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Just because Chevelle wanted to remain cooped up in the apartment all day, didn’t mean I did. Now that I knew we had a world to explore, it was great to be able to get out there and actually explore it. If I couldn’t do anything around the apartment, then I would go out for a run. I needed to move. I needed to do. Sitting around was not something I ever enjoyed.

In the closet were some sweatpants and a T-shirt I could work out in. Once I changed, I headed to the balcony.

“You’re going out?” Lara asked from the couch.

“For a little while. Like I said, there’s fresh air, might as well enjoy it.” I made sure to shoot a pointed look at Chevelle when I said it. She scoffed, but I think she was getting the idea. I couldn’t push her to leave the apartment, but we both knew that if she stayed inside every time she was upset that she was wasting time. Doing nothing. Giving up. Quitting.

Not like going for a jog would free us from our fancy prison. At least I was moving and seeing the world around me, trying to understand it. When I first dove into the Hollywood scene I experienced a lot of the same feelings: confusion, overwhelmed, anxiety, and determination. It was a lot like going to an alien world. And I learned fast that the only way to survive a new surrounding like this one, was to become a part of it. There were a lot of ways of making it appear as though you have adapted to new surroundings without actually changing anything about who you are. I’ve always likened myself to an iguana in that regard.

I stretched in the elevator on the way down, or started to. After taking a few minutes in the grass to finish my stretches, I started down the paved path around the garden. Moving was a release. I got lost in the air blowing past me and how it cooled my sweat. Refreshing. All I needed was my music, but that was in my backpack down in the basement of the mall still, no doubt. Unless the police found it and gave it to my parents or sold it to the media, of course.

Music. I loved getting lost in it. Instead, I had to make due with singing my favorite songs in my head, hoping I could remember the lyrics right. Anytime I sing a song in my head, I tend to repeat the same lines over and over again while forgetting the rest. It never quite sounds the same. Eventually, the words spill out of my brain through my mouth. It’s hard for me to think about music without singing along.

“I haven’t heard that one for a while,” a female voice called out from inside the garden.

Startled, I tripped over my own two feet. Thankfully, I was able to catch myself before eating the pavement, so to speak. Walking toward me was a tall, blonde, woman who had to be in her late teens or early twenties. Close to my age. Pretty, but not what I would call a super model. Yet, something about the way she moved suggested she had more confidence than one. There was power in her strides and in the sway of her narrow hips.

I kept my legs moving, not wanting to lose the feel of the burn in them or let them rest for too long. “Huh?” I asked.

“You were singing a song I haven’t heard in a while,” she repeated. “It was nice. You have a nice voice, too.”

I offered a weak smile. I’d been hoping nobody was around to listen. She wasn’t just blowing smoke when she said I had a nice singing voice, I did, but it wasn’t a talent I enjoyed broadcasting. Mostly because I wanted to keep it for myself. Only my family and Talia knew that I liked to do it, that I craved to do more with music in general. At the same time, I didn’t want to be one of those actors who tried to break out into more than one realm and then fail. Not too many people could make the crossover and be successful in both areas. And I’ll admit, it was nice to have something for myself. There are few things in life that are just mine.

My silence must have surprised the woman because she arched a finely plucked eyebrow. “You’re not even going to thank me for the compliment?”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Yes, thank you. I just haven’t heard it often, I guess. Wasn’t expecting anyone to be around in general.”

She laughed in a condescending tone that I knew all too well. Then she asked the question I was dreading to hear. “Do I know you from somewhere? You’re awfully familiar.”

“Can’t say that we’ve met before. I definitely wouldn’t forget you,” I said, trying to remain coy.

Perhaps the charm was laid on a little too thick because she was smirking at me and giving me the bedroom eyes. She was undressing me with them. I could tell because her gaze wandered over my chest and she probably noticed my T-shirt was a little too small. The sweat on it made it cling to me and it was uncomfortable as hell, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let her get a free show. Then her gaze went lower, like down there, lower. I understand all too well sometimes why girls don’t like guys oogling over them all the time. Women could be just as degrading. My horror stories are plentiful.

I gestured upward. “My eyes are up here you know.”

Bad joke, but hopefully the point got across. Anything above my waist I could handle. When a girl decides to check out the junk, well, that’s when it gets awkward.

She brought one her hands to her chin. “My turn to apologize. I hadn’t realized I was staring. Hard not to.”

“Thanks,” I said stiffly. Mostly because I was concerned she’d give me another scolding if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that she was hitting on me.

“I suppose you’re claimed,” she said.

