Elaine was kind enough to feature me on her blog lately. You can check out her awesome feature at: http://ellelainey.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/predators-kiss-excerpt/
And now it's my pleasure to tell you about her wonderful book, Runaway Girl! I think the cover is about the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time, and I know you'll love what's inside it as well.
A missing vampire princess. A soul fractured among five young
human girls. One loyal vampire with a grudge. Can vampire soldier Damian set
aside his personal feelings to follow orders? Can princess Amelia's soul be
reunited in time for the meeting of the three clans? Will her brother, Matthew,
fight for the right to rule? Who will prevail?
Excerpt:
The vampire council didn’t enjoy convening outside of their regularly
scheduled meetings, but considering everything that had happened lately, Lucius
found it more than important. It was imperative. The very future of their race,
their people, stood on the balance and although he knew that Damian was more
than capable of taking over the leadership of their clan, it simply wasn’t
enough. He was not of pure blood and no one other than a pure blood had ever
led their people before. If Damian was to succeed to the station that Lucius
had prepared him for, then they needed to ask him to do something that might
risk breaking his heart.
They had to bring back Amelia.
Lucius rose from his seat and brought the
council to order, his movement instantly silencing the chatter amongst the
elders. “I pray the council will forgive the lateness of the hour.
Unfortunately, I have some distressing
news for you that could not wait. Damian, if you would bring me the files we
discussed, I would be most grateful,” he asked the young man standing watch by
his side, ready to protect him at all cost.
Damian reluctantly crossed the room to an old desk by the far wall and
retrieved a manila file of papers that Lucius had been working on and handed
them to his master. He then made sure the room was secure and took his place
beside Lucius’ seat. The moment the
double wooden doors were closed, Lucius took his seat and addressed the
council. “Amelia was a willful child. She tormented me and Damian, disappearing
and playing tricks. Only when she was an adult did her tricks become dangerous.
I believe you all know the story of my daughter, so I will not bore you with
the details. However, for the sake of this meeting, I must explain her
disappearance. For a century, I have lived without my daughter. Finally tired
of her confinement—which was placed upon her for good reason—Amelia contacted a
Haitian with certain special gifts,” Lucius recounted the tale.
“Her soul was transferred to a human body, upon
her request, forever to live on until such time as she wished to return to our
people,” Matisse replied, slightly annoyed. “We all know the story, Lucius, and
how badly affected you were by her actions.”
Lucius smiled in gratitude for the obvious
sentiment his friend displayed. He didn’t want him to relive the memory any
more than Lucius wanted to. “Please, my friend, my meaning will be clear
in a moment. But you are right. This
Haitian man offered Amelia an eternal life without my influence. Her soul was
transferred into a human body and, even if that body died, her spirit would
simply move to another body until she wished to come home again. But it has
been two centuries and she has not returned, and I am not the only one who
believes that this is against her will.”
Lucius recalled a conversation with Damian
suggesting that Amelia’s Haitian man may have made a mistake in his spell. It
stood to reason that after so many human
lives, his daughter should become bored of the monotony and wish to return
home.
Although he wished for this more than anything,
he knew of Damian’s resistance on the subject. Amelia had crushed his heart a
million times over. Why should he wish for her return so that she could try to
break him again?
“We were unable to find the truth for a very
long time. It was only recently that a secret investigation into the incident
provided me with new information. It seems that my daughter misplaced her
trust. Not only has our witch friend spoken ill of this Haitian, she also
discovered that Amelia’s soul has been fractured.”
A muttering of astonishment circled among the
elders, who all turned their attention to the beautiful, gifted woman seated in
a shadowed corner of the room. The witch woman was well known to all, but no
one knew her name. Instead, they all called her Lady in respect and gratitude
for using her many gifts and talents for their people, instead of against.
“Do you mean … Sire, you cannot possibly mean
that her soul is broken,” Elder Nikolai said, shocked by such a revelation,
sure that a broken soul had no hope of being repaired. Upon his words, the
witch smiled the most beautiful smile of reassurance, and Lucius explained.
“That is not what I’m saying,” Lucius replied. “The
spell cast upon her soul worked. It cannot die, but she cannot be whole again
without our help. Our Lady has agreed to perform the necessary spells in order
to return Amelia to us. My time is growing short, and my usefulness to the clan
is fading. I wish for Amelia to be restored at the meeting of the three clans,
so that she may take over the leadership of our people from me.”
