Blood Hunter

by Debra Jess

  An Excerpt From

  A Secret Rose:

  A Thunder City Novella (Book 1)

  Twenty years ago.

  Eight-year-old Daniella Rose reached out and placed her hand on the large mirror over her dresser drawer. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight."

  Nothing happened. Dani hadn't vanished through the looking glass as Alice had done when she wished to visit Wonderland. No matter how hard she wished, she was still stuck in a dreary, dreadful world. Maybe tomorrow the words would work. The words must have worked for somebody or why would people say them?

  Except she'd recited those same words every evening before dinner all winter. Dinner was the time of day when her parents aired their grievances about her — why did you get an A minus on that test, why didn't you braid your hair instead of letting it just hang there, why can't you sit still for more than two minutes — but it would be even worse now that Grandma Carmelita had moved in.

  Grandma Carmelita had some very strange notions about girls. "Old fashioned," Dani had overheard one servant whisper to another.

  Through the vents in the floor, she could hear her father arguing with Grandma Carmelita in the dining room. Something about hospitals, something about Robby. Robby was in the hospital again. Daniella would be going to the hospital tomorrow, too. Robby needed her liver or a piece of it, at least. Her father called it a transplant. Her Grandmother called it butchery.

  "Doctors. Hospitals. You start putting the girl's body parts into the boy, and he will not be the same child. I tell you, this is madness. I have seen it for myself. Luca Fontane brought his child in for the same exact surgery. He came out a completely different child. Do you want your son to become like her? A vain, wicked creature? Always staring into mirrors, admiring herself? If only she were a boy."

  Dani clenched her fists to keep from flying down the stairs and yelling at the old woman. It figured that her grandmother would think she was admiring herself. Heaven forbid she should compliment the granddaughter who'd done nothing but try to please her. She even wore the ugly, out-of-fashion dresses that her grandmother insisted she wear for dinner, for school, for church, for everywhere.

  Dani squelched the tears before they flooded her eyes. Anger was better. Anger gave her power, even if it got her grounded more often than not. The fire in her belly raged hotter than it ever had before. Dani grabbed the flame and pulled it into her heart, keeping it there until it took hold. The fire burned until it hurt.

  So, her Grandmother thought her vain and wicked? Fine. Vain and wicked the old woman would get.

  Dani sat on the bed, her new plan more of a comfort than the bed itself. She could hear the crumple of paper under the mattresses where she'd shoved her most recent failure so she wouldn't have to see it. Stupid English teacher gave her an A minus. The Rose family didn't tolerate A minuses. Robby never got an A minus, but only because everyone felt sorry for him because he was so sick. He also got extra tutoring because he couldn't go to school. He got extra time to finish his assignments. It wasn't fair!

  With a vicious tug, Dani yanked off one of the ugly patent-leather shoes her grandmother made her wear and tossed it at the useless mirror on her dresser. The shoe hit the mirror and knocked it off the wardrobe with a loud crash. Very good, the voice whispered in her ear. Vain and wicked girls throw things. Vain and wicked girls are powerful. But, what would a boy do?

  Dani knew exactly what a boy would do. He would hit whoever was closest. Robby always hit her when no one was around to see. Dani tried to hit back once, but Robby ratted her out and she got her father's belt to her backside. How dare she hit her poor, sick brother?

  The memory of leather on skin clenched her fist. Even to her eyes her hand looked small and useless. And, hitting the wall wouldn't hurt anyone but herself.

  If only she could become a boy. Wouldn't that make her grandmother sorry? Vain, wicked, and a boy. Healthy, too. Her parents would hate her even more and it would be so delicious. Dani stripped off her dress.

  "I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight."

  The gentle click in her brain took her by surprise. Fascinated, Dani watched as her skin stretched to accommodate her desire. It didn't hurt, but the odd sensation of spaghetti swirling in her stomach reminded her of the dinner she wasn't allowed to eat because of the A minus. It took less than a minute, but when when her skin stopped stretching, the swirling sensation also stopped, and Dani smiled.

  Maybe there was something to the prayers her grandmother insisted she recite. God had made her a boy.

  Joy washed through her. For a moment, she forgot about the vain, wicked child she'd sworn she'd become and raced to get redressed, this time in her jumper, which was big enough to cover her now-larger body. Finally, her parents would be satisfied with her. Maybe her grandmother would be happy to spend time with her.

