by J. C. Diem
Kala snuggled against my dad, fitting against him like they were made for each other. “Now that it’s all over, I guess we can sit back and relax,” she said.
“Not exactly,” Mark replied dryly. “We may have defeated Kurt Jorgen and Baal, but there are plenty more enemies out there. We’ll always have missions to perform.”
She grumbled at that pronouncement, but I sensed she was happy that our lives wouldn’t become boring. We were the Shifter Squad and it was our destiny to protect this world.
It seems I made the right choice in making you my champion after all, a voice said inside my head. Reece gave no indication that he could hear it. This is a private conversation meant for your ears only, Fate told me.
You left me clues so I’d know what to do in the end, didn’t you? She was nothing if not a master manipulator.
Yes, she admitted. I prompted Thomas to write his journal. It was up to you whether you read it or not.
I mentally shook my head. Are you saying that the fate of our world hinged on whether I enjoyed reading or not?
She gave a hollow laugh. I left very little to chance. As you are aware, I am adept at arranging things the way I need them to be. I ensured that your teachers would instill an enthusiasm for reading in you. Your innate death magic meant that you would be a friendless outcast throughout your childhood. Books would be your only solace in a lonely existence where you moved to a new location every few months.
Realizing the scope of her manipulation, I was once again amazed at how far reaching she was. You really don’t stop at anything, do you?
Would you, if you were in my place? If it was your burden to safeguard an infinite number of worlds, wouldn’t you do whatever was necessary to keep the denizens safe?
She sent me a picture of a door, behind the door wasn’t just my world, but millions of them. They stretched on for infinity and I closed my mental eyes before my sanity could be torn to shreds. I get it, I said. You can’t afford to worry about a few casualties when you have so many worlds to keep safe. I was just glad that my job was done and that I wouldn’t have to face another showdown like the one we’d had with Kurt Jorgen and his armies. Almost before I’d finished that thought, she snatched that hope away.
You have earned your rest, but your task is not yet over. Remain vigilant and wait for my call. There will come a time when I will have need of you again. There are many versions of this world and soon they will all be in peril. It will be up to you and two other champions to save them all. If you fail to defeat your mutual enemy, all humans on every world in existence will be lost forever.
I shivered when her voice faded and Reece looked at me in concern. “Are you okay?”
Fate had locked our conversation deep inside me where it was hidden from him. I was the only one who knew that the trials that we’d faced were just the beginning. A far greater challenge was looming, but my friends wouldn’t be a part of it this time.
“I’m fine,” I said with a smile and leaned against him.
Natalie Pierce had saved her world and I had just saved mine. Now it was up to the third champion to do her part. If she was successful, then we three would be facing a crisis unlike anything the universe had seen before.
I had no idea who I’d be facing next, but he had to be as evil as he was powerful. I should have been terrified about the possible imminent destruction of all worlds, but I felt strangely calm instead. Doom would soon be coming for us all, but some part of me was already anticipating the battles ahead. I was Fate’s warrior and I would face my destiny, no matter how far away it took me from my home.
Titles by J.C. Diem:
(Mortis Series)
Death Beckons
Death Embraces
Death Deceives
Death Devours
Death Betrays
Death Banishes
Death Returns
Death Conquers
Death Reigns
(Shifter Squad Series)
Seven Psychics
Zombie King
Dark Coven
Rogue Wolf
Corpse Thieves
Snake Charmer
Vampire Matriarch
Web Master
Hell Spawn
Road To Hell, the first book in my new Hellscourge series, is due to be released in May.
If you would like to be advised of any new releases, please visit my website: www.jcdiem.com and sign up to receive my newsletter.
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
Chapter 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
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
