, the two armies collided. The old-timer vampires swung hammers and axes, while modern-day ones acted like snipers, cleverly hidden high in the cliffs and raining down their assault from above. The witches thrust their arms in the air, and light burst from their fingertips, hitting the ground and some of the adversaries in a series of violent explosions. Enemy fey flew everywhere, in a burst of green flames. The werewolves tore into battle, and Alexios’s hunters bravely charged forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fey fell, some hit by fire or electricity and others pierced by arrows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The witches shot fireballs into the ranks of tittering fey. When the fireballs found their marks, the fey seemed to erupt, sending chunks of flesh in every direction and spreading the stench of burnt meat through the air. I choked and moved with Julie, seeking higher ground. The fey swept forward, howling revenge for the fresh deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fire, ice, lightning, and all kinds of magical energy flew across the battlefield in a glorious display of colors as the witches united to take down the fey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The battle raged on as razor-sharp fangs and claws ripped into the skin of the enemy, but the fey were not quick to give up. Rather than retreating, they called in reinforcements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I gasped as enormous shadows darkened everything around us and flapping, mighty wings came into view. “Dragons!” I screamed. “They’ve got dragons!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The creatures roared through the shrieks and cries of battle, striking with sharp talons and long teeth. They dived and twisted through the sky like stealth bombers, looking to score a mark, hoping to slam their huge bodies into groups of vamps or wolves. Their eyes burned red with scorn and hatred and violence as they rained down like terror from the skies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One slammed into a group of vampires to my left, throwing the vampires violently into the air like shrapnel. The dragon let out an ear-splitting shriek and attacked, turning its massive body toward anyone who ran and instantly destroying them with streams of flesh-melting fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally, one brave vampire took a stand, slashing away at the vile creature’s monstrous wings. When I saw that it was Drake, I was surprised at how valiantly he fought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The fey fighting on the ground began to part and thin as we took them down. I invoked lightning from the heavens. Julie held my hand and we merged our power, and pure white light flashed in the night sky. Visible flashes of distant bolts started to appear, and massive flashes of yellow lightning grew stronger. The wind blew our hair around as streaks of lightning illuminated the black sky in pale blue and yellow flashes, followed by red ones. Our power grew stronger, almost out of control. It was something stronger than petal magic; I knew that much. It flooded through me, and I seemed powerless to stop it. Bolts of lightning struck the great beasts, and as they fell, their shrieks and death cries made me jump. I let go of Julie’s hand and broke the connection, and the lightning disappeared. When our enemies pinpointed where the fatal lightning was coming from, they set their sights on us and launched an attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like a torrential downpour, a hail of arrows flew at us. I extended my force-field to protect as many as I could. Javelins and spears kept bouncing off it with loud bangs. More arrows whizzed past, swords flashed, fires blazed from the dragons, and a horse reared up next to me. The dragon creatures spewed more blazing flames, and we fought hard against our flying opponents. A barrage of arrows was launched, but the angry beasts retaliated by blowing out long streams of fire that incinerated the arrows like marshmallows on a campfire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shrieking, others dived through the clouds, making a quick descent to pounce on their foes, ripping into them with sharp claws and teeth. In seconds, they demolished rows of vampires. A stream of fire barely missed me, but with my quick reflexes, I jumped out of the way, leaving only grass, dirt, and rocks to be scorched where I’d just stood. Plumes of smoke billowed into the air, and fire sizzled in small patches in the grass. The entire scene was chaos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When a group of snapping fey flew too close, Violet lifted her hands, and a flash of blue light enveloped her. When she blinked, the light spread out and surrounded the fey, suddenly paralyzing them; with their wings frozen, they dropped to the ground. Violet began a fireworks show of her own, shooting all kinds of dazzling colors and explosions with her hands as the next group came to assault us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When a fey approached Dylan in his human form, his hands suddenly turned into giant claws, and he made quick work of tearing into the foe. I was amazed that he could remain human but still summon up his tiger claws when he needed them. Truly, as immortal as I was, the supernatural world still never ceased to amaze me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When Violet was slashed by the claw of a fey flying by her, she held her bleeding neck, then passed out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Violet!” I shouted, running over to her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A vampire frantically looked up at me. “We need to generate heat somehow, cauterize her wound to stop the bleeding. Can you do that?