Publisher: Embolden Press
Pages: 550
Series: The Reaping Chronicles #1
The world is in danger. Mankind is sinking deeper into darkness it cannot understand
Demons are easily capturing souls as they lead men and women down dangerous paths from which there is no return, while Javan, one of the Fallen, seeks an ancient book and the power it promises. If he succeeds, humans — and the world as they know it — will be destroyed.
There is someone who is capable of stopping Javan...
If she discovers him in time.
Gabrielle is one of the most powerful angels ever created, her job one of the most important. She has come to Earth to learn more about humans and what influences them, and to fight evil she sees growing at an alarming rate. She soon finds herself carelessly distracted with one human in particular, however. Lucas Watkins holds a promise of peace and love for Gabrielle that she never believed she could have again.
Caught between her new mortal ties and ancient immortal responsibilities, Gabrielle must race against what seems to be an ever-quickening clock to learn what she needs to know, uncover Javan’s plan, and find a way to stop him and all who live in Shadows.
Join Gabrielle and her allies in a story of love — past and present — fantastical beings, hidden realms, magic, fate, loss, and the fight of good versus evil in, The Reaping Chronicles.
Excerpt:
"This is called Hell Hole," the guide told them as he sat on the edge of the raft with his feet planted on rocks just under the water to keep it in place.
"That's fitting after what we saw back up river," Phalen said quietly to Gabrielle.
Phalen was watching the kayakers, mesmerized, with the grin she'd been sporting since the first rapid still comfortably in place. Each kayaker took their turn in the churning water. They made their boats twist and turn, doing cartwheels and somersaults. Some would fly straight up into the air like a rocket launched from the depths, then surf as though they were on a wave in the ocean. It looked like they were having the time of their lives.
"You want to do that next?" Phalen asked as she glanced away from the humans playing in their kayaks, then back just as fast as she blew and popped another purple bubble.
"Maybe some time."
After watching for a few minutes more, the guide pushed the raft back into the current, and they were off once again. Hell Hole was apparently the last rapid on the river run, though, and all too soon, they were pulling the raft onto the riverbank—their adventure over.
Saying their good-byes to the others who'd paddled with them, Gabrielle and Phalen made their way to the far side of a building, then toward the trees where they would be out of sight enough to disappear without the attention of the humans around them.
They stepped into the cover of the forest and were about to depart when they heard something in the distance. It was the muffled sounds of a female crying. Phalen and Gabrielle stood rigid, then locked eyes.
"Come on." Gabrielle moved swiftly in the direction of the sound.
They burst past the foliage of the trees and undergrowth tangled on the forest floor into a small clearing full of yellow wildflowers bordering the river. Gabrielle heard Phalen gasp, then the sound of the snap and whoosh as she released her wings.
Two male demons held a young woman on the ground. She couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty. One of the demons straddled her and had one hand covering her mouth as his other grappled with her clothing. The second demon sat on the ground above her head and pinned the girl's wrists to the earth in what Gabrielle knew would be an unbreakable grip. Gabrielle put a hand on Phalen to keep her from attacking. Phalen looked sternly at Gabrielle as though she would fight her in order to help the girl. Gabrielle didn't explain. She raised her hand, and everything around them went still. Every bird and insect was frozen in flight. The breeze unmoving as if holding its breath. The water that was flowing near them now seemed more like a mural. The girl's terror and panic etched into her now unflinching expression—her struggling body quiet. Gabrielle's stomach did what felt like a complete revolution inside her as the energy of the demons focused on her.
The human bodies these demons had stolen would have been more than enough to draw the girl to them even without their ability to force attraction to them. It took a human with a strong mind to resist a demon who wanted their attention. Considering they could make the girl come to them willingly, what they were doing was simply out of their need for power and control—for domination. They wanted to completely destroy this girl's spirit until she was ruined. Gabrielle's stomach did another flip with the thought of how many women, girls, these two had violated.
How many have they destroyed?
She wasn't able to suppress the bile entirely as she felt the acid from her stomach burn her throat. She swallowed hard, sweeping the disturbing thoughts to the back of her mind at the same time.
The demons, now standing, turned their eerie, hungry eyes onto Gabrielle and Phalen.
"Well, what do we have here?" the taller, more muscular one asked.
He was extremely large, and Gabrielle was sure he was very powerful as her head began to feel as if it was tossing in the volatile currents of the river they had just rafted. The world around her fought to darken, pushing in on her as it tried to steal her consciousness. Gabrielle put her hand on Phalen's shoulder to steady herself. As she glanced at her friend, she was able to make out Phalen's face, riddled with concern.
Gabrielle began to sway.
"Gabrielle!" Phalen called out worriedly as she wrapped her arms around her.
Gabrielle shut her eyes tightly. This was certainly not the time to lose it. This demon, whoever he was, seemed to possess enough power to be more than a problem for Phalen. She had to pull herself together.
