by Claire Marta
Table of Contents
Prologue
Also by Claire Marta
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Thank You
Playlist
About the Author
Twitch
The Hunter Chronicles Book 5
Claire Marta
Copyright © 2017 Claire Marta
Cover Design © 2017 by AmperSand Book Covers
Formatted by AB Formatting
Edited by Betty Shreffler
https://bettyshreffler.wordpress.com/editor-services/
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The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be used, distributed or reproduced in any manner, including photocopying, recording or other methods electronic or mechanical, whatsoever without prior permission from the Author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
The book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Also by Claire Marta
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Thank You
Playlist
About the Author
Also by Claire Marta
FROSTBITE: The Hunter Chronicles Book 1
Dark Desires: The Hunter Chronicles Book 2
Claimed by Magic: The Hunter Chronicles Book 3
The Serpent’s Kiss: The Hunter Chronicles Book 4
Acknowledgments
I would first like to thank my Dad who was been nothing but supportive and I am forever grateful for that. Thank you for your belief in me.
I would secondly like to thank my readers. When I first started writing The Hunter Chronicles I never imagined so many of you would fall in love with my characters. Thank you so much for the emails, fan mail and messages. I do really enjoy hearing from you and how much you enjoy my characters and stories. You keep me motivated. Every message is valued, read, welcomed and most of all appreciated.
Special thanks to Julie Tinkler, Natasha TerMaat and Samantha Nimrod for all your sharing, pimping and getting my series out there. Without you I would not be able to do this. Your daily support means more to me than you know.
A huge warm and wonderful thanks to those in my readers group Claire’s Liquor and Lust. Thank you for putting up with me and my sweetie swag! I love hang out with you all. I know I tend to ramble on my live videos but it always makes me smile when you come listen and talk to me. Meeting some of you at my book signings was also an amazing and humble experience for me.
Twitch has always been a very special character and close to my heart. I knew he would need his own book sooner and later. I hope you love him just as much as I do and are ready to get to know him a whole lot better.
Prologue
The sound of the waves was the only thing that could be heard on the long, isolated stretch of rocky beach. Sitting on a large towel, two lone figures sat listening to the sound in the dark. Sunset had long ago come and gone. Yet they had sat and watched its brilliance ebb for another day.
“It’s time.” Folding her gnarled hands in her lap, the old woman bowed her head.
“Are you sure?” Her companion asked. Bracing himself on his elbows, he glanced towards the inky blackness of the sea.
Gaze lifted, the old woman looked at the heavens above. The stars that evening were bright in the clear night sky burning their light across time. “The stars are aligned and I can feel it in my bones. Things have already been set in motion.”
“This is going to be a barrel of laughs.” The male chuckled, laying back down.
“No, it will not be easy. Do not expect a smooth path. Are you going to eat those?” She eyed the sandwiches wrapped in a plastic container. One already lay open, its contents eaten.
“Hungry now?” Rolling onto his side, he pushed the packet encouragingly towards her.
The old woman sniffed. “Well, as you never offered me anything.”
“It’s right there. All you have to do is take it.” He responded, grinning. “Did you really think I wouldn’t have bought you anything?”
“You know I’m too polite to ask.” Reaching for the food, she ripped the lid open. “What was I saying?” She asked absently, before nibbling the ham and cheese sandwich.
“Something about it won’t be easy, but I wasn’t paying complete attention at the time.” Collecting the litter, he stuffed it back into a plastic bag. As he worked, the silver rings on each of his hands caught the light of the moon.
Nodding her head, the woman made a sound of agreement. “Things are changing, yet it is still unclear which way they will fall.”
“Like always.” The male grumbled back.
“Free will always has a hand to play. We both know that. What will be, will be.” Taking another bite, she stared out to sea.
Beyond the dark, a white mist was churning. Rising spirals glimmered like fairy dust in the moonlight as it shifted. Elegant towers, tall and straight, rose from an Island which at any other time was obscured from the naked eye, yet tonight it was vulnerable. Above the expanse of land, the sky was unnaturally dark. So much that the blackness swallowed up the bright glimmer of the stars. With a thundering roar, an explosion rocked through the air. Its force sent the waves crashing high as magic seared the fog in a fantastic shock of fireworks so brilliant they had to look away.
Sighing, the old woman cleaned the crumbs from the length of her tattered skirts. “And so, it begins,” she murmured.
Tick tock. Tick Tock.
