OTHER WORK BY THE AUTHOR:

Twisted Fate (Series):

Book One: My Masked Lover

Book Two: The Devil's Side

Book Three: A Last Kiss 

 

Lost Hope (Series):

Book One: Will You Follow, Even If I'm Fallen?

Book Two: (In the works)

 

Screenplays (These are NOT books):

The Restless

Dusk

(Many more coming)

Prologue.

 Joshua gagged as his hands instantly cupped around his neck, blood gushing alongside his fingers. Mercy had done it. She made a choice. Choking, Joshua's body jolted back a little with his chest puffed out and his arms spread wide. A cloud of black dust came out from the open access in his neck and disappeared, the screams of Lucifer trailing with it. He was finally gone. 

 

Mercy dropped the demon blade, her hands shaking as she looked disgusted with herself; merely for the fact that she had hurt her best friend. "I-I'm so sorry, Joshie..."

 

Joshua looked at Mercy confused on why she was sorry in the first place, he was quite glad that she chose to keep him around after everything. "Mer, I don't understand what you're getting at. What are you sorry for?"

 

Mercy looked around. She glanced at all the unfamiliar faces staring back at her through their masks, at Skylar and Misery who were making sure each other were fine, Crispen who was bent over his father - which she wasn't sure if Omed was dead or alive, but from Crispen's posture, she was guessing he was dead. Narsha, Anders, David, and Amelia had vanished out of plain sight. Weird. But Ryle and Anastasia were the quick ones. They both reached Mercy just in time to catch her fall. It all happened so quickly, that even Mercy didn't realize that her eyes were shuttering and her body was caving in. 

 

"Help! Someone help us!" Anastasia yelled at the crowd, who all stood there gasping.

 

Skylar looked over at Joshua as they both stared at each other before understanding that something terrible had happened to Mercy. Skylar helped Misery to her feet while giving Joshua an order to rush Mercy to the hospital that was nearby. "Hurry, guys. We need all the medical attention we can get!" Skylar whimpered a little, trying to ignore his pain to be strong for everyone else, pushing them all to make their way out of the building, the fact that almost the entire town was there wasn't helping them at all. Especially when no one would help.

 

The only sad thing for all of them was that they didn't know that the world was going to change completely.

1.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

 

The monitor stayed at a perfect rhythm as it recorded each beat of her still beating heart. She laid there, lifeless. Her body swarming with many tubes and IVs in both her hands. They were keeping her alive. Her chest lifted slightly up and down, she was breathing; but not on her own. There were two different tubes around her face to help her. She had one through her nose to give her the extra oxygen she needed, the other one was in her mouth and down her throat. 

 

It was horrible. Seeing her like this, killed all of her friends and family inside. 

 

How did it get to this point?

 

Why did it happen to her?

 

"Mercy... you need to wake up..." He whispered sweetly into her ear as he brushed her hair off her cheek. "I'm so sorry that I allowed this to go on for so long..." It was Joshua.

 

He was okay?

 

Of course he was.

 

Mercy had chose him. She was always going to choose him. And because of this, Mercy had gone into a coma from the lack of sleep her body was getting. And no one, not even the doctors knew if she was going to survive any of it.

 

Joshua frowned as he pulled away from Mercy, a bandaged wrapped around his wounded neck. He gripped her hand tightly in his, running his thumb lightly over her soft skin. "Come on, Mercy. Don't do this to me. You're supposed to be awake with me. Please wake up. Wake up, baby. You don't deserve any of this. I'm so sorry." His words were twisted with hurt and guilt. It was all his fault Mercy was hospitalized. 

 

The others kept their heads down as they stood behind Joshua. Skylar, wrapped up from his battle wounds, reached out and touched Joshua's shoulder. "I'm truly sorry, Joshua..."

 

Joshua shrugged his brother's hand away. "Get out," He growled lowly under his breath as he tried his hardest not to give away the fact that he was crying. "Get out!" He hissed when no one listened. 

 

"Come on, guys." Ryle mumbled, his arm wrapped around Anastasia's waist. "Let's leave them alone..." Anastasia wiped away her tears as she was the first one to exit the room. Skylar being the last one to leave, taking his time to make sure Joshua was alright. 

