Time Piece: The Chronicles of Kerrigan Sequel, #2

By W.J. May

The highly-anticipated sequel to the Chronicles of Kerrigan series, by USA TODAY bestselling author, W.J. May

It's time.

Fame is a fickle friend...

After the world discovers that the infamous Simon Kerrigan is alive, public opinion of Rae and her friends begins to shift. While most people remain fiercely loyal, there are many who call for justice. There are even more who call for blood.

Caught in the volatile beginnings of a civil war, Rae struggles to keep the peace. But there's a battle brewing on the home front as well. As the reunited Kerrigan family gears up for the trial of the century, they all find themselves asking the same question:

Can you ever really escape the past?

READ THE WHOLE SERIES:

Prequel Series:
Christmas Before the Magic
Question the Darkness
Into the Darkness
Fight the Darkness
Alone in the Darkness
Lost in Darkness

The Chronicles of Kerrigan Series
Rae of Hope
Dark Nebula
House of Cards
Royal Tea
Under Fire
End in Sight
Hidden Darkness
Twisted Together
Mark of Fate
Strength & Power
Last One Standing
Rae of Light

The Chronicles of Kerrigan Sequel
A Matter of Time
Time Piece
Second Chance
Glitch in Time
Our Time
Precious Time

The Chronicles of Kerrigan: Gabriel
Living in the Past
Present for Today
Staring at the Future

Kerrigan Chronicles

Stopping Time, A Passage of Time, Ticking Clock

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Shadow Publishing
• Release date: Jan 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781540190932

W.J. May

About W.J. May Welcome to USA TODAY BESTSELLING author W.J. May's Page! SIGN UP for W.J. May's Newsletter to find out about new releases, updates, cover reveals and even freebies! http://eepurl.com/97aYf   Website: http://www.wjmaybooks.com Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-WJ-May-FAN-PAGE/141170442608149?ref=hl *Please feel free to connect with me and share your comments. I love connecting with my readers.* W.J. May grew up in the fruit belt of Ontario. Crazy-happy childhood, she always has had a vivid imagination and loads of energy. After her father passed away in 2008, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off. She is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.

Book preview

THE ENTIRE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN SERIES:

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THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN: PREQUEL –

Christmas Before the Magic

Question the Darkness

Into the Darkness

Fight the Darkness

Alone in the Darkness

Lost the Darkness

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THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN

Book I - Rae of Hope is FREE!

Book Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gILAwXxx8MU

Book II - Dark Nebula

Book Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca24STi_bFM

Book III - House of Cards

Book IV - Royal Tea

Book V - Under Fire

Book VI - End in Sight

Book VII – Hidden Darkness

Book VIII – Twisted Together

Book IX – Mark of Fate

Book X – Strength & Power

Book XI – Last One Standing

Book XII – Rae of Light

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THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN SEQUEL

Matter of Time

Time Piece

Second Chance

Glitch in Time

Our Time

Precious Time

The Chronicles of Kerrigan: Gabriel

Living in the Past

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Present for Today

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Staring at the Future

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Kerrigan Chronicles

Book 1 – Stopping Time

Book 2 – A Passage of Time

Book 3 – Ticking Clock

Find W.J. May

Website:

http://www.wanitamay.yolasite.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-WJ-May-FAN-PAGE/141170442608149

Newsletter:

SIGN UP FOR W.J. May's Newsletter to find out about new releases, updates, cover reveals and even freebies!

http://eepurl.com/97aYf

C:\Users\wanitajump\Documents\CoK Series\CoKBanner.pngC:\Users\wanitajump\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCacheContent.Word\Time Peice Facebook Cover Art.jpg

Description

Time Piece

The Chronicles of Kerrigan Sequel #2

THE HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED sequel to the Chronicles of Kerrigan series, by international bestselling author, W.J. May

It's time.

Fame is a fickle friend...

After the world discovers that the infamous Simon Kerrigan is alive, public opinion of Rae and her friends begins to shift. While most people remain fiercely loyal, there are many who call for justice. There are even more who call for blood.

