by Allie Burton
The steps creaked.
I stopped. Anxiety sizzled causing the hairs on my body to stand on end. The steps always creaked when someone was coming up the stairs.
Maybe the kidnappers had gotten impatient and they’d come to search for the trumpet themselves. Maybe they’d already killed my grandfather. Maybe they were going to kill me.
Each maybe led to a more terrifying scenario. My body trembled and my muscles tightened with the decision of fight or flight.
The stairs creaked again.
Whoever was there was taking the stairs one step at a time. Sneaking in. They knew I was here and didn’t want to be discovered.
Too late.
I sped into my grandfather’s room, reached for the phone, and lifted it to my ear.
Buzzzzzzzzz.
Not a dial tone. I jammed the disconnect button several times. The same sound. The phone wasn’t working or was disconnected.
Horror screeched through me. The internal screaming reached a pitch no opera diva could hit. My organs shriveled and I fought against complete and total panic.
I took stock of the room. The windows were too high to jump from. The bed had drawers fashioned underneath with no place to hide below.
The top step squeaked in its own special way. The intruder was in the upstairs hallway.
Raving fear shredded my lungs. I found it hard to breathe. I couldn’t stand in the middle of the room like a sacrificial pheasant.
With shaky legs, I dashed inside the closet with the guitar. My only weapon of defense. I closed the door most of the way and peered between the crack. A shadow emerged against the wall. Tall, male, determined.
The figure moved to the center of the room. Close to six feet and around one hundred and sixty pounds. Full lips positioned above a strong, pointy jaw with a dimple in the middle. The jaw was a perfect foil for the prominent cheekbones. Messy dark hair, long on the top and sticking out at odd angles as if he’d run his fingers through it. Broad shoulders in a tight black T-shirt. Trim waist. Tight jeans molding to strong thighs.
The specific inventory was only so I could describe him better to the police.
His sharp emerald gaze scanned Grandfather’s room. Perused the closet door.
My muscles tensed ready to attack if needed. I held my breath. Didn’t move. From this angle, he couldn’t see me. Could the intruder sense I was here?
Raising the guitar in slow speed, my arms shook. The weight of fear pushed down with tripled gravity.
The intruder stalked toward the closet.
Pure terror stoked a fire inside me.
His strong hand grabbed the door handle. Pulled.
The door swung open, exposing me.
My internal fire exploded into action. Without thought, I swung the guitar down on top of the intruder.
Thwack.
The acoustic guitar cracked over his head. The base bonged and the strings strummed. A symphony gone wild. The neck broke in two and the strings sprang free. Sadness plucked. I’d destroyed the beautiful instrument.
Quit mourning the guitar and move!
Soul Slam
Soul Warriors Book 1
by Allie Burton
A sixteen-year-old on her first heist to steal an ancient Egyptian amulet inadvertently receives the soul of King Tut…and the deadly curse that comes with it.
And Olivia is not alone at the museum.
A member of a secret society, Xander believes it is his place to inherit King Tut’s soul and justly rule. He knows nothing about the society’s evil plan to control the world or the curse. Now, he must deal with the female imposter who stole the amulet.
Xander convinces Olivia they must form a temporary partnership. The two teens develop a connection, and together they must figure out how to end the curse before it turns deadly. On the run, unable to touch because of the curse, and managing the male soul inside her female body, Olivia must learn to trust Xander.
As the mystery surrounding the amulet unfolds, Olivia and Xander start to fall for each other. But is love enough to save them and the world from destruction?
Excerpt:
Crawling ninja-style out of the sarcophagus, my black gym shoes hit the ground without a sound. But inside, a screech built up in my lungs and released on a heavy exhale, the scream so loud it sounded like an alarm. “Aiyeeeeee!”
Xander and the old man froze.
I lunged at the case, swooped in, and grabbed the amulet.
A jolt rocked my body. Pain rocketed up my spine, but I held tight to the prize. Clutching the piece in both hands, I hit the concrete floor like a football player making a catch, and kept rolling.
“A girl.” Xander’s surprised voice rose on a high note. “What the…Tut.”
“Grab her!” The old man spoke in English.
“Touch her?” Xander sounded horrified like I was the slime of the world. “I can’t.”
“She’s got the amulet.”
I tried to get to my feet, but the pulsing inside threw me off balance. I crashed back onto the floor. Pain seared my fingers and heat rushed my veins.
My body jerked. My head spun.
Something slammed into me from the inside, like it was in my body trying to get out. Back and forth I jerked. A powerful energy thumped from my ribcage to my stomach and back again.
I trembled from head to foot. My vision blurred. Images swam before my eyes—a blue river, golden statues, Egyptian pyramids, deceit, and death.
“What’s going on?” The sound coming out of my mouth warbled. “Am I dying?”
This felt worse than the time I had pneumonia with no medicine, or the time I broke my arm and Fitch duct taped it…
Fogginess seeped into my consciousness. If I blacked-out they’d steal the amulet, leave me to be caught, to go to prison, to face Fitch’s wrath.
