To celebrate Halloween, I'm posting the first chapter of Betrayal Bites, the 2nd full-length, paranormal romance in the Tales of Sydney Sedrick Series. Fanged Fury, Book 3, is set for release in 2013. Hope you enjoy and have a fun and safe holiday!
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
Sighing while I dusted the stone and glass
figurines throughout the store, I had hoped the mundane tasks would help
distract me from the anticipation of the mailman. Kieran, leader of the local
vampire coven, was sending out his invitation to the Blood Rites Ball. The
purpose in having the ball was to see who would next be elected to watch over
the Selected. Since I am the Selected, there was a lot at stake, considering my
life and overall well-being hung in the balance. It was possible whoever my new
babysitter was might decide to imprison me.
Not everyone believed the Selected should be
allowed to walk around of her own free will. Actually, there were a lot of
people, vampires, werewolves, demons, and rogues who felt the Selected should
be kept in a gilded cage her entire life, or to be executed. They felt the
potential threat of the Selected’s powers was too high.
Needless to say, the upcoming events of the
Blood Rites Ball had me on pins and needles. The thought of not being invited
had me feeling like a furry lump had taken up permanent residence in my gut. If
someone else was going to make decisions with such an impact on my future, I
thought it would be nice to have them do it in my presence. Kieran said the
ball was planned for tomorrow night. He hadn’t mentioned if he put me on the
invite list.
While debating which would be better, to go
or not to go, the door chimes jingled, signaling the arrival of either a
customer or Dale, the mailman. I turned around with a smile on my face to see
who it was. The moment reality struck at what my eyes saw, the smile dropped
off my face and pain set into my chest like an icy hand had wrapped itself
around my heart and had given it a good squeeze.
Blake, the sexiest man to ever have walked
the earth, stood in front of me holding his right arm with his left hand. His
chest heaved as he struggled for air. Blake was a werewolf who had extra speedy
healing abilities, so whoever or whatever hurt him had to be very strong and
very dangerous. The dark red blood staining the front of his shirt and caking
the right side of his neck made me nauseous and light-headed.
“Blake!” Running past him to the front door,
I threw the deadbolt lock into place. It would be very hard to try and explain
it if one of my customers walked in and spotted Blake with blood smeared all
over him. I raced back to inspect his wounds. He must have lost a lot of blood.
My Selected senses hadn’t alerted me to his presence before he walked through
the door as it should have. Usually, they kicked in when a vampire or a
werewolf entered a five hundred foot radius around me. That included outside
the walls of buildings, and my senses seemed to be growing stronger every day.
Even though Blake bore such serious wounds, I
couldn’t help but appreciate his wild dark-brown hair that hung just past his
shoulders. Typically Blake didn’t look so disheveled like he did at that
moment. Looking toward him from the door, his amber-gold eyes bore into mine.
He was in a lot of pain. I could tell by the way he winced as he moved. Sighing
in dismay, I watched his backside as he stumbled over to the couch on the far
side of the store next to the fireplace. He dropped down, groaning in pain as
he landed on the cushion.
It didn’t bother me that his boots had
dragged in remnants of the slushy snow covering the streets outside.
Blake had a fine backside.
My center throbbed to by caressed by him.
Where did that come from?
“Sydney, I was attacked by a demon, and not
just any demon. She was a Judge.”
“Judge? What’s a Judge?” Could my life get
any more bizarre? Not long ago, I discovered that vampires and werewolves
existed. Oh, and I found out I was the Selected, which meant everyone wanted me
to be on their side because according to some old prophecies, I was destined to
be some kind of savior.
Blake groaned in pain, bringing me back to
the present. My life was a little overwhelming at times. Blake resituated himself
on the couch in such a way to avoid putting pressure on his injured arm and
shoulder.
“Please explain to me what you meant by
‘Judge’. I’ve never heard you use that term before.” A chill ran down my back
as I gently put my fingertips on the pulse point near his wrist. His heart rate
was beating a bit fast, but not too fast.
“Judges are demons assigned to the king of
the vampires. They do his bidding, uphold vampire law, and execute punishment
to misbehaving bloodsuckers when Kieran and his Knights can’t. Someone owed the
vampire king big, so they negotiated the Judges’ contract to be servants of the
king.” Blake closed his eyes and took a guarded deep breath.
My mouth dropped open. There were royal
vampires? No one ever mentioned that fun fact before, not even Aunt Judith. In
all the discussions we’ve had, neither Blake nor Kieran had mentioned them
either.
A knocking came from the front door,
startling me. If the Judges came after Blake at the store, there was little I
could do to protect him. I highly doubted if they followed Blake that they’d
bother with the consideration to knock. After seeing Blake injured and hearing
about demon assassins, I was on edge.