The hands of the small, round, pewter pocket watch sitting snugly in Twitch’s palm continued to move as he stared down at it in dismay. He was late. Time was not on his side today.
The sun was yet to rise and the April morning was cooler than normal for that time of year. But he was on a mission of importance. One he would let nothing, not even the arse crack of dawn, interfere with.
Jasmine needed him. There was nothing he would not do for his best friend and cousin. She was his shining light. The only female he had ever met that never judged him for the way he looked. In fact, she had accepted him from the first moment they met.
For that, Twitch would alw
ays love her. Jasmine, with her short red hair, the colour of flickering fairy lights on an Avalon autumn day. Her eyes as green as the purest jade. Short and slim, she was feisty and sweet. She was perfect. But no matter what he did, he could not make Jasmine love him back. At least not in the way he wanted. Being her best friend was taking its toll. Twitch wanted more, but it didn’t look like it was ever going to happen. He was doomed to be friend zoned.
Stuffing the pocket watch back into the pocket of his long, black velvety coat, he continued to walk.
The London streets had begun to stir. There was never a moment when the place was truly empty. Early morning workers were already bustling on their way to work. Faces drawn in weariness as they hurried by. The smell of food and coffee was wafting from the few early morning cafes he passed.
Sighing heavily, Twitch huddled deeper into his coat. As usual, he was dressed in his favourite colour—black.
Scruffy army boots were laced haphazardly on his feet. They went well with his black, worn jeans. Beneath his coat, a black, high-collared, ruffled shirt was buttoned right up to his chin with brass cogs adorning the buttons.
Absently, he peered at his reflection in a shop window. Peridot green eyes stared back. So much like his sister’s, it hurt to look at them. Unruly, cinnamon curly hair hung down his shoulders. Knotty and unkempt, strands were already falling annoyingly across his face.
Unlike Melinda’s flawless skin, Twitch’s was scarred. His forehead and neck bore the mark of his magic. These places were not as bad as the rest of his body. He couldn’t bear to see himself naked. See the ruined flesh. His magic had been unstable in his teenage years. Unable to control the spells and power, it had back lashed, burning him with a cruel intensity. He was permanently damaged beyond repair.
Twitch let out a heavy breath.
Melinda, his twin sister, was gone. Yet he would always be reminded of her every time he glanced at himself in a mirror and saw her eyes in his own.
Despair had been trying to swallow him whole for weeks. Her death had started it. Set things in motion.
Betraying her magic wielding family to an evil being hidden among Avalon had cost Melinda her life. His sister had always been a self centred bitch. In the end she had tried to atone for her mistakes. She had sacrificed herself to save them all.
Twitch stared down at his gloved hands. It felt as though he could still feel her blood coating them as he had held her in his arms. The look she had given him still haunted him.
It had left a piece of his heart missing. Yes, they had not talked in years and throughout the battle, they had been on opposite sides. Melinda had even forced him to leave his home by shunning him in front of others, but he still loved her. She had been blood. His sister. Nothing had ever changed that. Now she was gone. And he would never be able to express how he felt.
Closing his eyes, his jaw clenched. It was far too fucking early to be this melancholy. He had to be focused for what lay ahead.
Carefully, he adjusted the backpack on his shoulder. It was not as heavy as normal. His beloved laptop, with all its enchantments and kinky fuckery engrained into its hard drive, was tucked safely away back home. Instead, a mix of smart phones and an electronic tablet were his main means of tech. Something as a techno mage he was never without.
Twitch’s beloved Jasmine had still been asleep in her room when he had crept from the house they shared. He had not wanted her to know where he was going. This was between him and the vampire who was trying to take advantage of her. It was not going to happen. Not on his watch. No fucking way.
More people swarmed the street around him. All of them lost in the hurry to get to work. Twitch wrinkled his nose.
London—a sprawling concrete jungle. A place where people are buried under the weight of their own mediocre lives. Somewhere that others, just like Twitch, could hide. Blend in. Live unnoticed. Those who had a touch of magic to them or those who were different. Quirky.
They were not like the regular supernaturals who resided there. All a little broken in some way. These were the outcasts. The forgotten or shunned. Twitch’s tribe. Beings who had suffered the same as he had.
A business woman glanced his way as she passed. Dressed to the nines in a smart suit her lovely features were done up perfectly in a layer of make-up. Her immaculate, golden hair brushed to perfection. Eyeing him speculatively, she paused to look him up and down, lips curling in distaste at his way of dress.
