I hang my head in sorrow for just a moment when I know I am truly alone. I feel like I’m going to my execution, just as he had said. Then I move forward again. I hop a fence of fieldstone and cross a field dotted with Queen Anne’s lace. Goose bumps rise on my arms as I pass the cluster of windmills that I have seen in a dream. The scent is sweet in the field though, not the scent of heat, like it had been when it was forced upon me in visions. I gaze down the hill, beyond the small, whitewashed house that I knew would be there. The church looms dark and grim with its rough-hewn, timber façade, capped by tall, oblong spires reaching to the sky. Black, ominous clouds have collected above the roofline, as if Heaven is showing me the way.
About this author
Author of Inescapable: The Premonition Series (Volume 1), Intuition: The Premonition Series (Volume 2), Indebted: The Premonition Series (Volume 3) , and Incendiary: The Premonition Series (Volume 4). Currently working on a fifth novel in the Premonition Series entitled Iniquity.
I live in Michigan with my husband and our two sons. My family is very supportive of my writing. When I’m writing, they often bring me the take-out menu so that I can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when I talk about my characters like they’re real. They rarely roll their eyes when I tell them I’ll only be a second while I finish writing a chapter…and then they take off their coats. They ask me how the story is going when I surface after living for hours in a world of my own making. They have learned to accept my “writing uniform” consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at my nerdy bookishness whenever I try to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get me, so they are perfect and I am blessed. Please visit me at my website: www.amyabartol.weebly.com
Be sure to visit her PineInterest page, it has boards for each book with her idea of models for the characters and more.
Links
My Indebted Review
I can’t stress enough, how much I just love this series. It’s full of emotions, funny parts, and scary action too (not nightmare kind, just creepiness overall in parts)
I find Evie such a strong person. She fascinates me on how unconditional she loves. Also, at how fierce she is when she wants to protects those she loves. She will always put them first, its an amazing thing.
This book brings a whole new set of dangers for poor Evie. She sacrifices her own freedom to save Brownie and Russel from a very evil creature. She ends up having to make a deal, and make a magical contract with Bremmus, which is the worst. Having to give up seeing Reed to go with Bremmus (who is a faerie/vampire called the Gancanagh) who agreed to kill this other creature to save Russel and Brownie, it a magical binding one, she physically can’t see, talk to, or go to Reed. She sees him, she goes frozen, can’t talk, move or anything, if she tried to contact him, no form of doing so works, even through others, as it knows it’s through them she is trying to get a message to Reed.
So its really bad. But the good part is Bremmus agreed to not bite her, or any others in the clan, and also not to try to change her into one of them. If one bit her, it breaks the contract. So it’s quite interesting at all the things that go on here for sure.
I don’t want to say too much more at what happens overall, there is a lot for sure. It sets up great for the next book for sure.
Below are a few teasers that I really liked, hope you do too.
I really liked this scene, it was pretty funny. When Evie gets a video message from Bremmus that they have her best friend Molly, and that she has been bit, she just emotionally is wrecked, and it’s when that happens this new ability comes out, as clones of her, in full emotional breakdown kindof. And the clones run into the others and they feel what she is feeling. So, it’s funny here when the reaction to them from Zee. I loved it.