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I can heal her,” I said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Witches can’t heal.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Petal witches can.” I placed my hands on her neck, and a light began to glow. I concentrated, trying to do it the way Tabby had shown me so I wouldn’t sap all my strength. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Violet’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Are you okay?” I asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m fine,” she said, scrambling to her feet. “Thank you, Taylor!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“More incoming fey!” another werewolf shouted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">End of sample. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span> <span style="text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">Link to Cursed for pre-order: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IT9VMW" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IT9VMW</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-63510511842901285312015-08-06T20:28:00.001-04:002015-08-06T20:32:05.632-04:00Cursed - Book 8 is available for pre-order. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrIQ0BXXlKRIHNoZ5aRLAGz8CGO8-MW-hUeGtcZiSbwHdQiSAY7556ThEHvP89aN1d7EEBuL7tacd3PMq_gvGdopfcsevRxXIYD628IqLuqxLiUwj_0tGcdLhYmxkz5fPuVbnEiNeZS1W/s1600/Cursed+book+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrIQ0BXXlKRIHNoZ5aRLAGz8CGO8-MW-hUeGtcZiSbwHdQiSAY7556ThEHvP89aN1d7EEBuL7tacd3PMq_gvGdopfcsevRxXIYD628IqLuqxLiUwj_0tGcdLhYmxkz5fPuVbnEiNeZS1W/s640/Cursed+book+8.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />
Link to Cursed: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IT9VMW" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IT9VMW</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-36932378127222210482015-07-14T10:41:00.000-04:002015-08-06T20:32:53.991-04:00Sneak Peek book 8 of The Crush SagaPeople have asked: Is there another book after Clash in The Crush Saga?<br />
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Clash was supposed to be the last book but fans have written me asking for a couple more books, not wanting the series to end. So after much consideration, I've decided to keep the story going for a while longer than planned. I'm so excited that people love my characters and can't get enough of them. I can't either. Here is the next book after Clash.<br />
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Taylor is kidnapped by The Ice Pack due to her special heritage. She is taken into their portal world where she must join the pack...or die. She is taken to an otherworldly place that no human has ever seen. Can she survive in an ancient world where she doesn't belong?<br />
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Preorder link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IT9VMW" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IT9VMW</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-46541449107706384172015-06-08T22:37:00.001-04:002015-06-08T22:37:25.782-04:00Conflicted - Book 6 is out tomorrow on Amazon! :) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91G_SPIkoeo51JgAJpAWoWZBzhQoHqKHSBUsmJzc7KmdLGtZWGskyHdhz4iGot7OLXZLh5wo-YCXEn8lmvzSeki6KUbAP7ppnaR9fipRaPABlgZipyMLKXLL92PhxItA2DbpdCFPAEXHb/s1600/The+Crush+Saga+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91G_SPIkoeo51JgAJpAWoWZBzhQoHqKHSBUsmJzc7KmdLGtZWGskyHdhz4iGot7OLXZLh5wo-YCXEn8lmvzSeki6KUbAP7ppnaR9fipRaPABlgZipyMLKXLL92PhxItA2DbpdCFPAEXHb/s400/The+Crush+Saga+6.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Conflicted - Book 6 is out tomorrow on Amazon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 12.8640003204346px;">Link: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UIODG90">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UIODG90</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-44616660717482494012015-05-22T12:00:00.000-04:002015-05-26T16:43:38.050-04:00Conflicted - Book 6 (Two Chapter Sneak Peek Preview)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Coming June 9th! </span></div>
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Available for preorder now:</div>
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Click here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conflicted-Book-6-Crush-Saga-ebook/dp/B00UIODG90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432338591&sr=8-1&keywords=conflicted+peebles" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Conflicted-Book-6-Crush-Saga-ebook/dp/B00UIODG90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432338591&sr=8-1&keywords=conflicted+peebles</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 36.0pt;">Conflicted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Book 6 of <i>The Crush Saga</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">by<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Chrissy
Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Copyright © 2015 by
Chrissy Peebles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Edited by: Autumn J.
