For the last four years, Cyrus has been the point man on the contract to recapture the Incarnate and deliver her to the Pastophori of Iset. A gifted tracker and a fearless werewolf, he harbors a wild, inexplicable passion for the Incarnate that has driven him to hunt her. He was one of the original captors that brought her to Bernadette when his obsession with her began. Having found her, Cyrus and his pack find themselves torn between two objectives: take her by force and deliver her to yet another group of fanatics, or help her uncover the traitor among her coven.
Taking Back Sunday (Incarnate, #1
Cristy Moran
Excerpt 1 – from Chapter Four (haunted by memories of her past)
Sunday’s eyes shot open, and she jolted upright in bed. Her body was covered in sweat, and her
heart was racing. Gripping the sheets in a white-knuckled fist, she scanned the room frantically to make
sure that it was only a dream.
Curtains veiled the room from the early morning sun outside. When her eyes landed on the
photo on the nightstand, she drew in a hard breath and slowly blew it out. She was in her room in
Columbia, not a stone basement beneath Bernadette’s once-sprawling Washington estate. She ran to
the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.
“When will this be over?” she muttered to her reflection.
Black and blue bags tugged at her bloodshot eyes, and worry lined her forehead. Hair mussed
and tangled from tossing relentlessly in bed stood at all ends.
Half a decade earlier, nightmares like the one last night had been the proverbial straw that
broke the camel’s back. They had tipped Sunday off to the world hidden behind the veil of Bernadette’s
sorcery. Until that time, Sunday couldn’t remember anything before her life at the right hand of the
powerful witch. She didn’t even remember thinking that there was a time before then.
Her first real memory, at the time, had been waking as an amnesiac to the first thirteen years of
her life. Through slits for eyes, Sunday made out the blurred shape of a man carrying her down a dim
hallway. He radiated heat. Cradled in his arms, Sunday remembered thinking that she had never felt so
warm in her life. Teeth chattering and freezing, her body shook uncontrollably against his chest. When
her body jerked, he tightened his arms around her and held her closer. Her head fell against his chest,
and she breathed a sigh of relief. Mind as blank as a newborn’s, Sunday had known no comfort in her
life but this. As she closed her eyes again, she fell asleep.
For the first few weeks, her body healed. Open wounds turned to scabs and later scarred.
Bruises turned green, and then yellow until they disappeared. During the weeks of her recovery,
Bernadette visited Sunday regularly. She sat on the edge of Sunday’s bed and lay the girl’s head on her
lap.
“My little girl,” she cooed as she petted Sunday’s head and caressed her gently. “I will teach you
all the ways of the Incarnate, and you will shine as a star shines, only brighter. Yours will be the light of
the sun, and we will be strong together.”
Under the witch’s hand, Sunday’s spirit relinquished itself and its authority to Bernadette. The
witch had burned her, but the witch had saved her.
“I will show you the world that most do not see because they cannot see. I will show you of our
kind’s dominion over the world of man and the world of magic. I will teach you of your power and of the
power we hold over all that we can see, all that we can touch, which is so much more than that which
other men can see, be they human or beast.”
As Bernadette lulled her to sleep, every cell in Sunday’s body tingled. Little by little, her life
before the witch drifted further and further away until it all but disappeared. There was nothing then,
nothing but Bernadette.
Purchase Links
Dreamcast
Playlist
1. Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill
2. Little Lies - Fleetwood Mac
3. Midnight Creeper - Eagles of Death
Metal
4. Devon - Grimes
5. Burn the Witch – Queens of the Stone
Age
6. It's a Curse - Wolf Parade
7. Wolf Like Me - TV on the Radio
8. Soon - My Bloody Valentine
9. If the World Ends - Guillemots
10. The Queen of all Returns - Dead Meadow
11. Demons - Sleigh Bells
12. Witchcraft – Wolfmother
13. The Lucid Dream - The Life and Times
14. Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac
Teasers
Ten Fun Facts about Cristy Moran
1. One time, I was offered a job at the White House.
But I was in middle school then, and I couldn’t take it. True story.
2. Neil Diamond called me on the phone one time
and woke me up from a nap. Yes. That Neil Diamond. And I cried because, seriously, it was
amazing and I was overwhelmed.
