Amber Garr
Hallowed Ink Press
Ages 14+
When it comes to death and love...only one is guaranteed.
Four decades ago Nora died. A
tragic event for someone so young; however, four decades ago Nora was
also given a second chance to walk among the living.
A Death Warden with a mysterious
past, her job is to escort the newly expired towards the light, battling
with the Soul Hunters who want the freshly dead to help with their own
evil purposes buried in the dark.
When Nora's charges suddenly
become targets, she realizes that the hunters are after far more than
just souls. A shift in power between good and evil threatens to change
everything, risking the lives of the only family Nora has ever known.
Devastated and angry, she's forced
to face the man she once loved - a man who chose darkness over her - in
order to find the answers she needs to stop the horror from escalating.
Yet, while a lost relationship still haunts her broken heart, a new
Warden with secrets of his own will enter the mix and quickly alter
everything Nora believed to be true.
Death is unavoidable...but sometimes, so is love.
EXCERPT:
No one invites Death to a party.
Luckily, I wore a disguise. . . and I wasn’t Death, exactly.
It’s true I might linger around humans on their way out of this world, but I
wasn’t the one who decided their fate. I just had to explain it all.
Knowing what type of scene I was about to enter, I decided
to use my free time in this realm—as well as my natural petite body—to their
fullest advantage. Grimacing at the hideous tunic I wished I could leave behind
forever, I morphed into a pair of skinny jeans, black corset, and high heeled
boots that clung to my calves like liquid leather. Concentrating a little more,
I looked down to admire my success. The matching hot pink thong and lower back
tattoo peeked out in all the right places, promising these poor souls favors I
would never honor.
At least I didn’t plan on it.
“Wow! Where did you come from, Angel?”
I looked up to see a tall, blond frat boy standing next to
the door. His hungry eyes and wide smile tempted something inside me. Not lust,
it was pity. He eagerly grabbed at his friend’s arm, directing his attention
toward the new fresh meat. I hadn’t even made it up the porch of the old house
before being spotted. Although, if being honest with myself, I loved his reaction.
I walked up the stairs and stood in the doorway.
Horrible reggae-techno music blasted onto the street, and
with each beat of the overly loud bass the windows pulsated. I’d just stepped
into the middle of a raging college party. A brief sense of sadness crept
through me as I imagined the life I could’ve had as one of the living, if only
it hadn’t been cut so short. I never made it to college. Never had a chance to
get drunk and be stupid. Never even had a real date.
But when I took in my surroundings, I remembered that I
wouldn’t have missed very much.
College students littered the ground floor with their
gyrating bodies and arrogant sense of selves. More spilled onto the stairs
leading up to the bedrooms, reminding me of cows being led to slaughter. A
combination of darkness and smoke from legal and illicit substances created a
ghostly haze throughout the house. Glow sticks hung around people’s necks and
settled in the bottom of clear plastic cups, giving the cheap beer an odd tint.
“I don’t think we’ve met you before.” The doorman commented
while using the proverbial fraternity ‘we’. He was cute. Young and
inexperienced, but still cute. Built like an athlete with round, dark eyes and
fashionably messy hair, I knew college would probably be the best years of his life.
I wondered how long he’d have after that; after losing the hair, gaining the
beer gut, and sitting with his co-workers from a hideous job talking about the
good old days.
“No, you haven’t.” I smiled, turning on the charm. “I’m
looking for Todd.”
“Is that so?” He stepped away from his post and moved
closer. Devouring me with his eyes, he offered a wicked smile full of blatant
innuendos. He stood close enough for me to smell his cologne over the
cigarettes and stale beer stench clinging to his clothes. Not bad. I placed a
hand on his muscular arm and rose up on my toes.
“Yes, that’s so.” Not a sexy statement, but I knew how to
make it one. I’d had a good teacher when I joined the ‘other side’. Ignoring
the sudden pang of longing in my heart, I continued playing my role. With a
slight whisper, my lips passed by the frat boy’s neck and brushed close to his
ear. His sharp intake of breath let me know I’d hit my mark.
Bending his head down to accommodate our height difference,
he returned the flirtatious gesture by speaking directly into my ear.
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
His hand slid around my lower back and ever so slightly
pulled me a little closer. He took a deep breath, seeming to commit my scent to
memory. A small sensation of his lips against my shoulder sent shivers through
my body just before he let out a deep sigh.
“Are you sure you want Todd?” He sounded rather serious, but
frat boys had a code, and if I belonged to Todd this one wouldn’t give me too
much trouble. Not unless I asked for it.
I giggled and gave a tight squeeze on his arm. “I am right
now, but I’ll let you know if it doesn’t work out.”
Pulling back, I looked into his eyes and saw the potential a
few more moments of flirting could hold. And the danger. It had been a long
time since I commanded this kind of attention.
“Promise?” he asked with a wink.
I nodded, and he pointed to the living room-turned impromptu
dance floor. Giving him a final killer smile, I sauntered toward the center of
the party feeling his gaze on me the whole way.
Todd McCormick was drunk.
Reeling on wobbly feet, he attempted to dance with his
girlfriend, whose slurred speech and loud laughter indicated her own state of induced
oblivion. As the center of attention, he sang a bad version of Brown Eyed Girl
to Emily in between cheek kisses and gulps of beer. A couple of his friends
joined him on the chorus and gave her a serenade only the inebriated could
truly appreciate. They were enjoying themselves.
I’d been watching Todd for two decades, and one thing I
could say was that when he wanted to let loose, he gave it his all. I suppose I
envied him a bit for his youth and naïveté—two characteristics I’d lost a long
time ago. Responsibilities, angst, and death now filled my days. I suppose one
could argue that I chose this for myself, but I could also argue that I really
didn’t have much of a choice at all. And now, here I stood, flirting with
college guys while watching others make complete idiots out of themselves with
no idea what was in store for them.
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