Power Will Flourish
Lives Will be Lost
Nothing, Will be Forgotten
Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase
has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and
magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he
learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and
unleash pure-blood demons into the world.
Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it
alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an
attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them however, Chase and Rayna
find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to
decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.
Excerpt from Exiled
I’d had
several jobs in the past year. This one I’d managed to keep for a few months.
Most of my employers frowned on me coming to work with cuts and bruises all the
time. It made for “poor presentation,” they’d say. I was thankful it hadn’t
interfered with this job, yet.
I
finished up my shift and had started my walk home from the burger joint when I
felt it. A hunter doesn’t mistake the feeling that demons are around. It moves
down your spine and chills your bones. Feeling it proved I was indeed a hunter,
even without an element.
The
August air was warm for the late hour, and a thick layer of sweat made my white
shirt cling to me. I stopped and unzipped my duffle bag, locating the silver
dagger inside. Silver was great no matter what you were fighting; it could do
serious damage to anything of the Underworld.
The
tingle shot down my spine again. If I focused, I could feel each hair on my
neck rise. I saw a blur of movement across the street and watched it disappear
into a shadowy alley. I moved across the street in a low crouch, resting my
weight on the balls of my feet. I slowed my breathing and pulled the dagger
from my bag before I slipped around the corner.
My senses
were alive and strained to see movement, or hear the sound of feet shuffling
against loose rocks. As a hunter, I could see well in the dark, though the only
light came from a single flickering street lamp.
I was
almost to the end of the alley when it hit. I couldn’t tell what “it” was, but
it struck my back and launched me forward. My feet tumbled over my head and my
back smashed hard into the concrete wall at the end of the alley. Hands grabbed
me and lifted me to my feet, dragging me a few steps before throwing me back
the other way. I flew through the air, hit the ground and rolled out into the
street.
I used my
momentum and came up on one knee to recover. My back burned where pavement had
grated the skin off, but I pushed the pain aside as the figure stalked towards
me.
“Your
death will bring me great glory, hunter. Killing the son of Riley Williams will
make me a legend among the Underworld,” the low voice gloated.
“That’s
really great, good luck with that,” I said.
He smiled
and the fangs that slid down from his gums were long and sharp. His pale skin
started to thin as the vampire changed into his demon form.
Milky
skin faded into transparent flesh, revealing the moving muscles beneath. Veins
ran black through the vampire’s face and limbs, pushing against the thinning
clear skin. Strange muscles in his hands pushed bony talons out over his finger
nails, and the whites of his eyes disappeared, filling with an inky blackness.
The dark orbs stared at me as his fanged mouth curled into a smile, and in a
blur he sprang forward, talons swinging.
I ducked
as they sliced through the air over my head. I brought the knife up into his
stomach and twisted the blade before I pulled it out. Blood spilled onto the
ground, but I knew the wound wasn’t enough to kill him. Cut off his head or
pierce his black heart – those were my options. I could light him on fire, but I was fresh out of matches.
I brought
my foot up and kicked the vampire back to give myself some room. I steadied
myself, waiting for him to charge, but his body jerked and the point of a
silver blade appeared in his chest before he could move.
The
vamp’s body went limp and collapsed, then exploded in a flash of orange light.
It burned away into a cloud of ash and littered the pavement, revealing the
girl – of all things – who had beaten me to the kill.
Raven
hair spilled over her pale shoulders with hints of red highlighting the
occasional strand. A tight leather top revealed a sliver of toned stomach and a
tease of cleavage. Black pants hugged her hips and long slender legs and met
knee-high boots. Her skin glistened in the light, but the most noticeable of
her features were her eyes.
Bright
green orbs sparkled with an odd glow: demon’s eyes. They had the slit pupils of
a cat that I’d never seen on anything other than a house pet or a shifter in
animal form. I slipped back into fight mode. I’d never watched one demon kill
another, but I suppose for the fame of killing me, why not?
I lunged
and threw a punch at her face, but she dodged it with ease.
“You
almost messed up my kill,” she snarled, and I had barely enough time to dodge
her powerful kick.
“Your
kill? You stole it from me!” I swung my fist and hit her stomach. She bent
over, winded, before she stepped back and caught her breath, regaining her
stance and composure.
“Stole
it? Please, I’d been tracking him for blocks.” She spun and caught my chin with
the heel of her boot, snapping my head to the side. I rubbed my jaw where she’d
hit me and smiled.
“Well
then, I guess it’s a good thing I was here to slow him down. Who knows if you
would have been able to catch him?”
She moved
in for another kick but I was ready. I grabbed her foot and pushed her back.
She fell to the ground but quickly came to her feet. “I would have gotten him
just fine on my own. Hunting is an art. It would’ve gone on as long as I deemed
necessary.”
“Call it
hunting if you want, but a filthy demon killing her own kind is still just
that: a filthy demon.” I could tell I’d offended her even before she hit me.
My eyes
watered when her fist smashed into my nose and her foot connected with my
stomach in quick succession. I jerked back to avoid the knee that flew towards
my face and pushed it to the side, but she was already moving towards me. Her
hands hit my chest hard and I soared through the air for a long moment before I
hit the ground. I felt a sharp pain shoot up through my spine and I could hear
her laughter as I struggled to my feet.
