Piercing
the Darkness
Shadow
Born Series
Book
2.5
Angela
Dennis
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Date
of Publication: April 7, 2015
ISBN:
978-1-61922-626-5
ASIN:
B00TLIGBB4
Number
of pages: 86
Word
Count: 27,000
Cover
Artist: Kanaxa
Book
Description:
Love
knows no bounds.
Cursed
by the dark mage who killed her, Hilda Janssen has wandered the
Earthly plane as a ghost for fifty years, finally finding her place
as an IRT hunter, policing supernatural misfits trapped on Earth
after a brutal war.
When
a demon attacks, putting her team in mortal danger, Hilda sacrifices
herself to save her friends. She’s already died once; what
difference will doing it again make? But instead of meeting a final
death, Hilda is cast into the Void, a magical prison from which there
is no escape.
Her
only hope is Cade Kerrigan, the lover she left behind after her first
death. Their bond and his magic are the only things strong enough to
pull her through the Veil. But Cade has no idea his soulmate came
back as a ghost, and he isn’t too happy to have been left in the
dark.
They
must put aside the baggage of the past to save Hilda from a fate
worse than death.
Warning:
Contains star-crossed lovers destined for a second chance, a
whirlwind of powerful magic, and a love so strong it defies even
death.
Excerpt:
Everything
hurt, even her teeth. Hilda eased to her hands and knees, spitting
dirt from her mouth. She had no idea how much time had passed, and
she didn’t really care. All she wanted to know was where the hell
she was.
She
tried to stand, but pain brought her back to her knees on the damp
ground. Rubbing at her burning eyes, she shook her head. Her vision
was blurry at best, and all she could see for miles was dirt and
darkness. The air was thick with humidity and stank of wood smoke,
burning her lungs each time she inhaled.
Wait.
She was breathing. Ghosts didn’t breathe. And they didn’t hurt.
Her
legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground. She ran her fingers
through the soggy earth at her side, realizing she could feel it.
Fighting back her growing alarm, she brushed her fingertips across
her face. She could feel that too, and it felt solid.
Holy
shit, she still had a body. She had no idea how that was possible,
but she was going with it. This time when she stood, she was prepared
for the instant pain and weakness, so she managed to stay on her
feet. She spun around, searching for something, anything, other than
the endless darkness.
She
definitely was not still on the Earthly plane. This place felt
different. The air was gritty, felt dirty against her skin. And
something about it seemed…wrong.
As
her eyes adjusted, she realized there were globe-like fixtures
scattered beneath the ground. They shimmered with pale blue light
that barely penetrated the dense atmosphere.
But
it was bright enough she could make out the outline of a hillside in
the distance. Maybe if she climbed to the top she could get a better
look around.
She
wrapped her arms around her chest to try and get warm, realizing she
was naked.
How
she had missed that was anyone’s guess, but it was irrelevant. It
wasn’t as if she could pull a pair of pants and a sweater out of
thin air. She’d figure it out later, once she got her bearings.
Bare
feet dancing across the rough, pebbled landscape, she kept her eyes
focused on the hill in front of her, confident her salvation lay on
the other side. The farther she walked, the more confused she became.
This plane didn’t fit the description of any plane she’d heard
of, and the education Brenna had given her had been fairly extensive.
There was a tingle of doubt in the back of her mind, a part of her
that was convinced she was finally completely dead and this was her
afterlife. But she refused to believe that.
So
she moved forward, step by painful step, against the wind’s
resistance, through the thick layers of fog, until she was only a few
yards from the hillside. Now that she was close, she realized the
hill was made of a series of jagged stones, jutting out at various
dangerous looking angles. It would take a miracle for her to reach
the top, but she was known for beating the odds. She’d never know
if she didn’t try.
Her
hand was clutching the first notch in the rock when she heard it. A
mix between a growl and a hiss echoed through the night. It was so
loud, she unconsciously released the rock, pressing both palms over
her ears to block it out. The ground shook with the force of whatever
was coming and the wind stopped abruptly as if it too was running
away.
About
the Author:
Angela
Dennis lives outside Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, son and a
sheltie with a hero complex. When she is not at her computer crafting
stories, she can be found feeding her coffee addiction, playing
peek-a-boo, or teaching her son about the great adventures found only
in books.
She
loves to hear from her readers, so don’t forget to find her on
Twitter to chat.
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