Inception (The Reaping Chronicles, 1)

by Haviland, Teal

  Gabrielle let Javan simmer, and when he was about to open his mouth to say something, she used her power to Hush him. He stood there, shocked. The expression on his face was born from what she was sure was anger at her gall in silencing him.

  “There’s just one more thing I forgot to tell you, and I wanted to let you know before I forget. I always found Lucas incredibly desirable, but now—whoo! He really is amazing. I guess I should thank you for that, too. But even before all that, when he was mostly human, he made me feel things you never did.”

  Gabrielle released the Hush and waited for his response. He stood, motionless, except for the heaving of his chest that spoke of how furious he was. She couldn’t help but smile. She’d gotten to him in a way no one had ever been able to. And what was more delicious, he had created the ammunition. When he finally spoke, few words passed his lips. It was very unlike Javan, but his bitter, dark demeanor was not lost.

  “This isn’t over, Gabrielle.” He was back to growling more than speaking.

  “You’re quite right, Javan. It isn’t. There is a lot to be settled and time needed for karma to take its course.” Gabrielle lost her smile. “I promise you … it will take its course.”

  Javan turned to leave.

  “Javan.”

  He turned, the ferocity of his anger burning in his glare.

  “You don’t know why you can’t use the Book … do you?”

  He clenched his hands into tight fists by his side, the only answer he gave. It was enough to know the truth of her words, though.

  Gabrielle smiled. “I do.”

  Javan’s scowl deepened, and then he was gone.

  He may have the Book, but at least she knew he didn’t know why he couldn’t use it. He had at least two obstacles in his way—Lucas, and not knowing about the date—and that would buy Gabrielle more time. Until that date came, she would do everything she could to get the Book back in safe hands.

  And away from anyone who would use it … especially Javan and Lucas.

  She was going to be busy in the coming months.

  ‘Gabrielle.’

  The voice in her mind was now familiar. Lucas was calling to her.

  She made her way to him, seeing Nonie and Nate climbing the steps of their home as she neared. Lucas was alone. She manifested across the room from him. Since he had changed, she learned that he didn’t appreciate being startled. He was still hyper-defensive and wasn’t used to his enhanced reflexes or the instincts that drove them. It was best if she stayed far enough away that he wouldn’t fling her across the room if she surprised him. He didn’t do it intentionally, and he didn’t hurt her. She tried to reassure him she was okay the couple of times it happened, but he fell all over himself apologizing anyway. But now that she knew he was so jumpy, she chose to keep the incidents from repeating.

  “Hi.”

  He had her in his arms so quickly, his lips parting her own, that he knocked the breath out of her. Or maybe it was the rush of emotions she felt after the long absence of his affection.

  She didn’t care.

  All she cared about was the way he was kissing her, the way it made her feel as the heat from each other’s bodies reacted the moment they touched, sending a fire through her she’d never felt before.

  She couldn’t believe how strong he was as he picked her up as if she weighed no more than a baby and carried her back to his room—making her feel she was his for the taking. She had no desire to resist him.

  He placed her purposefully on the bed. He was no longer acting like an unsure teenager. He was confident, intent about every place he touched her with his hands and lips. His hands made her skin tingle, and even when they left one area of her body and traveled to the next spot, that sensation lingered for several moments before lifting away from her.

  The feeling of their bodies as they moved together, when he pressed his rhythmically against hers, was sensational. She’d didn’t know anything between a man and woman could feel so sensual. A raw hunger awakened within her. She wanted him—wanted to make him physically hers—and at that moment, it was all she could think about. Maybe it was only because she wasn’t worried about hurting him by accident with her own strength, or maybe it was knowing he wasn’t quite as innocent—as human—as he was prior to him changing, but she didn’t want him to stop. Her body warmed, making her think she was going to throw everything away just so she could feel him in the most complete way possible. He was making her body feel so wanting that it would be hard for her to resist him if he moved things in the direction she wanted. She would have let things go further, much further, but he reduced the intensity of his kisses, changing them to gentle wisps across her neck and face, then stopped all together to look in her eyes.

