As the final stone rolled by, they stood, peeking out at what remained of the tower. The entire city was destroyed. Dirt, wood, stone and powder littered the street, and the whole block around the tower had been wiped out.
‘Come on, let’s go,’ Drew said.
Stella straightened. ‘Where’s Leo?’
She spun wildly, checking in every direction, before resting her eyes on the ruins. Tears streaked through her dirt stained face.
‘God please no.’
Laura was about to embrace Stella, when she noticed a figure half limping, half running towards them.
Leo.
‘Stel,’ Laura whispered, and she raised her face.
For a moment, she just stood there, staring across the street at the love of her life. Then she took off, throwing herself into her husband’s outstretched arms. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and his grip tightened around her.
Laura felt fingers lace between her own, and she knew Drew stood beside her. She didn’t look at him, just tightened her grip on his hand.
Caspian’s soul was hidden, Erebus had risen again, her Mother had sacrificed herself so they could escape and Gemma was fighting for her life.
This was war, and the Enchanted would have to be ready.
The Wicked had been weak tonight, but she was sure his army was larger, stronger. They had been training for war for seventeen years. Now that they had Cara and Erebus planned to possess her, who knew what was going to happen
Laura did, however, know one thing. She would not back down. Not until this war was won.
She watched Stella lead Leo to a rock, forcing him to sit while she examined his injuries.
‘What do we do now?’ Drew asked.
This war was not about her. It was about everyone. All the Enchanted were in danger. She was just one of the many who had been dragged into the front line.
Laura’s voice came out solid and definite.
‘We fight.’
Epilogue
July 30th 2013
The Wicked crowded together, talking amongst one another as their leader took to the stage.
‘Do you think he’ll hurt us?’ One of the Wicked asked, a Witch of only twenty with golden brown hair.
A Wizard beside her shrugged, ‘he was mad, that much I know.’
They focused their attention on the platform of the old railway station. The sky was dark, the clouds shielding the sun.
The chatter died down as their leader limped to the podium.
He stared out at his army, a look of disgust and disappointment upon his face. He stood there for a long time, the crowd quiet and waiting.
Then, Erebus spoke.
‘As I stand here today and look out at my followers, I see nothing but weaklings. Ungrateful, pathetic, cowards. You deserted your leader when he needed you most and not once did you stand your ground. Not once did you fight for our right. For our cause. I am repulsed.
‘I had a dream to rid this world of the weak. I chose you all to be my army because I thought you would be strong. I thought you would stand beside me until we won this war. My plans, they depend on my followers. On all of you. The numbers are rising and more Wicked are joining us, but if you act as you did last night, it will be the end of us. Do you want that?’ He paused, and no one spoke. ‘You all need to buck up or leave. You are either on my side, or the Enchanted’s. I am not keeping you here. I am not forcing you to serve me. If you want to leave, now is the time to do it.’ He paused for an entire minute this time, and not a single Wizard or Witch moved.
‘Okay then. You all choose to be here. You all choose to fight for me, and for what is right. Should anyone repeat last night’s events, punishment will be immediate execution. I will not have a weak army.
‘For now we will go into hiding, not because we are weak, but because we need time to train, to further strengthen our numbers. I will not have a recurrence of last night.’ His voice rose to a shout. ‘When I declare war upon the Enchanted, we will be ready to fight. Ready to win.’
The crowd broke into roars or approval, cheering for him and chanting ‘long live Erebus!’
Erebus rejoiced at the site, but a man appeared at his side. Erebus raised his hands, ushering the crowd into silence.
‘Soldiers, I would like to introduce The Sargent. He will be training you, preparing you for war.’
The crowd was shouting again, cheering for The Sargent, a stumpy man in battle gear, while he stood there proudly and drunk in the praise.
He glanced sideways at Erebus and received a nod. As the crowd continued to cheer a Wicked dragged a small, fragile girl onto the stage. She was too weak to put up any kind of a fight.
Again, Erebus hushed the crowd, ‘now, I announce our first conversion. The first Enchanted to ally themselves with us.’
‘I thought we would only turn them if they wanted to join us?’ A Witch shouted.
Erebus only smiled, ‘the Enchanted are savages. They can suffer. They can live as one of us, follow our ways and will serve us until they die. That will show them that we are a force to be reckoned with.’
