tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61091574116820223782024-03-13T10:15:35.145-07:00Tea Leaves, Travels, and Tapestried TalesMany faceted gatherings of the mystical, literary, and adventuresome occurrences that are my life and mine alone.Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-23586864847188656082023-12-27T05:00:00.000-08:002023-12-27T05:00:00.133-08:00STUFF YOUR KINDLE DAY!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3RZ9GBJZ9Rc6fgdoxGBOQAMkpdkXNpS_T-s6QGOpW4fdJBXYirRp0TBhLv5RWeU2o548gNfeEbcivJq9cXJLfIwwPgBlVDoc6do9mtHQkv0JrsTMsH8KlEEdxDIDbI_jP_JlwVyGrmn6l7y4ufAXT5i_7nKTpHNieehUxjDPmNXpnzPxT5AVYTOcDb2R/s1528/FB_IMG_1702076722711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3RZ9GBJZ9Rc6fgdoxGBOQAMkpdkXNpS_T-s6QGOpW4fdJBXYirRp0TBhLv5RWeU2o548gNfeEbcivJq9cXJLfIwwPgBlVDoc6do9mtHQkv0JrsTMsH8KlEEdxDIDbI_jP_JlwVyGrmn6l7y4ufAXT5i_7nKTpHNieehUxjDPmNXpnzPxT5AVYTOcDb2R/s320/FB_IMG_1702076722711.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>It's here! </b></div></b></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Stuff Your Kindle Day!! </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">2000+ free ebooks are available today only, including my New Orleans based romantasy, The Binding. There are books in almost every romance genre. So hurry, go fill up your kindle at </span><a href="http://www.romancebookworms.com"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-large;">www.romancebookworms.com</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">.</span></b></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-7173313960101356202023-10-13T10:00:00.001-07:002023-10-13T10:00:26.494-07:00Of Myth and Memento Mori is here!<p><b> <span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Friday the 13th in October only hours away from the new moon and a solar eclipse...</span></b></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>That's right! It's release day for a spooky, semi-gothic, paranormal romance that's a perfect read for this time of year.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Of Myth and Memento Mori is a haunting and hilarious nod to the people and the place where I hail from - a ghost story passed down through my family. </b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br />If you are looking for a cozy and creepy book with all the autumn and Halloween vibes, this is the book for you. </b></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Memento-Mori-Victoria-Clapton-ebook/dp/B0CHTB774W/" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Purchase OMAMM here!</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fWpAG3KeH9vnm-UC96Qo34loalWns5iazm0FpsezYrhXJ6OmUVWr6bs1ZD5_aLoKeDhNjSn20SjB8tXZ51K6AaKYLQGinaOGLLrMh1v06mJZPWeWWRG6-e6LeS2HCpgPYWQ-dnphZA-z13pPeqAyz3XQJsxYWnhyphenhyphencL8uxMTOxOqgiQeBKKl29nWIK1Mb/s2560/OMAMM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fWpAG3KeH9vnm-UC96Qo34loalWns5iazm0FpsezYrhXJ6OmUVWr6bs1ZD5_aLoKeDhNjSn20SjB8tXZ51K6AaKYLQGinaOGLLrMh1v06mJZPWeWWRG6-e6LeS2HCpgPYWQ-dnphZA-z13pPeqAyz3XQJsxYWnhyphenhyphencL8uxMTOxOqgiQeBKKl29nWIK1Mb/s320/OMAMM.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Beware of the Knockers. They come in the night, searching for the one that wronged them.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Lenore waits all year for Halloween to descend on the small Appalachian town of Hiraeth Hollow. A mortician and the town’s only professional pumpkin carver, Lenore spends her autumn weekends carving gruesome scenes in gourds while sipping hot beverages at the local Halloween attraction.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="background-color: white;">This year, something has changed. A knocking echoes through the trees, a strange man appears and disappears before Lenore’s eyes, and mysterious deliveries arrive on her doorstep. Then, the attacks begin.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Soon, Lenore and her friends face a nightmare from folklore; a bedtime story comes to life. Facing a mythological terror with no way to handle the situation, Lenore places her trust in Gwilym, the inhuman stranger she met in the woods.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="background-color: white;">As family secrets unfold and new friends and family appear, Lenore finds unexpected love amid terror and the burden of saving her town from angry haints.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="background-color: white;">*A ghostly Halloween tale full of quirky Southern humor, a mysterious romance, a talking bat, and a unique collection of Memento Mori.</span></span></b></div><br /></span><p></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-20558882286797366622023-08-11T08:22:00.002-07:002023-08-11T08:22:53.586-07:00Children of Rima - A True Fantasy Adventure<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Hi everyone! I'm back. I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted. I've been communicating with my alpha readers and making updates to Of Myth and Memento Mori, my upcoming Gothic Romantasy filled with ghosts, Appalachian legends, and Welsh mythology. More on that soon, but today, I want to tell you about a book that I read recently.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Now, I will apologize in advance. You know I love books, and every once in awhile one truly surprises me, not because I didn't expect it to be good. Oh no, I had a feeling this book was going to be great, but I had no idea that it would give me that fully immersed feeling that I've only gotten with a few books over the years. </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Children of Rima: Seeds of the Fallen is book one of a fantasy series from Miriam Yvette. Side note: Myriam Yvette is also a fantastic artist. Check out her work sometime. </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>I digress.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>I won't give any of the plot away. Instead I will attach the blurb lower in this blog and tell you of how this book made me feel. In my life, certain books, certain stories have drawn me in so deeply that I looked forward to every spare second of reading time that I could nab. You all know these books: Wheel of Time, The Witcher, Kushiel's Dart, Harry Potter, all things Tolkien. These are the stories where you don't want to read them all at once (even if you sometimes can't help but devour them quickly.) The tales within are a special sort of adventure and the time it takes to read these books is some of the most exciting moments a reader can have. </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Children of Rima is like that. It's an adventure, a fully-immersive experience, and more than that, the characters have so much heart. For all of you romance lovers, there is an underlying enemies to well...lovers aspect that provides an almost cheeky undercurrent to the harrowing situation in which the characters find themselves. Also, this is one of those stories where the side characters are just as colorful and expressive as the main characters. As a reader, these details create a deep association. You will feel like you know each of the characters well, and you will want to know more. </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Miriam Yvette is currently writing the next installment right now, and I am sitting on pins and needles, stalking her socials, and counting down the minutes until the next book is written. Children of Rima is a fantasy for the ages.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>All of that to say, go! Read this book! It's so so so good! Really good! 😀</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZ3BqRIF9rM4iQY7UnEDhGy-LPabq8_0A0T3mtF479nkf5g2nkgA4ABPu6kz6mfzOLLe82dD9h9qiVXSrP1NBwWmPcO7an_xsU54KNLF08nDvOCFtvkc_6UKuN_YP0CM8DQFiq69PVwTmJXFaqGx66wasnuKyZdLzEYCq5oGgj2TN9R7vR-S2Vn9T70sX/s630/9781088134344_p0_v1_s1200x630.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZ3BqRIF9rM4iQY7UnEDhGy-LPabq8_0A0T3mtF479nkf5g2nkgA4ABPu6kz6mfzOLLe82dD9h9qiVXSrP1NBwWmPcO7an_xsU54KNLF08nDvOCFtvkc_6UKuN_YP0CM8DQFiq69PVwTmJXFaqGx66wasnuKyZdLzEYCq5oGgj2TN9R7vR-S2Vn9T70sX/s320/9781088134344_p0_v1_s1200x630.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Rima-Fallen-Miriam-Yvette/dp/1088134343/" target="_blank">Grab Your Copy Here</a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span class="a-text-bold" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; text-align: start;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span class="a-text-bold" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; text-align: start;">Enemies To Lovers. Secret Identity. Dark Secrets.</span><span class="a-text-italic" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">A secret identity hides the truth, but what happens when it becomes a cage?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lucan Greystone long lived under an alias, his true self, hidden in a new body, but when a murder attempt sends him adrift to a Riman town, the wound he suffered won't heal. Now he must depend on the Harrow family to trek the long, perilous road and reunite with his friends, all while suffering Elene Harrow's company, the town's heathen who nearly killed him.</span></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-82816626813060068032023-05-18T07:08:00.006-07:002023-05-18T07:08:00.153-07:00A Forest of Grimm Desires by E. P. Stavs- A Review<p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Hello all of you beautiful cacophonies!</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>I recently finished A Forest of Grimm Desires by E. P. Stavs, and I can't express how much I loved this unique, original mashing of fairytales and creatures we all know and love. It's fun, witty, and fast-paced, and quite honestly, it's an addicting read. The side characters Evander and Lyall captured my heart, as did the villain, Tenebris (He's my favorite, but you all knew that, didn't you?), and the main characters, Gretchen and Red Cap--their banter and steamy chemistry round off the balance to a wonderful book. </b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Recently, I've discovered that another book is coming in this series, and I can't wait. Seriously. I'm stalking E. P. Stavs like a crazy person so that I don't miss any updates. I need this edgy fairy tale world that she has created.</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXwpna9wl2gpqyAuQlOYswN80JqgoLqJF2XV1kOdgOjh9ToUhKIsERGxKxSz3-m9YeEdEoChekFUJCwgGh2A4lT7P2hczkhHntCF2bxTXCI9_AvUzFB-rJEOeCV4bzTkFwBNjjm2_TeTZinUfy8wuSEx438bteu01DpZ65D-q5-t8BLlHs5sNRO_iFQ/s500/41JbB-I0DCL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXwpna9wl2gpqyAuQlOYswN80JqgoLqJF2XV1kOdgOjh9ToUhKIsERGxKxSz3-m9YeEdEoChekFUJCwgGh2A4lT7P2hczkhHntCF2bxTXCI9_AvUzFB-rJEOeCV4bzTkFwBNjjm2_TeTZinUfy8wuSEx438bteu01DpZ65D-q5-t8BLlHs5sNRO_iFQ/s320/41JbB-I0DCL.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“He's the one who steals your dreams, twisting desires and eliciting screams. You ask his name, but no one knows. Speak it once, and away he goes.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">In a forest where Rapunzel paints gruesome visions in her tower and Red Riding Hood reigns over a harem of werewolves, a young woman once slated for the witch's oven finds herself working with the notorious goblin king to discover the trickster's name and keep the rising darkness from consuming them all. That, and trying very hard not to ogle him while he's sleeping.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Seriously, though, how small were those short pants?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">Grown-up Hansel and Gretel meets Rumpelstiltskin with D&D vibes and SPICE.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">*Features a primary M/F romance, as well as a secondary M/M romance.</span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />CW: se-x, language, vio-lence</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Grimm-Desires-Black-Fantasies-ebook/dp/B0BXM5N6B2/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #04ff00; font-size: x-large;">Order A Forest of Grimm Desires Here!</span></b></a><br /></span></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-63114601005542104862023-05-05T07:25:00.001-07:002023-05-05T07:25:00.139-07:00Updates and Other Fun Stuff<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>My Dearest Cacophonies,</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>It's been some time since I've written a new blog. As happens to us all, life has been changing for me, and I've taken quite a bit of time to realign and focus on new projects. Since my last update, I've had two stories purchased.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>"Haven," a Gothic short story, has been featured in Quill and Crow's Bleak Midwinter: Solstice Light collection. Quill and Crow Publishing House is my dream publisher. To have a story accepted for one of their anthologies is a dream come true. "Haven" is tale of a young woman who fled from persecution hoping to find safety at a house deep in the woods. Yet, not all is not as it seems, and her refuge may not be as safe as she hoped.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Many other Gothic horror stories also fill these pages.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPNDW3DIHZdtKQQ1gBpLhYIthg5eITmGNh8Opd0ekXmTuzBkpbpw4hnA2MEm5EL60gflhbGQlHfFoYEkGY0Nj6eCdDWz4RhO4naEM9p2lrwo2DxQ4J9bURm5PLFtYnjxRmFRLhGNTGsu3f2YVYAZ61mh0IB6tAUP5Qc6zIEn1XOkuetYZPI-tUi04ug/s900/1958228176.01.S001.LXXXXXXX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPNDW3DIHZdtKQQ1gBpLhYIthg5eITmGNh8Opd0ekXmTuzBkpbpw4hnA2MEm5EL60gflhbGQlHfFoYEkGY0Nj6eCdDWz4RhO4naEM9p2lrwo2DxQ4J9bURm5PLFtYnjxRmFRLhGNTGsu3f2YVYAZ61mh0IB6tAUP5Qc6zIEn1XOkuetYZPI-tUi04ug/s320/1958228176.01.S001.LXXXXXXX.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bleak-Midwinter-Solstice-Cassandra-Thompson/dp/1958228176/" target="_blank">Get Bleak Midwinter Here!</a><br /></div><br /><b>While I was in the horror writing mood, I tried my hand at a little horror comedy for a contest, which I didn't win, creating a funny tale that I plan on sharing with everyone as it is or possibly turning it into a full book. We don't succeed at everything we try, but we must try. And personally, I love that little short story. So, maybe you will too.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Immediately after that, I wrote "Rainbow Island" for Endless Ink Publishing as part of their Earth's Final Chapter series. This was so much fun to write. Louisiana and all of its survivors now live below the water. They've been there so long that they've lost contact with the above world until one person is unable to ignore her explorer's heart. "Rainbow Island" isn't available yet, but I'll let y'all know more when the great folks at Endless Ink update me.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>And that brings me to the present. After writing three short stories, two of which were in the horror genre, I found myself itching to write a new story, a spooky tale in Appalachia, where some of my people are from, that weaves myth, Southern superstitions, a twist on a tale told by most Southern grandparents and great-grandparents, varying objects of Memento Mori, and of course, because it wouldn't be one of my books without it, a fateful romance with hints of reincarnation and the kind of forever love we all want to believe in even if it is a fantasy. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Oh and ghosts...there are most definitely ghosts. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>I'm about the wrap up the first draft of this book titled: <u>Of Myth and Memento Mori</u>.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>I don't have a release date yet, nor do I have an official cover. Below is a placeholder cover so that you guys have something to look at until I have better information to share.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>I hope you follow me along for this ride. For those of you who are die-hard fans of The Binding, there might even be a little bit of an Easter Egg in there for you. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Wishing you all the best!</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Victoria</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiot3iU4OVnMRl9RScmI_F0tflLlgSyMTQ0nRrZsrbUPNgJ8xPyHoQ8MTULH9U8VgSsijxK4ctd--4fhA0-XS9tWWQKqh9JiqFeH00fOQ8BgEwHxT6ZBBUFgE5Lx4QNjA0cKlr9h-VupHbAu06IEmvGB-LdKALhk5KiJrc4s7EE8l7-H39Ea2ABAoYWdw/s1920/sample%20cover%20title%20reveal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiot3iU4OVnMRl9RScmI_F0tflLlgSyMTQ0nRrZsrbUPNgJ8xPyHoQ8MTULH9U8VgSsijxK4ctd--4fhA0-XS9tWWQKqh9JiqFeH00fOQ8BgEwHxT6ZBBUFgE5Lx4QNjA0cKlr9h-VupHbAu06IEmvGB-LdKALhk5KiJrc4s7EE8l7-H39Ea2ABAoYWdw/s320/sample%20cover%20title%20reveal.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-82390939691322036542022-07-22T07:45:00.001-07:002022-07-22T07:45:30.790-07:00Colleen Unbound Release and The Binding Universe <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkp7snK59hSicdQl9JhUakJv_Fr0gofWh-exdLNob4940Rq_MmwLOBGBAd6kxY16VZJuCp9WFGbKkUf5JfALyBnXKYIrxNN6mmmY7D724dhO9yApgTJ7xLbY4_f1JnhyXXff277tseNrXF0wfcr3Hg5ULTcAfGo6DjOS9ZwJGBg4Wa4nNahpdsrP1fQ/s2560/Binding%206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkp7snK59hSicdQl9JhUakJv_Fr0gofWh-exdLNob4940Rq_MmwLOBGBAd6kxY16VZJuCp9WFGbKkUf5JfALyBnXKYIrxNN6mmmY7D724dhO9yApgTJ7xLbY4_f1JnhyXXff277tseNrXF0wfcr3Hg5ULTcAfGo6DjOS9ZwJGBg4Wa4nNahpdsrP1fQ/w400-h640/Binding%206.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Colleen-Unbound-Binding-Universe-Book-ebook/dp/B0B5VV7PSC/">Pre-Order Colleen Unbound Here</a></span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">It has taken some time, but Colleen Unbound, the final installment in The Binding Universe is now available for pre-order.</span></b></div><p></p><div aria-expanded="true" class="a-expander-content a-expander-partial-collapse-content a-expander-content-expanded" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 20px; position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">fter the death of Queen Orlagh, the once Seelie Queen of faeries, and her evil henchman King Eldon, king of Zoanthia, trouble brews in the faery realm. While the Seelie and Unseelie courts struggle for peace under the new rule, a monstrous faery takes control of Zoanthia.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="font-size: 14px;">Colleen O’Brien, High Priestess of the New Orleans witches, is fed up with faeries threatening her city. Her friends defeated the key players. Life should be back to normal. Yet, the good times haven’t started to roll. Instead, humans and fae are captured and killed all over the city as the vampires reestablish their government, and fearful witches punish innocents. Colleen must do what she can to establish peace for her friends, New Orleans, and the faeries in Elfrice.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="font-size: 14px;">But must she do it with Niz, the rakish, insufferable nix that has been a thorn in her side for almost twenty years?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="a-expander-header a-expander-partial-collapse-header" style="background-color: white; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; opacity: 1; outline: 0px; position: absolute; text-align: start; transition: opacity 0.4s ease-out 0s; width: 700px;"><a aria-expanded="true" class="a-declarative" data-a-expander-toggle="{"allowLinkDefault":true, "expand_prompt":"Read more", "collapse_prompt":"Read less"}" data-action="a-expander-toggle" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-a-expander-toggle" data-csa-c-id="tqwihk-z5lpqy-b0z1wk-rpukcr" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-interaction-events="click" role="button" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007185;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-extender-collapse" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/sash/McBZv0ZvnbehkIx.png"); background-position: -94px -293px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 900px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 9px; margin-right: 0.385em; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 7px;"></i></a></div></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q_qzl6AqWGh-_jjfeTbHXzkDDXWgRCsU9EoHAtaeHjZyXtMPDAVQHxAYzmGVeVp8Fb7QPWCUcqssLx0QmdiHxPD7gczuUdUaiGdB3RvpQ2jPRr-e2BMxBRTRJ1iyaHFpLkkTiGa7wLB-kf1HbFSlPEI8vzThBatW-9xU3ysoHmbXtK6YdP4wQMVHdw/s5120/Binding%20all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="4800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q_qzl6AqWGh-_jjfeTbHXzkDDXWgRCsU9EoHAtaeHjZyXtMPDAVQHxAYzmGVeVp8Fb7QPWCUcqssLx0QmdiHxPD7gczuUdUaiGdB3RvpQ2jPRr-e2BMxBRTRJ1iyaHFpLkkTiGa7wLB-kf1HbFSlPEI8vzThBatW-9xU3ysoHmbXtK6YdP4wQMVHdw/w375-h400/Binding%20all.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But that isn't all! All of the Binding Universe books are getting new covers, incredible formatting, and hardcore editing updates. As some of you know, I began writing these books many years ago, and I didn't have access to the resources that I have now. (Namely, the absolutely brilliant, Charity Chimni.) </span></b><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The kindle versions of these books are already available, and the paperback and hardback versions will be up in the next week or so. So, please stay tuned. These new versions are stunning. </span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">***Audiobooks - The first three audiobooks in the Binding Universe (The Binding, Witch's Pawn, Ancestors) will not be the updated versions of the stories. I am under contract and cannot update to the new stories until said contracts run out. However, the final three audiobooks in the The Binding Universe (Zylphia, Solomon Cille, Colleen) will all be the updated versions. </span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Stay tuned to my social media. I will be doing a giveaway or two in the upcoming weeks. </span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">As always, thank you for reading my books.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Love, Light and Darkness</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-1510906385507222672021-07-23T08:05:00.003-07:002021-07-24T05:15:17.249-07:00Wicked Wings Release<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWSVeezmk_WA4cKATa7IY84ylh7TwqxZZ-vk86ihHr3pVTIRvAVSB7FWaykTtHGtH2MjSDWRvsq_ytXLV8ggJzwDIiOlc371Mhaz8P5G29Ln0q1otEd4xhQpydpwSQbkxoKiWSSuzO18Z/s2048/Wicked+Wings+Cover+Instagram.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWSVeezmk_WA4cKATa7IY84ylh7TwqxZZ-vk86ihHr3pVTIRvAVSB7FWaykTtHGtH2MjSDWRvsq_ytXLV8ggJzwDIiOlc371Mhaz8P5G29Ln0q1otEd4xhQpydpwSQbkxoKiWSSuzO18Z/s320/Wicked+Wings+Cover+Instagram.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>Hello Beautiful Cacophonies!</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>The arrival of the Full Buck Moon brings the release of Wicked Wings, Book 2 in Subaru's End. This trilogy was a dream for me to write. I'd always wanted to give dark fantasy a try, to write something a little darker and more fantastical than what I've written previously. For the benefit of the readers and also for my benefit, I decided to write the entire trilogy in totality before releasing any of the books and then releasing them in tandem, one month after the other. </b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>Today, Wicked Wings is now available, and come August 22nd, the final book, Chthonic Crown, will also be here. I keep saying it, and I'll probably say it a hundred more times. I'm so thrilled and incredibly humbled that so many of you have given these books a try. Most of you found me from The Binding Universe, my New Orleans vampire series, and though, Subaru's End is in no way like those books, you stuck with me anyway. Thank you for that!