I heard a small commotion among the guardians.
Narlene stood, towering over several of the guardians. "I demand to know where my uncle is!"
My joy didn't diminish, but my eyes narrowed as I remembered her callously refusing to help me.
Brandon growled, obviously following my memories as I replayed them. "She should be shot. She knew they planned to kill you."
"She's a minor and a MuskLeke. They might not even question her."
His growl grew deeper.
Her blonde hair glowed in the moonbeams, reminding me of her snarky remark about preferring blue hair to red.
I chuckled intentionally making the sound wicked.
I felt his surprise, quickly followed by his absolute agreement.
I gathered power to me. The surge came much quicker than normally. Manipulating a living creature could be accomplished in several ways. By wrapping power around the living entity or throwing a pre-defined chunk of power at something.
I curled the power into a ball, wrapping my anger tightly around the seething sphere of synth energy. Without hesitating, I threw the whammy at her.
Without warning, Hannah appeared between Narlene and me, shoving the bigger girl backward three feet with a hard right hook.
The whammy hit my best friend in the back of her head.
Oh, crap!
I saw her shudder and raise a slender hand to the back of her head. She glanced around. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at me.
The whammy settled into her body.
Her glorious pale blonde hair slowly turned a brilliant blue.
The End
Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing to read Christmas in Vampire Valley.
I hope you enjoyed reading Brandon and Megan's story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Jodie B
Website: http://www.jodiebcooper.com - snippets for most books
Sídhí World News Blog: http://sidhinews.blogspot.com - Character POV flash fiction, deleted scenes, and Sídhí gossip/news.
_____________
Glossary of Sídhí Terms
(Condensed version)
Dragon – 1.) Dragon shifters are a race of people originally from Sídhí. They have the ability to change their shape to that of a specific animal/dragon. Each sub-race (Clan) has various strengths provided by the synth crystal in their blood. A person’s first shift into dragon can take place before or after puberty. A shifter in human form smells human. They consider the term shapeshifter a slur, as they are dragon. 2.) Dragons are a very intelligent, and highly dangerous, Sídhí animal.
Elves - Race of people originally from Sídhí. The have a rigidly strict code of honor. They give an oath of fealty to whomever they choose. First, they always give a blood oath of fealty to the unknown Chi’Kehra, second oath goes to their house, and third oath may go to their valley or their liege lord. Due to synth crystal, they have increased sense of smell, sight, strength and mental capabilities. They have pointed ears, approximately a half inch to one inch taller than a mundane human’s ear. The pupil (black center) and the iris (colored portion of their eye) are larger than a mundane human’s eye.
Enchanter - An enchanter is a sub-race of fairy. Enchanters are split into two caste, merchant and warrior. Enchanters have the ability to manipulate the molecular structure of an item. Some enchanters can manipulate living things, such as flowers and a person's hair color. Other enchanters can manipulate inanimate objects such as silver or computers.
Fairy - Race of people originally from Sídhí. Each fairy has various strengths provided by the synth crystal in their blood. Very secretive race. Most live in Atlantis Valley, which covers large swaths of land and all of the North and South Atlantic Oceans. Five castes: Royal, warrior, merchant, common, and servant. The five castes (aka class) contain hundreds of sub-races, such as siren, pixie, nymphs, changelings, dwarves, leprechaun, brownie, banshee, harpy, phoenix, enchanter, mermaid, mystic… Physical and paranormal attributes vary widely between sub-races.
Foresight – The ability to see glimpses of the future that may or may not change. Several races have a touch of foresight.
Gateway (aka portal) - A gateway is a permanent ‘doorway’ that allows people or inanimate objects to travel instantly between Earth and valley (see valley) or between valleys. A mundane human cannot see a gateway, but they can go through a gateway if touching a Sídhí or holding a piece of synth crystal.
Halfling – A halfling is an individual who is half one race and half another.
LifeMate – When a person is drawn toward another person by the synth crystal in their blood. Two people who are perfect soul mates. Two people who fall in love and bond. LifeMates are miserable when apart from each other.
LifeBond - The lifeBond is a permanent mental bond between two lifeMates. The bond allows them to feel each other’s emotions. The bond cannot be broken once formed.
LifeBud - The LifeBud is a physical organ in a Sídhí brain that allows a lifeBond to be created between two lifeMates. The bud can be destroyed before a bond is created, but not afterward.
Mia Cara - Literal translation: my beloved.
Mundane (human) – A mundane is a normal human with no synth crystal in their blood, normally born on Earth. Some valleys have a few mundane settlements. The Dhark Valleys keep mundane humans as servants/slaves and a source of blood for their large vampire population.