Erebus turned to The Sargent, ‘show her.’
The Sargent pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and stepped towards the girl. Her head hung limp, her arms dangling at her side.
The Sargent handed her the paper.
‘Say it,’ Erebus hissed at her.
She finally lifted her head and looked over the words. She was trembling.
In a raspy voice, she whispered, ‘I hereby and forever more allege to place my faith and give my full cooperation to the Wicked of the Spirit World. They are now my allies, my family, and I shall follow them into the brightest and the darkest of days. I am Wicked.’
She closed her eyes.
A sudden flash of lightning shot from the earth and struck her, sending her sprawling into the air. Her skin glowed red and gold etching snaked their way up her arms as her body lifted higher into the sky.
Her eyes flew open, and she screamed.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank you, yes, YOU reading this right now. The fact that you not only purchased my book but took the time to read it means more to me than you will ever know. Thankyou, from the bottom of my heart.
Secondly, I would like to thank my parents who always supported my dream, despite how farfetched it seemed. Sometimes even I questioned whether I would ever finish a single book, let alone publishing it to Amazon! Special mention to my Mum who read countless versions of this story, and watched it progress from awful writing and terrible spelling mistakes, (like that one time I wrote shirt but forgot the ‘R’ and the line was meant to read ‘her shirt billowed in the wind.’) to what it now is today. I relied on your feedback more than you know and appreciate it.
Thirdly, shout out to my friends who showed interest in my dream, often asking how my writing was going, and offering to read parts and give feedback, (especially my fellow writing buddy Maddy who read the first, very awfully written, draft and gave me awesome ideas in return).
Lastly, thankyou so much to Amazon for creating this program for those of us who want to pursue our writing dreams, but just don’t have the money, experience or connections to do so. None of this would be possible without this amazing opportunity you have produced for aspiring writers. I am so grateful to you for allowing me to live my dream.
Once again, I send hugs and thankyou’s to you reading this. You are wonderful.
About Blaire Hammond
Blaire was born in a country town in Victoria, Australia. Despite having moved houses many times, she has always remained living on farms, growing up with a love of quiet country life.
Blaire graduated High School in 2015 and has been working hard to further her career in writing since. Working at her local Library has helped to do this.
Her passion for writing stems from her adoration of books, which has been present since as far back as she can remember.
&n
bsp; Her biggest inspiration comes from the books that pushed her into pursuing her passion for writing at the young age of 12, those being The Tomorrow series and The Ellie Chronicles by John Marsden. She often raves about these books, and has lost count of the number of times she has read them now. Her puppy is even named after the main character, Ellie.
Blaire is also deeply inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and anything Cassandra Clare.
Blaire hopes to continue following her dreams, strengthening her career as an Author.
You can find her here:
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Wicked
• Book Two •
The Sacrifice
Blaire Hammond
All is not as it seems;
war is fast approaching.
Coming in 2017!
Shadows of Nightfall
After Dusk
Blaire Hammond
It’s been five and a half years since Abril and his followers rose up against the rulers of the country of Athena.
He took over the Kingdom and murdered King Marther and Queen Ember, forcing their only son into hiding.
It’s been five years since the last of the Kings men and women who managed to escape that fateful night, came together and chose to protect Athena’s only rightful heir to the throne.
Together, they have been moving across the country, keeping out of the enemy’s clutches and searching for survivors; those who have yet to yielded to Abril and still believe in the lost Prince.
They have kept to the shadows, watching Abril, learning about him, strengthening their cause and training their followers, waiting for their moment to strike.
That time was now coming. And it would be arriving soon. Very soon.
Coming in 2018!
Sneak Peak
The Sacrifice,
book two in the Wicked Saga.
Prologue
August 6st 2013
Kane ruffled through his papers anxiously. He knew he had found the answer. The truth behind the girl.
Turning to his desk he hastily scribbled down an address on a piece of paper before shoving it into his pocket.
There was a knock at the door. Kane jumped, turning abruptly towards the entrance and tipping over his tea cup as he did so.
Hot liquid poured down his pant leg and he flinched with pain. Whipping a towel from the bench he wiped down his leg, shouting, ‘who is it?’
‘Open up, it’s the force.’ A rough husky voice bellowed.
