Snippet Saturday: Love Made Them an excerpt from Halfborn

Love Made Them

an excerpt from Halfborn

by Soleil Daniels

"So, Wraiths are basically executioners. Is there really much more I need to know about them?" I asked.

"You should learn how to avoid them. And, how you learn that is by learning about them. You're making them out to be all bad because of your experience, but they came about by an act of love."

I tried to put my personal feelings aside. I picked up and drained my glass of its blood. The thick liquid left on the inside walls slowly slid down back to the bottom as I reached for the pitcher, so I could refill the glass. I filled it then turned to Marshall who had an eyebrow cocked at me. I assumed at the fact that I usually only had one glassful.

"Do you need any more?"

He grabbed his glass and held it in my direction, eager. "Yeah."

I filled his glass and set the pitcher back on the table. I'd managed to collect my thoughts and composure by the time I turned back to Innocence.

"So, love; not revenge or hate or a dispute or jealousy or any other possibly negative thing made the first Wraith. I don't understand how love could have caused someone to kill their own kind," I finally said.

"Well, in all honesty, there are all of those things involved, but ultimately, isn't it love that undoes us all."

"Okay, I don't get it. First, you tell me that it happened because of love, but then you say it didn't." I heaved a breath of frustration.

"Maybe if you hear the story you'll understand."

Marshall sat by quietly. I could feel his interest seeping out of every pore of his body.

"What say you, Marshall? Would you like to hear the story?" Innocence asked him.

I looked to him, already knowing his answer, but he still gave me a look as if seeking my approval. I shook my head with a slight chuckle. I completely understood at that moment why Innocence called him Fido.

"Let's hear it," I said, turning back to her.

"Okay," she said, rubbing her hands together. "It all starts with a couple: Dyon and Ixora. Both Inborn. They had been together many years with Ixora giving birth to three children: two boys and a girl. One day Dyon met another woman, Apholenia, a human. He fell for her immediately, leaving Ixora and their children.

"Ixora became enraged. Jealous of Apholenia, she found where the new couple made their rest. Ixora grabbed the woman from the warm arms of her lover. When Apholenia realized what was happening she began to scream, and her screams woke Dyon. The moment Ixora knew Dyon was aware of what was happening, she bit Apholenia. It took two weeks for Apholenia to die from the venom of Ixora's bite.

"Dyon, distraught and unwilling to return to the mother of his children and the murderer of his lover, went to his brother, Xantheus. He told his brother what had happened. How he had wronged Ixora, but that he couldn't have denied what he felt in his heart. He told him that he no longer wanted to go on living. That Apholenia had been the other half of his soul, and he was no longer whole. He wished for death, begged for it. But, Xantheus refused to honor his younger brother's wishes." Innocence stopped for a minute, taking the time to refill her glass and taking a large swig from it.

"Wait, how does this explain how the first Wraith came about if he didn't kill his brother? Or did Dyon kill Ixora?" I asked, even though I'd learned she liked to build up the tension with her stories and stop abruptly before the dramatic ending, leaving one in anticipation.

"For someone that didn't want to learn any more about Wraiths, you sure are impatient to know how and why they came to be." She took another sip from her glass.

"Well, if you wouldn't just stop in the middle of a story maybe I wouldn't get impatient," I said.

Marshall laughed, causing me to look over at him. "I personally enjoy how Innocence tells stories. I like the need to know and it to be drawn out," he said.

"Yep. I knew you enjoyed torture," I retorted.

"It's not torture; it's excitement."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Marshall." I turned back to face Innocence. "So?"

"Jeesh! Okay, okay. Days went by, then weeks, and months. Xantheus could barely stand the pain in his brother's eyes. In his voice. Dyon refused to feed, and he turned into a mere shell of the person he used to. Xantheus battled with himself on which torment he could live with easier, taking the life of his brother or watching the misery of him day in and out. He finally decided that death would be a gift for Dyon and agreed to do his bidding. It was when Xantheus said the words to Dyon and a spark of happiness lit his eyes that Xantheus realized he'd made the right choice, for he'd not seen that much life in his brother for far too long. That was Dyon's gift to him. That split second of happiness.