A shadowed figure passed the window.
Dale’s face peered through the glass. He
looked around to see if anyone was in the store.
I cracked the door open to keep Dale from
seeing Blake, drenched in blood, on the couch. Dale’s knit hat was dusted in
fluffy white snowflakes and his cheeks were bright red from the chill in the
air.
“Dale, now’s not really a good time, the
stock delivery guy just dumped a huge order off, and I have to deal with that
before opening the store. You can just give me my mail from here, okay?” I
squeezed two fingers through the door and waited.
“Miss Sydney, is everything all right?” He
repositioned his big mail carrier’s bag to sit more on his side to allow him to
get closer to the door and a better peek inside.
I put a friendly smile on my face to reassure
him that everything was on the up and up, but from his expression, he wasn’t
buying it.
“Everything’s just fine. I’m busy, that’s
all.” I didn’t want to be rude, but I really needed to go hold pressure on
Blake’s wounds. He hadn’t stopped bleeding yet.
“Miss Sydney, I think it would be best if you
let me in to take a look around and make sure for myself that you’re all
right.” Dale wasn’t budging. What was with this town? The people that lived
here in Kenosha all seemed to have taken the same medication that made them
super bossy.
A little more sternly, I said, “Everything’s
fine, Dale. Really, I’m just busy. That’s all, now give me my mail, and you can
be on your way.”
Dale was a really nice guy, and it was clear
he was just worried. He didn’t deserve the harshness in my tone of voice, but
Blake really needed me. Hopefully, Dale would get over my rudeness, but it
wasn’t like I’d ever be able to explain to him the situation.
Dale’s eyes narrowed.
“Miss Sydney, if you got one of them
abnormals in there, maybe I can help. The abnormal’s blood stinks all the way
out here. You see, not many people know this about me, but I’m a healer, Miss
Sydney.”
“What do you mean by abnormal?” Did Dale
really know? I was coming to believe that maybe I was the only one in the city,
before I was bitten, that didn’t know vampires and werewolves existed.
“I know all about them dang vampires and
werewolves. They’re everywhere around these parts, and well, my granddaddy
taught me a few tricks. Sydney, I know you’re different, special. Well, my
family has a special streak in its blood, too.” Dale leaned his head closer to
the door and whispered, “You see, we got some fairy blood running in us, and we
can heal people with our hands. Plus, I got some supplies in my bag might be of
some help.”
His sincerity made me smile. Dale looked at
me with such genuine concern. Before making a decision on whether to let him
into the store or not, Blake called out in pain.
Decision made.
“Fine, but you have to promise you won’t tell
anyone about what you see. You said that I’m special. You’re right, and I have
a temper to match. So don’t betray me, Dale. If you do, you’ll have a lot of
abnormals pissed and looking for you.”
Dale came into the store. The snowflakes
melted into his clothes the moment the fabric hit the warm air. He went
straight for Blake. Very carefully, he removed Blake’s shirt to see where all
the blood was coming from. After cleaning Blake’s chest and face with a cool
washcloth from the storeroom in back, Dale made a quick diagnosis and set to
work.
“Blake, these gashes look like you’ve been
attacked by a fire demon.” Awe and disbelief was written across Dale’s face as
he said it.
Blake looked from me to Dale. Suspicion
darkened his gaze as he assessed the mailman.
“You’re right. It was a fire demon, and she
wasn’t happy to see me. How do you know about fire demons?” Blake attempted to
sit up straighter on the couch, but Dale patted his knee in reassurance.
“Wait, what? The fire demon that did this to
you is a female?” It was pretty hard to believe a female of any sort could beat
Blake in a fight. He was one of the strongest and fastest werewolves in his
pack. His strength came straight from the pack leader himself, Blake’s father.
Whoever this fire demon was, she must be pretty nasty.
Dale fidgeted where he knelt on the floor in
front of Blake. The talk of demons and werewolves seemed to make him
uncomfortable. Placing my hand gently on his shoulder only made him squeak in
surprise. The mailman was wound more tightly than me.
Blake must have seen Dale’s uneasiness
through his fidgety movements. “Ah, yes. I have heard of your family. You don’t
have to involve yourself in our business. We know who you are. My pack
appreciates what your people do. We’d be fine if you wanted to stay out of the
war. We don’t mind that you keep tabs on us. I’m sure your knowledge will come
in handy one day when we need it most.” With the recognition of Dale, and what
he stood for, Blake sat back against the couch. His body seemed to relax a
smidgen. Apparently, he didn’t see Dale’s knowledge of his pack quite as
threatening as I would have thought.
There was a clear understanding between the
two men. To my dismay, neither one of them bothered to explain it to me.
