by J. L. Madore
Book 1 – Blaze Ignites
Book 2 – Ursa Unearthed
Book 3 – Torrent of Tears
Book 4 – Blind Spirit
Book 5 – Fate’s Journey
Or all in - 5 Book Box Set
Book 6 – Savage Love
The Watchers of the Gray Series (Paranormal)
Book 1 – Watcher Untethered (Zander)
Book 2 – Watcher Redeemed (Kyrian)
Book 3 – Watcher Reborn (Danel)
Book 4 – Watcher Divided (Phoenix)
Book 5 – Watcher United (Seth)
Book 6 – Watcher Compelled (Bo) Coming Spring 2019
In the Shadow (Roman Time-Slip – Episodic Serial)
Episode 1 – Back In Time
Episode 2 – A Strange New World
Episode 3 – Pompeii
Episode 4 – Vesuvius Erupts
Episode 5 – Allies, Enemies, and New Beginnings
Or all in - In The Shadow of Vesuvius (Complete novel)
Author Notes
Written on 03/10/2019
Thank you so much for reading, and since you’re reading this—for continuing to read. I know how valuable time is in this life and am honored you entrusted your precious hours with my characters.
When I finished Scourge Survivor Series at book 5, I thought I’d wrapped things up. Five strong women, five elements of nature to master, five love stories. But as I wrote Fate’s Journey, it became apparent that there were too many characters who mattered to wrap up everyone’s lives.
Savage was one character who many readers asked about. Being the toughest, broodiest warrior, he needed to find his happily ever after too. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you have any thoughts or comments, feel free to email me. I’m always eager to chat. If you like my writing and want to try out one of the other series, I welcome your feedback on those too.
If you’re wondering about my Dark Angels Paranormal Series, I’ve enclosed a few pages of Book 1, Watcher Untethered, for you to read. Enjoy,
JL
CHAPTER ONE
“This asshole’s head is mine. I mean it, Tanek.”
Zander swerved the truck down a shadowed side street, the squeal of rubber on road echoing off brick buildings. The dark fury in his blood had him lit to explode. That he could even drive astonished him. He couldn’t believe any Otherworlder—Dark or Light—could be so massively stupid.
“He’s headed for that alley, Z. Get closer.” Tanek popped the passenger door open and swung out onto the step bar. “Man, this one’s quick.”
Quick? The pro-wrestler build of their bad guy was deceiving as hell, because boots to asphalt, the daemon ran Usain Bolt fast—even with the added weight of an unconscious blonde slung over his shoulder.
A growl rumbled deep in Zander’s chest. Nothing ranked lower in his playbook of evil than daemons who preyed on innocent females, except maybe a daemon who preyed on innocent females who happened to be at his nightclub.
Zander strangled the steering wheel as his foot ground harder on the gas. As the Navigator’s engine revved, he banked a hard left down the alley. The tires screamed into the night and he almost lost Tanek. The space between the buildings was tight, the walls zipping past on both sides of the truck in a blur.
There wasn’t much in life or death Zander cared about—except maybe pissing people off. Celestial guardian. Soulless assassin. Despised bastard. Meh, all one and the same. He was Nephilim, and this daemon would be schooled in what it meant to provoke a Soldier of the Choir.
“My club is a safe zone, Tanek. My house. My kill.”
“Victori spolia,” Tanek said, launching off the side of the truck. His size fourteens landed heavy, his momentum pitching him into a run.
“To the victor goes the spoils, my ass.” Zander stomped the brakes and slammed the shifter into park. He bailed out and tore down the alley after his commander. The guy’s leather vest flared like a cape behind him, the Nephilim runes etched into the back, glimmering silver under the lights of the sleeping city.
Lost in the shadows, Tanek unsheathed his blade and Zander followed his lead. Three a.m. in an industrial section of Toronto’s fashion district left few humans to witness the excitement, but it only took one industrious looky-loo with a cell phone and the Otherworld was exposed and going viral on the internet.
“She isn’t human,” Tanek said, over his shoulder. “Could be worse.”
Zander checked the sightlines from the rooftops and wondered how Tanek did it. The guy still spouted optimism and he’d been trapped in this thankless existence longer than any of them. They barreled through another back alley and spooked a pair of scavenging raccoons. The rotund little bandits scattered in a flurry of hostile chatter.
Yeah, human would be worse.
One tenet galvanized all members of the Otherworld. It had nothing to do with character alignment or their feeding needs, whether blood, flesh, spirit, or fear. It had everything to do with the food source.
Humans must remain oblivious.
The two of them hurdled overgrown boxwoods, their boots propelling them through backstreets, around graffiti-covered dumpsters and over broken wooden skids littering their path. Most nights, obstacles kept the chase interesting, but tonight, Zander wanted to skip the calisthenics and get straight to the decapitating part.
Shit. They’d lost visual.
Tanek vaulted over a concrete barricade and signaled for Zander to flank left and cover the next building. Zander changed course. They weren’t out of this. The only place the daemon could take cover was in the cluster of dilapidated, two-storey warehouses ahead. Working a quick and dirty grid, they melted into the overcast night, cranked door handles, and eyeballed what windows they found.
Zander focused his energy and summoned his gift. With a low-level current arcing within his cells, he scanned the area, his senses heightened. He itched to detect the acrid scent of daemon. He strained for any movement shift or the faintest rustle in the distance. He sensed—nothing.
August air hung deathly still and heavy in his lungs; no breeze to carry scents and no sound of movement to point them in the right direction. He wiped a wrist across his brow and cursed. The storm brewing over Lake Ontario flashed angry strobes and threatened its wrath.
As he ghosted across the next loading ramp, his electrical mojo did its thing and his head cranked around. Zeroing in on a piece-of-shit factory two units over, the hair on the nape of his neck stood at attention. Gotcha.
Zander whistled for Tanek to follow and pistoned forward.
The building stood an inspired tribute to post-war ramshackle and as he back-flatted against the red brick, clay detritus crumbled onto the walkway. He sidestepped toward the metal door and sucked in a lungful—
Fuck. The stench of death and ode-to-campfire tunneled into his sinuses—the all too familiar mix of rotting human flesh, terror, and brimstone. A daemon kill-zone.
Now, the trip into industrial-landia made sense. Isolated after dark. No nosy neighbors to hear baleful screams from within. And no way for him and Tanek to guess how many of Hell Realm’s army lurked inside.
While his lungs sucked in more incentive to decapitate, Zander retrieved the Moonstone from his vest pocket. In the heartbeat it took Tanek to join the party, Zander brushed a thumb across the feldspar and uttered the words to fire the ancient runes to life. Heaven’s light erupted from the stone and sliced the darkness.
Good to go. Well, aside from having no idea what species of daemon they faced aaaand the fact that this whole snatch-and-chase scenario made his skin tingle. On that thought, he retrieved his phone and messaged Kyrian their location.
Ironically, the bigger the army inside, the better it was for the kidnapped female—cocky daemons were stupid daemons. No matter what flesh-eater species they chased, if that asshole had his entire nest inside, he’d be less likely to open a portal back to Hell and take his victim to go. And no way was he making off with his catch of the nig
ht.
Tanek grabbed the steel door handle and raised a three-finger count.
Three. Two. One.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER ONE
