Age of Aquarius

by Tawdra Kandle

  Age of Aquarius

  Copyright © 2017 by Tawdra Kandle

  ISBN: 9781682307724

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Cover by Meg Murrey

  Formatting by Champagne Formats

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Synopsis

  Dedication

  Age of Aquarius Extra Material

  Book One

  Prologue: Part One

  Prologue: Part Two

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Book Two

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Book Three

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements and Afterword

  Age of Aquarius Play List

  Other Books

  About the Author

  1967. It was the Summer of Love. But in the midst of peace and flower power, a group of hippies unleash an unspeakable horror that will threaten the future of the planet . . .

  The King Series.

  The Serendipity Series.

  Recipe for Death Series.

  Every battle. Every win. Every loss. All the intrigue, pain and mystery . . . it all leads here.

  In the ultimate fight against an ancient and powerful evil, Carruthers agents join with old friends as well as new allies to save the world.

  Tasmyn and Michael, Nell and Rafe, Jackie and Lucas—and of course, Cathryn Whitmore—all of them will risk their lives and futures to stop the dreaded Hive.

  Some will live. Some will die. None of them will ever be the same.

  Redeem yesterday. Survive today. Save tomorrow.

  To Cate and David, because you asked for this story for a long time.

  In memory of my mother, who brought me into the world fifty years ago and who left us about ten years ago. I still miss you every day.

  And with tremendous thanks and love to the readers who have followed me from the very first book, who fell in love with Tasmyn and Michael, and then Cathryn and Nell and Rafe, and of course Jackie and Lucas . . . and who have been eager to see more of all of the Save Tomorrow world.

  This is for all of you, with love.

  Age of Aquarius Extra Material

  Writing a story that encompasses the characters from nine previous books is a daunting task. Some of these characters appeared briefly and didn’t seem to be important (but they were!). Others were main characters, but I hadn’t written them for years, and we needed to get reacquainted. I was worried about the time it would take to look them all up to make sure I was being consisted.

  Enter the fabulous Krissy Smith, who offered to do a read of all the paranormal books and then create a Book Bible for me to use. This saved my life time and again during the writing of AGE OF AQUARIUS. I cannot thank her enough for all of her hard work. A portion of the work, with just the characters mentioned in this book, follows.

  Below the Book Bible, you’ll find four short pieces, all featuring characters from the Save Tomorrow world. These were all part of promotions I did for Coastal Magic Convention, and they include amusing bits and pieces about the characters and lead-up for this story. Nothing within them is integral to the book, but I hope you enjoy them, regardless.

  The Save Tomorrow World book bible

  By Krissy Smith

  Tasmyn Vaughn—new girl in King; can hear other’s thoughts; has a scar on her neck from where nell tried to kill her

  Ms. Lacusta (Marica)—chemistry teacher; shorter than Tasmyn; around 35 with long, curling jet black hair, nearly translucent skin, and flashing dark eyes; described as dangerous like a beautiful snake that might lull its victims into admiration before it struck with deadly venom; hair is much longer in Breathless than it is in fearless

  Nell—extremely intense; around the same height as tasmyn; striking in appearance with dark hair that is long and wavy, olive skin, and pale blue eyes; blatant animosity toward tasmyn in fearless; institutionalized for trying to kill Tasmyn (Fearless); went into a coma after rescuing Tasmyn from Marica in restless; first wakes from her coma at the end of Undeniable; woken by Carruthers; first person she saw upon waking was Cathryn; gifts include telekinesis and projection; can move objects through space; firecaster; can almost read minds when she is projected, can tell what someone is feeling and planning; killed Billy and Ian by tossing a tree at them using her powers—collateral damage; reminds Jackie of a jungle cat; in love with Rafe; guarded and sharp tongued

  Michael Sawyer—taller than Tasmyn by half a foot with light brown hair that hung over his ears and forehead and deep green eyes framed by improbable lashes; has an awesome light blue 1965 mustang; turns 18 in fearless, birthday is in November; knows Tasmyn’s secret

  Rob Vaughn—Tasmyn’s dad; the other person that is easiest for Tasmyn to hear;

  Amber Cole—sits diagnally across from Tasmyn in English; blends into the background easily; dark brown hair that is a little darker and straighter than tasmyn’s; pretty in a low-key way; wears no make-up and keeps her hair in a simple low ponytail; has been being harrassed by Nell since elementary school; knows Tasmyn’s secret; in Breathless her appearance changes thanks to anne—new hair stylye that shaped her face, sported a flattering wardrobe of bright colors, biggest change is in her eyes, she no longer looks at the ground, she meets the eyes of those around her with confidence;

  Gravis King—carnie who owned the largest carnival in the south in the late 19th century; established the town of King

