Zauran (29 page)

My movement draws her focus, and she reaches hands to me, and I want her to run.

Run to me, let me catch you and disappear into the night with you.

“
Oh God! Please help me!”

That's all the encouragement I need, breaking into a sprint.

I'm coming.

She stumbles weakly, catching her fall with a hand on the side of a car, and I finally notice the blood dripping from her fingers.

Blurring into true speed, I catch her before she falls, lifting her up, inhaling the redolence of someone truly unique.

“
I've got you,” I reassure her.

Staring into her glazing eyes, I'm shocked by what I see there.

A bloody hand plants on my heart, burning into my skin with power.

“
Who are you? What happened?” I ask the strangeling.

“
Ch...”

She slumps in my arms, her words lost to the mercy of unconsciousness.

I check her heartbeat and breath. Then I focus on the trees. Darkness tightens its cloak around us and I spy the shadows advancing fast.

The others are here, and I'm holding the one they hunt.

Due out in August 2012

Acknowledgements

Thank you so much for reading Zauran. I hope you will take the time to leave your thoughts on this book in the review section on Amazon.

I huge thank you to Claudia Vojkic for her eternal friendship and for being the first person willing to teach me Cyrillic. The final words in this book are the first words you taught me. Thank you my friend.

And a huge thank you to my writing group, Joanne, Kim, Janus, Sonia, Elena and Bonita. Without you my writing journey would be much harder and far more lonely.

Thank you to Diane Nelson of Pubright Manuscript Services for editing the first twelve chapters for me and making me rewrite them, (really your wisdom was fantastic and insightful.)

Thank you to Chic for giving it a final look over to catch my ridiculous mistakes.

And of course thank you to my readers and fans, your encouragement and support means the world to me.

I hope love and light burn bright in your hearts always.

Much love

Poppet

~Teaser~

Seithe

Book 1: The Pravus Series

Have you read Seithe?

If not, here is a taste of it for you:

I stroll down the stairs and pause in front of Thor's slave. His smile is venomous.

Menacing long teeth expose as his black eyes flicker with a feral amber glow. "Addicted already?"

I smile in return. It's weird there is no cover fee. Thorette lets me past, and I hook my sunglasses into cleavage so my eyes can adjust to the flickering strobe.

That's the thing, isn't it? How will I even find him in here?

He doesn't have a fixed identity. Every blond, brunette, silver / blue / brown eyed man, with his build, is a potential Seithe. After staring into the darkness randomly highlighted, I give up. He'll have to find me. Pushing through throngs of Saturday night addicts, I reach the bar, and face Mr Pretty.

"You're missing your guard tonight, princess."

Gracing him with an insincere smile, I retort, "He's not my guard."

A man hisses breath through teeth as he leers down at me. Just a freakish stranger leaning against the bar, red eyes glowing, "Alone? You are as stupid as you look."

Ignoring him, I address Mr Pretty, "Is it possible to get a Smirnoff here?"

He pulls a bottle out from under the counter and hands it to me, nudging his head for me to follow him to the edge of the bar. I push past the asshole and meet Mr Pretty, who's a lot more intimidating up close, at the edge of the crescent. He leans his black haired head down to me and whispers urgently, "You can't be here without someone to watch your back. You'll never leave alive."

These people just love messing with minds, don't they?

"This is a public place, anyone can be here. Stop trying to get inside my head and feed my fear."

He grips my wrist, almost spilling the vodka, "Without a sponsor, you are dead meat baby girl."

Men totally suck. Bet he has a small one to be on such a screwed up ego trip. I hiss back with despising, "You wish. You wish I needed a man to watch my back. I don't!"

More like to stick a knife into it.

A total creep wraps his arm around me and drawls to Mr Pretty, "I'll sponsor her." His left hand slides inside my shirt and cops a squeeze, then he licks the side of my face, "I promise I'll take real good care of her."

SHOVE! Except the asshole isn't letting go.

What's with the pricks in this place?

I'm beginning to regret coming back here.

Men suck. When will I learn this? How often do I need them to prove it to me?

I place my Smirnoff-Ice on the counter with deliberate calm. Using the newly freed hand, I trace my finger down the fuckhead's chest suggestively, down his torso, and slip my hand inside his latex trousers, where I grab and squeeze with all the energy I can muster. I can't resist a malicious laugh escaping as I stare at the vein in his forehead spontaneously protruding.

"Do that again and I'll castrate you! Now eff off and leave me alone!"

