“Tears of the past, steel of the present, made to rend the future and bring back the one I love.” The words burned on my tongue, burned, and the blade in my hand heated. Oka leapt to my shoulder, and clung to me as a low rumble hissed out of her. I stood unable to let go of the sword’s handle. A part of me wanted to; to let go and run from this hard thing that had been asked of me. But I didn’t, I was not a coward even though I trembled where I stood.
“Slice through the air as you call the name of the one you love. This will open the Veil to him. It must be a true love, Pamela. Or it will not work,” Raven said softly. I stared at him.
“Did you know all along it wasn’t Frank?”
He nodded. “Yes. I knew the name you would call on. I banked everything on it.”
I thought about Frank, about the way he’d kissed me. “I’m so sorry, Frank.”
I held the sword above my head and brought it down as fast as I could as I called the only name I could have ever uttered in all honesty. He was my best friend, and the loss I felt in my heart and soul. He was the laughter in my life that was gone without understanding, without being able to say goodbye.
“ALEX!”
CHAPTER 23
THIS WAS IT. The spell I’d been waiting to complete was done. Alex’s name echoed across the flat desolate badlands around us as the blade doused with tears of a ghost whipped through the air and slammed into the ground. The tip stuck hard in a piece of rock, quivered, and I let go of it. In front of us, the air shimmered and danced. It trembled as though a rock had been dropped into a pond and this was the surface of the water sending ripples outward.
Right before my eyes, the Veil peeled back piece by piece, layer by layer, each one turning like pages in a book being opened until it stopped at the sixth level, where the heroes of the world resided and stood guard against the demons in the seventh level behind them.
I stared at the faces I knew, the faces I’d trusted and loved. Erik, Jack, Deanna, Blaz . . . Frank. His face I stared at the hardest. He was not in pain, he smiled at me and gave a wave.
I looked at Raven. “He is not in pain.”
He shook his head. “No, I had to make sure you would go through with it.”
My heart twisted with the stab of manipulation he’d pulled on me. Raven had shown me my worst fear, that someone I loved was in pain. And I’d fallen for it.
“For the cause, Pamela, I would even bring you to hate me,” he said.
I turned my back on him, unable to look at him a second longer. Those who’d died in the quest to see Orion and his demons pushed back stood a distance away. Close and yet far. Like a camera moving in tightly and then pulling out wide. I’d see a face in fine detail, and then nothing but blurred bits that were many, many bodies.
On the tighter angles, they just stared back at me, mouths hanging open. Except for Faris, who winked at me. When he spoke, I was able to focus on him.
“Little witch, I see you are causing trouble again.”
I shook my head, unable to see past the tears. Where was he? “Alex?”
Their faces softened with grief, and it was a woman I didn’t know except from the one photograph I’d seen of her. Giselle stepped forward. “Child, he is the lynchpin. He is holding the demons back.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and the air quivered. “You mean he is trapped in the seventh level?”
Giselle shook her head. “No, he is between the two. He is the barrier between them. No harm is being done to him. He is not in pain.”
But that would mean he was all alone. Alex, the outgoing gregarious soul that he was, had been confined to his own hell.
My jaw dropped open. Raven put a hand to my lower back, steadying me. “This is why you must call him again, Pamela. We need him to be free of the Veil.”
Those who’d been my friends took a step toward us, but they could not pass. Faris was the one to speak, though.
“Why would you unleash the demons on the world again? Pamela, do not do this. For Rylee, do not do this.”
Raven stood his ground. “Not the demons, they will stay where they are. That is the beauty of this spell. They will remain, his sacrifice will hold them back. But the lynchpin is holding more than the demons. He is holding the Veil itself together.”
I swallowed hard, knowing what was coming before Raven even said it. “And if we are going to survive what is coming, we need the Veil to be shattered, the ties that hold it together weakened beyond repair.”
The uproar was immediate and I knew without looking that they stared at me, that their eyes begged me that this would not be true. I stared past them at the dark writhing mass that stood between us and the final level. The barrier that held the demons back and that Alex was trapped within.
I stared at it and I thought maybe I could see him staring back, a flicker of golden eyes. I looked past those who were my friends and I trusted Raven, though it scared me to do so.
“Alex.”
So softly that maybe only Raven heard me, but the Veil quivered, and from the darkness, Alex emerged, one foot, then the other, then his upper body and his face. Dark brown hair, golden eyes, a smile like the sunshine peering out from behind the clouds. My heart lurched.
“Alex. Come home.”
He looked around him and it was then I realized the others had stepped back. They had stepped back because there was something else coming out of the Veil.
Not a demon.
A monster.