  Marly Sawyer—Michael’s mom; where Michael gets his green eyes; hair a little darker than Michael’s chestnut brown; wore it in a messy pony tail with tendrils curling around her face; owns sawood nursury with her husband; knows Tasmyn’s secret

  Luke Sawyer—Michael’s dad; built like Michael; blonder hair and brown eyes; where Michael gets his smile from; knows Tasmyn’s secret

  Lela Sawyer—Michael’s sister; very nearly blonde with the barest hing of auburn in her curls; inch or two taller than Tasmyn; has Luke’s deep brown eyes, but with the same eyelashes as Michael; shop at the nursury is her baby; goes to college in Virginia; knows Tasmyn’s secret

  Cara Pryce—(Fearless) Tasmyn’s friend; ca
me to Tasmyn’s rescue when she had a reaction to what was going through Nell’s mind in history class; has compassionate, warm brown eyes that hold a gentle twinkle; daughter of a minister; pretty with dark blonde hair worn in a short bob; lived all her life in Pennsylvania until she moved to King; casually dated Dan; left King in the fall of senior year; Rafe encounters her in Undeniable at the compound; first time he’s seen her since they left and he had to erase her whole family’s memories; warns Rafe and Nell in Unquenchable that Mallory Jones is coming for them; is now painfully bone thin and her dirty hair has been hacked off at her chin

  Rafe Brooks—- a tall interestingly attractive boy w/dark hair; has a thing for Tasmyn; descendant of one of King’s original families; has the dates Tasmyn in Restless for a short time after she breaks up with Michael; described by Jackie as yummy; Nell’s boyfriend; guarded and sharp tongued

  Cathryn Whitmore—went to college with michael; TA for his advanced botany class; breathtaking with hair so blonde it was nearly white, indigo eyes, and perfect lips; had a crush on Michael; can hear thoughts like Tasmyn; recruits Tasmyn for Carruthers; Rafe thinks of her as a pocket sized boss in undeniable

  Caroline Brooks—Rafe’s grandmother; tall woman with beautiful white hair and piercing blue eyes; her face is smooth and unlined and her body is lithe and trim with an excellent pair of legs; straight-forward, does not beat around the bush; hard as steel¸the toughest lady rafe has ever known; the person rafe always wants in his corner

  William Brooks—Rafe’s grandfather; wears glasses

  Aline Reynolds—from one of the original King families; Tasmyn is sent to her for help by Mrs. Brooks; therapist located near Perriman college where Michael goes to school; her gift is empathy and insight; considers herself an excavator

  Harley Wilson—an older man who is head of recruiting at Carruthers; less up tight counterpart to Catheryn’s control freak; all muscle, not an ounce of fat on the man

  Seth Phillips—taller than Tasmyn with longish wavy light brown hair; friend of Aline’s; history professor at Perriman; leads a student ministry group on campus; has a bible study group on the green on Saturdays

  Emma Sutherland—works with Carruthers; influencer (can plant suggestions in people’s minds) and broadcaster; double agent; influenced an unknown man to kill Helene Gamble

  Zoe Hamilton—oddest woman Tasmyn as ever met; has multi-colored hair that seems to be every color of the rainbow (oil-slick hair?); has a pixie-like face and huge hazel eyes; cheeks dimple when she smiles; psychologist at carruthers; helps train tasmyn to control her powers; insists on calling Rafe “Raphael”; has a fairy type laugh; one of her gifts is energy boosting; gift of empathy

  Nick Massler—Nell’s dad; his grandfather was an ambassador to Romania; his father was a United States senator respresenting Florida; expected to carry on in his family’s footsteps; described as very intelligent, personable, and well-liked; went to law school up north before coming back to work in his family’s law firm; left Nell to be raised by strangers when his wife was institutionalized and went back to his family; president of the board for a charity that raises money for autism research

  Alyse Brador—Nell’s mother; was not approved of by her husband’s family; wouldn’t leave her family home in King when she got married; eventually was committed to a psychiatric facility; striking, but not pretty; flamboyant, but mercurial; hair identical to Nell’s black curls, not a hint of gray in it; has just a few lines around her eyes; considered the queen of hive

  Ben Ryan—John Remington’s campaign manager; works in the law firm with remington; tall with his dark hair buzz short and tinged with gray; something uneasy about his eyes; recruited Emma; evil; disappeared with Emma off the rooftop

  Jocelyn Pennell—joss for short; red-headed w/big brown eyes

  Mallory Jones—mousey looking girl with brown hair, blends into the woodwork; has powers; killed donald mccall with a jolt of energy; killed joss at the commune;

  Henry—a large man with bushy gray hair and a wide grin; head chef at Carruthers; says his only mission at carruthers is to make them all fat

