“Is there anything else you need to tell me, love? I’ve felt like there has been since before Halloween.”
She flinched inside. There was a lot she still needed to tell him, things that could steal him from her and make him her mortal enemy. She held him tighter, not wanting to look him in the eye.
“No. There’s nothing I need to tell you.”
She had to lie. Though the bite would be felt deeply once it was discovered. She was torn between two worlds, now. Her divine one that she had been fighting for over thousands of years, and this new one that belonged to her and Lucas that she would also fight for—caught between a mortal and immortal world. It seemed she was being pushed toward a decision, betraying one if she protected the other. She had to do her best to protect them both for as long as she could.
While Gabrielle and Lucas lost themselves in their thoughts, in their love, there was movement outside.
In the shadows of dusk, a flock of crows descended and quietly perched on the low branches of the tree by Lucas’s window. They all turned toward the soft glow of light spilling from Lucas’s room onto the darkening lawn. The only thing they seemed interested in was the silhouette of a young man and woman in an embrace.
There were nine total, but just as the sun’s last rays disappeared below the horizon, snuffing the light and sending the day into murky night, another crow joined the voyeuristic flock.
Bringing their numbers to ten.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
So much time and effort goes into writing a book, and without the love, support, and help from the following people, it would not have been such a fulfilling and wonderful experience. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. You are my heroes.
My deepest thanks go to my mom, Dixie Schoolman, for always believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. You have been there though it all and loved and supported me no matter what. You are my rock as well as my guiding light. Thank you to my daughter, Piper Haviland, for making me want to follow my own dreams so you could learn through my example to follow your own. To Frank Haviland for doing everything you could to support me through this process, I appreciate it … all of it. And to all my family and friends who have supported my little adventure … you all rock. Oodles of thanks to you.
To my first readers who had to schlep through a very rough first draft, to my latter beta readers who still suffered through my unedited manuscript, thank you, thank you, thank you. The feedback you all offered was so incredibly helpful. I would especially like to thank Mekisha Elias, Wendy Felber, Karen Hollis, Beth Lehman, and Bethany Cotton for their early insight and suggestions, and for making me believe that The Reaping Chronicles was worthy of completing.
To two my two priceless editors, Crystal Bryant and Wendy Felber, you ladies exceeded my expectations and have helped tame the beast that was the unedited version of Inception. I couldn’t have done this without you, and I have enormous gratitude for all you have done for me.
To KP Simmon of InkSlinger PR, I am so very pleased to have you on my side. Thank you for believing in my book and taking on this author who is a nobody.
My amazing cover designer, Damon of Damonza.com, and my formatter/interior designer, Benjamin of Damonza’s Awesome Book Layout, thank you for making my vision for my cover and interior become a reality. You both rocked it! And, of course, without the contributions of photographer Cathleen Tarawhiti, model Emerald Reid, and artist Dana Mubarak M, I would not have the original image that captured the feel of The Reaping Chronicles ~ Inception so well. Thank you, ladies!
A special thanks to all of my friends who are writers, bloggers, the Nashville Writer’s Meetup Group, and for the admins for book promotion pages on that big ol’ social networking site, thank you so, so much for all you have done to cheer me on and for the guidance I have received from many. In particular, I would like to thank Brittany Carrigan, Paul Brown, M.R. Polish, Jamie Anderson, Janet Wallace, Willow Cross, Carol Kohnert Kunz, Alan Lewis, Amy Sun, Erin Fitzpatrick, Bella Belikov Colella, Jessie Peacock, KB Miller, Madison Daniel, and my-oh-my so many others that this list could go on for a very long time. Please know if I didn’t include your name here, it is no reflection on my gratitude.
And, last but not least, to the One who gave me my desire and talent to write and fills my imagination with stories, I am forever grateful and humbled for all you have done, and will continue to do, for me. I hope what I do with your gift makes you smile.
AUTHOR NOTE
I did not create the counting rhyme about crows. As of the publication date of this book, I have still been unable to find out who the original author is. It appears to be a very old nursery rhyme by an unknown author and there are various versions to be found. This one is the version I felt fit the purpose of my book best.
ABOUTH THE AUTHOR
Teal Haviland lives in Tennessee with her daughter and her four-legged friends. She enjoys photography, travel, reading, music, cooking, daydreaming, writing (of course), and above all spending time with her family and friends.
Teal grew up with a love for anything fantastical or outrageous. After years of dreaming of worlds where fairies, angels, demons, and shape shifters (to name a few) exist, she finally decided to begin writing her stories down. Inception, book one in her series The Reaping Chronicles, is her first published novel.
Visit and talk to Teal online at: www.tealhaviland.com, or find her on Facebook www.facebook.com/thereapingchronicles
www.facebook.com/authortealhaviland and
Twitter www.twitter.com/tealhaviland
For further information about any of the wonderful people who helped in putting together The Reaping Chronicles ~ Inception, please use the following links:
~ For Cathleen Tarawhiti:
http://cathleentarawhiti.deviantart.com/
~ For Dana Mubarak M:
http://pure-poison89.deviantart.com/
~ For Damon and Benjamin Carrancho:
http://damonza.com/
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