  As her hand touched the door knob, her eyes stopped on her fourth-grade class picture tacked up on her wall. Nikolaos Blackwood stood behind her. She'd cut everyone else out of the picture except herself and Nik. His hand rested on her shoulder, and Dani remembered the joy of knowing he was right behind her, his eyes the color of Mystic Bay, his smile as bright as the sun reflecting water. Everyone liked Nik, the boy who could disappear into the walls and travel underground without even trying. Everyone called him "Ghost" because his voice sounded like a ghost when he talked from the walls. He was an Alt and all the girls loved him, including Dani.

  Dani looked down at her body again. Would Nik like her if she were a boy? She knew some boys liked other boys the way that girls liked boys, but she didn't think Nik did. He was a year older because she had skipped a grade. He knew more about boys liking girls than she did.

  The lump in her throat choked her. What did she want more? Her grandmother's approval? Her family's love? Or Nik?

  She looked at the picture as more shouting rose from the vent. Reality sucked her hopes for a peaceful family down into the dusty vent. All her parents wanted from her were her body parts to give to Robby. Nik might love her if she tried hard enough, though. If she stayed a girl.

  Dani turned away from the door and took off her jumper, hanging it back in the closet so she wouldn't get into trouble again. With the jumper no longer restricting her movements, Dani prayed again. "Please make me a girl."

  The changed happened even faster this time. Dani put on her pajamas, the vain, wicked girl subdued for the moment. The argument downstairs still raged. Dani crawled into bed. She closed her eyes and imagined Nik. Would he think that not telling anyone about the boy side of her was lying? Nik never lied.

  Nik doesn't have to lie, the vain, wicked girl whispered. His parents love him. He can disappear. He can travel fast. You're just Robby's little sister. Becoming a boy won't change that.

  For Nik, she'd remain a girl.

  Would you like to read the rest?

  Look for A Secret Rose at these major retailers.

  You will find direct links here:

  http://debrajess.com/thunder-city-links-page/

  Other Books By Debra Jess

  Other stories in the Thunder City Series

  are now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes

  Blood Surfer (A Thunder City Novel, Book 1)

  A Secret Rose (A Thunder City Novella, Book 1)

  Valley of the Blind (A Thunder City Short Story)

  Slow Burn (A Thunder City Short Story)

  Still Life (A Thunder City Short Story)

  OTHER STORIES BY DEBRA JESS

  Blood & Armor featured in Fragments of Darkness (Anthology).

  Available in print only and only available through Amazon.

  About the Author

  A Connecticut Yankee transplanted to Central Florida, Debra Jess writes science fiction, romance, urban fantasy, and superheroes. She began writing in 2006, combining her love of fairy tales and Star Wars to craft original stories of ordinary people in extraordinary adventures and fanta
stical creatures in out-of-this world escapades. Her first published novel, Blood Surfer, has won the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award for Best Paranormal and Futuristic. Her follow-up novella, A Secret Rose, has won the Maggie Award & Golden Leaf Award for Best Novella.

  Debra is a graduate of Viable Paradise and is a member of Codex. She’s also a member of the Romance Writers of America and RWA’s Fantasy, Futuristic, & Paranormal chapter and the First Coast Romance Writers.

  Acknowledgments

  If writing a novel is hard, writing the the sequel is twice as difficult. This book wouldn't exist if not for the support of my family, friends, and colleagues. To not name them here would be a disservice for all of the time, energy, and advice they poured into this project as if it were their own.

  * * *

  First, Madeline Martin, who made those pre-dawn writing sprints bearable, and for making sure all appendages were present and accounted for during the love scene. Next, Abigail Sharpe, for correcting those pesky grammar problems. Dawn Bonanno, for holding me accountable every week. Jan Jackson, for reading everything that I write and for safely driving me to all of those FCRW meetings. I only wish I could have attended more often.

  * * *

  I also have to thank my editor, Debra Doyle, for keeping up with my writing escapades and making sure my characters don't wander too far off track. Tina Condon for proofreading.

  * * *

  There are so many others, including Pat Esden for reading drafts and raising my spirits, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley, for blurbing and for exchanging airplane tales with me.

  * * *

  Once again, I must thank Cliff Weikal of Cliff's Books (https://www.cliffsbooks.net/) for stocking autographed copies of all of my books at his bookstore.

  * * *

  This book was a wild ride from beginning to end. Thank you to everyone for standing by me.

  Copyright © 2018 by Debra Jess

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Debra Jess, Corp.

  ISBN: 978-0-9966656-7-4

  In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at P.O. Box 9241, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-9241. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously, or are entirely fictional.

  Cover Design by Deranged Doctor Design

  Formatting by The Killion Group, Inc.

  First Edition: September 4, 2018.