“Okay, enough secretive, behind-the-scenes
action going on. I must say I’m getting pretty tired of it. Dale, help Blake
with his injuries. Blake, start explaining what is going on, right now.” Blake
stared at me. I could tell he was hesitating because he didn’t know how much
information he should divulge to either of us. If he knew what was good for
him, it would be all of it.
Dale nodded and dug around in his
mail-carrier bag. When he found what he was looking for, he brought out a
leather pouch and a small clear vial filled with a blue liquid. He busied
himself adding yellow powder to the liquid making a paste that smelled like
fresh lemons. He then applied the green-colored concoction to Blake’s chest
wound.
The manipulation of tissue made my stomach
churn. The pressure Dale was applying to the wound with the applicator caused
more blood to leak through the tissue and drip down Blake’s toned abs, soaking
the waistband of his jeans. Ordinarily, such things didn’t make me swoon.
Seeing someone important to me injured and in pain was a whole other ballgame.
Blake’s face tightened and he clenched his
jaw as Dale packed the paste into the deep gash created by the fire demon’s
attack. Dale used his fingertip to push the paste into the jagged parts of
Blake’s flesh until the wound was completely covered with the green substance.
“Sydney, a few members of my pack and some of
Kieran’s Knights have been doing recon on the compound where you were taken by
the lightning demons a few months ago. There has been abnormally high activity
buzzing around the place, so we’ve been watching who’s been coming and going.
It seems the rogue vampires and werewolves are amassing a small army.
Unfortunately, it looks like they have recruited more demons than we originally
thought.”
“So, that’s why the fire demon attacked you?
Because she found you watching the compound? That doesn’t make any sense if
she’s really a Judge, like you said.” I thought Judges were supposed to punish
naughty vampires and not attack innocent werewolves. I didn’t understand what
had started the fight.
He shook his head and continued to explain
while Dale made a makeshift sling out of clean towels from the storeroom to
secure Blake’s arm. Luckily no customers had arrived on my storefront’s door
wanting to do some shopping.
“The fire demon wasn’t one of the demons from
the compound. I actually interrupted her recon mission. When she spotted me,
she mistook me for the enemy, attacked first, and asked questions later.” It
was obvious from Blake’s tone that he was impressed with the fire demon. To my
surprise, his admiration of the female who attacked him sparked some serious
jealous feelings on my end, and I could feel the tips of my ears burn.
“So, she attacked you for no good reason? Who
is her boss?” It wasn’t like a fire demon’s boss would really take a complaint
from a human very serious, but her hurting Blake pissed me off. Maybe the awe I
saw in Blake’s eyes when he spoke of her ticked me off, too. I was the Selected
with powers of my own. Problem was, my powers were taking their own sweet time
developing and getting stronger.
“Sydney,” Blake said as he sat up on the
couch. He moved his shoulder a bit and nodded thanks to Dale for his efforts.
“The fire demon isn’t just an ordinary demon. She’s a Judge.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense, why is a
Judge even here? Aren’t they supposed to be watching over the king and his
family?” The pieces of the story weren’t falling into place in my very confused
mind. Blake didn’t seem all too surprised to run into the demon, only
impressed.
Blake nodded as he spoke to both Dale and me.
“I’m not sure what the Judges are doing in town. She mentioned that it had
something to do with the Blood Rites Ball Kieran is hosting tomorrow night. The
vampire royals are planning on attending. That’s the only explanation I can
think of for having the Judges in town. Usually, they are very close to the
king at all times. It’s not the first time we’ve run into one, but they’re
pretty rare, and there’s always a royal around that they are protecting.”
Dale stood to repack the supplies into his
overly large bag. His secret history surprised me. One day I would make him sit
down and tell me all about how his family is involved with the war between the
vampires and werewolves. Did Dale and his family have a side they were on? I
never would have thought he had special healing powers. He’d never bothered to
mention that before, even though he came into the store six days a week and
personally hand delivered me the mail.
Before leaving, Blake said that he heard the
rogues talk about Ley Lines and power points. The compound was situated over a
demonic power point, an energy vortex that allowed the rogues to call forth
demons from the Underworld. Once the demons were called forth, they were
obligated to complete a task before being set free upon our world. The Judge
was tracing the Ley Lines to the compound that originated from the underground
royal palace located a few miles outside of the Kenosha city limits.
“Blake, so the rogues are calling forth these
demons, making the demons beholden to them, but what for? What sort of task do
they plan on making the demons perform before they are set free?” My mind was
running wild with the possibilities. The rogues seemed to be focused on
creating mayhem and destruction among all the vampires and werewolves. They
also wanted to live without the rules the Elders and the leaders of the
werewolf packs instilled upon them. They wanted to be their own bosses, but
right now, they weren’t strong enough to carry out their goals without help
from beings stronger than them, such as demons from the Underworld.