Phoenix – 1. A race of winged people originally from Sídhí; they have not been seen or heard from in four thousand years. They are the strongest of fairy within the warrior caste. The wings of a phoenix cover a spectrum of colors, but are primarily mixtures of red, black and/or white. The eyes of a phoenix turn silver when emotional, a reaction that can turn deadly to others.
2. A bird that drips fire off brilliant red wings. Unlike the Earth myth, they are not reborn.
Port – See teleport.
Pre-pub - A Sídhí young person before or during puberty.
Puberty - The developmental period every teenage Sídhí goes through. In a twenty-one day period, a Sídhí youth will start out stick-thin and develop into their adult body and abilities. The youth is always hungry during this time.
The Second Dimensional Balloon Theory - During the Great War, Chi’Kehra (see Chi’Kehra) gathered tremendous amounts of raw synth crystal and began pushing the raw energy into the gateways connecting Earth and Sídhí. Before he could finish - whatever he planned - he died. The energy had no guidance. The gateways overloaded and all the energy exploded outward toward Earth. The explosion created massive valleys, teleporting all living creatures from Sídhí to Earth, and permanently sealing the gateways between Sídhí and Earth.
Sídhí (aka Immortal or home world) - 1. A Sídhí is a person that originally lived (or descended from people who lived) on the home world of Sídhí. 2. A formally mundane human who has been injected with pure synth crystal or received a venomous bite from a vampire. 3. Sídhí is the original home world of non-mundane humans.
Sídhí is pronounced: Sid He
Synth Crystal - 1. The purest form of energy, it was created by the highly advanced Ancient Ones on the home world of Sídhí tens of thousands of years ago. Synth crystal makes normal (mundane) people immortal and increases all of their natural abilities. It also gives them other extra-ordinary abilities. 2. It is the strongest known substance on Earth or Sídhí 3. Each source (or spring) of crystal has a slightly different set of characteristics in it.
Synth Crystal Spring - A spring of Synth Crystal can be grown. Crystal in liquid form is poured into an underground chasm or cavern. The crystal grows until it fills the underground abyss. Each spring is subtly different as the crystal leeches microscopic material from the surrounding nature. Pools of Synth Crystal can be seen above ground, but growth (expansion) can only take place underground.
Teleportation (aka port) – Teleportation is the ability of a vampire or dragon shifter to move from one location to another in the blink
of an eye.
Valley - A second dimensional valley covers the same geographical terrain as Earth does. Most Sídhí live within the protection of a valley. A valley can only be entered by a gateway or by porting. Valleys were created thousands of years ago. The most respected theory of how valleys came into existence is The Second Dimensional Balloon Theory.
Vampire - Race of people originally from Sídhí. Due to synth crystal, they have increased sense of smell, sight, strength, mental capabilities, teleporting ability, retractable incisors, and retractable claws. A vampire has the ability to suck blood or bite with venom. Their venom can Change a mundane human into an immortal vampire.
Clan vampire - Vampires who eat normal/solid human food and (may or may not) drink the blood of a mate or that of an animal. In direct sunshine, their eyes turn solid black with no whites. They have a strict code of honor. They detest dhark vampires and elves.
Dhark vampire (aka Exile) - Vampires who drink the blood of humans and do not eat solid food. In direct sunshine, their eyes turn solid red with no whites.
Witch - A witch is evil. Born as a druid that turns to the dark arts, they kill people, sucking the life essence out of their victims. The ill-gotten power turns their skin to a putrid green.
To view the complete Sídhí glossary, please visit Jodie's website.
Books by Jodie B. Cooper
Sídhí Summer Camp Series
Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire, book 1
- Jared & Katie's story
Vampire’s Forbidden Territory, book 2
- Jared, Katie, and their cabin mates
Book 3 (Sarah) - Summer 2013
Song of the Sídhí Series
Beloved LifeMate, book 1
- Miranda & Colin's story
A Dragon's Dream of Love, book 2
- Leah & Derek's story
Stolen Love, book 3
- Eric & Katrina's story
Guardian’s Beloved Mate, book 4
- Guardian Alexander and Lizzie (Leah’s mom)
Christmas in Vampire Valley, book 5
- Brandon & Megan's story
Sídhí World News
- Collection of micro (or short) stories published as news clips on the blog Sídhí World News.
New series coming soon! Watch for it in early 2013!
For snippets, deleted scenes, and a current list of published books, please visit Jodie's website and/or blog.
Snippet: Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire
Prologue: Dragon Council Proclamation
In order to remain undetected by mundane humans on Earth, The Dragon High Council has decided peace between the Sídhí races is critical.
Therefore, all Sídhí Valleys will participate in a summer camp hosted by Dragon Valley. It is believed the unique blending of races within the summer camp will achieve the first step toward peace.