“Claimed?” I asked. Then it dawned on me. Chevelle and the Achlivans crazy plan for us to breed. I quickly laughed. “Oh, yeah, I got someone.”

“Pity, because I don’t, or I won’t soon.”

Don’t show her that she intimidates you. I hate being weak. Something about her made me nervous. Okay, not something, the way she so openly disrespected me made me nervous.

Trying to stay polite, I simply nodded and smiled and nodded some more. “I’m gonna finish my run and head back. Got things to do. The lady hates it when I’m late.” I offered a small wave, hoping it would sell the whole performance in a believable way.

She folded her arms in front of her chest, still checking me out. “You don’t even want to know my name first? Who taught you, your manners?”

“Pardon me for saying this, miss, but you haven’t exactly been all too polite with me,” I said, trying my hardest to not show how much I was seething inside. Her jaw dropped, and I shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

Stepping forward, she thrust her hand out in front of her. “We obviously got off on the wrong foot. There haven’t been newcomers here for a while. I’m Rumor. Yes, my parents were a little weird when they decided to name me.” She rolled her eyes.

Cautiously, I shook her hand. “Tim…”

It wasn’t a lie. There are some people who call me that. It’s a nickname of mine, and the one I used back home for reservations so I didn’t get stalked all of the time.

Her grip was firm, a little too much for comfort. “You still look familiar Tim.”

“So long as you don’t accompany that with a cheesy pick-up line, I don’t mind.” I forced a smile, this time making no effort to hide that I was doing so. Boundaries needed to be established, pronto.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She batted her long lashes. “But I will figure out why, you can be sure of that. Until then, I hope to see you again soon. Enjoy your run.”

“Thanks…”

I tugged myself free of her iron grip and pressed onward on my jog, adding more speed, and not looking back once.

First thing I had to do was push Chevelle out of my mind. Was I disappointed she decided to not come with me? Yes. Did I understand why? Definitely. She was scared. We all were. I had to respect her decision to stay behind and face whatever was ahead of her. Maybe she ended up making the better choice, maybe she didn’t. If I thought too much about her while I was trying to get away, I know I would have caved and gone back to her. I love her. Leaving her behind, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Somehow, I thought if I could get free, that would be the best way to help her.

The halls behind the stores at the mall would make a great setting for a horror movie. The ceiling wasn’t tiled over like the rest of the mall, so if you looked up, you saw all of the insulation and pipe work. Fascinating stuff, let me tell you. The halls themselves had some of the rust from the pipes overflowing onto them, so they have bizarre red tentacles splaying over the sheet rock. That’s not the scariest part, though. No, that award goes to the trash shoot. It’s about the size of an elevator and would be a fantastic place to dump bodies. I certainly was always extra aware of where I placed myself anytime I went to throw any garbage away for the store.

My plan was to see if I could get to a stairwell. I figured that since the power was off that meant the cargo elevator would be out of order. Stairs were always the best bet. From there I could get down to the garbage incinerator which was close to a massive truck loading center. Easy, right? Wrong.

The back halls are a lot like a maze. It’s hard to tell just where you’re going with the lights on. With the lights off, it’s even worse. My cellphone put off a good amount of glow for me to work with, but it didn’t hit the higher points of the halls where the signs were. This of course meant I had to work off of memory. I’d been back there enough times to have a good idea of what I was doing, but the adrenaline of the situation was more or less blocking my better judgment and memory. If anyone had asked me my name, I probably wouldn’t have been able to answer, I was that freaked out.

My hands were shaking; my entire body was shaking, and sweating. So badly in fact, that my cell phone fell out of my hands and broke apart. The thing was always a piece of junk anyway.

I got down onto my knees and frantically started to search for the pieces, the darkness enveloping me, suffocating me, and making my isolation complete. If the battery had only popped out of the device, I could fix it and get moving again. My fingers had just wrapped around the casing of the phone when I heard solid footsteps coming my way from in front of me. Then I saw the glowing blue light and the ghostly thin face of its carrier.

Get up and run, or stay and forfeit. Neither option sounded all too great. I’m not a quitter, but I’m also not a coward. If I thought I stood a chance in a fight against the guy, I would have plowed through him, stolen his light, and bailed. The thing is, I’ve never been a fighter. Sure, I come across as tough, but I like to use my brain over my brawn any day. Why? Because it’ll keep me alive longer.

Plus the guy was pointing a gun at me.

