“Do you think you can best me, child? Look, your protectors have no idea I have you.”
Catching Theron’s scent again, I turned my head and dashed towards him.
“You think you are a match for me?” He spun to face me.
“She knows she is no match for me.” Thanatos appeared above me. “I give her kudos for being fast. And she does seem to have mastered flying.”
“Your coven is dying, and you run?” I yelled at Theron.
He blinked, and I jumped into the air, aiming my legs at the box positioned under his arm. Being as quick as me, he ducked and rolled away, and my foot missed its mark.
“This is ridiculous child’s play. You have no idea how to save your people.” Thanatos’s voice boomed over my head.
He wanted me. He would’ve killed me already if he didn’t. And here I was giving him exactly what he desired. I put all my energy into running back to the group and got halfway there before the throbbing in my head stopped my movement.
“See.”
There was a break in the pain, and I shot off again.
“You resist because you do not understand.”
Fighting the agony threatening to overtake me, I loped into the clearing to the bodies locked in various stages of combat. Turning to face my pursuers, I let out a guttural call. The earth shook beneath me and Theron fell to the grass. A wind tunnel formed around me, lifting me off the ground. I struggled against the pressure of the gale, but to no avail. Thanatos’s form appeared under me.
Seeing Elizabeth hurling to Thanatos, I screamed. The wind ceased, and I fell to the grass. Looking up, I saw Thanatos hold his palm up to Elizabeth and shut it. Her body dropped.
Running to her, I picked up her limp body.
Thanatos loomed over us. “Anyone who threatens me or my son will fall.”
“Father!” Theron’s voice rang out.
Chalondra, Orm, and Hunter stood in a circle behind Thanatos. Above their heads, I saw Theron seemingly frozen in mid-air, a cyclone surrounding him.
Spinning, Thanatos locked his gaze on Hunter. I jumped over the High Priest, landing in front of Hunter to block the energy wave.
“You will not win this fight.” Mother’s voice erupted from the chaos, and silence descended.
I scanned the crowd, realizing all of Thanatos’s coven members lay lifeless on the ground. Wide-eyed, Thanatos surveyed the clearing. Looking at his son, Thanatos closed his eyes and punched the dirt at his feet. The ground trembled, and I nearly lost my footing.
Diverting her attention to Thanatos, Chalondra held her hand out to him. Each of them grimaced, bearing the waves of energy hitting them. I summoned the wind, aiding Orm and Hunter in their effort to keep Theron trapped. With a nod to me, Hunter moved to stand beside Chalondra. He raised his hand towards Thanatos, who dropped to one knee.
“We do not wish to kill you. We want the lance,” Chalondra called to Thanatos.
Orm and I instructed the winds to lower Theron to the ground.
“Sonia!” Thanatos screamed and looked to the sky.
Lightning cracked in the distance, and the wind picked up, hurling sand dense enough to block my vision. When the squall died and the sand dropped out of the air, a woman stood beside Chalondra.
“My son and grandson will be released.”
Flames emitted from the trees, surrounding us in a ring of fire.
“Sonia.” Chalondra’s and Orm’s voices were barely a whisper.
Thanatos rose and glided to Sonia, dipping his chin slightly. Orm nodded, and I released the wind tunnel encircling Theron.
Quick as a whip, Theron bolted to Hunter. “Your betrayal will not be forgotten, Alena.” Theron pulled a knife and slid it across Hunter’s throat.
“Until we meet again.” Sonia’s voice echoed through the clearing.
I blinked, and Sonia, Thanatos, and Theron were gone, the sword with them. Hunter dropped to the ground. Darting to him, I tore a shred of my dress and pressed it to the wound. Sending healing energy to the skin, I tried to get the bleeding to stop. Cradling Hunter’s ashen face, the dream from the day we’d met replayed in my head. This was my fault. I led him to this fate. I couldn’t lose him.
“No, Hunter, come back.”
Fahim wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “Would you mind if he could always find you, dear?”
“No, of course not. What do I do?”
“Use your fangs, give him your blood.”
Releasing my teeth and digging them into my wrist, I pressed my wound to Hunter’s mouth.
“How didn’t I know this?” I looked to Orm and then Mother.
“We have bigger problems. I am out of juice and so is Chalondra.” Orm eyes darted to the flames surrounding us.
“We have to get out of here.” Aaron ran through the space.
I called to the air, drawing the heat from it. The water in the air condensed, forming a gentle rain. “What happened? Who was that?” I yelled at Orm.
“I thought her long dead.”
Hunter roused in my lap. “How is it raining?”
“You’re okay.”
“The last thing I remember is Theron slitting my throat. How am I alive? Did someone get him?”
“I healed you but Theron escaped with the sword.”
“Alena.” Mother’s gaze bore down on me. “Look at what you have done with your lies. Elizabeth is dead. Theron almost killed Hunter. You will be exposed, and I’ll be tried for treason. Theron will use the sword to raise Hell on Earth. I rule a kingdom of embers. All for what? A boy you fancy?”
“Mother.” I pleaded for her forgiveness.
“Queen, if I may.” Fahim crossed the space to us. “As for me and my family”—he motioned to the other vampires gathered in the smoke-filled meadow—“we swear to keep your secret and protect your family.”
“You are wrong, Queen.” Chalondra looked up to the sky. “All is not lost. Theron has the sword, but he is not a Child of Light.”
“We do not have a trinity. I have searched the globe. It will be a thousand years before this opportunity comes again.”
“Again, you are misinformed. We have two, and the third lives. She is weak but not lost.”
My eyes locked on Hunter’s. Ivy.
The End
For a preview of the second Kingdom Journals
Vol. 2 –Camille’s Story, Kingdom of Darkness
coming on the summer solstice, June 21, 2017, read on!