Participants shall include the eldest two teenage children (or direct descendants) of each council member. Participation in the Peace Camp is not optional. If any Sídhí Valley refuses to participate, all known gateways within that valley will be shut down immediately.
NOTE: A copy of this proclamation has been dispatched to the governmental bodies of all known valleys.
Dragon Valley: Day of Arrival
Katie grinned as her brother, Mitch, walked toward her. He was so busy teasing her he didn’t notice the slowly rotating ceiling fan. He had a bad case of tunnel vision, or maybe she should say, once he got something stuck in his thick head, he chewed it to death, it rattled around in his hard head and would not go away.
For all his teasing, she should let him walk into the fan, but his head would break her ceiling fan.
“Mitch,” she said, pointing up at the fan in warning.
He ignored her, chattering on about how much she was eating during puberty. He was almost there.
“Mitch!” She waved her hand to stop him, waiting for the inevitable ker-chunk.
“Aargh!” He bellowed and his eyes bugged out. Ducking at the last minute, he neatly avoided the thin wooden blade of the fan. Looking up, he glared at the fan.
Katie’s laughter filled the room. Talk about priceless. Though, she was glad his cement-hard head hadn’t broken her ceiling fan.
“Very funny, Katie. Ha ha,” he grumbled, turning his good-humored glare on her. His lips twitched trying not to laugh with her.
“I tried to stop you.”
“Just wait until you start your growth spurt. Next week you’ll be whining and complaining that nothing fits anymore.”
He dropped onto one of the six beds lining the room. The poor thing groaned under his weight, there was nothing tiny about him. He was solid muscle.
“I think it might be sooner than next week. I’d guess a couple of days max.” Her clothes were loose, but they irritated her skin. Every time she moved, she felt the brush of her shorts and soft cotton halter-top slide against her sensitive skin. Her skin had started tingling yesterday afternoon. She sighed in resignation, being tender was normal a few days before she started the final growth spurt.
“Honestly,” Katie said. “I can’t wait. I’m so sick of wearing boys slim cut jeans. To think, I’ll actually have…”
“Laa! Laa! Laa! Laa!” He loudly bellowed with a sick look on his face and fingers stuck in his ears.
“I was just going to say hips,” she said, planting her hands on her hips. She grinned at his pained expression.
He gave a long-suffering sigh and removed his fingers.
She couldn’t resist the urge to tease him. “Oh, and I’ll finally have boobs.”
Her giggles turned to laughter as his mortified expression turned beet red. He tried to say something, but only a gurgle came out, while the tips of his pointed ears turned rosy red.
The words barely left her mouth, when she felt someone watching her. She turned and found herself looking into a set of piercing blue eyes. She skimmed his face and then took in the whole deal: deep blue eyes, silky black hair, tall, muscled, and gorgeous. Definitely, the most gorgeous guy she’d ever seen. She honestly didn’t have the words to describe what he looked like.
How could Katie think of words, when he made all her brain functions cease to exist? For just a second, she forgot where she was and even how to breathe. Her body went from laughter to a hot flush, even the tips of her fingers and toes tingled with sparks of awareness.
Wow, talk about making a great first impression.
He casually leaned against the door frame, watching her as she gave him the once over. He was nearly as tall as Mitch. And she thought her brother looked like a pro athlete. This guy put her twin to shame. He looked a bit stunned as he stared back at her. She briefly wondered if she wasn’t the only one having trouble breathing.
Then it registered. Her heart stuttered to a complete stop; her eyes widened and she stared at him in mounting alarm.
He was a vampire, a full-blooded vampire!
Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire is a full-length (76,000 word) YA paranormal romance
Copyright Notice
Copyright 2012 by Jodie B. Cooper
License Notes
Thank you for purchasing this e-book. This e-book is licensed for your personal use only. It remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied, and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you received this e-book as a free copy from a mass e-mailing or from a 'free book' website, it is a pirated e-book, which is illegal. Please consider purchasing a legal copy from Amazon.com as Christmas in Vampire Valley is an Amazon KDP Select title.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Photographs used for cover: http://www .dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-little-redhaired-witch-background-image16711307 Vampire Christmas story Little Redhaird Witch Background copyright Marlo Socolov | Dreamstime.com and http: //www. dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-christmas-festive-background-fir-tree-image25280816 Christmas festive b
ackground with fir tree copyright Alexandra Shkarupa | Dreamstime.com
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Table of Contents
Christmas in Vampire Valley
Glossary of Sídhí Terms
Books by Jodie B. Cooper
Snippet: Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire
Copyright Notice
Christmas in Vampire Valley Page 5