Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1)
Page 1
Halfway House #1
Dzintra Sullivan
Arkadia
Halfway House # 1
Dzintra Sullivan
Copyright 2014 Dzintra Sullivan
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and incidents are products of the Author’s imagination and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organisations or places is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the Author. All songs, song titles and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
Cover design by Paradox Cover Designs
Formatting by Swish Design & Editing
Editing by Xterraweb
Cover image Copyright 2014
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my parents, Hilary and Paul Dunford. Look at what I did? Wowsers! Who would have thought that was on the books, huh! (Pardon the pun.) I truly hope you are proud of me, and even though Mom is in heaven I know she would be smiling brightly.
This book is also dedicated to my amazing family. My handsome husband Richard, for cooking dinner when I was buried in my writing phase, for believing in me, for loving me. My gorgeous daughters, Indica, Acacia and Azmarah, I can't express how happy you make me and how proud I am of you all. And lastly to my sweet son, Eli. What a treasure you are. Thank you for making me laugh on a daily basis little-big-man.
Acknowledgments
This has been such a mammoth journey for me, one I wouldn't have been able to accomplish without the support and help of some amazing people. I'd like to acknowledge K.E Osborn and Kaylene Osborn for introducing me into the world of authors, and taking me into their trusted circle and making me feel like family, love ya guts ladies!
I'd like to acknowledge Liz Lovelock, a fellow author now friend. We have travelled this first timers road together and I appreciate your support and friendship.
Patti Roberts, who designed the most beautiful cover I could have imagined and gave my book dream a face, thank you.
I would like to acknowledge my editor Kelly Hartigan for really understanding my characters and making me feel validated as an author.
I would like to acknowledge author Jennifer Sage for her guidance and support.
I would like to acknowledge Francessca's Romance Reviews for getting as excited as I am with cover releases and release parties, and doing an amazing job at promoting my book.
I would like to acknowledge my beta readers. Danielle Fernyhough Mason, I appreciate you always being supportive and receptive of my ideas, no matter how weird. Karen Campbell, my soul sister, I appreciate that you put up with my weirdness on a daily basis, you my darling started this, when you gave me the blank book and pen as a gift, and told me to write. I can't thank you enough for believing in me. Nadene Johnson, my other soul sister, I appreciate you in so many ways, late night phone calls, bouncing weird ideas of you, all the time you just telling me I am wonderful and creative and to keep going even when I thought I might not. Thank you with all my heart.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Connect with Me Online
About the Author - Dzintra Sullivan
Chapter One
“Omg. It’s sooooo big,’’ Arkadia thought with an ever-growing frown deepening on her face. Sitting at the kitchen table, she lifted her phone to take yet another selfie to see a hopefully different angle of her nose, some angle to show her it wasn’t as grotesquely bulbous as she thought it was. “How can someone as beautiful as I am be hideously burdened with this mountain on my otherwise perfect face?” she grumbled under her breath. The soft click of her camera captured her image from the left, the right, looking up, and looking down; she even tried the look that normally got her out of trouble, you know that look, big puppy dog eyes, looking up through your lashes, the rescue a damsel in distress look. As she looked through the images, she saw her almost white-blonde long hair falling in soft curls down upon her shoulders, her porcelain skin, pale and blemish free, and her sparkling emerald green eyes that danced in the light cast by the overhead light. Despite the obvious beauty she had been blessed with, all she could see was this hideous, bulbous, ugly mountain in the middle of her face called a nose. “AAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH! Stupid camera; stupid, stupid camera!’’ She slammed her phone down on the table, threw her body back against the hard wooden chair, and crossed her arms in frustration.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Raven asked as she walked silently into the kitchen. Arkadia jumped slightly in her chair,
“Omg, Rav, make some noise, would you? You’re a vampire, not a ghost!” She normally heard Raven, even though she made very little noise, but she was too preoccupied with her bulbous nose problem to hear her this time.
“Did you get the text, Ark? Or were you more focused on BIGGER issues?” Raven smirked as she wandered by and took a seat at the opposite end of the table. Arkadia waited for a sound, any sound, but there was nothing except for total silence; damn vampires, sneaky little blood suckers, she thought.
“What text? A text about the weather? A text about Prince Harry being caught nude at a party again? Sure won’t be a text about your boyfriend, ‘Mr. Nobody’ doesn’t have a phone does he?” Arkadia smirked as she hit a sore spot with Raven, seeing her slump into her chair, her eyes cast to the ground.
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, Arkadia,” Raven mumbled.
