Destined to Demon
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Salutations to 2019! I closed out my 2018 on an author high. I sold over 2,500 books in the month of the December–by far my most ever. The peak numbers are thanks to my Fate of Imperium Series, Books 1 & 2. Book 3, The Demon King’s Destiny, will release in the next 2-3 months. Sooner, if I can get my kids to leave me alone. Thanks holiday break, you killed my writing mojo. But it’s all good because I love the little punks.
Anyway, I’m excited about Book 3. It’s been a bit of a challenge pulling together the overarching theme running through the series while maintaining the love story of each couple as the main focus. I never imagined writing fantasy/paranormal and it’s been such a learning experience. Also, I’ve not added one f-bomb in any book. Challenge conquered! Yeah, yeah, anyone can refrain from the f-bomb, said no one in my family.
As a little sneak-peek, I’m including the prologue. Links will be posted as soon as I have them ready. Warning: this part is not romancy–is that a word?
Happy New Year!
Prologue
“Come closer, little one,” the hoarse voice reverberated through the woods.
The hairs on Evelyn’s neck and arms stood at full attention as the demon’s ensorcelled vocals echoed off her skin. Thankfully, his voice was the only thing he’d managed to get through her protective barrier.
She ignored the male, lowering her head and concentrating on her doll. Her long auburn hair fell over her shoulder like a dark silky curtain, hiding her face from the insidious creature.
More and more he had been visiting her dreams. With each visit, he grew bolder. Tonight, he’d ventured all the way to the edge of the clearing, watching her from the tree line. It was the furthest he’d ever dared.
In this dream, she was sitting on a blanket, playing with a handful of toys. Her two sisters were nearby, chasing each other through the tall goldenrod of the small field beside their home. Evelyn didn’t bother calling to them. They weren’t capable of seeing the demon when he visited.
He wasn’t like her sisters in this dreamworld. Eden and Nora weren’t actually here. They were pieces of Evelyn’s subconscious, intangible and incapable of being anything other than what her imagination deemed them to be.
The demon was real. Corporeal. He’d meant to be here. He had somehow broken through and now lurked in her forest.
She’d yet to get a good look at him, but she could sense his magic. Dark and dangerous, matching the exaggerated bass of his speech. Demons were known for their low tenor, but this one’s was aberrant, almost otherworldly.
The first time he’d broken through, she reached out with her senses to get a feel for his power. It felt cold and crude when he pushed back, like a cold wet tongue testing her flavor.
It had made her feel sick. Something about it was … wrong.
“Let me into the meadow, girl. I only want to talk.”
It was obvious he was lying. Her magics whispered to her and warned her to keep him away.
Evelyn wanted him to go away forever. She’d never been able to make him, no matter how many times she wished him gone.
Being unable to control her dreams was maddening. All she could do was put up a barrier between them and wait him out.
The demon had shown every night for a week now. Evelyn was worried he would eventually figure out how to reach her in the clearing.
Tonight, before she closed her eyes, she prayed to the Goddess of Sanctus Femina to either keep her safe or to make her strong enough to keep him at bay. She had an ominous feeling she was getting ready to find out if either of her wishes would be granted.
The male growled in frustration and Evelyn’s grip on her doll tightened. Still, she refused to look up at him.
Silence stretched as she sat on her gold and black blanket. She knew he was still there, probably pretending to be gone. Evelyn was not to be tricked. She could still feel his ugly magic.
Demons could use their powers to creep into the minds of others. They could control those they held under compulsion. Evelyn believed such powers were unnatural.
Her father, King Edward, had assured her she could shield against an attack, that her will was strong and she would not be vulnerable. Evelyn wasn’t keen on testing his theory.
Her strategy was to figure out how to simply make the demon go away, or to learn how to wake herself from her dreams.
Though she possessed a strong will, hadn’t been able to do either. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t continue trying, or that she wouldn’t stand her ground when push came to shove.
Evelyn waited patiently for him to leave. Staring at the worn and ragged figure in her hands, her fingers itched. Her powers were swirling, waiting, anticipating a confrontation.
