BREAKER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 14)

by Samantha Leal

  The smell of the sea air and the wind on her face felt good, calming her nerves and somehow pushing aside her doubts. She liked the weather, all elements of it, sun, rain, wind and snow. She had always loved the feeling of whatever kind of day it was, in her modern world, weather felt so good on her skin.

  As they neared the rendezvous she could see a single figure stood on the deck of a boat. At last, there he was, and she was not impressed. He was not an old man, but nor was he a youth. Yet he carried his body like a young man. As they stood opposite each other, she could see the hatred in his eyes.

  “Sister,” he said, greeting her with the one word. “You are as beautiful as I have heard, I only hope you are also wise,” he threatened.

  “I cannot call you brother, as you don’t feel like a beloved brother,” she dared say to him.

  He laughed at her.

  “Nor can I call you Emperor,” she interrupted his laughter, “you are not my Emperor as I don’t have one,” she said, honestly. “I will simply call you traitor, and murderer,” she finished, not wanting this meeting to linger on.

  A deathly silence surrounded her, as those who could hear awaited the response of the Emperor. He looked at her and laughed again.

  “Such a shame that our first meeting should end in your death, and with it all the hopes of these foolish people gathered here. I shall kill you this day, sister,” he informed her. “Then you will not need to call me anything, as you will be no more.”

  With that he turned to go, but before he left he mumbled something under his breath and a dark ominous mood fell over her.

  “I leave you a gift, sister, I wish for you to see the people cower before me, before I kill you. I have cast the same spell that I cast on all of the islands, and I have you to thank for that. I have never been able to get so close to Citheera to enable me to enchant them fully, but now thanks to you, they will soon fall under my thumb. Observe, as your people all cower under my rule. Watch them,” he said, waving his hand at the island. “When you return I think you will find that you are, once again, alone.”

  Chapter 11 Discovery of Magic

  True to his word, the people had lost all hope as she returned to the island. His spell was spreading like a disease as she watched even the soldiers backing away. The people were leaving, they did not wish to battle any more.

  She turned to view the ships as they neared the harbor. This was it, this was how he simply took ahold of the people and its lands. It must use much of his energy to keep this evil deed going. Anger began to boil within her as she saw the self-same people, who only an hour ago were joyous and hopeful, become fearful and were now running. The elders remained unscathed by his spell, but what use would the old be in battle. Even Niyol remained untouched, yet he could not fight a battle single handedly, but she could.

  Yes, she knew now what she had to do. It was clear in her mind, so much so, that she wondered why she had ever been uncertain. The image of her parents came to mind, smiling over a new born baby girl, her. The kindness of her father’s face, the love in her mother’s eyes. For the first time in her life, she knew who she was, and what she was capable of.

  Now, it was time for revenge. She would rid this world of the evil Emperor, and no one would mourn.

  Niyol watched as his lover stood and raised her arms with an ethereal glow around her body, she emanated a power that had never been witnessed before. As she did so, the very air changed, the atmosphere felt heavy and clammy on his skin. The skies yellowed and black clouds suddenly covered the previously clear blue skies. The angry clouds surrounded the ships as lightening shot out of her raised fingers and into the darkened skies. He knew then what she was, and he knew that she would win this day. She was a Weather Mage, she could control the very seas, the skies, and the air within the world. It had been said that such mages were only myth, yet here he witnessed one, first hand.

  She stood on the harbor and controlled the skies. The waves began to rise, but not a single drop of water touched her body. The people witnessed their Princess as she crashed the waves into the Emperor’s ships, and he was powerless to stop her. His magic to control the minds of the weak would be of no use, with the forces of the elements crashing against his fleet. Niyol stood in the rain and rejoiced as he was drenched by the winds that howled around the harbor. Yet still, she stood in pure sunlight as she sank each and every ship, saving her brother’s until last. The people stood on the cliffs and watched in awe as the Emperor’s ship was risen in to the air by a huge maelstrom, and then it was spun around and around, until it smashed into millions of small pieces that fell across the sea. The Emperor was gone. Princess Tamara was truly their savior, how could they ever have doubted her?

  She collapsed onto the ground as the winds died down and the rains ended. The dark clouds dispersed instantly and the sun reached everywhere, hot rays cast a warm glow over the assembled people. Niyol rushed to her, bending down as he scooped her into his arms, before chanting his well versed words.

  The people witnessed her body guard lifting their leader from the ground, they gasped as they suddenly saw them disappear into thin air.

  ***

  Tammy awoke to the aroma of pizza. As she breathed in the wonderful smell of pepperoni and cheese, she could hear the television playing an animated film, one of her favorites. Lifting her head, she saw that Niyol was in the kitchen, singing along to the movie.

  She stood, her legs a little shaky, as she made her way to the kitchen and stood by his side. As soon as he saw her, he grabbed her in his strong arms, and swung her around and around.

  “You did it, by the gods you did it. The Emperor is no more, and the people are free.”

