Chausiku
The
Blood of the Clans
Book
Three
Pamela
E. Cash
Genre:
Science Fiction, Teens and Young Adults
Date
of Publication: January 10, 2015
ISBN:
978-0-9886164-4-8
ASIN:
B00S39GIFQ
Number
of pages: 273
Word
Count: 67,000
Cover
Artist: Christine
Cartwright
Book
Description:
The
Amaru clan has attacked the Qiao clan. The Sakombi clan has a traitor
in its midst and John is torn between his mother's clan and his
father's clan.
Is
it all about Chausiku or is there a new threat? One that she may not
see coming.
Available
at
Excerpt:
Chassie
punched in the code on the keypad lock, pushed the gate open and
walked through it. John closed the gate then turned around and
smacked into her. She had abruptly halted.
“What’s
wrong?” he said leaning forward so that he could whisper into her
ear. His body intuitively tensed for an attack and he engaged his
abilities to fight.
“Someone
is watching us,” she whispered automatically engaging her own
powers. “I can feel it.”
He
turned around, opened the gate and ran out to the sidewalk with her
close on his heels. “Where is he?” he said peering up and down
the street. He didn’t see anyone in the darkness.
“There!”
she exclaimed pointing to the trees on her right.
Suddenly
a man walked from behind a tree and stared directly at them. The
shadow from the tree continued to obscure his body so that they
couldn’t see his face.
Chassie
gasped putting her hand to her throat. She was startled by his
sudden appearance even though she had instinctively known that
someone was watching her. Her feet froze in place for a second and
the man took off running down the street.
“Hey!”
John shouted running after the man. “Stop! Come back here!”
The
man already had a good head start and as he approached the end of the
block, he turned his head to look at them over his shoulder then
disappeared around the corner. John was a half block behind the man
but was gaining ground. He had just reached the corner and turned
when he suddenly felt nauseous.
“Ugh!”
he said doubling over and clutching at his stomach. He slowed to a
jog then stopped and put his hands on his knees. The nausea became
so intense that he could no longer stand so he sank to his knees and
put his hands on the ground for balance.
“John,
what is it? What’s wrong?” shouted Chassie catching up to him
and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her eyes darted down the
street and she could see that the man was quickly fading from sight
but she didn’t care. She tried to help John stand but he couldn’t
move.
“I
feel so sick,” he said. “Ugh! I think I have to throw up.”
He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly hoping that it would help the
nausea subside. He hung his head down and beads of sweat trickled
down his forehead. Chassie dropped to her knees beside him, reached
into her purse and pulled out a tissue.
“You’re
burning up!” she said wiping his forehead. “I don’t understand
how you got so sick so fast. We need to get you to the house so that
you can lie down.”
“No,
wait,” he said tilting his head to the side to look at her and
taking a few more deep breaths. “I think the nausea is going
away.”
“Do
you think that you can stand?”
He
nodded and planted one foot on the ground and paused a moment. She
reached out her hand to help him up but his eyes met hers as one
corner of his mouth turned up into a sheepish smile. He was slightly
embarrassed that he had become so weak. He stood straight up without
her help and took the tissue out of her other hand. He wiped the
back of his neck and said, “Yeah, I’m fine now...that was
strange.”
Her
eyes narrowed as she looked at him skeptically. She put the palm of
her hand on his forehead.
“That
was very strange,” she said. “Your head feels cool again too.”
He
grabbed her wrist to remove her hand from his head and said, “Come
on, let see if we can still catch that guy.”
“Wait,
John,” she said as he took a couple of steps down the street
dragging her behind him. He turned around looking frustrated.
“Chaz,
he’s getting away.”
“He’s
already gone, let it go…we’ll never catch up to him.” She
raised her eyebrows as a thought suddenly occurred to her.
“Although…you’re a Gale. Why didn’t you engage that
ability?”
His
eyes widened in surprise. It hadn’t occurred to him either. He
had completely forgotten his other ability. “I—I don’t know…I
guess I haven’t mastered controlling two abilities yet.” He
frowned and dropped her wrist. Then he crouched down low in a
runner’s stance, concentrated and said, “Stay here. I’m going
to see if I can find him.”
She
grabbed his arm before he took off. “Let it go, John. You don’t
know where to start looking.”
He
hesitated, not quite ready to give up the chase. The he stood up and
peered down the street in the direction the man had run. He saw
nothing but houses and trees.
“Yeah,
I guess you’re right,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “He’s
long gone by now. Did you get a good look at the guy? Did you
recognize him?”
“I
didn’t recognize him but I did get a good look at him. He was
tall...had black hair that came down to his shoulders...” She
paused unable to describe the man further.
“Is
that all you can remember?” he said sarcastically. “That’s not
much help.”
“You
know I’m not great at giving detailed descriptions,” she snapped
putting her hands on her hips and frowning. She didn’t appreciate
his attitude! “But I would know his face if I saw it again.”
“I’m
sorry,” he said sliding his arm around her shoulders. “I’m
just pissed that the guy got away.”
Her
face softened at his touch. She knew that he didn’t mean for her
to take it personally.
“I know,” she
said with a small smile, slipping her arm around his waist. “Don’t
worry...I’ll know when he comes back. I’ll feel him.”
She
gave him a hug then turned away and headed back to her house. “Come
on, let’s go inside. I need to tell my grandmother about this.”
He didn’t immediately follow her. He was still contemplating going
after the man. She looked over her shoulder at him as she walked and
continued, “Do you need help walking? I can float you into the
house using my telekinesis–”
“No!
Really…I’m fine now,” he said shaking his head sharply. He
still didn’t like her moving him around like a rag doll. He jogged
a few steps to catch up with her and said, “Let’s go.”
When
they reached the gate, Chassie entered the code again then John
pushed it open and held it for her to walk through. As she passed
him, he tilted his head to look around her shoulder and took one more
futile glance down the street...even though he knew that the man
would be nowhere in sight.
“John...”
said Chassie without turning to look at him.
He
shrugged and followed her to the house.
About
the Author:
Pamela
E. Cash lives in Chicago with her family. Her daughter inspired her
to write the Chausiku Series.
Thank you for hosting Chausiku: The Blood of the Clans.
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