Tala Prophecy: The Complete Series
Page 1
Table of Contents
Title Page
Tala Prophecy
Chasing Memories
Prologue
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
Chasing Shadows
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
Chasing Destiny
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
Chasing Eternity
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
Epilogue
About the Author
Tala Prophecy Series
by Tia Silverthorne Bach
Including:
Chasing Memories
Book 1
Copyright 2013 © Tia Silverthorne Bach
First Published April 23, 2013
Chasing Shadows
Book 2
Copyright 2013 © Tia Silverthorne Bach
First Published May 7, 2014
Chasing Destiny
Book 3
Copyright 2015 © Tia Silverthorne Bach
First Published November 12, 2015
Chasing Eternity
Book 4
Copyright 2016 © Tia Silverthorne Bach
First Published May 26, 2016
License Notes
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be copied or re-distributed in any way. Author holds all copyright.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design, edited, and formatted by Jo Michaels
of INDIE Books Gone Wild
Published by Tia Silverthorne Bach
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.
Tala Prophecy
Ancient Power rises, unfolding in the cusp
Of a full moon, eclipsed in darkness,
Foretold within a dream.
She witnessed blood covenants,
Hers and theirs converge.
Sorrow one spills forth victory,
unleashing demonic rivalry,
a new breed of soldiers,
hellsmouth pulses with blood thirst.
Sorrow two fulfills the final battle,
Merging creature and white blood,
One of flame, one of night,
At eighteen years it will commence,
Spiritual warrior and power,
Will bring an end to the lawless ones.
If light encompasses,
Those with wicked two,
Will then have four for evermore.
Those filled with love,
Will find life everlasting.
But if evil conquers,
Life endless too shall be,
Hell’s gates will burst open,
And Satan’s army will spill out.
Reagan strained to see anything in the pitch black of the tent. It was her first time out of Colorado, and she’d been waiting for a taste of something different for a long while. She’d spent the day hiking around Yellowstone Park with her family, experiencing nature at its most beautiful, and she was having a good time despite her initial concern about sleeping outdoors with God knows how many species of animals and insects.
Dad swore he knew which trails were safe and which weren’t. A longtime hunter, Steven Cooper spent every Saturday evening with a beer in hand and prey on the brain. With each beer, his tales of narrow escapes and ‘taking down the big one’ grew grander and more ostentatious. Mom talked him out of hanging the stuffed elk head in the main living room, with its creepy, dead eyes following at every turn, but Reagan shuddered knowing it resided in their basement. With all the books she’d read, she could totally imagine it coming back to life, clunking up the stairs, and bursting through her door with a desire for revenge.
Dad also swore their campsite was safe, even though it bordered on a restricted zone. Park signs were everywhere warning campers to stay in approved areas. But Dad was fearless; or at least he claimed to be. However, since his guns were loaded and he’d been checking them all day, Reagan wasn’t so sure.
Even though it was July 3, it was freezing. Midnight found Reagan and her brother, Sam, huddled in their down sleeping bags. Mom and Dad were a few feet away in their own tent.
She’d just dozed off when the noises began. For a moment, she was afraid, but fear turned to disgust when she realized what her parents were doing just a few yards away. Determined to think of something else, she reached over to tap her brother’s shoulder and see if he wanted to play cards or something—anything to avoid listening to her parents any longer. When she touched him, a portion of his sleeping bag rolled down revealing his secret weapons: earphones and an iPod.
No reason to bother him, he cheats anyway, she thought. She pulled out her newest book and a flashlight, but hesitated when she went to pull open the cover. It was way too dark and quiet to read a paranormal book. The last thing she needed was images of vampires and werewolves in her dreams. While she loved the genre, she decided reading a scary novel probably wasn’t the best idea. She tucked it away and sighed. Sharing a tent with a little brother as a seventeen-year-old girl wasn’t her idea of fun.
A yawn escaped, forcing her to acknowledge sleep was the best option. She popped a few Benadryl to help her sleep—a trick Mom taught in the past—cuddled further into the thirty-below sleeping bag, put her head on the pillow, and threw an arm over her exposed ear.
It didn’t take long for the medicine to kick in and for her to drop off.
Screaming jolted her awake some time later. For a brief moment, she was confused. Am I still asleep? She realized, with increasing horror, the screaming was real.
In a Benadryl-induced fog, she sat upright, al
most fainting from the dizziness the sudden change in position caused. Reaching over to check on her brother, she let out as gasp when her hand found nothing but an empty sleeping bag. He wasn’t there.
