If not for Katrina’s ability, healing talent Derek Forester would have been trapped in a mission gone wrong. He hadn’t expected to see Katrina again, but he had never forgotten the way she made him feel. He’d done the right thing, but seeing her again made him question the wisdom of that choice.
Almost as soon as he arrives, mysterious entities begin plaguing them. Someone is trying to keep them together and engineered his rescue to Richmond. It has the touch of the mysterious new entity Whisper, but why?
Soon they are on the run, keeping one step ahead from energy beings that find them no matter where they go. When a crisis triggers a new, hidden talent between them, it becomes clear that this entire situation has been a setup. Right from the beginning.
As the truth about their power begins to emerge, Katrina realizes that she’s never stopped loving Derek. But when they learn that everything they understood about their past and their present is false, they wonder if anything between them is real.
At the critical moment of danger, will their talent save them? Or will they lose it all in a fiery cataclysm that dooms their hearts—and their lives?
Then she understood what Derek meant. Those shadows moved with urgency and not just as random flickers of light. Derek remained rooted to the spot, staring at the area he had pointed to. It had to be a trick of the imagination, or a branch shifting that she wasn’t aware of.
“That’s what you mean?” She backed up, watching as Derek took one forward. “Derek, don’t.”
“The spaces between the trees are moving.”
“Yes. What we’re seeing can’t be shadows—only talents like Jiana can see them. If this was them, we wouldn’t see what was happening. This is something else.”
The branches of the oak in the next yard rustled, covering the street in myriad shapes. Katrina might have detected a groaning, but could also have been the wind.
She hoped.
“Get inside, Katrina.” Derek took a second step forward, focusing on the tree. Was it her imagination or were malign dark spots creeping toward them?
“Bullshit to that, Derek. Not unless you have a second power that is a lot more interesting than healing.”
The thing slid closer. She imagined rustling, like someone speaking just below her ability to hear it. She shivered, the hairs on her forearms rising.
“Nope. Just the one. I can handle this. Go inside.”
“Screw that. We stay and fight, or run like hell, but whichever it is, we do it together. This was waiting for us. Which means it’s someone who knows we are Universe.”
“All the more reason to remain where we are. We can’t show fear.”
While his words held a certain logic, Katrina couldn’t help but think a flaw was buried in there somewhere. This had all the hallmarks of a trap. With them in the middle.
“None of this is logical. We’re not shadow manipulators. These spaces should be invisible to us. Something isn’t right here. I don’t trust what’s happening.”
He glanced from the dappled movement to her. “Do you have intuition, then?”
“Nothing but good old street sense. When a wrong thing is in front of me, I take action.”
“Gotcha. What do you recommend?” He returned to where she was and they watched as the thing continued to advance.
Then, from behind them, a sound started from their shared porch. The howling sent prickles dancing up her spine in a primal fear that made her long to bolt. She was a Universe operative, and didn’t act on the instinct.
“Derek?”
“I hear it,” he said without taking his gaze off the thing moving in their direction. “Man , Katrina, holy crap.”
When she pivoted, a new shape was visible on the property, one that hadn’t been there when she collected the mail that morning. The thing was ethereal, with the house visible behind it, reminding her of the way shades and spirits were portrayed in media.
“What is it?”
She swallowed, fear dancing across her senses, and darting over her skin. She tried to pick out features but all she could make out was a form drifting across the porch. Katrina had never believed in ghosts, but something was approaching them.
“A ghost,” she said, aware of how crazy that sounded. During this middle of the day much of the area was quiet. Still, certain neighbors worked from home, or didn’t work at all, and dogwalkers were always around. The main street was two blocks over. Someone should be on the street besides them. Yet all was still, like the things accosting them had put a damper over the area.
“I don’t believe in that kind of afterlife.”
“Neither do I,” she said. Unease filled her in a rising wave until all she wanted to do was scream. “I think my second plan is the best one. Let’s get out of Dodge.” An additional shade or spirit hovered by their car, cutting off that line of escape.
“Maybe you’re right.” He turned to the shadow, which had separated from the tree and was floating in the air, wafting their direction.
She couldn’t be sure, but a form might have been in the distance, one that had substance. The idea that an agent, whoever he or she was, was manipulating these things gave Katrina the backbone she needed. If they were part of someone’s power, they couldn’t be real.
In college she studied acting with a minor in creative writing. In hindsight she should have flipped course studies. Before she was published, she sold books on eBay and discovered some of her favorite authors by sampling the goods, which was the perfect solution. Claire has many book-irons in the fire, most notably her urban fantasy series, The Elementals’ Challenge series, but writes contemporary and shifter romances as well as.
While she’s not a movie mogul or actor, she does work in the film industry with her office firmly situated in the 90210 district of Hollywood. Prone to break out into song, she is quick on feet and just as quick with snappy dialogue. In addition to writing she does animal rescue, reads, and goes to movies. She loves to hear from fans, so feel free to drop her a line.
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sounds so good.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds intriguing. I hope to read more.
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