Overtaken by fear, I close my eyes."
Kayson is a Fallen Angel who has spent decades running from the Hell Hounds while searching for something that no one else believes can be so, not even God. Kayson is determined to find a Blood Child. But when a hound finds Kayson first, he is sure his end has come.
Falon, Alpha of the Hell Hounds, destroyer of the blood children, and devoted believer in his master’s plan, is bound and determined to drag Kayson back to Hell with him.
Sabrina is a Vampire, a half-breed created from one of Lucifer’s original blood children. After years of hiding, Sabrina’s fate changes when she finds Kayson barely alive. Against her instincts, Sabrina saves him. Now she and Kayson are both marked by the Hell Hounds.
Emma is an ordinary human, whose only problem is making ends meet, and getting over the hurt caused by her untrustworthy brother. Her everyday problems become supernatural ones when she finds Kayson and Sabrina hiding in her parent’s backyard shed.
Kayson, Sabrina and Emma are unlikely allies, thrown together by chance to fight against the most powerful creatures of the underworld in order to follow their world-changing quest. But will the broken faith of one break the faith of all?
Excerpt
Branches scrape at my skin as I run through the dense forest. My heart is beating with a terrifying force. I can hear the beast close in on me, ready for the kill. His growls echo through the forest. I don’t know where he is, I just know I have to keep moving.
I feel like a coward for being so terrified. Once, I would have stood unwavering, waiting for the beast to show his face. But since my powers were stripped−my wings torn away−I have been left defenseless, weak, and vulnerable to the beasts set out to destroy me.
I run as fast as I can, never faltering. I may not have my powers anymore, but I still have the agility that was so unique to the angels. Moving and gliding with the winds and earth, flowing with the water as it flows lazily through the fields, to become terrorizing rapids through the twists and turns of some faraway canyon.
I burst out of the thicket that is hindering my progress, and see nothing but a dead end up ahead. I still do not falter. I make a hard left to climb up the ravine, hoping that the forest is more open at the top. That’s when the beast steps out in front of me.
The being is massive, his tremendous weight and size is such that as he passes between two trees, branches snap, and large bushes are crushed underneath his feet. I’m expecting him to attack me, pounce on the poor defenseless being he sees before him. Instead, he shifts out of his beastly form into the human disguise that he uses to inflict havoc into this world.
“That was quite a chase. I must say I haven’t had a rush like that in quite some time.” His smile is taunting.
I give him nothing; say nothing, not letting him get the satisfaction out of my fear. That’s what the hound wants, he wants to feed on me before killing me. My fear and poor show of bravery, however, is obvious, and it is feeding his pathetic excuse for a soul.
“Unfortunately for you, it will be your last attempt at saving your life.”
He lunges at me, his beast-like yet still human claws balling into fists as he tries connecting with my face. I dodge his blow as I unsheathe the only weapon I have, my trusty sword.
The beast steps back for a moment, taking in the sword in my hand. A menacing smile spreads across his face before he lunges for me again. I swing my sword out, going straight for his head. If I can get enough momentum and find the right angle, I can take his head off and end his reign of terrorizing evil.
He blocks my blow with his forearm, while his other fist connects with my ribs. I can hear as the bones break, the pain shooting through my abdomen. Ignoring the pain, I take another swing at him, but it’s blocked again as he grabs the blade, yanking me forward, the momentum smashing me into a tree.
I turn, swinging my sword with all my might. It doesn’t connect with his head but it does land a blow against his side, doing some damage. The beast screams out in pain and clutches at his side. Then it looks up at me, pure hatred and disgust radiates from the menacing scowl on the human mask it wears. “You will feel the true wrath of the hounds. I was trying to be lenient in your death but now you will have no mercy.”
The man shifts back into his true form. His smooth skin stretches, as black fur covers his body. His hands become sharp claws, and his snout extends, as razor sharp teeth that can rip skin and break through bone erupt from its jaw. When the hound stands on his back legs he towers over me by more than three feet. Snapping his jaw of razor-sharp teeth at me, I swing my sword, connecting with his snout. The tear in his skin is barely a scratch.
With lightning speed, my sword is torn from my hand as his jaws close on it and he tears it away, tossing it through the air. I know I’m no match against this beast without it. Seeing the hilt sticking up from the ground, I roll in the direction of the sword to retrieve it. The hound swipes at me with a long clawed hand, tearing into my back as I roll by him. With no time for slip-ups, I ignore the pain and continue for the sword. I can hear the beast coming after me, though this particular spot in the woods is thick with trees instead of bushes and briars, making it harder for him to move.
The beast swipes at me again through the trees, catching my leg in his grasp. Bones snap as he twists my leg, lifting me up off the ground. I scream out but continue to reach out and grab at the sword’s hilt. Pulling the sword from the ground, I swing it through the air, stabbing the hound’s hand to release me. It growls and lets me go. I land on the ground with a thud. My shoulder takes the brunt of the blow.
A loud snarl fills the air as the hound lunges for me. His jaws snap at me, ready to bite me in half. But he can’t move; his shoulders are stuck between two trees. He tries pushing forward through the trees as he stretches his neck to get a hold on me. But the hound makes no leeway past the trees. I know I can’t move in this condition, my leg is too busted up to carry me very far. My panic rises as the trees start to creak and snap from the force of the weight being pushed against them.
With each snap, the hound’s slavering muzzle comes closer. The beast lets out a growl so loud I cover my ears, then he pushes harder, snapping the tree with his mass and strength. Just as he’s about to deliver the final blow, I stab my sword up, piercing his jaw and coming out through the top of his head. The hound collapses to the ground. I guard myself as the hound falls, landing extremely close to me. His massive body shakes the ground, cracking the dry dirt.
I use my arms to drag myself away from the menacing heap of fur. Once I’m a safe distance from the hound lying on the ground, I pull myself up. I do my best to keep the weight off my busted leg. I have no choice but to leave my sword behind. The hilt is jammed under the hound, and I don’t have the strength or time to pull it out from under him.
I slowly climb out of the ravine, knowing I have to get away as fast as I can. I know the other hounds will be coming. It may take some time, but they will come. If only I had killed the hound before he unleashed the hell call.
Brandy Nacole resides in Arkansas where her imagination runs wild. Her obsession is reading but her passion is writing. She put her dream of becoming a writer on the back burner and went to college to become a psychologist. Three years after endless classes in a field she only felt half satisfied with, Brandy picked up her pen once again and wrote the outline to Uniquely Unwelcome. She finished out her degree in psychology, but traded her dream of writing for the degree and put psychology on the back burner.
Whenever she’s not reading or writing, Brandy is spending time with her family and friends, throwing around crazy ideas, teaching , and singing like a rock star at a concert for no one else but herself. She loves plants, but unfortunately is a killer of anything that requires water but can’t voice (scream) their needs.
She is the author of The Shadow World Series and The Spiritual Discord Series.
You guys are not going to want to miss out on your chance to grab this awesome read for only $0.99! Get your copy NOW! Until next time, Happy Reading!
-Ethan
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