Prelude to a Storm

By Cecily Magnon

Sarah Amalfi and her best friend Samantha are headed to Tijuana looking for some summer fun after their high school graduation... but there’s something far more sinister looming over this road trip than an innocent shopping trip at Tijuana’s famous market place...

Warnings from strangers, a vicious attack by a shadowy assailant, a charismatic stranger named Will...

What do they want with Sarah?

Sarah is forced to consider that there was nothing chance about her meeting with Will, but how can she accept the fantastic possibilities that Will presents to her? A hidden realm within our own, governed by cryptic magic, ancient alliances, demons... and passion beyond her understanding

The truth comes hard and fast in this riveting prequel to the romantic supernatural awakening of Gathering Storm!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cecily Magnon
• Release date: May 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310741449

Cecily Magnon

Cecily Magnon is from the fertile valleys of northern California, where she lives with her husband and kids, and gets inspired by the diversity, beauty, and bounty of the people and of the land around her.A self-proclaimed nerd girl, Cecily has had a fascination with all topics outside of the norm since she was a little girl. Things of fantasy, magick, sci-fi, the supernatural, and day dreams are the juice that nourishes her imagination and infuse into her writing.According to Cecily, there is no such thing as “ordinary” when you believe and you see that the everyday is filled with magick.

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Acknowledgement

To my husband and kids, I do this for you.

I love you guys!

To Nancy and Alita, what can I say?

This dream wouldn’t be where it is without you. I love you both!

Free Book Offer

Thank you for picking up this prequel and short read, Prelude to a Storm.

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Gathering Storm, Order of the Anakim

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Chapter One

Mid July, 1984

Sarah sighed deeply, her right hand loose on the steering wheel, her left raking through her long, dark hair. Contentment eased through her body as she looked at the stretch of road ahead of her. She loved to drive. It gave her a sense of freedom and control and she didn't get to do it enough in her hometown of San Francisco.

But being here, spending a couple of weeks with Samantha's family on vacation in San Diego, and having the independence to drive around town has been liberating. She looked ahead, trusting her sense of direction and a freshly bought map to get them to their destination. A smile crept on her face as she pressed deeper onto the accelerator. This is what she wanted, this feeling of pure happiness and being able to go where she wanted. She was seventeen, just graduated, and right now, right this moment, all she knew was that she was up for an adventure. Excitement replaced the relaxed mood as butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she felt electricity buzz on her skin.

They were on the 805 to Tijuana, just past Chula Vista. Maybe it was her eagerness making her heart thunder and her breathing go shallow, but she could almost feel the change in the air as they got closer to the Border. They got an early start, wanting to get to Tijuana during the morning hours -- before the heat of July made them change their minds about tromping around the famous border town.

Oh. My. God! We’re gonna totally have so much fun! Samantha smacked her gum loudly.

Sarah caught her friend with a quick turn of her neck, just as the girl moved her head in circles to catch different parts of her face in the small sun-visor mirror. Her lips protruded out like swollen rose petals, while she slid bright red lipstick repeatedly over the top lip then the bottom. Sarah had always marveled at Samantha's preening habits. Her hair alone took at least one can of hairspray before Sam was satisfied that the stiff waterfalls she called bangs would actually hold their shape. Sarah on the other hand, preferred to keep her hair flat and unsprayed. She called it natural. Samantha called her a hippie. They were so different on the outside, but Samantha was her dearest friend. We need music, she declared and reached for the cassette sticking out of the player. With a quick tap of a finger, the cassette was sucked in by the whirring mechanism inside the stereo, she heard it click in place and soon Madonna was belting out, Like a Virgin.

Without thinking about it, Sarah found herself rocking in her seat, swaying to the grooves of the song as she drove down the freeway, leaving behind California. This was going to be a fun day. They’d