The Scent Of Power: Isabella (Izzy) Tulley & Aiden Black Series, #2

By Eri Nelson

**An Artistic Rendering**
 
(All of Eri Nelson's work are her own expressive interpretations of words. Hence a great deal of morphological reasoning is broken.)
 

Published (September 13, 2013)

From the unorthodox author Eri Nelson emerges book two in a modern day whirlwind weave to mythology's take on tales. From the Isabella (Izzy) Tulley & Aiden Black Series comes the sparks that could truly only be Izzy herself. 

As fate belted her for knowing the truth, Izzy now finds out that Aiden has gone missing. Having not ended on a heartwarming note, the electorally-charged-mortal with a warped take on being a goddess plans for a search and rescue. 

With plans for Aiden's rescue almost halted by Arnost and Meg, Izzy takes in an ill paced smell. No lie, her new power is the act of being able to smell it. However, this hasn't stopped the rotten flesh of the dead from leaving their scent in the act of trying to harm Izzy. 

In an ever growing list of Izzy's enemies one will hold the fatherly insight she has desired or will he?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eri Nelson
• Release date: Dec 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781492365051

Book preview

Prologue

The newspaper lay open and the three companions read the contents very closely...

The Daily

Mr. Aiden Black, a prominent business man, goes missing after bloody neck bites spew city wide

One of our leading citizens Mr. Aiden Black has been missing for a while now so said a representative for Black industries.

The company’s representative has been quoted saying, Never has Mr. Black been away from for his desk this long. Our boards of trustees have grown uneasy. Especially after the string of strange bites that have been plaguing down upon our fair city. (Please contact the company if you have any information regarding Mr. Aiden Black’s whereabouts.)

There have been a number of unanswerable bites appearing among our community. As of last count, two hundred people have been marked. Five out of those hundreds were indentified at the morgue. Although our Mayor believes this perhaps could be blamed toward a mosquito infestation.

Some radical groups are claiming more drastic steps need to be taken. They fear an on take of vampires are to blame. The Mayor does not agree with the sci-fi lunacy of these groups.

A citywide pesticide is scheduled for later this week.

She had still been receiving the paper of her hometown and if she had not been they never would have known Aiden was missing. Aiden had definitely left his mark among Isabella’s, Izzy’s, memory. How could a tall dark forty-two year old man not. Being over six foot, tan, laced with jet-black hair and to top it off blue eyes made it hard to forget him. Not to mention the time they rolled all over the past with each other wrapped in the other’s arms. Nope, Izzy was not about to forget Aiden anytime soon.

She had not cancelled her subscription to the paper but instead had it resent to her new home in Cottonwood, Arizona. It was not a way to keep up on Aiden. No, ultimately she had hoped to one-day return home. Least that is what she had told herself, when she had gone to redirect the paper to her new address and renew for another year. A lot had happen in the past few weeks. Nothing seemed as it was. Even now, she could still feel that secrets were being kept. Hopefully there were not as big as having to kill your own brother. That one kept truth still rather had a sting to it.

There had been so little to do as to where her belongings were concerned. Gailen pretty much had destroyed her apartment as well as the whole building. Gailen had been her brother, the brother she had to hold for another God to eat.

The newspaper, her bills, and an old ragged book seemed to be the only things left from her previous life. She had to pay the bills so the paper and the book were all that truly remained. The book was something she did not ever remember purchasing but the paper represented something familiar and stable. Therefore, she was drawn more to it than anything else.

Meg, Arnost, and Izzy had gathered at Arnost’s home to make short a read of the paper and discuss what must be done. As always, there seem to be rebuttal of a negative form. Aiden had yet to gain friendship with Arnost and Meg.

Izzy left after no recourse could be reached. Feeling at a loss, she stumbled down the small bluff, her long dark brown locks blustering in the night wind and her dark brown eyes adjusting to the lack of light. Her five foot and four inch frame was as sturdy as it came not to mention pretty muscular with all the training Arnost had her enduring daily. Izzy never saw herself as any dazzling beauty but she never had a man not stop twice to look her up and down either.

Her meager home waited below and it was just as well because no decision to rescue Aiden was going to be made back at Arnost’s house. The trailer was adequate at best but it suited Izzy. Arnost had the house on the hill and Izzy lived below in a 1956 mobile home. Izzy thought perhaps it had to be one of the first ever built, surely it looked it. A lifetime ago when she was living in Cincinnati, her apartment had been simple and to the point much like the trailer. She was a no frills type of girl.

Almost in reach of the trailer door Izzy seemed to perceive her own boundaries. For now, she found that she could smell another’s power laced with something more and unfamiliar to Izzy nearing her position.

Before she could stop to examine her new capability, he was on her. Pure animal, this inhuman being raised claws to skin seeking access to her neck. Izzy would have none of this so she concentrated on her flow and reached to feel for needed sparks. However, the reaction she sought did not come. Instead, she froze her assailant in midair.

Lying beneath her stilled bushwhacker Izzy breathed in utter relief.

Hearing Izzy’s struggle, Meg and Arnost soon arrived. Is he just hanging there? Meg commented in surprise.

It sure as hell looks like it, Arnost shouted off. He still was amiss of Meg and Izzy. Meg herself knew why. They worked together out of Izzy’s sake. Course neither of them had to like it.