No one was surprised that Lucius wished to pass
on this great responsibility to his daughter. Few could lead for such a time
without growing weary of the human world and its interferences. Their whole
race was feared, but glamorized. Vampires had become legends within movies and
story books. There was no respect anymore.
“To do this, we must find the fragmented pieces
of her soul and bind them back together,” Lucius began again. “I know all of
you are aware of my intention to unite Damian and Amelia so that they may rule
together. I also know that a few of you have been using his particular gifts for your own
errands, but I must ask for full availability of him from this moment forth.
Damian must be the one to return Amelia to us.” Lucius hated asking his council
to put aside their own personal errands to cater to his whim, but in this
instance it was absolutely necessary. There was no telling what Damian would
feel about returning Amelia to his side. He had equal reason to love and hate
her.
“I am, as always, ready to bow to your wishes,
my friend,” Elder Matisse said. “And I agree that Damian must be the one to
bring Amelia back to us.”
After all, Amelia had tortured and tormented
Damian for many centuries. He had ample reason to wish her soul obliterated
from the earth. It would not do for him to be given the opportunity to dwell on
things in case his loyalty could not overcome his personal feelings on the
matter.
“Yes, these are my thoughts exactly,” Lucius
continued. “As my trusted council, however, I wish to share as much as I can
with you and ask for your guidance and assistance in this matter, as it
concerns the fate of us all. The files that I had Damian bring to me contain
information on each of the young women who our dear Lady has identified as
possible candidates. Each show remarkable skills and traits beyond their human
capabilities and it is our belief that each is in possession of a piece of
Amelia’s soul. There is no telling how many fragments my daughter’s soul has
been ripped into, but until we can reclaim these young women, we will never
know.”
He sighed, momentarily losing faith. It all
seemed so impossible, so difficult after searching for her, not knowing for so
long. How many times had his daughter suffered some human sickness, death or
heartache over the course of her many lifetimes? How many times had she loved,
cried and been without her father when she most needed him most?
“Master, do not fear,” the witch said, rising
from her seat. “Miss Amelia may return without her whole soul, so we must only
find the greatest parts and she will be restored fully.” The witch woman knew
that Lucius was in despair, but just the presence of her by his side relieved
his greatest fears. They were not friends as such. In fact, he wasn’t sure that
the Lady ever had a friend in her life, but they were allies
in their quest to see the vampire race succeed
well into the future. And he couldn’t achieve this goal without her.
“Yes, thank you,” Lucius replied. “Let us all pray
that by the time of the meeting of the three clans, Amelia and Damian will be
united and ready to take over my leadership.” When he rose from his seat, the
other elders did the same. Damian followed dutifully.
Matisse approached and took his hand, offering
his full support in anything he wished, while Nikolai smiled and wished him
well in his search. Each knew well how many years he had longed for the day
when Amelia would be returned to him. He thanked him, appreciating the support
of his friends.
“Do you forget, master, what I told you?” The
witch woman waited until the elders had left the room, and Damian was sent to
find a soldier escort to see her safely home. “Amelia will never rule your
people. Damian’s heart cannot allow it. You know as well as I that he is the
next leader of the clan. Why do you resist?”
She wondered if there was a reason why Lucius
could not accept Damian as the next leader, even after her prophesy that he
would be a much better candidate than his young son Matthew. Nor was she
ignorant of the fact that he had not once mentioned the possibility of Matthew
taking over his rule, either on his own merits or because Amelia’s soul could
not be reunited. It was very curious.
“Damian cannot rule alone,” Lucius replied with
a sigh. “You know as well as I that he is not of pure blood and cannot rule
without Amelia.”
The Lady frowned at him in disapproval. She did not understand
this claim of the clans, but she knew more about the situation than Lucius ever
would. “If you choose to ignore my guidance, then woe be to you. I wash my
hands of the affair.”
After she left, Lucius smiled as if she was
just an old woman who was talking nonsense. One day he was going to realize
that, beautiful young woman or not, she was more powerful than he gave her
credit for. Without her, the vampire race would die, as would their savior.
http://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Secrets-Avelina-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00B3OERUG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1372158361&sr=1-1
Love her cover! I will have to check this out :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it beautiful, Krystle? Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!
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