Saturday, April 27, 2019

Haunted Flint to Be Released September 2, 2019 #hauntedflint

Haunted Flint will be out September 2 and we'll be having a release party at Totem Books Friday September 6.

There is not an official cover yet, but a pre-order link just appeared on Amazon, as soon as I have more details I'll share them and the link to the Haunted Flint website I've been building. 


Sinister Secrets in Flint’s History

Home to ancient burial grounds, unsolved murders, economic depression, and a water crisis, Flint emits an unholy energy rife with ghostly encounters. 

Colonel Thomas Stockton’s ever vigilant ghost keeps a watchful eye over his family home at Spring Grove, where guests occasionally hear the thump of his heavy boots. 

Restless spirits long separated from their graves lurk among the ancient stones in Avondale Cemetery. 

Carriage maker W.A. Paterson’s spirit continuously wanders the halls of the Dryden Building, and something sinister and unnamed resides in a Knob Hill mansion waiting to prey on impressionable young men. 

Join authors Roxanne Rhoads and Joe Schipani on a chilling tour of Flint’s most haunted locations.

Pre-Order on Amazon https://amzn.to/2XPzV9l

Friday, April 26, 2019

When A Taker Dreams by J. A. Jackson #romance



When A Taker Dreams
J. A. Jackson

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Mainstream


Publisher: A Geek An Angel Publishing

Date of Publication:   November 5, 2018

ISBN: 1515153274
ASIN: B07K7RX3R6

Number of pages:  221
Word Count: 40,330

Tagline:   Lust is a powerful emotion!

Book Description: 

Sometimes life is not that simple. Love can be complicated. Cierra Cantrell is insecure, tortured by her past life experience with men.

After following the advice of her mother, Cierra agrees to accept family friend Isabella Duvall’s offer for help in obtaining a marriage of convenience.

When Isabella’s gorgeous brother Ryker—shows up, Cierra can’t stop dreaming about him.

Lust is a powerful emotion, and though Ryker tries to resist her at first, he cannot stay away. But when old vendettas from the past resurface, their relationship is put in danger.

Will life’s unexpected turns hurt innocent people and destroy their future, or can Cierra and Ryker survive even the most volatile storm?

Will Cierra and Ryker survive life’s volatile storm? When lust is a powerful emotion?

Amazon       Nook     Apple     Kobo     Smashwords


Excerpt 

ENZO RAWLINS hadn’t a care in the world as he laid back as Kalita Lopez worked magic with her tongue.
The sun crept up against the window pane just as he screamed her name. “Kalita, baby! Kalita. Damn that was good.”
Kalita Lopez was a mesmerizing beauty.  The kind of woman who knew how to use her sex as a weapon, an instrument of pure pleasure, and a way to support herself.
“Enzo,” she purred. “Kalita likes you. But you don’t pay the rent. It’s time for you to go. I must meet a diplomat at two o’clock today. I need my rest. By the way, pick up those empty champagne bottles and put them outside in the recycle bin for me when you leave.”
“What?” Enzo stared at her with hurt dark eyes and realized he hadn’t seen that coming.
“Look Enzo don’t be hurt. Everyone has to earn a living. You’ve been with me almost four days now. The money Ryker gave me was good, but I’ve been handling you on charity for the last two days and that’s because you’re pretty good with that weapon you’re stroking right now.”
“So, you’re not one of Ryker’s old flames?” He asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “You’re a hooker.”
“Hell no!” she said in perfect English.
“And you’ve got a phony accent too? What next?”
Kalita got up out of the bed and picked up Enzo’s cloths and threw them at him. “Look Enzo, this is Silicon Valley in case you haven’t noticed. Rents and mortgages aren’t cheap. Now don’t you have a job or something to go to?”
Enzo shook his head and then thought about it. Why not tell the truth for a change? “No, I’m sort of in between jobs,” he said. “Hell, I should get paid to do what you do. I could use some fast money.”
Kalita studied him slowly. His naked male form was sexy to behold. Her mind raced. Enzo was good at wielding that penis of his, like a gallant Knight on a mission. But was he sincere, she wondered? 
She knew what social skills were needed to handle a job like she had.  Enzo had those skills. Plus, he was good at laying down some really classy, sexy, sweet talk on a moment’s notice. Not to mention that sexy thing he did with his tongue.
Kalita was good at judging people. And then she made a decision and flashed Enzo a grin. “Well…Well …Well,” she said thoughtfully. “Are you just looking for a hobby to do when you get bored? Or are you serious about that making some fast money?”
“And how,” Enzo said with a lascivious grin.
“You know you are a sexy stud muffin and I do know a few wealthy elderly ladies who would just get a kick out of letting you use that weapon you call a penis on them.”
Enzo grew silent.
Kalita decided to sweeten the pot. “I know a company that is hiring, and all you have to do is be nice to a few women and let them see how capable you are in the bedroom,” she hesitated, smiling wickedly.
She let her words sink in watching his brain digest the information.
“Are you serious Enzo?  I mean about making some fast money,” she finally asked.

