Dani’s jaw dropped. “Uh…possessed?”
“Well, well, well. Speak of the devil himself.” I looked past Dani, down to the bottom of the bleachers.
Jock Boy had found us. Not surprising in the least.
Dani whipped around and gasped. “Oh, shit.”
Me? I was ready. I was used to the sensations that crawled over my skin when he was around, but not usually this intense. That was the very reason why I had positioned myself so far up the bleachers.
Jock Boy took the steps two at a time. Too fast, but not faster than I could buckle my bag shut, my notes safely inside. He stood next to Dani, using his height to try to overpower me.
I countered his gaze with mine, not once looking away. I wasn’t intimidated by either of them.
Dani wrapped her arm around his waist, acting as if the tension between us wasn’t a big pink elephant in our cozy little living room. “Hey, babe! How’d you know I’d be here?”
He shrugged off her question, and kept our eyes locked. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
I took another hit from my cigarette and blew the smoke in his direction. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dani look from Seth to me and then back to Seth, her eyes blinking under a frown.
“Seth, this is Alyx from my Lit class. Alyx, this is Seth.”
“How’s it going?” he asked.
Yeah. Like he cared. I wasn’t going to tell him shit. Besides, I was busy looking for a way inside of his head, but it seemed he had his own defenses in place.
“Nice to finally meet you,” I said. “I gotta go.” I nodded at Dani. “We’ll talk later.”
“Okay. Yeah, sure,” Dani said, her voice trailing off.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed down the stairs. Neither of us was going to give in. The question was, who was going to make the next move?
With all that I’d learned from my mom, what I’d been researching, and who I was, I knew I could handle Jock Boy. Though obviously not a textbook situation, the basic rules of combat were the same across the board.
But apparently those didn’t apply to him. He was above that. In the next couple months, Jock Boy made it very clear he wouldn’t play by the rules.
Even if it meant good people could die...
MY SINCEREST THANKS…
It’s never completely easy to go from Once upon a time to And they lived happily ever after (or not), but the road down that path is less lonely when a writer has the encouragement of friends and family. While writing Soulstice, I had an amazing support team behind me, keeping me going all the time. My cousin, Maria, summed it up well: “I may let you rest a little, but I won’t ever let you give up.” None of them did.
I want to thank those who were the eyes and ears I depended on over the last year: Cassia Pabis, Maria Quezada, Toria Melendez, Natascha Troehler, Angela Peart, Fabio Bueno, Kathleen Mulroy, Shainnie Wade, and Theresa Renner (who made sure my I’s were dotted and T’s were crossed).
A special thanks and congratulations goes out to Alicia Schnell, whose editing skills of Soulstice earned her an “A” on her high school senior project. Way to go, Alicia!
Again, my sincerest thanks to you all.
Cover Photographer: Victoria McCune
Cover Design: Crystalynn Abercrombie
Model: Wrenee
Make-up: Kimberlee Langford
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Thank you for reading Soulstice. When Alyx first made her appearance in Souled, all I knew was that she was going to be a Goth-type character, the complete opposite of Seth’s girlfriend, Dani. Her attitude was sassy, tough, and nothing seemed to shake her confidence. I knew her character would grow in the next novel of this trilogy, but what I hadn’t expected was readers, as well as me, wanting to know what made Alyx who she was. So I dug a little deeper into her past, and Soulstice was waiting to be written. Alyx needed her spotlight, if only for a little while.
I invite you to sign up for my newsletter at www.dianamurdock.com (click on "Let's Talk") to receive news about sales, new releases, and other fun news. Don't worry, though. I won't flood your email box with unnecessary stuff.
As a writer, I encourage any comments you might have. I would very much appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon and let me know your thoughts. If you do, please email me at [email protected] with a link to your review so I can thank you personally.
Thank you again for spending your valuable time with the teens from Sandpoint, Idaho. My next project in the Souled Series… Justin’s and Alyx’s story.
WHERE I HANG OUT WHEN NOT WRITING
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Table of Contents
Soulstice is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not ...
FROM BAD TO WORSE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO“
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVETaylor
CHAPTER SIX“
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT“
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN“
CHAPTER ELEVEN“
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEENThe
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MY SINCEREST THANKS…
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Soulstice (The Souled Series) Page 8