“I discovered this exit through the catacombs when I first arrived,” Gabriel whispered urgently, pulling her along none-too-gently beside him. “There are markings on the wall; possibly to do with Semevalian rituals but it has an exit at the base of the mountain. I thought it might be useful if my hopes of rescuing my family ever came to pass. The trader’s vessel is stealthed, but the Duke is arriving today, and they have posted a perimeter patrol. Hurry!”
Laurel ran beside him, his hand gripping hers tightly. The ship filled the exit, its ramp down. A young woman—a quarter-soul, similar in build and colouring to Laurel, and wearing Semevalian traditional dress was leaving the ship. Laurel saw it at once—the woman’s purpose—a substitute for her. A sacrifice!
Laurel tried to resist, to pull away, but Gabriel’s mind was open, and he heard her protest.
“She is here willingly, you must go!” he shoved Laurel towards the ship. “Laurel. Go! Go!”
Still, Laurel resisted, not letting go of his hand. That this woman would take her place; innocent of any crime, at the mercy of the Duke. Laurel couldn’t let this happen.
“Gabriel!” Laurel wanted to demand he takes her back and let this woman go free. He turned then and caught her to him, holding her in an urgent embrace, so sudden that Laurel had no time to return it, only felt the wave of desperate emotion that reached out from him and moved through her, burning itself into her heart.
In an instant, he let her go and pushed her towards the ship. As a familiar face appeared on the ramp, Gabriel’s voice whispered to her, deep into her mind. The finality; the strength of what she heard stopped her rebellion and broke her heart.
“It is far better that one single soul perishes; than entire worlds continue in fear.”
Laurel blinked as Helen dragged her onto the ship, pulling her with such force that Laurel stumbled against the bulkhead as the ramp lifted. She fell to the floor as the ship tilted and sped away.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Helen helped Laurel up and wrapped her arms around her, her relief saturating Laurel’s brain and threatening to wash away Gabriel’s last words before she found a safe place to hide them. “I didn’t mean to pull you so hard, but you were hanging on to that bloke’s hand for dear life.”
“I’m fine, Helen,” Laurel dusted herself off. “That was Gabriel. He captured me.”
“At least he let you go.”
“He’s not the enemy, Helen.”
“You’ll need to convince me of that,” Helen wrinkled her face in disbelief. “He took you prisoner, told the Duke about you, and according to Darlen, you were due to be executed. Sounds like an enemy to me.”
Laurel shook her head, confused. “Darlen?”
Helen nodded as Laurel slowly turned her gaze to inspect her surroundings. This ship was familiar. The stink. The thick patination of grease smeared across the bulkhead. And the tall, menacing figure, who stepped from the shadows, as shabby and dangerous looking as the first time she saw him.
The Soul Monger.
END BOOK ONE
Loved The Soul Monger: Book One?
The Soul Monger Book Two: Revelations will be available soon.
One war ends; another begins.
Laurel’s surprise at being rescued by the Soul Monger is pushed aside as she battles soldiers on the homeworld of Gartrya. She secures the weapon so desperately needed to destroy the fortress and rescues Gabriel’s mother and son.
But victory comes at a price.
With the knowledge that Canon Akkuh is responsible for the massacre of the Semevalians, Laurel must now expose the ancient sins of the League. To that end, she herself must commit treason, and in so doing, uncovers a mystery that leads her on a quest to find the origins of the whole souls and a journey to the ends of the universe.
Acknowledgments
Writing a science fiction story , in fact writing any story needs a little help from your friends!!
So I must give special thanks to my alpha/beta readers and editors, Jo and Amy for their brutal, take-no-prisoners approach to my work and also Jeremy and Alise Crossland at Beehive Book Design for their patience and incredible support.
Favourable reviews are the lifeblood of Indie authors. If you enjoyed The Soul Monger, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It would be very much appreciated. Many thanks.
Also by Matilda Scotney
Saturn Station. The year 2513. A young woman sleeps, her life suspended; perfectly preserved in a mysterious sarcophagus. Her very existence has baffled science for four centuries.
Then she woke up...and the real mystery began.
Time’s attention must have been elsewhere the moment old, grey, unsophisticated Alice Watkins died in her armchair a few days before her birthday in November 2016.
It still wasn’t minding what it was doing on Saturn Station in the year 2513.
Dr Jim Grossmith, one of the most eminent scientists of the age has devoted his career to The Sleeping Beauty Phenomenon, guarding the beautiful, red-haired young woman who sleeps peacefully, in a mysterious sarcophagus, her life perfectly suspended, her body preserved in a strange fluid. The woman, cocooned in her protective shell has defied scientific analysis for almost four hundred years. History recorded little, only that she is Dr Alexis Langley, a noted scientist of her time.
When the sarcophagus opens and vanishes without a trace, leaving the young woman in his care, Jim Grossmith eagerly awaits the day when she can tell him the manner of her preservation. A strange science, lost in the annals of the past? Alien technology?
But as he learns her story, Jim Grossmith finds himself faced with an even deeper mystery. He is certain the physical form of Dr Alexis Langley emerged from the sarcophagus, but as for anything else…
The Afterlife of Alice Watkins - Book One is available in paperback and Kindle. Get your copy today HERE
About the Author
Matilda Scotney spends most of her days roaming the galaxy, searching for people and places to write about so she can provide her readers with a few hours “off the planet”. The rest of the time, she lives in the mid-west region of Western Australia with her dog, Oggie.
Sign up for her mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/dxvh65 to be notified of future book releases.
Or connect with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Offtheplanetstories.
Website: www.matildascotneybooks.com.
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