</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>May this weekend bring you a little magic! </b></span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>Love, Light and Darkness</b></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g8bfi-elzDJ-n5JU20eT-p1aCNTlTPW_mEWsxIkresKN2Vkssbfe8Kjtc6MwleOE-xDzPHFOaVpYgTi8BULNjsw7Y1rcGVs7GA4Dk5BprWDIIFXxk-cl4GO1PlK4S15q-GkauZ1OL4Wz/s2048/Wicked+Wings+Promo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g8bfi-elzDJ-n5JU20eT-p1aCNTlTPW_mEWsxIkresKN2Vkssbfe8Kjtc6MwleOE-xDzPHFOaVpYgTi8BULNjsw7Y1rcGVs7GA4Dk5BprWDIIFXxk-cl4GO1PlK4S15q-GkauZ1OL4Wz/s320/Wicked+Wings+Promo.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://linktr.ee/VictoriaClapton" style="font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Buy Wicked Wings</span></a></p><p><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Imprisoned in Hikari, Cahya’s last-ditch effort to reason wi</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">th Leor, the King of Light, fails, but her efforts aren’t in vain. Hidden in plain sight in the ro</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">tunda of Halcyon Palace is a secret—a magical secret, and Cahya must unlock the mystery so that she can return to Kage and the dark realm of Kurai and together, with Tariq and their allies, mend what has broken the celestial realm of Subaru.</span></b></span></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-63493752088733417022021-06-28T06:57:00.001-07:002021-06-28T06:57:00.174-07:00Blood Money - Lana Sky<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Alright all of you dark romance readers...Lana Sky has a new book, Blood Money, and it's intense. I had the chance to advance read this book, and what can I say. It's hot, emotional, soul twisting...everything one could want from a dark romance. Because she always surprises me, I've had to stop saying this is my favorite Lana Sky book, but I will say this...Blood Money stands out. It's so good that I've already read it twice now. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><strong style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><em></em></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><em><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDf9tIDyjivy35V8BW2sKyTR5kAGIqM6SAo3TDOrmIpYXkVjqJ0jVqJuEyxYhsdW8FMiyC4dbMlyqJL3r1_9Wx5ZQaSL7Q8qIYUnpc8SpcJGGkzD3QyepkpUC6zp7ueLFMeuL9pq2TKI0X/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2b6lSg7Qkq-BkyjBBwimskxJpwQKGM7tzLKqKnwctALF-AcNpx7qk4010rt74cacwJJK4Oa5OUupo1rXiC3B_qAz7GceiOzkEjuPn3CGJeYO2dwWPp2kgkyQP7__8UFgFy_5SAgt7x7Jd/w400-h640/image.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDf9tIDyjivy35V8BW2sKyTR5kAGIqM6SAo3TDOrmIpYXkVjqJ0jVqJuEyxYhsdW8FMiyC4dbMlyqJL3r1_9Wx5ZQaSL7Q8qIYUnpc8SpcJGGkzD3QyepkpUC6zp7ueLFMeuL9pq2TKI0X/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDf9tIDyjivy35V8BW2sKyTR5kAGIqM6SAo3TDOrmIpYXkVjqJ0jVqJuEyxYhsdW8FMiyC4dbMlyqJL3r1_9Wx5ZQaSL7Q8qIYUnpc8SpcJGGkzD3QyepkpUC6zp7ueLFMeuL9pq2TKI0X/"><br /></a></div></em></strong></div><strong style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><em><br /></em></strong><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> In this twisted dark cartel romance, revenge and hate collide with the past...</span></em></strong></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ten years after a devastating betrayal, revenge has come back to bite Ada Pavalos.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Literally.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once her family’s trusted bodyguard, Domino Valenciaga is out for blood.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or her heart.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Whichever goal takes more violence to achieve...</span></strong></p><center style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.8840026855469" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="56.6159896850586" x="72.2159957885742" y="-343.297973632812"><span style="font-size: medium;">EXCERPT</span></text></center><center style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="11.0519714355469" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="420.227981567383" x="108.416000366211" y="-329.738006591797"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></text></center><center style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="11.0519714355469" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="420.227981567383" x="108.416000366211" y="-329.738006591797">“These were made with more than just plain leather...” He runs the width of his thumb </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="11.0399780273438" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="412.632080078125" x="72.4559936523438" y="-302.138031005859">across my lower back as if reading the trauma simply by feel. “Metal tails. Or a spur.”</text></span></center><center style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="11.0400085449219" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="60.2159881591797" x="108.416000366211" y="-274.657989501953"><br /></text></span></center><center style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="11.0400085449219" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="60.2159881591797" x="108.416000366211" y="-274.657989501953">“You sound </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="11.0399780273438" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="369.359985351562" x="168.968017578125" y="-274.658020019531">impressed,” I rasp, hating the quiver in my voice. I’m gazing up at the bottle </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.9320068359375" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="237.528030395508" x="72.4319915771484" y="-247.058013916016">of wine just beyond my reach, desperate for a sip.</text></span></center><center style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.8840026855469" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="136.044013977051" x="72.6119918823242" y="-217.537994384766">Continue Reading Excerpt</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.1280059814453" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: SegoeUISymbol, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="9.91200256347656" x="212.809997558594" y="-217.610000610352">➜</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.7879943847656" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="123" x="227.078002929688" y="-217.538009643555"><a href="https://smarturl.it/BMEx1">https://smarturl.it/BMEx1</a></text></span></center><div style="text-align: center;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.7879943847656" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="123" x="227.078002929688" y="-217.538009643555"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></text></div><div style="text-align: center;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.7879943847656" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="123" x="227.078002929688" y="-217.538009643555"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></text></div><div style="text-align: center;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="10.7879943847656" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; text-align: left;" textlength="123" x="227.078002929688" y="-217.538009643555"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT, serif;"><a href="https://books2read.com/BloodMoney"><span style="font-size: x-large;">All Retailers - Get Blood Money Here</span></a></span></text></div>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-45989982438188421532021-06-24T08:08:00.001-07:002021-06-24T08:08:00.176-07:00Lurid Lantern Release<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Three long years of hard work a dark fantasy trilogy is born. It's been a long time in the making, but I'm excited to tell you that Lurid Lantern, book one in the Subaru's End trilogy, is available now. Subaru's End has been a passion piece of mine, the telling of a story I always wanted to read but couldn't find. It's different than anything I've previously written, and it comes with all manner of trigger warnings. So, it won't be for everyone, but for those of you that do give it a chance. I sure hope you love it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGaRYBDhzE1GMzEkFA_d8jhmf_0B-uachbkdBQHCcQlsHONGJKNOUzXJN4Nv-ejQDVQ9elDsxAoLt8EtLTAjW2aGnJ1dMCPZsR0cZ_2j-ecvwq_cZ-TxAC9xb3sP5wItZdzr5IcodUroM/s1343/Lurid+Lantern+Kindle+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="913" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGaRYBDhzE1GMzEkFA_d8jhmf_0B-uachbkdBQHCcQlsHONGJKNOUzXJN4Nv-ejQDVQ9elDsxAoLt8EtLTAjW2aGnJ1dMCPZsR0cZ_2j-ecvwq_cZ-TxAC9xb3sP5wItZdzr5IcodUroM/w437-h640/Lurid+Lantern+Kindle+cover.jpg" width="437" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">After discovering that all she fights for is a lie, a young commander joins her arch nemesis to defeat her king and save the three realms.</span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;">Cahya is a commander in the army of Refulgent. Her mission is to defend Hikari, the Light Realm and defeat the Soul Smite army of Kurai, the Dark Realm. Yet, Cahya has a secret, and her world unravels on a chance meeting with the King of Kurai where she discovers she may have helped fracture the realms.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Trigger Warnings: This trilogy is intended for an 18+ audience. It contains foul language, extreme gore, and explicit, often violent sex. If any of these bother you, this series is not for you.</b></span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lurid-Lantern-Subarus-End-Book-ebook/dp/B09743BF18/" target="_blank"><b>Get Lurid Lantern Here</b></a></span></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-70447319162155535032021-04-13T07:10:00.000-07:002021-04-13T07:10:04.016-07:00New Covers for Painted Sin Duet<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"> Lana Sky's Painted Sin Duet now has new covers, and personally, I think they are perfect!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWefsk9733EpsTSlm41iSFYPh8bc-xr81yr08-vBad4g3Z-71qJXakSEz2rNerd0FB6IvfiDgjRaiLKeYbZGr99hyphenhyphenzuwtSpA0Gw0ry8J_VxEyA8vu43NLne18F1Rf5nT3dsLuLYTMNbGKB/s2048/ynPnpszQ.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWefsk9733EpsTSlm41iSFYPh8bc-xr81yr08-vBad4g3Z-71qJXakSEz2rNerd0FB6IvfiDgjRaiLKeYbZGr99hyphenhyphenzuwtSpA0Gw0ry8J_VxEyA8vu43NLne18F1Rf5nT3dsLuLYTMNbGKB/w400-h400/ynPnpszQ.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Book one: </b><b><i>A Touch of Dark</i></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">When a cold, reclusive billionaire takes an interest in a tormented young heiress, she finds herself drawn to his intrigue. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Could the tension building between them be entirely due to lust or the trappings of a greater scheme?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">One driven solely by revenge?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Book two: </b><b><i>Tastes like Sin</i></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Is he a heartless monster?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The more Juliana is subjected to his charms, the deeper she falls under Damien’s spell. But the promise of protection and security may come at a higher price than she’s willing to pay.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Or, a reluctant player?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The reclusive billionaire has his own secrets, and his relationship with Juliana may threaten to send his precarious house of cards crashing down.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Will their bond survive the chaos?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Or, will they both be destroyed in the end?</span></p></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/author/lanasky" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Get Your Copies Here</span></a></div><br /><p></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-48851080723714238482021-02-02T08:36:00.001-08:002021-02-02T08:36:52.772-08:00Stewards of the Sea - Out Now!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOj7qcZU1VcsMbFDIsYG31uvB4zpHbzkcHcU7weM9KhmmB1v9umz1AOxZWf_ylyf-m-qyOizgi8aMwJ-Hr5ichWD6tp3V_dM_Xyz4ssvh9BzY6bP1rTXkTG0QUSKCelZGKKaapyuxTEf2/s1385/SOTS+Kindle+cover+and+promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="915" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOj7qcZU1VcsMbFDIsYG31uvB4zpHbzkcHcU7weM9KhmmB1v9umz1AOxZWf_ylyf-m-qyOizgi8aMwJ-Hr5ichWD6tp3V_dM_Xyz4ssvh9BzY6bP1rTXkTG0QUSKCelZGKKaapyuxTEf2/w422-h640/SOTS+Kindle+cover+and+promo.jpg" width="422" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stewards-Sea-Victoria-Clapton/dp/B08TZHBVD6" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="300" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegC10xdZEWncmvCMOunR3ws3kwoK_wIk-WEmyPsCtIQX7fG6D_WP8Tip0152USV_3sSA_-FRzSk4cNq6u7tyZbT_AOH2mDfxLkFBiAoXVQ3EXSaApuKwTFQKwFve-qTX5ufG3cjoyCyUk/w200-h96/download.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">So, surprise, surprise! I've written a new book. As some of you might now, I am currently working on the last book in a dark fantasy trilogy, and I plan to release all three books back-to-back very soon. The series has been a kind of passion project for me over the last year and a half, and it's been rather daunting. Like many of you, this past year, or has it been years, has been trying to say the least, and at some point, I realized that I missed the beach something fierce. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">So, I did something about it. I wrote a surprise book! Like most people, I couldn't really travel, but I could write a Contemporary Beach Romance and create a fun Spotify playlist to go along with the novel. <b><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/29jEKJxACeITGsy3r0S105?si=WQkGuqXgQteNfF0S33_Yeg">(Listen to Playlist Here)</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">All proceeds for this book, whether you buy a paperback or a kindle copy, will be donated to the Share the Beach Turtle Conservation program in Gulf Shores, Alabama.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGeZoBjVZJJjkkuFDqgrupLyhKNuvDHNmvvx605_tpW5RmSvwxQO0KwchxOIHvU39pES3WlTKizjdI2aC_ZgUVGGMyhqVsbYiG7MlU9JoCMFWyYdwqwE7XOGJ-9bxnBshwCd1XHdUzGp_/s2048/ACX+Awaken+Cover+Official+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGeZoBjVZJJjkkuFDqgrupLyhKNuvDHNmvvx605_tpW5RmSvwxQO0KwchxOIHvU39pES3WlTKizjdI2aC_ZgUVGGMyhqVsbYiG7MlU9JoCMFWyYdwqwE7XOGJ-9bxnBshwCd1XHdUzGp_/s320/ACX+Awaken+Cover+Official+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Priestess-Warrior-Book-1/dp/B08SMCDZGJ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="300" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3frxaVdHEtHFEnFg2krop0ww9zxoJqaolK43uN7eFLkFl9oufY0SuCmVzhyphenhyphenvgYfMGGmUZj7MWx8ZQbtJV8RUZl3rJTfhjSW9_O16dZwmpzNUFp_2MvzgDyUbxCfUSVJaDUq4SlfNCII0/w200-h95/download.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In other news: the audio for Awaken is now up on Audible. The narrator, Matthew R. Lents, is extremely talented. Indeed, I'm lucky to have him narrating several of my books. You all will enjoy listening to him, as well. As it stands, I still have a few US and UK promo codes. If you'd like one, please message me.</span><p></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Alright, lovelies, that's all today. Happy reading and Vermillion Cacophonies!</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><br />Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-14625991093982845062020-09-18T06:29:00.002-07:002020-09-18T06:29:42.606-07:00Gates of Guinee Cover Reveal and Release Date<p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Book 4 in the Casquette Girls series is coming, and we finally get a sneak peak at the cover!</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ca50186c-7fff-8bf4-250e-1b90a0908a2d"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ca50186c-7fff-8bf4-250e-1b90a0908a2d"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rgozp1IppdAh5_Y59JJuwEwTycis37AL7bAQCUcMX3pAXfNxnx5nwRhBrORiq1jP4Wowz500cP_NqxtpgXjNv4bhS9BiD1USd7Ze729hzoqA6LLScqdBEfW6O8JyOta-1T0rpEiotQdR/s2048/-U3_qZYw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1362" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rgozp1IppdAh5_Y59JJuwEwTycis37AL7bAQCUcMX3pAXfNxnx5nwRhBrORiq1jP4Wowz500cP_NqxtpgXjNv4bhS9BiD1USd7Ze729hzoqA6LLScqdBEfW6O8JyOta-1T0rpEiotQdR/s320/-U3_qZYw.jpeg" /></a></div><br /></span><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">As the Ghost Drinkers seep into the crevices of the Crescent City, leeching the French Quarter of magic, the local witches are consumed with a new fight for survival. Adele has one chance to save everyone she loves, but it will mean breaking away from her coven and trusting a vampire.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">For the first time in four hundred years, Niccolò Medici feels on the precipice of finding his stolen grimoire. But in order to restore his family’s legacy, he’ll have to succumb to his darkest desires.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">New York transplant and first responder Isaac Thompson will stop at nothing to protect Adele, even if he has to give in to his Spektral magic to unearth the truth about Nicco’s monstrous past. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">For those who choose to pass through the Gates of Guinée, the rules of the Afterworld are simple: Don’t eat the food. Tell no lies.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">In a whirl of lucid dreams, fetish markets, and ancestral reunions, only those who bare their souls will survive this ghostly hunt, or else they’ll join the land of the dead permanently.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teetering on the razor’s edge between everything she desires and utter madness, only her heart and her magic can lead Adele back home... if only Callisto Salazar hadn’t stolen her Fire, and the most secretive one of them all hadn’t stolen her heart.</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="http://bit.ly/TGG-RM">Read 1st Chapter </a>at Rue Morgue</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bit.ly/TGG-pre-order-amz"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Pre Order Here</b></span></a><br /></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-47073671411768037202020-08-19T08:39:00.000-07:002020-08-19T08:39:18.007-07:00The Other Tide - Carly Spade<p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Before we head into autumn, I think we all need one more summer worthy romance to enjoy with a cocktail beneath the last rays of warm sunshine, and I have the perfect book--Carly Spade's novel The Other Tide.</span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">You guys know the drill. This is the part where I gush about how much I love a book, where I tell you whether it's fast-paced, funny, sexy, or just fun, and yes, The Other Tide is ALL of those things. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">But that's not why I wanted to blog about this book. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Like many of you, the ocean is my happy place. I am never happier than when I'm near the water. Those of you that know me personally are probably tired of my endless gifts of reusable straws, refillable water bottles, and woven shopping bags that go along with my insistence that we as people must do better by our oceans and by our earth. On top of all the pollution and waste, we are depleting our oceans of their diverse lifeforms--including sharks.</span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Which brings me back to Carly Spade's wonderful book. Don't worry. This is NOT a book about environmental issues. It's a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance that occurs on an adventurous expedition to tag and film various species of shark. The hero is based on Paul de Gelder, and the heroine is smart, funny, and non-simpering. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">If you guys don't know Paul de Gelder, you aren't nerdy enough. Go watch Shark Week! Now. :)</span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">And best of all, the biggest reason I wanted to share this awesome book with you is that ALL proceeds go to <a href="http://www.bluering.blue/" target="_blank">Blue Ring Inc.</a>,which supports the funding of globally significant exploration and conservation projects.</span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Okay guys, now this is part where I finally say it. I love this book. It's the best book I've read all summer, and I know you guys are going to enjoy it too.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4areO_U3y-DAcUyDeZJvsV4Nmy-QZ_R4AICi7fac8szMyV-bOX_fn_VJFBFyk_YnxroRh5SkjBho1HAhM8yrdFEsyYa-2xpqcZQtiGDWiTTP6a_PmzcxHFrdUAmXeCwrFanS2Ls-vwGgl/s346/41CsTbITl4L._SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="217" height="541" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4areO_U3y-DAcUyDeZJvsV4Nmy-QZ_R4AICi7fac8szMyV-bOX_fn_VJFBFyk_YnxroRh5SkjBho1HAhM8yrdFEsyYa-2xpqcZQtiGDWiTTP6a_PmzcxHFrdUAmXeCwrFanS2Ls-vwGgl/w339-h541/41CsTbITl4L._SY346_.jpg" width="339" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Other-Tide-Carly-Spade-ebook/dp/B07VSZJZCZ/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Other+Tide+Carly+Spade&qid=1597848718&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Buy The Other Tide Here</a></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Dr. Samantha ‘Sam’ Smith and Luke Jansen have gotten under each other’s skins since they met 10 years ago on the Royal Australian Naval base. They never thought they’d see each other again until their love of sharks brought them back together, giving their competitive and stubborn natures another chance to clash.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Sam, marine biologist and shark specialist, recently landed her dream job with the aquatic research department at Miami University. When her mentor invites her on the expedition of a lifetime, she eagerly takes the bait. The goal: obtain coveted, groundbreaking footage of Great White sharks breeding.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Unbeknownst to Sam, her mentor has invited one of the best shark experts in the business as well — a certain Aussie diver too arrogant and sexy for his own good. Luke, different after a life-changing diving accident, is the last person she expected to see.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Sam and Luke’s competitive streak picks up right where it left off as Sam realizes Luke knows almost as much about sharks as she does, despite her eight years of education. When a deep sea dive goes awry, Sam has to rely on Luke’s experience, both with sharks and as a Navy Clearance Diver, to get her back on board alive and in one piece. To make matters worse, a reckless rival crew surfaces, determined to beat them to the punch. Amidst the adventure and exhilaration of the hunt, Sam and Luke ignite a passionate spark that they slowly realize may have been simmering all along. If they can make it through with the footage and their lives, they may just have a shot at Happily Ever After.