Conley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and
the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked
status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of
fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these
trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark
owners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=vb.351121651567296&type=2#!/pages/Chrissy-Peebles/351121651567296"><span style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=vb.351121651567296&type=2#!/pages/Chrissy-Peebles/351121651567296</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">To:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My brilliant editor,
Autumn J. Conley. Thank you for all your hard work!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
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</span>
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<b>Spoiler Alert: If you haven't read before this, there are spoilers. This is book 6. </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Chapter
1<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
<i>How do I describe
this moment? There is only…nothing. No sensation, no pain, no dreams, no
memories. There is only…darkness.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
<i>Wait! What is
that? A bright light? A voice? A touch!</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I’m Dr. Rivers,”
a woman said, shining a light into my eyes. “Taylor, can you hear me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Yeah,” I
answered. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Do you know
where you are?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“The immortal
sanctuary?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
My stomach clenched. “My gosh. I shouldn’t
be alive!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No, you
shouldn't, but you’re a survivor. You were bitten by a vampire and a
werewolf, but you're fighting like a champion.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Okay. She’s
coming to,” a woman yelled. “Everyone take extra precautions!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
All the memories
flooded back from that night. I was buried alive. Almost sacrificed. Julie and
Drake had both bitten me. Halo. The millennium ceremony. Ivan and his wolf
pack swearing revenge against me. Yes, it was all coming back. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<i>I'm
a hybrid!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I could hear
people talking over me as I tried to force my eyes open. When I listened
closer, I heard a beeping sound, the electronic chorus of monitors. My hand
throbbed, but I quickly located the culprit: an IV attached to a bag of fluids
on a silver pole. I tried to figure out what was going on in the haze that
surrounded me, but nothing made much sense in all that craziness. I knew I was
in a hospital bed with white sheets and blankets. My body felt limp as a wet
rag. Everything and everyone seemed far away. Part of me wanted to fall into a
deep sleep, while the other part desperately wanted to fight it. Then I heard a
familiar voice that sounded like an angel right out of Heaven.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Taylor, it’s me,
Jesse. I’m here for you, baby…and so are all your friends. I’m right here,” the
love of my life said, holding my hand. “You’re so strong, so brave. You’re
gonna beat this thing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I squeezed his hand to
let him know I heard him and that I was indeed going to fight for my life. I’d
worked so hard to stay alive, and I wasn’t going to let some immortal virus
take me out. Jesse and I still had so much to see and so much to do, so many
years to love each other. We had our whole lives in front of us, and I couldn’t
wait to go out there and face the world head on. I hung on to that glimmer of
hope, and I wouldn’t let go. <i>Keep
fighting</i>, that tiny voice inside me kept saying. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You need to leave,” a
male voice said. “Please let us do our job. Taylor is in good hands.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“What? Are you nuts? You
can’t expect me to just leave her,” Jesse argued. “Please. I need to be here. She
needs me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
My eyes fluttered
open. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Taylor?” Cindy’s
voice called. “I don’t know what to say, but I care about you. I know it’s
difficult, but we’re here for you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You let <i>her
</i>in here?” an agitated voice whispered. “She’s a gargoyle, very, very
dangerous. Don’t you remember what happened the last time we let a gargoyle in
here 100 years ago?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“This is a sanctuary,”
a voice whispered back. “We accept everyone.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“But she hasn’t been
through decontamination! You’re breaking the rules. They all have to go through
it before being allowed in for a transformation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Her body is going
through an immortal process. Germs don’t matter right now. All that matters is
that she knows her friends are rallying for her, giving her the encouragement
she needs to fight for her life, inspiring her will to survive.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I want her out now!”
he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Cindy looked at him,
and his eyes widened in fear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Did you see that? She’s
flashing me those gargoyle eyes of hers,” the guy said, terrified.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You act like you’ve
never seen glowing eyes before,” I said. “Isn’t this is a place for
supernatural creatures?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Those were
threatening eyes,” he roared, “like she might devour me in one gulp. I can’t
work in a place where I don’t feel safe. She has to go…or else I will!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Julie turned to face
him. “Taylor needs us more than anything right now. She needs <i>all</i> her friends.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Footsteps echoed as the
man took his leave, ignoring Julie’s pleas. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I’m here too,” Fred
said. “I wish I could fix it all, Taylor, just take away your pain.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Grant and I are here too,”
Julie assured me. “You know how much we love you, and we’re rooting for you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Just hang on,” Grant
said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I’m hangin’ in
there,” I whispered. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You’ve got those
stubborn genes, just like me,” Tabby said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I gazed up at her. “I
hope so!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
She squeezed my hand
in excitement. “Girl, you did it. I’m so proud of you! You stopped the petals
from being sacrificed and got the witches’ power back. You even sent Halo back
to Hell. You’re a true hero. I bet you’re on the front page of the immortal
newspaper.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“There’s an immortal
newspaper?” I asked softly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Sure. It’s called <i>The Forever Times</i>,” Julie said, then
chuckled. “She’s only kidding.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I need to see my mom
and dad,” I whispered. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I’m working on that,”
Tabby said, “but getting them in here is a little tricky.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“We’ll need a cover
story,” Fred said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Or just compel them
to forget,” Cindy chimed in with her French accent. “Taylor needs her parents.”
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I glanced at Tabby.
“What powers did you get?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Everyone got at least
one power, but because I’m a petal, I got a few extras. You, Violet, and Julie
will get them too. I can levitate stuff and move things with my mind. I have
enhanced senses. I can manipulate the air and wind and lots more. It’s really amazing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“My power is fire,”
Julie said. “I don’t have it all figured out, but I’ll learn it eventually. I
can do a few other little things too.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I looked at Violet.