Muscles tensing, Twitch ignored her. Dipping his chin, he allowed the length of his messy reddish curls to fall protectively over his face. Being stared at was something he had never gotten used to. He doubted he ever would.
Not lingering, she moved on. Walking faster, Twitch continued on his way.
The buzz of technology surrounded him. He could feel it in the air. Being of the house of Le Fey, and a magic wielder, he was well in tune with it. His generation needed it. Required the tech to activate their magical abilities. A weakness they all shared.
The fizz of his magic in his blood reacted to it presence. Yet, for him, things had changed. Forever altered. A new power was growing within him. Linked to nature from his mother’s side of the family, it allowed him to by-pass using tech to call on his magic. He had yet to get a grip on it. This new ability was only weeks old and already unstable and terrifying him. Twitch shivered with foreboding. Would it have a price as his other magic had? Would it disfigure him more than he already was? He still did not know if it was a blessing or a new curse. Only time would tell.
Covent Garden stirred with activity as he trudged across the square. Among the figures, only one interested him though.
An old woman. She stood alone this morning in the predawn. Her reedy figure was clothed in a long dress. A wedding gown. Stained with wear and tear, it was now more of a greyish colour rather than the bright virginal white it had once been. An open, knitted, blue wool cardigan filled with tiny holes and lose threads was bundled on top and covered her arms. Bent over slightly, she shuffled along with a wooden tattered cart in tow. White wisps of her thinning hair peeked out from the blue cap perched on the top of her head. Face lined with age, it still held a beauty that not even the passing of time had been able to ravage.
A swarm of pigeons cooed and strutted at her feet. Her fingers were crooked, twisted with arthritis and although Twitch knew it pained her it did not stop her from feeding the birds.
As if sensing his presence, she looked up. Keen, hazel eyes fastened onto his.
Twitch grinned in return.
“Here you go, Nelly.” Tugging something from his back pack, he handed her his offering. “The ones you like. You have no fucking idea what I had to do to get them, but it was worth it to see you smile.”
“May the gods bless you, Twitch.” Nelly gave him a toothy grin, hugging the package to her chest. “What are you doing out this early? We never see you before the sun is up high.” With eager fingers, she ripped a corner open and pulled out fruit. The sweet, yet acidic smell of orange reached Twitch’s nose as she peeled one. Around them, her pigeons bobbed searching for any scraps.
“I have some business that needs attending to. Where’s Zook this morning?” He searched for the familiar figure that was always nearby, but he was nowhere in sight.
“About. You know him.” Nelly shrugged one narrow shoulder. “He’s probably hanging around the cafe’s down by St. James Park. There’s some early regulars that always get him a coffee and a cake.”
“Hmm, he better bring you something back or I'll kick that idiot’s arse.” Twitch grumbled as he thrust some hairs out of his face. “Guess I'll see him at dinner time then.”
“Where are you off to?” Nelly enquired, before slipping another orange segment into her mouth.
“That vamp club near China Town.” Quickly fishing out the pocket watch, Twitch checked the time. Fucknuggets, he was cutting it fine. The vampires would soon be in their day sleep. He was going to have to get a move on.
“Be careful
of the blood sucks. They aren’t like us.”
Glancing up, he gave the old woman a nod of understanding as he stuffed the watch back into his coat. “Don’t you worry about me, Nelly. I know how to handle myself.”
Wrapping the packet of oranges close, the old woman placed them carefully in the wooden cart by her side. “I always worry about you, Twitch. You always seem to feel alone when apart from that red headed girl. I can see you’re not happy.”
Hand tightening on the strap of his black back pack, Twitch tried not to fidget. “Jazzy’s just a friend.”
And that was all she was going to be. Maybe it was time to take her advice and face the truth. It was obvious now nothing was going to bloom between them. No, that notion had been well and truly turned to dust the moment they had set foot in the vampire club the other evening. It had been a mistake to go there. One of his own making. Now he had to do some damage control.
“You need more than a friend. You need someone to keep you warm at night.” Nelly continued, giving him a knowing look. “Someone to have fun with. You should not be spending all your free time on me and Zook.”
“Who else would keep you two out of trouble then?” Twitch asked, his nose wrinkling. “I better get going. The vamps will be asleep soon.”
“Alright. I won’t keep you. Take care.” With a flick of her wrinkled wrist she scattered bird seed across the ground. In a flurry of wings, the birds drove in a mass of chaos towards it.
“See you at dinner time and make sure Zook has his arse down here too,” Twitch called as he hurried away.