  Eli Alva—called dr. eli or doc by those who know him; not very tall; hair is totally white and he wears it a little longer than most men his age; face with a map of wrinkles but kind blue eyes; helps nell keep rafe alive and nurse him back to health

  Lucas Reilly—older than Cathryn; pushing forty; tall, blonde, and very hot; has intense blue eyes; won his trip to Star on the Sea in a raffle fundraiser at work; teaches at a college; his eyes turned brown after he was transformed; death broker and half vampire; changed by Veronica

  Julia Taylor—senior in high school; tiny thing, petite with close cropped black hair and eyes that nearly matched her hair; abandoned as a toddler; in and out of foster homes; telekinetic; necroloquitar

  lenora—miss jane’s grandmother

  Veronica Carruthers—changed Lucas into a vampire; tells Cathryn her destiny does not lie with him and that his lies in another direction; has dark hair that waves around her shoulders and a lithe body and startling blue eyes; Cathryn’s many times over grandmother; thought to have been kidnapped by pirates from the family home; musical other-wordly voice with a light european accent

  Makani—Jackie’s dog; small ball of white fur with solemn brown eyes; maltese

  Jackie O’Brien—lives in golden rays, a retirement community, in a house she inherted from her grandmother; food writer; columnist for food international; lucas thinks she’s funny, interesting and damned beautiful; half irish-half italian

  Mrs. Mac—(Anna MacConnelly)— Jackie’s neighbor; loyal friend; a good forty years older than Jackie with gray hair and fluffy bangs; loves to gossip; never a tall woman to begin with and had lost quite a bit of height in her old age; tended to see conspiracy under every bush and kept her ear to the ground for gossip; fair bridge player; brilliant conversationalist

  Nichelle DeWare—Lucas’s owns the delivery company that brings Lucas his blood; delivers his package personally; petite, dark-haired woman; suffering from pregnancy brain; has two kids at home, seven months pregnant with the third (death fricasse); has a well-developed palate is an excellent amateur chef; names her baby after Jackie after Jackie delivered him on her front lawn;

  Jack—nichelle’s baby; delivered by jackie on her front lawn

  Delia—traitor to Carruthers; dead double agent who worked for hive; Joss’s mentor; died from cancer; was a friend of Cathryn’s mother; fire-thrower; inhabited Jackie during the séance

  Chrissy Darwin—folk singer; one of Jackie’s favorites; sang at the pecan festival for the first time when she was sixteen; always pretty in a cute and girlish way; defined cheekbones that maker her green eyes look even larger; blonde hair; soft voice that displays none of the power she projects on stage;

  Charlie Caldwell—was with her uncle when he died; not Reg’s niece by blood; lived with Reg above the bar he owned; graduated from culinary school; 21 years old; petite with jet black hair that was cropped short; eyebrow ring; blonde eye brows, hair obviously a dye job; Lucas brings her home from Reg’s reconing; she ends up staying with Jackie and helping her with her catering business; her parents took off when she was a baby; raised by her aunt Val who started dating Reg when charlie was 10; stayed with Reg after her aunt died

  Donald Parcy—lives in a nursing home outside San Francisco since he had a stroke; one of the original Hive members; lived on the commune in the 1960’s; attempted to open the door but was too early; released an evil entity on the world

  Diego del Fuego—vampire who transformed Feronica; originally wanted to drink from all the servants and wanted Benito; jealous and could be cruel;

  Sionnach Creven—lives in New Orleans; tough nut to crack; Cathryn wants her recruited for Carruthers; sends Veronica after her

  Seamus O’Casey—lives in small town in Ireland with two brothers with whom he owns a pub; has power of time travel; is recruited by Cathryn for battle to save the world and agre
es to help; traveled back in time and saw Cathryn was his love.

  Daeglan O’Casey—oldest O’Casey brother, lives in small town in Ireland with two brothers with whom he owns a pub; has the power of invisibility; goes on mission to recruit Sionnach Creven the kitsune, with whom he falls in love.

  Cillian O’Casey—youngest O’Casey brother; lives in small town in Ireland with two brothers with whom he owns a pub; has the power of medical manipulation, can heal or kill with him mind.

  Cathryn’s Origin Story

  {At Coastal Magic Con in 2016, I was on a panel where we wrote short origin stories about one of our existing characters. I chose Cathryn Whitmore, and this was a piece of her past. It takes place during Breathless/Restless (King Series Books 2 and 3).}

  “Cathryn, the meeting’s about to begin. We’re waiting for you.”

  I lay one finger on the page I was reading—or more accurately, trying to read—and turned my head a little. “I’m finishing my plant physiology reading. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Cathryn.”

  I knew that tone in my mother’s voice. It meant that her patience was at an end, which meant I was finished with homework for now. I swallowed a sigh and closed the book. “Fine. I’ll do it later. I’d never want to mess up anyone’s schedule.”