I shook my head and bit my lip. I should have known right then that Josh wasn’t who he said he was. A Patron had tried to attack him, and that World War II uniform wasn’t some costume. If he’d been alive in World War II—just like Nate was alive in Gomorrah or whatever that was—he wasn’t human.
Josh is a Fallen. I repeated the sentence over and over until my mind could accept it, could grow to hate him.
“Hey, that’s enough moping.” Ria nudged a magazine into my lap. “Seriously, it’s going to be my turn soon.”
I smiled and took Ria’s hand in my own, half hoping I’d be able to see one of her memories, her future.
She smiled cheerfully, but nothing came.
I looked down at the glossy magazine cover and sighed. “Exotic Vacation Destinations. You trying to tell me something?”
She shrugged. “You never know. Maybe there’s a nice stairway to hell in one of those places. We hit the beach, get nice and tan, then we’ll be ready to go down and save our red-headed dork.”
“Your dork,” I corrected and chuckled, scanning the three gorgeous pictures on the cover. A white sand beach with palm trees and coconuts. A lush green forest with a fawn in the foreground. A tan desert with blue skies that made my essence look dim.
My vision blurred, and a rush of adrenaline coursed through my eyes and into the back of my head.
A dark figure stepped forward, the clink of metal on every other step.
He muttered something, and red essence surrounded him and the cold iron scepter he used as a cane.
He bent down and picked up a flat, black stone with gold markings, a familiar smirk turning up the right side of his mouth.
“Eve? Eve!” Ria threw her juice box at me.
I opened my eyes and looked up at her pale, fear-stricken face. I was on the floor.
“Eve, what’s wrong?”
I pushed myself up and stared at her with the vision fixed in my memory. “I saw Josh, and I know where the next artifact is.”
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About G.R. Fillinger
G. R. Fillinger is a high school English teacher by trade, a full-house rehabber by challenge, a smoker (of meats) by deliciousness, and a writer by night. He does not wear a cape.
He lives in Southern California with his wife and son.
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Acknowledgements
First, I have to thank God for allowing me to write this book. Thank you, Jesus!
Many thanks have to go out to my beta-readers (in no particular order): Noah Amaya, Tom Vega, Yumi Fugi, Christy Lozano, Natasha Lozano, Theresa Mendoza, David Moberly, and Faye Femister.
Thanks to my wonderful cover artist, editor, and formatter.
Thank you, Wifey, for always supporting me and pushing me to make this the “best-in-show.”
Copyright
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Text copyright © 2016 by G.R. Fillinger
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without express written permission of the author.
Cover Design by Mae I Designs
Copyediting by Finish the Story
Formatting by Polgarus Studios
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 TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHATPER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
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About G.R. Fillinger
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Iron Inheritance Page 34
