Blind Sight (The Celadon Circle)
Excerpt:
Blood
and screaming; screaming and blood. The horrors of the image before her assault
Jordan’s senses, overwhelming them to the point where she must scream herself.
It wouldn’t matter if she did -- the young girl fighting for her life wouldn’t
hear her. Neither would the monster
dismantling her body piece by agonizing piece.
She’d
fought valiantly. The girl – she couldn’t be more than sixteen – obviously
wasn’t the type to roll over and die. The monster liked that. Fear made her
flesh sweeter. Her hair is plastered to her head with sweat. Her breathing
labored, coming in short gasps. Tears cut tracks through the grime and muck on
her face. Jordan figured she’d been on the run for at least an hour or more.
Her
time is coming to an end, though. The blood loss is too great – she’s weak.
Jeans, which were once faded blue, are a saturated burgundy now. She had lost
what was left of her shirt a while back. Strips of skin flap loosely above and
below her bra strap. She’s barely able to stumble through the trees. The
monster allows her to get as far as fifty feet away before it pounces again,
using powerful claws to rake what’s left of the flesh from her back. Its long,
black tongue snakes out, lapping up her blood. Its putrid body shivers in
ecstasy under the bloated moon.
The
girl barely whimpers this time, but sound carries in the silent woods. The
monster stops feeding long enough to place a gnarled, heavy foot on her back,
snapping it like dry timber. There will
be no more running for either of them this night.
Enormous
wings unfurl from the creature’s body, webbed and veined -- not unlike those of
a bat. Fully spanned, they reach at least twelve feet across. Jordan knows she
must get a closer look. With the thought, her body moves, drifting on the
currents of the gentle breeze created by the pines and oaks. Soon, too soon,
she is floating right above it.
As
if it can hear or sense something is near, the thing raises its massive head,
sniffing the air. Its face resembles a gibbon, but the mouth is wider –
distorted and stretched to hold rows of wicked-sharp teeth. Yellow eyes capture
the moonlight, reflecting it like any other animal, only more brightly. Its
body is covered in gray feathers or scales coated in a slimy substance. The
smell is unbelievable – a mixture of skunk, feces, and ammonia that make her
eyes water. Jordan’s seen enough.
Before
she moves away, she takes one last look at the girl lying broken on the ground
before her. She is bruised and shattered,
her blonde hair streaked red with blood. Was she beautiful before? Maybe she
was a cheerleader for her school’s football team. She could have been a
straight -- A student on her way to a full scholarship to Vassar. It didn’t
matter. She was someone’s daughter, perhaps a big sister…someone’s friend.
Jordan wishes she could comfort her, stroke her brow or squeeze her hand –
something to let her know she isn’t dying alone. However, it is against the
rules. The most she can do is make sure her death is not in vain.
As
she moves away from the nightmare, the creature lets loose a scream, raising
goose bumps along her arms. AhOOOoool!
Probably a victory yell for a successful
hunt, Jordan thinks to herself, wishing she could sink a silver knife in
its gullet. She feels herself begin to fade from this time and place, a
sensation of being guided somewhere else. Go
ahead and celebrate, you bastard. That poor girl will be your last meal.
Buy Links:
The first book, The Chosen One, can be found at
Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Smashwords in e-book and paperback.
Sony: http://bit.ly/11eOO0o
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/17LiB9i
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/147LGYL
Kobo: http://bit.ly/ZlI9UM
Amazon: http://amzn.to/10QEKLq
The second book, Eve of the Beginning, can be found
at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Smashwords in e-book and
paperback.
Sony: http://bit.ly/18GMoNE
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/11wvPxu
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/147M6y8
Kobo: http://bit.ly/12Xj4i7
Amazon: http://amzn.to/ZlIua0
The third book, The Search for Siren, can be found
at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Smashwords in e-book and
paperback.
Sony: http://bit.ly/10IgJJU
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/17f2cck
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/147MufX
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1aPMamh
Amazon: http://amzn.to/ZCP6Dh
My first book in The Celadon Circle series, Blind
Sight, can be found at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and
Smashwords in e-book and (soon) paperback.
Sony:
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/18qQm0n
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1bt29LQ
Kobo: http://bit.ly/12zygRS
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/12LMHFS
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/12PBrUy
Nicole Storey lives in Georgia with her wonderful husband,
two prodigious kids, and a plethora of pets. When she isn’t traveling to
magical realms with potty-mouthed pixies or fighting demons, she conspires with
angels and keeps humanity safe from evil. She also enjoys reading, writing on
her blogs, gardening, cooking, and anything associated with Halloween. Nicole
is an author of juvenile fantasy and YA paranormal books and is published with
Inknbeans Press. Her books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo,
Sony, and Smashwords in e-book and paperback.
Contact Nicole:
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/vdebQE
Blog: http://bit.ly/Muj3Me
Publisher: http://bit.ly/LIQnPV
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/KThYif
Official Website: http://bit.ly/15oJb2y
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1593otp
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1593v8d
