by H. M. Gooden
Cat and Vanessa shook their heads with amusement at Evelyn's focus, following behind her and the two love dragons. While everyone looked disheveled, it wasn't too far removed from what would be expected at a New Year's Eve party after a few hours of celebrating. Cat looked more alive and Vanessa a little wilder, but in a sexy way. Evelyn had escaped most of the fight, so was relatively unscathed in appearance, and Jake and Mai were soaked but joined at the hip, so it was unlikely anyone would notice or care.
Cat followed behind her friends, looking around in awe at the sight of the battlefield, currently hidden by the darkness of the night from public notice, unable believe that they'd done it. They'd beat an ancient evil it had taken a god to defeat in the past. Cat had become the physical embodiment of a phoenix while fighting alongside two dragons, her sister, and her friend, each powerful in their own way.
She could feel in her soul that Dub was gone, dissolved. Whatever had happened, he wouldn't be slipping away and hiding this time. He was destroyed. She'd done it, as Robin had promised, and they hadn't needed him this time after all. She still didn't know how, but it was over. Life would return to being quiet now, but then what? It seemed as though her path was set. It had begun with Declan, but after the events of the last few months, Cat knew that this was far from over. Her calling was to fight darkness in its various forms from now on. She was lucky that she had an amazing team to work with. Sister, friends, and an old god with a mischievous streak who for whatever reason had promised to be available when they really needed help.
Yet despite all that, as she picked her way through the debris, thankful again for the comfortable boots she'd chosen to wear, a feeling of disquiet passed over her. Something felt unfinished.
Where did Dub come from?
She suddenly realized she didn't know. Pushing the thought away when she saw that they'd arrived, she smiled at her friends as they entered the party. Tonight, it was time to celebrate.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The next few days were anticlimactic. With the destruction of Dub, life was again pleasant. Everyone was sleeping well, Jake and Mai were inseparable, and Evelyn's dreams had stopped. Mai planned to continue working on the TV series if possible, mostly to ensure that she could spend all of her time with Jake. She was working on getting her high school diploma as well and had started the difficult job of getting all her legal papers in order.
Technically, Mai was an illegal alien, as she was born a century earlier and had no current birth certificate. In a weird twist, Kevin was able to help her out. Being the creepy dark person that he was, he knew people, and for a hefty sum of money was able to obtain the necessary papers. Fake IDs, birth certificates, and passports were no issue for him. This was as frightening as it was helpful, and the girls made sure to pay him the full amount of cash immediately so that they hopefully wouldn't owe him any favours down the road.
Vanessa continued to shine on the show and as she'd predicted, she was asked to become one of the main characters. Her role was written to get larger for the rest of the season and as the show was picked up for a second year, it looked like her career had started to climb. Cat and Evelyn despondently said goodbye to their friends on the weekend, as school started again on Monday. Evelyn was slightly more depressed than Cat, as she'd also had to say goodbye to Dustin. Cat felt bad for her, until Evelyn later shared with her that he was a sweet boy and a good time, but it wasn't love or anything.
Cat was moping because she'd miss Vanessa and Mai, but also because it was over. While they'd been in prep mode she'd had a sense of purpose but now she felt as if she'd been cut adrift. She knew it was probably temporary, but really missed being goal driven. Part of her hoped it wouldn't be long in between battles, but she knew it was the new part, the phoenix, that was itching for a fight. She'd have to deal with the bird of prey being inside her from now on, subconsciously seeking out darkness to defeat, constantly striving to light up the night.
DRIVING BACK THROUGH a grey California winter day, the girls talked lightly about school and the months still remaining, including the way their movement was restricted by having to attend based on the schedule of normal high school.
"What if we don't go back?" Evelyn suddenly asked.
Cat briefly looked away from the road at her.
"What do you mean? Our parents would kill us!"
Evelyn shook her head impatiently. "That's not what I mean. I mean, what if we change it so we that we can finish high school by correspondence? Or like Mai, by distance ed? We could get our diplomas early, or even on time, but on our own schedule? Actually move to San Francisco?"
Cat looked back at Evelyn, stunned.
"I've never thought of doing that. Do you think we could? I agree, school kind of chafes right now, but how would we afford it? What about college or university?"
Evelyn shook her head, dismissing her concerns.
"Those things are different, more flexible. You can take evenings or correspondence, or not even go for that matter. Our work is here, Cat, and it's important. We have to live in this world, I totally agree, but I don't want to be bound by these stupid schedules anymore. I think it's probably too late for this year, but what if we tried for next year? Move in with Vanessa and Mai? Be the fabulous foursome?"
Cat shook her head while she considered the idea.
"Oh Evelyn, I don't know. It sounds great, but I'm sure there are things we aren't thinking of. Not that I want to be in school. God, I hate group projects! But what about our parents?"