"Gabrielle . . . the Gabrielle?" The large demon asked in a guttural, snide voice.
Gabrielle opened her eyes. The sneer on his face held the cold telling of malice without the words being spoken, but she could hear thoughts of revenge against Yahuwah forming in his mind. Veins in his neck and forearms bulged from muscles stiffening with his anticipation of that vengeance.
"That's fitting after what we saw back up river," Phalen said quietly to Gabrielle.
Phalen was watching the kayakers, mesmerized, with the grin she'd been sporting since the first rapid still comfortably in place. Each kayaker took their turn in the churning water. They made their boats twist and turn, doing cartwheels and somersaults. Some would fly straight up into the air like a rocket launched from the depths, then surf as though they were on a wave in the ocean. It looked like they were having the time of their lives.
"You want to do that next?" Phalen asked as she glanced away from the humans playing in their kayaks, then back just as fast as she blew and popped another purple bubble.
"Maybe some time."
After watching for a few minutes more, the guide pushed the raft back into the current, and they were off once again. Hell Hole was apparently the last rapid on the river run, though, and all too soon, they were pulling the raft onto the riverbank—their adventure over.
Saying their good-byes to the others who'd paddled with them, Gabrielle and Phalen made their way to the far side of a building, then toward the trees where they would be out of sight enough to disappear without the attention of the humans around them.
They stepped into the cover of the forest and were about to depart when they heard something in the distance. It was the muffled sounds of a female crying. Phalen and Gabrielle stood rigid, then locked eyes.
"Come on." Gabrielle moved swiftly in the direction of the sound.
They burst past the foliage of the trees and undergrowth tangled on the forest floor into a small clearing full of yellow wildflowers bordering the river. Gabrielle heard Phalen gasp, then the sound of the snap and whoosh as she released her wings.
Two male demons held a young woman on the ground. She couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty. One of the demons straddled her and had one hand covering her mouth as his other grappled with her clothing. The second demon sat on the ground above her head and pinned the girl's wrists to the earth in what Gabrielle knew would be an unbreakable grip. Gabrielle put a hand on Phalen to keep her from attacking. Phalen looked sternly at Gabrielle as though she would fight her in order to help the girl. Gabrielle didn't explain. She raised her hand, and everything around them went still. Every bird and insect was frozen in flight. The breeze unmoving as if holding its breath. The water that was flowing near them now seemed more like a mural. The girl's terror and panic etched into her now unflinching expression—her struggling body quiet. Gabrielle's stomach did what felt like a complete revolution inside her as the energy of the demons focused on her.
The human bodies these demons had stolen would have been more than enough to draw the girl to them even without their ability to force attraction to them. It took a human with a strong mind to resist a demon who wanted their attention. Considering they could make the girl come to them willingly, what they were doing was simply out of their need for power and control—for domination. They wanted to completely destroy this girl's spirit until she was ruined. Gabrielle's stomach did another flip with the thought of how many women, girls, these two had violated.
How many have they destroyed?
She wasn't able to suppress the bile entirely as she felt the acid from her stomach burn her throat. She swallowed hard, sweeping the disturbing thoughts to the back of her mind at the same time.
The demons, now standing, turned their eerie, hungry eyes onto Gabrielle and Phalen.
"Well, what do we have here?" the taller, more muscular one asked.
He was extremely large, and Gabrielle was sure he was very powerful as her head began to feel as if it was tossing in the volatile currents of the river they had just rafted. The world around her fought to darken, pushing in on her as it tried to steal her consciousness. Gabrielle put her hand on Phalen's shoulder to steady herself. As she glanced at her friend, she was able to make out Phalen's face, riddled with concern.
Gabrielle began to sway.
"Gabrielle!" Phalen called out worriedly as she wrapped her arms around her.
Gabrielle shut her eyes tightly. This was certainly not the time to lose it. This demon, whoever he was, seemed to possess enough power to be more than a problem for Phalen. She had to pull herself together.
"Gabrielle . . . the Gabrielle?" The large demon asked in a guttural, snide voice.
Gabrielle opened her eyes. The sneer on his face held the cold telling of malice without the words being spoken, but she could hear thoughts of revenge against Yahuwah forming in his mind. Veins in his neck and forearms bulged from muscles stiffening with his anticipation of that vengeance.
About Teal:
Teal Haviland lives in Tennessee with her daughter and her four-legged friends. She enjoys photography, travel, reading, music, cooking, daydreaming, writing (of course), and above all spending time with her family and friends.
Teal grew up with a love for anything fantastical or outrageous. After years of dreaming of worlds where fairies, angels, demons, and shape shifters (to name a few) exist, she finally decided to begin writing her stories down. Inception, book one in her series The Reaping Chronicles, is her first published novel.
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