by Dima Zales
A minute later, she stumbles onto Nero’s art studio, where a painting catches her eye.
A painting I’d also found interesting when I saw it.
It depicts me—or Nero’s fantasy version of me—standing on a white-sand beach in a skimpy bathing suit. Nero drew this in the heyday of his stalking of me—long before we officially met.
Lilith rips the painting off the wall and stares at it, then walks over to a mirror and examines her own features.
“Could it be?” she mutters as she sets the painting down and steps back, staring at it with her head cocked. “She’s much too old, but the resemblance is uncanny. Could this be where she was hidden all this time?” Then her eyes widen. “Of course. That’s why the dragon came to save Rasputin. He’s clearly infatuated with my beautiful spawn.”
Beautiful spawn? If I’d had any doubts left about her identity or our relationship, they’re now gone.
I’m Lilith’s daughter.
“I need to know more about you, dear,” Lilith says to my portrait and starts rummaging through Nero’s place with the vigor of a DEA agent busting a heroin dealer.
Expensive furniture is ripped to shreds, and even the walls get torn apart in many places.
Eventually, she makes her way to Nero’s office and locates the safe I was hoping she wouldn’t find.
Instead of messing with the keypad as I did, she simply rips the door off with her bare hands, then reads the same documents I discovered the other day: the contract between Nero and Rasputin, my birth certificate, and the map with the dangerous path to her own world.
“So, you go by Sasha Urban now,” Lilith says, putting down the yellowing pages. “I can’t wait to meet you—”
I come back to reality with my heart pumping frantically in my chest. I’m glad I was lying down when I started the vision.
My legs feel so wobbly I could’ve collapsed.
Evening out my breath as much as I can, I try to organize my frantically spinning thoughts.
For the longest time, one of my biggest wishes was to learn about my origins. To find out who my birth parents are and how I ended up on my own at the airport.
Now I know most of it.
It’s because my mother is Lilith. An evil goddess whose world they warn you to stay away from during Orientation… the boogeyman of the Cognizant community.
She’s so infamous, in fact, that she’s featured in the role of the “mother of demons,” or something equally unflattering, in human mythologies all over Earth.
And she’s the mother I’ve wished so desperately to find.
I guess the old adage is true.
Be careful what you wish for.
I’m Lilith’s daughter, and she’s coming for me.
END
Thank you for reading! I hope you’re enjoying Sasha’s story. Book 6, Prophecy of Magic, is coming October 22! You can pre-order your copy HERE.
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Love audiobooks? This series, and all of my other books, are available in audio.
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Want to read my other books? You can check out:
Mind Dimensions - the action-packed urban fantasy adventures of Darren, who can stop time and read minds
Upgrade - the thrilling sci-fi tale of Mike Cohen, whose new technology will transform our brains and the world
The Last Humans - the futuristic sci-fi/dystopian story of Theo, who lives in a world where nothing is as it seems
The Sorcery Code - the epic fantasy adventures of sorcerer Blaise and his creation, the beautiful and powerful Gala
I also collaborate with my wife on sci-fi romance, so if you don’t mind erotic material, you can check out Close Liaisons. Visit www.annazaires.com for more information and to get your copy.
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And now, please turn the page for an exciting excerpt from The Sorcery Code.
Excerpt from The Sorcery Code
Once a respected member of the Sorcerer Council and now an outcast, Blaise has spent the last year of his life working on a special magical object. The goal is to allow anyone to do magic, not just the sorcerer elite. The outcome of his quest is unlike anything he could’ve ever imagined—because, instead of an object, he creates Her.
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She is Gala, and she is anything but inanimate. Born in the Spell Realm, she is beautiful and highly intelligent—and nobody knows what she’s capable of. She will do anything to experience the world... even leave the man she is beginning to fall for.
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Augusta, a powerful sorceress and Blaise’s former fiancée, sees Blaise’s deed as the ultimate hubris and Gala as an abomination that must be destroyed. In her quest to save the human race, Augusta will forge new alliances, becoming tangled in a web of intrigue that stretches further than any of them suspect. She may even have to turn to her new lover Barson, a ruthless warrior who might have an agenda of his own...
There was a naked woman on the floor of Blaise’s study.
