“I still don’t understand. I’m not her.” Was I? I could sense there was a spark of truth in what he was saying, for his words stirred something inside my marrow and dislodged old memories from the back of my mind.
“You are Malia, my sister,” Grayson said. The corners of his lips upturned, and he reached out toward me. “You’ve been reborn and must prepare to lead us as we seek our revenge. We will have our vengeance against the MarkTiers. You made it all possible.”
I continued to shake my head, baffled by his words. “I would never go against the MarkTiers. Ephrem is a MarkTier. We’re engaged.”
“You will do it. You are bound by blood to do so. But first, you will free our pack.” He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out an old, rusted key.
“How am I supposed to do that?”
He gave his head a small tilt, smiling with amusement. I bet he was enjoying my confusion; I could see it in his face.
“Come with me, and we will save our people and claim our vengeance.”
My talismans hummed against my skin. I clutched them in my hand, wondering if they were going to explode with the amount of energy they were emitting. Peering down to my chest, I saw that both had melted together. Two stones, side by side, surrounded by the platinum encasement. I didn’t know what it meant. One had been MarkTier, turned ArcKnight when Ephrem gave it to me, and one was KelHan, but both were mine. Since both were bonded to me, Ephrem’s was mine more than his now. Just as my own ArcKnight talisman was now more his than mine.
“What’s happening?” I whispered into the air, peering up at my brother. Grayson was my brother. Yes. It felt right to say this to myself. But what were my talismans trying to tell me.
“Your talismans have fused. You’ve been bonded to more than one. It’s most curious; I’ve never seen that happen.” Grayson’s voice had changed. It was deeper, harsher. I eyed the creature before me, but I was no longer frightened. In fact, an odd feeling of déjà vu filled me as though I was walking in a dream, in a place I’d been before. Many, many times. “Please help me help our people,” he said.
“How do I save them?” I asked. He held out his arm. It was a claw with talons the size of my entire fist. His whole body was growing as he began his transformation.
“Malia, my sister. I’ll take you to them now. You can save them. Make us whole once more. All you have to do is take my hand.”
The odd swimming feeling in my head clouded my thoughts. I couldn’t protest, and I didn’t want to resist. If there was one smidgen of truth that our people, the KelHans, could be saved, I had to go with Grayson.
I took his grotesque hand, and he completed his shift. A monstrous troll-like figure with spread wings stood before me. He motioned for me to jump onto his back.
“Lily!” A familiar voice shot out from behind me, and I spun to find Ephrem running toward me. “Get away from him!” He held out his sword as he ran, ready to impale Grayson. I stood between them, but he was faster than I was and sped past me toward Grayson.
Grayson bared his teeth and shoved me to the side, but it wasn’t hard enough to hurt me. A second later, Ephrem’s sword smashed against the gargoyle’s arm. A deafening twang sounded and sparks flew from the impact, but neither stopped. The stone warrior swiped at Ephrem, but he dodged it easily. Grayson’s size made him slower, but he managed to grab hold of the sword and squeeze his fist around the blade. Ephrem was forced to let go while Grayson flung it to the side.
“A MarkTier prince. I needed your help before, but you did not come. No matter. I have what we need. My sister will help us, and then our wrath will bring all to their knees.”
I finally managed to get to my feet. It had been too dangerous to move with Ephrem’s sword swinging.
“You can’t awaken them. You don’t know what they’ll do. Let them slumber. They don’t want to live that way!” Ephrem yelled over the rumbling growl resonating from the gargoyle’s throat. It made my skin vibrate. I ran toward them, screaming and hoping they would hear me.
“Stop this! Don’t hurt each other, please!” At that moment, Grayson was turning, swinging his tale toward Ephrem and me. Unfortunately, I caught the tail end of the massive appendage, which uprooted me and threw me several feet.
Thwack!
I was sent flying into a tree. My vision blurred and flickered out, but I could still hear the ruckus as I collapsed to the ground, unable to move, stunned from impact.
“Lily!” Ephrem screamed. Another scuffle and the scrape of metal.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Grayson said.
I struggled to open my eyes, but they were heavier than boulders and refused to obey.
Turn. Turn already!
I heard Ephrem laugh. “So you do bleed.” Hatred dripped from his words, and I had never heard him speak with such venom before.
My thought began to fade, and I wondered if I’d broken my neck. Moments passed, and I still couldn’t move. I had to shift. This injury was too serious to recover from without help.
“We’re still human, or have you forgotten that about your kindred, Prince?”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t let you bring down the packs. Your intentions are not honorable.”
Grayson huffed, and the rumbling in his voice increased. “What do you know of honor, MarkTier?” The ground shook as he ran, and it grew closer with every step.