His eyes flare such an alarming shade of red that icy fear wraps tendrils around me.

That's not human. That's really scary.

I am so caught up in those red eyes, mesmerized by them, that when my hand is snatched out of his trousers and I am spun to stare at silver eyes, it takes me a moment to register.

"What the hell are you doing? Stay away from the red eyes."

A veined hand and forearm push my head aside and fingers wrap around Seithe's throat, squeezing so hard I am sure he should already be missing his Adam's apple. "
Keep your bitch on a leash, Seithe! If I find her here alone again, she'll pay the price
."

I catch Seithe's eyes flaring silver as he rams the heel of his hand into Red Eye's nose, "Touch her and
you'll
pay the price!"

Mr Pretty arcs a flame from a blowtorch right between them in the close space, almost singeing off my immaculate eyebrows in the process; his veins highlighting blue in an adrenalin surge of anger, "TAKE IT OUTSIDE!"

Instead, Seithe hooks my shoulders with his arm and yanks me away, into the darkness. My heart is pounding. This is like stepping into a parallel universe where everyone is different to your idea of normal. I've been dumped into an environment so alien to my usual, that I have no idea what normal is here, or why the men are all so bloody medieval.

~Teaser~

Venix

Book 2: The Pravus Series

Towering legs stride long lengths away from me, clomping boot heels on pale wood where he halts on the threshold to outside, staring into the distance, “You couldn't stay. Too many noticed you. Darise bit you and the blood turned you into a siren.”

“
So? I'm capable of looking after myself. And I was at
his
home, not Pravus.”

His hair strips back to tissue white, glowing full moon eyes burn into me with renewed focus, “Zaria you were followed, and not just by me.”

“
I didn't see you there.”

“
Because I didn't want you to see me. How many others didn't you notice? Your attention was riveted on the bartender until his sister marked you with that kiss. As the owner of Pravus, her interest made sure every Vampyre was instantly intrigued by you, instigating their need to know more.”

“
You say vampire as if the whole place is crawling with them. They have clubs all over the world, I know because I'm a member, and nowhere do they mention vampires.”

I give him my doubtful challenge stare.

Delicious laughter breaks the tension and I'm captivated by the change in him when he smiles, meaning it.

“
Zaria, you are one seriously unobservant lady. How long have you been going to Pravus?”

Sitting down on a puffy taupe couch, I level my voice, “Months.”

“
And in all that time, how many ugly people did you see?”

Hmm, good question.

“
Uhm, none that I can recall offhand.”

“
How many of them had normal eyes and teeth?”

“
Loads.”

“
And they were all female, weren't they?”

Now that I think about it, he has a point.

“
Yes. How did you know?”

“
Because the Pravus in Belgrade is set up for male Vampyre. The only female vamp you'll see in it is Ellindt.”

Wait!

“
What?! Are you saying – Darise is – is... and she is... no way!”

His smile carves his jaw and I can't help but stare as he crosses back to sit opposite me, creaking leather when he flops into his chair and stretches long legs, resting elbows on the arms of the chair and steepling fingers, “Yes, he is. She is, I am – except the bouncers, they're... different.”

“
Why do they have black eyes?”

“
Because they were never human.”

“
And you were?” I ask.

“
No. Vampyre look human because we predate humans. We came first, then your kind came.” Sitting forward, resting elbows on his knees, arm muscles pop, obvious in his sleeveless button up shirt when he links his fingers, giving me a piercing look, “Admit it, you were drawn to Pravus because the men there have no flaws.”

Darise is just beautiful. His skin is smooth, looking almost polished, and he's so ashen it reminds me of dancing on snow. His lips and eyes are stark against his skin, he's the palest man I've seen there.

Thinking back, I was awestruck the first time I went into Pravus. It's like a Disney ride, as if all men allowed entrance have to be
over
a certain height. They're all toned, some of them buff, but it's true, all of them are captivating in some way.

“
Zaria, it works both ways. If you are drawn to them, they are drawn to you.”

“
That still doesn't answer why I'm here and not with Dar–
him
. If you ask me, one of you took a kidnapping interest in me.”

Simmering, I hold his gaze, squashing down the fascination when his hair and eyes morph to brown.

That delectable smile softens his features while simultaneously turning him into chiseled angles.

“
I'm older, hence my stature. I have rank to pull a mortal out of danger.” His hands clench, making the leather under his elbows creak, “And you
were
in danger. You can take my word on that.”