As Friend of the Pack, Aria Naveed should be untouchable, protected by the most influential group in the Pacific Northwest. But someone is unleashing rogue vampires to hunt her down, and she is determined to find out why.
When Aria gains command of Sanborn Place and takes on a case involving a mysterious paranormal, her life is put in more peril than ever as she finds herself bound to an influential power player. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s puppet, but must tread carefully as she traverses the streets of Spokane, WA, or risk being overwhelmed by the forces moving against her.
As the only known pyrokinetic in the area, Aria is in high demand, but not for her services. It seems that to those in power, she’s worth more dead than alive, and if a mysterious enemy has their way, she won’t live long enough to find out why.
Fire called to me, tempting me to bring it forth,
to destroy my foe in one quick and easy strike. It would be too easy. There was
something very wrong about this, about a newly made vampire walking the streets
of downtown Spokane as if he were on a leisurely stroll. The change had to have
been recent. Blood soaked his light-blue shirt, leaving a large stain over his
chest and the left side of his body. If I’d had to guess, he’d been changed
within the last few hours. His skin hadn’t turned the pale milky white
associated with the undead yet.
Before I could think further, he struck. In a split
second, his once jerky movements morphed into a flash of speed as he launched
himself at me. I twisted out of the way but was too slow to avoid his second
strike. He grabbed me by the back of the neck, flinging me across the road like
a rag doll. My body collided with a parking meter, the near frozen metal
splitting my cheek and knocking the air from my lungs.
I exhaled a vicious curse before drawing my twin
daggers from the thigh sheath beneath my dress and jumping to my feet. My dress
rode up, but I couldn’t have cared less at the moment. I was just grateful that
despite the dress, I’d managed to wear the blades. Warm blood seeped from my
cheek and my ribs ached with my movements.
He charged again, and this time I was ready. I
allowed my attacker to get close, his hands brushing my shoulders right before
I sank my first blade into the soft flesh of his stomach. My second pierced his
chest, but I missed the heart. With my blades still imbedded, he squeezed my
shoulder, the pain explosive. I heard a distinct pop before my left arm went
limp.
Shit!
My
brain took a backseat as adrenaline flowed through my muscles. I kicked out with my
left foot, the heel in my shoe sinking into his calf. His leg buckled under the
assault and I pulled free, losing my heel in the process but retaining one of
my blades. The other remained in his chest.
My left arm hung loose at my side. My right lifted
and was ready with my dagger, dark-red blood dripping from its point. His eyes
glowed an even deeper red, fangs descending farther to cover his bottom lip. You might as well put those back, mister.
You won’t be making a meal out of me. Hot
blood surged through my veins. I hastily kicked off my remaining heel, ignoring the discomfort of the
snow and gravel beneath my feet. I needed to move faster.
When he struck again, I threw myself to the left,
my right arm coming up and slashing his throat in a swift motion. A gurgling
sound emanated from his throat, but I knew it wouldn’t last. He would begin
healing almost immediately.
Damn vampire. I needed to disable him
somehow without killing him. My fire was calling to me and I shoved it down
with everything I had. I could not light him on fire. I was determined to find
out who had turned him and why he’d been set loose. I moved to deliver another
blow, a deep stab to his stomach once more, but just as I moved to strike, a
deep growl echoed through the streets. Another predator making itself known.
Like an idiot, I turned, and the moment of distraction cost me as I felt the
vampire sink his teeth into my raised forearm. A scream escaped me, and then
the growl turned into a thundering roar.
I watched in suspended silence as Declan tackled
the fledging vampire, bringing him to the ground, the crunch of bone loud to my
ears as his body hit the pavement. He’d taken a mouthful of my flesh with him
when he’d gone down, and blood flowed freely from the wound, staining the
ground red. I tried without success to staunch the bleeding with my left hand
but couldn’t get my arm to corporate.
Before I could stop him, Declan brought his hands
to the vampire’s neck and, in one quick movement, snapped it. The sound made me
cringe. He rose from the body and kicked it once. He grunted in satisfaction
when the body didn’t respond.
As though a switch had been flicked, I snapped out
of my daze, fury and so much frustration rising to the surface. “What the hell
did you just do?” I yelled at him. Don’t
light the Alpha on fire. Don’t light the Alpha on fire. I repeated the
mantra over and over in my head. It would not bode well for me to attack him
right now. No matter how much he deserved it.
Declan looked taken aback for a moment. “I saved
your life,” he said.
Urgh. Moron! “No, you didn’t. You
ruined it. I cannot believe you just snapped his neck like that, without any
thought.” My temperature rose and I had to take a calming breath to contain
myself. It didn’t help much.
“Why would I think about it? He had his fangs
buried in your arm. I’d expect a little gratitude here.”
I stormed past him and crouched beside the vampire,
tearing my blade from his chest. I wiped the blade on the edge of my dress
before sheathing it. It was already ruined so a little more blood couldn't hurt
it. I needed something else to focus on aside from Declan’s stupidity or I was
going to lose what little control I had. I skimmed my hands over the now cold
body, checking the pockets of his shirt and pants to find anything that may
provide me with some sort of clue.
“What are you doing?” Declan asked, obviously
annoyed.
Join the club, buddy. I was pretty damn
annoyed myself.
“I’m looking for information,” I bit out. “It would
have been much easier to just question the vampire but no, you had to go and
snap his neck and be all ‘I am tiger, hear me roar.’” I threw my hands in the
air in frustration.
He snarled beside me. “I saved your life.”
“No.
You interfered. I’m a pyrokinetic. Don’t you think if I’d wanted him dead, I’d
have lit his ass on fire as soon as he got close? I wasn’t trying to kill him.
I was trying to disable him, and then you had to come out here all hot-headed
and kill him.”
ABOUT BOOK 1 in the series
It
has been six years since the Awakening and peace in Spokane, Washington is
still tenuous at best. The vampires and shifters are all vying for control of
the city and the humans seem to be the ones suffering the consequences, or so
it seems.
Aria Naveed has spent the last two years of her
life fighting to make the many wrongs of the world right, but soon finds out
that the humans aren’t as weak as they appear and may be a more terrifying foe
than any of the other races combined.
When a stranger rolls into town with trouble on
his heels, Aria finds herself trapped in the middle of a battle that could cost
her more than she has bargained for as a fight for justice turns into an
unexpected fight for her life.
What Reviewers had to say about book 1:
"I thought Cursed by Fire was an awesome read and a
great introduction to the series. I can't fault it in anyway and
thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to more."
- Book Passion for Life
-Cocktails and Books Blog
About the Author:
Danielle
Annett is a reader, writer, photographer, and the blogger behind Coffee and
Characters. Born in the SF Bay area, she now resides in Spokane, WA, the
primary location for her Blood & Magic series.Addicted to coffee at an early age, she spends her restless nights putting pen to paper as she tries to get all of the stories out of her head before the dogs wake up the rest of the house and vye for her attention.
You can learn more about Danielle on her website at Danielle-Annett.com or follow her on facebook at and on @Danielle_Annett
No comments:
Post a Comment