“Leave her alone!” Ephrem’s footfalls followed, but he was too late. Grayson scooped me up. I felt my fur ruffle and distantly realized I’d managed to complete my transformation into a wolf. He turned with me in his arms and growled toward my love.
Ephrem…. My eyes fluttered, and I caught a momentary glimpse of him trying in vain to catch up to Grayson’s gigantic strides.
“She is one of us,” Grayson snarled. “The ones your family banished and left to rot. She doesn’t belong here.” I could feel his muscles dig into me with every movement, causing excruciating agony, before he pushed off, shooting into the sky.
Ephrem shouted my name, but the rush of the wind deafened my fading senses. I saw black night intermittently sprayed with bright twinkling stars before my vision blurred once more. We were beyond Ephrem’s reach, skimming the thick canopy of the forest.
Unable to do anything, I tried to relax. I felt an overwhelming relief that Ephrem was safe. The need to protect my newfound brother had also surfaced during the fight, even though Grayson was able to handle the powerful MarkTier warrior. My love. My fiancé. I had watched their fight in great fear of losing them both.
I’m so sorry, my love, I tried to whisper, but the words didn’t make it past my tongue. One day, I hoped he would forgive me and understand what I had to do. This was my destiny, and I had to allow it to happen. I had to do it not only for me but to also help my family. I had never belonged anywhere, and now I knew exactly why.
Not ArcKnight. Not MarkTier. Just something else entirely.
KelHan.
As we fled into the night sky, I locked Ephrem’s love down deep inside my heart, hoping it would be enough to keep it from hardening like the statue creature holding me now and sustain me through the trying times ahead.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ephrem
“We have to prepare for the worst possible outcome,” Etan suggested.
With these words, my brother threw a concerned look my way. I was closed off, cold and silent. He’d never seen me this disturbed. It's been mere hours since Lily’s disappearance, and I’d run myself ragged searching the woods for the catacombs rumored to hold the KelHan pack beneath the edges of the city of Temple. We had yet to find them, which led me to believe that the rumors about their location had not been true. Wherever the frozen KelHan family was kept, we’d lost precious time to our enemy.
“What then? What happens when a gargoyle army comes for the MarkTier pack? What then, brother?” I demanded.
My grim expression made all of the officers nervous. They’d never seen their commander
acting so bleak as if we’d already lost the war. Etan looked like he wanted to shake me back into myself, make me realize this was the only way we could save Lilianna. We had to figure out the gargoyle army’s weakness before they hit. He already had people sifting through the archives with Langley, trying to uncover every piece of information on the KelHans there might be. So far, they’d had no luck.
No one had fought a cursed gargoyle army before. They’d been hibernating for centuries, waiting for Lily to reignite their fire for living and vengeance, not against the ArcKnights but against us, the MarkTier pack. But if we fell, the ArcKnights would be next. There would be no stopping the KelHans if they got past us, and the ArcKnights would be caught unawares because of our lack of communication.
“I don’t know, Ephrem. We’ll work day and night on this. You know that. What we need to do now is find someone who knows a way to defeat the KelHans. They must have a weakness. It’s just a matter of time before we find it.”
I chewed on my lip for a moment, erratically pacing the room. I tried to think of something and hoped it would click sooner rather than later. I was usually a genius when it came to military matters, and I knew Etan needed my expertise now more than ever. I would come through, there would be no doubt about that.
I spun and walked toward my brother, the sudden feeling of elation and hope pumping another rush of adrenaline through my system. For the first time in days, I felt hopeful.
“I know what we have to do,” I said.
“What?” Etan watched me cautiously.
“It’s time we renegotiate our treaty with the ArcKnights. There’s nothing more in our archives about the KelHans, but we haven’t searched their records. They could have the answer and not even know it.
Etan considered this before agreeing. “That’s reasonable. We’ll have to get ahold of their Alpha and see what we can do. It won’t be easy. He’s notoriously stubborn.” He waved for one of his messengers. He squared a sheet of parchment on the desk and began to pen a letter. “I really hope he listens. Gilbert, right?”
I shook my head and placed a hand on the table.
“No. Not Gil. He’s no longer the Alpha of the ArcKnights.”
Confused, Etan stared back at me. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he was challenged for his position and lost. He’s been banished since last night.”
“Wow. Okay, so who’s Alpha now?”
I smirked, knowing the answer would surprise everyone in the room. “Queen Rafaela. Her new mate, Alec, is the general of the ArcKnight army. Make sure you address them properly. She’s the Alpha, but he’s her partner; we must include both names. We don’t want to screw this up.”
Etan shook his head, beaming at the thought of a new relationship with the ArcKnight pack. It was funny how it took the threat of war to bring people together. At least, that’s what he was hoping. I knew a different truth when I saw the look in Grayson’s eyes as he flew away with Lily.
There would never be peace. Not here. We’d made sure of it.
