First Blade (Awakening Book 1)

by Jane Hinchey

  Finally getting free of Erik's body she climbed to her feet and peered through the hole in the wall, watching with eager anticipation as Zak approached Marius, who stood dusty and shaken. Then Marius's gaze shifted to her over Zak's shoulder and his lips twisted in a sneer.

  "Georgia." Her name was enough to distract Zak. He froze and began to turn. In that instant Marius launched over him and flew toward her, so fast she couldn't react. Then he was upon her, arm tight around her throat as he used her as a shield against Zak, who was now facing them, body rigid.

  "I will have her," Marius spoke, voice eerily calm.

  "Never," Zak and Georgia spoke at the same time. Zak's eyes met hers, his glowing eyes mesmerizing and softening for a moment when Georgia grinned at him.

  Sensing the two of them were communicating in some way Marius bent her head back, exposing her neck. "I've missed this," he murmured, his fangs inches from piercing her skin. Rather than fight him, Georgia allowed her body to become a dead weight, sagging in his grip. With a grunt he held her, staggering and trying to keep them both upright. She slumped lower, her smile growing when she heard him swear.

  Finally, he had no choice but to let go of her and she let herself fall to the floor at his feet, where she palmed the dagger she'd kept hidden along her arm. With a quick twist, she swung, her blade slashing the back of his ankle. He roared in pain, his foot almost severed. She scrambled backward as he fell to his knees, his eyes black with rage.

  He followed as she scooted backward, not fast enough as he clasped her ankle and yanked her back toward him. She felt his vicious fangs sink into the back of her calf and roared in outrage and pain, then brought up her free foot and kicked him in the face. He released her immediately, hands going to his face. Not even thinking about her next move she swung with the dagger and it sank into the side of his neck.

  They both froze. She kept a tight grip on the handle, not giving him the opportunity to wrench the dagger free and use it on her. The skin around the wound turned purple and dark streaks fanned out from it, like lightning dancing across his skin.

  He screamed. The scream of a man in intense agony.

  With whatever strength he had left he pushed her away from him. The dagger ripped from his neck as she slid a few feet away. Zak scooped her up, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

  "Okay baby?" he asked.

  "I'm fine. Finish him."

  She'd barely finished speaking before Zak was on the other man, hands gripping either side of his head, twisting until she heard an audible snap and then wrenching until a sickening tear indicated Marius's head had separated from his body. Holding Marius's head by the hair, Zak strode into the foyer, intending to bring Marius's soldiers to heel, only to discover his warriors had already dispatched them.

  Georgia appeared behind him, her eyes touched on Zak and each of the warriors, checking all were accounted for, then paused when she realized that they were all looking at her.

  She wiped her bloody hands on her jeans. "Errr. Look. Sorry. I know she was your friend and all, but seriously? She betrayed you all, and she was a bitch. Sorry guys, but she had it coming."

  "We understand," Frank spoke up.

  "You’re not angry with me?"

  "You were protecting yourself, love. And us. No-one here is judging you." Zak kissed the tip of her nose then suddenly grabbed his head, groaning in pain.

  "Zak?"

  "Arghhhhh!" He fell to his knees, hands wrapped around his skull.

  "What's happening?" Georgia cried, kneeling by his side, "Zak? Zak?" Tears streaming down her face, she watched as he toppled onto his side, convulsing. She looked around at the warriors, distraught. "What's going on, what's wrong with him?" No one had any answers.

  When his convulsions stopped they moved him to his bed. Georgia shooed them out of the room, wetting a face washer and gently cleaning the blood from his face. She cleaned him up the best she could then took a quick shower herself, not wanting to lie on their beautiful bed and soil it with other's blood.

  "Come back to me, love," she whispered, curling into his side. He lay motionless for the remainder of the night and when daybreak hit, Georgia fell into her own slumber.

  27

  "Good morning." Mmmm, that delicious, sexy voice that she loved rumbled in her ear. She stretched, pressing her body along the length of his.

  "Morning," she returned, hands already busy, running up and down his body. Then she remembered and her eyes sprung open. She sat up, dislodging the covers that fell to her waist, exposing her naked breasts.

  "You're awake!" she exclaimed, hands running over him to reassure herself he was really awake and okay.

  "So are you. And looking very delectable if I may say so." He pulled her across him, mouth clamping onto one blood red nipple. Something nagged at the back of her mind, hard to think when his mouth was doing such wicked things to her body.

  "Wait. Wait." She pushed back.

  "Wait? That doesn't sound like you, love," he teased, pushing the heavy curtain of her hair back over her shoulder.

  "What happened? You can explain to me why I happen to be naked when I know I was dressed when I went to sleep last night, later. Right now I want to know what happened to you. You clutched your head, had some sort of fit then lapsed into a catatonic state."

  "I had...a vision...I guess?"

  "A vision? Of what?" She moved to straddle him, looking down into his face with concern.

  "I don't really know! It was a jumbled, confusing mess. A dream, more like a nightmare."

  "What happened?"

  "I was in a different dimension, there were angels, demons, and Gods. Everyone was arguing. Lightning was surrounding this cloud type platform they were standing on. I think they were arguing about my ring and your dagger." He ran a hand through his hair, the ends standing in every direction.