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">*The character of Luke Jansen inspired by Paul de Gelder (Discovery’s Shark Week) and his amazing story of survival and overcoming life’s obstacles.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="carlyspade.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Carly's Website</span></a><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-35087204473135074652020-08-17T06:47:00.005-07:002020-08-17T06:47:30.067-07:00Moth- Lana Sky<p> Okay, okay... I know that I have said this before about previous books written by Lana Sky, and every time, every single time, I meant what I said.</p><p>But here I go, saying it again.</p><p>MOTH is my FAVORITE Lana Sky book. My favorite!</p><p>Out today! Be sure to check it out.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gmbrXtDpkssAHV4Ko22UfBRd9UXM6uyl26ItO-2w2WjlKsFVfm0AKrjqS43Rgt4XbTMVTmhCc5g7GsnaxB6lnRgGYm_33qw6FiNsWtWyjwNl7bgb6SfklTzIDvsaXypuuIGrixOriGtE/s2048/Q-T9O2Nw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gmbrXtDpkssAHV4Ko22UfBRd9UXM6uyl26ItO-2w2WjlKsFVfm0AKrjqS43Rgt4XbTMVTmhCc5g7GsnaxB6lnRgGYm_33qw6FiNsWtWyjwNl7bgb6SfklTzIDvsaXypuuIGrixOriGtE/s640/Q-T9O2Nw.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="195.97200012207" x="71.6519927978516" y="-618.867980957031">He thought he could make my life hell.</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="95.2680053710938" x="71.7359924316406" y="-605.067932128906">But it already was.</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.5919799804688" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="38.2320022583008" x="72.3839950561523" y="-577.828063964844">The one</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="411.948013305664" x="114.020004272461" y="-577.828002929688">time Hannah Dewitt tries to live a little, she winds up in the cross hairs of a local thug </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="362.039993286133" x="72.0959930419922" y="-564.027954101562">who seems hellbent on terrorizing her. As it turns out, there is more to Rafe </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="94.7639770507812" x="437.830017089844" y="-564.027954101562">than meets the eye,</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="451.908020019531" x="72.4559936523438" y="-550.227966308594">and their connection stokes her creativity like nothing else. Drawn to him despite the inherent </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.592041015625" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; text-align: left;" textlength="460.572036743164" x="72.0959930419922" y="-536.398010253906">risks, she can’t resist feeding the flames of this unlikely attraction no matter how hot they burn.</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.5920104980469" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="187.679969787598" x="72.275993347168" y="-508.558013916016">But Rafe isn’t the only monster in he</text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.5920104980469" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="278.184020996094" x="260.773986816406" y="-508.558013916016">r life. Another looms in the background, and he won’t </text><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.5919799804688" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="95.4479904174805" x="72.275993347168" y="-494.757995605469">let her go so easily.</text></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.5919799804688" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="95.4479904174805" x="72.275993347168" y="-494.757995605469"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><br /></span></text></div><div style="text-align: center;"><text class="_3ziulaHePS" data-test="textbox" direction="ltr" height="14.5919799804688" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" style="background-color: #f7f9fa; color: #3d464d; font-family: Times, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;" textlength="95.4479904174805" x="72.275993347168" y="-494.757995605469"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://books2read.com/DTDMoth" target="_blank">Buy Here</a><br /></span></text></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54571325-moth" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://www.bookbub.com/books/moth-dragon-triad-duet-book-1-by-lana-sky" target="_blank">Bookbub</a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLanaSky/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Facebook</span></a><br /></div><p></p>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-25600382331515337072020-08-04T08:23:00.001-07:002020-08-04T08:23:13.184-07:00The Monster in the Lake - Part 4<span id="docs-internal-guid-6c38ab44-7fff-6c1d-63cd-722e9d4e3f05"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">Alright all! Here is the final installment of The Monster in the Lake by Johi Jenkins! Enjoy this thrilling conclusion.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><u>Th</u><u>e Monster in the Lake</u></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Chapter 4</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Johi Jenkins</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">July 31, 2020</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">The Monster</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal punched through the last inches of limestone with his clenched hand, then watched as the first trickle of water from the river outside poured down the small tunnel and into the pool he had carved at the bottom of his new hollow in Amka’s cave. He raked smooth the perimeter of the final length of tunnel with his fingers as the water started filling the basin. Then he stood back to admire his work. He had worked for the last few days on this new addition: a chest-deep pool that channeled water in from the river outside, and drained to the same river some distance downstream once it was full. The pool would provide a place where he could bathe that was not out in the open; and, more importantly, it would give him back a connection to the water. He had been missing that since leaving his underwater home; but then, he would give up everything, if it meant being with Amka.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">As if he’d called her with his very thoughts, he heard her approaching some distance away. He was expecting her much later in the evening; the sun was still high in the sky, and she would’ve assumed him to be sleeping. He’d gotten up earlier to work on his bath, but Amka didn’t know that.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Then, as he focused on the sounds that announced her approach, he distinguished her breathing was quick, her heart agitated. And it wasn’t just from running.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Amka was scared.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He ran out, eyes shut to avoid the glare, ignoring the pain in his hands, face and other exposed skin not covered by his scale armor that immediately reacted to the harsh sunlight. The sun didn’t light his skin on fire, but it nearly felt like it. His eyes were the most sensitive to sunlight and suffered the most damage; with enough exposure they could get destroyed completely to the point that he would be fully blind. Luckily, they would eventually heal. So he was counting on his body surviving the sunburn as he ran outside sun toward Amka, eyes closed, guided by her scent and the sound of her heart. He reached her in no time and wrapped his arms around her.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“What’s wrong?” he whispered urgently. He tried to open his eyes to see her, but the ruthless glare made it impossible.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Thal! What are you doing out in the sun? I’m fine—go back inside immediately!”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Relieved to hear she was alright, and realizing he had completely overreacted, he lifted her off the floor and ran back to the cave. Once safe inside his skin started to heal, and he opened his eyes and finally managed to look at her. Her face had that subtly darker color that he knew came from the blood that flushed her cheeks; her heart still beat rapidly as though she was afraid. But her thoughts were a rush of excitement, not fear. She was thinking of him, and simultaneously thrilled and nervous for— </font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“A child?” he asked in a whisper, shocked.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I-I think so,” she replied breathlessly. “I wasn’t sure, but my mother knows the signs, and she’s convinced.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Wait—your mother?” Thal said, not recovering his voice. “She knows?”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Come inside,” Amka said, tugging his hand and pulling him further down the passage. “I’ll tell you what she said.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">As they walked deeper into the cave to his new home, Amka detailed her conversation with her mother, Mayna. Her mother had noticed the changes in Amka before Amka herself had; Mayna attempted to get her daughter to reveal with whom she had mated; but Amka, not wanting to risk the village learning of Thal’s existence, had denied there was anyone in her life. Mayna had then assumed that Torren had raped Amka and that’s why Amka had killed him, and now Amka was carrying Torren’s child.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“And I didn’t deny or care to correct her because, well, I don’t really need anyone asking me questions about you. So let them assume what they may,” she concluded.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">A child.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">How was it even possible?</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal’s people were similar to humans in some ways, but they were two very different species. Would the child drink blood? How could there even </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">be</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a child? According to his mother children among them were very rare. His people lived much longer lives, but didn’t reproduce as quickly as the humans did.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Thal?” Amka asked nervously.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He realized he’d been rendered speechless by the news and hadn’t answered her, and her thoughts had turned fearful about his reaction. He quickly embraced her. “Amka, these are amazing news. You don’t know how happy I am. My people—the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—we don’t often have children. Your people, the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sihg-zhe</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—sun-dwellers, that’s what it means—have the advantage, being able to reproduce so well by comparison. Babies and children are sacred in our history. That’s why my mother escaped at the first sign of trouble, because she was carrying me.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, my people’s child-carrying abilities are at your disposal,” Amka joked. “We will see what a half-unckga, half-sig… um, half-</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sun-dweller</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> looks like.” Then with the cutest little frown, she asked, “What does the name of your people mean?”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal smiled. “</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> means ‘the children of the gods’ … which should be ironic, since we have so little children. But that’s the name the sun dwellers called us, when our people all lived together, hundreds of years ago.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amka raised an eyebrow playfully. “Children of the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">gods</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, eh? And here we sun dwellers were calling you merely </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blood-drinkers</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” She laughed. “But I can see why my ancestors would call you that. You’re so strong and fast, you heal so quickly, your blood heals </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">us</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and you say your people live such long lives. If we do have this baby, I hope she or he has your abilities.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I hope she can walk in the sun, and carry children of her own, if she’s a girl.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Carry children?” She crossed her arms over her belly protectively and turned away from Thal, with a teasing scowl. “Let her be born first, and live a long life before having to worry about having children.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Thal embraced Amka from behind, placing his chin on her shoulder and his hands over hers. “Of course. I only meant that she’d be able.” Then he quickly added, because he saw in her mind that she was about to laugh and say she’d been joking, which he already knew anyway, “But Amka … are </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> worried about having this child?” He voiced his fear out loud. That Amka would be scared of having a little half-monster baby.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">She freed one arm and brought a hand up to his check, tenderly cradling his face. “Never. This child is a blessing, Thal.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“It is. I can’t imagine being happier than I am right now. I love you so much, Amka.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“And I you.” Then she thought of something. “How long do children of the gods gestate?”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal laughed. “</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> children of the gods, I have no clue; but my people gestate for a year, according to my mother.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“We only carry babies for nine months. Let’s see what this one decides to do.”</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eight months later Amka no longer cared about what the baby decided to do. She wanted that baby </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">out</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Thal felt simultaneously guilty and amused by Amka’s wavering thoughts.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Thal, you’re doing it again.” Amka’s attempt at a reproaching tone was canceled out by the mirth in her manner.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Oh, I’m sorry, my love,” he said as he brought his head up from the water, pulling away from her belly. He’d been entranced yet again listening to the baby’s thoughts, his head underwater pressed against her skin, as she rested lazily in the cave pool after making love for the second time that afternoon. (Amka had requested a second time. She was really demanding in that department lately).</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“What’s there that could be possibly so interesting, anyway?” she asked.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I don’t know why I find it so fascinating; there’s hardly anything to hear. But just now I believe the baby was thinking about his or her leg.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Her leg? Aww,” Amka crooned, rubbing her bulging belly. “Is she wondering what is that thing that she keeps kicking me with?” </font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The baby didn’t have real, definite thoughts, but there was </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">something</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> there, flickers of feelings about his or her little home. It was mesmerizing to Thal, trying to decipher what those little thoughts meant, and he often spaced out with his ear pressed against Amka’s belly. So much so that he forgot to reply to Amka. Again.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Well, I should be going,” Amka said after another minute, standing up in the pool. “These walks have become more and more tiring … even though I don’t do the actual walking myself.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal always carried her on his back to and from the cave and her village, using an underground tunnel he’d completed months ago. Recently, he knew, even though she never complained out loud, she would become uncomfortable when he ran too fast; but on the other hand, if he walked at human pace it would kill one precious hour of the little time they had together. So he’d found an in-between pace where he walked fast but slowed down when she he could tell she needed a break.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He would’ve preferred for her to stay with him, of course. But Amka was convinced that she needed to live with her people a while longer, as long as she could manage the travel, so he had carved this underground tunnel connecting their secret cave and her hunter’s hut.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know what’s on your mind, Thal,” she said later, as he carried her down the tunnel in silence. “I just don’t know how to do it—how to tell my mother that I have to leave. I wish I didn’t have to. I wish I could tell her the truth. I </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">want</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to tell her the truth; I want to raise the baby with my family. But I don’t know how.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I know, Amka.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Of course he knew. He knew her dreams and her fears. He knew how much she loved him and how much she wanted to be with him, but he also knew how much she loved her family and how much she feared the thought of leaving them. She wanted to raise her baby with them, especially with her mother. She also felt bound to the village by her hunter duty; she didn’t want to leave her people to fend for themselves, not while the four young hunters she was training weren’t ready to take over her role. They weren’t good at hunting on their own just yet, and Amka (well, Thal) was currently providing meat for the entire village. Amka felt she would be abandoning them, if she left the village for good. Her oldest sibling was only twelve years old. She couldn’t just leave her family and her people on their own.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">But Thal also knew that Amka had given their situation much thought, and that deep down she knew her only choice was to leave her village, eventually. She was just putting off the inevitable. It was a hard choice, he knew, so he never pressed her. And he couldn’t object to her wish to remain in her village for as long as she could because he knew his experience was wildly different than hers. He didn’t have a family he would miss. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—make a decision for her because he wouldn’t know what it was like, leaving family.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">And there weren’t really any other options. Thal couldn’t possibly live in the village with her. Even if her family embraced an outsider with pale skin and pale eyes—assuming they never found out that he was a blood-drinking monster—Thal couldn’t live in a human village, or near one, if the humans knew about him. There was always a risk of the wrong type of human finding out what he was. Despite his strength and speed, he was too vulnerable; he was useless in the sun, and there were far too many more of them. His people had made that mistake before, attempting to live with humans, and had ultimately paid with their lives. Every one of them. Including his mother.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Still quiet, saddened by their uncertain future, Thal reached the circular stone door that marked the entrance to the basement he’d dug under Amka’s hut. After confirming there was no one around he set her down and rolled open the door. It was meant to be a deception; a heavy stone wheel hiding within a rectangular frame that resembled a doorway, one which a human intruder would find almost impossible to open unless they knew where to look. There was a locking pin out of sight near the base of the wheel; when removed, the door would easily roll to its hidden pocket in the wall. When in place, the wheel couldn’t move, and the doorway appeared to be a solid stone rectangle. It was just one of Thal’s many projects he’d worked on while Amka slept.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He helped her through and then pulled her up through her trapdoor to the hut’s floor.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Thank you,” she said, without letting go of him. She pressed her cheek against his chest. “And please don’t be sad. We’ll figure it out. If I have to go, I’ll go. No matter what, we’ll be together, the three of us. I love you more than them, you know.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He tightened his arms around her. “I know. And I love </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—which is why I stand with you, whatever you decide, whatever you need.” </span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Whatever I need?” She stood on her toes and leaned in even closer, and whispered in his ear seductively. “Well … we forgot to do something in the cave today.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We did not </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">forget</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” he corrected her, pulling her back. His eyes traveled to her neck, where her vein was bulging with all the extra blood she carried. He bent down slowly and brought his parted lips to her neck, then gently nipped her skin with the tip of his fangs, as she held her breath. “</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> … just don’t do that, now.” He kissed her neck instead and pulled away from her, with some effort.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” she complained, breathing again. “It just feels so good. You don’t know how good it feels; no one’s ever done that to you.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal laughed. From her thoughts when he drank her blood, he did have an idea. It was as good for her as it was for him. Just thinking about it made his fangs ache, and had his blood rushing to the most responsive parts of his body. “I want to—so much—but you and the baby need all of your blood.” He had stopped drinking Amka’s blood only recently, one day when he’d seen her a little too pale after drinking from her. He’d felt so guilty ever since.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Come on. It’s been one week. I won’t ask for another week, I promise. I’ll just ask for regular lovemaking.” Slowly she reached down between their bodies and placed her hand over his bulge.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He forgot why he was resisting her. He only sort of remembered he shouldn’t give in. “</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amka</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” he chided.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” she replied in the same tone. Then, very gently, she squeezed.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whatever semblance of restraint he had up until then disappeared. He scooped her up and placed her down on the tangle of blankets she kept in her spare hut. He removed his and her clothes from the waist down in the same swoop, knelt in front of her, and in the next second he was inside her, pushing into her, while she dug her nails into the back of his thighs. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amka</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amka</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amka</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he cried her name in his mind with each thrust, her own exhilarated thoughts answering him, her building passion fueling his. Her ragged breaths became panting moans as they neared that glorious peak together; then Thal bent over her and sank his fangs into her neck, her galloping heart pumping her delicious blood into his mouth, taking over his senses until nothing existed but Amka and the eruption of pleasure that she was experiencing. And together they came undone, their thoughts a jumble of ecstasy and bliss.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Ahh …” Amka sighed contentedly beneath him.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Regaining some sense, he managed to stop drinking her blood and quickly healed her wound. “Oh, Amka,” was all he said, still holding her close.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“You said whatever I need, Thal,” Amka reminded him, her eyes closed, a genuine smile plastered all over her face. “And all I need is you …”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">How could he deny her anything that made her so happy? He lay down next to her and kissed her cheek.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Rest a while. I’m going hunting for you; I’ll be back soon.”</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal did the business quickly, hunting in the woods nearby where he could still feel Amka sleeping. After dropping off the animal outside her home, Thal went back to her hunter’s hut and gently woke her up.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Let me walk you home,” he offered as she stretched away her short nap.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Nah, thank you. I’ll be fine,” she said, declining his help. She always did. She liked walking through the village on her way back. When he walked her home they had to take a path on the outskirts of the village.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">And that was the path he took, alone, following her home as he always did. The walk from her hunter’s hut to her family’s hut wasn’t long, but still he always lingered near to make sure she made it home safe. Tonight she was greeted by a disapproving Mayna. Clearly he wasn’t the only one who worried about Amka.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“It’s late,” Mayna said, and Thal could easily picture her disapproving scowl.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I’m alright, Mother,” Amka attempted to pacify her mother as she came in. But as it had been these past few weeks, it didn’t work. </font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“You are less than a month away from giving birth, yet you insist on going hunting. Stop that. Medda is old enough; he and his sister can take over for you. They and the other young hunters will have to, anyway, for several moons after the baby is here.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can hunt elk in my sleep, Mother,” Amka joked with an inward nod to Thal, knowing he was listening. “I had no trouble at all bringing in this guy outside. And I mean </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trouble. At </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal laughed silently from the copse of trees behind Amka’s hut where he presently sat.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“It’s still too much work for you,” Mayna insisted. “I don’t like how flushed you are. Your hair is a mess; your clothes aren’t even tied correctly. Come, I’ll prepare a rosemary bath for you before supper.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Amka’s thoughts shifted to the reason why her clothes weren’t tied correctly and Thal suffered the entire length of her bath, wishing he was there with her. He suffered, but he loved it. He could stay hours on end just listening to Amka interact with her family, at supper, at story-telling, or even at bedtime when they got ready to lie down for the night. And he often did, now that his cave and tunnel were mostly complete and he had not much to do. </font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tonight after their supper Amka chose for her siblings a story about the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, referring to Thal’s people as “children of the gods” instead of as “blood-drinkers”. In the story, the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the humans lived in harmony. The children were fascinated by the beautiful creature Amka described.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal smiled. She was doing her part to change their perception of his people. He only wished it was enough.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">But his smile disappeared as Amka’s father uttered words that sent a terrible chill to his heart.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Amka, don’t romanticize those blood-drinking demons,” the man said with disdain. “You may believe these are only stories, but these monsters are real. It’s time you knew that. And you all need to be </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">scared</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of them, not worship them.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Father,” Amka said reproachfully.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Don’t scare the children, Tahik,” Mayna scolded her mate. “There’s no need. They’re just stories.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m just telling them the truth, so that they don’t get confused with the idealized creature from Amka’s story. Children … the demons are real. Your birth mother was killed by one of them. A blood-drinking </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">monster</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Everyone gasped and uttered exclamations of surprise and disbelief. Amka said, “What? No, she wasn’t. Their mother was killed by a rival clan in that ill-fated expansion campaign, along with my birth father and my brothers. Right, Mother?”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Tahik, we don’t know that for sure,” Mayna said. “We weren’t there.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“But Malkon was, and he told me what really happened,” Amka’s father insisted. “It wasn’t the northern clan as everyone believes. It was one of those demons. Only one of them, and she killed, what, about twenty of ours? Malkon saw her with his own eyes. Pale and ghastly. He said they found her buried in the earth but when they dug her out she was alive—she was a demon! So they killed her … or so they thought. Malkon said he only survived because he was hunting for the party when she woke up. He came back to find everyone dead and the demon missing; he knew right away what had happened. But the few others who came back from that expedition never knew; they never saw her, they were further south when it happened. Malkon was the only one who knew, and he kept it a secret.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">The children erupted with follow-up questions to satisfy their wild curiosity, but Amka was frozen. Outside, Thal was frozen. Mayna spoke over the children’s questions.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Tahik, you first told me this story when Malkon died and Amka believed that she had seen a scaly monster over his body. But she never found it. I tell you now what I told you then. I can’t believe this version of the story. Malkon, my own brother, wouldn’t have lied to me.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“But he did,” Tahik said. “He lied because he was the only hunter we had left and he didn’t want to admit that a single woman had killed our best hunters in a single blow. But he confessed to me months later, after you and I had coupled and he had become my brother. He said it once, and we never spoke of it again.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I just don’t know …” Mayna said.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“It can’t be,” Amka whispered.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">But Thal, alone in the dark, knew without a doubt that Tahik was telling the truth.</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5"> </font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Thal turned ten years old, his sweet mother Yamhi decided that they needed to relocate. She had seen the trend of the animal population decreasing, and she had also noticed a slight change in the temperatures of the lake. But she wouldn’t leave blindly with her son; she had to find the perfect location first. And, more importantly, she wanted to find their people. She wanted Thal to have company other than her. Throughout his life she had gone outside for short expeditions looking for any other </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, perhaps any survivors of the raid that had forced her to leave her home, but had always come back at daybreak, exhausted and empty-handed. Thal promised her that he didn’t need any other company, but she had persisted.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">So on that last excursion Yamhi promised her son that she would come back within two nights. And she did. But she came back wounded, and died within the day. With labored breaths she told him that she had journeyed north, searching, listening, until the sun came up. She had dug a hole to sleep in for the day where she thought she’d be safe from the sun, but hadn’t counted on humans finding her. These humans had been exploring on their own, looking to expand their domain, when they came across the newly-turned earth and discovered her. They’d immediately thrown their fishing net on her and attacked her—with no motivation other than the fact that she looked different—and nearly killed her. She had escaped by pretending to be dead so they would stop assaulting her. They were bringing her body to their village, she understood from their thoughts, and, thinking she was dead, removed the fishing net so they could fish. Once free she had remained there motionless, her skin badly sunburned, her deep wounds barely healing … listening to their thoughts, waiting for the right moment. And it had finally come, when the ones on watch were distracted. One by one she managed to kill the whole lot of them. She sustained more wounds, but eventually escaped and managed to return to young Thal. Unfortunately her wounds were too great and she didn’t survive.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Now Thal knew why Amka’s uncle, the man named Malkon, had attacked him unprovoked. He had recognized what Thal was; he had known the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> weren’t just tales of old. He had come across one before and likely thought of Thal’s people as a threat. But if he knew of the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unk-ga</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s strength and speed, it didn’t make sense that he’d attack Thal on his own that night, unless he really thought he had a chance while Thal was distracted with the elk. Or maybe the survivor guilt he had possibly carried these past ten years had made him act recklessly. Whatever the reason, it made more sense that he attacked Thal believing Thal was a blood-drinking monster than attacking an unarmed boy for no reason other than for hunting an elk. Amka had always thought of him as a kind-hearted person.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal’s heart was heavy. The fact that Amka’s people had been the ones that killed his mother hurt more than he could bear at the moment. Maybe it was just bad timing; Thal had recently considered living among these people to make Amka happy, despite his mother’s constant warnings against living among the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sihg-zhe</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> … only to find that his mother had been right, and that the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sihg-zhe</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> could never be trusted.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Or maybe it was just bound to hurt, no matter what, learning who his mother’s killers were. </font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thal? Thal, are you there?” Amka murmured from her cot. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please, if you’re there, I need to talk to you</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">But he couldn’t.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He would, eventually, but he needed time tonight. With sadness in his heart, Thal retreated to the safety of his solitude.</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when he opened his eyes the next evening, it was still early afternoon, and something was horribly wrong. Amka’s pain had woken him. He ran to her in his tunnel, faster than he ever had before, and came out at the base of her hunter’s hut. He stopped to consider the best way to reach her—burn his way through the town? Or burn longer but take the safer path in the outskirts of the village? (</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> didn’t he ever connect his underground tunnel to her family’s hut?)</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Amka, as if she knew Thal was listening, suddenly projected her thoughts to him, somehow so clearly that he could hear them in the hut where he stood. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m okay, I’m okay,</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> she grunted. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m—okay—the baby’s—early—coming—NOW!</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He heard her final long, driving scream. A moment later Thal heard the baby’s first cry.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He sank to the floor.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">A boy, he saw in somebody’s mind. He froze for a moment, for an eternity—then he heard Amka’s cry again—but this was a gentle sob, a combination of relief and joy—and he realized he could move, because she was okay. Then he stood again and stepped to the doorway. He steeled himself, and pushed the heavy drape aside, daring to look at the sun.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Pain shot through his head as his eyes burned and then attempted to heal, but he memorized the position of the sun in the sky to mark the minute of his son’s entry into this world.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Oh, Thal … he’s perfect,” Amka said, the face of their son cradled in her mind by a blanket of devotion.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Thal?” repeated Mayna.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“Thakal,” Amka replied to her mother. “His name is Thakal.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Then she whispered for Thal’s ears only, “I’m so sorry … about your mother.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Of course she had figured out that the woman in her father’s story last night was Thal’s mother, even though Thal had never told her how Yahmi died. Amka was just that perceptive.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It doesn’t matter</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he thought to himself. Nothing else mattered now except Amka and Thakal.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Then he fell back, excitement and fear consuming him.</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">On the eve of Thakal’s hundredth day on this world, Thal made the biggest mistake of his entire life.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Amka had remained living with her family while the baby was newly born; Thal visited and held him at night, allowing Amka to rest while he did so. He was entranced by the little person in his arms and spent most of his waking hours with him. He’d carved another branch of his underground tunnel leading to the woods behind Amka’s family’s hut to be as close to her and Thakal as possible.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">And while spending so much time in the vicinity of Amka’s people, he had learned some terrifying things that he chose not to share with her. He should have, but he didn’t.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He just didn’t want to trouble her. Her heart was already so full of worry—love, primarily, but also constant worry. She worried over every little thing about the new life in her arms, and Thal didn’t want to add more trouble to the list. And anyway, he felt it ultimately didn’t matter because Amka was leaving the village soon. On Thakal’s hundredth day, she meant to present him to the village for the first and last time. She would announce that she was moving away. It had taken a toll on Thal, not being able to live next to his son, and Amka was finally ready to leave.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">But the villagers, unbeknownst to Amka, had an ongoing favorite gossip—the mystery of the child that had been born to the village huntress. Of special annoyance to Thal were the parents of that dead cretin Torren, who were convinced that Thakal was their grandchild, for they believed the rumor that Torren had forced himself on Amka on the night of his and Aruk’s death. Torren’s mother had tried to see Thakal every day since she heard he was born, but Mayna would not let her in.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">On that day, while waiting patiently for his turn—waiting for Amka’s family to finish supper and go to bed so Amka could come out with Thakal—Thal heard two villagers gossiping. He usually ignored them, but Amka’s name caught his attention: two women were discussing that Mayna had been acting strangely, keeping well-meaning townsfolk away from Amka, as if Amka were some great deity that would not grant audience to the regular folk. It was unfair to Torren’s mother, they said, not allowing her to even meet her grandson. Mayna would not even wash clothes at the river with the rest of the women anymore; she was evasive and guarded when asked about Amka and the baby. And they had seen Mayna packing clothes and food—they concluded that Mayna and Amka were planning to leave the village, and that they were hiding something—something related to the baby—from everyone.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">The distrust in their voices and the even uglier thoughts that accompanied their spoken words had Thal’s blood boiling with rage. But he couldn’t do anything about it, he thought, so he tried to let it go.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Had Thal mentioned his concerns to Amka, maybe things would have turned out differently.</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal woke to her soul-splitting scream.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">It was very early in the day but he was instantly awake, instantly afraid. The fear clouded his mind and didn’t let him see past his immediate need to run to her aid—if he had, he would’ve taken an additional minute to dress in his scales which would protect him somewhat from the sun that he knew, based on his internal clock, was still high up in the sky. But she was his greatest weakness—he couldn’t stop to think, to plot, to come up with a feasible strategy. She was in danger so he just acted. He ran in her direction, outside toward the lake.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">The sun burned his skin, but he ran. And in the few minutes that it took him to reach her, even before his eyes registered the patch of red that stained the water where she’d been so violently assaulted, the darkest part of him already knew he was too late to save her, and that he would kill everyone in sight.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They didn’t know he existed, so the monster part of him delighted in seeing the fear in the thoughts of that first man who carried the spear that still dripped Amka’s blood. Torren’s father</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. As he killed them, </span><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all eight of them</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the ones that fought and the ones that ran, he was able to piece together from their final thoughts what they had done, led by the savages that had spawned Torren.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Torren’s mother had shown up at Amka’s hut demanding to see the baby, but Mayna had again refused, yelling that the child was not Torren’s but an outsider’s. Incensed at this, the woman had shoved Mayna aside and barged inside to take the infant by force … only to learn there was no baby, but a pale demon </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thing</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at Amka’s bloody breast. It was drinking his mother’s milk and her blood.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abomination!</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” she had cried.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">This despicable woman then ran to her mate, a creature even more awful than her, and the two of them had quickly gathered a small mob to come in and take the small monster, ready to kill anyone who stood in the way. They had to keep their village safe, the man yelled, and several more agreed. Among the mob were the parents of the other hunter, Aruk.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">They returned to Amka’s home and found the hut empty. Amka had fled, but they followed her trail to the lake, where they found her already rowing the boat out into the water. But two of the aggressors jumped in and swam after her, taking her oars, and overcoming her who wouldn’t give up her son. They dragged her down into the water but she fought them, yelling and cursing, until the accursed man stabbed her and she stopped struggling.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">They were now all dead.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Thal had been heavily injured by several men he couldn’t see while attempting in vain to revive Amka at some point after killing Torren’s father. And now, after the fight was over, he didn’t care to inspect his wounds because he was still half out of it, coming down from the blinding rage that had taken over him. He was in denial as he approached the water again, turning his back on the bloody shore. The sun, his damaged eyes, and the glare of the water made it impossible to see, but she knew exactly where she was, her body floating serenely in the lake.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As he picked her up again he detected Thakal’s scent and his mind seemed to restart. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thakal was here, with Amka</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He thrashed his way to the boat, looking for any signs of his son, but the boat had capsized, and Thakal was nowhere to be found. His scent was gone as well. Desperate, he felt around, and dove underwater, but his senses didn’t tell him where Thakal’s tiny body could be.