  “I love you, Gabby.”

  She smiled at once. He called her Gabby. He hadn’t since he’d awoken, and it was a word of endearment that she missed every time he spoke her full name.

  He looked at her longer, and she didn’t say a thing. She just let the words linger in the air between them, losing herself in the slow swirl of blue and violet in his eyes.

  “I know, now, what you told me was true. Nate told me about you coming to find me at the gym, not long after Javan tricked me into going with him. And I already asked Amaziah about some things he knew that happened that evening. He told me you were trying everything you could to figure out where Javan had taken me. It fits with what Nate said—I’m sorry, love.” He looked at her, then kissed her lips gently, stopping again to whisper in her ear. “Will you please forgive me?”

  She put her hands on his face and moved him to look in her eyes again. She answered with a long kiss of her own before answering with words.

  “I love you, too, Lucas. Never doubt that again.”

  They lay there for a long time, mostly with their eyes closed, holding each other like they never had before—like it was the last time they ever would again. When Gabrielle finally broke their embrace to stand, she turned to see a slightly puzzled look on Lucas’s face.

  “What is it, Gabby?” he asked.

  She didn’t want to tell Lucas she’d just seen Javan, but she was already keeping so much information from Lucas.

  “I just spoke with Javan.”

  Lucas remained seated for a moment, expressionless, but his eyes became a darker shade than Gabrielle had seen. It unnerved her. Lucas walked to the window of his room, looking out into the day that was slipping into night as he spoke.

  “What happened?”

  “Just a conversation. I can’t do anything to him unless he attacks me or someone else in my presence.” Gabrielle moved behind Lucas and wrapped her arms around him. “He didn’t know you survived. He does now.”

  Lucas was quiet, but Gabrielle could feel the negative energy coming off him. She hugged him tighter, wishing it would make his anger stop surging. Lucas seemed to sense that she was trying to calm him, and he pulled her around to face him.

  “I’m okay, love.”

  His words weren’t convincing, not when she saw Darkness was still in his eyes. Lucas smiled, an attempt at further reassurance.

  “I can’t say that things will be so easy for Javan when I finally have him in front of me since I’m not bound by your rules, but I am okay.”

  He leaned in to kiss her, pulling back slightly after he did to look in her eyes. Gabrielle was pleased to see the shade of his eyes returning to what was their new normal. She kissed him again, then let him just hold her, feeling his energy lighten as anger slipped further away.

  Gabrielle allowed a happier mood to settle on her in spite of not knowing what the future held for Lucas, for her, or for any who made Heaven or Earth their home. He pulled her closer, kissing her head, and she let herself melt into him.

  This wouldn’t be such a bad way to be toget
her as long as I can keep him from Darkness.

  “Is there anything else you need to tell me, love? I’ve felt like there has been since before Halloween.”

  She flinched inside. There was a lot she still needed to tell him, things that could steal him from her and make him her mortal enemy. She held him tighter, not wanting to look him in the eye.

  “No. There’s nothing I need to tell you.”

  She had to lie. Though the bite would be felt deeply once it was discovered. She was torn between two worlds, now. Her divine one that she had been fighting for over thousands of years, and this new one that belonged to her and Lucas that she would also fight for—caught between a mortal and immortal world. It seemed she was being pushed toward a decision, betraying one if she protected the other. She had to do her best to protect them both for as long as she could.

  While Gabrielle and Lucas lost themselves in their thoughts, in their love, there was movement outside.

  In the shadows of dusk, a flock of crows descended and quietly perched on the low branches of the tree by Lucas’s window. They all turned toward the soft glow of light spilling from Lucas’s room onto the darkening lawn. The only thing they seemed interested in was the silhouette of a young man and woman in an embrace.

  There were nine total, but just as the sun’s last rays disappeared below the horizon, snuffing the light and sending the day into murky night, another crow joined the voyeuristic flock.

  Bringing their numbers to ten.