  “What about your world, Niyol, shouldn’t we be there celebrating?”

  “Our world, Princess Tamara, or should I say Queen Tamara? No, we are on holiday, leave it to the politicians to sort out the mess. We will be home soon enough. For now we have all the pizza we can eat, and you should see the supply of chocolate I have for you.”

  She leaned her head on his strong shoulder, she loved pizza and chocolate, but most of all, she loved Niyol.

  THE END

  Love and Survival in the Time After

  Leela Ash

  Copyright ©2016 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Chapter 1

  Layne's heart was in her throat as the footsteps behind her receded. It had been a long time since she'd had a confrontation with one of the tribes. This time she'd gone to the wrong watering source. She thought that the public pool would be safe, for some reason. Although most of them were dried up, you could usually find at least a supply of sunscreen to protect you from the harsh sunlight, or if you were really lucky, there would be enough clean water left to quench your thirst and fill your bottle.

  She'd been due for a refill for a while now and although it was reckless, she had been desperate enough to get herself into danger. She had a bottle of beer left from the last batch she'd brewed, but that was strong enough to dull her senses and get her into trouble. Besides, it would just dehydrate her more. She would have to remember that this area was ruled by the Jackals – the name for the small gang of people who had claimed this turf. After the virus hit and wiped out most of the population, leaving only a few lucky survivors in every city, the tribes had been a way to find peace and security amongst other people who were dealing with the same crisis. There had been safety in numbers, or so they told themselves. While many had been afraid to wander the deserted world alone, moving forward with others didn't seem that bad.

  She herself had been part of a group in those first few chaotic years. Being a talented chemist, she'd aligned herself with a team of doctors claiming to seek a cure to the problem, but as it turned out most of
them were frauds and civilians, delusional with a self-important mission they weren't educated enough to accomplish. Everybody was hoping for a miracle and she'd been lured in by their pretense. Ultimately, the group split due to bruising of egos and no real direction and she'd been on her own ever since then, trying to make sense of how things had gotten so far out of hand.

  As a scientist, she had to trace the line of cause and effect. A pharmaceutical company had ordered vaccinations against what they claimed was an alien virus from space – which was absurd, but everybody was so desperate for answers that they accepted the explanation. Now everybody knew that the first guess had been way off, but back then that was the government's grounds for getting as many people as possible under the needle for a miraculous vaccine that they had commissioned the company, Grow Inc, to develop. In a sad, ironic twist of fate, the virus they thought came from a meteorite that had landed in St. Petersburg, had actually been the result of lax safety precautions, as a team of scientists experimented with a cure for the common cold. They'd flown the team to Russia to try and evade SFT (Safety in Future Technology) safety standards, and the end result had been disastrous.

  The antivirus had been promising, and they had been convinced that by pushing the envelope, it would be successful. In initial experiments it had a 100% success ratio, though it hadn't been tested over the long term. After the meteorite crashed into the yard outside the Russian facility where the American scientists had been mentoring a group of people who were working together to rid the world of disease, that was when the results of the virus began to be seen, and how the SFT had gotten involved, claiming that the virus, because it was so difficult to contain and treat, had extraterrestrial origins.

  If they had checked more closely, they would have seen that the people that they had injected with the initial strain of vaccination had become carriers of the malicious virus, infecting everybody they came into contact with without even knowing it. A few cases had been reported in America shortly after the scientists returned, and before long half of St. Petersburg was in chaos. People were coughing up blood and begging for release from a pain that nobody could pinpoint, but everybody could agree was the worst they had ever felt. It seemed to move throughout the body, inflaming certain parts for a small amount of time before retreating and coming back with double the force.

  Because of the rapid spread in St. Petersburg, everybody assumed that was the origin of the virus, and the city was put under strict quarantine. Unfortunately, it was no use. It spread all over the world with startling speed. Nobody thought that the virus might be in the vaccination. Ironically, the claim was that because the first vaccination had been successful enough during the preliminary trials, it should be utilized now, in this time of crisis. The SFT felt they had no choice and allowed the vaccinations to reach the mainstream market. Every day, for weeks, hundreds of people lined up to receive their vaccine, thinking it would be the only thing that might save them.

  Carriers were being created left and right, but those whose immune systems weren't as strong, or whose bodies didn't contain an immunity in their genes, were left defenseless against it. Days after the vaccination, the coughing would begin, until finally people began to catch on that it wasn't an alien virus that was killing people – it was one being spread by the vaccine.

  But it was too late. Within a few years, almost everybody was gone. With the exception of a few green-tinged carriers who had made it through, a few genetically privileged people, and some who had managed to escape both the carriers and the vaccinations until the virus finally became dormant. Life as they knew it had crumbled. Layne had no family or friends left, and she had felt so lost and alone, crying on her doorstep when the small group of “scientific” people had wandered past. They saw that she lacked the green-tinge of the carriers and the paleness of the infected, and welcomed her into their group saying they were heading somewhere safe, somewhere far away from there, and they were going to find the cure. Would she help?