"With his small stone blade in his left hand and much larger stone blade his right, Xantheus pierced Dyon's heart with the small blade and with more strength than he thought he could muster, took his head off with the larger blade. It was only when he'd made it to the lake—blood and tears covering his face—that he realized he had changed. Leaning over the water to wash his face, he saw his reflection in the shimmering surface, and the golden-yellow pattern of his eyes had changed to the silver-blue that the Wraiths have."

Hearing the details of how Xantheus had killed his brother left a flashback of my mother's death in my mind, which I pushed away with everything I had. I couldn't focus on moving forward if I couldn't get over the past.

"So, what happened to Xantheus?" Marshall asked.

"I'm not really sure. He wasn't really accepted after it was told how his eyes had changed, and he left the community. There aren't any stories of him after that. It took years for the next Wraith to become, and then even longer for Wraiths to be accepted as a Born breed. But, once truly accepted, which was after the Abominates came to be, they became staples in the Born community."

"So, you don't know if he's still around today?" Marshall piped up again.

I was still trying to process the story, and he wanted to know more.

"If he is he'd be at least ten-thousand years old. Even I can't imagine still wanting to live after that long. I suppose it's possible he's still out there, somewhere. I'd never really thought about it," Innocence answered, her voice sounding uninterested.

"Really. You never wanted to know what came of him?" he asked, pushing the subject.

"No, why would I? I have my own life. I don't need to know about someone who's millennia old," she said as if it made perfect sense, and I couldn't help but agree with it.

Marshall seemed defeated. He reached for his glass and finished it off. Innocence did the same. I looked at my own glass still three-quarters of the way full, regretting pouring the second one. Innocence stood and grabbed the two empty glasses and the pitcher that had been emptied without my noticing, placing them back on the tray.

"Okay, I'm going to take these back to the kitchen. I expect to see you two back in the workout room in five minutes. We've got a lot of work to do," she told us before walking to the back door and disappearing into the house.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. I reached for the glass in front of me, but Marshall's hand stopped mine.

"If you can't finish it, I don't mind taking care of it for you."

"Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. It's just not the same. I can't stand how it tastes. Thanks."

He finished off the blood in three huge gulps. "I'll take this to the kitchen. You go ahead and get to the room. Maybe you can get a few good hits in before Innocence shows up. Take care of that anger and confusion."

*I snagged this excerpt out of an old draft, so it might not be 100% the same as the published version. Speaking of the published version Halfborn (click to purchase) is free today (June 27, 2020).

Snippet Saturday: Your Momma Didn't Raise You Right an excerpt from 'Wraith'

First off: this post is a great example of why you get the content warning when clicking on a link for my blog. This excerpt contains both sexual and violent content while balancing a bit of adult humor. So, continue reading with that in mind. 😉

Your Momma Didn't Raise You Right

an excerpt from 'Wraith'

Turning the corner, I glanced around, disappointed at the lack of people. Maybe it was too early, but usually at the truck stops I was familiar with, the first shift of panhandlers were in place at the break of dawn, swindling truck drivers and travelers before they could get their first cup of coffee and fully wake up.

“Shit!” I swore, and then bit my lip, narrowing my eyes.

“Such language from such a purrty thing. Your momma didn’t raise you right.” The voice came from the parking lot behind me.

“Excuse me?” I spun around and glared at the broad-shouldered, mostly silver-haired man stepping up on the store’s sidewalk.

“Don’t get me wrong, while you ain’t marrying material, a girl with a dirty mouth usually carries that dirty over elsewhere.” He waggled his eyebrow at me. “I’ve got fifty bucks if you show me how dirty you can be.”

“Are you fucking kiddin’ me?” I laughed at him and rolled my eyes. “Ugh!”

“Name’s Rusty.  If you change your mind, I’ll be out in a few. We can put that dirty little mouth of yours to work. Maybe, I could scrape up another twenty-five if it’s more than just your mouth.” He stuck his tongue out and flicked it furiously, lapping at the air in a suggestive way. “Who knows? If you’re a good little, dirty girl, I’ll give you a ride on the Rusty Racer.”

