Dead Reckoning

By MJ Allaire

When the woman next door becomes the victim of a brutal home invasion, Llyssaer’s idyllic life is thrown into turmoil. Forced to move to a new town, a new school, she struggles to make friends and adapt to her new life. Worst of all, her best friend, her German Shepherd named Jiminy, died trying to stop the burglars.

Things take an unexpected turn when a young girl follows her to school one day. Llys questions her and what she hears stokes her doubt and distrust of this stranger...

"Come with me. I have something to show you."

Ready to turn around and leave, the words that follow stop her in her tracks, twist her stomach, and steal the breath right out of her throat...

"My name is Joy and Jiminy wants you to follow me."

• Language: English
• Publisher: MJ Allaire
• Release date: Aug 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781936476060

MJ Allaire

Dragon's Blood is my first book as well as the first piece in my Denicalis Dragon Chronicles series. It began as a single story for my oldest son and has turned into a series of novels, full of adventure, magic, good vs. evil, and of course, dragons! So far there are four books in the series: Dragon's Blood, The Prisoner, Dragon's Tear, and Dragon's Breath - these are all live and ready to be downloaded for your reading pleasure. Book five, the final part of the story with the tentative title "The Secret of the Stones", is in process.In between writing book three (Dragon's Tear) and book four (Dragon's Breath), I decided to take a break and work on another novel, which I started when I was writing Dragon's Blood but put aside for a while in order to concentrate on the series. While on break between novels, I quickly discovered I could no longer wait to write my next story, and after six months or so, "My Blissful Life As a Submariner's Wife" was born. It began as a humorous look at my marriage to a submariner but eventually (thankfully) turned into an inspirational look into one woman's life as a military dependent. It's meant for multiple groups - dependent wives who think they're alone in their struggles, women going through (or having gone through) a divorce who need some encouragement to take that next giant step into their future as a dependent woman, or civilians who think military families have an easy life because of the many benefits etc that they enjoy while supporting our country. Although some may not agree on the how's or why's behind "My Blissful Life", it should be read for what it is - one woman's story about her journey through life. Right or wrong, hopefully it will encourage someone, somewhere, to never give up when the going gets rough.I grew up in South Florida, joined the Navy at 18 and found myself stationed far away from friends and family in paradise known as Hawaii. I met a submariner there, we married, and had three beautiful children before we moved back to the mainland. I now live in West Virginia with my husband, our Aussie Mix and three cats. I have found a true passion in both writing as well as visiting schools, encouraging children to read, write, and to never fear following their dreams!All of my books are posted on Smashwords, each with a certain percentage of the book available to peruse, so please, grab a cup of coffee and a comfy corner of your couch and browse through some of the amazing stories you'll find on this wonderful website.

Book preview

D e a d

R e c k o n i n g

By

MJ Allaire

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Published by:

MJ Allaire on Smashwords

Dead Reckoning

Copyright © 2012 by MJ Allaire

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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

Death is a debt to nature due,

Which I have paid and so must you.

- Anonymous epitaph

Dedication

To Ryan, the wonderful man who will be my husband in a few short weeks. Thank you for all your hard work and fantastic ideas. This one’s for you, just like my heart.

CHAPTER 1

Llyssaer didn’t like her life. She didn’t like her school, where she lived, or most of the people in this oddball, loveless, rinky-dink town. Although she was a pretty girl, with wide blue eyes and silky hair the color of burnt sienna, it didn’t seem to make a bit of difference to anyone around her what she looked like. If she’d had five arms and tentacles for hair she doubted they would give her more than a second glance. Even her parents seemed to barely notice her anymore. When was the last time the three of them had done anything together as a family? Most days her parents were so busy they hardly knew she was there, the neighbors turned their backs to her whenever she walked by their houses, and the kids at school…

She sighed. She didn’t want to think about it. Not any of it.

Once, not so long ago, her life had been fairly idyllic for a teenager. An only child, she had loved school, had lots of friends, made good grades, and got along well with the neighbors, including the giant Saint Bernard, Princess, that everyone in the neighborhood seemed to hate.

Then, somehow, things changed.

She kicked a rock along the now familiar cobblestone trail she followed on her way to school five days a week as memories of times past floated through her mind. The jagged piece of hardened earth offered no resistance to her shoe and tumbled to the side of the path. When it eventually plopped into a leaf-filled, mucky puddle, she barely noticed the muffled splash it made. Although her eyes stared at the trail ahead of her in the distance, her memories carried her back to happier times – back to a place in her life before her world had turned completely upside down.

It seemed as though a whisper of time had passed since she was living with her parents in their two-story gabled cape home in Connecticut. Her father was in the Navy and frequently traveled to distant places engaging in secret missions on his submarine. As a result, Llyssaer and her mother were left to run the household.

Her mother had been a housewife during Llyssaer’s first few years in school but had since gone back to work. At the time it was all well and good, but eventually Llyssaer realized she was spending more time alone than she would have ever imagined possible. Solitude suited her just fine, though; she may have enjoyed spending time with her friends and family, but she didn’t mind being alone.

She had been a good girl back then; well, for the most part. So much so that some of the kids in school referred to her as that stick in the mud. And maybe, in a way, they were right, but it wasn’t like she was trying to be that proverbial stick on purpose. She’d heard horror stories about kids doing bad things and, a few years ago, she had just decided she didn’t want to be one of them. She always tried to do the right thing and be the best she could in anything she did. Did that make her a stick in the mud? Maybe, but if it did then so be it.

Sure, she’d had lots of friends when she’d lived in the Nutmeg State, but she’d been one of the lucky ones who hadn’t gotten into a lot of mischief, much to the chagrin of many of those same friends. She supposed her parents could be thanked for this. Although her father had been away frequently with his job in the military, there was no doubt that she had been Daddy’s little girl.

At a very early age, he had begun calling her Llys, which was convenient for those who had a problem pronouncing her given name. Her family and close friends all called her by this pet name, unless she was in trouble, of course, and she couldn’t deny that