by Dale Mayer
Eric bent over in agony, his hands clasped to his ears.
“My head. The pain. I can’t think.”
That same horrible noise built up inside Storey’s head. Damn the Louers’ and their secret weapon. “We have to go. Punch the codes.” Storey gasped as the pain increased.
“Hurry up,” snapped the Councilman. The noise twisted his features, but didn’t seem to be crippling him the same as Eric and her. “Why can’t we travel by codex? Or portals?”
Time. That’s why they couldn’t go by portal. “It has to be codex. Time is a problem with portals.” Storey yelled to be heard over the pounding in her head.
Eric’s gaze widened as he understood her. “Right. I forgot.” He took a deep breath, pulled back his sleeve and tapped a sequence of numbers.
The Councilman stepped closer, his nervous gaze searching the darkness around them. Hissing, he said, “Hurry.”
“It takes a moment.” Eric’s face twisted against the unbearable noise. He bent over gasping for breath. Mist swirled up from the ground. Storey struggled to remain conscious as pain turned her world black. She didn’t know how Eric was faring or why the Councilman seemed unaffected. Unless his sheer size had something to do with it.
Gratefully, she realized that the higher the black mist, the less the noise penetrated. It didn’t take long before she could stand up straight. Over Eric’s shoulder she watched several Louer guards race into the chamber. “Uh, Eric? How far does the mist have to climb before it’s too late to reverse?”
She nodded behind him. He turned his head, his shoulders relaxed. “It’s too late now.”
The Councilman glared at her. “Don’t be telling her any of our secrets.”
“It’s hardly a secret, Father. Besides, it’s nothing to what you’ve told them.”
Keeping a wary eye on the two Louers, Storey held her breath until the mist blocked her view. They were safe.
The black mist was damn freaky. She didn’t understand how the system worked. If she was in the middle of the haze, would it only transport part of her? If the Louers had tried to jump in, would only part of them make it? That thought shook her.
Still, they’d gotten away clean. Eric was here with her, Tammy was home and they were even bringing the Councilman back. There might be some skirmishing going on in Eric’s dimension, but his people were perfectly capable of taking care of that problem now. Maybe she could finally go home. In truth, she wanted a hug from her mother. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed her.
The mist closed over her head.
“Thank heavens for that,” she whispered.
“We’re fine. Almost home now.”
She closed her eyes and waited for the endless darkness to lighten. And waited. “Eric?”
“Another moment. The codex has stopped signaling.”
His comforting tone of voice reassured her almost as much as his words. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, I was afraid something else had gone wrong.”
“No. Everything’s fine. Almost there.”
The stiffness eased from her shoulders and her insides relaxed.
Just then two hands reached out and gave her a shove – hard. She lost her balance.
A shocked shriek escaped her.
*
Eric reached out to grab her and yelled, “Storey? What’s the matter?”
There was only silence.
And empty space.
Stay tuned for the next in the series!
Darkest Designs, Book III
Or enjoy a different series!
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Deadly Designs! If you enjoyed my book, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a review.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter. And if you are interested in joining my street team, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
Vampire in Denial
This is book 1 of the Family Blood Ties Saga
Get this book at your favorite vendor.
Blood doesn’t just make her who she is…it also makes her what she is.
Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn’t hard enough, Tessa’s throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can’t get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the…blood.
Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle—high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He’s smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa’s dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.
Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one.
Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial – FREE
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Vampire in Conflict
Vampire in Chaos
Vampire in Crisis
Family Blood Ties 3in1
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
In Cassie’s Corner
Faith and loyalty are tested as a young girl learns what it is to believe – in herself, in her friends, and in life after death.
Cassie’s best friend, bad boy Todd, is gone. Gone as in dead. Gone as in he’s now a ghost.
But she doesn’t realize that when he wakes her in her bedroom and begs her not to believe what they say about him. It’s not until the next day when her parents tell her about the accident that she learns the truth…
The police believe Todd was living up to the family name, drinking and driving and coming to a predictable end. It’s up to her to find out the truth and clear his name.
Todd is shocked at his sudden change in circumstances…and angry. He struggles with his new ghostly reality, realizing all he’s lost as he watches his brother build a relationship with Cassie as the two pair up to find out what really happened to him.
The truth isn’t always pretty, and Cassie has to be stronger than ever before. Especially when the whole world seems to be against her.
Gem Stone (A Gemma Stone Mystery)
A juvie kid trying to stay on the right path stumbles into trouble…
Gemma takes her camera everywhere. From juvie hall to a halfway home, the new hobby gives her a focus she’d never had before and… hope in a future. Until she takes pictures of something that could get her killed.
And not just her…after she and another juvie girl are chased by a stranger to the halfway home that same night, the other girl goes missing and Gemma knows she needs help. But who can she trust?
Not the authorities that’s for sure. Trusting them is impossible for a girl with her damaged history, and besides, who cares about a troubled kid…especially when trouble just naturally seems to find her.
About the Author
Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She’s best known for her Psychic Visions series. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres.
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system.
She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in digital and print formats.
Connect with Dale Mayer Online
Dale’s Website – www.dalemayer.com
Twitter – @DaleMayer
Facebook – facebook.com/DaleMayer.author
Also by Dale Mayer
Published Adult Books:
&nbs
p; Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday’s Child – FREE
Hide’n Go Seek
Maddy’s Floor
Garden of Sorrow
Knock, Knock…
Rare Find
Eyes to the Soul – January 20th, 2015
Now You See Her – Fall 2015
Psychic Visions 3in1
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death – March 2015
Second Chances…at Love Series
Second Chances – Part 1 – FREE
Second Chances – Part 2
Second Chances – complete book (Parts 1 & 2)
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
Broken and… Mending
Skin
Scars – February 2015
Collections
Dare to Be You…
Dare to Love…
Dare to be Strong…
RomanceX3
Standalone Novellas
It’s a Dog’s Life
Riana’s Revenge
Published Young Adult Books:
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial – FREE
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Vampire in Conflict
Vampire in Chaos
Vampire in Crisis
Family Blood Ties 3in1
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
Design series
Dangerous Designs – FREE
Deadly Designs
Darkest Designs
Design Series Trilogy
Standalone
In Cassie’s Corner
Gem Stone (a Gemma Stone Mystery)
Published Non-Fiction Books:
Career Essentials
Career Essentials: The Resume
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview
Career Essentials: 3 in 1