A small sound from the wooden gate that connects our pagoda to the others registers in my mind right before Zephyr’s tall frame materializes just inches in front of me. He reaches out to me, grasping my upper arms and pulling me off of my feet to dangle before him. His brown wings are stretching out, blotting out everything behind him but the menacing looking hilt to a broad sword that is strapped to his back.“You are alive,” he states between panting breaths as his eyes rove over every inch of me, assessing me and looking for anything out of place.“Yeah,” I nod in a soft tone, smiling sheepishly while gazing into Zee’s ice-blue eyes. “You get my message?” I add, and then I bite my lower lip as his eyes narrow.“Explain,” he barks, but Reed steps between us, pulling me gently from Zephyr’s grasp.“Evie has a new ability that we didn’t expect. She can send out clones of herself,” Reed says, standing between Zephyr and me. “If your message was anything like mine, then…”“Is that what you are calling it? A message? It felt more like emotional terrorism to me,” Zephyr replies, piercing me with his stare.“Sorry, that’s what I was feeling when it happened,”
Here is another hilarious part, where Evie (full name is Genevieve) and one of the ‘fellas’ of Bremmus’s family asks a question of an item in all of her stuff they took to the castle and set up in a room, keep in mind , these are faeries who were turned into vampire type people, they still have their magic, and are from the Ireland area, so have the Irish accent, which at times is hard to read , got to read slower, to catch what they are saying. Anyway, this part was funny to me (and they are treating her well during her contract she made)
“Whah’s dis ting, Genevieve?” Eion asks, picking up a little troll with purple hair from a shelf.“That’s a troll,” I mutter numbly.“No, ’tis na,” he replies, sniffing it.“Uh, yes it is,” I reply.He raises his eyebrow at me and says, “Dis is na a troll. Trolls are huge and dey smell like arse and dey have razor-sharp teeth dat ’twill gut ye if ye get too close to dem. Dis is a little naked, plastic ting dat’s na da least bit scary.”“Oh,” I reply, stumped.I walk over to the bed and pick up my pillow. Bringing it to my nose I can just make out the smell of home that still lingers faintly on it. In an instant I begin sobbing and I don’t think that I’m ever going to stop.“I’m sorry! ’Tis a troll, I swear ’tis a troll,” Eion says in a rush.
Yeah, the ‘fellas’ are funny at times, like that.
I will leave you with another touching scene, when Reed sneaks in to see Evie while in her contract with Bremmus, as I stated before, she goes immobile, can’t talk or move, only her eyes can move. It’s sad and touching:
Holding me in his arms, his exquisite body is spooning mine, as he inhales the scent of my hair. I want to lie here forever with him, just the two of us.“I’m sorry that I was not there when everything was falling apart,” he whispers and I hear pain in his tone as he speaks of Valentine. “I was too late…I won’t be too late again,” he promises, like he is choking on the words. “Hold on to the string, love, until the current shifts and we can be together again.” His words, spoken so urgently, bring tears to my eyes again.
This series is one of the best I have read. Its got so much going on, but so well plotted out. I really have enjoyed this amazing world that Amy has created. She is truelly gifted.
5 huge stars out of 5 for me. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.
If you liked my review, would be great to have some support at Amazon, by marking it as helpful, Link here, Or even at Goodreads, Like it, Here. Would appreciate it, thanks
Be sure to see my reviews on the other books in this series, including book 4, which is a book tour stop, with a dream cast. The 1st and 2nd also have some dream cast in it too.
All have a Dream Cast.
Excerpt is not too much of a spoiler, if you at least have read book one. You should be fine even if you had not read book 2.
Excerpt
Part of Chapter one
CHAPTER 1
JADE DRAGON MOUNTAIN
EVIE
He can’t hide from me. Not that he is ever trying to, but still, it’s impossible. I know where he is at all times. I’m attuned to his voice, his scent…the beat of his heart. It’s my favorite pastime these days—stalking Reed. It’s a game that I play without knowing that I’m playing it half the time. I hunt him…and he lets me.
As I move through the stone-walled courtyard, my bare feet make almost no sound while I traverse the stone bridge that crosses a tranquil plunge pool in the middle of the Zen garden. A galaxy of stars reflects in the water beneath me, but they can’t hold my attention. Reed is ahead of me, in the bedroom of the Naxi-inspired pagoda that we have been sharing. He is poring over maps of the surrounding terrain. Reed studies these maps frequently, learning everything he can about Lijiang and the Jade Dragon Mountain that has been our base of operations since we arrived in China last week. He has been very busy—too busy.
My eyes shift to the banyan trees in the courtyard that nestles just outside the wide doorway of the pagoda. Illuminated red-paper lanterns are strung within its weeping branches. The light from the lanterns turns my pale skin pink as I creep behind the twisted trunk. I scan the slate porch from my leafy position. The doors are open, allowing the breeze to pass freely through the room on either side. Reed hasn’t looked up from his seat at the desk, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t know I’m here. I can’t tell if he has sensed that I’m stalking him; he never gives anything away.