Readers count on reviews to help them make good book selections. If you enjoyed Kingdom of Embers, please let others know what you liked about it on the site you purchased it. You can leave reviews on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00YHN5Q4G, or on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14055439.Tricia_Copeland.
About the Author
Tricia Copeland grew up in Georgia and now lives in Colorado with her family. Her books include the clean new adult Being Me series, Is This Me?, If I Could Fly, Thinking You Know Me, and the final installment, Being Me, as well as a young adult novellas Drops of Sunshine and Lovelock Series Native One, found in The Butterfly Box. If she’s not out running, you can find Tricia at www.triciacopeland.com or on your favorite social media.
If you’re interested in learning more about aromatherapy and in the CALM and FOCUS scents specially blended by Christy Hires for Kingdom of Embers find them at www.SuperiorEarthEssentials.com.
Kingdom of Darkness
Kingdom Journals 2 – Camille’s Story
“That must have been some dream last night. Was the guy hot?” Tyler taunted me as he sat down at the breakfast table.
“It’s not like that.” I slapped him on the shoulder.
“Camille, Tyler, seriously”—Mom scolded—“do you have to start the weekend fighting?” She squatted down so we were eye to eye. “You had a dream? Why didn’t you say something?”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Well, what was it about? Who was in it?”
The
dreams had started four weeks before, but I hadn’t told Mom because I knew she would freak out and double my counseling sessions. The first was a scene with a girl and her mother at a library. They studied a boy who sat at a table reading. The next day the girl and boy met at the library again. I never heard words, only saw scenes. It wasn’t like I thought the dreams were real, but it fascinated me the way the storyline continued.
I’d had imaginary friends when I was younger. I got so out of control with the pretend scenarios Mother put me on medication. She moved us from Los Angeles to the Arizona desert, seeking a healthier environment. Then she relocated us to Cheyenne, Santa Fe, and Bismarck, trying to find a solution to my health problems. Bismarck had been better but still not perfect, and we packed up and relocated to Iceland, the healthiest country on the planet. Tyler had pushed for Honolulu, but in the end, cost of living won out.
Reykjavik seemed to have solved all my problems. We’d been there over a year, and I hadn’t had any episodes. Then the dreams started. Granted they were just that, fictitious stories created by the overactive limbic part of my brain. My research indicated this to be the emotional part that gets highly active during REM sleep, when our prefrontal cortex, the mastermind of the brain, rests. The limbic portion of human brains caused emotional, vivid, irrational scenarios to play out in our sleep.
My dreams were more like a silent movie, continuing where they’d left off the previous night. Yes, the plot included a girl who didn’t eat normal food save sushi, avoided human contact, and had witch-like powers. The boy developed these powers and had an evil half-brother. So of course, they couldn’t be real. The whole issue was that, even with medication, I’d had visions of my imaginary friends after we’d left LA. The girl and boy, Violet and Chase, searched for me and sat outside my door waiting for me to come play. The doctor switched my medication and the hallucinations stopped just before my fourth birthday, and I hadn’t had them since. I wouldn’t have remembered the scenarios so vividly, except each time we moved and I saw a new psychiatrist, he or she reviewed my history.
For the past month, I’d watched the characters on mute. But the previous night’s vision, or whatever it was, ended with a name I heard clear as day, as if the people were in my room. Ivy, the girl and boy recited together. It was the pretend name my imaginary friends and I created for me. As soon as the sound of the name vibrated through my head, I’d woken, chill bumps covering my body.
Look for Kingdom of Darkness, Kingdom Journals Volume 2 – Camille’s Story, on the summer solstice, June 21, 2017.
More books from Tricia
Drops of Sunshine – A young adult paranormal novella
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
-Buddha
Working as lifeguard at a camp for the blind seems like the perfect escape for Nina. But a few perceptive kids can hear her thoughts. Can embracing her truth help her heal and reveal possibilities she never imagined? Find out at www.triciacopeland.com.
The Butterfly Box
LOVELOCK ONES: Native One– a Lovelock Chronicles novella
All proceeds benefit Doctors Without Borders
Despite unparalleled global warming and mandatory genetic typing, Jema and Troy’s high school experience in Port Orford, Oregon seems decent enough. But as a second worldwide flu epidemic threatens, their parents send them to a remote Nevada community. At Lovelock, an ancient cave transformed into a base camp, they realize Jema’s sister has contracted the virus. Jema and Troy must decide whether to risk exposing the group to save Nave. Will they jeopardize many for one? Find out at www.triciacopeland.com.
LOVELOCK ONES: Bred One (Coming January 2018)
Troy doesn’t especially care for Commander Butler or Lovelock but being assigned to the supply team with Jema made it tolerable. When Jema is kidnapped during a routine pick up, she learns just how high the stakes are for Troy and herself. An elaborate plan for disseminating a cure for the deadly AALC puts them in harm’s way again. Allegiances aren’t what they appear and Jema and Troy must choose who to trust.
Being Me Series Book 1
Is This Me?
Have you ever chosen a path that led you astray?
Amanda has no trouble choosing a college or picking a major. What she does have a problem with is what she would have least expected, a guy. Smart and sexy, Doug is focused on school responsibilities and post-graduation plans. Their paths intersect and Amanda must accept his help or risk losing her scholarship. Determined to maintain appearances, Amanda begins to lie to family and friends. The ease at which she repeatedly deceives those closest becomes disturbing and leaves her questioning: “Is this me?”
Can Amanda find her way out of her contrived world?
Find out at www.triciacopeland.com!
KIngdom of Embers (Kingdom Journals Book 1) Page 25