Though she was young, only six years of age, she was not weak. If he broke through the barrier, she would be ready.
Something hummed through the atmosphere in the distance. Steadily, it grew louder, reminding her of a fast-approaching storm. The air thickened with electrical currents and Evelyn raised her face to the heavens.
A blinding light shot across the sky. She tracked it with her eyes until it disappeared, landing among the treetops, somewhere behind the trespasser.
The bad man growled again and ran towards the place where the traveling light vanished among the greenery. It was just beyond her line of sight.
Tempted as she was to investigate, Evelyn remained on her blanket. The sounds of her sisters’ play vanished, replaced by the echoes of snarls and grunts coming through the trees.
The noises disrupted the quiet of the forest. It sounded like two ferocious beasts locked in battle. A loud crash echoed, then silence fell.
Evelyn stood, concerned. Through the break in the trees, she could now see the shadow of a form rising to its feet.
“You’ve gone too far, Uncle!” the voice roared.
“No, I haven’t gone far enough! You’ll never be King, Marrok. Over my dead body will you take this throne from me.”
“I didn’t want the bloody throne, Brennon. Now you’ve left me no choice.”
The two males moved too fast for her to track. Suddenly, a body landed against the magical barrier separating the clearing from the forest, the one she’d built to protect herself.
The invisible shield pulsed with purple and white sparks. An enormous male jumped to his feet, glaring at her. Marrok. The bad male had called him Marrok.
For a heartbeat, he remained locked on her and she couldn’t draw a breath. His eyes widened slightly before quickly slanting down in displeasure.
Movement behind him caught Evelyn’s attention. “Look out!”
Brennon’s eerie tentacles of magic flew out of the woods. Marrok dove to the side and the ethereal appendages battered against Evelyn’s shield, trying to punch through it.
“You’ll never get to her,” Marrok seethed, searching the shadows for signs of his uncle’s location.
“Then neither shall you.”
A huge vortex of blackness came out of nowhere, whirling like a nest of vipers around Brennon as he stepped out of the underbrush. His eyes were wide, crazed. His mouth contorted as if he was lifting a great load.
Shite! Marrok cursed to himself. Brennon was completely out of control. He looked one last time at the youngling, praying he could hold off the menace.
“Run!” he hissed at her.
Dropping the doll, Evelyn ran for her life.
* * *
Marrok jackknifed off his thin bedding on the cave floor, clutching at his chest. His pulse raced as he felt for his heart.
Still there.
He could feel the pounding of his blood against his palm. A sheen of sweat covered his skin, cooling him in the damp air. The pain from the dream remained.
His pectoral was sensitive to his touch, burning with irritation. Marrok’s trembling hand lifted and came away bloody. Deep gashes from his uncle’s claws had shredded his shirt, easily slicing through the skin and muscle below.
He’d dreamwalked—or had he been summoned? His uncle had been surprised to see him, so it wasn’t Brennon who sought him.
The girl. It had to have been the youngling with the strange eyes.
Demons could enter the minds of others, especially when they were sleeping and relaxed. Sleep made more than just the physical form vulnerable.
He could only imagine the terrible things Brennon must have done to obtain knowledge of who the girl was. He’d purposefully broken into the child’s dreamworld. To do what? Marrok didn’t know. Whatever Brennon had planned, his uncle deserved the consequences he’d brought upon his own head.
Marrok lowered himself to his back, grinning at the thought of the Sundari royal guards finding Brennon’s open chest. Missing a heart.
“All is well, Sire?”
Marrok’s head jerked towards the sound of Favin’s voice. He could barely see the white-haired male lying across the alcove. The night’s fire was almost completely out.
“All is well, Favin. Tomorrow we return home.”
“Truly?” his Second whispered.
“Truly. We’ll tell the men in the morning.”
“But, how …?”
“In the morning, Favin.”
“Very well, Sire.”
Marrok closed his eyes, dreaming of the child who’d just handed him the kingdom.
