Title: Shattered Skies: Beginning's End
Author: Heather Linn
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy
Length: 286 Pages
Released: Dec 19, 2012
SYNOPSIS
Shattered Skies, Beginning’s End, is a dramatic story of twisted killings and love and hate that takes place within a horrific world where alien vampires have taken over the earth and made humans their slaves. The vampires have created a new genetic race, the Dominus, breeding a scary blood-drinking race of human and vampire that prey off the humans that are left. People are relegated to the classes of slaves, food and mates.
This is a world where sex kills and a rogue group of humans kills as many of the Dominus as they can by bedding them. This warrior group is led by mysterious doctor who has raised the 16 members of the group since infancy, hidden away in an underground bunker.
The plot twists and turns as the heroine, the unselfish Catalina, rejects her traditional female role and demands to fight the Dominus alongside the men, bedding and killing as she goes. Her emotions tear her apart as she struggles with herself, torn between a mad attraction for the Dominus King and her fellow warrior, Darien.
As the clashes between Dominus and Vampire and Humans continue, Catalina is forced to face herself. Could she really be destined to save the world as the enigmatic Doctor’s ancient prophecy predicts?
EXCERPT
Walking to the cell that held Jewel, I think I relived a lifetime of memories with her. She didn’t deserve what was coming to her. She was better than all of this. She belonged in a world that we could only dream about. I could never tell her I was there to kill her. I knew she deserved the truth, but I couldn’t look her in the eye and tell her that I was there to end her life. I was a coward, but if being a coward would spare my sanity, then so be it.
Jewel saw me walk into the room and for a second her eyes brightened, and then just like she had been taught, she forgot right then and there that she even knew me. The fact that she was calm enough to remember how important it was to not recognize me made the horror of what I was there to do crash over me like a furious wave.
I quickly put my finger up to my lips to silence Jewel until I was sure the guards were out of hearing range. “I am going to get you out of here Jewel, but first I need you to whisper to me as fast and as quietly as you can. Tell me everything that happened quickly, understand?”
Jewel rapidly nodded her head and began to tell me her story. “Right after you ran out, Darien and Jaden started out after you. Doctor Walker begged them not to go. He told them that you would calm down and come to your senses, but Darien said something about not giving you the chance to disappear, and then they left together. It was less than two minutes later when a group of six thugs burst through the door. I thought for a second that it was Darien coming back, but when I turned around they grabbed me by the neck. I couldn’t even scream out a warning because they covered my mouth and silenced me. By the time everyone else noticed what was going on; there wasn’t any time to hide. No one had expected them to come. I stood there trapped by one of them. He held me up and made me watch as they killed the other girls. There was nothing I could do Cat,” she said sobbing. “The guys tried to fight, but they were too surprised; there just wasn’t time. They killed everyone except me and Dr. Walker. But before they could get to him, he set his office on fire. Dr. Walker put up a hell of a fight; it was like he was one of them! But that ended when he was knocked out. They dragged him out ahead of me. They threw us in a black van. That is all I remember and then I woke up here.”
“Oh my God Jewel! I am so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t left, Darien and Jaden wouldn’t have run after me and the monsters would never have discovered us. Everyone would still be safe instead of dead.” I wanted to break down right then and there. I was responsible for the deaths of people that I loved. I knew if the monsters had broken in so soon after Darien and Jaden had left, then Darien and Jaden must be gone too. If it wouldn’t have been for what I must do to Jewel, I would have walked right up to Akia and told him that I was one of the missing vermin that he was so intent on exterminating. I was going to do what I had to do with Jewel and then I was done. I couldn’t live alone. I couldn’t and I wasn’t going to.
“You listen to me Catalina and you listen to me now. You had every right to behave the way you did. What Dr. Walker and Darien did to you was not only dangerous, but it was senseless too. You took their abuse more graciously than I would have. But none of that matters now. Right now, you are the only one that has any chance of getting me out of here. I don’t want to die today Cat, not by their hands. I don’t want them to touch me anymore. I can’t take it Cat. Please don’t let them touch me anymore...”
I was going to grant her wish; she wouldn’t die by their hands; she would die by mine. “I promise no one else will hurt you Jewel. I won’t let them touch you again.” I walked up to her and gave her a kiss on her forehead “Now all we need is a plan.”
I raised my hand to her forehead like I was going to wipe away the remnants of my kiss. I had convinced her that she was safe because she never even moved. With all my strength I smashed her head against the stone wall behind her. I heard a sickening wet thud. Her eyes clouded over and she slipped away without a sound.
Something was wrong. I just stood there and waited; I waited for the tears or the shakes or anything to come to let me know that I was human, but nothing came; not a single tear fell. I was cold, not the kind of cold that a blanket can fix, but cold from the inside out and I knew that nothing could fix that. I would never again feel warm. From this point on; I knew that I would live only to get back at the monsters that had done this to my family. I took one last look at Jewel as she slumped down the blood stained wall of her cell and I fled. I died when I murdered her; she had killed me in return. It was pure justice for both of us.
I am a mother to three beautiful
children, they keep me busy. I live in a small town that’s filled
with monsters and really nice people alike. I love taking walks
around the mountain trails where I live and I love taking trips to
the Ocean, especially the South Carolina beaches. The ocean brings me
tranquility and refreshes me, but I don’t get to go there often
enough. Some mornings I listen to nothing but sad country songs for
hours but when I write, I usually buckle down with my headphones and
listen to something raw and angry like Seether, and Stone Sour.
I can be shy around people but I’m mostly always honest within
myself. In many ways, on many levels, I express different parts of
myself through my characters. Someone told me once that you are only
as old as you feel and I love that! In fact, I love that idea
because personally, have no intentions of ever growing up! I want to
be 18 forever no matter what they do to me. LOL!
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