Forbidden Embrace (25 page)

Sticking out his tongue, Nathanial stomps and turns on the heel of his yellow DC shoes; why these goofy skater shoes are so popular beats me. I can’t help but laugh thinking he looks just like a toddler. He walks away to fill a few more balloons and I grab one, tossing it at him, hitting him right in between the shoulder blades.

“
You did not just do that? You are going to pay now,” he laughs, spinning back around and breaking into a run.

Thinking he can never catch me, I wiggle a little and make a face before I start to run away.

Alexander grabs me from the side. “Got her for you, bro,” he shouts.

Nathanial comes running over, grabbing one of the buckets we’re using for the balloons. As he fills it with water, I try to squirm loose from Alexander’s grasp. With a squeal, Nathanial dumps the bucket not only over me, but over Alexander as well.

“
Seriously, I try to help you and you nail me too. Now you got two
vampires
against you.”

Nathanial breaks into a sprint across the field from the supply room we are using and we both chase after him, not too fast as others are around. I can hear Ebony and Matt killing themselves with laughter as Danika and Matilda watch from the side. Once again, I get to experience the perfect normal moment. Finally catching Nathanial, I trip him to the ground and jump on top of him, shaking my wet hair over him. We are all laughing so hard, we know the chase is over. Nathanial pulls me down closer to him and moves in for a kiss. Pressing my body down on top of him, our lips begin moving together in perfect motion. The passion growing as our kisses become deeper and deeper. Remembering we are in the middle of the school field I pull myself away, still sitting on top of him. Alexander connects his thoughts with mine, trying to give me a clue. He walks up behind me and I jump off of Nathanial. Alexander tosses a bucket of water while Nathanial lies still on the ground.

“
Awww dude,” Nathanial jumps up, shaking like a shaggy dog, as we all kill ourselves laughing.

“
Okay children, maybe we should finish these balloons for the water fight,” Matilda jokes.

We fill the rest of the balloons and take them over to the so called battle grounds. Everything seems to be in place so we go join in on the barbeque in the school courtyard. No one notices that my siblings and I aren’t in fact eating. Before long, the student body and faculty heads to the football field to commence the water activities. Of course, the seniors are demolished, as they were outnumbered. I guess this is all part of their send off. With a skillful shot I nail Mel in the back of the head not once but three times. She is boiling over with anger; with each hit I could see just a little more steam pour from her. On the third shot, Mel finally bursts and turns around, marching through the crowd screaming and yelling at every person in line with her.

“
Was that you, you freakin’ moron?”

Everyone moves out of her way, shaking their heads, and not one makes eye contact. I step forward, “Oh sorry Mel, my aim is so bad. I hope the water doesn’t ruin your hairdo.” I chuckle at the sight of her looking like a drowned rat.

“
What the hell are you laughing at?”

“
You, of course,” the crowd gasps at my forwardness.

“
What did you say?”

“
You seriously think no one here has the tenacity to stand up to you? Well, you are wrong, little girl. I’m so tired of the way you think you run this school, and so are lots of other people. So here is a little hint for you…get over yourself.” Cheers erupt from others around me.

“
I realize this is your first year here, but allow me to clue you in. I do run things around here, and anyone that believes differently pays for it.” Mel shoves in a little closer to me and tries to push me.

Without a flinch I go to push her back and rip her scrawny little body to pieces. Danika jumps in front of me, “This would be considered a very bad idea, considering the entire school and faculty is watching right now.”

“
Whatever.” Mel huffs and turns flipping her long wet hair over her shoulder spraying anyone in a two foot radius. She storms all the way back to the girl’s locker room.

We all laugh at her drama queen antics. The principle walks towards me and my siblings, “Now Sophia, as much as I appreciate you putting Mel in her place, I can’t tolerate behavior like this at my school. I will have to ask you to sit out for the remainder of the water activities.”

“
Yes sir, I understand and I’m sorry I lashed out in front of everyone.”

“
I think we both know that’s not true. I also think we all know Mel needed to hear that. Let’s hope she is a little more pleasant in the fall once she has had time to think about her behavior this past year or so.”

Once the water fight is over, the students dry off in the sun for a bit and take their time entering the school to clean out lockers before dispersing for the day. I can’t wait to see what the summer holds for us and all our supernatural and mortal friends. I’m thinking all the extra time can be used helping Ebony and Eliza prepare for more
demon
attacks like the one they had on Matt’s birthday. Most of all, I hope to spend as much time as I can with Nathanial. I think Ebony and Matt have the same idea, and I know that Eliza and Luke have already begun as they took off for a week of camping.