He walked in through the automatic doors as I gagged, forcing down the bile that threatened to come up my throat and out of my mouth. Who the hell names their tongue? I thought with a shudder.

I walked to the opposite side of the building and looked along the empty walkway. Frustrated and irritated, I started back to the car.

Just eat the truck driver. That guy seems like a prick, anyway. I’ll have someone clean it up later. Bastian’s voice glided through my mind.

I recoiled at the thought but decided the options were limited, and the guy pretty much invited it. Fine. I guess you’re right. I’ll be around in a bit. Gotta wait for him to come back out.

You could always take a little longer, have a little fun . . . try out the Rusty Racer. The sound of laughter echoed through my head.

Um, yeah. Nah, I’m good. I shook my head, trying to erase the image that passed through my thoughts.

He’s not too bad looking. Not hot, but I guess you like ‘em to look like they’re barely out of high school. His words struck hard when I realized he was referring to Marshall. Not that Bastian looked any older.

Bite me, I retorted.

Only if you ask nicely, he replied, catching me off guard.

“Still here, I see,” the trucker said behind me.

I tried to compose myself before turning to face him, knowing a blush had crept up my cheeks from Bastian’s last comment. “Yeah, turns out I like to be dirty. You don’t even have to pay me.” I smirked.

His jaw went slack, and he seemed at a loss for words.

“Unless you didn’t mean it. I can go find someone else, but I really wanted to see why you call it Racer.” I pouted my bottom lip out. “Like can you put a vibrator to shame or is it just over quick-like? I suppose if it’s done properly, quick is fine as long as it actually gets the job done.”

He stood there dumbfounded.

I huffed. “I see,” I said, pouting my bottom lip out further, “you’re all bark and no bite.” Turning, I took a step to walk away.

He gripped my wrist, causing me to spin back around and face him again, need burning within his hazy blue eyes. “Where you going?” He pressed my palm to the bulge at the front of his jeans. “You can’t cause this, and then just walk away.”

“Technically, yes, I can, but I won’t. Where are you parked?” I asked, shaking my arm from his grip.

“It’s the red and blue rig over that way.” He jutted his chin toward the left side of the parking lot.

“Well, let’s go get that little guy taken care of.” Taking the lead, I headed for the semi he’d indicated.

He unlocked the door when we reached the truck, and he made sure to ‘help’ me into the cab by grabbing my ass as I climbed in. When I slid the curtain to the side, I was surprised by what was there. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t a full set-up—king size bed, sink, mini fridge, and a T.V.

“Nice,” I said, walking to the bed and sitting down.

“Worth every penny.” He stood hovering just in front of the curtain before he reached back to pull it closed behind him.

I patted the bed beside me. “Well, get over here and show me what I’m working with.”

Uh, Coral, what are you doing? The words drifted through my mind, uncertain.

I chuckled internally. What I do best? Seduce and slaughter. I thought you knew that?

Can you not project? I don’t really want to watch this. Bastian’s words were contradicted by the way they drifted through my mind, more with a tone of interest than disgust.

What? You’re an adult. You can handle a blowjob. It . . . well, it just might be a little bloody. You’re not opposed to blood, are you? I mean, you do drink it, right? I let the words pass through my mind to his as I watched truck-driver Rusty drop his pants.

Um, Coral, that thing’s not a straw? Please, don’t act like it is. That’s just not right. I don’t care how much of a creep he is. Bastian’s words nearly had me sputtering with laughter, but I held it in.

“Aww, he’s so ready, but you’re still all the way over there. What are you waiting for? Kick your pants off your fucking ankles and get over here,” I said, and then licked my palm before inserting two fingers into my mouth and sucking them.

Rusty whimpered, honest to goodness whimpered, and then did what I’d told him. When he was close enough, I wrapped my moistened hand around his hardness, stroking down and then back up the length of him. My thumb glided over his tip, catching the bead of slickness that had left him.

