Discovery
Page 4
Despite her resolve to be courageous, Nola backed up a step.
Cameron held his hands up in surrender. “Sure, sure.”
“Show her the black one,” Adam glanced up, a wicked grin on his face. “That one is at least good for something.”
Derek ducked into the fireplace and came out with a wooden box. He placed it on the table and revealed the contents to be vials, mostly the gray, but some black and others a bright red. He nodded once at Adam, who exited the cabin and returned with one of the beautiful pink lilies that floated on the pond behind the cabin, the same pond Nola had been gazing at just hours earlier.
Adam set the flower on the floor and the others all stepped back. Nola did the same, eyes darting back and forth between the others. This isn’t going to be good, she thought with dread.
Smirking, Derek stepped forward with a vial of a black substance that immediately made Nola cringe back farther from it. He tilted it so that one drop fell on the flower’s yellow center. In a matter of seconds, the flower disintegrated into nothing.
Nola gaped as the others looked for her reaction. “What purpose could this one have?” she choked out.
“Weapons,” Derek answered as if it were obvious. He capped the vial and replaced it in the box. “Population control. Clearing trees for development. We could clear this whole wood with the contents of this vial.”
All Nola could do was stare at him in horror. She thought of the human race and nature, all things living and breathing. And of her precious woods.
They could destroy all of it.
“You said you wanted to strengthen the human race.” Nola hated how her voice trembled.
“The ones who deserve it.” Adam gave her a smile that made her want to step back. Derek nodded in agreement.
“We might be able to test it on a cadaver soon,” Cameron perked up. “Derek thinks he can sneak one out of the medical lab.”
Nola stared at him incredulously. How did I ever think I was in love with this guy? How did I ever get myself involved in this?
It suddenly felt as if she was on the outside looking in. She thought again of the faerie and the life beyond the door of the cabin. The image of it disintegrating to nothing disturbed her beyond imagining, yet it excited them. This is beyond madness. They must be stopped.
“The black one is our most impressive mixture.” Nola jumped as Derek turned to her. The look in his eye was a warning.
Right, she thought, nodding stiffly to him. You have a weapon that will probably kill me instantly. Play along, Nola.
But she had to ask, “Where do the others come from?”
“Various mixtures of the gray power and other chemicals,” he answered vaguely.
So the gray is the key. Nola filed away that knowledge for later.
“The red one might be ready soon.” Derek turned back to the group. They began to plan for the next meeting, though they were careful not to divulge what exactly was in the substances.
They have to make this hard for me. Nola swallowed as she realized she may have to get closer to the group, gain their trust before they would let her in on the bigger secrets.
Nola merely listened for the remainder of the meeting, steadily processing everything. They didn’t pay much attention to her.
Let them think I’m a useless coward, she thought. I’m something different now, something other. And I’m going to use that against them somehow. I’ll watch and listen and I’ll find a way to stop their destruction. I have to. This is so much worse than I thought. And so much bigger than my personalproblems.
Unsurprisingly, Derek hung back after the meeting as the others left and blocked her path as she tried to exit the cabin.
“I know you are hiding something, brat,” he said in a low voice. “There is no way you are entirely unaffected by the gray power. You are lucky I have other things occupying my mind right now. But I will find out eventually.”
Nola gave him the best glare she could muster. “Go ahead. There is nothing to find.”
He barked out a laugh before he put up his hood and walked away.
Seething, Nola rushed out of the cabin. The fresh air welcomed her as she emerged into a place of life. A place definitely worth protecting. A place that felt more like home than her house ever did.
The lilies glowing on the surface of the pond and the reflection of the stars and moon above created a breathtaking display of light.
If only the psychos in cloaks could see this beauty of life. But it’s just me.
Suddenly, the faerie dove out of a tree across the pond, wings catching the light of the moon and stars as she dipped low to skim one hand in the water before disappearing into the night.
Or maybe it’s not just me.
From the Author
Thank you so much for reading Discovery.
This book is only available through this e-mail list, so if you have any thoughts to share on it, please do so by e-mailing authorallisonrose@gmail.com with the subject heading ‘Discovery.’
I would love to hear from you. The opinions of readers really mean the world to me.
Happy reading,
Allison Rose
About the Author
Driven by a lifelong passion for words and reading fantasy novels, Allison Rose writes YA fantasy stories featuring faeries, magic, and strong heroines. She has a BA in psychology and is fascinated by how other people think, but her love for reading and writing is greater. When Allison isn’t writing, she is proofreading the works of others. Allison lives with her fiancé, collie mix, bunny, and chinchilla in the place of wild weather also known as Buffalo, New York.
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Also by Allison Rose
Curious about the faerie Nola hasn’t had the courage to speak to yet? Read Kelty’s story, Outcast.
Then, the story continues in The Nameless, where the worlds of faeries and humans collide.
Outcast
Kelty now lives as an outcast faerie in the human world. But before she was cast out, an encounter with a deceiving faerie resulted in a devastating trick—one that changed Kelty’s life forever in this enthralling untold story.
Grab your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RLDWMKF
The Nameless
Outcasts of Faerie have lived unseen and secluded from humans. Until now.
When a strange dark magic threatens the human world, sixteen-year-old Nola seeks the help of Kelty, an outcast faerie she discovered with her rare magic sight, to help her stop it.
Reluctant and wary, Kelty must choose between turning her back on the helpless humans or sacrificing her chance to return to Faerie, which is only possible if she remains untainted by human contact.
The outcast responsible for Kelty’s banishment is playing his own dangerous game. He might be the answer to defeating the dark magic. He also might destroy them both.
Will the truth be discovered before the dark magic is unleashed upon the human world?
For fans of dark YA fantasy, complicated romance, and breathtaking magic, The Nameless is a tale unlike any other.
Grab your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LC4D1HY