So this is it. Two days to go until Chasing Freedom goes up for sale. I thought somehow that the second book would be easier. That it would be less stressful.
I was wrong. I don't think it's going to matter how many times I do this. I think I will always be sick with nerves the days leading up to publication. It's strange - once it's out there I am less worried. I guess because once it reaches that point there's nothing more I can do.
Before I give this final teaser, I wanted to say something.
So you see, when I first picked the date of release for this book it was kind of random. The middle of the month seemed like a good option, and it was two weeks short of a year since I first published The Last Knight.
But the date has come to mean so much more.
Anyone who has read this blog knows that I lost my father this year. It was a horrible, sad, painful time, but deciding to publish this book gave me something to focus on - something to look forward to. So it was inevitable that I would dedicate this book to my Dad, a man who loved to read, and for some reason (despite it being primarily aimed at YA and girls to boot) loved The Last Knight, and read it 3 times over the course of the last year. It makes me incredibly sad that he won't get the chance to read this book. It's silly really because I kept thinking I would email him all my manuscripts and get his feedback, but I kept putting it off. Until suddenly it was too late.
So it was a little bit of a surprise when I realised that the date I had randomly picked was not only Father's Day, but also the day after the four month mark of his passing. It just seems incredibly fitting. He was never a fan of Father's Day - just like Valentines Day he didn't believe there needed to be a special day to show someone you love them - but I am pleased to give him this final Father's Day gift.
This one's for you, Dad!
A scream
shattered his thoughts. The plate Victoria had just picked up slipped out of
her fingers, falling back into the water and soaking them both with a wave of
water.
A second scream
reached them as they turned to look at each other. There was a split second
hesitation before they both ran for the door. Chase moved faster and he reached
the door into the entrance hall first, throwing it open. He slammed to a stop
so suddenly that Victoria thudded into the back of him and he had to catch the
door frame to stop them both falling.
A girl lay in
the middle of the entrance hall, her face frozen in pain as she screamed again.
Her clothes were drenched in blood and Maladict crouched over her, his own
hands covered in it.
For a tiny
instant Chase suspected the worst, that after years Maladict had fallen off the
wagon, but he knew that a vampire would never waste that much blood.
He glanced at
Maladict’s face and saw the tendons standing out in his neck as he clenched his
teeth, his nose flaring.
“Get Peter,”
Chase said to Victoria, even as he raced the length of the room. He shoved
Maladict backwards. “Get out of here, go change, get the blood off your hands.”
Maladict’s eyes
had changed colour, the pale blue was ringed with red and as Chase looked up at
him he could see the hunger burning in the depths of them. Nostrils flaring
again, Maladict suddenly blinked and looked at Chase as though seeing him for
the first time.
“I’m all right.
Now you’re here.”
Chase frowned,
but he didn’t have time to try and understand why.
“What happened?”
Peter came barrelling down the stairs with Victoria in tow. “What’s going on?
Who is she?”
The same
questions were running through Chase’s mind and they both looked towards
Maladict for an answer.
“She’s a
Shifter,” he said through still gritted teeth. “Her father contacted me a few
days ago. Told me she’d left home and he thought she might be in trouble –“
Even as Maladict
spoke Peter checked the girl over, but the expression on his face was bleak.
“I tracked her
down in Oxford, but the Department were after her as well. She was panicked and
frightened. They cornered her and I tried to step in. She didn’t know me. She
tried to run. They chased her. There was a road. She didn’t even stop to look.
The truck hit her head on…”
Peter swore under
his breath. “You should have taken her to a hospital, Maladict. She’s lost too
much blood. I don’t know if I can save her.”
“I couldn’t. She
kept losing control of her Shifting. Her body kept trying to change shape.”
Chase looked
down at the girl sprawled on the cold stone floor. She was just a kid, ten or
eleven at the most. Her dark hair was matted with blood and her skin looked too
pale. Yet even with her eyes rolled back in her head something about her
reminded him of Victoria.
He felt a rush
of violent hatred towards the Department. What kind of people would drive a
girl like this into terrified flight and then leave her there to die? He’d
given up asking about the Department because no one seemed to want to talk
about it, and the threat they posed seemed distant, like it couldn’t reach them
there at West Haven, but suddenly it felt very real again. Save for a few lucky
chances it could have been him lying, bleeding on the floor, or Kat, or Victoria.
The girl took a
shuddering, laboured breath and Chase felt his stomach clench. She was going to
die. He couldn’t say why he felt so certain, but he knew it was true.
His eyes met
Maladict’s and the vampire gave a tiny nod. He got to his feet, swiping his
bloody hands down the front of his jeans, and left the room on silent feet.
Chase turned
back towards Peter and the girl, but Peter started slowing in his
ministrations.
“Help me get her
to the medical room, Chase.” The older man’s voice sounded defeated. “Let’s at
least make her comfortable.”
“I’ll come with
you.”
Chase glanced
round at Victoria’s voice; he’d almost forgotten she was there. “Is that a good
idea?”
“She shouldn’t
have to die alone.”
Chase stood with
his back against the wall, his fists balled so tightly he could feel his nails
cutting into his palms.
He’d carried the
girl up from the hall, horrified by how tiny she felt in his arms, and laid her
on the bed. He’d stepped back quickly, but couldn’t seem to find the strength
to leave the room, even though he couldn’t stand to stay.
After a few moments
Peter stepped back.
“I’ve dosed her
up with morphine, but I don’t think she’ll survive the night. I simply don’t
have the equipment to save her.”
“Could we get
her to a hospital?” Chase asked quickly.
“No. We don’t
have the means to take her, and the trip would likely kill her.”
“We could call
an ambulance,” Chase insisted. He couldn’t believe they were just going to let
her die.
Victoria shook
her head. “No, we can’t. The Department track all emergency calls, and we can’t
have an ambulance turn up here, it would raise too many questions.”
“So we’re just
going to let her die?”
“She’s going to
die anyway,” Peter said softly. “Even if we did get her to a hospital I don’t
think she’d survive.” He patted Chase’s shoulder. “I’ll leave her with you, Victoria.
Call for me if she needs anything.”
The door swung
closed behind the older man and Chase lifted his eyes to Victoria.
She gave him a
weary smile as she tugged a sheet over the girl’s shoulders and started to comb
out her hair. He watched for a moment as Victoria began carefully cleaning the
blood from the unconscious girl’s face and hands.
“This isn’t the
first time, is it?”
Victoria shook
her head slowly. “No. I wish it was, but it isn’t. It’s a part of our way of
life, unfortunately.”
Chase shuddered.
“So are you going to stay with her all night?”
“That’s the
plan. But you should go if you want. You don’t have to stay.”
It was a long time
before Chase replied. Part of him desperately wanted to leave. He wanted to
escape the stench of death filling the room, but he couldn’t leave Victoria to
sit alone with a dying girl.
“I’ll stay.”
Enjoy!
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22094406-chasing-freedom
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