by Kristie Cook
“She said that’s why we all end up here in Lake Haven,” Ty said. “Our souls naturally gravitate to this place.”
“Because the rest of the Seven were here?” Asia asked.
Hope nodded. “That and because the artifacts are here, too, when they’re not safely with their owners. The Book, the Orb, the Stone, the Cup … there are several. But those are for another time. Right now, it’s time to celebrate.”
She lifted her chin, and her gaze focused behind us. We turned to look over our shoulders. Several vehicles were pulling up to the dead end, and people were spilling out, grabbing their coolers and chairs. Some guys were already unloading a cargo van and a big truck with band equipment. I jumped off Hayden’s lap with surprise, and everyone else stood, too.
“I invited the town,” Hope said. “Thought you all should get to know them. I think you’ll be staying here a while since the Gate is taken care of.”
“Will we really get to live long together?” Jeric asked, taking Leni’s hand.
“I can’t guarantee anything, of course,” Hope said, “but the odds are definitely in your favor now.”
“And we can have families?” Asia asked, hope high in her voice.
“You better,” Hope said. “I miss my grandson. I think he’s ready to return.” She gave Asia and Brock a wink. “One more thing I’m sure you’re all interested in. Mason Hayes stabbed another prisoner and killed him. The State’s seeking the death penalty, but no matter what, he’ll be behind bars for the rest of his life. He won’t be buying his way out of this, I guarantee it.”
I hadn’t realized just how heavily this had weighed on me until she shared that bit of news. I suddenly felt five hundred pounds lighter. I felt like I could truly heal and move on and not forever be looking over my shoulder, wondering if he was close. With a laugh that bubbled out of my soul and over my heart, I threw my arms around Hayden’s neck, and he pulled me off the ground in a hug. My life could go on now, and I couldn’t wait to start it with him.
The crowd began pouring into the party area, but before we joined them, I grabbed Ty’s wrist.
“We’ll help you find your girl,” I promised him.
He gave me a nod and a smile. “I know. I was pretty damn disappointed when I found out you weren’t her, but then so much made sense. She’s out there, Bex. I feel it.”
We shared another hug before I took Hayden’s hand, and we joined the others in greeting the newcomers. Pretty much everyone I’d grown up with, known since preschool, was there, but they had no idea who I was. Even Kaylee and her husband and the rest of our high school class, and Aunt Faye and Elizabeth, who had apparently moved back when the Darkness had receded from Lake Haven.
But that was how things were for us, the Phoenix Guardians. And they were my new family. My sisters and brothers who I’d known for millennia, and with whom I’d been to Hell and back. And Sissy would be joining us soon, I hoped, maybe as my own child, or maybe as Leni’s or Asia’s. I prayed her soul would find us so we could protect her as she grew up. That was for another day, though. A future that looked brighter than ever.
Tonight, we were celebrating.
Leni handed me a red plastic cup, and I groaned at the smell of hunch punch, but laughed when I saw the rest of our group had one as we gathered into a circle.
“To life,” she said, lifting her cup in the air. “To family. To the souls who have found their other halves and the ones who will soon. To this beautiful world called Earth that I never want to leave again.” She turned toward Jeric. “And to love for eternity.”
“Here, here,” Brock said, and we all bumped our cups together before chugging the hunch punch, then letting out a whoop.
“Shall we get this party started?” asked a sexy male voice that came through the speakers.
The band was set up on a portable stage, and several people cheered in the crowd, which had grown immensely. Hope really had invited the whole town.
“Jeric, my man,” said the guy speaking through the microphone, his guitar hanging at his hip. “You have something to share?”
Jeric grinned and planted a kiss on Leni’s forehead before jogging over to the stage and jumping up on it. The other guy handed him the microphone, then stepped back and took his guitar in hand.
“A little something I wrote for my girl Leni, but I think many of you can relate.”
The song opened with a tune I liked so far, and my body started swaying against Hayden, but when Jeric began singing, we all froze. The lyrics about love and longing and hope were beautiful and his voice completely mesmerizing. And when he was done, all the girls had wet eyes and wet panties, too. Leni threw her arms around him when he returned to her, and they locked into a sweet embrace.
