The Dark Creations series, as well as the Arianna Rose series, Planet Urth seris and Hunter of the Light series, are works that were written while Jennifer and Christopher continued about with their daily activities and raised their young children. They changed diapers, potty trained and went to story time at the local library between chapter outlines and served as room parents while fleshing out each section. Life simply continued. And in some ways, their everyday lives were reflected in the characters of each series.
As the story line continues to evolve, so too does the Martucci collaboration. Lunches are still packed, noses are still wiped and time remains a rare and precious commodity in their household, but it is the sound of happy chaos that is the true background music of their writing. They hope that all enjoy reading their work as much as they enjoyed writing it.
Books by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci:
The Dark Creations Series (A YA paranormal romance series)
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 1)
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 2)
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 1&2)
Dark Creations: Resurrection (Part 3)
Dark Creations: The Hunted (Part 4)
Dark Creations: Hell on Earth (Part 5)
Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6)
The Arianna Rose Series (A paranormal romance series)
Arianna Rose (Part 1)
Arianna Rose: The Awakening (Part 2)
Arianna Rose: The Gathering (Part 3)
Arianna Rose: The Arrival (Part 4)
Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5)
The Planet Urth Series (A YA science-fiction/dystopian series)
Planet Urth (Book 1)
Planet Urth: The Savage Lands (Book 2)
Planet Urth: The Underground City (Book 3)
Planet Urth: The Rise of Azlyn (Book 4)
Planet Urth: The Fate of Urth (Book 5)
The Hunter of the Light series (A YA paranormal romance series)
Hunter of the Light (Book 1)
Thank You So Much For Reading Our Book!
We deeply appreciate your readership and would love to hear from you!
For information about upcoming releases (or just to say hi!) please visit our website at
http://www.darkcreationssaga.com or at http://on.fb.me/1dlUUF5 To sign up for our mailing list and receive information about upcoming release and special promos, please visit http://eepurl.com/Jp7yz
Thank you again for reading!
Love,
Jennifer and Christopher Martucci
Oh, One Last Thing Before You Go…
When you turn the page, you may be given the opportunity to express your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter automatically. If you enjoyed our book, would you take a second to click that button and let your friends know about it?
If they get something out of the book, they’ll be grateful to you, and we will be, too!
Thank you so much!
Love,
Jenny and Chris
Gabriel Rising
Part Two
By Jennifer and Christopher Martucci
Copyright © 2011 by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci
All rights reserved.
First edition: October 2011
Cover design by Indie Designz http://www.indiedesignz.com
Gabriel Rising Part Two
Published by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci at Smashwords
Copyright © 2011 Jennifer and Christopher Martucci
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
Eugene waited patiently, enveloped in darkness, savoring the moments of pure anticipation while Sasha Titov’s crew members slept unaware of his presence and oblivious of their impending fate. With their bodies still, no doubt dreaming peacefully, the men sleeping in their metal-framed cots had no idea that when they woke, he would kill them, slowly.
He had already assassinated Sasha Titov, the ship’s captain, despite coming dangerously close to liking him. He’d almost enjoyed his company. Almost. His human imperfections had hindered his likability far too greatly. Eugene had no choice but to dispose of him.
Though the exhilaration of Titov’s execution was fresh, the thrill of approaching murder energized Eugene anew, threatened to overtake him. His insides trembled violently. He fought to remain still.
Sitting with impeccable posture on an undersized wooden chair in a dormitory-style living compartment of the ship, he watched as one of its crew members stirred and groggily opened his eyes. The man’s gaze widened gradually, then froze, unblinking, no doubt shocked to see a figure seated before him.
The man did not waste time reacting. Without taking his eyes off Eugene, he immediately reached an arm out to alert his bunkmates.
Slowly, each roused and became aware of the stranger among them.
Eugene turned on the light switch just behind him. Stark, fluorescent light flooded the room and offered the men an unobstructed view of his magnificence. He briefly enjoyed the amazement etched in each face staring at him before he spoke.
“Good morning gentlemen,” he began. The rich bass timbre of his voice filled the small room. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Who are you and why are you in here watching us sleep?” a man asked nervously.
Eugene could smell fear seeping through the man’s pores. He delighted in the pungent aroma.
“Sasha asked me to wake you earlier, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it; you were all sleeping so peacefully.”