Arkadia sat up straight, gave her long blonde hair a slight shake, and grabbed her phone to check the messages as she replied coldly, “Sarcasm and I go together like maple syrup and bacon; everyone says no ‘til they try it and then it’s yessssss all the way”.
ON MY
WAY, BE IN THE KITCHEN.
As Arkadia read the text, she snorted. How rude is this new den mother; I don’t care who sent her and what her agenda is, I already hate her. As she slumped back into the chair, Zahmali and Emerson bounced into the room, each taking a seat next to Arkadia. They both proceeded to prattle on about what each other had been up to, but Arkadia wasn’t listening, she was just thinking about the first time she was introduced to these energetic werewolf twins.
She remembered being upstairs pretending to do her homework as she heard the screech of tires on the gravel. She remembered looking out the window and seeing this massive cop pulling Emerson out of the back of the squad car, literally dropping him at the feet of their den mother and muttering something about the government failing the next generation when they removed corporal punishment. Emerson looked so small, Arkadia immediately knew he was a shifter, what animal she wasn’t sure, but being a witch herself, you kind of just knew the signs of another species. Call it intelligence if you want, but Arkadia preferred to call it survival; it paid to know who or what you were dealing with as quickly as possible. She watched the cop squeeze his ample girth back behind the wheel of the car, chuckling as she thought the police force must have a running tab at Tim Horton’s. As the car took off down the driveway, she remembered seeing this little girl standing on the other side. She stood so tall despite her dainty frame; you could see she had the spirit of a warrior as she walked over to her twin brother, whispered softly into his ear, and comforted him from the cop’s brutal treatment. The den mother bundled them both into the house to start their transformation into independent and free members of society, unless she failed them, and then off to the island of shadows they would go.
Fear crept up her spine with the thought of the island; her own failure was at hand. If she didn’t successfully pass her exam in six months, she would be deported to the island, and no one ever came back from the island. Arkadia refocused on the twins as they spoke with such animation, putting the grim thought out of her head as she heard a car pulling into the driveway. Suddenly, silence overtook the house. “Hold on tight, guys, this ride is going to get bumpy,” she softly said.
In the distance, a car door slammed and the footsteps crossing the gravel could be heard. Arkadia rolled her eyes as she said to Raven, “Oohhh she sounds delightful; wonder how long this one will last?” Mrs. Briggs was the last den mother they had, and she had only lasted a short two months. Officially, they were told she was finding the stress too much; however, Arkadia knew it was because Emerson bit her. Arkadia didn’t know what the fuss was all about as Emerson was up to dates with his shots. Nevertheless, no one was saddened to see Mrs. Briggs go; she was loud and grumpy. Even if she was a 500-year-old witch, that was no excuse to be cruel.
A gust of fresh night air slapped Arkadia’s face and shook her from her dream; looking up, she cast her emerald green eye upon the new Den Mother as she stood in the doorway. She was smaller than Arkadia expected at a tiny five-foot-tall, if she was lucky, and a very dainty frame; the biggest thing on her was her flame-red mane of long curls that cascaded down past her shoulders. She stood there in her blue jeans and a black ‘Ramones’ T-shirt, a far funkier look than Arkadia was expecting. She almost looks nice … almost.
Suddenly, Arkadia sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with horror, as the new Den mother replied, Thank you, I try to look nice, but her lips didn’t move; the thought popped straight into Arkadia’s mind.
“Oh shit!!!! You’re an empath who can mind read?” Arkadia asked. She heard Raven laugh softly from across the table as the horror washed over her face. “Shut up, Raven, just ‘cause your thoughts are so boring you would even put the devil himself to sleep.”
The Den Mother shut the door and walked inside. “Enough, ladies. Let me introduce myself before you start judging me, alright?” She walked to the table, popped her rockabilly style handbag decorated with crystal-studded sugar skulls on the table, and took a seat.
Arkadia looked at the bag and thought, that would look so cute with my dark blue jeans.
Follow the rules and I might share, popped into her head. Arkadia’s eyes widened in horror again at the invasion of her thoughts; the time of privacy and secrets has left the building.