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><font color="#444444" size="5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m sorry, Amka. I’m sorry, Thakal</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” he cried in his native language. “</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have failed you</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.”</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">He couldn’t open his eyes. He wasn’t sure he had any. He had lost most of his blood so he knew he wouldn’t heal now. He was dying, and he didn’t have the strength to look for his son’s body. But he had Amka’s. With his last bit of strength he swam out to the middle of the lake holding what remained of the girl he loved. He embraced her, and then he died, sinking to the bottom of the lake together.</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">The Woman</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">Across the lake, the woman skipped down the rocky shore to where the shape was squirming. She wouldn’t have believed it was alive, but she had heard its cries.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">“I’m coming, Thakal,” Mayna said, her eyes brimming with tears. “Your grandma is coming, and we’re going far, far away.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5"> </font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">***</font></span></p><font color="#444444" size="5"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font color="#444444" size="5">The END</font></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100px;"></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-47429096793047925982020-08-03T07:21:00.001-07:002020-08-03T07:21:14.552-07:00Hades - Carly Spade!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQeHrEfee2bPzPE2hgibXyhG5kAy9FHfHRTr1zHvBlJqidbF9KeYwUnQJmWhxBDVYgViaQdVTrYZMMd9-_ExiT7VvTSA_7Ip8VG18bmW3KaqJn2XCHaOhD_b9Q5Ppm3eZWW_7Ia6gOQaH/s1080/BookBrushImage-2020-6-10-10-260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQeHrEfee2bPzPE2hgibXyhG5kAy9FHfHRTr1zHvBlJqidbF9KeYwUnQJmWhxBDVYgViaQdVTrYZMMd9-_ExiT7VvTSA_7Ip8VG18bmW3KaqJn2XCHaOhD_b9Q5Ppm3eZWW_7Ia6gOQaH/w512-h512/BookBrushImage-2020-6-10-10-260.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Looking for a great summer read? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hades is a fast-paced fun read. A perfect escape chocked full of humorous 80s references. A new spin that poses the question, what is possible if Hades and Persephone were no longer together.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;"><div style="color: #1d2129; direction: ltr; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="" id="Newsletter" name="Newsletter"> <font color="#385898" face="inherit">www.carlyspade.com/newsletter</font> </a></div><div style="color: #1d2129; direction: ltr; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.twitter.com/carlyspade?fbclid%3DIwAR1SPHeJWS6va27ZklazDQRlHU3mYTBXQUPYCqFXeeSm-Cw6Tr9Es3s_PeY&source=gmail&ust=1596550358783000&usg=AFQjCNG8DLkx88GJg8N7BaXKdeUacnlSRA" href="https://www.twitter.com/carlyspade?fbclid=IwAR1SPHeJWS6va27ZklazDQRlHU3mYTBXQUPYCqFXeeSm-Cw6Tr9Es3s_PeY" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; 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font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Carly-Spade/e/B07TBY6WFT?fbclid%3DIwAR32OX4LERuhxg72b71b6MesDRp3Rrx_mVBLWg3Hbo73X2MsDPNixCynY1U&source=gmail&ust=1596550358783000&usg=AFQjCNEquvE39NQVtKviEQveEtkhSlHOLg" href="https://www.amazon.com/Carly-Spade/e/B07TBY6WFT?fbclid=IwAR32OX4LERuhxg72b71b6MesDRp3Rrx_mVBLWg3Hbo73X2MsDPNixCynY1U" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/<span class="il">Carly</span>-<wbr></wbr><span class="il">Spade</span>/e/B07TBY6WFT</a></div><div style="color: #1d2129; direction: ltr; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">BookBub: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carly-spade?fbclid%3DIwAR1NQdXyE5CeStxNTRDFMaedTAw5e90clQqXsgdbiTRywlYtxw7nthm8egU&source=gmail&ust=1596550358784000&usg=AFQjCNHnUUKeVfWdfDxjVqfhLgCLqGOgEQ" href="https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carly-spade?fbclid=IwAR1NQdXyE5CeStxNTRDFMaedTAw5e90clQqXsgdbiTRywlYtxw7nthm8egU" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><font color="#385898" face="inherit">https://www.bookbub.com/</font><wbr></wbr><font color="#385898" face="inherit">profile/</font><span class="il" style="color: #385898; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">carly</span><font color="#385898" face="inherit">-</font><span class="il" style="color: #385898; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">spade</span></a></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-41138116971519018362020-06-18T07:15:00.000-07:002020-06-18T07:15:07.692-07:00The Monster in the Lake - Part 3<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I have been busy writing a short story for a competition lately and haven't had much time to update my blog. All of the authors of Short Story Friday are working on projects, and it has been awhile since any of us have had anything new to contribute. </span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Johi Jenkins to the rescue! Lo and behold, I received this surprise installment of Monster in the Lake in my inbox and squealed. Here is is for you all to enjoy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The Monster in the Lake</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Chapter 3</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-ce843c65-7fff-5ef1-adc2-178301330ba3" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Johi Jenkins</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">June 17, 2020</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The Girl</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The vast lake was nestled in the valley between three mountains and the rocky plain where Amka’s ancestors had first settled. As the lake level had risen over the last hundred years or so, her people had relocated farther up into the plain, but still close enough to the lake that Amka had practically grown in its clear waters. She had always thought she knew this lake so well, and yet, she had never even imagined that an underwater cave existed at the base of the mountain across from her shore. Thal had claimed he’d lived there all his life. Amka tried to picture the underwater cave as she stared at the lake but she couldn’t. It was almost impossible to believe.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Oh, it’s there,” a voice said behind her. “I could show it to you, if you’d like.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Startled, but thrilled to hear him, Amka turned to see Thal walking toward her with an easy smile, dripping wet. She ran to him, embracing him despite his soaked condition. She felt she’d waited all day for the sun to begin its descent, and she had been finally on her way to the mountain cave to meet him. There was still some daylight left but she had wanted to be early at the cave. She’d only stopped to admire the lake and ponder its secrets.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Hi,” she said in his arms, looking up at him. Then she sort of froze.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Out in the open, with some light left, she could see him clearly for the first time. And she couldn’t look away, mesmerized, seeing how handsome he truly was. She’d thought he was beautiful before, but in the light she could genuinely appreciate his beauty. He had cut and brushed his hair. His eyes were a clear green; his pupils were contracted and his eyelids slightly narrowed at the moment, possibly because of the evening light. And his skin—when she first met him she’d been shocked by how ghastly pale he was, yet now she saw only beauty in the alabaster-like texture of his skin. It looked almost as though it had a green tinge to it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">He bought up a hand to her cheek. While she was busy admiring him he’d been doing the same. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“You’re so beautiful, Amka. I never thought I’d feel this way toward a sun dweller. Your skin …” he brushed her cheek lightly with his thumb, “… it glows in the light.” He bent down and kissed her cheek.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Amka felt heat rise to her face where he touched her. Her gaze shifted down as she voiced one of her doubts. “There are plenty of girls like me. You’ve just never seen any others.” He had told her that he’d been raised by his mother, alone; he was twenty years old and had never met anyone else.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">He shook his head. “Last night I saw other village girls, and none came close to you.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">At the mention of other village girls Amka felt a little prick of jealousy in her chest. “You did?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Yes. While everyone was busy discussing the events of last night, I watched from your hunter’s hut.” </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">After her confrontation with Torren and Aruk, she’d gone back to brief her parents and the village elders on what had occurred, while Thal had stayed nearby in her late uncle’s hut. There had been immediate commotion in the village; surprise, disbelief, and also some anger mixed with shame from the attackers’ families, who then took the bodies away for burial. Amka’s parents had defended her, praised her fighting skills (she was embarrassed, well aware that she didn’t deserve the praise), and everyone sort of agreed that Torren and Aruk had gotten what they deserved. It was not unheard of to have fatal disputes amongst people, but everyone saw the injustice of two against one. Everyone commended Amka’s skills and shrugged off Torren and Aruk’s deaths as unimportant. Yes, they had been training to be hunters and the village needed hunters, but the village didn’t need fools, and they had been fools for going after Amka.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Then after a few hours everyone had gone back to their homes, and Amka had returned to her uncle’s hut with the pretense of getting her weapons. Thal healed her cut, they kissed again and then they parted ways. She went home to her parents and he went back to his underwater cave.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“I was curious, so I listened during the commotion. I noticed two other village girls and couldn’t help comparing them to you,” Thal explained now. “They didn’t come close to matching your wits or your intelligence. Or your beauty.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Amka smiled. She knew which two girls he must’ve seen. They were younger than her and solely interested in boys. Amka was sure they’d been heartbroken about Torren and Aruk. Come to think of it, they probably didn’t like Amka so much now, for taking the two boys from them.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Thal laughed. “Yes, they weren’t happy. They had ugly thoughts. So you see,” he said, kissing her lips briefly, “there is no one like you.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">His laugh and kiss made her want to kiss him again. Their last kiss in her uncle’s hut had left her wanting more… and now she thought of other things to do with him, as new feelings surfaced in her body which she longed to explore. She looked around. There was no one nearby but she wanted to go somewhere where she could be truly alone with him.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Amka,” Thal said now, his voice low and intense, evidently knowing exactly what was on her mind, and probably having some of those same ideas. “Do you want to see my home?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">His mysterious underwater home? “Yes, I’d love to, but ...” She looked again toward the lake, trying to imagine a way in for a human like her. The lake was deep. It seemed impossible. “How?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“I can swim very fast. I’ll take you out there”—he pointed towards the lake—“then you take a deep breath and I’ll convey you underwater.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Thrilled, Amka smiled. “Okay. Let’s do it,” she said, trusting him completely. She had seen firsthand his strength and speed.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He grabbed her hand and they walked to the water together. As they went deeper and the water reached her torso, she trembled, but not just from the cold. When the water was up to her neck Thal pulled her close. His eyes were almost shining, reflecting the water around them. She clung to him. She wanted to be with him </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">now</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Soon,” he said, as moved her to his back. Then he swam to the middle of the lake while she held on to him with her arms around his neck. She enjoyed touching him a little too much.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“This is it,” he said, as he stopped in some nondescript spot in the middle of the lake. He pointed to the mountain in front of them. “The base of that mountain is below. Ready?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The deep blue beneath her was daunting, but she refused to be scared. “I’m ready.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">She took a deep breath and covered her nose and mouth with one hand. Thal didn’t miss a beat. She felt a rush of movement around her, and the pressure of the water increasing as he pulled her down, down, down. She tried to keep her eyes open but after a few seconds she couldn’t see anything anyway, so she closed them. Her lungs were just starting to protest the lack of air when Thal shifted course; a second later they surfaced in a pool in complete darkness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Wow!” Amka cried as she took a deep breath.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Are you okay?” Thal asked, worried, while holding her.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Yes,” she said, just as she started to notice that she was really cold.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Sorry—I didn’t think of that! Let me light a fire and get you to warm up.” He carried her out of the water and placed her on what felt like smooth stone while she tried to lessen his worry by assuring him she was alright. But he still sounded nervous when he announced he’d be right back.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And he was—Amka didn’t have a chance to even guess what her surroundings would be like based on the echo of their voices, when a light appeared from deeper in the cave and Thal came back, holding a torch. Then he lit a fire in a pit a little further inside the cave, and Amka gasped in awe.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The cave didn’t look like her mountain cave at all. The walls were arched, perfectly polished, except where decorated with etched patterns. She walked up to the nearest wall to touch it. It was rock, but it was impossibly smooth. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“My mother did most of the work. She came across this cave while pregnant with me, fleeing from a raid. Once she made it her home, she began working on it, and she never stopped. All my life I remember she was always weaving, making blankets out of pondweed, or carving and shaping the cave walls.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Thal had mentioned the raid before. Was that only yesterday when they had talked for hours in that cave? Now, after seeing his strength and speed in person, it was hard to imagine a group of mere humans had been able to kill an entire family of blood-drinkers. Thal had simply said the humans’ greater numbers and advantage in the day had been underestimated by his people, and his people had paid the price twenty years ago, right before Thal was born. Thal’s mother had escaped the raid, pregnant, and traveled north to these colder lands where the snow blanketed the ground year round and humans were less in numbers. She had found the cave next to the small lake and turned it into a home for her and her baby. But several years later the entrance to the cave had been covered in water as the snows melted and the lake level rose. Amka’s people called that year the Great Spring, when the lake level rose suddenly and they had had to relocate uphill where they currently lived.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“To find this place and create this home, alone, she must have been an amazing woman,” Amka said. “You can tell she was really dedicated.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“She was,” Thal said with somber reverence. Then he laughed. “But also, there wasn’t a whole lot to do down here, after I was grown and she’d taught me to hunt, and the old history of my people.” Then he grabbed Amka’s hand and pulled her deeper into the cave, holding the torch before him. “Come, I’ll get you some dry clothes and show you the rest of the cave.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“How far does it go?” she asked.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Not far.” He pointed to a large open area off to the right of the main hallway. “We shared this area back here for sleeping for the longest time, until I carved another room for myself. My mother slept here and kept her stuff here.” He let go of Amka’s hand and rummaged inside a pondweed basket. Then he handed her some folded garment.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“You can have this, to change out of your wet clothes. It was my mother’s.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Thank you. It’s so soft.” She ran her hand over the material. It was made out of a hide she didn’t recognize.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“It’s a winter seal skin,” Thal explained. “They used to grow as long as me and twice as heavy, and in great numbers. But they have now mostly gone, and the ones left are much smaller.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Then he pointed to a hollowed out section of rock across from his late mother’s sleeping area. Its opening had a large reed blanket over it that was presently draped off to the side, and she could see inside. The room wasn’t large but it was twice as high as Amka was tall, taller than the rest of the cave. It had a large cot in the center that appeared to be stuffed with muskgrass and covered in a blanket made out of the same hide as her dress.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“This is where I sleep. You can change in here,” Thal offered. “I’ll hang your clothes by the fire pit.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Thank you.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">She took off her wet leggings, breechcloth and tunic, and handed them to Thal, while she unfolded the dress and examined it, trying to determine how to put it on.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Wait,” he said.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">She looked up to find him looking at her in a way that made parts of her body flush with heat. Being naked was very normal for her, but Thal’s expression made her suddenly self-conscious.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Yes?” she breathed.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">But he was just standing there holding her clothes, staring at her with an expression of wonderment. He blinked and appeared to be trying to speak. “Amka, you’re … I mean, I’ve never seen … I mean …” he mumbled.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Adoration rushed through her. This boy who could do all the things he could do … he couldn’t form a sentence as he stared at her. She took a step toward him until she was right in front of him, and placed a hand on his chest.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Your clothes are wet, too.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">His breathing was ragged. “Yes.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“You’d better change out of them, too.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Yes.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And he did, then they stared at each other for a second before succumbing to the desires that had possessed them.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">***</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The air was different in the underwater cave. After spending a few hours with Thal, well into the night (not that she could tell how late it was, since she couldn’t see where the moon was in the sky … but she guessed it was well into the night), she felt she could use some fresh air. It obviously didn’t bother Thal, who had lived his whole life in this cave; but then, he didn’t need to breathe as much as Amka did. He took breaths, Amka noticed, but when he’d swum out to the center of the lake with Amka on his back, his head had been underwater most of the time. He must not need as much air as she did. The underwater cave air was fine for him, but not for her. She felt she needed to go back to the surface.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal stopped mid-sentence and turned to examine her. He had been answering her latest question—</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">were there any other exits out of this cave besides the underwater entrance?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No, but at some point he had considered creating one by digging his way back into the mountain and then up</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)—when her thoughts about fresh air had made her take a deep breath.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Amka, we need to go up right now.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">She shook her head a little, to dismiss his worry. “I’m fine. I was just thinking that I could use a little bit of fresh air.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">But he had already gotten out of bed, and started putting on clothes. They had been lying next to each other on his bed, talking about anything and everything, naked and content. Yet now Thal was distraught and afraid as he picked up her clothes from the floor.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m so sorry I didn’t notice before. Your breathing is different now—you’re taking longer breaths and taking them more often. You’re drowning down here. Your body is telling you that you need fresh air, so we’re going up—</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">now</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, please.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drowning</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? She thought he was exaggerating, but she found it endearing, so she let him scoop her out of the bed and carry her to the pool at the entrance to the cave. She could’ve walked, but she loved being carried by his deceivingly strong arms. She loved …</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">As she dressed in her still damp clothes, she watched him pace the cave floor, worrying over her. But she couldn’t share his concern; she was feeling something else altogether.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Love.