Caught in the volatile beginnings of a civil war, Rae struggles to keep the peace. But there's a battle brewing on the home front as well. As the reunited Kerrigan family gears up for the trial of the century, they all find themselves asking the same question:

Can you ever really escape the past?

Contents

THE ENTIRE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN SERIES:

Find W.J. May

Description

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Second Chance Blurb:

The Chronicles of Kerrigan

More books by W.J. May

TUDOR COMPARISON:

SIGN UP FOR W.J. MAY’S NEWSLETTER

‘Take me to the time when things were fine, it’s all broken now.’

The Maine

Chapter 1

‘Take me to the time when things were fine, it’s all broken now.’

The Maine

Rae read the headlines and dropped the newspapers on the table, one by one. Someone had been nice enough to leave them there for her. Actually, judging by the titles, nice may not have been their intent.

SIMON KERRIGAN LIVES!

Followed by an up-close picture of his face.

A COUNTRY IN TURMOIL: THE RETURN OF SIMON KERRIGAN

Followed by a wide-shot of the smoking mansion. A giant hole ripped through the side.

PEACE AND SOLITUDE IN KENT?!

The next had a picture of all Rae’s friends. Dazed and disoriented. Tangled in a bloody heap.

PRIVY COUNCIL PRESIDENT FOUND WITH FAMOUS FUGITIVE

A THANKSGIVING TRAGEDY

MASSIVE EXPLOSION REVEALS TERRIBLE SECRET

And finally, her favorite...

FATHER AND DAUGHTER REUNITED?

This one had been taken while she was still unconscious. Though Simon was in bad shape himself, he had somehow managed to stand and was dragging her across the lawn away from the apocalyptic crater caused by the explosion. His hands were wrapped around her bloody wrists, and the look on his face was nothing short of frantic.

If she closed her eyes and focused her concentration, she felt as though she could almost remember. Are you alright? Sweetheart, are you alright?! he’d kept asking her, staring down in horror as she fought to stay awake.

He’d been dragging her away from the danger. Just like, only seconds before the explosion, he’d been trying to protect Beth. Angling himself in front of her like a shield.

In the picture, it looked like he was trying to make off with his daughter’s mangled body.

Great. Just another impossible thing for me to try to explain.

Rae winced at the notion, and raised an icepack once again to her forehead.

She was in a facility she didn’t recognize. A halfway house between the Privy Council’s base by Guilder and the Knight’s countryside fortress. It was a place that had yet to see much use, one of three such compounds originally intended to be a convenient halfway point for the two factions to meet in the days leading up to the epic showdown with Cromfield. It was Carter’s idea. A ‘middle ground’ that he felt would be important in the days to come.

Unfortunately, things had escalated towards the final battle so quickly that by the time the moment for such facilities was upon them, the ‘battle to save the world’ had already been fought and won. The halfway houses didn’t last through the end of the week. The first two had already been repurchased by the English government for administrative use. Rae hadn’t even realized this one was still in the Council’s possession until she woke up on a hospital cot in the corner.

As she looked around now, she couldn’t help but think the place looked a little sad. There were moving boxes stacked in the corner. A clock mounted onto the wall had yet to be set. Plastic covers were still on the furniture.

Rae was fiddling distractedly with the edge of her chair, fingers alternatingly melting then cooling the hard-plastic edge, when the door opened suddenly and a petite girl hurried through. She was pretty, maybe sixteen or seventeen, with tumbles of brunette hair and a bright smile that lit up the delicate features of her face.

The smile was welcome. So was the coffee she was holding.

Hi, I’m Samantha. She even sounded bright, like an over-animated cartoon trapped in a young girl’s body. Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you, I just thought you might want this. She held out the coffee like an offering between them.

Thank you. Rae took it with a grateful sigh. You have no idea.

The icepack came down again as the coffee came up to her lips. Oh, praise the gods of caffeine! She had been considering conjuring a cup of her own, but under the circumstances she thought it best she keep as low a profile as possible.

Not the easiest thing to do. Even now, from the corner of her eye, she could see the girl watching her every move, rapt with attention.