As much as I want to say I’m a noble hero, willing to die for my cause, and all that poetic stuff, I’m not. People who aren’t afraid of death, really have a lot of guts, let me tell you. They also believe strongly for whatever they’re dying for. It wasn’t my time. There was a lot I still needed to do, and one of those things was protect Chevelle.

I placed my hands up, staring into the eyes of the man in front of me. There was a softness in his gaze, and that made me a little less afraid. But then I noticed how tall he was. Like, he had to be at least eight-foot-five, and skinny. Lean muscle covered his body, but I’m pretty sure I was wider than he was all the same. It wasn’t normal, natural or…human.

He flicked his fingers upward and I stood. Then he circled around me like some kind of bird of prey, nodding every so often. Cuffs appeared in his hands like magic. Yeah, those were for me.

Chapter One

I want to say it’s a Thursday, and the middle of January. I’m not sure exactly because I haven’t seen a calendar since the end of October. The one we kept in the apartment ran out, and all of the others have been destroyed in the effort to make sure all of us poor, inferior, humans, submit to the ways of the Achlivan. We were able to draw one on our bathroom wall. It’s small, but it does the job.

It took some time, but I think I’m finally able to accurately document everything that’s happened in the past three months. For a while, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be ready. I’ve seen things I wish I could forget, and as much as I want to just go along with the way of these aliens, I can’t.

Letting go of my past life is not easy, and I’m terrified of forgetting it. Someday, the human race will be free from captivity, and when that day comes, they’ll need to know what happened and how life used to be. They’ll need to know that our species was once part of a thriving civilization.

That’s why I’m writing this.

I remember the day the Achlivans came, vividly. It was warm, which was something to cherish in late October in Minnesota. The weather there was always so temperamental, like mother nature had PMS. One day it’d be gorgeous, and the next there would be three feet of snow. It didn’t matter if it was the middle of July. That day, I want to say it was around sixty degrees. Jeans and a sweatshirt kind of weather.

Like most days before I had to open at work, I didn’t sleep the best the night before. Something about the anticipation of having to wake up with my alarm clock always messed with my ability to relax. I had the same problem during school too. Any time I had to wake up before my body actually wanted to, messed with my head. I don’t think I need to elaborate how going to bed at two in the morning on a regular basis didn’t make for waking up at a time before eleven often. It all comes with being a night owl. At school, I had the ability to schedule my classes around that. Work on the other hand left me at the mercy of my manager. Because I needed money – badly – opening was something I had to suck it up and deal with.

The store opens at ten, so it wasn’t like I had to get up at some ungodly hour in the morning or anything. Still, the morning of the attack, I was having a hard time wanting to get out of bed. I groaned several times and opted out of taking a shower just for the extra half an hour of sleep.

My alarm went off on my cellphone one last time. If I hit the snooze button and stayed in bed, I’d be on the chopping block at work. The fifty cents over minimum wage that I got an hour was almost enough for me to say screw it all and stay in bed. Unfortunately, it was still more money than I had in my bank account.

As if he could read my mind, my Chihuahua, Burrito, jumped up onto my chest and started to lick my face until I couldn’t breathe. Dog breath filled my nostrils, slobber covered my mouth and nose, and tiny paws scratched my neck and shoulders.

“Ugh, okay, I’m awake, I’m awake!” I carefully picked Burrito up and put him next to me. Then I reluctantly got out of my warm, cozy, bed. Getting dressed took all of five minutes since I threw on my jeans from the day before which were still lying on the floor, my navy Toy Tech t-shirt that I needed for work, the first pair of socks and necessary undergarments I could find in my top dresser drawer, and my amazing comfortable work shoes. All that was left to do was pull my long, dark, straight, boring, dark hair back into a ponytail.

I was halfway up the stairs when my Mom called down to me. “Chevelle, if you don’t get up here soon you’re going to be late! Breakfast is ready for you!”

“I’m right here, relax,” I said, meeting her at the top of the steps. “You cooked? Wait, of course you cooked. You’re always cooking.”

“Someone has to make sure you’re eating right. I figured you’d be thanking me so you didn’t have to eat all of that cafeteria college food.” Mom threw up her hands and shook her head. “All right honey, I can take a hint. You’re an adult now and you don’t need me to baby you.”

I gave her a big hug. “Baby me all you want. I just don’t have a lot of time to eat a big breakfast. Like you said, I’m going to be late. Besides, do the words freshmen fifteen mean anything to you?”

She laughed. “If you’ve gained fifteen pounds already, you’re hiding it well.”