Bastian pleaded in my mind about not wanting to watch, did I not have an ounce of humanity? Blah, blah, blah. I hadn’t actually planned on putting my hand on the thing, let alone my mouth, but Bastian’s freak out was too much fun.

I looked up at the man in front of me, his eyes were intent and focused on my hand as it slowly slid down the length of him and back up again. “Why don’t you lie down? Get comfortable?” I said and moved my hand away from the throbbing lump of flesh.

He sat down beside me and laid back, sliding further up the bed to where only his sock-covered feet hung off the edge.

I could practically hear Bastian’s labored breathing. Seems he didn’t mind so much ‘watching’ the ongoings, but he seemed just as surprised as Rusty did when my pocketknife sliced through his femoral artery.

No, neither one of them noticed as I’d slipped the blade from my pocket or even the small click it made as I opened it. I’d adjusted myself like I was going to take him into my mouth, and then there was blood everywhere as I plunged the blade through the thickness of his thigh. It made a much bigger mess than I’d anticipated before I could seal my lips around the incision.

The shock of it left truck-driver Rusty silent, and he was dead before he realized what had happened. Of that fact, I was nearly positive. Once the blood stopped filling my mouth, I pulled back, noticing the creamy splash of ejaculate across the man’s lower belly and up his shirt. His face locked in an expression between ecstasy and fear.

That was all kinds of wrong. Bastian’s words sounded somehow breathless as they flowed through my mind. You weren’t always this ruthless. It’s . . .

Hot? Sick? I offered.

Unnerving, yet, strangely compelling, he said.

I shook my head. I’m gonna need you to drive back here. I’m a mess. I need to shower when we get to that bitch’s house.

**Note: this excerpt is not a final draft. It is subject to change before the release of the final product.

Snippet Saturday: Just a Bear an excerpt from Wraith

Take Note: This excerpt needs some serious editing. I haven't posted in a couple weeks and I have no idea what day it is half the time anymore, so realizing it's Saturday, I grabbed a section I was working on to post.

Hours had passed by, and while I’d hoped to get some sleep, I merely drifted in and out of a fitful rest in the passenger’s seat. I felt the hair raise on my arms and a tingle, that seemed all too familiar like an old friend, run down my spine. At the very moment I gasped, Bastian accelerated the car.

I was about to ask him why when a large beast breaking from the tree line drew my attention. There was no mistaking that the mass of fur and muscle was feline, but I’d never even seen a tiger or lion as massive as this thing was, let alone a native cougar. While the darkness and speed of the car made it difficult to get a good look, I could see it looked very similar in color to a lion, but it lacked a mane, and at its size I would assume it would be a male. I, however, had no experience with large cats, other than the occasional run-in with a cougar, and the thing was no fucking cougar.

“Bastian, stop the car! Pull over!” I shouted. “There’s a fucking lion back there. It must have gotten loose from a zoo or something.”

“What are you going to do, stop it and take it back? Besides, it was just a bear,” he said, accelerating even more.

“That was not a bear.” I look at him incredulous before looking back out the window. “Look, it’s still there. Like it’s trying to run alongside us.”

“I’m telling you, it’s a bear. I think you’re a little too stressed out.” He changed lanes, moving away from the animal and accelerated further.

I saw the beast turn and disappear back into the woods. Yeah, I didn’t know what I’d planned to do had Bastian actually pulled over, but something told me I needed to come face to face with the large cat. I remembered the tingle down my spine and the hair raising on my arms, and I wondered if it was merely a coincident. Something niggled at the back of my mind, something Innocence had said once.

“Let’s get something straight, the next time I tell you to pull my car over, you damn well better pull it over. Understood?” I said to him.

“Sure thing, Coral Ann. Would you prefer to drive?” He looked at me, and I shook my head. “It was just a bear.”

“Okay, sure. It was a bear.” I blew out a breath. “How long before we get to her place?”

“Probably nine or ten hours. You still have time to sleep if you want,” he said, his tone softer and more caring than before, and I closed my eyes.

Snippet Saturday: 'Special Birthday Gift' an excerpt from Wraith

* * *

I look up from the coloring book I’d gotten for my birthday as Momma walks in the room. I smile at her.

