Wow, I devoured this book!!!! It may seem you are getting another story of a vampire and vampire hunter in love, but this is SO MUCH MORE! Asher’s background is nearly legendary, he is legendary, and what he feels for Jo reaches well beyond all that. Jo thinks she knows how the world works, but she quickly learns so knows so little, but her past has prepared her for this future. A deep connection, heat off the charts, lots of fun and wit, and a new *cough* friend you just know is in for some upcoming adventure. Love the pace, loved the story, loved the characters, loved it all!
Truly it is only a fool who believes dreams are just dreams when living so close to the Elsewhere. And fools can only survive so long in such a place.
Ash stared into the eyes of the creature now stood before her. It was, of course, her. But its hair was like silk drifting in the breeze and its eyes were wrong, or rather, a different kind of wrong. Where there should have been the brilliance of her wrong eyes like dancing light, there was instead darkness. A darkness so unfathomably deep Ash could feel herself being enveloped by it, plunging her deeper into the dream.
Dream it said in a whisper that made Ash’s skin crawl, and caused her to redouble her vice like grip on The Lady’s gift basket. Her last anchor to the reality she felt was fast slipping away. ‘Spider’, she thought briefly before her attention turned to the sound that had been gently building to a searing hiss.
Ash watched, jaw clenched tight and throat seized with fear, as the razor wire strummed past her head, now frighteningly, undeniably real. Oh God’s she thought. She was alone now, watching in this near empty darkness as the wire passed her by, whispering, screaming, teasing of how it would feel to reach out and let it dance beneath her skin. Ash looked toward the horizon to where she could just make out a growing silhouette; an inevitability that she had hoped in vain would not be here this time. Oh fuck. She watched as it grew closer and closer until finally the great willow tree stood before her, just beyond her reach. From here she could see where beneath the Boeing branches the wire had wrapped itself around and around and around the great trunk, biting deep into the bark. Sap oozed from the wounds that Ash knew would only continue to grow deeper. And beneath them there she saw the next inevitability of this dream that she had avoided for so long. The hollow at the base of the trunk was dark, it seemed almost empty, but Ash knew it would not be. It drew her in, calling to her every cell. Ash allowed herself to be pulled in, letting the cold empty darkness claim her. Please. Next she knew would be pain, the splitting migraine and aching limbs as she falls screaming out of bed, it was the next inevitability. But when Ash opened her eyes she was not back in her room, she was instead within the gloom of the hollow. Shock hit her as Ash took in the size of the space she was now in. The darkness was punctuated by the outlines of hundreds of smaller trees, and as Ash’s eyes adjusted she saw that they were all… Her. Willowing branches laden with leaves forming hair atop wooden, living bodies. Ash stared in horror as they collectively looked to the ground at their feet and watched as their roots began to smoulder. They watched as their bodies were slowly engulfed in the fireless burning, air now filled with falling Ash, until the burn reached their necks. Then all eyes turned to meet Ash’s gaze. “Who are you?” she heard herself whisper, and took a suffocating sharp breath as they collectively answered. “We are you”. Ash swallowed hard, trying to push her heart back down from her throat “What are you?” She asked. Again, they responded as one “we are Ash”. The burn had reached their hair now, and the many thousands of leaves began to fall, blazing in the air. “What do you want?” asked Ash. “To Live” they responded “you must live”.
Firm hands gripped Ash as she gasped and felt her mind rise to consciousness. “That’s quite enough little one, you can’t let yourself be lost. The dream weaver won’t hesitate to make your dreams theirs if you let them.” Beyond The Lady Ash could see a large creature that could, in the wrong light, be mistaken for an enormous spider. Its eyes stared, unfathomably deep, and filled with glittering stars. “Use what you’ve learnt well my little between, you will need it” stated The Lady. “I will” said Ash breathlessly, feeling the tremor in her limbs reflected by her voice. She wasn’t entirely sure what it is she had learnt, but she would not have defied The Lady in this moment for anything. “Good” was all The Lady said. And then as suddenly as it had all happened, Ash was alone again, sitting just beyond the path to I9, accompanied only by a worried looking cat with definitely too many eyes.