Truth was, I’d gained five pounds, and it all went to my hips. For the time being, I didn’t look all too different but I could feel the changes in my body every time I had to put on my jeans in the morning. The typical five minute struggle gradually increased every day. Once I hit ten minutes, I was going to have to invest in a new, larger, pair. Pants should not be such a chore to get on. Would my mother have understood this? Over time, but not until I lost control over my weight gain and it became painfully obvious it was there. I didn’t want to go there and, like most American teenage girls, I believed I already needed to lose ten pounds as it was just to feel good about myself.

Ignoring her comment, I took a cold toaster pastry from out of the box and rushed to grab my purse and hoodie from school. “I’ll be back for dinner! Love you!” I called out before I headed out the door. Those were the last words I spoke to my mother.

The good news is, I’ve found a purpose for this space that will be beneficial to all of us. This is where I’m going to talk about writing in general, the process, and all of my non-clean writing projects. Fantastic, yeah?

Over the next few days, I’ll have an excerpt or two of my new project for you to enjoy.

I am also going to be cleaning up the blog some more.

http://adragonslove.blogspot.com

Head over, follow, and enjoy. I enjoy the layouts of blogger much more than I do wordpress. Sorry for the confusion.

It’s probably because I haven’t had a whole lot to say here. Another book has released. “Control” Book 2 in the Battlefield series. I love that book. It’s a lot of fun. I’m very excited to have it out for sale.

As usual, I don’t have a lot to say at the moment that’s insightful or wonderful in terms of the writing world. I am writing. That’s about all I can say. I have new projects and old ones. I am writing. And I need to keep focusing on that so I don’t lose sight of my goals. Unfortunately, that leads to a lack of interaction with my fans, and that bums me out.

I will always reply to what comments I can, tweets and facebook stuff especially. And definitely always emails. I appreciate and love you all. Thank you.

Legend of the Touched has been released. There will be more stories to come on the dragons blog. Next up should be Battlefield: Control. I’m currently working on the third Battlefield book and then I’m going to focus my efforts on finishing both the Vala series and the last Dragons Saga book. My goal is to get them contracted by the end of the year.

Keep checking out the dragons blog!

http://adragonslove.blogspot.com or otherwise known as “A Dragon’s Love” is the place to go to learn all about your favorite dragon characters. It also is the place to meet some new characters and hear new stories. There are contests galore as well!

Here’s a news update: I just got my proof for the next dragons cover. I’m waiting rather impatiently for the final version of it because I want to show it off sooooo badly. It is GORGEOUS. Absolutely my favorite of all of them I think, and I want to know if you all agree with me. I’m waiting on the next round of edits for it as well. Exciting times. I can’t begin to express the amount of eagerness I have over this book. It should, ideally, tie everything up nicely for all of the readers. I’ve been told June for a release date. Here’s hoping!

Battlefield fans will be happy to know I just did my first round of edits on that book. More questions are answered, and things start to get a lot more complicated rather quickly. It was definitely one of my favorite books to write recently.

With four new books coming out soon, you can see that I’m pretty busy. Blogging unfortunately is not a priority of mine at the moment. I failed at it pretty hard to begin with. Part of me is contemplating moving everything over to my dragons blog, but I do want to be able to talk freely about all of my other series as well.

In personal news, I am a glutton for punishment. I am trying to write a certain amount of words per day/per chunk of time. I’ve decided to punish myself with exercise if I do not make said goals. This was a discipline thing we were taught during drumline back in the day, and I think it’ll help me in more ways than one. I definitely could use some strong work outs. It’ll also help me get back on track with my Yearly Goals. Some of those are going really well, and others not so much.

Reading has been a lot of fun, but I have way too many books. I would say I have about one hundred books to get through. Some of you super readers might not think this a big deal, but I am not a super reader. Twenty books a year is a lot for me. One hundred feels impossible. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish them all, but I am going to try my hardest, and I will also try my hardest to avoid picking up new books for no good reason, lol. Reading is essential to good writing. People who do not read, really miss out on a lot of great lessons about the craft. I love seeing how other people do things stylistically. It’s pretty amazing. Plus the other stories people come up with are great. A lot of them are things I don’t think I’ve ever dreamed of.

My game playing isn’t as successful, but I’ll fix this sooner or later. Gaming also teaches a lot about writing, but perhaps I’ll share that blog on another day.

Jewl had never properly been taught how to dance until she met Anj. He had taken it upon himself to learn. A handful of lessons later, they were both practically pros. She could not dance with anyone else as she did with him. They were made for each other. When Jewl and Anj were on the dance floor together, it was as if they were one.