Evelyn shrugged. "My mom just wants to see me finish school and get a job that pays the bills. Now that my powers have started to come in I think I might be able to start using them to make some cash, by being a medium or psychic, or something like that. People pay tons of money for that crap, from people who have zero actual abilities. I think I could run that type of business easily. I'm sure my mom would support that, maybe even help me out."
Cat laughed. Of all the crazy ideas, this one kind of made sense. Evelyn would totally be awesome at running her own business.
"You'd have to learn things like tarot, palm reading, and other stuff like that. Are you ready for that? There's an image to uphold, after all."
Evelyn nodded. "I've already thought about that. No problem. My mom can teach me all the physical stuff, hoo doon etc. And she has friends that can show me the other stuff. I'll see if Mr. Grayson has any ideas too, but I think I'm ready."
Cat nodded and they spent the rest of the ride problem discussing the idea. By the time they arrived home, they'd decided to finish the year and try to get things started to finish grade twelve in San Francisco. Neither was attached to their particular school for anything other than each other and after everything else they'd been through, they wanted to stay together. Cat dropped Evelyn off at home and they hugged tightly before going their separate ways, dreaming of the future.
HAPPY PARENTS HUGGED grateful girls and evening fell. In the deepness of the darkness and in the depths of sleep, Cat found herself tossing and turning. Images of Dub's life kept intruding into dreams of more mundane activities and Cat was disoriented to find herself standing on a cliff in the dark.
She felt the pounding of waves crashing around an old, gnarled tree with roots reaching deep into the rocks, visible in areas where the boulders had fallen into the sea. She was confused and scared when she saw blood dripping from the tree.
Then she heard the loudest, most bitter howling she could imagine. It made her drop her to her knees, forcing her to cover her ears. When she was able to look up after the noise had subsided, she found the tree glaring at her with inhuman obsidian eyes staring at her from out of the trunk.
"You!"
The tree spit the word at her from a mouthless face.
"You will pay for what you have done!"
Cat stepped backwards and felt herself falling, falling, falling. She woke up, lying halfway on the floor beside her bed, wide awake with her heart racing.
What the hell
was that?
She sat there in the silence, heart still high up in her throat. Slowly, she felt it sink back down, and realized that this was the repercussion she'd been dreading. This was where Dub had come from, and the twisted darkness that she'd seen on that desolate cliff wanted revenge.
It wasn't over.
ALSO BY H. M. GOODEN
The Rise of the Light Series
Dream of Darkness, Book 1
The Stone Dragon, Book 2
The Phoenix and the Witch, Book 3
Dragons are forever, Book 4 (prequel to upcoming spin-off series)
The Raven and The Witch Hunter, Book 5
Zahara's Quest, Book 6, coming 2019
Evolution of Evelyn, Book 7, coming 2019
The Cradle of Dreams, Book 8, coming 2019
The Raven and the Witch Hunter series
The Raven and The Witch Hunter
The Raven and The Witch Hunter: Volume 2 The Spirit of Big Bear
The Raven and The Witch Hunter: Volume 3 The Wedding
The Raven and The Witch Hunter: Volume 4 Honeymoon and Full Moon Blues, coming December 2018
Short stories in the Rise of the light series
Mai’s first date
Fiona’s gift
Published in Anthologies
Sweet Candy Delights- Cat's Halloween surprise, Love at first Fight
A Hauntingly Romantic Winter- A Winters Tale
WATCH FOR MORE NEWS on upcoming adventures on H. M. Gooden's site, https://www.hmgoodenauthor.com, or any of her other social media sites.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
2017 by H. M. Gooden
Cover design by Miguel A Ereza
Edits by Simon Rose @ simon-rose.com
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior express written permission of the publisher and the copyright owner except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or paper editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of author's rights is much appreciated. Published in Canada by H. M. Gooden.
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Did you love The Stone Dragon? Then you should read The Phoenix and the Witch by H. M. Gooden!
Fresh from their triumph against Dub in San Francisco, the girls are content to return to their normal lives, unaware that their fight against the darkness is not over.
Although they succeeded in destroying their previous adversaries, another threat has risen in a far away country.
This time, they must travel to Edinburgh to confront the darkest of all evils.
The origin.
Will they succeed in fighting back the dark or will they be left irrevocably changed?
As the conclusion to the original trilogy, this adventure will set the course for everything in their lives and they will learn that even their friends may not be entirely what they seem.
Read more at H. M. Gooden’s site.
About the Author
H. M. Gooden has always loved the world of books, but over the last few years a new story has begged to be told, and as a result, this series was born.
In between dealing with children and work, the majority of the actual writing happens between four and six am and involves multiple cups of coffee for inspiration.
You can always find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub and Goodreads.
I always love to hear from readers!
Read more at H. M. Gooden’s site.