Her heart began to race and her eyes darted around the tent.
As she scrambled out to find him, something hit her from behind and she fell forward, getting a mouthful of dirt. A burning raked down her back and across her right arm, feeling every bit like the time she stuck her hand to a hot iron. She screamed as the agonizing pain engulfed her. Her world went black.
She fought her way through the darkness, pain, and the sound of screaming. It took every ounce of energy left to open her eyes. Hazy light filtered in and a face came into focus.
Reagan managed to croak out a single word: “Mom?”
“Honey, thank God!” Mom jumped out of her chair and screamed for a nurse before turning back. “I’m so glad you’re awake. Your dad and I have been worried sick.”
A nurse barged through the door. “Ms. Cooper? What’s wrong?”
Mom pointed to Reagan. “She’s up!”
Moving to the bedside, the nurse began writing things on Reagan’s chart.
“What happened?” Reagan slurred. She tried to lift her arm to no avail. Why am I so weak and hazy? The last thing I remember was screaming, she thought. “Oh my God! Mom, where’s Sam?”
Mom’s eyebrows drew together, almost touching at the bridge of her nose, and her lips pressed into a thin line. Tears ran down her face and dropped off her chin as she locked eyes with her daughter. “Something awful’s happened.”
A Few Weeks Earlier
Life in a small town could be so boring. Nothing exciting. Ever.
Reagan sat in her room painting her toenails Vintage Vixen—a dark purple bordering on black. She was meticulous, careful to apply several coats. Lord knows her mother would never spring for a Saturday at a nail salon, so Reagan was on her own. Time stood still, as it always seemed to in Superior, Colorado.
A small town between Denver and Boulder, Superior was a utopia of involved parents and good kids. At least, they were good on the surface. Sure, the mall was close, and Boulder had its share of loonies and interesting folk, but Superior was just what its name implied: of higher grade and quality. Often ranked in the top ten places to live in the country, according to Money Magazine, Superior residents lived close enough to see the majesty of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains but far enough away from city life to avoid high crime and congestion.
Serena and Aspen, Reagan’s best friends, had never set foot outside Colorado. To be fair, neither had she, but she dreamed outside of it all the time. Her family was planning a trip to Yellowstone in the summer, so she’d get her chance to leave.
“Reagan! Serena and Aspen are here,” her mother called from downstairs.
Two toenails away from perfection, she begrudgingly put down her tools and headed downstairs. She could hear their voices and her mother’s insane attempts to retain her former coolness. A self-confidence she swore existed during her own teenage years, but something Reagan never personally witnessed.
“Are you ready?” Serena asked. Clearly Reagan’s choice of a dark purple Juicy Couture sweatshirt didn’t qualify as ready.
“Jacob would like it,” Reagan said, and flipped her hair for effect.
“Not sure he’d love the vibes from your Victoria-hair, though,” Aspen said.
“Well, neither of you have Bella hair, so no Edward!” Reagan threw back, continuing the Twilight theme. She had a love-hate relationship with her long, curly red hair. Still, in a sea of blondes, she was unique. She heard her mom, who was from a small town near Atlanta, often say Superior must’ve gotten an influx of Swedes at some point—she’d never seen so many blondes in her life.
“I still say Jasper. That southern accent. Whew! Is it hot in here, girls?” Susie Cooper asked, waving her hand back and forth in front of her face.
Reagan could feel her face getting warm, and she wanted to beg her mom not to speak. Turning toward the stairs, Reagan mumbled, “I’ll be right back.” She rushed to finish her toes, stuck them into a pair of sandals, grabbed her purse, and hurried back downstairs. “Okay, guys, let’s go.” She shot her mom a go-find-your-own-friends look. At first, Reagan loved sharing the details of the Twilight series, House of Night series, and City of Bones trilogy with her mom, but was beginning to reconsider.
“I’ll DVR Vampire Diaries tonight,” Mom called after them.
“Your mom is so cool,” Aspen said as they were walking out the door. “My mom reads her book club crap and nothing else. I caught her reading some book called The Elegance of the Hedgehog the other night. What the hell?”
“Trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Reagan said and pulled out her phone when she heard People are Strange drifting from her purse. So maybe her not-so-cool Mom did introduce Reagan to a great vampire classic, The Lost Boys. That movie was the beginning of her paranormal interest.
“Is it Dex?” Aspen cooed.
“You love him so much, you can have him,” Reagan snarled. Like usual, she was unimpressed. Boys began to pay attention to her starting in about the sixth grade, much to her dad’s chagrin. Although she wasn’t overly endowed, her boobs had popped before most of the other girls in middle school and caused quite the reaction with the males in class.