“I have
to admit I expected more from you, Chase, being the infamous son of Riley
Williams and all.”
I gripped
my dagger until my knuckles turned white and spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ll
try not to disappoint.”
My fist
hit her jawbone and made a loud crack. I came back with my other hand and
wrapped it around her throat. I stepped into the movement and threw her forward
in a burst of hunter’s strength. She slammed into the ground but recovered
faster than I anticipated. Before I could brace myself she was on top of me.
I pulled
her body down and we rolled over each other against the cold concrete until I
was on top. I kept a handful of her hair wound tight in my fist and pushed my
blade against her throat. “More what you expected?”
“Not
really.” She smirked.
I felt
the point of a knife pushing against my stomach. Before I could react, a
commanding male voice came from behind us.
“Enough!”
it boomed.
I didn’t
take the knife or my eyes off the demon beneath me.
“But we
were just starting to have fun,” she complained. The smile on her face was
anything but threatening. If this was her idea of fun, I didn’t want to know
what she considered boring.
“Rayna,
enough,” the man repeated.
She
sighed, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout before the knife left my skin.
“Truce?” she said with an innocent face.
“Not a
chance,” I replied, pushing the knife harder against her throat.
I was
pulled away from Rayna and pressed against a wall, thick hands around my
throat. I raised my blade but my opponent blocked and twisted my arm at an
awkward angle. The man ripped the blade from my hand and I squirmed.
“Calm
down, Chase. We are not here to hurt you,” the voice said. A complete shadow
hung around the figure, moving as he moved.
“So she
attacked me for fun?” I snapped.
“If we
wanted you dead, you would be,” he said, releasing his grip, and I fell to the
sidewalk. He stepped back slowly and the shadow peeled itself from his body. As
it faded, it revealed a large man whose magic I’d never sensed before.
The man
reached forward, a large dark arm holding out my dagger. I wrapped my hand
around it in confusion. The contrast of our skin was drastic; my pale flesh
glowed against his midnight color and the size of his hand alone made me feel
small.
“What
Rayna told you was true. We were tracking the vampire, not you. Although I’m
happy to finally meet you, I’d imagined this moment under different
circumstances,” he said.
“There
are ways to meet people besides attacking them.”
“I agree.
You must forgive us; Rayna is quick to lash out when insulted.” My eyes met his
and I couldn’t read his expression. I knew I hadn’t been polite, but I wasn’t
about to apologize to a demon. “You know, your father would not have hesitated
to kill her, no matter his position.”
“Congratulations,
you’ve discovered I’m not my father. What the hell would you know about him
anyways?”
He turned
his head to the side and as the light hit his neck it revealed a tattoo. It was
the one every hunter received after their ceremony. The one I never got.
The
tattoo made me realize why he could bend the shadows; he was an air elemental
and a powerful one at that. I had heard stories of hunters being able to work
with shadows, but I’d never seen it done firsthand.
I looked
him over, not sure what to think of a hunter working with a demon. He was
taller than me by an inch, around six-foot three. His head was smooth shaven,
though there was a small patch of hair under his lower lip. His skin seemed
like a smooth dark chocolate. His body was large and square, broad shoulders
making him a massive column of strength and power. He filled out a sharp black
suit jacket and wore black loafers, leaving the only color on him a flash of
bright blue dress shirt.
“You’re a
hunter.”
“Once
upon a time, yes I was.”
He broke
eye contact and cleared his throat, extending his massive hand towards me.
“Look at my manners. Let me introduce myself. I am Marcus Starkraven.”
My
eyebrows shot up; I knew that name! “You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Is that
what you heard?”
“You used
to hunt with my father.”
He nodded
slightly, but otherwise ignored the comment. “You already met Rayna,” he said,
taking his unshaken hand back.
I looked
at Rayna and got caught in the depths of her green, slit eyes.
“What are
you doing with a demon?” I said, spitting out the last word like a curse.
“How’s
your nose?” Rayna asked.
I touched
it and looked at the blood on my fingers. “Lucky shot.”
She
chuckled and stepped towards me. “Care to go again?” Marcus put an arm in front
of her.
“Not what
we’re doing right now,” he said.
“You
didn’t answer my question.”
“She is
my student. And my friend.”
I
couldn’t respond. I didn’t believe it. A hunter being friends with a demon was
unfathomable.
“I would
have thought, being out in the real world, you’d have come to understand,
Chase. Some Underworlders don’t fit the Circle’s black and white image of good
and evil,” he said.
“The only
Underworlders I’ve come across have tried to kill me.”
“Your
name is feared by many in the Underworld. Your father has created quite the
reputation for himself, so they fear you as well,” Marcus said.
I
smirked. “As they should.”
He shook
his head. “That wasn’t a compliment.
M.R. Merrick is a Canadian writer and author of
The Protector Series, a Young Adult mash-up between Urban and Epic Fantasy.
Having never traveled, he adventures to far off lands through his imagination
and in between cups of coffee. As a music lover and proud breakfast enthusiast,
he’s usually found at the computer between a pair of headphones and in front of
a large bowl of cereal.
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