I study him for a moment. His dark brown hair has gotten longer than how he had been wearing it in Crestwood. But, I like it; it looks very sexy. His body is curved at sensual angles, making me want to touch him, to feel the raw power beneath his skin. His wings are in, so he looks completely human, well, as human as Reed can look. Since he is absolutely ethereal, I can’t see him as anything but angelic now.
When I look up at the arcing, gray tiled roof of the pagoda, I try to see if there is another way in—a sneakier way because I want to take him by surprise—jolt him out of his tactical plotting. He has been singularly focused since our arrival: amassing an angelic army, one strong enough to match Brennus’ army.
I shiver at the thought of Brennus. With a little luck, Brennus and his army of Gancanagh are half a world away. Reed is going to great lengths to protect me from Brennus. He has literally gone to the other end of the Earth to accomplish it, bringing me to China, to the secluded base of an enormous snow-capped mountain. Reed and Zephyr have been working on little else other than keeping me safe from the Gancanagh leader who wants to make me his queen…his undead lover. I cannot allow that to happen. If he gets me back and bites me, there is little chance that I will not succumb to his venom and become one of them. Now that I’m reunited with Reed, I’m desperate to remain with him, no matter what.
A deep, primal growl, coming from the room ahead of me, makes me freeze where I am. I glance back towards the room and every hair on my arms rises. Another low, rumbling growl drifts to me on the gentle breeze that stirs wisps of my auburn hair around my face. The sound is terrifying in its intensity, and every instinct within me urges me to run from it as my eyes connect with the animal making it. Fierce green irises peer at me from the enormous, sleek cat crouching before me near the doorway to the pagoda. A shiver of pure fear shakes me as I involuntarily take a step back from the massive, black killer.
“Nice kitty…” I whisper to it, taking another shaky step backward and feeling the rough bark of the tree at my back, impeding my retreat. “Reed!” I whisper urgently as I cast a glance into the room, but he is no longer seated at the desk. My eyes fly back to the aggressive animal in front of me that is stalking me like I’m a luscious morsel. The panther’s muscles tense, looking as if it will pounce on me at any moment. I look wildly around for an exit strategy while several killing scenarios pulse in my mind, but I would rather try to run than try to engage it.
“Stay!” I command the panther, watching its tail swish as it deepens its crouch. It’s not listening to me—it looks like it’s enjoying itself immensely, the way its tail is swishing back and forth like it’s toying with a mouse or something. Hide, I think when the hackles rise on its sleek, black pelt.
“Reed!” I squeak, watching the cat bound up and lunge in my direction. I squeeze my eyes closed, holding my breath and pressing deeper into the tree, waiting to feel its sharp teeth sink into my skin.
“Evie!” Reed says from directly in front of me. I open my eyes to find that Reed is no more than inches from my face, looking at me with panic in his eyes. His powerful, charcoal-gray wings are arcing out around him, shielding us. His hand reaches out, cupping my cheek.
I try to answer him, but I find that my entire body has gone rigid, so much so that I cannot even move my mouth to speak his name. Reed braces his hands on my shoulders, running his hands up and down me as if he cannot see me. “Evie?” he says again, but this time he is leaning into me, inhaling the air near my face. I try again to speak, but I feel stiff.
It takes several seconds for some of the rigidity in my limbs to ease, allowing me to inhale a breath as I look up into the face that I love above all others. “Big cat!” I utter as I attempt to pull away from the tree at my back only to find that I am entangled in vines that are holding me to the trunk. Looking at my arms, they have taken on the rough texture of the mossy bark of the tree. When I raise my hand to my eyes, my fingers appear twig-like as I wave them in fascination and horror. “What the—” I inhale a sharp breath, my eyes move to Reed who is observing me now with a mixture of pleasure and awe on his face.
“You can relax, Evie, it’s not permanent,” Reed says to reassure me. “You are evolving. It appears, you can change your shape now,” he says, smiling and raising one of his brows.
“But—I’m a tree,” I whisper to him, feeling appalled by my current shape. I have taken on the mossy exterior of the banyan tree that I’m near.