My guess was that’s what they wanted to use
the demons they were calling forth for; they wanted to rid themselves of any
governing body that hindered their lawless lifestyles. Could the rogues demand
the demons, as their price for free passage into our world, to kill all the
coven and pack leaders? I hoped not. Having out of control vampires and
werewolves running amok would be madness.
“We’re really not sure yet, but it’s looking
like they have something planned for the Blood Rites Ball. The Judge I ran into
also believes that. Sydney, you should really reconsider and not go.” Blake
used every opportunity to try talking me out of dealing with the vampires. He
knew my obligations to them were just as important to me as my obligations were
to the werewolf pack, but he didn’t like it.
Dale decided at that moment to hand me my
mail. On the top of the stack sat a crimson-colored envelope. After opening it
and pulling out a piece of paper made from thick card stock, I studied the
blood-red ink glistening off the bright white paper. Blake leaned over my
shoulder to see what had made me stop short. A grumble came from his throat.
“Sydney, I’m telling you that you should not
go to that ball. The rogues are clearly brewing up something, and we don’t know
what it is. It would be safer for you if you were far away from that ball.
Having the Elders, members from the royal family, leaders from other covens,
and the Judges all in one place? That’s going to be a very target-rich
environment. If the rogues are going to make their move, the ball would be the
perfect place and time to do it.” Blake’s forehead crinkled in frustration. I
knew that look. He was going to say anything he could think of to try and talk
me out of going.
“How are they even going to know where it is?
Kieran put right on the invitation the location of the ball will be disclosed
one hour before it is to start. The rogues will have a pretty hard time putting
their plans in action if they don’t even know where the ball is going to be.” I
put my hands up when Blake began to interrupt me. “Don’t worry. There will be
plenty of people there to make sure nothing happens to me.” Blake didn’t need
it pushed in his face that Kieran, the leader of the local vampire coven, made
it his personal responsibility for my protection and safekeeping, so I kept
that fun fact to myself.
Blake roughly readjusted the sling Dale made
for his injured arm. “You hanging out with the bloodsuckers is bad enough.
Having to sit around while you’re surrounded by the worst of them is going to
drive me nuts. I’ll have Morris contact Kieran and figure something out. I’ll
have him see if there is anything my pack can do to help with the security
detail of the ball. Helping them keep you safe would be better than sitting on
my hands doing nothing.”
The concern in his gorgeous, bronzed-gold
eyes made my heart melt. Even though he insisted we were meant to be together,
no matter how much I wanted to run into his arms and accept his mark, it
wouldn’t be a good idea. Having a werewolf for a boyfriend would surely piss
the vampires off.
Being the Selected meant having to stay
neutral and not divulge secrets of one side to the other. In the recent past,
the vampires and werewolves were able to work together to rescue me from the
lightning demons, but that was pretty much the extent of their working
relationship. Otherwise, they tended toward hating each other, both wanting to
rule Kenosha for their own selfish needs.
With my being the Selected, I was the only
one able to fulfill both of their prophecies that would enable them to dominate
the other. If I gave my blood freely to the vampires, it would allow them to
walk in the sunlight. If I mated with the heir to the werewolf pack, and a
child was conceived, then that child would have complete control of their change,
no longer being prisoner to the moon phases. That child, my child, would then
be able to infect all werewolves through their saliva. Once that happened, all
werewolves would be able to change on a whim. That would give them the
strength, speed, and healing capabilities to wipe out the vampires.
As the Selected, it was my decision who I was
going to help. I’ve decided to help both the vampires and the werewolves, by
not fulfilling either of their prophecies. Neither species deserved to lord
over the other. The decimation of the covens or the packs wasn’t an option in
my book, so neither one would get any assistance from me on the matter.
I had to go to the Blood Rites Ball no matter
how bad Blake wanted to keep me away from it. Since I received the invitation,
my presence became required and expected. My worrying about being invited, or
not, was over.
The last time Kieran had thrown a small
gathering for the vampires, Aaron, Kieran’s second hand, had explained that if
I didn’t show up, Kieran would personally come and find me. I didn’t
particularly care for Aaron. He was an uptight, overbearing, jerk of a vampire,
who thought he could boss me around, and he did it while wearing a fancy suit.
Aaron had made it quite clear when he’d come to the store prior to the last
gathering that Kieran’s invitations were to be seen as a summons, not a
request. I had no choice but to attend the ball, not unless I wanted to be
hunted by a very old vampire that I’d personally offended.
No, thanks.
I’d go.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Betrayal Bites :) I have enjoyed creating the complex supernatural world Sydney has been thrust into all while being pursued by the sexiest werewolf in town.
