Blades of Scarlet

The Legacy Reborn #2

by Melissa Kay Clarke

"Why me?"

That would be Scarlet's mantra. At 25 years old, she is already weary of her job - not as a bike courier but the other one, the dangerous one.

For seven years she has lurked in the shadows, protecting very special people. Bound by duty, wrapped in a Legacy that she never wanted, she leads a lonely existence doing a thankless job, saving people who will never know the sacrifices she has made for them.

She is an Eaeium, a protector of those destined to do great things for mankind. It sounds like an amazing job, except she neither requested nor desired it. Nobody ever asked her what she wanted and she can't turn her back on her duty. She has no help, no idea, no one to turn to,and no hope for a normal future including a family, friends and someone special to love.

Until she met him.

Gage Williams, Senior Detective for the Boonton Police, is quite happy with his life as it sits. He is passionate about his career and his life - everything is exactly how he wants. Why, then, did a chance meeting with a beautiful woman one afternoon feel like everything he has ever known is suddenly thrown to the wind?

Will she be the hero she's destined to be or will she take a chance on love? She can't have both.

Or can she?

~~~ Excerpt ~~~
"Well, well, hello darlin'." The rapist licked his lips and took a step forward. "Here I was thinking Susie Sweetstuff was the best I could get." His eyes raked over the intruder's body. "But I do believe you might be just a little bit sweeter."

She stood her ground, watching him as he shifted the knife from one hand to the other. She grimaced when he slid one grimy hand down and grabbed himself. Pushing her long red hair back off her shoulders she shook her head. "That can't be good for your confidence." Her eyes flicked towards his groping hand.

He stopped, his eyes narrowing. "Are you trying to be funny?"

She chuckled. "From what I can tell, I think nature already did that." She shook her head and propped one hand on her hip. "So how about you let the nice lady go and just head on out of here? You get to keep your life and I don't have to go soak in disinfectant for a day." Her eyes traveled over him again and she wrinkled her nose. "Make that two days."

With a howl of rage, he lunged at her with the knife.

She waited until the very last moment, whipped out a blade of her own and in a blur of motion, sliced through the tendons on his hand making him drop the knife. She kicked it away and pulled a second one out, flicking it through her fingers in an almost haphazard manner. The twin weapons glittered in the faint light, the gemstones in the handles taking on a life of their own.

He snarled and wrapped his fingers around his injured wrist as blood dripped down between his fingers. His eyes narrowed to angry slits. "You are gonna die now."

She huffed. "I just saved your life and you want to give me grief? You can leave now or else you don't leave at all. The choice is yours."

In response, he let his wrist go and pulled a smaller knife from a pocket.

She huffed with irritation. "I was afraid you were going to take the 'or else' route."

Comment from a "My mom does not read paranormal stuff but apparently she read the first 2 Luna and really liked them! And she had me download number 3 for her and she had already downloaded Blades of Scarlet! ... You have converted my mom into liking some paranormal romances!"

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2014

About the author

Melissa was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and raised in Houlka, a small rural town forty-five minutes southwest down the famous Natchez Trace. She found a love of reading very early and quickly devoured everything she could. Told repeatedly that she had a wonderful imagination, she turned to scribbling her musings and wrote her first novel while in college. It was never published and has since vanished. The death of a close friend who aspired to become an author reawakened her own desire resulting in penning her first book, Shattered Dreams, published in 2013.

Melissa now resides in Meridian, Mississippi with her supportive family – husband, Robert and daughter Rebecca, two cats, and two dogs. When she isn't writing, she spends way too much time with her online friends and feeding her ravenous appetite for the written word.