“I . . .” His voice came out as a withered stutter. “I’ve never wanted to hurt you,” he said, picking his words and using them carefully. “I—”
Emily moved closer. She stretched out a hand. He caught it before her fingers grazed his cheek. “It’s okay,” she whispered, trying not to choke on the smell of ash he exuded.
He let her hand touch his left cheek and then shook his head. To Emily, he was no longer the larger-than-life Marion. He was the high school student who’d started recently at Keaton Wright Senior High. He was the smooth and devilishly handsome guy everyone wanted to be friends with. And for a moment, she was no longer The Owl that could unleash hell on earth. She was just Emily Davies, cheerleading captain and lover of life. She couldn’t explain her overwhelming feelings, but they were strong.
The moment was fleeting. Rewarding. Fulfilling. When it was over, she withdrew her hand, took a step back, and took a deep breath.
“Do what you must,” Emily whispered. “I’m not going to fight you. I’m done fighting you.”
Marion looked at her grimly. Then he turned to Joanna’s parents and pointed a flaming hand at them. But this time, a blue flame leaped from his hand and smashed into the red orb above Joanna’s parents.
The red orb exploded and vanished. Emily watched wide-eyed as the Russos stirred on the bed. Then she glanced back at Marion. Dumbfounded.
“I’m probably going to regret this.” Marion pointed at her and waved his other hand at Joanna’s parents. A bluish flame appeared around Emily and another one around Joanna’s parents.
“Marion—” Emily’s heart raced. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Marion cut her off.
“I hope you’re ready for war,” he announced. “Because when Mom and Dad wake up, they’re going to turn this town upside down.”
That was it. There was an explosion of light. The next thing Emily was aware of was standing in the road with Mr. and Mrs. Russo standing next to her.
“What’s going on here?” Joanna’s father flashed a surly glare at Emily. Joanna’s mother was still coming to, standing on wobbling feet.
Emily didn’t get a chance to respond. Aunt Anastacia materialized in front of them along with her car. She opened the door without hesitation.
“Mr. and Mrs. Russo, this way, please.” She motioned for the duo to get in the car.
The Russos didn’t question her. Joanna’s father only flashed another accusing glance at Emily before he guided his wife into the back seat.
Aunt Anastacia threw a wary look at the house behind Emily and then gestured for Emily to get in the car.
“Won’t you ask me what happened?” asked Emily before she moved from where she stood. She was still struck by what Marion did. Was this a trick? Was she maybe unconscious on the floor of the Russos’ bedroom?
“You got out with the Russos, and you’re safe, and you’re not being pursued.” Aunt Anastacia nodded as she looked around. “Looks like a clean getaway. Obviously a very interesting story, and I’d love to hear it, but I don’t think standing on the road in front of the Russo Manor to rehash the details is a good idea right now.”
Emily sighed but started talking anyway. “Marion let me go. He caught me. And then he let me go. It was a trap. They were waiting for us there.”
Aunt Anastacia’s eyes widened. Then she turned to the car, waved her hands about, and chanted quickly. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment. But then there was a loud pop in the vehicle and a scared yelp from the duo in the back seat.
Aunt Anastacia turned to Emily and did the same thing. There was no pop.
“You’re clean,” she said. “Get in the car. We’ve got to move.”
Emily got in the car, strapped on her seat belt, and tried not to think about Marion.
“What was that?” Mr. Russo asked, his voice angry, and his face contorted in a gruesome frown. “What sorcery was that?”
“Mr. Russo, please,” Emily cut in before Aunt Anastacia could reply. “We know you’ve been cozying up to the Alfreds. Don’t even think about damning sorcery right now.” Through the rearview mirror, she could see the look of surprise on the man’s face. “Yes, that’s right. We know you joined forces with the evil roves.”
“Evil roves?” the man laughed. “You think the Alfreds are the ones running the show?” He laughed again. This time it was hysterical. Tears fell down his eyes. “You’ve doomed us all!”
With that, Aunt Anastacia started the car and drove off. Emily was left grappling with the wail of terror sitting at the base of her throat. What did Mr. Russo know?
There was obviously more to the story than she was aware of.
Also by Qatarina Wanders
Book 3
The Story Continues . . .
Armies are being built on both sides.
Emily has no choice but to join forces with those who have tried to kill her kind.
After coming to peace with her alternate personality—The Owl, followed by the fire demon—Emily is now readying to fight side by side with her biological half-brother—who still happens to hate her.
Now, no one is sure who the enemy truly is. It looks like there is a force, even more powerful than any of them had dreamed, hell-bent on bringing about Nadarog Maragog—aka the Apocalypse.
But now the question is, are they even fighting the right enemy???
CLICK HERE
to get Born to Raise Hell, Book Three of The Owl Shifter Chronicles
Get the Prequel FREE
Before Emily or Selena even existed. . .
. . .there was an owl shifter named Bernice.
She was expecting the prom night of her dreams. . .
But instead, it turned into her worst nightmare.
Bernice and her sister Anastacia come from a long line of supernaturals.
Even so, Bernice convinced herself that the curse of supernatural blood had ended with their father’s death.
But now that she is sixteen, her true nature manifests.
And what better occasion than prom night? Especially when her boyfriend happens to be Everet Winter, the son of the top supernatural-killer in town.
Not only does Bernice discover, to her horror, she can now transform into a massive bloodthirsty owl, but also that Anastacia has been hiding her own magical powers the entire time as well.
Now who can she trust?
Will the young man she loves really stand by her when he finds out her secret?
Or will he turn her over to the vigilantes, ensuring her violent death?
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About the Author
Qatarina Wanders is a former circus performer turned author with a unicorn and pug obsession. When she isn’t writing or editing books about unicorns or pugs (or owl shifters, vampires, werewolves, faeries, witches, angels, or succubi), she is likely eating sushi with her daughter or jumping out of a plane in the Rocky Mountains.
To learn more about her work, please visit: www.QatWanders.com
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Acknowledgments
Continuing gratitude to everyone who showed support for this project in any way. My daughter and fellow fantasy author Ora Wanders for always reading my rewrites and helping me rework my stories. Ramy Vance for teaching me how to plot. My team at Wandering Words Media for polishing my words: Kachi Ugo for helping me with the outline and continuing ideation; Rachel McCracken and Dee Turner for rocking my editing; and Allison Goddard for being my favorite proofreader and final set of eyes. Everyone on my launch team, all my beta readers, and last—and MOST importantly—everyone who buys and reads my books. I couldn’t do this without you! MWAH!
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Controlled by a Fire Demon: The Owl Shifter Chronicles Book Two Page 19