“Do you like your birthday gift, Coral?” she asks.

“Yes, Momma. Thank you,” I tell her, and then point at what I’d been scribbling. “Look! Purple clouds and gold lightning, like Bashy’s eyes.”

I look back at the page, frowning. My bottom lip pushed out.

“It’s so beautiful, baby! Why the sad face?” She places her forefinger and thumb under my chin, bringing my head up so she can see my face.

“I thought he was going to be here today. He promised to be here for my birthday, Momma,” I say with a sniffle.

“Aw, it’ll be okay, sweetie! Maybe you should go to the living room. I’ll get you a piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream, what do you say?” She smiles and kisses my forehead.

“I guess. Is it chocolate ice cream?” I ask.

“Of course, silly. That’s my favorite too,” she says with a laugh.

I get up and run down the hall to the living room. Turning the corner, I spot purple and green balloons, and then I see him and his father.

“SURPRISE!” they both shout.

I giggle and run across the room to hug the boy standing there. He bends down and lifts me up. His light blond, shaggy hair tickles my nose, and I push it away.

“Bashy!” I screech.

“Hey, birthday girl! How old are you today? Three? Five?” he asks, playing around.

“You know I’m four.” I hug him tighter. “It’s late. I was thinking you wasn’t gonna make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world, little Coral Ann.” He kisses my cheek before setting me down on the couch. “Now, I’ve got something for you, but you've got to come to my birthday party next week. Okay?”

“Oh, your birthday’s next week? I will ab-sap-o-lut-y be there.” I turn to see Momma. “Won’t I, Momma?”

“Absolutely, sweetie,” she says and laughs.

“Bashy, how old are you gonna be?” I ask.

“Twelve. That’s eight years more than you.” He smiles.

“How many’s that?” I start putting up fingers as I count. “One, two, three—”

“It’s three of you, kid. Now, do you want what Bastian brought you or you planning on spending the day counting?”

“Xander,” Momma says.

“Dad, be nice,” Bashy says at the same time.

“Sorry,” Xander says and walks toward Momma.

Bashy turns and goes to the door to grab a bag sitting next to it. I can see a rounded fluffy brown ear sticking out the top, but Xander’s whispers behind me grab my attention.

“I don’t like it. He’s getting close. You should’ve left by now,” he says to Momma.

“Two weeks. I promise. Let them enjoy their birthdays before we go uprooting them again. Coral’s finally starting to act like a normal kid . . .”

“Hey, earth to Coral Ann.”

I look back at Bashy. He’s snapping his fingers in my face, and he smiles when he knows he’s gotten my attention.

“Sorry. Bashy, are we leaving again?” I ask.

“Hey, don’t worry about that. Here, check this out,” he says and pulls a humongous teddy bear, nearly as big as I am, from the bag he’d brought over.

“It’s so big!” I squeal, grabbing it and squeezing it.

It’s soft and gives slightly as I hug it.

“So, I take you like it?” he asks.

“It’s my new favoritest thing in the whole world! Thank you, Bashy!” I say.

“Wait, I thought I was your favoritest thing?” he pouts at me.

“You’re my favoritest person, silly!” I giggle. “You’re my best friend.”

He sits down next to me and squeezes me and my new bear to his side. “Coral Ann, I want you to remember, I’ll always protect you. No matter what.”

Without much thought, I say, “I know,” and smile, snuggling into his side.

* * *

Snippet Saturday: Who's there? a tidbit from 'Wraith'

Should I run? Should I fight? Should I give myself over willingly? How far would I get if I fled? Is it an Inborn, the originals of vampire kind? Or a Wraith, the hunters and executioners? Another Halfborn like Innocence and I? What did they have planned for me? I've slaughtered nearly a hundred people since returning home, most of them known and open cases, would that be a death sentence? Even if it wasn't, would they find out what I was? The unnatural child that was supposedly killed years prior?

I listened closer. The footsteps approached, and I could almost picture the person nearing my front porch steps. I could tell it was one person. They were alone, and I wondered if they were sent to take me out, why there weren't more?