RYKER GRANGER sat beside his father’s hospital bed and realized that his parents weren’t the invincible. He also realized he envied the relationship his parents had together.
A stabbing pain shot through his father as he tried to sit up and reach out. “Ouch!”
“Dad, what are you thinking? Just lie still,” Ryker said.
“I hate waking up in a hospital room,” Colbert declared. “What happened to me anyway?”
“All I know is one-minute Isabella is yelling for me to come quickly because you were having chest pains and the next thing I knew you collapsed in my arms. You’ve been in the hospital a week now.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” Colbert nodded. “Did the doctors say what was wrong with me?”
“They said you were dehydrated, exhausted, and your blood pressure was running higher than normal, and they are still running tests.”
Colbert reached for the blanket.  “I want to pull the blanket closer,” his father said and then looked around the room.
“Let me do that,” Ryker said, adjusting the blanket.
His father glanced around the room. “Where’s your mother?”
“Isabella took her downstairs to the cafeteria,” Ryker replied.
“Hah!” His father nodded and smiled. “I seriously doubt that. The two of them probably rushed off somewhere to find the nearest Thai restaurant.”
Ryker had to admit he was right. “You know it.”
Colbert Granger leaned up and raised his hand. He waved Ryker closer. “Good, because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about, in private, son.”
“Yes, sir,” Ryker replied.
“Let me cut to the chase Ryker. I’m your father and I’d like to feel that you got that Taker instinct from me. Chasing women, loving the art of doing business. You know what I mean,” his father laughed out.
Ryker smiled coolly and sat in silence.
“Hell, you’re a hot-blooded Granger just like me. I know you got that chasing tail gene from me, that’s for sure.”
Ryker read his father’s eyes and a smile flitted across his face.
The two shared a laugh.
All at once Colbert inhaled a deep breath and stared back at his son. “But Ryker, by the time I was your age I was married to your mother and she was pregnant with you. Now I know you don’t want to give up your freedom. And that’s why I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
Ryker stood there staring back at his father.
“And you know what else Ryker?” He pointed to the chair. “Maybe you should sit down before I say what I’m going to say.”
Ryker pulled a chair in close.  “Okay, what is it Dad?”
Colbert Granger cleared his throat. “Ryker, I love you, son,” he hesitated. “And I know you know all about my having your half-brother, Steele Coltrane two years before you were born.”
“Dad I know all about the family history. Why are you telling me this?”
His father frowned. “I’m getting to that part Ryker, indulge your father for once and let me finish,” he said with a tilt of his head. “Anyway, like I was saying that Cierra Cantrell is one really nice girl. And I want grandchildren, so does your mother and since getting married and starting a family is the farthest thing from your mind. Your mother and I discussed it and we agreed that Cierra was the perfect young woman to have our grandchildren by.”
The moment was silent.
Finally, Colbert spoke. “You see Ryker, sometimes parents have to make hard choices. They have to look at their children in a way where they evaluate them to see what strengths they have and what weaknesses. Now take you for instance, you have an authoritative manner, but your disposition is like mine when I was your age. I loved to sow my wild oats too.  Did you know Ryker, that in ancient times the Egyptians believed that there was danger in giving too much power to the youngest son?”

AT JUST PAST TEN O’clock that night Kalita Lopez called Enzo Rawlins’ cell phone and gave him the information.
After taking a shower and changing he packed a small overnight bag and walked out of his home and loaded his car.
Growing up in the upscale Berryessa Area of San Jose, he had been like all the other kids who had graduated from Piedmont High School, with big dreams of one day starting the next big dot.com business. But part of being Enzo Rawlins was always having a back-up plan.
Enzo’s back up plan always seemed to involve controlling others. Especially horny women with big bank accounts, he thought as he drove down the street.