Breathing heavy Izzy added, Well I think we can add a few extra powers to the list.

You did this?

She is the only one out her Arnost, snapped Meg.

Arnost growled clenching his fist to reply but Izzy was quicker and far more filled with adrenaline than her two combatants were.

Will the two of you take a damn pill? Swallowing hard Izzy finished her harsh words at Arnost and Meg with, Looks like more than a few extra abilities here on my part. And this particular piece of mayhem just tried to latch on to my artier.

Meg moved in for a closer look. With a gasp, she stepped back.

This is not good.

What is he? Meg?

He’s blood mad, said Arnost.

Blood mad? What are you two talking about? This some kind of vampire thing? Part humor and part fear of the latest books Izzy said, He’s not sparkly is he?

It’s worse...., both Arnost and Meg answered in unison.

Eager for shelter from the night Arnost issued off orders for Izzy to use her electrical charge and lay fire on their speculative cursed invader...

Chapter 1

~The dinner was set so it could be said that the stage was complete. As the doorbell began to ring, their cast of characters began to arrive. It was a façade but one of utter importance. All must go well; Aiden’s life depended on it. Aiden was a man of some importance in Cincinnati. He had some wealth and he made sure everyone knew of it. They had been rather locked with a weird power exchange ever since Aiden had seen her first real act of telekinesis. Back then, she had no idea of what she was doing. Her only thought was to help an elderly woman from being robbed at gunpoint. Funny thing was after all of it was over the woman had grabbed her bag off the alley and started to hit Izzy with it. So much for being a Good Samaritan. She liked to think that tonight was more than Samaritan behavior. Whatever weird bond she shared with Aiden, Izzy felt she had to save him. If for nothing more than it felt right to do.

Soon as they were seated, the meal was to be served. Izzy played host as best she could. Izzy was short for Isabella. Isabella Tulley, but she just could not bring herself to be that formal. Even with going from average girl in a big city to an electrical charged telekinetic mortal Goddess living as far urban as one can go. She considered herself a simple girl with a lot of Godly baggage.

The whole God thing was a lot to swallow. Still being mortal made it hard to see any of her life as a God. Even with all the shots and giggles of the power thing. Heavens, the power was just something she had to accept. It was the only thing keeping her alive and she hoped that would stay true through this evening.

Arnost her one arm one false leg Demi God was self-assured at her side. This always helped to ease any of Izzy’s questioning nerves. Though his looks put him, around sixty it was likely that her comrade was closer to the millennium age. No matter his era Arnost’s simple warrior attitude made it easy for others not to question his position, which in turn made Izzy’s roll easier.

Course those who knew the real aspects of Arnost only assumed he was thousands of years old. He himself had lost track. Having spent so much time distancing himself from humans, which eventually lost him a lot of his humanity. Rather a fact that in his later years he tried to correct. If one were ever to think Arnost gave into more of his Godliness, then they could never be more wrong. Under the misguided misfortune, those who were mistaken had ever told Arnost, they would soon find their teeth knocked down their throats. He was not the Gods biggest fan. Arnost had a lot of hang-ups where they were concerned and Izzy did not blame him. In fact she herself could not claim to be an admirer even with her sister and mother being ones themselves. Nevertheless, in a tight space like tonight she would take Arnost over any full-blooded God.

They were all here so Izzy could search for their faceless source out through the others. Tonight’s play was all about drawing information from the neighborhood residence. If they stuck to their script, all should go according to plan. However, since when did it ever really work out that way?

Izzy made conversation with their guest. As each new participant came close to converse, Izzy would try to catch the scent of her prey. They knew he was here. The small urban community reeked of him. It had taken them a few days to search him out. When they gotten wind of the sweet deal this community had worked out with their suspect they knew it was now to act.

Like a drug, the bite of the cursed can spread euphoria on to its prey. It seems that the inhabitants of the gated community had all willing signed up to be a menu of sorts. Izzy looked on at them all as drug users waiting to be hooked up to their next fix.

Meg had tried to explain to her sister that this was a far lesser of two evils. Still the whole idea sickened Izzy. Meg her sister was the keeper of records for the Gods. The five-foot busty curly blonde-haired woman was as cute as a porcelain doll but hated to be told that. Nevertheless, it still was one thing about Meg that Izzy loved, her own personal doll and it was something Izzy knew to keep to herself. Izzy and Meg’s history together had not been what Izzy had originally thought. Still having need of each other their bonds had changed but also grew into something else.

They were here pretending to be new residence. Needing this bloodsucker as bait did not bode well with Izzy but little did about this plan. Once a favorite son he was their only choice to regain Aiden. Variety of news media unwittingly tipped those who knew what to look for, that The Cursed was making their presence known. From the magnitude of those who had been inflicted with the supposed mosquito infestation, it could be only one whom would have that much power. Tonight was a chance to find another who could help catch up to her.

Deep in discovery, Izzy had missed the last interloper to arrive. Therefore, it was of no surprise to Arnost when the room had paused, and their cast of characters had been frozen to statures’ of possible future casualties. What was a surprise was what Izzy did next.

Perched on the neck of her trailed scent assailant Izzy merely said.... I smell your power, and with that she licked the crest of his collar. More importantly I taste your fear.

~Sex bathed the room in its heady perfume. Stagnant on the air the heavy aroma called to one’s senses. Emi lie in her tomb looking room sprawled out