BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
(Supernatural romance)
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND
(Adult thriller/mystery)
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Copyright © 2019
Nightlight Press
Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC
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Main Cast List
Amelia (daughter of Erik and Abby Novalik – vampire)
Eva (daughter of Azazel and Tamara – druid/lamia/vampire)
Herakles (creation of Ta’Zan – Faulty)
Raphael (creation of Ta’Zan – Perfect)
Riza (daughter of Horatio and Aisha Drizan– jinni)
Taeral (son of Sherus and Nuriya – fae-jinni)
Varga (son of Ashbik and Ruby Goode – vampire-sentry)
Family tree
If you’d like to check out the Novaks’ family tree, visit: www.forrestbooks.com/tree
Taeral
"Where could she have gone?"
It was the question I'd asked repeatedly for the past twenty minutes. A question that had been on everyone's lips from the moment we'd reached the double doors of Death's palace on Mortis.
I'd left my father in The Shade, still dead. They should've taken him back to Calliope, with the other fae. With the threat of the Hermessi's ritual nearing completion, it would've been the sensible thing to do. But none of us, not even Derek and Sofia—not to mention my mother or me—could bring ourselves to do it.
There was one aspect of his location and condition that had offered a sense of comfort. The Hermessi had influence over the Supernatural Dimension and the In-Between. Whatever their ritual entailed, the odds that my father's body would be used as a weapon in The Shade were minimal. At best, he'd be just one of the five million the elementals needed to bring about the end of days where they were the most powerful—like a battery lost somewhere far away, still powering their principal apparatus.
I knew Corrine and Ibrahim would've sealed Sherus’s glass house with all the magic they knew, just to make sure it would be safe for the rest of The Shade. And that wasn't even the worst part of this entire situation. Hell, the sanctuaries being up in the air and humming with energy wasn't the worst part, either. No, the worst part was that I had chosen to bring Thieron back to Death, here on Mortis, so she could put an end to it all. And Death was nowhere to be found.
"What's the word from The Shade?" Raphael asked Amelia, who'd just gotten off the comms line with Derek and Sofia.
She shook her head slowly. "So far, nothing. The Hermessi children are safe. The ones who remain loyal to Brendel are secured and restrained. The portal is on lockdown. And Sherus… he's okay, for now. He knows you had to do this," she said, looking at me.
I'd yet to find the courage to speak to my mother about this. To make her and my father understand my decision. With Brendel and her Hermessi so close to us, and with only a sliver of Phyla power for Phantom to use upon her release, coming to Mortis to finish this quest had seemed like the more reasonable choice. Every fiber in my body had urged me to use Phyla to revive my father instead, but it would've meant taking the long way back to Mortis afterward, and that would've been a recipe for disaster.
We were already just yards away from the finish line, and Brendel was ready to do absolutely everything to stop us. It was a risk I hadn’t been able to take, despite my unending love for my father.
"What about the sanctuaries? Any progress?" I asked, my voice fading, as I leaned back against the palace doors. No one was coming to answer. No one would open them. Judging by the heavy silence around us, this place was abandoned.
"They're still up in the air, hovering and buzzing weirdly," Amelia said. "They've tried getting closer, repeatedly, but the Hermessi just keep everyone out. GASP is focusing on evacuating the areas surrounding them. Trying to get as many people away as possible."
Herakles crouched, letting a deep sigh out. I could certainly understand his frustration. We were all feeling it. "Nowhere will be safe unless we stop the ritual. If the Hermessi finish it, our people will be dead. We'll all be dead."
Except Lumi, Eira, and me, but I didn't dare say that out loud. It was the least of my worries. "What about the GASP officers?" I replied, looking at Amelia. "Will they stay on or fall back to The Shade?"
She blinked several times, as if struggling to understand this one part of the federation's protocol that everyone seemed to have forgotten about. Since the Hermessi incident had become a clear threat to the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension, new rules had been put into place. Knowing that those dimensions were in the Hermessi's crosshairs, and that Earth was still safe—at least for a while—GASP had decided unilaterally that all of its agents could retreat to The Shade if they wanted. I'd have understood if they'd chosen to stay and die with their people, too.
"The purpose of going back to The Shade is to protect it and Earth from the Hermessi once they decide to breach that dimension," I explained. "They'll have enough power to come through if the ritual is completed. I hate thinking about it as much as you do, but I'm pretty sure Derek and Sofia have already discussed it."
"Have you lost hope, then?" Varga asked me, his brow furrowed.
"No. But it looks as though Death has gone missing," I replied, tension building up in my throat. "I have to consider all the possibilities. I gave up on saving my own father to be here and… she's out."