***
An hour later, he pulled his car into the driveway of the affluent home in Oak View Estates in the rustling hills of Alamden Valley.
He thought the mansion was in typical California Spanish hacienda Style as he walked to the front door.
The front door opened promptly.
“Luanne Lanchon?”  Enzo asked curiously, feeling he had to be the luckiest gigolo on the face of the planet. 
“Yes, and you must be Enzo,” she said. “Come on in. Oh, and I have the Gayot Rosé Champagne.  Kalita said that it was your favorite,” she said in her soft southern drawl.
Luanne Lanchon was a beautiful sixty-something woman with a slim build and big breasts. Her long, full black hair was laced, intermittently with silvers of gray.
“I have a fire going in my pleasure chamber,” Luanne said, closing the door behind them. She walked down the dim lighted foyer like she was an imperious queen, as the tiered sheer negligée she wore flowed after her.
Enzo fell in step behind her and caught a whiff of her perfume as it hung thickly in the air around them.

Minutes later, Luanne led the way into the pleasure chamber, a luxurious bedroom suite at the far end of the mansion, complete with a full bar, a sitting area in front of a roaring fireplace, and huge sliding glass doors.

About the Author

J.A. Jackson is the pseudonym for an author, who loves to write deliciously sultry adult romantic, suspenseful, entertaining novels with a unique twist. She lives in an enchanted little house she calls home in the Northern California foothills. She fell in love with writing as a small child.  She was born in Arkansas and comes from a family rich in story tellers.  She spent over ten years working in the non-profit sector where she wrote grants, press releases and contributed many stories to their newsletter. She was their Newsletter editor for over ten years. She loves growing roses, a good pot of hot tea, chocolate, magical stories, suspense stories, ghost stories, and reading Jane Austen again and again in her past time.





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Thursday, April 25, 2019

AetherBorn by Alexis N. Sage #YAUrbanFantasy


AetherBorn
The Enuma Legacies
Book One


Alexis N. Sage

Genre: Young Adult/ Urban Fantasy

Date of Publication: April 1st, 2019

ISBN: 9781999019822
ASIN: B07NY3HFHF

Number of pages: 258
Word Count: 50,640

Tagline: What if you could stop a war you never knew existed?

Book Description:

There is a world of deities living among us. What would you do if you were the only one who could see them?

Ruby Black, a photography student at Westerlake University, seems to have the typical life of an awkward college kid. She has average grades, does not make friends easily, and is secretly in love with her best friend. Ruby is content with her place in the world. In fact, she quite likes it. That is until a simple incident on a packed, rush-hour subway train shatters her entire reality.

Reluctantly, Ruby finds herself in the middle of a war that has been brewing for centuries. A battle between powerful beings that have been living in secret under Ruby’s nose this entire time.

Will Ruby go back to her familiar life or will she choose the brooding stranger who opens her eyes to a world far more mysterious than she'd ever imagined? A world where her own powers are far greater than she could have known to be true...