Eugene paused before adding, “We are already at sea.”
Confusion arose among the crew, confusion and questions.
“Where is Sasha? Why didn’t he wake us?” another man asked.
Eugene wished to toy with them, draw out his expectancy.
“He was very busy, getting prepared for our journey. I was simply doing him a favor. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.”
“Who are you?” an angry voice demanded.
“Oh, forgive me. I’ve forgotten my manners,” Eugene taunted. “I am Eugene. I’m hitching a ride with you. Thanks to Sasha, I’ll be riding with you to the Aleutians.”
He observed how his words affected each man, how they grew increasingly distrustful and agitated.
“I can see that you are all concerned. Please try to stay calm,” Eugene said extending his powerful arms out at his sides. “Let me get Sasha for you. Seeing him will explain everything, answer all of your questions.”
Eugene stepped out of the sleeping area and into the narrow hallway to retrieve Sasha Titov’s lifeless body he’d propped against the wall. Grabbing the rotund man by the neck, he dragged him to where the crew waited.
“Here he is, gentlemen. I apologize for not having him with me in the first place.”
The corners of Eugene’s mouth pulled away from each other
and produced a sinister smile.
“It would have explained things more clearly,” he concluded as he released Sasha Titov’s neck, allowing his corpse to collapse to the ground unceremoniously.
There was a long pause as shock prevailed and the gravity of the situation failed to register with the crew members.
Eventually, however, four pairs of eyes gaped at him in horror. Eugene enjoyed their collective look of equal parts despair and dread. They understood they were going to die. The experience bordered on intense pleasure, the heightening sensation of excitement leading up to the actual kill, the release. The swell of eagerness was a challenge to contain. But Eugene knew control was crucial, that it bolstered the pure elation of the final act.
Eugene sat back down in the chair he occupied moments ago. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, watching intently as the men scrambled from their cots and moved frantically about the cabin. A tremor racked his body without warning, exhilaration overwhelmed him unexpectedly.
Men clambered to their feet and ran past him. He afforded them such courtesy as it would prove all the more entertaining for him in the long run. Once they reached the deck and realized he had released both rescue boats, the late Sasha Titov’s crew members would be faced with a choice: plunge overboard into the frozen waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean-a certain death-or take their chances with him, and fight.
The option Eugene longed for was clear.
He allowed the men several moments to decide, to either convince one another to unite and strike at him together, or to split up and hide. Either alternative would be entertaining.
Once enough time had passed and he was confident the men had chosen their fate, Eugene slowly rose from the small wooden chair he sat on and stretched before venturing out into the hallway to begin his hunt.
Chapter 2
Gabriel drove from Melissa Martin’s home on Blackstone Drive to his house on the outskirts of town. A sentiment that could only be described as dread pervaded his every thought with each moment that passed. He did not bother returning Dr. Terzini’s calls. The severity of the situation required that they be face to face.
Turning in to his driveway, his stomach clenched and coiled. Worry twisted about within him.
Pulling down the long, gravel pathway, the sprawling Victorian came into sight. The soft glow of light coming from the downstairs windows meant that Dr. Franklin Terzini awaited his arrival.
Parking in one of the three garage ports, Gabriel climbed out of his hunter-green Ford Explorer and entered through a door leading to the laundry room. From the laundry room, a staircase led to a hallway that entered into the formal living room.
As Gabriel climbed the staircase, footsteps were heard overhead. He could hear the rhythmic clacking of heeled men’s dress shoes and the purposefulness with which each stride struck the hardwood floors. His maker was pacing.
Pacing was an uncharacteristic behavior for Dr. Terzini. It suggested agitation, emotion. His maker was an unusually detached man, indifferent to everything. Terzini’s mood was nearly impossible for Gabriel to gauge as it rarely changed. Gabriel did know, however, that sneaking out was an outrageous offense. Disregarding Terzini’s attempts to contact him would not be well received. The pacing meant only one thing: he would see his maker’s anger.
Taking a deep breath to steel himself against what lay beyond the door, Gabriel turned the doorknob.
He immediately saw Dr. Terzini walking across the width of the oversized formal living room. Upon hearing Gabriel enter, he stopped and turned to face him.