  She didn't want to leave, but she also knew that she couldn't stay. From that point forward, her survival would depend upon her ability to move on, and that's all she needed to know.

  Chapter 2

  Jax scooped a handful of water from the stream he was kneeling at, examining it closely. It was clean, he determined, and he drank deeply, wiping his mouth, allowing a few stray drops of water to drip off his chin. His dark, alert eyes scanned the trees. The wind moved boughs peacefully, but he wouldn't be fooled by the serenity. He thought he had heard a sound.

  He grabbed his backpack – the holder of all his worldly possessions and a single reminder of home, where he came from, and slung it over his shoulder. He had found it heavy at first, but now he'd become accustomed to its weight, feeling nearly naked without it resting warmly on his shoulder. It reminded him of a pet he once had, a lizard he had named Jenko. Jenko sat on him like his bag did, his body temperature cool until Jax's body heat warmed it up. It was nice to pretend that he wasn't alone.

  Alone was safer though, and the sound of others had brought his pulse to racing. He moved nimbly through the trees toward the sound, gripping a piece of glass tightly. He had been using it for a weapon for a few months, and had duct taped the edge so he could grip it firmly as he swiped it at whatever threat was looming. There were more wild dogs than ever now. After the humans had begun to die out, their pets grew feral and ran rampant around the cities and towns, meeting and breeding, populating the emptiness with their own pups. The same was true of cats, though their feral nature was already commonplace where he came from. Cats and their kittens roamed the streets without fear. He'd enjoyed it at first, feeling that finally it was time for man's supposed best friend to take his rightful place on the food chain. It seemed like poetic justice in a way.

  Now though, the savage creatures would show no mercy. They vaguely remembered humans, and didn't think very fondly of them on the whole. The result was that he now had to fear both man and beast. At night, he had to keep watch for the glowing eyes of feral cats who wouldn't hesitate to jump out of the foliage and grip whatever was moving with fierce claws and teeth. He missed the way things used to be, when they were simple and safe. He had been younger then, and the few people who survived had created a new, hellish world all their own – one he wanted no part of.

  The sound of heavy footfalls – a twig snapping loudly – brought him to attention. Somebody was running, heading toward the stream where he was standing dumbly, staring off into the distance. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the sound. Somebody was probably being chased. Sure enough, a stampede of feet followed closely after the first person he had heard. The Jackals were apparently after new prey. He shifted, selfishly irritated that the person they were chasing might lead them to him. He had been so peaceful there, but now he would have to hide.

  He leapt up into a nearby tree, watching the action unfold. He wouldn't get involved; he would just stay out of sight long enough for the danger to pass and then go about his business. A woman burst through the bushes, her long, light brown hair framing her face. She gazed longingly at the water – he felt a pang of pity, as it was a look he knew well – but she was trapped and couldn't drink. She looked around helplessly, her beautiful oval face contorted in panic and fear. He groaned to himself and lowered himself to the ground, motioning her over to him. She didn't seem to be wearing any of the signature clothing styles of the tribes he was familiar with, and he had a fleeting, hopeful thought that maybe she was like him and didn't belong to any of them.

  That was unlikely though – the safety and food security in a gang was tempting to most people after the virus had hit, and he was sure that most others would have to be crazy to try to make it on their own.

  “Up there,” he hissed. “Go!”

  She looked at him in confusion before registering what he said. He didn't wait for her to respond before he hoisted her up, letting her step hard on his muscular forearm, and then took off running, throwing a large stone into
the stream, hoping it would keep them off the trail, and dodging into a bush just as the three Jackals arrived, panting and swearing, their bare chests heaving as they gulped in air and looked into the stream.

  “Where'd the bitch go?” the scrawniest asked. His hair was buzzed short and bleached white by the sun.

  “We should split up,” the leader of the small group decided. He tugged at his pant leg – the Jackals went around shirtless with one pant leg up and one down to make them distinctive – and pointed into the stream. “All yours, Buggy.”

  The third man groaned. He was tall and lanky, with sandy blonde hair and a small, round face.

  “Why do I always get the shit jobs, Orson?” he complained.

  “Because you always whine about it,” Orson said, slapping him hard on the back. It left a red imprint. “Now be a fuckin’ man and go get that sea hag out of the water.”

  Buggy grumbled to himself as he waded in, looking around for her. Orson and the blonde split up in different directions, leaving Buggy alone. He waded around for about half a minute, before an epiphany struck him.

  “This is stupid,” he growled, wading back out of the stream. “Jinx never has to do this shit.” He began to wring his pant legs out. “I don't see nothin'!”

  As he said this, his eyes fixed on a shuddering branch. Suddenly, he saw bare, tan legs and recognition flickered on his face. He hurried forward, opening his mouth to alert his friends. Before he could, his throat was filled with blood. Jax was behind him, the shard of glass lodged into Buggy's esophagus. He uttered a strangled gurgle and collapsed to the ground. The woman in the tree watched, paralyzed.