A beautiful naked woman.
Stunned, Blaise stared at the gorgeous creature who just appeared out of thin air. She was looking around with a bewildered expression on her face, apparently as shocked to be there as he was to be seeing her. Her wavy blond hair streamed down her back, partially covering a body that appeared to be perfection itself. Blaise tried not to think about that body and to focus on the situation instead.
A woman. A She, not an It. Blaise could hardly believe it. Could it be? Could this girl be the object?
She was sitting with her legs folded underneath her, propping herself up with one slim arm. There was something awkward about that pose, as though she didn’t know what to do with her own limbs. In general, despite the curves that marked her a fully grown woman, there was a child-like innocence in the way she sat there, completely unselfconscious and totally unaware of her own appeal.
Clearing his throat, Blaise tried to think of what to say. In his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have imagined this kind of outcome to the project that had consumed his entire life for the past several months.
Hearing the sound, she turned her head to look at him, and Blaise found himself staring into a pair of unusually clear blue eyes.
She blinked, then cocked her head to the side, studying him with visible curiosity. Blaise wondered what she was seeing. He hadn’t seen the light of day in weeks, and he wouldn’t be surprised if he looked like a mad sorcerer at this point. There was probably a week’s worth of stubble covering his face, and he knew his dark hair was unbrushed and sticking out in every direction. If he’d known he would be facing a beautiful woman today, he would’ve done a grooming spell in the morning.
“Who am I?” she asked, startling Blaise. Her voice was soft and feminine, as alluring as the rest of her. “What is this place?”
“You don’t know?” Blaise was glad he finally managed to string together a semi-coherent sentence. “You don’t know who you are or where you are?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Blaise swallowed. “I see.”
“What am I?” she asked again, staring at him with those incredible eyes.
“Well,” Blaise said slowly, “if you’re not some cruel prankster or a figment of my imagination, then it’s somewhat difficult to explain...”
She was watching his mouth as he spoke, and when he stopped, she looked up again, meeting his gaze. “It’s strange,” she said, “hearing words this way. These are the first real words I’ve heard.”
Blaise felt a chill go down his spine. Getting up from his chair, he began to pace, trying to keep his eyes off her nude body. He had been expecting something to appear. A magical object, a thing. He just hadn’t known what form that thing would take. A mirror, perhaps, or a lamp. Maybe even something as unusual as the Life Capture Sphere that sat on his desk like a large round diamond.
But a per
son? A female person at that?
To be fair, he had been trying to make the object intelligent, to ensure it would have the ability to comprehend human language and convert it into the code. Maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised that the intelligence he invoked took on a human shape.
A beautiful, feminine, sensual shape.
Focus, Blaise, focus.
“Why are you walking like that?” She slowly got to her feet, her movements uncertain and strangely clumsy. “Should I be walking too? Is that how people talk to each other?”
Blaise stopped in front of her, doing his best to keep his eyes above her neck. “I’m sorry. I’m not accustomed to naked women in my study.”
She ran her hands down her body, as though trying to feel it for the first time. Whatever her intent, Blaise found the gesture extremely erotic.
“Is something wrong with the way I look?” she asked. It was such a typical feminine concern that Blaise had to stifle a smile.
“Quite the opposite,” he assured her. “You look unimaginably good.” So good, in fact, that he was having trouble concentrating on anything but her delicate curves. She was of medium height, and so perfectly proportioned that she could’ve been used as a sculptor’s template.
“Why do I look this way?” A small frown creased her smooth forehead. “What am I?” That last part seemed to be puzzling her the most.
Blaise took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing pulse. “I think I can try to venture a guess, but before I do, I want to give you some clothing. Please wait here—I’ll be right back.”
And without waiting for her answer, he hurried out of the room.
The Sorcery Code is currently available at most retailers. Click HERE to get your copy. If you’d like to learn more, please visit www.dimazales.com.
About the Author
Dima Zales is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked in the software development industry in New York as both a programmer and an executive. From high-frequency trading software for big banks to mobile apps for popular magazines, Dima has done it all. In 2013, he left the software industry in order to concentrate on his writing career and moved to Palm Coast, Florida, where he currently resides.
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Please visit www.dimazales.com to learn more.