“Before we really start up,” said the guitarist on stage, “let’s everyone raise our cans and cups to our hostess, Hope Verdor.”
Our group cheered the loudest, and both Brock and Jeric whistled loudly. I looked around, but she seemed to have disappeared. But I knew she wasn’t really gone. She was watching over us from somewhere, the Light eliminating the Darkness.
The guitarist held his beer can up.
“Here’s to knowing that when life is at its worst and the world feels darkest, we just have to look within and remember that we always have Hope.”
THE END
TO A BEAUTIFUL BEGINNING
* * * * *
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About the Author
Kristie Cook is a lifelong, award-winning writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy fiction. She continues to write the Soul Savers Series, a New Adult paranormal romance / contemporary fantasy, with Promise, Purpose, Devotion, Power, and the latest release, Wrath, book five, available now. She’s also written a companion novella, Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella, which details the compelling history of her Soul Savers mythology. Over 300,000 Soul Savers books have been sold, with Promise peaking at #54 on the Amazon Top 100 Paid list and at #1 in the Amazon Fantasy category.
Kristie’s second series, The Book of Phoenix, is a completed New Adult paranormal trilogy including: The Space Between, The Space Beyond, and The Space Within.
Besides writing, Kristie enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her husband, three sons, a beagle, and a puggle.
Acknowledgements
Thank you first to the Maker and His Son, who have blessed me in so many ways. With Him, the possibilities truly are endless.
Thank you to my boys–Shawn, Zakary, Austin, and Nathan–for your support, your love, and your inspiration. Without you, I wouldn’t know things like “turtling up.” Seriously, yo
u are true gifts in my life, and I thank God every morning and night for you. Thank you to my parents for life.
Thank you to Chrissi Jackson for all that you have done. To Tammi Swartz for keeping me on track and real.
So much appreciation goes to Regina Wamba at Mae I Design for the photo shoot and gorgeous cover designs; to Nadège Richards for the beautiful print interiors; and to Jen Trammell and Kristen Yard for finding my bloopers and polishing my words to a shine.
More thanks to my beta readers—Stacey Nixon, Julie Bromley, Debbie Poole, Jessie de Schepper, Inga Kupp-Silberg, and Heather Wakefield—for making me think. An extra thanks to Debbie for helping with the Liverpool scene. For all of their support and cheerleading, I thank my fabulous street team, Kristie’s Warriors: Stacey Nixon, Julie Bromley, Inga Kupp-Silberg, Jessie de Schepper, Claire Downes, Debbie Poole, Marissa Feidelbaum, Christina Silcox, Heather Wakefield, Jeana Todd, Lisa Reeves, Chloe Billingham, Josephine Militello, Christina Madison, Kate Wilson, Char Wilcoxson, Jill Cruz, Zee Hayat, Kelly Victorine, Lisa Ammari, Megan Elworthy, Michele Luker, Mindy Janicke, Katherine Murphy, Jenny Finnigan, Annmarie Spiby, Wendy John Jahnke, Heather Brandt, Felicia Filion, Sue Van, Meshell Blackborow, Jennifer Murray, Dawn Sutphin, and Georgee Olivia Leigh Frost. And thank you to all of the book bloggers who do so much for authors and readers.
There are no words to express my appreciation to you, dear reader. Thank you for spending your very precious time and hard-earned money on this world I have created. Thank you for supporting not only me, but all authors. You are our life force.
Until we meet again …
Want more by Kristie Cook?
— Soul Savers Series —
A young woman discovers she’s the future leader of a secret matriarchal society that serves as the angels’ army on Earth, and the man who’s supposed to be her soul mate and serve at her side was created by the very demons they fight.
www.SoulSaversSeries.com
Promise
Purpose
Devotion
Power
Wrath
Books 6 & 7 (Coming late 2014)
Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella
— The Book of Phoenix Series —
www.TheBookofPhoenix.com
The Space Between
The Space Beyond
The Space Within