Excerpt
Literally the Worst Train Ride Ever

Ruby could feel sweat starting to drip at the base of her back, forming a miniature pool and staining her vintage leather jacket right through her tank. The train had been stuck between stations for twenty minutes and there was no sign that it would start moving any time soon. Ruby was beginning to regret her decision of not snagging the last empty seat when she got on. This is literally the worst train ride ever, she grimaced as she rearranged her camera bag. She cast an eye for another people-free pocket on the train without any luck. Looks like it’s standing room only for the rest of the ride.
Being just a smidge over five feet tall, Ruby could usually sneak by crowds of people without any issues, and on any other day this claustrophobic train would not affect her at all. Today, however, the weight of two cameras in her bag was starting to take a toll, and she could not wait to get a glimpse of the sun again. Her dark, brown hair was starting to get soaking wet from the heat and she was using the side of her arm to side-swipe it out of her eyes.
I think I live here now. Might as well get comfortable. She shifted her weight from left to right and almost knocked over the young girl next to her with the tripod. She had originally strapped it to her back in hopes of taking up less space, but it had since slid down her back and was now protruding from her waist like the end of a bulky musket. Twenty-five minutes and counting.
She lowered her bag to the ground and tried to reach for her camera without causing any harm to anyone in her immediate orbit but the intention failed immediately. As soon as she bent over, the tripod slid up her back, over her head and made a very direct landing on the lap of the older man sitting across from her.
“I am so sorry!” Ruby perked up, and tried to get the three-legged monster off his newspaper, “The stupid thing will not stay put!” Ruby’s usually somewhat pale cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Her only thought now was a quick getaway.
“It’s no problem, dear.” The man she almost impaled folded his paper and handed her the tripod, “Do you want to take a seat? It might be a while longer, I’m afraid.”
Do I ever! She thought; and honestly, if he had asked her a few minutes later she would have accepted. Luckily for him, she was not yet so tired as to forget her manners entirely.
“Oh, it’s ok. I’m sure it will get moving soon. I should probably take advantage of this anyhow.” Ruby aimed her lens at the man and took a photo. Her airy giggle made him smile, it’s not often a pretty young girl takes your photo.
Ruby clutched her camera lens and started surveying the train. Her eyes darted through the crowd with sniper-like determination. If she was going to be stuck here, she was definitely going to make the best of it!
So far, Ruby’s photography had been, as her professors would call it, an introvert’s daydream. She kept to herself when working, and mainly photographed objects that could not talk back. Her most recent series of rotting fruit had even won her a trip to France, which would have been quite exceptional if she had not been expected to spend ten days with a group of strangers. Unlike her parents, Ruby had not inherited the social butterfly gene and had always preferred the company of books, movies, and photos to actual beating hearts. No one was surprised when she was accepted to the photography program at Westerlake University. If there was a career that would allow Ruby to watch life and not actually live it, she’d be all in.
Her first two years at Westerlake were great. Her professors unintentionally labeled her a “young Man Ray” and she was left to her own devices for the majority of assignments. But this year was different. She had begun to be complacent in her work, and her lack of passion and enthusiasm was starting to get noticed. After their last lecture before Thanksgiving break, her favorite professor asked to meet her in his office.
“Come on in, Ruby.” His tone was different than usual. There was no intrigue, no playfulness. Just a straightforward stare and a beckoning to unchartered scoldings. His pale blue eyes narrowed, and when he took off his reading glasses, she knew she was in trouble. Professor Tremblay saved that maneuver for his troublemakers.
“How are you, Mr. Tremblay?” She brushed loose pieces of hair out of her eyes. The trouble with having mouse-thin hair was in keeping it from looking like an oil-slick all day. Ruby had gotten used to having bangs in her eyes, but something about this moment seemed serious. She tried to look as carefree as possible, but her nerves were coming through every word, “is everything all right?”
Tremblay was leaning forward on his desk and staring directly at her. Despite being quite small in build, his old age gave him a sense of superiority, which was likely why Ruby valued his opinion of her work above all others. You can’t mess up when one of the country’s best is teaching you. “Everything is fine, Ruby. I just wanted to have a quick chat to see what your plans are for your thesis. It seems like it’s shaping up to be quite interesting.”
“It’s going good. I’m still trying to figure out the exact direction I want to take with it...” she lied. She had no direction. She actually hadn’t even thought about it yet.
“May I offer some advice?” He crossed his arms and continued rapidly without letting her answer, “It might be time to try something different. You seem fairly comfortable with your subject matter. I understand that it is easy to get sucked into doing what you’re good at over and over again. But this is a school. This is your one chance to try everything and see what sticks, without repercussions or consequences.”
“Ok...” she had no idea where this was headed.
“I have a little assignment for you for over the holidays. Photograph people. Photograph as many people as you can and forget about the fruit and antiques and abandoned buildings. Can you do that for me?”
Where was this coming from? Ruby had never photographed people. He knew she wasn’t comfortable talking to strangers. Why would he ask this of her?
“You look puzzled.”
“I am, Mr.Tremblay. I just...” she chose her next words carefully, “I’ve never been keen on portraiture, sir.”
“I know. That’s precisely why I’m asking you to do this.” Tremblay leaned back in his chair, his slightly more relaxed posture made Ruby breathe in deeply and lower her shoulders. He’s just trying to help, she thought.
“Are you worried my thesis will not be good enough?” Her hazel eyes started to take on a deeper shade as they filled with water. She might not have had any idea of what her thesis was but that did not mean she couldn’t get defensive over it.
“Not at all! I’m sure it will be as wonderful as the rest of your work! I just don’t want you to graduate without having learned it all. Do you think you can try that?”
How could she not try it? When your favorite professor asks you to do something for your own development, you don’t say no. Yet, here she was now, forcing herself to interrupt the train ride of the strangers around her, sweating buckets and regretting agreeing to this little project in the first place.
Just a few shots and you can put your camera away.
She ran her lens across the crowd. Focusing on each passenger’s face and trying to figure out why they were there. Where they were going? Were they in a hurry? Were they as uncomfortable as she was?
As she scoped the tin tube, her view landed at the back of the train on two men slightly older than she was. Are they fighting? She twisted her lens to sharpen the focus as one of the men leaned in closer to the other. He seemed to be whispering something, something that felt forceful and predatory. His scowling jaw locked tight and his eyes gleamed with pure hatred. He grabbed the man next to him by the shoulders. To anyone else watching it would have looked like a friendly pat on the back but Ruby saw better. She could see the fear in his victim’s face. Something was wrong here.
She tried to move closer to the two, but she was trapped in place by the crowd. She put up her lens and zoomed in. The attacker reached into his pocket. What was he getting? Ruby couldn’t see, there were too many people around. She aimed her camera at his hand as it moved out of his pocket and back towards his train neighbor. Something small. A ring maybe? Whatever it was, he quickly buried it in his palm and placed his hand on his neighbor’s chest. She could see terror forming on the victim’s face. His entire body convulsing with fear.
“Hey!” She screamed as loudly as she could. The entire car now shifted their gaze to the awkward, sweaty girl with the camera. “Stop it!”
She lifted the camera to her face again, what was he doing? Something flashed in the viewfinder. She zoomed in closer. What is that? There seemed to be marks on the attacker’s arms. Some sort of triangles and lines. Glowing blue like a propane fire. What the hell is that?
The train shook a bit as the engines started up again. Some of the lights that were lighting the advertisements across the top of the car flashed briefly and stopped as the train began moving out of the tunnel. Ruby heard a woman’s scream coming from the back of the car. She focused her lens at the crowd standing in a circle. Her gaze shifted down at the train floor. The man she saw being attacked was lying lifeless, face down on the ground. She moved her camera around the train trying to find the attacker. Nothing. How could he get off the train? Ruby lowered her camera to her side. She looked at the old man in the seat across from her who seemed more interested in the crossword in front of him.
What just happened here? What did she just see?
The train slowly inched towards a stop at the next station. The doors stood steady for a brief moment then opened to let air into the train. People rushed out, pushing each other aside. The crowd carried Ruby out of the train like a wave of water, a tsunami really. She stood on the platform and watched as two officers made their way into the car, with the doors shutting tight behind them.