  Acknowledgements

  So much time and effort goes into writing a book, and without the love, support, and help from the following people, it would not have been such a fulfilling and wonderful experience. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. You are my heroes.

  My deepest thanks go to my mom, Dixie Schoolman, for always believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. You have been there though it all and loved and supported me no matter what. You are my rock as well as my guiding light. Thank you to my daughter, Piper Haviland, for making me want to follow my own dreams so you could learn through my example to follow your own. To Frank Haviland for doing everything you could to support me through this process, I appreciate it … all of it. And to all my family and friends who have supported my little adventure … you all rock. Oodles of thanks to you.

  To my first readers who had to schlep through a very rough first draft, to my latter beta readers who still suffered through my unedited manuscript, thank you, thank you, thank you. The feedback you all offered was so incredibly helpful. I would especially like to thank Mekisha Elias, Wendy Felber, Karen Hollis, Beth Lehman, and Bethany Cotton for their early insight and suggestions, and for making me believe that The Reaping Chronicles was worthy of completing.

  To two my two priceless editors, Crystal Bryant and Wendy Felber, you ladies exceeded my expectations and have helped tame the beast that was the unedited version of Inception. I couldn’t have done this without you, and I have enormous gratitude for all you have done for me.

  To KP Simmon of InkSlinger PR, I am so very pleased to have you on my side. Thank you for believing in my book and taking on this author who is a nobody.

  My amazing cover designer, Damon of Damonza.com, and my formatter/interior designer, Benjamin of Damonza’s Awesome Book Layout, thank you for making my vision for my cover and interior become a reality. You both rocked it! And, of course, without the contributions of photographer Cathleen Tarawhiti, model Emerald Reid, and artist Dana Mubarak M, I would not have the original image that captured the feel of The Reaping Chronicles ~ Inception so well. Thank you, ladies!

  A special thanks to all of my friends who are writers, bloggers, the Nashville Writer’s Meetup Group, and for the admins for book promotion pages on that big ol’ social networking site, thank you so, so much for all you have done to cheer me on and for the guidance I have received from many. In particular, I would like to thank Brittany Carrigan, Paul Brown, M.R. Polish, Jamie Anderson, Janet Wallace, Willow Cross, Carol Kohnert Kunz, Alan Lewis, Amy Sun, Erin Fitzpatrick, Bella Belikov Colella, Jessie Peacock, KB Miller, Madison Daniel, and my-oh-my so many others that this list could go on for a very long time. Please know if I didn’t include your name here, it is no reflection on my gratitude.

  And, last but not least, to the One who gave me my desire and talent to write and fills my imagination with stories, I am forever grateful and humbled for all you have done, and will continue to do, for me. I hope what I do with your gift makes you smile.

  Author Note

  I did not create the counting rhyme about crows. As of the publication date of this book, I have still been unable to find out who the original author is. It appears to be a very old nursery rhyme by an unknown author and there are various versions to be found. This one is the version I felt fit the purpose of my book best.

  Abouth The Author

  Teal Haviland lives in Tennessee with her daughter and her four-legged friends. She enjoys photography, travel, reading, music, cooking, daydreaming, writing (of course), and above all spending time with her family and friends.

  Teal grew up with a love for anything fantastical or outrageous. After years of dreaming of worlds where fairies, angels, demons, and shape shifters (to name a few) exist, she finally decided to begin writing her stories down. Inception, book one in her series The Reaping Chronicles, is her first published novel.

  Visit and talk to Teal online at: www.tealhaviland.com, or find her on Facebook www.facebook.com/thereapingchronicles

  www.facebook.com/authortealhaviland and

  Twitter www.twitter.com/tealhaviland

  For further information about any of the wonderful people who helped in putting together The Reaping Chronicles ~ Inception, please use the following links:

  ~ For Cathleen Tarawhiti:

  http://cathleentarawhiti.deviantart.com/

  ~ For Dana Mubarak M:

  http://pure-poison89.deviantart.com/

  ~ For Damon and Benjamin Carrancho:

  http://damonza.com/