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She loved him. Or maybe she just loved being with him like this. Or maybe it wasn’t love, just something like it. After all, she didn’t really know what love was supposed to be like. But this was definitely </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">something</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, something she’d never felt toward anyone before. Yes, she had only really met Thal the day before, but she knew she wanted him to be her mate for the rest of her life.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">He stopped his frantic pacing and stared at her, stunned for a moment, then his expression was replaced by a look of sincere reverence. As she finished tying the knot on her leggings, he closed the distance between them and put his arms around her. His eyes, which she knew were green, glowed almost orange reflecting the light of the fire with an intensity she had never seen before.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“I love you, Amka,” he said, his voice full of emotion. Then he brought his lips down to hers.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She readily welcomed the kiss. She tightened her arms around his lower back, pressing against him. She could tell he was hesitant, that he wanted to end the kiss so he could take her out of the cave, but she also felt his need, his love and his devotion. And she wanted to give him </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">more</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. So she slowly traveled her lips to his cheek and down his jaw, and finally down his neckline, offering her neck to him.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">This time he didn’t fight her.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The bite stung but she didn’t feel any pain. Somehow it felt even better than it had the previous day, the first time she had given him blood back in the cave. She felt a great pleasure, her senses full of him, and a moan escaped her lips. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thal, Thal, I love you. I want to stay here forever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">But he pulled back too quickly, healed the bite marks, and again scooped her up in his arms.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Thank you for that,” he said, bringing his forehead down to hers briefly. Then he kissed her quickly. “It’s time. Ready?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Ready.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The ride back seemed quicker than the way in. She surfaced in Thal’s arms and took a deep breath in the darkness of the night. A chilly wind felt abrasive on her cheeks, surprising her.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Amka, are you alright?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Yes. I’m alright.” Amka smiled as she shivered. He had asked the same question when she surfaced in the cave, but it seemed that now he was even more worried.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The night was cold and she was wet. It was about a half an hour to swim to shore and walk back to her village. She was pondering where she could keep a stash of dry clothes near the shore for future visits, when Thal interrupted her planning.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“I don’t like that you’re cold. I’ll carry you to the village. I’ll run and be there quickly.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">She had barely assented when he began to swim faster than she had seen any living creature swim. She held on tightly to his back, and as they reached the shore in no time, he didn’t stop and only ran faster. They reached Amka’s uncle’s hut at the edge of the village before she could even decide whether the ride had been thrilling or terrifying.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“It is too dangerous to take you to my home,” Thal said as he started a fire while Amka removed her wet clothes for the second time that night. “But I want to see you every night, so I’d rather visit you instead. I want you in my life, Amka.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“I want you, as well. I don’t mind the danger.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“But I do.” He paced around the room and found a blanket to cover her in, then wrung her clothes out while she warmed up. As he worked, he added, “I think I’ll dig out a room in the cave where you first trapped me, so I have a place to stay above. Does anyone else know about that cave?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“No one but me,” she replied, thrilled. “And I would love that.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">That cave was farther than Thal’s underwater home but Amka saw the advantage of having a place where she could meet him whenever she wanted. There was no way she could go to the lake cave by herself.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“I’ve never spent a night above water,” he said, “but I don’t want to spend another night away from you.”</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">***</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“What’s his name?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Amka looked up sharply at her mother’s question. Mayna had been quietly working on her pottery as Amka folded her clothes, but now those shrewd eyes trained on her daughter.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“Whose name?” Amka asked, feigning confusion.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Mayna sighed, but her lips were turned up slightly, as if amused at Amka’s poor performance. “Amka, you can be honest with me. I can tell there’s something going on with you; a mother knows when her daughter’s heart is happy. And I know it’s not just that Torren and Aruk are gone.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amka laughed, wishing she could tell her mother the truth. But the truth was out of the question. Her people were not fond of outsiders, let alone blood-drinking monster ones. She settled for an evasive truth. “Life </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> much better without those two, I do have to admit. The youngsters’ training is going well. I never knew how much Torren was holding them back.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Several weeks had passed since Torren and Aruk’s deaths. Amka, as the village hunter, was in charge of protecting the village and hunting animals for food. Prior to taking over this role, when her uncle had been alive, she had been training the younger hunters; this role had then gone to Torren, as the second oldest. (Apparently he hadn’t liked this role and had decided to challenge her). Now with Torren gone she was back to training the younger kids on top of her usual hunting duties. It would’ve been too much for one person, but she had Thal. Unbeknownst to everyone, Thal had been the one feeding the entire village these past few weeks. In her spare time during the day Amka trained the young hunters, who were happy to confess they didn’t miss that one chaotic month they’d had Torren as trainer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Mayna simply replied, “Hmm,” and continued working on her pottery.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Amka knew her mother suspected something, and she felt it was wrong to pretend to deceive her. So she added, “I really don’t like any of the village boys.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">A look Amka couldn’t decipher crossed her mother’s face. It was gone as quickly as it came, though. “I see,” Mayna sighed. “There’s not a whole lot to choose from here, I’m afraid.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">There were four younger hunters training with her, of which only two of them were boys, and the oldest of them was fifteen years old. There really was not much for her to choose. The village population had been decimated some ten years before, when most of the hunters and older boys had died in an expansion campaign gone wrong, clashing with another clan. The few survivors had come back weary and with no intention of ever engaging in war again; they chose the peaceful life, farming the land and taking care of the youngsters who were the future of their people. Amka had lost her father and older brothers; her mother had then coupled with Tahik, who had lost his mate in the same conflict and needed a mother for his two young children. Amka’s uncle had been the only experienced hunter left and had taken on the role of village hunter. A role which was now Amka’s.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“This morning your father and I had talked of traveling south to our neighboring clan three day’s ride from here, to find a mate for you,” her mother finished, with a curious, probing look, as if trying to gauge Amka’s reaction at the news. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“That’s not necessary, Mother. I’m not interested.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">“And there’s no one else?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Amka gritted her teeth. “There’s nobody here,” she insisted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Her mother’s features twisted painfully, as if in anticipation of dreadful news. “Then … the child … is Torren’s?”</span></span></div>
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Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-21400315406785266642020-05-29T07:37:00.000-07:002020-05-29T07:37:00.654-07:00Witch's Pawn on Audio!!<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">It has been a LONG haul waiting on Amazon to approve the audio files for Witch's Pawn. Due to the virus, everything has been unnaturally delayed, but I have some news.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">IT'S FINALLY HERE! Witch's Pawn is now available on Audible. I apologize for the long wait. Narrator, Teresa Booth, and I have been sitting on pins and needles waiting for this book to go live. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Witchs-Pawn-Binding-Book-2/dp/B0892QZJWV/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Victoria+Clapton+Witch%27s+Pawn&qid=1590759679&sr=8-1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Link to Audiobook</span></b></a></div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyUe-ePYO2ATmMrSZuC5C5qEgYbdrtEieelj39KAkiGcD9jS82mRRglrUDB6ADiCv0T6fASlxMMkrMMdZb2vIrN2ljAZm5mb_v56ChdrzoJ2j7IN0Dw8ma5Y17uN-EwnsQSH0Fqft2DDS/s320/513Vx4%252BP0VL.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">It has been a busy couple of weeks. The second book in the Binding Universe, Solomon Cille, was released. I have almost finished the first draft in a secret project that I have been working on, and now, the audio for Witch's Pawn is available. It's funny how life gives you crickets for months, and then all of a sudden, everything happens at once. </span>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-89728184710467356752020-05-19T07:37:00.001-07:002020-05-19T07:37:24.758-07:00Release Day for Solomon Cille!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3g17HtumT4z3ceOc_eNFQnUC0RLoQ5o3fqPfNEe_iiIbV7_mq0NAiY_S099o13x5d430A8nbSCWOVZt6oCcWFry_K8cH5WoQUGanz01-TXYx0_3HEVbALOtYEqivKjN8iQHi5VdKJbkD/s1600/Vermillion+Cacophonies+%25288%2529+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3g17HtumT4z3ceOc_eNFQnUC0RLoQ5o3fqPfNEe_iiIbV7_mq0NAiY_S099o13x5d430A8nbSCWOVZt6oCcWFry_K8cH5WoQUGanz01-TXYx0_3HEVbALOtYEqivKjN8iQHi5VdKJbkD/s400/Vermillion+Cacophonies+%25288%2529+logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Release day is finally here! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>It has been a long journey to get to this story. From early on in the Binding trilogy, I had readers asking for more of the Touchets and some of the other side characters from the Binding. So, I began with Zylphia: Ice & Ashes, and now, I am following up with Solomon Cille, the continuing story of the Binding Universe told from the Touchet family's point of view.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Solomon Cille has been a joy to work on. Cillie is every bit as special as all the other Binding characters. She is also unique, and her story will lead everyone up to the final book to be announced at a later date. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Enjoy and thanks for all the support.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcV6no0qF9lIhZDGkz6JD-_WPuT603yfjXM8tXwOequgHlpVHFTAC03icBiFgHy2zmBhvqJqdA1W-noDDLA0RMB_VQfVYx6XDxHaKfvhtBqx2MlRi0DfPvT28bD5IfD8ZwkzUx-ovMUtE/s1600/Solomon+Cille+final+front+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcV6no0qF9lIhZDGkz6JD-_WPuT603yfjXM8tXwOequgHlpVHFTAC03icBiFgHy2zmBhvqJqdA1W-noDDLA0RMB_VQfVYx6XDxHaKfvhtBqx2MlRi0DfPvT28bD5IfD8ZwkzUx-ovMUtE/s640/Solomon+Cille+final+front+cover.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Solomon-Binding-Universe-Victoria-Clapton/dp/B088JCJN9Q/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Victoria+Clapton&qid=1589897564&sr=8-5"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;"><b>Available Here!</b></span></a></div>
Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-36841613253132108262020-05-13T06:42:00.000-07:002020-05-13T06:42:24.033-07:00Solomon Cille Book Cover Reveal and Release Date<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">I'm excited to share the cover for my upcoming book, Solomon Cille, which will be available May 19th! This is the fifth book in the Binding Universe and is from the much-awaited viewpoint of the Touchets. So, without further ado...behold the new cover. Enjoy and happy reading!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LbyT4WBz56Xa4xw85T8DjnQa7faCE3p8PIyISbYUdHIxCmpb44nEur5tqrEiF5B5OCaljCvi9Qttz_8lV-Bnw27SyJywoPfpi2PnBlhaUO5hZlWs4sdQfD55umXNq0yTkRSCyTFl_ANC/s1600/Solomon+Cille+final+front+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LbyT4WBz56Xa4xw85T8DjnQa7faCE3p8PIyISbYUdHIxCmpb44nEur5tqrEiF5B5OCaljCvi9Qttz_8lV-Bnw27SyJywoPfpi2PnBlhaUO5hZlWs4sdQfD55umXNq0yTkRSCyTFl_ANC/s320/Solomon+Cille+final+front+cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The danger in New Orleans grows as Orlagh, Queen of the Seelie Fae, strikes out again. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Josephine Touchet, must get together with her friends and family, to bring together the vampires, faeries, and witches to end this threat once and for all. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Prophetic dreams of death and destruction, caused by her unborn daughter, Solomon Cille, plague JoJo’s sleep, warning her of trouble to come. The trouble must be stopped before JoJo’s nightmares are made real.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Solomon Cille is young, but a heavy burden hangs on her head. The Seelie Queen chose her to host a parasitic faery within her body, a blood elemental that feeds off of Solomon’s essence and urges her to go to war against her city, but things don’t go as Orlagh plans. Solomon is not brought down by the invasive fae sharing her body. In fact, a different sort of magick happens, they become friends, and Solomon’s power grows.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">With the help of her family and control over a unique type of magick, Solomon prepares to face the Seelie Queen head on to save her city and protect her love.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B01MT5E23S?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&searchAlias=stripbooks&sort=author-sidecar-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;"><b>Find all of my books here!</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-33001155815658940972020-04-17T06:21:00.001-07:002020-04-17T06:21:52.161-07:00Sneak Peek Poetry <span style="font-size: large;">Hi all!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Today's sneak peek comes from Elizabeth L. Lemons. Come enjoy some poetry.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVwnJEJFEdkztFs92s3O-j4y5GU3P28LOLN94TW8aMd1Rq5NgN0URS_qHsc5kx_ehY3CpcJIBThPSkaQl0Mj98O8LUOKWcRBFBD9uY8LgVaLCr5VnBHNbeJ74hdD0YpvOwBEWMvwZZgDU/s1600/lichen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVwnJEJFEdkztFs92s3O-j4y5GU3P28LOLN94TW8aMd1Rq5NgN0URS_qHsc5kx_ehY3CpcJIBThPSkaQl0Mj98O8LUOKWcRBFBD9uY8LgVaLCr5VnBHNbeJ74hdD0YpvOwBEWMvwZZgDU/s320/lichen1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Cimmerian woods kissed by crystal</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dainty branches dangle, dripping with icy glass</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Storms of winter have shattered and splintered</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hushing peace held with ghosts of my past</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">White lacy stars fall onto my shoulders</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I pull my coat closer, as I trudge on</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pursuing a late night starless journey</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Breathing shallow, but still breathing strong</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A feeling of vastly welcomed emptiness</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Accompanies me with each crunching step</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The whitest snow soon becomes soiled</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By brittle boot tracks, as my mind becomes inept</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Golden eyes shimmer stealthily in the darkness</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mother of Pearl clouds darkly shade the fullest moon</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Memories are packed well in my back pocket</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The damned persistent ones, all wrapped in gloom</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Soliciting solitude, traitorous tormentors yet follow</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Having their own way, insistent, though now quite dead</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tranquility implodes, as skin shivers explode</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On nights when sounds of crystal fill my head</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE AMARANTHINE HEM</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The silver threads that bind us</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Are unseen by most but still exist</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Connecting us to the energy stratum</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Life’s eternal spiral in silence twist</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A real but undetectable matrix</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where life’s presence carries on</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Filled with memories of the departed</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who’ve remained with us, all along</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A different plane, but here with us</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can speak or reach out to them</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For it’s the silver threads that bind us</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sewing an endless Amaranthine hem</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">LICHEN FINGERS</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fingers wave on the lichen tree</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Weaving death aura into the wind</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Standing crooked in saturated soil Its branches blackened bend</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marking the spot upon a hill</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where sacred life once stood</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Strong limbs held a hangman’s noose</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Horror for honor, all come to no good</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">They were wrong when they hung you in that tree</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bringing you to your final end</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ever land-marked with unsolved crime</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ever watching that gnarled tree’s fingers bend</span></div>
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Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-47000158052705382822020-04-13T06:42:00.000-07:002020-04-13T06:42:20.294-07:00Surrender Release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpPLMZJJZHySZ0fqwT_rLRLPYEy4WY9C6awBbi9b7mo5-doMm57AxAQLDuBaJM8deUTXkOF-1Vo6_IkPs4LbW4JbEgYWmYvBK0PiMktCsW7zsKF7_-STtaYCpXRlP_MD6Ku5D-3kUiOvr/s1600/UOFUhYE0.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpPLMZJJZHySZ0fqwT_rLRLPYEy4WY9C6awBbi9b7mo5-doMm57AxAQLDuBaJM8deUTXkOF-1Vo6_IkPs4LbW4JbEgYWmYvBK0PiMktCsW7zsKF7_-STtaYCpXRlP_MD6Ku5D-3kUiOvr/s320/UOFUhYE0.jpeg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Who's ready for more Maxim? The long-awaited conclusion, Surrender, has finally arrived, and it is well worth the wait. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Now, you all know how I feel about Lana Sky books. You know that I find them utterly addictive. Surrender surpasses that. It is addictive and satisfying. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">If you are new to the world of Lana Sky, and can handle a little dark romance in your life, pick a book, any book, you won't be disappointed. She is a master of her genre.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/author/lanasky"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amazon Author Page</span></a>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-46239634683105931982020-04-08T06:07:00.000-07:002020-04-08T06:07:13.299-07:00The Monster in the Lake Part 2<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Time for another Sneak Peek. Today, we get the second part to Johi Jenkin's, The Monster in the Lake</span></div>