To Gabriel’s surprise, his face showed no trace of agitation whatsoever. Instead, it was eerily calm, serene.
“You left tonight despite my instructions, Gabriel,” Terzini offered levelly.
“Yes sir,” Gabriel admitted.
Gabriel noticed how Terzini’s face hardened almost imperceptibly at his admission.
“And why, pray tell, would you do this?” Terzini asked.
Gabriel felt his pulse quicken, though not together with pleasant sensations as it did when Melissa was present. His stomach contracted violently and his palms were slick with perspiration. His mouth went dry.
Gabriel swallowed hard before replying, “I thought it crucial to our mission, sir.”
Terzini paused briefly, his frame of mind indecipherable. Unsure of what to expect from his creator, Gabriel waited.
Then without warning, Terzini laughed, a bitter, cutting laugh.
His odd laughter reverberated not with happiness or humor but with contempt, a stark contrast to his calm exterior.
“Yes, we discussed that,” he affirmed, abruptly ending his outburst. “And I expressly forbade you from going.”
“Sir, but -”
“No Gabriel,” Terzini interrupted. “I will not allow this type of insubordination.”
Terzini’s gaze met Gabriel’s. With tiny eyes as sooty as coal, his intense watchfulness pierced Gabriel as effortlessly as a scalpel passing through flesh.
Gabriel disrupted Terzini’s intimidating stare with more bad news.
“Dr. Terzini, sir. I am here to bring you to the police station,” he began, anxiously awaiting a retort. When none was offered, he continued, “There was a situation at the bonfire. A girl was being attacked and I fought off her assailant. The police were called by the girl’s father.”
Gabriel paused and tried to estimate Dr. Terzini’s response. His maker’s expression remained unreadable. He reluctantly added, “They were told of my skirmish with the attacker. They need me to give a statement. The officers told me I needed a parent with me.”
Dr. Terzini’s face remained impassive, but Gabriel sensed hostility beneath his calm appearance.
“You have compromised our entire objective,” he hissed between clenched teeth.
Terzini approached Gabriel, his demeanor suddenly threatening. Though small in stature, his creator had tremendous presence. He imperiled with brainpower, not brawn. Gabriel instinctively sought to move away from his maker but found his legs leaden, unresponsive to what his mind commanded them to do. Instead, he froze in place.
Dr. Franklin Terzini advanced. He stepped closely and raised a clenched hand high in the air. Gabriel flinched, expecting an assault, as his maker brought his fist down and pounded it against the coffee table between them in an act of controlled aggression.
Unnerved, Gabriel remained fixed in place as Terzini spat, “Why, Gabriel? Why? After everything I have done for you! I created you! Why would you destroy my work, my vision of the future, by intervening in a situation that did not concern you?”
Gabriel stood, his body rigid, as his maker’s words accused, condemned. After all, it was against his code of conduct, a cipher so deeply engrained in his construct that it was woven into the fabric of his existence, to oppose Terzini.
Instead he stood, feet planted as his maker’s attitude transformed again. His demeanor morphed from carefully measured to enraged and back again. He had returned to his unflappable manner and cast his stony stare on Gabriel again.
“You have risked exposing yourself to the world and now you have put me at risk as well. The police will see me. Someone may recognize me.” Terzini said frostily. “This is an infraction I cannot forgive. You have single-handedly upended our objective. It appears as though you need to be destroyed,” he offered as a final matter-of-fact thought.
“Sir, I was doing as you have instructed me to do,” Gabriel countered. “I was trying to behave as any other human would.”
“You were not created to behave as other humans do, Gabriel. You are to follow my orders,” Terzini said emphatically.
“Sir, it has been my understanding that I am to act as other humans do. Human beings are motivated by their feelings, right?”
“Of course they are,” Terzini answered flatly.
“Well sir, the screams of a girl would generate an emotional response,” Gabriel began. “That is the case in most Hollywood films you have ev
er shown me. And in the ones that featured a person – usually a female – in distress, that person was rescued.”
Terzini paused and began to listen intently. Gabriel sensed his maker’s desire to hear a plausible excuse. He knew Terzini to be a vain man therefore Gabriel’s missteps would represent his own. Failure of any kind was unfathomable to the geneticist. Terzini’s narcissism gave Gabriel more time to explain, to persuade.
Planet Urth Boxed Set Page 81