Kane straightened immediately, dropping the towel.
‘Uh, just a minute.’
Taking a hold of the papers, he rushed to his armchair. Thrusting it aside, he yanked up the loose floorboard and shoved the papers down into the hole. Replacing the board, he pulled the chair back as quietly as he could.
Remembering the address in his pocket, he whipped it out, shoving it into a crack in the fireplaces hath.
Fists pounded on the door. ‘Wizard Kane Marker open this door!’
‘Yes, I’m coming.’
Kane rushed to throw his bathrobe around his shoulders, wetting his hair.
‘I’m sorry sir, I was occupied elsewhere.’
He laughed sheepishly as he opened the door, allowing a tall, strong built Wizard to push past him and into the living room.
Two guards flanked his sides, dressed in complete battle gear.
It was dark outside, Kane noticed, and wondered what guards were doing out at this hour when they were meant to be patrolling the streets.
Kane fumbled with the door handle as he struggled to close it.
‘What would this visit be in reference to?’
The tall one turned and eyed Kane.
‘I’m sure you have heard recent jail break?’
Kane nodded, ‘yes, I think everyone has heard of that.’
‘Indeed they have. But for everyone’s safety we have been conducting thorough searches of the city and houses within. We endeavour to discover how a break in was possible, and to ensure no other criminals who escaped are hiding out in someone’s basement.’
Kane’s eyes widened with shock, ‘you don’t think I am hiding them, do you? I’m an honourable Wizard. I would do nothing of the sort.’
The Enchanted Wizard cracked his knuckles as his eyes glided over the room.
‘Stephan, check the basement, Mosey, upstairs.’
‘Yes sir.’ Both guards said, marching off to fulfil their assignments.
The Wizard began wandering around the room, looking behind the couch, checking in cupboards, snooping through the bin.
Eventually he came to rest at Kane’s desk. Sifting through the papers, he rose his eyes to meet Kane’s.
‘What are these maps for?’ He asked suspiciously.
Kane wiped his sweaty hands on his robe, ‘uh I’ve just been doing some research for the school. They want to conduct a trip and asked me to find the perfect place where they could continue with their training.’
The Wizard went back to the papers, ‘and these books about the Gods?’
‘Once again, research.’ Kane laughed gingerly, in attempt to lighten the mood. ‘I’m obsessed with our protectors.’
The Enchanted picked up one of the books, flipping through the pages. As he did so, a sheet of paper fell from the pages, fluttering to the ground. The Wizard watched it as it settled onto the floorboards, only a few feet from the armchair. As he bent to retrieve it, something caught his eye.
‘What’s this?’ he asked Kane as he pushed the armchair from its place, bending down to inspect something.
Kane’s heart leapt.
‘What is what?’
‘This?’
The Wizard lifted a round object off the ground, the size of a small tennis ball.
Kane let loose a laugh and sigh of relief.
‘Oh that’s my stress ball. I use it when I’m under a lot of pressure. Helps to calm my nerves.’
This time the Wizard laughed too.
‘I need to get me one of these!’ He said chucking the ball to Kane.
Kane caught it, and watched as the armchair was pushed back over the floorboard. It was at that moment that the two guards returned.
‘All clear,’ they both confirmed.
The leader nodded, ‘sorry to bother you Mr Marker. Enjoy your night. Don’t stress yourself out too much.’
He gave Kane a wink as they made for the door. Kane stepped aside, allowing them to pass.
‘Oh, and here’s your book.’ The Wizard said, passing it back to him.
Kane took it, ‘thanks.’
‘No problem.’
He glanced down at the paper he’d recovered from the ground.
‘Wait, what is this?’
Kane looked down at the words.
God’s Sacrifice.
Kane raised his eyes to the stone hard ones of the guards.
‘I-it-I don’t-‘ he stammered.
‘What is this about?’
Kane couldn’t answer, not without giving away his knowledge of the girl.
‘Do it.’ The Wizard said to Stephan and Mosey, before turning and leaving the premises.
‘Do what?’
Kane was trembling.
That was when he saw it. The blade that was pulled from Stephan’s belt. He raised his hands in defence.
‘Come on guys, I swear I haven’t done anything.’
They had no mercy.
Kane turned, and began to run for his life.
The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) Page 26