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FAERIES IN THE LASH SERIES
In a series filled with weresnakes, demons, vampires, witches, and other non-humans, it was a sure thing that some faeries would show up. So far, the only one of my acquaintance was the lovely Bea. I first met her when her vampire lover Victor hired me to find her. Vampire hunters had taken her from him. I had to kick a little as…butt to find her, but it was one of the more pleasant jobs of my life. It made me feel righteous, an emotion I’d never expected to feel.
Beatrice was indeed at the hotel. When I asked to see her, I was surprised I didn’t have to chase her. She just came to me and asked me if Victor had sent me. When I nodded, she said she was ready. I was very relieved to see her collar still fastened around her throat. We began driving back. The trip I’d plotted would likely take a week. I didn’t want to push her. She was only human, or so I thought.
***
The second night in, I thought I heard scuffling in her room. Drawing my knife, I entered, only to find her lying on the floor, desperately trying to conceal her body from me. I saw she was alone, and as much as I wanted to look at her, I turned my back and gave her some privacy. A few seconds later, I felt the warmth of her hand on my arm.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“I’m okay.” I turned to her.
“What were you doing?”
“Changing,” she said in longing. “I’m faerie.”
I felt dumb. “What’s that mean?”
She smiled. “My mother was faerie, an air sprite. My father was an earth sprite, one of the dreamweavers. Though I look human, I inherited the ability to grow wings. I haven’t been able to change for weeks now. I was afraid to let George see, and other people, well...they might think I was a freak.”
I felt a little in awe. Before I stopped myself, I blurted out, “Can I see them?”
Beatrice blushed. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t think such things were possible,” I said honestly. “Are you sure you are not some type of werebutterfly?”
She laughed, and then she grew wings before my eyes. They were shimmery, but not like an angel’s feathered wings, or a butterfly’s wings, more like a water nymph’s wings, folded back, long and oval at the tips. Pretty.
She let them flow back into her, and then looked at me.
“Thank you,” I said, still awed.
Bea was a gentle soul, one of the only truly good people I ever met, and certainly the only innocent. I’d like to think I gave her some comfort in the short time we knew one another. I would have liked to get to know her better, to protect her from the fate that awaited her. She deserved more.
I won’t lie; the story of my life is a dark tale. Justice isn’t always served when I’m hired to kill. As a rule, I do my job and don’t judge. But I will say that faeries probably make out the best of the non-human races. They get a pass from me as a rule, because of Bea, and how kind she was to me. They are also likely the only ones to get that perk…ever.
Blurb from Shadow Man:
A renegade vampire begins amassing a flock of true believers, threatening America’s vampire hierarchy. Weresnake Lash partners with old enemy Danial and new allies Burl and Spiderboy to track down and annihilate them. Betrayed and left for dead, Lash reemerges the victor, edging ever upward in the Assassin’s Ranking, and catching the eye of the sultry nightclub singer Cassandra Nile. Drawn into drugs by Cassie, Lash begins to doubt himself, yearning to leave his life of violence, even as enemies close in from every side.
Excerpt from Shadow Man:
It was not a surprise to find out Victor had lied to me. “You almost look the same as you did ten years ago. You said you aged slow.”
“Being fey, we do. But Victor likes youth, the younger the better. And we look like women now, not girls. There are already two sisters who are thirteen staying at his estate, twins.”
I let out a breath. “But you are his Oathed One, Bea. You still wear his collar on your neck. Vampire law says I have to take you back, whether you want to go or not.” I paused. “That man with you, is he the one who took you from Victor?”
“Yes, but he didn’t do it for love, or lust, Trystan. He—”
“Is he your lover? You looked pretty cozy down in the dining room.”
“No,” she said in annoyance. “He would like to be, no doubt, but he is more of a crusading hero than a Casanova. He would not take payment for bringing me here. He thinks he is saving me.”
“Why are you here? Why did you leave Victor?”
“Because he is going to break the oath,” Bea said simply, “or maybe have me killed.”
“He is paying me a huge sum to bring you back! He wouldn’t kill you.”
“A Ruler cannot have an oathed female running away and leaving him,” she said patiently. “He can’t lose face like that.” She got up, and moved to the decanter, pouring herself a large drink. “But he’s bored of me, and without Eve, I’m a liability. He has other young lovers-to-be waiting in the wings, Trystan, who he would like to oath. But he cannot, not while he is oathed to me.”
“From what I know of vampires, they can have more than one oathed human at a time.”
She laughed bitterly. “My sister thought to protect me, precluding all others from Victor’s bed save she and I in our oaths to him. He agreed to it, because he loved her. But now she is dead, and her schemes have sealed my fate.”
She drank down her drink, and I went to her and poured one for myself. I slurped it down and faced her. “I gave my word, Bea. I have to take you back, no matter what awaits you.”
“I know.” She shivered a little. “I won’t fight, Tryst. There’s no point anyway. It’s not like I can marry Peter.” She laughed bitterly. “I knew someone would be coming for me.”
“Get some sleep,” I said gruffly. “I will sleep on the floor, and we’ll depart in the morning.” I turned from her, but then I felt her touch me gently on my arm.
“Please, don’t go.” I turned back to her, fixing her with my eyes.
“I’m only going to be here on the floor.”
“Stay here with me, please? Tonight?”
“I am going to stay with you,” I hissed. “I thought I made that obvious!”
“And apparently I’m not making myself obvious enough!”
It took me a few moments to understand what she was offering. I grew immediately suspicious. “Don’t think to trick me—”
Bea unfastened her dressing gown and let it fall, and I hardened the moment I saw her soft inviting flesh revealed to me. But others had tried this trick before, and I kept my head clear.
Links: Website: www.tarafoxhall.com
Email: tarafoxhallATgmailDOTcom
Tara's Blog: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5286654.Tara_Fox_Hall/blog
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Amazon Webpage: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Fox-Hall/e/B005YPAA4W
For info on my recently published series books Lash: Shadow Man click here: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Man-Lash-ebook/dp/B009UHDZHY
Bio: Tara Fox Hall’s writing credits include nonfiction, horror, suspense, action-adventure, erotica, and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. She is the author of the paranormal action-adventure Lash series and the vampire romantic suspense Promise Me series. Tara divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to animal shelters, and target practice.
Thanks Tara for allowing Lash to spend the day here with us on Tink's Place!
Review Coming for Shadow Man!
Shadow Man Giveaway on Page Turner Book Tours:
http://pageturnerbooktours.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/shadow-man-lash-series-book-2-by-tara.html
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2 comments:
Thank you so much for having me today at Tink's Place, Dottie :) Happy Holidays to you and your readers! :)
I love that cover. It sounds like a great read. I'll add it to my TBR pile.
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