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Back The Fell of Dark Save as PDF
Chapters (46)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. CAST OF CHARACTERS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. LITTLE WHITE PICKET FENCES
  44. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  45. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  46. Newsletter Sign-up

My goose bumps spread in a flash, something tugging at the pit of my stomach, and somehow I know. A heartbeat before the disheveled man’s eyes blaze to life, flaring a brilliant gold—before he grabs the woman and hauls her out of her seat, his jaws swinging wide—I gasp, “Vampire!”

The place erupts into chaos as he sinks his fangs into her neck, her children screaming while patrons scramble for the door. There’s an emergency kit mounted on the wall—crucifixes, stakes, and holy water, all mandated by local safety codes—and Gunnar starts for it, leaping from behind the counter. He isn’t halfway there when the vampire flings his victim across the room, easy as a rag doll, bowling her into my favorite barista. They both crash to the floor in a sprawling, bloody tangle, and the undead monster turns his terrifying golden eyes on me.

Alarm crashes through me, and my heart speeds as the creature flings the table aside, his fingertips stretching into claws. And then he’s right in front of me, having crossed the room in the instant it took me to blink, his hands gripping the front of my sweater. My back against the counter, I want to scream … but I can’t seem to.

“It is beginning.” The man’s expression is wild and strangely ecstatic, those golden eyes probing mine, boring into me and melting my resistance. “The Dark Star rises!”

And then he whirls, letting me go, just like that. Taking off at a sprint, he leaps straight through the broad front window, the thick glass exploding out of its frame; his claws rake the sky as he sails up into the night, rising impossibly, effortlessly.

My veins burn as I watch him finally reach the apex of his jump, backlit by the moon, and begin to arc down again. The buzz under my skin subsides, my heart thumping so hard my ears ring. Adriana says something, but I can’t hear her—pressure is building in my head, shadows squeezing my vision into a pinhole as the vampire disappears from sight behind the buildings across the street.

I take a step, and then the pinhole closes, darkness washing over me as I crash to the floor.

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