The Fallen One (Sons of the Dark Mother, Book One)

THE FALLEN ONE

Dark Paranormal
Fantasy

Sons of the Dark
Mother

Book One

Copyrighted © January 31,
2012 by Lenore Wolfe

Smashwords
Edition

This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of
the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

Triquetra Press

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

First Printing January 31,
2012

ISBN: 978-1-4524-2743-0

ASIN: BOO73YAS8A

Copyrighted © January 31, 2012 by
Lenore Wolfe

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

This ebook is licensed for
your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or
given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each
person. If you’re reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it
was not purchased for your use only, then please return to
Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting
the hard work of this author.

Bestselling author Lenore
Wolfe’s book
Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild
Hawk

“
Lenore Wolfe's writing is
flawless and she sure knows how to keep up the suspense and build
drama. That's rare to find in an author. The characters were
mysterious and thrilling. I kept turning one page after another
until I read the whole book in one setting. Can't wait for the next
book in the series to find out what happens next.”

By JDS, author of the
series, Ancient Legends, (London, UK) on Amazon

As J_Scott on Barnes and
Nobel

And Jayde Scott on
Smashwords and Goodreads

“
Great
Story!!! What creative characters and an imaginative story line
Wolfe has come up with! It is a delightful foray into the legends
of Atlantis, King Arthur and the Faerie Kingdoms combined with past
lives of the female lead. Jaguar shifters, a Starborne, a master
illusionist, a shaman, the fey, the Queen of Darkness, zombies, a
medallion, a special doorway, a soul thief and a journey round out
the story.
”

Wild About Bones on
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Goodreads

THE FALLEN ONE

Sons of the Dark Mother
Series
Book One

Released January
31, 2012

Dark Fantasy

A Tribute Novel

EMBRACED BY
SHADOW

Sons of the Dark
Mother
Book Two

To be released
July 17, 2012

Dark Fantasy

Dark Paranormal Fantasy
sister series by Lenore Wolfe

DOORWAY OF THE
TRIQUETRA

Children of Atlantis
Series
Book One

Released June
12, 2011

Dark Paranormal
Fantasy

JAGUAR WITCH

Children of Atlantis
Series
Book Two

To be released
April 28, 2012

Dark Paranormal
Fantasy

SOLSTICE FIRE

Daughters of the Dark Moon
Series
Book One

To be released June
12, 2012

Dark Paranormal
Fantasy

See free excerpts and
upcoming new releases at the end of this novel

By the Power of Three

Times

Three

Let it be!

Let it be!

This novel was inspired by the
story of a boy who fought off gangs to save his sisters.

I want to thank my family, my
friends and my loved ones. I want to thank my editor, without whom
this novel wouldn’t be possible. And I want to thank my readers. I
look forward to your feedback always.

Ancient Queen

My Battle Goddess

I see the shadow of your
wing

I hear you calling
me

Your hidden words flow
though my veins

I am your
prophecy

You speak to me, your
ancient words

Old knowledge of days gone
by

You want the world to hear
your verbs

A healing with a
sigh.

You ask your child to sing
old songs

Of rituals long
ago.

The ancient magicks of
which we’ve longed

Now ring within our
souls.

I answer to your calling
ways

My heart beats to the
drum

Sing me your songs through
all my days

The world will hear it
sung!

Beat through my veins,
you’re calling me

I pledge to sing your
songs

Of you, My Lady, I do
see

I am your
prophecy.

Then use my tongue to still
the night

And use my hands to
share

The healing words and with
the sight

I am your Lady’s
seer.

I’ll teach the ancient
songs of old

And bring your healing
grace

Through my old hands I’ll
bring your words

To pass the worlds of
time.

~by Shalimar

P
rologue

Chicago, Illinois, fifteen years
before….

T
he
children moved down the back-street alley
,
just as they had every day before, on their way to school. The
crisp air bit at their noses. The gravel crunched beneath their
feet, mixed with clean, white snow that, on any other day, would
have had them playing and laughing with glee, leaving a trail of
footprints behind them. Today was just an ordinary day, a day like
any other day, a day that should have been light and happy, like
any bright, sunny morning, on any clear, cold day.

But the children were not laughing.
Even to a child, something about this day didn’t feel
right.

Their older brother always walked
them to school, then took himself off to class. The three girls
glanced up at him now, almost in unison, beneath the dark, curly
lashes of their matching yellow-green-gold eyes. The charge in the
air was almost palpable for children as sensitive as these
children. Something in the air simply wasn’t right.

Something didn’t bode well—for any
of them.

Their brother’s name was Justice.
And perhaps it was fortuitous that his parents had named him so,
for nothing would prove this better than on this day, at this hour.
He was about to live up to his name, and he always struggle with
this responsibility, as well as the monster inside of him. But that
couldn’t be helped—any more than what was about to
happen.

Justice was just fourteen years
old, and was a stout, muscular youth. His skin was darkly tanned by
the sun. And he was his three little sisters’ knight in shining
armor. He would do anything for them—and they knew it. His heart
was big—much too big for the burden of what was about to happen,
and that burden would weigh upon him for much of his life. He was
also a gentle boy—except when gang members threatened his
sisters.

Then he was anything
but
gentle.

The gang had a thing for him
because of this. They had never
quite
been able to settle the score.
And each time—the score grew bigger.

One of the gang members stepped
out in front of them now, before they had even reached the end of
the alley. Justice knew they had been waiting for him. This wasn’t
the first time they’d laid a trap for him. Yet somehow, Justice
knew, this time
it would be the
last.

He had beaten their asses last
time—even with the odds at one against five. Anyone else probably
would have decided to leave him alone after that. But somehow
Justice had known that this vendetta they had for him had only
intensified, and he had known they’d be back for more.

He yelled at his sisters to run,
the way he had every other time, and run they did. And like every
other time, it didn’t occur to any of them that their brother
wouldn’t come out of this okay. After all, he always did; he was
their hero.

They couldn’t know what these
beatings did to him. Nor could they know what today would cost him,
or what he would suffer—all for what was about to
happen.

The gang was fed up with getting
their asses beaten down. They were fed up, and they wanted revenge.
They hadn’t taken any chances, and this time they’d brought some
equalizers. Yes, Justice had a big heart when it came to his
sisters—but this was war. And he was at home with war. He felt as
if he’d fought in wars for lifetime after lifetime, as if he’d been
going to war forever. He felt old, even though he was only
fourteen.

His shoulders dropped upon eyeing
the number of gang members they had brought this time. They weren’t
interested in honor. They weren’t interested in making this a fair
fight. It had occurred to him, more than once, to wonder why they
didn’t just get it over with—
and shoot
him
….

They had, however, never brought
guns to these fights. The fact that they hadn’t was the only sign
of honor they’d ever shown. Perhaps they had seen him as a worthy
opponent, in some twisted way. Other than that, they’d shown no
mercy.

And neither did he.

Justice fought without a shred of
mercy. He was as strong as an ox, even at his young age, and the
last time they had fought, he’d given these boys a beating that had
laid them up for the past few weeks.

But they were ready for him this
time, and the gang was sure that
they were
finally going to even the score.

One of them hit Justice with a
heavy pipe: the sound of it hitting his flesh was a sickening thud
in the cool morning air.

He beat that kid’s face with his
beefy fists, while the others fell upon him.

They hit him with chains, boards,
and even a brick, while he unflinchingly kept pounding on the gang
leader. He was going down, he could feel it, but he wasn’t going to
go down alone—and he refused to waver.

However, he did worry. What would
his sisters do now, with no one to protect them?