3. I know all the words to Wayne’s World </
em>by memory and can recite the entire script at the drop of a hat.
4. My favorite fictional character of all time is Dr.
John “Trapper John” McIntyre from the novel and movie MASH.
5. I am tall: 5’11”, and I’ve been this height since I
was thirteen years old.
6. I did a two-week-long Shakespeare study abroad
at Stratford Upon Avon in England when I was in college.
7. I absolutely love going to the dentist.</
p>
8. Technically, I was once in a high-speed police car
chase. I wasn’t the felon, nor was I the cop. I was somewhere in the middle when my friend who was
driving at the time said, “Wanna be in a high-speed car chase?” to which I answered, “Gun it!” and we
did.
9. Of all the colors I’ve dyed my hair, I prefer washed
out blue the most.
10. My cat is named after a comic book character of a little girl who doesn’t
realize that she is dead, Lenore, and my dog is named after Indiana Jones and Sherlock (Henry
Holmes).
Excerpt 2 – from Chapter Seven (Sunday and Cyrus meet)
As Cyrus and Sunday’s eyes met, the world shifted. The stale stench of cigarette and pungent
clove smoke lifted. The penetrating music and the muffled shouting that passed for conversation at the
club quieted. In less than a second, Cyrus was utterly changed. Cyrus’ soul settled. In the place of the
consuming hate he’d nursed for over a decade, he knew peace. His entire body relaxed, and his mind
quieted. His heart froze. The breath caught in his chest.
Sunday’s body swayed as her friend tugged to keep her moving forward, but she stood her
ground. Even after Cyrus released her arm, her eyes remained locked with his while her friend asked
what the matter was. Her cheeks flushed. As soon as she smiled, her eyes followed suit shimmering like
honey.
Another handful of seconds passed when she finally looked away, bent her head slightly, and
lowered her chin. She was blushing. Smiling. Tilting her face up, she wrinkled her nose coyly and batted
her eyelashes.
“Do I know you?” When Sunday spoke, her voice drowned out every other sound in the room.
She smiled again, awaiting his response.
His chest tightened.
All those years he obsessively chased her, and she didn’t even know he existed. Now, she looked
up at him sheepishly and more adorable than he ever imagined. She wasn’t rushing to leave. She wasn’t
running away. Minutes ago, he was dead-set on tearing her to pieces. It had occurred to him in the past
that he would be unable to turn her over to his contractors alive. He considered the very real possibility
that, when he eventually found her, she would inspire such blind fury that he might unleash his wolf and
tear out her throat. Now, however, confronted with her in the flesh, his anger melted.
“No,” he painfully responded. For such a small word, it took a mountain of effort to say it. It was
all he could do to keep from choking on the lie. She looked at him for another long moment.
“Too bad.”
She turned and walked away. Seconds later, Cyrus remained, staring at the gaping hole left by
her absence. Her words echoed as she left him standing there feeling more lost and confused than ever
in his life.
“What was that about, Cy?”
Cyrus didn’t have an answer. Not allowing his thoughts to delve into their momentary encounter
any longer, Cyrus focused on the task at hand. The wolf couldn’t afford to let his prey on too loose a
leash. Now, more than ever, she couldn’t get away.
About the Author
Cristy Moran lives in Miami, FL. She is a college librarian some of the time, a
reader and writer most of the time, and a knitter much less of the time than she was six months before
she took up writing again. She’s also a nerd and a geek, and proud to be.
Cristy writes the books that she likes to read. Her women are strong and out-spoken and her men run the gamut. Love stories abound in Cristy's work because, really, aren't love stories the best? There's always a killer soundtrack running in the background of her novels - all you need to do is turn to the playlist to know what's up.
Cristy writes the books that she likes to read. Her women are strong and out-spoken and her men run the gamut. Love stories abound in Cristy's work because, really, aren't love stories the best? There's always a killer soundtrack running in the background of her novels - all you need to do is turn to the playlist to know what's up.
· Facebook http://www.facebook.com/cristymoranwrites
· Website http://www.cristymoranwrites.com
· Goodreads http://bit.ly/1iD1Ujy
· Amazon http://amzn.to/1g0t4kf
· Smashwords http://bit.ly/OBKwRb
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thanks for posting today! :)
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