“Attention passengers. This platform is currently closed due to an emergency situation. Emergency responders are on their way. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

About the Author:

Alexis N. Sage has spent most of her life waiting to meet a witch, vampire, or at least get haunted by a ghost. In between failed seances and many questionable outfit choices, Alexis has developed a keen eye for the extra-ordinary.

Since chasing the supernatural does not pay the bills, Alexis has dabbled in creative entrepreneurship, marketing and retail management. She spends her free time reading thrillers and binge-watching television shows in her pajamas.

Currently, Alexis resides in Toronto, Canada with her husband who is not a creature of the night.

She is a Scorpio and a massive advocate of leggings for pants.





Unhuman Light by Chris Stoneheart #urbanfantasy #UF



Unhuman Light

Chronicles of the Light

Book One
Chris Stoneheart

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  Kaleidowords Publishing

Date of Publication:  2/7/19

ASIN:   B07MM6HCJB

Number of pages:  502
Word Count: 120,000

Book Description:

Chronicles of the Light, book one…

Bodies keep piling up, but Kaitlin O'Malley refuses to back down, even when threatened by someone once worshipped as a god. Training for a battle between good and evil, she teams up with the Dragon King and a powerful lion, and finds herself protected by a Master Vampire who wants her in his bed.

With a vile enemy ready to destroy her, the men in her life lock her up to keep her safe, but Kaitlin will never let other people fight her battles. She’ll have to break free and venture out on her own, wielding a powerful weapon to protect herself — a weapon her enemies would kill for. To face the enemy alone, Kaitlin must view the world in an Unhuman Light.

In a supernatural battle of magic and strength, can an unlikely human prevail?