 

Joshua's free hand balled into a wrist as he was finally alone. "I'm going to get revenge, Mercy. I promise. You will come back to me."

2.

 Crispen stuck his hands deep down in his slack pockets of his full suit. He showed no emotion as the Priest read from the bible. A couple feet  in front of him laid a golden coffin. Inside was the body of Omed. Omed wasn't so lucky when Lucifer was around. In fact, he got the worse end of it all compared to anyone.

 

Crispen's jaw clenched as he stared at his father. "You coward," He spat. He was upset that his father left him to take care of everything on his own. There were things he was yet to be taught. It was as if Crispen was learning stuff all over again. 

 

The funeral was small. Not many people showed to give their sorrow. Not many people cared. The ones that did were David and Amelia Storm, and Anders Daray. Anders joined from behind Crispen, moving to stand next to him. "Your father was a great person, Crispen. It's a shame he had to go..."

 

Crispen's eyes narrowed as his head didn't move. "Vampires never die. He was the God of us. How did he die?"

 

"Vampires die... Some are just lucky enough to survive. It was his time, son. Don't blame yourself for what you can't change."

 

"I tried to help. I even tried to set Mercy free and this is the repayment I got?!"

 

"Calm down.. Lucifer is gone now. Your father had gotten what he wanted in the end. Power. This is your world now. What are you going to do to save it?"

 

Crispen looked over at Anders with a brow risen. "Save it?"

 

Anders nodded. "From them."

 

 By them, Anders was referring to Joshua, Skylar, Anastasia, Misery, and Ryle.

 

"I don't understand..."

 

Anders forced Crispen to face him completely, his eyes staring dead on into his. "They are going to do what it takes to make things right again. You can not allow them to do that, you hear me? With Lucifer being out of Joshua, Joshua's going to be a lot more weaker, especially with Mercy being in the hospital. They all are weak. You can either kill them all, or you can make them your slaves."

 

"What if I don't want either?"

 

Anders growled lowly as he gripped tightly onto Crispen's shoulder and pressed into one of the pressure points; causing Crispen to whine a little. "You have no choice, my King. This is your destiny. If you do not do any of this, you're going to die."

 

Crispen glared at Anders as he pulled himself free. "Go away!" Crispen's threat was heard loudly that it made the Priest stop speaking. "You had the nerve to come here and speak out of term at my father's grave. If you do not leave, I'll make sure to kill you myself."

 

"As you wish... Just remember what I said, Crispen." Anders whispered, looking around at everyone before quickly giving his respect to the dead and leaving. 

 

Crispen took in a deep breath and looked at the Priest. "Continue!" The Priest cleared out his throat and began to read where he left off, pretending that nothing had just happened.

 

3.

 The scalding water took Skylar's mind off everything for once. He ran his digits through his dark hair to make sure it was all wet, making a little sound as his skin caked with the red-hot shower water. Closing his eyes, he took a breath in and enjoyed how humid the air was around him, rather then how steamy it was outside his shower. He was alone, and alone to think. 

 

What had happened?

 

How was he so lucky to be alive? How was anyone lucky?

 

He thought about Misery and her healing scars on her wrists. How was he going to live with that? The thought of her nearly dying sent rage through his body. He nearly failed to save her. He thought about the people who weren't so lucky. The first one being Omed, out of all vampires, he was the one who had lost his life. Who was going to rule now? Crispen? Is that some kind of joke? Or what if Skylar took the throne and sent the Scotts away? What was so special about royalty anyways? Then there was Mercy. Sweet little Mercy. Skylar warned everyone that she was sick and needed to sleep. He seen it coming. Skylar's hand clenched into a fist and hit the wall next to him, shattering tile under the contact. He was furious. Pissed off with himself and everyone that knew Mercy wasn't going to be okay. "How could you be so selfish?!" Skylar exclaimed. Hanging his head down, Skylar let his thoughts eat away at him for a while longer before turning off the water.

 

With a towel wrapped around his waist, he exited the bathroom. His hair plastered to his forehead as he made his way into his bedroom. There on the bed, laid Misery fast asleep. He knew this was killing her too. He could hear her up at late hours of the nights crying away, along with Anastasia. They were wrecked. 

 

How was he so strong?

 

Why hasn't he cried yet?