“And you?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Mainly
teleportation,” she answered. “I wish my powers were as exciting as Tabby’s or
Julie’s.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Exciting? What good
is fire?” Julie asked with a chuckle. “Unless I’m camping.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Suddenly, every part
of me began to itch profusely, and I started scratching everywhere. As I did, I
noticed a red, blotchy rash spreading all over my body. “Ah! I can’t stop the
itch!” I said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
The doctor rushed to
my side and examined the hives. “She needs Benadryl, fifty milligrams in her
IV…STAT!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Yes, Dr. Rivers,” a
nurse said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I need a mirror,” I
said, wanting to look at my face. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Cindy handed me a
compact, and I flipped it open.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Wh-what’s happening
to me?” I asked, staring at my bloodshot eyes. “I mean, I know I’m turning, but
what’s causing this?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
A male nurse tried to
comfort me by explaining the process. “You’re in Stage One, infection. You’ll
go through fever, chills, itching, headache, and other flu-like symptoms. In
Stage Two, you’ll want to sleep a lot as your metabolism slows. Your breathing
will be shallow, your pupils dilated. During that time, your fangs and nails
will grow.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Another nurse touched
my arm. “Your senses are sharpening, Taylor. Your sense of smell, for instance,
can be 100 times sharper than a mortal’s, and you’ll hear 4 times better than
any human. Your eyes are changing as well, adapting to your new wolf-vision.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You’ve been infected
with a complicated virus,” Dr. Rivers elaborated. “It is really quite complex,
so much so that it rewrites the genetic code of every nucleus in your body.
Countless alterations to your biological makeup are taking place.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
They went on to
explain, in great detail, the differences between a vampire and werewolf
change. I caught some of it, but I kept fading in and out as they blabbed on in
their supernatural medical jargon, until I finally fell asleep again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
***<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Sometime later, I woke
up. I had no idea if I’d been asleep for hours or days. I could hear voices,
but none of them sounded familiar. <i>What
happened to my friends</i>? I wondered. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“She didn’t want
this,” a faint voice whispered, sounding a million miles away, “and to be
bitten by two immortals is highly rare.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Taylor cannot outrun
her destiny. No one can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I felt my pulse speed
as a flood of thoughts and questions pounded through my brain. I thought about
my destiny and wondered what my future held. <i>Will I even live long enough to see it, or will the hybrid virus eat me
alive? Am I doomed to be yet another casualty, like all those other victims who
hoped to escape their fate? </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Noises jolted me out
of my thinking. Amongst the voices, I heard so many things: distant footsteps,
a phone ringing down the hall at the nurses’ station, someone scratching their
head, lips smacking, and even an ice cube melting in a diet soda—things I never
should have been able to hear. For a moment, I considered that maybe I was just
dreaming. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I’ve got the preliminary
test results,” a woman said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“All right. What wolf
line is she from?” another said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You’re not gonna believe
this, but she’s from the Lycan Ice Pack.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“What!? The ancient
werewolves from the Arctic? I thought that was just a myth.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No, and here’s our
living proof. Julie is from the same pack.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I want those records
sealed,” the doctor said. “Nobody is to breathe a word about this to anyone. Is
that understood?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Yes, Dr. Rivers.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Why?” another asked.
“With all due respect, Doctor, this is an important discovery. We need to
inform the others so they know how special Taylor truly is. Why hide it and
seal the records?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Why!? Look, Taylor
was bitten by the strongest, most powerful breed of werewolf that has ever
existed, the ones gifted with the powers of the Danan, the ones tasked with
protecting elite supernatural. Don’t you realize what that means?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“What?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“It means they’ll
snatch her up in a heartbeat. If they find Taylor or Julie, or any of the other
bitten petals, they’ll sweep them away and they’ll be forced to serve as
guardians. This is a sanctuary, and we can’t have that kind of invasion and
kidnapping going on here. Word of this cannot go beyond these walls, so just
keep your mouths shut. You’re not to speak to anyone about this.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Are you going to tell
them?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No. It’s best that we
say nothing. The girls will be safer—as will we all—if they remain unaware of
their true identity. If they don’t know, they can’t blab, and no one will ever know
they’re here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“What about the
werewolf who originally bit Julie? Is it here? Also, why’d it bite her in the
first place? Wouldn’t it have been taken as a guardian? Or is it hiding here in
Big Bear Lake?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Dr. Rivers sighed. “I
don’t know, but I’ll find out. In the meantime, not another word about this to
anyone. We can’t have anyone knowing we have two guardians taking harbor here
in the sanctuary. And don’t forget about the other bitten petals. The Ice Pack
will come and retrieve them all. Right now, silence is our best friend.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You know I won’t say
anything, but Dr. Michaels ordered the test, and he’ll demand answers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Don’t worry about
that. I’ll rig up some results for him, as I’ve got unlimited access to the lab
computer. This girl is beyond special, and we have to keep her safe. She has
Drake’s elite, royal bloodline in her, as well as Lycan Ice Pack blood, and
she’s a tenth-generation petal witch/doppelganger.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Wow. That’s some
