What's going on with Renegades (Wicked Grove Book II)?
I know you guys are wondering when is Renegades going to release since I ended up cancelling the preorder. Lots of things happened at the end of this year, 2017, that tossed me into a terrible place and I got severely behind on all writing projects. Luckily, I've snapped out of the glum, though with any death in the family, it hits me out of nowhere now and then. Depression is a real thing and the despair can cause a real roadblock on the road to creativity.
But, on a brighter note, I'm back at it and working like made to gain the momentum back. I thought you all would love to have a snippet of the book to keep you primed for what's next. I seriously can't wait to get this out for you all. I am aiming for February, but there's no promises. Sorry! As life goes, nothing is guaranteed but surprises are always interesting.
Without further ado, here's the entire first chapter of
Renegades (Wicked Grove Series Book II)
This is an unedited version of this chapter. All rights reserved.
Chapter
One
Amy
“You’re kidding,
right?” I got to my feet as four of the leaders of the Leagues of Unusual and Supernatural
Creatures entered the brownstone I owned with my two brothers, Craig and Jay.
This was our sanctuary and my brothers had invited these magicals into our
space. Furious wasn’t the word to cover it, nor was I surprised enough to
overcome what I was feeling.
Shocked. Stunned.
Nauseous. Yeah, those fit a bit better.
“Relax. They know the
rules. We meet on neutral ground. No magic allowed whatsoever and,” Craig eyed
my weapons, lifting an eyebrow as he conveyed to me it was time to stashed them
away. “No weaponry.”
“I don’t like the sound
of this,” I mumbled as I sheathed my swords, rolled up my oiling kit and
proceeded to stuff them into the broom closet. “This isn’t neutral ground, it’s
our sanctuary. This is pushing it.” Clicking the door shut I turned and almost
ran into Francesca, the leader of the vampire mafia. She gave me a sordid smile
before handing me her coat.
“I find your home quite
quaint.” Her fangs gleamed for a moment while she let her coat drop unceremoniously
into my arms without even asking if I was doing a coat check. Groaning, I
tossed her coat into the closet without hanging it. There was no way was I
going to caddy for the supernatural leagues. The way they thought humans were
beneath them was appalling and I wasn’t going to cater to them whatsoever. Not
one bit. If Craig or Jay had a problem with it, they could speak to me
directly.
Jay followed the group
in and turned towards us, heading our way with a determination I didn’t want to
know about. So far, this week had been the worst of my life. What was more bad
news to add to the pile, right?
I pressed my lips into
a taut line. Here it comes.
“The other leagues
couldn’t make it. Scheduling conflicts and some are still making up their
minds.” Jay announced.
Craig frowned. “Any of
them closer to swinging our way in this conflict?”
Jay nodded, leaning
close as the other four leaders settled into our living room. “Yes. Jessica
Hyland of the Dhampirs and Isaac of the animal magi are supporters but couldn’t
make it to this meeting. I told them I’d update them later.”
Craig lifted an
eyebrow. “Jessica? How’d you get her to join in when her mother Francesca is
here?”
Jay threw him a pointed
look. “Do I need to spell out why she didn’t attend? It’s on rotating basis.
Next meeting, Francesca won’t be here, and Jessica will. The meeting after
that, Francesca’s son, Fedir, will attend.”
Craig nodded as he
glanced toward the group sitting rigid in the living room.
“Well, this looks like
a nice family reunion, so to speak,” I sighed. None of the present leaders were
close friends of mine. If they wanted my support, they should’ve asked for a
list of my own supernatural friends. “Can I make a suggestion?”
Craig tossed me a
warning crossing his face. “Okay, but please think hard before you add them to
the mix. It’s a delicate balance and I don’t want to mess it up before the
first meeting begins.”
“Of course not. I was
merely going to suggest that Marcella, the leader of the Unkai underground join
us. She is a good friend and mentor to me, you know. She’d be a great buffer
for this…. posse.” I stared at four of
the leaders of the supernatural world. They were major players, yes, but we
needed to consider including the minority groups too.
“Okay. Call her and she
can join in whenever she arrives. We have to start now though.”