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Sneak Peek
Blood Warrior
The Alexa Montgomery Saga: Book One
by
H. D. Gordon
Copyright 2011 © Heather Gordon.
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. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, 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.
Cover Design by Mae I Design
~Chapter 1~
It wasn’t dead when I found it.
I’m not even sure what drew me to the window in the first place. But I went. I suppose I should have, even could have walked away at that point… let nature take its course. But, I didn’t.
Its neck was broken. Its wings outstretched and feathers splayed in a way more peacock than blackbird. I pushed open the window, having almost forgotten its deceitful boundary, though the glass was stained where the two had collided.
And then I tilted, just bent my upper body so I was leaning over it. It was in pain. No, I couldn’t be sure of this, and yet, I was. I think the eyes captured me, held me there until the option of walking away had faded, leaving me with no choice at all.
I backpedaled, reached out a calloused and cracked hand, and grabbed Capote off my desk. Returning to the window, I raised the hardcover.
My hesitation was brief, but present. The bird lay wounded beyond repair. And, somehow, I thought I knew what it wanted, what I would want were I the broken blackbird.
Or maybe I justified certain wants with inferred ones. Either way, it was the right thing. I took no pleasure in watching something suffer. Nor would I let it.
The book fell at exactly the same moment the door opened.
~Chapter 2~
My mother entered the room, and I reluctantly turned to face her. I had been in a good mood. I didn’t particularly want to change that. But there she stood, and that meant she had a reason. She never visited for a simple chat.
Her eyes flicked briefly to the window. If I hadn’t been watching, I would’ve missed it. She didn’t comment. She didn’t ask about the lone black feather sticking out from under Capote. She just gestured to the bed, and I took a seat.
She carried the makeup in her hand, and I refused to wince as she applied it none too gently to my eye.
“There,” she said, leaning back to examine her work.
I blinked a couple times to clear my vision and went to study myself in the mirror. My black eye was still visibly swollen, but at least the foundation she’d applied covered up some of the bruising. I stared at myself, almost ignoring the fact that I’d become reasonably comfortable with this routine.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
It was all I ever said to her when this happened, and it occurred to me that it was strange to be thanking her for covering up an injury she had caused. Still, I had learned long ago to enjoy these moments with her. These moments when I could almost believe her when she said it was necessary for me to endure the physical pain she inflicted.
“Now go,” she said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Or you’ll be late for school.”
I nodded and grabbed my loaded backpack off its hook as I headed out the door.
“Hey, wait!” my little sister, Nelly, called from upstairs.
I was tempted to shut the door behind me and head off without her, but I knew that would only piss off my mother. I suppose that’s why I was tempted. I felt good this morning, stronger. And I realized much later this probably had something to do with the blackbird.
As it was, my mother shot me a warning look as I stood in the open doorway and waited impatiently for Nelly. A few moments later, she came running down the stairs with her backpack in tow. I rolled my eyes as I took in her usual perfect and prim appearance. Her golden-brown hair hung perfectly straight across her shoulders, and her makeup was light and tasteful. We were both very pretty, but most of the time I couldn’t help but feel mildly jealous of her. I had my reasons. Believe me.
She was wearing a baby-blue button-down blouse and light-colored jeans. I looked down at my wrinkled T-shirt and sweatpants. Mom always got her the good stuff. At least the pants fit me nicely.
“Don’t you look pretty?” I said. “Can we go now?”
This earned another glare from my mother, which I pointedly ignored by pushing the hair that had fallen out of my slop
py ponytail off my face.
Nelly just smiled genuinely and swept past me through the open door. It was childish, but I sighed and rolled my eyes again. Nelly certainly is the diplomatic one. Me? Not so much. Still, I felt bad for making fun of her this morning. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t have to “prepare”—that’s what my mother called it—like I did. And, truth be told, I was glad she didn’t get the same treatment from my mother. Nelly’s more fragile than I am, and I wasn’t sure she could take it.
Just before I closed the door, my mother called out to me. “Alexa—”
“I know, I know,” I said, cutting her off. “Don’t stop until we get there.”
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Acknowledgments
Alexia Purdy
I seriously don’t want to leave anyone out but with this two-second memory of mine, I will.
First of all, to my family who put up with this crazy mind and love me no matter what. I love you too!
I want to most definitely give kudos to all my beta readers who read my stuff in the raw and still love it. You rock!
Michael K. Rose for your constant support, insight, and the ability to turn my cruddy writing into a shiny gem.
Kendra Gaither for your constant friendship, help and insights. So lucky to have met you!
Melissa Pearl for your amazing friendship and showing me it’s never over until the world stops spinning!
For anyone I’ve forgotten (shame on me) you should know who you are and that you mean so much more to me than you’ll ever know. Stay amazing.