by Kristie Cook
I mentally kicked myself in the ass for the thousandth time for not considering this possibility before. If we had known, Leni and Brock would still be here right now. Or, at the very least, Asia and I would be with them. Of course, if I had listened to Leni sooner, we wouldn’t be in this position either. But since Asia and I hadn’t been close enough to them, the Gate had blocked us out. I’d charged at it, but the light had become a solid wall stronger than steel between us. And then it simply disappeared, taking Leni, Brock, and Bex with it.
I’d been watching for its return ever since. Waiting for it to spit Brock and Leni back out, like it had done before. Asia remained glued to this spot, as well.
“It feels like they’re waiting on something,” Asia whispered from her place by my side, where she sat in nearly the same position as I did.
I didn’t dare tear my eyes from their focus point, but I didn’t have to look at her to know who she meant. Hundreds of the Dark souls of the Lakari floated in lazy circles overhead, more like a circling cloud of mist than individual souls, as though they’d gathered for something. As soon as Leni, Brock, and Bex disappeared and the Gate did, too, the Shadowmen had all returned to their spirit forms and their domain in the sky, unseen to the rest of the world.
Several Guardians projected, trying to drive them out, but they returned as soon as the Light of the Phoenix souls had moved far enough away. They didn’t attack, though. They waited. Like us.
Asia sighed. “What’s taking so damn long?”
“I wish I knew,” I muttered.
Other Guardian souls had projected and gone to the normal site of the Gate to try to open it for Leni and Brock to return. That was hours ago, and we hadn’t seen or heard from them since. Without our Twin Flames, Asia and I couldn’t project. This fact, combined with the pain of our missing halves weighing us down, made us pretty fucking useless.
I blew out a frustrated breath at the same time the ground trembled underneath my ass. Asia sprang to her feet.
“What was that?” she asked.
Another, more violent rumble had me jumping up, too. The water that had been so calm before wrinkled with waves. A third shake nearly knocked us off our feet, and the waves grew higher, forcing us to hop backward to avoid getting wet. The Lakari overhead became suddenly excited, swooping and screeching like crows.
“They’ve opened the Gate,” I said. I didn’t know this for sure, but that was my guess, and as if in confirmation, the island out in the water lit up. My heart took off in a gallop.
“They’re coming back to us!” Asia squealed with the same hope swelling my chest.
But the light on the water blacked out. Even from here we could see the movement. More Lakari souls were rising from the water like a fountain of Darkness.
“Oh, shit,” Asia murmured, her hope deflated.
“No kidding,” I said, bracing myself for the fight.
The outpouring of Lakari from the Gate stopped almost as quickly as it had started. The chaos above us heightened, but then settled, and then the Darkness over us thinned.
Asia looked at me with those big, dark eyes of hers threatening to spill tears. “What happened? I don’t feel Brock.”
I shook my head. The pain in my chest resurged. “I don’t feel Leni, either.”
A few minutes later, a voice called from behind us. “Jeric, Asia.”
We both turned around. Kel came running out of the manor toward us. He and Mat had been at the Gate, I’d thought. Kel stopped in front of us, and his face twisted. “I’m sorry, man.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He shook his head. “We tried to open the Gate, but the Lakari poured through it. Masses of them. We had to shut it down. For good.”
“What?” Asia shrieked.
Kel threw his hands in the air. “We didn’t have a choice. It’s like they were waiting for us to open it.” He put a hand on each of our shoulders. “Don’t worry, though. There are six other Gates on this planet. They’ll get back.”
Mat came running up behind him, with Melinda and Uri on his tail. They frowned when they looked at us.
“I’m afraid you’re wrong,” Melinda said, her voice thick. “All of the Gates had opened at the same time. Phoenix around the world were trying to help Leni and Brock. But the Lakari swarmed them all. They—” She paused, as if she couldn’t finish.
“They had to seal the Gates,” Uri finished for her. “Every single one.”
Asia and I glared at him.
“What do you mean?” Asia asked, her words slow and heavy.
“No soul enters or leaves Earth,” Melinda answered, “except in physical death.”
Asia and Mat both gasped.
“For how long?” I demanded.
Uri looked at his feet before bringing his gaze up to mine. “Forever, maybe. We don’t know right now.”
I shook my head. “No. We have to get Leni and Brock out of there … wherever they are. We have to get them back.”
“I’m sorry,” Uri whispered. “We don’t have a choice.”