Books2Read     Amazon     Kobo     iTunes

BN     Smashwords     Goodreads     BookBub

Chapter One

“Aery, I need a shot!” I screamed, holding back the energy pulsing at my fingertips until he was out of the way. The instant he maneuvered to give me a clear path, I unleashed the fiery red energy and watched it streak through the air and slice into the grotesque monster who’d been holding his own in a fight with Aaron Drake.
My power drained from me as it hit our foe in the chest, melting through skin, bone, and more. I lifted my arm a few inches and the caustic light streaking from my hand rose like a laser. When it reached the hideous creature’s throat, I moved my hand right and left until he was decapitated, and then watched in horrified fascination while the body seemed to evaporate before my eyes.
My gaze swung to my friend, and I checked to be sure he was okay. I was used to Aaron totally dominating, no matter the species he was fighting, and the fact he’d maneuvered to give me a clear shot told me the ancient dragonshifter wasn’t sure he could’ve won. My heart settled when I saw he seemed okay. He’s hard to kill, but I had no idea what we’d just fought.
As far as I know, I’m the only person who can get away with a cute nickname for the sexy, tough-as-nails, bad-assed owner of Drake Security, but I never do it around other people. I wouldn’t have said it today while battling an unknown monster, but it slipped out. No problem though, the bad guy seemed to evaporate and turn to smoke once the life force left his body. I usually want to cry after a kill — even when it’s a really bad guy — but not having to look at a body made it easier. Either way, I couldn’t give into the guilt and soul searching until the op was over.
“What was that?” I asked Aaron.
“Not sure,” he said, barely out of breath. “I used to see things kind of like him a few thousand years ago, but not since we entered the Common Era. I’ll send a sketch to a few friends and see if they have any ideas. I was about to shift into dragon form and see if my fire would work, but your laser did the trick.”
I took a breath and pulled energy in from the forest around us. I’d used almost all my reserves with that one shot, and I’d be useless if something else came along. I leaned against a tree and tried to relax in the crisp, autumn air. It’s easier to absorb energy when you’re at peace.
Aaron, of course, noticed. “I can top you up. You know I have plenty.”
I shook my head. “I’m not up for pain right now. Just give me five minutes with a few trees.” I could almost always find an old tree willing to give me energy. It might take a little time, but not as long as gathering it from the air around me. A waterfall would be faster, or even a creek or stream, but I didn’t hear running water.
“I won’t push more in than you can take, not during a mission.” Aaron said. “You used it to save me, the least I can do is top you back up.”
“Okay,” I relented, “but into my hands. I’ll route it to the right chakras.”
He didn’t argue, thank goodness, and held his hands out for me to grasp. I dropped my shields enough to let his energy flow out of his palms and into mine, and as it streamed up my arms and into my body, my heart seemed to need less energy to pump my blood.
I initially routed the power he gifted me to my first two chakras, since I primarily pull from those for my weapon, and then filled the rest. He truly does have plenty, but I never want to get used to depending on him.
During the few minutes Aaron’s energy filled me, I was at one with everything around me — totally at peace with the world, the universe, and perhaps even God. All energy is magic, but Aaron’s is a special kind of magic.
If we were romantically compatible, I’d be madly in love with him, but since we aren’t, he’s one of my best friends. I love him, but it isn’t the girlfriend kind of love.
When I was as full as I could get without feeling pain, I gently let go of his hands. When we do this as an exercise and he’s expanding the volume I can hold, he forces it in long past when I would choose to let go. This hurts about as much as I imagine a lightning strike would, and there’s a lot of screaming and crying involved on my part. I hate acting like a girly-girl, but he assures me he screamed and begged when his reserves were being stretched, too. Of course, that was thousands of years ago, so who could say how much he remembered of the pain?
Today, though, I felt warm and full and loved.
“Thanks,” I told him. Words couldn’t adequately thank him, so the single word would have to do. Besides, we were still on our mission and needed to focus, so I asked, “Do we circle back around and try the mystery cave, or try my idea?” I already knew venturing into the unknown cave wasn’t an option, but hoped he’d consider my Plan B. Aaron hadn’t liked it when I’d proposed it a few hours earlier, but we were running out of options.
He lifted his chin in agreement but showed no emotion. Aaron Drake totally rocks bad-ass. “Let’s pull Nathan in to help,” he answered. “I’m not comfortable using you as human bait with just me as your backup.”
I nodded and leaned against a tree, closed my eyes, and made Aaron’s energy my own while he texted Nathan our coordinates. Nathan wasn’t too far away, but was acting as lookout and would need to put someone in his spot before joining us.