Anj was born legally blind. Without his magic, he could occasionally make out a few solid shapes in brighter lighting. As he often told Jewl though, it was more of a pain than anything. His vision was useless to him and, for the most part, he relied on his other senses to make it through life. More often than not, he was capable of taking care of himself, so he didn’t need to use a spell. He only saved his magic for special occasions, or so he’d told her in the past. She must have been one of those.

As he pulled her closer to him, completely breathless, his eyes changed from bright blue back to their natural dark brown. She smiled. She always felt a tingle of happiness when he used his magic just to look at her. He didn’t have a lot of it, so she felt honored to be important enough for him to want to see.

“I think I need some fresh air now,” he said leaning closer to her ear so she could hear him over the music. “It’s become a bit stuffy in here. But that may be because I’m surrounded by my own ambiance”.

His warm breath made her shiver. “Always the delicate one,” she said with a smirk. “All right. Go get your fresh air.”

“That was an invitation. You wouldn’t leave me to walk the hallways alone and defenseless, would you?”

“You’re hardly defenseless. I might be more inclined to join you if you said you wanted me there.”

“I do.”

“You do what?”

“Want you there. Why do you always have to make everything so difficult?”

Jewl threw up her hands in frustration and walked away. If she’d done anything else, she knew she would regret it later. She’d rather not spend the rest of the night avoiding him. Though walking away could have been worse since he hated to be abandoned. Either way, she was doomed.

I can’t cry, she thought as she exited out of the side door of the ballroom. I can’t. It would ruin everything.

She didn’t expect him to follow her. After all, he was much too prideful to show himself as anything less than in control. Which was why she was so surprised when he came after her.

“That was rude, you know, leaving me there and not waiting. I told you to come with me. What more do you want?” he said, his heavy footsteps matching up with hers.

Jewl shook her head. “And you tell me I’m the difficult one. You’ve got a lot to learn about how to make people feel wanted.”

“Ah, yes, wise kettle, please teach this here lowly pot. I will take notes thoroughly because you know so well how to effectively treat a person,” he said, voice heavy with sarcasm.

“I left because I didn’t want to fight with you.”

“I don’t want to fight with you either.”

Jewl didn’t say a word. She folded her arms across her chest, pursing her lips.

Anj stayed quiet, too. He’d never been comfortable with silence, always describing it to her as complete emptiness. “You’re giving me your doubtful pouty lips, aren’t you?”

“Close enough,” she said through clenched teeth.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other while idly running his hands over his black suit jacket. When he wanted to clean up, he knew how to do it with style. His shaggy dark hair was styled so she could actually see his eyes for a change. It was no wonder that all of the girls went wild over him. Not only was he mysterious, he was also strong, confident, and flat-out good looking. Jewl was the one he had chosen, and she continually rejected him. Still, he pursued her anyway which made no sense to her most of the time.

“I told you, I don’t want to fight,” he insisted. “It’s just that it’s the only way you will actually communicate with me.”

“And here I thought you just got off on it,” she said.

“I refuse to acknowledge that with an on-topic response.”

If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn he was blushing, but Anj didn’t blush. He was far too cool for something childish like that. Yet, there was an ever so slight shade of pink across his cheeks.

“Can we please go somewhere else? I’d like to go somewhere darker.”

“And that makes a difference why?”

“Because when it’s dark I’m not tempted to use the last of my magic to watch you. You look absolutely stunning tonight and it’s distracting.”

It was her turn to blush as she felt the heat rising on her face. She wasn’t as lucky as the other girls at the homecoming dance. There was no family to help her get ready. She didn’t have a roommate or any real friends. Somehow she had managed to put everything together alone. While it was simple, it was good to know her efforts had at least been successful.

Synopsis:

Jewl Dite has always struggled with her heritage. Being the daughter of the goddess of love, she questions everything about the emotion. Which is a bummer because she’s head over heels for Anj Willam, and thinks the feelings are mutual. It’s hard to be sure though when she has magic that has been known to bewitch men into devoting themselves to her. Somehow they’re able to strike a balance in their dysfunctional on-again, off-again relationship however.

This balance is disrupted however when a strange boy named Teague enters her life and brings along with him a group of demons. Demons who want to make a deal with her in exchange for the safety of everyone she loves.

Now to protect those she holds most dear, Jewl must rely on the magic she’s been trying so desperately to avoid. But at what cost? Will the boy she loves accept this dark secret, or will she lose him forever?

Wanna read the first book? You can check it out here and get ready for the fabulous sequel!