“Gotcha.” I pulled out
my cellphone and dialed Marcella’s number by heart. I never kept any numbers in
my phone, it was all in my head. Good thing my last encounter with a mind
erasing faery clan who wanted to take over the world had left no long-term
effects.
It’d left a crack in my
heart, though. I inhaled sharply, closing my eyes as I leaned on the wall of
the kitchen of our modest home. It’d hit me hard to lose Atieran, the faery
king’s brother who turned out to be a fake mirrored-soul duplicate of the king
himself. I didn’t dare show it; my brothers would call me out on letting myself
get too close to someone I was pitted against. It’d been all my fault and I had
the scars to prove it.
And there was more than
just scars that showed off what remained after Atieran’s death. He’d done
something to me; not just to my heart, its fascia cracked and torn, but he’d
awoken something inside I’d never know existed.
“How
would I even know if I have faery blood?”
“You
wouldn’t unless you activated it.”
“How
would I do that?” His eyes gleamed in the flashing strobes overhead. The red
emergency lights barely illuminated the hall.
“With
just one kiss,” he whispered,
I shivered, brushing
the thought away as I slid down into one of the dining room chairs Craig had
scraped across the wooden floor into the living room. Lost in thought, I felt a
cool pair of eyes on me and peered up to find Francesca watching me, her lips
slightly upturned while lifting her now full wine glass to salute me. Craig had
been busying himself keeping the guests’ whims filled while I sat my arse down
like a pampered princess.
I caught Craig’s arm as
he offered up a tray of biscuits and tea to the others and jumped up to my
feet.
“Give it here.” I
snatched the tray and took it around the room as Jay returned and stood near
the entrance of the room. He raised his hands and cleared his throat, capturing
the attention of the group in an instant. I had to give it to him, he had
presence. Lord help the person who ignored him, supernatural or not.
“Thank you all for
attending this meeting. I know it was with short notice, but we find ourselves
in desperate times.” He inhaled deeply, scanning each participant diligently
while taking a centering breath. “My family: Craig, Amy, and I have been
banished from the S.R.A. and we are no longer operatives of the Agency since
they betrayed our trust and vowed to turn us over to a malevolent faery king.
Together, we got away, and Amy successfully diminished the threat. Yet, we
remain outcasts.
“In our time with the
Agency, we came to notice many faults and inconsistencies within the Agency that
didn’t adhere to their prime directive of maintaining harmony between the human
and supernatural leagues of Wicked Grove. I’m afraid, we can no longer count on
them to keep any of us safe nor will justice prevail if anyone is to end up in
their clutches.”
“You’re telling us that
all the leagues are in danger?” Francesca lifted an eyebrow, not sounding as
concerned as her question would deem her to be. She lifted her wineglass,
letting the fluid grace her lips before she replaced it onto the coffee table.
Vampires didn’t need to eat or drink; it was all for looks and appearances. I briefly
wondered if Craig had procured some blood for her comfort. She winked at me.
I frowned at her
nonchalance.
“Yes,” Jay answered.
“But we mustn’t go and attack the Agency without contingencies in place. They
are powerful and…”
“So are we.” Nehemiah
leaned forward, his frown deepening as moments ticked by. “How are we to trust
them if their own agents do not?”
“We propose a reform of
their rules and justifications. An overhaul. Retraining of all agents and new
leadership,” I suggested.
“A takeover?” Oliver,
the leader of the Nephilim perked up. He’d been solemn and quiet the entire
time, neither partaking in any drinks or food. I often wondered if they required
to eat or drink or it just wasn’t necessary.
I swore I heard my own
stomach growl, but I ignored it, shifting in my seat. Hayden glanced my way for
a moment before a knowing smile graced his lips. Damn these supernaturals with
their obscenely good senses. He probably could hear my lungs working.
I hated being seated in
the same room as people with hyper senses and no personal boundaries. It was
akin to naked in the middle of a high school hallway in between classes. I’d
give almost anything for someone to get me out of here before I decided to grab
a pillow off the sofa and asphyxiate trying to disappear under it.
The sooner this meeting
ended, the sooner I could head off to let Marcella know what was going on.
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