combination. That should help her beat this virus though, right?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Let’s hope so.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
My eyes fluttered shut,
and I drifted off into sleep, without them realizing I’d heard a word they’d
said. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Chapter
2<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
My dreams were hectic and chaotic and quickly morphed
into dark, twisted nightmares. I woke up screaming in agony and went straight
into a panic, thrashing and flailing as I was held down against my will. I let
out a long growl and viciously fought against my attackers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“How much valium are we giving her?” a man asked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Ten milligrams.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Maurice shot me a wicked smile. “We should euthanize
the wolf, put her out of her misery!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No!” I shouted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
He held up a gold dagger. “You were born to die. Fate
has always wanted this. Only the strong survive, and you are far too pathetic. Just
let go, Taylor. It’ll all be over soon.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No! I won’t give up without a fight. I’ll kill you
first! You tried to kill me before and failed, so you tell me who the pathetic
one is! How’d you ever get the job as head witch anyway?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Suddenly, the witch from my dreams appeared before
me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You!” I said, letting out an audible gasp. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I tried to tell you of your destiny, that you are to
be a hybrid, but you didn’t believe me. Maybe death is the only way out of all this.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I gasped, realizing my worst fears had come true. “You
<i>all</i> want me dead! You and Maurice and
everyone else!” I shouted at her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“We all want you dead, newborn werewolf and baby
vampire.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
My hands wrapped around her throat. “I’ll never go
that easily. I’ll take you all with me!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Sh-she’s h-hallucinating!” a woman screamed,
unwrapping my hands from around her neck and choking on her words. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Taylor, come back to us!” the familiar’s doctor’s
voice rang. “Maurice is <i>not</i> here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I blinked and realized the doctor was right.
Everything seemed fuzzy, and I had a headache from hell, like seventeen sumo
wrestlers were tap-dancing on my cranium. My heart pounded, and my muscles
ached something fierce. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“She’s going into shock!” a woman said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Embrace the pain,” the doctor coached. “Fighting it will
only make it worse, put more stress on your body. Just ride it out, Taylor.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I was groggy and disoriented, and I felt like I’d
been run over by a truck after running a long marathon. I was gasping for
breath, and my insides ached something fierce. “Wh-what’s happening?” I stuttered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“The werewolf is taking over. Do you remember what we
talked about? This transition will be different than a vampire’s. You’ll feel
more agitated, aggressive. You’ll be prone to unprovoked rage, anger, insomnia,
and restlessness in this first phase. It will pass but it won’t be easy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I growled, wanting to attack and lash out at her. I’d
never been so angry in all my life, and I was sure that if she didn’t shut up, I
was going to rip her to shreds. I hated feeling like that, because it wasn’t
like me at all. It was as if something sinister had possessed me, some violent
demon. Deep down inside, I felt a strong urge to rip off my clothes and run
through the forest, howling like the cursed monster and mythical creature I was
destined to become. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“We’ve got gold eyes, and she’s exhibiting canine
behavior, Doctor,” a woman said, shining a penlight in my eyes, just about
blinding me. “She’ll soon emerge in full lycanthrope form.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Do you want to live, Taylor?” Dr. Rivers asked me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Yes!” I snapped, seething. “What kind of stupid
question is that? Of course I wanna live…more than anything!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Then act like it. Fight this! Times are tough, but
you’ve gotta be tougher. We already warned you that this transition isn’t going
to be pretty. Your energy will spike, then crash. You’ll be on an emotional
rollercoaster, and the pain associated with becoming a vampire will take its
toll. I know it can be downright ugly and scary, but you’ve got to fight
through transition, or you’ll die in the process.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Okay, but this anger is just… It’s just too much,
Doctor. I feel like I wanna punch a wall as hard as I can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“That’s the werewolf rage setting in, but there’ll be
no left hooks for you, to a wall or otherwise. You have to learn to channel the
anger.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“But I can’t!” I screeched, wanting to channel an
uppercut to her face instead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You can…and you must, Taylor.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Isn’t there any other way?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No. I’m sorry, but there isn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“How did you survive the petal curse?” someone else
asked, having the audacity to touch me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I thought about that long and hard for a moment. “I
believed I could, so I did.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
She smiled. “That you did. Now, you only have to do
the same, and I know you can do it.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“But all this anger, this wrath or something! It’s
just…bubbling up inside me, like hot lava,” I said, gripping the sheets and
knotting my hands up in them. “I wanna pound something so bad!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“There will be no pounding today.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Then let me break through one!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You’re not the Incredible Hulk, and I won’t have my
sanctuary destroyed like that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I looked around me, furious, and pointed at a
recording device. “In that case, I highly suggest you turn off that videocamera!”
