Awakened - Excerpt
The evening prayers from the nearby temple mix with the hum of traffic. It's that special vibe, found only here, in the former seven islands of Bom Bahia—the Good Bay, as named by its Portuguese founders.
I pause by the gates of the bungalow next to a man seated there.
As usual, he is bent over his notebook, writing. His shoes have seen better days. The sign in front of him reads:
The End is Near
There's an upturned hat in front of him for donations. He never asks for money.
"How many days, then?" I ask, as I always do.
It’s a running joke in my life, this Q/A session with the gentleman-beggar. He's never answered me. Until, now. He looks up at me for the first time and holds up his fingers: five of them.
A tremor runs down my back. I run past him, heading for the pub.
When I get there, I slide onto my favorite barstool, the one at the center of the counter.
At one end is an older man, his beard almost steel gray, a baseball cap perched on his head.
"Hey, Edward." I smile.
"How are you, pretty lady?" he says in that clipped German accent of his.
The third occupant is hunched over his glass, brooding into its depths.
Within seconds, a squat glass holding golden-brown liquid appears in front of me.
Martin the bartender plunks two ice cubes into the glass.
"Alcohol never solved any problems, little girl."
You should speak, Ma. I learned this from you.
I push away her voice and ask after Martin's daughter.
"She's doing well," he replies. "If you hadn't helped me with filling out the forms and preparing for the interview with the principal—"
I wave away his thanks.
"She's already made new friends, and her favorite subject is math." He grins, shaking his head. "Imagine that?"
I smile. "At least it's not a convent school."
Ma had insisted I attend the local convent school. My idea of hell. Thanks to them, I know that being in this pub, drinking, is "sin."
Running away from home, at sixteen? "Sin."
Not keeping in touch with Dad since? Also, "sin."
It'd been a relief to leave and not have to listen to them anymore. That was almost three years ago.
"Anything else—?" Martin asks.
I shake my head, and he moves away.
I ignore the new arrival who seats himself in the space between Mr. Broody and me. My eyes are hypnotized by the text running across the bottom of the TV screen above the bar.
Price of onions soars to INR 30/- per kg | First of the four blood-red moon eclipses to be seen in six days | Artifact stolen from Prince of Wales Museum in the latest of a series of antiques burglaries...
The new arrival smiles at me.
"I'll have what she’s having," he tells Martin, who plonks down a glass before pouring a measly amount of liquid into it.
Martin turns away, only to be collared by the man.
"Bastard! Cheating, me?" He grabs the bottle from Martin's hand, pouring from it until his glass is three-quarters full.
"Cheers." He raises his glass, staring at my breasts. I should get up and get out of here. But I don't. Not this time.
The lightning tree throbs a flash of pain down my spine.
Rage, buried inside, has been let loose by the incident at the train station. I can't hide my anger anymore. It's invigorating.
I smash my fist into his hand, and his glass splits open, liquid splattering onto his shirtfront.
He gets to his feet and swings at me. I duck; and picking up the bottle of whiskey, I whack him on the chest with it. He drops back onto his barstool with a plop. On his face: surprise.
With a scream, he springs out of his seat, lunging toward me. I move aside, and he crashes headfirst into the wall next to the bar. Straightening, he shakes his head and turns around. His eyes dart behind me.
Did he think I was going to fall for that?
Barstool in my hand, I crash it down on him.
On his head.
On his stupid, fat, ugly head.
His head, which is bleeding now. And he's fallen off the seat and is cowering on the floor. Huh! How do you like that, you horrible, horrible man? Didn't expect that, did you? Here comes another one.
I'm going to hit him again. Hurt him more. Again and again and—
There’s a touch on my shoulder, and I leap round.
"He's had enough, don't you think?" The brooding guy from earlier nods at the man who's whimpering on the floor.
It's not enough.
Shrugging him aside, I turn back, weapon poised above my head, only to be gripped from behind. He squeezes my wrists, forcing me to loosen my fingers. Oh, why not. What, the hell. I let him take the wooden seat. Empty hands drop to my sides. Nothing will ever be enough.
The branches of the lightning tree still pulse. I bite my lips, trying to calm down. I must regain control.
I slide my hand over the counter. A piece of broken glass cuts into my palm, and the blood trickles down my arm. The pain takes my mind off the ache inside. Some of the pressure in my chest eases.
I look around at the mess, noticing it for the first time.
Did I do that? All on my own?
My head swirls. The adrenaline fades away, leaving me exhausted.
What's happening to me?
Opening my backpack, I hand over all the money in there to Martin. "It's not enough to cover the damage," I say, "but that's all I have."
He nods, calling to one of the waiters to help him throw the fallen guy out of the place.
Mr. Broody hasn't stopped watching; his amber eyes bore into me.
For the first time, I notice the telltale bulge of a gun harness around his waist. It's visible through the loose, cream-colored cotton shirt he’s wearing. He's a cop? Faded jeans, frayed at the knees, with dark brown loafers. At least a foot taller than me, he is built leanly.
He looks at me from below thick yet elegantly curved brows. In his eyes is a hint of something—humor? Admiration? I can't tell.
"Vikram Roy," He introduces himself, holding out his hand, but I don't take it.
I walk past him, past the guy on the floor, out of the bar…
To find out what happens next read Awakened, free in KU here
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Order of reading the series
Awakened(Ruby and Vik)
Feral(Maya and Luke)
Taken(Jai and Ariana)
Redemption (Mikhail and Leana)
Claimed (Kris and Tara)
Inception (Aaron and Hope)
Afterword
"Ruby is real. That's what makes her special." - Amazon Review
"Never seen such a greatly written character so driven by anger and acting on impulse" - Goodreads Review
Order of reading the series
Order of reading
Awakened(Ruby and Vik)
Feral(Maya and Luke)
Taken(Jai and Ariana)
Redemption (Mikhail and Leana)
Claimed(Kris and Tara)
Inception (Aaron and Hope)
The original seven islands of Bombay
About the Author
I am a New York Times bestselling author of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy.
Say Hi to Laxmi :)
www.laxmihariharan.com
Cover design & all stories copyright © Laxmi Hariharan 2018. WCAUK Reg No 3455856552
All rights reserved.
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Origins: The Ruby Iyer Diaries (Many Lives Prequel Book 1) Page 4