“NO!” Asia screamed, tears spilling down her cheeks. She threw herself at me, the only one who could understand her pain, and I caught her in my arms. “We’re trapped, Jeric. They’re trapped. We’re here, and they’re stuck in the Beyond, and there’s nothing we can do!”
She sobbed the tears that wouldn’t come for me. Only a deep, lasting despair came, filling my heart and weighing my soul down like a lead stone.
Because not being able to rejoin with our Twin Flames meant all four of us would go Dark and not in another lifetime or two. This way that we’d been Separated—by the Gate itself—we’d go quickly. In the present. It was only a matter of time and not a lot of it.
As this reality set in, I couldn’t bring myself to care, at the moment, about Brock and Asia, or about myself. Only one thought hung in my mind, and its five-ton weight crushed my soul:
The Light that was my Leni would be snuffed out forever.
* * * * *
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A Note from Kristie
Although The Space Beyond is a paranormal story, it deals with real-life demons that unfortunately affect us all, either directly or on a societal level. The facts are real. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States—more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year. 1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
The situations depicted in this book are fictitious, but were inspired by memories of scenes I witnessed as a child and stories I’ve heard from close friends and family members who are survivors. My heart aches for the people who go through similar experiences every day, and I pray that they find a way out.
If you or a loved one needs help to escape an abusive relationship, please don’t wait another day. There are so many resources available to you. Please contact one of the numbers below to start to heal. And if you are fortunate enough to be able to help, I pray that you’ll find it in your heart to support these organizations. A $5 donation can ensure the phone is answered that could save a life.
Domestic Violence Help
USA
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
UK
National Domestic Violence Freephone Helpline
0808-2000-247
Australia
1800Respect
1-800-737-732
Worldwide Directory of Domestic Viol
ence Agencies
Another real-life demon haunting the pages of this book is drug and alcohol abuse, which has permeated today’s society. Sadly, everybody can tell their own personal story of how alcohol and drugs have torn lives and families apart. If you or someone you love needs help, please reach out for it. You can’t do it alone, and you don’t have to.
Drug and Alcohol Abuse Help
Worldwide Treatment Directory
About the Author
Kristie Cook is a lifelong, award-winning writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy fiction. She continues to write the Soul Savers Series, a New Adult paranormal romance / contemporary fantasy, with Promise, Purpose, Devotion, Power, and the latest release, Wrath, book five, available now. She’s also written a companion novella, Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella, which details the compelling history of her Soul Savers mythology. Over 300,000 Soul Savers books have been sold, with Promise peaking at #54 on the Amazon Top 100 Paid list and at #1 in the Amazon Fantasy category.
Kristie’s second series, The Book of Phoenix, is a New Adult paranormal trilogy. The Space Between and The Space Beyond are currently available, and The Space Within will be available Summer 2014.
Besides writing, Kristie enjoys reading, cooking, traveling and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her husband, three sons, a beagle, and a puggle.
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Want More by Kristie Cook?
— Soul Savers Series —
www.SoulSaversSeries.com
Promise
Purpose
Devotion
Power
Wrath
Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella
— The Book of Phoenix Series —
www.TheBookofPhoenix.com
The Space Between
When Darkness threatens, what matters most lies in The Space Within
Completing a mission that reunites Guardian Twin Flames turns devastating when the Book of Phoenix throws Leni and Brock into a Dark world, leaving Jeric and Asia behind. They count on their other halves to rescue them, but when that doesn’t happen, they must fight through the Darkness and find a Gate that will take them home.
Except all of Earth’s Gates are sealed.
Enyxa, ruler of Darkness, and her horde of Dark souls storm the Gates to push their way through to Earth. While Leni and Brock fight Enyxa on their side, Jeric and Asia must figure out how to save their Twin Flames without jeopardizing all of Earth’s souls. Through it all—and with a little help from Enyxa—Brock and Asia begin questioning their relationship and whether they’re truly meant to be together…or if they’re two Lost souls forced to become one.
If the Broken dyads don’t find each other fast, they’ll be lost to the Dark forever. But to reunite means choosing themselves over all of Earth’s souls. Can Jeric make that decision? And will Brock and Asia find the love they both desperately crave? Or are they all doomed to perpetual Darkness?
Discover how it all ends in The Space Within, the explosive conclusion to The Book of Phoenix trilogy.
Coming July 2014