I ordered. “I never said you could make a stupid reality show outta this!” I
snapped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
The woman with the camera ignored me and continued
recording, and another kept jotting down notes on a big yellow legal pad, in
shorthand, which only ignited me more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Suddenly, a man hovered over me and lifted my eyelids
with his fingers, then peered right into my eyes. “The werewolf symptoms aren’t
letting up. I’m afraid she’ll have to be…subdued.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Suddenly, claws extended from my fingers, and I
reached for him and let out a growl that even scared me. I’d always liked
getting my nails done, but this was no French manicure, and I looked at my own
hands in horror. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Restrain her!” a man shouted. “Her feral instincts
are kicking in!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“She can’t control it,” someone else said in a panic.
“She’ll have the strength of a dozen humans!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“No,” a woman said, struggling to hold me down. “She
won’t hurt us.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You don’t know that!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“She’s just a little freaked out right now,” a kind
voice said. “Tying her up will just make it worse. She’ll only get angrier.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I threw the two men off me as if they were paper
dolls. My human voice melted into a strained, scratchy series of growls,
grunts, and hisses, and I began to foam at the mouth, as if I had rabies. I
felt rabid, crazed, aggressive, and out of control. More adrenaline pumped
through me than ever before, and my muscles rippled and thickened beneath my
skin. <i>This is a real bitch,</i> I mused,
though I was in far too much distress to even smile at my own pun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Restrain her!” a man yelled to the doctor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Not yet,” Dr. Rivers said. “Just give her time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Time? If this gets any worse, time is one thing none
of us will have. Somebody’s gonna get their head ripped off!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
The doctor shook her head. “We’ll only tranquilize or
restrain her as a last resort. For now, just keep your distance.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
My body shook, and my chest felt so tight. I gritted
my teeth and stared down at the backs of my hands, only to discover white hairs
push through my skin. The button of my jeans snapped off and flew across the
room, then landed on the linoleum floor, and my clothes began to rip under the
pressure of my swelling form. I stood on the bed, contemplating my next move. When
all the eyes in the room widened in terror, I knew they feared for their lives;
because of me, they didn’t know whether to freeze or run. Part of me felt bad
about that, but the more powerful part really didn’t care. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I felt myself changing and helplessly tried to fight
it as my muscles rippled beneath my skin and more fur began to sprout from me. My
gums tingled, and I felt my canine teeth grow into fangs as my jaw suddenly
lengthened. “No!” I screamed as my fingers lengthened and my arms and legs
stretched right before my very own eyes. “What’s happening?” I shouted. “Julie
changed so quick! Is this normal?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“It’s your first time,” a nurse gently said. “The
change will be slow.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
With my clawed hands, I reached up to feel my ears as
they merged while the metamorphosis continued. Either there was no pain or the extra
adrenaline compensated for it. New ears formed on top of my head, in a mess of
white fur. I hunched over as my spine contorted and twisted into an unnatural
shape, stretching out and elongating my upper body. As I stretched and jerked,
my body burned, and my entire body was instantly covered with plush white fur.
I felt a burning sensation, but the pain was minimal and nothing I couldn’t
handle. It really all happened over a time span of a few seconds, but it felt
like an eternity. I desperately wanted to stop it, but I was helpless to. My muscles
longed to be free, and the transformation was going to happen, whether I liked
it or not. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Suddenly, a powerful surge ripped through me, from my
head all the way down to my toes. My muscles stretched, my skin ripped, and my
bones lengthened. Scared to death, I let out a long scream. I began to drool
and any attempt at speech was reduced to guttural sounds. I dropped down on all
fours and saw that all my nails on my fingers and toes had extended into
two-inch talons, sharp as steel. My body finished morphing into a wolf in a
glorious flash of light. I snapped my jaws and looked around at the group
surrounding me, then let out a deafening growl. Everything within me and outside
of me seemed to vibrate with an energy I couldn’t comprehend or understand. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
I bared my fangs, and a few of the doctors and nurses
stepped back in fear, which was entirely understandable. I was bubbling over
with rage and bloodlust, but at the same time, I felt more charged up than
ever. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Suddenly, my vision sharpened. I gazed at all the
warm-blooded creatures around me and saw them in a different light, as if I’d
slipped on a pair of thermal-imaging goggles. I had infrared vision, and I
wondered if I would keep it when I was not in a state of bloodlust. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
As my shape-shifting was coming to an end, a man
burst into the room. “We’ve got problems! Werewolves have breached the
perimeter!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“What!?” Dr. Rivers yelled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Send everything we got after them!” a woman commanded.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You know what they’re here for. They’re out for
blood, for revenge. They want Taylor, and I don’t think they’re gonna give up very
easily.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Well, that’s too bad. We’re not about to hand her
over,” the doctor said. “Triple security and keep them at bay. This is a
sanctuary, and sometimes you have to stir up a little war to keep the peace.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“We’ll do more than that,” the man said. “I elicited
Drake’s help.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Seriously?” a woman said, then frowned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“He’s the most powerful thing we’ve got around here.
