Chains of Darkness 4: The Grace Bearer

By Eve Hathaway

From the Publisher that brought you popular short story series Witching Call, Hostile Hearts, Earthbound Angels, The January Morrison Files Psychic Series, Ralph's Gift, Children of Time, Chains of Darkness, Tropical Storms and Friend Zone...

Who will win in the Last Stand?
LUX AERTENA — ETERNAL LIGHT

Things go to hell, ironically enough. When Melinda and Gabe manage to leave hell they carried Daniel with them.

Caleb is hunting her all over the world. Left suddenly alone, Melinda has no idea where Azgaroth took Gabe and Daniel. Luck leads her to them — and to Ophelia, a woman who provides the weapon they need to stop Caleb. But Caleb is more clever than Melinda is, and her plans quickly unravel. Can she manage to stop Caleb before they all become completely undone?

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EXCERPT
Even more surprising is that it works. Daniel’s body arches and twists, but the unnatural bends in his limbs straighten, and the back of his head is... replaced, as far as Melinda can see, through some magic she doesn’t want to contemplate. His eyeballs pull back into their sockets—

In the distance, the fireworks display for the night starts going up. Enormous chrysanthemums of red and gold explode overhead. She sees Gabe’s silhouette making its way back towards them, and she starts waving, hoping to catch his eye. But Gabe doesn’t wave back, and as he climbs back over the barbed wire she sees why:

Caleb is following him. Caleb has assumed his original form again, of the pale-haired, gray-eyed boy Melinda had rescued.

“Azgaroth, hurry up,” Melinda murmurs, fighting down the panic that’s threatening to come up.

“Healing isn’t something that can just be done, you know,” Azgaroth mutters, and resumes his chants. Daniel’s burnt flesh is turning pink again. “It takes time for the mud to recognize what it’s supposed to do and look like.”

“Can he let go?” Melinda asks.

“Yes.”

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandra Ross
• Release date: Jul 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301963096

Book preview

The Grace Bearer

By Eve Hathaway

Published by Publications Circulations LLC.

SmashWords Edition

All contents copyright (C) 2014 by Publications Circulations LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, companies and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

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Chapter One

MELINDA COULDN'T HOLD her focus.

She found that the downside of being so aware of everything was that it took away from the effort required to envision herself as a creature of light. The envisioning was not too difficult, but all of the things her light touched as she, Gabe and Daniel traversed the ethereal plane left their impressions on her mind and she felt her light starting to fade. Dark patches of herself came back as she was.

Melinda, Gabe said, take control of it.

It made sense, once she was aware of what he was suggesting, to let herself go one little bit at a time. To fade away from this plane and fade into the earthly one. She began to hear sounds around them, to smell the hot scent of popcorn and barbecue, the fertile and earthy scent of animal dung, and then she realized that she could feel a breeze against her skin-that she had skin again.

For the first time in a long time she blinked, and the world came rushing at her: bright lights and electronic carnival music, beeps and dings and Winner! signs flashed in front of them.

They were standing-Melinda and Gabe were standing (Daniel was lying in a quivering wreck)-in a field at what appeared to be the back end of a country fair. They were behind the Ferris wheel. It was late in the evening and they were surrounded by darkness. Somewhere in the distance, a man on a megaphone was making an announcement. Something about fireworks and the end of summer. Melinda couldn't believe it was almost Labor Day.

Gabe sniffed the air. Man, they have hot dogs, he said. Want some?

Melinda was reminded that she was now in corporeal form again, and as such, she needed to eat. Yeah, she said, and her stomach growled in agreement.

She glanced down at Daniel and wished she didn't, because Daniel still looked as dismembered and abused as he did in hell. How he survived, with half of his head missing and his entrails hanging out, was beyond her. She was just glad that he was too weak to scream and give them away, because otherwise, she would have to explain how and why he got this way.

Gabe had vaulted the barbed-wire fence that enclosed the fairgrounds. Melinda wondered how he planned on paying for the food, but she couldn't leave Daniel alone. Not like this-and only now did it occur to her to wonder if he was still alive. She carefully peeled his fingers off of her arm...

I wouldn't do that if I were you, Azgaroth said, gasping as he appeared near them.

Melinda froze. Why not? she asked.

Azgaroth looked disheveled. His suit was crumpled and his pale face was smudged with soot. Melinda was alarmed by this and only because through their entire adventure together, she had never known him to be anything other