“Yes, but you are not really a tree—you are more like a chameleon,” he says as he leans his face closer to my ear, brushing his cheek to mine. I feel the suppleness of his skin against the course roughness of my current bark-like exterior, which causes a small measure of my fear to melt away.
“Buns said that when this shapeshifting thing evolved I would be able to turn into butterflies or something, like she can.” I respond, remembering how Buns had shapeshifted before my eyes into a swarm of butterflies to demonstrate her angelic ability to me. I’m beginning to feel disappointed over my current predicament of looking like some sort of woodland sprite. I was really hoping to be more like my friends, the angels, when I evolve, not less like them. I’m already too different from them, being only half angel and the rest of me human that this is just one more thing that will separate me from being seen as one of them.
“This is so much better than that, don’t you see?” he asks me, grinning.
“No, from this angle, it kind of sucks, Reed.” I reply, stepping forward as my knees become less rigid, enough to bend them as I pull away from the tree that I had become a part of only moments ago. Reed wraps his arms around me, steadying me by pulling me tight against him.
“No, what you can do is so much better. We have to change into something animate, like butterflies or a panther, but you can change your shape to reflect your surroundings…camouflaging yourself. It’s a huge asset—” Reed says with excitement until I cut him off.
“That was you!” I accuse him as my skin begins to take on its normal hue and I start to change back to my original form. “You changed into a panther!”
A chuckle escapes Reed then as he hugs me tighter. “I thought for sure you knew it was me, but you didn’t, did you?” he asks.
“I probably should’ve known. Your eyes were the exact same color as the cat’s eyes. I’ve always thought that you move just like a cat,” I say, gazing up into his perfect face that is mere inches from my own. “Is that the only shape you can take or will I be running from a bear next time?”
“Oh, I can take many, many forms, but I cannot do what you can do—my forms have to be animate. I have to change into an animal, but you—do you think you can do other forms?” he asks with excitement. “Do you think that it has to be just a solid form—can you be liquid…air?”
“I don’t know.” I reply honestly.
“What were you thinking right before you changed?” he asks. “Were you thinking ‘tree?’”
“No…I was thinking ‘hide,’” I reply.
“Of course!” Reed exclaims. “I have someone I want you to meet. His name is Wook and he is a Virtue angel, like Phaedrus, who has lived near the Naxi for several centuries. He has studied the Tibetan monks and the Naxi mystics and has seen some of their abilities. Perhaps, he can instruct you to hone your human capabilities. I will not be much help to you in that, as I have little insight into the human side of your nature.”
“You think this is a human trait?” I ask Reed with a skeptical look, “Because I can’t think of any human that I know of who can change herself into a tree.”
Reed’s eyebrow arches in a cunning way. “I don’t know, maybe it’s a hybrid trait. No angel I know of can do what you just did. It is very unique,” he says, and awe is back in his voice again.
“I don’t even know if I can do it again, Reed,” I reply, feeling strange about what just happened. This evolution into a stronger being is really disturbing. It takes the awkwardness of puberty to a whole new level, I think. “And maybe we shouldn’t tell anybody about it.”
“Why not?” Reed asks, frowning now while scanning my face.
“Because it’s unnatural and…freakish,” I reply as casually as I can, but I’m a little too stiff just yet to pull off the casual shrug.
“Evie, you don’t understand, this is ‘mad cool’ to use your words. It makes you even more dangerous!” Reed breathes and I can see he is really charged up about this. Searching his face for signs of disgust, I can find none. He is truly happy that I can now turn into something else. He must be worried that he will not be able to defend me. He must see this as one more evasion technique.
“You think a tree is great? Just wait until I can turn into an avalanche and come pouring down the mountain,” I smile as my arms creep around his neck, pulling his face closer to mine.
“Yes…that would be excellent,” he exhales near my ear, causing shivers to run through me.
“So you don’t think this is sketchy?” I ask, feeling relief that he is not repulsed by me.
“I don’t question your existence anymore. I’m just grateful you are here, in any form,” he says, picking me up off of my feet and carrying me back into the bedroom.