“My name is Eloise Mayflower,” the Den Mother spoke softly. “Yes I am an empath, which means basically I can feel your moods and emotions.” She smiled gently as she made eye contact with Raven and the twins. “And yes, as Arkadia mentioned, I am able to read and reply directly to your mind, though I do try my best to keep this to a minimum, but that would depend on how deceptive you were trying to be.” Eloise reached into her bag, took out her black notebook, and opened it to refer to some notes she had jotted down. “Arkadia is our witch with spell confusion issues.” She glanced at Arkadia and smiled softly as Arkadia slouched back into her chair with her arms crossed and mouth tightly shut. Eloise continued, “Raven, our vampire, who seems to have an unnatural aversion to the sight of blood. “Looking up, she smiled gently at Raven with a nod of acknowledgement. “Okay, no blood, sounds problematic; and lastly, we have the twin werewolves. Hello, Emerson. Hello, Zahmali. It is so wonderful to meet you both. ”She smiled at the twins, and Zahmali grinned back, flashing her pearly white teeth.
“I am older than him, just so you know; I am older, by two minutes, which is still older, just so you know.” Zahmali spoke a million miles an hour as her brother Emerson just rolled his eyes and snorted. Eloise shut her book with a soft chuckle at Zahmali’s excitement, looked at the kids, and took a deep breath.
“Just a couple of rules you will need to know.” Eloise pulled out a sheet of paper and stuck it to the fridge with the rules on it. It read:
Rule 1: You are required to always let me know where you are. If I have to hunt for you, you will be grounded both physically and magically. No exceptions.
Rule 2: You must attend school every day. No exceptions.
Rule 3: Study sessions for your paranormal safety exam are twice a week. No exceptions.
Rule 4: Treat each other with respect and love at all times. No exceptions.
Rule 5: There is no problem to big that I won’t help you with. If you need me, I will ALWAYS be there. No exceptions.
Arkadia jumped up and yelled, “Oh my God, who do you think you are? I don’t have to do crap; I don’t have to follow nothing, and I don’t have to do shit for you. NO EXCEPTIONS!’’ She stomped off outside, slamming the door behind her. Eloise took a deep breath and smiled at the remaining kids.
“I am very happy to be here. Always remember rule five, it’s the most important. Now let’s call it a night; I am very tired after my journey. I’ll see myself to the spare bedroom, and I’ll see you all in the morning.” She grabbed her bag and as she walked by Raven, she touched her shoulder sending a calming sensation through her; she did the same to the twins on her way out the room.
Raven glanced at the twins and said, “Well … that could have been worse.” Zahmali and Emerson chuckled as they all headed to their rooms.
Chapter Two
Wishing she had grabbed her black bomber jacket on the way out, Arkadia wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms with her hands. How dare that woman come in and start ordering me around? Who in the name of all things magical does she think she is? Arkadia’s mind was like an out of control car, jumping from thought to thought as she wandered the dark street not truly knowing where she was headed; she just knew she didn’t want to go home to ... her.
The cold air had a bone-chilling arctic bite to it, cutting through the light sweater she was wearing. She knew she needed to find somewhere sheltered, somewhere out of the wind so she could think, work out what the hell she was going to do about this … this … intrusion. Turning the corner at the end of the street, she suddenly knew where her feet had taken her; somewhere she always felt a sense of peace. Arkadia looked up and read the sign, ‘Huntsville Cemetery’. She knew the gate would be locked, but then Arkadia had be
en here many times after hours and had already created a hidden hole. She bent in the wire down toward the left corner of the cemetery’s fence, ducked her head, and crept through.
Arkadia took a deep breath as she stood tall. She looked around at all the beautiful grave stones; the deep blue hue of the light cast from the corner street light added to the creepy feeling of being in a cemetery late at night. Arkadia walked until she found her favorite grave; it was of a devoted mother, grandmother, and great grandmother named Beatrice Spencer. She was a simple human woman, deeply loved by her family, and happened to have the same Christian name as her own mother, whom she missed to the point her heart hurt.
Taking a seat next to the grave, Arkadia took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. ”What am I going to do about … what was her name again? Smelly cheese? Bag of peas? Eloise, that’s it … Eloise. For a woman who appeared to want to wreck her life completely, it was quite a pretty name. If only I could get a pass on my stupid PSEs, the ‘Paranormal Safety Exams’, then I could be free of this house, free of Eloise Mayflower, free, free, freeeeee.’ Arkadia knew she had one more shot at her PSEs, one more chance before she was sent away, silenced forever; a shiver ran down Arkadia’s spine that had nothing to do with the cold gust of air that just whipped her cheek.
She picked up a stick from the ground; it was about the thickness of her thumb and as long as a school ruler. She held it tight at the base, wiggled to get comfortable and crossed her legs under herself. She was determined to set the stick on fire. The fire element was one of her favorites, and with her chattering teeth, Arkadia thought a little fire might be just what the doctor ordered. As she slowed her breathing and concentrated on the tip of the stick, Arkadia began to whisper,