I heard the first foot make contact with the steps. I went to the window, unlatched it, and worked to wiggle it free. It squealed in protest. The person approaching my door stopped.

“Well, that's just awesome,” I said under my breath. “Man up, Coral. You've brought this on yourself.”

Several moments went by before my uninvited guest began to move towards the door again. I listened as they came closer, and I decided to walk to the door to greet them. Albeit, I tiptoed, trying not to make a sound on my way out of my bedroom and down the hall to the living room. It completely slipped my mind, until it was too late, that if this Born was any good with their senses, they'd know I was getting closer to them even if I didn't make a sound. That knowledge entered my thought process right before I stopped in front of the door.

I briefly wondered why they hadn't knocked. Then I heard a muffled noise coming through the door. It sounded like they were whispering, but I couldn't tell what they were saying because the language was unfamiliar to me and unlike anything I’d ever heard before. What I could tell, though, was my visitor was male.

I stood and waited. I thought about opening the door with a straight-forwardness, demanding what the guy wanted, but the fear that my demise may very well be on the other side of that door kept me from doing that.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. I turned to go to the sofa and sit at fifteen minutes, and that's when the knock rang throughout the living room. I jumped, nearly leaving my skin on the floor if that was at all possible.

I froze for what seemed like an eternity, gathering myself and steadying my heart. I wondered if I still had time to flee, but instead, I drew in a deep breath and released it in a calming fashion. Then I repeated the process until the muscles relaxed in my shoulders. Finally, I turned back to the door and gripped the handle, turning it as slowly as possible. I pulled the door open, and my eyes fell on the man in front of me.

Snippet Saturday: Pancakes and Jealousy an excerpt from Wraith

Bastian washed down his bite of blueberry pancake with a large gulp from his coffee cup, looking across the table at me. “You don’t remember anything before that night?”

“I get flashes here and there. Mom and me in the car. Her with an envelope full of money she was saving for a rainy day, or so she said. I remember a huge teddy bear, but it didn’t make it to the group home with me. I don’t know what happened to it.” I shrugged and looked down at my plate, pushing the scrambled eggs with my fork. They were dry and unappetizing.

I saw him fiddling with and twisting his fingers, and I could almost feel the unspoken questions weighing in my mind. I waited for him to speak, but it was as if he was restricted on what he could say.

“Is there something in particular I’m supposed to remember? I mean, a little help wouldn’t hurt. Especially if you want me to remember as badly as it seems you do.” I looked back to his conflicted face.

“I’m not supposed to say anything. You seeing me was, I don’t know, supposed to jog your memory or something. Which doesn’t exactly appear to be working, but like I told dad, I was twelve and an undersized, scrawny twig the last time you saw me. Now I’m thirty-four. Yeah, sure, I look twenty-two, but it’s still a big difference.” He shook his head. “Even if you could remember, you probably wouldn’t have realized I was the same person.”

It clicked why he ignored my earlier question of why he didn’t take me in when I was orphaned. He was only a kid, too. I wracked my brain, begging it to give me something from my past. It gave me nothing.

Through the bond, I felt Marshall nearing. I’d lost track at how close he got while Bastian and I ate. I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head. A mass of panic flowed through me, and the wall dropped, making me aware of the flood of jealousy coming off of him in waves.

“Hey, Coral Ann, you okay?” Bastian shook my arm. “Hey?”

I focused on the jealousy, letting it push the panic away. Good, let him be jealous. It’s not like he has a good reason to be, I thought.

“Who’s jealous?” Bastian asked.

“Really, that shit’s annoying. Get out of my head,” I said, having enough frame of mind to keep my voice low and level.

“You project. That’s not my fault. I can’t control what I hear from you. I can only control what you hear from me. Now, who’s jealous? ‘Cause it’s not me.” He noticed me looking at his hand on my arm, and he pulled it away.

“Marshall’s jealous. And he’s here,” I said, turning around and meeting the gaze of the man I hadn’t seen in nearly a year.

*Subject to further editing. This isn't a final draft.