It’s kinda hard to believe life has changed so much from last summer when we moved back to Wenham. Danika and I are getting along much better; I even think I might enjoy having her around. I have found the love of my life, my soul mate and the one that completes me all wrapped up in to one little package. The
witch
that gave us the sun is back in our lives, along with her wonderful granddaughters and my new best friend. The Magnificent Ones are learning to use their powers for good. We even made a few friends with the
shape shifters
. Then of course the one thing I would have never thought could happen…Caspian came back into our lives. I only hope he is doing alright with his undercover mission. Gosh, now that I really start thinking about it, all these things barely touch the iceberg of things my family and I went through this year. Let’s just hope it keeps getting better and Caspian can return to us as a more permanent member of the family. I guess only time will tell…for now we celebrate. Tomorrow we can get back to business.

***

Mr. McCord has been working hard for several months now, renovating the house and Isaac’s work space. Helping them in whatever way I can has become such a pleasure for me and I know he takes pride in the work he’s doing. With Nathanial’s dad taking care of the renovations, Isaac has been able to work on his synthetic blood and has even begun to prepare the paper work so he can present it to the FDA, and maybe even begin the initial stages of human testing. We have incorporated his blood into our daily meals; it is better than the animal blood too. With a similar taste to real blood and also the ability to give us the strength of real blood, it’s very enjoyable. Slowly we will remove the donated blood that Isaac has been getting from the hospital and blood banks, testing if we can fully survive on the synthetic blood. With so much going on I have a feeling that the summer will keep us busy. I still worry about Caspian, but the Cerberus may have to be put on the back burner as we help The Magnificent Ones. The demonic activity around them has been increasing ever since the first attack on the night of Matt’s birthday. I guess for now we will just have to see what the future holds.

Coming November 1
^st
2011

Mystic Embrace

The saga continues…

Ebony Triggs and her sister have accepted their birthright to be the magnificent ones, protectors of the innocent. They have been working on improving their magickal powers with the help of close friends the Pierce family. Ebony and Eliza have been working hard, with one common goal in mind, destroying the demon that killed their parents sixteen years ago. Will they ever find him and succeed at destroying him or will fighting evil become a daily occurrence for the sisters?

Entering her senior year of high school, Ebony already has more than most teens on her plate, but when things continue to change in her life she must rely on her immortal friends, the Pierce’s to help get her through. Ebony and her boyfriend Matt like most teens are looking at the future and what will happen after life in high school. But when plans change will they be faced with even bigger issues?

Ebony soon realizes that the Pierce’s and her close friends will need her as much as she needs them. She thought learning of her mystical powers was the greatest test
of her life, but it was only just the beginning
.

Charlotte Blackwell, author of The Embrace Series, is delighted to have the opportunity to follow her dreams of writing. She would love to share a little bit about herself with you now.

Charlotte was born in October of 1976. On the day of her birth Charlotte's father was racing stock cars, while her two older sister's watched from the stands as their father crashed through the wall of the race track. Within moments the stock car he was driving came back through the wall, and he won the race. He took his two daughters and hurried to the hospital for the birth of his third daughter, Charlotte.

Raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Charlotte enjoyed swimming, singing (although not so great at it) and writing her thoughts down. She never shared her passion for writing with anyone, and it got put on the back burner. As Charlotte grew, she found a new passion in medicine; she became the athletic trainer for her high school men's basketball team. Helping the team through their injuries are some of her best memories as a teen.

After the birth of her first daughter Jorden, Charlotte moved to Calgary, Alberta where she returned to college for her practical nursing certificate. During her schooling Charlotte became pregnant with her second daughter, Shawnee. Due to complications, Charlotte was put on bed rest and had to step away from school. Shawnee was born and not breathing, the staff worked to resuscitate the small baby, and succeeded. Charlotte returned to school only six weeks later and completed her course. She began working with children, and eventually in the special care nursery for ill and pre-term babies.

Charlotte and James finally decided to get married in 2005 and completed their family with a son, Lucas in 2006 who was born six weeks early and had three surgeries by one month old. Today all three of their children are happy, healthy and very active. Jorden is a very talented dance and singer who performs with The Young Canadians and performs at the Grandstand show nightly during the Calgary Stampede, she is also home schooled. Shawnee is a competitive gymnast and is working very hard to move up through the level with hopes of becoming a national athlete. Both girls are honor students on top of their activities. Lucas is still young, but has been enjoying kick boxing and wants to try his hand at hockey.

Charlotte and James live with their children, two huskies and two cats just outside of Calgary, Alberta. They cherish every moment they have together as a family and hope to soon travel the world. James and the children have been great supporters of Charlotte from day one and continue to cheer her on along the way. Shawnee has also tried her hand at writing and recently completed an illustrated children’s book. I guess writing is in her blood.

Charlotte has a strong passion for young adult novel especially those in the paranormal or dark fantasy genres. As she continues to work on The Embrace Series, Charlotte is also working on a mainstream romance and a science fiction novel involving alternate universes. She will continue to update this site with her work and what is next, and she thanks you all for your support and encouragement.