  "What about them?" She ran her hands across his chest in a soothing gesture. She knew how disconcerting it could be when someone messes with your dreams.

  "It was like they were trying to decide what the ring and dagger stood for. Someone said that the ring is to be worn by the King, and the dagger shall belong to his Queen. Another argued that they're a part of an ancient protection spell to protect a witch. Someone else said when they have reunited a child born of prophecy shall walk the Earth. A demon insisted they are bringers of good and evil, life and death. A different demon insisted they were the portal to open the gates to Hell."

  "What do you think?"

  "I've got no bloody idea! It was all surreal, I'm not even sure it was a vision. Maybe I had a concussion or something, I don't know, but it was downright weird, that's for sure. All they did was argue and shout over each other."

  "But you're okay now? You feel okay? No headache?"

  "Babe, I'm fine." He wriggled his hips beneath her and she grinned, leaning down she planted a kiss on his lips, "you feel mighty fine to me," she said into his mouth, "now about me waking up naked?"

  THE END…for now

  Want to find out what happens next for Zak and Georgia? Continue the story in book two, First Witch!

  http://janehinchey.com.au/books/first-witch

  About the Author

  Aussie Author, Jane Hinchey writes sexy, snarky, badass, paranormal romance and suspense.

  Living in the City of Churches (aka Adelaide, South Australia) with her man, two cats, and turtle, she spends her days writing fantastical stories full of dark sexy vampires, hot shifters, sexy aliens, jaw-dropping demons, sinful angels, and magical witches – and while they can be snarky and swear a lot, they mean well and you’ll grow to love them. Honestly.

  When she’s not in her writing cave she’s usually playing the Sims, Civilizations or something similar, binge watching Netflix or upping the ante in the crazy cat lady stakes.

  Read more from Jane Hinchey

  janehinchey.com.au/68al

  Author Notes

  Thank you, it means so much to me that not only did you pi
ck up this book, but you read it all the way to the end and now you’re reading this as well!

  I love to read. I’ve been an avid reader since early childhood, most likely due to the fact that for the first eight years of my life I grew up in rural South Australia with no television. It sounds horrific, but as a kid, I didn’t miss what I didn’t have and I’m forever grateful that it built a strong foundation for my love of books.

  The funny thing is I wasn’t one of those kids who was jotting down their own stories from the time they could write. I did start to show interest in my early teen years and was beaten down by an English teacher who told me I lacked imagination. Ouch.

  I still love to read, I find it re-fills my creative well. It's escapism for me. I love a good story with plenty of action, a bit of steamy romance, and if fangs or fur are thrown in, all the better. I pretty much read what I like to write. Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Sci-Fi Romance. And I like my heroines to be kickass. They’ve got issues, like the rest of us, but I like to dig into their characters, expose their flaws, make you fall in love with them regardless.

  I usually find inspiration for my stories in music. I’ll hear a few lyrics of a song and something will spark and then it just snowballs from there. That didn’t happen with Georgia. She just sort of started speaking to me one day, this snarky, bad tempered girl with a big heart. Her relationship with her sister Skye was a delight to write, I really loved getting to know them both and it was the two of them who dictated where the story went, and Zak of course.

  I originally wrote First Blade back in 2013 and did nothing with it. It sat on my computer for almost two years. In 2015 I got over myself and decided it was time to self-publish, and shared First Blade with the world in November of 2015. I was brand new, had no idea what I was doing, but people started to buy my book – much to my absolute amazement and horror.

  Then I started to get emails and messages on social media. When is book two coming out? Um. I was shocked because I’d written First Blade as a stand-alone but the requests came thick and fast. It was undeniable. I had to turn this one book into a series. I also had a ton of people telling me I had spelling mistakes in my book – which wasn’t actually the case. Well okay, one or two were legitimate mistakes, sorry, BUT the majority were the difference between the Queen’s English (aka UK spelling) and the US spelling.

  I’m Australian, I write using Aussie/UK spelling, and I’m the first to admit that spelling and grammar are not my strong points – despite the reader who told me in no uncertain terms that that is my job – I’m a storyteller. My editor takes care of all my stuff ups and errors and I do my best to learn from them. Truly. So if you ever spot an error in my work, please let me know…nicely. I am but human.

  All of that has led me to where I am today. I’ve tweaked First Blade to reflect US spelling (sorry my Aussie and UK peeps) and tweaked the ending so it would flow into the next book, First Witch. The third (and final) book in the series is First Blood, and all of them follow the story of Georgia and Zak. I have a spin-off in the works, possibly two because some of the other characters (Hello Rhys, I hear you!) want their story told.

  What I have learned writing this book is that I’m no good at plotting. Every time I’d start to write and follow a plan, Zak and Georgia would derail me and take me on their journey. The story they wanted to tell. Hopefully, it was a fun story!

  Please, if you enjoyed this book give it a rating on Amazon. Your kind words and encouragement help. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed, so even if it’s only a line or two your review will make all the difference and is hugely appreciated.

  You are the reason I write these stories and I sincerely appreciate each of you!

  Thank you.

  ~ Jane Hinchey

  PS: You can find all of my books here: http://janehinchey.com.au/68al/