He volunteered to help, and we took him up on it. Unless you wanna see everyone
here slaughtered before nightfall, we’ve got to take him on as an ally.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Why’d he volunteer?” the skeptical woman asked. “He’s
never helped us before.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“His blood flows through Taylor, and that makes her
part of his coven.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“It most certainly does not!” the doctor snapped.
“Drake has no claim on Taylor.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Legally, he does have a stake in her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“I’d like to shove a stake in him,” she said, sighing
and shaking her head. “I don’t care what he tells you. She’s a werewolf now,
too, and that changes all the rules.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“She’s got no pack to claim her, so by supernatural
protocol, she’s to go right back to Drake. He’d win that case in any immortal
court.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“You don’t have to educate me on how the supernatural
world works. I know the rules, but she is not property. Use Drake to fight off
the wolves if you have to, but I’ll get the witches to claim Taylor before I
ever let Drake take her away.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“But she hates the witches!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“They’re a whole lot better than Drake.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Wait, Doctor,” the woman chimed in. “Maybe he’s
right. If we give Taylor to Drake, it will put us in his good favor. She’ll
want to make her sire happy because of the sire bond. Besides, you know he’ll
take good care of her. She’ll be safe with him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“What!? Have you all gone insane? Taylor is warm,
kind, caring, and everything Drake’s not. That sire bond means nothing when she
has wolf and petal blood in her too.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“Drake will protect us for now,” someone else said,
“but what if their moon princess gets involved? We’ll be in real trouble then.”
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
“If that happens, we’ll have to move her to a safe
house…and as far away from Drake as possible.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
Before they could bicker about it any further, the
lights went out, and the entire room erupted in a loud mess of screams and
chaos. I knew the wolves were coming for me, because I could sense it deep down
inside, and as brave and angry as I felt in my new form, I was also scared to
death. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.25in;">
End of Sample.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
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Available for preorder now:</div>
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Click here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conflicted-Book-6-Crush-Saga-ebook/dp/B00UIODG90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432338591&sr=8-1&keywords=conflicted+peebles" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Conflicted-Book-6-Crush-Saga-ebook/dp/B00UIODG90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432338591&sr=8-1&keywords=conflicted+peebles</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087641183979988615.post-6138589865691210042015-03-24T07:00:00.000-04:002016-03-11T17:53:50.995-05:00Crush gets new covers! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Crush got new covers to better reflect Taylor in my vampire series. My other model in my old covers looked too old for Taylor's age. I really loved the old covers but I wanted something that looked more like my Taylor. There were done by Book Cover by Design.