Sorry, she apologized again when Rae caught her staring, I’ve just... I’ve heard so much about you. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing you. In the flesh.

Ah yes, this cult of unwilling celebrity she’d been made a part of.

Rae gestured to the bloody dusting of plaster still coating her clothes and hair with a wry grin. Such as it is.

No, you’re exactly how I always pictured you, Samantha said fervently. "Powerful, dynamic, headstrong. Young." She seemed to appreciate this last bit best of all.

Rae shifted restlessly in the chair, uncomfortable to be under yet another spotlight. To find herself, once again, trapped under the weight of another stranger’s impossible expectations. She averted her eyes and secretly hoped that her friends weren’t going through the same ordeal—though they’d also never turn down a cup of coffee. Rae had already had to deal with her share of attention since the epic battle against Cromfield. Her new position as president demanded it. But the others had been uncannily successful in thwarting those clamoring to speak to them thus far. The mansion in Kent had been the perfect place to accomplish such isolation, and it was isolation they craved at every level.

She could only imagine what they were going through now.

Actually, Samantha is it? The girl nodded eagerly. Do you happen to know where all of my friends are? I want to make sure they’re okay. Her memory of the aftermath of the explosion was shoddy at best. Things blinked in and out of focus, stringing tenuously together with significant gaps in between.

Julian and Devon had gotten the worst of it. They were still out cold when she’d been picked up by the medics and carried away. She remembered trying to get to them—even trying to use a tatù to do so—but her powers had been completely drained. The ink she’d used to accidentally cause the explosion had been a hybrid power, one of her best. Needless to say, she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be in fighting form any time soon.

Luke and Kraigan were bloodied, but awake. She remembered Kraigan kept trying to get to his feet, to run to his father, but his leg was trapped under a piece of debris. Luke watched him go at it for a second before staggering towards Molly, clutching his wrist all the while.

She hadn’t seen Angel, and that worried her to no small degree. Gabriel and Beth had both been thrown clear across the lawn. But she’d heard the paramedics clearly say on the radio that no one had been killed. That injuries varied from superficial to serious, but none were critical.

Her chaotic mistake thankfully hadn’t killed anyone.

Which only left her father.

They’d taken him in cuffs. Ignoring his injuries. Ignoring the fact that he wasn’t trying to run, but was only clinging to his daughter to make sure she was alright. Ignoring everything except his face. His name. The two things he couldn’t change. The two things that were about to damn him forever.

She remembered enough to know that no one had been seriously hurt, but that did absolutely nothing to assuage her guilt. Especially as not only did she inadvertently cause the explosion by losing control of Camille’s power, but since the shockwave originated with her she was also the one least affected.

Somehow, subconsciously, she’d protected Molly as well. She clearly remembered the dazed little red-head walking to the ambulance of her own volition. She’d walked, wasn’t carried. That had to be a good sign.

Rae blinked and focused on the present, and the young teenager standing in front of her. Are my friends and family okay?

Samantha must have sensed her plight and smiled quickly. As far as I know, all of them are doing fine. A couple breaks, burns, and concussions. But nothing too serious. I think Commander Fodder wanted to separate you all for...for medical attention.

To make sure we all had our stories straight. Rae read between the lines, and nodded slowly. Yeah. I’ll bet. Careful, Rae. It’s not this kid’s fault. She took another sip of coffee. She needed time to think. Needed this incessant pounding in the back of her head to stop for a second so she could come up with some sort of plausible explanation. Most importantly, she needed a second to gather herself—a second alone.

But Samantha clearly had no intention of leaving. Quite the contrary. When it became clear that Rae wasn’t going to evict her outright, she sank into a nearby chair. Sorry, she apologized for a third time. It’s just, since you’re waiting, I mean, since we’re both just sitting here... She trailed off nervously, then pressed on. It looked like he was trying to kidnap you. Like he attacked the mansion, and was trying to drag you away...

She let the statement hang in the air, waiting for confirmation or denial.

Rae dropped her face into her hands and stifled a sigh. She didn’t resent the girl for her questions. Not in the slightest. She just didn’t want to sit here and try to answer them all right now.