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<u style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The Monster in the Lake</span></u></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Chapter 2</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Johi Jenkins</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The Girl</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>He didn’t kill me</i>, Amka thought for the hundredth time that afternoon. She sat cross-legged on the floor eating supper with her family, but her mind was back in the cave. <i>He could have killed me, but he didn’t</i>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The monster had grabbed her arm, easily, yet he had let her go when she pulled back. She had known he was deceivingly strong, and very quick; yet she had let her guard down. He could’ve killed her, but he hadn’t. At the very least he had a conscience. He wasn’t a vicious demon.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">And also for the hundredth time, she looked at her forearm and wrist where he had touched her. The rich color of her skin had looked so sharply contrasted in his pale, grayish hand. He had looked so … so frail.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>He could be dead by now</i>, she thought as she ate a piece of bread. The thought was upsetting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She was worried about him!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She stood and excused herself. “Mother, Father, I must go prepare for the hunt.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Her mother smiled. “Amka, you looked worried all supper. Do not fear. You are the best huntress we have. You will find this creature, and kill it.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka felt blood rush to her cheeks and looked down. She tried to keep her voice from betraying her. “Thank you, Mother.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She walked to her late uncle’s hut. It was the farthest hut from the village; he had used it as a sentry post. He’d had no wife and no children, so when he died Amka had taken over it. She still lived with her parents, but often stayed here, especially of late as she had been hunting the monster.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The monster …</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The sun was still up. About six hours had passed since she had left him tied up and bleeding in the cave. <i>He might be dead already</i>, she thought again. The notion gnawed painfully at her insides. She tried to shake away the unwelcome commiseration as she prepared her tools and hunting gear. She needed to focus and bring food to her family today. She shouldn’t care for a murderer.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">And yet she found herself leaving the village away from her usual hunting grounds, her feet taking her along the lake toward the secret cave, walking at first, then running. By the time she reached the entrance to the cave her heart was about to burst, and she finally slowed down. <i>I just need to know what became of him</i>, she told herself as she walked the passage to the spot where she had last seen him. She would be cautious. But her heart raced on. She couldn’t tell if the apprehension she felt was the dread of facing a blood-drinking monster again, or the idea of finding him dead.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The answer was obvious as her heart swelled with relief upon seeing him sitting up against the wall of the cave. He was now deeper in the shadows, away from the light coming down the opening above, but her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could see him. His wrists were still tied and he looked worse than he did the last time she had seen him. Except … the expression on his face. She didn’t understand it. There should have been concern for his own wellbeing, or anger at her, or distrust at the very least. After all, she was to blame for his current predicament.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But his face, trained on hers, was lit with something like … happiness?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Hello,” she said awkwardly, standing about ten feet from where he sat.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Hello,” he repeated.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She smiled despite the circumstances. He had repeated the greeting in her language. Then she remembered she had resolved to be cautious, and immediately dropped the smile. She cleared her throat.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Um, I came back to help you. I feel … sorry … for doing this to you. So I will bring you an elk for you to … drink.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He just looked at her, curious or confused, she couldn’t tell.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“How much … blood do you need? A big elk”— she motioned wide with her hands—“or something small, like a goat?” She brought her hands closer together.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He shook his head. “No kill … animals.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“What! Why not? You drank from all those animals before, didn’t you?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“You …” he shook his head and said a word in his language, while feigning an angry face, “before. I feel … sorry.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>I was angry before when I called him out on killing the animals, and he’s sorry, so he doesn’t want me to kill an animal for him?</i> Was that what he was saying? She was shocked. In the short time that had passed he’d somehow picked up enough words to communicate with her.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I didn’t understand then,” she explained. “That you needed blood, I mean. You need to eat what you need to eat. So I’ll hunt something for you.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“No kill,” he said again.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I can’t just persuade an elk to come here willingly!” she cried, exasperated—and at that moment a new thought occurred to her. A dangerous one. “Wait. Would you have to … kill … the elk, if I bring one in here alive?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“No kill. Drink … a little bit.” He held his thumb and first finger close together, as he had earlier that day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>Here goes</i>, she thought. “Then … I can help.” <i>So much for being cautious</i>. She ignored her inner voice of reason and grabbed her blade from its sheath in her boot. She pointed the tip at her wrist; the same spot he had bit on his own wrist hours before. “Take a little bit.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Shocked, he shook his head. “No.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“It’s fine, I won’t die,” she insisted.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He shook his head again, and lowered his head, looking away from her. But not before she caught a glimpse of something—hunger.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Although he resisted, she could see the need in his eyes, in his demeanor. And she felt responsible for it, for weakening him. So she ignored him and brought the tip of the blade to her flesh. She took a second to take a breath, steeling herself.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But the blade disappeared from her hand.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“<i>No</i>,” he said again, and was suddenly standing next to her, his restraints snapped without effort. He held the blade in one hand in the air above her, the other hand around the wrist she had intended to cut.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">What … what just happened?</span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Even earlier, the first time he’d grabbed her hand, he hadn’t been in this close proximity to her. Now his body was mere inches from hers, and her free hand rested on his chest pressed between their bodies. The scales on his clothing were a thing to behold; but she couldn’t spend the time examining them as she would’ve wanted, because her whole attention was engaged elsewhere. On him. On the feel of his fingers around her wrist. And his face, his eyes. The irises were a clear, green color she’d never seen in a person before.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka’s heart beat erratically. His closeness forced her to acknowledge the feelings she’d been feeling all day, but that she hadn’t had the courage to admit to herself.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">That she was attracted to a monster.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"> The Monster</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Thal had meant to push her away. He had underestimated his hunger before and killed a man; he wouldn’t let that happen again. He was famished now, and weak; an immense threat to the girl. He didn’t know if he could be able to stop after <i>a little bit</i>, as she was offering.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But when he held her wrist and felt her warmth so close to him, and her hand on his chest, it was much, much harder to resist her. He might have fought the attraction he felt, though, except that as he looked into her dark brown eyes he saw her thoughts were aligned with his.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Against his better judgment he released her wrist and dropped her blade onto the cave floor, then brought his arms around her. One hand at her lower back pulled her body against his, and the other one traveled to the roots of her fierce black hair, gently turning her head to expose her neck.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He lowered his face to her soft skin. Then he bit her.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Ah,” her little whimper escaped her lips.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Her blood touched his tongue and his life wholly shifted before him. His arms tightened around her, pulling her even closer. The person he thought he was, and everything he’d ever thought he wanted, all disappeared; he wanted nothing except this girl and her sweet blood, and her supple body in his arms. Her mind opened to him, and he felt her great pleasure past the brief shock of the bite. Her mind was full of <i>him</i>. Her face lifted to the cave ceiling.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>If this is dying, I don’t mind so much</i>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Her thought sobered him up and broke through his stupor. He forced his head up. It was over too soon.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Why did you stop?” she asked in a daze. He understood the meaning of her words exactly.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I … good,” he said, testing the words. In his own language he added, “<i>Thank you</i>,” and stepped back to give her some air.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But he saw her neck was still bleeding. Tentatively, he reached a hand up to her neck where he had bit her. He could heal her, but he felt he ought to ask her first.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“<i>May I touch</i>?” he asked in his language.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She didn’t understand the words, but she grasped the meaning well enough. She nodded.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">So he brought his finger to one of his fangs and bit, and a bright red drop of blood appeared as she watched with wide eyes. He spread his blood over the two small puncture marks, and heard her surprised thoughts as her wound healed and the pain receded.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She touched her neck. “It’s all healed,” she said, rubbing her fingers over her smooth skin. “No pain. No wound. How did you do that?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“My blood healed,” he said, extending the finger he had bit, showing her there was no wound there anymore, either. Then he lifted the hem of his now tattered garment and showed her his side where her spears had pierced his skin. “No pain. No wound.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He heard both her gasp and her internal exclamation of surprise upon seeing him fully healed. And then her silent regard:<i> He is so beautiful</i>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">As his mind automatically added the words to his growing list of her vocabulary, he was thrilled to discover that particular one—<i>beautiful</i>. Excitement over learning the word—and the context in which she had thought it—made him smile.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“You heal so quickly,” she said in awe.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“You feed me. I healed.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But her pride in helping him turned to guilt in the next instant, as the family person she called <i>Uncle</i> appeared in her mind. Thal had seen this thought before. He stepped back from her and looked down, ashamed.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I’m sorry for … uncle,” he said.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He felt her surprise. For the first time, she wondered if he could read her thoughts. It was a strange thought to her, the idea of hearing thoughts. Thal realized humans didn’t have this ability. But she didn’t ask him about it—yet. Instead, she thought of her uncle again. She had cared for him deeply.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Why did you kill him?” The night of her uncle’s death, a month ago, flashed before her eyes. She contrasted what she’d then called <i>the monster</i> with the monster before her now. She didn’t think of him as a crazed animal anymore; she looked for an explanation in her mind. She remembered he had run away limping when she had approached. She wondered if he’d been hurt, then.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He nodded at her unspoken question. He bent and grabbed her blade from the floor where he’d dropped it. “I killed elk. Uncle …” Thal mimicked tiptoeing.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>Snuck up on him</i>, her mind provided, understanding him.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“… and then he … hunt me,” he finished, and he mimicked stabbing his back. He didn’t have a word for <i>stabbed</i> yet.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Realization hit her. There <i>had</i> been a dead elk next to her uncle’s body, she remembered. And that explained the monster’s limping—her uncle must have stabbed him. “Oh,” she said.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I hungry,” he recounted sadly. “I drank from uncle. I take … <i>not</i> a little bit.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">It had been an accident. Thal had been raised with a healthy fear of humans, the <i>sun dwellers</i>. After leaving his underwater cave he’d hunted animals easily enough, but he’d been careless. He’d left the carcasses for the wild animals to feed—it didn’t occur to him that humans might find them and wonder who or what was behind the animal killings. When the man attacked him, he had defended himself, and drawn blood. Blinded by hunger, and perhaps fear, Thal drank until the man stopped struggling. Only when he heard shouts behind him did he remember that engaging with humans was something he should avoid at all costs.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He’d fled and retreated to his underwater cave, and only returned to the surface when he strictly needed to, once a week when he was hungry; and even then, he’d hunted far from the village. But he didn’t realize someone had been hunting <i>him</i>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I’m sorry that I hurt you, too,” the girl said, and he could see she was remembering their first encounter two nights before; how she had attacked him while he’d been looking down at her, distracted. She was embarrassed that she had attacked him without provocation, as her uncle had done.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">And yet Thal didn’t blame her. He understood now that it was her duty; she’d thought she was protecting her people from a monster. When he’d heard the footsteps behind him as he had tried to free the little goat, he’d realized another human was trying to kill him, but he hadn’t expected it to be a girl. He’d been mesmerized by her beauty. As a true hunter, she had used his weakness against him and stabbed him. He’d run away, but instead of staying out of sight he’d come back like a fool the next night, hoping to see her again.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Instead he’d almost met his doom.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“But you … came back to help me,” he pointed out. “And you … feed me.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He heard the embarrassment in her thoughts again and saw her blood rush to her cheeks. Her skin color was so warm and exquisite; he yearned to touch her again.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I had to,” she said, and in her mind she added, <i>I wanted to</i>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Wanted to?” he repeated.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She looked at him curiously. <i>How does he know what I’m thinking</i>? “Can you hear … what I’m thinking?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Yes,” he said. “I can hear.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>Impossible</i>, she thought, in denial. But then she thought of several times he’d answered an unspoken question. “How?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“<i>I just do</i>,” he said in his language, shrugging, as he had no explanation either in her language or his. Hearing thoughts was as natural to his people as hearing sounds, or speaking.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>He is so different</i>, she thought. <i>What an odd creature</i>. Her eyes traveled over him. His height, his long arms—then they fell on his wrists. Specifically, on what was left of the ropes that adorned his wrists.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“You broke my restraints so easily,” she pointed out. “But why didn’t you, earlier? You could have gotten free anytime. You could’ve walked out of here anytime.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He shook his head. “No walked out. Night creature,” he attempted to explain, pointing at the light coming from the opening above. He was weak and the sun was still out. But he <i>could</i> have broken her restraints. He didn’t though, because they were <i>hers</i>. He looked down at his wrists with affection. “You restraints me,” he answered.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>I restrained him</i>, her mind understood his faulty use of her language. “I only tied you up because I thought you were dangerous. I’m sorry.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“No sorry. I’m not dangerous to you.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Again she looked at him in awe. “How are you learning my language so quickly?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He didn’t know how to answer that exactly. He could hear the thoughts that accompanied the words she said, so he very easily grasped the meaning of each word or group of words. And he remembered every word that she said. “I learn quickly.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Well, then,” she said, sitting down on the cave floor, “now that we can talk, tell me who you are. And … your name. My name is Amka.” She placed a hand on her chest, pointing at herself.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Amka,” he repeated, instantly loving the sound of her name. He sat down across from her, then pointed at himself. “Thal.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Thal,” she repeated.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">They both smiled.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">***</span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">The Girl</span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka had grown up hearing tales of blood-drinking demons that some remotely ancestral tribe had encountered ages ago. Children told the stories to scare their younger siblings; they were supposed to be just that: children’s tales. But after talking to Thal for several hours, engrossed in the history of his people, Amka realized the stories were likely based on real events that had been downgraded to fiction over the last hundred years. The more he talked the more she wanted her time with him to never end; but unfortunately the sun had other ideas. She kept glancing at the opening above them, getting sadder by the minute, until Thal noticed.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">His thought-hearing ability was quite handy for their communication, she noted, but it had its disadvantages. Such as then, when he heard that little voice she had been ignoring for the last hour telling her she had to go back to take care of her hunting duties. She’d come back empty-handed two days in a row, and the village jerks would be sure to point it out if she didn’t bring something today. And for that she needed daylight. Which was quickly retreating.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“You have to go back home,” Thal surmised, in his newly-learned language of hers. He only had a tinge of an accent. “Don’t be sad. I’ll come back tomorrow and meet you again. And as for today, don’t worry. I can help you catch anything you need.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Oh, that’s … thank you,” she accepted his offers, trying to hide the excitement from her voice at the thought of seeing him again the next day.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">So very reluctantly they left the cave together. If the amount of light left bothered him, he didn’t show it. He brought down a boar for her easily enough, an animal she rarely hunted because they were huge and their tusks were dangerous. Thal even carried it for her. They continued their talk until the path they walked along the lake turned inland toward her village. There they stopped to part ways. He had to go back to his underwater cave, he’d told her, and he couldn’t very well walk her to the village. People would faint.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Very carefully he slung the boar over her shoulders, and as he stepped closer to her the excitement and awe that had filled her most of the afternoon talking to him, and later witnessing his hunting skills, quickly dissipated. Gloom crept in again over their impending separation, despite his assurance that he would come back. What if he didn’t?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“As soon as the sun sets,” he promised, “I’ll be in the cave.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I would like that … very much,” she admitted.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She didn’t know how to part with him, because she’d never needed to part with a guy she liked; and also because most of her physical faculties were presently occupied holding the boar steady over her shoulders.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Until tomorrow, then,” she said.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Until tomorrow.” He was smiling as he turned and walked into the water.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka smiled too as she watched him dip underwater with a final wave at her. Then she walked the rest of the way home with the smile plastered on her face. She barely felt the weight of the animal slung over her shoulders. She went straight to her house, getting cocky when passing villagers commended her for a kill that wasn’t hers, but that no one knew it wasn’t. She dropped it off outside her hut on her father’s stone slab. Her mother and father always dressed her kills and took care of the other nasty details.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">After freshening up she returned to her late uncle’s hut to return and clean all her hunting gear. She dropped off her weapons, then grabbed a water basket and walked to the well. Her mind full of Thal, she didn’t notice Aruk casually leaning against a nearby tree until he spoke. The sun had gone down already and it was getting dark very quickly, but she still kicked herself for not seeing him there as she approached.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“That monster looked quite like a pig,” he said. “I thought it was supposed to be a giant fish?”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka had no intention of letting the little dung ruin her mood. “You’re more than welcome to join me in the hunt one day, if you and your pal Torren want to learn how it’s done.” She couldn’t help the biting sarcasm in her voice.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I don’t think so,” he said slowly.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Her body immediately shifted into defensive mode. Aruk’s tone had changed—her mind took note of several details all at once: his body language, his stance, the size of the tree he was next to, which could hide a number of threats to her. And something else, perhaps most significant of all: Aruk was never one to initiate a provocation. That was always—</span></div>