The thing moved on four legs, but it had three forked tails that shot above its back, waving around. That was where the eyes were. In the tails. One eye per tail. I held my ground and Raven breathed out a single word.
“Shit.”
“Shit? You say that now?” I couldn’t help the disbelief.
“Guardian of the Veil. It’s coming to stop us.” He glanced at me. “No matter what, you hold your position here, keep close to the sword. You are what is holding this open.”
He backed away and my heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could have heard it. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to draw it away.” He whipped his cloak around and his body shimmered in the shadows. Night had fallen in the time it had taken to crack open the Veil.
And that was when the worst thing that could have happened, happened.
There was the sound of an engine, and shouting . . . then Rylee was there. Striding toward me.
No, no, no. Not this, anything but this. I put my hands on the sword and grounded myself to the earth. I went to one knee and bowed my head. “Oka, I . . . I need you to keep them from me if they try to take me from here.”
She stretched upward and pressed her nose against mine. “Thank you, Pamela, for believing in me.”
This was for the world, to save more souls than we lost. I had to remind myself of that as the monster raced out of the Veil past me, so close I could smell the death on it. It took after Raven, he put his hands on the monster and they were gone as if they’d never been.
Leaving me to face my family alone.
They would never understand this.
“Pamela, Giselle said you would come here and try to free the demons but I told her she was wrong.” Rylee’s voice. The pain in it. “Pamela, tell me she is wrong.”
I kept my back to her, my shoulders hunched. “She is wrong. I’m not freeing the demons.”
“She is breaking the Veil, far worse,” Giselle said from her side of the Veil.
Rylee tried to draw closer to come up beside me, but Oka let out a low hiss. “No closer.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Rylee hold up her hands. Saw the twist of hurt on her face, pain I was causing her. I stared into the Veil at Alex. “I can bring him home, Rylee. I can bring him back. Would you want me not to try?”
I knew I was manipulating her emotions, but I had nothing left in me. Perhaps I was my father’s daughter after all.
Her eyes looked past me and landed on Alex. “What is the cost?”
I shook my head. “A th
ing that must be done.”
“That elemental put you up to this, didn’t he?” The heat in her words was like a burn on my skin. I shook my head.
“I did it of my own choice,” I whispered the words. “For my family.”
“Pamela! This is going to break the Veil, you can’t possibly believe—”
“I do believe it!” I stood and faced her with my hands on the sword still. “You had your calling to save the world, and I have mine. And I know you will hate me. I know you will think I’ve done the wrong thing, but I would cast my soul into hell to save all of you. I would let you hate me forever thinking I was evil to save you.” The words poured out with the tears. “Do you not realize that you are my world? That all of you are the reason I am as strong as I am?”
Rylee stared at me, her mouth partially open. “Pamela.”
I knew they were going to try to stop me when I saw the blur of black fur coming from the side. Rylee had distracted me.
Liam would take me down and the Veil would close.
Oka leapt forward, a screech on her lips, her tiny body nothing to Liam’s mass.
Time slowed. I stared at her, knowing he would kill her, that he wouldn’t understand how important she was to me. Knowing that she was my other half. I pushed all the energy I had to her, to give her speed and strength the way she’d done for me in the Pit.
Oka’s screech turned into a roar as she shifted from one second to the next, her body sliding into a size that matched Liam inch for inch. My heart swelled with pride. She was special, she just hadn’t believed in herself until now.
The two huge beasts collided, and went down in a snarling tangle of claws and teeth. This was it. “Alex, if you’re going to come, now would be the time!” I yelled for him as my world tore apart at the seams for him.
Now was the time. Either he came or I would have to let the Veil close. It was his choice and I realized in that moment it had always been his choice.
Alex was still the lynchpin.
Raven had banked on Alex’s love for me that he would come home, that he would defy the Veil and set our world on fire.
For love.
For me.
I held to the sword and stared into the Veil, locked eyes with him.
“Come home.”
CHAPTER 24
ALEX
I STARED AT THE scene in front of me. Heroes of the realm, the Veil split open, Pamela, Rylee and Liam waiting on me. Okay, not exactly waiting, but I’ll call it that for now.
But I didn’t think it would be as easy as just walking out of the Veil. No . . . this was going to have ramifications.
“You can’t go.” Giselle put a hand on my arm, stopping me as I stepped forward. “You are holding the Veil together and if you go . . .”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” I glanced at her, but my eyes were drawn back to the scene in the realm of the living. It was as if something had slowed things down. Rylee and Pamela were still exactly as I’d seen them only a moment before. Faces frozen, bodies unmoving. Liam and the large cat that could have been a tiger if there had been black stripes, were locked in combat. Liam had his mouth on the tiger’s throat. But his teeth hadn’t sunk through yet.