"I mean...was that actually Simon Kerrigan? Samantha continued cautiously. Is he really the guy responsible for all of this?"

The throbbing in the back of Rae’s head increased tenfold. Yeah, it was Simon Kerrigan, she murmured, almost to herself. She brought her head up and met Samantha’s gaze. But no, he wasn’t trying to drag me away. The house... he wasn’t responsible. That was me.

The girl’s pupils dilated with abnormal focus, hanging onto every word. Because you were trying to stop him, right? There was a hunger in her voice that no number of sunny smiles could contain. A fervent thirst for answers. Because you and the rest of them were fighting him off?

Rae picked up the icepack again, stalling for time. I’m sorry...who exactly are you?

The girl blinked and quickly leaned back in her chair, unaware of the fact that she had been perched on the very edge. Samantha Neilson. I was just... I was at the facility already, and I thought you might want some coffee. It’s even better than ink, right? She laughed nervously.

Rae never blinked. You were already at the facility? Why?

Oh, the girl flicked an identification badge around her neck, one Rae had been too tired and disoriented yet to notice, I came here with the press van—

"The PRESS?!" Rae leapt to her feet, but Samantha held up her hands peaceably.

And everything we’re talking about is completely off the record. I swear. You have a tatù that can do that, right? That can tell you if I’m telling the truth? She waited expectantly, and Rae slowly nodded. I didn’t come in here as press. I was just—

Bringing me coffee, I know. Rae sank slowly back into her chair with an almost begrudging grin. Bringing her coffee and getting the secret scoop everyone was dying to know. It was a move that Rae might have done herself. Covert operations cloaked in caffeine. A Kerrigan classic. A thought occurred to her suddenly. Aren’t you a little young to be press?

Student paper, Samantha replied quickly, glancing at the clock as if suddenly wondering how much time she had left. So, you never said... you guys were fighting him off, right? What some people are saying, that you were hiding him there... But that can’t be true. You’d never do that.

Rae’s chest tightened, and for a split second she found herself unable to look the young girl in the eye. She focused on the table instead. Focused on her breathing. Samantha, it was nice meeting you, but I think I should be getting ready to speak with Commander Fodder now, she said quietly.

Samantha looked like someone had snatched away her favorite toy. But I really want you to tell... Then her eyes met Rae’s, and she trailed off with a sigh. A second later she pushed to her feet, looking like that cartoonish light had been snuffed right out. You should drink your coffee, she said dully. It’ll wake you up.

Rae nodded, but was no longer thirsty. She couldn’t see past the girl’s profound disappointment. Not disappointment at the fact that Rae didn’t answer her questions, but disappointment at the fact that, somehow, they both already sensed what those answers would be.

How many other people will feel the exact same way? How many other people already do?

Really, Samantha said again, you should drink. As she pushed open the door and slipped out into the hall, Rae heard her mutter, You’re going to need it."

The door slammed shut, echoing in the sudden silence.

RAE WAS STILL DRINKING when Fodder came into the room. In fact, she hadn’t stopped for a second since Samantha’s departure. She set down the cup, still feeling dazed.

Happy Thanksgiving, he said curtly.

Pie. He had brought pie. It slipped from his hands when he saw my father.

The sudden flashback filled Rae with a wave of guilt, and she bowed her head to her chest. Not exactly the one you were expecting...

He made no attempt to answer. Instead, he simply sat down on the opposite side of the table, folded his hands in front of him, and waited.

Rae shifted nervously under his piercing gaze, and gestured to the newspapers to break the ice. They really work fast, don’t they?

His eyes never left her face. Well, it’s such a sensational story. Mind telling me?

He was reining it in. Playing the part of the Commander. Trying not to act as hurt and betrayed as he felt. Rae didn’t blame him. They had come so far in the last few months. Made so many strides towards an open, sustainable partnership. Transparency was key. Friendship—the unintentional yet welcome result. With a grandchild on the way, he was literally going to be family.

And now this.

Let me help you start, he said sharply.

His eyes flashed with scarcely-contained frustration,