<div style="font-family: cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27.35pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She whipped around almost too late. She ducked, avoiding being nearly skewered by Torren’s spear. She kicked out at him as she ducked, but only managed to push him away a few feet. And piss him off.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“What the hell?” she asked them, needing an explanation. They were jerks, yeah, but she never expected Torren to <i>attack</i> her. And with a freaking <i>spear!</i> And yet she saw Aruk had grabbed his own spear as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">So this was how it was going to be. Two armed against one unarmed. Attacking her from behind, too. <i>Cowards</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Good evening, huntress Amka,” Torren said. His voice was malicious and full of hatred. “I hope your day has been pleasant so far. It won’t be so pleasant now, I fear.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Again she wanted to kick herself. This level of dislike coming from Torren must have been brewing in him for a while now, and yet she had never noticed. She always took his taunts as just harmless jealousy. Clearly there was something bigger going on. How had she missed the signs?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Why?” she asked him, circling around him, placing both of them in her line of sight.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“The hunter must be the strongest,” Torren said simply. “And you’re not the strongest.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka cursed silently. She should’ve known. She was older than him by a few years, and throughout their childhood she’d always been bigger and faster than him. He was still young, around seventeen, but in the last few years he’d caught up with her in size and was now taller. She was still faster and a better hunter, though. Or so she had thought.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">They charged. Aruk circled around her, trying to flank her, while Torren thrust with his spear, over and over again. She danced out of the way, while simultaneously analyzing their moves and looking for an opportunity to grab either of their spears; but after not even a minute of this, Aruk, so impatient, decided to just barrel toward her. She side-stepped at the last second and managed to land an elbow to his temple … but the distraction was all Torren needed, and he rushed at her again; this time, the spear caught her arm as she wasn’t as fast to side-step the charge. The cut stung but it wasn’t deep. Yet, it was enough to incite them further. And worse: break her confidence.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She stumbled back, and as they both looked at her savagely, she knew she would not be able to dodge their next charge. Anger filled her heart as she was forced to accept her imminent fate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But a strange new sound broke through the darkness. It was like the sound of waves crashing against the shore, or wind howling through a narrow crevice. In an instant Amka’s anger vanished and she smiled. The two sadists in front of her didn’t even have a chance to see the blur that came barreling toward them from behind, but she did.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Thal crashed against Aruk, and the vile young hunter went flying into a tree with a sickening <i>crack</i> that no human could ever survive. Amka cringed at the sight of him, at the same time that she heard a whimper. She turned to the sound—and saw Thal had grabbed Torren by the neck, and had forced him down on his knees, choking him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She had the pleasure of seeing Torren’s eyes filled with a savage fear. “See … he’s real,” she couldn’t help but say.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Thal looked into her eyes, and into her mind and her darkest thoughts, probably, because he nodded almost imperceptibly right before he turned back to the whining Torren in his hand. He squeezed, and Torren’s neck snapped with a satisfying<i> crunch</i>. Then he let go, and her enemy’s body crumpled to the ground.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka ran to Thal, and he pulled her into a tight hug. The confrontation and the terror of what had just happened finally caught up with her, and she shook and gasped, clinging to her savior. She had never felt so vulnerable as she had moments before Thal had appeared; and now in his arms she felt the safest she’d ever felt, despite learning that he could crush her into pulp if he so desired. His speed and strength had taken her by surprise.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">After another moment she calmed down. Then she realized she was … wet? She pulled back, puzzled, and noticed Thal was wearing a tunic that was plastered to his chest and dripping with water.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“I came directly from my home,” he explained, still holding her. “I felt something was wrong, almost as if I could hear your thoughts from far away.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“They jumped me. And it took me by surprise. I feel so … stupid.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Don’t,” he said, and brought her close to him again. “You’re clever. You trapped <i>me</i>. You could’ve killed me. <i>They</i> were just … cheaters.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>Cheaters</i>. Anger flashed again in her mind. She looked down at Torren. <i>They got what they deserved</i>. And yet, they hadn’t. Aside from a quick moment of fear, they had died too quickly. They deserved worse.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Drink him,” she offered, nodding at Torren. She knew Thal hadn’t drunk nearly as much from her as he could have. He had to be hungry still. And there Torren was, perfectly good food about to go to waste.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Thal looked hesitant, but he did a little shrug, agreeing with her. He finally let go of her and took a step back. “You’re right. No need to waste.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">He grabbed the body liked it weighed nothing, and sliced the neck open with a fingernail. “So it will look like it was a spear,” he explained, before he covered the cut with his mouth, drinking deeply.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Amka didn’t flinch.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">When he was done, he dropped the body to the floor again, then turned to the well behind him and cleaned his lips and mouth with water, as if washing away something distasteful.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">“Was his blood as revolting as he was?” she asked.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Thal laughed, returning to her. “No. It was alright. But I had your blood, and that was heavenly, so I’m ruined forever to the bland blood of others.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She smiled, his laughter and his compliment improving her mood infinitely. She couldn’t resist him anymore. So she reached up and kissed him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She felt his momentary surprise, then his immediate response. His arms went around her again, and he kissed her back. Slowly, but deeply.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>Oh wow</i>, she thought. <i>This is better than I imagined</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">She had to wake her parents, the elders, and maybe a villager or two to explain what had occurred with Torren and Aruk. But it could wait a bit. As Thal’s lips moved over hers so sweetly, everything else could wait. She was content to just drift in the surge of feeling that engulfed her.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">To Be Continued</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://johijenkins.blogspot.com/&source=gmail&ust=1586373632568000&usg=AFQjCNE-v0w83JsdLYX8nzZU82zQR0mAuA">Johi Jenkin's Blog</a></span></div>
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Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-54961645211946226582020-04-03T13:28:00.001-07:002020-04-03T13:28:56.768-07:00And Then There Was Fog-Sneak Peek<div class="mail-message expanded" id="m#msg-f:1662983211276408166">
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Today's Sneak Peek is a special snippet from an upcoming novel, Lady in the Fog, by Anne Marie Andrus.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">This one brought me joy. May you enjoy it as well!</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And Then There Was Fog…</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Wisps of fog lurked and lingered around the tangled roots of swamp trees as if begging to be drawn up and into the hearts of those ancient sentinels before cruel sun banished them for another day. Polly balanced a stack of empty buckets under her chin and paused in the barn door to watch the last dance of legendary mist. Another sweltering day had dawned in Louisiana and it was only April. <i>All of us are hiding inside until evening.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> With the sound of happy horses munching on oats and barley, Polly rolled giant screen doors across the entrance—the biggest improvement she’d made since inheriting the farm and a necessary decision if she wanted to stay in business. The heat was bearable when standing still. Hordes of biting flies were not. Though some of the horses in her care were for pleasure riding, many more draped garlands of blue ribbons across their stall fronts. Hurricane Becky, the imposing chocolate bay mare in the corner stall, had the most and she was due to move to New Jersey over the summer so her young rider could train for the Junior Olympics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Crescent Bend Farm was growing a reputation as a show barn, ultra-competitive without any snobby attitude. Every stall had a personalized sign proclaiming the name of the superstar who lived there. Each was the pride and joy of a local family who scrimped and saved to fulfill their child’s dream of owning a horse and taking lessons from Henri—trainer by day, jazz musician in the big city by night.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> <i>It’s Tuesday morning,</i> <i>Henri should be here by now.</i> Polly glanced outside but the gravel lot was empty. After pouring a steaming cup of coffee, she settled onto a bale of hay, perfectly positioned for a view of the peaceful pastures and winding driveway to Rural Route One. The first taste of chicory on her tongue was interrupted by the jangly ring of a phone. She lifted the lime green receiver from its perch and tucked it between her shoulder and ear. “Crescent Bend?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Miss Polly!” A voice on the other end chirped. “Don’t you see me flailing my arms out by the gate? I’ve been makin’ a grand commotion for the last hour.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Polly leaned to the right and saw Henri waving his old black hat in the distance. “I do now. Did you break down?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “There’s something out here you need to see.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Fence busted again?” Polly stopped mid-sip. “Is this your cell phone—are you hurt?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “No and no. Just—come right quick.” The line went dead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Polly dashed out into the brutal sun intending to sprint the length of the driveway but changed her mind, hopping into her old pick-up instead. The bald tires spit pebbles as she gunned it toward the main road. Two minutes later she tumbled out of the truck to find Henri leaning on a crooked post, popping sunflower seeds in his mouth. “What was so earth shattering that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Henri nodded to the shade of an old tree “Someone left a package.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Polly turned and froze. Tied to the branch of an oak was a trembling grey horse with mud caked up all four legs and streaked across its belly. “A stray?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Just a filly.” Henri stood straight and handed Polly a brown container. “This here’s the package. I nearly missed that baby horse in the fog.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Inside the soggy box, Polly found bags of cheap feed, a soft bridle with a rubber bit, a crumpled twenty-dollar bill and an envelope stuffed with papers. “Some nut just left her here, like dumping an infant on the hospital steps?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Seems so. At least they tied her up in the shade.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Just when you think you’ve seen it all—we’ll take her down to the barn and I’ll call the police.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “I tried already—to walk her down I mean.” Henri shook his head. “She seemed to like my voice but when I got close, she nearly pulled the tree down trying to run.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Polly frowned. <i>Something is off. All horses love Henri</i>. “I might have carrots…” She retreated to her truck and came back with one lonely orange stick. Slow and gentle steps carried Polly around the oak until she could see ribs poking through the filly’s grey coat. When the carrot snapped in half, two ears pricked in her direction. She and the horse took a step toward each other and then another. She held the carrot out and a velvety muzzle plucked it off her flat hand like a princess lifting a fine china cup.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Good girl.” Polly placed a hand on the horse’s damp neck and waited for her to stop trembling before stroking her nose. “Easy there, let’s get you somewhere cooler.” She slowly untied a worn lead from the branch and started in the direction of the driveway. The horse followed but froze when Henri moved closer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Why don’t you drive my truck back and I’ll walk her?” Polly offered the second half of the carrot. It disappeared in an instant.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Take your time.” Henri picked up the brown box and stuffed the envelope in his pocket. “I’ll get a stall ready.” As Henri turned away, the filly followed him with her eyes and craned her neck to track his progress, inching to the end of the driveway and watching him back the truck all the way to the barn as if she didn’t want to let him out of her sight.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “He’s one of the good ones.” Polly began the long trek. “No need to be afraid.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> The horse walked deliberately, as if she was in awe of the pastures and the buildings ahead, stopping to grab mouthfuls of grass, gaze into the distance and work the courage up to take a few more steps. On the hard ground she was taller than Polly thought at first. <i>No shoes, but her hooves look healthy and trimmed. </i>At the barn door, the horse’s eyes flew open and she stopped short, her spindly legs nearly tangled in panic.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Whoa, whoa.” Polly backed away and let her regain balance. “Easy, baby.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “That might have been my fault.” Henri retreated into the tack room. “Try again, third stall on the left.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Polly coaxed and nudged the filly but even though she seemed as if she yearned to go inside, they never made it past the barn’s threshold. “This isn’t happening. She’s working herself into a lather.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “I have an idea.” Henri peeked around the door and tapped his forehead. “What about the little open-sided barn close to your house? I know we haven’t used it since…” He unzipped his leather vest, tossed it on a hook and reached around the wall to fill a bucket with fresh water.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Since we lost Daisy—Grandfather’s last horse.” Polly stared off at the old red structure shaded by a grove of oaks and hanging moss. <i>A snapshot from a fading fairytale.</i> She took two steps in that direction and was yanked back by the filly who submerged her face in Henri’s water bucket and drained half of it before coming up for air. “Good Lord.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> The horse turned to Henri with different eyes and batted long dark lashes. She plunged her nose back into the bucket and took a daintier sip. Tension visibly drained from her muscles as if he had waved a magic water wand and she had fallen head over heels in love.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Looks like you made a friend.” Polly chuckled.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Sweet Baby Girl.” Henri stroked her charcoal mane. “You’ll never go thirsty again.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> With Polly on one side and Henri on the other, Baby Girl walked with bolder steps and happily slipped through the gate of the shaded pasture. Polly took her for a quick tour of the perimeter and unclicked the lead from her halter. The horse walked directly under the slanted shelter as if she’d lived there for years, but spun around to make sure the exit was wide open.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Henri shook his head. “Still jittery, like she’s been trapped inside somewhere.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “I remember a lot of boards that need to be fixed before we leave her alone here.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Henri flipped over an old trough and began filling it with a hose from the house. He called over his shoulder. “Already done.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Polly peeked through the fence at freshly painted walls and an expertly patched roof. “I thought we decided to knock this whole thing down?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “I fixed it up instead.” Henri leaned on the rail next to her and watched Baby Girl sniff around her new surroundings. “Thought it might come in handy someday.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Sounds like something Grandfather would say.” Polly smiled wistfully as the filly pricked her delicate ears at a bird’s nest in the corner of the barn. “I don’t even want to imagine what happened to this poor thing.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Let her settle and I’ll mix some real feed with whatever was in that brown box.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Take it slow. Four small meals a day for now.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> Henri pulled the envelope from his pocket and handed it to Polly. “I thought you were calling the police?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.3184px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"> “Maybe tomorrow.”</span></span></div>
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Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109157411682022378.post-36191202838131358772020-03-27T06:29:00.000-07:002020-03-27T06:29:05.950-07:00Sneak Peek Friday-Ten Lives<span style="color: #444444; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sneak Peek Friday! Today's snippet comes from Christian Terry's book, Ten Lives. Link found below. Enjoy!!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0OKuFvoecVh490W1tMGAQj_HbRM3TmLCSMd7vPqIvTFFkZ1zpmJ7x3IA7A3SRg7P_8LWdBOIeB-G7aLI6GlNtqkCrneWXHyE85h9-te7bFhbztGjFsQ2Jt53FKHSmXEW_l72_o55yDxN/s1600/20200327_082619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0OKuFvoecVh490W1tMGAQj_HbRM3TmLCSMd7vPqIvTFFkZ1zpmJ7x3IA7A3SRg7P_8LWdBOIeB-G7aLI6GlNtqkCrneWXHyE85h9-te7bFhbztGjFsQ2Jt53FKHSmXEW_l72_o55yDxN/s320/20200327_082619.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The morning was hot and bright. The six started marching as soon as they had packed their camp. It wasn’t long before the group had come across the three-fingered statue. The image they had seen on the map earlier did not do it justice. It stood majestically over them. At over ten feet tall, it loomed with clinging jungle vines draped around it. The group took a moment to gawk at the sight then, shortly afterwards, became aware of their surroundings. The missing men that had been sent this way before them, there were no signs of them having been this far. No footprints or any type of trails were left behind, leaving the six of them baffled. Suddenly something caught Mike’s eye: what the stone statue was pointing at. Hidden behind large hedges and vines in the distance was a gravelly road, and beyond it was a long stretch of silver, half the width of a football field but just as long. Large trees were lined up on both sides with outstretched limbs hovering over the shiny strip of land. “What is that?” Mike asked as he delicately set his backpack near the base of the statue before he tiptoed toward the chrome ground. Mike crossed the grass and stood at the edge of the metal strip, staring down at his own reflection. He tentatively stepped out. Whatever metal this was, it didn’t make a sound as Mike’s size sixteen shoes walked across it. A small obelisk stood just on the outer right side of the silver strip. It was shaped like a pyramid with a small red jewel on its apex. It couldn’t be the fire emerald could it? Mike decided that it would probably be a good idea to leave it alone for the time being. No one leaves things as valuable as that out in the open, he thought to himself. After ignoring the obvious bait, he walked the entire length of the silver walkway. That’s when the trouble started. As he neared the end of the walkway, a chill ran through his body, and he could see his breath escape his mouth. He looked down at his arm. The “X” was glowing. Death? He looked around furiously for what could possibly kill him. What he saw was the rest of the group. As the group marched toward him, he noticed Louis fidgeting with the stone obelisk, struggling to take the jewel off of its top. “Lou!” Mike barked, but before Louis could react, the obelisk shifted backward, and the ground began to tremble. The shaking left them all fighting for footing. There was a loud screech. The silver strip was disappearing underneath them! It resembled a mouth as it opened, swallowing Ariel, Piggy, Brackar, and Mercury into its murky abyss. Adarha ran toward Mike as the ground beneath her feet yawned open. She jumped toward him, clutching what little of the path was left. “Help, please!” she cried. Full of determination, Mike ran toward her and slid, barely grabbing her arm before she let go. “Gotcha!” Mike shouted. He was hanging over the edge, but the ground kept retracting. He scrambled backward, but not fast enough. He fell.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>Victoria Claptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03085299595447585512noreply@blogger.com0