Giselle sighed. “There was much wrong with the Veil when the demons came through. Did you not wonder why they could break through in the first place? Why any of them could get out? The Veil itself is weakening, the levels are beginning to blend and if you go . . . you must go through all the levels to escape.”
“And why is that bad?” The pull on me was sudden and hard to deny, the draw to Pamela as she called my name. Giselle kept her hand on me.
“Because with each step you take, the Veil will grow weaker yet. Dragging yourself through is the surest step to bring it to its breaking point because you are not supposed to leave. It is worse than calling a demon through the levels of the Veil.”
I didn’t doubt her, but there was something else. I could see it in Pamela’s eyes. We were so far apart and yet I felt as if I stood right in front of her. Fear, determination, and sorrow so heavy, I knew she wouldn’t have done this, wouldn’t have called me home unless she had to. This wasn’t just Pamela reaching out for me. Her words echoed in my ears. Come home.
This was Pamela doing what she believed was right.
I swallowed hard and nodded at Giselle as I brushed her hand off my arm. “I don’t understand why I’ve been called back, and maybe you are right and it will break the Veil. But maybe too that has to happen. I trust Pamela.”
Giselle sucked in a sharp breath.
I stepped away from her and toward the place I’d left willingly to save those I loved.
Now, it was time to go home.
No matter the cost.
Click on the cover to meet
Larkspur and explore her world in
RECURVE (The Elemental Series, Book 1).
NEWSLETTER
For a list of all of Shannon’s other novels along with purchase links, see the NEXT page in this book.
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ALSO BY SHANNON MAYER
THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS
Priceless (Book 1)
Immune (Book 2)
Raising Innocence (Book 3)
Shadowed Threads (Book 4)
Blind Salvage (Book 5)
Tracker (Book 6)
Veiled Threat (Book 7)
Wounded (Book 8)
Rising Darkness (Book 9)
Blood of the Lost (Book 10)
Alex (A Short Story)
Tracking Magic (A Novella 0.25)
Elementally Priceless (A Novella 0.5)
Guardian (A Novella 6.5)
Stitched (A Novella 8.5)
THE RYLEE ADAMSON EPILOGUES
RYLEE (Book 1)
LIAM (Book 2)
PAMELA (Book 3)
THE ELEMENTAL SERIES
Recurve (Book 1)
Breakwater (Book 2)
Firestorm (Book 3)
Windburn (Book 4)
Rootbound (Book 5)
Ash (Book 6)
Spirit Sown (Book 7)
THE VENOM TRILOGY
Venom & Vanilla (Book 1)
Fangs & Fennel (Book 2)
Hisses & Honey (Book 3)
THE BLOOD BORNE SERIES
Recombinant (Book 1)
Replica (Book 2)
THE NEVERMORE TRILOGY
Sundered (Book 1)
Bound (Book 2)
Dauntless (Book 3)
A CELTIC LEGACY
A Celtic Legacy Trilogy
Dark Waters (Book 1)
Dark Isle (Book 2)
Dark Fae (Book 3)
THE RISK SERIES (WRITTEN AS S.J. MAYER)
High Risk Love (The Risk Series, Book 1)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES (WRITTEN AS S.J. MAYER)
Of The Heart
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks for reading “PAMELA (The Rylee Adamson Epilogues, Book 2)”. I truly hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Rylee and the gang’s lives after the Final Battle. I heard you when you asked for more Rylee, and the characters ended up having more to say as well. If you loved this book, one of the best things you can do is leave a review for it. Most of my books are available across all platforms, so feel free to spread the word.
Again, thank you for coming on this ride with me, I hope we’ll take many more together. The rest of The Nevermore Trilogy, along with most of my other novels, are available in both ebook and paperback format on all major retailers. You will find purchase links on my website at www.shannonmayer.com.
Enjoy!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shannon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that
last is difficult for her.
She is the USA Today Bestselling author of the The Rylee Adamson Novels, The Elemental Series, The Venom Trilogy and many other paranormal romance, urban fantasy, dystopian, mystery and suspense novels. Please visit her website for more information on her novels.
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PAMELA (The Rylee Adamson Epilogues, Book 3)
Copyright © Shannon Mayer 2016
Copyright © HiJinks Ink Publishing, Ltd. 2016
All rights reserved
Published by HiJinks Ink LTD.
www.shannonmayer.com
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise)without the prior written permission of both the owner of the copyright and the above publishers. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Original illustrations by Damonza.com
Mayer, Shannon
Pamela (The Rylee Adamson Epilogues, Book 3) Page 17