By NutMegTales
Read the full story so far here
Liked This story? read my other Elsewhere Stories (Links bellow)
White Noise, The Dreamer, Ha Ha Ha, Do Not Graffiti, Poetry, Fresh cakes, Knights and Swords
Read my other stories here: Blood Tales, Dark Ones, Misc
Today we have the release day blitz for N.J. Walters’ new release, BURNING ASH! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today! Title: Burning Ash Author: N.J. Walters Genre: Paranormal Romance A…
Today we have the blog tour for N.J. Walters’ new release, BURNING ASH! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: Burning Ash
Author: N.J. Walters
Genre: Paranormal Romance
About Burning Ash:
No one is more surprised than Asher, one of the oldest vampires on Earth, that he's attracted to vamp hunter Jo Radcliffe. She's smart, a talented slayer, and she's gorgeous. Something about her pulls at him, like no one ever has before. For a man, whose name strikes fear in everyone––this is something new and intriguing. And quite possibly deadly, if she discovers his secret. Jo has two things in common with the handsome Asher––they are both slayers and someone is messing with them in a very-much-trying-to-kill-them way. She's not so happy about joining forces with a dude she doesn't know. But he's sexy as hell and really good at his job as one of the Forgotten Brotherhood, whose business it is to execute misbehaving paranormals. She knows she's bait in a larger plot to harm Asher and the Brotherhood. And there is nothing he won't do, no line he won't cross, to keep her safe––which may be the weakness that destroys them both.
Get Your Copy Today:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Catch up on the series:
Fury Unleashed
Amazon | Entangled | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Arctic Bite:
Amazon | Entangled | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
About N.J. Walters:
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
Today we have the excerpt tour for N.J. Walters’ upcoming release, BURNING ASH! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today! Title: Burning Ash Author: N.J. Walters Genre: Paranormal Romance R…
Today we have the excerpt tour for N.J. Walters’ upcoming release, BURNING ASH! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: Burning Ash
Author: N.J. Walters
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: September 21st
About Burning Ash:
No one is more surprised than Asher, one of the oldest vampires on Earth, that he's attracted to vamp hunter Jo Radcliffe. She's smart, a talented slayer, and she's gorgeous. Something about her pulls at him, like no one ever has before. For a man, whose name strikes fear in everyone––this is something new and intriguing. And quite possibly deadly, if she discovers his secret. Jo has two things in common with the handsome Asher––they are both slayers and someone is messing with them in a very-much-trying-to-kill-them way. She's not so happy about joining forces with a dude she doesn't know. But he's sexy as hell and really good at his job as one of the Forgotten Brotherhood, whose business it is to execute misbehaving paranormals. She knows she's bait in a larger plot to harm Asher and the Brotherhood. And there is nothing he won't do, no line he won't cross, to keep her safe––which may be the weakness that destroys them both.
Pre-Order Your Copy Today:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Exclusive Excerpt:
“Who the hell are you?” she demanded of the tall, lean man who was still mostly in the shadows. Whoever he was, he was dangerous, maybe even more so than the creature she’d just beheaded. He’d come out of nowhere and snatched the crossbow bolt out of the air like it hadn’t even been moving. A shiver raced down her spine. Dressed all in black, he blended with the dark. She hadn’t known he was there until he’d deliberately come forward. And she always had total situational awareness. It was a matter of survival. Her profession had a very high mortality rate. A nudge of his foot sent the vampire’s head rolling back toward the body. The undead would need to be burned if he didn’t start disintegrating soon, but she was keeping her distance from the man in black. “Asher.” He gave her a half bow. “And you are?” A quick shake of her head. “You don’t need to know.” “That hardly seems fair considering I saved your life.” “It didn’t need saving,” she asserted. “I’d already moved.” “True,” Asher conceded. “You’re fast, but I didn’t know that. I should get points for the attempt.” He sauntered out of the dark and fully into the candlelight. The flames flickered over his face, exposing a strong jaw, straight nose, and high forehead. His blond hair was pulled back in a short tail at his nape. His skin was olive-toned or tanned, hard to say. Piercing brown eyes stared at her. Good looking was much to tame. Handsome didn’t fit either. There was something dangerous and predatory lurking beneath the surface. Primal. Compelling. Yeah, that was it. It was time for her to leave. “While I appreciate the assist, I’ve got this.” She jerked her head toward the door, hoping he’d take the hint. A ghost of a smile flickered on his full lips before it disappeared. “I’ve got nowhere I need to be.” “Great,” she muttered. His laugh slid down her spine, a whisper of heat. Her nipples puckered and rubbed against her bra. Uh. No. The last thing she needed was some kind of fatal attraction. Because he was one of two things—a fellow hunter or another vampire. Neither of which were good for her. “Come now, I’ll help you clean up this mess. Then we can get a cup of coffee somewhere, maybe talk.” “It’s almost one in the morning. Nothing around here is open.” God, she was tired. She just wanted to fry this vampire and leave. Usually they disintegrated fairly quickly. This one was taking his sweet time. He either wasn’t truly dead yet or he was very young. The older they were, the quicker they turned to ash. Ash. “Your name is Asher?” He inclined his head. “At your service.”
About N.J. Walters:
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