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px; text-align: start;">The Crush Saga Book Trailer: <a href="https://youtu.be/LbfIsKTsPhw" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/LbfIsKTsPhw </a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YVhjyIt-aBQ5304PUJF0GuK82UXXpgoiv20MDYM9PZnHZml_WI8Zaaq21WsWy4XvTys4xad-HJkj_8U2sl42OqISEAcVGVEypdxUwPrhZHX9kmAw7DCNtYHndYCRLOHhDkwmGCSCE2t6/s1600/banner+The+Crush+Saga+Advert+Poster+new+&+wolves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YVhjyIt-aBQ5304PUJF0GuK82UXXpgoiv20MDYM9PZnHZml_WI8Zaaq21WsWy4XvTys4xad-HJkj_8U2sl42OqISEAcVGVEypdxUwPrhZHX9kmAw7DCNtYHndYCRLOHhDkwmGCSCE2t6/s1600/banner+The+Crush+Saga+Advert+Poster+new+&+wolves.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Hy_FPA4BrQ87JNhduR6Xq68BlwTCjvcIMB6KpdkHMDdgWEP3YcriD-OTggokAYf5kzp2toqXC6GiTPKgY9-Et2h931s_7BUD-i96oHIyffD6e9vWgj3Tcexim7euuNa2UCAZdsGOXytT/s1600/crush+new+cover+by+kellie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Hy_FPA4BrQ87JNhduR6Xq68BlwTCjvcIMB6KpdkHMDdgWEP3YcriD-OTggokAYf5kzp2toqXC6GiTPKgY9-Et2h931s_7BUD-i96oHIyffD6e9vWgj3Tcexim7euuNa2UCAZdsGOXytT/s1600/crush+new+cover+by+kellie.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipol1cR7X3b0ZkNGFIACiT1yvlqoNX6eG6yaBXAqCE7dmKfKQ3HaU8VvG6pQRByRvW9utmSKrMMShG9pMrBjyh-PUm4Z33wvUGN1Wu0z9SFJ158SEft4e3TJF8Zt38a5xTENfneXDzzEGe/s1600/The+Crush+Saga+7+Clash+ebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipol1cR7X3b0ZkNGFIACiT1yvlqoNX6eG6yaBXAqCE7dmKfKQ3HaU8VvG6pQRByRvW9utmSKrMMShG9pMrBjyh-PUm4Z33wvUGN1Wu0z9SFJ158SEft4e3TJF8Zt38a5xTENfneXDzzEGe/s1600/The+Crush+Saga+7+Clash+ebook.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Here are my audio covers:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZhlJLsJdJjJbP0v5houSt_k2aEoI3yojAXBZ7sl64Zgcy8DXQL3r8TVKHw7IzQZkxqLkAeaVVBmxrkUoYxnoPm3paCdcQYDdIJRYQKocog7t6uSRFVAQyTE9N-BfP9zc1e1ul8Py6F4_/s1600/Crush+Audio+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZhlJLsJdJjJbP0v5houSt_k2aEoI3yojAXBZ7sl64Zgcy8DXQL3r8TVKHw7IzQZkxqLkAeaVVBmxrkUoYxnoPm3paCdcQYDdIJRYQKocog7t6uSRFVAQyTE9N-BfP9zc1e1ul8Py6F4_/s1600/Crush+Audio+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-grycKPc1XIS9cjzuy-Lt9brdRgtxy2ieDkzkIYsJ-PYWZzsq_oAJlDe3u4LFX5QMn-Nv5oRO-0pRLKr0pIkxQjph5fi_YmoeE_LyTb1rll94r5CZLAwfaYi7E6rzu-9D2xuvYm95xB0/s1600/Crush+Audio+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-grycKPc1XIS9cjzuy-Lt9brdRgtxy2ieDkzkIYsJ-PYWZzsq_oAJlDe3u4LFX5QMn-Nv5oRO-0pRLKr0pIkxQjph5fi_YmoeE_LyTb1rll94r5CZLAwfaYi7E6rzu-9D2xuvYm95xB0/s1600/Crush+Audio+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOd_1D88ieAd43E-sodQZENVyBrtFhs_01_lamPNrX0e4zgUTd5zlj_3BkM3awZtNcaXIYP_qrCmJzaim2D0nsOZ54e4W3O_j0dJ1fGg4VIXp_pMVEa_KlkDdujYj0I4Ow2kFaAGdgs82/s1600/Crush+Audio+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOd_1D88ieAd43E-sodQZENVyBrtFhs_01_lamPNrX0e4zgUTd5zlj_3BkM3awZtNcaXIYP_qrCmJzaim2D0nsOZ54e4W3O_j0dJ1fGg4VIXp_pMVEa_KlkDdujYj0I4Ow2kFaAGdgs82/s1600/Crush+Audio+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzfzAH1AQUIMWKt4qVHR7Zv8DQYKpcustWI_ErmtjUNNqGiNCKz1T7WB6KpDjoYaQKXhFg2a-2cnpFiVI36EExQVBeEPlqQMzA0sNVRjeVA8Txum0pWt0TwgLEQGGoI2dfXmg1WWV4c4Y/s1600/Crush+Audio+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzfzAH1AQUIMWKt4qVHR7Zv8DQYKpcustWI_ErmtjUNNqGiNCKz1T7WB6KpDjoYaQKXhFg2a-2cnpFiVI36EExQVBeEPlqQMzA0sNVRjeVA8Txum0pWt0TwgLEQGGoI2dfXmg1WWV4c4Y/s1600/Crush+Audio+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdEmPcAm7Iq575S0LIPSQwY2vIO7-FpZMiHE5WrgmahL-kT65AWMrNix5-CZOfn2EyjFvHfwM5Z-g9toFFGMLTY0tqLId-9GCZ08997nIGV1tPgwFEkaivROjq5zjdC9fW5EMJDzZycEU/s1600/Crush+Audio+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdEmPcAm7Iq575S0LIPSQwY2vIO7-FpZMiHE5WrgmahL-kT65AWMrNix5-CZOfn2EyjFvHfwM5Z-g9toFFGMLTY0tqLId-9GCZ08997nIGV1tPgwFEkaivROjq5zjdC9fW5EMJDzZycEU/s1600/Crush+Audio+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1