by Drew Avera
My heart leapt, almost out of my throat as visions flooded my mind. The Raven had a way of forcing his victims to succumb to the rapture of his blood lust. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the visions were internal. The outside world was lost to me as he drained me. I could see the murders and other atrocities that I had committed in his name pour into my mind. My screams were silenced as he muffled my mouth with dead fingers closed around my lips.
It was only for a brief moment and then the deed was done, I was a part of him again, wholly, completely. I felt his presence stronger now, even though he walked farther away, the clacking of his boots falling upon the iced streets of St. Paul. He moved with a devious gait and almost whistled a tune as he wiped the blood from his lips. I could see this happening, not because I was watching him, but because it was what he wanted me to see, it was how he wanted to control me, to get inside my head.
Fear was an afterthought as I struggled to regain my consciousness so that I could move out of the cold, but the last image that he willed into my mind was a brief one. It had nothing to do with my blood that now sustained him, it had everything, though, to do with the control with which he forced upon his court, his minions.
I saw through my closed eyes and opened mind a photograph caught between pale fingers. The image was elevated to his face and stained lips were lowered to the girl in the photograph, kissing the image and leaving my blood to mar the surface.
Every bit of my body willed to move and to stop him, but I could not control my muscles yet. Instead I watched in gross horror as he hummed happily and placed my daughter's picture in his pocket, patting it with a light hand once it disappeared into the darkness of the cloth. I wanted to scream, but I was unable to do so. I wanted to kill him, but I was powerless.
"Tabitha," I uttered involuntarily and I could see him smirk in my mind.
"Thank you. Now I know my betrayer's name, much like Christ knew His own betrayer," he said in my mind. A sneer curled his lips and a guttural growl escaped his breath. I knew that I had provided that information against my will, but I was horrified by the implications that would befall Angelica because of my failure, again.
The Twin Cities Series is a collaborative set of novellas written by a number of different authors including Drew Avera, J.B. Cameron, Kedrick Rue, & Theresa Snyder.
The people of Minnesota believe the twin cities to be Minneapolis and St. Paul, but what they don't realize is the name actually refers to a parallel dimension known as The Realms, where creatures of myth roam freely.
Humans stand only a dimensional barrier away from the most terrifying and horrible monsters imaginable, but there are select few who answer the cries for help, who guard the world of mankind and keep it safe from harm.
The Realms can be a place of great danger, as well as great beauty, where love and loss can be sudden and significant, but make no mistake...in this world, humanity is just another word for powerless.
If you enjoyed this book then I hope that you will leave an honest review. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work!
Want more? Then check out the rest of the series:
Mr. Grimm by Drew Avera
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Grimm-Cities-Drew-Avera-ebook/dp/B00HWI0990
Injustice by Drew Avera
http://www.amazon.com/Injustice-Twin-Cities-Drew-Avera-ebook/dp/B00LPFRZTI
The Raven by Drew Avera
http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Twin-Cities-Drew-Avera-ebook/dp/B00I214OAQ
Shifting in The Realms by Theresa Snyder
http://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Realms-Twin-Cities-Book-ebook/dp/B00I5AST5U
Shifting Agony and Ecstasy by Theresa Snyder
http://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Agony-Ecstasy-Twin-Cities-ebook/dp/B00NTNN4J4
Magpie and Jynx by JB Cameron
http://www.amazon.com/Magpie-Jynx-Twin-Cities-Cameron-ebook/dp/B00K4FCU6S
The Sirens are Singing by Kedrick Rue
http://www.amazon.com/Sirens-Are-Singing-Twin-Cities-ebook/dp/B00PZQROB2
Don't miss The Twin Cities Series blog! Here
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More by Drew Avera
http://www.amazon.com/author/drewavera