 

It wasn't in his nature to be the weak one. Skylar was always the one to keep everything together. He had no right to break down. He'd be a coward if he did. Skylar was not yet a teenager when he had to take over being a parent. It's not like he asked for this job - to take care of two twins. Meeting Mercy and Misery along the way, was a packaged deal to him. He had the responsibilities of a parent, the love of a fiance, and the heart of a friend. Each being a hard task that he learned to deal with. Over the years, he grew to love these people with all and more than he could give than being as a person himself. He vowed to protect each and everyone of these beings as if they were his life themselves. And they were. Joshua and Anastasia are blood - instant connection. Misery's his heart - without her, he wouldn't have a reason to live. Mercy is what Skylar likes to call the peacemaker - she kept his family together and all of their lives. Without her, he was pretty sure everyone would be lost. Joshua being the most. Which Skylar could understand, he feels the same way about Misery, especially as Anastasia is to Ryle. They were all connected. 

 

Skylar being twenty-five now, was surprised that he lasted this long. He never thought that he'd manage to take care of his siblings only being twelve years old. He never thought that he'd be with Misery for nearly five years now. He was amazed that he could do so much and that scared him. It was a huge responsibility he took on and he knew he'd always have to be strong for the love of his life, his family, and his friends.

 

Quietly, Skylar climbed into the open spot next to Misery after he had slid into a fresh pair of boxers and jumpers. His arm sliding under Misery's sleeping body to pull her close to his; making sure her presence was still there with him, he placed a lovingly kiss to her neck. "I love you, so much Missy." Skylar whispered.

 

I would never let anything bad happen to you again. I almost failed, but I won't fail again. 

 

 

"I love you, too..." Misery sheepishly muttered back, nuzzling her back as close as she could against Skylar.

 

Skylar smiled small before closing his eyes. He locked himself out from hearing Misery's thoughts. He didn't want to be more angry then he was when he was in the shower. He couldn't bare to hear why her heart ached so much, he already knew. But he was here and he wasn't going to abandon her. "Goodnight, Princess. I'll see you in the morning."

 

"Goodnight, my King." Misery replied, yawning softly.

4.

 Joshua lifted his head from Mercy's lap as he woke up that following night. Making a noise as he rubbed his eyes to make them focus faster on his surroundings, he stood from the chair by Mercy's hospital bed. There was soft knocking on the door as a short, petite, blonde nurse made her way into the room. She was the average type of female. She even had blue eyes. "Good evening, Mr. Storm. Did I wake you?" 

 

Joshua shook his head as he seen the nurse had a towel and wash kit in her hand. It was time for Mercy's evening bath. "No, you didn't."

 

"That's good," the woman replied as she made her way over to the sink. "I hope you don't mind that I'm going to have to ask you to leave for a short moment."

 

"I hear this every night. I'm quite used to it now."

 

The nurse smiled in the mirror as she wetted the cloth and rung it out, turning over towards Joshua. "You know she's such a lucky girl."

 

"She is?" Joshua rose a brow as he looked up at the nurse in confusion. 

 

The nurse nodded, making her way to the other side of Mercy; gently moving Mercy over to her side so that she could untie her gown. "She is. To have someone like you... Most people would kill to have the perfect boyfriend. I know I would. You've been here day and night, never leaving her side; except when I tell you too, of course. That's sweet." The woman looked up at Joshua. She was flirting.

 

Joshua blinked, kissing Mercy's hand before letting it go. He was starting to get irritated. "I'll leave you two alone for now. Make sure she's in one piece, exactly how I left her."

 

"You say the same thing everytime. I think I got the hint by now, Mr. Storm. Don't worry, she'll be okay. I promise." The woman gave him a grin as she looked up at him for a short second.

 

Joshua's brows pulled together as he shook his head and made his way towards the door. As his hand gripped the door knob, another nurse walked in. She was much taller and a little heavier set, with black and purple hair and green eyes. "Oh!" She jumped a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you standing there." Her tone was the same as the other nurse, a little flirtatious. Joshua hasn't seen this one before.

 

Imprint

Publisher: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Text: Bookrix
Images: Bookrix
Cover: Google
Editing: Linzy Salvini
Translation: Linzy Salvini
Layout: Bookrix
Publication Date: 12-14-2016
ISBN: 978-3-7396-9376-7

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Nubian, of course.