We knew women were being kidnapped and taken to these woods just outside the boundaries of Prentice Cooper State Forest. Aaron is a weredragon and has an exceptionally good sense of smell, which had helped him find the women’s scents, but the trail had ended around ten feet from the cave’s entrance. I’d found narrow wheel marks leading towards the cave, and Aaron scented a few non-human male scents in the same area. Aaron couldn’t identify the species of the non-humans by smell, and wasn’t sure about them now that he’d seen one of them, either.
I theorized they might be putting the women into some sort of cart to get them into the cave, but Aaron didn’t want to go in without knowing what we were walking into. I understood the logic, even if it frustrated me. Still, Aaron was thousands of years old and hadn’t made it this far by being stupid, so I generally listened to his advice. Not always, but usually.
My Plan B had been to send me into the staging area as a bumbling, helpless female making a lot of noise, and hope someone showed up so Aaron could interrogate them and find out what was going on.
However, if we happened upon more of whatever we’d been fighting earlier, I wasn’t sure how we’d question it. Aaron and Nathan in human form and working together could probably subdue one of the creatures, but if more appeared they’d likely be forced to shift into their animal forms. Not a problem for Nathan, who shifted into a lion, but Aaron’s gigantic dragon form was hard to hide, as he tended to knock trees down and create a huge disturbance even when he didn’t take flight. He might’ve gotten away with it a hundred years ago, but with practically every American owning a camera phone today, he wouldn’t risk it.
The creature I’d killed had looked like an amalgamation of goat, ape, and the Incredible Hulk — minus the green. It’d been tan and brown, with long curved horns and vertical slitted eyes with flaming red irises where they should’ve been black. Creepy was an understatement, and he’d scared the bejeebers out of me even before I knew he was almost too much for Aaron to take on in human form.
As a human who can’t magically heal like the shapeshifters, I only use my metaphysical laser to kill from a distance. Attempting to wound a powerful supernatural creature would likely only get me killed, once they saw I was a serious danger. I could cut limbs off with my laser, or deliver a kill shot, but couldn’t do much else. However, we’d need to capture the next one so it could be questioned, which meant I could only act if I thought there was no other choice.
I was full of energy now though, and if I portioned it out I could probably kill two with what Aaron had given me.
Nathan, as always, startled me when he appeared in front of me. He walks as quietly in human form as when he’s a lion, and he’s just as ill-behaved, arrogant, and stubborn as any grumpy house-cat, so we didn’t exactly get along. I trusted him with my life on a mission, I just didn’t like being around him. Too bad he’s gorgeous.
Ignoring the fact he’d startled me, I told the men, “I need to hand off my gun and mags to one of you. The goat monsters will probably be able to smell them, and I’ll lose my helpless female vibe.”
Nathan held his hand out, choosing to remain nonverbal as usual when around me. I held my tongue, pulled my nine millimeter from the bellyband and handed it off, then the three extra magazines. He put my weapon in a zippered pocket on the side of his thigh, and slid my mags into slots on the inside of his military style tech-vest.
No matter how much of an ass he might be, he’s still built like my ideal man and I always have to work to keep from lusting after his more-than-perfect human body. He can smell emotions and physical reactions, and I endeavored to give him nothing. It was more likely he didn’t care what I thought or felt, but just in case he did, I wanted to keep as much feedback from him as possible.
We were about a half mile from the staging area Aaron had found, and I started walking to it, knowing Aaron would map out a plan with Nathan and they’d both be in position long before I arrived.

Walking away from them, through the woods, towards danger without my gun was terrifying, but I breathed through my fear and tried to keep my physiological reactions to a minimum. Both for my own pride, to keep Aaron and Nathan from smelling my fear, but also because it wouldn’t do for the goat-people to know I was terrified before I saw them. A lost human can be expected to smell a little scared, but not out-of-her-mind frightened.

About the Author:


Chris Stoneheart lives in a fifty-year-old house smack dab in the middle of The South, with what promises to soon be a full-fledged herd of retired racing greyhounds. Chris read The Hobbit in elementary school, and The Lord of the Rings in middle school, and has been addicted to fantasy ever since. (It’s probably best we don’t talk about what Chris read in high school.)

Chronicles of the Light gives us a world where weredragons, werewolves, werelions, three different species of vampires, and a variety of other mythological beings exist.

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