Whatever was inside me ignited like a nuclear bomb. My skin could no longer contain my insides. I’d explode into tiny pieces and scatter across the museum floor.
“It’s happening… To. Her.” Jeb’s voice was faint as if coming from a distance, but I saw his shoes through squinted eyelids.
“But it’s my right. My inheritance.” Xander stomped his sandaled foot near my head. “My destiny.”
“It’s too late.” Jeb’s voice curled like a sneer with extra hatred. “The transfer has occurred. This stupid girl is now in possession of King Tutankhamun’s soul.”
Atlantis Riptide
Lost Daughters of Atlantis Book 1
by Allie Burton
Sixteen-year-old Pearl Poseidon ran away from the circus tired of her adoptive parents’ abuse of her special skills. As a runaway, she craves anonymity but when she saves a small boy from drowning she draws attention to herself and her special abilities. Boardwalk employee and aspiring investigative reporter, Chase Thomas, helps her with the rescue and witnesses her amazing dive.
Now, he has questions. And so do the police.
Unbeknownst to Pearl, a battle rages under the Pacific between Loyal and Non-Loyal Atlantean forces and each side wants to use her powers for their cause. Will the commotion in the ocean expose her secrets to the world? Will Chase’s reporter-determination ruin their chance for a real relationship? Will staying near the ocean she loves catapult into a battle royal?
Excerpt:
The sea otter twirled around behind me. His cold snout bumped me on the back.
“Are you trying to tell me something?” The question sounded so stupid leaving my tongue. I’m mean, come on, talking to an animal?
He swam back in front and nodded his head up and down. Yes.
I reeled back and caught my breath. I was talking to a sea otter.
The otter ducked under and swam around me in a circle. Then, he lay on his back and used his paw in a “come here” motion.
I ducked under and swam in a circle around him. He circled again, and so did I. We were swimming in a constant figure-eight pattern under the water.
Unbelievable. I was play
ing with a sea otter. My spirits soared. My smile widened. Like being a five-year-old at a playground, I’d made my first real friend.
Not that the otter was a human friend, but it counted. Didn’t it?
Following for a bit, I stopped when I realized he headed to shore. “I don’t want to go back yet.” I wasn’t ready to leave the comfort of the water and return to my lonely tent.
The sea otter shook his head fast in an agitated motion. Even his furry face appeared upset.
“Can’t we play longer?” I remembered reading about sea otters and how they played. Slipping and sliding and diving. Turning and twisting underwater, kind of like I’d done earlier.
He did the “follow me” motion again. Then his eyes grew wide and his whiskers twitched.
I twisted around, but saw nothing. The fog had rolled closer to shore, but the stars and the moon still gave off a little light. A small motor boat sounded in the distance.
I faced him again. “What’s wrong?”
The sea otter was gone. My furry friend had left me.
Alone, again.
An ache tore through my chest and I sniffed. “That’s okay. I’m used to being by myself.”
The water around me swirled. Waves gathered in a big circle, expanding out in further and further concentric loops. The pattern repeated with more strength and velocity. Like a toilet being flushed, the water pooled into a vortex.
My body caught in the current. I couldn’t move out of the circle, surrounded by a ring of water. My tummy churned with the motion. My gaze glazed over watching the water go round and round like a hypnotist’s trick.
A strange sensation sucked at my toes. The feeling continued up my legs to my hips. I kicked and clawed but the water tugged like a ginormous vacuum at the bottom of the ocean.
Panic spurted through me, exploding in my flaying arms and legs. I kicked. I stroked. I screamed. Nothing helped. My super strength wasn’t helping at all. I couldn’t fight this weird force.
I knew about the dangers of swimming alone. Knew about dangerous ocean currents. Knew the rules.
But they didn’t apply to me. I was different.
And so was this force that had me in its grip.
My heart began a pointless race against disaster. None of my other limbs could move. I couldn’t get free.
As I went down, I remembered dreams of being dragged under the ocean. The people in my dreams looked normal, nice. Not a faceless, evil suction. Terror froze every one of my muscles. I couldn’t struggle, couldn’t swim, couldn’t even think.
Could this be a deadly riptide, or something even more ominous? Irony struck. How could I drown when I could breathe underwater?
Other Books by
Allie Burton
Soul Warriors Series
Soul Slam
Tut’s Trumpet
Peace Piper
Cleo’s Curse (Coming 2015)
Lost Daughters of Atlantis Series
Atlantis Riptide
Atlantis Red Tide
Atlantis Rising Tide
Atlantis Tide Breaker
Atlantis Dark Tides
Atlantis Twisting Tides
Atlantis Glacial Tides
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Excerpt from CLEO’S CURSE
A Note from Allie Burton
About the Author
Excerpt from TUT’S TRUMPET
Excerpt from SOUL SLAM
Excerpt from ATLANTIS RIPTIDE
Other Books by Allie Burton