Dex’s text was simple: PARTY @8 2MORROW. I’LL PICK U UP @7.
He didn’t ask if she wanted to go, just gave instructions, like usual. And, like always, his improper use of the English language caused her to sneer at the screen.
No more than ten minutes down the road, another text came through; this one from her mother: DON’T FORGET TO PICK UP YOUR BROTHER AT 8.
“Stupid brother. Why do I have to be his taxi service?” Reagan mumbled.
“Your brother’s cute. In a few years…” Aspen said with a sheepish grin.
“I know, right!” Serena squealed. They high-fived.
Reagan yelled, “Gross!” Thinking about one of her friends ever dating Sam was repulsive.
Still, Reagan’s brother wasn’t all that bad. It just sucked being a junior running around with her freshman brother and his friends all the time. All they saw were boobs. They’d snicker whenever she was around them. Serena and Aspen thought it was fun to watch them drool; Reagan didn’t. She couldn’t wait for her brother to get his license so she’d be free, but that was still a couple of years away. With two working parents, Sam’s only hope of going anywhere was his sister.
“Let’s talk clothes before we get to the mall. Are you and Dex coming to the end of the year party tomorrow night at Clare’s?” Aspen asked.
“I guess so. I just got a text from Dex saying he was picking me up at seven.” Reagan seethed with the thought of being told what to do. “Guess that means we’re going.”
“What’s up with you two anyway? You don’t seem that into him anymore,” Serena said.
“I don’t know,” Reagan answered. When Dex first asked her out she was so excited. He was gorgeous, the star quarterback—even as a junior—and every girl at school wanted him. Hell, she’d wanted him. They made the perfect pair, the image of a high school movie couple. Cheerleader and football star. It was classic.
“There’s not a hotter guy at Monarch, so hold on and enjoy the ride,” Aspen said. Then she and Serena giggled and exchanged a glance. Aspen added, “How is the ride, anyway?”
Reagan blushed. It was no secret she’d slept with Dex for the first time a few weeks before. Reagan found it lackluster, but her friends told her the first time always felt like that. Her second time hadn’t been much better, but she’d stopped sharing information. What if it’s me?
“Back to clothes,” Serena said, seeming to sense her friend’s desire for a change of subject. “Clare has a swimming pool and a hot tub, so new bikinis are definitely in order. Then, we need some cute dresses to go over.”
The rest of the car ride was filled with talk of clothing
. Reagan was relieved. It was a nice distraction from figuring out her feelings for Dex.
ↄↄↄↄↄ
The doorbell rang at exactly seven. Dex was always on time. Reagan was braiding her hair and wasn’t about to rush downstairs.
“Reagan, Dex is here,” her mother called. Reagan noticed her mother had a higher pitched voice whenever Dex was around. It was embarrassing. Reagan made a mental note to speak with her mom about it.
Reagan made her way downstairs and ran into Sam at the bottom of the steps.
“Dex said he’d take me out this weekend and throw the ball with me,” Sam said. His excitement was obvious as he bounced from foot to foot.
Perfect, Dex, suck up to my parents and my brother. “That’s cool,” she said.
Sam skipped up the stairs, and Reagan walked into the foyer.
“Hey, beautiful,” Dex said, walking up to give her a kiss on the cheek.
Reagan’s dad was standing by the door. “Make sure and have my daughter home by eleven.”
“Oh, Steve, let the kids have some fun. School’s out and they’re just down at Clare’s house. Her parents are going to be there,” Mom said.
Great, Dex tells me when he’s picking me up, and now my parents are trying to decide how long I stay, Reagan thought.
“Fine,” her dad said. “You can stay out until midnight, but not one second after.” Giving in to whatever Mom wanted was nothing new for him; Reagan had witnessed it on more than one occasion.
“What am I, Cinderella?” Reagan joked. She and Dex headed out the door.
“Are Clare’s parents really going to be there?” Dex asked as the door shut behind them.
“Clare said they were going out on a date for most of it, but they’d be there to greet people at first,” Reagan answered. Actually, Clare had gushed about how cool her parents were and how little supervision they’d have. She’d even offered Reagan an upstairs bedroom. Guess sex is being planned for me, too.
“You look amazing, by the way,” Dex said, placing his hand on her butt as they walked to his car.
“Thanks. You, too. Oh, don’t forget to pick up Aspen and Kyle. They’re at Aspen’s house.”